Final Music Promo

Final DigiPak

Final Advert

Question 4: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Question 3: What have you learned from your audience feedback

I posted the link to my penultimate draft of my music video on Facebook and Twitter, both these sites are mostly used by my target audience so I thought this would be a way to collect a range of feedback relevant to my music video. I also asked people to comment on my ancillary texts via a blog post.

I found this feedback from the respondent 'Lucy; particularly helpful. I took on board the comment about how the superimposed images seemed to look 'out of place' and that they 'came out of nowhere'. I listened to how she thought I could fix this problem and then worked on blurring the edges of these clips and this can be seen in my final draft of my music video. This feedback helped me to make a certain aspect of my music video more clean cut and appeal more to my target audience and look more to the level of music videos that they enjoy watching.




The response from 'Rosie' was also helpful as it supported a point made by 'Lucy' about the things they liked. In both comments they both identify that they like the use of close up's of eyes. This was also a feature I liked in my music video so I was pleased to find out that my target audience also liked the use of extreme close ups. 


The feedback from 'Thomas' off twitter was helpful as it made me aware that my lip syncing wasn't as effective as it could be so I worked harder on making the lip syncing more tight. I also filmed more sequences of the girl with the new boyfriend, this would help not only Thomas but the rest of the audience understand the narrative of the story more.

'Brians' comment was helpful as he made a point that I had also been thinking about. I took his point on board about having a different location and I had been thinking about adding a scene to the music video filmed in a residential location, I thought this would add a depth to their relationship and show that they had been together for a long period of time. I took his positive point on board about the styling so I made sure I kept that similar look in the new parts of the video I filmed. 

'Georges' comment about my ancillary text helped me identify some strengths and weakness of  my advert and DigiPak. I agreed with the comment about the way the front cover imaged made the artist seem squashed so I worked on elongating the image to the best of my ability. I was pleased that he noticed the codes and conventions on the back cover on the DigiPak.









The response from 'Tamasin' was helpful as she identified the purpose of the advert, which rassured me that it was made in an effective way for the audience. I understand the point made about the back cover image of the DigiPak but I had a design a bit more quirky on the inside so I wanted to almost keep that a surprise for the buyer.


To conclude, audience feedback has taught me an awful lot in the process of creating a music promotional package. As the audience for my music video is for the ages between mid teens and young adults, getting feedback from this age range has ensured that the views I collected from this feedback will be current and relevant for my video. It also helped me receive feedback from the viewers of professional music videos, this meaning the comparisons will be between my video and professionally made ones; this will mean the feedback I received would have been said with an idea of making my video look more professional. Audience feedback has also been helpful as it helps me understand if the points I enjoyed in the video were also enjoyed by the target audience. It also gave me an opportunity to take some of the points made on board and edit them, for example to took on board the point made by Brian and needing a different location, as I still had time in the filming process I then listened to this feedback and filmed an extra sequence in a different location.

I learnt that my audience were particularly interested in the locations shown in the video, both Rosie and Brian comment on the location in the video, the fact that multiple people commented on this particular aspect of my music video showed me that location is important for my particular audience. Surprisingly some of the feedback was pretty technical and certain technical aspects were commented on by some of the respondents; Lucy talks about how the superimposed images seemed to be slightly out of place and both Lucy and Brian comment on the use of slow and fast motion parts of the video. The feedback received on the technical aspects of my video were very helpful as it showed me what worked well and what can be done to improve the look of the video.

The feedback I received on my ancillary tasks were also helpful as it made me aware that the products were understandable but also appealing for the eye. If I were to re-design my DigiPak I would take Tamasins' comment on board and change the back cover as I agree with her that it might be seen to be very similar to the front cover.I would also take Georges' comment on board about the front cover of the DigiPak looking a little squashed, If I were to do this again I would make the image not look so distorted. I was also pleased that George noticed the use of synergy throughout the advert and DigiPak as he noticed that the same image was used on both.

Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

9 Frames

I used 9 frames taken from my music video as a way to show my music video quickly and easily. It has helped me to show different shot distances, locations and emotions I was trying to express in the video. 

