In order to increase our video's quality and be able to achieve the most possible marks for our video we analyzed our peers video in order to receive some constructive criticism.
The positive comments that came with our video are as follows:
- elements of scary/creepy so fits in with song style
- lip sync is accurate and in time
- editing that is used so far is relevant to video and gives a greater effect overall
The areas for improvement in our video are as follows:
- fast paced editing should be included more for a creepier effect
- more footage is needed
The main comment that stood out to me the most was based on the sexual content of the video. The peer had said that it was too revealing at times but was also good as it showed a contrast in the character, from her evil side to her good. Although the video is showing the actress's body off we have taken this from Kesha's videos and used the male gaze theory to back this up. It is because of this that we are going to continue to use the provocative costumes.
I feel that the feedback given was useful and in order to improve our video I will focus on the fast paced editing as I feel that this editing technique is what gives the video its edginess. More footage will be filmed in order to complete the video and other editing effects will be included also to stick to the genre of the music video.
Monday, 28 November 2011
Friday, 25 November 2011
Editing most of the video
The reason I haven't posted anything for the past two weeks is because our group has been editing all of our clips which took us 6 hours to film, so as you can imagine it's very time consuming. After watching every one of our clips we realized some of them needed to be re shot because of timings and as the nights are getting dark really early some of our footage was way too dark to use which was disappointing but as a group we planned what bits we are going to re film next time because making it look professional is the most important thing as all music videos look well thought out and considered and our idea has that element however it didn't come across in the footage.
The editing process does take the longest time because our song choice is fast paced we needed to have a lot of jump cuts in it to match the footage to the beats which is quite challenging but at this stage we have managed to get the first verse fully completed apart from one piece of footage near the beginning of the video when the camera is focusing on the model's body for a long time which we are going to sort out by filming lots of little pieces for example her hands moving around her body or up to her head to link into the sequence. There is then a small part of the filming empty where we need to use around 3 extra's who need to be laying,hanging e.t.c as if our main character has attacked/eaten them. These need to be in totally different locations so everything looks unique and thought out. It's close to the end where most of the filming needs to be re done as we filmed a dance scene which was too dark to add to our video so we are going to change the idea and concentrate more on the main character crawling/jumping from places showing she is hiding but can't wait to let out her true identity. Also we are going to wait till the next day of filming (next week) and decide what movement we can create as a group again to show fluidity and rhythm to the beat of the song but also make sure it has relevance to the video so same costumes could still be worn.
I believe when we have filmed these parts and put them into place all we will need to do is add extra affects over some parts of the video to make them stand out and look different and original but also somehow relate it back to any type of Ke$ha video for example linking with mise en scene glitter and confidence and lots of movement are the key things to think about but I believe once these are complete then we are ready to hand our final video in, in my next post I will display some screen grabs of particular editing skills I have used throughout final cut and write a small paragraph evaluating why but also how I did it for future reference if I ever need to use this technique again the explanation will be useful.
The editing process does take the longest time because our song choice is fast paced we needed to have a lot of jump cuts in it to match the footage to the beats which is quite challenging but at this stage we have managed to get the first verse fully completed apart from one piece of footage near the beginning of the video when the camera is focusing on the model's body for a long time which we are going to sort out by filming lots of little pieces for example her hands moving around her body or up to her head to link into the sequence. There is then a small part of the filming empty where we need to use around 3 extra's who need to be laying,hanging e.t.c as if our main character has attacked/eaten them. These need to be in totally different locations so everything looks unique and thought out. It's close to the end where most of the filming needs to be re done as we filmed a dance scene which was too dark to add to our video so we are going to change the idea and concentrate more on the main character crawling/jumping from places showing she is hiding but can't wait to let out her true identity. Also we are going to wait till the next day of filming (next week) and decide what movement we can create as a group again to show fluidity and rhythm to the beat of the song but also make sure it has relevance to the video so same costumes could still be worn.
I believe when we have filmed these parts and put them into place all we will need to do is add extra affects over some parts of the video to make them stand out and look different and original but also somehow relate it back to any type of Ke$ha video for example linking with mise en scene glitter and confidence and lots of movement are the key things to think about but I believe once these are complete then we are ready to hand our final video in, in my next post I will display some screen grabs of particular editing skills I have used throughout final cut and write a small paragraph evaluating why but also how I did it for future reference if I ever need to use this technique again the explanation will be useful.
Digipack Discussion
After taking the shoot specifically for the digipak we then discussed what other aspects would need to be created in order to fill each side of the digipak. After choosing the 3 images (1 with the leopard print background and the other 2 with the pink leopard print background) we had to choose 3 other elements to cover the other sides. Because there was only 1 image with the original leopard print projected over it we thought if we choose another one there would be an equal number of images.
