Evaluation

Media Arts: Music Video Production – Term 04

Self-reflection/evaluation:

Respond to each of the following dot points (using complete sentences or paragraphs). You should include as much detail as possible in your responses.

Pre-Production:

·      Describe any problems or difficulties you or your group encountered while developing your music video concept and deciding upon music;

I didn’t run into any problems until I was told that my shots didn’t suit the theme of my music video. It wasn’t really a problem, because I still had half my film to film and the other half did indeed look like a horror film. The red hue created by the night made the film appear all moody, which didn’t suit the “long lost friendship’ concept. It was more like finding Jigsaw. I, however, was still sad that I couldn’t use the song that I wanted to use, because the song had been one of my favourites to listen to as it is calm and relaxing with the singer’s deep voice and the slow tempo of the song. I wanted the viewers to also relax by looking at the film and listening to the song. Now the viewers are looking at something out from a horror film J

When I started planning, I didn’t encounter any difficulties because I already thought of what I wanted since last term. I had planned over the holidays on the mise-en-scene and cinematography to make my film. I believe that it’s because of those stupid park shots that my film looks like a horror film. Honestly, I can’t believe that I’ve spent 2 years of media arts only creating horror stuff. Year 9 Term 1: Demi-God who eats souls, Term 2: Don’t Commit Suicide Video, Term 3: Diary of Jane where Jane’s a monster, Term 4: Anti-Sucide Book, Year 10 Term 1: Trapped in consciousness, Term 2: Film Noir where I die, Term 3: Twisted Red Riding Hood and Term 4: This Horror MV. I wanted to create something cute and fluffy. I’m just really salty right now.

·      How did you utilise the planning templates prior to filming;

If planning templates refers to the shot list, I aced it until I had to change my song. My shot list was descriptive, and it allowed me to know which shots I wanted and how I wanted to what second. However, I didn’t add in the lights in my shot list, which may be one of the reasons behind my red hue. I’m still really proud of myself for using the shot list in filming, because I never did this year.

I even used it for editing. I referred to my shot list every time I edited something so that I could see whether I used all my shots and to see whether I edited to the right lyrics.

The clip treatment didn’t really help me, because I already had the ideas that I wanted in my blog and mind. They were also in my shot list, so I didn’t refer to it at all.

I didn’t create a production template this time, because I only had to film at home and the outside. I only didn’t have any partners, which allowed me to film whenever and wherever I wanted.

·      Did your group make effective use of their time in class during pre-production. (Did each group member; contribute; have set tasks at all times; know their role in the group etc.)

I believe that I made an effective use of my time in class during pre-production, as I watched a lot of music videos to get inspired by. I even wrote about them in my blogs. I saw that kpop MVs edits to the 2^nd beat, rather than each and every beat, so that they can show their artists face more. There’s also of panning shot involved to make the shots more interesting and for it to relate to the flow of the song.

I also did my shot list, which came in handy for everything up until me changing the song.

·      List some steps your group could (or did) implement to improve in this area;

I put on earphones when I worked. I also tried to sit alone so that I wouldn’t get distracted. Furthermore, since I worked alone, I knew exactly what I had to do and how important it was to do it, which made me work harder on the task more. I wanted to show what I’m capable of.

During Filming and Editing:

·      How did you use storyboards, shot-lists and the production schedule during the filming making process;

I didn’t create a storyboard this time, as I never really used storyboards to create my film. They also took up too much time to create. It was also not part of the assignment task, so I just didn’t use it.

I used the shot list to know what I need to film, how I need to film it and where I need to film it. I used it to see what part of lyrics related to the shot, which made it easier for me to edit to the beat. Ultimately, my shot list acted as a checklist to keep myself in the track on what I had to get done in order to create the music video that I wanted.

My shot list would have been significantly helpful if I didn’t change the song.

I didn’t have a production schedule as I worked alone, and I didn’t need to sort out what days we were available and which places we could go. This allowed me to film whenever and wherever I wished to film, which made my filming so much easier.

·      Did your group experience any organisational issues during filming, (i.e. members who were absent or did not contribute; finding suitable times to film; forgetting shot-lists, costumes; not booking equipment etc.) How did you manage or work around these difficulties?

I didn’t work in a group. I booked an equipment and used it to its maximum potential as well. I was great working alone, except the blurry shots I couldn’t really do anything about.

