Filming for Music Video - Finished

Today, Maya and I finished filming our music video. While it was a pretty tiring process, I feel like we got good clips. Maya and I believe our music video will turn out great. We have to edit it after break. As for the filming process, I mainly filmed while Maya acted. I was in some clips, but it was mainly Maya. We didn't like the idea of switching characters in a music video, but we also wanted to include each other. We mainly filmed at Maya's house.  Another location we had was the beach. We used Maya's road, bedroom, and kitchen.

We started off filming in the kitchen even though our first part of the video is on the beach. We did this so that we didn't have to keep going back and forth. We also planned to go to the beach at sunrise so we could not film that part at 8:00 P.M. In the kitchen we made the setting look like we were making cookies. We laid out eggs, flour, sprinkles, cookie dough, and a bowl to hold it all. We took a couple of takes. They varied from me alone, Maya alone, and both of us together. We did this so we could see which we liked better and if there should be another individual in this scene. From here we messed around with the dough to make it look like we were rolling the dough into balls to form cookies. 

After this we took shots containing me placing the pan in the oven, checking on it, and me taking it out of the oven. From here we decided I would be in these shots so it stays even for this scene. After the cookies cooled down, I ate one and threw the Santa hat at the screen so i could use it for transition. In the next shot I took the the hat and put it on. After this, Maya and I took the shots at the beach before sunrise. We took a couple of Maya walking towards the water and back. When the sun was rising, we took some more, and we placed the hearts in the water and let it wash away. We picked up the hearts after because we did not want to pollute the water. From here, we went home and took shots of Maya in her bed. She cuddled with her dog as a "true lover". Then she "woke up" and the dog was not there anymore, indicating she was alone. This concluded our filming process.

Storyboard for Music Video

For the music video our costumes will consist of Santa hats and red/white clothing to represent Santa Clause and bring the Christmas Spirit. For lighting, we are going outside during the sunrise to introduce the beginning of the day. We are also going to film close to midnight when it is darker. This portrays happiness versus loneliness. As for the actors, Maya and I will have to be joyful and high spirited at times, but at other times we will be sad as loneliness takes over. We would also have to keep cozy and make it look like we are having a great time. For makeup, Maya and I will wear red lipstick, since on Christmas that is what females wear. We might put on light gold eye shadow along with bold eyeliner and mascara. To get in the Christmas spirit, we will include stockings, a Christmas tree, ornaments, a gingerbread house, milk and cookies, and candy canes for the props. Lastly, for the scene, it will take place on the boardwalk leading to the beach, signifying a lonely path. We will also film on the road outside of her house as another lonely path. Finally, we will film in her living room by a fire pit to keep warm and her couch.

For the editing, I do not think it will be that difficult. Maya and I practiced on the last project together. From this we are more educated on the application Pinnacle Studios. For the editing process, we will need to cut out many clips. For instance, if we are both in a scene, we will need to cut out the part where we place the camera down on the tripod. While editing, we also need to look at the time. Our music video has to be 1:05-1:15 minutes long. We are not allowed to go under or above that time. For this, our storyboard has to have about 5-6 seconds per box. Lastly, we will need to add transitions to make our video more smooth.

For the sounds, Maya and I will not speak at all. As it is a music video, the music will be the only thing playing in the background. The only thing I am worried about is actually being on beat with the music. As it may be a challenge, Maya and I will still succeed and do our best to stay on key. We will not use any additional sound effects. We decided to use the time frame of 1:00-2:10. The reason for this is because from 0:00-0:59, there wasn't enough detail. We felt that 1:00-2:10 had the most detail in the lyrics, and it was perfect for our music video. 

Planning for Music Video

Maya and I plan to film the music video for "Santa Tell Me" by Ariana Grande at Maya's house. We plan to utilize her backyard with a bridge to the beach, inside of her house by the chimney, her kitchen, and the road outside of her house. A problem we may face is rainy weather. Since we live in Florida, it tends to be rainy during this time of the year. Due to this, our solution would be to look at the weather forecast in advance to predict when we would be able to film that part of the music video. Part of our music video consists of the following hazards: a fire in the chimney, usage of a vehicle, and bridges. These are dangerous to come across, but I think that Maya and I are responsible enough to not mess around when coming into contact with that. As for the props we are using, they are mainly Christmas related. These consist of candy canes, hot chocolate, a mistletoe, gingerbread cookies, stockings, and lastly milk with cookies. We are also going to use a calendar to mark of the days until Christmas and New Year's in the video. Along with this we are using Maya's dog to represent our "true love". For our costumes, we plan on using a Santa hat along with red and white clothing, or any Christmas related clothing, to fully bring the Christmas spirit into the video. During this class, we are working on story-boarding as well as this blog. Next class, we plan to finish story-boarding as well as blogging for the storyboard. To add on, this weekend Maya and I plan to complete our filming process. Although it has not started yet, I plan to spend the night at her house so we can get night shots as well as day shots. Because of this, we can use future classes after this weekend to edit our video. We can also write the blogs needed.

