Pre-production: Preliminary Research

This is the preliminary research I did on music videos across different genres for component 3 to help me understand about the conventions across different genres, and will help ultimately decide which genre to choose for my project. This blog was done by me (Cassie).

⋆˚࿔ Preliminary Research ˎˊ˗

Why are MUSIC VIDEOS important?

Music videos act as a promotional tool for artists to further boost engagement and streams on their songs. Especially as video content is the most popular and engaging format for marketing and information. Producing quality music videos can even allow artists to win awards, providing exposure and recognition.

However, it is also a way for artists to enforce their brand or image by using music videos as a platform for artistic expression. Music videos can add depth and more meaning to songs, which can make music videos more appealing and relatable to audiences. By displaying their creativity and identity, artists’ music videos can serve as a business card to potential business partners or collaborators, expanding their reach and synergy with other brands/media texts. 

From the audiences’ perspective, music videos can be a way for them to feel more connected to a song through a story or performance. They may find it as a way to connect with a favorite song or favorite artist more. So music videos are also important to fans and to keep fanbases alive.

MY PROCESS:

My teacher showed a few music videos in class for us to watch, and asked us to research on them, focusing more on conventions, representations, and our personal opinions. This can help us understand the genre, the story, and help us figure out what we like/don’t like in a music video so we can apply it to ours. Here is the template he gave us on how to format our research:

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RESEARCH

1. POP - Manchild by Sabrina Carpenter (2025)

Conventions:

Pop music videos usually are very high-quality and have expensive production. In this music video alone, there are many sets and 30+ outfit changes, showing the high production. Pop music videos usually have very unique concepts that align with the brand Image of the artist, meaning they can have vastly different concepts. In this video, Sabrina Carpenter decided on a country concept while adding her "man hater" persona. She heavily relies on shock value for her music videos, adding out of the ordinary things. She also follows a convention of choreography, adding clips of her line dancing which matches her concept. Performance, lip syncing and dancing, is very common in pop music videos. Her outfits are very elaborate, unique, and brightly colored, which align with pop conventions as well as it makes the video feel more energetic. She uses fast paced editing/fast cutting as her song is more happy and upbeat, making the editing more rhythmic.

Representations:

She represents herself, or women in general, as innocent woman becoming a victim of men's stupidity in relationships. She represents men as stupid, incompetent and pigs, by cutting to pigs when the lyrics say "hey men!" and showing men doing stupid things such as driving off a cliff. She also represents hitch hiking, which is when individuals walk (usually on the high way) and asks cars passing by to give them a ride. She was shown hitch hiking and spending time with multiple men in funny vehicles e.g. a sofa on wheels which shows them as childish and dumb, especially since they just let her in their vehicle even though she hates men. They use fast cutting at the end to show more energy and how chaotic a relationship can be. She uses a turtle at the start to indicate "slowness" in men, not in speed but slowness in thinking, indicating she thinks they are dumb again.

Personal Opinion:

I love this music video. There are a lot of scenes, locations, outfits, people that overall make it more interesting. There is a clear storyline of her hitch hiking and men ruining her moments, which I find quite funny and creative. The country theme matches the song as I can hear some country influences in the instrumental of the song. The visuals are gorgeous and high-quality, which almost makes it feel like a film. It was just very cinematic overall and I enjoyed it very much, and I can appreciate the great styling and fashion.

2. INDONESIAN POP - Dunia Tipu-Tipu by Yunia Yurita (2021)

Conventions:

Conventions of Indonesian pop may be similar to pop in general, but with a focus on Indonesian culture e.g. more modest clothing. Since Indonesian Pop singers tend to be smaller in terms of popularity, so production is more low quality as normal pop. Since this song is slower than most pop songs, the editing is more slow. However, they do conform to the performance aspects of pop, as they do have lip syncing/performing instruments/small choreography. The video doesn't have elaborate colorful outfits like normal pop, and has more muted, modest clothing. The video uses light but not bright colors, having a white flowy set and clothes sets the mood for the sad song.

Representations:

This video represents relationships with someone you love e.g. parent-child, wife-husband, two best friends, etc. In the video they show multiple people, different relationships sitting down together and looking each other in the eye. At first they laugh and giggle as it feels funny or awkward, but as the song progresses they start tearing up and feeling sad as they feel more emotional. Behind them, is a white set with flowy fabric. A white set connotes innocence, especially in a song translated into "World of Lies" meaning they may try to find the truth, or they are the truth. The use of dancing children also connote innocence and purity. They used close ups to show the tears, which brings focus to the tears and shows that the people are grateful and thankful to have each other. 

Personal Opinion:

I loved this music video because it really got me in my feels. My classmates watched this together in a class and I would say that half the class teared up. I think any video that can make you feel emotions intensely has succeeded in fulfilling its job. However, they only used one set which felt repetitive over time and felt boring. While I think the music video suits the song, the performance aspects definitely didn't and it felt weird seeing the artist smile and perform in a video with people crying. 

3. INDIE - Zombie by Jamie T (2014)

Conventions:

In this music video, they follow conventions such as performance, particularly performing with instruments especially guitars which is very common in this genre as it shows artistry, passion for music and independence. Another convention is that the theme is considered “weird” or out of the ordinary, with a theme of zombies. It’s very experimental which is typical to indie artists, so they follow conventions. Indie music videos are known to be creative, and I think this music video is creative because I’ve never seen someone else do this kind of concept. These kinds of videos focus more on originality and authenticity than conforming to what society thinks a music video should look like. Indie videos tend to be low-quality and slef-made, as seen from the unrealistic blood and injuries. This is because the Indie genre places an emphasis on DIY.

Representations:

Here, I believe that they are representing middle-class workers. It showed people with casual clothing in an old empty pub which does not seem luxurious. It used medium shots to show them uninterested and bored, showing that they are not enjoying their lives. It also represents bands, or indie bands, that perform at small locations with small crowds. The uninterested crowd reflects onto them, showing that they’re not popular and did not find the right crowd for their kind of music. Lastly, they represent zombies which are usually represented as violent, dangerous, etc. This time, they’re represented as artists and harmless, as they fall apart while performing music. This new interpretation of zombies makes the video more interesting and experimental, which is exactly what the indie genre is all about.

Personal Opinion:

Personally, I like the video overall. It does have an interesting concept that I’ve never seen before and can definitely hook attention, but once again this music video was only held in one location which made it so repetitive and boring. It cuts back to shots that we’ve already seen before, just more bloody, and it got old after a bit. Since the song was quite long, I honestly got tired of it. If it were me, maybe I’d introduce more locations and more storylines to make it more engaging.

4. RNB - Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (2020)

Conventions

The video follows many common conventions of the Pop and R&B genre. First, it has a very high-quality and expensive look, making it feel more like a short film than just a music video. One major convention is the use of a "bad boy persona" or “play boy persona”. The Weeknd stays in his “After Hours" character throughout the video, wearing a specific red suit that makes him easily recognizable. He does traditionally “bad” things such as speeding, causing fights, smoking etc. This video follows the convention of a solo performance. He lip syncs and dances alone in the streets, which shows a more isolated and manic vibe which makes the video feel more chaotic, exciting and wild. The editing is fast and uses blurry lights, which matches the fast lyrics and rhythm of the music.

Representations

He present himself in this video as a "bad boy persona" and explores themes of traditional or toxic masculinity. The Weeknd is shown doing things often associated with this image, such as driving sports cars very fast, smoking, and spending time at a club with girls. By showing him getting into a fight and ending up with a bloody face, the video represents the messy and violent side of this lifestyle. He represents the lyrics of "I'm blinded by the lights" with vivid visual images of him being blinded by the building, cars and surrounding lights which symbolizes him being overwhelmed and lost, usually because of love, fame, or a chaotic lifestyle. The representation of men here isn't about being strong, but rather about the chaos, mistakes, and "toxic" habits that can come with fame and nightlife, it shows how lifestyle and environment affects men in general and how they are influenced daily. The video also gives the manic vibes through his actions in the video such as laughing randomly, running around, driving fast, and seeming out of control, almost like he’s not thinking clearly and drunk. 

