Representation in music is how the media shows us things about society. This is through careful mediation; hence re-presentation. For representation to be meaningful there needs to be shared recognition of people, situations and ideas.
Ideology refers to a set of ideas which produces a partial and selective view of reality. They help to enforce widely held ideas or beliefs and eventually become seen as 'common sense'. This opinion was given to us from Tim O'Sullivan.
The Media's Role:
• Circulating and reinforcing dominant ideologies.
• Undermining and challenging ideologies(though this is less frequent)
Representation in Music Videos:
Representation in music videos actually provide identities or an ideology basis for fans.
Michael Maffesoli identified the idea of the "urban tribe" in 1985. This is where members of a small group tend to have similar dress styles and views and behaviors (also known as stereotypes) which leads to the decline of individualism.
However in a controversial twist, David Gauntl ett argues that "identity is complicated", stating that everybody thinks they have one. For instance, artist play with the idea of identity in modern society. Glee, an American TV sitcom based in a high school setting is something which uses identity frequently to establish the hierarchical structure within the school. This is done within the first episode where it becomes apparent very soon that the Glee club are considered to be t the bottom of this hierarchy.
Tuesday, 26 October 2010
Exploring Blogger
To make my Blog more appealing and presentable to my followers, I have changed the background image.
During my exploration of what Blogger has to offer, I stumbled accross some gadgets which I could add to my Blog. I felt that an internal search bar would be useful so that people can quickly find a specific post should they wish to.
During my exploration of what Blogger has to offer, I stumbled accross some gadgets which I could add to my Blog. I felt that an internal search bar would be useful so that people can quickly find a specific post should they wish to.
Facing Problems with Blogging
My blog is having some problems showing the "Ancillary Music Video Planning and Preparation" post which was posted on 4th October. However the link for this post appears to be on the right hand side of the page, where all posts are listed in order of date. If the post is not showing up on my blog, use this link and the post should appear.
Practice Music Video- Completed Music Video
The following link will take you to my completed music video for "Sometimes" by Britney Spears, which I created by taking an active roll in the planning, filming, and editing of the entire production.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbZouAjC3GY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbZouAjC3GY
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Practice Music Video- Editing Part 2
After gathering the extra film which we filmed during our double lesson last Monday, we then began editing what we had, and reordering it to go in time with the lyrics. Matching the lip syncing to the song in the background, for me as the main editor has been the hardest task, as this takes a lot of concerntration and a few goes before a complete match can be achieved.
There was an instrumental section in this song which I used a compilation of shots of Louise walking toward or looking into the camera as well as Louise staring out into space "deep in thought" to fill this time. Some of these shots were not filmed for this purpose, for instance, during the interlude of music there is a clip of Louise sitting in the tree looking out into space. this shot, originally was filmed while Louise waited to sing her verse, it was very short, so I slowed it down using Video FX to create a clip long enough to fill a few seconds of film. I thought this was very effective and was followed with clips similar to it in different locations. It gave the video some diversification, and definitely made the video more interesting. To see an artist in the same location for even 10 seconds, which in reality does not seem like a long period of time, in the world of music video's this is and this makes the video tedious and seem dragged out. I wanted many clips so that the interest of the viewer was ongoing, and the change of scenery or camera angle achieved this.
Antoher thing that I tried to acheive during my editing, was exchanging the clips in time with the beat of the music. This was so that the music and video clips flowed well together, almost to the point where you do not notice any sudden changes and the clips roll into eachother to create subtlety in the clip changes. This was something I had noticed when analysing other pop music videos during my planning and preparation stages. It is very subtle and almost unnoticable unless it is done wrong, and then it becomes obvious that soemthing does not look right.
I also added transitions in between clips to create some fluency. I consistently used the "wash in" transition. It was subtle and so the focus was not pulled away from the content of the video it just assisted the clip changes in rolling into one and other.
The editing went ahead very well, however, during one editing session, I did not save what I had done and the Apple Mac crashed. Unfortunately all work was lost and I used my own time to catch up again. This was very disheartening, but is almost an inevitability when working with IT and computers, something often goes wrong as it is not an entirely dependable source. However, I managed to catch up well as I now knew exactly what needed to be done and so this time round the process was not as long. One of my team members; Natasha was not present for much of the editing stages due to illness and other commitments and so I took it upon myself to do all of the editing for this video. I fel it was a great way of practicing and developing my skills for my final task. I have learnt a lot and will take this knowledge of iMovie HD along with me in my final peice.
There was an instrumental section in this song which I used a compilation of shots of Louise walking toward or looking into the camera as well as Louise staring out into space "deep in thought" to fill this time. Some of these shots were not filmed for this purpose, for instance, during the interlude of music there is a clip of Louise sitting in the tree looking out into space. this shot, originally was filmed while Louise waited to sing her verse, it was very short, so I slowed it down using Video FX to create a clip long enough to fill a few seconds of film. I thought this was very effective and was followed with clips similar to it in different locations. It gave the video some diversification, and definitely made the video more interesting. To see an artist in the same location for even 10 seconds, which in reality does not seem like a long period of time, in the world of music video's this is and this makes the video tedious and seem dragged out. I wanted many clips so that the interest of the viewer was ongoing, and the change of scenery or camera angle achieved this.
Antoher thing that I tried to acheive during my editing, was exchanging the clips in time with the beat of the music. This was so that the music and video clips flowed well together, almost to the point where you do not notice any sudden changes and the clips roll into eachother to create subtlety in the clip changes. This was something I had noticed when analysing other pop music videos during my planning and preparation stages. It is very subtle and almost unnoticable unless it is done wrong, and then it becomes obvious that soemthing does not look right.
I also added transitions in between clips to create some fluency. I consistently used the "wash in" transition. It was subtle and so the focus was not pulled away from the content of the video it just assisted the clip changes in rolling into one and other.
The editing went ahead very well, however, during one editing session, I did not save what I had done and the Apple Mac crashed. Unfortunately all work was lost and I used my own time to catch up again. This was very disheartening, but is almost an inevitability when working with IT and computers, something often goes wrong as it is not an entirely dependable source. However, I managed to catch up well as I now knew exactly what needed to be done and so this time round the process was not as long. One of my team members; Natasha was not present for much of the editing stages due to illness and other commitments and so I took it upon myself to do all of the editing for this video. I fel it was a great way of practicing and developing my skills for my final task. I have learnt a lot and will take this knowledge of iMovie HD along with me in my final peice.
Thursday, 14 October 2010
Practice Music Video- Filming Part 2
After coming to the realisation that we did not have sufficient amount of film to fill the entire song, we decided to go back out and do some more filming. We used our double media lesson and ran through break getting everything finished, however I now feel that we have enough film to carry us through.
We had planned much of what we hoped to film, however ideas were changed on the day and developed to suit the restraints we incurred. This was apparent when we needed to shoot the "date scene" it would be a short clip used as a flash back in the final video of Britney Spears on a date which is going wrong. We all assumed that this scene would be filmed in the cafe to create the impression that they were in a restaurant. However, in reality this setting did not live up to our expectations and so we moved on to a bench outside where we see this scene play out in a similar form. I actually preferred this outcome as the clip was much more lucid than the "date scene" we had originally planned.
We then went on to film some more flashbacks as well as the "filler clips" I spoke of before. These are clips where Britney will look into the camera etc, and these can be used to fill any gaps we may have.
We then needed to find three different settings to film the final chorus. This is the mian part of the song so we wanted to go somewhere that would reflect this. As it was a nice, sunny day we decided to go over to Netteswell Pond and film here. This turned out to be a great success and the three separate locations all worked out well.
In conclusion the day of filming was very productive and I feel we have finally finished filming for the video now. In my next lesson I hope to continue with editing the video so that we can complete this task adequately.
We had planned much of what we hoped to film, however ideas were changed on the day and developed to suit the restraints we incurred. This was apparent when we needed to shoot the "date scene" it would be a short clip used as a flash back in the final video of Britney Spears on a date which is going wrong. We all assumed that this scene would be filmed in the cafe to create the impression that they were in a restaurant. However, in reality this setting did not live up to our expectations and so we moved on to a bench outside where we see this scene play out in a similar form. I actually preferred this outcome as the clip was much more lucid than the "date scene" we had originally planned.
We then went on to film some more flashbacks as well as the "filler clips" I spoke of before. These are clips where Britney will look into the camera etc, and these can be used to fill any gaps we may have.
We then needed to find three different settings to film the final chorus. This is the mian part of the song so we wanted to go somewhere that would reflect this. As it was a nice, sunny day we decided to go over to Netteswell Pond and film here. This turned out to be a great success and the three separate locations all worked out well.
In conclusion the day of filming was very productive and I feel we have finally finished filming for the video now. In my next lesson I hope to continue with editing the video so that we can complete this task adequately.
Urban Tribe Analysis
In groups we were set the task of analysing a chosen urban tribe and evaluating how music influences their style and behaviour. We chose the "indie" tribe and created a PowerPoint which explained who they were, what they wore and what artists influenced them.
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
Media Language
Today in class, we spoke all about media language. As an A2 Media Studies student, and someone who has been studying Media for the past four years, this is something I have been taught about many times and have referred to when creating my media projects, however it always good to go over crucial media aspects to keep them fresh in your mind.
Media Language constitutes the following categories;
- Mise en Scene
- Camerawork
- Editing
- Sound
Mise en Scene
Mise en scene constitutes the key aspect of the pre-production phase of film & can include production and design and cinematography. Mise en Scene creates a diagetic world (the fictional world where the story takes place)
Mise en Scene is the location, character, cinematography and layout/design.
Camerawork
-shot types
-composition
-Movements
-Angles
Editing
Editing is the post production phase. It is where filming is cut up and jumbled around to be put in the suitable order. Film is often not shot in chronological, but in a series of shots which are assembled during editing.
There are two types of editing;
-Continuity
e.g. established shot, 180 degree line rule, cut away, action match, shot reverse shot and eye line match. All of these editing and filming techniques are implemented to improve the fluency of the camera shots. For example; Television producers hire staff whose jobs are to check the continuity of the filming. This job entails things such like, checking the placement of actors clothing, making sure the time on the clock runs fluently etc.
-Non-continuity
This includes things such like montage sequences and flash backs.
Sound
-Diagetic
Located within that story world (dialogue, sound effects, music)
-Non-diagetic
Sounds which do not have an explained source within the story world (incidental music, voice-over, non diagetic sound effects)
Media Language constitutes the following categories;
- Mise en Scene
- Camerawork
- Editing
- Sound
Mise en Scene
Mise en scene constitutes the key aspect of the pre-production phase of film & can include production and design and cinematography. Mise en Scene creates a diagetic world (the fictional world where the story takes place)
Mise en Scene is the location, character, cinematography and layout/design.
Camerawork
-shot types
-composition
-Movements
-Angles
Editing
Editing is the post production phase. It is where filming is cut up and jumbled around to be put in the suitable order. Film is often not shot in chronological, but in a series of shots which are assembled during editing.
