Feedback from Music Video

The text below is direct written feedback from people in the class who viewed our video:

• Really like the singing in the mirror – signifies reflection etc.
• Kaleidoscope and overlay effects are really nice and interesting – adds something a bit different.
• Commitment shines through with use of a specific setting as opposed to somewhere near.
• Ending long take shot is emotional as it captures everything in one shot as opposed to manufacturing cuts which seem ‘less truthful’.

• Like the syncing of the knock with the song
• Setting is nice
• Chemistry between the characters  are good
• Sunset overlaid with singing is nice
• Like how you sped up clips to sync in with the momentum within the song

Final Alterations to Storyline

Throughout the filming and editing experience, there were parts of our original storyboards that we had to edit or change in order to make the narrative more clear, or simply because we were unable to film the scenes.

The video below shows examples of what was changed in the music video and also what has been added or removed from the story line compared to the original plan:

Issues Raised with Final Cut Pro

In our experience with final cut pro, we experienced many glitches and problems in which we could not overcome. For example, final cut pro somehow edited our audio clip so that half way through the music, the sound increased in volume and this could not be corrected without making the song jumpy or removing lyrics, therefore we had to keep the volume louder.

As well as this, the majority of our editing time had to be devoted to waiting for our clips to render, which was very time consuming and could also not be avoided. 

However, with final cut pro we could still use the effects that we wanted to use, such as slow motion and the kaleidoscope effect which was useful.

However, final cut pro also reduced the quality of our footage which was irreversible and we could not find a way around this without starting the whole production again which we were unable to do due to time limits.

Below is a video (available in 720HD) is an example of the quality of an original clip, this proves that our final film COULD have been better quality, however this was not possible due to the software that we used.

Feedback from second draft of music video

The image above is a collage of words which were given during audience feedback when watching the second draft of our music video, from this it is clear that we should improve on:

• image quality
• some lighting
• and some of the syncing in the video

However, we gained positive feedback on:

• actors image
• looking professional
• clear narrative
• bright lighting

Second Draft of Video

The above clip is an upload of our second draft of the music video Don't Save Me. The video has been almost fully edited and all of the necessary clips are now within the timeline. There are a few glitches in the video such as one or two timing errors which we need to correct, along with some blank black flashes which should be filled with a clip or a clip already there to be extended to fill this gap.

Evidence of Editing

In the image above, the editing process of fading the top clip (of bella) into the bottom clip (crowd shot), here i am lowering the opacity of the first clip so that it appears on the bottom clip, this is so that the clip is less boring or repetitive and the artist can be shown throughout the video.

In the image above, the titles are being placed into the video. We edited the text and rotated it to fit to the clip, it is now in line with the clip and the windows in the scene, therefore when the train moves in the clip, the text looks effective and professional.

In this image above, i am cropping different clips of Bella to fade over multiple clips, the clips are of her miming which portray her clearly as the artist in the video. Here the video is rendering/processing which takes a few minutes dependent on the length of the clip.

Filming Progress

Today we asked Bella (main actress) to bring all of the clothing she was wearing on the day of filming, into school so that we could film her as if it was taken at the same time or same day.

We used a white photography screen for the white background to have her upon, and filmed scenes of her both miming into the camera, and crying into the camera.

Below are some print screens of some of the clips taken:

First Draft

Evidence of Editing

The above image shows evidence of putting all clips into the timeline, having cut them to the appropriate timings and then rendering the footage.

The above image is an example of more edited footage, however in this clip we are creating a title for the beginning of the video.

Examples of unusable footage from recent filming.

The above video shows examples of footage (taken from edit decision list) which are not going to be used in our final production. The reasons for this are within the video.

Comments on day of filming

Today, filming of the additional footage commenced as planned. We had to plan carefully due to the restricted hours of daylight, but we were able to capture all of the footage we planned to, and the weather and lighting was good. Both characters turned up as planned, and style and image wise were consistent with previous footage. We shot the footage with a cannon EOS 7D and made sure we had additional equipment that was necessary such as the tripod, and also the white screen we filmed in front of. We will now begin to sort this footage and decide which clips we will use, then we can start editing the footage and adding it into the storyboard alongside the footage we have already edited in final cut pro. 

Shots to film this weekend:

                                                                   12-16 Bella crying

16-20 Lee looking sad

20-35: group shots 

20-25 waking up and packing

25-30 packing the car

30-35 motion scenes in the car - outside and inside

35-42: Bella singing up until 'never want it to go'

42-47: Nice gesture from lee to Bella

47-50: Opening door to flowers on doorstep

50-58: Car

50-54 hand on gearstick 54-58

 Bella singing into the mirror 

0:58-1:00: Clock Scene 'hungry for what was to come'

2:20-2:28: Walking along the A14 Bridge - focus on the traffic - cars slow motion

2:44-2:47: Early morning bed shot, Bella gets out, from above, white bed sheets

4:14-4:23: Bella's crying shot played in reverse (in slow motion) so that the tears go up - she has been saved by walking away. 

Where would we gain funding?

