Monday, November 25, 2019

First Day Filming The Music Video

Over the weekend, my group and I filmed our music video. We filmed at my house on both Saturday and Sunday. The people who were involved in the filming process were Lesly, Jazmin, Brit, our friend Nick, and I. We decided to film out of order and just do what we wanted, as long as we recorded what we needed. On Saturday, I filmed Lesly as soon as he arrived because he would be leaving early. I recorded his “birthday suit” scene with the lyrics: "I’ll just strut in my birthday suit, and let everything hand lose.” We then filmed all of the parts which did not include him. Next, Lesly recorded the scene of me laying in bed at a high angle to match the lyrics: “I just wanna lay in my bed.” After my scene, I filmed Jazmin’s over-the-shoulder scene where she was sitting on the couch and she tossed her phone as she was receiving a call from Lesly (Lyrics: “Don’t feel like picking up the phone, so leave a message at the tone.”). After this, we took a short break to eat snacks and then proceeded with the next scene. It was a dance sequence where they came up with simple steps to express the lyrics: “Today I don’t feel like doing anything.” It took us some time to come up with, but Jazmin guided us throughout the way. During this scene, my mom was in charge of filming (Lyrics: “No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, nooo.”). For it, I printed out papers that read “No” for everyone, except Lesly. We all stood in a line side by side and we each extended out the paper every time we heard “No” in the song. On the last “No,” Lesly jumped in front of the camera and put his sunglass into the camera. My group and I ended up filming five scenes before Lesly had to go to leave for his basketball game. 

As soon as Lesly left, Jazmin, Brit, Nick, and I continued filming the scenes that did not involve him. The first scene we filmed was a video game scene where Nick was playing video games, but then he throws the controller to the side and relaxed (Lyrics: “Oh, today I don’t feel like doing anything.”). Secondly, I filmed Brit's scene where she was in the bathroom mirror with a comb in her hand and shaking her head to the lyrics: "No, I ain’t gonna comb my hair. Cause I ain’t going anywhere." Then, Jazmin filmed the scene where I was laying in bed again, but this time, I turned over onto my side and put a blanket over my head. Lastly, we filmed the other two scenes. We filmed a scene where Jazmin took her shoes off for the Lyrics: "Cause today I swear I’m not doing anything." The final scene of the day was the part of the song which went, “Don’t feel like picking up the phone, so leave a message at the tone.” For this scene, Brit recorded an insert that displayed a bunch of missed calls to express the lyrics. That was it for filming on Saturday. The following paragraph will be what happened when I filmed the next day. 

On Sunday, everyone met up at my house again to conclude our music video. We decided to cut the scenes short and change the storyboard to an extent. We technically only filmed one scene. It was the last scene, where we lip sung the lyrics: “Nothing at all!” Then, we threw the confetti in the air, huddled, and cheered.  We used the confetti as a prop. As Nick, Lesly, Brit, and I huddled around, Jazmin stepped away from the group, walked up to the camera, and covered it with her hands. This was inspired by Bruno Mars's original music video, which meant to portray that the music video was over. After filming, we went to an arcade and a pizza restaurant to award ourselves. Overall, I feel relieved and very confident with all the footage. It was also a fun and successful experience. I cannot wait to edit with my group and see everyone's ideas come to life. 

Friday, November 22, 2019

Storyboard for Music Video

Today my teammates and I manifested our storyboard in our group chat. After completing our planning blog where we discussed how we wanted to go about filming our music video, we knew it was time for our storyboard. It took approximately an hour to draw and write out our camera angles, camera movements, and actions for each scene. Had we not execute a plan in our planning blog last class, storyboarding would have been a much longer process. Our teachers restricted our timing to at least one minute and five seconds, and at most one minute and fifteen seconds. Our storyboard consists of fifteen different five-second scenes. Meaning, our music video should be around one minute and fifteen seconds long. So far, we are on a good track with timing. Our storyboard is shown over to the right. It is filled with great details that will guide us during the filming process.

Within the first scene of the blog, we will edit in a fade-in transition which then displays a wide shot of my three other teammates, a volunteer, and I dancing to the lyrics “today I don’t feel like doing anything.” Secondly, we will have a high angle of someone laying in bed “sleeping;” Lyrics: “I just wanna lay in my bed.” Third, we will have a jump cut into an over the shoulder of someone silencing their phone then tossing it on the couch— lyrics: “don’t feel like picking up the phone, so leave a message at the tone. ‘Cause today I swear I’m not doing anything.” In the fourth scene: “No, I ain’t gonna comb my hair, ‘cause I ain’t going anywhere.” The actions that match the lyrics would be someone holding a comb, looking at it, placing it down, then shrugging their shoulder. In the fifth scene, all five of us involved will hold up signs which read “no.” Using the camera movement, pan, and a close-up shot, we will move the camera left to right going down the rows of “no” signs. The lyrics will play: “no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, noo.” On the last “no,” the camera will zoom into someone’s eye and then zoom out of it in the following scene. The following scene will include the lyrics “I’ll just strut in my birthday suit, and let everything hand lose.” A person will be strutting sound and pulling their suit an appropriate amount to match the lyrics of letting “everything hang loose.” Moreover, the next scene will be a dance sequence similar to the one we introduced the video with; This will be portrayed through a wide shot.  The lyrics: “yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeaaah.” Next, there will be a pan shot of someone playing Xbox, but dropping the gaming controller. Lyrics: "Oh, today, I don't feel like doing anything." Then, there will be a high angle of someone laying in the bed and pulling the cover over their head: “I just wanna lay in my bed.” Furthermore, along with a jump cut, there will be an insert of a phone screen that displays missed calls. The following scene will also be an insert of a phone screen which shows a new voicemail/message. Lyrics: "Don't feel like picking up my phone, so leave a message at the tone) The next scene will consist of a long shot that shows someone kicking off their socks or shoes then laying on the couch. (Lyrics: cause today I swear I'm not doing anything.”) The third to last scene will be everyone throwing papers in the air and having the last dance sequence (Lyrics: "Nothing at all...) The instrumental will then play out as everyone lays down on the couch and floor as though we are asleep. (Lyrics: nothing at all"). Finally, someone will walk from the group and cover the camera with their hands, which signifies the ending to our music video. 

Thankfully, my teammates and I work well together and we all pull our own weight. Everyone made an effort to contribute to each section of the project!



Research: Music Video Conventions

Codes and conventions are used by many different companies. They can be used as a marketing strategy in order to grab the attention of consumers. That way the product seems more interesting. A code is a system of signs that are put together to create meaning. One example of a code is a technical code which is camera techniques, framing, lighting, exposure, etc. Another example of codes is symbolic codes, which consist of objects,  the setting, body language, clothing, and color. Lastly, there are written codes which are headlines, captions, speech bubbles, and language styles. Conventions are habits of doing things. In short, what people have come to expect. Examples of conventions are camera angles, shots, editing, lighting, sound, music, computer graphics, and special effects.

Many songwriters use conventions in order to help the audience understand the theme of the video. They also want to give them a feel for the emotion behind it. While in the original music video of The Lazy Song, the dancers dressed in baggy clothes and wore ape masks. This created a crazy, lazy, but happy atmosphere. Throughout the song, the dancers dance along with the music. In The Lazy Song's music video, there were a limited amount of camera angles. One camera angle the director used was a wide shot which allows the audience to see everything lateral. The wide shot was used in the whole music video. This is evident because as the music video was occurring, there were not many changes to the wide shot camera angle. The director is trying to engage with the audience by showing them all of the dancers with Bruno Mars in the center.

For our music video, we will change the dynamic. To start with, we are going to engage our audience by opening with a fade-in. This makes the audience seem like they just walked into something. Then right after, we will start dancing just as in the original video. This will catch the audience's eye and make them want to continue watching. To add to that, our costumes, makeup, and props will surely catch the eye of our viewers because we are wearing bright and crazy colors. Our music video will also take place in multiple settings, rather than just one. We will zoom in to the birthday suits the character's eye and transport from the bedroom to a different location. Another thing we show differently is what we’re doing. The actors in the film will be watching TV, combing their hair, and playing video games. These are things that people contribute to everyday life and have genuine interests in. Lastly, there will be more camera movements that allow for a better understanding of the film's theme.

Planning for Music Video

For our music video, we will be filming at my house. There are no present health and safety procedures we would follow. The props would be a phone, gaming controller, TV remote, paper, and hair comb. The costumes would be a birthday suit and formal clothing. At the beginning of the music video, there will be a fade-in into a wide shot of our dance sequence. Every action by the characters is going to be matched by the lyrics of the song. So, the next scene will be a high angle of someone laying in their bed (Lyric: "I just wanna lay in my bed"). Then, there will be a jump cut to an over the shoulder shot of someone silencing a phone call and throwing it (Lyric: "Don't feel like picking up the phone, so leave a message at the tone, cause today I swear I'm not doing anything"). Next, there will be a jump cut to a medium shot of someone holding a hair comb then putting it down (Lyric: "No, I ain't gonna comb my hair cause I ain't going anywhere" as they lip-sync it). After this, there will be a line of five people with signs reading "No" (Lyric: "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, nooo). In the last "No" there will be a zoom in to a character's eye, then a zoom out in a different location and costume. Following this will be a zoom out from the character's eye to the living room and dressed in a birthday suit. They'll be strutting around and dropping some part of the birthday suit (Lyric: "I'll just strut in my birthday suit. And let everything hang loose"). Then, we will have another wide shot of our dance sequence (Lyric: "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah"). Next, there will be a pan shot of someone playing Xbox, but dropping the gaming controller (Lyric: "Oh, today, I don't feel like doing anything"). Then, there will be a repetition from before where there is a high angle of someone laying in their bed (Lyric: "I just wanna lay in my bed"). Along with, the jump cut to an over the shoulder shot of someone silencing a phone call and throwing it (Lyric: "Don't feel like picking up my phone, so leave a message at the tone, cause today I swear I'm not doing anything"). The second to last scene will be everyone throwing papers in the air and having the last dance sequence (Lyrics: "Nothing at all, nothing at all"). Finally, someone will walk from the group and cover the camera with their hands, which signifies the ending to our music video. Not to mention, there will be subtitles throughout the music video.

Schedule: (11/18-12/9)
- Day 1: Planning our music video.
- Day 2: Script and storyboarding.
- Day 3: Filming.
- Day 4: Editing.
- Day 5: Submitting music video.
- Day 6: Reflecting on the music video.

Back-up Plan: We will be filming at Britania's house. It will be the same wherein the beginning of the music video, there is a fade-in into a wide shot of our dance sequence. Every action by the characters is going to be matched by the lyrics of the song. So, the next scene will be a high angle of someone laying in their bed (Lyric: "I just wanna lay in my bed"). Then, there will be a jump cut to an over the shoulder shot of someone silencing a phone call and throwing it (Lyric: "Don't feel like picking up the phone, so leave a message at the tone, cause today I swear I'm not doing anything"). Next, there will be a jump cut to a medium shot of someone holding a hair comb then putting it down (Lyric: "No, I ain't gonna comb my hair cause I ain't going anywhere" as they lip-sync it). After this, there will be a line of five people with signs reading "No" (Lyric: "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, nooo). In the last "No" there will be a zoom in to a character's eye, then a zoom out in a different location and costume. Following this will be a zoom out from the character's eye to the living room and dressed in a birthday suit. They'll be strutting around and dropping some part of the birthday suit (Lyric: "I'll just strut in my birthday suit. And let everything hang loose"). Then, we will have another wide shot of our dance sequence (Lyric: "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah"). Next, there will be a pan shot of someone playing Xbox, but dropping the gaming controller (Lyric: "Oh, today, I don't feel like doing anything"). Then, there will be a repetition from before where there is a high angle of someone laying in their bed (Lyric: "I just wanna lay in my bed"). Along with, the jump cut to an over the shoulder shot of someone silencing a phone call and throwing it (Lyric: "Don't feel like picking up my phone, so leave a message at the tone, cause today I swear I'm not doing anything"). The second to last scene will be everyone throwing papers in the air and having the last dance sequence (Lyrics: "Nothing at all, nothing at all"). Finally, someone will walk from the group and cover the camera with their hands, which signifies the ending to our music video.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Into to New Project

I recently finished the commercial project and it overall helped me develop many skills for future films. I researched a lot about making a film, using a camera, and editing. In addition to working as a group, sharing my thoughts with my friends, and gain some confidence. A music video is a videotaped performance of a recorded popular song, usually accompanied by dancing and visual images interpreting the lyrics. The main purpose of music videos is to promote artists and promote brands. But, it's mainly to promote the track. Music can be divided into different genres in many different ways. The top 10 genres of Music Industry are electronic dance, rock, jazz, dubstep, rhythm and blues, techno, country, and elector music. We will be choosing a song to make a music video. This will be addressed in the following paragraph.

The song my group and I chose was "The Lazy Song", by Bruno Mars. It will be a clean version of the song so it is school appropriate. I recommended this song to my group and they all agreed. We will start from 1:57 into the music video and end at 3:03. This is because the minimum is 1:05 seconds and the maximum is 1:15 seconds. One good thing about this song is that it has lyrics that are easy to act out. This limits confusion on what to do in specific parts of the song. This song is a fun, upbeat song that highlights how many people feel when they are tired and do not want to do anything. The fact that the song relates to the audience makes the song more interesting. I am super excited to film this music video!

A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. Music can be divided into different genres in many different ways. The artistic nature of music means that these classifications are often subjective and controversial, and some genres may overlap. The camera angle we would use in the music video will be a high angle. The camera shots and movements would include pans, tilts, variants of medium to close up shots, wide shots, and long shots. The sound would be a score and sound bridge. The editing process would include fade in and out and over the shoulder. 1. Costumes: Birthday suit but formal clothing. 2. Lightning: Dim, to set the mood of being lazy. 3. Actors: Everyone in our group (Lesly, Jazmin, and Brit). 4. Makeup: None. 5. Props: Phone, gaming controller, TV remote, paper, and hair comb. 6. Setting: In a house.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Second Day Editing Vans Commercial

Unlike the last class, today was calm. Lesly, Jazmin, and I all worked on editing our commercial. It took up the majority of my class time but I made sure to use every single second effectively, not wasting time. Since I was able to use my friend's computer to dump and edit the last class, it made the process of getting the commercial done, better. I just signed out a computer and went to Google Drive to access all of the footage. When I was ready to edit, I opened Pinnacle Studios and imported everything into the program. I highlighted the footage and clicked "Start Import" to make sure they were are all imported. From there, I started the editing process by editing the raw footage. I dragged the footage down to AV track 2. The following paragraph will explain the different tools I used and what happened during my editing process.

I used the razor blade icon to split almost all of the scenes because some were too long or unnecessary. Next, I detached multiple audios from the shots. I did this by right-clicking on the scene and the "Detach Audio" option was visible. Due to the fact that most of the background sound in the shots were loud noises or people socializing. This made my group members and I think about adding low background music. I emphasized to Lesly and Jazmin that it would help accomplish our product and not have the commercial be completely silent. Moving on, I added a fade-out to the ending scene. I did this by right-clicking and searching it on the effect’s editor. This made the image disappear gradually until the screen is completely black. My group and I were planning to make the ending scene fade out to a Vans logo, however, we all had difficulty importing the downloaded image.

Overall, my planning ahead about editing techniques last class made the process of getting the commercial done, better. I planned to crop footage, remove audio, and add a fade out. As a result, I did all of those things. The type of sounds I planned to use in my Vans commercial included voiceovers, background music, diegetic sounds, and special effect sounds. Although I had trouble adding background music, so I ended up using the ones that Pinnacle Studio offered. The diegetic sounds and special effect sounds didn't really suit the scenes. So, I stuck to the voiceovers and possible background music. The camera movements and angles we used were: tilt shot, pan shot, long shot, medium close up shot, and over the shoulder, point of view, and zoom in/out. All of which were clear and edited with techniques during my editing process. Ultimately, I created a fun and typical story-based Vans commercial that came in between 15 seconds and 30 seconds!