Main Task: Re-filming Footage

My filming was very successful and I managed to get the rest of my shots done to complete my music video. It took a weekend to get the remaining shots however I wanted to make sure I got the best quality, professional looking videos I could. My actors worked extremely well together again which will really show throughout my music video and be apparent to the audience. Now I will be able to fill all of the gaps in my music video plan and hopefully create a finished product of high quality and look professional, just as real, famous music videos do.

Main Task: Filming More Footage

In order to complete my music video, I do need to do some more filming however I believe, if it goes as smoothly and professionally as my previous filming days, it will only take a weekend or one day at the weekend to complete my filming. I will need both of my actors for those days but I'm sure they'll be free as I have quite a large time frame to film by. Ideally, I would like to film on either the 10th or 11th of December.

Main Task: Continuing with my Music Video

Now that I have a sizeable chunk of my music video completed, this gives me a very clear view as to where I want my music video to progress to and what additional filming needs to be done for me to successfully complete my video having told a story with a clear beginning, middle and end that will entertain my audience and look professional.

Main Task: First Draft

Here is a screenshot of my music video reel so far with each shot in the correct order and with the music playing in time with each lip syncing section. This took a lot of time and effort to edit in order for the lyrics to be perfectly in time with the actors mouthing the words to create an authentic look as though my actors are actually singing in the music video.

At this point in the video, Megan is shown more than Alex because in the song, Birdy sings the first verse, pre-chorus and chorus alone. However, Alex is still featured in a variety of shots including where we see him calling Megan, an argument between Alex and Megan, Megan and Alex walking together hand in hand across a beach and also, in the opening of the video, lighting a cigarette.

This will give the audience that first initial glimpse into what they can expect from the narrative e.g. a broken relationship. I believe if I hadn't used Alex in those establishing shots as well as shots tat follow, solely because he didn't sing in the first parts of the song, then it would be extremely confusing to the audience as to who he was in the story and make them question as to whether there were a story at all.

Megan does feature more heavily than Alex however there are shots where neither Megan or Alex appear and I have included scenery to make it clear to the audience where both Megan and Alex are and whether at certain points they are far away from each other and them reuniting in one of these locations to show either conflict, rekindling love or a symbolism shot.

Main Task: Editing

Once I had transferred all of my footage in to iMovie, I was ready to start editing and putting all of my clips into the correct order to form the storyline.

As I had already put my storyboard together, it was very easy for me to know what clips I wanted in what order however I needed to get each playing at the right speed, time and make sure they were all steady shots without any distracting shuddering of the camera.

To edit the time it played for, I used Clip Trimmer where I simply dragged the yellow outlined box around the specific part of the clip I wanted and, because it helpfully shows you the amount of time it will play for, it was then easy to adjust the lines to get it to play for my exact desired time, down to the most accurate millisecond.


To speed up or slow down the clip I had to select Clip Adjustments and move the curser to the right to speed the clip up or to the left to slow it down. It shows on screen the % of how fast or slow the clip goes and you are able to manually type in the % you'd like the clip to play at.


In order to completely steady any shuddery camera shots I was able to use Stabilisation to smooth the clip motion and Rolling Shutter to reduce motion distortion. This feature is very, very useful as some of my video clips were shaky as a result of either the weather when filming outside or when I was filming a shot where I'd, for example, circle my actors, and it was difficult to maintain a steady motion while moving.


Another aspect of the video clips that needed to be edited was the audio. In order for the real track to play over the top of each clip clearly and the audience not hear any background noises from the raw footage, I had to mute each clip, completely, individually.

Main Task: Filming With Megan & Alex- Review

I am extremely happy with the filming I got done on Saturday as both of my actors were totally committed and made the ideas I had in my head completely come to life and make the narrative of my music video just that more believable and interesting to the audience.

I decided on specific areas to film including wooded areas and a beach setting to create the illusion that both Megan and Alex are situated in different areas apart emphasising the separation of the relationship at specific points as well as an emotional disconnection between them. I hope this comes across well to the audience but I believe once I have put each piece of footage in the correct order in iMovie that the story will come alive and translate every part of it to the audience effectively.

Here are some shots of both Megan and Alex from Saturday:

There is a great diversity of camera angle, Mise en scene and framing with my shots which is what I'd hoped to achieve in order to mimic the professional music videos. I have used a lot of natural light in order to create an authentic look and to embody the different the various emotions portrayed in the video e.g. light and dark, love and heartbreak. The shots vary between Megan and Alex being separate to present to the audience that they are alone and clearly not in a relationship at this point and them being shown in the frame together representing either love or the turbulent times they've gone through during their relationship.

Main Task: Filming Days With Megan-Review

I have managed to get a lot of filming done with Megan over the time we were away and I am very happy with the kind of shots I have filmed such as scenery and long shots that I wouldn't be able to achieve otherwise outside of the area we were holidaying in. Despite the fact that I didn't film any of Megan singing/lip syncing, my intentions are to film those specific sections once I am with both Megan and Alex as I will be more certain of what parts I want them to lip sync for as I won't have them singing throughout the entirety of the video.

Here are some specific shots I got when filming with solely Megan:


I'm very happy with the filming that I have done and I believe I have used my time effectively regarding the fact I have planned around my holiday by using the scenery available to me to gain some professional looking shots for my music video.

I believe the scenery fits well with the style of song and is very tranquil and aesthetic which will work well as a juxtaposition and an equal to the lyrics being sung in the song.

Main Task: Additional Filming Day

I have decided to have my additional filming day taking place on Saturday the 12th of November as both of my actors schedules are free and, if needs be, I could potentially use the entire day. However, I don't believe I will need to as I'm confident in their professionalism and know I can get every shot I need for my first draft done in less than 12 hours.

I'm really looking forward to filming with them both as I believe their on screen chemistry will bring the song and its meaning to life as well as creating a believable, authentic story for the audience to become immersed in.

Main Task: Costume

The clothing my actors will be wearing will be a variety of outfits that embody the Autumnal weather. I have decided this as I believe it fits in with the mood of my song as well as what I want my video to look like aesthetically to the audience.

Megan will have a variety of costumes to wear including:

This is the style of jumper Megan will be wearing however the colour differs slightly as hers will be more of a burnt orange rather than a mustard colour.

Long Grey winter coat.

Brown ankle boots.

Long sleeve black top.

She will be wearing plain black high waisted skinny jeans.

Alex will also be wearing Autumnal clothing such as:

A khaki green parka.

Cropped black jeans.

Black Vans.

Ribbed grey t shirt.

I have chosen each piece of their outfit from their own wardrobes and I believe each part of their costume/outfit really captures the feeling of Autumn and cold weather (which is my primary aim) due to their fabrics, colours and style.

Main Task: Story

My music video will portray a story of a couple in relationship that has become quite turbulent and "on the rocks" however they are able to make it through their differences and come back together.
Luckily I have been able to make a definite decision on my male actor. I will be using one of my sister Megan's best friends Alex, which I believe will definitely help in creating great and believable chemistry during the video.

The video will begin with Megan and Alex in separate places and as the video progresses, they will get closer and closer and they will be featured in more shots together rather than apart to emphasise their relationship progressing and improving.

When filming sections of the music video that feature solely Megan, I will show her mainly in the right side of each shot as apposed to when I film Alex's solo shots where he will be positioned in the left of the shot. This is a symbolic choice I have made in order for the shots where they are together to be more significant to the audience as they have now come together in the story but also in visual means during the video as they will be positioned in the centre of each shot.

I will be filming some scenery shots when I'm in Wales and some solo shots of Megan.
When I return, I will be filming with both Megan and Alex in various locations.

Main Task: Filming Days

My filming days will take place from the 23nd to the 28th of October as I am going away to Wales that week and I believe the scenery will be perfect for specific sections of my music video. I will also be using a few additional days before my deadline to do some further filming for the video as I need my specific scenes with my male actor to be shot and also the shots where both of my actors are together. I already know my location's as to where I'll be filming these sections, I'm just now currently in the progress of figuring out specific dates that will be most convenient for my actors.

Main Task: Actor's For The Video

For my music video I have decided to use my sister Megan to lip sync to Birdy's vocals and I have two options for the male to lip sync to the vocals of Rhodes as I have not yet decided due to specific schedules of my potential male actors.

By using my sister for the music video, I know she will be reliable and I know her schedule so we can work around certain events if needs be.

Main Task: Music Video

For my main task, I have decided to create a music video. I have had a good idea of what kind of storyline I want to take place in my music video since we began the pre lim task when working in a group and that I definitely wanted to take on this task alone.

I want there to be a storyline based around a couple/love triangle and they are all trying to find out what they really want and whether any love will last. I haven't made a definite decision on what song I want to use however I do want to use a fairly slow, Indie Pop song as opposed to an upbeat Pop song or any other genre. I've decided to do this as I believe matching the genre to the storyline, mood and atmosphere is very important because, just like in Films, I want the audience to empathise and emote to the song's lyrics as well as the music video content (acting).

Main Task: Choosing a song

After figuring out that I wanted a slow, Indie pop song to be featured as my main track in my music video, I have come to a definite decision that I will use "Let it all go" by Birdy ft Rhodes.

I have decided to use this song as it is one of my favourite songs, isn't too well known (meaning there wont be a pre-conceived idea as to what my video will look like) and it captures the exact mood and feeling I want my music video to present to the audience.

Main Task: Inspiration

Digipak designs:

 

Poster designs: 

 

 Camera Angles/Framing:

   

Music Video: Review

After watching our Pre-Lim music video, we decided to pick out each part of it that we liked and come up with some aspects of the video that we would improve if we were to redo the task.
Aspects we liked included:

• We really loved the camera angles and shots we had used in our music video, especially this particular shot as it added real visual aesthetics for our audiences and was different to most conventional shots used in music videos. 

• We really like the choice of using black and white filter in each piece of our footage for our music video as it gave the actual shot additional visual aesthetic appeal for our audience.

• We also really liked our choice of song as it gave our actors a lot to work with and decide on a particular story line/choreography. It also influenced the on screen chemistry between the actors so they weren't coming across awkward during their specific sections of the music video they featured in together.

Aspects we'd improve if we were to recreate the video would be:

• We realised once we had completed our music video that the initial starts almost to abruptly causing our actress to look slightly rushed and unsteady. We would change this by starting the shot with a fade from black into our first shot of our actress.

• We decided after analysing our video very closely that the actors lip syncing could be slightly more exaggerated in order for the lyrics of the song to be emphasised.