Evaluation of Media Products

Finished Music Video

I have now finished editing my music video, by adding the final clips to the remaining time I had left to fill; and exported it as a Quicktime movie. This means all I now need to do is complete my evaluation which I have decided to do in the form of a video in Windows Movie Maker.

Editing Further

I am almost finished my music video, and I have roughly 20 seconds left of the track to edit footage over. Other than this, I just need to complete my evaluation for the deadline. I have been editing parts of my music video today in the lesson and added sections of lip syncing that I have filmed most recently.

Colour Correcting

Today I watched some video clips on how to colour-correct footage in Final Cut. The video showed how to correct the colour levels and white balance in either one clip or many clips, so that all footage in the video matches, and so that it does not look washed out. I also watched a clip showing how to make footage in Final Cut look more cinematic. Once I have finished my music video, I will apply these techniques to make sure that all my footage looks more professional.

Finishing Coursework

I have nearly finished editing together my music video, adding in pieces from the footage that I filmed of Connor lip syncing. We have been given a definite deadline of the 4th May 2012 to finish our coursework, including our up-to-date blogs, both ancillary tasks, the completed music video and evaluation. This leaves me with approximately three weeks to complete everything; which is realistic and a deadline which I think I will be able to easily meet, as my music video is very nearly finished, my ancillary tasks are done, and my blog is up to date. The main task I need to focus on is the evaluation, which I plan to make using movie maker to make the evaluation more interesting and clear to watch.

Filming

I filmed with Connor as planned and got footage of him lip syncing in an outdoor location. I got 12 minutes worth of footage for this, as I repeated it several times to make sure I got shots which looked good. I only need approximately 30 seconds worth of this footage for the video, and I am going to edit this next, as I have come into school today in the Easter Holidays so that I can edit it before we come back after the holidays. This means that if I finish it today, I will be able to work on my evaluation over the holidays also.

Planning to Film

As I had to postpone my filming with Connor due to bad weather, I have rearranged it for this Sunday (1st April) which is forecast to be good weather. I have also planned to come into school on the Monday (2nd April) to edit what I film on that day together in my music video so that I will possibly be able to finish the entire video. If I still need to film more after the Monday, then I have the easter holidays to do this; and I can also come into school on another Monday (16th April) which is still in the holidays.

Continuing to edit 9

I have also edited part of the next chorus after the instrumental I have already edited together of the band footage. I have used my chalkboard footage again, and using the cross dissolve transition; I have also added quick shots of the band performing between each line of the chorus. I have used the cross dissolve transition between the shots because the shots of the band are so short that it would look too rushed if they did not have a transition at all; as with the cross dissolve they fade in and fade out smoothly with the chalkboard shots.

I also added more chalkboard footage after this, using the cross dissolve transition again to overlap two different pieces of text but so that they run smoothly together. I also did this because the & symbol on one of the pieces of text is only for a very short length of time, so using the cross dissolve made it fade out slower, but to still have the new text coming in before it has fully gone. In this section of the music video I have used quite a lot of the chalkboard footage compared to the rest of the music video. The reason for this is because I am going to mainly use footage of the actors in the music video for the rest of it. When I film with Connor for the remaining few shots for my video, these are what will be filling in all of the gaps I have left whilst editing. 

Continuing to Edit 8

After having filmed with Joanna, I imported the footage I collected onto my mac and edited sections of it into my music video. I put parts of this into the chorus, but had to leave gaps of where I wanted to put the new footage I am hoping to film of Connor in the Easter holidays. I have also edited the instrumental part of my music video using the band footage I filmed a while ago. I am pleased with this editing and section of my music video, and once I have filmed with Connor I will have all of the footage I need to complete the editing of my music video. I will then need to look at my chosen music channel, which is Kerrang, to see what I will need to add to my music video to make it look like it is shown on that channel, for example a background logo in the corner of each frame etc.

Todays Filming

I am still going ahead with filming today with Joanna at about 4pm, to film various shots of her by herself rather than being with Connor or Matthew. This should only take about half an hour to one hour, and I will be doing this in daylight to get the best natural lighting.

Postponing Filming

I have had to postpone the filming I was meant to do on Sunday with Connor due to the weather, as it was raining most of the day and this would effect continuity. As Connor is only available at the weekends/school holidays, I will have to wait until the easter holidays to film, and focus on editing the rest of the footage so that this is the main part I will have left to edit when we come back after the holidays. I am on Duke of Edinburgh expedition this weekend coming up, so this is why I will have to film in the holidays.

However, I am still filming with Joanna wednesday after school at 4pm, and I have looked at the weather forecast and it is supposed to be sunny, so there shouldn't be any reasons why I do not film on this day.

Arranging to Film the Rest of my Footage

I have contacted Connor and Joanna about filming the rest of the footage for my music video. I have arranged to film this Sunday afternoon with Connor for approximately an hour, and I have arranged with Joanna to film one day after school next week while it is still light. On Sunday, I am planning on filming Connor lip syncing in outdoor locations to different parts of my song.  With Joanna I am planning on filming various shots of her walking in outdoor locations. I also may need to film with Matthew again next week however I will arrange this after filming with Connor and Joanna as I will have a better idea of what I will need to film.

Watching Through Footage

I have watched back my footage from my music video so far, as I have to film more footage before I can continue editing. I have added several transitions into the music video, and also taken some out so that I don't overuse transitions between the shots. I am not happy with all of my footage which is in my music video, however I am unable to film the same shots again due to actors or locations not being available before my deadline. Therefore I will have to use the best footage I have got, or use video filters to add an effect to remove any out of focus shots or grain in the video. I have edited half of my music video together at this point.

Whilst watching my footage back, I made it so that it was full screen; in doing this, I noticed that it was much more grainy than I originally thought and was quite pixelated. Although this is a problem, there is nothing I am able to do about it and therefore I will have to leave it as it is unfortunately.

At my next filming session, I am going to film Connor lip syncing to some of the verses in the second half of the song, and the chorus. I am going to do this outdoors, from many different angles and proximity's. I also want to do this in daylight so that the footage looks better, therefore I will do it either on a weekend day, or straight after school at about 3.30pm; so that I have as much natural light as possible when filming these sections. Going back to my storyboard, I know that I need close ups of lip syncing, and a variety of different lines from the song; mainly including 'your love is just a lie'. I also need to get footage on another day of Joanna and Connor together walking, therefore I will have to wait until next week to do that, as Joanna is currently on holiday. I have contacted Connor and he has said that he is available to film when I need to, therefore I am hoping to film within the next week to two weeks, so that I am able to complete my editing of my music video.

20/03/2012:
I have tested my video camera filming other things other than my music video, and changed the focus manually etc to test whether or not the grainy-ness of my footage is for a reason. When I watched the footage back on my laptop full screen, the footage was grainy as it was in my music video, therefore it is due to the camera quality rather than what settings I had put it on. I do not have time to film again with a different camera, so I will just have to leave the footage how it is, however there is a fault with the camera meaning I may have to return it to the store; however I will ensure that all my music video footage is uploaded onto the mac before I do this, so that the footage is consistent throughout my music video.

Continuing to Edit 7

I have continued with editing my music video together, and have added more shots with the chalkboard writing down the lyrics in time with the music. However, I need to film more footage before finishing the majority of my music video. As the deadline is approximately the 30th March, (The last day of term before the Easter break), I only have about three weeks left to complete the music video. This means that I will need to film within the next two weeks maximum, the next week preferably; so that I will be able to finish my music video in time.

Continuing to Edit 6

I continued to edit further into my music video today, and added a few more shots into final cut express. I am currently at the stage where I have edited up until the start of the second verse. However, I think that I will need some more footage to continue with editing my music video, therefore I have contact both Connor and Joanna; who have both agreed to take part in more filming. I am yet to arrange the dates for this, however I am planning to film in the next two weeks. In the meantime, I can still edit certain parts of my music video, I just may have to leave gaps in the timeline where I will need to insert new footage, and come back to this once I have recorded the footage.

Continuing to Edit 5

I have spent a further hour or so editing my footage together and have now edited up until the end of the first chorus in the song. I am pleased with the way my music video is so far, as I have been making sure I cut the shots to the beat of the song, and so far the video is starting to tell a narrative like I had planned. I have used a combination of the narrative video footage and the chalkboard footage of the lyrics being written out to add interest to the video. I have used cross dissolve transitions on part of the footage again, to separate the black and white flashback to the rest of the footage. Below is a screenshot of what I have been editing in this lesson.

Importing the New Track

Today I have imported the same track without the glitch, and replaced it with the old one. I have checked the song and it is fine for the whole duration. I have swapped the tracks and made sure that the new track stays in time with my footage so that the video plays exactly in time to what it did with the other track. I am now able to continue with editing, past the point of the glitch which is where I stopped editing last time.

Continuing to Edit 4

I have carried on editing my music video in todays lesson, and swapped some different shots around so that they fit in time with the music better. I have also added three different shots of an argument scene between the two main characters. I have used the cross dissolve transition in between these shots as they are all from different angles and otherwise it would make it look like the continuity of the footage is wrong. I will continue editing on Thursday this week in the double lesson where I will hopefully get quite a lot of the video edited together.

Postponing Filming Due to Snow

As the only footage I have yet to collect is all filmed outside, I will not be able to film yet. This is because it has snowed heavily and this would affect the continuity of the film. Once the snow has cleared up and the weather is similar to how it is in my other footage, I will be able to film the rest of my music video. This will most likely be in approximately two weeks, when my cast are free to film, and the snow has gone.

Continuing to Edit 3

I have continued with my editing today, and have changed some of the more grainy/blurry shots for some more focused ones. I have also added a flashback shot and altered the colour of this to black and white and have put a slight slow motion affect on this to suggest that it is a memory. I am still yet to swap my track for one without a glitch, but as soon as I have done this I can continue to edit further.

LiveType

Today I experimented with using the LiveType programme after having watched a tutorial video in class. I tested out a variety of fonts, backgrounds, styles and movements to see what I could create and see if it would fit in with my music video at all. I have decided that after having done this, that I will not be using LiveType in my music video, as I do not think that it looks very professional or would link in to my music video well. Also, I already have text in my music video with the chalkboard affect, and therefore using a different style of text would not match very well. LiveType was quite easy to use, as I had never used it before, however I do not want to use it in my music video.

Continuing to Edit 2

In the lesson, I have been editing my music video more, by adding in different shots and angles to start to tell the narrative for the illustration method of my music video. However, I came across an issue with the track I was using, as it had a glitch where the song says 'but don't me for a fool'. This means that I will need to get hold of another copy of the track so that this does not happen. This may be an issue as the next copy may not be the exact same timing as the old track as to when it comes in etc, so I may have to re-edit parts of my video. I have finished editing together footage for the first verse of the song, however most of the footage is slightly grainy or out of focus. The reason for this is maybe because I didn't adjust the focus correctly while filming, however I did not notice this on the small camera screen. I will carry on editing my footage once I have the new music track, which will be by tomorrow.

Continuing to Edit 1

I have continued to edit my music video by editing in the first two lines with Connor lip syncing. I have done these from two different angles to suggest that he is waiting and suggest he is agitated. I will continue to add shots of this scene for the first verse, and make sure the cuts are to the beat of the music. I think that the lip syncing fits the time with the music well, and I have edited it so that it is exactly in time. I have also used the cross dissolve transition between the shots which I think works well. Below is a screen shot of me doing this.

Continuing to Edit

As I had started to put the performance parts of my music video into the instrumental introduction, I decided that I didn't want my song to come in straight away. Therefore I used some of the footage I had collected of the chalkboard with the title of the song and the band name to introduce the video. I sped up the clip so that it was played a lot faster than the original footage, and added a video filter called 'line art', so that it had a good effect on it. I then used the fade in fade out transition at the start and finish of this clip before the actual music video and audio begins. Below is a screen shot of a still from the chalkboard clip.

Starting to Edit

I have now started to edit together my music video, by starting to edit the first few seconds of the song with the instrumental intro. I am using the areas of performance for this part of the music video. However, after having looked at my footage on the screen, some of the footage I wanted to use for this is slightly grainy which is a drawback. I am not able to film the band performance parts again as the cast is not free, especially as my brother (who was in the band) has now gone back to University. I will have to make do with the performance areas I have got, as some of them were quite successful, it simply means I will have to use shots which I had not planned to use.

Filming the Chalkboard

I filmed the writing of the lyrics on the chalkboard yesterday as I had planned, and I think it was quite successful. The only issue was that even after rubbing out the chalk, there was still a faint line where the previous line had been written on the chalkboard. This may not be that noticeable on final cut, however it is a slight drawback to the footage. I am going to upload this footage later today in a media lesson to see what it looks like on the screen.

Extra Footage

Although I still need to finish filming all of my footage, I have decided to do some extra footage which I didn't plan originally in my storyboard. I am going to focus the camera on a chalkboard and have the lyrics to parts of the song written in white chalk, as a close up shot so that only the hand is visible. My actor Matthew Tyler is going to be the one to write the lyrics as I wanted to have a male doing it. I have chosen to use a chalkboard rather than a pen and paper because I thought it would be more original and links to my style of song more, and also to the music magazine advertisement I have already created which looks like some of the font is written in chalk. I am planning on doing this today in one of my free periods at school, as I have my video camera with me.

Music Magazine AdvertisementView more presentations from Hannah_George.

Music Magazine Advertisement

Now that I have finished my Digipak designs, I can now start thinking about my music magazine advertisement to go in my chosen magazine of Alternative Press which I mentioned and explained in my Ancillary Task post. I would like to use a similar colour scheme to my Digipak design as the advert's purpose is to promote it. I have looked at posters and advertisements for Simple Plan to get an idea on what styles to use, and it is similar to that of what I used on my Digipak; block bold fonts and colours, black and white contrasts, images related to the band or target audience. Below are some images of the type of posters  I found which I will use to help me when making my music magazine advertisement for Alternative Press.

I will use photoshop to create my advertisement, as I did with my Digipak.

I have practiced and created two examples of the type of advertisement I am trying to make. I have included the album cover image, and name of the band and album, and the date of release. I have also used the same colour scheme as the Digipak so that it matches. I have also edited a photograph of the London skyline I have taken so that it is solid black, which I think looks quite effective. I am not going to use any of these examples as my final magazine advertisement, as I am not very happy with the way they have turned out, although I do like the font styles and colour schemes I have used. Below are the images of the two examples I created on photoshop.

I am now going to create my final music magazine advertisement after having completed the two practice ones. Below is an image of my final advertisement, and on my next post there is also a powerpoint explaining my processes of creating the advertisement, with images and descriptions. I used one of my practice advertisements as I decided I liked it, however I added a red line along the bottom as the buildings were white, and also the track list in small font running along the top of the line.

Inside Digipak CoverView more presentations from Hannah_George.

Inside Digipak Cover

I have now completed my inside cover for my CD Digipak. I now need to print off both the outside cover and the inside cover on a larger scale to gain feedback on my designs. Below is an image of my inside cover, and the next post on my blog contains a power point with the main stages of it's creation process. It is not clear from the image where the middle spine of the cover is, however it is taken out of part of the image on the left and does not have a separate design for the spine.

Ready to Edit

Although I have not filmed 100% of my planned footage, I am able to start editing as I have a mix of performance footage and narrative footage to use for my music video. The sections of the footage I have not filmed are planned for the end of the music video and therefore if my footage is usable, I can start to edit together the beginning stages of my music video while still filming the rest of the footage in my spare time.

