Self-Reflection and Evaluation

Media Arts: Music Video Production – Term 04 2013

Self-reflection/evaluation:

Respond to each of the following dot points (using complete sentences or paragraphs). You should include as much detail as possible in your responses.

Teamwork during Pre-Production:

• Describe any problems or difficulties your group encountered while developing your music video concept and deciding upon music;

A problem that we encountered is that pretty much no one who accepted the Facebook invitation to come and be extras for our music video turned up on the day. This created a problem as we didn’t have enough people to make the party look busy enough and we also wouldn’t have enough zombies for the nerds to fight and still have variety with the people we use for the shots. We solved this problem by doing what the Foo Fighters did in their music video ‘Learning to Fly’ and have the nerds be extras and their characters. This took more time but it had the same effect and looked good.

• Explain whether your group effectively used the pre-production and planning templates prior to filming;

I believe that we used our planning very productively as we would not have probably been able to shoot our Music Video without a shot list as we referred back to it with every single shot we did. We also added extra shots and replaced some when shooting to suit our surroundings and where the sots were going. I believe having the shot list help the video make sense.  

• Describe whether your group made effective use of their time in class during pre-production. (Did each group member; contribute; have set tasks at all times; know their role in the group etc.) 

I believe our time in class was very productive as we had finished all of our filming during the holidays (with an exception of a few shots). This gave us a lot of time to plan out our editing. We decided that it would be more productive and make more sense if we all sorted out, exported and edited our own scene that we had wrote. We also reviewed each others and made a few comments.

• List some steps your group could (or did) implement to improve in this area;

Teamwork during Production and Post-Production:

• Discuss how your group used storyboards, shot-lists and a shooting schedule to assist during the filming making process;

We used shot-lists very effectively throughout the whole filming process, making sure we were referring back to them while we were filming and during editing. Storyboards were used but not to the extent of the shot-lists as we felt we understood what everyone wanted the film to look like. However, we could have used a shooting schedule a few times to make sure people could come when needed. 

• Did your group experience any organisational issues during filming, (i.e. members who were absent or did not contribute; finding suitable times to film; forgetting shot-lists, costumes; not booking equipment etc.) How did you manage or work around these difficulties? 

Their were some organisational issues during filming, one in particular being the absence of some of our group members. because they were boarders and therefore lived far away, they couldn't come during our filming days over the holidays. However, they compensated by working hard during the editing process. We also had a problem when hardly anyone turned up to filming days and people would cancel. It was frustrating at times but we overcame this in many ways and I don't think it is very noticeable on film. There was also one time when we forgot to hire out a camera and a tripod, but luckily my dad had one that was very similar to the ones we use at school and also had a tripod. We were worried for a second that the quality might not have been good enough compared to the rest of the film but once we exported it, the quality went up and it wasn't noticeable anymore, thankfully. 

• Describe any problems or difficulties you encountered during post-production and editing. These may include; technical difficulties, corrupt or missing files, group related issues. etc;

Personally, there was one incident that happened where I couldn't figure out how to put a garageband song onto our film and was a little rushed and panicked near the end to sort it all out but other than that, post-production and editing went pretty good overall.

• Did your group complete all shots as detailed in your planning?

Some we changed in the moment of shooting when it felt right, but other than that, we mostly stuck to what was on our shot-lists. Especially the ones indicating certain editing techniques needed for our film as they were important.

Discuss your individual feelings about the Music Video Task:

• Are you group satisfied with the final result?

I am very satisfied with how the final result turned out and am honestly am very proud with what we have all done. All of us involved feel it shows exactly what we wanted to achieve.

• Would you like to change any aspects of your music video or its original concept?

No, I don't think that the original concept needed any changing at all. We wanted a funny, silly video with a bit of thriller and a hidden message. I believe that it is unique and are happy with the way it is.

• If you could start the project again what would you do differently?

I don't think there would have been many things I'd do differently, maybe just make some shots a little better and maybe do some things a little differently but I really like how it turned out and right now, I wouldn't want to change anything about it.

• Was it easier planning, filming and managing your time during this project than your first film? Why?

This film definitely had an easier process getting planned, filmed and edited that my first as I learnt from my previous mistakes, got our filming done early, thought a lot about every shot we did, and gave us plenty of time to sort out editing to make it look as good as possible.

• Did your treatment accurately reflect your video or were the substantial differences between the concept and final product?

The film turned out exactly how I wanted it to be and is very accurately portrayed so in my treatment. The concept of the film is exactly the same and the final product (which could always use some improvement) still turned out great; even better than I had expected. I am very happy with our music video.

Consider whether you undertook adequate and detailed reflection to throughout your project. Have you provided enough evidence to support your work? (Does the work on your blog/journal represent 6 weeks’ worth of work). 

I could have done more reflections but compared to last projects, I believe I have improved a lot. I still don't think it still provides enough evidence to support 6 weeks worth of work but I feel it has definitely improved and has an adequate amount of information.

Storyboards

Here are some rough storyboards we made for Scene 1:

More comic effects...

Music Video Clip Treatment

MUSIC VIDEO CLIP TREATMENT
Names of group members	Julian, Hannah and Kay.
Song selected	'TNT' by ACDC
Type of clip (Highlight your choice/s) performance / narrative / collage Concept for clip Explain what narrative/images the clip will contain	Our music video is a Narrative about four stereotypical 'nerds' who get a random invite on Facebook to go to a party and after some persuasion from the leader of their group, Peta, decide to go. Just before leaving though an announcement on the radio says that a solution named Chemical X was stolen by a teenager from a secret lab, but in their excitement for the party, the nerds miss the podcast. They dress up in their best outfits/cosplay and go to the party, only to be greeted with unpleasant looks and the one and only Chemical X that the theif brought with him to the party. The Chemical accidentally gets mixed in with the rest if the drinks and everyone (except for the nerds who obviously do not drink) become ill and turn into zombies. The nerds then have to fight there way through the zombies with cosplay weapons they had brought with them (eg. Light saber, death note etc.) to get out of the party.
Message What message will your clip contain or what is its purpose? Style What look and feel will your clip have?	The hidden message of the video was to be yourself, no matter what, as you can do amazing things that nobody would have expected if you just be who you are. Trying to be someone else is not the right way to go and may even get you in trouble and not have a fun time. The style or look my group wants the video to achieve (especially in the fighting scenes) is a comic book kind of looks. This is to emphasis on what is probably going through the nerds heads at the time and relates to how they probably think they look at that moment. And we want the clip to have a lot of action going on to make the clip feel suspenseful and energizing. We would also like it to have a hint of humor to it.
Technical codes Explain the ideas you have about camera work, transition devices, lighting, special effects, framing and composition	We used a semi-shaky camera (but not to much) to go with the action feel and make the viewer feel as if there is a lot going on all of the time. We also used speed-ups and slow motion shots when necessary to add to the action feel. There was low lighting most of the time as the party was held in a dark room, and the scenes not in the party room were at night or evening (except the last scene). Effects included a title, a name sequence, effects for spells, and comic book effects. These were to go with the original style we wanted to achieve with the video. The transition in the last shot in scene 1 was a wipe to the right as Peta walked past the camera. This was done as with it brought the car driving in from the same direction in the start of the next scene. During scene 2, the music stops to make the discovery of the rest of the party-goes turning into zombies more dramatic. The TNT music fades away and intense music is replaced to set the mood and the anticipation. The TNT music then starts up again in the next scene.
Audio codes What is the song about and how do the lyrics relate to the visuals you have selected? Will you be adding an additional sound?	Most of the song imitates what the nerds feel about themselves as they enter the party. They feel very cool at this moment and are proud of themselves for going to the party. There are a lot of references to fighting in the song, especially the line, "I'll win the fight!" In the chorus. This relates visually to the video as they are fighting zombies. Additional sound was added in the first scene (the opening scene without music) and some in scene 2, when the music stops.
Pace What sort of pace does your song have and how will this be reflected and created in your clip? Written codes If you are using any written codes, what text will you use? What is its significance? Symbolic codes Will there be any symbols in your clip and what will they be? Will you repeat any images or use a motif? How will the symbolism you have used contribute to the message of your clip?	The song has an average pace but the feel of it is very rough and makes it seem faster. We reflect this by having a lot of fast cuts and change of speed to suit the mood at that time. There are written codes used in the fighting scenes when the comic book style comes into play. Written sound effects appear including: Slash, Vwoom, Avada Kadavra etc. these are significant as they relate to the comic genre and as we doing have sound effects for these actions, replace them for us. A symbol is used in scene 2 for the Chemical X bottle mentioned in the previous scene on the radio. This is important to show as this is the reason why everyone turns into zombies. The way we show it's importance is by slowing down on the bottle and zoom onto it's label to show that it is Chemical X. The turning everyone into zombies was done to symbolize the bad things happening if you try to be someone you are not.
Key elements of mise-en-scene to be used Explain the settings needed and outline key props and costumes needed	The setting needed was a party/night club kind of place. We did this by setting up my garage with Christmas lights and disco lights. We also set a table with cups and drinks. Key props we needed were the nerdy weapons used to fight the zombies. We got a sword (to be specifically Percy Jackson's sword), a light saber, a Death Note, and a wand. We also needed to hVe costumes that fit the characters personas. The nerds wore stereotypical nerdy clothes (for example big glasses with tape), and cosplay was added to all outfits.
Appeal What things in your clip do you think will appeal to a youth audience?	References to fandoms and popular movies and video games I believe will appeal to youth audiences. I also believe the party setting will also make youths interested. Zombies have been very popular recently I. The younger generation and therefore, will get them enthused.

Reflection

So far we have been doing really good. We have now finished all of the shot lists and have planned the final day to film which we will allow us to finish all of the left over scenes we haven't shot yet. Julian has already started on some special effects things as we know that what we want to achieve will be difficult and time consuming so we are starting it a little early. She has just been planning on what the FX sound/text is gong to look like. These are going to be during the fight scenes when it is suppose to imitate a comic book or old superhero tv shows. This is one of the rough designs:

We are really happy with how our progress is going. One thing that is becoming kind of a hassle is organizing filming times that are good for everyone. Because of the high amount of people we need for extras, we had to resort to asking people from other schools to participate which is finding to be more difficult than we had hoped as not all of them are extremely reliable. However, some are being amazingly helpful and have been really cool about the whole thing, making this whole process smoother than we had anticipated. Really can't wait to see the final result!

Scene #5 - Shot List

Shot Number	Length (sec)	Visuals
1	4	Pan of whole room, zombies all on the ground, nerds looking around for hidden targets. (long high angled pan)
2	2	Nerd one gesturing for the other Nerds to follow her out of the club. (low angled close up)
3	4	Nerd 2 slamming the death note shut and jumping over a zombie carefully. (Long shot)
4	2	Zombies hand twitching. (high angled close up)
5	2	Nerd 2’s shocked/scared expression before he rushes off to Nerd 1. (Medium shot)
6	5	Nerd 3 slowly making her way towards the group, avoiding twitching limbs. (Long low angled shot)
7	4	Nerd 4 heading towards the others (Medium)
8	4	Nerds 2, 3 and 4 reaching 1. 1 Picks up bag and turns towards the door. (Long shot)
9	5	Zombies twitching limbs, some beginning to move (Long high angled shot)
10	4	From front of nerds, zombie getting up, others limbs moving. (Long shot)
11	3	Nerds walking out of the door. (slow motion, long shot)
12	6	Pan of Nerds faces, Looking determined and happy to have gotten out. (Close up)
13	6	Zombies getting up in club. One walking out of club. (long shot from behind)
14	5	Shot of zombie’s feet making their way out of the door. (close up)
15	3	Zombie stumbling into the light (behind long shot.)
16	5	Nerd 2 looks behind them towards the club, pans to the zombies that are coming out of the door. (close up pan)
17	4	Nerd 2 taps the others, pointing to the door. (Long, zombies in background)
18	8	All nerds turn to the zombies, face the nerd beside them then run off screaming. (Long shot.)

Scene #1 - Shot list

Production Title: TNT Director: Shae			Sequence/Scene Name: start Sequence Designer: Hannah & Kay
Shot No	Length  of Shot (seconds/beats)	Visuals (including explanation of action, setting, shot type, angle camera movement, lighting, spec fx , transition)		Corresponding Music/Lyrics
1	4	In bedroom, low lighting, low shot, props: microphone, computer, world of war craft ( night)		Peta - oh, why did you kill me!!
2	6	In room at desk (night), camera pans from computer to midshot of face, computer, gaming stuff		Julian – haha I went up two levels J
3	10	Laptop on a bed, low lighting, socks on feet, high angle behind nerd		Tayla- (Laughing) Nice one!
4	10	Little kid pj’s ? on a computer with mike, high shot low lighting		Matt- Stop it guys there’s no need to fight.
5	//	Close up of microphone while she talks.		Julian- Tell Peta that!
6	7	Petas room, low angle, jumping up from computer, long shot		Peta- Guys I got an invite on facebook to go to a party!
7	10	(Chat perspective) Medium shot.		Julian- (Just voice) Me too! Matt- Me three! Tayla- Wow! We actually got an invite to a party… what’s the catch…
8	//	(Chat perspective) Peta leans into the camera.		Peta – THIS IS AWSOME!!! We are totally going.
9	4	(Chat perspective) Medium shot.		Matt- Ummm, guys this is a ‘cool party’. This has to be a joke. I don’t think we should go. (in background) Tayla- IT’S A TRAP! Matt- I really have bad feeling about this !
10	3	(Chat perspective) Medium shot.		Peta – No way! We are going!
11	3	(Chat perspective) Medium shot of Julian not agreeing/bored.		(in background) Peta- No if’s! No buts’s.
12	//	A back view of Peta on her laptop. Zooms out and pans to a radio on a table to the side.		Peta- Find something cool to wear and my mum will pick us up and drop us off there.
13	//	//		(talking while camera pans) Matt- (sarcastic) Oh, yeah. Driving up to a cool party in mummy’s car. Your just the definition of cool, aren’t you?
14	10-15	Zooms in on a radio. Medium close up shot.		(background) Peta- Oh, shut up… (main voice) Radio – WARNING! TWO TEENAGERS HAVE BEEN SPOTTED STEELING A CHEMICAL NAMED “CHEMICAL X” FROM A TOP SECRET LAB. ITS HIGHLY DANGEROUS AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSUMED AT ANY COST! …
15	4	Title comes up on screen. “TNT by ACDC”		Now for a flashback to the 80’s for the hit ‘TNT’ by ACDC…
16	2	Peta walks past the camera, blacking out the screen. Wipes to next scene (car pulling up)