Music Video Final Edit and Evaluation

Final Edit

Evaluation

My final music video edit demonstrates a clear use of cinematic techniques that created an engaging music video that applied the conventions of the medium, along with my use of organisation and planning in the production phase that leads me to create an entertaining video for my audience.

Evaluating Cinematic Techniques

Mise en Scene:

Lighting/Colour

My use of the german expressionism lighting method, with my use of a single key light rather than the traditional 3 point lighting setup created engaging imagery by mimicking the same methods used in early cinematic history, which is why I filmed in black and white which enhanced my harsh use of shadows so I could better mimic films like "The Cabinet of Dr Caligari" (1920) and my main inspiration which was given to me by my questionnaire sample "Nosferatu" (1922) where the majority of my influence is taken. These influences clearly show my use of music video conventions by using these intertextual references in my lighting style. Referencing other media sources such as film in music videos has been used throughout music video history with examples from artists across the music industry like the use of Romeo and Juliet in Taylor Swifts "Love Story" (2009) as the setting and costume displays clear recreation of the famous play. 

My use of Rembrandt low key lighting style to display my actor also created the intended tone for my music video by grounding it in the horror genre, overall while my lighting clearly displayed a creative and engaging use of german expressionism I think could have benefitted from my lighting setup in the later part of my music video as I believe it becomes difficult to see when they open us the box. Also, while original and engaging I fear many of my younger viewers and those not familiar with early cinema will fail to see the intertextual lightning reference to early silent films like Nosferatu (1922) due to the age of the reference and its absence in popular culture of today. If I was to improve my lighting in future productions I would have an actual lighting supervisor on my crew who could use the technique more effectively without costing visibility in some of my scenes which lacked detail due to the use of low key lighting.

My Music Video

Nosferatu (1922)

Costume

My use of costume was simple and cost-effective, I needed to make my actor look like a vampire on a small budget that also distinguished himself enough from the man in the music video who was played by the same person. I ended up using a pair of sunglasses and a wool coat over the top of a black turtleneck while the man had an orange shirt and basic casual attire. I think my use of costume effectively engaged the audience and allowed them to easily conclude what was going on with the characters as vampires have been seen in popular media wearing traditionally dark clothes and sunglasses. With examples like Johnny Depp in "Dark Shadows" (2012) and Jim Carrey in "Once Bitten" (1984), from which I took the most inspiration for my vampire's costume.

The costume is an important part of the music video, whether they be for the use fragmentation via the male gaze, I feel it clearly sets the tone and the narrative of my video by matching the low key lighting with the use of darker clothing, I could have better used my costumes to create a clear brand synergy with star iconography similar to its use in Lady Gaga's music videos (Where use of bizarre costumes is one of the main selling points of her brand), overall I feel my costuming was as effective as it could be for my low budget as it defined my characters clearly for the audience to understand.

Editing

My use of editing created an engaging video for my audience, this is because I used editing conventions common in music videos to boost engagement. For example, I used a match editing style to achieve a relationship between the visuals and the music of my video, by synching up certain lyrics like "In the light of the moon" with the image of the moon. I also tried my best to match the beat/rhythm of the song with the visuals, this is why at the beginning of the video when the song is at a slower pace I used less imagery and longer takes. Compared with the later parts of the video when the main chorus increased the pace of the music, so I used more quick cuts and more imagery to display this change to display this match editing style.

I also experimented with different editing techniques like the split-screen editing method. This was helpful as it allowed me to use the same actor in both roles as the vampire and the man, saving on both budgets and created a subnarrative of an inner conflict (Freud) as one represented the Id as they desired immortality and the other was the Super-ego who just wanted to sleep. I achieved this by creating mask layers and overlapping the footage on each other before cropping them into the same frame. This was achieved by mitigating continuity errors by having the lighting and camera positioning of each shot duplicated to the best of my ability on set, by marked setups for my equipment and shooting each shot on the same day. This allowed my footage to overlap without it looking like both of the characters were in separate locations, despite my best efforts one of my shots did not look convincing so I used the mask tool and feathered the outline of my image until it blended into my final shot.

I also altered the colour of my footage to change it into the black and white colour pallet to better replicate the silent film style. This was achieved by using the tint effect on my footage which automatically took the colour from my footage, and gave me a scale to cause it to brighten up for certain scenes and darken down for others, to best fit the scene and the low key lighting style.

I also used a silent film effects pack which included the faults and scratches common in the older film stock which I didn't use (because I used a digital camera). This made the video feel more authentic and more visually similar to my silent film inspirations creating a more engaging video by having a unique visual style.

I also used the burn effects pack that I applied throughout the video by overlapping it with my footage, this created an experimental style to my footage as it mimicked the burning of real film reel but also allowed me to establish the setting as it mimicked the sun setting as the footage transitioned into the darkness with the film reel burning away the light. This also enhanced the aesthetic of the video by further creating the silent film style, without the need to use and spend the actual film stock required to do the effect practically. This was also because I intended the videos narrative to be a lost silent film much like nosferatu but unfortunately, I did not have time to implement my planned idea of inserting clips with "missing footage" on the scene. to make the video further seem like archive footage.

Overall, my use of editing in my music video created an engaging video by using a match editing style that established a relationship to the visuals and the music which is one of the bedrock conventions of music videos that continues to keep audiences attention, as it follows the tone and pace of the music which creates a pattern that is entertaining for a viewer to consume. It also allowed me to achieve my wanted visual similarities to the silent films that inspired the video creating an intertextual link with my use of overlapping editing and my use of effect packs that replicated silent films scratches and burning effects.

However, I think I could have better followed the rhythm of the song by planning out my storyboard around the music with each imagery fulfilling the lyrics out visually, fora example "I'm getting older while you stay young" lyrics could have been visually matched with someone rapidly ageing compared to someone you and youthful. Creating a video similar to Vance Joys "Riptide" (2013) which has each shot planned with the lyrics, I feel in the future this is what I will try and achieve.

Camera/Cinematography

My use of cinematography created an engaging music video as I used a 4:1 aspect ratio to achieve the frame within a frame effect common in a lot of music videos as it made each image look like it was in a frame due to the harsh borders at the sides of the screen. This was also to achieve the same visual appearance as my inspirations from silent films that used the same aspect ratio. My precise use of cinematography allowed me to use split-screen editing as the positioning was often static in place with the conditions duplicated constantly for each take.

However, despite my use of engaging imagery the video lacks camera movement as the majority of my shots use static camera positions and often repeat camera positioning in the same location. This was once again to achieve the feel of my silent film inspirations but it meant I had to sacrifice engaging and extreme use of camera choices music videos are known for, as they rarely don't go to extremes.

Narrative

My music video is not a narrative genre, I instead focused on creating an experimental performance. While there is a narrative between the man and the vampire it is up for interpretation rather than straight answers as I focused on engaging imagery rather than a clear and concise story. As I used the conventions of the genre by disregarding the rule of continuity which is common in music videos in exchange for creating a pace/rhythm orientated video with my use of match editing and experimental storytelling based on dream logic rather than reality as a bed becomes a coffin and the man is haunted by a vampire that looks like him.

Overall, I think I used the troupes of the medium to create a video based on feeling rather than a story. However, I think this could have focused more on the performance aspect of my video as it was the segment that my sample size from my focus group focused on the most, regardless of the narrative.

Evaluating the Production as a Whole

I successfully created a music video that displayed a variety of cinematic techniques that engaged the audience. This was due to my organisation and planning in the production phase, my crafting of a questionnaire during the brainstorming/idea phase allowed me to gather data that inspired the idea for a video based on old silent films from the 1920s with the main film being Nosferartu (1922) from my questionnaire due to the unsettling opening segments of the song combined with the lyrics and title of the song being based on Vampires. However, if I was going to conduct the questionnaire again I would have more closed questions as having mostly open questions meant gathering data for me to examine was more time consuming than it had to be. While the data was valuable I think the time I spent would have been better served on the production in other ways.

By crafting a production schedule it allowed me to better communicate with my crew about important tasks that needed doing and the time frame for their completion during the project production by having it on an editable online document we could all easily see when a task had been complete. Keeping us on our time frame/deadline for the music video, with consist proactive workflow system. But in the future when crafting the production schedule I'm also going to have it on a live message board where the work can be published when complete so that each person on my team can find it without needing to contact multiple people.

The storyboard allowed me to construct exactly what I wanted cinematically in the music video as by using 3D modelling software I could easily showcase to my team lighting positioning and composition/framing and what equipment would be needed to achieve it. When crafting these storyboards in the future however I will likely stick to draft sketches when on a tight time schedule as 3D modelling each shot is far too time-consuming for fast-paced productions.

Conducting a Location Recee helped us plan camera movement and positioning for the shooting day as well as allowing us to conduct a risk assessment and gather test footage allowing us to plan out equipment and safety needs in advance, but in the case of this production which took place on my property, it felt likely an un-necessary waste of production time as I was familiar with all the issues surrounding my own property and could have simply emailed my team after conducting these steps myself rather than other members of crew wasting a day investigating my property. But I have to keep in mind the regulations and safety of my crew and treat my property like I would any other filming location.

Call Sheets are one of the most valuable pieces of documentation during filming as they allowed us to keep track of who was on set at what times, as well as their responsibilities while on set. Having everyone's contact information allowed us all to be in constant communication leading to no mix-ups or confusion during the shoot. However, due to the small size of my crew, it didn't seem necessary for its use as we had only about 4 people on set at a time and once again feel this time taken to create call sheets could have been better used elsewhere in the production. But without this call sheet, there is a possibility of unnecessary scheduling mixups, etc.

The legal requirements (employment contracts, etc.) of production are always necessary to ensure the physical and financial safety of everyone on set. Their use in this production meant I could guarantee the payment of my crew if any issues were to arise and due to the coronavirus pandemic having insurance that they will be compensated if restrictions changed really encouraged them to feel safe onset. But I feel I could have secured better equipment insurance in case of damages as there was a lot of rain during the shoot and having them protected would have made me less stressed about damages during outside shooting.

Crafting a contingency plan for the production was a vital aspect of the project, this was because the uncertainty of covid restrictions during the leadup to our shoot day could have meant that our planned schedule would have to be scrapped, by creating a plan to create a more environmental/location-based music video. Based on our individual homes surrounding woodlands would have allowed us to still produce a product for our client if push came to shove. However, I think the plan should have been better prepared with premade call sheets and other production elements that would have made the contingency easier to film if we had to move forward with that plan.

The shooting days were effective due to our pre-planning we got all the necessary footage quickly and effectively, which allowed us to film extra footage which made the editing process easier. This was only possible due to the easily comprehensible storyboard and our location recce where we pre-planned all equipment placement. I feel that the amount of pre-planning, however, unfortunately, caused us to have less of an opportunity to film improvised moments, which ended up being the parts our audience in the focus group were most attracted to, like certain instrumental performance segments and if we had gone more of the plan we could have further improved our audience engagement.

Focus Group proved that the techniques we prioritised were engaging to the audience as they found it engaging and entertaining allowing us to improve the video by adding the extra editing techniques. But mostly it let us know that we were on the right track and had produced something the client would enjoy. I think I should have had multiple focus groups for the project because having more opinions could have had a stronger impact on the final edit as a larger audience would have given a more broad response that would have been more accurate to the average person rather than just the small focus group and their niche opinions.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I created an engaging music video that used a variety of techniques due to my concise planning/production process. I think I could have better improved this video if I had displayed it to larger sample size and crafted more data orientated questions (closed questions) for my focus groups and questionnaires so they can be better analysed than the dense open question answers constructed during this project. In future productions, I will focus on making the most of my time by acting instead of planning like I did many times throughout this production despite it not being necessary for a lot of the aspects of the music video due to our small budget and crew size.

Music Video Storyboard/Shot List

Draft Storyboard

I created a rough outline of my music videos sequence and use of the camera with my crew during one of our meetings, despite its lack of detail it helped me and my team construct a shot list and a more polished version that we ended up following in the final production.

Final Storyboard/Shot List

Using 3D modelling using a combination of software (blender and after-effects) I constructed a more accurate storyboard that accounted for character/prop spacing and staging that we could follow better than my crude drawings. I tried to make look like the german expressionism style in order to give it a look resembling our wanted final product and had each image broken down in its use of camera so that it also doubled as a shot list for me and my crew to use to know what equipment we needed to best capture/recreate these shots in real life.

