What we did well:

I really enjoyed the overall appearance of the cut; it all flows pretty well with the music, with transitions that fit the pace of the performance and lip-syncing that is in tune with the music and words, which I think was really effective

The colour and modifications made with the filters all work well and complement the atmosphere of the music, as well as connote what the song is attempting to convey via the words and narrative of the song.

Close-up views give variation to the video and enable the spectator to observe close-up emotions on the performer’s face, which is particularly effective in live performances.

Feedback on how to make improvements:

In order for the artist to begin singing in the audio, we must also have the performer in the video singing at the same time.

To maintain some consistency and avoid having varied appearances across the video, it should use the same colour filters when switching between clips with and without the filter.

Maintain a sense of continuity between the clips.

Otherwise, it seems as if he just emerges at the beach without any transition between the office and the beach.

Cut between the long view up on the rocks and the close-up shot on the beach to reduce the lengthy clips down the mountainside.

Remove the section of the video when the performer is staring at the camera.

The section when the performer is smiling at the camera should be cut out.

Transitions between clips and more space between them.

Maintain continuity throughout the clips in order to make them flow smoothly, and apply filters later on in the clip to enhance the flow.

This is draft 3 for our music video with peer feedback:

what works well:

• strong variety of locations
• good use of camera angles
• good editing techniques which work well for the music videos genre.
• good narrative order with a wide variety of shots

What can be improved:

• Change up the editing process (don’t use the same editing approach for a lengthy period of time).
• When there are text on the screen, the green screen effect has to be fixed.
• clear out any ambiguity in the music video’s purpose/narrative.
• retake shaky shots.

since the 2 draft:

The story and performance have been bolstered by the addition of new characters and settings. New effects and transitions have been added to help the clips blend together better in the same editing format. We’ll be reshooting a lot of the performance for improved clarity and overall quality in the next shoot.

Specsavers came into our class today to give us feedback on our movies and to teach us how to apply special effects to better the music video’s viewing experience.

Feedback:

• To give the story more structure and context, make the video narrative and performance flow more.
• Get more performance shots.
• re-shoot any shots that are unreliable
• Instead of putting the text on the wall as a static layer over the background, add in the special effects with them moving.

We were also taught how to use After Effects to add movement and more advanced edits to our music video, which we utilized to add the moving writing in the office scene to give the text life.

Youtube tutorial:

This link will take you to a shot list for the narrative portion of my film, which portrays my character/star image being imprisoned in a mundane office job and eventually going off the rails in quest of a more freeing way of life. This element is intended to graphically depict the sequence of events that take place during the narrative shot, and it is composed of two parts.

Summary of feedback:

• Good editing
• change the ‘wobbly’ shots for something more stable
• When the performer is sing make sure the audience can see the performers face to have a connection between the narrative and performance and understanding of which is which.
• show the build-up of stress at work more
• suggested putting the table flip shot at the end of the video to add to the dramatic effects.
• show more things written on post-it notes
• more POVs/close-ups for the narrative make throwing the paper in more slow motion and put the desk flip after throwing paper for continuity.
• don’t repeat shots
• running has to take him somewhere in contrast to the office
• add effects onto the wall with words floating around

To do next to shoot/lesson:

Film more close-ups and POVs of the actor’s face and capture what is happening in the performance with close-ups and movement through the frame etc. use a bigger array of transitions, cuts, transitions to add to the music video overall. Film lip-sync in focus and in extreme close up.

Previous students music video in relation to our music video draft 2:

Because the major storyline of this music video, created by a former student, is about the accumulation of work depicted with the printouts in the backdrop and how things may get overwhelming, it is relevant to our video.
They lip-synced any performance really effectively, using a variety of angles to depict the emotion emitted by the words.
Particularly impressive was the costuming and general mise en scene, which blended seamlessly with the story to produce an overall well-rounded and professional-looking music video.

This is our second music video draft for emotional rap with self-assessment.

SELF ASSESSMENT AND TARGETS FOR IMPROVEMENT

what works well:

• The clips we got of MES work well with the performance and narrative and link them together making for effective music video
• we collected a wide range of shots throughout the shoot which is proving effective in the editing process as it gives us more selection and a wide range of choices in key features such as angles, range, composition, movement through the frame, etc.
• editing to the music is easier now with a wide selection of clips making jumps cut easy to make and fit in as the performer sang the song from start to finish in all of the clips, therefore we can find the time the last clip got up to and splice them together making for one smooth transition all in sync.

What needs to happen in the next shoot/ targets:

• get more shots to fill the empty spaces on the editing timeline.
• include more close-up shots of the face and more specifically the lips of the performer as it will add symbolism in the lip-syncing.
• add filters in the net editing stage to give different clips contrast against others and make them stand out more.

We went out today to film the narrative shot for our next music video. The use of a variety of locations and views was necessary in order to convey the story to the audience.

What aspects of the day went exceptionally well?

• A diversity of views enabled us to get all of the images we needed for our project.
• We were able to create an office-like ambience inside the studio by adding a table, a chair, and other office-related objects.
• As a consequence of this, we looked to be in an office setting.
• The lighting was set up in such a manner that there were no reflections from the glasses picked up by the camera throughout the shoot.
• Although the outfit was poorly fitting, it was effective in communicating the story’s main points.

What might have been done in a more effective manner?

• It’s possible that we could have taken more photographs since we didn’t have enough to fill the remainder of the music video.
• We could have used a tripod to record some of the panning shots since they were shaky in the first place.
• As a result, we spent too little time adhering to the shoot plan and instead focused on capturing what looked nice at the moment.

Pickup targets include the following:

• Make a shot list and follow it to the letter.
• Acquire lengthy films so that you have enough material to fill in the gaps in the edit. Shoot near the beach so that you can bring the tale full circle.
• Obtain pictures that show the connection between the two places of the story.

For this shoot (narrative) our aims are to shoot a foundation that links into the lyrics of the song and tell a fitting story based on a stressful lifestyle. We also had to decide other factors such as lighting, equipment for cameras, costume, makeup, props etc.

Our narrative is based around a stressful businessman who is overworked and looking for a way out of the so-called rat race of an average person. Therefore the lighting on the set had to match what you would see in an office setting plan, boring and dull. To create this we used led lamps with white umbrellas to make the light soft and even. The costume we have chosen is a plain black suit with a shirt and tie, which further defines the businessman look which can also be interpreted as MES. The props we chose were also revolved around the working environment such as pens, paper and folders simulating an office desk. We are using basic camera equipment for this shoot a DSLR camera, tripod, and handheld camera rig.

This is our risk assessment for the narrative shoot of the music video, it is essential to our work as it outlines the does and don’t of each shoot as well as potential hazards and how we will avoid them. it is also useful for our teachers as it gives them a chance to express any concerns about the shoot/ equipment/ location.  Furthermore, it shows here each member of the group will be and at what times in case of emergency or if the teacher wants to check on the shoot’s progress.  The screenshot is of the narrative risk assessment and has been signed off by our teacher.