Final Task

Music Video Draft

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLBC_rEfVJ8

Here is my music video very close to its final form, with only a few tweaks needed. This is what I have used this week to gain audience feedback

Feedback for the video has so far been extremely positive and the most useful thing I have learnt is that the narrative is clear and very well done. The animation and the style have also been especially praised. I screened the video to the rest of my media studies class and filmed their reactions whilst watching the video, as well as their feedback straight afterwards. I also gained feedback from Facebook.

The feedback I had from my class was similar that the narrative and animation were done really well. The only issues that came up were related to the aspect ratio of the video which would change very slightly at times, i.e. the black bar on the bottom kept bouncing. Lighting was previously an issue but I have been able to improve the lighting dramatically for this draft of the video. I was proud of how the lighting was improved for the scene at the small cafe from 02:11 to 02:34, for example, where the lighting was different in every scene but working in Adobe Premiere Pro, it's now much harder to tell the difference.

Poster Design Update #1

Today I worked further on creating the poster for the music video. I will be keeping the design featuring the man waiting for a bus, but instead of using paper cutouts, it was suggested to me that I use the computer to recreate the image. The reason for this was so that the poster seemed more original than simply using a still, plus giving the poster itself a greater effect and impact on the spectator.

I created the first of the images in MS Paint, based on the second image, and will later be importing the man as a paper cutout onto the first image to create the poster.

Second MV shoot

The second shoot for my music video, where I reshot some of the clips from the first time, was more successful. The problem with the first shoot was the lighting; here problems were still present but this shoot was more successful. I have been using more lights on the set as opposed to one light, so I have had more control with the lighting in general.

With this clip the lighting was better than the first attempt but still in need of improvement.

Ideally the lighting should come out more like this. When obtaining audience feedback this was the shot that got a "wow!" from my class so this does show the importance and the impact of the lighting.

Music Video Preview

Last week I completed a sample of my music video to show what the final production could look like. The video as shown here was edited using clips which were ready to show at the time, but just for this preview I used a different software because I was working from a computer at home (where the clips had been exported to), so the render came out in a much lower quality than what the final production will look like.

Unfortunately, as I've said, the video wasn't fully rendered. The raw footage, as an example, should look more like this:

Feedback so far (from the rest of the class) was extremely positive; the animation style used in the video proved to be a big success. The only criticism I got for the entire MV preview was that the narrative was quite hard to follow because the video was moving along very quickly, at least one other in my class felt more time was needed for everything to be taken in.

I may rethink the pace of the video as it is necessary that these clips are shown, to emphasise the character's emotions, although the video is currently moving along faster than the song which has a slower pace.

First Shoot in Colour

Recently I completed my first shoot for my music video using colours. All the animation was done using the 'I Can Animate' App for the iPod touch, which I used to make a short clip of animation for amusement and I was very surprised with how well the quality came out. The App does have an option to render each clip in 720p as I have been doing for this project.

The above clip of animation was probably the most successful from the clips I was able to film. However, for all my other clips, it quickly became apparent on playing them back in a larger and better quality, that a reshoot is now necessary due to poor lighting.

For the above clip: Here I tried to change the lighting on set for when the rain clouds come in, but when reshooting I will do this in post instead.

The above clip is the first of the clips I shot. The lighting to the left of the screen is poor because my shadow got in the way.

In the case of the last clip, the lighting was good to begin with but changed half way through so it is a matter of keeping the lighting constant. Here I have been using one lamp to control the lighting but for the reshoot, I intend on shooting with two lamps resulting in light coming from both directions.

I also think I'll need to check each individual frame more closely before taking a frame, position myself well as an animator so my shadow is not in the way, and review each shot on the computer instantly once the footage is ready. The problem with the lighting has only come about now that I have been able to review each shot in more detail. I intend on keeping the 720p quality the same but the lighting will clearly have to be reconsidered.

Choosing the Final Look of my Music Video

Following on from my latest post, I asked around my class and close friends and family for the most popular form of animation which I would use for my music video. I decided to ask to find out what people would most like to see, giving people the following choices:

• Cutout animation using black and white paper cutouts - the cutouts would be easy as I would just be copying out the designs from my storyboards again, and the black and white would add to the main character's feeling of isolation, a key theme in the song. This method would be effective and take up a decent amount of time.
• Cutout animation in colour - this was a recent idea which came about after seeing the film opening to 'Juno' which was forwarded to me. It would match my vision very well because there are areas of block colour which tie in well with my art style, and the colours would add more interest and be better to look at as an animation. The movements are also very similar to how my final product would probably look, so this method would look the most effective but probably be the most time consuming.
• Traditional 2D computer animation - using images created in Gimp or Photoshop. This would be the easiest method to work with, given that I would create all my images on the computer including each individual frame of animation, so if any errors are made these would be easy to correct, whereas with other methods the whole shot would need to be filmed again.

After asking my class, family and friends, it was decided to go for the second option as had been planned all along. I would agree this is a good decision because it would be best for my music video - computer animation and stop-motion are formats I am experienced with, so whilst cutout animations would follow similar principles, it is something I have not done before and therefore a challenge to look forward to. It also gives the video itself a unique feel and much more independent and artistic tones, whilst suiting the song very well.

Storyboards - #2

I recently did this design using very basic MS Paint to visualise how the music video could look if done using colour or part-colour. As well as this, I have been looking at the possibility of animating the music video digitally, using cutout animation on the computer as per the entire (except for its pilot) South Park series.

Shooting my music video in this way would reduce the problem of lighting, which is something I have had to control with traditional paper cutout animation because the shots I have done were filmed at different times during the day. It may also speed up the production process because I have had experience on this kind of animation before and I am familiar with the process.

However, I am enthusiastic about the idea of trying a new challenge using traditional drawings, so I am strongly leaning towards using paper cutout animation for the final production.

Initial Audience Feedback - #1

I have recently received audience feedback for the early development stages of my music video, using other members of my media studies class, close friends and family as critics. Every time the first comment has been the recognition of the "Tim Burtonesque" style which I have chosen to adapt, which thankfully is what I have been aiming for, as made clear with the shapes and formations of the buildings. After seeing the film opening to 'Juno' I have decided to adapt similar colour schemes to the drawings, which are currently black and white but are being amended as I have mentioned here.

Feedback has been positive and sparked interest from classmates, family and friends for being unique as an animated production. My classmates have even wanted to help through sending me potentially similar material to what I want my final production to be like:
http://vimeo.com/30604075
http://vimeo.com/1464977

I hope to obtain further feedback once more material is ready to show, but at present this shows that the music video I want to make is going in the right direction.

First Shoot and the Use of Colour

During half term I decided to film some shots directly from the storyboards I had created previously. At first it was hoped I would be able to use these in my final production, using a black and white look to show the lonliness the central character is feeling.

However, it was decided this week to shoot these shots again, after watching the opening title sequence to the film 'Juno'.



This helped me to find out how I could incorporate colour into my production. I intend on reshooting over the upcoming weekend to compare the two different looks and make a decision from there, although I feel colour will add greater interest to the music video. It would also tie in better with the song and its lyrics, and comparing this with the look of the titles for 'Juno', I think the feel of the song and the look of the music video will be perfectly combined.

Storyboards - #1

Due to a faulty internet connection at home I have not been able to update my blog as much as I'd like to, but since my last post I have been working on storyboards and artwork for the music video.

These images, apart from one, were all hand-drawn. The last one was drawn on my iPod whilst I had a new idea in my mind and no paper in reach. The drawings all received interest from the rest of the class, occassionally coming over to see what I had done.

Cutout Animation

I've decided to shoot my music video using a technique known as cutout animation, which has been most famously used in 'South Park', 'Charlie and Lola', segments of 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' and later the 'Monty Python' feature films. The segments from Monty Python's films and shows were animated by Terry Gilliam, who explains in this video about the techniques he used:



I have chosen to use this form of animation because it is relatively simple to achieve, whilst (when done properly) it looks very effective. I already have the facilities needed such as lighting, stages and greenscreen effects which I have used in other animations. This technique would also be much less time consuming - the characters can look exactly as I want them to, and no time will be spent searching for live actors or filming locations.

This would be my second time working with cutout animation, however, I am very familiar with stop-motion photography and can make it work in a similar way.

Below is an example of my stop-motion work from the summer of 2008 (probably a bit primitive compared to what I can do now!!):



I'm also keen at experimenting with animation so I am looking forward to trying this new method.