Health and Safety

Mock exam

I booked myself onto a Mac in order to complete my A2 Mock Exam, I faced problems such as my footage not being compatible with the computer. My footage was filmed on my own camera and saved as an MPEG file, which caused problems when trying to import to Final Cut Pro. I tried to resolve this by asking my teachers and technicians about the files and why they are not compatible, however, we all struggled to understand why it wasn't working. When we finally managed to get it imported to Final Cut, it was saved as an 'mpg4' file and imported fully to Final Cut.

After that I kept receiving an error message such as the one above that Final Cut had quit unexpectedly, which hindered my progress further, also I feel that the footage from my camera was decreased in quality when it was imported onto the Mac. 

Also, the 'mpg4' file imported as a whole video that was too long for the song, I wasn't sure on how to split it up, after asking I was told about the 'blade' tool which helped me with progression, however the error message continued to appear which stopped my work from getting saved. 

I feel that I have learnt a lot from this, and after speaking to my teacher about it, I am confident that taking a camera home and re-shooting on one of the college cameras would be better for me because they are definitely compatible with the Mac's and I shouldn't continue to have the problems that I have recently become aware of. I am aware that this will give me a lot more work to do, but I think that this issue has made me more motivated to complete the video to the best of my ability and I will ensure that the extra work that needs putting in will be done and be in on time.

Black and White Guitar Shots

Both shots are similar but from different angles, I like the fact that they are in black and white as I think it adds effect and emotion to the shots. I prefer the look of the vibrating strings rather than the still strings, because I feel it creates a more accurate representation of what the moving image will resemble.

Inspiration

Acoustic Guitar Chords

Ed Drewett - Blink guitar chords

The Script and Video Ideas

 The Script also use a lot of variety within shots in music videos. They also play songs which are of the same genre as the one I have chosen which means that I can use some of these ideas within my own work to allow me to make my product look professional.

 The shot on the left is one that I have included on my storyboard because the name of the song I have chosen is Blink and the video will have at least one shot of a closed eye which will then open like the picture on the right.

 I also like the split screen used in music videos because I think it adds depth and gives the audience more imagery to take in and to enjoy. Also medium close-ups of the actor/singer would give my video a performance element to accompany my narrative.

 Effective use of black and white for slower songs adds emotion and suits the music that is behind it. Also I feel that when I watch a video in black and white it makes me think a lot more about the lyrics and also the meaning of the song.

 
Guitar shots will also be used during my filming process because instruments are an important part of many pop songs as it re-enforces the genre and again creates variation within the product.

Different characters develop the narrative in a way that makes it interesting for the audience to watch and creates continuity within a video.

Again, different uses of light will be used within my video because it shows the different looks and again, develops the narrative and could show different emotions within the song/narrative.


 Finally, I think it is important to have different shots of the main character, because the audience will make a judgement on them within the first couple of seconds, which could be changed by different uses of shots and angles.

Guitar shots

The Script often include instrument shots in their music videos, especially shots of the guitar, I think that these ideas would look good in my video, along with the narrative. I would use different angles, and different shots to create variation within my video and to keep the audience interested.

The shots that I have chosen to present on this post show different shots and angles, such as the ones that I will reiterate in my product. Different lighting could also be used, such as on the picture on the right, which would create shadows and make my product more interesting.

 Depth of field could also be used to either focus on the singers face or on the instrument itself such as the picture on the left. This could also blend well within the narrative because the narrative could lead the actor/singer to play the guitar to the song that I am creating a video for.

Different types of guitars can also feature within my video because it shows the variation and also because my song is mainly played on guitar it would also give the impression that although the song is slow and usually suits acoustic instruments, the electric can also be used.

Mood Board

I have chosen a selection of images from Google to show the different shots and scenes that I will include in my video. Each of the pictures shows a different part of the song in relation to the lyrics and the time of edits. This will help me to stick by a plan of filming in order to create continuity.

Subscription -YouTube

The YouTube page for Ed Drewett has increased subscribers over the last couple of weeks, this shows that more people are interested in his music and being involved with him as an artist. This reflects the target audience that I would need to aim my product at which helps in the planning and construction of my media product.

Audience Feedback

The target answers to the above question have given me an idea as to who to aim my product at, I believed that 16-24 would have been the most popular answer, however I included it within the questionnaire in order to receive the correct information.

I assumed that more people would like the song, rather than dislike it. This has proven correct, although a couple of people are unsure as to their opinions I feel that the song is still likeable and people will enjoy the song as well as my video.

I received more feedback from females which again, I expected. I think that females will generally enjoy songs like Ed Drewett - Blink more than males which means that this feedback is enough for me to create more ideas.

I prefer seeing an artist in a video personally so I assumed that many others would also. However I feel that other locations etc would also be involved relatively heavily within my music video.

I thought personally that black and white is good for slower, more passionate songs like the one I am using, however the target audience seem to think that colour or both would be better than just black and white.

I have in mind an idea for a narrative within my video so I am happy with the results that I received from this question this will help me to develop these ideas and possibly take them further.

For a slow song I feel that these results show me the correct correlation between the tune and the editing within the song and the music video.

Media Theory

The Fray - How to Save a Life

With regards to editing and cinematography this video gives me a brief idea on how to use these elements within my own video. This song has a similar pace and beat to the song I have chosen, and I feel that there is a similar meaning behind the lyrics. This shows me that this style of editing and cinematography will look good within my music video.  I like the use of close-ups and extreme close-ups to show the emotion within the song and the lyrics, I will think about ways in which I can apply this to my music video to relate to the lyrics and the narrative as a whole. 

Ed Drewett Youtube Page and Official Website

The official page for Ed Drewett plays 'Blink' to begin with. The website is particularly simple and shows links to social media, and the username of the artist for fans to use if they wish to.