Filming on the 26th

We have had real trouble with filming this year. This is partly due to the equipment troubles that have occurred. Luckily The last shoot went according to plan. The shoot was during our double media lesson. Firstly we went to my house and found a costume I would be wearing. After deciding we went to the Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells. The shoots went well as I feel we got everything we needed. I took us about 3 hours until we lost the light. This was a bit of a problem as we need to do the last shot in a free this week. But it is not much and will only take ten minutes. As it is winter we were well aware of the cold and made sure we dressed to a suitable dress code. When we were not filming we all had gloves to use. This helped the cameraman not to shake the camera due to coldness. During the shoot we made sure that everything we shot, we shot from many different angles which would enable us to edit the music video with the suitable cutting rate. I have looked over our footage and have found this is now a big advantage for us as it gives us so much more footage to play with.

JP - Finished Advert

Group - Feedback on Rough Cut

In our lesson today we exported the rough cut of the opening minute of our music video and showed it to the class. The response was generally very positive with some constructive changes that can be made. We obtained the following feedback:

• It fits very well to the music
• The variety in the distance of shots is good
• A good use of creativity in some of the techniques used
• Syncing needs to be improved
• It is only a short sequence and more footage is needed for the timeline

Overall I think this is very helpful feedback as it gave us the sense that we are on the right track and the footage that we currently have is to the standard we want to achieve.

TM - Video that Inspire me

I like the mise-en-scene in this video. The costumes are extremely affective and connote many different things. The first thing it could connote is fear as there are a lot of people that are scared of clowns. The second thing is fun and happiness. In this video I think it is unhappy as the clowns make-up is pointing down in an anguished expression which goes well with the name and sound of the song.

The lighting is also very effective. There is a low lit feel to the video as there is one solidary light in the back ground at some points. This creates a siloette of the band which is visually effective.

TM - Production Contributions

I have attended all shoots for the full amount of time and have carried out a range of tasks by doing this. These include:

Being the main star in our video I have be in costume and ready to perform on every shoot

I arrange to collect the equipment

Taking an active roll in editing

Creating and making the Digipak

Location reccie

Different shot idea which we have used

Directing part of my performance in the video

feedback - CF

Well done James/Adam - focused, reflective research and clear record of contributions. Tom...?

JP - Videos of Inspiration

Two Door Cinema Club - I can Talk

This is the video from a track from 'Two Door Cinema Club' who are a band of similar genre to 'The Kooks'. Although the video is more concept based than the narrative we are creating in our video it contains some interesting techniques that can be applied to our video. Firstly I think the lo-fi tone is similar to how we want to present our video. The lighting is very interesting in this video as it is how we want to represent the final scene in our video, the use of strobe lighting and using a torch to highlight certain things within a shot. The extremely fast cutting rate and use of close ups and crane shots can also be applied to our video during the 'party' scene in our video.

JP - Individual Contribution

I have attended all shoots for the full amount of time and have carried out a range of tasks by doing this. These include:

• Arranging to collect equipment
• 50% of filming done so far
• Taken an active role in editing footage
• Went on a location reccie
• Began creating an advert for the band
• Completed call sheets for all shoots so far
• Storyboarding
• Directed shots

AO - Linkin Park- Waiting For The End

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qF_qbaWt3Q

Techniques we could use for our video:

• The use of pans- the character that is in the shot freezes and then the camera pans round the character. This is effective as the character is frozen in a stance, so the shot is always different and looks more exciting. This type of technique could be used in our music video, as we are having 360 pans, and this could make them more exciting and be more eye-catching.
• Framing- sometimes in the close-up shots the video breaks the rule of thirds, so the face is only just in the screen. This is very effective as it shows a different type of shot and also makes the video more interesting, as it would be boring if a video just had the same type of shots throughout.
• Movement- In the video there is also movement, either from the camera, or the person on the screen. This shows how important movement is in a music video, as it is evident throughout this video. This makes the sequence more watch-able, as the shot becomes more interesting as there is movement in the shot.

AO - Production Contribution

• 50% of camera work that we have done, which was in Tunbridge Wells (The Pantiles and shots in the fields).
• Completed the risk assessments for all shoots so far.
• Been on a location reccie.
• Mock-up of advert for The Kooks poster of album, which will be advertised in NME.
• Edited footage that we have filmed so far, which has come to about 1 minute of footage.
• Collected equipment to film.
• Directed shots (framing, camera angle, actor's expressions).

