We began the editing process as soon as we had completed our first day of filming. We found this quite useful as were able to clearly see what needed adding and what footage we needed. We were also able to assess our methods of filming as we went along, improving upon our skills each time.
Throughout the process we have become more and more confident in using Adobe Premiere Pro as well Adobe After Effects. One obstacle that we were particularly invested in perfecting was the colour change of Meghan's coat. During the first few weeks of the course, we made prop decisions, one of which was to find a red cape. We managed to get hold of one however it did not look that great on camera as looked cheap and velvety. It also may have looked like we were trying too hard to relate it to red riding hood rather than just adding a subtle link. Therefore, in watching YouTube tutorials online and experimenting in Premiere Pro, we had the idea to use Meghan's coat and make it red.
We did this in the effect controls panel, experimenting with colour change and tolerance to change the colour from green to red. Once we had mastered this once, it gradually became easier. It was, however slightly frustrating at times when hues of the same colour of Meghan's coat were caught and turned red as well. We edited this by adjusting the tolerance which was successful the majority of the time.
Another element of editing that we found quite complex was matching the backing track up with the footage of Charlie lip syncing. We were lucky in the sense that we had casted an actor capable of lip syncing successfully as well as confident on camera during the narrative scenes. This made our job a lot less tedious as we only had to cut them down slightly for them to fit to the music. We didn't have to mess around with speed duration etc.
The process started to get even more enjoyable as we added in footage of Meghan, we saw how the addition of another character really helps to enhance the narrative and create a storyline. Originally, we had not planned on doing too many shots of Meghan and Charlie together however found that for the narrative to work well and for the viewer to understand, we would need to do this. After filming with them both, we were able to really build upon the story and fill in the gaps. We used a variety of transitions throughout our music video, mainly the cross dissolve however when changing from a memory stage (B&W) to lip synching, we incorporated a flash dissolve. This really gave the impression that he was having a flashback and added to the overall outcome. In addition to this we learnt how to cross fade from colour to black and white,
this also proved to be quite simple in the end despite watching a very complicated tutorial on how to do it on YouTube. We simply cut the shot in two, made the second half black and white and added a cross fade between the two.
We also experimented with speed duration throughout the video, especially during the flash back shots where the two characters are arguing. Here we decided to slow down the duration in order to create a more powerful and emotive impact on the viewer. The way in which his facial expressions are slowed down creates a sense of fear and empathy with the female character. It also helps us to get a closer look into the narrative and learn more about the characters and their relationship. It all depended on the rhythm and beat of the song at the time as well as the feelings we wanted to portray when we were adjusting the speed duration. During the louder, more energetic parts of the song, we tried to speed the shots up so that they would match the beat of the music. For example the 360 degree shot of Meghan, it created the impression that she was being circled like an animal.
The speed of the song encouraged us to experiment with cutting different shots. In the really fast paced parts, we created a flashing effect by cutting up shots of Meghan and Charlie and mixing them up.
What I found especially effective was the decision to make the flashback shots black and white. This created a separation between the two narratives happening at the same time as well as continuity throughout the music video. It also made the shots look more professional and added to the theme of black, white and red as we still managed to pick out the red of the rose and the cape. Some parts of this proved to be quite difficult as like before, some hues of red such as on his face and on the bench stayed slightly pink when everything else turned black and white. We were able to adjust this slightly however it is one element that we would say could do with improvement. Given the timescale we were just not able to be too picky.
During the course of this project we have also learnt how to group clips or 'nest' them in order to be able to move them all as one collective shot and edit them together.
Overall, we have used a variety of effects, we also added sound effects downloaded from YouTube to add to the start of our music video to introduce it. We used a YouTube converter in order to open it as an mp4 file in Adobe Premiere Pro.
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