Almost finished

since i last blogged every lesson i have been putting my video together. i have found it alot easier to put my video together without my storyboard as i want my video to be fast pase and i have added some more shots. i have found it very easy to put my video together, i have been told that my continue editing is of high standard and i believe my video looks like a proper music video. i have also added fades and effects to my video and had to speed up and slow some clips down. i find it easy to fit the dance moves and lipsinking to the beat.

uploading the dance footage

Last lesson i upload the footage from the dance shoot i did last week, and now i am going to start putting it into the editing.

Todays Lesson

In todays lesson i carried on editing my video together, i've added a few more extra little bits into the video and left gaps for the other clips to go in different costume and backgrounds etc. Here is a screenshot of what i have done today...

Next lesson i plan to upload my other footage from the dancing shoot and the other costume, i will then capture the parts i need and try and edit some of them bits onto the video.
I also just need to get a clip a shot of a trumpet end, which i need to do asap. So i will try and get that orginised soon as possible.

MUZU

On MUZU.com it says that this http://www.muzu.tv/gb/beyonce/beyonce-i-was-here-music-video/1211248/ is the official music video for End Of Time which has only just come out on there. However, when i listened to it its the live version and not the actual track that i am doing, luckily. And its not a proper video its shots of her concerts where shes singing that song.
The dancing in this is what i pictured it to be like on the beat of the music, which is how she would normally do it. She also wears very glitsy glam costumes and she sings it as a happy version.

Putting my Video Together

I have now for a couple of lessons started putting my music video together, i have done the first little bit i just need to get my shot of the trumpet so i can put it all together, so i've now got the first verse done. I am happy with what i have done so far and its getting me excited to get it all done! i am not editing any of the shots yet with effects i am going to wait till the end.

Filming Dance Scenes

On Monday afternoon i set up the two boards in the drama studio, i put Nathalie into Costume and make-up aswell as the two dancers and then taught them the routine, i had to tell them how i wanted them, to exaggerate the moves like Beyoncé would do. Here are some of the pictures i took..

DURING THE FILMING

Yesterday's Shoot!

In the end, we went too Roos and filmed yesterday as the weather made a sudden change and it was too good to risk doing it on Tuesday. I filmed a range of different shots, non of these included singing though as i don't want any singing scenes in that location. I just want it too look strong. Here are some of the pictures below, some more that i could probably include in my digipack. Once i have finished my video editing i will figure out my digi-pack. I want to focus on the biggest chunk first.

Persponed

Today i was supposed to be shooting the begging of my video, the weather today is too cloudy and dull to film and i have used the camera in my garden to see what it looks like and it doesn't look very good.
I am now filming this on Tuesday afternoon as the forecast is due to have sunny intvervals which is perfect, even if the weather is different to this i am still going to film on that day to get it done. Also there is a memorial going on in Roos today so its a good job we didn't go and film.
I am filming tomorrow 5th period and after school; the dancers! I am excited to do this tomorrow, all i have to do is get a couple of girls off timetable.

DATES

Hopefully me and Nathalie are going to the Location outdoors on Sunday to film the other bits of her walking, for the introduction! Thats if the weather goes to plan, this is the forcast for this weekend

It says that for sunday it will be white cloud which would be perfect for filming so hopefully if it stays that way we should be making our way too Roos Church on Sunday to film the intro and the ending. It will be cold either way so we will have to be sure to take warm clothing for Nathalie cause her costume is quite short and shows a lot of skin.

I am then planning on filming the dancers on MONDAY 14TH NOVEMBER, i am checking tomorrow when the Drama Studio is free for that day and hopefully will be using it after school (after the grease rehearsals). After that i just need to film the outside of a trumpet and then film the stage scenes, i should have all my footage by the end of next week and then i am going to get the editing done asap. Not just in Media lessons but in my frees, as i want to spend time on working my Digipack and Website to be good grades. But for now i will start to edit in the footage i have.

FINALLY finished my invidual bits of filming!

So filming today went REAALLY well, i am very happy with ALL the shots i got as i took so many different ones as i forgot my storyboard. However, i believe taking all of these different: high angle, low angle, mid-shots, close-ups are going to benefit me as i have explored a bit more with my shots.

