Task 22: Ancillary Task Planning

Digipak Album Cover

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The image below is of my CD collection where I got inspiration for my own Digipak and had a clear idea of the codes and conventions:

Digipak Poster

Digipak Website

What I have learnt:

By planning all 3 of the possible ancillary tasks well, I have been able to make a strong decision on the two tasks that I will choose to produce after we have finished our production. The digipak and digipak poster is what I have chosen to develop further for the main reason that a website will be extremely complex to make and I would simply not have the time to accomplish a professional looking website. However, this is a shame because I believe I planned this format well putting my experience and research gained from an earlier website task into practice. Even though they are not the same formats, I will still be able to incorporate my ideas for the website into the digipak and poster which will further enhance their quality. Another key reason why I believe that the poster and digipak are good choices is that they are more achievable only requiring Photoshop, unlike the website which would demand a website programme. I am also well equipped on Photoshop meaning that a good final product should be achieved as I can confidently use interesting editing techniques. The key things to think about when completing to these tasks are keeping to my plans, making sure all of the institutional information is correct and included and that there is an established theme throughout both media formats. The theme is a major part of this task because I am likely to have a logo that will need to feature on the digipak and poster and the audience will need to easily recognise who the artist and album are to encourage them to take it from the shelf or to find more information. A suitable and noticeable theme will, therefore, help this.

Editing Research - Technique 2

As well as the edits that feature on The Chicken connoisseurs video, we have also come across a feature used by Blossoms, especially in their music video for the song Charlemagne. In the video clip above, there is noticeable random camera movement in every shot. We came across this technique and video in a previous planning task and recently thought that we should consider using this feature during the narrative part of our production for multiple reasons. First, it will make the video much more engaging and better to watch because similar shots shots shot in the same room for significant amounts of time will start to bore the audience. Also, this technique appears in an indie music video, by Blossoms, which is similar to the genre of our artist Liam Gallagher. Therefore, this will fit into our production nicely. Finally, this technique is unique and not used by many other artists. This means that we can put our own influence on the feature which could result in something extraordinary. This technique will be considered and has a strong chance of appearing in our music video because of its originality. However, if we choose to obtain it, we will have to film every shot on the performance filming day in this way to make a professional video which could take longer, taking into consideration that we will have to book an allotted time in advance.

Official First Shoot (Thurs 26th Oct)

On Thursday, we revisited the location at an earlier time to avoid the rush and public. The weather was slightly wet and we were concerned that the footage may be affected by the conditions. To conquer this concern, we covered the lens and camera as much as possible. When filming, we did not encounter any obvious issues, however, we have yet to check the footage which could reveal some issues. The lighting for the day suited the mood of the song and what we had previously planned which was a huge advantage of shooting on this day rather than the 25th. If we need to re-shoot, we will try to use similar lighting to this day. We used a variety of equipment including a Canon 700D camera, tripod and stabiliser. Hopefully, this will improve the quality of the music video because we considered when each item should be used.

First Shoot Attempt (Wed 25th Oct)

Weather Forecast:

Sunny Location:

General public interfering with filming:

On Wednesday, we attempted and planned to undertake our first shoot but encountered several issues which caused us to delay the narrative filming day. As it is half term, the location was very busy and we worried that continuity would be affected if we decided to film as so many people were out on the pathway as pictured above. Unfortunately, the weather would have been great and the tide was in the perfect position for filming, however we worried that the sun would make our actor squint constantly and ruin the footage. We arrived at the location at around 11:30 and we feel that this was the main reason for the vast amount of people in our way. When we visited the location, we went early in the morning, at 9:00, so we have decided to aim for a similar time when we film. This should limit issues faced with continuity as less people will feature in the shots.

Editing Research - Technique 1

Viral You Tuber, The Chicken Connoisseur, may lack relevance to our genre or video audience, but he has used several techniques in his videos which I believe add cinematic flair. As the video shows and the image illustrates a unique piece of camera movement is used which could be used to cut between narrative or performance - or to extend the length of shots in one of many instrumental stages in our chosen song. The producer of the video has used a puddle reflection and twisted the camera to reveal the character stood up. This is a surreal shot and we feel that it would fit in a music video very efficiently, separating the video from standard cuts which may become boring for the audience or reduce the quality.

