Conversation with artist

 I was not really planning on making this an individual blog post but I though it was necessary. Me and the artist got together to develop some new ideas. And we have decided on various things the first thing that we have decided is to make the vinyl color green since the main color of focus on the video is supposed to a dark green or a forest green. The next thing that we also had talked about was production. We were supposed to begin the filming this saturday but we both ran into personal issues and so we were not able to actually film so we decided to start filming this following week on thursday saturday and Maybe sunday. The reason I say maybe sunday is because I actually plan to attend the artist to his chosen church to see what his passion is about. I want to connect more with the artist and see the main intention on his song. So for this I want to make a connection blog and will include this bonding process with the artist in a production blog. 

Overall we just mostly went over the scheduling and ideas we also did come up with some ideas as to what would go inside the print project. The idea I came up with was to include some sort of qr code or connection to a bible verse that we had talked about in the first conversation we had had and I chose to do this because the said bible verse has a connection to the song and so I though it would be a cool idea to include the verse which will also be seen IN the music video to allow people to read the full thing. The next idea we also had was to make a sticker sheet. This idea came from an example my teacher had showed us and I though it was a good idea for the type of artist I am working with. The last idea was to make a poster like Hozier did for the his album I showed last blog. We also did design some ideas as to the actual cover for the vinyl buy I want to get to that in the future. 

Overall this conversation was really useful and it helped me understand what me and the artist wanted to work with. We also were finally able to establish film dates and found a way to connect so I can understand the purpose better! I am really exited to start filming and probably will extend one of my blogs since I did have to focus on this one because I thought the conversation we had was important to the project. But for now that is all we came up with ideas for the print, made space for filming, and found a way to connect. We also made costume design but I do not wanna show that just yet. See you guys next week!

Print research

Hey guys I am back. So today in class we talked about the print part of the project and I was presented with the requirements and ideas that I could use for my digipack. The lessons was pretty helpful because I was very confused about what I was going to do regarding the digipack since I honestly though it would be very difficult to do but after seeing some samples that my teacher showed I noticed it should not be to hard to actually do this part and it will be a fun process.

So for the research of the digipack I decided to look into some of the print components of artists similar to the artists I am working with. The first example which I have used for the past research on different topics was Hozier. His very unique folklore type of music also offers very unique vinyl's the design for his Unreal Unearth Unending deluxe companion Black vinyl came with such interesting design and look that it really caught my eye. I think I want to try and get that same sense of interest from the Vinyl which is what I have chosen to do because as soon as I saw the vinyl it just looked really nice and I even almost purchased it!!! So here is a photo of the vinyl I am talking about

As you can see the vinyl offers a very interesting color wave with using a mix of black and gold to capture the eye. I also really liked the poster that was included with the vinyl the edited photo is really eye capturing and would be something cool to collect if you are a big fan of Hozier. The vinyl also has a list of lyrics for the songs. There is also another version of this vinyl in which the vinyl it self is gold instead of black which I though was even more eye capturing and would be super cool to purchase. But yea this vinyl does exactly what it should do it markets the artists and plays to the mind of consumers like myself. But that's all for Hozier's Vinyl 

The next artist who's print I researched was the artist Noah Kahan who is also a very similar artist to the artist I am working with. He also had a very similar style to that of Hozier's he also uses cold toned colors with a little of warmth and brings an earthy vibe with that alternative look to his vinyl's. I also really liked how he made his and most of them included the Vinyl in a different color than black I do not really have much to say about this certain artist but what I do know is that he made me notice the people involved in the genre which I have chosen seem to have similar ideas. Anyway here is a photo of Noah Kahan's Vinyl

So to conclude I am for sure set on making the print part of the project a Vinyl and I have come up with some ideas as to the design of the vinyl will be I will be including the actual ideas in a future blog post on production but for now the next blog post will probably be on this conversation I had with the artist but I am not sure yet anyway see you guys next time.

Production part one (Location Scouting)

 Hey guys, so in todays blog I decided to focus on the location scouting for the forest part of my music video. There has been various locations that I have found interesting that could work in my favor to make sure that the music video comes out as planned. One of the main reasons why I want to find the PERFECT location for the music video. Is because I want to capture that sense of nature and connection with the environment that the artist who made the songs wants. That was the first and main thing that we conversated about and I though that it would also be very important to bring the meaning of the song to life.

