Filming blog: Music Video

Filming blog for music video

The filming for this project was done by me (Emily). I was in charge of costume, storyboard, and filming. The filming I wanted to do was based off of the story I wanted to express in the music video. It was so that it correlated to the music. The shots I wanted to incorporate into the film were the ones that we can mold to the storyboard. The flow I made sure to correct this time when filming. I wanted the transition for the film to be a little choppy cause the times (50-60s) lots of films had cuts in them. The music was written in the 50s and was popular still around 60s and 70s. The vibes I wanted to incorporate are from those eras. The costume and the way I filmed were apart of that. 

   The low angled shots were to get the wide stir effect wile also having control of the actresses move a lot. The eye-line match was used a great deal in the 50s and 60s. So, the feeling from the film is I wanted the presence and feel of the film to have 50s-70s feel. There were also tilt shots in the film. This was for the establishing shot. This added that classic feel to when a film was about to begin and the curtains were just lifted. The scenery is a stage for the classic dance number that was popular then. The music will fit the feeling of the dancers and add humor and absence of joy. The time period was very closed minded to the LGBT+ community. However, everyone did enjoy dancing, and having fun. This music (1966, when Frank Sinatra played it) was just before stonewall (1969). This means the song would have definitely been apart of their lives before and after. 

       The lighting of the different sets will differ. The overall footage and finished price will have scenes in all ranges of lighting. Since it’s a love song I wanted to have it staged in a neutral and dull light. This way it gives off a warmer and home-y feel. The acting will be for the song and the lyrics will tie in. This should be overall around 1:05-10. So it will be the duration of the song with a few seconds of the singer (Frank Sinatra) playing the piano. The ending will feel more complete this way.  

Storyboard: Music Video

Storyboard for the music video

The story boards are as follows.





The different angles and shots that I have incorporated into the film (i.e. music video) give it a new age theme, rather than the 50s. However, the piece will be done in black and white. This is to preserve some of that 50s vibe. In addition there will be 50s themed clothing.
  The camera we will be using is the same one from the previous filming. Its a hand held camera that can attach to a stand alone tri-pod. This is to ensure that the filming wont be to shaky as this will distort the overall feeling the music video needs to express. The camera angles will change due to the scene and where the shot will take place. For the stage scene it will be a wide angle shot and filmed at the eye level of the person watching them dance. The angles that will be filmed in an outside location will be filmed in several different ways. The scenes will be a mix of high to low angle shots. The zoom will be reserved for the end.
  The movements that will be filmed is track shots and several zooms. This is for certain effects that we will try to express through the music plus the editing. The editing will be lots of jump-cuts. There will also be some zoom and fades may or may not be incorporated. This depends on the way the group feels when we are at the late stages of editing. This is to make sure we have added all of the sounds that we need to and the certain shots that we wanted. The layout of the music video is in the storyboard but, it is up for change if we decide to (or not).
   The actresses that will in the film are part of our group. (Victoria and Andrea). They are the ones who will put on the costumes and preform. I will be directing and managing the costumes (i.e. setting and location.) Throughout the process of filming we will be safe and cautious while also having fun. The sounds is going to be strictly the music and the few seconds before and after where Frank Sinatra is playing the piano. The sounds are non-diegetic. Due to the music being unrelated to what's being filmed its diegetic. However, in the beginning of the Storyboard it has a direction to play a music player (prop). This means that at the beginning it is diegetic. This makes the sound in the video flow nicely.  The feelings that should be expressed are love and the feelings the audience should grasp from the music video should be of them in love and being happy for them. 

Planning: Music Video

Planning blog for music video

Planning 

Today we are starting our planning for the upcoming project that we will be doing for AICE media. For this project we are doing Frank Sinatra’s- Fly me to the moon. For this project we will be portraying love in the 50s. The location will be on a stage and the outside. The different areas add different feelings to the music video. 

  For the health and safety aspect. We will be having the dancers stay at a reasonable distance way from the stage. This will ensure they won’t fall off and get hurt. The rest of the scenes don’t pose great risk to our actresses (Victoria, Andrea), and the camera woman (Emily/Me.)So, we won’t need to take extra cautionary measures. This is from us being aware of our surroundings. 

  The project we have won’t need to many props. I have used a DVD player for “music”. This effect is good so we can creat a diegetic sound with the song we have chosen. This will add a sense of creativity and balance to the film. The costumes I have chosen are based off the style of the 50s-60s. This is so when we are filming, the atmosphere it creates will be of the same time period as the song. This is a way we can connect to our audience through our film. We have changed a few things to fix the flow. So, that when we film the over all film won’t be sloppy. 

 The schedule will be as follows...

1. The first day we have planned and made the storyboard. 11/18
2. Due to the setting of the commercial only having access for one day. We have decided to film early so we can complete it at the time given. 11/19
3. Today we are completing the blogs so we won’t be to far ahead of the other people doing the filming. 11/20
4. We will be figuring out how the music and the timing of the film will match with the sounds. 11/21
5. On the weekend we will discuss the minor details and flow. 11/22
6. We will start to edit the overall film blogs and hopefully be close to finishing up on time. 11/25
7. The last filming blog editing should be done. 12/2
8. Film due. 12/9
9. CCR to email. 12/11

Intro to the music video

Intro to New Project Music Video

We are transitioning to the new project. From this transition we take the experiences we have done for the old project to better this new project. With the editing we will be able to bring in more creative entertainment and expertise into how we express the feeling of the song. The project is a music video and we will be able to bring in different actors and actresses. With this we will have lots of new material to work with. 

    The song will be Frank Sinatra- Fly Me to the Moon. This will be a jazz song that has a soft vibe. The theme of our music video will be romance and the feeling you get when you’re in love. The song will be a cross between the feeling of love in the 1950s-1960s. The song was released in the 1960s.  However, the song has been around for a little longer than that. 

    The conventions the film and or music video will have will be of the following. 

     1. Costumes. 

The costumes will consist of several different concepts. Since I will be in-charge of the set and the costume design, I will focus on the over all periods the song came from. The costumes will really reflect what the feelings and the type of vibes the era gave off. With the different styles of wardrobe I will properly convey the feelings we want to express to the audience. The theme is love and romance. However, in that time period the romance and feelings we will so will be that of hidden love. 

     2. Lighting.

The lighting will be reflected in the effects. Since the overall film will be in black and white the lighting will need to be properly pronounced due to the lack of shades. 

    3. Acting.

The actors and actresses will be showing and expressing love that was taboo at the time, lgbtq+. The relationship between the actors and actresses will be followed in a respectful manner. This will show the hidden love that was suppressed by the media of that time. 

   4. Makeup.

I will be in charge of this and will be worn like the time period excepts. The time period liked a lighter make up with a pronounced lip. 

  5. Props.

The props will be part of the overall dance theme and whatever we decide to do with the script. This will include the different things we will be doing to add effects into the film. 

  6. Scenery.

The scenery will be at first a night inside dancing to jazz music in the comfort of their home where they will slowly be able to go outside and dance. The setting has yet to be definite so this is subject to change. The overall group and the respective actors and actresses will need to all agree on the settings we will be using to show and express the proper feelings.

Editing: Commercial

Editing the commercial 

Today we are working on the commercial. We are in the editing process and we are trying to bring the commercial together. With the software PinnacleStudios we will shape the commercial into what we want. We will be looking at the drafts and scripts we made so that the dialogue and edits are where we want them. The storyboard will give us the initial Layout. We will be able to see what will happen as the boxes continue. When we filmed we followed the scripts and storyboard. This was to make sure that there was consistency. I made sure to color it so we knew the parts where we needed to have a certain scenery in the background. The software we have wasn’t working however. 

   My teacher tired to get it to work but in the end couldn’t open it up. Everyone from the other periods also tried but didn’t succeed. We tried opening it on several different computers. However, with the video footage dumped on the computer we couldn’t switch computers. The editing process will have to be the next class as soon as the the software gets fixed. Since we couldn’t do it today we are discussing different methods of what do do next. We are trying to think of ways that we could make the commercial better. Like the sounds and different parts that could be better. We are thinking of doing voice overs. With this we will be able to get a clear sound instead of the audio we took at the field. 

    We were instructed to dump all of our footage on the computer to ensure that the footage would still be there when we looked back. We weren’t able to get the software to open so we are writing this blog. We also downloaded the footage on google docks to also make sure that we have a back up plan. If we can’t open the software our teachers will tell us what happens next. We will be better prepared with the added time and the commercials will turn out well. We might be instructed to use a different software. Victoria will be doing the editing wile I read off of the script. With this we are able to make sure that everything we want to be in the film will be.  Depending on the status of the other software we might also move to different computers. We want to add different effects as well as sound. The sounds would be both from other commercials and from our own interpretation. The sounds from the outside will still be there just more concentrated.  

      

Filming blog

Filming

We filmed our commercial today Thursday, 24 October, 2019. When I decided to do the script ideas I wanted to incorporate the different techniques I saw in the other commercials I’ve previously watched. From Dunkin’ Donuts (what the commercial is about). The lighting around school is not the best and if we were going to shoot outside we needed both shade and light. The place I decided on was the hallway before the cafeteria. However, since lunches would be going on I decided the better option, the track. With this the script was what it was. We tried to follow the storyboard exactly even when the sun wasn’t as cooperative. I brought in doughnuts to be the props. I also brought all of the different costumes. 

        My job was being the director. I made the script and helped  direct how the storyboard would look. I wanted for everyone to have their own “moment.” I didn’t want anyone to be left out so throughout the time ,I would have them redo the different shots ,and takes. This is so, when we are done, we can pick the best ones out. Also I wanted for everyone to have fun so we took a lot of bloopers. I acted as one of  the runners in the commercial. I helped the camera man (Jaheim) film in the way that would match the storyboard and my vision of the commercial. Me being the runner in the film I had a minor roll however it was vital to show the win and loss between me and Andrea. This was to show the “America runs on Dunkin.” When I took the different shots of Jaheim I made sure to tale different shots just to make sure we got the best one. When the scene with Victoria came up Jaheim and I both decided to film it.
   It was my job to make sure the angle of the shot was good. When Andreas close-up shot I also helped him figure out the different angels to get the perfect shots. To film I brought in the SD card. I also brought in the SD card reader. This is so we could dump the film on the computers desktop.  I made sure the SD card I brought in would be able to hold all of the extra film. I was expecting us to do a lot of extras. The different shots would be short but we would take up a lot of space. We made sure to find each scene more than 3+ and so we have LOTS of film. I had so much fun filming and playing around with the different aspects of the filming process. It was a cool experience and can’t wait for the next part. 

Storyboard

Storyboard 

    The storyboard the group comprised is a commercial on Dunkin’ Donuts. The commercial idea was initially to be cookie cutter like the rest of the other commercials. Where the focus is on an older person going to work and needing a pick me up for the morning. The commercials are usually about specific new items and or times that they have the food they are selling.
    The focus that I wanted to incorporate was the fact that high school students also drink coffee and need a pick me up through the day. With this in mind we made the target audience be towards teens and younger people that go to school. The premise of this was to do something new and not “cookie cutter” like the rest of the other commercials from the brand we’re doing. The storyboard itself shows the shots the group will do and the different ways that the scene will come to life. Through the angels and different shots we can give  some sort of suspense like “what’s going to happen next?”
         Even-though the scenes will be short and the commercial will be around 25-30 seconds, we still wanted to grasp the audience’s attention. Some of the scenes will be like the other commercials in the sense that there will be close-ups of the food and the brand. The difference will be the tone and the people who are the target audience. The setting of the commercial is where I also wanted stray away from the other commercials. Instead of a office and or car, like they usually have. I wanted the focus the setting to be on teens, so what better place to find teens than at school. Where the scene takes place however is a play on the motto that the brand has, since the motto is “America runs on Dunkin,” wile we were drafting the storyboard I wanted to incorporate that into the setting as well. So the setting will be on a track at school.