This year’s COMUN Conference was quite the journey. In all the months of preparation and endless Zoom meetings, the Conference had finally arrived. We were set to operate in-person at the Kingsbury Hotel. As a part of the Tech-Team, we were heavily involved in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. The initiating of the Opening Ceremony was very stressful, as the Media team was required to create and share an introductory video for each of the 7 committees. As Head of Media, I took on the task of creating 4 of the 7 videos total. The specific committees that I created videos for were WHO, the Security Council, ECOSOC, and IPC. I needed to create a video that revolved around the Conference Topic of each Committee, which were all extremely prominent Global Issues of today. These ranged from the COVID-19 pandemic all the way to the Jammu-Kashmir conflict. The discussion of such topics demonstrates LO7, as it shows engagement with issues of Global Significance. This is due to the fact that I am creating videos that are discussing these topics and allowing for the audience to achieve a better understanding of some of the severities of these topics as well. For example, in my video for the Security Council, I needed to uncover clips that were appropriate in portraying the issue the way in which we at COMUN wanted to discuss them. Creating videos with content that uncovers many of the consequences and impacts of global issues is indicative of this.
Below are the links to all 4 of my videos that were played during the Opening Ceremony:
The second day of the conference was not as eventful, and had us simply checking in and starting up all of the Zoom Calls and occasionally dropping by to help fix any technology issues.
The third and final day of the conferenced had us being set with the task of preparing the closing ceremony presentation and video. Lithira and I as heads of Tech and Media put together the slides and created a video that was able to provide a heartwarming compilation of the conference. We realised that we needed to work with a proper photographer, since not only did we not have resources but we also wanted some advice on how to film the video. As a result, we called our friend Calvin once again and worked with him to create another COMUN project, further demonstrating LO5.
We spent around 2 hours with the Under-Secretary General, Heads of Administration, Head of Operations, and our Secretary General. This was because we envisioned creating a video that also placed some emphasis on the 5 most important people of the conference, and was our way of thanking and celebrating them for all the hard work they put in to make this conference happen. We also spent around 30 minutes brainstorming beforehand, as we know how difficult it can be to attempt to create videos without a concrete vision. From the last video we filmed, we were much more experienced and were able to create a plan much more efficiently (LO3).
Once we finished filming our video, my Deputy Head of Media Olly assisted me by going through all of the footage that we took and organised them into different classifications, making it much easier for me to locate clips to use. The editing took around an hour and a half, and was finished around 20 minutes before the start of the Closing Ceremony. We were able to use all different kinds of transitions and a wide variety of clips that we took from the Conference.
While watching the video from my seat at the Closing Ceremony, I was able to identify some of the weaknesses that I still have with vide0-editing, some issues such as the usage of identical clips by mistake and dragged out duration of other clips. This demonstrates LO1 and has taught me to be much more aware and thorough when it comes to revising all of the work that I put out. Below is the link to the final video that I created. I was able to incorporate the new skills and techniques that I had learnt form previous experiences filming and prior advice from Calvin. I thought that the video was an overall success, especially due to the warm reception it got from the audience while it played.
At the Closing Ceremony, Olly and I also were tasked with capturing photos during the entire ceremony. We were able to catch some very nice shots, which were later edited by our photographer Calvin. Below are some examples of the photos that we each took.
Overall, I think that COMUN has helped to teach me so many skills that I can later use in other subjects and even throughout the course of my life. Being able to create videos, learning new photography techniques, and facing the challenges of making extremely strict deadlines has given me better time management skills and media experience, allowing me to experience LO2. COMUN has been one of the best experiences that I’ve had this school year, and I think that