Photoshop

For my digipack creation I will have to use the programme Photoshop to create the best quality images possible. 
Using Photoshop I will have to use key tools such as;

• Free transform
• Opacity
• Bucket Fill
• Gradients
• Duplicating layers
• Adding/deleting layers
• Cut/Crop
• Magic wand tool
• Marquee

The tutorial in our lesson of Photoshop was useful and I will use all of these tools and skills correctly to ensure the outcome of my digipack will be of a high standard and quality. 

My editing skills and knowledge since starting project

Since starting the music video project at A2, my skills of editing on video software has improved greatly. At AS I learnt a lot about Final Cut Express and iMovie when filming and editing my film opening, therefore I had a clear and fluent understanding of how to use the software such as uploading my footage. However since the music video project my skills within Final Cut Express have improved even more. 

We were shown and taught at the beginning of the course at A2 about how important the lip syncing and editing to the beat was, which made me make sure that my music video was sharp and edited to the exact second of the beat. I learnt about how to put in markers on where a singing shot appears, which taught me to be able to line up my footage with it, so that the singing was completely in time with the video. I also learnt how to use several effects on Final Cut Express which I had not used before. Throughout my video I have used different video filters on my footage such as a glow or a replication of one shot into four.

I feel as if since my A2 course has started, that my existing knowledge and understanding of editing and software using has been improved greatly and gives me much more confidence in using the computers alone and also to make my own music videos/films outside of school. I rarely find myself asking my teachers how to do something which I am very proud of. 

Storyboard 2

Forms and Conventions of a Music Video

There are three different styles of music video; narrative based, performance based and concept based.

Narrative based music video

A narrative based music video that has a storyline which applies throughout the duration of the video. My example for a narrative based music video is Taylor Swift-Blank Space.
The storyline is about a girl who is struggling with relationships and her personality. The main actress lives in a large mansion where her latest boyfriend turns up at her house. The video follows of the pair being inseparable and in a loving relationship until her jealousy hits her after she see's him texting somebody else. The video then follows her becoming increasingly angry, such as ripping up his shirts and throwing his belongings out onto the grounds. The video concludes with her (ex) boyfriend leaving her mansion, and the next one pulling up outside. 

Performance based music video

A performance-based music tends to be a video that involves mainly the artist/group of the song being played. These types of videos can be shots of them singing in a studio or at a concert. They also may play the main actor/actress in a story. My example for a performance based music video is John Legend- All Of Me.

The music video simply involves continuous shots of the main singer John Legend, with between shots of his wife Chrissy. The song is initially about their love between the two and is personal to them both as Legend used his wife in the music video instead of casting an actress. The music video is based around John Legend singing whilst playing his piano.

Concept driven music video

A concept-based music video is one that has no relevance to the music, lyrics or genre. There are usually no links between video and the lyrics therefore they are very gripping and interesting for the audience to watch. My example of a concept driven music video is Boogie Pimps- Somebody to love. The lyrics set up the story of needing somebody to love through hard times in life and seeing between lies and your problems. However the music video is one in which involves several babies skydiving out of a plane onto a young woman's body who seems to be a 'giant' lying on the world.  I feel as if this video was a very good example of concept driven music video as I believe that this music video is extremely remember-able and is unforgettable in terms of the concept. 

I believe that my video Embrace This Day is a concept driven music video as I have gone against the lyrics of the song to form a retaliated version of the lyrics. It was important to me that I used the most gritty and unusual idea for my music video as I did not want the lyrics to be able to relate to what the audience would see.

Lip Syncing Tutorial video

How filming went and location recce (Second Plot)

After the issues that I had with my first plot for Embrace This Day, I decided to change the narrative from a broken couple to a fallen angel's desperation to be happy. I casted Zarenna Porter to play the fallen angel and singer (two separate parts which come together at the end). I filmed her altogether three times- this is my account of how I feel it went in comparison to Embrace This Day Plot 1

Day 1 Filming

On day one of filming, I chose to film the Angel Shots. These shots included using the location of a local open field in Whetstone, Barnet and using the props of the wings and mask. The day started at around 11:00am, I picked Zarenna up from her house and we drove to the filming location. We parked up and walked into the field where I began to visualise where I wanted Zarenna to be filmed. We moved from the top of the field to the bottom altogether with the filming and shot our last few scenes over the bridge at the end of the field. In my opinion, I feel as if this day went extremely well, as there was no complications with factors such as lightening or background noise. Filming in the middle of the day as opposed to night-time (which Embrace This Day 1 was filmed) it made it a lot easier to make sure I was getting the right shots. Daylight also meant that the focus and sharpness of Zarenna's face was of a much higher quality then what it was on Alice's face in my first plot. The day ended after I was satisfied with the angel shots and I took Zarenna home.

Day 2 Filming

The next day of filming took place in our school where we put up a pure white background against a wall for Zarenna to stand in front of. I set up the camera and tripod infant of the white background and made sure that it was in perfect proportion for the first shot of Zarenna's singing. There was no lip-syncing in Day 1 of filming therefore I had to ensure that this day of filming went as well as the first did. We began to play the song from start to finish where Zarenna sang to the camera in time with the music. We filmed in under two hours and once it was done, I uploaded it straight on to the computer where I looked at what we had achieved. I was extremely happy with this filming as during the first plot, my actress was not as good at lip-syncing then I had first hoped and therefore it took much longer and I was also not very happy with the standard of it either. Zarenna's singing was great and I was very pleased with how in time she was to the music, as well as her expressions and comfortability around the camera.

Day 3 Filming

After putting all my lip-syncing shots onto the computer, I realised that I did not have enough footage for the whole duration of the music video left. I had around a minute left to fill and decided that if this would be filled, I would have to film Zarenna again. I booked out another camera and tripod and organised a day with Zarenna to film the final shots. We went to the same location as before, bringing our angel props along with us to film the collaboration shots of the angel and the singer. We filmed in around 45 minutes and was the final day of filming for Embrace This Day. It went extremely well and followed my plans. 

Location 

 The place that I filmed was the large patch of greenery in-between the allotments on Whetstone High Road. It was very empty and easy to film on because there was a lot of room to move around and find different locations. It also is next to the railway line in which I have filmed images of in my film.

Zarenna Porter- Embrace This Day 2

As my plot drastically changed, so did my cast and I decided to use an 18 year old girl called Zarenna, a film and media enthusiast. 
I casted Zarenna through the use of helpful contacts within my class and after much deliberation about what sort of person I wanted in my video, I eventually contacted her via text message to ask her whether she would be in my music video.

I asked Zarenna what her main interests and hobbies were, including her opinion on my music video plot. In which she replied- 

"I love film and media because I feel like it allow's me to express myself through moving image, which means that I can widen my idea's greatly as I don't need to stick to just one, non moving drawing or photo. When Amber told me about the plot I thought it was great, as I think it is quite different to many music video's on the charts these days. I thought her idea of going against what the lyrics said was clever as I think it allowed the audience to learn how to think twice about the lyrics they hear on songs they like. I was very delighted to be asked to be her actress and face for her music video and I am very excited to see the outcome of the hard work that Amber and I will be putting into this"

Conventions of a magazine advert

Conventions of magazine advert include;

• interesting fonts
• interesting themes
• flowing theme throughout
• images that excite the audience
• informative, relevant information
• simplicity 
• bold text/image
• relevant companies involved 

examples

My favorite magazine advert;

My chosen favorite between the four is the Arctic Monkeys magazine advert- this is because it is bold and stands out against the rest because of its simplistic, and contrasting nature. They have used only two colors for the whole theme and text which is black and white- this colour contrast makes every bit of information stand out and represent importance. Unlike the Lana Del Rey advert, I feel the colours blend and therefore do not stand out as much as the Arctic Monkeys colour scheme does. The image is in the middle of the advert which creates a sense of attention drawn to the center which is important.