So now as for the actual Locations that I found would work.

This past weekend I went to the Miami Beach Botanical Garden. The garden was honestly just so beautiful and I just though that it would be a really cool location to film. I also did ask one of their board members if this was possible and they said that they love the idea. Here are some photos from the Botanical Garden. 

So yea this is the botanical garden for now it is my favorite location so far but the one issue with it is that it is far from where me and the artist live it is about an hour away not counting the Miami traffic. So if I find a way to make sure we can get there then I will probably choose this location. 

The next location that I had though of is closer to me and the singers homes and it is Markham Park this park is one of the main Florida Parks and it offers various beautiful sights and fun activities. It is actually located next to the everglades which is pretty cool. Here are some photos of the park.

This park would help with the part of the music video in which different individuals walk a different path towards the singer. There are various ideas I have with this park and this will probably be not the main option but the second filming location. I will probably use this for different scenes to bring different locations to the video I really hope this location comes out as expected.

The last location that for now has caught my eye is another location I had used in a past project. It is a private area behind a park but luckily I know the owner and frequently fish and just hang out there with him. So this location would actually be pretty cool it is also near the everglades and has a very nice atmosphere with it having various green paths that are just stunning. There is also a canal next to it which would look cool in the video since it is next to a path so for now this is the third location which I most likely will be using in the music video I currently do not have a photo but when I make another blog I will show what the place looks like.

Anyway that is all for the location scouting for now I might end up using all of the above which would be really fun to do but well see how it goes in the future see you guys next time!!!

Group discussion

 Hey guys, so this days blog will be a little different. So last class we had a conversation in groups about our blogs and I got to hear about the projects of some of my classmates. Overall the conversation was really cool and I was able to get new ideas as to what I wanted to do. The first thing that I found Very helpful that they had told me was to make sure my locations were easy to film in or had permission. 

This was very helpful because it made me realise that locations are gonna be a very important part of the music Video since not only will they place the actual vibe of the video but will be the most important thing visualy that will create the sense of unity that I hope to reach. So with this I decided to contact friends who work in certain religious areas and to ask them for permission to film in the places where they work. For now 2/3 have said yes and so thats a good thing. The next step to this was to find locations so this weekend I went out with friends to find random "earthy" locations and found a couple cool places. But I still will have to look around more since only one of them truly caught my eye and it was not close enough for frequent filming.

The next thing that the group I was with helped me realise is that I should probably try and make the meaning more prominent. What I mean by this is that I should probably make sure that the viewer understands the true meaning of the music video. So with this I want to make sure I highlight properly the fact that the video wants to stand up against toxic religious groups. I planned some ways to achieve this and though that including a couple more individuals as actors being shun by their peers due to certain ideas or looks would work out very well since it would show the toxic stereotype that people in religion are toxic and instead welcome the idea of unity.

The last thing I wanted to mention in this blog is that it is amazing the work my classmates make. One of my classmates is somehow managing to make a movie about someone having to go to the bathroom which was super funny to me. And another one is making a short film about some type of AI take over. I really do appriciate the creative people in my class because they push me to do better with my projects and to truly be creative myself.

But overall This group discussion was super fun and Im glad our teacher made us do it since it has helped me understand what concepts and changes need to be made to my story and overall the music video to make sure that it comes out perfect. I also got some other advice like to make sure audio matches the scene and stuff like that but my project's conversation was a little short since they thought I was well planned. But thats all for now see you guys next week!

Planning part 4 (editing schedule)

 So for the last blog I should have probably made a schedule for the actual filming so I will be updating that blog but for now I decided to make a simple editing schedule. The reason I chose this is because last time my editing came out really poor and so this time I want to try and be more prepared and make it better.So here is the schdule I made.

Day 1: 

Edit Opening Scene & Verse 1

put first clips together for the first scene

Edit the flashback scenes with the people to make it look better

Add aduio

Sync the music with the opening and Verse 1.

Day 2: 

Edit Chorus 1

Cut together the first chorus and focus on timing and transitions so that the video comes out smooth.

Edit Verse 2 & Bridge

Edit the second verse with the people in the forest.

