Sonny and Cher exercise evaluation

In this post I will be evaluating my second lip syncing exercise to see if I have improved from the  last one that I done.

So to film this lip sync exercise we done the same as before and done different takes so we had a variety of footage to use. 1 shot was positioned on both singers and 2 shots were positioned from the side to see just one singer, there was a dolly shot that moved around the singers and the last shot was a low angle looking up at both. We used the same equipment (camera, tripod and dolly) and the singers sung out loud again to have to correct mouth movements to make the lip syncing realistic and believable.

We used the same technique to edit which is called layering. This is the best technique we have learned to edit music videos and it provides quick editing of multiple layers so that the sequence is more cohesive and the best take is playing at the best time.

I think this exercise went very well as I was able to easily sync together the audio to the visuals meaning that the singers sang in time very well. This means that the sequence looked more professional as the timing was good. Furthermore the continuity of the sequence was very good as we made sure that they kept doing to same actions each take for example the hand of the microphone pole was always there when it needed to be. Lastly, in this second exercise we fixed the issue of framing as we put the shorter singer on a chair so she would be the same height as the other; this is an issue we had last time so this time we improvised to solve this.

However not everything in the exercise when well. The lighting is causing both singers foreheads to glow and isn't very flattering. Therefore this makes the sequence less professional. Another issue is that as the dolly was being used on carpet the effect was less smooth and this is noticeable as the camera shakes and doesn't look steady.

From this exercise we were told to focus more on editing to the beat as this is what real music videos tend to do. Therefore in this exercise we learned how to make our final music video more professional.

Sonny and Cher lip syncing exercise

Here is a video singing Sonny and Cher. We have done this exercise to get more practise of editing to the beat and along getting the lip sync in time.

Elton John exercise evaluation

In this post I will be evaluating my lip syncing exercise that I done so that I could get experience in making music videos.

So to film this lip sync exercise we done 4 different takes so we had a variety of footage to use. 1 shot was positioned on both singers and 2 shots were positioned from the side to see just one singer. The last take was filmed on a dolly and moved around both singers. We did not need any sound equipment as the song will be inserted in and all other audio deleted so we only used a camera, dolly and tripod to film. To make the singing look more realistic the singers sung the song out load so there mouth movement is real.

To edit this exercise we used a new technique called layering where we layer all the takes on top and get them in sync with the song; then at certain parts of the song we cut pieces out of the layer so it reveals the clip underneath that layer.

I think this exercise went very well as I was able to easily sync together the audio to the visuals meaning that the singers sang in time very well. This means that the sequence looked more professional as the timing was good. Also the dolly shot was very smooth and the arc on which it moved was a very good and accurate circle so the shot kept to singers in shot and the microphone stayed in the centre.

However not everything in the exercise when well. There are some cases where the singers may have missed a line and therefore they are not singing at the time they need to be. This is something we could have improved on as the singers could have had more practise so they know all their lines or we should have kept filming till they got it right. Furthermore being as the singers height difference is big, the framing wasn't so good when we tried to do a medium shot of both. Their heads were not in the frame properly.

From this exercise we used the dolly for the first time so this is a new skill that we learned; we can utilise this equipment so that it will be very helpful for our final music video as this will add a shot variety.

Elton John lip syncing exercise

In this exercise we had to use a different style of editing where we layer multiple footage on top of each other and cut down to the certain clip to get shown at that time. This is because we had a lip syncing task and this technique is how professionals make music videos; therefore this is early practise for our final product later on. Here is our lip sync exercise below:

My production team

This post is about me and my team who will be working together for the whole year to complete the task described in the brief. 

My team consists of:

• Me (Louis Russell) and my main role will be filming and editing. My strengths are filming, editing and directing. I don't really have a certain taste of music as i listen to the current hits no matter the genre.
• Shelby Poll who will be starring in the products and will be organising everything from planning to the final product. Her strengths are acting and idea generating. Her taste of music is R&B, Hip/Hop, Rap , House and Garage.
• Sarah Warren who will also be starring and will help me edit and plan. Her strengths are figuring out the best possible route to make an idea better and costume/design/setting and props. Her taste in music is Indie, rock and alternative. 

Here is a picture of all our members 

The brief

Here is my task that i will have to complete by the end of year 13. This task is based around the music industry meaning that we will have to make a final product of a music video.

My task is to produce:

• A music ‘promo’ video

• Up to 5 minutes

• Either working on my own or in a group of up to four members

I also need to produce:

• A ‘digipak’ (Six panels) for its release on CD

• A magazine advertisement for the digipak

 In addition to my ‘promo’ video i will have to produce:

• A critical evaluation

Welcome

Welcome to my A2 media studies blog. I will be going to make a promotional package for a new artist/band; i will be showing my progress from research and planning to evaluating our final product which will be a music video. This blog all also include some features that we learned in year 12 to hopefully make this blog and our products even better.