Friday 17 December 2010

Final Video

Thomas Adcock UCAS Personal ID Number: 1067277075



Feedback and Comments from Youtube

  • three little words mostly used a maz zing wow awesome xx:) ;) sexymeceye

  • Love it guys, fab x from annaneale (The actual artist who sings the song!)

  • Love the video, very authentic and realistic. Good use of lighting and really impressive camera angles from AthenaSky093

  • <3 Love it! Sockett123

  • Wow factor is huge!!!! Great visual story, amazing lip synch. Loved it!!! from donandgerlinde
  • Final Digipack

    CD Cover and Booklet








    Insert Image

    CD Back Cover and Side Panels

    Digipack Opening Video

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    Website Final


    Evaluation Question Four

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


    Throughout the project a variety of different media technologies have been used at all stages to aid the construction of our media products.

    Research and Planning Technology has played a key part in the research and planning stages. At the research stage each member of the group individually conducted their own research into different genres of music, conventions of music videos and research on the music industry using the internet which we then brought back to the group. This helped us gain an understanding of the different types of music so we could decide what sort of song we would choose to create a music video for and the types of features we would need to ensure were included in our video such as the style of camerawork and editing. For this research we used our schools learning portal which contained links to various sources of information from different theorists. We also used the Google Search tool and looked at websites such as wikipedia, artists sites and record label sites. Therefore we used a variety of different sources to find the best amount of information and this demonstrates the importance of technology and the internet in conducting research.


    Furthermore we used YouTube to search for and watch a range of existing music videos to analyse, to gain a better understanding of how they are exeuted and what they look like and should include. Youtube was a very useful source in research as it allows almost immediate access to the video you want, without it a lot of time would be spent trying to find the video. We used artists websites and the Google Image search tool to find and analyse existing artist's websites and album covers, which again develop our understanding of the style, features and purposes (promotion, star image etc) of these products so we can reflect this in our digipack and website. In addition, the use of Excel allowed us to visually present the results of our questionnaire in graphs much quicker than we could hand drawing them. Therefore time is is saved and we can look the graphs and spot the popular trends that helped us know what to include in our music video. Overall technology and the Google search tool in particular were very important in the research of our product as it allows an instant result from a search, meaning we can find a lot of information with relative ease.




    During the planning stage we also used the Google search tool to find websites that featured unsigned artists for which we could search for a song to make the music video for. Each member of the group chose a different website to look for songs individually but we eventually all searched the site http://www.totallyunsigned.co.uk/. This site offered a useful search engine that allowed us to filter different artists and songs to specific genres of music and offered previews of songs and downloads, so we could listen to lots of songs to find one we liked. Therefore we had immediate access to search for songs, which meant the group was efficient in selecting the track and no time was wasted searching sites that were not helpful or not suitable. Without the internet this stage of the project would have been impossible as we would have had no practical and efficient means to find a suitable song to use. Furthermore presenting my work on Blogger has played an integral part throughout research and planning. Whereas in English or History work is presented in a straight essay format, Media involves a lot of other practical areas that are not easily incorporated into just writing without losing some of their effect. The use of Blogger aids this style of work as it allows direct inclusion of modern technology features such as website links and video embedding. This allowed me to visually present the items I am researching or analysing. Therefore Media work is being presented in a practical and technical way that suits the style of subject. Blogger also allows me to easily present the hand written work completed as group in lessons such as brainstorms and storyboards so that all areas of the project can be displayed in one area rather than in seperate sections of folders. In addition the post format of Blogger reflects modern trends of social networking and so keeps it interesting for me working on a project. Moreover, the Blog displays our research and planning to the final products, so the viewer can see the stages of production and what has gone into the construction of our products in chronological order. Therefore the viewer sees the working process and journey the group has gone on and reflects the working process in the actual Media Industry. However, Blogger also has some drawbacks:

    • A lot of frustration occurs when trying to include pictures and videos as the post box is relatively small. This creates problems when inserting lots of pictures to aid the text and make the post more aesthetically pleasing because it takes a long time to drag the pictures down the box and position the images where you want them in the post and often inconviences can occur. Furthermore it can take a long time to insert videos that you cannot embed and often it has been uploading a long time and an error can occur meaning the upload has to start again. Overall, inserting pictures and videos is very time consuming. (The image below demonstrates the small posting box)
    • ttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt
    • As blogger is on the internet work can be deleted easily if the post does not save and the connection weakens and pages cannot be displayed. Therefore time has to be taken to redo the work.Furthermore if mistakes are made there is no undo button on the post box, so you have to start what tou made a mistake on again.

    Construction During the creation of our music video we used the Sony Video Camera we were equipped with creatively to capture a wide range of different shot types, angles and movements.



    Evaluation Question Three

    What have you learned from your audience feedback?

    Music Video
    After completing the draft edit of our music video the group used several methods to recieve audience feedback. First of all, a screening was held to view every group's music video, after I video was seen we asked everyone to give us feedback, including points that they liked and thought worked well and areas that they thought could be improved for the final edit.

    Postive Points
    1. Lip-syncing was in time with the music and realistic. From this feedback we learnt that made a good decision by Sophie actually singing the lyrics while we filmed the shots because it translated in the lip-synching seeming much more believable in the final edit. As her mouth is moving appropriately to how it would when actually singing rather than small miming movements that would have looked fake.
    2. Performance was very believable and the confidence of Sophie, as an actor, was shown, therefore making the character believable and the video interesting to watch. From this feedback we learnt that involving members of the group in the acting of the video made a difference because of the acting experience from GCSE and A Level Drama making the performances believable. This experience allowed confidience in the performance because Sophie is use to adopting a different character and performing it to an audience.
    3. The lighting in the music video was appropriate and showed the shots clearly. From this feedback we learnt that small technical details make a difference and if included are noticed as contributing to the overall intentions of the video. We tried to use a range of lighting- bright natural sunlight in the house setting to show the happy style of life the character has lived and contrast with the arguement on screen. Darker, natural light in the streets to reflect a darker mood, stronger character and autumn time of year and bright light with shadows in a black room to create mystery and create a seperate symolic section. Therefore we learnt these creative decisions effectively aided the purpose and narrative of the video.
    4. The narrative was easy to follow. From this feedback we learnt that our planning and editing was effective as it ensured the narrative had a clear beginning, middle and end and the idea of a girl changing her personality was clear through the locations, costumes and lighting chosen.
    5. Variety of Shots and Camera Movement make the video interesting. From this feedback we learnt that the variety of angles and shots we filmed the sequences from paid off in making the video seam more interesting and avoids it being static and boring. It also demonstrates our ability to control the camera to capture a high quality shot.
    6. Well edited that creates the music video style. From this feedback we learnt
    7. Black and white worked well and suited the track and narrative. From this feedback
    8. Good use of symbolism mannequin. From this feedback
    From this session we learnt that the most common areas of praise were the lip-syncing, acting and performance and variety of shots. These comments linked to what the group personally found the strongest aspects of the video so we felt a sense of achievement that others agreed. We also found that the narrative of the troubled relationship and the character changing her personality was clear to the audience and the song choice plus its topic was relatable and enjoyable by a teenage audience both math and female- which was another of our aims.

    Constructive Points
    1. Pre-song material - the track wasn't appropriate
    2. Sophie smiles at the end of the window scene
    3. During the Zoom in the arguement sequence the camera distorts
    4. Photo album - could be more specific and show who is in them.

    From this screening we found that the errors in the video we knew we had to correct for the final edit did not go unnoticed by the audience reinforcing that we definitely needed to remove them to ensure a perfect quality video. These errors were two sections where we had extended the clip a little to much by accident, causing the shots to overrun and show Sophie coming out of role for a second, for the final edit we removed these. In addition, the audience found the white noise annoying in the pre-song material with one comment that it sounded like 'hoovering', therefore we downloaded a new wind sound effect that sounds much softer. Although this sound effect is better than the original, casting over a critical eye over our video I still believe it could sound better as it now sounds a little too windy. However this sound was the best we could find after an exensive search of the internet. The final apsect people picked out to be improved was a section where the camera distorts as it zooms towards the window in the arguement sequence. We were aware of this and for the final edit we tried various methods to remove or hide the error however they brought more attention to it. Therefore it unfortunately remains in the final edit because we thought the rest of the shot was the best quality for acting and controlling the zoom so we did not want to insert any of the other clips we had filmed. It would have also been too much time that we did not have to organise returning to the location to film the one shot. However I believe it is only a small quick error that the rest of the video more than makes up for. The feedback recieved was very postive with the only negatives being small technical errors that we were aware of, therefore the criticisms were fair and tha we agreed with them. The group was happy that the feedback showed a like for the performance and variety of shots included because we aimed to achieve multiple shots to avoid long takes from the start of the project. It is this area that makes our work feel most like a video. In addition each member of the group went away and showed several people the video, asking for comments. The feedback we recieved was similar to in the screening. Therefore only technical errors and faults were criticised rather than the content of the video.

    Furthermore, we recieved several comments on Youtube giving us feedback on the video, these are displayed below:
    1. Love it guys, fab x from annaneale
    2. Love the video, very authentic and realistic. Good use of lighting and really impressive camera angles from AthenaSky093
    3. <3>Sockett123
    4. Wow factor is huge!!!! Great visual story, amazing lip synch. Loved it!!! from donandgerlinde
    5. Wow factor is huge!!!! from donandgerlinde
    6. Omg Love this video :) from

    Evaluation Question Two

    How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
    The groups ancillary texts of a Digipack and Website make an effective combination with the Music Video due to the similar themes, costumes and locations that create an overall image for the artist that would promote the album in an instituational context.

    Digipack
    Our digipack effectively uses many of the typical conventions of existing CD Covers and mimics some of the areas found from my research of CD Covers. The large cover image clearly displays the artist and is a simple but effective image that looks professional due to not being overcrowded. This is a style many cover images use including Lady GaGa's Fame Monster album which I analysed earlier in the project. The shot is framed so the audience can clearly see the artist's face and some of her body. We chose to lay her down over a guitar as this links with the acoustic style of some of the songs on the album and therefore contributes to creating the image of the artist and album. The insert image is also used to do this, this image is portrays a more sexy, confidient and rock style through the use of the corset costume, the brick wall background and the serious look upon the artists face. Furthermore, the back of our pack lists the tracks on the album in a column in the middle, this conforms to the style of CD Covers because many existing albums do this and it is the most common form of track presentation. Therefore if the album were real it could easily sit alongside other albums and be viewed by the audience as a believable product because it appearance conforms to what they would expect of an album. In addition, the background location image of a street that we chose blends well with the list of tracks in the middle and they do not clash. The image links to the location in the music video, so the audience may recognise it and links to the name of some of the songs on the album such as September and Waterloo Bridge, through the fallen leaves and wet ground, creating the feel of autumn, depression and other serious or 'moody' topics that are present within the songs. The CD booklet contains a range of images of the artist laying, sitting, standing and posing using a variety of close ups, long shots and high angle shots to portray her from different angles and positions. This is often used by artists to portray the look and image of the album and themselves in that particular era of the career, this is what we have tried to reflect here.
    Website
    Our website effectively creates a realistic

    Star Image

    Richard Dyer has noted: “a star is an image constructed from a range of materials”. For pop music these materials include:

    1=The songs and their lyrical themes and musical structures/ genres
    2=The record covers- singles and albums display a large part of the image the artist wants to create and present to an audience
    3=Music videos, which may draw upon the image presented in each of the other aspects.

    The group have conformed to this theory by creating cohesion between the three products we have made to create star image. In an institutional context an artist releases a song and music video as a lead single from an album before the album is released. This is a crucial time to set up and maintain the style of music and image of the artist throughtout this album and period in our career. Our music video for what would be the 'lead single' 'Not Made for This sets up the idea of different and distinct personalities through the two different costumes and locations- casual and corset and house and street. This refers to the narrative as the character the artist plays goes on a journey to try and change her life and escape the troubles of her boyfriend. In the digipack we use the same costumes, locations and split personality style in a variety of different images in the booklet to continue the idea over from the music video to create the whole image and theme of the album. The left side pictures in the booklet are all set in the garden from the music video and and the casual costume, this links to the innocent side of the character in the video and to the acoustic tracks on the album such as 'Touch', 'Emotional Baggage' and 'Tired of Holding On'. The right side pictures use the corset costume and wall settings to link to the stronger, performer aspect of the character from the video and link to the more upbeat rock songs on the album such as 'Mannequin' and 'Rock Chick'. Using the same locations and costumes from the music video in the digipack allow the audience to recognise the features between the video and album, this can be used as selling point as it conveys what they can expect from the album if they have seen the video. Therefore a diverse and versatile image has been created through the combination of these products as they portray how the artist can perform slower, emotional acoustic songs as well as upbeat, fun pop songs.

    Tuesday 14 December 2010

    Evaluation Question One

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

    A music video is a crucial source for an artist to promote their songs and albums and provide a display of the star' style and image as well as their creativity and versatility- all of which are needed to remain fresh and original in the music industry and exciting to an audience. A music video allows a song to be visually represented on screen and and can support the intentions for the narrative in a song. They also create scenarios that aid live performances where aspects of the video are recreated.

    When planning our music video the group wanted to ensure it felt as authentic in its style as existing music videos so we paid careful attention to incorporating all the typical conventions we found in our research and try to conform to many of the theories behind music videos.

    Narrative and Performance
    Our Music Video has a strong narrative that creates a link between the visuals and the lyrics of the song and so effectively includes a typical convention of existing music videos. Firstly, incorporating a section of pre-song material immediately creates a cinematic feel that gives the music video and an initial depth, making it more believable and realistic. This was an aspect that the group wanted to achieve at the start of the project and we have successfully met our aims. The establishing shot of the house allows the audience to see where some of the action takes place, setting the scene and inviting them into the girl's world. Furthermore the zoom through the window with the couple arguing inside sets up the main narrative of the video song that relates the lyrics that describe a girl's unhappiness with her boyfriend. From this point all the locations and costumes were chosen deliberately to sustain the narrative of an innocent, naive and vulnerable girl singing about her unhappiness and frustration towards her boyfriend from the comfort and safety of her bedroom and big garden before the music becomes more upbeat and she becomes fed up of being weak and 'transforms' herself visually to becoming more confident and vent her anger out at the world. This is an effective narrative as it allows the girl to progress along a journey throughout the song with which the audience goes on with her and is an interesting interpretation of the lyrics that goes beyond literally representing them through the visuals, this enables us to conform to the narrative and performance theory by Steve Archer.

    “Often, music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the band. Additionally, a carefully choreographed dance might be a part of the artist’s performance or an extra aspect of the video designed to aid visualisation and the ‘repeatability’ factor. Sometimes, the artist (especially the singer) will be a part of the story, acting as narrator and participant at the same time. But it is the lip-synch close-up and the miming of playing instruments that remains at the heart of music videos, as if to assure us that the band really can kick it.” (Steve Archer 2004)

    Our video conforms to this theory because the artist is a participant in the story, she plays the girl in the troubled relationship and goes on the journey from the big, luxurious house to the dirty streets transforming her personality as she goes. The video also cuts between narrative sections such as the arguing sequence, looking through a photo album and looking upset to performance sections such as manipulating the mannequin and performing by the wall or cage. Therefore we conform to Steve Archer's theory effectively and the audience watching could believe it was a real music video because it incorporates the typical features that define what a music video is. When showing a member of family- who is often very critical- the video they thought it looked like a professional video. This thought has been expressed by others in the feedback stage and I believe this is because we conform closely to the style and conventions of existing music videos.

    However our video also develops upon the theory of narrative and performance as our video actually combines both together in the same shots, instead of being totally different sections. The singing at the bench, cage, wall and streets are performance sections however they are all part of the narrative as well because the girl is on a journey singing about her boyfriend and her anger in those locations and situations. Almost like in a musical where song, story and acting is combined where performance is used to tell the story. In addition, the shots with the mannequin introduce ambiguity and symbolism to our video as it has multiple meanings. It represents her boyfriend, it represents that she wants to have the model, perfect boyfriend as it is an actual model and her moving it around in the video represents her taking charge for once in her life, wanting to change her boyfriend and her life. This allows the video to have the repeatability factor because the audience will want to watch it again to work out what it means. It also conforms to the reception analysis theory because the audience can have their own individual interpretations of what the mannequin represents, which could all be different depending on the person. Furthermore, other conventions and theories suggest:
    'Music videos allow an element of acting, which could include facial expressions, eye contact and mise en scene which allows the performer to be accessed by the audience in various ways, like the use of close ups and panning so everything is seen. This adds a story to the song which can match the lyrics or explore other meanings. As with star image this makes the song memorable and allows connections and implications the song would not have without a music video for people to see the song visually depicted'. (Pete Fraser)

    Our music video involves a lot of acting as Sophie, the member of our group who plays the singer and girl in the video performs realistically the emotions of the a girl tormented by an unhappy relationship. The video opens with the argument sequence that includes myself playing the role of the boyfriend and I think our experience in GCSE and A Level Drama comes through as we portray anger and frustration in our facial expressions and body language. I come across as quite threatening by getting close in the girl's face shouting. Sophie then leans on the window sill with a really believable expression on her face that displays the emotion of upset and torment. Then Sophie conveys a range of emotions throughout the music video. In the slower sections of the song she sings with more upset, vulnerable and reflective expressions on her face such as on the bench where she looks up whilst singing to reflect her wishing her boyfriend would be better. Then in the choruses which are more upbeat and set in the cage fence or wall she uses her body language and gestures that move wildly and her facial expressions to convey anger, aggression and frustration. The acting really portrays the emotions of the song and character and make the story much more believable, I am really proud of the acting and performance in our video and believe it is one of the strongest elements that all of the group had a part in. Sophie performed on her own instincts and experience and myself and Andrew directed her on what else would look good, for example more emotion and upset in the slower sections and more aggression and movement in the choruses. Beyonce's If I Were a Boy video is very narrative driven and is about the same concept as our music video with a women unhappy with her relationship- with this one focussing on how he does not understand what it is like for a woman. The video involves a lot of acting and scenes rather than just singing and targets a female demographic as many women complain about their men, therefore it is a popular and relatable to them.


    Overall, I believe the narrative and performance is one of the strongest aspects of our video and has the repeatability factor because of the emotions and journey of the character that create an engaging story for the audience. It is also a topic that the teenage part of our audience can relate to because they are often perceived to be involved in troubled relationships.

    Camerawork and Editing
    'A variety of camera angles and movements of different locations featuring the artist are used in quick succession to create the unique music video style that differs from how a film operates. This style of camerawork gives the video a more dynamic feel and vibe that promotes the song and generates interest by leaving an 'imprint' or memory on the audience so whenever they hear the song they will have an image of the music video in their head'. (Pete Fraser)

    From the planning stage of our music video the group knew we wanted to avoid long takes of shots and locations because it would make the video seem very static and would be dull, boring and repetitive to watch and It would capture the style of music video. Therefore we conform to this convention because when filming the different sequences in various locations we captured them using different shot types and from multiple angles to make the sequence more dynamic and interesting to watch. For example we filmed the bench sequence for the first verse four times using a close up, a side on mid- shot, a long shot and a high angle shot. All serve different purposes- the long shot sets the scene, revealing the location and the close up allows the emotions of the artist to be portrayed clearly as well as creating the vital connection with the audience to attract their attention. The side on mid-shot offers a different angle (where the girl is facing in the close up), reveals more about her location and allows the emotions to be further conveyed through her body language and the high angle shot represents her vulnerability and innocence. Then in the editing stage we used sections of each of the shots to cut between during the first verse to incorporate the uses for all of the shots and make the sequence varied for the audience to watch. It also demonstrates our ability to put a sequence of shots together and maintain continuity by ensuring the girl's position is the same between the shots and when she moves her head the camera cuts to where she is looking. Therefore we create an authentic video as the camerawork is true to the style of actual music videos by including different shot types and angles of the same location. The multiple angles we use in each section also makes our video conform Pete Fraser's opinion that 'the camerawork telling a story is essential and needs various angles to make it memorable'. Rihanna's Disturbia video features many locations that are displayed from different angles. For example the start of the video cuts between a long shot of the room Rihanna sits in to set the scene and then cuts to close ups of the different parts of the room and the people around her to display more detail. In addition the section where she is in the cage features long shots and close ups of the same location. The video has other simalarties to ours in its use of a mannequin.



    In addition, the shots we use conform to the typical shot types explained by Pete Fraser below: 'Camera angles often accompany performers as they walk, sing or interact/ engage in different scenarios or events. Fixed long, wide angle shots are used to show dance rountines with a varitey of shots close to the artist to recreate the moving feel of dancing. Close ups are often used in music videos, to show the artist singing and to increase the connection with the audience to help the engage with the video'.

    Throughout filming we captured a wide range of shot types, angles and movements to create a varied and diverse music video that is dynamic and exciting to watch and to demonstrate our proficiency with the camera and ability to use shots for different purposes. In addition it conforms to the conventions of music videos, which incorporate a variety of shot types to cut between to create the fast paced display that fits the music. Our video opens with a wide angle pan of the house to set the scene and a slow zoom into a window that focusses on the girl upset after an arguement to set up the narrative. The moving shots immediately bring a sense of movement to the video, conveying that it won't just be static and dull. From there we use close ups in the bench and wall sequences to create a connection with the audience and allow a detailed portrayal of the artist and her different emotions- from upset at the start to anger and aggression near the end. We use high angle and bird's eye view shots of the bed and mannequin to create intimacy and represent her vulnerability. Furthermore we include more long shots later in the video in the mannequin, wall and cage sequences so the audience can see the girls growing aggression by seeing the movement of her body. They also represent her getting stronger and more confidient- at the start of the video more close ups are used to show she is quite weak, upset and self-consicous however once she 'transforms' into the corset costume she becomes stronger and confident, so more of her body is shown. We also use shots where the camera looks into a mirror and reflects the image of the girl looking into it, this is another dynamic and original shot that differs from standardly showing the artists face and represents the audience looking into her life. Finally, we use a pan around the artist singing in the street and a zoom out as she walks towards the camera at the end of the video to show her venting her anger out at the world and further include movements into our video to ensure it is not too static. Therefore we have a great range of shot types and angles which effectively mimics the conventions of camerawork in real music videos and make the video more interesting to watch, giving it the repeatability factor.

    In the editing stage, we spent a lot of time and effort ensuring the lip-syncing was accurate and in time with the music. This was made easier in filming because Sophie sung the words clearly out loud in all the shots and so avoids looking fake and miming when put to the song. Therefore another one of the strongest aspects of the video is the lip-synching as she is actually singing the song and makes the video much more believable. Moreover, we filmed in different locations with different costumes to create multiple sections for the music video that had their own visual style. There is the casual costume of white top and jeans and big house, garden and bedroom that represents vulnerability, there is the corset costume that is sexy and confidient in the wet and dirty streets and the sophisticated dress with the mannequin. Not only does this add variety to the video but in editing it allowed us to cut between these sections to show the progression from different locations throughout the video, displaying the journey in the story and song. Furthermore it conforms to the editing style of many existing female pop videos that feature the artist in different costumes and locations as the video progresses. There are sequences at the start that are not necessarily at the end- this holds true with our video. For example Lady GaGa's Telephone video starts off with sections of her in prison in multiple locations and costumes and then moves to a cafeteria and escape sequence whilst she wears various outfits.



