(POST 14) - My plan

What is your idea for the coursework at the moment?

At the moment the idea for the coursework is very vague and will definitely change loads. We haven’t really thought about the song all that much but we have decided that we don’t want to use the grime genre as we believe it would be too hard to work a music video into that genre of music. We have also decided that we will be using a song that we all like so that we can have four different views on how to film the video and what should be included in the video. If someone in the group doesn’t like the song, then they would become less involved and we believe that would reflect badly on the outcome of the whole project. We have been looking at different songs and reading into the lyrics to find a song where we can link both the lyrics and video together. When we decide on a song for the music video I will be shore to update this blog or make a new blog post on how and why we picked the song.

Who are you planning on working with or do you want to work alone?

In are group there are four people. Me (Jordan Rolf), Jordan Hayward, Jack Kirby and Luke Marchant. We decided it would be a good idea to work in this group for multiple reasons. Firstly, we all get on well with each other which means we will put in effort to help each other out with blog posts, filming and editing. We all also have our own special traits which we can contribute together to use in a positive manor.  For example, I have experience in editing and filming which is obviously very useful to use in media as that is what the subject consists of. We all have our own ways of contributing towards the team’s efforts which is exactly what we need to have a successful final outcome which is what we are all hoping for.

Where do you want to film?

Currently we are unaware of a filming location as we are yet to pick a song that we want to use. The location has to be dependent on the type of song we use as that’s part of the story. The location does a huge part in telling the story so it is important that we get that part spot on. I will update this blog post when we are decided on the location of the shoot.

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(POST 13) - Music Video or Short Film?!

We, as a group decided between us, that we would rather choose to create a music video over the production of a film because of our music interest and enjoyment of sharing skills in a music genre we all agreed would be suitable yet a genre we all had interest in. For me personally, I didn’t want to create a film for our coursework due to so many great films around on the media that its just such a high expectation to make it best to help people enjoy it as much as other amazing high quality and expensive films. Due to being amateur and also strict with costs, it causes a lot of stress to be perfect and worthy of the audience taking time out of their lives to watch it. Also, with films, the story lines are very much familiar. A good guy, a bad guy, a pretty girl who needs saving or even happy endings. However, with music videos there is so much more variety and less pressure around creating a good music video as sometimes the simplest and cheapest videos are regarded as the best. The use of lighting, actors and even props help create build a good music video, but in my opinion, As long as the song is good, then the music video does not need to impress that much as it’s the music that the audience is really after. The only negative to music video is music and videos change hype and fashion in the industry rapidly with new artists and technology that you have big competition. However we will adjust accordingly and have plenty of research and enjoy ourselves during the project.

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(POST 12) - Our practise task evaluation

What went well?


When we were filming we had built up a plan prior to the filming date on the shots we wanted so that it made it easier on the date. We decided that this was a step we had to take to set ourselves in the right direction to improve on last year’s coursework. In the previous year we filmed coursework of the back of our hands. We decided that it really wasn’t the right idea to follow that procedure again as it hadn’t worked in the previous year. We felt like the plan would give us more time to focus on the quality of the shots and setting up the equipment and actors instead of actually working the plot out on the day. We also gave ourselves longer to film the project this time round in comparison to the hour we gave ourselves on the last practice task. We really didn’t take it as seriously as we should’ve last year so we have learnt from our mistakes.

What didn’t go well?

In majority the shoot for the film went surprisingly well. We used the equipment we had to the best of our ability and I really took time in the edit to focus on the look of the shots by adjusting all significant sliders to get the best out of the raw/original camera shot. The main issue was organising a day to film the music video on. We were all reasonably busy over the summer with all four of us in the group going away for different periods of time. This gave us very little if any time to film the music video. We decided to shoot on a Sunday in the end as on Saturdays none of us are available. However, the shoot had to take place after midday as we all play football in the mornings. This was the only real issue we ran into during the course of the process.

What will you do/not do next time?

In the next time of filming we will most definitely pick a song that the whole group likes. I feel like this will give us the best chance to produce a music video that we all enjoy. Therefore, the quality and dedication put into the video should transfer into the final product. Next time will we also be more precise on the filming date and organise it earlier on into filming so that we don’t encounter any issues on a final filming date.

Are you looking to develop on this idea for the actual coursework?

With the actual coursework we are looking to find a completely new idea. We believe that with a completely new idea we could form a piece of work that is much better than the preliminary. Seeing as we were set the nursery rhyme theme for this task we think that If we were to use an idea that is new to us we will put more effort into forming the idea and developing it into a well worked coursework piece that will make us proud. We have learnt that it would be in are best interests to work on a song that we all like which will allow us all to contribute ideas to the final piece.

 Were we brave enough, original enough and creative enough?

When asking about the level of braveness we took in terms of filming the coursework I definitely think we were not brave. We didn’t feel the need to take extreme risks and venture into new fields with this specific task due to the fact that it is only the preliminary. We stayed very safe in terms of location, camera shots and props. We left it very basic which in-turn also stops you from being original. We will definitely be prepared to take more advanced and dangerous risks when filming the actual task. We want people to be amazed with are final piece so therefore found there to be no need to go all out on the preliminary. There was also a lack of creativity due to all of the above that I have explained. When you don’t show a level of braveness it would be very hard to then work creativity in. However, like mentioned above I will be sure to push the boundaries of our abilities to get the most out of the shoot on the final piece task.

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(POST 11) - Our Practice Task Final Cut

You can find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO2LA2_ikAA

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(POST 10) - What's in the news?

The article I used is found here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-40437677/london-bridge-attack-officer-i-wasn-t-backing-down
The song I used is found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6Ol3eprKiw

The news article I used was about a police officer PC Wayne Marques that fought three Isis members and tried to defend the public, after the fight he fell to the floor after taking a knife to the head and told a fellow police officer what he wanted his family to know however the fellow policeman told him that he shouldn't give in and that he will be alright which links into the lyrics of the song Sia - Never Give Up because Wayne Marques said he wasn't backing down to the terroists therefore the actions of the story links in with the song which is shown on the storyboard bellow.

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(POST 9) I've watched a new film

What had you ever heard of this film before?

Before watching the film I had never heard anything about it or watched the trailer. I also had never seen any kind of advertisement or merchandise relating to the film.



What happened in it?
When sports agent Jerry Maguire  has a crisis of conscience he made a company-wide memo that promptly gets him fired. Desperate to hang on to the athletes that he represents, Jerry starts his own management firm. Banking on their sole client, football player Rod Tidwell Jerry and begins to fall in love with Dorothy as they struggle to make their business work.



What was good?
I thought the way the film was presented showed an accurate way that football agents work and therefore the film was easy to understand. I also enjoyed the way the kept the audience engaged by having the sport side involved but also how he falls in love gives the film more than one thing to it.



What was bad?
I thought it took a while to get into the film, the beginning of the film had lost my attention until it got about half way through I didn't want to carry on watching because it was boring me. However once it got into it the film was good.



What did you enjoy?
I enjoyed the relation the film had to sport because I enjoy watching films that have some kind of sport relation in.





What didn't you enjoy?
I didn't enjoy how long it took to get into the film, I felt that the film wasn't going anywhere at the start which lost my attention.





Anything you would like to use as stimulus/ ideas for your music video?
I don't think including anything from this film would be suitable for our music video idea





Would you recommend the film to anyone else?
Yes I would, I would recommend it to people that either like the actor Tom Cruise or anyone that had an interest in sporty films.

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(POST 8) - I've read a book

Why did I choose this book?
The book I choose was The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film and the reason for choosing it was because I wanted to see how they created all the characters in star wars such as R2-D2. Also because I've watched all the Star wars films I wanted to find out more general information about the book and behind the scenes stuff. 

What you've read in the book?
There are twelve overflowing chapters. The opening one "Two Visions" starts in 1968, where early ideas for plots, themes, characters and weapons are described. The next chapter "Fighting Words" details rough drafts of the early scripts and at this point, the movie was called "Adventures Of The Starkiller".

Anything new that you have learnt?
From reading this book I have learnt that the interviews and quotes used are from before the release of the film so it's really interesting to read George Lucas and the crew talk about the movie with no idea about how successful it will really be. There are so many different aspects that the book covers, one of particular interest was the special effects which are spoken about in great detail.

Anything that you might use as a stimulus/idea for future ideas/work?
I don't think including anything that I have learnt would be appropriate for future ideas and work
because using it in the music video my group want to make wouldn't be suitable.

Would you recommend the book to anyone else?
Overall, this is a truly incredible book which gives a detailed insight into the making of one the most memorable and ground-breaking movies of all-time therefore I would recommend it to anyone that 
has an interest in Star Wars or how films are made.

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(POST 7) - To lip snyc or not to lip snyc?

How effective is the use of lip- syncing?

In this music video, the lip syncing is clearly out of time by slight movement which creates a critical quality error as the music video then becomes weak and obvious to viewers the quality is poor and not professional. This gives the music video a amateur and a beginner quality look making the video less effective to attract audience based on entertainment and quality showing a clear contrast between a high quality music video using lip-sync and one that does ineffectively. 

                                              

How effective is the use of lip- syncing?

This video, in comparison to the other music video looks a lot more professional due to better quality lip-syncing. the lip-syncing is very accurate to the actors performance and miming attempt which makes the quality a lot more attractive to the audience and the video more entertaining. However, the noise from the circa waves, especially the voice doesn't match up with the character giving an unrealistic view from the audience perspectives as it doesn't seem real which lessens the quality and realism from the music video. However, the music video is good quality as it is hard to match up an actor to act realistic to another voice and overall, its a good, high quality music video.

Effective lip-syncing is important because it shows creativity and professionalism as its very difficult to create efficiently which portrays high quality and entertainment as many enjoy a high quality and creative music video despite the genre of music. lip-syncing helps understand a song better as you are open to judging body language and facial expressions to help the viewers understand the lyrics and understand the overall mood of the song.


What are the difficulties with lip-syncing?

To create the most professional music video, lip-syncing needs to be efficient and accurate in order to maintain a high quality look and effective piece. however, lip-syncing is a lot more challenging than some may believe due to miming another voice in a prolonged and different tones to create a musical effect which can add a higher difficulty especially with rap or to show facial expressions with high notes and even when they use a computerized voice to cover their own which makes it difficult to mime. it is also difficult to mime a lyric from another tone of voice realistically as everyone has many different tones and voices which also adds major difficulty to create a professional music video.

We wont use lip-syncing for the time being as it is a major risk due to if it is out or the actor in our opinion doesn't suit the singers lyrical voice, then we deem it not too our standard of high quality and the risk of it not going well, in our time slot or actors preference we believe we can be stronger in other aspects in a music video with flashbacks, cut scenes and camera angle with editing quality, originality and creativity. If we get a big time window and opportunity, we may try out lip syncing due to our single narrative which lip-syncing backs up when only one key character/actor is singing.

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(POST 6) - Our practice task- Music video key timeline

The video can be found here: https://youtu.be/ip29ro5mtbA

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(POST 5) - Practise Task Research Video

You can find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI1uCMPzh0w

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