Group meetings - Miss Georgiou

Group meetings

The purpose of group meetings were to ensure that we all knew what needed to be done before we started to film and we all had the same finished idea in mind and therefore all know what we were working towards. They helped us to set out how we wanted our production to look before we began to film which made it much easier to film due to the fact that we knew exactly what footage we needed. The purpose of the group meetings were to give everyone in our group a chance to express our ideas regarding how we wanted our finished music video to look, for example, we were able to agree who the artist was going to be, the costumes that she was going to wear, who the other characters within our production were going to be and where we were going to film different scenes. I feel as though the group meetings helped our group to work together to create a music video that encompasses all of our individual ideas and to ensure that we all know our roles within the production stages, for example, Molly took the role as main editor due to the fact that she had used the software Final Cut Pro X before and therefore knew how to work it. The meetings were essential because we were not always filming as the whole group, therefore when we had to film individually we knew which sections of the production were ours to film, which prevented us from filming the wrong footage, or from not getting all of the footage that we needed to complete our music video. They helped me and my group to construct our production because they gave us time to discuss the costumes, iconography, setting, actors, cinematography and editing which were all essential for our production. Due to the fact that we knew how every aspect of our music video was going to look, we ensured that every single aspect of the music video had been planned out before the filming begun, therefore we did not waste time unsure of what we were doing, and we could therefore just get on with filming our music video.
I feel as though our strengths as a group were that we were not afraid to give each other constructive criticism if we felt that we would be able to improve our music video in some way, especially when it came to the different camera shots that we could use while filming and the different filters that we applied to our video during the editing stage, such as Combat, which helped to give our video more of an old fashioned feel. This also made it easier for us to come up with a finalised idea that incorporated ideas from everyone from the group. Furthermore, we each had our own individual strengths within the production process, therefore it was easy for us to decide who would take on the different roles within the editing, filming and creation of the group meeting and filming schedule which also ensured that everything was completed on time. Having said that, if I were to carry out our group meetings again, I would consider spending more time looking into different genres of music such as pop, due to the fact that this would enable us to experiment more with the use of green screens and special effects, and we would be able to include more performance aspects into our music video. We would also be able to dress our artist in more extravagant clothing and potentially include a dance number which would arguably be more fun for the audience to watch.

Through carrying out group meetings I have learnt that it is much easier to create a good
product if every member of the group is fully aware of what needs to be done and what the finished product is going to look like. We also felt as though the group members were likely to be more interested in the product if everyone's ideas were taken on board during the planning stage due to the fact that they would feel more involved with what was going on and we could take equal responsibility for the music video. However, I feel as though our group worked really well together which was partly due to the fact that we all listen to similar genres of music and are all avid listeners of the indie genre and listen to and like Gabrielle Aplin as an artist, therefore it was easy for us to decide which artist we wanted to recreate a music video for. We were all set on creating an indie music video due to the fact that we prefer narrative based videos which we felt was easier to do with indie because the lyrics often tell the audience stories as indie artists are known for basing their music on real life experiences.

Risk assessment - Miss Georgiou

Risk assessment

The purpose of a risk assessment is to identify any potential problems that could prevent us from filming. A risk assessment will also help us to keep actors and crew members safe while filming by making them more aware of the risks that may be involved which could lead to them being more careful when filming because they know what to look out for. It is important to consider a risk assessment before filming because everybody involved in the process needs to be aware of any potential risks that they may encounter when filming in order for them to be able to prepare for them and find a way, prior to filming, to prevent the risks identified from occurring. Also, it is a filming requirement to have a risk assessment before filming because it helps to ensure that everybody involved is going to be safe while they are filming, therefore the people in charge cannot be held responsible if an accident does occur, due to the fact that they have identified the potential problems and have provided solutions for how they can be prevented. Furthermore, a risk assessment allows for a plan B to be considered for if an unforeseen problem occurs and prevents us from filming. A plan B helps us to ensure that filming is possible, and that our music video can be completed even if the original plan does not work out, for example, towards the end of our video we planned for the artist to be seen running through a forest, which coincides with visuals of the male character running, however, due to the fact that it is often raining which will make it much more muddier, we could always have the artist walking instead and then use fast pace editing to make it appear as though she is running.

