TB: Visual Ideas

I saw an interesting visual technique used in "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" (1998, Ritchie), at the end of the gambling scene when 'Eddy' has lost all of his money and is in serious debt. To emphasise the feelings of shock and hopelessness felt by the protagonist, a high angle shot of face has been used. A similar shot was also used in "Requiem For a Dream" (2000, Aronofsky) where the characters face is always the centre of the frame but the background surroundings are constantly in motion. In this case transitions have been used such as fades, as well as 'ghosting' which adds to the feeling of being out of control.
0.37 onwards

Group: Visual Effects

To reflect the abstract and disjunctive nature of the reality we are trying to portray in our music video, one of the scenes we wanted to do was where the antagonist would suddenly disappear. We decided to do this across a road when a car drives pass, to give some concealment of the figure. Through the help of the media technician we managed to do this by first importing both clips (one with the figure and car, and one without) into Photoshop CS3 and used a corner pin with transparency to align both pieces of footage exactly. Then we got the first piece of footage and applied a mask that was attached and followed the car as it drove across the screen. This meant as the car went passed it revealed the 2^nd image behind it which had no figure in it; giving the impression that he has disappeared.

Group: Update On Editing Process

We decided to stay afterschool to work on the editing of our music video in Premiere. We mainly worked on the second stage of our piece, where we see the protagonist travel through the streets of an urban location to meet his antagonist. Although we found some difficulties, with the computer crashing and some difficult editing sequences, I feel it went really well. However we realised that we need to re-do some of the footage as our group has to make it fit better.

TB: Print Work

My initial idea for my print work (Advert), was to make use of the strinking images stills featured in our music video.

Such as this image here. I feel that it is interesting, inriguing and fits in well the bands metanarrative. However, I was inspired by a blog which featured different alcohols magnified under a microscope.

http://www.amusingplanet.com/2010/06/alcohol-under-microscope.html

From this I decided to take my own photographs through the lens of a microscope of a section of a twig and a butterfly wing.
http://www.amusingplanet.com/2010/06/alcohol-under-microscope.html

I am going to try to edit this image in Photoshop to create a simple, yet strinking advert that would work well with Radiohead's band image.

Group: Evaluation of Editing

The coursework deadline is on Friday, so to edit efficiently is hugely important. We have done multiple filming sessions so the amount of footage we have shot has been very high. It is imperative that we select the shots that we will probably use and delete the ones that will certainly not feature, as this ensures the timeline is not too cluttered with an excessive amount of footage, which becomes confusing.

The editing so far has been largely successful. We have been pleased with the shots we have, which makes the task of editing simpler. We have cut footage precisely, being aware to cut when a specific beat in the music is noticeable. With more practise, our skill at doing this has increased significantly. Also, we have used a variety of tools on the editing software; 'Premiere Elements 9'. These include the use of 'time stretcher', which gives us the ability to speed up or slow down a shot for a specific purpose. The use of 'color balance' and similar effects provide our images with a sharper, more visually appealing look. It has the ability to make precise parts of a shot look better, by making the colour of the objects bolder, or fainter according to the look you wish to adopt. For example, we altered the saturation and added a darker look to one of the shots on the lilo, to connote a feeling of concern and trepidation to the viewer.

A challenge we face editing is the difficulty of getting it all completed before the deadline. There is a pressure to ensure there is continuity as we have a narrative based music video. Editing is a lengthy process, but to overcome this difficulty, we will as a group edit at lunch times, after school and during free periods to ensure we meet the deadline.

In evaluation, if we spend our time editing, we our confident that we can complete our music video and make it successful. Also, if we continue to include a variety of effects, we believe that our music video could be successful in creating an abstract and artistic look.

Group: Evaluation of Third Shoot 18/11/12

We went to London to film more of our music video. We spent 2 hours getting shots of the busy area in the capital, to show the part of the video in which our protagonist is preparing himself for work and walking through areas of London. This is an ideal location as it is a highly populated area and the buildings and scenery connote the business world.

We successfully filmed a variety of shots that included close ups, long shots, mid shots and establishing shots. We believe we can use some of these shots for our final piece, including one of our 6 key shots - the sped up shot of people within the area. The neagtives of the shoot was that it was not as productive as we had wished. We were informed that we were not allowed to film in a park so the number of shots we got were limited.

In conclusion, we would in the future be certain if we are allowed to film in an area before committing to that location. In contrast, the shots we did get will be used in our final piece and they were successful.

Feedback on blog

Boys, you need to ensure while you are editing that you update the blog regularly with screenshots, details of the techniques you are using, challenges you overcame, new ideas, reflection on what you have done and what you need to do to improve.