Weekly Journal

Regular evaluation updates are required, as with every unit. Please

remember to take photos and get behind the scenes footage as you film.
You might find it easier if you note down a record of what you did each day
in a diary form.

Please use the following guidance to help you with each week.

Week 1 This week you worked on your research

What have you been asked to This week we began the research process for our first
do? project this unit. We have been asked to produce a
product for the Raindance Film Festival. The festival
looks for feature films, short films, music videos,
documentaries, animations and web series.
Raindance focuses on showing the best in new
cinema from both the UK and around the world.

Units 6 – 7 focus on the visuals within our film making,

so this is our opportunity to experiment with different
skills such as lighting, mise – en – scene and camera
work. From the options provided I have chosen to
produce a music video. I feel this is a strong choice
because I it will prevent me from focussing too much
on a script and storyline and allow me to spend more
time on the visual aspect.

This task provides a lot more creative freedom than

How has writing the brief helped
you to finalise your idea?
previous ones as we our brief is rather vague. We
don’t have a set target audience or specific form of
media we have to produce. I hope this will be allow
me to learn more about my own creative process let
me take more risks during my production stages. My
main goal within this unit is to develop my camera
work as it was highlighted in the past as something
needs improvement. I can see myself that sometimes
shots become shaky and unfocused, so I want to
practice this especially when using camera
movement. I feel camera work has a big impact on
the visuals within film making so this I feel it is
important.
Before I could begin researching my chosen medium I
had to write out a proposal. Within this proposal I had
to state which form of production I want to produce. I
took this opportunity to finalise the song choice for my
music video. This then helped me to begin generating

How has analysing videos helped
you to understand the genre
better?
ideas for my music video and also allowed me to gain
a clear understanding of what I am aiming to do
within this unit. I began by stating my chosen song
alongside why I had chosen to produce a music
video, giving me the chance to consider which
elements I enjoy the most and allow me to plan how I
would incorporate these in my final piece. For
example, I mentioned that I am very passionate
about music videos so I have a great deal of
experience with them which will prove helpful in the
planning and production stages of the unit.
I then went on to consider which areas could be
improved in this unit upon reflection from my previous
units. By having this element of comparison It has
helped me to finalise which components I want to
spend the most time focusing on when producing my
video. My main focus was camera work which has a
big impact on the visuals within film making. By
choosing to improve and develop these skills when
working on my music video I can link my work back to
the brief while also improving my own technical skills
along the way.
Finally I stated whether that I have chosen to work on
this project individually. I have made this decision
because it allows me to take full responsibility of my
own work and push myself to develop specific skills. By
stating this in my proposal it gave me the opportunity
to consider how working alone will help but also the
challenges I might face. After identifying these
challenges I have been able to consider how I will
manage them. For example, when working alone it
increases the workload on myself but if I manage my
time well and put a lot of detail into this piece of work
it should prevent it from becoming confusing or
overwhelming.
Another form of research I carried out was analysing
two different music videos from my chosen genre. This
allowed me to single out which conventions appear
in the genre as well as what makes indie rock music
videos unique amongst themselves.
The first video I analysed was ‘I wanna get lost with
you’ by Stereophonics. Within this video I was able to
point how both narrative and performance based
elements are included but the two are separate from
one another. For example, the narrative is shown in
short clips, telling the story of a couple as they get to
know one another and begin a relationship. The

What did you learn from
practising the conventions you
researched?
narrative has a close link to the lyrics in the song, as
made clear when the singer sings the line ‘I walked
you home in the rain’ as a shot of the pair walking in
the rain is shown. However, the characters within the
narrative never appear to hear the song itself.
This is very different in the video ‘Charmless Man’ by
Blur as the main character makes it clear he can hear
the band and is openly annoyed by this as shown
when he pushes the lead singer over. The two videos I
analysed are very different to one another, which
allowed me to learn about two kinds of videos. I plan
to use some of the elements mentioned in my
research within my own production. This will help me
to produce and authentic and realistic production
which suits the conventions of indie rock music videos.
One element I really want to use in my own music
video is camera movement. This is a convention I
noticed within the music video for ‘Charmless Man’,
at the very beginning when the camera pushes in
from a long shot. The movement establishes the
location and scene and introduces the bands lead
singer in the same shot.
I later on was able to compare my audience research
to my analysis so that I could identify links between
what popular music videos included and what my
audience expected.
Once our written primary research was completed we
were also given the opportunity to complete some
practical research. We did this in groups and used it
as a chance to practice the skills we had singled out
as in need of development. This task gave us the
opportunity to narrow down which aspects of our skills
where in need of improvement. It also helped me to
have a better understanding on how visuals help
communicate the message within a music video.
Our group produced a short music video for the song
‘Death of a Bachelor’. We only had an hour for the
filming process, so it had to be done efficiently. Before
beginning we created a vague plan and then
produced storyboards for video.
Once I began editing the video together it
immediately became apparent that we had failed to
consider the framing while we focused on the
camera movement. At the very beginning of the
video there is a shot where our singers head is mostly

