Music Video Production continues.

Music Video Production continues.

From Pre-production to Production, writing to filming.

Yongmoon High School, Seoul, South Korea.

Instructors: Andrew Zeller and Che Heejeong.

Theme: Let’s Make a Movie!

Goal: Students improve their English while each writing, directing, and acting in their own short film
(in addition to written assignments, movie viewings, improv games, and supplementary English lessons).

Yongmoon High School English Conversation Class: 9/2011 - 12/2011. 1st Grade Classes. Seoul, South Korea.

I’m looking forward to another semester with these amazing students! 

And these 4 are my worst students. They just sit in class, never speaking. I think their heads are full of air.

Happy New Year everyone! Be safe and be well!

Love is not a feeling. Feelings come and go; they change constantly. A relationship based only on feelings will struggle.

Love is not attraction or desire. Attraction fades and desire is selfish.

Love is not infatuation. Love does not blind people, but rather opens their eyes.

Love is not an escape for the senses; it is an awakening of the senses.

Love is not happy or easy all of the time. It stirs up many emotions and can be immensely challenging.

Love is not exclusive. It does not only socialize with certain groups of people. It is as omnipresent as air, and equally contaminated by human abuse. But we have enough to survive. It is easier to see polluted air (polluted love), while pure air (pure love) is usually invisible to us.

You can find love in some of the choices you make, in some of the people around you, and in many living things. You will not find love in things with imitation life-like qualities: technology, money, entertainment, etc. They are merely tools. We cannot describe technology, money, or entertainment as “loving” or “compassionate”. These adjectives are reserved for living beings, like people.

Love is a puzzle made from many pieces: trust, respect, admiration, devotion, self-sacrifice, patience, kindness, empathy, and forgiveness. 

It is the greatest gift we have to give and receive.

Written by Andrew Zeller - December 28, 2011 (Seoul, South Korea)

Yongmoon High School English Conversation Class: 9/2011 - 12/2011. 2nd Grade Classes. Seoul, South Korea.

Best of luck to all of my former students!! You are the leaders of tomorrow! 화이팅!
Please remember what I taught you. (But you can forget my cheesy jokes). -Andrew Teacher

This is the 7th and final video in my series of “How to be…(insert positive adjective)” videos for the rabito iPhone 4 case. It is the 2nd video to feature a rabito elemento case and the 2nd video to be filmed on my own Canon DSLR. (I borrowed cameras from friends for the previous videos). It is my 10th video for rabito Co., Ltd. I hope you enjoy it!



This video was filmed in Vancouver, Canada, over a period of 2 days in the summer of 2011. I feel quite fortunate to have been able to work actress/action superstar/gymnast: Ms. Momona Komagata. Not only is she talented and professional, but she is also kind, supportive, and easy-going. I said it at the audition and I will say it here it again: I really hope she succeeds in her acting career, because she certainly deserves it. You can learn more from her website:
http://www.MomonaKomagata.com

For me, making this video has been a long journey. I imagined a story, researched yoga poses, printed out images, made a collage, and drew rabito next to the human figures. Then I posted a casting notice online and invited several actresses to an audition. Liz Cha and I (along with Mina Kwag, the rabito designer) selected Ms. Momona Komagata for the role. I took photos of the locations I was considering. We filmed in 2 locations and had a mini-photo shoot. Then the video remained untouched for about a month while I finished others. I printed out images from the video and brought those images on a visit to California, where I made notes about how to structure the video. These notes traveled back with me to Canada, and then to South Korea (together with the video footage). I edited this video on-and-off during the past 3 months. The version you see is my 5th final draft.

With each rabito video, I’ve tried to do things I have never done before in a film. It makes it every video a true challenge, but I also learn many things each time.

So is this my last video for rabito??? Certainly not. More videos are in the works and on their way! : )

Life is a beautiful journey when I am together with you.

The future is brighter because of you.

 Photos taken in Seoul, South Korea, by Andrew Zeller.

My editing process is constantly evolving to become more efficient and precise. (I think I have learned a lot, but I still learn more every time!) I’m not going to say which editing software I use, because I think that question is not important. I feel the same way about cameras. Good videos and bad videos can come out of them; what matters is what you do with them. Choose the tool which you are most comfortable with using.

After learning how to use photoshop (not every feature) about 2 years ago, I became more picky about every frame of my videos. I treat them as moving images, each with their own value. If a shot exists ONLY for another shot, having no individual importance, I’ll probably delete it. Often this involves an internal struggle, as I may be very attached to that shot. But I’m getting better at letting go for the sake of the overall film.

I may start with the ending of the film and work backwards. Why? Because I care most about the “bookends”, the beginning and ending shots. Here’s a quick look at my process:

1. Watch all of the footage. Take notes. Choose the best takes of every shot.
2. Edit a rough cut, focusing only on order and pacing of video.
3. Revise. Trim. Try variations to try to improve the flow.
4. Sound editing. Balance audio levels,  remove peaks and fill in the gaps, add sound effects (sometimes recording them myself). ADR/narration is sometimes involved in this stage.
5. Send rough cut to composer. Wait. Receive music and match to video. Make changes in timing (if necessary), add fading, and balance overall sound mix.

Throughout this entire process, I also show my work-in-progress to people whose opinion I respect (even if it differs from mine) to gain feedback. It still amazes me how often people underestimate the time and effort that goes into video editing. For me, each project is a major commitment. I’m not sure if this is interesting to anyone, but I felt like recording my thoughts.

Peace from Seoul,
A.Z.