Production

shooting

day one

31st March

For the first day of shooting, i set up using the camera on a tripod, facing the projector screen, with a large LED light just behind it. I used the projector to display my animation, so I could stand in front of it and have the image projected onto me. I had difficulty in getting the projector to work and to be framed well as it was quite high up. So, I decided to work on the white background shots instead for a lot of this session.

I found my storyboard animatic particularly useful during filming as i had a clear reference to look back on and to interpret my planning from. Additionally, the shot list was helpful for looking at my plan in a more structured, organised way. by having every shot detailed and written out, i knew what I had to film and what i was missing to get the next day. This in turn helped me update my production schedule and plan further shooting days.

I am very pleased with how most of these shots came out, especially the lighting on the shots with a white background, as the shadows aren't very visible which makes the background look more solid and lack depth. I also used the SFX dirt effect makeup, which I think turned out really well. I liked that it was visible on camera, but still subtle enough to look natural in close up shots. I found my previous research and practices with this makeup very useful, as I was able to quickly do it in school using my phone camera, and still having it coming out looking good.

day two

1st April

Today I set up mostly without the light so i could focus on the shots using the projector. I had an easier time framing it today, so I was able to get most of the shots I needed with the animation behind me.

I also wanted to get some close up shots, particularly of the dance shoes, but I forgot to bring them. Instead, i did the stretches without the shoes to have more B-roll for editing. I'm not sure about how these closeups look, as the lighting is a little low contrast and not as bright as I would've liked it to be.

I found my research on shot composition particularly useful today, as I made sure to keep to the rule of thirds. I used the grid on the camera screen to frame subject matters on the lines and cross-overs to make sure they catch the viewer's eye and draw the attention where I want it. I wanted to keep a theme of centralising my frames, especially as the animation ebbs and flows from the center of the screen. i think that this went quite well, and I'm pleased with the composition of my shots.

day three

4th April

Today I set up using the camera on a tripod, and the LED light behind it. For a lot of the shots, however, i didn't use the light as I was getting the last few projector shots. However, I did use it when getting the closeups of the shoes and costume to keep the white background well lit. For the costume i used the projector screen as the background, but for the shoes I used a white bed sheet, hooked over some chairs to give me a space to dance on while keeping the colour theme. I think that these all went very well, as i got the final projector shots, and made sure to film the closeups in 60fps, so that i can slow them down smoothly in post. My research into a development of choreography was especially helpful on this day, as i had a good sequence that i could perform at different angles.

Again, I found my storyboard and animatic particularly useful, as it was helpful in doing final checks and making sure I shot everything. Having a visual reference lined up with the song meant I could compare it to everything I'd shot and match it up to make sure there were no missing sequences.

EDITING

rough cut

I wanted my edit to be quite dream-like and surreal, drawing on my inspiration from Dumblonde's white lightning music video. I also wanted to link to the brief in this way, through quick and constantly changing visuals, relating to the words "fleeting" and "momentary" from the brief. i also wanted to capture the feeling of time slowing down and speeding up, taking a moment and making it last longer to link to the brief.

To do this, I used slow motion shots, taking what I filmed in 60fps and modifying it to 24fps to have a smooth slow motion effect. I also paired this with changing the opacity, layering clips and using long cross dissolves so they faded into graphic matches in a visually interesting and trippy way.

I also used colour grading in Lumetri color and Color Pass to have a black white and red colour palette. I wanted to keep the colours simple so the dreamy, ever-moving visuals didn't get too chaotic, and also to match with the animated sequences.

I think that this all went really well, and I'm very pleased with the effect it has. i think I have aligned with the brief through "fleeting", "momentary" and "resonate".

My research on using Color Pass was very helpful here, as I knew exactly how to apply the effect and get the change that I wanted. This saved me a lot of time and quickly gave me the look I wanted.

Additionally, my research on shooting and editing with 60FPS footage was very helpful, as I could get smooth slow motion very easily.

I did, However, find some faults with Colour pass. It was very difficult to get a smooth outline of the red that I wanted, as shooting it from a projector screen made some of the hues shift so it wasn't all the same colour.

I also found it difficult to edit the rest of the image, for example increasing contrast, without affecting the red in a way I didn't like.

i also wanted to change my animated sequence slightly, as I felt the pacing lagged somewhat at the beginning of the instrumental sequence. To adjust this, I used scale key frames to add a slow zoom in so that the shot wasn't so still. I'm happy with how this worked and I think it keeps the pacing more consistent.

slightly less rough cut.mp4

rough

CUT

Primary research/feedback

As my primary research, i used google surveys to collect data and responses to the rough cut of my music video. I sent the survey to people in my target age range (17-25) to get helpful and relevant feedback.

What was your favourite part? Why?

This feedback was very helpful, as i was able to understand what parts of my rough cut appealed to my target demographic and potentially find patterns in that to emulate further. It was also encouraging to see that my intended effect had been received well and that my message and implications hadn't been lost.

What was your least favourite part? Why?

I found the responses to this question especially useful, as it helped me to understand where the message was getting lost, and where my intended audience was losing interest. It also helped me to cut out some of my ideas, as the feedback told me that they didn't work with the tone I was going for or with the song. I also got feedback on some of the more unfinished segments of the rough cut which helped me understand which parts actually needed the most refining and stood out more as mistakes.

I am going to use this feedback in further editing to make corrections or adjustments to my work, especially in areas that were reported to feel 'unfinished' or 'a mistake'.

Do you think the music video fits the brief?

I think that this feedback was particularly interesting to see if the links i had intended to make came across to a fresh pair of eyes. I was very happy to see that the majority of people said that yes, they did see the links, and only 25% were unsure. I would like to try and add more elements of time passing or looking back in memory in further edits, which i think may be more encompassed with the final shot representing the end of a life cycle.

refinement

<------------ Final timeline

To refine my edit, I used masks to overlay clips and effects with more control.

I used this to improve on the Color Pass effect, as I found the effect alone wasn't working particularly well. Instead, I outlined the red area with a mask, inverted the mask and applied Lumetri Color to the rest of the image. I found it much easier to control the colour grading while keeping the red hue how I wanted.

i also used masks to overlay a live action clip over an animated clip. I was finding it difficult to cut between the two without the changes in the background making it too obvious, so I outlined myself with a mask and put myself over the animated sequence instead.

To finalise my edit, I improved the intro sequence by putting the final clips into black and white, and lining them up more precisely to the beat. I also removed the overlayed clip of the dance shoes to keep the sequence more consistent to reflect the repeating drum beat. I also felt that harsher cuts and stiller shots went better with the music.

I also removed some of the cross dissolved on the dance shoes later on, again to keep the hard cuts fitting with the music.

I finished the edit off by rearranging some clips towards the end, and putting them all into black and white, as well as adjusting the scale to fit to the screen.

------------->

final cut

Who Are you Really.mp4

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