Production log - 18th December 2013

Alterations made along the way

Alterations made along the way

Shot list for friday and wednesday filming

Having previously planned out all of the shots I needed to do, I was easily able to recognise the changes which I had to make to make my video successful. It gave me a clear guidance of what to do on each day, which saved me time on the day. I stuck to my plan and filmed each shot how I had planned to do so. I thought that having a shot list definitely helped me when it came down to making sure I was working efficiently and successfully. I found even small details such as outfit planning really helped as it reinforced the idea of her looking back on her life and reflecting on her relationship through memories.

Digipak planning

This was my initial ideas which I sketched, to get a brief idea of what I was going to make my digipak look like. I felt like it was Important for me to plan my ideas beforehand so that I could have got a brief idea of the look like I wanted to go for. I hope to keep my ideas similar but to freshen them up once I've received feedback. 

Album advert planning

This image above is a rough idea of how I want my album advert to look. The main focus on this is the singer in my opinion, therefore I want to have a close up of Sophia, filling up the majority of the page. I intend to edit it so that the text and title of the actual album blends with the image, keeping the background quite dark, preferably black, so that I have a lot of choice of the colour of text, blending well. As I have decided to have a close up of Sophia, I want her to have a subtle pose to the image, one that is inviting to the audience, yet one which doesn't give away everything about her personality - which means the audience will have time to work it out through listening to her music. 

Including the vital aspects such as 'OUT NOW' is a massive pointer which is essential to the success of my album advert. I need to ensure that this point of the advert is clearly visible, and is in a eye catching area of the advert. As well as this, ratings are very important, I will make these stand out massively from the rest of the text by putting them in a different colour, such as a golden/yellow. It will instantly draw the audiences attention which will entice them into the album, which is my intended aim - to make it look more appealing to my audience.

Shot list

Having previously planned out all of the shots I needed to do, I was easily able to recognise the changes which I had to make to make my video successful. It gave me a clear guidance of what to do on each day, which saved me time on the day. I stuck to my plan and filmed each shot how I had planned to do so. I thought that having a shot list definitely helped me when it came down to making sure I was working efficiently and successfully. I found even small details such as outfit planning really helped as it reinforced the idea of her looking back on her life and reflecting on her relationship through memories.

Contact with the band and singer

I have sent emails to both the artist of the song and the singer. I wanted to reinforce  the fact that it was for my media a level and therefore I was using the song and singer for a good reason.

Digipak draft

 

Draft album advert

This was my first album draft. It was basically just an opportunity for me to try to understand the placements and arrangements which I wanted to go for. I put in my initial ideas of what I wanted to have in my album advert to get a brief idea of what I wanted it to look like and the improvements which I could potentially add to make it more successful. This will help me to develop all of my ideas and the fact that I have produced this first, means that I now have the knowledge to be able to apply it to further work and drafts.

 

Alterations to soundtrack

I am briefly explaining the changes to the song 'let her go' I have made. It was essential for me to make this clear, as I have changed the whole song. I have not only changed the singer, but it is also a female singing a males song. I edited this song a lot to make it work with my singer voice. I went through a lot of trouble to be able to make sure I could record the song. I cut the song 15 seconds shorter at the start aswell, from 3:40 minutes to just over 4 minutes. It fitted my footage a lot better, and also the intrumental I found for Sophia was sorter than the original.

Project log - 12th December 2013

Throughout the past few days, and over the week which I havent updated my blog, I have been editing and filming my footage. I have used my free periods and lesson time efficiently to get as much done as I can. Over the past two days, I have managed to film the majority of my footage and edit it into my music video. The last part which I need to film will take me roughly half an hour. I am planning on going to my old house and using the windows to film singing shots of Sophia. It is a good location to have as it gives the impression she isnt actually by a window, but at an open area quite high up.
I wanted to have the different shots of Sophia singing beforehand when I originally filmed, but I focused more on the other aspects as I knew I had the opportunity to use my windows at my old house.
The type of shots I hope to get are the wide shots, mid shots, close ups, extreme close ups and long shots. I want to be able to use the variety of shots in the missing areas of my video. This is going to help me use a wider range of shots, making it a lot more interesting to watch as the audience.
To make sure I have met the deadline of the work, I am going to take pictures for my digipak, album advert and edit the rest of my footage in for Friday the 13th, which allows me enough time to be able to edit and perfect it to the standard I want it to be at.

