During period one today, I made rough key notes for each question of our evaluation and jotted them down.
During period two, I edited the rest of yesterday's material. This took the entire hour as there was a lot to do.
Then, in period three I went through each edit and colour corrected it all, mainly by warming the colours and adding more in the way of brightness and saturation. This gave it more of the intended summer tone.
There were two parts I wasn't happy with, so having conferred with Amy I deleted these entirely - they were unsaveable - and replaced them with other material.
Some parts could do with some effects, so I added "strobe lighting" to a performance part, and cut up a running part into three sections. One; played as normal. The next piece I put in reverse, by putting -100 in the speed editing box. The final piece I cut again, and added the last bit in so that my character jump cuts to the foreground of the screen. This makes the running part more postmodern, and interesting to watch. It also compliments the song's pace better.
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
I've just updated our "Emma Lang's" Myspace page.
http://www.myspace.com/565126799
I added more to my personal information; my bio and influences, for instance, and I also changed the entire graphology whilst keeping the discourse structure the same.
The background image is floral and features the artist. This is an allusion to Emma Lang being a more country genred singer, which would be subliminally decoded before any potential fan begins to read the page.
The brown and beiges also enhance the country, western theme and aid in constructed the preferred image for Emma Lang.
The fonts have been kept simple and not too modern.abstact, as our targeted audience are more matched to clean cut fonts that do the job, as opposed to postmodern ones to stand out and be unique.
http://www.myspace.com/565126799
I added more to my personal information; my bio and influences, for instance, and I also changed the entire graphology whilst keeping the discourse structure the same.
The background image is floral and features the artist. This is an allusion to Emma Lang being a more country genred singer, which would be subliminally decoded before any potential fan begins to read the page.
The brown and beiges also enhance the country, western theme and aid in constructed the preferred image for Emma Lang.
The fonts have been kept simple and not too modern.abstact, as our targeted audience are more matched to clean cut fonts that do the job, as opposed to postmodern ones to stand out and be unique.
Having decided that my first set of album cover designs were too busy and not realistic-looking, I decided to take a more conventional approach to my album artwork. I used the previous image in new ways, and compared them to real Taylor Swift album covers. The one with a lavender background didn't really match Taylor's iconic profile so I decided to take some images outdoors with nice scenery - an look some of Taylor's other albums have. These can also be seen above. Although these were definitely a step in the right direction; they still weren't quite meeting the purpose and targeted audience's requirements and criteria, and therefore wouldn't be successful.
The design I have chosen to go for is the final one. It focuses more on the artist - Taylor's main and emphasised part to her album covers. I made sure to still achieve something a little bit different at least, so I added a granulated effect. I also used an unusual way to present the artist's name; leaving the buyer with something more interesting to look at and work out. This should gain more attention and respect, and ultimately please more fans = more customers. The title stands out, with a bold, yet more fancy font at the bottom of the cover, so that if a buyer is focused on the album's title, they don't want to be spending a long time searching for it; it's plain and simple to read. The artist's name would not have worked in this position very well. It would have looked odd, by extension; as if the artist almost had a name tag! This would be far too simple for a twenty first century album cover.
Tuesday, 5 April 2011
Today we filmed the revised fight, walking to the prom, and the prom scene itself.
I worked on my evaluation and album artwork all morning, then went in for period four, where me and Amy refilmed the fight. I managed to get my friend Becca involved in stageing the fight, to make it as realistic and dramatic as possible; her being a drama and E15 student. She also worked the camera (in the way that I told her), after giving her a tutorial in using it. Sophie was in a lesson at the time and so couldn't make it, she said we should do it without her though as we're running out of time.
We experimented with a variety of ideas, and filmed them all so that we could watch back a vast selection, and select parts from that. This, we figured was the best way to approach it, as at least some of it should be convincing!
I worked on my evaluation and album artwork all morning, then went in for period four, where me and Amy refilmed the fight. I managed to get my friend Becca involved in stageing the fight, to make it as realistic and dramatic as possible; her being a drama and E15 student. She also worked the camera (in the way that I told her), after giving her a tutorial in using it. Sophie was in a lesson at the time and so couldn't make it, she said we should do it without her though as we're running out of time.
We experimented with a variety of ideas, and filmed them all so that we could watch back a vast selection, and select parts from that. This, we figured was the best way to approach it, as at least some of it should be convincing!
This is the unfinished version with poorer quality that we used for our class showcase. As you can see, parts weren't in sync and the picture quality itself was a bit blurred in places with lines across the screen, and parts jolt and jump which isn't how it is in the higher quality we've been working on. Our final copy will be top quality so this shouldn't be an issue.
