Music Video Preliminary Task Evaluation

Our workshop day on Friday 12th June involved us remaking Little Mix's music video 'Wings'. Our cast and crew was made up of Year 12 media students, the media teachers and media professionals, most of whom have gone to Latymer.

1. Did you enjoy the workshop day? What were your best bits and why?


Moving the camera on the track

The workshop day was really enjoyable because even though it was a very long day, I was always doing something, including performing and helping out behind the scenes, meaning there was never a dull moment. I was a principle dancer and Jade's dance double, which involved learning all of Jade's moves in the actual video, and ensuring that Arianna (playing Jade) did them on the workshop day. I particularly enjoyed performing as a principle dancer in the video because it really helped build up my confidence, especially as
the cast and crew were incredibly supportive throughout the day. What I found really interesting was just being on a set similar to what a real music video set would be - I helped move some set pieces, and had the opportunity to move the camera on the track to get the tracking shots of the band. This was a good experience because we may use tracks and other equipment in our music video, and now we have some knowledge on how to use them.


2. What have you learnt from participating in each of the prelim tasks?
Our first task was to analyse a performance music video, and so I decided to analyse OneRepublic's 'Counting Stars' video. This analysis allowed me to explore the conventions of a performance music video, and how you can follow but also challenge them. The 'Counting Stars' video also included some narrative, highlighting how some music videos are hybrids; they can be performance, narrative and concept. I found this interesting as I was considering doing a performance/narrative hybrid for the music video next year. We were then instructed to create an audition video on finding out that we were going to remake Little Mix's 'Wings'. We had to lipsynch and dance in the video, which helped to build up our confidence and to learn the song in preparation for the workshop day. Ultimately, the workshop day was the most informative prelim task as it allowed us to get a feel for a real music video set, perhaps similar to one we will be creating next  year. I also learnt about how allocating roles is very important when it comes to a group project - as we had a large cast and crew, we were able to share the jobs between us, depending on poeple's strengths. Hopefully next year we will do this when creating our music video in order to work more productively. Editing the rushes for the music video helped me to better understand the idea of sound/vision editing and discontinuous editing, which is essential in a performance music video. What made the editing a little easier was the fact that the original video was on a video track on Adobe Premiere Pro, and we edited to the video, enabling us to see where the cuts were.


3. Are you pleased with the footage and your edit?

A screenshot from our edit

I am very happy with our finished music video remake. Our shots are incredibly similar to the ones in the video, and in some cases, ours look a little better, especially as our sets looked more authentic. I am particularly pleased with our edit, however, as we had a more prominent role in this stage. We worked in large groups for the edit, meaning that we could split a lot of jobs between us, making it easier to complete the edit in a rather short period of time. The part of the edit I was most responsible
for was Leigh-Anne's solo and grading. The real music video has shots of very short duration, and lots of cuts, which is quite hard to edit, so I am very happy with the finished results as ours looks very similar to the original.

The camera ops filming the dance scene

4. How do you think your prelim experiences will impact on your approach to next term's music video coursework?
I think this prelim task really helped to underpin who is good at what, which will help a lot during the making of our own music videos next term, as it will make it easier to delegate roles in our music video groups. Some people, for example, were really good at performing in the Little Mix video, and so they may be the main performers in our music videos next year - and others were good at using the technical equipment. Personally, I thought I was quite good at directing Arianna when it came to her solo bits, so I would like to take more of a director role next year. We were given the opportunity to use lots of equipment on the workshop day, including lights and tracks, and so this will help if we decide to use some of this equipment in our music video next term as we will have more experience with it. We also had to do a lot of planning in the build up to the workshop, like learning the dance routine and Jade's moves in my case, to ensure that everything would go right on the day, and next year planning will be incredibly important for the success of our music video - especially as we shall be doing more directing and producing next year rather than just performing and helping out on set.


Here is the final cut of our remake:

Performance Music Video Analysis

The Top Key Features of a Performance Music Video Analysis
OneRepublic's video for counting stars follows most of the conventions (the top 15 key features) of an effective performance music video, however as they are a band who wish to focus more on their music rather than their image, some of the key features aren't as evident in this video as they would be in a more cheesy, pop video.

