POST 15 - ANCILLARY TASK 1

This is the poster we had to recreate: 

The aim of this task was to recreate this poster as closely as possible. 
To do this, we gathered five people from the CLC, and arranged them in these positions.
 <- This is Megan taking our picture! We used her phone, and placed our participants against a plain white background. This was so we could edit in a different background behind them. 
 <- This is our final photo.
Megan edited the picture. First, she created a gradient-blue background (fading from light to dark, like the original. Then, she removed the white background from the picture we took, and pasted it over the blue background. Next, we chose a font that we though was most like the originals font, and added the text over the picture. Finally, we did small final touches- we added a hat on Feargus to match the original. This is our final piece:
 

POST 14 - COURSEWORK IDEA

POST 14


What is your idea for the coursework at the moment?

Our coursework idea at the moment is to use the same idea with he same song but just develop it. We will use the song Wonderwall and have a character that is lonely and depressed but he loves a girl. This girl doesn't know who he is until she catches him looking at her. This goes on for a while until they talk and a relationship forms. Eventually they fall in love and he becomes happy again.

Who are you planning on working with or do you want to work alone?

We were originally in a group of four but this did not work out as we all couldn't agree on ideas and we all available at different times. As a result, we decided to split off into pairs which worked a lot better. Due to it working better, we will do this again and stay in pairs ( me and Jack Kirby ) especially as we both like this song so much. We believe we will be more successful as we can use all of our own ideas and give us a greater understanding of the song and music video.

 

Where do you want to film?

We do not have a set location but we would like to film in many, including a house, car and city. We definitely do not want to film in school again as we want it to be more realistic. It will also allow us to show different periods of time easier within the music video.

POST 13 - MUSIC VIDEO OR SHORT FILM

(POST 13) - Music Video or Short Film?!

We, as a group decided between us, that we would rather choose to create a music video over the production of a film because of our music interest and enjoyment of sharing skills in a music genre we all agreed would be suitable yet a genre we all had interest in. For me personally, I didn’t want to create a film for our coursework due to so many great films around on the media that its just such a high expectation to make it best to help people enjoy it as much as other amazing high quality and expensive films. Due to being amateur and also strict with costs, it causes a lot of stress to be perfect and worthy of the audience taking time out of their lives to watch it. Also, with films, the story lines are very much familiar. A good guy, a bad guy, a pretty girl who needs saving or even happy endings. However, with music videos there is so much more variety and less pressure around creating a good music video as sometimes the simplest and cheapest videos are regarded as the best. The use of lighting, actors and even props help create build a good music video, but in my opinion, As long as the song is good, then the music video does not need to impress that much as it’s the music that the audience is really after. The only negative to music video is music and videos change hype and fashion in the industry rapidly with new artists and technology that you have big competition. However we will adjust accordingly and have plenty of research and enjoy ourselves during the project.

POST 12 - WHAT WENT WELL?

Post 12

 

What went well? – When we were filming we had built up a plan prior to the filming date on the shots we wanted so that it made it easier on the date. We decided that this was a step we had to take to set ourselves in the right direction to improve on last year’s coursework. In the previous year we filmed coursework of the back of our hands. We decided that it really wasn’t the right idea to follow that procedure again as it hadn’t worked in the previous year. We felt like the plan would give us more time to focus on the quality of the shots and setting up the equipment and actors instead of actually working the plot out on the day. The song we chose was one that everyone liked resulting in us enjoying filming more and having a better understanding of the song.

What didn’t go well? – In majority the shoot for the film went surprisingly well. We used the equipment we had to the best of our ability and we really took time in the edit to focus on the look of the shots by adjusting all significant sliders to get the best out of the raw/original camera shot. The main issue was organising a day to film the music video on. We were all reasonably busy over the summer as we were going away for different periods of time. This gave us very little if any time to film the music video. We decided to shoot on a school day in the end as on Weekends none of us are available. Also, in the video we found it hard to show past and present time.

What will you do/not do next time? – In the future we will definitely do it outside of school to make it more realistic. If we do a video with flashbacks in we will need to make it more clear so the audience doesn't get confused. I believe that by the next time we film, we will be a lot better at editing, therefore it should all look a lot better. 

Are you looking to develop on this idea for the actual coursework? – At the moment we believe that this idea will be great for our actual coursework if we spend more time and fully develop it. We are planning on using this song as we have a good understanding about it and already have many storyboards which we like and can use. As we have already done a music video on this song, all we need to do is improve parts and make it more realistic whilst making it easier for the audience to understand.

 

 Were we brave enough, original enough and creative enough? – When asking about the level of braveness we took in terms of filming the coursework I definitely think we were not brave. We didn’t feel the need to take extreme risks and venture into new fields with this specific task due to the fact that it allowed us a lot of room for improvement for the final piece. We stayed very safe in terms of location, camera shots and props. We left it very basic which in-turn also stops you from being original. We will definitely be prepared to take more advanced and dangerous risks when filming the actual task. We want people to be amazed with are final piece so therefore found there to be no need to go all out on the preliminary. I believe we were creative with some of our shots at the time but next time we will plan better shots beforehand.

POST 11 - FINAL PRACTICE CUT

The Practise task we filmed was based on the classic nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty which is based around the character all happy and joyful but one big mistake leads to a irreversible outcome that could not be reversed. We used this moral of the story into our film by creating a happy relationship by a couple which is unanimously torn apart from a single mistake that is some what hidden from the viewers as we only use half the song for a one minute clip of the music video. The video then shows a switch, including flashbacks to the happy times showing regret but also failed attempts to put the relationship back on track. The song corresponds well to the story of the music video as love is a key factor in this song as is shown passionately. This still has many mistakes and difficulties but from these we have learnt to prepare us for the final cut.

Lip-syncing was originally a good idea, however was difficult to edit and this effort was used most to perfect this than effort used on other criteria such as the flashback colours. We understood that next time for the final cut, that in the use of flashbacks, we would use black and white or a lighter shade to help the audience understand the story behind the actual story line. Also next time, it would look more professional if we use a tripod or a better quality camera to make the shorts sharper but most importantly more locations and settings to help the music video look more professional and better quality.

View the practise task cut here...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4WUoobBg6o

POST 10 - WHAT'S IN THE NEWS?

What's in the news?

The news story today is about Kazakhstan's National Conservatory orchestra performing the Imperial March with Darth Vader conducting the song as it is known mainly from Star Wars.




My video storyboard:

POST 9 - I'VE WATCHED A NEW FILM

RUSHMORE (1988)

• Facts:
• Director: Wes Anderson
• Cast: Jason Swartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Mason Gamble
• Release Date: 20 August 1999
• Budget: $9,000,000 (estimated)
• Gross: $17,096,053 (11 June 1999)

What had you ever heard of this film before?

I had heard of this film before my teacher gave it to me, because I had known the director (Wes Anderson) from his other films and had been recommened to watch this one as well, but had never really got round to it. I love the Wes' other films, The Grand Budepest Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom and The Royal Tenebaums and so assumed this one would be just as great. I wasn't surprised that it was.
What happened in it?

Max Fischer is a precocious 15-year-old whose reason for living is his attendance at Rushmore, a private school where he's not doing well in any of his classes, but where he's the king of extracurricular activities - from being in the beekeeping society to writing and producing plays, there's very little after school he doesn't do. His life begins to change, however, when he finds out he's on academic probation, and when he stumbles into love with Miss Cross, a pretty teacher of the elementary school at Rushmore. Added to the mix is his friendship with Herman Blume, wealthy industrialist and father to boys who attend the school, and who also finds himself attracted to Miss Cross. Max's fate becomes inextricably tied to this odd love triangle, and how he sets about resolving it is the story in the film.

What did you enjoy?

- I felt like it was a simple plot but the storyline had depth and different layers to it as well
- I liked the characters and how the actors portrayed them (especially Jason Swartzman who played      Max Fischer becuase the arrogance and blind stupidity can be really hard to pull off)
- I really enjoyed the comparison between the private school and the local comprehensive
- The style of the film with the colours and setting that suited the environment and

What didn't you enjoy?

- The arrogance of the character but i think that it adds to the personality and I don't like arrogant people in general so to see that trait in the protaganist, it can be hard for the audience to like him
- There's nothing else I didn't like about this movie but I thought maybe the original 'stamp mark' of Wes Anderson that people like so much, wasn't shown like it is in Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budepest Hotel. For instance, standing and talking into the camera, or having everything so neat in the setting of the film wasn't used as much. 