Band Performance Film Shoot

This morning (Saturday 7th January) from 10.30am until 12.30pm, me and Scarlett got access to the school and the instruments we would need, and were able to film the performance parts of our music videos. We used the school drama hall as planned, with electric guitars and the school drum kit, and blacked out the room and used the spotlights to make it look more professional and not obvious that it was a school at all. I did encounter problems with the casting arrangements however. I really wanted to film this Saturday as I wanted to make a start on the editing process, and there were no days after school in which all of my cast were available, therefore Saturday was the only realistic weekday in which we could film. Also, the fact that Scarlett had some of the same cast meant it would have been easier and made more sense to film together, which we did.  The problem I faced was that two of my cast members Tommy and Joe had work on this particular Saturday, and the next Saturday, which were the two dates I needed to film the performance sections by. I only realised this in this week just gone, therefore it was quite a last minute arrangement. Therefore I arranged to film with Matthew, Callum, and Connor Hobbs (who would be in Scarletts video, and therefore at the school on Saturday; using Connor to substitute Tommy/Joe). Me and Scarlett then arranged it with the school that we would have access from 10.30am until 12.30pm. However another problem I faced was that on Friday night, Callum told us that he was now unable to come due to the fact he would not be able to get to the school as he lives quite a while away; and something had come up which unfortunately meant that he could not get to the school. I resolved this issue by quickly rearranging my cast and replacing Callum with my brother, Martin; who fortunately fit the genre of the video and also had a suitable costume and knew the song. This therefore meant that instead of my four original cast members, I was now filming with Matthew, Connor Hobbs, and Martin. I was fine with this arrangement as I wanted to have two of them on the electric guitars, and one of them on the drum kit. Although Simple Plan has five band members, it is not noticeable in the instrumentals in the song that there should be five members, therefore three was suitable. Due to these complications, the plans were very last minute and quite rushed the night before. We had set up the instruments in advance so we were able to film as soon as we go to the school, however we did need to ensure that any displays or lightly coloured objects were covered with large sheets of black paper on the walls so that the backdrop was completely dark. Me and Scarlett both managed to achieve a variety of footage for our performance parts of the video. I filmed various angles and movements, and a range of close ups and long shots of the band performing and I am very happy with the way it turned out. I do not feel that the cast change was a disadvantage to me, as after having looked back through the footage I think a lot of it is usable and therefore there has not been any negative impact on my music video by doing this. Below is a photograph of Martin, and a photograph of Connor Hobbs who were my two replacement cast members of the band. 

Saturday's Film Shoot

Me and Scarlett went to speak to a member of staff who would be arranging us coming into school on a Saturday morning, and were told that we need to check if a member of staff will be on site to supervise. Because of this, it is not definite that we can film on Saturday, however she did say she was quite sure someone would be able to be in school in the morning which is when we would want to film. Our plan is still the same to come into school on Saturday 7th at 10.30am for approximately two hours. Our cast is still aware of this and can come in to film. Therefore we will have to wait until tomorrow to confirm that the filming can happen, and if not; other plans will need to be made for the following Saturday.

What I Need to do Next

I have been thinking about what stage I am at in the project and what still needs to be done.
Below is a list for myself to look at so that I know what I need to do in the near future:

- Finish filming outdoor footage with Connor and Joanna.
- Film band parts of music video at school. (DONE)
- Create inside cover for my Digipak and make powerpoint explaining this. (DONE)
- Add location images to my previous location posts.
- Upload slideshow about Rock and Reel magazine to Ancillary task post.
- Post regular updates on filming to my blog.
- Finish researching into music channels on my blog post and choose which channel to use. (DONE)
- Print out Digipak and gain feedback on it and create a post explaining the feedback.
- Start editing music video.
- Start thinking about the other ancillary task of a music magazine advertisement.
- Download track into FCE.

The three main points which I am going to focus on out of this list are;

1) Finish Digipak and gain feedback.
2) Film all of the performance parts of my music video. (DONE - 07.01.12)
3) Start editing music video.

Latest Film Shoot

On Monday 2nd January I filmed as planned with Connor, the main male actor in my music video. I managed to film the indoor footage I had planned, with some lip syncing and various shots and angles of this. The only problem I faced whilst doing this was that it was quite light as it was in day time, although the time of day in the music video would need to be 2am. I am hoping to use an effect when editing to change this, although it is not too much of an issue as it is indoors and may just be a light rather than day light. I filmed various different angles and close ups of connor lip syncing and also using the note as a prop. The only footage I have left to collect involving connor is some outdoor shots of connor lip syncing, however this can be quickly arranged and filmed. Connor wore the same costume as he had in previous shots I have of him, and also styled his hair the same way. I am pleased with how the film shoot went, and I think I gained quite a lot of usable footage. I may have to return to film the lip syncing again when it comes round to editing so it depends on how well it works with the song in the video as to whether or not I will need to re do it.

As far as I am aware, me and Scarlett are still going to film the band parts of our videos this coming Saturday, although we need to check this tomorrow when we go back to school to confirm this.

I now only need to film some outdoor shots with Connor, and some more outdoor shots involving Joanna. I am hoping to do this late afternoon so that it is still light enough to film, however it looks as though it is getting towards evening time. I will arrange to film this one day in the next couple of weeks with Connor and Joanna. Although in the mean time I can start practising and editing together some of the footage I already have gained.