Class Feedback

In todays lesson we got our media class to watch our video so far as we are very close to finishing, so wanted feedback on how we could improve what we have so far in order to create a higher quality product. They all agreed that the continuity of the black and white  is aesthetically pleasing and links in well with our indie/alternative genre as well as the flow of the shots as they are all in order and the locations transition well.

Video of some of the feedback:

However, when shown to our audience and as highlighted below they agreed that it doesn't make sense that it switches from the protagonist wearing a coat to not and then back again, but we adapted our idea and thought it would make more sense to have the video showing a passing of time of her reminiscing rather than it being set in one day. As well as this they said that some of the clips lag a little. 

How our ideas have developed

Since we started the initial planning of our video our ideas have changed a lot. I feel like our initial ideas were very cliche and we thought that this was the best way to get our narrative across, however we have moved away from this as our video has developed as we wanted our video to be relatable  to our audience and we felt that by making it stereotypical and over the top wasn't the best way to do this as it isn't what happens in real life. We have focused a lot on our video being natural and emphasising this through the settings and the way we have represented our protagonist. We have used the same locations we had initially chosen such as the beach, the woods, Ottery St Mary and the abandoned warehouse but the shots have changed quite a bit since creating our storyboard and animatic. Our narrative is still based on a break-up, but when doing our pitch our audience said our initial ideas weren't clear enough so this is something we have also worked on. I think our developed ideas work well and flow a lot better than our initial ideas would have and that we were too ambitious at the start, as we want to make a product that appeals to our audience.

When creating our animatic we also highlighted that close-up shots are a common convention of music videos and that we were going to include. However, we decided not to use any as we are representing women as one and she is more of a symbol rather than an object.

Draft of Video

This is a draft of our music video so far. We have edited most of our footage now, however there is still one last location to film which is the woods. We have also started to reverse some of the shots when the music starts to change towards the end which I think is really effective and reflects back on the rest of the video, but we are still yet to overlay some of the footage as we need the wood shots first otherwise the footage would start to become repetitive. 

Audience Feedback of our work so far

Positives:

• Like the idea of reversing and overlaying shots a it works well with the music
• Like the footage we have gathered from the abandoned warehouse- very aesthetic
• Sun set shots are good and emphasises time of day
• Car shots are good transitions

Improvements:

• Making sure that the contrast is similar throughout to keep continuity 
• Try and use shots that haven't yet been used to overlay with the others otherwise it's be repetitive
• Maybe add another clip at end to make ending clearer
• Change font to fit genre 

Digipak So Far & Feedback

This is my digipak so far. I have used a picture from the forest looking up so it links in with the theme of autumn and my front cover. I then added a white gradient and gradually changed the opacity so that it gets lighter and lighter, similar to what I did with my front cover. This meant that I was then able to add the text and it would be easy to read, without there being too much contrast. I have included the clouds as i wanted to see how it looked, as I am thinking about using a series of three images so it all links together.I then got audiences feedback for my work so far.

The image used for the back cover is not my own and found off the internet, I am using it for draft purposes only to see how the idea works.

Front Cover:

• Like the opacity 
• Maybe add a shadow behind letter to make them bolder
• Like the minimalistic design- links to genre
• Like the black and white theme throughout- all links together

Back Cover:

• Change the gradient- add a bit more so you can see the end of the words
• Fit the sentence onto one row
• Change opacity of letters so it blends in better

By getting audience feedback it ensures that my products are the best they can be and are aimed at my target audience by taking on board their feedback. 

Weather for Filming- Abandoned Warehouse

On Thursday 8th of February, we are hoping to go and film at an abandoned warehouse in Exmouth. We are aiming to film at around 1-3pm, but because the roof has collapsed it is all open air, so in order to film we will need to film it on a dry, bright day in order to keep the shots similar throughout the video.

As you can see the weather should be dry so if the weather stays like this then we will be able to film and get some good shots throughout the warehouse and of the light peering in, which will also help when the clips are black and white as we should be able to get a good contrast.

Risk Assessment for Abandoned Warehouse

This is a risk assessment for the abandoned warehouse. After checking the location out before filming it is safe to film in and as long as we warn our actors about the surroundings and everybody is aware then there aren't any high risks.

Shotlist for Sidmouth

Scene	Shot	Characters
Swing moving	Close up	-
Both sat on swings talking (break up)	Side shot from swings	Protagonist and love interest
Taking phone out of pocket and checking photo	Over the shoulder- pull focus	protagonist
Clouds- Shows passing of time	Low angle shot looking up	-
Beach huts	pan	-
Establishing shot of beach	pan	-
Walking up stairs- Jacobs Ladder	Tracking shot	Protagonist
Walking back down	Still shot from behind	Protagonist
Walking on rocks	Still shot from behind	Protagonist
Sat on rocks	Pan	Protagonist
View from car	Still shot	-

This is shotlist of what w are planning on filming in sidmouth to give us a clear idea of what we need to film and where, as well as the order it'll need to be in. We will also include other shots if we think more is needed and adapt it accordingly.