How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stage?

Weebly- Question Four

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Production Schedule!

This is my production schedule for my Media Project.

Filming and Editing Finalising

                                                         
Due to the actors being busy with rehearsal and have many commitment we have not had any progress with filming also outside factors such as weather and the sun setting faster so it does get darker this deters actors and us from getting good lighting.


We hope to find two male actors and an actress. We have 5 days for filming hopefully we get enough footage. 

• Thursday 21st at 12:50pm-13:50pm and 15:10pm-16:20pm

• Friday 21st 13:50pm-15:10pm

• Next Monday 24th  9:00am-10:20am and 11:40am-13:50pm 

Next week Tuesday we will screen our product to the class. 
We need to make a contingency for our lack of filming in previous weeks. Hopefully we are able to get our filming finished by the end of this week. If we do not get enough of the lip syncing we may have to focus less on the narrative and change it to a conceptual and performance based promo video. I believe that we should not leave all of the editing to the deadline so we should edit after we film. So we can focus on the effects and transitioning during the last few days of editing. 

Updated Storyboard

Researching and Planning the Moving Image Work

E.M.V Production meeting

This is just a quick video to show E.M.V working on the final bits of the pre production before going on to begin our call sheets for tour filming.

We concluded that the theatre is not realistic for a club scene and it will be break our music promo video, our new location will be in the canteen with the same story line and footages. We will ask for permission if we are filming during college hours if it is not during college hours then it would be in the morning.

We have planned to film on 17th october,2014 or 18th october,2014, first we need to speak to the actors and create our call sheet. Also I will check if the weather is good for this weekend for filming in Marsh lane. 

Production Roles

• Producers: Elma, Vivian & Marvellous

• Director: Marvellous

• Casting Directors: Elma & Vivian

• Storyboard Artist: Elma

• Camera Operators: Elma & Vivian

• Assistant Camera (focus puller): Marvellous 

• Set Decorator: Vivian

• Props Master: Marvellous

• Make Up/Stylist: Elma & Marvellous

Costumes,Props & Make-Up

Intro

 Location: Shop shutter

Actors: 2 males

Costume: all black with a bit of kente cloth or ankara cloth

Verse 1

Location 1: Canteen 

Actors: 2 males, Main female, females 2 friends, people in the background

Props: Basketball 

Costumes/make up:  what people would normally wear to college, and casual.

Chorus

Location 2: TV Studio

Actors: 2 males

Costume/make up: dressed all white or black and white (2 main male actors)

 (pure lip syncing)

Chorus

Location 3: Prince Regent Station

Actors: dancers (2 females)

Props: stairs

Costume/make up: casual clothes, some sort of unison within dancers e.g. same colours?

Verse 2

Location 4: Marsh Lane

Actors: Male and female

Props: basketball, earphones

Costume: sports wear

Storyboarding Pre- production

We jotted down our ideas from our lyric analysis sheet and inspirations. As this was not detailed enough we will draw our a
new story board above with more detail to focus on each relevant footage. 

E.M.V Production meeting

Marvellous, Elma & I discussing about the story board and editing techniques form our case study 

Writing out what we discussed and planning out our next step which was to complete the story board and working out when our next group meeting will take place.

Recce Marsh Lane Park and Theatre (club shoot)

Marsh Lane Park 

These are the images of where we'd possibly like to shoot the second verse of the track, at Marsh Lane. We chose this park because it has a basketball court and a path way near the court. This links to our idea/storyboard of the guy playing basketball by himself, then sees the girl jogging past the court and tries to get her attention while also lip syncing the second verse.

The basketball court for when the guy will be playing basketball.

Close up of the path way where the girl will be jogging from

We wouldn't need permission to film at this park as it is a pubic area. It may be busy if we filmed here especially if the weather is good so there may be distractions from the public (little kids playing around). The weather conditions would be problematic as we plan to shoot the scene when it's quite sunny.

Wide shot of the basketball court and the path way

The Alfred Hitchcock Theatre for the club location 

we will not be using these chairs for the scene because we want people on their feet dancing and not sitting down.

During the shoot of the club scene we may use this part of the hall because of the platforms on these seats,
we have permission to use the college hall 

we will be using the front of the hall for the club scene  as the story board shows that the club scene is full
even though it is spacious here we will use close ups and mid-shots to make it look like there is more people in the shot.

Afrobeat- Case Study

Zagada - LDNC

Camera angles, shots and movement

Mid shot- and long shot to show what they are wearing and how they use the platforms to when they dance. I will use this shots and angles in our video.  Low angle shots on the stairs to show the concrete and the feet of the dancers, close ups in the beginning  this shows that the bag was important and is used in the video as their conceptual idea.

Movement: Panning is used in the video to make the actions easier to capture.

Editing: Shallow depth focus and focus pull to focus one person dancing.The cutting rate was increased to build tension for the audience, this makes the performance more interesting, we want to know what will happen next. There is transition from the black and white to colour. This moving image of black and white can be considered as a post-modern element. Titles and subtitles within the video are edited on. The speakers on the bag is edited to look bigger to show that the song is very loud.

The dance at the end was fast forwarded and the cutting rate was faster. There were less cut aways here because there were more people in the long shot and mid shot. We will be using this shot when our dancers will be together at the end dancing.
The black and white is our conceptual idea and the basketball location. As it does not link to the lyrics and is not what you usually see in an afro-beats music video.
These videos will influence our music video, we hope to use the Editing and low level shots and birds  eye view in our video to increase the performance of the music. Our audience will feel engaged through the visuals and the beat.

Prop:  The bag in the beginning looks like a speaker this is editing technique, it looks like the music was played through the prop.
Length: 5:53
Produced by Dr Smith

SYNOPSIS • The music video is about a guy in the studio and downloads a song to his phone (LDNC – Zagada) and plays the song put loud with a speaker bag. • The video continues of him roaming round the streets with him playing the song out loud and the people who hear the song starts to dance to the song. A girl from college, a guy coming out of work, a little girl in the café, 3 girls from secondary school and 2 guys near an alley way. • The video ends with the members of LDNC dancing to the song with everyone who featured in the video doing the zagada (a dance routine).

Narrative/Performance Based The music video has a simple narrative, which is a guy enjoying the track by playing it out loud with a speaker around the streets. This is a way of promoting the track through the music video. The video is also performance based. Throughout the video there are people dancing “The Zagada”. This is also a way for people/audience to know how to do the The Zagada (dance routine plus freestyle) The narrative and performance based are linked. The conceptual element could be the different locations and different people dancing differently to the track.

Target Audience The target audience for the track are people (male and female) who enjoy Afrobeat. Typically young people because the people in the video are young. They are encouraged to buy the track because throughout the video there are many examples of ways to dance to Zagada, which the audience would learn so they also will know how to do the Zagada.
Ideas to use for our music video 

1. Performance based with a dance routine and a short narrative throughout our music video.
2. The cutting rate is high, it goes well with the fast beat. It will be perfect for Drop-Vibesquad Promo video.
3.  Pull focus would be good to use to focus on a person or an object.

I will use the camera angles, black and white (monochrome) also I will include dancers to my music video to make it very lively. I will also increase the cutting rate of my music video.

Story Board: Pre-production

As our treatment was successful I will start part of the pre-production plan using the storyboard.

I will be using this storyboard to illustrate the footages and the camera techniques alongside the narrative as part of the pre-production stage 

I will be able to break down each verse using our drawings and editing techniques notes on the storyboard.

 It saves time if we know what shots and angles are next and what actor or actress is in the video.The team will be able to know what footage goes next after looking at the visuals, it helps us to aim to our common action goals. 

Research and Planning Moving Image- Treatment

Treatment on Moving Image

Lyrics analysis for the moving image

This analysis is what we will use in our treatment.

Case Study 2

Alicia Keys - It's On Again ft. Kendrick Lamar

The close up of her face shows her facial expressions as surprised, when she was lip syncing the cutting rate was quite fast. Her fingers creep in the close up where she is excited about the spider man movie. The target audience will feel delighted that Alicia wants to watch the film too. The video reinforces the   values of beauty.  In the beginning there was a focus pull towards Alicia so that the audience are drawn into her lip syncing it was plausible. 

She is wearing a black leather jacket and a short black dress black connoted power and elegance however, she is not represented as classy instead she is raw and edgy. The audience want to know what will happen next.

The use of the editing match on action shows the continuity of the spider man film cuts and Alicia lip syncing. Moreover the spider man film has a voice over of Alicia. The montage used in the fast cutting rate to show urgency for the importance of the aim of the promo video.

Wide shot in the tacky location, she is dressed in black short dress in this Long shot of Alicia Keys the camera is in  a low level angle this connotes the idea she is powerful and she is talking directly to us. She is in an edgy posture. The footage reinforces youths who want to dress like adults, the female audience will aspire to dress and look like Alicia. The symbolism of female artist is as an sexual icon.

The use of the flashing lights links to the whole idea of power and control, the audience may view Alicia as supernatural. In addition the flashing adds to the rhythm when she lip syncs emphasizing her power

Locations

 Garage, Studio 

 Props: piano, chair, walky talky  

Costume

Black jacket, black dress, black heels.

 Lighting

 3 point lighting

Makeup

 bright lip stick, dark eye shadow

This case study will help me to create a star image of the artist, direct eye contact to the camera to engage the audience.  

