Preliminary Task

Preliminary Task 

For our preliminary task we had to make 30 second music montage that has different shots in it. Moreover the song that we had to play in the background has to be from the same genre as our actual music video that we will make after this. The song that I decided to go with was one the options that i had for my actual video. Since I used that song in this montage I will not use that song again. The song I proceeded to use was`The Ways` by Khalid. The reason why used it is because it has a similar tempo to the pace of the movement of my camera angles. Therefore it fit with the theme. Also during the research of my song for the montage I came across many other songs that could be good for my actual music video.

Evaluation

Camera Angles 

There were a number of camera shots used in my montage.
- Wide (long) shots: This is used to show a location from not too far away, so the viewer can see the features of the location. In the music montage this was most of my shots with the exception of a few. An example for it was the last shot, with the sunset in the background. 
- High-angle shot: In this shot I have focused on a object from above. In my montage this was the clip with the flower in the focus. This type of shot can be used to highlight a object from above. I have used the flower as an experiment so when it comes to my actual video I will become better at this shot. 
 -Slanted: This was one of the most unique shots used in my montage. This is also known as a Dutch angle, where the camera is purposely titled to one side so the horizon is on a angle. I have two examples of this on my video. First is when the camera is moving upwards on the tree. The second is the following shot with the brick wall.   

What I did well

-Transitions: for my shots I have tried to have a lot of different transactions in between so they don`t look too repetitive. Moreover I haven`t included any transactions that were too fast and didn`t fit the mood. The reason why I done this is because it doesn`t spoil the whole mood. This allows the montage to give the viewer and listener a more r&b like experience. This was a very useful skill to learn because in my actual video it`s very important that I will have different transactions as otherwise the video will look boring and too generic. 

-Editing/Different paced shots: I thought that the editing was done well because I was able to change the pace of the shots. For example some shots I shot in slow motion were too slow which made them too long. Therefore I have decided I will speed the shots up a little bit. This will create a smooth feel throughput the montage. An example for the different paces is the opening shot, which is shot at normal speed. Most of the shots after that are shot at 1/2 speed. I have done this because other slow motion speeds such as 1/4 and 1/8 were too slow and would`ve made the montage over 2 minutes long. Only for my last show I have used 1/4 speed as it made ending more emotional. 

-Filters: I have put using filters for some of my shots as advantage because it created a much more colourful theme within the video. It also adds to the story and the narrative of the montage. For the first shot I have used greyscale which made look like it was black and white. Combined whit the fast pace of movement of the camera angle, it creates a sense of urgency and make the viewer feel like they are entering into the video. Another example is the shot with the flower in the center. I have added a retro filter to it so it brang out the colours of the flower and the background. It was also useful to use this because I might have to use some filters for my actual music video.

Improvements:

-Follow more conventions of the genre: In my previous blog I have described the what are the conventions of the two types of r& music genres. On the other hand in my montage I didn`t get a chance to embody those characteristics. The reason is because the montage was too short to add a narrative to it. It would have been go to do it because then my montage would`ve had a more r&b vibe to it. Since the montage was more about camera angles than a actual narrative i didn`t include anyone in my video. 

-More angles/shots: I have shown my montage to  a number of people in order to find out how could I help on my montage and most people gave me the same advice. It was to use a wider variety of angles. For example in most of my shots I have the camera moving from left to right, or from right to left. Most people said that by the end it got too repetitive and there could`ve been different types of shots. Once example my friend told me was to hold the camera still and zoom in on a object. In my actual music video I will use this because it fits the section of r&b music video shots.