Discussion - How to improve our music video

The following day after the showcase (1st April) we as a group decided to meet for lunch to discuss our feedback from our peers as well as how we could take on this criticism in order to improve our music video overall. First of all we discussed that we would need to mix up the performance with the narrative to create a balance between the two. Another criticism we had to take on board was that there wasn't enough lip syncing involved in the performance. I felt that these were fair criticisms as i could see them myself. To deal with this we decided that we would gather more footage which includes the lead singer of the band performing more lip syncing. I felt that we needed to ensure that there was more performance within the music video as there simply wasn't enough in retrospect. There were two more criticisms that stood out in the feedback sheets and that was that some shots lasted too long in the narrative and that the narrative never lead anywhere. So we came up with suggestions to improve these. One was to incorporate an ending to the music video so that the audience no where the narrative leads, our idea for this was to film an identical piece of footage to the beginning where the main character wakes up but this time he wakes up to a nightmare. I felt that this was a good idea as it would be a suitable ending and isn't too far fetched. The nightmare being the narrative. A solution to other criticism being that some shots lasted too long in the narrative was to add similar footage in a music video Lewis had seen recently called 'Rocker' where it shows repetitive reverse edits of people. i thought that this was a great idea as it would fit perfectly into our music video as well as add to the rhythmic basis connecting the song to the footage. We decided to take inspiration from this as we could no gather even more footage to incorporate into our video cutting some of the narrative shots in terms of length. We discussed we would film two of us dressed in morph suits performing robotic movements which wouldn't look out of place in the music video as the band were dressed in these and it would also add to the quirkiness of the music video. These quick reverse repetitive edits should allow a rhythmic basis connected to the song through rhythmic editing.



This is the inspiration for our next set of footage we plan to incorporate into our music video.
Overall a successful discussion for our group clearing up our mistakes which will amend by incorporating further improvements to our music video.

Discussion on the 'Performance'

Today on the 21st January we all met up for breakfast at a local cafe in Woodford Green where we thought we would discuss the performance side of the music video. As we had already filmed the majority of out narrative we decided to film some performance if not all of it. We decided we would discuss performance as when it comes to editing the footage we already had, we could incorporate the right balance of narrative and performance. The first decision we had to make was to decide the location of where we were going to film the footage. Lewis kindly said we could film this at his house, this would also allow consistency within the video as the performance would be set in the same setting as the opening scene. This way the audience can identify the link between the performance and the narrative.

The next thing that we discussed involved costumes and props. As the band's name is 'No Name' we thought of how we could relate to this through anonymity. Lewis owned a few Morphsuits which we all thought we could use as the costumes hiding the band's faces relating to the band name 'No Name'.

Example of a Morphsuit

Lastly on the topic of Performance we discussed the props that would be used in the footage, the obvious thing would be the appropriate instruments used in the soundtrack. Lewis already owned all of the instruments that could be heard in the soundtrack which was lucky. We all found this very helpful. These instruments involved a:

• Guitars
• Drum Set 
• Tambourine 

I felt that these were the most appropriate instruments for the performance as these are the instruments you would hear in our soundtrack. We then discussed further props that would be involved which could create a quirky feel to the footage, this involved lighting and smoke. Lewis luckily had some friends that owned a smoke machine as well as LED lighted balloons which could be used to add quirkiness to the footage. I couldnt have been more pleased when hearing news that we had access to these props as they would introduce codes for the conventions of an electronic music video that we wanted to convey. The lighting could also code for the genre of music being electronic. These extra props include:

• A Smoke Machine 

Example of a Smoke Machine 

• LED Lighted Balloons 

Example of LED Lighted Balloons

• Floodlights 

Example of a Flood Light

• Flashing Siren Lights

Example of a Flashing Siren Light

This concluded our discussion on the performance but one last point was made before we finished which was when were we going to film this footage. We had to consult Lewis as it was his house we were using. Lewis decided that we could film this piece of footage a week from now on the 28th January. Overall I felt that this discussion was most helpful indeed as it produced ideas that were heavily involved in connoting an elctronic dance video by using typical conventions such as a party theme and vibrant colours.