Here is the set up i made in the drama studio, i just used one whiteboard because i just needed her on a white background with her looking at the camera in different angles. I had to get the camera in just the right place as sometimes it kept slipping and you could see were the board stopped. But still made sure that Nathalie had enough space to move around and keep everything in the same shots.

Now this is when i set the lights up which you can see in the top right hand corner ^^ As you can see the whiteboard looks so much better and brighter and the camera quality was so much better, alot clearer with better lighting. Before them lights the board looked a manky grey-ish colour but the light brought out a nicer better light allowing me to start my filming.

These are some pictures I took before and during filming, i took these pictures as one of them could be a potential picture for my digipack cover, i like the lighting on these pictures, they really bring out the gold sparkles on her eyes and it looks a really nice quality. I will take more pictures when i film the other sections of my video and will eventually choose one or a couple to work with and decide.
I also chose this costume choice as its a very simple fashionable top, that makes it look classy especially with the earrings pink sparkles. The black hot pants and court shoes brought the sexy element into the video like a normal Beyonce video. Overall i was very happy with my first costume choice. It looked really good on camera they way it flowed.

DURING THE FILMING

Because I know Nathalie is confident and she dances i knew she wouldn't and shouldn't be shy infront of the camera, my intructions to Nathalie was to simply say the words/lyrics like you mean them, dance around, have fun and smile! We already talked about what Beyoncé would do in her typical videos therefore she had that in mind as a little inspiration, she adapted well to the changes of angles of the camera and worked well with any other intructions i asked her too do, she also had a few ideas which we filmed and will fit in with my video! I got all of her 'solo' bits filmed today, now its just getting the dance sections filmed and the outdoor/location settings (roos church and school hall) which i am planning to do next week. For now i am editing all of these bits so i can fill in the missing gaps with the other unfilmed footage.

 

During the filming we added another piece of set, the other board, we did this so i could get a side-angle shot and other shots of her being able to use both of these boards with her arms etc.

OVERALL

overall i believe filming today went really well, we started filming at half past 2 and didn't leave till half past 5, I really enjoyed being incontrol and knowing and getting excatly what i want it too look like and i believe i achieved that today. I am now excited and ready to start editing this footage and can't wait to do some more.

DRAMAS

My lead girl told me a couple of days ago that she has an exam on this day, i presumed it was in the morning but this morning i found out that its in the afternoon, which means i could of been filming with her this morning and now im going to have shorter time to film with her this afternoon its no ones fault, just a little hiccup! HOPEFULLY i will get it all sorted and most of her individual clips done today. I am not sure about filming tomorrow now as the dramastudio is booked for the full day so its going to have to be night after school this next week. I really just want to get it done now asap.

I am fully prepared to film these clips with her today, i have all of my costumes, make-up, curlers, accessories so hopefully from now on it should run smoothly.

Waiting..

As i am ready to film tomorrow i don't have anything else to plan apart from finding out when the drama studio is free tomorrow afternoon. So for now i am going to start drafting my digi-pack just for todays lesson.

Hair and Make-Up

This is how i'm going to put their hair, purely because i think it will suit the dance and they will all look the same. I also think it looks classy as their hair isn't going to be hanging across their face when they are dancing, I know the girls normally don't like their hair off their face so i really had to think of a way that they could still be a little bit comfortable dancing as i don't want them to feel silly as they won't perform to their full ability.


Their eyes are going to be like the above (as much as i can do that) apart from im going to add a bit more sparkle onto Nathalies eyes so they stand out that little bit more. As you can see i am picturing the dancers to look like the ones in the Single Ladies video, as i really think that they look classy in that video and its the same thing im looking for within mine so im going to get as much inspiration as possible from this.

Costumes

I need to now find out when the drama studio is FREE and get my girls off timetable at some point in the afternoon on Thursday. I'm teaching the routine at somepoint in the morning however one of my girls has the dentist in the morning and won't be there so she is coming for around dinner time and we will need to teach her it as quick as possible. The girls are bringing along with them a black boobtube and some hotpants as this is what i imagine them in for this dance routine, i think im going to leave them in bare feet and just have Nathalie the lead in heels. Any other accessories that the two dancers may need i will bring as i want them too look simular. Nathalie is going to wear the same yet she is going to have a blazer over hers, a black and gold one. And im going to see if she can dance in some black high heeled court shoes.

Complecations

John emailed me back about the usage of the hall saying that the hall is booked from the 7th till the 16th for exams!! I asked him if i could have the hall after school on thursday instead and now i have to go see him about this. However i dont think i'm going to use the hall that day now considering how well i get on in the drama studio i may just use that after school instead and see how i get on in there. I will have too use the hall at some point and i really want to get it done asap. But after i have a lot of the footage i'll start piecing it together with the editing and leave bits out where i want it to be different locations and on the stage in the hall.

Dates

I have now orginised dates for when i am going to FILM my music video as i really really want to do it asap now, im raring to go! i just need some last minute accessories.
I am filiming just my main lead on Wednesday 9th November - whenever she can do it during the day really, i need to ask some of her teachers if i can have her off timetable and see if the drama studio is free. I am also using the dance studio after school for this.
I am filming my dancing sections on Thursday 10th November once again having to ask maybe a few teachers if i can get two girls off timetable and need to know when i can use the drama studio, i am also using the hall after school for filming.

I will be filming my locations shots on a day over that weekend, probably the sunday where i will be traveling to some type of woodlands and the beach.

Record Label

I blogged recently about sending an email to Beyoncé's record label, and they never replied. I am still going to use the song as i don't have enough time to wait for them to accept this.

Getting everything orginised..

Here are two emails i have sent to some staff within the school to ask about locations for my filming.

How i spent my half term -

I tried to spend my half term wisely. I could not film or get footage during the holidays as most of my filiming is school based, using the schools facilities. I have storyboarded most of my video there is just a few moments i am unsure of location wise and some costumes. I went into town and was looking in high street shops for costumes and saw a lot of jewelry and costumes that i could get from Primark so it also means that my budget will be cheap. I have spoken to the girl who is my main lead for my video and she is learning/learnt the song, its now just asking the two dancers and her for a specific date that we can do it, this might mean that i have to get them off timetable and i need to get in touch with some staff around school to get the locations i need such as The Hall and the Dance Studio. I also need to think of another location as i dont want it to be all white backgrounds. Therefore i have tried to plan as much as possible, now i am going to finish off my storyboards, work out a date and then get intouch with some staff. As soon as i get the chance to go into town i will go and buy the costumes and accessories i need and then crack on with filming. My aim is to have my video filmed and hopefully edited by the end of November.

Annotated Lyrics

Beyoncé Annotated End Of Time Lyrics of my music video

View more documents from lauraderbyshireWHS.

MoodBoard

I have now completed my Moodboard of what i would want too include within my video, gathering just some of my ideas. I think to get more of a clear view of what i want i will do another moodboard that is completley the opposite to what i want.
But what i want is for my video to have fairly glamrous costumes throughout, and have a glam tone also throughout the video as it is what a normal Beyoncé video is like.

Next Deadline..

Our next deadline on Friday 21st October, and by then we should of done these things

chosen a song

written/e-mailed the record company for permission to use the song

completed some primary audience research (asking your audience about ideas for the song, locations, costume choices, storylines, images etc)

uploaded and annotated the lyrics with your ideas

some storyboarding - perhaps the first 10-15 shots

I have done most of these but now i am going to start annotating some lyrics, storyyboarding and finish off my mood board. I also need to upload my questionnaire with compleleted.

Ideas and Planning..

I've just thought of an idea of really building from the word 'time' from the title, by going through different times and styles such as 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's as little quirky bits during the video, but mainly keep her in a main current, glamorous look too keep with the classy housestyle.

Also i have asked my friend Natalie if she will be the beyonce of my music video for me, she has said she will and i've asked her if she could start learning the words already. As soon as i get results back from my questionnaire i will ask dancers if they will also take part and sort rehearsals out so they can learn a routine.

Acceptance..

Here is the Email i have just sent to Sony/Columbia records regarding using Beyoncé's track End Of Time for my coursework. I will now wait for a reply but i cannot wait forever so i am still going to carry on as if they have already accepted.

More Research

Here is Beyoncé's new video for Countdown, off the same album that i am using my song for my music video. Like i said below this uses all the conventions of a Beyoncé music video, however this one has a theme of dance, some recognisable scenes and dances that are famous. Its mostly shots of just her throughout the video which is what i would like to go for, because i know its not 'fancy fancy' all these different locations and nothing much is going on, but it can be quite eye-catching and different and i have more oppotunitys to do different camera angles.

Beyoncé - Countdown on MUZU.TV

Background Research

I really want my music video to be like a typical Beyoncé video, Like what she would possibly do for the song. So i have been looking at her previous videos, and in every single video Beyoncé looks classy; what i notice that mainly does it is her costume and make-up, her costumes are always stand out costumes but have that element of class in them constantly, for example her 'Single Ladies' video is just a simple black body suit, but even just using the colour black and the way she dances and her jewelry and her make-up make it look so classy because she only goes to a certain extent. Even in her 'Best Thing I Never Had' Video she is in lingere but she doesn't slutty as such. The only time i would say Beyoncé lost her identity was in her 'Crazy in Love' video as all the colours on her costume and other dancers costumes looked cheap and her dress was really short and her top was very low cut which made her look very chavvy and cheap, however this is the only video i'd say were she lost her identity. Her make-up is usualy sharp and quite heavy eye make up. Her videos tend have the same meaning; in her slow songs the videos tell a story like 'If I Were A Boy' it shows a storyline and guides you through it. Where as in the Single Ladies video its abit more upbeat and its just her and two other dancers dancing, yet its one of the most famous videos ever. Which is what i'd like to mimic, a mix between single ladies and maybe run the world girls as i think that is what maybe suites the song lyrics, beat and tempo. Her slow songs and her upbeat song videos are SO different, everything wise - like camrea angles, length of shots, costume, colours etc. To compare two; her video for 1+1 are all very slow shots, mostly filled with close-ups of her face and upper body, its a very intimate video to fit in with the lyrics, kind of telling a story from her moves and the settings even though it looks like most of it was filmed infront of a green screen, everything in this video is very slow and elegant. However in her Run The World (Girls) video the tempo is much much quicker and the beats are so precise - there are so many fast cuts to different scenes, it has a very strong begining (like most of her other songs), it is VERY strong/powerfull throughout, there is a few special effects, lots of cast, madness scenes, a lot of dancing and is just based as one main location, keeps going from busy to shots of just her in different location and it doesn't really have a storyline, a meaning. Therefore i am going to stick with these convetions, stick with Beyoncé identity because i cannot picture the song without it being like a typical Beyoncé stand out video.

Beyoncé - 1+1 on MUZU.TV

Beyoncé - Run The World (Girls) on MUZU.TV
I am now going to print out my questionnaire and see what my audience think, and then i am going to ask someone too be my main character and give her the lyrics and then probably ask 2 other people if they would be my dancers (if my audience think so). I will then start working on a dance routine to teach to them so they can get it perfectly, whilst working out what locations i want and how i can get them which could mean i need to talk to a few people and sort things out.

Beyonce - Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) on MUZU.TV

My Questionnaire

Here i have developed a Questionnaire which i am going to gather around 10 of my intended audience, play them the song i have chosen and get them to fill this in so i know there clear idea of how they picture the music video to be, purely to help me decide which is best for my audience.

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Audience Music Video Ideas

Questionnaire
1. How do you picture the beginning of the song? What would you expect too see?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2a. Do you expect dancing in this video?
                 Yes ◘     No ◘
2b. If so, how many dancers would you expect? (Including the singer)
       1-3 ◘            3-5 ◘           5-8 ◘       9+ ◘
      
3. Do you picture different locations? Or just a plain backgrounds (just white or blue etc.)?
       Different Locations ◘
please quote what locations you would expect ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
       Plain Backgrounds ◘
       Mixture ◘
4. What do you picture the costumes to be like?
tick as many as you like…

Glamorous ◘        Very Beyoncé Style ◘         Bright Colours ◘       Dark Colours ◘ 

Classy ◘               Urban look ◘                        Fashionable ◘           Vintage ◘

Any Other?.........................................................................................................................              

5. Do you expect it to be a quite classy looking video? Like a typical Beyoncé video.
                                                       Yes ◘           No ◘
6. Do you think they’re would be Males involved in the video or Just Females?

                               Males & Females ◘             Just Females ◘
7. What is your favourite music video and why?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

8. Which is your favourite Beyoncé Music Video?
Single Ladies ◘              1+1 ◘              Halo ◘                If I was a boy ◘

Who run the world (Girls) ◘           Irreplaceable ◘    Best thing I never had ◘
8b. Why?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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Technical Problems With Websites

Recently our school has had technical problems with websites that us as media studies need to use as our resources. It lead to me doing an hours worth of work on this blogger to press publish and then to say that the internet page could not be displayed therefore i lost my whole hours work, Also we cannot get onto other resources such as Scribd etc. The IT department are working on changing the access rights so we can use the sites we need. It means for now we have to do a lot of the work at home and then it cannot be accessed in school. But the IT department have said that it should take about 3 weeks to get our resources up and running.

Digipack 2 - Coldplay

Here is Coldplays new album 'Mylo Xyloto' the front cover is very busy and bright colours, all looking like its graffiti, all the colours look like neon colours and all different words and symbols. It looks like there identity is showing through the symbols and colours, representing the storylines. This also carries on through there Music Video for 'Every Teardrop is a Waterfall' ...

Coldplay - Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall on MUZU.TV
You can see that throughout the video that there is always colour in the background like graffiti either saying the lyrics or symbols representing the lyrics. Also in neon matching the housestyle of there album, building on there brand identity. Including on there website, the background is black and there links and fonts are in neon blue and pink, and the headers look like they have been drawn on, also sticking with there housestyle, therefore there audience would notice this as there brand identitiy.
http://www.coldplay.com/site.php

Music Video Ideas

I have looked around a few albums from various artists trying to find a song that they have not yet got a video too so i could use one for mine, and one that has struck out too me the most is a song from Beyoncé called End Of Time. I have already asked a few members of my audience of some ideas what the think when they hear the song, i am going to soon do a questionnare for them to do so i can get some information.

What i should include in Planning..

Planning
•Research into existing music videos - styles/theories

•Research into brand identity – looking at a video, digipack and looking at a website and finding the identity finding the links, how they work together.

•Thinking about my stuff, need to have:
- song choice

- copy of the lyrics to the song which I have annotated (possibilities and ideas)

- get audience to annotate the lyrics to find out what they see/expect

- put together a selection of mood boards, have three different move boards
1.camera angles 2.settings/locations 3.other mise-en-scene aspects

- take mood boards to audience and get them to tick there choices of what they think will work, what they expect.

- storyboard my video (draw them, take a photo storyboard, found through Google images the images she wanted and put them together). Storyboard the first 30secs to a minute. Includes details of camera and character movements. Like ‘zoom, pan etc’

- Planning how your going to create your own brand identity – through?.. Camera shot, setting, costume, genre of the song?

any problems, any changes, audience research, extra research can be added.

Digipack 1 - Duffy (ROCKFERRY)

When i create a Digipack i need to keep in mind that it has all has to link together house-style wise with my music video and website, for example if i decided i was going to do a busy, fast, upbeat music video then i wouldn't make a website and digipack that is contempory looking because it wouldn't look right, it wouldn't fit together and appeal to the particular audience i was aiming for.

This is the outside Duffy's Album (Digipack) Rockferry, the whole album is black and white - which already gives it the timeless and vintage feeling, it also makes it look quite classy. The two sections on each end are both images; the one on the left is a close-up image of a street sign saying 'Rockferry' with flowers underneath it and seeing like a seaside and the sea behind that which gives it a really calm and contemporary feel. The image on the right is a picture of Duffy herself hanging out what looks to be a old vintage train window (you can only see the edges of this as herself is in most of the frame). She isn't doing a fake looking pose, for example you cannot tell that she has done this pose for her front cover of her album, it looks all very natural and simple but very classy. Which makes it effective as you imdeatately get that contemporary feel as she looks like she is on a journey from the pictures of the sign and her on a train, also the section in the middle is just a plain black background with the font of her songs in white, which is once again very simple but it goes really nicely with the other two images; not too much, not too hectic. The fonts are mix between Bold for the name of her album and her songs but a Italic contemporary looking font for her name which gives off a feeling that shes got a soft and distintive voice but her songs and the album are all very powerfull. Like everyone of her songs has a meaning.