Song alterations

My recorded soundtrack - Sophia singing Let Her Go

Structure of my music video

The structure of my music video and its planning is important as it is giving me a guidance of what I am doing for each stage of my video. It made sure that I was working to make my video successful and efficient in the time that I had given, enabling me to improve my work. I worked to this structure well, and felt like all of my work was close to the structure which I had planned. It has helped me to get an idea of what I am doing in the next recording session as well.

Independent research: Covers of Let her Go

These are a few examples of covers of the song which I have chosen to use for my music video. I think it is a good idea to research into how other peope interpret the song, and how they believe it sounds suited to the differenciation of their voices. From this I can get an idea of the demographics of the song, as the main covers done were by a younger demographic.

Tracking an artist - Ed Sheeran

 I have done some research into an artist from his birth to the stage where he is at now. I have got loads of information on how he has developed, and how he has got to the stage of success where he is so famous now for being so unique. From doing this research task, it has definitely helped me to understand the different ways in which I need to apply my work with my artist, and the meaning behind it. From this piece of work, I have learnt that I need to research Passenger aswell and then make more of a story behind my music video.

Editing software

 These are all of the editing programmes which are essential for my music video and Digipak to make it successful. Each of these programmes will help me to improve my work from what it already is, and help me develop of my understanding from previous years of using them. I will be using them for different purposes, and therefore I have had to recognise the differences of what will be used and what tools in specific are going to be essential to the success of my music video.

Raw footage

These were three of my original clips which I had filmed to go as my introduction. I took it from several different shots which allows me to have a choice of what I want to use when I go to edit my music video together.

Production log - 11th November

Today I had a theory lesson with a different teacher, therefore I didnt get the chance to work on any of my coursework based work. However, I am going to be filming some more of my music video, continuing from where I left off last time. I am going to stick with my two actors of which I originally planned it to be, allowing me to be able to capture exactly what I want and the image in which I want to be able to portray.

The location which I have chosen for my filming today is in Callums house. I have chosen this for today due to the fact his house captures the exact look I wanted, with the vintage feel to it, and really carries a homely feel to it. I have constantly been trying to research into the sort of music video which could influence me and my choice of how my music video will turn out. It is a good day to film inside aswell due to the fact the weather is not practical for recording today.

Once I have carried out the filming session tonight I am going to upload this to my blog, for raw footage material, therefore allowing me to start editing and moving forward with my music video. I plan to do a recording of myself talking about my progress and my journey to clearly signify the changes made and how I have noticed this, adapting my music video around these changes.

Research of music videos

I love this A2 music video created by someone at another school. I found it on youtube whilst doing some research. The reason I like this video is because it has a very similar story line to my own choice of song 'Let her go'. I have already planned out my own music video, but I found it so interesting to look at the other ways people have created their own music video. 

Project log - 31st October

On Monday I had started my filming and had got the introduction to the song done. I was planning on continuing today but due to a set back on one of my actors life, I couldn't film as I had planned. As this has not set me back a whole day and has impacted on the stage of which I am at, I am going to carry out two afternoon sessions after school when we return back to school after half term. This way I will be able to catch up on the work which I had missed out on, and I will be able to film a lot more. I have gathered some footage from the previous day, but I would like to extend that and capture more of which I am able to get further into the video.

Project log - 28th October

Today I spent the day with Callum and Sophia. I started filming for my music video and have got the introduction of the song done. I am meeting them again on Thursday so that I can carry on and get more shots from different angles etc. I want to have another 30 seconds to one minute done by the end of Thursday, it doesn't seem like a long time but it means that I can vary the shots and angles I use. 

Project log - 23rd October 2013

I have been constantly organising when I am going to film most of my music video and how long it is going to take me. I want it to be during the half term so that I have a lot of time to get everything sorted and get my actress sorted and prepared for her performance. During the half term I am planning on completing the majority of my music video. I have come up with some new ideas of how I want my video to be. I have come up with a new structure to it and the different shots I will include.

After talking to my teacher previously today, I was quite unsure on my plan of what I wanted to actually include and how I was going to make sure I made my time worth while. After discussing this, I asked a friend, Callum, if he would be in my video to play the male in the video, highlighting the narrative of the video, as the performance is mainly done by Sophia. Following on from this, I continued with my research and have gathered new ideas which I intend to carry out in half term with both Sophia and Callum.

Photographs of location

This is the studio that I recorded my soundtrack in. It is also an area where I am going to show my music video, especially in the opening 30 seconds. It is a main location for me as I want my audience to feel involved in the music video and feel the relationship/connection between themselves and Sophia.

Sophia West voki

Project log - 17th October 2013

In todays lesson, I have focused on going through my blog and looking at what I need to do and what can be improved on. I think that since last lesson, I have developed my ideas through looking at other music videos to give me inspiration. A youtube artist called 'Hobbie Stuart' sings the sort of songs which I have chosen to focus on, and therefore, I have watched his videos to get inspiration.
One of the ones that I found really helpful was the 'we cant stop' remix he did. The video was so natural looking and is very much a flowing piece of music. Much like mine, it is focused on the main actor which is himself. Also, very similarly, he includes both internal and external shots, which I intend to do to get the audience familiar with the actress.

Audience Research

 

As a fellow media A2 student, I asked Rag'e Ali to participate in some audience research for me. I wanted to get feedback on my storyboards, and what he thought of my plans overall as I wanted to go ahead and film. I thought it was important for him to tell me what he thinks is going to be successful and what would be slightly weaker. The constructive critism helped me a lot when I started to film, it helped me to make decisions on what the intended audience would prefer. Some changes I have made from this is the use of outside shots aswell as indoor.

Prop list

 

These are all of the props which I am planning on using in my music video. I am using all of these to make my music video have the extra features which are going to stand out, and help fufill with the story line. I think it is important for me to have all of the props as I will be able to make it more interesting to watch, and it will create storylines for the audience.

Project log - 10th October 2013

Existing music labels

Analysis of previous A2 student's work

This is Tara Caple's work, the song 'Wannabe' by the Spice Girls. I love this video purely because of all of the aspects which could of been risky, have gone exactly how she would of wanted it to go.

I believe this video is so successful in the ways in which she has planned this out because she has thought about her locations specifically and how the busy environment can reflect on the busy song and atmosphere/personalities that the girls are meant to be bringing to the song. Parts such as the dancing around people show that she has gone the extra bit to get people who study drama, meaning they will not be shy when performing in the video. As they aren't holding back, I strongly believe it has been a beneficial factor for Tara as it looks a lot more professional and makes the audience of it a lot more comfortable to watch. If she had not of used girls who were comfortable and outgoing as these girls are, I do not think the video would of had the same affect on me as to which it did. 

The success here lies with the editing as well as the planning. A lot of shots have been used such as mid shots, close ups (lips), long shots and wide shots to establish the surroundings. How Tara has edited the different shots together here is something I really like and how it all looks professional. The smooth running of the fading through of shots highlights and reflects the mood of the song, and how it is a upbeat but not a sharp cut of the shots. A weaker area of which Tara may have had difficulties with is the timings of the singing. The video wasn't synced with the sound track, and therefore I believe this is a weaker area, however, because the lyrics were fast, I didn't feel like it was a massively noticeable aspect.

From viewing this video, it has most definitely made me consider how I am going to need professional, motivated and outgoing actresses/actors for my video to get the same look of professional outcome as Tara has done.

Audience feedback

After my presentation in front of my class and teacher, I got them to fill out a questionnaire so that I could make a judgement on my future plans for my music video, and what my demographic audience would want. These are the results which I gathered.

• 6 out of 6 said to use studio shots as well as outdoor
• 5 out of 6 said I should use green screen in my video
• 5 out of 6 said they prefer the longer version of my recording than the shorter

When asked what clothing my actress should wear, some feedback I got was:
"Casual girl next door type"
"Skinny jeans, baggy top/jumper"
"Flowy, floral, girly, dresses"
"Big jumpers over dresses"

• 6 out of 6 said my initial storyboard ideas were strong

As I have got such positive feedback in my 'progress presentation', I am planning to continue with the work that I have started and am going to persevere with my initial ideas, building them up to be more successful and how it can benefit the overall look to my music video.

Some constructive feedback which I got was to make sure I equal out the outdoor shots to the studio shots. This is something I have taken on board so that when I am recording, I remember what my demographic would want to see. 

Storyboards

These are my initial ideas of my music video. When I started planning for my video, I thought I would make it very much focused on Sophia, as seen in the storyboards. I have changed these since I first drew these and planned them out.

Second plan of intro

Styling ideas - makeup

This makeup tutorial helped me get a rough idea of what I wanted my actress to look like. I wanted her to have the striking look about her, which entices the viewers to look at her and fid out more about her.

Raw footage

Images of location

Studio recordings

Secret Gardens - Eastcote

Ruislip Woods

Secret Gardens - Eastcote

Hyde park - London

Permission

Essentials for my music video

Risk Assessment

I have planned out all the risks which could happen whilst filming, and also how I could over come this problem. It is important for me to realise the different things which could happen, so that I have knowledge of how to minimise this risk.

