Feedback Week 1
(Feedback given 07.03.24)
My teacher Sabina Narayanan has given me feedback on my idea generation (3 ideas) and my proposal work. The main points she has given me feedback on are:
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Limit the subject of "politics" to one main issue which effects the target audience of my music video.
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Think about musician's that speak about politics and use their lyrics to emphasis this.
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Discuss in more detail how software can be used in my FMP and how much more that can effect the end result of my music video.
My response to the feedback:
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I would shift the focus from just overall politics to specifically looking at how the government favours straight, 40+, white men and do not listen to the opinions of the younger age demographics and what people this effects. This could be referencing to the voting age being 18 and comments and policies being changed to not help young people. As a young person in the UK I personally feel as though my opinion is not heard and not wanted to be heard due to my age. I feel as though I am told to act like an adult but am not treated like one. The voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 in 1969. This was a long time ago and I would like to be re considered. I think that the government should be focussed on making everyone living in the UK feel like their opinion matters and that they are valid and at the moment this is not the case. Through my proposal and research I will look further into what specific references and visuals I can use to make this point.
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There are many musicians that speak about politics openly and through their lyrics however I need to find one that has the same views and opinions. For example a quick google search of "What musicians have voted or supported the conservative party" will reveal Geri Halliwell, Gary Barlow, Tony Hadly, Phil Collins and Craig David have all spoke publicly about their opinions. My initial thought was to break the codes and conventions seen in rock videos and also use a range of features seen in different music video genres so I had thought about finding a musician that liked to "break the rules" and not follow a crowd or idea. So far I haven not found someone to fit these needs and again I will be able to look at this in further depth in my proposal and research.
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My whole music video will be edited using Premier pro, a software that I have been using since the start of the academic year. I would like to pick up more editing skills as I'm not the best at this. I would like to experiment with effects such as green screening, cloning and also blending out camera movements to make a transition. I can practise this by conducting forms of action research and testing to see what I have to do and also how I can make my final draft better. This is essential to my music video as it needs to be perfected so that I can test if it will be visually pleasing for the audience. I may also test using After effects - creating visual graphics to see if I think there may be any added effect to my music video as it might make it more interesting. This can be looked into and developed later on when conducting my action research.
Production Log Week 1
(February 26th - March 1st)
This week I started my final major project. I started off the week by generating ideas as to what I think would benefit me, my project and my further progress in media. I created 3 ideas based on the brief of them being "possible, challenging and something new". I started off by ranking what ideas I wanted to do and how much I wanted to do them. For me, I have a huge interest in music and would like a future career in the music business so the idea of making a music video really stood out to me as a good choice for my project. As well as my interest in music I haven't made one yet and this would fit all of the brief - possible to do, a challenge and something new. I created a mood board to visually represent inspirations I initially had and if I decided to use any fonts or colour schemes I may use. This can help me see if there's any features I can look further into to see what I could include. I had also considered creating a documentary as I enjoyed the work we had previously done on documentary's. I believe that I could expand and develop my knowledge and understanding of different documentary genres, codes and conventions and features. I decided that the music video idea would be better for me as I have a large interest in the subject and would like to find out more about how they are made.
The next thing I did was go through my project proposal. This explains that there is a clear understanding of what my FMP will include. First I started with doing my rationale. This shows my progress leading up to my final major project. This can be all of my technical skills that could help my music video in the production and editing process. After I completed my rationale I went through my project concept. This points out my initial thoughts on what I would like my music video to be. As I was just starting thinking about my ideas I only really had a brief idea. This was that I wanted a indie rock/rock music video that challenges political views and preferably find a musician or band that speaks openly about their political views. Next I did a evaluation. This shows my explanation of how I will be finding the best way to evaluate my progress through the process of my project. By doing small evaluations to keep my work consistent and precis. The last thing I did was a proposed research source. This outlined the sources of information I think I will be using. I outlined what I will use to complete different tasks. For example, for looking at different musicians Apple Music and for information on politics BBC news. Writing out what I will be proposing to use will be good as I can refer back to this later in my research unit.
Feedback Week 2/3/4
(Feedback given 21/03/24)
After completing my work on the proposal of my FMP, again my teacher Sabina Narayanan gave me more feedback. These points to change and reflect on were:
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When doing research on comments about LGBTQ from the government, look at the comments made about Brianna Ghey in the Houses of Parliament. Reflect on how the conservative government do not want to teach young children about being transgender and have put in policies to stop prescriptions of hormone blockers.
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For my idea concepts, change information from showing my photo shop skills and focus it more on my premier pro skills as its more relevant for what I will be making.
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For my secondary research, think more about my use of Wikipedia as it is not as much of a reputable source than I will need it to be for the accuracy of my music video.
My response:
1. A link to my research where you can see about the transphobic comments made by the government.
The government have also put policies in place to stop NHS prescribing hormone blockers to anyone under the age of 18. Hormone blockers are most commonly used to delay the changes of puberty and are used by transgender people wanting to transition. Many people have argued over why these have been stopped being prescribed as some say there isn't enough understanding of them and also how the side effects affect people in a negative way. However, many people feel as though the comments made by the government are the real reason why these policies have been out in place. This is in reference to the lack of support shown for transgender individuals. One of the things I find terrible with the conservative party is how they spoke about Brianna Ghey with comments from the prime minister that seemed very mocking and down right rude. Our country's leader should not make people feel like this. Schools have also been told to no teach children about gender identity. I think this is bad as not only is it unsupportive but also so unprogressive towards todays society.