Script for; In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

I plan on creating a video of my talking of my music video to answer this question. To ensure the timings are correct when filming I have chosen to type up the script of what I want to say and when I am going to say it, this is shown below:

 There are both technical and symbolic codes and conventions of a music video, the techniqual codes and conventions are ways in which technology and equipment are used to express emotion. This is done through the use of shots, the editing and the sound.

Symbolic codes and conventions create what is beyond easy to see, for example the use of facial expressions and mise-en-scene.

(Music video starts)

The start to my music video is very fast pace starting with two close ups of the main characters and then moving to a clip of them together, the female character then laughs at the boy. I choose to do this as it links to a lyric in the first verse ‘humour me just think it through’. I have used a mixture of shot distances, starting with close ups, then medium shots and long shots of the new couple walking off. I did this as I wanted to show a range of emotions through these different shots and it also adds a mix of pace to the opening.

(0.14 seconds) When the lip syncing starts I wanted the male actor to be telling a story through the lyrics. For this reason when he sings ‘shut my eyes pretend it’s there’ he shuts his eyes and I superimposed the image of the girl we previously saw him with, I did this to show that he was dreaming of her and missing her. This is a way the editing process has expressed emotion.

(40 seconds) The video then shows a medium shot of the girl with a new boy laughing and looking happy. There is a mixture of extreme close ups of the girls eyes and mouth laughing, again this shows the emotion of the character.

(44 seconds) There is then a medium close up shot of the male actor singing ‘coming back’ this shows that he wants her back and misses her.

(48 seconds) There is cross dissolve from the male drinking alone to the girl walking with her new boyfriend. This use of editing shows this is happening at the same time and the difference in their lives at this current time.

(53 seconds) The girl then pauses and leaves the new boyfriend and starts to run away, as she starts to run away I have added a flashback in-between the shots of her running, of her and her ex looking couple together. This use of mise-en-scene of them under a blanket adds a romantic and intimate feel to their past relationship.

(55 seconds) As she runs off there is a cross dissolve to a clip of them walking together, I slowed this clip down as I wanted it to look like a dream and a memory. There is then another clip of them laughing happily together at a lake. These two flashbacks together help show a happy previous time in their relationship and the reason why she wants to go back, which is one of the lyrics. ‘Coming back’.

(1.08 seconds) I have made a daft mistake when the girl is running through the trees, although I really like this long distance shot, I mistakenly forgot to ask the actor to change costume. This is then not supporting the narrative of her going back to her ex on the same day.

(1.14) For the second verse I used a medium shot of the male lip syncing. I then zoom in. This change in shot distance was done to make the audience feel like the artist is telling them the story of this past relationship personally.

(1.37seconds) As he says ‘coming back’ at the end of the second verse I there is then the shot of the girl running back to him, this is in the same location where his was just singing. I thought this would be effective to show that although they are not together, they are still close in the way that they spend time in the same locations.

(1.44 seconds) For the last verse, additional lighting needed to be use as it was far too dark to be able to see the actor and the lip syncing effectively. I also wanted him to be walking when singing this verse as, up till now, he has been sitting down when singing so this would as a change in the pace of the video.

(1.56 seconds) The long shot of the female running is then changed up by adding a medium shot of her jumping over the log and then back to the long shot of her running off. Immediately there is then a sequence of close ups, specifically he eyes, with blurred edges of her catching her breath. These shots show her desperation to get back to her ex and how she might be feeling dazed.

(2.05 seconds) The sequence of the couple sitting on the bench and then a cut and zoom to the make on his own on the same bench again helps to tell the narrative of them missing each other and that they still visit the locations they went to as a couple.

(2.09 seconds) The shots of them under the blanket and him holding her balancing on the wooden planks helps to tell the narrative of their past relationship and the closeness they had.

(2.10 seconds) Then the extreme close up of his mouth singing ‘coming back’, corresponds directly with the previous clips we had just seen. Showing he simply wants her back.

(2.13 seconds)The cross dissolves of her running in slow motion to them him walking alone I think is very effective. As not only does it represent what she is running too but also shows them both on their own, something they both don’t want.

(2.18 seconds) The close up of her eyes and then him singing ‘your eyes’, means the lyrics are linking with what the audience will be seeing on the video. This again is helping them to tell the story.

(2.23 seconds) I wanted to add a change of location as up till now it has all been filmed in a wood. The change of location in a house adds a past to their relationship and a sense of normality. I have superimposed images of the male singing ‘your eyes’ over this sequence of shots of them play fighting of the remote. This tells the narrative of them wanting each other back.

(2.40 seconds) There is then a running motion which was done by simply jogging gently behind the female actor; I wanted to do this to change to motion of the video and to help the audience get a feel of what she is doing.

(2.50 seconds) There is then one last of the male on his own before you see a close up of a hand and then her sitting down together. This last sequence really shows a symbolic code to the video as they both look happy through their facial expressions, and I used the camera to capture some extreme close ups of their smiles and their eyes to show that they are both happy to be back together.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

I posted the link to my penultimate draft of my music video on Facebook and Twitter, both these sites are mostly used by my target audience so I thought this would be a way to collect a range of feedback relevant to my music video. I also asked people to comment on my ancillary texts via a blog post.

I found this feedback from the respondent 'Lucy; particularly helpful. I took on board the comment about how the superimposed images seemed to look 'out of place' and that they 'came out of nowhere'. I listened to how she thought I could fix this problem and then worked on blurring the edges of these clips and this can be seen in my final draft of my music video. This feedback helped me to make a certain aspect of my music video more clean cut and appeal more to my target audience and look more to the level of music videos that they enjoy watching.




The response from 'Rosie' was also helpful as it supported a point made by 'Lucy' about the things they liked. In both comments they both identify that they like the use of close up's of eyes. This was also a feature I liked in my music video so I was pleased to find out that my target audience also liked the use of extreme close ups. 


The feedback from 'Thomas' off twitter was helpful as it made me aware that my lip syncing wasn't as effective as it could be so I worked harder on making the lip syncing more tight. I also filmed more sequences of the girl with the new boyfriend, this would help not only Thomas but the rest of the audience understand the narrative of the story more.



'Brians' comment was helpful as he made a point that I had also been thinking about. I took his point on board about having a different location and I had been thinking about adding a scene to the music video filmed in a residential location, I thought this would add a depth to their relationship and show that they had been together for a long period of time. I took his positive point on board about the styling so I made sure I kept that similar look in the new parts of the video I filmed. 

'Georges' comment about my ancillary text helped me identify some strengths and weakness of  my advert and DigiPak. I agreed with the comment about the way the front cover imaged made the artist seem squashed so I worked on elongating the image to the best of my ability. I was pleased that he noticed the codes and conventions on the back cover on the DigiPak.









The response from 'Tamasin' was helpful as she identified the purpose of the advert, which reassured me that it was made in an effective way for the audience. I understand the point made about the back cover image of the DigiPak but I had a design a bit more quirky on the inside so I wanted to almost keep that a surprise for the buyer.


To conclude, audience feedback has taught me an awful lot in the process of creating a music promotional package. As the audience for my music video is for the ages between mid teens and young adults, getting feedback from this age range has ensured that the views I collected from this feedback will be current and relevant for my video. It also helped me receive feedback from the viewers of professional music videos, this meaning the comparisons will be between my video and professionally made ones; this will mean the feedback I received would have been said with an idea of making my video look more professional. Audience feedback has also been helpful as it helps me understand if the points I enjoyed in the video were also enjoyed by the target audience. It also gave me an opportunity to take some of the points made on board and edit them, for example to took on board the point made by Brian and needing a different location, as I still had time in the filming process I then listened to this feedback and filmed an extra sequence in a different location. The feedback I received on my ancillary tasks were also helpful as it made me aware that they products were understandable but also appealing for the eye.

How effective is the combination of your main product and your ancillary texts?

Dolby

The Prezi is attractive but lots of typos so proofread! Also, the question is HOW you used them so go back to the mark scheme and think about the importance of different software and hardware and the way in which the technology helped you to complete your coursework in various ways from the research and ways social networking helped gather info quickly and effectively, through to the way the software can allow you to experiment and be creative. At the moment, this is more of a running commentary on what you did and what you used and lacks some evaluation.

