Thursday, 18 February 2016

Video production feedback


Effective opening with establishing shot evoking home with peaceful non diegetic music added to create the atmosphere of homeliness. A record scratch sound effect suggest the disturbance in the equilibrium and a link into the caption inside. An effective  range of shots show continuity in editing ina pre-song sequence evidencing dialogue and titles. This sequence is then repeated to bookend the video. A striking close up of a mouth links with the lyrics and lip synching is careful. A range of carefully orchestrated shots using effective mise-en-scene with the skeleton in a variety of situations adds humour and engages the audience. Costume is also used to add variety in branding the artist. One shot uses photographs  of the boyfriend and skeleton attached to the wall to add a layer of meaning.  An actress is well directed and the narrative is clearly storyboarded and well planned.  The performance element is filmed effectively in a studio and edited to aid pace and structure showing an awareness of the conventions of the medium. Level 4 is achieved through the range of shots which show creativity and imagination such as the party scene using a green screen to create an in camera effect. Two shots of shadows are filmed and key framed to merge them together.  There is lots of variety to the content showing imagination in the planning stage. A dream sequence is cleverly edited using dissolves and merging layers of video to create a surreal effect. The use of earphones on the actress creates a link with the audio in the video as we hear what she is hearing at points and the audio is edited accordingly.  The level of detail allows level 4 to be achieved despite some issues with white balancing and lighting issues that have been rectified somewhat in post-production. The video has been improved and layers added over a series of weeks which is evidenced in drafts and the web-log. 34/40

Monday, 15 February 2016

Task 10:First Draft and Changes to the music video

Changes to the music video






Above is the current version of Skeleton Song. It includes missing footage and is incomplete. Although some scenes are included we have found several issues with them in their current state. These  issues include:
  • Lighting issues
  • Lip syncing
  • Missing footage 
  • Actor
Lighting issues: There are several issues with lighting in the footage. This was mostly due to the fact we had issues with the white balance when we were recording the footage. This has made some of the scenes very dark and would be need to be brightened so that the audience is able to see what is going on. Some of the issues however are harder to fix because of the colour of the setting, for example in the bedroom the walls are an orange colour and so when light was added they tint the whole room an orange colour making the room darker.

Lip syncing: Some of the editing of the actor lip singing to the music need to be edited closer together so that it looks like she is singing the words more professionally.

Missing footage: This is a big issue in the current version of our music video. We decided to make some major changes to the original storyboard as we found that filming in the attic would be incredibly difficult. We decided that instead we would film a scene where Kate has an argument with her boyfriend and storms out of his house. This opens up the opportunity to include dialogue which is often seen in music videos these days. More scenes were the actor is lip singing and performing need to be included as well.

Actor: The only problem with the actor was that when we were filming she had her braces on but then had them taken off half way through. This means that some of the scenes especially the one where it is an extreme close up of her mouth need to be re-filmed for it to be more consistent. The scenes such as her spinning around with the skeleton wouldn't need to be re-filmed as it is suggested that this occurred in the past when she was younger and was more likely to have had braces on.


Task 10:Filming Day(s) Evaluation

Filming Day(s) Evaluation


The initial days we wanted to film we believed weren't enough for the amount that needed to be filmed so we extended the number of filming days.

At the start of each day, we conducted a brief with all staff and actors stating what the plan of the day was. This included what equipment was needed to be set up, what scenes would be filmed, what the setting for each location had to look like and what costume/make up the actor had to wear.

We decided to do the outside scenes which included the wall scene and the spinning scene first as we felt that these would be the easiest outside scenes to do in one day. As we filmed in winter, it would get dark fairly early so our time management had to be good to prevent running out of daylight to film.

Most of the scenes are done in House 1 as this is supposed to be Kate's house in the video and includes her bedroom and living room. However the lighting in this house was difficult to maintain to a high standard and therefore most issues with lighting will come from scenes set in this house. We could have overcome this problem by using professional lighting equipment however they weren't available at the time we filmed.

Scenes set against the white wall were the most easily filmed as we used the college building to film these. This meant that the lighting was consistent but would obviously be different to the other scenes.

One of the easiest things to film were the lip singing parts as this involved playing the music in the background so the actor could just mouth the words. This also means that when it comes to editing together, we can use the music in the background to match it up with the final piece of music being used.

We tried to include a wide range of shots, movements and angles overall when we filmed so we had variety which would make our production more interesting to watch. We used the tripod to make sure the shots were still and not shaky and used it to do tilts and pans. The dolly was also used to make a backwards tracking shot of the actor. We found it difficult to make a smooth journey with the dolly because we filmed on a road which was uneven but this can be made smoother by stabilising the footage when it comes to editing it.

Overall the filming days ran very smoothly and all the footage was collected. Although we came across several issues we tried to fix them when we filmed, and if several problems are still occur we can use Premier Pro to edit them. For example, we could turn the brightness up on some of the shots.

