Thursday, May 13, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
The Script
0:00 - We decided to turn the video black and white in channel mixer with a tint of blue. We did this to enhance the coldness of the video. This was also inspired by a music video by the Arctic Monkeys ‘A view from the afternoon’ which we found on Youtube.
0:06 - The set up of the opening was inspired by other indie/alternative bands music videos such as Blur’s video of ‘song 2’. We researched these videos on Youtube. We wanted to show that they are an organic band.
0:22 - We edited on Final Cut Pro where we were able to digitise our footage. We chose our favourite performance track and laid it down on to the timeline and then cut in to it with footage. We did this because it gave us a basis from which to build the performance elements.
0:39 - The snow looks like a digital effect but is not. We hired in a snow machine to get the authentic look we wanted. The snow is a symbol of the male characters emotions, showing he is alone and cold even in the comfort of a wealthy house.
0:55 - We blended some of the shots together in Final Cut Pro to connect the narrative with the performance elements. We layered different shots on final cut pro timeline and then used the overlay tool to create superimposition. We went through the different blending options and chose the one that was most effective.
1:08 - We speeded up the shot of the clouds in the council estate in Final Cut Pro. This was again to work with the narrative, as the narrative is based on the lyrics to the song. ‘You haven’t got the time to remember how it was’. We did this by adjusting the duration of the shot so that it was faster.
1:24 - The performance shots were inspired by the shots used in one of the Arctic Monkeys ‘A view from the afternoon’ videos we found on Youtube. We used this video for inspiration because the Arctic Monkeys are an organic band and this is how we wanted to portray our band. We also wanted to create an artistic looking shot to connect with our target audience which would be people interested in the arts.
We wanted a wider audience and to do this we used social networking sites such as; Facebook and Youtube. We embedded our video onto Facebook so that our target audience of teens could respond to it. This worked well and we found our video embedded on other social networking sites and being watched in other countries around the world such as; Germany, America and Italy. This is equivalent to a form of viral marketing as the video was circulated around the web for free.
2:06 - We created breath for this shot firstly by using a smoke machine and then an aerosol can as the smoke machine didn’t create a realistic look. We then digitised the breath footage and edited it in after effects to motion track the shot to place the breath near his mouth as he was walking through the shot. We had this effect to reinforce the coldness of this house in contrast to the council estate.
2:36 - This style of editing was to again connect the boy and girl. Using Final Cut Pro timeline, it was easy to cut together quick shots to create a series of graphic matches in which they were both in the centre of the screen, as if they were walking towards each other.
We had to cut this song to fit it in to three minutes. In order to create the radio edited version of the song we felt three minutes was the ideal length. We cut our song on Wavepad. We decided we did not want many of the lyrics taken away so we mainly cut the beginning of the song and other instrumentals.
3:03 - We edited it so that the cuts were really quick at the end to reach the climax. We wanted the shots to build up with the song and create that visual impact we wanted.
0:06 - The set up of the opening was inspired by other indie/alternative bands music videos such as Blur’s video of ‘song 2’. We researched these videos on Youtube. We wanted to show that they are an organic band.
0:22 - We edited on Final Cut Pro where we were able to digitise our footage. We chose our favourite performance track and laid it down on to the timeline and then cut in to it with footage. We did this because it gave us a basis from which to build the performance elements.
0:39 - The snow looks like a digital effect but is not. We hired in a snow machine to get the authentic look we wanted. The snow is a symbol of the male characters emotions, showing he is alone and cold even in the comfort of a wealthy house.
0:55 - We blended some of the shots together in Final Cut Pro to connect the narrative with the performance elements. We layered different shots on final cut pro timeline and then used the overlay tool to create superimposition. We went through the different blending options and chose the one that was most effective.
1:08 - We speeded up the shot of the clouds in the council estate in Final Cut Pro. This was again to work with the narrative, as the narrative is based on the lyrics to the song. ‘You haven’t got the time to remember how it was’. We did this by adjusting the duration of the shot so that it was faster.
1:24 - The performance shots were inspired by the shots used in one of the Arctic Monkeys ‘A view from the afternoon’ videos we found on Youtube. We used this video for inspiration because the Arctic Monkeys are an organic band and this is how we wanted to portray our band. We also wanted to create an artistic looking shot to connect with our target audience which would be people interested in the arts.
We wanted a wider audience and to do this we used social networking sites such as; Facebook and Youtube. We embedded our video onto Facebook so that our target audience of teens could respond to it. This worked well and we found our video embedded on other social networking sites and being watched in other countries around the world such as; Germany, America and Italy. This is equivalent to a form of viral marketing as the video was circulated around the web for free.
2:06 - We created breath for this shot firstly by using a smoke machine and then an aerosol can as the smoke machine didn’t create a realistic look. We then digitised the breath footage and edited it in after effects to motion track the shot to place the breath near his mouth as he was walking through the shot. We had this effect to reinforce the coldness of this house in contrast to the council estate.
2:36 - This style of editing was to again connect the boy and girl. Using Final Cut Pro timeline, it was easy to cut together quick shots to create a series of graphic matches in which they were both in the centre of the screen, as if they were walking towards each other.
We had to cut this song to fit it in to three minutes. In order to create the radio edited version of the song we felt three minutes was the ideal length. We cut our song on Wavepad. We decided we did not want many of the lyrics taken away so we mainly cut the beginning of the song and other instrumentals.
3:03 - We edited it so that the cuts were really quick at the end to reach the climax. We wanted the shots to build up with the song and create that visual impact we wanted.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Task 3:
What have you learned from the audience feedback?
We used five different techniques to research are audience feedback. These techniques were: selective screening, focus group, questionnaires, Youtube and Facebook.
Bellow our two examples of the comments we got back from our Youtube upload. ‘The Black and White of the video adds an overall style that suits the video and attracts the viewer to watch the content and not get distracted. The close up shots of the symbols and the lead singer are really effective and the snow adds mood and atmosphere to the video as a whole. Sometimes the narrative of the video was unclear and it almost looks like the girl is walking towards him rather than away but overall the video is very well done.”
‘This video is exciting and interesting it keeps you involved and wanting to now what’s happens next. The use of black and white is also a very clever effect especially with the snow. This creates a very dead no contrast feel, very much the same as what’s happened to the relationship of the main characters in the video.”
It was really good to get comments back from our target audience (teenagers) because it made us realize some of what we did really worked it also pointed out what was wrong with our video. From these comments I realized that to the audience the narrative could seam a bit confusing, which I can understand. However we did not want to create a cliché narrative and did not want to distract the audience’s eye from the performance elements.
From Youtube we were also able to see where are viewers were from around the world. We were able to go on the insight statistics of our video. These statistics showed us how many people had watched our video and showed a graph of when our video was most watched. We were also able to see the sources of our views, which were from; Youtube channel page player, related videos, embedded player, external links, Youtube search, Youtube other, mobile devices, Youtube subscription modules and viral/other. Out of all of these sources the majority of viewers watched it via the Youtube channel player page. Finally from the insight statistics we were able to see where around the world our video was being watched. There were five different places; United Kingdom, New Zealand, Germany, Hong Kong and Canada.
To learn more about our audience feedback we created a questionnaire about our video and then asked it to a focus group. I felt it was a good exercise to do but I did not think the focus group gave us as much feedback as we wanted. Bellow are the questions and answers we got from the focus group.
We firstly asked what they thought the strengths and weaknesses in our video were? They felt that the black and white made it look more professional. This was because everyone else’s video had been done in colour, so it made ours stand out. They also felt that the snow added to it and made it interesting. They also liked the way the snow represented coldness and showed that the lead singer had lost feeling. The variety of locations helped them keep interest in the video, as there was a lot to look at. They finally said that the blending modes made the video seam of a higher quality. The blending modes made the video seam a higher quality. These were the strengths and then the weaknesses were that there were not enough hand held shots, therefore lacking in movement.
Our second question was; which character do you form the biggest bond with and why? The majority of the focus said that it was the lead singer that they bonded with most and that this was because of the amount of shots of him and how many close ups there were of him. One person in the focus group said that they bonded most with the lead girl. This was because her role raised questions.
Our third question was; what does the black and white mean to you? The response was good, as they all liked the black and white and said it played well with the narrative and lyrics to the song.
Our forth question was; do you think the style of song works with the style of the video (cuts, editing, mise en scene)? We did not get much of a response for this question other then them saying that it did work.
Our final question was; what do you feel about the narrative? The response was good to this question as they all seamed to understand the narrative well. They understood that the lead singer and the lead girl had broken up and that the lead singer was upset about it. They also understood that these two characters are contrasts towards each other in the fact that he is cold and she is not.
