Thursday, 20 December 2012
Digipak Images Idea
Digipak Images Idea
Monday, 17 December 2012
Post Production Story Board
Post-Prod SB DANIELLE'S - free slideshow
The main differences between our Pre-Production Story Board and our Post-Production Story Board is the addition of the third location. We decided to add these shots in because they were adding a new dimension to our character and showing a different emotion that related with the different tones of the song.
Another difference is the cross cutting between the narrative with the dolls and the narrative with the boy. Pre-production we were just going to have a few cross cuts but when editing post-production we decided to link the sequences of shots throughout the music video, enhancing the voodoo style.
On top of this, in our pre-production story board we hadn't decided the shots for the cake destruction. We had just written 'cake destruction' at the point where we wanted it in our music video. This definitely gave us a lot of creativity on the day of filming and gave us a chance to play around with the shots we had whilst editing.
We also changed the order of a couple of shots, but these aren't that noticeable because our music video is a narrative but it is a montage of the shots, meaning they can be placed anywhere.
Saturday, 8 December 2012
Post-Production Questionnaire Results - Question 11
The eleventh question we asked was 'What key themes have you picked up from the music video?' We asked this question because we wanted to give our music video some perspective and to see if maybe our audience members picked out some deeper meanings that we didn't intend to be portrayed, but are.
As the chart shows the two most popular answers were obsession and love. This is definitely shown through the video through the props - post it notes - and through his careful planning to make everything perfect for the date. This shows that we were successful in portraying our narrative. The next most popular answers were distress, unrequited love and hope. I think that we got these answers because of the difference of gender in our audience. Hope, I believe, would have been said in the comments left by females because they would have felt empathy towards the character. Distress is shown through the actions of the character and also through the actions of the dolls. Unrequited love would have been shown through the turning point or when the song/video reached its climax and the girl didn't show up.
Very interesting answers we got were 'let downs' and 'internal conflict'. Let downs is an answer that is very general and therefore this audience member has linked it to broader contexts and situations, showing that this video does not just limit itself to being let down with a date but, deeply, being let down with life. Internal conflict is an interesting answer because this audience member understands the emotional instability of the character and can see the internal conflict portrayed through his actions and indeed through the dolls.
These answers again show a diverse range of emotions and themes that links to the actions and range of emotions shown by the character. These answers also highlight that we were successful in portraying all the key ideas that we wanted, to our audience.
Very interesting answers we got were 'let downs' and 'internal conflict'. Let downs is an answer that is very general and therefore this audience member has linked it to broader contexts and situations, showing that this video does not just limit itself to being let down with a date but, deeply, being let down with life. Internal conflict is an interesting answer because this audience member understands the emotional instability of the character and can see the internal conflict portrayed through his actions and indeed through the dolls.
These answers again show a diverse range of emotions and themes that links to the actions and range of emotions shown by the character. These answers also highlight that we were successful in portraying all the key ideas that we wanted, to our audience.
Post-Production Questionnaire Results - Question 10
The tenth question we asked was 'Do you think that the suburban shots of the boy walking down the street are a cliche? Do you think they should be taken out?'
This question links to the feedback our teacher gave us when we finished editing our first draft. Our teacher told us that the shots of the boy walking down the street to the park were 'familiar'. She liked the narrative idea because it was something that could happen to anyone, anywhere, but by placing a sequence of the main character walking down a street places him in one spot when we should try to keep it universal. So we asked this question to our audience to see if they gave us the same or different feedback, and then edit our video to respond to the comments.
8 out of 15 people said no, the shots shouldn't be taken out, here are some of their reasons; 'they add to the suspense', 'it was interesting and showed the emotions he felt', 'they were evocative', 'they were effective' and 'they worked well with the story line'.
However, we did receive some criticisms for the shots; 'it didn't look good quality', 'maybe cut some of it, make it shorter', 'they worked well, but I thought a tiny bit too much' and 'it maybe lasted for slightly too long'. This is definitely something we can work on, and now we know that we don't have to take out all of these shots, just shorten them or maybe even speed them up (as long as that works with the music).
This question links to the feedback our teacher gave us when we finished editing our first draft. Our teacher told us that the shots of the boy walking down the street to the park were 'familiar'. She liked the narrative idea because it was something that could happen to anyone, anywhere, but by placing a sequence of the main character walking down a street places him in one spot when we should try to keep it universal. So we asked this question to our audience to see if they gave us the same or different feedback, and then edit our video to respond to the comments.
8 out of 15 people said no, the shots shouldn't be taken out, here are some of their reasons; 'they add to the suspense', 'it was interesting and showed the emotions he felt', 'they were evocative', 'they were effective' and 'they worked well with the story line'.
However, we did receive some criticisms for the shots; 'it didn't look good quality', 'maybe cut some of it, make it shorter', 'they worked well, but I thought a tiny bit too much' and 'it maybe lasted for slightly too long'. This is definitely something we can work on, and now we know that we don't have to take out all of these shots, just shorten them or maybe even speed them up (as long as that works with the music).
Post-Production Questionnaire Results - Question 9
The ninth question we asked was 'Would you watch more of these types of videos by this artist if they were like this?'
Our main goal of this music video was to show a different type of music video in comparison with the typical music videos that are being released by artists nowadays. We think that our video stands out as it is just narrative. By having only narrative in our music video, the focus is just on the video and the lyrics, not on the look of the band/artist - which is essentially what music videos are about nowadays (E. A. Kaplan's theory and Laura Mulvey's theory of scopophilia). Another goal of this music video is to promote the band - as they are not that well known - and make the song sound attractive so that people will buy the single and listen to more music of that artist.
12 out of 15 people said yes with many reasons. For example; 'the storyline was interesting and reflected the song', 'it's very dramatic', 'it was entertaining' and 'it was very effective'. This could mean that maybe consumers of music videos are getting quite bored of the music videos that are being released by artists. They want the new thing and hopefully we have provided them with it.
