The document summarizes the student's research and experiments for their music video project. It includes researching production techniques from 3 example music videos and assessing their relevance. Experiments with camera angles, editing footage to the beat, and cutting music are summarized. The student reflects on including fast-paced action to engage their target audience and using a narrative to make the video more interesting than just dancing.

1. Stage 2
Research + Experiments
Your name here

2. Production techniques research
• Research potential production techniques you might want to use or
feel would be most appropriate – these can be related to camera,
editing, story, sound, etc
• You should look at a minimum of 3 related products in your research.
• You should collect clips/still images/how to guides/etc that might
help you. When watching scenes from films, etc you could also ask
potential target audience what they think.
• You may need to add extra slides!
• With each technique you should assess whether you can use it or
how you might employ or why you may want to disregard it
completely
• Always think about your investigations links to your intentions and
production!

3. Product 1
• camera, editing, story, sound
• Ariana Grande ‘Break Free’
• The camera that’s been used is a high quality one which makes the footage
quality very clear. This makes better viewing because it’s not distorted.
• The space design makes the video reach out to girls because the colours are
different to what the real space looks like, and because Ariana Grande is a
singer which a lot of girls listen to.
• The story starts with a ‘star wars’ based theme because the text scrolls up
the screen. The original star wars films use dark colours which makes the
films reach out to boys. The design for the video uses purple and other
bright colours which makes it reach out to girls.
• The story moves on to some space creatures being locked up. Ariana comes
and frees them and has to knock out the creatures keeping guard. The video
ends with everyone dancing, which turns the mood round from sad/angry to
happy.

4. Product 2
• Steps ‘Scared of the dark’
• At the start of the video they’ve used close up shots on each band
member. Some shots are darker than others
• It’s hard to tell if the video has a story to it because it shows two of
the members either running towards or away from something, which
builds suspense for the audience. This is cut into 1-2 second clips
throughout the video. Most of the video is dancing. The same moves
are used in the chorus, but the background changes each time the
chorus comes on.

5. Product 3
• Charli XCX ‘Break the Rules’
• The video starts with students running out of school happy and
throwing paper in the air. Then five girls appear looking like they will
cause trouble.
• The girls get on a bus and they travel to a clothes shop and try
different things on. The video ends with a school prom/nightclub
scene and one of the girls throws paint over everyone.

6. Genre and artist breakdown
• Think about the conventions of music video and which of these you
feel are the most appropriate for you video and why
• Think about the genre characteristics for your chosen artist – how do
you plan to employ these?
• Which techniques and styles do you think fans of your chosen genre
prefer? What should you expect to see in that type of music video?
• Use the following slides to show your ideas and explain these using
good illustrative examples – this is where your research and
explorations should start. Remember to consider the aspects we
looked at in class [and the academic things from Goodwin, etc].

7. Conventions
• I’m using a narrative convention because the video is telling a story of
an event. Although most pop videos involve dancing, some tell a
story.
• The shots will be cut to the beat so it gives the video a good flow. it
will make the scenes fit into the time there supposed to play. Most
pop videos have scenes which are cut to the beat.
• There will be different camera movements. In the first scene, the
camera will zoom in and out of characters faces.

8. Genre Characteristics
• Realistic fiction – action that takes place in a setting that looks ‘real’
and clothes and objects related to the period it’s set in.
• Using this characteristic will make my story believable because I’ve
used a realistic setting as I want the audience to relate to it .

9. Chosen approach/justification
• I plan to make the video fast paced and action packed to interest my
target audience. The music is fast paced so the video needs to be fast
paced so it fits in with the time.
• I decided to make the video a story because it’s entertaining. It’s a
current storyline in a British soap and I thought it would be
interesting if I made my own story on something similar. It’s easy to
understand when it’s a short story because it’s a simple concept of
guilty or not guilty. I wanted to add a story to the dancing to make it
more interesting.

10. Experiments
Camera/Editing/Audio Experiments
This is for you to evidence the filming and editing tests we did.
Be prepared to add extra slides.
You can add more experiments as you do them as the project progresses.

11. Experiment 1 - Process
I used the camera in a long shot mode and
walked backwards. The character sneaked out
of a corner and sneaked along the corridor,
but didn’t look at the camera.
The camera should have been a bit further
back so I could have got a better shot, and I
should have used a tripod so the shot would
have been more steady. This is something I
will make sure of in the real video.

12. Reflection
• What elements of your experiments will you include in your final
product?

13. Experiment 2 - Process
• I found the music on YouTube
and put it into premiere pro. I
cut the first verse out because
it doesn’t fit into the story.
• I cut out the first verse, first
chorus and second verse. The
second chorus sounds different
to the first one and thought
that would fit in with the start
of the song, but it didn’t.
• I cut out the first verse and
kept the first chorus which fits
with the start of the song.

14. Reflection
• What elements of your experiments will you include in your final
product? What about this process has been notable [positive and
negative]?
I’m going to use my edited version of the song because the scenes in my
video are quite short. The video wouldn’t last as long as the original
song.
Even though I haven’t done this in my experiments, I might make the
scene where the prison guards are chasing the escapees slow motion
because it might make the video more effective, and it will create
suspense for the viewers.