Focus group write up

A focus group, is a productive response process where a group of people are assembled to participate in a discussion about a product before it is launched. We arranged a focus group in order to asses the quality and impression our products make on an audience, and the way they fit together as a campaign. In preparation for this discussion, as a group we quickly ensured all products were in a presentable form. The Final cut of the video was presentable from youtube, The website was published and the link was ready on an email. In order to allow a more realistic hands on view of our digipak we printed it out and stuck it to card board in the shape of a legitimate album. This was useful for the audience so they could see it in its correct form rather than a series of images and text in the wrong arrangement.

At the focus group we prepared open ended and flexible questions focussing only on our products. For example what kind of band do you think they are? What do you think of the music video?  What do think about the website?. Unfortunately Max and I were unable to attend the focus group and therefore Ksenia lead the session and recorded all the responses and feedback. Using a voice recorder was a clear choice as the discreetness doesn't concern an audience and encourage them to think to much about what they say about our products, therefore we received a more reliable response.

They discussed all three products, raising some issues that we had noted and knew we were going to work on. The key point made was about the coherence of our campaign as a whole. they felt the digipak, seemed too distant from the other products. This was due to the rurla setting in comparison to the urban contemporary location of the music video. To correct this they suggested changing the colours of the digipak to give colder less saturated tones. We attempted this, and this was the result:

We felt that in doing this we had made the made image on our digipak less impressive dull and less striking. We felt that in an attempt to please everyone in our audience, the product had become less interesting. We didnt want a bland product therefore we decided to stick to the original purple tones.

In a addition to this feedback they claimed they loved the video, and the emotion it created, and they felt the website was a good webpage to represent the band. They way it cross-promotes other products was effective and they enjoyed the simplistic minimalist style. 

Class Feedback on the website

Editing 5 | Colour grading

The colouring process seems like an endless task. There a huge amount of tools that adobe premiere provides to adjust the colours and tones and all of these, at first, appear very complicated to use. However I began simple and then later developed the grade on each clip tweaking it till it was just right. This took around 4 hours in total to complete. Midway through the process, I captured a screen recording, Here is a time lapse to show how I coloured the video.

From watching this it is clear to see how many shots are out of place and have the wrong colours. I continued to tweak the footage till each shot looked precisely how i wanted. This involved going into great depth with the colouring. Here is a breakdown of the process.

I began by doing some colour correction. This is the process where every clip is manually tweaked to get a good exposure and balance of light. Each clip was also matched to a colour temperate which I set as a cold blueish colour. Using the built in scopes on premiere I was able to visually inspect the Waveform, vectroscope and parade levels to match each shot precisely making sure no exposures were blown out, no darks were lost and the shots looked natural. Here is a screenshot of the scopes. Although it looks complicated, knowing how to read these can make the corrections much more precise.

I then moved onto doing some colour grading this is the creative process where decisions are made to further enhance or establish a new visual tone to the project I chose a cold high contrast grade, to emulate the urban tone. Here is a before and after.

As I progressed through the grade, copy and pasting the same adjustments onto every clip doesn't mean they match up. Almost always the lighting was different. Therefore I had to match the colours on every clip. I did this through using a layer mask. This means i could select the skin tone colours and adjust only the so they still looked natural under the colour grade.

With final adjustments such as these and ensuring every shot matched. The editing process was complete. The next thing to do is to get some feedback on my video and see what can be improved before I export the video.

Editing 4: Finalised cut

With some Audience feedback, I have taken on board some advice for the cut such as slightly slowing down the pace of the studio cut, and removing some shots that didn't work.

The cut needs no visual effects therefore the only thing left to do is colour the video. This will be a difficult process as i have to bring the two sections to the video closer together visually. I need to using the levels, bringing the brightness closer to a midpoint of each clip. I also plan to put a grade over the entire video that will give it a higher contrast, coloured and more stylised look. This is often what makes most music videos look professional. I will experiment with colours and find something that suits the mood of my video. As I am going for quite an urban look with the dance I may use cold colours, with an increased contrast. 

Editing 3

after about 5 more editing sessions I have now added the dance section and completed some small adjustments to the flow of the video. When adding the dance sequence I firstly chose the best sections of dance to put in the video. I chose 6 sections out of the 10 we filmed. These were the most visually interesting and the best showcase of their dance skills. These sections were fairly evenly distributed throughout the track, giving even amounts of studio and dance footage. When i edited the dance i was concered about Graphic editing. This is where the images in the cut are matched according to similarities in their pictorial qualities (movement of actors, light and colour, shapes of images, etc.). It was clear from some feedback that some cuts matched certain cuts didn't.




