1) Identify task as well as song/artist.
The task was to create our own music video for a track chosen for us, by the teacher. We had to analyse the lyrics to illustrate a story, in order to create a story for the video. From the lyrics we noticed themes of boredom and frustration, therefore we implicated that into the video story. The song was "I Want To Be Sedated" by Offspring (originally by The Ramones). The song itself was quite upbeat considering the feelings conveyed through the lyrics. Thus, our shots had to be short along with fast cuts. Our tasks included, planning the story, shots, characters, setting, props and who would act within the video. In addition, we had to make sure we could film at certain times to avoid interruptions. All-in-all it was a very "hands on" production.
The task was to create our own music video for a track chosen for us, by the teacher. We had to analyse the lyrics to illustrate a story, in order to create a story for the video. From the lyrics we noticed themes of boredom and frustration, therefore we implicated that into the video story. The song was "I Want To Be Sedated" by Offspring (originally by The Ramones). The song itself was quite upbeat considering the feelings conveyed through the lyrics. Thus, our shots had to be short along with fast cuts. Our tasks included, planning the story, shots, characters, setting, props and who would act within the video. In addition, we had to make sure we could film at certain times to avoid interruptions. All-in-all it was a very "hands on" production.
2) How have you used digital technology during construction of video?
Digital technology was very important in all aspects of producing our music video. In the planning stage, we used websites such as YouTube to research the original video for 'I Wanna Be Sedated' , as well as videos from other songs for inspiration for our own video. We also used the internet to search for and print off the lyrics for the song, so we could analyse the song meaning and to help us with planning and timings.
For the production stage, we used the school camera and tape to record our video. After completing filming, we uploaded the video from the tape onto the iMovie HD editing suite, where we put each clip in order and began editing the video. We also uploaded the song file onto iMovie so we could combine it with the video.
3) Discuss planning stage of your production and steps you went through?
Before filming for the music video, planning was required. After we were assigned with the song, we annotated the perceived meanings in the lyrics to help us with our ideas for the project. We also listed the timing of the different changes in the structure of the song, to help us plan the lengths of the different shots which would be used in the video. This was followed by discussions over ideas that we could use which led to the plot of a person who is heavily stressed by tedious work and is in desperate need for an escape. This then triggers her to fall into a dream state in which she impulsively throws her work out of the way and runs away from her work in pursuit of relaxation and freedom. This dream state then returns to the original state at the end to bring back reality for the protagonist.
Another aspect of our planning was to find an accessible person who could fulfil the acting role of the protagonist. There was a person who was relatively experienced in the field of acting who we trusted could succeed in creating the emotions that we seeked for the character, and so we chose her. Unfortunately she wasn't available on one of the days we would have liked to film on, but we tried to resolve this situation by editing half of the footage on this day instead, and we would proceed to edit the rest of the footage which was filmed after, another day later in the week.
4) What do you think are the main strengths/weaknesses in production. Consider audience feedback.
Certain shots really contributed to the points we were trying to convey. For example a shot of the clock ticking, and a shot of the character staring out the window both suggested the character needed some stimulation. We also timed the song quite well. The editing was longer while the character was bored, as opposed to quick editing when the song (along with the character) picked up pace. However, certain aspects of our production were disappointing. We didn't time how long production would take overall, rendering us slightly behind other groups. Also, we needed to film more footage, even if we thought otherwise. We ran out of footage, which proved it was neccessary to plan ahead in case of errors.
Audience feedback consisted of comments based on how short our video was. They believed we needed a variety of shots to fill out the video. These comments along with our own thoughts, are extremely valuable as they have given us examples of problems we need to avoid in future.
Certain shots really contributed to the points we were trying to convey. For example a shot of the clock ticking, and a shot of the character staring out the window both suggested the character needed some stimulation. We also timed the song quite well. The editing was longer while the character was bored, as opposed to quick editing when the song (along with the character) picked up pace. However, certain aspects of our production were disappointing. We didn't time how long production would take overall, rendering us slightly behind other groups. Also, we needed to film more footage, even if we thought otherwise. We ran out of footage, which proved it was neccessary to plan ahead in case of errors.
Audience feedback consisted of comments based on how short our video was. They believed we needed a variety of shots to fill out the video. These comments along with our own thoughts, are extremely valuable as they have given us examples of problems we need to avoid in future.
