The Editing Process

I have recently started editing the footage for the music video that my production partner and I are making. We started by copying the footage into Final Cut Pro because this is a better programme to use as it is easier to understand and it looks more professional. Firstly, we put some shots of the band in so that we could see exactly where we wanted to place the shots of our narrative story. In order to make the shots of the band look effective we had to synchronise them so they matched the exact pace and timing of the music, this was very difficult because if we didn't do this correctly then it would just look unprofessional. Once we'd synchronised some of the band shots onto the timeline we began to make plans of what else we needed and where it would go in order for the music video to look good.

After we'd filmed some of the narrative scenes we proceeded to place them onto the timeline so they fitted with the song lyrics, this would make it synchronous and it would therefore help the audience understand what the video is about. Putting the narrative scenes onto the timeline was very easy, because my production partner and I knew exactly where we wanted them to go. However we came across some continuity problems which meant we couldn't use certain shots that we'd taken. We then had to crop and cut some of the other shots in order for the continuity to be correct, this was a tricky task because we had to make sure the footage looked good once we'd cropped it and if it didn't then we'd have to do some more filming. During the music video we have crosscutted between the narrative shots and the performance shots in order to create a richer and more entertaining structure for the video, this allowed the transitions to be smooth with no jump cuts as this is something we didn't want because we felt that it would make the video look unprofessional.

Once the video had all of the major conventions of the indie genre my production partner and I began to incorporate more shots from the narrative scenes in order to make it flow better with the band shots. We wanted the band shots to be synchronous with the overall beats of the song, with a match-on-action so when there is a drum fill we wanted a long shot of the drummer doing this fill as it involves audience members who are interested in this sort of instrument. This shot lasted for about 8 seconds so that the audience could see the drum fill properly, because cutting it would've made it look unfinished and may have given way to a jump cut. This makes the pace of the music video and the transitions flow smoother and reflect the conventional indie music videos that are seen nowadays.

Once my production partner and I felt that we had included enough of the narrative scenes we began to experiment with filters. We did this because we thought that by having a filter our music video would look more professional due to the type of genre the song is from. We looked at a filter called "Cold Steel" because we felt that it fitted in with the genre of our chosen song. This particular filter reflects the ideology and the mood of the song due to it being flat and melancholic, so then an active audience would be able to deconstruct the meaning behind the lyrics when they watch the video because of how the filter makes them feel about the song. Some of the other filters fitted with the genre as well but we didn't feel that there was enough light being shown through some of the others, and this aspect would make our music video look unprofessional which is something we didn't want. On the day of the shoot the sun was very bright and it therefore overexposed the actors so their facial expressions couldn't be seen, by adding this filter it gave a consistent flatter tone to the music video that was monochromatic with the use of blues and greys. This sort of colour scheme reflects the simplicity of the digipak as well, even though a sepia filter is used on the digipak and poster, it represents the ideals of the band and the song itself.

Richard Dyer's Star Theory

The term "pop performer" and "pop star" have become interchangeable and many pop performers are called "pop stars' purely through the amount of advertisement they receive from their management. This is easily done thanks to newspaper stories, a famous boyfriend/girlfriend, attendance at premieres and other events that famous people go to.
Richard Dyer said that 'A star is an image not a real person that is constructed out of a range of materials.'

Stars are made to look in a particular way that will appeal to their audience more, whether it be through their looks or the clothes they wear, accent or body language. They are changed in order to bring in more interest to a particular media product so that the audience enjoy it more. A true pop star does have a lasting significance and also has something called "brand awareness" amongst a wider market over a period of time.

Stars are constructed, artificial images even if they're being represented as real people with real emotions, stars seem to be more successful if they have a unique selling point that represents them and makes them stand out. Music artists are manufactured by their music and the company they work for because the record companies nurture the stars in order to make them as successful as possible, TV talent shows are a good example of this sort of nurture because they tend to manufacture what they think the audience want.

Stars provide audiences with a focus for ideas of what people are meant to look like, for example women might think that they're meant to be thin and beautiful due to the amount of female singers in the music industry that appear to look perfect. Other stars construct characters or alter egos which helps them to create an identity that appeals to their target audeince. The characters may be outspoken and end up becoming an icon to their fans who feel they can relate to them in one way or another.
An example of this would be Lady Gaga, she has become an iconic character who dresses in a unique way which draws attention to her as an artist, she works for her fans and interacts with them through social networking sites like most pop stars. However, she has made a sociological impact on the public due to the unique selling point she has which would be her dress sense.

This theory applies to our band because we go against it, the band are not constructed in a way to appeal to the audience more because they're a natural indie band that dress well and look good in what they do. This will attract a niche audience that are particularly interested in the way the band sound and look compared to what they do to make people like them more.

Decisions and Planning- Production Schedule

Production Schedule

Logistics

The email I sent to our Media teacher about the mini bus hire.

In order for our first day of filming to be successful my production partner and I need to get everything organised so that the day runs smoothly. In order to get to our chosen location we would need to hire a mini bus big enough for all our equipment and the people that are helping us. Due to the fact that neither of us own a mini bus I decided to email our Media teacher about the enquiry of a mini bus hire because I thought this would be the best option for us. After a few days our Media teacher got back to me and suggested that we go and visit the school office to find out if hiring a mini bus would be possible. So we went to the school office and sorted out a mini bus for Thursday 14th November 2013, which was our first day of filming, hiring a mini bus was the best way to get all of the equipment to the location. It made the day much easier to get through and it meant that no one had to use public transport which was good because it takes longer to get to the location by bus.

A map of the route we took to get to The Chase

This is a map of the route we took in order to get to our location, the journey was about 15 minutes long which is more efficient than going by bus because it would've taken longer that way. We decided to change the location of filming because Hainault forest was much further away compared to The Chase and it would've taken a lot longer to get there with could have potentially put us behind schedule. This means that we might've had to do 2 days of filming instead of 1 so in theory it was a much better idea to change the location and hire a mini bus.

Day One of Filming

Thursday 14th November 2013

Today Perry and I were filming some band shots for our music video, we travelled to The Chase with Mr Fossey, Mr Wing, Scott Long and Daryl Staggs. We chose to film at The Chase due to finding a really natural open space yesterday when we went to get some test shots in order for us to get used to the camera as it was new. After arriving to the location and setting up the drum kit and piano, we started to think about what sort of shots we wanted and how we wanted them to look effective in the music video. We started off just getting a normal long shot of the band at eye level, this can be edited in order to fit in with other shots for our music video so it will look more professional. The location reflects the ideals of the band because it represents what they're about and it shows the audience a side to their personality through music. The location had a few trees lying around which made it look more rural.

Getting to the location was easy, we hired a mini bus big enough for all the equipment and the people we needed in order to complete the filming. Once we'd arrived we parked up and began to unload the equipment because we had to carry it to the location in which we'd be filming. It took all of us about 15 minutes to get the equipment to the final location and the about 15 more minutes to set up the equipment and position it correctly in the location we were using to film.

We got some really good shots during filming today, they included some close up of both actors singing to the camera which we will be able to use in our music video to show the synchronisation of the band members which will then reflect the ideals of the band to the audience. Other good shots included a tracking shot of the actors walking to their instruments, this shows the audience the kind of relationship that the band members have with each other and can help the audience to also build a relationship with them on screen.

"Runaway" Lyrics

Intro

Verse 1

I want to know what it feels like to be a runaway with you,

Only needing to touch, only needing to breath.

All I do is await your company.

Verse 2

Take me in your heart, never tear it apart, I'll give you everything,

I know we're always the same, love and never complain,

And we'll never give up, no not today.

Chorus

Runaway (runaway), runaway (runaway), runaway with me,

We'll find a life together, forget the world forever,

Runaway (runaway), runaway (runaway), runaway with me,
Just walk towards our love and then we will be free.

Verse 3

I want to know what it feels like to be a runaway with you,
Holding you in my arms, taking you in my hands,
All I do is await your company.

Verse 4

I'll take you in my heart, from the very start, I'll be your everything,
I know you're always the same, you'll love and always remain,
Right here next to me.

Chorus

Guitar Solo

Chorus

Outro

Audience Profile

Gender: Male or Female

Age: 16-22

A typical audience member for our music video has a psychographic profile of a reformer, they are kind, sensitive and like to buy organic and free range foods in order to make the world a better place. They like to watch independent films and go to film and music festivals with their friends, they do a lot for the environment such as planting trees in their local park and cleaning up litter.

In order to attract a typical audience member to my music video I intend to find a location with lots of natural wildlife and greenery, such as a forest or some wort of nature reserve, this will attract the audience member to our video because it involves something that interests them and they will enjoy the music video more because it involves their common interests. The actors in the video will be of a similar age to the target audience member, this will give them a chance to identify with them, this links in with Blumler and Katz's Uses of Gratifications Theory that people consume media texts in order to relate to characters and artists.