LO4: Evaluation

Evaluation

Over the past few months me, and my group have been working together and apart to create four versions of audio visual production of our client’s Music video of their song “Perspective”. This being the last song in their debut album. This band is a local band from Sheffield. There are a relatively new band who play music that is considered in the alternative rock genre. This means this targets people of a young age and people who listen to this style of music regularly. Because this is a song on their debut album we believe that because this is their first then a music video will help promote the band. This being done by being posted on social media on websites such as YouTube.

Originally in our initial planning we made mind maps and moodboards with location ideas that are local to the band. We had chosen two locations after deciding among ourselves that one location like Ski Village and the Cholera Monument. We chose these two through us going to these places ourselves and deciding if they appropriate.  However due to transport issues the band were unable to come to these locations with their equipment. With constant cancellations we failed to arrange a filming day. Through this disappointment we had to think of other alternatives. After brainstorming we decided to use existing footage of the band performing at Café Totem that I took myself as they wanted me to on the day. Also we used 17-19 year old actors that were friends of mine to represent the narrative of the song. We used these actors 3 times to get a variety of shots. In the future we will make sure will get footage of the band and use footage of them singing the right song. Also main shots of the main singer as this connotes he is the main act of the band.

Based on the location difficulties that our group faced we had to use locations that were not planned initially. Most of the locations were the first time any of the group apart from myself had been to that location. This slightly unorganised way of filming the video can connote the spontaneous style that the actors portray in the music video. This further connoting the unorganised life of young people today and how music can influence them to be who they are. The music reflecting what adventures young people get up to. The footage filmed at café Totem connotes the alternative rock genre of the band, this through their clothing and their instruments, this denoting the band playing music. This overall appealing to the target audience as they would like to play instruments and go to gigs. In the treatment, we listed instruments such as guitars, amps and parts of the drum kit as part of our props/equipment list. In the end, through the fact that there was complications with band not being able to bring their equipment the already taken footage acted as the scene we wanted for the video. The footage shows the band playing with their instruments, this connoting the genre of music that the band are representing. The use of props following the codes and conventions of a music video.

A theory that links with my version of the music video is the Andrew Goodwin theory that implies that there is a “Relationship between the lyrics and the visuals.” This is apparent at 1.58 in my music video where there is a chorus in the song and the main singer is singing it to the crowd.  Another example would be at 2.46 where the 2 actors are sat pointing at something. This can link with the lyrics “We sat looking at the trainline.” The fact that they were sat could link to this lyric as it involves two people sat together. This could connote the activities that people who like this genre music do in their spare time. The next lyric that can link with this theory is the lyric, ’Poured it down the sink, I think; I don’t know: I’m not sure’ which connotes confusion. This confusion is also reflected by the characters in the scene as their acting gestures show uncertainty, scepticism and doubt. This can relate to the target audience as it can link to the topic of underage drinking, this being a main hobby for my demographic.

One of the representation theories implies that there has to be a shared recognition of places which the audience can identify. I have tried to apply this theory throughout the music video by including scenes that are typical for the Sheffield region. This is why there are multiple shots of stannington as that is a known place in Sheffield. Also Café Totem. People will recognise this because it is formally a restaurant that have music aswell. The multiple angles will help with this theory aswell making the location clear.

We have used symbolic techniques such as acting gestures to reflect the target audience and they can identify themselves with the characters in the music video. Throughout, the video denotes footage of friends spending time together in front of a campfire.

At the end of my music video there is a section of my video where my video becomes slightly demonic as the music changes into a negative and slightly rough fashion. I thought to match this there is cross cutting of fire and people with a slight red tint. The redness connoting danger. I believe this creates a contrast between the light bright shots to the red danger shots. This connoting the dark sides of young people. This creates an opposition between the colours. This can link to the title of the song as it is called “Perspective” This technique I am using can be seen as different perspectives of young people perhaps from older people. This including the young stereotype that they are dangerous. During the introduction of the music video, I used the Graphic tool to add text. The text denotes “Squarewave -Perspective” which makes clear what the name of the band and title is. This is also a common convention used in music videos whereas the name of the band I denoted before the name of the song is. At the start of the music video I used real time audio of the band performing. This connoting them finishing a song and starting a new one. The new one being the song “Perspective” This immersing the viewer into the song as one of the crowd members. I adjusted the audio levels in order to do this. I increased the highs to make the persons voice that says “Let’s go” This connoting the start of the song, this preparing the viewer.

