Drafting & Planning: Effects/Editing

I have edited some footage using Movie Plus X6 for my music video. The footage below was originally in natural lighting and the colours featured were mainly green due to the leaves and trees and looked more natural.

Although I am aiming for a natural look I feel that my editing here has been effective and it still looks quite natural as though the day was just dark and had been raining. I prefer the use of blues to greens as it fits with the sad tone featured in my music video and looks more aesthetically pleasing.
I'm really happy with this effect and will be keeping it for my final music video.

Drafting & Planning: Footage

I have filmed some footage for the lyric 'swinging in the backyard'. I asked my actress to swing on a swing near a grassy area and I feel that this footage is successful as it is what I want. My actress looks mournful which is what I want and this will only be featured as a quick snippet in my music video but I feel that it is good for the little gap it is in.
I will play around with this footage and use it in my music video if I think it fits or I may re-shoot a clip similar where my actress is more happy to represent happier times before her sadness.

Drafting & Planning / Organisation: Digipak

I have started to use paint.net to practice making a digipak to go with my music video and magazine advertisement. 

This is a first draft of my digipak that I have pieced together just to see if I like the positioning of my images and text. I have no included any other information on the back of the cd cover apart from the tracklist and a barcode just to test it out.
I like the images I have used and how I have managed to use the 'Steelfish' font which is similar to Lana Del Rey's effectively on my front cover so I will definitely stick with this font. I quite like the font used on the back of the cd cover but I'm not entirely sure it is the right one so I will keep searching for a more suitable font.
I have also decided that I will take more images of my actress for my digipak and magazine advertisement so that I have a wider range of images to us and I can use different shot types and different locations to suit my digipak and advertisement so that it looks unique and so that they will fit with the style of Del Rey.

Organisation: Props

I have filmed more footage which includes another prop. In my music video I have featured some ripped up paper rapidly moving down a stream. My actress uses this paper and places it in the water and it then moves along. I have used this ripped up paper because it has a love poem written on it (which cannot be seen) from her ex boyfriend and throwing it in the stream signify's her starting to move on.

Drafting & Planning / Organisation: Lighting

Whilst filming in the drama studio which I have talked about in a previous post I decided to use the lighting in there. I used the blue lights and shined them on my actress. These blue lights connote sadness and unhappiness which is what I wanted as that is how my actress feels throughout most of my music video. I also think the blue may connote the sea and the idea that my actress is drowning in her feelings and emotions because of her break up.
I love this blue lighting and will definitely be using these clips in my final music video as they are unique with the lighting and fit with my ideas and what I want.

Drafting & Planning: Effects/Editing

Whilst putting my music video together I have focused on different types and ways to edit clips in my music video. 

In the first image I have used 'Colour Balance' and have changed the 'Lighting'. I mad sure that there is hardly any magenta or green in this clip so that it looks quite pink and rosy. I love this effect being used at this specific time as it fits with the lyric 'drunk and I am seeing stars' and these fit together as my actress' eyes look glazed from the outdoor light and the colour pink makes her seem like she is dreaming or seeing colours. I also think these effects (the pink/rosy colour) represents love and seeing the world through rose tinted spectacles which links to the relationship aspect in my music video.

In this clip I have changed the 'Brightness / Contrast' and added 'Greyscale'. I have made the clip much brighter so it reflects the happier times as my actress is smiling. The 'Greyscale' is added for aesthetic effect but I have lowered all of the components within it so it is not as obvious and does not make the clip seem dark and unhappy.

In this final clip which is the ending clip to my music video I have changed the 'Brightness / Contrast' again and added the 'Greyscale' but in 'Half and Half' again. I also added 'darken' within the galleries, video effects section. I feel that these effects tie in nicely together and as this is the end of my video it is dark and bleak which represents the end. The 'Half and Half Greyscale' make the clip more dull and the darken makes it look unhappy which is what I wanted. The These effects make it seem like the actress did not have a happy ending after her relationship so I love these effects.

Research into Similar Products: Effects and Camera Angles/Shots

I have done some research into camera angles in James Bay's music videos. 

I have looked at 'Let it Go' and found this wonderful shot where the camera moves around James Bay's body from one side of his face to the other. I love this shot as it is unique and shows the setting in the clip. It also shows the lighting and doesn't just focus on the musician in the video.

I have also looked at the video 'Stealing Cars' by Bay which is very simple but has different shots in it. I love this medium close up that zooms in to a close up of Bay's face. At first the medium close up shows the surroundings and the guitar but after zooming in it focuses on the musician which I like as it makes the video more personal and central to the musician and not just the setting around him.

I have taken inspiration from this video and attempted to film my own footage including a few zooms in.

