Photoshoot for Ancillary Products

abirmedia13's photostream on Flickr.

I have uploaded all of the potential selections from the 321 photographs taken on the photoshoot. Only a few of these will be used for the final product and this will then all be edited on Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Adobe Fireworks CS5 to create both products to go alongside the music video for promotional methods.

Blog Reflection - Week 14

This week we completed our music video. As our actor could not make it to any other date and he was the only person that we knew that was willing to do it, we had to make do with what we had, especially with the deadline kept in mind. As this was the case, the plans to go to a bridge in a park and a cinema were changed to just scenes in a park and in a school corridoor as this was in reach of us on the minimal time that we had left. Nonetheless, these scenes of the boyfriend looking upset and the flashbacks of the two of them hanging out worked very well and added an impact to the narrative that we were missing. Now the story of the two ex lovers has been told with more ease as both the lyrics and the visuals portray that to an even brighter light.

We also ended up filming some scenes of the female artist on her own as she reflects on the good times that she once had with her ex lover. This was not in the original script but it was added as it added a level of emotion that was not there initially. This helps to deliver the theme of a breakup as it is something that those that have just come out of a breakup do, reflect on their time together. Also, this helps the audience members that are fond of our artist for her issues on relationships as this highlights one of those issues.

Overall, I am very proud of the music video. It is at a level that I was hoping it would be on when planning it. Although it is not fully green screen like I had hoped, it is in fact more emotional and actually artistically better than I had initially planned as so much more emotion and readability is within it (as there are so many layers).

Next week my partner and I will be focusing on the ancillary products that will go side by side with the music video.

Call Sheet 8

Date and time: 

- 04/12/13 at 15:20

Location:

- Christie Gardens Park

Script scene no.s:

- 3, 4, 11 - 13, 22 - 24, 32 - 34, 45 - 47

Contributors:

- Jalbby Johnson and Jared Sinclair

Crew:

- Rianne Selina & Abir Mohammad 

Equipment:

- Camera, SD card and tripod.

Costume:

- Hair down, black cardigan with white design, black jeans and black top (girl) + black jacket and black trousers (boy).

Travel Arrangements: 

- Get Jared to come to school at 15:20 from Southend.

Call Sheet 7

Date and time: 

- 03/12/13 at 15:20

Location:

- Christie Gardens Park

Script scene no.s:

- n/a

Contributors:

- Jalbby Johnson  

Crew:

- Rianne Selina & Abir Mohammad 

Equipment:

- Camera, SD card and tripod.

Costume:

- White jacket, pink scarf, blue jeans and hair tied up.

Travel Arrangements: 

- None

Call Sheet 6

Date and time: 

- 02/12/13 at 13:00

Location:

- School Playground (lower school)

Script scene no.s:

- n/a

Contributors:

- Jalbby Johnson  

Crew:

- Rianne Selina & Abir Mohammad 

Equipment:

- Camera, SD card and tripod.

Costume:

- White jacket, pink scarf, blue jeans and hair tied up.

Travel Arrangements: 

- None

Blog Reflection - Week 13

After discussing with my partner about how to work with the inspiration we got from both Stuart Hall and Beyoncé, we decided on what it is that we were going to film exactly. During the week we came up with the idea to film the guy standing in front of a light coloured wall whilst dressed in dark colours. This use of mise-en-scene can allow the different readings to take place. The fact that he is dressed in black can connote that he is the one that is in the wrong as the dark colour symbolises that he has done something bad, due to it not being the most bright of colours. Also, the fact that the background is much lighter than his clothing can suggest the contrast between him and the girl that he has left behind when cheating. The girl, the artist, is the wall, and this can allow the consumers to understand that she is innocent, as white conveys innocence. Contradicting this view, an oppositional understanding may say that as the girl, the white wall, is much taller than the guy, she is the one that has placed this dark image, his clothing, on him. So summatively, she is the one that placed the blame and guilt on him, and she is not innocent but uses an image to make herself look as if she is. Also, this idea of incorporating him thinking about the past can show that he is upset.

Other than this my partner and I were given the chance to gain feedback on our draft. At this point there was no narrative as we had not filmed any so we completed the video with purely performance scenes on the stage, green screen and in the music studio. Many of our respondents stated that they were fond of the video and did give us some critical feedback. We have understood that more narrative is necessary and the lip syncing was not entirely perfect. However, people did comment on how our cutting to the beat was on point.

We have been planning on making more progress on the narrative scenes but unfortunately this week we have not been able to record with our artist or her on screen ex boyfriend as they have both been too busy with other commitments. We will try to record something before the end of next week so that our production is not held back. However, this week did not go to waste as a lot of planning went on and my partner and I manipulated some shots where the artist was not singing and placed them in the video, making it look like a deliberate pose so that the glamorous outlook can be visible.

How Beyoncé and Stuart Hall inspired my production

In this growing world of media, there are plenty of products that share a sense of similarity in one way or another. The video that my partner and I have been working on is amongst this 'clique' as the artist is a female R&B musician, much like the likes of Beyoncé. My partner and I looked at some videos and understood that there are certain conventions from them that we can include in our own work. Below is what we found in one of Beyoncé's productions:

Broken-Hearted Girl

The style of music video that this production has is both narrative and performance, which is exactly what our video is. Another similarity that the two production share is the fact that both of the videos tell the tale of a lover that is hurt by her ex-boyfriend, and the audience are enabled the opportunity to see the point of the view of the female's side. What I liked the most about this idea is that it plays with Stuart Hall's idea of different readings. The dominant reading is that the female is the one that has been played by her ex boyfriend and that she is the one that the audience must feel empathy towards. This is conveyed through her being the one singing and her being the one thinking of the times that the two of them spent together. Something that I noticed in this video is that there is very minimal chance for the consumers to understand what the other half of the situation (the man) is feeling. What I understand is that Beyoncé's team wants her to be an independent female that is representative of many women in today's world (see: 'Run The World (Girls)' music video). With this representation needing to be showcased, the lack of other POV's enabled her to be the dominant viewpoint in the video. What I would like to do with my project is have the dominant reading highlight how the female artist is the one in the right position so that her authority (as spoken about in the treatment) can be connoted through the amount of power that she holds. However, in order to get more people talking about the video, including more layers to the video can allow this to happen. The way that I plan on doing this is by including the opposing side (the male in the relationship) displaying his emotions about the situation. Nonetheless, although the guy will have more of a viewpoint, this does not mean that he gets to overtake the female, particularly in terms of the dominant reading. The artist will be singing throughout and will constantly be showcasing her feelings towards the situation, but I will slot in a few moments where her ex can be seen as upset. I will incorporate this by including a voiceover at the start of the couple fighting and the artist not listening to the guy's justification, as well as having a very small moment where he thinks about the good times that they had together. With this incorporated into the production, it leaves room for the consumers to ponder about whether the guy is right, the girl is right, or whether they are both on an equal playing field. This will then hopefully create a bit of hype through word of mouth so that the artist can be more noticed by the public.