Against The Wind: Final Cut

This is the final cut of my music video, Against The Wind. I actually made numerous improvements from the feedback I received from members of my target audience who had viewed the rough cut. Firstly, I added in a more diverse mix of transitions, particularly cross dissolves to make the shot transitions smoother and to give a greater sense of continuity, this was in response to the comment that some of the shot transitions were too short, sharp and sudden. I also added in some more additive cross dissolves as I think the dream-like, ethereal style the transitions evoke follows the indie music video conventions.

When I asked my artist for feedback she said that she liked the low angle mid shots of her stood under the trees, so I've added in some more of these shots as they reinforce the representation of her authority and independence within the video. I have also lengthened some shots as a member of my target audience said that she couldn't really fully register what she was being shown in some shots as they were so quick. However I have only lengthened a few shots as one of the main conventions of music videos is the quick shot times, this has been proved in the research section of my blog as I created a timeline of Ben Howard's Old Pine music video. Looking back at the timeline of shots I found that the longest shot time within the music video was about 8 seconds and the quickest shot time was about 1 second, so I tried to keep my shot times between 1 - 8 seconds.

The other improvements I completed was cutting out some shaky bird shots as there was some noticably shaky footage which dis-orientated the viewer, thus improving the quality of the music video. I removed the first speedboat shot so the main speedboat shot is more spectacular as some members of my target audience said that it was too repetitive. I also trimmed the main speedboat shot as the speedboat goes out of shot at the end, so I edited it to make it smoother. I made the transition into the letter animation smoother by inserting a cross dissolve as it was originally quite an abrupt cut. I also lengthened the fade to black at the end of the music video as it was too sudden and members of my target audience said they wanted time to see more of the water washing over the sand in the end shot. The final aspect of the film I edited from the rough cut was enhancing the colour of all the shots by increasing the brightness/contrast filter, thus sharpening the imagery and brightening the vibrancy of the colours which evokes a summery, cheerful atmosphere that reinforces the typical conventions of the indie genre.

Overall I'm very pleased with the final outcome of my music video as I believe it appeals to the target audience of 14 - 19 year old girls, it follows the typical conventions of the indie genre, and it successfully promotes my artist and her song (which is essentially the main job of a music video). I've also found the process challenging but I've overcome the challenges and learnt valuabe skills while creating the final product.