This was a group production meaning we developed ideas, planned the shots and filmed the footage together. During the production we gave the job roles individually depending on our skills, for example, Maisy is very good at organising which is why she was responsible for the weekly meetings and production schedules. I was the one who knows the actors and the band, making him responsible for evidence of contacting clients. Kay has had the most experience in regards to filming making her the main cameraperson. Brad and Mady were responsible for presenting ideas from our meetings in form of mind maps and story boards. I also anticipated in the filming at Stannington woods with Kay and myself for which Mady used the second camera. On that day of filming all 3 of us were directing the actors in order to get the shots we wanted. After filming we all distributed the footage around all of us. However after we filmed the footage, we decided to edit individually and therefore we have four different versions of the music video. In order to increase the popularity of the music video, we uploaded the final versions on YouTube to allow our audience to share the contents with their friends and family and encourage interactivity through Social Media. All these edits all uploaded on the James Pryke YouTube channel.

LO4: Final Promo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2gEfmcAoYI

LO4: Audio Levels

For adjustment to my audio levels I have increased the audio by using audio panel at the top that brings into the main panel of the audio editing.

 I changed the audio 4 and increased by a slight amount to make the crowd louder to show the viewer it is the beginning of a song as this audio is of them preparing for another song. This audio beginning the story of the music video

The audio effect I used is the was a fading transition I found in the effect category. With that I dragged it onto the place I wanted it and extended it to how long I wanted it to be, I did this to create a smooth start to the start of the song. People may interpret this transition from one song to another. This transition links with the cut between the first scene and the behind scene. 

LO4: Feedback

Using Survey Monkey, our group set up a Questionnaire for my music video. I included open ended questions and ranking to help me identify strengths and improvements of the music video.

Strengths:

• My editing cuts in time the music
• My cuts just before the drop in the music
• Have a good variety of scenes
• the demonic sequence, the performing sequence

Improvements:

• the quality of the video
• The size of the video is in portrait mode
• Some parts are not in sync

LO4: Drafts

LO4: Evidence Of Editing

 I used the slice tool and the cropping tool to inset a Clip into the desired space. To help me with this I  have used the left side panel to find the section of that certain clip that I wanted. I later dragged this clip into the sequence.

 Whilst in the sequence I crop it to fit the required space. I zoomed in the sequence to match the cut clip with the certain part of audio that fits well. On the left you can see the folder that were  imported. Due to us using multiple cameras there were footage on multiple SD cards so they were a lot of footage to work with and to move about. In the AVCHD files they were multiple videos of what we had got from the two filming sessions.

I sped up some of my clips a bit to match the tempo of the audio. I made sure that they were not to fast as it would look unnatural. I made the speed of some clips the same if the tempo of the video changed. This was done with the duration tab.

 I edited the song tittle graphics for the bands name and the title of the song just after the band name, I did this by finding a section in the clip that can fit the transition of the clip. I used the audio effect to to this. This unlinked footage this section

 I unlinked the footage to their audio using the unlink panel. I used a variety of different clips matching the beat. I could tell this by the sound graphic that is shown within the panel. Using the slice tool I cut up the clips and trimmed them o fit the beat. this is important as their are many drops, this meaning that the

I used the graphics panel to create the title of the song and the bands name.  used the text tool to add the name of the band as well as the name of the song. I then edited this to  change the font, colour and size of the text. I had added this so the audience know the name of the song and know who it is by. I had used the colours of yellow and black as they worked well. I used the Philophate font as in my opinion it looked better as it can be seen on posts for bands of that genre.
After my main version corrupted I had to use exported content let my work be editable. I used the zooming in tool to sync the lyrics to the beat. I need to zoom in to the audio as it is important for the multiple drops in the song.

When exporting the files, I had to ensure the video was rendered before exporting. This is a screenshot of the screen when exporting the video. I had changed the formatting settings to H.264 so it can be published on Youtube. This is because the file type is high quality. This is because the file is lossless.

LO4: Offline Edit

This is a screenshot of the Offline edit in Adobe Premiere. At this point I have not applied any Special/Visual Effects and the footage is raw. This shows all my sequences together all linked with the audio

This are little offline previews i have got from rendering my video. These all little clips from the music video. All with real time audio and footage.

LO4: Footage Log

LO3: Following Codes And Conventions

My music video follows codes and conventions of other rock, alternative and indie music videos. Even though Squarewave is a local band, I have also looked at bands with a bigger audience i.e. The Hunna who have established a wider fan base in Europe and the UK.

In my music video I had included a part of footage of a small bonfire that was filmed in Beeley Woods. Including fire or things on fire seems to be a common convention in alternative rock music video as it is in the music video of You & me as well. The fire represent rebellious behaviour showing a common target that alternative rock music video wants to show. The use of fire connotes danger and loudness. The sense of danger is also amplified but the warning and danger signs throughout the video. 

These are screen shots from my music video and from the music video You & me by The Hunna. I have put these two screen shots together because they both have similar shots/ showing a similar convention in alternative rock music videos. In my music video I have used this behind shot of the band members and the crowd. The shot shows the guitarist/ singer performing. I had chosen this shot because it followed the idea of have a close up of the instruments being played. In the other music video they have used a medium close up shot from the back of the guitarist while they are playing their instrument, with this shot they are showing parts of the crowd as well.This shows that my music video is following the conventions of an alternative rock music video because I have included a shot showing one of the members playing an instrument. The mise-en-scene convention of gestures is followed by them playing their instruments. Having the iconography of them performing on stage  is giving the audience a first hand glance at the band performing. the atmosphere of the crowd shots shows everyone is enjoying themselves. 

In these screen shots it clearly shows a group of people messing around in a wooded area. In my music video I have included a part of footage that was taken at night of a group of actors messing around in a wooded area. The shot was a medium close up of the group of actors so what they were doing could be clearly seen. In the screen shot from the other music video they included a medium long shot of the band messing about in a wooded area. This shows its a common convention and shows another act of rebellion. The mise-en-scene convention of costumes in this part of the video is followed. The dark and black clothing creates a darker atmosphere and to select the rock genre of the music video. Them having their hoods up in some parts of the video creates mystery and that they are trying to hide away making them relatable to the late teenage audiences. 

LO3: Planning Matching Production

Multiple shots were taken like this in the location that is on the shot plan. we had planned this story board to be a group shot of the actors and this shot was defiantly achieved within a lot of shots we got. The costumes we had planned on out mind map was followed within these three actors, with the edgy casual clothing. We used equipment like a tripod to get a stable shot.

We had got footage of them performing with an audience. We got two different shots of them performing, I got them from the back capturing the crowd and then from the front, where the guitarist was the in the frame the most. These shots were similar to the story board by having them playing their instruments and having a close up of the guitarist in the shots from the front. However, it is different in the aspect that we didn't capture all of the instruments in a close up shot like we had planned. This part of the video links to out initial ideas from the mind map and location mind map. It includes a crowd shot and is shot in Cafe Totem. It gives a edgy vibe to the video. In the shot from the front it does focus on the lead singer following out initial ideas and us following other Alternative rock music videos. However, we didn't get a close up of all of the instruments.

As part of Lo2, we discussed legal and ethical constraints we have to consider in this production.  However there is a ethical constraints we did not meet and something we want to avoid in future projects. Due to a lack of high quality and suitable footage, some of us include scenes of the actors holding alcoholic drinks in their hands. This is a ethical constraint we did not meet and something we want to avoid in future projects. Even though this is not a legal issue because the actors were over the age of 18 and therefore the consumption of alcohol is legal, some people might consider this is morally wrong as it could have a negative impact onto the young age groups of our target audience. Furthermore we used footage that denotes open fire in public places which is a potential danger as it might become out of control. Through verbal communication, the land owner knew that we wanted to start a fire and gave us permission. The land owner knew myself would be on the land as we have been there before. Again, this might have a negative influence onto our audience because if open fire become un controlled, people and the environment can get seriously harmed (physically and psychologically) This is why we briefed the people involved to take care with fire to stop any legal action to be taken against us.

In my music video there is footage of the 3 models sitting on a bench talking to each other and looking out into the distant. This is similar to what we drew in out storyboard. However the models are not the band and the location is different. However in my opinion it is the same as the connotations are similar as they show youth and what they do.

LO3: Setting up Production materials

The equipment we had used were multiple 4K camera and tripods. We used the 4K cameras to ensure that we had high quality equipment to get the high definition for our video. We didn't use a microphone because we are using the MP3 version of their song so we can just edit the video with the song. When setting up the equipment we changed the height of the tripod to ensure we could see and that we could film someone. We did also try out the drone because we were going to get a the city skyline to be added into the video but after testing with it we decided it wasn't the best idea to follow on with this idea. We followed our risk assessment plan and ensured the equipment would be safe in all locations we were going to film in. This was crucial because of us filming outdoors we had to ensure the ground was safe to put the equipment on and that the cameras world be safe aswell. 

LO2: Call Sheet for production

LO2: Reece Sheet