The research helped me in many different ways. One of the ways that it gave me an idea of how I wanted my nasheed video to look, was because I went on YouTube and I was researching different nasheed videos and watching them to get a clear idea of how I wanted my nasheed to look. The research gave me clear ideas, inspiration, and clarity. I learned quite a few things from doing research. For example, I Didn’t know what you needed to consider when shooting a music/nasheed video, I had to look it up on Google to get a clear idea of how I was going to lay it out and what I needed for me to do it correctly. Going on YouTube and looking at different nasheeds gave me an idea of how I’d want mine to look. Furthermore, it gave some ideas on the variety of shots I would like to do when shooting my nasheed video, which effects I would like to use, and how I will need to present myself on the camera when shooting. I am confident with the camera and very comfortable when shooting my video.
When doing my research I learned how to understand and integrate resources gleaned through various means. When doing my research I learned who my target audience is, which shots I should use when shooting my nasheed video, what a nasheed is what promotion strategies I will be using to promote my nasheed video, and why I will need to do so.
When planning my nasheed video. I was struggling with how to plan but my teacher helped me with that. He told me to either do a storyboard for it or to do a timeline with the shots I will want to use at each specific time of the track. I had so many ideas in my head, but I was discussing it with my father first and then speaking to the team about it. I had arranged various meetings with my team to discuss the location, which shots I would like to do, how many people we would need, what equipment I would want to use, what I was looking for as an artist, which date and day we will be shooting the video, trying to figure the best possible date to shoot the video and how much time we will need to get it completed. All of this has been discussed with the team during the past weeks. Even so, I had even done a presentation pitching my idea to the whole class and teacher in here I had discussed what I would be doing for my final major project, what a nasheed is, what type of research I would be doing, how much I will be spending, what equipment I will be using, who my target audience is, where I will be shooting my nasheed video, what promotion I will be doing for my video, how I will be presenting my idea, what kind of shots I will be using, what deadlines I have set for each task
.I had even done a progression diary to show my progression. What I was doing, when I was doing it, what was being discussed, and how I was slowly developing my idea. I had planned where I’d like to do my nasheed video as well. So where will I be shooting it? The 3 locations I chose were Chellow dean, Wrose Quarry, and the Central Mosque in town. We did face a problem when going to one of these locations which was the worse quarry. We went there and couldn’t find the entrance to it and was blocked off. So we had to decide to go to Chellow Dean instead of BD9. This was way better for us and wasn’t any hassle finding and getting there. The only negative outcome of that was that we had wasted around 40 minutes. We lost that time but we eventually made up for it. When at the location of Chellow Dean, we took taken variety of different shots. The only problem was that sometimes there would be pedestrians walking by so we would have to stop and then carry on until they had gone.
So from there, we went to the 2nd location which was the Westgate Central Mosque in Town Bradford. I chose this location firstly because it is very nice from the inside and is very big. There is loads of space inside and from the outside, the mosque looks beautiful. So when we got there we planned to take some drone shots of the mosque outside to get the top view and side view of the full mosque. Then after that, we got our equipment and went straight inside the mosque. We went upstairs but at that time the women’s Islamic class had just finished so we had to ignore whoever was upstairs and go straight to the other side of the mosque to shoot. At the same time, we had to be quick with it because, on that same afternoon, they had an annual event/gathering at 2:30 pm. Which only left us with 1hr to work with until people started coming. So we had to be wary of time and act accordingly. But we faced a problem when we were there. That problem was that another woman on the other side of the mosque had a problem with us coming and taking footage. She was making it very awkward and was making it difficult for us. She didn’t like it and even complained about us to one of the members of the mosque.
He came upstairs to see what we were doing whilst we were taking footage and recording. He asked what we were doing. My father had told him not to worry we were just taking footage and we would be gone. It turned out that the woman complained to us saying we were recording her which was very funny to us because we didn’t come in to do that we came to take some footage of the mosque. But she had a problem with us. We told him that we weren’t recording her and came here to only strictly record myself for a nasheed video. Luckily he understood us and left. Other than that problem, we took some very nice smooth walking shots, close-up shots, and even a still shot. We took some B-roll shots of the mosque. In that time we had we did well getting good clear footage. We came out of there happy and cool. That was the main thing.
When it came down to editing the Nasheed video, me and Joel did it together. We first put all the clips on a timeline. Then from there we chose which clips looked nice and synced that specific clip with the audio. we did this for all the clips that we liked. Syncing the audio to each slip took some time. But then after when we were happy with the footage we chose, we started adding some transitions to the nasheed. Dissolve transitions, fade out, white fade, etc. We were mostly cutting clips and joining them onto the layer below on the first day of the edit. Then after I went home got some feedback from my father then met up with Joel again to make any more changes and carry on with the edit. I sent some examples of some other nasheed videos to Joel for some ideas of what we could do with mine. We had the Nasheed logo we had to put at the start of the Nasheed video with the drone footage.
I did an editing plan. So which shots I would be using and where would I be using them? So for example for each verse, I would be putting the footage I’d like to have in that specific verse. This made things a lot easier for me and Joel to edit the video. It gave us a clear understanding of which clip has to be in which area of the nasheed. Especially in the parts where the flute was playing on its own. With the footage we had in the timeline, all we had to do was pick out the footage we liked the most and match it with the audio. But we had this plan supporting us to choose the right specific footage and clips for the verse and chorus.
When editing the nasheed video, I learned how to stabilize the shot if it was shaky, how to change the color gradient of each clip, zoom in on the clip, and how to use the transitions by adding more of an effect to it. I learned how to use the software, utilize the tools and effects, pacing and timing, visual effects, audio syncing, frame-by-frame editing, organization, teamwork, visual composition, beat matching, and mood matching. These are all the skills I learned when editing the nasheed video with Joel.
I was mainly directing the Nasheed video. Which meant that I was telling the person behind the camera what shots to take. Where to position, and create the vision behind it all. At the start of the shoot we were all thinking about where would should start the nasheed, I directed them towards the lake and told them I wanted a moving shot with the gimble of me standing in front of the lake reciting. I told them to move the camera with my body and hand movements. I chose the locations myself. I did a shot selection guide and even an editing plan.
When directing the nasheed video I learnt various skills. I learned creative skills such as concept development, artistic direction, and performance direction. I also learn technical skills such as camera work and cinematography, editing, and post-production. Also learned managerial skills such as project management, team leadership collaboration, and problem-solving. Furthermore learning interpersonal skills such as communication, negotiation, and adaptability.
Strengths:
- Teamwork, working as a team.
- Creativity being very creative with ideas and the camera work
- Well organized. Create a plan beforehand, have meetings and a shot, and edit the plan beforehand.
- Communication during the whole project, so messaging the team on socials to let them know what is to do next. What the plan is, is to hold meetings with Joel and the team to discuss the project, locations, and shots. What needs to be changed? and how much time we will need? This was all done through communication.
Weaknesses:
- Time efficient. We had moved the shoot day to another date twice. Due to other commitments.
- Production time
- Short attention spans
- Having a limited budget. This is because I am a student which meant we had to come to a reasonable cost for this project.
- Poor decision-making. I decided to go to worse quarry for the location at first which was a wrong decision to make because we had wasted 30 mins trying to find the entrance and couldn’t find it.I should have not gone there and gone straight to Chellow Dean instead , we had just wasted time.
Overall I think this final major project/nasheed video went very well and I think that I have done myself very proud and done a very good job as a whole. I have learned new skills during this project, I have learned how to produce and direct a nasheed video also my editing knowledge has increased. There have been loads of benefits when doing this project. It has taught me to be patient with myself and has taught me that there is no rush in things and that you should be as cool as possible. This project has boosted my confidence and skills. This project has also increased my knowledge of editing and being a director of a Music video.I have had a lot of fun doing this project. It’s not like it was forced. This project was smooth for me. It has enhanced my creative skills and mindset. During this project, I learned many things about myself how much passion I have for doing nasheed videos, and how creative I can become when working with a team, camera, drone, and other equipment. This project taught me that I am capable of a lot of things and I can get things done if I put my mind to it. This project has taught me where my strong points are and what I’m good at.
If I was to do this project again, I would choose another location outside of Bradford. Somewhere in the fields on the outskirts of Bradford, I would do a story to my nasheed video and I would spend more time on editing the nasheed. But mainly if I was to do this again I would choose another location , maybe shooting it in a different country or a different city with enough days to plan and get done.
Down below is my final piece. I am proud of what I have done and my friends, family are also proud of me. The teachers have helped me through this whole project and they are also very proud of me.I am feeling very happy that I completed this within the time I had been given. I am very happy and overwhelmed with the result. I would love to make another Nasheed video in the long run.
I confirm that the attached assessment is all my work and does not include any work completed by anyone other than myself and sources have been appropriately referenced.
This will be uploaded onto YouTube professionally.