Evaluating my music video project

1. EVALUATIO
N
Kieran Johnson

2. PRODUCTION
PROCESS
EVALUATION

3. RESEARCH
What were the strength of my research?
•I managed to look at a lot of different music videos during
my research, consisting of varying styles of music. I think
the variation and quantity of music videos helped my
research correspond into my final idea of the video.
•I spoke plenty about the themes presented in each video,
camerawork, lighting/colour scheme and if there were any
narratives suggested in each video, and then for one video I
compared to the context of the world around the time,
referencing the present day state of politics for ‘Show Me A
Leader’ by Alter Bridge.
•For Task 3 in the case study, I used Metallica videos that
each had something unique to them, as well as had
similarities to each other (such as the drained sepia/near
black and white colour scheme in both ‘The Unforgiven’ and
‘Halo On Fire’)
What could I have improved?
•For a few videos I feel like I could have gotten a bit more
notes put down, notably for such an iconic video like ‘I Want
To Break Free’ by Queen and spoken in more detail on the
narrative for ‘The A Team’ by Ed Sheeran.
•As for the case study, I feel I could have refrained myself
from talking about Metallica in each task and looked at
other bands and other music videos.

4. What were the strengths of my planning?
•I think that from the start I had a clear vision of
what I wanted my video to be about, at least in
terms of narrative direction. I also had
numerous options for songs to choose from
which also helped my planning, most of them
worked well in comparison to the narrative I
wanted to create with the music video.
•I listed down different shot types that I could
have elected to use based on the videos I had
already looked at in my research, giving me lots
of possibilities of how I could shoot the video.
What could I have improved?
•Whilst I felt I had a clear vision in regards to
what I wanted my narrative and music video to
focus on, I also think I would have benefited
from coming up with clearer and more realistic
alternative options, so that if there was a case of
me not being able to fulfil the narrative I wanted
to go for, then I had a decent substitute.
PLANNING

5. TIME MANAGEMENT
Did I manage my time well?
•I did manage to have plenty of shots completed for the video
before I began editing, which left me in a good position for
editing.
•With that being said I do feel I could have used the free time I
had in the week before to get all the shots I needed, as a
number of the shots I took did come after the start of editing. I
also didn’t really stick to the shot list I made during planning.
•However I did manage to get the editing for the video finished
in time and published onto YouTube.
What would I have done if I had more time?
•I think I would have invested in some form of capture device to
get better footage for the shots focused on the TV screen and
the video game, just to ensure that it is of the best possible
quality.
•I would have gotten a lot more shots done in the scenes with
the dog too (if she would have been willing to cooperate of
course). A scene that I did plan to include involved me giving
her a bowl of dog food, but that never came to be because
every time I tried to shoot it wouldn’t go right. With enough
time and persistence I imagine that I would have managed to

6. TECHNICAL QUALITIES -
CAMERAFor the shots where I am playing
with the Guitar Hero controller, I
tried to continuously switch
between using mid-shots with
my full body and the full guitar
controller in view, and close-ups
of my fingers pressing the fret
buttons in accordance to the
notes of the song. The latter is
extremely prevalent in the
sections which also show the
highway of notes being pressed
in accordance to the song, which
is the interlude and the solo,
which generally features heavily
music videos similar to the
genre.
I thought that this shot
was a good idea to get
to a grounded level
with the dog walking
through the door after
walking. I think this
fits well with the
narrative I wanted to
create.
I used a multitude of perspective
shots to try and tell the narrative
through the lens of either myself or
through the dog. One POV shot from
my perspective involved me giving
the dog a treat and then stroking
her, to try and gain a interpersonal

7. TECHNICAL QUALITIES –
EDITING/POST•Near the beginning of the video, I use a VHS
fast forward effect made completely from
scratch as a means of skipping the intro
which had been ”restarted” due to the
character missing the first note of the first
verse. I mainly used this as a means of
comedy and I am ultimately very proud of it.
•Throughout the video I use lots of the
crossfade effect to transition between cuts,
mostly because it is a slow song anyway and I
felt the crossfade works well with it. This also
bears similarity to the original music video
for ‘Nothing Else Matters’, where the shots of
Metallica playing the song in the studio
crossfade with shots of the band behind the
scenes whilst on tour. There are also some
faded shots with cuts of the dog layered on
top of the action.
•At two separate points in the video, I include
cropped shots of the Guitar Hero highway on
the video as I play the interlude and the solo.

8. AESTHETIC QUALITIES
Does my work look good?
•I do think that my work looks good for a first
music video. The narrative and video idea seems
original and innovative just as I hoped it would
be and I’m especially proud of the editing,
notably the VHS fast forward warp which I
mentioned in the last slide.
•The video quality could have been a little better
in my opinion. I recorded practically all of the
shots on my phone – a Samsung Galaxy S7 – and
it is noticeable that the footage in there is quite
grainy and just shy of a top quality video output.
That being said, the shots focused on capturing
the video game footage off of the TV turned out
to be better than I first anticipated, although I
have no doubt that some form of TV capture
device would have made for a better video
quality for those shots.
How would I improve it?
•I would have liked to improve the video quality
of the piece, this would have come in the form
of using a better camera and investing in a HD
capture device for the TV or the Xbox 360 where
Close-up of the TV
which features
gameplay of Guitar
Hero Metallica, which
turned out better
than I expected from
a phone camera.
Shots like this are
painfully obvious that
the video quality is
quite grainy. I don’t
think it helps the
lighting was poor

9. AUDIENCE APPEAL
How have I appealed to my target audience?
•Despite their genre being slightly niche, Metallica are one of the most
popular bands of all time, and ’Nothing Else Matters’ is considered
one of the most well-known songs of all time, so I would think my
band and song choice would appeal to an 18-24 age group.
•In regards to the video, I think the narrative is something that would
also appeal to that particular age group, I think the scenes involving
the dog invoke a positive emotional energy and the Guitar Hero
homage attempt to invoke nostalgia for the older members of that
audience group.

10. PEER
FEEDBACK

11. FEEDBACK 1
What did you like about the product?
 Liked the editing techniques
 Lots of nice shots and cuts that keeps the video fresh
 Narrative fits the music
What improvements could have been made to the
product?
 The backgrounds could be more themed towards the
narrative I’m trying to tell, not necessarily by using green
screen, but maybe use some posters for a nice additional
touch.

12. FEEDBACK 2
What did you like about the product?
 Really liked the Guitar Hero highway overlaying the main
shots of me playing the guitar
 Found the narrative with the dog to be nice
 Liked the VHS fast forward effect near the beginning of the
video
What improvements could have been made to the
product?
 The video drags on for slightly too long, possibly could be
made shorter.

13. FEEDBACK 3
What did you like about the product?
 The editing of the overlay was well executed and helped bring
some originality into the song
 The majority of the clips felt suited to the genre
 The lip-syncing and general guitar playing was well time and
very enthusiastic
What improvements could have been made to the
product?
•Some of the clips of the dog, while wholesome, did feel
confusing and often uncomfortable

14. PEER FEEDBACK SUMMARY
What do you agree with from your peer feedback?
 I appreciate the appraisal that was directed towards the Guitar
Hero narrative and the overlay of the highway that contained
the notes for the interlude and solo, given that was a major
aspect of this music video.
 I also appreciate the praise that the editing has gotten, not
only for the overlay, but also for the fast forward effect, the
lip-syncing and guitar playing all being highlighted by my
peers.
What do you disagree with from your peer feedback?
 While I can understand that the clips featuring the dog has
caused some confusion, they do exist as a means to anchor
with the lyrics and create another narrative alongside the
Guitar Hero one.

15. PEER FEEDBACK SUMMARY
What changes would I make to the product upon the peer
feedback?
• I think one change that I would like to make is probably based on
the length of the song. I did try to shorten the video so that
enough of the song was played and that no huge chunk of the
song was taken out, but I understand that around the third verse
and chorus the shots were beginning to feel quite similar to one
another, and I had gone back to the TV screen with Guitar Hero
playing. Shortening the song so that the second verse up to the
interlude is completely cut would have benefited it from not
feeling too repetitive.
• Based upon the first peer feedback, I feel I could have done a bit
better at presenting this in a manner that was not only an homage
to the Guitar Hero brand, but also an homage to Metallica and the
genre of music that they represent given the song is theirs.
Looking back, I think it just happened to come down to
happenstance as to why I didn’t wear a Metallica t-shirt during