Prelim Evaluation

1)    Did you enjoy the workshop day? What were your best bits and why?


I enjoyed the professional atmosphere of the day. It's exactly what I would expect from a shoot as there was stress balanced with a lot of fun. Looking at industry professionals and having the chance to help them allowed me to understand more about different aspects of a shoot and what I enjoyed the most; camera work and directing being one of the most interesting. When helping with the camera, my job was to track the camera back and forth while others would cable bash and make sure the camera was pointing at the actors. Although it wasn't the most interesting job, it helped me understand the importance of everyone involved and how everyone's job is equally as important.

















2)    What have you learnt from participating in each of the prelim tasks?

Initially, thinking about performance music videos with Cry Cry by Oceana helped me understand different aspects associated with this type of video and what needed to be there, be it money shots, locations and costumes.

After that, the audition video we had to create in groups was the starting point of allowing ourselves to let loose and have fun. Being with friends while making fools of ourselves to a song really helped understanding what we needed to achieve as performers on the workshop day.

After roles were allocated, deciding costumes and planning everything was another aspect that we had to prepare prior to the day. From the planning, I learnt how important organisation is, and how important it would be that everything would need to be planned perfectly for my own music video to ensure a successful shoot.

As a dancer on the day, the importance of making the main characters and the others feeling comfortable on the day was extremely important in ensuring the shots would look good. As I wasn't needed for performance for most of the day, I tried making the main dancers comfortable enough to perform well in front of the camera.

3)    Are you pleased with the footage and your edit? Is this how you expected it to look?

The footage looked professional and was close to the original. It was interesting to see that with a camera available to a consumer we could produce such high quality footage. 

It was interesting to edit the footage as we never previously encountered lip-syncing and this experience helped me visualize the importance of over-acting to make sure the footage looked alright. We were warned that we need to dramatize our actions while performing so they looked normal on screen, and this applied to lip-syncing as well. Although expected, this also allowed us to understand that it's important to have many takes of the same shots to ensure you have the shot you need. 

Some shots that we needed were missing, but we chose others shots and manipulated them by cropping and flipping to make sure they looked as close to the original as possible without ruining the quality. For example, only one shot with a boot existed, but there were many in the actual music video, so we had to change it so it didn't look the same everytime we used that shot.

4)    How do you think your prelim experiences will impact on your approach to next term’s music video coursework?

The prelim has helped me understand the importance of organisation and how important is it to make sure everything is planned. It has also helped me see that I could make a professional-looking video with simple locations and props that I could get.

It also helped me see that the confidence of an actor really helps portray the performance and it is obvious on screen if they didn't perform to their fullest. This will be important next year if we have choreography, but even generally it will be important to ensure confidence in all our actors.

Performance Music Video Analysis: Oceana - Cry Cry

I have chosen to analyse the music video to Cry Cry by Oceana.

1. The music, lyrics and imagery work in collaboration.
    The lyrics represent a story, whereas the music video is very simple and conceptual. The editing fits  
    around the music and some guitar sounds are directly heard as Oceana strums the guitar in the video.
    Also when she sings 'Deep inside, you cry cry cry' at one point, she is seen looking at a bird in a cage'.  
   This represents that the music video is more metaphorical rather than literal.
 
2. The performance drives the music video and it is sustained throughout. There may well be 
    narrative or conceptual elements too.
    Oceana performs throughout, whether it is just singing or dancing. There are very few cutaways  
    to metaphorical representations of how she feels such as the water, bird, and her burying her
    face in her arms.

3. The band or artist sing/mime throughout. The lip-sync is believable.
    The lip-sync is believable throughout as this is a performance video so there are certain audience
    expectations that the singer would sing and perform for the camera.

4. The role of the band / artist may switch between artist performance and artist-in-character 
    performance.
    Initially Oceana just performs, whether that be by herself, with a guitar or with a microphone. She then
    sings as artist-in-character but as herself while contemplating. The difference is noticeable as she is no
    longer performing to the camera, but is just singing to herself. Examples of this are when she is sitting
    against a wall and buries her face in her arms.

5. The audience will expect to see singing/ dancing/ movement/ playing instruments. This is likely 
    to conform to their expectations of the genre and/ or the band/ artist.
    Oceana dances, sings and plays the guitar in this music video. The laid back, melancholic style of this song
    is very prominent with the message behind the song and represents Oceana as a serious artist.