Case Study 1

MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS - CAN'T HOLD US FEAT. RAY DALTON 

Published on April 17, 2013

Producer Ryan Lewis Youtube Channel

 Length- 7:03 

·     Synopsis– It  promotes their debut album Heist, a flag traveled throughout the video as it suggests that we should let everything go and to be ourselves. 

·        The video is conceptual and performance based because

·        The themes included the genre of Hip hop and R&B on the streets. Justice, freedom and peace were common

·        Macklemore was represented as a leader through the

The role of the main character was to entertain us through the performance video and the concept was witty. 

Lip synching was used in chorus and there was a voice over in some of the verses throughout because there was three locations and the music in the background alongside the instrumental were playing throughout the video.

·        3:01 of the camera panning on setting of the living room with the obsolete television and objects do not follow the norms of the new television as a post-modern concept. 

The idea of a camel on the street where you can seen modern cars parked depicts the hybrid ideas on the past which is emphasized in the future. However, the video reaches out to teenagers and adults because it encourages the age identity and emphasizing the idea that they can be who they want to become and the journey is not over.

Mise en scene

·        Locations: Pacific, The street, Green land, Beach

·        Costume: Fur coats, shorts, top

·        Props: Flag,  Camel, hair stylist chair, Trumpet

·        Lighting: Shallow depth of feel and foregrounding was used in on the ship     and Ambient followed by natural light when Macklemore was with Camel 

·        Make up: Natural 

      

               Editing

   The panning connotes the journey of the flag throughout the video which depicts the idea of freedom and belonging to the country but also the artist belonging to the debut studio album ‘Heist’. After watching the video I was eager to know what heist meant. I found out it is the debut album and this flag has not been included in music videos so it created a sense of a USP (unique selling point) for the song and the new album. 

Credits at the end of the video is used to acknowledge the production team 

They persuade us to buy the record as the music video by including  a range of demographics for example the ageing population is represented by the man in the beginning and youths are the main target group because they are still growing and could identify themselves with the video. This is a sense of identification for the audience and also an identity is reinforced here for Macklemore as his debut album is 'Heist'

1.       I could subvert the idea of performance and concept in the video and the representation of demographics.
2.     I will not make the video 7 minutes long because the audience will be disconnected to the video half way through.

In a wide mid shot of Macklemore with a man on the Camel holding 'The Heist' flag in the foreground we
can see houses and flashy cars. Macklemore is wearing a black blazer with a grey top underneath. He looks happy, the audience want to know why. In this wide mid shot he is presented as superior because he is holding a camel, the camel connotes a pilgrimage and a journey. I wanted to know why he did not want to take the car instead of the camel.

The motif of Macklemore is presented later during the music promo, after I watched the video once I wanted to watch it again because I missed significant information for the reasons for the camel and the flag. I had to conduct research on 'The Heist' and it came up with the debut studio album by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.

The panning and tracking here in this shot it shows the smooth action where he is wearing a white blazer connotes purity and perfection. There is postmodern cue here by the props and set on the cart that the red car is attached to, i.e television, stereo, lamp, bell, furniture. It reinforces what is out of fashion to show that Macklemore has come along way on this journey. Panning adds to the idea of a journey that is why it is so important here. Lip sync here is fast because of the journey he is on and the cutting rate is increasing. The cut away is used to show the camel, it suggest that his mission is not accomplished yet.    

Ray Dalton lip synching and body gestures showing the audience that he is a leader and the lip synching is short because there is a cutaway here to emphasis this point when Ryan Lewis is holding the flag with the crowd under his foot. 

A 180degree movement here in a wide mid shot. This is conceptual because there is a hair stylist on the beach touching up Ray Dalton’s hair and the stylist is Macklemore, Ryan Lewis is seen walking out of the with the flag when he is on land he is running.

Slow motion and a voice-over  no lip sync here as Macklemore is about to get the flag to put it up, there is an extreme close up when he pulls the flag up. The song is faster than before and the cutting rate is slower now that the  mission was accomplished

Establishing shot of the building connotes that the heist is superior and they are leaders no one can follow us a flag connotes independence and freedom.

Editing Technique

Credit rolls for the producer and writers and directors.

Evaluation on lip syncing overall & the role of Macklemore 

I think there was not enough lip syncing by Macklemore because there was different locations which had actions so it would be difficult to lip sync in each location where there is a performance, for example on the ship Macklemore was with the youths and they were dancing while he was using his gestures and singing for short time before there is a cut away to the other location where Ryan Lewis is jumping from the building to the crowd below him this connotes the idea that they respect him because they caught him when he jumped and also he is a leader. The voice over was clear and in sync when the location changed frequently.

This will help me on the lip syncing when I edit.