Evaluation
My initial proposal for my project was to create a music video which was just going to involve me due to implications of my project last year that made working with multiple others and many variables made it incredibly hard to finish and i ran into many issues.
This music video was going to surround the issues of my own life that i am currently going through and have been experiencing for a long time and then turning that into a song as well as a video that i would see suit in my head. I would say for i definitely made the piece that i wanted for my project as compared to last year it was so much easier to watch, there's a theme to the video i'm incredibly happy with how the visuals turned out and the story works out in the video and as well as this it's something that i am personally happy with not just visually but also when it comes to the music itself which for me i had a lot of self doubt surrounding the fact of am i going to be able to make a track from a beat found online that i'm fully happy with and that i enjoy the sound of myself enough to share it with others and be happy with it, i can happily say that i am incredibly happy with the overall project in all areas.
It's going to allow me to showcase it to others which i already have on my social media and hopefully attract people in order to want to work with me which currently i have a friend from secondary school who has seen this video and likes it a lot and is fully up for me shooting a music video for him and his new band, which for me is way more than i ever could have wanted as the main purpose of this project was to just be able to create something im happy with enough to showcase it to others let alone now get work because of it.
I would when it comes to making the whole overall video better i could have blended in the tvs a tad more with the visuals that i was layering behind them in premiere pro. Also there was some shots that i had taken which use the green screen and due to the fact that we was moving around in the studio a lot and not every environment that was chosen we lit properly i could have done a lot more to make sure that all of the other shots that i had would have allowed me to easily use the ultra key tool in order to crop these shots out better and not have to use rotobrushing. As Well as this there was a lot of spill on some of my shots in the 2nd to last edit that is clearly visible i mean i am going to the jaggedy distorted look where that's meant to be all there but i could have touched it up a lot more to prevent that however for the final video with my overlay on the top it looks amazing and even when it comes to the zoom during the video for the 1st verse the way the colour drains from some parts of the video to me looks amazing and i'm very happy with the final edit of the video overall it's definitely something that i didn't think initially when i started all of this i would end up producing.
I think that when it comes to my target audience for my video i have achieved what i wanted as the 16-24 age range that i'm going for would be interested in the visuals that i have created as there isn't too much in order to stray focus away from what i am saying in the whole track which is what i wanted as the main focus is meant to be about me talking about the fact that i from a young age have been suffering with depression and anxiety and how it's affected me and what i do in order to cope with it and the fact that what i am doing and have been doing is never going to fix everything for me and that its slowly getting worse week by week and i'm fed up overall of the situation that i am in and that i need to do something now to get up out and over it all . as well as that i think that situations such as me being late for college and not caring about it can be very relatable for kids around my age as it's definitely something that through my whole 4 years in college that i've experience as my attendance is horrible and no one has ever really cared or tried to enforce it on me. And also the factors of that people can still be going through all of these things that im experience yet they feel like they don't wanna drag others down with them and they will detach themselves from others to avoid feeling like a burden and just to make sure that they put others around them first instead of themselves no matter how low they feel mentally.
I also feel like when it comes to my shooting and editing i would have like to found out a lot more about the use of green screens and mainly lighting to make sure that no matter if the shot or scene changes that i still have the same lighting as the scenes shot before so that in post it means i have a lot less to do and makes it look so much better overall in the final product.
When it comes to my research for my project i would say that my main focus for me was going to be the research into my visuals and from last year that was something that i wanted to improve on a lot and i can happily say that i did that especially with the ideas that i had for my video that i put into effect with things such as the use of fake blood for a scene and also even the silver grill as i thought that would look amazing for when it comes to the final video. And also the research that i done when it come to different outfit choices ie straight jackets etc would have been nice to have used for my final video as it would have allowed me to add multiple different types of shots other then my eyes mouth and face and would have still been able to represent the same type of feel for the video. I think that having someone who knew properly how to use the camera would have helped me a lot but not just that as i am still very happy with most of the shots that i have got but just having someone there who is on the same wavelength when it comes to my ideas and has more knowledge that me and is able to bounce ideas back and forth between each other in order to then create more things and come up with different shot ideas that i wouldn't have been able to create all myself. I also could as an option ran the video that i created finally minus a lot of the effects through the tv projection set up used that my mate had for his project and then seen the outcome of how that would have looked like and then effectively used the vision board mixer there to do some of the things that i would have done in post myself and seen how it would have changed the overall outcome and then film that.
When it comes to problems and solving them for this project it was a large improvement from my FMP last year which was littered with everything from people dropping out and having to come up with more lyrics to even going to shoot locations and not being able get from them what i wanted. But this year my problems have been minimal i would say when it came to the ideas of the track and the video one main problem was getting the lyrics onto paper and allowing myself to get back into writing music and then before hand finding a beat online that i like the sound of and would feel comfortable using and that i would sound ok on, and after hours of searching and hundreds of different beats i managed to find what i wanted and its worked very well and multiple people fully enjoy what i have created which for my is amazing. Other problems that i ran into when it came too shooting was the grill falling out my mouth due to the fact that the mould went wrong and it wouldnt stay in for longer than 20 seconds at a time due to the way in which my mouth was moving for the lyrics however i managed to overcome this easily by sectionising my filming and transitions in post. I also had many problems when it came to editing my video as my computer blue screened a few times when it came to using after effects linked to my premier project and also the rotoscoping process for some of my shots that originally i was meant to just be able to key out took hours of frame by frame rotoscoping but overall i'm incredibly happy with how i worked around all of these problems for my filming that i faced.
I would have to say that the main problem for me personally would be the writers block as such due to the fact that i know once i have the track written the ideas would naturally come to me however it's just getting the track written down and having it make sense and then the fact that i had to be able to make it work with the beat and be happy with the way that i sound there was many varying factors. As Well as this the subject matter of this song is something that i doubt a lot of people would like to broadcast to the amount of people that i have done so it wasn't fully a problem but at first i was doubting myself alot and was wondering if there was any point in me doing this for my project and does anyone actually care, but now i've done it and got my feedback on it from multiple different people i feel like i'm very glad to have got it all of my chest and in a way it's become therapeutic to know that i'm able to make something good out of the bad situation that i have been in and am still currently in.
When it came to the whole planning process of my video i already had a few ideas for some of the shots that i wanted and then i decided that i want all of these shots places into a scene as such so i filmed my mates fmp set up in the tv studio and had him run through it video that i had created for a backdrop and then had the intentions of rotoscoping out the tvs and placing whatever i wanted behind them in the layers and also at the same time layering something behind the tv screen on where the projection is on the wall which all of these things i ended up doing. So there was a few shots in my original plan that i wanted to use which was of me sat at the desk with my whole body in frame and me sat on top ot the desk with the same setting however i didn't like the way there shots turned out in the end and it would have taken way more work then needed for when it came to editing these and getting them to look how i wanted as the lighting for them with the use of the green screen did not goto plan.
I think that having a rough idea of my plan on paper helped me out alot and allowed me to implement more things onto that plan and compare it to new ideas instead of just having the whole plan in my head and then end up forgetting multiple different factors of my plan. I think that my overall time frame of my work compared to last year when i was editing still 3 to 4 hours before the deadline has improved a lot however i probably could have spread it out a bit more in order to release a lot of stress for myself but due to the fact that the track was finished the day before the shoot and that i had to record it when home alone due to my personal reasons and that i was going to need help with my video when it came to shooting yet my friend also had his own FMP to shoot did have a lot to play in when i could get it all done however for the 2 to 3 weeks i completed all of the practical elements for the video and song i'm incredibly happy with the overall outcome as its something im more than happy to showcase to others and i was for weeks i was doubting myself if i could even do it . i would say in the future i should create the track already before the project even started in order to make sure that i have fully got everything that i needed to start and also bounce ideas off others in order to see what they think and get multiple different views.
