Music video #2

For the second half of the music video which involves Sara being transported into the woods, would have a mise-en-scene similar to this...

More Filming Ideas

Over the weekend, I have been considering a number of ways to make the filming much more dynamic and interesting. This keeps the audience on their feet, and allows some sort of performance/narrative balance in the music video.

Although I had abandoned the idea earlier of having a fantasy "theme" I think I can probably re-incorporate this idea again into the base lip-syncing I will get Sara to do. I have already informed her to memorize the song again, all I need to do now is get a day for filming planned very soon!

Again, like before, the visuals of this needs to be properly considered. One idea of a visual was to have different coloured ribbons tied to trees as Sara wanders around the woods singing the song. A good location for this could be in QEGS School grounds, where the woods are slightly overgrown.

Lip Syncing

Editing is moving swiftly as the deadline is approaching. However, I did stumble across a minor error, but it can easily be corrected with some extra filming.

Considering the music video follows the journey of the singer, most of my lip syncing is based around her "traveling" in the music video. However, it's easier to create a base clip of Sara, the actress, singing the entire song. This way, it can be a "foundation" for the music video and it would easier to match the music to the song.

This is done using the marker tool, as seen in this picture.

The marker is placed in match with the music on the video clip and the music on the audio clip. For example, the marker is placed on the word "Calendar" and then "Calendar" is found on the audio clip, and then the two are snapped together. This automatically allows the lip-syncing to be matched exactly. 

Re Equipment

Hi Ria, Will have camera and tripod ready for you to collect at 3.15 unless I hear otherwise.
Mrs Excell

Filming Day 1

Yesterday the first third of the music video was created. This went very successfully as I achieved the results I wanted. The filming went well and I got some really good shots of Sara's bedroom and the idea of "isolation" was conveyed well because her room was quite dark. A successful shot that conveyed this was the mid shot of Sara looking through her closed blinds. As Sara cowers away from the bright sunlight, it clearly shows that she is in a state that leaves her with no imagination.

The weather was perfect on that day. There were slight intervals of sunniness, and I got some decent garden shots. As the sun shines, it shows that the singer is slowly getting more inspiration.

The second date of filming will be in the woods, which leads on from Sara entering the her garden shed and entering a mystical and mysterious world, where the "tinsel journey" continues.

The third filming date will be on bonfire night so we can get some firework shots into the music video. This is where the music video will end and it works perfectly as the lyrics are "I need a spark to ignite my pilot light." This is a play on words and directly correlates back to the music video.

There are things that I need to make sure of when I film these parts... continuity:

• Sara's hair, clothes and make-up need to be exactly the same. This includes the bedroom slippers she is wearing when she leaves her house.
• The tinsel needs to be bought also, so the trail can be continued.

Risk Assessment

Music video

 

This is a collage of a few of the features that could be in my music video.

Casting

For my music video, I will definitely need a "singer" to play the part of Amber. I believe that Sara Da Silva would be perfect for the part, as she has participated in the performing arts before, is a good singer herself, and would be able to play the part and lip sync professionally. Sara is also very reliable as an actress, as I have used her in the past for other projects.

"Pilot" Shot List

Shot 1: Close-up shots of origami birds hanging from the ceiling.
Shot 2: Mid-shot of Amber in woods (performance) looking melancholy
Shot 3: Mid-shot of Amber attempting to write music, and make music with her acoustic guitar but then fails. "Hiding out from the world..."

Shot 4: Side, mid-shot of Amber looking through blinds, seeing nothing interesting and then leaving.
Shot 5: Mid-shot of Amber walking across bedroom.

Shot 6: High-angle shot of Amber noticing the tinsel and reading the note on it.
Shot 7: Close-up of the note.
Shot 8. Amber getting up and following the tinsel
Shot 9: Amber walking into the kitchen
Shot 10: Close up of the note
Shot 11: Amber puts down the note and continues following the tinsel out the back door.
Shot 12: Amber walking down the back wall towards the garden
Shot 13: Amber walks towards the shed
Shot 14: Close-up of note on the shed door
Shot 15: Amber opens the door
Shot 16: Close-up of Amber's hand trailing off the door handle
Shot 17: Amber opening the door on the other side
Shot 18: Amber is in the woods, looking confused
Shot 19: Amber performance part, standing with the woods backdrop
Shot 20: Perspective shot of Amber's shoes, walking through the leaves
Shot 21: Amber performing - woods backdrop
Shot 22: Amber following the tinsel around the woods, crisscrossing in and out
Shot 23: Performance part, tracking camera of Amber walking through the woods nicely dressed.
Shot 24: Low angle shot of trees blowing in the wind
Shot 25: Low angle shot of branches blowing in the wind
Shot 26: Mid-shot of Amber lip-syncing... trees in the background
Shot 27: Tracking mid-shot of Amber following the tinsel towards a log with a note on it
Shot 28: Amber sitting down on the log and picking up the note
Shot 29: Close-up of the note
Shot 30: Amber puts down the note and gets up
Shot 31: Amber lip-syncing
Shot 32: Amber walking back up a hill
Shot 33: Amber lip-syncing
Shot 34: Amber walks behind a tree without a coat
Shot 35: Amber comes out from behind the tree with a coat on
Shot 36: Amber lip-syncs the last note
Shot 37: A high-angle shot of fireworks exploding in the sky

Ideas - Alice in Wonderland

From my interpretation of "Pilot" by Amber Rubarth, I got the impression of trying to find inspiration and failing to do so.

Initially for the music video, I wanted an Alice in Wonderland concept for the music video, as "Alice"/"Amber" stumbles across different fairytale characters in a unique and surreal world. As I carefully considered all the elements realistically, I decided that there are many things to consider:

• The costumes and props: a number of costumes would be necessary such as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Captain Hook, fairies, various animal costumes. Props would include a sword, a pocket watch,  fairy wands etc. This could be expensive.

• At least 5 people for cast: As Alice/Amber stumbles through a fantasy world, she finds many different characters - a lot of people need to be cast. The problem with this is how to attain so many people at one time. Having a high number of cast for the music video makes it difficult as people could be unreliable. It is important that everyone shows up on time, and it would be easier if I required few cast.

• There are very few places that could be presented in a "fantasy" atmosphere. A number of forests and woods in the surrounding areas would have to be looked at.

In this collage, I have analysed the interests of the girl in the center, Ellie, aged 18 from London. Her interests are less mainstream and more dedicated to quirkier and "indie" things. Her favourite actress is Zooey Deschanel, famous for (500) Days of Summer and hit US TV show, "New Girl". She plays guitar, likes to read and loves attending gigs. Her favourite musicians are She & Him, Tegan & Sara and Ellie Goulding. She comments she loves the delicateness of their voices and their catchy, unique tunes. In her spare time, she does a little songwriting herself. 

Ellie listened to "Pilot" by Amber Rubarth and carefully listened to the lyrics. She felt that she could associate with the song herself because she often feels that she needs inspiration when she's is feeling down. All in all, I think the audience I need to aim towards for the music video should be people like Ellie, but I will also keep my options open in order to promote Amber to different people to see if they will find her music appealing too.

Storyboarding

Gender Representation in Music Videos

In class, we looked at a music video by The Pussycat Dolls called "Buttons." Upon looking at the music video clearly, we noticed that there were a lot of aspects to the music video that could perhaps be "sexist" due to the provocative dance moves and mysterious facial expressions whilst Snoop Dogg overlooks them which relates back to the "male gaze."

After the lesson, I went off on my own and investigated other genres apart from the pop/hip hop genre that represented. US Pop/Rock band "Boys Like Girls" have a music video for their song "Love Drunk" which features Ashley Tisdale. The music video shows boys staring at the girls, as if she is an object.

Lyrics - Ideas w/ illustration

This is a picture of a sheet of A3 paper in which I had listened to "Pilot" by Amber Rubarth and written down the lyrics. After listening to the song several times, and whilst playing close attention to the rhythm and lyrics, I composed images in my head of what could be happening in the music video. I jotted some of these down and then incorporated these "images" onto the lyric sheet.

The Auteur Theory

François Truffaut claimed in his essay "A Certain Tendency in French Cinema" that a film is a great way to express a director's personal ideas. He believed that this meant an director should in fact be named an auteur.

An auteur simply means that the film-maker influences their movies so much, that they rank as their author.

"There are no good or bad movies, only good and bad directors." - François Truffaut

A man famous for being a film auteur is Tim Burton, who is famous for creating dark and quirky-themed films such as Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride.

Almost like a genre in itself, Tim Burton contains a lot of themes in his films, that are dark, mysterious and slightly creepy. However, a twist has been added to the films; despite it being dark and mysterious, there are elements of isolation and quirkiness. For example, in the film "Edward Scissorhands", the character of Edward at first glance would be something that would initially be feared, but as the story goes on, we learn that the character is harmless and completely misunderstood.

Steering more towards the direction of music videos and whilst keeping the auteur theory in mind, I am going to look at some music video directors who are famous for their unique styles they have created in the past.

Spike Jonze

Spike Jonze is a well-known director, producer and actor whose work includes a range of mediums such as producing and directing advertisements, short and feature films, television shows and music videos.

One of their music videos for American band "Weezer" was created in the style of 70's television program "Happy Days." The music video could easily be mistaken for a 70's video/performance, despite the video actually being shot in the 90's. The quirkiness of the music video enabled the music video to win MTV Video Music Awards 1995 for Breakthrough Video and Best Alternative Video.

In the music video for "The Suburbs" by Arcade Fire, the scenes are taken from Spike Jonze's short film "Scenes From The Suburbs" which involves scenes of young teenagers getting up to trouble in the suburbs. The video involves no lip syncing whatsoever, and literally just has a back story of the lives of the miscreants in the suburbs. I think this is an interesting concept, as it tells a story in a whole other way, and makes the band the narrator of the story (which is usually the case with music in itself).

Lyrics Analysis

I have created a "mood board" of brief ideas and interpretations of the lyrics of "Pilot" by ambeR Rubarth.

Lyrics Analysis

I have created a "mood board" of brief ideas and interpretations of the lyrics of "Pilot" by ambeR Rubarth.

Goodwin's Music Video Analysis

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics ( e.g. stage performance in a rock video, dance routine for a boy/girl pop band)

A music video that I think represents particular genre characteristics similar to a typical girly pop song would be the Spice Girls' music video for "Wannabe". The music video is typically 90's, which is reflected in the clothing, and the atmosphere of the video reflects the upbeat mood of the song. Their crop tops, high heels, short dresses and hair reflect "girl power" or female empowerment as they dance and gate-crash a posh hotel. It is quirky and fun, which directly correlates to the song and pop genre.

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals ( either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting)


Canadian indie rock band "Metric" have a music video which involves a combination of performance and concept-based footage.The video for their song "Stadium Love" involves the band performing in a cage, which is combined with footage of animals attacking each other. This relates to the lyrics "every living thing pushed into a ring, fight it out to wow the crowd". The use of animal conflict in the music video could be a metaphor to represent conflict in everyday life, whether it is between humans or war. The different species of animals attacking each other may represent the power struggle between people of different personalities.

3. There is a relationship between music and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting)


Two-piece band, MGMT are very famous for their abstract, concept-based music videos. Their music video for their hit song "Time To Pretend" is very strange and conceptual. Their music has a very 70's hippie element to it, and this is combined with weird shots like tribal dancing, neon flashing backgrounds, Aztec printed animal silhouettes, and the musicians themselves riding on giant cats. The entire music video helps emphasize the "stoned" element of the song, and the music video would almost make the audience feel as if they have been taken back in time. The editing is purposefully low-standard, again adding to the "time warp" feel of the song.

4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of closeups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style)


Popular music artist Lady Gaga is very famous for her outrageous outfits, controversial themes and  long story-based music videos. Most of her music videos contain ambiguous symbolism which can be up for interpretation or simply there for entertainment purposes. She tends to have lengthy music video introductions, which may include her speaking a monologue or a short film clip setting up a story. Her music videos also tend to include ambitious dance moves, which have been inspiring for other dancers and re-enacted by others and spread all over YouTube. Here are a few of her music videos, where you can evidently see these connections, despite having various different themes in each music video.

5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc.) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.


P!nk is famous for her message of female empowerment in her music videos. However, in her music video for "Stupid Girls" she mocks rich and stupid girls. She also continues this by parodying Jessica Simpson's music video of "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" in which she is seductively washing her car. In P!nk's music video, a young girl is watching TV, and P!nk warns and demonstrates through the TV screen not to be a "stupid girl."

6. There is often inter-textual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc.) 

Intertextual reference means that in the song or music video, there is reference to other existing forms of pop culture. In American pop/rock band "All Time Low", in the music video for their song "I Feel Like Dancin'" they talk about things current in pop culture like product placement in music videos, Jersey Shore and reference to other musicians' music videos such as Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance", Katy Perry's "California Gurls" and Justin Bieber's "Baby." The purpose of the music video is to mock mainstream musicians and themes and assure their fans that they have not "sold out" as musicians and they have decided to mock the mainstream music industry instead of joining them.

I have created a set on Polyvore indicating something similar of a "mood board" to identify the sort of atmosphere and features I would like in my music video. This was created whilst listening to my chosen track "Pilot" by Amber Rubarth.

Here is an email I had sent to Amber Rubarth, asking her if I could use her song for my music video.

Unsigned Artists & Tracks

I have looked at many different unsigned musicians in order to attain a track for the music video. I have mostly been looking around the rock/acoustic/indie genre area. Here are some of the ones I found:

"Sierra The Serial Killer" by Austin Gibbs

This is a musician who is already considerably popular among fans of the rock genre;- such as fans of The Maine, Ryan Adams and Wilco. I liked this song because there was a good vibe to it, and the lyrics were telling a very clear story. I felt that I could use this song for the music video, but have no one lip-syncing to the song; all you can see is the storm going on. Or, as an alternative, only hints of the musician can be seen, like strumming the guitar or the back of their head, to show a sense of "anonymity" in the music video due to the fact that the song is not about himself at all, but about a girl he hypothetically met.

Another musician I found was named Amanda Baker, who has a very soulful voice, who could equally fit the genre of my choice. None of her songs can be found on YouTube, but on her Myspace, her videos can be viewed.

www.myspace.com/amandabakersmusic

In the end, I decided to use a song by Brooklyn unsigned artist; Amber Rubarth, who is currently becoming increasingly popular in the acoustic music scene in the US. She also does not have any tracks available on YouTube, but her song "Pilot" which I have asked permission to use, can be listened to on www.myspace.com/amberrubarth. I, myself, really enjoy the track and it fits exactly with the genre I was aiming to use. In the next few days, I plan to start brainstorming and start annotating the lyrics in order to get a concept/plot to use for the music video.

