Component 3: Classwork - Multicam Editing

In this blog you can find the work I did on how to edit with multiple cameras. My group filmed the footage in various angles, but I edited it alone to test out my skills. My teacher provided a template for the blog post however I added more explanation regarding my own process.

What is Multicam Editing?

Multicam editing is the process of editing footage of a single scene or subject recorded from different cameras and angles. Showing the same scene or subject from different angles helps make the video more dynamic and visually captivating for your audience. 

Shooting

Our subject, a classmate, stood in the centre of the room and did a short performance. My group stood around the subject to record the performance from different angles. You can also see members from other groups because we did this lesson as a class. To make it easier to synchronise our cameras, the teacher clapped at the start of the scene as replacement for a clapperboard. This allowed us to line up the video in the editing process and ensure that the transitions would be smooth. Without this simple action it would have taken a lot longer to sync the videos. 

My teammates (Kalista and Chelsea) had chose a different position to capture the star (our classmate) and we also shot our scene in various angles (high and low) to experiment with it. I had utilised a chair and stood on it to be able to create a high-angled shot.

(BEHIND THE SCENES IMAGES): LINK HERE

Here are the raw videos from my group members:

1

2

3

My editing process

Upload the videos to the editing software (YOUR SOFTWARE ) 

Detach the audio of the clip you wish to use in the final video. 

Find the ‘clap’ marker on the audio.

Line up the video files together. 

Cut where I want the edit to happen

Don’t delete the clip, just lower the opacity. This way it can be used again later. 

Mute all clips except for the one you want to use. 

 ( INCLUDE SCREENSHOTS OF YOUR EDITING)

Here is my final edited video:

Reflection: How will this help your project? What did you find challenging? What is there anyway to simplify this process?

Component 3: Shooting Practice - Music Video

This post contains a mini project that helped us learn how to shoot a music video. We shot out verse as a group and then created this post together. This blogpost is written by me (Audrey).

Lesson Description:

My teacher gave each group a verse from the song 'Here Comes The Sun' by The Beatles. We had to plan a scene which included various camera work (movement and angle) and edits. The goal was to be able to test out our camera work idea for our final project so that it flows seamlessly between shots. We aim to shoot properly and improve our camera work by testing out different angles and movements to capture and convey a storyline.

Pre Production

The song 'Here Comes The Sun' is a pop-rock song which wasn't really fitting to our project's genre (pop) and the overall vibe of the song. But this song was chosen as a whole class as it was a popular song that we all recognise.

Our Media Studies teacher, Mr Nick, had given my group a short verse to shoot which were compiled together to produce a whole music video for the song. My group (Kalista, Chelsea, and Rara) had gotten the second chorus.

Here is the lyric sheet and a few notation regarding the storyline and camerawork planning. We apologized if it is a bit messy and hard to read as it was a rough outline.

We were also tasked to create a simple storyboard to lay out the flow of the camerawork as well as the mise-en-scene and other actions that would be captured in the scene. This helped us to organize the shots and keep track of what we needed to shoot. Our teacher gave us only a few minutes to plan both of the lyric sheet and storyboard so it was only rough outline for us. 

Here is the storyboard that was made by me (Audrey). I apologize if the drawings aren't detailed and messy notations.

Production

As our time was limited, we had decided to film at a nearby sink/washing room as it included a big mirror. Our idea was to utilise the reflection from a mirror to capture the actions and face of the characters in the scene. This was also a unique camerawork which we had planned to use for our project which is why we decided to test it out. 

Our actress was just the members of our team (Kalista and Rara) with Rara being the lead and Kalista being the side character.

Here are some behind-the-scenes pictures that I took as we were setting up:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19OHN2Td7YwuSd0v_Fox0XdjzRIBKDHTg?usp=sharing

Here is the Google Drive file link of RAW video clips which included camera tests, shoot attempts (failed and others), and bloopers. 

The shooting ran smoothly as our members were familiar by our communication style so there weren't any problem there. And we also had a connection with ideas for camerawork and plotline so that we were always agreeing on a discussion. 

Post Production

I had edited the clips together and made sure that the song matches the scenes along with the lipsyncing of the actors. I utilised the application Capcut as it was a free, easy, and fast platform to edit videos. It only took a while to finish the project in one period of Media Studies class which was advantageous for the group. We were also familiar with the application which made it efficient.

Our idea was simple which does not include any special effects or color-grading as we decided to keep it natural. This was due to convenience and we wouldn't be applying this editing technique for our music video project as we want to create a visual appeal for the audience.

