For the most part our editing was easy. We ended up having most of the footage on our phones. This was done because we didn't end up filming with the school cameras. We thought we would have better quality videos on our phones. Another perk of this was not having to dump on school computers. This also saved us time because school computers take a long time to load. Our phone cameras were easy and allowed us to move quickly. A challenging part was being able to move all the footage to one central place. We had three different phones with all the footage. We gave the video to Alex, and this mostly worked.
We had a little challenge because my phone wouldn't transfer because the files were too large. I ended up having to go to his house to transfer it onto his computer. Once we had all the files on one central computer, we could start. We decided to stick with the story board theme. This meant we were all on board with our ideas. This led to a smooth process of fitting all the footage together. One issue we had was shot length. We didn't have bad shots, we didn't know how long to make them. This made the video look clumsy and not coherent. We had spent too much time talking over our options.
In the end, we ended up switching shots quicker than slower. We thought this would keep the viewer engaged for longer. We also decided to jump back to previous shots to show progression of the film. This also created another issue, finding the shots. We had so many shots stacking up to use, we lost track. This created un-needed stress of having to sift through bad video. Next time, we are going to keep better records of shots to be able to move affectionately through them.Another issue we had was the shots at the end. We had very similar closing shots, but we always found something wrong with one. We couldn't decide which one we wanted, so we had to go with the one we didn't like, but we had no choice. Overall, the process went well, we just had too much going on to really see what we wanted, but in the end, we were all satisfied with our videos.
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Monday, December 2, 2019
Final Filming For The Music Video
The day before the break, we made a plan to film. We got a camera from school, and discussed our plan. We had a plan, but I was going to be gone. We knew filming over break would be hard, but we had an idea of what we wanted. I would be gone, so we had to film only things without people in it. This meant we could do shots for the first 30 seconds or so. This was hard because we had to jump around filming and skip what we could not do. We had to make a detailed plan of what shots we could film, Otherwise, we got so confused we did not know what shots we had and didn't have. This preparation could have been very useful going into the project. But once they got settled in they were able to get the shots they needed so they were not wasting time.
During their filming, the process was slow. Neither of them can drive, so they relied on parents. This made the timing off because no parent wants to sit there for hours to film. This forced them to hurry and in turn possibly miss shots. Another issue this created was shaky shots. They had to move quickly, often not having time to take a shot over again, which may mean they have bad shots. We have not taken the footage off the camera yet, so we are not sure. However, we have allowed plenty of time to re shoot if need be. We still need to rent a camera for one more day, once I am back, we need to shoot shots of me and the group. This will be easy as I can drive, meaning we can take our time and not rush shots.
For our final filming session, we already have a set plan. We want to go to a church, and get the shots of all of the members. We all also have agreed on what we will be wearing. This preparation will hopefully help us get all the shots, and not waste time. Another reason I think this last day will go so smoothly is because Alex lives across the street from a church, making travel a breeze. We all also live within 10 minuets of each other, making travel even easier. We plan to finish filming tomorrow, leaving 2 days to edit. This was rather tight with time, but we are getting it done. We are all good at editing, and don't think we will have any issues. Therefore, I have no reason to believe we won't be done by Friday.
During their filming, the process was slow. Neither of them can drive, so they relied on parents. This made the timing off because no parent wants to sit there for hours to film. This forced them to hurry and in turn possibly miss shots. Another issue this created was shaky shots. They had to move quickly, often not having time to take a shot over again, which may mean they have bad shots. We have not taken the footage off the camera yet, so we are not sure. However, we have allowed plenty of time to re shoot if need be. We still need to rent a camera for one more day, once I am back, we need to shoot shots of me and the group. This will be easy as I can drive, meaning we can take our time and not rush shots.
For our final filming session, we already have a set plan. We want to go to a church, and get the shots of all of the members. We all also have agreed on what we will be wearing. This preparation will hopefully help us get all the shots, and not waste time. Another reason I think this last day will go so smoothly is because Alex lives across the street from a church, making travel a breeze. We all also live within 10 minuets of each other, making travel even easier. We plan to finish filming tomorrow, leaving 2 days to edit. This was rather tight with time, but we are getting it done. We are all good at editing, and don't think we will have any issues. Therefore, I have no reason to believe we won't be done by Friday.
Monday, November 25, 2019
Filming for the Music Video
Last Thursday, we were supposed to film. I checked out the camera for the group, and held it for the day. Thursday afternoon we made a plan to meet up Saturday morning. This never worked because I ended up having to work. Sunday was also a bust. We never got to film because Jorge was busy and couldn't come to get all our shots with us. Monday, we cant film because Jorge and Alex have a soccer game, so we can't work. All this cancellation has started to cause problems for us. We have a lot of time, but the holidays are approaching. This creates problems because of traveling.
I am gone on the 27th, and they want to film that day. I come back on the second of December. These few days are the perfect time to film, but my absence is an issue. It is hard to film on these next couple of school days because we have little camera access. Also, another problem is getting together. We all live in the same city, but two of the three of us can not drive. This creates more problems than we have, except these are not easy to solve. I can drive, so I am willing to pick them up. This just takes communication and more time than we have. We think we are going to film Wednesday morning, the only time we have all together, we just need to make sure that we have weather cooperation to film outside.
The day before I leave would be an ideal day to film, but Alex cannot attend and he wants to be there. Our biggest issue is getting everyone together. We all have schedules that conflict and this leads to problems. We have set up 3 different times to film, and all have been shut out. Sunday was our biggest mistake. We wanted to film in Chic-Fil-A, but they are closed on Sunday. This meant that day was shut out, and now we have to wait for an opening. Going forward, we know we need to communicate well in advance. We have checked out a camera for today, and have to stick to schedule and get filming done before break. If all this comes together, our video will work out like we thought.
I am gone on the 27th, and they want to film that day. I come back on the second of December. These few days are the perfect time to film, but my absence is an issue. It is hard to film on these next couple of school days because we have little camera access. Also, another problem is getting together. We all live in the same city, but two of the three of us can not drive. This creates more problems than we have, except these are not easy to solve. I can drive, so I am willing to pick them up. This just takes communication and more time than we have. We think we are going to film Wednesday morning, the only time we have all together, we just need to make sure that we have weather cooperation to film outside.
The day before I leave would be an ideal day to film, but Alex cannot attend and he wants to be there. Our biggest issue is getting everyone together. We all have schedules that conflict and this leads to problems. We have set up 3 different times to film, and all have been shut out. Sunday was our biggest mistake. We wanted to film in Chic-Fil-A, but they are closed on Sunday. This meant that day was shut out, and now we have to wait for an opening. Going forward, we know we need to communicate well in advance. We have checked out a camera for today, and have to stick to schedule and get filming done before break. If all this comes together, our video will work out like we thought.
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Music Video Storyboard
Making the story board was a daunting task. We wanted to integrate the lyrics literally instead of metaphorically. This would add a little bit of fun to our project and keep the viewers involved. Our first 30 seconds of the song would be easy because there was no words. For the first couple seconds, we would have a moving shot of a Chic-Fil-A drive by to show our location. Then, we would have a close up of the Chic-Fil-A Sign. From here, getting closer to the words, we would take a pan of the inside of the restaurant. Then, we would transition to a pan of the inside to really characterize the restaurant. We also plan to give effects on these transitions and add flare to the shot. Also, we also need to add a fade in to start off the music video.
For the second half of the video, there is words so things are more tricky. We start to incorporate people and the use of fire. We start by showing a Chic-Fil-A burning to show it bing closed on Sunday. From here, we cut to showing a church to show what is open on Sunday. Our next shot was tricky because we did not know what we wanted people to wear. We went back and forth between people wearing all black and white to show uniformity. We have them taking a selfie and putting their phone in their back pocket. We toyed with the idea of using a gram cracker as an phone for the lyrics "put the gram away." We decided this was not a good idea as some people may not get the hidden reference. We wanted to leave this shot for a few extra seconds to really drive the point home of people not being on their phones on Sundays.
The last 15 seconds were the hardest. We started by having our whole group members praying to follow the lyrics. We still are undecided as to what we are going to wear. In the middle of our circle, the Chic-Fil-A bag will be burning to show the closed on Sunday aspect. Next, the song talks about a serpent, so we are going to have a Chic-Fil-A bag, then we will open it, and the snake will be inside. This is going to be a hard thing to do because incorporation of a live animal is always hard to do. We want to do a close up of this snake to show its detail and really sell the scene to the viewer. Next, we want the final ashes of the bag burning to show the end of the Chic-Fil-A. This would be a good way to close as we started with the bag fresh on fire. Then, we will fade out to complete the video.
For the second half of the video, there is words so things are more tricky. We start to incorporate people and the use of fire. We start by showing a Chic-Fil-A burning to show it bing closed on Sunday. From here, we cut to showing a church to show what is open on Sunday. Our next shot was tricky because we did not know what we wanted people to wear. We went back and forth between people wearing all black and white to show uniformity. We have them taking a selfie and putting their phone in their back pocket. We toyed with the idea of using a gram cracker as an phone for the lyrics "put the gram away." We decided this was not a good idea as some people may not get the hidden reference. We wanted to leave this shot for a few extra seconds to really drive the point home of people not being on their phones on Sundays.
