Wednesday, 29 October 2014

Wednesday

Today I got a lot of my filming done in two of my locations. We first checked the tide and sunset times for New Brighton beach to ensure that the beach would be available and to ensure that we got there in time to have the sun setting in the video. However, this is the section of my filming that I will have to re-film. I did not take into account the cloudy weather and so the sunset and beautiful sky that I wished for did not show through the clouds. Also, I did not realise how dark it got very quickly and so I was still using my camera without a light and so a lot of my filming is too dark to see. I realised near the end of this section of filming that I needed a light but only had time to take 2 videos. These both look very good and will hopefully be used in my over all music video. I will be arranging a meeting with my actors again to re-film this section.

I also filmed a film in my back garden with sparklers. This is an effect which I really like but the lighting in my test shots was not great. This time, to make the garden look better and also to provide more light, I put fairy lights along a straight washing line at the bottom of the garden and also on a tree so that this effect would be in the background. I also used the camera with a light so that it would pick out my actors. I managed to get a huge amount of filming done with the sparklers and I have more than enough shots to choose from for my music video.

Friday, 24 October 2014

Plans

On Wednesday I will be filming the beginning the dusk/night time parts of my music video. For these shots I will be using these locations:

  1. The Beach
  2. My Garden
On Thursday night I will be filming the inside shots early in the day so that we have natural lighting through the windows to film with. I will only be using indoor locations for all of this filming including:
  1. A Bedroom
  2. An Empty Room

Thursday, 23 October 2014

Editing

After doing my test shots I have realised that for the night-time/darker parts of my video, I will need to use a camera with a light. However, my camera does not have a light available when videoing. I have booked to use one of our school's camcorders for the half-term week and also a tripod so that I can try out different shots.

Wednesday, 22 October 2014

Trying Ideas


On friday night I got together 2 of my actors; Amy and Mollie, to help me test out some shots and effects.

I bought 20 sparklers and when it got dark, I got my song and camera and we tried out some test shots.

This was important because now I realise that I need a lot more sparklers than I had originally   thought and the sparklers only look good from certain angles. 

Doing these test shots has allowed me to find the best angles and light to film this part of the video and now I can be more time efficient on my actual filming days.

Here are some screen shots from the video's that I took:






Friday, 17 October 2014

Permissions Letter

After deciding on the song that I would like to use, I decided that I would have to write to Paramore's Label, 'Fuled by Ramen' to ask if I could use the song as it is copyrighted.

I sent the following letter:


Re:     The Oldershaw Academy 

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am constructing a Music Video for my OCR A2 media coursework. 

I understand that you are the owner of the copyright in the musical composition Aint it Fun and would like your permission to include the song in my Video.

The song will not be used for public use and there is no intention to make any profit from the song. It is simply to support my OCR coursework and the audience is limited for education purposes only.

Your signature below, under confirmed by, will indicate that you will agree to permit this use without payment of a fee.  Please let me know if you have any questions concerning this license.  Also would you please let me know as soon as possible if this song cannot be licensed so that artistic changes may be made in the songs to be included in the production.  You can reach me in care of:
Mike Liddell
The Oldershaw Academy,
Valkyrie Road,
Wallasey,
Wirral
CH45 4RJ
0151 638 2800
Or
Thank you for your help with this matter and I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours Sincerely, Chloe Francom




M.G. Liddell                                               Mr M.G. Liddell
                                                                        Senior Deputy Head Teacher
                                                                        & Media Department

Thursday, 16 October 2014

Song and Inspiration

The song that I have definitely decided on now is 'Ain't it Fun' by Paramore:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFEmTsfFL5A

I have taken inspiration from a number of video's such as the actual video of 'Ain't it fun'. However, the video that I have taken the most inspiration from is 'Still Into You' also by Paramore.
This video mainly includes just the band, 3 people, having fun with lots of different props such as;

  • balloons
  • fireworks
  • sparklers
  • paddles
  • cakes
  • bikes
  • lights
I think a video similar to this would be a lot of fun to film and create and would be challenging but rewarding. It also needs some acting but nothing overly serious which I believe would be more achievable.

