Editing Session One

For the first editing session, I began by uploading all the footage we had onto Final Cut Pro X. I also ensured I made copies of all the footage on the computer in case anything happened to the hard copy. I also downloaded the live version of the song (Lorde Sober) and placed it on the timeline.

For this session I decided to focus on the first 30 seconds of the narrative which would include the introduction and the red thread. Therefore, I began by adding an establishing shot of the background of the live performance as the introduction to the video. I also added ‘Luna – Sober’ over the top as it is a convention of music videos to do so. However, when I played it, the font was not bold enough to contrast the background and hence made the text difficult to read. To fix this, I added a filter on top of the clip to make the background out of focus and increased the font size. I also realised that the clip wasn’t as long as I would like it to be to allow the audience to read the text. Therefore, I changed the speed of the clip to 70%.

When I played back the text over the top of the clip, I realised that I wanted to find a more creative way to reveal it is it didn’t conform to the ‘unique’ way that music videos often introduce their titles. Therefore, added two lines either side of the text that scrolled along the screen to reveal the text. I did this by adding the two lines in text format and blading it at each frame so it appeared to scroll when it is played back. I also did this with the text to make it appear that it is being revealed by the scrolling lines.

After I had completed the introduction, there is a ten second gap between the beginning of the audio and the first lyric. Here, the soundtrack becomes louder. Therefore, I decided that in order to conform to Dyer’s Star Theory, I would utilise these ten seconds to display clips of the artist. I used different shot types, one including a change in focus to conform to artistic music videos. I also utilised the speed change again in order to create a dramatic effect of the artist staring into the lens- creating a relationship with the audience.

Due to the fact we played the song in the background whilst we filmed the live performance, the sound bars of the live performance clips matches the sound bar of the actual audio. Therefore, I used this to help me align the clips to ensure the lip sync was in perfect synchronisation. I also used different angles, framing and shot types to ensure that there was more variation within the shot types of the live performance, I used the crop tool to help me achieve this in one of the clips.
When intercutting the red thread scenes between the live performance, I tried to insert two red thread clips in-between each live performance clip. This helps to obtain the balance between live performance and narrative performance that I had researched. Also, due to the fact I had to deviate away from the storyboard when filming, I had less footage than I had less scenes that I had planned to film. Therefore, instead of each clip lasting 3 seconds they lasted five.

In the next editing session, I can continue to edit the red of the narrative performance with the live performance. After finding a method to make it easier to align the lip syncing to the audio, this session will hopefully be more efficient.

Filming Log Five

For this filming session I filmed the red thread section of the narrative.  Due to filming in the school holidays, the time I had to film was restricted due to members of our team being on holiday. I was also restricted due to the time the actors and actresses could be available to film. Therefore, I made a few changes to the storyboard.

• I had planned on filming scenes inside of two people in a bed together with the red thread on their fingers however, I didn’t have a suitable l0catuion to do so I didn’t film this. I was also were meant to get a shot of two people in a coffee shop however no shop would allow me to film inside. Therefore, I improvised with other scenes to film.
• I filmed a two person long shot with symmetrical framing of two lifts. The characters were both waiting at the lift and the red thread can be seen between them. I also replaced the bed shot with two people walking down the stairs. It is a high angle close up of their hands with the red thread seen on their two hands.
• I also had to improvise with the actors and actresses I used as I was let down. Therefore, I tried to use the same two people in as many shots as possible by changing their clothing to make it seem like they weren’t the same person. I also got shots in the light and in the dark to make it seem as if I had filmed on different days, again to make it seem as they weren’t the same actors and actresses.

After filming this aspect of the narrative, I am now able to begin the editing stage/. As the red thread is the first aspect of the narrative to be intercut into the live performance, I can begin to do this and edit the lip sync in time with the music.

Filming Log Four

For the fourth filming session Phoebe filmed her argument scene as well as getting footage of equilibrium between Lauren and Liv (the homosexual couple).  When filming we realised we made some mistakes:

• As Phoebe filmed the argument scene and the equilibrium aspects in the same day, we forgot that the scenes within the narrative would not have been consecutive. Therefore, originally, we filmed the argument scene first and then the equilibrium scene but we forgot to change the costume. This meant we had to re-film the equilibrium scene again because there was an issue with the continuity. Although this was not a massive issue as we weren’t under a time restraint, it took longer than we originally expected. 
• Another issue we encountered was in terms of the acting of the argument scene. As none of the actresses we were using are professional actors, there were issues with the anger coming through onto the camera. This meant that it took a few takes of over exaggerating the anger within the acting for it to come across accurately on camera. 

Other than this, this filming session went successfully and although it took longer than expected, we still stayed within our allocated time for filming. We ensured Phoebe took many different shots from different angles as we were aware of the fact that when it came to editing, having multiple different angles would allow us to cut between them to create a quicker pace of editing to build tension during the fight scene.

Filming Log Three

For the live performance, we decided to split the filming into three sections: red thread, library and the rest of the storyboard would be in the final filming session. This was to make it easier in terms of the actors available on the specific days and to get a clear idea in our head of what we were filming so we could concentrate better. Therefore, in the third filming session, we filmed the library aspect of the narrative (Livs section).

As Liv was filming, we realised that we have to make some changes to the narrative in order to fit the location we had:

• The storyboard we had planned was that the male character (Callum) and the female character (Lauren) met in a library and then decided to go for coffee together. It was in the coffee shop that Lauren accidently left her purse which allowed Callum to go to her house to return it. However, when we arrived at the coffee shop, it was a lot busier than we expected and therefore it made it difficult to get a place to sit and to not get strangers in the background of the filming. Therefore, we decided to still include this in the narrative but we changed the location so this also happened in the library.
• Also, we decided to film the two characters meeting outside the library for Callum to return the purse and them to swap numbers in case we had issues with both the actor and actress being available at the same time again meaning we wouldn’t be able to film that scene which is vital to the narrative.

Other than this, this filming session was successful in terms of Liv’s efficiency and the standard of acting. We decided that for the moment, we didn’t need any extra footage and that we have completed this section. However, if we do need extra footage, it should be easy to recreate the costumes and makeup of the characters and to reuse this location as it is easily accessible. 

Filming Log Two

After trying to film the live performance in the first filming session, we decided to film it again. This was due to the time we allocated to film: sunset. The background changed throughout each take of the song making a continuity issue and the quality camera gradually decreased as it got darker.
Therefore, in the second attempt we made numerous changes to get around this:

• We decided to change the time we filmed from sunset to around lunch time to ensure the weather didn’t have an effect on the continuity. However, on the day of filming, the weather was still an issue as we had planned to film outside but it was raining and windy, which we realised would again have been a continuity issue in terms of hair placement throughout each take. Therefore, we tried to look for an alternative location. We found an inside part to the carpark we were originally filming at to continue the landscape background with the natural sky. We had three locations to use but we chose the one with the window and a green post in the background as it conformed more the ‘grungy’ tones we were aiming for.

• We also made slight changes to the makeup and costume of the artist. Instead or wearing white, we decided she would wear a black and white checkered top. This can connote a more complex character. This can create binary opposition of good vs evil surrounding the character, creating an enigma around her as a ‘star’ conforming to Dyer. Furthermore, in terms of makeup, we decided to go for thick eyeliner and a bold dark red lip to create dark tones specifically for the extreme close ups. This also creates a unique style for the artist.

• After the camera quality decreasing so drastically throughout the last live performance, we decided to try and borrow a higher quality camera of a friend. Her camera is the Canon 800d. The camera quality was a massive improvement from the iPhone camera we used. It allowed us to use the manual focus on the artist with the skyline in the background to create a shallow focus. It also had a manual zoom and hence allowed us to create smooth zoom in and outs throughout the shots to give us more variance in shot types. This was assisted by the tripod we used which ensured we got a stable shot to conform to the professionalism of other live performance we have analysed.

• The final improvement we made was in terms of how efficient we were when filming. As the actress for the artist had learnt the lyrics off by heart, we were able to take five takes of the song the whole way through of lip syncing. This meant we had five different angles of footage of the song that we can utilise throughout the live performance part of our narrative to make it more interesting and use more shot types.

After this filming session I have realised that we should change the time of day for the rest of the filming to midday where there is better natural lighting. Although this won’t apply to the library scene as it is inside, the natural lighting through windows will still effect the quality.

I will also be able to begin editing the live performance once we have the library and red thread scene filmed as it allows me to intercut the two aspects into each other and establish chronology. 

Filming Schedule Updated

After the first filming session of the live performance didn't go exactly how we wanted it to, we decided to create a new filming schedule in order to keep the actors updated and so we could plan when was best to next film. Therefore, we made this:

(the red text is the new filming session)
We will give this to the actors so they are aware of when they are required. This will also still allow us to stay on schedule for finishing when we had originally planned.

Location Decision Updated

After our first filming session in our rooftop location, we realised that due to the weather, our location wouldn’t be suitable. As we are under a time restraint to complete out filming, we do not have the time to wait for the weather to stop raining, stop being windy and have a perfect sunset in the background. Therefore, we went back to the same car park and tried to find somewhere else suitable that created the same tones that we originally wanted.   

When we arrived, we went back to the rooftop and on the way there was an inside area with large windows. Although through the windows was more industrial than we originally wanted, it still conformed to the themes we wanted within our music video. This also meant that even if the weather was bad, we would have somewhere to film. Therefore, this would be our new location.