Final Cut - FOALS - What Went Down

First Cut Feedback

The above screenshot shows the feedback that I received when presenting my first cut to the rest of the class. I was able to gain some ideas as well as advice on the thing that I could improve in my product and I was also able to find out which parts worked well and whether they attracted my target audience. One of the things that they liked was the colours which I used as they felt that these matched and suited the genre well and helped the video to look like an authentic music video from the genre. Also, they said that the editing was done well and that it was in time with the lyrics as well as the visuals which helped to create the relationship between the audio and the visuals, as stated in Andrew Goodwin's theory. They thought that the performance element which I had included within the video worked well and again fitted in with one of Andrew Goodwin's key elements of a music video. However the criticisms that I recieved were mainly that they thought some parts of the narrative were unclear at times and that some of the shots had an unclear meaning to them. Also they thought that one of the shots, which was on a train, was a bit too long and they recommended that I shortened this to make it more effective. In order to improve my product in these certain areas, I will take the feedback on board and shorten certain shots as well as add other shots in order to ensure that the narrative is more clear for the target audience. 

First Cut

Ancillary Product - Digi Pak

Ancillary Product - Magazine Advert

QR code - links to my music video

The above screenshot shows my working Qr code that I have made which the audience can use in order to gain access to my music video via YouTube. 

Ancillary Product - Magazine Advert Feedback

The above screenshots show the feedback that I gathered for my magazine advert.

The first screenshot says that the colour schemes fit the genre very well and that it would appeal to its target audience. However their criticism was that it work better on a coloured or black background as oppose to a white background as this would make it fit the context and form much better. When producing my work, I will put the advert on a black background in order to deal with this issue.

The second screenshot says that the colours used suited the tone and the mood well, for example the light blue and black. However again, their criticism was that the advert did not work as well on a white background so therefore they suggested that I changed this.

The third screenshot also said that the colours worked well and also that the colours and themes linked well to the dig pak idea. However their advice was that the advert again would work better and stand out more on a coloured background instead of a white one. They also said that I needed to include more information on where the product could be purchased from so I will include this when producing my final product.

Ancillary Product - Digi Pak Feedback

All of the above images show the feedback that I gathered for the draft of my digi pak.

The first image says that the simplicity of the colour scheme works well and they thought that this suited the genre well. They also said that they thought the audience was young adult males who like rock/alternative music. However their one concern was that the imagery used is all screenshots taken from my music video so they suggested taking some original shots when making my digi pak. I agree with this point and when producing my work, I will be taking original shots that will be then used in my work.

The second image also says that the colour scheme used matches and suits the genre. Also they said that they thought the audience was alternative and that the themes are relatable to this audience. However their feedback was again that original shots could be used as well as changing the inside panels as both of them were the same so this meant that it was a bit repetitive. I also agree with this and when producing my work, I will think of and utilise new ideas that will replace the panels which were too bland.

The third and fourth images said that the colours worked well however their main criticism was that they thought black and white may work better as oppose to the blue, black and white that I had used. I personally disagree with this statement as I feel that my colour scheme was clear and worked well as well as suiting my target audience.

The fifth image says that all of the colours used worked really well and they thought that these were clear. However their concern was that they were too sure what they were looking at in terms of the image itself. Although I agree with them that the images are fairly dark and almost distorted which makes it hard to understand what they are, this is the style that I am trying to achieve.

Ancillary Product - Digi-pak and Magazine Advert Drafts

Ancillary product research - 3 existing examples

Ancillary product research - Rule of thirds

     

Editing updates 7

I have decided to add a performance element into my product and it shows the main character/artist singing the words in sync with the music. I felt that this would help to give the audience more of a connection with video and with the character. I also placed a cold effect over the top of the footage to try and separate this footage from the rest of the storyline and to make clear that it was happening at a different time to the story. 

Editing updates 6

The latest editing update that I have done with my product is to add footage at the beginning, before the song starts. I decided to add footage of the main character sleeping in order to let the viewer see that he is sleeping and this leaves them wondering until the end whether or not the whole thing is going to be a dream. I feel this will be effective as it will keep the audience watching as they will want to find out what the character is dreaming about. 

Editing updates 5

In the above screenshot, I have shown how I have cut and edited the song by removing part of it and placing footage over the top. I have also lowered the sound  whilst allowing the footage to play over the top of it as I felt that this would have a significant effect. By doing this, I felt it would clearly show that what they seeing is actually what the main character is dreaming and by lowering the sound and showing the footage of the character sleeping at the same time, I feel that it has made it clearer to the audience that it is all a dream. 

Editing updates 4

In the above screenshot, I have shown the effect that I have used more than once throughout my product so far. I used this 'X RAY' effect over the top of certain shots in order to create the effect of distortion and confusion. I feel that this works very well and it has been used to fit in time with the song.

Editing updates 3

The above screenshot shows the effect that I have used a number of times throughout the music video. I decided to colourise the shots which have had the zoom effect added to them as I felt this accompanied the transition well and helped to create the effect of confusion that I was aiming to achieve.

Editing updates 2

Above arrow of the effects that I have decided to use over the top of my original footage. They are both fairly distorted and this gives the effect that the person in the video is confused or lost which fits to the story line. The first image is used in the establishing shot at the beginning of the music video and gives the effect that the person is reliving a memory from the past or is confused about something. The second screenshot shows the effect that has been used a number of times on a certain beat which occurs throughout the song. This effect allows for a better flowing transition between shots. 

Editing updates 1

I have made the decision to trim and cut some parts out of the original song as I feel that some parts were unnecessary and would have been hard to produce footage for. the original length was around 5 and a half minutes however I trimmed it down to around 3 and a half minutes instead. 

Post production software: FinalCut Pro

The software that I will be using in order to edit my raw footage will be Final Cut Pro on the Apple Mac. As I already have previous experience and knowledge on how this software works, I thing that this will benefit my product when it comes to editing the footage. I feel that I have a sufficient understanding on how to add effects and colour correct raw footage and I think that this will have many positive effects on my work.

Filming day 3

On my third and final day of filming, I was able to complete my product and gather all of the necessary footage that I required in order to begin exporting my raw footage onto the Apple Macs ready to begin the editing process. The final day of filming went very well I feel as I faced no real difficulties that may have taken time to amend or work around, this meant that I had more time to spend on the editing and producing of my final product. Overall, I feel that the time taken to film my footage was successful and it left me with a large amount of time to improve the footage, also because I didn't rush the gathering of my footage, I was able too spend time changing, adding and developing shots which I thought would improve the overall quality of my work. 

Filming day 2

On the second day of filming, I felt that overall the whole process went much better than the first day, most elements ran much more smoothly and I found most things easier. Also, I managed to pic up on and correct my mistakes that I had made on the previous day, for example I ensured that all of my shots were filmed in landscape as this will ensure that when I come to editing my product, all of my footage will fit correctly into Final Cut pro and this will make the whole process of editing quicker and easier. However the only negative from the second day was that I still didn't manage to get all of the required shots that I needed so therefore I have decided that i will be filming on a third day and I hope that after this, I will have obtained all of the footage that I need in order to go ahead and begin to work towards my final product. 

Filming day 1

On the first day of filming, I feel that most things went well overall. Below I have listed the things that worked well and what didn't work as well in the table. 

In order to address these problems that I faced on the first day, On the second day of filming I am going to ensure that all shots are filmed in portrait so that I do not have to go back and re shoot for as many shots. Also, I will need to ensure that the actors I am using are ready and available to be able to film the rest. 

Risk assessment

This was the risk assessment that was completed prior to filming my product. It has been signed by myself as well as my teacher, however it does not need to be signed by a parent as I am 18. 

Filming day planning

Photographic storyboard 3

Photographic storyboard 2

Photographic Storyboard 1