2. What have you learnt from participating in each prelim task 1, 2, 3, and 5?

Task 1: The Audition Video

During task one I learnt a significant amount about music video production. For example, prior to the task I did not know that the singers actually sing when lipsyncing, not just pretending to sing. I also realised that the movements and actions that the band members in the actual music video make correlate to the projected meaning of the song, as well as creating a kind of persona for each character. I also learnt that we needed to take a lot of takes in order to have enough usable footage. I also gained experience in syncing the shots to the music, which was something I wasn't too used to doing.

Task 2: Learn and practise your performance

I learnt that warming up is something very important before performing, to avoid injuries and pains later on. I also learnt that facial expressions needed to be controlled alongside body actions in order to successfully portray our characters. I also noticed the differences in performance between the part I was to play (the drummer), and the other band members. The drummer was seemingly most energetic, and his facial expressions only ever seemed to be either faces of intensity or exhaustion.

The drummer with an intense expression of anger.

Me before (with coloured hair)

Task 3: Help to plan and organize your costume

Me having my hair/makeup done.

Task 3 made me realise how resourceful you sometimes need to be to achieve the desired outcome.

Me after extra items and fake tattoo

I learnt that even though you can dress in the exact clothing as the characters you are trying to portray, sometimes it still takes a little more creativity to create a look that suits the actor and 'feels right'. 

For me that involved adding a bandana, a chain, and a fake tattoo.

Task 5: Editing

During task five I learnt how much longer it took to edit a music video than I expected. I learnt the slightly different approach used in comparison to editing film or other forms of media, with music videos you sync the entire clip and then choose the parts that fit, rather than choosing the parts that fit and then syncing to the audio.

Mario and I editing the music video

I also learnt how to use the 'Luma Corrector' video effect in Premiere Pro, which I used to over-expose footage at certain points, as done in the actual Misery Business video. Grading was also slightly different to what I was used to, as much more colour correction was needed to get the shots looking like the original, (for example, it seemed I needed to add some more blue to the darker areas in most shots to get the right look).

Using the luma corrector we mimicked the original video's flashes.
This involved increasing the brightness and contrast, and at some
 points key-framing the two variables.