Friday 31 October 2014

Group. Risk Assesement, Call Sheet

Risk Assesement, Call Sheet

London Shoot
 
Our call sheet and risk assessment have allowed us to foresee any limiting factors within the location of our planned shoot. Identifying these risks have allowed us to plan how we are to shoot within the location, overcoming any challenges we may face in advance. Additionally the call sheet has allowed us to produce a brief list of shots which we want to produce in our production, and how they work in correlation with our animatic stage of the planning process. Subsequently this will allow us to gather a understanding about whether or not we have gathered enough footage to fill up the designated time for our music video production, and will ensure that we have not missed out any shots we were planning to include within our production.
 

Risk Assessment


Risk Assessment 2


Tuesday 28 October 2014

Group. Shooting Re-Scheduled

Shooting Re-Scheduled 

After paying constant attention to the weather forecast over the past week or so we have decided on changing the day which we shoot in London from Wednesday to Thursday due to the bad weather predictions. Furthermore on the Thursday although starting off dark the weather is meant to be dry and overcast, something which we all believe will be better for our footage as to conform to the dance genre relies upon this summer image, something that we could amend with editing skills over dry footage, opposed to wet and rainy footage. 

Plan of shooting; 

  • 30th October 2014 (London) Narrative Based Footage
  • 31st October 2014 (Otford) Powdered Paint Fight 


Thursday 23 October 2014

Group. Planning for Shooting

We are planning for our main shoots to take place over the half term. This way if we shoot early, then any lack of shots, or mistakes that have been made can be corrected with plenty of time to still get our filming edited.
Ordering powder paint for the charity aspect of the narrative is our first priority, as the intentions are for the event to take place on the 31st October, therefore we need order the product in advance so it will come on time. 
Two days before the powder paint event we intend to film our London narrative aspect on Wednesday 29th October in London.

Tuesday 21 October 2014

H.C. Progress on 21/10/2014

Over the lesson period and homework time today I have; 
  • Completed creating and gathering images for my part of the storyboard, which I will then put into a timeline to go into our group animatic, as a visual plan of how our final video will look. 
  • Carried out further research into sourcing powdered paint and researching the properties of it.
  • The cheapest supply of powdered paint I found was through a wholesale supplier that delivers to the school, however this option is hazardous and would not be safe to use for the action that we have planned. This leaves us with two options - 1. Buy in a substantial supply (This will mean having to budget a significant amount of donation money towards the paint cause) or 2. make our own, as suggested in the previous post with a lower cost but long time required for the material to dry. I will discuss these options with my group tomorrow and we will come to a conclusion about which route we want to pursue. 

H.C. Individual post on progress lesson 20/10/2014

In yesterday's lesson, after discussing our plan going forward we divided up the tasks to complete over the next week. In the lesson yesterday I progressed by;

  • Beginning my third of the storyboard, collecting stills to go into the paint fight sequence and the fight itself.
  • At home I researched the prices of powdered paint and found that we would in fact need quite a significant budget to be able to get sufficient paint for a large group of people. The alternative method I found was to make our own, using cornstarch and food dye. I will discuss our options with my group members tomorrow, but I have estimated that it will cost us around £30 to make 20 kg, compared to around double that figure if we were to buy it in.

J.R. Location Recce 2

LOCATION RECCE 2


Thursday 16 October 2014

T.M. Contribution to Pitch

Costume:
My first task was to put the slides together regarding what clothing the characters are going to wear in our music video. As well as what we intend to avoid, for example the negative connotations held with youths wearing full tracksuits.

Props:
Next was to research a few of the props we intend on using. The props included simple everyday objects that youth culture would use such as phones, speakers, footballs, etc.. Then I researched the more conceptual prop for our charity aspect of the narrative including powder paint.

Camera Work:
Our camera work techniques that we wish to implement in our production are conventional to the dance music genre, which was explained within the pitch. However I also discussed the stylistic approach we want to experiment with, such as the fish eye lens, to give a panoramic feel.

Colour Scheme:
Next I discussed the colour scheme we are planning to employ. For example bright and warm vibrant colours that is associated with the dance genre. Furthermore this feel will be achieved through editorial overlays such as the static fuzz seen on 'All I See' - Bondax.

Digital Packs:
Finally I looked into artists of the dance music genre albums and how they compare with one another. I concluded that the majority of them incorporate vibrant colours accompanied by a conceptual imagery. With the artists name in bold writing and the name of the track in smaller. Therefore we have a good idea for what we are going to do for our digital pack due to the inspiration from my research.

Group. Plan of Action 16/10/14

PLAN OF ACTION

After our pitch we have produced a plan of action reflecting on what feedback has been given to us regarding the pitch. These next stages of our production should help us move towards a clear understanding about how, when and where we are going to shoot our music video.

