The application video
The application video was a primary concern in my application process. I do not have too much experience making videos (unlike some other people who seem to have a lot of free time, and so they make videos on any random topic just for the fun of it, and then post them on YouTube and other websites, desperate for others to see them... LOL). Just once before, I had created a video for applying to a TV quiz show, and that video could be up to 3 minutes long.
The camera requirement...
Initially, I was even not sure of how to shoot the video... We had a 7.1 megapixel digital camera, but that was stolen from me in October 2012 (most probably in a bus journey when I was returning home from the studio where the TV quiz show's shoot took place... Yeah, I was selected for the show, and I came on National Geographic Channel!! But the thrill was partly cancelled by the camera's loss...) The camera in my new mobile phone (the previous phone was stolen in a local train in January 2013... GAAAAHHH!!!!) was of only 2 megapixels, so videos shot by it would have poor resolution and clarity. But fortunately, my sister (working in the US) had bought a new digital camera, so she had sent the old one to us, and I was relieved... Plus, this is a 14.1 megapixel digital camera, so it gives even better resolution. (Yay!!) (I promise never to lose the new camera and cellphone... :P)
Brainstorming about video content...
I was thinking about what to include in my video. I had to answer the following three questions:
- Why would you like to go to Mars?
- How would you describe your sense of humor?
- What makes you the perfect candidate for this mission to Mars?
All this had to be done in a time limit: minimum 30 seconds and maximum 70 seconds. 70 seconds seemed too less for a good video answering these 3 questions. Anyway, I went online on the Mars One website and started viewing the videos that had already been submitted by other applicants and were up for display.
Most of the videos that I saw just had the applicant sitting or standing in front of the camera and talking. When you see only one such video, you may think that it is quite alright and acceptable, but when you start seeing these again and again, you start getting bored. In the end, it is all a matter of comparison. An applicant is not utilizing the full potential of a video application if the video only shows him/her speaking. The same information could be conveyed by simple text, too. It also shows that the applicant did not put in serious thinking, time and effort into making the video, which is an important part of the application in the first round.
I knew that in order to stand out, I had to put in some serious time and effort. I had to be unique. This was an opportunity to show my creativity and strengths. First, I started trying to answer the 3 questions by jotting down relevant points on paper.
In answering the "what makes me the perfect candidate" question, I thought that as I am young, healthy and physically fit, I am at an advantage to those who are not so, since a permanent mission on Mars that will start 10 years from now (in 2023) would require young candidates who are in good shape. But how to express this point creatively in a video? I thought it might help if I could show myself working out in the gym, swimming in the pool, etc. So in end July 2013, I shot some videos and pics of me swimming in the pool and working out in the gym that were there in the neighborhood clubhouse.
Also, I thought that my final year engineering project (in which I was part of a team of 5 students that developed a robotic device with a spherical wheel system that enables all degrees of freedom in planar motion), demonstrated my skills in problem solving, team-working and communication.
this point? Maybe I can show a pic of all me with my team-mates and the robot, and also show a short video clip of me operating that robot.
The "sense of humor" question was a bit challenging. Initially, I thought of describing my sense of humor as sarcastic, witty, etc. and mentioning what kind of jokes I liked. While my voice spoke, I could show pictures of some funny TV shows, movies and internet humor sources (e.g. "Some e cards") that I liked. To make it look funny and interesting, I thought of wearing an alien mask, or painting my face blue or green like an alien.
I did not have any alien masks, so I browsed online to see what options were available. Among Indian online stores, I could find only one option on a website. It seemed too expensive for what may be a one-time use for a few seconds in an application video.
But despite all these ideas, somewhere in the back of my head, there was the notion that all this would not showcase my sense of humor in the best possible way. It seemed to boring. And something told me that the Mars One guys had included the question about sense of humor because they expected some hilarious moments in the video.
Could I incorporate some actual humor in answering this question, rather than just boringly say, "my sense of humor is like this and that... I like jokes like etc. etc. ... blah blah blah"?
What do I actually like in humor? What is my sense of humor actually like? One thing that came to my mind was that I like good pranks, especially those that give the "victim" a good scare. I always enjoy watching such examples of humor on TV or the internet. But I was not much of a prankster myself... yet... Could I become one now? A nice good prank, that, along with making my application video stand out, would also provide some fun?
So I began thinking... What kind of a prank, and on whom? I did not want to do anything that would injure and/or seriously offend anyone. As a prank, it should be a source of fun for everyone. As I kept thinking, the memory of an incident came back to me...
It was several years ago... My mother, having some teaching experience in schools, used to take coaching classes for elementary and middle school students at home. One day, a student brought a few rubber insect toys. They did not look that scary, but still, my mother would not touch any of them. Seeing this, that student got an idea. He lived in the same building, so he went to his home briefly to fetch something. As soon as he came back, he threw a large, black, rubber fake spider right at my mom. And, oh - my - God... she SCREAMED... she screamed so loudly, even I got scared and for a moment I thought that it was a real spider. But in the end, everyone, including my mom, had a good laugh,
So I thought, could that prank be replicated now, for my video? It seemed simple enough. And it was unlikely to cause any kind of trouble. But again, I did not have any fake spiders. I searched the internet, but in vain. And anyway, even if some spider toys were available in the market, they would be a bit expensive... It might be cheaper to make my own fake spider. And then I thought.. hey, that's it! I will make my own giant, scary, fake spider!! But with what? Gradually, some ideas of using newspaper, popsicle sticks, cotton, paint, etc. starting coming in my mind. I used to be good in arts and crafts as a kid, and now seemed a perfect time to test this creative idea.
So I started working on making my fake spider. As this was meant to be a surprise, I would get only one shot at it. I had to make the spider in secret. And it had to look realistic, otherwise the whole time and effort invested in this idea would be worth nothing.
It took quite some time to make the fake spider. This idea had come quite late to me, and the application deadline was approaching near. Finally, on the eve of the deadline, when only around half the work was done, I made up my mind that I would not abandon the task till it was finished. I had to skip meals, and even my sleep! Who knew a prank could be this difficult to orchestrate! But finally, it was done.
Now, I knew that I would get only one shot at this, so I had to be careful. I had to plan it out. My mom often watched TV while sitting on the sofa. In fact, when the spider was finished, it was evening, just a few hours before the application deadline. I thought that I could secretly come behind her an throw the spider on her. Hopefully, she would scream. And I would have to record all of that on camera.
There were possibilities of the plan going wrong. What if she did not get scared? What if the video shot was not from a proper angle, capturing all action? But there was no time to waste. Hopefully, I had been careful enough to charge the camera's battery beforehand, so that it would not go dead while recording.
And so, I went to execute my plan.
Do you want to know what happened? Be patient... You will get to actually see it in my video... :P ;)
Other parts of the application...
I had to complete the other application parts too, which I did when the camera's battery was charging. I would like to describe them in more detail here, but as they are "private" parts of my application, to be viewed by only the Mars One officials, I guess I should not say much about them... At least not yet... Let's just say, I was fortunate enough to complete them in time... :P
Editing to create the final video...
Once all the bits to make the final video were ready, I started the editing process to create the final piece. I had downloaded a free video editing software from the internet some time back, but I had not yet used it to create any videos. This would be my first attempt. There was no time to spare. The application deadline was about to close. I had to avoid sleep and food for more than any other time that I can remember. My brain was ... I don't even remember what my brain was going through... I kind of did not have any brain any more... I just focused on completing the last bits to make the video. It was well past midnight, but I knew that this was a global program, so the deadline would not get over by 12 midnight of Indian Standard Time. It should be the last 12 midnight of anywhere in the world... somewhere in Hawaii maybe. So I should be able to work for a few hours more. But still, no time to rest... I told myself to just keep going on until it is finished... Yeah, I know, this is the price that I paid for starting my work late... But hey, it was not all over yet. Hope was still left...
Submitting the application...
Finally, it was ready. The whole application, about which I was thinking for months... Forget about past midnight, it was morning now... I started uploading the video and man, it took a whole lot of time there too.... The video was just 69 seconds long, but its size was 20.646 megabytes. It took more than half an hour to upload it. That is the price you pay for the higher resolution you get from a 14.1 megapixel digital camera...
And when everything was done, I clicked the "Submit my application!" button. My application status was displayed: "Your application had been submitted: Awaiting review."
Finally. At last. Done.
Application coming online...
I regularly kept checking my Mars One account. The application status remained the same: Awaiting review. After a few days, I started getting worried... Did they really reject my application because it was not submitted by 12 midnight of Indian Standard Time? But finally, one day, I saw the application status changed. Now, it was:
Your application has been accepted for detailed review
RELIEF! Finally, all those hours of sleep deprivation and hunger had paid off...
I searched for it on the page showing applicants (applicants.mars-one.com). My application was not listed in the "Newest" section. There were still the same old applications that I had seen earlier. I then carried out a detailed search by applying filters specific to me:
Sex: Male.
Age: From 23 to 23.
Country: India.
Language: English.
And then, finally, I found it...
MY MARS ONE APPLICATION IS NOW ONLINE!!!
Please view my application. You will get to see the public parts: my application video, my self-introduction, and my interests. Copy and paste the following in the address bar of your web browser, and press Enter!
No comments:
Post a Comment