Editing with Adobe After Effects - CCTV Effect

As per storyboard, we discussed the methods we could use to create the CCTV effect. We decided that Adobe After Effects would be our best bet since I had experience with it beforehand. The video above shows how we created the effect.

20th of November 2011 - Converting and Editing the Footage

After 3 days of trying to copy the footage from the mini DVD disk to a high quality common format, we finally succeeded. We used a software called "Any DVD Converter" to convert the DVD into an '.avi' file. However we did notice loss of quality so decided to research further into other softwares that could provide us with footage under an editable format. After looking for quite some time, we found our solution: Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum. This piece of software allowed us to export our footage into the '.mpg file' format without loss of quality. Another advantage that we found whilst using this program was that it converted our DVD into fragments which made it easier for us to edit and remove the bits we did not want. However we did have some problem decoding the audio from the MPG files that we were using in Adobe Premiere Pro. So we went online and downloaded the codec for audio of our footage (AAC format). We then started to edit the footage, including the addition of the CCTV effect. At the end of the day, we managed to complete the first 18 seconds of our music video.

12th of November 2011 - Day 2 of Filming

On this day we came prepared. I brought a spare battery and told my peers to come earlier, in the morning. I met them at Wembley Arena to film the actors/actresses with break dancers as part of our music video. We plan to use this as a memory (refer to storyboard). We then made our way to Harrow, where we shot discreetly in St.Ann's Shopping Centre and the local vicinity.

It seems to be that even students need permission to shoot video. We find that getting permission will become hassleful and time will be wasted however it is a necessity to avoid trouble.

11th of November 2011 - Day 1 of Filming

**Changes to equipment - skateboards were to be used as a DIY dolly**

We went to Brent Cross Shopping Centre after school to film the beginning/end scene of our music video. However we were stopped by security guards and were asked to delete all footage. After this, we were left quite disheartened as this would change our storyboard ideas significantly.

After leaving the shopping centre, we decided to visit a retail park which was across the road. This time we did seek permission from a Next store by the security guard. The light conditions were not ideal - it had become night and quite dark and we were afraid the footage would not come out right. However we did shoot regardless. Before finishing the shoot, we decided to film one more take. However the battery ran out. I also dropped the camera and when I ejected the disk tray to check whether the disk was damaged or not. We found that the disk had been moved from the holder. When we switched the video camcorder we found that the footage had been wiped.

At the end of this day we concluded that despite the fact that we lost the footage, we had learned valuable lessons - we learnt that we were to ask permission from the centre beforehand. Another lesson that we learnt is that we should have carried a spare battery. We now knew how to film the footage with practice that we had on this day.

**Changes to equipment - skateboard-as-dolly idea to be discontinued due to shaky footage**