  1. Test Shots, testing slow motion (50fps) and testing certain paint shots and camera movements.
  2. Editing Test Shots, using after effects to produce the static fuzz affect and overlay affect went want to emulate in our production.
  3. Story Board/Animatic for our music video, for this we will look further into the break up of our song and what happens when, following this we will gather visual aids (screenshots of existing products, our own footage, and general pictures) to produce a detailed storyboard for our music video. This is vital for when we shoot the music video, so that we can stick to set of specific guidelines.
  4. Research into the charity event we are looking to set up/replicate, and research into the prices and details of powdered paint.
  5. We then have to plan our shoot, organising who will take part in the event at the end of the music video and carrying out another possible location recce for this new location we want to intertwine into our music video. We must also organise a date in the half term where we visit London and complete the first section of our music video, going back to the locations we have previously visited.
  6. The finally we must all research into existing digital packs (album artwork, and advertising medias), helping us to move towards producing our own album artwork. Practice edits or mock ups of ideas may be a suitable activity to complete regarding the album cover production .
These tasks should be aimed to be completed by the end of next week (25th October) which will allow us to be ready to shoot in the half term. 

Group. Pitch


Wednesday 15 October 2014

J.R. Script for Pitch

SCRIPT FOR PITCH
 
3. Existing Products
- After establishing what genre and track we wanted to use, we then looked into existing music videos, identifying what their key characteristics are and how they conform to the genre they fulfil. Music videos like ‘Count on Me’ – by Chase and Status and ‘I Need Air’ - Magnetic Man showed a more compilation style of music video, showing this upbeat image dance music represents. Bright vibrant colour schemes, and urban night settings are also a common aspect which we have identified in existing music videos. And finally, another feature we have identified is that this genre is youth dominated, therefore this has led to us representing youth as the main theme in our music video.

6. Concept Development

-  After our treatment was written we have decided to break up our production into 5 main parts; Establishing Shot, Faces, Narratives, Compilation and Ending.

Establishing shots – locations (TEXT)

Faces – Paint representing the diversity of youth culture

Narratives – Me and Tom going about then organising this event introduction of others

Compilation – Compilation of scenery, people and messing about

Ending – scenery, after paint fight/general scenery – Fade out (possible text for charity organisation)

7. Division of Song
- Then in more detail we have split up the track according to the beat of the song, showing what will happen when. However this is prone to adjustments and will probably be developed in more detail in our storyboarding of the music video.

8. Location Recce
- As we are conforming to a compilation style of music video we have many different locations, however our main location will be London. Brick Lane, Camden and Southbank our three main locations that we plan to shoot at, as they conform to youth culture shown through street art for example.

Brick Lane – Old clothing shops, cd / record store and street art

Camden – Market, Stalls and Culture

South Bank – Street Art, Skate Park

15. Draft Video
- This video was constructed to act as a visual aid for our music video. Its consists of existing music videos, like ‘You & Me’ - Disclosure and ‘All I See’ – Bondax, which should show you what we want to produce in our own music video.

Group. Reflection of Pitch process

Following on from our successful pitch today, is a reflection of the process; how we each contributed to it, the response from the class and what we are now going to do based upon that feedback.

The class response to our pitch raised interesting discussion which we will act upon when making plans for carrying out production;
  • Using record shops: An issue was raised with the aesthetic of following our characters in record shops in Brick Lane, London, as generally these outlets are associated with older generations, contrasting with our focus through the video on youth. A further point was raised from this about actually obtaining permission to film inside vending areas especially Camden market where the business owner's privacy is called for. To address both of these issues, we will need to make contact with owners prior to filming so that we do not find ourselves stranded with nothing to film. The use of record shops is perhaps not as out of place as it would have been a few years ago, with vinyl copies of records coming back into fashion although this is subject to lifestyle.
  • Joining the narrative: One of the focuses of the feedback was how we were to join all the narrative elements together, with some lack of clarity in how the shots from London will feed into the paint war scene. One of the solutions that was put forward was to create the narrative so that it seems like a party is being organised and withhold this from the audience until the paint war scene towards the end of the video. This could also include a flash montage signifying the build in narrative and pace in the song.
  • Smartphones: One of the concerns for our proposal was using the expensive camera equipment around the powdered paint for fear of damaging it or ruining the quality. After discussion the best solution seems to be to use capable smart phones to film with, which can be put in protective all around cases, which have a deliberately lower quality, giving the impression of home footage placing the audience closer to the action. We will also set up staged shots of faces being hit with the paint at a safe distance, but to achieve the slow motion effect in after effects.
  • Suggestions: We had a filmmaker 'Devin Supertramp' suggested to us who experiments with a similar style of film making that we are aiming to use for the paint war scene.

