My name is Gabriel Meytanis (candidate number 8560). I completed Brief 1:Music Industry, working in Group 2 with Georgina Harper-Dennett (8720) and Phoebe Hung (8017). Our group photo can be seen on the right of the page. To access my portfolio evidence, please click on the labels to the right named A2 Research and Planning, A2 Construction and A2 Evaluation.
GiGi - Sit Still, Look Pretty (Group 2 Music Video)
Digipak
The inside and outside panels of our Digipak
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A time lapse of how the studio setup changed during the shoot day
I really enjoyed the main workshop shoot day for a number of reasons:
-The day itself was very enjoyable, and I was kept busy & occupied throughout the day - including operating the clapperboard, gaining advice from the crew & being a runner when not needed on set.
-I enjoyed the opportunity to act as a backing dancer and play numerous roles.
-During the day, it was a valuable chance to gain good advice and potentially network with industry professionals, from director Dom and ADs Chris & Amy, to cameraman Ed, costume director Olivia and makeup artists Natalie & Kenzie.
-I found it was useful to observe the setup and roles of the people involved, as we will need to replicate this for our own projects next term.
Some of the crew: 1st AD Amy, cameraman Ed & 2nd AD Chris
Our director Dom with cameraman Ed
-My roles:
My roles included playing 4 backing dancers in the hip hop, band, cheerleading & end dance setups - my main role was as the 'main cheerleader dancer'.
Some of the roles which I undertook on the shoot day.
I also did some running work when not needed on set.
My best bits:
I feel my best bits included:
-Taking advice and information from industry professionals such as the lighting setup and the breakdown of the camera.
-'Playing' the saxophone in the band setup.
-Performing the cheerleading routine: especially as we had put so much hard work into learning the routine over the previous 2 weeks, and as this was my main role.
The first task which we had to complete involved creating an audition video to help cast our group in the video's respective roles. Personally, I thought that it was also a good chance to boost the group's confidence.
Positives I was able to take from the audition video included:
-Learning how to lipsync properly (including actually singing so that the vocal cords could be seen)
-The importance of learning the song lyrics to ensure the video stayed professional
-Being prepared to loosen up and stay confident to avoid appearing uninterested or nervous
-The need to shoot multiple angles, takes and variations of shots to keep the video entertaining, and in case one shot wasn't suitable
-Laying a performance bed and editing the video to match closely with the real track
We had to stay confident of both knowing the lyrics and performing without being fazed
Task 2 - Learn and practice your performance
Our next task was to learn and practice our various performances for the remake video. For 2 weeks, we spent time after school boosting our confidence, improving our acting & performance skills and learning numerous dance routines for the shoot day - when all of our training would come together.
Positives I was able to take from practice:
-We had the chance to work with industry professionals who gave us useful advice.
Our dance coach Tasha, and performance coach Jasmine
Tasha, our dance coach, helped us learn and perfect our moves whilst Jasmine, our performance coach, boosted our enthusiasm and confidence through facial exercises & games like "woohah!", whilst ensuring we mirrored the actions and expressions of the performers in the real video.
-We were able to use videos of the real video and routines, which I felt was also helpful to use when rehearsing.
Tasha's practice video, which we used to
help us learn the main cheerleading routine.
Task 3 - Help to plan and organise your costume
My selection of costumes for the music video
Because there were a number of different setups for the video (where Taylor and the cast are in a different role each time) we were required to bring in as many different costumes as we could, which required good planning and organisation. We referred to an individual costume sheet, and were assigned a hanger for the shoot day (see above) for each individual person & setup.
My individual costume list, detailing required clothes
On the shoot day, I realised how important organisation would be, and I thought the hanger system was very useful to help with this. I found that both costume references and make-up references are vital, and needed in order to keep the cast - and the shoot - looking professional.
Each setup, or scene, required a different costume (end dance, band, cheerleading, hip hop)
Task 5 - Complete the Remake Edit
Finally, having successfully completed the shoot day, we had to piece together the various shots & match the audio with the various Taylors' lipsyncing. Once more, we had to edit in groups: I edited with Georgina & Matt. I was a little surprised at just how long it took to ensure the audio and mouth movements matched precisely, though our group worked really well and completed it without fuss.
Positives I was able to take away from editing:
-I understood that there were differences between editing a music video and the film opening - including less of a need for continuity rules & a flowing story.
-I realised how useful it was to edit the sequence in sections, rather than chronologically - this made it easier to assign roles to our editing group, and prevented confusion as to where we had progressed to.
-I consolidated my knowledge of key frames, using it to apply movement and zooms to shots where there was previously no camera movement.
Grading effect controls
left before grading vs right after (please click to enlarge)
-I also learnt new techniques, such as tweaking scale width to invert a shot.
Overall, I would say that I am extremely pleased with how the project panned out, and it is largely how I expected it to look. Admittedly it was naturally not quite perfect, with a couple of shots not at the correct frame speed to slow down smoothly, and others included to replace certain impossible shots (e.g backflips & stunts). Nonetheless, I am still very pleased with our edit:
-I was pleased that we were able to grade the shots pretty well, emphasising the saturation of the end dance & cheerleading, and tweaking the colour of highlights, mids & shadows well for other setups.
(left) Before grading vs After grading (right)
Our Premiere Pro workspace when grading a shot
-The shots were cut very accurately, both when matching frames to the original and also when matching the audio with the lipsync. This helped to keep it professional.
-I felt that the footage itself was really entertaining whilst looking very professional with the various outfits and makeup.
Some feedback quotes from the crew
Some things I would change include perhaps toning down some of the grading, as the colour of some highlights was maybe too extreme, and as a result some skin tones appeared off-colour. Also, we could have cut some shots such as the cheerleader jump at 2:40 in order to make Taylor's movement appear more natural. Additionally, we forgot to increase the frame speed for some shots in slow-motion. This meant that they didn't look smooth at all when they were slowed down, and we will have to be wary of this if we use slow-mo in our own project.
Next term we must be able to apply the skills from this prelim task to our own original music video for an existing song. I am very much looking forward to embarking on the project, not just because I enjoyed the remake process, but also as I am interested to see how I can apply the skills taken from the task as well as how my group tackles choreography, performance and creating a specific brand for the artist chosen next term.
(please click to enlarge) Next term, we will have the option to again use the studio - this time for our own music videos.
At the pre-production & production stages:
-I believe that my organisation skills have improved, and that I could produce organised and detailed costume & prop lists, shootboards & call sheets for our own music video.
-I now have a far better understanding of music video conventions, such as the inclusion of hero shots (required by the record label), actions matching the song's lyrics & the option of numerous setups (see below). I hope to include as many of these conventions as possible in our own music video.
Action matches lyric
Beauty/Hero shot
Jump cuts
Mixture of scenarios & performance
-I have gained a huge range of performance skills, including properly lipsycing & dancing, which can be transferred if need be to the A2 project. We could also use these when choreographing the video.
-Although I may need a recap and a little more info on how to operate equipment properly, I feel that I could quickly learn to setup the Seward studio for a shoot if needed. I know what each aspect of the studio setup is, and feel confident having taken advice from director Dom, assistant director Chris and camera operator Ed.
I feel that with a little more training, I would be able
to set up the studio for our own shoot if needed.
At the post-production stage:
-The knowledge of music video conventions gained during this prelim can also be translated into editing, as we will be able to include jump cuts & won't have to adhere to continuity rules - unlike during the film project.
-I feel that the editing skills gained this term (grading, inverting shots, adding movement & zoom) can be potentially valuable when editing our own video, and I will hope to use these to enhance our own video.
In conclusion...
I have really enjoyed the A2 prelim task. The process - including dance training and the opportunity to work with professional coaches & crew - was fantastic. I now hope that the performance & production skills gained, alongside the editing skills which I consolidated, can be put into practice next term.
I hope next term's project can be as enjoyable, and that I can use my new skills.