Introduction to Music Video

Finally, Maya, Freya, and I have finished our commercial. From this experience, we have learned an vast range of new things. We learned how to use Pinnacle Studios. However, this time around, I am solely working with Maya instead of Maya and Freya. The reason for this is because we feel like Freya did not put in as much effort as Maya and I did. From the commercial, I learned how to use the storyboard to my benefit. By using the storyboard, it kept us on track with the filming process. Yet, I still need to improve my editing skills as it was a choppy process, due to the lack of knowledge we had on the program. But, making the music video allows us to reuse this program and do better this time around.

Maya and I chose the song "Santa Tell Me" by Ariana Grande. We chose this song because we both love the holiday Christmas. We felt that it was a good time to use this song, as December is approaching. This song is about Ariana's love for the holiday, and wishing she had her loved one with her on Christmas. She expresses herself by stating that she hopes next Christmas she will have her loved one with her and she won't be alone.

"Santa Tell Me" by Ariana Grande is the Christmas Songs genre. The conventions of Christmas songs are meant to bring winter vibes and jolly feelings. This is accomplished through shots and angles at medium close up, extreme close ups, high angles, and wide angles. The medium close up is for detailed feelings shown on the actor. The extreme close ups can be used for signs of emotion. High angles are used to show a different perspective to the actor. Lastly, wide angles are used to show the full image of what the actor sees along with the audience. This song has an array of jolly and upbeat Christmas music in the background, as most Christmas songs in celebration of the holiday do. This adds joyfulness to the music. To add, common editing ranges from the addition to red and gold colors to winter aspects such as snow flakes. 

1) For the costumes, in this genre they are mainly warm clothing that looks cozy. The reason for this is because Christmas is a chilly season, so it is very important to stay warm.

2) For the lighting, it is typically dimly lit as it takes place outside while the sun is blocked by the clouds, causing outside to be cold. This lighting portrays a cozy feeling, rather than a suspenseful one.

3) For the actors, they have to seem joyful and relatable, because then the audience is able to connect to this feeling. Christmas is a very cozy holiday as it is cold, so the actors would have to keep the mood happy and light.

4) For the makeup, the females are typically wearing red lipstick, since the colors to Christmas are red/green, red/gold, or red/white. They are normally wearing heavy makeup which contains bold eyeshadow along with eyeliner and mascara.

5) For the props, to get in the Christmas spirit, most videos have stockings, a Christmas tree, ornaments, a gingerbread house, milk and cookies, and candy canes. This is to bring the Christmas spirit in the house, and to make the video feel more like Christmas.

6) For the scene, it will most likely take place somewhere in the snow, or by a fireplace to bring a cozy feeling. The video either consists of coldness, warmth, or a mixture of both. 

Editing for Commercial - Finished

Today in class, we were able to start the editing process. My partner Maya got the laptop for us and signed in under her username. Freya and I were discussing what we could do. I got the jump drive from my backpack. When the computer loaded, we plugged in the jump drive. Maya then opened Pinnacle Studios. Thankfully it was working this class. We opened the documents folder. When Pinnacle Studios was opened, Maya went on Edit Mode. From here, we started the real process.

We imported all six of our clips. This equaled up to 30 seconds. However, we decided against using one clip. The reason for this is because it didn't look too well. When we filmed it we thought it looked good but apparently not. From here we started cutting pieces of the clip off to make it look better. Maya added in some transitions to make it smoother. The further we got the more we got to learn about Pinnacle Studios. It was a very good learning experience. However, Freya had to leave midway.

When Freya left it was only Maya and I left doing the editing. We decided it was okay though as we were almost done. We watched our video over about 5 times to determine if it was okay. We still ended up taking out some parts. Our commercial started with the establishing shot. We had 4 of these, but 3 had a pole in them. Hence, we used the one that did not have the pole. Maya and I were content with this. Our commercial is about 25 seconds long, and it came out better than we expected for our first time. Although it was hard sometimes, this was a very fun learning experience.