My progress presentation

Equipment

Filming Schedule

Project log - 1st October

Project log - 1st October

Project log - 20th September

Today I took it upon myself to re-record my actress singing the song I chose of 'let her go'. I wanted to ensure that I could fit in all of the aspects into my video to what I wanted to originally. Before I had a soundtrack of 1 minute and 51 seconds, but after a lot of research I felt that I wouldn't have been able to achieve the best I wanted to with only a small amount of time. I re-recorded the track at a time of 3 minutes 55 seconds. I think this is going to benefit me a lot more as I will be able to fit in all of the different shots and scenes that I had originally planned. I am going to shoot my first set of scenes next week hopefully in spare time, so I can start editing in lesson time.

Project log - 12th September

Today I recorded Sophia singing the song which I am going to be using. It was a live performance, recorded in a studio. I had a problem with the backing track as it was only one minute and a half, but I decided to go ahead with the recording as my actress/singer said it was the only one she had found to suit her voice. Even though it is a shorter song, I have decided it would be good to have even if I wasnt able to use it for my real piece. I also got some footage which I am going to use for the start of my video, which was before singing and preparing for the song. For the recording of this, I used a mircophone, Canon 500D and editing software on a computer. I did this with the help of two friends who have experience in recording in studios which allowed me to gain some knowledge on the area.

Project log - 12th September

Today I am recording my singer as I have planned to have a live performance of the song 'Let her go'. I am going to record her at a friends house Metin, who has a recording studio at his house, and is studying Music tech and media also. I think it will be good for me to be able to use this as an experience as he has the knowledge of recording as it is one of his interests. Also, I will shoot some of my footage there as I want to have a shot of the 'behind the scenes' before the actual singing begins. Im excited to be able to use the technology that I will be today as I havent used it before and I will be able to analyse the difference in quality that it makes to the overall outcome.

Project log - 10th September

Today in class I had started to make my storyboards and to progress onto the planning stages of my work. I wanted to be able to plan out a thorough idea of what I am going to have in each scene. In the end, I planned out every 10-15 seconds of the song up to a minute and a half, giving me a rough idea of what scenes I need to have. I have booked myself a camera from school to allow myself to film my actress singing and performing on the 12th of September. I have gone through my ideas with Sophia (my actress) and told her about how I want to my video to look and sound.

Project log - 5th September

Analysis of artists magazine ad

This is the advertisement for Rihanna's 'Loud' album. It is advertising the new music and the artist and how she is developing as a singer and is providing it to her fans and is also welcoming new people into her music. It is offering people the opportunity to listen to her music due to the fact awareness is being raised by providing the dates of the release in larger writing. This is a good way for Rihanna to be publicised as she is being exposed as a successful artist and is positively promoting themselves in the music industry. The image is doing a good job at highlighting the message which is wanted for the audience to grasp aswell as the text. The album 'Loud' is mirroring the image which is used of Rihanna as she is portrayed as a powerful, bold character. It gives the audience of this advertisement a slight insight of what it would be like to get into the sort of music, for example, out going, meaningful and opinionated lyrics would be expected from an artist like this.

From research, I have gathered that the most successful advertisements, such as this one, include minimal text and large images featuring the artist and no one else. It is important for this to be the case as it leaves more for the audience to work out themselves, and gives them the opportunity to use their imagination and gather their expectations.

Inspirational music videos

Ellie Goulding's new release 'burn' is one of my favourite, and plays a big part to my inspiration of my own music video. I like this song so much because the video really relates to the lyrics, and engages the audience through the dancing and up beat tempo. Ellie's video is really capturing the strong mindedness of her and how she is the main focus throughout. As you can see, the thumbnail and first view we have of the video gives us the first impression that it is a very focused video, on the person who is telling the story. To me, I believe the lyrics are very much narrative, and therefore allows us as the audience to follow. 

All of the shots within the video are leading up to the chorus, leaving our imaginations to work out what is going to happen, who the video is about, why she is singing it, and what is so special about this lead up. It is so inspirational for me to see, as I feel like I can take things from the video and adapt them to fit my own.

What is a digipak?

Project log - 2nd September

I have been working on the remains of my research tasks for a few hours now and have made a good attempt of finishing the list. Remaining I have 5 tasks, in which I aim to have finished or nearly finished by the end of the day. This will help me so much when I return back to school tomorrow as I will have a lot more time to be able to focus on the different aspects of preparing for my video, and what I can include to make it successful. I can also use my time wisely to get my blog up to scratch and maybe even start to film.

Existing digipak

Music channels

Music video theory

Influences on music genre

Costume planning

Research into Passenger