As part of my aims in my proposal I stated I would be performing all three of my songs in the end of year show, this will allow to show all performance skills I have learned through the duration of the course. I decided to compare this show with other performances I have done in the past and see my improvements.
This Years End Of Year Show-
ESC Christmas Show 2016-
Comparing both performances I can really see the improvements over the past two years, in the second video I picked up on my nerves a lot more than the second and I feel they really effected the vocal performance, this is something I still need to improve on however has improved slightly, which is proved in the first video. Another thing I noticed was my body language and body movement, this is something that is important in a performance and allows you to connect with audience, in the second video this is lacking where as the first it is improved I hope to carry on improving in these areas in the future when going to university.
In the first video you can see me playing guitar, this was a big barrier for myself to cross as a new guitarist, I have struggled a lot with nerves in the past with playing guitar on stage, resulting in a poor set and I believe by doing one of my songs on guitar in the end of year show this year I have gained a lot more confidents in my self to play on stage. I believe theres a lot of space for improvement for this
Finally something I picked up on in my second video was facial expressions and looking at audience members, again this really helps with audience connectivity and is something I looked at a lot in my last FMP, due to nerves in the second clip my face is very blank throughout where as in the first clip I smile a lot more and use a lot more expressions. I believe that in the first clip I am a lot more relaxed and which meant I could be myself a lot more on stage.
Overall I can see that I have come a long way with my performance skills and can really see by changing a few things in your performance can give a completely different effect to the audience. I will continue to gain more knowledge on performance and try to become a confident performer in the future.
In this post I will be reflecting and evaluating my progress from the past 7 weeks, BBC Open University (2018) explains ways of evaluating your work; one way which is mentioned is to outline the objectives of your project and see if these objectives have been met. My objectives were the following – have three fully recorded tracks with a music video and a live performance. I have met all these objectives and have stuck to my plan throughout.
I have used a mixture of research and researching tools, this is something I stated in my proposal that I would do. This has shown me the different ways that you can gather knowledge on a subject without always using sources such as google, instead I have broadened my research to things such as art galleries, books and articles; this has been a real eye opener to me for the future and has given me a good starting base for university in September. I have also took a completely new approach to reflection by looking at Brookfield’s four lenses theory, I have used this throughout my work, this has allowed me to see my work from different lenses and overall get a wider view of my work. I will defiantly use this in my work in the future.
Moreover, I feel I have improved in using more ways to research, however I also feel I need to improve in using secondary research. Prezi (2018) explains that secondary research is important as it ensures that your primary research is trustworthy. I have not used journals in my work, this is something I would have liked to have done as I believe journals are a good use of resources and due to them being professionally checked before being published, they are a reliable source. Although I have also found that practically I have learned a huge amount from youtube videos especially from sources such as- Matt Whoismatt Johnson. (2018) and tutvid. (2016). and finally DSLR guide. (2014), this has allowed me to develop my skills in premiere and further my knowledge in guitar playing. I will remember this for future assignments and make sure I try to use sources such as journals within my work and also to make sure I use things like video for my practical development.
The main skills that I have developed through the past eight weeks include guitar playing, video creating and editing and songwriting; I believe I have also grown in confidence in my work. I believe these skills are vital for my next stages after college and will allow me to become a better artist. Research and practice have played a big factor in my development, I have found that voicing my opinions has really made my confidence grow massively, I have struggled with this in past projects, however I have made sure to force myself to speak about my thoughts and opinions allowing the communication in the project clear, being a Co Producer has helped with this.
When comparing my last years FMP to this years I have seen my improvement in the consistency in weekly process blogs; this has allowed me to be able to keep my work organised and makes sure I don’t forget anything. One way that I did this was through reminders set on my phone, from this I have stuck to my plan throughout the whole project, resulting in all work finished by the deadline, Â something that I have never achieved before. I will ensure to use this method again in the future.
I came across a few problems within the duration of my project, guitar playing was a issue I came across, this was something that I thought could happen being a new guitarist, this impacted my project mainly in the recording process as it ended up costing us a day in the studio as my timing wasn’t up to scratch on guitar, I then spent the next week rehearsing my last two tracks on guitar and ended up finishing the last songs in one da. I have also learnt ways this can help me in the future I also found some theoretical problems to plan ahead for during my project, for example getting writers block, this is something which can happen to any writer and is hard to prevent, however by researching ways to help get out of this issue I felt more confident to face my songs throughout my writing process. Furthermore having these problems as made me learn a lot and has also allowed me to get myself out of problems confidently.
Finally I will be speaking about how others impacted my progression of the project. At the start of the projected I worked with a friend studying at photography at college, she allowed me to gain a professional look to my music video and album cover, she has also taught me a few things on camera angles and camera settings, this has made me feel more confident when using a camera. Without my camera women I wouldn’t have been able to get a high quality video and would have to do a lot more research causing me to loose time filming. I also worked with a professional engineer for this project, this also helped my project a lot as I knew I could trust him to work professionally and efficiently, working with Dan my engineer, has resulted in coming out with 3 fully recorded and mixed,  high quality sounding tracks and I am extremely happy with the outcome.
In conclusion, therefore, I believe that this project has been extremely positive and has allowed me to grow as an artist. I have achieved things I never thought I’d be able to at the start of this year and I believe I can now take all my knowledge I have gained through the past 8 weeks and have a great platform for my first year at university this has been a mixture of performance skills, video editing, and playing guitar. I have also learnt some life skills from the whole two years of this course this includes always being yourself, especially through your own music, another thing is to always voice your opinions and communicate well with others. Overall I have enjoyed my time at college and have also learnt so much that will help me in my musical future.
Matt Whoismatt Johnson. (2018). How To Export HD Video in Premiere Pro CC for YouTube, Vimeo, & Facebook. [Online Video]. 12 February 2017. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-_MwtGaHjA. [Accessed: 14 May 2018]
tutvid. (2016). The Best Blurred Zooming Transition Effect – Premiere Pro Tutorial. [Online Video]. 18 August 2017. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgUCamkkcC0. [Accessed: 29 May 2018].
These were my all my different edits for my album cover, I created these using photoshop and used mostly layering, I decided I liked the effect on the last image, however I dislike the photo, I then got some feedback on these edits and was told that the  6th image would look really good with a black and white image as this could enhance the  bright orange, I then decided to make that the back of my album cover and use image (1.) for the main cover, once I decided the images I could then place heading on the pictures.
I decided to look at known album covers for example-
By looking at these I’ve picked up what I like from each for example I’ve decided I like the bold writing as this stands out against a dark background I also prefer the dark tone images to the lighter ones as I feel this looks more professional I have especially taken these two images as inspiration for my album cover-
With this in mind I then came up with the following-
Aleya I. (2018). How To Create Split Screens – Premiere Pro Tutorial. [Online Video]. 1 August 2017. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwB4xtlseQw. [Accessed: 25 April 2018].
Daniel S. (2018). How to improve your Guitar Strumming. [Online Video]. 5 June 2015. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azs0DtQtJLo. [Accessed: 23 April 2018].
Matt Whoismatt Johnson. (2018). How To Export HD Video in Premiere Pro CC for YouTube, Vimeo, & Facebook. [Online Video]. 12 February 2017. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-_MwtGaHjA. [Accessed: 14 May 2018]
(2016). Behind The Scenes “Aqueous Motion” Photo Shoot 6/1/16. [Online Video]. 2 June 2016. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fAfN7ZTwOE. [Accessed: 4 April 2018].
Odisho J. (2018). 10 Life Saving Adobe Premiere Pro CC Editing Tips, Tricks & Shortcuts Tutorial. [Online Video]. 12 December 2016. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLQKvhBLEhM. [Accessed: 21 May 2018].
Phychedlic Tripps. (2016). NEW 2016 Psychedelic Psychill 3D Visual Progressive Music Mix. [Online Video]. 16 August 2015. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t3XYNxnUBs. [Accessed: 29 May 2018].
Phychedlic Tripps. (2018). NEW 2016 Psychill Psychedelic 3D Visual Progressive Trippy Music Mix. [Online Video]. 26 November 2015. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVb5GV6lntU. [Accessed: 29 May 2018].
Serna D. & Evdokkimoff T. (2013) FretBoard Theory Volume II, United States Of America : Desi Serna.
Simple Video Making. (2018). How to Combine Multiple Videos in One Screen- AdobePremiere Pro. [Online Video]. 1 September 2015. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KooL_BqETS0. [Accessed: 25 April 2018].
Songwriting Secrets (2018) How To “Free Up” Your Inner Songwriting Master And Write Lyrics That Deliver A Powerful, “Emotion Packed” Message That Deeply Moves Your Listeners, Available at: http://www.songwriting-secrets.net/write-lyrics.html(Accessed: 2nd April).
Success for your songs. (2018). Making Your Lyric Fit Your Melody. [Online Video]. 4 November 2014. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ou5FtyQQ6U. [Accessed: 7 May 2018].
The Beatles. (2018). Strawberry Fields Forever – Restored HD Video. [Online Video]. 15 September 2015. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UQK-UcRezE. [Accessed: 19 March 2018]
The Slow Mo Guys. (2015). Hypnotic Ink Physics in 4K Slow Motion – The Slow Mo Guys. [Online Video]. 28 February 2015. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzkB574jivA. [Accessed: 19 March 2018].
(2016). The Best Blurred Zooming Transition Effect – Premiere Pro Tutorial. [Online Video]. 18 August 2017. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgUCamkkcC0. [Accessed: 29 May 2018].
(2018). Premiere Pro object removal with Opacity Masks (Garbage Mattes). [Online Video]. 25 June 2015. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX-Xmr-v57k. [Accessed: 16 May 2018].
Vorobiov G. (2018). We Are Here – Ink In Water by Greg V.. [Online Video]. 13 January 2013. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urjUygoSjIs. [Accessed: 19 March 2018].
Warped Perception. (2016). Crushing Crystal Balls with Hydraulic Press – in 4K Slow Motion (S1 E6). [Online Video]. 29 May 2016. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmjRMtN2zoA. [Accessed: 4 June 2018].
Wojcik C. (2018). How to Fix Exposure While Editing Video in Premiere Pro, iMovie & Final Cut Pro X. [Online Video]. 24 February 2015. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYrmAAqRXao. [Accessed: 16 May 2018].
Wood K. (2013) Modern & Contemporary Art, England : Kilroy Media
Wood K. (2013) Modern & Contemporary Art, England : Kilroy Media
I decided last minute to create a backdrop for the end of year show, this is something I believe would be a great round up of everything I’ve done throughout the project. At first I wanted to project my music video behind me whilst I performed, however after speaking to some technicians at the college I found that they did not have the right equipment to do this and could cost a lot to rent.
To avoid hassle I decided I would create my own backdrop in the theme of the rest of my artwork in this project, I decided to make my main objective to be colour in this project. Firstly I needed to know the type of size I needed the backdrop to be, I decided to speak to someone who did the show last year and asked them what they did, they told me that the measure meets they took down for their sheet was – 75 x 75 inches, this allowed me to get a rough estimate of the size I wanted mine.
After looking around at local fabric dealers I found that buying this amount of fabric would cost a lot of money, I wanted this to be as cost friendly as I could make it, finally I came up with an idea to buy a plain white bedsheet this was due to the measurements for either a king or queen bedsheet being similar the the measurements I was looking for, also also knew that I could get a cheap white bed sheet from anywhere I decided to get a King Size bed sheet with the measurements 70 x 80 inches.
After buying the sheet I decided I should try out of different designs to get an idea of what I wanted without ruining the sheet.
After finding different techniques I could use and different equipment I could use I then decided to look at other artwork which could inspire me I came across these images –
These images stuck out to me for a number of reasons, one being the vibrant colour and the different shades, another being the drawings within these paintings.
Once I collected some ideas and practised these I could then start my painting, I needed to look out for a clear day to ensure that the sheet did not get wet and ruined by this, I also needed to clean up the ground I was painting on to ensure the sheet did not get dirty.
I could then start my setting up, I decided to keep my workspace as organised as possible to prevent confusion with colours, this was due to the ink looking similar in the pots, because of this I poured each ink into cups and labelled the cups-
I decided to get my mum to help with which colours to use, she does painting as on of  her hobbies and knows a lot about colour contrast, she suggested that I use the black ink first to ensure the the lighter inks dont get washed out by this, I took this on board as I haven’t painted in a ver longer time and started with the black.
I decided to not have a strict idea of what I would be doing on the sheet, instead I tried out different colours as I went and tested them out on the pillow cases which came with the set, this allowed me to let any creativity flow.
I decided that after all the ink splashing it was still missing something, I then went back to an image I saw earlier on on google which gave me an idea-
I really liked the dripping ink in this image as I believe it gives a messier/ relaxed look to the whole photo which I like, I also like the faces within the picture and the way the ink acts as detailing for the two drawings.
I then decided to spray certain parts of the painting with water, this would hopefully let some colour run into one and other to then create the dripping effect above. I then poured some ink from the top of the sheet to make this effect more noticeable –
I then decided to add faces on the sheet however, as I can not draw to the standard I want these pictures to look I asked my mum if she could try come up with something on the pillow case and see if I like it.
The face within the ink gave a ghost kind of feel giving the whole picture more depth. She then put these onto the final backdrop.
Final Backdrop-
I then needed to get the okay from the head of department at college, this ensures that the backdrop is safe to use for the show, this includes making changes like spraying the bedsheets with fire safety spray and making sure that where I put the backdrop doesn’t cover any vents or fire exits. The backdrop is also judged on if it is appropriate for the show for example the head of department may have thought that it looks unprofessional making the show unprofessional this is due to me being new to art.
After looking at the backdrop he decided he defiantly wanted it in the show and thought it was great, however some amendments will need to be made to the backdrop to make it look better above the stage, there will be a wooden board stapled to the back of the backdrop this will allow the backdrop not to crease of fold whilst hanging.
My Skills Audit for Week one can be found here – Week One Skills Audit by creating a skills audit from the beginning and end of my project, I have been able to see my progress and see what I have learned through my research.
Skill
None
A bit but not confident
Basic
Competent
Proficient
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Secondary ResearchÂ
/
I have used a lot more secondary research than in past projects, it’s something I still struggle with however I believe I have defiantly developed this.
Primary Research
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I have used a lot of primary research in this project and have learnt how to research better overall. I have gained a lot of knowledge through this.
Playing Guitar
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At the start of this project I could only accompany myself, however now I have learned to write my own songs and perform live with a guitar
Video Editing
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I believe I have expanded my knowledge dramatically through this project, taking into consideration where I was at, at the start of the year to now has shown me how much research can really help.
Camera Work
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I have learned through trial and error how to use a camera to its full potential and how to shoot good quality images working with an experienced photographer has helped me with this.
Songwriting
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Writing on my own has been a little tricky and I have struggled with confidents slightly, however after gaining some knowledge in writing techniques I believe I have become a better writer.
Vocals
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I had quite a bit of knowledge in singing when I entered this project due to doing vocal examinations and building my confidents through gigs, I feel this has helped my songs progress for this project.
Mixing using logic
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I used logic a lot when creating my demos for the EP this allowed me to practise finding the correct levels and the right amount of effects to put on vocal and guitar, id say I have developed using logic however there is still a lot of space for improvement.
Problem Solving
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I have not came across many problems for this project, this is mainly due to thinking very depth into my plan and allowing space for mistakes.
Communication
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Communication has been a little trickery in this project due to not knowing my producer very well, this is something I have never had to deal with before making it harder, however I managed to work on this by planning meetings and discussions
Documenting process
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I have been extremely strict with myself for this project and have done weekly blogs on my process, this has allowed me to stick to my plan and keep my work organise.
Timing
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When in the studio I struggled with timing with guitar, I managed to overcome this by practising.
I decided to compare each skills audit from week one to week eight, this will allow me to see my progress throughout the project and be able to see my next steps of improvement. One major thing I noticed I have developed through this project is video editing, I made sure to allow myself lots of time to gain lots of new knowledge through my research and trial and error, I can now edit a video wth confidents and professionalism and I can also render a file to a high quality standard. There is still a lot of space for improvement, however I have come a long way since the beginning of the project and I hope to carry on using premiere in the future and carry on making improvements.
Another thing I noticed that I have developed a lot is my guitar playing, I believe I have really started to find my own style/ genre, which is mainly due to building my confidence in playing guitar and learning to write music with an accompaniment, from this I have developed my song writing skills and have learned how to write on my own, although something I need to improve on is performing guitar live. I have recently done a live gig where I have forgotten my chords on stage resulting in having to start the song again, this was a  very easy mistake to make, however to prevent this from happening again I will make sure to not let nerves get the better of me and practise chord changes a lot more, this will hopefully help me in future gigs.
Furthermore, I have made a drastic improvement in my weekly process logs, this is something I was very bad at in my last FMP and resulted in having to catch up last minute, this year I stated in my plan that I would be posting every week and have even set reminders on my phone to ensure I do post, this has helped me be very consistent and organised throughout my project. I have noticed the difference this can really make to a project and the amount of stress it can take off you. I will ensure to take this type of organisation to university.
I have used a range of primary and secondary research in my project, but not as much secondary as I wanted to, I have defiantly broadened my research this year by doing things such as visiting art galleries, carrying out Pre Production and using experimentation however, Â my next step would be to use secondary research more confidently and consistently through my work.
In the future I would like to also broaden my guitar skills, this will hopefully allow me to develop my style more and also help to become more comfortable on stage with a guitar, I will do this by having a few guitar lessons, and learning more of the theory behind guitar playing.
Overall I have found through this process that I have become a better Artist with more confidents and a discovered style, I hope to carry on writing music this way and develop these skills further. I have learned a lot through my FMP and can only learn more in the future, I believe I have gave myself a good platform to start university in September with the new skills I have gained.
This week I managed to finish my video. I was able to make a good quality video which I am happy with by getting feedback and being able to improve and develop the video from this feedback, I also made a Album cover which I believe reflects apon my work very well.
Something that I lacked this week was confidents, I found it very hard to trust my own judgment, Â this something that I feel I have developed a lot in throughout this project, however as video is something I am completely new to since this project I found this a little harder to adjust too. I managed to overcome this by using my Pre Production a lot and researching a little more, another thing I found that helped with this was getting feedback from my peers and tutors, by doing this I was able to gain more knowledge from my research and gain some audience evaluation from my feedback. Overall this enabled me to see my project through different perspectives and allow me to re gain my confidents.
This week I used Brookfield’s Four Lenses Theory and I used the lenses of –
My Focus group – this feedback was vital too my project as everyone in my focus group has seen my project progress from the start, this means that they have a better view on how far the project has come.
My Peers – My peers have not seen any of my work, this brings a fresh set of eyes and ears to the work.
Myself- It is important to bring your own opinion to your work instead of thinking what other people may want to see.
A Professional – Showing Steve Davis my work, someone who has worked on professional videos allowed me to gain a professional view. This is important as I now know that my video looks professional and suits my work.
In my plan it states that I will be starting my music video as soon as the first song is mixed, however I have been told by Dan that none of the songs are ready, this isn’t a problem for now as I am ahead of my plan and have little research to do due to my Pre Production at the start of the project. Furthermore if this is delayed into next week it only allows me two weeks to create my music video. This will put a lot of stress onto me for my last couple of weeks and will mean ill have to rush my work, I tried to avoid this as I wanted to give myself lots of time and be able to enjoy my last weeks of the project. This is a problem I could not have avoided in my planning process, however I will make sure to not waste anytime whilst waiting for the track.
At the start of the week to avoid wasting any time I decided to start looking at my Pre Production this can be found here – Pre Production by doing this I was able to refresh my memory on all the skills I learnt in Premiere. I then gathered all my footage and organised it in a Project Folder, this is something I learnt from Steve Davis allowing you to keep everything in one place and also avoids you loosing footage half way through creating a project, I also learnt this through loosing files from my Pre Production.
I have designed the folder so that it has everything in one place and is easy to follow, this also means that if I’m in a rush I can easily get to certain files easily.
I then imported these folders into a new Premiere project-
Now that I am all set up to create my video I decided to do a little more research on film making. To begin with I looked at a video created by Odisho J. (2018) this whole video focusses on using Premiere quicker and more efficiently, this allows me to start my music video with experience, something that I learnt from this, that I know will help my project is if you press (L) on your keyboard in premiere it allows you to watch your video in 2X the speed, this will allow me to go through my clip and find any faults quickly.
I also learnt from this research that you can ‘Nest’ split clips this allows you to highlight split clips and make them one whole clip, I know from my pre production that I will be having a lot of split clips due to this style of music video I am going for because of this I decided to try out this shortcut.
I then looked into the best ways to Rendering or bouncing my final video, this is something I struggled with in my pre production and resulted in a poor quality image, I also know because I will be publishing this on youtube I will need to create a smaller file which still has good quality. I came across a video by Matt Whoismatt Johnson. (2018) on youtube on this video it went into depth detail about what settings to have on a premiere file which is going to be posted on youtube, from this I could then figure out what settings I should have on my project just from the sample rate of my video clips this was 25.
I then rendered my video from my Pro production with these settings and posted it on youtube, this gave me a estimate on the quality it would give my final piece and the time it would take to render and upload to youtube.