Shot 1

Title Text

The Title Card which was inspired by old silent films used a gothic style font to evoke that classic vampire feeling evoked by the original Bela Lugosi films.

Shot 2

Establishing Shot, Low Angle, Static Camera

The top of a forest tree line looking into the full moon in the sky, setting the scene as being set at night and hopefully matching the slow spooky tone of the beginning of the song.

Shot 3

Medium Shot, High Angle, Static Camera

Shot of the gravestone and possible others to match the scary tone at the begging of the song as well as the lyrics of "getting older" as it implies a link with age and death.

Shot 4

Closeup, Low Angle, Static Camera

Closeup of the moon to once again establish the time in which the sequence is taking place and to sink with the lyrics "In the light of the moon". Also an intertextual reference to old hammer film monster movies, which would have these shots of the moon to symbolise the film transition from day and then night.

Shot 5

Closeup, P.OV, Low Angle, Hand Held Camera

The shot of a window with branches partially blocking the view once again creates that gothic aesthetic I want to evoke from the video as well as establish the location as we then transition into the bedroom.

Shot 6

Long Shot, Low Angle, Static Camera

Introduces the protagonist of the narrative as we see them sleeping, I will also have the actor display distress as I want it to seem like they are having a bad dream.

Shot 6

Long Shot, Low Angle, Static Camera

The bed then rises up, much like the coffins in old vampire movies like nosferatu as it slowly rises.

Shot 7

Long Shot, Low Angle, Static Camera

Reveals the antagonists/the vampire who seems to be living under the bed of the man sleeping, I will have the same actor play both making this conflict feel like a battle between ego and super-ego as this vampire prevents the man from rest.

Dracula's (1931)

Shot 8

Closeup, Low Angle, Static Camera

To evoke the feel of these old silent films and most importantly the original Nosferatu (1922) I wanted to use harsh lighting to evoke these harsh shadows as this shot mimics an iconic shot from the original 1922 film.

 Nosferatu (1922)

Shot 9

Closeup, High Angle/Birds Eye View, Static Camera

Wanted a top-down view on the protagonist as they try and get to sleep as the harsh lighting creates a Rembrandt effect.

Shot 10

Medium Shot, Low Angle, Static Camera

As the music begins to pick up into the chorus I have the vampire hold a guitar as he starts to perform with the music. Creating hopefully a humorous juxtaposition with this performance and the old silent film style of the music video.

Shot 11

Closeup, Eye-Level, Static Camera

As the main brass and sax instrumental kicks into the song, I wanted to match it with the instrumental of the Vampire. This use of match editing will hopefully continue my humorous juxtaposition from the previous scene and be the pivotal moment in the narrative as the man can not sleep due to the music the vampire is playing while he is trying to sleep.

Shot 12

Long Shot, Low Angle, Static Camera

The vampire has started dancing over the sleeping man and taunting him as they play their instruments, the use of the performance movement with the lack of camera movement will hopefully evoke more continuous juxtaposition humour in the audience. I was also heavily inspired by the dance sequences from the music video Fear and Delight (2014)

The Correspondents - Fear & Delight (Official Video)

Shot 13

Long Shot, Low Angle, Static Camera

Continuing to follow the brass/saxophone in the song, this use of match editing will hopefully create engagement as the matching imagery links to the music.

Shot 14

Long Shot, Low Angle, Static Camera

Once again I hope to evoke humour in the audience as the sax solo borders on the overtop style of 80's music videos like Daryl Hall & John Oates song Maneater (1982).

Daryl Hall & John Oates - Maneater (1982)

Shot 15

Long Shot, Low Angle, Static Camera

The man climbs under their bed to look for the vampire, but whether it's to join it or kill it is unknown.

Shot 16

Closeup, Eye-Level, Static Camera

We follow him as he goes through a dark tunnel looking into the darkness evoking a horror film aesthetic as his only source of light is a dim low key candle.

Shot 17

Closeup, Eye-Level, Static Camera

As the shot stays on a segment of the wall as the candlelight dims we see the vampire is giving chase, creates tension, with the increased pace of the song.

