Continuing my evaluation Q1 type up

This lesson I have continued to type my response or Q1 of my evaluation, I have began to talk about my advert and digipak as well as adding more details into how my video has been influenced.

Advert

This is my advert for Boulevard of Broken Dreams which i created on Photoshop. Currently it seems to be bare and basic, but it will soon be improved to a better standard.

Animatic

http://youtu.be/3VhLY0oeMTQ

This is the link to my animatic, which shows the storyboards i used when first drawing up ideas for my video, including what will happen on camera and what shots and editing techniques will be used. The video contains a small number of storyboards for a music video, but the video itself will contain more shots in between the storyboards shown, which will include establishing shots of the surrounding environment and shots of the actors etc.

Due to to the equipment i have use, i will not be able to create deep and shallow focus shots in my video, as the camera i have used, a Panasonic is not capable of altering it's focus in this way when filming, which means planned shots including these effects will not display that particular effect, or will be replaced with a new shot not shown on the storyboards.

As i have progressed in filming my video, I have had new ideas for my video and as a result of this I have strayed somewhat from my original plans shown in these storyboards. As some of my new ideas came to me during filming I have been unable to create new storyboards for the alternate shots present in my video

Beginning my evaluation

In preparation for answering question 1 of my evaluation i have began to type up a version that i will go on to answer in a video, as i feel this will be the most suitable way to get all i have to say across in the quickest time. In this question i will talk about my music video, digipak and advert and describe how these use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products.

Evaluation: Question 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWQM6cMXmlo&feature=youtu.be

Digipak Album cover

Options for CD designs

Above are some designs I've created for my CD. In order to create these I've edited my background image by altering the contrast, exposure and have altered the colour using the channel mixer. The three designs shown above are just provisional ideas and may not be used in my final design, as it's likely I'll to continue to edit and create more designs until i create one i find most suitable in correlation to the rest of my digipak design. At the moment i feel that the third design is the most suitable as it matches the theme of my digipak as well as the conventions of my selected genre. The image i have used for my CD design can be seen below.

Beginning my CD design

This lesson I have been creating the design for my CD that would be contained within my digipak using Photoshop. The design I have selected will be an image taken while out filming my music video, which shows a field trough parts of a bush that has shed it's leaves, leaving twigs, rising up trough the design

Continuing with editing

In todays lesson i have decided to take a break form creating my advert and digipak and have instead been adding additional footage to my music video that i have previously filmed. Some of this footage includes a bird flying alone midway through the video, a group of birds flying together at the end of the video as well as a low medium shot of the males feet as he walks past the camera plus various other shots. Adding this footage will ease pressure from completing it at a later date as i will have to film new footage and add it to the video close to the deadline as has been mentioned in a previous post.

Filming solution

In order to fix my problems with filming I have decided to postpone filming parts of my music video that will involve the female protagonist until she is well enough to film. Meanwhile I will focus on filming parts that involve the male protagonist as this will give me time to complete those parts of filming and fit them into my video. This will then make it easier to edit the later parts of the video featuring the female protagonist in place as soon as i have that footage in a couple weeks time. Leaving parts of filming to later will also give me more time later will also give me more time to create and edit my advert and digipak designs on Photoshop, therefore giving myself the opportunity to get them to as high a standard as possible.

Theory: Julian McDougall

• Julian McDougall (2009) suggests that in the online age it is getting harder to conceive a media audience as a stable, identifiable group.
• However - audiences still clearly make sense and give meaning to cultural products.
• An audience can be described as a "temporary collective" (McQuail, 1972)
• Key terms: Mass / niche and mainstream/ Alternative

Problems with filming

In the past two weeks i have encountered a huge problem in my filming process as the actress in my film has fallen ill and has been ill for quite some time, meaning that filming days i've had scheduled have had to be cancelled, leaving me with the problem of no longer being able to film parts of my video which feature the actress present in other parts of the video. To deal with this i will have to change my plans for large parts of my video meaning that it will now be very different to my original vision for the video, however some parts of film which were collected before my actress became ill will still be present in the video.

