Final Music Video

Victoria and I have worked hard to come to this point and I am happy to say that I am proud of what we have produced. However, this project was not only about the result, but also the experience and knowledge we've gained along the way.

I have learned that sometimes, your results won't always look exactly like your initial visions. There were times where we had to improvise. An example of this would be when Victoria's brother was not feeling well around the same time that we needed to film. So, instead of me being in Victoria's room for the scenes, we edited and layered them so that the shadowy figure would be there but not at full opacity. If I am being honest, I think it turned out better this way despite the process of layering my hand over her head being complicated. It all worked out in the end! 

I also learned that not every scene you film will be used in the final product. The scene where Victoria was supposed to hide did not come out right and we did not feel like we could use it due to the shadow of the camera man being in the way, so we extended the running scene by repeating it to create the illusion that no matter how fast she runs, she can not seem to escape this figure.

Another thing I learned was to pay more attention to the Mise-en-scene. This doesn't just include what I want in the film, but also what I DON'T want in the film or background. The lighting in my room can make my nose look funny depending on how I angle myself. The first time we are on the phone, this is visible. But after watching these scenes again before filming the second phone call, I decided to look more downward to prevent the lights from only highlighting my nose, accidentally making it a center of focus. An honorable mention would be Dwayne The Rock Johnson on my wall in the background. While him being in the background could have added to my character that I am unserious and weird, if this were to be made super professionally with more time and planning, it is likely he would not be there. If I am being honest, I possibly may have angled it more so that he would be visible, but he is not super noticeable if you weren't looking at the background, focusing on me instead. I felt that if someone were to notice him, it would be funny and go along with my smiling in the last scene when I reveal that I am the dark figure. 

We could have worked better on the positioning when we were talking on the phone. The first time we do this, we are positioned mostly correct, both facing opposite directions. The second time, Victoria was more straight forward while I was looking to the right. 

In the scene with the piano and the red light, I had my mom search for 10 minutes to find the light because the first one we saw did not work with the remote, so we had to find the correct one. I decided to film that scene with my dad's phone because my rear camera is somewhat broken and his android allowed the red light to show up more vibrantly than the alternative, which would be my grandma's iPhone 8. This was one of the scenes that I can say went exactly as we had planned. All other scenes needed some sort of fixing and did not 100% end up like originally planned. 

One thing that worked out on accident was the unsteadiness of the shots of the bedroom. Victoria's (uninterested) mom helped film these scenes. Personally, I think the film turned out better this way. With the camera being unsteady, it emphasizes the strangeness and the fear that the figure would give off. 

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