Closing Statement

Producing this music video has been such an enriching and fulfilling journey. I have learnt a lot about the process of media production from editing on premier pro right through to audience's expectations of a particular genre (in this case pop music videos). I have also learnt a lot about myself throughout the past few months as I have been directing the group through assigning Shaista and Nellie tasks to do. This role meant that I had to manage not only my time but other as well which was a big responsibility however I wouldn't change a thing. I really hope you enjoy watching our music video as much as we enjoyed creating it! :)

Q4: how did you use media technologies in construction and research, planning and evaluation stage?

I should probably mention that I have recorded this video through an iPad and I blogged question 2 through my iPhone 5 directly to blogger. I then went on my Samron computer at home where I transferred all the information onto Prezi so it was more aesthetically pleasing. I have forgotten my Prezi password so Alice Collin (another media student) allowed me to use her account.

Q3: What have you learnt from our audience feedback?

From asking media students, I also gained a clear understanding of how our product was received by people who understand the process of production of media products.

Q2: How effective is the combination of your main products ancillary texts?

Q1: In what ways does your music video use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Final music video

Audience Feedback

Final magazine poster advert

This is our groups completed magazine poster advert by Shaista and Nellie

Final Digipak

Here is our final digipak for our artist Arabella!

Digipak update

This is the magazine poster advert thus far. After getting audience feedback Shaista and Nellie are going to change the background colour as it looks too RnB as this colour scheme does not represent a pop advert.

Nearing the end of our journey

Weekly production diary

This week I have completed 3 sections of the digipak: The front cover, the CD case and the back page. Shaista and Annelie are completing the rest of the digipak as I am editing the music video.

Update on filming

Filming in the Tesco aisles went well with Romano and Shaista. Unfortunately Annelie could not be here to shoot with us on this occasion. As well as in Tesco we also took advantage of our surroundings and filmed in Costa cafe and under a bridge.

More filming

Today we are filming the café scene. Since looking at possible locations, we have decided to film in the local Tesco branch which is very big and so we could potentially film in the aisles also for a change of atmosphere or to give the impression that we are shopping. This scene will be incorporated into our music video like the reminiscence scene where Arabella imagines the good memories that she once had with her boyfriend (Romano Lewis). We have also asked for permission to allow our team to film there. We have also gone to Costa café to ask if we could film there also as a back up and part of our contingency plan. We are looking to spend about 4 hours filming to ensure we have lots of footage for our music video. We may even use both locations as they are walking distance from each other.

I will update you on how filming the café scene goes a little bit later on :)

Digipak progress (2)

This is the back cover thus far which I am yet to complete. At the beginning I had spaced out the songs to much which left me no space for any of the writing at the bottom, which I realize is essential for making my back page look like a genuine CD case. As you can see above I have begun to type some of the description.

Digipak progress

I realize I haven't updated in a while so here's a quick update of what I have been working on. I have completed the back page, the inside left and the CD case. However I do not particularly like the inside left cover so I think I am going to change it. 

General update

*Further to this, we are continuing to film our other scenes however have changed some locations. We will now use the dance studio, the filming studio, a café and a grocery store as we felt they looked much more professional.

Font and Logo

I have edited this via photoshop. The lips were slightly challenging because we wanted it to look like a real kiss. We used the eraser to create the white parts of the lip.

Day 1 filming

Unfortunately Annelie was unable to shoot with us today however Shaista is filming me on the DSLR camera and we're so excited to start! I will update you on how the day goes :)

Weekly Production Diary

I have not done a weekly production diary recently so here is another one of what I have done in the past couple weeks

Weekly Production Diary

Day 1 filming review

After Shaista and I had spent hours recording one scene for our music video we put the SD card into the mac computers. To our surprise the quality of the footage was not as high as expected and not up to the standard that our group would like to produce so we are now thinking to retake the shoot however this time with the HD video camera.

Here is some footage to give you a brief idea of how the quality came out 

Audience research

Animatic

Magazine Poster Advertisement

Here is our groups magazine poster advertisement ideas where we will be promoting Arabella's album. However the album will not be called "Don't go knocking on my door" because it is a very long name therefore our group will come up with a shorter and more effective album name.

Magazine Advert Analysis

Having been looking at some advertisement posters for our music video I have come across this Britney Spears poster which our group and I will take inspiration from. I particularly like the blue circles around the poster. However I think our group will use the yellow circle stage lights to give the poster a more glamorous effect. Furthermore, I think the yellow stage lights will contrast with my black hair. I also like the way the "Britney Spears is written as it curves which gives the poster a very poppy and classy feel.

Draft Storyboard

Here is our draft storyboard for our music video. It includes the concept of our music video and the various locations we will film. 