Drafting & Planning: Effects

I have used many different effects in my music video and below are some examples.
I have used an effect for the first two screenshots called 'Grey scale Half and Half'. I really love this effect as it makes the clips look nice and pleasing but makes them look a bit dull and bland which I like as it shows that my actress is sad and missing something from her life (her boyfriend). It makes the world in the clips seem darker and boring like her life is boring now compared to her past.

I have also edited the clip of my actress spinning around. I have turned the brightness up on this clip to make the clip lighter and my actress seem happier.
I have also added the effects, 'Gamma' and 'Diffuse Glow' as shown below as I feel that these add brightness to my clip and make it look nice and unique and different from the first time I have used this clip earlier in my music video.

Target Audience: Response to Footage

I have posted my footage of my actress with the projector flashing images onto her and asked for responses. I have received responses from my friend and she has said that this footage is good and fits with the idea of my music video.
I'm really glad that I got these kind responses as I love this footage and will definitely be using it in my final music video.

Drafting & Planning: Powerpoint of Images

Below is a powerpoint which has a collection of photos of my actress and her boyfriend for my music video. I have used this powerpoint during a scene where my actress is in front of a white board and a projector is projecting these images onto her. I love this idea and the clips I have shot using this powerpoint and am happy with the results.

A2 Media Images for Project Powerpooint from meganmailixo

Target Audience: Response to Footage

I asked my friend to comment on two of my clips for my music video. She gave good feedback and there was nothing major that could be improved in these clips so I am really happy with them and will use them in my final music video.

Research into Similar Products / Drafting & Planning: Footage

I have again looked at Lana Del Rey's music video 'Summertime Sadness' for inspiration. I have filmed my own footage that is similar to the first gif of the girl spinning but mine is faster and has a colour wash of light pink over it. Shortly after filming my own clip of this I found this one in Del Rey's video and this inspired me to play around with more effects with my own clip or perhaps slow it down so that it isn't so quick.
I also discovered that Del Rey had filmed a clip for her music video where she is standing against a wall and a projector is over her showing images. I have filmed similar clips to this one and again, found this in her music video shortly after. This also inspired me to again play around with more effects, facial expressions and body positioning/blocking.
I'm really happy with my own clips and think they turned out good so I will definitely use them all in my music video but will edit and cut them down to where I want to use them.

Del Rey's Video:

My Clip:

Del Rey's Video:

My Clips:

Research into Similar Products / Drafting & Planning: Effects

After watching Lana Del Rey's 'Summertime Sadness' music video I fell in love with the effects used in it. 

In this video I have found that effects such as 'Old Film', Colour Washes and 'Film Burns' have been used. These effects make the music video looks vintage and nostalgic. The 'Film Burns' create a flame like effects that flashes across the video or appears in certain places in the video and this makes the video more exciting and aesthetically pleasing. 'Film Burns' also make the music video seem like an old tape that has been played over and over which I adore. The 'Old Film' effect provides 'noise' and 'scratches' over the video which emphasizes the old and nostalgic feeling and also makes the video seem as though it was filmed with a really old camera on a tape.

After feeling inspired by this music video I decided to incorporate 'film burns' and 'old film' and colour washes into my footage for my music video. I have not used the effects as heavily as they are used in Summertime Sadness but I am really happy with the way I have used them and the footage below I will definitely be using in my music video as I feel I have edited effectively by using these effects and they create a nostalgic feel which is what I am aiming for in the happier times for my actress featured in my music video.

Research into Similar Products: Music Video's Beginnings and Endings

I have decided to research into music videos beginnings and endings so that I have a wider knowledge of them and how they start and end so when I come to do my own music video I'll know which of my footage fits best at the start and the end.

I looked at Lana Del Rey's 'Shades of Cool'. I love this entire video but focused mainly on the start and the end. The music video begins with a male character, there are no fade ins, it starts straight away with smooth and clean camerawork. The camera in this is slightly canted which creates a dazed or confused effect. An extreme close up is also used which reveals that there is a real sense of emotion from the character rather than the rest of the surroundings or anything else in the video - it makes us focus on him. There is also a blue lighting effect used which makes the start seem dreary and perhaps slightly sad but also fits with the name of the music video as blue is a cool shade. I love this beginning as it goes straight into the video and doesn't give a lot of detail away.

I also looked at the ending of 'Shades of Cool'. The ending shows Del Rey and the male character dancing until she falls on the floor in a state of happiness and deliriousness. I love this as the camera is straight and follows them dancing until Del Rey falls then the camera pans down and follows her but seems slightly shaky emphasizing Del Rey feelings. I particularly like this ending as she falls on the floor its like a final movement like the ending of the video.

I have filmed some footage of my actress on the floor closing her eyes which will be used at the end of my music video to emphasize the ending and it also finalizes the breakup in my music video.