Music Video Planning

When beginning to plan my music video, I already had an idea on what song I would have liked to choose for my video. I decided to incorporate a story/narrative into my video that linked with the lyrics of my chosen song - this is because the results from my questionnaire displayed the majority preferred narrative-style music videos.

Song:

Panama - Always

Brief Layout of video: 

The narrative of the video will focus on a single protagonist, a male in his late adolescence, as he looks back on photos and reminisces about the past. The theme of video loosely links to the lyrics of the song, as I took inspiration primarily from the first line of the chorus: "Always, I remember you". The video will have a non-linear narrative, jumping from instances in the present, to the past between verse and chorus. My idea is that when the protagonist looks back over memories, he and the audience will be taken back to those memories, and witness them through the point of view of the protagonist. The P.O.V aspect will put the audience in the protagonist's shoes, creating a sense of escapism. For the verses of the song, the protagonist will be the focus of the video, going about his daily life, before discovering some sort of memento - such as a polaroid photo, bringing back happy memories. When the protagonist looks at the photo, during choruses and possibly instrumentals, the video will transition to the time of that memory in the past, which will be displayed through the point of view of the protagonist.

I have taken inspiration from Duke Dumont's "I got U" music video, which uses P.O.V shots:

Locations:

I wanted to feature various locations in my music video, as the protagonist explores different memories at different times. The protagonist will be seen in his own home for the 'present' part of the video, but the narrative will take the audience to different locations as he reminisces about past times.

Lanzarote: During this unit, I took a holiday to Lanzarote with my girlfriend, and I saw this as the perfect opportunity to capture footage in a unique location. I did the majority of filming on the beach, which was ideal as it was only a 5 minute walk from our hotel.

Coombe Abbey: An peaceful, and beautiful country park - open to the public; with fields, woodland, and pathways to serve for different types of shots. The park is easily accessible by car, and cheap to park, therefore it was a logical choice for our second location.

House: This one was simple, to film a daily routine all we had to do was film around the bedroom and bathroom for the brief introduction of the song

Storyboard:

Shot List:

1. Cut-in shot of alarm
2. Montage of protagonist waking up/getting ready
3. Tracking shot of protagonist walking through park
4. Over the  shoulder shot of putting coat on and finding photo
5. Cut-in shot of photo he is holding
6. (Transition into memory)
7. Montage in P.O.V. perspective, of holiday with girlfriend (Shots include: Running into the sea, drinking cocktails, walking to the beach, lying on the beach)
8. (Transition to present)
9. Repeat of tracking shot following protagonist through park
10. Mid shot of protagonist with guitar
11. (Transition to memory)
12. Montage in P.O.V. perspective, exploring with girlfriend in forest (Shots include: Balancing on trees, eating ice cream, feeding ducks, taking pictures
13. As girlfriend is walking away, sepia and film grain effects disappear to transition back to the present.
14. Transition back to protagonist holding picture
15. Cut-in shot shows picture again - fades to black

Equipment List:

• DSLR Camera
• Spare Battery
• Tripod
• Fish Eye Lens (?)
• Dolly/Steadicam (If possible)

Editing Techniques

Shot / Reverse Shot: A filming technique used for continuity editing, where two cameras are usually set up either side of the 180 degree line, which each camera focused on each subject. Often used during conversations, it de-emphasizes transitions between shots so the audience perceives one continuous action.

180 Degree Rule: A basic guideline regarding a relationship between two subjects within a scene. The cameras must be kept on one side of an imaginary access, to enable the audience to visually connect with movement happening around the immediate subject. Moving the camera over the line is called 'jumping/crossing the line' and causes a reverse angle, which can be disorienting, and disrupts continuity.

30 Degree Rule: A basic film editing guideline that states the camera should move at least 30 degrees relative to the subject between successive shots of the same subject. If the camera moves less than 30 degrees, the transition between shots can look like a jump cut—which could jar the audience and take them out of the story. The audience might focus on the film technique rather than the narrative itself.

Cut-in Shot: Opposite to a cut-away shot, a cut-in is a close-up shot of something that has previously been shot through a wider frame, it is often used in scenes of conflict, as a way of portraying the action. Where a cut-away is used to display the bigger picture, a cut-in is used to highlight the primary action in the scene.

