Tuesday, 13 December 2011

Contact sheet - Ancillary Products (images)

This is our contact sheet we created in Photoshop CS5. It shows all the images we took from our photoshoot for our ancillary products we used the same location as we filmed in and also took into consideration the mise-en-scene. This will directley correspond to our video as we wanted to make sure all our products were similar so we could cross media advertise our product. As you can see images DSC_0127, 0128,0129 are too dark to be used and although we could use photoshop exposure to change the image but would then decrease our image quality.

Off campus Booking Form

Thursday, 17 November 2011

Location Recce






Brueton Park, Solihull

Production information:
·         20Th November 2011
·         10:00am- 4:30pm
·         Couple laughing and joking walking through the park
·         Camera, Tripod, Tape, Clothing
·         The rain may stop us from filming our scenes, also people may interrupt the filming by walking through the scene etc.

Sound information:
·         We aren’t actually filming the sound; we are cutting it out after and over lapping it with the track.

Power information:
·         We will make sure all electrical equipment has been fully charged the day before as we are shooting on location and have no access to electricity.

Assess:
At our particular location we will not need to gain permission as it is a public place however we may face some problems such as having other people around that may not want to be on film also we may not want others in the shot at all.

Possible hazards:
·         Considering we are filming outside we will need to consider the potential weather conditions however I  feel if it rains we can still go on with production as it would add another dimension to the video, however it becomes to heavy we will have to postpone filming.


        The Woods, Solihull


      Production information:

·         20Th November 2011
·         10:00am- 4:30pm
·         Multiple shots of both male and female walking through the woods alone and ending with them crossing paths and finally coming together.
·         Camera, Tripod, Tape, Clothing
      The rain may stop us from filming our scenes, also people may interrupt the filming by walking through the scene etc.

      Sound information:
      We aren’t actually filming the sound; we are cutting it out after and over lapping it with the track.

      Power information:
      We will make sure all electrical equipment has been fully charged the day before as we are shooting on location and have no access to electricity.

     Access:
     At our particular location we will not need to gain permission as it is a public place however we may face some problems such as having other people around that may not want to be on film also we may not want others in the shot at all.

     Possible hazards:
     Considering we are filming outside we will need to consider the potential weather conditions however I  feel if it rains we can still go on with production as it would add another dimension to the video, however it becomes to heavy we will have to postpone filming.

Tuesday, 15 November 2011

Initial Ideas

Music Track

We chose to create a music video for an unreleased Ellie Goulding track called 'Be Mine' featuring Erik Hassle. We chose the track because we both like the song which will give us the motivation to create a music video to the best of our ability.





Proof of permission to use the track in our video:


Song/ Lyric Breakdown

To decide what content to have in our music video we broke the lyrics down and decided what we felt would suit each verse best. We based all our ideas to fit with the timing of the song so that our music video will flow as smoothly as possible.

Equipment and Resource list

Tuesday, 18 October 2011

Jason Mraz - Im Yours


Mise en scene: In the video Jason Mraz is wearing clothing that is very mainstream. The clothing worn is fashionable but rustic at the same time; I feel this complements the song and makes it quite raw. By Jason wearing clothes that the general public is able to wear it allows the majority of people to relate to him making him and his music seem genuine.
Camera work: The camerawork is very good in this music video and complements the song well. The movement is smooth and fluent which goes well with the relaxing/ laid back track. There is a huge variety of shops in many different locations. The song sounds as if Jason Mraz is singing it to somebody, this is why most of the shots on the video are eye level with Jason looking at the camera almost as if he is singing it to you. At the start of the video it is in slow motion, this is while the instrumental intro is playing, this allows you time to think about what the video is showing you and how or if you can relate to it. There is a lot of low angle shots looking up at Jason Mraz, I feel this has been done because in the video he is proud of himself and happy and a low angle shot makes him appear more powerful/ dominant/ authoritative. In the video  there is a few shots either under the water or showing Jason surfing on the water; this again shows smoothness and purity as the scenery is so beautiful.  
Lighting: The lighting in the video is all natural, this makes the video more real. The song is a happy song with a bubbly track which works well with the bright natural lighting. The sun symbolizes happiness and good health, as the video is in a tropical country you see the sun a lot and it passes on a feel good factor to the viewer.
Editing: The cut types in the video are predominantly straight cuts, this follows the conventions of a music video. I feel he has chosen to use mainly straight cuts as this is what has made the video so fluent and complemented the song. At the end of the song there is a transition that fades out as the camera tilts up to the sky, this is to prolong the ending of the song making it smooth rather than ending with a sudden straight cut.  
Sound: The sound in this music video is all non diagetic, this is because the song would have been produced in a studio and put over the footage. There could have been diagetic sound in this video however they have chose not to and simply play the track, I feel this works well and makes you listen to the lyrics more.

