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Start Course
Today we were given ten different A2 briefs to choose from. In this and the following lessons we had to pick which one we were going to use for the year and start working on it. -
New Blog Created
To prove the work we are doing in and out of lessons to the examiners we need to maintain a blog. Just like last year we decided to use Wordpress.com -
First Emails Sent
I spent the weekend collecting contact information from two bands I found were on the same record label, Muse and Black Stone Cherry who are signed to Warner music. I sent their labels and their alleged managers an email to ask if I could use their songs I gained no response. -
Music Video Analysis
I spent almost all of this day analysing my three chosen music videos and posted them on Pinterest as a means of gaining intertextuality. I am trying to use all sorts of websites and presentation-creating software for my research so they are all in different formats and are not boringly similar. -
Song Found
Today I found a collection of royalty-free music websites, the songs of which have lyrics as opposed to just being sound effects. I found an album which showcased songs from a record label called 'Dead Bees', one song was by a band called 'Clone Clowns' which I decided to use as I think it fits my plan perfectly, the song is called 'Evil'. -
Digipak Analysis
I have created and Empressr.com presentation analysing two different digipaks I have chosen and explaining which aspects of them I will use in my Digipak. -
Album Poster Analysis
I used the posters of Marina and the Diamonds' 'The Family Jewels' and Lana Del Rey's 'Born to Die'. I analysed the posters alongside the Album covers for comparative reasons. -
Lighting Composition
Due to most of the marks we lost year year being due to lack of knowledge of mise en scene our teacher decided to teach us more about lighting and shadows using cameras. -
Three Point Lighting
To continue on with our lighting lesson the day before our teacher took us into the school's theatre to learn how to use three point lighting. -
Music Video Timeline
I created a timeline on Timetoast about the evolution and progress of music videos from 1929 to the present day. I studied changes in popular content and genre between the two dates. -
Completed auditions
Over the past two weeks I have been filming auditions to cast my actors. In total I have five parts with seven people auditioning for them. I will analyse the auditions overnight and print off the cast list either tomorrow or wednesday. -
Cast List Produced
I printed off a cast list of the successful actors and stuck it in the sixth form common room as well as emailled a copy to those who auditioned. -
Target Audience Profile Completed
Based on the genre of music and the replies I've been getting from my questionnaires I completed my target audience profile when it was previously left half-finished. -
Onset with professional music video
On the Monday and Tuesday of this week an artist called Rich McMahon came into the school with a director to film the music video for his song. Myself and three others using the music video brief were on set to get a better feel of what it is like to film music videos professionally. I took images of the set and the way it was laid out and even actions shots of the director filming which I will upload to my blog and will help me when filming my own. -
Uploaded Cast Images
I finally acquired the images of my actors and, with their permission put them onto my blog to show the examiner who plays what character. -
Props and Equipment List
I created a list of the props and equipment I intend to use during the production and editing of my main and ancillary tasks on Pinterest boards and uploaded them onto my blog. -
Prop poster first draft
In my music video I have a missing persons' poster which will have Connor's face on it. I have drafted it and put it onto my blog in its own tab, along with a criminal profile I made for Paige who will play the character of Liz. -
Shooting schedule
I have created my shooting schedule but have yet to decide the dates I will film, I need to dscuss these with my actors. -
Focus Group
I presented my ideas to a few people in my chosen genre and asked for their opinions. I filmed this. -
Ancillary Task Drafts
I have drawn out my first drafts of my digipak and album poster. The plan for my album poster has remained the same, however the images I planned to add onto my digipak have changed as I think the images I wish to add onto my six-panel digipak will have a better cross-campaign effect compared with the music video as opposed to what I had planned originally. -
Storyboard and drafts
Over the week I have completed my storyboard and the second better drafts of my digipak/album poster. -
Planning Effects
I plan on starting to film this week so I used this lesson to begin planning the effects on some particular scenes I intend to film either this afternoon or tomorrow. This way all I need to do is put the clip onto PremPro and those scenes are done with minimal hassle. -
First Filming Done
Due to problems with my actors' costumes I was unable to film the scenes I originally wanted to and instead took my actor with the smallest part to film his scenes as he filmed his alone. He brought his costume in and we filmed him speaking in front of a green screen. I shot three scenes to edit later. -
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Music Video Filming and Editing
Over these months I have filmed my music video. -
Scene Background Created
I made the image that will be shown on the green screen as the background on the news report scene. -
Scenes completed
I added titles and a crawl at the bottom to make it look a bit more than just a boy sitting at a desk and more like the news report it was meant to be.
These scenes won't be the first scenes in the music video, I will film the scenes when possible to get my actors at the appropriate setting. I will film when posible and chronologise them when I edit later on. -
Improved Shooting Schedule
I have the possible dates of when I intend to film added an extra column for the scenes I have filmed so I can easily distingush which scenes I have yet to film. -
Screenplay Completed
I have finally completed the screenplay for the different shots and scenes I will use in my music video. I haven't included dialogue as I won't have any and the description is limited seeing as the screenplay can be more simplistic than if I were doing it for a documentary. -
Actors recast and storyline change
Because I have yet been unable to film my actors due to them being at work I have decided to cast family members so I can get them easier than I would someone who lives thirty minutes away. I cast my brother and sister as Liz and Max, I had to change the storyline from Max cheating on Liz, to Liz and Max being siblings and Max betraying Liz and ratting her out to Police. -
Prop Images Remade
I had to recreate the 'Missing' poster and criminal profile with images of my new actors. The information on the posters has remained the same as it isn't important. -
Magazine Poster Completed
I completed my magazine poster after making the final changes to the first draft, requested by people in my target age group. -
Filming completed
Over February I have filmed and re-filmed my music video (as some scenes had to be done again) ready to edit. -
Evaluation Question 4 Completed
To answer the question: 'How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?' I compiled a list of all of the software and hardware I used over the two years in a Pinterest board. -
Evaluation Question 1 Completed
In answer to the question: 'In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?' I analysed mine music video and comapred it to professional ones in a PowerPoint document I put on Slideshare. -
Music Video Editing Completed
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Evaluation Question 2 Completed
I filmed the answer to the question 'How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?' in the style of a director's commentary. I recorded myself analysing my main and ancillary tasks whilst my music video played in the background. -
Evaluation Question 3 Completed
I answered the question: 'What have you learned from your audience feedback?' in the style of a radio podcast with images to aid the audience alongside it.
