Start of Final Task Blog

My name is Julia. I am an AICE media studies student. I am currently a 10th grade high school student. I took AICE media studies to get the AICE credits I need for the diploma. Right now we are starting our project on making a two minute movie clip for our final task. I am really excited for this project since I will get to be a lot more creative with it. There is a lot more we can do in two minutes. I can't wait to see what we can do with that time. I'm partnered up with a friend of mine who I worked with on the other videos and projects. We work well together so I'm excited to see what we can make.

So far I have learned a lot about film making. I learned how to shoot scenes and film shots. This is something that I am especially excited to use in the project. Filming itself was really fun and I got to learn about how to set up the camera and other equipment. Learning about setting up a tripod was pretty interesting as well. Another thing I learned was how to edit the shots we took. I'm excited to use this in this project because there are a lot of cool things that I want to implement into the movie clip. I learned how to add transitions and edit the sound of the clips. There were a lot of other things about editing I learned as well. Overall I learned a lot about the process through the past projects.

A pitch is a presentation of an idea for a film or movie usually around 25 words long. For our movie clip, we had to come up with three pitches. The first pitch was "A girl's father goes missing, and as she's trying to find him, strange things start happening in her small town." Our second pitch was "A girl goes to meet her online friend, but it turns out her friend isn't who they seem." The final pitch was  "In a world where genetically modifying humans has emerged, a girl tries to survive in a world where she is not viewed as normal." All of these ideas my teammate and I liked so it may be hard to choose just one.

Music Video Editing blog.

This past week we started editing our music videos. We got laptops out and logged in. We had to get a SD card reader to import the videos. We plugged it in and downloaded the videos. The files had to be unzipped since when we downloaded it the videos were in a zip file. Then we opened the new folder we created and imported the videos to the editing software. From there we just had to select which ones to use. We had shot a lot of takes so we had a lot of footage to choose from. Sadly the next day after importing the footage we couldn't remember which computer we had used to start the editing. Thankfully we hadn't done much yet so we just grabbed a new computer and uploaded the videos again.
Then came putting the song into the video. Getting the audio was pretty hard since we had to rely on youtube and other websites to get it. We had to go on a youtube to mp3 website to download the audio. I had trouble with that and eventually had to get the teacher to help us. Eventually we got it and put the audio in the program. After that we started putting footage into the video itself. As I stated before, we had some takes to choose from so this took a bit of time. I had to make sure that we put in usable footage and that we didn't mistakingly put the wrong clip in. After that I had to organize the order of the clips. That didn't take much time and soon we were on to editing length and other effects.
Editing the length of the clips was pretty tricky since we had to make some of the scenes match up with the lyrics of the song. In some parts the timing was a bit off so we had to fix that. When matching up the clips to the lyrics we realized that there was a lot of space without footage. So I had to improvise and use footage from the trampoline scene we filmed. We used one different from the one in the beginning of the film. It actually turned out working perfect where we needed it. To trim the clips I just cut off the parts i didn't need and deleted them. After that, we just needed to add transitions and effects. I attempted adding slow motion for the first clip but it was pretty hard to do it. We also added a dissolve transition on a few clips as well. Then we exported it and turned it in.

Music Video Filming Blog 2

We recently finished filming our music video project. We did a lot more and I finished everything I set out to do. We had a little less than half of our video left to film when we had filmed last time. This time, I filmed some scenes at my house instead of at my teammates house like last time. A lot of what  did was the set up before my teammate got there. I set up the dinner that we needed shown in the scene and set up the tripod in the dining room to make the scene look smooth. I also adjusted the lighting in the rooms to look perfect for the shot. We didn't have to worry much about the sunlight outside since it was filmed at night. I also made sure the background of the scenes looked more like a restaurant. That meant making sure there weren't any photo frames or anything that would give away the actual location.
I set up the tripod in places where we needed it and screwed the camera into it. This was a challenge because when we toke the tripod out of its case, a piece of it broke off. The piece that broke off was the one that helped move the lock on the camera part to put the camera on or off the tripod. This made actually putting it together very hard. We ended up finding a way to pry the lock gently so we could lock and unlock the latch. Luckily it wasn't too important of a part. Other than that, the other parts of setting up the tripod went well. I just had to put it in place once the camera was in. I did have to decide the positioning of the camera as well. I ended up having to do a lot of filming because my teammate was the actor for the scenes.
Then came the actual filming part. I had to do a lot of takes because sometimes things would get in the way of the shot and we had to start over. Sometimes my teammate and I would laugh and have to start over again and again. Other times we had to restart because we didn't like the way something looked. When that happened I had to give feedback to the actor and refilm it. I filmed both inside and outside so the lighting was a bit tough to get right. In a lot of scenes we had to film extra in case we might need it later. If a clip was too short we had to film it again. This was annoying but in the end was probably smarter than not re-filming them. One part I did that I especially liked was filming the dinner scene.