Here are the few steps that I did for editing:

1. Compile final shots

2. Add the song (download the audio from Mr Nick's file)

3. Cut, crop, and adjust the video clips according to the correct time frame

4. Make sure the lipsync matches the song

5. Turn down the audio volume of the clips

Step 2

Step 3

Step 5.1 

Step 5.2

Here is the final result:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19OHN2Td7YwuSd0v_Fox0XdjzRIBKDHTg

Here is the Google Drive file link in case it doesn't work.

Problem: 

There weren't any significant problem throughout the processes of production. Me and my teammates were able to collaborate together as we plan out the details of the pre-production together in under than 20 minutes. Although, our plan wasn't followed exactly based on the final results. There was another angle shot (POV) with the same actions in a scene which we planned to use with a quick cut to capture the character's face clearly to showcase the performance aspect of the chorus clip that we had already recorded. We planned this out initially as it was one of our ideas for our big project so we decided to test it out. Although, this idea wasn't executed well which made it unprofessional and odd if we decided to insert that shot. The timing of the chorus also does not support the use of cuts to show another angle.

Another problem would be that the cut from the first scene with our side character walking to the sink to the second scene with the lead washing her hand was a bit un-neat. I was the one who edited it and saw this immediately and was unsatisfied with the results.

Solution:

We decided to discard the idea of using another angle to showcase performance. We think it flows better without the shot. 

As we had no time left, we decided to leave the transition as it was as we had no time to reshoot. 

Future Plan:

Next time, or in the real project, if we want to shoot different angles we have to make sure that the timeline flows well with the song. Duration mustn't be too short to fit several quick cuts of different angles and other camerawork. 

Next, we must make sure that the shoot the scene long enough and make sure that the last action shot is similar to the action at the beginning at the next scene to make sure it transitions nicely so that the music video can flow easily. This helps creates a flawless flow of the storyline for the audiences.

And last but not least, to shoot with the proper equipment so that the quality of the film is nice and  professional.

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𝑺𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏:

For this mini project, I can say that I can certainly manage my time well for the production as I am able to finish and complete the filming and editing in one lesson. The planning also does not take many time which was very convenient for us all (me and my group). We had our goals and planning set in each other's mind and we get each other so that communication and other processes were so much easier. This is why we were able to get things done easily and quickly. I enjoyed this mini project which makes me feel more positive about the real project. I learned from many mistakes about camerawork and the editing throughout this mini project which is beneficial for me and my group when creating our real project, to avoid our mistakes as we know what to do and what not to do. We also tested out camerawork that we had planned for our project which gave us an early heads-up and insight.

Component 3: Location Scout and Risk Assessment

This is the location scout and risk assessment for our production process (shooting locations). This report is created by Kalista and Rara. However, me and Chelsea helped in discussing the locations. This blogpost is written by me (Audrey).

 Click here to access the link directly to the file for our location scout and risk assessment.

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𝑺𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏:

My partners, Kalista and Rara, wrote the location scout and risk assessment. I did, however, contribute to the discussion about our filming locations. Overall, the risk assessment took little time because my friends and I were previously familiar with the places that we had chosen, so we knew their condition and situation.

Problem (P): However, the location scouting was particularly time-consuming as we needed to set a fixed setting for our music video. This was a problem for us as we hadn't been able to complete the full planning of the chronology and plot of the documentary which made us indecisive to figure out the mise-en-scenes, especially the setting. In addition, after we decided on a location, we had to make changes on d-day due to weather or circumstances which had been discussed on the risk assessment. This was handled professionally by me and my teammates.

However, location scouting was especially time-consuming because we needed to find a specific setting for our music video. This was an issue for us because we hadn't figure out the real life location for each scenes as we hadn't set a fixed setting for each clip, leaving us unsure about where to film according to the plotline of our music video. Furthermore, after deciding on a location, we had to make changes on the day of owing to weather or factors indicated in the risk assessment. This was handled professionally by me and my teammates.

Solution (S): Firstly, despite the fact that it took a long time to decide on the documentary's locations and plans, we were able to agree on one, and both Kalista and Rara completed the scouting and risk assessment efficiently. Finally, during the shoot, we made adjustments to the location, but there was no problem because we had already assessed a backup plan contained in the assessment above, which gave us an advantage because we were able to save time to discuss more possibilities because we had many options for shooting sites.