2. Ideas Concept
When I first looked into my ideas concepts, I had initially wrote about my photo shop skills. Upon feedback from my teacher Sabina she explained that I should further discuss my hard skills of editing using Premier Pro. This would be more relevant as for my music video I will be editing on Premier Pro.
At the start of the year, Premier Pro was completely new to me as I had not taken media before or used premier pro I had to get used to it. I did a range of tasks and I used Premier to edit them and this is some of my oldest work.
These are my two first pieces of work which I edited using Premier Pro. There is a lot of issues which I now think I could resolve better due to having more knowledge, understanding and experience. Over the process of my course I have tried to reflect back on my work in the beginning and see how I can make it better and also find things that constantly occur that could be changed. When creating my FMP I set out to test different transitions and experiment with camera movements and colour grading. I will take this forward and experiment through action research and looking and inspiration.
3. Secondary research ; Wikipedia
When thinking about what forms of research I can do, I thought about what websites and sources I could use. I had stated that Wikipedia would be a good source to use as it has all the information you need in one place. Upon further thought I have remembered that Wikipedia is not as credible as it seems due to people being able to edit and change information. After having a rethink about what else I could use I realised how much I use YouTube within my work. I use YouTube for looking into what music video inspirations I have, I use YouTube for looking at ways I can make my editing better and also ways to edit something specifically. I will use YouTube for gaining the music backing track and also ,my green screen idea so in conclusion having YouTube feature in my work would be a far better form of secondary research than Wikipedia.
Production Log Week 2
(March 4th-8th)
After completing my idea generation I moved onto my Proposal unit. This was where I was able to start looking further at my brief and come up with a overall idea of what I want my music video to look like. My proposal is where I am able to propose what I will be carrying out through research.
I started off by looking at influences and inspirations and if there were any different things I could take from pre existing music videos and add to mine to make it look interesting. Before I started this I looked at the different types of music videos. This was all new to me as I have not learnt about music videos y et so this was interesting to me. I started off looking at different directors and how they have used different music video types, what they feature and what techniques they use which could add good variety to my music video. I started off by looking at Von Dutch By Charli XCX, directed by TORSO. Through looking at this song I found out that I really liked the use of transitions - moving from one scene and location to a different one. Next up, I looked at Robbers by The 1975 directed by Tim Mattia. This was a narrative music video as it follows a short film type of structure. This meant I was able to look and see if this was something I would consider making. Finally I looked at Right Here, Right Now by Fatboy Slim directed by Hammer and Tongs. This is an example of a concept music video. Again helping me start to take inspiration into what I may include in my music video. I liked how it explained a idea that doesn't link to the lyrics. I think I could use this in my music video as the lyrics most likely will not perfectly match the visuals however there are ways of working around this.
Next I moved onto my idea concepts. This is where I can look at my technical skills and how I can use them within my ideas and later on in my music video. I did this by comparing skills I have past used in my media work and how I may need them. As it was earlier on in my proposal and I wasn't sure what I may want to make/use I discussed my use of photoshop and how I have created infographics. I have now gone back and discussed my use of Adobe Premier pro as this will be the main software I will be using for my music video. I discussed what I did in different units and how this differed overall. By referring back to my past work I can see how my work has changed throughout my first year and how this is reflected in my work.
Production Log Week 3
March 11th - 15th
This week I started to look at my Target audience and the use of different demographics. This can affect the audience as content will be catered to their age, race, gender and lifestyle. I looked into how many music genres their are and the fan stereotypes surrounding them. I gave a couple of examples, one being fans of Taylor Swift being largely white teenage girls and fans of heavy metal rock are largely middle aged white men. I had to think about who I would be targeting with my music video focussing on politics. This was so that I could cater to their needs and make it interesting. I began by looking into audience profiles - what economic classification and psychographics are used to split up different people into class groups. For instance, higher management jobs and doctors would be in the A group, and unemployed people or students would be in the E category.
After researching these different category's I moved on to looking at my audience profile. I looked at what genders, what ethnicity's, what ages, what regions and what socio economic status I am catering my video towards. For me this was all genders as I would be able to reach everyone instead of making it too specific. I wanted to target all ethnicity's as I felt as though many different ethnicity's, have been wronged by the governments (Boris Johnson mocking Chinese accents, making comments regarding Malaysian women and using racial slurs ) and this should be reflected and understood by my audience. Looking at ages, I wanted to gain a large variety of people watching but needed to have some form of relevance. I chose two groups - 15-21 and 40-60. These groups were chosen as the youth group in my video is critiquing the older generation and I want there to also be impact within those groups. As I was focussing on the Government I put the region as being London as this was for overall but this really is for all over the UK.
Coming back to my psychographics, I explained what background I wanted to connect my characters and the target audience. This can make a more personal connection that can not only be seen by the audience but also can be felt. I wanted my cast and crew to feel passionately about the topic as well. This is good to have as it will mean that the acting feels realer and a better representation of emotions. I discussed what likes and dislikes each target audience and representative characters have. I did this to then move forward and think more about what I can do and show in my music video.