These two clips give the video a premium and professional look. The constant camera movement makes the video more immersing and engaging to the audiences. The fact the camera constantly moves intrigue viewers of what to expect next in the video. The clips above would work particularly well for location shots and transitions. If we used techniques similar to this kind, we could incorporate them into crosscutting and illustrate the tempo of the music via the editing in the video. Lastly, the simplicity of each shot means we could think of our own and apply them to our video. As we are filming in an area with many walls, we could use these as framing but also act as the pivot of transitions like these.

Looking back at our storyboard, I see several parts of the song which would be suitable for techniques like these. For example, the song has sections of instrumentals which we found very difficult to cover as lip syncing was not available and we didn't want to over use the narrative. If we used longer shoots with creativity an elongated shot would not be so dull for a viewer. This will considerably improve the quality of the video, as it is important for us not to copy/repeat too many sections of the video as this would become very predictable for our audience.

Location Maps

Narrative Location:

Performance Location:

Task 21: Shot List

What I have learnt:

The shot list is an important aspect of our production because it will guide us through our filming sessions. We have included instruction for camera movements and angles and other key information so that our filming days will be efficient and organised.

Task 21: Storyboard

What I have learnt:
This task has helped us clarify our plans for the video production. We made sure that a lot of time was spent on the storyboard because in our production last year, we rushed it, resulting in a lack of understanding on our filming days. This storyboard is clear to us and is also well presented which means that it will be easier for us and others to understand the concept of our production. This is also important when describing to our actors what they will have to do as a visual representation is much easier to understand. When producing the storyboard, the limitations and key areas of the narrative location were at the forefront of our attention due to our knowledge of the area after our location visit.

Task 20: Location and Actor Planning

Ryan will take the role of Liam Gallagher in our music video, which we have carefully considered, as he will have to perform in a unique way, not copying stereotypical body language of Liam Gallagher such as hands behind his back.

Joe, narrative actor, performing in our video last year:

Screenshot of the website of the studio we are going to use and the OpenLive process that is explained above:

What I have learnt:

This task has helped understand why we have chosen certain actors and locations and possible limitations we could face. For example, filming in a public area will have minor issues if they feature in shots or our preferred filming destination has been taken by other people. However, our reasoning for using the actors we have chosen has reassured us that we can make a good quality video as they have the necessary and basic experience which we expect/need. We understood the importance of choosing people who are committed and will try their best, which can be difficult to fin as our actors will receive no personal gain from the video. Having decided these actors and locations, the next step will be to organise a shooting day or days which we are available as well as the location. This will depend on the weather as well as individual availability.

Task 19: Fashion and Props

Click here for interactive version

What I have learnt:
This task has helped us to think intensely about the type of clothing we want our actors to wear and what props will feature in the music video. By looking at these aspects in detail, we know what props/clothing we need to source either online or through contacts with plenty of time so that it can be perfect. The contrast in clothing between the performance and narrative side of the music video are crucial because if both characters look similar in terms of clothing and appearance, the video won't make sense. The idea that we are trying to portray is that the narrative protagonist is mentally broken as there are lyrics referring to this in the song. Therefore, if we dress him in clean or smart clothing, this will not suit the action and look strange with the lyrics. Consequently, this task has been important because it has allowed us to think exactly how we want him to look and where these items of clothing will be sourced. As well as clothing, appearance is just as important and this will be dealt with by making sure that our narrative actor's hair is messy and our performance actor is cleanshaven and smart.

Task 18: Initial Pitch Ideas

The Pitch from Tom Cornock on Vimeo.

Initial Pitch from Tom Cornock

What I have learnt:

This pitch gave us a summary of what we have decided and we now understand what we need to do to improve from suggestions at the end of the presentation. It was good to share our idea and see if it seemed realistic, especially as some of the students would be the target demographic for the genre of the song. From the feedback, we will now consider how we will cater for certain weather and its possible effect of lighting. We will try to eliminate this issue by practice filming. In addition, in terms of editing, we will have to clearly distinguish a narrative and performance, meaning that we will crosscut as our peers suggested. We are now confident about our idea and have a clearer idea of what next needs to be done. For example, our focus needs to be on the storyboard having gathering enough ideas and thoughts about the location and actors. Also, we will need to start booking the studios and considering when the best time will be to film is, which is mainly weather dependent. 

Task 17: Lyric Analysis

Click here to view interactive version

What I have learnt:

This task will help us develop a relevant narrative that will fit the song well and be authentic in comparison to the original which lacks any narrative elements. We have understood several meanings from the song. For example, the inclusion of Karma and people who are fixed in the mainstream. In our narrative, we will try to incorporate these ideas, particularly in the chorus, as there is an emphasis on the lyric 'shatter like a wall of glass'. What makes the song a good choice is how ambiguous certain lyrics are and how several different meanings can be drawn from the verses. For example, the lyric 'You were sold a one direction' has multiple pragmatical effects as it could be referring to the band or a sense of direction. Other songs that we looked at, such as Ratboy 'Sign On', had a distinct narrative and story being told in the song which would have made it hard to be original and relevant without copying the narrative of the song. Lastly, the hook of the song 'Wall of glass' will work well to show the disrupted equilibrium as our narrative takes the audience on the protagonists disrupted life, linking to Todorov's theory. 

Task 16: Music Video Genre Research

What I have learnt?
This task has helped us clearly identify what elements make up music videos from the alternative indie genre looking at videos from Kasabian, Noel Gallagher and Blossoms. By looking at videos from differing artists from all ends of the spectrum, we have been able to look at what generally appears in these kinds of videos and the table above highlights our findings. The main thing that I identified was the amount of performance and the amount of narrative involved within the video. We noticed that the time that these were on screen were fairly even, with the narrative including relevant parts in the lyrics and song. Also, the performance section of the music videos are very stereotypical with ambient lighting, a dark empty room and the band playing the song. Another thing that we noticed was that the locations used were simple and easily available to the artists. For example, in the blossoms video, an empty room is the only location used and in Kasabian's video, another empty room is used. This is useful for our own music video because we are only using two locations and both are easily accessible for us. Overall, this task will help us in the future to apply the conventions of the genre to our own video and will be important during filming.

Location Visit (Narrative)

What I have learnt:
By visiting our planned location, we have a clearer idea of what is possible when planning our video. Their are a variety of places inside the location which will work well in our video, particularly those that are slightly run down as the song is about a fall from grace. When making our storyboard, we will consider what we have seen on our visit, particularly the size of areas and how popular they seemed to be. The location is also very scenic and does not attract to many people apart from dog walkers, meaning we will be able to fit without constant interruption and can confidently perform/capture the video. The images above are some possible shots and areas which we have targeted for the video, these may be dependent on the lighting'/availability on the day. We believe the location will fit the narrative well, showing a darker side to fit the indie rock genre​.

Task 15: Liam Gallagher and Warner Bros. Records (Part 3)

What I have learnt:
This task has helped us realise how big Liam Gallagher is as both an artist and a person. This could hinder us sightly as it will be easy for our actor that will be lip syncing to copy or be influenced by Liam Gallagher's well-known personality as he is a big fan of the artist. This will have to be strictly looked at during our whole production as if it looks like the original, it will be noticed by the audience and possibly reduce our mark as it would lack originality. However, this task has helped us notice what his stereotypical personality traits are which means that we can easily identify when Ryan, our actor, is replicating him in some way. This task has also made us focus on the background of the artist's label and this was important because it has given us more of an insight into the record label allowing us to identify how well established they are with other big rock and alternative artists signed to the label. There is no doubt that Liam Gallagher is an extremely popular character in the music world not only from this research but from other interviews and songs we have watched before this task. Therefore, we will try to make this video as professional as possible to do the song and the artist justice and maintain Liam's popularity.