6. The band/ artist performance will be engaging/ impactful/ visually striking.
    The music video is very simple and gets more memorable towards the end with the juxtaposition of lighting
    and liveliness portrayed by Oceana. Initially she is very conserved and melancholic, and by the end the
    movement through the dance is very free, also juxtaposing the bird in the cage. Other moments og visual
    impact along with the bird in the cage include the many outfits/ sides of Oceana, the location of the run-
    down, dirty building and the water falling down against the wall. Although the music video as a whole is
    not made for repeat viewing, it is made to represent the song in a more conceptual way that represents
    Oceana's style as a singer and a performer.

7. It is likely that the video features highly stylised costume, hair, make-up, backdrops and effects.  
    A variety of sets, backdrops and costumes is common.
    There are a variety of costumes ranging from casual to expensive dresses as she performs with the
    microphone and dresses suited for her to dance in that are glamorous yet revealing. There is a different
    make-up and hairstyle for each different outfit that results in a lot of work. There are also many locations,
    for example the empty room where she performs with the microphone, the kitchen, the staircase and later
    on the mirror and the lights. There are no effects present in the music video as they are not needed to help
    portray the message with the theme chosen.

8. A strong sense of development is expected - things change and move on.
    Development isn't prominent in this video, although the editing speeds up with more backdrops and
    costumes being introduced further into the video. There is no narrative portrayed in the video as it's purely
    performance with cutaways to the artist contemplating while singing.

9. A strong sense of artist identity is crucial through movement, gestures, costume/ hair/ make-up 
    and band relationships. The video is aspirational to fans of the band/ artist.
    Cry Cry was Oceana's first single from her debut album meaning it was necessary for her to introduce
    herself and target certain audiences. She presents herself as a serious artist with respect for the history of
    the genre, presented with the style of her performance with the microphone which is very reminiscent of
    singers from the 20th Century. This helps her establish a fanbase that likes original Soul/R&B with a
    modern twist. At the end of the video she does more complicated dances than at first, with more modern
    hairstyles and outfits. This helps attract younger audiences interested in the genre. Playing the guitar helps
    her presents herself as a serious artist as it connotes her musical identity. The fact that she can play musical
    instruments is important when establishing yourself as a musician and not only a singer. Also, the message
   of the song is very important and personal, so it wouldn't make sense to make a music video that was more
   fun and upbeat.

10. Beauty shots/ money shots are expected by the record label, plus repetitions of these key 
      shots.
      Beauty shots are seen around the middle of the music video. For example at 1:27-1:31, the lighting is
      perfect, and so is Oceana's make-up and hair, which is repeated later on. The main money shot in my
      opinion is when Oceana is at a MCU in a corner looking to the right as this is when she has the most
      make-up and best lighting. 2:26-2:28 would be an example of this.

11. Extreme juxtapositions and binary oppositions make the video interesting.
      There are constant changes from where Oceana looks miserable and sad, to where she is dancing with
      wide movements that represent how free she is. Also, the lyrical juxtaposition from verse to chorus,
     where the verses represent a sad story of a girl getting into trouble, and the chorus where Oceana speaks
     directly to her/us with hope is very uplifting. This is represented in the video with my point before of her
     dancing versus her being very closed up (sitting down, in a corner etc).

12. Discontinuous editing is standard.
      There is a constant change of settings and costumes.

13. Audience will gain pleasure from references to popular culture.
      The 20th Century throwback of her performance with the microphone is the closest reference to any
      popular culture in the music video. The location is unknown, although the dress she wears at 2:18 is very
     glamorous and may have a Dream Girls vibe.

14. The video will be polysemic in nature, offering different layers of meaning, despite only being a 
      performance video.
      The song itself is polysemic, and the music video adds to this with a lot of iconography such as a mirror,
      the bird and the water mainly representing different layers of meaning from Oceana dealing with the
      reality of the situation (Oceana's best friend dying at a young age from getting into drugs and the wrong
      men) to hope with the dancing and the hints of happiness while Oceana is performing the most.

15. It is likely to provoke a strong audience reaction.
      I don't think it will provoke a strong audience reaction, but is satisfying to the audience, as it suits the
      song and represents it well.

Horror - Audience Expectations

Horror Definition: an overwhelming and painful feeling caused by something frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting; a shuddering fear.

Why do people choose to watch horror films?

 

Horror films are able to entertain and excite audience on a level other film genres can't. The ''Thrill factor'' makes them appealing to audiences and is what makes them so different and unique to other genres. For example comedy is created to be funny and action which entertains an audience in a much different way.

 

A wide variety of sub-genres allow for many different audience types to enjoy a different experience of horror. As we are planning on creating a paranormal film, we need to make sure we achieve a good sense of mystery and suspense.

 

 

Target Audiences for Horror

 

Typical horror movie goer: 15-24 male.15-24 males (largest group of cinema group goers) look for thrill and action within a film whereas females typically prefer romance and comedy as they are lighter forms of entertainment.

 

On the other hand, recent figures  from 2007 show that females watching horror has exceeded male viewers for the first time. The UK film council website stated that 'the number of women attending cinema screening of horror films now marginally exceeds male attendance figuires for the first time.

 

 

This shows that more and more women are now watching horror, so we as film makers need to appeal to women as much as men. By having a strong female lead that was originally a victim, we incorporate understanding of many women's expectations in films in general.

 

Horror - Institutions/Distributors

Paramount Pictures - Distributed Paranormal Activity successfully.

                                                     - Many divisions to productively distribute a film successfully.

       Some divisions are: 

     Advantages:     Global reach (distributing around the world).
                            Viacom's many branches could help boost film's success.
                            Modern technological advancements in terms of distribution platforms (our target audience        
                            16-24 males and females use technology all the time).
                            Previous success with Paranormal Activity.

    Disadvantages: Not specialized in horror.
                            Audience expectations for our film could differ from what they are used to.  
                            Viacom's leading brands also have a different audience to the one we are targeting. 

  
Lionsgate - Distributes many horror films successfully (Texas Chainsaw, Saw films, Silent Hill etc)
                           - Familiar with audience expectations for horror genre. 
                           - Able to distribute globally.  

'Lionsgate produces movies that major American studios would not accept because they are too controversial or too disturbing for major studios.' 

                          As our film is intended on not being too disturbing, so  it can attract and appeal to a wide and gender-balanced audience, in a real life scenario it could potentially be produced by another distribution company, for example Paramount distributed Paranormal Activity which is closer to sub-genre and theme with our film, hence making it a better choice.

Reservoir Dogs Remake Edit (Alex E, Alex S, Jack)

In this task, we had to remake the opening credits to reservoir dogs, and in our small group edited it to create this outcome, which I believe had a good sense of continuity and was very similar to the original.

DEXTER title sequence re-edit: Evaluation DYM

Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYUh7qfGT7o

Summarise the conventions of title sequences that were most important to this task.

In this task, as we didn't have access to the sound, we were forced to look at the visuals only. As the genre is crime, and also fairly gruesome, we decided to portray genre using these themes. 
Conventions also include having to fulfill legal requirements, for example make all the text big enough so it's easily readable, and include the people's names you are supposed to show in the sequence. 

How did your group plan to edit the title sequence? (consider timings, industry requirements etc).

As we didn't have much time available to us, we were forced to work fast and efficiently. We tried to space out the names shown to be in equal spacing, so that we could be consistent in that sense. We also planned to add more names and job roles, for example director etc, but didn't have time to actually portray them in the sequence.

Explain the creative decisions made by your group.

As there is a lot of iconography concerning blood, we decided to add a red colour to our text, hence meeting genre requirements, as it is adding to the sense of atmosphere that we want to portray through this to introduce the show. We also used effects that would portray the craziness of the character himself, for example the slanted text and the rapid movement of other text, but at the same time easily readable for the audience.

How does your re-edit compare to the original?

Our re-edit is similar in the sense that it creates a similar mood. The text is the same colour as the original (red) and has a similar font. The original though, has a lot more titles, that continue throughout the sequence almost non-stop. 

Preliminary Evaluation

Our task for this preliminary Exercise was to create a sequence where a person walks into a room (opening a door), sitting down with another person and exchanging a few sentences (having a conversation). Our main task was to ensure continuity throughout.

1.Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?

• I worked with Alex S, Olivia and Zenia. 
• In our group, we all pitched in for the brainstorming, although the idea we ended up using was initially thought of by Olivia. 
• Olivia and Zenia initially acted out the sequence in front of me and Alex S so that I could note down the script, which I would then improve and Alex S could not down the actions for the script.

