My final music video was everything that I imagined it to be but better. Although I had one mishap with one of my actresses; The actress who replaced her actually turned out to be amazing and i’m actually really glad the footage of my first actress failed. My overall aim was to make a pop music video which not only empowered woman but also showed how men can empower women too. I really wanted to make it bright, colourful and fun which I believe I delivered really well.
How does your work compare with your chosen practitioner- Of course the quality of the film is not as good as my practitioners due to the fact they have used professional cameras and although the one I borrowed is really great quality it doesn’t compare to the standards of theres. I think if we are talking creativity my music video is up there with my practitioners due to the fact that its not like anything anyone made before. Its unique which I love and although I have taken inspiration from Todrick Halls 90’s Disney video It clearly has its own unique background and its fun because it links to the characters I have used in the videos story-lines which would mean younger audiences may enjoy my music video too. I think my practitioners would hire professional actors and pay them which would make them a lot more reliable. The makeup in Todrick Halls 90’s Disney and Jonas Akerlund’s Telephone was obviously a lot better due to the fact 80% of the makeup was done by myself and although I have a lot experience with makeup myself, I am not a professional makeup artist like Kayleigh, and the artists Todrick used on his video. My budget was fairly limited unlike both my practitioners who both had very large budgets due to being in the public eye. Therefore I think the creativity, colour and overall enjoyment of my music video is just as good at my practitioners but really not as professional due to my lack of funds and my lack of experience.
Did you make any changes-
The only change I made to my music video was changing one of my actresses. Unfortunately one my actress’s who was meant to play snow white cancelled on filming because of lack of communication on her behalf, therefore I had to call in my first backup. However because I left the spotlight on for filming the footage I had cut out part of Beths face. This meant I had to call in my third backup Bonnie who ended up being better than the other two. Although this meant I was under a lot more stress in the middle of making this film I am pleased it happened because my music video ended up being better than I even thought it could be.
Does the finished product appeal to your target audience-
I believe my music video met all my aims which was to make a music video that aimed at girls between the ages of 18-24. I think that although I have used Disney, the music video would appeal to my target audience because its fun and engaging. Its a pop song and lady gaga is one of the biggest selling artists at this moment in time therefore I think it really meets those aims.
how well does it reflect your skills and what you have learnt this year- I think this is the best product I’ve ever created. Before making this music video I had very limited experience with green screening. I had never transformed or clipped a shot. I had never split screened or used keyer and the effort that went into having 5 different people on screen all miming in sync with 4 different background and making them switch was so high I am shocked I didn’t cry once. The only experience I had with final cut pro was with my last years final major project and my corporate video that I made when coming back to college. The skills I learnt from making those two videos were to cut footage in time with music and to color grade therefore I think this music video really reflects the skills I have learnt because in a way I actually learnt most of my skills playing around with my music video footage and learning as I went along. I am so proud of this video and the fact I can say that I did the makeup, made the costumes, filmed and edited it all by myself is awesome.
Next time I would defiantly find backups for all 5 of my actors, of course one of my actors was myself therefore I could of course rely on myself but I think it would have meant I was a lot less stressed if I had done so. Next time I would also hire a better camera and ask Kayleigh to do all 5 of our makeup however This would mean next time I would need a much larger budget. I learnt the difficulty that goes into making a original music video because nowadays its the music videos that are weird and wacky that do well because they are so memorable. I would make sure I have more footage than I needed because I had to include some clips of me joking around in the music video and although this luckily still worked and looked good It would have been a lot better if I had filmed more than I could have. I would also make sure I had my own hard drive because It would mean I wouldn’t have to worry about putting it on other peoples and making sure my film is done before I have to hand it back in.
If i’m talking about how this music video has effected me personally I think any experience with making a media product can only develop you as an individual media practitioner. Making this music video has made me a lot more confident in my own ideas however only when making music videos. If somebody asked me to make them a music video thats location based or green screen based I would feel one hundred percent confident that I could deliver a fantastic product, however asking me to film a art film or a short film and I would struggle. I put this down to chosing to create every possible type of film, but art and fictional. Although this may become a struggle when being thrown into the depths of university I am somebody who tends to teach herself as I go along therefore I won’t be phased. I am hoping to create a short film in the summer so I have more experience.
Overall I am very pleased with my music video. I am so proud that I made this and Its better than I thought it would be. I am very sad to be leaving Exeter College however I am confident that I have learnt skills for a life time that would help me when going on to university in September.
Shauna Church 