For our A2 media studies coursework, we had to produce a practice music video before we could film our final music video. The song my group and I were assigned with was ‘Little Drop Of Poison’ by Tom Waits. This involved us carrying out the pre-production, production and post-production.
We used digital technology throughout all the stages of the construction of our music video. Firstly, we looked at previous music videos that were available on the internet, to find out what the typical conventions, so we knew what to include in our video. For the production of our music video, we used a digital camera, which allowed us to have higher quality shots. This enabled us to film a variety of shots from different angles, whilst maintaining them to look professional. The use of digital technology was very important when editing our footage. We uploaded our footage onto the computer and used iMovie software to do the editing. We had to cut each clip, to ensure we had continuity editing and the sequence was fluid. It was also important that we cut the clips in time to the beat of the song, which was a little difficult, but the technology made it easier. The use of digital technology meant we were able to add effects to our video. We added a film grain effect, to make our music video look authentic and to empathise the old sounding style of the song.
Before we could begin filming, we had to plan our shots with a storyboard. We started to brainstorm ideas of what to include in our video. We decided to include a narrative, rather than a performance; so we came up with the idea of an arrogant boss and his assistant. My group and I then storyboarded our shots, so we knew what exact we were filming, including shots, angles, mise-en-scéne and characters.
The pre-production of our music video, involved us researching the typical codes and conventions of music videos. From our research we found that they often include a narrative, performance, artist, props and are cut to the beat. This helped us know what to use in our video. To further our research, we planned to watch music videos that were of a similar genre to our song. However, we couldn’t find any, which made it difficult for us, as we had no conventions to follow. Nevertheless, the genre of the song was a huge help for our production, because it gave us a scope to work around.
After the completion of our music video, showed it to our audience, and received feedback from them. The main strengths were the variety of shots and angles we used, as it successfully conveyed the relationship between the two characters. The audience also stated that we use continuity editing, and they could identify the narrative of our music video. However, our production did have weaknesses, for example, the use of props. At one point in our video the cup of coffee was empty when it wasn’t suppose to be, and we used a jug instead of a kettle, which were both very noticeable. My group and I also agreed that we should have used a few more shots in our video to give variety, especially the scene when the poison is put into the drink, as it would have emthasied the significance of the it.
Louise Welch
Friday, 23 July 2010
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Evaluation Questions
1) Identity the task as well as the song and artist.
For our A2 practice task we had to plan, film and edit a music video for a song from a small selection, we were not given the chance to chose the song we selected the song by picking a number at random. Our song was called ‘A little drop of poison’ by Tom Waits which is a slow paced old style noir song.
2)How have you used digital technology during the construction of your video?
Digital technology has been a huge help during the construction of our music video, we filmed the video using a digital camera which allowed us to film high quality shots and upload them easily to the computer. We relied heavily on digital technology during the editing stage of our production, we used iMovie rather than iMovie HD because we found it easier to use when editing our first production at AS. The editing software allowed us to add various effects, we added the sepia and film grain effects as we thought these would work effectively alongside our song. In addition it allowed us to constantly change the length of the clips in order to ensure that they changed in time with the beat of the song which is vital in all effective music videos.
3)Discuss the planning stages of your production and the steps that you went through.
Our music video required a lengthy planning process before we could start filming, firstly as a group we came up with four different ideas. We simply all agreed on one of the ideas, this was the storyline about a business man and his assistant who gets her revenge. Before we started to storyboard each shot we deconstructed the song into verses and choruses and analysed and went through the lyrics deciding on which parts of the song we would use. We then drew up our storyboards, focusing on each individual shot stating the length, angle and type of shot of each. After this we decided on props, location and costumes that would be necessary for the production.
4)How did your research into music videos contribute to the development of your own production?
My group did not actually do any research into other music videos, although we did try to find other videos for our song we could not find any. There is not a video for our song, so research helped very little in the development of our production.
5)What did you think are the main strengths/ weaknesses of your production consider your audience feedback.
After filming and editing our video we showed an audience who gave us some feedback on our production. The main strengths of our production was the narrative, it conveyed the story well to the audience and the obvious bond between the two characters. We were also compliment of acting and the variety of different shots that we used, as we filmed from various different angles. However our audience states that there was a lack of continuity for example the full up cup of coffee is empty when Gemma places it on the table, it is then full up again when Dan picks it up. We should have also thought more about the props we needed as these where also criticized, for example we used a water jug because we did not have a kettle the audience stated it seemed unrealistic and would have been so much better if we had used a kettle. Finally our audience stated that the lyrics at the end were a bit random and did not really fit in with the rest of the video, which I agree with. We did this because we run our of footage. Looking back I think we could have added a few extra shots at the beginning and placed more emphasis on the bottle of poison, for example using some close-up shots of the bottle to shows its significance within the video.
By Rebecca Gomes
For our A2 practice task we had to plan, film and edit a music video for a song from a small selection, we were not given the chance to chose the song we selected the song by picking a number at random. Our song was called ‘A little drop of poison’ by Tom Waits which is a slow paced old style noir song.
2)How have you used digital technology during the construction of your video?
Digital technology has been a huge help during the construction of our music video, we filmed the video using a digital camera which allowed us to film high quality shots and upload them easily to the computer. We relied heavily on digital technology during the editing stage of our production, we used iMovie rather than iMovie HD because we found it easier to use when editing our first production at AS. The editing software allowed us to add various effects, we added the sepia and film grain effects as we thought these would work effectively alongside our song. In addition it allowed us to constantly change the length of the clips in order to ensure that they changed in time with the beat of the song which is vital in all effective music videos.
3)Discuss the planning stages of your production and the steps that you went through.
Our music video required a lengthy planning process before we could start filming, firstly as a group we came up with four different ideas. We simply all agreed on one of the ideas, this was the storyline about a business man and his assistant who gets her revenge. Before we started to storyboard each shot we deconstructed the song into verses and choruses and analysed and went through the lyrics deciding on which parts of the song we would use. We then drew up our storyboards, focusing on each individual shot stating the length, angle and type of shot of each. After this we decided on props, location and costumes that would be necessary for the production.
4)How did your research into music videos contribute to the development of your own production?
My group did not actually do any research into other music videos, although we did try to find other videos for our song we could not find any. There is not a video for our song, so research helped very little in the development of our production.
5)What did you think are the main strengths/ weaknesses of your production consider your audience feedback.
After filming and editing our video we showed an audience who gave us some feedback on our production. The main strengths of our production was the narrative, it conveyed the story well to the audience and the obvious bond between the two characters. We were also compliment of acting and the variety of different shots that we used, as we filmed from various different angles. However our audience states that there was a lack of continuity for example the full up cup of coffee is empty when Gemma places it on the table, it is then full up again when Dan picks it up. We should have also thought more about the props we needed as these where also criticized, for example we used a water jug because we did not have a kettle the audience stated it seemed unrealistic and would have been so much better if we had used a kettle. Finally our audience stated that the lyrics at the end were a bit random and did not really fit in with the rest of the video, which I agree with. We did this because we run our of footage. Looking back I think we could have added a few extra shots at the beginning and placed more emphasis on the bottle of poison, for example using some close-up shots of the bottle to shows its significance within the video.
By Rebecca Gomes
Evaluation Questions
We were asked to plan, film and edit a music video, based upon a song given to us. The song we were given was called "Little Drop Of Poison" by Tom Waits, a very slow paced and noir soundtrack, suited better to a broadway musical than a music video. Digital technology was a huge help in the production, during both filming and editing. The filming was recorded in digital format, which allowed higher quality shots that could easily be uploaded to the computer. The technology was vital for editing, allowing us to add effects that would otherwise be unattainable (for example adding the sepia and film grain filters). It also let us manipulate the clips in a non-destructive manner, ensuring that we could constantly change the length of each shot without risking ruination of the whole video. To plan the film we first wrote up a list of ideas for narratives which the video could take, referring to the internet for ideas from other music videos. After deciding on the story line of an unsavory businessman and his downtrodden assistant (who gets her revenge) we began to draw up storyboards for each shot, and amalgamated a list of props that would be necessary for the production. Research contributed very little to the video because we could not locate a similar style music video to our allocated song. The main strengths of our finished production was the well conveyed story line and efficient effects for setting the mood. We were also complimented on acting, and the suitability of angles. The weaknesses were its lack of continuity, for example the very patchy state of the coffee (present in some shots but not others). Props were also criticized, with the water being unrealistically poured from a jug instead of a kettle. Our audience also commented that the lyrics which were stitched on the end in an awkward fashion did not fit in with the rest of the film, and that more emphasis should have been placed on the bottle of poison (to express its significance in the plot.
By Daniel Barrell
By Daniel Barrell
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