In this blog you can find the work I did on how to edit with multiple cameras. My group filmed the footage, but I edited it alone. My teacher provided a template for the blog post.
What is Multicam Editing?
Multicam editing is the process of editing footage of a single scene or subject recorded from different cameras and angles. Showing the same scene or subject from different angles helps make the video more dynamic and visually captivating for your audience
Shooting
Our subject , a classmate, stood in the centre of the room and did a short performance. My group stood around the subject to record the performance from different angles. You can also see members from other groups because we did this lesson as a class. To make it easier to synchronise our cameras, the teacher clapped at the start of the scene. This allowed us to line up the video in the editing process and ensure that the transitions would be smooth. Without this simple action it would have taken a lot longer to sync the videos.
Detach the audio of the clip you wish to use in the final video.
Find the ‘clap’ marker on the audio.
Line up the video files together.
Cut where I want the edit to happen
Don’t delete the clip, just lower the opacity. This way it can be used again later.
Mute all clips except for the one you want to use.
Here is my final edited video:
Reflection:
This mini project and assignment was quite helpful for me in gaining more experience for the music video project. Since I used the Capcut program for this project, I realized that maybe I shouldn't use it for the actual component 3 project as it was laggy and the exported video had multiple glitches and lag too. Learning how to edit multicam was not only fun, but useful as I now know how to edit in a more cohesive way and in a way that is more energetic. If I want to translate this into my music video, I'll have to practice more! I found that importing the video was a bit challenging and next time I think I need to learn a more efficient way instead of wasting so much time. I used Google Drive to share and receive the files, however since I was a bit inexperienced, it took way too much time. Next time, I'll use the knowledge I've learned to download and save the files where they are easily accessible.
Here is the mini project on shooting lipsync videos that we did during class. I edited the video while Rachelle wrote this blogpost and Beatrice recorded the video.
Our teacher gave each group a verse from 'Here Comes The Sun' by The Beatles where we had to plan a scene which included various camera work and edits. The goal was to get us to practice continuity when filming as well as lip syncing for our final music video project later on. Below is the verse chosen for us by our teacher.
We were first given 15 minutes to plan and create a storyboard for our scene. I (Rachelle) made the storyboard, however, my teammates Jasmine and Beatrice helped to think of ideas for the scenes. Before making this, we initially planned on doing our scenes outdoor on the field. However, there was a sudden heavy rain, so we changed our plans and decided on another location, which is the hallway. The storyboard is pasted below.
After that, about another 25 minutes were given for us to film our clips, as well as the rest of the class to edit the clips. Here are some of the behind-the-scenes pictures.
Below are the problems we faced before, during, and after the filming of this mini project, the solutions we implemented, and what we would do to improve when working on our upcoming music video project.
Problems:
When we were assigned this mini project, we faced unexpected heavy rain, which didn’t align with the song’s cheerful and bright theme - especially given the title, 'Here Comes The Sun.
The hallway we chose for filming had a constant flow of people passing through, which was both distracting and visually disruptive in the footage. Additionally, it caused delays as we had to wait for people to clear the area, while also having a time limit for the filming process.
The heavy rain made it difficult to hear the song we were supposed to lip-sync to, especially with other groups filming nearby and contributing to the noise.
With only three members and two of us acting, we couldn’t follow our teacher’s advice to use two cameras, as we only had one person available to operate the camera.
We recorded the scenes on a team member’s phone and shared it through Whatsapp so that Jasmine could edit the clips. Unfortunately, the resolution of the clips, as if not bad enough, worsened.
Solutions:
Due to the rain, filming outdoors wasn’t an option, so we decided to use the hallway to take advantage of natural lighting while staying sheltered. Initially, we chose a hallway near the school’s toilet and lounge, but the high number of people passing through made it unsuitable. To avoid disruptions, we relocated to the hallway near our classroom on the opposite side of the building.
Listening to the song became another challenge, especially when using the 'tracking' camera movement, as it required us to move farther from the music source (phone). To address this, we came up with two solutions, such as carrying the phone with us while filming or placing it midway along the filming path, which allows us to hear the music clearly as we move forward.
To fix the bad resolution, I decided to just compile the clips onto a Google Drive to send to Jasmine.
Next time:
To improve for our upcoming music video project, I believe we should start filming well in advance of the deadline. This will give us more flexibility and prevent rushing, especially in situations beyond our control, like unfavorable weather. By having extra time, we can wait for better weather conditions that align with our mood board and plan. This will ensure that the final result matches our vision and maintains a high standard of quality.
Since we’re planning to use two actresses from our team, it would be beneficial to bring a tripod for the filming process. This will enable us to use two cameras, as recommended by our teacher, allowing for a smoother filming process.
Next time, we should just always send our files through Google Drive to save time.
Behind the Scenes:
Reflection:
My role in this project was being an actor and also editing the video! I also helped to discuss the production and contents of the storyboard with my teammate, Rachelle, who drew it. Beatrice helped us to record the video as well as helped to write down the problems, improvements and solutions for this mini project. Being a part of the video was actually quite fun and I got to go out of my comfort zone to lip sync. This project was quite a struggle though as me and Rachelle kept on breaking character as we were inexperienced, leading us to taking a lot more takes. Other than that, I also helped with the post production using a program called Capcut. I had used the files sent by Rachelle through Whatsapp, however the quality was quite bad, still I edited using the footage just in case. After getting better quality files sent through Drive, all I had to do was use the replace function and overlap the bad quality footage with the good one. I’m glad we did this project as it helped me gain more experience in editing as well as acting for the actual music video.
This blogpost is written by both my teammate, Rachelle, and I. This blogpost will outline some decisions we made relating to the stars in the music video.
After several discussions, we decided to have our music video as a one-time collaboration between two artists. This is because by collaborating, our artists will be able to reach a wider range of audience, which correlates to the media synergy. Media synergy is when different media companies work together in order to reach an objective they couldn’t have done alone. In this case, the artists would collaborate to reach audiences from different genres, potentially increasing exposure and peaking the interest of new audiences, this also works vice-versa.
Here is where I will put some developments made during the creation of this music video project. This blog is written by me and may be referred to in other parts of the project.
Star(s) name:
Rachelle
Name Ideas:
Wynona
WyNa
Nana
Willow
Heath
Scilla
Iris
Primrose
Daphne
Viola
At first, we were kind of lost in the direction we wanted to go to in terms of the stage name. After discussing and brainstorming, we decided to make our stage names flower related. We had this idea after realizing that it would be pretty interesting if the stage names of both of the artists in this song could conflict with one another so it would be a cool coincidence in relation to the music video which is about a separation of friends. Learning this I decided to search up flowers that bloom in the winter as it would contrast to the stage name of the other artist whose name will be related to a summer blooming flower (Jasmine).
Jasmine
Name ideas:
Jasmine
Dahlia
Clematis
Poppy
Daisy
Lily
Marigold
Zinnia
Vinca
Peony
Jasmine’s (my) name was the main inspiration for keeping our stage names flower based, so we decided to keep the name of the artist and the stage name the same.
This is the filming schedule made by Beatrice to organize sessions of filming in our group during this music video project.
Self-Reflection:
Before project:
How will a schedule help you?
A schedule will help my team and I in organizing and allocating our time efficiently so we will have enough time to finish recording and developing all of our scenes in the music video project. Other than that, it will remind us of what to bring (equipments and props column), what to be careful of and what we need to remember to do since the notes section will guide us. The media filming schedule can also help us keep track of what scenes we have recorded and what scenes we haven't recorded yet as there are dates to keep us on track with the time.
Is it realistic?
Although it may seem like a solid schedule, it isn't realistic to believe that we can follow exactly the schedule that is recorded as there are variables that are unpredictable like some people not being able to go on certain dates suddenly. Even so, I think that it is still a bit realistic since we decided to spread the workload pretty evenly throughout the different dates so we don't expect to finish recording a huge chunk of the recording in just a day.
What problems might you face?
I think one of the main problems would again be the unforeseen variables that may mess up the flow of the schedule since if one of the sessions in the schedule isn't completed, we'll have to move it to another day and push back the recordings of the others scenes by a day too. This will result in us having to compensate for the missed session in another time. So to avoid this, we will try our best to attend all the schedules we have set in the schedule to prevent any misunderstandings.
This blogpost will include relevant classwork surrounding theories, technical skills and others that are related to this Component 3, music video project.
Clapper Board:
During media class, we learned about the clapper board. Although I knew what it was beforehand as it is quite iconic, I never thought that there would be a practical use for it. I learned that the clapper board is used to signify the start and ending of a scene and the scene number or attempt. For editors, they are able to see the wavelength of the audios recorded for scenes. Now, the use for the clapper board is to create a loud noise at the start and the end of the scene so that the editor saves time from searching through each recording for the parts that they will need to use. The loud noise created causes the wavelength to become a straight line which is very visible compared to other audios from the scene. The editor can now choose to cut the recording from when the line appears in the audio to when it appears the next time on the same recording. Since we don't have a clapper board, my team and I decided that we will just use the sound of us clapping to create the same effect that the clapper board. I think that this will be very useful for this music video project as there will be many attempts for recording scenes and by using this method, it will cut down time scrolling through the audios, making it more efficient in the production process.
does on a budget.
Here is the little drawing that our media teacher (Mr Nick) drew in order to demonstrate the capabilities of the clapper board. I personally think it was very effective and straightforward to understand!
Storyboard:
A storyboard can be described as a chain of illustrations with annotations which can help to portray drafts of scenes visually before recording and finalising them. I had learned how to do this during a class project in Media Studies prior to this component 3 project. Here is what I did:
Here is a simple and quick sketch I made for the draft of a storyboard which would be used for a scene in a video I was helping to produce. After briefly reading through a script, I tried to visualise the scene in order to communicate to the camera-man exactly what I had in mind. This would guide the camera-man as they would understand what and how to film the scenes.
After that, I (the mock-actor), tried to act out the scene that I had planned with this quick sketch and recorded it. After trying to record the scene, I realized that there were a couple flaws to the storyboard draft I made. Firstly, in the draft storyboard I drew the bag being thrown onto the couch immediately as the actor walks into the room. While trying to act out this scene, I actually found that it was impossible to place the bag down like this. Instead, I revised it and made it so that the actor would place the bag down with both hands slowly while sighing in order to give a more realistic effect of her being tired after coming home from school. Other than that, the scene with the opening of the laptop was also something we had to modify. My camera-man and I felt that if we decided to film it from a POV camera angle, it would seem to be disconnected. To make the scene feel more cohesive, we decided to just shoot from a medium close-up angle from behind, showing the actor entering the scene to open the laptop to make it seem like it didn't come from nowhere. I think that these changes were actually really good and it will make it much easier for the final actor to understand when the time comes for her to act out this scene.
Here is the link just in case the video doesn't play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CukIcWw8vnM
After realising all of these problems and making adjustments accordingly, I revised my storyboard and made it more realistic, detailed and finalised it. Here is the end result of what I came up with:
Theory of Stardom:
I have learned about the Theory of Stardom in class, here is what I summarised from the lessons:
Theory of Stardom was theorised by Richard Dyer. This theory states that an artist and their “persona” (meaning their alter ego shown to their audience) are two different beings, each having their own personalities. Dyer claims that star personas are carefully and deliberately constructed in order to appeal to their target audiences. This is how he describes this:
REAL Persona:
This is the authentic personality of the star as an individual in their personal life when they are not in the public’s eyes. This can mostly be observed through interviews, documentaries and behind the scenes footage which don’t require a performance.
REEL Persona:
This is their constructed identity which has been made in order to fulfil the expectations of the public and audience. This can be seen during performances, music videos and in social media posts.
This will be useful because in this project, I’ll need to make a persona for my artist in the music video.
Here is a classwork I did together with my teammates to support my understanding of this theory even further:
WEEK 4 - REEL AND REAL PERSONA (Stardom Theory) - Classwork
Names:
Jasmine, Rachelle, Beatrice
Celebrity:
Camila Cabello
REEL persona:
What image to they project through their work (films, music, social media)
Camilla Cabello portrays herself as a seductive and iconic figure. She is always confident and is a feminist.
REAL persona:
Have there been any cracks in this image (examples)
Camilla had a picture of her in a bikini taken by the paparazzi where she doesn’t look ‘ideal’, she then went on social media and expressed her upsetness to the public. Audiences then discussed how Camilla was being insecure and how she isn’t as seductive as she portrays herself to be.
Love:
Shawn Mendez, as she is infamous for being his muse. She kept on breaking up and getting back with him. She dated Shawn Mendez from 2019 - 2021, and eventually announced their breakup through instagram as “the best of friends”.
Camila Cabello posted on her instagram using her ‘daily outfit’ which resonates with a lot of the audience.
Moreover, she occasionally posted her working out on her social media. By her speaking openly about her body image, and the societal pressures she feels to look a certain way, it resonates with the audience who face similar difficulties, especially in a world influenced by beauty standards. Through her experiences, she has also been vocal about the unrealistic beauty standards often imposed on women, especially in the entertainment industry. Additionally, by showing the ‘imperfect’ side for her, it invites empathy and respect from the audience, which strengthen her image of an “ordinary” person rather than as someone with an achievable lifestyle.
At first, Camilla Cabello was in a group called Fifth Harmony where she often got comments that said her voice is so different (unique) compared to her other group members that it overshadows everyone else. Due to this, Camilla Cabello quit the group to pursue a solo singing career. She began to release a few collaborative singles like "I Know What You Did Last Summer" with Shawn Mendes which peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100. Her solo career has been peaking ever since.
She has been seen to consume products such as this ice-handbag which costs $22.5k. This proves that she has enough funds in order to support this kind of spending, allowing her to purchase products which are generally seen as a waste by the public. In addition, this handbag caused quite a backlash as people on platforms such as Tik-tok have been seen making posts about her, calling her out for the useless purchase of this handbag which will melt anyways, not being worth $22.5k.
Dream turned sour:
Has this celebrity had a downfall? How is it reported? Did they recover?
An anonymous twitter account posted screenshots of Camilla Cabello’s old tumblr and twitter posts which consists of her re-shared gifs and memes that reinforce black and asian stereotypes. She later on apologized formally on her Instagram story and was later on reported to require going to therapy to stop being racist.
Being completely honest, before learning about this theory in class, I already had a brief understanding of what a star persona was. This was probably because I had been in the art community in which many artists also have an “alter ego” of their own which they use to represent the qualities that they want on online platforms. I think that this theory was very interesting and fun to learn about because I’ve seen it applied many times in real life and have also found myself selectively constructing through social media posts in order to be seen in a certain way (cool and fun!). It’s really interesting to learn how artists apply this on a larger scale and take it much more seriously as they sometimes even have staff to manage their image. I think it’ll be really interesting to explore more on how a star’s image could influence their audience and consumption of their content. I think that I’ll research more about this later on. The only downside to this theory is how hard it’ll be to refer to REEL and REAL as they sound exactly the same when said verbally.
We also learned about camera angles and movements. I'll summarise all the camera angles and movements I’ve learned and it will most likely help in producing the music video.
Camera angles and movements:
Long shot:
A long shot is a camera angle usually used to show the setting of the scene, showing how the character interacts with the environment that they are in. It can also help in setting the mood and overall vibe of the scene.
Extreme long shot:
Extreme long shots focus more on the setting and environment in the scene, often being used to allow the audience to understand a new location in the story. They are also sometimes used as establishing shots.
Medium shot:
A medium shot captures the subject and actor from their waist-up. This allows the actor and the surrounding to have an equal amount of presence on the screen letting the audience to focus on both.
Cowboy shot:
This camera angle captures the actor or subject up from the mid-thigh to the top of their head. This camera angle’s name was based on shots in Western films where the actor’s faces and guns around their waist are kept in the shot. This camera angle gives a “heroic” effect and makes the subject look strong.
Close up:
A close up shot captures a subject from the shoulders to the top of their head. However, this camera angle can also be used for objects, shooting them at close range in order to display more precise details to the audience.
Extreme close up:
Extreme close up shots are more oriented towards displaying a subject’s features such as eyes, mouth or body parts. This camera angle can create a sense of intimacy between the audience and the subject and can capture a great amount of detail which the producer may want to display intentionally.
POV:
A POV shot (Point Of View) is when a camera angle is intended to make it seem like the audience is watching through a character’s eyes in first person. This camera angle can be used in order to create a more immersive experience for the audience, feeling as if they are experiencing the events occurring in the scene through their own eyes.
Over the shoulder:
This camera angle is when the camera is situated above the back of the shoulder and head of a character or subject. This camera angle is most often used to show a connection between two characters who are conversing or interacting with one another, showing that they both are in the same environment as one another.
High angle:
A high angle shot is when the camera is angled down to look down on the subject or character. This camera angle is usually used in order to make the subject look weak, smaller and vulnerable.
Low angle:
A low angle shot is when a character or subject is filmed with the camera turned upwards. As the camera is looking up, this results in an effect which makes the subject seem stronger, intimidating and bigger.
Dutch angle:
A Dutch angle shot is shot in a way in which the camera is rotated and tilted. This camera angle is used in order to signify uneasiness, disorientation and unsettling situations. This effect occurs because the tilt results in a sense of imbalance, resulting in discomfort for the viewer subconsciously.
Establishing shot:
Establishing shots are usually taken at an extreme long shot or displays buildings and landscapes from afar. This in turn allows the audience to understand the setting of the scene and provides context for the viewers before another scene occurs.
Camera Movement:
My teacher shared this video with us, it really helped me get a better understanding of some of the camera movements I was confused about earlier.
Fixed camera:
- The camera remains static which will create a sense of feeling normal, calm and peaceful during scenes.
Push-in:
- The camera pushes in or moves slowly towards the subject. This allows the audience to have more intimacy with the scene, making them feel closer and more interactive towards the mood of the scene.
Pull-out:
- The camera pulls away or moves slowly away from the subject. This allows the audience to leave and detach from the character or subject as they are taken away from the action.
Pan:
- This is when the camera moves from side to side, fixed on an axis. This will reveal information in scenes and mimics the head movement of the audience.
Tilt:
- This is when the camera moves up and down from the same axis. This also reveals information just like a pan with a different direction.
Dolly:
- This is when the camera moves around freely. This becomes more immersive for the audience, allowing them to feel as if they are exploring the character's world and are being a part of the story.
Tracking;
- This is when the camera is moving around on tracks. As is uses tracks, the effect is similar to a dolly, except it is smoother as the movement is more controlled.
Crane:
- This uses a crane and can help to reveal large locations and landscapes.
Handheld:
- As it is called, this camera movement is natural and shaky, making it more realistic and immersive. It can also be used to convey a feeling of high and raw energy.
Zoom:
- This camera movements allows the audience to get closer to the subject and draws their attention to a certain subject.
Overall self-reflection for Classwork:
I think that in all the related media classwork I’ve done and shown on this blogpost, I had the most fun learning about the Theory of Stardom by Richard Dyer. I’ve mentioned earlier but being able to see this theory be applied in everyday life is actually very interesting and I loved being able to build upon my previous knowledge on this theory. I also think that storyboarding was also an interesting thing to learn because I really enjoyed having that trial and error process where I would try out to act out the scenes in real life to test the realism and then revise my final storyboard to reflect that.
I don’t really think that there was anything in particular that was challenging, but I will say that doing that classwork on Camilla Cabello was a bit tedious and I think that I could have done better quality work, which I will do next time around.
For the clapper board, learning it will definitely help as it will make the editing process much more efficient as it indicated when the scene starts so I won’t need to waste time scrolling through the audio of each video I’ll record for this project.
Learning how to storyboard will definitely be useful for this project as my group will need to make one in order to visualise how the scenes for the music video will look like so that when we attempt to record them, we won’t be completely lost on which camera angle and movement to use since it was already planned and prepared beforehand in the storyboard.
Learning the Theory of Stardom will help my group and I in the process of deciding what we would like our stars to represent in the music video. We will need to decide how to selectively construct and build our star’s image and learning this theory will give us the base knowledge on what we’ll need to do in order to do that.
Camera angles and movements will be good to understand especially when storyboarding and in the recording process. Learning what each movement and angle connotes will allow us to effectively send the message that we would like through the music video as using them intentionally will result in specific effects in the audience watching the music video. Without this basic knowledge, our music video will look unprofessional and rushed.
