Editing the music video

Before I edit every time, I dump the footage that I want to use from the SD card into a folder. This archive was named "actual footage" in order to import all the videos at once. Once those were placed as raw footage in the editing studio, it was time to edit. At first there were 12 scenes, according to our storyboard. Although there were many takes, Darwin and I had to agree which video out of all would be best fit for the final scene. I placed all of the footage onto the track as the first step. Secondly, I went through all of them and muted the audio. When editing, I analyze how the scenes work and what could be removed. I had to shorten the length of some videos because the actual scene would be enacted in the middle of the video. I played around with the speed in some of the clips, which worked when videos were too slow.

There is a setting in "iMovie" where you can stabilize a shaky video. I could say that this was used for multiple scenes. It helped to a great extent because it makes our music video smoother. Then, Darwin taught me how to get an audio clip from his laptop. I had to go copy the link of a YouTube video of the song, and download it as an mp3 audio. It was added to the third track in the editing studio. I had to start the song halfway into the first verse. I cut the audio clip and shortened it to our last lyric at the end of the video. The song was 1 minute and 8 seconds long when edited, and that is how long the music video was expected to be.

While I was editing scenes 3,5, and 6, I did not like the way they were put together. I also realized that one of the scenes was filmed wrong, since I was following the storyboard. Also, when I thought I finished editing, the video was 58 seconds long. I had to think about adding a scene and re-filming the other ones, which took place on 12/01. The new footage was imported again, and it made the final product longer. One main thing I had to work with while editing was fitting the lyrics with the write scenes. I wanted scenes 5-7 to fit with the song, but it wouldn't have the start of Verse 2 to start with scene 8. However, I had to make Verse 2 to fit with the scenes after 8 because then the song would end correctly for the music video. I added transitions (cross-dissolve) to identify that there is a crosscut from being in different locations. The project was finally finished after this step and Darwin exported the video. 

Reshooting

On November 23, Darwin and I were able to film everything on the storyboard. When we edited the footage the following Monday, we realized that one of scenes looked too choppy. I tried to fix the video by editing the best I could, but the entire thing ended up being too short. I wanted to re-film some scenes so that they could be longer. On Tuesday, I got home and made my friend Emily be the cameraman. The scenes that needed to be longer were the ones of me crying and scrolling through pictures of the couple together. I had to make it more clear that I was crying over a relationship, so I smeared a bit of mascara and used mater droplets. I finished those scenes on Tuesday and was planning to meet up with Darwin and Juan on Friday. Unfortunately, Darwin had plans and we could not do anything until Sunday (12/01).

On Sunday, I picked up Darwin and Juan and edited once we got home. I had to analyze what scenes we needed to record again. I also suggested to Darwin that we add another scene of the car driving and arriving at the girlfriend's house. We needed our prop, which were the fake flowers to be in the passenger seat, then we told Juan new orders for the scene. We did not want him putting on his seatbelt because he would just be getting to the house and parked. Afterwards, I recorded a few takes of Juan changing the gear using the stick shift. He then had to pause while taking out the keys and look over to the flowers he bought her. The movement I used for this shot was a tilt down to the flowers. This was supposed to graphic match to the scene of Juan giving me the flowers. With our first rough draft of the video, these scenes were not put together and it did not work.

Since we were already using the car, I had to get in and drive around the corner and begin from the street. Darwin had the camera and I was the driver because it is my mom’s car. I am the only one trusted with driving because I have my license and I am her daughter. We shot a couple takes of the car driving and going onto a driveway. At first, I was worried that since the windows were not tinted, the camera could see who was driving. However, since it is a moving car, no one would be able to see who is in it. I had to be careful during these takes because I did not want anything to happen to the car. I had to wait for cars to pass by before parking onto the driveway. My reflection of this scene is that we only added it because we needed more time. Also to establish that the boyfriend is leaving his mistress’ house and driving to his new location.

