EVALUATION QUESTIONS: 4. How did you use new technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?
New technologies, in reference to this project, have aided the group hugely as without them, a majority of the work would not have been produced. It has benefitted us in that it has allowed for quicker ways of producing tasks, and tasks are being fulfilled to the highest of our abilities, and to a professional standard also.
The Internet was predominantly one of the main new technologies we used. In terms of the research and planning stages, the majority of work was conducted through this. We were able to view existing products in the market, such as CD covers, promotional posters and even existing music videos via YouTube. The internet also provided us with 'Google Maps' in which the group searched for potential locations; a tool which saved time and money. In reference to planning in particular, the Internet allowed us to search for the Bruno Mars lyrics to "Marry You" which meant it was easily accessible from home or school, when needed to create storyboards, further notes on shot types etc. Our group also used a website available on the internet called "Dropbox" which allowed us to share files online, and again access them from a different location. This became useful as we were able to switch notes, comment on them and further share files.
In further reference to the planning stages, Microsoft Office was often used to create documents, for example our first and second pitches were created using a Powerpoint Presentation, which was ideal in that simple notes were shown on the screen, with a small handout notes page for each group member annotating the information shown. This, alike to "Dropbox" was also easily accessible at home. Whilst planning, hand drawn drafts were created, which were put onto the computer via a scanner, again making it easier to plan the project wholly.
Throughout the construction of the music video, technologies such as mobile phones and social networks were predominantly used as a form of communication. This allowed the group to communicate quickly and efficiently, to organise dates for filming, discuss ideas or simply just to catch up on a day's work.
New technologies that were accessible at school, which the group used to their advantage and produced the majority of our ancillary tasks in was Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator CS3 and Adobe InDesign. These three programs include all the tools in which we needed to create the tasks, such as templates, easy editing techniques and quick ways of importing information.
The construction stage of the actual video was produced using a video camera. Along with the camera, the group required tools such as a tripod, jib, tracking system and other pieces of equipment to enable a variety of shot types. Once the footage had been captured, it was relatively easy to convert it and place it into a folder on to our VEM using a USB cable which was attached to the side of the camera. The video camera also came in useful in terms of our principal photography for the ancillary tasks, as it also took still images, therefore this saved time as we were able to have photo shoots on scenes of filming, whilst also filming with a separate camera.
Premiere Pro, a new technology to the group, is what the music video was produced in. 'Timelines' were created in which we were able to import the entirety of footage, and seek out appropriate clips. Editing hours were often long and tedious, however the fact that the technology was new and exciting to learn meant it became easy to use in a short space of time.
Throughout the evaluation stages, the majority of technology used was again via the Internet. Blogging regularly was an aspect in which the group sought to be very useful, and therefore production schedules were often drawn up and kept to religiously. The feedback that was gathered and used in the evaluation stage was produced using questionnaires, which allowed quick and easily accessible information for the entirety of the group.
To conclude, new technologies were used wholly throughout the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages in various ways. The group effortlessly used some aspects of this technology e.g. Photoshop, as it has been used before, yet struggled with others e.g. Premiere Pro, a vital aspect of technology needed for this project, and this learning process meant that as an individual, I now feel confident in using such technology if required to.
Sunday 22 April 2012
EVALUATION QUESTIONS
EVALUATION QUESTIONS: 3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?
Audience feedback within this project, and other aspects of media, is vital because without it, your product will never continue to improve, and this element is something that I have learned in reference to this project.
Being able to give feedback on a piece of media text is easy, however receiving critical feedback on a task that has required an extended period of time of planning and research, and long hours of continual effort, is much more difficult. At first, approaching this feedback by my peers and teachers seemed like a negative aspect, and I felt quite disheartened by it. However, I now acknowledge the fact that despite how negative this feedback may have been, it improved my work for the better, and therefore I am grateful for this.
Constructive criticism is one thing that I have learnt from my audience feedback. I have learnt how to accept it, and also deliver it in reference to the other groups in my class. Feedback that was given to me in reference to my music video I was unaware of, for example the lack of variety of shot types in the rough edit, due to the fact that I almost became oblivious whilst editing day after day. I was then able to use this feedback to evaluate other groups' work.
Audience feedback from the Creative Arts Evening that was held at school was very valuable to me, and I learnt a great deal from these few hours. This was the first screening of my rough edit and I watched it from behind a curtain. This enabled me to watch the audience throughout the screening and view their facial expressions and general reactions towards the video. This feedback was also aided through the video booth shown in intervals, which has been mentioned in previous blogs.
Feedback from family and friends from outside of my class and school was also valuable, as it became a second opinion as such. People who knew not much of the project were able to give unbiased opinions of the music video and ancillary tasks, which enabled me to gather genuine feedback.
To conclude, I have learnt a great deal from audience feedback. Although it was not at the forefront of my mind at the beginning of the project, it is now and it has improved my work, for which I am grateful.
Being able to give feedback on a piece of media text is easy, however receiving critical feedback on a task that has required an extended period of time of planning and research, and long hours of continual effort, is much more difficult. At first, approaching this feedback by my peers and teachers seemed like a negative aspect, and I felt quite disheartened by it. However, I now acknowledge the fact that despite how negative this feedback may have been, it improved my work for the better, and therefore I am grateful for this.
Constructive criticism is one thing that I have learnt from my audience feedback. I have learnt how to accept it, and also deliver it in reference to the other groups in my class. Feedback that was given to me in reference to my music video I was unaware of, for example the lack of variety of shot types in the rough edit, due to the fact that I almost became oblivious whilst editing day after day. I was then able to use this feedback to evaluate other groups' work.
Audience feedback from the Creative Arts Evening that was held at school was very valuable to me, and I learnt a great deal from these few hours. This was the first screening of my rough edit and I watched it from behind a curtain. This enabled me to watch the audience throughout the screening and view their facial expressions and general reactions towards the video. This feedback was also aided through the video booth shown in intervals, which has been mentioned in previous blogs.
Feedback from family and friends from outside of my class and school was also valuable, as it became a second opinion as such. People who knew not much of the project were able to give unbiased opinions of the music video and ancillary tasks, which enabled me to gather genuine feedback.
To conclude, I have learnt a great deal from audience feedback. Although it was not at the forefront of my mind at the beginning of the project, it is now and it has improved my work, for which I am grateful.
Saturday 21 April 2012
EVALUATION QUESTIONS
EVALUATION QUESTIONS: 2. How effective is the combination of your main and ancillary texts?
On the surface, and at the beginning of this project, it appeared to be difficult to combine both the main and ancillary texts together. However, throughout the duration of the project, it became more apparent that this combination was easier than we thought.
The music video, promotional poster and CD digipak all fall into the same genre, and there are combined primarily in this way. The hip hop, romance genre that Bruno Mars' song "Marry You" falls into is reflected in every aspect of the main text and ancillary text: the principle photography shows the couple having fun, very much 'in love', as does the video, and the mise-en-scene that occurs alongside it.
The two texts have also been combined through the consistency, for example costumes. The costumes that are seen in the video are also seen in the ancillary task images, therefore this religious consistent form establishes the actors, and combines the two.
The use of Gaze theory also combines the two texts together. In terms of the female target audience, many will aspire to be with or fall in love with a male that imitates the actor who plays Bruno Mars in the video, and the photographs which are displayed in the ancillary tasks also relate to this, or aspire to be the woman (female actor) of whom such a man would want to fall in love. However the same theory applies to the male target audience, who will aspire to look and act like the actor in the video, and perhaps imitate the dress sense and personality of those displayed in the photographs in the ancillary tasks. Therefore, the two texts are combined through this theory.
The target audience naturally combines the main and ancillary texts together for the evident reason that the target audience will not change over the two texts, therefore this must be reinforced throughout the video as well as in the ancillary poster and CD digipak, which I believe was mastered correctly through my media products via consistency within.
To conclude, I believe that the combination of my main and ancillary texts was fairly effective. There were aspects which could have been improved upon, for example it may not have been very evident on a first glance where the combination stood within the two, and this could have been made clearer, however overall I feel this was a high quality achievement.
On the surface, and at the beginning of this project, it appeared to be difficult to combine both the main and ancillary texts together. However, throughout the duration of the project, it became more apparent that this combination was easier than we thought.
The music video, promotional poster and CD digipak all fall into the same genre, and there are combined primarily in this way. The hip hop, romance genre that Bruno Mars' song "Marry You" falls into is reflected in every aspect of the main text and ancillary text: the principle photography shows the couple having fun, very much 'in love', as does the video, and the mise-en-scene that occurs alongside it.
The two texts have also been combined through the consistency, for example costumes. The costumes that are seen in the video are also seen in the ancillary task images, therefore this religious consistent form establishes the actors, and combines the two.
The use of Gaze theory also combines the two texts together. In terms of the female target audience, many will aspire to be with or fall in love with a male that imitates the actor who plays Bruno Mars in the video, and the photographs which are displayed in the ancillary tasks also relate to this, or aspire to be the woman (female actor) of whom such a man would want to fall in love. However the same theory applies to the male target audience, who will aspire to look and act like the actor in the video, and perhaps imitate the dress sense and personality of those displayed in the photographs in the ancillary tasks. Therefore, the two texts are combined through this theory.
The target audience naturally combines the main and ancillary texts together for the evident reason that the target audience will not change over the two texts, therefore this must be reinforced throughout the video as well as in the ancillary poster and CD digipak, which I believe was mastered correctly through my media products via consistency within.
To conclude, I believe that the combination of my main and ancillary texts was fairly effective. There were aspects which could have been improved upon, for example it may not have been very evident on a first glance where the combination stood within the two, and this could have been made clearer, however overall I feel this was a high quality achievement.
EVALUATION QUESTIONS
EVALUATION QUESTIONS: 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop, challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Bruno Mars' songs fall into the genre of romance and love, and his videos often reflect this, for example the song "Just The Way You Are." The song represents his love, and stereotypical music videos of this category usually contain the lead singer, and a love interest, in this case a female. However, unlike in Bruno Mars' videos whereby it consists of only himself and another person, my group and I decided that we wanted to subvert this convention that he has created, and use several other people in our video. It was very easy to do this too, as there is no original video that has been released to this song, therefore it became easy to produce our A2 video as we wished, basing it solely on our own ideas.
Whilst studying Bruno Mars' official videos of his songs, it became evident that there were many factors in which he includes, that we must too include in our video. Examples of these are shown in the locations, e.g. Bruno Mars continually uses open spaces for his music videos, be it a room, apartment, roadside etc. We mirrored these conventional locations, and used a park, an empty room (photobooth section) and a normal home (wedding planning).
In addition to this, there are also conventional shot types that Bruno Mars' uses that we too found appropriate for our own music video, for example Bruno Mars' frequently is shot sitting and singing, looking directly in the camera, and certain shots are taken from different angles which make it easy to cut and edit for a fast effect. We imitated this shot type, and continually use it in our music video.
Bruno Mars' videos also use effects and transitions, for example the lens flare, and the dissolve tool on Premiere Pro which differentiates between scenes. Again, we used and developed this convention, and challenged it slightly in that we also used a different transition tool; a cross stretch.
In reference to my ancillary tasks, I feel that they didn't directly challenge forms and conventions of real media products, but instead follows them ritually. My product uses the conventions of real media products in various ways, for example the poster has an eye catching bold title, and an iconic image of 'Bruno Mars'; which is easily recognisable. Conventions are developed in the use of typographic styles and image styles to convey and reflect the genre of the poster/CD, in addition to the target audience, and I feel that my media products reflect this. The font style 'Nueva Std' that we chose as a group is consistent throughout the entirety of my media products, and therefore follows a house style.
To conclude, I feel that that my media product uses conventions of real media products extremely well; it mirrors certain aspects that were evidently needed to produce such a task, yet also subverts aspects that as a group we decided to include. Overall, the video and ancillary tasks use the same techniques as many of Bruno Mars' promotional packages.
Monday 16 April 2012
FINAL: Music Video
Above is the final version of our A2 project, a music video for the song "Bruno Mars - Marry You." Enjoy!
Thursday 12 April 2012
FINAL ANCILLARY TASK: Advertising Poster
Below is the final advertising poster for my second ancillary task. As demonstrated in previous ancillary update blog posts, there have been significant changes to the poster, for example the social networking logos have been added, there has been a black opaque box added to the bottom, the opacity of the background has changed and the tag line "includes the hit single" has been moved.
I personally am very happy with my final product; I feel that it reflects the genre very well, and imitates the conventions of promotional posters.
I personally am very happy with my final product; I feel that it reflects the genre very well, and imitates the conventions of promotional posters.
Wednesday 11 April 2012
FINAL ANCILLARY TASK: CD Digipak
Below is the complete digipak, in its final condition.
The first image shows the front cover of the CD. It has not changed from previous blog updates, however the 'Bruno Mars' logo has been added in the corner, with the opacity changed slightly.
The second image is of the inside of the digipak, including the CD and the back page of the booklet. The CD again has not changed tremendously as the feedback was mainly positive, however the back page of the booklet has; it includes a Thank you letter, and an image of the artist.
The final image is the back cover of the CD. Again, as the feedback was positive for this product only small details have been changed, for example the rulers are now evident as all texts and images are lined up correctly, and the copyright statement has been located on the far bottom left of the page.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with my final product. I feel that it looks professional and of a high standard, and fits the genre and narrative of my overall project.
The first image shows the front cover of the CD. It has not changed from previous blog updates, however the 'Bruno Mars' logo has been added in the corner, with the opacity changed slightly.
The second image is of the inside of the digipak, including the CD and the back page of the booklet. The CD again has not changed tremendously as the feedback was mainly positive, however the back page of the booklet has; it includes a Thank you letter, and an image of the artist.
The final image is the back cover of the CD. Again, as the feedback was positive for this product only small details have been changed, for example the rulers are now evident as all texts and images are lined up correctly, and the copyright statement has been located on the far bottom left of the page.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with my final product. I feel that it looks professional and of a high standard, and fits the genre and narrative of my overall project.
Monday 2 April 2012
Re-Filming
Following the feedback from the creative arts evening, we have organised to re-shoot some scenes of our video, and have hired just as commented, different equipment to vary the shots e.g. the jib and the tracking system. One of the main focuses for this film shoot was that the lip-syncing was completely on par.
I feel that this filming session went much better than any previous ones, for the fact that we focused on what was wrong, and amended it. Below are some still images taken from the filming:
I feel that this filming session went much better than any previous ones, for the fact that we focused on what was wrong, and amended it. Below are some still images taken from the filming:
 |
| A BLURRY PICTURE OF ME SETTING UP THE HAND HELD JIB |
Friday 30 March 2012
Feedback: Creative Arts Evening
Last night was the creative arts evening at school, and from this screening of our video and ancillary tasks we have collected some feedback of our work; overall, there were mixed reviews of the two parts of the project.
In terms of the video, the majority of feedback was that the narrative was extremely clear, and therefore enjoyable to watch. The narrative that many grasped was that when the couple were together, all was well, however without each other it wasn't, and this was the aspects that we were aiming for, which is positive. Other elements that was commented on positively were that the mise-en-scene matched the song, the couple had obvious chemistry and the video overall projects love and spontaneity.
However there were also some negative feedback about our video. Feedback sheets were given out to years 8 and 9, and many commented on the fact that the lip-syncing at some points was slightly out of touch, and could have been tighter. Some shots also went out of focus at some points of the video, and this meant that people began to not focus on the video and almost dismiss it. The shot types were also commented on; many reviews stated that they were too simplistic, and slightly boring; suggestions given of new shots were jib and tracking shots.
In terms of my ancillary tasks, many liked the fact that the promotional poster was a 'poster within a poster'; it was a nice touch and the brick wall reinforced this. The CD case was simple and to the point, meaning it was attractive and again the mise-en-scene and layout fit the genre.
This feedback evening, although all not positive, is a positive thing I feel for the fact that now as a group we are aware of the strengths and weaknesses of our project, and will amend these as soon as we can to create the best possible music video and accompanying tasks we can.
Below is a video of a sixth former reviewing our work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=w2-nLz9B7y0
In terms of the video, the majority of feedback was that the narrative was extremely clear, and therefore enjoyable to watch. The narrative that many grasped was that when the couple were together, all was well, however without each other it wasn't, and this was the aspects that we were aiming for, which is positive. Other elements that was commented on positively were that the mise-en-scene matched the song, the couple had obvious chemistry and the video overall projects love and spontaneity.
However there were also some negative feedback about our video. Feedback sheets were given out to years 8 and 9, and many commented on the fact that the lip-syncing at some points was slightly out of touch, and could have been tighter. Some shots also went out of focus at some points of the video, and this meant that people began to not focus on the video and almost dismiss it. The shot types were also commented on; many reviews stated that they were too simplistic, and slightly boring; suggestions given of new shots were jib and tracking shots.
In terms of my ancillary tasks, many liked the fact that the promotional poster was a 'poster within a poster'; it was a nice touch and the brick wall reinforced this. The CD case was simple and to the point, meaning it was attractive and again the mise-en-scene and layout fit the genre.
This feedback evening, although all not positive, is a positive thing I feel for the fact that now as a group we are aware of the strengths and weaknesses of our project, and will amend these as soon as we can to create the best possible music video and accompanying tasks we can.
Below is a video of a sixth former reviewing our work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=w2-nLz9B7y0
Wednesday 28 March 2012
Tuesday 27 March 2012
Tutorials
To aid my learning process through Premiere Pro, I viewed tutorials via YouTube for certain effects. Below are two video links of tutorials that helped me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1KadOADRrA - Colour Grading and Colour Correcting
http://www.youtube.com/user/nyvs?feature=pyv&ad=6285390494&kw=CS4%20premiere%20tutorials&v=QlK3jUC7bC4&lr=1 - Transitions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1KadOADRrA - Colour Grading and Colour Correcting
http://www.youtube.com/user/nyvs?feature=pyv&ad=6285390494&kw=CS4%20premiere%20tutorials&v=QlK3jUC7bC4&lr=1 - Transitions
Saturday 24 March 2012
Genre theory
Genre theory has direct relation to our project, therefore I would like to discuss and analyse how this is situated within our project.
Fiske describes genres as 'attempts to structure some order into the wide range of texts, and meaning, that circulate in our culture for the convenience of both products and audience. Genre refers to defining codes and conventions for a category of texts, which is predominantly constructed through a series of signs (visual and aural) which are indefinitely linked to that genre. The genre in which this project focuses on is hip hop, and romance, and there are various ways in this genre can established throughout our music video and ancillary tasks.
The first is through iconography. This helps the audience to know what to expect, and therefore aids their understanding. Iconography that my group have discussed to include in our video includes wedding calenders, confetti perhaps and even flowers, to associate the love between the couple.
The setting also establishes the genre. Through conducting research, it has been evident that Bruno Mars' romance videos are set in open spaces, therefore we too will follow this regime.
Themes also run through our video, and this further reinforces the genre; upon first viewing, the video may appear to be all about love and romance between the two, which primarily it is. However, there is also the struggle between the family represented in scenes set at home, which show that in the abscence of her partner, the female character is unhappy. Abscence makes the heart grow fonder, which is shown in later scenes.
Fiske describes genres as 'attempts to structure some order into the wide range of texts, and meaning, that circulate in our culture for the convenience of both products and audience. Genre refers to defining codes and conventions for a category of texts, which is predominantly constructed through a series of signs (visual and aural) which are indefinitely linked to that genre. The genre in which this project focuses on is hip hop, and romance, and there are various ways in this genre can established throughout our music video and ancillary tasks.
The first is through iconography. This helps the audience to know what to expect, and therefore aids their understanding. Iconography that my group have discussed to include in our video includes wedding calenders, confetti perhaps and even flowers, to associate the love between the couple.
The setting also establishes the genre. Through conducting research, it has been evident that Bruno Mars' romance videos are set in open spaces, therefore we too will follow this regime.
Themes also run through our video, and this further reinforces the genre; upon first viewing, the video may appear to be all about love and romance between the two, which primarily it is. However, there is also the struggle between the family represented in scenes set at home, which show that in the abscence of her partner, the female character is unhappy. Abscence makes the heart grow fonder, which is shown in later scenes.
Wednesday 21 March 2012
Ancillary tasks: Update
My ancillary tasks are finished now, and I am in the development process of changing certain aspects. This blog entry will be very brief as tomorrow is our creative arts evening at school, where our music videos so far will be shown, in addition to our ancillary tasks. My group and I intend to video some feedback and work from this to better our project.
ROUGH EDIT-FINISHED POSTER & FINISHED CD (FRONT & BACK COVER):
LATER THIS DAY..
Some of my peers at school have reviewed my work via a small questionnaire, and the main positives/negatives were as follows:
- The colour scheme of yellow, white and black works very well
- There were a few issues where text/images were not lined up well: rulers not evident
- Images suit the genre; the polariod imaging is very effective
- The brick wall opacity could be less thereby the focus will be less on the background and more on the poster
- There are no social networking logos e.g. twitter/facebook
- On the CD Back cover, there is no copyright statement
All of the above will be taken into consideration, and I shall continue to improve my tasks.
Friday 16 March 2012
Production ideas
As we have no gaps in our video now, our group have been dealing with effects for our music video. Premiere Pro consists of a range of different effects which will value and improve our work, for example:
- Brightness/Contrast
- Change/Correct RGB colours
- Speed
- Lens Flare
Through experimentation, our group will determine which effects match the shots we are working with throughout our editing process, and apply them determining these choices.
Wednesday 14 March 2012
Editing
We finally have no gaps in our video! As a group I am happy with our progress, I feel that we have kept to our production schedule, not in terms of dates but in terms of weekly blogs and editing progress. Now that we finally have no gaps, our time will be spent getting feedback by peers, teachers and people outside of school e.g. family/friends, and doing changes to effects.
Friday 9 March 2012
Editing- brainwave!
Whilst editing, my group and I realised that it perhaps wasn't very apparent throughout the video so far that it was a spontaneous marriage, and thanks to one of our members, we had a brainwave! As the target audience would be teenagers, predominantly females as the song is aimed at a female, we decided that teenagers would enjoy a teen marriage. Using a car, and improvising with paper and confetti, as well as tin cans which are iconic of marriage and wedding cars, we created a "Just Married" sign and placed it on the back of a car, as shown below:
We used a tripod to get various shots of the car driving, only from behind though to show the sign. We also filmed some footage from the inside of the car of the artist singing, which we may or may not use.
We used a tripod to get various shots of the car driving, only from behind though to show the sign. We also filmed some footage from the inside of the car of the artist singing, which we may or may not use.
Thursday 1 March 2012
Editing
Our editing process has begun, and it is difficult using Premiere Pro! I have learnt the simple techniques however, for example importing footage, cutting and swapping pieces of footage, and simple editing features such as changing the brightness/contrast. Our video timeline is still in progress, however I am confident in using it now and will continue to edit for hopefully an hour each day. It is difficult finding time to edit during school hours as our VEM is used by another group also, but my group have decided to compromise and stay behind school to allow extra editing time.
Tuesday 28 February 2012
Ancillary tasks (drafts)
As part of my digipak too, I have created a draft of the CD itself. I looked at Bruno Mars' original CD front cover for 'Doowops & Hooligans' and based my own on that, whilst also putting my own input into it.
The original CD as displayed above is very simple, it has a yellow silhouette of Bruno Mars' placed quite small on the bottom, and is black. There is the copyrights statement that goes around the edging of the CD in a very small black font.
After analysing the original, I decided that I too would like my CD to be simple. My CD consists of the BRUNO MARS title, the album titles and the producing logo. It also has the copyright statement around the bottom edging of the CD, similar to the Bruno Mars original CD. Instead of having my CD background a plain colour, I have decided to repeat the word "Bruno Mars" over and over, change the opacity and use it as a background. This element will also be used by others in the group. Using Adobe Photoshop to edit the background out, and superimpose the image, I wish to use the photograph below on the front to represent the artist.
Monday 27 February 2012
Ancillary tasks (Album) (Photography)
As part of my digi-pak, I have also decided to create an album cover, CD booklet insert and CD to accompany my first ancillary task of a poster.
Within the music video, there is a few seconds of filming that will be edited to appear as photobooth. Whilst on set filming this, images were also taken, which I believe could be appropriate for this ancillary task.
As in previous posts, I chose a few images and collaged them together. One image I particularly like is where the male actor is kissing the female on the cheek. Again, I chose to manipulate this image to play around with some effects.
.jpg)
The image has been changed, and a vintage effect has been placed on to alter the colouring slightly. It has also been letterboxed, which shows the photo booth effect or perhaps could illustrate that the image is old and kept, and been on a photo reel, allowing the photograph to have an ambiguous meaning.
Within the music video, there is a few seconds of filming that will be edited to appear as photobooth. Whilst on set filming this, images were also taken, which I believe could be appropriate for this ancillary task.
As in previous posts, I chose a few images and collaged them together. One image I particularly like is where the male actor is kissing the female on the cheek. Again, I chose to manipulate this image to play around with some effects.
.jpg)
The image has been changed, and a vintage effect has been placed on to alter the colouring slightly. It has also been letterboxed, which shows the photo booth effect or perhaps could illustrate that the image is old and kept, and been on a photo reel, allowing the photograph to have an ambiguous meaning.
Friday 24 February 2012
Ancillary tasks (Poster) (Photography)
Prior to the photo shoot I had organised for my ancillary tasks, I studied various images of Bruno Mars. I created a small collage using Photoshop to analyse some of the images, to grasp a concept for my own photographs.
As you can see above, I have copied some of the poses that Bruno Mars uses, for example standing in front of a plain wall, behind a coloured background (blue and white shed) and added my own outdoor location. I personally feel that the photographs with the plain background are more effective as the focus is solely on the person in the image, which primarily is what attracts an audience upon their first viewing of a poster.
Once I had analysed all of the photos taken (total of 60) I chose one particular image that I liked the best, and decided to manipulate it using various effects.
Whilst analysing the photographs above, there were many aspects that drew my attention. The first is photographs which show Bruno Mars' from the waist upwards. These particular images attracted me because it doesn't show the entire body, but enough for the audience to become engaged with the artist, and perhaps even adopt the ideology of 'gaze theory', in that for males, they aspire to be as Bruno Mars is, or for females, to draw the attention of males who mirror Bruno Mars (clothes, hair, body etc).
I also liked the different effects used in different photographs, for example some are in black and white, and others in full colour. There are also photographs with a small faded black fade around the outline, an effect which again I like.
The final part of my analysis of the Bruno Mars' images was the small fact that in each image, the artist was not necessarily looking directly in the camera, and in my own photo shoot, without copying the work shown above, I would like to mirror these concepts stated, adding my own personal touch to it.
19/02/12 - Day of Photo Shoot
My photo shoot went extremely well, here are a few of the images taken, in their original settings. Again, I have placed them in a collage to display a wide variety:
As you can see above, I have copied some of the poses that Bruno Mars uses, for example standing in front of a plain wall, behind a coloured background (blue and white shed) and added my own outdoor location. I personally feel that the photographs with the plain background are more effective as the focus is solely on the person in the image, which primarily is what attracts an audience upon their first viewing of a poster.
Once I had analysed all of the photos taken (total of 60) I chose one particular image that I liked the best, and decided to manipulate it using various effects.
 |
| The image itself has not changed in this photograph, however I have added a background of mosaic tiles, and have changed the opacity and degrees to which the tiles are set, creating an almost patchwork effect. |
 |
| With this image, I mirrored the Bruno Mars image in the collage above, using a black fade around the corner, and changing the colouring in the image from colour to black and white. |
 |
| Out of all of the photographs manipulated, this is my favourite in that it is still a very simple photograph, with a subtle touch of editing. There has been a focal zoom on the face of the actor, and the remaining of the photo has been slightly blurred out. I feel that the simple grey and white colouring of the image will fit my poster perfectly. |
.jpg) |
| As the first image, I have added the mosaic tiles effect, however altered the image and decided to use a different one. I am not too fond of this image as the colouring seems very exaggerated, and the mise-en-scene in the background does not fit the poster. |
Friday 17 February 2012
Principle Photography
Below are some images that were taken for our principle photography from our first filming shoot, these are only snippets of some and more photo shoots are scheduled.
Tuesday 14 February 2012
HALF TERM UPDATE & Valentines Day!
As today is Valentine's Day, there have been many romantic love songs (of many genres, predominantly romance/pop) played on TV channels, as well as the radio. One video that caught my attention was the "Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend" video, in which there are scenes from a photo booth. It acted as a filler, through sequences of music where there were no lyrics and during the chorus.
Here is a still image taken from the video:
On viewing this video, I gained some inspiration for our video, this I quickly shared with my group and a joint decision was made that this would be very appropriate for our music video.
The ideology is as follows:
Bruno Mars and the love interest, played by actors in the video, will enter a photo booth that will be a home made set, and will appear to be having their photos taken. As shown above, the actors will smile, perhaps laugh, kiss, pull faces etc. I feel that this will act as a filler in our video, as well as portraying the relationship of the two, which follows the narrative of the song itself.
UPDATE:
Over half term, there were various issues with the other groups about allocated times with the video camera and equipment, and due to the fact that our group received the equipment late, our filming was delayed. We overcame this problem however by compromising and moving our date to the Sunday, whereby a majority of our filming was complete, including the new idea that was proposed above.
UPDATE:
Over half term, there were various issues with the other groups about allocated times with the video camera and equipment, and due to the fact that our group received the equipment late, our filming was delayed. We overcame this problem however by compromising and moving our date to the Sunday, whereby a majority of our filming was complete, including the new idea that was proposed above.
Wednesday 8 February 2012
Ancillary tasks (drafts)
My next ancillary task was a digipak, and just as I had created for my promotional poster, I too produced drafts for this.
The draft above is for the front and back cover of my CD case. Again, to reinforce continuity throughout, my group members along with myself will use the same font (Nueva Std) and colours (pale yellow, black and white).
The front of the CD case will include the artist logo that has been used consistently throughout my tasks, with the album name and artist name too. It will also include an image of some sort, be it of the artist itself or accompanied by others.
The spine of the CD case I found was extremely important through research, and therefore was to be set out in a particular way. With the text facing towards the left when viewed, the spine will include again the artist name and album name, along with numbers and letters on each end, acting as sort codes as such.
