Filming Blog #1

Over the weekend, unlike many groups, we did not begin the filming process. During that weekend there was a lot going on. These different factors had impacted our ability to film. The biggest one is that one of our group members was out of town. Another factor is that another one of our group members recently injured her ankle and is now on crutches. This was a problem because our music video requires dancing and she couldn’t dance with crutches on. Another one was that it was my Dad’s 50th birthday and I didn’t want to miss it. Finally on Sunday I had church and I couldn’t have missed it. All of these factors that took course over the weekend prevented us from filming over the weekend. However, they didn’t stop us from planning.

This free time gave us a chance to individually plan and assert ourselves. I personally took the time out around my schedule to plan out specifically what I was going to wear for the music video. I planned out my outfits and saw if they fit the theme. I also looked up what the artist of the song wears. This artist, Ski Mask the Slump God, is known to dress well and trendy no matter the occasion. Since he made the song and starred in the music video for it I thought that he would be a great example. The only thing that didn’t make him a perfect example it that he wasn’t a female, but I knew what to look for based off of his style. If I didn’t have any clothes that didn’t fit the theme then I would go out and buy them somewhere nearby. Another thing that I could do if u didn’t have these clothes is by them at the mall, since we’ll be going there anyway, and make it apart of the music video. This was very helpful and a great use of my time, as opposed to just completely ignoring this project.

To add on, another thing that I thought about during this time was looking up how to do the editing and special techniques for this music video. These include the melting words, the light highlighting, and the split screen. For the melting words and the light highlighting I searched how to do it on Google. Google then led me to YouTube where I was shown detailed videos on how to do them. The split screen was taught to my group members and I by our teachers, but I needed a refresher on how to do it. The melting words will be done using Adobe Photoshop. The light highlighting will be done using Pinnacle Studios. The split screen will be done using Pinnacle Studios as well. I also took it upon myself to look at tips and a tutorial from the director of the actual music video, Cole Bennet. These video tutorials and tips put an end to my ignorance and made me excited for the editing process.

Music Video: Storyboard

On November 18th and 20th me and my group members planned and revised our storyboard. In this process we considered C.L.A.M.P.S., C.A.M.S., editing, and sound. C.L.A.M.P.S. stands for costumes, lighting, actors, makeup, props, and setting or scene. For costumes we will be wearing party clothes. For lighting we plan on using mainly natural light and maybe artificial lights. For the actors it will be me and my group members only, and possibly some unintended extras. For the makeup my group members and I don’t plan on wearing any. If we later decide to put on any it will be something small like mascara or highlight. For the props I plan on purchasing and using a “Chucky” doll. Finally, for the setting we plan on filming at a group members’ house and the Sawgrass Mills Mall.

C.A.M.S. stands for camera, angles, movements, and shots. The camera angles that we plan on using are low and high. The camera movements that we will be using are pans and tilts. The camera shots that we plan on using are an establishing, point of view (POV), wide tracking, two, and long, medium-long, medium, closeups. As far as editing goes we will add different special effects and transitions. The special effects that we plan on using are melting words and led highlighting. The transitions that we plan on using are a swipe and a fade out. We will also add in a split screen. Hopefully these will make for an exciting, intriguing music video.

Our storyboard is 3 pages long with 18 squares filled up. They count for 1 minute and 18 seconds. To fit the time limit, 1:05-1:20, we had to cut the song. The music will start at the actual beginning of the song and end right after the chorus. In each square it represents the idea that we plan on showing in our video. They each count for 6 seconds.

Planning Blog: Music Video

Now that we have chose our song, it is time that we plan how the music video is going to play out. The aspects that we need to consider are location, health and safety, props, costumes, and schedule. For the location we must first ask for permission to shoot wherever we’re going. That is if we even plan on filming somewhere where permission must be granted. We also need to have a backup plan just in case that doesn’t work out. For health we have to ensure that we are uploading small clips and pictures of how we are staying safe. For props we just need to include what objects, if any, are being used in this video. For costumes we need to include what we are wearing in the video. Lastly for the schedule we must include what days we plan to plan, film, and edit the music video.

When considering the location my group members and I have decided to film at one of our houses, in and outside of a car, and at the Sawgrass Mills Mall. The house that we are filming at is home to one of our group members Lauren. We decided this because she lives closer to the Sawgrass Mills Mall. When considering health and safety, one or all of us will take pictures of our seatbelts on in the car, and if someone is driving the car they will have their learners permit. If the car is stationary it will be in park while the person in the driver’s seat is pretending to drive. When considering props I plan on purchasing a “Chucky” doll. This doll was in a famous 7-series movie titled, “Child’s Play”. The reason behind me purchasing this doll is because it was in the original music video that the artist made for the song. When considering costumes my group members and I will dress up as if we are going to a party or special event or function. We are very excited to begin filming this video.

Now for the schedule, this schedule will span from November 18th to December 9th. On November 18th we began to do our storyboard, and on the 20th we completed our storyboard. On November 22nd we will continue to go over the plan in regards to filming. On November 26th we will go to Lauren’s house and begin to film. However, we are not sure if we will finish on this day. From the 27th to December 4th, we will continue filming if needed. On December 5th we will begin to edit. On December 9th we will finish editing and send our music video into our teacher. So far this project is coming along very well. We are ecstatic for what’s to come.

Intro to New Project: Music Video

Now that we have completed our commercial project, it is time to reflect. Even though our commercial didn't quite turn out as planned, it was still a great project. I enjoyed working with my peers and expanding and putting my knowledge to the test. Those were the best parts to working on this commercial. My group members and I communicated well with each other, we had a similar mind set, and we had an amazing time filming this commercial. It was all laughs, but at the same time we took the project seriously. We plan on working with each other in the future on the upcoming projects. There were some bad to the commercial; for instance, we slightly drifted from the idea that was set in our original storyboard. To add on, we transitioned from Pinnacle Studios to iMovie because iMovie was easier to work with.

The song that my group members and I have chosen is titled "Catch Me Outside". It was made by a Broward, County Florida rapper, Ski Mask the Slump God, who happens to be my favorite rapper. The genre of this video is Rap. In typical current music videos for this genre the artists use many different animations, usually low, high, straight shooting camera angles, close ups, and transitions. This song has a free, joyful vibe to it, and that's what we plan on showing in our remake of the video. The story in our video will be reunion themed. All of the actors, who have gone to different universities and don't see each other often, meet back up in their old town to become reacquainted. We will all just be having a good time and enjoying each other's company. My group members and I are ecstatic for this music video. I'm personally really excited for this because I get to implement a big part of my life which makes me me.

Now for C.L.A.M.P.S., this stands for costumes, lighting, actors, makeup, props, and scenery. The costumes that we will be using in this video are casual and party outfits. The lighting in this video will be natural lighting. The actors in the video so far are my group members and I. There will be no makeup used for this video. The props in this video will be 2 batons. The scenery will be outside and maybe inside of the Sawgrass and one of our houses.

Editing: the Commercial

On Tuesday, November 5, 2019, we began to edit our commercial. We continued today, Thursday, November 7, 2019. There's a lot that we have to get done. We have to clip all of our scenes. We have to add a voiceover. We have to add in the McDonald's logo at the end. We have to add in the Barbie "You can be anything" theme song. Lastly, we have to add in a split-screen and look up how to do it because we are unaware. Since one of my group members dumped the footage onto her Google Drive, it was easy to find. So far we're off to a great start.

Though there were some shortcomings. The computers didn't work so we had to use laptops instead. When we got our laptop. we waited longer than expected for it to load. When it finally loaded the group member that saved the footage to her Drive saved it to the laptop. The footage had to be saved on the laptop in order to export it onto Pinnacle Studios. When the footage was imported onto Pinnacle Studios, we began to edit. However, the unexpected happened. During the editing process, our laptop died, and there wasn't much time left in class. So, we asked our teacher what we should do. He said that we should save our work, but, as previously mentioned, it was too late. He also said to charge it and we did just that.

While our laptop was charging, we decided to review how we were going to edit our commercial. My group members and I planned to start the editing process over once our laptop got to a decent percentage. Sadly, it did not reach that percentage in time, and we had to go to our next class. On the bright side, we had the next class to edit our commercial. On the downside, the class was cut in half due to it being a PSD (Professional Study Day). Coming into this class the next day, today, we were determined and had high hopes. Unfortunately, our computer died again during the editing process. One of my group members emailed our teacher and explained to hi, our predicament. Later in the day, he sent out a notification to the class. This notification said we were granted one more class day to edit and turn in our commercial.