Risk assessment

I have created this risk assessment to display all of the possible problems that I may face during the production process of my music video. I have considered aspects such as personal injury, health and safety, damage to equipment and factors that may halt the overall production. Additionally, I have looked at what specific risks may occur and how I can minimise them. I think that by creating this risk assessment, I am now fully aware of the possible risks that I could encounter and the ways that I can avoid them.

Risk Assessment

Editing Software

I will be using various editing softwares throughout the post production phase of my project. These include Adobe Photoshop CS3, Adobe Premiere CS3 and possibly Adobe After Effects CS3. I will need to use Photohop for creating my digipak and magazine advert as well as using it for editing the photos that I intend to use on them. I will need to use a variety of the 'tools' available on Photoshop to ensure that my images are of a professional quality and to make sure that my digipak and magazine adverts look well presented and are the best that I can create. 



Premiere will be the main software that I will use to edit my music video, in order to produce a final cut.
I will need to place all of the shots that I have taken on a timeline on premiere, alongside the song I have chosen, I will then proceed to cut from each shot at the appropriate times in order to make my video flow in a similar way to that of my animatic. I may also use After Effects to create a lightening strike effect in order to add to the gloomy scenes that take place in the video. 

Diary 9

Over the past couple of weeks I have been extremely busy with posting on my blog. I am starting to get into my planning posts now and I have just created my animatic after earlier creating my storyboard. The difference between the two is that the animatic is a moving sequence that plays the pictures that I drew for my storyboard with the music of the song that I have chosen. I really enjoyed creating this as I am starting to really imagine where I can place certain shots to fit in with the beat of the song and what the actual video might look like. 

I have also recently been researching into the equipment that I will need for my shoot as well as the props that I will need to collect. Additionally, I have analysed the lyrics to my song to broaden my understanding of their meaning and to help me interpret them in my own video. I have finally tried to contact my artist's record label to try and gain the right to use the song in my video. I am aware that the chance of getting a reply is slim but I also know that this form of address is essential in the music industry as the material that I plan to use does have copyright laws placed upon it.

Animatic

This is my animatic. It is a video that I created on Windows Movie Maker to display the images from my storyboard alongside the song I have chosen. This has helped me to decide on where I think it's appropriate to cut from one shot to another as well as allowing me to have a rough outline of what the sequence will look like. I am happy with the overall result and I believe that my drawings, as well as where I have placed them, are well suited to the song that I have chosen.

Props List

I am fast approaching the slot that I have to film my music video in. I have therefore been thinking about the props that I will need to supply and where I might be able to get hold of them. These are the props that I plan on including in my video:

·         Wedding dress

·         Heeled wedding shoes

·         Veil

·         Bouquet of roses

·         Engagement ring

·         Tiara

·         Red lipstick

·         False eyelashes

·         Polaroid photos

·         Fairy lights

·         Pastel bunting

·         Rain

 

I am using these props to create the look of a bride-to-be. I will use dramatic makeup on her eyes and lips as these will get ruined as the video runs and they will be more noticeable if they are bright and visible. Additionally, I will need the Polaroid photos, fairy lights and bunting to create nostalgic, imaginative setting in the woodland scene. I want it to look magical and the photos will be there to represent the couple’s relationship that she is running away from. I want the scenes in the woods to be the scenes where she’s realising that marrying her fiancé will be a mistake. I don’t want these shots to be showing her as angry as I will use the hill scenes for this where the rain will be ruining her costume. Obviously, props such as the wedding dress, veil, bouquet and ring are there to emphasise the state of her engagement as these are conventions of the day.

Contact with the Artist

I have decided to contact the record label that my artist is sign to, to ask for the right to use one of their songs in my video. I have print screened the email that I have sent and, although I will probably not get a reply, I understand that this is obligatory in the music industry as the song is under certain copyright laws. I have also linked another image of where I found the information to write to the label on their website.

Lyric Analysis

I have analysed the lyrics to the song that I have chosen to help me understand their original meaning. I have analysed my interpretations of the lyrics and what I think they mean to help inspire me for ideas for my video. I believe that the lyrics describe a break-up and the comeback that the girl plans on taking now that she's over her heartbreak. I will follow a similar story in my own video so the storyline can illustrate the lyrics.

Equipment Choices

I will be shooting my music video with one of the school’s cameras. This will be a Canon 550D and I will need to book a time slot for which I can use it because there are only a limited number available for the amount of students in my class. Additionally, I will be using this camera for shooting the photo shoot for my digipak and magazine advert. I will therefore also have to attach a flash to the camera to give my shots better quality lighting.

Furthermore, I want to include a few close-up shots of my artist in a dark room with her face illuminated by a spotlight so I will need a spotlight to create this effect. Also, I will be frequently using shots with no camera movement so I will need to employ a tripod to ensure that I can achieve these steady shots.

Storyboard Images

These are the original images that I drew for my storyboard. I have scanned them so I can easily place them on the storyboard template however I thought that I would put them on another post individually so they can be viewed separately.

Storyboard

Below is a copy of my finished storyboard for my music video. I am aware that I might change some of these shots when it comes to actually shooting the video but, for now, I am happy with the sequence. I have also decided to repeat some of the same shots in the chorus' as I found that this was a common convention in the other pop music videos that I analysed. I have included a variety of shot types and camera movement as well as a couple of different edits to illustrate my understanding of the equipment that I'll be using. I will be creating my animatic shortly and I will also upload all of the images that I drew in the next post so the details in them can be clearly seen.

Initial Planning Ideas

Below is a video of me presenting my initial ideas for my music video. These are my spontaneous views of what I envision my music video to look like. I have considered the locations, costumes, lighting and props for my mise-en-scene and I have also thought carefully about the theme that I want for my video and how it fits in with my interpretation of the lyrics to the song. I found that doing this has defined my idea and what I want my video to look like a lot more and I can really imagine what certain scenes will look like.Below is a video of me presenting my initial ideas for my music video. 

Diary 8

In the past couple of weeks, I have been focusing on my planning work in class. So far I have created my initial planning ideas on a video that I need to upload to my blog and I have now started working on my storyboard and the animatic that follows that. I am also now using any free time at home and at school to complete my research tasks and I am hoping that I will fly through the majority of the planning tasks. I have just researched into a previous student's A2 coursework from my school last year and I found this to be very insightful and helpful as I have now begun to think of how I want my digipak and magazine advert to look and how I am going to link it to the pop genre and with the ideology of the artist that I have chosen.

Analysis of Previous A2 Work: Digipak and Magazine Advert

I have now analysed Amy's promotional work including the digipak and magazine advert that she created alongside her music video. I was able to pink apart this work and discuss why she used the methods that she has. i also found this particularly helpful as I am currently deciding how I want my digipak to look. I now an starting to think of whether or not I want it to be simplistic of cluttered and what types or images and fonts I should use to best relate to the pop genre of the song and the type of artist that I have chosen.

Analysis of Previous Students A2 Work

Analysis of Previous A2 Work: Music Video

I used Windows Movie Maker to analyse a music video directed by Amy Bartlett, a media studies student from last years music video. I assessed the use of location, props, camera angles, editing and post-production techniques and found this task to be incredibly helpful as I can draw inspiration from it in my own piece. Also, looking at work that another student has produced has made the project seem more achievable for myself and I'm looking forward to the construction phase even more now. I have place my analysis in the video as a caption so pause the video to read it before continuing.

Diary 7

During the previous week, I have begun looking at producing some research into my target audience. To do this, I produced a mood board of their hobbies, interests and overall style as well as calculating their demographics and phycographics. This will help me to design my initial ideas for my music video as I have a better understanding of the needs of my audience and how to market my video effectively through the magazine advert, as well as having some ideas of what to include in my digipak. I have also created another mood board that promotes the general tone and theme of my music video. I chose to include images of possible locations, props and colour schemes as well as some lighting effects that I could use.

Additionally, I have recently designed a rough idea for the costume of my model as well as the make up that I intend to use. I have also just finished one of the last few research tasks that I have to complete. I have looked at how my artist is represented across a variaty of differing magazines and this has proved helpful as I have developed an understanding of how I want to represent my artist and how I can go about doing so effectively.

Katy Perry in Magazines

I have created a Prezi illustrating the variety of ways that Katy Perry has been represented throughout different magazine covers. I have found this to be dependent on the type of magazine it is as well as the audience it is trying to reach.  I have looked mainly at styling and body language as these say the most about how Katy appears to the reader. I will hopefully be able to take some inspiration from this research, whether it be poses or looking into other representational issues when designing my digipak and magazine advert promoting my artist.