Editing: Complications

After filming all initial shots we began to review them to begin editing. While we were reviewing the footage I noticed that the outside shots shot at the park were very backlit. That made it really hard to see the reactions shown by the actors. It also ruined the overall effect of the initial vibe of the first shot. With this in mind, we felt that we needed to reshoot in a slightly different location with far better lighting. This was a sacrifice of time and energy but, we feel the final product will benefit in quality. We conferred and decided to film at an indoor location to prevent strange glare. We received permission at Nyaira's job and agreed to put the logo in the video somewhere. We would check out a camera and other equipment and film the following day.

In preparation for the reshoot, we double-checked all props, costumes, and supplies needed for the correct mise en scene. We met up after school and drove to our location. We decided to film everything chronologically by the outfit.

We began by setting up our mirror tiles for the title screen and then we set up the outside shot that we will pan into. We set up our tripod with the camera and set up our shot. We would pan from the mirror tiles to a wide shot where we would walk in. It was difficult to stage the wide shot where it would look natural for both of us to walk in from off-screen.

We then proceed to film our dance feature. We cleared out a room and placed three separate mirror tiles at angles to show all perspectives of a subject. It was tricky to angle the mirrors to avoid filming the camera and tripod set-up. Nyaira and I changed into our next outfit, which was our all-black ensemble. We brought a speaker to play music to dance to but the music will be dubbed by an actual soundtrack. We began with a practice test shot then filmed the dance for real several times to ensure a usable copy.

Lastly, we filmed our childhood flashback scenes. We began by changing our outfits for the last time with our brighter colored clothing. Then, we changed our hairstyles which would pay homage to our younger selves. Next, we identified shot locations that would give a sense of childhood. We decided on slides, an obstacle course, and other play equipment. We took a POV shot while holding hands to show our joy together.

Tonight, I started editing the music video footage and piecing together the video. I added transitions between the childhood scenes and the dance number. I dubbed in the soundtrack and linked keyframes with the music. I am struggling with cutting the footage to fit the music flow. Nyaria and I are on track for an on-time assignment.

Filming: Park scenes

Nyaira and I have made major progress on our music video. We first discussed our schedules so we can make the most of our time during the Thanksgiving break. We decided to film most of the day on Wednesday due to Nyaira's trip for the holidays. On Tuesday the night before, we prepared our supplies for the filming day. I gathered all of my outfits for the outside scenes. I also checked out the camera, tripod, and SD card. Nyaira also prepared all needed props and her own costumes. We decided to begin filming in the morning for maximum light hours. We planned to meet up at around 8 in the morning.

The following morning we met at the park. We both came in our first outfit: the adult casual one. We wanted to start with the sidewalk scene as adults. We set up our camera to a wide shot of the sidewalk. We then did a test shot to see how it would look for us to both walk-in from off frame. We adjusted it, reset the frame, and filmed again. We aimed to film them walking in from a wide shot then we would reset it a bit closer for the bumping of the strangers. After the bump, we will shoot over the shoulder for the reaction of both parties. This will showcase the many perspectives of encounter. This was interesting to film because we had to match up the shot from each angle so it flows between footage.

In the end, we only accomplished filming the adult scenes. This was a great start to filming now that we have the beginning and final scenes of the music video. We will dump our footage tomorrow and begin to edit. This will provide us benchmarks in our video as to base the rest of the filming on. We will plan to film the remainder of the footage very soon. After the final filming, we will begin the editing process. We aim to have a high production value with the final product. This is why we are taking our time to assure quality with the overall footage. Nyaira and I are going to speed up the production schedule as to stay on track for the due date.