P5 - Editing Techniques

 EDITING DIARY 

I am using Final Cut Pro to edit my music video. Above shown is my interface when I am editing. When setting up my library to edit on, I made sure that all my setting were in accordance to the non-negotiables that the client gave me, and what would be correct for what I'm making. I made

 it HD 1920 x 1080. I then imported media. I have expanded the width and height of the project bar at the bottom so I can edit to the music as accurately as possible. I have decreased my audio to -6 to ensure that it follows the correct setting for what my client is expecting of me and to ensure it wont cause anyone listening to it harm from being too loud. I am using different versions throughout the whole process so that I can go back to old work if a new version goes wrong, or even refer to it to know what I need to improve. It also helps me and the client see the overall progression throughout the project. 

VERSION 1:

This version was a rough cut of my video. I imported all my videos in and cut them down to fit in time with the music, but I didn't spend time checking every single transition and I didn't use any extra editing tools e.g the exposure tool to fix some of the lighting in shots. However I made sure the made shots that align with the beat drops were in the right place as I needed to make sure I had enough shots to fill the gaps before and after where the specific scenes take place. This meant that even though I had a completed video here it was very rough and jumpy in a lot of places. I didn't end up following most of my planned out storyboard, as I had seen from my animatic sequence that the shots felt too long and not natural anyway. I have followed the general sequence of my scenes in this first draft though. It helped me to realize and really see what needed editing and improving and seeing if I did need to refilm any scenes. Luckily I had all my filming done here so my next versions was really about improving the jumps and cuts and colour instead of just adding more scenes or spending more time re filming. The feedback (seen below) from others told me that I may need to edit some of the shots to make them sharper because they look grainy/blurry. I may try to play with colour grading my shots to make the graininess less obvious.

One of the main things I would like to improve in the next version of my music video from making this version is the flow of the video, some sections e.g the projection section can look really out of place and feel like it doesn't really fit in with everything else so I may contemplate adding these scenes in other sections of the video to make it look and feel more natural. I also want to improve the transitions between shots and contemplate adding different shots in instead of some I may have added in in this draft which don't quite fit with the rest of the video. This is my biggest priority over editing colour and lighting etc. because I don't want to spend time editing a shot if I don't end up using it in my video. This is also a priority in terms of fitting with the time schedule I have been given, I need to make sure I have a complete video before doing more further detailed editing. 

VERSION 2:

The first thing i did when starting to edit this version was to duplicate the project and name the new one 'Version 2'. This was so I can work freely within this version without changing my first version. Therefore, if anything goes wrong in the new version or I don't like something I can go back to the first project as a back-up

When beginning to edit this version the first thing I did was change the positioning and duration of my clips, I wanted to make the sequence more interesting and also make it flow better in lots of parts. I changed up a lot of my sequence such as adding in extra clips from all the scenes at the beginning and end to match the music. After I had done this and was happy with the general sequence I then went onto further editing. 

I wanted to improve on my feedback from Version 1 so I looked at making some of my 

scenes less blurry by stabilising them or changing them/cutting them out if needed. I also used the noise reduction effect on some of the night scenes so that the video was less grainy, I didn't want this to take away from the quality of the video or make 

the video look odd compared to unedited clips next to it so I used the suggested amount automatically from Final Cut Pro of medium and medium.

Then, I went on to improve the colour of my shots. I wanted to make the colour more professional and better suited for the indie genre, so after testing most of the effects available on Final Cut Pro I found that Sepia looked the best for the colour I was wanting to see without having to adjust the tint on every individual image. I reduced this Sepia to around 30-45 depending on each clip (e.g night clips needed a higher value than clips in daylight to properly show without looking orange). I think this slight warm tint works well for the alternative/indie genre I am trying to work with. Often indie videos use very warm tints to create a bit of an older or bohemian look, so even though my video is a sadder meaning I felt it being cool toned (natural daylight) felt too cold and lifeless for the genre and how the video does have a lot of intense emotion in. The colour isn't quite as perfect as I would have liked however I feel this is the closest I can get without having to spend lots of time editing each individual clip,

especially as I don't have the knowledge to be able to do it properly. Using the effects on Final Cut Pro also means I am able to toggle with the colour on top anyway without disrupting the colour wash over the top. 

After I had applied the Sepia colour edit I wanted to focus on how the last bedroom scene didn't fit the continuity of the video. I am trying to show hoe the character goes out onto the roof (where it is getting dark outside) and comes back inside however the shot inside is the same light as the first bedroom scene which I felt didn't fit. I decreased the exposure to make it look naturally darker and also turned the tint slightly more blue tones, which it would naturally be at night anyway. I think this made these scenes look naturally darker. However I may look more at these setting to check I have the most natural look possible without looking overly edited. it is essential the audience understand the story I am creating because otherwise they will get confused and lose interest. Keeping

continuity of the story means that the whole narrative I am trying to create works. I don't want people to just be trying to understand the story the whole time and not actually thinking of the meaning behind it for example. This is why making small edits like this helps me to make sure the audience understands what I am trying to portray.

I also cropped a few scenes so that they were really showing the focus point of the shot. In this shot here, there was lots of spare space which distracted away from from what I was actually trying to show. I used the crop tool and just made my image wider, to what I was hoping it to be.

I wanted to add in a title as I think this is a really conventional and essential part of music videos, and in my research every single video had somewhat of a title involved. I used the Title setting on Final Cut Pro to add a basic title that fades in to the shot. I wanted to try and use the same title they have in the lyric video and song cover etc. I did some research online and found one that is what I wanted. I imported the font from DaFont onto my computer and then used it in Final Cut Pro. I put this at the end of my video as I thought this was the most musically calm 

section, and I had the longest running shots here which were 

possible for me to add it in. I also think this suited the video, and

 I recognized that in other Lord Huron music videos they had put 

the title at the end. I also added a few seconds of end credits at

 the end, saying who it was made by and who starred in it. I think

 this really helps to pull together the video and make it look more

 professional and like more of an indie film which was what I was 

trying to create. I used the settings on Final Cut Pro to let me fade the title in and out of the shot to fit with the calmer music and look like it has more of a place. I used the colour orange as I felt it fit with the general colour scheme of my video. It is also complementary to the blue tones of the sky in the shot so the colours work well together, especially because there is hints of this orange in parts of the shot 

(lights, the fire etc) so it feels like a complete shot which compliments

 each other nicely

To respond more to my feedback for my third version I may contemplate moving some of the start clips round to make them make more sense to the audience. I responded to most of these during my second version (seen earlier was a screenshot of the old title where I said 'Music Video' not 'Lord Huron' as seen in the second version. I also want to edit the fade to black at the end once I know that every thing else is good in my video. In my third version, I also want to add Lord Hurons logo at the start of the video which they add to most of their existing music videos as a signature. This is important for the audience and fans of Lord Huron, as they expect this as part of Lord Hurons videos. It is good to include these signatures as it makes the audience feel closer to the artist and like they can relate to the whole video more, if the logo has caught their interest first.

VERSION 3 (FINAL VERSION):

I first of all added in the logo Lord Huron uses in the start of all of their videos as this is something I had known to improve from my third version. This is a key feature in most of existing Lord Huron music videos so I felt it was important for the audience to feel a sense of similarity. I just used a still image of this at the start of my video by inserting a screenshot to the beginning of my video.

I made a few of my videos slightly faster/slower to fit the music and timing better. I did this by using the custom speed tool on Final Cut Pro and enhanced it by 10 or 15 percent for example. 

I finally exported my video once I was happy with my result. I first exported a smaller file format for Youtube and to send for feedback, so it wouldn't take too long to take up too much space to send. I exported this is the video codec H.264 on Final Cut Pro. 

I then exported again in a higher file format for the final export to my client and for future personal use so that I have a high quality version I can look back to. I exported this in the video codec Apple ProRes 422.