Editing session #1: Lip-sync cut

Today, I was able to go to the editing suite to review all our footage that we gained from our shoot day and review it and start the editing process. 

First, I had to complete a lip-sync cut and to begin this I reviewed all the shots that contained lip-syncing (this sets were the sofa, wall of clocks, projections and the pendulum) which largely consisted of wide, mid and close ups as well as some on the dolly and track- these were all filmed on 25f.p.s meaning that it was shot at a normal speed. Once I overviewed all the footage containing our artist, I started to draw a timeline on a piece of paper of a rough idea of how I wanted to cut the video to turn out. To do this, I created a line that went up or down depending on how upbeat the section of the song was and therefore matched a lip-sync set to each section:

After this, I started to translate this timeline onto Premiere Pro by placing all the relevant footage from each set in a rough chronological order. Then, I began to cut the shots more precisely and paying attention to detail as to where I wanted specific shots and where. I ran into some trouble when initially editing as in some of the footage we gained, the artist didn't know the lyrics and therefore some of the shots couldn't be used but I was able to work around it and I know that when I come to placing in non-sync shots I can cover up some mistakes. 

Today, I was able to complete the full lip-sync cut which I am really happy with; I was able to blend each set in the music video together by introducing each set during the final section of the set before. I also successfully cut to the beat to the music which is important in creating a music video that looks effective and coherent. 

Tomorrow, in my next editing session, I will be able to start to review our non sync footage which we shot in 50f.p.s which I am excited to start to play around with and place over the lip-sync cut to enhance our video. 

Photoshoot outcome

After our photoshoot, we looked though all the images as a group, highlighting the ones we think were most effective and fit our star persona of our artist the most. After this, Tilly used her photography skills to edit these photos on photoshop, adding effects and lighting changes. These were the outcomes of the photos we will be using for our digipak and social media: 

Shoot day evaluation

Prior to our shoot day, we were able to prepare for shooting our first set: the 'wall of clocks'. This helped me to feel more calm and prepared for our shoot day as we had everything prepared for filming so the following morning we could then focus on preparing our artist in costume and makeup. 

When waking up to the morning of our shoot, I felt nervous yet excited to complete our filming ready to edit. I made sure that I had all my props ready to bring into the studio so that I didn't have to worry about packing and organizing on the day. Although I was feeling nervous to shoot because we had a limited time slot, I felt prepared as as a group we had completed a thorough process in our pre-production stage of planning everything such as props, costume and makeup so that we weren't making last minute decision on our shoot that would eat into our filming time. 

Before starting to shoot, we had to prepare our artist, Nubia, in costume and makeup. This process took slightly longer than what we anticipated as our artist had to work on her lip-syncing as she was unsure of some of the lyrics. We overcame this problem by allowing her to listen to the song when doing her makeup. 

The day before our shoot, we were able to pin up all the clocks on the wall which was very useful as when we first came into the studio we just had to worry about our artist and the lighting. I was really happy with how our first set up picked up on camera and I think that our concept really came to life. Initially the wall panels came across more yellow than I anticipated but with the use of lighting we were able to create a really ambient sunset effect which looked beautiful and hit the glass on the clocks really nicely. 

On the actual shoot, we all participated in the creation of the video, taking over different roles. Throughout the day, I was in charge of coordinating the clapper board when filming which is important as it allows us to sync up the track with the footage when we come into the editing suite. When doing this role, I had to make sure that the clapper board was focused and in frame so that the editing process would be as easy as possible in post-production. I also got to coordinate the camera when filming our pendulum set and filmed a panning shot up the artist's body having to draw focus whilst doing so which was a challenge but I think that I achieved the shot we wanted. Although we all had a say in directing the shoot, Tilly mainly took on this role as she shouted directions as well as 'stand by' 'roll camera' 'playback' and 'cut' which is vital in achieving the footage we wanted. Anna predominantly took part in the camera work and filmed on the Dolly and Track during the sofa/apartment set up which she did well. 

Personally, I feel as if I did particularly well in dressing and preparing our artist, I think that I helped her to feel more confident and comfortable as I went over the lyrics with her as well as giving her movement directions and gestures to perform whilst filming. I also used my makeup skills to get her ready and I think we created some really visually appealing looks for her that went with the aesthetic of our concept for 'Golden Hour'. 

