Weekly Evaluation
For most of my evaluation, I am going to be focussing on evaluating my work weekly rather than all at once at the end. Doing it this way will enable me to keep track of my work a lot easier and to be more detailed in what I have done. I will still do a full evaluation of the entire process, however my weekly targets and goals will be stated within my
Week commencing 25/02/2019.
For most of my evaluation, I am going to be focussing on evaluating my work weekly rather than all at once at the end. Doing it this way will enable me to keep track of my work a lot easier and to be more detailed in what I have done. I will still do a full evaluation of the entire process, however my weekly targets and goals will be stated within my
Week commencing 25/02/2019.
This week, we mainly focussed on the Maths Forum project. This was a really great opportunity for us to gain any skills that we may have been lacking prior, ready for the FMP. I chose to do pre-production and paperwork because I knew that this was my main weakness in the production process from start to finish.
I consulted the producer and asked what he needed for the shoot, and me and the other person involved in the pre-production split the work between us. I took the RECCEs, the risk assessments, and the equipment list, whilst the other person did the shooting schedule. I already knew what equipment we would need from a meeting that we had a day prior to me creating the paperwork which made that one easy, and it was just a case of looking at the rooms and making an assessment of what is a risk and what may hold the production back from reaching it's full capacity.
I feel as though I did the paperwork well, and I made sure to get it done ahead of time so that I had enough time to make any adjustments had I have needed to. I put all of the work past the producer and he said it was all fine, so I left it at that.
On the day of the shoot I was given the role to "schmooze" with guests and I feel like I am a natural speaker, so this was easy for me. I enjoyed the day of the shoot, and I enjoyed talking to people and getting the insight that a lot of others don't get when just working on the production and not talking to the talent.
Afterwards, we had a debrief and we spoke about any issues we had as a team, and one issue we had was with the set up. Because I had not drawn the RECCE form out in terms of the way the room would be set up on the day of the shoot, there were problems with positioning of cameras as other things were blocking the view of the people from the camera.
Overall, this week taught me a lot about pre-production which is good because pre-production is something that I have consistently struggled with throughout my entire time studying media. I have always struggled with getting enough detail in there, and by taking on the challenge of creating the pre-production paperwork for the maths shoot, I have challenged myself. I learned a couple of things that are incredibly important, like always doing a RECCE in terms of the camera positions instead of just from an aerial view, and I can now put these into play with my own final major project.
Week commencing 4/03/2019.
This week we began gathering evidence for unit 12 (the essay) and unit 13 (the final major project). I spent some time listening to the piece of music that I want to do for my music video, and liked the idea of there being a large robot that sends out a message via a number of media channels e.g. phones, computers, televisions, radios etc. and getting a load of little robots to almost join a "cult", just with less sacrifice and more fun! I thought about what this means for the video and what theory I could link into my research and my video, and I realised after doing a little bit of research that the hypodermic needle theory fit right in with my idea.
We had to write our proposal this week for our idea, which includes the rationale, the concept and the strengths and weaknesses with our idea. I found this easy once I had done the relevant research for it, and this helped me to get a more well-rounded idea of what I want my FMP video to be, although I know that I have a long way to go in terms of idea development yet!
Overall, I feel like this week was really helpful in terms of me nailing down the idea I have for the FMP. I feel as though I have a great foundation to beginning the research for my project, which will be aided by my essay. I am ready for next week where I get to finalise my research channels for the essay and get some more research done for my FMP idea.
Week commencing 11/03/2019.
This week we continued gathering evidence for both the FMP and the essay for unit 12. I also had to give my pitch for my final project which was nerve wracking.
I was nervous to give my pitch incase I missed pieces of important information, and I was not confident within my idea at this point. It was only in the initial stages of development and I was not 100% sure how I wanted the final product to be, so I found it difficult to pitch an idea that I was not 100% sure on. Luckily my research that I did throughout the week helped me with the final pitch, and helped me to consolidate my idea. I found that also speaking to people helped me to develop my idea and my narrative, because beforehand I did not have a set narrative or reason for my video, however by discussing my idea with a number of people they were able to give me suggestions on what to do and this taught how invaluable peer feedback is.
I also continued researching for my essay which was also incredibly helpful in giving me more of an idea of what I wanted to write not only within my essay but also what I wanted to show within my FMP.
Overall, this week really showed me how much research can warp and develop an idea, and how important it is within the production process. I feel as though my final idea has developed a lot this week thanks to the extensive research that I have done on various different things from different channels.
Week commencing 18/03/2019.
This week I focussed on creating my primary research for my final project and I focussed on gaining the rest of my research for the unit 12 essay. It was a lot like the previous week in terms of what I was doing, and I just continued to develop my idea with the research that I have been doing.
I feel as though I learned a lot, once again, about both the essay and my final project and what I want for my final project. Overall, I feel as if this week was another important week in shaping what I wanted for my FMP, and it allowed me to get even closer to the planning and paperwork stage, which is exciting because the production can finally come into play!