Music Video Filming Blog

This week, we started filming our music video. This meant we would be looking over our storyboard and planning and following what we had planned to do. Before hand, we also had to prepare the props and scenes we were going to film. I had bought sunflowers for our video as well as brought the lighting we needed for some shots. We also had to discus what we were going to do about the shots that turned out different than we planned. Some had to be cut entirely because we found that they were impossible to get. We then had to go back to the storyboard and decide on something different to fill the space when it didn't work out. But before that, we did get some shots that were usable and fit with the video. Since my partner was the actor for most of the scenes, I did a lot of the filming with her input between each take. This means that a lot of the shots we had to take and retake were done by me.
One thing I had to do in the setup was talk to my partner thoroughly before each scene and help her with what she would be doing in the scene. She wasn't able to see herself while acting in the video so if something looked off I had to tell her. The other person we had acting in the video also helped with this and gave input. When filming I had to tell how long a shot should be and tell my teammate this so it would all fit together well. To do this we filmed a few seconds longer than we needed so we can trim to the length we need later when editing. One example of this would be when I filmed on the trampoline, I had to film extra because we weren't sure how much footage we needed. Another thing I did was help with camera setup. I either handheld the camera or in later shots will be using a tripod and in both of those situations I will be helping out. I did some of the recording as well as tested out the camera before shooting. Most of the filming process I was involved in.
One thing that was a struggle while filming was the battery life of the camera. The cameras were a bit old so the battery life of them were not as good as new cameras. To make up for this I had to plug in the camera between shots and charge it to make sure it would work. Occasionally while filming the battery would die so we had to stop shooting to charge it. One way I got around this was using an extension cord that my teammate had. Another problem was getting the lighting and atmosphere of each shot right. We had planned on getting the shots we needed right at sunset but the sun set quicker than we anticipated so the lighting was dimmer than we liked. We got around this problem by making the different lighting show a passage of time so it looked more natural. It also started raining right when we wanted to film outside so that set us back and we had to improvise. To improvise I shot the scene on a patio instead of a trampoline and it actually turned out better than what we first expected.

music video Storyboard Blog

This our storyboard for our music video. It consists of 11 scenes so about 10 seconds for each. For the first scene, the character is wearing every day but loose-fitting clothes so movement will be shown when she jumps. This starts out as a medium close up then transitions to a medium long shot. It is shot at eye level with bright lighting and is in slow motion. For the second scene, the character is wearing a semi-formal dress while looking out into the sunset. It is a medium long shot and midway through the scene the character turns around so you can see her face. It is shot at eye level as well and will be shot in golden hour/sunset lighting. The third scene is the character still in a semi-formal dress opening the door to a "restaurant". This is a POV shot that is a medium shot and has darker lighting. The fourth scene is inside the "restaurant" with the character sitting down at a table eating. It is a POV shot from her love interest's perspective and will have dim lighting. To transition from the fourth scene to the fifth, an action match of passing something like salt basically from one scene to the other. This scene contrasts with the previous one, as the character is now in sweats and a t-shirt with a messy bun. She is eating fast/microwaveable food in this shot and it is shot in bright lighting. The sixth scene starts off as a POV showing the female character angry then transitions to a two shot midway through the scene. In this scene, the audience finally sees who the male character is with a long shot of both characters dressed in normal/casual attire. In the seventh shot, it transitions back to a tracking, long shot of just the female character walking away, still dressed the same. In the eighth scene, the female character is still walking away (dressed casually) but it is a POV shot showing the male character reaching his hand out to make up with her. It is a long shot as well and will have fairly light lighting to be able to see everything that is going on. The ninth scene depicts the female character turned around grabbing the male character's hand. This is a POV shot that is a medium close up and is shot in fairly bright lighting with casual clothing. The tenth scene is a close up of a sunflower just below the character's eyes. She is wearing the same semi-formal dress and it will be done in fairly bright lighting. The eleventh and final scene is an aerial shot of the character laying on the trampoline. She is dressed in the semi-formal dress surrounded by fairy lights and sunflowers. This will be done in fairly dim lighting. For the sound, the whole time the song "Sunflower" by Post Malone will be playing in the background. The music video will be around 1 minute and 10 seconds long. Overall for editing, we are going to experiment with it and most likely try to make the cuts between scenes the least choppy as possible by using camera movement and "tricks".

Music Video Planning

1. Location:
We will be filming in a few different locations. One place we will be filming at is the beach at sunset. Another would be at one group member's house on the trampoline as well as in front of the canal there. Some more locations we would film at would be at a field at a local park and at another group members house inside.

2. Health & Safety:
We will have parents present at most locations to make sure we are safe and if something happens we will have someone there to help. Most likely our parents will be driving us to the locations and we will be wearing seat-belts. We'll notify adults when we are using the trampoline so if we injure ourselves we can easily get help.

3. Props:
One prop we would use would be sunflowers for a specific line in the song. For a dinner scene in the video, we will be using silverware and food. Some more props we would use would be objects to make a silhouette in the sand at the beach, we would also need a blanket for another scene there as well as for at the field. We will also need fake menus and things to make a room look like a restaurant.

4. Costumes:
Our costumes change often depending on the scene and what's going on. In our first trampoline scene, the character is wearing pants and a shirt but fairly loose clothing so movement can be shown when she jumps on the trampoline. For a scene of her looking at the sunset as well as a fancy dinner scene, a semi formal dress is worn, then transitions to comfy clothes like sweatpants and a basic shirt for when she's eating at home with fast/microwave food. For an argument scene, the character is wearing everyday clothes as well as for when they make up. For the sunflower/final scene the character will be wearing the same semi formal dress worn for the dinner scene.

5. Schedule
This blog as well as one about story boarding is due 11/21. My partner and I checked out a camera for the weekend and plan to film at least some of our music video 11/24. On 11/25 we have our first filming blog due and then our second due 12/2. If we don't finish filming all in one day, we are planning on filming again on our thanksgiving break, which will be anywhere from 11/26 to 12/1. The video is due 12/6 so I am confident that we will have enough time to film and edit.

Music Video Research

In our last project, we created a commercial for a product that we chose. I finished that project and learned a lot from it. I learned about the filming process and what procedures we had to follow to film. I also now understand more about editing and how to use the software to edit. We then turned in the video and completely finished it. Now we are going to start a new project that is slightly harder. We are now going to be shooting a music video of around one to one minute and fifteen seconds.

We are going to be shooting a music video of the song "Sunflower" by Post Malone. The genre that "Sunflower" is qualifies as pop. The song is a part of a movie soundtrack from the movie "Spider-Man Into the Spider-verse". The discussion happened mainly outside of school since not all of the teammates were in class at the time. We didn't really have any arguments when deciding what song to choose. Both of us liked the song and had heard it before so we both agreed on it. This was the first song we considered and we just stuck with it.

A lot of music videos in the pop genre have common conventions that they seem to follow. For example, they often have bright and vibrant colors. This is very eye-catching and grabs the audiences attention. In many music videos they utilize panning and tilting to show the subject. Tracking is frequently used to follow what the subject is doing. In the original "Sunflower" music video they tracked the main character throughout New York and in doing so, showed him going from scene to scene. In a lot of pop music videos, they used medium shots and full body shots on the subject. They also had close ups to show either singing or something meaningful. Along with closeups, zooming was fairly common. In pop music videos, a lot of the costumes are dramatic and striking. The lighting is very dramatic as well being either very dark or extremely bright. The acting usually tells a story and the actors could be acting like they are in a film rather than a music video. The makeup could be either subtle or intense, and usually matches the costume. The props depend on the story being told in the video. The setting varies based on what they want to achieve through the video.