Journal - End of Post Production

In response to our feedback, we revisited the footage we first shot in order to fill the gaps we had towards the end of our music video. We extended the mirror shot (our reference to notion of looking) and the shot of Isla wearing the flower crown as our sample group felt that sometimes our cuts were too quick, to the point where they had no time to process the shot before it cut to a new one.

We tried to include shots from all three of our locations -- Isla's bedroom, the arcade and around London -- as our video climaxes in order to summarise our music video by revisiting all our locations.

In regards to the gaps we had throughout out music video, the shots we have added in are:

Another mirror shot, instead this time with Isla singing a different line, to extend our reference to the notion of looking. The mirror shot provides a voyeuristic feel and also keeps the focus on Isla, our selling point.

We also included a shot of Isla singing with a polaroid to communicate an artistic, vintage feel. The polaroid also incorporates long exposure, linking back to our digipaks along with being visually appealing. Again, it has a doubling effect like the mirror and references the notion of looking: the polaroid Isla is holding features Isla looking through a vintage camera.

We also replaced our previous shot of Isla inside the simulator with a brighter one so that our subject matter (Isla) is clearer and it looks more natural. We also used this shot towards the end of our music video to represent our arcade location.

Before

After

Similarly, we used this shot of Isla by the window at 2:42 as a way of revisiting our first location before ending our music video.

We added in more text so that it became a reoccurring characteristics throughout our music video, as opposed to a random appearance. The use of this text makes our music video more visually engaging, though we have made the text smaller and positioned it lower down on the screen so it does not distract from the main image of our shot, be it our artist or an establishing shot of London.

We ended our music video with the shot of Isla closing her eyes (that is featured at the beginning) but in reverse. We did this because we felt the sudden action of Isla blinking mirrored the sound of the symbols in the song (link between music and visuals) but also as it appropriately closed our music video bringing the audience back to the beginning and climaxing the video.

As the song increases in pace towards its climax, we made our editing more choppy and used lots of quick cuts. Problems during editing included small, second long gaps but we resolved this by speeding up outtakes we had of Isla laughing and using them; these shots keep the focus on Isla as a selling point whilst also communicating a fun atmosphere. The last four photos we included were selected for their locations; the audience are reminded of the time in London and in the arcade before the music video ends where it started -- the most personal location, Isla's bedroom.

Overall, I am very happy with our now finished music video. The editing has matched the song very well, mirroring the pace whilst subtly remaining focused on Isla and marketing her as an artist. Despite its purpose as a marketing tool, our music video remains engaging and fun to watch, reflecting the initial purpose of our moodboard.