For this assignment, we were instructed to choose an inanimate object to produce a visual story. The main goal was to create a story developed strictly through individually chosen shot types and their organized positions, in order to establish tone. The instructions were clear; we were given specific shots to include and were limited to 15 still shots.
I decided to develop a short story that follows a water bottle's feelings…in order to show its upsetting journey, I decided to personify it. The water bottle is first seen in the vending machine, silently yearning to be chosen by a human. Throughout the story, I wanted to show how, in the end, even though the ware bottle fulfilled its main purpose. It was not enough, and it ended up feeling neglected and carelessly thrown away as if it were unimportant. In order to complete this project me my partner and I began with brainstorming and making a storyboard. After all the shots and settings were decided, we started shooting the pictures. Of course, sometimes things don't always go the way you planned…we were not only running low on time, but we were not getting the most ideal results. In the end, we ended up changing some shots, which might have hindered the plot and the development of the water bottle's character.
I genuinely think my partner and I developed a pretty decent story and would have loved the opportunity to make it more intricate. I really enjoyed picking out specific shots and their orders, and think I did a sufficient job. My favorite shot was probably the last one, a close-up of the water bottle where the background is faded.. I love the irony of how the water bottle, seen as insignificant trash to the human, ends up becoming the one important thing remembered by the audience, while the human just fades into the background.
For this project, I feel as if we could have focused more on our main object (the water bottle). Although the human is just a side character and is used mainly to manipulate the water bottle's movement, in some shots, it felt as if the character/object were competing for the main spotlight. In addition, I also think that there was an excessive number of shots of the water bottle being opened. Although being done with different angles, it would have been better to use different shots in order to capture and hold the story back from being boring. With the addition of 3 distinctly framed shots, the story could have been more engaging. Overall, I really enjoyed this project, and I had fun getting an opportunity to get some actual hands-on experience.
Project Link (click here =>): AICE MEDIA.pptx