When it came to the production elements i was very happy with the fact that i got everything shot for my video in the 2 days of filming and i honestly don't think that side of it could have improved that much other then making sure that i had the green screen in the green screen room for both of the days and making sure the scenes are all lit properly.
When it comes to my own practical skills for this project i think that across the board i have improved in every single aspect of the filming editing directing and music . because as comparing it to last year which is the main focus about this project to produce something better i have fully done that. personally i think that when it comes to the filming i have improved a lot the shots that i was able t get for my video along with the use of many new items such as the c100 and blackmagic record assist has helped me get a lot better quality out of my video as well as 10 bit depth when it comes to the colour of the video meaning i can do a lot more with it in post. For the editing i have followed a theme as such set all of my clips into a scene used different shots for my clips and incorporated what was originally in the scene as well as what i wanted to add myself and i think that it flows very well and that i have not overdone it with effects like i did for my last project.
When it comes to the directing of the video i have made sure i got all the shots that i wanted and they look how i want them too , i could of improved on the shots that i didn't use however i made sure to overshoot on my video so that i would be able to not have to use everything. The filming side of things was done mostly by my friend so i have improved when it comes to the knowledge of how to use the new camera and black magic box and its allowed me to be able to use them whenever i need in order to get better quality overall in order to play with in post with the PROres format even tho the file sizes are insanely big. And finally when it comes to the music compared to last year i picked a beat online instead of one made by my friend and its come out very well also having just myself on the track i've had to come up with stuff that makes sense, but also means alot to me which i think that i have effectively done for my project and its listenable along with the flow working well with the track and nothing's too over the top.so im very happy with the new skills that i have improved on and next time i would say that i would like to test out things more and try approaching different parts of the video and music side of things from other angles and bouncing ideas off others in order to see what can be created.
When it comes to my website i wanted to make something that drags you through the process of everything that i have created ideas that i have had and things that i have done of the whole FMP period i wanted to make sure that they were all sectioned into tabs like asked and some of the posts do overlap in the tabs mainly due to the fact that they are in involved in multiple different areas of my project. I also didn't want to make some fancy looking website so i made sure that it was simply import of all my work from tumblr into different sections and then the final tab which was a link to the work that i had created on youtube as i wanted to show the video after i've shown everything to make sure that when presenting my teachers will still have no idea on what i have created for the video and can compare it to what they have pieced together in there head from everything that i have shown and explained to them. I want to make sure that i am adding to the website when i talk and not simply reading from the screen.
To conclude overall for this FMP i have learnt that it's definitely better to minimize the factors that can possibly go wrong for my project when it comes to all areas of it. As Well as this even tho i constantly doubt myself with most things that i do in life i am still able to create awesome things and even though i don't want to fully believe this as i think personally it would get to my head and i'm not that kind of person.the project that i have created is miles better the last years it's viewable there's a theme to it, you can listen to the track and it's something that means alot to me and is very personal so for me to be able to share my story and have full control from everything to the visuals the beat even down to the shot choice has made me incredibly happy as its all coming from my own image and creative process and to be able to have people help me on this project and them be able to see what i'm trying to get at has made things even better . as being creatively on the same wavelength as someone else and being comfortable and having no judgement can allow for many creative advances in the project.
As it is a music video i have created and when it comes to what i want to do later on in life with freelance work this is one of the main areas i want to focus on i would say that it has helped a lot with this as its something i can happily show people for when it comes to what i have done and worked on and even after having it on my social media for a day or two i have received lots of good feedback and even an offer of work to shoot a music video for my mates band which for me is a amazing when it comes to what i was hoping the outcome of this video being shown to others would allow me to do and getting offers from others to shoot and edit videos means i can finally get my foot in the door and create more things.
This FMP has done what i wanted it too and hopefully with no moving onto university i will be able to improve on this and get to a near perfect video over the next few years when it comes to working together with others shooting videos for people collaborating with all factors of the production and enjoying it all whilst i create it as for me none of this seems like work or a burden to my life and if i can make a living from doing this which is what is what i love i will never have to see it as another day of work again.