Thankyou for taking the time to look at our group blog. Here is the majority of the work that our group did together over the last few months. Above you can see our website, music video and album cover. To the right are links to our individual blogs and also our lables that are on all of our posts.
We hope you enjoy viewing our group blog as much as we have making it!
Eva, Eoin and Robbie
Official Website
Official Website
Album Cover
Album Cover
Friday, December 16, 2011
This blog is now closed
Though it pains each member of the group this is our final post we will ever make.
This blog is now officially closed.
This blog is now officially closed.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Album Cover: Before and After Edits
Monday, December 12, 2011
Some Shots from Promo Shoot
There was a rather long process to getting our final promo shot photos that we used on our site and album. We had to arrange a photoshoot with all band members, so had to book both George and the studio space. Eva took the photos and as none of us had any previous experience with photography particularly, we took as many as we could in as many positions as possible. We learnt that static shots with not much going on didn't work as well as photos where the model was doing something such as putting their hands in a prayer position like Robbie here:
Lighting was an interesting learning curve for us. We worked with three-point lighting to achieve the optimum quality of photos that we could during the photoshoot. We utilised the idea of silhouettes and took some great photos of the band's silhouettes individually. In editing we put three silhouettes together and made the final main picture that features across all our platforms:
As the days went by, we realised that detailed editing of every photo was not possible, so photoshop was only used to rid the pictures of obvious blemishes and a quick colour correct. We were then able to produce a large quantity of successful, finished pictures in a lot less time.
Some other examples of our edited photos:
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Directors Commentary Planning
Intro: Hi, we are Group 3; I am Eoin Brogan (candidate number 3110), i'm Eva Calland Waller (candidate number ...) and i'm Robbie Lardi (number 3400), and this is a commentary on our music video in order to answer question 1 of the evaluation, which is: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
To do this we are going to look at various sections of our video, interspliced with other real media products.
To begin, here is ... who is going to talk about the uses of conventions within our video.
USES
INTERCUTTING OF NARRATIVE AND PERFORMANCE
This convention is found throughout all genre's and types of music video. There are many which only consist of either performance or narrative; but the convention to intercut a story with performance is very commonly used. Furthermore, the screen time of each of these is more or less even; with the balance between them consistent throughout the song. We conformed to this convention as we wanted to tell an engaging story, while also successfully building a brand image for our new band.
show any section which flips between performance and narrative
LEAD SINGER AND BRAND IMAGE
Freeze at 0:30, freeze at 2 other shots of Eoin singing
The first convention we used in our media video is a simple yet effective one; the use of close ups on the lead singer of the band. Eoin has the most close up shots in the performance sections of the video, which is important to establish a clear frontman of the band. Usually, this is the singer; and we have followed this convention as the lyrics are a crucial component of the song, and require an apt platform. See here some other close ups of Eoin singing, which recur throughout the song.
Show other singing close ups.
Also, we developed an image for our band through the costume choices, the set up of the performance space (discuss the logo, spray paint symbols); this appeals to our audience by ... bla bla bla
Lack of beauty style shots; much more focus on the instruments being played; sticks to conventions of most music outside pop genre.
FOCUS OF SONG IN VIDEO
Show bass line running up.
Another convention we used is to illustrate the focus of the song within the video; for example, when the bass line becomes the focus in the song; we used a close up of the bassist playing so as to complement the track. It seems obvious, but to match the emphasis' of the song with the visuals is very important to the flow of the video.
Show drum fill.
You can see another example of this with our drum fill.
VARIED PERFORMANCE SET UP
It is a common convention of music videos to vary the set up within the performance aspect of the video. This keeps the performance dynamic; and we believed that as the narrative should progress, the performance should too.
We can see an example of this convention working well in this video here:
INSERT VIDEO REFERENCE CLIP, and why it works well;
then clips of our UV section in comparison to normal section.
SECTIONS OF SONG DEFINING SECTIONS OF VIDEO
It is common for the editing and pacing of the video to match that of the song; for example, the song begins slowly and so does our editing; it can appear jarring to contradict this common convention, so we decided it was best to conform to it. When the chorus drops; the narrative progresses somewhere new-
show examples here e.g. me moving about street instead of static / the eyes on drop 2 / the UV and fighting on drop 3
BARTHES CODES IN OUR VIDEO
The theorist Barthes drew up some codes of conventions in media texts, some of which we can apply to our video.
We can see his enigma code being used here in our video..
insert enigma section (smoking and eva is there / turning around but not seeing her face, only seeing my reaction etc.)
