Rough Cut Feedback

To try and find what were our strengths and weaknesses of our project we decided to show our music video to a couple of people in order to get some feedback. We wanted to know if the narrative that we were trying to portray of the music video was easy for everyone to understand. We also wanted to know what were the most popular aspects of our music video and bits that people thought that we should change. Here is some of the feedback that we got:

Evaluation of Editing Progress

So far with our editing we have only done the performance bit, but hopefully we will start putting in the auditions shots on Friday or Monday. I think that the performance shots was the hardest bit to edit as we had to make sure that all the shots were on the beat and somehow linked up. To do this we had to constantly zoom in and marker everything up so that the artists lip-syncing matched up perfectly to the music. I think there are parts of our rough edit which are great, matched the beat perfectly and looked really good but there are other parts where I think the shot do not look as professional as we would like but in those parts we will replace with the audition shots. I think that at this point one of our weaknesses are that we don't have many shots of the party scene. We wanted to leave it more towards the end but I think that leaving it too late in the video meant that we didn't have many shots to chose from therefore we didn't end using the party scene much. 

The only real main issue we had while editing so far was when the media department was changing how we would access our music videos. They had to save everything to desktops but as a result of this somehow our project got mixed into a file with some other people. Because of this we couldn't edit that day. But this was easily solved by coming in when we had free time and trying to make up for what we should of done. 

I don't think that our project is changing but obviously it is going different to our storyboard. I think that because now we actually have the shots its easier to match up what looks good and what doesn't. The structure is around about the same, just the shots are in different orders to our storyboard. As well we cut a lot faster than how it is planned in the storyboard. 

I think that the only post-production work that we will need to do after we have finished editing is cut the music. Because the song is a lot longer than we are allowed to have it. But I think we have a perfect part of the music of which to cut which will work really well as the end. 

Evaluation of Shoot Day

Unlike a lot of groups we were not able to set up the day before our shoot because the group the day before us went too late into the day. Although this wasn't so much of a problem for us because our set up was basic and was very fast. But on the morning of the shoot, when we went into the studio it was a mess and since we only had a day to shoot we were a little worried. Luckily it was a really quick set up and the studio quickly went from a big mess to our first set, the performance and party scene. 

Since our video doesn't really need a lot of props we focused mainly on how the set looked before we started out shoot. Once the lights were put on and our performers were positioned it really looked amazing. It was exactly how we wanted it to look and was were all really really happy. But it wasn't only the set which looked amazing our cast were much better than I expected. They knew all the words and were not embarrassed at all, really went for it which I think just made everything come together really nicely. 

The best thing I thought which really worked well with our group that we rotated the roles so that we each got to try something new. For our music video we didn't really need really complicated shots so the switching of who was filming was very easy and didn't take us very long to figure out. When we were actually filming the 3 of us were acting like directors the whole time, telling the cast what to do and when to do it. On the shoot day I had a chance of filming, directing and helping out the cast members. I think our whole group contributed really well. 

I think that on the day I handled the organization of the day well. For example when we should do the shots and how we should film it. Since we had a big cast it was hard to organize everyone and I think I did a good job of getting things done efficiently and without stress.

Luckily for us we didn't really have any problems on our shoot day. We got a little bit stressed when we came in in the morning and the studio was a mess and we had to set up but instead of worrying about it I think our group just got onto it and it didn't have any negative effect on our shooting day at all. Although another problem we encountered was that for our 'party scene' it didn't seem like there were enough cast members to make it effective enough. So we ended up going into the lunch hall and asking anyone we could get to come into the studio and join in for an hour. It was easy to get a bunch of people the only thing was we had to keep them at the back of the set so it wouldn't look so obvious in the music video what we had done. 

I think the most successful part in total of our shoot day was the casting. They came in knowing all the words meaning we wouldn't have to waste time going over them and they  were really confident in acting the part. Throughout the day people were coming into the studio to have a look and the most common compliment was how good the 3 main performers worked and look together. I think that this element will make our music video really great. 

To be honest I don't think that the shoot could of gone any better. We had no major problems and everything seems to just run smoothly. Even looking over the footage I think that everything went really well. 

I think that our website will fit in nicely with the video. They both are quite modern and portray they type of image that we want the artists to have. But I think that on our website it will be really good to get some photos of the artists that we got from our shoot day and because of the way they acted we can put together a better actor profile of the artists. 

Website Evaluation

This is a small preview of the home page of the website. The idea is that when logged onto the site you enter the home page, which is the first picture. This has the logo of the band and will show all the different pages that the site offers. I like the look of the homepage because I think that it gives a feel of the band although I think what would be great to be added the music of the band when opening the page. Just to try and promote the brand further. 

The next two pictures just demonstrate the idea of how the other pages on the website will look. I think that the layout is good but we need to use more colors and patterns because I think it looks boring with all of the writing being in a white or light grey. 

Artists Websites

To gain inspiration for our website we look a Daft Punks website as their website has a similar feel to how we would like our website to be perceived

http://www.randomaccessmemories.com/

We like this website because the sleek futuristic feeling appeals to a mainstream audience. We would like outs to have a similar feel to it, also the graphics are very modern and promote the idea that the band is "out of this world".

We also really like Justin Timberlakes website, it portrays him as fashionable,mainstream and yet still retains an element of sophistication.

http://justintimberlake.com/main/

We noticed how easily all the websites promote buying tickets to their shows, we need to include and advertise this in our website. Justin Timberlake is also relevant to us because his music dabbles in different genres of music from rap and hip hop to pop, like our band with its three individual artists.

Snow Patrols website also is inspiration for us. Everywhere that you look on the website they have their logo branded which makes the instantly recognisable to fans and helps sell their image.

http://www.snowpatrol.com/

I also like the contrast of colours on Snow Patrols website. The whiteness of the website encourages you t oread the information without being distracted but the colourful colour merging logo is aesthetically pleasing.

The Rolling Stones website also gave us lots to think about, it contrasts to Snow Patrols but the funnies and liveliness adds a new dimension to the website and encourages you to explore the website.

http://www.rollingstones.com/

I like the way they have added cultural symbols that mean something to the audience on their website, also the faded and slightly old look isn't one that we are going for but I do like how it looks and the rustic authentic feel that it gives off.

Since part of our video is heavy hip hop and rap we decided to explore a website of someone in this specific genre which is Usher. His website really focuses on the glamour of the rap and hip hop genre which encourages audiences to listen to it because it elevates them into this seemingly glamourous world.

http://usherworld.com/

Animatic Evaluation

A storyboard is a set of drawings which outline what is going to be seen on screen for either film,tv or in this case our music video. This is done normally so that the people know what they need to film, how it looks on the camera but for us it was especially helpful for practicing our editing before doing our real music video. 

Storyboarding is a very important process because it allows people to organize all the shots, how they want them to be shot, how long for and outlines what needs to be done for the day. It can also be helpful when editing the real thing because it is always something you can look back to refer too. 

I think that the key moments which represent our animatic are all of the people auditioning with the expressions of the judges mixed in. One of the really positive things i thought about our storyboard is that even though our group are not the best at drawing people seemed to get the concept of our video anyway. 

The good thing about our animatic was that we had plenty of shots. The media department said that once in the editing suite we wont have any problems because there will be so much film we will be able to use. Another positive aspect of our animatic was that generally we were always cutting to the beat although this could be improved on a little bit. Although I think that one thing we need to work on is having a wider variety of differently shot types because they are mostly all the same. 

The main elements of our storyboard that we will keep in our music video will be the collage of all the different acts happening throughout the video. Seeing only quick shots of peoples auditions throughout the music video leading to the build up at the end. Also most importantly another aspect we will see throughout out music video is the performance of our group which will mainly be the female singer. 

One of the lessons that I have learned through doing this animatic is that it is important to have a plan. For example when putting together our animatic we had our timeline help us and I think that when we are editing our animatic will be really useful. 

Idea for our logo

This is our sketched version for the logo of the band. When we create it on photoshop it will look a lot more professional but for now this is just to show a quick sketch of the idea. For our music video we are planning to have the logo shown as much as possible therefore the logo must be effective. 

