Friday, 27 June 2014
Lip Syncing Task
This is the video my group made. We found it difficult to match up the video with the song; as we made a mistake by cutting up all of the clips separately instead of using different lines. Once we realised our mistake, we corrected it by using many different lines and cutting up the top line where we want the clips to change. This task gave me an insight on how I would make my A2 music video.
I then analysed someone else's work using Prezi.
Friday, 20 June 2014
Composition Task
I completed a Composition and Framing task. I was given a camera and a theme of opposites to base four pictures on. My theme was trapped and free. After thinking about what I could take for pictures, I finally took four pictures.
After previously being a photography student, I had an idea of positioning so didn't find this task that hard; and think I took at least 3 successful pictures.
After and from this task I have learnt from this task techniques that will help me when making my A2 music video:
-Symmetry - same on both sides, makes the audience's eyes follow where it's leading
-Framing - frame around the picture, to add a focal point
-Depth of field - large or shallow, to blur out the background and make the focal point the front
-Perspective - different types of shots and angles instead of the standard straight on shot
-Space - rule of thirds, adds more depth to the picture
-Colour - adds effects to the image, e.g positive and negative
The first picture displayed is one of my stronger images, as I thought about what perspective, which leads the audience to think who is taking the picture. I wanted the door handle to stand out as it leads back to my theme 'trapped', as in trapped inside of the building. The door handle is facing away from the camera, leading the audience's eye to the back of the image, where the positioning of the poles also track their eye to the back of the picture, almost like the poles and building are closing in on each other. This could be seen as symmetry, and depth of field as the background is slightly blurred, however to improve I could have blurred it more. The door handle is positioned to the left instead of in the middle, meaning I thought about space while taking this picture, too.
The second top picture displayed is my weakest image. I tried to think about perspective while taking it, coming in from a low angle and using space (the rule of thirds) to position the sun to the upper left, which worked well. Contrasting this, the thick bar is a distraction from the sun which should be the main focal point of the image. My theme comes across in this photo - the small bars meaning 'trapped' and the sun meaning 'free', however the thick bar is a distraction.
The third picture (bottom left) is quite a strong image as it displays my theme well, the bars meaning trapped. I tried to think about depth of field, perspective and spacing in this image. The bars are slightly positioned to the left of the image, while it coming from a low angle. The bars and steps in the middle draw the audience's eyes to the back of the image, which is good as their eye can explore the focal points of the image quickly.
The final picture is one of my stronger images, displaying my theme 'free'. I have clearly used symmetry which is very different to my other images, making this image stand out. The colour 'green' represents life and being free, strengthening my theme. The image is quite bright, and is a slight high shot as I was standing on a hill while taking the image. The trees draw the audience's eyes to the back of the image, which is the point of symmetry.
After the four images, we sat down and reviewed them. We were taught the techniques I mentioned earlier, and was told to retake our weakest image. I retook this image:
I think I have took into consideration all of the techniques I have learnt and applied it onto a new image. I did crop this image to add to the effect of spacing, using the rule of thirds more appropriately. I think it's an improvement to my first image as the bar leads up to the focal point - the sun and almost adds a slight frame to the picture.
Overall I have learnt techniques from this task and will use them in my A2 music video. I have a better understanding of composition and framing and will think about spacing and all of the techniques I have learnt for my music video. I think my final image could still be improved as I could have maybe added another bar to create symmetry, or take an image without the bars to see which looked better.
After previously being a photography student, I had an idea of positioning so didn't find this task that hard; and think I took at least 3 successful pictures.
After and from this task I have learnt from this task techniques that will help me when making my A2 music video:
-Symmetry - same on both sides, makes the audience's eyes follow where it's leading
-Framing - frame around the picture, to add a focal point
-Depth of field - large or shallow, to blur out the background and make the focal point the front
-Perspective - different types of shots and angles instead of the standard straight on shot
-Space - rule of thirds, adds more depth to the picture
-Colour - adds effects to the image, e.g positive and negative
The first picture displayed is one of my stronger images, as I thought about what perspective, which leads the audience to think who is taking the picture. I wanted the door handle to stand out as it leads back to my theme 'trapped', as in trapped inside of the building. The door handle is facing away from the camera, leading the audience's eye to the back of the image, where the positioning of the poles also track their eye to the back of the picture, almost like the poles and building are closing in on each other. This could be seen as symmetry, and depth of field as the background is slightly blurred, however to improve I could have blurred it more. The door handle is positioned to the left instead of in the middle, meaning I thought about space while taking this picture, too.
The second top picture displayed is my weakest image. I tried to think about perspective while taking it, coming in from a low angle and using space (the rule of thirds) to position the sun to the upper left, which worked well. Contrasting this, the thick bar is a distraction from the sun which should be the main focal point of the image. My theme comes across in this photo - the small bars meaning 'trapped' and the sun meaning 'free', however the thick bar is a distraction.
The third picture (bottom left) is quite a strong image as it displays my theme well, the bars meaning trapped. I tried to think about depth of field, perspective and spacing in this image. The bars are slightly positioned to the left of the image, while it coming from a low angle. The bars and steps in the middle draw the audience's eyes to the back of the image, which is good as their eye can explore the focal points of the image quickly.
The final picture is one of my stronger images, displaying my theme 'free'. I have clearly used symmetry which is very different to my other images, making this image stand out. The colour 'green' represents life and being free, strengthening my theme. The image is quite bright, and is a slight high shot as I was standing on a hill while taking the image. The trees draw the audience's eyes to the back of the image, which is the point of symmetry.
After the four images, we sat down and reviewed them. We were taught the techniques I mentioned earlier, and was told to retake our weakest image. I retook this image:
Overall I have learnt techniques from this task and will use them in my A2 music video. I have a better understanding of composition and framing and will think about spacing and all of the techniques I have learnt for my music video. I think my final image could still be improved as I could have maybe added another bar to create symmetry, or take an image without the bars to see which looked better.
Friday, 13 June 2014
Skills Review
Research and Planning:
At first I didn't realise how much research and planning I needed to do in order to make a 2 minute film opening video. I didn't think it was necessary however later on I was proved wrong as this helped me with my ideas and I had my research and planning to fall back on while creating my film. The storyboard I created helped me the most, as it was on paper and I had it with my while recording my film opening. It helped me with recording, as I had a structure to keep to and I knew what I was supposed to record, so I didn't miss anything out. I learnt from this that the storyboard will defiantly help me for A2 in structure wise.
I made a questionnaire on 'Survey Monkey' where I was able to find out what my audience was looking for, which helped me structure my film more, in terms of how many characters I should introduce (the average said not many) and what they liked to see in an opening.
I think I should have got my research and planning done quicker, as I took quite a long time to complete it overall; therefore not leaving much time for improvements. I have learnt from this and will now complete tasks quicker.
Using conventions from real media texts:
To get ideas for my opening I watched many different genres of Gangster films, and decided I liked the detective genre the most. This particular film was called 'Se7en', where I got most of my film inspiration from. I noticed that they used close ups of object of significances to an effect, highlighting key items such a knife which could have been a murderer weapon. It also used close ups for other significant stuff such as blood and the detective's faces, highlighting their emotion.
Establishing shots were also used to set the scene at certain points in the film - to show that they're at the victim's house, and the victim is just an ordinary person who got murdered. In my film opening I think I should have tried something like this instead of just using close ups and extreme close ups; I should have experimented with shot types more.
The sound - being slow and steady created a spooky atmosphere which inspired me for my film opening, as I focused on this most.
Creativity
I mind mapped my thoughts and ideas at the very start so I could conclude all of them into my film opening. Watching other gangster genre films helped me to do this. I had a strong idea of making a film opening based on the film 'Se7en', and went along with this idea. At the start I had lots of ideas to do crazy editing similar to like the film did, however my lack of knowledge about the editing software meant that I couldn't do this. Instead I kept to a more simple idea, and went through with this. I did add a few flashes in my film because I thought that this made the clips flow better when put together. To overcome this, I think I should have watched videos on how to edit or ask friends/family that are confident with editing, to teach me how to do better effects.
Digital Technology
I had some knowledge of basic cameras as I had previously done photography for GCSE, and the cameras weren't that different. I had never recorded anything with this type of camera so in this aspect it was quite new to me. I used a Tripod throughout filming my film, and now I understand the camera and how to put the camera on the Tripod by practising - as I had to re-record a few times, as I was not happy with the footage before.
I had never used Adobe Premier Pro or After Effects, and had only previously experimented with a basic editing software; Windows Movie Maker. I did attempt to make my film at the start of the year on After Effects, however I didn't find that it was best for me. I then tried Premier Pro, and it was much easier to use so I used this software to edit my film opening. I also used Photoshop to create the company's production title that appeared at the start of my film, as I didn't have much knowledge of making it on After Effects.
Post - Production (Editing)
I have learnt how to use the software from my AS project, such as editing on Adobe Premier Pro. I will again use this piece of software this year, and have learnt and improve on the ones I already have. I had learnt from using the piece of software how to add flashes - which I included in my AS project, and how to cut down clips which will defiantly help me for the future.
At first I didn't realise how much research and planning I needed to do in order to make a 2 minute film opening video. I didn't think it was necessary however later on I was proved wrong as this helped me with my ideas and I had my research and planning to fall back on while creating my film. The storyboard I created helped me the most, as it was on paper and I had it with my while recording my film opening. It helped me with recording, as I had a structure to keep to and I knew what I was supposed to record, so I didn't miss anything out. I learnt from this that the storyboard will defiantly help me for A2 in structure wise.
I made a questionnaire on 'Survey Monkey' where I was able to find out what my audience was looking for, which helped me structure my film more, in terms of how many characters I should introduce (the average said not many) and what they liked to see in an opening.
I think I should have got my research and planning done quicker, as I took quite a long time to complete it overall; therefore not leaving much time for improvements. I have learnt from this and will now complete tasks quicker.
Using conventions from real media texts:
To get ideas for my opening I watched many different genres of Gangster films, and decided I liked the detective genre the most. This particular film was called 'Se7en', where I got most of my film inspiration from. I noticed that they used close ups of object of significances to an effect, highlighting key items such a knife which could have been a murderer weapon. It also used close ups for other significant stuff such as blood and the detective's faces, highlighting their emotion.
Establishing shots were also used to set the scene at certain points in the film - to show that they're at the victim's house, and the victim is just an ordinary person who got murdered. In my film opening I think I should have tried something like this instead of just using close ups and extreme close ups; I should have experimented with shot types more.
The sound - being slow and steady created a spooky atmosphere which inspired me for my film opening, as I focused on this most.
Creativity
I mind mapped my thoughts and ideas at the very start so I could conclude all of them into my film opening. Watching other gangster genre films helped me to do this. I had a strong idea of making a film opening based on the film 'Se7en', and went along with this idea. At the start I had lots of ideas to do crazy editing similar to like the film did, however my lack of knowledge about the editing software meant that I couldn't do this. Instead I kept to a more simple idea, and went through with this. I did add a few flashes in my film because I thought that this made the clips flow better when put together. To overcome this, I think I should have watched videos on how to edit or ask friends/family that are confident with editing, to teach me how to do better effects.
Digital Technology
I had some knowledge of basic cameras as I had previously done photography for GCSE, and the cameras weren't that different. I had never recorded anything with this type of camera so in this aspect it was quite new to me. I used a Tripod throughout filming my film, and now I understand the camera and how to put the camera on the Tripod by practising - as I had to re-record a few times, as I was not happy with the footage before.
I had never used Adobe Premier Pro or After Effects, and had only previously experimented with a basic editing software; Windows Movie Maker. I did attempt to make my film at the start of the year on After Effects, however I didn't find that it was best for me. I then tried Premier Pro, and it was much easier to use so I used this software to edit my film opening. I also used Photoshop to create the company's production title that appeared at the start of my film, as I didn't have much knowledge of making it on After Effects.
Post - Production (Editing)
I have learnt how to use the software from my AS project, such as editing on Adobe Premier Pro. I will again use this piece of software this year, and have learnt and improve on the ones I already have. I had learnt from using the piece of software how to add flashes - which I included in my AS project, and how to cut down clips which will defiantly help me for the future.
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