Task Three – Audience Evaluation and Feedback

The audience feedback you have gathered is excellent. The video diary of your comments on Facebook is original and detailed, as are the comments from the focus group discussion. Your understanding of your intended audience is through and punctilious in terms of what they had to say – you also fully reflect upon these comments. Very good use of mobile and new media technologies in record keeping of these comments – especially in incorporating your comments with the audience. You also use theory very well in your analysis and even distinguish between male and female responses – this is tied in really well into audience use and gratification and Hall theory of reception. You also link the audience feedback to values and beliefs in relation to rebellion, cool Britannia and gender representations. Good reference to intertextual references.

Feedback on Director's Commentary

Im Not Like Anybody else

Teodora and Nina

Excellent and considerate understanding of the technologies used in production of the video, for example FCP and After Effects. There are evident links between creative decision making and use of technology on both productions of the video using professional digital cameras (e.g. green screen and bridging gaps between scrapyard and studio based shots) and in the post production editing process – in discussion of match of action. This is sustained and thorough and accurate in discussion of the branded themes of the MV. The commentary shows a discrete awareness of the use of new media technology and uses discriminating examples really well, particularly to selection and construction of narrative and intertextual references to the ‘Bond’ movies. Excellent command of terminology and well presented – understands and discusses convergence really well.

Outstanding Effort and Excellent commentary, well done.

Evaluation Task 4 - Director's Commentary

Evaluation Task 4

The Concept
The concept of our music video was to show the aspect of regeneration, recycling of the media market and products and to maintain the quality within music products instead of quantity. Therefore we used the junkyard as a part of our location for both the performance and the narrative by the use of a green screen in the media studio. This technology became crucial to our final product combining studio and location shots.

The Pre-production
In terms of using digital technology in the pre-production we filmed an animatic storyboard with digital cameras and have also taken pictures with my Sony digital camera from the set design we created and the location, which I then uploaded to my blogg, I used it as an on-going diary of my research and planning process. This is an example of convergent technology because I also used my mobile device to take some photos which I then uploaded onto my computer, then shared it on e-blogger (where we were enabled to post posts, pictures and powerpoints, another example of convergence). I used the internet in most cases as a research tool, such as when uploading a powerpoint on Slide-share researching similar artists -  Research Into Similar Artists or other artists' star image, such as  Madonna - Star Image , developing over time which helped me to understand how we should construct the star image for our band - Inferno. We also used YouTube when looking into action films, which we wanted to use in our narrative concept, such as Stormbreaker.

Media technologies used in the digipak and poster - creating process:
On the day of the shoot both for the narrative and the performance we used a digital camera to capture the day, like a record, which enabled us to use these stills in order to create the the poster and the digipak as part of our campaign, and to blog for evaluation purposes. This is a creative multitasking process. Several pictures of the band members were used in the poster put together as one picture using different techniques such as layering in Photoshop. Also in the CD we used some of the stills of the junkyard to create the theme of recycling and with these pictures we used different effects such as the burn effect and saturation levels.
We used Photoshop, as a creative software in order to enhance our construction of the star image of our band. Our skills developed immensely from AS to A2 when we actually learnt how to endependantly use the programme and make our own creative decisions. Here there is a link which demonstrates some of the progress made while creating our digipak. - Digipak Evaluation - Digital Technologies

Evaluation Task 3 - Audience Feedback

I made a video dairy with a focus group, which I am going to use and analyse later on.





This is my video diary analysis, which is based on audience feedback I have done by applying the theory behind it.

Feedback on evaluation task two

An excellent evaluation of your campaign which considers the music video alongside its ancilliary tasks really well.  It is detailed and links your products to real media and further considers the target audience in relation to the brand identity for the campaign.  You have also incoporated well theorectical concepts into your work in creating the right marketing mix.  Excellent consideration to product placemment and outstanding effort.  Well done.

Evaluation Task Two

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Evaluation Task 1 - Media on Prezi

Feedback

The content of your response is excellent with a through understanding of the use of media conventions in your coursework.  This could be developed further in reference to research and planning of CD digipaks.  You have made very links to real media products and this is supported by hyperlinks and video evidence well done.  Further you have clearly incorporated academic points into your evaluation which shows excellent reflection on what you needed to do.

My strongest suggestion for developing your blog entries, is to tidy up the visual presentation - use Beeclip for images and try to upload an embedded presentation - I am more than happy to help you with this.

