Editing - Video Log

Editing - Marking

Above is an screenshot of all of clips being marked. I have also provided folders for the appropriate clips to go into. For example a singing folder for all the clips that show scenes of the artist singing and a performance folder for all of the clips that show a performance.

This next screenshot shows all of my shots of the artist singing in the singing folder. The reason why we do this is so that it is easier for the people editing. The editors are not on set during the film therefore they do not know which order the clips are supposed to go in. As a result of this I have marked my footage using a code which when used in conjunction with my spreadsheet, they will be able to identify the clips and find out where they need to be.

This screenshot is similar to the previous one however it is all of the performance clips in the performance folder.

This screenshot shows the excel spreadsheet of my marking. As you can see i have created numerous title to define an appropriate code for my footage. These are: Bin, Scene, Take, Code, Shot, Type and Quality. The way the code has been generated was via the first 3 titles. The bin represents the folder in which the footage resides in. I have two folders, one called Singing and the other called Performance. The code i have come up for my first clip is S.01.01. If we break that apart it means "S" for singing folder, .01 for the scene and 01 for the take number. The other titles are there to give the editor detailed information about the footage. Shot: a description of the shot, Type: the type of shot and quality referring to whether or not it is good or a bad take.

Here is the new storyboard with the shot codes inside. The advantage of doing it this is that it makes easier for my group and I when it comes to the editing stage. You can see that with the storyboard combined with the codes shows a more accurate description of what is going to be happening in each individual shot as well as the footage code and roughly how long each shot should be. Its important that we do this this way because it saves time and the hassle for editors when it comes to the editing stage. Editors are not on set during the filming and as a result of this they will have no idea where each shot is supposed to be. Therefore by providing them with marked up footage in conjunction with a storyboard saves a lot of time because they will have a detailed analysis of each shot and will be able to edit more effectively.

Glossary

Here is a glossary of key terms that I have come across throughout my music video production. I have explained what they are and have provided an example to give you a brief understanding of what I am talking about.

Style

Genre specific

Genre specific music videos are music videos that follow the same pattern as its genre. For example rap music would have that gangster theme to it where there would be money/drugs or some sort of crime scene involved in the music video. In the same way romantic music would have a love theme to it where there would be scenes of couples, hugs and kisses etc. An example of this is Professor Green - Jungle. The reason why artist do this is to prompt the users about what their music video is about. If someone were to suddenly release a rap music video with romantic scenes it would confuse the users as it is not something that they are used to seeing. It would seem more like a parody and thus the audience would not take it seriously however by using genre specific features it reinforces  the point that the artist is trying to make. Using love scenes to further reinforce that it is a romance music video.

In concert/Live Footage

Live footage in music videos is a feature where some of or the entire music videos consists of scenes of the artist performing at a concert or being live on 

stage. An example of this is Avril Lavigne - What The Hell. In the song she is shown walking to different places until she eventually reaches a concert where she is performing on stage. The reason why artist do this is to show the audience what it would be like if they were to visit an actual concert. They want to show them the excitement of the crowd and the intense feeling that occurs on stage. 

Animation

Animation in music videos is a feature where some of or the entire music video consists of animated scenes. An example of this is Reel Big Fish - i know you to well. The reason why artists do this is because there may be something that cannot be expressed using real people because of human limitations. Using animation will make it easier to explain to the audience the point that the artist is trying to make because you can simply draw it. 

Interpretive

Interpretive music videos is a feature where the artists interprets something else. What this means is that they've seen something and then they want to show their own version of it to the audience. The reason why they do this is because they want to give the audience an opportunity to develop their own interpretation of the music video so that it means something different to each individual. An example of this is Hot by Avril Lavigne.

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Narrative

Narrative in music videos is a feature where the artist is telling a story. This can be expressed via the lyrics or from the video itself. An example of this is from Carrie Underwood - Before He Cheats.  We can see that it is telling a story because in the video it introduces all of the characters. Then it shows a boyfriend  cheating on his girlfriend and the things that she does before she confronts him. Afterwards it shows the resolution of the climax and what happens between the characters. It follows the pattern as a normal story would and the reason why artists do this is because often a statement cannot be explained simply through words, but through narrative means. 

Referring/Homage 

Referring/Homage in music videos is a feature that refers to the way in which artists refer to another celebrity/song/movie etc in their music. There are many ways in which this can be expressed for example, through the lyrics, the dance, the attire, or even the entire music video itself. Below I have given an example of referring/homage being used in a music video. In Chris Brown - She Ain't You we can see that Michael Jackson is being referred to via the attire and the dancing. Unlike parody homage isn't used as a means to mock something else, instead it exists to give recognition to another thing. It in a sense promotes the other party for a good cause. 

