This post was mostly written by me, Jasmine, and the red text further into the post will signify the parts where my teammate, Beatrice, wrote some of the behind-the-scenes content!
Behind the scenes:
Recording day 1: December 26, 2024
I tried to record on my own with a friend who is not in my project group (Jocelyn) as the rest of my group mates were all busy for the rest of the year and we wouldn’t be able to record then. I attempted to record a scene for the first part of the song and tried to practice my lip syncing but I think especially because this was my first time doing something like this, it definitely came out stiff. I don’t think I’ll be using this clip especially since it doesn’t fit the narrative, but I just wanted to try and get some filler clips just in case.
Here was me trying to figure out how my tripod would work since I just got it. I got help from my friend, Jocelyn.
Recording day 2: January 14, 2025
Today was the first day in the year that we were all able to gather up together for a while to record more parts for the music video, as my teammate, Rachelle, was busy with family and formal events, making today the first day free. We are really far behind but I think this is a great start. Today, we found that our storyboard and annotations for the lyrics sheet was quite vague, but we also found that we work best spontaneously, deciding what different camera movements and mise-en-scene would work best on the spot. This scene was the scene suggested by our media teacher, Mr Nick, to clearly show the narrative of two best friends falling out as this argument scene will provide context to the audience so they will understand that there are issues for both the students regarding the upcoming graduation. I found that the lighting was quite bad here so the footage was a bit grainy and not too good in quality as the Iso was turned up quite high, however, I think this might work in our favour as it could also be an effect to represent the messy and fuzzy nature of arguments and fights.
Here, I was experimenting with different angles and decided later on that recording the shot over the shoulder or from behind suited the scene much better.
Here was the setup for the scene featuring me, too! It took multiple tries since I kept breaking character, but I think it ended up great!
Recording day 3: January 22, 2025
Today, we borrowed Jocelyn’s gimbal as it was much more efficient to move, and it allowed us to get more natural-looking shots as the camera didn’t always have to stay in one spot, but it was also still stable!
Here is my team member, Beatrice, holding the gimbal after we both made sure that the angle was suitable for the scene.
Working more spontaneously again, initially, we wanted this scene to be more of just a classroom scene where both Jasmine and Viola were studying in class but were not paying attention, however ultimately we decided that in order to show the true intimacy between the two characters, we decided to do something more casual instead, representing the silly nature of students by placing the two characters in detention, but showing that they make the most out of it!
Recording day 4: January 28, 2025
Today, we decided to record the beach scene in the Nusa Dua beach! This scene was actually rather challenging to record. First of all, we unfortunately got a bit lost in translation when we first communicated of the meeting point. I had arrived first at the location and had to wait quite a while for Rachelle and Beatrice until I was almost told to go away by one of the security guards for parking too long. This was a problem because I was carrying all my heavy equipment (tripod, camera and lights).
We all got dropped off at different places, so it took a while for everyone to reach the same spot, but we finally arrived at the beach!
After all arriving at the same spot, we went ahead to survey the place, walking until we finally found an area in the beach which wasn’t too crowded, giving us some free space to experiment with our recording without being disturbed.
(The weather was actually very, very hot and sunny, which would become a great problem soon.)
There, we found a nearby cafe and borrowed a table to put our belongings on since we had forgotten to prepare a mattress to put our things on so they wouldn’t be covered in sand.
Since I would be acting in the music video, I wasn’t able to record all the scenes on my own, so I became more of a director, guiding my teammate, Beatrice, on where and how to angle my camera for scenes. For some, though, she recorded them herself! We first adjusted the angle before setting the camera on the tripod.
There were a couple of major issues we encountered during this filming session:
We were very unprepared and unplanned. Initially, we arrived at around 10.30 a.m.; however, due to us not being properly prepared, we took around an hour to actually start recording. Our main issue was that we were very vague about the beach scene. We were supposed to follow the storyboard, however, there was a shift in ideas at some point, making our initial storyboarded vision very different to what we wanted now since the storyboard version seemed a bit too stiff. Therefore, we almost completely improvised all the scenes we recorded.
In addition, there had actually been some miscommunication during the filming, and the lip-sync music was the wrong one. We were supposed to be recording for the pre-chorus of the second verse, however, we accidentally recorded for the first verse. However, thankfully, the lyrics were pretty much the same with the exception of the last word, so it could still be used.
The sun was so bright that I wasn’t able to see the camera screen properly since the strong sunlight made the screen very dark, forcing me to have to semi-guess the proper iso and exposure for the setting, making it almost a gamble. Thankfully, though, the recording itself turned out to come out with just the right amount!
The blazing Bali heat at 11 o'clock was so hot that my camera started to die multiple times due to overheating very quickly. To combat this, I tried to use a bag to shield it from the sun, to no avail. In addition, the spare camera battery I bought was defective, and I was scammed, so we were running on only 1 battery with the heat, which made the battery start to drain very quickly. This made it very limited as now we had a time frame; we had to get the recording done before the battery died.
Nevertheless, this was still great as we finally started to progress with our recording! I was overall happy with how the clips came out!
Recording day 5: February 4, 2025
After school ended at around 3 p.m., we decided to record a school scene as well as another beach scene for the introduction of the song. This was because we were really lagging behind and had to have some scenes recorded. Beatrice couldn’t come today as she had plans, so Rachelle and I recruited our friend Vina to help us record. We wanted to do a scene that would showcase the deep affection that was held in Jasmine and Viola’s friendship.
(However, we did decide to re-record this scene soon after as the uniform that we wore was wrong)
After that, we went to the Sanur beach, however, there was some miscommunication. We got dropped off at the beach, however, it was the wrong part of the beach. We ended up having to walk 30 minutes to our film location with all the heavy equipment, fighting against the time so it wouldn’t be too dark once we had gotten there. When we arrived, we found the pigeons, though!
Once we found the pigeons, we had to somehow make them fly.
To do this, we devised a strategy. First, we lured them in using some dried corn we bought so that they could form a flock.
Once they were together like this, I was told to run along with Rachelle towards the flock in order to make them fly, however, the results were not as satisfying. It took at least 10 attempts to even get them to fly, and once they did fly, they would only fly towards one direction, towards the roof of this structure.
Since we had no way of making them fly in different directions, I just decided that I would mirror some of the footage to make them less uniform in the post-production process.
Another problem I encountered was that my storage space was non-existent. I had to constantly delete other videos to clear up some space for the recording while my battery was dying at the same time. Before the next recording session begun, I made sure to clear up more space in my storage.
This section was written by Beatrice
Recording day 6: February 5, 2025
On this day, we re-filmed the school scenes from the previous day to improve their quality and composition. We scheduled the filming process after class, around 3:20 pm, when all team members were available and had gathered together. We filmed one of the scenes with the help of our friends, Jocy and Cheryl.
Our friend, Jocy, helped us by setting up the camera and adjusting the gimbal.
Jocy and Cheryl also helped us with stabilizing the camera.
Since I was present, I was able to assess the previous scenes and identify areas for improvement. I took on the role of directing, guiding the camera angles, and cueing our friends on when to start and stop recording. Initially, I did not film the scenes myself because one of the scenes required a static medium shot, and my hands were really shaky that day. Therefore, to maintain the intended stillness of the frame, we decided it was best for Jocy and Cheryl to handle the filming of that scene.
This was my point of view, as I directed my friends on by guiding them through the filming process and ensuring that each shot aligned with our vision. My teammates and I also reviewed the footage afterward to confirm that we had captured the results we aimed to achieve.
However, I did film an extreme close-up shot of Jasmine and Rachelle’s eyes, which was the part before the medium shot. Additionally, I helped synchronize the playback of the song to make sure that the timing aligned perfectly with the performances. The filming process was efficient and completed in a short amount of time, so there were limited behind-the-scenes photos taken. Despite this, we were satisfied with the outcome and glad that we could wrap it up quickly.
This section was written by me, Jasmine.
Recording day 7: February 9, 2025
My teammate, Rachelle, bought around 50 small birds from a local market yesterday! We decided to let them go and get it on the recording to simulate a fun activity that friends could do together and show the intimacy of Jasmine and Viola as friends, not only at school but in their personal lives too.
There were already huge issues that arose before we even started recording. Due to the rainy season in Bali, there were times where heavy rain resulted in us being unable to record. During this day, it happened to be heavily rainy in the morning where we wanted to record Renon. My teammate, Rachelle, who lived nearby the location notified us about the heavy rain. Although it would’ve been a safer option to postpone the filming session as the rain could start anytime even after it had stopped, we decided that we had to take the risk, gambling a bit since we were really behind our filming schedule. When we got to the location, the issue became a lot more apparent.
The sky was extremely cloudy, which contrasted the vision we wanted to have, where the memory should have been warm and bright.
The grass was littered with puddles of rainwater, which would make it hard for me to place my tripod, and it would limit us as we would need to be careful with where we stepped so we wouldn’t accidentally jump into puddles, which were sometimes camouflaged and hard to see.
However, we decided to make do with the situation. After settling down, we decided to record the scene with the birds first so they wouldn’t be too distressed.
An issue that we expected happened, where the birds kept on flying or trying to quickly escape before we planned to release them with our hands, which meant we had to do 13 different takes, which was somehow still possible since we brought 50 birds. However, we still managed to get the shots that we wanted.
Another issue which we had predicted beforehand were the puddles of water. As seen in the picture above, my teammate, Rachelle, was unfortunate enough to accidentally step inside the puddles and get her pants wet. However, this was risky though since we could’ve slipped while running and hurt ourselves.
We also did a scene with us spinning around and holding hands as friends, however since my teammate Beatrice was there, this proved to be a bit of a challenge. While we were spinning it was a bit hard for her to keep up with being out of the camera. Therefore, for a couple of takes we weren’t able to use the footage as she was in the background, running to catch up with the camera.
This was what it looked like in the background.
Therefore, we made a solution. Instead of just running around aimlessly, Beatrice would run close, right behind me, and I would go a bit slower so that it would be impossible for her to be in the frame.
After that, we wrapped up the filming for that day and went home!
Recording day 8: February 18, 2025
Today, we decided to record a scene which would establish or provide context to the overall conflict in the plot of the music video. This included recording a scene where Jasmine would get rejected by the university while Viola got accepted.
It was fairly simple to film, however the only issue was that the actors would frequently break character so we did have to reshoot multiple times. I directed all the shots for these scenes!
Additionally, later on in the music video there is a scene where Jasmine gets rejected and slams her laptop, although the audience may not have enough time to read the rejection text, the action of harshly closing the laptop signifies that Jasmine most likely got bad news. This contrasts this scene where Viola has her laptop open and claps because she got accepted. I am relying on symbolic codes by Barthes so that the audience will understand my preferred reading of the clips.
Extra BTS details for this day from Beatrice:
We decided to record a scene that would provide context to the overall conflict in the plot of the music video. This included recording a scene where Jasmine would get rejected by the university while Viola got accepted. At first, it took a while for us to discuss and figure out how to convey the conflict properly but after we get a hang of it and understood everyone's vision, we started filming right away.
I (Beatrice) was supposed to act as Viola's other friend. Therefore, Jasmine was the one filming the scene.
It was fairly simple to film, however the only issue was that the actress would frequently break character so we did have to reshoot multiple times. Jasmine directed all the scenes that are filmed today.
We also filmed the scene where Jasmine catches Viola celebrating her university acceptance. This shot was intended to be from Jasmine’s point of view. I helped by directing Rachelle on how to act to make sure that her actions conveyed a sense of panic. Additionally, we filmed Jasmine’s reaction to Viola’s celebration using close-up shot of her face. For this part, I operated the camera while Jasmine guided me on how she wanted the scene to look.
Jasmine discussed with Rachelle how she envisioned Viola’s expression and movement in the scene. , while I (Beatrice) took the behind the scenes pictures.
To illustrate her ideas, Jasmine used Rachelle as an example, demonstrating the desired framing and camera angles.
Although we finished filming later than expected, I'm glad that these scenes turned out great.
Recording day 9: March 4, 2025
On this day, we were scheduled to film the scene where Jasmine and Viola look at the university board at school and decide that they want to study in Australia together. This scene takes place before the ones we filmed the previous day. However, since Rachelle was absent, Jasmine and I decided to make use of the time by filming whatever we could. Since I've been noticing that our music video lacked performance-based scenes, we prioritized capturing more of them with the help of our friend, Jocy.
Here is Jocy trying to adjust the camera.
After adjusting the camera, we initially planned to film in the corridor. However, I suggested moving to the other side, away from the corridor, as the sunlight there aligned better with the lyrics “’Til the light leaves my eyes.” I also directed Jocy on where to position the camera to effectively capture Jasmine’s expressions, while Jocy contributed by suggesting additional angles that worked really well. Additionally, I guided Jasmine on how to enhance her performance to make it feel more dramatic.
We didn’t face significant challenges during filming, though we had to reshoot several times due to occasional passersby, as the location was near the school corridor and some teachers were still around. Despite this, we completed filming and focused mainly on refining our vision for the music video. As a result, there weren’t many behind the scenes images taken on this day.
This was also written by Beatrice.
Recording day 10: March 5, 2025
Since Rachelle was finally available, we were able to film the scenes we had originally planned for the previous day. We began by filming a shot of Jasmine’s drawing, which symbolizes her excitement about the idea of attending the same university as her best friend, Viola.
Here is the drawing that Jasmine made.
After that scene was done, we placed the university's brochure that we printed on the school's bulletin board. For the hands part of this scene, we're supposed to use a match cut. The process is challenging as we had to make sure that the placement of the hands aligned perfectly with the previous shot. Jocy initially helped film this scene, but she had to go as she had plans and we took too much time filming this scene since we had to re-filmed it multiple times.
We discussed various techniques to make sure the match cut aligned seamlessly with the previous scene.
I eventually took over and managed to capture a shot that worked well enough, so we decided to move forward. This scene was actually suggested by our teacher, Mr. Nick, after we consulted him for feedback that would strengthen our narrative, as we were experiencing a creative block.
This is the note that I (Beatrice) wrote based on our teacher's suggestions.
This is what it turned out to be like.
Following that, we filmed the scene where Jasmine and Viola excitedly look at the bulletin board, as well as a few additional performance scenes. This part of the shoot went smoothly as it only required simple camera angles and movements, which allowed us to wrap up quickly.
Recording day 11: March 9, 2025
Today marks the completion of our filming process. Before we began, Jasmine outlined the remaining scenes that needed to be filmed, drafted ideas, and shared them in our group chat. This greatly helped our filming process, as it allowed us to efficiently track our progress and ensure that no scenes were overlooked, without constantly referring back to the music video.
These drafts are made by Jasmine.
I arrived at Rachelle’s house around 4–5 PM. Since Rachelle was still doing her makeup, Jasmine and I decided to film the Q&A segment for our social media page.
This is the setup of the interview. We decided to place the camera on top of the chair to make it stable.
Rachelle took this picture.
Once we completed filming for the Q&A, we moved on to filming the argument scene between Jasmine and Viola, depicting Viola’s departure for university. This scene required multiple takes as the actress found it challenging to portray anger convincingly. However, after several attempts, we successfully captured the intended emotions. I also filmed Jasmine’s individual scene.
Jasmine took charge of filming Viola’s scene, while I adjusted the ring light to enhance the lighting for the scene.
After wrapping up the argument scene, we proceeded to film the final scene, where Jasmine runs after Viola as she prepares to leave in her car. To achieve smooth camera movement, we decided to film from inside a moving car. Rachelle’s driver help us to execute this scene. Initially, we planned to film at Lapangan Renon, but since going there might be time consuming and it was already pretty late, we decided to film outside of Rachelle’s house instead.
I helped by holding the ring light while Devan handled the filming of the running scene.
Jasmine is getting ready to run.
We refilmed this scene several times as we needed to adjust the speed of the car. Additionally, since we were filming in a residential area, passing cars frequently interrupted the process, which forced us to pause and restart. After capturing the running scene, we filmed the moment where Jasmine chases Viola, and the two characters exchange glances from their points of view. Since we all shared a clear vision for this scene, the filming went smoothly. We also recorded another version using a long shot to compare and determine which camera angle best suited the music video’s narrative.
Jasmine captured her character’s point of view shot of Viola.
The main issue we had when we filmed using the long shot version was people were trying to disrupt the filming process, which we found quite annoying. Furthermore, since the battery on Jasmine’s camera kept running low on battery, it required us to pause and recharge it.
Despite these setbacks, the day was a success. Although we had to make last-minute location changes and improvise some scenes, the adjustments led to even better decisions. Most importantly, we were glad that we were able to complete all remaining scenes without delays, officially wrapping up the production process for our music video.
This section was written by me, Jasmine.
Digipak and album cover shooting:
This was done very near the deadline as I, Jasmine, had gotten notified that I had to take digipak pictures 2 days before the deadline, which stressed me out a lot as the pictures should have been taken simultaneously while we were filming. Initially, I had planned to do it alone as I didn’t know anyone else who was available to help as my teammate. Beatrice was sick, and Rachelle was busy. Here's a picture I managed to take at home; however, with no direction and being unable to take dynamic pictures, I had to get some help from someone to take my pictures. In a panic, I went out late into the day to Jocelyn’s house, which was more than an hour away.
These are the behind-the-scenes pictures I took once I arrived at Jocelyn’s house.
Here is Jocelyn, setting up her equipment to take pictures of me on her rooftop.
Lighting was a bit hard to set up but it was necessary since it was very dark.
Here is the composition of one of the pictures taken.
Also tried taking pictures in her bedroom because I wanted to try and use the contrast of the formal clothing which I wore, with the casual bedroom which could potentially connote to the inner child of the artist, even when she is already an adult as the main theme of our digipak and album is nostalgia and reminiscence.
After taking a couple pictures, I had to go home since it was very late and I had school the next day so we didn’t have as many pictures to choose from as I’d hoped.
Self-Reflection:
Throughout this entire filming process, I was in the role of a director most of the time as I had the most experience with a camera out of the three of us. Even if I was an actor in the music video, I had decided most of the compositions for the shots to make sure that the scenes seemed more cinematic. The filming process was definitely tough as many unforeseen variables made it so that our filming was often delayed, making us only finish very close to the deadline. This also caused us to have some fights about being on time and showing up, however, we managed to resolve that so we could continue working effectively on the music video. I had a bit of fun being the actor as I had always wanted to be a part of a project like this, however, it was actually very tiring having to spend all my weekends and having to show up to filming a lot, and it did take a mental toll on me. I think that we definitely could have managed our time a lot better for this project and stopped procrastinating as it ended up with all of us being stressed in this project. Overall, it helped me step up to a more leadership position, and I think that after this project, my technological and communication skills have improved as now I can confront my teammates if I think they are doing something wrong.
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