Final Edit Evaluation

Dance With Me Tonight – Olly Murs

At the very start my tutor told us that we would be creating a music video but before this I had to complete some pre-production work including research. Part of the task was to research different music videos that I enjoyed and I found three different music videos which were Coldplay – Every Teardrop is a Waterfall, A-Ha – Take On Me and Michael Jackson – Earth Song. They are all different genres however all include at least one different style of music video which was performance, concept or narrative but some of them have a mixture of two or more of these. It took me while to understand what these styles meant and I had to watch a few different music videos to help me to understand it clearly. After this I created mind maps for each music video and included aspects about the target audience, lyrics, tempo, genre, camera techniques, editing and use of digital effects. I also created an extra mind map which had ideas for my production of a music video including things such as costumes, genre, lyrics etc. Another part of my ideas generation was creating a mood board and I chose five techniques that I could explore further in a visual way. This helped me to think of ideas that I could include in my own music video. Finally another task I had to complete was Tagxedo word piece images for the three music videos that I had chosen. I had to choose images that linked and related back to the song / artist and the music video. This task took me a while because at first some of the images didn’t work because it didn’t look how I wanted to and wasn’t clear. Therefore it took me a while to complete because I had to choose different images and find ones that worked and looked effective. I then explained a little about the images and why I had chosen them.

Next I had to choose what song I wanted to use for the script that I would be creating. The song, I chose was ‘Dance With Me Tonight – Olly Murs’. I had to write a music video proposal and treatment. The proposal was quite simple and a brief summary of my ideas. However the treatment was more complex and I had to say exactly what was happening in my music video. Before that, I was struggling with which song I would choose, however after eventually deciding I watched Olly Murs’ music video and made it into my own story. This was a challenging task because I had a lot of ideas but didn’t know if I would able to film them or not. Then I had to create my own draft script which was quite easy because I had an idea by this point however I have to learn different camera angles and think about where these would be in the script. This was difficult to start with but once I became more familiar with the camera angles, I had a better idea of where could they go.

My tutor explained that I would be working in group; I decided to work with Paige and Michael who are in my media class. We had production meeting to talk about whose script we were going to pick for our music video. However one problem we had was that we could only choose between two scripts because Michael hadn’t finished his script. We decided to pick my script because we thought it wouldn’t be too difficult to film the things that are in my script. After this Paige and Michael had to make some changes to my script so we could choose a final version. After this process we had another production meeting to choose which script we were going to use. At this point we chose Michael’s version. However Michael had to go home after this production meeting because he wasn’t well and there were a few little changes that Paige and I wanted to make therefore we did this and this resulted in our final draft of our script.

After few weeks Michael had not been in college to due to personal reasons therefore Paige and I had to quite a lot of work to complete as we were no longer able to share this between the three of us. This was frustrating as it meant we had lots of work to do that was extra. On the positive we worked well together and communicated in a professional way so we could get all our work done and not fall behind.

In order to film our music video, Paige and I had to hire a video camera and a tripod. Our music video needed lots of characters and we decided to ask our friends and family to act in our music video. The two main actors were no problem because it was me and my boyfriend but due to other commitments our friends and family we originally asked could not do it for us; therefore we had the challenge of finding different people at a very last minute. It was very stressful because we planned to film on a specific day and didn’t think we would be able to. However we managed to find two of my friends who were willing, available and live locally. We did eventually film on that day and carried on with our plans. We needed to film in different locations; we completed this for rest of the week and once watching back on the computer we realised that we need to reshoot some shots for a few different reasons which I will discuss later on. A big problem with this is that it was even more difficult because the original characters were not available quickly so we have to use our few class colleagues for one shoot. This doesn’t make the video flow properly because the original characters were missing from the shot.

The equipment was little difficult because some days we wanted to hire a video camera but there was not always one available so we had to film on different days to which we had planned which made this a lengthier process than expected. Another difficulty we found with the equipment was that on the first day of filming we hired both a video camera and a tripod but we found the tripod was difficult to move around therefore we decided to use my own tripod which I was more used to using. On another occasion when we had to reshoot, we couldn’t have the video camera we had originally used so we had to use a different video camera. This was no major issue however when watching the footage we realised it looked too dark inside. Therefore in the software (Adobe Premiere Pro) we changed the brightness and the contrast which was a new skill I learned after reshooting.

Whist filming the prom scene two characters turned up late for filming therefore it was starting to get dark when they arrived however we still filmed as did not realise this would affect the music video story and footage as much as it did. The footage looked clear on the camera so we thought it was okay but when we uploaded it on the computer it was too dark so decided to reshoot it during the daytime. It is a shame because the acting in that particular scene was brilliant and we could no longer use this clip. Therefore this is when we had to ask some of our class mates to be in the shot instead which was difficult as they were not really in the correct outfits for a prom. However we did our best with the time and people we had available.

We also had to reshoot some other scenes and one of these was the sneaking out scene, we had to reshoot that because I accidently told my friend she

could leave and I completely forgot I needed her for this part. Therefore we shot this with just me in and I put it in my rough

edit but it didn’t look right so Paige and I reshot it and this time it got my friend on it which it was much better for our music video. Another part we had to reshoot was the window scene and make up scene. They were too shaky and blurry because we didn’t use the tripod but when we reshot it and using the tripod this time it was much better than the other shot. Also we reshot the whiteboard scene

because the first shoot of the whiteboard was too dirty and we couldn’t see the writing very much so we found a different whiteboard which was very clean and did it a little bit different and we were happy with it. The singing part was good but my boyfriend had made little mistake so we decided to reshoot it and decided to do in Salford Quays and it was much better and used it on my final music video. Also we reshot the driveway, my friend and I didn’t seem very excited to see the boys and acting like they didn’t know they were there so this time as soon I opened the gate we noticed them and looked excited and happy.

To edit our music video, Paige and I have to do our own edited version of the music video. We had to import all the footage on the software called Adobe Premiere Pro and that software was then used to edit our music video and put in the right order etc. At first, I didn’t know what to do so my tutor explained to me what to do. This was a little difficult because I was only learning but after a week, I knew what to do so I got more confident every time I used it but was always still learning new techniques. For an example, the walking scene was too long and I wanted to speed it up so I asked my tutor and he showed me what to do so next time I would know how to do it. Another example was that the footage was too dark and I wanted to use brightness and the contrast. My tutor showed me to do this and this helped make my music video look better quality. When I use this software for future projects I will know what to do but if I want to use some different techniques to make it better I could always ask one of my tutors.

The rough edit evaluation, I did stick what I need to change and now the final edit music video is much better than the rough edit music video. It really helped me knowing what I needed to make changes to and sticking to what I wrote on it. A massive lesson I have learnt from this is to try and make sure everything is done before I leave the location wherever I am filming at.

Overall I am very satisfied with my final edit however I am now going to evaluate the final version in details and say the positives and the part I could improve. Some things I feel I could improve are the organisation of the characters. I think Paige and I should have arranged this much nearer the beginning and then we may not have been let down. We managed to resolve this as best as we could however now feel that the video does not fully makes sense as the characters who were in it all the way through are not in the prom scene. Also the scene where Megan is being pulled away from her dad could be improved by having all the friends in the background as they tend to just disappear and then reappear. We have learnt our lesson from this and realise that organisation is a major part of the planning for production.

I would like the teacher do more acting and make sure it is clear what is happening and I was smiling whereas I should be upset because I was sent to the classroom. Also need to protest from me and my boyfriend when sent to the classroom. This would make you understand more about the story.

I really like the classroom scene because it is funny, cheery and happy. Also it is quite natural because my boyfriend and I are comfortable with each other, so wasn’t nervous.

The singing scene, final result was good but it was a struggle to match the words exactly to the mouth movements and also even harder because I couldn’t hear properly so had to get my study support assistant to help me out. This made it a lot longer process and I needed to put more effort and concentration in.

When the boys was walking down outside is a good shot as it is the bottom half of their bodies therefore it makes you think what is going to happen and wonder where they are.

I feel I using the software by changing the shots from boys walking to building to singing and alternating them was good because I used the technique that has been used in Olly Murs’ original music video.

When the boys were walking into and out of the shopping centre I think it is slightly too long and I feel this could be shortened a little. At the lunch scene one of the characters looks straight at the camera and next time I could try and do a few different shots. However this was difficult at the time because the shopping centre was quite busy. I love the scene when the main character blow the straw tissue at the other character because I think it is very natural as it wasn’t planned.

I think the make-up scene is good however I think it is quite short so could put more make-up scene and also I think I could have done more shots when getting ready for the prom. When my boyfriend threw the stone at my window, he could take his hand out of his pocket because it makes him look tense and he should be more relaxed. The window shot is now very good and much clearer and makes sense as you can see the conversation between me and my boyfriend. The sneaking out shot makes more

sense now because last time I was on my own whereas one of the characters should have been with me and also the way it is filmed is as if someone is following them so they need to be more careful and quiet.

There are some shots in the whole music video have people’s heads chopped off so could try and improve this technique in future filming projects. Some shots are not focused or clear and some of them are slightly shaky. I will make sure I will always use a tripod no matter what and check the quality of the shots before finishing the days filming.

Another improvement I feel we could make is to take into consideration the times of the day when some shots have been done, as it is all supposed to be in daylight, however we had to reshoot some and also some shots still included darkness. This may not be noticeable for everyone else but as we have edited it scene by scene we realised that this is something to think about more carefully on any future projects.

Overall we tried to recreate the story as best as I could with the people available. I feel it has been taken a narrative approach because it tells the story from the end then goes back to the beginning and shows how the day develops and ends.