RESEARCH
AFTER EFFECTS
One of the Key images in my video is when the protagonist discovers his girlfriends infidelity and he is distraught. He sees this through photos left on his girlfriends bed. The image comes alive, and I had to use Green Screen Card to make this image track on After Effects.
When his car breaks down, he runs through the rain to prove his commitment. This scene is dramatic and romantic. So I wanted to practice enhancing the drama using After Effects. I practiced using After Effects to enhance the rain sequence with puddles do that they glisten and ripple. I felt this was one of the most important and dramatic sequences, and therefore have used it in my magazine advert.
Blogger is a useful Multi-Media, free tool that allows a student such as myself to keep a digital, diary like entry for my media corsework. Because Blogger is on the internet, I am able to view my teachers blogs, and my peers blogs to see how everyone else is working. This is useful because it helps keep you on track and understand what is required. Also my teacher and peers are able to look at my blog, and leave comments with feedback.
Blogger also allows you to post videos from your computer or youtube. Because Blogger and youtube are both parts of google, there are no piracy issues with using these videos. Using video is helpful because you can always come back to it, and watch what has inspired you, and it also allows other people to see where your ideas are heading visually.
TWITTER
I have been able to use Twitter to follow Blink 182, and their Bassist, Mark Hoppus. This has been helpful in being able to follow their views and mood of their new album. I have also been able to follow Pete Frazer and get more of an understanding of the media world.
PREZI
Prezi is a new and interactive way to display information and ideas. Using prezi instead of power point has made it easier to navigate through short chunks of relevant information. I have been able to analyse different aspects of 'Pop Punk' videos, and display these in a new and visually interesting platform.
http://prezi.com/ccyi_8-wiofp/music-video
This Prezi is my analysis, looking at other music videos by other Pop Punk bands, and understanding the genre, how to conform to the genre, and use other ideas to create something new.
DAGADOP
http://www.dagadop.com/ is the fast and easy way to search for videos through YouTube. you can watch videos as you search and make as many playlists as you want by just a drag&drop. I used this when I was searching for a variety of videos to inspire me when creating my treatment. I was able to create a playlist that I could easily refer to whenever I needed to.
Google + is a new type of social media, where bands can stream live interviews to fans, but also speak to fans on live video chats.
XTRANORMAL
I have used this as a new way to express my ideas, and concepts for my video. It has allowed me to explained what is going on in my head to my actors and other people in a way that is more interactive and exciting.
SOCIAL MEDIA (MODLIFE)
This is Tom Delonge using Modlife to talk to fans via a webcam chat. At the time it would have been live, and you can write Tom messages, that he will read and answer. This is how he keeps in contact with his fans.
SOCIAL MEDIA AND BAND MEMBERS
All 3 members of 'Blink 182' are keen users of social media and make an effort tocontact there fans.
I use a site called 'Tumblr' which is a blogging site in which I follow Mark Hoppus, the bassist for blink. On Marks blog you can ask him questions, which he is keen to answer.
This is a screen print of when I spoke to Mark:
I asked him why Tom (the guitarist) kept wearing a Beanie, and Mark replied, 'No idea. he's a goth pizza chef?' So via Tumblr I have had direct contact with the band.
I also follow the band on Facebook, and get notifications of any new information on my facebook news feed.
Tom Delonge, the guitarist for blink 182, is also in the band 'Angels and Airwaves' For this he created a website called Modlife. Paying £7 a month for an account, Modlife offers the opportunity to talk to the band on a live webcam, and VIP tickets to meet the band at concerts. You can also customise your own Modlife page, and talk to other users who are fans of the band. It is almost like a social media site for all Angels and Airwaves fans. Tom also works on his own pieces of art work and posts them to members of the site.
PLANNING
Permission from the band Via Tumblr
I have asked Mark Hoppus, the bass guitarist for Blink 182, if I could use 'Up all night' for my video. I have asked him through the blogging site Tumblr.
