I walked into this video project with the thought that it wouldn’t be too challenging to complete. However, I was completely wrong. Throughout the project, we encountered multiple unforeseen obstacles such as, different dancing abilities amongst members, finding costumes and filming locations, fitting everyone’s schedules together, and etc….  These obstacles allowed us to think creatively outside the box in order to overcome these challenges.

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The video we chose was released in 2009, therefore aspects such as costumes, camera angles, and effects are quite different than modern day music videos. The costumes in the video were bright and unique. Consequently, we had to creatively use our props to produce a similar effect to the video. There were a total of more than 100 shots and angles throughout 3 full days of practicing and filming. This might not seem a lot, but I can’t imagine being an actual K-pop star filming one professional video.

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Furthermore, I had the opportunity to edit most of the video. It wasn’t as easy as I thought. The process took around 6-8 hours total for 3 minutes of recordings. Additionally, I had to teach myself how to do certain effects, zooming, and etc…. I enjoyed editing the video as it was a new learning experience in a field of interest. However, I now realize that what we see on screen is more than just a face of a celebrity or a group, it is a collaboration between multiple artists from different fields of work to produce these fantastic videos. I have come to appreciate the tremendous efforts, money and time put into one scene that contributes to one video.

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Lastly, from putting on make up, dancing, filming and editing, I am glad I was able to share this unforgettable experience with my friends.

Our group created a performance cover of 2NE1’s “Lollipop” music video featuring BIG BANG. Throughout the entirety of this project, I argue that the struggle of harmony in practice, complications in editing, and occasional entertainment are the most impactful learning experiences that I have acquired.

In order to keep the originality of the music video, our group studied every scene and attempted to mimic all the shots. I found that it was very challenging for the group shots to be in synchronicity. The small errors by one person would cause the whole group to restart filming one scene that would only account for 1 second in our video. This experience showed me a deeper understanding of the cooperative obstacles that are similar to corporate K-Pop group expectations.

Editing the video took a tremendous amount of time. Having to learn a new and unfamiliar editing software was fairly complicated. The music video itself would have 5 to 7 different shots and angles within a span of 4 seconds. I realized how tough it can be to put together all the scenes.

Although cooperation can be difficult at times, it was a pleasurable experience being able to work with friends. Putting on makeup and reviewing our scenes was ridiculously entertaining. At the end of filming almost every scene, I would hear laughter and silly screams from everyone. I would like to think that the K-Pop artists also have fun while filming on set.

Overall, I learned that there is a lot of effort that goes into K-Pop than I had previously imagined. From cooperating dance movements, editing numerous scenes, and having fun along the way, I believe that I have attained a great understanding of how K-Pop groups function when filming music videos.

After covering 2NE1’s song “Lollipop” in collaboration with Big Bang, I have gained a greater appreciation for the work K-pop stars output on a consistent basis. Prior to the cover, I greatly underestimated the amount of work it takes to create each piece. I learned that during the music making process, artists are challenged on a creative and personal. I was able to experience similar challenges as we went through the process of creating the cover video.

            First, in our video cover, we lacked many of the resources available to K-pop stars when filming, such as videographers and choreographers, in addition to our lack of professional training. To compensate, my group and I were challenged creatively to make do with what we had. One of the biggest problems was trying to re-create the outfits in “Lollipop”. My role in the cover was CL, who had a very unique outfit throughout much of the video, consisting of red high heels, pink leggings, white one-piece, denim vest and topped off with a large belt. While I was not able to recreate the whole outfit, I challenged myself creatively and used pieces of my own wardrobe to obtain a similar look. I cut off the sleeves of an old denim jacket to make the denim vest. Then I wore a white tank top, tucked into leggings while wearing white underwear to recreate the look of CL. While we were unable to have access to the same resources as K-pop stars, with creativity and hard work, we managed to recreate similar (albeit cheaper) alternatives to the outfits seen in “Lollipop”.

            Second, I was challenged personally and managed to learn more about myself during the process of making the cover. For our group’s cover, we decided that the gender roles would be reversed, with the boys taking on the roles of 2NE1 while the girls were Big Bang. This gender reversal challenged me personally, as I had to overcome various new experiences. For instance, I had to wear lots of makeup during the shoot to look more like CL. I also had to learn how to change my dance style to become more feminine in order to imitate CL. Conforming and taking on another role is what some stars have to do in order to be successful. Taking on this challenge allowed me to learn more about myself and K-pop, growing more as a person and student of K-pop.

            The process of making a cover video gave me the opportunity to learn about the effort and work it takes to create each piece of music and how difficult it is to remain professional while being challenged creatively and personally. After making the cover video, not only have I learned more about K-pop, but also more about myself and my ability to overcome challenges. This arduous process allowed me to gain a greater appreciation for the work that K-pop stars put into each and every product that they make.

Filming our 2NE1 Kpop music video cover gave me insight on the difficulties a Kpop group experienced being given an unfamiliar concept. At first, I thought filming a Kpop video was simple; solo scenes and group dances sewn together through video editing to create dynamic visuals. However, I learned that underneath each scene comprised of group coordination, multiple takes, concept research, long hours of filming, and support from each other.

During our analysis of “Lollipop”, we noticed 2NE1’s concept was bright, lively, and humorous. To portray this, our group split the roles such that the male and female roles were reversed. As a result, the males tackled the challenge of 2NE1 while females took on BigBang. All of us were put in a position where we had to step out of our comfort zones. Although we individually prepared and practiced for our parts, we would not have been able to properly execute it without guidance from group members who were more familiar with the choreography or facial expressions of the opposite gender. Although it was embarrassing at times and many mistakes were made, our support for one another kept the atmosphere positive and lively. This greatly improved our productivity and kept morale high during the long hours of filming.

Despite this video being our first project together, we became close-knit after helping each other film the humorous scenes. As a result, we were able to create a fun and supportive environment where everyone felt comfortable to fully embrace their parts. Overall, this experience taught me how Kpop-idols sometimes had to embrace different personas to suit a given concept. I felt that such a feat would not have been successful without the encouragement and support of their group members tackling the same challenge beside them.

Pushing through the sweat and cramped legs to recreate 2NE1 (and Big Bang)’s “Lollipop”, I gained a better understanding of K-pop lyrics, music video personas, and collaboration.

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To challenge ourselves, my team tried to make the video look like the original- scene by scene. Personally, this meant that I had to practice and lip sync TOP’s rap at a speed I was not comfortable with. Though I am Korean, in the past 19 years of my life, I have never rapped in Korean until filming this cover. To prepare for TOP’s rap imitation, I wrote out the lyrics in Hangul and even Romanised some phrases so I could read and rap faster.

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By picking a music video with a distinct theme and vibe, I was able to really get into TOP’s character and go all out to produce a realistic effect. Pushing embarrassment and public humiliation aside, I wore glasses, rings, and bright colours to mimic TOP’s look. From this, I learned how difficult it is to embrace another character and portray a male image, as well as soaking in TOP’s persona and pretending like I was actually him.

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Lastly, I learned about collaboration between 2NE1 and Big Bang. During the filming process, I recognized the effort and time it must have took to choreograph a dance and write a song that complements each member’s strengths and styles. Though each member has their separate roles, 2NE1 and Big Bang were able to work together to produce a quality video that can’t be done by one group alone.

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Through the filming process, I learned how to rap in Korean, embrace TOP’s character, and recognize the effort put into collaboration. Ultimately, the skills I gained were worth the consecutive hours of memorizing lyrics, rehearsing choreography, and redoing shots.

From the cover video of “Lollipop” of the Korean pop group 2ne1, I learned a lot about the Korean culture and gained further insight in respect to the mechanics on the production of K-pop videos. While preparing and planning the layout for the video, I noticed that there are lots of props such as rings and earrings that are used to make the video appear more “flashy” and prestigious. In addition, Korean pop stars tend to use more makeup than western culture music videos. This may be due to the much more frequent close ups that occur within the duration of the music video. In contrast to western culture music videos, they tend to be more coherent and feature more action that “flows” with the tunes and beats. While filming the video, I learned how difficult it was to be in sync in respect to choreograph dance routines while singing. It becomes more apparent that the intense training that idols go through years before they debut, is extremely vital in shaping a successful k-pop star. Furthermore, I also noticed that as k-pop idols usually come in groups of 4-5, the music videos and the production of it requires less “extras” as there are enough people. As such, they are able to focus more of their production values on the actual idols. Although K-pop has been put under scrutiny on social media from the point of its release, the overall production of the video seems to be getting less appreciation in other parts of the world than it deserves. By being placed in an idols position for the day, I can now understand the immense stress of stardom in order to stay on the top of the charts while pleasing fans in every way possible.

I have always been fascinated with K-pop music videos. From the fancy background scenes, the visuals effects, dance breaks, close-ups, ostentatious costumes, everything goes above and beyond. From watching numerous K-pop music videos, I have always wondered what it would be like to actually attempt to film one. What does it take to produce a dynamic and eye-catching music video, what is happening behind the scenes?

Our group got creative and decided to challenge ourselves. We decided to recreate 2NE1 and Big Bang’s “Lollipop”. Through the process of recreating the music video, I got a great sense of what happens behind the scenes. Everything is very fast-paced behind the scenes, we have limited time to perfect our part, limited time to practice and film. I struggled a lot with embracing G-Dragon’s personality and vibe. I had to practice in the mirror at the back of the room to try to replicate his facial expressions. As a group, we also ran into numerous obstacles such as finding filming locations, costumes, fatigue, disparate dancing capabilities, mastering close-ups and so on. However, despite all these difficulties, we came through as a team. Passion and excitement really kept us motivated and we enjoyed every moment of this new experience.

I cannot fathom how K-pop groups are able to film their music videos which are probably one hundred times more work on top of their busy schedules. I dare not to underestimate the effort needed to film even one video. Although the final product, the music video, shows perfection and synchronization, I know that it comes with tons of practice, arrangements, considerations and energy behind the scenes to make it all possible, as I have personally witnessed some obstacles first hand through filming our video.