Music Video - Second Edit

This is the second edit of our music video but we are still planning on making lots of changes to it such as the ending. There are also several filler shots in the video of scenery that we have merely put in now to complete the video with no black gaps but will be replaced at a later date. We are planning on doing a little bit more filming (hopefully tomorrow) but this shouldn't take too long to edit and hopefully we'll be on track to complete our video in time.

Editing Diary - 13/12/16

Thus far the editing is going very well, we were able to very quickly sync up the performance parts of our artist miming to the lyrics. This is in part due to the extensive practice we have had earlier in the year with our practice tasks such as when we did a mini video to the song 'Can't Stop the Feeling'. We feel the performance parts are the best bits of the video as they are the most professional looking due to us lucking out with clear weather and great lighting, plus the use of the Steady Cam which gives the shots some movement and realism. However we are unhappy with the ending as it lacks impact and just trails off in a boring and uninspiring way. Therefore we are going to try and find time to film an alternative ending where we will use the skill of cloning which we have practiced previously. A problem we face however is where to film this. It isn't a good idea to film outside as the lighting changes so frequently there would be a large discrepancy between the two sides of the scene and clones. Instead we were thinking of filming inside with a white backdrop, therefore we will have to find out if the photography studio at our school is free and book it out. If we do manage to do this though, it means hopefully our video will be a lot more dynamic and interesting with a stronger link to our storyline-making it more obvious to our audience.

Digipack Diary - 12/12/16

I am currently in the process of creating my Digipack, however it is hard to juggle the editing of the music video as well as the other tasks of a Digipack and a Digipack poster. However I have made a start and am happy with it thus far. I have gone with the double exposure idea and have two overlapping images of my artist with varying transparency. This also links with my music videos idea  of a character suffering from multiple personality disorder. The digipack is conveying the idea of two different sides to someone which most people feel like they struggle with at some point in their lives. The overall colour theme is black and white but there will be splashes of colour such as in the blossom on the inside flap.

Music Video - First Edit

This is the first edit of our music video. It is not yet finished as there are still some minor scenes that need filming and we are planning on changing the ending. However this is evidence of where we are at and what improvements need doing. We uploaded this video using 'Best Quality', it took a long time to export but we feel the quality is high enough that the wait time is worth it. We will therefore use this setting when uploading our final video to make it seem as professional as possible.

Filming Diary-4/12/16

This filming day was crucial to our whole overall video as it was the filming of our performance element. We set aside the whole day, got to Imy's house for 9.30am where we helped her get ready and then drove to Purton Boat Graveyard arriving at around 11am. The first problem we faced was the weather. Despite it being a bright and sunny day providing great lighting (albeit also causing the problem of our shadows being in shot if not filming at the correct angle), it was very cold. Imys costume of a white floaty dress offered her no protection from the elements and being on the water meant the wind was very strong. We had to compromise by doing only several shots right on the water and filmed very quickly. Also, in some shots Imy is wearing a white fur coat to keep her warm which isn't what we originally planned but feel it doesn't totally detract from her overall image. The wind also produced other issues such as Imy's hair often being blown all around her face which proved annoying when trying to do close ups.
Furthermore, we played our song on a speaker so we could hear it and Imy could sing along to it which worked while we were there, however, once we watched the videos back we realised you can't hear the music over the roaring wind. This means we have to try and lip read what part of the song Imy is singing which makes editing a little bit more tricky and time consuming. We also didn't realise how muddy and slippery it would be at our location due to previous bouts of rain. This caused all of us to get dirty, as well making it difficult to get to certain boats or areas we wanted to film as in some cases it would be quite dangerous to get there in the slippery conditions, especially as Imy was wearing heels.
 Even more problems we came across was the issue of using the Steady Cam. Unfortunately, as we were only using my little Sony camera to film on, it was too light situated on the Steady Cam and caused it to wobble all over the place and not stay stable. This was very disappointing as we were hoping to get lots of good moving shots of Imy singing which is vital in a music video. We tried to improvise by using a tripod but I am unsure how steady these will be.
 Despite all of this, I am fairly happy with the footage we shot and think we have enough quality footage to use in our music video without having to re-film.

Filming Diary-28/11/16

This filming session went very well with lots of footage that needed filming completed. We were a little bit pushed for time as we only had a couple of hours till we had to be back at school. We managed to get all the footage we needed with all scenes recorded multiple times so that we wouldn't be limited or have to re-shoot something again. I brought a new SD card for the occasion which had 32GB - so plenty of storage room. This means that we wouldn't have the problem of running out of room again. The majority of the narrative elements of our video have now been filmed, with only two left to do, which we are now considering not filming as we think we may have enough footage without it. The editing of our video is also going quite well despite the challenge posed by having to work around the gaps which our performance parts will fill.

Digipak Practice - 23/11/16

This is my first attempt at creating a photo for my digipak, I've played around with exposure levels and done an overlay of one photo over the other. I did this quite quickly and haven't finished yet as I may go back and make some other changes. I quite like the way it turned out but I don't think this is the one I will eventually use. However, it has been good practice and has made me familiar with photoshop again as it has been awhile since i've used it.

Digipak Initial Photos

These are the initial photos I have taken of my model for my digipak and digipak poster. I was unable to use a professional photo studio but I feel where I did film had enough natural lighting. The background isn't white as I wanted but I am most likely using these photos in black and white so I think it should be ok.  I took a large number and variety of different angled photos so that I can try out lots of different ideas and play around with what looks good.

Filming Diary-22/11/16

Yesterday was our second bout of filming. Our actress only had a few hours available and so we decided to film the small pub scene that we knew wouldn't take long. It went very well with us recording lots of footage that we were then able to pick the best shots from. Unfortunately we had to use a different camera to last time but we think the quality seems to be just as good and the camera we are now using is a lot more accessible and available for us to use whenever we want. 

Digipak Photography Inspiration

These photos I have found online provide inspiration for what I am hoping to do for my own artists digipak and digipak poster. I am planning on doing some kind of double exposure with either a face and a landscape or two faces over each other which would link with my music video of dual personalities.                

Filming Diary-14/11/16

We had our first shot at filming today and it was semi-successful. It was good that we made a start on all the filming that needed doing but we weren't as prepared as we could have been and came across several challenges. Firstly, we brought with us only one 4GB SD card which got full up very quickly and thus cut our filming very short. We had a couple of technical issues with the camera we used and we hadn't set aside enough time to get all the filming we wanted to do get done. We have uploaded the footage we do have and have tried editing it to the music. The problem is that the parts we filmed are around the middle and not at the start of the song meaning we have to block out bits of the song with blank screens so we can get it in time. This has been done fairly successfully and now we just need to film a significant amount more so that we can be well on the way to editing the majority of our video.

Initial Pitch Ideas

Pitching our music video ideas to the class was a very good and informative experience. Hearing audience feedback and their views and opinions of what we were saying was useful as it let us see it through their eyes and from another angle. People brought up questions that we hadn't even considered before and thus has made us think more carefully about how we're going to pull certain aspects of the video off. Having to actually pitch our ideas, create a powerpoint and formulate into words our  plans for the video was also very useful as it forced us to think about all the little details in depth and discuss what exactly it was we wanted to create.

Creating my Artists Brand/Logo

The first thing I set about doing was researching and finding different fonts for my artists name to be written in which is what consists of my logo. These are the initial fonts that I found which matched my genre and artist.

Cloning

We feel one of the most important parts of a video is it's ending, thus we want to do something dramatic and effective. We came up with the idea of using a cloning method to include both personas of our actress in the same frame. Despite thinking this was a good idea, we were unsure whether it was possible or easy to do, especially on a more basic editing software such as iMovie. However we  researched it and via a youtube video have discovered how to do it.

We did a practice of the cloning process so that we could feel confident doing it in our music video, we feel we have done it quite successfully. The only problem we faced was there was a slight colour inconsistency between the two sides of the frame which must have happened due to a change in the lighting. We may have moved the camera sightly which is something we must ensure we do not do when filming the actual thing. We will bear in mind these issues and try and avoid them in the future.

Digipak Poster Mockup

Doing this task has helped me plan and visualise what my finalised Digipack poster will look like. Creating a mock up such as this is very useful as it acts as a framework and guide for when I come to designing.  Despite it sharing many similarities with most Digipack poster designs, it provides me with the opportunity to consider important aspects such as the type of font I'll use, what the photograph may entail and the positioning of everything.

Digipak Mockup

 

Creating this mockup has been very useful as it has made me think about the layout and the design of my digipak. Creating a layout like this helps me visualise what I want the final digipak to look like and labelling it with potential designs I may want to include causes me to think creatively about how to make it engaging and aesthetically pleasing. Having this mockup also means that, when it comes to making my real digipak, I have a head start and something to go off regarding the layout.

Shot List

 

Creating both the storyboard and the shot list has been extremely helpful in planning out each step of our music video. This makes it a lot easier when we come to film as we will have a set plan to follow rather than just making it up on the spot which may actually end up taking longer and causing us to miss out on crucial parts. The storyboard allows us to be creative and visually see and decide how we want it to look and the shot list is helpful as it allows us to record lots of important information and go into more detail than in the storyboard. We initially found it quite difficult to plan each, individual shot and frame as often it would only be a tiny little different such as an adjustment of the camera but we did get used to it and ended up with nearly 100 shots. We will need to make sure that we bring both the storyboard and the shot list with us when filming so that we stick to it however also bear in mind that we are allowed to deviate from it and play around with different angles and positioning.

Storyboard

Creating this storyboard has been extremely useful as it has forced us to think in very fine detail about each shot and scene in our music video. We had to consider sound, camera angle, mise en scene, props etc. Having the finished storyboard means we can visualise and have some sort of idea about what our final music video will look like. We can also bring the storyboard with us when filming to keep us on track and remind us which scenes need filming.

Filming Schedule - Weather

                                                        Purton: Sunday 13/11/16

Planning for the day when we are filming is very important as we need to be sure of the conditions so that it doesn't effect our filming. Currently rain is being predicted which isn't particularly ideal, however we could make this work and incorporate it int the sad parts. Despite this, we don't want this kind of weather for all of the performance filming, thus we may have to change our plans. Instead of filming the performance element of our video on Sunday in Purton, we could instead film parts of our narrative which take place inside in Stone where the weather has been predicted to be Sunny. This means we will have plenty of natural light coming into the house which will give us good filming conditions.

Stone: Sunday 13/11/16

Filming Schedule

Having a filming and editing schedule will keep us organised and on track so that we don't fall behind and start procrastinating. It also allows us to know when and where we are doing something which means we are able to contact our actors regarding whether they're free for the allotted filming time. Despite having this schedule, we will still remain flexible and if an opportunity comes up for filming or something similar we will take it and then just rearrange what's been planned prior.

Location Shooting Practise - GoPro

The GoPro was better quality than we expected, however isn't u to the standard we want for our video. However there are certain scenes in our music video (such as when our actress is driving) when using a GoPro would be ideal as we could attach it to the windscreen for some different types of shots. The issue with this is the difference in quality between the cameras and we are unsure of what it would look like if we swapped between cameras.

Location Shooting Practise - Sony Cam

Originally I thought the camera quality was very crisp and clear when editing and filming this, however as soon as I uploaded it to Youtube the quality was severely reduced and not as high a quality as hoped. Despite this, I think the camera would be great to use but I would have to look more into the quality levels you can select when uploading it so as to retain a professional standard. Through doing this exercise we have seen what the lighting is like at this time of day and then can make an informed decision regarding the time of day we want to film in relation to the type of lighting we want.

Location Photos

These photos are what I took when we were exploring the Boat Graveyard and evaluating it for our performance location in our music video. This was a a very important trip as we got to know the area and what places might be good to film in, as well as the practical side of things such how to get there, what equipment we may need and survey any risks or issues that might be needed to take into consideration. These photos included interesting areas we want to film in, the way the lighting works in certain conditions and potential shots we could do of our artist once there.

Lyric Analysis

This planning task has been very useful as it provides us with a deeper understanding and empathy with the lyrics which is crucial when creating the accompanying video. It gives voice to the emotions and messages the song is trying to get across and we must understand these to create an effective video that is in-sync with the song itself. Doing the analysis of the song has also given us ideas and inspiration for what to include in our video which is very important in our creative process of storyboarding. 

Fashion Planning

Throughout my music video the protagonist will display almost three different characters, all of which have their own different characteristics and thus different costumes needed for them to distinguish and showcase their differences. For the depressed and angry side of her personality the clothing will be mainly dark colours and heavy clothing such as a hoodie, jeans, boots etc.

Video Prop Ideas-Piano

The use of the piano is a key prop in our story board as it is a way of our artist to express herself and shows a definitive change between two of her different personas. Luckily we are able to use our friends piano at her house and our artist is able to play it which will give it authenticity and seem realistic.

Video Location Ideas-Pub

When storyboarding and planning our music video, we came up with the idea of one of the scenes of our artist be filmed in a pub, where she is portraying her sad/violent persona and is drinking alone. Luckily one of us works at a local pub and the landlord gave us full permission to film here. We will have to plan a good time to film as we want the bar to be empty which won’t be possible on Friday, Saturday or Sunday as it is open all day. Therefore it will have to be a weekday before or after the lunch shift. Props that we may need in this scene will be a shot glass or tumbler, and water inside which will represent alcohol. We will also need a minor character in this scene who acts as the bar tender but we can either use one of us or any staff hanging around who would be happy to do it.

Video Location Ideas-Boat Graveyard

When discussing ideas for where we want our video to be set we had to think about the difference between the narrative and the performance elements. I instantly thought of this place when thinking about where we may want to film our performance parts of the video. It is dramatic and unique while also semi tying in with the lyrics of "Like a small boat, in the ocean". It also holds a slightly sombre mood due to it's derelict nature and isolated location. This would work very well with the overall storyline and idea we are working with for this song. I think this location would work well for the performance elements of the video as it is quite powerful and I think the connotations of a wide and empty expanse of countryside works harmoniously with the ideas of loneliness and isolation. The only issue I may have with this is whether a completely blank white background( e.g. filmed in a studio) would work better for the performance parts by relaying the same connotations but in a more effective way? This is something we will have to think about and decide on.

Video Location Ideas-Campfire

This is a scene that shows our artist interacting with other people and how she often struggles to control her personalities  It highlights the importance of friendship and how she's strong enough to do anything. It may be hard to pull off and produce problems such as lighting and health and safety. Also, the time of year isn’t ideal as it will be very cold at night. A friend of ours has offered her garden for us to use so now it just comes down to finding a date that suits everyone to film there. We chose this kind of location for a scene as it offers an atmospheric and intimate way of showing our character with friends.

Video Location Ideas-Car Lookout

This location is the place we are using for the scene where our character drives up to and starts to write. We have chosen it as, if timed correctly, we could get some amazing sunset shots. The problem we face with this location is that it is very open and can be quite busy thus it may be difficult to film without interruptions.