MOBILE PHONE
Have you found this useful for keeping in touch with your group, for planning & location shots, for playing your track while out and about?
I own the Samsung Galaxy S. It is a smart phone that allows me to have many applications in which I can contact people, and stay in tune with the media world, wherever I am.
I have the Twitter App, which means I can look at new tweets from Pete Frazer, or even Blink-182 at any time. The Tumblr App allows me to look for any inspirational images for my video, and follow what Mark Hoppus blogs regularly. Owning a Blogger App means that I am able to note down any possible ideas I have for my video, whenever and wherever I happen to be. This is useful because I can be inspired by something that I did not expect to come across, and I can automatically add this idea to my blog. The Facebook App is useful because it allows me to contact cast and Crew members to organise the next shoots. Finally having the Skype App is useful because I can video call cast and crew and it is a much easier way to visually explain ideas and concepts.
Treatment
Introduction
Music starts. The camera focuses on a bottle of alcohol. The camera pans out to reveal a room covered in empty bottles, uses tissues, and left over food. There is a teenage male looking through a photo album. The camera focuses on a picture with the male with a girl (His girl friend, at a party). The camera zooms towards the image, and when the image fills the screen it stars to move, and the picture starts to come to life, initially the image is broken up as if it is a series of different photographs, but then it starts to flow in to the action of the party. We see a girl take a photograph. The couple then kiss and separate in different directions.
Plot point 1
The boy friend bumps in to a slightly drunk, seductive girl who attempts to kiss him, and is being obviously flirtatious. Just as she is about to kiss him, the girlfriend comes along, and pushes the flirtatious girl out the way, and slaps the boyfriend. She loses her temper and storms out of the party, leaving the boyfriend alone.
Confrontation
Two males are playing pool. One is the boyfriend, he looks stressed due to the previous incident, and he has gone to his friend for help and advice. There is a head on shot of a pool ball coming towards the camera. Smoke then fills in front, and through the smoke the band appear. (The band has been appearing throughout the whole video, this is just a particular shot change.)
The Friend and boyfriend are now in a street, looking round corners and we see that they are following the girl friend (who is also with her friend). The boyfriend grabs the girls attention. As soon as she realises it is him, she turns away, and her friend gestures more aggressively that the boyfriend is not wanted.
Shots of the boyfriend driving in the dark. He turns up to her work, where he is ignored by the girl, and the boss of the shop grabs him, and throws him out the shop.
Plot point 2
The boy is now angry and frustrated. He is kicking the walls, and throwing objects around his room. This could allow for some interesting special effects. (When the band plays at this part, the lighting should be very red and angry).
Resolution
After his anger, the boy is desperate and needs to make it up to the girl. He picks up/ buys a very expensive object (probably jewellery). Running through wind and rain the boy turns up to the girl’s house, soaking wet. She opens the door. When he reveals the jewellery, she lets him in, they embrace and everything seems fine. The boy happily sits on the girls Bed where there is a pile of pictures... one catches his eyes, the image comes to life (like the shot earlier) The girl friend is kissing another guy, at the party, then the shot moves back to reveal the boyfriend being harassed by the flirtatious girl, then the shot moves back to the picture. The boyfriend throws the pictures off of the bed and on to the floor, and starts shouting at the girl who had been unfaithful to him the whole time.
We are now back at the room from the very beginning where the boy slams shut the photo album, and the camera leaves him sulking on his bed as the shot zooms out and darkens.
Story Board
After I created the treatment, I made A story board visualising every frame. This is a vital part of the planning process. Being able to have some sort of visual idea of the process before shooting the scenes. This also helps with basic ideas of the mise en scene.
Celtx
Celtx is a programme that allows you to create a birds eye
ORGANISING SHOOTS
After I had filmed the band performance I realised I had to spend most of my filming on the story part of the video. Because I have many different actors and crew needed on different days and in different locations I decided to create call sheets to organise who was needed when.