Filming the music video

I was able to film some scenes and be the actress in the music video. There was no other girl that could play the part, and Darwin and I asked our friend Juan, to play the boyfriend. I needed pictures of Juan and I together in order to have me scrolling through pictures in the first scene. Once we finished with that, I was recorded from an over-the-shoulder shot, with the TV on to add more detail. I used eye drops to make it seem like I was crying in the second scene. There were many takes for both of these scenes, probably 12 in total. The next easiest scene was of me in the kitchen cutting some type of vegetable to make it seem like I was cooking. I prepared by taking out a cutting board and choosing a knife. I had nothing in my fridge for food, so I took the next best thing which was a pepper. When filming, the camera was at a high angle looking down on me.

Now we had to shoot two scenes in a room, because it was supposed to be at night and the couple would be asleep. To make it believable, I had to close the curtains (which shut-out light) to make it "night-time." I got under the comforter, and pretended to sob while Juan laid next to me. We had to have our backs facing each other, because that is what depicts the mood of the clip. I kept laughing while recording this scene, but it worked out because it looked like I was crying. After filming mostly in the house, Darwin, Juan, and I took the setting outside, across the street from my house. We needed a different house to distinguish that the boyfriend is not in the same location. I asked my neighbor in advanced if we can use his house as our setting. For the scene of the boyfriend backing out in a car, I asked my mom if we could borrow her new car.

It was my turn to be behind the camera, and my plan for these next scenes were very detailed. I recorded Juan and my friend, Emily, walking out of my neighbor's house together. Once I was done with that, I filmed Juan in the car looking at bouquet of flowers in the passenger seat. This took a couple of takes because the car is an awkward size to be able to record his face and pan down to the flowers. Darwin had to take Juan's place for the next scene, because it involved him driving. I got in the backseat of the SUV and shot a couple of takes of Darwin driving the car. I had to go back to being the girlfriend in the next few scenes. One clip was of Juan and I eating together for dinner. Darwin filmed me bringing food to the table and sitting down.

Lastly, Darwin filmed Juan arriving at my house; his role was to play the boyfriend and have him bring flowers to his girlfriend (which is me). My part was to open the door, realize he brought me flowers, and kiss him on the cheek as a way of saying thank you. This scene painfully had a lot of takes in order to get the right one. The last take is the clip we will end up using because it went smoother.

Storyboard

Costumes: The characters in the music video will be wearing both a formal and informal clothing throughout the video. Since the girlfriend is cooking up dinner at home for a mini-date, they will need to wear formal clothing. However in other scenes before and after the date, they will be wearing regular informal clothing.

Lighting: We will be mostly using natural lighting in our film. Whenever we are outside we will be using the natural lighting, as well as when we are in the kitchen, since there are a lot of windows for natural lighting. We will use the ceiling lights in the room to dim the lights during the dinner and sleeping scene, along with some candles to light them too.

Acting: In the beginning, the girlfriend already knows about her man cheating, so she is in a sad mood from the start. The man however, is in an elated and energetic mood after leaving the side chick's house and coming home to his girlfriend. At night in the bedroom, the characters will have to pretend to be asleep.

Makeup:  The girlfriend and the side chick will both be wearing makeup. They are both at home so there isn't anything that special. So they will be wearing simple makeup, especially the girlfriend for their dinner.

Props: Actors in the music video will be holding multiple things, such as the girlfriend using a phone to scroll through old pictures. Flowers will be needed for the the boyfriend to give to his girlfriend; to cover the fact that he is cheating on her. The girlfriend will be making dinner, so she needs kitchen supplies to prepare the food (cutting board, knife, pan, ingredients). She will also need two plates full of food in order for her to bring it to her boyfriend and have a dinner. Candles will be lit at the dinner table.

Setting: There will be two or three settings in the music video. In these settings, it will involve houses, and rooms inside of one. There needs to be scenes of the mistress' house and the boyfriend leaving it. The rest of the video will be shot in the girlfriend's house: in the living room, front door, kitchen, and bedroom.