Cross Cutting / Parallel Editing: A technique of alternating between two scenes that are occurring simultaneously. Corresponding scenes often meet or connect in some form, allowing for continuity. Parallel editing is often used to build tension, or contribute to the narrative.

Establishing Shot: Usually the first shot of a new scene, an establishing shot gives the audience the visual information they need to understand what is happening and where the narrative or action is taking place.

Matching on Action: An editing technique for continuity editing, in which one shot cuts to another shot, portraying the action of the subject in the first shot. The editor cuts from one shot to another view that matches the first shot's action.

Temporal Overlap: An editing technique - used mostly in action scenes, where a shot is repeated to emphasise a particular movement, that is significant to the narrative, or create an emotional response throughout the audience.

Kuleshov Effect: An experiment carried out in the early 20th century, it involved a close-up of an actors face, which then cut to what he was looking at. The object which he was looking at was then changed three times, while the reaction was kept the same; by doing this, the audience's perception of the character changes, according to what subject he is looking at.

Eisenstein Montage: Also known as 'Soviet Montage', this is an approach to creating cinema that relies heavily upon editing, shots should not be seen as linked, but conflicting with eachother.

Research Evaluation

Secondary Research:

I began my research by studying music video theorists, focusing primarily on Carol Vernallis and Andrew Goodwin. I researched using  extracts from the theorists' published works, and also finding basic summaries of the theories which other people created in the form of presentations on SlideShare and Prezi. When researching Andrew Goodwin, I focused on his book "Dancing in the Distraction Factory", and his theories in this published work. Goodwin theorised how different genres of music video had their own genre characteristics. Following this, I looked into various music videos of the indie genre, as this was the genre of my chosen song, in order to understand the genre conventions. I noticed that a lot of the videos were either experimental or narrative-based, following a single protagonist, so I decided to create a video with a narrative in order to conform to genre characteristics. Goodwin also theorised about an established relationship between lyrics and visuals, stating that lyrics can either contradict or compliment the visuals; the base idea for my video was inspired by the title and lyrics "Always, I remember you", therefore I incorporated the visuals to connect with the lyrics. For this component I also took into account Vernallis' "The Kindest Cut", and how whatever is taking place within the frame reflects the lyrics and their meaning. This stage of research was beneficial for me as it helped me understand how to analyse music videos thoroughly. During this stage of research, I didn't use as much physical written resources as I would have liked, I relied mostly upon online resources. In the future, I will refer to more physical resources as they are less liable to be tampered with.

Analysis of Music Videos:

For the next stage of my research, I conducted an analysis of existing music videos for codes and conventions. This helped to inform my production as it gave me insight into the relationship between lyrics and visuals, I chose to analyse different types of videos, such as narrative and experimental, in order to gain an overall insight on what types of videos contain which codes and conventions. I also analysed a video which was the same genre of my chosen song, in order to understand the particular conventions of that type of music video.

Survey:

For my primary research, I initially created a survey/questionnaire on SurveyMonkey. This form of quantitative research allowed me to produce statistics from my results, informing and guiding my production. My survey was designed to give me an idea of what type of music videos people prefer, and the results would inform my planning and pre-production. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get as many responses as I'd have hoped for, and therefore I was only working with a small group providing me with information. However, the survey results still informed me on what decisions to make. For example, the question: "Do you believe that the music video should connect with the song lyrics?" - with an 80% response of 'Yes'; informed me on how I should link the narrative I was creating with the lyrics of the video. If I were to conduct this research again, I would perhaps avoid multiple choice questions and allow for more free answers, this is because I feel the multiple choice format on some questions limits people's ability to give their individual responses and opinions.

Focus Group:

After collecting the results from my questionnaire, as a class we formed a focus group. The purpose of this was to present our initial ideas for our music videos, and get feedback regarding our creative choices. This was done in the fashion of each student presenting their brief ideas to the group in an informal discussion. This was an effective method as it allowed other students to provide suggestions as the presenter was talking, making the focus group an open discussion. The focus group also allowed for clear communication between each of the students, and allowed us to play off of each-others strengths. One issue with the focus group is that some students may have not been too confident with presenting their ideas, and therefore might not have contributed to the group or even got much out of the discussion. From this focus group I incorporated some ideas that were suggested; originally I was going to have the video's protagonist viewing a photo album and reminiscing about different times, but someone suggested that this may be difficult to create multiple situations within my video, and that instead I should focus on one photo - I took this into account and made a decision to take on the idea. This was beneficial for me as it made for easier filming, and I was able to create a video I was happy with. Another suggestion was that I apply effects of the parts of the video that were in the past, to make it more noticeable; this I also incorporated as I feel it highlighted the direction of the narrative and helps the audience to understand what is happening. Overall, I am very pleased from the outcome of the focus group, as I feel like the suggestions I have taken on board have helped me create a stronger video of a higher quality.