After taking in all of the audience feedback we then discussed what we thought were are own strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths: The organic feel you get from the band, the simplicity of the video. Sometimes with videos more is less, we wanted our audience to be able to be taken on a trip when watching our video rather then forced. We didn’t want it to be to ‘in your face’ but still memorable, I also rather enjoyed the fact that the narrative was a little confusing because it made you want to work out what was going to happen, whether the tow characters would end up together or not, I thought that the black and white really helped to make our video stand out. It also I think worked well with the song and the narrative.
Weaknesses: I think that we should have used more movement shots to add to the video, I also think that the blending modes all though worked very well to connect characters it was a bit hard to see what was happening in the behind layer, I also feel that the location where it is snowing we should have made more of because it was such an original concept.
Preferred Readings:
The narrative of the video is all about a love story, which we got from the lyrics. It is all about a break up between the lead male and lead female actors. There is a strong element of class through out the video that is portrayed through the three different locations. The male actor is set in a big wealthy looking house where as the female actor is set in a council estate. We did this to contrast their feelings and backgrounds. There is also a strong element of weather, which again portrays the two lead characters feelings. The snowing for example shows how the male actor is feeling, as he is cold and alone. Which is a contrast towards the female actor, which is feeling warm and comfortable. We turned the video black and white to add to this romantic atmosphere through out the video. We also wanted to make the video stand out and be more unique. The location for the band was a damp room; this was to make it clear the band was organic, and also to work with the narrative.
Negotiated Readings: Organic band. Black and white created a melancholy atmosphere. The big house had symbolic value to show the boys loneliness. The snow makes it look as if the roof is deteriorating which is mirroring their relationship. Make the connection between the lead singer and the male actor with the blending layers. The shots of the estate make it look more professional. Pathetic fallacy of a mistake or error the environment reflects the emotional state of the characters with in it. Contrast in outfits, him wrapped up in a coat her in a t-shirt. Audience character proximity lead singer walks towards the character. Shows his emotion when he pushes the microphone over.
Oppositional Readings: Instability with the movement of camera. Spontaneity, unplanned documentary helps with the organic band feel. The style is generic linked to a specific type of music. The flower wallpaper adds to the romance, tells the audience exactly where they are, contrast against the concrete in the estate, the estate is harsh which is a contrast to the soft flowery wallpaper. He's like a memory when using the blending layers, looking back to the past also with the black and white. In black and white it is quite hard to see the behind images when using the blending layers. The lead female is walking away from his happiness away from the light. The cold breathe looked to perfect when the lead singer is walking through the house and so it looks a bit fake. We don't know whether it's her memory or his when the blending of layers happens on them walking in the same direction. As the lead female is walking around the estate she walks past a pram suggesting she is think about family life. Blending layers with the drummer and the snow in the background is really unclear to what's happening.
We used five different techniques to research are audience feedback. These techniques were: selective screening, focus group, questionnaires, Youtube and Facebook.
Bellow our two examples of the comments we got back from our Youtube upload. ‘The Black and White of the video adds an overall style that suits the video and attracts the viewer to watch the content and not get distracted. The close up shots of the symbols and the lead singer are really effective and the snow adds mood and atmosphere to the video as a whole. Sometimes the narrative of the video was unclear and it almost looks like the girl is walking towards him rather than away but overall the video is very well done.”
‘This video is exciting and interesting it keeps you involved and wanting to now what’s happens next. The use of black and white is also a very clever effect especially with the snow. This creates a very dead no contrast feel, very much the same as what’s happened to the relationship of the main characters in the video.”
It was really good to get comments back from our target audience (teenagers) because it made us realize some of what we did really worked it also pointed out what was wrong with our video. From these comments I realized that to the audience the narrative could seam a bit confusing, which I can understand. However we did not want to create a cliché narrative and did not want to distract the audience’s eye from the performance elements.
From Youtube we were also able to see where are viewers were from around the world. We were able to go on the insight statistics of our video. These statistics showed us how many people had watched our video and showed a graph of when our video was most watched. We were also able to see the sources of our views, which were from; Youtube channel page player, related videos, embedded player, external links, Youtube search, Youtube other, mobile devices, Youtube subscription modules and viral/other. Out of all of these sources the majority of viewers watched it via the Youtube channel player page. Finally from the insight statistics we were able to see where around the world our video was being watched. There were five different places; United Kingdom, New Zealand, Germany, Hong Kong and Canada.
To learn more about our audience feedback we created a questionnaire about our video and then asked it to a focus group. I felt it was a good exercise to do but I did not think the focus group gave us as much feedback as we wanted. Bellow are the questions and answers we got from the focus group.