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Response to evaluation questions

·         In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

o   I started by looking at my RMA’s, I made sure before I started constructing my products myself; I had a selection of real media artefact analysis to refer back to. I analysed two music videos and I tried to pick videos that were a similar genre to my song, this was done so everything I found would be relateable to my music video. I wrote a detailed analysis on the videos that I watched; doing this helped me get many ideas that I could potentially use in my music video, for example the types of shots I could use. I also analysed two DigiPaks, I found this beneficial as I  got to look at professional DigiPaks and this helped me to construct the post ‘Contents & features of a DigiPak’ this was a useful source to me in the construction process as it was something I could constantly refer back to make sure I was applying these contents and features. I also analysed one promotional advert for the release of an album, again I didn’t strain too far from my music genre, and although it is different to my song, it still helped me to understand the basic codes and conventions of a promotional advert.

o   When I started constructing my music promotional package I made sure I kept referring back to my RMA research. I liked the idea in Ed Sheerans video ‘Drunk’, which I analysed, of using flashbacks. I thought this idea would work effectively in my music video as not only did it show a past between these characters, but also helped to tell the narrative I wished to get across during the video. I also wanted to create a narrative music video, which is the format of this video. In the second video I analysed Two Door Cinema Clubs ‘What You Know’, there were a few elements that I thought worked really effectively and thought I could use in my own video; firstly I really enjoyed the way certain parts of the video were in slow motion, as it created tension and added a different tempo to the video, it’s for this reason I used slow motion, but also certain parts were sped up in my video, this was done in the hope to keep the video entertaining for the audience. This video also repeated certain sequences of the video; I liked this technique as it meant that there were constant links throughout the video. Although I didn’t use this technique as frequently, I still used a few clips more than once to show that the male character is falling into a pattern and missing the girl.

o   When constructing my DigiPak and promotional magazine advert, I used the contents and features I had discovered on both of these. For example, I used the obvious contents and features such as band, song and record label logos, titles - band, song/album name and track listing but also the features that were a little more complex to do such as, 4-Sided with 2 Spines- 2 pics outside (front/back covers), possibly 2 inside, Pictures - front, back, middle (inside and outside) and Copyright Protection logos and information  all these codes and conventions are important and feature on real DigiPaks so I wanted to make sure they featured on my own. I also used my RMA research to help with design of my print products, for example the layout and which texts should be the biggest.

o   http://22pedgy09.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/RMA%20research

·         How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

o   Synergy is very important when releasing a music promotional package, this is because it is key for the audience to be aware of everything the artist is offering and therefore they make the most amount of capital they can possibly make.

o   Because the title of the song that I created my music video to is called ‘Your Eyes’, I wanted to tie a loose theme  of eyes and vision throughout the music promotional package. I did this in a few different ways; I firstly names the album name ‘Iris’, this links to the single title but is also a two syllable, punchy title. I also wanted to have this theme through the track listings but I also brought in the theme of missing someone, which links to the narrative in the video, for example the tracks called ‘Image’ and ‘Dream’, link to these themes.

o   I also used images of the artist, in a similar location to the music video, on the advert and the DigiPak. This means that the running location of a wood is throughout all three products.

o   I used many close ups of eyes in my music video, this was done to link with the title but also as a way to show emotion of the character. I thought the image of eyes could be linked in my DigiPak so I decided to capture 16 original images of eyes and cover the inside pane with eyes, this is a direct correspondence with the music video and DigiPak.

o   I used the same image for the front cover of the DigiPak and the background of the advert as a way to link this artist, and hopefully to create an image for this artist.

o   http://22pedgy09.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Construction

·         What have you learned from your audience feedback?

o   I posted my music video on the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter. I thought this would be an effective way of attaining some relevant audience feedback as most of the users on these sites are the target audience for my video.

o   I made sure I got a mixture of responses from different genders and this will be important as all sexes will be viewing my video.

o   I found the comment from Lucy particularly usefully; a specific part of this feedback was something I felt I could improve on. She comments that “… In my opinion, the small video clips come out of nowhere and be slightly out of place…” I did agree with this point and took this on board and then edited the appearance of the super imposed images.

o   The audience feedback significantly helped me to understand what was enjoyed by my target audience, but also points that they felt could improve the video. As this audience is very likely to watch professionally made music videos regularly, their feedback is made with comparisons to these. This meaning that there feedback will help me to understand how to make this project to a more professional level.

o   I also used Blogger as a way to share my work with my teachers. This gave them access to my work and the opportunity for them to comment on my posts. This gave me access to interact with my teachers digitally, as I would respond to the feedback given.