Genres

I am quite excited to go down the acoustic/indie/folk route in terms of genre for my music video. I think I could incorporate some interesting concept based shots by using a rather chilled out song, with shots of perhaps nature to reiterate the "coolness" of the song.

This kind of atmosphere has commonly been associate in songs such as "Put Your Records On" by Corinne Bailey Rae:

Luckily, there are some similar rural areas in places such as Potters Bar and St. Albans, where these shots could sufficiently be provided for.

I know that genres such as "experimental" and "progressive rock" would be challenging, but I feel that if I use a genre that is simplistic in verse, I can embody more experimental shots and concepts into the music videos; keeping it neat yet creative.

This is a table showing an analysis of US band Paramore's music video for their hit song "The Only Exception"

Memorable Music Videos

I feel that in order to create a successful music video, they must be unique and interesting. I have been paying extra attention to the music channels and scouring through YouTube to find music videos that I think are interesting.

This song is by a band called The Maine, who are from Arizona, USA. Their song "Into Your Arms" has an interesting concept to it, as the lyrics are "I'm falling in love, but it's falling apart. I need to find my way back to the start" as the protagonist of the music video (the girl) and her surroundings are moving in reverse. However, the band that is performing is moving forward in time, almost as if the message is that he wants to move backwards and start fresh in order to continue on with his life. I really like the concept, and I think it would be challenging yet refreshing to incorporate a similar concept into my own music video that I will be making.

I have always found the music video for "1234" by Feist really memorable because the video was all shot in one take. Unfortunately, I believe it would be incredibly difficult to incorporate a one-take video in such a large way into my own music video, but I still feel that the abstract qualities of the video make it extremely appealing; the bright colours, the sweet and simplistic dancing and the shapes. The atmosphere of the music definitely is very parallel to the music, despite there being no narrative or specific performance with a band.

Going back to a slightly more older time in music, I have always been entranced by the story shown in A-ha's music video for "Take On Me." I love the way in which cartoon strips and real life are combined, and I have always been interested in the way in which the story progresses. I think a narrative-based music videos have the advantage of hooking the audience in with a story that could be associated with any film or drama that is watched on the television.

Memorable Music Videos

I feel that in order to create a successful music video, they must be unique and interesting. I have been paying extra attention to the music channels and scouring through YouTube to find music videos that I think are interesting.

This song is by a band called The Maine, who are from Arizona, USA. Their song "Into Your Arms" has an interesting concept to it, as the lyrics are "I'm falling in love, but it's falling apart. I need to find my way back to the start" as the protagonist of the music video (the girl) and her surroundings are moving in reverse. However, the band that is performing is moving forward in time, almost as if the message is that he wants to move backwards and start fresh in order to continue on with his life. I really like the concept, and I think it would be challenging yet refreshing to incorporate a similar concept into my own music video that I will be making.

New Beginnings: A2 Project

Q7 Looking back at the preliminary tasks, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

The intricacies of research, planning, filming and editing

Research is always a vital part to any project. To get a full understanding of the film you are working on, you need to have a thorough understand of the principles of a certain genre or, in this case, a film opening. However, in both of our preliminary exercises, there was minimal research and more concentration on skill involving editing and filming.

Planning, however, was a central aspect to the continuity tasks. For the first exercise 1, which involved re-making a clip of Life on Mars to match the audio, there was a lot of planning on how long each shot was required to be, and the correct angles needed to re-make the clip. We created a lengthy shot-by-shot timeline which listed timing and where the shot was set. We also noted down what effects and transitions were used for each particular shot.

Filming was hardly an issue, although the locations did not precisely match up to the original clip. We used a variety of locations such as the school grounds and the school car park for the beginning shot of the part by the car. Luckily, the sun was also shining that day which made the lighting in the footage perfect and more effective for the wooded parts.

Editing was pretty basic and easy to do since we used iMovie.

For planning on the continuity tasks, we created storyboards which illustrated shots and how long they were supposed to be. This helped greatly for organizational purposes.

Your use of technology

The preliminary tasks used a range of filming equipment such as a video camera, tripod and dolly. The editing was simply done using iMovie, which was a very basic and easy to use program regarding the arrangement of clips and transitions. The dolly was a tricky device to use with the limited space we had because we had to do a 360 shot around a character. We overcame that though through practice and a rearrangement of objects in the room.

The use of technology put us into good practice of the use of the equipment, so we knew exactly what to do for certain shots when we went to London to film our film opening. Also, the base functions of iMovie is similar to Final Cut Pro, so we applied the basic knowledge of iMovie into the film opening when we were using Final Cut Pro (splitting clips, overlapping audio, placing the clips at the right place on the timeline.)

The importance of organization, time management and effective teamwork

I felt that both of our preliminary tasks were highly organized and we used time well whilst planning out location, actors to use and the shot lengths. I believe we worked very efficiently as a team and put in a number of ideas and strategies to help us overcome certain obstacles such as the lighting in a certain shot or better locations for a more effective sequence.

I think working together on the preliminary task made us feel more comfortable with suggesting ideas later on in the process when we created the film opening. We felt much more confident to suggest what did work and what didn't, letting us self-improve along the way with constructive criticism and new stances on techniques.

Organization, like mentioned before, is vital and I believe that our group worked really well on hitting the deadline for our film opening. We mapped out our free periods and spare time to arrange filming days (as half of our film is set in London and at a friend's house) and we stuck to our schedule very efficiently. We knew that we could trust ourselves to put in the effort when required, and I think trust is a very vital part of teamwork.

The different roles within the creative industry

Our group have all dabbled in different roles regarding to make a film opening and we were always able to bring ideas on different aspects, whether it was costume design (the outfits required for each scene) or lighting and angles.

The eminence of cast and crew required for a full feature length film is overwhelming and a film opening is the perfect chance to portray that as the opening credits illustrate a vast variety of names. Some of these roles are:

• Writer - writes the script, commentary and dialogue
• Producer - raises money and is responsible for the overall production
• Director - interprets the script and directs the actors on how to act during filming
• Cinematographer - sets up shots according to the director's wishes
• Composer - composes theme music for the film
• Assistant camera - sets up camera, keeps it at the required angle, cleans it, loads film, operates the clapperboard, is in charge of the camera report sheet
• Art director - can create atmosphere for the film through set, lighting, costuming etc.
• Actors/actresses - play the characters needed in the film
• Sound editor - synchronizes the sound for the film

There are many more roles involved of course, but these are some to list.

Q6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Regarding technologies for the process of creating Turning Point, there was a number used:

Filming

• Tripod
• Video camera

Editing

• Final Cut Pro
• iMovie HD
• GarageBand

Stage 1:

Filming was a fairly easy task once we mapped out a schedule for filming days and locations. The video camera and tripod were both things we were familiar with and the use of it was highly basic and straightforward. There were hardly any problems apart from hiking up the tripod a little higher, and we needed a much higher angle for some of the shots. If we had "craning" equipment involved, then that method of filming definitely would have been used. A dolly wasn't necessary for any tracking or panning shots since we did not require any movement shots in the film opening as the atmosphere in the film opening was already quite fast-paced itself involving movement in front of the camera.

Stage 2:

When it came to technology involving editing, it was a new venture for our group as we had very little used Final Cut Pro. In the past, iMovie has been the editing program we have always used, and the functions of iMovie is very basic.

We first uploaded our footage (via firewire) onto iMovie HD and then imported those clips onto Final Cut Pro. The program was difficult getting the hang of since it is much more complex than iMovie and there is a wider range of options for editing audio, video and other aspects. Eventually, our group got the hang of the program and the editing process started to pick up it's pace.

The problems we faced involving Final Cut Pro was according to a various amount of factors. These were things such as fixing audio levels, applying certain video effects and using the freeze-frame feature. This was all overcome with the handy help of Google, which outlined step-by-step guides on how to get the required effect applied to our film. Also, some things such as title-effects and downloading new fonts were things we simply figured out on our own.

Stage 3:

Another editing feature we used was GarageBand. On GarageBand, you can create your own tracks which pre-made beats, guitar riffs and other musical aspects to create background music for our film opening. We needed two pieces of music and I feel that this was a very tricky task, as I spent quite a few lessons fiddling around with the program to get the perfect sound. Sound is a very important factor to films as it can entirely set the atmosphere. For the dream sequence I used an upbeat percussion and acoustic piece to set a very lively upper-class urban setting as Jane ventured through London's Oxford Street. The morning routine was a much more chilled out track as I carefully started it off with piano sequences and eventually built momentum as it kicked off into Jane's blurry morning routine. I think the music I made for the film played almost a leit motif for our character, and it mirrored the actions of what she was doing.

I found GarageBand very easy to use and had little trouble regarding the functions. The only hard thing about the task was to create the post perfect track to fit with the film's footage.

All in all, I think that the effort put in from the all three of us in the group to try to overcome the obstacles concerning technology was brilliant for people who had never used two of the programs before!

Q5. How did you attract/address your audience?

Mise-en-scene in a film is vital, not only to establish character and setting but to address certain elements relatable to the target audience.

Romantic comedies genuinely consist of very stereotypical objects:

• Pink - clothing, curtains, bed-sheets, nail varnish, cars
• A cell-phone, laptop, other forms of technology that might clearly establish a modern-day life of a female character
• Fashionable clothing - whatever is latest on trend
• A typical suburban middle-class/upper middle-class family house - (often in Hollywood films, representing the "American Dream")
• Typical feminine objects: mascara, pocket mirrors, blusher brushes, fashion magazines, photo frames of friends and loved ones

And many more to an endless list.

Turning Point has very clearly established these certain factors for the film.

Jane's bedroom is a perfect example of the mise-en-scene elements listed above. There are pink curtain, floral bed-sheets and magazines strewn all over the place, easily establishing Jane's character as girly. However, as well as magazines, there are white sheets of paper, indicating a less "fun" side of life, as paperwork can be matched up to a boring working life. I feel that there is a good mixture of character portrayed simply for this mid-shot, indicating Jane's quirky, "fashionable" character and her boring work life. This steps out of the stereotypical representation of women in romantic comedies for a while and focuses on the more realistic side of things; materialistic things cannot be attained without a work-life, or alternatively, an extremely wealthy background. The earlier is much more applicable to Turning Point.