Week commencing 25/03/2019.
This week I focussed mainly on writing my essay and perfecting that, whilst continuing to do a little bit of research and doing my paperwork for my FMP.
As the deadline draws closer for the essay, I focussed on the essay this week and plan to next week because of course I need to prioritise that at the moment. I had gathered all of my evidence/sources at this point, and began writing my essay. I found it difficult to get into the flow of writing an essay, however I had written them before in the past so I was not worried about my ability in terms of writing an essay.
Once I had began writing my essay, it became a lot easier. In our lesson on Wednesday we got given some peer feedback which was really helpful too, and it enabled me to work on what feedback I had. At this point, I had compiled all of my notes into one document and had began writing the essay, so the majority of the feedback was to continue on with what I had already written, remembering to include all of the research that I had done.
In terms of my FMP, I made sure to focus on beginning my paperwork as I know how important this bit is. I asked as many people as I knew to volunteer to be robots, so that I could get a rough number on how many robots I will have. I was aiming for 20, and ended up with approximately 15 volunteering which is okay. I then had to get some boxes ready to begin creating my robot heads for the shoot. I work at a local DIY store so luckily cardboard boxes were not difficult for me to get hold of.
I began with the storyboards as I felt as if the storyboards are the most important part of the paperwork as they make the production come to life and enable all of the crew to be able to see my vision. I usually struggle to do the storyboards because I struggle to draw what I think, but this time I feel as though my storyboards were fairly clear (although there may be a few pictures that I'll have to explain).
Overall, this week I was happy with my progress in both the essay and the FMP, however it is finally setting in that there is not much time left at all- just under 2 months to be precise. I am happy with where I am with both units, and am impressed that I am managing to keep to my schedule whilst juggling 2 different topics.
Week commencing 01/04/2019.
This week I continued to plan for my final project and finished off my unit 12 essay.
The focus for this week was evidently on my essay, because it was the deadline for the essay at the end of this week. I hardly slept any time this week on my final major project, because I had to ensure that everything was finished or my essay which included the bibliography and the contextual knowledge section.
Once I had finished this, I felt a lot calmer in tackling my final major project because it enabled me to be able to focus on only my final project, which was just in time for the filming that I was due to do the following week.
Week commencing 08/04/2019.
This week I did testing for my shoot and began filming for my final project. It was officially the Easter holidays, and I had planned to film within the holidays because I knew that this was when the majority of the people I needed to be in my film would be available. I knew that it would be easy for them to come into Kings Lynn to the location I wanted to shoot at too (The Walks), so I chose Friday the 12th of April for that reason.
Leading up to the Friday, I did all of the paperwork needed for the shoot, which included finalising all shot lists and storyboards. I knew that the more detailed my paperwork was, the easier my job would be at the end of the week when I needed to film.
The test was difficult, but I'm very glad that it was difficult because it highlighted all of the problems that we would have otherwise faced on the day of the actual shoot. As detailed in my production page, there were a lot of problems regarding the camera, and the costumes but thanks to the quick thinking of my cast and crew, we soon conquered those problems ready for the official shoot to begin.
The first half of my shoot went very well, and all of the cast followed my instructions exactly which was a big relief on my behalf. I showed the crew and cast my paperwork, so this may have helped with the level of understanding of what my vision was.
Overall, I feel as though this week was a huge success, because the shoot went extremely well and I was very happy with the outcome- now just to focus on shoot number 2!
Week commencing 15/04/2019.
This week I continued to plan for the second half of my shoot. I also continued to research what I wanted the final outcome to be for my film, and more and more things I researched helped to shape my final idea.
I looked at a couple of music videos this week and that really helped me to gain more of an idea of how I wanted to edit my piece. I found that the research I did this week really helped me within continuing to shape my final idea, and it gave me the chance to be able to really reflect on the type of music video that I wanted and how I would ensure that it appealed to my target audience.
I also did the second half of my RECCE's and risk assessments this week ready for the second half of my shoot which had been scheduled for Tuesday 30th of April.
Overall, I feel as though this week has helped me to gain a further idea of what I want my final product to be, which is really great considering the second half of the shoot is not far away at all!
Week commencing 22/04/2019.
This week I focussed on continuing my research for certain parts of my FMP that I had not filmed and continued to edit and gain feedback on my edit so far. I also continued to plan for the second half of my FMP shoot.
The feedback on my edit so far has really helped me, and I am glad that I asked for feedback this early on. The feedback so far has been resoundingly good and there is nothing to change about my video, but I feel as though it is always important to get the opinion of peers to see where I can improve or where I can change things. The comment that I have had the most so far is that my piece resembles a professional music video, which is exactly what I was going for!
Overall, this week was fairly chilled out in terms of planning because I had completed all of the planning beforehand- it was just a case of doing and writing up the editing that I did in my production page.
Week commencing 29/04/2019.
This week I shot the second half of my final project and continued to edit the video.
The second half of the shoot went well, possibly even better than the first half, because everything was so organised. I knew the precautions that needed to be taken and I knew exactly what we went out to shoot, so I found directing the shoot to be really easy. Nothing went wrong on the day (thankfully) apart from the top of David's robot head coming off, however I only had one shot to take when it did come off, so we just forgot about it and I filmed the shot from a slightly lower angle than I had planned to cover for the mistake- try to spot it in the final product!
As the shoot was on Tuesday, this enabled me to be able to continue editing for the rest of the week, and once again, because of the amount of planning it made the editing incredibly easy.
I focussed on putting together all of the footage in the order of the story boards, and finding all of the correct pieces of footage out of all of the ones we shot- I'd rather have too much than not enough! But, by the end of the week I had gotten 90% of the film together, and it was just some finishing touches that needed doing. I also made sure to take a note of what I had done in terms of editing so that I could write it up in the production page as I went along.
Week commencing 06/05/2019.
This week I mainly focussed on continuing to edit my piece and I began editing my advertisement too. I knew I needed to look at other advertisements in order to know what to do for my own, so I also did some research into this which helped me to better form my idea.
I had to place the graphics into my video this week which was difficult and time-consuming, however I felt confident that I knew what I was doing and although it was tedious, it was very much possible. Within a couple of days, the graphics were done and I was glad that they were because for what they were, they were the most time consuming part (of course the longest part was putting it all together in the timeline, but I expected this to take a while to get it perfect).
I also did most of the edit for my advertisement by choosing my favourite parts of my video and placing them into the advert, which was simple enough. I feel like a summary of a video is usually a good place to start when creating a trailer, because it gives the audience a good idea of what they will get when they watch the actual final product without giving everything away, so they get enticed to watch the product but don't know enough to not need to watch it!
Week commencing 13/05/2019.
This week I finalised my edit of the music video and created the edit for my advertisement ready to be released on the day of the deadline.
I really enjoy editing and because I knew what I wanted/needed for both parts, I found it easy to edit them together and put the (limited amount of) graphics in there. I uploaded my advertisement on Friday the 17th of May so that it gave the audience enough time to prepare for the release of my music video, but so that it also didn't leave it so long that they would forget about what was happening. Although, I did have a lot of problems with the upload of the advert because it got copyright striked. I re-uploaded it and it seemed to be fine, so I shared it on the internet and prepared for the release of my music video on the Monday at 8pm as stated at the end of the advertisement.
Week commencing 20/05/2019 (formative deadline 20th May).
This week included mostly working on my blog and finalising my evaluation ready for the deadline next week. I also uploaded my final video on the 20th, as this was the practical deadline.
I did, however, run into more problems with the advertisement as it got copyrighted again, so I had to remove it and re-upload it, but as of yet it has not been taken down or striked, so I think I will be okay!
Overall, I feel as if this week has been a challenge in terms of stress with the deadline looming, however it was a big relief that the practical part is over and done with so there is just the blog to focus on.
Week commencing 27/05/2019 (summative deadline 31st May).
This week included mainly working on my evaluation and testing my product with members within and outside of my target audience. I feel as though the testing part of the evaluation has really consolidated all that I have done and proved to me that I am a good videographer in terms of music videos.
Members within and outside of my target audience are happy with my product, and it reflects that of a professional piece of work which is exactly what I wanted from this project- it is my stepping stone to the next step in my life, which is hopefully going into the industry full time!
Evaluating the process of creating my piece from start to finish was made a lot easier by the fact I have kept this "diary" from week to week to show the development of my video. It enabled me to look at my timekeeping and see whether it fit in with my time plan, which luckily it did! I am very happy with how this entire project went, and even when I did have problems with the project, I managed to fix them fairly quickly which shows that I have developed a lot since I started the course back in September of 2017.
Full Evaluation
Ideas
My ideas page is short but sweet. I have stated what inspired me and where my idea came from, as well as explained my project concept in great detail. I feel as though my inspiration is clear and when you put the ideas page together with my research, it is clear where my final idea came from.
I am also happy with my progress on from my SWOT analysis, because I worked towards my weaknesses and made a conscious effort to ensure that my pre-production paperwork was better this time around, and I succeeded. I also made sure to get work done when it needed to be done rather than procrastinate, which ended up in me being on time or even ahead in certain cases, as stated within my weekly logs.
The only thing that I would change in the future is the fact that my idea came before I did a lot of the research. Of course, the research helped to consolidate my idea fully and give me a full picture of what I wanted for my final product, but I feel as though it would be of a more professional practice to let the research I do shape my idea before I have something stuck in my head.
Research
Overall, I believe that my research page is very developed and I have a range of different information in there from a range of different sources including: websites, videos, books etc.
It is very clear where each of the different elements of my video come from, and I am happy with how the research effected the final outcome of my video.
I did not have any problems with my research- it all went very well and it most definitely effected the outcome of my video which is the entire purpose of doing it, so it was successful! I feel as though it reflects that of a professional research log because it is all reflected within the final product.
