Evaluation- Bryony Pearce

Evaluation of Music Video ‘Contagious Chemistry’ by You Me At Six

In comparison to the previous project, where we worked in larger groups, this brief explained that we were to work in smaller groups, either 2 or 3 persons, to create a promotional music video for the short film that we created ,which in this case, was called ‘Rejected’. Here we had the opportunity to work with people from outside of the group that we were in for unit 23, and work with people that worked on the short film ‘Oli’.Here I was given the opportunity to work with people that I haven’t experienced working with before, and to further my experience in terms of leadership even though I have had experience of this in many previous units.

When picking the people that I would work with within the project, I had already said to Bo Kelly that I would work with her on this project because she foresaw that she would be most passionate and hard working as she has an in depth knowledge of various genres of music and also local bands which would help the project dramatically as I personally have only a limited knowledge of a limited amount of genres. However, then also ,another member of the previous project, Chip James, wanted to work with myself, as he enjoyed working with me in the previous unit and also thought because of my own leadership and creative ideas that we would work well together. The problem was that the members Bo Kelly and Chip James were not keen on working with each other, however, after some deliberation , I was able to persuade them to agreement where we would work within a 3 with myself as it would benefit everyone in terms of the work load within the project, also, in terms of how many people that we have at our disposal.

In terms of roles that we assigned as the beginning of the project, because Bo had the most insight and knowledge into music and how good music videos look, we decided that she should be the Directorial role within the project. Chip volunteered to be chief editor, and then I volunteered myself to be the Producer and a Cinematographer ,but overall the whole group will have a go within each others roles, to see where we best fit.

Within the first section of the project, some research took place to give the group a better idea of the context and multiple conventions that are used within a music video. By personally looking into the history of the music video, I was given a wider overview of how and why we have the music video and the growing popular culture we have today which then furthered my personal knowledge. Also meantime, the other members of the group, looked in more detail, in Music Television and conventions of a music video that we see today. This piece of the research helped the group get a better idea of what makes a good quality and professional music video, for example, getting the balance between various camera shots, narrative and band performance, that overall convey meaning. This then helped us to be more creative in the ways the themes of our short film, relationships and acceptance ,can be represented within a similar purpose made narrative.

Meanwhile, during the researching process, we were looking for appropriate song that the group agreed on and also could be made to fit the theme of relationships and social pressure that was derived from the short film ‘Rejected’. We contacted multiple artistic including Panic! At The Disco, You Me At Six and Papa Roach, including some more local bands such as Midigar. We decided as a group that our first choice for our song would be ‘Contagious Chemistry’ by You Me At Six ,the upbeat melodic core to the song will create an eye catching and fitting promotional music video. We tried to contact the manager of You Me At Six a number of times but to no avail, and when it starting eating into the production time ,we decided to use the song from You Me At Six, under a different name ,also putting it as unlisted on YouTube so it can only be found through the channel that is it on and if someone is giving a direct link, which somewhat bypasses the problems that we were confronted with and this way we could go ahead with our planned idea. This also indicates that as a group, when confronted with problems, in terms of how we compromised and figured out a way of using the song we wanted, and we can overcome certain situations like these as a team.

After the secondary research we carried on to carry out a primary research questionnaire that would give us a more realistic idea of what the target audience ,15-25, would be attracted to within a music video. This piece of research enabled us as a group to look more in detail at what our target audience was most drawn to, for example the stylistic conventions of the use of depth of field, colouring and professional lighting, which we could then cross reference to what we had put within our short film ‘Rejected’ . When we had concluded our results ,we as a group started the production process for our music video.

One of our initial decisions was that we would include as little of the short film footage as possible, because of our group opinion that the actual footage of the short film would clash with the style and the aesthetic that we were aiming for within the final product . As a alternative to the short film footage , we would creative a narrative that embodies the relationship that is seen between the characters Jason and Lily, played by different actors. To bare resemblance to the short film, we would include some similarities in terms of location , as the first segment of the narrative will be filmed within college, which most of the short film was set in, creating a graphic match between the two sets of footage. In terms of locations used, and the time that we had to film, we filmed in two main places. Florence, within two main locations which is two hotels ,dressed to seem like different times of the year, indicating a passage of time. The trip to Florence was taking place as a photography trip ,so myself and Bo decided to take advantage of the situation and use of the location to add production value to the piece. Filming in multiple locations and also dressing the surrounding to our needs were a crucial part to our filming .For example, for our band performance, as a group, we somewhat transformed a media room completely to cater to the professional small band stage look that we were looking for, including instruments, microphones and lighting.

Meanwhile, as it came to light, I became the director for the narrative of the music video, shooting and also storyboarding most of the scenes within this segment, along with getting the actors. As this became apparent , the band performance was formally Chip and Bo’s area, having the main responsibility of getting the actors that fitted the profile of ‘You Me At Six’ or what we renamed ,because of the problems of song permission, it ‘Lost Audio’, and arranging timing and clothing to fit the aesthetic.

The difficulties we had as a group in terms of finding and booking locations , the most trouble we had was with the band performance, because of the amount of time ,material, and also space that was require to make it practical to also film in the space also. Firstly, we emailed the people that are in charge of the Beldam Theatre, asking if it was possible to film here. I personally emailed them a number of times, with no replies. This led us to look into other alternatives, for example filming within one of the music rooms, and even the field. After consideration and asking different members of staff from different departments, we found that it was possible to film in one of the media rooms. This became one of our main preference because of its proximity to the equipment and also the multiple entrance points would favour up in terms of the moving of musical equipment between departments.

