Prelim Evaluation

1)    Did you enjoy the workshop day? What were your best bits and why?

I thoroughly enjoyed the music video workshop on Friday 12th June, for various reasons. The first was the experience of a professional shoot, alongside people who had previous experience in the media industry. Being able to work with professionals, and to a shoot schedule, was really beneficial in terms of deciding whether or not we would like to continue working in this field in the future - although testing, the day was very rewarding, and I would definitely like to pursue this as a career in the future.

The second aspect I believe was genuinely beneficial was the emphasis on performance, because as media students, the technical aspect of the music video usually overrides performance, although they are both equally important in this particular form of marketing. Although some of us would have known how to dance before, being able to perform in front of a camera was definitely a new and invaluable skill that I acquired during the workshop. The performance was testing but extremely amusing and I am really excited to incorporate my new-found knowledge of performance into my own music video next year!

In hindsight however, I would've liked to have gotten involved with the cinematography side of things - I helped a little when making Jade's bow set, but I would've also liked to have helped with other sets, such as the grunge.

2)    What have you learnt from participating in each of the prelim tasks?

Analysing A Fine Frenzy’s video for Electric Twist to start with helped me to ground the conventions of a performance music video in my preferred genre (alternative/ acoustic), and gave me some initial ideas as to the sorts of iconography I would like to include in my own video.

Secondly, the audition video, as well as performance rehearsals and  highlighted the importance of performance, in a music video, as well as having fun. On the other hand, arrangements for costume also accentuated the importance of establishing character/ brand of each of the members of a band, and making them individual by giving them all personalities.

As well as being given the chance to perform on the workshop day, I also learnt about the importance of allocating roles with a team and working according to a shoot schedule- I was, for example, a dance double, and my specific job was to make sure all of Leigh-Anne’s moves were performed during filming.

The editing stage, both of the audition tape and of the workshop have made clear how intricate, and often time-consuming, sound/vision editing can be. We worked with Radial Blur and split-screens, two effects that we may consider incorporating into our own music videos next year.  

3)    Are you pleased with the footage and your edit? Is this how you expected it to look?

The footage has a really professional element to it, and I think this is largely down to allocating roles to people in the large team that was involved in the shoot- for example, we had separate groups of people working on lighting, camera, set design and choreography, and together, we managed to produce footage that was of a very high standard. I am also pleased with our final edit- as per the brief, it reflects the original music video for 'Wings', but where we did not have appropriate footage that could be used in the final edit, we used other shots and therefore added some originality to the final cut. For example, if the band members were not lipsynching during a particular shot, we added shots of the dance crew instead.

4)    How do you think your prelim experiences will impact on your approach to next term’s music video coursework?

Firstly, through the various prelim tasks, I have realised the importance of pre-production and planning for the music video task. Not only will the cinematography and lighting in every shot and set up have to be planned to perfection, but sets and costumes will also need to be ready prior to the shoot, and the performers should have been regularly rehearsing, so that they feel comfortable on the day.

Another aspect of the prelims we will be sure to remember is the importance of performance in the music video. On the Little Mix shoot, Iwas a dance double for Anjana, who played Leigh-Anne,- my task was both to motivate her and teach her the specific dance moves, which helped us achieve all the necessary footage. Therefore, whilst there will be people focusing on the technical aspects, such as camera and lighting, I would like to also have group members working with the performers, on choreography and lip synching. Also, Anjana and I made sure we managed our time between us, so that I was on set with her when she needed me, and could do my own hair and make-up in between.

Finally, on shoot days that can often be fairly long and tiring, the importance of a shoot schedule is paramount, as it will help the team to stay motivated and organised, as well as everybody remaining on task and being able to communicate effectively.  

Here is our final video- hope you enjoy it!