After creating our draft version of the music video. we found that it was essential we continuously switched to different camera angles showing the same footage to appear professional and effective and to prevent the audience becoming bored. We also learnt that we need to further emphasise our storyline to ensure the audience does not interpret the material as something different.
The main idea was to create a story of emotion though the movements and expressions of a couple who were no longer happy together. We decided to narrow the focus down to the idea of the female dancer not actually being in the room dancing with him, but was a figure of his illusion; this was not presented as clearly as we hoped in the draft video, therefore we intend to refilm using the same studio, dancers and routine. We recognised that lip synching only occurred at the beginning and end of the video, we will ensure we film coverage of lip synching for the entire song and refer to these clips more frequently throughout in terms of editing for the final version. However certain elements such as costume to present identity and more individual shots will be something we will achieve though revisiting and getting more footage at the studio.
Friday 31 October 2014
Monday 27 October 2014
Friday 17 October 2014
Lauren Bolton - Draft Digipak and Poster
This is my design for my draft digipak. I have chosen to do a four panel design because I wanted the album to be very minimalistic and get across a kind of 'clean' finish that the other albums I have looked at get across. This is something that I may still develop further and to create a six panel digipak because I feel like for the type of music I am making a music video that it needs a six panel version. However with this just being the draft then I just wanted to get my ideas down before I develop it further. I created a motif throughout both my digipak and magazine advert and that was with the use of the 'eclipse' of the two textured circles. The reason for this 'eclipse' effect is because that is what I named the album so I thought that this was a fitting image to create without actually giving away the album name obviously. The actual CD part of the digipak would also be plain white, however another aspect of this 'eclipse' motif is with the outline of the circle with the paler circle in the middle of that. I am generally quite pleased with the outcome of this CD design and is probably something that I would keep in tact for the final version of my digipak. I have called my record label Earthling Records because I just thought that seemed quite fitting with the style of the digipak and I just thought that it worked rather well. The one major criticism I would have so far is that I think that bar code is too small on reflection, this obviously would be something that I would change for my final version however I don't want it to be too big because I don't want that to overpower the rest of the back cover.
The inside cover is possibly that I will still change because I'm not overly pleased with the outcome. I have used lyrics from our chosen music video song, Arcade Fire's 'My Body is a Cage', and I also added the feature of the band members at the bottom of that and what instruments they play.
Overall I am quite pleased with the start of this digipak, I still have a lot to develop however it is definitely the type of style that I want to be making and I am pleased with the simplicity and effortless of it.
This is my design for my magazine advert, again like my digipak, I have used the motif of the 'eclipse' symbol which I think looks very effective on a advert format. It creates an impact that would catch the eye of the person looking at it, and the reason that I haven't included the band name at all on this is because it is the band's fourth album so they would be well known enough that it would get their original fans excited and also the addition of the QR code in the corner would be for the newer (more curious) fans to find out more information. I didn't want to include much on this advert because it can be very easily over complicated and I like the look of just the motif in the middle with the record label and QR code in the corners. It's exactly the type of look I was going for and I am pleased with the draft version of this advert I have so far.
Thursday 16 October 2014
Research of Layout and Fonts for Digipak and Advert
Layout:
The layout for these four digipak covers so exactly what I would like to be achieving within my own digipak. The minimalistic style which can clearly be seen throughout these designs is something I have been inspired by for along time. The effortlessness that is exuded from each of these designs and the way they seem to be more developed and 'busy' than they actually are is a design feature that I am willing to try and portray within my own design because having a design like this can really stand out in a music shop, which is my reasoning for trying to replicate this in the first place. In particular, The XX and Justice are the album covers that I am taking the most inspiration from because they only have one singular image in the middle of the cover. Even though the Pink Floyd and Digitalism album covers also have this, they have other features on them that doesn't make them just set images within the very middle of the cover. The colour schemes as well throughout each of these covers is very simple, again this is something that I want to take through into my own work because having too many colour could make the design look overly busy and ruining the look and feel that is being given off from these simple designs. For my own design, I am thinking that I will include the image of two circles in the middle of the cover, I would feel as though this is slightly different to anything I have seen before (however I am certainly not being original with my ideas, as I have taken massive inspiration from the designs above) and would create the impact that I wanted to create. Also I feel as though this is something that reflects the band I am portraying very well, and will compliment the style that we have given them.
