Lights, Cameras, Action (Production Blog)

 Dearest reader,

Yesterday I finally began filming for my music video. My friends Marvin and Kyra came over at 12 and we got to taking the scenes I needed them for.

First, I filmed the dancing in the kitchen scene. This was fairly easy because only Marvin and I needed to be in the frame so Kyra was able to shoot the footage. Even after story boarding, I did not know how I was going to meet the requirements of different Camera angles, movements and shots. Kyra ended up suggesting that we do a tilt of us dancing to get one in. I agreed and the first special camera movement was in the bag. 

Next, we filmed the scene where Kyra and I are sitting on the bed looking back at Marvin and I's memories. I had decided that this scene was going to include letters and a calendar. These props were necessary to convey how long it had been since I received a love letter. I failed to plan before my friends got to my house to film and I ended up circling the date on the calendar and creating the notes and envelopes in the moment with my friends there. As we were filming I told my friend that it was supposed to be a high angle. Marvin suggested an aerial shot instead to encompass more and I agreed. During the scene however, we ended up discovering a smooth transition as well. Marvin took the aerial shot and then slowly took the camera down to the calendar so that the frame fades to black. 

Finally, we shot a few seconds of footage of me and Marvin posing in front of a blank wall in my room. This video will later be analyzed. Once I have watched through the whole video, I will pull out the individual frames that I like best and decide between them. The winning frame will then become the picture I will use later on. This affected the sequence of filming because I needed to get the picture, pull it out and print it before I can film the majority of my individual scenes.

Overall, the filming went a lot smoother than I was expecting.