In the first phase of this project, my main concern was enlightening myself and becoming comfortable and confident with the genre. Punk was mostly popular in the '70s and as I was born in 2003, I'm not very familiar with the punk genre. I made sure to look back at a variety of music videos to draw inspiration from and specifically, heavily researched the marketing techniques used since the genre was popular around a time when there was no such thing as digital distribution. I knew instantly that I would have to get creative as I was assigned to apply punk to accommodate a more modern take. I believe that the best way of reaching an audience is to be able to inflict a feeling of empathy. Since our genre was punk, I wanted to be able to impose a sense of nostalgia in older audiences who are already familiar with punk, while still finding a way to introduce newer generations.
To kickstart our project we researched some popular bands such as Green Day and The Clash to get an insight on some punk traditions and eventually, incorporate some of the traditions into our presentation/ music video. When brainstorming ideas for our music video, we tried our best to think of a timeless form of rebellion. Instantly, we thought of a video showcasing teens sneaking out. Our specific genre was ska-punk. Ska originated in Jamaica so, inevitably, it tends to have some beachy undertones. With this in mind, we decided to have our characters sneak out to the beach. In our storyboard, we illustrated the characters in the process of sneaking out such as climbing through the window and getting in the car. We then also made sure to demonstrate our characters having a great time at their beachy destination. We made sure to plan out some shots, angles, and even pans and tilts. We made this clear through the use of arrows within our storyboard.
The storyboard was the pillar of the filming process. Since we had planned most of the video to a T when filming started the process seemed fluid. However, e had to keep in mind that our resources were limited. We weren't able to build a set or use professional lightning so we had to organize ourselves in such a way that we would be able to use the same kind of sunlight. This meant shooting scenes at 3:00 pm so the lightning didn't abruptly change. This organization also translated in the beach shots as we had to make sure we would be able to get a shot with bright lighting for the most part but also stay just enough time for the sun to set. All of this had to be managed so that we would be able to bring the right amount of people and incorporate this many characters into our music video.
The editing process quickly became one of the more meticulous processes of this production. The end of the video had to have a variety of concise cuts in order to match the punk aesthetic. This is what allowed the end of the video to be so fast-paced and essentially give a more chaotic vibe to the music video. We wanted the short clips to match up with the beat of the song. However, since there are a great number of beats in a short amount of time, it was specifically hard to cut the video just enough to give the audience just enough time to understand what was happening.
Finally, we put our research, video, and notes together to compile a well-developed presentation. We split the information so that each member of the group could put all of their focus into one area and become very confident about the content that was being presented. However, notes for the presentation were shared between the group members so that everyone could have some idea of the other content as well.
This assignment further opened my eyes to the creation of projects like such. I now understand that every aspect does not necessarily depend on the visual. There are a variety of steps that are crucial in order to construct a successful project. Whether this is spending a little extra time on pre-production or even just downloading absolutely necessary shots to ease the editing process. I also learned that I am better at working with like-minded people. At times, I felt like I might have been putting too much thought or not enough into some elements of this assignment. This project was the perfect example of what to continue to do, what to not continue to do, and things to consider more in-depth for when I start working on my Cambridge portfolio.
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