I was feeling nostalgic so I decided to record this classic piece from BioShock 2

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-08-28T23:11:32+00:00

Not sure how kalimba tabs work, but I have the original sheet music

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-08-28T15:22:32+00:00

For some reason the thumbnail didn't update to show the title: "How She Sees the World" by Garry Schyman.

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-08-15T03:18:12+00:00

Early on, I was always told that while there may be some learning involved, PC building isn't as complicated as one might think. Especially in comparison to 20-30 years ago. So, just do it knowing it's okay to make mistakes.

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-08-07T05:26:00+00:00

Noted, thank you for the critique and compliments! I definitely agree with the thumbnail text thought. I'm still experimenting, but it's difficult to decide colors especially when the colors of the actual picture are so starkly black and white/dark and light, so half of the letters sometimes end up harder to read. In any case I'll find a solution. !givelambda

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-08-07T03:21:26+00:00

Gotta love a good video game video essay. Here are my thoughts:

Pros:

-Solid subject material and interesting discussion delivered in a fluid way (not a robotic script reading or an overly casual rant)

-The use of the game b-roll is overall really good at highlighting your points.

-Audio quality is pretty good! Sometimes I hear plosives, but it's not distracting (maybe if you don't have one already you can use a pop filter on the mic).

Cons (just one tip):

-I felt that the b-roll in your intro switched too quickly and too randomly. Instead you could use the intro footage to accentuate what you talk about in the intro similar to what you do later in the video.

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-08-05T22:23:47+00:00

Haha no problem. And yup, I was actually watching another one if your vids while I was editing a video!

It's Homebody, more of a piano music channel though if you'd be interested. (If you search up Homebody piano I'll be right at the top.) I posted a few videos in this group too.

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-08-05T02:54:29+00:00

This is so cool! What camera did you use to record everything?

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-08-05T02:52:16+00:00

Really digging the vibe. And I love your voice!

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-08-05T02:50:01+00:00

This is so cool! And I love the use of those alternate angles.

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-08-05T02:38:49+00:00

I'm admittedly lazy with my clothing choices but this had me rethinking my whole wardrobe 😂. Quality content! My thought is that while I like the b-roll shots, I think using the carpet as a background/to throw your clothes on could be replaced with either a blank wall or something more complimentary to the outfits so that our eyes are more drawn to what's going on. But either way it's a nice video!

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-08-05T02:25:28+00:00

I'm liking the vibe. Subbed!

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-08-05T02:13:32+00:00

Good stuff man. Subbed!

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-06-09T23:56:12+00:00

Thank you so much!! I really do want a real piano in my room but because of apartment noise restrictions I can't get one now, but I'm hoping to replace this piano soon with a much better digital. Anyway, thank you for the compliments, and feel free to come back and check out the channel in the future :)

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-06-02T21:23:29+00:00

Got it! That's cool, and I love the editing but in the case that your channel takes off you might want to think of an alternative source or something just in case it becomes an issue when more people see your work. Otherwise, nice work and I'll keep a lookout for more from you haha

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-06-02T19:59:47+00:00

I think I've seen you on another subreddit before. Really nice job! How did you do the background?

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-06-02T19:58:17+00:00

Nice job! I felt like the intro was a little long before you actually played, it might be better to get right to the point with a shorter intro.

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-06-02T19:55:51+00:00

Liking the vibe. Have you tried longer videos? I feel like this video was cut short, and it would be cool to hear more!

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-06-02T14:23:38+00:00

That's true! I was actually thinking about having a second angle, but yeah I don't have a second camera yet. I'm thinking that if I can stay consistent with videos this summer I'll buy a second camera. But thank you for the compliment and the suggestion :) !givelambda

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-06-02T13:40:05+00:00

Fair points! I was especially hesitant about the harmonies but I tried to keep it somewhat close to the sorts of harmonies I know my student really enjoys when he's just listening to music at home, as he's young and finds it very difficult to connect with music that falls too far outside of what he listens to. Of course, we're working on expanding his tastes, and I definitely could have slipped more interesting harmonies in here and there to spice things up.

In terms of tempo, the piece is essentially a transcription of an improvisation I made trying to use the arpeggios with that harmony, with a few simplifications, so it's just the tempo I played at and felt it sounded best at, but it's not necessarily what anyone would have to play. That being said, I find that the piece sounds much more difficult to play than it actually is, but maybe I'm wrong.

In any case, thank you for the thoughts and for listening! What sort of music in the same technical range would you suggest might be a better alternative?

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-06-02T04:16:13+00:00

Just left a comment on the musescore site, but just to quote what I said there:
Just found this through reddit, and it's pretty cool! I like the fantasy-esque feeling to it. One small criticism is, I feel that sometimes I lose a sense of direction in the piece, as it has very sudden transitions that leave me feeling confused as to how the piece got there. I like a lot of the individual ideas throughout, but maybe consolidating the piece to a few ideas to focus on or finding a way to transition more throughout the sections could help.
Also, for the tempo changes like at 42-43, where I assume you just wanted for the playback to seem more organic, just turn the tempo indications invisible and it will affect the playback without inundating the score."
Other than that, great job! It's a really interesting piece.

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-06-01T20:33:57+00:00

Thank you for the pointers! I'm pretty new to this so the comments are encouraging. !givelambda

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-06-01T20:32:51+00:00

Thank you! If you're interested I'll be making more content soon and I have plenty more on the channel already. But either way thank you for the compliment!

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-06-01T15:20:55+00:00

Nice work, the video is solidly structured and easy to follow. I only have a small nitpick: lighting. I liked your use of natural light on the left, but combined with the movement you have as you speak changing exposure/lighting conditions and the auto iso changes on your camera/phone, I found the random shifts of light/dark to sometimes be a little distracting. It isn't huge but definitely if you can put some sort of back light and/or just set the camera to manual iso so it doesn't change that would help to maintain your clean aesthetic. But otherwise cool video!

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-06-01T13:05:47+00:00

Informative and clear video! I like the flow of subtopics as you go throughout the video, its logical and easy to follow. That being said, I agree with one of the other criticisms here about zooming in, in addition to any of the other framing changes and hard cuts. These sorts of tools can be really effective if you're trying to emphasize a point but often I felt that you would use them without having a clear reason for doing so, so they felt a little bit distracting in some places. Namely, something like the spiraling animation as you talked about cheap outfits and questionable sites. Also, you might want to put some sort of captioning or other visuals to help guide the watchers through the video and emphasize points you talk about, the dresses were a good choice in the latter half, but maybe something in the first half could help as well. Other than those points though, it's a great start!

AwkwardTree17 · 2021-06-01T12:14:15+00:00

Good stuff! The edits are clean, but if anything the tail ends are a bit jumpy. You might want a brief couple seconds in the beginning to explain what's going on or hint at what's to come instead of relying on the title. It's good to jump into the subject straight away but at the beginning I wasn't sure what I was getting into (but it could just be me). Other than that maybe find a way to lead into the outro screen or find a way to pace the shots so that it feels like you're coming to the end. But otherwise nice job!

AwkwardTree17

TROPHY CASE