Costume planning

Costume planning from benchapman95

Adding lip sync to my music video

This lesson I've been adding lip sync footage to my music video. This has become an important aspect to my video as problems with filming and difficulties with the cast have become a problem. To combat these issues I feel that adding more lip sync footage from a studio setting is a good option as it is easier to film at this location and I only require my male character present or filming.

Using effects on digipak

I have been using photoshop in order to manipulate images that i plan to use on my digipak. For example today i have been used it to make the particular image above black and white. I plan to use black and white as a main theme for my album cover and i think that simply experimenting with different ways the black and white colour scheme can be used is a good starting point as i can find out which i think is most effective and suitable for my particular cover.

Work on digipak

In today's lesson I have began to work on my digipak design. In order to create it I will be using effects on an  image I took specifically to be used on my advert and digipak, meaning that I don't have to take a screenshot from my video or anything along those lines. I hope to use various effects such as changes in contrast and colour to create a black and white effect and add text over it to show what the advert is advertising.

Experimenting with effects

More progress with editing

Today i arrived at college earlier than usual in order to have more time to work on editing my video. I decided that this would give me a good opportunity to experiment with the various different effects available on Final Cut Pro and see which of these could effectively be added into my video. Upon adding new footage into my video i then decided to add some of the effects i've decided will be suitable, for example i have added the Bokeh Random effect to a clip of a studio light, giving the illusion that the light is having added glare to the camera while it was filmed.

Progress with editing

In todays lesson i have been adding new footage i have recently filmed last Sunday (16th of November) to my video. I filmed the bulk of my footage on that day and i will be using that footage as a template to identify any areas for improvement i may need and as a guide to which parts of my video need gaps filling in as well as reshoots that may be required. The screenshot show an image of my editing on Final Cut Pro along new footage ready to be added seen next to the libraries section.

Call sheets

Call sheet from benchapman95

Treatment sheet

Treatment sheet from benchapman95

Permission request

Mood board

Created with Padlet

Digipak research

Digipak research from benchapman95

Detailed video analysis

The Powerpoint embedded below gives a video analysis of Fallout Boy's rock cover of the popular song Beat It by Michael Jackson, in which the band adds their own style to the song while also paying tribute to Michael Jackson many times within the video. It also gives a analysis to Kings of Leon's Pyro, a video which contains a large amount of symbolism and uses various different techniques to set a dark atmosphere.

Detailed video analysis from benchapman95

Shot count

Greenday - Boulevard of Broken Dreams
The music video of this song contains around 187 different shots. The song however is not a very fast paced song so the high number of shots could be seen as a surprising number. the high number i justified however as the video depicts the band walking through various different areas, with many shots being required in order to show the constantly changing landscape to the audience, with the reactions of each ban member also being shown by more close up shots as well as medium close ups. We also see a large number of side of medium shots of the band members walking through various areas, as can be seen in the screenshots below. A large amount  of the shots come at parts of the song without lyrics when the band is shown playing the guitar and drums. At this time the shots change rapidly in split second intervals in which one could easily be missed if not paying close attention. These rapid changes are used at moments of high intensity of the song, whereas at times when the song is at a slower pace the shots last for durations of around two seconds on average. This video relates to the song as it depicts the band walking through many different areas while looking like they're lost and unfamiliar with what's around them, which relates to the song as it mainly sings about being alone in the world.

A2 portfolio link

http://g3242010.blogspot.co.uk/

What is genre?

Genre is a variation of a specific subject with it's own style differing from others. For example, within music, Rock is it's own genre, just as pop, classical, heavy metal, country and reggae are also different genres within music. Different genres can also have sub-genres which branch off and are similar from a genre, but also have their own unique twist to it, with classic rock and punk rock being examples of sub-genres in rock. Different genres can also be combine and mixed together, with a good example of this being a mix between poop and dubstep as this collaboration of genres is popular in todays music industry.

