This is our fourth and final draft of our music video. By using the feedback received from previous drafts we have edited and included more shots in order to make it look and sound as good as possible. After a discussion with our teacher we looked at what we have done well and what still needs improving.

Screen Castify comments:

What went well – 

• The different variety of shot distance work well with the mood of the song and lyrics
• The filters and transitions used work well on the beat and with the shots in general
• The beginning works very well

What needs improving – 

• Change or remove the green tinge from some of our shots
• Use a wider variety of transitions for a collection of shots
• Shorten down the song at the end to ensure that we don’t use repetitive shots
• Move some of the performance off centre for a change so it doesn’t become repetitive and boring

For draft 3 we had to go back and review the feedback given by our teacher and make the necessary changes in order to drastically improve the video. Draft 2 didn’t portray a clear storyline and with that we have been able to improve the understanding by removing old clips and adding new ones that clearly state the contrast of emotions and actions

What Went Well:

• We have developed the use of our original transitions
• Have included more clips that correlate to the narrative
• The costumes work well with the genre

What To Improve:

• We must stabilize a number of shots
• We need to ensure that all the lip syncing is in time
• We need to make the necessary changes to our narrative to make it clear

This is the Screen Castify that our teacher provided us for feedback on our second draft of the music video. We were informed of what we have done well and what we need to improve on. This was extremely useful when trying to develop our music video.

What went well – 

• We edited the transitions to the beat
• We created a sense of emotion in almost every shot
• We had clear close up shots of our performer

What needs improvements –

• Make sure that all of the lip syncing is in line with the lyrics
• Make sure that shots don’t drag on, shorten them and instead include a wider variety
• Try to explore with transitions. Use a collection instead of the same one each time
• Make sure that no clips have the performers breaking the fourth wall, as it isn’t professional

To ensure that our editing skills were developing we received a visit from two top media designers from the Specsavers team. With this they taught us some simple but effective tricks on Adobe Premier Pro that we can use individual to make our certain music videos stand out.

Feedback:

• Add adjustment layers to the edits so that we can have a greater control of what needs to go where.
• They suggested that we need to use a variety of filters to add more meaning behind our shots.
• Use the stabilizer tool within Premier Pro to ensure that all our videos are still and don’t vary in and out of focus
• Retrieve more narrative clips because our performance heavily dominates the video
• Sort and file our clips so that they can be easy to access and quick to review.

This feedback has given our group the information to improve our music video and appeal to many. The editing skills has made our lives much easier when it comes to editing certain pieces or just inserting a clip.

I chose to compare our music video with this because i feel as if they are very similar in some aspects and there is little contrast between the performance, the narrative and the locations in which they shot.

What they did well:

• This group used a variety of shot distances that allowed them to capture a strong lighting that conveys with their narrative and performance.
• Secondly they have put in strong transitions that demonstrate a good understanding of what works well where.
• Finally they have been able to achieve a good clear understanding of what the narrative is and conveyed this in their video

What we need to improve:

• As a group we must identify the issues with our narrative and make it clear and easy to read for the audience
• We need to use a selection of transitions in our video that maintain the grungy feel but adds a variety for the audience to enjoy.
• We must ensure that all of our lip syncing is matched and in time with the song.
• We must always consider Mis En Scene when filming and editing to make sure that we have the best lighting, transitions and costumes that we can offer.

As a group, collectively, we completed a Product Meeting Agenda which is essential when it comes to shooting our narrative; with the clips we create, we hope they are of good standard enabling us to put towards our music video. As a result of completing a PMA, it allows the group to refer back and check who is assigned to which specific role, for example, a director and or model, the location, times/dates, equipment needed and to ensure the Mes en Scene corresponds with our chosen theme. With this, we have to ensure the star image is represented accurately throughout the shoot, using a repertoire of elements and powerful Mes en Scene.

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As a group, Joe, Erin and myself composed this Risk Assessment sheet in order to carry our our narrative shoot successfully. Due to completing this sheet, prior to the shoot, we were able to identify necessary precautions we would need to take whilst shooting e.g. travelling to the location, how we act and how present ourselves when situated at our chosen locations. By completing this task, it allowed us to prepare for the day in advance, ensuring we approach shooting in the safest possible way.

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Our performance shoot took place in the Prison Lanes. For us, and as a result of our chosen song choice and genre, this location was great. We were able to represent our genre aesthetically through the location, Mes En Scene and body language/facial expressions. We, as a group, combined all of our ideas together, in order to produce a successful set of performance clips which we will be able to use in the finalisation of our music video.

Self Assessment:

• As a group, we all contributed our own ideas to the performance shoot, giving us a varied set of clips to work from when it comes to editing and finalising our music video.
• As a group, we took a vast selection of shots within the area of the Prison Lanes which set off a connection with our theme.
• We were able too, as a group, to identify a selection of shots that will connote our themes and issues well within our music video, using shots such as, High & Low angles, close up, long and mid shots allowed us to represent the ambiguous life of our star.
• The group editing provides a guideline to our group, as to what we would like our final music video to look like – using a range of special FX and filters to grab the attention from an audience.

Targets for improvements:

• We didn’t collect enough suitable footage, that we would be able to include in our music video, so recording some more in a different location environment may benefit us as a group.
• Knowing the words of the song would’ve aided us, as we wouldn’t of had to continuously provide the lyrics to the performer – our performer should memorise the lyrics prior to shooting.
• Even though shooting in the Prison Lanes represented our genre and MES well, a broadened location choice would’ve helped us when compiling all our footage together for our final piece.
• We shall ensure, when it comes to finalising our music video, that all transition and editing techniques are completed to the best standard possible, with group efforts.

Our second shoot was all about the narrative, we focused on creating a static scene in an open field to ensure that all the attention was on our narrative performers. We decided to create a clean and light costume design. One in jeans and a plain T-shirt and the other in a floral dress, these basic costumes were still able to highlight the narrative in such a standard setting.

Photos from Shoot – 

What went well –

• The open location captured the narrative extremely well
• The mid-day lighting worked well with the style of shots we took
• The plain but distinctive costumes captured the theme of our genre well

Targets for improvements –

• We could have collected a wider variety of distance shots to help when editing
• We should give ourselves more time for our next shoot, a limited amount of time effected us from taking all the variety of shots needed
• In the second photo you can clearly see a flood light, this was unintentional and makes our shots look unprofessional

For the first shoot we went to the prison lanes where we found a structure covered in graffiti. We thought that this would match our grungy theme following on from our song choice of ‘The Hills’ by the Weeknd. The filming for our performance shoot went well as we were able to collect a variety of shots that correlate with the emotions represented within the song lyrics.

What went well:

• We were able to create a collection of different shots – Long shots, Close up shots and Mid shots that we will be able to put to use when coming to finalise our music video, using both narrative and performance footage.
• With the use of our research, which we carried our prior to the shoot, we were able to chose appropriate outfits that coincide with our chosen genre and song choice.
• Our chosen location definitely aided us to reflect our genre, as a result of the abandoned buildings and graffiti shown within the background of our clips.
• As a group, we all contributed to different aspects of the performance shoot, as a result of all of us contributing, it allows a set of integrated skills to be put forward by all in the group – essentially gaining higher grades due to the contribution levels being substantial.

Targets for next shoot:

• We must use our time affectively and have a plan for when we get on the shoot.
• We must work collaboratively and include everyone’s ideas, this will assist our group when it comes to creating and finalising our music video.
• We must gather a wider variety of high quality shots that connote the theme of our song – we will gather a selection of research tools, study this, and put the ideas forward for our next shoot.
• We didn’t gather as many shots as we could’ve during the time we had for our shoot. The setting up of our equipment took a lot longer than expected to set up, setting us back leaving us with little time to execute a powerful and successful shoot. In order for this to not be an issue in our next shoot, I believe arriving to our location earlier allowing us time to set up and to use shoot time more effectively.