Editing Finishing Touches

We decided to cut out the guitar solo as we couldn't act out an appropriate narrative to it. However, it was very difficult to cut it out and attach the last chorus to it as it sounded like the track jumped. We solved it by ..............

The band scene, needed a lot of editing as this was the chance to show off various camera angels and shots of the band together, each band member, close ups of the instruments and close ups of the artist singing.

For the last scene, we changed the idea of different people singing  to just continuous shots of the artist singing with a cross dissolve effect creating a confused mood which the artist is feeling.

Final Cut Express Editing Tutorial

I look at videos on how to create split screens and picture in picture (PIP), which adds a exciting effect which could work in our music video.

We wanted to produce multi split screens of the artist singing the last chorus for the last couple of shots, this makes it look a bit abstract and confusing which works well with the concept of the narrative.
We attempted to create the split screen effect and the PIP but we settled for continuous screen grabs, cross dissolving throughout the screen which looks very effective.

Roughcut and Feedback

Feedback:

We was happy with most comments but took the criticism and improved on what we needed to in order to satisfy our audience.

Editing Workshop

We were very lucky to have a workshop on helping us to edit our footage on the programme; Final Cut Express. We were taught how to control and create the viewers, folders, bins, rendering files, link selection, break and lock the audio which would be very helpful in the editing process.

Selecting only the bit of footage we wanted by press (i) and (o) plotting in and out points to crop and drag only the footage we wanted was a much easier process than noting down the time frames and then cropping.

Cropping and controlling audio

We looked into adding video transitions such as; dissolves and page peel but I mostly liked additive dissolve and would like to use this in our video. Video filters like; colour correction make the video shots look more professional and perfect.

I learnt a lot about editing the stereo, filters and motion; colour filters, tweaking the scale, rotation, centre and anchor points and creating a picture in picture. This in particular was interesting to learn as we intend to use this effect for a scene in our music video.

Also, adding the text of; the name of song and artists name, made the whole project seem like a real music video as the little touches create this effect and make it look that much professional.

Adding text

On Set - Band Scene

We shot this scene today to portray a different side to our singer and to break down the storyline a bit to keep it interesting and engaging. We kept costume in mind as well as location, using an old instrument practice room gives it an authentic look of where the band may practice.
Various angle shots were took of the band and the instruments to create an ongoing live footage feel of the band.

On Set - Classroom Scene

This scene illustrated our character in her everyday life and it shows how she is treated around people. The positioning of the good-girl sitting on a table by herself adds to her isolated, alone atmosphere. She is being shouted at by her teacher whilst day dreaming about her dream man and her classmates are laughing at her which exaggerates a depressed and humiliating mood.

We used students from our sixth form to be the extras and had some problems with the HD video camera as the settings were on default and would have made the scene look very unprofessional. However, we overcame them and got the shots we needed.

On Set - Forest Scene

This scene was the most difficult to shoot, as I had to make it look like I was being chased and that I was scared. Also, I had to do very similar steps as the good girl and the bad girl to look like the bad girl is following her.
This location created a lonely, trapped, naturalistic mood which is really what wanted to capture and I think it worked very well.

This perfectly demonstrated the two sides of our characters personality. The good girl (sober, drug free) whilst the bad girl (junkie and druggie) is trying to get back at her. We are going to make the bad girl in a fade following the good girl as if she is being haunted and finding it difficult to get away from her past.

On Set - Bedroom Scene

Yesterday we filmed the bedroom scene, this scene would allow the audience to see the vulnerable good girl in her own bedroom and what she thinks about and goes through in her personal space. This scene is very relateable to as all girls look in the mirror and may not like what they see one day or compare themselves to famous, glamorous celebs.

The use of the album prop here shows the good-girl on her album cover, this is what she wishes for but never thinks she could be a celebrity because she is just a normal, lonely girl.
Also, we had posters on the wall around the mirror of pretty famous people to illustrate who she admires and wishes she was like, as she is almost taunted by them as they are everywhere.
She rips them off and storms out her room as she has finally had enough and wants to run away from everything.