Music Video - EDL

Start Time
End Time
Shot Type
Description
Transitions/ Effects
0s
5s
Cut-in
Morning alarm
Fade Transition

5s

7s

Mid

Protagonist Sleeping

Fade Transition

7s

17s

Mid

Protagonist Waking Up

Fade to black

17s

21s

Tracking

Walking in park


21s

23s

Mid

Walking into bathroom


23s

25s

Cut-in

Protagonist Washing face



25s

29s

Tracking

Walking in park


29s

33s

Over the shoulder

Looking in mirror

33s
35s

Over the shoulder
Brushing Teeth


35s

37s

Mid

Showering

37s
39s

Over the shoulder
Putting on coat


39s

45s

Low Angle

Finding photo


45s

51s

Cut-in / POV

Looking at photo
Fade Transition / Gaussian Blur
51s
59s

Point-of-view

Girl running into sea
Sepia effect / Old film grain
59s

1m 
5s

Point-of-view
Girl in sea
Sepia effect / Old film grain

1m 
5s

1m 
9s

Point-of-view
Girl posing
Sepia effect / Old film grain

1m 
9s

1m 15s

Point-of-view

Lying on 
beach

Sepia effect / Old film grain + Fade Transition / Gaussian Blur

1m 
15s

1m 17s

Point-of-view

Drinking Cocktail
Sepia effect / Old film grain

1m 
17s

1m 
23s

Point-of-
view

Walking on holiday
Sepia effect / Old film grain

1m 
23s

1m 27s
Tracking

Walking in 
park
Fade Transition / Gaussian Blur

1m 
27s

1m 31s
Mid
Tuning guitar


1m 
31s

1m 35s
Tracking
Walking in park


1m 
35s

1m 39s
Mid
Playing guitar


1m 
39s

1m 51s 

Point-of-view

Balancing on tree

Sepia effect / Old film grain + Fade Transition / Gaussian Blur

1m 
51s

1m 57s

Point-of-view

Balancing on trunk
Sepia effect / Old film grain

1m 
57s

2m 
1s

Point-of-view

Walking up to river
Sepia effect / Old film grain
2m 1s
2m 7s

Point-of-view

Sitting on river edge
Sepia effect / Old film grain

2m 
7s

2m 13s

Point-of-view

Taking picture of girl

Sepia effect / Old film grain (Transition to no effects)

2m 
13s

2m 21s

Point-of-view

Walking through park


2m 
21s

2m 30s

Point-of-view

Walking over bridge


2m 
30s

2m 35s

Point-of-view
Feeding ducks


2m 
35s

2m 37s

Point-of-view

Eating ice cream


2m 
37s

2m 45s

Point-of-view

Looking over bridge


2m 
45s

2m 54s

Point-of-view

Walking 
through woods
Fade Transition / Gaussian Blur

2m 
54s

2m 59s
Mid

Putting 
picture away
Fade Transition / Gaussian Blur

2m 
59s

3m 
3s

Point-of-view

Close-up of picture
Fade Transition

Promo Video Client Feedback

Music Video - Health & Safety

Regarding health and safety, there were only a few areas of filming which required more attention to safety. The first of which was during the first shoot, on the beach. For this shoot the camera was my priority, I kept the safety strap on at all times, and when not in use I made sure the camera was secure in the camera bag; this was to prevent sand and seawater getting anywhere near the camera and damaging it. During filming, we also had to be aware of the uneven nature of the beach, but also people on the beach itself. We tried to avoid other people as much as possible to avoid invading their space. Another note was to wear suncream and wear appropriate clothing, due to the weather being clear skies and extremely hot.

