Skills development

3. During the process, we using many pieces of hardware. This included a HD
camera and tripod, and lights. The lights were shone on the subjects in the
frame, ensuring the shots were of a higher quality, which is also why we used
a high definition camera. The tripod was used to keep the shots steady,
making the video more professional. Having filmed most of the footage
myself, I have gained experience at adjusting the tripod height and tilt, in
order to fit all the dancers in the shot, which will definitely help me when
filming our main production. Also, I learned how to secure the camera to the
tripod, which will definitely aid me in my final project, as it enables me to use
a tripod, steadying my footage and therefore enhancing the professionalism
of my work. We uploaded the footage onto an Apple Mac for editing. One of
the pieces of software we used was Final Cut. This was used to edit the
footage, which is what I was working on. This job involved adding sound and
editing the footage so the lip syncing matched up. This was extremely
challenging, however I feel I was successful at it, developing my editing skills
in the process. Despite this, I still need to practice this skill, as it took me a
long time to complete the task, resulting in the film only featuring around 1
minute 30 seconds of the song.

5. For the project, we spent very little time researching and
planning, resulting in us shooting very little footage on the
first day of filming, therefore falling behind schedule with
the rest of the project. For the main project, we will need to
plan and research in depth. This will include researching
other music videos in the song's genre. Doing this will
enable us to identify what makes a music video successful
i.e. how to appeal to the target audience, which will affect
the decisions we make regarding mise-en-scene (costume,
props, location), cinematography (camera angles,
movement and shot type) and editing (special effects,
colouring etc.).

7. This activity used a lot of pop genre conventions,
including the use of colour (costumes and background),
and the use of high-key lighting, close-ups, dance
moves etc. Therefore, this has got me thinking about
how to apply genre conventions to our final project.
Doing this will involve researching other music videos
from the same genre, and with the same target market,
to identify the conventions, then applying them to our
own production. This will ensure the videos appeals to
our target audience and easily connotes our chosen
genre.