For example, This cut works effectively, as the shots are both dark and the movement matches to the beats that have been previously accented by the drums.

However this cut is ineffective as it is a clear change from dark to light. I tried to make it match slightly more by adding a slight moment of slow movement at the start of the dance to match with the pace. However the change in both colour and brightness is too unexpected for an audience.



My solution to this problem can easily be solved in the colour grade, which is my next job wehn the cut is finalised.

Digipack

Editing 2

After a few more editing sessions I finally have the studio section completed. I had to bare a few things in mind when doing this in order to make the editing of the studio suit the track and not look abnormal. My first priority was rhythmic editing, This is where the editing pace reflects the pace and beat of the track. The song begins slow, therefore I decided to only cut every 3-4 seconds on specific beats of the song. When cutting to the beat of the song the editing often flows better. I sometimes look at cutting to music as a person trying to clap in time to the beat, when cuts are late or in unexpected places it can feel like someone trying to stay in time but they have no rhythm and therefore can't, which is almost frustrating to watch. 

Despite this as the song progressed I made the decision to give the music video a more modern exciting twist. Cutting to the beat is the safe bet, but not always the 'best' bet in terms of telling the story. I began to look at the music as a whole, not just a beat. Where does it peak? Where is lull? What shots would suit those sections best? And as a result I added some cuts that didn't match the beats of the song, that could surprise the viewer and keep them engaged. The issue with this however is that some cuts may seem out of place. I made sure that I watched back the footage over and over with second opinions to see whether the cuts were interesting and not distracting. 

My next job will be to layer the narrative in my chosen places on top of the studio cut, this should be an easier edit as i have cut dance sequences before, and the movement will work in a sequence it is not random.

Photoshoot for the Digipack

After Shooting our video we now decided it would be a good time to begin work on our other products. I was in charge of the music video, Ksenia was in charge of the website and Max would lead the production of the digipack however we are all going to collaborate every day or two on the progress of each product. This shoot was an important part of our campaign and the images will be used on both the website and the digipack so we all chose to go as a team. Our location is a viewpoint on the top of the surrey hills, from our research this will provide a great background to place our actors infront of to produce an indie album cover.

We did some research into similar products and here are some of the digipacks that we based our ideas on.

With our research in mind we shot our images, using a variety of different positions and styles. We took as many shots as possible so we had a good choice for the website and digipack. Once collating the photos, we began some post production work, using the photo editing software Adobe Lightroom. This Allowed us to enhance the images bringing them closer to the indie style and look ,which from our research was often a heavily processed image. We increased the clarity and contrast, whilst adding a purple tone over the images. Here are the results:

First editing session

Today was our first editing session since the shoot days. It was very interesting to watch back all the footage we had captured and think of some ideas of how it could be structured. I knew after watching the location footage that a lot of this would have to be cut. The song is only 3 minutes and we ensured that we had enough footage to fill the entire thing almost. It iis much better to get too much footage than not enough. The most obvious issue at first glance was the difference between the two shoots. Despite a meeting with the lighting and set designers the studio shoot still appeared much darker in appearance and this when placed next to the location footage in daylight appeared to be a massive juxtaposition. After watching all the footage I began the most tedious process of editing: syncing the clips. This video shows how I did this. I only synced the studio footage because I knew that I would differentiate the dance to its original timing to make it seem more impressive or fit slightly better. In order to make the syncing process easier and more precise we added 6 loud beats leading into the song. This was not only a cue for the performers but it also using the cameras mic allowed us to use the waveform of the loud beats to match up with the waveform of the song in editing (ofcourse this will be later edited out). 

I repeated this with all of my studio clips, until I had 40 layers on my timeline all with synced footage. After this, I played each one and noted both good shots which I definitely want to use at some point and shots that are useless and will not be used, I then deleted the useless footage. My plan for the next few editing sessions is to shape the studio section and fill the entire video with only studio as a base for me to place my dance section on top.

Studio Shoot

In preparation for the shoot, we had to ensure we were organised, and therefore could swiftly capture everything we intended. As it was a very simple shoot there was not much to prepare. Our most important concern was our performers. We rehearsed our band once again the day before, which left us feeling confident as they knew the words, the beat and gave a solid performance. I spoke to the lighting designer and set design to ensure the set and lighting would match with the footage we had already filmed. They ensured me that it would be easily matched in the colour grade. We finally went through all of our desired shots. We planned to capture the basic shots first including wides, mediums and close ups, following the creative shots such as tracking. Max agreed to buy some talcum powder for our drum effect, we then had everything planned and were very prepared for the shoot.

