Preliminary Lip Sync Exercise
For our preliminary task, we created a short music video to Meghan Trainor's All about that Bass, which is a quirky upbeat and catchy tune. We chose this song as it was popular with easy lyrics and an easy to perform to. In the studio, we had 3 backdrops set up. A green screen with a red sofa, a white wall with 3 colourful neon lights, and a black wall with a fireplace. In preparation for this, we assigned each other roles within our group. We would alternate between a camera man, a performer, and a camera assistant/dolly grip. We also had a clapper and a floor manager present. After various takes on one backdrop, we'd all switch to another and use another camera for that setting.
The floor manager's role was to check for anything that might postpone the recording of the take. As there were 3 groups all recording at once, the floor manager made sure everyone was ready by shouting "Standby", "Playback" and "Camera Rolling?". This made sure that everyone was ready to shoot for a smoother recording. The floor manager also disabled any hazards such as wires over the floor etc. This role really helped us to save time as it grabbed our attention and warned us that another take was about to begin.
Furthermore, the Clapper's role was modernised to an Ipad version, that included the audio of the song played through a speaker but also a timecode for convenient use of syncing the track to the clips in post-production. The clapper also responded to the floor manager's "Playback" to begin the song. On the other hand, leaving the clapper in the final cut is rapidly becoming a music video convention. It can most recently be seen in Calvin Harris' new music video "This is what you came for"
In the studio we used a variety of different camera works. We had the opportunity to be able to use a dolly, where the camera man sits on the stool while we had a dolly grip pulling. We learnt that this can be done for multiple takes through placing tape on the floor to identify where the dolly and the actor should start and finish. In music videos, this can add some movement and motion, especially in a quite still and flat style of filming the pop genre.
However, we did not use this particular movement that we shot in the final edit, as it did not match the pace of the song and the shot duration would have been too long.
We used a range of different shot types that matched the conventions of music videos. This includes mid-long shots, long shots and close ups. We learned that each shot connotes a different purpose for a music video, such as the mid shot can be sued to build the star image, costumes, props, settings, or instruments may be used to create that star image and the artist's style. This also applies particularly for the pop genre, as this is a genre commonly applied to Negus' synthetic theory and Dyer's theory of constructing a star image to sell to the audience. A music video's purpose is to promote merchandise and the artist to an audience, which can be done by presenting these conventions through different shot types. Close ups are used to express the face and performance, and long shots for the setting and emphasis on the significance of what's happening. We generally used mid shots as there was frequently more than one person in the shot.
In post-production, we use different methods of editing that are used in music videos. This includes rhythmic editing, in which there is a relationship between the cutting of the takes and the rhythm of the song. In Trainor's song, she has a clear beat of the drum so it was easy to cut to that particular rhythm. We also learnt to consider the pace and style of the song, it is an upbeat and therefore quick moving and happy song. This affects our editing in terms of shorter shot durations and more diversity in shots to connote that movement, happiness and pop style to the audience.
Before getting into the rhythm editing, we synced the takes up to the audio track. We did this by using the timecode from the Ipad clapper and matching it with the clapper shown on the takes. With the takes where the clapper wasn't present, we used the sound of the second drum to match the beat. In particular, I looked out for the volume of the take and used the arrow keys to find the peak volume.
I learnt that through this initial syncing of all takes, it saves a substantial amount of time when editing, as all the takes are correctly aligned. We then went on to editing the takes. As the video is a pop upbeat style, we wanted to create a combination of the different backdrops and add a comedic sense to it. We learnt to use short shot durations to match the fast pace, and decided to link some of the lyrics literally with the 'booty booty'.
What went well was the rhythm editing, I particularly had trouble syncing and cutting on the beat at 0:41. However, this turned out well due to my hand matching the beat as part of the mise-en-scene. This therefore allowed me to cut on that beat, which taught me that performance and editing work together and we therefore must try and visualise our music videos before production.
However, what didn't go so well was our selection of takes. We didn't add that third element required to create a dynamic and engaging music video, which in this case, was a bigger variety of people. We only used people in our group and a few takes of another group. In the future, we will make sure to make full use of the selection we had, in order to create a more interesting video for the audience
Overall, I think we created a successful preliminary task and learnt about the symbolic and technical conventions of a music video. Technical conventions include shot type and using the dolly for motion, whilst symbolic include direct address to the audience as for our thriller's, the performer avoided eye contact with the camera. The purpose of the music video is to promote the artist campaign or even perhaps synergise with other brands. A particular brand that had popped up regularly includes Beats Pill, which is similarly promoting their campaign. I think this task has significantly helped us to explore the different conventions and purposes of music videos, and how they are successfully executed.
Tags:
a2
0 comments