1. Skills Development
How have I approached planning
this production differently to my
AS production work?

2. Conventions
The planning of my AS production was very different from the music video planning
because it was a film opening. The film opening has many different conventions that
we had to think about when we were planning. First of all, we had to create a storyline
for a whole film, whereas in the music video we do not need to have a whole narration
that makes sense. In the film opening we had to think about continuity , whereas in the
music video there is no need of continuity since it is not a story, it just promotes the
artist. In the film opening we also had to think about opening credits, which we do not
use in a music video. In the AS production I followed the storyboard much more than in
the A2 production. For the music video we had to have the editing in mind before
filming it, whereas for the film opening, planning the editing was not so relevant.

3. Camera
When planning my film opening, as it was a thriller, I had to think
about conventional shots of the genre, how to create
suspense, how to present our character as a mentally disabled
child, and the variety of different shots I could use to build one
sequence. When planning the music video shots, I also had to
think about conventional shots of the genre, but it was important
to think about camera movement and how to promote a new
artist effectively (by using close ups and mid shots). I also had to
plan how I’d present my artist in front of the camera.

4. Editing
When planning the editing for my film opening I had to think of continuity as
well as how to create suspense effectively and how to make my thriller opening
look scary and intriguing. I had to plan about convenient filters and effects that I
could use to make a thrilling atmosphere. When planning the editing for my
music video I had to think about how music videos use obvious editing and
what type of editing would suit best my genre and my song to create a
response in my audience. I also had to plan the base tracks, lip syncing and
plan about certain shots that would require a certain technique for the editing to
work (e.g: fast motions need a certain duration, slow motion might need a
certain pace of action, jump cuts might need a certain change of action, etc.)

5. Mise en Scene
Planning the mise en scene for my thriller opening was very different because of the
different conventions and the storyline. Because our main character was a mentally
disabled child, I had to think of symbolic props and setting (e.g: playground toys and
dolls/teddy bears, etc). I also had to think how to create equilibrium and disequilibrium
through my props and setting and how to create a sense of suspense and a scary
atmosphere. Whereas for my music video most of the planning for my mise en scene
was dependent on the conventions of the genre and what our audience expected to see.
Like for example, as an indie pop song we couldn’t use a huge amount of props and our
setting had to be very basic, we had to think about using instruments and as our main
purpose was to promote a new artist, think about how the mise en scene would portray
the artist style and character making him appealing to the audience.

6. Sound
When planning for the thriller opening sound, I had to think about music
and sounds that would create a scary atmosphere, which lead me to think
about screams, scary children’s voice, whispers, spooky lullabies, all that
could relate to our main character and her psychological breaking down.
The planning for the music video sound was broader because we had to
think about what kind of genre and what kind of music video we thought
we would be able to produce, as well as we had to think how to create an
effective music video for that song bearing in mind the editing together
with the beat and the conventions of the type of song.

7. Conclusion
Although the planning was similar in some ways because after
all they were both productions in which you have to film and
think about the four aspects of a video production
(camera, sound, editing, mise en scene), they were different
types of productions with different conventions. For the music
video we had to plan things much more carefully and plan much
more footage than to the film opening. Whereas I believe the
planning for the film opening was more straight forward since the
genre was already given to us and it was following a narrative.