Group - Fourth Shoot

Today we filmed the rescheduled shoot from Saturday 13th, as we were unable to film due to equipment difficulties. We thought that today's shoot was successful as we managed to film a number of shots for our video. Which should enable us to have around on minute of footage for the final cut.

We will be editing this footage tomorrow, so this will give us a clear indication to whether the footage will be what we want for the music video.

TM - Photos of digipak Mock-up

This is the to scale model of my digipak idea. This idea is going to be the actual digipak. We will use our own pictures though. This is to counter the copy rights they are placed on these pictures.

JP - Print Advert Semiotic Analysis

1. The signifiers in this advert are the font that the band name is written , the colour album name, the blue wash, and the city skyline with brightly lit Chinese symbols. These can all be interpreted in a way to support a certain band image. 'The Killers' is written in a font reminiscent of Las Vegas lights, and Las Vegas is renowned for gambling, shopping and fine dining, and bills itself as the entertainment capital of the world. By linking the album to this they give the impression of the album being exciting and creates a relevant band image. The blue wash seems to tone down the brightness of the advert and make it more understated, giving it a lo-fi tone, which sets it apart from pop adverts which are stereotypically very bright and stand out. The brightly lit Chinese symbols mounted upon the building tops contrast the colour scheme in the advert, giving it a more vibrant feel. As well as this Chinese symbols are seen as being stylish, giving them a fashionable band image.
   
   
2. The juxtaposition of these signs means that the band image is constructed as urban but not global. It gives off the impression of 'The Killers' being a serious band as the artwork is understated and the quote from a review is from a respected media source and not a tabloid.
   
   
3. This advert is challenging popular culture by not having a band shot, and having a blue wash, toning it down rather than a brighter poster that will stand out more to the consumer. By challenging this social myth that advert have to be bright and include a band shot, they are separating themselves from the mainstream bands, creating an originality about them.
   
   
4. Indexical signs give meaning to the reader and say something about the person consuming the advert. The Killers are an alternative rock band who have broken into the mainstream through their music, however they are not considered to be a pop band, like most mainstream bands. They are seen as a 'cool' band to like and are popular among all ages, this is because they have gotten where they are through good music and not marketing themselves to fit in to the popular culture. This is supported in this advert through its simple layout and could be considered postmodern.

Group - Filming

After getting a new camera after battery problems with our last one, we went on our re-scheduled shoot today and once again our filming was limited by camera issues. We could only film 1 of our shots, as the camera would not film as it said card full, when this should not be the case. We could not counter this by deleting old footage as we could not access any footage that was filmed prior to today. This has left us with very little footage to edit before we go on our next shoot, which will have to be moved forward considerably to keep to the deadline. We will look to film early on next week.

Group - Second Shoot

The second did not go to plan, as we didn't film any footage. This was due to the fact that, firstly it was raining heavily when we got to the location where we were going to film. But when there was a stop in the rain we decided to film, but the camera had no battery, and it wasn't possible to film.

We are planning to film tomorrow, which will be Saturday the 13th November, to try and compensate for not being able to shoot today.

Group - Second Shoot

We are going to be shooting some more footage for our music video today, during lunch and the double media lesson that we have last period. This will hopefully give us significantly more footage that we can edit, and use in our final cut of the music video.

During the time we have to film, we will be looking to film more shots for the beginning, where the video goes through a field and through some woods. We are also looking to film some shots in the town centre of Tunbridge Wells, where we will be filming the main character walking down streets and roads in the town centre.

We will edit the footage that we film during the shoot on monday, when we have our next media lesson. This will give us a good indication to whether the footage is good, and if we can use it our final cut.

Group - Brighton Reccie

Evaluation

Before we started filming our music video we went on a location reccie of Brighton, so that we could get use to using the HD cameras, and also to practice some shots that we might use in the final cut.

We thought that the reccie of Brighton was very helpful and beneficial, as it allowed us to see what kinds of shots we could incorporate into our video and whether the shots looked good or not. It also enabled us to get used to and practice with the HD cameras, as last year we used DV cameras, and so are slightly different. As you can see from the footage above we experimented with a range of different shots, including; high and low angle shots, POV, establishing shots and first-person mode of address. These were shots that we thought we might use in our music video, and so it was a good idea to practice these shots, as we might be using them a lot.