How did making infographics help
you to process your research?
missing from the frame. We now know that in the
future we need to consider the framing alongside the
angle as failure to do so could render the angle and
its effect unsuccessful.
Another element we failed to consider was lip
syncing. This is one of the main conventions in music
videos as it provides the performance element of the
video. Within my focus group it was suggested that I
use lip syncing to incorporate performance into my
music video and I plan to do so. From this task I have
now learned that there is a lot more planning than I
had previously considered when using lip syncing. I
now know that I need to ensure my actor knows the
song, and I will play the music out loud as we film so
that they can mouth the words in time. Another
precaution I plan to take is that I will record the
previous lyrics within the next shot so that I leave little
room for error and hopefully the video should flow
smoothly within the editing stages.
Finally we had a lot of fun experimenting with the
lighting in our music video and included the use of
shadows to make it more interesting and to suit the
dark mood of the song’s genre. I have now decided
that I want to include similar lighting in my music video
as I find it works to represent the mood and I feel it will
have a positive impact on the visuals within my music
video.
After I had made the decision to produce a music
video I carried out a series of research so that I could
understand what my audience would enjoy and find
interesting. It also gave me the chance to learn what
my audience expected in an indie rock music video. I
carried out a focus group and survey allowing my
audience to provide their feedback in a
conversational way and anonymously. Once I had
received a generous number of responses I produced
an infographic comparing the results of each
research study and narrowing down the key points.
For example, within my focus group I learned that the
majority of the group enjoyed narrative music videos
as they clearly conveyed the message of the song.
When producing the infographic I was able to
convert these results into a pictograph showing the
results in a qualitative form. The results showed that
5/6 people preferred narrative videos and rather than
performance. By converting these results it made it

Are you on track for this week? If
not, how far behind are you?
What work do you need to
complete outside of lessons to
stay on track?
Week 2
What did you find out about
promotional campaigns for your
form of production?
clearer for me to understand the feedback from my
focus group.
I also used my infographic to highlight which results
stood out the most to me within my survey. I kept the
research in categories, such as lighting, costume and
location. This will help me later on in the planning
stages for my production as I will have the general
ideas prepared in an easy to understand format
ready for when I need them. For example, in my
survey it was mentioned that dark clothing and
lighting was expected in an indie rock music video as
well as a potential gig or studio for a location.
By laying out my infographic in two collums It gave
me the opportunity to compare my responses and
also notice the common interests between to the two
forms of research. For example, the survey response
stating that a bar or studio would work well as a
location links to the discussion within my focus group
that mentioned using both narrative and
performance based elements in my music video.
I am up to date.
None.
This week you worked on your planning
This week I completed another set of research, this
time on how bands use their websites and social
media to promote their products. I looked into two
different examples and made a note of how different
elements of their websites worked to reach their
audience.
One of the first things I looked into was how to
websites were designed and the impact this had on
the promotion of their products. The first example I
researched was Arctic Monkeys. Within this example I
found it really interesting how font types were used on
the website to communicate more about the band to
the viewers. For example, the band used a serif font
for the majority of their website. This was surprising as
serif fonts are used traditionally in printed work, such
as newspapers. These kinds of fonts are harder to read
when used digitally, however by using the font the
band were able to communicate that they are very
traditional and want to be viewed as serious artists.
Sans-serif fonts are also used on the website but much

What did you learn from your
planning? How has it helped you
to progress your idea?
less. They are only used on the link to other social
media platforms, perhaps suggesting the band feel it
is important that these links are accessible, so they
have used a sans-serif font to make it much easier to
read. I noticed serif font was also used on the Queen
website, however it was a much more relaxed version
of the font. Allowing the band to communicate their
message and seriousness while also making their site
as accessible as possible.
Another important factor I picked up on when
carrying out this research was what content was
included on the band’s websites. This differed greatly
between Queen and Arctic Monkeys and both bands
seemed to have a different view on what was
important. For example, Queen’s website focussed a
great deal on sharing as much information on the
band itself and their various projects as possible,
rather than just highlighting their new products. The
website included information on each individual
member as well as the causes they were currently
advocating for. They also included information on all
of their albums. By allowing their audience to know a
lot about them as artists it created an intimate setting
for the website and provided a connection between
the band and their fans.
On the other hand, the Arctic Monkey’s website was
a lot less busy. The main focus of the site was their
most recent music, with almost no promotion for their
previous work. The site was very empty and focused
mainly on using visuals to draw a focus to their work.
Both of these techniques worked very well and suited
the bands message and aesthetic, although each
band communicated a very different message
through their website.
I began the planning stage with a very vague idea as
to what I wanted to do. I had chosen a song but was
still unsure of the message I wanted to communicate
or how I would use visuals in my piece to achieve my
desired effect. When planning I took my time to
develop my message and basic idea. This helped me
a great deal although it was also very time
consuming.
The first thing I focused on was my shooting script,
which allowed me to develop what visuals I wanted
to show alongside the lyrics. I decided to focus less on
the actual lyrics within the song and more on my