Album Artwork

This album cover has a very modern look which we really want our album to have. By looking at the album we can get the idea that the music is probably electronic and pop- exactly the genre of music that our video is. Although if we were going to do something similar to this we would have the artists photos instead of figures because it will be there first album and its important that people can recognize the artists. 

The best thing about this Avicii album cover is that it really stands out. Its something very different which pulls your eyes towards it. I think that thats important for an album cover because it may persuade people to have a look at the album or even buy the album. I think the use of bright colours are great and the direction we would want to go for our album as well. 

The reason we like this album cover is because the use of colours and how they all seem to come together and the effects which are done on the artists but still being able to recognize her. The album cover has a slight trippy feel to it which relates to electronic music. 

We like this idea for a album cover because it involves bright colours but mostly because of the picture of the artist in the middle. We thought that we could do something like this and have the three different artists positioned the same with the girl in the middle and the two male artists by her side. 










We really like the modern electronic feel to this album, how it shows all of the artists in a classy way. And shows elements of their personality through small objects that they are wearing or carrying. The only thing is in our album cover we would like to use more colours. 

Our Set Design

Set Design for Leila, Marita and Gigi

For the auditionee filming section we'd like hem to be in this set

 

For the casting directors/band we'd like them to be casting from this kind of an environment 

For the waiting room that the audtionees wait in, we would like it to be minimal but drab

For our "music video" scene this sort of a set with a projection of the bands logo would be ideal, with smoke machines, microphones and a dj booth 

Cast and Costumes Props List

To get organised early we decided to make a lists of our cast members, so we could ask them and get them well prepared, our costume so we could make sure we had all the outfits, and the props list to make sure nothing was impossible to get.

  Cast Member:         Their act:                  Costume:

Amber	Model	Skinny Jeans, white tank top, black heels, hair down.
James Hartman	Mime artist	Stripy black and white long sleeved top. Black trousers and shoes, half black half white painted face, with black teardrop under the one eye.
Laura	Bunny	Black leotard, bunny ears and bunny tail, hair down black tights and heels
Alastair and Alex	Juggling	Spotty clown like top, with bright colored trousers
Bella	Reading Shakespeare	Black long fur coat, silk slip dress, black boots, and hair in tight bun.
Slevin	Librarian	Long brown skirt, cardigan-beige, white shirt, old glasses, pearl necklace, tan tights, frumpy shoes.
Annabella	Fairy princess	Fairy outfit, white tights, wand, pink bunches or plaits.
George	Rocker	Usual George attire
Greg	Tribal dancer	Brown hula skirt, lots of body paint, African tribal feel (Loz sorting out)
Russian Maxim	Topless	Jeans white, t-shirt.
Peaslake As	Body popper	Jeans, trainers, black t-shirt, flat cap.
Anastasia, Natasha, Philly	Flexible tricks	Leotards and tights, hair in pony tail with dance shoes.
Gil	DJ	Average Gil outfit, jeans and printed top with beany/ cap.
Habeeb	Rapper	Jeasn trainers, white t-shirt with gold chain and other bling.
Russian A2 Girl	Female singer	Tight jeans, heeled boots, big studded belt, cropped tank top, bling, hooped earing, hair down big and curled.
Charlie Feeney	Goth	Big hoodie with hood up, black jeans and lots of studded silver jewelru and heavy make up.

• ·      12 plastic chairs for the waiting room scene
• ·      A skull (for Shakespeare dramatist)
• ·      Smoke machine
• ·      Colored flashing lights
• ·      Make up mirror
• ·      Desk for the judges to watch the auditions with logo on the front 
• ·      3 director style chairs
• ·      Classroom clock for waiting room
• ·      Floored slim plant pot with green bamboo like plant 
• ·      2 tall standing set lights

Licensing Request to the Record Label

Trying to find out how to contact Interscope Records was very difficult because all they had as their contact details was their address and not an email. Therefore I ended up sending the email to Universal Music Publishing Group which own Interscope Records. Here is a copy of the email below: 

Picture StoryBoard

Before we upload the storyboard in timing with the music these are just some pictures of the story board in order to get an idea of what we want in our music video.