Monday 9 May 2016

Music Video - Evaluation

Prior to the performance, we arrived at the venue with all the required equipment in order to set up safely and orderly. For camera 1, we taped down the tripod in front of the barrier, in order to limit the possibly of the set up becoming a safety hazard. This also meant that there would be less of a chance for the camera being damaged by any accidental moving of the tripod. During the performance I remained mindful of where I moved around with the two other cameras. Although it was vital to get a variety of shots, I had to stay alert at all times, to avoid potential injury to others, or damage to the equipment.

In order to get a sufficient amount of footage, I filmed throughout the gig and not just during the chosen song. I was able to capture a selection of audience shots, performance shots (from each band member) and various filler shots.



One major disadvantage that I encountered, was not having control over the lighting set up, however from my previous experience of shooting gigs, I made sure that I had equipment which was going to benefit my filming the most. I used lenses that allow a low aperture setting to compensate for low lighting, as I would need a relatively fast shutter speed to capture movement without much motion blur and a low iso to reduce graininess.

Prior to starting the editing process, I went through all the clips I had shot and organised them into categories, such as drum shots, guitar shots, bass shots, audience shots etc. This helped to speed up the overall editing process, as I was able to access the footage I needed with ease, without having to sift through each clip individually.


Both myself and the band decided to have the video in black and white. When comparing the raw footage (which was shot in colour) to the edited monochrome sequence, we found that the desaturated version has much more aesthetic appeal. As stated in the extract below, I feel that the use of black and white in this instance has a more elusive meaning, it has been used particularly for visual impact, as opposed to a means of conveying any deeper significance.


As the audio track was over five minutes in length, I felt that the biggest challenge was creating a sequence that didn't have a repetitive or dry feel to it, therefore I made use of all the footage I had shot and incorporated overlay during the outro. This visually reflected the heavier section of the song, by representing the dense structure of the final crescendo. 



BUTLER, J G. (1994): Television: Critical Methods and Applications. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Tuesday 3 May 2016

Music Video - Shooting Plan

Taking into consideration the given deadline for this unit, I have decided to shoot a live performance video with my clients 'Flight 15', as well as the studio performance which we initially agreed upon, in order to ensure that I will have a sequence completed in time. I have taken visual influence from various existing music videos, in order to form a shooting plan.

Although live performances are particularly spontaneous in nature, I found that by watching and analysing other live/stadium performances there are universal elements that are present in a majority of them.



When focusing on a specific song it is vital to capture parts of the live performance that reflect the track. To do this with success, I have decided to use a multi camera set up so that I have a diverse array of shots and plenty of filler shots to use throughout the video.

Camera 1: 
Tripod - Master Shot

Camera 2:
Tripod - Front of house

Camera 3:
Handheld/Steadicam - Audience shots/Close ups of band members

It would be visually effective to focus on the vocalist in order to convey the lyrics, equally shooting the other band members would work to illustrate and amplify the music at times.
I intend to get a variety of filler shots to add more visual dynamic to the overall piece, such as; filming the band setting up/leaving the stage, reaction shots from the audience and head shots of band members during the performance.

As I will be filming in a live environment, I will need to consider all health and safety aspects that I may encounter. It would be beneficial to keep all my equipment in front of the audience barriers in order to minimise chances of injuries to others and damage to any of the equipment.