This is the inside of Duffys Digipack, the digipack inclueded two discs, one being just the album and the other disc being a dvd of extra bits and lyrics. Where these two discs was (either sides) they both have the same picture behind of a train track and feilds behind which also adds to the journey and the vintage and timeless feeling of the black and white. You get the sense that the album is going to take you on a journey through a love story, and looking at the picture of her in the middle of the inside probably a love story about her break up or how her heart was broken maybe? I think this because she this is a close up of her half of her upperbody, where she is looking down and her expression on her face looks like shes sad, also her body language of her hands at the top of her coat looks a bit like shes uncomfortable, like shes protecting her heart. In the background all you can see is the side of the vintage/old train behind her, adding to her journey feeling.
The whole digipack gives off a very elegant, classy and timeless feeling. Which i expect her website would do too and her music videos otherwise the whole feeling of this would vanish in a instant.

Duffy - Mercy on MUZU.TV

This Video fits in so well with everything i just described about the digipack, it is very classy, the way shes dressed and the vintage mircophone and the black and white effect. Also you can tell its about love because of  lyrics. This whole video fits in with the digipack perfectly.

Also the website fits in perfectly,adding to all the conventions that i picked out just from that digipack. All her website is in black and white. Very classy and glamourous looking. http://www.iamduffy.com/

Goodwin's Music Video Analysis

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics
For example, a dance routine in a boy/girl band, a stage performance for a metal video.

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals
Either illustative, amplifying or contradicting.
For example, a illustrative video would help convey the meaning of the song, a amplifying video would repeat or exaggurate an effect, movement or phrase from the song, a contradicting video would completely ignore the song.

3. There is a relationship between music and visuals
Either illustrating, amplifying or contradicting.

4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their workFor example, visually there is Michael Jackson's white shoes and glitter glove, Bono's sunglasses, Lady Gaga's crazy costumes and frequent costume changes. Also poses and dance moves such as Michael Jackson's hand on his crotch thrusting was a recurring dance move throughout his videos.

5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female bodyFor example, screens within screens, telescopes, looking directly into the camera (like they know you're watching them). Women in music videos are directed through the males mind which in most cases are dressed in very revealing clothes and are doing sexual dance moves.

6. There is often intertextual reference
For example, reference to films, television programmes and other music videos

Music Video Genres

I missed a few lessons but this is what i have read through and caught up on.
Three types of music genres and how they are represented through the video...
The performance videoThis is usually suited to pop and rock music, where the focus is on the performers performing, be it as a group, a ‘solo’ artist or as a dance routine.

This genre of video is the most common, in that they are the easiest to produce and require the least planning.

 

n

The narrative video

nThis is suited to most genres of music.

Narratives rarely have anything to do with the subject matter of the song, they are figurative rather than literal version of the song.

It usually adopts something distinctive or unique – Coldplay’s ‘The Scientist’ told backwards, A-Ha’s ‘Take On Me’ told through moving comic books.

 

The abstract video

This genre is very detached from the music and/or the lyrics.

nIt usually includes a series of seemingly unconnected images, edited to fit the pace of the music.

nIt also suits most styles of music, particularly the less mainstream types, or the ‘abstract’ music styles.

A2 Project Music Video.

My Advanced Portfolio will be made up of:

•A music promotional video - worth up to 40 marks.

•A cover for a digipack CD/DVD release of an album from the same artist - worth up to 10 marks.

•A website - worth up to 10 marks.

•A research and planning portfolio that will be done through your blog - worth up to 20 marks.

• An evaluation, done as a filmed PowerPoint presentation, uploaded to your blog - worth up to 20 marks.