·         How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

o   Research- I used blogger and YouTube as ways to research real media artefacts. YouTube was particularly helpful as I had massive access to real music videos to analyse. I used blogger a way to present my research findings.

o   Planning- I used Windows Movie maker to create a moving image story board; this helped me with timings and shots for my video. I also created two presentations using Prezi as ways to show ideas about my location and style of the video. Blogger was also used at this stage to show how my planning was progressing.

o   Construction- I used SonyHDV1000E cameras to shoot my video, these cameras were benefital as they not only were available to capture the video but make sure the video was shot to a high quality. Also during the filming process I used a tripod to make sure certain shots were stable and also additional lighting as, at this time of year, it got dark early and it was needed to use additional lighting. Final Cut Pro was the technology I used to edit my together; this software enabled me to use transitions and effects to make my video look more professional. Audacity was also used to cut down the length of my track.

o   Evaluation- I am planning to use a variety of technology for my evaluation. I am hoping to use blogger, prezi, the cameras, microphones for the voice over.

Advert Final Draft

DigiPak Final Draft

Final Draft Of Music Video

Audience Feedback Responses

Audience Feedback

I have posted the link to the third draft of my music video on the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter as the majority of users on this site will be the age of the target market for this particular track. I have also given the link to the blog posts showing my Advert and DigiPak, as it will be useful to receive feedback on my ancillary tasks.

 I have asked for both positive and constructive criticism comments in the hope that this will help me to improve my video and make it more enjoyable in the opinion of my target audience. Once I have gathered a reasonable collection of feedback I will make appropriate edits to my music video to create a more effective final music video. I will then then recall the reasons as to why I made these changes in my evaluation. 

Third Draft Of Music Video

Second Draft Of Music Video

Dolby

I think the advert is much better. The main focus for the digipak should now be the back pane in particular; the song titles in the box ove rthe image does not work and obscures most of the image- can you try and integrate text and image more successfully. Also, look at how the size of your font directly liknks to purpose. The name of the artist should be the main focus.

DigiPak Second Draft

Advert Third Draft

Sixth Editing Session

With the new shots I had captured I had to now work on adding these to what I have already been using in the construction of the music video. I wanted to make sure I kept the shots I was happy with the first time but made sure I added the new stuff I have filmed as I aimed to make these better, for example adding the new lip syncing parts I filmed. I used some of the new shots of the two actors together to show their relationship in the past, most importantly I editing together a selection of shots inside a house as I wanted this particular sequence of shots to be included so it adds depth to the characters relationship and also adds a different location to the music video.

During the next edition session I will work on adding transitions and effects which will make the video more entertaining and have a more professional finish. I am also hoping to superimpose some images of the male singer and the female actor as I want to represent a dream through the use of editing.

Second Filming Day

Yesterday I filmed with the main male actor and the female actor. Although I had captured enough film to produce a first draft of the music video I felt that some shots weren't very effective e.g. the lighting at certain points of the video. I thought a change of location would make the video more interesting, for this reason I picked another wooded area in Fleet to film at. I also filmed a scene inside a house so the story I am trying to tell seems more realistic as it takes part in the home of one the actors.This mixture of locations adds more depth the the video but also makes it more entertaining.

Things that went well:

• The lip syncing went better as the male actor is now more familiar with the song so it took less takes to capture an effective shot of the actor singing.
• Some of the lighting looks really romantic and effective for the story.
• We managed to capture everything needed in a much quicker time, this is partly down to the race for sunlight at this time of the year but also because everyone worked far more as a team.

Things that I could improve on:

• Not wasting time shooting in the dark, although I did manage to get some effective shots in the dark by using alternative lighting on the actor, time was wasted by sometimes filming useless shots in the dark.
• Making it clear to the actors of the particular show I wished to capture. At some points where the shots were more spontaneously captured it took a while for the actors to understand what I wanted them to do.