Planning
Overall, I am incredibly happy with how the planning of my piece went. Planning has always been my downfall when it comes to projects, as I have never been thorough enough with it which leads to confusion, and time-consuming mistakes.
Thankfully, due to taking a little extra time on making sure to prestigiously plan everything from start to finish, I was able to ensure that my shooting and my editing went very smoothly (with the help of a test shoot, of course).
I feel as though my planning reflected that of a professional nature because it was so thorough, and it meant that the crew and cast knew exactly what they were doing, and most importantly, so did I! Nothing was forgotten, nothing was left out, it was all done and fairly quickly at that, all because I had planned for it- in my opinion, that is the best reflection on whether the planning was good enough or not!
Production
Overall, I feel as though my production went very smoothly thanks to the great planning done previously. From the shoots themselves to the editing, right through to the final product everything was a breeze thanks to the proficient planning.
As stated in my SWOT analysis, I am (thankfully) fairly quick in terms of turnover when editing, so it did not take me long to piece together my video, especially seeing as it was all planned so well, shot by shot.
I did not run into any problems with my production or post- the only problems I had were within testing, however due to the quick thinking of me and my crew, we were soon able to solve these. After all, is that not the point of the test shoot?
I feel as though the production phase closely resembles that of a professional production, because I did a test shoot to test for any problems, fixed them and then shot both of the official shoots quickly and efficiently, saving as much time (and potential money if you're working from a budget in the future) as possible.
Testing
Finally, it's the moment of truth- I decided to test both my advertisement and my final piece to see whether the pieces were successful.
I asked 3 people what they liked about my advertisement and whether based on that they would watch my final product, and here is what they said:
Cameron, 18: I really liked the advert, but I feel like it could do with more details at the end. I don't know where to go to find the music video when it comes out.
Oscar, 20: I like how the advert gives the audience an idea of what is in the video itself without giving too much away- it leaves me wanting to watch the final video because I want to know what it all means. I also like how at the end it doesn't tell you where to find the video, because it makes me want to find it.
Kj, 19: I think the advert is good at getting the audience interested in the final product, however I did not like the advert as a whole? That sounds odd, but I did not like how it was edited together but I want to watch the final video to see what that's like.
Overall, this feedback tells me that although my advertisement may not have been the best quality, it still entices people in to watch my final video which is exactly what I made it for. In hindsight, I should have specified where to find the video instead of just the date and the time of the release, however it is too late now and my video has had over 100 views already which tells me that it has been a fair success!
Finally, the testing for my final product! The final product is, of course, the most important product of all! I was nervous to see what the public would say about my video as this is the piece that I am most proud of that I have ever created. I asked 5 different people for their opinions- three of those were in my target audience and 2 outside. Here is what they said:
Chris- I like the way the people at the beginning are using devices and they see something that turns them into robots because it reminds me of social media, and I like the way the robots coming in at the park is shot because of the camera movements. I don't think I have anything that I would change about it!
Corbyn- I really liked the professional use of the slow motion shots and the cinematography throughout is really good, however I think the colours could do with some improvement just through colour grading or something like that.
Oscar- I love the entrances of each robot in the second half of the video, and the video flows really nicely. I would just change the actress in the white costume because she didn't show enough emotion when shouting at each individual robot.
Jess- I really loved the song choice and the slow motion shots are really cool. The only thing I would change is the amount of people in the final bit because it looked a bit small.
Kj- I really liked the cinematography and the concept of the video- the story is dramatic and fits the music, however it is also easy to understand excepting the character in the white clothes. The thing I would change about your video is I would take her out because I don't really understand why she is in it.
Overall, from this I can see that the way the video was shot and composed is clearly very successful and reflects that of a professional video, which makes me very happy. I was most worried about the final outcome of the video being amateur and unprofessional, but this feedback has shown me that I am capable of doing work that would not stand out against a number of other music videos.
Of course, the criticisms that I got are important to take on board too, and as you can see I got a couple of critiques about the character in the white costume. She is meant to be there as an "angel" as she is in white, but she also appeals to the male gaze hence why she has the red lipstick on and her skin is rather exposed. She is trying to put the entire thing to a stop, as the message that the main robot is sending out is actually a bad message, however clearly this message was not well executed within my video.
The message that was well put across though, is the most important one- the one about how social media can effect us as individuals. Chris clearly recognised that was the case, and this is what my intention was- even if only one person recognises this and it makes them think about the things they see on social media and question whether it's real or dangerous information or not, it's still one person more than it would have been had I not made the video.
The other critiques including colour grading and the circle being too small at the end are understandable- I did want the circle of robots to be a lot bigger towards the end, however due to casting issues, travel issues, and a shoestring budget this was just not possible. The colour grading would be a quick fix, but with such a long video to create in such a short space of time, this was just not an option for me. To colour grade an entire video would have taken a really long time, and the colours in the majority of the shots are nice and saturated, and the shots are not over or under-exposed which is the most important thing in my opinion.