One key feature is that the music, lyrics and imagery work in collaboration in the video, which is definitely present in Counting Stars, as lead singer Ryan Tedder's dance moves work with the lyrics (for example, "swinging vine"). Some other imagery within the video also works with the lyrics, for example the flashing lights on the ceiling could represent stars. The imagery works well with the music, clapping to the beat of the music and hitting guitars, but there is also some seemingly random imagery, like the crocodile which features often in the video.
The performance drives the video, with many shots of the band miming effectively and playing instruments (or pretending to), but there are also some shots of other people dancing on the floor above the band, suggesting a slight narrative or conceptual idea, as well as the performance - it is quite typical for performance videos to contain some narrative or concept to keep the music video exciting. Sometimes a band or artist may switch between artist performance and artist in-character performance; in Counting Stars, most of it seems to be artist performance, however some shots, like the high angle on Ryan looking down, sat on the floor, with his hands clasped, could be more of an in-character performance.
One of the most important features of an effective performance music video is that the performance will be engaging, impactful and visually striking, and OneRepublic achieve this in their video through the whole concept of the collapsing building, with objects falling and everything rattling about, and the artist covered in dust which scatters whenever they move. The way in which the band perform, especially Ryan's performance, is very care free, and he often dances in an unstructured way, making it rather engaging, and this also allows the audience to get an idea of the identity of the band - care free attitude, fun, etc. A sense of their identity is therefore built up mostly through their movement and band relationships, and there is a lack of highly stylised costume and make-up and beauty shots, as again OneRepublic focus more on their music. They wear simple black clothing, and there are often CUs/MCUs of them singing/playing instruments, which could act as beauty shots respectively.
A strong sense of development is expected in a performance music video (things changing and moving on) and this is definitely seen in the Counting Stars video; initially the atmosphere is quite calm, with the slower pace of the editing and the music is actually calmer here, however as the song progresses, a beat kicks in and it becomes more energetic, and the video reflects this with the band performing erratically and the building collapsing, presumably because of their energetic dancing. Some binary opposites are used in the video, making it more interesting, for example, cutting from CUs of just one of the band members, to an LS establishing shot of the whole band. The flashing lights on the ceiling also create extreme lighting changes. Discontinuous editing is standard, and is seen in the video through the random shots of the band performing, intertwined with the other people dancing, etc.
Another key feature is that the video will be polysemic in nature, offering different layers of meaning, despite being a performance video. In Counting Stars, we are shown a rhapsody like congregation scene, which suggests religious connotations of the song, whereas the use of the crocodile and the collapsing building could imply danger and facing up to danger. Recently, animals have been appearing in OneRepublic's music videos, and so the use of the crocodile could be them continuing on with this running theme, which is presumably related to the fact that their new album is called 'Native'.
Audiences are very important when it comes to music videos - they will gain pleasure from popular culture references, the video will hopefully be aspirational to them, and overall, the video is likely to provoke a strong audience reaction. The congregation upstairs, the fashionable black clothing and the instruments are popular culture references, and the band's general attitude and cool style would be very aspirational for fans. In conclusion, the Counting Stars video provokes a strong audience interaction as it is a very fun video, easy to dance along with, the narrative congregation idea adds religious connotations, making it more impactful, and also the band's appearance and movements will appeal to fans and maybe even the ladies.

Reservoir Dogs Remake

Here is mine and Sharlene's remake of the Reservoir Dogs title sequence.

Dexter Title Sequence Re-edit (DYM)

Here is a link to our re-edited Dexter title sequence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaRuTy1-tWs

1. Summarise the conventions of title sequences that were most important to this task.

• Consistency (for example, the same typeface and colour scheme throughout) to establish a strong brand.
• The legal requirements of titles sequences (for example, cast names, actor names, producers, directors).
• The title sequence must reflect the genre of the drama whilst conveying a certain mood.

2. How did your group plan to edit the title sequence? Consider timings and industry requirements

• Initially, we wrote down all of the names that we would have to include in the titles due to the legal requirements - for example, the directors, producers and other cast members.
• We also had to decide how long each title would be, and whether it would last over more than one shot.
• Synchronisation was also important - we wanted the titles to match what was going on in the shots.

3. Explain the creative decisions made by your group

• We used quite a plain typeface that was eaily legible and wouldn't distract the audience from the action playing out on the screen.
• We used some different motion effects on some titles in order for them to work well with the visuals (for example, the title with the 'slicing the orange' shot).

4. How does your re-edit compare to the original?

• I think our re-edit is more creative than the original, but I can understand why theirs would be used instead of ours as theirs is very simple but effective and doesn't distract from the already very-compelling images on the screen.
• The real sequence also included more titles, and if we had more time we would have included more in our sequence.

Prelim Evaluation

This is our short continuity sequence, 'Faceless' - a mystery/thriller

1. Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?

• I worked with Sharlene and Raagavi for our preliminary task, and I think we worked well as a group because during the brainstorming process, we listened to each of our individual ideas, then managed to come up with our final idea through discussing the positives and negatives of the ideas. 
• Another part of our planning was doing the shot list and storyboard; we discussed the different shots we wanted for the shot list and I wrote them down, and we each depicted around 4 shots during the storyboarding process as time was limited, and this seemed more efficient. 
• When on shoot, we all took turns filming (even though I featured in most of the sequence, my group allowed me to be behind the camera for all of the shots that I wasn't in). As Raagavi did not play a character in our sequence, however, she did most of the filming. 
• During the editing process, we all took turns on the mouse; although we discussed all of our decisions, we thought it best for each of us to actually have a go at the dragging, dropping, cutting, etc. 

Writing down our initial ideas

2. How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? What theories did you try to take into account?

• The first stage in our planning process was brainstorming; initially we shared our individual ideas, then after discussing whether they were feasible and logical or not, we ended up combining them to form our final idea. 
• We then went on to constructing the shot list, which we translated onto the storyboard. We also had to compile our shoot schedule (which involved having to decide how many set-ups we would need, what the set-ups were, and what order we'd do them in). 
• Once we finished all of our planning paperwork, we decided to actually go on location and walk through our sequence, ensuring that it would be logical and that everything would work. This made us realise that we had to change some things, for example shot types, to make the sequence flow more. When we were on the shoot, we had all of our planning paperwork in our group folder, which was easily accessible.

3. What technology did you use to complete the task and how did you use it?

• We used a Canon DV30 camera with a tripod for all of our filming. 
• The tripod allowed us to experiment with different angles (as the legs of the tripod can be shortened/lengthened), but also helped to keep the camera stable and the shots symmetrical. 
• For a couple of shots, we used the camera without the tripod for tracking; this was in order to create a rushed effect, as the genre for our sequence is thriller/mystery. 
• To edit our sequence, we used Adobe Premier Pro, which we were familiar with as we used it to edit our GCSE children's TV trailers. Although the footage was already captured for us, we cut the shots to create continuity (for example, match-on-action) and used some techniques to heighten the genre of the sequence. 

I was the main character in our sequence - this shot is just before

I realise I am being followed

4. What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?

• The main factor we had to take into account for all 3 of these processes was time. We had a double lesson (a little less than 80 minutes) to plan our idea, a double to shoot, and around 3 lessons to edit it. The fact that we had a time limit influenced the way we worked in our group; for example, we split up some of the jobs in the planning process so that we wouldn't waste much time. 
• Location was another important factor; as we were shooting in school time, the only place where we could shoot without interruption was the media department. This meant that all 4 groups needed the media department to shoot at the same time - luckily, we all chose different rooms to shoot the main part of our sequence, and we just had to discuss who would use the lobby when with the other groups. 

This was one of the shots that I filmed (the final shot of the sequence)

5. How successful was your sequence? Please identify what worked well, and in hindsight, what would you improve/do differently?

• I think our sequence was very successful because we included all of the necessary continuity principles, whilst also conveying our genre (mystery/thriller). 
• The shot lengths and cutting allowed us to create the appropriate pace for this genre, and heightened the panicky mood. 
• In hindsight, I think we would cut down the running sequence in order to quicken the pace even more. Also, we wanted to add a tense backing track, but didn't have the time.

6. What have you learnt from completing the task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework? 

• From completing this task, I have learnt how to edit a continuity sequence. The continuity principles we learnt and put into practice will help us in the future when we have to edit our own title sequence.
• As I have never worked with the people in my group before this task, I learnt more about them and their skills, which will help later on when we have to work in groups for projects and divide the work between us according to who is better at what.

Homework 7 (DYM): Title Sequence Sound Analysis

I have chosen to analyse the sound in the title sequence for Blue Valentine. http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/blue-valentine/

Music:

• The backing track for the title sequence is very mellow and acoustic (easy to listen to) and clearly conveys the genre of the film; romance.
• At the start of the sequence, before the images arrive on the screen, the music wavers and you are uncertain of what genre of music it is and what genre the film is - this could suggest that there are some other, under-lying themes in the film, except for the prominent theme of romance
• When the images of Ryan Gosling lifting Michelle Williams are shown in the sequence, the music crescendoes and becomes more momentous and celebratory.
• A montage of shots of the couple embracing and kissing is accompanied by the lyrics "this is love", again highlighting the theme of romance
• Nearing the end of the sequence, the images become duller and rain-covered, and the accompanying music becomes slightly more minor and serious, suggesting that all doesn't run smoothly in this film.

Sound effects:

• The main sound effect in the sequence is fireworks, which accompanies the firework images in the sequence.
• The firework sound effects also come in with the images when Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams are together and happy - again, giving a sense of the momentous occasion and romance
• Cheering, although definitely in the background, is also heard throughout the sequence, again emphasising the celebratory and joyous theme

Overall, both the images and sound (the music and sound effects, which are both non-diegetic) create a very magical title sequence with a prevalent theme of romance. The uncertain beginning, the sudden change in music nearing the end and the duller images, however, suggest that the narrative doesn't run as smoothly as we'd hope in the film; perhaps there are other themes such as tragedy. In my opinion, an effective title sequence is one that clearly outlines the genre and basic narrative of the film, without giving too much away. The Blue Valentine title sequence successfully portrays the film as a romance, whilst still creating some enigma about what will happen.

Homework 6 (BLK): Film Clip Analysis - Continuity

I am analysing a clip from 'Good Will Hunting' from the point of view of continuity editing.

• The first shot in this clip is a wide shot, which enables us to see the setting (a university bar) and where the characters and objects are in relation to each other. This is known as an ESTABLISHING SHOT or a MASTER SHOT.
• There is a MATCH-ON-ACTION as one of the characters approaches the bar. 
• SHOT REVERSE SHOT is used as the same character orders at the bar, and the 180 DEGREE RULE is not broken (the man and the bar-woman still have the same left/right relationship to each other, but a REVERSE ANGLE is used to keep the scene interesting.
• A pan follows him across the room, and also helps to establish more of the setting
• There is another MATCH-ON-ACTION between the pan and the next shot, where the camera is now positioned in front of him, and he walks towards it.
• There is a REVERSE ANGLE and another MATCH-ON-ACTION as the man starts talking to the girls at the bar.
• There is another MASTER SHOT once the man starts talking to the girls and the character who is played by Matt Damon is lurking behind them - this allows us to see where all of the characters are in relation to each other in this new part of the bar which wasn't established at the start/
• SHOT REVERSE SHOT is used again as the man converses with the brunette 
• Another relatively wide-shot is used as the long, blonde-haired man approaches, and the camera zooms out, again allowing us to see him in relation to the other characters.
• SHOT REVERSE SHOT is used as Matt Damon argues with the new long, blonde-haired man, and the camera zooms in on Damon's face during his witty rebuttal to capture his arrogant expression
• During the OTS shot (over Matt Damon's shoulder) the camera zooms out again to capture the bewildered expressions of the blonde man's 'possy'.