AICEMediaStudies

Creative Critical Reflection: Music Video  1.   How does your product use or challenge conventions AND how does it represent social groups or issues?  My music video challenged quite a few conventions. For one, rap videos in the 90s tended to contain many people, which my video did not. Posses, cliques, and gangs were popular in the 90s; it was seen as cool at the time to have many of your supporters around you during a video, and many people present in the video in general. However, in my music video, the only people in it were myself and my one other actor.  Furthermore, my video was shot in one take. Typically, music videos that were shot in the 90s tended to have many cuts or transitions and used a large variety of camera angles and shots. Rap in the 90s  was more lyrical than it was today, and therefore there was more to be told in a short period of time. These cuts were used to keep a fast pace that could follow the story being told in the song. In my...

My Music Video The music video came out just as I'd thought it would. The black and white effect really set the tone of the music video very well. There are many positive takeaways that I get from watching my music video, however, now that it is a finished product, I see many things that I could've done that would've made my video that much better. Looking back, I should've committed to an empty street, rather than shooting on the track at Joseph C. Carter park. While the track does not take away much from the tone of the video, an empty street or sidewalk would've fit the video's theme better. I would've put down the camera shakiness as a negative, but luckily, I was able to eliminate that issue in post. Another issue I noticed is that my lip syncing could have been better. I settled for what I had because I thought my lips syncing was good enough, but I could have emphasized certain words more and pronounced each syllable more vividly. It would have benefi...

  Editing Blog: Music Video  The second portion of my video editing process consisted of playing with key framing, superimposition, and adding in video effects, as well as transitions. The first portion of my editing process was simply to get the duration of the video down to the proper length and syncing up the music with the video. This was merely a base for me to begin the real creative work.  The first thing I did in this editing process was add a Black & White video effect onto my footage. I took inspiration for this from the official Brenda's Got a Baby music video. The black and white footage really sets the mood of the video and fits the theme of the song very well. I used the default version of this effect as the 25%, 50%, and other options did not work as well.   After this, I created artificial camera movements using Sony Vegas Pro key framing, which can be seen in the beginning of my music video. I focused in on each speaker when they recited the...

  Editing Recap Blog: Music Video  I used Sony Vegas Pro 14 to edit my music video this time around. This is the video editing program that I am used to, most comfortable with, and have the most experience editing with. The editing process with my music video began with me selecting the best footage to begin working on. The footage I chose was clearly the most superior out of the footage that I had, and I placed it into Sony Vegas to begin editing.  The very first thing I did was remove the audio from the recording and insert the music (Brenda's Got a Baby - Tupac Shakur) to replace it. I then had to sync the song with the footage so that my lips synced up with the lyrics. Thankfully, there was no need for speeding up, or slowing down the footage. While filming, I had the song playing from the exact spot where I knew the video would begin, so I could recite the lyrics with the same cadence and rhythm as the artist. Once I had this done, I linked the audio and video togeth...

 Filming Recap Blog: Joseph C. Carter Park  All the filming for my music video was completed on November 21st, 2020. I played the role of director and actor in my music video, though I was not the sole actor within the video. I picked up my second actor and we went to the filming locale. The filming was done at Joseph C. Carter park, on the track. I brought my costume in a separate bag and we chose the part of the track we would begin filming. As the director, I instructed my actor on how to express his lines, tone, and the mood that I was trying to create in the video. I also had to direct my camera woman on which camera angles and movements to use. I directed her on how to move the camera, where to stand to get the proper shots, and when to start and stop filming. The video is shot in one take, so I made sure to check the quality of the footage after each take. Luckily, we got the footage we needed in under 5 solid takes. Majority of the retakes had to be done because of mis...

  1st Scene The video will start off with a black screen. I will accomplish this through editing in post.  2nd Scene This scene will fade in along with the music. I'll be telling my friend the first line, "I hear Brenda's got a baby...." 3rd Scene The camera will slightly shift the focus to my friend who says his line, "that's not our problem...", in response to mine. 4th Scene The shift will shift back to myself and I will rebut his statement with my own, "Well, let me show you..." 5th Scene From this point, we will start to walk towards the camera as I begin to tell Brenda's story.  6th Scene Once we get to a certain point, the camera will also being moving backwards slightly to keep both myself, and my friend, in frame. My line here will be, "its sad 'cause I bet Brenda doesn't even know...", and I will have a slightly disappointed look on my phase.  7th Scene In this scene, I will switch to a medium shot to capture mor...

  Planning For My Music Video Song Title:  The title of the song I intend to use is Brenda's Got a Baby. It was made by Tupac Shakur in 1991. The song, which features R&B singer Dave Hollister singing background vocals with Roniece Levias, is about a 12-year-old girl named Brenda who lives in a ghetto and has a baby she can't support. Props: I do not intend to use any props within my music video. The music video will only involve actors and a particular setting.  Costumes: I intend to dress in a style that is reminiscent of 90s rap attire. I will be wearing some form of baggy pants as well as a baggy shirt. I will either be wearing a pair of Nike Airforce 1s or a pair of Timberland Boots, which were common choices for footwear in the 90s. I plan having another person within the video as an actor and he will be wearing similar attire.  Location: The location of the video will an empty street. I will be walking down a street within my video so any empty street in a...