Anything you would like to use as stimulus/ ideas for your music video?

I love the style of these movies that Anderson makes, but I think copying a certain style isn't what makes a movie or music video great so it isn't really something I can use as such but I think that for our music video, seeing as we have our idea, the movie helped distinguish what kind of style I want it to be. I also love the relationships between the charcters he constucts and I know those aren't the same I want to portray in our coursework but I know that having that personal factor on screen is important if you want to connect with your audience and have a story in a music video. 
Would you recommend the film to anyone else?

Yes, I would recommend this film to another person who hadn't seen this before. I think The person would have to like this sort of taste of Anderson's film style but nevertheless, I would 100% recommened this film to anyone else.

POST 8 - I'VE READ A BOOK

WHY I CHOSE THIS BOOK.

I chose this book due to interest in the author but interest in the history of media due to rapid expansion to coincide with the rise in technology. The book is also fairly recent and up to date with a lot of information useful to myself for the coursework or facts useful for my exams at the end of the year. This book was also recommended by a teacher and other students in terms of finding out information about the latest history of media

WHAT I READ IN THE BOOK.

I Read that the book Tackles key British films of the past decade, from mainstream to low budget films and addresses the social, economic and political contexts. The film also contains detailed analysis of film texts, and gives a good overview of the production of modern films, contrasting them to older films when technology was less developed. Overall, it is a pretty good book.

ANYTHING NEW THAT I LEARNT.

Not particularly. Just about unknown subsidiaries and producers and the making of films with different and varied technology such as green screen and CGI.

ANYTHING I WOULD USE A STIMULUS FOR MY COURSEWORK.

Not really as it mainly brought up the past and was factual but not relevant to our current stage in the coursework, however we learnt you do not need to be a high budget production film to be the best.

WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANYONE ELSE?

I would recommend this book to friends and others doing media as it helps you get a grip with the subject you study and background information can really help you get off to a good start with knowledge for class.

POST 7 - TO LIP SYNC OR NOT TO LIP SYNC

(POST 7) - To lip snyc or not to lip snyc?

How effective is the use of lip- syncing?

In this music video, the lip syncing is clearly out of time by slight movement which creates a critical quality error as the music video then becomes weak and obvious to viewers the quality is poor and not professional. This gives the music video a amateur and a beginner quality look making the video less effective to attract audience based on entertainment and quality showing a clear contrast between a high quality music video using lip-sync and one that does ineffectively. 

                                              

How effective is the use of lip- syncing?

This video, in comparison to the other music video looks a lot more professional due to better quality lip-syncing. the lip-syncing is very accurate to the actors performance and miming attempt which makes the quality a lot more attractive to the audience and the video more entertaining. However, the noise from the circa waves, especially the voice doesn't match up with the character giving an unrealistic view from the audience perspectives as it doesn't seem real which lessens the quality and realism from the music video. However, the music video is good quality as it is hard to match up an actor to act realistic to another voice and overall, its a good, high quality music video.

Effective lip-syncing is important because it shows creativity and professionalism as its very difficult to create efficiently which portrays high quality and entertainment as many enjoy a high quality and creative music video despite the genre of music. lip-syncing helps understand a song better as you are open to judging body language and facial expressions to help the viewers understand the lyrics and understand the overall mood of the song.


What are the difficulties with lip-syncing?

To create the most professional music video, lip-syncing needs to be efficient and accurate in order to maintain a high quality look and effective piece. however, lip-syncing is a lot more challenging than some may believe due to miming another voice in a prolonged and different tones to create a musical effect which can add a higher difficulty especially with rap or to show facial expressions with high notes and even when they use a computerized voice to cover their own which makes it difficult to mime. it is also difficult to mime a lyric from another tone of voice realistically as everyone has many different tones and voices which also adds major difficulty to create a professional music video.

We wont use lip-syncing for the time being as it is a major risk due to if it is out or the actor in our opinion doesn't suit the singers lyrical voice, then we deem it not too our standard of high quality and the risk of it not going well, in our time slot or actors preference we believe we can be stronger in other aspects in a music video with flashbacks, cut scenes and camera angle with editing quality, originality and creativity. If we get a big time window and opportunity, we may try out lip syncing due to our single narrative which lip-syncing backs up when only one key character/actor is singing.


JH