During our shoot, we did run into some problems. Nubia, our artist, struggled to remember the lyrics and therefore we took more time when we initially started to film as we had to film the same shot multiple different times so that she could grasp onto her lip-syncing. However, we stayed calm so that we could still be as efficient as we wanted and although losing time, we were still able to film what we wanted. We also took more time than expected when getting our artist in costume and doing her makeup, this meant that we were not able to complete the set of just having the artist on the distressed wall. However, this was overcome as we were able to shoot multiple none sync shots of our artist that we can then place into our video when editing. 

                            

I think that the most successful part of the shoot was filming the swinging pendulum. Prior to shoot day, we were unsure of how it would pick up on camera but with the added effects of lighting and the use of the smoke machine, it look really visually appealing on camera. In addition to this, I also think that we successfully shot enough footage for editing and was able to film some great non-sync, panning shots of the smashed up clocks on the table. As well as this, when filming the projections on the artist, I think that the close up shots we gained from this set were particularly successful. 

I feel that we could of filmed the wall of clocks with more thought, because it was the first set we filmed we were all quite nervous and weren't in the flow of filming yet and therefore I feel that we could of used our time more efficiently and therefore we could have got more footage of this set up. However, we did manage to get a wide, close up and mid as well as some non-sync close ups of the clocks. 

I really enjoyed directing the beginning of the apartment/sofa set up. I was able to direct our artist when lighting a candle whilst filming and then direct her movement on the sofa. This was exciting for me as I was able to see our vision come to life. 

                                   

When it comes to editing, I am most looking forward to seeing how our table set footage will come together as we are editing our artist into a duplicate screen and therefore our concept will come to life in the editing process and help to make our video unique. 

I think that as a whole, my group and I worked really well as a team in pre-production and in filming. We all contributed ideas and took on important roles on shoot day which allowed our filming to go smoothly and successfully. However, it was stressful at times when we knew we had to keep to a schedule and at times we had to realize that thinking calmly was more rational than rushing through the shoot. 

When given the chance to next shoot something, I will be able to take in everything that I have learned from my shoot today and transfer those skills. I will be able to transfer my styling and costume skills onto my next project as that was a key factor in our music video with the shoot being based on our artist's star persona. To make my next shoot even more successful, I will make sure I keep strictly to schedule in order to shoot everything I plan too. 

Overall, I am really happy with how our filming went and I am excited to be editor in our group so that I can piece together our footage to the song and create an effective music video. 

Preparing the day before our shoot

Having our shoot day on Wednesday the 24th of November, we were given today's afternoon (the 23rd of November) to go into the studio to set up anything prior to shooting.

We began by going into the studio and helping Fran (the set designer) put together our wooden floor panels. These panels are used in each of our set ups so it was useful to us to complete this the day before so that we could be time efficient when shooting. To put together this flooring, we had to place panels of wood together to create a large area that covered the floor. This floor came out really well and it was exactly how I envisioned it to be when planning in our pre-production stage. 

After this, Fran showed us our yellow, distressed background panels that we would be using for a number of our set ups. To put this wall together, we placed 4 panels next to each other to make it look like a wall. As a group, we then decided to rip off some of the paint to create an even more distressed look that we desired to have in our planning stage.

The distressed wall that Fran initially showed us that she had painted was more yellow than I expected but then once we trialled it with an orange toned lighting, the vision came together and the outcome was perfect, reflecting our idea of the 'golden hour'.

Once we had the floor and backdrop set up, we then had to transfer a sofa from the edit quite down into the studio which was quite a challenge but necessary for our shoot. 

Once this obstacle had been completed we then decided to work on the wall of clocks as this is what we would film first on our shoot day. We gathered all the clocks we had sourced ourselves and then continued to borrow some from classrooms in order to fill up the wall as much as possible. We asked Fran to screw nails into specific places on the wall and then aligned how we wanted the clocks to look ourselves and placed them on the wall, ready to shoot. We had to trial and error a few different clocks on the walls and eventually came to an outcome we were all happy with. 