In conclusion, for the majority of the filming process we did follow the risk assessment due to the fact that we knew before going into the filming process all of the things that could go wrong, therefore we made sure to be extra careful, especially when it came to filming the scenes that involved the car because we knew that they were more of a high risk and that so many things could have gone wrong, not just for us, but for other drivers on the road, however, our group and the actors involved made sure to maintain responsible driving at all times, for example, always wearing a seatbelt, and we tried to only film when there were only a few or no cars on the road, as this decreased the likelihood that a risk would occur. There were a few unforeseen risks that we encountered when we were filming, for example, while we were filming the running scene which appears towards the end of the video, the weather was windy and rainy, which caused the tripod to topple over while we were filming and therefore the tripod got in the way of the actor while she was running, which created the risk that she could trip over the tripod and injure herself, which was further made a risk due to the fact that the rain had made the ground muddy and slippery. In order to overcome this problem we had a member of the group who wasn't in charge of filming the scene to hold the tripod still which helped to ensure that the tripod and camera wouldn't fall over, and this also gave the actor a marker that they knew to avoid when running due to the fact that a person was easier to see compared to the thin tripod. After creating a risk assessment for our production, I have learnt that a risk assessment is essential for when ensuring the safety of everyone in our group during every aspect of the filming process. The role of a risk assessment is to create awareness of the potential risks that could be faced by our group while we are filming, and it helps to make us aware of who in particular is at risk which therefore causes us to be much more careful and to come up with ways to prevent these risks from occurring before we begin, for example, the actor portraying the artist was at risk while we were filming the car scenes due to the fact that she was behind the wheel of the car and had a responsibility for everyone else in the car, as well as anyone on the road or area where we were filming that had the potential of getting hurt.

Music video inspirations - Miss Georgiou

Music video inspirations

Inspirations are essential to consider when creating a music video production because they allow us to see what famous artists have done before us, and to identify some of the things that they have included that have aided the success of their music videos, and things that are conventional to the indie genre which will may be able to include in our own music video in order for us to help our audience to identify and associate our music video as being part of that specific music genre, for example, the use of performance in indie music videos helps an artist to show the audience how they are feeling at specific points throughout the video and allows them to show off any other talents that they may have such as the ability to play a musical instrument. Furthermore, inspirations will help us to identify and understand the elements that an audience wants to see in a music video due to the fact that artists will have more experience when it comes to creating music videos and appealing to a specific target audience, therefore they know what they are doing and know how to please an audience, because the audience are the ones who are making them rich and successful.

The power of love - Gabrielle Aplin

I was inspired by the use of iconography in the 'The Power of Love' music video, particularly the visuals of Gabrielle Aplin playing the piano while she is singing. The use of musical instruments is conventional to the indie genre because it helps an artist to highlight the talents that they have, which could make them more desirable to work with, both from a record label and an artists point of view. Most successful artists are able to write the lyrics for, and compose the music to their own songs Also, the use of musical instruments links in with the element of performance which is often used in an indie music video to show the audience visuals of the artist doing what they love. Some of the audience may not be able to afford to buy tickets to an actual concert, therefore the use of performances may make them feel similar to if they were at an actual concert, and they therefore do not feel like they are missing out. The use of instruments also helps the artist to show off any other talents, besides singing, that they might have. This video has inspired me to use musical instruments in my music video, specifically a piano, as it may help Amy to get into the character of Gabrielle Aplin and make the video look more realistic as the audience can see that she is producing the music that they can hear. The piano will be seen at various points throughout the video, for example, the video begins with the two characters first meeting and then continues to show them on their first date, however, we plan on using performance between these sections of narrative during an instrumental to act as a transition between the scenes to help the video flow better.

The one - Kodaline

The style of the music video that I want my video to be is a mixture of both narrative and performance, therefore I was inspired by the music video for 'The One' which incorporates both of these styles. The use of narrative can be seen at the beginning of the video when the two main characters first meet in the diner, and the use of this narrative helps to make the video more interesting to watch because it provides the audience with a mini cinematic experiences and helps them to visualise the deeper meaning of the lyrics. The use of visuals can show the audience what the artist is singing about, which is beneficial as the lyrics to indie songs can sometimes be quite ambiguous, and this may also help them to make more of an emotional connection with the song because it may feel as though it is based on a personal experience, which is conventional to the indie genre because indie artists often write their own music based on experiences that they have been through which they feel an audience may be able to relate to, which helps the audience to know that they are not alone in the things they are going through. Furthermore, the use of performance is beneficial to an artist because it allows them to show off their talents, for example, the ability to play a musical instrument and helps to suggest to the audience that the song is personal to them due to the fact that performance allows the audience to see an artists facial expressions at a particular point in the video, which shows them how they are feeling while they are singing and therefore what the song means to them, which is conventional to the indie genre due to the fact that indie artists often write songs that are based on real life experiences. The use of performance also links into Dyer's theory and the idea than an artist must be viewed as extraordinary in order to keep an audience interested in them and as being envious of the skills and talents that an artist has, for example, the ability to write as well as perform their own music. Indie artists are also perceived as being passionate about what they do and that they enjoy performing for audiences, which is part of the reason why they are always on the road. I plan on using both narrative and performance in my own music video, for example, at the beginning of the video to introduce the two main characters into the narrative by showing the audience how they first met, and then the use of performance following that scene will allow the audience to identify who the artist is as she will be on her own, which will suggest to them that the song is about the male character and that the music video is her story.

Thinking of you - Katy Perry

I was inspired by the 'Thinking of You' music video by Katy Perry due to the fact that the narrative for the video is based on the theme of war, which is the same theme that our group decided to base our own music video on because we did not want the storyline to be too predictable and the same as most other indie narrative based videos. Also, the use of old fashioned iconography, for example, the wooden bicycle, and old fashioned looking costumes and hairstyles, for example, in the video Katy Perry's hair is curled and pulled back away from her face through the use of a headband that usually matches her outfit, and she is also seen wearing white and brown brogue type shoes, both of which help the video to be recognisable as part of the indie pop genre. It could be argued that this video was so successful because the audience were not used to Perry producing slower songs due to the fact that she is a well known pop artist who usually wears revealing outfits, colourful makeup and uses extravagant props and special effects. Furthermore, I was inspired by how the video switches between the past and present, for example, the audience see Perry sitting in front of a mirror staring at a photograph, and then the video shows the audience visuals of Perry and the character from the black and white photograph spending time together, for example, they are seen at a dance and riding a bike, however, the audience are aware that the male character is no longer alive due to the fact that at the beginning of the video Perry is seen with another male character, and then at the end of the video, the audience are shown visuals of the male character from the photograph being killed during the war. The use of the colours black and white also suggest old fashioned. The use of both the past and present will be seen in my music video at the beginning when the audience will seen an older lady sitting on a bench in her back garden, the camera will zoom into her face which will then morph into a younger character for the narrative to begin. This transition will imply that the two female characters are the same person, which we hope will make the video more interesting to watch because the audience will be curious as to know her relevance within the video. The use of old fashioned costumes, iconography and setting is conventional to the indie genre due to the fact that indie artists are often perceived as having their own individual styles that often do not fit into the mainstream, for example, it could be argued that the 'norm' in the music industry is for female artists to be seen wearing revealing outfits and tons of makeup, however, in this music video Katy Perry can be seen wearing a baggy dress that falls to below the knee, and natural looking makeup that helps her to be viewed as more relatable with the audience because the artist is perceived as doing her own thing and as not acting in a way that helps her to fit in. Furthermore, the video may also be perceived as old fashioned due to the fact that the artist receives a letter informing her that her boyfriend was ' killed in action', we plan on including something similar in our own video, however, in order to make our music video more modern, we plan on having the artist receive a phone call rather than a letter as we hope this will help our video to reach out to our target audience because they will be able to relate to the use of mobile phones as opposed to writing letters.

Wings - Birdy

In the music video for 'Wings' by Birdy, I was particularly inspired by the carefree, emotional representation that the artist is portrayed as having, especially towards the middle of the music video when the audience can see her jumping up and down on a trampoline in her back garden which then jump cuts to her sitting on the shoulders of another character in the video, which implies that she is at a party or at a concert both of which may help the audience to relate to her because she is seen as acting her age and participating in activities that her audience may also be interested in. Furthermore, she is also represented as emotional through the use of close ups of her face due to the fact that the audience can see that she is not smiling, nor does she smile throughout most of the music video, suggesting that she is unhappy. The use of a close up is conventional to the indie genre due to the fact that indie songs are often perceived as being based on real life experiences that the indie artist has gone through and feels that an audience will be able to relate to in order to show the audience that they are not going through these experiences alone. Furthermore, the use of a close up gives the audience a clear image of how the artist is feeling at a particular point in the music video because the camera is solely focused on their face, this therefore gives the video more of a personal feel because it appears as though the song relates to them and that the lyrics make them feel particular emotions. We have planned to use close ups in our music video during the performance sections as believe they will help us to introduce the artist to the audience so that they know who the artist is, and because it will allow us to show the audience how she is feeling.

Cool Kids - Echosmith

In the music video for 'Cool Kids' by Echosmith, I was inspired by the clear incorporation of Dyer's Star theory which is evident due to the artist being represented as being ordinary through the use of costume, for example, she is seen wearing affordable clothing such as a plain white dress, while the boys are wearing jeans which makes them appear more relatable due to the fact that not everyone will be able to afford designer brands such as Hollister, which is also conventional to the indie genre because indie is not the most popular genre of music, therefore indie artists will not make a large profit through selling their music and therefore will not have a lot of money to spend on creating their music videos. On the other hand, the artist is also represented as being extraordinary through the use of iconography and performance, in particular the visuals of a musical instruments such as the guitar and drums which helps the artist to be perceived as having other talents and skills as opposed to singing, which also helps to keep the audience interested in the artist because they are more likely to feel envious of the talents and skills that they have because not everybody has the ability to perform for thousands of people. I will use Dyer's theory in my music video where the audience will see visuals of the artist playing the piano and performing directly towards the camera, both of which will separate the different sections of narrative, similar to that seen in the Cool Kids music video. We want the transformations between the narrative to flow as smoothly as possible which we feel will make the video easy for the audience to watch, similar to that of a mini cinematic experience.

In conclusion, the three artists and songs that I am considering for my own production are 'Salvation' by Gabrielle Aplin, 'Thinking Out Loud' by Ed Sheeran and 'The head and the heart' by Another Story, all of which are indie artists and include codes in their songs and music videos that are conventional to the indie genre, for example, they all have love story based lyrics, slow pace editing to give the music videos more of an emotional feel to them, and performance sections within the video that allows them to share their talents with the audience, for example, the ability to play musical instruments and the implied idea that they have written those songs themselves. I decided to chose an artist from within the indie genre due to the fact that I am an avid listener of this genre and feel that it will be easier to create a music video with a narrative if the lyrics to the song feel more like a story being told, rather than random words that go with the beat. I will be able to share my ideas with the rest of my group through group discussions regarding the mise-en-scene that we wanted to use in our music video, for example, when discussing the setting and iconography of our video we decided that we wanted the location to be a mixture of both the countryside and inner city, therefore in our video the audience will see shots of London landmarks such as Big Ben, but they will also see visuals of the artist in the park and in the forest, which will give the video a countryside feel. Furthermore, we were also able to share our ideas through the creation of a group storyboard, which set out how we wanted our music video to look visually and helped to ensure that we all had the same vision regarding how the end result of our music video was going to look. It gave us time together to go over our group narrative and decide if we liked the way it was going to look, and what the characters we going to wear and how we were going to present them to the audience. I think that having these inspirations before producing a music video is important because not only do they help you to identify the conventions of the chosen music genre, but they help you to identify what you like within the genre and what you might want to include in your own music video.

Filming schedule - Miss Georgiou

Filming schedule

A filming schedule is important to have due to the fact that it gives every member of the group a direction to work in because it ensures that everybody in the group knows exactly what needs to be done and when and what the end result is expected to look like. The use of a filming schedule means that tasks can be delegated within the group so that we can get the whole thing filmed on time, for example, Molly took on the role of filming the opening sequence in the cow fields as well as the war scenes which are going to be filmed in Theydon, due to the fact that she lives closer to these areas. Sara has filmed the shots of well known London landmarks and the inner city such as Big Ben, and crowed London streets which will be seen towards the end of the video between shots of the artist running. I, myself, helped to film the performance sections where the audience can see the artist playing the piano as these scenes took place in my house. Molly and Sara filmed the majority of the footage due to the fact that they both owned cameras and could therefore film whenever they liked and had the time to. The filming schedule also means that we can establish when we should be finished filming by, and therefore when we can begin to edit our footage, which will be beneficial to us because the editing stage has the potential to take a long time, due to the fact that it is likely we will make several changes regarding what footage we use, its positioning within the music video, the speed of the footage and the special effects that we want to use, therefore a filming schedule will help us to ensure that we finish our music video on time.

In conclusion, for the majority of the filming process we did follow the filming schedule, we filmed in all of the locations that we had planned to film in, for example, the opening sequence of our music video was filmed in the 'cow fields' which was purposeful due to the fact that the iconography of the swing will help us to represent the artist as being carefree and childlike in the sense that she comes across as being innocent, which we wanted to achieve because she is new to the music industry therefore she is still being true to herself and has not yet been changed in order to fit into the mainstream, therefore it was arguably essential that we filmed in this location due to the fact that we would not have been able to find this iconography in another setting similar to the one needed for our video. The only real changes that we made to our filming schedule were the days on which we filmed. For example, on the day we had planned to film the running scene which appears towards the end of the video before the death of the male, the weather was worse than what we had expected it to be, therefore, due to the fact that we did not want Amy to feel uncomfortable running, nor did we want the camera to get wet, which would have required using and umbrella and would have made it much harder to film, therefore Molly ended up filming the running scene on the following day when the weather was forecasted to stay dry. Also, we filmed the piano/performance sections according to the date planned in the schedule, however when we looked back over it we realised that the footage was way too dark due to the fact that we had decided to close the blinds in the room we were filming in order to create a low key lighting, but instead we created a grainy looking effect on the footage and therefore we had to film the same sections again on the 13th of November, but this time we kept the lighting high key because we realised that it would be easier for us to add an effect to make the footage look more low key as opposed to adding an effect to low key footage in order to make it easier for the audience to see. While we were filming the piano/performance scenes at my house we decided that it would be beneficial for our group if were filmed a mid shot of the artist alone singing the entire song from beginning to end so that if we needed extra footage or performance sections while we are editing the footage, we could just crop out sections from this to use. This means that we won't have to go and film again at a later date which creates the risk that it may not flow with the footage that we already have, and takes away the time that we have to editing our music video together. Furthermore, if I were to do the production again, I would attempt to begin the filming process earlier than what we did this time due to the fact that the closer to winter it got, the darker the lighting became, therefore we had less filming time due to the fact that it became darker a lot earlier and it was difficult for our group to film everything that we needed within a specific scene with the same lighting, for example, we had to film the goodbye scene again due to the fact that the first time it was filmed, the lighting became so dark that during the editing stage we realised we couldn't see the actors in the shot very well, therefore the audience would not have been able to see what was going on. I would also consider using a member of our own group to portray the artist in our music video, rather than who we chose this time due to the fact that she had her own group and production to think about, in which she was also portraying the artist, therefore it was difficult to find a time where she was free to film with us because it usually overlapped with when she was due to film with her own group which made it difficult for us to get the footage that we needed by the date we had set, which also restricted the amount of editing we could do in lesson as we often had no footage to edit. I have learnt that the role of a filming schedule is to make everyone from within the group aware of what still needs to be filmed and when by and the locations, actors and iconography that are needed for specific scenes which also helps to ensure that our music video will be completed by the deadline set.

