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.

Linking together my planning.

As the title of the song I have choose to base my music promo package on is called, 'Your Eyes', I will want to use the image of eyes and the idea of vision and sight as the key idea behind the whole music promo package.This will be shown in many different ways:

• The front cover of the Digipak will be covered in many different images of eyes. I will use a mixture of famous well known eyes, unknown eyes and the eyes of the actors used in my music video will be made a little bigger so they will be noticeable and hopefully the viewer will make the link between the music video and the Digipak if they recognize this.
• In the music promo video there will be many extreme close ups of the characters eyes, not only will this directly link to the theme of eyes that will be used across the whole music promo package but this will be an effective way at showing different emotions being portrayed by the actors.
• The track listing on the back of the Digipak will be among the theme of sight and vision. For example some of the track names that will be featuring on the back will be. 'Image', 'Clear' and 'Can now see'. Not every single track will be among this theme but the few that will, will help to tie all the Digipak and the rest of the promotional package to this theme.

Another aspect of my planning that I have decided to tie together with all of my promotional package, if the image of the woods. This is the main location I will be filming my music video at, but I will also use pictures from the setting to use on the advert and the Digipak. Doing this will link the while package together as the location of the video will appear across all the products I will be creating. 

Mrs D

Well done Lauren. The planning is detailed and looks good. The second draft of your story board is better - although you need to do the whole song and work on camera movement. There are some effective transition too. Make sure you are planning how you are going to create links across the 3 products and how you are going to manage your time during construction.

Advert Template 2

Advert Template 1

Advert Planning Mind Map

Dolby

Well done for getting out and doing some filming. I think that you have some good ideas; the setting you have chosen is quite romantic which reflects the lyrics but the song is quite fast-paced so make sure that the editing and speed of shots reflects the indie-rock genre and mood of the music.

Video Test Shots

 

Codes and conventions of an album advert in a magazine.

It is important that the main image on the advert follows the theme of the digipak. The images used may differ, for example in their size or the way they have been edited  but the images used on adverts are most likely to be linked with the ones used on the artists digipak. Most adverts will also follow a certain colour scheme that ties in with the image of the artist they are promoting. 

From analyzing magazine adverts I discovered that; the largest text on the page will normally be the artists name and the second largest will normally be the name of the album that's being promoted. Usually words such as 'New Album' will feature somewhere on the advert.

Also featuring on an advert will sometimes be a list of features included in the album. Such things that are usually listed will be the most popular single off that album, this is done so the artist will be recognized by people viewing the advert by this particular song. Sometimes bonus tracks and features are listed here to entice the reader. 

Some adverts will contain the artists website, the labels name, inform the reader where to buy or download the album, and some may even give tour information. 

As social networking sites and smart phones are used by pretty much everyone in today's society most adverts advertise links to artists Facebook, Twitter and Youtube accounts. Doing this allows the audience even further contact with the artist. Smart Phones may also be given the opportunity to scan a bar code on the advert which may take them to the artists website or other promotional website. 

DigiPak Template 2

DigiPak Template 1

Digipak Ideas

Effects

As important as the actual videos I capture will be, it will be just as important that the effects I add during the editing process of the video also tie in with the mood and story of the video. As I am not experienced with many effects that can be used in music videos I have looked at some music videos and have looked at what effects have been added and what these particular effects show.

The first video I looked at was Ed Sheerans' video 'Drunk', there were a few effects that I noticed in the video:
Firstly, at the beginning of the video there is a shot of a woman that slowly fades out to a blur of the woman face. This is very effective at showing that what is happening is perhaps a dream or the person viewing this is feeling light headed at what they are seeing. Perhaps this effect can be effective in my music video when the boy is thinking about previous times with his ex girlfriend.

Secondly, the video has the feel that it has been filmed with only a hand held camera. You get this idea as the video doesn't seem to be that stable, which you would get using a tripod. I think this was done to fit with the theme of video of the homeless, showing that you don't need the most expensive equipment to create an effective music video.







There are also parts of the music video where you see the female talking to other people but the words can't be heard by the viewers of the music video, I believe this is done to make the actions of the female seem secret and like she wants them to be hidden. For example the words she says to a man who is going to pay her for sex.

