Preliminary Evaluation - Part 1

At the workshop, I learnt several things either first hand or by watching other people.

I learnt quite a few things about lighting first hand, including:

• The background has to be lit first although it can be dimmer than usual.
• Then the main subject (main characters in our case) are lit additionally to make them stand out more.
• Often people have to slightly from the side to create shadows and a sense of depth.
• The lighting technician always has to work with the cinematographer and director to ensure a shot looks good and isn't over or under exposed.

Secondly, I learnt about some new off-camera roles that were necessary  to make production run smoothly:

• Floor Manager - Ensured everyone was ready for anything
• Cinematographer - Works with the director to craft shots
• Key Grip - Controls the dolly for tracking shots and the crane for birds eye views
• Choreographer - Makes sure all performers are familiar with the routine
• Lighting Technician - Sets up lights and positions them for the shot
• Play Back Operator - In music video production to play music at any time
• Runner - Does anything that needs to be done, e.g. I helped out by holding the camera cable so that it didn't interfere with a tracking shot in a wheelchair

Finally, I learnt a lot from the crew: Time management is very important so plan everything to a schedule and make very few compromises. If directing, don't be afraid to get involved with everyone else to make your idea work. And if in any doubt about some footage, shoot again just in case.

Preliminary Evaluation - Part 2

For the most part, I found Monday's workshop's great so it's very hard to choose a best bit of the day. What I enjoyed the most was seeing how everyone worked with professionals to make everything look incredible seeing as how we're just students with one building and a day to re-create a music video.

I also enjoyed seeing how some of the shots were done such as the dolly shots and the crane shots which turned out a lot better than I thought they would.Additionally, the library location looks a lot better on camera than I thought because it was just a few tables, books and posters in one corner of a sports hall.

Preliminary Evaluation - Part 3

I am very happy with this edit. If, I'm honest, it looks closer to the real thing than I thought it would whilst we were shooting it although in editing, we were able to manipulate the video to make it fit with the original video and music. I personally think that all of the cuts were really close to the original and that most of the chosen shots look very similar to the original music videos. I also think that everyone in the video really put in a great performance but there were a few other problems with the video.

Although the actors' singing is synced with Zooey's, some of the actions aren't synced with the original music video. The opposite was true for the shots of Matt Ward where I mostly made the music videos look familiar but didn't really focus on the audio which is why if you look very closely, the guitar solo isn't synced up. In the library, lighting might be too dim on the background although we didn't want the main actress to be overexposed. Another problem was that we just couldn't recreate certain shots because of our circumstances (the corridor was a lot narrower and we couldn't hire a higher crane).

In hindsight, there are two main things I would have done differently in the production stage:

1. Make sure everybody (performers, dolly grip, etc.) had practised in time with the music video.
2. Shot every shot; I'm not sure how but in the end, we didn't shoot two shots from the original music video, the opening locker shot and all hula hoopers bringing the hoops together at the start of the gym sequence (see below).

Preliminary Evaluation - Part 4

I think that the lip syncs we did benefited us in four main reasons:

1. We practised the method for doing lip syncs by playing the music loudly and singing or miming along in time.
2. It gave us the ability to work quickly as in both lip syncs, we aimed to have shot all of our shots and have captured them by the end of a double lesson.
3. We learnt the importance of planning and preparation; during the first lip sync, we realised that we hadn't shot enough footage to make up the instrumental parts of our music video.
4. Personally, I gained a lot of confidence in both of these music videos, as somebody who doesn't dance or sing at all.

Preliminary Evaluation - Part 5

By completing the preliminary tasks, I think that the following will apply to the real music video project:

• Carefully plan every shot, ensuring we've filmed something for every part of the track we use in our music video. If necessary, shoot extra shots during production just to make sure.
• Prepare for production by ensuring everyone has rehearsed any choreography (if we choose to include performance in our music video) and any camera techniques, especially tracking shots which would require precision.
• During production, ensure that there is a schedule for shooting and that everybody sticks to it as rigidly as possible. (Try to accomplish shots in no more than two takes)
• Make sure cast and crew are enjoying themselves, it may show up in the music video, especially if their characters are meant to be happy.
• Whilst filming a performance, play the music that they will be lip syncing to loudly if they don't feel very confident and encourage them to sing, as opposed to miming.
• In post - production, don't mute the clips raw footage, it will help you work whether or not they are performing in time with the music.

'Move Along' Music Video

A few weeks ago I found this music video for 'Move Along' and it really caught my attention 3 main reasons:

1. I'd heard the song before I saw the video so it was nice to see the artist's interpretation of it.
2. I like the fact that it has different 'narratives' that generally relate to the song's lyrics without being too literal.
3. I think that the camera work and editing are really creative especially in the parts that show the band's lead singer apparently stationary whilst the background rapidly changes.

Initial Reflections on the Course

So far, I've enjoyed the course even though I've never really thought about music videos in the media before. When Jake came in to discuss his work and the workshop, I really got a good understanding of how things work in industry and how close we will be replicating it with the rest of this course. From Jasmine I've got an understanding of how much effort would be involved in the workshop and my group's music video if we decide that it has an aspect of performance in it.

The upcoming workshop should be interesting; I'm especially looking forward to working with professionals to see how they work. I'm also interested in the performance aspect of it which should be very different from our film opening from last year. At this workshop, I'm hoping to learn and develop a lot of new skills including especially in the technical aspects of filming but also a deeper understanding of what is necessary during production such as props and costume.

Overall, I’m optimistic for this course but I’ll just wait to see how it goes.