Change of Plan!...

During filming we have been looking at our storyboard as a guideline although we have thought out some better ideas for some of the scenes. This has also occurred when editing as we found that we hadn't filmed enough footage, therefore we had to shuffle some scenes around in order to fit successfully and follow a minor storyline.

- We have not included the scenes at the train station, instead we have added in some POV shots ( http://nfgsannahigginson.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/pov-filming.html ) and some more scenes of Danny singing with the guitar. Think by doing this it will introduce the female better and more quicker in time for the chorus.
- We have still included a photo of the couple, although we have used a print out in which we can show it burning later on in the video - the print out is instead of the photo in the frame. Danny also takes it out of the bin instead from under the bed where the audience will see that the photo has been scrunched up out of anger and sorrow.
- Although we filmed Danny putting his coat on and tying his shoes up, we decided to not include these scenes as they took too long, wasted time and we didn't think they were necessarily needed.
- We were thinking of ending the video with Danny burning the photo of him and the girl, but we put this clip further back as we thought ending with sun shining through would be more appropriate.

Another change that we made was the actress playing the girl. As we were running out of time and it was hard to get hold of our original actress, we all decided that it would be more ideal to use a member of the group, therefore I, myself am playing the role of the female.

Magazine Advert Ideas & Conventions

For our magazine advert to look as professional and authentic as it could be our group decided that we need to incorporate the following into it; the title of the album, the image of the album, reviews, the Artists website, a design similar to the Album, links to purchases places, ratings, an image of the artist, CD logo and a selection of cross media platforms. These are the common features of all magazine adverts.

The common conventions of Indie Adverts are normally that they have the appearance of being designed with a vintage feel and artistically which overall tends to be quite simple but creative. I believe that an image such as a photo of the artist with a vintage tint would really show that it is from this genre, which is used mostly in Indie. There is often a link to the Artists website or their twitter accounts so they can be easily connected with the artist. 

The two types of magazine advert are either artist or album focused adverts; meaning as our artist is still not hugely well known and is still very independently run, our advert will be artist focused. Our advert must link with the Digi pack and relate to each other, at best they can.When choosing the right image, font and content for our magazine advert, it is important we include and take into account the content above.

Meeting 5/11/2013

Today we discussed the location, evaluation of our practice filming and updating our blogs with more gadgets/widgets to provide viewers with more satisfaction of our blogs.

Having already created a Twitter account for the media group, we were able to provide our blogs with a Twitter widget which updates and presents any tweets that have been made such as, about the progress of our music videos, and any inspirational tweets that we may retweet or comments we have made. On Twitter we have followed some artists that we think can relate to our chosen singer/songwriter, various artists include; Jason Mraz, Ben Howard, Ed Sheeran, John Mayer. Another few accounts that we think were worth following were Radio 1's Twitter profile and various DJs that are involved in that area. This gives us updates on our Twitter Feed of any new and upcoming music that we may be interested in and relate to Mike Dignam. In relation to Mike, we have followed him on Twitter which allows us to become updated on tour dates and any comments, personal updates from him that could link to our music video narrative.

In the lesson today, we also talked about the final location dates as all members of the media group were in the lesson. Locations finalised included, a Train Station (perhaps situated in Newport, Essex), a photo booth (although this could be known as a prop), a calm and collected forest type scene (perhaps a Bluebell woods or something similar). I think all these locations would be great when filming as they will give us some fantastic shots, also filming in Cambridge would be a good idea as it will give some great shots of the Urban environment in comparison to the natural/rural scenes of a forest.

Digi Pack Font Research

From research I have noticed that many Indie/Indie acoustic digi packs consist of a lot of capitals, or none at all which shows that a lot of Indie artists tend to go for an extreme approach of a particular style or provide a more laid back look to their genre but are never in the middle. The importance for the correct font to use on our digi pack is very high, so we need to think of the pro's and con's of each that we like to look of. The perfect font for our digi pack needs to match the genre and represent the personality slightly of the chosen artist. The chosen font also needs to be easy to read and simplistic, whilst also attracting the audience by being pleasing to the eye; below are some potential fonts, which resemble those criteria's.

Location Research

As we have decided that we will be filming the majority of our music video outdoors, we need to figure out where the most suitable and appropriate locations to film are. Although we've all decided that the scenes would suit sometimes in a bedroom and using props such as a bed due to the lyrics being interpreted as lying down. However I think as the narrator is heard as a male voice, the scenes would be shot in a typical males bedroom but with a mature style to it, perhaps with the aspect of music joining the style; such as cds lying about and a few guitars shown.

