Popular music videos.

This music video has a simple but fun narrative with the singer attacted to a hot guy and this matches with the song and the twist at the end makes the music video memorable. The casting also appeals to a teenage audience which makes it very popular as it has typical features of a cheesy video such as 'the boy next door'.





This video gives us the typical girl-band look as of the costumes and close-ups of the band members. The effects and the MES also makes it appealing to the wide audiences as it makes the video exciting. The editing tecnuiques used also play a role in atrracting audicences by establishing the image of the band.






This music video shows a typical love song created by a popular boy band, including the drummer guitarist singer and keyboardist. We can tell its a love song because of the lyrics and the presence of a girl and this also attracts mainly female audiences.






International male artists like Justin Bieber have mise-en-scenes which appeal to female audiences and this music video in particular is all handheld with no editing techniques and this enables the artist to interact with the audience more with looking in the camera and making it feel as though you are there.

Other successful music videos.

The reason why I think these music videos are successful is because they meet all the codes and conventions of a music video such as a performance, broken narratives or creative scenes. They also go with the songs very well and the performances are believable, this makes the video entertaining and not repetitive. The song choice, casting, camera work, lighting and MES work well together to create an entertaining and believable music video.

Evaluating music videos from the previous year.

13B6- 

• This music videos had good mise-en-scenes such as the parties. 
• There was a good range of ideas such as the young police giving the video an edge. 
• The lighting and camera shots/movements were on point and the video played smoothly. 
• This had a really strong appeal to young audiences as it was very effective.

13B5- 

• There were good camera shots, MES and lighting which added to the mood of the song.
• However some performances needed more energy to make the song more believable.
• There could be more camera movements to make the video more exciting. 
• It would have been more efective if there was more to it.

13E8-

• There is a very good range of shots and MES which makes the video interesting. 
• Very simple but effective as it relates to the song. 
• However because the song is slow it doesn’t make the video exciting. 
• The prefrormance is believeable and matches the song making it effective.

13B4-

• There is a good range MES and camera shots. 
• The performance is very believable. 
• However the narrative in the video is slightly blurred. 
• Their isn't a wide ranfe of camera movements etc to make the video believable.

13B2- 

• Good range of MES and camera shots. 
• The performance isn’t very believable and needs to relate to the song more.
• Possibly needs a clearer narrative. 
• Overall needs more energy throughout the music video.

13E9-

• There are good MES but very little camera movements/shots. 
• The video is weakened by the use of a movie. 
• Good performance. 
• Movie doesn't make much sense of the song.

13B3-

• Great performance.
• Good range of MES, lighting and camera shots.
• Good simple, narrative flow. 
• However, the song itself drags on and so does the music video making it seem repetative. 

13E7-

• Good performance and MES. 
• Overall, video is too simple and repetitive. 
• The girl in the car spoils the atmosphere as she looks bored. 

13B1-

• Good performance, relatable to the song.
• Good range of MES, lighting and camera shots. 
• Good, clear narrative. 

13E11-

• The performance is too forced and needs more energy. 
• The narrative is unclear. 
• The whole video needs to relate to the song more.

13E10-

• Good MES camera shots and movements. 
• The performance needs to be more believable and needs a clearer storyline. 
• There are too many effects in one place and needs to be more spread out.

What to avoid in a music video.

When looking at music videos from previous years we saw what made their music videos weak. This is something we learnt to avoid as it would bring down our marks.

• Repetition of the same song and exact performance.
• Too many effects as this will make the music video a disaster. 
• Bad song choice that is hard to get a good music video out of. 
• Lack of performance and choreography as this will make the video less believable. 
• A fully narrative music video will only confuse the audience rather than entertain them.
• Off time lip-syncing will make the music video very weak and disastrous. 
• Too many locations will also be confusing for the audiences and too much to take in. 
• An unconvincing cast won’t make the music video entertaining or believable. 

What makes a good music video.

When looking at music videos from previous years, we found that some of their tecnuiques used made the music video effective. We also looked at music videos by artists and saw what made the music video so effective.

• Mainly in one location which relates to the song.
• Small variety of effects but enough to make the video exciting. 
• Good variety of camera shots/movement to create an effective video. 
• Good choreography, in time with the music. 
• Good lip-syncing also in time with the music. 
• Short and simple narratives to make the video easy to understand and watch. 
• Natural, realistic and creative scenes. 
• Music artist attracts the right audiences. 
• Artist shows believable performance, high energy and emotion relating to the song. 
• Cut between narrative and main performance.
• Performance and narrative all in one place. 
• Good casting that can make a believable performance. 

