Digipak Planning

Below is a labelled drawing of the original plan I created for my digipak:

Editing: iMovie

We transitioned from using 'Adobe Premier Pro' to iMovie, and though it happened for regulation reasons out of our control, it actually proved to be extremely beneficial to our group and our final product. The process of editing became much more efficient, as we had access to iMovie at school and at home, and we did not have to travel back and forth to the college in order to edit. Eliminating the need for travel for our group was very beneficial as none of us are able to drive, so we were relying on lifts there, which meant we had to accommodate our editing time around other people's schedules. Having access to the editing software both in school on the selection of macs that are available, and on my laptop proved useful. It meant that during any free periods in school, we could access our edit to work on it. Having the software on my laptop also meant that I could spend multiple hours outside of school hours editing, which proved essential in us being able to edit our final draft with such precision as we did.

Although our group had experience in using Adobe Premier Pro, we still found that it was very complicated to get to grips with. We had found that time that could have been spent editing was being spent trying to figure out how to use certain tools and effects. As a group, we found that iMovie was a much more simple piece of software to use. Hannah and I had previous experience in using the software, which meant that we were aware of most of the features it had to offer, and could use them effectively.

What tools/techniques did we use?

We used the crop to fill tool to turn this relatively long shot of Hannah and Jade into a medium shot, as we felt that this would be more effective in the piece. Making the shot more focused on the girls highlights their emotion, and removes the unnecessary background that was included.




When using iMovie, we were unable to use techniques such as isolating colour within a shot, as the software was not capable of advanced techniques such as this. Instead, we used a split between a black and white filter on shots, and standard colour on the rest of the shots, to demonstrate the protagonists transition between self-conflict, sadness and isolation, to happiness and acceptance of her sexuality. To create the black and white filter effect, we used the colour correction tool to erase the colour and leave the shot in black and white.








Throughout the video, we used the slow motion technique on a multitude of occasions. We felt that slowing down the clips to 80% of their normal speed helped to make them more poignant, and added to the emotion of the shots. In coloured part of the piece, we used slow motion as a method to make the shots seem very dream-like, as we wanted to represent the protagonists relief and intense happiness that she had finally accepted herself, and was falling in love again.

Cross dissolve with slow motion

Cross dissolve with increased speed

In our piece we featured sections of footage where we used cross dissolves. This was a technique we were unfamiliar with before this project, but we thought that using cross dissolve techniques worked almost like time lapse in a certain sense. We used a cross dissolve of Hannah and Josh walking on top of the rocks to represent sadness and how time moved slowly because the protagonist was so unhappy. We also used a cross dissolve in the reversed shot of Hannah walking on the pebbles away from Josh, to demonstrate the speed of her return to him, as she could not bring herself to let go.





We used the stabilisation tool on this long shot of Jade and Hannah at the beach, as due to the strong wind that day, the footage was a little shaky. The stabilisation tool proved to be quite effective, as it zoomed in on the shot more to decrease its shaky appearance.





Opinion on using iMovie...

I believe that switching to using iMovie was the best decision we could have made for our the editing process of our video. Our familiarity with the simple software allowed us to edit the footage a lot better than we would have using 'Adobe Premier Pro'. We could make full use of the software and its features, and for that reason, I believe our final edit is of a much better standard than we would have been able to produce using the more complicated software.

Music Video: Our First Draft

Here is the first draft of our music video:

Feedback...

We asked for feedback on our first draft from our media teacher and our peers. As a group, we would reflect on their comments after watching our first draft, and then we would go back to the editing process in order to attempt to improve our piece, with the improvements made based on the feedback that we received. Obtaining feedback is also a good way for us to be able to find out what people like about our video.

Here are some of the comments we received:

"The opening shot is effective in portraying the mood and isolation, but there needs to be some sort of sound paired with the track, whether diegetic or non-diegetic."

"The argument scene is very effective. The order of shots and the way the footage is edited on beat creates a very professional feel to this sequence."

"I think the way the title comes in is very effective, as is the size of the names in comparison to each other. However, I think that the font is a little too curly for the alternative genre of music."

"The final sequence in which the relationship between the protagonist and the other female character is developed is organised in a way that tells the narrative effectively. My suggestion to improve the sequence further is to edit the sequence more closely on the beat. This would be very visually impressive for the audience."

"Some of the shots are a little unstable, so the piece would look more professional if the shakiness could be minimised"

"Some of the shots could be more effective if they were in slow motion"

When considering the feedback we were given, these are the improvement points that we can initially see to make:

• Look for a different font for the titles. We can do this on the video editing app, as we want to keep the size and introduction of the titles the same.
• We will add the diegetic sound of the sea over the opening shot because this will make sure the audience do not lose interest.
• We will revise the sequence of shots that are at the end of our piece. We will keep their order the same, however, we will edit them so the movements of the people within the shots coincide with the beat. We will also edit the sequence so that the shots change on the beat, too.
• We will use the stabilisation tool on iMovie in order to stabilise the footage that appears shaky
• We will experiment with using slow motion to extend certain shots, in order for them to have more impact

What changes will we make based on what we think?

• We will alter the order of the footage before the argument scene, to attempt to make sure the narrative is more clear.
• We will remove the scenery shot, as it does not appear to have any relevance to the narrative and seems pointless.
• We will add the black and white effect to all of the footage prior to the shot of the Hannah deleting the photo of Josh, as a means to demonstrate how Hannah is much happier once she learns to embrace her sexuality.

Filming Day: Ogmore-by-Sea with Jade

Location: Ogmore-by-Sea

Date: 13th of February

Group members present: Jade Dibble, Hannah Martin and Jasmine Greene.

Our final filming session consisted of us filming shots for the final sequence of our music video. We wanted to attain the shots that would actually establish the relationship between Hannah and Jade's characters, after the build up to it in the prior shots. This location is exactly the same that we used when filming with Josh, which meant that we could directly replicate certain shots.

The lighting at this time of day was absolutely excellent for what we wanted. The sun started to go down slightly whilst we were filming, which created a semi-romantic mood in shots that we made use of the lighting to make silhouettes.

Due to the nature of the location, and how the beach is very open, we encountered problems with the wind. As Hannah and Jade both have long hair, we found that in many of the shots that we had planned to film, their hair was blowing in the wind and covering their faces. This meant that we had to abandon filming certain shots, as we could not find an angle in which we could prevent their hair blowing in their faces. As a result, we had to improvise and brainstorm different shot ideas that we could use that would create the same effect. We had to think of entirely different shots that would be similar to those planned, or shots that were just slightly different to the original plan.

To achieve an effective shot of Hannah and Jade running away from the sea as it washed in, we had to attempt it a few times. Whilst I was avoiding getting wet, we found that I could not obtain a shot that was smooth, and that I could not obtain a shot from a good angle, or use steady camera movement. It was then that I made the decision to stand in the sea, and let it wash over me, so that I could obtain the desired shot. Not only were we competing with the cold weather already, but the decision for me to stand in the sea meant that this would have to be the final shot that we filmed that day, as I would need to return back to the car to attempt to warm up. Thankfully, the shot that we got was very effective, and it was what we had wished it to be like, so it was very much worth it.

On location, we found that obtaining the shot of the tide washing over the word "Sorry", that we wrote in the sand, was actually very time consuming. We had to attempt this shot multiple times, and we had to experiment with where worked best. We found that we had to write "Sorry" at a distance away from where the tide was washing up to at that moment, because otherwise it would get washed away before we could finish it and start filming. However, this meant that we had to leave the camera filming and wait for quite a long period of time for the water to reach where we needed it to, in order for it to create the shot that we wanted. We were very happy with the shot once we had achieved it.

In the video above you can see us working on the beach during this filming session. We were in competition with tide, as it was coming in, which mean that the sand we had to film on was gradually becoming less and less.

Filming Day: Hannah's bedroom

Location: Hannah's house

Date: 18th of January

Group members present: Hannah Martin, Jade Dibble and Jasmine Greene

Our inspiration for some shots we filmed on the occasion came were inspired by scenes in Panic! at the Disco's music video for their song "Miss Jackson". A key theme within this music video is emotional trauma and self-conflict, which is why we wanted to draw inspiration from what was demonstrated in their shots. 

As with the shots we filmed in Hannah's bathroom, we wanted to use Hannah's mirror in her bedroom to film shots that had depth to them, and would be interesting for the audience to look at. A mirror was also used in the "Miss Jackson" music video, and we thought this was effective for the purpose of showing the emotional trauma of the protagonist. The use of mirrors in our video would also be symbolic, as it would represent how the protagonist is constantly looking at themselves and finding fault in who they are. It would signify that she is trying to look for a way to change herself, and to hide who she is. As we were positioning the mirror in place to film, the mirror got broken. As a group, we initially saw this as a big problem, as we had no other mirror which we could use. However, after discussion, we saw that we would actually still use the mirror in our piece. We thought that the broken mirror could serve two purposes: it would be representative of how the character feels broken, and how that she feels her sexuality means she is broken, and it could also serve the purpose of planting a narrative enigma. How did the mirror get broken? Was it in an argument between Josh and Hannah's character within their unhappy relationship?

We found that the artificial lighting was once again a problem. The light in Hannah's bedroom produced very yellow light, which made Hannah and Jade, and their surroundings, look a very unusual colour. This highlighted to the group that with very limited filming equipment, and without the budget that there would be to create a professional media product, it is very difficult to create certain shots that look professional. The nature of the time of year that we filmed mean that we could not use natural lighting, as it had already gone dark by the time we arrived at location in the early evening. To add to the insufficient lighting of Hannah's bedroom light, I attempted to use the torch from Hannah's smartphone, as can be seen in the image below. I was attempting to film a birds eye shot of Hannah and Jade lying on the bed, to mirror the one that I had filmed of Hannah and Josh, so that the audience could draw a direct comparison between them. Therefore, I was stood on the bed above them. The artificial lighting created unusual shadows on Hannah and Jade's faces, which meant we could not film. As we could not achieve the desired shot, despite our various attempts to create better lighting, we had to attempt to create a similar shot, but from a different angle.

Here you can see our attempt to make the screen brightness of Hannah's phone right so that the camera could focus on it properly:

Detailed Planning During Editing

During the editing process, we needed to make a lot of changes to our music video in terms of the order of the footage and what footage we included. We discovered that we needed more suitable footage in order to fill certain sections of the video, so we had to plan what this would be. In order to do this, I created a 'second count' of the video that included all the shots that we had placed into the timeline, and also included the space that we needed to fill. Being able to look at this on paper allowed us to make clear planning decisions in terms of what footage we though we needed. There was also footage that we had not put into the timeline yet, such as the shots of Hannah and Jade in Winter Wonderland, and this method of planning allowed us to figure out where we thought this should go. 

'Second count' of the video:

Final Storyboard

 Here are pictures that show the final storyboard of our piece:

As a group, we believe that our final storyboard outlines a music video that will be very successful if it is executed well.

We used a template to create our storyboard, which included sections for us to plan the shot duration, the visuals of the shot, the camera instructions, what sound will accompany the shot, and allowed a section for us to make any additional comments if required. This storyboard template was more advanced than the one we had used during the creation of our thriller opening sequence at AS level. On the storyboard that we used then, we only specified the visuals and the camera instructions. However, our experience last year taught us the importance of detailed storyboard planning, as we felt that the information on our storyboard then did not give us enough guidance, hence making the process more difficult for us. A more detailed storyboard, including the more fine details, such as shot duration, really help you to get an idea of what the product will be like when it's finished.

Some things that have changed since the draft...

• We have added titles to the first shot in our video, as this is a common convention of music videos. It allows the viewer to establish the artist and the name of the song at the very beginning of the piece.
• Overall, shot lengths have decreased. We had initially planned for quite a few shots to be around 5 seconds in length. However, we found that shots of this length became uninteresting, as they felt unnecessarily long. 
• Shot order has changed, as when we started filming, we realised that in order to tell the narrative effectively, the shots should be in a different order.
• Some of the shots that we included in our draft are not in our final storyboard. This is because, as we started the filming process, we realised that some of the shots we had planned were not effective for the purpose we wanted to use them for. This meant that we had to substitute those shots with new ideas, which we came up with whilst out on location, and during brainstorming sessions. 
• We filmed a shot of the word "Sorry" written in the sand with the sea washing over it, which we intended to use as the titles. However, we then decided that we actually still wanted to open our piece the way we had initially planned. We really wanted to include this shot, so we decided that we would put it at the end of the video, as though it was the conclusion to the apology that was the song itself.

Our final storyboard may be subject to change if we need to employ our contingency plan for any reason, or if we think it is necessary during the post-production to phase to improve the final quality of the piece.