What we finished with at the studio, ready for our shoot day:

Social media and Digipack photoshoot

Today, we were able to book the photography studio to take photo's of our artist that we can then use for our social media page as well as for our final digipack design. 

It was useful that Tilly is a photography student as were able to use proper equipment and use her direction when taking in turns taking photos. 

We dressed our artist in multiple different outfits and placed her in multiple different positions so that we would have a range of different poses in different outfits for our social media as well as then having a wide range of photos to chose for our digipack. We also took some photos of clocks we can then use on the inside back cover of our digipack. 

Some behind the scenes of our photoshoot: 

Overall, this photoshoot went really well and I am excited to see the outcome of the photos and then edit them for both our Instagram page and our digipack. Tilly will transfer the photos onto her laptop where we will then have a look and edit our favourite photos which I will then upload onto my blog. 

Shoot day schedule

Prior to our shoot day, I created a shoot schedule so that when filming we can try and be as time efficient as possible and film everything we need to in the time given. This way, we will be more organized and therefore less stressed: 

Shot List

I decided to create a rough shot list for our music video so that I could envision the music video in my head and therefore feel more prepared for shoot day. This list is rough and bound to change when I come round to editing our music video but I felt that it was necessary to have a rough idea and also so that we know what kind of shots we want to film on our shoot. 

Shot list:

5 seconds before song starts: artist walks into the sofa set and takes a seat as the music starts. Tracking shot, She walks in in a low mid shot, diegetic sounds of feet

0.00-0.07 she crouches down she her face is in the mid shot (after the tracking shot stops), she lights a candle on the coffee table, can contain some close ups of things In the room, posters, fan, plants etc.

0.08-0.17 as she takes the match and blows it out, close up is used, then a mid-shot of her going to sit on the sofa, cutting on the action (her getting up) camera starts to zoom in

0.17-0.19‘really wasn’t thinking bout you’ camera is face on with artist sitting in the middle of the sofa, it zooms in to a close up, artist then turns her head to the left

0.19-0.26 ‘saw you across the room guess you real cute but I’m a mess was you even thinking bout friends’ transition the artist finishes turning her head with the camera now to her side

0.26-0.29 camera swipes to the right wall, she is sitting down on the floor ‘you came out of nowhere greeted me with open arms’

Or…

0.26-0.29 swinging pendulum ‘you came out of nowhere greeted me with open arms’ artist walks forward slightly, either lip-syncing or just walking , camera is in a mid/wide shot

0.29-0.33 table set camera is wide, artist is facing herself at the table ‘guess you had some charm’ she speaks on the left ‘I must be falling hard’ she tells herself on the right

0.34-0.38 ‘ohhhh really got me thinkin’ close up on roman numeral floor

0.38- 0.41  lying on the sofa, straight face, no lip-syncing wide/mid

0.41-0.46  ‘that you were the one the one that I had been missin’ against distressed wall mid shot

0.46-0.49 lying on the sofa, continuing from previous sofa shot wide/mid

0.50-0.53 ‘you were the missing link link link link’ – close ups, changing each beat on ‘link’ changing inbetween clocks and pendulum.

0.54-0.58 ‘tell me what you think about me’ table set, mid shot facing artist, camera tilts down to reveal props on table as she sings  

0.58-1.01 ‘tell my I’m all you need need need need’ close ups, changing each beat on ‘need’ changing in between clocks and pendulum.

1.02-1.07 ‘Cos I want you to feel the same about me’ table set, wide shot of table, soloist talking to herself 

1.07-1.15 ‘caught me at the golden hour’ wall of clocks, alternate between wide, mid and close ups

1.15-1.19 ‘caught me at the golden hour’ pendulum wide shot

1.19-1.24 ‘oohohoh’ roman numeral floor in a mid-shot

1.24-1.28 ‘caught me at the golden hour’ wall of clocks, alternate between wide, mid and close ups

1.28-1.32 ‘caught me at the perfect time didn’t wanna say good bye’ duplicate screen in a wide shot, with a couple of close ups

1.32-1.36 ‘caught me at golden hour’ pendulum mid shot

1.36-1.42 ‘ohohohoh’ roman numeral floor in a wide shot

1.42-1.48 ‘you, me, thinking forever things, I wanted something in between’ sofa set, tracking in

1.48-1.51 ‘nothing permanent’ wall of clocks up close, non lip-sync

1.51-1.59‘now I see your love is right for me, opened me up to new things, yeah I’m loving it’ – alternate between pendulum, sofa and roman numeral floor.

1.59-2.07 ‘you really got me thinking’ close up on roman numeral floor

2.07-2.15 ‘that you were the one the one that I had been missin’ against distressed wall mid shot

2.15-2.19 ‘you were the missing link link link link’ – close ups, changing each beat on ‘link’ changing inbetween clocks and pendulum.

2.19-2.23 ‘tell me what you think about me’ table set, mid shot facing artist, camera tilts down to reveal props on table as she sings  

2.23-2.28 ‘tell my I’m all you need need need need’ close ups, changing each beat on ‘need’ changing in between clocks and pendulum.

2.28-2.59 use a combination of all sets

2.59-end pendulum set; she walks off on the last beats.

Sourcing our props

Although we pitched our set ups to the set designer (Fran) who would be responsible for building main parts of the sets (like backdrops, floors etc.) we were given the task to source our own props. 

Props we had to source: 

• clocks 
• sofa 
• things that go into an apartment (candles, pillows, side tables, magazines etc.) 
• wall frames 
• plants (for our sofa set)

As a group, we all decided to look for clocks and were successful in sourcing them from Amazon, Charity shops and at home. We were also able to get some from the theatre department at school as well as borrow some from classrooms. We were able to source the sofa from the edit suite at school which matched our aesthetic perfectly as it was brown leather and well worn in. 

After looking around my home, I sourced multiple items that would go in our sofa set up including a salt lamp, candles, magazines and a side table. I was also able to bring in multiple plants from home as well as frames to go on the wall of our sofa set up to make the set look as realistic as possible to a living room/apartment. 

Makeup for our shoot day

Because our music video is thoroughly based on our artist and their star persona, it is important that each look they have in each set is interesting and matches our desired cool aesthetic. Due to this, we want our artist's makeup to look unique and edgy to match this vibe. 

I sourced images from Google of makeup looks that we want to include on our shoot day: 

I think that this shimmery eyeshadow will look good with the wall of clocks as it goes with the warm tones of our video and is not too extravagant and therefore won't take away the attention from the clocks.

We all agreed that a glossy makeup look would look really effective in the set where we will project roman numerals onto our artist whilst she lies on the wooden floor. This is because the projections will then bounce off the gloss of her face, this look is also trending right now so our artist will look modern and new to our audience. 

We liked to idea of doing smoky graphic liner on our artist so that it would pick up on Camera even in wide shots. We also think that this will also help to build our artist's star persona of being cool and fashionable. We will most likely have graphic liner on our artist in the apartment/sofa set up and during the table with the duplicate screen. We also think that including some face gems across the artist's cheeks could also help to highlight her face and bring looks together. 

We think that doing a glowy makeup look with subtle brown eyeshadow will look best for the pendulum set as the lighting will be quite dark and therefore makeup won't really pick up. However, we had the idea to place orange gems across her chest which will pick up on camera and help to still make our artist look fashionable.

Conventions of a slow R&B music video

Our song falls into the slow R&B/ pop genre, and although I have already completed research into R&B videos, I decided to look at typical conventions of slow R&B videos in order to gain a full understanding to create the most successful video as possible: 

• an artists makeup will typically will be nude and  to convey a sense of natural beauty. 

• the songs lyrics will typically be about love or breakups and therefore the set will be more minimum to convey their emotions and to keep a focus on the artist. 
• the videos are often shot with soft lighting in sepia/greyscale tones. Dark colours are used to portray emotion and natural light and colours are used to portray a sense of reality.
• 
• shots are normally of a longer duration that matches the tempo of the song. 

Although we want our video to come off as chilled and relaxed, because it contains a strong beat we want this to come across in the editing process and match up the clips to the syncopation of the music which although goes against the conventions of a typical slow R&B music video, we think that it'll come across more successful to our audiences. 

