Filming Preparations Blog - Music Video

I did a number of things to prepare for filming. First, I had to prepare all the props. The props I am responsible for bringing are boxing gloves and a duffle bag. I also made sure the treadmill is in working order. Having learned from the commercial project, I decided to find a different camera software on my phone that gives me greater control over ISO, white balance, framerate, as well as the shutter speed. Being able to control these variables will make the footage look a lot more professional.  After some research, I went with Blackmagic Camera app, which is free and has all the features I wanted. I watched a quick YouTube video to learn how to use all the features, and their impact on how the footage looks. For instance, setting the shutter speed really high helps lower the brightness of the image, but makes the video look choppy with little to no motion blur. A shutter speed of twice the framerate is ideal for natural looking motion blur. I got familiar with the software through experimenting with some shots. I also learned about the different Codec’s that can be used, which are essentially means of video compression. HEVC codec is high efficiency, but is not ideal for post-processing. I therefore chose to use Apple Prores 422 HQ (The highest my iPhone supports) which has better quality and post-processing speed, at the expense of large file sizes. I took the time to learn how to use the in built system for organizing shots.  I also tested exporting Prores video from my phone onto my computer. At first I had some trouble figuring out a reliable way to export large file sizes. Due to the file sizes, I had to use an external SSD to store the footage. Fortunately, with some patience, I was able to transfer Prores files. After taking these measures, I felt ready to start filming.