Next I moved onto looking into what research I can do and what I can use to help my research. There are four main types of research that can be done - these are primary research (research you do yourself), secondary research (research that's already been carried out), action research (testing practical things) and academic research (research that has been done by someone with a degree). I will be using all of these forms of research for my music video. I thought of three examples of what I will be doing for each type. This is so that I have a good amount of research conducted and different ways of doing it. For instance for my primary research, I will be conducting a survey, using action research, and conducting interviews. For my secondary research, I discussed that I will be using websites to gain information on certain topics. These three website examples are Gov.uk, BBC news and Wikipedia. I have since re - evaluated this and changed the use of Wikipedia to YouTube. This is due to the Wikipedia being unreliable as anyone can edit and change the answers. I have decided on YouTube as I will be using this very often to find a range of different related video to my music video (other music videos, how to use certain effects on premier pro and the song itself).
After this I looked at what Action research I might want to do. I started off by testing 3 different techniques. One of which was colour grading - colour correcting with brightly coloured effects, title crawls - like the Star Wars intro and having the music stop and a conversation happen. I wasn't too sure what I may want to use but I thought these techniques would be visually pleasing to the viewer so I wanted to try them. One by one I went through and tested each technique to see what final effect it gave and if I felt as though it would would effectively. I started off by testing the Star Wars text crawl. This was only an idea as I thought it fit well in Ariana Grande's "Break Free" but upon later research this is only because of this music video being a narrative video. I thought this would be a good way to start my music video as I thought that my two target audiences could both recognise this as being a Star Wars themed intro- hopefully making them more interested. I carried out brief testing of this effect and altered it until I was happy. The effect itself was relatively easy to create and I was happy with is but ruled it out of my music video as I felt like it just didn't connect with my music video enough. Everyone could recognise that it is the Star Wars crawl but that doesn't have a lot to do with my music video so went back to the drawing board to try something else.
Next, I looked at my colour correcting and grading with also having dialogue in-between lyrics. With the help of my friend Tilly, we lip-synced to Latch - Disclosure & Sam Smith. This acted as a form of lip-sync test. I used a tripod, a camera, a zoom mic and my phone for this form of action research. I used my phone to play the song so that we could sing along to it, I filmed with the camera that was on the tripod and the zoom mic to pick up any audio. In editing this all came together nicely. I put the song at the same point where we began filming/lip syncing and matched it up. Next I added the audio from the zoom mic in and matched this up again. Luckily, it had worked how I wanted to and had the effect I wanted it to have on the viewer. After completing the more audio focused section of this action research, I moved onto the colour grading and correcting. Using lumetri colour I adjusted features such as saturation, warmth and tint to change and adjust the colours. I had a sequence of short colour bursts that flash different colours matching with the beats. I really liked how this turned out as I thought it was fun and also made the effect more interesting towards the audience. After completing this I had to think about if this would work in my music video. The approach I had taken with this short sample showed more performative features of a music video (us singing and dancing) might not work best with my video as I was going for more of a mix of narrative and concept. Also Latch - Disclosure featuring Sam Smith is more of a dance song whilst my song is going to be more rock based. These are two very different genres and this can also influence what effect my colour grading may have on the audience. After finishing this I moved on but will come back to this in research to see what I think is best.
Production Log Week 4
18th-22nd
I continued on with my proposal and this week was my final week on the proposal unit so I focused on making ideas for my music video. I started off this week by looking into my project workflow. This is where I have a brief idea of what timings I will work by. For this, I began by looking at the months I will be working in, these are March, April, May and June. I thought of the different tasks that I will carrying out prior to and during the making of my music video. and categorised by month how long each of these would take. For instance in the first full month (March), I roughly planned tasks such as idea generation, gaining feedback, looking at character profiles and finalising what my idea is. Next I looked at more of the pre production such as creating the storyline, seeing if I will be using dialogue so will need a script, creating a storyboard and looking into cast and costume. Completing these tasks cover the end of March and April, I plan to start getting the ball rolling in my production. Looking into what I will want my final music video draft to look like, this looks at set design and when filming will take place . After completing these I moved onto my work for April and May. This was filming my music video, editing my music video and then colour grading it. I will then gather feedback and edit my final draft. Once this is completed I will do my final overall evolution.
After completing my project workflow, I made my final plan. I outlined what topic I wanted to have my music video reflect on - this being how different demographics view the conservative party and how different ages have more influence. Next I established what inspirations I have taken from pre existing media products and how this will influence my music video. I discussed how I wanted to have a mix of a performative and narrative music video and how I liked music videos such as Blur - Country House as it seemed very chaotic and "messy" whilst also having the features commonly seen in music videos, such as having the band singing and performing. For me this would be to have my cast lip syncing. After establishing this I moved onto what my Mise en scene would look like. Mise en scene is for what is actually shown in the shots. This can be reflected on props, costumes, make up and lighting. For me this will be linking anything on screen to the context of my music video. I wrote about what political situations and examples of what I may want to target throughout my FMP. By finding the context of my political statement I can think about what I want to be seen on screen. For instance, I wanted costuming to represent the two sides of age. I wanted my cast to be wearing casual and "current" clothes to reflect on the "younger" age demographic and then I wanted them to be wearing clothing and accessories that made them look older. I wanted to use the same cast to represent that we are all the same and everyone should be treated equally. Another form of mise en scne I thought about was the set/filming location. I will be using an open field to refer back to the conservative party needing to be more "open" minded as times have changed and their are many social changes that the conservative party do not support that lacks support from the younger generation. Thinking about lighting I wanted it to be natural and realistic so may not use any lights when filming however will colour grade and correct the lighting. This can also reflect on the general mood that the audience gains after watching my music video.