Component 3: Filming Schedule

This is the filming schedule for our production process (shooting). Chelsea had found a website and created the schedule for us, however we all had contributed to plan out dates, locations, props, and the timeline of the shooting. This blogpost is written by me (Audrey).

Component 3: Richard Dyer's Theory of Stardom (Classwork)

Here is a summary of a theory we learnt at class today with our Media Studies teacher (Mr Nick). It’s about the Theory of Stardom by Richard Dyer which helped us build our star’s image for our music video project. This blogpost is summarized by Rara and Audrey, however some of the celebrity research was done by Kalista and Chelsea as well.

Richard Dyer’s theory suggests that celebrities are constructed by media institutions to attract their target audience and promote their product. The celebrities are portrayed as a mix of relatable qualities (to appear ordinary) and unique traits (to appeal to fans). It focuses on how the image of the star is vital to the marketing to build both commercial success and a deep emotional connection with fans.

Dyer believes that a duality of a ‘reel’ and ‘real’ persona of a celebrity keeps audiences engaged.

REEL persona: A curated version of themselves, designed to fit the expectations of an audience (such as Performances, Music videos, social media)

REAL persona: The authentic personality of the individual—the way they are in their personal life, away from the public eye (such as Interviews, documentaries, behind-the-scenes footage)

Celebrities are appealing due to 5 main reasons: 

Love: We are fascinated with the love lives of the stars, can also feel a romantic affiliation with them

Ordinariness: We like to see them doing routine things, living normal lives just like our own

Success: We like the idea of overnight success, and failure before success. This appeals to our sense of fair play. (Why we like reality TV so much)

Consumption: We are fascinated by the huge material wealth brought by media success. Not just luxury homes and cars, but also strict dietary regimes set by expensive nutritionists, holidays etc.

Dream turned sour (downfall): The one thing we enjoy more than building up a celebrity is tearing one down. We like to exploit their misery.

Here are two celebrities that we researched and analyzed upon in detailed.

Component 3: Technical Element (Classwork)

Here is a summary on the analysis of technical elements such as camera angles and movements, mise-en-scene, sound, and edit in media texts and how connotations interpret meaning. This helped me to recall my knowledge and what we had been learning in class that can be applied to my music video production. This blogpost is written by me (Audrey).

There are four technical elements that we had learned namely:

1. CAMERA angles and movements

2. Mise-en-scene (MES)

3. SOUND

4. EDIT

CAMERA

Camera angles and movements are fundamental as it shapes interpretation on how the story is told and how the audience experiences it. Every shot taken builds up an implied meaning to direct the audience’s response (emotionally).

Camera Angles:

The positioning of the camera in relation to the main subject. How a camera captures a subject creates the overall portrayal and determines how audiences view the subject. 

1. Long shot: Main subject is captured from a distance with their body fully visible. This shot is usually used to show action.

2. Extreme long shot: Captures the subject from a greater distance to make the subject appear small. This shot is usually used to showcase insignificance or isolation of the subject due to the comparison between the small subject and vast setting. 

3. Establishing shot: Shows the entirety of the setting which gives a context on the location to the audience. Frequently used in the beginning of a scene.

4. Medium shot: Captures half of the subject (from the waist and upwards). This shot is commonly used for dialogues which shows and focuses on both facial expressions and body language. 

5. Cowboy shot: Cowboy shots are usually taken on a lower angle and frames the subject from mid-thigh upwards, the subject usually appears bold and confident. This technique is usually used in action movie characters.

6. Close up: Captures the entire face (head) of the subject emphasizing on the facial expressions and emotions of the subject. This detail creates an emotional connection for the audience.

7. Extreme close up: Captures an even closer focus on a specific detail. The shot usually connotes that the subject is important as it creates tension.

8. POV: Captures the events/scene in the eye of a subject and makes it appears as if the audience is experiencing what the subject is. Usually creates a bond between the audience and the character, evoking a sense of empathy.

9. Over the shoulder: Captures a subject from over another character’s shoulders. This shot is frequently used for conversations.

10. High angle: Camera is placed above the subject and is tilted downwards which makes the subject appear smaller and vulnerable. Connotations: Weak and vulnerable.

11. Low angle: Positioned below the subject and is tilted upwards which makes the subject appear larger. Connotations: Power, dominance, and control.

12. Dutch angle: Tilted sideways which creates a vertigo-like effect to create a sense of uneasiness from the audience.

Camera Movements:

Camerawork or motion to how the camera captures the audience and keeps the story flowing. This controls how audiences follow the plotline from how they reveal events and focuses on the subject.