Personal Opinion

I really like this music video because the visuals and aesthetics are great. The neon lights and the red suit create a cool look that is very in character for The Weeknd and it matches the song perfectly as scenes matches with lyrics. I found it interesting and somehow funny in a way, especially the scenes where he is laughing maniacally even though his face is hurt and bleeding. I also liked the use of different camera angles, like the low shots and the shaky camera during the driving scenes, because they made the story make sense and helped me feel the energy of the night. It felt very cinematic and creative, and the storyline of him wandering through the city kept me interested. What captivated me in the video was also how they take the shots of lights more dramatic when it comes to the chorus "blinded by the lights".

5. ROCK - Now and Then by The Beatles (2023)

Conventions

At the top of my head, when I think of rock music videos, I think of bands, edginess, and instrument performances. This music video follows the convention of instrument performances, as it zooms into the band members playing instruments such as drums, and includes other people playing violin. I don’t think this music video strongly follows rock conventions that include edginess, rebellious themes, unique styling, etc. This may be because this song and music video is considered a tribute to the members in the band who have passed away, which is why the song carries a more mellow and sad mood to it. While it doesn’t exactly follow conventions, that is what makes it unique and new, so audiences don’t feel bored of consuming similar content within genres.

Representations

It represents death. This music video uses AI to add the past members of the band into the music video, seemingly playing instruments and singing. The juxtaposition of the members who are alive, looking old and bittersweet, and the members who have passed, looking young and happy, visualizes to the audience about the concept of death. It makes the video very sentimental, which fans can appreciate. It also represents bands. Bands such as The Beatles, One Direction, BTS, etc tend to have crazy loyal fanbases, who always yearn for reunions or for the bands to get back together. Paying tribute to the members who have passed by using AI and editing them into the frame also allows fans to have some closure.

Personal Opinion

This music video was very sweet. I am not a big fan of The Beatles but I felt sad watching the music video and seeing the band back together artificially. I’m usually against AI use in music videos, especially if it is used to generate art that an artist could have easily worked on, but in cases like this, AI excels. There are still some errors with the AI, which kind of ruined the vibe for me. The AI members did weird stuff that did not match the other members and wore weird outfits, which made everything less cohesive. However I think if they made this music video now, the AI would’ve looked more realistic, making the video better. However, overall I like it.

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REFLECTION:

This preliminary research was actually really helpful because it helped me understand the conventions of different genres, like their themes, visuals, and how they attract audiences, which made it easier for me to decide which genre I want to do for my project. My role in this stage was researching and analyzing different media examples. But I faced a problem as I honestly found it quite boring at first and struggled with motivation because I just wanted to start creating straight away. However, I solved this by slowly realizing that without proper research, my project wouldn’t have a strong foundation and could end up failing or lacking direction, so I pushed myself to stay focused and to take it more seriously. As I continued, I started to feel more motivated and confident because I could actually see how this research making progress and improving. Maybe next time, I would discipline myself to consistently do small changes in the project no matter how I feel, and setting up some kind of reward system to help with motivation.

Summary of First Project: Documentary

 This is a blog explaining my past crime documentary project with Maisie, Sagara and Candra (my classmates) which helped me prepare me for component 3. This blog was written by me (Cassie).

