Case Study: Lady Gaga

Case Study: Miley Cyrus

Case Study: CD overview

Final music video

Feedback (for final video)

After finaly releasing the music video, we decided to do another feedback session with our peers in order to know if we fixed the preovious issues as they wanted. We ulltimately got praised, as it seems that we incorporated all the necessary changed within our music video. They especially linked that we incorporated quick cuts - which seems to add to the climactic nature of the song.

Finished Editing (first draft+criticism from the class)

Before releasing the final version of the music video, we decided to show the unfinished version to our peers for constructive criticism. This session proved to be very useful, as it gave us valuable information of what we did "wrong". One of the major problems of our video appeared to be its pace. More than one classmate commented on its incongruity with the music, mainly because the video is not as dynamic as the song. What our peers suggested was to add quick, abrupt cuts in order to fasten the pace of the video. Another suggestion was to increase the pace of the shot itself. This was also suggested  to make the protagonist more "aggressive", as she does not appear to perform energetically enough during the "breakdown" stages of the video. Last but not least, one of our peers felt that at the beginning of the video, the protagonist appears to hold an object that she did not previously had in pession. This makes the video incongrous as it does not link the two shots together. We therefore got suggested to replace the shot with studio, as it will link with the video due to the fact that we constantly use studio shots throughout it.

Starting editing

After uploading all of our footage on our Mac computer, we finally got to edit and review our shoots. We therefore started to sort all of our footage and decided which ones could work for our music videos. We also started to name all of our footage as we believe it would be easier to edit this way. Thus, the names would guide us which footage we decided to use and subsequently make us edit the video faster. Although we did not begin to make the music video, using the first lesson to get acquainted with final cut pro helped me greatly. Although the teachers showed us the basics of the program before, having my partner guide me for the entirety of the lesson helped me into getting familiarize with the program without the stresses of time. This helped me with becoming more productive while editing.

Filming finished

Our group finally finished filming, which was scheduled for two nonconsecutive days. 

Because the first day of filming consisted of shooting most of the music video, we decided to start filming from 8 o’clock in the morning. The weather was very sunny which surprised us. However, because we knew that the weather would be mostly cloudy, we decided to film the outside shots that were set for daytime, which consists of the protagonist’s memories from when she was happy with her boyfriend. The fact that the weather was very nice worked well for this part of the video, mainly because having pathetic fallacy in the video helps with making the audience engage with the characters memories. 

After shooting outside, we moved on filming all of the other shots that had the actor playing the boyfriend. This is because we knew that the actor couldn’t stay for the entirety of the day, and thus, we prioritized all of the shots in which he had to be in. Thankfully, we got to film all of the scenes in which he had to be just before he left, leaving us with the night scenes and the scenes in which the protagonist is packing her bags and having a mental breakdown. Although we tried to film as fast as possible, we did encounter technical difficulties, mainly because the batteries for the DSLR cameras did not last for a long time. We charged the batteries during lunchtime, however, we still lost a lot of time in which we could have perfected or filming experience. 

By the end of the day, we had to film the night scenes in which the protagonist leaves the house. The weather was slightly cold; however, we did not encounter rain or humidity. The filming went as planned, and we finished earlier than we expected, which was a surprise since the night scenes were one of the most numerous ones from all of the locations we decided to shoot.

Last but not least, the second day of shooting consisted of our protagonist performing in the studio. The idea behind these scenes was to assure to the viewer that in the end, the protagonist got over the relationship and lived a happy and healthy life. The performance scenes went well, and although we had to film three times (close shot, medium shot and long shot), we managed to finish quite fast, which was both satisfying and relieving.

Preparation for filming

    

To make sure that the filming will go as planned, my partner and I looked up the weather forecast. As shown in the video above, the weather in London for 9th of November 2013 is mostly cloudy, with 9 degrees Celsius. This information helps up greatly, because it allows us to film the entire video in a day as planned. Although the weather might not be sunny the fact that we know about the cloudy weather not only gives us an idea of how to dress but also tells us that we have to shoot the scenes outside very fast as the abient light 

might not be very powerful for the entire day. All in all, this information is extremely valuable because it prepares us how to film in order to not break the videos consistency.

Video Idea Collage

As the day of the filming approached, Jazz (my partner) and I decided to create a mood board which would allow her to get into the main character. We therefore decided to put up a compilation of images that would allow us to communicate as actor and film director, mainly because we want to avoid the possibility of miscommunication.

The pictures mostly represent fashion and the way we wanted out artist to look like. For instance, most pictures that represent fashion have a grungy feel, as this is what we are aiming for.

The pictures representing the street during night have been put for visual aid, which helped with communicating our ideas better. 

Decision

Although the audition with Aleksandra convinced both my partner and I that she would be perfect for the role of our protagonist, we unfortunately got announced that she would no longer be available for the role due to work. Because we no longer had time to audition someone else, we decided to use my partner for the main role. 

Because she does not have much experience as an actor, we decided to discuss about the character in order to make her empathize with her, and her situation. To do so, we went through the storyline again and tried to observe our protagonist in much wider detail. Since the storyline follows the 5 stages of loss, we also looked at how the protagonist behaves in those conditions. The video therefore, starts with depression, where the character is deciding to move out of the house. She is sad and exhausted. As she remembers the day she found out that her boyfriend cheated, the viewer can see her asking the boyfriend “Is there someone else?”, even though she has evidence of it happening (the texts he received on his phone); this scene showing the stage of denial. Immediately after, we see her getting aggressive towards her boyfriend and herself, which shows the stage of anger. By the end f the video, we also see the protagonist imagining herself in the position of leaving him while he suffers. The fact that she is inverting the roles shows the stage of bargaining, where her feelings of helplessness makes her desire to regain control. At the end of the video, we see the character looking very calm, which shows the stage of Acceptance. 

After discussing this with my partner, she finally felt like she could relate to the protagonist, this ultimately allowing us to film the following weekend.