Evaluation Question 4: How did you use media technologies in the research, planning, construction and evaluation stages?

Evaluation Question 3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

I have created a small animation containing some of the comments I got from my audience, you can view this by clicking on the embedded presentation below

I felt that from the comments that I had received my music video was rather successful along with my digipak and magazine advert, The comments I received gave the impression that people liked it, but I also received some constructive criticism that I agree with. I agree that I could have focused more time on looking for fonts and experimenting with colours so that the writing stood out on the CD digipak and magazine advert. One of the comments suggested that the music video was too busy, I think from this I know that next time, if I ever create a music video again, I should focus more on creating a structured storyboard and sticking to it, and that I should also add more colours, I feel that adding more colours may keep the audience entertained a bit more. I researched into the typical conventions of an indie/alternative music video and found that they would often be videos of the band performing, nothing would really follow a plot which is why I decided to choose a variety of artistic looking clips, also the fact that I didn't have the band at hand meant that I couldn't have a performance based video.
I am happy with the feedback that I got as I feel that it will all help me in the future, Personally, I prefer music videos that are abstract and from my feedback i know that some people would agree however I feel that I would get a higher amount of positive comments if I had created a performance or a narrative based video.

Evaluation Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and your ancillary texts?

Evaulation Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Use the arrow keys to move from one place to another, you can also scroll in using the wheel on your mouse to zoom in or our if the text appears to small

Audience Feedback

Click here to take survey

Completed Final Music Video

Below is my final music video for Alt-J's Dissolve me, I have created it in black and white with only the sky and the sunset in colour, the sky is in colour because I wanted it to sand out, also my niece featured in the film is names Skye so I thought this was a nice link.

Construction: Inspiration

The main theme in my music video is absract, the clips do not exactly link directly to the song but they are connected thriugh the quick edits to the beats and some of the clips narrate some lyrics, I took inspiration from many different videos but the one that I took most of my inspiration from is Damon Albarn - Lonely Press Play which I have embedded below 

The video uses abstract clips such as light flares and a lot of overlaying clips which is what i want to include in mine, i also oike how well the song matches the edits and it cuts to the beat, this is something that i hope to achieve in my video, I feel that it makes the video more intriguing as you are not sure what to expect next, it also gives the video a more 'art-like' feel to it I feel that this directly links to some of alt-j's other products

Construction: Time Lapse Photography

I have been practising photography for my time lapse footage also as this is something that I enjoy the look of also, and I found that with the Canon EOS 1100D this is difficult because there is no way to set it so that it automatically takes photos every few seconds, so I had to sit (in the cold) for half an hour clicking away every 4 seconds. In order to get a better result I would need to use an intervalometer which I could set so it automatically takes photos, However for a first attempt at a manual time lapse, I am happy with my result. For these shots I used a tripod also

This was roughly 600 shots

I decided to try the method of continuous shooting when out and about because the images would be quicker than the clouds so I could take the shots quicker, The issue with using this on the Canon is that the shots will be in good timing for the first few images and then it will gradually slow down, this did not turn out to be much of an issue as they were handheld shots so they had that 'home footage' feel to them, Below is a compilation of the continuous shots I took edited together using adobe premiere pro CC 7.0

I was experimenting with the camera, taking some random abstract shots to build up a portfolio of work so that I could ensure I had enough to work with and I began collating it all together, I added a song over the top and began to found that this created a music video feel, and so i experimented more, Shortening clips and cutting them to the beat of the song. Of course the clips are completely abstract but I think it works well. The clips of the flowers in my garden are taken using the method of lens whacking, which is where you take the camera lens of and film, moving the lens off so that you let in beams of light, I like this effect because it make stye film appear as if it is lowing and it gives an almost super 8 footage feel to it, I think it works well as a method to create footage with more of a light hearted feel to it, I contrasted this with the shots of the ink in water as I feel they look much darker, the clips of my nieces eyes along with this create a different emotion, you begin to think about what she may be seeing and as the song itself sounds rather abstract i think i have created a good compilation.