Fixed	Camera remains static	Calm, peace, normal
Push in	Camera moves slowly toward subject	Brings the audience closer, more involved, getting more serious.
Pull out	Camera moves slowly away from subject	Takes audience away from the action, leaving a character. Detaching from subject
Pan	Side to side, camera fixed	Reveal information, mirrors natural head movement of the audience.
Tilt	Up and down, camera fixed	Same as pan, just a different direction
Dolly	Camera moves around freely	More immersive, we are moving inside the subjects world, we feel part of the action
Tracking	Camera moves around on tracks	Similar to dolly, but smoother.
Crane	A tool that can move camera horizontally and vertically	Reveals the epic size of the setting, landscape.
Handheld	Camera is shakey	Very natural, immersive. High energy
Zoom	Zoom	Brings audience closer to budget. Draws our attention to something.

SOUND

	Description	Effect
Diegetic sound	Sound that can be heard by the characters within the media text.	Add a sense of realism. Reveal information to characters (and then audience)
Non diegetic sound	Sound that can only be heard by the audience.	Enhance meaning, create an emotional response in the audience
Trans diegetic sound	Sound that transitions from one to the other.	Creates a link between the audience and the world. More immersive

	Description	Effect
Melodic	Positive and pleasing connotations	Enhances a positive scene. Create positive emotions in the audience.
Discordant	Harsh and unpleasant connotations.	Enhance negative scenes.  Create suspense, tension, anxiety
Contrapuntal	Has an opposite tone to the on-screen visuals.	Adds deeper meaning to scenes. Insight into the character's thoughts. Maybe they seek pleasure in doing bad things.

MISE-EN-SCENE:

Mise-en-scene refers to the arrangement and design of visual elements within a frame or a scene. 

EDIT:

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𝑺𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏:

This classwork had refreshen my memory regarding technical elements and had helped me understand more on terminologies. I am able to recap this whole classwork as my Media Studies teacher had provided a presentation I can reread. This classwork would help me when applying for the music videos technical elements.

Component 3: Clapperboard (Classwork)

Component 3: Screen Test

Here is the screen test for our music video project as we find our star for our music video. Here is a video of our class's group audition. This blog post is written by me (Audrey).

Here is the video for our whole Media Class students audition. We did this screen test as a class where we all lipsync to the song "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen. We had chosen this song as a class because most of us were familiar with the lyrics already (however it was still displayed on screen). The genre of this song (rock) does not match with the genre of our choice (pop) but the song was upbeat so it still works.

Here is the link: https://youtu.be/LL4o9gvDgdw

From the audition tape, we didn't really have any picks yet because there aren't anyone in certain that fits to our star's persona that we are looking for. Although, it was still beneficial for us to do it.

Screen test: A screen test is an audition tape to determine whether an actor/actress is suitable for the role. 

Component 3: Song Research

Component 3: Lyric Sheet

Here is the lyric sheet for our music video project. Me and my teammates (Kalista, Chelsea, and Rara) all contributed on this as we discussed on our ideas for the narrative. This blog post is written by Chelsea.

After finalising our chosen song, our teacher helped us to print our song's lyric sheet, and we began by verballing discussing our thoughts and ideas as a group after each of us had proposed our own ideas and brainstormed which of the concepts we all agreed with. We all agree that, because of the upbeat rhythm of the song, we want our music video to feature both performance (dancing or lip-syncing) and a little bit of narrative elements as well. 

Below is the lyric paper sheet we've discussed during class: 

At the beginning we all have various perspectives and thoughts, which leads to some misunderstandings and uncertainty. Audrey and I imagined the music to be angsty in terms of mood, and the star will radiate the vibes of a stargirl (confident, bold, and unconcerned about what others say), dressed in bold colours like red and black and wearing heavy makeup. Meanwhile, my other teammates, Rara and Kalista, thought the entire music video would feature a sweet, vulnerable, innocent-looking star wearing white or light-colored clothes and light makeup, which contrasted my and my other teammates' ideas. 

This idea clash took a long time to resolve, but we eventually came up with a satisfactory solution. To resolve this, we all went through the song's lyrics and original music video again, searching for the song's meaning (which will be explained further in the song research blogpost), and then we came up with an interesting idea. Given that the song revolves around a one-sided relationship in which the female star is being "played" (taken advantage of or manipulated) by the man, we want to add a twist to our music video. We decided that during the first half of the song, we would represent the star as innocent, fragile, and desperate for love (aligned with Kalista and Rara's idea). The second half of the song reveals that the main star is not as innocent as she appears, and that she is actually the "player" (aligned with Audrey and my idea). We also wanted to incorporate various connotations throughout the music video.