Alterations to storyline

00-04: On the beach, establishing shots of beach

• 04-08 introducing bella
• 08-12 introducing lee
• 12-16 Bella crying
• 16-20 Lee looking sad

20-35: group shots 

• 20-25 waking up and packing
• 25-30 packing the car
• 30-35 motion scenes in the car - outside and inside

35-42: Bella singing up until 'never want it to go'

42-47: Nice gesture from lee to Bella

47-50: Opening door to flowers on doorstep

50-58: Car

• 50-54 hand on gearstick 
• 54-58 Bella singing into the mirror 

0:58-1:00: Clock Scene 'hungry for what was to come'

1:00-1:05: Bella singing on the beach 'now I'm longing for the way I was'

1:04-1:09: shot from behind characters of arriving at the beach

• 1:09-1:13: shot from in front of characters of arriving at beach
• 1:13-1:16: third shot from left of actors of again arriving at beach
• 1:16-1:20: talking on the beach together

1:20-1:23: Argument of over shoulder shot leading up to lyric 'if your love isn't strong'

1:23-1:26: Argument from mid shot leading up to the same lyric

1:26- 1:27: 'if your love isn't strong' lyric from over shoulder shot

1:28-1:35: Back to back scenes: sitting back to back and Lee looks at another girl from selection of different camera angles

1:35-1:58: Crowd shots, slow motion dancing and general party environment

1:58-2:20: Looking across the room, Lee is flirting with other girls, Bella storms out 

2:20-2:28: Walking along the A14 Bridge - focus on the traffic - cars slow motion

2:28-2:36: Shots of Lee

2:36-2:44: shot which becomes out of focus of Bella walking behind Lee

2:44-2:47: Early morning bed shot, Bella gets out, from above, white bed sheets

2:51-3:06

• 2:47-2:51: Holding hands shot, played in reverse (editing)
• 2:56-3:06: Bella singing 'say you'll save me'

3:06- 3:16:Shots of Bella looking sad/depressed in different places

3:16-3:21: shot of lee and bella looking over pier into panning shot of beach

3:21-3:24: Really fast flicking between scenes

3:24-3:29: ^ this carries on with Bella faded on top singing 

3:29-3:36: Bella dancing on her own in the middle of the crowd/people

3:36-3:42: Bella arguing on the street with Lee

3:42-3:49: Bella on the beach singing up to 'would it ever be enough'

3:49-3:59: Bella confiding in somebody else, Lee sitting on his own

3:59-4:06: Bella and lee holding hands walking forward, zoom into hands and play 2nd half backwards (editing)

4:06-4:14: Bella walking away on the beach, panning shot to reveal lee 

4:14-4:23: Bella's crying shot played in reverse (in slow motion) so that the tears go up - she has been saved by walking away. 

Audience Feedback

When starting to cut our footage and put into order, we began to show others our footage to ask of their opinion on what is good and also what we could improve, here is what we recieved which includes feedback from our tutorials:

(Good, Bad)

The footage looks very professional

The lighting is strong and impressive

Some shots are slightly shaking

The shots are framed very well

The story line is easily understood

The actors look stunning and professional

Some of the miming shots are somewhat out of time

The male actor is squinting slightly in some shots

The actors are believable

From this feedback, i can mainly take positive comments which i should only make sure are consistent with the rest of my footage. However for some of the negative comments i should ensure i do the following:

• Ensure i use the tripod for as many shots as possible to avoid the shot being shakey and ensure it is more still
• Ensure i take multiple shots of the actress miming to ensure i gain at least one shot which is in time and also edit more accurately
• Ensure the actor is in a position where no light is affecting his vision or facial appearance.

Evidence of filming

The above video shows evidence of Savanna and Myself filming the footage (the first two clips), the two clips after this are examples of footage which we were unable to use, the first includes a tripod in the shot which therefore means we cannot use it due to it looking unrealistic and staged.

The second clip of the Brighton sign has many extras in the background which are not even blurred therefore we could not use the footage as it is not relevant to our target audience (character wise) as well as being distracting and we would have to gain permission from each individual within the shot.

Edit Decision List

Comments on day of filming

On the day of the filming, all of the actors and those who were filming were able to travel together and were all available for the day without alterations. 

On the day of the filming, we took two cameras, a Nikon DSLR camera to film the main footage on, and a Sony video camera for any extra footage or incase the first camera had run out of charge. We also took two camera bags, chargers and a tripod.

Along with this, the shot list, storyboard and music was taken with us. To fit the wants and needs of the target audience, the characters were dressed slightly alternative but also presentable and classy. Our female actor wore attractive make up with straight hair and an outfit which complemented her figure. The male actor wore more casual clothing e.g. sports t-shirt and jeans however his hair was styled neatly for a more classical look.

We also took a sheet with us for any permission we would have to possibly gain from any extras who were in the background of the footage, or in case we had any spontaneous decisions or issues in which we would need further or unplanned permission for.

We also asked the female actress to learn all of the lyrics to the song to save time on the actual day.

Planning and preparation for filming

Planned Time and Location to film:

8am-10pm Sunday 6th October, Brighton Beach

When we film our production we need to ensure we consider and take the following:

• Camera's
• Tripods
• Chargers
• Spare Camera
• Music of song we are using
• Shot list and storyboards
• Appropriate costume and make-up for actors
• Weather appropriate material e.g. umbrellas or sunglasses
• Permission sheet

The above items are necessary to ensure that all of our filming is guaranteed to be successful and so that we are prepared for anything which may happen eg, extra permission we may need or extras for unexpected weather conditions.

From checking forecasts, it is expected to be good weather e.g. 20 degrees and sunny so hopefully this will be true and our production will not be affected by things such as rain.

However we should ensure that we are cautious of the lighting when filming as we would need to ensure sun rays or bright lights would not effect the filming.

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