The next time we got the change to edit the footage from Margate, we came across one problem which we worked hard to fix. During the arcade shots, there were people in the background and so we tried to edit around them when editing our music video. In order to do this, we inserted other clips and used jump cuts to flick between the two, to draw the audience's attention from the background and to focus solely on the singer. I think that in the end this looked effective and succeeded our wishes.
When we received feedback from our teacher, he said there was one shot he liked out of the majority of the shots already taken. This shot, taken in Margate on the beach features Lia, our artist, walking along a sand dune peering to the side. The framing of the shot was what our teacher liked the most; the equality of the shot, how it was mirrored nicely, the artist was in the centre of the frame and the colours of the shot contrasted nicely.
We edited our music video very easily initially. We wanted the shots we had filmed to flow in time and highlight the beat of the song which is something we focused on during the beginning of the music video.
When it came to editing we realised we had more filler shots than shots of myself lip-syncing which meant that overall the music video began to look more of a montage of shots rather than an actual music video. We decided that we would need to re film so that we could include more shots of myself lip syncing. I feel that so far, the music video does look very good, there's a clear theme running throughout and the aesthetic that we hoped to achieve, I think we achieved. There was a few shots we were unhappy with such as one of myself lip-syncing, once we fit it in we realised that it didn't match in time with the music so we'd have to reshoot that.
We also discovered it was very easy to edit the match on action shot together and it looked very impressive, a key shot that stood out amongst our music video, it's something we want to film more of so that it can become more of a theme that runs throughout our music video; seen hopefully two or three times in total.
There was a few shots we didn't like the lighting in, such as the intertextual shots but we changed this by editing the colour. Originally the shots looked very blue and so after changing the lighting we managed to make my body look like a silhouette and the projection the focal point as a tongue in cheek reference to the band, The Internet.
In the end we managed to use a 60% filler shot, 40% lip syncing shots to complete our music video. Whilst we know we aren't finished, we wanted to make sure that we had used enough shots so that essentially the music video editing is done and therefore once we reshoot we can just replace any shots we don't like with the new ones.
We filmed in two main places, the busy location of Camden which features a lot of street art and vibrant colours and the much more calmer and overall serene Camber Sands. We purposely wanted the two locations to contrast each other which would make the music video much more visually entertaining to watch.
Camden & Camden Lock
Filming in Camden proved to be very straightforward we had no problems and I found the lip syncing very easy although at times I was a bit nervous to do it in public, I think it became easier as I was filming and therefore had a camera so it made what we were doing a bit more obvious. Choosing to film in quirky, off the cuff places such as graffiti walls and small niche places that featured nature or bright neon lights really helped convey the overall look we wish to achieve for our music video. The lights would have looked a lot more nicer and brighter if we shot at night, but we were conscious of loosing light and filming enough footage. A lot of the shots we filmed were filler shots, small shots that could be used as a transition piece in our music video; these featured both Charlotte and Lia. Whilst filming, I also took pictures that could be used for our poster and digipak as we were keen to make sure that a similar theme runs throughout.
Camber Sands
Our second location we filmed in was Camber Sands, a small sandy beach on the coast of Camber. Once again we filmed a variety of shots, I really liked the camera angles we achieved when I was lip syncing as it will make the music video a lot more visual. We wanted to complete a match on action shot that we started in Camden, a medium over the shoulder shot of Charlotte and Lia. She is holding a picture and looks over her shoulder at the camera which is something we matched up. I was surprised at how easily we managed to frame the shots so it would edit together seamlessly. We again filmed some filler shots of Charlotte and Lia walking which we could edit in to show mirroring between the two locations. We decided we wanted to use a pan to end the song and decided to record it with myself sitting down and looking up at the sky. One problem we encountered, besides the cold temperatures, was the camera. We shot mid afternoon, just before sunset, however the camera couldn't detect the difference between the sea and the sky and so it blurred the two colours together and made a lot of the shots look white.
We held auditions for someone to feature in our music video alongside myself and whittled it down to a total of four people. The person we cast isn't required to lip-sync as they aren't the artist, I am, and so they will be used purely to make the music video more dynamic and visually interesting.
Sophie Baxter
Sophie had a good sense of fashion, which is something we were keen about because it's something that's important to our conceptual music video. Whilst she does have a good sense of fashion, overall we think it doesn't fit the theme we wish to portray and the message of the song/lyrics.
Georgina Welton
Georgina looked like she fit the general look we was going for; however there was a few things that didn't fit our concept - such as her fashion style. Whilst it was good it didn't match the casual almost androgynous look that we hoped to achieve, Georgina overall is a lot more feminine which reflects in the way she dresses.
Caitlin Mettle
Caitlin looked too sweet to cast in our music video; through no fault of her own if we had casted Caitlin she would have made the music video seem almost too youthful. Her fashion sense fit the theme and overall concept which is annoying as she would have been the perfect candidate.
Charlotte Springate
Charlotte was the ideal candidate. Her fashion sense matched the concept completely and she also had the right mix of androgyny which fit the aesthetic we were hoping to achieve.
This artist is definitely one of our inspirations, in terms of his artistry as well as his cinematography. When editing the beginning of our music video, we decided to play around and make use of the music in order to fit it in with the jump cuts; as this way our audience would be more likely to relate the beginning of 'Under Control' with the music video and the artist, helping to create synergy.
The idea for having the opening second shot in black and white as well as the placement of the font was from the singer/producer Anderson .Paak and his 2014 acclaimed hit 'Luh You.' We felt that this would make our music video stand out and become very distinctive.
The quick cuts show different symbolic moments of the music video so that audience members can catch a glimpse of the different elements of our music video. We chose to use shots that featured our artist near nature as this would contrast greatly with the array of colours we later show in the music video. The idea of the font also came from this music video as it distinctly informs the audience of the song title, artist and director in an artistic style.
Andrew Goodwin identifies 5 key aspects of music videos that we the audience should look out for which can be found within this PowerPoint presentation that I made.
We also discovered it was very easy to edit the match on action shot together and it looked very impressive, a key shot that stood out amongst our music video, it's something we want to film more of so that it can become more of a theme that runs throughout our music video; seen hopefully two or three times in total.
Filming in Camden proved to be very straightforward we had no problems and I found the lip syncing very easy although at times I was a bit nervous to do it in public, I think it became easier as I was filming and therefore had a camera so it made what we were doing a bit more obvious. Choosing to film in quirky, off the cuff places such as graffiti walls and small niche places that featured nature or bright neon lights really helped convey the overall look we wish to achieve for our music video. The lights would have looked a lot more nicer and brighter if we shot at night, but we were conscious of loosing light and filming enough footage. A lot of the shots we filmed were filler shots, small shots that could be used as a transition piece in our music video; these featured both Charlotte and Lia. Whilst filming, I also took pictures that could be used for our poster and digipak as we were keen to make sure that a similar theme runs throughout.
Camber Sands
Georgina looked like she fit the general look we was going for; however there was a few things that didn't fit our concept - such as her fashion style. Whilst it was good it didn't match the casual almost androgynous look that we hoped to achieve, Georgina overall is a lot more feminine which reflects in the way she dresses.
Caitlin looked too sweet to cast in our music video; through no fault of her own if we had casted Caitlin she would have made the music video seem almost too youthful. Her fashion sense fit the theme and overall concept which is annoying as she would have been the perfect candidate.
