Week 2 Plan (Liam Parkinson)

This is a image of our plan for week 2 of filming, due to us having work this week between us. The best thing for us to do is to do these things on our own if possible to save wasting time therefore we have assigned ourselves individual roles as well as the three of us filming together for one or two key parts of the shooting.

Contact sheets (Jacob Sanderson)

We have decided to create contact sheets with the images we have took so far so we can decide on what photos we will be using for our leaflets, posters and album cover.

A contact sheet is a sheet filled with all the photos from every shoot we have been on, contact sheets are easy to produce and will make it easy to decide on the best images to use. It is also a quick and easy way to get through a lot of images. 

To create a contact sheet we put all images into one folder and then screen shot the folder opened with all the images until we get multiple screenshots of the images in thumbnail form. Once we have the screenshots you print them off and then review them crossing off any images that are no suitable and ticking any that we are considering using. 

Poster Mock (Liam Parkinson)

Today I decided to put together a first poster for my groups project. This poster is of our character (John) Robert Masters riding his skateboard as you can see left. I done this using the techniques I have learned through my photoshop development lessons. Also below you can view a slideshow of how I done this.

Storyboard Verse 1 (Liam Parkinson)

Here is the first verse of our storyboard, this is the guidelines we will follow, I and the group prepared this together using our ideas we had. The shots we are planning to get using this is only guidelines and when we our in the filming scenario we may change some things  or adapt some ideas if we believe it will result in a better final outcome.

Week Plan, Individual/Group Activities (Jacob Sanderson)

This is our second week of filming and we are planning how we are going about filming our next few scenes. Firstly we need to film our lip syncing at the docks, a few more time lapses and finally a clip of the sun/rise set. Our lesson plan for today is - 

My cousin is a media student in university in her 3rd year and she has offered to help us with the filming of a sunrise as she is able to show us ideal and suitable methods of getting a good clip. I will be going to a nearby beach with John and my cousin to film a sunrise on saturday morning which begins at the hour of 7:14am I will be making a further blog post on this on saturday.

We have all agreed to film our lip syncing scene on friday between the hours of 9am-1pm. We will review all of our clips over the weekend and decide on if we need anymore clips and if that is the case we will film any extra clips on wednesday and begin editing next friday. 

Artist Name (Liam Parkinson/Jacob Sanderson)

For our music video we have came up with an artist name, we wanted to keep it simple so we went with 'Robert Masters' as most Dj's go by there own name. For example Martin Garrix, David Guetta etc. 

The concept of our video features a character who is played by John in our group, this has nothing to do with the actual artist, as the artist is played by me 'Liam'. This gave us the best of both as I was a lot more confident with the lip sync than John however his style suited the genre of the music better therfore he will play the character and I will feature in the video for the lip sync. 

We have done various research into songs which use this character/artist style and believe it best benefits us.

Now we have our artist name 'Robert Masters' we can begin to produce posters and album covers for our production. We shall take time out once our filming is done as well as during to do a mock photo shoot for realism and for the best outcome in our product. We will take into account all the photoshop skills we have developed over the past few weeks and apply them to our work for album covers and posters etc. for our artist and music video.

As a group we decided on this name, we wanted a catchy and stand out name. We used inspiration from the DJ Hardwell, his first name is Robert and the second name 'Masters' sounds very cool so we put these together. 

Filming Planning (Liam Parkinson)

As you can see here I went onto the BBC website and looked at the weather report for wednesday the 26/11/2014 we as a group have planned to go out filming more footage for our music video. The weather is cloudy and is okay for us to film effectivley. Planning like this gives us the oppurtunity to see what we have to change. If the weather was predicted to be poor we could change our plans and go for another day. This is something we will be checking each time we go out to film as it will give us an advantage and save us a lot of time.

Progression (Liam Parkinson)

Today we began to progress our storyboard and ideas, We done this as a group as you cans see to the left is an image of our shooting plan we are following. However during shooting we will adapt these ideas and have done already from our initial ideas. We are constantly developing and enhancing our scripts through discussion.

Locations play a big part on our ideas and development as when we get to the place we plan to film newideas come to us and we discuss and then implement them into our video. Being in the environment is different to thinking about it.

Video Style (Liam Parkinson)

Due to our budget we decided that the best thing for a style of our character we come up with was that john used his own style. We based our storyboards and ideas around this as it is a very unique indie style. As you can see on the image to the left with the baggy hoodie and the skinny jeans it fits in well with the micro narrative of our video, being a young man not wanting to grow up and thinking about time passing quickly hens the time lapses in our video. The skateboard is a key part of our video as this is part of him as it is something he enjoys and has done all his life. That is the idea of our video and how the style of the character fits  this narrative.

First Shoot Reflections (Liam Parkinson)

Yesterday after all out planning was complete we went along and filmed the scenes we planned in one of our locations. Croxteth Park in West Derby Liverpool was the first place we went to. This went very well and we worked great in a team and the style we tried to go for was limited as we did not have a budget for clothes etc. We used the best with what was available and think it is very good. As John is the main character in our video we based the character around his skateboarder style to make it easier for us and give it a sense of realism as this is something John is natural and comfortable doing. Overall it went very well and is a great starting point for what is to follow. We had great fun and bonded well as a group as well as being productive and successful with our time.

Narratives (Liam Parkinson)

There are various music videos which take this approach what we are looking at in our group and are going to go with. It is basically a character and then the singer. For example the narrative of the video is a character following a story or the lyrics are linear with what is happening in the video. This is a great approach and something we all agreed on in our group as it gives everyone a role in the performance. Wheatus, Teenage Dirtbag, is a example of this and is one of our inspirations. It is linear with the lyrics and tells a story about a character whilst showing lip syncs and shots featuring the artist performing etc.

The Blumler and Katz Theory (Jacob Sanderson)

The Blumler and Katz theory 

Users and gratification's theory. Blumler and Katz is a popular approach in understanding mass communication. This theory focuses on the audience rather than the message that is displayed. It asks what do people do with media rather than what does media do to people. The theory assumes that the audience are not passive but take a active role in taking in media and use the media to affect themselves.

When we take in a piece of media Blumler and Katz say we have to fulfil one of the following things to interact with the media - 

Identify - Being able to recognise the product or person in front of you, role models that reflect similar values to your own or the aspiration to be somebody else.

Educate - Learn something from the media, Acquire information, understanding and knowledge from it.

Entertainment - What you see should entertain you, you should enjoy it. You should get some sort of 'escapism' which helps us forget about our worries or problems for a short period. 

Social interaction - The ability of a form of media to create a topic of conversation between people. It can spark debates, enjoyment and create new information between people.

 
This theory is criticised since people believe we have no power over the media and what it produces, It is said we 'let the media off the hook' when it comes to what they produce  as they don't take responsibility in what they do show. The idea that we simply use the media to satisfy us for something we don't need shows the power and influence that the media has over us.

I have applied this theory towards our group music video. 

The purpose behind our video is to interact with our audience and give them the realisation that time goes fast and we don't stay young forever. This would spark a topic of conversation between people and make people talk about the video and the idea behind it.  We want our audience to be active in how they receive our video and reflect on themselves when they have watched it. 

Time Lapse Clips (Jacob Sanderson)

I was out in Liverpool City Centre last night and while I was there I decided to get a couple of time lapse clips from different locations. I got these clips for us to use in our music video because this was one of our ideas that we have had from the start and have held onto because we think that it will make our video look more unique and fit in well with the genre of dance music.

This clip was taken on the Dock Road in the middle of Liverpool.

This clip is from Queen Square Bus Station.

This clip is from Liverpool ONE.

Our Music Video Proposal (Jacob Sanderson)

The idea behind our music video is following the theme of being 'Young Again' and showing how time goes by so fast. Our video follows a character (John) and portrays him realising how he misses his youth and he wishes he was young again. We also feature our artist who sings and performs the song (Liam) who is not related to the narrative . 

We are showing a very short micro-narrative with our character but we are not showing a backstory or meaning to him just clips of him reflecting back on his childhood/youth, the aim of this is to make the audience relate to it. Our chorus will consist of time lapses put together of many different things to give the idea of time going very quickly without us noticing. 

These are the main themes of our video that we want to follow and portray.

First Day Of Shooting (Jacob Sanderson)

Today we started our first day of shooting which was very successful as we have collected some wonderful shots and got more than we expected from the location (Croxteth Park). 

We decided to film each scene in multiple different angles and shots to ensure we have a lot to work with in post-production. We have also filmed in many different kinds of film types, for example we filmed in Slow-motion, Time lapse and normal speed. We have filmed enough footage for the first verse and are now ready to move onto our next location and part of the song. I believe our first filming session has been successful. We will be uploading some images and clips from the day on the blog shortly. 

Filming Locations (John Masters / Jacob Sanderson)

Today, I was in Liverpool City Centre with Jacob. While we was there I took some photographs of different locations that I think that my group could use for filming our music video at. Liverpool is an iconic city with a lot of recognisable scenery that I think would allow us to create a very unique video.

This is the Pier Head.

This is outside the new slavery museum.

This is the Albert Dock.

This is along the waterfront.

This is near the Echo Arena/Liverpool Eye.

This is the dock area of Liverpool.

Jacob -

These photos have been taken around the dock areas of Liverpool. These are the more famous parts of the city and have been done up over the past couple of years so everywhere looks modern with the old buildings keeping the heritage of the city. I think that the mix of new and old scenery will highlight the lyrics of "Young Again" by showing the different generations of the city in the same place.

Filming Preparation Update (Jacob Sanderson)

Today in lesson we looked at what we will need to prepare prior to going out each time to film. We did this so that we had a better idea on what we were going to do each time we go out filming and to make sure that we will be fully prepared for each shoot.

We are now working on getting our storyboards and shooting scripts done so that we can begin filming our video. This is an important part of our project, the planning is key to create a successful music video.

Slo-Motion Clips (John Masters)

Last weekend Liam went out to a firework display at a local park so we thought that it would be a good idea to have him film some clips that we would possibly be able to use in our music video. We chose to do this because as you will see from videos around this genre there is a lot of footage from live performances which contain bright and colourful light displays. Fireworks another bright feature that we will be able to include likely in the chorus of our music video. We have more clips similar to the one below so we will go through what we have and choose clips that we think are most suitable for the purpose. 

This is an example of one of the clips we have so far:

GoPro Filming (Jacob Sanderson)

For our project we are looking at borrowing a GoPro camera from my cousin. We are doing this because a GoPro camera will give us a lot of flexibility with the style of our video. A GoPro is a waterproof camera which is often used for action sports but because of the mounts that are available for the cameras it will be very easy to shoot first person footage with. 

Liam came up with the idea of trying to get hold of a mount to hold the camera to my wakeboard to see what footage we can get from me riding and seeing whether this would be a suitable idea to use in our video. I have looked at GoPro wakeboarding clips on YouTube to look for filming ideas and to see what it looks like using different angles and I am going to see what I will be able to do with it next time I go riding.

We have chosen to use this type of camera because they can film in 720p and full 1080p. There is also a GoPro app that we will be able to use which will allow us to control the camera and also stream the videos straight to our phones which will make clips much easier to sort out and edit. They also have waterproof housings with them which will allow us to take the water shots that we want.

This is a short video of wakeboarding footage filmed on a GoPro. This video shows first person shots which we would be able to use once we get hold of the camera. It also shows the quality that we will be able to film in which I think is very suitable for our music video.

Time Lapse (Liam Parkinson)

Researching into filming techniques and different styles, Coldplay video 'Every tear drop is a waterfall' and this video features a time lapse. This is were the video footage is sped up very fast and time seems to move quicker. We believe this feature will tie in well with our chosen genre which is dance.

To the left is a video our group made yesterday just as a trial to test this footage and the time lapse. This was really easy to do and the outcome is very effective.


This is something we will definitely be looking at to impliment into our group. Below is a video of a time lapse in Times Square New York by 'Lloyd Cook' and Coldplay's video which provided the inspiration for this technique.

Song Lyrics (Liam Parkinson)

Below I have typed up the lyrics for future reference for me and group members. As you can see the lyrics for this song are very simple and we have already designed a story board around these lyrics which we will adapt and change in order to get the most out of out final video.

When I was a boy

I dreamed of a place in the sky

Playing in the fieldsBattling with my shields

Bows made out of twine

I wish I could see this world again

Through those eyes

See the child in me

In my fantasy

Never growing old

Will we ever feel young again

Will we ever feel young again

Will we ever feel young again

We wanna feel young

We wanna feel young again

When I was a boy

I searched for a world that’s unknown

All we have is fun

Everybody run

Until the sun goes down

I wish I could see this world again

Through those eyes

See the child in me

In my fantasy

Never growing old

Will we ever feel young again

Will we ever feel young again

Will we ever feel young again

We wanna feel young

We wanna feel young again

Our Song Choice (Liam Parkinson/ Jacob Sanderson)

After numerous group discussions and research on music videos, genres and artists we came to the conclusion that the song we are going to go with is Hardwell Young Again. The group has decided this song choice because after analysing this music video in the past we believe that this will an easy but effective music video to construct as it best suits are strengths and filming ideas we have put forward. The group will be able to easily use the camera angles, movements and editing technique to create our music video. Using all the camera shots and movements we have developed and understanding for. I have uploaded the music video below to display what our music video song is based upon and show what sort of codes and conventions that the group will be using to construct the video.

JacobEDIT: I heavily suggested the idea of a dance music video due to my knowledge and passion for this genre, Liam thought we could make a great video from the genre as its not considered usual to make a video for this genre. I was very pleased we decided on a Dance music song and I am looking forward to the challenge 

Music Video Analysis (Liam Parkinson)

Looking at more ideas and more unique ideas we can include into our music video. Earlier today I came across Beauty and a Beat by Justin Bieber. I had seen the video before many times but never thought about it from a media perspective.  There are two key things I like about this video and I will put forward to my group.

Firstly is the handheld camera which is used, This provides a sense of realism and makes the audience feel part of the video. It suits the genre really well as the upbeat dance vibe of the song goes with the handheld wild look thats going on. I would like to place this in our video somewhere as I feel it will enhance our video as the genre we have chosen "Dance" is very upbeat and will tie in well with this approach.

Another part of this video I really liked is the underwater scene. This is very unique and different and is something me and my group can do as we have the equipment to do so. I feel very strongly towards this and think it will make our video better. Therefore I will be speaking to the group and asking there opinion on this and once we have our song choice, see where we can fit this aspect in.