Evaluating my first edit

Strengths

• As this is the first edit of my video I expect to not have many strenght as it is still a work in progress however there are some things that do work.
• There is still footage to be filmed but some of this footage may be kept in.

• The locations and mise en scene work well and the person chosen to play the artist fits the role well due to her look and the confidence she gives off to the audience.
• A mixture of different shots are used making it less boring.
• The clothes the artist is dressed in work well as they dont blend with the background making her the more noticable thing in the video.
• She doesnt give off a bad representation.
• Conventions and codes of the genre have been followed.
• The dog scene worked well in the video.

Weaknesses

• The footage used in the video was from the first  shoot were the artist wasnt used to the song lyrics just yet meaning she struggled with some of the miming in the video.
• Some of the shots such as the close up of her face against the white wall have interference- hair getting in the way of the face etc.
• The lighting is bad in the scenes inside the bedroom with the dog.
• The houses are in the background of the mise en scen which take away the illusion of the artist being in the middle of no where.
• The synchronisation needs to be re edited again.
• Can look a bit repetitive at time so more footage could be included.
• Less cuts would suit the style of the video more.
• Not all the shots were edited and so the video shows just an experiment of different colours and contrasts.
• Too much of the same thing can look quite boring.
• It took a while to get the dog footage right.
• In some of the shots the dog is playing in the background which could take away the artist focus if people were to see it.

Improvements

• Reshoot the scenes that need to be better e.g- bedroom scene with better lighting.
• Include more footage with a different mise en scene
• less cuts more editing techniques?

My First Edit

Things I am changing...

(Tim O'sullivan argues that all media has some sort of a story. My music video will tell a story visually based on an interpretation from the lyrics.)

Intially I wanted my music video to tell a story but this is something that has changed during the filming process. From my first time shooting footage I realised that sticking to this idea is something that may not work meaning I was not sticking to my storyboard any more. Another thing that also changed was the costume, props and locations. There is still footage to be filmed in order to complete my finished music video.

Health and safety regulations!

Step 1 - Look for hazards
Don't get bogged down with trivial hazards; concentrate on those posing a significant risk or harm

Step 2 - Who will be harmed and how?
Think about who may be affected and those who are particularly at risk.

Step 3 - Evaluate the risk
Consider the chance and severity of harm that each hazard may cause, taking existing control measures into account.Judge whether an actual risk (high, medium or low) is likely from the identified hazard. Determine the necessary control measures using the following hierachy of approach.

• Avoid the risk completely; but if this is not possible-
• Reduce the risk to acceptable levels
• Provide training and instruction, and personal protective equipment if the risks cannot be controlled in any other way;
• Reduce the risk at source by developing safe systems of working, giving collective measures priority.

Step 4 - Record the significant findings
The significant findings of the risk assessment should be recorded and communicated to those people who may be affected. In practise, this means ensuring that the production team and any contractors are informed of the significant hazards, the likely risks and the required control measures. Keep a record for future reference, it will help to demonstrate compliance with legal duties. The legal requirement to record findings applies if five or more people are employed but smaller companies are recommended to record details in order to show that they carried out risk assessment.

Step 5 - Review and revise your risk assessment
New hazards can be introduced if there is any significant change in the activity, equipment, substances or procedures. Risk assessments should be revised following any significant change or when they become out of date. If there have been no changes, the assessment should be reviewed at least once
every three years to ensure that the precautions are still working effectively.


Hazards that could occur whilst filming-

• Camera faults- It is importnant to be safe with the camera as it could cause many problems during the filming process. If the weather is to be raining on the day of filming then this could cause electrical faults with the camera.
• Space awareness- Its importnant to keep track of where you are and what you are doing. If you are filming near a building site there is potential risk of damage to yourself, the artist and the camera. Also when filming your going to be focusing on the artist and different shots your doing and not taking note of people around you.
• Weather- The weather could put you at risk especially with the recent snowy/icy weather. There is risk of falling and hurting yourself as well as damaging the camera.

Back to the first ideas...

When it came to filming some more the snowy weather had gone meaning I could stick to my old ideas. This was beneficial to me as I already knew what I wanted with an idea I preferred. However some rain did occur whilst in the process but if it needs re-filming this is something that has to be done.

Filming Process so far...

Step 1 - Costume/Make up

The costume and make up design for my music video was pretty straight forward. I wanted the artist to comfy and casual and so went for her own clothing. For the field scenery I dressed her in a multi coloured maxi dress as I knew it would stand out from the background scenery and it worked well with the brightness of her hair colour. I gave her quite low key make up for this scene as her face wasn't the main attraction. However for the close up of her face I made fairly bold make up that included sequins and glitter around the eyes to draw attention to them. I used the sequins and bright make up when filming a scene which included a white wall for the background.

Step 2 - Location

Before filming I had to make sure I had the perfect location and that I was able to use it. I chose to use initially use a field, forest and inside of a house but have decided to not use the footage from the house. The field I had access to was perfect for the look I wanted as it looked abandoned and the grass was fairly long. The only problem would have been with the mise en scene of the houses that were in the background. However the field provided me with a good location for my video and some of the shots reflect that. I also chose to use a plain white wall inside of the Oak building in college, in order to create a plain background I would later edit to make brighter. I chose to do this here as at the time the weather outside was snowy meaning it would be very cold and icy which would make it difficukt for my artist to perform at her best.

Step 3 - Improvising

During the first steps of filming I decided to improvise by including shots of trees and the scenery. I wanted to create the look of the artist being in the middle of no where with just nature surrounding her and this was a way in which I could do that.

Step 4 - Difficulties

Some of the difficulties included the poor lighting inside the house. This is something that I am considering reshooting but in a different house with brighter lighting. There was also difficulty trying to get Lily the dog to run staight towards the camera. My artist was constantly looking over her shoulder shouting the dog to come back which meant it was hard to get her to do the job I wanted her to do. However in the end I managed to get the perfect shot of the dog running and this was done by keeping the camera focused on her casually hoping she would do it and she did.

Changes to Filming

Due to the recent weather conditions a few changes my intial idea for my videos are unable to go to plan. I wanted a Autmn feel to it with the leaves and trees showing their vbeautiful nature but the weather has spoilt that meaning I have to change it. It has only being till now that I have been ablt to film due to complications with the artist featuring in my video and work commitments. This means that the intial footage I had involving the artist in a field will not show continuinity with the new footage soon to be filmed.

These pictures show the scenery in which I am hoping to show in my video. The change of scenery wont effect the video too much but the only concern is having the video continuing.