Work in action

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Assessment - Final Planning check 08th Nov SJA

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• WOW! Brittany, what a fantastic blog to read through and enjoy! I have really enjoyed looking over your blog. It's very visual, engaging and shows loads of really thoughtful creativity and excellence in the use of media to explore your concept and communicate your ideas.
• Every post is visual, and when I read your thoughts, there is a real sense that your clearly and genuinely engaged with the task - not just going through the motions. You seem to enjoy what you are working on- and this comes through in your posts. They are actually 'interesting' to read.
• Excellent photoshop work on CD cover designs, etc. I am very much looking forward to seeing what you and Charlotte produce.

Well done!

some suggested ebi's:

• For 'technical tutorials' - did you produce a short edited clip in Final Cut? if so, upload it.
• - Song Details - really good idea to film yourself and Charlotte talking to camera - could perhaps re-edit this imovie by including the track playing softly in the back ground - or making reference to some key lyrics somehow... Would give the reader / viewer a better feel for the song
• - Storyboards - the Animatic is great. To really show anyone marking your blog that you have an excellent knowledge of technical terms, perhaps come back to your storyboards (the paper copies) and include more technical info - comments on lighting, camera movement... framing / composition, etc... etc. There doesn't seem to be much of this info here at the moment...
• Check that all posts have clear labels

Overall, this is Excellent Brittany. You should feel really proud of what you have done and you have clearly invested loads of time on your work. I am really looking forward to seeing your concept come to life in your music video!

SJA

Track permission letter

A track permission letter allows us to contact an artists through either letter or email. Me and Charlotte had to ensure that we had permission from the artist themselves or their management to allow us to use their song for our music video that we're going to create, and other promotion packages that the song will have a heavy influence on. It is vital to write/send a track permission letter as otherwise it can be perceived as copyright against the artist and their management as you must ask for consent. Even professionals and major television companies have to get permission from the artist to use their music in their programmes, no matter how successful the programme is and how small the music company might be. Therefore, me and Charlotte had to ensure that we took our time and really concentrated on perfecting our permission letter and so we researched how to write one and looked at previous permission letters written by past students to really get an intake of what we should and shouldn't include.

Talent release forms

Nathan is an external member of the group, therefore it is even more important we have proof of his acceptance to perform and feature in our music video. He is our lead male in the video therefore he will have a lot of screen time which the audience will see. It is important that he recognises where mine and Charlotte's work will be displayed, and how all our footage that we will be filming of him will be used whilst he plays the role of 'Frank Miller.'

Even though Charlotte is already a member of our group, she decided that she would like to play the lead role of our female character, as she is extremely confident in front of the camera and she would also be a lot less of a reliability for our group. By her signing this form she is accepting that she is willing to be in our footage and images that we will be taking of her.

The usage of footage and the series of images that both Charlotte and Nathan will be apart of will be used for educational purposes and uploaded online and onto various internet websites like YouTube, Facebook and Tumblr etc. Later on at the end of Year 13 we will have a media showcase, where this is most likely to be shown, so therefore it is vital that we actually their release forms filled out and signed.

Location permission letters

Only one of our locations requires permission to film in, which is the green screen within our school location. Therefore we have written an email to the school technicians which control this area of media, to ask for permission to use the equipment and some technical help to set it up. Once we have confirmation of the permission we will soon book a date to film with our main character Nathan Bedford against the green screen.  This will also require the booking of media equipment such as a tripod and various camera's to capture different shots of our character from different angles.

It is important to pre- plan and ensure permission is granted, to confirm it is OK for you to film either on someone else's property but also to maybe capture the public who maybe in the location at the same time. It also guarantee's no last minute dissapointment when you turn up at the location and you are turned away and permission is rejected. This would definitely scramble your shooting schedule therefore it is very important to do this. 

Photo-shoot plan

We created a photo shoot plan, in order to set out the type of photo's we wish to take and create for our production package of a Digi pack. 

We have really thought about the variety of editing techniques and camera shots we can use. For example one of the shots of our male character is to be taken with a fish eye lens, which really emphasises the emotion in the song, as it enlarges the object close to the camera, and decreases the size of the background, therefore making the character look like they're centre of attention. 

The main photo on the front of our CD cover, is to be a collage of pictures we have taken of Nathan showing different emotions.

Advert Designs

Using photo shop, Brittany has edited this photograph into an Advert design for the artist Emily Thisleton. I really like the effect she has used of repetition and fading as the images overlap eachother to create illusion to the viewer. Brittany is very skilled in photo shop due to her photography background, therefore this gives us a great advantage to creating great work, but also she has helped me learn some skills in using the programme.

We chose to use the purple writing here, as it matches the dark colours of the edited image, which makes the cover look professional and as a whole. Also we have tried to make the composition of the writing balance out with the image by putting it on the opposite side. This ensures the cover doesn't look uneven to the viewer and the whole space is used.


Below is a video we created which shows opinions of our target audience towards the advert. We had great responses, especially about the editing technique therefore this feedback has given us a hint into what an audience in the modern day wants to see and is attractive; unusual and imaginative editing.

Shooting schedule

We have not yet confirmed dates yet therefore we have left this column blank until the planning process is complete and we can confirm the availability of our locations. 

A shooting schedule has really helped us to plan out and write down the separate locations we wish to use when filming, and what characters are going to be in these shots but also what member of the crew we need. Most of the shots will include myself in London, however Nathan will also be filmed against a green screen where after we will edit a background behind him, but also use his lip sync to fade him into some of the London shots. We really like this technique and have seen it in previous work which has worked effectively but also in professional music video. We now wish to develop our skills enough on final cut and other editing programmes to be able to make our film look the best and most professional it can. 

We also think the variety of internal and external shots is important for this video, as they can represent different emotions against the character for example outside in a congested area in London like Oxford Street,  would enhance upon the audience that the character feels intimidated and like a 'stranger' to the location and people around her; it is a new environment she is not used to. 

Location shots

For this post, we decided to use the application ANIMOTO, to create a short 30 second video of a variety of the locations we wish to use. We thought this is more visual and interesting but also its a new application of technology we haven't used before, therefore we have increased our technical knowledge in the process.

The locations we have chosen are specific to the lyrics and the meaning of the song which is London. Therefore we have chosen a variety of areas in London, which we think will be effective with the editing techniques we wish to use, for example fast motion editing in South Bank skate park.

To show the difference in atmospheres within London we want to film in both day and night time, internal and external.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

List of Props,Costumes, make-up and equipment

Props

Our props were kept pretty simple, as we wanted our main focus to me on the image of our artists and the location rather than the props used. However, we decided that when we film the lip syncing for our lead male role than he should an acoustic guitar to play. We thought that this prop would connote well with our pop image that we're trying to create, as many male pop artists such as Ed Sheeran, Jason Mraz and James Morrisson all incorporate an acoustic guitar in their music video's as it's effective to the portrayal of their image which is relaxed and laid back. 

Our second prop that we're going to use is a bicycle with a basket. We added the basket to our bicycle to make it more feminine, to really emphasize the vulnerableness and loneliness that this young girl in our music video is experiencing. Also, as our location is set in London, we observed how most young people travel around London, which was either by bus or by bike. However, we thought that by using a bike we would be able to capture a variety of more interesting shots in our music video and use different special effects to our advantage (like a fast motion effect.)

Costumes

As I've previously discussed in other posts, the costume choice was pretty easy for us as we wanted our target audience to relate easily to our lead female. Therefore we didn't want to over exaggerate our character or give her dramatic, over the top clothes to wear. Therefore we went with the 'typical' image of a London girl, who dresses quite funky. Topshop is extremely popular amongst young girls so we thought that if she dressed similar to the 'topshop image' then as well as being relatable to our audience they can also aspire and admire her. To be specific Charlotte would probably dress in something like a vintage cardigan, with shorts and some funky tights. What is useful as well is that Charlotte has a very popular haircut, therefore she would be more of a fashion icon.

Our males style is going to be pretty similar, as we want to be relatable to our male audience. Like Topshop, Topman is also extremely popular amongst young boys and especially for some pop artists like Olly Murs, JLS and One Direction. It is important to remain within the stereotype of our chosen genre, and make aspects of this really obvious. Nathan would most likely to be wearing something like chinos, boat shoes and maybe a hoody. 

Make-up

Make-up was something that we were undecided about for quite some time. We couldn't decide whether we wanted to have her natural or to have her made up. We then decided that maybe we should use both for different shots. She could be made up when she's searching the streets of London, as if she is trying to make something of herself and to emphasize the glamour. However, we could do her make up naturally when we're trying to convey her loneliness, as if she's been stripped of all her confidence and ego and this is how she really feels in London (which is lonely and sad.)

Equipment

It didn't take us long to decide on the equipment that we would need for our music video. As I also do Photography for A-Level I already have my own Nikon camera that films in HD. This is an advantage for me and Charlotte as I am always using my camera and have previous experience in filming with it. It will also improve the quality of our shots and develop our music video to be more successful as framing is a key element. We will also need to rent out a tri-pod from school, as we will need it for tracking shots and high angle shots etc. This will also make our shots more steady, because if it is shaky it might  detract from what's in our shot. We will also be using the green screen for a few of our shots, which we will also have to book, as well as a technician to help us set up. I am most looking forward to using the green screen as I like challenging myself as I am not that confident with using it. Lastly, we will also be booking out the lighting to take with us to London, as the lighting is crucial to convey the emotion within our music video and therefore we have to consider when high or low key lighting would be useful.

 After a lot of thought, me and Charlotte decided that we would like to make signs to use at the beginning of our music video. Our song was originally called 'The City' but we decided to rename it to 'London Calls Me A Stranger,' as this is a key lyric used throughout the song and it fits our genre. As 99% of our footage is going to be filmed in London, our location and setting is also related to our title. Therefore, me and Charlotte was going to write it onto a big piece of card, but then we discovered an old music video where we got the idea to do this: (short clip taken from the video)

We then decided that each word in our title should be written on five different pieces of card. We are then going to blue tack the black card onto cardboard, and at the start of our music video Nathan would take them off one my one. We might have to use a fast motion effect to speed up Nathan doing it, as we want this to happen before the lyrics come in; and they start within about the first ten seconds. This will work successfully as I think that this idea is original and no other group will be using it. I also like the mood and atmosphere that Bob Dylan creates in this clip, as he seems quite relaxed and carefree which is something that we wanted to bring to our artist. Therefore, we'll show Nathan this clip and hopefully he can make notes on things like posture, facial expression and body language to create this image.

Storyboards

We have created a video with our chosen song in the background including the separate shots that we wish to use when filming. This is only a plan therefore it may change as our plans develop and more ideas arise.
It's important to follow a storyboard not only for the filming but the editing as well, for something to make reference to so you don't go off track. It is a guidance tool, and it makes the shots we wish to use clear, especially with the detail next to the shot explaining the sound, lyrics, movement of camera and character.