Evaluation Task 1 - Poster

In terms of our poster, we adhered to most conventions. As you can see we used the same font as on the digipak in order to keep the continuity. We photoshoped four pictures of the band and put them together and used as a background the scrap yard. There is also an emphasis on the instruments, so we highlight their talent and musicianship, their togetherness as a band and their unique image - wearing suits. The lead singer is in the foreground in order to put an accent on him, being the "face" of the band and having the most intimate relationship with the audience.

We also put the name of the album in the same way as it is on the digipak. In order to create a synergy we stated that the soundtrack from the film "The Agent" is included in the CD, so more people might recognise and therefore buy the album, which is also promoted by the fact that you can see the instruments in the shot and therefore subconsciously the reader of the convention will be reminded of their talent. The album date is stated and it is said where it is available. The logo of the record company is clear to see as well and their website. We chose to include little logos of twitter and facebook to highlight that the fans can interact with each other and share opinions about the band. Therefore we recognise that we live in the online age and the importance of it. The QR code allows people to scan it and it sends them automatically to the web-site of the band, which again highlights the fact that the band is accessible and easy to contact and find, which makes it very convenient to simply scan the code on your i-phone for example and get more information in just a few minutes.

The link below shows some example of different posters and art work:

http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/conventions-poster-design-inspiration/

Evaluation Task 1 - Digipak

In order to understand the codes and conventions of a digipak at the beginning of the process I research different ways to create a successful digipak - Research Digipak - Conventions. In addition, I also researched digipak covers by similar artists in order to collect ideas and inspiration for my own product - Digipak Covers by Similar Artists, this helped enourmously because I understood how to create a band image through the digipak and how important it is to get it right.

In terms of our digipak we wanted to be creative and we used most of the conventions rather than subvert them. Our front cover has the title of the album "Retaking The Music" and "Infernal, which is the name of the band as simple conventions. The font was kept the same throughout the whole digipak which is common as well. The burning is similar in order to keep the continuity. As you can see we used dark colours for the background in order for the recycling sign to stand out and therefore the concept of our band. Through the design work we wanted to use the conventions, but also bring out the unique brand image of the band. The mod colours we highlighted and it seems to have a rather metalic feel to it and it sells the concept of "Retaking The Music" and recycling. The fact that for a background picture we used the scrap yard, it also again reminds the audience that the music video was supposed to promote the album and therefore we coherently continue using the image.

For the back cover, we adhered to the conventions in order to please the audience by seeing something familiar. We used the common conventions of listing the tracks, putting the bar code in, the logo of the record company and all the copyright information in the left side corner. We used the same font for continuity and a darker shade burn. The theme of recycling and old, used metal reminds of the concept. You can also clearly see "car and metal recycling" which we highlighted on purpose. 

Evaluation Task 1 - Music Video

Evaluation Task 1

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http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/PinnacleLife/Content/Tutorials/What+is+Green+Screen.htm

This link explains what a green screen is used for and how.

The link shows how  in the soundtrack "My heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion intertextuality was used. John Stewart's description of the music video as "incorporating, raiding and reconstructing" is essentially what intertextuality is. You can see that we used this convention and we inspired by Stormbreaker, which creates synergy. 

In terms of narrative and performance as Steve Archer states "music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song of the band". We used the convention of a soundtrack for a film using whole sequences of shots as it is done in Titanic's soundtrack. So, the editing is similarly done. Taking the fact that the video is a promotional tool for a film, we did not edit it as a normal video, but used sequences, so we used the convention of cutting on the beat and after the lyrics, but put an emphasis on the film sequences as well. For us was obviously important as explained in previous blog entries that we wanted to present a coherent sequences in order to promote the film and give the audience a chance to recognise the product. Nevertheless, Archer argues that "the lip-synch close-up and the miming of playing instruments that remains at the heart of music videos, as if to assure us that the band really can kick it". We adhered to this convention as well by still using a lot of band shots.

Evaluation Task 1 - The Theory Behind It

Evaluation 1

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We have used these conventions listed above to either subvert or adhere to the expectations of the audience in order to achieve a different effect.

Finalized Digipak and Poster

Finalizing the poster and the digipak was a time-consuming, but very enjoyable and creative process. In terms of the poster we used the same image which we edited in the poster, which we used in the digipak - inside left pannel in order to create this cross-promotion within the campaign - the music video, the poster and the digipak are following a reaccuring theme which supports the idea of the whole campaign, this of re-generation and recycling the old music to the new.