From the reccie of Brighton we learnt; about lighting, and how it is hard to get the right lighting, and in the right areas, as we were in a public place and could not control the lighting in the shots. We had to get round this problem by, changing the camera angle, framing and the position of the shot, so that the lighting did not spoil the shot. We also learnt what types of camera angles and camera movement looked good for the type of music video we wanted to create, and whether it fitted in with our track's genre.

For our music video, we are looking to include some shots similar to the ones, which we shot in Brighton. We are going to try and have the shot of the close-up of the main character, where he holds the tripod (with the camera on it) on his stomach, to give the sense that people are looking up at him. We will wanting to film some point of view shots, of the main character, when he is walking down a street, and we will also be filming some shots like the low and high angle shots that we filmed in Brighton.

Group - Audience Research

For Audience Research we used an online questionnaire website, called 'SurveyMonkey', to create an audience survey for the concept development of our music video. This enabled us to exploit the benefits of Web 2.0, and We Media, to distribute are survey through social networking sites, as well as allowing as to attach an MP3 of the song. By releasing it on Facebook we have gained a lot of responses.

Our first question was to establish the age bracket of the person completing the survey, and our results show the majority of people who answered the survey were 15-20, this is our target audience so it was important to have the same age demographic answering the questionnaire, this was achieved by releasing it to our peers on Facebook.

Our next question was to establish the types of locations that the music video would take place in. We had the following results, popular landmarks, train station, seaside, busy streets and the park. We will look to include a busy street into our music video, and a shot in fields, so this supported some of our ideas.


The following question was asked to see the audience views on the mise-en-scene, more specifically the costume of the lead singer. We got similar results to what we were thinking.

This question was important as were leaning towards not having a band and this was supported by 50% of the results saying we don't need a band.

The results supported having a narrative to the video rather than a performance. This also supported our thoughts on the video as we had a concept ideas for a narrative.

Our final question was there to see if the person taking the survey had any creative ideas after hearing the song. From this we got a popular idea of having a montage styled video filled with iconic locations, however we have decided against this idea after our concept development went in a different direction. However we are going to use the idea of including black and white footage in the video.

AO - Print Advert Analysis

Ian Brown - The Greatest

1) The signifiers in this advert are; Ian Brown's face/head, the name of the album 'The Greatest', and the advert being in black and white. All of these signs signify different things and parts of the artist's image. The fact that the album is called 'The Greatest' and the advert has a big picture of Ian Brown's face shows that he believes that he is a good artist and that people will think that he is good. This shows that Ian Brown has a sense of arrogance and cockiness about him. Also there the advert is in black and white, this suggests he is quite mellow, and calm, this reinforces his meta-narrative.

2) The juxtaposition of the photograph with the text conveys the artists image. The picture above is different to the one that i analised, in that it doesn't have the text at the bottom of the page. The text is in quite small writing, and in an italic font, like Times New Roman, which means it doesn't stand out much, drawing the consumer's eyes to the face of Ian Brown. The juxtaposition of the text to the artist shows how the he wants to be seen by the consumer and what they want to think about him. The advert is very much centred around Ian Brown, as most of the page is covered up by his face. This could reference to his dominance or to the fact that he comes across as egotistical, and the advert is all about him.

3) The advert for Ian Brown - 'The Greatest' is conforming to the social myth of masculinity, and male dominance. This is because the advert is centred around the picture of Ian Brown, which is very commanding on the advert, as it eye-catching and very prominent on the advert. Like men are seen as dominant and controlling, Ian Brown is very dominant on the advert and controls where the consumer is looking. The advert also conforms to another ideology of masculinity, this is about confidence, and how men are stereotypically arrogant and and confident about themselves. Another social myth that this advert conforms to, is the ethic of rock and roll artists, which is about rebellion and having a 'don't care attitude'. This is shown in this advert through Ian Brown's hair, as it is long, like that of a rock star, and he also through the stubble that he has, conveying he doesn't care about his appearance, and doesn't make an effort.

