My Own Life [1.0]
Director • Producer • Scriptwriter • Actor • Camera • Editor • Music & Audio • Wardrobe • Makeup • Set Design • Solo Project • 24h Project
“My Own Life”, a creative project I embarked on in 2016, arose from a realisation that I lacked English-speaking material, or any recent material at all.
The name and concept stemmed from my unique sense of humour and my rather eventful life.
It became a fun creative exercise where I applied what I already knew and learned new things for this solo project.
The main theme was crafted entirely from scratch using GarageBand, which I learned on the fly.
The title, “My Own Life,” was created using stop motion animation. To prevent the letters from misaligning while adding more, I began with the full title and gradually eliminated one letter at a time from the last to the first. The photos were taken with my digital camera and later added during the editing process in the desired order and timing to achieve the effect.
I used a GoPro camera remotely controlled using an iPad that also served as a monitor for me to check the correct shooting position. The iPad was placed on a tripod, positioned close enough but just out of the frame.
Audio was recorded using a wired lavalier microphone connected to the camera. For scenes where I wasn’t visibly wearing the mic, it was hidden nearby. For instance, in “My Own Life – It’s my Birthday,” during the take where I’m drinking coffee by the window, the mic is attached to the curtain.
“My Own Life – It’s my Birthday” was recorded twice. The first recording was made the evening before my birthday. After finishing the recording, I sat down to review the material and realised that there was a lot of noise. I learned later on this was due the lights I was using. Consequently, all the material was discarded by midnight. To rectify this, I decided to wake up early and re-record the whole thing. Additionally, the script underwent changes for the second recording, and more scenes were added. I started shooting around 7 am and finished by 12 pm, took a lunch break, and then began the editing process, which concluded around 9 pm. Finally, I posted the video on YouTube. Since it was my actual birthday, I refrained from responding to messages until after I completed the project to avoid distractions.
What did learn from this project where both videos were entirely created within a span of less than 24 hours each? While I acknowledge my ability and creativity in achieving this, if given the opportunity, I will allocate more time for future projects. In retrospect, I realise that I could have managed the editing process more efficiently to achieve a better rhythm and overall quality.
