Ashleigh's Blog

The theme for this 30 second video sketch was “what quickens your heart.” Well, Red Bull quickens my heart! Take a look.

What Quickens the Heart (video sketch series 06) from Ashleigh Denham on Vimeo.

Here is the first sketch video for series 06, it’s theme is “small things you think are worth noticing.” I wanted to capture the simple beauty of watching a small child peacefully sleep. Let us know what you think!

Small Thing Worth Noticing (video sketch series 06) from Ashleigh Denham on Vimeo.

In reviewing my most previous 2 videos, describe myself and describe my family, I would have to say I feel that my ‘family’ video was most effective. I feel that audio can be a powerful thing, and through the background noise of what is going on in my families house, a picture is created of togetherness, community, your every day family catching up and enjoying a nice meal together at night. I chose to use audio rather than image to tell this story.

I feel that the video which describes me works to an extent, however it feels a bit repetitive and I was quickly running out of material to shoot. Next time I would like to go with a more creative and more accurately representative idea, however it was still nice to run with this idea and see how it would turn out.

Stay tuned for next weeks material!

Here is my Video sketch series 05. The requirement for this video was to create a 30 second film which represented and described my family, without actually showing my family in the video. Enjoy!

Family (sketch video series 05) from Ashleigh Denham on Vimeo.

Video sketch series 05. The requirement for this video was to describe myself, without actually showing myself in the video. Enjoy!

Me (sketch video series 05) from Ashleigh Denham on Vimeo.

The first video sketches of this year were THINGS THAT ARE ROUND & THINGS THAT ARE SQUARE. I would have to say that the one i was most happy with was THINGS THAT ARE ROUND.

Originally, i had brainstormed other ideas for what i was going to use in this video, however i decided to do something simple and engaging. I found that having my little brother in this video would engage the audience and make them think of when they were at a similar age, playing with similar toys and experiencing that sense of innocence and fun.

I liked the colour in this video. I was initially going to just film the abacus for the entire 30 seconds but decided the “popper push” toy would have been a nice thing to transition into. This also emphasises the theme of “round.” This is an enjoyable, playful, joyful video that audiences should be able to easily enjoy.

In refection YELLOW THINGS I LIKE, BLUE THINGS I LIKE, & RED THINGS I LIKE, i would personally say i was most happy with the results of my red video.

The only thing that i wasn’t so happy with about this video was the lighting, due to unforeseen circumstances, sunset was the only time in which i could film this video. I managed to improve the lighting a little in post, but as you can see it gets significantly darker as the film goes on, it would have been much nicer to shoot on a bright sunny day. Disappointments aside! This video was great because it was something simple, something fun, and something i think that everybody loves! After all, who doesn’t enjoy red icy poles! I wanted my actress to look happy and playful. I like this video the best out of this series, i hope you enjoyed it too!

Looking back on the sketch videos TRAVELLING TOWARDS, BEING AT, and LEAVING, i think that the one that worked the best TRAVELLING TOWARDS.

I was content will all outcomes from these videos how ever what i did particularly like about the first video was that it is not clear to the audience where exactly we are located until the end of the film. I was lucky enough to have really warm and attractive naturalistic lighting on the day, there are a few moments in these videos where the sunlight hits the lens directly and creates a glare which i really think ads to the entire feel of the video and sets a nice tone. The reveal in the last few seconds of the film leads us in nicely to the second part of this video sketch series 03, BEING AT.

In summary, I think that the video INSIDE worked the best. In seeing this film one attains a better idea of what it is to feel “inside,” it is simple yet clear, and has a certain rhythm to the piece which i like. In regards to all 3 of these films, next time i would take many many many more photos, not 2 photos per second. This was my first attempt a stop motion, so i have learn some simple things about what i would do next time to improve it’s quality. I did however like the idea of using the babushkas for each film.

In Between. (Sketch Video series 04) from Ashleigh Denham on Vimeo.