Music video storyboard - Miss Georgiou

Storyboard

The purpose of a storyboard is to illustrate how a media performance is going to look before it has been produced. The order in which the visuals appear often help to tell an audience a story, therefore it is important that the structure and narrative is set out on paper before filming. A storyboard is beneficial due to the fact that it is flexible in the sense that you can make changes to it at any time according to a change of vision regarding how you want something to look, however, a storyboard does give you a direction to work in because it sets out what needs to be done and ensures that all visuals are filmed in order to complete the narrative.

As a group, we carried out several forms of primary and secondary research before beginning to create a storyboard and film for our final music video. We used our vox pops and the results from our questionnaire because they told us what the target audience wanted to see in a music video. We plan to include the most popular aspects from the results into our storyboard to ensure that our music video appeals to our target audience, for example, most of the target audience wanted the music video to be set in the city, therefore we plan to include visuals of famous London landmarks such as Big Ben and the London Eye at various points in the video to show the audience that the characters are in the city. Furthermore, due to the fact that the narrative that we created is based on a love story, we came up with the idea that the use of these landmarks could represent the places that the couple in the video have been together, which could suggest the idea of the two characters going on dates together. The love story narrative is conventional to the indie genre due to the fact that indie artists often write songs that are based on real life experiences about love and relationships because an audience may be able to relate to these experiences which will increase the likelihood of them wanting to listen to the song again. The use of these primary forms of research will help us to include our target audience more in the planning aspects of the process because they are the most important people to consider and their opinions are what will determine the success of our music video.

We also analysed different music videos that had already been created by our chosen artist in order for us to get to know more about her individual style that we can include in our music video to make it more recognisable, for example, Gabrielle Aplin likes to wear casual clothing and natural looking make up which helps her to come across as more relatable because not everybody can afford designer clothing, and it shows her as not being materialistic which most artists are perceived as being. Furthermore, we also analysed music videos created by other indie artists including Birdy and Ed Sheeran in order for us to identify things that are conventional to the indie genre as a whole, for example, the use of performance in an indie music video is conventional due to the fact that it helps an artist to show off their talents, for example, the ability to play musical instruments such as the piano which links into Dyer’s Star theory and the idea that an artist must be extraordinary in order to keep an audience interested and envious of them, because they are seen as having lots of talents and skills that the audience may wish they had. The use of close ups of the artist is also conventional to the indie genre because they allow an artist to show the audience how they are feeling at a specific point in the video which arguably links to the idea that indie artists often write their own music and at that their songs are often based on real life experiences that allow an audience to get to know more about an artist and make an emotional connection with the song, this makes them more likely to want to buy and listen to the song again. The use of these secondary forms of research allowed us to gain ideas for what we could include in our own music video to make it recognisable as part of the indie genre, for example, the use of low key lighting to make the video feel more emotional, and the use of realistic, easily accessible settings and affordable clothing to make the video more relatable for the audience.

