Blog 20 - Evaluation and Feedback of the video

(in my edit its shows thi text in paragraphs, sorry for the incovenience, i cannot change it) In this blog I am going to be evaluating my music video, in relation to feedback and my personal experience. I have gained and developed a range of skills throughout the year, in which helped me complete my music video. My music video ‘stay positive’ has a particular target audience, this had to be kept in mind constantly when producing the music video. Before I started filming I had to learn the appropriate skills that I needed. I learnt these skills in group with my fellow peers reconstructing the video for whetus - teenage dirt bag. At the very start of this process we were shown the importance of producing a storyboard, rekke, shooting script. Also, Before we started filming our teacher showed us how to correctly mount the tripod and fix on the camera, he then showed us how to operate the camera along side all of its functions, which were the use of when and auto settings. If you were to let the camera film automatically then it may result in the footage that is being captured back may not be high in quality. However if the manual setting is used than the operator is able to adjust the setting of the camera. One setting that was able to be adjusted was the exposure. If a shot was to dark or light than I was shown that the shutter speed and aperture to adjust this Also learning hoe to use white balance, which is basically set when in different lighting conditions. I experience the need to use white balance as we were filming in and outside. Another operation I learnt was ’time lapse’ After we knew the basics we then split up into separate groups and started the film a number of different shots from the music video. Once we had got all of the footage we needed it was then time to edit. My teacher then showed my how to edit using the application ‘final cut express’. I learnt a number of skills such as, how to add my footage to the timeline, cutting down footage, flagging o the timeline were the beat is, etc. The knowledge that I learnt from this activity was very important, and carrying out this activity allowed me to get on with filming my own music video with no complications. The first steps that our group undertook before we started filming our music video was the planning process. The planning process consists of, a storyboard, shooting script, rekke, health and safety analysis, diary of dates that we have agreed to go out and film and what camera we are going to use. We decided to film out music video from a first person point of view (POV). In able to accomplish this shot we filmed our music video using a handy cam, which was being shot as a 16:9. The use of the handy cam allowed us to move around with the camera and film from eye level. However, this turned out to be a very tough task, especially as we had been taught how to use the handy cam mounted on a tripod. Another reason we decided on using a handy cam was that our shots will look realistic, we deliberately added a shaking motion to the camera whilst filming to get this realism, however we did not want to over exaggerate this as it may look as a result of poor camera work. Once we had filmed all of our footage it was time to edit. Usually when editing the footage is needed to be caught back on to the computer, we were able to skip this lengthy process because the handy cam did not require DV tapes to operate, the handy cam uses a memory stick. The program that we used to edit our footage is called ‘final cut express’. We set out project setting to PAL. This means that we would be watching and editing to a frame rate of 24 frames per second, this is the European standard. As we editing was non linear, we were able to change the order of our clips with out any great deal of fuss. We completed a rough edit of our video by placing all of our footage on the timeline and putting it in correct order, this is called an assembly edit. The benefit to completing an assembly edit is that we were able to see is the footage that we had was long enough, also if we had missed out any shots and if there was we still had time to book a camera and go film those shots. This process also includes the adding of the music track, which is called ‘The Streets - Stay Positive’. In order to do this we had to convert out MP3 file to an AIF file, this allowed the track to be heard whilst editing. Once the track was added cutting to the beat was made possible. However, as we wanted to creating the most realistic visual experience possible we decided that it was beat to keep the cutting to a minimum as possible, we also did this so that the video looks continuous and is happening in real life time. Finally was our final cut, were we added a slow motion affect at the end, and added the noise of a gunshot, ending with a fade to black. This reflected the death of the character. As a whole I feel as though my group and I have had a good first attempt of making a music video. We stuck to our initial idea of filming from a first person perspective using the handycam. However we did come across a number of issues when using this handy cam. The main issue that we had was that when filming we only had one ‘free’ hand to operate props with, this was because the camera mans other hand was being used to hold the camera. We overcome this minor set back by having one us hold the camera whilst the other person used their pair of hands in front of the handy cam. We wanted the track to be diagetic, we accomplished this by the character in our video putting on his headphones and activating his MP3 device. The track of our video is based around a teenage demographic as the lyrics of the track highlight common stereotypical behaviour of a teenager. Some of these issues raised in the track lyrics are, drug use, crime and a disjunction to modern day society. As our target audience are young adults we felt that it was crucial to incorporate these stereotypical actions into our video, (adding a wrapped up gun, concluding with violent gunshot at the end of our video). Our video starts with the character waking up from a ‘heavy night out’ on the beach, in order to get this effect of a alcohol filled night before we tilt the camera through the video. The track starts as soon as the character pushes play on the MP3 device. The diagetic of the track puts the view in the soul of the protagonist. The story is of the character who is listening to the ipod gets hold of a package that is much desired by another person. A chase starts to get hold of this package, and once the audience discover what is in the package they not long after come to find out that the package holds no value, this is because before the package was stolen off the main character the contents had been swapped. The main character then shoots the character that has been chasing him. The video ends by the camera shot fading to black whilst the music fades. Whilst the audience does not know what is inside the package they are constantly wanting to know what is inside the package, this involves the audience and results in them being an active audience, this is what I wanted to achieve from this video. In comparison to other Streets music videos our video matches the m - e - s of a dark and violent background that involves drugs and alcohol. We wanted to reflect the bands other music videos that also match the stereotypes of teenage behaviour against society. We kept to the same style as the bands previous videos because the audience that had had interest in them are the same audience that we are targeting with our video. On top of my music video I also ensured that my advert and dig pack also kept to the continuous theme of ‘the Streets’. In order to do this, I kept the artwork relatively simple. I also kept to the theme of our video by only showing the legs of the character on the two designs. In which, helped to secure the mysteriousness of our music video. I have posted my video on my facebook page and recieved comments that are all possitve and a few saying that the package was the most interesting part of the video. In conclusion I am very pleased with how my music video turned out. I am also pleased with how my advert and digi pack keep to the same theme as my video. My music video is not mainstream as it does not consist of the common activities that star in a mainstream video, on top of this my music video is shot in first person and this has not been done a lot of times. I wanted to produce a music video that stands out because of its uniqueness, filming in this style allowed me to accomplish this.