... and this has been helpful because
DEVELOPING CONVENTIONS
USING UV LIGHTING
Rather than intersplicing UV in different sections of the video; we decided to hold off on the reveal of the UV light until the end of the song to provide some performance progression and visual development. We wanted our video to surprise at every turn; and so we believed that revealing the UV light set up too early would lessen it's impact greatly.
show UV lighting set up again
CHASE SCENE CONCLUDES WITH SWITCH OF POWER
Normally in a chase scene in a real media text, it ends with an event which complements the dynamic and relationship which was the cause of the chase in the first place (e.g. the chaser catches the victim or the victim escapes) without developing or changing the relationship between the characters at all.
We expanded on this by resolving the situation with a reversal of power between the two; developing the convention previously stated.
show ending here with kiss
Instead of Eva simply catching and killing Robbie, or Robbie escaping from her; they kiss, and she vanishes. Robbie's character has taken the status and power away from her, regaining control and thereby resolving the situation in a manner different to most media products.
CHALLENGING CONVENTIONS
GENDER REPRESENTATION
It is a very common representation in music video's to have the seat of power dominated by male roles. We decided very early on that this classic representation didn't work for our video. We have the power held by a female character, which we feel adds to the surreal element of the video. We also had quite an unconventional twist in the control of power as is clearly demonstrated here
Show punch
you can see how for the first time in the video it's Robbie who follows Eva and then takes control by grabbing her face and kissing her.
To do this we are going to look at various sections of our video, interspliced with other real media products.
To begin, here is ... who is going to talk about the uses of conventions within our video.
USES
INTERCUTTING OF NARRATIVE AND PERFORMANCE
This convention is found throughout all genre's and types of music video. There are many which only consist of either performance or narrative; but the convention to intercut a story with performance is very commonly used. Furthermore, the screen time of each of these is more or less even; with the balance between them consistent throughout the song. We conformed to this convention as we wanted to tell an engaging story, while also successfully building a brand image for our new band.
show any section which flips between performance and narrative
LEAD SINGER AND BRAND IMAGE
Freeze at 0:30, freeze at 2 other shots of Eoin singing
The first convention we used in our media video is a simple yet effective one; the use of close ups on the lead singer of the band. Eoin has the most close up shots in the performance sections of the video, which is important to establish a clear frontman of the band. Usually, this is the singer; and we have followed this convention as the lyrics are a crucial component of the song, and require an apt platform. See here some other close ups of Eoin singing, which recur throughout the song.
Show other singing close ups.
Also, we developed an image for our band through the costume choices, the set up of the performance space (discuss the logo, spray paint symbols); this appeals to our audience by ... bla bla bla
Lack of beauty style shots; much more focus on the instruments being played; sticks to conventions of most music outside pop genre.
FOCUS OF SONG IN VIDEO
Show bass line running up.
Another convention we used is to illustrate the focus of the song within the video; for example, when the bass line becomes the focus in the song; we used a close up of the bassist playing so as to complement the track. It seems obvious, but to match the emphasis' of the song with the visuals is very important to the flow of the video.
Show drum fill.
You can see another example of this with our drum fill.
VARIED PERFORMANCE SET UP
It is a common convention of music videos to vary the set up within the performance aspect of the video. This keeps the performance dynamic; and we believed that as the narrative should progress, the performance should too.
We can see an example of this convention working well in this video here:
INSERT VIDEO REFERENCE CLIP, and why it works well;
then clips of our UV section in comparison to normal section.
SECTIONS OF SONG DEFINING SECTIONS OF VIDEO
It is common for the editing and pacing of the video to match that of the song; for example, the song begins slowly and so does our editing; it can appear jarring to contradict this common convention, so we decided it was best to conform to it. When the chorus drops; the narrative progresses somewhere new-
show examples here e.g. me moving about street instead of static / the eyes on drop 2 / the UV and fighting on drop 3
BARTHES CODES IN OUR VIDEO
The theorist Barthes drew up some codes of conventions in media texts, some of which we can apply to our video.
We can see his enigma code being used here in our video..
insert enigma section (smoking and eva is there / turning around but not seeing her face, only seeing my reaction etc.)
... and this has been helpful because
DEVELOPING CONVENTIONS
USING UV LIGHTING
Rather than intersplicing UV in different sections of the video; we decided to hold off on the reveal of the UV light until the end of the song to provide some performance progression and visual development. We wanted our video to surprise at every turn; and so we believed that revealing the UV light set up too early would lessen it's impact greatly.
show UV lighting set up again
CHASE SCENE CONCLUDES WITH SWITCH OF POWER
Normally in a chase scene in a real media text, it ends with an event which complements the dynamic and relationship which was the cause of the chase in the first place (e.g. the chaser catches the victim or the victim escapes) without developing or changing the relationship between the characters at all.
We expanded on this by resolving the situation with a reversal of power between the two; developing the convention previously stated.
show ending here with kiss
Instead of Eva simply catching and killing Robbie, or Robbie escaping from her; they kiss, and she vanishes. Robbie's character has taken the status and power away from her, regaining control and thereby resolving the situation in a manner different to most media products.
CHALLENGING CONVENTIONS
GENDER REPRESENTATION
It is a very common representation in music video's to have the seat of power dominated by male roles. We decided very early on that this classic representation didn't work for our video. We have the power held by a female character, which we feel adds to the surreal element of the video. We also had quite an unconventional twist in the control of power as is clearly demonstrated here
Show punch
you can see how for the first time in the video it's Robbie who follows Eva and then takes control by grabbing her face and kissing her.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Screening the Video
As a year group, we decided to hold a premiere for all our music videos in the Seward Studio. We invited all our friends to come, through an event on Facebook, and by creating a short montage style trailer.
 |
| The Facebook event to our screening |
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Evaluation Planning
Question 1 - How does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
For this question we are planning a directors commentary of our video. It will show our video, with our voices talking over it. We will each take a separate section of the commentary to script (use, develop or challenge), and then will record our voices.
After that we make a new edit of our video; fastforwarding and freezing on certain clips and stills whilst we speak. We also intergrate clips of other videos which inspired or helped us / or to show conventions we may have developed or challenged.
Question 2 - How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
We will answer this question individually with pictures, stills and other stuff.
Question 3 - What have you learned from your audience feedback?
For this question, we are planning to record (individually) four or five people in a one on one interview discussing the products and how they could be improved.
We will edit these interviews together, and end with footage of us discussing the feedback and how we would improve on it if we were to re do this project.
Question 4 - How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
For this question, we will answer it in a more tradition manner; using text to explain how the new technologies aided our project. We will back this up with lots of still images, screencaps of software we used (APPro, Colour, After Effects)
For this question we are planning a directors commentary of our video. It will show our video, with our voices talking over it. We will each take a separate section of the commentary to script (use, develop or challenge), and then will record our voices.
After that we make a new edit of our video; fastforwarding and freezing on certain clips and stills whilst we speak. We also intergrate clips of other videos which inspired or helped us / or to show conventions we may have developed or challenged.
Question 2 - How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
We will answer this question individually with pictures, stills and other stuff.
Question 3 - What have you learned from your audience feedback?
For this question, we are planning to record (individually) four or five people in a one on one interview discussing the products and how they could be improved.
We will edit these interviews together, and end with footage of us discussing the feedback and how we would improve on it if we were to re do this project.
Question 4 - How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
For this question, we will answer it in a more tradition manner; using text to explain how the new technologies aided our project. We will back this up with lots of still images, screencaps of software we used (APPro, Colour, After Effects)
Lighting Before and After
This is a short video detailing problems with our original lighting, and how we managed to correct these issues for the final piece.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Problems with Wix
After a week of editing the website, we came back to it today to find that our master page had been deleted, thereby losing all the content within the separated pages.
It will take too long to call up Wix to see if we can resolve this issue and we do not know why, how or when it got deleted and finding this out would be difficult.
Therefore we have decided to simply rebuild it; as designing it initially takes the most time it shouldn't bee too time consuming to simply replicate what we already have made.
UPDATE ON POST 06/12/11: Eoin had begun to make a mobile website so some data was saved and reused. However we had to rewrite the competition, tour dates, and every news and update post- this took very, very long! We have managed to completely redo our website and even managed to improve it slightly with added hindsight on what was wrong before. For example, we were able to format the site so we had room at the bottom to include institutional information, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and RSS feed buttons; we had not done this correctly the first time.
We learnt to save our progress much more frequent and to log off whenever we left our computer unattended; the computers are used by many people and could have been how we inadvertently lost our work in the first place.
We our very happy this major problem hasn't become too much of a disruption to our project as a whole.
It will take too long to call up Wix to see if we can resolve this issue and we do not know why, how or when it got deleted and finding this out would be difficult.
Therefore we have decided to simply rebuild it; as designing it initially takes the most time it shouldn't bee too time consuming to simply replicate what we already have made.
UPDATE ON POST 06/12/11: Eoin had begun to make a mobile website so some data was saved and reused. However we had to rewrite the competition, tour dates, and every news and update post- this took very, very long! We have managed to completely redo our website and even managed to improve it slightly with added hindsight on what was wrong before. For example, we were able to format the site so we had room at the bottom to include institutional information, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and RSS feed buttons; we had not done this correctly the first time.
We learnt to save our progress much more frequent and to log off whenever we left our computer unattended; the computers are used by many people and could have been how we inadvertently lost our work in the first place.
We our very happy this major problem hasn't become too much of a disruption to our project as a whole.
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