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Friday 11 July 2014
My Role
My role in the video is "Blonde Guitar Girl" - one of the girls in the female band.
I was happy to get this role at first because it's something interesting to do and also, I can hold a guitar so I don't have to worry too much about what to do with my arms. However, on the first rehearsal for my role it was a little more difficult than I had expected. It's slightly challenging because you have to move in a way that looks easy and like you're performing, except it's not quite dancing, just sort of bouncing and moving in rhythm.
This is not as easy as it looks and I felt slightly awkward. The performance consists of playing the bass guitar, or at least pretending to, and moving in rhythm by kind of swaying and bouncing slightly, like this:
This isn't really easy to do. Also, to look confident you have to be constantly making eye contact, and it's not easy to make eye contact and move at the same time. Hopefully I'll be a lot better at it on the day of the shoot.
I was happy to get this role at first because it's something interesting to do and also, I can hold a guitar so I don't have to worry too much about what to do with my arms. However, on the first rehearsal for my role it was a little more difficult than I had expected. It's slightly challenging because you have to move in a way that looks easy and like you're performing, except it's not quite dancing, just sort of bouncing and moving in rhythm.
This is not as easy as it looks and I felt slightly awkward. The performance consists of playing the bass guitar, or at least pretending to, and moving in rhythm by kind of swaying and bouncing slightly, like this:
This isn't really easy to do. Also, to look confident you have to be constantly making eye contact, and it's not easy to make eye contact and move at the same time. Hopefully I'll be a lot better at it on the day of the shoot.
Wednesday 2 July 2014
My Costume
For my costume I am aiming for a kind of "rock chick" look. In the original video, my role is dressed like this:
Obviously, I won't be, but I'm keeping the same sort of style, instead wearing a black leather skirt, black vest top, tights, a kind of black and silver belt and black boots that go just above the ankles. I have all the items I need. Some are mine and some I borrowed.
Obviously, I won't be, but I'm keeping the same sort of style, instead wearing a black leather skirt, black vest top, tights, a kind of black and silver belt and black boots that go just above the ankles. I have all the items I need. Some are mine and some I borrowed.
Personal Achievement
From the whole A2 prelim experience, I would like to gain a better understanding of how music videos are made. This includes planning and organising the shoot, production and post-production. I want to experience being on a professional shoot so I have an idea of how music video production, and other kinds of production, works.
The prelim is definitely a challenge for me. It involves being in front of the camera, which I am not used to, and to be successful you have to appear confident and relaxed, and this is probably going to be difficult.
So far, I have learned how to lipsynch properly:
...and also how to be in front of the camera in general. You have to at least try to pretend that you're confident about what you're doing in order to not look embarrassing, and I've realised it's better if you just try to relax and enjoy it rather than worry about it too much. I also learned a little about editing when we edited our audition videos, for example, how to match up the audio with the visual in a quicker way than just trying to see where it fit.
The prelim is definitely a challenge for me. It involves being in front of the camera, which I am not used to, and to be successful you have to appear confident and relaxed, and this is probably going to be difficult.
So far, I have learned how to lipsynch properly:
1. Did you enjoy the workshop day? What were your best bits and why?
For the most part, I enjoyed the workshop day a lot! I enjoyed the performance aspect. Even though I was nervous before, I found that I could actually do it better than I thought I would be able to, and it was fun. It was also a lot easier to be confident after I had been all made up and was wearing my costume, which was this:
It was also my first experience of being properly in front of a camera, so that was exciting.
Mostly I enjoyed the workshop day because of how professional the studio looked with all the equipment:
I had never seen a studio like that before, and it gave me an idea of what a real production might look like.
I was excited by all the equipment, especially the monitors that connected to the camera so you could see what was being filmed:
It was also fun to watch some parts of the music video being filmed, in particular the poolside scenes because the set looked amazing.
I had the opportunity to go up to the lighting desk and learn about how the lighting is controlled. It wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be. I was confused when he was explaining it, because he was just pointing to random buttons and saying what each random button did but I couldn't really understand it or remember anything he said. I did enjoy sitting up at the lighting desk, though, and looking at the set from above.
Although there was lots to look at on the set, I didn't feel like it was enough to fill the entire day. I finished my shots at 10:30 am, and I had more than eight hours left. It was also very hot in the studio and eventually I wished the day could be over. Despite this, I still really enjoyed the workshop day overall.
It was also my first experience of being properly in front of a camera, so that was exciting.
Mostly I enjoyed the workshop day because of how professional the studio looked with all the equipment:
I had never seen a studio like that before, and it gave me an idea of what a real production might look like.