This screenshot shows the first hint of our main character, and the pink nail varnish immediately establishes a "girly" and very "feminine" character. Although the stereotypical use of pink is not regarded entirely as "fashion-conscious" at this time, it is still used in many romantic comedies as it is still a traditional factor of "fashion" in that genre. It is likely that the target audience may be fashion conscious or just like the idea of a girly chick flick.

The props used in the film opening during the dream sequence and the morning routine have been clearly distinguished in their differences. For example, in the dream sequence, Jane is equipped with a flashy, more expensive phone and then during the morning routine we see a change; she has an old Nokia phone. The phones are angled in opposite directions, showing the contrast between the dream and reality. A Blackberry would be very common amongst the target audience, and therefore has props which relate to what the audience is in possession in.

Oxford Street is globally known as shopping-haven for those who are highly interested in fashion. Oxford Street is the home to as many high street and designer stores a person could think of and this immediately triggers interest to female teens and young adults who have a passion to shop.

Q4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

I have interviewed my friend, Jordan Ralph, who would be the perfect audience member for my film, Turning Point. I quizzed her on things such as favourite music, film, TV shows and other interests and hobbies. I have created a collage to represent these factors.

(Click to enlarge collage)

Jordan has a range of interests presented here. She states that "although Topshop has really nice clothes, I prefer New Look because the clothes are just as nice and much more affordable."

Jordan also says that she likes to listen to a range of different types of music, but she mostly like pop musicians such as Miley Cyrus, who inspires her. "I think Miley Cyrus gets a lot of media abuse, and I think it's unfair considering she's only young and everyone is bound to make mistakes in their lives. When we make mistakes, only a few people hear about it. When she makes a mistake, the whole world hears about it, and it's unfair. I think we should concentrate more on what she's succeeded in instead of focusing on the negativity."

She also likes a lot of pop/rock bands such as All Time Low, Hey Monday and The Summer Set."I love seeing bands live, there's such a thrill to it! Nothing beats live shows. They're all such lovely people to meet as well."

When interviewed on TV choice, Jordan said: "I love watching Glee! I have a huge interest for music and hearing their covers of songs is so interesting. I also like the way they target problems that a lot of teenagers go through."

Jordan also enjoys watching Gossip Girl. "I love how stylish they are, and they wear such amazing clothes all the time. Blair and Chuck are the perfect couple and the whole drama involved in the show is so tense!"

Jordan loves all kinds of genres but she's always liked watching romance films/rom-coms. "I loved Emma Stone in Easy A. Her character was smart and funny and I think the film has some very good life lessons in there. Dear John is amazing too, it makes me cry every time!"

When asked what Jordan does in her spare time, Jordan had quite a bit to list. "Long walks are the best, there's something really nice about it. Living in London means there can be a lot of traffic and the busy life can be nauseating. I like to go to a park and walk around with my iPod and get some fresh air. I really like shopping too! My friends and I go to Oxford Street often and then head off to a restaurant or café to get some food. I love Italian and Mexican, those are my favourites."

Jordan is also a huge animal lover. "I can't bare to see anyone abuse animals. I think it's disgusting and animals are no different to us. I can't imagine someone hurting my dogs, I love them to bits. I often help out at dog shelters in my spare time and I'm hoping to get back into horse-riding lessons."

Q3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Film distributors such as 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures and Paramount are extremely vital for releasing films to the public; whether it is theatrically or for home viewing (DVD).

The focus on this question is particular on British films and British distributors that release films into the UK. Recently, Oscar-winning film, "The King's Speech" was funded by the UK Film Council, and the company also does distribution as well. UKFC have also funded films such as "Nowhere Boy" starring Aaron Johnson and "Man On Wire", also an Oscar-winning film.

However, on 31st March, UKFC closed and many of it's working functions were passed onto the British Film Institute (BFI), located in Southbank, London.

The top ten British films that the UKFC have funded are:

• The King's Speech
• The Arbor
• Another Year
• Made in Dagenham
• Brighton Rock
• Africa United
• Streetdance 3D
• Tamara Drewe
• Neds
• Son of Babylon

Particularly similar to our genre out of the ten is "Tamara Drewe" starring Gemma Arterton (St. Trinian's, Quantum of Solace) which is about a young newspaper writer who returns to her hometown in the English countryside, where her childhood home is being prepped for sale. This film is rated "15" and could be more watched by young female adults, similar to our target audience for Turning Point.

Alternatively, another British film production company/distributor is Film4. They have helped fund and distribute many films, ranging from 127 Hours, The Lovely Bones, The Last King of Scotland and Slumdog Millionaire.

Similar to Turning Point's rom-com genre, there is How To Lose Friends & Alienate people, starring Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) and Kirsten Dunst (Spider-man films, Marie Antoinette) and Megan Fox (Transformers, Jennifer's Body). It is about a British writer struggling to fit into a high-profile magazine environment in New York. It was based on British writer Toby Young's memoir with the same name. Although the protagonist is male, I think there are similarities in the concept of this film and Turning Point as both people involved are comical people.

Q2. How does media product represent particular social groups?

Originally we had aimed our film to be a romantic drama, so that would tackle a slightly more mature age group (18+). However, we decided to manipulate certain factors of our film along the way, which eventually started forming a slightly "comical" effect to the film. These factors were things such as Jane's character; aloof, clumsy and quirky. We felt it would be better to create a much more comical film to appeal to a slightly younger audience (females in their late teens/young adult stages) given the resources and time we had available.

The target audience our film opening is now aimed at is female teenagers and young adults. This social group would be described as feminine, ambitious and fun-loving. They look up to a role model who is successfull in life and can easily balance a relationship, their job and still look fantastic. A good example of a character like this is Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City.



There are a number of characters in existing films that are very similar to our main protagonist.

Anne Hathaway's character, Andy Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada lives a life that our protagonist can only dream of. However, there is a transformation of her character as in the beginning she was sloppy and clumsy but she is eventually manipulated into a fashionable and more corporate kind of person. Andy has had dreams of being a journalist, just like the protagonist of our film has dreams to live a more exciting and carefree life.

Although our media product is a film opening, there is a TV programme in Canada called "Being Erica" which follows the life of a early-30-something woman who is sent back in time by her therapist to learn from mistakes she's made in the past and apply the learnt lessons to her present life. The concept of this show has a "supernatural" aspect to it, just like "Turning Point" has supernatural aspects such as the alternative realities. Both Erica and Jane have similar qualities. Although they are both dressed fairly well, they are clumsy in their actions.

Q1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms or conventions of real media products? (i.e. of filming openings)

Commonly in British romantic comedies, they have been consistent in sarcastic humour and irony, thus reflecting British humour. However, in the media product I had created with my group, we had tried to aim for something that can be associated globally, along with very British aspects; location, dialogue, etc.

The story of the film follows the life of a ambitious young woman, Jane, who wishes to live her life with more free-will and get out of the rut of her daily boring life. The film explores two alternate realities and how the slightest change can change destiny. The establishing shot of the Big Ben in London clearly defines an obvious setting; London. Establishing shots have been commonly used in rom-com genres and even romantic films such as The Notebook and Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. The lighting in the shot may symbolize "hope" or "new beginnings", as it appears as if the sun is rising in the shot. The montage of shots at the beginning prepare us for the "unveiling" of our main character.

We first see Jane appearing out of the tube station, and as she ascends the steps, it is almost like it symbolizes her climbing the career ladder or social ladder. This may represent many "modern" and indepedent women in society who like to be at the top of everything they plan to achieve in life. The aspirations of Jane could be almost idolistic to the teenage and young-adult audience.


(click through for bigger picture *applies to all)



The title of the film very much reflects what the film is about; the "turning point" of the little actions we perform in day to day lives. Our protagonist, however, receives a huge turning point when she forgets her bag, and the alternate lives reflect how things would have ended up from that action.

The placement of the title appears around four-fifths into the opening sequence.



The title is put in this position as the rewind is triggered to indicated when the "turning point" has happened. The font of the title is very quirky, and pink to reflect the target audience for this film; teens and young adults.



The location is vital for any film, as it can reflect a character's life. The first part of the opening sequence is set in central London or more specifically; Oxford Street. We can immediately tell from The London Eye that it is set in London and Oxford Street further confirms that. As it is commonly known, London has a very busy atmosphere, both in fashion and business aspects, which are probably the two sides of our protagonist. The bottom to screencaps show the protagonist's home location. The bedroom is very normal with feminine aspects such as the pink curtains and floral bedsheets. The outside of her home is also very suburban, which may reflect a "boring" or "ordinary" lifestyle.



There is a distinct difference in costume in the opening sequence. When we see Jane, our character, in Oxford Street, you can see she is smartly dressed yet with obvious hints of fashion. The dark scarf adds class to her character, and works well with the black blazer. The neatly tied side-plaited hair also looks sleek and very feminine at the same time.



After the dream sequence we see an obvious change in costume when Jane wakes up from her dream. Her clothes are much more baggy as opposed to more fashionable nightwear. The colours are bright which still shows off Jane's vibrant character. Having one sock up and one sock down shows her untidy nature and probably shows hints of clumsiness. Also, the fact that her socks are stripy may show a comical nature in the character.

More editing

Worked through a little more editing today. We were informed that the deadline is fast approaching and we're trying our best to make the film look perfect with what time we have left. There's a good array of techniques used e.g. match-on-match, close up, establishing shot, continuity etc.

I personally believe that our sound layers sound great and work together really harmoniously! We applied "Material Girls" by Madonna which works a lot better than "Fashion" by Lady Gaga. It has that slight quirky feel to the film, to reflect the character of "Jane" the protagonist of our film.


We then applied "Dog Days Are Over" by Florence + The Machine, and turns out it works perfectly with the sequence! We're really happy about this and all we've got left to do it apply an effect to the dream sequence and we're finished.

Next up, we need to start evaluating our project and begin with some screencaps.

Music decisions

At our time at the BFI in December, we learnt that music is a huge factor to the film-making stage.

It can illustrate a certain genre for the film, simply through light tinkering music or a full-on soundtrack.

However, since we are creating a film opening we need to be careful to transition of music very subtle in order to represent the opening to the right audience.

Here are some of our inital songs we chose for both the dream sequence and morning routine sequence:

- "Who's That Chick (ft. Rihanna)" by David Guetta [DREAM SEQUENCE]

We thought this song has a good beat and lyrics were appropriate enough to suit the character, but later we discovered the song would most probably not fit with the footage as the beat is slightly different to the pace of the sequence that we wanted to achieve.



- "What I Like About You" by Lillix [DREAM SEQUENCE OR MORNING ROUTINE]

This song was originally by The Romantics, and was covered by an early-millenium girl band, which made the song more appropriate for a "rom-com" genre. The song was also used in the Freaky Friday (starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis) soundtrack.



- "Shut Up and Let Me Go" by The Ting Tings [DREAM SEQUENCE]

This song has a really good beat at the start, it's not too fast and it's not too fast. It also has a "quirky" aspect to it, and The Ting Tings are well known for their indie pop and new wave music.



- "Fashion" by Lady Gaga [DREAM SEQUENCE]

This song is highly appropriate, as the dream sequence is set in Oxford Street, where the protagonist, (now decided to be named Jane), is around fashionable and well-known shops. However, the beginning doesn't match well with the opening of the dream sequence.



- "One Week of Danger" by The Virgins [DREAM SEQUENCE]

There are two versions of this song. One is their original studio version and the "UK Version" they created for their music video. In my personal opinion, I thought the UK version had a better beat and it would go well with the opening. However, the lyrics aren't very relative to the film but sometimes music doesn't have to be blatantly relative to the film.



- "Material Girl" by Madonna [DREAM SEQUENCE]

This song is popularly known as a "feel-good woman's song" and we thought it would be appropriate to aim for a song that is known by all ages. It is universally known for it's catchy lyrics, which of course, is very relative to our film opening.



- "Pencil Full of Lead" by Paolo Nutini [MORNING ROUTINE]

I think that this song would be great for a rushed morning routine due to it's quirky music (involving the saxophone and trumpets) and fast-paced lyrics to portray "confusion" and a rushed atmosphere.



- "The Dog Days Are Over" by Florence + The Machine [MORNING ROUTINE]

This song starts off slow and then gets faster. We thought this would be appropriate as the chorus can kick in when Jane realises she's late for work and the clips are put into "fast-forward mode" to portray how late she really is.

Editing

It has been a month into editing our film, and so far it has been going well. The clips we gathered seemed to work and fit together perfectly, allowing us to represent the plot of our film.

However, we did stumble across a few problems along the way. These include:

- Spending time on trying to find a way to preview the effects that would be applied to the clips.
- Split-screen ending was time-consuming.
- The positioning of sound was difficult to achieve, as layers clashed.
- Changing the audio levels.

We managed to overcome these problems eventually, and our film still flows well as originally planned.

The last few stages are still left:

- Last fiddling about with the sound effects/music
- Changing the audio levels
- Adding a "dream-like" effect to the dream sequence

London shots

Yesterday we finally managed to upload our London footage. We are happy to say our clips look decent, and once everything is put together, the film opening will look really great!

The establishing shots of the London Eye and the Big Ben look great, and represent London perfectly. Although that establishing shots were taken when it had started to become dark, we think that it will represent "morning" well instead as it looks more like dawn as opposed to dusk.

We have a couple of problems with a few shots; on the shot of the Blackberry, you can see the camera through the reflection. This can always be filmed again easily. Another shot we need to re-do is in my bedroom. The camera movement is slightly shaky, which I did not realise when I was using the handheld camera. I will re-shoot that shot with a tri-pod, so the movement of the camera flows and looks much more professional.

We don't have much left to film, and soon we can start organizing our clips in order. I am happy that we have completed the filming for London, because it would obviously take much more longer than the bedroom scene. Also, London is the first part of the film opening, and since it's already uploaded, we can start working on it whilst we finish up the rest of the film opening.

Our team will experiment with credits today with real objects... food, make-up etc. We'll take some photographs and upload the stills to the blog later!

Idea for editing

Earlier I was thinking about other films which involved shots of an urban city, and the next thing that popped into my mind was slightly different... a music video!

Despite the task being about film openings, I really liked the concept of the shots at the beginning of a particular music video; Say You Don't Want It by One Night Only. Although the shots involved in that video are more gritty, and targets the slightly lower-class places of New York, I liked the composition of the shots, to build up a very urban atmosphere to the music video, which then continues throughout.

It would be great if we could incorporate something similar to this for our film opening during the editing process.
Here is the music video. The first 16 seconds is what I'm talking about.