Editing footage

So over the past week I have started to edit some of my footage, I think it is going really well and I am enjoying experimented with the different effects that I can create. Although I have a rough idea of how each shot should look and what effects are on each video I have also discovered whilst going through my video other effects that I have applied to my video. Although I haven't filmed all the footage yet I am placing the footage I have in the right place, so their are bits of the song that have gaps missing. So far I have edited a running shot with a close up on the footstep to emphasise the chase and the idea that she is running on foot. I have also slowed down a section of the footage so that the viewer can see the facial expressions the fear in the main protagonists face. Also by slowing it down it give time for the viewer to think about the situation and see all the small detail.

Audience Feedback #1

On Friday the 9th of December I showed an audience of age 17-18 year old my work so far. Although I hadn't edited a lot I want to get some feedback in order to work on to make my music video better. They watched the clip that I had edited and gave me some very positive feedback. Some of the comments made where "I like the black and white contrast, i think it's very effective and add to the dramatic atmosphere". This comment was from a female audience member age 18, furthermore I got some feedback from male audience members. Their feedback was "I think that the glitching sequence of the black and white and then the brightly colored footage is very effect, it helps add to the drama. I also really enjoyed the section where the footage slows down then speeds up again. I think this really shows the significance of time in your music video". I was really please with this feedback it really showed me that what I have done so far is good and I just have to carry on and finish it. I will show different audiences throughout the time I am editing to produce more feedback that I can act on and make my music video better.

Location shots

 This is where i am partly going to film my video this is where part of the running sequence will take place. I like the way that the tress create darkness and shadows.

I want to include a section of footage so that it looks like the character is panning upwards towards the sky.

Some of the footage will be of the character running through the trees, the trees are signified as obstacles in the way of her.

Weather For The Running Sequence Monday 28th November

This is what the weather forecast is doing for Monday the 28th of November. I will be shooting the part of the running sequence in west hill, the time of the shoot will be roughy around 1:45- 3:30. The weather for these times looks dry and cloudy which is what i want so that it adds to the atmosphere of the shots.

Costume ideas

Here I have generated ideas on pinterest to how i would like the main protagonist to dress for the filming. I have thought of the ice of maybe using a cape to help show the movement and speed of the running. I could use a red one so that it signifies danger, I was thinking that if i was to do this i would have everything in the background black and white then i could make the red cape stand out by cutting it out allowing the colour to come through. This idea was taken from the film schindler's list. Another idea I've had is if they dress in dark sort of rough clothes big puffy jacket to show the atmosphere as being cold and isolated.

Risk Assessment

When filming my music video I had to carry out a risk assessment so that I knew what the risks for the people and the risk for the equipment were. The table below shows the risks and how much of a risk they would have been.

Student Music Videos

 After I had researched students short films i then went on to looking at student music videos. I found this gave me an insight into what I had to do.


I firstly looked at a student music video for Faded- Alen Walker, I thought that it had a really good narrative and thought that the concept of the past and present footage was really good. It was about a boy that had lost his girlfriend. At the beginning you are a bit unsure on whats happening I initially thought that they just split up. I think that the way that they have staged it really makes you want to carry on watching and watch til the end. This is very important especially with the way that they have shown it because you don't know the real reason of whats happened until you get to the end so they had to make sure it was interesting enough to watch till the end.

I then went on to looking at a Sia- Breathe Me music video, I thought that you could clearly see some similarities to some of the other Sia videos in terms of using a dancer in an empty room. I think that it works really well and I really like how they have edited on the beat. Its a bit harder to understand this storyline I think. I like the idea of the dancing happening then other videos of the narrative and storyline. 

Animatic

This is the animatic that I have made from the photos of my storyboard. I think that this has given me a clearer view of how the music video will look. I think this is a valuable part of the planning and is very worth it because it means that you can sort of see what it will look like before you go out and film it and it allows you to change things before you go film it.

Feedback From Pitch

So on Friday 23rd September I pitch my idea for my music video to an audience ranging from 17-18 year olds. I think that my pitch was very beneficial to find out what the audience liked and disliked about my video ideas, and this gave them time to give me advise and tell me what I could do to improve my idea.

 From my feedback I found that the audience really liked the idea and the concept of my music video, they really liked the idea that I was going to use a black and white theme and then have a red cape. I showed the audience some of the inspiration  that I found from other music videos such as Sia' 'The Greatest' music video and explained how I liked the idea of the group of dancers and wanted to use this in my piece so that the main protagonist was shown clearly in the middle and then other dark characters were there almost as if they were fighting her within a dance routine.

Some of the feedback that I got given was that overall it was a really good idea and that I should think about editing on the beat because there is such a big drumming noise in the song the said that if I was able to edit to the beat to make it very fast pace then it would make the music video really good.

Pitch

Student Short Films

To give me an idea whether i wanted to do a short film or a music video I researched them to find out more about what each one entailed. I firstly looked at a few student short films to see what was possible with a very small budget. This would help me get an idea of what i would have to do and whether or not that was what i wanted to do.

I firstly looked at Hunter which was an award winning short film. The storyline behind it was that i boy went out shooting and shot a person instead of dear. He was followed by the ghost of the man, the main protagonist hid the body in his garden shed. One day he decided that he needed to get rid of the evidence so he took the body to a cliff and threw it over the edge. It was all too much for the boy the idea of him having blood on his hands and he too threw himself off of the cliff. I think that the way that they had filmed it was amazing the different shots of him walking showing a guy watching over him and following him. I really liked the editing especially near the end when the man is watching him throw the dead body over the cliff. They have used a glitch effect to show that the man was following him then once the body had been thrown he glitched and was no longer in the shot. I thought that the idea of the short film was really clear you could clearly see a beginning middle and end. I thought that the use of changing colour was good in terms of showing the present and the flash backs.

I then went on to looking at Chase which was another student short film. The storyline for this short film was about a lady that had possibly finished work and was making her way to her car, another character was following her very suspiciously. Then there is an over head shot of the lady followings phone saying target. From this shot it looks like the lady in black is after the main protagonist. But then in the end the women in black was trying to get rid of a bomb that was attached to this lady. Again this short film had a very clear beginning middle and end. I really liked the twist that they had added to the film because at the beginning you thing that the lady in black is after the other women, but then in the end she was just trying to help her and stop her from blowing herself up. They used very high suspense music to build tension as well as some quicker editing to help to build it up. I think that the camera angles they used were really good and helped to explain the video more, i really liked the pan shots that they had created to show movement and the surroundings. 

From doing this exercise I can now see what i have to do to create a short film. I will now go on and have a look at some student music videos to see which one I would prefer to do. 

Storyboard

This is my final storyboard, I have made sure I have checked it over so that it all makes sense. From my storyboard I will then make a animatic by taking photos of each drawing and fitting them alongside the song in order to have a clearer idea of what it will look like and to see if the idea would work.

Storyboard In Progress

So I have started my storyboard, below is a picture of what I have achieved so far. This screenshot shows the first 25 seconds worth of footage. From this screenshot you can see the level of detail I am going into to make it easier for me to go straight out and film.