Diary #14 - 31/01/13

Yesterday I completed the filming of my music video, which had to be postponed due to weather conditions. I also completed the editing process afterwards. I made several alterations to the video from the third draft. These include; changes to the colour correction, changes to clips, fixes in audio/visual synchronization, and a widescreen view which gives the video a "cinematic" effect. Now that I have completed the final version of my music video, I will now aim to receive feedback from as many people as I can.

I have also completed the first question of my evaluation. I will make a commentary video for this question, discussing the key conventions of my different products.

Diary #13 - 04/01/13

Yesterday I spent the evening shooting for my narrative. Everything went according to my time schedule, and I was able to film five different locations in London. However, I discovered an error with one of my shots as I was editing; I filmed a shot that I intended to slow down during the editing process - however I forgot to change the settings from 25fps to 50fps to ensure smooth footage. I will spend this evening (04/01/13) to re-shoot this shot and possibly shoot more footage if necessary.

Diary #12 - 20/12/12

Last night I completed the first day of shooting my narrative scenes. Unfortunately due to weather and time restrictions, I was unable to film as much as I planned to. I have set a second day to film (02/12/12) - however, this date may have to be changed for continuity reasons. It constantly rained during filming, which means that I have to continue filming on a rainy day. I must also ensure continuity within costume design as well.

Diary #11 - 10/12/12

I have completed the first draft for my Digipak and Poster. I will receive feedback from these and continue to improve them based on comments. I have chosen a date to begin filming the narrative of my music video (19/12/12). I will create a basic plan of shots I will film on the first day of shooting.

Diary #10 - 19/11/12

This week I spent my time planning the design of my Digipak. I felt that I should associate the images and style with the style of the band that I was imitating, "Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds". I planned out that I should go for an indie/alternative look in relation to costume, location and style.

I believe that the Digipak should focus the audience's attention on the artist themselves as well as the album. In order to achieve this I felt that the background of the main image should be kept basic. This also makes it easier to read any text on the Digipak. I researched several backgrounds and discovered that a plain wall would be the best background. I then chose to use a brick wall as it is an interesting texture and adds some contrast to the artist.

I have also arranged a date to begin filming the narrative scenes of my music video. This will take place on Saturday 1st December.

Diary #9 - 1/11/12

I spent the week casting actors and actresses for the narrative section of my Music Video. I have now chosen the two main characters that will be appearing in my video, along with the extras that will be appearing in the background. I will be carrying out photo-shoots with the actors/actresses in the clothing that they will be wearing for the video shoots.

I have also changed the location that I will film the "outside of gig" shots. I originally planned on filming them outside a real venue in London. However, I felt that this would be too difficult to film and edit with "real" people walking around, as well as getting permission to shoot in front of the venue. Therefore I decided on filming these shots using a set of doors at my school that lead to a door outside. I will add props and decorate the door and its surroundings to make it appear to be a venue entrance door.

Diary #8 - 23/10/12

On Monday 22nd October, I filmed the live band performance sections of my Music Video. I filmed all of the footage in the school's main hall on stage. I carried this out by using three SLRs and recording over three different takes. This gave me a total of nine takes to work with. I set up different types of lighting  which would give me a number of techniques to work with on camera. Filming took a total of 60 minutes.

At the end of my shoot, I discovered that lighting is one of, if not the most important factors of a video shoot. If lighting is not carried out properly, your video will lack in professionalism and quality.

Diary #7 - 10/10/12

I spent this week planning my first video shoot which will take place on Monday 15th October 2012. It is the "Live Performance" scenes within my Music Video. I have created a Call Sheet for the people taking part so they are aware of details regarding the video shoot.

Diary #6 - 05/10/12

I have spent the last few weeks on the planning stage of my music video production. I have created a mood board illustrating my ideas for the music video, a prop list stating what equipment I will need for the "live band performance" scenes (microphones, instruments, etc.), a storyboard that helps visualise what I would like my music video to look like, including shot types and camera movements and a detailed list of editing software and what products I will use them for.

Diary #5 - 02/08/12

I have spent the week researching locations in more detail. For the band performance scenes, I have decided to use the school hall stage. A student from the previous year used the same location and I plan to replicate this scene and incorporate it into my own music video

Diary #4 - 09/07/12

Over the weekend I begun searching for possible locations for my music video. I spent several hours walking through Embankment searching for buildings that might provide me with permission to film on the roof. I also looked for other locations with interesting backdrops and scenery. I have created a document that contains the photos from all of my findings. This document will be on a blog post that will be constantly updated as I find enw locations.

Diary #3 - 05/07/12

I have created a storyboard for three possible music video ideas. Each idea has a different concept as well as song. I will then research locations that I can use for each idea and then make a decision based on the availability as well as the practicality of each shoot.

Diary #2 - 02/07/12

I researched several successful music directors and the work that they have produced. This provided me with an insight into their backgrounds and how they became as successful as they are now. I have discovered that the style in which they direct their videos is often related to the area that they have studied in at university.

This upcoming weekend I will be visiting London to find possible locations to film my music video. I will create a moodboard with images that I have taken of these places.

Diary #1 - 26/06/12

I began the planning process for my music video by researching the different codes, conventions and aspects of music videos. This provided me with more knowledge of the way in which music videos are created and how they have developed over the 90 years.

I have also begun planning my own music video. I have chosen a short list of songs to use for my music video and I am in the process of creating several storyboards to use as a template for how my music video will look. In case my idea does not work due to any problems I may encounter (lighting, weather, etc.), then I will use a second idea that I came up with as a backup.