This is the video I made for the module. The setting for video is my niece's birthday.  The actual focus, or subject, of the video is my other niece, Kate.  When I set out to make the project, I was not sure what I wanted the final project to be. I knew I wanted both of the girls in the video, but I did not want the cliche'd birthday party scene.  Growing up, I was the youngest and I remembered how I often felt alone and left somewhere in the background in comparison to my sisters. Especially on a celebration like a birthday, the other sibling always feels left out. With that, I decided to focus the video on Kate.

Kate and Grace are very different from one another. When Grace is happy about something, everyone knows it. She is not one to suffer in silence and is, all in all, a very expressive little girl. This video takes place on her fifth birthday, which she has been counting down the days for the last two months. Like most kids, any day that is all about her is something she prepares for way in advance. Kate, on the other hand, is different. 

When Kate was born, she rarely smiled or made any noise (outside of crying).  She was a very late bloomer when it came to any kind of communication, and only recently has she started to speak up.  With her demeanor consistently changing, I find it very interesting to try and understand what is going on in her head.  When I look at her I can tell she's thinking, but it's hard to say what those thoughts may be. 

The video starts out with my trying to get Kate to smile. She makes some motion to let me know she realizes I'm talking to her, but stands her ground and does not smile.  The video continues with different pieces of the day, while always panning back to Kate (who is usually alone or seems deep in thought).  I tried to juxtapose video clips with her and Grace in an effort to show the contrast in overall demeanor. Grace is always running around, smiling, or playing with the dog, while Kate is completely enthralled with her little barbie doll. 

The video continues with Grace showing interest from one thing to another, while Kate maintains her composure and focuses on one thing at a time. After the clips came together, I started to realize the video was becoming fairly depressing. This was not my goal initially, but since that was how it was coming together, I decided to run with it. I chose clips that showed Kate in solitude while the action clips were focused on Grace. 

The dog played a unique element in the video because he is always trying to capture the attention of any human, whomever will pay him attention.  My thought was to make a kind of connection between the dog and Kate; the dog is much more clear about what he wants. He does not make anyone second guess what he wants, he just wants someone to play with him. Kate, on the other hand, is more solemn in what she wants, and therefore it is harder to provide that which she is trying to receive. 

In the end of the video, I chose to change the color scheme to black and white in an effort to reiterate the focus of the video: Kate. I wasn't sure how the end of the video would affect those watching, but to me it felt like Kate is wise beyond her years, and there is more to her than we can appears. I hope you enjoyed my video!