Editing: New Footage

On Saturday I spent the day shooting new footage, both for the lip-syncing at the start and some flashback sequences to try to solidify the narrative much more for the audience so the message behind the video becomes clearer. I'm really happy with the footage I managed to get and so have now been editing on the editing software I have available, which is iMovie. 
I really wanted to create a contrast between the flashback shots and the rest of the video and so I looked around at the filters and chose the 'romantic' effect.

Also throughout the video I changed the speeds to make it more exciting and interesting to watch...

I've put together a new beginning now with a flashback sequence before the song begins. I'm also going to include a few flashbacks in the video that will contrast with the artist being single now, which I'll talk about when I put up my third rough cut.
I felt like I needed some sound over the flashback sequence and so to begin with I put some wave noises over the top. But then I had the idea to put an old Adele song that was about love to fully show the contrast between the relationship and how the artist is now. I found Adele's cover of The Cure's 'Lovesong' which I thought fitted well it isn't too happy but has a sad undertone which really worked. The only thing I am questioning with my new beginning is whether to go straight from the last shot of the silhouettes fading to black to fade up to the song straight away or to keep in the establishing shot of the beach with the titles. I shall conduct some audience feedback to see what they think before making a decision. 


Here is my new beginning edited together...

Notes to Actress

Before we started shooting I gave this...

...to my actress to help her through the shoot. The lyrics were obviously important as lip-syncing is a huge convention of a music video. Noting which part of the song is in each location will help her prepare for each shoot as well what costumes to bring along. In terms of what she needs to do in each shoot I decided to do briefings at the start of each filming so as not to confuse her and so we can discuss what I'm aiming for together to make sure she gets a good feel for what I'd like to achieve. I found this a very useful technique as it meant that whilst filming I could direct her and she can ask questions as we went along. 

River Rough Cut

I've put together a rough cut of my preliminary filming, much of which I will be keeping in. I tried out a few effects and editing techniques to see how it would work...

Forest Shoot

The forest shoot on Sunday went well. As it only features in the video for about a minute, the shoot took a lot less time than I was anticipating. The weather was nice and clear and the sun shone through the trees at times so I managed to get some great shots.
Here is my shot list from the shoot...

Here are some of the pictures I got that may be used for my album cover. 

Whilst filming I came up with a shot of the artist running away from the camera further and further into the forest, which symbolises letting the relationship go, and that it is now just a memory (helped by the white blouse which is ghost-like). 

Me filming

I'm now going to try to put a rough cut together of what I've got so far before I film the river location.

Beach Shoot #2

I thought I'd post about my filming progress so far to keep on track with my plans. My second shoot focused mainly on using the props that we didn't have time to do the first time as well as get a few pick-up shots.

Me during filming

 Here is my shot list from the shoot...

The rose shots went well and we decided to throw the petals to the sea in order to have a stronger visual. I took a few shots that could be used for my ancillary tasks for the single cover...

The only thing that didn't work well were the match shots. This was mainly due to time constraints, the strong winds and the lighting (i.e. too bright). We will have to come back later to try it again, because I think it is a really strong visual that will work well. 
Here was our attempts anyway...

The darker lighting and more sheltered area worked better when experimenting, so perhaps it was the location. I may try out the match again on the river shoot to see if that works better otherwise come back at dusk on the beach, and try and pick a less windy day!

Beach Shoot: Shot List

Yesterday was the first day of filming and it couldn't of gone better!
In order to be fully prepared I wrote down a detailed shot list of all the shots that I needed to get, which meant I got most of what I needed. 
I found this incredibly useful and I definitely learnt from the preliminary filming and had no problems with the camera. I'm looking forward to editing what I've got so far.

In the preliminary filming it took quite a long time (because we were getting to grips with the filming process) so I overestimated how long this shoot would take. The rose and match scenes were originally going to be shot, but I knew we would have to return as we wouldn't be able to fit everything in. Instead I focused on all the shots without the props so the second shoot would mostly centre around them. I also wasn't able to do the last shot in the sunset because we ran out of time so left that for the second shoot. But I have a better understanding of the environment, the equipment and of the timings now so I am confident we will get all that I need tomorrow when the weather brightens up (today it is too cloudy).
I brought my iPod with me, as well as the lyrics printed out, so we could get the lip-syncing in time with the music. I did lots of takes of the same scene from different angles so I would have lots of options when it came to editing. The lighting was great and we weren't caught out by the tide - something I still need to be aware of on tomorrow's shoot. 
There are still a few crucial shots left using the props (a rose and a match) which we will shoot tomorrow. Otherwise everything went very well and I'm very happy with my progress so far. 

Preliminary Filming

Last Sunday I met up with my actress and we did some preliminary filming. To begin with we shot the Interlude scenes, which you can see below...

I learnt a lot from this first shoot. Firstly to be very aware of whether or not the camera is recording(!). Also how hard it is to direct! Getting the actress in the right place and doing what you need is very hard, especially when you are friends, but I'm working on my communication skills. Doing the constrained interlude scenes may first may not have been the best idea because once we'd gone down to the river location it was easier to let the actress be more natural and laid back which looked great on camera.
I used my first prop...

Which didn't go amazingly well...

... as it kind of sunk. I will bring back up boats next time we film in the location to try and rectify that problem.

While out filming the camera battery died, so I've definitely remembered to charge all the equipment fully for today. I've also learnt to try out lots of angles to see what works and to use what is available to you, such as lens flares and other natural objects around you. 

Filming Schedule

My first preliminary shoot was on Sunday 2nd October and I will post my rough cut of what I did in the next couple days, along with what I learnt and how I can improve looking toward the future.

My next filming date is Friday 7th October (today) from about 4.30 onwards until it gets dark. The filming is centred around the lighting conditions. I want to get lots of shots of the artist dancing and get the first 18 seconds shot done as that is one of the most important shots as it establishes the tone of the video as well as the narrative and introduces the artist to the audience. Then going into the sunset/twilight to get the match scene and end shot done so that it parallels the establishing shot. Doing this on the same day will mean that I have a higher chance of getting them in the same place and so will be more effective. 
I am looking forward to getting these crucial shots and seeing how they work. 
Another point that I need to look at is tide times so that we aren't caught out by the tide when filming on the beach.
Then on the Saturday 8th October we will go back to the beach to film any pick-up shots that we need. I have briefed my actress of this, so that she is aware.

On the 11th I will then film (on my own) by the river a shot of the rose floating down the river as I think this is a good symbolic image, and needs to be shot before the rose dies. 
After that the next filming day with my actress will be Sunday 16th October focusing on the forest location.
Then on the 22nd October we will shoot the river location and reshoot the interlude. All of these dates have been decided in advance so myself and my actress are aware of what is going on and so I can prepare and plan for each shoot. 
After half term I will need to look at the urban scenes and how/when I (on my own) shall go about getting those shots, but beforehand I will make a rough cut to make sure that they still fit in with the rest of the video.