Reflection on AS

Music video remake

During the AS to A2 transition, we were required to choose and re-construct a music video from a few we had been shown in class. We chose to recreate "I Want To Break Free" by Queen. As a group, we worked very efficiently. I arranged to borrow a few essential props from the college drama department for the video, such as wigs for the characters and the costumes that we wore. Overall, it was very successful because we had a group of people who all worked extremely hard individually as well as cooperatively with each other. This was a useful exercise that helped us gain better understanding of music videos and will help us in our music video construction now. 

Here is the original music video from YouTube: 

Our remake can be viewed in the following link and is titled 'Queen and Emma's Moustache.' 

http://summerworkprojects12.blogspot.co.uk/search?updated-max=2012-06-26T07:12:00-07:00&max-results=7&start=7&by-date=false



Prior to starting this project, I only possessed quite basic knowledge of music videos and all the work need to create a successful music video (even though I had watched a lot of them previously). I'm starting to now gain more in depth knowledge of all the components of music video production; for example, I have learned what a base track is and how it is used effectively in line with the rhythm and lyrics. 

One thing that aided us to do well in this task was the planning and preparation. I had booked the appropriate costume and props for the day of filming and had also created a storyboard of the section of the music video by taking photo stills from it. In order to succeed with our music video project this year, we need to ensure that we are prepared in the same way. 

Our use of panning the camera to portray movement of the performer was done pretty well, along with the match cuts. All the different cuts were cut correctly to the beat and helped us create a good reconstruction.

I wasn't too happy with the lighting in our video. This was a problem we only noticed at the time of editing. We had limited resources and filmed in our classroom. This taught me that we should watch the video as we film, which would help us spot any such errors. Also, there were times when the framing wasn't up to standards. We need to pay more attention when we film our music video as not to leave any unnecessary  gaps around the actors.

Here is a list of some of the skills I have developed since the start of AS Media Studies:

·         Being able to analyze technical aspects in a media text (mise en scene, editing, sound and camerawork)

·         I learnt the importance of framing in a shot

·         Use of a variety of camera shots and angles and connecting this with meaning

·         Developed research and analysis skills

·         Editing so that it creates meaning to the viewer

·         Using varied shot transitions and other effects appropriately

·         Identifying a genre by recognizing its common codes and conventions

·         I have learned to now use Final Cut Pro to edit our work

·         Use of a variety of presentation methods in blogs such as Slideshare, Prezi and embedding videos