Preliminary Task - Evaluation

The whole point of the Preliminary Task was to learn the techniques which are necessary for creating our own music video, being behind the camera, editing and even a bit of directing. All of which I have developed to an extend where I would feel confident and comfortable going out and doing my own music video right now if I had to. The experiences I had during the preliminary task will help me to make my actual video more successful.

One of the problems we faced was with the equipment, the tripod we was attempting to use did not actually fit the camera equipment we had, meaning time was wasted. During shooting for our actual music video time will be precious and wasting time is something which I will want to avoid, therefore making sure I have all the vital equipment before arriving on the set is something I will defiantly be doing. I will also make sure that all the add on equipment, such as lenses and tripods are right for the video camera I will be using.

Another problem we experienced was with editing, this was because we didn't save the footage properly. Storing and logging footage is a huge part of the professional music video making industry and before the Preliminary Task that was something I was unaware off. Sadly the footage of myself didn't save, meaning that to export the video off from iMovie, I had to remove myself from the music video. This was not a problem for the Preliminary Task, but this is something which has to be avoided during the actual task, as the footage may have extreme value.

The camera quality was something which was also poor during the Preliminary Task. A high quality music video is something which I am going to strive for when completing my final task, but that was not available to us when completing the practice task. There was not the option to control the focus, which disabled any chance of creating nice pull focuses, which are extremely effective when creating a music video. Also on a HD laptop screen, our final  Preliminary Task looks pixelated and is only 720p, when it is 1080p I am going to aim for.

I am glad we had the experience of creating a Preliminary Task, as it has gave me an idea on the areas which are my strengths and which are my weaknesses, therefore allowing me to work on my weaknesses before starting my final product.

Diary Entry Week 3

So first thing Monday morning we began filming our music video for That's What I go to school For. It was our first time using equipment such as a tripod and an actual video camera, so it was fun to learn and get used to handling it all. We had technical difficulties with our tripod, as we never had the correct one for our camera, which ended up wasting alot of our valuable shooting time. This is something which we want to avoid during the actual piece of coursework but I am glad we had the chance to learn from our mistakes. We spent the whole 2 hour lesson filming and it was actually good fun.

In our next lesson we uploaded our footage onto the computer and went to begin the editing process, but as this was our first time using iMovie we somehow managed to delete all the footage with me in it - good for me, but bad for the task. This was another opportunity we will have the chance to learn from while creating our actual task. Keyboard shortcuts is something we learnt during the week and we found them a godsend, as it was easy to get confused using the mouse. The keyboard shortcut we used the most was the CTRL & B. This shortcut was used for splitting a clip into two, which was a really important aspect of the editing process, spliting clips and moving, or spliting clips and deleting.

During our final lesson of the week on Friday we was given the chance to finish our music video, and upload it onto YouTube which is what we will be doing with our final product. We was really happy with how it turned out considering it was our first ever attempt at anything like this.

Preliminary Task - Final Product

During Thursday's lesson we edited together the final version of our Preliminary Task. Here is our version of Busted's, That's What I Go To School For.

Preliminary Task Editing

Today we edited our Preliminary Task Music Video together. We started with 3 individual videos, one of me, Rian and John and at the end of the lesson we had one completed Music Video to Busted's, What I Go To School For.
The editing process is defiantly harder than expected, with the macs hard to get a hang of, not only the iMovie software. Importing the footage was hard enough, as there was alot of high quality footage it took a lot of time to load onto the editing programme. As it was our first time we had to edit through trial and error, and after a while we pretty much got the hang of it.
Keyboard shortcuts is something we found useful, as it was easy to get confused using the mouse. The keyboard shortcut we used the most was the CTRL & B. This shortcut was used for splitting a clip into two, which was a really important aspect of the editing process, spliting clips and moving, or spliting clips and deleting.
As it was Music Video that we was creating, linking the video and the music up was an essential when making our preliminary task look as professional as possible. This involved alot of muting the song to hear the original video and muting the video to link it together perfectly. This may seem like a easy task, but it defiantly was not. There was a lot of trial and error involved, sometimes playing the same clip over and over again.
We still wanted to get a non serious vibe in the video, as the basis of this task is to be learning to techniques. So at the end of the song there is 3 guitar strums, so we took 3 outtakes from the video and editing them in time with music. This was something which although we had fun doing, it was great practice for the quick editing our actual Music Video is going to require.
It was good to learn the basics on iMovie as this is the software we are going to using for our actual Music Video task. iMovie is a software I am not familiar with so after this Preliminary Task I feel way more confident. I am excited to upload it onto YouTube and watch the final product.

Preliminary Task Filming

Today in our two hour lesson we began filming for our preliminary task, which we are reenacting Busted's top hit, What I Go To School For. We filmed used a small camcorder, on top of a tripod, the tripod was set about the same height as the desk to get eye contact with the viewer. We shot the video in a classroom environment, which replicates the location of the original video, which is something we had to get right. After we had all had a go of the lip syncing and acting for the music video, it was time to import the footage into iMovie on the macs. Then we began the editing process, which is something we are going to continue over the past couple of lessons. Editing is something which is extremely tricky and as we found today, it was harder than we had anticipated, as getting the lip syncing on time is something which is really important but really hard to get the hang off. But it was great to finally be behind the camera and gain some experience. As that is what the preliminary task is all about, preparing you for the actual task.

Diary Entry Week 2

This week have been focusing on planning our preliminary music video, to do so we have learnt about the different types of music video's there is, Narrative, Performance and Conceptual and we have also chosen our prelim task song - Busted's / That's What I go to School for.

