Category: Preliminary Tasks

Test Shoots

Before beginning out test shoot we had to understand the specific shots we wanted to use and that there was a variety of shots. We also made a list of everything needed, such as equipment. This also included choosing a snippet of the song for the test shoot, the lyrics are below.

Why on earth would I leave
If you were everything I wanted you to be?
When I saw what you did, who you were with
Got me questionin’ the things that I believe

What was needed for the shoot:

  • Fully Charged Camera
  • Tripod
  • Chair (for tracking shot)
  • Set up lighting (white studio)

The type of shots that we wanted:

  • Close up/ Mid shot (of the performer singing)
  • Long shot for the introduction
  • Tracking shot (walking whilst singing)
  • Pan (white studio)
  • Low angel/ High angel of the performance

The footage that we got during the test shoot, we then edited them into a short sequence alongside the snippet fo the song. Overall we were happy with the shots and the edit.

Test Footage:

What went well:

  • The variety of shots alongside the different settings
  • The organisation and being prepared with our equipment
  • Our editing (matching our shots and the lipsyncing)
  • The genre of our music worked well with the shots and atmosphere

Even better if:

  • A few more filters added (for example – changing the background to different colours)
  • The pan shots and tilt shots we took could have been cleaner (bumpy on the tripod used)
  • The tracking shot could have been smoother (using a less bumpy surface for the chair)
  • Could of added a few more clips without the singing for more of a narrative

Prelim Task Lip Syncing Exercise

Below is my lipsync video from the greenscreen shoot to Poker Face by Lady Gaga

I edited the videos into WeVideo which I could cut and edit them to the original audio

 

The “skilled” lipsyncing is important for the star image as they want to achieve a certain contour with their mouth and their face. Sometimes they want to achieve a certain emotion with their expression, and that may be hard with some parts of their song. Overall, it is to preserve the image of the singer.

The tips you could give to performers in advance to recording could be giving the performer the lyrics(script) and run-throughs so that they know the song properly. They need to have rehearsed the song so they know the emotions and the lyrics of the song. It is also important to have an actor that “looks like the voice” because of the grain of the voice can be clearly noticed by the audience especially if a singer is well-known it is hard to match the voice with the lipsync as they know who actually sang the song.

What went well:

  • We had the cameras set up in a position where we can see the stars properly
  • The switching and variety between the shots make the video interesting
  • Some shots made the singer seem confident with their performance

What didn’t go as well:

  • The repetitive words of the song made it hard to show emotion
  • Some shots were very static which could be less engaging
  • Some of the lipsyncing was off due to chatting and being unprepared

The technical tips I have learnt from WeVideo are that you can mark up points that you need and can go back to. You can cut sections so that you can trim the clip and then move in sound to the audio. You can also change which clip you want the audio to be heard so that you only hear one track.

To improve the final edit I would add transitions as I thought at the time they did not fit with the music and looked to edited. However, it may have been better to focus on fading out the audio with the clip so there is not as harsh of an ending. I also could have cropped the shot better without having the frame of the greenscreen in the shot as well as it looked quite messy.

Prelim Task Mood Montage

For our montage planning, we worked in pairs to create a storyboard. The theme we choose was “there is no place like home” which as we developed out storyboard we focused on the theme and the ideas, mood and emotions that we can convey. These 15 shots will help with our 40 seconds of filming and will include different images, types of shots and use different facial expression, actions and objects.

When then followed the storyboard changing a few ideas as we went along to fit the location to create our montage video in Premier Pro.

Strengths:

  • Transitions and shots fit together to create a narrative
  • The varied shots make the montage engaging
  • Props created a better sense to the Mise-en-scene

Weakness:

  • Some camera shots could be more engaging by using frames
  • The music is quite upbeat for the home atmosphere
  • A few more shots not filmed at school to make the video more homelike

I have learnt that montage editing focuses on an editing technique in which shots are juxtaposed in a fast-paced fashion, this compresses time and conveys a lot of information in a short period of time. This will help me toward my music video production as knowing how to use this editing technique effectively can help me convey a lot of information at once, heighten tension, comparing and contrasting, revealing characters and can help combine multiple story lines. I can also experiment with the film techniques such as quick cuts, music and supers. By using Premier Pro I advanced my editing skills to compose a video and then exported the video to YouTube.

I think my montage had an impact as it provided a narrative to the audience with different shots and actions that created “no place like home”. This provides a sense of story as everyone is making school like home with the taking shoes off, eating chocolate and socializing on phones. The mid shot of me drinking a tea and looking at the weather at 0:18 is very British and portrays a relaxed and laid back side to the montage, watching the day go past. There is no sense of progression, it provides more of a sequence of different things you would do at home. Additional shots I would have liked to use to communicate further my idea are shots that are done in a more homelike location. This can include shots such as cooking, watching TV and taking off makeup.

Focusing forward I am able to use Premier Pro and know where to place my videos in a sequence in order to create a narrative.