We were given the task to create our first test shoot using our chosen song. This was really good because it gave us our first real taste of what it is like to record several different shots angles appropriate for a music video and it allowed us to work on editing and practice our skills and experiment with different transitions. This was also a very good task because it helped us to think about what we wanted our actual music video to look like and what costumes and other elements of mise en scene we thought would be appropriate.

What Went Well –

• We were able to gather a variety of shots
• We gained further skills on how to edit
• We got to use transitions for the first time and experiment with them between different shots
• The lip-syncing was matched up well with the music

Our Targets For Our Next Shoot –

• Next time we should try and gather even more shots from a variety of different distances and angles
• We need to work further on our editing skills and transitions between shots
• We need to make sure that out editing is on beat with the music so that the video flows better

In this post, we were set the task of creating a video montage to do with a theme that we had been randomly assigned.  We were given loneliness. In our montage we had to use a variety of shots and we had to include a funky transition.

Planning 

When planning our montage we decided to create a storyboard that illustrated the feeling that we were trying to communicate. It was also very helpful because it allowed us to plan out what shots we wanted to take and it helped us to consider props and facial expressions we could use to communicate the feeling of loneliness. We also planned out a funky transition.

Production

During the production stages we found locations throughout our school where we could record our scenes. We used props like a teddy bear alone in the corridor and a plastic bag blowing in the wind to show loneliness. We also used a close up of one of the casts faces and then used a wide shot to show that no one was around him which also communicated a feeling of loneliness. Finally, we took a scene of one of the cast members throwing the teddy bear and then cut to another cast member catching it which we used for our quirky transition. We did the same for when a cast member threw a ball of paper at a cast member’s head.

Post-Production

Finally in the post-production stages we put a black and white filter on our video montage to create a feeling of sadness. We also made sure to cut each video so that our transitions flowed smoothly and we added sad music to further communicate the feeling of loneliness. In addition we made sure to edit for narrative sense and we made sure that our edits conveyed the notion of loneliness once again.

This is our montage. We had to remove the music because of copyright claims.

Strengths:

• The background music was very fitting to the genre
• We used a variety of shots and angles
• Our group worked well together, and we were able to communicate our opinions

Weaknesses:

• The transitions between our clips could have been more smooth
• We could have shot each video multiple times to make sue that the camera quality was better
• We were quite rushed when editing so we didn’t get to include every idea from our storyboard

Reflection:

In conclusion,  doing this task has helped me massively to consider technical conventions, like camera angle. It also helped me to develop my skills in planning and thinking about what will work in a shoot. The most important thing that I learned about however, was skills in post production. This was my first time working with editing software like the one used and I learnt lots of things. For example, how to use filters, how to apply music to a video, how to cut and edit lengths of clips and how to create smooth transitions. When creating my music video I will definitely use some of the techniques and conventions that I gained during the task so that my video is as professional as possible.