H.C. Evaluation of class music video

1. Analyse your work, consider connotations, effect, genre, metanarrative, star image. Consider any of the theorists you have used and apply implicitly to give your work depth.

• After research, we planed to emulate the performance aspect observed in other Black Keys videos. We were also inspired by the conflict seen in 'Tighten Up' and so we wanted to recreate a similar narrative in out portion of the video. 
• In terms of Mise en Scene, we used costume as a tool to connote the star image of the band, and attempted to emphasise this by setting up an 'imposter' band that looked similar to the original but not the same. This was also the main trigger that allowed us to construct a narrative, creating a conflict between the two groups. The use of costume also helps to identify the band in the Indie/Blues Rock genre and the material touches such as sunglasses are iconic of stars, as it removes the visual connection to the audience, creating distance between the star and the audience, as noted by Dyer.
• We used a tripod for filming rather than a handi cam to emulate the filming style observed in other Black Keys music videos. This also allowed us to frame the performance aspect also seen through the band's metanarrative. Close up shots were used to show the emotions of the characters, and the mid shots used during the fight sequence filled the frame with action, signifying the build in volume in that section of the track.
• Due to the rushed planning sequence, we did not have enough time to accurately consider where our portion of the song would build in volume, and so the cutting rate is in parts disjunctive, as it does not match the changes in beat of the track. However, we demonstrated previously used editing techniques such as compression of time in the run across the room, to try and match the pace of the song and not waste time.

2. How did you develop your skills during this exercise? What advice would you give yourself for the music video task? What ideas do you currently have?

• This whole exercise has helped me to develop my analytical skills, in terms of recognising signs, signifiers and icons of this particular genre, which will aid me in recognising similar signs and patterns in our dance genre.
• The actual music video task will require significantly more planning in order to produce a high standard of work. For example, our storyboard was very similar to the one produced for our first preliminary task at AS level, with only six frames roughly sketched to give a basic overview of narrative. Our actual production will require careful storyboarding of each lyric and time period of the song, so that we can plan to match the visuals and the track.
• Currently I have been inspired to produce a narrative style music video by 'Hard Fi' who produced an alternative music video available for mobile download for their single 'Cash Machine' which is narrative based and follows a ten pound note around a city at night, capturing several different narrative plots.