2. PRODUCTION LOG:
GUIDANCE
• This document is for you to track the progress of your
production – filming, editing and post-production.
• This is so you can track what you did and how you did it,
explaining and amendments and changes you made and
tracking the decisions that have shaped the practical
creation of your music video.
• The more detail you include about how you made your music
video, the better. The document is broken down in to two
sections, Filming and Editing, each of these is then made of
specific elements that occur in both.
• For each slide there is a prompt detailing what you should
include, delete the prompt after you have complete the slide.
• Remember, images often show what you’ve done more
effectively than words. Use text to explain an illustration.
3. FILMING
Explain what worked and didn’t work about your filming and how you
managed this covering the following areas:
• Technical – During filming, I borrowed a camera and tripod from the
college media department. On two days, I used the equipment to film
outside of college and then then third day I hired out the studio in order to
do some filming in there. I also used my own GoPro for some of the
footage however didn’t end up using it due to quality. I used my own SD
card so it was easier to take everywhere with me on the go and meant it
was all in one place when uploading and editing in Premiere Pro.
• Logistical – The locations I used worked very well. The first one being
the college studio was easy to book out and had the right equipment set
up that was needed. In the studio is where I filmed my lip sync sections
for the video which would primarily be used at the beginning of the video
however I used them for some sections later on in the video. The other
location I used was a public area and walking route, which meant I had no
access troubles when filming here. By filming in another location, it also
added variety to my video which would make it less boring and repetitive.
4. FILMING
• Personnel – My cast only consisted of 2-3 people with one being the main focus. This
made it easier before filming as if they dropped out, it was easy for me to organise
someone else to come in. The person who featured in my video was happy to help out
and we filmed in the college studio on a Wednesday which is our day off. I also helped
with their music video which was useful as when we booked the studio, we were able to
share time and film footage for both music videos in one session.
• Planning – Planning did help as it gave me a solid idea of what I was needing to film and
then from that I could expand or change things to be used as extras if needed. Visuals and
storyboarding helped me think of how my video would look once finished and allowed me
to create a certain style for it. Planning also assisted when actually putting the video
together because I already had a solid idea with what order the footage would go in
therefore the process was made slightly quicker.
• Next steps – I think if I was to re create my video I would change some of the planning
and post production techniques, while still using the same footage. My footage filled the
timeline through the entire song but I would maybe film some extras in order to create
even more variation with the visuals. When looking at the planning for the video, I would
maybe create an alternative storyboard with a simple but obvious storyline which could tell
a story through the song being played. After placing the footage together, I would also
maybe add some colour corrections, so that it matches all the way through and adds a
particular style to the video which could link to a particular emotion.
5. FILMING –
PRODUCTION STILLS
These are some stills from when I was
filming my music video. I didn’t use a tripod
here so some clips were quite shaky, but
the majority turned out good and went with
the music when edited. As you can see,
the image at the top is out of focus. When
filming, I left the camera on manual focus
and changed it from clip to clip. I feel this
worked well as part of my video.
The image at the bottom is set out the
same as the one at the top with the
pathway in the middle. When edited
together in the video, one after another
would create a good match cut which
therefore shows a useful technique in film.
Both clips were shot from different angles,
the top one being from a higher angle
looking straight ahead, while the bottom is
from a more natural, medium angle.
6. EDITING –
FILE MANAGEMENT
Screenshot and annotate where you have saved your work and how you
have organised your footage so you know where it is – this will also include
your audio track for your video and any other images, found footage, etc
I created one large file for my footage in which I created some smaller folders
based on what day I shot the footage and what the footage involved (eg. Whether
it was in the studio or general filming). I did this as there was a large amount of
files that I had to look through and decide if I needed or not so therefore I am able
to be more organised and know what is where. During this process, I then created
another separate folder of shots I was definitely using so that when it came to
actually editing the footage together along a timeline, everything was in one place
and I wouldn't have to look through the footage again. For the audio track, I
converted it to an MP3 file using the internet, where I then saved it in the large file
I had created.
7. EDITING –
SETTING UP PREMIERE
Setting up Premiere was simple as I had to create a
new project and then tell the programme where all
my files were saved – which was in a file on my
desktop. This is so that they were easy to upload
and work with in the programme. When setting up
the timeline, I clicked on the Digital SLR tab and
selected the DSLR 1080p25 option. This will have
ensured the right size and resolution for my video
so that it was of a high quality once finished. When
saving, I named my file ‘Final Music Video’ and
saved it to my desktop so was available to open
straight away when getting onto the computer.
8. EDITING –
IMPORTING FOOTAGE
This is the bin in Premiere Pro. After importing all
my files into the programme, I was able to drag
them all into the bin so that I could find them
straight away in a suitable order. Each clip was
shown with a thumbnail so I had a better idea of
what each video was, making the process a lot
easier when placing them on the timeline.
I had to import the footage from each folder I had created, which took a while
because there was a large number of clips going to be used.
Again, when importing footage my audio track was dragged into the bin on
the editing screen. From this I was able to drag and drop it onto the timeline
where it was kept in the ‘Audio 1’ section.
9. EDITING –
WORKSPACE
This makes up part of the timeline in the programme. It
allows you to create layers of video / audio which can be
played together or edited to become a transition between two
different clips. It allows you to also change the audio levels
very simply. For example, making it louder or quieter or even
muting it for parts of the video as a whole.
This is the Preview Window which is on the left
hand side of the screen in Premiere. When viewing
clips from the bin, it allows you to view them fully
without having to add it to your video. It you want to
cut a clip and use only a small part of it, you’re able
to do this using the preview window and its options.
The Playback Window is next to
the preview window on the screen
and allows you to watch the full
video of what is put together in the
timeline, alongside the audio track.
10. EDITING –
ASSEMBLY EDIT
After importing all the clips I needed, I then went back to my planning
and viewed the storyboard I had created. I was able to refer to this
the whole way through editing so that everything was in the order I
wanted or at least similar. When deciding what clips to put onto the
timeline, I would look at the thumbnails and then watch them in the
preview window to ensure I had selected the right one. I then used
the cut / trim tool in here so ensure I only used parts of the clip that I
needed. From here I would drag it onto the timeline but with no
sound, so that it wouldn’t interfere with the audio track from the song.
When I had placed it on the timeline, I cropped the clip again and
made sure it fitted in with the beat of the music.
Rather than adding all the clips on in order and then editing each
one, I added the clips individually and cropped them as I did this
because I feel it made the process quicker and easier and then I
could move on to the next. From this, it ensured there were no gaps
in audio or video and made the video flow more.
11. EDITING –
REFINEMENT
After I had completed the initial edit of putting the clips together, I
made small adjustments to the video to make sure it was visually
correct. I mostly made changes to the speed of clips and didn’t
really do any colour corrections, which is what I would change if I
were to do it again. Luckily, the visual appearance of each clip
was similar so the colour wasn’t a huge problem. When editing
the speed of clips, I would usually slow the clip down to match
with the emotion of the music but also contrast with the speed of
the song in some areas.
I cropped the song down to a suitable point so that my overall
video wasn’t too long. To make this seem less of a cut off of the
song, I made it fade out at the end and matched the video with
this too.
12. EDITING –
EXPORT
To export my file I went to File >
Export > Media.
I selected the format I wanted my
video in which is H.264 and 720p.
This would mean its easier to
transfer between devices and
wouldn’t take to long to upload
anywhere due to resolution and
quality.
I named my file ‘Final Music
Video’ and then pressed ‘export’.