Change To The Artist Name

I feel because Bombay Bicycle Club is the name of the actual band whose song I am using and I am only showing one singer in my video, it will be best to change the name to a single mans name to promote the individual artist. 

For this reason I am going to change the artists name to: Gabriel Walker. I have also used a different font, colours and effects to style the name in a more eye catching way and I feel it looks far more effective than the previous way I have styled the artists name.

DigiPak designs

I am going to take the pictures for my DigiPak tomorrow so I wanted to plan some ideas of the types of images I am planning to capture. Planning these shots has helped me to get a basic idea of what shots will look good, what props I will need e.g. a guitar and also what location will be best to shoot these images at.

Dolby

Lauren, this is a better draft of the advert. Still not sure that the green font works. Also, look at the overall layout and what is given significance as we look at it. Go back to some RMA's.

Second draft to the advert

I have made some changed to the advert using the new album name and adding some codes and conventions of a magazine advert.

Change to the DigiPak

I have made some alterations to the DigiPak as I felt the current images I was using didn't really promote the whole album but only really focusing on the single I am using in the video. So instead of using still images taken from the video I am going to take pictures of the lead singer and use them on the front and back cover. I am planning to do this Sunday the 18th of November and I will take these pictures as a different location to make sure the images don't look to similar to the place in the video. I have also put the new album name with the different font onto the current DigiPak to show how it will look now. 

Change to the album name

I have taken the feedback on board about the font and colours seeming a little young for my audience. It is for this reason that I have chosen to change the name of the album and work on some different font ideas. I have decided to change the album name from 'Clear Vision' to 'Iris', I feel that because the bands name is 6 syllables it would be nice to have a more punchy album name. I have still kept to the theme of eyes as this is the running theme through my promotional package for the music video. Also having a shorter in length album name will give me more space to play with on the front cover. Here some of the new fonts I have come up with for the different name of the album.

 The font I prefer and will now use as the album name on the advert and DigiPak will be the second one. I like the contrast between the black and the white and it definitely looks more indie to fit the genre of the music.

First Draft of Advert

Dolby

Lauren, Think carefully about the genre and style of your music. I think that the advert has a nice image but the fonts types and colours look a bit bright and perhaps are not edgy enough?

First Draft of DigiPak

Things I plan to do within the next few days

• Arrange to meet my male actor, Sam, to take still images for the digipak, this will promote the bands whole album as at the moment the digipak is only really promoting the single of the music video.
• Film some more of the lip-syncing part of the song and film in some different locations. This will help to make the video seem as if it is set over a longer period of time and that the charters have a history between them. 
• Add the new images to the DigiPak and work on adding more codes and conventions to my draft.

Advert Construction Reflection

As I have completed a first draft of my DigiPak I now felt I could work on improving my advert and use ideas from the DigiPak to use in my advert. I have now added an image of the front cover of the DigiPak and used some of the colors and fonts used in the DigiPak. Doing this has made a direct link between my ancillary tasks.

I have used Serif PagePlus on both of my ancillary tasks. Using the same computer programme to create my advert and digipak has helped me to ensure that I can keep certain things the same and therefore have this link.

Mrs D

This shows some effective ICT skills and has some good ideas. Think about how all the panes work together to promote the artist/album. Go back to your RMAs to help you.

Third session of DigiPak construction

Below is a draft of my DigiPak. I have now replaced the images on the front cover with original images I have collected of the eyes of friends and family.I wanted to make sure there were a variety of ways in which the DigiPak links to the music video. I did this by using still images taken from the music video, I also used the images of eyes on the front cover and the CD as this is a direct link with the song 'Your Eyes' which would be released as the bands single and therefore this track would be more well known by fans than some of the other tracks. From my research I discovered that track listings seem to follow a theme so it is for this reason I creating the names of my tracks with the theme of Love and missing someone, both of which are shown in my music video.

Mrs D

The draft of your music promo is very good lauren. Well done. I like the variety of shots and your framing is great. There are some lip syncing issues in the middle and lighting is problematic at times. You are in a really good position as you are now able to just improve it. Get some audience feedback too. Think about how you are going to keep the audience's attension throughout.