Costume and Props

COSTUMES

Click to enlarge

The 'good-girl' and 'bad-girl' had similar costumes so that the footage would be less confusing and so they could relate the two artists together. Also, we decided to keep costume changes to a minimum of 3 because of the same reason . 

This was the only costume used for the bad-girl as we didn't want the majority focus on her.
Also keeping her in one costume made it look like she was just the fade and not the protagonist.

PROPS

album cover prop

classroom book prop

Inspiration

Gwen Stefani and Madonna are the main influences of the look and style in our music video, they are also similar to P!nk's look reflecting on our artists characteristics of the quirky and funky style.
The exciting, wild hairstyle and make-up of Gwen and Madonna are very overpowering and we want to try and portray this in our artist.


However, this style would only be for bad-girl working stereotypically and to contrast with the good-girl.

The good girl, just has minimal make-up and an everyday, normal hairstyle much like Selena Gomez to illustrate a modern take of girls trying to be natural.
The contrast between the two are stereotypical but make the storyline more obvious and interesting to watch.

Make-up and Hair Ideas

Good-Girl Look



Make-up: I decided to keep it natural, to give her a serene, innocent look which is a complete contrast to the bad-girls fierce look.

Hair: I wanted to make it look like an everyday hair style girls would to do for school or uni, a very clean finish. Not anything to OTT as this character is just trying to move forward in her studies and she cant really impress any boys.

Bad-Girl Look
Make-up: This characters look is totally different and more wild, I experimented with dark make-up; overpowering eye liner and over the top fake eyelashes also, red lipstick to connote danger.

I tried different styles, but we chose to go for the 3rd hairstyle.

Hair: A wacky, crazy hairstyle would work with this character to show she is just evil, doesn't care about others opinions and just expresses herself through her loud, quirky style.

On Set - Lip syncing End Scene

We filmed this scene in the TV studio, I think this was the easiest scene to shoot as I just had to sing, sitting in one seat on a black background.
The t-shirts with writing on made this scene, as it just summed up the problems and issues everyday people as well as celebrities go through, so the good girl could still go into becoming an artist even if she has had issues in the past.
The lighting in this scene was very important, to keep the background a solid black and have almost a spot light just on me was vital to make that mystery, depressed mood come across.

We want to create an unusual effect/transition on this section so people can focus on the confusion state of the character as well as the connotation of the t-shirts.

Locations

Beulah Heights; we filmed the chase scene here.

 

This is the classroom we used to film the class scene where the artist feels singled out and useless as she gets shouted at by her teacher.

This is where we filmed the band scene, the instruments were set up in the room already.

This is my room, we filmed the mirror scene here. This involved the artist watching herself and not being impressed as she compares herself with the gorgeous models on her wall. 

Inspiration

Forest Scene

Another punk rock artist being Avril Lavigne had an influence on us for the forest scene as she did this for her song 'Alice'. 

This was filmed in a forest setting creating a mysterious and suspense atmosphere, also the fade-in changing shot gives a serene yet confused effect which we want to create with our character as she is confused what to do reflecting on the lyrics. The lighting adds to the mystery and would add to our music video, keeping the audience intrigued.  

Classroom Scene 

This scene was inspired from Hannah Montana's song 'Ordinary Girl' another female artist. As this scene was in a classroom we knew we could accomplish something similar. This scene would work within our music video as it creates a sense of isolation as the protagonist is the one getting shouted at and her classmates are laughing at her, from this the audience can connect with her and feel sympathy for her. The effect of black and white low key lighting adds to the sad atmosphere, we could also use this effect.

Mirror Scene

Christina Aguilera - Beautiful, we felt this video had a similar message to ours that everyone has some issues and that no-one is perfect, she also portrays it in a similar way that we want to.

We wanted to include a scene where the artist was singing into the mirror showing that she is watching her self and doesn't want to be her self no more. The lighting is low key to add to a serious, dull atmosphere.

The idea of using other people in her video, influenced us to try something similar in one scene, where various people sing the same chorus. 

On Set - Performance Scene

We filmed this performance scene today, a scene to continue from the forest scene showing the change in character as she is a performing artist and how contrasting the narrative is as the girls life in the narrative is the total opposite of a famous artists.
Many music videos do this, where there are narrative shots in between shots of the artist singing like in Lil Wayne and Eminem - No Love.

For this scene, we covered the lights in red gels to give a tinted, gig performance effect and we used several various shots from different angles to portray the performance.

Filming Time line

We had to make a time line to know when to film and make sure we was both free.

We aim to finish filming in this week to have enough time to edit.

14th October        Performance scene                    tv studio
15th October        Lip syncing filming for end          tv studio                
18th October        Bedroom scene                         my bedroom
22nd  October      Forest chase scene                    park/school field
24th October        Classroom scene                       class in school
26th October        Band scene                               music room

Meeting 5

• We checked out the locations
• We sorted out when we will film and booked out the cameras and rooms we needed on the dates
• We decided on appropriate costume and props

Blog Feedback

My teacher gave me feedback on how well I am doing so far and what I need to improve.

Practice Lip Syncing

I did a practice lip syncing video to get used to the idea. As well as to make sure I knew the words properly and knew how to make it look realistic. I found that actually singing makes it look real and easier to recall the lyrics but I may have to sing slower so it is in sync.

Animatic

I drew out a storyboard to help guide us to a finished product more clearly and easier, and created this animatic from the sketches.

Animatics Tutorial

I browsed for a tutorial on how to create an animatic which is a digital storyboard, making it much more interesting to view the storyboard. This video made it look very simple and an effective method, so I had a go at creating one.

I drew out a storyboard, uploaded them on to the computer and imported them to 'Windows Movie Maker', cut each image on the timeline to the required length. I also, added music, titles and transitions to conclude my animatic.

Lyric Planning

I annotated the lyrics of our chosen song, planning out what we intend to do at each verse and chorus.

Also, I timed out the verses to make it easier to know when and what we are doing.

click to enlarge

Meeting 4

• We did our lyric planning
• We did a final storyboard

Lighting Workshop

We had a workshop on lighting where we had the chance to learn and play around with the lights in the TV studio creating various moods. We focused on 3point lighting (key, back and fill) which could help us a lot in our music video filming to look professional and clear.

I learnt how to use the lighting box to adjust the amount of light and fixing the enhancement appropriately on the camera to give the shot a clear view and not look washed out. 

I played around with the camera angles, moving them along, up and down and used different colour gels in front of the light to give a tinted colour on the shot; we are going to use this method in our music video.

Back Light
This light is placed behind the subject, with the purpose of highlighting and defining the subjects outline helping separate the subject from the background.

Key Light
This light is placed to one side of the camera and subject so that side would be very well lit and the other has some shadow. This is the main light, being the strongest and having the most effect on the shot.

Fill Light 
This light is placed on the opposite side of the key light, a secondary light used to fill in the shadows. This light is much softer and less bright than the key.

Shot List

shot 1: Establishing shot
shot 2: Over the shoulder shot creeping over boss to the artist
shot 3: Eye level shot of artist singing
shot 4: Flip shot and pan up of the boss shouting at artist
shot 5: Mid shot of work colleague walking past and winking
shot 6: Artist looking at him over her shoulder
shot 7: Close up of artist singing - upset
shot 8: Mid-shot of boss and artist
shot 9: Closer shot of boss and artist - seeing the bad version peeking through the glass
shot 10: Zooming to the beat to a close up of bad version singing
shot 11: Mid shot of boss leaving the room
shot 12: Closer shot of bad version walking in watching the artist
shot 13: Bad versions point of view shot watching the artist
shot 14: Extreme close up of artists eyes
shot 15: Extreme close up of bad versions eyes and horizontal split screen
shot 16: Eyes become one


(new scene)
shot 17: Zooming out into the band scene - artist singing
shot 18: Close up of drums
shot 18: Mid shot of band and artist
shot 19: Close up of guitar
shot 20: Close up of keyboard
shot 21: Mid shot of artist and band
shot 22: Shot from below of band
shot 23: Artist singing
shot 24: Zoom out of artist singing


(new scene)
shot 25: Close up of artist holding album
shot 26: Zoom out and pan up of artist looking at album cover
shot 27: Long shot of artist looking in the mirror
shot 28: Flip shot to see artists point of view of the mirror - celebrity in the mirror
shot 29: Close up of celebrity in mirror
shot 30: Mid shot of artist, Over the shoulder of celebrity
shot 31: Mid shot of celebrity
shot 32: Extreme close up of artist crying
shot 33: Long shot of artist storming out the room

(new scene)
shot 34: Establishing shot of forest and artist
shot 35: Long shot of artist running away
shot 36: Over the shoulder shot of bad version chasing her
shot 37: Mid shot of artist stopping
shot 38: Close of of bad versions face
shot 39: Close up of artists face
shot 40: High angle shot of sky

(new scene)
shot 41: Mid shot of artist singing
shot 42: Zoom out of artists
shot 43: Multiple split screens
shot 44: Mid shot of artists singing the last line

Music Video Scenes

Office Scene
The good girl is having a hard time at work, she feels like she cant do anything right which is reminding her of her past. The bad version girl  is haunting her at this point almost enjoying the pain the good girls feeling.

Band Scene
Continuous shots of the instruments and band members will be shown as well as the artist singing.

Mirror Scene
The good girl is staring at her self in the mirror, comparing her self with who she's expected to be like and who she wants to be like because they look happy and she is far from happy in her life.

Chase Scene
The good girl is running away from her past, the bad version is haunting her and trying to tempt her to go back to her old, bad habits.

Split Screen and Lip Syncing Scene
Multiple shots of other people who are suffering from these issues lip syncing the same chorus lines.

Rejected Ideas

Florence and the machine - I'm not calling you a liar
We rejected this song because it would be too difficult to do a music video for as the slow tempo and variety of instruments would be hard to match and edit too.

Pink- Stupid girl
We decided not to do this song as the storyline goes exactly to the lyrics and recreating a suitable storyline would be very difficult and the themes would be very similar.

We decided to do stick to Pink but choose another song, mainly because Pink is a worldwide pop star and her funky style stands out against other singers.

Also, we wanted to create a narrative music video which is easier to do with this song as the; lyrics, the locations and the effects would still be challenging but a bit easier compared to an abstract video to Florence and the machine song or a different narrative to the 'stupid girl' song.

Casting Video

Casting Day

These were the candidates we auditioned, we watched them over and over to see who we would sign as the main artist.
As I was the best at performing, I got signed.

Final Cut Express Basic Tutorial

Before we had the editing workshop in school with the media technician, I decided to look into some help via www.youtube.com. I found several tutorials that go over the basics, how to add transitions, how to use multi-camera editing and many other things.

I watched the basics video to give me an understanding of how to do quick editing as I just needed to get an idea of how the programme works, I needed to place the sequences in order and cut out the useless shots, keeping the audio in sync. This was for the casting video we did for our blog which gave me a bit of experience for when we have to edit our actual music video.

SWOT Analysis and Skills Assessment

Doing the SWOT analysis and a skills assessment table, made me realise what our strengths and weaknesses are which helped us decided who would be best suited to do what. Also, as both of us wanted to improve and learn new skills we switched up the roles helping each other in the fields we was individually better at.

SWOT and Skills Assessment

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Meaning of Lyrics

Click to enlarge

Theme Words

These are all words that come to my mind when i listen to this song and the themes and related words for  our music video 

First Ideas

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