Camera angles, movements, and shots: All the angels will be filmed differently in some scenes. The scene where the boyfriend is in the car will be a low angle and where the girlfriend in cooking in the kitchen will be shot at a high angle. Most common movements that will be used is panning and tracking shots. For example when the boyfriend is leaving the mistress' house. Over the shoulder shot of the boyfriend driving out of his mistress' driveway. Lastly, in the second to last scene, we plan on using a aerial shot of the bed, to show that the couple is "sleeping." Medium shot of the boyfriend in  bed.

Editing: There will crosscuts where the girlfriend is cooking while her boyfriend is on the way home. Also we incorporated a cutaway into the flowers in the car, to the next scene of the boyfriend gifting his girlfriend the flowers when he gets home. Another cutaway used was at dinner, where the girlfriend is bringing the food and you can see the boyfriend using his phone. Next scene will be of the phone getting a lot of notifications.

Sounds: Since this is a music video, the sound we will be using all throughout the film is the song. The song we are using is "I'm Not The Only One" by Sam Smith. We also might use small sound effects in the video like a car starting or knife chopping.

                                                                                      

Planning

1.) Location: In our project, we will be meeting at my house to discuss how we will shoot. Most of the shooting will be done there. We will decide whether or not we want to move locations for specific scenes if necessary. We plan to shoot mostly in her kitchen and dining room. As well as one of the bedrooms and the living room.

2.) Health and Safety: In one of our scenes, we plan for the woman in the relationship to make dinner for her family. Meaning that items in the scene can be prone to injure us. We will have band-aids nearby in case anybody gets accidentally cut. We will also have a phone available to call an ambulance in case anything gets really serious. Other safety measures we'll have is to be careful around the pool at my house. There also might be a scene near a fireplace, and we will have a fire extinguisher nearby in case anything gets out of hand.

3.) Props: Our props would have to match with the setting, and we plan on filming at my house, mostly in the kitchen. There needs to be a knife because the girlfriend is making food for her cheating boyfriend. Other kitchen supplies could work as well, like a cutting board or a pan. We also need our phones and a dinner table that is ready for food to be eaten upon. Other small details, such as plates and candles should be a nice touch for a homey feel. Some fake flowers are needed for the boyfriend, to give to his girlfriend when he gets home.

4.) Costumes: My partner and I just want to have a normal couple, who are basically in their freshman year of college, and high school sweethearts. Actors have to dress this age, and the girlfriend will be at home, so the costumes would be casual. Jeans and a comfy t-shirt, or maybe an outfit that is suitable for "date night." One of the scenes will be the girlfriend looking through her phone of old pictures with her boyfriend. There are no pictures of both actors together, so there will be a photoshoot with different outfits of the couple. Overall, the costumes would not give off an elegant vibe like how the original video for the song is.

5.) Schedule:

• 11/18: No class today, planning will begin the next class.
• 11/19: We begin planning our music video: figuring out the location, when the project is due, how much time we will have to film and edit, etc.
• 11/21: Writing storyboard and planning to film for the weekend. Blogs due at midnight. 
• 11/22: Check out the camera to use for filming that weekend. We need to get it before everyone else because there is a limited amount. Photoshoot and maybe a couple scenes shot at a movie theater.
• 11/23:  I invited another group to film their project at my house, so we will be filming there the entire day. Not every scene will be completed.
• 11/25: Media class starts that day (a two-day week at school). Darwin will bring his laptop in order to begin editing the footage that we have so far. (Has been dumped into the computer over the weekend) There is a filming blog due that night from what was recorded on 11/24.
• 11/26: After-school filming at my house.
• 11/27-30: (Thanksgiving break) Last-minute recording 
• 12/2: Filming blog #2 due at midnight.
• 12/4: Last-minute editing
• 12/6: Project due in class

Presenting and Researching new project

My class is transitioning from our commercial project to a new one, which is a music video. I really liked the whole process of producing a way to present a favorite product, for example, thinking of a theme to follow and working with our mis en scene. However, my partner and I are moving into a more creative area for filming. We have to choose a song and  create a whole new video that goes with it. We cannot copy an existing video, it is a completely new music video. It will be difficult to record with only two people as a group. This is because we plan on having more than one actor in the film.

Originally, we had three group members discussing song choices. The list started off with five songs, each a different genre. My friend suggested to add a Hip-Hop song, but I couldn't find ideas for the video. The rest of the songs were either pop, R&B, or alternative. We had a tough time when we shortened the list to 3 songs. That was a bad idea because each of us chose a different song. In the end, my friend Darwin and I had chosen a song.

The song we final decided on is "I'm not the Only One" by British singer, Sam Smith.  It is a slow pop song with a depressing theme. It talks about someone's lover who figured out that they are being cheated on. In the music video, it is a wife who is having a mental breakdown while it flashes to her husband having an affair with a woman. There are variety of shots and angles, for example, hand-held shots, low, and eye-level angles. The sound at the beginning of the video is of dialogue between the couple before the guy leaves the house. Background noise is also added, birds chirping, rustling leaves from the wind, and a car engine. Scenes that have been edited were probably to fix lighting, besides that, there are no transitions, only cutting to different scenes that are happening at the same time. Mis en scene for this video is very simple for a broken love story:

1.) The actors in the music video are wearing nice, formal clothing. The wife is dressed with a white long beautiful dress, similar to wedding dress. Husband is wearing a tuxedo.
2.) Natural lighting is in most of the video. There are also studio lights from a high angle for when the artist is on stage performing the song. Blue and dark lighting establishes the setting of a club/bar.
3.) There are more than 2 actors in the music video. There is the original couple and the mistress that the husband is cheating with. The artist is seen as the entertainer in the club/bar, singing the song.
4.) When there are clips of the wife, she is seen crying, meaning her mascara is streaming down her face. However, both women are wearing makeup that you wear when you’re going out. (Glam/casual)
5.) Props in the video are things such as alcoholic drinks, a cigarette, and bottles of lighter fluid to light a fire.
6.) There are multiple settings found in the video. It starts at the house of the couple, and it switches to the bar, and the bathroom in the bar/club. The wife is even seen going to a local convenience store.

Editing Journey (Oct 25-Nov 6)

On October 25, our classmates had to wrap up filming and use the school's computers to begin editing. This is if they did not bring their own laptops to edit their projects. This assignment was supposed to be finished by the 29th. Except, when they came to class and began to work on their commercials, the editing studio seemed to not work. This was bad news because the class could not work on their video project. However, it turned out completely fair because my teacher extended the date (November 11). She also promised that the computers would be fixed by the next time we would walk in. This gave my classmates more time to edit. In the meantime, they were given the task to blog about editing, but most of them could not really tell the truth. Instead, they blogged about not being able to edit, and what their expectations were.

My group did not find this an inconvenience we had my friend's laptop to work on our commercial.
The class was blogging while we were editing our commercial. We were happy with our results after every member had put in their own work and inputs. We had finished and began exporting the movie, but then my group and I realized we had to get our editing blog done. That is where I discussed what work I did while we were editing our commercial. We managed to work all the way until the end of class and submit it before leaving. We had successfully finished on October 29th and had completed before anyone else could. On Halloween, I reviewed our material to make sure our plan did not get messed up. One of the members had left on a trip, so Macy and I decided to show our teacher our final product. She ended up thinking that our commercial was very creative and loved the way it came out.

On November 4, our teacher announced what would be the plans for this week. She told our class that we would be allowed to edit for 2 more days. My classmates were given the time that was promised. This allowed them to create their commercial the way they wanted to. My friend and I were left to observe other groups as they finished up their editing. We even got to view a friend's PSA on vaping. We finally got to send our commercial to our teacher, and that way, we wouldn't have to worry about turning it in later. November 6 came around, and it was the last day to edit; everyone was adding their final touches. It was the last day because our class needs to work on our critical reflection questions next time. These important questions and the commercial will both be due on Monday, November 11.