At the end of the video when you see the female die, there is then a clip of her in the sky above the town. This is to represent that she is now an angel and in heaven. This also links directly with the lyrics in the song at this time. This effect can be used in a different way in my music video, perhaps to show the separation and distance of the boy and his previous girlfriend.




In Katy Perrys' video 'The one that got away', the use of colour is very cleverly used to show the emotions of the same character but at different times in her life. In shots of Katy Perry as an older woman the shots are all grey and white, this use of colour shows that her life in now simple and boring. If you compare this to the shots of her as a younger adult with the male in the video, there a lot of bolder colours used, this use of colour shows her life was more exciting and that perhaps her personally was more bold and outgoing. In my music video I think using colours to express the emotions of the characters will be an effect that won't be too difficult to use effectively and will hopefully let me get across a range of different emotions.

Effects I will use:

Because the location I have chosen to film at is a romantic quiet setting and my song is quite fast pace it will be important that the video corresponds to the timings of the songs, but still suits the setting.
A technique I fell that will be effective to speed certain parts of the video will be to overlap a number of different clips, this means that although the acting can be slow pace, overlapping them will mean they aren't played individually and therefore speed these clips up. Using this effect will also be a positive and effective way at showing things that happened in the characters past as this effect will look dreamy.
I also like the effect talked about above, in he Katy Perry video, of changing the colour schemes. I think using black and white effects will be an effective way of showing the mood of the different characters throughout the video.
I also think the fading out to a blue effect used in Ed Sheerans' video is a great way to show emotion and also the ending of certain clips, although no one will be dying in my music video it can still be used to signify the ending of a sad clip.

Letter of consent for particpants.

Below is the letter I shall give to the people I wish to be the characters in my music video:

Dear                                         ,

As part of my Media A Level coursework we must create a music video. I am writing this letter to you as I would like to have you feature in my music video as one of the cast members. Filming will take place at Heathlake in Wokingham; I will be able to do the driving and pick you up and drop you home on the days of filming. Because I am aware of outside school and weekend commitments I will ensure that the filming schedule will take place on days that suit us all, that is if you choose to participate, most likely to be a weekend day and a few evenings during the week.

The song I have chosen to do my music video to the song ‘Your Eyes’ by Bombay Bicycle Club. The genre of the song is Indie so if you do decide to appear in the video it this sort of style that I would like for you to appear as. If this can’t be done I shall try and provide the costume for you. It is also important that the image stays the same on all filming days so the continuity stays the same throughout the whole video; this means that all costumes and props provided by yourself should be accessible all the time.

I will be ever so grateful if you choose to accept and be part of my music video. If you have any questions please do ask me without any hesitation and I shall get to back to you as soon as I can with an answer.

Please respond as soon as you can with your answer via one of the means below,

Lauren Pascoe,

Edgbarrow Sixth Form, Form 13.6.

 

I,                                    , give permission to be filmed and photographed as part of Lauren Pascoe’s a level coursework in her music video.

Signed: ____________________________________________

Story Board, Moving Image: Draft 2

Below is the second draft of my story board moving image. I have taken on the point made that my last draft was very repetative. I have now added several more images to make sure the video isn't so repetative. I haven't been able to put the video to the entire track but you can still get an idea of the story I wish to convey in the music video in the 1.32 minutes of the video below.

 

Real Media Artefacts- Advert: Myloxyloto

This is the advert featured in magazines to promote Coldplays new album 'Myloxyloto'. This particular advert is taken from Q magazine and was actually a Coldplay special, there were many different stories and images on the band and this was clearly done to promote their knew album which was going to be released a few weeks after the magazine was published.

The most eye catching feature about this advert is the name of the album, this is done by making the name in the largest font, and positioned in the middle of the advert. This is done to draw the eye straight to the title. Both the name of the band and the date the album is released are in the same or very similar font size, this is therefore the next thing the viewer will read, making these 3 important pieces of information the most eye catching will hopefully make sure that the viewer remembers who is releasing this album and when they will be able to access it.

Below the main, larger text is a paragraph of text telling the viewer where they can easily access and pre-order the album. Telling the reader this information will hopefully persuade them to go ahead and pre-order this album or perhaps just do some more research on the album.

The colours used in the background are bright and eye catching and will hopefully grab the attention of anyone flicking through the magazine.