Filming Blog #1

After all the planning and the storyboarding, we had to plan. We had to plan when we were going to film. Not only that, but also how and the details. We hope to have everything ready by this week. Most groups have already filmed or are filming this week. Because it is thanksgiving break, though, some of us are going away. Because we won’t be home, we won’t be able to film and have to move the date. Since Joe left, it has been easier to coordinate meeting times. Despite that, we still all love in different cities. That makes it difficult to find rides to locations.
        For filming, as mentioned before, we have already picked out location. We are going to so someplace that is convenient for everyone. We chose to utilize fresas apartment. Because it is close to the school and an avenue with many stores, it will be good. Especially for what we have planned, we won’t have to travel very far. For example, in the first few scenes, the actors are located in a kitchen, then a bedroom. Of course, an apartment is ideal for that situation because it’s a realistic living environment for a young couple. It is also small enough to be able to do tracking shots without taking up too much time. That way, we can fit in more plot into the music video.
        Another example of why we are using Freya’s apartment is the next scene after that. It is going to take place at an ice cream shop, with the couple talking. There is an ice cream shop within walking distance that we can film at if we get permission. From there, we will walk to Freya’s neighborhood again and film a scene where they are having a serious conversation on a park bench. That will add to the dramatization of the scene. We will also have Freya’s dog in the scene, as shown in the storyboard. With that, we are hoping it can represent how close the couple actually was. After we finish filming, we will move on to editing. Josh is going to be the main one guiding us and we will be helping him along the way. We are hoping to start this process next Monday.

Story Board Blog Music Video

In the first scene the couple is in the kitchen arguing. In the second scene, the girl is crying while the man is comforting her. In the third scene, it jump cuts to the couple talking on the floor (wide shot). In the fourth scene it jump cuts to the couple eating ice cream and having a good time. In the fifth scene it jump cuts to the couple in a park having a good time with their dog. There will be a pan in this clip to show the setting. In the sixth scene, they get into an argument again. In the seventh scene the boy gets into a car accident. The eighth scene shows him dead. In the ninth scene, the girl finds out about the news. The tenth scene will be the girl crying as she runs back home and the eleventh scene will show her sitting at her window as she continues to cry. Lastly, the twelfth scene will be the girl singing on her bed. 

As for editing, my group and I will use Pinnacle Studio like in the previous project. I will edit the video with the help of Joaquina and Freya. We will use the five stages of film making to be able to put this music video together. Development, pre-production, production, post production and distribution. We will use cross cutting,split screens, cut aways, and inserts. We will also use fade in and fade outs. We will also use jump cuts throughout the entire music video. Editing the music video will definitely be the most challenging part of this project.

As for the music, my group and I discssed which song we should use. We looked for songs on spotify. At first Jeo was in our group and he told us we should use Lost Ones by J. Cole, so that was the plan. The song was about an unmarried young couple that found out a baby was on the way. Jeo then decided to work by himself because it was more efficient for him. We then decided to choose a different song. We went back on spotify and discussed what song was appropriate and had a good meaning. After discussing for a little we came to the conclusion that we wanted to stick with a love song. Therefore we searched for love songs by different artists. We ended up choosing a love song by Lana Del Rey. 

Planning Blog Music Video

For this music video, we started off with a group of four people. It was originally Freya, Josh, Jeo, and me. Jeo texted our group chat and told us that he was not able to work in our group anymore. We asked him why and he apologized and explained to us. He said he had other responsibilities, like being captain of the wrestling team and working at a restaurant. He decided it would be better if he worked by himself because he didn’t want to let us down. We said it was fine and started planning on how to work it without him. Freya and Josh would be the actors and I would direct. I would tell them where to stand and how to act based on the storyboard.
        Location wise, we struggled at first because the three of us live in different cities. Because none of us have cars, transportation is a factor that we have to consider. We decided that we would film in Freya’s apartment. It is close to the school and we can finish in time to catch the activity bus at 5:00pm. We are so grateful that her mom will let us film there and get our work done. We will utilize not even only her apartment, but also her Neighbourhood.
        When Jeo left our group, we decided to change the song since it was originally his idea. We wanted to to something with a melancholy feel to it. We immediately thought of the singer Lana Del Rey. She writes sad lyrics that would be good for storytelling. We chose a song called Dark Paradise because it tells of a love story that ends in tragedy. The male interest in the song dies and she greaves over him. We thought that would be a good thing for the actors to act out.
        Overall, we very excited to start filming. It is a good chance for Freya and Josh to practice acting and for me to get more work with the camera. It will also be a good way for me focus on lighting and angles, which is something we didn’t vary on for the commercial.