Evaluation

1. What do you think you learnt from Monday's workshop? You could discuss anything you like - technical, performance, production process, directing, the various roles, specific skills - anything you think is relevant.

I really enjoyed the workshop day and it was really helpful to me as I learnt a lot about all the different aspects in making a music video.  I learnt about the technical side, the directing side and the performance side and saw how important all of these roles were and how important it was for them to interact and communicate with each other otherwise the whole thing wouldn’t have worked at all. 

I also realised how important pre-production is in making a music video.  It was so important that we had a shot list so we knew what order we were going to film so it was very helpful we were copying a real music video so we already knew what shots we were doing and how it was suppose to look, what the mood/atmosphere was like and what the sets looked like to try and recreate so we didn’t have to come up with our own ideas but when making our own music videos, we would have to decide all this ourselves so I can see how important it is.  We also had to find costumes and create the sets, we had to set up the library scene so we moved loads of tables and chairs into the hall and put up posters and bookshelves and arranged them to look like the library in the video, and I saw how important mise-en-scene is to make it look effective.

This is the set of the library we made:

Technical

The technical crew were so important in making the music video look effective.  The HD camera and the camera man Adam who works in the industry gave the shots a really professional and ‘filmic’ look.  The lighting really enhanced the setting, especially the China Ball as it gave a real contrast of light and dark really brightening the main person and making them stand out.  We also used a track on the day and tracking the shots made them look much smoother as there was no camera movement.  We also had the privilege of using a crane to get the ‘bird-view’ shot, this was really fun to experience as it seemed really professional and the shot looked really good.  Throughout the day, the technical crew allowed to ask them questions about their experience in the industry which I learnt a lot from and will really help on the technical side when making our own music videos.

Directing

I saw how important Jakes role was as director and also Jasmines role as assistant director.  They were in charge of everyone and made sure everyone communicated and worked together throughout the day.  They always checked the framing and made sure it was exactly how they wanted it to look.  Jake also asked our opinions of what looked good and what needed to be improved eg. if the lighting was slightly wrong, this made us feel really involved in the directing side of making the video.

Performance

I learnt how important it was to feel really relaxed and comfortable when performing to the camera.  If you feel uncomfortable or unhappy then it shows on camera.  It was important for everyone to be enjoying themselves and having a good time as the mood and atmosphere in the room is the mood and atmosphere you see on camera.

2. For you, what was the best bit of the day and why?

The best part of the day for me was shooting the hula hoop scene at the end of the day.  By this time, everyone was feeling really relaxed and confident and had got use to performing in front of the camera.  I didn’t think I would enjoy the performance side much and in the library scene I didn’t really get into it but I found the hula hoop scenes fun as everyone was just having a laugh and felt really comfortable. 

It was also fun to shoot also because of the crane which was exciting new equipment.  I also enjoyed seeing everything be bought together because on the weeks I’d seen everything individually, we’d done the dance routines, seen the cameras and the lighting, had our costumes and created the set but seeing it all working together was really interesting and enjoyable.

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?

Overall, I’m really pleased with our edit. When I first saw all the footage we’d captured I was a bit disappointed because I thought the shots were completely different and wouldn’t match up and the lip syncing wouldn’t match up to the actual music video but I was completely wrong.  After editing these shots, cutting them down and matching them to the track I was shocked at how much our final edit is similar to real video ‘In the Sun’.  I think all the shots, the performance, the mise-en-scene and the lighting are all really effective and I’m really impressed with how it looks.

However there are a few little mistakes in there.  When the main girl sings ‘taking a beating’ and jumps into the library scene, in the corridor it looks as if she’s jumping into a wall and then in the next shot there’s big open doors that she comes through, this could be quite confusing so if we could shoot again I would change that but I don’t think its that obvious. 

Also in the library scene, we can see the gym floor and the basketball hoop slightly at the top of the frame so its obvious to the audience they’re not in a library but I think the set we created and the performance draws away from these errors and the shot still looks really effective and very close to the actual shot in the real video. 

On the other hand, I thought all the gym scene shots were amazing.  I love the shots where the camera man filmed them on a wheelchair circling and the crane shots but my favourite shot in the very last shot with the guitar in focus and the girl in the distance out of focus, I think this looks really professional and convincing and is nearly exactly the same as the real shot in the real video.  I thought the lip-sync matching was really good in our edit and the fact we had to do this really tested my editing skills as I’d never edited to match up to shots we already had or a track before but I really enjoyed matching it all up.

4. Have the lip sync tasks benefited you in any way?

The lip sync tasks were really beneficial and helped a lot not only with the performance but the editing too.  Doing the preliminary lip-sync really helped me experience and get used to was it was like to be on the other side of the camera, it helped me realise that you just have to have a good time and can’t be too serious with it otherwise it looks ridiculous so this was really helpful for filming on the workshop day and will be when we have to make our own music videos.  When editing our lip-syncs I practised and got used to editing the shots to match up to a soundtrack which was harder then I first thought as you have to get the movement of the mouth and lips completely the same as the lyrics on the track.  I also realised how important it is to actually sing a bit especially on close ups because if you arn't singing the movement in your lips and throat doesn't quite look right. As I did this more I began to really enjoy it and got much more confident with it and I know doing these 3 lip-sync edits has really helped me for when I have to do my own.

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

I’ve feel like I’ve learnt a lot from the preliminary tasks and I think they’ve given me a lot of new skills and techniques that will help me significantly when I start working on my real music video. 

The workshop day made me realise how much planning and effort is needed beforehand to produce a music video and how many different things are needed.  I learnt that sets, costume, props all had to be sorted out and that lyrics and dance routines had to be learnt.  When we make our music video, we’d have to come up with our own ideas, storyboard, shot list etc. but from looking at ‘In the Sun’ I’ve learnt that the genre, style and lyrics of the song really give you a good idea in your head of what the music video would look like.  I understand a lot more about the technical side of producing a music video, the camera, the lighting and I’m looking forward to doing this when we make our own.  The most important thing I learnt was how important it is to work together in a team and communicate with all the different people in various roles.

I feel like the editing side of our preliminary tasks has helped so much as editing a music video is completely different to editing film or anything I’ve done before.  The shots are of a completely style and are much shorter, they’re also much more complicated as its not all narrative like a film.  I think match-on-actions are harder as you also have to match the lip-syncing and the performance along to the track.  The lip-syncs have really helped me get used to and get confident with timing when editing as this is crucial for music videos.  I feel like my editing skills have improved a lot over the last few weeks because of our preliminary tasks.

Overall these tasks have helped me so much, I’ve learnt so many new things and they’ve been a lot of fun.  I’m looking forward to start working on making our own music videos!