Music Video Filming

   So far my group has not filmed. We were planning to film on 11/23 and 11/24. Personal obstacles came up and we had to postpone. This week we will have no school for most of the days so there most likely won’t be any filming due to other plans. We will start filming when we get back from our break. We will still have enough time to record and edit. Since we are using our own camera and editing software we can work at our own pace. We know most of the shots, angles and movements we will need already. It’s difficult because we need to find days and times we are all able to film together outside of school. We don’t need extras which is beneficial because we don’t need to involve others and see when they are free to film as well.
   We will try to film together on the weekends after 11/30. Even though my group members are busy during the break I will use my free time to film. I will try and get shots where we done need actors in it. I am supposed to be acting in the music video but certain shots is without specific people in it. I want to try and get something done. I would rather be working on the project and doing something than nothing being completed. I will try to go to the beach and record. I will film me walking on the boardwalk for aesthetics. The music video will show the teenage dream of living in Florida. This will include the beach, the sunny weather all year around, having fun with friends, etc.
   The song “I lived” gives off summer vibes which fits the climate we live in. Even though we haven’t filmed yet we have things done. We have a plan of what we want the music video to look like. Once we all came to an agreement we started the storyboard. The storyboard took longer than expected. We ran out of ideas before we had reached the time limit. We brainstormed and cane up with new ideas. We took everything we planned and put it chronologically on the storyboard with descriptions. We have a plan and a time frame made up that we will try and follow. I will try and be ahead by doing some individual work to feel productive and helpful during the project.

Music Video Planning

My group and I will include numerous locations in our music video. These will include the beach and Las Olas Boulevard. During our time on the beach, we will not be near any lifeguard towers. This is due to there being certain risks and restrictions on filming near these towers. Thus, we chose to film in locations that do hold any risks associated with us filming. In terms of health and safety, we would normally have a first aid kit or other form of “safety net,” but we have found that we do not need one for this project. This is due to the fact that our physical involvement in this project (i.e. acting in our film) does not require there to be any safety precautions, since we are in no form of danger during the process. However, while driving to and from the locations where we chose to film, we will be wearing seatbelts in the car. This is a standard safety precaution, but it is essential to our wellbeing. Overall, our health and safety is guaranteed during this production.

We will not utilize any number of props in our music video. The same goes for costumes. This is due to the general plan that my group has laid out for this project. In our rough sketch of what our music video is most likely going to be, we did not include any props or costumes. Our video is primarily going to include shots of my group members simply enjoying the South Florida outdoors. Due to this, we did not feel it necessary to add in props or costumes. For example, we have an idea to film shots of group members at the beach. Going to the beach is very typical of someone in South Florida. Generally, it rarely requires much equipment. Thus, we decided not to include any props in this shot.

The schedule for our production is quite straightforward. From 11/18 to 11/22 we are working on the planning and general outline for our music video production. In addition, we are creating the storyboard to detail what will be included in our music video. On 11/23 and 11/24 we are planning to film our music video. We will the spread the filming portion over a period of two days; the whole weekend. From 11/25 to 11/29 my group and I will be editing our music video. The editing process will likely be extensive, so we intend to spread this portion over two weeks. On the week of 12/2 to 12/6 we will complete the editing process of our production and finalize our music video. The due date for our complete project is 12/9. By this point, we will have finished and submitted our complete project. 

Music Video Storyboard

The music will be playing over all of the shots 

Our editing will have smooth cut transitions in between scenes and locations 

Some of our camera angles will include; POV, pan, high angle, establishing shot, and a long shot 

Intro to Music Video

   Now that we have finished the commercial we are starting a music video. Last time my group and I worked very well together and we decided to work together for this project as well. The commercial project was made smoothly. However, we realized that the way our project ended up did not follow the storyboard we originally made. I’m more excited for this project than I was for the last one because we get to film off campus and have more freedom. I’m excited to be able to work with my group again and see what we can make this time. We all agree on and have the same ideas and visions for the video.

   The song that we chose to do is “I lived” by One Republic. The song was released in 2014 off of their album “Native”. This song is upbeat with music drops and fun lyrics. I’m really excited for this song because my group have exciting ideas on what we can film. Our whole group generally agreed and likes the ideas we’ve brainstormed this far. We are telling our own story with our ideas. We think we can express the fun of being a teenager and living in the city!

   1)Costumes that will be included is casual beach wear, going out clothes, and normal summer clothes.

2)Lighting will shift in between shots because we are thinking of a mashup type of separate clips.

3)Acting will be fun and more showing us having fun rather than being scripted

4)Makeup will be natural/casual and everyday where.