Next I began to think about more technicalities of making my music video. I started thinking about how my cast can act, what shots I can use, what camera movements I can use and what angles I can use. By generating these ideas early on in the process means I can be able to do further research into these and establish my storyboard. Overall, by outlining all of these different things I can work towards my end goal of having a great music video which is visually pleasing to the audience and shows a range of skills that I have used and developed over time.
After looking at the technical aspects of my music video, I thought about what my overall role in the music video is. I took a overall directing approach to my music video. This is because I felt as though I have the main vision of what I want my end product to look like and no one else will see and understand this. This means that I can control what I want to happen and take place and make any alterations needed.
Finally, I created and shared my action plan for the weeks of work. This discussed what tasks I needed to do and carry out, how I could do them and why I needed to do them. By having an action plan, the process has been made easier as I can refer back to it to see what I did when and what I needed them for.
Feedback week 5/6
(Feedback given 26/03/24)
I gained more feedback from Sabina based on my research unit before then starting my production.
1) Take survey link out as it makes my blog look messy and is not needed.
2) Talk more about Taylor Swift - Bad Blood being like action movie/action genre.
3)Carry out action research showing lip sync test and colour correcting + grading.
4)Look into codes and conventions of a rock music video. The aesthetics they show and any types of camera movements and shot types.
5)Carry out Harvard reference.
My response to feedback
1. I started off by taking out the link to my survey as I was told this was messy. This is a visual thing. So I simply removed the link and moved my text boxes so it filled the space better.
2. Taylor Swift - Bad Blood
In my research I had looked at existing music videos and analysed them so that I could see what techniques have been used and what inspirations I can take from them into my music video. My work on Bad Blood can be found here.
After this doing this research I will be looking further into the music video for Bad Blood. Bad Blood would fall into the genre of action due to its conventions. It shows fight scenes, explosions, weapons and shows two sides representing "good and evil". These are the most common codes and conventions seen in action genre films. I do not want my music video to follow action codes and conventions however there are certain aspects that may be shown in my music video. For instance, the fight*- sequence I want to show towards the end where one of the younger generation people swings and the camera falls on "The Prime Minister" who is on the floor and the older generation members quickly run over. Another feature that I gained inspiration from was the stand off at the end. This can be seen in my product analysis.
3) Action research
I will be using lip-syncing in my music video as a feature of being a performative video. Lip sync tests should be used as a form of action research as in post production editing they may be harder to sync together. As well as this I was also wanted to test the use of colour correcting and colour grading as this would have benefitted my music video further, adding theming and atmosphere. looked into this further and have experimented with this here.
I tested by playing the song out loud after learning the words and we just sang to it as I had thought that this would be the best way to make it sync together seamlessly. I screenshotted the time frame I had started playing the song from so that when editing I could match the song times up. I also wanted to experiment with colour theory. Colour theory is used to see what colour means in the context in which it is used. For instance, red is used to show power or danger and yellow may be used for joy.
In my action research, I used a range of colours however in my music video I want to have a more gray vibe. This being due to grey being used for giving the impression of "frustration" and also taking inspiration from The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony where the mood is very low so the colour grading is also very low and it gives a grey filter over the music video. This is my example of my lip sync test and my colour grading/correcting.
4.Codes and Conventions of a rock music video
Codes and conventions are related to what is seen in different media products in different genres. These are all to do with the use of mise en scene - what is actually seen in the shots. Using music video theories we can look further into what is typically seen in rock music videos as this is what my music video will be.
As a brief overall, rock music videos are mainly performance based. This means they most likely show the band themselves performing and a crowd watching and / or singing along.
This can be seen in these 3 examples.
Looking at the codes and convections of rock music videos they are usually quite darkly lit and often show lots of "head banging" and dancing. There are usually quite melancholy this is from the music itself, the colour correction/grading, the lighting, the outfits worn and any visuals shown. They also often feature "messy" and "all of the pace" kind of camera work
When relating these codes and conventions I want my music overall to make a difference. This is more metaphorical towards the topic of my music video being on Politics but also make a difference towards the mise en scene that I will use in my music video.
5. Harvard referencing
A link to my references.
Production Log Week 5
March 25th-29th
After completing my proposal I moved onto the research unit of my FMP. This is a major step forward as this means I can start outlining the fundamental ideas and backing them up with research.
Firstly, I again referred to my action plan - the tasks I had set out to complete and how I was going to to them. For instance, I wanted to create a survey as a form of primary research so I chose when this would be beneficial to create and schedule in with my work flow and other tasks needed.
