We have now produced our final draft of our music video as seen below. We believe that our music video provides entertainment for our audience throught the use of both narrative and perfromance aspects. It follows common technical conventions seen within professional music videos of the same genre (R&B/Pop). The video uses the repetoire of elements, a theory by Altman, for this genre in order for our audience to accept the text and not reject it e.g perfromance and narrative, bright colours, lip syncing, editing to the beat, variety of shot distances and the use of MES.

However to slightly challege those conventions to make our product ‘the same but different’ we put a lsight twist onto the storyline. In pop music videos the common theme relates to relationships and love, therefore to develop this idea we had a story of a character who is miserable due to a loss of a past relationship even though she could have everything she wants surrounding her from others perspective.

Me and my partner are happy with how our music video has turned out and believe we have produced a product which our audiences will accept and gain entertainment from. As well as this our music video helps to create a brand for our star in relation to our digipak and social media page. All three products are coherent featuring bright colours, ethereal atmospheres and a sense of mystery. This is vital in order to create a successfull brand package, good marketing techniques and star image helping to recognise the star immediatley between different products.

The star is represented as extraordinary, a theory proposed by Dyer, as she is seen in a classy black dress prtraying her as elegant and sophisticated. As well as this her performance nature using gestures and movement highlights her as an established star who is confident within her performance. This aspect also highlights De Saussaures idea of having a signifier which signifies a certain meaning which is commonly seen throughout our music video e.g the chracters emotionless face signifies her misery. Narrative codes, proposed by Barthes, can also be found within our music video. For example the ‘in loving memory’ card can be seen as both an enigma code as it isnt showed directly at the start of the video but also a semic code representing the chracaters loss, revaling her emotions and storyline.

(Please not that we have had some uploading issues and therefore areas of the video are not in sync, our orginal video on PremierePro is in sync.)

Please select 1080p HD for best quality.

What Has Changed Since Draft Four:

• We have played around with the timing ensuring the lip syncing and editing to the beat is accurate.
• Some clips have been swapped out for different ones where appropriate.
• It was suggested that we use more close ups, therefore some clips have been zoomed in on to create a more personal appraoch towards the audience.
• The ‘in loving memory’ card has been shown for slightly longer allowing the audience to gather an understanding for the narrative.
• Some clips the lighting was too exposed therefore we have played around with the effects and made the exposure as best as it could be.

Our music video follows the vital assessment idea that has been created in order for the music video to be successful. We were able hold a shot steady and if this needed fixing war stablizer was used. However in some clips the video is purposely not completely steady to add effect to the video e.g when she is riding the bike or at the party scene to symbolize the chaotic atmosphere. Framing shots has alos been used within the music video by using a variety of shot distances and making sure the star is always the main focus within the shot. MES was used extremely well within all the different scenes in order to expand on the narrative so the audience knows what is going on as well as to add effect and make it seem more realisitc. Transitions have also been used throughout to keep the audiece hooked and making the video more exciting.

Overall we are very happy with how our final product has turned out and belive it has followed the criteria and tecnhical conventions but can also be seen as ‘the same but different’ making it unique to other music videos.

As we get closer to the final stages of our music video it is vital to get feedback from others in order to understand what aspects work and what doesn’nt work. Throughout our draft four we have taken on some of our teachers feedback and changed a few areas to make the video even better. Some of theses include; starting the performance with a close up of the star, we have edieited to the beat more accurately, we have changed the colour of the shot during some of the flashing scenes to make it more intresting and the ending is much slower taking more town to finish and fade out.

Our Music Video Draft 4:

Peer Feedback:

For our draft four we have been able to get some vital feedback from peers as to what they think is good and bad about our music video. This feedback will help us to conrtruct a clear path of the final steps needed to complete our music video. Below is two sets of feedback stating what is good and what could be worked on throughout the video.

 

Peer Feedback 1:

Our firts set of feedback suggests that we closely look at our lip syncing through some clips. We have had issues with our lip syncing each time our video is uploaded and therefore need to sort this out for when it comes to submitting our final draft. As well as this they have noticed that some clips are two exposed, when completeing our final draft we will look into this and make any corrections needed.

However the feedback showed that our story line was clear to follow and kept them entertained which is extrmely important throughout a narrative music video. Overall this feedback is very positive showing that our audience are able to navigate the narrative easily and that there is a good level of both narrative and perfromance.