This then lead us onto creating a plan. The inside of the packaging would include all of the pink leopard print images and then just the background itself in the middle, then on the outside of the packaging the 2 original leopard print images would be located on either side of the flaps with the original background image in the middle, this is to show our main character has "two sides" to her on the inside the pink shows her innocent and cute side as she is just a normal girl. However the outside images show her feisty and striking side as she can turn into a cannibal whenever she wants to, its like her alter ego and working with this type of story line is really exciting and we hope by portraying both sides of our character throughout the video the viewers will understand the background story line easily.
This then lead us onto creating a plan. The inside of the packaging would include all of the pink leopard print images and then just the background itself in the middle, then on the outside of the packaging the 2 original leopard print images would be located on either side of the flaps with the original background image in the middle, this is to show our main character has "two sides" to her on the inside the pink shows her innocent and cute side as she is just a normal girl. However the outside images show her feisty and striking side as she can turn into a cannibal whenever she wants to, its like her alter ego and working with this type of story line is really exciting and we hope by portraying both sides of our character throughout the video the viewers will understand the background story line easily.
2nd Attempt of Digipak Photoshoot & Final Font
As the focus on the Media Camera in the first shoot was really blurred it meant the images didn't look in anyway professional so as a group we accepted that they could be seen as "test shots". However we used a few of the stronger images for experimentation but they still didn't look how we would of imagined our digipak to look so instead of using bad images we just re took the full shoot but this time with a photography camera so the results where more in focus and as a result looked more professional.
My inspiration for this shoot was from some images I had took in my photography coursework the previous year, using projector head and the board to project a leopard print pattern and for our model (main character) to stand in front of and then do various "animal" poses to show her fierceness but also how her actual character would look so showing a snarling face would show her anger but also how much she wants to "lick humans blood" as that is what a cannibal does.
The results where so much better than the first shoot and as a group we narrowed down 3 images 2 to use for the digipak one showing her angry side as we made her eyes look like she had white contacts in to add more of a scary effect and the other image is slightly more girly and cute so viewers can grasp our idea and see that she has two sides and the cannibal is her alter ego. The other image is going to be used for a poster campaign that we will also create to promote our music video and single, it's a very strong image because by her facial expression you can see how intimate she is being with the camera however the pink leopard background makes it look less scary and more professional.
Front Cover
Back Cover
Advert for poster
After taking the images we then decided out of the fonts we found through research we needed to choose a final one which would represent our music label and of course the single name. A unanimous vote for the WERE WOLF font was cast as we think it applies to the song name well but also the way it looks like claw marks through each letter adds the thrilling feel that runs through our video. It was almost like the font was actually made for our song choice as it fits the criteria so well.
After choosing the were wolf font we then had to retrace our steps by going back to the actual website that Sophie found it from to make sure it was exactly the same. I then proceeded to download the font into my download file on my desktop and it then immediately opened into the Photoshop fonts box, so we know have it stored for when we actually create our digipak, poster e.t.c and all of these fonts will be the same so it looks actually professional and well thought out. Our next task is to come up with a record label who will be supporting our song and the artist.
My inspiration for this shoot was from some images I had took in my photography coursework the previous year, using projector head and the board to project a leopard print pattern and for our model (main character) to stand in front of and then do various "animal" poses to show her fierceness but also how her actual character would look so showing a snarling face would show her anger but also how much she wants to "lick humans blood" as that is what a cannibal does.
The results where so much better than the first shoot and as a group we narrowed down 3 images 2 to use for the digipak one showing her angry side as we made her eyes look like she had white contacts in to add more of a scary effect and the other image is slightly more girly and cute so viewers can grasp our idea and see that she has two sides and the cannibal is her alter ego. The other image is going to be used for a poster campaign that we will also create to promote our music video and single, it's a very strong image because by her facial expression you can see how intimate she is being with the camera however the pink leopard background makes it look less scary and more professional.
Front Cover
Back Cover
Advert for poster
After taking the images we then decided out of the fonts we found through research we needed to choose a final one which would represent our music label and of course the single name. A unanimous vote for the WERE WOLF font was cast as we think it applies to the song name well but also the way it looks like claw marks through each letter adds the thrilling feel that runs through our video. It was almost like the font was actually made for our song choice as it fits the criteria so well.
After choosing the were wolf font we then had to retrace our steps by going back to the actual website that Sophie found it from to make sure it was exactly the same. I then proceeded to download the font into my download file on my desktop and it then immediately opened into the Photoshop fonts box, so we know have it stored for when we actually create our digipak, poster e.t.c and all of these fonts will be the same so it looks actually professional and well thought out. Our next task is to come up with a record label who will be supporting our song and the artist.
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
First filming scene and Photoshoot for Digipack
ur rough cut deadline was Friday so we knew as a group we needed a full scene filmed to hand in by this day so on Wednesday we filmed the full scene for the second verse of the song. this is when our main character is dressed in leopard clothing and also had leopard print eye shadow to keep in with the theme because every small aspect needs to be enhanced to ensure the video looks professional just like any other artist. We wanted this scene to be filmed inside because most of our other parts of the video are outside and because she is alone in the shot this will enhance her sex appeal.
We took various takes of this one scene but using different camera angles and different props for example a gold chair and also a black couch, we did this because we thought that if we used a part of one shot for each line of the song it would look totally unique as we have added our personal touch and because the main characters acting is so professional we had no problems capturing the shots in half an hour!
Because we got the shots videoed so quickly we decided to hire out the media camera and take the images for the front of our digipak which is another part of our coursework we need to hand in, however we struggled to get the camera to focus properly on our main character which ended in the results mainly being blurry and the only shots that were clear were of the model messing around so we will need to re shoot these images but least we know what to expect and using a studio background means we have a blank canvas to work with when we edit it on photoshop.
Original Image
Edited Image
We took various takes of this one scene but using different camera angles and different props for example a gold chair and also a black couch, we did this because we thought that if we used a part of one shot for each line of the song it would look totally unique as we have added our personal touch and because the main characters acting is so professional we had no problems capturing the shots in half an hour!
Because we got the shots videoed so quickly we decided to hire out the media camera and take the images for the front of our digipak which is another part of our coursework we need to hand in, however we struggled to get the camera to focus properly on our main character which ended in the results mainly being blurry and the only shots that were clear were of the model messing around so we will need to re shoot these images but least we know what to expect and using a studio background means we have a blank canvas to work with when we edit it on photoshop.
Original Image
Edited Image
Monday, 31 October 2011
Inspiration For Dance Routine
Because we want our video to have a horror themed twist when it comes to the dance routine I think it's the best element to show our idea off to the viewers. This video is very detailed but the main reason I chose it for inspiration is because of how creepy and disjointed every single dancer looks when getting into their different positions and because it looks so believable it may frighten the audience. Michael is the main character throughout the video and this is indicated by he's costume as all of the dancers are wearing dark colours and he has a red jacket on to signify he's importance, this is exactly what we plan to do in our video our main character will be wearing a revealing leopard print outfit (to link back to cannibal as she would is an animal) with matching eye shadow and styled hair whereas the dancers will be wearing ripped up t shirts and dramatic make up (fake cuts, bruises e.t.c). Also because Michael looks like he is leading each dancer into each separate dance move it looks even more synchronized, there are parts in our video where the main character for example will be crawling across the floor towards the camera with the dancers following behind then there is another part of the routine where she is made the main attraction as she does nothing while the dancers pick her up and spin her round (the camera will be doing an aerial shot to show the full scene in detail).
When coming up with the routine we will definitely look back at this video for some movement and ideas because we want to make them original but also see how other successful artists made there mark because this video will go down in music video history so there would be no other video that could help us with our specific story line.
The reason I added this video in for inspiration is because it shows the humour in the horror video that they have created which is another element we could think about when filming our own music video. This is another option for us to think about as a group depending on which age range our target audience would fall under for example if we wanted to keep it in the horror genre we would be aiming it for people around 16 and over because children any younger may find it disturbing and scary to watch. However if we kept the humour element in the video but still linked it to horror the video could then be offered to any age group because scenes that could be made scary could be softened down so that no one would be scared or shocked as to what would happen next, this is a hard decision to make because we want to advertise our video to the target audience that will make it the most successful it can possibly be.
For example in this video all of the dancers come up from the grave, this could have been made to look a lot worse with them having dry white skin but because they are wearing brightly coloured outfits and there make up and hair is precise you don't instantly think horror.
However the main reason I chose this video is because the dancing in this is more free style compared to thriller as every individual included in the video has there own style of dance which gives them more of a chance to stand out. This isn't what we want to go for in our video because the main character is named that for a reason, we want to show that she is in control of all of her victims mainly the male generation because she is a strong women and some of the dance routine will back that up for example in one part of the song the victims are seen crawling away from her slyly but she corners them all which shows she has authority over them, this video is good to use for inspiration but not for the layout of their dance routine because it's not as choreographed and thought out as we want ours to be.
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