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.

Poster Design and Shoot

The design for the poster is based on a still from the video, in which the man observes the girl he admires coming out of the cinema with yet another boyfriend. The bus behind him is advertising an online dating site to emphasise that he could/should try finding someone else, but he stares on at the girl he really admires. In the background is the cafe which will appear as a key location later in the video, when the man finally gets to talk to the woman.

I have shot the pictures above in both portrait and landscape formats to expirement with both and visualise what they will look like, even though I will be using portrait for the final 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.

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.