One answer we received for this question shows the vital importance of genre of music in context with target audience. 'Maybe - although don't like the sound/style of music'. This comment shows that even when we aim our music video at an audience we still have to take into consideration that people have different tastes in style and genre of music. This person obviously doesn't like this genre of music, but this answer also shows that this person would be willing to listen to more songs of this genre if the music video were similar to ours. This shows that music video and song are equally important when engaging an audience.
Our main goal of this music video was to show a different type of music video in comparison with the typical music videos that are being released by artists nowadays. We think that our video stands out as it is just narrative. By having only narrative in our music video, the focus is just on the video and the lyrics, not on the look of the band/artist - which is essentially what music videos are about nowadays (E. A. Kaplan's theory and Laura Mulvey's theory of scopophilia). Another goal of this music video is to promote the band - as they are not that well known - and make the song sound attractive so that people will buy the single and listen to more music of that artist.
12 out of 15 people said yes with many reasons. For example; 'the storyline was interesting and reflected the song', 'it's very dramatic', 'it was entertaining' and 'it was very effective'. This could mean that maybe consumers of music videos are getting quite bored of the music videos that are being released by artists. They want the new thing and hopefully we have provided them with it.
One answer we received for this question shows the vital importance of genre of music in context with target audience. 'Maybe - although don't like the sound/style of music'. This comment shows that even when we aim our music video at an audience we still have to take into consideration that people have different tastes in style and genre of music. This person obviously doesn't like this genre of music, but this answer also shows that this person would be willing to listen to more songs of this genre if the music video were similar to ours. This shows that music video and song are equally important when engaging an audience.
Post-Production Questionnaire Results - Question 8
Our eighth question was 'What is your favourite part of the video?'
This question is basically to highlight where our music video succeeds in relation to the audience. If we have a majority saying one scene/shot then we know that this is the most memorable part and then we play around with that — maybe use it on the website homepage for the band or for the digipak cover.
7 out of 15 answers included the dolls. 'The mix between the dolls being broken apart and him feeling broken', 'dolls corresponding to actor', 'using dolls to resemble a voodoo doll effect and the red lighting gave a sinister feel', 'how the doll broke showing his feelings breaking' and 'the use of dolls which are constantly being used in comparison with the human storyline'. As we thought, whilst filming and editing the music video, the dolls are the most popular aspect of the music video. Even though they are just little snippets throughout the music video, they obviously engage the audience and help them to understand the emotions of that character. I'm very happy that someone picked up on the red lighting because we wanted to show a difference between the shots and also create an atmosphere and tone of sinister and voodoo. These were key ideas when filming the doll shots and I'm very pleased that someone wrote about that in their answer.
We got a few answers talking about the ending; 'the end provides a cliff-hanger, entertaining', 'the end is very dramatic and effective' and 'the angles at the end'. The end shots were done when we were reshooting and when we were first putting them in in editing we thought that there might be too much going on with the narrative and that this might confuse the audience. However we had nothing to fear as the answers to the previous questions show that the audience follow the narrative and that people liked the ending. In my opinion the ending shows the vulnerability of the character, and with the soft music at the end of the song, it links together and creates empathy towards the character after all the chaos and angriness that he showed before.
We got answers of particular shots. 'Sitting watching the door' this isn't very clear as this audience member could mean when he is in his house watching the door or when he is in the park watching the door outside. Either way both shots coincide with each other and show the same emotions and meanings of the character; determination, obsession.
Another answer we got was 'the way it cuts on the beat in the room when he's changing'. This sequence was the most fun to film and the most fun to edit. We wanted to show him being happy before all havoc breaks loose and wanted to give an uplifting sequence as the song is pretty happy at this part. I filmed these shots of him changing. He wore a baggy suit, a doctor who mimic outfit, he falls over whilst pulling up his trousers and him buttoning up his shirt as he walks towards the camera/mirror. When editing we cut out parts of the changing process and did little snippets which we cut to in the beat of the song. We slowed down the bit before the last (which we then sped up) so that the last shot (him checking how he looks) would be in time with the music. This sequence can be found from 1:04 - 1:18 in our video.
Another answer of a particular shot was 'when he mushes the cake'. The cake was something we did to show happiness and anger. To show him wanting the date to go perfect, and the cake being the first thing he takes his anger out on. Shooting this part of the music video was difficult, messy and time consuming. We had one cake so essentially one chance to get it perfect. First we did a high angle shot of the character as he smashes the cake. We then quickly moved to behind him and created a point of view shot of him screwing up the cake in his hands. We then moved to either ends of the table to get shots of him throwing the cake to both places and then moved to the floor to get a low angle shot of him throwing cake onto the floor, and accidentally (but creating a good shot) into the camera. When editing this sequence we wanted him to break the cake just when the song reaches its climax. So we sped it up just at the end of the shot that so he breaks the cake right on the beat of the song. This sequence can be found from 2:00 - 2:10 in our video along with cross cuts of close ups of our actor and shots with the dolls.
This question is basically to highlight where our music video succeeds in relation to the audience. If we have a majority saying one scene/shot then we know that this is the most memorable part and then we play around with that — maybe use it on the website homepage for the band or for the digipak cover.
7 out of 15 answers included the dolls. 'The mix between the dolls being broken apart and him feeling broken', 'dolls corresponding to actor', 'using dolls to resemble a voodoo doll effect and the red lighting gave a sinister feel', 'how the doll broke showing his feelings breaking' and 'the use of dolls which are constantly being used in comparison with the human storyline'. As we thought, whilst filming and editing the music video, the dolls are the most popular aspect of the music video. Even though they are just little snippets throughout the music video, they obviously engage the audience and help them to understand the emotions of that character. I'm very happy that someone picked up on the red lighting because we wanted to show a difference between the shots and also create an atmosphere and tone of sinister and voodoo. These were key ideas when filming the doll shots and I'm very pleased that someone wrote about that in their answer.