4) Indexical signs, are ones which connote what that person with the advert are like. For Ian Brown's advert 'The Greatest' it suggests that the person is not conforming to mainstream music, and so they are maybe quite individual and could deviant or rebellious. As the advert as connotations with rock and roll, and the idea that people involved in rock and roll are rebellious, and do not conform to social norms and beliefs.

La retournelle

Guys - I posted a link to a video for you to view - I strongly recommend that one of you writes an analysis of it as it is directly linked to your concept design. Include some screenshots

TM - Initial Digipak idea

This is the idea for our digipak.

Group - First Shoot

Group - Animatic

Group - Today's work

Today we learnt how to deconstruct an advertisement. I learnt that we need to make a reading path in our digipak and advertisement in order to make it successful. It was evident in the advert is used and others that I saw that the reading path is key in viewing the advert. It allows the creator get across their message knowing how it is be read. This gives them the ability to get the main message across successfully.

This is the advert I was deconstructing in the lesson. It is obvious what the reading line is. Jarvis has put an arrow from his name to him. This is very post modern as it goes against the norms of advertising structures.

1. Identification of signifies/elements/connotations/iconic signs.

Jarvis is written in a very stylised font. This font represents fun, bubbly and creative. This is typical of the genre. Jarvis is demonstrating his personality by walking with an open-ended posture showing he is easy to talk and listen to. In terms of mise-en-scene his clothes are quite old fashion looking. This would demonstrate a certain sense of individualism about Jarvis. This is also represented in his music as well.

2.Juxtaposition of signs = band/artist image

The juxtaposition of these signs means that the artist's image is constructed as dominant and creative. This is constructed by the clothes and posture of the artist. He looks to be very confident about what he is doing and where he is going.

3. Social myths that the advert conforms to or challenges

The advert shows confidence and Individuality. Jarvis seems to challenge the social myth of trying to fit in. It is common in the music industry for a band or artist to try and start a trend of clothing. Jarvis is wearing something quite different to how the mainstream music is going in recent times. I feel he is going for a "hippy" kind of look. This signifies love and freedom. His posture conforms with his image also.

4) Indexical signs

These signs how the consumer is view for reading this advert or listening to Jarvis's music. For this advert is would suggest that this person was not conforming to mainstream images and ideals. It would suggest a certain individual aspect to this person. Jarvis is seen to be a relaxed and confident man. I believe the consumers of Jarvis's music would be in a similar category to him. The advert has a certain rock and roll feel about it. The consumers of the artist and music I believe would conform as music to the mainstream social norms and beliefs

Group - First Shoot

We have captured our first shoot into premiere, we shot the beginning part of the music video, where it starts going through the the forest, and passing through trees. For the shot to fit into our music video, and look effective we have sped the time up.
As a group we thought that the footage which we filmed is very promising, as it looks really effective and it is what we originally wanted to create. I'm happy with the outcome of the footage that we have, and we will probably be using some, if not all of the shots in the music video.

TM- Digipak Ideas

These images are just a few of the idea proposed by the group. Our main images that we have decided to use as the image of the eye with the earth superimposed into the eye. This image is both atheistically pleasing and also it is relevant to the name of our song "See the world". This image is going to be the front of the cover with a band shot at the back.

Group - Shot Ideas

We have thought of more shot ideas for the music video; one is when the main character is walking down the street, and then he goes into a clothes shop, it then cuts to the main character coming out of the shop with new clothes on.

Another shot idea is for the guitar solo part of the track, we are thinking of having the main character walking past a person on the street, who is busking. The shot would be very long, and would cut from a mid-shot of the guitarist, and then an extreme close-up of the guitar.

We have also decided to end with a party scene, because the beat of the track picks up, and becomes faster. In the party scene we are having the main character jumping up and down, quite excessively, he then falls over, but lands back in the field where we first see him, at the beginning of the video. This sequence will end the music video.

Group - Initial Ideas for Advert

Our main idea for the advert at the moment is to have a simple, yet effective poster. We were thinking of having a piece of artwork in the back ground with the band name and album over the top of it and the release date in bottom corner of the poster. With the artwork being the eye-catching piece that attracts the consumer. I already have an idea of how the advert will look, so it is just putting this idea onto paper and then onto Photoshop.

We are thinking of having the background in either black or white, the artwork in either white or black, depending on the colour of the background, and then the text in red.