Category: Music Video

In preparation for the narrative shoot of our music video, my group and I created a shot sheet explaining the different shots, angles and movements we may use. This was helpful as it allowed us to plan a variety of shots leaving us more prepared on the day of the shoot. We considered framing and composition when planning these and how we can create meaning within our cinematography. As this was for our narrative shoot, we also considered how our story will be structured e.g. thematic, linear, or anachronic.  And also how we will include conflict, disruption, resolution and equilibrium.

This is the fourth draft of our music video:

In converstaion with our teacher and group, we have come up with improvements for the last draft of our music video, here is the summary:

• Make the first shot of Eve singing more ‘face on’ so that the audience can connect straight away – breaks the fourth wall
• Elongate certain shots
• Add canted angles
• Make tracking shots more off centre
• Colour correct ECU of lips – maybe a filter
• Shot of Eve against fence could be scaled in to cut out some greenery
• Split screen in studio shots – to create variety
• Mirror performacne shot so it appears Eve is back to back with herself
• Cut end slightly earlier
• Filter on kidknap scene

This is the third draft of our music video:

Peer Review comments

What has changed from Draft 2:

• We have started to add colour correction to the flashbacks to make it more clear that they are seperate to the present chase – they are there to show how the girl is reflecting back on what she has been through
• We have added a strobe effect on the shot of lewis walking up the slope – this is edited to the beat. We did this as the clip felt a litte too long and was slightly boring
• Made good progession in adding/editing clips

In order to help us with the progression of our music videos, Specsavers came in to watch our videos and give us some constructive critism and tips which will improe the overall quality of our project.

Summary of feedback:

• Good editing to the beat
• Nice array of locations – 3 locations used is a good amount in music videos as it keep it interesting and covers all bases (performance and narrative) without being overwhelming/confusing for the viewer
• Good variety of shots used e.g. extreme close ups, long shots, tracking shots etc.
• Interesting narrative which work swith the chosen song

Targets for improvement:

• Try  including some effects such as transitions
• Play around with colour correction to brighten up shots
• Some shots are over exposed so use colour correction to cancel this out
• Try scaling in/out to see what compostion works best

We were also shown how to use Premier Pro to add in a strobe effect to our shots which we will look into during our next editing session.

YouTube tutorials which will be useful in the future:

Summary of feedback:

• Good opening – make it slightly longer by slowing the clip of Eve looking at camera.
• Good edit with flipping the two shots of Eve with the microphone
• Nice range of locations
• Make the shot of Eve even more off center to appear intentional
• Brighten background in studio – make colours pop
• Put a block colour on the extreme close up of lips

Targets for improvement:

• Fix lip sync near start as it’s out of time
• Match on action slightly too slow – make edit faster
• Play with scale of positioning
• Overall colour correction to make everthing brighter
• More intimate shots wih movement through the frame in performance shots

This is our second music video draft:

Assessment of a previous student’s work, please click on image to access full PDF:

What they did well:

• They have edited well to the beat and the lyrics are synced to the music properly
• It has been filmed to edit, with a variety of locations, angles, movements etc.
• Good narrative to performance ratio

Targets for improvement of our own video:

• Ensure the edit is paced properly and all lyrics are synced
• Use colour correction to brighten up shots, especially the studio shots
• Add transitions such as fades/wipes
• The match on action is out of time – cut this so that it is smoother/more realistic

Below, I filled out a form which will help me develop our narrative for the music video. It helped me to consider what our narrative strcuture will be (whether that is episodic, thematic, linear, or anachronic). I also developed my understanding of our characters, and what their motivations are. I looked at the themes and conflicts within our narrative, and what our resolution, equilibrium and disruption will be. I also considered whether or not we will include a binary oppostion.

Please click on image to access full PDF:

The rough cut of our performance:

This draft edit of our performance is a good start and learning curve for when it comes to editing our final music video with both the performance and narrative parts. Eve did well with lip syncing and when it came editing the lip syncing matched the song really well. If we had more time we could’ve used more of our footage, but it will not go to waste as this was only a draft and we will use it in the final edit. Overall I would say that this was a good first attempt at editing a music video, and I have learnt valuable lessons which will aid me in the next shoot we do for this project.

Targets for improvement:

• Edit to the beat more accurately
• Rearrange the clips to try something new
• Ensure that when filming there are no distractions e.g. the puddle in the high angle of Eve

My group’s Risk Assessment:

(Please click on image to access PDF)

This document allowed us to rule out any potential risks that we may have faced during the shoot. We listed any dangers that we may experience and explained how we will avoid them. This meant that we were able to completely focus on our task and kept us safe at all times as we were responsible and followed our plan to avoid any risk to our health or safety.

Overall, I think that our second music video shoot for the narrative side was succesful. We were far more organised than we were for the performance shoot due to completing planning forms such as the Production Meeting Agenda prior to filming. We went to a bunker site, this was a great setting for our song as it was desolate, isolated and bleak which represents the tone of the lyrics. We moved around the location after finishing the bunker scenes and took advantage of the scenery e.g. the fields and bus. We use a camera, tripod and lighting to achieve a high-quality narrative shoot. We followed our original narrative plot, and made minor adjustments on the day by using what we had regarding the setting. For example, we found a long strip of road so filmed a handheld pan and chase scene to build tension near the end of the song.

These are some images from our day of filming:

What went well:

• Interesting setting
• Good use of mise-en-scene
• Serious acting
• Good compostion
• Variety of filming techniques

Even better if:

• More control over lighting – partly controlled and partly natural which affected the quality
• More developed shot list
• Next time I would produce a list of items we have brought as we were contantly worring abuout leaving something behind – this list would eliminate the risk of this happening and allow us to concentrate on filming.