Development of costume

Although having previously discussed our costume ideas as a group. After looking at the clothes we owned we managed to create outfits that fit our artist's star persona well as well as matching with the warm golden hour aesthetic of the video. These our the finalized costumes we will be using for our shoot. 

For the 'Wall Of Clocks':

This green trousers (which Tilly found) will work well with the small elements of green in the music video (like plants) as well as look trendy. 

Paired with a yellow corset to match the orangey/yellow colour scheme. 

A long leather jacket (sourced by me), will help the artist to look fashionable and unique. 

For the 'Roman Numeral Projections':

We only needed to focus on the top for the artist in this set as her lower half won't be shot on camera. We thought that a white shirt would look really effected with the roman numerals being projected on the artist, paired with layered gold jewellery. We also think that placing some stick on gems in the artist hair will look effective as they will help bounced off the light projected onto the artist. 

For the 'Sofa Apartment Set Up':

Originally, we wanted our artist to be in comfortable, chill out clothes but after some more discussion we agreed that the artist should continue to look fashionable as well as chilled out, this is the costume outcome: 

The trousers we have actually sourced are coloured with a sunset gradient which suit our theme exactly as well as being quite chill because they are baggy. 

We feel that lots of chunky layered jewellery will help to accentuate our artist's features. 

For the 'Table Duplicate Screen' set: 

We wanted this look to be smart and classy as well as trendy and fashionable as the artist is sitting at a table. 

For the 'Swinging Pendulum' set:

We wanted to go for a low-key yet fashionable outfit for this set so that we wouldn't distract from the swinging pendulum but instead compliment it as well as keeping in the colour scheme.

Lipsyncing rehearsal

Today, we met up with our artist and conducted a lip-syncing rehearsal. We went through the lyrics with her and we wanted her to move in the trial video. This helped us to gage sense on how our artist will look on shoot day, it also helped to make our artist more comfortable in front of the camera. 

We first shot a short sequence and then edited a short sequence on Premier Pro with some editing techniques like trialling a few slow motion clips. 

Unedited: 

Edited: 

Overall, I am happy with the outcome of this rehearsal/test shoot. I think it has helped us become more prepared for our shoot day in two weeks as we have worked with our artist more closely. I think that the slow motion shots look good in the edited video but could be better shot (but this will come with our set and better cameras on shoot day). We will need to conduct a second test shoot with our artist (Nubia) with more specific shots from our music video idea. We also need to make sure that she knows the lyrics so the shoot day is as efficient as possible. Our next steps also include creating a detailed shot list of our music video so that we know what to film when we are in the studio. 

Trialling a duplicate screen

Today, we decided to perform a test shoot for our duplicate screen set. In our final music video, our artist will be facing her self on a long wooden table, with smashed up clocks, metronomes and candles covering the table. This will also potentially be converted to black and white in the editing process. 

Because this scene will come to life during editing, we thought that trialling this out before hand would give us a grasp on how our music video will look as a whole. As well as this, we could see if we actually liked this editing technique. 

To do this test shoot, Anna filmed me twice. Once sitting on one end of a table and then another time with me sitting on the other end of the table. After this, we compiled both videos together on our laptops resulting in this short sequence:

 

I was really happy with the outcome of this trial shoot as it was what I envisioned it to be. I think that when we are in the studio with the set and props all set up and the lighting set lowkey, the shots in this location will look really effective. 

Pre production group discussion

As a group, we had a discussion of what jobs needed to be completed before our shoot day (the 24th of November). We talked about costumes and props that needed to be sourced as well as photoshoots that needed to be planned for our social media and digipak designs. This helped us to feel more organizing and gage an understanding of how much more planning needed to be completed.  

Flags that got caught up in our discussion: 

We have so far only sourced five clocks for our set when we need at least 20. This is because it has been hard to find clocks within our budget as a group. After this, we decided that we really needed to get on top of this challenge so we source 4 more clocks from Amazon and will spend spare time looking in antique/charity shops for clocks.