There are two types of editing;
-Continuity
e.g. established shot, 180 degree line rule, cut away, action match, shot reverse shot and eye line match. All of these editing and filming techniques are implemented to improve the fluency of the camera shots. For example; Television producers hire staff whose jobs are to check the continuity of the filming. This job entails things such like, checking the placement of actors clothing, making sure the time on the clock runs fluently etc.
-Non-continuity
This includes things such like montage sequences and flash backs.
Sound
-Diagetic
Located within that story world (dialogue, sound effects, music)
-Non-diagetic
Sounds which do not have an explained source within the story world (incidental music, voice-over, non diagetic sound effects)
Friday, 8 October 2010
Practice Music Video- Creating a Digipak and Magazine Advert
For the second part of this assignment we were given an ancillary task , we have been set the task of creating a digipak and an small magazine advert which should fill around one eighth of an A4 page for Britney Spears’ album. We are doing it for Britney Spears as we are creating a music video for a Britney Spears song ‘Sometimes’. To do this, I am using Photoshop Elements.
I began by creating the digipak. I decided I needed to set a colour scheme, and after trying out a few girly pinks and purples I settled on a bright peach colour, which I felt was both right for the target market as well as attractive to the eye. This was used for my background colours for the most part. I then needed to decide on a colour for the writing. After trying out black and other pinks, I then landed on white, which lightened up the CD cover and tied in with its girly theme. I felt this could be a little too simplistic and so began searching through the many tools of Photoshop to find something which would liven it up a bit. I then remembered the ‘gradient tool’ which was something I had used many times when creating my music magazine. Choosing the colour white and the gradient tool I started to experiment. I drew diamond shapes using this tool and used these to make the cover more interesting. After reflecting back on my work I noticed that the diamond shapes I had drawn slightly resembled the look of a spotlight hitting the CD and I really liked this look and so was pleased with the outcome.
I now needed to add images to the digipak. I looked through the images we took on our first day of filming and noticed that Louise, who plays Britney, is not smiling in any of them. This is something I feel does not match the expectation of the target audience. It also does not tie in well with the genre ‘pop’. We would expect the artist to be laughing or smiling and looking happy and this emotion was not captured in the images we shot and therefore the resembled a more ‘indie’ fell more than anything.
I have put my plans to add the images to my digipak on hold until our upcoming day of filming where I plan to take some more lively and fun images of the artist smiling and hopefully I can use these instead.
This is my digipak so far:
I began by creating the digipak. I decided I needed to set a colour scheme, and after trying out a few girly pinks and purples I settled on a bright peach colour, which I felt was both right for the target market as well as attractive to the eye. This was used for my background colours for the most part. I then needed to decide on a colour for the writing. After trying out black and other pinks, I then landed on white, which lightened up the CD cover and tied in with its girly theme. I felt this could be a little too simplistic and so began searching through the many tools of Photoshop to find something which would liven it up a bit. I then remembered the ‘gradient tool’ which was something I had used many times when creating my music magazine. Choosing the colour white and the gradient tool I started to experiment. I drew diamond shapes using this tool and used these to make the cover more interesting. After reflecting back on my work I noticed that the diamond shapes I had drawn slightly resembled the look of a spotlight hitting the CD and I really liked this look and so was pleased with the outcome.
I now needed to add images to the digipak. I looked through the images we took on our first day of filming and noticed that Louise, who plays Britney, is not smiling in any of them. This is something I feel does not match the expectation of the target audience. It also does not tie in well with the genre ‘pop’. We would expect the artist to be laughing or smiling and looking happy and this emotion was not captured in the images we shot and therefore the resembled a more ‘indie’ fell more than anything.
I have put my plans to add the images to my digipak on hold until our upcoming day of filming where I plan to take some more lively and fun images of the artist smiling and hopefully I can use these instead.
This is my digipak so far:
Practice Music Video- Editing
After my previous practice videos I have become very confident using iMovie HD, therefore I have taken on an active role in editing our music video. One member of my group was absent for the first day and I gladly took this opportunity to get on with doing the editing by myself. I got about one third of the video completed when I realised that there were some parts of the video which we did not have any film for. I did as much as I could and paid particular detail to matching the miming of my singer to the music of the song. This was often difficult and I found it took a few goes of splitting the clip and then putting little bits back in before it could be perfect. To find ways of elongating my clips I found myself browsing through the editing options and remembered that I could use a “slow motion” tool to do this. This created a brilliant effect when we see Louise looking into the camera walking along with her hand trailing along the wall behind her. This clip was originally filmed as a “filler” clip to be used if we did not have enough film to fill any part of the song, however it turned out to be a great scene in the video and fits in very well.
The editing can be extensive and takes a lot of your attention to complete successfully. I have put a lot of effort into the editing of this video so far and have been the main person within the group to do so. I am very happy to take care of much of the editing as I feel I am very competent in to this area and as I was absent for some of the planning and preparation lessons, I feel this should compensate for me not being there.
When we realised that there was not enough film for us to fill the entire song, we bought back in Louise, who plays Britney to do some more filming. However, our camera wouldn’t work and so we have re-scheduled a filming session for Monday 11th October during our double lesson.
The editing can be extensive and takes a lot of your attention to complete successfully. I have put a lot of effort into the editing of this video so far and have been the main person within the group to do so. I am very happy to take care of much of the editing as I feel I am very competent in to this area and as I was absent for some of the planning and preparation lessons, I feel this should compensate for me not being there.
When we realised that there was not enough film for us to fill the entire song, we bought back in Louise, who plays Britney to do some more filming. However, our camera wouldn’t work and so we have re-scheduled a filming session for Monday 11th October during our double lesson.