My video vs. a professional music video
Now it's time for the final test- mine vs. a professional. I wanted to note down some similarities and differences, and seeing as my favourite band Don Broco released their video for Half Man Half God on the 23rd of May (my birthday!) that my video was actually mainly inspired from, I thought that was the perfect one to compare to mine.
Of course, there are a few noticeable differences for a start, including the fact mine has robots in it, and their video has a hell of a lot more people running around the cowboy in a circle, but in terms of the cinematography itself they aren't too dissimilar.
We both used a mix of fast paced and slow motion shots, we both used lip-syncing, and we both had a main character that the other characters looked up to A.K.A. a "God".
If my cast was the sheer size of the crowd at the Don Broco concert that the show was filmed at, I dare say that my film would have looked a lot more impressive, but of course you have to work with what you have, and I am happy with the outcome of my film none the less.
The videos are not poles apart in terms of quality, and to me, that's what matters. You wouldn't necessarily be able to distinguish between the two which one was created by an amateur college student, and which one was created by a huge crew of professionals.
Final Words
Overall, I am incredibly happy with the outcome of my film and all that I have learned throughout the process. I feel as though throughout the course of the past 2 years of studying media, I have refined my skills within each sector of the production process to where they are today. I feel as though it reflects that of a professional piece, and everything that happened in the process of creating my film linked into one another e.g. ideas linked into my research, my research linked into my planning, my planning linked into my post production etc. and this is, to me, what makes a professional piece.
I can confidently say that I have just created the piece that I am most proud of in my media career so far.
Thank you for being on this journey with me.
This week we continued gathering evidence for both the FMP and the essay for unit 12. I also had to give my pitch for my final project which was nerve wracking.
I was nervous to give my pitch incase I missed pieces of important information, and I was not confident within my idea at this point. It was only in the initial stages of development and I was not 100% sure how I wanted the final product to be, so I found it difficult to pitch an idea that I was not 100% sure on. Luckily my research that I did throughout the week helped me with the final pitch, and helped me to consolidate my idea. I found that also speaking to people helped me to develop my idea and my narrative, because beforehand I did not have a set narrative or reason for my video, however by discussing my idea with a number of people they were able to give me suggestions on what to do and this taught how invaluable peer feedback is.
I also continued researching for my essay which was also incredibly helpful in giving me more of an idea of what I wanted to write not only within my essay but also what I wanted to show within my FMP.
Overall, this week really showed me how much research can warp and develop an idea, and how important it is within the production process. I feel as though my final idea has developed a lot this week thanks to the extensive research that I have done on various different things from different channels.
Week commencing 18/03/2019.
This week I focussed on creating my primary research for my final project and I focussed on gaining the rest of my research for the unit 12 essay. It was a lot like the previous week in terms of what I was doing, and I just continued to develop my idea with the research that I have been doing.
I feel as though I learned a lot, once again, about both the essay and my final project and what I want for my final project. Overall, I feel as if this week was another important week in shaping what I wanted for my FMP, and it allowed me to get even closer to the planning and paperwork stage, which is exciting because the production can finally come into play!
Week commencing 25/03/2019.
This week I focussed mainly on writing my essay and perfecting that, whilst continuing to do a little bit of research and doing my paperwork for my FMP.
As the deadline draws closer for the essay, I focussed on the essay this week and plan to next week because of course I need to prioritise that at the moment. I had gathered all of my evidence/sources at this point, and began writing my essay. I found it difficult to get into the flow of writing an essay, however I had written them before in the past so I was not worried about my ability in terms of writing an essay.
Once I had began writing my essay, it became a lot easier. In our lesson on Wednesday we got given some peer feedback which was really helpful too, and it enabled me to work on what feedback I had. At this point, I had compiled all of my notes into one document and had began writing the essay, so the majority of the feedback was to continue on with what I had already written, remembering to include all of the research that I had done.
In terms of my FMP, I made sure to focus on beginning my paperwork as I know how important this bit is. I asked as many people as I knew to volunteer to be robots, so that I could get a rough number on how many robots I will have. I was aiming for 20, and ended up with approximately 15 volunteering which is okay. I then had to get some boxes ready to begin creating my robot heads for the shoot. I work at a local DIY store so luckily cardboard boxes were not difficult for me to get hold of.
I began with the storyboards as I felt as if the storyboards are the most important part of the paperwork as they make the production come to life and enable all of the crew to be able to see my vision. I usually struggle to do the storyboards because I struggle to draw what I think, but this time I feel as though my storyboards were fairly clear (although there may be a few pictures that I'll have to explain).
Overall, this week I was happy with my progress in both the essay and the FMP, however it is finally setting in that there is not much time left at all- just under 2 months to be precise. I am happy with where I am with both units, and am impressed that I am managing to keep to my schedule whilst juggling 2 different topics.
Week commencing 01/04/2019.
This week I continued to plan for my final project and finished off my unit 12 essay.
The focus for this week was evidently on my essay, because it was the deadline for the essay at the end of this week. I hardly slept any time this week on my final major project, because I had to ensure that everything was finished or my essay which included the bibliography and the contextual knowledge section.
Once I had finished this, I felt a lot calmer in tackling my final major project because it enabled me to be able to focus on only my final project, which was just in time for the filming that I was due to do the following week.
Week commencing 08/04/2019.
This week I did testing for my shoot and began filming for my final project. It was officially the Easter holidays, and I had planned to film within the holidays because I knew that this was when the majority of the people I needed to be in my film would be available. I knew that it would be easy for them to come into Kings Lynn to the location I wanted to shoot at too (The Walks), so I chose Friday the 12th of April for that reason.
Leading up to the Friday, I did all of the paperwork needed for the shoot, which included finalising all shot lists and storyboards. I knew that the more detailed my paperwork was, the easier my job would be at the end of the week when I needed to film.
The test was difficult, but I'm very glad that it was difficult because it highlighted all of the problems that we would have otherwise faced on the day of the actual shoot. As detailed in my production page, there were a lot of problems regarding the camera, and the costumes but thanks to the quick thinking of my cast and crew, we soon conquered those problems ready for the official shoot to begin.
The first half of my shoot went very well, and all of the cast followed my instructions exactly which was a big relief on my behalf. I showed the crew and cast my paperwork, so this may have helped with the level of understanding of what my vision was.
Overall, I feel as though this week was a huge success, because the shoot went extremely well and I was very happy with the outcome- now just to focus on shoot number 2!
Week commencing 15/04/2019.
This week I continued to plan for the second half of my shoot. I also continued to research what I wanted the final outcome to be for my film, and more and more things I researched helped to shape my final idea.
I looked at a couple of music videos this week and that really helped me to gain more of an idea of how I wanted to edit my piece. I found that the research I did this week really helped me within continuing to shape my final idea, and it gave me the chance to be able to really reflect on the type of music video that I wanted and how I would ensure that it appealed to my target audience.
I also did the second half of my RECCE's and risk assessments this week ready for the second half of my shoot which had been scheduled for Tuesday 30th of April.
Overall, I feel as though this week has helped me to gain a further idea of what I want my final product to be, which is really great considering the second half of the shoot is not far away at all!
Week commencing 22/04/2019.
This week I focussed on continuing my research for certain parts of my FMP that I had not filmed and continued to edit and gain feedback on my edit so far. I also continued to plan for the second half of my FMP shoot.
The feedback on my edit so far has really helped me, and I am glad that I asked for feedback this early on. The feedback so far has been resoundingly good and there is nothing to change about my video, but I feel as though it is always important to get the opinion of peers to see where I can improve or where I can change things. The comment that I have had the most so far is that my piece resembles a professional music video, which is exactly what I was going for!
Overall, this week was fairly chilled out in terms of planning because I had completed all of the planning beforehand- it was just a case of doing and writing up the editing that I did in my production page.
Week commencing 29/04/2019.
This week I shot the second half of my final project and continued to edit the video.
The second half of the shoot went well, possibly even better than the first half, because everything was so organised. I knew the precautions that needed to be taken and I knew exactly what we went out to shoot, so I found directing the shoot to be really easy. Nothing went wrong on the day (thankfully) apart from the top of David's robot head coming off, however I only had one shot to take when it did come off, so we just forgot about it and I filmed the shot from a slightly lower angle than I had planned to cover for the mistake- try to spot it in the final product!
As the shoot was on Tuesday, this enabled me to be able to continue editing for the rest of the week, and once again, because of the amount of planning it made the editing incredibly easy.
I focussed on putting together all of the footage in the order of the story boards, and finding all of the correct pieces of footage out of all of the ones we shot- I'd rather have too much than not enough! But, by the end of the week I had gotten 90% of the film together, and it was just some finishing touches that needed doing. I also made sure to take a note of what I had done in terms of editing so that I could write it up in the production page as I went along.
Week commencing 06/05/2019.
This week I mainly focussed on continuing to edit my piece and I began editing my advertisement too. I knew I needed to look at other advertisements in order to know what to do for my own, so I also did some research into this which helped me to better form my idea.
I had to place the graphics into my video this week which was difficult and time-consuming, however I felt confident that I knew what I was doing and although it was tedious, it was very much possible. Within a couple of days, the graphics were done and I was glad that they were because for what they were, they were the most time consuming part (of course the longest part was putting it all together in the timeline, but I expected this to take a while to get it perfect).
I also did most of the edit for my advertisement by choosing my favourite parts of my video and placing them into the advert, which was simple enough. I feel like a summary of a video is usually a good place to start when creating a trailer, because it gives the audience a good idea of what they will get when they watch the actual final product without giving everything away, so they get enticed to watch the product but don't know enough to not need to watch it!
Week commencing 13/05/2019.
This week I finalised my edit of the music video and created the edit for my advertisement ready to be released on the day of the deadline.