 

Peer Feedback 2:

The second set of feedback also suggested we look into our lip syncing, the same issue applies above. They have also suggested we could include more close up and to have the in lovinf memory stay on for longer which we have thought about doing. This feedback has clarified this idea and we will change this within our next draft.

They have also said that our narrative is exciting and engages with our audience well, we have a very good use of MES matching out genre, shots have been used effectively throughout and the special FX has been used well too.

Focus Forward:

We have now gathered some very positive feedback for our music video making us confident as we continue to edit it. As well as this we have got some areas which we will be able to work on in the time left we have, to ensure that our audience recieve what they want and expect to recieve.

Continuing to add to our music video we have now produced a draft three.  Throghout this draft we have experimented with special effects such as transitions, filters and effects. As we become more familiar with premiere pro we are able to keep adding the features to produce a higher quality music video.

Music Video Draft 3:

What Have We Changed:

• We have inlcuded some footage from our extra performace shoot we did throughout the summer to add more loactions and diversity throughout.
• For each shot we have played around with the framing and positioned the shots appropritely mking sure we have a variety of different positions.
• In some areas of the music video we have edited to the beat very well however we still need to continue doing this in order to give the audience what they expect.
• The party seen has been edited and effects have been added but this will continue to be looked at as we play around with other choices.

As part of our feedback our teacher has produced a screen castify to give us advice on what needs changing and improvements which could be made. It’s extremely important to gather feedback from another point of view in order to know what the audience wants.

Screencastify Feedback:

Improvements For Draft 4:

• When the performance aspect of the music video starts, start of with a close up or zoom into to involve the audience from the beginning.
• The dip to white transition when the curtains open needs to be longer.
• When the perfromance starts there needs to me connection with the audience. Therefore we need to play around with clips and include more close ups.
• To ensure that the editing to beat is perfect throughout the video.
• We need to sort out the uploading issue, when uploaded our video goes out of sync with the music and our lip synicing is therefore out of time. We need to talk with the creatives from Specsavers to resolve this issue.
• The transition where the gown is thrown at the camera needs to be shown for slightly longer.
• Within the party scene make some of the shots be at a slight angle to create more excitment.
• Within some of the flashing scenes change the colour in order to add variety as it’s constantly the same thing.
• To add a clip of ther arriving home for the narrative.
• Include a close up of lighting the cake.
• Take time on the ending when it fades so it doesn’t seem rushed.

We were given the oppertunity to show our music video so far to a professional creative from Specsavers which has proved to be extremely helpful. My team were given guidance and feeback on our draft as well as being shown special effects we could add to our video through premiere pro in post production. In order to create a meaningfull narrative we were shown how to use different effects to do so. For example the echo effect helps to portray the atmosphere of a party for that scene. Another aspect within this session we learnt was how to make one clip jump into different shots, known as keyframing, this helps to make the video more dynamic using a wider range of shots. Below is a photo of a key frame we have added to our music video:

It is extremely important to allow other people to view your work, creating a fresh eye to any mistakes and places within the video that may not quite work. From this session with Specsaver’s me and my partner have set aims wich we wish to include within our next draft.

Targets:

• To create meaning and atmosphere we will add special effects to our narrative scenes.
• Use the feature which allows one shot to move around and jump as though we have filmed multiple clips.
• Throughout the video use differnt transitions between each clip so the video isn’t tedious.

The feedback given has been especially helpful for our post prodcution stage of our music video; helping us with features in premiere pro and general guidance as to how we can improve our video. My team have taken the advice away and will reflect this within our next draft of our music video.

We have now gathered all our footage needed for our music video to come together. During our two first shoots and over the summer holidays my production group when on a total of  five shoots for our music video. Each shoot was well organised with our whole production team knowing exactly what their role was on the day in order to have a successful shoot.

Now that we have gathered all our footage my team has been split into two to ensure we are all able to reflect our editing skills into the music video with equal oppertunity. Below is our second draft, including both perfromance and narrative aspects of the music video. Although our draft two is no where near perfect it is important to get a basic idea od how the video will come together before moving on to any major editing techniques; colour effects, transitions and any extra features wanting to be included. This is important so that me and my partner can visualise the story line and think about what we want to add before jumping straight into it.

Music Video Draft 2:

After roughly editing our draft two of the music video it is extremely important to go through the assessment criteria to ensure we have included everything, and if not to then go forward and include this within our next draft. One of the key major aspects to keep an audience engaged within a video is the use of different shots and angles. When filming all of our footage we had this in mind and where able to gather a wide range so we could then tell the story ifn an exciting and visually engaing way.

Self Assessment Checklist:

What Went well:

• We were able to sync our story line well and get every video into the correct order. This is vital within a music video in order to minimise confusion towards the audience.
• Both the performance and narrative shoots work well together and succesfully blend in without any confusion within the video. This also allows a clear vision of our star image and narrative.
• The range of shots shown throughout the video helps the audience to stay engaged and keep the video exciting.
• The majority of our performance aspect of the video is succesfully synced up.
• Our mise en scene portrays the storyline well without being too overpowering.

What Needs Improving:

• Some of our lip sycing is still slightly out of time towards the end of the video so this will need to be changed.
• We have not included one of our performance shoots throughout the video so we will now take some time to look at this footage and see if we want to include it.
• Framing within some videos need to be zoomed in on so the shot becomes more effective.
• Editing to the beat is vital and we need to continue this throughout the video.
• Effects such as colour correction, filters, transitions will need to be played with to add extra effect to the music video.
• A strong openeing and ending of the video will be added to draw the audience in but also allow them to leave feeling satisfied.
• The party seen needs to be looked at carefully to ensure it works withi the video.

Feedback From Our Teacher:

After submitting our first drafts our subject teacher gave us some feedback about what she liked and what could possibly be changed within the music video. Here is what she suggested:

• To start the singing with a close up rather then a mid shot.
• As she opens the blings to make this move more pwerful switch to a white screen.
• At some point in the video to include a close up of the photo frame.
• To take a look at the party scene when she leaves to see if this element is necassary.
• Some videos at saints bay the performer has the microphone and some she doesn’t. Between different location this would be okay.

Overall we have made good progress for our music video throughout the summer holidays. We have now got a basis for our music video which we can continue to add improvements to and ensure we have ticked off all the assessment criteria. Although this draft above does not include all the assesment criteria, by having this rough video allows us to look and see what needs to be done to ensure it does. It gives us extra time to focus on the finer details of what makes a music video work which will be shown throughout our next drafts.

The day of our shoot came around really quickly however due to producing a production meeting agenda as well as a narrative story board my production team were able to have a very successful shoot. We started the day at around 9:30am with our location being one of our teams houses, from then we filmed throughout the day gathering a series of shots to tell the first segment of our narrative aspect of the music video. Throughout the shoot everyone got along really well and were able to contribute their ideas as we went along in order to allow everyone’s opinions to be included.

This time as I was the performer for our performance shoot I was able to have a go at shooting some of our footage as well as the other members of our group. Below are images from our shoot two (narrative).

Images From The Shoot:

What Went Well:

• We were all able to contribute our ideas as we went along throughout the shoot.
• We managed to gather a variety of shots, angles and camera movment as we told the story.
• Everyone contributed towards shooting apart from our model who was able to film a large amount of the performance shoot in order to share the workload.
• The lighting within the shoot was perfect due to our equipment and the natural light within the room helping to keep the shoot professional.
• We were able to use our time wisely and film all the footage in the time we had.
• Our model performed confidently and was able to portray the character very well.

Targets For Our Next Narrative Shoot:

• We would like to gather more shots with camera movement which will suit are next scenes better due to their narrative themes.
• To make sure that each section of the narrative is filmed  in different shots to help it make sense when it comes to editing.
• Ensure that when filming no objects or people that aren’t in the video are not seen in order to save time where we may have to reshoot some clips.
• When our performer is acting, within our next scenes there are more emotions shown, so we will need to make sure our actor is comfortable and knows what to do and when.
• Going forward we will keep using the proffesional equipment e.g the bright light, as it really helped our footage to come together.
• One shot we will need to do at another member of our productions teams house as due to work being done we were unable to film this shot.

Overall, from reflecting on our shoot, my production team are extremely happy with the results and we all thought the shoot ran really smoothly as we were able to use our time efectively gathering a variety of footage which we can now use for our video. Our team is extremely excited to keep filming over the holidays and continue our narrative through the other three main scenes.

 

To ensure that there are minimal risk involved within our second shoot for our narrative aspect of our music video it is important to create a risk assessment between our production group. This enables us to all know the possible risks allowing us to be aware and safe when it comes to shooting. Below is our risk assessment for our first narrative video shoot which we have all signed to show that we are all aware.

Our Risk Assessment:

This was extremely important to enable our safety when filming allowing our shoot to run smoothly on the day. Hazards we have identified are possible tripping hazards within the house such as wires and any other objects within the house however our shoot is very safe apart from this hazard. To minimise the risk of this hazard we will take extra care when walking around the shoots and remove antging not needed that culd get in the way. Included within this document are our signatures to show were are all aware includimg our teacher.

Our Production Meeting Agenda:

In order to increase organisation within our group it is important to make a production meeting agenda for each shoot we do throughout the making of our music video. By doing this allows our group to know exactly what is happening and when as well as being clear of what each inividual is responsible for. Below is our production meeting agenda for our first narrative shoot:

Included in this document is the date, times and loaction of our shoot allowing our team to all know exactly what is happening. As well as this it shows who is responsible for bringing items needed to the shoot; I am responsible for providing one of the costumes (pink dress) as well as some props which we will all contribute towards making them.

By allocating these roles towards each member allows an equal share, making sure everyone is involved within the shoot. Production meeting agendas allow us to become organised from an earlier date, before the shoot in order to stay proffessional nd use our time wisely.

With the aim of good organisation between our production group to create narrative sense it is extremely important to have a detailed plan which we can follow as we move into the narrative stage of our music video. Below we have produced a narrative photo board and shot list for every scene and location we will be filming at. As well as this we have produced a mood board to display our preconceived ideas for our narrative.

Our Narrative Photo Board/ Shot List:

What Does This Show?

The narrative element of our music video will follow the story of a young girl who wakes up on her birthday feeling isolated and sad. The girls boyfriend has recently passed which will be shown at the beginning with the use of props. As the narrative continues she goes out to celebrate her birthday where the loss of her boyfriend really affects her and she can’t handle the situation so therefore leaves the party. The video will finish within the kitchen where she is seen blowing out the candles by herself.

Our music video will be completed with a total of four main scenes/locations: the bedroom, the party, street/car, the kitchen. When filiming these scenes we have compiled together a variety of different shots and camera movment that will work well within the scene as well as allowing us to follow the common conventions seen in the pop genre. Some shots we will be using our high angle, POV, tracking, pan, ped, mid, reaction shots, which will all allow us to follow our narrative structure whilst gathering a variety of filming which we can then edit in the post production stage.

In order to diffrentiate our scenes within the narrative we will keep our narrative themes for each scene by using dfferent techniques but still inlining in the correct conventions and repetoire of elements. For example in the car and party scene the shots featured will involve much more movment with tracking shots and point of views. This allows the audience to feel a sense of involvment within the video as though they are actually in the scene commonly scene in this genre. However in the bedroom and kitchen scenes the shots will feature much more still shots and set angles in order to fit the narrative theme of that scene. This allows a variety of camera movement and shots helping to keep the audience engaged to create a selling point and portray our star image in a proffessional way towards the pop genre.

Creating this document will enable our group to refer back to it in the coming weeks when we our shooting in order to see what our next step is helping to stay organised and use our time wisely.

 

We are now onto the post production aspect using Premiere Pro, below is our first music video draft as a rough cut from our performance shoot. Once familiarising ourselves with the software we were able to get started on the editing of our music video picking out different clips throughut the song. Due to gathering enough footage on our first shoot we were able to create a full video with our performance video for all parts of the song. As well as this it was quick and easy for us to match up the lip syncing due to being organised and gathering shots for the enirity of the song.

Our First Music Video Draft:

What Went Well:

• Our lip sycing matched up well with the song meaning our video can be proffessional and not confusing for our audience however when uploaded it went out of sync so this will need to be sorted.
• Within the video we were able to edit to the beat and swap between clips where appropriate.
• Our star image has been portrayed effectively e.g emotion. passion, class, fun and positive.
• The repetoire of elements from our selected genre was well displayed through our MES, direct mode of adress, costumes, lighting, and acting.
• The variety of shots we gathered allowed a variety of movement within our music video helping to keep intrest.
• Both me and my partner were able to have a go at editing and understand the software ready for when we next edit.

What We Could Improve On:

• To help keep the audience even more intrested we need to swap between clips quicker.
• Now we have a basic rough cut we can start editing and adding effects to create a more proffesional and exciting feel.
• In some clips the lighting could have been better, therefore we can change this using the different tools on the software.
• Now we can experiment with the software and change some things into slow mo, however this may come into the narrative aspect more.
• Make sure the sharpeness on each clip is clear and the shot is easily visible.
• Although the lip syncing is pretty much perfect there are some places where it could be improved and changed slightly.
• When uploaded make sure it is still in sync.