            

  

In terms of our digipak we changed the look of it in terms of the colourburning we experimented with at the beginning. As an end effect we wanted to highlight brighter shinier colours in order to emphasize this new-invention - not old looking style, but inventive and creative. We wanted the colours to be more vibrant, but still stylish, sleek and ellegant.



As you can see as a more professional look we finalised the presentation of the digipak by putting it into labeled pannels for more clarity. We also finally decided that we want the actual CD to be symbolically the lid of the famous people bin which is going to be inside right in the digipak, underneath the CD.

Poster Development and Research

We wanted to research posters of similar bands, which are alternative, but still quite popular, still putting an emphasis in their album's promotion on talent and being together as a group. We looked at Nickelback'sposter of "Someday" and really liked the simplicity of it and the clear fonts, them just being together as a band. We also looked at a poster of the Verve and we chose to use the layout of teh poster indicating the name of the album, of the band and the website of the band. We decided to promote our single, "Not Like Everybody Else" by creating synergy in terms of mentioning that the soundtrack is from the film "The Agent" because in the Verve's poster of Urban Hymns they mention the most famous tracks, such  as "Bitter Sweet Symphony" and "The Drugs Don't Work", which makes it more likely for people to buy the CD if the recognise the titles of the songs included, exactly what we planned to do.

 

Underneath, there is a brief sketch of our planning of how to create the poster. We decided to include the website of Parlophone and the institution logo, and where the CD would be available for purchase in order to emphasize that it is easily accessible for purchase.

After Effects

After we finished the cut of the new narrative idea it was time to transfer the video from proxy files into HD in order to make it look more professional and have a clear and better quality picture. In order to  transfer the files one has to be very careful because every single file needs to be changed and there is a specific procedure to be followed, which takes a lot of precision.

Our next step was to edit the green screen into each performance shot. This also was quite time-consuming due to the amount of shots we had to individually work on, but very interesting as well. However, once we have edited most of the shots, it was easier because if the same type shot would come up then we could copy the changes we have made from the previous one, so this saved time. Nevertheless, there are quite a few steps one needs to follow in order to achieve a maximum believable effect of the green screen. I started with choosing a shot, then one clicks on effects and chooses "key lighting". Then on screen colour - black (it recognises the green screen colour). Then adjusting the levels to make sure that just where the green screen was, we are going to apply the shots suitable. Then we have to choose a background. Then we go to colour correction in order to adjust the contrast and the brightness. I also experimented with saturation levels in order to make the green screen fit with the lighting in the studio as much as possible. In addition, we also blurred the background a little. Not only did we change the saturation levels in the background, but also in the shot as a whole. The screen recording underneath demonstrates in practice how we edited the green screen into the shot.

In addition, we also used after effects where we chose from varieties of muzzle flashes and decided that the James Bond character should have a bigger flash than Matt in order to signify who is going to win at the end and who is the bad guy in the narrative sequence. We also put the so called "mask" so that all windows break at the same time and we chose extra footage of glass breaking - the effect was enhanced of the action scene. The bullet holes on the windows we also added additionally and timed them so that they appear at the same time with window breaking. These additional features add more precision and detail to the work.

 

Post-production 2 - Narrative

Our aim this week was to cut the performance and after we realized that need to stop concentrating on single shots and stop obssessing over if a shot is cut exactly on the beat or not , but actually getting the right shots on the time line in order to finish the rough cut, everything was much easier. We managed to finish the rough cut and we were ready for the narrative to be filled in. We had to log the narrative shots. We realized that we have over 100 takes that had to be marked and this took us some time to sort out the best takes. We had to be very careful with using the right shots in order to follow up the story. I changed the order a few times because the first time we started editing from the wrong point with the "Bond" character finding me too early and therefore we ended up with not enough shots. It was not a big problem because I just dragged the shots further away and put others of him approaching the bus where I was kidnapped in order to create tension. Putting in the narrative was more challenging then we thought and very time consuming. Nina and I spent a lot of time editing and learning from our mistakes and fixing, pollishing and even redoing a number of times what we spent hours on before, but this is the nature of editing you have to create in order to see if it has the effect that you want and then re-make again. I found on the internet some useful quotes of famous editors:


http://en.proverbia.net/citastema.asp?tematica=376

New take on the video:


You can see in the picture below a shot of one of the James Bond films when he is saving the girl, exactly what we wanted to portray:
We got some feedback from our editing experts and they suggested that the video would be better if we concentrate on the actual narrative more rather than the performance. This meant that we needed more shots to play with for example reaction shots of me to Merlin or struggling shots, more shots of him walking, creating tension towards the saving act. We wanted to portray him as the hero by using a revealing shot of him when coming on the bus. Nevertheless, we had to go back to our original footage and cut bits in order to have a more variety of additonal shots if needed. The way of creating a more film based video was to have sequences of narrative rather than just single shots followed by performance shots. We used the same skills when editing our thriller in AS as for the cutting of the narrative one uses a similar technique - thinking of continuity, builting up tension, portraying the characters in the right way (Merlin - hero, me - victim, then typical portrayal of the Bond girl) by using low angle shots, close-ups.  So, we had to go through the video again and think of possible sequences of shots that would fit together. Nina and I decided to cut the song down by 30 sec in order not to be too repetitive and long. Additionally, it would be easier for us to market the song if promoting the typical 60s and 70s James Bond wave being also very British and famous. Therefore it fits with the song well. We had a several sequences starting with him approaching the bus, you can see me struggling, next was him coming on the bus, releasing - short happy moment, then the tension increases because the bad guy comes and tries shooting us - we run, fourth final sequence is when the Bond character shoots him.

An example of a film soundtrack is Pearl Harbor - There You'll Be where you can see how the music video cuts from the narrative to performance shots, but still keeps sequences. You can also notice that the lyrics match the narrative sometimes as we tried to do in our video as well.

Beginning Editing - First Steps

After having completed both shoots in the studio and in the scrap yard, now is time for post-production. Our first job was to start logging the shots and chose the best ones from the performing. We first decided to create a performance video without the narrative, so later when we are ready to put it in, we can always play around with the performance shots, which are already in place throughout the whole song. We had a variety of performance shots and therefore we chose the best ones by marking them with  "Best Take" as you will be able to see below in the screen video I took while editing. Some of the shots for example a shot of just the guitarist had additional ones within it, such as a close-up of his hand playing and the strings, his face, mid-shot. Therefore we put a marker in each shot so we can use them later easier and we would now where to find what if we need a certain shot. We learnt from the preliminary task how to do this and look for the beat in order to cut in the right places, so we knew what we were doing and we manages to finish quite quick. Next step was to drag all the shots which were marked as "best takes" on the time line on top of each other and synch them. This is very important because once finished with that we could simply concentrate on cutting because every shot is in time with the song. 

However, we realized that ones started editing properly there were more complications to come. Nina and I were the ones doing all the editing and were are not very experienced with Final Cut Pro because the last time we used it was when we did our thriller and the editing technique with the music videos is slightly different and you need time to get the hang of it. We spent hours and hours in the edit suit trying to choose the right shots, making sure that we use variety of shots and angles.We learnt new editing tools. We learnt how to use the razor tool in order to cut shots easily - you press B and press where you want to cut then A for arrow in order to make the shot as long as we wish. We also had to be careful in terms of continuity e.g. avoid jumpy cuts and shots. We also had a few problems with the lead singer not knowing some of the words of the songs and because of that we always had to choose a different shot intead. The drummer was also not always in time and we had trouble with making sure that she plays the drums according to the music. We also had some problems with cutting on the beat because for some reason we were cutting off-beat sometimes and on the beat other times. So, we had to be careful with that as well.

This is a clip of me editing:

Feedback

An excellent of posts which provides plenty of detailed comments and reflection.  Impressive in places, love the video diary and beeclip.com - good creative use of online tools.  My only recommendation is to consider wether you should use different colour fonts.  Well done.

Audience's Feedback - Digipak

In order to b able to improve our ideas and our first draft I asked some of my friends (our target audience) what they think about our digipak:

Did you understand the concept of recycling and regenetation? How would you improve it?

"Yes, I definitely understood the concept looking at the front and back cover, but I did not make the connection between the celebrities and the scrap yard idea. Therefore I would suggest to continue the re-occuring theme (the recycling sign) and put it on top of the celebrities the recycling sign by changing the contrast on the celebrities and making the sign transparent." - 18 years old girl

"Personally, I think the celebrities are too vibrant at the moment. I would use brownish colours as from the front cover for continuity and make them look a little bit more "dirty". I would also change the contrast of the back cover, colour burn it as the front cover" - 18 years old boy

Do you like the concept? Is it intriguing you?