Monday, 4 April 2011
Update: Rhys can only take part in our filming session tonight or tomorrow lunchtime and period five, before the deadline, because he's going to Wales after school tomorrow. It's Amy's birthday today so she doesn't want to film tonight, and it's unlikely we'd convince people to help us during their lunch break, so we're filming the prom during period 5 tomorrow.
Due to a lack of time, I've decided that it would be best to scrap the taxi idea. I figured it's not a vital part of our storyline, and it would take more effort than we can give, so our time would be better spent on something else. I shared this view with Amy and Sophie, and they agreed.
Tomorrow morning, period one, me and Amy have a free lesson, so we're going (to continue in my case), to prepare points of discussion for our evaluation.
Periods two and three we have media studies. Sophie offered to continue with our evaluation notes whilst I edit, and Amy wants to put an input in on what I do.
Then, period five, me and Sophie are free so we'll continue with our evaluation notes, and prepare ourselves for recording our discussions after school time. Our teacher said that we can stay until 5:30pm; when she leaves.
Period one then on Thursday, we'll put together our evaluation recordings and combine it with Powerpoint slides and footage from our videos to illustrate our discussions with examples. As long as I manage to get my album artwork completed at home, and when I've had more of an input on our webpage (Myspace page), - everything should then be ready!
Due to a lack of time, I've decided that it would be best to scrap the taxi idea. I figured it's not a vital part of our storyline, and it would take more effort than we can give, so our time would be better spent on something else. I shared this view with Amy and Sophie, and they agreed.
Tomorrow morning, period one, me and Amy have a free lesson, so we're going (to continue in my case), to prepare points of discussion for our evaluation.
Periods two and three we have media studies. Sophie offered to continue with our evaluation notes whilst I edit, and Amy wants to put an input in on what I do.
Then, period five, me and Sophie are free so we'll continue with our evaluation notes, and prepare ourselves for recording our discussions after school time. Our teacher said that we can stay until 5:30pm; when she leaves.
Period one then on Thursday, we'll put together our evaluation recordings and combine it with Powerpoint slides and footage from our videos to illustrate our discussions with examples. As long as I manage to get my album artwork completed at home, and when I've had more of an input on our webpage (Myspace page), - everything should then be ready!
I'm incredibly unhappy with this set of designs. The more I rearrange parts, alter colouring and add new artwork; the more cluttered and childish it becomes. It isn't even close to what I'd originally pictured in my head. Eventually I even managed to make a rough capital E, for Emma Lang, although it still looks awful. I plan to start afresh, and go for a more conventional design. It seems conventions really are there for a reason!
I googled the average album cover scale today, some sites said 4"by4" for the front and 4"by4.25" for the back cover. However one with a net that reoccured is that shown below. I plan to use this one as it seems more common, plus cms are easier for me to work with as I use the metric system. I'll be able to put these measurements into Photoshop or Word to set the appropriate dimensions to fit my album case.
This evening I filmed the "in the taxi" scene, without Amy or Sophie, but; with their approval.
To make this as good as it could be, I firstly considered the costume I'd wear. I knew it had to be a prom/party/evening dress to make our narrative cohesive; so I looked through what I had. I thought I should be wearing a bright one to stand out as the central focus when it comes to the final scene as the prom/party. A blue ASOS dress I have was suitable. Although I'd be seated in the car, I wore tights just incase my legs were visible, but shoes really didn't matter.
Next, my hair. Our narrative transforms me from being a composed and tidy character, into a messy, almost dirty one. So - I knew my hair had to match this. My hair was relitively straight from school, so I curled parts of it and backcombed others, to give me a ragged, run-down look. It should be decoded as my characters feels that everything is getting out of her control, and she's suffering as a result. She's changing as a person.
Then the make-up. This quite simply had to be a mess. I thought it would be good by this point for me to be/have been crying in the narrative, so I tried to match this. I applied heavy make-up, badly, as before. I made sure that it exactly matched how it had been when I put make-up on in the music video previously, so that it was also cohesive. I then added more eyeliner and mascara to smudge down my face. This looked a bit hard, and block-like, so I poured water down my face! I also took a bottle of water with me in the car to dab around my eyes if needed, as my "acting skills" aren't quite good enough to get me to stage real tears!
Camera angles. I got someone to film me firstly from the front passenger seat at a slight high angle, then from the passenger seat next to me in the back, finally followed by me holding the camera dirctly infront of my face for a full-on close up. This wide range gave us plenty of variety considering we only needed this part for a line/possibly two lines.
This was filmed whilst the car was in regular motion, otherwise it would be very confusing for the audience to comprehend that this is my character actually transferring locations.
Finally, my facial expressions. During this part of the music video my mood begins to change, as my anger transforms more into a drunken sadness. I made sure that I gave the impression that I was and had been crying, and conveyed the transfer from anger and agression so sadness and self-pity; perhaps with some regret too.
