The studio performance.
My actual practical performance of the song I believe was very successful as I was able to complete it in less than three takes. I managed to embody the energy, charisma and catchy lyrics of a good baseline tune leaving me satisfied and happy after the performance. Although overall, I believe my studio session went extremely well, there are certain aspects where I think could have been thought out more. For example, having breaks in the performance maybe every three or four verses to make sure I maintain the energy consistently throughout the whole song, without having to catch my breath and having to say missed words on the overlay. In the future if I was to be in the studio recording a song I would most definitely break my performance into realistic chunks giving me time to breath, perfect the timing and give my song a better finish.
Rehearsal of music video
For this rehearsal I focused mainly on how the the setting along with myself appeared on camera. I believe the rehearsal was very insightful as I was able to get an idea of how I’d angle the camera on the day to make the most out of the visuals. As my fully edited version of the song wasn’t finished I rehearsed with a rough mix meaning some words were missing as the overlay hadn’t been added in the audio. This wasn’t a major set back as it wasn’t the real thing so a few missed words didn’t stop me from achieving my aim of having a strong understanding of what to do when it comes to the real shooting date. Being at one of the locations out of the four really enabled my mind to run free with ideas and thoughts regarding new unique concepts for my project. I came up with shot ideas, outfit ideas, jewellery that I want to show case and also filters over the video that would fit the setting I’m in.
First attempt of shooting
For shooting the music video I decided to use a camera from college and not my own. This was because I decided it would be beneficial for me to gain experience with a professional camera. Initially everything was going to plan and I was able to successfully perform the necessary takes. The angles of the camera were also pretty good giving my performance that naturalistic feel I wanted. We managed to perfect transitions and the lip syncing. Where the issue began was once we started to film our footage the camera man (harley) noticed it was very dark but we just assumed that it was the quality of the camera and it could be adjusted in the editing. When we had finished the shooting for the day I was very content with how it went however when Harley went to college to see how it looked he realised their was an issue with the IOS. The exposure on the camera was too low and we didn’t realise because of how bright it was outside when viewing the footage.
Editing evaluation
I wasn’t the main editor in my project however I had a crucial role in giving my input when required. The editing process itself I believe was successful as I did achieve the end look I was seeking however, I do think that the timing could have been improved. This was because my editor (Harley) got incredibly sick during the period of time he had to edit making it a pretty last minute job. I think if maybe I had structured my time better I would have been finished a lot sooner then I did. I think the effects I chose to use in between clips really complemented the music video nicely as the transitions between clips were really smooth and high quality. Although there are alot of pros to my editing there are cons and I do think their should have been more of a variety with my chosen locations.
My location plan
I believe overall I was successful in planning my l0cations as i took into account the pros and the cons of each one. Analysing the good factors and bad factors really helped me in gaining a critical outlook into what would work and what wouldn’t. This allowed me to have a more solid idea of how my music video will look going forward. Reflecting on my plan I don’t believe there was anything I could improve on as I believe I was successful in reaching my aim of choosing the most appropriate locations.
My actual music video shoot.
My music video came out extremely successful and I believe the shoot couldn’t have gone better in any way. After the failed attempt of the last filming day I was better prepared and ready for what was to come. I planned out which areas I wanted to film first to save time and to be more efficient. My camera man had a much better understanding of the mechanics of the canon camera and thus was able to successfully record all footage in the correct manner and review it afterwards. After every shot I reviewed the take and assessed whether I thought it required another crack or not. This made sure I was very confident in what I was creating and knew it was the best I could do. In between scenes me and my camera man came up with the idea for me to swipe with my hand. I did this in many different directions but as I swiped, the camera panned to the direction I did and this made for a wonderful opportunity to include some good transitions. The day went very smoothly and there was no obstacles preventing us from doing what we wanted to do. The area was perfectly safe and quiet meaning we had no unwanted attention from the public. This meant I could focus solely on performing to my best standard without the added pressure of an audience or potential thieves. We as a team adapted our strategy, gained knowledge on the camera and knew exactly what we wanted to film and where. For future projects I will definitely make sure to have a firm understanding of what I am getting myself into as I believe I only realised the difficulty of filming a music video after the failed rehearsal. I have now learnt to never underestimate a project in the slightest. A small area for improvement I would say we should have dressed more appropriately and this was because Chellow Deen woods is very a muddy and rocky area and we didn’t come in clothes suited to this environment. My clothes had to be the way they were as I was the performer however my camera man found it hard to grip onto the small rocks and hills we filmed on due to his shoes and restricting clothes.
Here is some evidence of the shoot day
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMQikH8DDefieHbuv3ONRJmxOqvVd9Mzbt1-ciY
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMmtOZLQLuHmeMIyxwvD7PsXKJWNqszU5R0zWW0