For this production, we had to recreate the video but put our own stamp on it. This would be a production we completed as a group, but did our own segment in groups of 5-6, and then added together to create one big video. The transitions were the most important feature of the whole video and we had to work around this really well, as they could make or break the whole thing.
As a class, we had a trip to Mount Edgecombe booked for the Tuesday. Unfortunately, I was unwell so couldn't go on the trip. This is where I would've filmed the 'practice' run of the production. This was to get a rough idea of the filming and production side of the video, in preparation for the real and important shoot we would do the following week.
Transitions were the key factor during this whole production, as stated before, and this would have been near on impossible to organise between the other groups. Tim, Neil and Billy decided to take control of this and sort us out with what we had to do. The plan was to be in synchronicity with the previous and next groups, as this would ensure smooth transitions from one group's video to another.
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| The transition plan between all 10 groups |
The following week, we had 3 days to plan, shoot and edit our part of the production. On the Monday, we began the planning. This meant storyboards, floor plans and general discussion about the production we would be completing on the Tuesday. As the weather was a bit hit and miss, we would have to take the destination of the final filming. The planning actually took a lot longer than anticipated. As we weren't really too sure on what we would do, we had to be extremely open minded on how we would shoot our section.
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| 2 x floor plans |
The day of the filming consisted of finding a location which ensured we would be inside for the duration of the day, as it was absolutely awful weather. We had been advised to film in the new building which was a light, open space with a lot of windows, meaning we had lots of natural light and big surroundings. I worked with my colleagues Naomi Doddridge, Tanye Chauruka, Chloe Binding and Kim Noot on this particular project. Tanye filmed with a fig-rig, ensuring a stable shot which would then be much easier to edit. Myself, Naomi and Chloe threw paper aeroplanes, and Kim was the blindfold holder which would be one of two key transitions to link us to the previous group.
Our two transitions featured a black out, which was the blindfold, and the Iron Brew drink. This would be the start and finish of our segment which ensures that our part of the production would be in synchronicity with the previous and next segments.
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| Transitions from group 7 > 8, and group 8 > 9 |
The editing process of this video was a challenge as I wanted to exceed the expectations and remain in synchronicity with the soundtrack. We had no choice about the sound, we had to use the My Recurring Dream song which was used in the original video (directed by André Chocron). During the editing process, I used a number of effects such as colour balance and adjusted the brightness and contrast. As we all filmed in different locations with extremely different lighting, I wanted to ensure the lighting for all of the shots was roughly the same. I understood it wouldn't be exact, but by dimming some segments and lightening others, I believe I matched them up to the best I could.
We also used a number of film burns which gave it that little extra depth that we needed. For some shots, they began to get quite shaky in the sense that it was almost hard to watch. Instead of just cross-fading the cut clips, I decided to add a film burn to mix the edit around and make it a little unique.
After a number of cross fades and flash burns, it came to the end of the clips and this meant I had to fill about 1 minutes worth of song. After debating for about half an hour as to whether to do ending credits, I decided to do something I'd never done before and did a slight mix up within the edit. This can be seen at 0.15, 0.54, 2.37 and 3.25 mins. I'm not too sure what you would call it, but it added about 5 seconds each to the whole video. I reversed the video for a split second, so it duplicated the clip which meant you watched a segment twice. I thought this was quite a quirky feature and made it quite enjoyable to watch.
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| Flash burn with groups 2 and 4 |
After a number of cross fades and flash burns, it came to the end of the clips and this meant I had to fill about 1 minutes worth of song. After debating for about half an hour as to whether to do ending credits, I decided to do something I'd never done before and did a slight mix up within the edit. This can be seen at 0.15, 0.54, 2.37 and 3.25 mins. I'm not too sure what you would call it, but it added about 5 seconds each to the whole video. I reversed the video for a split second, so it duplicated the clip which meant you watched a segment twice. I thought this was quite a quirky feature and made it quite enjoyable to watch.
The only confusing part about this production was the concept of the filming. As we were trying to make it supernatural make it unique, we would film the footage moving backwards. With this, when we edited it to make it go forwards, it would make it look like the objects within the video look like they were moving in an impossible way. My personal favourite was the segment at from 0.59 - 1.07. I really like the way the glasses and tie look, and thought this was a really clever way. Well done to Matt, Charlie, Sam, Seth, Joe and Jay for this!
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In a sense, this was one of my most favourite productions for this whole assignment. My favourite part of this was the editing, as I really felt like I could go to town with it and experiment with Adobe Premier Pro with lighting, colour balance and reverse technology that then put my own spin on the final edit. I really hope we do another project like this in the second year, as I enjoyed the editing process on this.
Cheerio. :o)
- Olivia.
