Experimenting Begins

   This weekend (11/22 - 11/24) my partner and I did not film. Neither of us had time this weekend so we decided to refine everything we already have. I spoke to the actor of the music video and we ran through some of the extra things we could do. Because the genre of our song is Indie Pop we can add endless things to the video without changing much. The original amount of props that we had planned before was minimal. So we were thinking of things that we could add to it. Because the length of this video has to be around 1 minute and 15 seconds I decided that I wanted the video to be more like a trailer. That fact doesn't change much in the storyboard but it does affect editing just a little. I picked out the specific part of the song that we will use, all the way up to 1:12, and how the ending and beginning will be. The way the actor of the video acts doesn't have to go with the lyrics of the song but the actor WILL be singing so, I want some of the lyrics and actions to correspond in some type of way. For example, the songs name is "Froot" so I decided that I wanted to include fruits for the ironic effect.
   This weekend I also experimented with the make-up that the actor would have on. In indie pop videos there are a lot of close-ups and the actor usually has on make-up the help accentuate their character. By that I mean if the artist is trying to give off a playful and carefree vibe then their make-up would be bright and dramatic colors that show all over their faces. A more mysterious or calmer music video would have natural or close to natural make-up.  If it's not prominently shown through make-up then it shows through with lighting, hair, or even props. The lack of props can give off a simpler vibe to your video while more props create more action and things for the audience to see. If nothing about the actor sticks out then the setting will. For this music video, I want to shoot on the beach so the makeup and hair of the actor will be more dramatic. The video will be a narrative video. This will have the audience more interested in the video. Another thing that I will emphasize is the outfit that the actor will be wearing to further adhere to the conventions of indie music videos. 

Music Video Storyboard

     

1. Mis-en-scene
2. C-  The actor will be wearing a variety of dresses and possibly outerwear depending on the weather. They will be wearing a black dress for the main scenes  so it doesn’t take away from the background. 
3. L- We are filming at the beach around sunset. This video will not have a consistent lighting, mainly because we are using natural lighting. We will film right before the sun starts to set but the actor will be constantly moving so the lighting will be affected. The most dramatic lighting change we’ll have is from backlighting. 
4. A- We will only have one actor and she’ll be the main focus of this video. She will be singing into the camera. 
5. M- The actor will be basically living in the moment, singing and dancing in the video. 
6. P- We will be using fruits like apples, grape, peaches....
7. S- There is no set design because the feeling is supposed to carefree

1. Sounds
2. The song ‘Froot’ and the actor mouthing the lyrics. 

1. Editing 
2. While editing we will be cutting the different shots together that align with the storyline. In typical indie pop videos this type of editing is normal because they are made to look more like low budget videos. 

Music Video Planning

1. Costumes

None of our actors will be wearing Fort Lauderdale High School apparel; it would not follow the music. Instead, our actors will be wearing a dress or very "bougie' clothes. Since it will be on the beach, the actors will most likely be barefoot. They may wear sandals if they choose to. 

2. Lighting

Like other indie pop music videos, my music video will not have any artificial lighting; most of the lighting will be natural, as it comes from the sun. 

3. Acting

As of right now, we are thinking about having the actors wear a black dress since that is an article of clothing that both of them own. I have not decided if the actors should lip-sync or just "act out" the song. 

4. Makeup

My actors will be wearing "natural makeup." On the camera, it will look like they're wearing little to no makeup; the whole point is to make the actors look like natural beauties. We will only be using makeup to correct imperfections. For instance, if one of the actors has patchy eyebrows, I will have them apply tinted brow mascara or fill them in with a brow pencil. I will also have them apply minimal highlighter to the highest points of their faces to accentuate key features. 

5. Props

Like other indie pop music videos, there will be many props that fit with the surroundings and the lyrics of the song. We will have different fruits in the video that plays off of the irony of the title of the song.

6. Setting 

I will be filming my music video to the song "Froot" on the beach. Since it is a public establishment, I will not be asking for permission, unless I want to film by the lifeguard tower. If it is raining on the day that I am supposed to film, I will have to reschedule the shoot for another day. This will not change our music video since the location will remain the same. Safety will be my number one priority while we are filming the music video. I will wear my seat belt while I am in the car. I will not text and drive while I am on my way to the beach to ensure that I get there safely.  If the waves are really high or there are rip currents, we will not be getting the water under any circumstances. However, I doubt that our actors will be getting in the water for the music video anyways.

Schedule

I have two blogs due by Thursday at midnight; we have to turn in the planning blog and the storyboard blog. The planning blog is supposed to include possible locations, costumes, lighting, makeup, props, setting, and the schedule. The first filming blog is due on November 25th. During Thanksgiving break, which is from November 27 to the 29th, we will not have any assignments or blogs due. The second filming blog is due on December 2nd. The final version of the music video with all of the edits and transitions is due on December 9th. On December 11th, our critical reflection questions will be due to the class email. 

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Music Video Blog - Research

        Today, I am starting my research for my new project. The project is a music video. This is a great transition from the commercial project. In that project, I learned the storyboard is something that's very essential in the filming process because it helps keep you on track while filming. Another essential aspect is the tripod. The commercial is shorter than the music video so the shots were not that complex. Now, however, the shots need to be more deliberate and go with the mood of the song. Therefore, if there is a bass drop and more EDM like beats then the camera should go along with it. I will also have more consistency when it comes to props, movement, and placement. I will also film more. In the last project, the number of clips that I could use was very limited so the quality was not the best. With this project, I will ensure that I have enough footage to help make the editing process less tedious.
For my music video, I have chosen the song "Froot" by Marina. All of Marina's music tends to be classified under the genre "indie pop." Indie pop originates from a mixture of pop music and alternative rock. Most indie pop music videos tend to have establishing shots, long shots, medium close up, and some times, extreme close-ups. If the artist really wants you to see something important, there will be an extreme close up. One of the most important things in any indie-pop video will be the scenery. There will rarely be any other angle that is not eye-level, because most creative directors make you want to feel like you are there. There may also be birds-eye views for the establishing shots. Indie pop also has many tracking shots to keep the realism. In indie pop music video, there will usually never be any artificial lighting; most of the lighting will be natural, as it comes from the sun. The make-up changes with the vibe for the song. If its a calmer more vintage song, the make-up is light and simple. If the song is bright and energetic then the make-up is more colorful and changes between scenes. It is used so the audience can get a feel for the type of character in that video. The props used in these videos are usually seen as props of opportunity. They look casually placed in the location. Like a bike in the park or a bat in a baseball field. The setting of these videos are usually made to look low budget or actually are. They are filmed in a city, a park, or a house, it is usually a very simple set.

Commercial

There was a break in the editing process of the commercial because of the computer malfunctions. Once we gained access to a new set of computers, nearly a week later we got straight to work. There were only 14 computers available that had the editing program on it so everyone had to share a computer. This put a little strain on the editing process because the computers were slow and there was also other groups project on your editing program. However, once we got over the problem with the quality of the computers, what came next was the quality of the editing program. We used pinnacle studios to edit our commercial which is a pretty easy program to use if, you are patient. With the pressure of finishing your commercial in time to blog about it, it's pretty hard to be patient with the program. My partner and I took turns watching over the clips while deciding what the keep and what not to which, took up quite some time if I'm being honest.

    The plan that we originally had for editing before went straight out the window because of the time limit that we had. The first thing I did was download the clips from my google drive onto the computer. After that I went to import it into Pinnacle Studios but, I couldn't find it. With that obstacle in the way, I went through my notes looking for where the clips could have possibly gone or if I did something wrong but, I found no solution. That resulted in me trying to get the clips under a different category than they have on Pinnacle Studios. The folders that they had in the import station of  Pinnacle Studios had absolutely nothing showing up in them. Neither my partner or I knew what to do so I just went into autopilot, from taking photography last year, and started messing with the settings of the videos. I'm not completely sure what I did but I managed to get the videos directly into Pinnacle Studios without having to import anything.

      After we got the videos in the real work began. We took the clips that we wanted in 100% and put them in order. The shots the outcome after we put all the clips together was not only too short but also not smooth at all. So the first thing I did was separate the clips so I could edit each individually. I made the first clip, the establishing shot, longer and smoother than it was when originally shot because the shortness of the clip made the transitions seem choppy. I also added a fade-out into all of the clips because it also helped in keeping the clips continuous and not too startling at all the very noticeable cuts. I also wanted to slow down some of the zoom-in and zoom-out clips but, I haven't figured that out yet. I want those clips to be longer so when we do the voice over we have time to include all the relevant information necessary.