"Once you understand the concept, you realize how clever it actually is because you need to pay attention to the detail - who are the faces? You need to make the connection between mainstream artists and endependent in order to get the message" - 17 years old girl

Evaluation:

The audience's feedback was very useful and I sought quite interesting ideas which inspired me further. I think that the reoccuring theme should definitely be used and the colour burn for continuity.

Overall, the feedback was very useful for me and for the group.

Digipak Evaluation - DigitalTechnologies

From developing our concept and ideas on paper we mainly used Photoshop CS4 in order to create the product digitally.

I took a screengrab in order to show our Photoshop process of working. In the middle you can see how we created new windows in order to work on the specific covers, we always had to use the same sizes - 1500 pixels - width and hight in order to have a square.

Here I took a further screengrab of how we created our front cover. First we used Google pictures in order to find the right size and look of a recycling sign. Then we cut each item and cropped it into a new window. Then painted the arrows into the mod colours. Once finished we thought about the background which we took from a scrap yard picture we took. I cut the picture and inserted it into the template. Using the "Move Tool" we chose the bit from the picture we liked most. Then we played around with contrast, but realized that it does not look right because the colours we too strong and the background too busy. So, we decided on experimenting changing the opacity in order to make the arrows more transparent. Once we had done that we wanted to make the colours more moody. I suggested using the paintbrush and "colour burn" the picture in brown. We liked the special effects which contrasted nicely with our arrows. We wanted to emphasize the simplicity of it and therefore we used a simple font.

We were given ready templates and once we have finished with the product we put them over the templates.

Nevertheless, except from digital technologies we used our blog, photographs, design art work and other creative skills on the way to create our digipak.

Digipak - First Draft Evaluation

This is our first draft of our digipak which is going to be refined (we will add bar codes, the record company they are signed to and the song list + extra special effects in order to present it as professional as possible). As you can see we created four different panels - inside right, back cover, front cover and inside left.

With the front cover we wanted to put an emphasis on our main theme - regeneration and recycling of the old to the new. We used a recycling sign in the mod colours  and as a background we chose one of the scrap yard pictures I took last Sunday. In order to sustain continuity of our digipak we chose another picture as the back cover in the scrap yard in order to reinforce our concept, which is supported by Keith Negus' theory of embracing a "naturalistic approach", being part of the "Organic Ideology of Creativity". We imposed this idea further by developing our inside cover - on the left we thought of having a bin full of stars representing "Synthetic Idelogy of Creativity", such as Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and Rihanna and therefore we are putting a lid on them, right cover, giving a chance to the more organic artists.

In terms of being influenced by already existing media products, we were till the point we changed our concept partially. We were planning on having on our front cover the face of Simon Cowell being recycled - we were inspired by the Sex Pistols as I explain in a previous blog. However, we thought that our concept would be more sound if it is simple and clear - expressing what we want to say rather than including him, it is all abour our artist's star image.

When discussing the star image of our band and we portrayed that we thought of Richard Dyer's theory. We constructed our image by putting an emphasis on mod cool contemporary portrayal being rebellious and different so the target audience could identify themselves with it. We portrayed by the scrap yard images and the fact that they are brave enough to try and change something. We are also provocative by using world-known stars and criticising their art, so in that way we are achieving Paradox 1 of Richard Dyer's Stardom Theories - they are ordinary because the audience can identify with them, they are also extraordinary because they are "heroes" - are going to make the change. We are also putting an emphasis on their creativity by the use of design work rather than highlighting their good looks. So, I think that we have successfully achieved the creation of our brand image.

Our product fits as a promoting campaign as well because it markets the right image for our band - "Infernal" are organic, natural and different. A digipak is a very important part of the creation of an image and not only - the success of the album relies on it as well.

I found a web-site that explains how creative you can be with your digipak design:

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/Chrysostome/creative_cd_packaging

I also looked at a power-point presentation on slideshare that explains the role of a digipak:

http://www.slideshare.net/ksimmons29/digipak-research-3047383

In terms of institutional context we agreeed on the subsidiary of EMI to be our record company because as I explain in a previous post - we want to try and give "Infernal" more creative freedom, but also have the financial help in terms of marketing.

Next Steps - Video Diary

Shooting (Scrap Yard) - Part 2 - Filming

Once we were there, we looked around and chose a setting for me to be kidnapped. Surprisingly, there was a big old bus that was not there last time when Luke came, so this was the perfect place for us because otherwise it would have been a car which is quite stereotypical. We set up the cameras and found some rugs for me to lie on (we were told that there were a lot of rats so we needed to be careful). My hands were tied up with a black rope and my mouth was covered with some black cloth. The first shot was a wide of me lying on the floor in the bus. I had to adopt the character and therefore cried and begged for somebody to let me out. We took some shots of me struggling, one from hehind, close-up of my face. It was quite interesting for me because my experience as an actress was mostly on stage, being able to stay in character throughout the whole play or multi-role, but in the video, I had to continuously cry which was difficult and the coldness was not helping as well. However, I did the best I could in order to get all the shots we needed. We continued with hand-held shot pov of me, looking up to Merlin coming in the bus, not knowing if he is going to kill me or not. We took a variety of shots, from different perspectives of him putting the gun down and cutting the rope. Next shot was of me taking off the mouth piece and embracing him, my saver. Next shot we took was of Matt driving fast into the scrap yard and getting out a gun. We see that and start running. We took a shot from behind and a long shot through the bus. The idea was that Merlin was body-guarding me from the bullets. I acted a little hurt, but ran as fast as I could. We took a shot from behind of us running and from the side. Then the next step was what to do next?

I thought of an "ending", which did not need to be logical because we were taking bits and pieces of the film. So, we thought that if they run and see that it is a dead-end street. Merlin needed to think fast. He throws me into a car and faces the chaser who is shot and dies. Afterwards I was not needed any more so I changed into something warmer and had to be behind the camera now and take pictures for my blog as well. We shot a variety of shots of Merlin walking around the scrap yard, approaching me, choosing different locations and angles. Later I filmed the green screen shots we needed behind the performance bits. We worked from around 10am till 4pm and I must say that was happy with the result. Taking the fact how difficult it was to deal with all the problems we had and the cold, I was pleased with the result and our organisation of taking quickly decisions.

Below I created a scrapbook with all photos I took on the day with descriptions:

Scrap Yard Shooting - Part 1 - Preparation

It was finalised that the crew will be just Luke and Matt (media staff), Merlin and me. We had to meet at 10am in front of the media block and make sure that we have everything - the cameras, extra batteries, guns and ropes ready. I was already done with my make-up including torn tights and bruises, wearing my costume. Merlin was meeting us there as well and he was wearing his costume too, so we were all set to drive away to "Aldershot" Scrap Yard. It was a misty day, so we were worried that we might not be able to see any cars in the scrap yard, but once we arrived we positively surprised and it was just the coldness that was an obvious problem. However, Merlin and I had extra jackets and I had extra clothes to change into once we are done with my scenes. Next step was finalising my make-up - I put some extra black eye-shadow underneath my eyes in order to look as if I have not slept and was kept there for at least the last 24h there. I made sure that my bruises (knee/neck) were as real as possible using a special make-up.           

                                                                                                             

Problems - Scrap Yard Shooting

On Monday we had a group discussion. Charlotte has tried contacting a Surrey mod club and signed up to be a member. However, she wrote on one of the young mod members if he would be interested to take part in our video or at least provide a scooter. Nevertheless, we never heard of him so we had to rely on Niell's scooter. On Wednesday he told me that his scooter is broken and will try and fix it till Sunday. We tried everything, contacting other mod people, but did not work. On Friday, it was for sure that Niell's scooter will not be fixed on time and Nina and I had to come up with a whole new concept. Ed was still not feeling well and Charlotte was sick for the rest of the week as well. So, Nina and I had to think quick, work efficiantly and come up with new good ideas because obviously without the scooter and the people that were supposed to represent the mod community we could not achieve this. Nina could not attend and Charlotte said that she would not be able to come, so we did not have enough actors or members of the group. Knowing that she will not be there, Nina and I evaluated the situation. Merlin and I were the only actors we had available, so we had to change our concept from six people to just two. On Friday morning we brainstormed ideas - love story, chase etc. We finally agreed on shooting a film in the scrap yard. A girl has been kidnapped for money and Matt (media teacher) would be guarding her. She is tied up in a car. We planned to portray a chase with Matt and Merlin, trying to save me. Our concept was that "Infernal" would play the song for the film, which will be a classis British action film. Therefore it fits with the mod concept. We still kept the recycling idea, but modified the original concept. In addition, this reinforces the idea of synergy and cross-promotion between the product.  We all live in the online media age. Therefore through using film in our music video our target audience will be wider and easier to access.

We were inspired by the film "Stormbreaker" and decided on using some of the shots in this scene:

Feedback

Excellent detailed posts.  Well done.  I like the way theroy has been incorporated into practice. You fully reflect on your work and have accounted for the process of constructing your CD cover well done. 

Album Song Titles

In today's media lesson I came up with the song titles of the album. I researched songs by the Kinks and was inspired by their titles, such as "I Took My Baby Home"; just words like "Revenge" or descriptive like "Stop Your Sobbing", statements "I Don't Want You Anymore". I intentionally mostly concentrated on their debut album: "The Kinks"

1. I’m not like everybody else

                                                                            

2. Long Story


3. Go home


4. Stop Moving Around


5. Leaving me alone


6. Beautiful Day


7. Taking Risks


8. All day


9. Love Lies


10. Not your business


11. Left with nothing


12. Stop Moaning

Creating a Digipak - Progress

Today, I worked on our digipak and used Photoshop in order to create our front cover. As you can see in the images below I used a recycling image, which I cut and painted in the mod colours. Then I looked for a shot of Simon Cowell and cut just his face and pasted in the middle of the recycling sign. We still need the scrap yard shots which I am going to take on Sunday for the background.

Shooting Day (Studio) - 3 Our Roles

We all had different roles and although we did rotate, most of the time I was filming, Nina was in charge of notating the best takes in order to make our editing process easier later. Charlotte was responsible for the playback and was taking many pictures, which we essential in order to document the set changes and the final set design. We shooted for half a day which was quite a good timing as we will be shooting on the 20th Nov in the scrap yard as well. So, we finished in time and we pleased with the result.
As improvement suggestions I think that taking the fact how many problems we had to deal with even one day before the shoot, the cast was our main issue. The idea which we had at the beginning, but never managed to fulfil - to get a real band, would have been so much better because in such busy community as Hurtwood, everybody is reluctant to miss lessons, especially the teachers. Luckily, everything turned out positively at the end. We were delighted with the cast and how they worked together; their image even was similar and suited the theme. They all put the effort into performing as best they could - our lead singer really enjoyed himself and therefore this helped to take better shots. We were also positively surprised how photogenic they all were, which is a key to music videos. So, I am guessing that our casting decisions paid off after all.

Here you can see Nina writing down good shots.

 Here you can see me directing a shot.

There again Nina observing the screen in order to make sure that the shot is on focus and check that we are taking all the needed shots.

Shooting Day (Studio) - 2 The Shoot

Around 9:30 I took the first wide shot. As a director as well, I noticed that the lighting is too dark and creates unwanted shadows. Therefore we lit the set differently and changed the position of the bigger props, such as the drums, the car and tires. I took a variety of shots, starting with the basic ones - wide, close-ups on all the instruments and band members (from different angles as well). Once I have taken the basic shots I thought that we should move on to the more interesting ones. I suggested taking a mid shot of the lead singing on the car. Then we started to move the set around putting the ideas we had into action. We experimented with different positioning of the props and the band as well. Sometimes we had to add more lights when moving the set around. In every shot we had to make sure that the right look is created - fixed tires, instruments. As a group we thought of more mod-like shots e.g. lead singer in foreground and guitarist facing the other side playing or lead sitting in the car, but still seeing bassist and guitarist through the frame of the car windows. We did take the majority of the shots we expected to, but we got additional ideas on the day and therefore improvised with more spontaneous and different shots. I think organisation and creativity go hand in hand.

I have created a collage with some of the pictures we took. I have tried to include the most evident set changes and shots:

Shooting Day (Studio) - 1 The Beginning

As planned we were all in the studio at 8:30. We had to make sure that all the props and instruments are on their right places. We set up the camera and connected the screen to it in order to be ready to shoot. We played the song constantly once the cast has arrived, so they feel more confident with it. Although we knew what costumes we wanted, the band had brought one of two options to choose from. Once we agreed on their costumes, make-up and hair was the next step. The three of us - Nina, Charlotte and me devided the tasks between us, for Laura we chose stronger make-up in order to portray the right star image - we wanted her to represent a tough girl, but  still be feminine as well. For the boys just basic foundation was needed. Once the boys were ready, we thought it useful if they warm-up - pick up their instruments and play/sing to the track, so we could make sure that they will be synched with the playback as we were about to start shooting soon. Merlin had an internal assessment to go to in second period, therefore we were under time pressure to set everything, so we could take at least the wide shot and some close-ups of him. However, due to our organisation the day before, we were quicker and once the boys were ready, we were prepared to start. We also had to think about the green screen and that all the props are within the green frame because later we will have the scrap yard as a background.