Pastiche/Parody

One of the features that can give a music video its own unique style is a parody or pastiche theme throughout the music video. When talking about parody in terms of music videos it refers to the ways in which the music video deliberately makes fun something else, whether this be an artist, a movie, a celebrity, anything in general. An example of this is the music video I'm On A boat (ft.T-Pain). In the video they are deliberately stating the obvious that are standing on a boat, whilst showing the daily activities that are done on a boat. I feel that the reason why parody exists is to show the viewers a comical side as apposed to the original thing. Perhaps they wanted to entertain viewers because if you kept on watching the same style of thing over and over again you would eventually get bored, as a result of this parody video were made.

Conventions

Lyrical Interpretation

Lyrical interpretation in music videos refer to music videos that tell a story by interpreting the lyrics in their own way. In other words its like when something looks like one thing but the meaning is entirely different. The reason why artists do this is to express their own version of something that they have experienced or how they feel it should have been done. An example of this is from Nirvana - Smells like Teen Spirit. The lyrics of the song can be broken apart and deciphered in order to understand the meaning of the lyrics that Kurt Cobain was trying to express.
For example the phrase teen spirit could refer to the deodorant that his girlfriend wore and therefore this song could be referring to their relationship. On the other hand the phrase teen spirit could simply be a play on the actual world team spirit and could been referring to how teens would engage in cooperative play. When this reference is used in conjunction with the first lyrics of the song "load up on guns and bring your friends", it gives the impression that people tend to assume that teenagers in groups engage in violent acts. This therefore gives the song a much deeper meaning and leaves the audience to decipher it to gain their own interpretation of the song.

Extending or Consolidating Meaning

Extending or consolidating meaning in music videos refers to when artists try to bring the audience together in order to help them understand the song more. It gives the song more meaning than what it is supposed to have in order to have an impact on the audience.The reason why artist do this is to get the audience thinking because often things are not what they seem despite them being completely obvious. At times the meaning behind some music videos are not entirely clear and therefore the artist would have to result to extending the meaning of the song so that the audience can relate to it. an example of this is Pink Perfect. In the video we can see the protagonist witnessing other people that in her eyes look perfect when in reality no one is perfect however she fails to realise this until the near end of the video. We can see that she attempts to steal the clothing that the other people are wearing in order to be like them. Later on she decides to accept herself for who she is and devises her own unique style which in the end she likes.

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Allusion

Allusion in music videos refer to when artist make a reference to something whether that would be directly or indirectly. However this kind of reference is different to referring/homage because it is much more obscure and bleak. An example of this is from Taylor Swift - Love Story. In the video we can see that she is making a reference to the love story of Romeo and Juliet as she plays the role of the princess in a castle being Juliet. The reason artists use Allusion in music videos is to express themselves through a reference of something else to make it more clear so that the audience can understand and relate to it. In this case with love story , there are many romance music videos out there but the fact that Taylor Swift is specifically references Romeo & Juliet is to give the impression that the love was much more passionate and has a deeper meaning to it.

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Links to Other Artists

Links to other artists are often used in music videos when one artist has experienced a similar situation to another and they would therefore both appear within the music video. What this does is that it gives the audience the impression that the artists experiences can relate to each other. As a result of this it creates tension and gives the music video a deeper meaning. Alternatively it can be done to show two different opinions from two different artists but used in the same song as they are both talking about the same topic. An example of this would be from Busta Ryhmes - We Made It ft. Linkin Park.

Techniques

Cutting to Beat

Cutting to the beat refers to when the frames of a music video has been repeatedly cut in order to match the timing of the beat. The reason why artists do this is because it keeps the audience engaged with the music video. If the video kept playing along the music with no cuts then it would not match the beat of the music and will eventually get boring for the viewers. In addition to this they could end up confused because they would be for example watching a slow paced video whilst listening to a fast paced soundtrack. An example of this Killswitch Engage - The Arms of Sorrow

Effects

Effects in music videos refer to improving footage via software like Final Cut. Nearly all editors in the present day use effects in music videos. This is because they want to attract the attention of the audience. With effects you can improve your footage and make it look good by modifying the actual footage on software like Final Cut. It allows you to make the impossible possible. For example if you wanted to have someone's claps cause an earthquake then you can choose the earthquake effect from the video filters in Final Cut. Not only will this improve the look of your footage but it will emphasise the point that the artist is trying to make. Sometimes things are not quite clear with just lyrics which is why editors add effects on the actual footage to reinforce the point that the artist is trying to make. By doing so it will allow the viewers to follow, relate and understand the music video.

