Production Diary

12/09/17 - This was our first group meeting. Our group is Phoebe (me) and Lucy. Me and Lucy met up in the summer and discussed some potential songs. We created a list. Our first meeting back at school we went through the list of songs we created and cut some of the list and added some on. We listened to some songs from Black Honey and narrowed it down to 2 Black Honey songs - Madonna and Spinning Wheel. We liked both songs but needed to choose which one we both wanted to do.

18/09/17 - In this lesson we decided on the song Spinning Wheel. We both liked this song and we had lots of ideas of imagery and scenes we wanted to create for the video. We printed off the lyrics and started to plan out what we were going to do for each line and costumes, props, themes we wanted to incorporate into the video.

Image result for spinning wheel black honey


19/09/17 - In this lesson we created a pitch for our music video in preparation to present it to the class. On the powerpoint we explained the key ideas we had for the music video and created a mood board for the video. We included pictures and videos of influences we had for the video, for example the camera affect in The Hunter by Slaves.


Image result for the hunter slaves

20/09/17 - In today's lesson we presented the presentation to the class and got their feedback. The class liked most of our ideas, such as the western themes for the song. They picked up on the slow pace at the start and gave us ideas on how to work with the pace. They gave us the idea to not fully reveal the artist but set the scene and slowly begin to reveal.
Image result for western themes


25/09/17 - Today we wrote a list down of what props and costumes we need for the shot. We bought a couple metres of pink sequinned fabric which we are going to use for the backdrop in one of our settings for the video. We also went through loads of magazines and started to cut out pages and bits we wanted to create a collage for another backdrop for our video.

26/09/17 - Today we continued cutting out faces from magazines to create a collage backdrop for the video.

27/09/17 - In this lesson we got cardboard, paper, and the cuttings out from the magazines and began to write out the song lyrics for the back board. We also completed the lip synch task. Me and Lucy took turns mouthing along to the lyrics and then reviewed them after to see who would play the main artist. We decided on Lucy being the main artist.

28/09/17 - Today we finished writing out and cutting the quotes out for our backdrop. We are really pleased with the outcome because the writing is neat, the images fit the themes of the video and the speech bubbles came out really neat. We then got some more props (e.g. beer bottles) for our video.

29/09/17 - We planned what we want to complete next lesson. Next lesson we want to: attach our quotes to the pink sequin fabric and make the collage with the magazine cut outs. In this lesson we caught up on the blog work that needed to be done, for example Timeline of Annotated Lyrics. This timeline will help us greatly because it will allow us to really see what the goal for our video is. We also watched music videos from previous years and peer marked them.

02/10/17 -  In today's lesson we took our eight meters of pink sequin fabric and pinned it up around the green screen room. We had to have help from other class members to pin the fabric into the wall using drawing pins. We then used cello tape to stick the magazine cuttings out and the quotes. 


                                                                                                                                                            03/10/17 - Today we added to the set by sticking up more magazine cuttings. We also played around with the lighting and camera angles in the green room so we could prepare for how it would work in the actual video. We decided we would use the reflective panel to create shadows and lighting spots on the fabric and Lucy's face.



05/10/17 - Today we spent two hours blogging and creating the Steal - o - matic. On the blog, we created the shooting schedule because we plan to shoot Lucy's scene Monday. We also added to the Risk Assessment. The Steal - o - matic is a compilation of different music videos which we have taken influence from but with our song soundtrack playing over the top. We used Premier to create this video and we took the videos from YouTube.

06/10/17 - Today we created the storyboard on Prezi for our music video. We got pictures that represented the shots we wanted and put them together with a brief description of where these shots will be used.We also researched other artists official websites and created a video of us describing them and explaining how they work. We did this because it will help us in the future when we are creating our own websites for our artist.

09/10/17 - In today's lesson we had a group progress meeting with our teacher to ensure that we were staying on track. In this meeting we assigned jobs to make sure every task was completed well. After the meeting we went onto the blogs and carried on uploading the tasks we needed to. We also created an availability schedule to plan out clearly when we were going to film.

11/10/17 - Today was our first day of filming. We spent 3 hours filming in the green room and getting a variety of shots. We started first lesson and added more cut outs to our set. We did this because we thought that the bottom of the set looked bare and we wanted shots of the whole set. In the other hours, Lucy did her make up and got into costume whilst I filled in the shooting schedule and took behind the scenes pictures.I then filmed Lucy lip syncing along to the song in different shots. We used kaleidoscope glasses to put over the lens and create a pink, kaleidoscope effect. This worked really well and provided the effect we wanted but it was quite difficult to get the camera to focus on the background instead of the glasses. I filmed Lucy from different levels miming the song and we incorporated shots of the set as well. We used different techniques, such as in focus and out of focus. We also filmed a lot of close up shots because we wanted to reveal the Lucy's identity slowly to keep the suspense of the song.



12/10/17 - In today's lesson we researched into band names. We used Name Generator website for help and used Survey Monkey to help us narrow down our choices. In the end we decided on the name CAKE for our band.

13/10/17 - Today we uploaded all our footage and spent an hour going through each shot and deciding what clips to keep and what ones to discard. we cut down over 100 videos to just over 60.

16/10/17 - In today's lesson we begun to put together and edit our footage. We are going to cut between shots of Lucy singing and the set to begin with. This part of the footage will be edited over footage of a TV in the lounge setting. We also updated parts of the blog.

17/10/17 - Today we filmed in the other location for the video. We filmed the part where Phoebe is lip syncing and dancing to the song in her own setting. We created the set in Lucy's living room. The set was made up of old magazines, CDs, shoes, food, food wrappers, clothes, posters, lighters, cacti,  and alcohol bottles strewn over the living room floor but all centered around an old style TV. The set was intentionally messy to reflect the deranged character's personality. The filming went well and we managed to get a variety of shots and photos which we can use in our video.

18/10/17 - In today's lesson we had a research lesson about Digipacks, websites and branding. We decided to rename the band from CAKE to can't sleep. We decided this because we thought it would suit the band's image more and would allow us to carry the synergy throughout every aspect of music video.

19/10/17 - Today we continued editing and uploaded the new clips onto the media drive. We also started creating the website. For the website, we had to create a logo which would be branded throughout all aspects of the music video. The website had to portray the band's image so the colour scheme had to fit with the set and logo.



20/10/17 - In today's lesson we continued editing on Premier. So far the editing is going well and we are pleased with the results. We also continued with the creation of the website and created more Pop Art logos for mine and Lucy's stage names. 

30/10/17 - In today's lesson we completed the Risk Assessment and begun creating our Halfway Evaluation presentation. The presentation includes artist details, band image, target audience and a teaser video. This will be presented to the class and we will be given feedback on how to improve what we have done. 

31/10/17 - We continued creating our Halfway Presentation and editing. We also created a To-Do list of what needs doing for the task.

1/11/17 - We begun working through the To-Do list, creating a prop list and costume mood board. We also continued working on the presentation. 

2/11/17 - In this lesson we continued the presentation and editing. We also drew out the storyboard - drew pictures of what the shots will look like and then wrote a brief description of the shot. We also did research into similar genre videos.

6/11/17 - In today's lesson we presented our Halfway Evaluation to the class and every member of the class filled out a feedback sheet. 

7/11/17 - In today's lesson we put together the feedback from the class and put it in a table. We then edited the work we had done so far according to the feedback we received. 

8/11/17 - In this lesson we watched other group's presentations and gave them feedback. This benefited us because it allowed us to get inspiration from other people's work and allowed us to put these ideas within our own work. 

9/11/17 - Today we continued with the editing, conventions of a digipak and edited the official website. Due to the feedback on the website, I decided to completely change the layout and visuals of the website. 

10/11/17 - In today's lesson we continued with the website and got more pages done. We also created more merchandise and created a store to sell the merchandise on. 

13/11/17 - Today we continued editing and importing new footage. We also continued updating the blog and creating the website. We also planned out a shooting schedule for the glass smashing scene that we will do tomorrow. 

14/11/17 - Today we filmed the smashing the glass scene. We filled a glass bottle with sequins and glitter and then ( with permission from the site officer), we filmed Travis smashing the bottle against a side building of school. We enlisted the help of Bethanie,Travis, Faith and Leah. When we first tried smashing the bottle the glass was to thick to be smashed so Travis had to throw it on the florr. Therefore it didn't go as planned but we liked the outcome. 

15/11/17 - Today we uploaded and reviewed the footage we shot yesterday. I also did lots of research for our blog. Research such as performance inspiration, artist research,social media and merchandise research. This research will really help us when reviewing the work we have done and allows us to fully understand all aspects of the music industry. 

16/11/17 - Today I spent all day recreating the website. I created lots of merch and opened up an online store on the website. I created news pages, social media links, galleries and contact pages. 

17/11/17- Today we continued editing and we showed our teacher our second draft of the website. She then did a screenplay and gave feedback on the website. 

20/11/17 - Today we worked on the digipak and we created our first draft for the digipak. We got feedback on it from multiple peers and have begun editing it according to the feedback. We also updated the blog with our workings. 

21/11/17 - Today we started magazine research and continued editing. Our friend Josh, who is really good at editing, gave us some ideas for editing which we have implemented in our video.  

22/11/17 - In today's lesson we added another 30 seconds to our music video and begun creating the magazine cover for our band. 

23/11/17  -  Today we carried on editing. We were really happy with the editing because we got a lot of footage in and added some cool effects over the top. We also did further research into music magazines and we finished creating our first draft of out own magazine cover. 

24/11/17 - Today we got the feedback from our magazine cover. We asked our teacher to look it over and some of our fellow classmates. We also did research into different interview styles and we planned out what our interview would be like. 

27/11/17 - Today we continued editing and then in the afternoon, we asked our friend Travis to be the presenter in our interview. We then filmed the interview in the music room but when we watched it back we realised that  the setting of the interview did not look good and therefore the final film was not what we wanted so we decided to film again tomorrow.

28/11/17 - Today we finished the second draft of the website. We added extra pages (videos, bio and news) and we added to these accordingly. We also finished the second draft of the digipak - adding the borders and relevant information. We also re filmed the interview in a different location with a different presenter. We also created a presentation containing all our progress ready to present to the class Thursday and get their feedback on all our work so we can edit and improve. 

29/11/17 - Today we edited the final 30 seconds of our video for the first draft. We also edited the interview and uploaded it onto the website.

30/11/17 - In class we presented our music video and got feedback from our class members. The feedback was really positive and gave us ideas on how to improve. We also watched other groups videos which was fun because it allowed us to see their work and how it differs from ours. 

4/12/17 - In this lesson we caught up on the blog posts needed such as research presentations.

8/12/17 - Today we focused on editing and edited our music video according to the feedback we received in class.

11/12/17 - Today we uploaded all the feedback we received from our class mates about our website, digipak and music video. We also spent the hour evaluating and giving feedback to the other groups in our class. 

12/12/17 - Today we created a tour poster for our band. We made it on the website CANVA, which is a really simple software to use and creates a high standard finish. 

14/12/17 -  In today's lesson we continued editing and blogging. We finished finalising the digipak and websites and uploaded them onto the blog. 

15/12/17 - Today was our deadline so we spent the day editing the music video and finalising parts of it. We are really happy with the outcome! We also updated our blogs and finished off al aspects of the task. 

                                                                                                                                        
                                          

Self Reflection

Overall, I am quite proud of how I worked on this task. I kept me and Lucy up to date and organised with our work over the past couple of months. I was put in charge of keeping the blog updated, the website and the magazine cover. I have created lots of blog posts of  a variety of different research tasks, planning tasks and finished pieces. I was put in charge of creating the website. I used the online software Wix. I found this site really helpful when creating my website. It was easy and clear to use and understand and allowed me to create a professional looking website. I had to restart the website a couple of times according to feedback given. This was quite stressful but the website was easy to edit and adjust to my needs. I am really pleased with the outcome of the website I have created. I also was in charge of creating the magazine article. I used an online site called CANVA to create this. This website enabled me to easily make a professional magazine cover. I was also in charge of keeping the blog updated daily. This was the most difficult task because there were a lot of blog posts that needed to be created and uploaded and with Lucy editing I was responsible for making sure that all the research and planning was done for the music video.
If I was to go back and do it again, I would make a check list earlier on and ask for Lucy's help with completing it rather than trying to cram it all in and complete it on my own.

Group Reflection

Me and Lucy worked in a group of two. We thought initially that this would be difficult because there is a lot of work to be completed. We decided at the start of the process that Lucy would be in charge of editing the video, whereas I would be in charge of the blog. Throughout the weeks we shared the tasks, such as digipak and website fairly so that neither of us would be really behind in their work.
There was some tension on artistic view point, and the stress of deadlines but we managed to work through it. We created multiple To-Do lists and worked methodically through them together. We also inputted both our ideas for the actual filming and designing of the music set and in the end our combined ideas worked to and we were able to create a piece of work we were proud of and liked.
Overall, I think that we worked really well as a team and worked really efficiently. We met every deadline and criteria of the brief we were given. We were also in just a team of 2, which meant we were the smallest group, but we still completed all the work and extra, which we are really proud of. If we were to do it again, I think that we should of assigned tasks within the group earlier on which meant we didn't have a small panic later on.

Feedback from Digipak

Feedback from class members for our Digipak:

*Really like the images used, all contain similar colours which create synergy
*Like how images used can be seen in the actual music video
- Perhaps make the two 'Ghosts' the same font.

Launch Poster

We created a poster to advertise the release of our new album GHOST. We used the digipak of the cd as the photo so potential customers can clearly see our image and the type of music we make. 


Tour Poster

We created a poster which showcases the tour dates for the band's 2018 tour. We used thr same colour schemes as we did on our website and other media aspects of the band. We used a picture of Lucy because she is the main artist and we want to make it clear that she is the main focus. Our tour is in America because as a band we feel we have made it in the UK but want to take our music and make it big in the US aswell.  I used the website CANVA to make it.




Feedback for Website - Second Draft

Feedback from our class members about our website:

*Really good synergy links to your other media products
*Really easy to navigate around the website
*All tabs work
*Like the motion of the logo when you first click on it - good interactivity
*Good use of your images and digipak pictures and video snippets throughout the website
*Layout good
*Gallery shows good images
*News section gives good, useful information

-There is a blank at the bottom of the screen
-Possibly add another social media
-Home screen looks a bit bare, possibly add more photos
-Border cuts out on tumbleweed picture

Website Second Draft

This is the second draft of the website - and this is nearly the finished website. We have completely changed the theme and colours of the website so the website looks clearer and bolder. We have added more pages ( Home, Music, News, Gallery, Tour, Merch, Contact). We are really pleased with this website.





Music Video First Draft Feedback

Most of the feedback our first draft received was really positive, with lots of people noting that the video is interesting and that they did not get bored watching it - I was extremely happy with this, as the main aim for our video was to create something people had not really seen before. Additionally, there was a lot of praise for our performances, which again made me happy as good characterisation was essential in our video and we seemed to have pulled it off well.
Positive comments:
"Good TV effect"
"First effect looks good - really trippy"
"Characterisation + acting was perfect"
"Transitions between each shot flows - ghosting effect matches trippy theme"
"Extremely interesting - never got bored"
"Love your mise en scene a LOT"

Constructive criticism mainly consisted of people noting that one of the shots nearer the end went on for too long and needed a cut somewhere, which I agree with. Additionally, some said the kaleidoscope effect at the start needed to be cut down slightly.
There were also a few notes that suggested editing some of Phoebe's shots in order to heighten the contrast and brightness, which is a goal of mine for the final draft.
Critical comments:
"Take out the background noise" (an editing slip)
"Shots of Phoebe going crazy could be broken up with some quick (sped-up) shots in between"
"Could sharpen some parts"
"Some editing needs to be cut more suddenly with the music"
"Needs more shots of Lucy|"

Music Video First Draft

Creation of Synergy

We decided that we wanted to create synergy through different themes of our video. The themes we decided to utilise for this were: the colour pink, glitter, aggressive persona and kaleidoscope effect.
We successfully done this by carrying on these themes from our video onto our ancillary texts. Our website's primary colour is pink. All our posters are pink, therefore making the theme prominent.
Within our digipak, we have included glitter, and within our video and website, glitter is seen regular. This ensures that glitter becomes part of our band image.
We kept up the aggressive persona throughout the website, by having both actors making intense eye contact with the camera. We then took photos of this and used these images on all our ancillary texts - website, digipak, posters and magazine cover. The kaleidoscope images were also taken from the video and used across all the ancillary texts.

Interview

We filmed our band interview in the drama room in our school with Lorna as our presenter. We had a sheet of questions which Lorna asked us and we answered as the band. we also played a game of Who's most likely too...
The mise on scene of the room worked well because it looked professional and allowed the focus to be on us. We played the characters of the band well and answered the questions in character.
If we could do it again we would plan ahead and record it in the music recording studio to make the mise on scene better. We would also take out the background noise of people outside the room.


Final Music Video