How has your idea
developed/changed during the
planning stage?
narrative. The lyrics told the story but there was no
parallel link between the two. Eventually I was able to
develop my narrative and how it would play out.
Once this was completed the rest of my planning
became a lot easier. Choosing my location was
rather simple as I now knew exactly what mood I
wanted to produce. I decided I would like to shoot in
a busy place, with a lot of choice for locations.
Originally I planned to shoot in London and use the
underground as one of my locations. However, it soon
became obvious that this would be rather hard to pull
off as it all depended on how busy the lines were that
day. I have limited time with my main actor so I
needed a location we could reach easily and get to
work straight away. I then decided we would shoot in
Oxford as it has everything we need location wise
and we can get there easily. We could also use the
train journey there and back to film any travelling
shots we needed.
When planning my production it became obvious
how much detail to editing I needed to consider in
advance. When producing my script I took note of
the camera work I wanted to use as well as how
many cuts I would need. This is because Music Videos
have a great deal of cuts and if I want to cut to the
beat throughout the video I will need at least that
many shots. I have taken this into consideration when
planning and have thought about what shots I want
to prioritise as well as planning more than enough so
that if anything were to go wrong I will still have
enough footage to edit with.
As mentioned above at the beginning of my planning
stage I was unsure of a lot of my video. I had just
chosen a song. As I began planning multiple areas
developed.
One of the key areas that developed a great deal
was the narrative. In all of my primary research my
audience made it clear that a narrative video would
be much more appealing. I took this idea onboard
and decided to produce a video with a strong and
recognisable storyline. The first thing I did was consider
the lyrics within my video and produced a story from
what was sung. I also spent some time researching
what the song’s listeners thought the lyrics meant. I
found this very helpful as my music video would be
aimed at this specific demographic so by learning
what they liked, disliked and learned from the song I

How did you ensure that your
storyboards were to a high
enough standard?
could produce something they would enjoy. Many
people spoke of the song being about a relationship,
so I took this into consideration. Eventually I
developed a detailed narrative that I felt I could
easily pull off.
As I developed the narrative other, smaller details
became clearer. For example, as I decided which
mood I wanted to portray in my video I was able to
imagine what locations would work the best. I then
finalised my decision of Oxford and was able to
understand my idea in a lot more detail.
I enjoyed developing the smaller details of my idea,
such as what actions I would use to make my
narrative as clear as possible. For example, at one
point in the video my actor will look at his phone and
delete the messages for his ex-girlfriend before tossing
the phone aside. This minor action explains to the
audience that he has ended the relationship and no
longer wants to see or contact her. Small details like
this can be used to communicate a lot of meaning
and I plan on including these moments throughout
my video.
When I began producing my storyboards I took a lot
in to consideration. I knew I wanted to create
something that would help me when filming my music
video as well as editing.
Before I began I listened to my chosen song multiple
times and planned out where I would want cuts to
take place. This meant that I could consider how
much footage I needed for the whole video. There is
one moment in the song towards the end where an
instrumental is used and I have decided to put
multiple shots in a sequence here that changes with
the beat. I counted the beats in this part of the song
as a guide for how many cuts I would need and then
began to consider which shots I wanted to use. When
I finish my storyboards I plan to use a frame for each
cut as a reminder of how many I will need to carry out
my plan.
The start of my video includes a lot of camera
movement so when producing my storyboards I spent
some time highlighting and making notes of which
shots involve movement. I only used a frame to show
the key moments within the opening sequence so
that on the day I can try multiple ways of moving
between each shot.

