The student used various media technologies throughout the stages of planning, filming, and editing their music video coursework project. They used two cameras - a Canon HD camera and SLR camera - to film over two to three days. During post-production, they edited the video footage using Adobe Premiere and incorporated stop motion animation sequences created on their Mac computer. Overall, the project allowed the student to develop their media studies skills and experiment with an independent music video production.

1. How did you use media
technologies in the construction of
research, planning and evaluation
stages?

2. • Media theorist Bentley once said: "The making of the
new and the rearranging of the old”. Reflecting this
quote, to some extent digital technology does turn media
consumers into media producers because it enables
them to consume current media products via cross-
media. This is known as ‘we media’ utilizing technology
institutions’ target audience to create and apply their
imagination instantly. As an A-Level Media Studies
student, I have become more exposed to the technology
spectrum that one can access and become part of this
interactive and online community where it is negotiated
and circular.

3. • Therefore, for my main coursework project, the music
video is an example of independent production as a
media consumer. I worked in a group of three and as we
have been newly introduced to new and advanced
technology at AS level we shared a primary objective to
focus on achieving advanced effects as an aspiring
professional team.

4. • As our team filmed over the course of 2-3 days, I
became more proficient at handling the camera and
organising the necessary equipment on demand. I
worked in the same group as my AS coursework project,
which benefited us to share the same motivational work
ethic as an ensemble.

5. • We used two cameras: one Canon HD camera and a
SLR camera. Unfortunately, one was of higher quality
than the other which we eventually became acquainted
to, yet the SLR camera’s wide angle lense allowed me to
increase the shot-size and space of the setting and
multiple characters. Using the shooting schedule during
filming, I successfully set up equipment such as the
tripod and wire cables as well as the white-balance on
the camera to ensure the best results.

6. • I constantly updated my progress blog on ‘Blogger’,
which helped me document my thoughts and
development from the pre-production stage all the way
to the end. Using social media networks on our mobile
phones helped us update our peers and even ourselves
in our created online group where we shared and
expressed our ideas when not together.

7. • During the production process, the benefit of using two
cameras for filming gave us the opportunity to increase a
variety of angles, shot-types, change of footage and
double set-up to achieve the best outcome possible.
Applying the same transitions made it more expert and
slick, achieving a ‘less is more’ impact.

9. • Filming from a birds eye view and extreme close ups,
allowed us to play with the different spaces available.
Having a more matured perspective, I incorporated stop
motion and photographic animation using a Canon EOS
110D camera to constantly take individual pictures which
I uploaded to Photo-edit on my Mac computer in order to
produce a more avant-garde effect that suits the indie-
genre having researched other music videos like Sia’s
‘Breathe Me’ and Oren Lavie’s ‘Her morning elegance’.

10. Sia- Breathe Me

11. Oren Lavie- Her Morning Elegance

12. • The chosen song: Five Years Time by Noah and the
Whale is a indie/hipster song which permitted me to
have more freedom with including many characters and
once collating all the required footage, I could freely
build more structure and a hipster styled sequence.

13. • For instance, I incorporated silhouettes and casting
shadows using redhead lights and soft light gels, which
was inspired by avant-garde cinema films like Un Chien
Andalou to create a vintage effect. I wanted to achieve
image manipulation yet steering away from airbrushing
and image perfection, as it was vital to create a sense of
verisimilitude throughout our video.

14. • In the post-production process, I found it challenging to
compliment the lip-synching of the song’s lyrics with the
exact timing of the song on Adobe Premiere. Therefore,
using software programmes like Garage Band, YouTube
converter and Sound cloud, they facilitated me
throughout the editing process.

15. • During the post-production process, it was important to
focus on adjusting colour controls with a vivid palette
creating a summer/hippy-like feel. Once uploading the
final video onto YouTube, I felt that the quality appeared
weaker than on the Adobe Premiere screens yet it was
successfully transmitted via my USB memory stick.

16. • I used my USB frequently during the editing process to
save photography and any other extra shots that would
be sufficient to use. When designing my ancillary tasks,
the Digipak cover and website homepage which
promotes the band, Noah and the Whale- it was at times
difficult to transform my chosen images using Corel-
Photo paint as I felt overwhelmed by the variety of
options etc.

18. • Wix, the website homepage software is particularly good
to find a suitable template so I could experiment with
format and presentational devices, yet at times I felt I
could have reconsidered the layout. For example, the
homepage is simple yet effective, however I doubted
that it may lack important details, which is where I could
have improved in order to achieve a more expert-like
product.

19. • Overall, the basic key concepts of Media Studies
including: camerawork, lighting, editing and mise-en-
scene were very much developed. I have gained a more
diverse and creative approach and have ultimately learnt
more about potential filming issues, public locations and
editing software over the course of 2 years. Whilst
evaluating my work, this was the first opportunity to
experiment with a challenging and alternative music
genre.