Editing

Currently the editing process is ongoing and the below images are some snap shots of my work so far.  I have explained what effects/ transitions I have used in great detail in order to document this process.

The above image is a screen shot from my editing work on my video, within the programme Final Cut Pro X. I played around with various effects in Final Cut to create the opening sequence to my music video which is a time lapse. As storyboarded, I stayed out in the field that I filmed the music video in, at about 8 O'clock in the morning, filming sequences of about 20 minutes each. Having reviewed the footage, this was my favourite as it captured the movement of the clouds and transition of light effectively. The next step was to speed up my footage in order to create the time lapse, I did this originally on Imovie using the fast forward tool by 20% and transported the faster version to the computer with Final Cut Pro. Within Final Cut Pro I then edited the speed of the sequence further, adjusting using the fast forward or slow motion tool to create the best version. The only thing that I am disappointed about is a dark lense mark which can be seen throughout the sequence, I tried to eliminate this using Photoshop and editing frame by frame but this was taking far too long, therefore I will cover the mark with a title section. I am pleased with the accompanying sound track to the time lapse, as I wanted to imitate something that it seen within other music videos, whereby the track starts with naturalistic sounds (of birdsong in my case) before cutting to the song. 

The inspiration for this comes from music videos such as Bastille's 'Pompeii'
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F90Cw4l-8NY&list=PLzW1LVlKi6P3cOgjiLJb-4nztwSMFKbSW

Sia's 'Chandelier'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vjPBrBU-TM
and Taylor Swift's 'I Knew You Were Trouble'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNoKguSdy4Y
These are just a few examples of music videos which take between 10 -20 seconds  and 2 minutes to set the scene of the video and do not come straight in with the track, and are as a result a part of my inspiration as to having the time lapse at the start of my video.

The above image displays another technique and tool that I have been using within Final Cut when editing my video. I used layering to create this image, and played around with the opacity so that the old man's hands are just visible but my artist's hands are more prominent in the shot. What I like about this image/ sequence is the way that there is synergy conveyed as the cross generational theme and the fact that I am drawing a comparison between the old man and the artist is made very clear to the audience through the layering. However, I feel that this definitely needs more work, I am unhappy with the conflicting angles of the different key boards and feel that too much of the older man's key board is visible in relation to his hands, and that his hands cannot be seen as clearly as I would like, to truly emphasise that connection - drawing together the elements of narrative and performance within my music video.

This image is an example of one of the more transitional shots that I have filmed. I like the sequence and have included this and the sequence captured by the image below although I am unsure of whether they will stay in my finished music video. I liked this shot as I feel that it is quite soft, atmospheric, matching the song and the out of focus lights flickering looks quite effective. However, I am indecisive as to whether I will use this shot and those similar as the footage is a bit shaky and I don't want it to distract from the main features - the narrative and performance of the video.

I loved this sequence as I really like the silhouettes that are created by the sunset, and the interesting shapes which are indicative of nature. The natural themes evoked by this sequence link to the theme of my digipack which involves my artist and a natural backdrop, equally this natural theme of the leaf and tree imagery is used within some of the original artist Ludovico Einaudi's album covers and also popular band Kodaline. Once again my only concern with this shot is the relevance to my video and I will therefore decide whether to include this or not later on in the editing process.

Finally, the above image is taken from one of the sequences of my older actor playing the piano, I played around with this sequence on Final Cut Pro as something about the colour was not quite right. Using the colour balance tool within Final Cut I was able to counteract the yellowish hue that the footage had due to the natural daylight, I am very pleased with how this sequence now looks as it has a brighter, cleaner and more professional finish and will blend with the other colours of my video to allow a smooth transition between shots.