2.How did you plan your sequence? What processes did  you use? What theories did you try to take into account? 

• Brainstorming- At first, we brainstormed different ideas, first choosing a genre to work with and then seeing what narratives could fulfill the needs of that genre. We decided on comedy as directing a comedy needs to be clever, and we thought of it as a challenge. 
• Scripting- I noted down the initial script as it was being acted out, which we then, as a group, improved it by looking at how it would work and if it would work when the actors would say it in the sequence and developed it according to that.
• Storyboard- Me and Olivia drew the storyboard, although everyone was adding ideas on how it should be shot. Here we had to think about cinematography and how we would portray the genre using filming and genre conventions. For example, in our sequence we were trying to create an awkward atmosphere between the two characters, instead of an over-dramatic one, which is the type of comedy we were going for. We had to think about the 180 degree rule, and tried to achieve this through the conversation that would take place in the sequence. We tried to avoid breaking the 30 degree rule when it came to shooting, and tried to use framing that would allow us to achieve the match-on-action when we were to edit in post-production.
• Shot List- Zenia wrote the shotlist from the storyboard, which helped us then decide on setups.
• Production- Here we had to think about: rehearsals, location, casting, timings and setups. Setups were the most important, as we had to think about how to be most time-efficient and use our time effectively.

3.What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it?

• In pre-production, we didn't use any technology, but did use the camcorder to look at locations and if the location would be suitable for what we were trying to shoot. 
• While shooting, we used the camcorder and a tripod. The tripod allowed us to pan smoothly and also keep the camera still to achieve the best shots we could.
• In post-production, we used Adobe Premiere Pro on a PC, it was easy to use and we got the hang of it quickly and managed to edit as best as we could in the time we had.

4.What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?

• We had to make sure we were time-efficient in everything we did and needed to make sure our time was managed efficiently throughout. We managed this quite well as our setups were successfully shot so we didn't waste time repeating setups after we had moved from them. 
• As continuity was the main point of this task, we had to make sure our match-on-action was effectively shot, so when we edited we could easily edit the shots together successfully. 
• As we were located indoors and away from windows, we didn't have to take natural lighting into account as much, although we had to make sure that the lighting from outside didn't change too much so it wouldn't affect our shots.
• When planning, we had to make sure the script would work when the actors would act it out, so we had to do rehearsals to ensure the script made sense when acted out, so that we didn't have any problems when shooting the real thing.
• We repeated many of our shots when shooting, even if we thought they looked good so we could have spare footage when editing in case something went wrong. For example a shot we thought looked good at the time didn't fit in with the rest of the footage when editing, so by having spares we were trying to reduce this problem as much as possible.

5.How successful was your sequence? Please identify what worked well, and with hindsight, what would you improve/do differently? 

• I feel our sequence was successful when it came to continuity. I think it flows really well from one shot to another, and the cinematography allows the viewer to understand what is going on. 
• Some shots, for example the reaction shots of the characters after the girl says she's the boy's mother are kept on longer than what would be expected, this was done to create an awkward atmosphere between the characters, and I think that worked well as it portrays a comic mood and fulfills audience needs for comedy, as that was our genre.
• What I think could be improved is, in the two shots were I stand up to hug Olivia, we had to make sure two things stayed in continuity at the same time, and I think that didn't work very well. When I was getting up, we had to keep my body moving up in continuity from one shot to another, and also the door closing in the background. We noticed this when editing, so we were unable to re-shoot. We had to decide whether we wanted to make sure I kept continuity, or the door closing, and in the end, as from the reactions of some people watching the sequence from outside our group, decided the door was more obvious to the viewer at first, so decided to make sure that was kept in continuity. 

6.What have you learnt from completing this task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework, do you think?

• This exercise helped me learn the importance of setups. and how useful they are when thinking about time-constraint, as I wasn't very aware of this before. This will allow me to work more efficiently in future projects to achieve better results. 
• Continuity is something I wouldn't normally think about in previous projects, although I knew the importance of it, I never needed to use it. Now, I will keep it in mind to ensure I use it effectively if needed in future projects. 
• I have also learnt about the different processes and theories when it comes to continuity, for example the 180 degree rule and the 30 degree rule. Especially the 30 degree rule, which I previously did not know about but can now use this in any project that requires me to shoot from the same setup.