What issues did you have what
planning your production? How
did you overcome them?
How much work did you
complete outside of the lessons?
I then made a note below each frame, explaining
how the camera moves and what it is focused on at
that point in the video. I also noted which lyrics would
be sung with each frame, so that I could easily line up
the shots with the song, without risking a lack of
footage.
I plan to continue this level of work as I finish and
finalise my storyboards so that they are prepared and
ready when I need them.
When planning, one area I struggled to develop was
the shots and storyboards. After developing my
narrative I wanted to work on how I would shoot my
idea. I found this difficult and more time consuming
compared to the previous planning stages. I think I
found this stage the most difficult as it included
breaking down the very basics of my idea and laying
them out in a clear way that would help me when
shooting. I wanted something I could look back on
when filming without confusion.
I overcame this challenge by taking the time to listen
to my song and note down how many cuts I would
include within my video. This gave me an insight as to
how many shots I would need and helped to me to
begin developing the shots within my storyboard. I
knew where each cut happened, so I was able to
imagine how the narrative developed with this rhythm
and atmosphere.
I also struggled to find an actor who was available for
when I planned to film. I have now found an actor;
however they are only available for two days, so I
won’t have a chance to reshoot with them. I plan to
solve this by producing a contingency plan and find
another actor who is available after our shooting time
so that if anything needs to be redone I can use
them. This may also mean I have to reshoot a lot of
the music video, but I have a back up location that is
much easier to access so I should be able to do sho in
a short period of time.
Outside of the lessons I spent a great deal of time
watching music videos within my chosen genre. I
didn’t analyse them, but I took the chance to
understand the mood and environment they created
so that when I began planning my own I had a clear
idea of what I needed to suit the genre.
Alongside this I watched music videos that are shot to
similar songs so that I could take note of how they are

Are you on track for this week? If
not, how far behind are you?
What work do you need to
complete outside of lessons to
stay on track?
Week 3
What practical work have you
done and how helpful was your
earlier planning?
edited and how many cuts they tend to have on
average. This has helped me when planning my own
music video as it gave me the chance to consider
how many cuts I would need in my own. I have used
this information when producing my own storyboards
so that I will have an appropriate number of cuts and
my editing will suit the genre I have chosen.
As I finish my planning stages I will spend my own time
finalising my location choices and storyboards. These
will be done in my own time as they are the most time
consuming details but also the most straight forward. I
have experience storyboarding as well as producing
location recces so I feel I will be able to complete
them with confidence.
No.
I need to finish my storyboards and do some research
on my location choices so that I can produce my
location recces.
This week you worked on your production
This week I completed the practical work for my
filming and began editing my music video.
I spent two days all together filming for my music
video, one day was spent in Oxford and the other in
Woodley. Throughout this stage my planning proved
very helpful.
One element of the planning that was very helpful
was my storyboard, as it provided a visual
representation of which shots I needed. I used them
throughout filming to produce the right framing. On
my storyboards I included information on the angles I
would use as well as where movement would be
included. My video was shot with a mixture of moving
and still footage, so having the storyboards with me
helped me to differentiate between the shots and to
understand what techniques were used when.
I also used the storyboard to help explain my plan to
my actors. By showing them the storyboards it gave
them an idea of what the camera would be doing
around them while they performed. I made sure they

How will this be useful as your
production process continues?
were aware of this before we began filming anything
which became very effective once we began as it
saved time when shooting.
Another stage of my planning that was very useful
was the location recces. On the first day of shooting,
in Oxford, we were faced with multiple challenges
such as big crowds of people, cars and uneven
pathing. However, my location recces provided
solutions for these challenges so that we were able to
begin filming without hesitation. One solution that
worked very well was used on a quiet road that had
cars moving along it at times. We had someone stand
and watch out for cars while we filmed, to prevent
any accidents.
On future projects I plan to complete a much more
detailed contingency plan. While working on my
music video I was very lucky that the filming went
somewhat to plan, however if it hadn’t I would have
struggled to continue working. The greatest element I
was missing was contingency actors, which Is a very
important factor.
I will continue to use this planning as my production
continues, particularly my storyboards. These continue
to provide a detailed explanation of what each shot
should look like as well as how long on average they
should be used. I will refer back to the storyboards as
a structure for the video so that the footage is used in
the correct order. Overall, the storyboards explain
how the shots communicate the narrative and they
will help a great deal when editing.
I also think my shooting script will prove very useful in
the editing stages of my production as it states which
visuals will be shown alongside which parts of the
song. It has a breakdown of the lyrics and which
visuals will correlate with which ones. I plan to use this
when editing so that I can line up my footage with the
song. This will impact how my narrative is
communicated so by using my shooting script I will be
able to share the message exactly how I planned it.
Upload your behind the scenes
photos and videos (explain what
they show)
What issues did you encounter
when filming and how did you
overcome them?
Within my final product I
want to include shots of
my actor walking
towards the camera in
different locations. My
goal is to make the
transition between these
shots as smooth as
possible. When planning
I made the decision to do this by having my actor
walk in the same part of the frame every time,
creating the illusion that the location is the only thing
changing. When filming I paid a lot of attention to the
framing used in every shot. I needed my actor to
remain in the very middle of the frame for the shots to
work effectively. In the image above I am ensuring my
actor is in the middle of the shot, and giving them
instructions to move so that they are. By focussing on
this when filming It will help me avoid having to
reshoot and make editing a much easier process.
Before we began filming
each shot I wanted to
communicate to my
actors how I imagined
the shot would play out.
I found the best way of
doing this was to walk
them through the shot
with the music playing so
that everyone, including myself, knew the timings and
pace for the action. This saved a lot of time as we
were able to film a lot of the shots with little reshoots.
We still filmed everything multiple times just to be sure I
had enough footage but a lot of the time we got it
right first time. In the image above I am walking my
actor towards the camera to show him the pace I
wanted him to approach at. This action also allowed
me to figure out how far away from the camera he
needed to be for the shot to fill the duration of the
chorus.
One of the biggest challenges I encountered was
getting my footage shot in a short time frame. My
actor was only available for three days, and once
those days were over he wouldn’t be in the area. I
had to get everything shot to a high standard the first
time as I had also failed to produce a contingency
actor.

