Tasks for January

JAIME

• Edit photographs of Map Art (blue, cold tones). Material for two panels. 
• Research with PETR for label information: creating the logo of the music brand. 
• Supervise website.

PETR

• Come up with names of the songs.
• Label information and creation. Logo.
• Supervise website.

LILY

• Draft of the webpage.
• Star image reinforcement.

ELENA (me)

• Finish cover. Album name.
• Create the spine line.
• Supervise art and star image. Website.
• Write "About August". 

Editing the Narrative: Stories

The narrative part of our video was composed of short "stories" that give information to the audience about the artist and support the meaning we decided to give to the lyrics. We had some that were purely based on their aesthetic value, such as the dance sequence of all the girls acting like loving shadows with the warmth of the skin tone lighting and costume choices. Most of them I had thought of during the planning process, when I made a list of ways of conveying the complicated and twisted relationship between August and the prototype of the ex, as well as the sense of being caged in a tiny house as a metaphor of the confusing mental state. 

At first, I laid the best shots in the timeline over some parts of the performance. However, after we discussed my progress with the group we realised that the meaning was lost if each story was so cropped and isolated from the rest.

From that moment onwards, we grouped all the shots together (the dance, Mel looking through the pipe that reminds her of a life existing outside, the scene of August teaching them how to play Scrabble while they construct the title of the song with the letters and him moving around, his conversation with Faderera, the scene in bed when the frustrations reach their peak and them drawing). That way, we could edit them together following the conventions of film and music video editing.  We did this by using the blade, cutting the different shots to form the scenes through the rules of continuity (e.g. the hand needs to be in the same position in the close-up and the mid shot before it moves). 

Something that I had foreseen since the beginning was to have August removing the Great Dane cans in the beginning, as a straightforward introduction to the song and a way of selling the colour patterns, Wes Anderson style and clearly presenting the image of the artist and the title of the song. 

Once we had all the shots cut and put together convincingly, they laid in the end of the timeline like chapters of a book waiting to be perfectly arranged: that was the next step: continuity was key, but also the ability to split them up over the narrative was unmissable and Petr excelled in the matter.

Lip Sync and Performance Cut

I selected all the Lip Sync shots of August. They are organised in two different sets: the set of the Pipes, in which we have Wide shots, Mid, Mid Close and 4K Close-Ups (in Static and Tracking movements to show the different pipes, which, with their symmetry, mirror Wes Anderson's aesthetic), and the set of the Bedroom, where August delivered a performance under the bed sheets with a torch and a book. 

Using the numbers shown in the iPad program and in the track, that we cut and dragged into the timeline, I synced all the shots with the song, getting rid of the audio tracks from the shoot. I did it in a very organised way, one by one and grouping them in terms of mise-en-scene and movement. From the beginning, I realised that some shots, as they had been filmed in 4K, where zoomed in and we would have to adjust them to the frame in the future. For instance, in the Torch Lip Sync, August's forehead is cropped so we will have to adjust the shot so he is in the middle. 

It really helped to have all the Lip Sync footage in the timeline, and I began getting rid of some shots in a duplicate. Throughout the process, I discussed with Petr the changes and showed him my final performance cut, getting positive feedback overall. The continuity was essential, so all the shots were grouped together accordingly i.e. I did not cut from one Wide to another because it would create a jumpy effect. Also, August moves his hands a lot as a performer, so I had to make sure that he did not make two completely different gestures in the transitions. His head had to be tilted to the same side too.

I tried to think about the flow of the music as well and cut to the beat. The rhythm of "Great Dane" is quite gentle, which meant that the cuts had to be fairly separated not to interfere with the slow track.

Overall, the performance cut was already quite interesting due to the variety the performer provides, as he has a very distinctive identity. However, even with our astonishing variety of shots there were some bits that looked mediocre, in between lyrics or in the beginning while waiting for the words to begin. That is why the narrative part is so important: apart from giving a purpose and meaning to the video, they cover up some parts that we doubt will be effective and complete the whole picture.

CD Digipack prototypes

Editing Session: Reviewing the Footage

The editing process can be as important as the production of the video. It defines the appearance of the final product. It leads to finishing the whole "pop promo", selecting and combining the raw footage into different sequences. Ultimately, it will also bring the whole footage together thanks to colour grading and After Effects adjustments. 

We have gone to the Editing Suite to take a look at the footage from yesterday. We are satisfied with the number of shots we have, and the quality of the lighting and performances is fairly good too. The lip sync is not perfect, but there cannot be much asked of a non-professional artist. I really appreciate August's performance because he really puts his soul into the song. It totally seems like he has written the song because every moment is supported by an intention. His gestures irradiate a strong personality which is useful when presenting a young, passionate star image. 

In Premiere Pro CC, we have decided which shots we are going to use and we have taken a look at all the different stories that we will eventually put together: we have the Cans sequence, the Games Room sequence, a conversation between August and Faderera, Mel looking through a Pipe, the Bed sequence and the Drawing sequence. 

After the lesson, I went back to the suite to label all the shots and have a more organised outlook, thinking about saving time in the future. I decided not to get rid of any shots yet in case we changed our mind as a group.

Organising Photoshoot for CD Cover

Design. Initial Ideas for Campaign

(I am going to make a PowerPoint with these over the weekend)