Monday, 4 October 2010
Practice Music Video- Deadline moved
Our initial deadline was Friday, 8th October 2010. However, once we started our digipak design and magazine advert for the music video, it became apparent that this date would be an unrealistic deadline. At the pace we were working at, we would need an extra few weeks in order to create a professional piece. This will however mean that we are not given the opportunity to do an ancillary film trailer.
My group and I are currently working well towards the completion of this ancillary project.
My group and I are currently working well towards the completion of this ancillary project.
Practice Music Video- Production & Filming
Certain restrictions became apparent due to bad weather conditions on the day of filming. It began to rain half way through filming and this became a danger to the technical equipment we were carrying (camera, music player). We had planned to film in the forest, but as our only way of transport was to walk, this idea was soon changed to filming at Netteswell Pond, a public pond very close to our Sixth Form. Thankfully this idea to improvise was successful and worked out well.
Once we had overcome this hurdle. We then had to get down to filming the scenes. We did not film the sequence in order. As our task is to also create a CD cover for a digipak, we took pictures throughout the filming stage, so that the images related to the music video. We did the most part of our filming outdoors at the pond in different areas, however we were once again forced to change our plans and improvise, when the rain became too heavy to stay outside. We ventured back into the school and decided to create a which took place in a location which was suppose to be a bedroom. Here, Louise comes home and is passionately singing along to the lyrics, where she sings into the camera. We thought this would engage the viewer. We also shot some scenes at a piano and in the Cathedral.
I then remembered my previous thought about the audience needs. I remembered that we would be needing to shoot a lot more footage and become a little worried that we would not have enough to fill the song. I then suggested we film some short scenes which I called “fillers”. These were short clips which we may or may not use to fill any gaps that we had missed in our filming process. This was a safe guard, we knew we could always have something to fall back on if needs be.
Once we had overcome this hurdle. We then had to get down to filming the scenes. We did not film the sequence in order. As our task is to also create a CD cover for a digipak, we took pictures throughout the filming stage, so that the images related to the music video. We did the most part of our filming outdoors at the pond in different areas, however we were once again forced to change our plans and improvise, when the rain became too heavy to stay outside. We ventured back into the school and decided to create a which took place in a location which was suppose to be a bedroom. Here, Louise comes home and is passionately singing along to the lyrics, where she sings into the camera. We thought this would engage the viewer. We also shot some scenes at a piano and in the Cathedral.
I then remembered my previous thought about the audience needs. I remembered that we would be needing to shoot a lot more footage and become a little worried that we would not have enough to fill the song. I then suggested we film some short scenes which I called “fillers”. These were short clips which we may or may not use to fill any gaps that we had missed in our filming process. This was a safe guard, we knew we could always have something to fall back on if needs be.
Practice Music Video Planning and Preparation
Out of the few options we were given, my group (Kerstin D'Silva, Natasha Breen) have decided to make a music video for Britney Spears' Sometimes.
It is a pop song and so we must consider the representation of pop through the eyes of the media when planning the video. When we think of Britney Spears’ late 90’s work, we immediately remember a time when “cheesy pop” was very much in fashion. The song is very suited to this era and is therefore very much dated. This will mean that our video will have to take the same form, with an element of innocence which we often associate with this type of music. It is aimed at a younger generation of 5-14 year olds and we will have to cater to this audience when creating the video. In my previous year studying Media Studies, I created a pop magazine. To do this, I researched my target audience in great detail and found that young people need a lot to catch their eye and keep their attention. We all know that children have a short attention span and so they need a continuous change of events to keep them interested. Therefore I have decided that the video will need to present itself in a similar way with different settings and a change of mise en scene to keep the audience viewing. This is something I have put forward as a basic plan for the video.
My group created storyboards for the video so that we had a plan to follow when it came to filming. Settings were then chosen and we decided on an opening monologue which would go with the instrumental section at the beginning of the song. We felt we had filled all of the song with scenes and planned to get a lot of footage so that we had enough to use in the event of any gaps. Due to illness, I missed some planning lessons, but caught up on my return to Sixth Form. I recruited our main character (Louise Lowe) to play Britney Spears in the video, while my group members found some extras to play their parts.
After researching previous pop video from this time, we noticed a pattern of a simple dance routine feature. We felt that this would fit in well with the theme of our video and so choreographed a dance which we felt captured the vibe of the song, upbeat and 'cheesy.'
The people featured in the video are as follows:
Actors:
Louise Lowe - main character (Britney Spears)
Eddie Njenga - Britney’s love interest
Kerstin D’Silva - featured in a flashback where Eddie is caught flirting with another girl
Michael Kieghly - featured in a flashback where Eddie is seen joking with his friends
James Wilson - featured in a flashback where Eddie is seen joking with his friends
Jodi Grundy - featured in a flashback comforting Britney Spears
Dancers:
Jodi Grundy
Natasha Breen
Daniel Valaitis
Cara Oldroyd-Jones
The following link will take you to the original "Sometimes" video by Britney Spears. During the planning and preparation stage we watched this video many times, looking for inspiration and an understanding of how to produce a successful music video for this song. We were also able to gage a better understanding of our target audience from the mise en scene and features in the original video. The dance routine was the main element which enabled us to classify this song/video as part of the "young pop" genre. There is a sense of naivity in the video which we felt would grab a younger generation, we felt this was portrayed in the regular innocent glances into the camera. This was soemthing we aim to incorporate into our own video as well as the dance routine segment. Also something which caught our eye, was the love story which was ongoing in the original video. this was something we felt would set the scene for our video as it gives it a story to follow as well as representing the lyrics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_eFU8uPaQo
It is a pop song and so we must consider the representation of pop through the eyes of the media when planning the video. When we think of Britney Spears’ late 90’s work, we immediately remember a time when “cheesy pop” was very much in fashion. The song is very suited to this era and is therefore very much dated. This will mean that our video will have to take the same form, with an element of innocence which we often associate with this type of music. It is aimed at a younger generation of 5-14 year olds and we will have to cater to this audience when creating the video. In my previous year studying Media Studies, I created a pop magazine. To do this, I researched my target audience in great detail and found that young people need a lot to catch their eye and keep their attention. We all know that children have a short attention span and so they need a continuous change of events to keep them interested. Therefore I have decided that the video will need to present itself in a similar way with different settings and a change of mise en scene to keep the audience viewing. This is something I have put forward as a basic plan for the video.
My group created storyboards for the video so that we had a plan to follow when it came to filming. Settings were then chosen and we decided on an opening monologue which would go with the instrumental section at the beginning of the song. We felt we had filled all of the song with scenes and planned to get a lot of footage so that we had enough to use in the event of any gaps. Due to illness, I missed some planning lessons, but caught up on my return to Sixth Form. I recruited our main character (Louise Lowe) to play Britney Spears in the video, while my group members found some extras to play their parts.
After researching previous pop video from this time, we noticed a pattern of a simple dance routine feature. We felt that this would fit in well with the theme of our video and so choreographed a dance which we felt captured the vibe of the song, upbeat and 'cheesy.'
The people featured in the video are as follows:
Actors:
Louise Lowe - main character (Britney Spears)
Eddie Njenga - Britney’s love interest
Kerstin D’Silva - featured in a flashback where Eddie is caught flirting with another girl
Michael Kieghly - featured in a flashback where Eddie is seen joking with his friends
James Wilson - featured in a flashback where Eddie is seen joking with his friends
Jodi Grundy - featured in a flashback comforting Britney Spears
Dancers:
Jodi Grundy
Natasha Breen
Daniel Valaitis
Cara Oldroyd-Jones
The following link will take you to the original "Sometimes" video by Britney Spears. During the planning and preparation stage we watched this video many times, looking for inspiration and an understanding of how to produce a successful music video for this song. We were also able to gage a better understanding of our target audience from the mise en scene and features in the original video. The dance routine was the main element which enabled us to classify this song/video as part of the "young pop" genre. There is a sense of naivity in the video which we felt would grab a younger generation, we felt this was portrayed in the regular innocent glances into the camera. This was soemthing we aim to incorporate into our own video as well as the dance routine segment. Also something which caught our eye, was the love story which was ongoing in the original video. this was something we felt would set the scene for our video as it gives it a story to follow as well as representing the lyrics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_eFU8uPaQo
Evaluation - How to Pull Video
Planning and Preparation
The purpose of any video will always be to either entertain, educate or inform, or sometimes a combination of the three. These three important factors were considered throughout the planning of this film. Our initial preparation began when we were told to research 'how to' videos and find one which we felt was efficient in fulfilling its aim. Whilst researching the videos I noted the features in which I thought would be useful for future reference. I analysed the videos, picking them apart to find things that I thought would be good for my own video. This was very useful when it came to filming as I had previously established my viewpoint on what I thought worked well and what didn't. It clarified my opinion and allowed me to go straight into filming without doubting or questioning my abilities.
We were then shown the 'how to' videos from the previous year in class. This allowed me the opportunity to see what level I should be aiming to work at. I was able to recognise camera angles and the structure of filming and consider incorporating these into my own how to film. I began to notice that all the how to videos followed a pattern of breaking the instructions up into stages or steps. All the videos had roughly 5 or 6 steps to fulfil before the task in practise could be completed. I thought this was a very good way of informing the viewer as it elucidated the process making it easy to follow and simple enough to understand.
When then had to brainstorm our own ideas for what our video was to be teaching. Taking into consideration that we needed an entertainment value, we felt a comical 'how to' video would be both informative as well as entertaining. We searched for ideas and stumbled across our final 'how to pull' suggestion. I immediately began thinking of many ways we could make this video humorous and informative to create a combination which was sure to make a good film.
Once our idea was set, we needed to plan the video. This meant, recruiting actors, preparing camera angles, creating a story board, writing the script and arranging time and space for filming. This all got off to a good start. We decided to set the film into five stages and to have a continuous narrative. I felt this would be essential if the video was to be successful in informing the viewer. We managed to plan the entire video extremely well and was well organised for the day of filming.
Filming
We used many different camera angles to establish characters and set the scene. We used long shots to display composure in a "cool and confident" walk. We used close ups to express emotion whether this be embarrassment or delight. We used high angle shots to undermine the character when he falls. My favourite shot took place in the bathroom where you see Eddie (the character who acts out the 5 steps of the how to video) preparing himself in the reflection of the mirror. It was a good use of camera trickery where we were able to position ourselves correctly so that we couldn’t be seen in the shot. We chose a corridor in the Sixth Form block as our setting. The corridor is often a place of study and we therefore assumed that this would be a quiet place to film in. However, on the day we had great difficulty hearing the actors speak over the noise in the background. We managed to work around the noise, often having to ask the people around to stay quiet while we filmed our short scenes. Another problem occurred from the setting, this was lighting. It is very hard to film indoors with limited lighting. In the shots we see of the different stages being acted out, the lighting is often very dim. This is mainly a problem when we are filming close up shots as it becomes very difficult to see the expression on the face which is portraying the emotion. Once filming this part of the video, we realised we could continue to film here, when it came to my own narrative part where I introduced the different stages of the film, we changed locations to a brighter and more quiet room. I feel this was very successful.