Other tasks that need completing before shoot day:

Costume:

We have discussed which costume we wanted for each set but now we need to start bringing in these items to school and look at what we have so we can purchase any missing items. We had an idea to do a group zoom/facetime call to look over each of our closets to source costumes. 

Rehearsal videos/photoshoots:

We are still yet to film our model running over her lines and lip-syncing the song which is a main priority over these next few weeks. We need to help her to practice movement and do multiple rehearsals so she is prepped for our shoot day. This is something that will help us analyse and guild our model on what we would like her to do on the actual shoot day and give her some tips.

 A photoshoot is also something we need to complete to start to create our artists star persona on social media and on our digipak. This is something that we need to do together with costume. This will also help us see if the colour and clothes for the shoot work well with the model and if we like how the clothes are perceived on the camera as some items may have the wrong aesthetic to what we desire for our music as what we are looking for is something fairly specific. 

Our Plan:

We are going to try and do this photoshoot either this week or next depending on when we are able to book the studio, this also relies on everyone is our group being free as well as our artist. Lip-syncing rehearsal needs to be completed as soon as possible so we will get in touch with our artist to book in a time she is free. Over the weekend, we will all do our best to source costume and other props/set (clocks, posters, plants, throws etc.)

Risk Assessment

Social Media Campaign

Prior to this, as a group we sourced images and created drawings as to what we would like our artists Instagram to look like. 

Since then, our initial ideas are still something we would like to pursue. 

Our images we sourced previously: 

Templates we created previously:

Tilly's design:                             My design:

 

We feel that the templates we created and the inspiration images we sourced match the chilled vibe we want to give our R&B artist. This is similar to that of Jorja Smith who we have been heavily inspired by: 

Images we want to include on our final social media page: 

• candid shots 
• natural shots 
• recording studio 
• selfies 
• fashion inspired pics 
• political posts
• photos with friends 

All these post ideas will help to create her fashionable yet chilled personality which will seem relatable to audiences but also the high fashion elements will make her look like a celebrity. 

For this, we will need to carry out a photoshoot with our artist (as well as use some of her own photos) to create some content as well as source other images from the internet (like political artwork). 

Our next step for our social media campaign is to shoot images and create an Instagram account for 'Nova Reign'. 

Digipak - decision making

Near the beginning of this project, each member of our group (me, Anna and Tilly) all made individual digipak designs on ideas we had for our artist and how we want to present them in terms of their star persona. After this, we looked at each others to compare and look at aspects we liked and disliked. 

My digipak design: 

My digipak design included many elements from our music video idea like similar sets and colour scheme- we agreed that this was effective as it will make our artist look coherent throughout her platforms (social media, music video and digipak). We agreed that the font choice may not have been this effective as it isn't very clear but also looks slightly unprofessional. 

However, I created this digipak template early on in our pre-production process; now, we may not include a black and white sequence which I have incorporated in my design and therefore we need to think about this when creating our final design. 

Anna's digipak design: 

Anna created a digipak which adopted a more pop artist feel which may then not put across the chilled R&B persona we want our artist to have. However, we did like some of her ideas. I particularly like the back cover of her digipak- I think it creates a vibe which matches our artist, I think that the colour could slightly change however to match our colour scheme more. I also liked the image of the clock she used for the inside back cover where the CD would be placed- it looks vintage which matches our theme. However, I think that some of the images she chose to present our artist were too glamourous and not edgy enough for our artist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tilly's digipak design:

Tilly completed a rough hand drew design so she could draw and create an idea from scratch. We liked the idea of having the artists face on both the front and back cover as it would look effective on the 3D digipak.

Tilly included plants on the outside back cover which we thought was a nice idea but did not necessarily look coherent with the front cover design. However, we agreed that Tilly grasped the idea of our star's persona well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After this discussion, we concluded that we all wanted to include the inside back cover as a clock as it'll look visually appealing but also match the atmosphere of our music video. In terms of the rest of the digipak, we would like to do a photoshoot with our artist as it will help us gain a better view of different types of images we want to include on our digipak. 

Our next step in terms of digipaks is to create a solid idea of what we want on each cover as well as doing a shoot four our artist so that we can get a few images of our artist to also use on our social media site.