Weekly Analysis Logs

Weekly Analysis:

week beginning 4/3/19:

This is the beginning of my unit 8 project. At the start of the week, I was briefed on what types of media I could create and what themes I had to include in my work. the themes that were presented to me were; radical, welcome to the forest, makers, and fellowship. the type of media we could make was a music video, a short film, a documentary or some sort of magazine cover or article.

after this briefing, this got me thinking about what I could create. my first idea was to create a short film based on how young teens are easily roped into gangs and how it can affect them mentally as they feel as though there is no escape. Even though I thought this was a good idea I soon came to the realization that to do a short film you would need lots of actors that I know would be up for it, however, I only know 2 actual actors and I felt that wasn't good enough. my second idea was to make a rap music video and I really wanted to do this as I haven't done this before and I have a very keen interest in rap music and popular music video directors like cole bennet, Kaylum Dennis and Myles suave for example. so, my final decision was to make a rap music video but I have not chosen the song yet. now that I had my idea, all that was left to do was to create my proposal that I was due to present in the week beginning 11/3/19.

Week Beginning 11/3/19:

this week, I had presented my proposal in a Pecha-kutcha style to my peers and in this, I included what I plan on making, my inspirations, a vague plan of how I will tackle the planning side of things. after this, I now began to do research into music videos, historical research in particular.  in my research I delve deep into the basics or what a music video is and why they are so important. I also looked at what the first ever music video was and the discussion of what makes a music video a music video. from this research, I learned how much goes into music videos and the 3 different types of music videos there are. music videos are meant to visually depict the words of the song and bring the song to life. it is also a way to further promote the artist and song as they can further get their personality across and create a fanbase. I also looked at how music videos are shot and what camera movements are used in music videos.

I then did some contextual research on what is current and how this "new wave" of music and music sharing has heavily impacted the production of music videos and how they're shared. I watched lots of different rap music videos so I could get inspiration and one video that really piqued my interest was A$AP Rocky's Yamborghini High as they used this crazy effect called Datamoshing and I want to use this in my music video.

Week Beginning 18/3/19:

As I was doing my research, I was also thinking about what song I should pick to make my music video on and who I want to be in my music video. the song I wanted to make a music video for was SahBabii - Army as I felt that I could do a lot of edits and effects as the song follows this trend of the new wave of rap and these new music videos have lots of cool and unique effects. after I had picked the song, I now began to look for who I wanted to be in my music video. I only needed one person to perform the song but I wanted some extras to pose as my performer's friends/entourage so, I got one of my friends - Jamal - to be the main performer as his schedule is similar to mine and I feel that the song will suit him. As for my extras, I asked a few of my friends to be a part of my video and I got 5 of them in total to be involved.

Week Beginning 25/3/19:

this week, I had begun my production research, so I was looking at possible locations online and doing my research on them. One of the locations I had found online was Kyoto Gardens in Kensington's Holland Park. This part of the park is Japanese filmed and is a very popular attraction for tourists and is known for its waterfall and exotic birds, like the peacock that lives in the garden. I was also able to get into contact with a person who lives by the college who owns a Range Rover and they had given me permission to actually shoot parts of my music video inside of their car whenever I wish so, so far I had two locations. I also wanted to shoot inside of a restaurant so I am going to have to get into contact with my local restaurants to see if I can film inside of their establishment. I want to shoot at these locations as they promote the theme of wealth and success. for example, Kensington is known for being an area densely populated with wealthy people and Kyoto gardens gives this sense of class and elegance that is usually promoted in rap music videos.

As I was pitching my idea to one of my teachers, they had brought up the point that the song I had chosen was very graphic in terms of what the rapper is talking about and she had also told me that she felt that the best music videos are the ones that link to the song itself so, she advised that I maybe think of changing the song and I took her advice on board. the song I was now making my music video for was Kodak Black's "If I'm Lyin' I'm Flyin'". I felt this song fitted more with the locations and themes I wanted to promote in my music video, compared to my previously chosen song.      

Week beginning 1/4/19:

I began to plan the costume for my performer and extras and I had come to the decision that I wanted him to wear a designer jumper some jeans and some trainers. I chose this because I wanted him to look like a typical rapper and also fit the style of the song. as for my extras, they were going to wear similar outfits but not as loud clothing as my performer. this is because I don't want to draw attention away from my performer and I want Jamal to stay the main focus at every given moment.

I was also looking at hiring equipment to shoot my music video. I want my music video to be at a very high quality and I am willing to put my own money into this project to ultimately have the best possible music video I can make. I began researching cameras to rent at an affordable cost on a website called FatLlama and I came across a Sony A6300 with a wide angle lens and a gimbal; zhiyun crane 2. I wanted to use a gimbal to get really smooth and cinematic shots of my performer and b-roll. these two pieces of equipment are what i want to use to create my music video.


Easter Break:

I called up the restaurants and all of the ones I had contacted told me that they don't allow any sort of filming in their restaurants and this was a major setback as I had really wanted to shoot in a restaurant. this left me with only two locations to shoot at and this wasn't what I wanted.

I had begun to create my shooting script listing shots and the b roll I plan on a recording like, for example, I wanted an establishing shot of the entire park and b roll of the waterfall and Jamal walking. I had made a table for what shot will go alongside each lyric and how long the shots will be. this was to help me with when shooting and editing. i also practiced some camera movements and effects on premiere pro and after effects so I'm more familiar when recording and editing my final. one effect I practices was a cloning effect

Week beginning 22/4/19:

this week, i was meant to shoot my music video with the camera i am trying to rent out but im having complications with renting as fat llama are asking for lots of legal documents so this caused me to postpone my shooting day. this carried on throughout the week as they kept on asking for more verification. i continued to practice my editing and effects on premiere pro and after effects. one of the things i practiced was a cloning effect and i did this on premiere pro. i also practiced and effect that i found on youtube called a burn though effect.

Week beginning 29/4/19:

this week didn't start of too well as i still continued to have camera issues until thursday, fatllama finally sorted out the issue and i was able to record my video. i was able to pick up my camera at the end of the week so during this time i was looking over my research and gathering more information from the internet. we were coming up to mock exam season and my extras had exams on the day i wanted to record my music video. i had not choice but to now have a music video with no extras. this was a problem but there was nothing i could do as all my friends were busy with mocks and revision lessons.


week beginning 6/5/19:

this week, i recorded my music video in kyoto gardens and in the range rover. i was able to shoot my entire music video in one day but the only problem was that the sky was cloudy so my footage is a bit dark. lucky i knew how to use the camera so i was able to change the settings so it doesn't appear too dark. but because i recorded late, the lighting isn't consistent.

week beginning 13/5/19:

this week i begun editing my music video on the mac. because i knew how to use a mac and the editing software, i didn't find it too hard to lay out my work and begin editing. i began to download all the effects i was going to ue and the transitions i wanted to use and watching tutorials on how to create some other effects as i was working along.

week beginning 20/5/19:

this week i continued editing and finally finished editing my music video. i wasn't able to add the atamosh effect as the mac couldn't handle the plugin that creates this effect. there were alternatives to creating the effect but i was running short on time so i just left it out. i now used after effects to add my effects and transitions to my music video and them attempted to colour correct my video. i had never done colour correction but i was watching a tutorial as i was doing it and i think it looks good. i exported my music video and posted it onto my youtube channel. now all is left is to do my review.

Final Summative Evaluation

Introduction:

For the past 11 weeks, I have been working on my Unit 8 Final project. As my final project, I decided to create a rap music video cover. to make this music video, took weeks of research, preparation, and effort. my final music video I feel turned out well but there is room for major improvements and I am about to tap into that in my Summative Evaluation.

The effectiveness of my research (Contextual, audience, and production):

contextual:

before making my music video, I had to do an incredible amount of research as this was the first time I had ever attempted to make a music video so, I started off by researching about what a music video is and what it does. I then went on to research what the first music video was and how it impacted the music scene forever. I then looked at the 3 main music video types and these are; Conceptual, performance, and narrative. from this research, I knew that I wanted to do a performance music video with conceptual aspects included. I wanted to do this because, in rap music videos, majority of them, especially the latest ones out, are performance type music videos but they incorporate some sort of abstract concept to differ it from other music videos. I also looked at the new wave of rap and how music videos play a big part in how they're shared. In my music video, I feel I was successful in incorporating the performance style into my music video as a majority of my shots are of my performer actually rapping into the camera from a range of different angles. I also was able to use a range of shot types and camera movements like the medium tracking shot of my performer walking in a circle but rapping into the camera.

However, my concept wasn't pushed towards the audience enough to be recognized and this was for many reasons. My concept that I wanted to promote was the lavish life of a rapper and what its like to be as successful as them. I feel that I was unsuccessful in pushing my concept across because I didn't have enough shots and I didn't shoot various locations as planned. For example, one of my ideas I had were to shoot in a flashy restaurant but all of the restaurants I had called up did not allow me to shoot inside of their establishment. also, I was meant to have a bottle of champagne and money as props to evoke the theme of materialism, that is present in a majority of rap music videos but, unfortunately, I had little to no budget and everything was funded by me and my main focus was to rent out a camera and gimbal and those props were not attainable at that moment. however, I was able to somewhat able to evoke my concept by making my performer wear flashy clothes, similar to those that would be worn in typical music videos.

audience:

Before making a rap music video, I learned that you had to do research on the target audience, particularly mainstream and niche audiences. I learned that mainstream and niche target audiences have both their own pros and cons, however, In terms of music video production, it's best for me to cater to a niche target audience because it makes it easier to focus on a specific group of people I want to cater to. having a mainstream range audience means that I have to cater a wider audience and this could mean that the themes I use have to be more simplified and bland in order to have some sort of engagement with my entire target audience - I would have to many people to cater to so I can't do anything radical or out of the box or I could risk not appealing to my audience.

My target audience was 16-24 / Male / Aspirers/explorers / D/E / Rap fans. this was because this is the characteristics of a typical rap fan but is still specific enough to make it a niche audience. I have chosen to target people in D/E class and this is because, typically, it's younger people who listen to rap and they are likely unemployed or work jobs that require no skill or qualification. I have chosen to target my music video at Aspirers and Explorers because these type of people seek status and are materialistic. In typical music videos, they always glorify money and expensive clothing in either their lyrics or the music video and it's what teens and younger adults are into. I have also chosen explorers because they seek discovery and are more likely to be into more niche and different things. Because I want my music video to be different from a standard rap music video, I feel it would appeal to them more. Plus, explorers are typically students and that demographic falls into my target audience.

In my final music video, I feel that my music video does appeal to my target audience as I have included certain contextual themes like the glorification of expensive clothing but, this could've been done in a better way if I were to have had more props and shots in the locations I wanted to which would've made my themes more constant and stronger. I feel I was successful in appealing to my psychographic of explorers as I used creative and unique transitions that are not used in a lot of music videos but I feel I may have actually catered more to the strugglers psychographic due to my specialist interest being rap fans and I had chosen to make my music video on rap. Rap fans are usually those who have a low socio-economical status i.e. people who live in council estates.

production:

before moving on to recording, I had to do some production research. this included equipment, Mise-En-Scene, and visual styles. in terms of equipment, I had been researching cameras and a gimbal that I could possibly rent out via FatLlama, a rental service site, and I came across a Sony A6300 and a zhiyun crane 2 that i could rent out for a day for £30. i wanted to do this because i wanted my work to be as crisp and look as professional as possible. i managed to actually get a hold of these pieces of equipment and these made the overall quality of my music video a lot better compared to if i had used one of the college's Canon 650D's. the camera allowed me to shoot in 4K and the gimbal allowed me to capture smooth and cinematic shots.

the only downside was that this was the first time i had used a Sony mirrorless camera so, I had to learn how to use the camera on the same day i was meant to shoot so, i had no time to get familiar with the camera. This was the same with the gimbal, i had to learn how to use it correctly and shoot my music video all on the same day. but overall i think i did a decent job for my first time but if i were to do this again, now that I'm familiar with the equipment, i know i could produce a far better piece of work. moreover, I used a mac and premiere pro with after effects to edit my music video but luckily for me, i was very familiar with using a mac and this editing software. using this equipment and software helped me greatly as i was able to implement unique effects and transitions.

in regards to Mise-En-Scene, the props i had planned on using was fake money and a bottle of champagne i wanted my performer to use. i wanted to use this to strengthen my concept but, unfortunately, i was unable to get a hold of these items. this greatly hindered the overall quality of my music video in terms of its content and now i know the importance of props and how they really bring a music video together. Also, the clothing i wanted my performer to initially wear had a slight change but this was for the better. i feel that the ripped jean jacket gave my performer a more edgy look that a lot of these popular rappers are rocking in their music videos. I had a problem with casting availability. A lot of my friends who were meant to be extras had exams or had classes they had to attend and were unable to commit to their role as extras in my music video so, i had to do the music video with no extras, just the performer. I feel that this did affect the overall production and it would've been a lot better if i had my extras. I was able to shoot in my chosen locations except for the restaurant as no restaurant would allow me to record inside so, I only had shots from Kyoto Gardens and inside of the Range Rover. the shots i had were good but the shots in the restaurant would've been refreshing for the audience as i was only able to bounce in between 2 different locations.

during my production research, i tapped into visual styles and element that I wanted to include in my music video. For example, i wanted to use a "burn through" transition, that was popularised by Director Cole Bennet, and required after effects and I was successful in doing so. this effect required me to use after effects and after watching tutorials i quickly got the hang of it. one effect that i really wanted to incorporate from the start was an effect called datamoshing. this effect is very hard to create as it's not actually an effect; its the removal of certain pixels that create this crazy pixelated effect. i tried to create this effect with lots of different techniques however, it never came out exactly how i wanted it to. even after multiple retries, still it didn't look right, so i scrapped the effect. i would've loved to have had this effect in my music video but it wasn't working how it was meant to. this could possibly be because the computer couldn't handle running the software that actually does the datamoshing.

How my product compares to my case studies:

"SL - Tropical" Comparison:

SL's "Tropical" music video was directed and shot by Director Kaylum Dennis. The video location is in the Icelandic Vistas and the video heavily features lots of B-Roll of the environment, drone shots, and slow-motion shots. The director used lots of different angles like close-ups of the artist and long-shots when capturing the artist on top of the car. my music video was also shot in an atypical location for a rap music video and i took influence from this music video. i tried to incorporate b roll footage of the environment, similarly to SL's, but i didn't record enough b roll when i was at my location. i had underestimated how much footage i was actually going to need but now i know that next time i will stock up on b roll of almost anything and everything. 

similarly to SL's Tropical, I used lots of different cameras angles like the longshot of my performer and medium tracking shots of the performer. in tropical, the color grading is made to make the cold landscape seem warm and i attempted to do this by playing around with the hue and color grade of my music video. this was the first time i had ever color graded so, i wasn't too familiar with how it works but i still attempted to replicate what Kaylum Dennis had done. in my music video, i used slow-motion shots to create cinematic scenes that are similar to those in tropical. the way i did this was i slowed down the clip was in premiere pro but i never knew that i was meant to change the frame rate to get a smoother slow motion shot. this is probably what Kaylum Dennis had done for his.

"A$AP Rocky - Yamborghini High" comparison:

A$AP's music video was directed by Shomi Patwary and in the music video they have incorporated both, conceptual and performance formats to create this radical and beautifully shot music video. I planned on making a similar type of music video by incorporating both conceptual and performance formats. in my music video, the performance format is far more prominent than my concept and i could've made my concept stronger by using props and extras. Shomi Patwary used a wide range of shot types in this music video like, for example, long shots when capturing A$AP Rocky and the models in front of the mansion, and panning shots when following the cars down a road. the vast range of shot types kept the video more interesting than if it were to just be an angle of just the performer. i also did this in my music video; i used a range of different shot types like a long shot and a medium tracking shot.

The colours in the A$AP's video are very vivid and bright but not overexposed and i like how it makes the whole video pop. this was probably done through colour correction and use of lighting. I also did some colour correction in my music video to make it look more brighter and for the colours to pop more. I feel that this location was chosen because this isn't the typical location for a Rap music video and they didn't want to make a typical music video and this allowed them to execute their concept of doing something that hasn't been done before. my location choice is also unique like in Yamborghini high and wouldn't typically be featured in a rap music video. in the yamborghini high music video, they used a technique called datamoshing and this creates this cool pixelated effect. i really wanted to incorporate this into my music video but when i tried to, it didn't turn out how i would've liked it to. this was due to the computer being unable to run the software needed to create his effect.

How my technical skills have developed:

during the course of 11 weeks, i have picked up many new skills from learning how to critically analyse music videos to creating certain effects in after effects. in the beginning of my unit, i was tasked with creating a presentation in a pecha kucha style. i had never done his before but now i know how to present in this style and make it interesting to keep the audience engaged. this was only the beginning of my development. i had even developed my analytical skills when doing contextual research. when researching i had to look though lots of text and pick out relevant information that would help me make my final music video. deciding what is relevant and not used to be quite a challenge for me, but now i have improved in what i deem relevant and helpful for me. during research i learnt a lot about how music videos are made and all the components needed to make a successful music video. for example, there are 3 main types of music videos; conceptual, performance and narrative.

i wanted to make my music video a performance type music video and in these music videos, a range of different camera angles and movement are used. prior to my music video i practiced these camera movements so i knew what to do when i went to shoot. one of these camera movements was my rotating medium tracking shot. I also had to use new equipment to shoot my music video like a gimbal and a sony mirrorless camera. this was the first time i had ever used a gimbal and i felt that i got the hang of it pretty quickly. before even acquiring the gimbal, i had researched how to capture really smooth shots and before this project i didn't even know what a gimbal was. this was also the first time i had used a sony camera and i was used to using canon cameras but, by watching tutorials and researching online on how to use the camera, i learnt how to use the camera to its best capability. moreover, i improved in my post production skills and was able to create transitions using after effects. for example, i was able to replicate the burn though effect that a lot of music video directors use.

Audience responses to my final product [google forms] :

to gather feedback from my audience, i created a questionnaire for people who watched my video could answer. the questions i asked were the following:

1. Do you like your music video?
2. What do you like the most about my video?
3. What do you like the least about my video?
4. What could i have done to improve my music video?

here are my results for each question.

Results:

1. out of my responses from my audience, over 85% people said they liked my music video and just under 15% disliked my video. i feel that i was, overall, successful in appealing to my target audience as a majority of my audience liked my video.

2. the things people liked the most about my music video was the effects used, and the locations used in my music video. i tried to use lots of effects so i could appeal to my specialist interest and i think i was successful in doing so as this was the most liked thing in my music video. i also feel that by using an atypical location appealed to my audience as it was refreshing and not what you would expect.

3. the things people like the least about my music video is the transitions i used in my music video. i feel that this was probably because i used presets for some and some of them and look slightly basic. another thing that wasn't liked was the shot types used and i feel that, watching my video back, my camerawork does need some improvement.

4. when asking people about what i could've done to improve my music video, the most frequent things said were that the lip syncing was slightly off at times and and the same effects used are repeated quite a lot. also, another hin that i saw was said was that my colour correction wasn't good and the colours looked weird. more footage and more b roll was also mentioned as a way to improve my video.

How my product will be distributed and consumed:

based on my contextual research and general knowledge, i know that the way my music video would be shared is most likely to be through social media and youtube. Since 2005, social media has been an essential way for artists to promote their music and engage with their fan-base. It was, and still is, a way for their fans to interact, find out more about their favourite artists and find more music from the artist that isn't as big as their major hits. Having a social media presence is key for an artist as it makes more people gravitate towards them because we as an audience know more about their background and what they're like as a person, and we may find a liking to their character/personality.

this is the same for music video directors. for example, cole bennett has a huge social media  following, with over a million followers on instagram and youtube and likes to interact with his fans. this connection is what is essential nowadays to distribute whatever you want. if i had this following, i would be able to self promote my music videos across all platforms my target audience are most present and active like youtube, instagram, twitter and snapchat. a way to make money from my music video could be from the revenue it brings in from youtube ads being played before and at the end of my music video or, possibly, brands could reach out to me and pay for product placement within the music video.

My next steps as a media producer:

overall, from this project, i learnt a lot in regards to what skills i need to develop and improve on. things like my camera work could improve as i feel that i could've done a lot more in regards to the overall quality of my camera movement. one big thing i need to improve on is my organisation skills as i ran into lots of problems due to poor time management but from this unit i learnt that if you space out your workload evenly, everything would be a lot smoother. from this unit, i have learnt that my strengths are post production and an some camerawork however my planning and organisation is my downfall. i also aspire to do things without thinking it all the way though. i need to realise that my ideas aren't always possible given certain circumstances and sometimes it's best to tweak your idea instead of sticking to your idea and forcing it to come to fruition. to overcome this i would need to begin to practice working alongside a schedule and really plan out what i am going to do. i would also need to start creating similar projects so that i get used to the workload and improve on my analytical skills as well as my camera and post production skills.

Cast, Clothing/Costume and Prop Research

Cast:

For my music video, i will only need one performer and 5 extras who will pose as the performer's friend. my performer is going to be my friend Jamal Haji as al lot of my friends weren't confident enough to be the performer and I feel he would do a great job at being the main focus of my music video. He also own the clothes that I would want my performer to wear which makes it easier to plan a costume for him.

Costume:

I want my performer to be waring a a designer crewneck jumper and jeans with some trainers. I have chosen this to be one of the costumes as this is what rap artists would typically wear in their music video. Also, the costume would also tie into the lyrics of the song - he is talking about success and the amount of money he has. the items below are he items of clothing I would get my performer to wear.

As for my extras, I would want them to wear similar clothing as my performer however I don't want their clothing to be to bright as they're not the main focus of the music video.

Props:

I want to use props in my music video as I feel they add a lot to music video and can be used to strenghten a theme or convey a certain emotion or idea. for my music video, I want to use champagne  as a prop. In my music video I want my performer to pop and spray the bottle of champagne but i want the chamapagne to be in a majority of the shots, whether it be in the perfromers hand or on the side or on the table.

things to improve:

• need more clips - same clips get repetative and 
• video seems kind of dark - edit clips to make them seem brighter
• more transitions and effects

Location research

Location Research:

Location 1 - Kyoto Garden:

Address: 

Holland Park, Holland Park Ave, Kensington, London W11 4UA

I want to film parts of my music video in Kyoto Garden, a japanese inspired park within Holland park, and I have chosen this as one of my locations because i feel that it is a really calm and tranquil place and this vibe is similar to the vibe given off by the instrumental in my song. the location is outside so when filming, i would need to shoot on a day where the weather is relatively good - a day with clear skies and some sun would be ideal. 

One of my scenes in my music video is going to have clones of my performer and to do this i will use after effects and for this to look as realistic as possible, the lighting has to stay at a constant state. this means that the day i shoot will have to shoot on a clear day that isn't too sunny so the lighting doesn't effect the camera. i want to capture a range of environmental b-roll and medium shots of my performer around this park.

this is a park that is open to the public so i would have to be wary and try to not capture any of the public in my video as this will make the music video look less professional. but, this does mean that i am free to record without a permit or any sort of creditiation and this makes it more convenient. 

location 2 - JRC Global Buffet:

 Address: 

I have chosen to shoot part

editing research and practice

Location Research:

Location 1 - Kyoto Garden:

Address: 

Holland Park, Holland Park Ave, Kensington, London W11 4UA

I want to film parts of my music video in Kyoto Garden, a japanese inspired park within Holland park, and I have chosen this as one of my locations because i feel that it is a really calm and tranquil place and this vibe is similar to the vibe given off by the instrumental in my song. the location is outside so when filming, i would need to shoot on a day where the weather is relatively good - a day with clear skies and some sun would be ideal. 

One of my scenes in my music video is going to have clones of my performer and to do this i will use after effects and for this to look as realistic as possible, the lighting has to stay at a constant state. this means that the day i shoot will have to shoot on a clear day that isn't too sunny so the lighting doesn't effect the camera. i want to capture a range of environmental b-roll and medium shots of my performer around this park.

this is a park that is open to the public so i would have to be wary and try to not capture any of the public in my video as this will make the music video look less professional. but, this does mean that i am free to record without a permit or any sort of creditiation and this makes it more convenient. 

location 2 - 

 Address:

production research

Things i will need:

Equipment:

1. DSLR Camera
2. Steadicam 
3. Computer - for editing
4. Editing software

Mise-En-Scene:

1. Props
2. Clothing
3. Casting 
4. Location/s - Kyoto garden, restreaunt, cab/uber, new buidings

Visual Styles:

1. Cinematography styles - music video type
2. Editing techniques - after effects, datamoshing, etc.

Equipment:

DSLR Camera:

I plan on using a DSLR Camera in order to shoot my music video because i feel i would be able to capture 

Mise-En-Scene:

Clothing:

The clothing I would want my 

Visual Styles: