Re-filming

Re-filming

Today myself and Hannah met up with the other two actors; Mollie and Frankie, to film some more footage. We decided to film at our first location, which is based at Toton Sidings. The reason for this is due to it being a quiet environment that presents itself as fairly un-used and abandoned. In addition this site has abandoned trains that often appear in the background of the frame, or even as single shots that are just focused on the trains, so that the audience can be informed of the artist and actors whereabouts. The location also has abandoned debris which fits in well with our theme and therefore again looks appropriate in the frame's background. 

After spending a few hours filming we decided to go up to our College to upload our footage onto the computer and then import the chosen shots onto the editing software. However, shortly after arriving we were informed that our computer wasn't working and therefore we were un-able to edit any of our newly filmed footage which was an issue due to it wasting our limited time. However, we aim to edit this footage next Monday during our media lesson and possibly lunch time. 

Digipak second initial draft

Second draft of digipak 

The above image presents the improved and more diverse footage of the artist. Straight away, I feel that the digipak now appears more engaging and there is a clear diversity shown via the style of the images as well the different types of camera angles used.

Editing

More editing 

In last week's media lesson we continued to make our music video more complete. This was done by inserting more footage so that blank spaces were filled and we added transitions between certain shots to ensure that the extract flowed well together. Hannah and myself both like the fade to black transition as it creates a eye-catching effect, whilst still remaining professional and appropriate. Furthermore, this particular transition allows the footage to blend well together, which is what we both aim for.

After viewing certain shots we discovered that they happened to be too long, therefore this resulted in us having to use the razor tool , which is on the programme, to crop down our footage to an ideal size. In addition, due to our music video containing some lip-syncing scenes, we had to face the challenges, which was getting the lip-syncing in time with the audio. This was significant due to us wanting our footage to look professional, and if our actor's mouthing was out of place then this could result in a loss of marks. However, after adding more footage, we were still faced with the issue of lack of footage. Therefore in the up-coming week off we aim to record some more shots then. 

Changing the digipak images

Re-taking the digipak photo's 

Due to not being fully pleased or engaged by the previous digipak photo's, I decided to capture some more footage of Mollie (model) so that I could create more diversity in the shots. The reason for this is also due to the previous shots being too similar and therefore I wanted to add more of a variety so that the digipak is more engaging and can help meet the desired representations and conventions. Therefore, the new footage which I decided to capture present's more shots of the environment via different angles, as well as shots which present the artist's costume, for example, I took a close-up shot of the model's trainers and jewelry. Therefore I will insert the new images onto Photoshop and make alterations to the exposure, contrast etc, and then I will aim to import them onto a separate Photoshop document, so that they can be positioned into the correct panel. 

Digipak- first inital draft

Digipak initial draft 

Digipak construction

Digipak construction 

In the image above, I have began to insert some of the images individually and position the correct footage in the right panel. This was done by creating multiple layers, so that I could layer the photo's over the top of digipak's template. In addition, by creating these layers, I was also able to position the artist and album's name over the top of the front panel's image. 

Once all the images were imported onto the software, I started to think about which image should feature in which panel, so that it could ensure that the best photo's featured in the most significant places. For example, the front and back panel. These are important due to the front presenting the artist's star image and therefore the audience must be able to identify the artist and the back will feature the full track list, therefore the text must have a space to feature within the frame, so that the text, as well as the image can be clearly viewed. 

Magazine advert- First initial draft

Magazine advert initial draft

    

Above is the first submitted draft of my magazine advert. The only difference between this draft and the previous ones is the colour of the font which reads; 'Kehlani' and 'Urban Emotion'. The reason for this change of colour was due to it being more basic and subtle, however, still standing out against the darker background. Furthermore, I also like how this colour is similar to colour of the model's hair, and therefore is more eye-catching and noticeable. 

Magazine advert- construction

 Magazine advert construction

Last Tuesday I had to choose an appropriate image to feature for the magazine advert. This involved in myself having to examine the shots in which were taken a couple of weeks ago and then which photo's would look more presentable. I therefore decided that it would be wise to use the same image that will be used for the digipak's front, as this would enable the audience to recognise the image and hopefully associate it with the album. In addition, after researching into other artist's and their music advertisement, I also noticed that using the same image for different types of advertisement was particularly common. 

