Research & Preproduction

research

choreography

inspiration

It is important to start with a key piece of inspiration for the routine. This is something you can go back to when choreographing and use as a reference throughout to make sure you keep the tone.

improvisation

begin the choreography through improvisation. Moving to the music and deciding on what movements and sequences feel best and work with the song is a good way to start building a routine.

variety

keep a variety of movements in the dance. make sure to include both arm and leg movements as well as high and low movements to keep it interesting and dynamic, rather than just moving arms.

rehearse ad refine

when you have a sequence you're happy with, rehearse a lot to refine the routine. knowing each step is very important, and gives you a chance to find the steps that don't eel quite right and improve them.

concept

make sure to think about the concept of the dance. What story are you trying to tell? this will affect the sequencing of movements, as well as how you perform them (expressions, body language, etc)

reflection

I found this very helpful, and I feel more prepared to design a routine for my music video. My inspiration will be focused around star lifecycles and human lifespans, to make sure i keep linking to the brief. i will also try to reflect the concept and narrative of my music video through body language and movements, implying pain or fear, and trying to keep from falling apart. I feel that incorporating choreography in this way will help get my message across to my intended audience without explicit explanation.

shot composition

symmetry

using symmetry, like in Wes Anderson films, can keep the focus in a more artsy way. This technique is less naturalistic, and uses more precise symmetry in the surroundings and subjects to draw the eye to the centre of the frame.

I found this video quite helpful as it explained some basic rules of composition clearly.

rule of thirds

using the grid across the frame as a reference, positioning your subject along the guidelines can give your shots more space, and allow more explanation from the background in an establishing shot.

leading lines

leading lines is the technique of using perspective to draw the eye to the subject. for example, corners in corridors or lines of chairs create a movement that leads to the subject and makes them more clearly the focus

framing within the frame

This is where features of the setting, such as window frames or doorways, are used to frame the subject within the frame to make them stand out.

This shot uses the rule of thirds to keep the audience's attention on the person. Using an intersection of lines creates a clear focal point, and keeps the eyes on the eyeline which feels more natural.

Here I have used the same technique but with a slightly close shot. This keeps the eyeline level and natural, and the focus in the right place, while creating space to the side

This shot uses symmetry and central positioning. This gives a more arty, expressionist feel to the shot, rather than naturalism. i think I would like to use shots like this during the chorus in my music video.

These shots use the setting to frame the subject. leading lines (left) uses perspective and surroundings to draw the eye to the subject. framing within the frame (right) creates another frame around the subject to indicate their importance.

slow motion shooting

This video clearly outlined how to shoot slow motion footage, and how to change the camera settings to accommodate it.

First, I changed the video setting from PAL to NTSC so i could change the frame rate from 24 to 60 fps. I then imported the footage into premiere pro and interpreted it, so It played back in 24 fps, which slowed it down.

I think that this went quite well, as the quality of the video remained high rather than getting jumpy, as the frame rate i shot in was higher. While I wasn't expecting the motion blur, I think it adds to the effect, and will work in my music video nicely. I also think that it will link to the brief through the words 'momentary' and 'document', as it plays with the idea of a small moment being elonganted and recorded before it's lost.

reference clip for slow motion.mp4

original clip (60 fps)

slow motion test.mp4

interpreted in premiere pro (24 fps)

editing colours out

To follow this tutorial and achieve this effect, I took a video of a painting with many colours in it to try and get the red alone to stand out. I did this by using the 'color pass' effect and selecting red. I then adjusted the similarity to get more shades of red to show up.

Because this clip was filmed on my phone, the quality was a little lower, so some other colours and details came through with the red. However, the colour palette i intend on using will be much starker and higher contrast, so I am confident this will work in my music video to get the red to stand out. I also think that this will link to the brief through the idea of memories and information being lost to time, such as colour.

original clip

reference for colour pass.mp4

with color pass

colour pass.mp4

sfx makeup

To achieve the gritty makeup look, I used this face paint palette, mixing the brown and the black and white paints, which desaurated the brown to look more natural. I used a sponge to dab on the colour, then a dense foundation brush to put it around the eyes to make the wrinkles stand out, like in the video.

I think that this worked really well and looks realistic, especially with the texture from the sponge. I wasn't able to achieve the splattering, as my face paint is oil based and couldn't be watered down, however, I still think that this technique works fro my project and creates the gritty, scuffed effect that I wanted. I think that I will use a smaller amount of makeup so that it's more subtle for my project.

Animation

I wanted to learn how to create smoother movements in my animation, and this video clearly showed how to do this. io learned how to use in-between frames as well as overshooting to create smooth-looking, natural movements, but with simple and complex shapes.

my practice example

I used this video to refresh m knowledge on the basics of animating in Krita, and to learn more complex things like tweening. This vide was very helpful, and clearly outlined the basics of the software, such as creating and duplicating frames. It also went through some simple theory such as in-between frames which was useful to see on a more complex shape.

This video was especially helpful when learning tweening. I learnt how to use animation curves and transformation masks to create smooth, computer generated movement, rather than having to animate each frame myself. This will be very helpful when creating my animated sequences as it will save a lot of time.

inbetween frames.mkv

used in-between frames to create a smooth movement between keyframes

tweening head.mkv

In these two clips, I used tweening and the animation curves to generate smooth movements without drawing each frame myself.

tweening arm.mkv

I think that tweening will be useful for more complex movements, however i would like to keep a hand-drawn, organic feel to the majority of it.

Pre-production

production schedule

Copy of Production schedule

Storyboards

Storyboard animatic

storyboard animatic again2.mkv

shot list

Copy of Shot List

location recce

Copy of Location Recce

risk assessment

Copy of Risk Assessment

costume design

Copy of Costume & Props

pre-production evaluation

I have found this preproduction to be very helpful, and I believe i have achieved some of my goals for this project by pushing myself and developing my documents further than in previous projects. For example, I used storyboards to fully map out the music video and how I wanted each section to look. Rather than just using it for idea creation, I went further and used it for organization in a way that will be more helpful to me when shooting. I also extended this by creating a storyboard animatic. This was incredibly helpful in mapping out not only the movements of the performer, but the animated sequence so that I have a reference to drawn on when animating.

I also found my shotlist to be useful, as I was able to list each shot in the animatic and break down what actually needed to be filmed. This was incredibly helpful when scheduling shooting and organising my time.

My location recce and risk assessment gave me an opportunity to think about problems or issues that could occur when shooting, and to come up with potential solutions. I think that this was very helpful as I was able to figure out which rooms to book for filming, and how to keep the set safe for myself and the equipment.

The costume design was also useful, as I was able to bring together my ideas and out them together to think about what would work together. I was able to source the majority of what I planned, aside from glycerin. This was partly due to budget and time, but also because I wanted to avoid getting stains on my costume.

Finally, the complete production schedule was incredibly helpful. I was able to set deadlines for each task, which kept me on track and organised. It also meant I had a complete reference for everything I needed to do before and during filming, and working up to the final deadline. Being able to tick off and date completed tasks helped me organise my work, and understand what still needed doing, as well as motivating me to continue.

Overall, I am very pleased with my pre-production, as I feel I have pushed myself beyond further projects and really used the documents in a way that is useful to me and my work.

choreography

choreo.mp4

I wanted the choreography to be simple, with clear connotations of coming apart or undone. I did this through arm movements symbolising trying to stay together. I also needed the sequence to be quite stationary, as the framing will be quite restricted. Therefore, to incorporate more of the body into the dance, I used simple battu jumps and echappes to add more dynamic movement. These steps will also help when I use closeups on the feet, as they are interesting movements, and the precision of battu jumps will be seen more clearly in slow motion.

I think that the research i did into how to choreograph was very helpful, as improvising to the music and then slowly refining the steps was an effective way of building this sequence

animations

final animation for blog.mp4

This is the animation I will be using in my final product, with live action sequences marked. Overall, I am very pleased with how this turned out and came together as I think it fits the tone of the song and my narrative very well. I also think it fits the brief of ephemeral through the words 'fleeting' and 'momentary' as it is a montage sequence of brief yet impactful images that relate to the performance and story.

I used a low frame rate (6fps) to get a choppy, rough look to the animation which I think has worked very well and creates a contrast with the refined, polished nature of ballet which I will also be using in this music video. I also think that the repeated movements of collapsing and expanding into new frames reflects the theme of explosion or unravelling, like a star dying as seen at the end.

My research was very helpful in creating this, as I was able to use tweening for sequences like the spiral turning, and was able to quickly reduce frame rate in some areas by automatically including blank frames.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse