Evaluation Q1: Did you enjoy the main workshop shoot day? What role(s) did you take? What were your best bits and why?

I had a lot of fun during the workshop day and it was definitely the most fun I've ever had at media, and probably the most fun I'll have during my time at Latymer. I particularly enjoyed...

1. Learning how to perform and gaining confidence in front of the camera
2. Observing and talking to professionals that work in the media industry
3. Trying on a variety of costumes and thus taking on a variety of personas 
4. Spending time and getting to know the other media students/crew 
5. The fun, yet professional, atmosphere of the set 

During the workshop day I was kept busy with a variety of roles such as robot dancer, backing contemporary dancer, backing hip hop dancer, end scene dancer, backing cheerleader and saxophone player. A large variety of roles meant that I was kept busy for the entire day thus making my time on set exciting and enjoyable.

me as a robot dancer

me as a contemporary dancer

me as a hip hop dancer

me as a saxophone player

me as a cheerleader

me as a end scene dancer

During the day I was guided by Dom (our director), Ed (our camera man) and Amy (Our assistant director). These crew members were vital in terms of the workshop day running smoothly. 

Amy-Our assistant director

Dom- Our director

Here is a time-lapse of the day which reflects just how busy the workshop day was

In conclusion I had an amazing time throughout the day. It was very tiring but was even more rewarding. By the end of the day I have obtained a number of skills that will help me for my music video.

Evaluation Q2: What have you learnt from participating in each of the prelim tasks 1,2,3 and 5?

Task 1: Complete and Audition Video 

Below is our audition video

Although singing along to "Uptown Funk" doesn't see very educational I learnt a lot from the process. For example I learnt how to lipsync with confidence. Although I was quite uncomfortable and felt awkward at first as we progressed I became more confident in front of the camera. This was a vital skill I needed in order to perform for the remake.  

Me lip-syncing

Whilst editing I also learnt how to sync our lip syncing video with the overlaid music. After a while this became quite easy and was an essential skill needed to edit our remake. 

Task 2: Learn and practice your performance

In order to be ready for shoot day we had to do two-weeks of rehearsals before hand. This ensured we were ready to perform in front of the camera straight away and cut down the time of the shoot massively. Without the dance-rehearsals, the shoot day would be near impossible. The dance rehearsals also helped us become more confident in performing in front of each other and proved beneficial on shoot day.

Our Timetable

Tasha, our dance teacher, uploaded videos of her performing the dance moves. This made sure we could memorise our routines outside of rehearsals if necessary. This was helpful as we all needed to know our routines of by heart by shoot day in order to efficiently shoot.
                           

In addition to learning how to dance we also learnt how to perform from Jasmine. This included skills such as confidence, eye contact, performing to camera and generally embodying a role. 

me using performance skills to perform to the camera

Task 3: Help to plan and organise costume

For our costumes we were given a set list of things needed.

 The majority of my costume was brought in by me, with some accessories borrowed from fellow students and the media department. After items of clothings were brought in they were altered and sorted into costumes by Olivia. We then designated each costume their own hanger which helped organise the costumes and thus make the shoot more efficient. I wore the following costumes

• Robot costume
• Contemporary costume
• Hip hop costume
• End dancer costume
• Cheerleader costume
• Band member costume

Me with all my different costumes

From the planning costumes I learnt a lot. For example I learnt how to organise costumes resourcefully, I learnt how to be resourceful and learnt how to find creative solutions from what we had. I also learnt how important attention to detail is in crafting a costume. These lessons have prepared me for making my actual music video next term.

Task 5: Complete the remake edit

For my edit I worked with Olamide and Phoebe and we completed our edit in a two week period. This was done by maximizing any time possible through making a timetable. This ensured we finished the edit efficiently and by the deadline. During the edit I improved upon my existing skills such as sequencing, syncing to audio and grading as well as discovering new editing features such as levels.

me editing the remake

Overall I am quite pleased with the edit and I think I am well equipped with editing skills for next year

Evaluation Q2: What have you learnt from participating in each of the prelim tasks 1,2,3 and 5?

Task 1: Complete and Audition Video 

Below is our audition video

Although singing along to "Uptown Funk" doesn't see very educational I learnt a lot from the process. For example I learnt how to lipsync with confidence. Although I was quite uncomfortable and felt awkward at first as we progressed I became more confident in front of the camera. This was a vital skill I needed in order to perform for the remake.  

Me lip-syncing

Whilst editing I also learnt how to sync our lip syncing video with the overlaid music. After a while this became quite easy and was an essential skill needed to edit our remake. 

Task 2: Learn and practice your performance

In order to be ready for shoot day we had to do two-weeks of rehearsals before hand. This ensured we were ready to perform in front of the camera straight away and cut down the time of the shoot massively. Without the dance-rehearsals, the shoot day would be near impossible. The dance rehearsals also helped us become more confident in performing in front of each other and proved beneficial on shoot day.

Our Timetable

Tasha, our dance teacher, uploaded videos of her performing the dance moves. This made sure we could memorise our routines outside of rehearsals if necessary. This was helpful as we all needed to know our routines of by heart by shoot day in order to efficiently shoot.
                           

In addition to learning how to dance we also learnt how to perform from Jasmine. This included skills such as confidence, eye contact, performing to camera and generally embodying a role. 

me using performance skills to perform to the camera

Task 3: Help to plan and organise costume

For our costumes we were given a set list of things needed.

 The majority of my costume was brought in by me, with some accessorises borrowed from fellow students and the media department. We then designated each costume their own hanger which helped organise the costumes and thus make the shoot more efficient. I wore the following costumes

• Robot costume
• Contempary costume
• Hip hop costume
• End dancer costume
• Cheerleader costume
• Band member costume

Me with all my different costumes

Task 5: Complete the remake edit

We completed our edit in a two week period. This was done by maximising any time possible through making a timetable. This ensured we finished the edit efficiently and by the deadline. During the edit I improved upon my existing skills such as sequencing, syncing to audio and grading as well as discovering new editing features such as levels.

me editing the remake

Overall I am quite pleased with the edit and I think I am well equipped with editing skills for next year

Evaluation Q3: Are you pleased with the footage and your finished edit? Is it how you expected it to look? What works really well and what would you change?

Below is our finished remake edit

I am extremely pleased with our final edit. I didn't expect the final product to look as professional as it did. After showing family and friends they also picked up on this and were astonished at the level of professionalism produced by the school. I think this is due to the amazing sets, film makers and editing resulting in a really nice end product. 

What works really well

I think the majority of our remake went quite well. For example the basic sequence matches quite well, such as cuts and grading. Our performance also matches quite well thus making all our shots instantly recognisable to Taylor's.

Another shot that looks extremely similar

one shot that looks extremely similar 

A grading before and after shot

What would you change

Due to constraints we weren't able to remake the first 15 seconds of the music video, if we had more time and props I would definitively add the section as I feel it takes a bit away from the whole remake. 

The section we missed out

Also some of the moves were far too complex for us to do thus we chose to use simpler alternatives. Although there was no way we could've changed this, I feel it impacts the remake slightly. 

A shot with simplified moves

Evaluation Q4: How do you think your prelim experiences will impact your approach to next terms music video coursework?

Our next big project will be to make our own music video from scratch for a song that isn't mainstream. During this remake learnt many skills that I can carry over and use for the next project.

Shooting in a studio will heavily impact my music video. During the remake we were shown the possibilities shooting in a studio had. For example there are numerous lighting possibilities with the the lighting desk and infinite white can be achieved using the cyclorama  Also the professional look from studio shooting cannot be matched by any other setting.

Our set with the cyclorama

This shot filmed in the studio looks particularly professional

After the Prelim I am much more likely to perform in my video. Both my confidence and performance skills greatly improved during the last few weeks. We were taught to perform by Jasmine and taught to dance by Tasha, the skills we picked up include

• maintaining eye contact with the camera
• lip-syncing 
• basic dancing
• overall confidence in front of the camera

Phoebe maintaining eye contact and lip syncing to the camera

The whole dance confidently dancing to the camera

These lessons means if necessary we can star in our music video which will make the project more efficient as we wont have to rely on external actors.

Also with grading the possibilities for mood, atmosphere and color are countless using a studio. I learnt to utilize premiere pro properly such as levels, saturation.

Three-way hue balance and angle used for grading

I also learnt just how much preparation is needed in order to make a music video. Things that need to be handled before the shoot include

• Costumes
• dance rehearsals
• Make-up/styling
• Props
• Cast/Crew schedules 
• Refreshments for shoot day 

Knowing this I now will start preparation for our music video as it is an extremely long process that requires a lot of time and planning. In conclusion I think the prelim task will have a great impact to my music video and I'm looking forward to starting the music video making process again.