Evaluation of reconstruction of a music video

1 second into the video (first camera shot) as you can see we needed to reconstruct the lighting, camera angle and distance of the shot. As you can see our shot wasn’t as good as the music video due to space.

Camera movement for the future 4 seconds: slightly to the left and downwards, then to the right slightly while it zooms towards the artist

 

 

This shot was hard to film due to the spacing within the room, and also the fast speed (zooms), although this was hard to film, I feel it worked well and looks like the shot from the official music video we chose to reconstruct.

5-7 seconds

here we can see the artists taking off a necklace.

As a group we would have preferred to film further away, this was last minute filming. We have learnt to do more planning and preparation for this task if it happened to occur again, as you can see the clothing and lighting is basically the same showing how the reconstruction has worked a little within this shot.

 8 seconds

9-10 seconds

11 seconds

Our version of these seconds and shots

(8-9 seconds)

(10-11 seconds)
 as you can see we have tried to reconstruct this to the exact seconds however it has been cut short, and we would have added this if we had more time to edit.


11-12 seconds

half way between 11 and 12 seconds this is the official shot within the music video

 

just over 12 seconds

 

we struggled to get the contract and lighting exact however, grace came up with an idea to cover the lense with a plastic wallet to give the blurred effect which I feel worked well within this shot.
 

13-14 seconds

Within this shot the actor we were using became tired and failed to reconstruct the scene fully as you can see in the music video we created, we therefore had to cut the video short and then extended this shot in slow motion to make the scene longer. The reconstruction isn’t exact as we missed a minor detail of which shoulder the jacket is taken off from.

15-17 seconds

    




We tried to reconstruct this scene by placing a torch in front of our actor, however is isn’t as bright as the official music video which was a fault of our own and also the  shot is blurred which isn’t the effect we wanted to create. This would have worked better if we had followed the actor while walking however due to lack of time we didn’t think about this.

18-19 seconds

this shot is less than a second long, of the artists singing while checking his phone, the location is very distinct and the lighting is dominant on the artist.

to recreate this we held a light in front of the actors face to show the dominance of the actor, we also looked at camera angles which we tried to recreate. There is no movement within this shot, we had to ensure the actor and artists were using the same lyrics within this scene so we did this on the editing suite to recreate this scene. The location was also thought about in this scene.
 

20-21.5 seconds

in this shot the camera seems to be blurry and there are two girls walking in front of the camera. The camera angle is distinct as it focuses on the bodies and not the faces of the girls which shows there dominance or little dominance within this music video.



to recreate this we used a tripod supplied by the college and filmed this within the theatre, unfortunately due to the environment the lighting wouldn’t work as well as the music video because you can’t alter the lighting within the theatre, it would have been better if the walking positions were the same and also we looked at the costume of the girls and thought about what each of us would wear the recreate this scene.

 

22-23.5 seconds

as you can see the artists isn’t in full focus because of the lighting however he is dominant within the shot and is singing into a microphone, we assume he was on a stage as there are instruments behind him, you can tell he is singing because of his body movement within the music video.



we instructed our actor to pretend he was singing the song and moving at the same time as the artist, the camera distance wasn’t thought about however we wanted to create the shots of the artist and actor as similar as we could, however due to the actor being quite tall it was hard to recreate because the tripod doesn’t extend as much as we would have liked it to. We tried to recreate the background as much as we could, however due to lack of resources this was unachievable.

 

23.5-25 seconds

camera movement- pivots anti clockwise artist remains still in this shot, the lighting seems distant and he is looking at a certain point to maintain his stillness within the shot.

 

this is our recreated shot, as you can see the lighting isn’t brilliant and neither is the resolution, however the reconstruction works well.

 

I think overall this was a hard task to do as we have never done a reconstruction before, I think the most important aspects of this task were to plan and research each shot in more depth and also the timing issue was a problem as we didn’t have long to recreate this. I feel we worked well as a group and I think if we overcame these issues I have suggested we could have made a more successful reconstruction of this music video. I personally found it hard because I am not producing a music video for my coursework, however, I feel that the planning I need to do and also make sure that I time each part of my filming effectively and make sure that lighting, camera angles and movement, costumes and editing if thought about carefully. I feel this task has helped us develop our camera skills and also gave us a vague idea of how to make a music video.

Other students work

I have been looking on Youtube for some other A level media studies work, i have found a few film trailer which i feel link to my genre, this has given me inspiration on sounds, shots and editing sequences that i could use for my film trailer. This is helpful as it can give me an idea of how to improve my current ideas and make my film trailer better.

Film, Location and Props

Sounds for Film Trailer

This is the song i am planning on using for my film trailer, i feel it will work well as it is simple but effective and works well within the genre of the film.

Hazard table

Step 1 - Look for any hazards that may occur

Step 2 - Think about who may be at affected and who is at risk.

Step 3 - Consider the chance and severity of harm that each hazard may cause, taking existing control measures into account.

• avoid the risk completely if you cannot do this then,
• reduce the risk to acceptable levels;
• provide instructions, and protective equipment if the risks cannot be controlled,
• reduce risk at source by developing safe systems of working

Step 4 -  The findings of the risk assessment should be explained to the people who may be affected by the risks, this means ensuring that everyone knows the likely risks and the required control measures. Keep a copy of hazards/risks for reference if needed during filming.

Step 5 - Review Your Risk Asssessment

New hazards can be introduced if any changes when filming. Risk assessments should be revised following any significant change or when they become out of date. If there have been no changes, the assessment should be reviewed at least once every three years to ensure that the precautions are still working effectively.

 

Storyboard

Structure types

Kate Domaille (2001)-  'Every story can be fitted into one of eight narratives, each narrative type has a source, an original story upon which the others are based:'
Achilles-Fatal/flow
Candide- Indomitable hero who cannot be put down e.g. James Bond
Cinderella- Dream comes true
Circe- The Chase
Faust- Selling your sould to the devil may bring riches but eventually your soul belongs to him e.g. bedazzled
Orpheus- Loss of something personal e.g. Lord of the Rings
Romeo & Juliet- True Love Story e.g. Titanic
Tristan and Isuelt- The love Triangle- Man loves woman unfortunately one or both are spoken  for, or thrid party intervenes e.g. Casablanca

There are 7 broad character types:
Villian
Donor
Helper (magical or not)
Dispatcher
Hero or victim/seeker hero

Joseph Campbell (1949)- 'Underlying structure of Iconography themes, concepts and narrative structure that is common to the religions, myths and legend of almost every culture in the world.'

Andrew Goodwin (1992)- 'Narrative relations are highly complex and meaning can be created ferom the individual audio-viewers, Musical personal taste to sophisticated intertexuality that uses multidiscursive phenomena of western culture.'

Structure types are very important as it can affect shots used and the location due to the structure.
Structure types also create a meaning or an idea to the audience as it gives them an idea of whether to watch the film or not, this is critical as you want to attract as many people as possible to see you film this is why hybrid genres are good to use for film trailers.

Analysis For Film Trailer

Structure- Production logo (who make the film), Fast Edting (Creates Diegesis), Rhythmic editing (creates mood of film/genre/speed of film), Narrative and disruption (Protagonist, Antagonist)
Need to add within film trailer- Producer, Different angles of shots and types of shots (PAN, WHIP-PAN, POV, CU, MCU, ESTABLISHING)- shows the characters dominance (if any), job title shown through clothing (Mise-en-scene)
Development of narrative through editing and shots and keeps audience interested.
Intertitles- voiceover is necessary- creates contact with audience.
Theme
Cliffhanger- creates anticipation, and makes the audience want to see the full film.
Credits- Cast, Production name, company, Certification, availability of film (Release date)
Overall needs to create an audience for the film and to promote the film and production company.

Plan for Film trailer

Plan for film trailer 1 minute 30 seconds

Actors/actresses within the trailer

Kayleigh (Protagonist)
Rpsie

Kayleigh and Rosie are sisters

Kayleigh receives a phone call when she has found out Rosie has been taken.

Kayleigh who is an ex-Police woman brings out her old file and equipment that she used within her service with the Police force, to try and find her sister.

First shot is of the two of them together smiling, laughing and having fun. Fade to black

Next shot is of the individuals. Fade to black

Shot three, is of Kayleigh sat in a chair with the light swinging to create drama and suspense, she is filthy and is crying with a scarf in her mouth.

Then a fast editing of action, Kayelgih running through the streets.

Pictures flashing within editing, of all characters and relationships between them.

Music will be a mixture of sweet and sinister sounds, to represent a relationship between the characters and the action being produced.

Film Trailer

Film Language
• Use of the camera – shot sizes, camera angles, camera positions
• Use of sound – dialogue, voice over, music and sound effects (SFX), diegetic and non diegetic sound
• Colour – is there a dominant colour, how is colour used
• Lighting – hard or soft, shadows, dramatic or naturalistic
• Editing – typically very quick cuts and some dissolves – how long is each shot
• Mise-en-scène  – what is the contribution of the sets, props, costumes and acting
• Use of on-screen graphics – what do they do?
Film trailers are important because they are the initial viewing, people may not see the movie but will see the trailer therefore you need to create a good one in order to produce an audience for the film.

Target Audience

 My target audience will be 15+ this is because some of the film will contain violence and also the storyline may not appeal to a younger age they may not understand the concept of the narrative. My film will be mainly targeted at males however some on the characters are females therefore it may attract females of this age group. I am going against the codes and conventions of my film trailer because the protagonist is female and she will be the one that saves another female, therefore females may be more attracted to this film because usually males are the most dominant sex within the film however mine is females. The type of film i have looked at include 'Taken', '12 Rounds' and 'Mr & Mrs Smith' i feel that they all show the male dominance however 'Mr & Mrs Smith' uses both sexes within the action which i feel is more interesring.

When i have visited the cinema to watch an action film the majority of the audience are young males, which i found interesting because i personally enjoy watching action films, however the stereotype of femlaes like romance which is why i have combined the two to make a trailer for all sexes that are 15+.



My target audience would fit into the categories D & E this is because usually the audience within a cinema are these types of people who enjoy visiting the cinema, this is also because the people above these categories may want to watch psychological films as they are seen to be more intellectual and it would fit their status.

Half Term work

Over half term i finalised my ideas, to create my film trailer, this will be made into a storyboard to show each shot that i will be taking.
I also thought about characters and who will play them as well as any props i may need. The Mise-en-scene had to be taken into consideration as well to create a good film trailer, this needs to fit in with my genre as it is important that the audience are involved within the film.
Costume was also thought about.

Final Video (30 second reconstruction of Treatment by Labrinth)

Deconstruction & Reconstruction of a media text

Group members:
Sydney-Marie Subritzky-Baggaley (Director)http://sydneymariex.blogspot.co.uk/
Javanna Duell (Producer)http://javannaduell93.blogspot.co.uk/
Grace Moxon (Camera)http://gracemoxona2media.blogspot.co.uk/
Paige Windley (Editor)http://a2mediastudiespaigewindley.blogspot.co.uk/


Storyboard Chosen:
Labrinth - Treatment


Cast:
Chris Davies (Artist)
Javanna Duell (Extra)
Grace Moxon (Extra)
Paige Windley (Extra)


Set:
Green Room
Drama Theatre
W1 &W2


Props:
Shelfs
Instruments
Microphone
Mic Stand
Mirror (large is possible)
Lights
Chairs
Clothes Rail

Chris:
Clip on Earing
Cross Necklace
Black Baggy Jeans
Black Tank Top
Black Shirt/Jacket

Extras:
Normal Clothes

Equipment needed: 
HD Camcorder for filming
Camera equipment (movable holder)
Lights (spotlights) From media department


Production plan:
Times and dates:
Monday Second  1st  October  (10:20-11:30am)   All of group
Tuesday First  2nd  October  (09:00-10:20am)   All of group
Wednesday last 3rd  October  (14:50-16:00pm)   All of group
Thursday first 4th  October  (9:00-10:20am)    Sydney & me
Thursday Last  4th  October  (14:50-16:00pm)   All of group
Friday second  5th  October  (10:20-11:30am)   All of group
Friday Third   5th  October  (11:30-12:40am)   Sydney & Me
Deadline       11th October  (16:00pm)



Reconstruction Process Day 1 Monday 1st October
We started to record the close up shots of our artist for the thirty seconds we have decided to reconstruct. We managed to record the shots successfully and we now need to create the setting and the other members of the cast walking within the shots.

Reconstruction Process Day 2 Tuesday 2nd October
We recorded the walking shots within the thirty seconds of the reconstruction, however this hasnt been as successful as we haven't got all of our team together. We have kept the recordings to use as an example of how we would like these shots to look like. We also need to think of clothing and also the props needed to create a realistic reconstruction of the video.

Reconstructon Process day 3 Thursday 4th October
We did more recordings of the video to create the last few scenes of the film to reconstruct the video precisely by shots.

Reconstruction Process day 4 Friday 5th October
We edited what we had recorded to see how the video was progressing, we also filmed more shots to change a few ideas that we had made mistakes on.

Reconstruction Process day 5 Monday 8th October
We finalised the shots to finsh off our music video, by filming the walking girls within the video and also edited some more to see if the continuity worked well.

Reconstruction Process day 6 Tuesday 9th October
Finalised editing, however we changed our actor and had to re film the video to try and create an exact replica of shots and timing to see if it looked better than our original idea.

Reconstruction Process day 7 Thursday 11th October
Decided on final video, we then changed the contrast and brightness of the video and uploded the video onto Youtube.

Key audience terms

Skills Development Evaluation Essay

Skills Development essay

In my foundation portfolio I did a preliminary exercise which was to create front cover and contents page for a college. I had to research a target audience for my magazine, analysing different magazines available. I then had to decide a price and a publish date for my magazine. Once I had my final decisions I had to take pictures and use Photoshop to place and edit them to create my magazine. My college magazine included all the conventions needed which were situated on the right third of my magazine I also used a medium close-up shot of my model, which the brief asked me to do. My main task was to create a front cover, contents page and double page spread for a music magazine using a featured artist suitable for the genre I chose (RnB). The music magazine consisted of more conventions being used and more images being taken. I had to think about a suitable price and suitable subtitles on the front and other promotions on the contents page to attract my target audience and link them to my genre.

Before I started AS media I had a few skills within the creativity area. I was able to use Microsoft word, PowerPoint and a little on Photoshop but I was unaware of sites such as ‘Prezi’. Over the year my skills progressed through the use of trial and error on Photoshop to see what worked with my colour scheme and photos taken on my Fuji camera. I also used Prezi to create a range of ideas that I thought may or may not work with my idea for both magazines. I had my original ideas which I then changed or developed further. The creativity came from the lighting and the choice of clothing in which my model wore for the ‘photo-shoot’ and also using Photoshop to create different tones and colour to create a better photo to use for my main features on both front covers, the contents page and the double page spread within my music magazine. Once I was happy with my images I then decided on the best position to place my images within my magazine, along with the subtitles and other conventions within the magazine. Through the editing of my magazine I asked for others opinions and took into consideration what they thought would make the magazine look more appealing to the target audience. I feel all these skills used were good for my foundation portfolio because I had few skills which I feel wouldn’t have given me the opportunity to create the college magazine and music magazine. 

The skills learnt helped me move my process forward as I had to think about a colour scheme to use which I had decided along the way by changing the contrast or brightness of the imagery taken, I also chose to edit more than one image to see which ones worked well for the brief given and also the area to take my images had to be thought through as well. An example of how my skills have progressed is we learnt how to make skin look porcelain. I used Photo shop throughout my product using a range of procedures. These include changing the scale of my images to make them fit to the correct size, I also used a You Tube clip too help me create a porcelain skin effect on my model to use for my front cover, contents and double page spread, I also use spot fix which helped me remove and unwanted spots or moles from my image. The Gaussian blur tool helped me with my porcelain skin effect which became very useful throughout the making of my media product. I also used publisher to make my article for my double page spread as it was easier to use. The character for my fonts and layout were very useful as there are a range of fonts I could use for my music magazine and also the colours were thought out to create the effect I wanted within my music magazine. The quick selection tool within Photo shop meant I could erase any unwanted background quickly and easily without any hassle of erasing any of my imagery.

The two pieces of work differ because although the model is the same person I have changed to style of image, the pose and clothing, I have also changed the layout and colour scheme for my magazine to show how I have improved my work to create my music and college magazine. I feel the music magazine looks a lot better because of the skills I have picked up within Photo shop and because I used other music magazines to get ideas I feel creating a music magazine was a lot easier to create than a college magazine I also had a lot longer to create my music magazine so I could constantly change my music magazine to make it better by a simple procedure of colour or levels within Photo shop.  I had to plan my magazines very carefully to attract the target audience, I did this by creating questionnaires to students, to see what they would expect from a music magazine, I also planned the images I was thinking of taking and the model I was going to use both were very easy to think about as I knew exactly what I wanted to do, although I did have to change the positioning of my model I feel my original ideas helped me a lot with creating my magazine.

In conclusion I feel all the skills gained from my AS year helped me improve my skills on Photoshop, but also I can now look at my work and if I wanted to I could create much better magazines, looking at my college magazine and then my music magazine shows how much I have learnt and how the slightest edit can make something look so much better.

Word Count- 996

Examples of Film trailers

Codes and Conventions of a Film Trailer

Codes and Conventions of a Trailer

What to look out for:
• The duration of a trailer is under 3 minutes - 2’05” is typical
• Fast cutting creating jump cuts (see glossary)
• Lots of action in each frame
• Many different shots are used
• Use of on screen graphics
• Use of a voice over narration
• References positive reviews
• Ensure the film’s USP is evident
• Includes main producers at the beginning and production credits at the end (although not on the screen long enough to actually read in the cinema but Ok for the inevitable DVD)
• Title of film as a banner
• An onscreen website link

 

 

Codes and Convention of Film Trailer

• To be Eye-catching/ Captivating
• Focal Picture that will be intriguing
• Display a large title that is easily read
• Suggestion of film Genre
• Attract and audience
• Tagline usually evident
• Age certification needs to be displayed
• Release date 'Coming soon' needs to be displayed
• Directors and producers company needs to be displayed



Film Trailer Research

Typical narrative structure is often broken down in this way:

1. Opening
   Establishes setting and introduces character
2. Build Up
   Relationships established. Development of characters and their world…
3. Problem
   A dilemma or series of complications. Characters are faced with an obstacle to overcome a mystery to solve. Often more than one.
4. Events
   A series of events/action as characters try to overcome obstacle, solve problem, discover truth etc. Further complication may arise in the process.
5. Resolution
   The protagonists are victorious, problems are solved, truth revealed.
6. Ending
   Characters reflect on events, reinstate relationships and look forward.

Occasionally people complain that film trailers give far too much away. An effective trailer avoids any suggestion of resolution and ending, perhaps just a hint that the protagonist is going to learn an important lesson. The intention is to leave audiences wanting more, not feeling they have seen all the ‘best bits’ already. The key events are often put in non-chronological order so the actual film will not be too predictable.

Summary of Summer work

Over the summer we were given a task to chose one of the six briefs. I have chosen to create a film trailer along with a film magazine front cover, featuring the film and a poster for the film. I have also chosen the genre of my trailer which will be action and love. I still have to complete my storyboard and collect more information on the history of the film industry which i will complete over the weekend. Once i have completed this i feel more confident about what i will create and it will give me a better starting point for my film trailer.

Chosen Genre

The genre i am focusing on includes love and also action which is also known as a Hybrid. the films doesn't have to be about a married couple it may include a father and daughter, mother and daughter, siblings etc... i chose this because i am interested in the romantic and action genre, i also wanted to add a twist to my film trailer creating a wider audience. Existing films within this genre include 'The double hour','Taken' and '12 Rounds' these films all include a loved one being taken hostage. The directors that have influenced me are Renny Harlin he directed 12 rounds, Pierre Morel who directed Taken which has been made into a sequel but by a different director, and Giuseppe Capotondi who directed The double hour and Solomon island which is a documentary. i have also looked at Mr and Mrs Smith which is a film about leading double lives, it is very interesting and a good film to watch because of the hybrid genre.

The Brief

A promotion package for a new film, include a teaser trailer, together with two of the following three options:

- a website homepage for the film;

- a film magazine front cover, featuring the film;

-a poster for the film.