Another location I think would work well and look great would be a grassy common such as either Parkers Piece in Cambridge or one situated in Saffron Walden; all locations we can easily travel to to get some great shots. These locations will give us access to capture some long and spacious shots of the couple together or apart. Also as we are filming in the Autumn season, it would be good to capture some essence of that by using the different coloured leaves, such as the couple could be having a fight with the leaves, shown as a cliché relationship aspect.

After asking permission first, I was thinking of setting some of the scenes in some little cafes in a location like Saffron Walden; perhaps Starbucks or a cafe similar. Also we were thinking of using a photo booth as this would interest the audience with the cliche relationship and demonstrate some great shots of the couple such as using a match cut and a close up of the photos.

Cambridge City is another location which I feel would offer a great location for our music video. Being a stark contrast to the natural, rural scenes, the urban surroundings of Cambridge will allow us to portray the busy scenes after the break up of the couple compared to the quiet, natural locations when the couple were together. Cambridge, being a student city but with an array of historic buildings including the University of Cambridge itself, would offer some fantastic angles and unique locations which only this city could offer.

Indie Digipak Elements

From research and analysing various Indie digipaks, I have gathered together some conclusions of the elements that are used within their album covers.

CD Artwork Ideas...

I thought of some ideas for our CD artwork which could be possible options. From looking at a few, a plain background and text is a common micro-element on a CD, such as Ben Howard's album, where he has a black background with a simple white text. I think this could work well as it seems quite clear for the audience and simplistic.

I also thought of the idea of a naturalistic image as a background and a white text or a colour contrasting as the titles. Perhaps an image of the sun shining through the dark trees like the album cover of one of Kodaline's albums. I think this would look very creative and effective which would be a great idea to go for.

Storyboard Part II

23. 1:28- 1:33

24. 1:33- 1:39

25. 1:39- 1:47

26. 1:47- 1:50

27. 1:50- (fade in)

28. -1:56

29. 1:56- 2:02

30. 2:02- 2:13

31. 2:13- 2:26

32. 2:26- 2:38

33. 2:38- 2:44

34. 2:44- 2:49

35. 2:44- 3:01

36. 3:01- 3:08

37. 3:08- 3:10

38. 3:10- 3:22

39. 3:22-- ends in various split screens.

Overlay Test Run

Below shows our experimentation with the overlaying technique.

When editing on Final Cut Express, we attempted to overlap the both the scenes onto one another to give the effect of seeing the past and present in one shot. However whilst overlapping the images, the shots of the characters wasn't very clear, with a fuzzy, unrealistic feel to them. Therefore we decided to incorporate both the images together in the middle, although I am not sure whether this technique works well as I can easily notice the line in the middle where we split the scenes and joined them together. But I think if we keep the clip of the scenes with the overlay effect short but compelling as the audience will notice that the same character is in the shot twice.

Results Of Split Screen Test Run

To test whether the split screen idea works well with similar scenes to our music video narrative choice, we conducted a time to use the camera and film four different scenes. These include one showing the couple together, one when apart from each of them alone and one filler split screen which in our music video we intend to possibly show a performance scene such as a close up of a guitar. I think this idea works well especially the filler split screen as the listener's eyes are drawn to the close up although the split screen works effectively as the audience can choose a scene to lay their eyes on as they all tell part of the story. We chose the park to test this idea as it provides us with a playful experience as well as the natural scenery which is what we are aiming for in our music video.

Using this idea at the beginning of our music video would be a good choice to make I believe as it brings to the audience the interest of the video and draws them into the narrative of the music video.

Practice Filming Dates

Before we film our final idea of our music video, we intend to practice some of the techniques that are required for our final video such as the overlay and the split screen effects. On Wednesday 23rd of October, we have found a good time to experiment these filming techniques as we either have no lessons all day or only one in the morning. This practice will give us the knowledge and practice of how we will film and edit the real thing, also when filming the final product, the knowledge of how these filming techniques work will hopefully save time.

Final Idea For Our Music Video

Deciding on our final idea for our music video was a difficult decision to make, for example how and which effects we would use such as the god like figure (as explained previously http://nfgsannahigginson.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/god-figure-idea.html ) or we use the singer as one of the character in the relationship. However we decided to not use the singer as the omniscient narrator but use him as the main male character who is demonstrated through the relationship with the girl and through lip syncing. I think this approach will work well especially as we can use the effect of the overlay of scenes as the singer is shown in the past and the present of the narrative.

I created this Prezi myself to make it more clear as to how the storyline will develop throughout the music video and how the techniques used will evolve.

Split Screen Idea

Another idea that my group and I came up with from researching music videos, was the split screen idea. This involves a split screen throughout the video seeing a number of different perspectives, this may include shots of the location the narrative is based on or where the music video was filmed, personal views from the characters and for example, if a band performance, the camera identifies various views of the instruments used. The split screen is an effective technique to use as it provides the listener with a better view and understanding of the music video or narrative. I think this technique would suit our song choice as our song is about a love narrative, therefore the split screen could show the personal views from both the male and female in the relationship and what the after effects of the possible break up are.
Below show two examples where the split screen technique in music videos are used:

Daniel Powter - Bad Day

Daniel Powter's music video for 'Bad Day' invloves a similar narrative of a break up but explains the audiences questions of 'why', 'how' and the after effects through a few split screen. This allows the audience to see the cross cutting used but shown at the same time what the couple after the break up are doing with their lives. The split screen technique shows in the video about how the couple can't live the same happiness as to when they were together. Omniscience is also used in this video, as said on this blog previously, through the main singer describing the narrative by singing and lyrics as though it was him who went through this relationship break up and after effects. However he becomes a God figure as he's not the guy in the break up in the video he's singing as though the characters can't hear him.

Michael Jackson - Billie Jean

Michael Jackson's music video for 'Billie Jean' demonstrates a very simple but effective split screen approach by subtly using, for example lamposts to divide the scenes up in relation to the narrative. Although his genre isn't similar to our chosen song, the video identifies another way we could go about this idea. For instance we could find a lampost in a park and show both the sides of the story of the male and the female.

Overlay Technique

As a group, we have decided to attempt the overlay technique in our music video which we got inspiration from Olly Murs' music video for 'Dear Darlin', where he uses an identical location and overlays his image to therefore identify how him and his girlfriend acted when they were together and the good times they had. This was done with Olly in the room, sitting on the sofa whilst lip syncing. I really like this effect and I think it would work well with our music choice as its a similar narrative of looking back at the good times of the love story. In order to succeed with this idea, we would have to film it twice in the same location with the camera still running throughout the scene, then we would edit it on Final Cut Express and cut, overlay and alter the opacity of the image to make it subtle but effective. 




This technique is very common in Photography where the artist has used Photoshop to create an overlap of photos. An artist that specialises in this area, Ho Ryon Lee, demonstrates the texture of photography being used and reproduced which is defined as photorealism (photo-like picture), so he took several photos of a model standing in a specific pose; the photos are then composed together via photoshop, and Ho Ryon then paints his finalised product on canvas. 

Influencing Music Videos

Olly Murs - Dear Darlin'

As a group, we are interested in the effect that is used in Olly Murs music video for 'Dear Darlin' where he uses an identical location and overlays his image to therefore identify how him and his girlfriend acted when they were together and the good times they had. This was done with Olly in the room, sitting on the sofa whilst lip syncing. I really like this effect and I think it would work well with our music choice as its a similar narrative of looking back at the good times of the love story. In order to succeed with this idea, we would have to film it twice in the same location with the camera still running throughout the scene, then we would edit it on Final Cut Express and cut, overlay and alter the opacity of the image to make it subtle but effective.

Daughter - Still

I have selected this video for one of the music videos I am influenced by as it uses an interesting, subtle effect of including the artist's image being presented on the old fashioned TV in the flat/bedroom. Although it is a slightly different genre to our chosen song/artist, it demonstrates how we could have the artist lip syncing on the TV whilst the narrative is working around it but the song being used as diagetically. This effect is creatively used as it not only represents the artists image but presents a disturbing story around the TV. Another idea we liked in this music video was the telling of the story through some framed photos and the ways in which the couple act around each other, as though they don't notice one another.

Ben Howard - Keep Your Head Up

The reason I have chosen this video as another one I am influenced by for our music video is the fun aspect and the various, effective shots where the filter has been altered to create a warm effect as it's a happy and fun video. This video is cleverly made due to the interest of the water slide and how they have created the video using a range of effective shots to draw the listener into the music video and provide the most interest to the water slide. These shots include wormview shots where we can see the characters sliding down the water, it also looks as though the some of the characters have held the camera on their stomachs to capture a reaction shot of their faces and establish how much fun they are videoing this. Another shot is a birds-eye view of the water slide and the artists sliding down it. All these shots help make the video seem fun and all help to capture the listeners attention which is what we need to aim for. The video also looks as though it can be aimed at all ages as most people can relate to it and be inspired by it due to the creativity.

Ben Howard - Only Love

Although we mention Ben Howards music videos a lot on this blog, we really like the creativity he provides and how this attracts the viewers to watch more. In one of his other music videos 'Only Love', provides interest to the viewer due to the amount of different locations and shots, for instance we see Ben first riding his bike but looking from a low angle to capture not only the power but the sunlight shining through the trees to make the video more happy and enjoyable to watch. However then we jump to a shot of urban settings in which the cuts are in time with the beat of the song, including urban shots of a city allows the interest to build up in the audience as they want to know what city is being videoed and where Ben intends to end up at. I particularly like the high angled shots of the shadow of the bike as it shows a clear indication of what's happening at the beginning of the video and establishes the scene.

Devlopment of Planning

Development of Planning for the Video

Its clear through research and analysis of different videos, that certain shots, editing and types of mise-en-scene would suit our video perfectly. One of the ideas that came through recently was split screening, have the artist telling the story on one side and having the protagonist and the narrative on the other side. This has been used in a number of indie videos and they all use narrative as well. 

Another idea is to contrast Urban and Natural, by reflecting his feelings and the mood of the song. This is used in Jason Mraz's- I'm yours and it works well in showing the bad and good things in his life (Binary Opposition). 

Another idea that we have come up with for our video is a 'God figure', this has also been used in a number of genres and a countless number of videos. Daniel Powters 'Bad Day' is an example where the artist plays a godly figure and narrates the story. 'Divine intervention' is also a possibility as it would mean the godly figure has a part to play in the story and not just a narrative role. The 'godly figure' also works well with the split-screen as seen in the 'Bad Day' video.

God Figure Idea

Omniscience is known as a micro element for music videos/media; it means 'having total knowledge' of the situation, therefore in the scenes of a music video the omniscient narrator will know whats going on in the narrative and tell the story through lyrics.

One of the ideas my group and I had in mind for our music video was to use the effect of omniscience or a God like figure. The way in which we would use this in our video would be to have the singer as the narrator of the narrative but the characters involved would act as if he is not there.

An example of a music video where this is used is in Daniel Powter's 'Bad Day' where him the singer is the narrative of the love story.

One of the main features of the music video above that we liked the look of is the editing technique of a  cut between the narrative and the performance in the same location. This involved the singer and the characters on the same train but made the video seem as though the narrator was singing  non diagetically but to the audience's point of view they know the lyrics are relating to the couple and the situation.

In relation to our music video, we would like to include this aspect of Daniel Powter's video during the start of the song near lyrics of 'Go to sleep my love, I'll watch over us'. This will help introduce the idea of the narrator being separated from the narrative of the video but showing he has the knowledge of the story through the lyrics and use of lip syncing. 

Meeting 13/10/2013

In todays lesson we discussed about the different techniques we could use in our music video for 'I'll Lie Here' by Mike Dignam. We researched various music videos such as Daniel Powter's Bad Day where he uses a split screen effectively and presents the narrative through an omniscience where he is the narrator telling the story through lyrics.
We also talked about the genreal narrative of the music video where we concluded that it will be a typical indie love story with a stereotypical boy and a girl involved.

Early Ideas For Digipack

From research, I have gathered together some interesting ideas that I think would work and be appropriate for our chosen artist and genre for our Digipak. Considering our genre is generally Indie, we should look into the vintage feel and look for these products, therefore giving the digipak for example a filter over the image on the front cover.

Focusing on the Digipak, from basic research I have discovered that general Indie albums tend to not show the appearance of themselves on their front covers but show a pattern, natural scenery or objects relating to their music. As Indie music is quite different, strange and alternative, most digipaks of that genre are designed around the music. Some digipaks only feature the band name and do not have a title such as the Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand. Also Indie album are sometimes known to have the text on the front cover commonly written in a strange style which help make the digipak stand out and catch a potential customer's eye. Personally I think the digipak would look good with a faded image of the artist on the front cover, in order to do this we have to provide the camera with some filters and use the shift focus effect to make the photograph and artist less recognisable. Perhaps the artist could fade into the sun? -See Daughter's album.

Outdoors/ Guitar/ Urban-Natural

John Mayer's video, 'Queen of California' contains all three of these factors which we are interested in using within our video, we know we want to incorporate the outdoors and the guitar; an idea of binary opposition and a contrast of an urban-natural setting is an idea we liked. As you can see on this music video the guitar features at the start, and as he is walking through the streets it changes to walking through a forest; his outfit and accessories change throughout this also, which I found very exciting and fun.