Shot 18

Closeup, High Angle/Birds Eye View, Static Camera

We see the vampire's coffin has been discovered.

Shot 19

Closeup/Over the Shoulder, High Angle/Birds Eye View, Static Camera

The shot transforms into an over the shoulder as the dept of the field tricked the audience into believing the coffin was bigger than it actually was as the protagonist begins to search through it looking for clues on how to defeat the vampire.

Shot 20

Medium Shot, Over the Shoulder, Static Camera

As he searches through the small coffin the vampire appears in the doorway behind him, as it slowly approaches him without his knowledge.

Shot 21

Medium Shot, Over the Shoulder, Static Camera

He turns around but it's too late, as the scene cuts to black as we wonder if he has become the vampire or has nearly become another one of its meals.

Evaluation of the Storyboard/Shot List

The storyboard that I created with 3D modelling software visually demonstrates what I wanted to achieve in the cinematography and the editing in my music video sequence. My use of similar effects to demonstrate the dark expressionist style that I wanted in the final product made it easier to visualise on set when setting up my lighting positioning as I had already showcased in the storyboard where the shadows would be created and how each scene will be spaced for my actor's performance.

However. I think it could have been improved with the use of drawing character momentum as I think it would have helped my actor to know where they should be moving during the course of the scenes and I think I could have included more camera movements in my plan for the cinematography. But these points are quite minor, it was not that necessary for specific movement instructions for my actor as I wanted the improvisation in their performance especially for the dance/instrumental sequence as I thought that would add to the kinetic energy of the music. The lack of camera movement also in my opinion added to the style I was trying to create of a silent film as they were also very limited in eh way their camera moved during a scene.

The breakdown of visual elements helped me and my crew in crafting the cinematography for the sequences of the music video as it became obvious very quickly we were going to be using an extensive amount of low angles, so we needed a tripod for our camera that could achieve these angles which a normal tripod couldn't cover as they are often set at a default height above ground. This lead to the purchase of Gorilla Goby Pod with our budget of £24.99. Without this storyboard, we might not have noticed our need to get 300mm for the shot we wanted of the moonscape, so we ended up taking and using a longshot of the moon with our 30mm lens camera instead of a closeup but with this knowledge in mind we made a note to our editor to create a denser cloud movement around the moon to still keep it visually engaging.

Overall, I think my storyboard created a great visual map for me and my crew to follow during the shoot that allowed us to achieve the exact feeling and tone we wanted from the video. In combination with the shot list, it made the planning process of the shoot day far easier as we had every equipment element sorted before even shooting.

Reference List:

Maneater (1982) by Daryl Hall & John Oates, Available (Online) at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRYFKcMa_Ek

Fear & Delight (2014) by The Correspondents, Available (Online) at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABS-mlep5rY

Nosferatu (1922) Directed by F. W. Murnau

Dracula's (1931) Directed by Tod Browning, Karl Freund

Music Video Pre-Production Log and Schedule

Pre-Production Log

The following is a chronological sequence of events that corresponds to the pre-production of my music video. 