Following this I uploaded the chosen image onto Adobe Photoshop C4, which is the software that will be used throughout the editing stage. This image can be seen below, however this is original shot pre-editing:

After uploading the image onto the software, I began to play around with the numerous effects and styles. Although, I soon came to the conclusion that I liked how the image looked originally, and felt that changing the brightness,contrast etc didn't do the shot any favours. The reason for this is due to the model being presented more in the sunlight, whilst the background has remained darker. This then results in the model to stand out more and therefore the audience's attention will be drawn to her.

I then decided to chose an appropriate font and colour which I felt related to the artist's genre and theme of the album. I then found an ideal serif font which was eye-catching and could be considered as playful and bubbly. This is how I am aiming to represent the artist as and therefore felt that this was the right style to choose. Following this I had to decide whereabouts the text should feature on the image; firstly I placed the artist's name in the top left window pannel and then the album's name in the top right, however then felt that this didn't look quite right. So I then decided that the artist's name should feature above the model and the name should feature at the bottom of the wall. Furthermore, I chose the colour pink as this is stereo-typically associated with femininity and passion, and I also felt that the background is fairly messy and scruffier, so therefore wanted to present the artist as still having a feminine side. 

Taking into consideration the convention's of a magazine advert, I felt that it was necessary to include some informative text that would provide the audience with more information about the album. For example the top text says;' The new album by', this bold, capitalised serif font is eye-catching and makes the audience aware of the new release. I also felt that making this text a different colour would also draw in more attention. Furthermore, the bottom text says; 'Featuring the no'1 hit 'gangsta' ', which is a popular song that is included on the album. This therefore has been included due to perhaps the audience already having an acknowledgment of the song and therefore could result in them being more encouraged to listen to the whole album. 

First initial edit

First draft

More filming

Filming more footage

Today Hannah and myself met up and captured more footage. The reason for this was due to us not having enough shots to include within the extract, therefore felt that it was ideal for us to utilise our time. Although, due to the other actors being unable to make the filming session, me and Hannah decided to just take different shots of each other, and then we will arrange to meet with the others as soon as everyone is available. 

After meeting around 1:00pm, we felt that a change of scenery would be appropriate for the music video and therefore decided to film in the army barracks in Toton. Furthermore, in music videos it is very common for the artist to be filmed in different settings/environments so we felt that this was significant for us to do.  In addition, during the filming we managed to capture numerous close up shots and lip-syncing scenes. These particular styled shots hadn't been captured in the previous filming session and therefore needed to be shot due to them contributing to the star image. 

Initial feedback

Audience feedback 

After uploading and organsing the footage onto Premier Pro, we then decided that it would be a good idea to collect some audience feedback. This was significant due to it allowing us to gain an understanding about what the audience liked about our first initial draft. Furthermore, this also enabled us to make sure that our editing was appropraite and that the footage was approved. 

Below is some feedback in which we recorded:
  

 

Starting to edit

Initial editing 

Last Monday we started to edit our captured footage. We decided that we wanted to at least upload the footage onto Adobe Premier Pro (the editing software) and then delte the unwanted shots, so that we could place the remaining footage in the correct order. However, due to not catching all of the footage required, we decided to play around with the different video transitions and the footage colour choices. 

This then resulted in us finding a red/pink colour

Filming day

Day of filming 

Hannah, myself and the actors met up at approximately 12:00 at the filming location. We chose this time as we were unsure as to how long it would take to capture the footage as well as extra shots, if necessary. Once we arrived Hannah and myself decided to set up the camera and assemble the tripod, whilst the actors made the finishing adjustment's to their costumes. Following this we ensured that there were no possible hazards, by refering back to our risk assessment sheet and made sure that the area was safe for us to use. Fortunately, we only had a few minor issue whilst filming, which was that the camera's battery went flat after an hour's use, although this problem was quickly resolved due to use bringing a spare battery. Also, after viewing our footage, in some shots, the lighting was fairly dark, due to it being a cloudy day. However, this can also be resolved during the editing stage, where we can improve the lighting to a higher standard, by altering the exposure and contrast.

Overall, we managed to stick to our filming schedule and finished packing up the equipment around 2:45pm. Although, we didn't mangage to capture all the required shots, therefore we aim to film again this week, when everybody is available.

Location revisit

Location (shots)- revisited 

We decided to revist our filming location so that we could discover an exact specific area to utilise. The reason for this was due to us having more time to take the particular photo's and therefore we could decide as to what area's would be most ideal for each individual shot and allowed us to be more organised for the filming day.

Below are some of the images we took: