Final Major Project EvaluationDenni Hepburn

Technical quality of final product

Using a Nikon camera abled me to capture high quality footage. With the filming being at 1080 it is able to be played in HD on YouTube, making it clearer for people to watch it. In this music video I wanted to have a lot of close ups, showing the detail in the artists face. Having a few frames that are at a medium shot keeps the video interesting. These shots show the artist playing the piano as well as singing.

The black and white effect added relates to the song, bringing the whole music video together. Having an old video look to it by adding faded scratches also does this. Using after effects abled me to add the scratches. This wasn’t a new skill gained because I have used it before. However, I did change it from how it looked the last time I used it. I made the scratches more opaque and made them move slower.

The filming was done in a small music room. This limited my choice of framing. Panning round the artist playing the piano was a good way to start the video, bringing the audience in. To capture the artist singing while playing the piano I had to hold the camera but balance it on top of the piano. This helped me frame the shot perfectly. The lying down shots shots were done in the photography studio, allowing us to use the dim lighting and have dark surrounding. For this I had to not have the camera on this floor because this would have been too low to capture the artist singing, this was a struggle to capture.

Editing the video together I wanted to add faded transitions and extended shots. This would work with the tempo of the song, giving it emotion. With the song being slow, the different angles are important to keep the video entertaining. The lyrical meaning is what makes the video interesting, therefore captuing a lot of facial expressions is important.

Production skills acquired and existing skills you have further developed

The skills needed to film my final major project were to handle a camera, to have my ideas clear to present and how to use editing software. Handling the camera wasn’t a problem. Finding ways to angle the camera was more of a challenge. I had to think on the spot of where to put the camera to capture the ideal angle and be able to control the camera from that angle. With a lot of the footage being close up, having a steady hand was needed.

Final Major Project EvaluationDenni Hepburn

I didn’t want to use a tripod because I wanted to have control of the camera.

Having my ideas were clearly presented on a stroyboard and script. Whilst filming I didn’t take them with me because the location had been changed, therefore I had to think of new frames. Using photography skills helped with doing this because I was thinking on my feet.

I have used the editing softwares, after effects and premire pro before, so this wasn’t a problem using. However, I hadn’t used it for a long time and had to get used to it again. Using new things such as fading one scene to another was easy to learn and there are a few ways to do this on premire pro.

How closely your final product matches your original intentions

Final Major Project EvaluationDenni Hepburn

The starting process to my final major project began with having it as a live performance using the song Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis. I wanted to capture the band performing and the crowd singing along. Planning the venue and making sure the band had time to get together was a struggle, so I considered changing it to mainly just the band performing. When I was running out of time to film I had to change my idea. I changed the song to Cancer by My Chemical Romance because it isn’t a long song therefore I didn’t have to re-write a long script.

I planned to use an open space room and have the artist playing the piano in there, possibly adding candles to set the scene. It was diffcult booking out the drama studio to do this, therefore I had to change my idea to a smaller location. This wasn’t that much of a problem because it was only the use of space that was the issue.

Using a smaller location didn’t have much of an impact on the look of the video. I believe that the smaller space added to the story. My original idea would have been a difficult job to do, however, what my video has ended up I’m glad the way it turned out.

Final Major Project EvaluationDenni HepburnTime management and problem solving

The pre-production was done all on time and I had plenty of time to film. I struggled keeping the time managed when it was difficult gathering the band together. The best way to solve this problem was to change my idea. Changing it to a shorter song aswell helped with getting back on track with time.

After changing the song and coming up with another video idea, I had to show this by writing up another script and drawing out a storyboard. Keeping track of what should be done to ensure it was all done on time, I wrote in a production diary. This was a good way to organise my ideas and the process of filming.

When the filming was done for my music video I was able to edit, putting me back on track with my time keeping. With the footage being simple and the song being short, the editing didn’t take long to do. Adding the

Final Major Project EvaluationDenni Hepburneffects on after effects was difficult and I wasn’t sure if it was going to set me back, however it was able to be put on YouTube the same day.

Reaching your target audience

Creating a survey on survey monkey was the best way to get clear, simple answers. I asked five relevent questions to ensure I get the best feedback. I ended the questionnaire with a question that required the person taking the survey to write out an answer. This will give them a chance to give their opinion on the video overall.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3R5R7Z9

I also created a facebook focus group. This was so I could have feedback in more detail and have a discussion about the music video. The feedback was positive with structured critisism about what they would have done differently or what could have been added.

Summary conclusion of how you would respond to your project brief if you were to do it again

With reading the feedback it has given me a few ideas of how I would have done the music video differently. With the whole process, I would have liked the chance to film my original idea because it would have been a challenge. With the finished product I would have liked to have had more still shots of the artist not singing, this would have mixed the video up. Creating a better old fashioned film look would have helped with

Final Major Project EvaluationDenni Hepburnsetting the scene. Giving the artist really dark eyes is something I would have liked to have tried to give the artist the right look for the video.

However, without making these changes I find the final product turned out well. With the artis not wearing make-up does give them the right look for the song. The storyline to the song is that it is like the artist is talking, therefore I find that most of the video being just the artist singing makes sense and helps tell the story. The close ups help show the artists emotions, making the video more believable and draws the audience in. With the location being small helps keep me in control of the lighting easier. If it was in a bigger room it would hav ebeen difficult to make it look so dark and intimidating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITEAfAb49Jc