After completing the recording and producing a demo sound from it, we decided to do a video test. In the film industry, a clear storyboard is essential due to limited production budgets and time. However, in our case, since our video production involves almost no cost and we are neither pressed for time nor overflowing with it, we agreed that going through several test runs would be beneficial. Moreover, since neither of us had proper experience or education in video production, we felt that going through the process ourselves would help us explore various ways to improve the overall quality.

In any case, our first video test involved a stone monument. The location was UCL’s Garden Place, where a monument stands with the names of Japanese students from the 1860s, including Hirobumi Ito. We decided to film this monument in the style of an interview and proceeded with a camera test for it.

One thing we realized during the test was that the surface of the monument quite easily reflects either ourselves or the camera. To prevent this, we used mostly black-colored gear for the camera setup so that even if reflected, it would be barely visible. As for the person filming, we learned it’s important to step aside during the actual shoot to avoid being reflected. Additionally, for the close-up shots we are considering, reflections are even more likely, so taking shots from an angle would help reduce that issue.

We plan to combine this video and its audio with the sound I had previously created to see whether the timing of the “monument speaking” feels appropriate, and whether everything fits together well.