What locations did you use and
why did you choose them?
We began filming in the morning of the first day
though as we continued it became evident that my
actor hadn’t learned the song as I had asked him. This
meant we had to spend a great deal of time trying to
teach him the words and explain how it should be
performed. We solved this by having the song play
while he lip-synced, allowing him to have a guide for
the words. This technique will also help me when
editing as I will be able to highlight where each shot
goes within the song.
We also had to spend time finding the right locations
to suit the video. This could have been completed
before hand and is a fault on my behalf. Eventually
we were able to find the right locations by slowly
making our way through Oxford high street, this
worked as a good plan because it allowed us to film
all of the shots within a short distance of one another.
However, when it came to the filming stages I was
prepared for a lot of the challenges we could have
faced. Many of these were mentioned in the location
recces and I found solutions before we began filming.
These did save time and also allowed us to ensure
everyone involved was safe at all times.
The main location I used within my filming was Oxford
high street. This location was used in a lot of the shots
that include performance as I wanted all lip syncing
shots to include camera movement and various
angles. I felt I could best achieve this by using an
outdoor location with a lot of possibility. I chose
Oxford in particular because it provided me with
multiple areas very close together, which would help
me to shoot everything within my short time frame of
one day. However, the planning I did for this location
was very vague so that I could find the areas I
wanted to use on the day, which proved difficult. I
knew roughly what I was looking for, e.g. a street or a
shop window, but many of these places where busy
and hard to film in. I manged to find the right
location’s, but it became time consuming so was
counter-productive of my original aim.
Many of locations presented risks such as busy
environments and cars. I had included these factors
when doing my location recces, so I was able to find
a solution for many of the challenges. For example, for
one shot I had to walk backwards to film, so because
of the uneven ground I had someone hold onto my
back and guide me as we moved. This prevented any
 trip hazards and made sure everyone involved was
safe.

In the future I plan to put more thought into my

location choices and choose the smaller locations
before hand so that I can save time on the day. I also
hope that when working on future projects I can visit
the locations before hand to ensure they are right for
the shots. This is something I was unable to do this
time.

How well have you worked to
your production schedule?
This week I have followed my production schedule
very well. I was able to complete all of my filming
within the first two days, so the third date wasn’t
needed. The footage worked out well, so I don’t need
to refilm anything which has given me the chance to
begin editing ahead of time. I feel this will work out
well as editing can be very time consuming. I plan to
edit to the beat, so the excess time will allow me to
make sure this works well and is as clean as possible.

If I continue working efficiently I plan to produce my

Are you on track for this week? If
not, how far behind are you?
What work do you need to
complete outside of lessons to
stay on track?
High Grade Tips
first edit earlier than planned so I will have more time
to receive feedback and improve my work. This
should also allow me more time to focus on my
evaluation at the end of production.
Yes.
None.

Use screenshots to support your analysis – especially when comparing your work to other
pieces.

Considered and capable demonstration of processes – detailed documentation of your

production process – such as still images, and annotated screenshots of your specific
production and editing process – including ‘what’ and ‘why’ and not just ‘how’.

Specific – be specific! Don’t just say e.g. ‘the lighting was good’ – show us where the
lighting looked good and why you think that.