Tuesday, 2 February 2016

Task 10: Production and Filming schedule

Production Schedule

A production schedule is a timeline of how we will film and edit things. It is important to meet deadlines so that we don't fall behind and have enough time to film and edit things to the best of our abilities. 


 


When? (Main filming days)
21st and 22nd October 2015
1st November 2015
Who?
Katie (Director)
Oliver (Camera operator)
Kirsty (Producer)
Lydia (Actor)
Where?
21st Oct:
House 1
Street 1
Field
Wall
Bedroom

22nd Oct:
House 2
Street 2

1st Nov:
School (White wall)


What? (Scenes)
21st Oct:
1-8
11-15
23-26
27-32
34-37
50

22nd Oct:
17-19
44-47

1st Nov:
9-10
16
20-22
38-43
48-49
33
What? (Type of shots)
-Establishing shots
-Tracking shots
-P.O.V
-Long shots
-Medium shots
-High angles
-Low angles
-Pans
-Close ups
-Extreme close ups
-Tilts
What? (Equipment)
-HD camera
-Tripod
-Dolly
-Steady Frame
Props
-Skeleton toy
-Halloween decorations
-Cardboard boxes
-Plaster
-Old photos of girl and boyfriend
-Photos of girl and skeleton
-Box of tissues
-Ladder (for the attic)
-Extra clothes to throw
-Birthday cake
-Birthday candles
-Piano
-(School) bag
-Trick or treat bags
-Car
-Wardrobe
-Party hats
-Party streamers
-Pen and paper
-Bed
-Hammer
Costumes
-Normal everyday clothes (e.g-top and jeans)
-Halloween Costumes (skeleton and witch hat)
-PJs
-Fancy top (for birthday scene)
-Outdoor clothes (hoodie)
-Hair should be both tied up and down (depending on the scene)
-Bold lipstick (e.g bright pink)










Tuesday, 26 January 2016

Task 10:Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment

It is important to do a risk assessment as it is used to outline any potential hazards to the crew and actors that may occur during filming. It also states what should happen if this risk occurs and what can be done to reduced/avoid the risk overall.

Hazard: Roads
What is the risk: Someone could walk into the road and get hit by a car
Control: All staff and actors should be careful around roads and avoid going into them.
Likelihood (out of 5):3
Severity (out of 5):4
Overall Risk (out of 25):12



Hazard: Cables
What is the risk: Someone could trip over the cables and injure them
Control: Be careful around any cables and watch your step
Likelihood (out of 5): 2
Severity (out of 5): 2
Overall Risk (out of 25):4



Hazard: Dolly
What is the risk: Someone using the dolly could injure themselves on it and it is a tripping hazard.
Control: Handle the dolly with care and be responsible when operating it
Likelihood (out of 5):2
Severity (out of 5):2
Overall Risk (out of 25):4





Hazard: Ladder
What is the risk: Actor could fall off the ladder and hurt themselves
Control: Actor must be responsible whenever they use the ladder to reduce the risk
Likelihood (out of 5): 1
Severity (out of 5): 3
Overall Risk (out of 25): 3





Monday, 30 November 2015

Task 10:Audience feedback of first draft

Audience feedback of first draft

 



Our initial Critique: 

  • The music video is missing lots of footage- This is because we have not finished certain scenes which include lip singing and playing the piano.
  • The footage has not been rendered so it isn't very good quality at the moment.
  • The birthday scene was filmed in low lighting and when we added an effect to brighten the footage it lowered the picture quality - We aim to fix this by making it look like a home movie by applying a record and time effect on the main production.
  • The narrative has not been made clear to the audience as we are missing the footage needed that explains what the skeleton is a metaphor of. 

Questions for our audience:

  • Do you think our video matches the genre of the music well?
  • Do you understand the narrative?
  • What type of audience do you think would like this video?
  • Which channels do you think this video would be aired on?
  • Can you tell that there are issues with white balancing in the video?
  • Do you think we have incorporated our props effectively? i.e the skeleton
  • Do you think we have used humour well in our video?
  • What would you do to improve our video?
  • Do you think the lip syncing looks natural in the video?
  • What do you like about the video? What have we done well?

Thursday, 26 November 2015

November feedback

You have allocated roles and enquired about copyright of the music.

Analysis of print products is promising and is allowing you to develop ideas.

You have taken a lead role in the group and driven the ideas forward which is pleasing to see. Yo have taken the lyrics and interpreted them in a way that will appeal to a target audience.

You produced the storyboards and will take credit for this. They are quite thorough and clarly indicate the shots that you have planned. Be clear about your involvement in the  creative process by documenting your creative journey.

Work on a target audience is promising and shows an awareness of theory and identifies lifestyles aswell as more traditional demographics.

Your final idea is well defined showing an enthusiasm and a willingness to lead the group.  The filming has also been completed with you organising your peers.

Very promising evidencing level 3.  Aim for level 4.

TARGETS

Complete an edit that uses post production techniques to correct any lighting issues

Be careful with white balancing

Document your creative journey

Gain audience feedback by publishing your edit or at least the first cut