Collecting feedback for rough cut.

To get the most feedback, i messaged my friends on Facebook, and sent them the link to the music video. I attatched some quetsions i wanted answered.
One friend was a big help and gave me some feedback on how to improve the video.

H**** A**

Right.. here is goes. Remember not critisism... just opinions on what could be done to improve it. felt like some important shots where brushed over....

0:26 He's fired, the fired bit needs to be a bit more prominent... i.e. longer while the long letter felt like it was trying to tell me something, but wasn't sure

0:46 Clip with phone is too short. Would have worked better if it jumped to a clip with Chris holding the phone and hanging up rather than the image. (if you want, use a cheap pay as you go phone too lol, they are donned the drug dealer phone).

0:42 The clear part of the Casino sign footage needs to last a split second longer.,

0:50 opened letters looked like a good idea, but didn't even notice them the first time round. Maybe make the bills more dominant during the scene where Tash is holding a load of bills... i.e. have it on the other hand for longer directed at Chris's face.

1:15 I liked the falling on the bed, but wasn't sure about the scene mixing with the sitting down. It felt quite powerful so had me thinking for a while, wondering if it would sit better somewhere else maybe after all the sitting or not at all. hmmm have a think, it puzzles me still. But both of them with their backs against the wall... nice.

1:50 with Chris gambling against his evil darker side (I think that was brilliant btw, even if it wasn't intended), I kept waiting for him to go nuts and throw/break the table or throw the chips or something with anger... it would help jell the scene to the bathroom guilt scene a little better.

The 30 second gap where the band was singing made me lose interest in the gambling story, so when the bathroom mirror came up, I was trying to work out what was happening. Maybe this is the perfect place for a breaking/throwing table/gambling chips or something scene.... just before the mirror but after the band.

2:18 take away the scene with Chris in a dark top in front of the mirror, unless that's supposed to mean something that I didn't get? it dis-conjoins it and had me really confused as to what you where trying to say.

2:41 It's a shame that Chris has found enlightenment, and only has a few split seconds to show it off, make the scene with him facing the alter a little longer and give him some justice.

2:48 Lake was a bit random? not convinced yet... the film is all dark, then all of a sudden a bright sunny day at the lakes.. I'd have shot in the shot when it was slightly darker with a light or use filters to create the effect that its dark... Also I'd love to see the camera zoom into his arm as he throws it, give the scene some drama.

2:59 finally I think you need to shave at least 1/1.5 seconds off the start of the card flicking scene, waiting that whole second wondering what's going on felt like a lifetime.

Oh and of course the still images at the beginning lol.

Editing the music video

finely cutting the clips so that it flows well and keeps continuety

Colour grading the footage

Editing on 4.12.12

Today i captured the rest of the footage onto the computer. This included the lake shots, poker shots, and church shots with the protagonist.

 I then filled the gaps that had still pictures in with the office footage!

Editing the footage

I had to section all the clips so that we could both know where each clip was. This made the work more organized so that it would be easier to locate clips.

This is a shot of me building the beginning of the music video. 

Because we hadn't filmed all of the footage when i was editing the footage, i subbed the footage with a still from our animatic so that i knew how much space it would take up. 

I did a bit of testing with colour, so that the audience would not be able to see the radiator in the background, and so the green mat is bright.

Recce

St Pauls Church in Swanley Village, near Hextable.

Planning for my Digipak Idea

For my digipak, i plan to have a scenic view of the sky, with fields, hills and trees at the bottom of the frame. To get this shot i will take some photos from a road which i travel along to go into Hextable. The view from this road allows a wide shot of the sky, and a bit of hill, and field area. This is ideal for my front cover. To get teh desired shot i want, i will have to go on a cloudy day,  to that the photo looks more interesting.
Below are some screenshots of the area where i would be standing to take the photos.

Fore the back cover, i will need to take the silhouette band shot on the day of shooting, as it will be hard to organise another day to take the digipak photos. I will then need to photoshot them onto another photo, perhaps a lake, which fits into the location where will be shooting the lake scene in our music video. 

Font research for the digipak

The style I want from the Forerunner digipak is to be simplistic, but with a dark, contrasting edge. The fonts i have chosen are quite simplistic, being simple and straight edged.

Out of all these fonts, i like the last one called Subtle Sans as the R looks different to the other fonts. It also suits the bands style of music. 

Hand drawn DigiPak

End of module 1 report

I have completed all the tasks. Things i need to impove on are-
*Presentation skills - put into prezi
*on my band images i need to annotate some more, and perhaps do it as a montage
*website analysis needs to be a bit more in depth.

I would overall grade my blog as C3 being the lowest C.
Out of 20 i would grade my blog as 11/20
I think the level of my blog would be an over all low level 3.

 GROUP BLOG:
need to re-do
-references and inspirations: intertextual references
-

TARGETS: Knowing where I'm at and where I'm going...

My AS coursework and exam mark combined is:  171/200   and my result is steady A2.

I was at the target grade of B1. This means i improved 4 levels higher than expected.

160 marks to get an A
140 marks to get a B
120 marks to get a C

Foundation production (coursework)
89/100 = grade A

Exam results (TV drama/Music Industry)
82/100 - grade A


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

What can i do to improve my grade and level this year?
- I need to set time targets and dates, and remember them!!
- I have to find motivation, and just get it done.
- More relaxed


Exam Board feedback
- Annotate blog posts / reflective comments 'Why have i done this?'
- continuity of fonts and titles

Pitch feedback

On 5th October Chloe and I sat in front of a green screen and gave our pitch. During the pitch Mr Barton gave us feedback on what he thought and the ideas he and on it. Doing it in front of the rest of the class also gave us an advantage because they then had the chance to give us ideas as well.

Digipak analysis - The Fray

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymK8hP6d4Kg&feature=plcp



I have linked this task above, at this moment in time, it will not let me embed the video.

Forerunner Images and Image analysis

After searching Forerunners Facebook, Twitter pages and website i compiled screen shots and images to show what sort of image they portray. 

This image was taken from their facebook page. It advertises the date of their
next gig and where it will take place.

These are various pictures i put into an online collage maker.  It gives an indie rock sort image from the black and white theme. Most of their pictures involve instruments and are performance photos. 

I put various pictures taken from youtube, their facebook page and twitter into an online collage maker.

These are the 3 album artworks for their EP album. They give you
the choice of which one you like the most when you buy their album

A picture taken at one of their gigs they took part in. 

A picture taken at one of their performances.

Forerunner website analysis

When looking at Forerunners website i took screen shots to help show you how they have laid out their website and showing you the information they have put on it.

The front page of Forerunners website has their band name, logo,  bio,  gig dates,  contact info and a link to buy their album. Having the Logo on their website helps the band to be recognised. 

There is a link to the 'Band Shop' where you can then buy Forerunners album. It also has an email so you can contact the band. 

Putting the dates of their upcoming dates on their website
advertises to any of the fans that visit the page.

This is the Bio  of the band featured on their main page.
It gives an insight to the style/genre of the band.

Intertextual references for Chasing Aces

In the music video we like the idea of a girl falling off a building but then landing on a bed this can show she is feeling upset but God is there too catch her. Or it could also mean that she is in a really dark place but in reality is in her bedroom.
Here is a music video which has the slow motion girl falling onto a bed:

We have both agreed that the clean cut cinematic look would suit the music video. Here is an example of a what a clean cut cinematic video looks like to compare to what we want our video to look like:

Fall Out Boy - Takes Over, Breaks Over

Films

The poker scenes in these two films we need to take into consideration, looking at what angles they have used could give us an idea of what we could do, or do more creatively and fast paced. 

(themes of control and capitalism)

(mechanical like) 

Lyrics and Time Code

Chasing Aces Lyrics
VerseYou hold in your hand, the perfect royal flush,
(introduces the main narrative girl, she is upset and depressed)but what can it buy, that never fades to dust.
All the jokers are out 
All the jokers are outWhat if your only chasing aces what if your only chasing dice.
The end of the game is only losers, then there must be more to life
What if your only chance is failing, what if all your luck runs out
Who have you got who you can turn to, who can truly bail you out?

ChorusIf you could hold a perfect hand would you want it? (Woah woah woah)
Band shots of them playing as the music changes If you could see more now than your eyes could ever see (woah woah woah)
I tell you of a man who walked this earth, oooo
Who offers life
The band pointing/looking upwards for hopeWoahh woah woah woah


Verse

You hold in your hand, the perfect royal flush,
but what can it buy, that never fades to dust.
All the jokers are out 

All the jokers are outWhat if your only chasing aces what if your only chasing dice.
The end of the game is only losers, then there must be more to life
What if your only chance is failing, what if all your luck runs out
Who have you got who you can turn to, who can truly bail you out?
Girl has realised there could be hope and is happier

Chorus
If you could hold a perfect hand would you want it? (Woah woah woah)
If you could see more now than your eyes could ever see (woah woah woah)
I tell you of a man who walked this earth, oooo
Who offers life
Woah woah woah woah
lead singer throws a playing card (ACE) at the screen and it slows down/sticks and reveals the logo of the band

Forerunners Target Audience...

In order to aim the music video at the right target audience, we have to do some research into what age, gender and style audience Forerunner have.
Here is the research we have.

AGE:
To get the age i went onto the Facebook page of the band and went on the statistics. The statistics showed that the age that most popular age group of fans was between 18-24 years old. This age could be biased however, as the most popular age for Facebook is also around that age group too. So for the age of Forerunners target audience, we are widening the age gap to 16-28 years old. 

Gender
We observed that the people who like Forerunner were a mix of both males and females, and therefore they should aim at both genders. Also looking at the style research below, there is a total of 15 people, and out of those 15, 8 are girls and 7 are boys, so there is almost a straight devision of both genders.

Style
To get a feel of the style of their fans, i looked at the people who liked the group on facebook and have made a collage of their profile pictures. This gives a feel of the genre and style of the band too.

From looking at these photos i would put the sub culture labels of indie, rock and skater.