How to Make an Origami Butterfly

For the start of this project, everyone was assigned a task, some tasks that are done often without thought like lacing one’s shoes and others much less intuitive to most like polka dancing. Over the past weekend, we were then supposed to become experts on our tasks and, specifically, how to do our task well.

The task given to me was how to make an origami butterfly. My initial thought process with this task, something I had never done before, was that before becoming an expert in how to make a good origami butterfly, I had to consider what a “good” one consists of. Factors that came to mind were simplicity vs. complexity, how easy it is to make, how much it looks like a butterfly, and so on. I wasn’t really able to answer what was “good” since there were so many variations of origami butterflies online, but I chose a seven step method that I found simple and effective.

So how do we make an origami butterfly good?

First, you must have an evenly cut square piece of paper on a surface that is big enough to fold cleanly. If the square is too small, then it becomes harder to fold precisely, but be aware that if you opt to use a significantly large square of paper, any fold that isn’t cleanly done will be more obvious. As you move through all seven steps of folding, which is another thing you must do in order to achieve a precise origami butterfly, you must be conscientious of having all of the corners line up and having all of the folds going all the way to the respective edge to avoid awkward gaps and also make the following steps easier. You might consider utilizing a bone folder in order to get the cleanest creases. For the same purpose, it is also important to use a paper that is not too thick or heavy and, thus, easy to crease.

Before moving on to storyboarding, I wanted to make sure I had made a thoughtful and effective decision when choosing which origami butterfly to make.

Thus, I looked into a couple of other methods of making an origami butterfly before picking the one I found to make the most sense.

Below are two other methods I found online that were also fairly common.

I picked the bottom method to try for myself (shown right)

However, after looking into these alternative methods, I found that they were almost twice as many steps as the first method I had tried, but they all came out with similar results. Additionally, I liked the simplicity of the first method and felt it was most appropriate for a minute long video.

Step 1: Storyboarding

In starting to think of how to shoot my video in the most straightforward, effective, but still interesting manner, I first had to layout the general process I wanted to document through a storyboard.

I found it hard to find a visually captivating documentation that still went through all the steps in a replicable manner, especially through just photos. However, since this was just a preliminary storyboard, I decided to prioritize the clarity of the photos and how easy-to-follow the steps were before considering camera angles and the video itself.

After getting the basic steps documented, I also took notes on different ideas I had for the video and began to think of how the steps could be narrowed down (since this storyboard had way too many steps) and what the best way would be to showcase different steps.

Step 2: Ideas to Consider Before Filming

After class today, when Steve and Stacie gave us some more clarification on our goals with the project, I began to think of how I could now use certain visual elements to enhance the effectiveness and clarity of the steps.

1. Changing point of view/ camera angles:

Changing the angle of the shots is definitely something I would like to try because it can keep the viewer engaged and also sometimes allow for a clearer view on specific steps.

As a preliminary step, I shot two test videos just on my phone in studio of the process of making an origami butterfly from bird’s eye view (which is the one I had intended to use) and from the side. However, I did find that the bird’s eye view was clearer for the most part and some of the steps did get lost from the side angle. Another thing I thought about was something Steve and Stacie mentioned during my group’s critique which was if we want the viewer to feel like they’re doing the activity or watching someone else do it. For learning origami, I think that most people learn better by doing (or at least watching something as if they were the ones doing it) because some of the folds are not so intuitive, and thus, become confusing when mirrored and from far away.

Ultimately, I will continue playing with different angles and seeing if certain steps are indeed more effective from the side, but at least for this stage, I am planning on sticking with a bird’s eye view.

2. Lighting and background:

Another thing I definitely want to play around with is the lighting and backdrop I am using. My initial storyboard utilized a desk lamp shining directly on the paper which was on an even wooden surface, but Steve mentioned that the light became a bit harsh and the shiny surface produced a glare, which I hadn’t noticed. However, I do find that the wooden surface I used was a good option since it is even and new (unlike the wood in the design studio which is a bit scratched up).

Nonetheless, I wanted to explore different combinations of surface and lighting that I could shoot with. In order to do this, I took a lap around (and near) campus to find different options. I was mainly considering how quiet the location was (how much background noise there would be), what the surface looks like, and whether it would have natural light or artificial light. Up until this point, I had only shot with artificial lighting so I felt it was worth considering to use natural lighting, which in turn, would also probably be a bit softer. Additionally, if I were to do it outside, it could feel very appropriate for creating the peaceful environment that goes along with origami and butterflies.

Here are some of the spots I found interesting.

The first four images from left to right were taken on different surfaces in the lily pond that is right outside of schenley park. This spot felt appropriate due to it’s peacefulness and sense of nature. The second image on the bottom row was an interesting granite ground in the building across the street from Margaret Morrison. The last image didn’t have a very interesting surface, but had beautiful natural lighting.

All of the spots shown above utilize natural lighting, but I am also considering a couple of spots where I could set up artificial lighting (though I didn’t get photos):

• My desk/ room (which I had already tried but could continue to push)
• Renting out a room in a library on campus: those typically are quiet, well-lit, and have nice and plain backgrounds.
• Photo studio downstairs or photo set-up in freshman studio: both of these could have nice, professional lighting and a plain background, but could definitely become a bit sterile. Noise might also be an issue.

While I still want to try all of those options, after walking around, I was especially drawn to the natural light and some of the outdoor locations.

Step 3: Starting to Shoot

For this step of the process, I shot one full video, in which I tried to control lighting, noise, and camera work to the best of my ability, and then I also shot a couple of “test” videos in which I was more focused on capturing a specific location or method of splicing the video.

With the help of Mihika, two chairs, two desk lamps, a tripod, and a large white sheet of paper, I set up my first full video.

This video has some obvious issues. It is twice the length it should be, my folds and hand movements were not as clean/clear as they could be, and there are a lot of shadows from my hands (which I’m not quite sure how to avoid). However, I think the lighting and background works for the most part if I decide to go with a plain, white background and artificial lighting.

For the purpose of exploring the same video but with a different background and lighting, I shot a much shorter sample video in the lily pond location on the marble surface that I had been very drawn to.

This video was much more rushed and I shot it on my phone, so obviously, the quality is not very good, but I mostly wanted to see how the location worked. I thought the black marble provided a nice contrast to the red paper and the natural light worked well here. The main issues I found with this spot were the reflections in the marble (tripod would have to be set at an angle to avoid this) and the cars in the background. Thus, if I want to use this location in the future, I probably need to go early in the morning at a time when there are less cars or try again and again until I can get a minute with minimal background noise. There were also several surfaces in this location that were worth exploring.

In order to tackle the issue of the video being too long, on the other hand, I shot another video the next day with a much less fancy set up, but trying to eliminate certain steps that felt repetitive by cutting multiple videos together.

Again, I didn’t execute this video as carefully as the first one because I mainly wanted to see if cutting out steps would work/ be clear. I found that this method might actually work but I would definitely have to be more careful in making sure that the paper is always in the same spot and that my hands aren’t wandering in order for those transitions to be super clean. Additionally, I ran out of origami paper which is why I had to use a white sheet, which did not work well with the lighting.

Moving forward, I want to keep thinking about lighting, location, noise, and angling and how I can combine different elements of the sample videos for my next draft.

Step 4: Inspiration from Peers’ Videos

After watching people’s videos in class, I noted a couple of elements that would be worth considering in my own video.

The main takeaways I got from my notes were the transitions people used, changing perspective or zooming in, and the use of music. I felt that certain videos used these elements very appropriately or even when they needed some improvements, they added an interesting aspect to the video.

Moving into my next draft, I especially want to explore using music or some sort of background noise that fits the activity, as well as picking out shots in the video that could be zoomed in or cut in an interesting manner.

At the same time, though, I do want to continue solidifying the basic elements of the video before moving into more interesting elements. As Steve and Stacie said in class, it could be helpful to start with a “boring” video and then make it more engaging, which is what I intended with my first draft.

Step 5: Second Round of Shooting

The first thing I wanted to try in this next draft was revisiting the idea of shooting outdoors. Thus, I went back to the lily pond by Schenley park and ~attempted~ to shoot.

This did not work as planned.

The lighting was relatively good when I went since the sun was out, but it was almost impossible to get a quiet location and there were too many factors that were out of my control, such as the noise from the cars and people passing by and the wind blowing the paper away.

On the left, the sunlight actually made the lighting a bit harsh versus a grayer sky on the right

I do really like the idea of having nature sounds in the background and the natural lighting works well, so I may try again in an outdoor location, but I would definitely have to find a more isolated spot where there would be less chance of interruptions.

Hence, I went back to the white background with a combination of natural and artificial lighting since I knew I could control more factors indoors.

I tried two videos in this setting: one with background music and one without. In both videos, I used the same cutting methods to eliminate steps that were repetitive and attempt to get down the time a bit.

Revised video without music:

This video is a little better with the transitions than the first time I tried cutting out steps, but still has some obvious issues. It is still two minutes long and there are definitely parts in which I fumbled and took longer on steps than I needed to.

Revised video with music:

I thought adding music to the video definitely made it more enjoyable to watch, but I’m still unsure if it is appropriate for the task or if it is taking away from the main goal of the video. Other issues with this video are (again) the length, the neatness of my folds, and the music getting cut off at weird parts (I would definitely have to figure out how to match the music with the video cutting in a more natural way if I were to continue utilizing music).

In both videos, I definitely have to work on folding the origami smoothly and with the least number of steps possible, as well as zooming in more smoothly to make the close-ups less abrupt. Additionally, I need to continue considering how I can communicate my task effectively and still reduce the time of the video.

Step 6: Peer Review

The peer review activity we did in class today gave me a lot to think about. The comments the other group gave me were mainly centered around:

1. Lighting: The main issues with lighting in the video were that there was a slight tone (might have come from the reflection of the blue paper) and there were shifts in the lighting with the cuts.
2. Cleanliness of folds: This was one of the issues I too took note of, which is that the origami itself was not super clean and there were a couple of points where I messed up the folds, making it not show mastery of the task.
3. Sound: The peer reviewers did not mention anything about the music, but they did mention that some of the folding sounds began to sound a bit crinkly at times and there was some white noise in the background. With regards to music, I think it may not be super necessary and the sounds of the paper (if done well) can be enough.
4. Length: Something people mentioned I could do to cut down the length of the video was to reduce the amount of time I spend on certain steps and also how long the conclusion is (which I also think might not be necessary).
5. Zooming/Framing: The group also mentioned that the zoom wasn’t always necessary. Upon rewatching my own video, I also noticed that throughout the video, I could better frame the shots so that it was a bit more zoomed in from the start and so that the other butterfly isn’t in the shot the entire time (which they mentioned was distracting).

Many of these were issues that I had noticed upon shooting, but some of them were also things I hadn’t considered. For example, I had not noticed the areas where the lighting became a bit blue-toned or parts where the zoom felt awkward or unnecessary.

Another aspect I need to work on, which was not explicitly mentioned in the peer review, is the engaging aspect of the video. I think, with this last draft, what is causing a lack of interest in my video is the lack of angle/perspective changes and the slow pace of some of the steps. In the next draft, I am planning on playing around with other camera angles, a faster speed, as well as adding a short introduction that can better engage the viewer.

Step 7: Third Round of Shooting

This time around, I had more things I wanted to try while shooting. I wanted to try adding some sort of fun introduction and changing angles, while improving on the mistakes from the last draft. Thus, in order to tackle these changes, I decided to stick to the same set up in my room since I could best control the noise and lighting. (For future drafts, I would like to try and reserve a room with natural light since studio is typically too loud to shoot).

This video is relatively similar to the last draft, except with an added stop motion introduction and white lighting instead of incandescent (to get rid of the orange tone). The sound is also more controlled in this version with the exception of the door slam heard in the background at one point. This video was still shot from above, so I did want to try adding another angle for certain folds.

First and foremost, there is an obvious problem in this video with lighting. Because my set up was on a floor rather than a table, the tripod had to be very far and angled in order to get the shot I wanted for the perspective changes. Thus, the lighting was very different from the lighting in the bird’s eye view and the lighting also fluctuated when the camera was far away. However, I do think having a different angle is interesting and works well for those particular steps. What I would have to do next time in order to make this work, is set up on a table or elevated surface so that the camera could be more leveled with the paper and so that the lighting won’t shift.

Issues to keep reworking:

In both versions, though, it is clear that I am still struggling to make clean and swift folds, as well as struggling to get the time down. I think next time I shoot, I would like to have someone else (preferably someone who is better at origami than I am) do the folding so that I can see what is happening behind the camera during each shot. In terms of timing, I think it is still a issue of moving a bit quicker and cutting out certain transitions that may not be necessary. Right now, the video is cut so that after every step I take out my hands and cut, but some of those cuts do not add to the clarity of the video so they can be removed to save time.

One more thing I want to consider for the next draft is going back to the wooden surface I tried at the beginning. Even though I think an outdoor surface will not work because of all the factors out of my control, the wood on my desk had a similar effect but in an indoor, controlled location. It would be a matter of comparing two identical videos on the white background and the wooden surface, but I do feel as if a bit of texture might make the video a bit less sterile.

Post-Class Notes

Yesterday in class I did a couple of things. I first drew a new storyboard that could address angle changes and more cuts to reduce the time. Then, I went around the class watching other people’s videos and asking people to watch my own.

Below, is the revised storyboard I made, which I color-coded to show which shots could be from which angles in order to minimize the time of transitions and to make each fold be seen from the clearest angle.

For the rest of class, I went around to my peers, both those who also had origami butterflies and those who had never made an origami butterfly. By asking other people a) if the steps were clear and b) what was disrupting/ taking away from the engaging aspect of the video, I discovered a couple of things that I hadn’t noticed about this draft. One person mentioned that the hands were cropped a bit oddly, especially from the top angle, and then everyone I talked to agreed that having faster hand motions and quicker transitions would help to make it more engaging (and at the same time would cut down the time). Additionally, multiple people mentioned that the lighting shifts and lack of confidence in some of the folds (as I had also noted) were also distracting.

Thus, by the end of class, I had determined that my priorities for the final video were as follows: get the time down to a minute, get consistent lighting, and smooth transitions between camera angles. As I mentioned before, I also wanted to revisit the wooden surface I had shot on at the beginning of the filming process.

Step 8: Final Round of Shooting

Before starting to shoot for the final round, I was helping Franklin do his origami for his own video in freshman studio and we realized that as much as natural lighting gives the video a nice, softer feel, it is hard to shoot with because it is constantly shifting and the time window is very short. Furthermore, I realized that part of the reason for my lighting issues was probably that I had kept my blinds open while using artificial light, so the light was still changing outside of my room. Hence, I decided to stick with completely artificial light and make sure my room is as dark as possible for this round.

Additionally, I had the amazing Annalisa be the hands in my video so that I could see what was going on behind the camera and have better control over the shots. The last change I implemented in the way I was shooting was that this time I used two phone cameras instead of my DSLR camera so that I could get the two angles shot at the same time for minimal variation.

This set-up was definitely the most intricate one I had used. However, I found it very effective to shoot both angles at the same time because it meant all the folds were done exactly the same and the lighting remained consistent, which made for more seamless transitions.

Starting off, I did shoot several videos on the wooden desk, but that proved a bit difficult because it was nearly impossible to get rid of the glare on the wood and when there wasn’t glare, the lighting reflecting off the wood made the entire shot a bit yellow and drab.

Thus, I decided to go back to the white backdrop that had worked well for other drafts.

Final video and Reflection

Getting to the final draft took a total of twelve (full video) attempts, due to several factors. A couple of things that we struggled with was keeping Annalisa’s hands and the paper in the same places for all the transitions and trying to reduce how much her hands blocked certain folds.

However, four or so hours later, I had a draft I was happy with.

As with any project, though, there are still a couple of things I would change if I had extra time. The video is a tiny bit too long but I felt that going any faster on the folds would lose some clarity and cutting out the stop motion intro would only save about 3 seconds. Additionally, there are still some shadows in the video, particularly from the top view, but after moving the lights to every possible location, I was unable to find the way to eliminate these shadows. I think if I were to repeat this project, I might need an additional light coming from another direction in order to minimize shadows.

Lastly, the major thing I would do different if I were to start this project over would be to try to tackle all of the elements or criteria of the video at the same time right off the bat. I think at the beginning, I approached the video by making several versions focusing on one or two criteria at a time (for example, I would have one version where I focused on lighting, another where I focused on camera angles, and so on). While this method was effective for figuring out each element individually, it made it much harder to figure out how to get them all right at the same time when it came closer to the final video. I believe that if I had worked out some of the “technical difficulties” (such as the appropriate set-up and lighting) earlier on, I would have been able to explore more ways of actually doing the origami and maybe seeing if there were more interesting ways to show it being done. That being said, I do think this is a project where there will always be factors that can be improved upon and looking back at my earlier drafts, I am still content with the improvements I made and the stopping point, so to speak, that I reached.

(The quality became really bad when I uploaded to youtube)