Playback and Review

Once the footage had been transferred from the digital camera, we began by reviewing and selecting shots, and in doing so we found that we were able to get to know our footage and it then made it a lot easier to choose which shots to put where because we knew what type of shot we wanted.
 After reviewing them, we were able to name each of the shots, and it was at this stage that we realised all of the shots would come in handy at some point, even if they seem irrelevant, sometimes abstract shots of things like Jonty's hands on the decks can look really interesting when switching between shots very quickly. We found that all of our shots were necessary and so did not delete any because we thought all of them were how we wanted them and you never know when you might be needing them.
The timeline is where all the footage gets dragged to in order to begin cutting it together. It is useful in the sense that it is an area where we are able to keep all the footage and access it easily, it also makes it easier for us to be able to refer back to shots and using different parts of them.
This is what the timeline looks like.

The music track was the first thing we put onto the timeline as this then enabled us to match up the videos to the music itself. When it came to dragging the clips onto the timeline, it became apparent how useful it is to name and rename shots in a specific way, as it meant when it came to coming up with an idea for the next shot, it is easy to remember which one we were talking about due to the way in which we had named them. 
We were using conventions of a music video such as we begin the video with a wide shot and as we get further on we go from wide, to mid, to close. This is so that the audience does not get disorientated and it means that if we switch from a shot of Jonty to a shot of the dancers, it is evident that that is what we've done. It also means that a shot of Jonty's hand will not then get confused and mistaken for one of the dancer's hands.

The Media Suite

We edit within the media suite and here is where we are expected to get to work and focus solely on editing. Due to the high standard within the school already, we are expected to know pretty much what we are doing, due to the thriller opening sequence we created in AS. 

VIDEO PROCESS & PICTURES

In the beginning we were given a bit of help to get us back into the way editing works, and after that we have been able to get on with it ourselves quite easily. 

We are using Adobe Premier Pro to edit our video together, and we will not be needing any after effects so programmes like Adobe After Effects are also not needed. 

Post-production

Editing is preparing a piece of material for publication by correcting, condensing or otherwise modifying it. For us we are now assembling small clips and arranging them in a way that will mean we are able to form a coherent whole. The expression "editing" is derived from the traditional way of editing where it was all done physically, whereas now we edit through the use of computers. We are editing digitally using Adobe Premier Pro, this makes the whole process of editing a lot quicker and easier as we are able to work with the raw footage, selecting shots and combining them into sequences to create our own finished 'pop promo' or music video. 


As a process editing is something I enjoy, it is satisfying to watch something you filmed finally be put together and begin to make sense. It is also enjoyable to look at the way in which our vision is actually coming together and because we are all very happy with how it is coming along, it makes editing much more gratifying. It takes time however, and this is time we are willing to put in to make our music video the best it could possibly be. 



My role in the editing process, because I'm not the most talented within the group when it comes to physically cutting and playing around with the footage, though I believe I have a good eye for what works and what doesn't within the shots themselves, so I am able to voice my opinion and give ideas for which shots should go where etc. 

Before I began editing I knew it was going to be difficult to match up the music to the video, however once we had matched up all of the clips, the rest of the process is relatively straight forward. The intended outcome of the process is that the video is slick and has clean transmissions from one shot to the other, this can be achieved by simple things such as matching up the colours from one shot to another. 

Editing

This is when we first sat down to begin the editing process. We began by looking through all the footage and naming it, dragging down all the footage we may need to use. 

We then began by putting together the footage however, not from the very beginning as we were told the beginning is one of the hardest parts to do, so we went from just after the beginning. We are now editing as if this were to be the final cut, though of course we will edit it more even when we have finished editing in such detail. We are doing this because we feel as though doing a rough cut is a waste of time, because it simply just results in you going back and changing everything anyway.

Write up of shoot day

The day before my shoot day, Vogue, Callum and I spent the afternoon talking over everything and ensuring that we had everything in order. This was mainly focused on the dancers and making sure they knew the choreography. We also spoke to Matt to give him an idea of what it is we want within our video; this was to make sure that he could envision what it is we wanted.

         I felt very prepared before my music video, though of course there’s always more we could have done however, I feel as though we had the perfect amount of planning as it enabled us to get things done quickly and effectively, but there was also enough room for creativity meaning we got some interesting shots after we had filmed the basic shots we felt were necessary. Before we could start shooting we were going over the shot list and waiting for the set to be put up and ready. When we began shooting the studio was actually quite bare, which wasn’t what I was expecting, we had pixel lines circling Jonty and the decks set up in front of him, though the set looked simple from what we could see, it was actually highly impressive when we began filming.

On the shoot day we all had different roles, my role was sound playback and lighting desk as well as being the producer. This meant I was listening to the sound making sure it was okay and checking up on the lighting to ensure everything was how we wanted it. I was also in charge of looking at how to represent the song visually, in the way that we wanted. Callum was the art director and cameraperson, this meant he was in charge of looking at the location, props, costume and make up. Callum was also on the camera which meant he took some really interesting shots and took advice from both Vogue and me, as well as using his own good ideas to come up with innovative shots. Vogue was the director which meant she overlooked everything going on with the video.

I think personally I was good at organising the talent and actors, I watched their rehearsals before the shoot began to ensure everything was in line and gave my opinion to help them along and give them an idea of what we wanted, I also found that when filming Jonty he needed some “hyping up” almost, so that he wouldn’t feel embarrassed, this resulted in Callum and I dancing around him to make him feel better. On the shoot day, we had issues with timing. This is because we were meant to begin shooting the dancers at 10:45, but we ended up running over because the make up took longer than we would have thought, and so we began shooting the dancers when we were done with Jonty and when they were all ready, so it ended up being at around 11:30. We also ran over past 3:00 and ended up finishing at around 3:30, however this wasn’t too much of a problem because our sets were so simplistic, but effective, the cleaning up didn’t take long as all we had to do was get rid of the pixel lines.

I think the most successful aspect of our video were the creative shots we did, such as a bird’s eye view shot using the genie, and the shots we did tracking around with the dancers and Jonty. I think these shots are the ones which will really separate our video from any others that are also being made because they are unique and interesting. However, I feel as though the timing of our shoot could have gone better, as we did run over and that was not what we had planned. In this picture you can see the genie has been put above Jonty and the decks and the filming was done from up there where the genie's height level was being varied.

I think we managed our talent very well as everyone was acting very professionally but we were able to make sure we had a good time too. I enjoyed my shoot greatly and I think my favourite aspect of the video was the close up shots of the dancers as this is where we were able to see the enormous amount of energy within them, and the lights amplified this. I am most looking forward to the editing process so that I can put together all the shots and mix it up between the dancers and Jonty because I think the colours will work so well together and the shoot itself will look very intense and interesting.

         I feel my production group worked well together as we all knew our roles and were able to perform them. I learnt that the best way to work when in a situation like this is simply just to relax and keep the atmosphere chilled despite it potentially being a stressful day, we managed to keep calm and chilled. I think to match the website artwork I will have to incorporate the colour we used for the dancers, and perhaps do something creative with Jonty’s dreadlocks.

The Shoot Day

• Shot of sally being thrown in the air
• Crane shot of Sally being thrown in the air, watching her fall back down
• Jonty will walk up to the decks, as he knocks one of the pixel lines, they will all turn on one at a time like dominos
• Jonty will press a button to turn on the decks, this will be a shot from below and it will look like he is touching the camera
• Using the tracks to go across the dancers and get them all into shot as they are in smaller groups.

We had a talk with Matt about the shoot day and he gave us loads of ideas, here are Callum's notes on it all.

The kind of look we are going for is similar to that of the dancers in the music video "Sorry" by Justin Bieber. Here are some examples to exhibit the kind of look we want. 

Choreographing Dance

Vogue has helped choreographed a dance for us so that they are ready and have learnt it by the shoot day. I am happy with how this has turned out as it looks really cool and I think when we film it using creative shots it will look interesting. 



She found that when choreographing this there was more inspiration sprung from, not only "Sorry" by Justin Bieber, but also "The Greatest" by Sia. 

Final Confirmation

Vogue has emailed all of the cast members just to make sure they are all definitely available and know what to bring with them.

Shooting Schedule

Vogue has re-done the shooting schedule so that there is time for the makeup artist to work on the dancers. We have also made the time so that when Jonty is being shot, the makeup artist can be working on the dancers. Everyone must be in school by 8.30 so we are able to get started as quickly as possible and have as much time as we need to finish everything up. 

Editorial Meeting

What we need to complete before the shoot day next week:

Costume for the dancers
We need to make sure all the dancers have the correct clothing for both the overall look and tone of the video, as well as the clothing being movable enough that the girls can still dance to their best ability even when wearing the costume, though this shouldn't be a problem with as the costumes are fairly simple and are what people would usually wear when dancing.

Choreography of dance
The choreography needs to be finalised and the dancers need to make sure they have learnt it and know what they are doing. We also want the choreography to be simple but effective as it doesn't need to look too complicated because the types of creative shots we will be doing will make the dance look more impressive.

Knowing the song
Both the dancers and Jonty need to ensure they know the song, both the lyrics and the actual beat so that they are able to turn up on the Monday and know exactly what to expect.

DJ Set ups
We need to ensure that the DJ set up and the sets themselves look authentic and believable. If they don't, we risk the video looking tacky and dull.

Test Shoot of Jonty
We have got to shoot a test video of Jonty to make sure he can look the part and looks, like the Dj set, authentic.

Shot List

shooting schedule

Filming Roles

 Director- A film director is a person who directs the making of a film. Generally, a film director controls a film’s artistic and dramatic aspects, and visualises the script while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director on the day of our shoot is going to be Vogue. I think Vogue will suit this as she has a good idea of what the video should look like and will be able to get her opinion across easily.

Cameraperson- A cameraperson is a professional operator of a film or video camera. The cameraperson on the day of our shoot will be Callum. I think Callum will be a good camera person as he has told me he works well with cameras and I trust that he has a good eye for the type of shots we want.

Art Director- An art director is the person who is responsible for the location, props, costume and make up.

The art director on our shoot day will be Callum because he is very good at knowing what he wants when it comes to the look of the video and I think he will be able to project this to the people we are working with when it comes to the day of the shoot.

Producer- The main responsibility of a music video producer is to represent an artist’s song visually. As a music video producer, you’ll be in charge of determining what type of images would be appropriate for the song. This is the role I will be taking on during the shoot day.

Sound Playback and Lighting Desk- This is the person that is in charge of the sound playback, so listening to the sound and making sure it is okay and also being in charge of the lighting and putting everything into place. This is a second role I will be taking on throughout the shoot day.