Introduction

Four weeks ago, we were set the task to make a pop music video. Throughout the four weeks we researched the pop genre and the artist, then we moved to pre-production where we made sure our idea was going to work and filled in the necessary paper work, we then filmed the video during production week and then spent the final week editing the video.

 

At the beginning of the project we were put in to a group of four, throughout the project our group of four became two which meant Chloe and I had double the workload each. Chloe and I did about half each of the work each and supported each other with the larger amount of work. I think if our group had more members we would have spent more time on each piece of work. As our group was very small a few of our friends came and helped us film which was really helpful and we would have struggled to film without them.

 

As soon as I saw the brief I was excited to get started because I knew this was a production I would love; I became slightly daunted when I saw how much work there was but as we progressed through the task I learnt lots and now at the end I think we did a good job. At the start, I was looking forward to editing the video because I was excited to see what a couple students with no budget could make.

 

Initially we struggled to pick a song because we had the pop genre there was lots of choice about what we could pick which meant it took a while but the song we settled on we were happy with at the time, I hate the song now after hearing it so many times. Our final idea was based around our interpretation of the song lyrics; a main character deciding that they didn’t want to be with their friends anymore then his friends going against him. Our story changed throughout the project but the main gist of the story stayed the same. I think if I was doing this again I would make sure that we were happy with the story and that it wouldn’t need to be changed that much as trying to find different ways of making a story work in different situations does take a while and makes other factors more complicated to sort out. Our idea was inspired completely from what we had seen of other pop music videos and our ideas of what the song was trying to say, we didn’t use anything from Jax Jones’ video as his video, in our opinion, didn’t connote anything to do with pop and was more conceptual; we wanted to go with a narrative story line as this is what pop music videos normally are.

 

Preparing for our pitch was difficult because neither of us had ever done anything like this before, it was a learning curve. We started off by creating a PowerPoint which we could show to the class, we decided just to put bullet points on there and pictures as we wanted the attention to still be focused on us, we made slides on the given topic areas. I found this quite difficult because the idea was in my mind and trying to put it on to paper and explain to others didn’t seem easy. After spending a while creating the slides we practiced several times before we pitched to the class. I didn’t find the pitch too difficult because I think I was very confident in front of the class and I addressed the questions with detailed responses. The questions allowed us to see our idea from other perspectives and see the flaws. This meant we were then able to make changes to strengthen our project further. Before doing the pitch, we were unsure if we would be able to do the red-carpet scene but the advice from the pitch showed us that we could easily do it. Also, we were asked about how our idea would fill three minutes of video and this made us really think about our shots and try to have enough varying shots to keep our audience engaged throughout the whole video.

 

Research

Our aim was big; we wanted a music video which was engaging, flowed well and stood out. We knew the production budget was nothing, we wouldn’t be able to make a Hollywood production, so all we could do was use what we had and try our best. In my head, I thought the video probably would be quite cringe and not engaging but I think the final video isn’t either of these because we put the time and effort in to make this project something we cared about.

 

The project started with lots of research; I wanted to know as much as possible about Jax Jones, who he is, his online presence and what made his music successful. I knew the internet would be my best source of research because that’s his base and where his audience is. Once I got the hang of the research and decided what I wanted to find out I got going and managed to find out some helpful information. I also looked at his social media presence and his comments which showed me that he has a medium size but loyal fan base which supports him through everything from writing comments to buying merchandise.

 

I also wanted to find out what my friends and people I know thought of pop music videos, so I sent out a survey and got twenty responses. Most of them were really helpful as they gave me an insight to how people see pop music videos. I think my survey was good as I asked a range of questions, some asked for open answers which allowed for more detailed answers which helped me because I found out a lot more than other people who just wrote short answers. To improve my survey, I could have spent longer thinking about the questions I asked so they would all definitely help answer my questions.

 

I think my most effective method of research is the primary research because I was finding out specific answers to my questions that were allowing me to find out the most detailed information. Most of the people who filled out my survey are in our target market which is 13-30 year olds, this was really good because it meant the answers we received were accurate and therefore the information I got back was more helpful. We decided our target market would be so wide because pop music is so varied that there is lots of different people that would like it.

 

Secondary research was the least effective for me; although I learnt lots about Jax Jones, I was only hearing from websites which knew information about him, and not the people who listen to his music or follow him online. The internet is a good source but I’ve learnt not all websites can be helpful and that sometimes going your own way is the best idea.

 

To improve my research portfolio, I could have set a few questions at the beginning that I knew I wanted to find out about it, I realised after going in to researching not having a clear idea at first that I wasn’t finding out anything. To improve I could also layer out my work with each question then below it showing the research that led me to that answer.

 

Now I have completed the project I think if I was to complete my research again I would have researched other pop music videos further to find out about shot types and editing techniques. I spent a lot of time in editing trying to work out how to do things such as the balks and white scene which I could have found out previously how to do. If I had also looked at how shot types are used in music videos I could have then had a better idea on the filming day of what would look good once it had been edited.

 

Process

Pre-Production; throughout the pre-production work I learnt so much. From doing the pitch I learnt it is so important because it allows us to see our idea form different perspectives, from the pitch I demonstrated being able to be confident in front of the class which I think was really helpful as it made our team seem strong. Before starting the project, I had never realized paper work for the project would need to be done, it really opened my eyes and this gave me an even clearer perspective to what would happen in a real video shoot. As this was my first attempt at the paper work I wasn’t really sure what I was doing, this meant that the paper work could be improved so much by adding more detail to everything. For the shot list Chloe and I worked together which meant that we could discuss our ideas. I think the paper work I did was to a good standard but could be improved greatly. A big problem with the pre-production paperwork was that we didn’t know what each document was and how to fill it in, so we asked our teacher to explain what each piece of paperwork was and how to use it correctly. As a whole, I think the paperwork allowed us to understand out project further and really made us believe it would be something we could pull off. I think my time management was really good because I knew my deadline and made sure I had completed all the work in the correct time which meant working quickly while at the same time trying to do it to a good standard. Originally our idea was going to be based in a club scene and we were really unsure of how we would do this and the pre-production paperwork made us realise that we needed to change our idea, we decided to film in a park scene because it could mean we were free to film whenever and our idea would be made more viable. Our idea became more and more established the more work we put in.

 

Production; this was a really fun experience and at the same time it gave us lots of opportunity to learn lots. I think I demonstrated good leadership skills while we were on set, I needed to make sure everyone was in the right place at the right time, the camera was set correctly and that the all the scenes were being filmed. My group said that I was a good leader and in the difficult circumstances, a two-group team and one day to shoot, I did well. Throughout the production I learnt lots form things like how to work with actors to trying to envisage how a shot could look once it was being edited. I also learnt that it can be very difficult to follow a shot list on set because things change such as the weather or I had different ideas on the day which I thought would look better…I don’t think there was anything wrong with following the shot list loosely but it means now in the future I would think a lot more carefully about how I would make a shot list and I would make sure I had written down a bigger range of different shots for each scene. The most challenging on the day would probably be having to try to get everyone in the right places while at the same trying to get the best shot, we had to film shots multiple times as sometimes there was a tripod in the way or a crew member standing in the back of the shot. The most enjoyable was probably getting to the end of the day and realizing that we had managed to film the whole music video, it was a big lift of my shoulders, what made it even better at the end of the day all the actors and crew were really happy with what we had achieved. Our idea stayed the same throughout the whole day of production because by this point we had seen any floors which may have risen and removed them.

 

Post-Production; I was really looking forward to post-production after filming our video, I was excited to see our little idea come to life. I have had a lot of experience editing before in other software but this was my first big edit in Adobe Premiere Pro CC, in the previous weeks we had practiced using this and I had quickly picked up a few tricks which enabled me to make my video more engaging. As I had used other editing software in the past it meant that I had ideas and knew what the software’s could do I just wasn’t sure how to do it in a new software, this meant quite a few times I had to google the effect and find out how to add it. I have also learnt that with the more complex products which I produce I will have to leave longer for the iMac to export the project. I think my time management was fairly good but could have been slightly improved as I was quite close to the deadline. The only idea I decided to add was having a flashback scene which consisted of several black and white clips this took me a while to do because I had to find out how to make the clip black and white.

 

Product

When we started our intentions were not that massive but we wanted a video that flowed well, looked good and that was engaging. I think because the video went through lots of editing and a test screening it has been changed and now follows our intentions even more. I think if I was going to do this project again I would have filmed a lot more on the day; a lot more shots for each scene and possibly a few more scenes, because when I came to edit I found that it did become difficult at some stages to fill all the gaps in the song. I think the main reason we met most of our initial intentions was because Chloe and I cared about the project and wanted it to be something we could sign our name on.

 

I think our target audience needs have been met; our target audience wanted a video which would be engaging and one that has a narrative, I think our video does both of these; of course, with a huge production budget our video could have looked a thousand times better. I think with the resources we had we did a good job.

 

I think our project shines within the editing used, I think the shots were good and I was fairly happy with them but the editing allowed me to release my inner creativity and put my own personal spin on the video which you wouldn’t see in anyone else’s video. I think if the editing was done sloppy it would have ruined the final product and therefore would have not met our aims because it wouldn’t flow well at all.

 

To improve my product, I think it would need more development on the idea which would allow for all the scenes to follow each other rather than some scenes being used in random places. I think it also needs to have a lot more shots for each scene which would make the video seem quicker and therefore would flow even more which is what makes a video more engaging. Having a bigger crew would also mean that our group would have had a smaller work load which would have meant every aspect of the project would have had a greater amount of time put in to it.

 

When comparing my music video to the likes of famous pop musicians such as Taylor Swift or Ed Sheeran my video would not be selling them lots of records. I think so much more experience, expertise and budget is just what our video needed. I think our video does show small elements of what could be done in a real music video but I don’t feel it could be called industry standard. To make my video industry standard larger and more professional equipment would need to be used as this would enable a larger range of shots and shots which we could not achieve e.g. aerial shots. We would also need to sort out real actors who could be paid and who do it for a job. Also, a lot more skill in editing would mean our video would be more enjoyable to watch and would then look more ascetically pleasing.

 

Conclusion

I think when we decided our initial aims we set the bar quite high, I don’t think it was too high. I think the bar was at a good point because in some areas we met our expectation for example we wanted the video to flow well and be edited to the beat. However, I think we didn’t meet the bar in regards to making the video be engaging, I think the video could have been a lot more engaging through the use of a lot of more varying shots and having more cuts which would have meant the video would have flowed quicker. If we had set the bar too high we would have been disappointed with the outcome however this would have been good in some sense as we have big aspirations. This has shown me for the next start to have a reasonable expectation but not to make it too high.

 

My own personal goal was to make a music; I knew fore well we didn’t have any budget and not that much experience so all I wanted was to walk away with a video I was reasonably happy with. I think I have met these goals, if I had more experience and more time I could have improved a few more aspects of the video. If I was asked at the beginning what I thought the final video would be like I would have thought it wouldn’t have been as good as it is, I know it’s not perfect but it exceeded my original expectations, this has made me think that when I set targets in the future I can extend them to be greater.

 

At first, I found deciding what we had to do difficult, but as the task progressed I found it a lot easier to make decisions which has led to us having a production we are happy with. I think I found it quite easy setting a schedule of what to do because I have good time management skills, I just think at first, I was slightly daunted by the workload because I didn’t think there would be as much as there was; once I had seen it all I managed to get going and completed all the work to a standard I was okay with.

 

From this project, I have learnt that I am good a leading a team. When I started I wouldn’t have called myself a leader but when I saw the job roles Producer jumped out at me; I knew being the producer of this project meant all the weight being on my shoulders but that made me want to work harder to achieve our groups goals. Being a producer meant I was the person making sure everything happened at the right time and place, this meant I was heavily involved with paper work such as the shot list and call sheet which were used on the day to make sure everyone knew what they were doing. My group said I led the team well and they were all happy with the decisions I made, throughout the day Chloe and I made decisions which ultimately improved the video by a lot.

 

I think I need to make sure I know where more features on Premiere Pro are for the next task as it will allow me to get through the project a lot quicker. To do this I will go on Adobe’s tutorial website and I will look at other tutorials online which will allow me to improve my knowledge and let me edit quicker on the next tasks which involve Premiere Pro.

 

Overall, I am happy with the progress I have made on this task and think that my team and I worked well to make a product that we were proud to have our name on. I look forward to the future products which will allow me to expand my knowledge and develop my portfolio of skills.