We were unable to annotate all parts of the lyrics on time since gathering thoughts that we all agreed on took up a significant amount of time in class. And, because meeting together face to face to work on this would be ineffective, we decided to change our lyric sheet discussion method by utilising digital media tools, which makes discussion more efficient, rather than one of us bringing the paper home and having to write all of the notes on their own. 

Below is the lyric paper sheet we transferred and gathered our ideas on Google Docs:

 Click here to access the link directly to the file for our music video lyric sheet.

We choose Google Docs to discuss and annotate our song lyrics because it is easier to highlight a part of a lyric and then adding comments to it. It is also more effective because it will not be a burden if the idea needs to be changed (which we have done several times); it is as simple as deleting and commenting on a new one, compared to doing it on paper, where you we must repeatedly erase and write a new one, which can be time consuming. It has also been easy for us to give comments and additional notes for a specific scene, especially if a member was absent while working and can be checked later, so not all members must be present at the same time but still collaborate together.

Selecting a part of the song lyric: 

Adding comments and additional notes:

Here we also utilised Google Meet to discuss our ideas together via online:

Unfortunately, embedding the Google Doc file to this blogpost does not let viewers to see the comments we've made. Hence, we tried to find another alternative solution for this problem. 

I began searching for whiteboard online applications that we could use and embed, and I came across one called Mural. I had no prior knowledge with this application, but I was able to figure it all out quickly because the user interface made it simple and guided me through the lyric sheet development process. So, I transferred all of the lyrics and annotations we made on the Google Doc, and my teammate Audrey helped me out with this. 

I used different coloured sticky notes to make it easier to differentiate between each part of the song (e.g., purple for verse, yellow for chorus). Aside from this feature, I discovered what makes this application stand out compared to Google Docs. Aside from the vibrant visuals we can use, I can also embed YouTube videos (since we got a loads of inspiration and references from other music videos and movies), so we can easily refer back to the inspiration simply by just watching the embedded video in the same window. 

Below is our final lyric sheet using the application, Mural: 

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𝑺𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏:

I was at first so stoked to get started on planning for our music video but I did not know how stressful it could be. There so many things to consider from the main plot and the technical elements. Not only that, we had to make sure all of the ideas would lead up to a certain meaning that the audience could interpret and make sure the technical elements conform and subvert to the generic conventions. We have to be really careful and precise when planning on lyric sheet because it's marked as the final narrative. Therefore, discussing with the group is really important to do. There are so many instances where our group cannot meet up physically which is why we conducted an online/virtual meeting along with texts in Whatsapp which is our main platform for communication. As a team, we need to be able to see eye-to-eye which is really time-consuming when discussing and setting a right and fixed narrative as we had to decided bar-to-bar and this task can't be divided and delegated. However, we got to finish it before submission and it was satisfactory.

Component 3: Storyboard

Here is the storyboard for my documentary project. Me and Chelsea created this storyboard (I did the first half whereas Chelsea did the last half). This blogpost is written by me (Audrey).

This story board acts as a visual guide for the chronology of the events. I apologize if the final results does not seem perfect.

Click here to access the link directly to the file for our storyboard.

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𝑺𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏:

I created a storyboard for a previous assignment in Media Studies previously, and we also had a class discussion about what parts are included in a storyboard. This information helped me because I understood what I needed to do (draw) and include in the storyboard, saving me time from researching storyboards from beginning. 

Problem (P): Personally, I struggled to manage my time while working on the storyboard. We had other parts of the project to work on (researches and plot), which prevented my focus and efforts from being directed toward the creation of our storyboard. I had other tasks to complete (such as research on pop music videos and their conventions), but I didn't have enough time to do so before moving on to the next portion of my blog/project process. Other schoolwork outside of Media Studies was also on the way, which prevented me from focusing only on Component 3.

Solution (S): We (me and Chelsea) were able to divide this task into two; I drew the first-half while Chelsea drew the other/last-half. This makes the job easier for us as we shared the responsibilities. At the end, I was able to finish my part of the storyboard even if it does not look professional. Either way, the use of storyboard is to guide us visually regarding to the plotline of the music video. This was enabled completely as our storyboard consist of all the elements and information needed for our production progress.

This storyboard acts as a visual guide for the chronology of the events. I apologize if the final results does not seem perfect (the document scan did not capture the drawings perfectly and could not be seen properly).