PRELIMINARY Evaluation question 4

How did you us media technologies in the constriction and research, planning and evaluation stage?

Construction and research:


This stage required more technology than I thought it would as I had to use the internet to find possible locations that we could use, finding locations was difficulty because there wasn't many places we could get all our cast to. Without the internet finding locations would have been a lot more difficult as we used google maps to look at locations and communicate without each other via and whatsapp group chat to give each other updates on filming times etc. Also using our phones we were able to take pictures of our locations and pictures whilst filming and upload the pictures directly to blogger, which overall speeded up the construction and research process.


Planning:

This stage used slightly less technology than the research stage but still was useful for communicating with other group members and actors to organise dates and locations without actually having to meet up and discuss. Also, we used technology at this stage by making a checklist for what we needed to bring and what our restraints where for filming, we did this on our phones so we could have them with use when we where filming and make sure we fitted in with them as much as possible.


Evaluating:


For our evaluating stage we also used technology. Such as when we uploaded our video to YouTube and then sending it members of the public via email and messenger to get reviews for our audience feedback. Having the internet meant we were able to share blog post, as Hannah and I wrote most the blogs whilst the other members of our group did other roles the internet meant other group members were able to see our blogs and get our blog posts onto their blogs, which successfully sped up the overall process.

PRELIMINARY Evaluation question 3

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Looking back to when we initially got the song titles it was evident that the song didn't have to be our favourite choice or one we would listen to. It was about how we could formulate a story that can be a tangible item, in which viewers could interact with, as it is personal and identifiable to the target audience. The main issue with the outcome wasn't that the song wasn't appealing to everyone, but that the song length being 4:01 minutes made it difficult to finish the product. Tommy when editing reversed the clip, this correlated well with the lyrics of the song when Biffy says 'Baby if you could would you go back to the start?' it's a simple technique to use but it's also quite effective. It fills up the duration of the time without being unnecessary.
With everyone else in our media class having the same preliminary task, it enabled us to ask for their feedback as they have more of an insight on what the expectations were for the video. We then asked people who we considered our target audience. Because of the storyline and using actors our age it was quite easy to distribute the clip across different social media sites to gain feedback.
It didn't take long to identify a theme with the feedback. During the research it was noted that they liked the combination of different angles composing the video, but thought a greater variety of different locations should be used. Despite our group not wanting too many locations to complicate the storyline, it was apparent maybe the type of environment could differ. The pub, the walk and park scene were all in quite green, quite areas. Although it was aesthetically engaging them having drinks in a pretty area, the contrast of a more urban intimate environment could prove more effective.
In addition ending at 2:54 it meant that there was still 1:07 minutes to fill with content. That was probably the strongest point and something we already knew as soon as we edited.

People also liked the smooth transitions between scenes, the effects that cause the raw footage to become the finished product.
Another factor that we could have altered is the warmth, hue and depth of field, in post production, which ultimately could make the final cut more professional. All of the feedback we received was something we realised once watching it back ourselves. Which is why I think it is positive. As when we go on to develop our actual products this year we will have more time to produce. Therefore we can truly refine the work and outcomes, in order for it to be as successful as it possibly can be.

PRELIMINARY Evaluation question 2

How effective is the combination of your main product (video) and your ancillary text (CD cover)?

I think our combination of our main product and our ancillary text is very effective. We thought that for an album cover we wanted a simplistic design that still attained a greater meaning. After looking at an array of album covers including Biffy's own design, we decided that something more minimalist, yet still artistic would fit the song a lot better. Throughout the filming the couple were surrounded by a lot of nature. We took inspiration from that and decided scanning plants and flowers would connect well with the video outcome. After going to a garden and selecting a variation of leaves, flowers and petals we laid them on the glass for scanning, where we arranged the placement of each item. Above you can see two designs, the first was just a test shot to see how the outcome would actually look and the other was a more constructed visual.

The small petal and the end of the branch we thought could represent male and female in the video, how they are just touching, they are still connected but rather distant and neither 'item' is up to its full potential. It's not a flower it's only a petal and it's not a huge branch it's just a few leaves. I think it's a good metaphor for the music video, the characters aren't thriving at the end and there is a slight presence of decay and fracture in the relationship. It also is minimalist and slightly artistic which is what we wanted initially.

PRELIMINARY Evaluation question 1

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

From a conventional music video it could be expected that there would be some narrative scenes, along with some lip syncing and also some band play shown. Our music video develops the narrative by showing it throughout, the whole thing is based on a story which is told with the help of the lyrics.

Going against conventions, our music video doesn't use any lip syncing or band play however it works well because it is almost like a full story is being told. Something we could have done differently would be to have used a band for some parts however we had a limited amount of time to film for this task and it would have been a waste of money to spend on hiring a band out for the preliminary task whereas it would be different for the real thing.



Constructive criticism we have received is that our video seems to be repetitive in some places, which is something that we can all take away from this and use in our final videos. The reason it can feel repetitive is not the location, because we used three different ones, but it is more so that we only used narrative instead of mixing with other techniques such as lip syncing and band play. Most music videos use a mixture of techniques however there are some, such as 'All Of The Lights' such as Kanye West where throughout the video all that is shown is the lyrics printed on the screen. Something we have learnt is that the forms used to convey the music video work in different ways depending on the song.

PRELIMINARY Album cover

We thought that for an album cover we wanted a simplistic design that still attained a greater meaning. After looking at an array of album covers including Biffy's own design, we decided that something more minimalist, yet still artistic would fit the song a lot better. Throughout the filming the couple were surrounded by a lot of nature. We took inspiration from that and decided scanning plants and flowers would connect well with the video outcome. After going to a garden and selecting a variation of leaves, flowers and petals we laid them on the glass for scanning, where we arranged the placement of each item. Above you can see two designs, the first was just a test shot to see how the outcome would actually look and the other was a more constructed visual.

 

The small petal and the end of the branch we thought could represent male and female in the video, how they are just touching, they are still connected but rather distant and neither 'item' is up to its full potential. It's not a flower it's only a petal and it's not a huge branch it's just a few leaves. It can be a metaphor for the music video, the characters aren't thriving at the end and there is a slight presence of decay and fracture in the relationship. It also is minimalist and slightly artistic which is what we wanted initially.

The other more constructed cover we enjoyed making. However when evaluating both designs we thought that it was too cluttered and messy and didn't look as effective as the first one.

 

PRELIMINARY Final video upload

PRELIMINARY images while filming

Here are a few images I took at the different locations of how we selected and constructed the shots. I worked with Tommy who filmed all of the clips on which angles would be the most appropriate to film from, in order to subtly convey emotion. The river scene was the most interesting shot to get as Tommy walked through the river to get the best possible shot looking up to Charlie and Maria (as seen above). Despite not going very far out for our locations, because we had suitable places locally, we definitely worked the shots and carefully decided the best angels for the music video.

PRELIMINARY Shooting schedule

Despite the cast only being constructed by two individuals, arranging for the entire group to meet to film proved one of the most difficult tasks. When we were considering the locations we came to the conclusion that we could film all the locations on the same day as they are within 5 minute walk from each other. This meant that we would only choose the day where the weather looked warm but not too hot to film, as we were carrying filming equipment, outfits for the actors to wear and our own school stuff. We selected Monday the 18th of July as it enabled us to have the rest of the week to edit the footage. It also gave us flexibility when looking at the footage to redo any scenes that didn't meet our expectations for the outcome. Also the rest of the week looked to have appropriate weather conditions which was ideal. We filmed during a free we all had 4th period and lunch, as that was the only free time we all had.