Music Video Remake Evaluation

Did you enjoy the workshop day? What were your best bits and why? 

Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire day as I found I was never without
something to do. I especially enjoyed shadowing Harrison, our director, and gaining a better insight into his role on set, as well as working the camera for a couple of shots and feeding the wire. Most of all however I enjoyed my time on the other side of the camera, dancing as a whole group for the 'Union Jack' set ups, even though it got very tiring towards the end. Getting ready before-hand was also fun and I enjoyed helping others with their hair and make-up. Overall the experience of being involved in a semi-professional shoot was extremely rewarding and entertaining and a memory that I will remember for a long time.

What have you learnt from participating in each of the prelim tasks? 

Analysing a music video

Here I learnt the key conventions of a performance music video, in particular the technique and importance of discontinuous editing.  

Creating an audition video 

This was a probably the most fun prelim task and prepared me well for my performance on the day of the shoot. I learnt how to lipsynch and be more confident on camera and know what looks good.

Learning the performance 

This was also a very fun part of the project, as I enjoy dancing a lot. Being a principle dancer enabled me to help others learn the dance and I realised the importance of working as a team for the project.

Planning and organising costumes

The main lesson I learnt here was to immediately flag up issues I was having with gathering my costume as it would be a lot easier to resolve witht he help of others.

Are you pleased with the footage and your edit? Is it how you expected it to look? 

I am quite impressed with the footage as it looks a lot more professional than I thought it would do. The edit is also quite impressive as it matches up to the original video quite accurately. However there are certain shots we did not get and so had to work with what we had to the best of our abilities.

 

How do you think your prelim experiences will impact on your approach to next term's music video coursework? 

Next term I will have a much clearer idea of how to run a music video shoot. In particular:

• I will definitely plan each stage of the music video, creating deadlines along the way and ensuring they are met so that the project is finished on time and as least stressful as possible.  
• I will feel a lot more confident in front of the camera if I ultimately end up appearing in a music video.
• Editing a music video in a discontinuous style will be more familiar to me and I could perhaps be more adventurous with my editing style and technique.        
  
  

Homework DYM: Music Video Analysis

The video I will be analysing for this homework is by PSY- Gangnam Style. I am using the 15 top key features of a performance video to structure my analysis.

1. There is a clear link between the music and imagery- usually when there is a change of beat the video will cut to a new shot. The lyrics also dictate changes in shots, only less often than the music. The music is very upbeat, which matches the bright and striking imagery such as the carousel and city skyline shots.

2. The performance drives the video as the main dance is repeated during the chorus with lots of interesting imagery inbetween making the audience watch on. The video is more conceptual than narrative as a story is not being told, whereas there are horses for example which is what the famous trotting dance move is emulating. 

3. PSY lip-syncs throughout most of the video and it is believable as it matches the lyrics. 

4. The main artist appears to switch from performance to in-character performance at 0.48 where he is with another two men in a sauna. 

5. There is lively singing and dancing throughout the video, showcasing PSY's talents and conforming to his well known lively persona. 

6. The performance is definitely striking as there are many random images of various settings such as a hot tub, horse stables, on what appears to be a party coach and on top of a building etc. This makes the video engaging as the audience always wonders what will appear on screen next and can enjoy the surprises and shocks. 

7. Many various sets are used are there are many various locations features in the video, PSY's costumes along with the main female roles' are very stylised and make-up looks flawless as expected in a high concept music video. 

8. The video develops and builds up to the main dance sequence in the final shot of the music video. 

9. PSY's wacky dance moves and outifts are typical of the image he has created for himself, thus strongly reinforcing his identity. This creativity can be considered aspiration to many, especially his fans. 

10. Beauty and money shot can be seen at 0.08 when there is a CU of PSY's face. 

11. There are no real strong opposites and juxtapositions shown in the video however there are differences between the male and female characters, settings and some outfits such as the casual wear PSY is dressed in when he is on a boat compared to his usual smart suit attire. 

12. The editing is discontinuous- cutting to and back to various shots, and switching between close ups and long shots for example. 

13. South Koreans may be able to appreciate the included popular culture references more than audiences from other parts of the world- they may recognise locations features in the video and 'Gangnam' itself is actually a district in South Korea. 

14. The song does not appear to have any strong meaning or message, and is more of a novelty for pure fun, enjoyment and engagement of the audience as they are able to replicate his moves.

15. The video has proved to be extremely popular with audiences, with over 1.6 billion views on YouTube.