We got a few answers talking about the ending; 'the end provides a cliff-hanger, entertaining', 'the end is very dramatic and effective' and 'the angles at the end'. The end shots were done when we were reshooting and when we were first putting them in in editing we thought that there might be too much going on with the narrative and that this might confuse the audience. However we had nothing to fear as the answers to the previous questions show that the audience follow the narrative and that people liked the ending. In my opinion the ending shows the vulnerability of the character, and with the soft music at the end of the song, it links together and creates empathy towards the character after all the chaos and angriness that he showed before.
We got answers of particular shots. 'Sitting watching the door' this isn't very clear as this audience member could mean when he is in his house watching the door or when he is in the park watching the door outside. Either way both shots coincide with each other and show the same emotions and meanings of the character; determination, obsession.
Another answer we got was 'the way it cuts on the beat in the room when he's changing'. This sequence was the most fun to film and the most fun to edit. We wanted to show him being happy before all havoc breaks loose and wanted to give an uplifting sequence as the song is pretty happy at this part. I filmed these shots of him changing. He wore a baggy suit, a doctor who mimic outfit, he falls over whilst pulling up his trousers and him buttoning up his shirt as he walks towards the camera/mirror. When editing we cut out parts of the changing process and did little snippets which we cut to in the beat of the song. We slowed down the bit before the last (which we then sped up) so that the last shot (him checking how he looks) would be in time with the music. This sequence can be found from 1:04 - 1:18 in our video.
Another answer of a particular shot was 'when he mushes the cake'. The cake was something we did to show happiness and anger. To show him wanting the date to go perfect, and the cake being the first thing he takes his anger out on. Shooting this part of the music video was difficult, messy and time consuming. We had one cake so essentially one chance to get it perfect. First we did a high angle shot of the character as he smashes the cake. We then quickly moved to behind him and created a point of view shot of him screwing up the cake in his hands. We then moved to either ends of the table to get shots of him throwing the cake to both places and then moved to the floor to get a low angle shot of him throwing cake onto the floor, and accidentally (but creating a good shot) into the camera. When editing this sequence we wanted him to break the cake just when the song reaches its climax. So we sped it up just at the end of the shot that so he breaks the cake right on the beat of the song. This sequence can be found from 2:00 - 2:10 in our video along with cross cuts of close ups of our actor and shots with the dolls.
Post-Production Questionnaire Results - Question 7
The seventh question we asked was 'Do you think the props and location are convincing in relation to the narrative? Explain'.
The mise en scene, for us, was probably the most important aspect to get right as they had to create verisimilitude and be believable. The shots with the dolls had to convey the emotions of the character and his location had to be innocent in comparison with him and his actions.
Most of the answers we got were yes with a variety of explanations. For example; 'explains emotions', 'they portray the feelings that the character seems to be going through', 'the post it notes showed his obsession', 'liked the props and thought they were appropriately suited', 'very realistic', 'the link with the dolls was very good' and 'the props used to show anger'.
This is definitely a triumph for us and our video, as our main concern was that people wouldn't make the link between the dolls and the characters' emotions. However, our editing and cross cuts seemed to work and showed the link effectively.
One answer we got which was very interesting was 'the location is too "posh", flat would have been better for young single man'. There is not much we can do to change location now, but I definitely understand the audience's opinion. Perhaps a flat would have been better however our actor looks young (which we wanted him to be) and him living alone in a flat wouldn't have been believable. We wanted this boy to look like he had kicked out his parents for the whole day and spent the entire day getting ready for this date. He wants everything to be perfect. This comment may have been made from someone older than our target audience, so therefore their interpretation and knowledge of these circumstances may be different. However our actor/character is young and this is what we were aiming for.
The mise en scene, for us, was probably the most important aspect to get right as they had to create verisimilitude and be believable. The shots with the dolls had to convey the emotions of the character and his location had to be innocent in comparison with him and his actions.
Most of the answers we got were yes with a variety of explanations. For example; 'explains emotions', 'they portray the feelings that the character seems to be going through', 'the post it notes showed his obsession', 'liked the props and thought they were appropriately suited', 'very realistic', 'the link with the dolls was very good' and 'the props used to show anger'.
This is definitely a triumph for us and our video, as our main concern was that people wouldn't make the link between the dolls and the characters' emotions. However, our editing and cross cuts seemed to work and showed the link effectively.
One answer we got which was very interesting was 'the location is too "posh", flat would have been better for young single man'. There is not much we can do to change location now, but I definitely understand the audience's opinion. Perhaps a flat would have been better however our actor looks young (which we wanted him to be) and him living alone in a flat wouldn't have been believable. We wanted this boy to look like he had kicked out his parents for the whole day and spent the entire day getting ready for this date. He wants everything to be perfect. This comment may have been made from someone older than our target audience, so therefore their interpretation and knowledge of these circumstances may be different. However our actor/character is young and this is what we were aiming for.
Post-Production Questionnaire Results - Question 6
The sixth question we asked was 'Please note three words you would link to the character in our video.' Of course in every music video with a narrative, the main character (protagonist/antagonist) is very important. It is very important that the messages you are trying to portray through the character reach the audience and that they fully understand the emotions and reactions of the character. The way the audience interprets the character influences their outlook on the whole video, and if they cannot connect with the main character then they will not understand the whole emotion behind the narrative.
For us it was very important that the audience understood the main character because our music video is just narrative, and if the audience don't understand that this boy is emotionally unstable and obsessed with this girl, then they will think that his reaction to being stood up is an overreaction.
As you can see from the graph the top two most popular answers were obsessive and angry. These two emotions are quite different and definitely show that the audience perceive the boy as emotionally unstable. The next most popular answer was lonely. This answer definitely reflects the gender difference of our audience, as this is a sympathetic answer which mostly girls would use to describe and show empathy. Next popular answers were creepy and upset, again showing the diversity of emotion in the song and narrative. Needy and distressed were next popular, I think the neediness was shown through the post it notes and distressed was shown through the shots of him waiting and texting her.
Quite interesting answers to this question were 'controlling' and 'possessive' as these are not adjectives we were aiming for, however this does show the emotional instability of the character which is the main aim of the music video.
I think this answer definitely shows a range of emotions, some are similar but all in all they are very diverse and highlight that we were effective in portraying the emotions of our character and allowing the audience to understand his reaction.
For us it was very important that the audience understood the main character because our music video is just narrative, and if the audience don't understand that this boy is emotionally unstable and obsessed with this girl, then they will think that his reaction to being stood up is an overreaction.
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| Results for question 6 |
As you can see from the graph the top two most popular answers were obsessive and angry. These two emotions are quite different and definitely show that the audience perceive the boy as emotionally unstable. The next most popular answer was lonely. This answer definitely reflects the gender difference of our audience, as this is a sympathetic answer which mostly girls would use to describe and show empathy. Next popular answers were creepy and upset, again showing the diversity of emotion in the song and narrative. Needy and distressed were next popular, I think the neediness was shown through the post it notes and distressed was shown through the shots of him waiting and texting her.
Quite interesting answers to this question were 'controlling' and 'possessive' as these are not adjectives we were aiming for, however this does show the emotional instability of the character which is the main aim of the music video.
I think this answer definitely shows a range of emotions, some are similar but all in all they are very diverse and highlight that we were effective in portraying the emotions of our character and allowing the audience to understand his reaction.
Friday, 7 December 2012
Post-Production Questionnaire Results - Question 5
The fifth question we asked to our audience was 'Are there parts of the narrative that you think don't belong in our video? Anything we should take out?'
This is another question that will give us a lot of feedback on how to improve our video to make it attractive to a wider range of audiences, which is the aim of all music videos. Even though we have a target audience we still want our video to engage an audience of all ages and both genders. By asking our audience about the narrative in particular and not shots, we are not getting too technical we are just focusing on the stor in relation to what the audience understands and what they think is necessary or what they think is too much and too difficult to understand.
Most of the answers we got were that there is nothing that we should remove, which is very nice to hear, however we do want constructive criticism, which is what we got from others answers.
One answer we got was 'too much happening maybe. Also, too angry when stood up.' The first part of this answer shows that maybe our idea to make the video in a montage way, is too confusing for the audience, and that maybe we should cut back on a few different shots and locations that we use. We use four locations; boy's house, dolls house, outside by bridge, outside girl's house. All these different shots, along with the vast range of props could be very confusing to the audience as the song is difficult to keep up with too, because of it's climatic structure. The second part of this answer suggests that maybe this audience member did not understand the emotional instability of the main character, which is definitely a problem. We did not want to make this boy act normally when he gets stood up, we wanted his reaction to be overdramatic because of the infatuation he has towards this girl, which is shown with the post it notes and pictures of her. If this message is not portrayed to the audience then they will think that the whole video is overdramatic and not believable. We may need to change the order of shots to show his obsession with the girl so that people will understand his emotional instability.
Another answer we got was 'him about to climb over the balcony'. This shot was added last minute and was something that we hoped our audience would pick up on because we weren't 100% sure if we wanted to keep it or not. The fact that one person out of fifteen picked up on it shows that we may need to do some more questionnaires and find out whether this is a step too far. This shot may suggest to some people the idea of suicide, however this shot is shown after he throws the girls picture, which could suggest that he wants to jump to recollect the picture as he regrets throwing it. It is down to audience interpretation, and this audience member definitely thinks that this is a step too far.
Another answer we got was 'because of climatic structure of video, it maybe takes too long for someone to understand the narrative'. In all honesty there is not much we can do to change this, as it all depends on the audience member. But this is definitely not a big challenge as they understood the narrative eventually (shown in their answer to question 2).
Most of the answers we got were that there is nothing that we should remove, which is very nice to hear, however we do want constructive criticism, which is what we got from others answers.
One answer we got was 'too much happening maybe. Also, too angry when stood up.' The first part of this answer shows that maybe our idea to make the video in a montage way, is too confusing for the audience, and that maybe we should cut back on a few different shots and locations that we use. We use four locations; boy's house, dolls house, outside by bridge, outside girl's house. All these different shots, along with the vast range of props could be very confusing to the audience as the song is difficult to keep up with too, because of it's climatic structure. The second part of this answer suggests that maybe this audience member did not understand the emotional instability of the main character, which is definitely a problem. We did not want to make this boy act normally when he gets stood up, we wanted his reaction to be overdramatic because of the infatuation he has towards this girl, which is shown with the post it notes and pictures of her. If this message is not portrayed to the audience then they will think that the whole video is overdramatic and not believable. We may need to change the order of shots to show his obsession with the girl so that people will understand his emotional instability.
Another answer we got was 'him about to climb over the balcony'. This shot was added last minute and was something that we hoped our audience would pick up on because we weren't 100% sure if we wanted to keep it or not. The fact that one person out of fifteen picked up on it shows that we may need to do some more questionnaires and find out whether this is a step too far. This shot may suggest to some people the idea of suicide, however this shot is shown after he throws the girls picture, which could suggest that he wants to jump to recollect the picture as he regrets throwing it. It is down to audience interpretation, and this audience member definitely thinks that this is a step too far.
Another answer we got was 'because of climatic structure of video, it maybe takes too long for someone to understand the narrative'. In all honesty there is not much we can do to change this, as it all depends on the audience member. But this is definitely not a big challenge as they understood the narrative eventually (shown in their answer to question 2).
Post-Production Questionnaire Results - Question 4
The fourth question we asked was 'Do you think the narrative corresponds with the lyrics? Explain'. Most music videos of the same genre as Dog is Dead (alternative) have music videos, where the narrative sometimes does and sometimes doesn't correspond with the lyrics of the song. It is sometimes amplification, disjuncture or illustrative but it all depends on the artist themselves. Our music video is an amplification of the lyrics, as they are about a broken love however the love in our music video is a figment of the character's imagination and is unrequited.
Most of the answers we received were that the narrative did correspond with the lyrics; 'yes, it tells similar story', 'yes, as the lyrics showed his anger and frustration' and 'yes, becauase the lyrics are moody and show anger'.
However a recurring theme to the answers for this question was that the lyrics were difficult to understand/hear. For example 'yes, the lyrics are sad and this corresponds with the disappointment of the protagonist. However I couldn't hear all of the lyrics', 'couldn't hear the lyrics however the "sound" of it does (tone)', and 'I didn't really hear the words very well but it worked well with the tune and rhythm'. These answers show that even if the audience could not make out the lyrics of the song, they can still understand why we chose the narrative that we did, because of the mood set by the sound of the song. The rise and fall of the song relates with the rise and fall of our narrative and character, and through the answers to this question, we can see that this is effectively put through to our audience. To back up this point is another answer; 'The video suggest it was a first date but the lyrics suggested a broken love. Regardless he still has a broken heart.'
Most of the answers we received were that the narrative did correspond with the lyrics; 'yes, it tells similar story', 'yes, as the lyrics showed his anger and frustration' and 'yes, becauase the lyrics are moody and show anger'.
However a recurring theme to the answers for this question was that the lyrics were difficult to understand/hear. For example 'yes, the lyrics are sad and this corresponds with the disappointment of the protagonist. However I couldn't hear all of the lyrics', 'couldn't hear the lyrics however the "sound" of it does (tone)', and 'I didn't really hear the words very well but it worked well with the tune and rhythm'. These answers show that even if the audience could not make out the lyrics of the song, they can still understand why we chose the narrative that we did, because of the mood set by the sound of the song. The rise and fall of the song relates with the rise and fall of our narrative and character, and through the answers to this question, we can see that this is effectively put through to our audience. To back up this point is another answer; 'The video suggest it was a first date but the lyrics suggested a broken love. Regardless he still has a broken heart.'
Post-Production Questionnaire Results - Question 3
The third question we asked was 'Are there any shots you don't like? Please explain.'
This question is important as it allows the audience to be critical and through this we can then change a few things if we have a lot of the same answers. It is very important for us to use the answers, that we get in this questionnaire, to perfect our video and make it appeal to as wide an audience as we can.
A few people answered no because all the shots built up the suspense, and that there was a good contrast between shots and a wide variety of shots.
We received a few constructive criticisms, for example 'Some very effective images, perhaps too many iconic/memorable shots'. This answer suggests that there is too much going on and perhaps it is difficult for the audience to keep up with the narrative.
We also received a comment about the toy dolls, saying that 'perhaps it is a bit dark'. We do not see this as a criticism as this is exactly what we wanted to do. It sort of symbolises a voodoo doll and with the cross cutting to the doll shots in between the shots of the boy - they portray his emotions and help show the audience his emotional instability.
We received a few critiques about shots of our character walking; 'cut some of the walking down the road out', 'maybe too long with walking down the road', 'the shots in the street aren't the best quality'. This was definitely something we were aware of and something that we are going to fix in editing before showing our final music video.
We received a few crticisms about the lighting of a few shots; 'the first shot of him sitting looking at the door - too bright' and 'the one in the park, too much light on the actor'. This is something that we can fix in editing by adjusting the colour of these particular shots.
I feel that this question has given us the most constructive criticism (depending on detail of answer from audience member) and by looking through all the answers we can adjust some shots in our video.
This question is important as it allows the audience to be critical and through this we can then change a few things if we have a lot of the same answers. It is very important for us to use the answers, that we get in this questionnaire, to perfect our video and make it appeal to as wide an audience as we can.
A few people answered no because all the shots built up the suspense, and that there was a good contrast between shots and a wide variety of shots.
We received a few constructive criticisms, for example 'Some very effective images, perhaps too many iconic/memorable shots'. This answer suggests that there is too much going on and perhaps it is difficult for the audience to keep up with the narrative.
We also received a comment about the toy dolls, saying that 'perhaps it is a bit dark'. We do not see this as a criticism as this is exactly what we wanted to do. It sort of symbolises a voodoo doll and with the cross cutting to the doll shots in between the shots of the boy - they portray his emotions and help show the audience his emotional instability.
We received a few critiques about shots of our character walking; 'cut some of the walking down the road out', 'maybe too long with walking down the road', 'the shots in the street aren't the best quality'. This was definitely something we were aware of and something that we are going to fix in editing before showing our final music video.
We received a few crticisms about the lighting of a few shots; 'the first shot of him sitting looking at the door - too bright' and 'the one in the park, too much light on the actor'. This is something that we can fix in editing by adjusting the colour of these particular shots.
I feel that this question has given us the most constructive criticism (depending on detail of answer from audience member) and by looking through all the answers we can adjust some shots in our video.
Post-Production Questionnaire Results - Question 2
The second question we asked was 'Can you briefly describe what happens in our music video?'
This question is very important as it allows the audience to tell us how they interpret the narrative and the music video. Because we are so wrapped up in production and our own meanings, we might not have been successful in portraying some feelings and messages that we are trying to put across to the audience.
Most of the "narratives" that were described, was the actual narrative of our music video. For example 'The boy is getting ready for date, girl doesn't come, he gets angry and starts breaking things and then goes to her house', 'Man is expecting date excitedly - he's obsessed perhaps - and is stood up and heartbroken', 'unrequited love'
However, only one person included the dolls into their answer. 'Puppets represent what happens in real life. The guy is being stood up and so he goes crazy'. This is very significant as maybe the way we show the dolls in our music video is not obvious in what they are representing. They are representing the emotions and actions of the boy, however maybe it is right that our audience didn't include this in their narrative.
Most of the "narratives" that were described, was the actual narrative of our music video. For example 'The boy is getting ready for date, girl doesn't come, he gets angry and starts breaking things and then goes to her house', 'Man is expecting date excitedly - he's obsessed perhaps - and is stood up and heartbroken', 'unrequited love'
However, only one person included the dolls into their answer. 'Puppets represent what happens in real life. The guy is being stood up and so he goes crazy'. This is very significant as maybe the way we show the dolls in our music video is not obvious in what they are representing. They are representing the emotions and actions of the boy, however maybe it is right that our audience didn't include this in their narrative.
Post-Production Questionnaire Results - Question 1
The first thing we asked our audience was their gender. I feel that it was very important to ask this as I feel that our music video's target audience would be teenage boys. I also believe that the gender of the audience member would have maybe led to a different interpretation of the music video, and they would have preferred different shots or disliked different shots.
Out of the 15 people we got to answer the questionnaire, 9 were girls and 6 were boys.
This result, I believe, would maybe lead to a more sympathetic audience towards the main character. Maybe because there were more girls they won't see the creepy and emotional instability of the boy - they'll just feel empathy towards him because he was stood up.
Out of the 15 people we got to answer the questionnaire, 9 were girls and 6 were boys.
This result, I believe, would maybe lead to a more sympathetic audience towards the main character. Maybe because there were more girls they won't see the creepy and emotional instability of the boy - they'll just feel empathy towards him because he was stood up.
Thursday, 6 December 2012
Digipak Back Cover
Today in lesson I made the back cover for my digipak. First I started with a pre-selected print screen from our music video, where the main character is sitting by the front door waiting for his date to arrive. It is a medium close-up of the back of the main character and I chose this shot because of the eery effect of the blue filter that we placed over the red head light. I copied the image and pasted it onto Corel Photo Paint. I then set the image to be 125x125 - which is the standard size for a digipak. I fiddled about with the brightness, intensity and contrast of the image until I was happy that the picture didn't look grainy, I increased the contrast because I like the way that this caused more contrast between the light and the darkness surrounding the character. I saved a picture of a barcode from the internet and then pasted that onto my picture and placed it in the bottom right hand corner. I then researched what songs Dog is Dead had on the same single as Two Devils and typed those songs onto my picture.
I hope that by using this image for my digipak it will lead the audience to recognise the band because this shot is in the music video. It will be recognisable and it will be intriguing for anybody who hasn't seen the music video but has heard the song. It also leads to a bit of mystery as it is the back of our character's head and will therefore engage the audience to find out more about the artist and song.
I hope that by using this image for my digipak it will lead the audience to recognise the band because this shot is in the music video. It will be recognisable and it will be intriguing for anybody who hasn't seen the music video but has heard the song. It also leads to a bit of mystery as it is the back of our character's head and will therefore engage the audience to find out more about the artist and song.
Showing Our Music Video
Today we showed our music video to an audience. We were very lucky that we had a range of ages for our audience and this will definitely differ with the answers we get to some of the questions we've asked.
Our First Draft
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| Our audience watching our music video |
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| Our audience filling in our questionnaire |
Our First Draft
Monday, 3 December 2012
Finishing Editing
Today we finished our editing, adding the last few shots that we re-shot. We made sure all the transitions were in time with the music and showed it to our teacher once more. Her feedback was very helpful with providing us with questions for our audience after they watch our video. Our teacher was a bit undecided on whether or not she liked the shots of our main character walking down the street as she thought it all seemed too familiar. But we shall add a question on our questionnaire about this and see what feedback we get from our audience. We also stuck up posters around the school today advertising our exclusive showing, and hopefully we'll get a good turn out for when we show it on Thursday.
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| Our poster |
Thursday, 29 November 2012
Tuesday, 27 November 2012
Reversing Footage
A major factor in our music video is the reverse of a few shots. We did this by selecting the shot we wanted, right click on the mouse, select 'speed/duration', decide whether we wanted to speed up or slow down the shot, or tick reverse speed. We did this for a shot of the girl using the doll to knock down the table and chairs but instead the chairs are already lying down and she "picks up" the doll and the chairs and table are set perfectly. I think that by using this effect it emphasises the confusion and emotional instability of the boy as well as the chaos of the situation.
Thursday, 22 November 2012
Done So Far In Editing
So
far in editing we have worked on increasing the pace of the narrative, but also
so that it fits in with the beat of the song. We have used a jump cut in the
scene of the boy laying the table, to speed up the pace, as well as doing a
match on action – this also shows continuity and is something we learned in our
AS Level preliminary task.
We
have also edited a shot reverse shot of the boy looking at the clock, then a
shot of the clock and then back to the boy, this is to show his reaction to him
waiting so long for the girl. For this shot we enhanced the contrast to show
the shift of anger in the narrative as well as it fitting in with the music.
We
also edited a shot of the boy standing by the cake then a point of view shot of
the boy destroying the cake, with a cut to black in between the two shots to
build climax (which fits in with the song). As the song pace increases and the
drums and guitars get more harsh, so does the pace of our shots and the
narrative. We sped up a shot of the little girl cutting the clothes of the
doll.
During
all our editing time our main focus has been the cross cutting between the two
narratives, so that the audience know that they connect but it is up to their
interpretation as to how they relate.
Tuesday, 20 November 2012
Reshooting
This weekend we took out a camera, red head light with blue filter, tripod and dolly and refilmed our post it notes scenes and a couple shots when our main character is sitting by the door and we have the red head light with the blue filter outside.
During editing last week we had a few problems with our music video that we wanted to change. After showing the first shots of the music video we had “fully” edited to other media students and our teacher we received feedback saying that the post it notes shots were “tacky” and that the information on them was “humorous”. This was not the intention of the post it notes. We wanted to create the feel that the boy was obsessed with this girl and how eager he was for the date. As well as this we were also told that because the post it notes were brightly coloured it made the music video narrative seem happier than it actually was as we wanted to set a dark atmosphere to the music video. So for reshooting we have decided to use plain white paper and put more creepy facts about the girl. For example her address, brothers and sisters.
Editing has been really good. We've been cutting the shots down to the beat of the song so that now our narrative fits in with the climatic structure of the song. We've done a few shots reverse speed which fit in really well and look really good. We've also sped up a few shots and played around with transitions such as dip to black, dissolve and textualised. This is just to link the shots but without making it look too boring and then not going over the top with transitions to make it look too amateur.
During editing last week we had a few problems with our music video that we wanted to change. After showing the first shots of the music video we had “fully” edited to other media students and our teacher we received feedback saying that the post it notes shots were “tacky” and that the information on them was “humorous”. This was not the intention of the post it notes. We wanted to create the feel that the boy was obsessed with this girl and how eager he was for the date. As well as this we were also told that because the post it notes were brightly coloured it made the music video narrative seem happier than it actually was as we wanted to set a dark atmosphere to the music video. So for reshooting we have decided to use plain white paper and put more creepy facts about the girl. For example her address, brothers and sisters.
Furthermore
we found that we did not have enough footage, which is mainly because on day of
filming we stuck to filming by our storyboard instead of testing with different
shots. Regardless of us experimenting with different angles on the day of
filming, we still have gaps in our music video and narrative. Us not
calculating how long we wanted each shot to last in our music video also
created this problem, we therefore need to film some more footage. After
filming and looking through footage we definitely overestimated how much
footage we had, because after cutting it down in editing and fitting it to the
song, we have realised that we do not have enough footage.
We
have also decided to reshoot the shots of our main character sitting and
waiting by the door. We want to reshoot this because in the frame the viewer
can see the wires that connected to the red headlight that we were using
outside for that shot. This is not a vital reshoot however we want the frame to
be clear and just have the figure of our main character with the red head light
(blue filter on top) shining on him, and the wires were a distraction to this
shot.
Last
thing we want to reshoot is adding more close-ups of our main character to fill
in the gaps that we have as well as playing around a bit more with the idea of
him having a picture of this girl. We had the idea that the main character
would take the picture, storm out from his house and go to a river nearby and
throw the picture in the lake. This would add to the sympathy we want our
audiences to feel towards him as well as being significant in showing how
fragile this boy is and how quickly his mood changes.
Editing has been really good. We've been cutting the shots down to the beat of the song so that now our narrative fits in with the climatic structure of the song. We've done a few shots reverse speed which fit in really well and look really good. We've also sped up a few shots and played around with transitions such as dip to black, dissolve and textualised. This is just to link the shots but without making it look too boring and then not going over the top with transitions to make it look too amateur.
Thursday, 8 November 2012
First Digipak idea for Two Devils
Using an image from the video will allow the audience to automatically recognise the band. So even if they don't know the artist who sings the song, they will recognise the image from it being in the video.
Tuesday, 30 October 2012
Feedback of Music Video So Far
Today my media teacher watched what we had done with our music video so far.
She gave us very useful feedback:
She gave us very useful feedback:
- Because our music video is narrative and no lip synching whatsoever, she told us that our idea was very good at intriguing the audience. We just had to make sure that we carried on this way.
- When we are further into the editing process, we will have to edit the shots to fit in with the rise and fall of the music.
- We have to find a way of incorporating our digipak, website and music video together so that they look like they are branding the same band. Because we don't have any lip synching we need to find a way of showing that all these elements are promoting the same band.
- She also advised us to watch Watchtower by Devlin and Ed Sheeran because this is what we should try to aim to do with our music video. Engage & intrigue our audience, and make them want to watch it again
Friday, 26 October 2012
Evaluation of Filming
What went well?
We were efficient with our filming. We got started as soon as we arrived at each location, setting up our equipment and planning the shots we had to do and how much time we had to do it.
We shared out the filming between all four of us. And we all got a chance at each role that contributed to our music video - director, set designer, setting up equipment, and filming.
We chose our actor really well. At the beginning I was a bit uncertain if he would suit the role because, to me, he looked too innocent to play such an emotionally unstable character, but when we started filming he switched it on and became the socially awkward character that we needed. He was really good at switching moods and emotions quickly, as we had shots of the character being happy, anxious, angry and sad.
We agreed on most camera angles, and even when we did disagree we all listened to each other and chose the best shot that would suit the music video. But in most cases we filmed all of our ideas of the shot and then chose the right one in editing.
As we only made one cake, the shots involving the character and the cake could only be filmed once which was quite daunting, however we gained all the shots we wanted and even experimented with different angles. For example low-angle and high angle as well as Point Of View and Mid-Shot.
What We Could Have Improved On?
On day of shooting we filmed according to our story board. I think this might disadvantage us with our range of shots as well as disadvantaging the amount of footage we have for post-production editing.
Filming took a lot of time because each shot had to be done precisely so that it would fit in with what we had planned in our pre-production story board. We should have planned our time and the time of each shot more carefully.
We should have also taken more care with our mise en scene because there were a few shots that we filmed where we didn't realise that a tripod or camera case was in the background so we had to refilm.
We were efficient with our filming. We got started as soon as we arrived at each location, setting up our equipment and planning the shots we had to do and how much time we had to do it.
We shared out the filming between all four of us. And we all got a chance at each role that contributed to our music video - director, set designer, setting up equipment, and filming.
We chose our actor really well. At the beginning I was a bit uncertain if he would suit the role because, to me, he looked too innocent to play such an emotionally unstable character, but when we started filming he switched it on and became the socially awkward character that we needed. He was really good at switching moods and emotions quickly, as we had shots of the character being happy, anxious, angry and sad.
We agreed on most camera angles, and even when we did disagree we all listened to each other and chose the best shot that would suit the music video. But in most cases we filmed all of our ideas of the shot and then chose the right one in editing.
As we only made one cake, the shots involving the character and the cake could only be filmed once which was quite daunting, however we gained all the shots we wanted and even experimented with different angles. For example low-angle and high angle as well as Point Of View and Mid-Shot.
What We Could Have Improved On?
On day of shooting we filmed according to our story board. I think this might disadvantage us with our range of shots as well as disadvantaging the amount of footage we have for post-production editing.
Filming took a lot of time because each shot had to be done precisely so that it would fit in with what we had planned in our pre-production story board. We should have planned our time and the time of each shot more carefully.
We should have also taken more care with our mise en scene because there were a few shots that we filmed where we didn't realise that a tripod or camera case was in the background so we had to refilm.