As this is only a practice task we are making sir has stressed how this does not have to be perfect but just to get used to the idea of planning, shooting and editing our very own product. We have got into groups for this task, so me, Rian and John are going to be working together to learn new skills which is very exciting. The 3 of us decided we could create a shot by shot replica of the actual That's What I go to School for music video, we counted the shots that make up the first 60 seconds and there is 42. Meaning we have to create a 42 shot storyboard for homework, something which is defiantly going to be time consuming - but beneficial as getting us prepared for the actual task in September.

Types of Music Video

There are three main different types of Music Videos in which Artists create for their songs, Narrative, Performance and Conceptual.

Narrative is made with the idea of storytelling and is more focused on the element of acting in the music video. Narrative Music Videos incorporate more Mise en Scene in order to create the fictional story. An example of this type of Music Video is Cool by Gwen Stefani, it actually has been named number 2 in the list of "20 Best Music Videos that Story Tell." The message of the Song is clear through the video, you can clearly see elements of a past love and what the reality is now.

                                                                                  

Performance is when the video a majority of the video has been filmed in a live performance of the song. An example of this is Justin Bieber's, All Around The World Music Video. The video shows footage taken from several shows, ' All Around The World', and it also contains footage of the countries and places visited on the tour. The Music Video itself was edited and directed by Alfredo Flores, who is well known for his Performance style Music Videos for Justin Bieber.       

                                                                                                                                                                   

Conceptual or Concept Music Videos are based around a single idea or concept and are usually unusual and obscure, which can even be surreal for the audience. This unusual content is an attraction to many consumers, with the idea to be that it draws the audience in. A successful concept video will keep the audience entertained and constantly looking at what or who is on the screen. No particular genre or type of music is more likely to use concept videos, in fact a range of artists covering all genres have used concept/ art based videos. An Example of a Conceptual Music Video is This Too Shall Pass by OK Go. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Shot Analysis - Busted / What I Go To School For

To be able to complete my music video production task, I need to gather a sufficient amount of research, as research will only help develop my understanding of  making a music video, both the filming and editing process. In order to do this I have been assigned a prelim task and I have learnt today that my task will be to create a remake of the first 90 seconds of Busted's 'What I go to School for' music video. To prepare for my prelim task I have counted all of the shots in the first 90 seconds of the video, which is the grand total of 42. I have created a shot for shot storyboard to give me an idea of what my prelim task should be looking like.

Diary Entry Week 1

So on Monday of this week we started our A2 course. We found out that our assignment for the year was going to be to create a music video, this is something I am really excited about due to my interest in both Music and Film - as soon as sir mentioned it I was already thinking off song idea's and possible storylines. We also have to create a website, something which I am defiantly unfamiliar with and I am excited to learn about. The final thing we have to create is the album artwork for the song in which we are going to be creating a music video for, this is something which is I am looking forward to as I really loved using and learning about photoshop this year for AS.

During the next lesson we learnt about Goodwins Theory and his 6 main principles :
1) Links between Lyrics and Visuals
2) Links between Music and Visuals
3) Genre Characteristics
4) Demands of The Record Label
5) Reference to The Notion of Looking
6) Intertextual Reference

Then on Friday's lesson we was told we are going to have to create a preliminary task similar to what we had to do last year with our Music Magazines. We have been watching music video's to get some idea's and sir has emphasised the importance of keeping up the amount of music video's we watch at home.

Goodwins Theory

Goodwin’s Theory is based on 6 main principles :
1) Links between Lyrics and Visuals
2) Links between Music and Visuals
3) Genre Characteristics
4) Demands of The Record Label
5) Reference to The Notion of Looking
6) Intertextual Reference

1) Links between Lyrics and Visuals - Bonkers / Dizzee Rascal

In the Music Video Bonkers, by the Grime MC Dizzee Rascal, he portrays himself to be a crazy and outgoing individual. He does this by the use of fast cuts in between shots, presenting chaos. Also the costume in which Dizzee and the characters wear, are quite weird. The high lightening also works hand in hand with the high upbeat song.

2) Links between Music and Visuals

In the Music Video for When I Was A Younger by Rizzle Kicks, they try and portray themselves to be a more youthful version of themselves. They do this by doing things such as involving cartoon sketches in the visual. They also add effects onto themselves to make them look younger, for example putting themselves in astronaut suits.

3) Genre Characteristics

Just like in many Boy Pop Bands, One Direction are no stranger to dance routines, in fact I think they use at least one in every Music Video they do. Just like in this Best Song Ever, which see's them all come together near the end of the video and dance to a routine. Which is a characteristic of their Pop genre. 

4) Demands of The Record Label

Some record labels follow the same demands, such as Jay-Z's record label 'Roc Nation'. Here are 3 Music Videos under the record label of Roc Nation, that feature regular close ups.

5) Reference to The Notion of Looking

Artists often look directly at the camera, they do this to connect with the audience. They make the audience feel part of the video itself, this is something which is featured throughout Jennifer Lopez's, I'm Into You Music Video.

6) Intertextual Reference 
Intertextual Reference is anything within the music video that references another piece of media, like a film, book or even another song. The Music Video Paparazzi by Lady Gaga is something which features this reference, with News Papers showing throughout.

Introduction

Today was my first lesson of Year 13 Media Studies, I found out that my assignment for this year is to create a music video. The music video I will create has to be to an already published song but the aim is to create a final product that can match the creativity, professionalism and the feel of a real music video.

The whole point of the music video is that it will be part of a promotion package for an album release. Which has to contain two of the following three options:
-a website homepage for the band.
-a digipak for the album's release.
-a magazine advertisement for the digipak.
I am really excited to get going with this year, and share my creative journey on this blog.