I really enjoy editing and because I knew what I wanted/needed for both parts, I found it easy to edit them together and put the (limited amount of) graphics in there. I uploaded my advertisement on Friday the 17th of May so that it gave the audience enough time to prepare for the release of my music video, but so that it also didn't leave it so long that they would forget about what was happening. Although, I did have a lot of problems with the upload of the advert because it got copyright striked. I re-uploaded it and it seemed to be fine, so I shared it on the internet and prepared for the release of my music video on the Monday at 8pm as stated at the end of the advertisement.
Week commencing 20/05/2019 (formative deadline 20th May).
This week included mostly working on my blog and finalising my evaluation ready for the deadline next week. I also uploaded my final video on the 20th, as this was the practical deadline.
I did, however, run into more problems with the advertisement as it got copyrighted again, so I had to remove it and re-upload it, but as of yet it has not been taken down or striked, so I think I will be okay!
Overall, I feel as if this week has been a challenge in terms of stress with the deadline looming, however it was a big relief that the practical part is over and done with so there is just the blog to focus on.
Week commencing 27/05/2019 (summative deadline 31st May).
This week included mainly working on my evaluation and testing my product with members within and outside of my target audience. I feel as though the testing part of the evaluation has really consolidated all that I have done and proved to me that I am a good videographer in terms of music videos.
Members within and outside of my target audience are happy with my product, and it reflects that of a professional piece of work which is exactly what I wanted from this project- it is my stepping stone to the next step in my life, which is hopefully going into the industry full time!
Evaluating the process of creating my piece from start to finish was made a lot easier by the fact I have kept this "diary" from week to week to show the development of my video. It enabled me to look at my timekeeping and see whether it fit in with my time plan, which luckily it did! I am very happy with how this entire project went, and even when I did have problems with the project, I managed to fix them fairly quickly which shows that I have developed a lot since I started the course back in September of 2017.
Full Evaluation
Ideas
My ideas page is short but sweet. I have stated what inspired me and where my idea came from, as well as explained my project concept in great detail. I feel as though my inspiration is clear and when you put the ideas page together with my research, it is clear where my final idea came from.
I am also happy with my progress on from my SWOT analysis, because I worked towards my weaknesses and made a conscious effort to ensure that my pre-production paperwork was better this time around, and I succeeded. I also made sure to get work done when it needed to be done rather than procrastinate, which ended up in me being on time or even ahead in certain cases, as stated within my weekly logs.
The only thing that I would change in the future is the fact that my idea came before I did a lot of the research. Of course, the research helped to consolidate my idea fully and give me a full picture of what I wanted for my final product, but I feel as though it would be of a more professional practice to let the research I do shape my idea before I have something stuck in my head.
Research
Overall, I believe that my research page is very developed and I have a range of different information in there from a range of different sources including: websites, videos, books etc.
It is very clear where each of the different elements of my video come from, and I am happy with how the research effected the final outcome of my video.
I did not have any problems with my research- it all went very well and it most definitely effected the outcome of my video which is the entire purpose of doing it, so it was successful! I feel as though it reflects that of a professional research log because it is all reflected within the final product.
Planning
Overall, I am incredibly happy with how the planning of my piece went. Planning has always been my downfall when it comes to projects, as I have never been thorough enough with it which leads to confusion, and time-consuming mistakes.
Thankfully, due to taking a little extra time on making sure to prestigiously plan everything from start to finish, I was able to ensure that my shooting and my editing went very smoothly (with the help of a test shoot, of course).
I feel as though my planning reflected that of a professional nature because it was so thorough, and it meant that the crew and cast knew exactly what they were doing, and most importantly, so did I! Nothing was forgotten, nothing was left out, it was all done and fairly quickly at that, all because I had planned for it- in my opinion, that is the best reflection on whether the planning was good enough or not!
Production
Overall, I feel as though my production went very smoothly thanks to the great planning done previously. From the shoots themselves to the editing, right through to the final product everything was a breeze thanks to the proficient planning.
As stated in my SWOT analysis, I am (thankfully) fairly quick in terms of turnover when editing, so it did not take me long to piece together my video, especially seeing as it was all planned so well, shot by shot.
I did not run into any problems with my production or post- the only problems I had were within testing, however due to the quick thinking of me and my crew, we were soon able to solve these. After all, is that not the point of the test shoot?
I feel as though the production phase closely resembles that of a professional production, because I did a test shoot to test for any problems, fixed them and then shot both of the official shoots quickly and efficiently, saving as much time (and potential money if you're working from a budget in the future) as possible.
Testing
Finally, it's the moment of truth- I decided to test both my advertisement and my final piece to see whether the pieces were successful.
I asked 3 people what they liked about my advertisement and whether based on that they would watch my final product, and here is what they said:
Cameron, 18: I really liked the advert, but I feel like it could do with more details at the end. I don't know where to go to find the music video when it comes out.
Oscar, 20: I like how the advert gives the audience an idea of what is in the video itself without giving too much away- it leaves me wanting to watch the final video because I want to know what it all means. I also like how at the end it doesn't tell you where to find the video, because it makes me want to find it.
Kj, 19: I think the advert is good at getting the audience interested in the final product, however I did not like the advert as a whole? That sounds odd, but I did not like how it was edited together but I want to watch the final video to see what that's like.
Overall, this feedback tells me that although my advertisement may not have been the best quality, it still entices people in to watch my final video which is exactly what I made it for. In hindsight, I should have specified where to find the video instead of just the date and the time of the release, however it is too late now and my video has had over 100 views already which tells me that it has been a fair success!
Finally, the testing for my final product! The final product is, of course, the most important product of all! I was nervous to see what the public would say about my video as this is the piece that I am most proud of that I have ever created. I asked 5 different people for their opinions- three of those were in my target audience and 2 outside. Here is what they said:
Chris- I like the way the people at the beginning are using devices and they see something that turns them into robots because it reminds me of social media, and I like the way the robots coming in at the park is shot because of the camera movements. I don't think I have anything that I would change about it!
Corbyn- I really liked the professional use of the slow motion shots and the cinematography throughout is really good, however I think the colours could do with some improvement just through colour grading or something like that.
Oscar- I love the entrances of each robot in the second half of the video, and the video flows really nicely. I would just change the actress in the white costume because she didn't show enough emotion when shouting at each individual robot.
Jess- I really loved the song choice and the slow motion shots are really cool. The only thing I would change is the amount of people in the final bit because it looked a bit small.
Kj- I really liked the cinematography and the concept of the video- the story is dramatic and fits the music, however it is also easy to understand excepting the character in the white clothes. The thing I would change about your video is I would take her out because I don't really understand why she is in it.
Overall, from this I can see that the way the video was shot and composed is clearly very successful and reflects that of a professional video, which makes me very happy. I was most worried about the final outcome of the video being amateur and unprofessional, but this feedback has shown me that I am capable of doing work that would not stand out against a number of other music videos.
Of course, the criticisms that I got are important to take on board too, and as you can see I got a couple of critiques about the character in the white costume. She is meant to be there as an "angel" as she is in white, but she also appeals to the male gaze hence why she has the red lipstick on and her skin is rather exposed. She is trying to put the entire thing to a stop, as the message that the main robot is sending out is actually a bad message, however clearly this message was not well executed within my video.
The message that was well put across though, is the most important one- the one about how social media can effect us as individuals. Chris clearly recognised that was the case, and this is what my intention was- even if only one person recognises this and it makes them think about the things they see on social media and question whether it's real or dangerous information or not, it's still one person more than it would have been had I not made the video.
The other critiques including colour grading and the circle being too small at the end are understandable- I did want the circle of robots to be a lot bigger towards the end, however due to casting issues, travel issues, and a shoestring budget this was just not possible. The colour grading would be a quick fix, but with such a long video to create in such a short space of time, this was just not an option for me. To colour grade an entire video would have taken a really long time, and the colours in the majority of the shots are nice and saturated, and the shots are not over or under-exposed which is the most important thing in my opinion.
My video vs. a professional music video
Now it's time for the final test- mine vs. a professional. I wanted to note down some similarities and differences, and seeing as my favourite band Don Broco released their video for Half Man Half God on the 23rd of May (my birthday!) that my video was actually mainly inspired from, I thought that was the perfect one to compare to mine.
Of course, there are a few noticeable differences for a start, including the fact mine has robots in it, and their video has a hell of a lot more people running around the cowboy in a circle, but in terms of the cinematography itself they aren't too dissimilar.
We both used a mix of fast paced and slow motion shots, we both used lip-syncing, and we both had a main character that the other characters looked up to A.K.A. a "God".
If my cast was the sheer size of the crowd at the Don Broco concert that the show was filmed at, I dare say that my film would have looked a lot more impressive, but of course you have to work with what you have, and I am happy with the outcome of my film none the less.
The videos are not poles apart in terms of quality, and to me, that's what matters. You wouldn't necessarily be able to distinguish between the two which one was created by an amateur college student, and which one was created by a huge crew of professionals.
Final Words
Overall, I am incredibly happy with the outcome of my film and all that I have learned throughout the process. I feel as though throughout the course of the past 2 years of studying media, I have refined my skills within each sector of the production process to where they are today. I feel as though it reflects that of a professional piece, and everything that happened in the process of creating my film linked into one another e.g. ideas linked into my research, my research linked into my planning, my planning linked into my post production etc. and this is, to me, what makes a professional piece.
I can confidently say that I have just created the piece that I am most proud of in my media career so far.
Thank you for being on this journey with me.
Test shoot upload to research... practical problems? how did you intend to solve these? Also... how are you applying theory in your piece and show where you intend to include this specifically in your film (test). Today. Planning paperwork underway but complete this certainly by tomorrow but... upload to blog Tuesday 30th Apr.
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