First animating attempt

On his Mac, Jordan made a short animatic using iStopmotion. Although it looks very basic it gives a great idea of what we need to do to make it look professional. For example, make sure the print outs are of a high quality and the heads are in exactly the same place for each shot.

http://vimeo.com/17446550

Todays lesson

In todays lesson me and Jordan arranged to meet up on saturday and start recording the song for our animatic clip and final video. Also Jordan will be drawing the animatic and I will be researching different fonts that we could use for our music video.
We also agreed that Jordan will be making a DigiPak prototype and I will be designing a magazine advertisement page. This will hopefully give us experience and knowledge on how to make our final product look as professional as possible.

Prototypes for music video

This is one of photos that Jordan made on Photoshop to give us an idea what our music video will look like and include. For the real thing the heads will be moving and be miming in sync with the song.

Other backgrounds may include beach's, farm's, forests and also we have an idea that would consist of putting our mouths on pieces of fruit so it would look as though they were singing which we thought would quite a cool idea!

Camera angles

After watching some Fleet Foxes' music videos I picked up on the style of camera angles they use. For most of the videos, the shots consist of long pans, close-ups and overlaying shots when the song is slow which gives it a calm and old fashioned look whereas when parts start to speed up they add jumps cuts which gives it a more contempory feel.

Here is one of their videos that is a perfect example..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FQ8xk6XlMo&feature=fvsr

Folk Genre research

Folk music originated in the 19th century. It has been defined in several ways: music transmitted by word of mouth, as music of the lower classes and as music with unknown composers. As listening to recorded music was not possible, music was made by common people during both their work and leisure.

Since the 20th century folk music has become more popular and branched out into other genres such as folk rock, electric folk and folk metal.

Bob Dylan innovated the modern music world by integrating old folk, blues, and other forms of Americana into songs that were both timely and timeless. He was the darling of the folk revivalists in the early 1960s; but, after using an electric guitar in his performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, his reputation came under fire from the folkies.

Popular folk instruments are Guitars, Ukulele's, Mandolin's, Bango's.

The song we are covering- White Winter Hymnal, is a folk song. The main instrument in the song is an acoustic guitar which makes the slow and calm and sound brilliant.

Next week's prospects

By the end of next week we hope to of finished our recording of 'White Winter Hymnal' where we will be using Garageband. We also hope to start recording some scenery shots and me and Jordan miming. We hope that by using a HD camcorder it will make the music video more high standard and will save us from having to re shoot the same scene over and over again.

Lighting

Lighting isnt really a key point that we will be focusing on during the recording of our music video. As we are using iStopMotion it will quite tough to portray the same lighting throughout the video! Even though it sounds pretty unprofessional, it also works really well for example, OK GO's- End Love music video is a perfect example of how having different lighting for each frame can look good. So hopefully it will have the same effect with our music video!

The music video...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2fpgpanZAw

Storyboard

As Jordan is a better artist it was one of his tasks to create a first draft for the storyboard. The ideas we came up with for the different backgrounds were completely random! E.g Forest, Beach, Brick wall, Fruit bowl etc.

The link...http://jordanbezantsa2media.blogspot.com/2010/11/quick-sketched-storyboard.html

Inspiring Music Video

Here i found an awesome Music Video which uses similar techniques which I want to use for mine.Strawberry Swing is a visually stunning stop-motion video starring Coldplay’s Chris Martin in the lead role as a flying superhero fighting giant squirrels, sea monsters, and ultimately, getting the girl.

http://provideocoalition.com/index.php/freshdv/story/inspiration_coldplay_stop_motion/

Dolly research

A camera dolly is a specialized piece of film equipment designed to create smooth camera movements. The camera is mounted to the dolly and the camera operator and camera assistant usually ride on it to operate the camera. The dolly is operated by a dolly grip who is a dedicated technician trained in its use.



Me and Jordan have been looking at many videos of how to make a dolly, here is is one!http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-build-your-own-ten-foot-long-camera-dolly-track-175170/

Chosen song for Music Video

Out of many potential songs me and Jordan chose a song called White Winter Hymnal by a band called Fleet Foxes. Because it would be hard to get in touch with the band, we have decided to do a cover of the song where me and Jordan will be singing and producing it.

This is the song.....http://vimeo.com/1309452

Thursday's practical lesson

On Thursday, Me and Jordan will be making a dolly which would hold our tripod and move up and down on wheels. Also if there is enough time I will be making a questionnaire and Jordan will be constructing a storyboard.

Thursday 18th- Having decided we were to ambitious and I need to do further research in to constructing a dolly and Jordan needs to do further research on animation techniques.

DigiPak research

Ive done some research on DigiPak's and here is my Prezi presentation.

http://prezi.com/ygedjdmescgb/digipaks/

Music Video Research

Jordan looked at many inspirational music videos and deconstructed 'Torn on the Platform' by Jack Penate as this is the style we hope to portray! Here is the link to the Music Video research..

http://jordanbezantsa2media.blogspot.com/2010/11/music-video-research.html

Task Management

Jordans's Tasks:

• Storyboard
• CD cover design
• Searching for locations (some found already)
• Questionnaire

Luke's Tasks:

• Magazine advertisement design
• Questionnaire
• Reasearch of the Folk Genre
• Script

Potential Blog Titles

Storyboard
Planning
Research
Representations
Influences
Layout
Design
Audience feedback
Target audience
Conventions
Sound
Editing
Camera angles
Techniques used
Marketing
Media terminology
Presentations
References
Progress reports

Marks I am aiming for

Level 3 12–15 marks

There is proficient research into similar products and a potential target audience.

There is proficient organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props.

There is proficient work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding.

Time management is good.

There is a good level of care in the presentation of the research and planning.

There is proficient skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation.

There are proficient communication skills.

Level 3 12–15 marks

There is proficient understanding of the forms and conventions used in the productions.

There is proficient understanding of the role and use of new media in various stages of the production.

There is proficient understanding of the combination of main product and ancillary texts.

There is proficient understanding of the significance of audience feedback.

There is proficient skill in choice of form in which to present the evaluation.

There is proficient ability to communicate.

There is proficient use of digital technology or ICT in the evaluation.

Level 4
The candidate is expected to demonstrate excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:

holding a shot steady, where appropriate;

framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate;

using a variety of shot distances as appropriate;

shooting material appropriate to the task set;

selecting mise-en-scène including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting;

editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer;

using varied shot transitions, captions and other effects selectively and appropriately;

using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task.

Where a candidate has worked in a group, an excellent contribution to construction is evident.

Level 4
The candidate is expected to demonstrate excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:

using IT appropriately for the task set;

showing understanding of conventions of layout and page design;

showing awareness of the need for variety in fonts and text size;

accurate use of language and register;

appropriately integrating illustration and text;

framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate;

using a variety of shot distances as appropriate;

shooting material appropriate to the task set;

selecting mise-en-scène including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting;

manipulating photographs as appropriate to the context for presentation, including within text, within particular IT programmes, cropping and resizing.

Where a candidate has worked in a group, an excellent contribution to construction is evident.


In this piece of work, in terms of production 40 marks will be allocated to the main task and 10 marks each for the two ancillary tasks. In arriving at these marks, centres should use the relevant mark scheme below for whichever media is being assessed. Within the section of the main task, centres should consider the relationship between the tasks and ensure that a sense of brand identity across the package is evident. This should be taken into account at this stage.
Where candidates have worked in groups, the teacher is asked to indicate clearly on the mark sheets any differences in the contributions made by each individual to the group’s work. The teacher should also make clear on the mark sheet the quality of the brand identity across the package as a whole.

A2 Music Video Pitch

http://prezi.com/4qsdj61liqcl/initial-ideas-jordan-bezants/