She's a maniac, a maniac, on Final Cut Pro: EDITING pt I

08/01/2013
Today we began the editing process for our music video. I also finally had a chance to discuss with my group some of the issues we came across over the holidays. We first discussed the red leotard incident, and decided that once the leotards arrived, using the classroom we would set up the green screen and only have the artist perform the dance sequences and the lip syncing, as it would be too time consuming to reteach the choreography to the back up dancers. We also discussed about filming the bedroom sequence after the exam period. We will use both opportunities to take photographs for our inlays.

We first imported out clips onto the mac, by opening up final cut pro and creating a new project within my event. We then selected the clips we wanted and imported these into the event. This gave us a chance to look over our shots and clips. The shots of me performing were good and use able, as the dance sequences were danced in time to the music and it was clear I knew what I was doing. However the majority of the back up dancers clips are un useable, with the exception of Issy's improvised section. This was due to the back up dancers not being able to learn the routine to a high standard and despite dancing the routine as back up dancers performed it was still poorly danced and was clear they were watching someone. However I dont believe this is down to poor planning, as back up dancers were told to watch the choreography video online and Linzi had been taught the choreography the day the video went up. This meant that half our clips can not be used in our final product.

We also came across another problem, due to the amount of un useable dance clips we thought we found a solution in the suggestion made by a member of staff to key out the white background using a keyer, however instead of adding the three dancers to the same background, we were going to duplicate me. However when we attempted to use the keyer it wasn't very effective, as the entire image became blacked out and the background had speckles of white.

Once all the footage had imported we began playing around and trying out numerous effects. We began by editing the opening beat sequence. Looking through the shots we decided to use a mix of Me and Issy changing positions, as Linzi's tended to lack oomph. I also loved the second shape made by Issy in the video.

We also came across another problem when editing these shots, as they were long shots and originally the sides of the white backdrop could be seen this meant we had to crop the shots, however once cropped they then didnt fill the frame of the video. Although this wasnt a major problem, lining up the shots with eachother was, due to the black strip either side of the clip, if clips werent matched up, they would appear to move. We solved the dilemma by creating two plain black separate images and placed these either side above the shot, just so they slightly covered the edge. By right clicking we turned the images into one compound clip, this meant we could move them together. We dragged the time scale of the clip so that it covered all the shots in the first verse, this meant all our cropped images would be in line with each other rather than moving about.

So far the first verse is a compilation of Me and Issy dancing and Lip sync, both mid shot and close up. However due to not being able to have all three dancers at once, we wanted to add variety to our shots, as I wasnt overly happy with how the mid shot profile of the lip sync turned out, I decided to add a mirror effect, this was an effect we had planned to use later on in the video, during the bridge sequence, shown in our storyboards. However, I thought it would make our clips more interesting to watch, due to the current lack of variety.

The shots have been cut to the beat and the strong images the shots show are really effective. However once we film the bedroom footage, we will have even more shots for our opening sequences. We also began editing the opening chorus beginning "Bless your soul...." unfortunately the floor sequences didnt turn out exactly as planned, and although they appear during our storyboard, they wont be in our final product.

I'm slightly concerned about certain elements of the music video at this point, due to the amount of un useable shots and issues with the keyer, I am also slightly concerned that we may face problems later on using the green screen, as often shadows could be seen cast against the screen which may make using a keyer difficult.

127 Hours - Of Filming

http://aishamitchell.wix.com/themakingofadele

Hit Me With Your Best Shot: Shooting Schedule

Animatics: Storyboards in Disguise.

eBay and cOstumes

Our choice of costumes need to be representative of our genre, Pop!. Typically costumes within pop tend to sexualise the artist and that is what we will do, through the use of tight fitting and revealing costumes.

This costume first appears in the chorus of the song, "Bless your soul you got your...". The dancers wear this costume when dancing against the "fiery background" we replace the green screen with, and so we wanted the costume to be rebellious and sexy, as both red and orange have connotations such as anger, passion, love and sex. The costume is a simple black leotard with a mesh strip, teamed with a pair of ripped black tights. The dancers will then either wear a leather or denim cut off jacket for a rock chick look. To complete the look the dancers will wear either bows made from Newspaper or an old fashioned phone hand set .... IN THEIR HAIR. Very Gagaesque. Make-up will include Black Lipstick and dark heavy makeup.

This costume first appears in the introduction to the song. The artist will be in her bedroom "talking" on the phone. We wanted this costume to look similar to sexy lingerie. We decided on a leopard print leotard as its sexy but also very animalistic, representing our artists bitchy side when it comes to the rumours. The leotard also looks like underwear without being too innapropriate for our age. The artists make-upis scene will include big eyeliner and red lips!

This costume is introduced during the bridge of the song. Its a very simple costume as the background will be busy. The costume is the simple black leotard with the mesh stripe used earlier. Make up will again be very dark and smoky with black lipstick. Hair may remain the same dependent on decisions made later, and we may add an element of floaty fabric that will move to the soft music.

This is the final costume that appears in our music video. Dancers will dance against a white background so we wanted a costume that would stand out. We decided on a polo neck long sleeved lipstick red leotard. The popping colour is typical within the pop genre but also carries connotations such as sex and anger which are huge themes throughout the song. The leotard isn't as revealing as the other costumes and has a unique look to it. Make Up for this section will be bright red lipstick and eye make up will be fiery streaks of orange and red.

 

The Discoplex is where I go to Dance!

Today we choreographed our dance routine for our song, we tried to stick with dynamic sequences rather than typical contemporary dance moves. All though our routine is slightly patchy, with gaps missing, we don't think this will be a problem as the routine will cut between the shots of the artist performing. Our choreography is also very repetitive, however this is very typical within pop music videos. We filmed our final choreography, excluding two sequences, one which replicates a routine from Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" and the final chorus which is a simple stamping step and hand gestures. Below is the final video for our choreography, we will dance to counts of 8, however this was much faster in the video below, the real one will be much slower so all dancers can keep in time. Our choreography repeats the same sequence for the first verse and chorus and final section of the song cuts between the four different sequences, as we have a different sequence for the second chorus, second verse and "Bless your soul section ....". We were going to develop a sequence to the bridge, however came to the conclusion that this would be better improvised rather than choreographed. Our choreography is typically representative of the pop genre as it uses sexual movements and strong dynamic shapes. 

Once Upon a Storyboard...