The back of the CD case is again important as it is what will draw the target audience into purchasing the product. The back will include the song listing, a few images, perhaps displayed as polaroid images, with contact details (website). It will also incorporate the producing label (Virgin Records) and a barcode. A feature I may include on the back of the case is a star rating, and also a small quote.
The draft above is for the front and back cover of my CD case. Again, to reinforce continuity throughout, my group members along with myself will use the same font (Nueva Std) and colours (pale yellow, black and white).
The front of the CD case will include the artist logo that has been used consistently throughout my tasks, with the album name and artist name too. It will also include an image of some sort, be it of the artist itself or accompanied by others.
The spine of the CD case I found was extremely important through research, and therefore was to be set out in a particular way. With the text facing towards the left when viewed, the spine will include again the artist name and album name, along with numbers and letters on each end, acting as sort codes as such.
The back of the CD case is again important as it is what will draw the target audience into purchasing the product. The back will include the song listing, a few images, perhaps displayed as polaroid images, with contact details (website). It will also incorporate the producing label (Virgin Records) and a barcode. A feature I may include on the back of the case is a star rating, and also a small quote.
Sunday 5 February 2012
Ancillary tasks (drafts)
Before producing my ancillary tasks using the Adobe software, I created several drafts to analyse which features I would like to incorporate.
My first ancillary task is a poster promoting the new Bruno Mars album.
Whilst working along side my group members to ensure that across the entirety of our tasks, there would be continuity, for example the same fonts, colours and perhaps imagery too, I created the draft below.
For my promotional poster, I had envisioned it would appear to be a poster within a poster. Once I had studied conventions of other promotional posters, it became apparent that there were certain aspects to include, for example:
My first ancillary task is a poster promoting the new Bruno Mars album.
Whilst working along side my group members to ensure that across the entirety of our tasks, there would be continuity, for example the same fonts, colours and perhaps imagery too, I created the draft below.
 |
| The draft above is annotated to show the fonts, colours, and layout of my poster. |
For my promotional poster, I had envisioned it would appear to be a poster within a poster. Once I had studied conventions of other promotional posters, it became apparent that there were certain aspects to include, for example:
- The album title
- Imagery of the artist
- Artist logo
- Contact information e.g. website, Blackberry barcode/Twitter logo/Facebook logo
The above have been included in my poster, which I have already begun to produce using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
I used this image, that I have previously used in a different post as my cover image of the artist.
I have chosen to use this image because the way that I have edited it I feel creates a very quirky look, which matches the persona of Bruno Mars completely. To reinforce the feel of a 'poster within a poster' I will use small pieces of what appears to be masking tape on the corners of the image, to portray the fact it has been stuck on.
I used this image, that I have previously used in a different post as my cover image of the artist.
I have chosen to use this image because the way that I have edited it I feel creates a very quirky look, which matches the persona of Bruno Mars completely. To reinforce the feel of a 'poster within a poster' I will use small pieces of what appears to be masking tape on the corners of the image, to portray the fact it has been stuck on.
Thursday 2 February 2012
Ancillary tasks update!
My ancillary tasks, I must admit, took a slow starting, mainly due to the fact that my time was not spread evenly. This however has been amend and my previous research has begun once again. As one of my tasks I wish to produce a magazine poster, and through my research I found that Bruno Mars hasn't released one, or not on the Internet at least. I did manage to find a tour poster instead, which provided a basis of the codes and conventions that occur on music promotional posters.
A quick denotation of the poster illustrates that Bruno Mars' poster uses the same colouring and effects, font and image (rocket in the background) as the the album cover which is shown in a previous post, displaying continuity throughout his promotional package; a feature which I too will include. The poster also includes dates and locations to which the tour is set, ticket prices etc, which will not be included in my magazine poster as it will not be portraying his tour; instead it will be his new song/album. An aspect that I will incorporate however is the use of the logos in the bottom right hand corner, displaying Bruno Mars' companies in which he works. I believe this is an excellent feature to have, be it a simple few or many as displayed above, as it establishes the artist.
A quick denotation of the poster illustrates that Bruno Mars' poster uses the same colouring and effects, font and image (rocket in the background) as the the album cover which is shown in a previous post, displaying continuity throughout his promotional package; a feature which I too will include. The poster also includes dates and locations to which the tour is set, ticket prices etc, which will not be included in my magazine poster as it will not be portraying his tour; instead it will be his new song/album. An aspect that I will incorporate however is the use of the logos in the bottom right hand corner, displaying Bruno Mars' companies in which he works. I believe this is an excellent feature to have, be it a simple few or many as displayed above, as it establishes the artist.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)