Monday, 24 October 2011
Audience Feedback
Below are 2 scanned questionnaires I put together to collect audience feedback about the ancillary tasks I’ve produced. I ask a range of males and females within the target audience range. I have included a males and females below as examples of the sort of feedback I received.
Posters
We designed this poster as a promotional poster to advertise our CD release date etc. We chose to use A4 as the majority of magazines are A4 size.
< This is a poster for inside of the CD case.CD Front Cover & Back Cover & Booklet pages
Our original idea for our front and back cover was to use the image of the character's faces as the front cover and the character's back for the back cover.
However, when creating the products, we tried our original idea and decided to do the opposite as it would create a better effect and make the audience wonder why this was done. Therefore drawing the audience in and making them pick up the album.
Furthurmore, our orginial ideas did not meet the standards we wanted to achieve and we thought swapping the images around worked better as it was more pleasing to the eye.
However, when creating the products, we tried our original idea and decided to do the opposite as it would create a better effect and make the audience wonder why this was done. Therefore drawing the audience in and making them pick up the album.
Furthurmore, our orginial ideas did not meet the standards we wanted to achieve and we thought swapping the images around worked better as it was more pleasing to the eye.
Ancillary Task - CD front/back cover
Below are scanned from drawing of test text/fonts and photos we tried for our CD cover.
Photos of filming footage and rejected footage
Below is a reel of clips we decided not to use for our music video. I have explained why below the video.
1-3 seconds. This was going to be a part of the 'flash back' idea we originally had, where the couple were entering the house happy and loved up. we were planning on putting this part in after the fight scene, as though the girl was remembering how they used to be together. We chose not to add this bit in in our final cut as we were worried the audience wouldnt understand it's purpose and a aberrant reading would occur.
4-12 seconds. We decided to change this clip as when the girl walks in, she looks over towards the left, as if shes looking at something. In our first notes and draft ideas we discussed having a photo off the couple on the window sill and then cut to the photo so the audience know what she is looking at. As we chose to take this bit out as we didn't feel it was necessary to the narrative, it meant we had to re-shoot this scene, where the girl walks in and isn't seen to be looking in any particular direction.
13-14 seconds. In this clip, Amy was standing to the left of the frame and the camera captured the edge of her foot in shot. We in fact still used this clip as part of our video, as no one spotted this until after the final cut had been produced but we were able to disguise it by using a transition between the shots.
15-30 seconds. We shot this scene numerous times before we got what we wanted. as you can see from the next clip (31-51 seconds) we changed around where the props were to try and get a more interesting scene. After putting the footage together we realised the take was far too long and we went back and shot it again using more cuts this time to chop the scene up, making it cut faster- like a stereotypical music video. This also made it more pleasing to the eye.
52-1.03 seconds. We all decided the zoom at the end of this clip didn't work and with it being a hand held camera made it look unprofessional as it was wobbly/shaking, which can work in some cases but at this point didn't serve any purpose to the narrative.
Shot list
As we went along filming we used our storyboard and scrap paper ticking off as we collected our clips, ensuring we had all the scenes we propsed to film. Below is a shot list I put together once we'd filmed all of our clips to organise the order more precisely before editing.
Genre Questions
1. What genre does your production fit into, is it clearly does? It may fall between 2 or more (explain why)
Our production fits into a typical romance- fairytale type genre. It will be quite clear this is the genre whilst watching the music video as the narrative shows a couple together, splitting and then the ‘happily ever after’ ending. This type of storyline tends to be conventional to R and B videos and just music videos in general seem to follow this kind of story.
2. Of this genre, what conventions have you followed, which have not included and which have changed. Explain why you have made these choices in terms of both creating meaning and their effect of the audience.
We’ve included long shots, to set the scene and focus on a specific character, and mid/close ups to show emotions, this should help the audience follow the plot of the music video better and may also mean they engage with the narrative and the feelings of the character.
We chose to shoot the majority of the music video in a house as 'Love the way you lie part 1' is set mainly in a house and because we’re shooting a video to the song 'Love the way you lie part 2' we decided to follow this theme as we are keeping a similar narrative to that story almost as it follows on.
3. Audience- to what extent does genre provide a comfort blanket for the audience, or does it use genre to unsettle them.
Yes- we have tried to follow on from love the way you lie part 1 original music video and so there will be an expectation that part 2 will follow on in some way and we have made our video so part 2 is the woman’s view of part 1, as this is how we’ve interpreted the lyrics as it’s mainly a woman singing about her feelings in the second one that we’re making a video for.
4. How important do you consider an understanding of genre to be to a preferred reading of your text? Suggest an aberrant or optional reading might occur, if an audience member had no prior knowledge of the genre.
The black and white parts of our music video may cause confusion as some readers may not grasp the concept we are trying to create which is a dream scene, but also could be interpreted as a memory, although this also would fit with the narrative so an aberrant meaning could still fit.
