My music video evaluation.

1. Evaluation
Project 1 | Music Video

2. Production Process
Evaluation

3. Research
I researched a variety of music videos in
the genres that I'd be interested in making
a music video in. I believe my research was
effective for briefly identifying conventional
techniques in order to apply it to my own
music video. I was able to include these
conventions into my own product, so it
looked more professional. I mainly looked
at colouring and types of camera shots and
how this affects a music videos tone.
However I wish I had done all the music
video analysis before I started to plan as
things that I know now from doing my case
study would've been useful to know when I
was planning and recording. This would
have made my music video more
conventional and I could've added more
techniques from other music videos by the
same artist.

4. Planning
I separated my song into individual
segments and planned each part out, this
was helpful as it established a clear timeline
of events for my music video. My
storyboarding was useful to visualise the
events of my music video and making a list
of the locations and shots I needed from
those locations helped me get the shots I
needed as I had a shot list to refer to. I feel
that in my instrumental intro specifically I
should have been less vague with my plans
as they ended up changing quite a bit. My
contingency planning could of also have been
more detailed, but I had trouble producing
scenarios that'd halt my music videos
progress.

5. Time
Management
Due to the pandemic I only had 1 week
to get most of my recording finished and
1 week for editing. For the most part, I
got the majority of what I needed to
completed however there were some
issues as my friend ended up not being
available some days, so I had some
missing footage for my editing week.
There wasn't much time to redo
recordings so when I was editing, if I
wanted a shot to be different, I had to
work with it. I believe if I had more
time, I could've added more of the
techniques I wanted to that I learnt
from analysing music videos in my case
study. Despite this, I'd say I managed
my time well and got everything
relatively done on time with a few
setbacks.

6. Technical Qualities
- Camera
I gathered a variety of different types of shots
like close ups, mid shots and wide shots for
example to make sure that my music video
remains interesting to watch with a variety of
ways for the audience to immerse themselves
in the music video. Despite getting different
types of shot my music video could've
benefitted from more camera angles and more
adventurous and interesting camera
movement. My shots remained in focus and
had good quality; I just believe a weakness is
that I should've been more experimental with
the camera movement in order to create an
effect. The camera movement in my final piece
stays a little too still, although this reflects the
nature of the song, there could've been areas
with more camera movement, nevertheless.

7. Technical Qualities
– Editing/Post
I used editing to help portray a certain tone
and help show a contrast within my music
video. The colouring changed throughout the
music video to match the scene. For example in
the 'night shots' the colouring was a dark cold
blue colour to portray the cold dark, however in
the meadow scene the colouring was much
lighter and warmer showing a clear contrast
between the 2 scenes. The editing always cut
on beat to the song which is an important
music video convention. A weakness of the
editing is that the editing speed could have fit
the pace of the music more/changed with the
pace of the music. A variety of velocity could
have also been used in order to emphasize
certain movement within the music video.

8. Aesthetic Qualities
In terms of aesthetic I tried to use visuals in
order to show a contrast and development. I
believe the colouring and cinematography looks
quite good and personally I believe these are
the strengths of how my music video looks. I
also believe the aberration used makes the
music video seem more retro which fits Mars
Argos style. In terms of improvement I feel
there should have been more differentiation in
outfit change and maybe more going on in the
shots as it mainly consisted of lip syncing. I
also think my music video could have
benefitted from the use of more props or more
shots focusing on building an atmosphere
throughout the video. In order to fit Mars Argos
style more there could've been a larger
incorporation of retro attire, props etc.

9. Audience Appeal
My music video appeals to the target audience as
it fits the genre conventions of alternative rock
music, these are conventions such as lip syncing
(simulated peformance), abnormal settings, high
angles in order to establish a setting and close ups
in order to express emotion through facial
expression. Using conventions such as these will
help appeal to the target audience of alternative
rock. Another way my music video appeals to an
audience is through narrative, my music video is
supposed to show a girl slowly becoming freer of
the voluntary imprisonment of technology. I feel
that the messages the song portrays alongside the
music video reflecting the songs message
challenges the modern society we live in, inviting
an active audience to interact with the music
video and its message.

10. Peer
Feedback

11. Feedback 1 What did you like about the product?
"I liked that it had a pretty high quality.
The music really fit the video, it gives you
the right vibe that you’re supposed to feel.
There were quite a few shots that I thought
were nice, such as the clip of the girl
walking down the street during the chorus.
The video was edited nicely and well synced
with the instrument’s playing during the
chorus."
What improvements could have been made
to the product?
"If I would have personally been able to
change something about the video, I
would have liked to have a tiny bit less
shots of the girl walking. It felt like a tad bit
too much for my taste. And the shot were
she was walking in the dark with a light
facing her, I would have preferred to have
the light come from above or behind her."

12. Feedback 2 What did you like about the product?
"I really liked the cinematography. I liked
the framing of the shots and all the variety
there was."
What improvements could have been made
to the product?
"I think you could improve on the colour
correction because some where high
contrast while others were quite low, and it
was a bit jarring."

13. Feedback 3 What did you like about the product?
"I liked the special effects and the drone
footage. I also like the way you portray the
music through your footage, it reflects the
feeling of the music, starting out a bit
gloomy and ending on a happy note. The
lighting effects were also good."
What improvements could have been made
to the product?
"When doing the walking footage, the
camera could be more steady, sometimes it
jumped a little and cut off the top of her
head."

14. Peer Feedback
Summary
What do you agree with from your peer
feedback?
I agree that my shots had a lot of variety in
terms of angle and location, it kept the music
video interesting and followed convention.
Despite this I also believe there could have
been more happening in these shots at the
chorus instead of just walking and lip syncing,
I think this would've made my music video feel
less repetitive. I also agree with the
positioning of the lighting and how it could've
been moved to a different area, I believe it
would've made some of the night shots look a
lot better as positioning the lighting in
different angles could've had a different effect.
Another point that I agree with is the tone
shift, this was purposeful in the content of the
footage and the colouring and I think this was
done well. Finally I also agree that my camera
work could've been and should've been
steadier at certain points, however at other
points it was intentional.
What do you disagree with from your peer
feedback?
I disagree with the colour correction; the
contrast was altered that way on purpose so
that the night shots were more visible and so
that you couldn't see the video noise as much.
I also believe this gives the video a more retro
feeling.