Class Video Idea

Using HD Cameras

I have recently used HD cameras for the first time. I first used it for a mini vid where we were given the task of filming part of a song and creating a music video for it we had a song by Jason Donovan. The second time I used the HD cameras were for filming an event hosted by the school based around the olympics.

The HD cameras were no harder to use than the normal cameras that we had used previously for our coursework, they adapted to the lighting conditions quicker which was better for us as it was a sunny day when we filmed. They also gave a very noticeable increase in video and sound quality after we had rendered the clips onto Final Cut. The footage was differently uploaded and then it was different to export off of Final Cut as well. 

(WL) Obtaining Mini Vid Footage

On tuesday we went out to get footage for our mini vid task. We decided to go up to Ilkley moor for the shoot due to it's nice scenery and because the original video being set on moorland. Also in the comments of that video someone mentions the fact that videos set in the countryside are timeless. We used the camera hand help to save time setting up a tripod. We did struggle at times to keep it steady, however it did save us  a lot of time. Overall the HD cameras where easier to use than the mini Dv as we didn't have to worry about tapes or filming over footage. 

We experimented with different camera angles and zooms. We took performance footage and some scenery of things like ducks and flowers fitting in with the genre. I took us around 45 minutes to get all the footage as we had to go to different locations on the moor. We took shots from low angles and different distances using pans across showing moorland. We managed to sync most of the song well due to having the lyrics sheet on us at all times.  We had a few problems filming due to random people walking around the tarn, but there weren't that many people around which was good.

 

(AK) Mini Vid Confirmation

We decided to use the song Too Many Broken Hearts by Jason Donovan for our 'mini-vid' group task. We will film on Ilkley Moor as the scenery suits the pop style of Jason Donovan. Our video qill follow Will (who will be singing) walking over ther moors, standing on rocks and lying on the ground. Me and Sean will both be in the background playing a guitar (which we will borrow from the music department) at some point in the video.

(WL) Editing The Mini Vid

We used Final cut again for the editing of the mini vid and developing our skills using layering and effects. The first challenge was syncing the video clips to the original song and matching up the footages. We used keyframes to animate certain shots to zoom and spin into the flowers. We also synced certain parts with the beat of the song. When the drum machine makes a fill the shots cut in time with the song. Overall the editing went well We attempted to keep the cuts fairly fast to engage the audience. We used layers to make the scenery shots more interesting.

The Buggles- Video Killed the Radio Star

The Buggles- Video killed the Radio Star
Album: The Age of Plastic
Island Records
Released: 1979

• First music video to air on MTV in the USA on 1 August 1981
• Old music videos were mostly only performance, like this one. 
• The editing was slow and the takes were longer.
• MTV changed the way music videos were made, they were re invented to be fast paced.
• Digitisation has helped performers create music videos as they can now afford the equipment and to show them. 

(ALL) Learning From Mini-Vid

what makes for a good pitch? 

First of all to have a good pitch you need to have a good idea of what you want to create. You also need to have confidence behind your pitch and a good idea of where you want to film and what you want to be filming.

what are the key steps involved in R+P?

Firstly listening to the song and seeing if there are any noticeable lyrics, you can also watch the music video for inspiration, in the comments there was also feedback from someone in the comments "If you're gonna make a classic video that never ages - have nature scenery as a backdrop!"

if this had been the actual coursework, what would you have to add/improve (look at the assessment criteria) to get good marks for R+P?

We would of firstly spent much more time on looking at the songs music videos and music videos that are of the same genre. We would of also created things such as story boards and call sheets, we may have also asked for feedback on our idea from a number of people; including teenagers and adults. 

what can you say now about the roles of cinematographer, director, producer? is it important to have one person taking responsibility for each of these roles?

related to the last point, was your shoot well organised?

In terms of knowing where we wanted to shoot- yes. Although we didn't have much time to pick locations due to the sudden suprise of actually shooting part of a music video. 

what can/did go wrong on a shoot, and what steps help you overcome such problems (better still, prevent them from happening in the first place!)? 

School children cut short our filming. We also didn't have a tripod which on reflection didn't work out as well as we'd hoped.

did shoots take more/less time than you estimated?

Finding different locations took longer than the actual filming as we were productive with the time we had.

what difference does working with HD as opposed to mini-DV make?

We get sharper images and you can get more detail and better quality when either zooming in or out. 

is it necessary to stick to a genre you're familiar with to have a good idea?

No. We had a great time listening to Jason Donovan. 

what issues are raised by working within a group

We had different ideas on where to film and where not to film.

do you think you could manage a full music video production single-handed?

With a greater collection of clips as well as equipment such as multiple cameras and a tripod I think I could.

what more have you learned about Final Cut Express?

We have used new editing techniques such as key framing and rotating clips. 

how many shots do you now think a good music vid will have for every 30 seconds of screen time?

For 30 seconds they may have 20-30 shots.

did you shoot each planned shots repeatedly (from different angles)? did you need to shoot more sequences repeatedly to create better shot variation for editing a dynamic video?

As we had limited time we only shot a few of the shots at different angles.

anything else that occurs to you (eg importance of mise-en-scene and locations; pre-preparing cast with lines + basic direction; having loud portable media player to play track when shooting, dance choreography if relevant etc etc)?

We had a lyric sheet as well as a an iPod with the song on to play the music, this helped us to keep in time.