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LVI's Featured CM for October!

 
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LVI Council
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Joined: 18 Aug 2007
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 7:49 am    Post subject: LVI's Featured CM for October! Reply with quote

This month’s Featured CM is…..the lovely Emma (emmasholi)!



Emma has been a member of LVI for four years and a dedicated Council Member since 2009. With twenty-six videos on site, Emma always manages to contribute stunning, high-quality vids for viewers to enjoy. A talented graphic-maker, Emma also makes the gorgeous banners for events such as the tournament and Member of the Month.

1) What got you interested in vidding?

I accidently found myself on LVI when I was searching for a video where some celebrity, who I liked at the time, was talking about Lost. I was, well, I still am, a big fan of Big Brother and I always loved when they showed the contestents' 'best bits' and how those little montages could really hit you emotionally. I guess I was always a fan of vid watching, I just didn't know that it was a 'thing' until I found LVI. Anyway, I ended up watching tons of vids and finding my way to the tutorials here, where I learnt how to make them by myself! I'll always have a special place in my heart for LVI because it's where I discovered vidding! <3

2) Do you have a tip, trick, or technique to share?

I'm not really sure about a specific technique or anything, I'd just say, make vids for yourself. If there's something you don't like about the vid, change it. Or even if there's one part that doesn't quite look right, change it. If you're not proud of the end result and you don't like your own vid, then why should anyone else? If you're happy with the end result and you enjoy watching it back, that's all that really matters, right?

On the same note, don't try and vid something just because it's popular and you'll get a lot of views, do it because you love it. When someone's made a vid about a character or show that they really really love, I think you can tell, those vids tend to just ooze that extra little 'something'.

The only other thing, is to read lots of tutorials and watch as many vids as you can! When I first found LVI I read every tutorial I could get my hands on, from the software guides, to the best practices, and even advice from other vidders. I still read tutorials fairly regularly now just as a reminder, or if there's something in particular I don't know how to achieve. But I think in terms of improving your skills, nothing can beat watching, watching, watching! It really helps you to see what does and doesn't work, and inspires new ideas.

3) What are your favorite current fandoms?

At the moment I'm into Once Upon A Time, I had lots of fun vidding that recently. I loved The Hunger Games film after reading the books and have a vague idea for a future vid with that. And I also really love The Walking Dead and Downton Abbey at the moment but am yet to find any vidding inspiration there, sadly.

4) What was your first vid and what is your favorite vid you've done?

My very first vid was The Living Years, which was a Lost ensemble. I remember I spent like, a whole day just sat in front of the computer collecting footage and making my first attempts. I think I finished the vid that same day that I started it. And I had the biggest grin on my face when I saw that I'd got a silver Viewer Pick for it, I was SO happy! I told my Mum and Dad all about LVI and showed them it. My Dad still asks to see my old vids sometimes, and watching it back now makes me cringe, I try to point out all it's technical flaws and make him understand that there are better vids out there!

It's so hard to choose a favourite vid because there's reasons why I feel drawn to a few of them. I think The Lost Phenomenon will always be in my favourites because I made it when Lost was coming to it's end, as a kind of 'this is what this show has meant, and this is why I love it'. And I think the feedback I received from that one has meant a ton to me too, because people's emotional reactions expressed exactly what I had hoped it would make them feel.

I also have a particular fondness of Alien Like You and Someone Like You (which coincidentally, have stupidly similar names ) because of the experience I had during the vidding process with them. I had a few technical problems making Alien Like You but it was one of the easiest vids I've made lyrically because everything seemed to just click into place. And making Someone Like You was probably the most emotional vidding experience I've had. Both because of the time in 'real life' when I was making it, and that the poor looks on the character's faces kept giving me a *sad face*. Lol!

5) Do you have any goals as far as skill improvement or dream projects?

I want to get better at using text, it's something I've struggled with because I've never wanted to just use it for the sake of it, I wanted it to really fit into the vid. I've experimented with it before, but the first time I actually used it was in Counting The Birds. I found it hard, but I hope to get much better with it and use it more in the future.

I've had times when I've really wanted to make a crossover between two of my favourite fandoms too, but I've either lost inspiration or just not felt like I could do it well enough and find a good story. I'm not sure it's something I'll ever complete, but it's definitely something I've thought about.

6) Your videos are always lovely visually. How do you achieve the beautiful coloring?

Thank you, I usually just play around until I find something I like. I'll either just do it straight in Premiere, or if there's a particular effect I want that can't be achieved in Premiere, I'll import my project into After Effects and colour it in there.

As for specific colouring effects, I always add a little S-curve. It just brightens it up and increases the contrast a bit. I think it just makes the footage look slightly more 'alive' because sometimes it can get a bit washed out when it's ripped or converted. A lot of my videos have a slight colour ramp or vignette on them too, I guess that's another one of my 'go to' effects that I just like the look of.

7) How did you come up with the "Pet Giraffe Productions" logo that you use in your vids?

The actual name came about because well, I just like giraffes (as you might've guessed ) and always wanted one as a pet. The earlier version, was an illustration of me and a pet-sized giraffe that my sister had designed as part of her work, and I just played around with the keyframes in Sony Vegas. To make the newer one, I did the logo in Illustrator and then imported it into Premiere. I'd downloaded a couple of stock footage samples from Artbeats; one was a moving light, and the other a flickering light. Then just messed with the blending modes of all three video tracks until it turned out how it is now.

Featured videos:
Someone Like You – A gorgeous, bittersweet Skate vid about Kate returning to the island to find that Sawyer has moved on.
Goodbyes and Broken Hearts – An extremely emotive multifandom piece which won 3rd place in the August 2011 contest.
This Moment, Now – An adorable and flawlessly edited vid showcasing the relationship between Holly and Karen from True Love.

Thank you, Emma, for all that you do for LVI!
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xSoppySofax
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Joined: 01 Jul 2007
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Location: In the prison

PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 8:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

great interview i remember that lost video you mentioned The Lost Phenomenon. It was one of my favorite's of yours because it just showed how much we all loved lost.
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*credit to stuff-and-thangs for the banner
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Im1oftheOceanic6
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Joined: 23 Jun 2008
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 3:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Congrats Emma ! Really enjoyed your interview. Your videos and your graphics are always so lovely. The Lost Phenomenon has always been a favorite vid of mine. It was neat to learn the history of 'Pet Giraffe Productions'.

Macaila
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Uruviel
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Joined: 31 Mar 2005
Posts: 21848
Location: Tennessee

PostPosted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 5:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great interview, Emma! Very cool to hear how the giraffe thing got started.
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HobbitRockGod
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Joined: 25 Nov 2007
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 2:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Loved reading your answers, Emma!
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art by me&tammy
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Brooke
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Joined: 01 Jul 2008
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 6:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Congratulations. Ad someone who loves your coloring and contrasts I loved the interview. And loved what you said about making bids for yourself. Loved it.
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eloramoon
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Joined: 24 Feb 2008
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 12:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Congratulations, Emma! It was fun reading your answers! <3
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emmasholi
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Joined: 02 Mar 2008
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Location: Wigan, England

PostPosted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 11:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you all!
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Wildcat
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Joined: 06 Jun 2005
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 5:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Congratulations, Emma!
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*~Summer~*

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namaste nikki
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Joined: 17 May 2010
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 9:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Congrats Emma!!!
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