I wanted to work more on the continuous shooting as I found out it works better with using more pictures, And so on the way to take my motion blur pictures of the traffic, I began to take some shots whilst driving. I like this method as it gives a greater sense of speed to the video and this is enhanced by me adding a fast paced song over the top of it, There were roughly 1000 pictures taken during this

Construction: Stabilising Footage

I experimented with stabilising the short clip I made using Adobe After effects and an effect called warp stablizer which analyses the clip so that it runs smoother

You can also change the settings to what you want and this allows for a smoother edit or for more of the image to be seen, I found that you could also use this same effect in premier pro and I find that easier to use so in future i will use that, I also found that for this to work you would need to use the raw footage or else you can end up with the clips changing to try and match the titles, where I used the light leaks on this clip it jolts at some parts, but now I know what to do for the next time

Construction: Experimenting with Effects - Light Leaks

At first I was looking at the effect of Lens Whacking as I thought that it would be a nice effect to use for my music video, but in further research I found that I did not have the lenses that would be needed so I began looking for ways that I could re create this vintage/dreamy looking effect

I found an experimental video that some one had created as a music video for another alt J song and this really inspired bme because i thought it really worked and i feel that it goes with the singers voice

 

 (Using Adobe Premiere Pro 7.0 that I have at home, It contains more effects than the previous version but works in the same way)

I downloaded a set of movie files called light leaks that I found whilst browsing the internet and added them to my time line over the top of some previously filmed footage, I changed them to Screen so they appeared more realistic and they did not block out the footage underneath.

 Once I had added the light leaks I then added some more effects to make the footage appear warmer with more of a vintage feel to again, to make the clips seem more realistic. I also added some images at the end just to see what it would look like over the top of video and picture. The soundtrack that I added is another song by Alt-J on the same album as my chosen song for my video as I feel that its melancholic feel fits very well with the chosen footage... plus it was only a short song

...And just to top it off I added some fancy titles at the start to make the sample look complete, You can view the final video below

Construction: Sample

To begin the editing  process I first imported all of the clips that I filmed and viewed them all to decide which clips were suitable
Once I picked my clips I cut them down to a shorter length so that hey would cut to the beat and then dragged them into a sequence along with the mp3 of the track
















For one of my shots I took inspiration from the original album cover as seen on the left I feel that this is a good way to subtly reference the band.

Here is a short clip of my music video so far, I will get some feedback from the following Survey

First Response

Construction: Filming In Plymouth

I filmed some more footage in plymouth this weekend, This includes clips of the sea, the surrounding areas and birds flying (I thought it would look like a nice shot) Below are some screenshots and samples of what I achieved

Here are some screenshots of the bird shots I got

These are some screen recordings of some of the shots I recorded this weekend, Many of the shots are similar so I can use them in case I run out of footage (which I'm sure I won't) I intend to use filters to create a bleak feeling when the song is slower and then this will amplify the intensity of the clips/song when the dynamics increase.

Construction: Equipment

One of the cameras I have chosen to use is the Canon EOS 1100D, I feel that this can capture good clips and I also find it easy to use, along with this I will use a tripod to make sure my shots are steady

I have also filmed some shots of the sea using my phone (Sony Xperia Z) , below are the specifications.

Planning: Further Location Planning

To ensure that I have enough footage to use I plan on recording some more sea scenes, This weekend (25th January) I am visiting Plymouth university and so during this time I will record the sea (If the weather holds up) I intend on getting more footage of larger waves so I can create more of an interesting video, also I could use these clips in a way which they will compliment the song and help to enhance certain parts of it, I want the video to match the dynamics of the song.

Unfortunately, It looks like the weather may not be suitable to film, however if possible I will still try to get some footage

Recently, I have bought The Xperia Z mobile which is waterproof, allowing me to get some underwater shots which I think will create a great impact and will make the video far more interesting. I am hoping to create a video that people will want to watch and so I am trying to avoid resting the same clips and so i need a lot of footage

Planning: Location

Location Planning

The clips of the Sea will be clips from Perranporth, Crantock and Newquay in Cornwall, This is because I feel that the sea in these areas look a lot better than other seas, The water is clearer and the waves are bigger, which helps when I need to find a clip that I can cut to the beat (A wave crashing down seems like it would work well for this) Clips of other naturalistic things such as woodland, Sunset etc can be easily filmed in nearby woods

On the left is a picture of Brambleside woods which is nearby and can be used for some shots and on the right is Perranporth which is definitely not close but can be visited.

On the 25th of January I will be visiting Plymouth for the weekend, in this time I will do some more filming to ensure that I have extra footage if I need it