Focus on the singer’s "moment"

Edit Chorus 2

Assemble the shots for the second chorus

Day 3

Complete the ending scene where the group leaves the forest.

Review and Make Changes

Watch through the entire video see what to fix.

Make necessary adjustments..

Last part

any sound effects, color correction, titles, and credits.

Export the final version 

So yea this is pretty much all the editing schedule. To be honest I dont know much about the editing process so I will have to do research on it to make it better but for now this is the best I can do. I did ask one of my friends for help making it since like I said I had zero clue where to start. But he competes in film stuff so he Helped me out. Overall This part should help me organize my planning better so I do not have any sort of issues with the projects editing part.

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Planning part 3 (shot list)

Hi guys I'm back. For this next part I decided to continue on with the planninig and decided to create a shot list for the music video. This part took way longer than I orginally had anticipated but either way here are the results of what I came up with

Opening Scene

1. Shot 1: Wide shot of a sunlit forest.
2. Shot 2: Medium shot of the singer walking through the woods.
3. Shot 3: Close-up of the singer’s face
4. Shot 4: Wide shot of a water with singer walking next to it

5. Shot 5: Flashback - close-up of judgmental faces
6. Shot 6: Medium shot of people pointing and looking disapprovingly.
7. Shot 7: Medium shot of judged person

8. Shot 8: Close-up of the singer being lonely
9. Shot 9: Medium shot of the singer surrounded by trees singing

10. Shot 10: Wide shot of different individuals drawn to the music, walking through the forest.
11. Shot 11: Close-ups of each individual becoming happpier

12. Shot 12: Wide shot of the singer standing alone.
13. Shot 13: Close-up of the singer’s hands.

14. Shot 14: Medium shot of the group joining the singer
15. Shot 15: Overhead shot of hands joined together

16. Shot 16: Wide shot of the group happily walking out of the forest together.

This is not even half of the shots I came up with and there will most likely be changes but overall I really hope that I do not confuse myself like last time and actually try to follow this guideline I created. I do want to find more shots that would work because the difficult part was understanding what shots would actually work but overall I like the list and will be adding to it. I will also update this blog with an actual list very soon.

16. Shot 17: Final close-up of smiling faces, emphasizing connection.

Planning part two (story board)

 So today is actually my 18th Birthday. I planned to post this post during the weekend but though it would be better to just do it today and get it over with. For this post I wanted to develop my social media but was not able to because I was not able to connect with the artist. I wanted to receive some inspiration and Information from him and ask him for pictures so that I can make the Instagram better but since its not possible currently I decided to do the story board for the video.

I came up with a genetic idea last time during the outline and this just an addition to that showcasing some of the type o shots and the general idea that I came up with here is what I ended up doing.

1. Opening Scene: Wide shot of the forest at dawn; slow zoom into the singer’s face as he walks. Make the singer seem alone and in distress about him being lonely. Make him seem to be singing with pain about the topic.

2. Judgement Flashbacks: Quick cuts of the judgmental people and then lead back to the singer. Mai point of this scene will be to showcase the pain that the judgement has and then showcase how it now reflects on the artist.

3. Invitation Scene: Close-up of the singer’s reaching hands as a symbol of invitation. This will be used to transition into showcasing the people. Main point of this scene will be to show that they singer wants to be inclusive and show companionship to others.

4. Gathering Together: Shots of diverse individuals’ emotional expressions while walking. This will be done to also show the emotions that others feel when being judged or not included in a group. This scene should cause the feeling of needing companionship.

5. Singer in the forest: Show singer alone and the people slowly get to him and show them that there is people out there who are inclusive with the true word of god. Main point of this is to show that these individuals are not alone and that there is a healthy environment in religion.

6. Celebration Scene: Wide shot of everyone together and close ups of people being happy about finding each other. Showcase the unity of the religion and show that everyone should be supportive and inclusive to make everyone feel better and come together as a group.

I know its very similar to the outline but the main point of this was to help me develop a better idea of the story part of the music video because my main intention is to make the singers point be heard. But I think this was a good part of the process might need to do some changes as we go but for now this should help me. But time to go enjoy my birthday now hopefully I am able to connect with the singer and make the social media!

1. Emerging from the Forest: Final shot of the group walking out, bright light ahead symbolizing hope and unity.