5)Props can include things like food/drinks, beach accessories, etc.

6)Setting will include the beach, downtown and around our city, school, etc.

The sound will be overlapping the shots that are playing,

Some angles that will be included are high, POV, pan.The editing will include things like jump cuts and fades in between the shots. 

Editing continued

   When my group first tried to export our footage onto the computer the desktop crashed. We could not start editing on time. We decided to use our own laptop and editing software. We didn’t have the laptop with us at the time. My group mate brought hers in the next class so we could start. Using our own laptop seemed to be easier and faster anyways. The footage was already on our computer. We didn’t have to dump the footage and use a complicated editing software. iMovie was a good software for us to use since we are all beginners. She had already exported the footage on her laptop into the editing software.
   We were ahead of most of the class time wise. While they were trying to get the computers to work we edited in our own. In the time we were able to edit half of our commercial people dumped their clips into the computer. We were able to finish our editing in one class period. It was simple so we finished fast. When editing we had to make sure all clips added up to be between 25-30 seconds. Ours ended up being 25 seconds. We were struggling at first to make it within the time range. We decided to make the transitions longer. It helped us out in the long run to finish.
   We had all the right shots. The shots were a little short. We cut and added transitions to make it into the right time frame. We were able to finish before most of the other teams in our class. We submitted the commercial early. While attempting to make the blog about our editing we had problems. The computers didn’t work so we were unable to blog during class. We had to finish our blogs at home in time. The editing and blogging process is done, next we do the questions. We will start next class period.

Editing

   Today in class we edited our commercial. We imported the footage we took last class. We decided to iMovie to edit. We recorded with an iPhone and the footage was already on our laptop because of iCloud. We dragged the clips/shots in order of how we wanted it to look. We had to make sure the videos were 25-30 seconds in all. We started by adding audio. I helped find the sound affect on iMovie and decide which one to use. I helped adding the audio to cover the entire video. I gave my input by suggesting a calmer sound.
   Then we added transitions. We added cross blur, fade, and jump cuts. I added the fade at the end of the commercial. I looked through different types of transitions before deciding on the fade. The fade look the most natural to use and what would be in a normal commercial. The other transitions were scattered around the video between clips where it looked like it for in. I added text at the end of the commercial over the fade transition. As a team we put “America Runs on Dunkin” because it’s our company’s slogan. At the very end we added the credits where. In the credits we added our names and what role we played in the video making.
   We had a couple of issues while attempting to edit. We were at first planning on using Pinnacle Studios. However, we decided to use our own laptop and we used what was available. iMovie was simpler to use. It didn’t have as many features as Pinnacle Studios which made it easier for me to edit. As a beginner iMovie was a good start. At first it was hard to find all the features but as time went on it got easier and easier. As a team we figured out what we wanted and how we wanted things to look like. We were able to finish editing in one class period. This process helped me prepare for future project we will get.

Filming

   When we were filming our commercial all the members in my team had different roles. There was a director, actors, and filmer/ person recording. When we first got outside we weren't sure who was going to do what. After the location was decided on our individual tasks started. We followed our story board and I ended up taking the first shots of the commercial. I was tracking one of the actors and getting a wide shot. It all ran smoothly even though the camera was hand held. The phone quality was better than the class cameras and I found it a lor easier to hold, work, and move. I recorded the same shot multiple times. I wanted to make sure the shot was clear, used enough time, and didnt have any other problems.
   After I recorded a couple of clips I changed roles. I became the director instead and told my group members what to do. At first I put the first actress in her place and explained how the shot and take should be carried out and how she should walk as well as the speed. I listened to feedback and applied it to make filming easier and more fun for everyone. I later told the cameraman how the shot should look and where he should walk to get the right movement, angle, and speed. As I was seeing everything play out in front of my eyes and not being distracted by filming or acting I saw what should be changed, added, and/or removed to make the overall product look neat and professional. We added and changed a couple of shots. We all agreed that this outcome was a lot better than we had expected. After a while we added another actor in the clips. I had a lot of new things to think about and look for.
   When we added the second actor I realized it was more complicated to handle than just having one person. I had to think about how they would walk, stand, and interact to get the right message across. Behind the scenes I was watching the looking out for any disturbances in the back and anything the actors could improve on. I realized that some of the interactions seemed very forced and fake. The dialogue also sounded like it was straight from a script which was not good. I gave them my feedback and resolved the issues we were having. I was also checking in with the camera man to make sure we were including all the shots and angles we needed. After we recorded, as a group, we looked back on the footage and watched out for flaws. If we saw something off we would re-film and see which version we liked better. After we finished filming my job was done and we went back in the classroom to dump the footage onto the computer.