Thought Piece #4

Jasmine Brookins

25 January, 2026

Jeffrey Sauger

JRN 423

This last section talks a decent amount about the utilization of video effects, ranging from transitions to graphics and text. It starts off by talking about perspective. It is important to put yourself in the viewer's head while directing or producing. To me this sounds like another way to just say put yourself in their shoes. You want to be sure you can see it from someone else's perspective because it may help understand the right direction of the film. I learned from the beginning of the section to follow my videos shot by shot. In order to make the viewers understand what is happening, you need to add more information in each shot. 

When going from shot to shot a lot of videographers utilize transitions. Stockman explained how each transition has its own meaning. I had never heard that before so it was definitely interesting to read about. I always just saw them as being used whenever it feels right and fits the vibe of the scene. The same thing goes for sound effects and music. I honestly do not feel like sound effects are really necessary unless it is an action/horror/thriller. For anything else it seems like it was just thrown in there. Stockman explains how it is a system of trial and error. I can definitely relate to this when it comes to finding the right audio. Sometimes it makes sense in my head but when I put it over the video it does not match as well as it did in my head. 

On page 223 Stockman wrote, “Graphics have many uses in video, but covering a lot of factual information isn't one of them.” To me this means that graphic elements should be used sparingly and only when it makes sense for them to be used there. Watching some youtube videos makes me cringe sometimes because of the amount of graphics they put in there when they really are not necessary or relate to the point of the video. 

While this section was mostly about graphics, the ending was more about how to tell if your video is great and the best tips for it. All summed up, what makes a great video is something that is yours but also holds your audience. This makes me think of some of the videos out there that I get bored watching. It makes me wonder if the videographer even liked it or just posted it to be done with it. I like how Stockman ended the book by clarifying that even though he provided a ton of information in his book it is his take and does not need to be followed step by step. I like it because it reassures me that I can still take my own creative path with it and even though it may not be exactly following what he wrote about, it can still be a great video and liked by the audience.