Font:
With all of these designs, even though I am not going to be producing a digipak cover such as this, I am taking major inspiration from the font styles used throughout and how they have been integrated into the design to give an air of effortlessness. The Two Door Cinema Club design is one that I find the most inspirational to me because I love the quirkiness of the font and how it has been layed out on the design to give the most impact to the audience. Having a font such as this on my design, even though here it has been used on a more Indie/Pop record, it would still work on my Indie/Alternative version because of the plans that I have got in mind so far. The two Arcade Fire examples are shown here because they are the band that we are inspired by the most, as we are using their song in our music video, so to see how they have achieved their own digipak design is something that I find very interesting because I want to take as much inspiration from them as I can; as their style and quirks is what we want our band to be portrayed as, so seeing these designs and how they have been produced (even if I use them or not) is still something that I want to capture the essence of in many ways. The Vampire Weekend one on the other hand uses a very simple yet effective font; it creates an impact without being too busy or loud. It gets across the right amount of style and sophistication and is therefore something else that I would like to bring into my design somehow.
Tuesday 14 October 2014
CD cover inspiration
I love the effect which monotone/ greyscale colour digipak covers have on the viewers. I feel it makes a statement and would catch buyer's eyes on the selves.I will consider this when designing my own version of a digipak.
Success of filming
Whilst 4 hours seems a long time, we found this was a very limited period to gather an appropriate and effective range of shots to include in our video. As the song we have chosen to create a video for has a duration of 5 minutes, we had to ensure that we closely followed the story board to get the shots relevant to the lyrics and to creatively represent the meaning of the song.
The process of setting up the lighting, camera position and music was time consuming in itself, as well as this the two dancers featured in the video had to change into their costumes and apply makeup to allow us to have a professional and industry standard video presented through camera work.
After coming to terms with arranging the lighting in a way which appeared professional and effective, the filming became much more simple. We were then able to focus on the shots needed rather than having to worry about unwanted shadows being displayed inside the shots.
In the four hours allocated to us, we managed to get all shots listed on our storyboard for the appropriate sections of the song and even more on top to ensure we had plenty of material to allow us to alter anything during the editing stage and to give us more options for the final product. We also saved time through being organised as we each stuck to our assigned roles for the filming.
We really enjoyed our time filming at Yellow Bean Studios as the location was perfect for the look we wanted to achieve and exceeded all of our expectations.
The process of setting up the lighting, camera position and music was time consuming in itself, as well as this the two dancers featured in the video had to change into their costumes and apply makeup to allow us to have a professional and industry standard video presented through camera work.After coming to terms with arranging the lighting in a way which appeared professional and effective, the filming became much more simple. We were then able to focus on the shots needed rather than having to worry about unwanted shadows being displayed inside the shots.
In the four hours allocated to us, we managed to get all shots listed on our storyboard for the appropriate sections of the song and even more on top to ensure we had plenty of material to allow us to alter anything during the editing stage and to give us more options for the final product. We also saved time through being organised as we each stuck to our assigned roles for the filming.
We really enjoyed our time filming at Yellow Bean Studios as the location was perfect for the look we wanted to achieve and exceeded all of our expectations.
Monday 13 October 2014
Communicating with Cam
Throughout this whole process of making this music video the only communication we had with cam was via text or a phone call so it was a little awkward as we are at different colleges so timing it right to get everything done was key. cam is able to drive so he was able to travel to us and to the venue, this was helpful.
Friday 10 October 2014
Location
The location that we have booked is yellow bean studios in Leicester as it was the cheapest and the nicest that we could afford as we are on a tight budget, overall this is costing us £94, £64 for the room hire its self and then £30 for the lights that he will be providing us at £2.50 per hour. Also on top of that we had to pay a £40 deposit that we would get back after filming as long as the room wasn't damaged or marked in anyway.
Assigned roles
Lauren Bolton- Art director, Filmer (camera)
ART DIRECTOR - Various artists may create or develop specific parts of an art piece or scene, but it is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vision. In particular, the art director is in charge of the overall visual appearance and how it communicates visually, stimulates moods, contrasts features, and psychologically appeals to a target audience. The art director makes decisions about visual elements used, what artistic style to use, and when to use motion.One of the most difficult problems that art directors face is to translate desired moods, messages, concepts, and underdeveloped ideas into imagery. During the brainstorming process, art directors, co-workers, and clients are engaged in imagining what the finished piece or scene might look like. At times, an art director is ultimately responsible for solidifying the vision of the collective imagination while resolving conflicting agenda and inconsistencies between the various individual inputs.
FILMIER - A camera operator, also called a cameraman or a camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film or video camera. In film making, the leading camera operator is usually called a cinematographer, while a camera operator in a video production may be known as a television camera operator, video camera operator, or video graphed, depending on the context and technology involved, usually operating a professional video camera.
Lauren Roberts- Director of photography - Director
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY - A cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, television production or other live action piece and is responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image. The study and practice of this field is referred to as cinematography.
DIRECTOR - A film director is a person who directs the making of a film. Generally, a film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, and visualizes the script while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, production design, and the creative aspects of film making. In some European countries, the director is viewed as the author of the film.
Sophie Beeston- Performer, Costume and make up
PERFORMER - Performers are tactical entertainers, concrete in speech and utilitarian in action. In social situations, they are informative and expressive. The most fun-loving of all the types, Performers excel at delighting others with their artistry and humor. They continually seek stimulating experiences with those around them. Performers dislike being alone, which is seldom a problem because they naturally attract the attention of other people. They live in the fast lane, keeping abreast of the latest trends. They are drawn to sensory pleasure, sometimes without thought for the consequences. Though Performers are more subject to temptation than the other types, their zest for enjoying life is mostly a healthy pursuit. Incurable optimists, they are generous to a fault. They live in the moment and trust that tomorrow will take care of itself.
Wednesday 8 October 2014
Video style research
We had the idea to filter our video into a black and white style as we feel this suits the style of dance as well as expressing emotions through relevant associations of emptiness and dull atmosphere. This decision was also based on aesthetics as we feel it appears more effective, dramatic and professional and adds an appropriate modern edge complementing the distinct voice of the main vocalist in Arcade Fire which will be heard over the video we are creating.
After the idea to use black and white filters within the editing section of the task, we had to research other effective examples of music videos which also took this approach to justify our idea and ensure it has proven to be successful.
This emotional power ballad produced by John Legend was based on his fiancée who was the inspiration for the romantic single. The video represents the strength of the love for each other and emotion is expressed through a variety of shots including close ups, reflection shots and mid-shots showing the couple together intimately. The audience can easily recognise the love being expressed through the camera work allowing the visuals, music and lyrics to complement and clearly get the message across. Despite this being a different genre (R&B) to our chosen genre of indie, we are supporting our decision to apply a black and white filter over our video to create a similar effect achieved in 'All of me' as they both relate to strong emotion and engage the audience from the beginning- making a statement.
After the idea to use black and white filters within the editing section of the task, we had to research other effective examples of music videos which also took this approach to justify our idea and ensure it has proven to be successful.
This emotional power ballad produced by John Legend was based on his fiancée who was the inspiration for the romantic single. The video represents the strength of the love for each other and emotion is expressed through a variety of shots including close ups, reflection shots and mid-shots showing the couple together intimately. The audience can easily recognise the love being expressed through the camera work allowing the visuals, music and lyrics to complement and clearly get the message across. Despite this being a different genre (R&B) to our chosen genre of indie, we are supporting our decision to apply a black and white filter over our video to create a similar effect achieved in 'All of me' as they both relate to strong emotion and engage the audience from the beginning- making a statement.
Filming Day
Today we filmed our final video material that we will use to create the final piece for our A2 work. we are yet to decide on a new band name as we feel it sounds too much like bands that already exist. This will be resolved buy the end of this coming week. The material that we shot looks really good and we feel one pieced together it will make a really good music video. On the final bit of the editing process we will out a twist on our video that we are yet to tell people as we don't want to give anything away just yet.
When we arrived at the location we were filming at we were met by Merlin the owner of 151 studio, he showed us around the place giving a tour of the recording studio also. We were then taken through to the white room where we were filming. He showed us how 3 point lighting worked and showed us also how to set the studio up, once we had had the talk through, we stared to film, we arrived 45 minutes early however he let us start for free of charge. Then we had 4 hours to shoot our video.
When we arrived at the location we were filming at we were met by Merlin the owner of 151 studio, he showed us around the place giving a tour of the recording studio also. We were then taken through to the white room where we were filming. He showed us how 3 point lighting worked and showed us also how to set the studio up, once we had had the talk through, we stared to film, we arrived 45 minutes early however he let us start for free of charge. Then we had 4 hours to shoot our video.
Tuesday 7 October 2014
The Use of the Camera and Movements Within Our Video
Using a professional camera or even just a normal video recording camera can be something that can take a lot to get used to, especially considering that we as a team are not entirely experienced in using technology such as this. As modern day young adults, the only real experience we have in producing videos is through the use of smart phone cameras and posting videos onto apps such as Instagram. Therefore it means that we have a lot to learn and develop throughout this process in actually how this technology works and how to use it to the best of our ability.
As you can see here, this is a picture of myself (Lauren Bolton) trying to work out how the camera will be held when filming and the best way to make this work. We are using a shoulder stabiliser when filming, as you can see, and this is to help gain a steady shot and make sure that we can get this video looking more professional than it actually is. It is tricky trying to learn how to use equipment like this, especially when you have had no prior experience, and because I will be the 'camera man' on the day it means that I have to be very comfortable with what I'm doing and that I can be sure that I am generating the best angles and shots that I can because at the end of the day it will be me that could be held responsible for an 'off shot' or something that does not look as good.
A way to make sure that this doesn't happen though is to be practicing like this; it would be stupid of me to get there on the filming day and have no clue in what I'm doing or how to actually hold the camera and shoulder mount. Throughout this development and also this crucial practicing stage that I am doing, I have realised a lot of ways of how to do things and as you can see from the images above I have been testing a lot of motions and movements in how to be achieving certain shots and perspectives.
It is not too long until we actually get filming now and it is a scary prospect because we are all so passionate about this project and we all want to be making sure that we are giving it our all on the day. I feel the most amount of pressure because I am held responsible for all of the shots and how, essentially, the video looks. This is why this post had to be made and why I had to practice with the camera because without this time and development in knowing how to use this technology then I would be feeling very lost on the day.
We have a lot of ideas in what shots we want to be doing and as we discuss more about the song and what we want to achieve then the more the video develops into something that we as a team are getting very excited about. We actually want to be producing a lot of abstract and slo-mo sequences and shots and this is achieved by both the filming and editing process; I would say that I feel very strongly myself about doing this kind of thing, as we all are, because we want our video to stand out and be something that is admired. However trying to achieve these abstract shots is something of a risk because you don't really know how they are going to turn out until the editing process and that is something that instills a lot of fear into our group. Although, without taking this risk we won't know how well this idea would have turned out and considering that we can just redo shots accordingly in the process it means that this risk is worth taking.
The photos above are what we actually took on the day of filming our music video, as you can see everything looks a lot more professional in this situation
As you can see here, this is a picture of myself (Lauren Bolton) trying to work out how the camera will be held when filming and the best way to make this work. We are using a shoulder stabiliser when filming, as you can see, and this is to help gain a steady shot and make sure that we can get this video looking more professional than it actually is. It is tricky trying to learn how to use equipment like this, especially when you have had no prior experience, and because I will be the 'camera man' on the day it means that I have to be very comfortable with what I'm doing and that I can be sure that I am generating the best angles and shots that I can because at the end of the day it will be me that could be held responsible for an 'off shot' or something that does not look as good.
A way to make sure that this doesn't happen though is to be practicing like this; it would be stupid of me to get there on the filming day and have no clue in what I'm doing or how to actually hold the camera and shoulder mount. Throughout this development and also this crucial practicing stage that I am doing, I have realised a lot of ways of how to do things and as you can see from the images above I have been testing a lot of motions and movements in how to be achieving certain shots and perspectives.
It is not too long until we actually get filming now and it is a scary prospect because we are all so passionate about this project and we all want to be making sure that we are giving it our all on the day. I feel the most amount of pressure because I am held responsible for all of the shots and how, essentially, the video looks. This is why this post had to be made and why I had to practice with the camera because without this time and development in knowing how to use this technology then I would be feeling very lost on the day.
We have a lot of ideas in what shots we want to be doing and as we discuss more about the song and what we want to achieve then the more the video develops into something that we as a team are getting very excited about. We actually want to be producing a lot of abstract and slo-mo sequences and shots and this is achieved by both the filming and editing process; I would say that I feel very strongly myself about doing this kind of thing, as we all are, because we want our video to stand out and be something that is admired. However trying to achieve these abstract shots is something of a risk because you don't really know how they are going to turn out until the editing process and that is something that instills a lot of fear into our group. Although, without taking this risk we won't know how well this idea would have turned out and considering that we can just redo shots accordingly in the process it means that this risk is worth taking.
The photos above are what we actually took on the day of filming our music video, as you can see everything looks a lot more professional in this situation
Monday 6 October 2014
Study of a Director
These are all videos directed by David Wilson, possibly one of our main inspirations for our video. He manages to create such whimsical charm and quirkiness throughout all of the videos he has produced that it would be hard for us to look past this. One of the main reasons why we are choosing him for our inspiration is because he directed one of the more recent videos for Arcade Fire, and because they are our chosen inspirational band then we wanted to see what kind of things they were putting out to their audience. Wilson is a English music video director and animator and studied Illustration at Brighton University. His keen eye for detail and mise en scene is something that we as a group need to replicate because being the perfectionists that we are then using another perfectionist as inspiration is possibly the best way to go. All of his videos include something new, and have a completely different look and even though we are not producing a lot of videos all at once; to have this man in mind and what we can create then it is a good mindset to have to be thinking that we are making his next video.
Video Inspiration: Camera Shots and Dance
We really like the style of this video, as well as the dance. It is something that we are going to try and create, possibly using the effect of the repeated movements as we feel as though this might fit into our video also.
We want to do a close up of the male dancer's face (Cam) at the beginning of the video and this is a good example of this, because we want to try and get the emotion into Cam as well, and because this is black and white it fits our theme and video ideas well.
We really like the blurring effect that is done on this video, without the bugs of course, and doing this technique is something that will definitely be able to fit into our video and something that we are going to attempt on our filming day.
The use of black and white in this video is the main thing that we are taking from it, the setting and the dance also is something that we may take from it however this is still undecided and we will have to see on the day whether this is a good idea or not.
Friday 3 October 2014
Wednesday 1 October 2014
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