Post Production: Editing

Editing was an interesting yet challenging part of the process. For editing, I used multiple softwares, including Premiere Pro, CapCut, PREQUEL and VN. 

Premiere Pro: I used Premiere Pro (2022) for assembling of the footage. I also used it for all the transitions and effects. I worked with speed on Premiere Pro as sometimes, lip-syncing would be slightly slower than anticipated, and I would use the speed feature to align the lyrics and lip-syncing. Moreover, each time I had to work with opacity, Premiere was used. I also utilized the scaling up with key-frames to give a dolly-in effect, one which may be noticed in the second clip (the one with the galaxy projector). Since our footage's stability was a little compromised due to handheld shots, I applied warp stabilizer to videos in which the footage would not look wobbly. Moreover, in some scenes, I had to slow down the footage as the video clip would run out before it's corresponding lyric. For example during the "we're reeling through the midnight streets" one, Haya and I sprinted and the video clip turned out to be of only 6 seconds, whereas the lyric lasts around 8-9 seconds, so I slowed down the clip enough to match the lyric. In the rough cut, I hadn't known about the optical flow feature reducing the choppiness of the video, but when I showed my teacher the rough cut, he instructed me to redo it with that, and when I tried, it made a lot of difference. 

 This was the original clip of us sprinting

This was recorded on tripod for stability, so I used scaling up with keyframes to get the dolly-in effect.

CapCut: Although I originally intended to use CapCut for the transitions as well, they didn't seem to match with the tone and pace of the music video. So I only used CapCut for texts and most of the color-grading. Although CapCut has nice presets, some of which immediately enhanced some clips, I worked manually with every feature to make sure it is all according to the scene and looks as cinematic as possible and resonates with the mood of the scene. The only clips that I did not color correct were the ones with the galaxy projector and the opening scene (except the red lighting one). One more clip that I didn't color correct was this very shot clip of Haya and I on the balcony. This was because it was a last minute addition after I realized that in the color-graded version of the same clip, I had broken the forth wall by accidentally looking into the camera. However, it did not make much of a difference, as the lighting in that shot was already optimal. 

PREQUEL: I used PREQUEL for some of the flashback scenes in which I wanted a pinkish-lilac hue. I also used it for the bookshelf scene as the lighting in that clip was bad and luckily, PREQUEL saved the clip. 

 

I do not have a full time lapse for the editing process because I constantly had to use my phone to text my teacher or look up things, and I also had to frequently try color-grading on phone apps such as PREQUEL and CapCut.

 

Here is Paul Anka, my constant companion through the editing journey watching the semi-finished version with me.