Evaluating Foundation Production.

From the coursework in media AS I have learnt new things and learnt from mistakes and gained new skills. In the research I learn’t what to find that will help with the planning of the opening sequence and I learnt about other film opening sequences. 

I found out how different genres differ to each other and applied this to the planning of the opening sequence. In planning the storyboard I learn’t different ways of drawing out the opening sequence and how different shots can be shown. 

When planning the shots, costumes, MES, lighting and equipment etc, I learnt how we can work round using them and how they can be effectively used in the opening sequence. I learnt different shooting techniques and what and opening sequence should include in classwork and independent study. 

I have learnt to be more organised and I need to be more prepare with the kind of issues that may be raised within the group. We learnt how to work round any filming issues such as how to work round filming in the location or if the lighting affects the quality of the filming. 

There were editing issues such as truing to fit shots together and I learnt not only how to work round this but how to use FinalCut overall. 

During the coursework I met all deadlines, however I learnt that I needed to keep my blog up to date and update it regally, tracking my progress rather than leaving it at the last minute. 

When evaluating my as work I leant that I should answer them in more depth like other than saying what I should have done but saying why. It will be easier to evaluate if I start considering the questions that may be asked and answer as I go along so I remember more and therefore have more to write. 

My evaluation unfortunately wasn’t very multi-media and I think thats one of the reasons why my mark was bought down, therefore next time I will use more audio and visual presentations when evaluating my coursework. 

Evaluating Foundation Production.

What went wrong? 

In the planning stage we didn’t do a detailed enough plan of the production of the opening sequence which meant that when we came to the filming for it, we had to think on the spot which created some discussions and wasted some time. Also I think we should have had more shots and possible alternative locations and shots for preparation if anything goes wrong. Additionaly, we didn’t always agree with each-other and this caused a-lot of changes to our opening sequence. We also didn’t do any re-shots for if anything did go wrong and so we had to work round with editing from what we got. 

What worked?

What worked was that we knew exactly what to do for the opening sequence and so we knew what to film and how to film it to match with the storyline. We did a few different shots for some scenes so that we can see which shot fits best with the whole sequence. We filmed as soon as we finished planning in order to have enough time to edit.  Also the filming was spread over a few days to take our time with the editing and so the opening sequence didn’t look rushed. Also we kept all the equipment in order and remembered everything.

What you should have done.

We should have done a more detailed storyboard and plan so that everything is more organised. Our group blog would have been more interesting if we posted more research, videos and photos in the planning stage and could have gained more marks. I could have also did the same to my individual blog to, again, gain more marks. I should have also participated in every part of the making of the opening sequence and bring forward my ideas more. Also to be more certain with the filming locations and ideas. 

What you plan to do next time differently. 

I’ll try to come up with more creative ideas and have more of an idea on what I think should be in the music video and to try to take more risks and think outside the box. Also to try not to drag the shooting stages too long so that we have enough time to re-shoot scenes. Plus, to create different storyboard ideas and experiment different shots and scenes to see what would fit best with the song. 

What do you plan to do next time that you didn’t do at all. 

I will try to blog more often and show extracts and clips rather than just writing and blogging in one go. Also to try and be more detailed with blogging and planning in order to achieve a higher criteria than the AS coursework and this should help improve my overall grade. Plus, I’ll do more editing and ensure that I have a go at everything in the process of making the music video. I will also do more research and planning in order to make a good music video. 

What did they do in their planning and research?

Other groups did detailed storyboards and plans to come up with the final idea and to help them with this, they did research of films within their preferred genre. They also did different storyboards and see which flows best. Plus, they also kept up to date with the blogging on what they will do and created visual posts. 

What did they do in their actual filming?

They tried different shots and kept blogging about what went well, what didn’t and what they have achieved in the filming. They also took pictures of the locations and the filming process. 

What did they do in their actual editing?

They tried different sequences and see what flowed the best and what didn’t fit together, from this they created the final sequence. Plus, they re did shot to make the sequence flow better. Again, they blogged about what went well and what didn't. 

In terms of how people constructed their blogs and evaluations, what worked really well and what didn’t?

The blogs which were kept up to date didn’t looked rushed or crammed in at the last minute and so they managed to write in more detail. Also they used different medias such as pictures and videos to make the blog more creative. What didn’t work was those that didn’t use a wide range of media tools or didn’t write enough which weakened the blog.