When filming in Coombe Abbey, we also had to be aware of people walking throughout the park, and kept filming to a minimum in busy areas. Additionally, we filmed near water in some shots, therefore we had to take care to stay away from the waters edge to avoid any trips and falls that could result in us ending up in the water.

The camera was on my person at all times, therefore it was safe and secure and not at risk of being taken. I did use a tripod to film inside my bedroom, but because the room is quite a confined space, we had to be careful when manoeuvring around the equipment to avoid knocking it over and damaging it.

Task Two: Camera and Lighting Techniques

  Within moving image, directors use different lighting techniques to help the audience take the preferred meaning. Different types of lighting can create further meaning and help to create a certain mood, and this can contribute toward the narrative of the text. For example, scenes shot with high-key lighting will be bright with a range of light tones, and this technique is used to convey a happy and pure atmosphere; whereas low-key lighting focuses on the emphasis of shadows and darker tones with high contrast in order to create a mysterious and somber mood. Also, light quality refers to how soft or hard the lighting is; hard-light creates defined hard-edged shadows, and soft lighting creates gradual soft-edged shadows.Directors can also focus the lighting on specific areas on the screen in order to direct the attention of the audience to a particular subject onscreen.


Lighting Setup:

   If filming outside for a documentary, directors may choose to just use the natural light to shoot in. The advantage of this is that you do not require any additional lighting equipment, and therefore save on expenses and setup time; however a disadvantage of this method is that daylight is limited and some shots may require additional equipment during the night. If filming an interview for a documentary indoors, a common technique is the 3-point lighting technique, consisting of: a back light, key light, and fill light. A back light placed behind the interviewee highlights their outline, an advantage of this is that it separates the subject clearly from the background; the key light is the main light source which casts light onto the subject's front; and the fill light is a soft light which takes away any unwanted hard shadows created by the primary light, especially on the face. LED lights are a popular choice for the type of lights due to them being more energy efficient than other types such as tungsten. This basic setup is beneficial as it displays the subject's full facial expressions and emotions, the setup and placement of the lights and their stands is also simple, allowing for more portability. Also, if on the move the lights can be powered by batteries.

     

   

Task One: Easy Rider (1969) - Textual Analysis

Easy Rider (1969) - Textual Analysis

   Easy Rider (1969) is an independent road drama film directed by Dennis Hopper. This particular scene follows the two protagonists: Wyatt and Billy, as they undergo an acid trip. Hopper utilises various film editing techniques in order to emphasise the strong element of 60s counterculture displayed by the protagonists.  The scene begins with a mid-shot of four people, the clothing worn by the characters in the mise-en-scene is stereotypical of the 60s counterculture era, evident from the likes of the American flag adorned leather jacket with tassels and psychedelic patterned neckerchief worn by the two men. This was done to convey to the audience the time era in which the film is set, but also to represent the characters’ free spirit and refusal to conform to the mainstream. The cinematography in this scene is constructed in a way that makes the audience feel like they are joining the characters on the acid trip, therefore highlighting to an extent the effects of LSD. Throughout the scene, Hopper uses a variety of point-of-view shots from the tripping characters.  For example, one shot displaying the sky and trees is continuously spinning, and is incorporated to disorient the audience in order to convey the confusion the character is experiencing. A constant and rhythmic non-diegetic sound is also continuously playing throughout the scene, creating a feeling of suspense, and may represent the paranoia of the characters due to the drugs; this is also emphasised by the use of quick-cuts in the editing, used to again to portray the effects of hard drugs through the user’s eyes, as it instills a similar type of paranoia throughout the audience that the character is feeling. Throughout the trip, quick cut-away shots and fast editing reveals that the scene is taking place in a cemetery, evident from shots of statues of the virgin Mary and religious crosses. This is to emphasise the struggle of our troubled protagonists and the dark, twisted reality of drugs as the two men bring drugs, alcohol and prostitutes into a religious place. During this montage of clips, some shots are shown as if looking through a camera lens, evident from the black border and raindrops on the lens; one example of this is when we see one of the female characters stripping off her clothing and lying naked over a grave. The effect of this is to portray the characters as trapped in this state, and the use of this particular type of shot allows the audience to focus on the subject and also empathise with the characters. As the characters begin to trip, non-diegetic dialogue of a woman in the background is reading a prayer, this is accompanied by various quick cuts to a low angle shot of a building. As the camera pans up a lens flare seems as light is shining down from above as if it represents the heavens. As this/s happens the woman recites from the prayer: “ascended into heaven”, which may symbolise the characters ‘seeing the light’.

