Tasks for January

JAIME

• Edit photographs of Map Art (blue, cold tones). Material for two panels. 
• Research with PETR for label information: creating the logo of the music brand. 
• Supervise website.

PETR

• Come up with names of the songs.
• Label information and creation. Logo.
• Supervise website.

LILY

• Draft of the webpage.
• Star image reinforcement.

ELENA (me)

• Finish cover. Album name.
• Create the spine line.
• Supervise art and star image. Website.
• Write "About August". 

Editing the Narrative: Stories

The narrative part of our video was composed of short "stories" that give information to the audience about the artist and support the meaning we decided to give to the lyrics. We had some that were purely based on their aesthetic value, such as the dance sequence of all the girls acting like loving shadows with the warmth of the skin tone lighting and costume choices. Most of them I had thought of during the planning process, when I made a list of ways of conveying the complicated and twisted relationship between August and the prototype of the ex, as well as the sense of being caged in a tiny house as a metaphor of the confusing mental state. 

At first, I laid the best shots in the timeline over some parts of the performance. However, after we discussed my progress with the group we realised that the meaning was lost if each story was so cropped and isolated from the rest.

From that moment onwards, we grouped all the shots together (the dance, Mel looking through the pipe that reminds her of a life existing outside, the scene of August teaching them how to play Scrabble while they construct the title of the song with the letters and him moving around, his conversation with Faderera, the scene in bed when the frustrations reach their peak and them drawing). That way, we could edit them together following the conventions of film and music video editing.  We did this by using the blade, cutting the different shots to form the scenes through the rules of continuity (e.g. the hand needs to be in the same position in the close-up and the mid shot before it moves). 

Something that I had foreseen since the beginning was to have August removing the Great Dane cans in the beginning, as a straightforward introduction to the song and a way of selling the colour patterns, Wes Anderson style and clearly presenting the image of the artist and the title of the song. 

Once we had all the shots cut and put together convincingly, they laid in the end of the timeline like chapters of a book waiting to be perfectly arranged: that was the next step: continuity was key, but also the ability to split them up over the narrative was unmissable and Petr excelled in the matter.

Lip Sync and Performance Cut

I selected all the Lip Sync shots of August. They are organised in two different sets: the set of the Pipes, in which we have Wide shots, Mid, Mid Close and 4K Close-Ups (in Static and Tracking movements to show the different pipes, which, with their symmetry, mirror Wes Anderson's aesthetic), and the set of the Bedroom, where August delivered a performance under the bed sheets with a torch and a book. 

Using the numbers shown in the iPad program and in the track, that we cut and dragged into the timeline, I synced all the shots with the song, getting rid of the audio tracks from the shoot. I did it in a very organised way, one by one and grouping them in terms of mise-en-scene and movement. From the beginning, I realised that some shots, as they had been filmed in 4K, where zoomed in and we would have to adjust them to the frame in the future. For instance, in the Torch Lip Sync, August's forehead is cropped so we will have to adjust the shot so he is in the middle. 

It really helped to have all the Lip Sync footage in the timeline, and I began getting rid of some shots in a duplicate. Throughout the process, I discussed with Petr the changes and showed him my final performance cut, getting positive feedback overall. The continuity was essential, so all the shots were grouped together accordingly i.e. I did not cut from one Wide to another because it would create a jumpy effect. Also, August moves his hands a lot as a performer, so I had to make sure that he did not make two completely different gestures in the transitions. His head had to be tilted to the same side too.

I tried to think about the flow of the music as well and cut to the beat. The rhythm of "Great Dane" is quite gentle, which meant that the cuts had to be fairly separated not to interfere with the slow track.

Overall, the performance cut was already quite interesting due to the variety the performer provides, as he has a very distinctive identity. However, even with our astonishing variety of shots there were some bits that looked mediocre, in between lyrics or in the beginning while waiting for the words to begin. That is why the narrative part is so important: apart from giving a purpose and meaning to the video, they cover up some parts that we doubt will be effective and complete the whole picture.

CD Digipack prototypes

Editing Session: Reviewing the Footage

The editing process can be as important as the production of the video. It defines the appearance of the final product. It leads to finishing the whole "pop promo", selecting and combining the raw footage into different sequences. Ultimately, it will also bring the whole footage together thanks to colour grading and After Effects adjustments. 

We have gone to the Editing Suite to take a look at the footage from yesterday. We are satisfied with the number of shots we have, and the quality of the lighting and performances is fairly good too. The lip sync is not perfect, but there cannot be much asked of a non-professional artist. I really appreciate August's performance because he really puts his soul into the song. It totally seems like he has written the song because every moment is supported by an intention. His gestures irradiate a strong personality which is useful when presenting a young, passionate star image. 

In Premiere Pro CC, we have decided which shots we are going to use and we have taken a look at all the different stories that we will eventually put together: we have the Cans sequence, the Games Room sequence, a conversation between August and Faderera, Mel looking through a Pipe, the Bed sequence and the Drawing sequence. 

After the lesson, I went back to the suite to label all the shots and have a more organised outlook, thinking about saving time in the future. I decided not to get rid of any shots yet in case we changed our mind as a group.

Organising Photoshoot for CD Cover

Design. Initial Ideas for Campaign

(I am going to make a PowerPoint with these over the weekend)

Great Dane: The Shoot Day

CD Digipack: Planning

I have made a rough plan for the digipack design choices. Researching into references, I have remembered a piece that fascinated me from the start by French artist Sophie Calle: The Sleepers.

It is a sequential photography piece with some people hovering around in bed with a narrative element to it. The concept behind was Calle's invitation to strangers to sleep in her bed for a twelve-hour period and study their sleep patterns and behaviour. 

I think it is a very intimate photoshoot which ultimately says a lot about the individuals who took part in the "experiment". 

In my opinion, the structure of small snapshots put together as a sequence, almost mirroring a storyboard, is very aesthetically pleasing too.

It expresses the concerns of the artist and shows the many shades of him. Our choice has been to name his August Nash, and this musician is a very sensitive person, hugely interested in film and art. He mixes traditional, classic influences with more modern ideas that link to the urban, international context in which he lives. That is why I want to do a version of Calle's work to go into the cover but in colour instead of black and white. I have also taken a look at Jaime's artwork and his maps kind of link back to the video, the map in the back wall and the need to go out of the restraining environment of a house. A mixture of both, kept in a sequential geometrical square, would really stand out as a cover for the digipack as I picture it.  We still have to come up with a name for the whole CD and for the songs. However, I have thought of the design of the back: either a still of some objects, bathed in beautiful light, which I took on the shoot day, or a refined version of the textural map collage by Jaime. 

Inside, on the left, the viewer would encounter a big portrait picture of August to establish his image, with maybe a few lines of a song or a quote from him. On the right, where the CD goes, it would be interesting to create some doodles with the same colour palette as the outside, based on the ones that the girls draw on the music video.

CD Digipack: Initial Ideas

I have been experimenting with doodles in various techniques (watercolour, mixed media, fineliner, typography) to find the right way of conveying our star image. However, I think that we will stick to more digitised media such as collage or graphics.

The drawings helped me get a better idea of logos, the aesthetic and vibe of the artist, and how the branding and colour palette might work in the future.

Lily has come up with an alternative option if Jaime and I cannot find a suitable way to portray the image through our art. She has a friend who is currently studying Art at college. Since she is more experienced in the industry, and her designs are versatile and modern, very urban and with a tendency towards street art and graffiti, I think it would be great if we could reach an agreement with her and do a collaboration. I am thinking of using the coldest tones of her palette and let her experiment with a portrait of August as well as the themes of the song and the overall indie vibe throughout.

     

Website

I have been looking at websites that relate to our artist and inspire me in some ways. They all belong to campaigns by indie musicians like August or young solo artists and bands who have just made their way in the industry. Some of them look purposely naive, and I love the graphic design elements in some of them as well as the almost childish colour patterns and fonts. I also like how Soko advertises herself through her Instagram, the most contemporary social network. I think that all their web pages are straightforward and quick to use, with a smooth and clever design to please the instant generation.

http://kingkrule.co.uk/home/

http://www.yellowdayss.com/

http://www.myanimalhome.net/#/

http://www.sokothecat.com/

Music Publicity Campaign

We have started to think about the campaign overall. As a name for the artist, we have thought of playing around with the performer's name, August, because it is very unusual already. It helps build the identity of someone who has a variety of cultures in their background, as the name is not typically British. It says something about the family as well, maybe involved in artistic jobs as well and inspiring for the young musician. 

Aesthetically, we want to create synergy among the products we are marketing: digipack, webpage, and clothing in the store (potentially). We are thinking of coming up with a pattern or a style to go with, developed through graphic design or collage as Jaime and I are very confident in these areas of art. That way, we would make something organic and out of the ordinary. It would link back to the artist being a young creative person who stands out in many fields apart from music and skateboarding. Both Jaime and I have a very urban style of producing art, which directly relates to our star image as skateboarding is immediately linked to a certain social environment in the cities and graffiti as a means of expressing oneself. We are planning to experiment with typography.

                                   

Above, I have included some samples of my latest pieces of art which I think that altering the colour patterns to make the mood seem less obscure (I think light blue tones would suit the sweet melancholy of the song), could work to shape the identity of the artist.

August (Singer): Refined Test Shoot

Test Shoot with Girls

We showed the dancers/performers Sarah, Mel and Faderera, the song for the first time and talked to them about the meaning of the lyrics and what will be required from them, both for the performance and narrative section of the video, in the shoot day. They practiced a couple of times, utilising Jaime as a substitute for August. I think that, though they will be more engaged and confident in the day of the shoot, they already did a great job in coming up with a simple choreography as a foundation to build upon. I am grateful for their commitment.

Meeting with Set Designers. Clarifications.

I have had a chat with the set designers and they have clarified me what they have thought of and what we have to get on our own. It is been essential to know from them that the search of only three sets of props concerns us (apart from the costumes). They showed me their drawings for our idea and their way of dealing with certain technical problems like the lack of space or the discomfort of shooting at such a low level. The square where the video takes place will be brought up thanks to some pillars. 

I have talked them through all my ideas and showed them my second draft of a new storyboard, with all the actions and props detailed. Probably, we will be able to shoot everything I had thought of, even the moment when one of the girls looks up through a pipe and sees the footsteps from the street level.

The only props we actually need to get (we were stressing out because of all the workload we pictured we would have choosing pipes, measuring and finding wooden piles and so) are board games for the house scenes, paint/pencils (easy, from the Art Department) and the cans we will use throughout the video. 

Lily has been searching for cans. Initially, they were going to be dog food to match the narrative of the video. We then thought it would not work because, later on in the narrative part, the four actors are gathering all the cans and eating their content, so obviously they could not eat dog food. The problem is that the aesthetics of dog food cans really worked, so we reached the conclusion that we could use them but fill them up with edible food. Lily chose a very gruesome pack: Rocco, Wet Dog Food. 

Call List

 Scene Order:

-Cupboard w/cans

-Pipes

-Dining/living room

-Bedroom

Everyone asked to come 5min before their time

The main singer is required from 09:00 to 09:30 to start lip sync shooting

09:30-10:30 All to be present

10:40-11:10 Only girl performers are required

11:10-11:40 Only main singer

11:50-12:40 All to be present

13:20-15:00 All to be present

Emails to Girls about Choreography and Clothes

Lily has been researching the outfit that the girls are potentially wearing. She has thought of skin coloured quite fitted clothes. These choices are still not definite because we all have mixed views about the outcome and whether the colours and style chosen will fit the look of the set. 

Another concern is if there should be a change of clothes when we transfer from narrative to performance. I hope that next week we reach a conclusion.

Lily also sent a couple of emails to the girls. The first one was concerning the rehearsal we wanted to schedule next week. They are all good with meeting next Tuesday during the activities session to come up with some ideas for a choreography. It would also be a bonding session, hopefully, which will result in a more comfortable environment when it comes to shoot scenes where reasonable acting is required. The girls have to have a relaxed attitude and a certain mutual understanding among them., as they are agroup of young people that live together in such a small space.

The second email Lily sent was about the clothes. She wanted to check, before ordering anything online, if any of the performers have the clothes that we want already.

Shot List

Shot List de elenae81

Shooting Schedule

08:45 meeting in the studio and change into costumes

09:00 shoot starts

Shooting schedule in the studio:

09:00-10:30 (1 hour 30min for shooting)

10min break

10:40-11:40 (1 hour for shooting)

10min break

11:50-12:40 (50min for shooting)

40min break for lunch

13:20-15:00 (1 hour 40min for shooting)

All props to be available to use from 09:00 to 15:00

All actors need to be available from 09:00 to 15:00, however, actors will be given breaks when not required.

From 09:00 to 09:30 only main singer - August is required, but all actors must come to the meeting at 08:45 as they might be urgently required.

15min will be needed to change each setup and while this time actors will be instructed on their performance in the next shot. They will be also given breaks while our team is setting up.

Filming roles

In any media project, there is a crew formed by a variety of experts in different areas. Undeniably, there is a hierarchy among them but they all work alongside. 

So far, I believe I have taken up the role of director together with Lily; we both gave important feedback to our actors. I have also been in charge of set design and other visual aspects, such as creating several storyboards and coming up with ideas for makeup. Lily and Jaime have contributed with costume choices and props. Petr has proved useful in many stages of the pre-production, but I must say that I have been the main producer so far. I have tried to lead my group and keep them all together, organising and clarifying tasks for the correct development of our ideas. I am very concerned by the shoot day because this production seems very important to me as a learning experience for the future. It is one of the closest encounters I've had with semi-professional "industry" level tasks.

In the day of the shoot, I would like to transfer my principal input from producer to director because I believe I have potential in this area. I also have worked very hard so far and I feel like I am probably the most suited for the task because I have been overseeing every aspect of the process. Lily will be a good ally when dealing with actors because of her critical skills. Jaime has a refined taste in costume and props and he has our star image very clear in his head, the reason why he will most probably be in charge of art direction. Petr is quite proficient at the most technical aspects, and I am sure that, with a bit of help, he will prove to be a well-suited cameraman. I will obviously guide him with framing and angles because I have the advantage of the various storyboards I have drawn during the last weeks. 

Overall, I think the roles mentioned are the most adequate for each of us. We will undoubtedly have a try at everything, and crossovers among all the tasks listed so that the experience is both rewarding and fulfilling. Most importantly, we need to be efficient and be aware of our strengths and weaknesses to take the most out of the shoot and achieve the best quality possible.

Editing Lesson with Matt

We went to the studio to remember the skills we already have and acquire new ones for the editing of our music video, which will take place in a minimum time frame. Matt was very organised and took us step by step through the process, chronologically. Then, he gave us general advice that helped us refocus on the general task and have a general sense of understatement.

His advice was structured in four main steps that he broke down:

1. Sync: syncing the video and organising the footage. There are two ways: by image, checking the numbers in the video playing in the iPad; and by sound, using the sneer drum to match the video and the music. It is essential after everything is synched perfectly, to label all the shots and sort them in groups to save the time of shoveling around later on. After finishing these basic tasks that are conscientious but essential, it is a must to duplicate them in case we want to come back to them untouched in the future. 
2. Performance cut: this is the cut where we see our singer and dancers around him, also him playing the guitar potentially. It is important to listen to the beats of the song and illustrate the music. Follow the movement.
3. Narrative cut: cut of the four girls in the rooms. We should stick to a plan in which we focus on the 4/5 different scenes happening. By editing ten minutes at a time and aiming to make them the most exciting ones, half the job is done.
4. Final cut: mixing both together. It is better to try to directly do a final cut instead of wasting time with a rough cut which is not going to be as sophisticated.
5. Colour/effects: colour grading. The time will come to worry about this.

Overall, it is essential to make a plan and stick to it, without caring too much about showing the progression to other students. We have to sink deep and concentrate. 

Development of New Idea

Feedback on Lip Sync

After the lip sync exercise August carried out, we were extremely pleased with the effort he had made by learning the lyrics of the whole song by heart, as I said in previous posts. However, Lily and I discussed a few pieces of advice we could give him. We have thought of doing a final practice before the shoot day.

As you can see in the screenshots, I advised him to be a bit more confident and seductive, as any musician would like to be in their first campaign. I also told him to sing the song rather than mime it because, otherwise, the effect is not as real.

I feel very confident that August, as a responsible person that has excelled in the tasks we set him before, will work with these indications and make the song his very soon. I am looking forward to seeing him perform. 

Costumes for August

Animatic Storyboard

We shot each frame of our original storyboard and edited it together in order to have a general picture of what our music video would look like. However, our idea has changed and we need to restructure some concepts, which I will take care of by altering some frames.

This is still a step in the learning process, so I include a section of the entire original storyboard below to give a rough idea of what we wanted in the beginning.