I began by creating this survey. My survey featured a range of questions which meant I was able to gauge a unbiased collection of answers that can help me further through my research. I asked these questions confidentially so that anyone taking the survey could answer freely and truthfully - providing more correct answers. The overall feedback so far from my survey has been varied but also has outlined the opinions that I have that has been shared by a number of different people. This is really helpful in my research as I can take these responses forward and cater more of my research towards the answers I have gained.
After my survey, I conducted existing product analysis by looking at music videos that I may take inspiration from. I looked at 3 different music video examples and one film example. I focussed on what techniques, effects and features they used that I liked the look of and that I thought could be used in my music video nicely. This was the lighting/colour grading used in Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve, the use of pre existing footage used in Love It If We Made It by the 1975, the costuming and casting of Bad Blood by Taylor Swift and lastly the use of cloning in The Parent Trap. Looking into how these have been used is really helpful as I can expand on this and test these methods and see if they would be good to feature in my music video.
Once I had looked at these existing products and outlined what I may want to use in my music video I began action research testing. I tested cloning as this would be a major part of my music video and would affect my music video by a large amount if I could not get it to work and also using a green screen effect with pre existing footage. Both tests went well and with some changes and developing would certainly help move my music video along nicely to create a good, effective piece of work.
Next I began to look at the song choice of my music video. This had been something so crucial to the success of my music video that I had still yet to figure out. I have a huge passion for music and have so many music inspirations but I found finding a song that really captured what I wanted to share and what I wanted to say quite difficult. I had looked at a song called "Regular People" by the band Moon Walker as this discussed how children and young people are silenced by parents and older people. I found this a good song to look into as this was the bottom line of what I wanted my music video to be about. However I was just not feeling the song as it wasn't really my genre and also was too niche in hinting at what I wanted to discuss. I continued thinking and looked at the song Stand Up by the band Bilk. This straight away seemed like a much better fit as the band was British, has openly discussed the tory government in their songs and were also young people. This was a better match for my music video. I analysed the lyrics of Stand Up and what the deeper meaning of the song could be. This helped me to continue generation ideas for what my music video could show and what it could feature. By looking deeper into the lyrics, I can provide my audience with a more thought out and persist music video.
Production Log Week 6
April 1st - 5th
These week I continued with my research and conducted interviews. I did 3 overall interviews. One was through emails with the local MP for Cambridgeshire as it would have been extremely difficult to carry out a in person interview as he is very busy and the other two were in person. I asked Anthony Brown a couple of slightly different questions to my two other interviewees as I thought that he would have much different opinions to other members of the general public. I asked my two interviewees (of different ages) the same questions to see what differences and similarity's they shared. The results were interesting as they did share a number of opinions but also a couple of differences. This helps my research as I am gaining 1 on 1 opinions from the two age demographics of my target audience.
I moved onto my academic research after conducting my interviews. This academic research was looking at research that has been conducted by someone with a degree. This can help my research as it will save me time and also this research will be to a great standard of detail and influence. One of the biggest issues I faced when finding articles was that many of them were unable for me to look at without having to pay to read and also weren't specific enough to what I was focussing my research on. I searched for a range of different topics that were still relevant to what I was looking for but the same issues were still occurring. If I was able to find better, relevant information, this would have been an excellent tool within my research however I believe I have found much better and specific answers within my own research.
After my academic research, I looked further into comments made my the Government and how this can affect opinions. Firstly I looked into the many transphobic comments made by the Prime minister himself. I discussed how times have changed yet we need a government that supports that and how the government should make everyone in the UK feel safe and welcomed which is not what they are doing at the moment. These comments that have been made can effect my audience as may be able to empathise with the people these comment will have hurt and effected and should be looking for change. I also looked at the plans Rishi Sunak is making towards getting all students to continue to study maths until 18. I looked at this as it is significant to the younger age demographic that I am targeting and also how this reflects on the government as many young people are unhappy with this decision and are furthermore unhappy with the government. Finally I looked at the voting statistics and stereotypes between ages and party's. I found this really interesting as I was able to see what ages had voted for who and in what elections they had voted. Again this is beneficial to my music video as I can target these age demographics and potentially influence their votes for the next election.
Production Log Week 7
April 8th-13th
Beginning this week I looked at how music had been used in politics. Firstly I looked at the video of Theresa May dancing to Dancing Queen by ABBA. This video has been wildly seen and shared by people all over the world and is certainly something that comes to mind when thinking about music being used in and around politics. After this I looked into Labours campaign for the 1997 general re-election - Using Things can only get better by DReam. This has forever influenced the audience as Labour did win this election and this song is brought up in many talks about the Labour party. With the 2024 general election coming soon, this song has began trending on TikTok, proving that it has made a mark on society. If I can use Stand Up by Bilk effectively I can leave a impressionable mark on my audience.
Next I looked at media theories. Media theories are used to underline what features certain media products will have. Looking at music video theories, there are a range of different characteristics that we see. I went into detail about what these genre characteristics were and provided examples of each and where they can be found. This can be helpful as I can look at what codes, conventions and theories are seen in specific music genres. This can be reflected on in my production and help make a good music video.
