Editing the Ending of my Music Video

After following my storyboard for the majority of the video, I realised that the ending was not very good. I decided to edit in some of the out-takes I took whilst filming.

THE VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo4f6aKj8xw


This made the video look so much better, however, the place in which I chose to cut the song did not sound right. Therefore I added a few more out-takes to the end of the video to extend it.

THE VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frRzaD4_5ho


I made the editing of the end of the video very fast paced and slightly more chaotic, to match with the increased pace of the music and the slight increase in the chaos of the vocals on the track. For the end of the video, I used a clip of my three actors in the field, running away from the camera, in slow-motion. I am using them running away from the camera to connotes the video is coming to an end. Also, the last clip links with the first clip in my music video, where my three actors are frolicking in the field, towards the camera, in slow motion. This builds a slight sense of a circular narrative, which also helps to inform the audience that the video is coming to an end.

Adding Brightness Effects to my Music Video

I've edited some more of my clips. As I have been editing, I have noticede that the majority of my clips looked dull/dark in colour:

I added a 'brightness' effect onto the majority of them, making them whiter.

This goes well with the theme and lyrics of the song, 'I woke up this morning' the unshine was shining'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X59gp64e5Ps

Adding Colour Effects to my Music Video

20.10.12

I have edited some more of my clips now, and although I have managed to successfully lip-sync my clips to the music, I noticed that some of my shots against the white background seemed a bit too plain, especially one clip where my actors are playing with balloons:

Because the song I have chosen is vibrant and upbeat, I decided to make the shot more lively by adding the effect 'hue - cycle entire colour spectrum':

This put a shifting colour effect over the clip:

I have decided that I will use this specific effect on every clip which includes my actors interacting with balloons together.

Editing on Windows Live Movie Maker

17.10.12

I have re-edited the first two scenes of my music video using Windows Live Movie Maker.

First I imported the videos:

Then I imported the music:

Next I muted the volume of the individual videos:

Then I trimmed the videos to go in time with the music:

Next I added an effect onto the first clip to slow the speed:

Then I published the video onto my computer:

After re-editing these two clips on Windows Live Movie Maker, I felt that the process was quicker and easier, and the finished product was not glitchy or too blurry. Therefore I have decided to continue with my editing using Windows Live Movie Maker.

Editing on Adobe Premiere Pro

15.10.12

Whilst editing my video on Adobe Premiere Pro, I noticed that the software made my videos appear very small.

I decided to solve the problem by increasing the scale of the video.

I didn't like the shape of the video, so I added a still image on the top and bottom of the video to give my music video a widescreen look.

When I added my next clip in the sequence, I had to increase the scale again.

However the top of my three actors was cut off, so to solve this, I moved the position of the video.

Although I solved the problem, I did not like how the image looked, as it had moved for a mid shot to a medium close up, which does not match with my storyboard and how I intended for my music video to look. Also, it decreased the quality of the image of the video. I realised that this will change the look of my whole video, which I am wary about.

To get a preview of how my video will look once published, I exported the media:

Once published, the picture quality of the video was very poor, and it was glitchy. Because of the problems I have faced using Adobe Premiere Pro to edit my music video, I have decided to attempt to recreate the first two shots of my music video on Windows Live Movie Maker, to compare it to what I have done so far on Adobe Premiere Pro. I will then be able to tell which editing software would be most efficient.



How I Will Edit my Music Video

12.10.12

I will edit my music video using Adobe Premiere Pro. I have chosen to use this because it has semi professional video editing features, which I believe will make the process of editing my videos a lot easier.

Filming the Indoor Scenes

10.10.12


I have filmed the indoor scenes for my music video. I didn't need to check the weather forecast for this location because the lighting used was artificial.

Once again, I used a Sony Handycam DCR-SR88 to film:

Once I had filmed all my clips, I used a USB cable to upload my videos onto the computer, ready for editing.

As I filmed I used my storyboard, and tried to film as close to how I planned as possible, just as I tried to do with the field scenes.

Filming the Field Scenes

08.10.12

I have filmed the 'field' scenes for my music video. Before filming, I checked the weather forecast to make sure we filmed on a sunny day as this is important to go with the lyrics of the song.

To film, I used a Sony Handycam DCR-SR88:

Once I had filmed all my clips, I used a USB cable to upload my videos onto the computer, ready for editing once my indoor, 'mock photo-shoot' scenes have been filmed.

When I uploaded the videos and played them back, the videos were in a lower quality compared to what I expected, as the image was slightly blurry.

As I filmed I used my storyboard, and tried to film as close to how I planned as possible.

How I Intend To Shoot My Video

6.10.12

I have decided that, for my field scenes, I will dress my actor playing 'Beyonce' in a white dress, and 'Michelle' and 'Kelly' will wear a matching white top and pale blue jeans. The plain/white colours they will be wearing will connote the purity of their souls. I have checked the weather for the date I intend to film multiple times, and I can confirm that the weather will be reasonably sunny, which is great because I need the sun in my music videos as it it a symbol of happiness and relates to the lyrics of the song. I aim to start filming at my field location in the afternoon, starting at 12pm when the sun is at it's highest point in the sky, to provide maximum sunshine.

If, in the unlikely occasion that it rains, I will film my indoor scenes on that day instead. I will bring along all the props and costumes for the indoor scenes in case of this emergency.

For my indoor scenes, all three of my actors will wear similar tops of a pinkish colour, with blue jeans. The vibrant colour will connote youthfulness and fun, which is linked with happiness. I will be bringing balloons for one of the indoor scenes, as balloons are linked with fun and celebration. Also, the balloons I use will be yellow and white in colour as these colours connote happiness and purity of the soul. I will also be bringing confetti for one of my indoor scenes, because confetti connotes celebration; they are celebrating their happiness. Because I will be using artificial light, the time of day for this location is not as important as it is for my field location. However, I aim to start filming at around 1pm.

Storyboarding

4.10.12

I have created a storyboard for my music video, and I will begin filming this Sunday. The majority of the notes regarding how my video will be shot and why, is written on the storyboard.

The beginning of the music video will be fun and happy and just have a few random shots of singing and dancing to the first chorus.

As Beyonce's verse, the first verse, begins, Jess (my actor playing Beyonce) will be positioned in-between and in-front of my other two actors. The field scene will be introduced by the three girls running into the field at 'looked at it through a child's eyes'.

As Beyonce's verse continues there are various shots relating to the lyrics, including a shot of her and others playing with a dog to 'it's amazing how we don't appreciate our blessings'. The next shot of Jess, she is placed at the side of the screen, to go with the lyrics 'there's plenty of people who don't like me' to connote her isolation caused by this dislike. However, in the next shot, she is in the centre of the screen as my other two actors run towards her and hug her 'but there's ten times more who love me'.

For 'sometimes it gets tough', I will use a close up shot to help present emotion more clearly to the audience. For the line 'just take a deep breath close my eyes' I will use a slow-motion shot of Jess jumping whilst smiling in the field scene, connoting her joy and freedom.

For the next chorus, I will include more random shots of the three girls singing, dancing and playing about. The balloon scene will be introduced here too. During the line 'I put on my happy face', I will use a shot of Jess (Beyonce) singing that line alone for the first half, then Claire L (Kelly) singing that line for the second half. This will be used to hint to the audience who is singing next.

Kelly's verse will begin with the other two actors pointing at Claire L as she steps forward to 'it's me'. Then there will be shots of her singing, positioned between the two other girls or on her own. There will also be a random dancing shot.

When Kelly says 'I will put all the past behind me no more enemies' I will include a shot of Kelly sitting backwards on an outdoor bench, as if she is physically turning away from the past and putting it behind her.

The shots will progressively show Claire L get happier and bolder as the lyrics become more positive in their claims. The confetti scene is introduced here.

For the next chorus, once again there will be random happy shots of them singing, dancing and messing about. Also, again, during the line 'I put on my happy face', I will use a shot of Claire L (Kelly) singing that line alone for the first half, then Claire H (Michelle) singing that line for the second half. This will be used again to hint to the audience who is singing next.

Michelle's verse will begin with Claire H standing on a outdoor bench and rising up as she starts to sing. This, along with the use of a low angle shot will be used here to connote that she is 'above' society and the average  person's negative influences, and as she says 'everything's gonna be alright/okay' she is assuring the audience of their positive future.

As Michelle's verse continues, the shots of her standing on the bench cross cuts with other shots of her singing/dancing alone and with the other two girls. In the bench scene, the camera is slowly rotating around Claire H, to connote that literally everything will be alright/okay because she is focusing the audience's attention to the whole surroundings.

Here Michelle's verse continues with cross-cutting between shots of the bench scene, singing, dancing, and playing around.

Shots of Jess (Beyonce) singing her over-notes in the song will be edited in where sppropriate.

Michelle's verse continues with the same techniques being used.

After Michelle's verse will be another chorus, where I will speed up the pace of editing, and once again include random shots of the three girls singing/dancing/messing about.

I have not storyboarded a video for the whole song, as I will be cutting the song down by approximately 1 minute for my music video.

Getting Permission

02.10.12

Before asking permission, I had to find out who owned the rights to the song. I went onto the website ascap.com, and entered the title of my song into the search bar. I found the song and selected it, and a list of the writers, publishers and performers came up, along with their contact details:



Then I sent an email to the record companies, after finding their contact information.



This is the content of the email I sent:

"SonyATV and EMI Music,

My name is Funmi Adebanjo, and I am studying A2 Media Studies at Beaverwood School for Girls Sixth Form.

I am asking for permission to use the song 'Happy Face', performed by Destiny's Child, in the music video I am creating for my Media Studies coursework. I will not be claiming that my actors nor I, own, wrote or performed the song.

The video will be posted on YouTube, and viewed by my teacher and the examiner.

Thank you,

Funmi Adebanjo"

Location: Asking Permission

01.10.12

For my indoor location, I am planning on using the white walls inside a church. Therefore I must ask the church owners for permission, in case they are not happy with me filming.

Before asking permission, I went onto the church calender on the church's website to see what times I would be able to film:

Then I sent an email to the head office at the church asking for permission:

This is the content of the email I sent:

Hi,

I wasnt sure who to ask about this, and this is why I decided to email the church instead.

I'm Funmi Adebanjo, if you don't know me, I attend church on Sundays and I also attend Girls Brigade on Tuesdays at OBC. This Sunday (October 7th), and possibly next Sunday (October 14th), I was hoping to film at the church for part of my music video for my A level coursework, after most people had cleared out (about 2pm?). I wanted to use the church just to film against a white wall, as I know the church has many fresh, white walls since the recent building project. In my video I am planning on using a few girls from church and Girls Brigade (Claire Hicks, Claire Lovell and Jess Nemeth), so I know that we wont cause any trouble or leave any mess.

I am sending this email to check if this is okay with you, and also to check if any adults need to be around to lock up after us, or if we need to lock up after ourselves.

Thanks,

Funmi Adebanjo



Locations

01.10.12

I have taken photos of locations which I have considered using for my music video. I will explain here why I have chosen certain locations and rejected others.

The first location I sought out for was a pale/white wall, so I could have my artists against it as if they are having multiple pictures taken. This first location was inspired by one of the location's used in Beyonce's video for 'Flaws and All':

Also I decided to use this location because in my primary research, my target audience said they would like bright, white colours used. I want the scenes filmed in this location to give the impression of a mock photo-shoot  where my actors will be playing about and having fun, whilst singing.

Here are some of the walls I found, whilst looking for an appropriate one for my music video:

Although this wall is white, I will not be using this for my music video because it has brick details, and I do not want this in my background.

I will definitely not be using this wall for my video because it is not white, and has very clear brick detail.

 

I will be using this wall for my music video, because it is plain and white. Also the lighting is good, and it is situated in a quiet, indoor location which I have easy access.

The second location I sought out for was a wide open field. This is because in my primary research, my target audience said  a wide/open outside location would be an appropriate location for my music video. I also chose this location because the wide/open field has connotations of freedom and happiness gained from nature.

I went to a local park, and looked for the most appropriate area(s) to film:

I will not be using this location because it is not spacious enough, and there are park objects obstructing the shot.

I will not be using this location because there is a wall and houses in view. The wall could accidentally give out negative connotations of being trapped, which is the opposite of what I want my location to connote.

I want to use this location as part of my video. I thought of getting my actor(s) to sit on the bench backwards to connote that looking at the world from a different angle can change the way you view life, which relates to the lyrics of the song. 

This location is very good, and I will be using it in my music video, because it is wide and open, connoting freedom.

I thought that I could possibly use this location in my music video, because I could film my actors running out of the gate, connoting them breaking free and escaping the troubles of society.