Week 4 This week you worked on editing your production

How did you find the editing
process?
What new skills did you learn
when editing?
I felt the editing process went fairly well. I had two
weeks to complete this area of the project as I filmed
the week before planned. This meant I was able to
take my time with editing, which proved useful as I
struggled trying to fill out the whole song with my
footage. Some of the shots I filmed differed to how I
planned them, meaning when I began editing I
couldn’t rely too much on my storyboards. However,
my shooting script was still very helpful, and I used it to
organise which footage should be used where.
When I first began editing I produced a draft, where I
put all of the footage I had in order, somewhat in time
with the music. This allowed me to understand what
footage I had for each part of the song in relation to
my planning. I used this draft to decide which clips I
would use more than once. Eventually I was able to
complete the whole video.
Once I had completed the first draft I went back to
make improvements and polish the final piece. In this
stage of editing I found that my actor got the lyrics
wrong at multiple points. I was able to correct this by
including other shots to hide the mistakes and ensure
the video worked smoothly.
One challenge I faced when I began editing was
matching up my footage to the audio. I had multiple
shots of my actor performing the song. When filming I
made sure the song was playing out loud so that I can
hear it in the shots. This helped me to find a common
point on both audios and line the two up well. It took
multiple tries to line them up perfectly as it looked odd
if they were out of sync. I struggled a lot because my
actor stumbled over the words a lot and the audio
wasn’t the clearest. In the end, however, I was able to
line up all of these shots well and include them in my
music video.
When editing I had multiple issues with the audio in my
song, this put me back a little time-wise and I had to
work hard to stay on track. Luckily as I was ahead to
begin with it had little interference but towards the
end of my editing period I found I had to work much
more efficiently to make sure I finished the piece.
When I began editing my music video there were
multiple conventions that I wanted to include.
The first one was cutting to the beat. This is where the
shot changes in time with the beat of the music and is
a technique often used in music videos. I knew I
wanted to include this in my work when I began the
planning process. When planning I had to make note
of how fast the beat was as it would have an impact
on how many shots I would need. This meant I
needed enough footage to cover every cut. Once I
started editing my footage it became clear that
cutting to the beat could be difficult. The cut had to
be as precise as possible for the transition to work
smoothly and effectively. At one point in the video I
wanted the shot to change at the same time the
drums were introduced. However, Premiere Pro would
only let me edit each frame separately so I couldn’t
match the two moments exactly. I still included this
cut in my video but the shot didn’t change with the
beat.

Another skill I learnt that I found useful, especially

when cutting to the beat was the use of markers.
Markers allow you to highlight specific parts of the
track. I found this feature helped me to be more
precise when cutting to the beat and helped line up
my footage with the track.

One final skill that I developed when editing was the

use of the colour tab in Premiere Pro. Some of my clips
had a change in lighting that I hadn’t anticipated
when filming. With the help of my teacher I was able
to use the white balance selector to even out the
appearance of the shot. I then went on to adjust the
temperature accordingly so that the shot matched
both the shots used around it and to produce a
natural finish. There was also a shot that had a very
grainy appearance because I forgot to adjust the ISO
on my camera before filming. During the editing
process I tried to improve this by adding a mask to the
image and changing the median effect to clear this.
Unfortunately it didn’t improve much and only blurred
the shot all together. I included this effect but only
slightly as anymore had no improvement. Next time I
will work on remembering my ISO and adjusting it
accordingly for different locations.
Upload screenshots of the editing
process and discuss why you
made these changes.

When editing I chose to use markers to help me cut to

the beat. These worked well as they gave me the
chance to be much more precise. A lot of the
footage in my video was cut to the beat, so to begin
with I listened to the song and put a marker at every
beat I felt appropriate. After that I began to alter my
clips so that they matched with the cuts I had
marked. I then watched the video again to ensure it
worked effectively. I used these because I found
cutting to the beat difficult and there were different
parts of the track I was cutting to. Using markers
allowed me to effectively produce work with a
polished appearance. The image above shows the
markers before I began adjusting my footage. You
can see how the cuts and the markers appear in a
similar position each time.

When editing my
video I also noticed
that the colour of
the footage was
very different from
shot to shot. The
majority of the clips
shot outside were
okay however
when shooting
inside the lighting and appearance of the shots
changed a lot. One shot in particular was the footage
of my actor trying on clothes in a mirror. These shots
originally appeared very bright and contrasted with
the video either side a great deal. To fix this I used the
white balance to try and even out the shot and
produce a much more natural finish. I used the white
balance multiple times throughout my music video
and despite it being my first time using the tool, I feel it
went well. I also used the temperature bar at the
beginning of my music video. Within the shots of the
couple arguing the footage was very bright and
colourful, which wasn’t appropriate when trying to
communicate the negative action. I decided to

What issues did you encounter
when editing and how did you
overcome them?
Are you on track for this week?
Did you meet the deadline? If
not, how far behind are you?
make the temperature much warmer, which removed
the brightness of the blue background and produced
a much more appropriate image for the context.
The one thing I found hardest when editing was
finding enough of the right footage to use. I shot my
footage over two days meaning my ideas developed
over time and some of the shots differed to how I had
planned them. When I first began editing I put
everything together in a rough draft, but the song was
a lot longer than I anticipated making it hard to fill in
the whole song.
I overcame this by putting the key moments in place
and referring back to my shooting script to make sure
this was done correctly. This then allowed me to
consider which footage would work in between. I had
originally planned to use a performance to camera
lip syncing element, which was used a great deal in
these moments.
I also had my teacher watch my first draft and give
some advice on what could be improved. He
mention that within music videos footage could be
reused more than once. This was very helpful as I took
this advice on board and reused footage throughout
the video to fill in the gaps. This is most evident in the
lip syncing parts of the video as it is always the chorus
that is performed, and I used the same moments
each time.
Also when editing it became obvious that in some
shots my actors were unsure as to what they were
doing. For example, in one shot my actor is lip syncing
to the camera, but he appears confused and the
clearly looks the camera for reassurance. This could
have been avoided if I had spent the time to ensure
my actor knew the words before the day we shot.
However I was able to solve this problem within the
editing process. I did this by finding relevant footage
that I could place over the top, sort of like B-Roll in a
documentary. I also shot this moment from various
angles, so if I had a footage needed I simply included
various angles so that my actor performs the words
correctly.
Yes
What work do you need to None I am on track.
complete outside of lessons?

High Grade Tips

Use screenshots to support your analysis – especially when comparing your work to other
pieces.

Considered and capable demonstration of processes – detailed documentation of your

production process – such as still images, and annotated screenshots of your specific
production and editing process – including ‘what’ and ‘why’ and not just ‘how’.

Specific – be specific! Don’t just say e.g. ‘the lighting was good’ – show us where the
lighting looked good and why you think that.

Week 5 This week you worked on creating your site

How did you design When I began designing my website I decided that I wanted my
your page and website to have a very simple layout but an intimate feel to it. I felt
why? (upload this was easiest to produce by including only a few main pages
with small chunks of writing as a lot of detail may become
screenshots and
overwhelming for the viewers. The first thing I did was decided
discuss) which pages I would include, which in the end included, a home
page, a page for the final product, one about the actors and then
a contact page. The use of a contact page encourages
interaction between the audience and artists and removes the
barrier between the two. I wanted this idea to continue throughout
the site which is why I included a page about the actors. Before I
began working on the website I wrote out a series of questions for
the actors to answer and these were eventually included on the
website.

This minimalist theme continued throughout my website. The main

colour used was a white background and the writing was either
black, blue or white. However, on the home page I had a dark
grey background. The use of simple colours allowed the images to
stand out. A set of four images where the first thing you saw when
you opened the site, so with the dark background the images
instantly looked a lot brighter and drew the audience’s attention to
it. The images where very important because they were taken
directly from the music video so provided an insight into the
product I was promoting. By using a very simple colour scheme I
was able to produce a website that was easy to view and
understand. The dull yet complimentary colours made the site
pleasing to look at without being too overwhelming.
 I also used a sans-serif font throughout the site which made any
written information much easier to read. This kind of font is most
commonly used digitally as serif fonts can be harder to view and
understand. However, I did include a serif font for the titles of
pages, such as the names of my actors. This text was white and
used on top of images at the head of the pages. A serif font is often
viewed as traditional and is frequently used on printed texts, for
example, newspapers. I included this font to show the importance
and professionalism of the pages, particularly the actors pages as I
felt these elements were key.

I included two videos on my website, a trailer for the music video

and the final product. These videos explained the purpose of the
website and shared the final product in an easy to view format. By
including them on the website it prevented the audience from
having to search for them. However, I also included links to social
media on the website so that I could generate some interaction
with the audience and link the sites together. Another way I tried to
produce interaction between the two on the contact page. On
here I included an option for the audience to sign up for
newsletters, which suggests more content would be produced and
that they could stay up to date with any developments.

How did you use When promoting my product I produced social media pages to
social media to help share more content with the audience. During my research phase I
promote your found social media made it a lot easier for bands to promote
smaller elements of their work. The pages provided them with an
production?
 outlet that could reach a much larger audience and they were
able to use hashtags to make their work organised and accessible.
When creating my social media pages I wanted to have a theme
that runs through all of them so that they were similar, and it was
easy to identify that they were mine. To do this I created a logo
online that showed my site name and had the same colour
scheme as my website.

The first social media page I created was a twitter account. Twitter
is a very popular social media platform amongst music fans and
artists. A lot of artists use the platform to communicate with their
fans and it is often where their news is shared first. By creating a
twitter page I was able to reach the appropriate demographic but
also share important information easily. Twitter has a character limit
per tweet, so it prevents you from sharing an excessive amount of
information. Therefore, twitter is the perfect place to share posts
that are informative and to the point. When creating my page I
used my logo as a profile picture and for the header I used an
image from the music video.

For my first posts I shared a picture of my logo with the #soon as I

felt that while it was simple it would generate interest. By posting
the logo I again created a link between the image and my
product. My second tweet was a link to the music video trailer. This
trailer had been shared across all social media pages as well as my
website, so by sharing it here I was able to reach the maximum
audience create links between my pages.

