One point we were told in feedback was that we should record a sound effect for when the beads drop in the music video. We decided to do this using drawing pins and tipping them onto a surface. We chose this because we new it would have to be loud enough to be heard above the music in the video.

Below is what we recorded:

We tried different parts of the sound effect and experimented with speed/duration on premiere pro to make the sound in the clip below.

After looking over our music video we realized that in the performance some of the shots the lighting was different due to an accidental change during filming. We decided to correct this using colour correction.

We adjusted the brightness and contrast improving the quality of the music video so it has a more professional feel and is consistent throughout. The high contrast also made the colours brighter, specifically the red of the drum and her costume.

We also used colour correction to make the narrative keep with the edgy themes that she has been distorted into this disturbing unnatural image by the media. To do this we used the change colour effect to give the shot a red tinge as red is their signature colour connoting danger. Following on from this we used the three-way colour corrector to make the dress a brighter and clearer red to match her red in the performance. We then increased the contrast to 46 so that the colours were more obvious, however this made the shot very dark so the brightness level had to be equally high to deal with this.

After reading the lyrics when we decided on our final idea for the narrative we wanted to reflect the idea that the media have dressed her up to be someone she isn’t.

In order to show that it’s the media that is controlling her like a puppet we decided to put camera flashes over some of the narrative shots of her struggling with the strings.

To do this we used the lens flare effect in Premiere Pro

In a sped up section we decided to add in fast paced jump cuts and use the ‘ghosting effect’ in order to distort and blur the shots. How we edited this is shown below:

Here is a clip of how this edit turned out:

We filmed feedback from our draft 4 of our music video. We will make improvements on our video after this feedback.

The main points of success were:

• Fast paced edit
• Energetic performance and edit
• Actors are engaging

The points for improvements were:

• Shot of singer laughing seems out of place
• Check for shot focuses and brightness
• Faster pace edit in the middle
• Vary close ups more – of other band members
• Check for unsteady shots

We got our peers to fill in these questionnaires to get feedback for our draft 3 of our music video. This was helpful as our target audience is for teenagers and generally the video gained the preferred reading from the audience.

Positive Points:

• That they understood the idea of the doll and they found the mise-en-scene effective and visually interesting
• That the performance is upbeat and enthusiastic and the performers fit well with the generic expectations suggesting it created a predictable pleasure for the audience
• The location fit well with the genre and the lighting was effective throughout
• The fast paced edit was to the beat appropriate to the genre adding energy to the video
• The variety of shots were interesting and kept them engaged

Points For Improvement:

• A faster paced edit throughout to create even more energy to fit with the genre
• Possibly include a title screen in the video
• The camera flashes should fade in more
• Check the shots of the drummer as he is out of time and the sound does’t correlate with the images
• Use more closeups of the lead singer as she is the star and the best performer

Below is the third draft of our music video. We have taken into account our feedback from our second draft, we have used colour correction, increased the pace of the edit and added in a greater variety of shots to account for the faster paced edit.

I think our music video is beginning to come together and I’m very pleased with the product so far. The feedback we get from this draft will help us to create an improved draft 4, in which we will hopefully have finished the colour correction throughout the video.

For our second draft we got feedback in order to know what worked and what we need to improve for our next draft. This was also a good chance to check what readings we got from our video, whether they were preferred, oppositional or negotiated.

The improvements the teachers gave us were:

• To have a faster edit throughout but particularly the group shots of the band were too long, this will keep the energy up throughout the music video
• Don’t be afraid to use jump cuts in to the lead singer as she is the star and the audience need a greater connection with her
• Use a close up of the drummer on the drum solos and make sure he is synchronized with the music
• At about 2.40 she isn’t looking directly at the camera which makes it look like she is reading the lyrics which removes the suspension of disbelief for the audience
• They liked the shot of the beads and had the preferred reading of understanding it representing her breaking too. However they wanted us to use this more by following a bead across the floor. They also suggested we add in a sound effect.
• Use more close ups of her when she is wiping off the make-up at the end.
• They thought the filter at the end was good and they had the preferred reading of it from that shot. Going forward we will use this effect across the narrative shots

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We decided that for our second draft we would upload it only when there were no gaps in the video this meant that we would always get feedback for the whole music video. As well as adding in the narrative we have also taken on the feedback from our draft one in order to create this second draft: