As a group we have all signed an agreement that we created to identify the groups strengths and weaknesses, as well as what we will do as a group if we face a problem.

From this we have gathered our strengths and weaknesses so we can identify everyone’s strong areas and what they can bring to the group. We have also agreed to take our own time out of school to film the video while planning ahead when we’re going to film in order to be organised. We have recognized that we are all responsible for our footage and all have an equal role in the groups. Moreover, when we face a disagreement we will compromise with all of our ideas and experiment with each to see what has the best outcome. We will ensure that the workload is equally shared by all working together on documents or equally distributing the work between us. If we face difficulties we will settle them by communicating with each other and make sure everyone is aware of how others feel.

In preparation for the making of my music video, I created a Mini Song Pitch that I can present to my group for my chosen song that I would like to use for our video. I included different adjectives and words that came to mind when listening to the song, as well as the narrative behind the song and how I would want to perform it for my video. I also included the lyric video so my group can hear the song as well as seeing the lyrics.

To help develop our editing and filming skills, my class went on a trip to the College of FE to work with their filming equipment and green screen. We were taught the basic knowledge needed when filming with a green screen, and how to use it successfully. Before we started the filming, we were given a lesson on how to use the green screen effectively and told the common mistakes that we need to avoid when filming. For example:

• It is essential to stand at least a meter away from the green screen or shadows will be created and will cause problems when editing.
• The models/performers shouldn’t be wearing any green clothing as it will interfere and blend into the screen.
• Coloured lights should not be used as it will not be shown on the background and blend, meaning the green screen won’t be effective.

The colour green is used because it doesn’t match any natural skin tone or hair color, meaning no part of the model will be edited out. Green screen lets you drop in whatever background images you want behind the actors as the background of the shot. It’s used in film production and also in news and weather reports to relatively, simply place the desired background behind the subject.

Here are some images of our class on the trip:

From this trip and learning how to use a green screen, I am considering using this to film for my music video. This is because I really enjoyed the process and believe it would be effective as I can drop in different backgrounds in order to focus on the performance of the star, instead of the narrative.

For this task, I have to choose and analyse my favourite music video that the former year of students created. This task gives me the opportunity to get a sense of what can be achieved by students and also understand the high standards that I would be aiming for in my own music video.

Technical Conventions

• A technical convention which I believe that the group achieved successfully was editing to the beat. This is because there is a repetitive beat and rhythm included in the song and by the use of the editing skills they achieved the effect of editing to the beat very successfully. This has an impact in the video because the irregular and repetitive beat to the song is a key feature of the song.
• However the lip syncing isn’t always perfect which is problem that any editor will face, but this only happens occasionally throughout the clips so overall they edited the clips well considering this problem.

Narrative and Performance

• The ratio from narrative and performance is 90/10.
• The relationship between the song and the narrative that has been created is amplified because the narrative is inspired by the song but also adds a new element to complement the song.
• Mostly throughout the star is performing the song using different facial expressions to show her narrative and personality .

Representation of Star

• The star has been represented as a trapped young girl who feels isolated from the world. The setting symbolizes that she’s in a dull, dark place which has some features of an abandoned asylum.  She portrays a possessed, frightened personality through her facial expressions and actions. The video has been styled as repetitive to emphasize the haunting theme to the video.

In this task, I closely analysed two music videos to secure my skills of looking in depth into music videos and how they use different camera shots, mise-en-scene and references throughout the video to convey the narrative. These analysis skills are important as it shows that I am able to deconstruct the narrative, performance, star image and generic & technical conventions such as, lip syncing and editing to the beat of a music video. This will help inform and create my own production ideas.

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For this task, I analyzed four music videos to gather an understanding of the relationship between the narrative and performance in music videos. I looked into defining the media form (what’s the blueprint for a music video), spotting some technical conventions, thinking about the genre and how it’s coming across.