Over the weekend, my group mates and I filmed our music video. We filmed on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, I met up with my group mates at Anyeska’s house around 2 PM. The agreed time to be there was 1 PM; However, I was running an hour behind. The people who were involved in the filming process were Anyeska, Lesly, Jazmin, our volunteer named Nick, and I. By the time I arrived, my team mate, Lesly had already finished his “birthday suit” scene. We mostly went with the flow, and majority of our music video was filmed out of order. Upon arrival, I walked in on the scene where Anyeska had to lay in bed to match the lyrics “I just wanna lay in my bed.” Lesly was filming her at a high angle as mentioned in the storyboard. After Anyeska’s scene, we 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; the lyrics: “don’t feel like picking up the phone, so leave a message at the tone.” Afterwards, we took a short, twenty minute break to grab a quick snack. Anyeska’s mom made us mozzarella sticks and we had juice, as well as water. After eating, we jumped right back into filming. Our next scene was a dance sequence where we came up with simple steps to express the lyrics, “today I don’t feel like doing anything.” It took us about twelve minutes to come up with a dance sequence and after a few takes, it took the group about fifteen minutes to master it. Anyeska’s mom was in charge of filming this scene. The fifth scene which we did was the scene where the lyrics went: “no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, ooo.” For this scene, Anyeska printed out papers which read “No,” and we all had one, except for Lesly. We stood in a line side by side and we each extended out the paper every time we heard “no.” On the last “no,” Lesly zoomed into the camera because the next scene would be the scene of him in his “birthday suit.” We basically filmed the five scenes previously mentioned before Lesly had to go to his basketball game. Therefore, we filmed all of the parts which did not include him.
Once Lesly left, we wasted no time. We jumped right into filming all of the scenes which did not involve him. The first scene we filmed without him was a video game scene where Nick was playing video games, but then he stopped and relaxed. The lyrics to match the scene are: “oh, today I don’t feel like doing anything.” Second, Anyeska filmed my scene where I was in the bathroom mirror with a comb in my hand and me shaking my head; the lyrics were “no, I ain’t gonna comb my hair. ‘Cause I ain’t going anywhere.” Then, Jazmin filmed the scene where Anyeska was laying in bed, but this time, turning over onto her side and putting the covers over her head. Lastly, we filmed two scenes. We filmed a scene where Jazmin took her shoes off, and the song went- “”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.” In this scene, I recorded an insert which displayed a bunch of missed calls to express the lyric previously stated. That was it for filming on Saturday. We all agreed to return the following day to finish out last few scenes.
The next day, we all met up at Anyeska’s house to ultimately conclude our video. We decided to cut the scenes short, braking the storyboard to an extent. We only filmed one scene on Sunday. Basically, in the last scene we used confetti as a prop. We lip singed the lyrics: “Nothing at all!” Then, we threw the confetti in the air, huddled and cheered. Once again, Anyeska’s mom recorded this scene. As Nick, Lesly, Anyeska, and I huddled around, Jazmin stepped away from the group and she covered the camera which means that the video was over. Once the video was over, I was relieved. I feel confident in the scenes we filmed and I can not wait to edit them so that I can see our ideas come to life in our final product. After filming, we went to an arcade, then a pizza restaurant to award ourselves.
Monday, November 25, 2019
Friday, November 22, 2019
Music Video Conventions Blog
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 a meaning. One example of a code is a technical code which are camera techniques, framing, lighting, exposure etc. Another example of codes are 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 for 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 any 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 audiences eye and make them want to continue watching. To add onto 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 characters 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 which allows for a better understanding of the film's theme.
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 for 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 any 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 audiences eye and make them want to continue watching. To add onto 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 characters 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 which allows for a better understanding of the film's theme.
Music Video Storyboard Blog
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, story boarding would have been a much longer process. Our teachers restrictedour timing to at least one minute and five seconds, and at most one minute and fifteen seconds. Ourstoryboard 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 down below. It is filled with great details which 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 reads “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 loose.” 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 which 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 which 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 team mates and I work well together and we all pull our own weight. Everyone makes an effort to contribute towards each section of the project.
Music Video Planning Blog
For our music video, we will be filming at my partner Anyeska’s 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 birthday suit and formal clothing. In 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 are 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 showing a person in a birthday themed costume. Following this will be a zoom out from the character's eye to the living room and someone will be shown dressed in a birthday suit. They will 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 movement 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; However, this time they will be pulling the cover over their head on camera. (Lyrics: "I just wanna lay in my bed"). Furthermore, along with a jump cut, there will be an insert of a phone screen which 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 which 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. 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 story boarding.
- Day 3: Filming.
- Day 4: Edit
- Day 5: Submitting music video.
- Day 6: Reflecting on music video.
Back-up Plan: We will be filming at my house. It will be the same where in the beginning of the music video, there is a fade in into a wide shot of our dance sequence. Every action by the characters are 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
Intro to New Project Blog
Recently, I filmed and edited a Starbucks commercial. I did enjoy filming it, and the outcome was not too substandard. Although, I do feel it could have been better. I submitted the commercial earlier this week. I believe that the commercial would have been better if my partner and I were more comfortable with each other, and if my group consisted of more than just my partner and I. Additionally, my partner and I did not quite get along well, therefore I decided to work with a new group for this new project. My new project is to make a music video. I feel prepared this time around with filming, but I am still a bit rocky when it come to editing on Pinnacle Studios. While filming my commercial, I learned how to do different camera movements, shots and angles. I learne how to do a long shot, high angle, medium shot, two-shot, zoom, and how to add score. In this new music video project, I will make sure to keep in mind the techniques I learned since the commercial to effectively apply them.
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, insert, and cross cutting. 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.
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, insert, and cross cutting. 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.
Friday, November 8, 2019
Official Editing Blog
As stated in my previous blog, I was unable to edit my Starbucks commercial because Pinnacle Studios was down. Therefore, my teacher gave us a few more days to edit in class. In my last blog I made a list of editing techniques I’d like to apply to my commercial. The techniques I picked out included: insert, fade in, fade out, action match and jump cut. When it was time to edit my teacher did not have a sufficient amount of laptops for the entire class. To compromise, she divided the class into two different sides. The left side of the room, which was the side I was on, we’re the first to edit on the laptops. We had thirty minutes before we had to give up our laptops to the other side of the room; We had to use our time wisely.
My team mate went to the front of the room and got a laptop for the both of us. We sat together, plugged in our flash drive which contained our commercial footage, and then we dumped our footage onto Pinnacle Studio. After that, we picked out our best footage to edit. We started off by adding a fade in. We then added an action match where my group mate was walking and then she was shown again in the next scene, still walking. We then added a jump cut where my team mate was flipping through pages and I walked up her, leading into it dialogue. The purpose of doing so was to show the passage of time. We then added an insert at the end where we have the Starbucks logo on a green background with the Starbucks slogan written in white— “Starbucks DoubleShot. Bring on The Day!” We then ended the commercial with a fade out.
After my team mate and I were done filming, she went to save our commercial on the flash drive. My team mate saved she saved it, however when we clicked on the final product, all of our footage was gone. We were devastated because it took us a while to get our editing together. All of our hard work went down the drain. Instead of being pessimistic my partner and I decided that we will give editing another shot the very next class since we had to give the other half of our class a chance with the laptops.
My team mate went to the front of the room and got a laptop for the both of us. We sat together, plugged in our flash drive which contained our commercial footage, and then we dumped our footage onto Pinnacle Studio. After that, we picked out our best footage to edit. We started off by adding a fade in. We then added an action match where my group mate was walking and then she was shown again in the next scene, still walking. We then added a jump cut where my team mate was flipping through pages and I walked up her, leading into it dialogue. The purpose of doing so was to show the passage of time. We then added an insert at the end where we have the Starbucks logo on a green background with the Starbucks slogan written in white— “Starbucks DoubleShot. Bring on The Day!” We then ended the commercial with a fade out.
After my team mate and I were done filming, she went to save our commercial on the flash drive. My team mate saved she saved it, however when we clicked on the final product, all of our footage was gone. We were devastated because it took us a while to get our editing together. All of our hard work went down the drain. Instead of being pessimistic my partner and I decided that we will give editing another shot the very next class since we had to give the other half of our class a chance with the laptops.
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