Rough Cut Feedback

As well as sharing the video through social media such as twitter, Facebook and YouTube i decided to ask a few different friends and family to comment and give feedback on the video, i did this as i had learnt in my pervious year studying media it is hard to get people to leave feedback for us, i decided to keep promoting our video in social media to see what response we got i also got some comments myself.

Debbie Harvey, Aged 42, Female:
''The video itself is very good, the shots are eye-catching and really made me what to keep watching, the colour effects you have used also make the video eye-catching and professional looking, although you need to make sure they are consistant. My favoraite shot is the one of the long path with the sun set in the background i thought this was amazing. I would say that the ending is the best part, once the music kicks in thats when i got chills, although the very end needs to be completed i can see it isn't finished. Overall i think it is very good''

Max Allen, Aged 18, Male:
''I like the video, it is eye-catching and unique. The whole idea behind the video is good and works nicely. I can see the end of the video needs work but i understand that it isn't complete yet. The effects that have been used work really well, the one where Danny falls back is very effective, however the first shot of Danny singing where there is two of him doesn't work, i don't feel it fits in, The colours work well and fit in also.''

Ellie, Aged 18, Female:
"You can tell a lot of thought has gone in to the video, i like the use of different locations and the colour grading it makes it look really eye-catching. I personally would be careful of the different effects that you use, some times they can be too over powering, the shot of Danny where he is multiplied could be seen as a distraction."

Maddi Harvey, Aged 15, Female:
''I like the fact the beginning and end are in black an white, it makes the video more interesting. The effects you have used also make it look good, the one where Danny falls looks good and makes you want to keep watching, the end effect needs to be sorted out as its not finished. I like the colours you have used to make it look like a dream it makes the video look interesting''

Tone Todd, Aged 17, Female:
''The video is really good overall, i like everything about it. The colour grading, shots and editing are all  really interesting and make the video really exciting to watch! A few things that i noticed when watching the video that i would adjust, firstly i personally am not sure about the effect put over Danny on the first shot of him singing, the background shadow takes away the focus of Danny actually singing. I also think that the colour grading needs to be adapted during the scene of the mum holding the sign as it goes slightly out when the shots change. My favourite bit is when it changes back to Danny on the floor when it kicks in, the shots follow the beat of the music and it really captured me.''

Russell Harvey, Aged 41, Male"
''The shot where Danny is singing and there is two of him is a distraction and i don't think it worked effectively, the whole idea of the music video is good and understandable but that particular shot didn't fit it and personally i would remove the effect. The colours you have chose to edit on top of the shots works well just ensure it is consistent through out the whole video. The rest of the video is good, the shots are eye-catching and professional looking.''

Rough Cut

This is the first original rough cut that we produced. This version has no effects or colour grading, we put all of the shots together and added the sound track over the top.

Above is the second edit we created, adding colour grading, effects and making sure no original sound was left on. 

On Shoot Actors

Actors caused a large issue for us, but as a group we sorted it out and made the best out of a bad situation. We got the actors we needed and filmed the shots the best we could.

Simon Stirling;

Simon we thought about from the start, Simon himself agreed to be in the music video however we was weary that he is a very busy person and may not be able to make it so we knew we would need back up actors. 3 weeks before the the shoot Simon dropped out, we knew this would happen however we was put down as we knew Simon was the sort of actor we was looking for. The person we wanted to play Simon needed to be confident, know the song and not be afraid to let go and have fun, neither Layla, Danny or myself knew anyone that fitted the sort of actor we needed so we decided to use Danny as we knew he would fit the role.

Mother;
The mother was not an issue for us, Layla's mum was going to play her from the start. She did not back out and turned up for two days of filming. Just incase there was an issues we had back up actors.


Little Sister;
We had three actors that Layla had found for us to play the role of the little sister, Romaysa, Maddy and Lily. However the little sister was a issue for us, we knew having a younger female would cause a problem due to school and there daily plans however using a friend of Layla's little sister we thought we would be ok, however the day before the shoot she fell ill and the back up actors wouldn't do it on such short notice. As Layla was in charge of actors she had another young female in mind, although she was a little older we thought it would still work. Elonor, agreed to do it but was limited on the days and times she could film. As a group we decided to cut the girl from the video as she was only in a few scene anyway and an older female sister was not the look we was going for.


Farther;

From the start we had a issue with getting a old male actor, we knew it would be hard due to work and other commitments. Although Layla was in charge of actors we all come together to think of who we could use, we didn't want to use a young male (a friend of ours) as we thought it would look fake and tacky. After much trouble we finally got Layla's granddad to agree to be the actor and Layla's uncle to be the back up actor. Unfortunately both actors dropped out on the day and said that they can not come,  Layla said that she is willing to step up and be the actor, i come up with the idea to use a bold cap and a moustache to ensure that Layla looked like a male. We went to the fancy dress shop and brought what we could to ensure Layla looked like a farther, we got to the location and dressed her up, unfortunately another issue then occurred when the bold cap split. We had to slick Layla's hair back and make her look as manly as possible.

Rough Cut Evidence

Friday 13th December, a week until the rough cut deadline. Myself and Layla started the lesson by uploading all of the footage, I was responsible for the tape so i had to ensure that all of the footage was uploaded and kept safe.

Layla plugged in the camera and set up final cut and we waited for all of the footage to be captured, once this was all done i sat down and went through all of the clips that had been imputed into final cut. It was important for me to ensure that every bit of footage we shot was on there as if it was not it would be impossible for us to edit.

Danny then took the role of editing as he didn't do much of the filming he wanted to even out the work which we all agreed was fair. We all helped when it was needed and put our input so it was a group effort. Although Danny edited most of the rough cut, i also edited a small part as i wanted to have a go before it come to the final video, as we will all be editing the final video equally.

We decided to upload the video as it was, to ensure that our rough cut was online and ready to view by the deadline. We then had extra time before it was due so we went through it all and colour corrected it and thought about the effects that we needed or could add. Different parts of the video needed to have specific effects, for example the end scene where Simon Stirling rises and walks out the bathroom needs to be overlaid as this is where we want the effect of his soul raising from his body. Though out the hyper real scene at the beach and grass land, we will be colour grading and experimenting with different effects. We have thought out the last scene where the beat builds and Simon is walking along down the long path, here we thought we could add flashes and different colours grades, and flickering between black and white as the next scenes are of Simon back in the bathroom. 

After creating the rough cut video we will need to ensure that we get feedback over the break so that when we come back we can make the necessary changes.  

Above is the first original rough cut that we produced, we simple cut all of the shots together and added the sound track. This is very basic and still needs a lot of work however we wanted to save it at each stage so we could see the progression and what worked well. 

This second edit, above, has been a little bit more advanced as we added colour grading, effects and changed the sound around to make it more suitable. We played around with a few different effects to see what looked good and what would ensure we get the best grade possible. The ending is something that we need to ensure it sorted as we need to make it look like Simon Stirling is dead and his soul is leaving his body, this is something that will be developed through out the final edit. 

Filming Day Three

 

On Wednesday 11th we decided to go out and film again as the weather was in our favour and we thought it would help us create the hyper real world we desired.

Day Three Filming - Evaluation

Arranged to meet at 7am, Danny was collecting us from our homes to ensure we was on time and it was a difficult time for Layla to get a lift. I was up bright and early at 6.30 ready by 6.45 and then I waited for Danny. Danny Collected me at 7 got to Layla's at 7.10, we was on the road by 7.25. 

                                                                      Filmed the shots that required a road first as it was early and there wasn't many cars about, this also gave us the lovley sun rise shot. Checking the weather forecast and picking to film on a day with fog was a good desicion as it made the shot more creative and professional looking. A shilouette was created as the sun was acting as a backlight, the shot looked interesting and eye catching so we did various different shots in this location so we had more than enough footage. 

This image was taken by rosie. I set up the camera and composed the shot, Danny was singing the song the entire way through so i took a picture of the set up. 

This was also taken by rosie. I set up the camera same as the photo before and took a photo whilst filming was in progress.

Then we went to the All Hallows' to get a few shots of Danny singing the whole song through so we could do some multi clipping. We used three different locations and, and sung the song twice in each location so we had more thn enough shots to cover the song if we needed.The reason we checked weather and thought going on a foggy day would look good and hyper real, we thought this would add to te effect of our music video. 

We all filmed and used the camera on today's shoot however I done most of the filming as Danny was in it acting. On today's shoot we didn't take many evidence photographs, I took a few images if the location and the compositions I thought looked good, I also took a few images of the camera and the way I had set it up to evidence what I had done.

Day Two Filming

This is me (Rosie) after just setting up the camera and talking to Danny about the shot, i then operated the camera for the next shot.

This is Layla getting ready to shoot the first shot of the mother holding a sign, Danny was looking over her and helping with the layout and composition.

This is me (Rosie) in the process of filming Danny and the mother.  For this shot, with help form Danny, i also set up the layout and composition of the shot to ensure it looked interesting and followed conventions.

This is Danny setting up the camera and ensuring that all settings are correct, he then filmed a scenery shot,

Day Two Filming - Evaluation

Friday 6th December, was our final day of shooting, we arranged to meet at 8am in goals car park, we wanted a early start to ensure that all the shots were done and we had plenty of time.                                  To start the day off i had to create the signs, i had been having issues with my printer at home so i had to wake up at 6am to ensure i was at school earlier than the rest of the group, I went in to school and used the art printers and the signs were ready i then met Danny in the goals car park at 8. When creating the signs i wanted to make them look as interesting as possible, when creating them i decided to make them look obscure and unique as they then fitted in with out theme/message of the video.                         Layla had woken up a little late and had trouble with one of the costumes, unfortunately this meant we didn't get on the road until around 9. We arrived at the location at around 10am, we set up the cameras as quick as we could in order to get filming asap.

Once we got to the location we filmed all of the shots with the mother in first in so that she didn't have to wait around in the cold for nothing, our actor used her own car so that it was possible for her to leave earlier. Below are some images of the location used with the mother in.

Through out the day we took it in turns to do various different shots, i did the majority of them due to Danny and Layla acting however, Danny helped me set up the camera and direct. As a team we thought about the layout and composition of each shot to ensure it looked interesting and suitable. Below are two images of me, one after i just finished setting up the camera and the other in process of me filming a long shot of Danny.

Filming Day One

Due to various different issues, Layla is now playing the role of the father and the young girl has been cut. This page includes various different images evidencing that every member took part in operating the camera. There is also a video diary explaining a few of the issues we had;

These images show each member of the team operating the camera, although we took it in turns to film the actual shot, we worked as a team to decide how each shot should be taken and composed.















Video Diary;

Day One Filming - Evaluation

Wednesday 4th December was the first day of filming for our group, we arranged to meet at half 8 in goals in order to get to the first location and get filming as soon as possible however we had a few disasters as you would expect in this particular industry. 

Layla come with the first disaster that the dad actor dropped out last minute, this was the most drastic disaster as this was our third back up actor! We wasn't having much luck finding a reliable male actor, with the troubles of work and other commitments we struggled to find a replacement actor on such sort notice, we had to improvise, Layla would be the male actor! After a quick trip to the fancy dress shop to purchase a bold cap and a moustache we had solved one issue.

Unfortunately the young girl had issues with getting out of school, this is something that we had thought about and the girl didn't have a large roll in our video. After much debate and thinking we made the decision to cut the little girl from the video as we felt it was too disruptive to get a small child out of school, and we didn't want to use an older female as this wouldn't look realistic. 

The final disaster we had to overcome on the first day of shooting was the fact that the dining room table broke and we had no where for the first scene to be shot, we loved the location we had so we decided to find a fold up table and take it to the location as we couldn't bare wasting such a perfect location.

After Layla waking up late, and to a wash of disasters we didn't get to our location until around 12. We set up and done the shots we could however, from miss communication the person in charge of actors didn't get a exact time to the mother to appear so we didn't start filming the dining room shots until around half 1. 

Finally after solving all go the issues we drove to our first location - the dining room. We set up the scene, using the props we had brought and the table we had to go and get. Setting up took a little longer that predicted due to the late start and the extra work we now had to do. Nether the less we left extra time for mistakes so we still had plenty of time we just had to get a move on.

The set looked just how we imagined it, as a team we was really pleased as to how it had all come together, the location was perfect along with the props that we had gathered, it made the scene look, old vintage and boring just as we had imagined it.

The table cloth was also a last minute find from Laylas untie as we needed to now find  a different shape and size cloth due to the change of table. However despite all the issues the first scene looks quite good.




As i spoke about above the male actor was a problem. We had to use Layla, the bold cap was a good idea however we wasn't happy with the way it looked, we felt it looked to fake and like we was trying to create a comedy and we didn't want this. So we got some oil and made Layla's hair look more masculine, we applied some make up, glasses and the moustache and we was done.

This is me operating the camera, due to Danny and Layla acting i did the majesty of the filming however they both helped me set up the camera and we all spoke about what shot would look best and how it should be taken. Danny and Layla did all the filming they could, so for example if it was a shot of just Danny, Layla ensured she did it and the other way round. This was to ensure we all got a good go at using the camera.

Website Draft

To start with I looked at the colour scheme, i played around and went threw many different colour schemes, i chose two in order to show how some are not the correct image. Using dark and plain colours does not fit in with out image, it is boring, plain and very bland. Our image is all about finding yourself and being who you really are using such dull colours is contradicting that and doesn't work. Below i also captured the second colour theme i looked at, using browns and beige is very similar as it is boring and bland however it does fit in more with our colour theme as the video and digi pack both have aspects of wheat fields and nature in them.

After looking through various different colours and combinations i found plain block colours very boring, i wanted to be more adventurous and look into how i could make the website background more intriguing without making it too busy and over crowded. I looked at using various different patterned or pictured backgrounds, i screen captured a few, as shown below;

This pattern background fits in with the theme and image that we are trying to portray however it could be quite hard to write over the top of, this is something that we need to be very careful of.

This is one of my favourite backgrounds, i personally really liked the idea of having a location as the background. The wheat field really fits in with our image as we are using it in the video and it is in a few of our digi pack drafts. When using a image we would have to be careful that it is not too over powering.

This background is also of a location,  there was something about this image that really captured me and i thought it relates to our theme. The birds are flying away, birds are usually seen as a symbol of freedom and the message and image behind our video is about being free and expressing who you are. 

 As font is important i experimented with the font. Changing the styles and size, here are three different styles that i looked at.

The first is suitable however it is a little plain and boring and and doesn't really say much about our artist.  The second is too girly and is not suitable it does not fit in with the whole image we are trying to sell. The final type face is the best out of the three, it is unusual and abstract, it stands out from the crowd and is the most suitable to go with out image.

Whatever font is chosen will have to be consistent through out the website, digi pack and video (if any text) this is why as a team will we need to come together and decided what one is most interesting, eye-catching and appropriate.

When creating the home page of my website draft i had a idea of how we could incorporate the digi pack we create on to the website. Using different shapes we could have the four images as a banner or just as a main focus on the home page. In order to see if it would work i chose 4 images that sort of linked and placed them on the home page in the way that i imagined;

By looking into what options there are and how much needs to go into a website by doing this task i have learnt that as a team we need to think carefully about each different aspect as when it comes together it will form a final website that we can be proud of. The colour scheme, background, font, images and text is just a small part of it. During the process of making the website we need to make sure we have including all the information that is requires as well as making the presentation and layout eye-catching and appealing.

Recce Report

Simon Stirling-Stand Close Music Video

Full Address:

All Hallows Leisure Park,

All Hallows-on-Sea,

Rochester,
Kent,
ME3 9QD.

Transport Information

By Car
Take Juntion 5 off the M25 towards Canterbury and take the A2 (Rochester). From the A2, you then take the A289 Gillingham Grain turn off to Grain. Follow the A228 and All Hallows is signposted from there.

By Public Transport (Train/Bus)
The nearest train/bus station is located in Strood which is about 7 miles away from the park.


Arrangements/Permission

In order to use our desired location for our music video in our 'hyper reality' scene, we had to obtain authorised permission from the All Hallows leisure park to use it as a overall location.

Moreover, in order to recieve the permission to use the All Hallows leisure park site as our main location, firstly we contacted Danny's auntie to ask permission if we could use her membership as she owns a caravan on the site. Fortunately, Danny's auntie agreed to our group using her membership on the day, however we had to contact the All Hallows Leisure Park head office to discuss the situation to them and ask for final permission to avoid legal disruption on the day.

Aftet recieving permission from the location authorities and discussing both our timetables, we have arranged the date of Monday the 2nd of December, any time from 11:00 to which we will have the location mainly to ourselves with the exception of the public/visitors of the All Hallows Leisure Park .

Location Description/General Information

The following series of images presents the location that we will be using for our music video for the hyper reality scenes.

The All Hallows Leisure Park location is ideal for our hyper real scenes as our scene is set in a deserted/countryside based land, with Simon strolling through different aspects of the location. For example, in our music video the specific settings consist of a pebbled beach, deserted green land and empty roads which is all involved in the All Hallows Leisure Park.

The deeper message of our music video is about finding your own personality and not being oppressed by the society and surroundings that you are faced with on a daily basis.

Therefore, this location acts out as a major contrast to the previous 'prim and proper' location scene in the music video at Simon's family household.

Whilst Simon's household portrays reality of a highly religous family that Simon is pressured to fit in with, the hyper reality world that Simon unconsciously falls into later relates to our concept's deeper message due to the location's deserted setting, allowing Simon to 'find himself' with no influential surroundings.

Location Pictures of the All Hallows Leisure Park:

Second Location

Full Address
55 The High Street.

Greenhithe

DA9

Arrangements/Permission

Fortunately, the location for our second scenery is set in a house, specifically a introduction scene in a dining room and later on in the disruption of the music video, a bathroom, which is easy for us to access and recieve permission for.

Moreover, we have decided to use my Grandad's bungalow for our general location due to the fact that despite the fact we will have to set dress the location to a certain extent, my Grandad's house has the traditional and antique atmosphere we were hoping to achieve.

Overall, my Grandad is more than happy to give us permission to use the bungalow and the arrangements for the date for using the location are extremely flexible as there is noone currently living there or in use of the property.

Location Description/General Information

The following series of images of the bathroom and the living room are evidence of the location that we will be using for our music video, portraying specifically the 'humdrum' lifestyle that Simon is apart of.

As stated earlier, this location in Greenhithe will be perfect in portraying the old-fashioned imagery that we want "Simon's household' to portray in contrast to the hyper real world we later see.

Moreover, this location is definitely suitable for our introductory scene and flashback bathroom scenes as the sizing of the rooms are of a small size to represent that inclosed atmosphere making Simon feel trappedd in his own home in contrast to his sense of freedom in the hyper real scenes.

Additionally the colouring of the bungalow is extremely bland and basic representing the uniformed life that Simon has been influenced to obey, despite his search for freedom and individuality, creating a clear contrast to Simons realistic world and his desired world.

Due to the highly exaggerated religous and prim and proper lifestyle we want Simon's family household to represent, we will need to set dress the location, specifically the dining room, with religous decor (religous art work, candles, decorations of religous decor, etc) and general uniformed dining essentials (table cloth, dining table, napkins) to produce a trapped lifestyle on Simons behalf.


 Location Pictures:Layla's Grandad's house in Greenhithe: