Editing Our Music Video

The editing software that we chose to use was Final Cut Express HD. 

The time it took to render all our footage seemed like a lifetime: 

After we rendered clips we had to cut out all of the footage that we couldn't use and cut the parts of the footage out that we wanted:

When we had chosen our final clips we then colour corrected them by adjusting features such as the brightness and saturation: 

Once we finished our music video we added in the MTV logo:

We also added titles using iMovie:

Final Cut

Ellie Goulding - Your Song

Test Footage

We knew that we would have to take several takes of the same shots as we would be battling with crowds and dodgy filming. We would have to make sure we got a shot that we could use for our music video before we left the scene. 

In some cases the shots that we wanted we were not able to get, for example, we wanted to film our model standing against a wall then the camera would take a slow pan away from her, then by the time the pan would have finished the model would appear at the other end of it. Despite trying this numerous times the model was not able to get into position quick enough, also although the camera was on a tripod sometimes it jumped when it was being moved which made the shot unusable. 

When we went on location hunting to see if it was a suitable location for our music video we imagined where shots would take place. Some of these became a reality but some didn't, for example, the canal shots did not happen as it was raining, the floor/seats were soaking and the trees were dripping. 

Here is a video of the test footage shot in Camden: 

Photos of Filming

Here are some photos of our filming day in the church:

How Are We Going To Start Our Music Video?

Starting our story board our little minds went into overload when it where stressing about what the opening should actually be. Despite watching more videos in the past few months than I have done in my life time we were both stunned by the idea of actually making a decision. For reassurance we both decided that it seemed like the right thing go back and focus on opening shots to gather a range of styles and some information on how people within the professional industry do it in. 

Within Goulding's "How Long Will I Love You" video they started off with brief credits regarding who starred in the music video and reveal that it was all filmed on a Nokia Lumia 1020 phone. Then it started with an opening close up shot of her playing the piano. This is something we could use within out music video as Ruby especially has already researched into how instruments are filmed. We are introduced to her love interest as she is playing at the piano planning to write a song. This runs with our consistent theme throughout which has already been pre planned without being aware that this has already been done. Although within this video it is used just as a quick shot where as our narrative is based on this.



She begins 'Goodness Gracious' with establishing shots of the sea, sunset and palm trees in high vibrant colours. This song is different to the type of song we are doing so I do not wish really take this effect into consideration as it looks like it is more of a upbeat clubbing tune which is not something we wish to represent within our music video. 



'Explosions' starts off with cool black and white shots on the train. This is something we may experiment with on our way to London when we head to Camden and Brick Lane. Our filming is being done on a Sunday so hopefully we will be able to find a not so busy carriage as this is one of the issues with filming up London the masses of people that are about.

Mid Review Blog Feedback

Ruby's Feedback for Amie 

"Will take on board. As a group it's really valuable to give each other effective feedback and being able to do it so openly. It really will improve our work as a group in the long run." -Amie

Amie's Feedback for Ruby 

"Looking at what went well and even better if will help improve my work and I will do my best" 

-Ruby

Group Feedback From Both of Us

New Performance Ideas Following Rough Cut Feedback

Actors In Our Music Video

We decided to do a test shoot on our possible actress to see if she could lip sync. We told her to learn the lyrics to 'your song' and then we filmed it in order to analyse it. This can be found here:




As well as being able to lip sync, the person needs to look right for the part, for example this means not looking too young and looking like an 18 - 22 year old. The person we choose must have a good reliability record as we can't afford to be let down in the filming stages. 

Costumes + Hair and Make-Up

Costumes:

We knew that we would need more than one outfit for our music video, we ended up using three. These were picked out a few days before filming so it gave us time to buy something if we needed to.

In Camden we used two outfits, as the location was outside and we knew that it would be hard to change outfits we tried to keep the changeover minimal. We also tried to keep the outfits thick and warm so that our model did not get cold or ill as the weather was cold and wet. For this reason, the bottom half which consisted of black boots and black decorated leggings stayed the same for the duration of the shots taken in Camden. What changed was the tops worn and her coat changed to a leather jacket or a proper coat.

For the rough cut performance we used an outfit of a pink floral skirt and a light blue denim looking top/shirt which was tucked into the skirt. Our model just wore socks instead of shoes because we did not want to get her feet in the shot so we knew it would be OK. However, for the final cut there was an outfit change, it now consisted of a white and black blouse with black skirt, tights and shoes.

A beanie hat was a necessity to feature in the music video as it just screams indie. In our case we used a black one with a bobble. However, on the trip we managed to lose the hat so we did not get much footage with the hat on.

Hair:

Our model has long blonde hair which is similar to Ellie Goulding's look. Our model's hair is dip dyed, which means the top half of her hair is a shade of brown and her bottom half is blonde.

Throughout the entire music video her hair stayed in the same style, although at times when filming in Camden it got a bit windswept, within the performance we were able to make her hair have slightly more volume and let it sit differently.

Make-Up:

The look we were going for was a strong bold look which would draw attention to the models eyes, but we still wanted it to be natural and soft looking. We aimed to get the balance of her eyes standing out but not overdoing them so that she looked like she was going to a party as that look would not be appropriate. A way in which we made her eyes stand out was by putting on fake eyelashes. 

Alterations During Making The Music Video

As Amie and I live on the outskirts of London we can easily get the train to travel up to London. As we live so close we felt the need to use the world famous locations that London has to offer in our music video. We thought that the features that the locations had to offer were too good to miss therefore we filmed the majority of our music video in the Stable Arches in Camden. We originally planned to go to Brick Lane and film in front of the graffiti/street art, however on the day this did not happen due to the rain. As well as this, despite us getting a 10am train we were worried that we would not have enough time to film in Brick Lane due to the time it would be getting dark at. We knew this wasn't the end of the world because we knew that there was similar backgrounds of graffiti in our local area, therefore if need be we would be able to film there quickly and easily. We decided that we would film this only if the rough cut was short on footage or if the footage we had was not usable. 

Unfortunately we chose a rainy and busy day to film in Camden, this meant that people were rushing for cover - this is where we substituted some outside scenes. We were hoping that a rainy day would put people off coming out, but it was as busy as a normal dry Sunday. On wandering through Camden we found the famous Stable Arches, we used the Horse Tunnel which was undercover. As it was undercover it enabled us to still get similar shots to what we were hoping for but instead they were inside. Although people tend to be respectful of people taking photos in busy London, sometimes we found this hard as our model was trying to practice her shots and we were filming the shot numerous times in order to get a good one. These were problems that we encountered. 

Due to rain in Camden we could not film the shots that we wanted by the canal, therefore we had to think of a substitute location - this was possibly going to be a local lake. Once again, we were going to film this after we had completed the rough cut as we were quite happy with our footage so we thought we would experiment with that first. When we were walking around Camden we took some shots that we were not expecting to, for example, there was a stall within the market which sold luggage carriers/suitcases which we filmed our model looking at them. This stall was something that we did not see when we went on our location scouting trip, however when we saw the stall and when the owner agreed to let us film it we jumped at the opportunity. 

For our performance we were thinking of going along the lines of using a stool and microphone, however as we did not find this equipment we just had our model lip syncing. The props that we planned to use and did use were candles and fairy lights (the lights were flowers with a light in the middle). We experimented with the lights by draping them on our model and then putting them around her while she was lying down.

Within the performance, a problem we faced was the lighting. As it was dark outside, we only had the use of artificial lighting of the main light in the room. As this light did not have a dimmer it meant that the light was either on full beam or off with the light of the candles and fairy lights being the only source of light. We filmed the same shots with the light on and then off so we could see which looked better. Something that we were worried about regarding the shots with the lights off was that when the shot was put together with the better lighted shots that it would look too big of a change from going to natural daylight to candle light.

After we received feedback on our rough cut we knew we would have to make some more alterations which would include filming more footage. We were slightly concerned about our Camden footage due to the weather but luckily it was a hit as people thought it suited our song. The audience weren't as impressed with our performance which led to us filming it again but differently this time. We decided on the location of a church because of the scenery with the stained glass windows and the other creative furniture. Another reason for the church is because it was somewhere which had various pianos therefore this could be used for the performance. 

The church was not a location that we were initially interested in, in the end we had to use it due to the fact it was inside. On the day of the filming inside the church, it was raining outside therefore eliminating the external locations. These external locations consisted of a graffiti wall, a field and a lake (as substitution for Camden).

Rough Cut Feedback

We showed the class our rough cut music video and asked them to write down feedback. We received both positive and negative as well as suggestions.  

Our main issue was our performance which consisted of a closeup:
Differences in opinion about the close up performance; some said the closeups looks good, others say they look strange with the narrative, the performance shots should be varied, the closeup is too extreme, closeup gets repetitive.

+ good lip-syncing
+ Camden Lock looks good and suits the song
+ reflection in the train window is effective
+ nice still shots
+ good walking shot
+ good use of mise-en-scene as it works with the song
+ lovely candle shot which works well
+ like the ending
+ good range of shots
+ some good ideas
+ good use of different locations
+ like the calmness of it
+ good British narrative for a British song
+ outfits work well 

- dodgy zooms and tilts
- don't like her stopping by the horse
- doesn't work with her staring at the camera
- didn't like the last shot
- don't understand the books relevance 
- some background sound still in 
- lighting for the narrative needs correcting
- some shots are too long
- not much narrative progression 
- have a better mise-en-scene
- don't like the tracking wood shot

Suggestions:
- include a piano
- more emotion in her face when she is singing
- use the light scene more
- performance should be more interesting
- show the man she is singing about

Rough Cut

Editing/Filming Schedule

Our Initial Filming and Editing Schedule prepares us to get the rough due in for the end of January. Although the thought of getting it done is daunting as it so important we are more than prepared. We put together a schedule as Ruby and I have realised that weeks are turning into days and we are now counting down on lessons until the exams. A lot of the schedule at the moment remains blank this is because after our first trip as we begin to put together our rough cut we will notice issues that will arise so we have given ourselves enough time to iron this out before our final cut is due in so there is a lot of contingency time but it will cover ourselves incase anything goes wrong.

Initial Call Sheet

Seeing as we don't have many actors when filming we still thought it would be a good idea to construct a call sheet enabling us to effectively plan our filming days. A call sheet is always a good idea as it constructs a workable filming schedule and shows which part we will need to spend more time on and where the majority of our footage needs to be filmed so we can begin to plan out editing stage.

Pop/Indie Music Video Iconography

Due to the fact that all genres have different styles of music videos and iconography it means that the genres have their own unique look to add to their unique sound.

Iconography is shown through an artists music videos; this is then carried out further into their lives e.g. their live performances, adverts and interviews. In other words, the iconography seen in their music videos is predominately their star image.

The pop industry seems to be ruled by women, this is not just because there seems to be more female than male pop artists but because their star image is so strong and noticeable. A perfect example is Lady Gaga who is known for her whacky outfits and dance routines which feature both within her music videos and out. 

High key lighting is a key aspect of vibrant pop videos, whereas in indie videos more natural lighting is used. 

Voyuerism is a aspect which can be transferred into quite a few genres including pop, dance and R'n'B. In songs which are sung my males, it is the video girls who are used for voyuerism. A reason for it being used so much must reveal its success rate and popularity. This sex appeal is achieved through outfits and body movement in the form of dance moves and behaviour.

Voyuerism is a way of marketing women, although it could be criticised, most artists from the dance and mainstream pop genre have no problem with being sexualised. Sometimes this is taken to the next level, examples of this is Rihanna's 'S&M' and 'Pour It Up'.

S&M - Banned from being aired in 11 countries due to its overtly sexual content (Southern Asia countries were the most outraged). 
- YouTube restricted it by putting a parental warning and age verification (of 18 years).

Pour It Up - Banned after 10 minutes on Vevo due to its explicit content but Vevo has since reinstated it. 
- Campaigners wanted YouTube to ban the video as parents were worried about their children watching the video. 

As our music video does not sit within the mainstream pop genre, voyuerism will not be a key aspect of our video.

Risk Assessment

A risk assessment was conducted before we started filming across our range of locations we are planning to film including various elements of our video and aspects which needed to be considered for the location. We must consider safety of travelling and timing. Our risk assessment was to ensure maximum safety and prevent any hazards.

Music Television Channels Ownership

                                     

Box Television covers a wide range of musical genres as it owns The Box, 4Music (previously known as The Hits before August 2008), Heat TV (previously Q before July 2012), Kerrang! TV, KISS TV, Magic TV and Smashhits TV. These channels are all available on Sky and Virgin Media with 4 Music also being available on Freeview. 

In 2007 Channel 4 brought 50% of Box Television then Emap sold its 50% share of Box Television (along with its radio and magazine business) to Bauer Media therefore Box Television now consists of a 50:50 joint venture between Channel 4 and Bauer Media. 

Owned by Viacom International, it is available on Sky, Smallworld, TalkTalk TV, Virgin Media and WightCable IOW. 

Viacom International owns MTV, MTV Base, MTV Classic, MTV Dance, MTV Hits, MTV Live HD, MTV Music, MTV Rocks, VH1, Viva, Comedy Central, Comedy Central Extra, Nick Jr, Nick Jr. 2, Nick Replay, Nickelodeon and NickToons. 

Viacom Media Network brands come under 1) BET Networks (BET and Centric)
2) Entertainment Group (Comedy Central, Spike and TV Land)
3) Music Group (CMT, Logo, MTV and VH1) the music channels it owns are MTV Base, Dance, Classic, Hits, Music, Rocks, Live, VH1 and Viva. 
4) Nickelodeon Group (Nickelodeon and its related brands)

MTV is the world's premiere youth entertainment brand. It has a global reach of over half a billion households where it covers generations of music fans. 

Owned by CSC Media Group who have their current focus on kids, movies, music and entertainment channels on television; they fulfil this by owning Bliss, BuzMuzik, Flava, Kix, POP!, PopGirl, Scuzz, Showcase TV, Tiny Pop, True Drama, True Entertainment, True Movies and The Vault.

6 out of the 7 music channels they own are wholly owned brands. These 7 music channels cover the musical spectrum of genres. 

Dance Nation TV is owned and operated in partnership with Ministry of Sound.

BuzMuzik was launched in April 2012, it is a music channel which is driven by mobile phone (text and mms) and social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. This was the first music channel in music television broadcasting. 

CSC's portfolio accounted for 25% of the music market satellite homes in 2011.