Before we began shooting we set up the mic and drums in the positions we wanted for the first shot. I then spoke to the lighting designer to work out some timing with what lightbulbs could turn on when. Whilst I did this Ksenia worked on the makeup of both performers, and ensured they were dressed correctly and looked the part.

Our set was a 3 wall box with the lightbulbs randomly arranged. It was a very simple look, therefore we knew we had to be creative with our shots to make it look more exciting and match the excitement of the dance section. To add ambience to the room, and give the shots a more stylised look I requested to fill the set with a slight mist. This enhanced beams of light and gave the video a mysterious feel.

I mainly worked as the cameraman for the day, however I ensured the actors performed in the way we wanted and decided on what shots to do, therefore I additionally took on a directorial role. Towards the end of the day I worked as a grip to make sure the track was as smooth as it could be.

Personally I feel the creative choices I made on the day will benefit the video. For example, I decided to capture specific moments using an out/in track. This is a powerful and dramatic shot which should prove beneficial to me when cutting the video. I also ensured the lighting was timed to the music. I wanted the lights to flash brighter on each big beat of the song. This was made possible by the lighting designer, and looked effective on the monitor.

We faced very few problems on this shoot. Although overall, we worked fairly slowly and thus were not able to get every shot we intended. I tried to capture as many shots as possible, and continued to repeat shots to ensure it was perfect in terms of camera work and performance. This repetition left little time for the creative shots that we captured at the end of the day. I feel that if we had speed up the changeover in between shooting we would have had more time for creative experimenting with the camera work.

The most succesful part of this shoot was the fact that we had already filmed half of the video. By allowing two shoot days we were granted much more time to work on this section of the music video. We had the time to capture almost all lot of the shots we wanted, and make it look as best as it could.

Rehearsing the talent 4 times before shooting meant they were very prepared for the day, and did not slow down the shoot in any way due to forgetting the words/beat. They performed confidently and matched the track very well almost every time. In order to make sure they did not tire during the shoot whilst they were not being used we kept them entertained by talking to them, asking them for their input, and offering refreshments.

The part of the shoot which I enjoyed the most was filming the drum shots. The talcum powder provided a brilliant effect, and really enhanced the visual look of the film on each beat of the song. I went for some interesting angles on this such and managed to capture my intended outward track. This is also the bit I am most looking forward to seeing in the edit.

My group worked effectively as a team, we each had our own input to the production, which benefited the video in different ways. Max came up with some great ideas for shots and gave very good direction to the actors, whilst Ksenia worked brilliantly on art direction, making our video and the actors in it look as good as possible.

After the shoot I now understand how on future shoots I need to work more swiftly in between shots. This will speed up the process and leave more time for creativity. The more footage captured the better the video is likely to be. 

Location Shoot

The shoot began at 10:00am where I met josh gracie and the rest of the team to begin discussing our plan for the day. Josh and gracie told us about some interesting urban locations, which suited our ideas very well. 

Josh and Gracie performed a quick rehearsal of the dance, during this we confirmed some key moments where we wanted to use particular shots, for the rest we would simply capture a wide, some mid shots and close ups. Once this was done we headed to the location which we presumed would be most difficult; This was next to the Millenium bridge, on southbank. The main issue we faced here was the people. We had to frequently ask people if they could walk around, in order to avoid having people in the background. We also gathered a large crowd as we were filming, this slowed down our process slightly, however it was not a big issue as the dancers are used to performing infornt of a crowd.

Our second location was the pier. Here we chose to film Josh, solo, for the opening and then the two together for a moment later on in the video. We captured a variety of shots, including some wides with a 25mm lens, the rest was captured on a 50mm 1.4, giving a very shallow depth of field. this caused us slight trouble when trying to stay in focus with the frantic actions. We only shot handheld to support the movement, this was stabilized using a shoulder rig. We started with the wide, the moved to mediums, close ups, then we were able to get creative by shooting specific camera moves and picking out key details in the dance.

We then moved to our final location, which was the most urban looking place. The dance here was most energetic as it will be featured towards the end of the song. I took a directorial role at this point. And ensured the chemistry between the dancers followed our intentions and the mood of the song. I then decided to shoot a quick narritive sequence we had planned, where the dancers run behnd a wall, go in for a kiss then the boy throws the girls face away. This establishes the breakdown of the relationship. We found a brilliant set of stairs to shoot this on. And with a few takes of this, this shoot was finished.