After choosing locations, setting dates and then setting up the equipment ,finalising ideas and creating storyboards was our main priority .The storyboarding allowed us to think in more detail about the type of shots and movement ,and also the length of the shots which will overall make the filming process more efficient. One problem that we faced in terms of the equipment , both on and off the screen, the main problem that we were confronted with was getting a hold of a drum set that we can easily transported to our location. We had difficulties because we were unable to borrow the drum set from the music department as it was being used constantly by A level students. We overcame this problem, luckily because another student that we have been constantly been in contact , happened to have a drum set that she was willing to let us borrow, in return with being able to film about bland performance segment for her own music video, which we agreed to.

The first time we arranged and set up the lighting and performance segment, there was a problem with an actors, where all the actors showed up, bar one, the singer. Because of this, the filming couldn’t go forward, and the setting up of the equipment was for nothing, and meant that the filming had to re-organised and assigned to next week, indicating that the filming now will be eating into our editing time as when had already edited all footage that we could possible shoot at that present time. However, the singer not showing up can reflect badly in the group, as it could mean lack of communication and organisations between ourselves and the actors. We overcame this problem, by doing the only could do within this situation, is contact the singer a number of times during the days following up to the filming to much sure he knows of the time and place.

Fortunately a student that was currently working on their own, Olivia Robinson, which we have been in constant contact with and also is joined us in terms of filming the band performance segment, owns a drum set which she was willing to lend us, as it would benefit her as much as it benefitted us.

So, the second time we organised filming, all members of the group made sure that the person didn’t show at the previous appointed filming time, Louis Turner, was there and ensured him of the time and place numerous times. When it came to the day and time of filming ,all the actors attended the filming ,the floor plan ,camera set up and instruments all going to plan, ensuring the aesthetic and the lighting was professional and the stylistic elements of the filming was agreed with all members of the group . In my opinion this filming was successful, the actors taking our comments into consideration and keeping them updated on what we were focusing on ,keeping the filming running smoothly. The only disadvantage of the camera/lighting set up was that time it took a prolonged amount of time to set and take down . My contribution to the filming band performance segment , was mainly a managerial post, and I also was filming on my own camera, focusing on the more stylistic close up shots that would give the music video a more professional look.

After we got all the footage, we had approximately two weeks to edit before an unofficial showcase to get a draft grade of the music video. In terms of how the editing was split between myself, Chip and Bo, Chip took on the main editing role as he said he would do at the beginning of the project ,with myself and Bo constantly having creative input into the process and also being second in command within the editing stage, each member making sure the rest of the group was content about how the product looked like. During the editing process ,I personally got to better grips with montage editing and using effects and filters that I had never used before, furthering my experience and knowledge of Final Cut. The main problem within this stage that we had was fitting the pieces of footage of the short film ‘Rejected’ and finding space within the actual music video. We overcame this by adding titles and slight exert at the end of the music video, showing a graphic match.

Within the showcasing process this was the only real criticism of our music video , that we didn’t have enough short film footage within the music video, but apart from this, giving us on average, a distinction for the product . I think getting feedback from the rest of the class allowed up to find out the best point in our music video and what could be improved. After this, as a group we had a meeting and discussed what could be done to include more of the short film, without tainting the dynamic flow of the music video that was already present. After the meeting we decided the most fitting way was to add titles, and series of graphic matching throughout and also including an small section at the end fully advertising the film, including the title that is seen within the film.

Within the focus group questionnaire, I asked them a small selection of questions which would enable us to improve the music video and also find out what pieces of the music video they liked and most favourite aspect, and overall let myself and the group receive non-biased feedback from our target audience 15-22 years old approximately. In terms of the aspect they most liked and the elements they pointed out are ‘The faded effect on the snowball scene’ and generally the scene and relationship scenes with the two actors, indicating that the audience liked the balance of stylistic elements and also the mixture of narrative. I also asked about what could be improved and if they could tell if the music video was promoting a film, which is a vital part of the brief. Elements that they said could be improved that they remarked on a certain light glare within the band performance and also, in some shots within the band performance ,you can see that the scene was based in a media room, some of the boards that were left uncovered due to the lack of dark fabric. So if I had the opportunity to create the music video again, particularly the band performance segment, I would ensure that no sides of the walls can be seen, except if they were covered in dark/black background, so to ensure a more professional overall look.

One of the points that were constant throughout the answers to the questionnaire about if they could tell if they could tell of it was for promoting a short film, was that they only fully tell so at the end. So, to improve this, would will try and insert more pieces of the short film, they doesn’t detract from the overall professional quality of the music video. And also, overall all the people that answered the questionnaire, said they would most likely access the music video on YouTube/ within the internet, which would be the most fitting as it would be very easily accessed.

In terms of the final product the how professional it looked within the music video, in comparison to the music videos I have studied , the combination of the narrative and band performance ,the transition ,the lighting and the overall constant colouring.

In conclusion, during this project I have been able to explore different types of editing and overcome difficulties at multiple stages of the production , which in my opinion has helped me grow as a leader and a member of the team, giving more experience in all areas. Even though, in the end I ended up being a directorial position within the group, I also was involved within filming and camera skills, as it was one of the first project where I have played a prominent role within the actual filming.