Editing the Video

I edited the music video using Final Cut Pro X which was the same program as I used last year. I started the editing process by importing all my clips into the library. Due to problems last year with missing video clips, I also backed up everything onto the computer. I created a new project by going to File > New > New Project and this is where I started creating the 'background video' that will be projected on the wall as part of the actual music video.

Background Video:

To start the video I dragged down the clips onto the timeline. I then added the music underneath which I used to help with the timings. Before adding any other clips I wanted to mark out where the beats are in the music and where the cuts would be. I did this using the marker tool which left little blue tabs on the timeline when I pressed the 'm' button. It made it easier when it came to shortening video clips as I had a visual mark to show exactly when I needed to make the cut.

After this, I was able to add more video clips onto the timeline and cut them down to size. I did this using the In and Out Tools or the 'I' and 'O' buttons to highlight the section I wanted to delete and then using the backspace button I could cut it. I repeated this for all the clips until the fitted the song.

Once the clips were cut down to size, I could edit the clips themselves. I wanted to change the lighting and colour settings so all of the clips matched but also to create the impression that they were all filmed at the same time. Using the colour preset 'Cold Steel' I was able to create a cool base colour. Using the saturation and contrast sliders I was then able to tweak the lighting so it matched the clip prior to it. The cool tones made the clips look older which was the aesthetic I was aiming for. To add to the old video theme I used a free Final Cut Pro plugin called 'Bad TV' (which can be found here.) The plugin created an old VHS feel to the clips, creating lines across the screen and static. It made the video look as if it was an old home video made on an old camcorder which adds to the theme. I repeated the process on all of the video clips, adjusting each on individually so it matched the rest. Additionally, the clips had to be stabilised because all the clips were shakey. I did this using the built in 'Stabilisation' tool. It made previously shakey clips look smooth and slightly more professional looking.

Before I could film the next part of the music video I had to export the background video. To do this I went to File > Share > Master File.

Main Video:

I created another project for the main music video and another event for all clips to do with the main video. It meant that I would not get the clips mixed up with other clips on final cut pro. I had planned to put a title at the beginning so I started the timeline by adding a black solid background and a basic title. I used a similar font to the one uses on my digipack and advert and used the same dots at the end of the artists name. I wanted to create a projector effect with the titles that would match the use of the projector. To do this I used the 'Blade' tool to cut off a small section of the title and made a space between the section and the rest of the title. It created a flickering effect which made it look as if it had been switched on. I did this for both the song title and the title of the band as well as doing it at the beginning and at the end. I then added the built in 'Projector Effect' so the background was not completely static. It created little flickers of white across the screen. Lastly, I used a free sound effect from Soundbible of a film projector turning on and off. It added to idea of old home videos and projections.  The final effect looks like this:

After the titles, I started work on the main body of the music video. Before I filmed, I already knew that I was going to be filming the same thing but from several different angles. Due to the way I filmed, I knew that the Multicam tool would be the best way of editing the footage. To create a Multicam clip, I selected all the clips I wanted to use as well as the audio and right clicked to select the 'New Multicam Clip' option. It came up with an options menu where I check the 'Sync with Audio' option. It was a quicker way of syncing up all the clips and it was one less thing for me to do. Once the clip had finished processing, I added it to my timeline. Some clips were longer than others which meant that there was a gap before the audio started. Using the blade tool, I cut where the song started and deleted the unnecessary gap.From here I could start to switch between clips. Using the blade tool again, I selected the clip I wanted from the angle viewer. It automatically added itself to the timeline from the playhead. Though the Multicam tool was difficult to get working at the beginning, once I had got it working the editing process was relatively easy compared to manually adding each clip to the timeline.

Once the main part of the editing had been finished, I started on the clean up process. This is where I made the video look nicer by adjusting things such as the colour and by adding filters to create the effect I wanted. Angle 1 had some issues which meant the video made the actors face too dark. To combat this I used the colour correction settings to adjust the contrast. Though it was not perfect, it was better than what it looked like before. After correcting this, I went on to add the letterbox filter to all of the footage. I changed the size to 5.5 which meant that the black bars were visible but they did not take up too much of the video. In my experience, I have found that the most professional looking more serious videos use this effect. It was easily replicated by dragging the filter onto each clip.

At this point, I felt my music video was complete. I did at a later stage go back to it to make a few slight tweaks. Once I was finished, I exported it as an MP4 file. By exporting it in this format, it meant that I could upload it onto Youtube and additionally onto this blog.