Photoshoot day 1

My team and I had planned to do a photoshoot for our digipak and for Romano's character profile picture on Monday this week. Unfortunately Annelie could not attend the photoshoot day. The plan was that Romano came into school and we shot Arabella's and Romano's (character profile picture) in the studio. This did not go to plan however as there were several incidents during the day.  Romano (also an ex Harris Academy Purley pupil) could not enter the school building during the school day due to law and safety regulations which our group were unaware of.  We resolved this problem however by going off the school grounds to take a picture of him. We also filmed Romano dancing to showcase his talent (almost like an audition except he'd got the shoot beforehand as I used to dance with him, and know his dancing capabilities). Our group and I are now aware that we can only film with Romano in the school building after school which puts us at a slight disadvantage as we cannot film whenever we choose. Nonetheless in these instances we will simply film another part of the music video.

Dance Preview

Since we have chosen to star Romano as the boy in our music video we figured it would be necessary to do a preview of him dancing first. Therefore we have asked him to freestyle as we film him to see how he responds to the camera and whether he will be camera shy when dancing. He proved to show confidence and fluidity whilst incorporating his own distinctive style of dancing.
Shaista was recording this dance footage whilst I was playing the music from my phone near the camera so it could be heard.

Contingency Plan in more detail

As mentioned in our team pitch we will be casting Romano Lewis however we have planned a photoshoot on Monday to see how he works in front of the camera. We will also sit down as a group with him and discuss simple things that are required of him for example:

•  Being on TIME
• Come to the scenes dressed APPROPRIATELY for the music video so we can begin as soon as possible
•  To expect to film a scene MULTIPLE TIMES until it is perfect

If Romano suddenly cannot participate in the music video then we have decided to use another dancer called Tyrell Foreshaw as we thought that having someone who could dance would make the scenes more interesting and gripping to the audience. It also means that the boy and Arabella could communicate to each other not only through speech but through dance.


If we do decide to film outside (the chances are very slim) we would have to film before 4pm as it gets dark very quickly. If it rains then we will simply not shoot outside as this scene is not a necessity as this has not been included this in our storyboard. However if one of our locations doesn't work out then we will consider filming outside.

The general public may be filmed also as locations such as the cafe is a public place open to everyone. 

If we cannot film in the cafe we want to then we will have to look for another cafe, perhaps a less popular and quiet one. 

If Romano is NOT present on one of the days we are filming due to an illness or any other issue then we will have to film another section of the music video, one that does not require him in order to not waste valuable time. 

The props that we are using are mainly things that we own not only to save money but also because they proved necessary for the concept of our music video. These props can also be bought at our local shops therefore if there was any damage to any of the props they could easily be replaced. 

The clothes we are using will either be borrowed, belonging to the cast or freshly bought. 

Weekly Production Diary

This week I have uploaded my lyric video, and lyric video analysis as well as uploading our team pitch which includes our prop list, concepts for our music video, contingency plan, schedule and much more.

Fonts

I am just experimenting with different fonts for the name Arabella on photoshop however there will be another post later of of other fonts and the potential names which we were considering beforehand. 

Phone scene

Locations for our music video

Possible locations for music video

These locations may vary slightly however so far these are the locations my group and I have decided to shoot

Music Video ideas

Unfortunately our other team member Annelie was absent so Shaista and I have put down lots of ideas on A3 paper which range from the style of our artist a range of potential colour schemes we will use for our digipak and music video.

Updated concept for our music video

Since our last concept video we have made some changes and updates

Choreography

Team Pitch

Chosen Song Lyric Analysis

Here is my lyric analysis of "Don't go knocking on my door" by Britney Spears as I have broken down and dissected the meaning of the words which I think will help with our group choosing a concept for our music video.

Workshops/Photo log (Camera/Editing Skills)

In this first tutorial Mr. Taylor explains the basics of how to open up and begin using Premier Pro. He then goes on to explain how to import files (footage) onto Premier Pro and how to export them also. How to unlink audio files and video files are also explained and lastly the basics of editing chunks from videos through cutting and pasting using the letter 'i' and 'o'.



In this tutorial Mr Taylor shows us how to use effects in Premier Pro. He first explains video transitions and goes through the different types that are available and shows us how they look. He then moves onto effects and goes on to explain more technical details such as how to change the gradient in order to extend or shorten the effects. He uses the solarize effect to show how you can pick and choose where to use the effects. He also briefly shows how you can change the lens flare and make the video brighter or dimmer.



This last tutorial is on the basic features of the media HD camcorders the Panasonic HCX 900. Mr. Taylor goes through the buttons which explains what each one does such as the zooming button and the still image button which allows you to take a still image while filming. He also talks about the microphone which can be attached to the top of the camera and the buttons on that such as the volume adjust button and the on and off button.

Lyric Video- Alicia Keys

Here is my lyric video which I thoroughly enjoyed making! It took longer than expected as I was starting to get used to the editing on Premier Pro and all the tricks and transitioning which add to the product however I got the hang of it in the end :)

On-Going Weekly Production Diary

This week I have completed going through my workshop photo log and briefly explaining what is involved in every video. We have chosen our song selection as a group and I have also done my chosen artist research.

Audience Research Questionnaire

I have questioned a handful of students on my group and I's chosen song choice in hopes to get a general feel of my target audience. We have asked questions such as what would people expect to see in a typical pop music video so we are able to take ideas and concepts from our audience and incorporate it into our music video.