A2 progression link

http://hsfcprogression.blogspot.co.uk/

Detailed analysis of a music video using theory of Goodwin

Digipak analysis

Kings of Leon - Only by the Night

Only by the Night is an album released by American rock band Kings of Leon in 2009. The cover art features an unusual image, merging the faces of each member with the face of an eagle, the eyes and beak of which can be seen in the centre of the image. This image seemingly has no relation to the name of the album but does have a link to the colour scheme used, with darker colours being primarily used. The back of the album features the reverse side of the cover image and shows the back of an eagles head with no trace of the band members visible. This unusual choice of cover could help to attract its audience as its eye-catching and unique design could stand out above other album cover. The presence of an eagle on both the front and back of this album could appeal to an American audience in particular, as the bald eagle is a common symbol of freedom in the USA which is also a very patriotic country, therefore this could give this digipak more of an appeal to an American audience, but this is likely to not be considered by audiences in other countries, plus this design could just have appealed to the band, as well as having a link to the band as they them selves are American.

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The Script - Science & faith

In this digipak we see a picture of the band on the album cover instead of a piece of artwork which is common among other albums. In this one we seen a picture of the band upon a cardboard case, which will make the album instantly recognisable to fans, as it shows who the album is by, which is confirmed by the bands name in white text, located in the top right hand side of the album. The name of the album "Science and Faith" can be found just under the band name in very small text, which could cause people to have to come and get a closer look at the album if they want to know what it's called. Inside the digipak we find a disc with artwork of an atom on in. This is relative as it can be linked to the "science" in the albums name and makes for an interesting design. Inside the cardboard case a plastic container which holds the disc can be found. This case has a different cover design to the cardboard case it is held in and show two images. On the  front of the case we can see two hands holding one another, and on the back we see a different image of two hands palm to palm. This relates to the "faith" part of the album's title, as the hands could possibly be depicted as belonging to two people that have faith in one another. The background on these images is the same on each, with what seems to resemble old and aging paper, which gives the album a more serious and mature feel to it, possibly resembling the nature of the band. At the back of the album we can see the barcode tucked away in the bottom left corner, as to not obstruct the image of the hands, which is also joined by what looks like a playlist in the top right corner, which will show the audience what songs are on the disc without using any excess material which could be found inside the case instead.

9 frame analysis

My Chemical Romance - Teenagers:

 In the very first frame of the music video of Teenagers by My Chemical Romance we see a shaky medium shot of the band from side on, with this effect giving the impression that somebody i recording their performance with a hand held device. This shot lasts for a total of 7 seconds and the camera moves continuously throughout before eventually stabilising to show the lead singer of the and as he begins to sing towards the end of the 7 second period.

In this second shot we see a group of cheerleaders positioned behind the band as they begin to play for a period of only a few seconds before the shot changes again. In this short time however we see the cheerleaders crouched down and two of them stood up facing the opposite direction, suggesting that they are taking part in the band's performance and are waiting for their queue to begin cheerleading as the band plays. These teenagers are relevant to the song as being a cheerleader is a popular activity among teenage school girls, particularly in the USA, therefore their presence puts emphasis on the songs title and the overall setting of the video as it soon becomes clear that this is all taking place within a high school.





In this next frame we see a medium shot of one of the band members playing a guitar. Behind him we can see the word "Teenagers" in large black text upon a red wall. This is relevant for the obvious reason that Teenagers is also the name of the song that the band is performing. Behind him we can also see a speaker which his guitar could also be connected to in order to create a larger sound overall which helps to show that the band is giving a performance to a larger audience. This is also supported by the lights that are visible behind him which lights up the stage.

In this establishing shot we can see a full view of what is an empty school hall, showing that My Chemical Romance are acting as a band of teenagers in a high school which shows a relation to the song title, as a school is a typical place that teenagers are associated with. The dark colour scheme of the room, consisting of mainly black and red gives a reflection to My Chemical Romance's brand of rock, as dark settings are a common theme within their videos.

In this shot we see a close up shot of the face of the lead singer looking into the camera as he sings, giving him a direct connection to the audience. This also gives the feel that relates back to the first shot, as the first shot appeared as though somebody on stage with them as filming them from the sidelines, meaning that if that person was to move in front of the band as they played, the lead singer may choose to look into the camera as he sings.The lead singer shown here also has a youthful look about him, making it easier for him to act as a teenager playing at a school.

In this shot we see a close up shot of a door with somebody behind it trying to push it open with a lock and chain stopping it from doing so. This is soon shown to be a group of students breaking through the hall where the band is playing, this could be used as a representation of the rebelliousness that can be a trait of many teenagers as they are breaking into an area that they shouldn't be in since the door was locked shut One of the songs apparent meanings is that teenagers can have a reputation of being something to be feared by older generations, so this shot could also serve as symbolism of teenagers conforming to this by breaking the rules.

In this shot we see students running through a corridor within a school, showing a disregard for rules once again in teenagers as it is a common policy in schools that running in corridors isn't allowed, this also goes too pretty much confirm that the music video is taking place in a school as the halls are full of teenage students and the walls are lined with student lockers.



Shortly after this we see medium shot of students seated in the once empty hall, watching the band play with their facial expressions showing that they seem to be bored and uninterested. This links with the stereotype that teenagers are miserable, with the medium shot being very effective at showing this as it gives a good view of many of the students with their facial expressions still visible, all of them looking bored with a complete lack of interest of what is going on.









In his shot we see the cheerleaders performing behind the band now wearing gas masks, an item which can be seen as a trademark of My Chemical Romance as they feature in more than one of the bands music video, with Welcome to the Black Parade being another example of the bands use of it as a prop in their videos. This serves to give the video more of a personal spin on the video,as well as also being relevant to the song, as teenagers are people that some are fearful of, just as some people find gas masks frightning

Advert analysis

For my advert analysis i'm using this album cover of Gorillaz Plastic Beach that a found in a magazine. The cover pictured above was located at the top of the advert with the words "THE NEW ALBUM OUT NOW" located just below this image in large white font with a black background behind it, making the text clear to readers. This clear and large text is used to grab the attention of readers and make it clear that the advert's main objective is to advertise the release of this particular album. The words "OUT NOW" are in a larger size font than the words "THE NEW ALBUM" and located just below these words in a slightly bolder font, giving an even clearer indication that the album is now on sale. Just below this in a much smaller font are details of the band's official site, encouraging people to find out more by visiting this site which will most likely contain more information on the album as well as additional information on the band, which could help to create new fans of the group, increasing the bands popularity. The advert features an image of the album cover, giving practically no information on  the contents of the album meaning that no information is given away, leaving the audience to have to purchase the album if they want to find out what is on the album itself. As well as this, the lack of information could prompt anyone curious about the album to visit the website also featured in order to investigate and find out more.

This is an advertisement for singles and an album by Greenday. At the top of the advert we see the band name in large, clear, white writing on the right hand side of an image of the bands lead singer, a face that will be easily recognised by the bands fan base. These two combine to instantly grab the attention of it's audience as it is made clear that this advert is related to Greenday. Beneath this is the name of the song "When September Ends" which is the main feature of the advertisement and has been placed in that position in order to hold a prominent place in the advert, most likely so that it is the next thing t grab the attention of the viewer after they see he band name. Below this we see the bottom section of the advert split in half, with one side being focused on advertising the new single while the other side advertises the album American Idiot. This is a clever technique as it raises awareness  of both of these releases by the band, meaning that two separate adverts don't need to be released as they have been combined into one. In the section advertising the album we see a picture of the album hat the band have released, meaning that fans know what to look for i they want o buy their album. The text in these sections alternates between white and red, with the red emphasising the more important aspects of the advert. for example, this technique is used to make it clear to viewers that the new single being advertised at the left side of the advert is now available on the album.

Photohop task

Black & white effect

This is the finished product of the black and white Photoshop tutorial. I completed multiple Photoshop tutorials in order to get a better idea of how Photoshop works and how it can be used, as i have very little experience of using it until now. In completing this specific task, i aimed to take an item in an image, and alter the background colour around it so that everything but my selected item is in black and white, with my selected image still retaining it's full colour, making it stand out over everything else. In this case i decided to alter a football upon a background of grass, as the simple circular shape of the ball made it very easy to select using the quick select tool, making the process as a whole quick to complete.

I began this task by opening a saved image of the football into Photoshop and selected the football using the quick select tool, as can be seen here. The dotted outline around the football indicates that i've selected it.

After doing this, i then selected "inverse" in the select menu in order to swap my selection from the football to the area surrounding it. My selection of "inverse"can be seen on the top left side of the following screenshot.

After then i then selected the black and white feature to turn the selected background black and white while leaving the football that i first selected it's original colour as can be seen below.

This left me with the complete product of this process which can be seen below. This task was simple to complete and didn't take long to finish, i came across only one issue in creating this effect, as when i tried to select the football using the quick select tool, it also picked up small parts of the background which i didn't want. To fix this i used the lasso tool to select the parts of the background which had been accidentally selected by the quick select tool. This worked by circling these unwanted areas and then using the same process i used on the rest of the background in order to tun it black and white as desired.

Blur effect

This is the finished product of the second Photoshop technique i attempted. With this image i decided to create a blur effect which would be applied to an image of an image of a Formula 1 race car, as they are associated with speed which could be affectively amplified by the blur effect. I began by turning the image into a smart image, which would allow me to add the effect in the way see fit.

After successfully converting my image to a smart image, i went into the the filter menu where i selected the blur, which opened a secondary menu in which i selected radial blur, as can be seen below

Adding the radial blur turned the entire image into a blur which i didn't really want, but this was easily fixed by changing the setting of the radial blur. I did this by changing the setting of the blur from spin to zoom and changing the quality from good, to best, altering the style of the blur that i created to one that better suits the image of the F1 car, as it added a tone that gave off a feel that made the car look like it was travelling at a fast speed, this effect can be seen here.

This isn't the final image that i as looking for however, as i felt that having a clearer image of the car while still retaining the radial blur would be more suitable. To do this i applied a smart filter to the image which i set to black and white, which would allow me to select part of the image that isn't affected by the radial blur, therefore drawing attention to that section and giving the image a more desirable effect.

Seen below is the final product of my radial blur editing on Photoshop, which has the smart filter effect in place around the center of the car, leaving the central areas of it and the driver unaffected by the blur, while the outside of the car and the background still have the radial blur effect in place. This edit leaves a very good effect , especially in relation to the image i used, as it indicates that the F1 car is travelling at a high speed. This edit was quick and easy to create and i completed it without ay difficulty.

Lip sync task

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taSmtC70Piw

This is the video that i created for the lip sync task. My partner and i decided that we would add an element of humour to our video and therefore chose Whole New World from Disney's Aladdin as the song that we would be lip syncing to, as this song could easily have comedy twists added to it. The song was also simple to sync with as it's lyrics are clear and easy to understand, making the lip sync look more authentic as the slower tempo of the song means our mouth movements can easily be kept in time with the music when filming.during filming we used only medium shots and a close up shot as any  shots taken from further out wouldn't be suitable for the lip sync and using these shots meant that we were able to clearly show our mouth movements to the song as well as our actions. We added our humour in by using clips of us lip syncing on a toilet, as well as gripping onto a tree in an inelegant way and using a hoodie to imitate long hair, mocking the usual custom of romance and grace associated with   the song we selected. After filming was complete, we used Final Cut to arrange our clips and edit the music into it. Although the music can be heard playing during our clips as we mimed along to it, we edited the son in over our clips in order to make it seem more realistic and n time with our mouth movements, as well as making the music heard in the final product clearer to the viewer, while also making our video more professional. When using Final Cut we used a marking technique in order to edit our video to be in time with the music. Marking allowed us to precisely move our video by just a single frame at a time to make sure that our lip syncing in the final product was as precise as possible and give a better illusion that we were singing the songs ourselves. After filming was complete we uploaded to Youtube so that anyone may see it.

A2 Brief

Get Ahead at A2

A2 Brief 2013

1. A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with:

• a digipak for the album’s release;

• a magazine advertisement for the digipak.