FINALLY..

FINALLY I have permission from a local casino, to film their roulette wheel. 

This is paramount, due to my friend telling me that he had broken his roulette wheel.

25/11/09

After being able to speak with the manager, I asked to only film the roulette wheel, and the word 'CASINO' on the outside of the building. His only concern was of the filming people who might not want to be filmed. However after ensuring that I only needed the wheel filmed, he gave me a time slot between 1:30 to 2:00 in the afternoon. This will be plenty of time to collect the footage needed, and it won't take long to finish the desired structure of the video, ready to input special effects. 

Improvements X1

Some things that I have noticed, which need to be improved, include changed to the guitar solo. For example I think that the atmosphere builds towards the solo, yet there is an anti-climax. To reach its full potential, quicker editing needs to be used to make sure that the solo remains an epic scene within the music video. I have still got clips that i've cut down, that are ready to be used for such a purpose. To make sure the rest of the video is still synchronous with the music, I need to make sure i cut parts of the solo out, and plug in the extra footage according to the exact time of the gap thats left. 

Also the start needs the establishing shot to be changed to the outside of the actual casino. But i wanted to practice outside the bar, of the kind of shot i want. 

From now on, the editing is going to be more, precise and mathematical, to make sure that the work i have already done, isn't ruined.

Only then, when i'm happy, will i think about any other effects i may want to use.

First three minute rough draft

This video is not how i want the video, yet is a rough draft of the ordering i want to produce. I have still yet to add special effects / roulette wheel footage / the last 40 seconds of the song. But the  editing is now well underway.

Problems and Solutions

Problems:

1: Nightshot plus mode on  the camera was used for some of the shots with one camera, but the mode was not used on the other camera i used. Therefore i have two different types of footage, representing two different camera styles.

2: Live performance footage is too dark. Only some members of the group are visible and their faces are unclear.

3: Still need to input roulette wheel.

Solutions:

1: Editing the contrast has helped to make the camera footage look similar.

2: Increasing the brightness, and then increasing the contrast has made faces clearer.

3: Ready to film

Left to Film

1:

For the start and the end of the music video, is is important that i am able to film a roulette wheel. I want to be able to start the song, with the spinning of the wheel, and finish the song with the spinning wheel coming to a stop. Therefore i am in the process of finding a roulette wheel in which i can use for my filming. A colleague of mine has one available to him, so i am organizing when i would be able to use it to film. 

2:

I want something to happen in the video, to emphasize the importance of the guitar solo in the song. Therefore i want to use the footage of the live performance and then fade something else in and out over the top of the group playing. For example, low motion cards / chips coming towards the camera. I would do this by lying a black sheet in the floor, standing on a table or ladder, and dropping the cards on the floor. I would film this from a birds eye position. Then i will be able to change the contrast to create the black background. Depending on what looks best, i could also reverse the footage and make the cards either come towards the camera, or be flying away from the camera.  This, i think, would be ideal to go with the solo.

Therefore i will need to film this. 

Editing: Ordering Footage

This has turned out to be a lot harder than i first expected, due to the footage having to synchronize with the music. I knew it would have to be, yet when ordering all the shots i want to use, it's hard to make it smooth. Yet i know the use of transitions will help me time all the shots and create a smoothness that at the moment, isn't yet possible. 

I have plotted the main parts of the song with the desired footage in mind. For example when the lead singer cuts in with the vocals for the first time, i have footage which is used, and is synchronous with the song.  Also with the guitar solo, yet i may want to film something especially to go over the top and fade in and out of the solo footage. This will show the importance of the solo and help emphasize it. The end of the song where the members of the band scream, i also have the footage from the live performance to go with the song. 

The only problem i am finding, is what to put between the key moments in the song. The narrative seems too loose for be to have a solid structure to the scenes in the 'casino'. Yet with the amount of footage i have, it's just a case of going through it and finding the right clip to fit the right part of the song. 

Editing: Picking Shots

Having a lot of footage may be useful to have so that you know you have enough, but it can't all be used. Therefore i have spent time to go through all of the footage i have, and pick the best clips and put them aside. That way i will ensure i can work with the quality clips, instead of other clips that might not look as pleasing. However all of the footage i have, will be stored, incase i need to add more footage.

31/10/09 Filming [Live Performance]

Some of the issues i was was worried about, really challenged me when i was filming. The lighting itself was very dark, yet enough light to make out the group members. The problem i had was with the drummer however as there was no light near him, and so the camera could not focus properly on him. I was unsure of how to tackle this problem, so i asked the owner of the pub if she would mind, if for one song i was to move one of the lights next to the drummer. This was fine, and i was finally able to get some footage of 'Mad Mark' at the drums.

One of the good things about the the lead singer, is he holds the microphone close to his mouth when singing so it will not be hard to make it look synchronous with the lyrics, as you can't see exactly what he is saying due to a slight obstruction. This is ideal because i can still edit it to look like he's sining in time with the song, even if in actual fact, he isn't.

My third concern was not so much of a problem as i had first thought as i was able to film the band playing all of their songs. Okay it might not match up to the song itself, yet depending on the speed of the editing and effects used, i very much doubt it will be very noticeable. I think that if i was to rely simply on the footage i took when they played the song 'Casino ****' live, i would probably not have enough to make a video worth using. Obviously when it comes to editing i will be using the footage i took during the song first but if it's not enough then i will have to use other footage i have taken to fill in the gaps.