Date	Action taken
10th of April	I selected my artist and music and started brainstorming ideas with my crew as we researched other music videos conventions and genre. To figure out what I can best achieve with our small budget and resources that will fit the tone of the song.
11th of April	After choosing my music "Lust of a Vampyre" by I Monster. I began to organise a questionnaire to see what an audience would expect from a music video of this song. After forming the questions I contacted a small sample size and then created a final questionnaire with an increased sample size. Which I gathered using a random selection system via selecting random volunteers from emails I sent out and received.
13th of April	Contacted my crew and had a meeting where we formed a production schedule that can be accessed by me and my crew that was constructed to fit with their work schedules and time scale of the production. With my crew, I construct a draft storyboard. I finalised it with a 3D digital model along with the shot list for the music video, based on the ideas and inspiration gathered from the questionnaire.
16th of April	Due to time and covid restrictions I decided to do filming within my own residence. As we only needed a simple bedroom set and a room with room for my lighting Riggs and easy access for me and my crew. I gave my permission for filming and conducted with the help of my team a full location recee complete with a risk assessment on my locations health and safety risks. I evaluated the requirements to make it as safe as possible. We concluded our inspection by marking optimal camera placements for the day of shooting and collecting test footage.
17th of April	Created an equipment list from test footage (including props and costumes) and finalised responsibilities for the shoot date between my crew by making a call sheet.
19th of April	Went through legal with my crew and had them confirm their contracts for the work within the schedule and health and safety sign-offs.
22nd of April	Planned out a contingency plan in case of problems while shooting if I couldn't get the necessary footage to complete it I will create more of a location/environmental genre video, as I have enough available footage from a past project filmed in a graveyard/church and the local woodlands to create something that fits the gothic feel of the music.
23rd of April	Final meeting with my cast and crew before the shoot. We went through responsibilities for each person on set. What they need to bring with them (props, cameras, etc.) and when they are required on set via the online call sheets we created during this meeting.
26th of April	After renting the needed equipment for the shoot we began our day of shooting we filmed all of the elements requiring my actor and the main bulk of the crew, which took about 6 hours. Due to us filming on my own property I kept a small amount of our equipment and shot the remained of our footage which didn't require a large crew, such as the drawn text for the narrative and the box opening scene. Before gathering it all together for the first edit.
27th of April	Crafted the first draft edit for the focus groups, I simply ordered the scenes together and gave the beginning examples of the final editing effects for the finished product.
30th of April	Focus group feedback was gathered and we commenced reshoot to best apply to their feedback.
7th of May	Completed final edit that used the feedback from the focus groups, by adding in the reshoot footage and final visual effects.

 

Gantt Chart/Production Schedule

Title: Lust for a Vampyre Music Video

Director: Rory Robinson 

Producer: Billy Moss (Client)

13th of April

I created this Gantt Chart/Production Schedule for me and my crew to keep a steady and productive work flow during the project as it was editable by all of them (as we used Teams online software) to mark the completion of each work element, as we went through each stage of production this became a vital resource for checking the requirements we were set to complete during the weeks leading to the shoot.

Evaluation of Pre-Production Log/Schedule and Gantt Chart

Documentation and organisation are vital parts of the production process, my creation of the pre-production log and schedule/Gantt chart allowed me and my team to keep on track with the projects deadline that best fit with my limited budget/time frame.

My open pre-production log allowed for a more detailed summary of the completion of certain tasks in the project, this allowed me and my team to look back and see tasks that I set during these dates and what had already been completed. This was also to show evidence to my client what their money for our budget was being spent on. The log also allows me to look back on future projects to see what I have done in the past as they are detailed accounts of my work that could be useful in future job applications.

However, if I was to improve I would have all of my crew add to this Log other than myself as it would give a more detailed look at everyone's overall impact on the project giving them the same benefits of transparency to the client and evidence for future employers that I received form this document.

The Production Schedule combined with the Gantt Chart was a vital resource for me and my team as we used it to maintain time management and stay on schedule for the project, as it allowed me and my crew to keep each other updated with the completion of each element of work through each part of the production stages (Pre-Production, Production, Post-Production) as we updated the percentage of its completion. Keeping on this schedule and following the chart as we updated it regularly kept us prepared and sticking to these set in stone deadlines meant we wouldn't waste time and budget on extra shooting days by having everything ready for the shoot beforehand and giving us enough time to follow a pre-planned contingency if anything went wrong.

The main improvement I would make for my next production would be having a better system for communicating progress on the completion of the work as we decided on a percentage scale which while understandable in most cases felt untranslatable for certain tasks, like how do you say you are halfway done with legal issues? Perhaps next time I will use a message board system where I or a production manager can regularly at a certain time in the day ask for work to be posted into the chat, so I and my team can see what each of us has completed and ask for the progress on other works completion if not ready to be posted to the group message board. I also think I should have given colours to each member of my crew to use when marking completed work on the Gantt chart just to see the progress of individuals in the team and who may need help or is falling behind.

Overall, the use of these planning documents helped me and my crew keep a consistent and productive workflow. That kept us on track with the deadline and is vital in most productions including this one to make sure you use your budget and time wisely. Without it, I fear the production could have become too disorganised as we were unable to communicate the progress of the production. In future productions, I will continue to use these documents to make sure my projects run smoothly and effectively.