Category Archives: Component 3

This is our first rough draft for our performance shoot for our music video. For the location we went to Fort Road and used the daisy field. We aimed to get enough good footage to create a rough draft from around 30 seconds to 1 minute long.

What Went Well:

• We retrieved enough good footage with money shots to create a rough draft that we could reflect on for our next shoot. Getting the money shots done took time however will help us in the future as we have basic footage we can use for future drafts.
• We were extremely organized and our group communicated well about any problems which allowed us to make sure on the day of the shoot we weren’t wasting any time getting supplies. Everyone knew what they had to bring and what time we would be doing make-up, hair and shooting.
• The video is satisfying to look at for viewers as it is easy to understand the genre due to our mise-en-scene being matched perfectly to the star image and genre. By spending a lot of time planning mise-en-scene and making sure we have everything planned (make-up, costume, setting etc.) it allowed us to get a good star image.

Targets for Improvement:

• Work on the editing more; due to us not having a wide range of shots and locations the video got boring and basic, if we added in transitions or certain editing practices it could make the draft look better and more varied.
• Although getting the money shots were vital and we managed to get them, we did not spend time focusing on other shots and moving to other locations resulting in us not having a big variety of footage and when it came to editing our group making a basic draft.
• Some excellent shots/footage we got was wasted as we could not use it when editing our first draft as there was unwanted objects/settings in the background for example members of the public walking past, or some of the road and cars in the background. For our next shoot we will make sure we have a clean background with no potential problems.

After doing our first performance shoot at a daisy field on Fort Road it is vital to reflect on what went well and what didn’t so we can improve for our next shoot.

What Went Well:

• We spent 2 hours doing make-up, hair and costume in order to get the perfect star image for our model.
• We spent a lot of time getting the money shots (close up, mid shot, high angle, low angle)
• We got clear good shots of the model lip syncing to the whole song.

Targets for the Next Shoot:

• Use a bigger range of shots. Due to us only using a few angles such as high angles, low angles, mid shots and closeups the video got boring and isn’t exciting to watch.
• Use more locations as we stayed in the same place for the whole shoot so it made the rough video boring and also we lost motivation by staying in the same place.
• Potentially use more outfits to create a stronger mise-en-scene.

Images from Shoot

For the performance shoot for our music video we made a production meeting agenda in order to know what make-up, costumes, props and equipment we will need. By doing this it will enable us to have the best outcome we can for the shoot as we now know what to bring and what will benefit the shoot and what will not.

In order to go ahead with our performance filming we need to assess the risks of the different locations we will be filming at and understand how to manage the risk.

In order to get our model for the performance to match the star image we did some research on the singer Halsey. How the star is represented in your video is crucial in constructing the values, attitudes and beliefs of the artist in the mind of the target audience therefor this was an important task for our group to do and understand. Below is a Canva I made which features multiple images from photoshoots and performances, and certain article headlines which give a bold first impression; for example one article talks about her album ‘manic’ which the name helps match our narrative for the music video well.

1. How do you want them to be represented? (angry, rebellious, mellow , empathetic, angry)

After researching various images, performances and articles about Halsey she is represented by the media as rebellious, isn’t afraid to speak up and is all for girl power. This star image is perfect for the narrative of our music video and we will make our star/model seem extraordinary by her appearance but ordinary by what she believes in and how in touch with reality she is. By making our star relatable to the public it helps us relate back to Richard Dyers ‘paradox of the star’.

2. How will you achieve this? (visual design, body language, gestures, facial expressions, colours, costumes, props, make-up)

We will be using mise-en-scene to achieve the rebellious, feminine powered look. We will dress her in dark leather boots, jacket and trousers with dark makeup for one part of the music video to represent the rebellious side of the star and for the other side we will dress her in light coloured, flowy, dainty clothes with light natural make-up to make the star come across as more ordinary to the audience.

In order to use our chosen song for our music video I had to message the artist Halsey and ask for permission to use her song. This is important to make sure we don’t get copyrighted or accused of music piracy. It also shows that we are polite and care about the use of other artists music in the music industry.

For our teacher to have a full understanding of our music video ideas/concepts we had to make a pitch. In the pitch we talked about our ideas for the star image, narrative concept and performance concept.

Our Final Pitch

6x Positives

• Our narrative has a good base of an idea.
• We have a model/models who are willing to work with us.
• Our mise-en-scene is strong.
• A good plot that allows the audience to interpret our storyline in their own way.
• Our group had good communication so we all know the narrative and mise-en-scene ideas.
• We have considered the locations we will film at.

6x Goals

• Use the ending of the story at the start of the music video to give the audience background of what is happening, has happened, or could happen.
• Look into possible locations in depth.
• Potentially think of more costumes – don’t use the same two as it could get boring.
• Think about how and where we are going to film the performance/lip-syncing shots.
• Consider camera angles more.
• We need to be organized in order to film and get the shots we need to get with no hassle.

By showing our ideas and concepts to our teacher it has allowed our group to move forward with the video and have a clear vision of what ideas we need to keep and what else we can add. It has also allowed us to have experience of getting criticism and feedback from people and we have learnt how to move forward with the criticism we received.

In order to portray emotions and a story to the audience and make good cinematography with my music video I will have to use a variety of camera shots. In an alternative/indie music video there will be a certain criteria of repertoire of elements in order to make the video conventional and match the genre. Below I made a Padlet with my group listing a range of shots we will use, writing about how our genre goes well with these shots, how the star image will be presented with the use of different shots and what impression it will give to the audience.

In order to know what skills and weaknesses our group has we did a group agreement contract. By doing this it has allowed us to communicate well and work on our organization skills. This has benefited us as we now know what we need to work on and which skills we need to learn in order to produce the best music video possible and which tasks to delegate to each person.

(click on image to see bigger)