Second Session Of DigiPak Construction

I made the mistake of using images that weren't all orignial on the front cover of my DigiPak, so today I worked on changeing the images that arent original and swapping them for ones taken by myself of the actors in my video, family and friends.

I also copied still images from the music video to use on the digipak, I did this becase I want a direct link between all three procuts I am creating.

I also worked on the back cover of the DigiPak.

Fifth editing session

Today I worked on adding effects to my video. Doing this has helped my music video flow better and look a more professional quality. I choose to use a lot of dissolve effects and particularly the 'cross dissolve' effect, I choose to do this because I feel it helps to show that the story in the video is over a long period of time and it also helps to show that the characters are thinking about one another as I have made some shots of a character fade onto the other.

I have also used this editing time to alter the quality of some of the shots as some were a little bit too dark but I have managed to brighten them up using different editing editing techniques.

First Session Of DigiPak Construction

Today I started to construct my DigiPak. I have decided to work on one part of the DigiPak at a time to ensure that each section is up to a good enough standard before working on the next part. Today I worked on the front cover, I looked back at the DigiPak templates I created in the palling process and decided to use my first idea to cover the front cover in a collage of eyes. I choose this particular design as it will link to my chosen song 'Your Eyes' another way I have linked my DigiPak to my music video is the fact that on filming days I took a picture of each of my actors eyes and have now used those pictures in my DigiPak. 
I also referred back to my codes and conventions of a DigiPak and this showed me that frequently the album name is in a larger font than the artist, it is for this reason that I did this on the front cover of my DigiPak.

Here is where I got up to on the design of my DigiPak front cover:

Tomorrow I will work on the back cover of the DigiPak. I have already started to create the track listings and made the names of the songs along a theme as this is what I found during my research. I have decided to name the tracks about the theme of love and missing someone, I choose this particular theme as it will correspond to the narrative in my music video.

Forth editing session.

Today I worked hard at adding effects to the video. I first worked on just looking at all the different effects and then deciding on the ones I liked and where I would like to place them in the video.

• I think I need to work on the repeatability factor as I feel some of the effects are over used, although I do want there to be a running theme throughout the video.

Third Editing Session

Today I finished putting the videos to the track. I managed to complete the images for the whole song and uploaded the first draft. I now want to continue editing my music video as I feel I need to add more effects and video transitions for the video to look more professional. 

First Draft Of Music Video

Second editing session

Today I uploaded everything that I filmed yesterday. I now feel I have enough footage to start putting my music video together. I started by sorting out the shots I wanted to use and deciding whether to use certain shots over other ones. I then started cutting down the clips I wanted to use and started them placing them together with the track.

One aspect of constructing my music video I found particularly difficult was the lip syncing. Although after many attempts I believe I managed to join up the lip syncing of my actor to the song.

I have now assembled a very basic music video by simply putting the video clips together. I will now work on adding video effects and transitions and this will hopefully make the video look more professional and entertaining to the viewer.

Second filming day

Today I filmed at Heathlake with my female actor and the main male character. I wanted to capture a mixture of shots these being; flashbacks, lip syncing shots and also parts of the story in present day. Because I wanted this variety of shots I  made sure I worked cronologically through the song making sure I captured the scenes I needed as I went through the song. My male actor also wasn't very familiar with the song so it took some time for him to learn the lyrics he needed for the lip syncing.

Things that went well:

• Time management of the day went well as I feel I managed to capture everything I needed and planned to capture.
• The use of costumes and props were effective as the actors had a change of costume to show their relationship over a period of time. Props were also used to help make the story more believeable.
• A variety of different camera shots

Things to improve on:

• I feel I could have left more time inbetween shots to help make the editing process easier.
• I feel I could have been a bit more sensible with the battery of the camera as I nearly ran out of charge during the afternoon.

First Editing Session

Today I uploaded the shots I captured yesterday and started the editing process. I used the software Final Cut Pro on an apple mac, because this is all new technology it took me a while to understand how to do some of the simpler tasks such as cutting down the clips.I also put in my edited track so I can start to match up certain shots to certain parts of the song. 

I learnt that when filming it will be a good idea to leave gaps in between the different shots so it'll be easier for me when editing to cut down the certain shots I need.

Tomorrow I am filming with the lead male actor and will be working on the lip syncing so  have kept the areas of the song I want lip synced free from the clips I filmed previously. 

First Filming Day

Today I started the filming process of my music video. Both my female actor and the male actor with the smaller part headed down to my filming location and shot the parts of the video which featured the both of them. I also managed to capture the extreme close up shots of both characters which I want to feature in my video. I also used this time to capture some photos of my actors which I plan to use on the DigiPak.

Things that went well: 

• The time management of the day went well and I felt I had enough time to cover all the shots I wanted to capture on that day. 
• I made sure I captured multiple shots of each scene so when during the editing process I had enough film to work with with.
• I used a range of shots for each scene.so I could pick and choose which was my favorite when editing and could then have a choice of the shot I preferred and wanted to use.
• I used a range of camera technique for example I used the camera on the tripod, and I also ran behind the actress with the camera so the audience gets the motion of the running the actress is doing.

Things to improve on:

• I would have liked to have all my actors present so I can use all three in shots.
• I feel my shots were very all over the place, and next time I hope to shoot in a more chronological order. Doing this will also help the editing process easier.

Storyboard, moving image: Final draft

Here is my Storyboard to the cut down version of my track. This means the video is now in the correct timings to the new version of my song. I have also added a few different images.

Mrs D

A better draft. Well done. You need to cut the song down as a matter of urgency. You also need to think about the pace and variety of shots. It still is a little limited and the meaning is still not clear. What message do you want to give the audience abut your artist and song?

Starting the advert

Today I started to create the advert part of my music promotional package. I started by inputting the background image of the woods where I am filming my music video, as stated in my planning I did this background because I wanted there to be a link between the whole of my music promo package and using an image from the location of the video should hopefully do this.

I then looked at the 'Codes and conventions of an album advert in a magazine' post that I created to decide on how I wanted the font to look on each part of the advert. For example, I made the album title bigger than the name of the artist because when looking at other adverts and the codes and conventions I found that this was usually the case. I also used my advert templates to help me decide on the positioning of the different parts of my advert.

I want an image of the Digipak to feature of the advert. This is also seen on a lot of adverts that I looked at. This meaning I will obviously have to complete my DigiPak to the standard that I am looking for before I copy the image to the advert.

Here is where I got up to today on my advert:

Start to the filming process

Today I cut down my song choice as I felt the original version of 5 minutes 21 seconds would be too long to create a music video that would keep the audience entertained throughout. I have now cut the song down to 2 minutes 57 seconds which I feel is a time I can create an effective and entertaining music video too.

I also created a new moving image story board to the new track as I feel it is important to understand timings and the shots I will need for the new length of the song.

I have also booked out a camera for the weekend so I can begin to film my music video. I have checked with the actors that they are free and asked them if they could give me a few hours of their time over the weekend to give me  the chance to begin to capture some shots for the music video.

Actors & their roles.

Below is a chart showing the actors I have selected to feature in my music video, the roles they will play and the reasoning behind my choice for casting them.

Dolby

This storyboard is successful- well done!

Storyboard, moving image: Third draft

Putting my storyboard to the music has helped me with a rough idea of what I would like to be going on in the music video during different timings in the song. It has also helped me identify what I would like to do with the editing of the video. I now also know what kind of shots I would like to use for different parts of the song.

Dolby

Lauren, well done for thinking about all the links; try and now look at images and colour schemes linking to the video.

Styling/ MES planning

It's important that the image of the actors in my music video suit the song. It is for that reason that I have created a mood board of the types of image I wish the actors to portray and copy in the music video. I will print a copy out for the actors to have so they can choose what resources they have to create this image. I will inform them that they will have to look the same every time we film this is important for good continuity throughout the video. Any props or additions to a costume will be my own responsibility and shall be collected and brought to filming days by myself.

Filming schedules and timings

Below are the filming schedules and timings that I plan to print and hand out to my participating actors. Making these filming calendars will help me make sure I leave enough time for myself to get enough film time of my actors. It will also keep my actors in the know about when I will be needing them. The calendars will also give them the opportunity to tell me times that they are busy and can't film and will give us a chance to re arrange filming days that suit everyone.