Transition Music Video

As part of the transition period, we created a performance music video in small groups. This exercise was intended to get us used to using the equipment, as well as developing team working and time-management skills which we will need to apply to our final music video. Our group consisted of three people, myself (in blue), James, and Francesca (in white). As this was a performance video, we needed a song which would be fairly easy to lip sync to, and decided on Britney Spears's Baby One More Time. Having 6 hours to film and edit the video, this really tested our teamwork and organisational skills. We used Premiere Pro to edit the video, and had equal responsibility for each creative decision.

Things that went well:

• Having never used Premiere Pro before, personally I was able to learn the software quickly considering the time scale. As illustrated below, I learnt what each section meant and it's purpose, as well as figuring out elements such as: it is easier to edit the clip using markers in the source monitor, or by zooming in and out of the timeline the track and footage could be more precise.

• As a group, we decided that each one of us would sing/lip-sync the entire song at least 3 times, using varied shots of once close up, medium shot, and long shot respectively. Whilst this did take longer than if we were to have each learned a verse, this did lead to a wealth of footage, enabling us to have faster cuts to keep the viewer interested for the duration of the song.

• I think we managed to align the lip-syncing with the track well, with each of us being brave in trying to portray the song, as well as adding some humour along the way.

• Due to the short time span, it was too time consuming to include multiple effects, however we did apply some slow-motion edits especially to the dancing scenes during the instrumental. Also, in one of the shots the lip-sync became faster towards the end, so using slow motion we were able to marginally slow-down the shot, corresponding it to the music.

• Although subtle, at the end of Baby One More Time, a loud bell rings which continues for about 10 seconds. As we didn't want this, we created sound arc points, causing the music to subtly fade out at the end of the video.

• As with many modern videos, text is often featured at the start of the video to emphasise the track and artist name. Here we wanted to try to use titles and indeed text in the video which could then be used in our final ideas. I really like the addition of text here, which we made change after so many beats, emphasising the rhythm of the music.

• The quality of the track is smooth, which definitely helps the professional nature of the video. Had the track been of poor quality, this would have contrasted the pop genre of the track and video and created a confusing video for the audience.

Things which didn't go as well:

• Some members of the group were available at different times, causing filming across two separate days. This meant that if something was wrong with a particular set of footage, we would not have enough time to reshoot this. However, as we each lip-synced the whole song at least 3 times, this meant we had 3 sets of footage for each person which were refocused each time.

• Refocusing during the handheld shots did not go to plan, due to both the camera and subject moving at the same time. In the future, I would try to use autofocus rather than manual focus in these situations to retain the sharpness.

• As we were shooting on different days, different rooms were available to us. On the second day, Francesca and I completed our takes on a black background, contrasting James's white background. As we were both wearing dark trousers this does appear on some lower-contrasting monitors to look as if we are floating! In the future I will definitely be paying closer attention to the background by framing the composition of the shot more carefully.

• Using the same two-studio light set up from my AS photo shoot for James's shots, this perhaps was not the best set up for the environment. Quite harsh shadows were created in places, and if I was to do it again, I would definitely further research light set ups to create a higher-contrast and cleaner aesthetic.

• Whilst we had prepared what camera angles and shots we wanted to take, much of the performance was improvised and brought together in the edit. Personally, I think that if we would have had more time to plan each shot rather than be completely flexible when we start shooting, this would have created a more consistent video. Also, if we were working with people we didn't know, it would be deemed unprofessional to not have planned certain shots.

• After showing this to an audience, we noticed that it is very difficult to maintain the viewer's attention. A shorter track would enable more creative planning given the time span, as well as making it easier to keep the audience entertained. For my music video, I plan on using a track which is close to the 3min mark apposed to this 3:48min long video.