Lip Syncing Tutorial

It is important to learn the art of lip syncing because we will soon need to lip sync the audio track of our songs to the visual elements we have filmed- this including a variety of lip syncing scenes. It is also a very well respected professional skill within editing.

In order to lip sync the footage we were given, we had to first look closely at the audio waveforms of the professionally recorded track and mark a specific point (an obvious point in the waveform). I marked this by pressing the m button and then did the same for the audio waveforms on the onset footage. I then matched these together and muted the onset filming sound. This enabled me to achieve a professional look. I will use this on my own work and feel much more confident now.

Filming update

Filming on Friday the 15th of November went to plan and I was able to lip sync myself with the help of someone filming me. To prepare for this filming I had learnt the lyrics of the part I was going to lip sync and also had a practice run to ensure everything would go smoothly when the real footage was filmed. I had also looked at my risk assessment table and followed the avoidance strategies where there were potential risks. For example, I ensured that all wires were out of the way so that no one can trip over them and this was successful.

There were some problems that I faced during this filming which delayed some of this but also made me aware of how to encounter them the next time I film. This included not having enough lighting which made the footage look dull, we solved this by finding a different light source which was a table lamp and placing it near the focus of where the camera was aimed at.

Filming schedule continued

After recieving advice off teachers that the drama room has not got suitable lighting to film even with a red head, I have decided to change my location to my own house. I am still using my class mate to film me lip syncing and this will take place:
Friday the 14th November at 3:15

Risk Assessment

Filming schedule

Location: Drama room at school (use of dark background in the room)
Date: Thursday 7th November 
Time: 3:15 after school
Actors: during this day I will be using myself for the chorus lip syncing 

I will be using a classmate to film me as she is familiar with the use of the camera and tripod, I know what shot types I am using and the duration of them so I will be directing her during this filming.

Pitch

My music video is based on a female leaving her boyfriend because of the many mistakes that she had made with him, taking this into account I have come up with some ideas on what to do with this. I would like to make my video narrative based as I believe it will be more effective for an R&B song that is about a couple breaking up, through my research on other songs similar to mine I can see that this is a popular concept.

I have decided to have the use of black and white tones involved when I am portraying the couple at their happy times, this shows that it is not current time but it's as if she is reminiscing on the times that they used to have.  As well as using other characters in my video I have thought to use myself lip syncing the chorus only to make it look like I am the artist and that I am telling the story in this narrative based piece. 

The location that I am planning to use is in the bedroom when the female character is showing that she is emotional over this break up, but also using locations outside when the couple are shown together, mainly in a romantic setting.

Top conventions- R'n'B music videos

• FASHION- both males and females are shown quite promiscuously in these videos by wearing minimal clothes which attract the audience's attention. For males it is mostly topless shots and for females bikinis and mostly their stomach showing, these are both done to attract the opposite sex

•   ICONOGRAPHY- for males in r'n'b music videos they are shown in a very sexual light as they are trying to attract young girls who will be intrigued by this connotation of them. They are also shown to be wearing a lot of bling to portray their wealth and again attract ladies. For females they are also conveyed sexually with not a lot of clothing and also having a dramatic look from their make up and their hair to again attract males and also females who look up to them.

• SLOW SONGS- these type of songs are shown in colour tones such as black and white or sepia which adds to the softness of the song. There is also the use of natural lighting to portray a sense of reality to the video and the characters involved. They also usually follow a narrative to again show some realism but it can also add to the sexual portrayal as the co star is usually wearing minimal clothing. 

• FAST SONGS- when a r'n'b song is fast there is a portrayal of flashy cars, jewellery, sexualisation of both males and females. These all add to the fun aspect of the song as they are usually singing about parties and getting 'girls' or 'boys'. Also they are usually in the scene of a club with a lot of drinks and people, which connotes their wealth as well as showing that they are having a good time.

• CLOSE UPS- it is typical of an r'n'b song to have many close ups of the artist so that the audience become familiar with them and what they are singing about. Also because most of these videos are about breaking up and so these close ups allow us to see their emotions clearly while they are singing 

• LOCATION- usually in places such as sunny beaches and clubs/bars, this is to show that the artist or band enjoy using their wealth to have fun in top places but also to make it visually effective for the audience instead of having a consistent dull location where the audience will not be grabbed for attention

• PROPS-the use of flashy cars and jewellery is used to connote their wealth, also sunglasses is a main prop in some of these videos which adds to the 'cool' and 'hip hop' look for the artists