From my feedback, I have been able to overview and make final choices to my product which will then consist of my publishing my final cut.
The feedback which I received:
This has helped me to finalise my product. This is due to certain aspects of my feedback, such as the suggested improvements on sound of some shots and maybe adding a few extra shots in,(which were present in my first cut) that I took out through my editing process, and didn't think they'd fit with my new product. This feedback has helped very strongly with my final cut and has ensured my confidence within my product, as I was informed only small changes were needed.
From reflecting on the process so far, I have been able to look back on how much my ideas have expanded. This has been a benefiting factor as my work being improved will help my build towards a strong grade in my media studies A2. I have thoroughly enjoyed the editing process, and now almost being able to compare between my first cut and final, to help me see how much my work has improved.
Most of the improvements have been helped by my audience feedback. This is something I have been very thankful for, and which has helped me a lot. Audience feedback has helped me because it has always pushed me to improve and work harder on my products. Whether it is my music video, my ancillary products, or my overall blog, I have been able to keep improving, and audience feedback has helped.
I feel 95% happy about the process so far, and I hope my final few weeks of finishing my coursework are the same :)
I have first started to edit my images for my digipak on 'Pic Monkey'. This software allows me to edit my images and add/ import: text, edit overlays, stickers and editing effects.
Here I have been testing out the editing overlays to see how they look. This could be a possible effect I may use.
Here I have started looking at another possible effect. This effect involves both black & white and the original effect of my image. Here I have started to test what both effects can look like combined together. I may possibly use this effect.
Today, I have started to create and build my final ideas for my digipak. From the screenshot above, it shows how I have started to create the front cover, inside cover and back cover. These ideas may change as I may have the song list on one of the inside covers.
The photographs used are my own photography and I am conforming to use some conventions in which my artist also uses. These are such as: having the 'artist' on the front cover, and including a song list.
I have started to edit my main image for my magazine advert on 'Pic Monkey'. I have used 'Pic Monkey' to edit my image by adding filters and changing slight effects such as the exposure etc..
I have then started to create my own functioning QR code. I will create this QR code to be presented on my magazine advert and have it linking to my music video on YouTube. As my final music video is not uploaded to YouTube yet, I have created a temporary QR code which sends the user to the Apple Music page for the download of 'This Is What It Feels Like' -Armin Van Buuren'.
Here I have imported the edited image from 'Pic Monkey' into Fireworks. On here I am able to add my other aspects which I want on my magazine advert, these are such as my star ratings, temporary working QR code which sends the user to the single of 'This Is What It Feels Like' on Apple Music, and logos such as for 'Armada Music', 'Spotify' and 'HMV'.
Today I have started editing my performance element. This is being edited because I am aligning my shots with the music, and finding which aspects of my music video are best fitted for each scene in which my performance element is needed.
This process will involve cutting, trimming, and adding effects onto each individual shot of my performance element.
From my feedback on both of my magazine adverts, to has helped me to construct and create a strong final idea which I will start to plan to create for.
This feedback has helped my construction of ideas within my draft ancillary products. It has helped me think about the areas in which I need to improve up on such as my choices of colour and text. From this feedback I am hoping to be able to construct strong and interesting final ancillary pieces.
These are the drafts of my ancillary products. I have created two drafts for my digipak and my magazine advert. In class, I obtained feedback from every student in my class and this feedback will help me asses and take each strengths out of each idea to create a good piece for my magazine advert and digipak.
-These are the questions I've asked for my digipak feedback
Below is the feedback I received from these questions. When the respondents refer to A & B, A is the digipak on the right and B is the digipak on the left.
From this feedback I received, I am able to focus on the constructive feedback and be able to pick out the aspects which need improving. Examples of constructive feedback I obtained was: the use of imagery I chose to present and the colours (mostly on B) were of good choice. Feedback reflected that the colour schemes I chose could attract the audience well. My ideas also reflected on feedback that they linked to my music video well and worked in the style of my chosen artist well. Everyone who gave feedback were able to easily know what the genre of my chosen artist's music was (pop/dance).
Constructive feedback was aspects such as moving the QR code to a different place, as it is more stereotypically to have it on the back. On idea A, it is a bit plain and could include better scenes and more colour. This feedback also made me think about the spacing of the disk placing as some feedback was saying I should move it to a different panel.
From this feedback, I am able to re-assess my ideas and put together the strengths to be able to create a final piece dig-pak with help with all of my feedback.
These are my draft/initial ideas for my magazine advert. I have concluded ideas for every aspect which generally goes into a magazine advert. I have also evidenced all areas in which I think should be included.
My drawn magazine advert ideas are shown below:
Today I have researched into the common conventions which are within most ancillary products, and I have created a list (above) which I will be able to work from when drafting my ideas.
Today is the final day I am gathering all of my shots/ extra footage and importing this into my music video production.
I am setting my target to complete my second cut within 2/3 weeks time. By my second cut, I will have hoped to be able to have an almost completely finished product and which will only need minor tweaking which will create my third and final cut.
My first cut feedback mainly consisted of feedback which I was mostly already aware of. This is because this was a very un-finished first cut. This meant that I already was aware of most of the common factors of feedback which were given.
Nether the less, I was still able to construct my ideas and work towards my final cut constructively from this feedback.
This is my first cut. This edition of my music video is the first aspect of my editing and creation of pulling my music video together. This edition is clearly not finished and has a lot of work to be added into. Although, this can show how my music video is beginning to structure and to start the style/ narrative which I am giving out.
The 'Rule Of Thirds' is also a helpful technique as it links to my ancillary products because I need to have a guideline from this technique to help ensure that my posters/adverts and original photography is beneficial and fits the rule of thirds.
So far, I am feeling positive about the work and process of my music video and coursework aspects so far. I am currently happy with my blog work and I am now starting to work on my ancillary product research and will be then going on to work on that, alongside my blog and my product.
Some aspects of this coursework task have included faults/ effects. These are such as when importing some of my footage, not all was converted to the specific format and this then created an issue when sorting out my product. I soon overcame this issue and was able to sort the formatting my self, and my footage is now all working and suitable for my product.
I have also had issues with some of my blog work not saving properly, so this created some of my work to be incomplete on my blog, but I overcame this issue and re-created these pieces of work.
I am hoping within the next week to be able to have produced my first cut, and to be up to date on my blog and ancillary product research.
For today's editing update, I have been able to order all of my footage in the correct composition. I now need to crop down my footage as it is 7 minutes long (my song is 3 minutes) and then I will be be able upload my first cut for my music video.
Today I have editing on the process of deciding and chosing which of the 3, similar shots I want to chose. I have had to decide this because I have three shots which all have different lighting, and within my editing, I need to decide which lighting can cohabit and fit with the rest of my shots.
This editing process will involve selecting which shot is needed/ most suited out of the 3, trimming this shot in to fit, editing the shot and finalising my overall decision whether the shot fits the rest.
From these 3 shots, I feel like I will decide to chose the shot which is furthest to the right. This is because I feel that it has the correct balance of lighting, is clear, and is easiest to fit with the rest of my footage.
Today, I have started editing on the arrangement of shots, but have also started to arrange my shots so that they fit correctly within the music beat/ pulses.
I have started to edit this because I feel that it is important to have my shots in time with the music as it also shows how I can create a piece which has good respondence and relations between the music and each individual shot.
Today, I have been carrying on working with my music composition, but I have been going through every shot and making sure that they are all suitable standard and if needed, I have cropped some down or cut them out of my editing timeline.
Today, I have started to create more edits. I have focused on placing my shots in the order of my shooting script. I have done this by reading my shooting script and selecting the certain shot and dragging it to its specified place within the timeline on Final Cut Pro.
I have also started to compromise and think about the sound composition and its relationship with my shots. For this I have listened to the song while watching my shots so far, I have then counted the beat of my music and started to link the shots to the beat. This is so that my music video is not just random shots and music in the background, but that the music can fit with my shots in an adept and effective way.
The above screenshot shows where this is specifically important. As the song has just begun, there is a very tight and rhythmic beat. Firstly it shows how I trimmed all the shots needed down and made them all the same short length. From this I have now started to count the beat in and in-between each shot to make the music fit.
Today, on the 7th of September 2016, I have first started to organise my footage.
I first processed all footage from the device I filmed on to my iMac, I then transferred the footage on to Final Cut Pro, this is where I will do all of editing. I did then start to put my footage in to an order, but this is not fully finished.
I started with 31:00 minutes worth of footage but have managed to cut it down to 13:00, and I will carry on with cutting until all shots are of the standard and length needed. I will cut my shots down to standard, these standards will be based on the best image composition, best quality of shots and whether or not they are fully relevant to my idea.
I have also inverted the my chosen song to my footage today
I plan to have a second editing update on the 9/9/16
Today I have started my first element of filming. I have decided to film on my iPad and GoPro technology, although today I have been focusing on just my iPad filming.
Above is an example of the filming from today. Todays aim was to film most of the 'town/city' female characters location, and I am pleased to say that I was able to fulfil this aim as I managed to get all of the filming needed for this location today, and also many extra shots :)
My next filming day will be on the 25/8/16. On this day I will focus on getting the 'countryside' location and maybe some GoPro footage.
Today I have finished the footage on the GO PRO. I have also finished all footage of the final shot, inside the female character's house and the male character's house.
For the basis of my footage, I still need to film shots of the males characters performance element, and this I plan to film in the next 1/2 weeks.
This is my feedback from my initial ideas timeline. This feedback has helped me to structure my ideas more so and think more clearly about my choices and how I can ensure the audience understand and like my product.
Here it shows how I researched for "Armada Music"s (the record label which released the album that the song was on) email, and below is my email to them asking permission.
I have decided to use 1 of 3 of my song choices which is 'This is what it feels like"- Armin Van Buuren.
Below I have drawn out short information which covers the main ideas of the reasons for using the song, how I will film it, the difficulties/ challenges it may create and the main target audience, for this song.
When choosing this song, beforehand I also thought about my feedback from my ideas (from previous blog post) and I have taken a lot of consideration into my audience as I feel they are very important towards the final ideas of my future product.
I have overall decided this song choice as I feel that it has a good variety on the narrative and narrative ideas I can base it around, also this song is my most favourable out of the 3 and so I feel I will be able to work best with this. I also feel that I will be able to use more resources that I have available for this song and its potential narrative, over the others, for example if I were to base this song around the narrative of distance and cars, I have good resources which I am accessible to and thus will make me better prepared and help me overall.
SIA- Breathe Me
Genre: Alternative/pop
GOODWINS THEORY:
Within this music video, the video does conform to some of Goodwin's theory. This is because within the music video, there is firstly a conformation of a demonstration of typical genre characteristics, as because the song has a depressing tone, the actions shown within the video are also typical characteristics towards that such as the female being lonely.
Another way in which this music video conforms to Goodwin's theory is how there is the notion of looking at the female body. This is because throughout the whole video, the female is the main character but the audience are shown her when getting dressed and shown her in the mirror getting ready to go outside/ doing her makeup. Within this shot, it reflects the music video conforming to Goodwin's theoretic point that there is a reference to the notion of looking at the female body.
R3hab- Near Me
Genre: House/dance
GOODWINS THEORY:
This music video doesn't have many specific examples which are able to link to Goodwin's theory. Within this video there is slight relation between lyrics and visuals, when the girl is shown dancing, but not enough have a impact which would reflect it conforms to the theory. There is also a slight theme of the record label having certain demands, as in previous R3hab music videos (such as R3hab and Quentin -Freak), it reflects how they kind of work in a similar style such as starting the video off to be a night time, and within the video, having multiple short shots which are fast paced. This shot shows the example of when the music video conforms to one of Goodwin's points that there are relations between lyrics and visuals as when the lyrics are "when the rain starts falling down', the girl is shown to be moving down into a kneeled position.
Blink 182- What's my age again?
Genre: Pop punk/ alternative rock
GOODWINS THEORY
Within this music video there is a relationship between the lyrics and visuals/actions. This is shown within the music video as they are shown to be singing about being childish and then throughout the video there are childish acts being represented. This video does although contradict Goodwin's theory on a large basis. This is because for one of the points within Goodwin's theory "there are frequent reference to the notion of looking and the voyujrisitic treatment of the female body'. This music video goes completely against this as the main characters within are 3 males who are reflected to be unclothed running through the streets and the camera is mostly aimed at them at all times. This reflects how this music video contradicts against Goodwin's theory as the audience have a notion of looking at the male body, not female. This shot represents how in this music video Goodwin's theory is being contradicted as the audience have a notion of the male body instead of Goodwin's theory stating it is the females.
Andrew Goodwin's theory consists of ideas which support his view that a music video is a genre within itself. This is supported by 6 points:
1) Music videos more often than not tend to include a demonstration of typical genre characteristics. An example of this is that it is typical of a rap song to include flashy sports cars.
2) There are frequent references to the notion of looking and the voyeuristic treatment of the female body. An example of this would be Miley Cyrus' music video for Wrecking Ball, as voyeurism is only shown at one angle/ by one side (female).
3) There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals/actions. This is reflected in music videos such as Taylor Swift's Shake It Off, as the characters and actions link to the lyrics.
4) The record label has certain demands towards the artist. They often include the need for a lot of close ups and the artist may have a visual style which recurs across their work. An example of this would be in Adele's work or Rhianna's work as they include a lot of close ups and in Adele's albums, there is a common theme created across the cover of the CD/album.
5) There is often intertextual references (to films, tv programmes). An example of this would be the intertextuality which is presented in The Wombats music video for My Circuitboard City as it references a video game.
My initial thoughts of the task are that I am willing to complete the work, even though it may be challenging and I am looking forward to it.
I have been interested in working in some genres/ artists such as:
SIA
The Hoosiers
R3HAB
or rock genre including artists such as:
PVRIS
Blink -182
The areas of this task which I am excited about will probably be the research into music and which music genre/artist I will choose and the filming aspects, as I want to make sure it is interesting and done to a excellent standard.
The areas that I may find more challenging are making sure the shot types I have chosen fit, and that my music video has a good storyline/basis.
I feel it may also be difficult within the CD case making process.
For my A2 task I will be working on my own.
I have decided to work individually as I worked on my own during my AS coursework task, and throughout this time I felt that it was easier for myself to work on my own due to knowing that I would be doing all aspects of the work by myself, and thus not needing to worry if other group members have completed the work needed.
I also feel that working by myself benefits me as it makes me more determined to complete my work to a high standard as it will be my grade and not have an input by anyone else.
This year, for my A2 coursework, the task that is set is to create a music video, a CD case and a magazine advert, based on a song of my choice.
My initial feelings towards this task are that it may be challenging, but I am willing to compete with the challenge and hopefully create a successful piece of coursework with my skills and knowledge.
The skills that I have learnt and developed from my AS coursework are:
-Good time keeping skills
-Be able to make my blog both visually and factually interesting
-Have good planning before each blogpost and when starting the filming aspect
Within my AS coursework, the difficulties that were present were:
-Actor organisation when filming, this is because at first it was difficult for me to obtain the correct actors in order for my filming to take place
-Making sure all blog posts contained the correct amount of information that was needed. This was because some of my blog posts, even though I had previously inputed the images needed to fulfil the post, the images had an error and wouldn't show up on my blog. Therefore I needed to double-check all of my posts in order to make sure they were sufficient .
-Some editing aspects were also at first difficult as, even though I was familiar with the editing software, some parts were still new to me and therefore I needed to take time making sure I was using the editing tools correctly in order to not ruin my product.
I feel that I was most successful in my final evaluation blog posts and my editing skills. This is because I was able to have a very varied response of evaluation blog posts which was greatly needed, and in my editing skills I was able to edit successfully even though I was working on my own.
The areas/skills that I hope to develop this year would be my time keeping of blogs as I feel that making sure ALL blogs are finished before, exactly on the deadline will benefit me in order so I do not have to keep going back to past work.
A second area would be my filming, as although my filming skills are okay, I feel that I could maybe improve on them slightly, in order to benefit my coursework.