I was excited by all the equipment, especially the monitors that connected to the camera so you could see what was being filmed:
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| monitor |
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| poolside set up |
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| lighting desk |
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| set from the lighting desk |
2. What have you learnt from participating in each of the prelim tasks?
Audition Video
The main thing that I learned when making the audition video was how to lip sync properly. I didn't know before that you had to actually sing to make it look real. Also, before we shot the audition video, I was nervous about performing in front of the camera, but after the first few minutes I began to realise it was easier if you just pretended no one would ever see it and forgot about other people. This helped with my confidence, which was useful when it came to the rehearsals and real shoot.
When we edited our audition videos, I also learned about editing music videos and matching up the audio with the visual. I found an easier way to do this was to create a performance bed and cut the other footage on top rather than cutting each individual shot. This was good practice for editing the remake.
Learning and practicing the performance
Although the audition video boosted my confidence, initially it decreased again when I attended the performance rehearsals because we were directed to move in specific ways copying the real music video which at first I found difficult, like this:
I worried that I looked too awkward and wouldn't be able to do it on the real shoot.
However, the second rehearsal was better. We were given more guidance on how to move properly and I got better at it. The rehearsals helped improve my performance significantly, which I was very thankful for on the shoot day.
I also had the experience of being on set and being directed. This was good because it meant that on the shoot day when we were under pressure, it was not a new experience.
It was fun dressing up in a way I normally don't, and I learnt how much costume can help you get into character - it was easier to perform more confidently when I was dressed up.
My costume also included hair and make-up. One of the make-up artists experimented with make-up for me on one of the rehearsal days. It was strange because it was only the second time that I've ever really worn make-up, and I had never had on this much. I didn't like the way it looked on that day because I wasn't wearing my costume and it looked out of place. On the shoot day, though, it was different.
The Shoot
The shoot day gave me an idea of what it's like to be on set and in a production. I realised how much goes on behind the camera - it isn't just the performers, director and the director of photography who are active during filming - there is so much organisation going on at the same time. I became more aware of the different roles on a set, like the person controlling the lighting and the first AD. I also learnt how important the runners are in ensuring that the production keeps running smoothly, for example, by quickly setting up for different set ups.
The shoot also gave me the experience of performing in front of a camera and I learnt that this is something I actually have the potential to enjoy.
This part was difficult because Vivian walked off too quickly and we had to decide whether to make her come in later than we had wanted or for her to walk off earlier.
I worked on the edit in a pair with Brandon. I already knew this is a good way to edit because we work well together and it makes editing easier because we can split the responsibility between us. Editing the remake, I found this was also helpful because Brandon has some technical knowledge that I don't have and is better at some aspects of editing, so I could benefit from his strengths.
The edit taught me how to use Adobe Premier Pro to do things that before I didn't know how to do, like the camera flashes in the photography scenes:
Also, because I could see the details of the video when editing and had to watch parts of it over and over, I became more aware of the conventions of music videos that are present in Girls. For example:
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| audition video |
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| audition video |
The main thing that I learned when making the audition video was how to lip sync properly. I didn't know before that you had to actually sing to make it look real. Also, before we shot the audition video, I was nervous about performing in front of the camera, but after the first few minutes I began to realise it was easier if you just pretended no one would ever see it and forgot about other people. This helped with my confidence, which was useful when it came to the rehearsals and real shoot.
When we edited our audition videos, I also learned about editing music videos and matching up the audio with the visual. I found an easier way to do this was to create a performance bed and cut the other footage on top rather than cutting each individual shot. This was good practice for editing the remake.
Learning and practicing the performance
Although the audition video boosted my confidence, initially it decreased again when I attended the performance rehearsals because we were directed to move in specific ways copying the real music video which at first I found difficult, like this:
I worried that I looked too awkward and wouldn't be able to do it on the real shoot.
However, the second rehearsal was better. We were given more guidance on how to move properly and I got better at it. The rehearsals helped improve my performance significantly, which I was very thankful for on the shoot day.
I also had the experience of being on set and being directed. This was good because it meant that on the shoot day when we were under pressure, it was not a new experience.
Helping to plan and organise my costume
I was surprised to find I enjoyed this part of the prelim quite a lot. I had to aim for a rock chick kind of look, inspired by the girl in the real video (except I would actually be wearing clothes). Some parts of the costume I already had but other parts I found quite cheaply, and ended up dressed like this:
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| (black leather skirt, black boots, black vest top, silver jewelry, black and gold belt) |
My costume also included hair and make-up. One of the make-up artists experimented with make-up for me on one of the rehearsal days. It was strange because it was only the second time that I've ever really worn make-up, and I had never had on this much. I didn't like the way it looked on that day because I wasn't wearing my costume and it looked out of place. On the shoot day, though, it was different.
When I was wearing my costume and had my hair curled, I thought the make-up looked really good. I even had false eyelashes. It was very strange, but it was fun.
From participating in this task, I learnt to feel comfortable and even excited by the idea of dressing up in a way that I'm not used to, and that it can really benefit the performance.
The Shoot
The shoot day gave me an idea of what it's like to be on set and in a production. I realised how much goes on behind the camera - it isn't just the performers, director and the director of photography who are active during filming - there is so much organisation going on at the same time. I became more aware of the different roles on a set, like the person controlling the lighting and the first AD. I also learnt how important the runners are in ensuring that the production keeps running smoothly, for example, by quickly setting up for different set ups.
The shoot also gave me the experience of performing in front of a camera and I learnt that this is something I actually have the potential to enjoy.
The Edit
From the edit I learnt how precise you have to be when editing a music video in order to make it look professional. The lip sync needs to match the performance exactly, and while editing the audition video taught me how to do this, I found this time it was more difficult and much more time-consuming.
I also learned that a remake has its own challenges - we were concerned about trying to match each shot to the original as accurately as possible.
This part was difficult because Vivian walked off too quickly and we had to decide whether to make her come in later than we had wanted or for her to walk off earlier.
I worked on the edit in a pair with Brandon. I already knew this is a good way to edit because we work well together and it makes editing easier because we can split the responsibility between us. Editing the remake, I found this was also helpful because Brandon has some technical knowledge that I don't have and is better at some aspects of editing, so I could benefit from his strengths.
The edit taught me how to use Adobe Premier Pro to do things that before I didn't know how to do, like the camera flashes in the photography scenes:
Also, because I could see the details of the video when editing and had to watch parts of it over and over, I became more aware of the conventions of music videos that are present in Girls. For example:
These gifs demonstrate visuals matching the music rhythmically:
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| The footage cuts in time with the music |
3. Are you pleased with the footage and your edit? Is it how you expected it to look?
For the most part, I am pleased with the footage and my edit.
I am pleased with this part of the video, with the guitars:
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I like the grading here, and the way that the visual matches the audio.
I also like how the white scenes look:
I'm pleased with the grading here, and the way that it cuts between the male and female bands.
I also liked the footage for the poolside scenes, partly because of the grading but mostly because of the set and the props that we had:
What I didn't like was this shot:
In the original video, it is obvious that the singer is talking to the female character, but in our edit it just looks like he can't lip sync properly. We probably could have made this better by choosing a different shot to use here.
I also didn't really like the framing for this shot:
The camera was positioned to suit Josh's height, and because he is quite tall, when I am being filmed here you can't see the guitar. It would have been better if they had re-positioned the camera, even if that isn't what the original video does.
I didn't like the grading for the photography shots, because it looks too pink compared to the original video:
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| original |
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| our edit |
Despite these problems, mostly I was very happy with the footage and our edit. Our edit mostly matched my expectations, and the footage looked very professional and much better than I expected.
4. How do you think your prelim experiences will impact on your approach to next term's music video coursework?
My experience of the prelim has meant that next year, I won't be completely opposed to performing in the music video we make for our coursework if necessary.
Also, because I now know to lip sync properly, the music video next year is more likely to look professional if I have to perform.
More importantly, I realised how much planning and organisation is necessary to ensure a music video shoot can take place. This will be essential next year, because I will know, for example, to allocate a set time for each shot and set up, and to make a shoot board, set ups list, etc.
I've realised that props are also essential. The remake would have been impossible to make without all the props that we had:
We will have to plan what props we need in advance to make sure that it is actually possible for us to use them.
I also understand the importance of costume preparation and planning what people will wear in advance. Also, I saw that a music video looks much better when the performers are wearing lots of make-up, something that before I didn't think was absolutely necessary.
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| performing in the remake |
More importantly, I realised how much planning and organisation is necessary to ensure a music video shoot can take place. This will be essential next year, because I will know, for example, to allocate a set time for each shot and set up, and to make a shoot board, set ups list, etc.
I've realised that props are also essential. The remake would have been impossible to make without all the props that we had:
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| pills |
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| bike, bus stop, zebra crossing |
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| instruments |
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| deckchairs, barbecue, umbrella etc. |
I also understand the importance of costume preparation and planning what people will wear in advance. Also, I saw that a music video looks much better when the performers are wearing lots of make-up, something that before I didn't think was absolutely necessary.
The editing experience was also essential. Next term when we are making an original video for our coursework, I will already know how a music video is edited, and because we won't have to worry about matching it to an original video, I won't have to worry too much about the technical aspects of editing. I'll hopefully be able to focus instead on making creative decisions that will ensure the shots are constructed well to make an original music video.
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