Evaluation

Question 1: What do you think you learnt from Monday's workshop?


I really enjoyed the workshop day and found it very interesting as it allowed me to learn and develop my skills in production. Firstly, the careful planning of the crew taught me how important it is to think ahead, and the director Jake even carried around an iphone with him so he could keep looking at the video, which inspired this shoot highlighting to me, the different resources that can be used, and also the importance of sticking to your original plan. 


The mise-en-scene and props are also vital and we spent our lesson on Friday getting the set ready especially for the library scene where we stocked books and positioned tables and chairs to give a believable and professional set. Costumes added to this and we all planned what we were wearing in advance teaching me how all details of a video must be prepared as soon as possible.

In terms of the technical side of the shoot, I learnt a lot by shadowing the production crew (Jake, Tom Adam etc..) and seeing how they used the equipment and the effect this equipment gave. The use of such a professional HD camera was a new experience and with the monitor displaying the shots, we could see   the quality of the shots and also could see how these shots would appear once the video was put together. Lighting was also an area of significance illustrating to me how necessary it is to give across different feels from bright and upbeat to more silhouetted. 


The main source of lighting were the big beam lights and the lantern. The lantern was new to me, but I could see the slick effect it gave off. We also had a track to give a smooth tracking of the characters movements and seeing such hugh-budget equipment gave me a feel for how a real music video shoot would be. 

The most exciting use of technical equipment was the crane/jib, which was used for the overhead shots and I got to see how smooth the movements were. Overall, the technical help from the crew was very helpful and they taught me a lot of valuable techniques and expanded my understanding of producing a music video.


The general performance was fun as we all managed to get into it and worked as a team to do the dance in time with one another. Although this performing did not come natural to me, I eased into it and found it enjoyable. We were all in costume and managed to take on the roles of these characters, and Jasmine as 1st AD encouraged us getting us to smile and put on a good show. The different roles within the team involved the director, camera operators, 1st AD, lighting man and a runner. These different members of the crew had a lot of responsibility and all worked together, with good communication and were very efficient teaching me the vital skills needed to produce an effective project.

Question 2: For you, what was the best bit about the day and why?


The day as a whole was a lot of fun however, my favourite bits of the day were both the performing in the library scenes and the helping out and watching the shots on the monitor. We shot the library scenes after lunch so everyone had more energy than in the morning and we all got along, working together and was able to have a laugh in between takes. Shooting the hoops scenes was also fun as we didn't take ourselves too seriously and got to be filmed with the use of the crane, which was interesting.


Also, the advice and observing of the crew was a highlight due to the fact that they were all specialists in their fields and were at hand to tell us about their experiences and knowledge of production and what it is like to work on shoot. Watching the shots back on the monitor was rewarding as we could see that the hard work that we were putting in was paying off and could feel at ease when watching the morning group performing the corridor scenes.

Overall, there were many high points on the shoot and although tiring, it was a great chance to learn and it was gratifying as the shots were professional and we produced a video very similar to the original.


Question 3: Are you pleased with your edit? Is it how you expected it to look? Identify the successes and failures of your edited version. In hindsight, what would you do differently at the production stage?


I am very pleased with my overall edit as it turned out so much better than I had previously thought it would, due to the impressive quality and wide range of shots. We stuck to the original video fairly religiously as the two match quite well, and this is something that I was unsure we would be able to do so effectively.

The main successes of the video would be the overall performance of everyone as the energy was high and everyone put a lot of effort into the performance keeping up the smiles. In addition, the set was a lot better than I had at first anticipated as I had concerns about shooting the library scene in a sports hall, however the use of props and the overall MES was convincing the posters and bookshelves all created the scene and gave a high level of plausibility. Furthermore, I think the hula-hoop shots were really good due to the crane overhead shots and also because of the strong lighting and colours. This was one of the biggest successes of our videos along with the framing and high quality, which was as a result of having an experienced team.

In hindsight, although the shoot went very well, I would make a few minor changes just to improve the continuity and make the video even more fluid. Firstly, the lighting didn't always stay constant particularly in the corridor scene as looking back at the shots we had available, some were brighter than others. Also, we re unable to get a shot of the locker at the beginning as the lockers were too small and so would not match the original, so if we were to do this again, I think it would have been good to try and work around this problem. Another problem on the shoot was the change from the corridor to the library as the door was too small for the first group to all go through, so it looks too cramped and was not as convincing, because it was obvious that some of them were moving into the wall. However, when editing we managed to make this less noticeable, so in a way, our use of the clips when editing was a strength. Finally, in the library scene you can see a basketball hoop briefly, which takes away slightly from the setting as it shows that it is in fact not a real library, but this is something, which I will be able to learn from.

Question 4: Have the lip sync tasks benefitted you in any way?




The lip syncing tasks have helped me a lot in many different ways. At first I was very anxious about the task as I thought it would be embarrassing, but once everyone in the group got involved, we all began to feel at ease and it turned out a great way of gaining confidence and experiencing what the actors in our later video will have to experience. This is a big positive as it will prevent us from becoming frustrated later on in the project if our actor gets embarrassed as we have all been in their position.

Also, as we did not have very long to do either videos, we began to see what it is like to work under pressure and to be good with time management. The exercise was a big learning curve and was significant in building up my confidence and helping me to have a go at lip-syncing in time.

Question 5: How do you think the work you have completed for the preliminary tasks will impact on your real music video project?

Firstly, with pre-production planning, I will make sure I am very prepared and organised so that I get all the shots needed and to avoid time being wasted. Keeping a story board and trying to be creative when planning shots is very beneficial and this is something from the preliminary tasks that I will take and use in my real music video.

With the preliminary tasks, we didn't really storyboard so this is something that will be good to do myself when we come to the main shoot. Also, organising in advance the timing of each shot makes things a lot easier when it comes to the later parts of the project.

Secondly, when it comes to the actual shoot, set is vital and particularly the workshop day showed me how the location and setting makes all the difference as it sets the scene and needs to tie in with the genre of the song, that is why I will need to think carefully about getting a location that suits the music that I will choose to make a video for. 



Furthermore, the different roles and the way that the crew worked together really reiterated the importance of team work and this has influenced me into trying to be a solid group and work together helping each other out with tasks. Also, as the day was quite tiring, it showed me how the actor on our video will be feeling so I will be patient and more sympathetic to our actor when they have to perform. 


With the practice lipsync,, which we did in groups for 'In the sun', I learnt that the best approach is to be confident and relaxed when performing in the video and to not take yourself too seriously, so i can use this knowledge to help our actor feel more at ease.


Editing wise, I think the more shots and the longer the shots the better, as with the 'No air' video, we had extra shots to add in to fill in any gaps and this came in very handy and made the video flow more.


In conclusion, I have learnt a lot from the preliminary exercises and I will take this with me when filming my real video and I think not only will I be more skilled in my approach to the production side, but I will also be better at ensuring the group dynamics are of a good quality.

Music Video

This music video is one of Michael Jackson's most iconic and I think stands out even against more contemporary ones. Firstly, the slight use of narrative in the video is important however, it is the performance which works with this narrative to create a unique and lively video. The use of choreography is dramatic and fast-paced, fitting in with the music and the genre of the song. In addition, the costume with the hats and suits creates different characters within the music video and sets the scene with the location being a bar filled with gangsters. With it being set at night, the setting coincides with the lyrics in the song showing how the use of detail and paying attention to the lyrics are. As a video, it is dramatic and quite active however, the shots are simple putting the sole attention on the dancing and singing, which is effective.

Thoughts and Reflections

We have just been introduced to our new project, which is music videos and have made a start on our assignment until the end of term. This is very exciting for me as I am a big fan of music and enjoy watching many of the videos. I also have a strong interest in how music videos are produced so this topic will allow me to find out the ins and outs of making a music video. I am looking forward to developing my skills in planning, researching, filming and editing along with group work.

The music video in which we will be doing as a class is from the band 'She and Him', with their song 'In the Sun' and the genre is Indie folk. We will all be performing and trying to re-create this video with the help of a team. We started by looking at the lyrics, and then deconstructed the video itself.




We started the workshop last Friday, when Jake, a director and former Latymer sixth-former visited us to introduce himself to us and tell us about his experiences on set of different music videos. He directed the famous Geri Halliwell video 'It's raining men' in which he had a budget of around a quarter of a million. This meeting with Jake was very helpful and I found it very interesting to find out what it is really like to direct music videos. He also told us how music videos can use narrative or performance, or even a combination of the two and how important it is to think about the music genre or style of the artist and how important it is to keep your artist(s) happy and deliver a visually pleasing video that will ultimately sell the song.

In terms of performance, we had Jasmine Blackborow come in to help us with the choreography of the music video that we will be re-creating. This was also good at getting us to warm-up and become at ease with the steps and letting ourselves go. At first I was apprehensive about the dance however, as a group, we all had to just have fun and it turned out well as we all remembered the steps and tried our best.

Overall, I am excited for the workshop as it will be a great experience and will be a good introduction to producing a music video for our main project. I have been casted as the school jock who is a background dancer, which I am pleased about as I do not have to do too much dancing or lip synching. The next few weeks will be a lot of fun, and I hope that the finished product will be extremely gratifying.