J.R. Contribution to Pitch

CONTRIBUTION TO PITCH

Existing Products:

I was responsible for the existing products part of our pitch, looking into our initial response to the track and the genre, gathering key findings which can be easily identified throughout the dance genre. I had to complete this task in order to aid our concept, explaining how we can incorporate certain features into our music video so it will conform to the genre and subsequently choose the right visuals for our track.

Concept Development:

For the concept development I was assigned to split up our track into chunks which would allow us to gather a clearer understanding of what will come when in the music video. Establishing shots, Faces, Narrative, Compilation and Ending, are the five different sections of our music video.

Division of Song:

I then looked further into the division of the song giving a brief explanation of what is to happen at what part of the music video according to the beat and lyrics of the track t that moment in time. This may change in time yet will allow us to have a clear guideline about how we are to structure our story boarding for the music video production.

Location Recce:

For the location recce we as a group visited three locations in London; Brick Lane, Camden Market and Southbank, evaluating how we are to carry out our production in these particular locations. Although there may be more locations than just these three we have decided that these will be the main three locations which we use therefore we had carried out our initial location recce here. Yet the part  I played in the location recce is producing a compilation of different shots illustrating what locations we would use and how our narrative and treatment would fit into these locations.

Draft Video:

Then to act as a visual aid to my concept development I have produced a compilation of different music videos placed with our track to allow people to understand what we want to achieve in our music videos. This draft video consisted of clips from, Bondax 'All I See' and Disclosure 'You & Me', which showed the effects we want to use in our music video and also a brief idea about how we want to construct our narrative.

H.C. Contribution to Pitch

My contributions to the pitch were as follows;

  • Audience research: I was responsible for creating the slides concerning the response we got from our target audience, having completed a survey using the viral site 'SurveyMonkey'. The main themes that we collected to include in our response was that young people are generally represented negatively and that our video should be used to challenge that. This also led me to pursue a focus group to get more in depth answers, which helped to shape our concept.
  • Treatment: The concept of this part of the presentation was to deliver the general run down for our concept and the representation we aim to create. We switched focus quite late on in the development of our concept opting to have a greater narrative direction than originally planned. My job was then to explain how our narrative will evolve seeing our main characters start off in busy London streets and then taking inspiration and moving on to create this charitable event.
  • Cast: I created the slide explaining our cast selection in Tom and Jack, justified by the fact that they suit the typical dance genre characteristics.
  • Editing: Conveying our editing techniques was an important part of the pitch as, in our research we found that visual effect was a key stylistic effect in the dance genre. Specific stylistic shots such as slow motions/speeding up, rewinding, colour grading and split screens are all implemented to enhance the visuals on screen and actually provide an entertainment spectacle, sustaining the audience's interest and adding to the sense of repeatability.
  • Difficulties: My final task in the pitch was to assess the difficulties we face in this production. These included risk assessments and organising a large cast using social media. A unique challenge to us that was raised in feedback was how to protect the filming equipment when carrying out the paint war shots, something which we will consider when planning ahead.

Tuesday 7 October 2014

Feedback on Planning

Well done, there is some excellent and thorough planning and research on this blog.  Jack and Harry, you are both working at a high level four as you are clearly engaging with each task and using it to further your concept.  Tom, you are not producing work of the same standard, largely due to lack of time spent on tasks and an absence from planning updates.  Currently you are on a level three.  You all have comments and actions to address so please read carefully and email me when you have made amendments.

Friday 3 October 2014

H.C. Reflecting on questionnaire process

  • To carry out our audience research, we created a viral survey on the site 'SurveyMonkey'.
  • The list of questions has been divided in half, the first portion focusing on what our audience thinks about the representation of youth in music videos, and how this representation can be challenged.
  • These generate qualitative answers and will help to inform us in the decision making process leading up to our pitch, directing the focus and message that we want to create in our video as this is the area that we are less confident about.
  • The other half of our survey is based upon finding out which filming style and effects our target audience think would suit our track best. At the top of the survey is an instruction to follow the link to the track. For both parts of the survey, getting our audience to respond to our track is vital, as it ensures the focus of their responses is on the right genre and therefore we will receive constructive input.

Thursday 2 October 2014

Group. Progress over lesson period 2/10/14

In today's double period we as a group moved our concept forward in the following ways; Completing audience survey questions, ready to test, with a particular focus on how people think that youth are represented. We have also organised our preliminary recce. We will be visiting several locations around London next week, 7/10/14.

Group. Draft Music Video

Draft Music Video

This is a draft music video which has been made from existing music videos we have analysed. The main purpose of this is to act as a visual aid in assisting us to move our concept forward, helping people identify what we would like to achieve when producing our own music video.