The client specified that my music video "must run for the length of the chosen song and be suitable for the musics target audiences." during the post-production process I focused on meeting these clients needs and making sure my music video did run for the length of the audio and also edited my music video keeping in mind the conventions of Indie-rock music videos.
Post-production Conventions of an Indie-rock music video:
- Most indie-rock music videos tend to use some kind of cinematic effect to make the production look more professional and more like a short film rather than a music video, as conventionally most indie-rock songs have a story behind the lyrics.
- Indie-rock music videos tend to be edited on the beat as the audience expects a change on the beat so this makes it more comfortable for the audience to watch as what they see matches what they're expecting.
- Conventionally indie-rock music videos will include some unique editing effects in order to stand out from other music videos in the same genre and create iconography in the post-production stage.
My Music Video:
I have used many different techniques and process when editing my music video in order to create meaning that is relevant to the song I covered. The main theme of the song I used in my music video is - emotional wounds after a breakup and dealing with this - so I have tried to edit my music video to represent this and create visual changes that will be meaningful to this theme whilst following the conventions of an Indi-rock music video.
The Opening Scene:
The opening scene of any media product instantly sets the scene for the video and lets the audience know what to expect and what the video may be like, so in my opening scene I wanted to do just this and introduce the audience to the band and the music softly. I edited my music video opening scene so that the audio gradually gets louder, from 0 decibels to 12 decibels so that the audience can settle into the music video, making them feel comfortable. I also used the fade to and from transition on the title form my music video, which is also the bands album cover for this song. I did this to once again, softly introduce my music video to the audience and I made sure the title had faded out before the band members enter the shed so that the audience has a clear picture of where they are and what is happening.
Cutting on the Beat:
Cutting on the beat is an editing technique whereby there is a visual change on the beat of the music, for example a transition on the kick of a drum. Cutting on the beat gives your video a more 'real' feel as the visuals and audio appear to be in sync with each other, it is also used to comfort the audience as our brain expect a visual change on a beat drop so when there isn't one when we expect it, it can make the audience feel uncomfortable. I used this post-production technique all throughout my music video trying to match what the audience would expect to see so they carry on watching.
J-Cut:
J-cuts are a simple editing technique used in media where you hear the audio before you see the clip its coming from, this then creates a J shape on your timeline, hence the name. I used this technique at the beginning of my music video as the music begins to play before we see the band actually playing their instruments or the lead singer singing. I used this technique as it is a way of creating flow witting there video with the audio guiding the way, once again this was to make the audience feel comfortable with the viewing there are about to commit too.
Placement of my Actress:
As I was trying to tell a story through a performance piece I needed to be very careful about the order in which I show different characters and what the lyrics are at the point where we see them. The actress in my music video acts as the love interest to the lead singer therefore we only see her when the lyrics are talking about the the emotional wounds of a breakup. In total we see the actress five times throughout the music video and two of those time is when it is just one shot of her on screen, these two times we see her have been specifically placed in my timeline in order to introduce the actress as a love interest. The first time we see her is over the line "And we took it all last night" possibly referencing that they took all the love from each other; the second time we see her is over the line "Who needs memories?" which can be clearly interpreted as the lead singer trying to forget about the pain of this breakup.
Letter Box Effect:
The letter box effect simply is what its called when you put a black border alone the bottom and top horizontal of your frame, this then gives then give the effect of a letter box. I used this effect whenever there was a single frame shot of my actress on screen, I did this to focus the audiences attention on my actress and the lyrics of the song that were playing over the top when we see her so they begin to recognise the meaning and significance off seeing the actress.
Final Cut Pro "Flash" Transition -
The Final Cut Pro flash transition was a transitional effect that is build into the Final Cut Pro software and just allows you to transition between shots using a flash of white light. I used this effect when transitioning between two shots from verse one to the first chorus as I felt this audio change between verse one and the first chorus was quite significant and the energy of the vocals increased so I wanted to represent this with a white flash, almost representing the energy being given too the band.
Invisible Whip Cut -
An invisible cut is when there is a change of scene or shot that is hidden to the audience, for example the cut may be hidden in the motion of the shot if it's moving or in the blackness of a shot. I used an invisible cut in my music video when transitioning from one angle to another and hid the cut within a whip pant. Invisible cuts create meaning as they provide a smooth flow throughout transitions and help the media product feel more fluid and less like its all cameras filming actors, they also help to keep continuity witting the production which helps the audience stay focused and interested throughout different scenes.
Static Transitional Effect:
I used a static transitional special effect that Final Cut Pro offers as built in software when transitioning from my actors playing their instruments to the first 3 by 3 grid of the actress. I used this effect as I felt like static is typically thought of as a thing that occurs on TVs that don't work which is what I wanted to use to symbolise the actress as a love interest as the love hasn't worked just like a TV with static on it; therefore I used this effect to reveal my actress before the lyrics go into "I'm talking to myself again". The fact that it appears that the actress comes through the static is significant as well since it shows her coming through what others might thing is a bad thing, acting as a metaphor for coming out of a bad relationship and still being ok.
Positioning of Shots:
During this 3 by 3 grid of my actress singing whilst the lyrics repeat the line "I'm talking to myself again" I wanted to make a direct relationship the the lyrics and visuals at this point, therefore I positioned my clips in such a way that it looks like my actress is talking to herself. I wanted to create this framing makes it appear to the audience the the centre shot is the actual actress herself and the shots surrounding her are representative of her self-conscious, as she is talking to herself again.
Headroom:
When we see the actress in the 3 by 3 grid where the frame is built to appear that she's talking to herself I cropped the middle shot of her, so that there was reduced headroom on the middle shot. I did this to create the impression that she was trapped by the voices she's hearing, almost cornered talking to herself. This creates meaning to the audience as they might not know about the lack of headroom if they do not understand media but they will know that the frame is closer to the actress making it apparent she is the main focus.
Colour Scheme Reference:
In my music video I wanted to make it clear that the band playing and the actress singing were related so I decided to add in a reference to the colour scheme I used with the actress ( Blue, red and yellow ) during the performance of the band. This created meaning to the final media product as it shows a direct relationship between the two performance segments coming together to show the story of conflicted love interest.
Ken Burns Final Cut Effect:
I used the built in Ken Burns camera effect that Final Cut has to offer in my music video which you can set two frame perimeters in and it'll zoom into this frame for you. I used this effect in my music video to add meaning to the lyrics at this point, the point in which I used the Ken Burns effect was during a long verse which repeated the lyrics "No I don't really wanna dance" eight times each time with more energy; so I used the ken burns effect on the last line of this verse where there is the most energy. Using the ken burns effect allowed me to add emphasis on this last line as we zoom in to see the lead singer, so the audience is closer to him when he is singing this line, which acts as the pinnacle point for my music video as this is the point where the relationship between the singer and actress opens up.
Cutting on Action + Cutting on the Beat:
Cutting on action is an edition technique where you cut from one shot to another whilst there is some sort of subject action on screen, this technique is a way of preserving continuity and helps draw viewers into your story as you cut on action. I used this technique when cutting a shot of a guitar being smashed on the ground then repeated the shot so that the guitar smashing on the ground twice also was cut on the beat so the guitar hit the ground on the beat of the drum. These two editing techniques used together creates an experience for the audience which first of all draws them into the action and scene then satisfies their expected change of visuals on the beat.
Audio Match Cut:
A match cut is when the composition of one shot matches with another, so an audio match cut is when the audio from one shot matches with another. I used this technique in my music video when the lyrics repeat the line "The damage is damage is done" two times with first line being sung by the actress and then cutting to the lead singer singing it. I did this to create a sense of relationship between the actress posing as the love interest and the lead singer, so that the audience can connect with the two characters solving their conflicted love; this then may help audiences that are currently struggling with love in their life.
Narrative Ending:
I purposely included shots of both the band leaving their set and the actress walking out of frame, this was to create a sense of ending for the audience, they get to watch these characters come into frame then listen to the song and follow the conflict of love the see the characters leave having resolved their conflict. This just creates a sense of story for the audiences and not like they've just watched a music video but watched two people make up and become one again.
Ken Burns Effect:
I used the ken burns effect again on the very last shot of my music video where the frame zooms into the smashed guitar on the ground when the last line of the song plays - "The damage is, damage is done". Zooming into the guitar at this point creates good ending to the music video as it sums up the song title and directly relates the visuals to the audio as the damage to the guitar is done. This the makes the audience feel comfortable as they have been shown an ending to the music video and are not left with any questions unanswered, being completely satisfied with the media product they have just watched.
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