We had a situation on the shoot day where one of the big lights' fuse blew, therefore we needed to use a strobe light to make sure that the shot was lit properly.
I researched into different lights to see what would suit the look of my band properly. I learnt how to set up studio lighting and made sure i had extra time on the day to set it up
http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2014/01/14/how-to-set-up-studio-lighting-3-classic-setups-for-dramatically-different-effects/
I decided to use flood lights, as this looks more professional and will light the woods better.
I looked up different types of filters during our rehearsal to see what colours would best suit the band and give the right impression of their ideologies. I chose to use oranges and reds to show how they are down to earth but still have an air of superiority.
I researched into different lights to see what would suit the look of my band properly. I learnt how to set up studio lighting and made sure i had extra time on the day to set it up
http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2014/01/14/how-to-set-up-studio-lighting-3-classic-setups-for-dramatically-different-effects/
I decided to use flood lights, as this looks more professional and will light the woods better.
I felt anxious but excited to finally film our music video after working very hard on post production and organising everything that we needed for the day. I was worried that the weather was going to change and it would rain, therefore our whole idea would have been changed because we would not have been able to have the generator feeding the projectors onto the tents.
3. How well prepared were you when you arrived for the shoot, what did you have to do before you could start shooting?
I think we felt prepared before the shoot day, however when the shoot day came, I became very panicked and worried that we would not be able to accomplish all that we wanted to accomplish in one day. We had to give all the band members and the fairy a costume, as well as do their makeup. Although this took some time out of our shooting time, it was necessary to be done on that day because we did not know how the clothes would look or if they would fit. Before we started shooting we needed to make sure the studio was cleared, that we had all the instruments in place and ready for the band to play, and I needed to make sure the camera was charged, with memory and bubbled.4. Describe what the studio looked like when you started to shoot, how well do you feel you managed to create the look of your concept?When we started filming in the morning we just had a black studio, with black curtains behind it. This was exactly how we wanted the first element to be, because it was simple enough to contrast with the other elements of the woods and the projections. It also drew out the instruments and the band members faces so that could be more visible on the projections on the tents. The second studio element worked beautifully in my opinion, the city landscapes worked better because there was more on the projections to look at, however the projections of the girl were also useful because we created a relationship between her and the lead singer.
5. How did you divide the roles on your shoot day, what role(s) did you play?Prior to the shoot day we decided what we could focus on, on the shoot day. We decided that Fran would be the art director because she has a very good eye for visually appealing things, therefore she would be able to have a say if something did not look aesthetically pleasing. Phoebe wanted to be director which meant she could direct and tell me, the camera man how she wanted things to look. I was in charge of making sure the camera was in focus and the shot was well composed. Sasha was the producer and made sure that everything was kept on schedule.
6. What do you think that you personally did particularly well?I personally took charge of the camera and made sure that we did not waste time. I knew that if we wanted our music video to work out the way we wanted it to we would need enough footage to play with and create. I loved focusing on the shot composition and seeing how I can keep the footage interesting but also by holding the shot and making sure we had enough footage of each individual section. i.e a close up of the finger picking and the guitarists fingers on the fret board.
7. What problems did you have on the shoot day, how did you solve them?We definitely had trouble with scheduling our time, we had a feeling this would be a problem so we created a shooting schedule however, we were unable to keep to it because the footage we needed to get from the studio was vital in case anything went wrong in the woods. We worked on this by splitting up after lunch, we knew we would need a lot of time to set up the camp in the woods, however by the time we got there, set it up and filmed it, it would be dark. Sasha went with our set designer and they set up the woods while Phoebe and I stayed back and filmed the rest of the studio footage. Fran was making sure we had everything for the woods so that we would be ready to go when we finished shooting the studio bits.
8. Which part of the shoot do you think was most successful and why?I think artistically the studio projections looked the best, because they are very interesting to look at and really went with the idea of lost boys. It was probably the best part because everything worked out at that point. Everyone was happy with what we were filming and watching the performance and the projections working so well, gave us all more will to work harder for the rest of the day.
9. Which part of the shoot do you wish had gone better and why?
The woods section unfortunately was quite difficult because it can be seen that we are loosing light which means we can only use the footage in the same sequence of filming, because it can be seen that it is getting darker. Some of the footage is also quite unsteady and unfocused, mainly because we did not have a tripod, we were using a canon 5D and it was very rushed because we were aware of the sun going down, and the loss of light in our shot.
10. How well do you think you managed your talent (actors)?Although I think we managed them well, they themselves were very easy to work with because they enjoyed the shoot and had fun the whole day. We also chose them specifically because we knew that they would be very energetic, and although they were not best friends, they knew each other well enough to get along and have a nice day. They were also very cooperative, whenever we asked them to do something specific at a certain time they did it and with energy. I think what we could have done better through managing them was for them to all listen to the song a couple times so that they knew certain cue lines such as the first two rounds of Ooo Oooo, this was important because we wanted them all to say it at the same time in the shot. In the end we managed however, in the first few shots it looks very out of time.
11. What was the part of the shoot you enjoyed the most?The part I enjoyed the most was before the sun went down in the woods. Although it was stressful because we were desperate for time it was fun to be able to get footage of the boys actually having real fun. This will make our music video seem much more realistic and engaging to watch. There are a lot of shots where the boys are genuinely laughing and towards the end they were doing things that they came up with themselves. It was great that we didn't have to direct them because then they had more liberty with what they wanted to do as well as our footage being more varied.
12. What are you looking forward to seeing the most in the edit?Im looking forward to seeing how the projections turned out, and if they came out clearly through the camera. This was a very crucial part of the music video idea and I hope that it can be seen properly. I worry that there may be colour issues or that the band can’t be seen over the projections., However if it turns out mainly how we watched while it was filming it should look very impressive and different. We want to make sure that we create the perfect video to connect the bands image and engage the audience for the to stay interested in their music.
13. How well do you feel that your production group worked as a team?I think we did very well, and kept to all of our jobs all day. Throughout the whole process we were all very on the ball and excited to carry out the film day. On the day we were all prepared to work and were excited to shoot our music video. Throughout the day we were constantly working together in effort to make the best music video, however we had a very long and stressful day which meant tensions ran high at the end of the day and we had a bit of an argument towards the end however we realised that the only reason why we were arguing was because we were tired. It worked out towards the end and we were very happy and proud of our shoot day.
14. Are their any lessons you learned today that could help you make your next shoot even more successful?I think time management is definitely a must, as well as having a shot list printed out and handy. Although i think shot lists can cut down on creativity, it is important to have the minimum requirements of footage. I worry that we may not have enough footage to make our music video interesting. This is definitely something I want to be very aware of if i shoot another music video one day. Another thing I would do is make sure that my footage is all in focus and everything is in shot, therefore there is not footage wasted.
15. Are there any changes you might need to make to your website and artwork, in order for them to fit in with the video that you have shot?
I don’t think there is anything quite so different from what we planned, other than the woods part being less of an aspect because we did not get enough footage in the woods. The website will probably have more of a projections aspect to it and the album artwork will have a more woods like aspect. This will establish a balance for the band.
Focus is also very vital, as if I do not focus all of the footage that we will work on and shoot will not be something that we can use.
I also need to aware about which lens I'm using for what shot I want. If I want a a wide shot I would go for a 10-30 mm lens. Depending on the variety of the width of the lens we have at school. The lower the number the wider the lens goes.
The shot composition is also important to make sure that it looks aesthetically pleasing.
My group and I made our ideas of our album artwork each. and annotated it, mainly because it was a rough sketch and 3 out of the 4 of us are not artists.
My idea relates mainly to the music video however it has a girl in it, suggesting that there may be love songs on the album and similar sounding music that had an earthy feel to it.
I like the overall idea of the tenet and the shadow creating two people in a tent however, I am not very happy with the way I wrote the titles as I think it would look more edgy/ indie rather than having bubble writing. This will however come along when we edit the photo.
The genre conventions I have used within my artwork design is that fact that their faces are not shown, there for showing they are not about being recognized/ famous. it is set in the woods so there isn't a glamorous setting, showing that they're all about the music.
Why my target audience would like this design:
I think my target audience would be drawn to my design as they are at an age where love is an element and they would be drawn to the image of a boy and girl kissing in a tent
This was Sasha's Idea:
It is a crown on a bed of leaves, this has a link to the name (Nothing to Kings) as well as tying in our leaves (studio) idea.
This was Fran's Idea:
I think this sketch is absolutely amazing. She has chosen a different focus for the album cover which is Ashen (our lead singer). With an element of the woods in it, to tie in the music video as well. As much as I love this cover, I think that either the whole band should be on the cover, or no one at all. From all the different album artwork's that we have looked at, from the indie rock genre, most of them do not have the band members on the cover, and if they do the whole band is on it. This is to mainly adhere to the stereotypical view that Indie Rock bands are all about the music and there is no one who is really the leading member.
My idea relates mainly to the music video however it has a girl in it, suggesting that there may be love songs on the album and similar sounding music that had an earthy feel to it.
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| My sketch of the album artwork |
The genre conventions I have used within my artwork design is that fact that their faces are not shown, there for showing they are not about being recognized/ famous. it is set in the woods so there isn't a glamorous setting, showing that they're all about the music.
Why my target audience would like this design:
I think my target audience would be drawn to my design as they are at an age where love is an element and they would be drawn to the image of a boy and girl kissing in a tent
This was Sasha's Idea:
This was Fran's Idea:
I think this sketch is absolutely amazing. She has chosen a different focus for the album cover which is Ashen (our lead singer). With an element of the woods in it, to tie in the music video as well. As much as I love this cover, I think that either the whole band should be on the cover, or no one at all. From all the different album artwork's that we have looked at, from the indie rock genre, most of them do not have the band members on the cover, and if they do the whole band is on it. This is to mainly adhere to the stereotypical view that Indie Rock bands are all about the music and there is no one who is really the leading member.
- What connects the song to the album?
- The album artwork is on the drum kit
- His clothes are the colour scheme of the album cover
- The word 'presents' works with the TV aspect in the video
- American Idiot - American Flag
- Use of low angles makes it seem like they're pretentious
- Is this successful? If so why?
- What connects the song to the album?
- Iconic costumes and hairstyles are shown in close ups
- Obvious Uniques Selling Point
- Tattoos shown throughout
- Cricifix around main singers neck relates to the cover
- Use of the colour black connotes to rock
- The performance element connects to the ribbons show on the cover
- What works?
- What doesn't work?
- What genre and how do you know? What conventions have been used?
- What message and or theme do you get behind the art choices the band have made?
- Simplicity makes it look like theyre trying too hard
- Conventions/ Symbolism of the heart and grenade
- Makes audience think about the album
- Can tell the genre through colours
- Use of the word 'Presents' gives the idea like its a tv show
- This adds a sense of pretentiousness
- Also makes them seem classic and old school
- Overall class opinion was that they did not like the album cover
- Famous Art Style makes it look like the band is famous
- Classical but with a twist, makes it seem like the band is classical and with a twist
- Genre - Pop Rock
- Themes - Edgy and cool, Individuality
- Not cocky or pretentious
- Pushing Dyer Star Theory, trying to make their faces iconic
- Recognizable as a cartoon
- Who is the lead?
- Fails as a marketing ploy as we don't know the name of the band and the album name
- Classic Rock Metal
- Religious Imagery
- Album artwork tends to look like tattoo art
- Skulls are a convention of metallic rock
- All have a trademark - their hairstlyes are iconic
- Represents the genre well
- Has the iconic slogan 'live fast and die young'
- Ribbons have a theatrical element like theyre constantly putting up a show