Analysing Music Videos

Katy Perry - Thinking of You

Goodwin's theory states that music genres each have their own particular characteristics which define them. Key conventions of pop videos are the performance element - where we see the artist performing their song, and either a concept or narrative based video. Katy Perry's 'Thinking of You' music video is narrative based, and although she is playing the protagonist, there are clips of her performing the song included throughout the video, therefore the video conforms to genre characteristics. A genre convention in editing is the use of fade-in and fade-out transitions, such as the opening and closing shots in the 'Thinking of You' video. The video also uses neutral colour schemes, another convention of pop music videos. The storyline of the video is also described in the lyrics, the lyrics talk about a couple separated by war, and the lyrics are reflected through the visuals of the music video; the video provides insight to the woman's life and relationship before the war, and shows her failing attempt to move on with another man. One particular example is where the artist sings: "I'm thinking of you", and the video cuts to a flashback clip of the couple, symbolising whom she is thinking of. The editing also amplifies the music, as jump cuts are made to the beat.

Michael Jackson - Billie Jean

Billie Jean is another Pop-style music video, and seems to follow similar genre characteristics, with a large basis on narrative, but mixed with the artist's own style. The lyrics of the song are loosely represented throughout the video, for example, something as simple as when the word 'round' is used in the song, the artist spins during his dance sequence. There is a strong connection between the music and the visuals, in the definitive scene where the paving slabs light up, Jackson stands on the steps in time with the beat of the music. The artist's dancing is also in time with the beat. Michael Jackson also built his brand identity through his videos, this video portrays Jackson as a star, as he is shown turning everything he touches into 'gold'. There are also examples of voyeuristic points of view, one scene that displays the notion of looking is when the camera in the window is taking a shot of the reporter sneaking up behind Jackson, and the polaroid prints out showing just the man and the pole, with Jackson missing.

Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal

This is a cover of a pop song, which has keep the original lyrics, but changed the genre and instruments used. There is reference to the original song and it's artist, as the band does Michael Jackson's signature lean in the early stages of the video, and also at one point the band steps onto the pavement, and the floor below them lights up, like the music video for 'Billie Jean'. It is a mixture in genres between alternative rock and maybe metal. The video itself is a performance and not narrative based, therefore the lyrics do not connect with the video. The tempo is important in this genre of music as it is used to keep rythm within the band, and the video emphasises this by showing the band moving to the beat. One other thing which emphasises the genre is the fact that we see the artists playing the instruments. The artists themselves have built up a reputation of a band who like to cause mayhem, this is shown in the video as they perform to a huge, out of control crowd in the middle of a wrestling ring. This style is also frequented in their other videos, and they create their own image through this, and also elements of humour to show they don't take themselves too seriously.

Music Video Evaluation

For this unit, we were tasked with creating our own music video for a song of our choice. My chosen song was ‘Always’ by the artist: ‘Panama’, as I personally enjoy the song, and the lyrics also connected to my initial idea for the video. As shown on my storyboard, my first idea was to create a narrative style music video, following a boy as he reminisces about his relationship and times with friends; the video would have a non-linear narrative throughout, jumping between past and present, whilst showing the past through a point-of-view shot for our protagonist. Unfortunately, a couple of my friends were unavailable to film due to their college and work schedules, and I was not able to get a decent amount of footage to make this part of the video. In order to accommodate for this, I got more footage revolving around the relationship aspect, and decided to base the video entirely on this theme, as it was simpler to film.

