Update on Filming

Today as a group together we successfully filmed the artist lip syncing and shots of the artist for our video. After this I then took the camera with me to continue to film both myself and the actor we have.

Overall it has been a very successful day of filming and I will be editing the footage in tommorows lesson in order to get a rough cut music video.

Analysis of Students Magazine Advert

I have selected this magazine advert from the past students blog 'T2-40'.

In my opinion there are many things in which work well in order to capture and entice audiences. The first thing in which I think works really well in this advert is the technique of white on black. It really makes the text stand out and captures your attention instantly. We will be using this technique with ours to reflect the mood of the song as well as to make the text bold and eye-catching. Also the fonts they have used work really well as they are extremely easy to read from a distance as the characters are all clear. This is a technique I will take into consideration when creating our magazine advert.

The next great point about this advert is the graphics behind the tour listing. The colours aren't to striking however they do capture your attention still. I think this is a nice technique of having the colours bold but not to striking. We will also use this as it will incorporate the meaning and emotion behind the song if the colours stand out but aren't to bold.

They have also been successful in following the conventions of music magazine adverts. For example the name of the band and the track has clearly been shown, they have a star rating from NME magazine, they have a graphic/image, they have the release date, tour listings, a retailer in which you can buy it from and finally the record label in the bottom left hand corner. So therefore this will help to remind us what we need our magazine advert to feature.

From analysing the magazine advert I have realised that the layout of the titles are great. Nothing is out of proportion which is good and the title of the track being to the left of the frame works really well. So I have learnt from studying this advert that not having all the text in the centre works well, so I will try off-centering the text to either the left or the right of the frame.

The only negative I have about this advert is based on personal judgement. Which is that the record label logo should have been the same size as the hmv logo in the right hand corner.

Filming Plans

Due to our footage not being kept/deleted I will now have to re-film all the footage. I have planned all the footage we need to speed up the process. The list is below.

- The actor writing I miss you on paper
- Memory Book (montage of photos)
- Couple holding hands in the distance
- Artist lip syncing - on a bench
- Shots of artist in a variety of locations (variety of shot types)
- Mid shot of couple really happy
- Couple laying on the floor looking up to the sky
- Actor sitting alone
- The camera behind the couple on the bench
- Landscape shots
- Guy sitting alone isolated

So these are the parts of footage which were suppose to be filmed today. However due to only myself turning up to film we couldn't film the footage I had planned. Therefore I will book the camera out tommorow and I alone will be filming the above to ensure it is done. If I have any spare time I will experiment with other footage.

Analysis of old student magazine adverts

  

The good points that i noticed about this groups magazine advert is that it clearly states where it can be bought (All music retail stores) and when it is available to purchase (December 1st 2010). The first thing i noticed however is the bright pink hands, mainly because of the choice of colour which i feel is an important aspect of a magazine cover to ensure it grabs potential buyers attention. The price of the album, the age certificate and showing that its also available on i tunes is also good extra information which i feel is important aspect to add to a magazine advert. It also includes quotes from famous people such as Fearne Cotton and Jo Whiley which is a good addition to the advert as not only does it give an opinion on the artists music to influence consumers but it also is an opinion from people who are important within the music industry,  as they are famous radio dj's.

There aren't many bad aspects within this magazine advert to point out but one thing i did notice was that the only part of the advert that stands out is the bright pink hands in the centre. The name of the band and album, which is the most important part, is underneath in a plain black font. I think the font or the colour of this could be changed so people's attention is also drawn to the names of the artists so that they are then associated with the pink hand prints.

Using Colour Corrector Filter

From our successful feedback we took it on board and so in todays lesson we will be researching different techniques which will allow us to show the past and present within our videos.

This was our test footage to see if the black and white aspect worked. So here is a screen shot from our test footage to show the couple together and happy so this is reflected in the bright colours.

Here is our footage after using the colour corrector filter in order to show the past of the guy on his own. We think this technique of using black and white for the present to portray the emotion compared to the colour and bright frames with the couples together. 

Things To remember

+ Make sure clips run smoothly and no bumps etc
+ Lip syncing must be to a good standard
+ Have a variety of shot types
+ Be aware of surroundings when filming
+ Continuity Editing
+ Be aware of the lighting conditions
+ Be aware of the weather
+ Consider costume continuity as much as possible

Editing

Here is another example of the use of cross dissolve from the candles with the photo frame which then dissolves into the I miss you.

Research of other artists digipaks

This lesson i looked at other artists digipaks as inspiration for our own. The first digipak i focused on was Katy Perry's for her album "Teenage Dream".  She seems to have an obvious theme of candy within hers, as on the cover she is shown lying naked on a cloud made from candy floss and the discs inside the digipak are made to look like a doughnut and a lollipop. After researching I have realised that Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" Digipak is very closely related to her main single from the album, "California Gurls". The video to this song also includes clouds made out of candy floss along with, mountains made out of chocolate and lollipop trees, showing that she is keeping to her theme of candy. This Digipak is a good inspiration for us as we are planning on creating ours in relation to the video and themes from our music video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F57P9C4SAW4

Another artists Digipak i decided to focus on was Rihanna's for her album "Loud". She also seems to be following a theme within hers as it is made up from the colour red and includes lots of roses,
 including the two discs inside which are made to look like roses. She is lying in a bush of red

roses which matches the colour of her bright red hair. Just like Katy Perry, Rihanna's Digipak is closely related to one of her singles on the album. The music video to her song "Only Girl In The World" includes a lot of the same characteristics that her Digipak has. For example, within the video she is dancing in a field of red flowers, she is also shown dancing around a giant rose in the middle of a red field. Again , this digipak is another inspiration for our own one, because of its obvious links and themes from the music video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa14VNsdSYM&ob=av2e

I also focused on a digipak from the artist Adele, as i feel that her image and style of music is very similar to our chosen song and will be a good inspiration for our own images in our digipak.

Adele's digipak includes dark colours and focuses on the artist herself, it also creates a certain mood as well, which relates to her style of music on the album. I focused on the music video to the song "Make You Feel My Love" which shows the artist sitting in a dark room looking upset which relates well with the mood, colours and theme of the digipak. Our own video and song is very much like this one so this is big influence and could be very similar to what our digipak will turn out like. She is shown sitting in a very dark setting on a sofa, which is very similar to our idea of a couple sitting together on a bench.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0put0_a--Ng

Ideas for magazine advert

Our initial ideas of the magazine advert is that the background will be black. The text will then be white on black to make it striking and bold. The quote will be from MTV as it is a well known organisation which our target audience would know and recognise.

Ideas for our digipak

We have a basic idea of what we want our digipak to look like. This will be an image of the couple with their backs to the camera sitting on a bench. We will then link this in with the haunted aspect so therefore when editing the image we will make it colour and then make just the girl black and white. This will portray that the girl is no longer there. We will make the colours quite gloomy and dull to represent the mood of the song.

Analyse of Past Students Work - GROUP 09 Music Video 2009-10

This previous students music video was very successful in my opinion and I feel as if it will help me when producing our music video. For example the above photo was from the beginning of the video when you just see a landscape shot. It's a natural shot in which has been converted into black and white. I feel as if this is a very good idea as its quite a calm introduction. I also like the detail which you get from the leaves on the floor as it makes it unique and not just a stereotypical music video beginning for example clouds in the sky. 

This image is a screen grab from the music video. I feel as if this clip from the video works really well. They had stuck a photo of the couple onto the girls mirror so when you saw the guy singing they had a split screen of the girl putting her hair up in the mirror but your eye is drawn to the photo stuck on the mirror. I feel as if this is a really good and subtle way of showing a memory of them together in the past.

This is another screen grab. I included this as I like the way when the artist is singing it's just a natural background with no high contrast. It's just all about the lyrics of the song. So therefore as we are strongly focusing on the lyrics we could use this technique. 

Despite the subject matter being irrelevant I like the way the lighting has been shot and also the filter they have added on during the editing process. Therefore we will add filters onto ours to both show the clear difference between the past and present and also it gives that romantic feel to the shot. Especially the lighting helps to do this.

I like the fact the edges of the frame have been faded, I also like the angle they have used as you can see both people as well as the facial expressions to show the happiness. Again the lighting is great. 

Inspiration for our video

The first video which has helped to inspire me is Rihanna 'Unfaithful.' The way the video has been edited so it fits the beat is a good technique we could take into consideration. The cuts they have used with these are clips of the couple together so therefore we could use this to show past memories from the couple within our video. I shall try this technique within the montages' we shall have within our video. Another technique I can take from this video is the dark colours used to portray the mood of the story.

Beyonce 'Broken Hearted Girl' is a very good source of inspiration because they also use flashbacks to the past. They do this by using a black and white filter. And they play around with the contrast. So it's very high contrasted when seeing the artist to enhance her. Also at parts you can see the difference because the artist is in colour where as the past is black and white so therefore I feel as if that would be a good technique for our video so the audience can clearly see the difference. When the memories are shown its faded around the edge. Also when seeing the artist she is very strongly a silhouette. So therefore I will take this as inspiration as I think it is a very good technique. Also from this video it shows that when you are switching between the past and present it's better to have just simple fades between shots to make it flow better. So I will take this into consideration.  Within this video there is very long shots of footage so therefore it shows that popular videos have long sets of footage too so you can portray the story so we can stick to our idea of having quite long amounts of footage. Also the past memories are repetitive within this video at times with the past memories so to keep the continuity I may do this with our video to show the past memories. Another technique this video does is that you can only partially see the characters when having long shots and it works really well so I may try this.

The next video which has gave me inspiration is from the Leona Lewis video 'Run' this technique is during the editing process where they have faded the edges with a black ring. Also from her video 'I got you' I can take the way she positions her actor at the edge of the frame instead of the centre as it shows that it's not about the look of the actor it's about the meaning and emotion he is going through and feeling. Also from her video 'Footprints in the Sand' the emotion within it is extraordinary. Therefore before filming our actor will watch this video in order to capture the emotion in his acting just like the real life footage in this video.

Props

We will use a variety of props when showing the couples memories. For example: a variety of photos will be shown whether it be shots of photos to photo frames.

Another prop will be the use of candles to resemble the rememberance of the girlfriend.

A series of cards from the couples will also be shot to show a memory which they shared.

A note pad and pen will be used in the sequence where the actor writes I miss you.

Artist profile and research

This lesson i am looking at researching an artist and their profile. I have decided to research Rihanna as she is the artist to our chosen song and also fits into our genre.

Rihanna is a 23 year old singer, songwriter and producer born on february 20th 1988. She was signed to Def Jam Recordings after audiotioning for then label head, Jay Z. She was born in Saint Michael, Barbados and moved to the United States at the age of 16 to persue her recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers. Her music falls into the genre of RnB, Hip Hop, Reggae, Pop and Dance. She has created five albums throughout her six active years in the music indsutry , with her sixth album called "talk that talk" due to be released In November 21st 2011. After looking at a range of her music vdeos, from really old ones to more recent videos, I have realized that her type of clothing and costumes she wears within her vidoes has stayed the same. She tends to wear very revealing clothing, showing a lot of skin which normally consists of short dresses.

Performance Styles

Our performance style will be extremely subtle with no dance routine and no major performance production. I have decided this after looking at a variety of genres music videos. From looking at a variety of music videos it showed me that up beat pop songs always include a dance routine and major performance production throughout their videos. Where as slower sad songs with alot of emotion don't include performances due to the fact the focus is on the meaning of the lyrics instead of the focus being on the artist.

So here is a screen shot taken from 'Lady Gaga - Bad Romance' with a big production and dance routine. Which is a very up beat song.

Then you have a song from 'Adele - Someone like you'. So from this song you can see that the colours are much darker wtih no music production.







So from this you can tell that from a slower song with alot of emotion in. you don't need a major production due to the focus being on the lyrics.

Call Sheet

The  call sheet is a filmmaking term for a sheet of paper given to the cast and crew of a film production, created by an assistant director, informing them where and when they should report for a particular day of shooting. Call sheets also include other useful information such as contact information (e.g. phone numbers of crew members and other contacts), the schedule for the day, which scenes and script pages are being shot, and the address of the shoot location. Call sheets may also provide logistical information regarding the location. It is common to find weather information, sunrise/sunset times, local hospitals, restaurants, and hardware stores. Call sheets have information about cast transportation arrangements, parking instructions and safety notes.

We all have each others numbers so that we are able to contact each other and arrange meetings and filming times etc.

The entire group will be aware of this date for filming.

Thursday during lesson 06/10/11 We will complete the lip syncing and shots of Abi for our video in today’s lesson after going to the media office to get a camera. This will be shot on the college site.

Wednesday 12^th – Thursday 13^th October- Nicola will collect the camera and film the scenes which include the couple. This will be filmed in Isleham in Nicola’s house and around the village.

Tuesday 18/10/11 - Today Nicola will film the remainder of the scenes which include the couple if needed. This will be filmed in Isleham in Nicola’s house and around the village. Also filmed on site in college for some scenes.

Timeline Of Song

I have listened to the track and broke down how long each verse lasts and also how much each line lasts. This will help us when filming because it will show us how long each line of footage needs to be.

Verse One will consist of both the artist and the acting.

'The steps on the stairs aren't really there, feel like someone's watching me' this lasts 8 seconds and will consist of the couple on the stairs. It then goes on to the 3rd and fourth line being 'shadows on the wall, whispers down the hall, when i look there's nothing to see' this will last 11 seconds and will be of the artist.

'You say that you let her go, Turn the page and close the door' so this will be for 7 seconds and consist of the couple again. It then goes on to the remaining lines of the verse and it will last 8 seconds.

'I cant compete with a memory how can I fight with someone I cant see' will be for 7 seconds and consist of the couple with the remaining lines being for 8 seconds. The group in the forest.

The chorus lasts 12 seconds and will be a montage of the couple.

After this will be 'you say that shes gone that you've moved on' the first two lines will be for seven seconds. And will consist of the guy walking past the old form room of the girls'. The final 2 lines will be close ups of the artists silhouette. In total this must last for 16 seconds.

Then the verse will be 'Sometimes when you look past me' this will consist of the girl and boy in the forest which will last 7 seconds and then have a shot of the artist then go back to the couple with the guy not there for the remaining 6 seconds of the 9.

The next verse is the 'I cant compete with a memory' this will consist of the guy looking through old cards and letters. And then shoot back for the remaining seconds to the artist. This will last 17 seconds in total.

The chorus is 12 seconds again and will be a montage of the couple.

'wish i could cast a spell to make her spirit leave' this will consist of the artist lip syncing... This will last 35 seconds but this includes the instrumental section too which will be a montage.

'I cant compete with a memory' will go back to the guy reading through letters and cards. This has to last 16 seconds.

'Boy you're everything I wanted' is the chorus again so will be the artist lip syncing which is for 12 seconds.

And then the remaining two verses will have the couple on the bench and then the guy exiting at the end. which is 24 seconds.

Test Footage for Lip Syncing

We decided to do some test footage before finally lip syncing to see if the location works well with the emotion of the song.

Also we wanted to see if the simple costume of the black from the artist allows to portray the sad meaning of this song.

We think overall the location works well as it means that you focus more on the song, this is the same as the costume means you focus on the lyrics instead of focusing on the artist.

Costume Ideas

Due to our song being so emotional and having such strong and meaningful lyrics we have decided to have very simply and casual costumes.

Our artist will be dressed in a black top and zip up jacket with jeans on. This is so that the focus of the song will be reflected in the dark colours of the outfit. Also it means that the focus won't be on the artist as much it will be on the meaning behind the lyrics.

The couple again will be dressed in very casual clothes to ensure that the video looks realistic and shows the meaning of the lyrics again instead of fancy outfits.

Location Report

Our first location will be at Long Road Sixth Form College. I have chosen this location as it is easily accesible so therefore it is very convienient. As well as this there is a variety of areas around college which will look really good when shooting. To the left is a picture of our main area of the college which we will use as there is a lovely grass area which is very spacious so we can get a variety of footage here. From lip syncing to re-creating memories of the couple.


Here is a screen shot from Google Maps to show the location of the college.

Our second location will be at Isleham Marina as it is within the village that I live in, and also you can capture some beauty landscape shots within the frame of the couples memories here, so I feel as if this location will be in strong usage in the scenes which include the couple.

The last location will be my house as this will make the video seem more realistic as this is where the couple would have been.