Hey your script!
Thank you sir, don't know if we will need it because we are actually going to use prompter
for this since it is on sticks but thank you still.
Hannah do you think that you could move that keylight back by a foot.
Yup, that is perfect thank you Hannah.
Ok, let's roll on camera.
Vsauce, I'm Jake and how do you make a Vsauce3 video?
Well, you first need a question.
For me, that usually comes from a video game, book, or movie.
In the case of my last video "Could You Be a Parasite?" it came from one of my favorite
movies, The Thing.
If you haven't seen that episode I would highly recommend watching it, there'll be
a link in the description, because that is the episode we will be focusing on today.
In order to create I need a problem to solve, what is it that I'm trying to answer and
how can I answer it in a way that is unique to me, is different?
But that doesn't mean the "idea" needs to be wholly original, I mean, everything
is an interpretation or retelling of something that has come before, consciously or not.
It's the presentation and, in the case of a Vsauce3 video, it's the way the story
is presented in particular, the journey you go on to find answers or uncover new questions.
You need to find that topic that burrows into your mind, nagging you to find out more, to
answer it.
(walks off frame into real world)
This video has one purpose to show you what goes into making a Vsauce video.
On Twitter I asked if you'd be interested in a video about actually making a video,
a kind of behind the scenes look, and a resounding amount of you said yes.
And I've already discussed the process of not making a video in my video about not making
a video, the weeks or months that go into reading and researching and the days that
go into condensing the information into a narrative script so we will pick up there.
Once we have the script...what happens?
Well, for me, I need music.
When that beat kicks in it motivates everything.
It sets the tone to let you know how to feel, it can enhance your expectations, and then
you use the camera and the script to emphasize that.
This frame is a canvas.
Everything in it: my voice, my movements, the camera's, the music, the script all
exist in this tiny rectangular world.
Nothing outside of it matters, forget about it and focus on what I show you, what I tell
you.
I write with music in mind so that the script and soundtrack feel like they were made to
be together.
I always create a playlist before I film anything...I've already made the movie in my head.
Now that you have your music and your script, the fun begins.
You decide how you use the camera to capture the narrative you want to tell.
For example, Jake says, "It's transient.
To continue it's life cycle it has to find
a new home."
The camera pans to reveal the house.
The Music comes up.
Jake walks into frame and towards the cabin.
We hear his voice from the next shot.
But then there are parasites that are more insidious.
Now everything is captured.
We have all of these individual pieces that need to be put together.
Side note: When I write, I've already found all the assets I want to include: archival
footage, stock footage, etc.
It isn't an afterthought, everything you show on screen has to have purpose.
Again, it has to be motivated.
See, this clip has no reason to be here...it detracts from the story.
Then comes my favorite part.
The lie.
Where, if we did our job well, you don't even notice that we were lying to you.
And for that we need the best liar on the planet, our cinematographer and VFX wizard,
Eric Langlay.
If you're interested in learning how to do those kind of visual effects, rotoscoping
and masking, there are lots of tutorials online but one of my favorites is VFX Rotoscoping
101 on Skillshare.com who we use a bunch and were nice enough to sponsor this episode and
support Vsauce.
If you want to try it out, we have a deal for 3 months for only $.99 that you can go
to with the link in the description.
I actually used their color grading course a few months ago which brings us to the next
part of making the video.
The way it looks.
This is how the camera captured it.
It looks like a really flat image, not much color, saturation, shadows, highlights or
contrast but that's because we use a camera, a RED, that records RAW images.
Your cellphone for example applies a color profile and such when you film which makes
it harder to adjust after whereas this camera captures a lot more information, metadata,
and then allows you to adjust all of those factors later.
So we can go from this to this with color correction and with much greater latitude.
And even how you color grade the footage is important - it allows you to set a visual
tone.
I purposefully oversaturated most of the footage and removed highlights and increased shadows
because I thought it was an interesting juxtaposition next to the dark and creepy subject matter.
It is important to use every tool available to you to create exactly what you want.
Every piece matters.
They all need to work together, to balance out, for me there should be a thoughtfulness
with what you make.
From the script, or the information given, or the cinematography, music, visual effects,
color, even the sound.
Sound design is successful when you don't notice it.
Let's use the intro shot as an example.
This is what it sounded like when we filmed it.
There's no sound because the drone we used doesn't record sound.
So we have to recreate it entirely.
Here is the same shot but with sound effects: the wind, trees swaying, footsteps in snow
matched up to me walking, and a nice sound effect for emphasis on the title.
Now here it is again with my voice dubbed over to sound like I'm talking through a
radio.
That was actually recorded a week later in my apartment on my cell phone.
And finally, here it is with the soundtrack.
One thing I've been really into exploring is match cuts, when the sound of one thing
is replaced by another.
Like when I slam the door in this scene but instead of hearing the door close, you hear
wood bursting from flame.
It's about playing with expectations.
Oh, also the fire crackling is from a campfire months early recorded in Alaska.
Here it is without the fire sound effect.
And all those adjustments we make are defined before we film.
It has to be exact to create the illusion of the world we are trying to present.
It doesn't matter what story you tell as long as you can tell it well.
And believe me, the hardest part of making a video is actually making it.
Not to get too meta but even this video took me awhile to make because I wanted it to have
purpose but maybe, sometimes, sharing is purpose enough.
And, as always, thanks for watching.
Last thing, we like to custom make the Vsauce outros to fit the topic of the video.
So for COuld You Be a Parasite, Eric 3D printed a Vsauce plate, put it on the back of a fish
tank, filled the fish tank with smoke, filmed through the fishtanks and smoke to the plate
and then lit a trash bag on fire to get this practical effect.
love u
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