I found that the lip syncing excercise was a lot easier to edit because there were not different types of shots. However, the Busted video looked a lot better becase it looked really detailed and resembled the video well.
We began the post production stage by loading the lip syncing video onto the correct software. We then removed the sound of Leah and I singing along to the backing track and uploaded the MP3 format of Bonnie Tyler's 'Total eclipse of the heart.' We then had to use the editing software to drag and cut out some parts of the video so that the lip syncing was not out of time. We did this by dragging parts of the video and slowing it down etc.
The Busted video was a lot harder to edit. We uploaded the video onto the editing software and then dragged the seperate clips in order of the video. It was irritating because we had to look through lots of clips before we found the right one. However, it was good that we filmed shots a lot of times because this meant we could choose the best shot and it made the video look more proffesional. After every shot that we imported into the editing software, we then played the Mp3 format of 'What I go to school for' over the top of the video playing to see if it fit with the lip syncing. When it didn't, we would cut different parts of the shots so that they fit in. However, on some bits we found that the shots were too short and when this happened it meant that we had to go back to my research and planning 'shot type' list and look at the timings for each shot. I found this really frustrating and annoying but it was better than having the video out of time.
I found it really hard to do the last bit of editing for the shots of the cast outside the building, mimicking the part in the video when they are outside their school jumping with people dancing behind them. This was because during the production stage I had accidently not filmed all of the shots which meant that we only had one to edit. This meant that we had to use the same shot of the cast outside and replicate it twice. This worked, but did not look as effective as it could have been.
At some points in the post production stage, I would put the sound back on for the cast with the MP3 format and compare where it was going wrong. This helped Leah and I to know where we needed to fit the video/music to make it be in sync with each other. I found the post production technologies hard to do because I am not very good at editing and found myself watching Leah do it most of the time. Therefore for A2, I need to become independent in the post production stage and be confident with the software.
Thursday 1 July 2010
Production
For the lip syncing activity to 'total eclipse of the heart', Leah and I felt that it would look good if we practised the movements we were going to be doing before we filmed it. Therefore, for the first part of the song where there are two voices, I was close up to the camera (which was on a stand at face level to Leah and I) and Leah popped up behind me on her appropriate lines. I felt that this looked humorous and also made the video more creative. We then jumped up and did silly dances during the interval, which also created humour. The final video did look funny but also looked a bit of a shambles, a storyboard or screen shot list may of helped us to organize our video better.
The storyboard and screen shot list helped organize the class to let them know what they were doing every day in the week. On the first lesson, we knew that we were filming all the shots that take place in the classroom. Therefore, we organized beforehand to have old-looking school desks placed in the room. Everyone knew that they needed to bring in school uniform and therefore it got us off to a really good, organized start. We began the production by asking the cast to do a run through of different scenes, the first shot we filmed was the wide shot of Josh (character 'Matt' in Busted) who confidently pushes his friends aside to sit at the front of the class and stare at the attractive teacher at the front of the room. Josh had to sing along to the song and this was probably nerve racking in front of the class so I said that they should practise it first. I then watched a few practise run throughs of the first shot as Sophie filmed and then we filmed around 3 takes so that we had a variety of shots to choose from. After we had filmed the shots, we watched them back and told the cast how to improve to look more like the video.
The shots with Bonnie, who played the attractive teacher whom the students were lusting after, were difficult. This was because it was not a seperate shot but rather flowed into seperate shots. Therefore, Bonnie practised her movements while Sophie and I found a good way to film her. We decided to have it on 'zoom out' to start with and then tilt the camera slightly to show all her body and then have it zoomed in a bit more. This looked really good in the end and resembled the original video. Throughout the video, there are also various repetitions of shots. We filmed all of these in one go, for example, shots of extreme close ups of Bonnie's face are shown throughout the video so we filmed her face for several minutes in the right style then cut it down whilst editing it after wards. This allowed us to cut time by not going in order of the video. I found that we got through the classroom shots really easily due to good organization and the performers being confident. This shows me that when I do my A2 task, I should pick confident people who do not mind to perform because this always looks better and makes it easier.
The hardest shots to complete were the ones which were outside. We had to be really organized and find extras who were on that free. As director, I asked my friends who were all on that free to bring school uniform to college and meet outside of the building. I also asked my friend to bring her portable CD player which was really useful because we were able to play the track loud outside. I decided that the easiest way to film the scene was to record each memeber of Busted singing along and acting to the track and then later edit it in the post production stage rather than trying to complete every single shot of 'Busted' perfectly. We asked the extras to dance in the background of the three main characters, Busted, but this was hard to do because a lot of people obviously felt self concious. However, once they did it, it looked really effective on the tape. The biggest problem I found was working the camera because I turned it off whilst recording some scenes! This limited the shots we had to use in the post production stage and meant we missed out on some really good footage.
In conclusion, I feel that my Busted task went really well due to good organization by the whole class. Because of the preparation stage; shot lists, storyboards, prop lists etc, it allowed the production stage to run really smoothly because we were able to complete things quickly and effectively.
The storyboard and screen shot list helped organize the class to let them know what they were doing every day in the week. On the first lesson, we knew that we were filming all the shots that take place in the classroom. Therefore, we organized beforehand to have old-looking school desks placed in the room. Everyone knew that they needed to bring in school uniform and therefore it got us off to a really good, organized start. We began the production by asking the cast to do a run through of different scenes, the first shot we filmed was the wide shot of Josh (character 'Matt' in Busted) who confidently pushes his friends aside to sit at the front of the class and stare at the attractive teacher at the front of the room. Josh had to sing along to the song and this was probably nerve racking in front of the class so I said that they should practise it first. I then watched a few practise run throughs of the first shot as Sophie filmed and then we filmed around 3 takes so that we had a variety of shots to choose from. After we had filmed the shots, we watched them back and told the cast how to improve to look more like the video.
The shots with Bonnie, who played the attractive teacher whom the students were lusting after, were difficult. This was because it was not a seperate shot but rather flowed into seperate shots. Therefore, Bonnie practised her movements while Sophie and I found a good way to film her. We decided to have it on 'zoom out' to start with and then tilt the camera slightly to show all her body and then have it zoomed in a bit more. This looked really good in the end and resembled the original video. Throughout the video, there are also various repetitions of shots. We filmed all of these in one go, for example, shots of extreme close ups of Bonnie's face are shown throughout the video so we filmed her face for several minutes in the right style then cut it down whilst editing it after wards. This allowed us to cut time by not going in order of the video. I found that we got through the classroom shots really easily due to good organization and the performers being confident. This shows me that when I do my A2 task, I should pick confident people who do not mind to perform because this always looks better and makes it easier.
The hardest shots to complete were the ones which were outside. We had to be really organized and find extras who were on that free. As director, I asked my friends who were all on that free to bring school uniform to college and meet outside of the building. I also asked my friend to bring her portable CD player which was really useful because we were able to play the track loud outside. I decided that the easiest way to film the scene was to record each memeber of Busted singing along and acting to the track and then later edit it in the post production stage rather than trying to complete every single shot of 'Busted' perfectly. We asked the extras to dance in the background of the three main characters, Busted, but this was hard to do because a lot of people obviously felt self concious. However, once they did it, it looked really effective on the tape. The biggest problem I found was working the camera because I turned it off whilst recording some scenes! This limited the shots we had to use in the post production stage and meant we missed out on some really good footage.
In conclusion, I feel that my Busted task went really well due to good organization by the whole class. Because of the preparation stage; shot lists, storyboards, prop lists etc, it allowed the production stage to run really smoothly because we were able to complete things quickly and effectively.
Digital Technologies
We used different digital technologies for our first lip syncing excercise, for example, sites such as Youtube enabled us to watch karaoke versions of our songs and learn the lyrics easily. We used the camera and were able to zoom in on appropriate times, for example, we started off with the camera on the stand and then by the end of the video Leah zoomed in on my face to create a more dramatic, over the top style.
We used more variations of camera techniques during the Busted task. This was because we had to mimic all the shots of the Busted video perfectly. Sophie helped film while I directed the shots, she would get the camera into a position then I would look at the original video and see if it is similar. We found it easy to move the camera around, for example in the shot where Bonnie walks past the table, Sophie simply placed it on the floor and we lay on the floor to see if it was similar to the shot from the original video. However, it was harder to get shots from above (such as the shot of the whole class putting up their hand and answering 'Miss Mckenizie's' question.)
On the last day of filming, we filmed the whole group outside. However, we did not turn the camera on for some of the filming and I pressed the wrong button. This left us with limited recording for the last part of the task and has taught me to be more careful with the camera equipment when recording. I will remember this when going into the A2 course next year.
We used more variations of camera techniques during the Busted task. This was because we had to mimic all the shots of the Busted video perfectly. Sophie helped film while I directed the shots, she would get the camera into a position then I would look at the original video and see if it is similar. We found it easy to move the camera around, for example in the shot where Bonnie walks past the table, Sophie simply placed it on the floor and we lay on the floor to see if it was similar to the shot from the original video. However, it was harder to get shots from above (such as the shot of the whole class putting up their hand and answering 'Miss Mckenizie's' question.)
On the last day of filming, we filmed the whole group outside. However, we did not turn the camera on for some of the filming and I pressed the wrong button. This left us with limited recording for the last part of the task and has taught me to be more careful with the camera equipment when recording. I will remember this when going into the A2 course next year.
Planning and research
For the first task that Leah and I had to complete, the lip syncing task to 'total eclipse of the heart' we simply watch the Bonnie Tyler video and got a feel for the style of video and song. It was a powerful song so when practising for the song we used big, melodramatic arm movements and facial expressions to connote humour. We also practised different silly dance moves to go into the video.
For the second 'What I go to school for' video, I was the director. This meant that I had to take control over the planning and research for the task. It also meant that I had to organize the class and instruct them on various issues such as casting them to different roles in the video. I planned the video by firstly creating a story board, then a schedule for the week's lessons so that we would finish in time. I also made lists of props and extra's we may need for each shot.
Firstly, I cast the class into different roles. I did this by watching the video and then trying to match the different characters to people in the class. I also asked the class who would prefer to have a main part so that it was fair. I then created a list of all the props and costume (school uniform) they would need by going through the video and noting down any props we would need, for example, three electric guitars. I then printed this off and handed one to everyone in the class so that they knew exactly what they could bring in etc. On the days of filming, I also brought in spare school shirts in case anyone had forgotten them or in case we needed extras.
The storyboard was made by watching the original Busted video and grabbing screen shots and pasting them into an organised table. The table showed the shot, the timing of the shot and the different props etc we may need for it.
After this, I decided I needed to organize the class so that they knew what we were going to be doing every lesson in the week. I looked at all the video and because many of the shots were repeated (for example, close up of Miss Mckenizie's face) I decided we could do all the similar shots in one day. I created a 'shot list' which was a schedule of the week and allowed the class to know what they had to bring in on what day. I decided to do the easier shots at the start of the week (the close up of characters faces) and the harder shots for the end of the week when we had got more accustomed to filming (the outside dancing shots)
On days of filming I would use the shot lists which would help organize my time and the filming. It allowed us to get through filming really quickly because everyone was organized and knew what they had to do.
On days of filming I would use the shot lists which would help organize my time and the filming. It allowed us to get through filming really quickly because everyone was organized and knew what they had to do.
Introduction
After our As Media Studies exams, we were given two tasks to help us with our A2 Media Studies coursework. Firstly, we had to do a lip syncing exercise to Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of The Heart' and secondly we had to re-create the first 40 seconds of Busted's video 'What I go to school for.' For the first video, Leah and I were partnered together and for the Busted video I volunteered to be director.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)