Prelim Edit

Audition Video

Personal Achievement

There are a number of skills and experiences I can take, and already have taken, from this preliminary exercise, that will allow me to excel over the A2 media course and possibly further.

One of which is shooting a completely new type of film: music video. This is something new and hugely different from the films I have made previous to this project due to the lack of true continuity, the stylised acting and the chopping and changing of various scenes.

I have also learnt how to lip sync, a vital skill that is needed for this project and music videos in general.

Furthermore, I am experiencing life on a real life, professional media shoot, which involves a huge cast and crew, strict timings, auditions and many rehearsals.

This has, so far, been a challenge for me as I am not used to acting in front of camera and one of the hardest obstacles for me to overcome was the audition video. However, the process is becoming more and more natural.

My Role

I have been given the role of the guitarist in the pool scene, as shown in the video below (on the far left). I am happy with this role as it lacks the responsibility of the main role but is still important for the video.

As you can see my main role is to play the guitar while sitting on the sun bed.

Having previously played the guitar I feel that this is within my comfort zone.

My Costume

As shown above my costume consists of a black t shirt or long sleeve t shirt, black skinny jeans and dark coloured Dr Martens (or similar) boots.

I have all of the above items of clothing apart from the boots which I will need to borrow.

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

I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop day in which we shot the video for a number of reasons.

One thing I enjoyed was the opportunity that I had to involve myself in, and learn about, every aspect of a video shoot through spending time with the crew in charge of lighting, playback and hair and makeup. This was all combined with the presence of a professional director throughout the day. These factors gave me a real experience of what goes on during a real music video shoot.

I also enjoyed the freedom we were given when not in the scenes being shot. This made the whole experience feel much less of an in-school lesson type activity and more like a real shoot. This also gave us the opportunity, as mentioned above, to explore and learn about the various sections that go on behind the scenes, as a lot of my free time was spent observing lighting up in the gallery.

Relaxing during free time

Lighting in the gallery

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

Audition Video

My audition video taught me a number of skills that i took to the actual video.

One skill was the confidence to perform in front of a camera without feeling embarrassed. This allowed me to give my all when performing during rehearsals and on the shoot day.

I also learnt how to lipsync, however, this skill was not needed for my specific role in the video but will be taken into next year.

Costume

Costume planning was a much more difficult and thought out process that I originally assumed it would be. I understand that it is necessary, not only to replicate the costume to that of the character in the real video, but also find a costume flattering and personal to the actor in order for them to feel comfortable on set but also be able to get into character and maximise the performance given.

It is also necessary to have a range of options on set so the actors can decide what is best for them. 

Furthermore, the act of gathering these costumes is also important, costumes will often be brought in or bought for the shoot but often actors will have to bring in or borrow costumes from anywhere they can. Below is Adam Hann, alongside my own recreation of his costume.

Rehearsals

Practice with the choreographer

The rehearsals allowed me to get a preview of the way in which the shoot would be run, as well as allowing me to perfect my roles on set. This meant that on the shoot day I was able to get into character more quickly, giving the right level of performance. This was also helped by the fact that I had confidence that what I was doing was correct as this had been confirmed during rehearsals.

Shoot

I gained a huge amount of indispensable information on the shoot day itself.

Firstly I learnt about the general running and organisation of a professional music video shoot, especially regarding working with a director. It was serious in that everybody was focused on carrying out their specific roles throughout the day, as well as strictly ensuring they were on time, however the manner in which these roles were carried out was casual and fun, allowing actors to feel comfortable and free in their roles.

Furthermore, I learnt about the various roles that crew have on set, such as lighting, playback, hair & makeup and choreography. This allowed me to understand how cast and crew work together throughout the shoot day.

Performance

The experience I gained while performing on the shoot day was also extremely important. Firstly I learnt how to act for a camera, as opposed to on stage as I have done in small part in the past. The style of acting is different and more natural but a skill that needed to be learnt.

I also learnt how to quickly get into character and give the right level of energy. For example, with my character I had to act as though I did not want to be on the set, providing little energy, while actually giving a lot.

Edit

The first thing i had to do, and the first thing I learnt when editing was matching up the lipsync with the track ensuring the timing was not off and therefore maximising the authenticity and professionalism of the video.

I also learnt how to grade in order to create bolder colours and more natural skin tones. For example, I used grading to enhance the bright, primary colours in the pool scenes. I also made the lead actor, Kayvon, less orange throughout the video, as he appeared this way due to the makeup and camera.

Kayvon's scenes aftergrading

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

The director watching the playback

Upon reviewing the captured footage, I found that it was of a much higher level than I had originally expected, in terms of the quality of the footage itself, but also how similar it was to the original music video. This meant that our video remake looked professional.


there were, however some factors that did not allow us to recreate the video exactly, we therefore had to overcome these.

Firstly, for transportation reasons, we could not use a car as it was not possible to fit a large car into the studio used. Therefore a Vespa scooter was used instead and the shots were adjusted accordingly.

We recreated the car crash using a Vespa scooter

Also, again due to the size of the studio, in the zebra crossing, scenes we were unable to recreate the depth of field in the original video, meaning that we had a more crowded, shallower scene.

A much shallower shot was created

As mentioned in my previous post, I am happy with my edit. I graded well to create bold colours and natural skin tones as they appear in the original video. In addition to this, I cut and matched up the shots almost exactly as they appear in the real video, another positive.

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

Lipsync

One vital skill i have learnt throughout this process is the ability to lipsync. This means that in future I can feel more confident in my ability to create a convincing and entertaining music video through my ability to lipsync effectively and the general confidence I have gained through performing in front of a camera.

Costume

In my future music video costume, as well as its organisation, will be hugely important. I know now that this must be prepared well in advance, spares and variety will need to be provided, I must find the necessary costumes by any means necessary, but most importantly, these costumes must be flattering and comfortable for the actors performing.

Actors in their costumes ready to perform

Lighting

Nico working on lighting

During the shoot, my time in the gallery, watching the lighting be controlled was both interesting and enlightening. I now know how to create the exact levels of lighting, the colour combinations that I can create, and exactly where these lights come from.


Shoot/Camera

It will be massively important in my next shoot, that I know well before the day exactly how each shot will be set up and whether this will be viable. I will also need to know exactly what props I need to use and exactly how, since finding out something is missing on the shoot day will be detrimental to the music video. 

Timing will also be vital. A strict shot list and schedule will need to be implemented in order to ensure every scene can be shot and shot well. Cast and crew will also need to understand this in order to remain on time for all calls.

Carrying this out will ensure the shoot runs smoothly.

Editing

I have also learnt a lot about editing a music video and how this is very different from editing a film, for example. Firstly the narrative often does not follow on at all and the continuity is much looser on a music video. It also, often cuts between setups. Furthermore I will, in future, also be able to grade effectively.

The video jumps between various setups