We firstly asked what they thought the strengths and weaknesses in our video were? They felt that the black and white made it look more professional. This was because everyone else’s video had been done in colour, so it made ours stand out. They also felt that the snow added to it and made it interesting. They also liked the way the snow represented coldness and showed that the lead singer had lost feeling. The variety of locations helped them keep interest in the video, as there was a lot to look at. They finally said that the blending modes made the video seam of a higher quality. The blending modes made the video seam a higher quality. These were the strengths and then the weaknesses were that there were not enough hand held shots, therefore lacking in movement.
Our second question was; which character do you form the biggest bond with and why? The majority of the focus said that it was the lead singer that they bonded with most and that this was because of the amount of shots of him and how many close ups there were of him. One person in the focus group said that they bonded most with the lead girl. This was because her role raised questions.
Our third question was; what does the black and white mean to you? The response was good, as they all liked the black and white and said it played well with the narrative and lyrics to the song.
Our forth question was; do you think the style of song works with the style of the video (cuts, editing, mise en scene)? We did not get much of a response for this question other then them saying that it did work.
Our final question was; what do you feel about the narrative? The response was good to this question as they all seamed to understand the narrative well. They understood that the lead singer and the lead girl had broken up and that the lead singer was upset about it. They also understood that these two characters are contrasts towards each other in the fact that he is cold and she is not.
After taking in all of the audience feedback we then discussed what we thought were are own strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths: The organic feel you get from the band, the simplicity of the video. Sometimes with videos more is less, we wanted our audience to be able to be taken on a trip when watching our video rather then forced. We didn’t want it to be to ‘in your face’ but still memorable, I also rather enjoyed the fact that the narrative was a little confusing because it made you want to work out what was going to happen, whether the tow characters would end up together or not, I thought that the black and white really helped to make our video stand out. It also I think worked well with the song and the narrative.
Weaknesses: I think that we should have used more movement shots to add to the video, I also think that the blending modes all though worked very well to connect characters it was a bit hard to see what was happening in the behind layer, I also feel that the location where it is snowing we should have made more of because it was such an original concept.
Preferred Readings:
The narrative of the video is all about a love story, which we got from the lyrics. It is all about a break up between the lead male and lead female actors. There is a strong element of class through out the video that is portrayed through the three different locations. The male actor is set in a big wealthy looking house where as the female actor is set in a council estate. We did this to contrast their feelings and backgrounds. There is also a strong element of weather, which again portrays the two lead characters feelings. The snowing for example shows how the male actor is feeling, as he is cold and alone. Which is a contrast towards the female actor, which is feeling warm and comfortable. We turned the video black and white to add to this romantic atmosphere through out the video. We also wanted to make the video stand out and be more unique. The location for the band was a damp room; this was to make it clear the band was organic, and also to work with the narrative.
Negotiated Readings: Organic band. Black and white created a melancholy atmosphere. The big house had symbolic value to show the boys loneliness. The snow makes it look as if the roof is deteriorating which is mirroring their relationship. Make the connection between the lead singer and the male actor with the blending layers. The shots of the estate make it look more professional. Pathetic fallacy of a mistake or error the environment reflects the emotional state of the characters with in it. Contrast in outfits, him wrapped up in a coat her in a t-shirt. Audience character proximity lead singer walks towards the character. Shows his emotion when he pushes the microphone over.
Oppositional Readings: Instability with the movement of camera. Spontaneity, unplanned documentary helps with the organic band feel. The style is generic linked to a specific type of music. The flower wallpaper adds to the romance, tells the audience exactly where they are, contrast against the concrete in the estate, the estate is harsh which is a contrast to the soft flowery wallpaper. He's like a memory when using the blending layers, looking back to the past also with the black and white. In black and white it is quite hard to see the behind images when using the blending layers. The lead female is walking away from his happiness away from the light. The cold breathe looked to perfect when the lead singer is walking through the house and so it looks a bit fake. We don't know whether it's her memory or his when the blending of layers happens on them walking in the same direction. As the lead female is walking around the estate she walks past a pram suggesting she is think about family life. Blending layers with the drummer and the snow in the background is really unclear to what's happening.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Task 2:
Bellow is a slideshow i created in response to the task two question 'How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?'.
Task 2 Powerpoint Presentation:
View more presentations from hurtwoodhousemedia.
Task 1: In what ways do your media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
1. Establishing shot of the band: This shot is used to introduce the band to the audience. Through this shot the style of the band, the atmosphere of the video and the location it is set in is shown. This shot is mainly about ‘the image’ what style the band is wearing and what they look like all together as a band. It also introduces the audience to our first location whish is a tattered room. All though it is a rather large room the wall paper is damp and ripped. We did this so it was in between the other two locations as in wealth. It separates the narrative from the performance elements.
2. Establishing shot of the second location: This shot is created for the narrative. It is one of the opening shots of the second location. Through this shot it is shown where this character is, which is in a grand house suggesting this character is wealthy. However this house is also empty suggesting he is very alone. This sequence is created to contrast the female character in the council estate. We used a snow machine to enhance the narrative to help put across his emotions being; cold and alone.
3. Specific casting: When casting for this music video we wanted to cast a good looking band to appeal to the female audience. We also wanted them to all look like they fitted together. We made sure that they were all in the same are range. The band create a specific image for the audience. We tried to choose a mature looking cast because it helps to create a sophistication. We want our audience to look up to them and believe they are experienced so it makes it seem as if what they are singing about is true.
4. Use of merging images to link: This shot we decided to use the blending layers tool. We used this tool to connect certain aspects of the video such as, the two characters, the characters and the performance elements. It was a good way to combine things we needed in one shot all together. We wanted the music video to not only have a narrative but also have a strong bulk of performance elements. This is so that our music video can relate to a larger target audience. As this music video is directed at teenagers of both sexes and it has a romantic narrative we wanted the male sex to be able to connect with it more.
5. Establishing shot of the third location: This is the establishing shot of the council estate (Goodwyns estate). This is a contrasting location to the second location of the grand house (Leith Hill Place). We are not representing the estate in a bad way but actually in a good way, because we are saying that you can have all the money in the world and still be alone because it is the people around you that make the difference. We were unable to use shots inside the estate but only exterior shots. However this was not an issue as we still put across the point we needed to. This is a technique used in professional music videos. Where they set the band in an urban location, this is so the audience are able to relate with them better.
6. Character and Narrative link: We again used the blending tool to create this shot to connect the two lead characters. We decided to use this method of merging to shots when we wanted to connect the two characters more obviously. It is also symbolic in the way that he is fading into her; she has got control over him. This tool backs up the narrative and makes it clear to are audience that they are connected. We also wanted it to add some romance to the shot in the way they are both walking in the same direction and they seem so close to each other but are actually so far apart from each other.
The CD Cover:
The Poster:
2. Establishing shot of the second location: This shot is created for the narrative. It is one of the opening shots of the second location. Through this shot it is shown where this character is, which is in a grand house suggesting this character is wealthy. However this house is also empty suggesting he is very alone. This sequence is created to contrast the female character in the council estate. We used a snow machine to enhance the narrative to help put across his emotions being; cold and alone.
3. Specific casting: When casting for this music video we wanted to cast a good looking band to appeal to the female audience. We also wanted them to all look like they fitted together. We made sure that they were all in the same are range. The band create a specific image for the audience. We tried to choose a mature looking cast because it helps to create a sophistication. We want our audience to look up to them and believe they are experienced so it makes it seem as if what they are singing about is true.
4. Use of merging images to link: This shot we decided to use the blending layers tool. We used this tool to connect certain aspects of the video such as, the two characters, the characters and the performance elements. It was a good way to combine things we needed in one shot all together. We wanted the music video to not only have a narrative but also have a strong bulk of performance elements. This is so that our music video can relate to a larger target audience. As this music video is directed at teenagers of both sexes and it has a romantic narrative we wanted the male sex to be able to connect with it more.
5. Establishing shot of the third location: This is the establishing shot of the council estate (Goodwyns estate). This is a contrasting location to the second location of the grand house (Leith Hill Place). We are not representing the estate in a bad way but actually in a good way, because we are saying that you can have all the money in the world and still be alone because it is the people around you that make the difference. We were unable to use shots inside the estate but only exterior shots. However this was not an issue as we still put across the point we needed to. This is a technique used in professional music videos. Where they set the band in an urban location, this is so the audience are able to relate with them better.
6. Character and Narrative link: We again used the blending tool to create this shot to connect the two lead characters. We decided to use this method of merging to shots when we wanted to connect the two characters more obviously. It is also symbolic in the way that he is fading into her; she has got control over him. This tool backs up the narrative and makes it clear to are audience that they are connected. We also wanted it to add some romance to the shot in the way they are both walking in the same direction and they seem so close to each other but are actually so far apart from each other.
The CD Cover:
The Poster:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