I also created an Instagram page. Instagram is predominantly used

to share photos and short one minute videos. Instagram also has a
large use of hashtags, which I took advantage of. When
developing the page I used the same profile picture as twitter as
well as a similar bio. In the bio I used the hashtag #thelasttime as it
links with my product. I continued to use this hashtag when posting.
I again shared the music video trailer on my Instagram page, as
well as a short clip from the rehearsal process. The clip had no
sound but gave the audience an insight to the process and actors
involvement. By sharing this I was able to help the audience feel
much more involved, the posts removed the barrier between the
audience and the artist.
How effective do The main focus of my site is to promote the music video I produced.
you feel your site is There are various pagers on the site that share different elements
in promoting your but overall the main product is always the music video. I have used
the site to share different behind the scenes elements and teasers
work?
for the video. For example, before I began designing my website I
created a trailer that showcased the video without giving too
much away. This was shown on the home page of my website, so it
was the first thing viewers saw. I felt this technique was fairly
effective as it provided the audience with information and made
them aware of my product without sharing it with them
 immediately. I’ve used the site to showcase the best of my footage,
using images from the music video throughout the website so that
the theme always relates back to the product as the main focus.

I also used my website to provide links with the other sites and
platforms. At the bottom of each page there is the option to go to
the Instagram, YouTube and twitter pages I had created to
promote the product. By creating links between the two I was able
to reach a much wider audience and share more of my work
elsewhere.

However, the website could have included a lot more information

on the other elements within the music video. I could have
included a page about the original artist ‘Keane’. This would have
been relevant to the product and would have included the song
itself as a focus. Often music videos are used to showcase the song
and its message, and as I produced a narrative video a lot of the
message within it comes from the song itself. My website could
have also been improved with a greater range of images. Other
than the actor’s headshots, all of the images I used where
screenshots from the footage used in the video. To improve this
next time I plan to spend more time taking pictures of both the
filming process and with my actors afterwards. I would still include
some footage on the website but having different images would
produce a much more professional view for the website and
provides the audience with a wider range of content.
How does you site Before I began creating my website and social media I did an
compare to those extensive amount of research on how other bands used the
you previously platforms to promote their products. I researched two very different
examples and decided to use elements from both within my own
researched?
work.

The first site I looked into was Arctic Monkeys, who have a very
minimalist layout to their pages. They prioritised their most recent
work over their past products. This was made clear as the first thing
you saw when you arrived on the site was their music video and
links to their social media. By having this as the first thing you saw
the audience instantly know it holds importance. I wanted to take a
similar approach when promoting my music video as it is my only
product. When creating my site I decided to include a trailer for the
video on the home page so that the audience were instantly made
aware of it. I also included multiple images from the video, so that it
was the main focus of the website.
Arctic Monkey’s had a very similar approach to their social media.
The only posts they had were about their recent tour and music
releases. They didn’t have a great number of posts, as they had
deleted past ones. This is something I wanted to reflect in my own
work, again because I only had one product. When creating my
social media pages I didn’t produce content about the song itself
or any other products. I simply posted some behind the scenes
 videos from the video as well as the trailer for the video. When
posting on Instagram Arctic Monkeys refrained from including long
captions, instead just crediting artists or having no caption at all.
This links closely to the minimalist theme they had throughout their
sites. I decided to use this technique on my own page, with short
captions that explained the post but didn’t overwhelm the viewer.

The second website I researched was from the band Queen. This
website was very different to the Arctic Monkey’s one as it was very
busy. The site included a lot of information on various topics as well
as multiple pages. Throughout the website viewers could find
information on the band members, what they were doing at
present as well as their past projects. The band have been around
for a long time, so many audience members have followed them
as they released their products, so the website lets them reflect on
these. One element that I enjoyed a lot was the informative pages
about the band members. Each individual member had their own
page. I decided to include this idea within my own work, so when
creating my website I produced a page for both of the actors that
worked on my music video.

I wanted their pages to have a very down to earth feel to them,

with a connection between the audience and actors. To achieve

this I sent both of my actors a series of questions to answer, which I

then included on the page. The questions asked about both their
interests and the filming process, providing a range of information.
One question asked the actors if they had any funny stories from
filming which created the relaxed and intimate feel I aimed to
produce. Overall, I feel this idea worked quite well as it shared the
information I wanted to with it being too overwhelming.

Are you on track for Yes I am up to date.

this week? Did you
meet the deadline?
If not, how far
behind are you?
High Grade Tips
Use screenshots to support your analysis – especially when comparing your work to other
pieces.

Considered and capable demonstration of processes – detailed documentation of your

production process – such as still images, and annotated screenshots of your specific
production and editing process – including ‘what’ and ‘why’ and not just ‘how’.

Specific – be specific! Don’t just say e.g. ‘the lighting was good’ – show us where the
lighting looked good and why you think that.