Lip Sync Practice

This morning, during our lesson, we have come to realise that Katie, August's Media teacher, was absent. Therefore, he was in PS without much commitment. It has been a great opportunity because, last night, he texted me again that he might be busy on Wednesday. There were so many problems with him having time to do a lip sync session that we were worried about our cast decisions. However, it has all been sorted and we have grabbed him for ten minutes. 

We tried to make him feel less uncomfortable than last time (during the photoshoot). I started playing Great Dane on my phone, while Lily began filming him. The four of us were immediately so surprised because August had already learned the lyrics of the whole song and, without any text to help him, he was able to lipsync to it. It all seemed to come together for once.

Now we are definitely casting him as the singer, because apart from having the look and the chilled vibe we are looking for, he seems really committed to make the project work.

Shoot Date

We have been given our provisional shoot dates today. We have to give Blue Cards to the A2 students so they can miss their lessons on Monday 20 November. 

Monday 20 November

Great Dane

Lily Kaye

Elena Escalante Del Hoyo

Jaime Fraser-Pye

Petr Zheltov

JJM   (Studio)

Lead Singer August Berner
Performer    Mel Wang
Performer    Faderera Agboola
Peformer     Sarah Stotter 

TBC:  + 2 Children

Jaime has sent an email to the cast so that they know at this stage. Hopefully, there won't be any problems now that we know so in advance.

Organising a Lip Sync Session with August

In order to be more prepared towards the date of the shoot, we as a group thought that the most sensible thing to do was to assure that the performer we had (August Berner) was the right one for the task. Consequently, I texted him to arrange a meeting. During the conversation, he told me that he already knew the song reasonably well. We were very impressed because he had only known about Great Dane since the week before. Now we are in the stage where we are having trouble to meet up with him in a time that suits everyone because some appointments have prevented him to make it in the time we arranged. However, I am positive we will manage to have the lip sync exercise done before half term.

Email to Jason to Book the Studio

I've had some issues with August's availability, but it seems that we have the same free periods so I am going to try to organise the lip sync test shoot with him tomorrow during the second lesson. I have emailed Jason to find out if the Studio is going to be free. The reply has been positive.

Group Discussion

We have had a whole group discussion taking into account that it is the last week of the term. We've been gathering a list of what we are lacking in terms of props and arrangements for the shoot. That way, we have a better idea of what we have to do and how to organise the tasks among the members of the group. 

With a clearly separated list of the four sets, we have thought of the props we need in every one of them specifically. Likewise, we have identified the need to talk to the set designers as soon as possible in order to let them know all the changes and arrangements we've decided to implement since our last meeting. Also, they may be able to help us improve each set and, most importantly, differentiate what's possible for us to have in the shoot and what is not. 

Apart from these issues, we need to have another session with August, our main performer, to make our final decisions as we have never seen him lip sync before and it could be a mistake to cast the key role so quickly. 

We will look at the props listed below and source them, and contact August to ask him about the session. We are thinking of filming him on Wednesday the 18th.

New Idea: Set Design. Detailed Sketches

Cast. Test Shoot.

Today I organised a test shoot in the Studio with our main actors and, with the help of Petr and Jaime, I took some pictures of them. I arranged the lighting to ressemble that of the video by having Matt dim the lights and give them a sense of warmth. The results are below.

August Berner is potentially going to be our main perfomer, doing the lip sync of the song. He has an unusual look and the fact that he is foreign does make him fit the look of the video. His hair is quite extravagant and we can definitely style it interestingly. I think that he would also be a good substitute for Cosmo Pyke, as the original voice could come across as his. I feel like he is not very comfortable in front of the camera, though, so we may need to have a couple rehearsals before the day of the shoot.

Faderera Agboola is going to be one of the three girls who explore the different corners of the house. She has the look we want and I believe she'll pull the acting off as well, as she will simply we asked to be playful and make her relationship work with the other two girls.

Sarah Stotter also has a special look, with two different coloured eyes since she was born. She is very athletic, which will help in the day of the shoot when she has to follow a rough choreography in the tiny space we will have constructed.

                        

Mel Wang has a very delicate beauty and completely closes the international circle that we have created. We want to make an all-inclusive video to go along with the overall star image we have thought of. Mel is skinny and quite short, which will be valuable in the day of the shoot with the box-based set.