The last 15 seconds were the hardest. We started by having our whole group members praying to follow the lyrics. We still are undecided as to what we are going to wear. In the middle of our circle, the Chic-Fil-A bag will be burning to show the closed on Sunday aspect. Next, the song talks about a serpent, so we are going to have a Chic-Fil-A bag, then we will open it, and the snake will be inside. This is going to be a hard thing to do because incorporation of a live animal is always hard to do. We want to do a close up of this snake to show its detail and really sell the scene to the viewer. Next, we want the final ashes of the bag burning to show the end of the Chic-Fil-A. This would be a good way to close as we started with the bag fresh on fire. Then, we will fade out to complete the video.
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Music Video Planning
Location- Our location plans are very easy. We planned on taking shots of the beach, and local waterways for our first 30 seconds because there is no sound. Once the song starts talking about Chic-Fil-A, we will cut to a real Chic-Fil-A and film that part. Our backup plan if something goes wrong would be to film outside of the Chick-Fil-A to still get the same shot.
Health and Safety- At the beach, we would never go when it is raining to avoid lighting. Also, we would only go during the day to avoid running into bad people. When at Chic-Fil-A, we would make sure to be safe and film away from moving cars. Inside, we would be safe by asking to film before hand so we cant get into trouble.
Props- We would have little to no props. Maybe only a phone. There is not a lot of objects in the music video, so we may just have nothing in our hands.
Costumes- In many of Kanye West's Music Videos, he's wearing primarily casual clothing. So, our idea for costumes is to have the actors dressed up casual in accordance with the weather. For example, actors will wear T-shirts, short/pants, and sneakers.
Schedule-
11/19/19: Plan Music Video and Finish Planning Music Video Blog
11/21/19: Plan Music Video by Story boarding
11/23/19: Film Music Video
11/27/19: Finish filming by the 27th because one of our group member leaves town
11/28/19: Start to work on the editing
11/25/19: Finish Music Video Blog
12/2/19: Finish Music Video blog #2
12/6/19: Final Music Video needs to be turned into the teacher by this day
Health and Safety- At the beach, we would never go when it is raining to avoid lighting. Also, we would only go during the day to avoid running into bad people. When at Chic-Fil-A, we would make sure to be safe and film away from moving cars. Inside, we would be safe by asking to film before hand so we cant get into trouble.
Props- We would have little to no props. Maybe only a phone. There is not a lot of objects in the music video, so we may just have nothing in our hands.
Costumes- In many of Kanye West's Music Videos, he's wearing primarily casual clothing. So, our idea for costumes is to have the actors dressed up casual in accordance with the weather. For example, actors will wear T-shirts, short/pants, and sneakers.
Schedule-
11/19/19: Plan Music Video and Finish Planning Music Video Blog
11/21/19: Plan Music Video by Story boarding
11/23/19: Film Music Video
11/27/19: Finish filming by the 27th because one of our group member leaves town
11/28/19: Start to work on the editing
11/25/19: Finish Music Video Blog
12/2/19: Finish Music Video blog #2
12/6/19: Final Music Video needs to be turned into the teacher by this day
Friday, November 15, 2019
Music Video Research
Coming off our commercial, we were still in a rough patch. We didn't really train ourselves to be ready for this music video because of a lack proper computer instruction. Once we got through this, the biggest thing I learned was the importance of making sure you got a correct shot before leaving. This was a key because we had to re take several shoots to get a shot good because we only realized we had bad shots when we were in the editing process. Another thing we were still struggling with was editing on Pinnacle, we ended up using our home computers and this was ok because we all knew how to edit, but not being able to edit on Pinnacle may catch up to us. Moving forward, we were excited to move into the music video because me and my group were all very coherent on our song. Another thing we were ready for was our new group. We all like each other and all think along the same lines when it comes to music, so we think this process will go smother.
At first, we were having major issues with our groups. Another pair kept trying to steal our group members, and there was a whole argument over who got who. Eventually, I ended up with who I wanted, Alex and Jorge. We ran through several songs like "Start With Me" and "90210," but these songs were ruled out because they cursed and we wanted to stay away from this in our projects. We ended up picking "Closed on Sunday" by Kanye West, this song fits into the rap genre but it isn't typical, it is very slow and doesn't really embody that classical rap sound. We liked this song because we thought it would be slow enough to add all the effects we wanted, but fast enough to not bore the audience and lose their interest.
With the song "Closed on Sunday", the first 40 seconds of the song is a instrumental. Our group got the idea to shoot B-roll for this section of the song. The B-roll will contain: Low angles, High angles, Tracking shot, Pans, and Tilts. We were also thinking about having the Chic-Fil-A write"Closed on Sunday's" on their big sign. After the instrumental is done playing, Kayne West starts to sing about how Chic-Fil-A is closed on Sunday's. For this we thought it would be best to, have the actors in the music video, dress up casually. Kanye usually wear jeans, shorts, and T-shirts in his music videos, which gives him the simple sense of style. The actors will look depressed, once arriving at Chic-Fil-A and noticing that it's closed. This scene will be a tracking shot of the actors and close-ups of their facial expressions. For the editing portion of our Music video, we will align our transitions in footage, with the lyrics and beats of the song. We shall add effects to make the music video visuals more appealing.
At first, we were having major issues with our groups. Another pair kept trying to steal our group members, and there was a whole argument over who got who. Eventually, I ended up with who I wanted, Alex and Jorge. We ran through several songs like "Start With Me" and "90210," but these songs were ruled out because they cursed and we wanted to stay away from this in our projects. We ended up picking "Closed on Sunday" by Kanye West, this song fits into the rap genre but it isn't typical, it is very slow and doesn't really embody that classical rap sound. We liked this song because we thought it would be slow enough to add all the effects we wanted, but fast enough to not bore the audience and lose their interest.
With the song "Closed on Sunday", the first 40 seconds of the song is a instrumental. Our group got the idea to shoot B-roll for this section of the song. The B-roll will contain: Low angles, High angles, Tracking shot, Pans, and Tilts. We were also thinking about having the Chic-Fil-A write"Closed on Sunday's" on their big sign. After the instrumental is done playing, Kayne West starts to sing about how Chic-Fil-A is closed on Sunday's. For this we thought it would be best to, have the actors in the music video, dress up casually. Kanye usually wear jeans, shorts, and T-shirts in his music videos, which gives him the simple sense of style. The actors will look depressed, once arriving at Chic-Fil-A and noticing that it's closed. This scene will be a tracking shot of the actors and close-ups of their facial expressions. For the editing portion of our Music video, we will align our transitions in footage, with the lyrics and beats of the song. We shall add effects to make the music video visuals more appealing.
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Final Blog for the Commercial!
Our Commercial is done! After a couple days we decided to just do it on me and Alex's computers. We never had luck with our desktops or computers the school brought us. We already had the files on my computer, so we moved them to Alex's computer to begin editing. Alex had no trouble on his computer. His editing software was Final Cut Pro X. We already knew the sequence of clips, and it was very simple to put them into place. The only issue we had was the length of clips. We did not know how long the commercial would be at first, so we added full length clips. We also had trouble picking what clips to use. We didn't know which ones to use when we were doing the jump cuts because there was so many different combinations of us throwing the backpack.
This set us back for a while because we wanted to try all the different combinations. Another thing that set us back was the song. At first, didn't know what song to use, so we played around with a couple different songs and tried to align them to the clips. In the end, this didn't work. We ended up just going with a consistent beat that kept the energy high and was good with the pace. However, our next issue was the fact that we didn't know when to start or end the beat. We ended up starting it 9 seconds in to build the pace. We ended up letting it play through the whole ending. This was one of our hardest places as a team because we all had different opinions and we couldn't come to an agreement. We all came to an agreement it would be best to start it later, and play it all the way through.
In the end, after our first editing process, our commercial was about an minute. This was a problem. We liked our commercial so much we had to start cutting out things we didn't want to. We got rid of the scene of walking onto the field. This took about 10 seconds off, and we still had more to go. to save more time, we started speeding up clips. The took about 7 more seconds off. To take the rest off we got rid of a pan to lose the last few seconds. This was the most crucial part because we still wanted to deliver our key message, but not lose anything. We ended up right at 30 seconds and were all satisfied with the whole commercial. We liked the Nike symbol and added a little flair by adding the colors.
This set us back for a while because we wanted to try all the different combinations. Another thing that set us back was the song. At first, didn't know what song to use, so we played around with a couple different songs and tried to align them to the clips. In the end, this didn't work. We ended up just going with a consistent beat that kept the energy high and was good with the pace. However, our next issue was the fact that we didn't know when to start or end the beat. We ended up starting it 9 seconds in to build the pace. We ended up letting it play through the whole ending. This was one of our hardest places as a team because we all had different opinions and we couldn't come to an agreement. We all came to an agreement it would be best to start it later, and play it all the way through.
In the end, after our first editing process, our commercial was about an minute. This was a problem. We liked our commercial so much we had to start cutting out things we didn't want to. We got rid of the scene of walking onto the field. This took about 10 seconds off, and we still had more to go. to save more time, we started speeding up clips. The took about 7 more seconds off. To take the rest off we got rid of a pan to lose the last few seconds. This was the most crucial part because we still wanted to deliver our key message, but not lose anything. We ended up right at 30 seconds and were all satisfied with the whole commercial. We liked the Nike symbol and added a little flair by adding the colors.
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