Editing

Because our test footage was done quickly, in order for us to practice certain techniques and visualize complicated shots, we decided not to re-film certain shots too many times. Therefore, we relied quite heavily on the addition of filters and other editing features to better the final product.  In our actual footage we intend to take as much time and care needed to perfect the shots so that any editing added will just enhance our already professional-looking footage. It was useful however, to practice with final cut pro so that editing will be easier in the future.

One technique we needed to practice was the dolly zoom, as neither of us had much experience with it. It took us several attempts to get used to but because we were treading on uneven ground our end results were still rather shaky.  We attempted to correct this with the editing option "Stabilization" (seen here in this picture), unfortunately as the correction stabilizes by zooming in, it did not smooth the footage over.  However, the close proximity of the shot created by this and the dramatic shudders that had been enhanced, seemed to fit with the music and we decide to keep it in the final product.

We had always planned to add filters to this 'overdosing' scene to exaggerate the character's loss of control and her apparent hallucinations. However, we were unsure as to what filters would look best. We originally planned to have flickering lights and colour changes but decided this may look too over-the-top. We settled for the filters 'Prism' and 'Blur' which emulated heightened senses and showed her loss of reality and we will probably use the same filters in our final video, maybe with another addition to really enhance the scene. The risk of this however, is focusing on one scene too much and not adding enough effects to the others.

This shot came out a different, darker colour than the others from the same sequence even though they were shot in identical lighting.  This may have been due to the different position of the camera or due to a shadow being cast over the lens.  Fortunately we were able to easily correct the shot by adding the filter "heat", which matched the lighting exactly from the shots following before and after.  If, in our final footage we encounter a similar problem, we will not need to worry too much about slight changes in lighting as we know we will be able to easily correct them, even if we have to edit filters slighting (by using the slider bars on the right to change the extremity)

Digipak Research

digipak

ˈdɪdʒɪpak/

noun

trademark

1. A type of packaging for CDs or DVDs, typically made from cardboard with an internal plastic holder for one or more discs.

We will be recreating a digipak for Beartooth's album "Disgusting". When trying to gain inspiration we did a quick google search of the synonyms of disgusting, trying to see what we picture with each word.

When this did not help us enough we sent a survey around trying to see what other people were expecting, these were the results:

Target Audience

We knew we wanted to aim our video at young adults, as we believed this genre of music would suit this audience better.  However. we were unsure of what else we needed to know about our audience in order to ensure our video was better tailored to suit them. Therefore, we sent a survey around to a mixture of ages to see who everyone else believed we should be targeting to.

Our first question was just to see if everyone agreed with our original target audience, as we expected the majority of people chose the young adult age range. Although, probably due to violent nature of our video some did choose the older age bracket but we will continue to aim our video at young adults as this had the most backing.

This was included out of curiosity, we aimed to target our video at all genders but we wondered if people did believe one gender would be more interested.  Surprisingly, we had a 50/50 result which means we will not need to cater more to one gender, meaning we will not need to include more voyeuristic elements for a male gaze etc,

We wanted to know more about our audience and we decided if we knew about their hobbies we would be able to reference these within our video.  Strangely, our results were very generic with answers such as skateboarding, music listening and clubbing being repeated by almost everyone. This is useful for us as it can be implied by the age of our actors that they do this in their spare time without us having to directly reference them.  

Conventionally, rock music is believed to be aimed at people of a middle/lower demographic so I was surprised to see the majority of people chose the middle demographic as our target audience, However, I believe this could be due to the blurring of demographic lines so that people are less sure of the distinctions between them.  Although we do not intend to aim our video at the higher demographic, we will have our main characters portrayed as wealthy, to show that anyone can have domestic problems and that money and wealth does not always solve everything.

This is not overly important for our research but it was interesting to find out what everyone believed our audience would be like. The majority of votes was that our audience would have at least A levels and GCSE's but there were almost equal results for everything, suggesting that higher education is now a social norm.

Risk Assessment

The most significant risks in our music video include:

• The "fall scene"                                                                                                                           In this shot, our actress falls to floor as if she has tripped whilst running. This could obviously be problematic and potentially cause a small injury. Unfortunately, there is little we can do to avoid this.  We will make sure that the place where our actress will fall will have no sharp objects or obstructions in the way so that her landing is as soft as possible and have her fall in a brace position. We will also make sure we shoot this scene in very few attempts so she will not have to create further risk for herself.

• Sparkler Scene                                                                                                                                We have two scenes where we will be featuring the use of sparklers, which will be filmed in one go.  This obviously means we will have the usual risks involved with handling the sparklers plus having them near to the filming equipment.  Fortunately, the shots we need do not have to be very long and will not be difficult to film, so the risks will be minimum and we will control these risks by keeping the sparkler from a safe distance from both the equipment and actress.

• Strangling Scene                                                                                                                             In this scene our actress will need to appear like she's being strangled, which we will want to look realistic but we do not want any harm to come to our actress. We will film this by having our main male character have his hands relaxed around the back of her neck but tense at the front, so that it appears a lot of physical effort is going into the act when no harm is actually being done to the actress. We also cast our actors knowing that they would have to do this scene and were fortunate to find two people who were close enough not to feel uncomfortable filming this scene, so that they would not be affected emotionally, 

• Smashing a frame                                                                                                                           This scene involves throwing a picture frame at a wall.  The glass in this will need to appear to have smashed on contact to be realistic but this could result in glass shards falling around the bedroom setting, potentially causing our actors to tread on glass in later scenes and causing cuts on their feet etc.  One way to avoid this would be to take the glass out of the frame when it is thrown so it can not smash, and then carefully smash the glass afterwards in a way that be contained and easily cleaned up.  

Types of Music Video

There are three types of music videos; Performance, Abstract and Narrative and elements of all three can be used in one video depending on underlying themes and conveyed meanings.

Performance 

A performance music video consists entirely of the artist and/or band playing and performing their track. This may enable viewers to feel as if they are watching a live performance and helps establish star image as a 'look' is kept consistent throughout. Performance videos will usually contain abstract or narrative elements to add slightly more interest to a video as seen in the Paramore crushcruchcrush music video (below).

Abstract 

These music videos often have little or no story line and can be confusing to watch due to the little visual and lyrical connection. An abstract video can convey a certain message through images and themes in a rather convoluted way but can also just be a strange mix of random images to confuse viewers.  This can also either create a lighthearted theme or darker meaning, depending on whether a certain message is supposed to be conveyed. In Panic! At The Disco's music video 'Nine in the Afternoon', (Below) performance elements are included but an overall abstract theme is created by unconventional mise-en-scene choices.  There is also no conceivable message and is thus portrayed as playful entertainment.

Narrative 

These music videos portray a story line which is often related closely to the lyrics of the song. It easy to understand as it progresses and can create a connection between the videos characters and its viewers.  The narrative detailed does not always have to be an exact visual of the songs meaning but if a video does not want to become too abstract it often will be. The following video is an interesting narrative because the album it is a part of, has a music video for every song which depicts one larger narrative.  To understand what is happening it is easier to watch all the videos at once but the viewers can still follow the individual plot even if it does appear more abstract.

Performance Location

This thin alley way is similar to the bridleway where we will see our female character run through, keeping a continuous theme throughout.  We will use the brick wall as a backdrop for our performer,so that the main focus will be on him and so that our shots will not look cluttered.

The small space could make it hard for us to set up equipment and use it if we wish for our performer to have enough room to move around, but we believe the close proximity will heighten the entrapment our main character is feeling. We will also be able to use long shots of the performer walking down the alleyway which will show him filling up space and add to his star image as he dominates the location around him.  Another issue we may face however, is getting in the way of the public.  As it is a public space we will not be able to stop people from using it and both parties could get in each others way, on the other hand the alleyway is not used too often and as we will likely be filming later in the day there is likely to be less people walking about.

Pitch

Whilst presenting our pitch, we mentioned our main inspirations and our initial ideas.  We also described the changes we are making to these ideas, in order to move towards a more abstract concept and away from what could have been an amateur narrative . Since then we have also decided on a location for our performance, in a small alley way against a brick wall, which we believe will fit in well with our other settings.