As you can see from this video, this quality is extremely high, I will ensue to save these preset setting for my final video. I then decided to do a final test on my Pre production video which was rendered badly and compare it to the same video but rendered correctly with the new setting I have learned, I instantly saw the difference of quality compared to my original, this can be found here –
Pre production video Rendered badly –
Pre production video Rendered correctly –
The second upload took half the time and resulted in a much better quality picture.
Later on in the week I was helping Angel, my peer, with her show , this included me helping with setup and helping with vocal warm ups, this is something I have learnt to do through past projects.
Bibleography
Odisho J. (2018). 10 Life Saving Adobe Premiere Pro CC Editing Tips, Tricks & Shortcuts Tutorial. [Online Video]. 12 December 2016. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLQKvhBLEhM. [Accessed: 21 May 2018].
Matt Whoismatt Johnson. (2018). How To Export HD Video in Premiere Pro CC for YouTube, Vimeo, & Facebook. [Online Video]. 12 February 2017. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-_MwtGaHjA. [Accessed: 14 May 2018]
My plan states that It would be my final week of recording however this will be my first week, meaning Im going to have to work very hard this week to ensure I reach my deadline.
I decided to start the video from the ending as I believe that the Outro of the song has the most emotion and effect on the audience I started by editing the ink I made sure to do this due to the glare that I received from the footage I filmed, to reduce this I turned up the exposure and contrast I then changed the black and white effects the make the colours stand out more, once I found the correct levels for the ink I then changed the levels for the rest of the footage. This will save me time as I’m adding more into the video. Once I found a outro that I liked I then decided to get some feedback as I was a little unconfident due to not doing any editing since the start of the project.
Firstly I asked my peer what he thought, he stated that the music really suited the video he also said the ink really made his mind wonder, this pleased me as my aim was to let the viewer decide what they see through the ink and let them decide the meaning of it threw there eyes.
I then decided to start to work on the beginning of the video, this was due to the beginning also being an important part of the song. Due to the style of video I am creating I am able to work on different sections in different orders, this will allow myself to be more creative without thinking too much about the technical side of things. I decided to focus a lot on matching the picture to the drum beat, I believe this allows the piece to flow better and can create a more professional looking video. This also allowed me to use the Reverse effect and be able to change the speed of a clip, these are all effects that I used a lot in my Pre Production because of this I am confident using these techniques and know how to make them give the best effect.
Once I was done with the beginning all that was left was the middle section, this was a little tricky to start due to the middle section of the song not having much happening within it, I also didn’t want to over use any footage, I decided to leave the middle section and come back to to it with a refreshed mindset.
Whilst I was trying to come up with some new ideas for the middle section I decided to use the breaking glass effect which I found from a video on youtube, I speak about this more in my last post- Week 7- Rights. I decided to use this effect to fill in any gaps within the beginning and end sections, however I did not want to over use this effect as I wanted the majority of the footage to be my own.
I then came back to the middle section with a few new ideas, firstly I looked into the split screen effect, this is something I have looked a lot into during my Pre Production stage, however when I tried this out I decided it really didn’t suit the piece, the main issue I had with this effect was the transition to and from the split screen, to me this didn’t seem smooth and looked un professional. This is a short clip of an example of the use of a split screen.
I then added some different coloured tones to the Ink footage this changed up the look of the Ink.
After a bit of work I finally had my first version of my music video, I decided I would render this and put this on youtube allowing myself to know how long it will take for my final video, I then decided to gather some feedback on the first draft and then start working on my second draft with the feedback I have gained.
Music Video – 1st Draft
I decided to show Nick, my tutor and Steve Davis from my Focus Group, I thought that nick could give feedback based on the emotion and Steve could give the a technical side of the feedback.
Nick stated-
There needs to be more consistency with the Ink effect
Clips of the trees are a little boring
Brocken Glass works, however you could change the colour of the image
Flows well as a piece
Ending is great
Make it more psychedelic with more Ink
Steve Stated –
Some sections are out of time
The use of clips from youtube could cause the project to be extra slow due to having two different sample rates.
The ending works well
End shot could work as an album cover
More Ink needed
This feedback was really helpful to me and has really made me think into new ideas especially looking more into Psychedelic effects which I could add, I believe the song itself comes across as quite mysterious because of this I believe that adding more effects could really enhance this. I also didn’t realise that having two different clips that are different sample rates could slow down a project folder, this could be where I went wrong in my Pre Production.
Nick also told me to show a few peers in my class who have more knowledge in Psychedelic bands and looks, this would allow a more in depth response to this effect and be able to compare it to other psychedelic bands work.
He stated-
In the outro you could add a lot more crazy ideas this could be layering your face over one and other.
The Breaking glass makes me think of the breaking point emotionally
The video needs more colour.
I found that colour kept being brought up in my feedback because of this I decided to go threw the video and enhance the colour of each image, I then added some more colourful ink effects as I used mostly black in in my first video.
I then decided to look more into Psychedelic videos and see what effects these videos use,i found that most of these videos where animated I started by looking at videos by Phychedlic Tripps. (2018) these videos were very eye catching however would be hard to create being new to premiere. I then looked at tutvid. (2016) to see how these videos can be created, there are many ways of doing this, however these were mainly done by transition fades and adjustment layers, these are both something I haven’t done before and due to my time schedule I didn’t want to spend a lot of time on it.
I then came across a video by Williamskannerup. (2010) this was a short clip showing a fly views lenses, this included multiple images pixilated, this got me thinking about having multiple images of the same thing layered on top of one and other, I then started playing around with premier – this was my result –
I then got some feedback on this and it was mainly positive however something that was said was the transition could be smoother, I then worked on this clip editing the timing of the crossfade effect, in the end I decided to get rid of the crossfade this made the layered clips come into the screen without a fade, at first I thought this looked unprofessional however after improving the timing I decided it worked.
By the end of the week I managed to finish my Music video. I decided to get my focus group together to watch my music video and listen to my final tracks, this will allow me to gain a wider understanding of my audiences thoughts and allow me to understand what emotions are portrayed through my songs and the video.
All Tracks –
I showed my focus group everything that I had done in the order above, this was the feedback I received-
This is my focus group, I have written a little about each member in my presentation, from left to right it goes – Steve Davis, Angel Lawson, Mark Robinson and Teide Bryce.
Whilst I was getting my feedback I decided to write down all the key points that I picked up.
“I Can’t Sleep”
Feedback
Lyrically strong
Songwriting skills have improved
Slide guitar could be louder
Base could be lower
Snare drops out too soon
Vocally strong
Phychedlic
“Take me or Leave Me”
Feedback
Vocally Strong – harmonies work
Base sound could be lower
Shocks the viewer – electronic
Weird but works
Beatles comes to mind when hearing this
Lyrically – chorus works
Vocals could be louder
Music Video
Feedback
Major improvement from first version
Professional
Weird and wacky suits the songs
New genre being discovered
Guitar playing has improved
Strongest things were the vocal and the song writing
I then got Feedback on my final track “My Daughter” however forgot to press record for this.
Different from the other tracks
Vocal is strong
A little bit cheesy but it works
Would song good live
Different guitar method from the others
Drums could be louder
It was vital that got this feedback at the end of my project from my focus group, this allowed me to see where I can improve in the future and also see how far I have come from the start of the year. Something that was said to have improved the most from the start of the year was my vocals and my songwriting, these are both things that I have been focusing a lot d have done a lot of research on, I hope to carry on improving in these areas and discover my style more, this will make the writing process of a song easier and make me a better artist.
Some of my feedback I received I did not fully agree with, however I have learned that it is important to take on board all feedback wether you agree with it or not, this way you have built a true audiences perspective, for example something that was mentioned in this feedback was that the base in the song “Take Me Or Leave Me” did not match the style of the piece, at first when I heard the new mix of the song I thought the same thing, however I believe I had to go away and come back to the song to really gain a clear perspective, I think this is due to the songs having such a different style to the first version.
Bibliography
Phychedlic Tripps. (2018). NEW 2016 Psychill Psychedelic 3D Visual Progressive Trippy Music Mix. [Online Video]. 26 November 2015. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVb5GV6lntU. [Accessed: 29 May 2018].
Phychedlic Tripps. (2016). NEW 2016 Psychedelic Psychill 3D Visual Progressive Music Mix. [Online Video]. 16 August 2015. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t3XYNxnUBs. [Accessed: 29 May 2018].
tutvid. (2016). The Best Blurred Zooming Transition Effect – Premiere Pro Tutorial. [Online Video]. 18 August 2017. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgUCamkkcC0. [Accessed: 29 May 2018].
Samantha Neilson FMP Site 