Another problem we encountered was exporting the finished video in a file that retained a high quality picture, but which wouldn't be too large a file to fit on to a memory stick. We needed to move the video over to another computer to upload it to the internet, as the iBook we were using didn't have an internet connection. We tried exporting as all the file types suggested by iMovie, however on all of them apart from the file type which was too large for our memory stick, the quality was much too low. As we didn't want to lose picture quality, we got around this by exporting the video as a large file and burning this file to a CD-R. We then copied this file onto another computer, and were then able to upload it as a large file with full quality retained.
Showing posts with label Production. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Production. Show all posts
Saturday, 9 April 2011
Editing
Editing the clip was where the music video really started to take shape, and for this task we used iMovie on an iBook G4 borrowed from schools Media Studies department. Whilst this software was good and allowed us to add all the effects we wanted to, it did cause some problems, chiefly in synching the performance to the music. We started editing the video in between days 1 and 2 of filming, so we started by adding the performance parts of the video to the timeline. We put them in place and got all the clips in synch with the music. However after we had filmed the conceptual, non-performance parts of the video and tried to edit them into place, each clip we put in pushed all the other clips out of synch. This meant that everything we'd edited previously was ineffective and was now completely out of synch. This created more problems in making it harder to discern how much of a clip we'd need to cut off for it to fit in place, however we got around it by noting down the times that clips would have to start and finish at for everything to be in synch, which allowed us to calculate how long the other clips we were putting in would have to be. This solved the problem of clips falling out of synch, however it was difficult to get everything into the right place still.
Filming: Day 2
Day 2 of the filming was for the none performance parts of the video. We filmed the shots that were pans over the collage and the shots with Mitch (the actor who did the non-performance parts of the video) and the masks. Shooting the pans of the collage was very simple, as we just took a few fairly long clips of the collage with the camera moving, knowing that we will be able to just cut the clip into small fragments and insert them where we want them in the video in the editing stage. For the shots of Mitch and the masks, we filmed separate shots of Mitch putting on each mask, taking each mask off, swapping each mask, and extended shots of him wearing each mask. This gave us all the shots we had planned for and gave us extra footage in case we need it to replace any segments that didn't work. This went well and we encountered no problems.
Filming: Day 1
Day 1 of the filming was to get the performance parts of the video filmed. We started off in the drama studio, filming the parts with Tom playing guitar. To set up before we filmed, we had to draw all the curtains around the walls and set up the lights. This involved setting up a lighting deck, for which we asked the 6th Form Performing Arts lighting technician for help with.
We set up the lights to light up the chair and the path from the side that Tom would follow, casting the rest of the room into relative darkness. We then started filming the first few shots. We had trouble with the first shot we wanted to do in which we wanted the camera to rotate around the chair by following the balcony, however we couldn't get a fast enough rotation without the camera being too shaky. Instead we opted for a stationary shot. Other problems we encountered at this point were of a similar nature, as we were unable to create the smooth movements we had desired. We tried balancing the tripod on tools for moving chairs around, however the tripod kept slipping off, so we settled for a handheld movement, trying to keep the camera as stable as possible. Another problem we encountered was in a shot in which the camera was supposed to start facing Tom playing guitar surrounded by smoke, start to rotate around him, then the smoke get too thick for the camera to see anything. However we couldn't get the smoke machine close enough to the centre of the room for the smoke to be thick enough for the camera to get lost in it there, so we decided we'd make a fade into the other shot with smoke and deal with the problem in the editing stage.
We set up the lights to light up the chair and the path from the side that Tom would follow, casting the rest of the room into relative darkness. We then started filming the first few shots. We had trouble with the first shot we wanted to do in which we wanted the camera to rotate around the chair by following the balcony, however we couldn't get a fast enough rotation without the camera being too shaky. Instead we opted for a stationary shot. Other problems we encountered at this point were of a similar nature, as we were unable to create the smooth movements we had desired. We tried balancing the tripod on tools for moving chairs around, however the tripod kept slipping off, so we settled for a handheld movement, trying to keep the camera as stable as possible. Another problem we encountered was in a shot in which the camera was supposed to start facing Tom playing guitar surrounded by smoke, start to rotate around him, then the smoke get too thick for the camera to see anything. However we couldn't get the smoke machine close enough to the centre of the room for the smoke to be thick enough for the camera to get lost in it there, so we decided we'd make a fade into the other shot with smoke and deal with the problem in the editing stage.
After filming the guitar performance parts, we moved to the music practice room to film the singing parts of the video. This went without problem, and other than those problems stated, shooting the performance parts of the video went well. To make sure that all the performance parts were in sync with the actual song, we took an mp3 player and a portable speaker to play whilst we were filming. This allowed Tom to be in the exact tempo of the song.
Friday, 8 April 2011
Creating the Digipak
To create the digipak, we took a still shot of props used int the music video. This is to create a common thread between the music video and the digipak, a common feature found throughout a lot of marketing of bands. We used a photo of the collage featured in the video with the two masks lying on top of it and a guitar neck going across it. When the photo was taken we put it onto photoshop and began editing it. The idea we had was that we would use the same photo for the front and back cover of the digipak and add different effects to them.
The first effect that we used on the picture was raising the contrast. This was an effect used a lot in the music video, therefore this created another link to the video. We also used filter effects to change the colours of the picture. Coupled with the deep shadows created by the high contrast, this created an effect shown above, where there were dashes of colour in places, surrounded by outlines of black. After this we put the text over the top. The text we chose was the name of the band at the top, and the name of the album at the bottom. This is a very common feature across all genres. We chose the font used to make it look like it was handwriting, as this correlates to the indie/acoustic feel of the band. However we had trouble making the text stand out, due to there being many colours in the background image. The solution we found to this was to add a black glow effect to the text, to give the text it's own background to stand out against. This was a technique we learned how to do from our previous practice with Photoshop when creating glowing lines, so our research into techniques definately helped with the creation of the digipak.
The first effect we used to create the back cover was to 'liquify' certain areas. This meant dragging parts of the picture across as if they were melting. We used this effect on the noses of the masks, to make it look as if the noses had grown. This was chosen because of the connotations of noses growing to stories such as Pinocchio, and the implication it made about the women in the collage behind the masks. The next effect we included was one to make the image look as if it had been drawn in wax. Coupled with the liquified effect, this created a good image to contrast with the front cover, yet still being of the same initial image.
The first effect that we used on the picture was raising the contrast. This was an effect used a lot in the music video, therefore this created another link to the video. We also used filter effects to change the colours of the picture. Coupled with the deep shadows created by the high contrast, this created an effect shown above, where there were dashes of colour in places, surrounded by outlines of black. After this we put the text over the top. The text we chose was the name of the band at the top, and the name of the album at the bottom. This is a very common feature across all genres. We chose the font used to make it look like it was handwriting, as this correlates to the indie/acoustic feel of the band. However we had trouble making the text stand out, due to there being many colours in the background image. The solution we found to this was to add a black glow effect to the text, to give the text it's own background to stand out against. This was a technique we learned how to do from our previous practice with Photoshop when creating glowing lines, so our research into techniques definately helped with the creation of the digipak.
The first effect we used to create the back cover was to 'liquify' certain areas. This meant dragging parts of the picture across as if they were melting. We used this effect on the noses of the masks, to make it look as if the noses had grown. This was chosen because of the connotations of noses growing to stories such as Pinocchio, and the implication it made about the women in the collage behind the masks. The next effect we included was one to make the image look as if it had been drawn in wax. Coupled with the liquified effect, this created a good image to contrast with the front cover, yet still being of the same initial image.
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