Miming and Lip-Sync

Miming and Lip-Syncing is a common trait hat occurs within many music videos today. This refers to when the artist does not actually sing during the recording of the music video but instead moves her lips in time with the lyrics to make them seem like they are actually singing the song. The reason why artists do this is because they will not sound the same than when they initially recorded the song in a studio where all other sound is isolated. The advantage with lip syncing is that the artist can put more energy into miming without tiring themselves out making the performance look much better than if they were to sing all the time.

Camera Movement/Angles

During the filming of a music video there a several different movements the camera takes as well as shots from different angles. An example of a camera movement is Pan. In a pan shot the camera moves in a horizontal movement where the camera goes from one direction to another (left to right). Pan The effect the Pan movement gives to audience is that it makes them feel as though they were in the music video themselves looking around. As a result of this they are able to understand and relate to the music video even more. An example of this is from JJ-Project Bounce where you can see the camera bouncing horizontally as the people jump , creating an effect where it seems as though the viewers are inside the music video. It makes it more exciting for the viewers.


As well as camera movement there are also camera angles that affect the way a music video is portrayed by the artist. For example there are certain angles that can make a person seem superior like a low angle shot.

This shot lets the audience see the city from a different perspective. It's a high angle shot because you can clearly see the city but the cars are very small yet visible. The aim of this shot is for the audience to understand what the artist is trying to say by using the city as an example. We can see this because the artist has been made more visible than the other parts of the city.

However this shot has a different objective. This long shot is designed to get the audience to look at the city and what it has become. They did this by making the artist very small so that they would not focus on him , instead they would be looking at the collateral and will be able to relate to the music video more effectively.

Chroma-Key

Chroma key is an editing technique that editors use to create effects that are either very difficult to do or just not humanly possible. The way in which they do this is by having the artists perform in front of a green screen. They use the color green because it is very far away from human skin colors. As a result the avoid using colors like red/yellow/black or white because there are some fragments of those colors in the skin. To do this successfully the artist must not be wearing anything green so that he/she can be clearly seen and then used in the chroma key editing stage. The reason for this is if they do, the artist will blend in with the green screen and they will end up changing along with anything else that is of the same color. With chroma key you can put whatever is in front of the green screen anywhere you want, do anything with it. For example making a fire appear behind someone even though in reality there is nothing there.

Filming

Rehearsal

This is the rehearsal we had some of our cast take part in. We did this so that everyone had a brief idea of what was going to happen on the actual filming date. As of result of this it meant that we saved time because we weren't lost and had to think about what to film next because of our rehearsal. In addition to this it also meant that the artist had the opportunity to familiarise herself with the lyrics of the song. This  would prevent things such as forgetting lyrics in the middle of a shot or being unable to keep up with the pace of the song. Furthermore this also meant that actors knew what the had to do in terms of acting as apposed to singing.

Secondary Research

The other form of research that I conducted was secondary research. Secondary research refers to information that has already been found and is available for use at any time. These can be found through other reports like newspapers or annual reports of other companies. If the researcher is doing secondary research, there is no need to search for fresh information because you are using information that has already be found by other people. Secondary research is reliable as it has been discovered before and been used time and time again. This shows that it is 99.9% fact. Secondary research can range from textbooks, the internet and advertisements. However this isn’t always true because some websites can be changed by anyone such as Wikipedia. Therefore it is important for me to list my sources so that people will be able to justify the creditability of the website on their own. One of the ways in which I conducted secondary research was by analysing existing music videos. Below I have given examples of some of the music videos that I watched and the results from my analysation.

One of the existing music video artists I researched was P!nk. The reason why I researched her music videos is because the genre of her music video is similar to the track we have chosen. Therefore I felt it was to appropriate to watch her music videos because it would give us an idea of the kind of image we want to give our artists. The image P!nk gives off from this video is of a strong and independent woman who talks about the idea of being perfect. I found this to be very useful as sounds like the exact kind of character of our music video choice. P!nk seems to wear dark clothing and it would be safe to assume that it is representing the feelings that she feels about being perfect. There is a shot in the video where she wounds herself embedding the word "perfect" on her arm and it all reinforces the fact that she dislikes the idea of people being perfect. There is a similar concept with our music video and I would therefore need to ensure that our cast are dressed in dark clothing.

Another music video that I used as my source of research was from the artist Avril Lavigne. The reaosn why I chose to watch this video is because just like P!nk her genre of music has the same feel as the track that we have chosen. In this video she is portraying herself as a woman who isn't afraid to do anything and just does it without hesitation. I found this to be useful because the character she is portraying is similar to the character of our music video. One of the lyrics in our track is "Oh I don't hold my breath and I don't hold my tongue", implying that the artist doesn't hesitate to tell someone something. This is reinforces the idea of having a strong and independent woman as the artist for our music video.

There are several other music videos that I watched and I have linked the ones that stood out in my opinion. As you may have noticed the similarities between these videos is that the character has her own sense of strong will and independence. In addition to this the genre has this rocky/punk feel to it which is similar to the track of our choice. Furthermore they are all wearing dark clothing such as black and have their own distinctive hair colour. For example we can see P!nk with a bright blonde hair colour with her own touch of pink on the side. Avril Lavigne has blonde hair in most of her videos and the female artist in Paramore has red hair.

Here again we can see the dark colours in the music video and the same dark clothing. The artist in Evanescence doesn't particularly have  her own distinctive hair colour but distinguishes herself through her makeup as you can see the strong dark purple lipstick and eye shadow etc. In the same way all the members of the band are wearing dark clothing.

Another good example of the dark rocky theme that I have researched is from Within Temptation. As you can see from this video there is a dark story being portrayed in the video and the members of the band are yet again in dark clothing. There are also dark colours used in the scenes that make the cast stand out. The female artist also seems to be wearing mostly black. 

All of this information has given me an overview of what we need to include in our music video. In summary I need to ensure that the cast are wearing dark coloured clothing but with something that makes them distinctive. Fortunately we have planned ahead and already decided that we were going to have the members of the band with different hair colours using hair spray. Additionally our music video has a dark comical feel to it, which will have meant that we have successfully implemented the ideas we gathered from existing music videos.

Storyboard

When it came to producing a storyboard we first have to find out the most efficient ways for a production. Taking into consideration that our production is a music video we thought that it was best to do a sample storyboard to see how it would turn out in the end. The one we used as a sample was a 2-collumn storyboard. The 2-collumn refers to a storyboard where you initially have two columns, one of which displays the video whilst the other shows the audio. In addition to this there is a brief summary that acts as the overview for the music video so that when it comes to handing down the storyboard to someone like the actors or the camera man, they have a clear idea of what  the video is about before they actually film it. Its important that the summary is made clear because a camera operator would probably have lots of other footage for other movies to be filming. In the same case other cast members could be in a situation where the have to be working on different sites at different times. The reason why we use 2-column storyboards is because of the type of production we are doing. Since we are only producing a music video it not necessary to do an in-depth storyboard with sketches and annotations of every shot like you would normally do for a feature film. In addition to this since it is only a music video it will not require a long filming duration. As a result of this the directors will not need to leave the set during the film period and will be able to delegate instructions as he sees it. The way in which we benefit from this is that we only have to use detailed bullet points of what we want to see going on because we are going to be on set and will be able to inform the cast and the camera operators of what they need to be doing. Furthermore it is much less time consuming because of the amount of detailed required is considerably less as apposed to a storyboard for a feature film. In the case of a feature film the director may not always be available as they would be busy managing other priorities. Therefore the storyboard for that particular production would need to be extremely clear, precise with sketches and detailed annotation on the side so that the rest of the cast will be able to continue working to meet the producers vision.

During lesson time we had the opportunity to produce a sample 2-collumn storyboard in order to assess the likelihood of whether or not we would find it easier than the last storyboard we had to do. Our previous existing media footage was the opening 10 minutes of a TV Drama and as a result meant that the storyboard had to be clear and precise with sketches and detailed annotation as apposed to bullet points. However this time we are only producing a music video therefore we can afford to use a 2-collumn storyboard.  Below I have included an image of my sample 2-collumn storyboard. As you can see I have included a summary at the top of the page explaining what the video is actually about, although the feedback I received from fellow classmates indicates that it was short but in detail. Therefore when it comes down to the real planning stage of the storyboard I will need to ensure that the summary is in detail and explains everything that happens in the video. It will not be in the same depth as the pitch but detailed enough for the other cast members to know what they are dealing with. Moving on with the storyboard I was told that I had clear indication of the kind of shot angles I wanted and the lighting was clear. For example I said 'several close ups and extreme closeups of characters expressions whilst fighting in dark lighting". I also happened to say that I required facial expression however I never fully explained the types of expression I wanted the actors to have. This could have negative implications on the actually filming day because the actors would not know what kind of expression to make. Although I did note down on one of the shots that I wanted the protagonist to look frustrated and angry, it wasn't consistent for my other shots as I just noted down "closeup of eye contact and facial expression".

This is our 2 column storyboard that we devised as a group. Meg and Alex typed it up as we all pitched in ideas. The way in which we approached this task was to look at our pitch for what was going to happen. We then listened to the lyrics to find out the most appropriate point for where that particular shot should be included. For example on the opening sequence we are going to have multiple shots cutting between the boy and the girls that he is flirting with during different times. The opening sequence will be during the introduction of the song which lasts 4 seconds, therefore we would have multiple shots cutting for 4 seconds before the song starts.