Film Blog

We’re in the process of making our music video. We’ve went through the conventions for the music video. I researched the artist and facts about them. I found out what type of music they make and what inspires them to make it. I made the storyboard. The three of us came together and each put in our ideas for scenes in the music video. We had to make sure that the scenes were in practical locations because I had to drive there. We also all sat down and discussed when everyone would be free in order to film the scenes. We decided that we’re gping to film after school on tuesday. We picked Tuesday because we won’t have school then next day due to the Thanksgiving break. Everyone was also free this day so it worked out perfectly. We all knew we would need more then one day to film because we would run out of time from the sun. It’s winter time now so the sun sets earlier. We’re using the light from the sun to film our scenes. So, we have to make sure that the sun is up and is able to light up the scenes. We also wanted to film the scenes on the beach as the sun was setting so it adds a texture to the scenes with the change in lighting. It also will just make the people and environment look better. During this day we are going to try to film the beach scenes because our school is close to the beach. For this scene we will be wearing beachish attire. We’re also going to try to film the scene where we’re sitting in the back of the car with slushees. Also after this I will have to drop off one of the teammembers so we can’t be out too late. Another day we said we could film was on Friday of this week. It’s after thanksgiving so everyone will be free and no one is going out of town. On this day we’re going to try to film the park scene. This is the scene we’re we will be using a drone that one of our teammates have. We wanted the drone specifically because it would a cool switch from the GoPro were already filming on. So the drone will either start from high in the sky then come closer to us or the opposite. We will have a lot of time for this because there will be no school so we will be able to take multiple shots. During this scene we will be in normal attire. Or attire that your average teen would wear.

Music Video Storyboard

Scene 1:
During this scene 2-3 people will be sitting on the bleachers socializing with one another. A high angle  will be used with a drone and the drone will slowly back up to establish the background. The sound used in the scene be Young Dumb and Broke, and the actors will be a diverse group of people wearing casual attire. Color grading might be used to add additional affect during the post production process.

Scene 2:
During this scene 2 people will be laying down on a football field at a local park. A birds eye view will be used with a drone and will will slowly come closer to the actors. Once again the actors will a diverse group of people wearing casual attire. Backpacks will be used as a prop, as a pillow, showing relaxation time from school. Color grading might be used to create a vivid effect.

Scene 3:
During this scene a person will be filling up a slushy at a slushy machine. A tilt will be used to position the camera from the ceiling to the slushy machine. The actors might be in a bathing suit and a shirt/tank top and the scene will be filmed at consignment store. We will ask the manager for their permission to film and we will purchase the slushy. Sound from the machine will be included in the scene and not very many post production affects will be added.

Scene 4:
During this scene an actor will be looking at snacks at a consignment store and grabbing a lot. A long shot will be used to show all of the actor and part of the background. Once again the manger will be asked if we can film there. The props used will be the bags of chips and not much post production affects will be added. Young Dumb and Broke will be playing the background.

Scene 5:
During this scene 3 people will be filmed driving in a car, singing along to the song. The camera will be placed on the dash and it’s a three-shot. Regarding the safety of the actors and public seatbelts will be worn, our speed will be very slow, and we won't be driving in a densely populated area. The actors will be wearing casual attire and the props used will he beach going items such as a towel and volleyball. The sound of the song will be heard and some special effects will be added in the post productions process.

Scene 6:
During the scene the beach will be filmed from the perspective of the car window. It will be an establishing shot, setting the background for scenes to follow. The car will be moving but safety will be of the most importance and actions will be taken as necessary. The lighting will be soft from the sun and the only prop used will be the car. Sound of the car moving might be heard and some color grading might be added to create a more vivid effect.
Scene 7:
During this scene we will be be using a wide shot. Two of the group members will be playing volleyball at lauderdale beach. We’re gonna use a wide shot to make sure that everyone is in the shot and we can get the beach in the background as well. We will be using normal costumes, makeup and actors will be in the ordinary. The lighting will be natural in this scene cause we will be outside and using the light provided by the sun. The  sound will me the music from the song that we are doing.

Scene 8:
In this shot two group members will be playing in the sand or building a sand castle. For this we will be using a two-shot. We will also be in normal costumes like shorts or bathing suit tops just to wear the proper attire when at the beach. Lighting will again be natural because there’s no need for more light then what is already provided. The sound will be the music from the song. We will add effects in the post production process like transitions.

Scene 9:
For this scene we decided to walk around the beach and go up to stands that are in the walkway. So we’re going to be trying on glasses at one ot these stands. Then we will be showing them on all of our faces so we will use a medium close up for this. Lighting will be natural because we will still be outside. We will still be using the same costumes that we used for the previous scenes. We won’t be using any new actors as well, it will just be the three people in the group. Sound will be the music from the song. There will be transitions between scenes so the video looks smoother.

Scene 10:
Coins will be dropped on the ground for this scene. One of the group members will have coins in their hands nd will just drop them as the shot starts. We chose to do this scene because in the song the artist sings “young, dumb and broke”. We wanted to include every aspect of the song in the video so we had to include the “broke” part. The lighting will be the natural lighting because we’re going to film this in a parking lot. Sound again will just be the music from the song. We will edit transitions in between scenes and color grading.

Scene 11:
For this scene there will be two group members siting in the back of my car. We will be parked in a parking lot. For this we will use a two shot as well as a wide shot to make sure we get the setting in the shot as well. We’ll be wearing casual everyday attire. It will be the same two people in our group that will be in this scene while the third person films. We might use a prop or two like the slushee that we got in the previous scene. The sound will be the music from the song “young, dumb and broke”. We will add transitions in between scenes as well as some color grading to give the scene texture.

Scene 12:
The last scene will show two people walking down the beach. This will two actors from our group. We will be trying to film this scene at the beach during sundown to provide a happy ending
To the music video. This will be a tracking shot as we follow the actors walking down the beach. We will be in normal attire. No props will be used during this scene because there isn’t a need for any. The sound will be the music from the song and we will add transitions to make it more smooth.

Conventions

During last class we had been introduced to our new project, a music video. I was really excited about the project because I worked really well with my group last time and thought this project would be more enjoyable. The previous project, the commercial, we had been confined to filming on campus and picking from certain topics. This project is different because we are allowed to film off campus and choose our own song. The song we are going to recreate in our music video is Young Dumb and Broke by Khalid. However, before we can film we have to plan out every aspect of the music video. This includes the location, health and safety concerns, props, costumes, and the schedule. This had been very helpful during the commercial, and I believe we will find it very useful again while filing the music video.

Location:
Throughout the commercial we want to use locations that a high school viewer or teenager can relate to. For that reason, we choose places such as our high school, a park, the beach, a parking lot, the car, and fast food restaurants. High school is a place everyone can relate to as we are there for a large portion of our day to day lives. It is one large social atmosphere where we can grow together, feel to each other, and build relationships. The idea of a large social atmosphere was something we wanted to include in our music video. Locations such as the park and the beach are also some of a high school student’s favorite pastime. The ability to relax and take a break from our stressful lives is something everyone needs. Finally we choose to include the car as another location. High school students can range on average from 14-18 years old, and will be exposed to driving without their parents potentially. We wanted to recreate this experience in our video, and exaggerate the reckless behavior that a teenager may have when they are driving.

Health/Safety Concerns:
Safety is of the uttermost importance during the filming of the commercial. There will be some reckless scenes but we will minimize the potential risks and concerns each of these scenes will have. For example, during the filming of the scene in the car we will be wearing a seatbelt at all times the car is moving. The driver will concentrate on driving and we will be far away from crowded areas, where the public could potentially be at risk. Furthermore, throughout the filming of every scene we will have a first aid kit with us Incase someone is cut or hurt. Finally, we will have our phones on us at all times in case of an emergency. In this unlikely event, 911 will be dialed to get medical treatment  as soon as possible.

Props:
Props are another important part of the commercial, and we want to make sure they are related to our topic and audience. So, to recreate the life of a reckless high schooler, we will use props such as a car, food(likely fast food), beach going things, pennies(or other forms of change), and other regular day to day items. These props together will work to create this sense of being a high schooler and will add depth to our music video.

Costumes:
Costumes are another important part of the commercial, however it will be easy to replicate. We plan on using day to day attire for a student or teenager. Furthermore, our school does not have uniforms so we be able to control what appearance we have in the music video. However, we will make sure to have the costume politically neutral and not depicting things such as substance abuse or discrimination.

Schedule:

New project: Music video

We are saying goodbye to making our commercial and hello to making a music video. The whole class got done with making the commercials last class; November 12th. Something that worked when we made the commercial was storyboarding. Storyboarding made it so clear as to what shots we had to do and how they would look. It helped a lot with saving time because we knew what shots and angles to do without having to think about it. It also helped us save time from not having to take second shots. If we didn’t storyboard we would have to try different angles & get input from other group members which could cause conflict. What didn’t work when my group did the commercial was some aspects of technology. When we first started the editing process the computer we tried to use was not bringing up our footage or it was very slow. Fortunately, we were able to use laptops but the first time we got it, it was too late to start editing. We ended up having to use our phones and the software iMovie. The commercial was a great experience into the world or media & filming things.