CONSTRUCTION
DIGITAL CAMERA
This year I used the digital SLR camera, the Canon 5D. This meant that I was able to film in High Definition, and produce a crystal clear image, this is apposed to the tape video recorder I used last year, which was grainy and had no control over the light. Using the Canon allowed me to adjust the ISO sensitivity for the appropriated light. Giving me more control over the environment.
ADOBE PREMIERE
This year I have been editing my music video on Adobe Premiere. Having used Adobe Premiere Elements last year I was reasonably used to the layout of this software, but found it had the dynamics to allow me to do much more with my video.
ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS
I used Adobe After Effects a lot in my production. It was a programme I was unfamiliar with previously, so I used the website 'Video Co-Pilot' to find out how to utilize this programme. When creating my treatment I did not dismiss any ideas because of technical effects, so I created a treatment I was happy with, and from then, I looked at how I could solve the issues.
I had to Use After Effects for certain scenes. Most notable the scene of the car driving in the rain. I filed the car on a dry night with no rain at all, so this meant that I had to add it digitally with Adobe After Effects. This was not simply adding an effect to the video, but I had to spend a long time adjusting the speed, size and opacity of the rain to get something that looked realistic.
There is a shot where the camera travels through the car window, in which I had to create a digital window for the camera to flow through. This included taking extra video footage of the road to be in the reflection. And subtle dirt in the screen. Every added detail needed to be subtle to look convincing, and this is something I learnt with trial and error on After Effects
I had to Use After Effects for certain scenes. Most notable the scene of the car driving in the rain. I filed the car on a dry night with no rain at all, so this meant that I had to add it digitally with Adobe After Effects. This was not simply adding an effect to the video, but I had to spend a long time adjusting the speed, size and opacity of the rain to get something that looked realistic.
There is a shot where the camera travels through the car window, in which I had to create a digital window for the camera to flow through. This included taking extra video footage of the road to be in the reflection. And subtle dirt in the screen. Every added detail needed to be subtle to look convincing, and this is something I learnt with trial and error on After Effects
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP
I have made my Digipack and Magazine Advert using 'Adobe Photoshop'. This has been an incredibly useful tool, and allowed me to take screen shots from the film. Text I had written out, and layer them together, and manipulate images to get a visually attracting piece of marketing.
Photoshop allowed me to alter lighting settings, and this came usueful when I wanted to use my own created font. I would make the darker tones completely black, and alter the light tones until they stood out well.
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Filming the rain sequence
Here is a video I have created which shows how I worked on the scene when George is running in the rain. It shows our issues with the rain machine, how the rain machine worked, and other ways of making George look wet and uncomfortable.
The video below will show how I have taken the above Celtx image, and then filmed the scene itself. It shows how it was directed, and how important actor feedback and sugestions are.
COLOUR CORRECTION
When I filmed my footage, I found that lots of the colours and lights were 'too harsh' and they did not look natural within the film. Also The theme of the video is quite dark and sad, and bright colours did not fit in with the idea of the video.
I found out how to 'Colour correct' through online tutorials on the website 'Video Copilot' I found out that to make the effect to work, you add a grey filter over the footage, you select this by going on video effects. You have to alter the opacity of this filter, and it gives the appearance of toning down the light and colour. I then altered the 'RGB curves' and moved the Red, Greens and Blues until the shots looked more natural.
EVALUATION
FACEBOOK
Facebook has given me the opportunity to create a page dedicated to my music video. I have displayed the art work on the page, and have an album filled with screen shots from the video. Anyone is able to like this page and get regular updates and follow the progress of my video.
YOUTUBE
. I have created my own Youtube channel under the name of 'Best Intentions'. This is the production company I have created for myself, and give this name to all my videos. Youtube has givern me the opourtunity to design my own page for this purpose. Therefore when people enter my youtube page they can be emerced in this little world I have created. I am really proud of my music video and have been able to make it headline the top of my page.
Through my channel I can monitor the rate in which my video is being viewed, and which countires are viewing them. I regulaly check on the comments people leave feedback.
