Friday 22 November 2013

Evaluation Of Rough Cut

We have now finished editing a rough cut of our music video, this means that this is a draft leading up to the final project. We edited using Final Cut Pro software on a Mac computer. we started off with selecting the shots we want and putting all the shots we don't want into a bin. after we did that, we layer roughly all the shots we liked more onto the time line and synced each single of them to the beat of the music therefore  all of the shots would be in sync with the music, for example the lip-sync would be in time along with all of the other footage. However we did not need to sync the ‘random’ as they could be place anywhere along the timeline. After going through all of the clips I used the ‘b’ tool, which stood for blade in order to cut our parts of the footage that I liked or that synchronized with the music. We also rejected shots ‘delete’ them if they did not capture the music correctly or if the lip-sync was out of time. We also rejected parts of footage that perhaps went out of focus or if the act moved out of camera, which means that the framing would not be correct and the act would not be the focus point. While editing the shots we put markers down on shots where there was something significant, for example when the cards started to fall. We also put markers down to make it easier for us to match a shot to the beat music, this was especially useful during the flip as we were able to put the landing point matching to the drop in the music. we also had to cut a lot of the clips to fit in to track and as well as layering different shots because our final plan was to put everything in kaleidoscope therefore if we layer the same clip in different places on the scene would work really well with that and that's when things gets more creative because we have to decide where to put the same shots and how long do we want it to be on there because we may want to make the 2 of the same shots a bit out of time just to make it more interesting. Then we made sure that all of our cuts where clean and that they synced with the music, as our song is jumpy and fast pace we made sure that all the transitions into a different shot were on the beat of the music. We did not have any problems with continuity, and in fact we played around with this as we were able to get three different shot types of Seb on the DJ decks, for example one of him in a horse head and then cutting to one without the horse head. I was cautious to keep a variation of the shots, however instead we learnt about the ‘flop’ tool where I was able to turn shots around to make it look like the artist was looking into a mirror, this will be effective in out post production when we introduce the element into the green screen.

This is a screen shot of when we were matching the clips to the track:


Our project has changed form our original plan, it does follow a similar pattern but we have introduced new shots into different places. I was enthusiastic about finishing the rough cut, however because we had so many different shots it meant that it tool a long time. Primarily I was not sure how to use the software but after experimenting and watching others I soon learnt. Therefore our video is to show a sixties style however crossed between a contemporary feel in order to target a youthful audience. The meaning was constructed through the upbeat dancing, which synchronies to the upbeat song. We also however aimed to create a festival style as we introduced a clown who juggled and smashed a guitar, and we also introduced a doll like girl playing around with cards.

overall our feedbacks were quite positive, the way we edited so that images overlap and move into other footage was well received and they though that was what made our image stand out. They also noted that they like the place where we put the acts in and how it would change on the beat.

Thursday 21 November 2013

The Green Screen

We every single shot on a green screen therefore when we come to the final part of the editing process we are going to put the acts into a Kaleidoscope, not only this but we are also going to silhouette the acts. In order to make sure that we did not mess this up we had to make sure that none of the acts where wearing anything green. The green screen is a special effects post production technique which enables us to layer images or videos on the screen. 
The green screen is a windows-based software application also referred to as a chroma key software.

Sunday 10 November 2013

Editing Process

For our editing process we began by checking out of Final Cut Pro, we looked through all of the footage and by entering 'mm' we were able to mark the footage, for example on the shot of Lucy throwing up the cards i wrote 'Lucy wide shot slow motion throws cards'. This marking would help us when editing as we can quickly see what footage we need. 
Whilst looking through the footage we also created a 'bin' folder where we placed footage that we did not want to use. After this I created 9 different bins, one for each of our acts, and placed each of their footage into the bins. This organisation would allow us to access the footage quickly and know which ones we wanted to use. 
After looking through all of the footage we noted down why we weren't using some footage and however using the others. For example some of our shots had to be cut early because the music stopped playing, for another shot we could not use it because it was cut early as half of the act was not in the frame. 
We then synced all of the shots, matching the timer of the music to the timer of the filming. This made sure that all our acts would be in sync with the music and all in tune. 
After doing this I went through all of the shots again and cut out footage that we could use and kept the footage that we could use. 
This is a shot of us matching the footage and syncing it

Friday 8 November 2013

Shoot Day Account

The day before out shoot day, we went into the studio and discussed how the day's gonna go and each of us went to get separate props and kept all of them at studio just incase if we forget to bring it on the day and as we were gathering all of our props together, we realized that we were still missing 2 masks, 1 guitar and a dj set therefore we wrote it down and will try and get it as soon as we get back to the boarding house.
When I woke up in the morning of my shoot day, I felt a bit nervous and a bit stressed out because we were the first group to shoot our music video so we had less time to get our selves prepared and was really stressed but at the same time i was excited about it. When I arrived the school, went for a quick breakfast and went to the studio away to drop the dj set and the guitar just incase later on i forget about it. The beginning of the day the studio looked really simple, we had all of our props at one corner, we had a desk and a few flight cases for the shoot to put the dj set and the keyboard on because everything is done on green screen therefore we didn't have to do too much to the actual set.
Through out the shoot day we kept on rotating roles but i spent most on of the time on being the camera man and basically every time we shoot a clip, i would be focusing on the camera screen and decide weather it looks good or not and if i'm not happy with it i would suggest the director to call cut, enjoyed doing.
i think i shot some really good shots during the shoot, it was perfect for what we needed because now we've started to go through the shots and clips we have and as a group we felt that those shots were really useful and it was exactly what we needed.
During the shoot day we faced a problem of the fact that how is the flip going to be done because of the fact that we didn't have any extra crash mats therefore we were really worried about the safety of one of the dancer that was doing the flip dayo, but it turned out perfectly fine, he had no problem doing it, the shot was perfect so it all went fine.
The most successful of the shoot day would be the fact that the whole shoot went extremely smooth we barely faced any problems but i guess that's because of the fact that we had a really strong planning to the shoot day and that's why everything went so well.
During the shoot day i wish that the dancers would have rehearsed what they did because they were improvising and therefore when i was videoing it after a while i kind of felt like it was getting boring because they started to repeat the moves although it's not too obvious, you can still tell that the dance moves are getting a slightly boring.
Overall I would say the day went really smooth because even if we might have had some problems, they were all solved. 

Monday 4 November 2013

Planning

To make sure that we had everything we printed of the information we needed for every member of our team.
For example we printed of the:
> shooting schedule
> Prop list
> Call list
> production list

Not only this but we also went to the studio during a live performance and listed the hazards that were there, this then showed us what we needed to be aware of. The hazards and precautions that we instantly noticed where:
> cables and wires
> extra people hanging around which caused clutter
> Making sure the warning light was on showing that a shoot was taking place
> knowing and understanding that you may need to take the shot several times
> Making sure there are no drinks or food in the studio

Informing Our Cast

In order to be prepared we made sure that all of our cast members new what time to be at the shoot, and that they were there early in order to prepare. Therefore I sent them all an email to make sure.



Shooting Schedule

Time
Shot no.
Shot description
Characters
Prop
Phone Number
09:00 - 09:30
1
Over the shoulder looking at keyboards
Seb Walters
DJ decks -


2
Panning shot looking at his face then moving down towards the decks




3
Wide shot with everything in




4
Extreme close up of sebs eyes




5
Close up of decks so that it fits to the screen




6
Mid shot of seb on decks



09:40 - 10:10
7
Wide shot
Max Melhuish
Key boards
mask
07758282675

8
Over the shoulder




9
Close up - panning shot moving across the key board



10:30 - 11:10
10
Close up of the guitar
Mike A
Guitar
Hat


11
Wide shot of him play




12
Slow motion close up of string (while being played)




13
Panning over the head shot looking down at him playing guitar




14
Panning wide shot




15
Filming wide shot of him facing the other direction (back towards camera





360 shot



11:10 - 11:40
16
Mid shot of him dancing
Brandon
White mask
07548663959

17
Close up of his feet




18
Slow motion wide shot




19
Crane shot moving around him dancing




20
Wide Shot from the side - wearing zebra mask



11:40 - 12:10
21
Wide shot of him doing the flip from two different angles
Deyo

White mask


22
Slow motion wide shot
Deyo



23
Low angled shot of him moving over the camera



13:10 - 13:40
24
Shots of them dancing togeth
Kalvin
Deyo
White mask


25
Wide shot of kalvin





Wide shot of him doing the flip from two different angles
Kalvin Deyo



26
Panning shot of him dancing around the camera
Kalvin



27
Crane shot looking down at him




28
Slow motion of his feet moon walking




29
Panning shot moving around him dancing



13:40 - 14:10
30
Crane shot of him juggling balls
Alastair
Coke cans
Juggling balls
guitar


31
Crane shot of him juggling coke cans




32
Close up of Alstairs face while he is smashing guitar




33
Panning shot moving down his face showing his costume and makeup




34
Wide shot of him smashing the guitar




35
Low angled shot of guitar being smashed on the floor




36
Slow motion shot of guitar pieces flying into the air



14:10 - 14:45
37
Extreme close up of pauli’s face singing
Pauli
Mic
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38
Crane shot showing her dancing around and singing in the mic




39
Wide shot of Pauli




40
Panning shot moving around her showing a wide shot of her singing




41
Extreme close up of her eyes in the camera




42
Close up her feet



14:30 - 13:10
43
Close up of her face - looking at her eyes
Lucy Gavan

07892401358

44
Wide shot of her blowing bubble gum - sitting in a doll like position




45
Dancing around like a girl licking the lolly pop




46
Crane shot of her dancing around with the sprarklers




47
Both blowing bubble gum - sitting on chairs
Lucy and Pauli








Cast List

Dancers: 
Kalvin Nowak
Deyo Ogundogba
Brandon Koen

We chose these people because of their dancing abilities, we also took into consideration whether they would be able to perform in front of the camera

Singer:
Paulina Keller

Pauli has a very sassy and appropriate look for the part.

Guitarist:
Mike 

Key board:
Max Melhuish

Random Acts:
Lucy Gavan 
Alastair Brook

These two have a very interesting look to them when they are in costume

DJ:
Seb Walters

Planning make up

This week we have been planning for out music video, I have been researching different elements that we can introduce to our music video. I have looked at different costumes for the singer, and the two 'random' acts and I have decided on creating a sixties style for the singer and then a clown or doll type act for the random acts. 

 I like this look for Lucy, a doll type makeup up which is heightened and slightly comical. I think it suits the random act and it links nicely to Alastair who is the other random act.