Digipak Cover - Analysis
Bombay Bicycle Club are an indie rock band which is highlighted in their digipak cover for 'Shuffle'. It is a very unique and different style of cover, and doesn't show the band, which is quite typical for artists of the indie rock genre. The font is quite simple and the bands logo is in the right bottom corner while the title of the album is in the left bottom corner. The pastel colours are very effective in creating a mellow but bright feel to the album.
The picture of the feet link to the name of the song 'Shuffle', and the images and colours coming out from the feet are used in most of the band's digipak covers. It has become their trademark. The image also suggests that the band like to be individual and creative with their covers.
The imagery is identified with the artist, thus making it easier for the viewer to associate their digipak covers with them and their songs.
Thursday, 25 October 2012
Using Corel Draw
Today we did another digipak interpretation but using Corel Draw this time. we had to recreate Franz Ferdinand's cover 'Do You Want To'
First thing I did was use Corel Draw to make the background. I drew a rectangle box and filled it green. Then drew smaller boxes, and laid them out in a similar way to the original, and filled them in black. After this I got an image from google of a man in a suit. I used Corel Photo Paint to use colour transformations, where I fiddled with the contrast and brightness of the picture. I then used the magic wand tool to select the man's shirt and collar and filled it red, and used the magic wand again to remove the background that this picture had.
After that I placed it onto Corel Draw and drew a triangle and typed the band name and the album title.
First thing I did was use Corel Draw to make the background. I drew a rectangle box and filled it green. Then drew smaller boxes, and laid them out in a similar way to the original, and filled them in black. After this I got an image from google of a man in a suit. I used Corel Photo Paint to use colour transformations, where I fiddled with the contrast and brightness of the picture. I then used the magic wand tool to select the man's shirt and collar and filled it red, and used the magic wand again to remove the background that this picture had.
After that I placed it onto Corel Draw and drew a triangle and typed the band name and the album title.
Digipak cover - Analysis
Ke$ha is an artist of the pop/dance genre, which is highlighted in her digipak cover for 'Animal'. The close up of Ke$ha takes up most of the cover, and links to the theory of E. A Kaplan and Laura Mulvey's theory of scopophilia - imploring people to look. Close ups are very typical in the pop genre. The plain black background makes the titles stand out, and the glitter that they are written in links to Ke$ha's personality as she usually covers herself in glitter for live performances. Her glittery makeup is a way of portraying her party girl image and shows that she is all about having fun and being crazy, but her serious expression shows that she is feisty.
The font is also very edgy and links with Ke$ha's rebellious nature as well as it also being fun. Apart from the colours and font, the layout of the digipak cover is pretty simple (artist name, picture, album title). But the gold colour font suggests glamour.
This cover has given me a lot to think about for when I create my digipak cover. Where will the titles go? Will I want them to be as eye-catching as Ke$ha's or more discreet? As we have not used "the band" in our music video we cannot use the artist for the main picture, so what will I use?
This cover has given me a lot to think about for when I create my digipak cover. Where will the titles go? Will I want them to be as eye-catching as Ke$ha's or more discreet? As we have not used "the band" in our music video we cannot use the artist for the main picture, so what will I use?
Editing
We’ve already started editing and we are now using the
razor tool to cut each shot and to separate shots with the dolls and shots of
the boy. Now we are making the narratives link and later we will add
transitions and the music.
So far the narratives link in the following ways:
- When the little girl is setting the dolls table, our boy actor is setting the table for his date
- When the boy doll plays with the girl dolls hair, our boy actor "strokes" the hair of the picture of his date
Monday, 15 October 2012
Mise En Scene
Mise en scene is very important in a music video, and ours is no exception. Mise en scene refers to everything that appears before the camera. For example set, costume, props, actors. The use of all of the these elements may be helpful to create verisimilitude or to create an effect or meaning.
So for our mise en scene we have highlighted main props and are filming in two locations. One location is a girls bedroom, so the mise en scene has to be believable and we also want to use the props to create an image that is twisted and unexpected with the norms of a little girl.
Our second location is in a teenage boys house, in a number of settings; kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. We are using these sets to create verisimilitude and to paint a picture of this boys lifestyle to somehow evoke an emotion of sympathy towards him. For the date scenes we have decided to have the boy making a cake, so of course we need a few of the same cake for all the different shots and takes that we will have to do on the day of filming. We will also need the ingredients for the cake so that the boy can actually make it and we can film it. We also need barbie dolls for the little girl to play with and convincing props for around her room. We have (in our heads) an image of a pinky, girly room, with lots of teddy's and dolls, fairies etc. We want to conform to the stereotypes of a girly girl and then go against these stereotypes with her actions.
We are filming on Sunday 21st October (this weekend) and planning is going really well. We have all sort of decided what takes and shots we individually want to be in charge of - with filming and editing. This will make it easier on day of filming and also give us a chance to explain thoroughly on our blogs what we contributed to the group and music video.
So for our mise en scene we have highlighted main props and are filming in two locations. One location is a girls bedroom, so the mise en scene has to be believable and we also want to use the props to create an image that is twisted and unexpected with the norms of a little girl.
Our second location is in a teenage boys house, in a number of settings; kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. We are using these sets to create verisimilitude and to paint a picture of this boys lifestyle to somehow evoke an emotion of sympathy towards him. For the date scenes we have decided to have the boy making a cake, so of course we need a few of the same cake for all the different shots and takes that we will have to do on the day of filming. We will also need the ingredients for the cake so that the boy can actually make it and we can film it. We also need barbie dolls for the little girl to play with and convincing props for around her room. We have (in our heads) an image of a pinky, girly room, with lots of teddy's and dolls, fairies etc. We want to conform to the stereotypes of a girly girl and then go against these stereotypes with her actions.
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| For use at Location 1 |
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| For use at Location 2 |
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| For use at Location 2 |
We are filming on Sunday 21st October (this weekend) and planning is going really well. We have all sort of decided what takes and shots we individually want to be in charge of - with filming and editing. This will make it easier on day of filming and also give us a chance to explain thoroughly on our blogs what we contributed to the group and music video.
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