Monday, 17 October 2011

Digipak Analysis


Front and back









Inside












Front and back: 


Images: The image dominates the whole front and back of the digipak; it is one single image that pans across the pack. Pearl Jam wanted buyers to focus on the image on the digipak as they cross over the Golden sections of the rule of thirds. The golden sections are points of reference to where the eye looks at first and the image on the front and back crosses a lot of them.
Layout: The layout of the digipak is very elegant and is in a horizontal format. The picture which dominates the whole digipak is landscape and spreads across the front and back of the pack; this implies that the album has stability. By having a horizontal layout it shows stability in the band themselves and the music they write.
Lighting: The lighting used on the digipak are high key to make the image as clear as possible. This allows you to see far into the distance which I feel reflects the band and there music. They are a rock band, however this album 'Yield' is mellow and relaxing a little like the bright image of the peaceful plaines in America.
Text: The text is extremely minimalistic on this particular digipak by Pearl Jam; this is as there is only the name of the band on the front of the pack. The text easy to read and contrasts to the darker background it is on; I feel this symbolises that their music is clear and straight forward. The name of the album is 'Yield' which means give way, which explains why there is a Yield sign on the front cover.


Inside:

The disc follows the same colour code as the sign on the front of the digipak; this makes the inside link with the front cover rather than it being plain.

Tuesday, 11 October 2011

Sony A1E





"Boasting an incredibly small size, and providing HDV with the 1080i standard, the HVR-A1E offers a host of advanced features for professional use. Using technology such as CMOS means the HVR-A1E is an ultra-compact camcorder capable of providing HDV in full 1080 line resolution."
http://www.sony.co.uk/biz/product/hdvcamcorders/hvr-a1e

Sony A1E features:
  • HDV / DVCAM / DV switchable
  • Built - in down - conversion to DV
  • Carl Zeiss lens 
  • CMOS sensor with enhanced imaging processor 
  • still image capture 
  • B & W / colour switchable viewfinder 
  • Exposure lever 
  • Selectable manual focus / zoom ring
  • Tele macro function
Sony A1E benfits:
  • Designed for professional use
  • Ultra - compact design
  • Ability to choose the most appropriate recording format for my production

Monday, 10 October 2011

Media Software - Photoshop CS5

Photoshop CS5:

"  Adobe® Photoshop® CS5 software redefines digital imaging with breakthrough tools for photography editing, superior image selections, realistic painting, and more. And now, use it with creativity-boosting mobile apps. " http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html

Photoshop CS5 features:
  • make quick image corrections
  • control colour and tone
  • process images professional with photoshop camera raw 6
  • edit and unhance images intelligently
  • extraordinary painting and drawing toolset
  • advanced compositing features  
  • streamlined workflow
  • new time saving tools

Media Software - Final cut pro

Final cut pro:

Final cut pro is video editing software that we will be using to edit our music video once we have done the filming. Final cut pro was designed and created by Apple themselves and is one of the best editing programmes available on the market;

" Rebuilt from the ground up to meet the needs of today’s creative editors, Final Cut Pro breaks free from the restrictions of old-fashioned timeline tracks. A new, dynamic editing interface lets you experiment freely while working with extraordinary speed and precision. " http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/top-features/

Final cut pro features:

Revolutionary video editing;
  • magnetic timeline
  • clip connections
  • compound clips
  • Auditions.
Powerful media organisation;
  • content auto - analysis
  • range - based keywords
  • smart collections
  • direct access to content libraries.
Incedible Performance;
  • 64 - bit architecture
  • resolution independance 
  • GPU utilisation 
  • cocoa foundation
  • background processing 
  • shared render engine 
  • high - quality rendering  
  • coloursync - managed colour pipeline
  • Grand central dispatch.

Target audience research - graph analysis



This question specifies the age of our target audience; we have targeted our music video for ages 15 - 18, middle to late teens. As this was our target audience we chose participants around this age so that we obtained relevant data that we could use.  We surveyed 20 people; 19 of which were 13 - 19, 1 of which was 20 - 30.



This question specifies the gender of our questionnaire participant. The data shows that we questioned 13 males and 7 females. We feel that the song we have chosen to make a music video on appeals to both genders but sways more to the male gender, therefore we questioned slightly more males than females so that our results were more helpful.



This question specifies what genre of music our target audience listen to most. The data obtained shows that indie/ acoustic music was the most popular choice for our target audience; therefore we decided to make a music video for Ellie Goulding - Be mine (ft Erik Hassle) as it fits the genre our target audience like listen to most.



This question specifies how our target audience watch music videos. The data illustrated in the pie chart   is that our target audience use a variety of different technologies/ gadgets to view music videos. This has informed me that when we advertise our music video we need to make it available to view on TV, mobile phones and online so that it can be viewed by our target audience.



This question specifies what our target audience prefer in a music video. The results show that a narrative story line is the most popular choice so therefore we decided it would be best to do that in our own music video.

                    


Tuesday, 4 October 2011

Questionnaire Template

Music video Questionnaire

1.      How old are you?
[] 12 or under
[] 13-19
[] 20-30
[] 31-50
[] 50+

2.      What gender are you?
[] Male
[] Female

3.      What Genre of music do you listen to?
[] Pop
[] Rock/ heavy rock
[] Indie / acoustic
[] R’n’B
[] Classical
[] Jazz
[] Dance
[] other


4.      If so what do you watch them on?
[] Online if so what site ……………………………………………………………………………………….
[] On the TV
[] Mobile phone
[] Tablets

5.      What’s your favourite Music Video and why?

6.      Do you prefer....
[] The band/ artist to be in the video
[] A narrative storyline (the video tells a storey which relates to the video)
[] Or an Entertaining act such as dancers etc.
[] Animated 

7.      What do you expect to see in and acoustic video?

8.      Where do you expect the location to be for a romantic song?

9.       Do you watch the video or just listen to it?
[] Watch
[] Listen
[] Both

Digipak Research Analysis - Paolo Nutini


The digipak for Paolo Nutini represents his very relaxed cheerful music which he writes and sings. Paolo is a young singer/songwriter but sings with a very mature almost old fashioned style.
On Paolo's digipak everything is very basic and is very easy on the eyes. Harmonising colours are used on the digipak which makes it appear very warming and peaceful; which reflects his music. This colour system is kept the same throughout the whole digipak which makes the packs simplicity very clear; this reflects the audienc Paolo is aiming for.
The text used for Paolo's name is in a 'hand writing' font which i feel represents him and his accustic style of music making him come across as a rustic person. The font type used for the names of the singles in the album are a 'serif' style; this is used as it is said to draw the eyes across the page much easier making it easier to follow the text. This represents how Paolo wants his album to come across; relaxing and not hard work, something you can pick up and have a look at without effort. 

Secondary research - "call on me"



"Call on Me" is a 2004 song performed by Swedish DJ and producer Eric Prydz. The music video is directed by Huse Monfaradi and features an aerobics class of women wearing 1980s styled aerobics outfits performing sexy gym routines led by Deanne Berry, much to the enjoyment of the sole man in the group, played by Juan Pablo Di Pace. While being interviewed by Chris Evans for UK Radio Aid, ex-UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said: "The first time it came on, I nearly fell off my rowing machine." Many politicians and family groups have pushed for the video to be banned, but there are actually two videos - an edited one shown in daylight hours and a late night version which is uncut. The song reached number 1 Singles Chart in the UK, Germany and Republic of Ireland. In Australia, "Call on Me" debuted and peaked at #2. The video was the highest-downloaded music video of all time in Australia.

Due to the popularity and high demand for the video, a feature length aerobics DVD was later released, titled Pump It Up - The Ultimate Dance Workout, which featured the dancers from the "Call on Me" video performing aerobics routines to various popular dance music songs.


 This music video was very controversial as it contains content to which some poeple find explicit. This research has shown me that in our own video we won't be so controvercial and show women in this nature.

Thursday, 22 September 2011

The Script - The Man Who Can't Be Moved



Mise en scene: In the video the band are trying to promote that they are all about the music they do this by their choice of clothing and not having and girls in the video. The band are wearing everyday clothes which anyone wears like jeans and a top without any flash jewellery on this makes the band like genuine. The band don't have the tradition rock/indie look of long hair and beards etc; they have a clean shave and a standard hair cut. In the scene where they're in the car park; the band have no crowds and are literally in there alone with their instruments (guitars, drums etc) This gives the impression that they really love music for what it is and not all the extras that come along with being successful musicians. e.g. women, popularity, premiere's. The lead singer (Danny O'Donoghue) is carring a camping bag which looks at if it is full of clothes or maybe food; this is to represent that he is prepared to stay waiting to see this womn in the street for a long time. I feel that this shows the love that this song has in it.    