When planning my shoots, I decided to film in three unique locations; this is because I wanted to show three different occasions in the past, to correlate with the three choruses of the song. The first shoot took place on the beach in Lanzarote, as beaches are usually associated with happy memories, and I thought this would be a good location to represent that. With this shoot, I had to be mindful that we were in a busy public location, I kept the equipment out of the path of people to limit the potential of the setup being a safety hazard. I also kept the camera out of the sand at all times to avoid any damage. The second shoot took place at Coombe Abbey; this is because it is an aesthetically pleasing location that provides contrast from the location of the beach. The country park is also easily accessible via car and so was ideal. As this location is also a public place, I kept the equipment out of the way to avoid damage. For my third shoot, I planned to film in an urban setting - most likely Birmingham, again to contrast against the previous two locations. However, on the day I had planned to shoot, the weather was poor, meaning I couldn’t record. To overcome this, I did another shoot in Coombe Abbey to get enough footage, but also slightly changed the course of my narrative to cater to the change. For my fourth shoot, I just filmed in my own house, this was generally a low risk environment, apart from one shot requiring filming around stairs, with which I was careful and aware of my surroundings.

   Regarding the production itself, I decided to film the ‘present’ segment of the video from a 3rd person perspective, so the audience is looking at the protagonist from an outside perspective. This was to show clearly who the protagonist of the video was, and who’s point of view the audience will witness in other parts of the video. When filming this, I came across the issue of underexposure, due to the lighting being quite dim indoors, in an effort to keep camera settings the same, I tried to allow more light in by opening windows and doors, this worked to an extent, as it allowed more light into the room, however it resulted in some over-exposed areas in some of the shot. To avoid this in the future I would perhaps use a different lens which allowed for a lower aperture setting. For the ‘past’ segments of the video, I shot using a point-of-view angle throughout. This was a to emphasise the narrative of my music video, and also helped to highlight that the protagonist is looking back over past memories. A disadvantage I came across during filming this is that the camera is quite cumbersome when trying to film from this particular perspective, as it restricts your view, therefore becoming a safety risk. In order to overcome this, I ensured that the path was clear ahead of me to limit the chance of tripping over. Also, some shots came out quite shaky, due to the camera being handheld; in the future, it would be wise to use a GoPro for the P.O.V shots as it would limit the camera shake, but also make the shot seem more realistic. 

Before beginning the editing process, I labelled the names of the clips in the folder, so I knew what the clips were of. I also compiled all of my footage into location categories, such as Coombe Abbey, Lanzarote, etc. This helped make the overall editing process more efficient, as I was able access the footage easily, without having to search for each clip.

When editing my video, I tried to cut to the beat of the song to the best of my ability, this is to make the video seem more professional and polished, and also to compliment the music. During the P.O.V instances, I also added overlay effects onto the footage to highlight that it is taking place in the past. I downloaded a film grain overlay from the internet, which added over the footage, and also tried to added a sepia-type filter in addition. I chose to do this so the audience will be able to distinguish between the past and present instances. Furthermore, during the transitions, I added a 'Gaussian Blur' effect, combined with a white colour matte, in order to make the transition seem almost dreamlike. An issue I came across during this process is that the sepia filter diminished the effect of the blur, making it less intense for some reason, despite changing the opacity of the layer. 

I decided to alternate between the past and present at the points where the song switches from verse to chorus. This was to give the video a strong feel, as the editing and narrative will compliment the song structure. The song I chose was quite a long track, and I found it difficult to piece together enough footage whilst avoiding a repetitive feel. As a solution, I decided to cut the song shorter, this is because the last minute or so is purely instrumental and quite repetitive, therefore I cut a section out of the middle, and combined the remaining pieces of the song to the exact beat, to make sure that the change isn't noticeable. I cut the song down to an appropriate length for my narrative to come to an end, but also made sure the song lasted around three minutes, a common convention of contemporary songs. 

Music Video Final Cut

Promotional Video - Legal Forms

Below are a number of forms we had our interviewees sign to show that we had their permission to be involved in the video.

Promo Video - Health and Safety

The recording for this project will only be in and around college, therefore there will be minimal risks:

Recording around college: We need to be wary of students walking around college while recording, this is because recording equipment can be a trip hazard. We need to concentrate especially during peak times in college, such as lunch, as there will be more students moving around.

Be aware of surroundings: When using equipment, ensure you are aware of any obstacles and avoid them, to avoid injury or damaging equipment.

Music Video Survey Results (Primary Research)

Below are results from the survey I conducted for research for my music video. I chose these questions particularly to display as these informed my music video.

Q1: From the results, it is clear that people have their own personal preference on their preferred type of music genre, and that there isn't a majority choice, therefore I will choose whichever song I wish.




Q2: From the results, it is clear that the majority prefer narrative style music videos by a long shot, I will take this into consideration when planning which style of music video to create. I feel that a narrative style video gives me more breathing room in terms of how creative I can be with my ideas.



Q3/Q4: From the results, it is evident that the majority think the music video should connect with the lyrics to help connote meaning of the lyrics. This I will try to achieve in my own music video.



Q5/Q6: This question does not inform my own video as such, as I cannot include the artist in my video, but I believe it is an important question as it can create brand identity within the industry, and also a relationship with fans. However, because the majority agreed that the artist should be included, I aim to create a narrative with a relatable protagonist.



Q7/Q8: From the results, I can see that the majority think editing is important in music videos; therefore, when editing my own video, I will ensure that the editing is precise and polished, in order to make the video look more professional. The results of question 8 also reveal the the participants feel that the editing can help to convey the message of the video or exaggerate the music, which will be important when creating a narrative-style video.



Overall, I believe this research technique was beneficial for me, regarding its ability to inform my decisions on this project. The survey is a great method of conducting your own research, as it allows you to design your own questions in order to gather the exact data you desire. One weakness of this particular survey is that I did not receive many responses, and those I acquired were of a similar age group. As a result I was not able to gain responses from a wide range of people, meaning I did not have a broad spectrum of answers. However, certain answers (particularly to questions 3 and 7) did help me decide what paths to take with my video, and therefore I believe the research had a successful outcome.

Music Video - Gantt Chart

I have created Gantt Chart showing my tasks and when I plan to complete them. I have decided to use only two colours - orange shows that I still have yet to complete the task, whereas green represents a completed task; in doing this I can clearly see which task still needs to be complete. This has been helpful throughout the project as it has allowed me to manage my time effectively, and thus I will be able to meet my deadline with ease. 

Music Video Editing

During editing, I created several bins, into which I organised my footage according to which shoot it was captured in. This has allowed me easy access to all of my footage, should I need it. I have also used effects such as the Warp Stabiliser, in an effort to make my footage smoother and look more professional.

I also watched a couple of youtube tutorials in order to create effects in my video. The first was to learn how to create a memory-style effect, using white backgrounds, blurring, and fading. As a result, the transitions from past to present look as if the protagonist is reminiscing. Additionally, I downloaded a clip of film grain, and lowered the opacity as an overlay over the 'past' clips to further emphasise that it is a memory. 

Music Video Draft

Promo Video Editing

When editing the promo video, I placed all the clips I would use in to bins in order to organise them and put them into categories where they were easy to find; I also overlaid clips with transitions in order to make the clips transition more smoothly. With the audio, I lowered the volume of the backing music during the interviews so the audience can hear the dialogue more. 

HNC Promo Video Evaluation

During this unit, I decided that I would not be able to meet the deadline in the unit with the client's availability, this was due to his busy working schedule; and after discussion, we came to a mutual agreement that it would be best to discontinue the process. In order to accommodate for this, I decided to work with Aj, who was in the same situation. We decided to create a promotional video for the HNC course at KEC, with our client being Chris - the head of the Creative Arts department. In our research we analysed various existing promotional videos, and decided to create an informative video, with student and teacher interviews talking about the HNC.

When planning the promotional video, we watched existing college promotional videos for inspiration, and to understand the conventions of these videos, in order to be able to implement them into our promotional video. We drew up a basic plan and layout for our video, and organised an initial meeting with our client to discuss our plan. This meeting was beneficial for us as we prepared a clear powerpoint presentation containing our ideas, and the client also provided us with some insight as to how he would like the video to turn out, by giving us ideas of shots and interviews. After this, we contacted those who we would have liked to be in the video, mainly students and teachers, however this didn't go as smoothly as we would have liked, as some students were not able to spare any time on such short notice. In the future, to improve on this, we would ideally have more time to shoot, and therefore be more flexible with our availability to shoot.

