Costume Chaos

This project hasn't been without its hurdles! Having finally obtained our outfits for the girls, we were surprised to find that the body suits were incredibly small, and the site that sold them lied about their true size. A real pain but hopefully we will be able to get the right size in time. Otherwise a back up plan is in serious need. The search for our white tuxedo blazer has been just as unsuccessful. With a week until our shoot tensions are becoming high within the group so I can only try to stay optimistic that our plans come together

Filming Roles

There is an endless list of roles on a film set. However there are 5 key roles

• Director - Guides the film crew to help him visualise the screenplay whilst controlling the film's artistic and dramatic aspects. Sean will take this as his role but obviously on the day creative decisions will come from our group as a whole.

Quentin Tarantino

Martin Scorsese

Steven Spielberg

• Camera Person/Operator - Operates the camera and maintains consistently good framing. Harry will be in charge of this on the day

• Art Director - Responsible for the look. This takes into account the set design, props, hair and makeup. The set design is being done by our set designers. However props hair and makeup has been designated between the group evenly. 

• Producer - Manages the shoot, and makes sure everyone involved is where they need to be when they need to be. This is necessary as time is incredibly limited and so you have to make the most of every minute. This will be my job, making sure the day runs as smoothly as possible.

• Sound Playback and Lighting Desk - The sound playback is in place to make the syncing video and audio process easier for the editor. Anyone on set will be able to do this. The person in charge of lighting however changes the mood and style of the set. This will be done by an external lighting director as no one in our group can operate the lighting desk.

All these roles may swap round on the day. Media production requires division of labour in which specialised skills are collaboratively used to get the best shots possible. If someone isn't doing a great job, then their roles can be swapped.

Before the shoot I have a few preparatory tasks. 

1. Make sure all the props and costumes are sourced
2. Inform everyone involved on timings and where to be
3. Help build the set with the designers 

Page 1 of our shotlist

On the day I'm also going to have to bring in my shoot schedule so that we never have to wait and think of what to film next. Filming on three different sets is going to be a challenge, especially with the various costume changes. Timing will be our worst enemy.

To make sure that the footage we shoot maintains the genre conventions that we aim to abide by, I am going to make sure the correct style of lighting is used, watch over the girls' makeup and hair, and direct our actors and actresses to do some cheesy 80s movements. Hopefully in doing this, I can make sure that Dyer's star image is applied, and that our artist creates the dreamy care free vibe we hope to create.

How to Edit a Music Video

The Cutting Board

Similar to my work last year, I'll be editing this video on Adobe Premiere Pro. The layout is relatively simple; two players at the top for both the live feed from the timeline and a preview for the rushes. The time line is where you order your footage, which you name to make it easier to recognise each clip. Originally the rushes are named after the camera used which in our case will be Blackmagic Card 1.
To start the editing process, you have to sync up all the footage to the audio, using the clapperboard. There are two methods of doing this:

1. Sync the timecode on both the video and the playback recording to the exact frame (The number has to be in the middle time code to make sure the music has started playing)
2. If the playback isn't visible, sync the loud beep sounds - however this is a less accurate option

There are different drum sounds and a beep before the song not just to help the editor sync the footage, but it also prepares the actors to dance/ lip-sync to the tempo of the song. 

The reason for doing all this is to make the whole process easier in the long run. Naming each clip makes it easier to source the footage you look for, and the syncing process means you can easily drag and drop clips in without worrying about the vocals matching.

4 Main Rules to Follow

1. Listen to the music and illustrate what the song is doing - Edit to match the music i.e. slow cuts with slow parts of the song and fast cuts with fast parts of the song. Visually match to the lyrics also, and try and connect the video to whats being said.
2. The first time the singing starts you have to show the lead singer. This is a convention of 99% of music videos. By showing the artist as soon as you hear the lyrics the audience instantly knows who the artist is.
3. Group your shots together. Not only does this make it easier to edit, but it allows the video to flow nicely, without quickly jumping between sets and locations
4. Cut to movement, or also known as a graphic movement edit. This will also create a nice flow to the video, forming natural transitions by continuing motion from shot to shot. It creates a very professional aesthetic.

I personally have never had to edit anything of this size before, and so the challenge is quite daunting. However to handle this there are things I can do. The most basic of those is to plan it out on paper, and in doing so deciding at which timecode I'll move from one element to the next so that everything fits in the 3 minutes. By editing at 10 seconds at a time I can easily cut the video up into edible chunks which will also make my life easier. Finally I'm short of time to edit this, so there's no point making a rough cut. I'm going to make the best I can first time round and then refine that, hopefully producing a really good piece of work.

The whole process will be kept between my group only. This means that people will only see it when its perfect, and showing people as I edit will only waste time. 

The Shot List

Shots! Shots! Shots!

Below is our shot-list, displaying in order the plan of what we hope to shoot. This will help us stay efficient hopefully, as we won't have to waste time thinking about what to film next.

Studio/ Location	Shot No.	Shot Description – inc.  type and composition	Actors/ /Artist/Band	Props	Notes
Studio	1	Four dancers dancing in a relaxed fashion on 4 plinths, whilst the artist sings in front. - Wide	Artist, 4 Dancers	Keyboard, Ice lolly floats	Blow smoke into camera for transition
Studio	2	Artist singing on cool-box playing keyboard - Mid	Artist, 4 Dancers in backdrop	Keyboard, Ice lolly floats	Framing as symmetrical as possible
Studio	3	Artist singing on cool-box playing keyboard - close up - eyes, mouth	Artist, 4 Dancers in backdrop	Keyboard, Ice lolly floats
Studio	4	Artist singing on cool-box playing keyboard - keyboard close up OTS	Artist, 4 Dancers in backdrop	Keyboard, Ice lolly floats	Make sure artist can play song on keys
Studio	5	Artist with all dancers around him - Mid	Artist, 4 Dancers	Ice lollies	Be quick, studio is very warm
Studio	6	Dancer 1 Moving slow - Mid	1 Dancer
Studio	7	Dancer 1 Moving slow - Close ups, face and torso	1 Dancer		Make sure in focus
Studio	8	Dancer 2 Moving slow - Mid	1 Dancer
Studio	9	Dancer 2 Moving slow - Close ups, face and torso	1 Dancer		Make sure in focus
Studio	10	Dancer 3 Moving slow - Mid	1 Dancer
Studio	11	Dancer 3 Moving slow - Close ups, face and torso	1 Dancer		Make sure in focus
Studio	12	Dancer 4 Moving slow - Mid	1 Dancer
Studio	13	Dancer 4 Moving slow - Close ups, face and torso	1 Dancer		Make sure in focus
Studio	14	Keyboard playing - Birdseye view.	Artist	Keyboard
Studio	15	Slow entrance into cool box, tracking forward.	Artist, 4 Dancers	Cool Box, Ice lollies	Pink lighting in the cool box
Studio	16	Seductive ice lolly sucking - Close up	1 Dancer	Ice lollies	Be quick, studio is very warm
Studio	17	Inflatable ice lolly with dancers in backdrop out of focus - Close up	Up to 4 Dancers	Pool float
Studio	18	4 Dancers dancing in a row, shot from side on - Wide shot	4 Dancers	4 Ice Lollies	Be quick, studio is very warm
Studio	19	Improvise if there is time.	N/A	N/A	N/A
Studio/ Location	Shot No.	Shot Description – inc.  type and composition	Actors/ /Artist/Band	Props	Notes
Studio	20	Four dancers dancing in a relaxed fashion on 4 plinths, whilst the artist sings in front. - Wide	Whole Cast	Keyboard, Ice lolly floats	Blow smoke into camera for transition
Studio	21	Artist singing on cool-box playing keyboard/ organ - Mid	Artist, 4 Dancers in backdrop	Keyboard, Ice lolly floats	Framing as symmetrical as possible
Studio	22	Artist singing on cool-box playing keyboard/ organ - close up - eyes, mouth	Artist, 4 Dancers in backdrop	Keyboard, Ice lolly floats	If organ is being used, don’t forget smoke effect
Studio	23	Artist singing on cool-box playing keyboard/ organ -  close up OTS	Artist, 4 Dancers in backdrop	Keyboard, Ice lolly floats	Make sure artist can play song on keys
Studio	24	Artist with all dancers around him - Mid	Whole Cast	Ice lollies	Be quick, studio is very warm
Studio	25	Dancer 1 Moving fluidly - Mid	Dancer 1
Studio	26	Dancer 1 Moving fluidly - Close ups, face and torso	Dancer 1		Change up the close-ups between girls
Studio	27	Dancer 2 Moving fluidly - Mid	Dancer 2
Studio	28	Dancer 2 Moving slow - Close ups, face and torso	Dancer 2		Make sure in focus
Studio	29	Dancer 3 Moving fluidly - Mid	Dancer 3
Studio	30	Dancer 3 Moving fluidly - Close ups, face and torso	Dancer 3		Make sure in focus
Studio	31	Dancer 4 Moving fluidly - Mid	Dancer 4
Studio	32	Dancer 4 Moving fluidly - Close ups, face and torso	Dancer 4		Make sure in focus
Studio	33	Keyboard playing - Birdseye view.	Artist	Keyboard	If organ is being used, don’t forget smoke effect
Studio	34	Girl lying front ways with legs in the air on float - Wide	Whole Cast	Cool Box, Ice lollies	Pink lighting in the cool box
Studio	35	Dancers have pool float fight - Wide followed my Mid as one girl hits another	4 Dancers	Small pool floats	Film at a high frame rate for slo-mo
Studio	36	Artist hit by soft ice cream - Close up	Up to 4 Dancers	Pool float	Film at a high frame rate for slo-mo
Studio	37	All dancers in a row sucking ice lollies - Mid	4 Dancers	4 Ice Lollies	Be quick, studio is very warm
Studio	38	Dancer cycles around Artist, who stands with two girls either side and one beneath - wide	Whole Cast	Ice Cream Cart
Studio	39	Improvise if there is time. Try a dolly zoom for a ‘trippy’ effect	N/A	N/A	N/A
Outside	40	Slow zoom on artist from wide serving girls	Whole Cast	Ice Cream Van	Smoothest zoom possible
Outside	41	Wide of artist alone in van	Artist	Ice Cream Van	Have artist leaning on hands
Outside	42	Artist singing on roof of van - Wide	Artist	Ice Cream Van
Outside	43	Artist singing on roof of van - Mid	Artist	Ice Cream Van
Outside	45	Close up on bow tie	Artist	Ice Cream Van	Have bow tie look poorly worn
Outside	46	Close up on van branding	Artist	Ice Cream Van
Outside	47	Close up on any rust around the van (exhaust)	Artist	Ice Cream Van
Outside	48	Close up on the plastic whippy's	Artist	Ice Cream Van
Outside	49	Close up on the front of the van	Artist	Ice Cream Van
Outside	50	Front of the van - Mid	Artist	Ice Cream Van
Outside	51	Close up on ‘Mr Whippy’	Artist	Ice Cream Van
Outside	52	Side of the van - Mid	Artist	Ice Cream Van	Symmetry
Outside	53	Rear of the van - Mid	Artist	Ice Cream Van	Symmetry
Outside	54	Dusty cans inside van - close up with sharp focus push	Girl 1	Ice Cream Van
Outside	55	Girl 1 looking disappointed - Close up	Girl 1	Ice Cream Van	Maintain framing
Outside	56	Girl 2 looking disappointed - Close up	Girl 2	Ice Cream Van	Maintain framing
Outside	57	Girl 3 looking disappointed - Close up	Girl 3	Ice Cream Van	Maintain framing
Outside	58	Girl licks ice-cream	Girl 1	Ice Cream Van
Outside	59	Artist pours ice-cream and stares blankly - mid	Artist	Ice Cream Van
Outside	60	Artist pours ice-cream and stares blankly - close	Artist	Ice Cream Van
Outside	61	Transition through van window into freezer - Tracking mid shot	Artist	Ice Cream Van	Steadiness is key!