Research and Planning evaluation

Research and Planning presentation

Website ideas

Website 
To build up the star image for our band we need to create a webpage for them. To do this I have used a website called 'Wix'. This is a fantastic free webpage creation platform that enables us to innovate colourful and imaginative webpages that fulfil the needs of an informative band webpage. Wix allows the user to insert widgets and links for a low cost and in our case no cost. The website is simple, informative and clear. Wix also allows you to create a mobile version of your webpage, which is very useful considering how popular smart phones are now. 

Calum took lead control on creating the website as working with social media/platforms is one of my strong points. We started off by choosing a template for the webpage. We went with a music based template as i felt it was appropriate considering we are producing a premium product for a band. We then chose the background wallpaper for the website, I chose a print that replicated a similar theme to the promo vid but still maintained the earthy/organic image of 'Lion The Weak'. Image used below:

The first step we took was creating the front page, this needed to be catching but no too cluttered. The band's title/logo acted as a centre-piece for the home page. The front page also needed to give information about the band's latest release. It also included various links to where you can buy tickets to their european tour aswell as where you can listen to their track 'Wasted Words' via an interactive widget for 'Soundcloud'.

Thirdly we created a page that would act as a blog, this includes pictures, news and exclusive information about the band. This gives the fans a greater sense of involvement with the band. The ideas I have already included on the website are a gallery style display of photos involving the band, we also included a selection of songs that the lead singer 'Jack' is particularly enjoying at this moment in time. We named this 'Jack's Favourites'. The blog page also keeps the fans involved with the band's social networking links, eg Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Soundcloud.

The final page is designed to give updates of the band's show dates. Information on this page includes, the date of the show and where the show is taking place. My original aim with the website was to create something that is as informative as possible but not cluttered. It is very important that it is aesthetically pleasing for the fans.

Digi-Packs

What is a CD Digipak? Class discussion...

-They’re a traditional format, which we can buy online

-We can download album  artwork when buying the track/s online

-Digipaks typically consist of a gatefold (book-style)

-Conventions are a widely recognised way of doing something

-The spine becomes the index point

-There is a front cover, back cover, a CD page and an inside cover



We took inspiration from this video off YouTube for ideas on our digi-packs

We looked at two different digi-packs in class, to explore the different ways they can be laid out and present. We looked at Passenger's album and Caro Emerald.

PASSENGER DIGI PACK

CARO EMERALD CD

 

CARO EMERALD'S ALBUM COVER

 

These are some ideas we are having for the digi-pack and what we're basing the design around. 

Lion The Weak Album Artwork

These are the bands existing album artworks. They all have a similar style as they are all black and white and follow this nature theme, showing their organic and their alternative style. We will probably follow a similar style to their existing artworks. I like the idea of using the lions face to be a motif in their artworks.

Evaluation of dance/narrative shoot day

Evaluation of Film Day

Finally, the crucial day that we all feared came. The dance and narrative elements of our music video, were the ones debated and discussed the most, questioning whether they were really need for the video, as the band would only want the performance element for publicity and promotional reasons. However, our set designer TA had spent hours gathering our set together and we had spent a lot of our preparation time, organising our dancers Liv and Harry. I also was determined the dance element would work really well against the performance of the band. So we made the decision to continue with the idea, do the shoot day and decide afterwards on whether we would use the footage.

We arrived at the studio, and I had to collect Olivia's costume from our costume director at college. I had pre-arranged with her to bring in a green/blue colour tea dress. We dressed up Liv, and at first I was unsure on whether it was right for the theme (I was aiming for a vintage 'roaring 20s' look). However, I realised we also wanted a focus on the naturalism of the piece, and the subtlety of the dress was perfect. Together with curled hair and red lips, she looked perfect for the era and it matched the set design and Harry's costume perfectly (He wore checked trousers, a shirt, braces, brogues and glasses). 

