Third time filming

On Sunday it was my first time filming in the daylight therefore I focused mainly on shooting with the props which won't look as effective in the dark such as the falling glitter and dancing with the balloons.

Unfortunately, the smoke bomb didn't look good as I thought it would - it didnt let off much smoke and didnt last long enough to try out different shots. Im currently looking for alternative methods I can use which gives a smoke effects such as smoke machines

Some photos from filming and editing

first edit of music video

This is a montage of shots I have put together to show how i have used editing techniques such as lighting and transitional effects.

Editing and Filming process so far...

Release Form

This Personal Release form i have made is a simple contract that gives me legal permission as a filmmaker to use the footage of the actor in my film, to edit it and to publish the video online.

Second time filming

Today I carried on filming my music video and had to focus on more of the forest based shots, we finished the filming with 10 minutes of footage. Although it was unplanned, it was very windy and dark and the trees and the actors hair blowing made it look extra scary. Throughout filming, i have become more confident in my ability to understand what works properly in terms of camera angles and framing and what would look good for my music video in terms of its abstract qualities and following the narrative.

Here are 2 photos - one of the location and one of us shooting

Exporting my video to the editing suite

Today i exported the first part of filming i had done onto the editing suite, this involved me creating my own folder and i had to rename each clip which helped with the organisation. I then had to delete any clips which i didn't need such as if the quality wasn't good ie too dark. Before i started editing any of the clips, i decided i had to upload the song onto the editing suite so i did this by putting the song onto a USB.

Audience Profile

A2 Media Audience Profile on Prezi

Hazards

Props, Costume and Location

Time Lapse shot

Today I worked on my first and most challenging shot which is a 6 second time lapse from day to night. I was luckily able to borrow the necessary equipment such as a intravolmeter (which plugs into the camera and controls the shutter), Canon 7D for maximum quality and a time lapse remote. I set up the camera on a high shelf facing outwards, connected the remote and made sure i had sufficient space on the memory card. i then set it up so the camera would take a picture every 9 seconds for about 7 hours whilst keeping the camera charges. The end result was really stunning and I am looking forward to editing this shot such as speeding it up or even grading it.

Animatic of Music Video

This is my animatic for my music video, making this animatic definitely helped me to keep the shots with the rhythm of the music so therefore i have changed the timings slightly.

Music Video Storyboard

Character Profile of chosen actor

I have asked Maria to star in my my music video as she fits the brief in terms of what i am looking for as the main actor in my music video. To follow the stereotypical characteristics of the indie/accoustic/folk genre, i wanted the actor to have natural qualities and a hippy-esque feel about them and the confidence to perform quite well and naturally. This was asking quite alot, but luckily, my close friend Maria was happy to do it, i wanted someone with very long hair which she has (longer than the enclosed picture), she is also quite natural looking and i believe she will play the part well. 

when planning costume i attempt to follow the stereotypical fashion of the indie/acoustic/folk genre,i have studied how artists from the same genre dress and have focused mainly on female performers such as Sarah Versprille (Pure Bathing Culture),

Fiona Apple (Fiona Apple),  Eliot Sumner (I Blame Coco) and last but not least Florence Welch (Florence & The Machine ).

storyboard decisions

For the past few weeks i have been quite confused at where to start with my storyboard, because of this i have been drafting and re drafting storyboard ideas to get a better idea of what shots i may use and the duration of those shots. I have not started illustrating yet as i do not want my lack of drawing capability to confuse me further, so i am going to analytically describe each shot in a fair amount of detail then draw the shots when the writing is finished.

Evaluation of Group task music video

As a mini-project, we worked in a group of 6 to deconstruct and reconstruct 30 seconds of a media text, which because of our chosen brief was a music video (we chose Ed Sheeran - The A Team). The group of 6 were me, Ruby Dearness, Aimee Bant, Chloe Carroll, Jodie Gibson and Abbie Hastings. We chose this specific music video out of our group because it had various different shots and we had the ability to learn how to edit with the new media software as our video had high contrast and was in black and white. I think if we were to do this project again we would definitely focus on a video which had lip sync in and more quick shots to improve our skills for our later project.

We reconstructed 30 seconds of the music video which we chose to be 20 seconds in as the first 20 seconds had a lack of editing and was just one shot. Firstly, as a group we watched the music video and decided what kind of setting we were going to use and when we would have time and all of the group to shoot sand edit, we decided on times when we all had study periods and when we could all get together at lunch, because we knew that more time means more ability to get it right and not have to rush. I think as a team, we organised our self concisely and i think this was a major strength of the success of our project. 

We set up a production schedule, and made sure we stuck to this, especially because we had a limited time. Chloe had the video on her phone so when we were filming we could compare the shots on the video to our shots and to make sure the timing was correct for every shot. I think one thing we could have improved on is making sure we made use of the video storyboard so we didn't have to rely on the video - a lot of the time it didn't work and we spent a lot of time waiting for the video to load. 

After we had filmed every shot, we had a lot of time left for editing so we took advantage of this. We let Ray talk us through the different techniques we could use as he had knowledge on how the editing system and when he left us to our own accord, we decided to look at how we could best duplicate the Ed Sheeran music video with the editing, as it had a strong black and white effect with no grey and a strong contrast. I think it was good that we had a lot of time left for editing because we didn't have to rush.

We had to name each shot which took time and patience and then placed this on the editing timeline, we then cropped down the shots to best copy the video and making sure we stuck to the timing of each shot. We then used the black and white contrast technique then changed this so the contrast was slightly higher and black and white was stronger - this differed between shots as some shots had quite a white background.

After we had editing, we asked Ray to export the video, and by then we had a final music video. I think if we were to do this all again, we would most definitely choose something more complex for more of a challenge, aswell as something with more props and more use of mise en scene, maybe even something more abstract. 

Final Music Video

Codes and Conventions of Selected Brief

Codes and Conventions of selected Brief

For my A2 media project, I have chosen the music video promo brief, along with a promotion package for the release of an album and a website homepage for the band. 

I want my promo music video to fit into the codes and conventions of an established music video, as well as the style, therefore I would have to think about the genre, narrative, media language, representation and audience theory to establish a similar youth subculture audience as well as to ensure it was clear which genre it belongs to. I have yet to choose between the three forms (narrative, performance and artist) but have researched into them. Here are some codes and conventions of music videos, split up into the three forms. 

A music video is a piece of marketing merchandise to promote the artist and sell the product, and is the ultimate medium of the postmodern world. The codes and conventions of a music video vary depending on the genre of music; however, some can be general. General conventions I have found to pop up through all genres are the following: 

the artist is shown performing 
the lyrics of the song influence what is shown in the video 
the pace of editing fits the pace of the music 
the codes of dress reflect the mood of the song. 

Thinking about narrative music videos, I have found that the main convention of this form is that the music video contains a series of events that both make sense to the audience and appear to be unified in time and space. So as to ensure repeated viewings and the effective marketing of the band/artist and song, the narrative code must be loose or simply suggestive rather than realistic or detailed. 

I have also looked into the conventions of a band or solo artist performance and have found that a degree of authenticity of the performance is sought by the band and the director so we often find lip-syncing close-up, mimed playing of instruments, repetition of chorus shots to enhance repeatability, unusual camera shots and angles (e.g. the micro camera shots attached to the neck of a guitar, sweeping crane shots to film audience reaction to the band playing etc.). The solo artist conventions follow many of the band performance conventions plus choreographed dance routines to enhance permeability. Also, a first-person mode of address directly engaging the viewer through the camera which involves many close-up shots of eyes rolling and gesturing and if the video is a hybrid form cutting between performance and narrative then the solo artist or band lead singer often becomes part of the narrative story, acting as narrator and participant at the same time. Thinking about my specific genre (indie/electro),i have found the costume tends to be laid back yet reflects the personality of the music, and instruments are usually shown (guitars, drums, amps, etc.)

The Abstract/Image form is where the video has no reference to the song what so ever. However these styles are often cross and can be broken down and explained further. I have found this to be very popular within my chosen genre (indie/electronic) and it seems they seek out to reflect their music video as more of an art form which has a hidden meaning rather than to follow the lyrics or story. I have found a lot of the videos to have cliché imagery through the use of editing and mise-en-scene and that a lot of the abstract music videos I have researched into are very much a “surface without substance” For my genre, the music videos would use unusual props and vintage style costumes for a female band/artist. An example of where these two elements can be found is in the Kate Nash video for ‘Foundations’. Props such as toothbrushes, socks and watches have all been used to link with the lyrics but create a quirky tone to the artist and video. The artist’s costume consists of an old-fashioned vintage style dress, which is considered fashionable at the moment, however as the style is dated this gives an unusual feel to the artist.  

The idea that youth culture is expressed very freely has transformed the music video not only into the most effective tool for promotion within the music industry, but into a powerful ideological force as well Abstract music videos are on a visually artistic level, which enters the realm of culture, if not art. Doing this, my music video will employ strong beliefs and will function within society at a deeper level, as well as allowing me to be creative. 

Indie music videos have a certain ideology of being anti-establishment and appeals to those who consider themselves to be anti-establishment to some degree. This is why the lyrics are largerly about rebelling, such as sex and drugs. The lighting is usually low-key, and is sometimes on a stage sometimes with disco type lights. Other cinematography are MCUs of band members, wide shot of entire band, close ups of vocalist, close ups of instruments, long shots of entire band, panning shots, high angle/worm eye/ disorientated angles and the majority of the shots are with a handheld or steadicam. I have found a particular pattern in the figure expressions are laid back/uncaring, they are sometimes they are semi-headbanging with the music and the singers lean into the microphone whilst holding the guitar quite high up. The location is usually set in a studio, a small room, a rehearsal space, a stage, or rural outdoor area. 

For example, indie music videos often portray rebellion by the use of mise-en-scene and pace of editing, often provoking an attitude or ideology to be portrayed and amplified within the audience. The Killers's "Runaways" video is a prime example of this, although the video provokes rebellion and chaos it still strictly follows the same conventions of indie music videos.

codes and conventions of 2 media texts

Tribes - We Were Children

Entirely performance based, this was particularly inspiring, as this is something seemingly rare to come across when viewing indie/rock/folk music videos. The video represents the indie folk genre by use of live footage, as opposed to studio shot footage that is seen in pop videos, and Is set above a shop in Camden town, an area in London where music of that specific genre is appreciated.

They capture the audience (prominently young) probably more than the band, which reflect the indie ethic and the connection they have with their audience through viral messages for example, as opposed to the pop culture, especially with Tribes, who depended on word of mouth and live performances to spread their message., no narrative or concept is shown, it is just the band performing to the masses and is a way to advertise themselves in the same kind of DIY way. The video portrays youth as strong, energetic and full of zest, a message i want to portray through my music video.

fast zoom in zoom out shots are used filmed with a shaky handheld camera, which gives the impression the music video isn't very organised and is purely just for the sound performance of the band. throughout the mise en scene, we can see various signs of Britain such as the red London buses and England flags in the background at one point, which could show the band want to reflect their routes and where they came from.

Infact, this video was filmed in just three shots, as this is what it took before the police arrived at the Camden residence, because of this, there is something very raw about the video with the infective energy which stops the passers-by.

Punching in a Dream - Young Blood

the video is one of energy and zest and empowering to a teenage audience. Sympathetically, it taps into their teenage angst and provides them with an idyllic world, in such high key that it is almost over-exposed (so as to create a dream-like effect) - definitely something i would like to incorporate into my design. Like other videos, i would like to create the same feeling in my music video somehow.

there are repeated shots of fireworks and sparklers. These portray how dynamic and bright youth can be, in balance with their untamed and uncontrolled image (as seen with shots of teenagers crashing down on the bonnets of cars). They also fizz and whir about along with the impassioned drumbeats and chords of the song.

The band can be seen in the video, but are not particularly glorified, they are shot individually and in the same manner as any other actor in the video, though the female and male leads hold their gaze longer with the camera.

The youth are shown enjoying a wild, care-free existence, running and tumbling through the rugged countryside and swimming naked in lakes - acts which are deemed inappropriate in a conservative society.

                                                                        

Audience Demographic & Psychographic Profile

Thinking about my chosen audience for my music video, i would have to research into their demographics and the Psychographic Profile. Demographics are split into 5 groups:

 A- Higher management, bankers, lawyers, doctors and other professionals
 B- Middle management, teachers, creative and media people eg graphic designers
 C1- Office supervisors, junior managers, nurses, specialist clerical staff - white collar
 C2- Skilled manual workers, plumbers, builders - blue collar
 D- Semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers
 E- Unemployed, students, pensioners, casual workers

By using this information, i can shape my chosen media text (music video) to appeal to a group with known viewing habits. Although, this is not of course a complete picture. It does not tell the media producters some things they might need to know, such as how much money each group has to spend each week. Some skileld manual workers, like electricians, earn more money each week than say a teacher, but they probably do not spend it in the same way. Also, demographics is only about the main earner in a household so young people at home (ie students) are not included.

I can also research into my audience by looking into psychographics - looking at the behaviour and personality traits of its members.

Deconstruction and Reconstruction of a Media Text

Re shoot and Edit 30 seconds of a Media Text (deadline: 8th October)

Chosen Song: Ed Sheeran - The A Team.

For this mini project, we had to deconstruct a music video and reconstruct 30 seconds of the 1 minute storyboard we produced over the summer, trying to keep it as similar as possible to the original video using the same mise en scene, camerawork, editing etc.....

Abbie Hastings - Cast
Beth Stansfield West - Editor
Aimee Bant - Producer/Camera
Chloe Carroll - Editor/Camera
Jodie Gibson - Director
Ruby Dearness -  Camera

Setting:
-Field with bench
-A path
-A hill with trees
-A street

First shot- starts 30 seconds in. We filmed this in a field area of college with benches on 02/10/12. Filmed by Chloe Carroll. Abbie was the actor.

Second shot – This was a shot walking from the bench in field area of college on 02/10/12. Filmed by Ruby. Abbie was the actor.

Third shot -  filmed on 26/09/12 and shot by Chloe and Aimee on field. Abbie was the actor.

 

Fourth shot - Filmed on hill by Chloe Carroll, again with Abbie been the actor on the 26/09/12.

Fifth shot - Filmed on hill by Chloe Carroll, again with Abbie been the actor on the 26/09/12.

Sixth shot - filmed on field on 29/09/12 with Abbie being the actor.

Seventh shot - filmed on field on 29/09/12 with Abbie being the actor.

Eighth shot - filmed on field on 29/09/12 with Abbie being the actor.

Ninth shot - filmed on field on 29/09/12 with Abbie being the actor.

10th shot - shot of Abbie walking down the street. Filmed by Ruby on 02/10/12

Pictures we took whilst shooting our music video

These show how we made shots similiar to the shots used on the video to create versimilitude.
The shot lasts for 2 seconds and is a upwards tilted medium close up which we have shot using a camera on a tripod. This image shows how we tried to recreate the shot in the music video.

This photo shows the environment in which we filmed the scene in which we see the girl walk into the shot, pushes the branch back and walks out of the shot. We tried to find the best environment which looked like the one they used in the video.

 

This is the team minus two, as they were taking the photo. it shows us trying shooting the shot.

 

This is the main character in our music video, Abbie, and shows the use of props (the blanket) which we borrowed from the health & safety department and looks very similiar to the one in the video. Her hair is in a messy ponytail, she is wearing a coat; similiar to the
girl in the video.

Production Schedule

Date.	What we are trying to accomplish on this date?	Where are we doing this?
17/09/12	Choose music video from group, make production schedule, look through storyboard	In the classroom
19/09/12	Choose job roles for each team member, go through production schedule and think about setting.	In the classroom
22/09/12	start filming first field shots	Field near college
24/09/12	Filming the bench shots	on a field near college
26/09/12	Filming the last shots	on a street near college
29/09/12	Get used to the editing software and start editing	Editing suite in college
01/10/12	Filming/Editing	Editing suite in college
03/10/12	Editing	Editing suite in college
05/10/12	Editing	Editing suite in college
08/10/12	Last bits of editing and exporting of video	Editing suite in college

Lyrics Analysis

Today I decided that it would be a good idea for me to really take my track apart and to begin to understand the track on a detailed scale, In order to do this I put the lyrics in the center of an A3 page and mind mapped around it, focusing more on my first thoughts and not going into too much detail.

I think this song is definitely related to fear of all the possibilities for external forces to penetrate someones success. "Like punching in a dream, breathing life into a nightmare."
like the feeling you get in a dream of how you can take yourself anywhere, a feeling of weightlessness and limitless possibilities. It seems like as soon as something could possibly go wrong, it quickly does - "I don't ever wanna be here." It can be related to someone in a situation where they are not valued for their potential, pressuring the individual to evolve despite any obstacle. Fear is also shown in the song, and shows that it always brings us back to the triggers we had feared so much in the first place. As if, we can never have our one moment to shine because of all these fears triggering us to lose the main focus in our ideal reality.

I suppose there is a lot of different interpretations the song could have depending on the person and therefore could be quite a personal song - i think the main thing that i have took from analysis the lyrics in depth is the irony between the upbeat tone and rhythm of the song and the theme of fear and death through the lyrics.

Music Videos - Audience Feedback

Since my chosen music genre for my music video is folk/alternative i require audience feedback in the form of qualitative data of music videos with similiar codes and conventions. This gives me the ability to know what codes and conventions attract my chosen audience and what type of element they prefer ie. performance more than narrative.

I have chosen three music videos from the same genre and have conducted a series of questions which i want to ask people.

1. Is the music video what you expected for the song?
2. What do you remember most?
3. How does it make you feel?
4. Was there anything about the music video you didnt like?
5. If you could change anything about it what would it be?

Here are the videos in order of questioning:

Here is the feedback:

Youtube account

YOUTUBE

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcMb6nQpzbohTrObgJQQnfA?feature=mhee

Skills Development Essay

For my AS media studies foundation portfolio, my brief consisted of using digital technology to create the front cover, a contents page and double page spread of a music magazine, adopting the codes and conventions of my chosen music genre. All images and text used had to be original, and produced by me- with minimum of four images. For my preliminary task, right at the start of my AS year, I had to produce the front page of a new school/college magazine Using DTP and an image manipulation program, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally I had to produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasps of DTP.

To develop this, I had to research competitive magazines with the same or similar target audience. (such as NME and Q magazine). Before I started my AS media studies work, I had certain skills already developed through the diploma in Creative and Media I studied at secondary school, specifically in the creative and research and planning sectors, and have had previous experience using digital technology such as working with cameras, adobe Photoshop and Fireworks when working on briefs such as unit 5, where we had to prepare and conduct a campaign and use marketing material to promote a specific event, we had to produce a press advertisement and create a logo and leaflets using Adobe Photoshop. 

Throughout the units, a key aspect of all projects was to research and plan to our hearts content. Be it mindmaps, rough drawn drafts, looking at real media texts, researching conventions and exploring creative possibilities to the brief and thinking outside the box when drafting and planning ideas. Creativity was also a huge aspect of all development, planning and production, because of the hands-on approach; I gained practical experience of a range of creative methods. We had numerous briefs, and we had to use our creative flow to interpret it how we wanted to.

I used my creative skills gained from past and felt I was able to start the course with an open mind. For example I used similar codes and conventions of indie/alternative music magazines but formed a creative direction by interpreting it in my own way, such as scanning drafts and posting it on my blog, then through feedback I would alter the look of my music magazine and interpret it to differ slightly from the codes and conventions, and fit into the indie “independent” DIY approach of being a bit different, so in some drafts I would put the masthead in the centre or drastically change the font whilst still making sure I was keeping consistent whilst in the back of my mind always trying represent my target audience as close to their real life counter-parts.

For my AS portfolio most of my research was into similar real media texts which were visually similar in the form, i.e. usually consisting of the colour red and indie band updates in bold which both adapt to the genre and relates to the audience. I also researched into magazines of the same genre which differentiate from the conventions (as sometimes although it breaks the codes and conventions they can still be accepted if It still has elements of conventions in it) especially as the music genre was indie/alternative. My principal source of information was the obvious and most helpful – looking through magazines. Once I had identified a number of similar texts, I was able to apply the analytical structure that I had already planned and developed. Aside from general research and planning, I found finding inspiration such as finding artistic similarities in typography through CD art of same genre and similar photo shoot cinematography from indie/alternative bands. This allowed me to find links even in a picture and adapt this to my production. Simple deconstruction of an artist’s musical personality allowed me to understand how they could be displayed and interpreted visually in a magazine, such as Madonna is feisty and feminist and could display this through use of red and dominating central text. I have had past experience transferring ideology through different media texts, such as in secondary school when we had to promote visual art using sound and supposed this helped me slightly.

Throughout my foundation portfolio I used Adobe Photoshop CS5 to create my music magazine and edit photographs taken. I found this to be equally challenging and rewarding due to the extremity of learning lots of new tools at once, but ending the project with a more professional looking magazine. As stated previously, I had used Adobe Photoshop before at secondary school but had only ever used the basic tools which account for basic image manipulation such as the feather tool. In AS Media studies, annoyingly, I knew what I wanted to achieve, but didn’t know what tools to use to create that effect. Therefore, I allowed myself more time to get the most from Adobe Photoshop CS5 and stepped out of my Photoshop comfort zone, trying out new tools and editing techniques such as the magic eraser and clone stamp tool (two of my personal favourites) and how to adjust lighting, brightness and contrasts as well as variations, this allowed me to change or play with different options with colours of clothing or even eye colour. I also experimented with filtering which meant the effect of the picture changed I used this tool a lot during the making of the product. Throughout the course, my skills in this sector developed and I realised that paying close attention to details and carefully laying out the artistic aspect of it, whilst working towards a well-planned and completed artistic concept was what I mainly had to think about throughout my development. I believe that taking the time to formulate a strong concept is extremely important to the success of my magazine and trying out different things over and over again to find the best idea for my music magazine.

To conclude, without the development of all of these skills I wouldn’t have had the outcome I have achieved. I think all of the production practices are equally important, and in a way they all flow into one. I have enjoyed the transition from learning the basics to learning the advanced and challenging myself by learning skills I didn’t think I would be good at, such as using digital technology.