We started off by analysing the lyrics to our chosen song in order for us to establish a better understanding of what the lyrics could mean and therefore how we could use visuals to express the meaning of the song to the audience, for example, the lyrics “the darkest fairy tale”; the term ‘fairy tale’ connotes the idea of love and a happy ending, however, the word darkest suggests that the two characters are not going to have a happy ending, this therefore arguably foreshadows the death of the male character at the end of our music video. Furthermore, before creating a storyboard, our group came up with an idea for the narrative of the music video that we could use to inspire the way our storyboard was going to look. We decided that our narrative was going to be based on a love story between a girl and a boy, beginning with how they meet and finishing with the implied funeral of the boy after he gets sent off to war which is conventional to the indie genre due to the fact that indie songs are often based on real life experiences that an audience may be able to relate to, and we feel that this narrative will allow the audience to make an emotional connection with the song. The analysis of the lyrics and then planning a narrative was beneficial to our group because we already knew how we wanted our music video to look before creating the storyboard, and the storyboard itself is something that we can refer to back to when we are filming to make sure we are working in the right direction and to ensure that we are all clear on what needs to be filmed. Furthermore, by taking the time to put our idea onto paper helped to ensure that everybody in the group has the same vision and that we wouldn’t forget how we wanted the music video to look, which therefore allowed us to go off on our own and film specific sections from within the music video. Together as a group we planned the narrative for the storyboard which included where we wanted specific visuals to be seen according to where we felt they would most compliment the lyrics, for example, the lyrics "the darkest fairy tale" will be accompanied by the visuals of the male character being shot, which will be followed by footage of his funeral and the artist scattering his ashes, therefore these lyrics arguably foreshadow his death in the video. Together we wrote down the content of each scene, the specific camera shot we were planning to use, the editing techniques, the lyrics, the characters and the iconography that would be involved according to the narrative, and we then drew the images according to what the other group members had written which ensured that every member of our group had the same vision for how our final music was going to look.

For the majority of the filming process our group managed to follow the storyboard that we had created prior to filming, this was due to the fact that we have previously decided on specific locations that we wanted to film in, therefore we knew exactly where we needed to go when filming and what we wanted to see. However, we did experience some issues with lighting and weather that meant we had to change some aspects of our storyboard, for example, we wanted to use low key lighting during the performance sections where the audience will be able to see the artist playing the piano because we felt that the use of low key lighting would complement the emotions that we wanted her to be perceived as having, therefore, in order to create a low key lighting we closed the blinds in the room that we were filming in, however, when we played the footage back we found that the footage had a grainy looking effect because of how dark the lighting had become, we therefore decided to film the piano sections again but this time using more of a high key lighting due to the fact that we realised it would be easier for us to add a special effect to make the footage look more low key, as opposed making the footage look more high key. Furthermore, we had previously set a date to film the scene during which the artist can be seen running that appears towards the end of the video, however, it was raining on the day and we did not want Amy to feel uncomfortable when filming, therefore we decided to change the date to the next day when the weather was forecasted to remain dry.

Planning the editing - Miss Georgiou

Planning the editing

A variety of editing styles are essential within a music video, most importantly because they help with the transition between shots, for example, we plan on using a jump cut in the video between the sections of performance and narrative in order to help the video flow from scene to scene. Also, the pace of the music video can be used to dictate how the artist is feeling, for example, a fast pace may suggest panic and fear, whereas a slower pace suggests calmness, all of which will add to the overall emotion and mood of the song. Editing ensures that the music video will flow from beginning to end which will help our group when telling our narrative with the audience, and will allow us to jump between the past and present and between narrative and performance.




The first example of an editing style that we plan on using in our video is a time lapse, which will be seen towards the beginning of the video and will consist of visuals of the artist and the male character to show the audience their developing relationship, for example, the audience will see them out on their first date and exploring London together, which the audience will recognise through the use of visuals of landmarks including Big Ben and the London Eye. This time lapse will be accompanied by the use of slow motion, which will be used during the instrumental sections of the song that can be heard between most of the verses. This editing style will be used to show the audience how the artist is feeling, for example, by slowing the footage down the audience will be given a clearer view of the artist’s facial expressions and will give them more time to understand what she is doing and who she is with. The use of slow motion is conventional to the indie genre because indie songs are often based on real life experiences, for example, about love and relationships that often tell emotional stories, therefore the use of slow motion will help our group to add to and emphasise the emotion of the song because it will give the audience more time to take in what is happening in the video. The use of a time lapse represents Gabrielle Aplin as having a busy lifestyle due to the fast pace at which the footage appears in the video which is conventional to the indie genre as indie artist are often perceived as always being on the road and performing their music in different places.

 

Another editing style that we plan on using in our video is a jump cut, which will be seen, for example, towards the beginning of the video following the lyrics 'bring me back around again'. The use of a jump cut arguably compliments the lyrics and allows the artist to change their video from a narrative to a performance style, both of which are conventional to the indie genre because it makes the video more interesting to watch, due to the fact that the use of performance allows an artist to show off their talents while the narrative gives the audience to focus on and helps them to understand the lyrics better. The use of a jump cut is conventional to the indie genre because it can be used to show the audience how quickly an artist’s life can change, due to the fact that the music industry is very unpredictable in the sense that an artist cannot foresee whether their music is going to be successful or not. The use of a jump cut could also be used to show the audience how fast pace an artist’s life is, due to the fact that indie artists are often perceived as always being on the road and as always performing their music in different locations and venues, which emphasises how passionate they are about their music. The use of a jump cut represents the artist as being creative, due to the fact that the use of performance in music videos helps an artist to show off their talents, for example, being able to play the piano, which usually causes the audience to feel envious of them which links into Goodwin's theory and the idea that an artist must be extraordinary, in a talented and skilful sense in order to keep the audience interested in them. Also, the use of a jump cut could represent the fast lifestyle that an indie artist has, due to the fact that they are often perceived as always being on the road, performing their music in different countries for different audience, which therefore may make the audience feel as though they are being given an insight into how the artist lives.

Another editing style that our group plans on using in the music video is slow pace editing, which will be seen during the last chorus of the video while the audience is singing the lyrics 'my salvation, my, my' as our groups feels that the slow pace of the video will emphasise the sadness of the death of the male character because it allows us to drag out lyrics and the visuals of him dying, which gives the audience more time to understand what is happening. The use of slow pace editing is conventional to the indie genre because indie songs are often based on real life, emotional experiences about love and relationships that allow the audience to make an emotional connection with the song and the artist because they may feel as though they are getting to know more about an artist’s personal life, which is something you would expect them to share with their friends. Slow pace editing represents the artist as being more relatable due to the fact that the audience may often perceive an artist as having the perfect life because of how rich they are, however, the idea of death and sadness in the video disagrees with this perception and suggests that the artist has been through situations that the audience may also find themselves in.

Furthermore, our group has planned to use special effects, in particular, orange and brown colour tints, saturation and filters throughout the majority of the video in order to make the footage look older. These special effects are conventional to the indie genre which does not fit into the mainstream because the genre is often perceived as being old fashioned, and these effects will give the video more of a vintage feel due to the fact that the footage will appear more like a memory, rather than having been produced just for the purpose of the music video, which therefore creates more of a personal feel to the video. The audience may feel as though the artist is allowing them to get to know more about her personal life, which is often what the audience are interested in, they want to be able to compare their own lives to the artist. These special effects can be used to create more of an emotional atmosphere, which arguably shows the audience how the artist is feeling without having to use vocals which could disrupt the rhythm of the song. The use of colour tints and saturations will help us to represent the artist as having more of an individual style and as being conventional to the indie genre due to the fact that the video will not fit into the mainstream, therefore the audience will be able to recognise the music video with the indie genre. These effects may also represent our artist as being more natural and relatable because she is not using over the top special effects, such as flashing lights or a green screen which she can use to transport herself to exotic locations that may be unrealistic to the narrative and audience.

 

The use of different editing styles will allow our group to produce a music video that flows from the beginning to the end, which helps us create a narrative that flows and provides the audience with a mini cinematic experience, that may help them to understand the lyrics and deeper meaning of the song better. The audience will be able to build a relationship with the audience through the use of editing styles because the story will give the audience a bigger insight into the private life of the artist, as is being told to them as if they were friends with the artist, which may therefore cause them to feel more inclined to watch any future music videos that the artist may produce.