𖧷₊˚˖𓍢 Summary of First Project ⋆ﾟ＊

Here is the link: https://canva.link/tqelx3oe93vulp2

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REFLECTION:

this project was very fun and enjoyable, especially with the new team members which made it more interesting and fun. My role in this project was actor, script writer and designer for the thumbnail. Sometimes I filmed and took pictures to be put in the blog. However, there are some problems that we faced are finding the right spot and order for different scenes. We created a storyboard, but we weren’t sure which part of the video our drawn out scene should be in. We were also confused about what scenes and shots to put after our planned scene. I'm also unsatisfied with my time management as I didn’t enough time to finish everything and doing all last minute without revising thoroughly. Unfortunately, to solve this, I had to do an all nighter to finish and pack everything in the blog, which worked as I managed to finish everything on time. Next time, I need to stop this bad habit of pulling all nighters. In conclusion, I would manage my time more efficiently in my next project and maybe work on small changes in the blog everyday to make progress slowly.

Weekly Progress

Here is my weekly progress for component 3 which records my progress throughout this project. This was done by me (Cassie).

 ‧₊˚♪ Weekly Progress 𝄞₊˚⊹

Week 1: 

This week is our first week back in media class preparing for our music videos project. We formed our team today, where I’m happy to work with Tisha, Kimora and Kellie. Since the groups were just formed this week, we didn't discuss any ideas for the music videos, such as genre, plot, etc. However, we were instructed to choose a genre quickly and get started on the genre research. 

Problem: One problem we faced that we were instructed to start our genre research immediately on the first lesson of the week, when we had no prior discussions. We weren’t prepared to commit to one decision at all and had to suddenly choose a genre without putting much thought into it. We had a hard time deciding what genre to choose, as everyone mostly had different ideas and visions for this project. Especially since it was the first time all four of us were on one team.

Solution: To help us decide, we decided to evaluate the certain genre conventions and how easy it would be to execute them based on music videos and songs we previously watched or heard. After this, we narrowed it down to pop and R&B, where we held a face-to-face group vote and ultimately chose R&B. After that, we could continue with our genre research smoothly. 

To Do: Currently, I think it is best if we focus on continuing our genre research, so we can quickly gain more ideas, and share them with the others. Especially since we do not know too much about R&B and its conventions.

Week 2:

As we continued on with our genre search, we started collecting ideas on what we could put into our music videos, and more importantly, what song to use. We planned on taking inspiration from the music videos we researched, then pitching the possible ideas to the group, followed with a discussion. Similarly, we prepared one or two songs each to nominate for the official song we would use. We also used a voting system here, after evaluating the pros, cons, and possible ideas for each song. We eventually decided on “POV” by Ariana Grande which is classified as a R&B/Soul song, which was a shock, as Ariana Grande is typically considered a pop singer.

Problem: We faced some difficulties while researching R&B music videos. To be honest, my group did not know a lot of R&B artists besides mainstream and popular ones such as SZA, Daniel Caesar, The Weeknd, etc. Since we did not have too much knowledge on R&B music videos, we were worried that we would research the same (popular) music videos, which would not give me a wide range of knowledge. Additionally, the song we chose did not have a music video, only a lyric video, so we couldn't really take inspiration from that.

Solution: To get a better idea of R&B and its artists, we listened to some recognizable R&B songs and got to know the singer behind the songs. With this, we knew some more artists and familiarized ourself with R&B. To make sure we did not research the same music videos, we each wrote a list of the videos we were planning to research, and cross checked to ensure there were no duplicates. We also tried our best to not research the same artists. This is so we can know the different sides of R&B.

To do: Once again, finishing the genre research is the top priority. Even through we have decided our song for the music video, gaining knowledge on R&B conventions could help make our music video obviously R&B.

Week 3: 

Continuing our genre research was still a task we had yet to finish. This was a very long and tedious task, especially when I’m so busy this week with tests and unit assessments from other subjects outside of media. Since I have to focus on those tests, I haven’t had the chance to really work on my genre research. Especially since I plan to make my genre research rather detailed. When I asked the rest of my team, most of them were also not ready with it. Now I learnt the hard way to manage my time properly to avoid any rushing of my work, which might sacrifice the quality in order to meet deadlines. 

Problem: Since I was so busy, and did not have time to finalize my genre research, I’m wasting precious time finishing it off rather than using my time to start on other blog posts such as the statement of intent. If I had finished it easier by exercising better time management skills, I would’ve been able to start the progress of other important parts of this music video project. 

Solution: I allocated some time after school to really focus on getting my genre research done. I visited a study cafe that really got me into a nice workflow, and I was able to complete the last few music videos I analyzed. I learnt that setting up a proper study area with minimal distractions such as mobile phones is an effective way to finish repetitive media studies work. Next time, I’ll use this same method when I have a lack of motivation to do a blog post.

To Do: Now, I don’t really have anything assigned by my teacher however, I could get a head start on other blog posts like a screen test, which would be a vital part in  our process to find a good actor to be our artist.

Week 4: 

This week, my team and I started working on the statement of intent. Over the genre research period, we discussed possible storylines, characters, and the overall vibe we are trying to incorporate into our music videos. So we did not really face difficulties writing the statement of intent itself. We decided on a love story between two individuals, where it all ended up to be the girl’s (our artist’s) daydream. We also started on the mood board, so we could visualize the overall style and vibe of each character, scene, etc. This will make it easier for us to decide mis-en-scene, such as outfits and props. Additionally, we printed out a lyric sheet and a storyboard template, hoping to get progress on those two. 

Problem: A problem we faced is we were confused when asked to choose a target market in the statement of intent. We had an idea of what our music video would include, but it was difficult to assign a specific sub-culture to the aesthetic we chose, which made the statement of intent hard to complete. Additionally, the deadline given by our media teacher to finish the statement of intent was quite short, forcing us to complete it quickly.

Solution: We decided to think of it from a different perspective. Instead of thinking “what target audience would match our video”, we thought “what things can we add to our music video to match the chosen target audience?”. Since we live in Bali, Indonesia, we thought about how we could target this audience easily via balinese beaches and indonesian cultural codes. We applied this same logic to other demographics and psychographics, thus solving our dilema. We also worked on it together as a team, in order to add all the necessary information efficiently. 

To Do: Finishing the actual blog posts for these tasks will be the tedious but very necessary next step to take before I can focus on anything else. So for now, finishing the blog posts and reflection is needed.

Week 5: 

In today’s media lesson, we learnt about persona, which is an important part of an artists “branded” or “real” personality. This is one way an artist can express themselves artistically or build a fanbase. We did a classwork per team to research persona, and plan the persona of our artist. Since we did this as a group, we split the parts and finished it relatively quick. So overall, it was not too much of a hassle and it helped us shape our artist. Tisha, who is in charge of the storyboard, found an online storyboard platform/app that she found easy to use, and provided a clear outline of how each scene is going to be filmed. However, she also wanted to create a traditional storyboard to compare between the two. This week, we also finished our mood board.

Problem: One problem I faced is that my part in the persona classwork, our persona plan, required more decision making, and I often had to consult the other members in order to finalize the persona we wanted for our artist. Especially since we planned to create two separate personas, both on-screen and off-screen. I was feeling a lack of inspiration and always asked the other team members questions.

Solution: One way I fixed my lack of inspiration was actually asking students who do not take media studies. I asked them questions about certain celebrity personas we could take inspiration from that would match with both our music video, and our actor, Kellie. Making sure that Kellie can properly embody the persona is an important point in order for filming to go smoothly. With the unbiased view of students outside of media studies, who could possibly also have more knowledge on a wider range of celebrities, I got more suggestions and feedback about the persona I was building for the artist, and also public figures I could reference. This made it easier for me to complete my part in the persona classwork. 

To Do: I really need to get on with the completion of my mood board blog, as the actual mood boards are finished. I just need to start on the actually written content of the blog along with a reflection.  

Week 6: 

This week’s media lessons were mostly used for project work, which provided us with ample time to work on our unfinished blogs, such as the location scout and risk assessment, which was completed by Kimora this week. However, on the first media lessons of the week, we had a media ecology unit assessment. I had to set aside the project work in order to study for the unit assessment, which challenged my time management skills. Additionally, we started filming our first scene today at Peninsula Island. This was scheduled earlier than the recommended filming period given by my teacher, because we want to get a head start on stressful tasks such as filming.  

Problem: Our filming location is about an hour away from our team’s houses, we were scared that we would arrive at different times, and uncontrolled variables such as no internet and low battery would affect our ability to communicate and coordinate. One other problem is that our 2 main actors, Kellie and Karl, arrived an hour late. When they did arrive, they texted the other members and I that they had low batteries, and they could not find close parking and our exact locations. When we tried texting them, the messages were not delivered to any of them, since their phones were both dead. We were worried they would not find us, and we waited another 30 minutes until they actually arrived. It was already getting dark at that point. The last problem we faced was that, Karl planned on asking out Kellie in real life on the spot, and we planned to film it to use Kellie’s real reaction in our music video. However, the area became crowded, and multiple people decided cheering for Kellie and Karl.

Solution: To fix the communication worries between Kimora, Tisha and I, we decided to meet up at my house and go there together, so If anything came up, none of us would be lost. Karl and Kellie also decided to go together. When I received Kellie and Karl’s texts, we sent Tisha to go to the entrance and find them while Kimora and I guarded our belongings. After 30 whole minutes, Kellie and Karl finally arrived. We still had some sunshine left, so we filmed the scenes really efficiently and fast before the sunset started. We also got to take some photos of Kellie for her instagram. We decided to change our plan, where sunset scenes would be appropriate and fitting, to make up for the lost time we had with the sun. Lastly, we asked the bystanders to kindly stay away from our cameras, and we also decided to not use the audio in the videos to cover up the cheering sounds. 

To Do: Now, I really need to finish the rest of my blogs such as the storyboard and mood board. The deadline for all these blogs is next week on Monday, so I actually have to work on it soon. I also need to remember to put reflections for all my blog posts, if I didn’t already.

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Week 1:

This week was our first week back at school. We dove into theory of stardom to better understand what really makes a star. Our plans for Ellie Collins is that she is up and coming artist, starting small and personal with her album. So, we don’t want to delve too much into the star qualities, but we will start with her “ordinariness”. We also plan to have some consumption aspects, to show that she is rising the charts and is getting some brand deals or magazines, but we will keep it limited to show she isn’t too big of an artist yet.  

Problem: We really need to film all the scenes that we are missing. Since Kellie was missing this week and for all of the holidays, we weren’t able to film at all. So, we are a bit behind schedule compared to other groups. We’re lucky we already filmed a while back so we at least can start editing those scenes and receive feedback from our media teacher, so we aren’t too left behind.

Solution: We started continuing our filming schedule to plan our dates when Kellie’s back. This ensures that Kellie and the rest of us can free up her schedule on film days and makes us finish filming much quicker. We don’t have much time anymore so we got to finalize all the clips and shots quickly, so we can also start editing the video and finishing it. 

To Do: I just need to film everything and start taking pictures for the social media and digipak. Especially digipak, because that will be what I’m working on for the next weeks. I already have an idea of what we’re going to do, we just have to wait for Kellie and make time to take pictures when she’s back.

Week 2: 

On the second week of school, Kellie finally came back from holiday. This week, we created audience feedback questions where we showed our target audience the first part of our music video, and ask them to fill a form. They then give feedback on our work and help us improve more. So far the answers have been extremely helpful because it gives us new perspectives and ideas that are unique and creative. Learning from what you target audience really wants is important to make the best product/media text for them. We also filmed again this week, where we went to Renon park, Onion’s, and also Kellie’s house.

Problem: We wanted to ask male students for their opinions too as we have a male in our video, and we wanted a new perspective. However, we realized most of them are quite lazy to write some actually long useful feedback instead of short general comments that do not help with our video at all. We also faced a problem when Kellie and Karl were late to filming again, which made us lose some sunlight.

Solution: We pushed them to write more detailed feedback and specific details they'd want us to add/change. After we did that we surprisingly got better feedback, which goes to show theres always room for improvement, even when people think the video is already good and just want to give short answers. We solved the late issue by pushing Kellie and Karl to be earlier next time to receive the best results.

To Do:  I have to continue on my digipak blog, because so far I’ve only made the sketches of my ideas + some of the research. So I need to finalize the designs before I start taking the actual pictures for the digipak.

Week 3: 

On week three, we actually did alot of filming. We went to the beach, and to analogue cafe again to refilm. Overall it was very productive because we took alot of photos both for the digipak and the social media page. This time, Kellie and Karl weren’t late for once, which allowed us to save time and start filming right away.

Problem: We had to rerecord many times because Karl kept messing up his lines and Kellie kept laughing. They even told the rest of us to leave the room because they kept laughing. However because they had to retake the scenes so many times, it made our storage full. Additionally, Tisha bought a clapper, which unfortunately cannot be written on with marker. During filming, Tisha’s digicam stopped working, making us worried that we won’t be able to extract the footage.

Solution: We deleted any unnecessary or bad footage on the spot to save space. We also emphasized to Karl and Kellie that we need to catch the sunset, so they would have to work quick. Instead of using markers, we used our fingers to show the scene number. Tisha was able to extract the footage by plugging in her camera to a charger, thus showing that only the battery is broken, not the camera.

To Do: I took some pictures for the digipak this week so I have to edit them and design them into the digipak. I’m looking forward to it actually.

Week 4: 

This week was fully for our project, so all three lessons this week, our media teacher gave us time to work on our blogs and everything else such as editing. My job was to finish the digipak development blog, while everyone else was assigned with other big blogs and researches. The deadline is this week, which makes me really nervous because I feel unprepared. Me and my group all worked together to finish our respective blogs, and we even filmed this Tuesday for one tiny scene and a few photos for social media.

Problem: It’s hard for me to focus in class because of other classmates disturbing me and being noisy. I prefer working at home because it’s more quiet and be more comfortable. Also, the deadline is getting closer and closer so I’m quite scared I’m going to end up finishing it last minute again like usual. Bad time management is a very bad habit of mine that I face during media studies submissions.

Solution: This week is the deadline, so I’m going to work on it almost everyday to ensure I don’t have too much work at the very last day at the very last second. I’m already done with the digipak’s design, I just have to write about my process and why I made certain choices. Hopefully all goes well and I feel much better after it’s done. I’m going to prioritize media studies for the week.

To Do:  I basically have to finish everything in my blog except the critical reflections, so I better work on whats unfinished right now, such as my digipak development because thats my individual blog.

⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔ ꒰ ᧔ෆ᧓ ꒱ ⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔

REFLECTION:

Keeping a weekly progress log has honestly been useful to recap the lessons I’ve learnt, the progress we made so far, and it also serves as a refresher to what we learnt in the past. It’s rewarding to see how far we’ve come in these 6 weeks, and all the grinding I did payed off. The weekly progress also reminds me that deadlines are getting closer every week, which motivates me to work harder and harder. I feel like I’m doing a mini reflection at the end of every week, which makes it easier for me to identify my mistakes or improvements over the week, allowing me to track my growth as a media student. Looking back on how I faced all these problems makes me appreciate my work and effort more. However, a big problem for the weekly progress blog is that it is very forgettable. Some weeks, I’d totally forget that it even exists, then the next week I’d have to scramble to ask my friends what we did and try to regather my thoughts from last week as I write. This also reduces the accuracy of my work. So, in order to solve this, I started putting the weekly progress in my to do list I have on my Ipad, so every time I use it, I see that I have to do my weekly progress. I also set reminders for at the end of every last media class of the week to at least make an outline of what I will write in my weekly progress. Next time, I’ll continue using this method. Overall, It makes me proud to look over how I started from zero.

My Team

 Here is my team for component 3, including Tisha, Kimora, Kellie, and myself.

˖ ֹ੭୧ My Team ⊹ ࣪ ⑅

(Kimora, Cassie, Kellie, Tisha)

MY TEAMMATE’S BLOGS

Tisha - https://tisha-regentsmedia.blogspot.com/

Kimora - https://kimora-regentsmedia.blogspot.com/

Kellie - https://kellie-regentsmedia.blogspot.com/

⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔ ꒰ ᧔ෆ᧓ ꒱ ⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔

REFLECTION: 

This time, our teacher has chosen our groups based on what he thinks will be best for us and our members. Fortunately, I was chosen to be in a group with people I wanted to work with. I’m working with a similar group to my component 1 group, but with one member different. It is my first time working with Kellie in a group, but she is my friend so I’m not worried about group chemistry. Tisha, Kimora and Kellie have worked as a group on the “cut to the beat” classwork, meaning they’ve already had experience doing media together, and I’d be a new addition. I’m excited to work with this group and hope we can all make a great project together. 

TISHA: I’ve worked with Tisha for 3/4 of my media projects including this one, meaning I know a lot about her work and work ethic in media studies. She is diligent and always someone you can rely on when doing work, and she’s open to suggestions in her editing. I enjoy working with her as she is also my close friend and I can easily talk to her about things in and outside of media. It’s also easy to make plans with her to film/do blogs/study media with her so we often work together and consult each other. I often ask her questions or for advice for component 3 as well. She has many cameras and paid editing software which makes our scenes high-quality and the editing quite good. Overall she is a good teammate I can trust.

KIMORA:  I’ve worked with Kimora in also 3/4 of my media projects including this one, meaning I’m familiar with her and her work. She’s very easy to talk to and always finishes her work first compared to all of us, meaning she has good time management. She always comes prepared when we shoot scenes, and she has a car and driver’s license which makes transportation easier when changing locations during filming. She’s always online on WhatsApp which makes communication smoother as questions can be answered quicker or updates about our location when we are meeting up can each her faster. Overall, she is a good teammate that always gets her work done on time and her schedule is quite flexible as well, which makes planning easy.

KELLIE: I’ve never worked with Kellie before in a media studies project, but I’m already friends with her and worked with her in group projects in other subjects at school, meaning I already know what kind of person she is. Even though it’s my first time working with her in media, it wasn’t hard to get along or work together with her. She was the only one in our group willing to act as our main star, which we were grateful for, and she always agreed to act out the scenes we planned, which was very helpful. She often filmed on her own with Karl to film extra videos incase we needed more, so it was very helpful for the scene where they cuddle on the bed and watch their videos together. Overall, she was also a good teammate that we could rely on. 

OVERALL: I loved working with my team as I ways friends with all of them, we had no conflicts and everyone was dedicated on working on the project. I’m grateful that my team has good synergy together and was able to complete our project with minimal problems. Our one big problem was that Kellie, our main actor, went to Australia during her break which made it impossible for us to start filming during the school break, even though we were all free. To solve this, we decided to use our time on making extra blogs such as classwork blogs. In doing this, we also improve our skills in filming and other production aspects. Due to the delay in filming, we had to rush and film many scenes before she left to at least have something to show our teacher before the deadline. Next time, we will make sure to schedule everything before so we don’t suddenly get surprised by absences from our members.

Brief

Here is the brief for component 3 that explains what the task. This blog was done by me (Cassie).

⚘. Brief ⋆˚࿔

 

⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔ ꒰ ᧔ෆ᧓ ꒱ ⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔

REFLECTION:

This is my final media project, which kind of saddens me but it’s finally the time to do the project I was most excited about since my first day of media class. Making a music promotional package sounds so fun and I’m really looking forward to building a fictional star across all these products. Hopefully this project moves smoothly and is executed well, and I hope I’ll be happy with the final product.

Final Documentary and Thumbnail ⋆˙⟡♡

 Here is the final product for both the documentary and thumbnail for my crime documentary project.

Documentary

Here is a google drive link incase the video doesn’t work: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f1uqSrZlVwtlnKEWchSf6AXg4qUHUYAP/view?usp=drivesdk

Thumbnail