First Steps
To start it off, I gathered clips that I knew would fit the theme of the video. I wanted to do a kids styled opening sequence, which had been inspired by shows on popular children’s channels like ‘CBeebies’, since I hadn’t done one before. I had created one before however that was animation based. To fit the fun children’s aspect I wanted it to be fast paced and have lots going on to keep it exciting.
Once I had found the clips to work with I started cutting them down so I could pick out the best parts and also cut the length of the video down. I was aiming for 40 seconds at most.
Getting Into The Editing
I began with the short intro section at the beginning to set the scene. While I was editing I had the idea of zooming towards the door to make it obvious we were venturing into the house. This was the first time I had done a post-production zoom and so I actually learned how to do something for the first time. I was happy that I finally learned how to do this as it was something I’d always wondered.
Having the text track a point was something I was excited about doing as I thought it would be a cool and new effect to try. I hadn’t done it before and also had no clue how to do it in my editor, so I sort of did it my own way. I broke the text into separate frames and gradually moved each one, so it looked like the text was staying attached to the same point. Adding the lightning was a cool touch. To do this I put the text on two different blend modes – colour dodge and divide. This made it look flashy and electric when the lightning hit. To go along with this I added a smoke effect shortly after the lightning, another effect I’d never used before, and sound effects of rain and thunder. The sounds were added towards the end of the project though.
Working On The Middle Of The Video
After the intro, the next important step was to introduce the viewers to each character. I placed each separate clip next to each other to create a sequence showing off all the characters. Because I was going for a dreamy feeling I decided to add a glow to each clip to demonstrate that it isn’t real. To make it more magical, I added a light flare to each one as well. I changed the colour depending on where the light flares were placed.
Adding Sound And Music
To match the theme I found some cute sounding music for the base of the video. Then I used a whoosh sound to add to the transition into the dreamy world. Rain and lighting were used during the beginning intro section.
This is the opening sequence I created:
