What have your learnt from your audience feedback?
After completing and distributing the final music video to youtube and across social media platforms we received a range of different. As well as this we showcased the video to our media class to gain some additional perspective from fellow students.
These are a few examples of the feedback we received:
Positive:
- "Great shots and editing - really professional and effective outcome"
- "Very good editing effects that fit well".
Critical Feedback (Improvement):
- "The underlying narrative is slightly conventional, not very original but it is well done".
- "I like start however it could be slightly shorted before the music starts"
- "Shorten the beginning footage as I feel like it too long for a music video although it depends on what you were going for?"
A large majority of the positive feedback was related to the editing and use of cinematography. This is clearly the strongest element of the music video as it has been well executed and planned. Although, we agree that the basic narrative is quite simple and perhaps something that we would expect from a love narrative within the media industry these days. However, the goal wasn't to think of a plot that was very complicated as this can be very difficult to portray in the final outcome, especially when the group is only four members big which means we had very little perspective from others during the editing process. This is quite unlike professional media suites which would be based on a structure of cinematographers, directors and editors all working together to complete something that has been informed by many different people - an option we could of course not facilitate within an A-level piece. Instead we wanted to create a video that was plain and simple to understand but would be developed and creatively tweaked using filming and editing techniques. This is something we are all very satisfied with as we think we have communicated the idea in a way that is engaging. In addition, I think the media film was so successful mainly because of the amount of planning and location scouting that we dedicated time to as well as weather forecasting to go that little bit further. It was these elements combined that we utilised to our advantage before even thinking about the filming or editing that helped us achieve a "dynamic" and "professional" style. Again, I think this planning really helped us but also the knowledge we gained from last year (despite working in different groups) which meant we already had some idea of what to expect. We already had knowledge and understanding of using premiere pro and after effects whilst last year we really had very little experience. Through reading and online tutorials we have all learnt how to edit or at the very least, appreciate media from its creation to its distribution.
Another aspect of the music video that I people commented on was the "colour grading". They really liked how we had acheived this vintage style to keep with the style we were after. They also said that the switch between colours to represent different emotions was effective and really helped engage the audience with the characters. For example, when the couple are aguing and the girl is leaving the colour grading has mainly a blue hue. This creates an undertone of melancholy and depression which helps create an emotive impression on the audience thus gaining the attention of the video. However, for the happier memory sequences we used a much warmer, vintage hue which made the film look almost "soft" and more romantic. This with the effects of the film grain really brang character to the video which is something our audience seemed to enjoy.
However, we did receive some negative feedback from the audience - like with any piece of art or in this case, media product - there will always be room for improvement. We noticed a trend of people that all stated that the "beginning was too long". As a whole, we agree that this is perhaps something that lets the video down but this is only because everyone is looking at the video as a "music video". In fact, even from the beginning we actually wanted to create a "short film/music video". We really liked the idea of having a strong linear narrative (a beginning, middle, and end) whilst still exhibiting this music video feel. I think this sets our film apart from many of the other pieces as we have not got caught up in the idea of making visually look like a music video. So to counter this feedback, we feel the introductory scene helps establish the storyline and is needed to allow the audience to better understand the music video. We deliberately chose not to have the song play until a minute or two into the video as to draw attention to the plot and gain the audiences attention. We think this section really helps set the scene and without it; it would be hard to fully understand whats going on. Although, to improve I think we could have cut the music slightly earlier. We had originally done this but we soon realised that we had too much footage for the song so it would need to cut in much later. So to answer the question, "what have we learnt", I think we would respond by saying that we should have planned the editing in advance. We should have really thought about the smaller details such as the timing of the music so we did not film unnecessary footage or in this case; film too much footage.
From the feedback we received we have gained additonal information regarding our music video. This information was critical in helping us develop our media product as well as give us a further undestanding of how media is consumed.
Preperation before editing:
Before the editing process we had to export all of the footage from the two SD cards we filmed on. This took some time due to the amount of footage we had from filming. The total size of the footage was roughly 7GB which was also reliant on the quality of the film (1080p). I then named all of the neccessary files ready for the import in premiere pro to make things easier and better organised.
Day 1:
Today I began the editing of the final video. Firstly, I began with improting the footage into premiere pro. I then began the process of making the titles at the beginning in after effects. This was a timely process which involved me having to create several keyframes and timings to the text. I then had to sync the text with the individual sounds of the typewriter so that it would sound believable but also to add depth and originality the clip. I then imported this aniamtion back into premiere pro where I created an overlay of old film footage. I then focused on the intro which I wanted to be more like a narrative/ storyline. Initially, I had to order all of the footage so that it made narrative sense. From here I could organise the timings and clipping of the video so that it would fit within the time limit. After I had sorted this I colour graded it by going into video "lumetri colour" editor. From here I could settings like exposure, shadows, highlights, and contrast. I could also choose from a range of cinematography presets. Although, in the first scene where the music hadnt cut it, I wanted the film to have a cold, isolated feel. To do this I changed the hue of the image slightly - but not too much as too overwhelm the natural style I was after. Once I had the video files and colour grading sorted I went in with the sound effects. I decided that I wanted there to be crashing wave sounds which I think works well with the undertone of melancholy. Also, I think these sound effects help progress the music video and makes the beginning narrative more interesting as opposed to being completely silent. The sound effects is also a very long sound bridge to the sounds of the waves that are used in the actual film later on which makes things link together so the viewer can almost predict what is going to happen before even seeing it.
Day 2:
On day 2 I started on the beach scenes. This was by far the most time consuming part of the video and in my opinion, the strongest footage. I really liked the lighting which I think really helped with the quality of the film. Also, the editing process took far longer because there was so much footage we could use and I really had to think about what worked the best and how well narrative was coming through by selecting that particular clip. Another time consuming aspect of the editing process was the fact that I converted the HD resolution to 60fps at 30x speed (slow motion). I actually had to create a new premiere project and change the sequence settings to the appopriate frame rate. I had to do this because the camera we were filming on could only film at 24fps which would have meant the footage (if converted to slow motion) would be very jumpy. After I had arranged all of the footage into the correct order and clipped every individual scene which took around 7 hours, I had to render it through. After this I applied a camera recording overlay to teh photobooth scene and also added a vintage film grain which I think makes the film look a little more believable and romantic. In addition, I also applied a film grain sound effect beneath the music audio just to mirror the visuals of the film grain and create this very raw and creative vibe to the film.
Day3:
On the final day I worked a little quicker with the basis of the film completed. This meant I could see what was going on and how the final outcome would be. At this point I primarily focused on the forest and norwich scenes as well as the ending. Again I repeated the steps of the previous clips, cutting and applying presets and colour grading to the footage. Although, for the end scene I had to be very careful with how I composed it. I wanted the end to be very dramatic and leave on an impacting message. Overall I think I acheived this, especialluy with the close up burning shot of the girl in the photo which only emphasises the emotion in the song and narrative. The ending is also fairly enigmatic which makes the ending all the more interesting.
To conclude, I am pleased with the outcome of the editing as I think I have acheived a somewhat proffessional style. I really wanted to convey this depressive message and harsh reality of relationships; something which I think I have managed to do. I also wanted the film to have a very natural energy which I think has been well presented through the hand filmed footage and the old, vintage styled effects.
