GROUP: Final Shoot

Our previous shoot planned for the Sevenoaks fireworks display on the 8th of November has been rescheduled for the Sevenoaks Christmas Lights on Friday the 28th. We have chosen this event as the shots we need require a crowd and lighting within a night exterior setting. We will be making sure not to directly show the Christmas lights as this would oppose the theme of the sequence which was originally set in the lead up to a firework display. The shoot involves our only section of handicam shots this is in order to create a sense of distortion and urgency as the protagonist seeks out the girl in a panic. For this we will be using a Flycam steadying equipment allowing for flowing movement at faster speeds.
We will be referring to safety assessments used at Sevenoaks Fireworks display as the event is in the same place within a similar crowd setting.
The shoot will begin around 7:00 and we aim to have completed filming by 7:30.

BBK: Individual Contribution

• Over the past week we have been working towards editing our rough cut on Adobe Premiere Software, with the other group members we have organized our footage in to shot and take numbers before importing it into the editing software. We then dragged out footage into a timeline organizing the order and cutting rate of the footage making sure that the cutting rate matches the rhythm of the music.
• We had some issues with the capabilities of the software as the amount of footage and layers of media we had made some faster areas of cutting rate to lag. However we have been able to over come these issues and have now fully placed all the footage we have and are awaiting small section of footage that will be filmed on Friday the 28th of November.
• This shoot has been postponed due to weather conditions and we have been waiting for a relevant event to host this scene as it requires a crowd. I have been organizing this shoot this week for the Christmas Lights in Sevenoaks making sure each member of the group will be able to get transport there and back and select the equipment and making sure we know what we are doing in preparation for the shoot.
• Along with this we have been designing and developing initial ideas for print work, this has been a majority group task as we wanted to develop a coherent band image across each of our print pieces. However we have each been able to produce our own ideas. My input into the digipak for our single were the inner panels I felt that a shot we were using in our video accurately represented the themes of the song and the symmetry of the video displaying the two characters sitting either side of a tree through a binocular view.  This image not only represents a motif from the video but allows the two panels to flow together.
• On the digipak images we have been doing initial colour planning using PowerPoint image effects experimenting with warmth and colour enhancement to reflect the colour scheme within the video. Once we have decided upon what sort of colours we want that will both reflect the video and the bands star image we will further develop them using Adobe Photoshop. 
•  Now that we have completed the majority of the video we have started working with colour manipulation in order to separate the two realities of the protagonist. We have been saturating the 'reality 'sequences using Colour Balance (Hue) effects making the shots both darker and lacking in colour to connote a lifelessness and a absence of vibrancy.

BS: Individual contribution

Over the period of planning and constructing our music video I have contributed in every process offering my opinion during the actual shooting, helping to construct shots that would conform to the style and overall look of our piece, and also shots that would keep good continuity considering such aspects as the rule of thirds.

During the editing process we have all collaborated  our ideas together considering timing and also added effects. During the process I have learned a lot, in particular in after effects, I have learned how to merge 2 shots un-noticeably to achieve having the same person in shot twice. During the editing process i have edited some of our footage on a timeline reducing the shots in order to achieve the desired length and edited shots together so they cut in time to the music and kept the continuity of the piece.

During the design of our digipak and advertising campaign we have all contributed our own ideas and constructed some very early "mock-up" ideas, mine was for a magazine advert and featured the band and single name in the band's notable font. Currently we are all working on the digipak together experimenting with effects, composition and color in order to follow the bands style and continuity, we have not yet finalized our decision but have a rough idea of the layout and style we want to achieve. I will continue working on the digipak construction as well as finishing the editing process of our footage, ensuring the timing is perfect and in time to our chosen track, and working to color and grade appropriate parts to reinforce meta-narrative and overall look and style. I have drawn up initial ideas for our digipak and am working to make this as visually accurate as possible. We will then find, or take photographs to achieve these designs.

GROUP: Digipak initial ideas

For our digipak and promotional campaign we will use a 4 pane album as well as a portrait and landscape advertisement which will feature within NME Magazine, both of which will be half pages. Our group all felt this magazine would be most appropriate as it features smaller more alternative bands and is appropriate for the band's existing audience and fan base, the band have also featured within this magazine on numerous occasions, so clearly this is an appropriate choice in order to target their existing and similar audience.  We also want to ensure all of our promotional campaigns and digipak conform to the band's established and cohesive style, so colour scheme and effects will need to be carefully considered.




These are some initial "mock-up" ideas for our digipak. The 4 images below are ideas for the front pane of our 4 pane album. It is an image we took during one of our shoots and features the female character from our narrative story line. We wanted to edit our digipak to conform to the band's cohesive style.



These ideas have been edited to heavily enhance and saturate the colours creating a surreal and more alternative image which we felt was suited to our video idea with the dream like line of action in conjunction to the realistic line of action. But we felt that the "cut-out" effect did not conform to the band's style and is perhaps more of an effect to use within the promotional advertising campaign

We then chose some appropriate images for our digipak and started to edit them on Adobe Photoshop, we mainly wanted to change the saturation, brightness and contrast of the images so we started by changing the brightness and contrast. We wanted the colours to be more vibrant, more like the dream like sequence within our piece.

 

We also experimented with the saturation, again this was  to achieve our desired colour scheme.

This is the first design for our digipak. We designed the front pane in a similar style to their existing album covers, adopting similar font and positioning of text which is often in the corners of the album. There is also an occurrence of band absence so we have chosen within this design not to include the band members, but to focus more on the artistic representation within the video and lyrics, which is also more common within this genre of music, there is less construction of "star image" which is common within more mainstream and industrial artists such as Beyonce or One Direction.

The layout of our proposed idea also helps to reinforce the construction of meta-narrative which we have attempted to construct within our video. This is done by depicting each character from our narrative story line by themselves in shot, emphasizing the feeling of isolation and loneliness which had been common throughout our constructions and is a key theme in the lyrics of the song.

GROUP: Progress Update (25.11.14)

Today as a group we have been colour editing for our music video. This is the process by which we saturate some shots to make them appear more "lifeless", and enhance the colour on others to represent a "dream-like" distorted reality. We have been using tools in Premiere such as Brightness & Contrast, Channel Mixer and Colour Balance (Hue).

 

Each of us have been contributing to the colour and style of both of the sequence styles as well as working on blogger constructing layouts and ideas for our print work.



BS: Brighton Shoot Personal Review

During our shoot in Brighton I helped firstly by moving equipment such as instruments in the morning and setting  them up on the beach, carefully and precisely to create the correct visual composition to start the filming, we decided to shoot all of these shots first in order to keep continuity and it meant after this footage was captured we could put the bulky equipment back in the car to film the other shots on foot around the city.

During the band scenes I feature as one of the band members, so was required to act and play a guitar in time to the music, as well as this, throughout the shooting process I was helping to set up each shot to ensure continuity was kept and also considering the composition of each shot, for example considering the rule of thirds and character blocking.

GROUP: Digipak Magazine Advertisment Choice (DRAFT)

When thinking about marketing The Family Rain's single to its target market we have identified NME as the preferred magazine to display our print advertisement. The band have been features in this magazine on several occasions appearing in reviews and interviews for their debut album 'Under The Volcano'. The band were nominated as 'Best New Band' at the NME awards last year and performed at the show in Austin Texas. The bands genre of Alternative music fits with the tone and target audience of the magazine itself making the magazine ideal for advertising The Family Rain's band image to a parallel audience. 

GROUP: Hornslodge Fields Shoot

Yesterday on the 13th of November our rescheduled shoot at Hornslodge Field went forward after being postponed due to weather conditions in the holiday period. We chose this date as it meant that all members of cast and crew would be available and chances of rain were minimal. Our callsheet and risk assessment had already been evaluated by our tutors, giving us the go-ahead to shoot as we were aware of timing and hazards we may face. As the location is reasonably close to both Ben B.K and Max .B's houses transporting equipment was easy and time effective. Our shoot began at around 11;30 and concluded at 2:30 with a break in the middle in order to transport the instruments needed for performance aspects. Our call sheet and risk assessment can be seen below:

BBK:
Our shoot at Hornslodge was extremely successful, based on our storyboarding and call sheets we were able to get through shooting efficiently and effectively. As the location was quite near to my house I was in charge of transport and getting the equipment organized as well as taking a directorial role on location along with my group members. I also performed an acting role as part of the band.
Our shoot started around 11:30 and we managed to complete the filming by 2:30 including taking additional pictures for our digipak.

Group Cut: Rough Cut/ Digipak

 

Over the past week we have been editing our footage as a team in Premiere Elements to there correct timings according to our storyboard. We have completed the majority of our filming and have been able to edit all three scenes of our video into order and construct continuity and montage in various sequences. We have been particularly happy with the shots in which the protagonist is seen twice, this was done by overlaying footage and cropping it in Premiere.

We are missing some footage leading up to the third scene and are currently planning a shoot to fill this gap.

We exported this rough cut in order to gain feedback from our tutors and peers, the majority of our comments were positive as people expressed how they liked various editing techniques such as the whip pan sequence, fast montage editing and the rhythm of our cutting rate in accordance with the music.
However an issue was presented by our tutor in the construction of intended meaning within the video. Our tutor felt that it was not initially clear that the boy and the girl where not really together and that the sequences in which they are with each other are in the protagonists mind.

We have explained that the distance and difference between reality and conceptual sequences would be signified through our colour schemes that have not yet been introduced to the edit. The colour saturation in the reality sequence will connote the loneliness and the use of bright colour grading with portray the conceptual aspects.

We also explained that the particular sequence that has been postponed due to bad weather conditions will strengthen the meaning within the video as it demonstrating them as separated.

BBK: Print Mock-Up

• We have started mocking up ideas for our digipak designs for a landscape half page advertisement. I decided to use a shot taken directly from our shoot for my attempt. The symmetry in the image reflects the directional influences of Wes Anderson we have taken in the video itself.
• I decided to use the drop logo as a central feature as this is a motif of the bands star image. Along with the band name and song title in the centre which has also become a theme in their marketing.
• The image itself connotes the genre of the video and the song, establishing the premise of the boy/girl relationship in the video.

BS: Digipak Mock-up

This is a quick "mock-up" idea for a section of the band's advertising campaign. I decided to feature the band, because ultimately this is what the fans are looking at when viewing and listening to their work. I took a still image from our footage and decided this was an extremely effective and well thought out shot, featuring each band member in silhouette form each playing  their instruments in a naturally lit location. 

I felt by choosing these different aspects it kept to the band's image and reflected their genre of alternative rock, choosing a simplistic location to exaggerate their more alternative edge and to show the low-fi style of shooting as they are not an industrial or commercial band. I also incorporated the band's iconic tear drop symbol as it is a very common feature within their advertising campaigns and wanted to keep to the continuity of their band image. 

Feedback #1 Mrs Fernandez

Max/Ben/Ben
Well done on your blog work so far.  The research and planning is a level 4; your pitch was excellent and provided evidence of your creative collaboration.  Storyboarding is exemplary - the animatic clearly demonstrates careful planning.  I would however like to see the audience research posted separately with clear reflection on methodology and findings.
Time management has been good for Ben/Ben - but Max, you have missed some interim deadlines for planning.  Nevertheless quality of work is good.  Please check digipak posts for individual feedback / adjustments.
There is excellent evidence here of logistics planning and reflection on production.  However, to secure top band marks, continue to reflect on progress every couple of lessons so that there is evidence of how the post-production is moving forward.  It is also vital we see individual reflections on all aspects of production so we can see the roles you have taken. 


Well done - an exciting project, looking forward to seeing it develop.

GROUP: Digipak Concept Ideas

• As a group we have been discussing ideas towards the development of our digipak. We have decided to follow the existing visual style of The Family Rain's previous Eps and singles. This being a symmetrical image overlayed with their logo of the tear drop. Because they have this embedded style we feel it would be necessary to carry it on, as their single artwork has formed a collection, an addition to this collection would be aesthetically pleasing for audiences in a marketing sense making them uncomfortable with an incomplete selection and therefore incomplete band image.
• We are going to link our video to our print products by using images taken on location , this will create a establish a coherent visual style throughout the marketing campaign.
• The band has featured in the NME on many occasions providing interviews and advertising their debut album. We feel that our promotional package would be best suited to this magazine as it suits the genres presented in this print.
• We have created a mock up as and example:

GROUP: Sevenoaks Fireworks Shoot

On Saturday the 8th of November last week Sevenoaks district council organized a torch march and firework display. We planned to use this event to our advantage for out third scene, being the firework sequence. We prepared a shot list and call sheet as well as a risk assessment acknowledging the possibility of rain. Although forecasts showed signs of bad weather that evening we proceeded to the location making sure that we could stay in a dry interior in case of bad weather. Unfortunately this was the case and due to heavy rain the torch march was cancelled, this being the main section that we were there to film, we were not able to shoot.

We are currently in the process of rescheduling our next two shoots, We plan to be performing our Hornslodge Fields shoot on Sunday the 16th, the weather forecast predicts clouds with low chance of rain. For our firework sequence planned for Sevenoaks we are having to reconsider either another event to attend of or redrafting the opening of our final scene.

BBK: Digipak Analysis

I have chosen to analyse a Family Rain single, this is because although we are able to gain influence from other Digipaks, The Family Rain's branding has developed prominent visual themes and motifs throughout their debut singles collection. The album cover above for 'Trust me… Im a Genius' was their first single, establishing the selection.

When first seeing the piece it is not evident as to what genre the music is, as the use of a logo in the form of a symbol is often used across several genres such as Dance and Hip Hop. This makes it hard to recognise the Alternative Rock tone of the band as an initial response. However the presence of the men in suits from around the 50's era may portray a relation to the view of the rock and roll era.

The album cover displays a mirrored image of an assembly of young men in a dim lit room, all of whom appear to be looking into the camera. The image has a faint purple filter, this has been used in other videos of the band. The texture of the image gives it a vintage tone anchoring the 50's costume and location seen my the old industrial lights that hang above the men. The logo of the band is imposed on the centre of the cover where the image is split reading the bands name and the name of the single.

The bands alternative, blues rock genre can be seen to be signified by the costume of iconic suits and mise-en-scene within the picture the era that the picture is based in relates to the genre. The purpose of the image is not established immediately within its mise-en-scene. The large amount of young men in suits may connote a school photograph, perhaps relating to the boyhood and the brotherly meta-narrative constructed by the band.
The songs title 'Trust me.. Im a Genius' is also read in first person address, the image may be a POV view of the speaker as the boys listen to the 'Genius'. The fact that the speaker is informing these young people that they must 'trust' him, this may be seen as social intertextual satire towards propaganda in the 50's era around the height of capitalism. The fact that he has to say that he is a 'genius' may connote that he in fact is not a genius and that his pretence towards the audience are false.
The image may also be a representation of the bands audience. Although the boys sit with blank faces, their expressions may be interpreted as mesmerised or hypnotised which may be linked to the propaganda references. This may my signifying an extra-ordinary controlling nature of the band.

The absence of the band within their debut single also signifies aspects of the bands star image. They retain the stardom paradox remaining present through first person address in the song title whilst being physically absent from the cover. Their absence also connotes an artistic prevalence rather than commercial prioritising the music before the band themselves.

The bands absence becomes a theme in many of their print work pieces, allowing the tear drop logo to become a representation of them as is always remains at the centre of each image as can be seen in the gig poster to the right.

The poster to the left however contradicts the previous themes. This print was released in late 2013 in promotion of a London show the band would perform. The use of a faint purple colour filter is repeated forming a common theme of their band representation. The colour may be a reflection of vintage photography and the effects of exposure on film camera.

The three brothers are shown sat side by side on a wall, the wall is on a gradient leading from the right up to the left where the oldest of the brothers sits perhaps signifying a hierarchy. However this is only subtle and the overall composition of the band sees them in equal standings. The bands meta-narrative is a important focal point of their star image, the idea of the 'family' allows the band to appear ordinary and close to one another, a reassuring quality for their audience allowing them to fill in their representation with ideals of their own family.

The brothers bond and friendship can be seen through their representation in mise-en-scene. Firstly their composition on the wall presenting them as equal, the way they sit on the wall appears adolescent adhering to the 'loitering' stereotypes of british youths, a theme they reference in many of their videos displaying brotherly playfulness. The band can also be seen to be wearing similar style clothes, jackets, jeans and Dr. Martens shoes are worn by all three as well as the corresponding colours of black, white and red. The bands image has been replicated in Dr. Marten's 'stand for something' campaign, as they claim to choose clothing that they feel represents their 'sound' and their audience, 'we stand for the crowd'.

The house in the background of the shot appears to be old and weathered, this could be a connotation  of the ordinary side of the star image paradox or a representation of their home signifying how they are still the same as they were as kids, returning the home together.

In conclusion the bands construction of star image through their representation in their print advertising signifies a family bond and brotherly companionship, qualities many socially admire or strive towards personally making the band an attractive representation of societies norms beliefs and values. Their use of symbolism and theme through their logo and colour scheme creates each work piece to be part of an ordered collection provoking completion of an otherwise in complete package.

BS: Digipak analysis

I have chosen to look at The Family Rain, and their promotional campaign/ Digi pack. The genre of their music is alternative rock, with the main roots of their aural sound rock, with more indie sounds within. 

There are many visual signifiers within this digipak, the album cover includes many objects which the band have featured in music videos, other album covers, and lyrics of various tracks. All of these signs and symbols show band coherence and continuity, linking each object directly to the band image, and to some extent subliminally promoting different tracks as the audience are intrigued at the denotation of each, for example the small smoke grenade links to another album "Trust me I'm a genius" and the small pot of pills to the album cover of "Feel Better (FRANK)". Each different object helps to conform and identify the genre of alternative rock, as the different quirky objects add a sense of individuality and alternative style, rather then a purely rock band, who have a very similar style within their album covers/ digipaks. 

These are two rock bands ACDC (right) and Guns'n'Roses (left), clearly both album covers are very similar featuring the band members in a dark low lit room; in comparison to The Family Rain's album cover there are many differences, and iconic signs to identify the difference in genre. There are more vibrant and interesting colours and objects featured within the alternative rock album cover, perhaps suggesting  a difference in aural sound, again reinforcing the more quirky and individual style and sounds within alternative rock, which is constructed through the use of colour. The comparison between the two clearly shows that the myth of rock bands being violent and inconsiderate is broken by The Family Rain, the album cover is not dark and gloomy, but colourful and expressive.

The band members are all looking directly into the camera, this is a first person mode of address and breaks common characteristics of film, usually the actors/ band members would be looking past the camera, by doing this it creates some sort of connection to the band's audience. Each member of the band has a serious facial expression perhaps connoting their serious attitude toward their music, and also to conform to key conventions of their genre.

Much like the rest of the bands album covers they have developed prominent visual themes and motifs. Below are some more examples of their existing album covers. As you can see there is a clear theme of the tear drop shape, this has become an iconic sign for the band, playing a huge roll in their advertising and branding. But this symbol is deceiving of the genre as visual signs similar to this are often seen within the dance genre; but it exaggerates the alternative more individual style of The Family Rain, and to some extent distances their music from the rock genre. All of the bands album covers have been created to look more grainy and vintage, using fainter and duller colours which creates a continuous colour scheme throughout all their digipaks, again reinforcing the bands overall style and image.

 

 

As well as analysing and researching various different album covers we are also required to complete an advertising campaign, with a feature within a relevant magazine. I have decided to look at the bands existing campaigns mainly focusing on their posters, as I hope to take some influence from these.

 

 
This was a poster advertising the band's concert more then their album, but it is interesting to note the appearance of their iconic tear drop signifier, which is the most prominent feature within this poster. Clearly this connotes the importance of the iconic sign and holds creates a code of the relation of this symbol and the band them selves, to some extent this symbol has become an indexical sign to the band as in almost every form of advertising this sign is seen and signifies the band even if they are absent from campaigns.

There is a theme of band absence within the debut and following album covers which is a signifier of the band's star image, although to some extent they are present within each album cover through the iconic and related signs as well as the titles and band name. Obviously the band are not physically present within the majority of their album covers which connotes more of an artistic approach focusing more on promoting the music more then them selves.

 

In conclusion there is clear continuity throughout the band's work and within their advertising campaigns and album covers. Through all of this there is some sense of star image being created, but not to the extreme extent of those more industrial/commercial artists.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GROUP: Brighton Shoot Preparation

On Thursday the 29th we set out to Brighton to film the second part of our video. Having been on a location recce earlier on in the year we were confident with our knowledge of the areas and where we where going to. Because we all live in different towns we arranged somewhere to meet where we could get picked up in the car for the journey. We had to keep in mind that on top of the travelling there and back and gradual loss of light as it is getting in the winter months that we would have to be exact and precise in our shoot in order to make the most of the time. In  preparation for this we created a call sheet and risk assessment to logically organise.

GROUP: Storyboarding Process and Scheduling

This week we have started our storyboarding process. We are halfway through at this point, using our lesson time to have discussions around every shot we create, taking into consideration pace and rhythm with the music and elements of illustrative imagery matching sections of the song with the performance aspects of the video.

We are also organising days that we can shoot on in the up and coming holiday period and selecting the most appropriate and aesthetically pleasing firework display for us to shoot at.

BBK: Brighton Shoot Personal Review

Our Brighton shoot began in the morning as I prepared and packed the equipment we needed noted on our call sheet into the car, we proceeded to Max's house before meeting Ben and Eloise at Tonbridge station. Due to traffic issues the journey down there took two hours and we began shooting at twelve o'clock. We decided to film the shots including the instruments first so that we could get them out of the way in the best sunlight. We set up the equipment on the beach and set up our shots effectively. We then packed the equipment away and proceeded with the rest of the footage each of us using the camera dependent of who was in shot at the time. We all helped in considering the shots composition in relation to the storyboard we had created.

MB: Digipak Analysis

 

I have chosen to analyse the album artwork from The Family Rain's single "Feel Better (FRANK)", the band's fifth single prior to the release of their debut album "Under the Volcano". Despite the band having designed each of prior singles similarly, Feel Better takes a different approach visually, removing the "drop logo" that the band has come to affiliated with, and instead have used a small section of their debut album cover to make this, as everything on their album cover relates to one of the songs; this being some drugs, which are later seen in the official music video.

The artwork for the single cover has some connotations towards the genre it belongs to; namely the skulls and crucifix present in the background, perhaps connoting  heavier style of rock music than reality. The symbol created by the bottle of pills also relates to the counter-society culture that rock and roll has often been associated with since it's inception. Similar to the actual album cover, the single's colours are bright and vibrant, which takes connotation away from such a heavy genre of music and brings it into line with more mainstream alternative rock forms. The band have also chosen to impose their name, and the name of the single onto the cover, as they are not yet popular enough to establish themselves without any physical presence. This is apparent on the album cover, where all three brothers and present.



Previous single covers by "The Family Rain"

However, more than just connoting the genre of music which it belongs to, the single cover also has connotations towards the members of the band themselves. Everything present on the album cover has some relation to either a song, or something to do with their family. This furthers the metanarrative created by the band name, and promotes the meaning behind it. "Family is important". Perhaps not the most "rocky" sounding slogan of all time, but through the songs that have been based upon situations that arose through their childhood, it shows where it can get you.

The band however, did choose to remain absent on all of their single covers prior to the release of the album, perhaps as an artistic choice, so as to establish their logo, or, as Dyer would say, to establish their "star-image". As mentioned previously, rock music has traditionally been associated with rebellion against to norm, and the choice to remain absent from something that is effectively a promotion for yourself is a big decision, especially for a band that has not fully established themselves into mainstream culture, but through doing so have established their stance towards it.