Overall, I think that even though this is a very small percentage of our overall video, the detail and attention I gave to it didn't allow for any glitches. It all ran smoothly. The lighting isn't great, but this can be fixed via Final Cut in school.
To make this as good as it could be, I firstly considered the costume I'd wear. I knew it had to be a prom/party/evening dress to make our narrative cohesive; so I looked through what I had. I thought I should be wearing a bright one to stand out as the central focus when it comes to the final scene as the prom/party. A blue ASOS dress I have was suitable. Although I'd be seated in the car, I wore tights just incase my legs were visible, but shoes really didn't matter.
Next, my hair. Our narrative transforms me from being a composed and tidy character, into a messy, almost dirty one. So - I knew my hair had to match this. My hair was relitively straight from school, so I curled parts of it and backcombed others, to give me a ragged, run-down look. It should be decoded as my characters feels that everything is getting out of her control, and she's suffering as a result. She's changing as a person.
Then the make-up. This quite simply had to be a mess. I thought it would be good by this point for me to be/have been crying in the narrative, so I tried to match this. I applied heavy make-up, badly, as before. I made sure that it exactly matched how it had been when I put make-up on in the music video previously, so that it was also cohesive. I then added more eyeliner and mascara to smudge down my face. This looked a bit hard, and block-like, so I poured water down my face! I also took a bottle of water with me in the car to dab around my eyes if needed, as my "acting skills" aren't quite good enough to get me to stage real tears!
Camera angles. I got someone to film me firstly from the front passenger seat at a slight high angle, then from the passenger seat next to me in the back, finally followed by me holding the camera dirctly infront of my face for a full-on close up. This wide range gave us plenty of variety considering we only needed this part for a line/possibly two lines.
This was filmed whilst the car was in regular motion, otherwise it would be very confusing for the audience to comprehend that this is my character actually transferring locations.
Finally, my facial expressions. During this part of the music video my mood begins to change, as my anger transforms more into a drunken sadness. I made sure that I gave the impression that I was and had been crying, and conveyed the transfer from anger and agression so sadness and self-pity; perhaps with some regret too.
Overall, I think that even though this is a very small percentage of our overall video, the detail and attention I gave to it didn't allow for any glitches. It all ran smoothly. The lighting isn't great, but this can be fixed via Final Cut in school.
When I came home from school, I took photographs of my sister (pretending she was Amy Rushmer); to use as a part of my album cover - as Amy was unavailable.
I found a plain cream coloured wall as it is the easiest to edit I find, and arranged my sister's body language.
I forgot put the memory card in! - So the only images that saved were these:
I found a plain cream coloured wall as it is the easiest to edit I find, and arranged my sister's body language.
I forgot put the memory card in! - So the only images that saved were these:
Today our teacher told us that our final deadline is Thursday.
By then we have to have ready to hand in:
- our completed video
- our completed album artwork
- a link to our completed myspace page
- a link to our individual blogs
- a link to our group blog, and
- our completed evaluation
We've nearly completed all of these, however we haven't even thought about our evaluation! We'd all thought that we had until the end of this term to complete everything, and the the few weeks after for our evaluation, but no, it's due Thursday. So, we had a bit of a panic and I decided to write a list, firstly of what we have left to do - followed by when we could do it. Here is my timetable for up until the deadline:
MONDAY
-(after school)
By then we have to have ready to hand in:
- our completed video
- our completed album artwork
- a link to our completed myspace page
- a link to our individual blogs
- a link to our group blog, and
- our completed evaluation
We've nearly completed all of these, however we haven't even thought about our evaluation! We'd all thought that we had until the end of this term to complete everything, and the the few weeks after for our evaluation, but no, it's due Thursday. So, we had a bit of a panic and I decided to write a list, firstly of what we have left to do - followed by when we could do it. Here is my timetable for up until the deadline:
MONDAY
-(after school)
Me - film "in taxi"
TUESDAY
-(periods 2 and 3)
-(periods 2 and 3)
Me, Sophie and Kelsie film"getting into taxi"
-(period 4)
Me and Amy film revised "fight scene"
-(period 4)
Me and Amy film revised "fight scene"
-(after school)
Me and Amy film down the road "come on!"
Me and Amy film down the road "come on!"
Me, Amy, Rhys and extras film "prom"
Me and Amy - film Amy’s "stairs + door scene"
WEDNESDAY
-(periods two and three)
Editing
-(after school)
Record evaluation video
Editing
-(after school)
Record evaluation video
Album cover - every evening in free time!
Notes, tomorrow:
Curl hair
Curl hair
Bring fight clothes
Bring prom clothes
+ make-up
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)