Once I looked into music video theories and codes and conventions I looked into the more practical things such as location, cast and costumes. I looked at a range of different locations that were suitable for what I wanted within my production and had many features to make the filming easier for my cast and crew. After establishing I wanted to film in an open area to relate to the conservative party needing to be more open minded towards social changes. I needed to pre look into location to get a idea of when and specifically we will be filming and also figure out if I need any permission to film here. Out of the two areas I looked at, one of them I did not need permission for and it also was more open so went with his choice of location. By looking and thinking about this early this goes into the mise en scen of my music video.
After looking into my location-ing, I looked into my casting choices. My main points were that I needed young people to play both age demographics. I also needed at least one male as I needed someone to play "the prime minister" and then put out a simple poll to a focus group and asked who would be able to help me. Luckily I had a number of people say yes and I told them I would confirm details in a number of days. By gaining a large amount of people willing to help, in case someone is unable to help I may be able to get other people to help me.
Looking at costumes I needed my cast to have two costumes, one for the older generation and one for the younger generation. I will be buying a number of costume pieces and accessories but have asked my cast and crew if they are able to could they please find some clothes that made them look current and trendy" and also "elderly" . I looked at current trends in fashion that would be easy for my audience to realise what they were symbolising.
I continued my research by looking at what difference the equipment I may use. I looked at two different examples of my work. One was filmed on a camera and one was filmed on a iphone. I found that with good lighting the camera is the best and easiest to film with. This will make my music video more visually pleasing for my audience and will make better quality.
The last thing I did was look at the weather forecast for the weekend of filming. This is so that I can use the natural lighting to my advantage as well as not have to work around any other mise en scen context. This concludes my research for my music video, next I will begin my pre production and my production.
Production Log Week 8
April 29th - May 5th
April 29th: After completing my research, this week I have moved onto my pre production, These are the forms I needed to look at and fill in after completing my research. For example my first task was to fill out my location recce. This is where I show the location of filming and discuss any thing I may need to be aware of. For example I started off by looking at requirements of the field I figured out I was filming in. This reflected on the lighting requirements and if there would be other people around. I needed to the general weather conditions to be okay so that the lighting matched through the production. I then looked at if there was any problems I may face and how I can work around them. This is so that I can workout any additional plans for filming and hopefully save time when filming.
After my location recce, I created my risk assessment. This overall helps production stay safe and keep the cast and crew aware of any potential risks. I outlined the technical details of where I would be filming and then one by one went through hazards that may occur- this ranged from trip hazards to more biological factors like bug bites and sunburn.
April 30th: Next I created my call sheet. This is where I wrote the plans and the information that may be needed for instance I needed the phone numbers of everyone in the production to make sure I was able to get a hold of them and inform them with the filming plans and timings. I also outlined what roles there would be within my cast and crew for examples, assistants, runners, camera assistants and assistant directors. I chose these roles by thinking about who is also taking media and who has prior experience with filming.
May 2nd: After establishing who would be able to help I got them to sign a release form. This stated that I was able to use them in my filming and that I would be able to share this around after filming and editing.
After I had gained and uploaded my release forms, I started my shot lists. This showed how I wanted my shots to look and the effect I wanted to give to my audience. This is important to have as it will made filming easy as I will not have to make up what I want it to visually look like and consist of on the spot. On this day I booked out the equipment I was going to be using to film.
May 3rd: After creating my story board, I moved on and made my shot list. This is where I outlined what specific shot type the shots used are, what movement the shots follow, if the shots are inside or outside, what time of the day the shots were filmed in, a shot description and any notes on the shots. This again will be used when filming to cut down time and also provide myself with more sense and understanding of what is needed. On this day I collected my camera, tripod and dolly and took these home so that I could fill over the weekend.
May 5th: This was the day I had scheduled to film on. I had invited my cast and crew round for about half 10 so that we could go out filming for about 11. This gave us time to gather any additional props or sort any costuming that needed to be adjusted or changed. Once everything was sorted we headed out and filmed for a couple of hours before heading back to my house. We had a hour long break and lunch and then made costume changes and put on wigs and make up. We again headed out and filmed for a couple of hours - trying to shot the same shots as the first shoot and any addition shots that were needed.
Production Log Week 9
May 6th - 10th
May 6th: After filming my music video I brought my equipment back to college and began looking over my footage. I watched each clip and renamed the file name as what scene and shot it would be used for (where it corresponds on my shot list)and if the shot itself was good enough to use. This was quite time consuming as I had a lot of footage but by going through it will overall safe time in editing.
May 7th: Today I began editing. I started off by downloading the pre existing content that I needed. This was the song itself Stand Up by Bilk and then the two videos I needed for my green screen, the video of the old television and the video of Rishi discussing todays younger generation. I began editing and put these two clips together and then started the music rolling.
May 9th: I started working on my opening sequence. I experimented with using different clips and putting them with the beat of the song. I believe this made my music video more interesting and fun so I continued to use tis throughout the music video. I finished off the first verse and then began to move onto the chorus.
May 10th: I moved onto the chorus of the song and showed my different characters singing the chorus and still fighting with the older generation. I continued using the beats of the song to put my clips in with again to make it more interesting. This was where I used a more performative aspect and had my characters singing to the lyrics of the song. I have previously discussed how I will be combining a mix of different genres to create a "messy" type of music video that is quite "all over the place". I wanted to make a difference overall - this was a aim I had from the beginning of my FMP and I have related this to hopefully changing views and opinions and also making a difference from specific genre conventions. When looking at codes and conventions and music video theory's, rock music videos are typically always performative - showing the band playing their song. This isn't always the case and we can look at examples of rock videos such as The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army which shows features of being performative and conceptual and Foo Fighters - Everlong which was a narrative music video and finally Blur - Country House which falls into the indie rock/alternative rock/ rock genre, this music video is quite messy but follows aspects of performative and narrative music videos whilst also having really interesting shots that could lie on the border of being concept. This goes to show that I don't necessarily need to keep my music video to the genre conventions. For example, in the chorus of this section I asked of my my cast members portraying an elderly character to fall into "The Prime Minister's" arms. I wanted this to represent how the older generation rely on the government and hoe the government rely on the older generation for votes, almost as though they have a relationship and that they help each other out. I will be using mini storylines like this throughout my music video.
I was using my shot list to go through shot by shot in the order that it was needed. As my music video loosely followed a narrative structure (had aspects of a short film structure but not a complete short film) there was order into what they were showing. As I had to in a way work backwards (doing one side of the shoot and then doing the same shots on the other side) I had to repeat shots or make them correspond with each other. I had briefly looked over them when filming but came back to college to check majority. I did this to check that the quality was good enough and that I had the shots I needed for editing.
Production Log Week 10
May 13th-17th
May 13th: In the previous week I had finished my rough opening sequences, first verse and the chorus. Next I moved onto the second verse. This was where I used more narrative features. With my footage, I set up small little storylines. The first one was in the first chorus where one older person fall onto "The Prime Minister". In the second verse I had edited my younger characters chanting at the older generation, causing the prime minster to put his arms out and "protect" the older generation. During filming I used a medium full shot and when editing together I made these go opposite each other. These were closer than my wide shots that appear throughout my music video. When editing the second verse I think the use of these went well however in the future I would definitely measure or make sure the tripod is in the same place - just opposite of each other. This would make shots more consistent and precis but due to the messy feel I was looking for within my music video I didn't think this was enough to reshoot.
May 14th: I continued to edit my music video and work on the second verse and then the chorus. One prominently issue I had found was that I had so much footage and had all the shots I needed but felt that my music video is repetitive in certain areas. I will look into this again after gaining feedback and doing my final edit.
May 16th: When it came to the chorus I wanted to focus more on each individual character - how they were the same cast member but of a different generation and use an another aspect of performative music videos to the chorus sequence which was to have each cast member lip sync in both characters and then out them together. This was to really emphasise how we are all the same and everyone should be treated the same and with respect. I edited on premier pro by cutting up the shots by having them just sing "stand up" and repeat it. I broke these clips up with the characters doing something and the other side reacting to it. I added stabilizer to my lips to make them smoother and I liked how it also followed the movements made by the cast when filming.
May 17th: After finishing off the second verse and chorus I look at my bridge. This was where I wanted to build the tension as the song naturally builds the tensions. I wanted to do this as I thought my audience would be more intrigued and be more active. I edited using a few clips that had been used prior to add a sense of familiarity before my music video showed a shift in power. I used a lot of shots added in with the music beats, I felt like this was more visually pleasing to the audience as it syncs up well. I built the tension by using my filmed shots of one of the older generation members falling whilst they all tried to help them and get them up. This to me symbolised the relationship that the conservatives have with older generations who are more likely to vote for them - this being that they work as a team and support one an other. To reflect on this I contrasted this with the younger people jumping around to the beat of the song to show their teamwork and determination. I also used a static shot of the younger generation being shown when the song says "Stand Up" subtly before the big beat drop and the final chorus.
Production Log Week 11
May 20th - 24th
May 20th: This was my last week of editing on my first draft so continued on from the week prior. I worked it back up to the beat drop where I edited in having the male from the younger generation come up to the camera and "hit it" which then when put together looks as though he hits "The Prime Minister" which then adds to the chaos of my video. When planning I did what this sequence to be very "messy" and when filming I think I did this quite well by zooming into to different characters and having the focus go out and then come back in. I quite liked this as it fit the vibe that I wanted whilst also matched the codes and conventions seen in rock videos. This edit took quite a while as I needed to match the two clips up the best I could. This was tough as the two clips both finished pointing towards the sky and due to filming in two sections, they both were different. I experimented with colour grading to see if this matched better. After lots of trail and error I think the final product looked better. Again this is all related back to the final effect on the audience. I wanted it to be a smooth transition and I believe it was.
May 21st: Today I finished my first draft. I continued editing after the transition part. I kept it quite choppy as I felt like this matched the rock vibe more but this could also be changed after receiving feedback. It then went back to the chorus and I had my cast sing along to the words and jump around. I wanted this to reflect on how we were the people that were going to live with the decisions made that might not be made by us. This was too show the power by having it seem as though the younger generation come out on top. This can be inferred as the shots of the older people mixed in with the younger people shots looked as though they were defeated. The last thing I edited was the final sequence. This was where I had the younger generation charge at the older generation which resulted on them falling to the ground. This was again to show how they younger people are what is important in these decisions and that we should come out on top as the decisions made will impact us the most. I had the next number of clips match the beat of the music and then show the song credentials. This was the end of my music video. I had these "chaotic moments" in my video to reflect on how the government itself is chaotic and what a mess the country is. I think this paired well with the aesthetic of the rock song. I think my audience would be able to make these connections from the lyrics, the visuals and the costuming. Once I was happy with the finished result I sent it around to gain feedback that I could then use to make my final draft.