Here I provided a link to Flickr with some photos including the preparation:

Thea696's photostream on Flickr.

One Day Before the Shoot (Studio)

Today was quite a stressful day, but also very productive. We had to solve many problems in order to make sure that everything will be sorted for tomorrow. One of our problems was that our drummer - Will Bodnar got sick and said that he could not do the shoot. We had to think about any other drummers in the school. So, I was asking people who would cover for him, but the problem was that for any student it would be too hard to miss lessons with such a short notice. However, we thought of a girl - Laura Cheese who is an A2 student, but has just two subjects, so it was not a big problem. Nevertheless, we had to change our concept of having four boys. However, I think that having a girl as a drummer breaks the stereotype and makes their star image more versatile and interesting for the audience. The fact that she could also play the instrument helped as well.

One more problem that arised was that our bassist - Merlin Talard, had two Internal Assessments on that day. So, he had to go out of the shoot in the second period. Therefore we had to make sure that the set is built and ready the day before, so we could start with the shoot straight after breakfast in order to take the wide shots of the band while he is still there. Additional problem was that his Media teacher refused to let him miss his lesson tomorrow. This meant that we could have lost him completely for the day. So, I pursuaded him and the Media teacher to give him an additional lesson out of class, so he is not behind. With that everything was resolved. We reminded them of the costumes they had to bring and make-up.

Nina, Charlotte and me helped with builting up the set, which you can see below: You can see the mini we have used. Matt was also helping us builting up the set, making sure that the instruments work. In the middle you can see the finished set.

Progress Diary

I spoke to Luke, the one who is responsible for our shooting, and finally found out that we will be able to shoot in the scrap yard which is good news because otherwise we had to change the location, consequently this would have made things more complicated for us in the last days before the day. Nevertheless, we had to make a compromise and shoot on a Sunday in the junk yard and one more additional day in the studio; this meant that we had to negotiate when exactly the scrap yard is going to be free for us to shoot there. Due to the fact that we still need to figure out the exact date and it might turn out to be this Sunday, we need to make sure that we have all the props and costumes sorted out. It is of an advantage that the band members have their own suits. However, we need to provide the props. Dan, the person responsible for the lighting and the set, Charlotte and me went to see him in order to make sure that we have the bigger props needed, such as the old Mini, which we are going to use in our performance part of the video. It all worked out well and we were happy with the metal bits, tires etc. he has provided for us.  Next step was to see Al, he is the one securing e.g. the stools, hammer, pack of cards - the more detailed props. I made a list, which I gave him to make sure that we will have the needed on the day. So far so good.
However, Ed, one of our group members has chicken pox and we might have to shoot without him. He was providing some of the props. Nevertheless, now we found a compromise and will divide his tasks between the three of us. So, we need to be clearer on who is doing what in order to make sure that we  will have evrything on both shooting days. At the moment, we are also sorting out blue cards for the band members (a permission that allows them to take part in our music video).
So, we are still in process, but most of the things are organized.

Timeline

Preparing an efficient timeline is part of the pre-production proces of our music video. Nina and I were responsible for it and we devided the task between us. So, during the last week we have been working on finishing it on time for our shooting day on 10th November. The timeline is a guide-line for us, as it is the storyboard. Nevetheless, the timeline makes clear when exactly we shoot each shot, which will make it easier for us later on when we are actually shooting and when editing.

Permission Letter to Universal Music Group

In order to be allowed to use the track, we had to write a letter to Universal Music Group in order to ask for permission.

To Universal Music Group,

We are a group of A Level students working on an A level project for a qualification in Media Studies. We are writing to request permission to use the following track as a part of this project:

I’m Not Like Everybody Else by The Kinks.

With your permission the track would be used as the accompaniment to a short form video that is made purely for assessment purposes and will have no commercial usage. The video will be viewed only by members of the school community and the assessor of the examination board.

The artist and the copyright holder will of course be fully recognised in the pre-production and evaluation material that accompanies the project. We can also include a full copyright notice if required both in the planning material and on the video itself.

Yours sincerely,

Charlotte Morgan, Nina Jakobsen, Edward Nightingale, Teodora Nguyen

Hurtwood House School.