The lyrics are from the female’s point of view, and so the majority o the camera work is focused on female and her feelings.
Our production fits into a typical romance- fairytale type genre. It will be quite clear this is the genre whilst watching the music video as the narrative shows a couple together, splitting and then the ‘happily ever after’ ending. This type of storyline tends to be conventional to R and B videos and just music videos in general seem to follow this kind of story.
2. Of this genre, what conventions have you followed, which have not included and which have changed. Explain why you have made these choices in terms of both creating meaning and their effect of the audience.
We’ve included long shots, to set the scene and focus on a specific character, and mid/close ups to show emotions, this should help the audience follow the plot of the music video better and may also mean they engage with the narrative and the feelings of the character.
We chose to shoot the majority of the music video in a house as 'Love the way you lie part 1' is set mainly in a house and because we’re shooting a video to the song 'Love the way you lie part 2' we decided to follow this theme as we are keeping a similar narrative to that story almost as it follows on.
3. Audience- to what extent does genre provide a comfort blanket for the audience, or does it use genre to unsettle them.
Yes- we have tried to follow on from love the way you lie part 1 original music video and so there will be an expectation that part 2 will follow on in some way and we have made our video so part 2 is the woman’s view of part 1, as this is how we’ve interpreted the lyrics as it’s mainly a woman singing about her feelings in the second one that we’re making a video for.
4. How important do you consider an understanding of genre to be to a preferred reading of your text? Suggest an aberrant or optional reading might occur, if an audience member had no prior knowledge of the genre.
The black and white parts of our music video may cause confusion as some readers may not grasp the concept we are trying to create which is a dream scene, but also could be interpreted as a memory, although this also would fit with the narrative so an aberrant meaning could still fit.
The lyrics are from the female’s point of view, and so the majority o the camera work is focused on female and her feelings.
Getting to know the camera/Skills development
Before jumping straight in and beginning to film our music video, we did some experiments using the camera to film simple scenes and then editing them on Power Director. We did a sequence where someone walked through a door and then sat down to text a friend. We thought of a way to film this to make it look more interesting than just one long take. We were able to use a number of different shots in the sequence, such as match on action (hand on door handle) tracking shot (as girl walks in) and over the shoulder shot as she texts her friend, and then cutting between the shots as she texts. We to shoot this sequence as it is simialr to the idea we have for a part of our music video. Doing this has helped us gain more confidence when using the camera and given us an idea of how long it takes to shoot and construct simple sequences.
Plan before we put the sequence together...
Plan before we put the sequence together...
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Edited storyboards
As a group, we discussed the parts of our idea, which we thought would work well, and which may not work as we planned. We took into consideration the equipment and props we have available to us, and also timing, so we were able to fit the frames with the lyrics where we felt necessary. From here, we produced a more detailed and more accurate board of what we hoped to produce in film. We will use this storyboard to work off when filming our music video.
Diary for filming events
Highlighted areas- important parts of filming.
Problems we faced before filming-
Finding people to act in our film delayed us starting to film slightly- although I don’t believe this was a major problem as it gave us more time to look over our plans and finalise ideas.
Finding a day when everyone was free- we all decided on a Wednesday and so tried to get the filming done little by little every week- then the following week looking over what work we had and if we needed to re-shoot anything.
We started filming Wednesday 26th January- we first all discussed and talked through the written storyboard and in which order we thought best to film.
As our narrative includes flash back and dream scenes we had to be careful in choosing clothes and continuity. We decided to start filming all the 'real present life' parts first and then go back over dream scenes. I think this was the best way to film so we didn't make it too complicated for ourselves.
We filmed rough ideas from the story board on the first day, to get used to working with one another and learning about the camera and decided to meet the following Wednesday to get the filming underway.
Wednesday 2nd Feb:
Plan:
Begin to film first verse and chorus.
What happened:
We reached our target and filmed the first verse and chorus- here we thought of ways to make our filming better. We had previously discussed camera angles etc. but once having the camera we were able to see which shots would work best and so made a few changes as we went along.
In the coursework lesson in between filming we plan to discuss how far we have got and what we need to do next, also we will continue with written work and research.
Wednesday 9th Feb:
Plan:
Continue filming 'real life' parts- next verse and chorus.
What happened:
We're filmed some aspects of the first verse and chorus that we thought we could improve and also started to film the 'real life' parts of our narrative.
Wednesday 23rd Feb:
Plan:
Look over what we've filmed so far and discuss what's left to film- continue filming all 'real life' parts - leaving filming the black and white 'dream' scenes until the end.
What happened:
Managed to film more of our real life scenes, unfortunately the male actor was ill this day so we had to improvise and only shot the scenes with the girl.
Wednesday 2nd March:
Plan:
Shoot the rest of the 'real life' scenes and start to film black and white dream scenes.
What happened:
We weren't able to start filming straight away, as the camera needed charging so we talked over what needed to be done and set targets and time limits for the day. We finished shooting the 'real life' scenes and tested dream sequences out.
Wednesday 9th March:
Plan:
Look over test dream sequences and shoot final.
What happened:
Finished shooting any little bits we had left and did the final dream scenes.
Collected all video clips together and began editing.
Friday 11th March:
Plan:
Continue editing and get our lecturer to check over what we've done so far.
What happened:
We finished editing and putting our music video together and discussed between us if we needed to shoot anymore to improve as we still had time to do so.
Wednesday 16th/18th March:
Plan:
Film more scenes that we discussed and thought were too long as a single take.
Edit the new footage.
What happened:
We shot more close ups to add more cuts in scenes to make our video cut at a faster pace. We added these to our existing music video and deleted shots that were no longer necessary.
We watched our music video over numerous times to make sure it was as best as we could make it and all the transitions were working properly. When we were all happy with the outcome we exported the file and burnt it to a disc.
Without realising, we all had our own roles in filming, Amy and Carley were mainly behind the camera and I was in the film portraying the girl, although if I had an idea for filming I'd film it using someone else as the actor, just as if they had an idea how body language or facial expressions would be, they'd take that role up and we'd all help each other, so we all had a say and a part in everything from planning to filming to acting and I feel we've worked together as a group and everyone’s ideas have been taken on board and talked about fairly. For editing, it was mainly myself and Carley, as we both do other creative subject and had more knowledge about the programmes we were using, although Amy also had a go but was happy to leave the editing and 'putting together' part up to us.
Problems we faced before filming-
Finding people to act in our film delayed us starting to film slightly- although I don’t believe this was a major problem as it gave us more time to look over our plans and finalise ideas.
Finding a day when everyone was free- we all decided on a Wednesday and so tried to get the filming done little by little every week- then the following week looking over what work we had and if we needed to re-shoot anything.
We started filming Wednesday 26th January- we first all discussed and talked through the written storyboard and in which order we thought best to film.
As our narrative includes flash back and dream scenes we had to be careful in choosing clothes and continuity. We decided to start filming all the 'real present life' parts first and then go back over dream scenes. I think this was the best way to film so we didn't make it too complicated for ourselves.
We filmed rough ideas from the story board on the first day, to get used to working with one another and learning about the camera and decided to meet the following Wednesday to get the filming underway.
Wednesday 2nd Feb:
Plan:
Begin to film first verse and chorus.
What happened:
We reached our target and filmed the first verse and chorus- here we thought of ways to make our filming better. We had previously discussed camera angles etc. but once having the camera we were able to see which shots would work best and so made a few changes as we went along.
In the coursework lesson in between filming we plan to discuss how far we have got and what we need to do next, also we will continue with written work and research.
Wednesday 9th Feb:
Plan:
Continue filming 'real life' parts- next verse and chorus.
What happened:
We're filmed some aspects of the first verse and chorus that we thought we could improve and also started to film the 'real life' parts of our narrative.
Wednesday 23rd Feb:
Plan:
Look over what we've filmed so far and discuss what's left to film- continue filming all 'real life' parts - leaving filming the black and white 'dream' scenes until the end.
What happened:
Managed to film more of our real life scenes, unfortunately the male actor was ill this day so we had to improvise and only shot the scenes with the girl.
Wednesday 2nd March:
Plan:
Shoot the rest of the 'real life' scenes and start to film black and white dream scenes.
What happened:
We weren't able to start filming straight away, as the camera needed charging so we talked over what needed to be done and set targets and time limits for the day. We finished shooting the 'real life' scenes and tested dream sequences out.
Wednesday 9th March:
Plan:
Look over test dream sequences and shoot final.
What happened:
Finished shooting any little bits we had left and did the final dream scenes.
Collected all video clips together and began editing.
Friday 11th March:
Plan:
Continue editing and get our lecturer to check over what we've done so far.
What happened:
We finished editing and putting our music video together and discussed between us if we needed to shoot anymore to improve as we still had time to do so.
Wednesday 16th/18th March:
Plan:
Film more scenes that we discussed and thought were too long as a single take.
Edit the new footage.
What happened:
We shot more close ups to add more cuts in scenes to make our video cut at a faster pace. We added these to our existing music video and deleted shots that were no longer necessary.
We watched our music video over numerous times to make sure it was as best as we could make it and all the transitions were working properly. When we were all happy with the outcome we exported the file and burnt it to a disc.
Without realising, we all had our own roles in filming, Amy and Carley were mainly behind the camera and I was in the film portraying the girl, although if I had an idea for filming I'd film it using someone else as the actor, just as if they had an idea how body language or facial expressions would be, they'd take that role up and we'd all help each other, so we all had a say and a part in everything from planning to filming to acting and I feel we've worked together as a group and everyone’s ideas have been taken on board and talked about fairly. For editing, it was mainly myself and Carley, as we both do other creative subject and had more knowledge about the programmes we were using, although Amy also had a go but was happy to leave the editing and 'putting together' part up to us.
Plan for filming
1. Start filming in one or two weeks time so everyone can attend the filming.
2. Equipment needed - camera and tripod. (lighting for indoors?)
3. Locations are: bedroom/House, Park/Fielded area - e.g. Penshaw Monument or a local park. (visit potential places and test photographs)
(Print off storyboards and plans to help whilst filming)
2. Equipment needed - camera and tripod. (lighting for indoors?)
3. Locations are: bedroom/House, Park/Fielded area - e.g. Penshaw Monument or a local park. (visit potential places and test photographs)
(Print off storyboards and plans to help whilst filming)
Storyboard research
Before starting to produce my own storyboard for our music video, I did a little research into how storyboards are put together and what needs to be included, to make sure I don't miss anything vital out and my work is to my best standard.
History of the storyboardThe idea of storyboarding was developed at the Walt Disney Studio during the early 1930s. Disney credited animator Webb Smith with creating the idea of drawing scenes on separate sheets of paper and pinning them up on a bulletin board to tell a story in sequence, thus creating the first storyboard (Christopher Finch, The Art of Walt Disney, Abrams, 1973). The first complete storyboards were created for the 1933 Disney short Three Little Pigs (The Story of Walt Disney, Henry Holt, 1956). According to John Canemaker, in Paper Dreams: The Art and Artists of Disney Storyboards (1999, Hyperion Press), the first storyboards at Disney evolved from comic-book like "story sketches" created in the 1920s to illustrate concepts for animated cartoon short subjects such as Plane Crazy and Steamboat Willie.
One of the first live action films to be completely storyboarded was Gone with the Wind. William Cameron Menzies. Storyboarding became popular in live-action film production during the early 1940s, and grew into a standard medium for previsualization of films: "We can see the last half century .... as the period in which production design was largely characterized by adoption of the storyboard", wrote curator Annette Michelson in a 1993 catalog for the Pace Gallery exhibit Drawing into Film: Director's Drawings, which featured storyboards of popular films.
What is a storyboard?Once a concept or script is written for a film or animation, the next step is to make a storyboard. A storyboard visually tells the story of an animation panel by panel, kind of like a comic book.
Your storyboard will should convey some of the following information:
History of the storyboardThe idea of storyboarding was developed at the Walt Disney Studio during the early 1930s. Disney credited animator Webb Smith with creating the idea of drawing scenes on separate sheets of paper and pinning them up on a bulletin board to tell a story in sequence, thus creating the first storyboard (Christopher Finch, The Art of Walt Disney, Abrams, 1973). The first complete storyboards were created for the 1933 Disney short Three Little Pigs (The Story of Walt Disney, Henry Holt, 1956). According to John Canemaker, in Paper Dreams: The Art and Artists of Disney Storyboards (1999, Hyperion Press), the first storyboards at Disney evolved from comic-book like "story sketches" created in the 1920s to illustrate concepts for animated cartoon short subjects such as Plane Crazy and Steamboat Willie.
One of the first live action films to be completely storyboarded was Gone with the Wind. William Cameron Menzies. Storyboarding became popular in live-action film production during the early 1940s, and grew into a standard medium for previsualization of films: "We can see the last half century .... as the period in which production design was largely characterized by adoption of the storyboard", wrote curator Annette Michelson in a 1993 catalog for the Pace Gallery exhibit Drawing into Film: Director's Drawings, which featured storyboards of popular films.
What is a storyboard?Once a concept or script is written for a film or animation, the next step is to make a storyboard. A storyboard visually tells the story of an animation panel by panel, kind of like a comic book.
Your storyboard will should convey some of the following information:
- What charaters are in the frame, and how are they moving?
- What are the characters saying to each other, if anything?
- How much time has passed between the last frame of the storyboard and the current one?
- Where the "camera" is in the scene? Close or far away? Is the camera moving?
Why make a storyboard?
Creating a storyboard will help you plan your animation out shot by shot. You can make changes to your storyboard before you start animating, instead of changing your mind later. You will also be able to talk about your animation and show your storyboard to other people to get feedback on your ideas.
Examples of storyboards
Reference
First Ideas for music video
Written Storyboard...
Before filming our music video, we produced a written version and drawn storyboard. We decided to produce a detailed written storyboard first as were unsure about certain camera shots we were going to use.
Before filming our music video, we produced a written version and drawn storyboard. We decided to produce a detailed written storyboard first as were unsure about certain camera shots we were going to use.
Therefore, by writing the different shots we were hoping to use, we had more options of different camera shots and angles we could improvise with when filming.
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