Editing
When it came to the editing part of creating this film, we realised that our attempts to quieten the crowd in the corridor where we shot had failed and we needed to re-film a scene which was inaudible due to the background noise. This put a big strain on us as a group as we were now working through our limited time to edit. We came back from this though and once the scene had been filmed we worked hard at editing our video effectively to intensify its entertainment and informative value. After arranging the clips in order and editing the timing to make it flow perfectly, we then decided that the video could be greatly improve if we were to add some background music to liven the video up and to entertain the viewer. We searched through hundreds of songs to find ones which we felt would be suitable for the purpose of the scene they were to accompany. I felt we found an eclectic range of songs which fitted there function appropriately.
To conclude, I felt the video was a great success and is something I am very proud of as I feel I contributed greatly to every element of creating this video. I was very much involved in the planning, filming, editing and even starred in the video as well. I am very proud of the outcome. If I were to change anything to improve the quality of this video it would be the setting. Though this problem was mostly overcome, there are still some minor setbacks because of it. I feel the video was very successful in fulfilling its aim and managed to entertain and inform along the way.
The purpose of any video will always be to either entertain, educate or inform, or sometimes a combination of the three. These three important factors were considered throughout the planning of this film. Our initial preparation began when we were told to research 'how to' videos and find one which we felt was efficient in fulfilling its aim. Whilst researching the videos I noted the features in which I thought would be useful for future reference. I analysed the videos, picking them apart to find things that I thought would be good for my own video. This was very useful when it came to filming as I had previously established my viewpoint on what I thought worked well and what didn't. It clarified my opinion and allowed me to go straight into filming without doubting or questioning my abilities.
We were then shown the 'how to' videos from the previous year in class. This allowed me the opportunity to see what level I should be aiming to work at. I was able to recognise camera angles and the structure of filming and consider incorporating these into my own how to film. I began to notice that all the how to videos followed a pattern of breaking the instructions up into stages or steps. All the videos had roughly 5 or 6 steps to fulfil before the task in practise could be completed. I thought this was a very good way of informing the viewer as it elucidated the process making it easy to follow and simple enough to understand.
When then had to brainstorm our own ideas for what our video was to be teaching. Taking into consideration that we needed an entertainment value, we felt a comical 'how to' video would be both informative as well as entertaining. We searched for ideas and stumbled across our final 'how to pull' suggestion. I immediately began thinking of many ways we could make this video humorous and informative to create a combination which was sure to make a good film.
Once our idea was set, we needed to plan the video. This meant, recruiting actors, preparing camera angles, creating a story board, writing the script and arranging time and space for filming. This all got off to a good start. We decided to set the film into five stages and to have a continuous narrative. I felt this would be essential if the video was to be successful in informing the viewer. We managed to plan the entire video extremely well and was well organised for the day of filming.
Filming
We used many different camera angles to establish characters and set the scene. We used long shots to display composure in a "cool and confident" walk. We used close ups to express emotion whether this be embarrassment or delight. We used high angle shots to undermine the character when he falls. My favourite shot took place in the bathroom where you see Eddie (the character who acts out the 5 steps of the how to video) preparing himself in the reflection of the mirror. It was a good use of camera trickery where we were able to position ourselves correctly so that we couldn’t be seen in the shot. We chose a corridor in the Sixth Form block as our setting. The corridor is often a place of study and we therefore assumed that this would be a quiet place to film in. However, on the day we had great difficulty hearing the actors speak over the noise in the background. We managed to work around the noise, often having to ask the people around to stay quiet while we filmed our short scenes. Another problem occurred from the setting, this was lighting. It is very hard to film indoors with limited lighting. In the shots we see of the different stages being acted out, the lighting is often very dim. This is mainly a problem when we are filming close up shots as it becomes very difficult to see the expression on the face which is portraying the emotion. Once filming this part of the video, we realised we could continue to film here, when it came to my own narrative part where I introduced the different stages of the film, we changed locations to a brighter and more quiet room. I feel this was very successful.
Editing
When it came to the editing part of creating this film, we realised that our attempts to quieten the crowd in the corridor where we shot had failed and we needed to re-film a scene which was inaudible due to the background noise. This put a big strain on us as a group as we were now working through our limited time to edit. We came back from this though and once the scene had been filmed we worked hard at editing our video effectively to intensify its entertainment and informative value. After arranging the clips in order and editing the timing to make it flow perfectly, we then decided that the video could be greatly improve if we were to add some background music to liven the video up and to entertain the viewer. We searched through hundreds of songs to find ones which we felt would be suitable for the purpose of the scene they were to accompany. I felt we found an eclectic range of songs which fitted there function appropriately.
To conclude, I felt the video was a great success and is something I am very proud of as I feel I contributed greatly to every element of creating this video. I was very much involved in the planning, filming, editing and even starred in the video as well. I am very proud of the outcome. If I were to change anything to improve the quality of this video it would be the setting. Though this problem was mostly overcome, there are still some minor setbacks because of it. I feel the video was very successful in fulfilling its aim and managed to entertain and inform along the way.
My "how to" Video- How To Pull
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onw0IqCZlk0
This link above will take you to the edited video I created for Media Studies. The Video is called How to Pull and was filmed, directed, edited and planeed by myself, Kerstin D'silva and Lysette Pilkington. Myself and Lysette also starred in the video.
This link above will take you to the edited video I created for Media Studies. The Video is called How to Pull and was filmed, directed, edited and planeed by myself, Kerstin D'silva and Lysette Pilkington. Myself and Lysette also starred in the video.
"Urban Savannah" & "I Love my Nails"
Today in lesson we watched some video's and were told to look out for how they informed, educated and entertained. We were then told that these three functions were something to be considered when creating our own videos. We had to observe and take notes on the elements we felt we could incorporate into our own videos.
Urban Savannah
Urban Savannah was filmed in the UK in 2004 and directed by Matthew Cook and Vincent Lund. We watched this short ten minute film first. It used basic animal instincts and incorporated this into the lifestyles of modern teens and there opposing social status'. It was very much an observation film, where the camera went unnoticed throughout. I thought this was a very good way of showing modern day living as it allowed the characters to go about their day without the distraction or interference of the camera. It makes it all seem very lifelike, as though we were getting a discreet inside look at the lives of others.
The film was entertaining, educational and informative and covered these three main areas extremely well. The comedic element was what carried the entertainment factor. The smart wit was an exaggerated version of reality which was humorous to watch. Commentary ran throughout the film and this was a constant source of information and explanation. It also used familiar terms which we would most commonly hear when talking about wildlife such as "dominant male" this worked toward consolidating both the human lifestyle with animal instincts. The experts were brought in to add the educational factor and to fully explain the happenings of the film.
The only way I can think to describe the background to this film would be to say to used personification in reverse. Rather than giving something not human, human like qualities, it gave humans, animal qualities. It was a very clever way of combing humour and real life together to form a short film which was informative, educational and entertaining.
From this film I learnt how to use commentary successfully. I thought that for this film, it was a very good option as it went hand in hand with the observation filming. This combination is something I had not analysed previously, and so this was my first opportunity to look into how both work together.
I Love My Nails
I Love My Nails is a UK film made in 2000 and directed by Katherine Freeman.
This film was very different in many ways and I therefore learnt about a different side to the short film/documentary industry. Unlike the Urban Savannah, this film was very much dominated by the interference of the camera. Everything we saw was for the benefit of the camera, with people speaking to the camera throughout etc. Because of this it was more informal. We listened to personal opinions and general chat rather than scripted speeches.
In the lesson we learnt to look out for where the film was entertaining, informative and educational.
Entertaining; the sheer shock of the contents of the film was what carried its entertainment. I was constantly enthralled by what I was seeing to the extent that you didn't want to turn off.
Informative; throughout the film we were hearing about the lifestyles and opinions of the women and men in the nail salon, and this was where the information fed through as we learnt about people's reasons for there obsession with their nails.
I learn what works and what does not from watching existing films, from this film I learnt that it is best to stick to one theme. The majority of this film was very informal and chatty and had a very unscripted feel to it, however every now and then it would cut to a short scene which would may be two man dancing and showing off their nails etc. It just diminished the realism of the film as you then began to question whether the rest of the film was as set up as the short scenes. I felt the two contrasted each other and did not work well together.
Urban Savannah
Urban Savannah was filmed in the UK in 2004 and directed by Matthew Cook and Vincent Lund. We watched this short ten minute film first. It used basic animal instincts and incorporated this into the lifestyles of modern teens and there opposing social status'. It was very much an observation film, where the camera went unnoticed throughout. I thought this was a very good way of showing modern day living as it allowed the characters to go about their day without the distraction or interference of the camera. It makes it all seem very lifelike, as though we were getting a discreet inside look at the lives of others.
The film was entertaining, educational and informative and covered these three main areas extremely well. The comedic element was what carried the entertainment factor. The smart wit was an exaggerated version of reality which was humorous to watch. Commentary ran throughout the film and this was a constant source of information and explanation. It also used familiar terms which we would most commonly hear when talking about wildlife such as "dominant male" this worked toward consolidating both the human lifestyle with animal instincts. The experts were brought in to add the educational factor and to fully explain the happenings of the film.
The only way I can think to describe the background to this film would be to say to used personification in reverse. Rather than giving something not human, human like qualities, it gave humans, animal qualities. It was a very clever way of combing humour and real life together to form a short film which was informative, educational and entertaining.
From this film I learnt how to use commentary successfully. I thought that for this film, it was a very good option as it went hand in hand with the observation filming. This combination is something I had not analysed previously, and so this was my first opportunity to look into how both work together.
I Love My Nails
I Love My Nails is a UK film made in 2000 and directed by Katherine Freeman.
This film was very different in many ways and I therefore learnt about a different side to the short film/documentary industry. Unlike the Urban Savannah, this film was very much dominated by the interference of the camera. Everything we saw was for the benefit of the camera, with people speaking to the camera throughout etc. Because of this it was more informal. We listened to personal opinions and general chat rather than scripted speeches.
In the lesson we learnt to look out for where the film was entertaining, informative and educational.
Entertaining; the sheer shock of the contents of the film was what carried its entertainment. I was constantly enthralled by what I was seeing to the extent that you didn't want to turn off.
Informative; throughout the film we were hearing about the lifestyles and opinions of the women and men in the nail salon, and this was where the information fed through as we learnt about people's reasons for there obsession with their nails.
I learn what works and what does not from watching existing films, from this film I learnt that it is best to stick to one theme. The majority of this film was very informal and chatty and had a very unscripted feel to it, however every now and then it would cut to a short scene which would may be two man dancing and showing off their nails etc. It just diminished the realism of the film as you then began to question whether the rest of the film was as set up as the short scenes. I felt the two contrasted each other and did not work well together.
"How to" Youtube Video Link
As preparation and research for our upcoming "How To" video, we were told to search for a how to video which we felt was adequate and suitable for its purpose. The link below is the "How To" video that I found;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py82bWcPa0Q&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py82bWcPa0Q&feature=channel
Filming and Editing Practice- The Phone Call
Before we begin our final piece, we need to gain as much practice in filming and editing. Both take much skill to master and so we have been set the task of creating a short running monologue of a phone call.
From this I learnt that the conversation at each end is filmed all in one take and then edited after by splitting the scenes and merging them together to show a conversation in sequence. This was not something I was aware of previously.
On the day of editing, my group was not in and I was left on my own to edit the video.
Surprisingly, I found this very easy to deal with and liked the solitude of being left to my own devices. I felt at ease implementing my own ideas and enjoyed working at my own pace.
The video was an overall success and I was pleased with the outcome. The link below will take you to “The Phone Call”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-5c_vRzgiM
From this I learnt that the conversation at each end is filmed all in one take and then edited after by splitting the scenes and merging them together to show a conversation in sequence. This was not something I was aware of previously.
On the day of editing, my group was not in and I was left on my own to edit the video.
Surprisingly, I found this very easy to deal with and liked the solitude of being left to my own devices. I felt at ease implementing my own ideas and enjoyed working at my own pace.
The video was an overall success and I was pleased with the outcome. The link below will take you to “The Phone Call”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-5c_vRzgiM
Introduction into the Use of Video Cameras and Editing- Drink Adverts
We began the school year with an introductory lesson into Media editing and filming. We were told that we needed to being planning three separate videos which advertised a new drink of our choice. We decided to go with an energy drink called "Electric Shock" as we were immediately able to pitch ideas to each other about how to promote this drink. We were told the adverts needed to coincide with each other so that a consistent brand could become apparent to the viewer. We used story boards to plan and organise our filming schedule and script.
After discussing ideas of advertisement, we decided celebrity endorsement would suit our promotion technique adequately. After running through different well known names, we landed on Usain Bolt, a World Championships and Olympian record holder. I believed that his lively and prestigious character represented our drink in a positive and similar way.
In order to keep consistency and establish the brand we chose the slogan "Electric Shock, it's electrifying". This would be said in each advert by Usain Bolt. We had toyed with other slogan ideas such as; "The lightning bolt of electric shock" as we felt this closely linked in with the name of our celebrity which create a pun. However we found the slogan to be too extensive and not quick and catchy which was the aim.
Actors:
Eddie Njenga- Usain Bolt
James Wilson- Main character
Daniel Thomas- Runner 1
Kwabena- Runner 2
Liston- Runner 3
Advert 1
In the first advert, the characters are established. We have James Wilson's character running in a race looking weak and tired. Usain Bolt saves the day by telling him to drink "Electric Shock" and this gives him the energy to win the race. The advert is then closed with Usain Bolt smiling into the camera and saying the slogan with a wink. This advert simply explains the benefits of the drink and persuades you to buy one if you are in need of an energy boost.
Advert 2
The second advert has a slightly different feel. Now we would have expected people to understand that the drink was an energy enhancer and would be familiar with it. This advert shows its desirability. The short clip shows the same actors racing in slow motion in a battle against each other to reach the drink first. It creates the belief that this drink is sought after and desired. Once again the advert is concluded with Usain Bolt smiling into the camera, saying the logo with a signature wink.
Advert 3
This advert takes the same format as the first. We see James Wilsons character struggling in an exam. This is when Usain Bolt comes in and tells him to drink some "Electric Shock". When he does he has a brain wave and finishes the exam. He comes out dancing and looking happy at his achievement and this creates the impression that the drink has been a great help to him. Once again, Usain Bolt rounds up the advert by smiling into the camera, saying the slogan and winking.
The link below will take you to the adverts;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w18NYyB70I
After discussing ideas of advertisement, we decided celebrity endorsement would suit our promotion technique adequately. After running through different well known names, we landed on Usain Bolt, a World Championships and Olympian record holder. I believed that his lively and prestigious character represented our drink in a positive and similar way.
In order to keep consistency and establish the brand we chose the slogan "Electric Shock, it's electrifying". This would be said in each advert by Usain Bolt. We had toyed with other slogan ideas such as; "The lightning bolt of electric shock" as we felt this closely linked in with the name of our celebrity which create a pun. However we found the slogan to be too extensive and not quick and catchy which was the aim.
Actors:
Eddie Njenga- Usain Bolt
James Wilson- Main character
Daniel Thomas- Runner 1
Kwabena- Runner 2
Liston- Runner 3
Advert 1
In the first advert, the characters are established. We have James Wilson's character running in a race looking weak and tired. Usain Bolt saves the day by telling him to drink "Electric Shock" and this gives him the energy to win the race. The advert is then closed with Usain Bolt smiling into the camera and saying the slogan with a wink. This advert simply explains the benefits of the drink and persuades you to buy one if you are in need of an energy boost.
Advert 2
The second advert has a slightly different feel. Now we would have expected people to understand that the drink was an energy enhancer and would be familiar with it. This advert shows its desirability. The short clip shows the same actors racing in slow motion in a battle against each other to reach the drink first. It creates the belief that this drink is sought after and desired. Once again the advert is concluded with Usain Bolt smiling into the camera, saying the logo with a signature wink.
Advert 3
This advert takes the same format as the first. We see James Wilsons character struggling in an exam. This is when Usain Bolt comes in and tells him to drink some "Electric Shock". When he does he has a brain wave and finishes the exam. He comes out dancing and looking happy at his achievement and this creates the impression that the drink has been a great help to him. Once again, Usain Bolt rounds up the advert by smiling into the camera, saying the slogan and winking.
The link below will take you to the adverts;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w18NYyB70I
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