During the production of our video, we managed to record most of the content we needed, we decided to capture footage in locations related to creative arts, in order to showcase what the department has to offer for students; though we did not manage to record  everything our client suggested, due to the reliability and availability of ex-students. We accommodated for this by asking the same questions to the students we did interview, in order to still get the information we needed. We also had some issues with how some of the clips turned out, particularly with the interviews. We had issues with the sound of the footage recorded in the studio, the sound is echoey and because the interviewees were sitting quite far from the camera, the speech was quiet. In order to correct this in the future, I would use a separate microphone to record the audio. Another issue we came across is the lighting in the HNC room, after scanning over the footage, we found that the lighting was underexposed and quite dim. To improve on this is the future, I would reshoot this footage perhaps in a different room, with more natural light, or even use some portable LED lights to create some artificial light. In the final cut of the video, we decided to only use one interview, involving Emily and Connie, this is because I believe their answers contained the right information about the HNC that we intended to capture and therefore didn't need to include any unnecessary footage. Additionally, the quality of some of the other interviews wasn't acceptable for the video and could not be used.

Regarding our target audience, when distributing our video, it would have been best to consider the most effective methods to appeal to our intended audience of students aged 17-19. this could have been achieved by creating a shorter version of our video, that would have been an acceptable length for publishing to social media sites such as Facebook or Instagram. This would have been beneficial for us as it would cater for our particular demographic, and therefore potentially receive a better response.

Overall, I am pleased with the final cut of our promotional video; I believe that we captured the essence of what HNC life is like within the college. This was achieved by maintaining an informal mode of address within the interviews, therefore keeping the responses natural. This was emphasised by the ‘unpolished’ feel of some of clips I used, as it added personality to the interviewees and represented the relationships and friendships formed in the HNC. An issue I came across in the post-production of the video is that the music for the video is quite loud in comparison to the audio of the interviews, despite altering the audio levels for the clips; it is quite difficult to hear at some points. In the future we could perhaps find some backing music that is quieter, or again use an external microphone to record the audio from the interview.

Shoots 5-6

Shoot 5: Students working

For this shoot, we have decided to film students of the HNC doing work. We will achieve this through a number of over-the-shoulder shots, displaying students editing and filming. These shots are going to be used as filler material over the audio of the interviews.

Shoot 6: HNC Life

For this segment of recording, we will place the camera at different points in the room  and left it to record the HNC room during a normal day. This will allow us to capture shots of the HNC environment in a natural manner, in order to limit the 'staged' feel of the video.

Shoots 1-4

Shoots 1-4

Shoot 1: Current Student - Joe Casey
We decided to shoot this interview in the studio, as we will be able to create a interview-style lighting setup, making the interview look more professional. Unfortunately, the lighting did not turn out the way we planned, and as a result we had to alter the camera settings to get a correctly exposed image; the higher ISO resulted in the video containing more 'noise'.

Shoot 2: Current students - Connie Bytheway and Emily Bliss
For this interview we decided to do a location shoot in the HNC room, using a shallow focus to focus on the interviewees; though this could have turned out better with a different lens. We had to shoot this interview twice, due to a problem with the audio recording. Feedback from our client also revealed that we could have altered the background in the interview to make the shot seem more appealing.

Shoot 3: Technician - Kayleigh Kendall
We decided to shoot this interview in the technician's office, as this allowed us to record the equipment in the office at the same time, in order to showcase what equipment KEC has to offer for students.

Shoot 4: Teacher - Yvonne Weatherstone
Similar to the previous shoot, we shot this interview in the media office, and this time took into account the background of the interview, and cleared the desk of clutter in ordee to make the setting look neat.

Promo Video Planning

Roles

Aj:

• Recording

• Health and safety vigilant 

• Personal releases forms 

• Gantt chart

• Shot log

• Communication with client 

• Client presentation

Ben:

• Recording 

• Editing 

• Storyboard 

• Gantt chart

• Shot log 

• Overlooked communication 

Shot log

• Establishing shots; college entrance / front staff/visitor car park  

• Talking head style interviews (waist up)  

• Over the shoulder shot – students doing work  

• Wide shot – HNC Room – 

• Media dept room - Lesson being taught 

• Quad 'Ben or Aj taking videos or photographs' 

• HNC Aj 'taking photographs' 

• Art foundation 

• People in college 

Equipment List

• Camera (DSLR)

•  Spare camera battery 

• Microphone 

• AA batteries (and spares) 

• Micro SD card 

• SD card 

• Tripod 

• Dolly

• Steadicam (if possible)

Locations 

• College entrance

• HNC room 

• Classroom within the media department 

• Technician office 

• College courtyard
• College quad
• Photography Studio