Preparing 20s makeup for the shoot

Once we'd sorted the way the actors looked, we rehearsed and choreographed exactly what they going to perform once the camera was on them. It was a romantic, chair duet where they played off each other, in an obvious early relationship. Once the 45 seconds was confirmed (the length of footage we needed), there was one final aspect of the set that had to be completed- our home made frames. We had forgotten the pictures that were supposed to be placed in the A2 sized frames and so Calum went and printed off two A4 pictures of lions (relating to Lion the Weak) and bordered them on an A2 piece of card. The frames were made from polystyrene, a wooden frame and then sprayed gold. From afar in the Wide Shots they looked really realistic and complimented the 'chesterfield style' sofa so well. Once everything was sorted, we began filming.

Pre-Shoot Rehearsal

We started with an easy wide shot of the pair doing their dance. The WS effectively presented our theme of Wes Anderson. The symmetrical 'lounge' setting with the sofa central and the lamps framing the room was a perfect set up. We had a few troubles with filming the wide shot, as we had to get everything exactly right, as you can see everything in the shot! For example, the lamp would wobble when walking past it. Once we got the wide shot, we moved on to the mid shots, close ups etc. 

Our set design by Tracy Ann

When editing our piece, I'm hoping it looks exactly like it did on the screen connected to the camera when we filmed. The effect and lighting created this beautiful vintage colouring for the shots, which I fell in love with. The set worked perfectly for wide shots. Behind the camera, the group took turns doing separate roles. For instance Katie took on the role of measuring distance between camera and actor for focus, I took on role of filming and "rolling", Finbar did playback on the iPad and Calum director and made sure everything was in place. These were the original positions, however, we altered throughout the day and the process. I learnt a lot during filming. Especially about getting the shot in focus, getting the same measurement between camera and actor as on the camera's lens.

Behind the camera

Our actors were extremely patient, when we had to alter the camera lens and position of the camera. They took direction really well, and we all co-operated very well with eachother. A few stresses arose throughout the process of filming day for instance: we wanted a shot of the record player and record, however, the label on the record didn't have 'Lion the Weak' on it. We therefore had to make one for the record. It seemed as if we were wasting time on petty things- but in the end it all collaborated together and was all worth it.

Shooting close ups

Throughout the day we worked together on decided shots and how many we needed, with the dancers repeating their choreography countless times. However, we realised in order to get, for example, one shot of the feet moving, they would only have to do the dance section of the bit where the feet come into that shot. Complicated, but it made sense. The actors were so patient and worked brilliantly with us, co-operating with all our directions.



The beginning process of drawing the lion



 

The Lion Symbol progression


After we'd wrapped up the actors shots, we took lunch break, then came back to get our narrative section of the video. We had previously decided we would draw the 'Lion the Weak' symbol on the wall of our set. There was discussion about which wallpaper we were using, and whether using a dark one would risk not being able to see the drawing. Later in the process, we finally chose a pale, lighter wallpaper, in order for us to write and draw on it.
In the last 2 hrs of the day, we created a stop- motion with a digital photography camera, that we plan to edit together in order to create an animation of the drawing being created.


Overall the filming day went really successfully, and we had no real problems. Apart from a few spats, the group worked thoroughly well as a team, and we all look forward looking at the footage and editing it all together, receiving a great result at the end that we deserve.



Second part of shoot

On Monday 24th we have our second shoot day, in order to complete the dance and narrative element of our music video. Our set is all pre-prepared so that is no worry, however, I still need to sort out the costume for our piece, and the rehearsal process for the dance element. We are pushed for time, and have probably procrastinated the process due to the performance element filming, but I am sure we will sort it over the weekend and make sure everything is organised.

Editing the Performance Element

We are using 'Premier Pro' to edit our music video, it is a advanced creative platform that allows us to create professional pieces of work at great ease. It has more advanced elements to it which are commonly used at industry level, this means our work can replicate a similar quality to a industry created music video.

We have decided to begin editing the performance element first, rather than waiting to film the 'Dance Element' as the crucial video for our band is the performance element, and they have no interest for the dance element of our ideas. This also means that if any management companies approached 'Lion the Weak' asking for a music video, we would have something prepared to give to the band.  are sticking however to filming, as the set designer has created our whole set, and it would be a waste to dump it. And we also, agree as a group, that the dance element will work really well with our video's theme. 

We originally started by syncing the performance footage with the track by matching the time code on the footage with time code on the Premier Pro timeline. This enabled us to successfully match up the lip-syncing with the vocals in the track, also to match the instruments with the track. 

We are working really well as a team on the editing, all giving individual opinions on the shoots. We aim to have a nice flow of shot for instance, with the lead guitarist slowly moving the neck of the guitar to the left, following through with a track to create a smooth transition. 

Today, 21st November, we finished our first draft of editing the performance element of the music video. It has gone pretty smoothly, and we seem to have finished a long time before other groups, which comes down to good communication and co-operation I feel. However, we presented it to Luke, and he has given us about 5 things to improve on for the shot editing. The most crucial was to include far more shots and close ups of the lead singer, in order to get the lyrics as it can, at times be unclear of what is being sung. We took all the advice and feedback on board, and will correct them later on in the process. 

Shoot day

Hearing feedback on how the performance element of the shoot day went, was extremely reassuring as I was absent from the shoot. Despite the fact I missed this, I will take head lead on the dance element shoot day on the 24th November. 


This week we started the post production process after a successful first shoot day on Saturday 15th. We recorded the performance element of our video. The band members worked very well together and they kept concentration and energy through-out the day, which was exactly what we needed. The band arrived early and we took publicity photos of them in order to use them for our digi-pack and website later on in our coursework process.

Shooting 'Lion the Weak'

Risk Assessment

A video we based our Risk Assessment on

Change of theme idea- 20s

1920s Theme 

I think it'll be really interesting to take a 1920s, Charlston theme on our music video, based around our props and their vintage style.

Costumes

After focussing closely on our set, and props, the ones that are available we have related to a 1920s theme. Therefore we are in search of 20s flapper clothing. After speaking to our costume director at the college, she has to search for some online, and if we can't find exactly what we want, she will make somethng like the one above, with a tennis skirt and blouse.

We are looking at a website called 'Beyond Retro' (below)

Looking at the website, we've found a dress, that was similar to our original idea based on the Wes Anderson film 'Moonrise Kingdom'.

Moonrise Kingdom dress:

Shoot day change

Shoot day change 

Because we are using a band outside of school, it is hugely important that we work around their availability. Due to University exams, they are not free during the week and so we have decided to shoot our music video at the weekend. Because of this we also need to assure that our cast/dancers are able to do the shoot as well. 






Email to cast 

Hi guys,

Due to the unavailability of the band, we may have to bring the shoot to an earlier date...

Saturday 15th November

We understand that because this is now on a weekend it may cause problems, but we have already looked up and none of us are in the musical on that date and that date only.

Please let us know if there are any problems with the new date. Just to add that this date is still uncertain for the time being, but is the most likely.

We would also like organise another time for a rehearsal, especially if the shoot does end up being this following weekend. Please email back times that are best for you.

Thank you

Katie, Beth, Calum and Fin 

Set design overall

SET DESIGN PRESENTATION BY KATIE

Preparation for shoot day

Preparation for shoot day

 

• Director: Shot selection and the look
• Cinematography: Change lenses for the right look, angle, shot selection,framing
• Sound engineer or mixer
• Producer: Person who brings it all together, schedule. ensure working together as a team, health and safety.
• Art designer: Set, costume, makeup

We must make the decision of which roles our group will adapt to and work with on our shoot day. We are working together, in order to get the final piece. We can determine the group will  collaborate.


We are looking to create around 100-150 shots during our shoot day

Letter of permission to the band

To Jack Shepherd

We are a group of A Level students working on an A Level project for a qualification in Media Studies. We are writing to request permission to use the following track as part of this project:

Wasted Words 

With your permission the track would be used as the accompaniment to a short form video that is made purely for assessment purposes and will have no commercial usage. The video will be viewed only by members of the school community and the assessor of the examination board.

The artist and the copyright holder will of course be fully recognised in the pre-production and evaluation material that accompanies the project. We can also include a full copyright notice if required both in the planning material and on the video itself.

Yours sincerely


Katie McLady, Beth Lane, Calum Goddard and Finbar Shepherd
Hurtwood House School

Meeting with the set designer

Meeting with Tracy Ann, the set designer. 

We were introduced to Tracy Ann (TA, our set designer, by Luke. Initially, she questioned us about the name of our band and song- Lion the Weak with 'Wasted Words'. She then asked us the date of our shooting day, so that she could keep a record for when she needed to get our set prepared for. First of all to begin the discussion, we offered her our Wes Anderson Rushmoore colour palette that we have based all our set scheme on; she found this extremely helpful. In an ordily fashion, we showed her drawings of our ideas for our set design, presenting it room by room. To start, we described the room in which the performance (band) would be placed in. The most crucial part of all three rooms, is the wallpaper, as it is what distinguishes the different settings of the rooms (although we are using the same set for each). We showed her pictures of our desired burgundy/rouge patterned wallpaper, which we could buy from Very.co.uk or more expensively from HomeBase. We researched it with her, but the sale on Very.co.uk didn't inform on how many metres of roll was in one buy, so she suggested we email them to ask, which we have done. 

We then discussed the furniture, and how it all must be rustic, vintage and old looking. Our sofa we wanted preferably brown leather (Expensive looking, yet battered). She said she had some sofas stored away in a warehouse, that might be right- one she described being '50s' which intrigued me. After must discussion over the window, we decided to scrap it, as it would distract from our focus point of creating a the 'lion' logo with written words on the wall. We therefore had to stick with having two symmetrical standing lamps either side of the sofa in the 'living room' area, due to lighting issues. She said she could provide these, as well as a side table the vinyl record player could stand on. Overall it was a really good session, and my group seemed to bond with TA really well, which is always a good start, especially when we will be working in such close proximities and relying on her for a great deal of our music video's success. We now have a lot of trust in her to bring our ideas to life. 

Editing the animatics

Editing the animatic




We filmed our storyboard for our music video, following the guidelines of its timeline setting. For example filming the CU of the lead singer from 00:46 - 00:50, therefore we filmed the image for 4 seconds. Once all the film was shot on Sony NX5, the following day we took the footage to the editing suite and edited the film on Adobe Premier Pro in time to the rhythm of the music. The point of an animatic is to give a better idea of how the scene will look and feel with motion and timing.At its simplest, an animatic is a series of still images edited together and displayed in sequence with a rough dialogue and/or rough sound track added to the sequence of still images (usually taken from a storyboard) to test whether the sound and images are working effectively together. This allows the animators and directors to work out any screenplay camera positioning, shot list and timing issues that may exist with the current storyboard.

Meeting with George- Lighting guy

Meeting with George

George Smith

Lighting Director

Today we had a meeting with the lighting guy to discuss our idea...

• The first thing we told him was that we have different lengths of light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, his concern was that it was going to create lots of shadows so we will need to include other practical lights to add to the atmosphere.

• We have also decided we are going to pulsing lights for the first 7 seconds of the video during the opening synths, as a build up of introduction. With this in mind George gave us the advice to not show the audience the band during this 7 seconds
• We were thinking of adding a window at the back of the room to show that it is night time, and also to add to this idea we're in a room of a house. We need to finish our set design to make sure that we are giving the right image across of this room during the dance/ narrative element. The importance of the window will determine the time of day (night) and what sort of lighting is used at this time (house lights, practical lights) 

I was looking at possible images for a window if we do decide this is a good idea.

We have also decided, that the 'Wasted Words' written on the walls by the dancers, will finally zoom out by the end of the piece, to reveal a giant lion's head, relating to the band's star image, shown below: