Stand By Me - Music Video

Concept

For this project, we were to do another music video, although hopefully better than last year. We chose "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King. The concept was changed several times, but we finally arrived on the idea circled around three friends having a good time on their last day before one of the friends moves away. Our director, Aidan, was inspired by the movie "Stand By Me" for this video.

Process

Pre-production: We ran through several concepts (almost one too many) but finally settled on one after a few days. The storyboard was very detailed and the beat sheet was as well. We created a prop list and actor list in order to prepare for everything.

Production: We filmed throughout several days and on short intervals... it was surprising that we made it! Everybody handled the responsibility of cinematographer, more or less. Anything to get the shot. Our actors were pretty much our whole group, mind Max Cooper. 

Post-Production: Our editor, Brett, did a fantastic job in editing the video in as little as two days. He had a short window to work with but handled it well, and the result definitely reflects that.

Learn/Skills

I learned how important time management is and the importance of location scouting. I also learned how to better my camera techniques. We used technical skills in the area of cinematography and editing, communication in arriving on location and getting props, leadership in directing the video and taking charge of the short amount of time, collaboration in working all together to create an amazing film with time constraints, and project management in completing the video on time.

Different/Same

I wasn't there for the entire shoot, so the shots indoors I would re-do. Also, some of the shots go in and out of focus because they were on auto mode so I would re-do those as well. Other than that, I would keep everything else the same. The fades between shots really matched well in this video, but might not for every video. I would maybe edit it a little differently, but not much.

Experiences/Conclusions

I will draw the project management I learned in this film to be used in my next project. The minimal time that we had still turned out to be a great product. It goes to show that you have to make the most of the time you are given in order to be completely satisfied with the end result. All in all, I am very pleased with this project and can't wait to get into shorts and features.

Professional Project Review - Music Video

You Can Call Me Al

Paul Simon had a simplistic vision for this music video. He obviously didn't have a massive budget for this but still ended up creating a very unique film. Basically, Chevy Chase was acting as Paul Simon, singing the entirety of the song. Randomly, Paul would get up and grab different instruments while Chase continued to belt the tune.

Principles of Design/Analyze

The cinematography was probably the weakest part of this video. But who's to blame? The story flowed and the acting was certainly the strong suit. Lighting was very well done because all things on screen could be seen. The writing and planning was strong as well because the story clearly was natural and comedic in its own way. Direction in this music video was fantastic. The actors knew what they were doing and when to do it. 

Story

The story, in a nutshell, was the comedic way that Chevy Chase was singing the song instead of Paul Simon. Simon would also bring out various instruments used throughout the song and implement them that way. It was told through a one shot, or close to one shot, video. Yet, many things were going on at once and having one shot didn't really hamper the video at all.

Elements

I would apply the amazing direction and unique story into my films. Lots of planning went into this beforehand and I need to work on my pre-production skills like in the video. One thing I've learned is the importance of something needing to be going on during a still shot like this. Because so much action was involved, it didn't need to have a ton of shots. 

Strengths/Weaknesses

The creator did well on all areas such as lighting, writing, directing, editing, and acting. It was entertaining, in my opinion, and kept the viewer engaged. Cinematography could be improved, though, because the shots were a little long even though Chevy was singing the entire time. Of course, this was back in the era and Paul didn't have a lot to work with.

Conclusions

Overall, this video was well made. Simon and Chase acted well and made this a fun video to watch. It had a simple yet interesting story, and I will apply these techniques to my own future projects. 

MLA Format: YouTube, YouTube, 16 June 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq-gYOrU8bA.

"Killer Fresh" by Colgate - Commercial

Overview

For this project, our group consisted of three juniors and two seniors: Aidan, Kevin, myself, Darby, and Brett. We chose to present Colgate products in our commercial. To tell the truth, I'm not even sure how we came to Colgate. It just happened. As far as the concept for the script, our original idea was to have a guy walking alone at night, suddenly get murdered, and the Colgate ad would appear. The non-sequitur was hilarious when we originally talked about it. Soon, we realized it wasn't such a strong idea. So, that night, I thought and thought and thought and finally fell upon the "Pyscho" shower scene. Good ideas just fall into your head sometimes. The next day, I presented it to the group and it was better received than the original concept. We were to have a guy walk into the bathroom, get into the shower, and get attacked by a guy with a.... toothbrush. Hence the product.

Process

Darby and Brett were in charge of the storyboard, while Aidan, Kevin, and I were working on the script. Aidan was the director, Kevin was the editor, Darby was the production designer, Brett was the DP, and I was the all-around man. Co-director, co-editor... whatever you'd like to call it. We were set to film on the weekend and edit all week. We filmed on a Saturday at Brett's grandparent's house. It took around 3-4 hours to film, but luckily it was all in one setting. Filming was the best part, although it was pretty hot in the bathroom. During editing, we pretty much let Kevin work his magic with us occasionally visiting his office to provide feedback and help. The final product went through several changes and had to be cut by at least 10 seconds. I also suggested that we add jazz music to the beginning to create a peaceful atmosphere before the killing.

I Learned Things (5 Guarantees)

I helped to co-direct the commercial and provide input on the layout of shots and such during production. In post-production, I helped Kevin a lot with problem areas needing to be addressed. I learned communication skills in partnering up with seniors/people I haven't worked with. I also learned more technical skills in making a film that was black and white and helping someone else with editing. I bettered my leadership skills by directing Max, our lead actor, and organizing the final concept. As far as project management, we turned in the commercial on time. So that's a plus. I learned to collaborate with several other like-minded people that I've never met before!

Different/Same

We would make it clear that the toothbrush was the attack weapon. For the people that have seen "Psycho", I think they got that. But, for the non-Hitchcockians, that reference went over their head. So we could clearly display the toothbrush in the hand of the killer. I really liked how it turned out, though, so I wouldn't change much. 

Objectives

We emotionally connected to the Hitchcock lovers. But someone was being killed, so not much else. We didn't give a lot of information on the product, but it was a toothbrush so there's not much to tell. Our group called people to action when the actor smelled his breath but decided against brushing his teeth. Brush your teeth people! There wasn't much positive association with a murder, but try your best to find some. You'll definitely trust Colgate now that a killer toothbrush man could come and get you for not brushing. The script was really strong and we relied on it most of the production time, so we used writing effectively. Aidan was a great director and implemented his knowledge of film into the project. For audio, we didn't need much as we used music and audio from the Psycho film. The lighting was well done because it was in a bathroom. Brett did a great job as a cinematographer and I feel that aspect was strong. Kevin was a good listener and editor, so our final project reflected that.

Conclusion

Overall, I really enjoyed this project and the people I got to work with. We worked well together and the result certainly shows that. Now I'm inspired to create more commercials in the future!