Making the Final Cut

I like to upload my first cut before deadline and share it with several people to get feedback. I always get good feedback on how to make it better. I make the changes and decide which cut I like best and then upload the final cut. Vimeo makes it easy to replace a first cut I uploaded with a final cut, without losing any comments or likes stats.

In My Life With Hemophilia: Brandston I scrapped my original outline after I filmed all the shots I wanted. When I reviewed my video, I decided that my son showed enough personality on film to carry a much more focused portrait of his infusion, rather than a collection of shots from many aspects of his life. I decided not to use the interview with Amber, his mom, and to let him narrate instead. The video and his narration added an emotional aspect that was far greater than anything I had planned, so I was very pleased and became excited about the project (see earlier post on Poop Project when I was frustrated).

After getting feedback on the first cut, I took some advice and ended the video with a close-up of my son saying the last line: "This is my life with hemophilia." Many people also asked questions about hemophilia after watching it, so I added a graphic at the end of the video pointing viewers to www.hemophilia.org for more information.

Although I have a process, sometimes the project takes its own course and it winds up better than I planned. It is important for me to be flexible and open to ideas, because ultimately it is the viewers' response that tells me if I achieved my objective. If I need to make changes to do so, it just makes my video more effective and me more successful.