·      Describe any problems or difficulties you encountered during post-production and editing. These may include; technical difficulties, corrupt or missing files, group related issues. etc;

No, I haven’t encountered any major post-production problem. The only thing was changing the song, but that wasn’t much of a problem. Once, the files came out as missing files on my final cut, but I just imported the same ones again and it just replaced it, so I was perfectly fine.

It was kind of hard that I couldn’t borrow out a computer, however, because I always forgot my mum to sign it. In the end, I just downloaded final cut, so that wouldn’t be a problem that was a deal to make out of.

·      Did your group complete all shots as detailed in your planning?

No, I couldn’t complete all shots as detailed as my planning. When I was planning, I imagined my shots to be a lot quicker than the shots that I filmed. Some 2 secs shots came out as 5, which then created this huge butterfly effect of not being able to use some files at all. However, we tried filming all the shots listed on the shot list. I ignored the ones that was impossible, after learning my lesson on Day 1 of filming.

Furthermore, like I mentioned, I had to change my song. This meant that half the shots that I had planned to suit the song, couldn’t be used, as it didn’t suit the new song. For example, I was imagining warm candle lights for my shots in the house, but Mr Andrews told me that it wouldn’t be a great idea for a horror film. This made me extremely sad, as I had already paid money for the candles that I was planning to use in my film.

I couldn’t use shots that I hadn’t included in my shot list as well. This was because I didn’t have enough time for my music video. Even if it seems as if I’m putting the TV shot and lyrics shot anywhere, I had to carefully think about how the length of those shows affects the music video. If it’s too long, it’s kind of boring, if it’s too short, there’s no point of those shots.

Discuss your individual feelings about the Music Video Task:

·      Are you satisfied with the final result?

I’m actually satisfied with the final result. I like the last bit especially, because the fading in and out turned out nicer than I thought. It also looked like an actual horror film with the water droplets on the mirror. I’m also really satisfied with the editing this time, because it’s edited to the rhythm of the beat, which then allows for it to not look weird even if there’s a sudden jump cut.  

Mr Andres also told me that the shots were one of the most stylistic shots that I’ve taken this year J

·      Would like to change any aspects of your music video or its original concept?

I would really love to do the song that I wanted to do from the start. This time, I’m going to try and get a blue colour hue instead of a red. This would then create the calmness of the night and relate to the mv that I wanted to create from the start. Furthermore, I would like to film the blurry bits again, so that my film looks more high production rather than filmed on an iphone3.

I also want to try drawing on each frame. I had the idea of drawing on people’s faces, such as big scribbles to show that everyone is meaningless. I want the music video to kind of look like the album cover of 5 seconds of summer, emo but not really.

There’s also a lot of noise in my shots because I filmed during the night. Since the area that I was working in was too large, LED lights also did not help.

I would also like to film the lip-syncing part again, because it looks as if I’m mumbling rather than shouting it, just like the song.

·      If you could start the project again what would you do differently?

I would do the filming outside differently. I say this all the time, but I never learn my lesson. Filming outside makes it hard for me to control light, which then creates noise in the background. I would also like to try filming on the school camera this time, so that I can create better films with the better features it offers.

·      Was it easier planning, filming and managing your time during this project than your first film? Why?

Yes it was, especially since I’m working alone this time. Because I’m planning by myself, I didn’t necessarily have to listen to other people’s ideas, so I didn’t have to fight about what should be in the MV. However, working on templates by myself was such a pain. I also didn’t have to film shots for each member so that they can create individual artists. This saved my filming time.

Filming was kind of harder to do with partners, because I had to be the actor and the cinematographer. Therefore, I couldn’t really check how I looked on camera.

Planning, filming and managing my time was easier this time as well because I learnt the skills to them.

·      Did your treatment accurately reflect your video or were the substantial differences between the concept and final product?

My treatment did not accurately reflect my video, as I changed my theme halfway through production. My treatment, however, should have identical ideas to my previous one.

Consider whether you undertook adequate and detailed reflection to throughout your project. Have you provided enough evidence to support your work? (Does the work on your blog/journal represent 6 weeks’ worth of work).

Yes, I think I provided enough reflection. I showed examples and I even went around taking experimental shots to see where I should film this time. Each blog post contained why I did this exact move and how I did it. I even have all my production templates, such as the shot list and the clip treatment. I also talked about every single shot that I took in my journal and I also talked about the main editings that I did.