Whilst searching some information on Supergrass the other day I found the complete lyrics to La Song which we did not manage to find whils shooting the video. It would have been useful if we had found these earlier as the miming would have then been more accurate however we cannot change it now.
Well they lead us from the ruin of fables,
And we drink ourselves right under the tables,
Push a needle into yesterday's papers
Then they tell us that they love us and hate us
Deliver us from feelings of hatred
You know, it's going to kill us sooner or later
Lead us from the ruin of fables
As they're climbing up the towers of Babel
You've got to get inside and feel love
Well they lead us from the ruin of fables,
See inside ourselves and what we are made of,
Well come along and stick on the labels
And do the dance of the cash potato
They're kindest when they tell us they hate us
Because we're super fragilistically aimless
Well they lead us from the ruin of fables,
And the goddess of Assyrian angels.
You've got to get inside and feel love
Friday, 27 November 2009
Ancillary Products
For the last few lessons we have been working on our digipak and magazine advert. Our final digipak varied slightly from our initial idea but we kept many of the main elements including the use of a textured background and ensuring all text saying 'Supergrass' was in capitals. We spent a majority of our time working on the digipak as this was a larger project as it involved us producing both the inside and outside cover for a six panel gate fold template. We attempted to keep the design simple as we had not spent much time planning for it earlier in our project which put a lot of pressure on us to do it quickly which may have impacted the overall outcome of both pieces. As we produced our digipak first we tried to link it to our video using images taken from test footage and the finished piece placed on the back outside panel. We then also included text around the images explaining what can be found in the digipak. We looked at several digipak cases and information that was included on the back cover and from this got the idea to put information such as the colour format, disc lengths and language of the disc which we felt added a more professional feel to the finished product.
On the inside we produced a track listing on the central panel and then used individual photographs of each of us standing in a band members to represent the band. We then edited the photos using photoshop changing the colour and adding filters. These were aimed to be hidden behind the two discs which would be placed over the top so they were not always on display. We had hoped to show where the discs were going to be placed by producing some form of marking on the cover however we ran out of time as we did not manage to get to this stage until the last lesson where our main focus was the magazine advert.
Our magazine advert tried to continue some of the ideas found on the digipak. I decided by chance to take some 'green space' photo's while we were doing our individual photographs just in case we wanted to use something like this in our magazine advert as it could be used as a good base. Me and Adam then took the decision that as we did not have much time left we would use one of these photo's and edited some of the colours in photoshop before adding more layers and information. Trying to keep all our products linked we placed the crest we designed centrally to our image which looked quite nice as there was also a gap in the trees here. We also then used the same text we had used on the outside of our digipak to write a majority of the information relating to the product including the release date and product information such as discs included and the download. We then looked at other magazine adverts and decided to include 'quotations' from well known music magazines and newspapers attempting to give it a more realistic feel. We had initially wanted to include something along the lines of a star rating but could not find an easy way to do this so had to compromise.
Overall I am very pleased with the outcome of both our ancillary products although I think we could have benefited from taking some time to lay down ideas earlier in the project. The magazine advert was very rushed as we had not planned our time too well and were only working on one project at a time. Our finished products would have benefited from being worked on at the same time using two computers but as we failed to do this we had to work quickly. On the whole though I think the finished products are very good and relate well to each other and also to the general feel of the video and also some of the work that Supergrass have done as a band themselves.
On the inside we produced a track listing on the central panel and then used individual photographs of each of us standing in a band members to represent the band. We then edited the photos using photoshop changing the colour and adding filters. These were aimed to be hidden behind the two discs which would be placed over the top so they were not always on display. We had hoped to show where the discs were going to be placed by producing some form of marking on the cover however we ran out of time as we did not manage to get to this stage until the last lesson where our main focus was the magazine advert.
Our magazine advert tried to continue some of the ideas found on the digipak. I decided by chance to take some 'green space' photo's while we were doing our individual photographs just in case we wanted to use something like this in our magazine advert as it could be used as a good base. Me and Adam then took the decision that as we did not have much time left we would use one of these photo's and edited some of the colours in photoshop before adding more layers and information. Trying to keep all our products linked we placed the crest we designed centrally to our image which looked quite nice as there was also a gap in the trees here. We also then used the same text we had used on the outside of our digipak to write a majority of the information relating to the product including the release date and product information such as discs included and the download. We then looked at other magazine adverts and decided to include 'quotations' from well known music magazines and newspapers attempting to give it a more realistic feel. We had initially wanted to include something along the lines of a star rating but could not find an easy way to do this so had to compromise.
Overall I am very pleased with the outcome of both our ancillary products although I think we could have benefited from taking some time to lay down ideas earlier in the project. The magazine advert was very rushed as we had not planned our time too well and were only working on one project at a time. Our finished products would have benefited from being worked on at the same time using two computers but as we failed to do this we had to work quickly. On the whole though I think the finished products are very good and relate well to each other and also to the general feel of the video and also some of the work that Supergrass have done as a band themselves.
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Initial Ideas
For the cover of our digipak we are considering using a shot that is in our video as it is simple and also fits with the general imagery used on Supergrass products. We are going to use a gate fold design which we can either create ourselves or find a template for on the internet. The front cover is going to have the main image on it along with the title of the album and SUPERGRASS designed in photo
shop. When you open the Digipak there will be a CD on the left hand panel and directly facing you an emblem that we are going to design. When you then open it completely there will be four pictures on the middle panel, one of each band member (us) and possibly a short description or piece of writing underneath each. There will also be another CD on the right hand panel. On the back of the digipak there will be the track listings and the information about the DVD.
Supergrass' album covers are generally very simple with minimal writing on the front. Their name is always in capital letters no matter what style the writing is in and we intend to make sure we keep to this element of their advertising. Bright colours are also often used most probably because they catch people attention although this is more evident in the magazine adverts rather than on Digipaks. Most of Supergrass' covers also show at least one band member on it somewhere whether it's a cartoon or photograph and using an image of Adam on the sofa sticks to this.
This is the general design we intend to use for our digipak however because we're including two discs rather than one inner panel 1 will hold another CD. Also, one of the folds will need to be twice as thick as the other to accommodate for the extra disc.
We are also now considering making an illustration of the picture we want to use for our front cover and placing it over the top of a redy-brown textured background which will be used as the background colour over the whole digipak.
shop. When you open the Digipak there will be a CD on the left hand panel and directly facing you an emblem that we are going to design. When you then open it completely there will be four pictures on the middle panel, one of each band member (us) and possibly a short description or piece of writing underneath each. There will also be another CD on the right hand panel. On the back of the digipak there will be the track listings and the information about the DVD.Supergrass' album covers are generally very simple with minimal writing on the front. Their name is always in capital letters no matter what style the writing is in and we intend to make sure we keep to this element of their advertising. Bright colours are also often used most probably because they catch people attention although this is more evident in the magazine adverts rather than on Digipaks. Most of Supergrass' covers also show at least one band member on it somewhere whether it's a cartoon or photograph and using an image of Adam on the sofa sticks to this.
This is the general design we intend to use for our digipak however because we're including two discs rather than one inner panel 1 will hold another CD. Also, one of the folds will need to be twice as thick as the other to accommodate for the extra disc.
We are also now considering making an illustration of the picture we want to use for our front cover and placing it over the top of a redy-brown textured background which will be used as the background colour over the whole digipak.
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Digipak
We have just started thinking about what we are going to put in to our Digipak and the layout we are going to use for it. Rather than doing a simple DVD case we are thinking about making a 6 panel pack so that part of it folds out. We are also considering leaving two spaces for discs; one for the CD and another for a DVD of our video.
There is an image in our video of Adam which we are thinking of taking on a stills camera and using on the cover. It's a simple image in which he is sat on a sofa and the room looks empty yet still appears to have things going on.
There is an image in our video of Adam which we are thinking of taking on a stills camera and using on the cover. It's a simple image in which he is sat on a sofa and the room looks empty yet still appears to have things going on.
Our view on feedback
Overall we agree with the feedback based on Goodwin's analysis. Our lyrics didn't appear to have much meaning about them other than people messing around and our video tries to portray this image. Generally this is an accurate analysis of our video emphasizing on the more positive aspects of the finished piece.
Peer Goodwin Feedback
the video displayed some genre characteristics of an indie style band with the performance from the lead singer and the party atmosphere throughout the video.
the relationship between the music and the visuals is quite illustrative. When the long shots at the beginning when the music is slow and the faster cuts as the music speeds up.
there isn't much of a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals but this is because the lyrics don't really say much.
the demands of the record label will be met because there are lots of shots of the lead singer.
their is a reference to the notion of looking when he looks at the video on the camera.
In conclusion, this was a good video with its demands met. The end added an element of humour with the person in the spider man outfit lost in a field, this is also quite surreal and clever.
GRoup 30
the relationship between the music and the visuals is quite illustrative. When the long shots at the beginning when the music is slow and the faster cuts as the music speeds up.
there isn't much of a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals but this is because the lyrics don't really say much.
the demands of the record label will be met because there are lots of shots of the lead singer.
their is a reference to the notion of looking when he looks at the video on the camera.
In conclusion, this was a good video with its demands met. The end added an element of humour with the person in the spider man outfit lost in a field, this is also quite surreal and clever.
GRoup 30
Monday, 16 November 2009
Deadline
Today was the deadline for our music video. We finished the editing today and altered what had been done on the video last week slightly. We changed the ending so that there was an extra shot before the final clip of someone in a field so that we could include ambient sound to finish it off completely. Overall we are please with the outcome of our video however I think there are a few issues with continuity that i think we could of addressed if we had had the time. I am pleased we did not have to rush today as it allowed us to look carefully at what footage we had to be able to produce something relevant and appropriate to the genre of our song fitting with the beat of the music and complying to many of Goodwin's conventions.
Thursday, 12 November 2009
Editing Miming
As we finally got some footage of miming that we thought was appropriate for our video I spent a few hours this evening uploading and editing footage. I experimented with the different shots we had changing between mid-shots, close ups and extremem close ups. This added interest to our video and allowed for variation throughout. I also tried different shots using the different gels but settled on mainly using the shots with the yellow gel although I did include some footage using a green gel and some where no light was used at all. As we werre uncertain on some of the words in the lyrics due to not being able to find a complete set of them on the internet anywhere I had to be careful as to which parts of the video I put the miming in, however it also had to fit with the rough outline we already had laid out.
Over the time I spent editing the video together I have managed to fill in all the gaps we had in our video and have produced what could be seen as a 'finished' piece. However, I can see there is a lot more work we could do on the footage that is in there and I think some of the transitions between the shots need to be improved. I think this s what we need to focus on as a group in our next lesson as at the end of that lesson it is our deadline. Hopefully we will all be happy with the overall finished product. Spending this extra time on editing has also meant that we can possibly look at special effects and filters in our final lesson if everyone is happy with the edit we have at the moment.
Over the time I spent editing the video together I have managed to fill in all the gaps we had in our video and have produced what could be seen as a 'finished' piece. However, I can see there is a lot more work we could do on the footage that is in there and I think some of the transitions between the shots need to be improved. I think this s what we need to focus on as a group in our next lesson as at the end of that lesson it is our deadline. Hopefully we will all be happy with the overall finished product. Spending this extra time on editing has also meant that we can possibly look at special effects and filters in our final lesson if everyone is happy with the edit we have at the moment.
Third attempt at shooting miming
Today me and Adam re-shot our miming again in my house to see if we could get a better effect and fit for our video. We experimented using different gels in the light and using no gel at all to see which effects we liked best. We also tried using different angles with the camera filming with it on the tripod and held in our hands and tracking around the house. This gave different impressions for the viewer and added variety to the video. Overall we were pleased with the outcome of our filming and how it fitted with what was already in our video. As it was shot in a house it was more appropriate to what we already had and the fact that we used rooms that had already been used in our video allowed for it to link better in the end.
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
Miming
Today we tried to edit the performance of miming we have shot in to our video. As we shot it in college we were hoping it would look alright but it doesn't really fit with everything else we have shot and we need to film it again. We have tomorow off college and are going to shoot during the day and then edit it again in the evening. Hopefully it will work better this time as the main problem with the shots we had was that the background was too empty compared to everything else we had since it was just a blank wall and Adam's upper body. We thought we could edit out some of the bits at the side such as the edge of a board and a blind to make it ft better but as our video has quite a lot going on in it the blankness of the background is just generally unfitting to the rest of the video. We have less than a week to go on the filming and editing of the video so hopefully shooting tomorow will work better and we can use that.
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Green Screen&Light writing
These are some images that I have taken during the attempt of our "light writing". We used the green background to be able to produce the light writing that we will also be going to attempt to do on our own, creating the combination from our album cover which has light writing included in it. The main idea that we have come up with is to have the chorus lyrics of the song written in light writing behind Adam whilst he sings along with it, as well as have some of the chorus on its own.
We have had a few problems with the whole light writing such as the light getting on the way and creating shadows which completely ruined the green screen, also we actually needed to see this process work before hand. Therefore after our first shoot we did not hesitate to wait and edit, so that we were able to see what other dilemas we were going to have to deal with and or what we should really avoid.
The idea was all too great and would have been a great accomplishment as the light writing was going to be the convention that would have linked our album and song together. However, due to less time and the risk of having an unfinished music video, after viewing what we have tried to do with the green screen, we came to a decision that would be most realisticly speaking the best conclusion.Monday, 9 November 2009
Gels
These pictures show the different gels we used with the lights and the different effects they created. We wanted to show on our blog how each different gel gave a different 'mood' such as the red makes it quite aggressive whereas the yeallow appears happy. We have used all the gels and even mixed some of them using two at a time to create different colours and effects throughout our video.
When thinking about the press pack cover design i decided to research the the existing supergrass album artwork for inspiration and also to see if there are any consistent conventions that feature frequently in supergrass' album artwork.
video filters and modifications
filters and modifications we have used so far in our edited rough cut video are:
fade in and out
cross dissolve
slow motion
rewind
fast forward
we changed the speed around
fade in and out
cross dissolve
slow motion
rewind
fast forward
we changed the speed around
editing
At the moment our editing is going really well, we still have not got all the footage we are going to require, we still have some dancing footage to cut down. we still need to shoot the majority of our performance, however we have a good week where we have Wednesday afternoon, Thursday all day and Friday morning off, this we can use to our advantage as we can do some more filming on wednesday and more editing in the evening, this is also good as we can give and example on the induction nights.
La song lyrics revised
When i came to miming the lyrics of La song By supergrass i found that many of the lyrics had simply been left out. This threw me as i tried to mime words i couldn't visualize, so we decided to listen to the song and revise the lyrics, the revised lyrics may not necessarily correct but the certainly sound right and help the song flow.
Well we're lead us to the ruin of fables
As we drink ourselves right under the tables
Well you need an end to yesterday's papers
and tell us that they love us and hate us
well, lead us into feelings and hating, whoo
Cos they're gonna kill us sooner or later
Yeah we really ran and ruined the fables
we're just a climbing up the tower of Ables
la-la, la-la, la-la, gotta get inside feeling
la-la, la-la, la-la, gotta get inside feeling
Well they meet in the ruin of fables
They see inside ourselves and what we are made of
Come along and stick on a label
We do the dance of the mashed potato
well the carol gonna tell us they ate us
Cos they're superfragilistically-anus
well they ran and ruined a fables
its just the goddess city of angels
la-la, la-la, la-la, gotta get inside feeling
la-la, la-la, la-la, gotta get inside feeling
la-la, la-la, la-la, gotta get inside feeling
la-la, la-la, la-la, gotta get inside feeling
Well we're lead us to the ruin of fables
As we drink ourselves right under the tables
Well you need an end to yesterday's papers
and tell us that they love us and hate us
well, lead us into feelings and hating, whoo
Cos they're gonna kill us sooner or later
Yeah we really ran and ruined the fables
we're just a climbing up the tower of Ables
la-la, la-la, la-la, gotta get inside feeling
la-la, la-la, la-la, gotta get inside feeling
Well they meet in the ruin of fables
They see inside ourselves and what we are made of
Come along and stick on a label
We do the dance of the mashed potato
well the carol gonna tell us they ate us
Cos they're superfragilistically-anus
well they ran and ruined a fables
its just the goddess city of angels
la-la, la-la, la-la, gotta get inside feeling
la-la, la-la, la-la, gotta get inside feeling
la-la, la-la, la-la, gotta get inside feeling
la-la, la-la, la-la, gotta get inside feeling
making a youtube account
to help with are blogs we decided to make our group a you tube account so that encoding videos would be easier. this is a print screen of our account :)
Our Green Screen Practice Video
this is our footage that we practiced for green screen, however due to the amount of time we have left we have decided to concentrate on getting the performance footage without green screen, as this would be too much to concentrate on, we thought it would be best to shoot the footage with "stuff" going on behind Adam instead as this will be easier to edit and less time consuming.
Green Screening
We have started filming our performance if the singing. While discussing this we decdided we wanted to try green screening behind the singer so we could have several options as to what we could do with it. We have now filmed Adam singing and our initial idea is to try putting light painting behind Adam using lyrics and shapes as appropriate.
Using footage like this requires us to take the camera out for another over night slot as this must be shot in the dark. However we are not making this decision until we have tested some already shot footage on the green screen. If this does not work we were thinking of using some of the shadow puppets we have shot although we also have the opportunity to shoot it again. This is an idea were are interested in developing in to our video.
While doing the green screen we had several problems as we had to use a large piece of material there were creases and some of the material was a different shad of green to the others. Also, as we used a light there were shadows cast on the screen. Both of these variations in colour could affect how well our green screen works and may involve us needing to re-film it. Adam was also slightly unsure of the words to the song and when they came up as parts of the song ar mumbled and it's very dfficult to find a website with all the lyrics due to this. This made it quite difficult to film it straight away as we had to listen through the song several times to fill in the gaps in our lyrics.
Overall I think shooting the miming on a green screen was a good idea and even if it doesn't work out we have other options for the performance.
Using footage like this requires us to take the camera out for another over night slot as this must be shot in the dark. However we are not making this decision until we have tested some already shot footage on the green screen. If this does not work we were thinking of using some of the shadow puppets we have shot although we also have the opportunity to shoot it again. This is an idea were are interested in developing in to our video.
While doing the green screen we had several problems as we had to use a large piece of material there were creases and some of the material was a different shad of green to the others. Also, as we used a light there were shadows cast on the screen. Both of these variations in colour could affect how well our green screen works and may involve us needing to re-film it. Adam was also slightly unsure of the words to the song and when they came up as parts of the song ar mumbled and it's very dfficult to find a website with all the lyrics due to this. This made it quite difficult to film it straight away as we had to listen through the song several times to fill in the gaps in our lyrics.
Overall I think shooting the miming on a green screen was a good idea and even if it doesn't work out we have other options for the performance.
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Filming Miming
Today we filmed to get an idea of what green screening. We have only just decided to do this and are not sure if we are actually going to use it in the finished piece. We have several ideas as to what we could use on the green screen possibly giving our video a slightly different feel, although we still want it to be clear what our genre is. Although we decided to film our miming today using the green screen we had not planned for this and were not completely prepared. We were not totally certain on the lyrics and had to listen to the song several times before we felt ready to film. This took up quite a large part of our filming time and therefore we did not get all the shots we wanted. We also encountered issues with the lights and shadows on the screen but we are going to have to wait and see if this affects the footage in the end. I think if we had planned our time better we would of been able to make better use of our time and film more footage giving us a greater range to choose from. It could also of given us a chance to look over our footage and see what we needed to change or improve and allowed us the time to do all of this giving us better footage in the end. However we did not do this and if we decide to use the green screen I think we will need to re-film several parts of the miming.
Monday, 2 November 2009
Improvements
video by Calvin Harris - Flashback
came across this new video that is out now by Calvin Harris and added it as coincidentally it is exactly what our groups pitch was portraying, for example trying to create, "whats behind the next door" look and as Calvin picks up a photo the morning after it flashbacks, he also is picking up weird objects and is thinking "what happened? why is this here?". In the flashbacks to the photos its clips of friends just hanging out,answering the door, dancing, which are all clips the group have already gathered in our rough cut.
obviously showing camerawork of the band singing and playing instruments are clips the group still needs to film and we have discussed what we need to do and are in the process of gathering the missing footage, the video is showing close ups of Calvin singing, comparing it to our music video we will have close up shots of Adam singing.
knowing the biggest improvement we need to make on our video is to gather the clips of the band, there are a few aspects we could change to make it better, for example more editing with the dancing clips as this is really long at the moment, when we get the rest of our footage it will make it easier to edit all types of clips in and out of each other with contrasting transitions, we also have feedback to make the "past" images appear quicker.
we need to make sure the footage is on time with the beats and rhythm in the music properly.
our bridge is really good at the moment we just need to fill in all the blanks around this section of the video.
Summary of Teacher feedback comments
1) Camera / Mise
angle 'shifts' on arrival are affective.
majority of mid and long shots - but youv'e planned performance with close up.
2) editing
effective dissolves to introduce the characters on the morning after the night before.
the edit that introduces the flasback is a great idea - but the 'post' image needs to appear quicker to be in time with the music.
'cut into' lines more - you don't need to just cut at the end of the line.
3) Genre
party concept is entirely appropriate for expectation of the genre
4) Missing
performance - with close ups of the performers. more shots of instruments
parallel edits to performance to cut into shots (green lit section to long at the moment)
angle 'shifts' on arrival are affective.
majority of mid and long shots - but youv'e planned performance with close up.
2) editing
effective dissolves to introduce the characters on the morning after the night before.
the edit that introduces the flasback is a great idea - but the 'post' image needs to appear quicker to be in time with the music.
'cut into' lines more - you don't need to just cut at the end of the line.
3) Genre
party concept is entirely appropriate for expectation of the genre
4) Missing
performance - with close ups of the performers. more shots of instruments
parallel edits to performance to cut into shots (green lit section to long at the moment)
Summary Of Peer Feedback Comments
1) Quality of footage - camerawork, mise-en-scene etc.
really good, nice angles and framing.
high angle shot from stairs gives a really good point of view shot
mise-en-scene is good - bottles, lots of people.
good camera shots - loved the begining - close up of the four faces - liked asleep in field
good camerawork and mise-en-scene really effective with the song and gives a good idea of whats going on.
great use of lighting against the wall and the pan with the red light, good atmosphere and good sense of story with the zooming.
2) use of transitions : editing types : order
use of speed up of footage was effective also the bit with the camera linked how the narrative, worked well backwards from first couple of shots
really liked the transition from image off the camera at the begining
all different speeds were great - liked the coloured gels with dancing.
3) evidence of conventions. which ones? which genre?
costumes and props was appropriate for target audience (teenagers)
spiderman cosgtume - good for genre - funny
4) what is missing? what could be added? changed?
obviousy there is space to fill, but what group has done so far is awsome. could try adding some filters to your footage to make shots evan more interesting.
just needs more footage edited in - but sure your not finished yet.
really good, nice angles and framing.
high angle shot from stairs gives a really good point of view shot
mise-en-scene is good - bottles, lots of people.
good camera shots - loved the begining - close up of the four faces - liked asleep in field
good camerawork and mise-en-scene really effective with the song and gives a good idea of whats going on.
great use of lighting against the wall and the pan with the red light, good atmosphere and good sense of story with the zooming.
2) use of transitions : editing types : order
use of speed up of footage was effective also the bit with the camera linked how the narrative, worked well backwards from first couple of shots
really liked the transition from image off the camera at the begining
all different speeds were great - liked the coloured gels with dancing.
3) evidence of conventions. which ones? which genre?
costumes and props was appropriate for target audience (teenagers)
spiderman cosgtume - good for genre - funny
4) what is missing? what could be added? changed?
obviousy there is space to fill, but what group has done so far is awsome. could try adding some filters to your footage to make shots evan more interesting.
just needs more footage edited in - but sure your not finished yet.