Props

From previous research into existing products and having past experience in relation to creating a media production I understand the relevance of props and how the connotations of certain objects can have an effect on the audience. 

The first prop the my group and I secured was the bracelet. Apart from the girl her self, I really felt the the two settings of my product needed an item that was able to connect the two and bring the parallels together. A piece of jewelry felt an appropriate item that would be able to intertwine both settings. The bracelet it's self is able to signify a bond between the pair as well as symbolize the idea that they are together even when apart and the memory of what once was.  

The other main prop that featured in my product was a part of costume, a pair of sunglasses. Initially the sunglasses were used as a part of my product as a way to portray to the audience the idea that the scenes that they were viewing were taking place in a different season. I felt that sunglasses were an effective way of achieving this as when paired with light clothing and green scenery, sunglasses are able to help emphasis a change in season and place emphasis on a more summer like tone to the imagery. 

Another way in which the sunglasses played significance in my product was in relation to the male characters identity. The focus of my music video is the girl as it follows her story and her emotions, I didn't want the onset on a male character to be distracting to the audience and neither did I want the audience to establish as much of a connection with Joe as they would Megan. I felt that the sunglasses were able to mask Joe's identity is subtle way without drawing to much attention away from the overall message of the video. 

Additional Production

After our previous session of filming my group and I were unhappy with several shots and were were also unsure of the outfit worn by our male lead. Due to these areas in which we felt could be improved we decided to schedule and new date in order to secure some more shots.

Below is an example of one of the shots we attained during a second round of filming.

Although it would have been better if we were able to have secured that shots we needed in the way we wanted first time i feel that my group and I were able to demonstrate good time management in relation to how we efficiently rescheduled our production plans.

Overall after filming the scenes again we were must more happy with the shots and I feel that the improved quality will help my final product to come across as professional and well executed.

Additional production

As we entered the further stages of our production, my group and I decided to continue with filming in order to obtain our city scenes. We scheduled to film in Oxford city center as I have disused in a previous blog post, the conditions for filming on this day were perfect as it was bright but still cloudy and it was fairly busy with people. As in the past, in order to make sure we got the most out of time filming my group and I made sure that we went to location with our shot-list and storyboard. During our time in oxford we were able to film all the shots that we had planned for as well as film some shots that were more spontaneous such as a telephone box which caught my attention, other shots were obtained more passively for example below, the shot of Megan putting money in the machine. I filmed this just to test the camera was working accordingly and we watched back and found that we liked the way that it looked. Having structure to the way that we film is important and a necessary part of ensuring that all shots required are gathered, but also the fact the we gave our self some creative freedom allowed us to get some shots that were not planned for which we may use or not.

Candle flame practise

In a previous post I discussed how I wanted to include a variety of shots in my final product that were more abstract and that added significance to the tone of my overall piece. One of the potential ideas that I wish to include is a flickering flame and smoke, I felt as this would fit well in my final product as flames are able to signify romance and feelings of love which is a part of the narrative for my music video. 

Initially my group and I were unsure of how we wanted the flame look on camera and we were also aware that our choice of lighting had to be appropriate seeing as we wanted the flames to appear bright and vivid but we also needed enough light in order for the smoke to show once the flame had been blown out. 

When filming my group and I struggled with an appropriate location considering that outside was windy and bright and inside filming was not allowed seeing that we were on school site. We decided to line a box with black paper in order to shield the flame from the wind as well as limit the amount of natural day light. I was pleased with the overall outcome as it gave us a feel for the potential challenges we face when filming fire.

When editing we decided to dim the background during the edit in order to make the flame more vibrant. We also decided to reverse the smoke and flame as this made the shot more interesting to watch. 

After completing this small practice task my group and I agreed that we liked the idea of striking a match however we felt that a long and tall candle would look better than the one we originally used in the clip above. 

Begining Production

As I mentioned in my location post it is vital for my final production that I secure the 'summer' shots before the weather changes, due to this my group and I decided to begin filming for our final product before this happened.

My group and went to our location along with our cast members and began filming our 'summer' shots. Although the temperature was extremely cold the sun was shinning which enabled us to get some stunning shots, some leaves on the trees were turning brown and areas of the location looked autumnal however the orange tones paired with the sunlight created the look of sunset rather than sunrise which fitted our theme just as well. The shots we gathered are intended to be a memory of the girl so we aim to add a hazy filter to them during the editing process so I believe that any hints of autumn will be effectively masked. 

Above is preview of one of the practice shots we got during filming, due to Megan's sunglasses I had to be careful and angle my self so  that the camera was not show in the reflection. I feel the shot is able to portray the feeling of a summer season.

Colbie Caillat - I Do (Recreation Task)

The video below shows the final out come for the short clip recreation task that my group and I were set.

We were very pleased with final outcome and feel that the we executed the task well. On completion we decided to obtain some audience feed to help us identify ways in which we could improve for future products. We found that the initial pan at the start was too long and should have ended still on the subject rather that continuing to move past, this continuous movement gave the audience the impression that another subject of importance was going to enter the frame from the right and when this did not happen it slightly distracted the audience from being fully engaged in the video. 

Another area of construct raised was that our framing could have been better in the scene in which the girl is creating the frowning pattern with the yellow flower petals. When filming every this in the frame is important and the large void of empty space to the left of the action showed to be another distraction. 

The most positive aspects of the final products include the scene in which the camera pans through the yellow flowers. It was noted that the this specific scene created a vibrant contrast in colors and kept our clip visually appeal to those who watched. The mix of angles were also able to maintain attention and keep the audience interested through out. 

I feel that I was able to keep the clip similar to the original as well as including our own ideas and trying out different hings such as the final scene of the green post-it note. From this task my group and I were able to get a good feel for where we would like to take our final production and ideas and techniques that we would like to include in it. 

If i were to carry out this task again I would pay more attention to the smaller details and check shots more frequently as this will help to create a more professional product and I will certainly carry this out in future filming.

Next I will continue final production planning and continue with my product research.