Today my group is figuring out a song to do. We have contemplated a few different ones and I think we’re just going to stick with a song from the early 2000s to the recent years. We don’t wanna do an older song from the 80s and below because I feel like it would be too hard to replicate clothing that was worn in that era. The song we’re using is called “Young, dumb and broke”. This is sung be someone named Khalid Robinson. He was born on February 11th, 1998. His debut album ‘American Teen’ was released on March 3,2017. It ended up to number 9 on the U.S. charts. We chose this song because were all in high school so we can relate to the song 100%. We’re all young cause we’re only 16 or 17. We’re dumb because kids always make mistakes and we’re broke because well, I don’t think I need to explain that one.

1. The costumes we will be using are just normal everyday attire for the average teen. We want to try and make the clothing as related to the song as possible. So wearing fancy clothing would contradict the whole video. Average clothing consists on hoodies, redshirts, shorts & jeans.
2. We will be using natural light from wherever we film. We don’t be bringing in any special lighting because the music video is supposed to be fairly average.
3. Our actors will be the three people in thw group. We might add some extra people depending on what the scene is. We want to create that sense of socialization in the video.
4. Makeup will not be anything crazy whatsoever. Whoever wears makeup if any will be natural because we want the audience to be able to relate to it.
5. Some props that we will be using is for sure a car and money. We’re not sure what other props we will be using right now but we know it won’t be any that doesn’t relate to the song or high school students. We might use food as well just to show that we’re having a good time.
6. We’re going to have various settings in the music video because we don’t want to keep filming at the same place due to the worry that it will get boring. We wanna show that teens are always on the move and having fun.

For sound we will be using the song that we chose. We make sure that the song was the clean version cause this project is for school so there’s obviously no cursing allowed. We don’t be adding in any other sound like sound affects or dialogue just because we want to strictly keep it to the song.
The music video is going to consist of many different camera angles because we want to keep variety in the video. We’re going to try and use tilts, pans, Dutch shots, medium, medium close up, and tracking shots. We’re going to be editing using Pinnacle Studios this time we make the music video. . Last time when we make the commercial we were having technical difficulties and weren’t able to use pinnacle studios. We had to use iMovie instead.

Final Blog for Commercial

Today we were able to start editing our commercial. Last class we couldn’t start the editing process. This was due to the computers that we had moving very slow or having pop ups. Then put teacher told us to all just stop using those computers. This resulted in us using laptops from the laptop cart. These were a lot more effective and efficient. They turned on quickly and imported our files quickly as well. So this class I grabbed a laptop instead of using the computers. We only had 50 minutes to do so, so I knew we had to hurry. I logged in on one of the laptops and started. I opened google then went to google docs. Another group mate logged into his gmail because he had all of the files on his account.
First I had to pick out a clip from each scene that best fit. So first I went through the scene where one of the group members is showing their shoes. There was about five clips of this so I just picked the best one or the one that showed the shoes off the most. The next scene is another one of the group members but we had to make sure the shorts were being shown off. I decided on a clip that had him walk toward the camera then slightly turn to show the Nike lable. Next was my scene. We had to make sure to show the label off that was on the shirt. So the group  tried to do the scene with certain actions during it. I suggested that we bring in another group mate and pretend that we’re having a conversation. Another group mate suggested that I should pretend like I was studying. I ended up picking the clip where I’m talking to another group mate. The conversation looked mostly natural and it brought the feeling of friendship and happiness into the commercial. Next was the scene where we had to show off the Nike backpack. The group and I had already planned that we were going to have the member walk up the stairs and it would be a low angle. But I didn’t know how low of an angle I  had to go. I tried shooting the scene on the tripod and by hand. I ended up picking the clip where the camera was sitting on the tripod rather then by hand because it was too shaky. Last I had to find a video of all of us together that looked okay. We did several attempts for this one. I know that we have to edit whatever video we chose because we could not figure out if the camera had a timer or not. I ended up picking a video where we were all sitting at a table on the senior patio.
We only got a little bit of editing done today. All I was able to get done was a dissolve to black transition in between every scene along with adding simple background music that had no lyrics.