Discussion on the 'Gym' Session

Today on the 20th of January we all decided to meet up for lunch to discuss what else we could involve in our music video that also connoted a repetitive theme. We then came up with the idea that the Gym would be a perfect place to film as it connotes repetitive behaviour through the different machines as each machine requires repetitive movements. I thought this was an appropriate idea as we had easy access as well as allowing us to code repetition in our music video. We then had to come up with where we were going to film the footage, but it was simple, we could use the school gym as we have access during school hours which meant that we could use one of our media lessons during the week. So we planned on filming the footage the very next lesson. All we needed was for Lewis to bring a change of clothing which is appropriate for the Gym being a sports T-shirt and shorts as well as trainers. I felt that this was the appropriate clothing for the scene and so there were no disagreements. We also discussed the shots we could use by imagining what angles of shots we use on some of the machines which would help for preparation of the filming. To gain access to the gym we would need permission from the P.E Office to borrow the gym for a hour. Overall the discussion was a helpful insight of how our music video was going to plan out to look like in terms of narrative. There were no disagreements and we all put in appropriate suggestions.

Discussion - Prop List/Requirements (16th December)

Today we discussed the prop list for our music video which I thought was very useful in terms of the development of our music video. We come up with appropriate and suitable ideas for the props to be used in each scene of the music video. For example we decided that when the main character wakes up to his daily routine we should provide everyday products that would be used i.e. shaving foam, razor, towel etc. This was pretty simple at first when discussing about the narrative as the props were obvious such as a satchel bag for the main character when going to work. Then it got harder as we had to discuss props for our performance within the music video. We needed to come up with ideas that would connote quirkiness and a party styled theme which are conventions of an electronic music video. We came out with some great suggestions such as flood lights, smoke machine, siren lights as well as the obvious props being the instruments (guitar, drum set and tambourine). The problem with this was trying to obtain these props when suddenly Lewis suggested that he owned all of the instruments as well as had friends that own the props such as the smoke machine. Overall this meeting was very successful fulfilling our requirements in terms of props for our music video.

Discussion - Costume List/Requirements (15th December)

Today we discussed what costumes we would be using and I felt that we worked well as a group coming up with appropriate ideas for our music video. We imagined what we would wear in the situation of the character for each scene we were going to shoot which gave us a clearer idea of what to wear. We also chose the costumes in terms of codes and conventions for example we used a suit to code for sophisticated and boring. The code boring connotes the nature of a daily routine which we tried to emphasize as it is repetitive. Other costumes included morph suits which adds to the convention of an electronic music video being vibrant colours. The morph suits also add to the anonymous theme of the band as they're called 'No Name'. The morph suits code for a numerous of things such as fun excitement through the colours as well as mysterious as you cant see the features of the person inside of them. I thought that this was a successful meeting and has helped in the development of our music video.

Discussion on the 'Office' Scene (15th January)

I felt that todays discussion on the Office Scene was difficult as we had to come up with suggestions that would try and connote repetitiveness. the idea of a corporate job seemed to be repetitive already but we had to try and get this point across to our viewer. So we managed eventually to come up with a few ideas which i thought were clever as they do connote repetitive behaviour. One being the idea of stamping papers for approval is very repetitive as all the main character will be doing is stamping but we needed to make the idea of this more interesting for the audience to watch.
Concluding this discussion I found that it was difficult to produce many ideas for this scene meaning that we as a group would have to cut this piece of footage short as it isn't interesting enough to engage an audience so we agreed on this scene being shortened as long as the audience understand that this is involved in a daily routine.

Discussion on the 'Journey to work scene'

Today me and Lewis discussed the journey to work scene as this would be the next footage shown in the music video. We had to decide on a location of where to film this piece of footage and so  suggested that Canary Wharf would be the perfect place to film an entrance to work as it provides a typical working environment with its prestigious architecture. We both agreed that this would be best for this scene. Before we could film this however we needed to show how the main character would travel to work, this was obvious in a way as we thought that public transport being the London Underground would be appropriate.
We discussed the different shots and edits we could capture and use such as a shot of the main character walking through a revolving door as well as walking up an escalator both codes for repetitiveness in which our song is based upon. This discussion was successful as we had now gathered a plan in which to film the journey to work scene as well as come up with appropriate ideas to connote repetitiveness.

Discussion on the Opening Scene

Today we discussed what we were going to film as our opening scene, as it was a music video themed around repetitiveness we decided that we should go with the idea of a daily routine which is in a way is boring but we thought we could show this through quirky edits making it more exciting and interesting. I felt that this was a great idea and so we all agreed on this. We then had to discuss where we was going to film this scene and Lewis kindly volunteered his house. We decided that we must capture the typical processes of a beginning to a daily routine in which I thought that we came up with appropriate and suitable suggestions. These suggestions included an alarm clock which would go off to first beat of the song allowing rhythmic editing as well as getting up, getting washed and getting dressed for a typical day at work. Overall this discussion was helpful as this would later help develop a template for the rest of the musicvideo in terms of a daily routine.