May 22nd-24th: Whilst I was awaiting feedback on my video from my teachers, peers and friends I started my first draft evaluation. This was where I discussed the steps I took through the whole process of creating my music video, what went well, what went wrong and how I resolved the things that went wrong. I followed a range of different questions that helped me look further into why my music video came out the way it did. By doing an evaluation, I can reflect on my work and understand what I could have done to avoid certain things and make my music video better. This can also help me for my further project as I can bare these things in mind for next time. I looked at my questions and one by one went through and answered them. I related my answers to my whole project start to finish. I tried to do very detailed answers as this is a great way to grow and develop further on. These were my questions:
What were your original project goals and objectives? On reflection, were these appropriate?
Were your original project goals and objectives achieved? If not, why not?
What do you think were the biggest successes or what worked well in your project?
What skills did you use and develop that helped you accomplish your project? Why were these important?
How do you evaluate your own performance overall in the realisation of your project?
2. Project Challenges
What problems and challenges arose during your project? How did you overcome them?
What steps could you take to ensure these problems/challenges are avoided in the future?
What aspect of your project could have gone better? What could you have done differently?
Were there resources that could have been important but were not available to you?
How effective do you feel you were in overcoming the problems or challenges you faced?
3. Consideration for future projects
What elements in the planning and preparation of your project could you change to get a better final outcome(s)?
What are the three key lessons learned from your project?
How can the skills and experiences you gained from undertaking this project be used for future projects/assignments?
Any final thoughts and reflections
My evaluation took a number of days due to the size and the quality of what I needed to do. At the end of this week I gathered my feedback responses so that I could look further into these and establish what I needed to change and do to make it better.
Feedback Week 11
May 20th - 24th
After completing my first music video draft, I asked for feedback from my teacher and supervisor Sabina, some of my class peers who would also understand technically what could be done to make it better and my friends and family who might not necessarily understand the technicalities but could certainly tell me what their opinions are. By asking a range of people there may be something that comes back that lots of people have said so it would be beneficial to change it.
The first round of feedback was off my teacher Sabina whos main points were to change the opening to be less choppy and cut it down at a different point to what I had done. Another change would be how at one section in the music video where I have cloned my two groups it is quite blurry and doesn't match as well - this is something I can experiment with to see if I am able to make this clearer and to a better quality. The next thing Sabina said was to try and sync up the part towards the end where the eyes of the different characters flash to the beat of the song. These feedback comments can be seen here.
Next I created a google form which had my first draft linked into it and two questions - what did you like and what do you think needs to be changed. These feedback from my peers and my friends and family can be seen here.
Looking at what my peers and friends/family said there were similarities within their answers. A few people had said about changing the location however this stayed the same as I wanted the open field area to reflect back onto how the government should be more open minded so I will not be able to change this after filming and editing. Someone had agreed with Sabina and said make the intro shorter so this is definitely something I will be looking into. Someone had said about moving the starring section to the end however I do not feel as though I have the music timing to do this and replaying the intro of the music may not be beneficial the audience in the long run.
Another aspect of my music video is that I am unlikely to reshoot due to continuity purposes (this being how difficult it was to get a committed cast, the weather, natural lighting and wigs and make up). I am going to take this feedback forward and finish off my edit.
Production Log Week 12
May 27th - 31st
May 27th: After gathering feedback I started editing my final draft. I began working on the beginning part. I found a new TV greenscreen which was longer than the one I had initially used. I removed the clip I had used before, added two new ones in and then cut down the clip I had used initially. They all linked to the conservatives thoughts towards young people. I found that this meant I was able to emphasise the point I wanted to make within my music video. This took a while as I needed to find the clips, crop them down to where I wanted them, green screen then in with the TV clip and make sure they all fit in well together. I was happy with the final product in comparison to how it initially looked. After gaining some verbal feedback from my teacher Sabina she had said this was a big improvement from before and this would be a great change as it would impact my audience further.
May 28th: After changing the intro and making it better I had to go through and patch a few bit up. I made a start on working on the part that went a bit blurry. This was due to a change of focus in-between filming. I experimented with colour grading and masking. This was really tough to make any better and I wanted to leave it in as it was a different shot to use as it was a close up and had more off the argument taking place. Reflecting on how it currently looks its not what I wanted however I can keep this in to show my progression over time. Next I started on changing the sequence near the end where I have used extreme close ups that sync with the beats in the music. These needed to be changed just as they did not match up. I slowed it down and listened carefully to the drum beats and cropped and lengthened each clip until it matched. This was time consuming as I had to go back and forward and then re stabilize each clip but the final result is MUCH better.
May 29th: After finishing my final draft I completed my evaluation and re went through my questions. This again can help benefit me and my work as I am able to reflect on what I've done and what I will need to do for next time. Finally I went through and made sure all my references were done and that everything was caught up to date and finished my FMP.