Lighting: There is a contrast in this video as there is both low key and high key lighting. The low key lighting connotates his thoughts of not being able to see this woman again however in contrast the high key lighting connotes his thoughts of maybe seeing this woman again.To reinforce how genuine the band are and how they're all about the music; the video is mainly natural lighting making the whole video more 'pure'.  

Camerawork: In this music video there is a range of shot types which illustrate different things. Close ups and medium shots are often used in this video as it shows the emotions on the face of the character. The close ups tend to be when the song is moving into a sensitive area and so the sad emotive look on the face of the character links with the lyrics being sung. The video has been sped up to give the impression that this man has been waiting days in the same place to see this woman he loves. There are lots of low angle shots which are point of view shots of the man to show his innocence as he waits to see this woman. There is a range of movements in this video; tracking shots are used a lot, they do this to show that the man is on a mission to find this woman and is searching the whole city to find him. There is also a 360 degree tracking shot around the mans head which i think connotates that hes so crazy about this girl that his head feels like its spinning. There is a long shot of him crossing a road and the camera tracks so we are following him; I feel that this represents that we are following him on his journey.  
      
Editing: This particular music video is mainly dominated by straight cuts; the music has an upbeat tempo meaning that quick straight cuts suit the video best, which juxtaposes with the narration of the man who has been waiting in the same place for a girl for days. The cuts have a rhythm throughout the video making the video flow.

Sound: The sound in this video is synchronised so that the music track is in sync with the musicians mouth; we plan on doing this in our music video as if the video isn't in sync then then it will look very unprofessional. 


Sunday, 18 September 2011

Magazine Advertisment Research - NME

To advertise my music video and raise awareness to as many people as possible i have chosen to create a magazine advertisement page whereby people can see the band. There are a number of possible music magazines that could promote our band; however taking into consideration the genre of 'empire' i felt it was best for NME to promote it.

NME is one of the most popular music magazines in the United Kingdom with a readership of around 411000. The magazines readership is also about 70/30 (%) male to female ratio; this makes NME more suited to advertise our band as they attract more of a male audience.

NME is mainly circulated in Europe, which is good for our band as it is a huge market reaching alot of our target audience.

NME also has its own online magazine making their advertisments pretty much available for anybody to see even if they havn't bought the weeks hard print copy; which is also good for our band.

Wednesday, 14 September 2011

Action Plan

My portfolio will be divided into 3 sections;
  • pre-production (research and planning)
  • Production (filming)
  • Post-production (individual evaluation)
Pre-production: My research and planning will consist of Primary and secondary research of existing products/ similar products. To complete this I will look at various music videos, Digipaks and magazine advertisements and analyse them myself. I will obtain analysis other people have made on these three areas as well for my secondary research. - completed by 18th September 2011
We will look into target audiences for existing texts and own product by gathering data from questionnaires and short interviews; and then form analysis from the graph we make of the results. - completed by 23rd September 2011
We will also do research into new types of media software like;
  • IMOVIE
  • Sony A1E
  • Photoshop
and look at their capabilities, to see how effectivly they could be used in our coursework. - completed by 30th September 2011
For our last bit of research we will look into cross-media advertising to find common tends and different stylistic themes to use in our coursework. - completed by 7th October 2011
We aim to have our research and planning finished 7 days before the deadline on the 14th so that we have a week to improve on it.

Production: Our main task is to create a music video. We have chosen a band called 'Empire' which are from Stratford so won't we require any copyrights. - completed by 16th December 2011
Our two ancillary tasks are to create a Digipak and a magazine advertisment. - completed by 6th Januray 2012

Post-production: My individual evaluation is to be completed by 20th January 2012.


Tuesday, 13 September 2011

The Brief

Scenario: Having established your own independant production company, you have been given a choice of five different briefs to complete with very distinct deadlines. It is your job to ensure that you meet these deadlines and also to ensure that your product meets the needs of the client which are outlined within the brief.

For our Media Advanced Portfolio we decided to produce a promotional package for a music video consisting of;
  • a music video
  • a digipak
  • and a magazine advertisement.