I believe we captured everything we intended, plus a few extra creative shots we hadn't planned. It was a successful shoot with very few problems, and the ones we did come across, we managed to overcome very quickly.

location Recce

The night before the shoot I decided to visit the locations to work out their suitability for shooting. I discovered a lot in this trip. I firstly visit ed the Tate modern, where i realised that shooting here was not possible. There was a large exhibition in the centre which would look very interesting on camera although left much less space to dance, there was insufficient lighting, people everywhere, and and shooting permit was required to film here. Therefore I walked around southbank to find some more places that would provide a good backdrop for the dance. 

I took a look at some areas down southbank and captured in interesting picture of a great spot lookng out over the thames, st pauls and millenium bridge. I could visualise the dance taking place here. The only issue would be controlling the people. We will need to ensure no pedestrians walk into the frame and disturb our filming because this will ruin the shot and slow down our filming process.

The tide was in as I scouted the locations, revealing the beach. I though this may be interesting place to film, close to the water. However I couldn't guarantee whether the tide would be in or out the next day. Furthermore i discussed this location with the dancers and they said it would be difficult for them to execute their movements on this rough pebble beach, therefore this location is not likely to be used. 

It soon became quite dark and was then difficult to find more locations. However we have planned to arrive early to the shoot in order to organise where else we can film.

Researching the conventions of homepages

Before we create a website for our band. We researched websites by similar artists to ours. Here we each chose an artist I chose the band behind our chosen song: 'Daughter". We then reviewed each website and discovered any particularly noticeable layouts structures and styles. We then brought all of our information together to compare and contrast the similarities between them. We will use this to inspire the creation of our own website.

Shoot date - Potential issues.

We have now confirmed our shoot day to be Friday 13th November. On a traditionally unlucky day, we were faced with some bad luck. We discovered that our Dancers, due to College assessments could not get to the studio on the day of the shoot. This was a major issue, that left us feeling quite downhearted, we thought we may have to change our music video idea. However we decided that it would be possible to shoot on location in London, Filming the same idea, but situated in certain areas of southbank. Here we would have much more freedom with the dance, no confinements of a room allowing for much more creative movements, using the surroundings. This would further make the shots more interesting, as the background of London would give a cinematic and exciting edge to the video.

We have taken this obstacles and turned it into a positive as we feel our video may now be much more interesting than it was previously. We then began to consider locations, we decided that it would be best to pick 2-3 in order to boost the amount of time we can spend at each spot. Then we can make things easy in the edit by having a wide variety of different angles.
We took a look at some images to inspire our location ideas:

 Southbank Riverside Walkway       

This is a brilliant location however its main issue is the people walking past. Filming on a Sunday, it is likely to be be busy and I know from previous experience that it is very difficult to ensure no passers by look at the camera or stop to watch the dancers. This would break the world of the video, where someone can dance in the street without anyone looking twice. Therefore if we were going to film here we would have to go close to the rail in order to avoid capturing pedestrians in the frame. The way we envisaged the dance was with no people in the background, with the intention of creating a visual look of London without the people - almost deserted space in their heads, the only focus will be on their dancing, and the cinematic backgrounds.

 Southbank Pier       

This Pier just a further walk down southbank allows for excellent composition in the frame. The horizontal and vertical lines will be a great indication of tranquility and lead our eyes directly to the subject at the start of the film. This leading pier suggests a journey and can initially establish a a sense of direction to kickstart the video. It also features a picturesque background of London and the Thames. The side barriers would also be great tool for the dancers to use in their dance. This is where the first section of the video and perhaps the end may be located.

 Tate Modern - Turbine Hall        

After some thought, Turbine hall was suggested as a possible location. This is tricky as it would look very effective and exciting although a variety of issues arise if we were to shoot here. Firstly there would be a lot of people around perhaps watching and slowing things down. We may not get permission to film in here. and There could possibly be an exhibition in there. I plan to take a trip to London the day prior to the shoot and scout eachLocation in order to ensure nothing is left to chance on the day.

we had a further discussion with Josh and Gracie and asked them where would be the best place for them to perform, they responded with some location ideas, where they could effectively use the structures in place, such as rails walls, and stairs. They suggested that the lyrics infer darker themes therefore towards the end of the video as the dance gets more violent, the locations should become more urban and darker reflecting the breakdown of their relationship. They suggested an interesting location featuring graffiti and a beaten, eroding, rough textured wall in the background. The location is also deserted and ideal for them to perform an energetic climatic dance section in the video.

copyright Authority

In order to legally create our music video and publish it on you tube we needed to go through the process of licensing the song. Daughter are signed to 4AD, therefore we found their email from their website and contacted them through email, requesting permission to use the song.

Props/ costumes.

Here is a list of the props, necessary for our shoot, and the costumes which we intend the actors to wear. Having this list ensures that nothing is left to chance on the day.