I will be looking to use some similar shots from this video because I think they are very good, achievable shots and ideas, but I will mainly be taking inspiration from the aspect of fun in this video.
Here are some of the shots which I will be looking to achieve similar ones to:







Updates

I now have all 3 of my actors for my video;

  • Amy Francom - 18 years old
  • Mollie Kelly - 17 years old
  • Kyle Hughes - 18 years old
All 3 actors are available next wednesday night and thursday all day to film the main parts of the video.

I have ordered 300 balloons that will arrive before I need to film and I will also be buying sparklers and feathers to use.

Wednesday, 15 October 2014

Production Name

I have decided to name my production company Marvellous Productions. Even though I am working alone for this assignment, I will be getting help from friends for example, if I need 2 simultaneous shots at the same time. I will also need help setting up and collecting props. For this I will ask friends to help and that is why I have given my production company a name - to include those people also.
I have also made a logo for my company so that I can mark my work with it to ensure that it cannot be used without my permission.

Confirmed Actors

I have now asked 2 of my actors and they have confirmed that they will take part in my video. These are both female aged 17-18. I will need one more actor to be in my video and I would like this to be a male around the same age. I would like to include a male as it may open up more opportunities and it would also possibly bring in a wider audience. I will discuss with my 2 confirmed actresses who would be a good fit to be the third person.

They have both agreed to film some time in October half term, however, the specific days have not yet been confirmed. I will try to get a good deal of the filming done in this time so that I have something to work with.

My 2 confirmed actresses have agreed to get together with me this Friday evening to test out some ideas that i have. This will allow me to practice with a camera and to see what effects different props and lighting give before starting my real video. This will make it easier when I start filming because I will have an idea of what looks good and I will hopefully have to take less test-shots.

Location & Props

A few locations that I want to test out for my video are:
- My House
- My Garden
- The Beach
- New Brighton Rocks
- School Field
- Drama Studio

Props I will need:
- Balloons
- Flour
- Water Balloons
- Feathers
- Detachable mirror and frame
- Leaf blower
- Sparklers


Tuesday, 14 October 2014

Roles

The main roles that I will be taking on since I will be working alone are;

  • Director - This is possibly the most important role as the director ensures that everything goes to plan and that the actors and helpers know what they are supposed to be doing.
  • Camera man - I will be filming the majority of the shots myself, however, I will have help from one person in case I wish to film multiple shots at the same time.
  • Props - I will be providing all of the props myself and my helper will also be helping me to set them up and keep them in place (Balloons).

Monday, 13 October 2014

My Chosen Brief

The brief that I have chosen is brief number 1; A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:
  • a website homepage for the band;
  • a digipak for the album's release;
  • a magazine advertisement for the digipak.
This is the brief which I believe I am most suited to and I will enjoy doing the most. Because I will enjoy it, I will therefore do it to the best of my abilities and hopefully achieve my target.

Wednesday, 1 October 2014

Research - Brief 6

Brief six is not my favourite out of all of the briefs as I like the idea of a producing a title sequence, however, I do not think that an original children's TV drama would be easy to write and create.

Whilst researching the Children's TV dramas i found that most of the title sequences are very enthusiastic and the majority include music. I think that this would probably be more difficult than the other two briefs that I have researched.

Victorious

Drake and Josh

Sam & Cat

These three examples are all very different but they would be the type that I would try to create. "Drake and Josh" is the simplest opening sequence to a children'far s TV drama that I have seen so within my research. However, this sequence is quite old and I believe that it could be done to a better standard and quality now.

"Sam & Cat" would probably be the hardest type of opening sequence since there are a lot of digital effects and techniques used. It would be easily filmed since there are not too many people in it, meaning less actors, and there are no special effects in the actual filming. However, if I was in a group with somebody who had good skills with effects and editing, then perhaps this one would be achievable.