    In addition, we also included effects in the editing such as fades to black on some of the heavy beats of the song to match visuals with the music and fades between shots in some of the slower sections of the song to create flashbacks. The theory above suggest music videos are edited so that shots move quickly between each other, our video also does this, with no shots being very long and this is another key area of how are music video is successful as this is one aspect that determines what a music video. Therefore we effectively conform to this convention, however we challenge the part that of Pete Fraser's theory that says 'the most common form of editing associated with the music promo is fast cut montage, rendering many of the images impossible to grasp on first viewing thus ensuring multiple viewing'. This is because we edited our video by where we cut between shots between the lines of the lyrics or at points in the beat of the music, therefore the song dictated the editing and shots. We chose to do this so the shots moved between each other at the pace of the music, rather than going quicker than the music. Also when we tried quick flashes of shots they looked much to quick and not very professional. In all I think the editing of our video is strong because the shots and their transitions run smoothly and link naturally with the cues from the song.
    Voyeurism

    'This convention means, looking promiscuous in order to gain sex appeal/ pleasure. Camera angles and editing techniques sometimes emphasise certain parts of the female artist to enhance their sex appeal and to attract viewers, mostly men, in being attracted to not only their video but their albums and other merchandise as well'

    Our video effectively conforms to this convention by our use of various different outfits, particularly the corset costume as it attracts sexual appeal to it it being reveal and having sexual connotations. In addition the shot that shows parts of Sophie's skin as she puts on and takes off the corset.

    Friday 10 December 2010

    Changes and Corrections Made for Final Edit

    Although the draft edit was near enough as perfect as we could get it there were a few changes we knew needed to be made to improve the quality and make the final version as good as it could be. In addition feedback from the draft edit gave us some areas to work on. So in the final edit the following areas were changed.

    Pre-Song Material
    • Originally we used the sound from the footage of the house pan and arguement zoom in the pre-song material however our feedback told us that the background noise sounded like hoovering and was very annoying, this was the building works on the house opposite the street. You could also hear the noises of the camera moving and zooming in, which was distracting and unprofessional. For the final edit we downloaded a background wind sound effect to play over the images. We also downloaded some bird noises that we placed together and manipulated to add another ambient sound. Unfortunately when trying to export the video we realised one of the bird sounds had a copyright on it and could not use it. The other bird sound was to short to use on its own as it sounded artifical and annoying, so in the end we did not use any bird sounds. (Me and Josh executed this change)
    • We increased the length of the 'Suffolk Lodge' sign shot because it cut between it to quick in the draft edit. (I executed this change)
    • We cut a section at the start of the arguement sequence off so as the shots comes up the couple are already arguing whereas before we were still and started arguing- making it look as if we were waiting to start. (Sophie executed this change)
    • We tried to find a way of hiding a part where the camera distorts for a second in the zoom towards the window through fades and other effects however this just made it more obvious so we just have to live with that one error being in there- it is quick and not too obvious. (All of the group tried to rectify this)
    • We cut the end of the argument shot sooner as before we uploaded the draft edit we extended the clip too much by accident and you saw Sophie come out of role. This has now been rectified. (Andrew executed this change)

    Other Changes

    • Opening instrumental- we extended the shots of the garden as they were cut between to quick before hand. We then shortened the mid-shot of her looking through a window so the footage stayed to the original timing with the music and avoid being out of sync. (Sophie executed these changes)
    • In the draft edit at the end of the second verse another clip was to long and you saw Sophie come out of role- we extended the fade to the next shot so you cannot see this anymore. (Andrew executed this change)
    • In the draft edit at the end of the second verse we cut to a walking shot we had already used that did not make sense. We placed it there quickly before uploading, we replaced this with a side on mid-shot of Sophie on the bench where she sighs and looks down, this links to the narrative and further conveys her emotions. We placed fades to black before and after the shot as it his suits the slower tempo of the song. (Me and Andrew executed this change)
    • In the bridge of the draft edit the camera cuts to a low angle shot of Sophie and she looks away almost immediately. For the final edit we extended the clip before where she looks towards the camera and then placed the low angle shot again and she returns from looking away to look at the camera in this postition. This makes it flow better. (I executed this change)
    • Near the end of the song the camera cuts to a pan around Sophie in the street, however at the start of the shot Sophie looks like she is waiting to start. Therefore we extended the clip and fade before this shot so it cuts to this shot just as she starts singing. (I executed this change)