General Update

I have been working very hard to complete my music video, and it is now almost complete. I found out, that I am allowed to use some footage, that I didn't film, i.e. the children's TV programmes, but only 5% of my video. This is not a problem for me, as this allows me around 20 seconds of footage that I didn't create, and many of the clips I used are around eleventh's or twelfth's of a second, so am keeping below the limit. I also looked on the BBC's website about their policy for reusing footage, as that is where the show clips I gathered were aired on (I had intended to email them asking if it was okay for me to use them, but there was no such facility for my question). But I found that their policy for COMMERCIAL use of their video's is that as long as it has already been made commercially available, they do not mind it being used, so, as my video is not commercial use, as I don't intend to make any money from it, or use it for any other purpose than my coursework, I think that, as long as the clips I am using have already been shown and are available (which they are) then it is all right for me to use them.


But, overall the editing has been going really well, I only have around 20 seconds left that needs putting in, and then it is completed. I could have finished it sooner, but I felt I should take longer over it the first time I complete it, rather than finish quicker, and have to make changes afterwards, I also want to be completely happy with my end result, so have been testing different shots at different parts of the song to see how it fits, I didn't want to settle with what I had, if it didn't feel right. I am very happy with how it's progressing (although after hearing the song about 1000 times it's losing it's appeal!)


Also, today I managed to get the photo shoot I had been hoping for, for a few weeks. I was only able to do it today, as although the weather conditions were fairly windy to say the least, it was dry, and bright enough, to get some good pictures. Most of them will appear on the website, as I only wanted one picture of my singer in the digipak, as I explained in my design ideas. My friend Barny Mannox, helped me with the pictures, he is 17 and an amateur photographer. I wanted him to help me, as I thought his skill as a photographer would help me get certain shots, as well as him teaching me how to use his Digital Single Lens Reflex camera (DSLR) so I could take some of the pictures myself. The shoot went well, the photos were in a play-park, to continue the theme of 'Kids', and I think will look very effective.


I hope to complete the digipak and web-page very soon, I just need to sort through the pictures, to find which I wish to use, and that should be all, I will post again soon, showing my progress with the digipak and web page. :)

Using Children's TV Show Clips...

Well today I began inter-cutting a few very short clips of children's shows that I had downloaded, and I thought they looked very effective and created the exact tone I was aiming for. However, I came across a dilemma, as, after editing a few of these into my video, I found out that the specification includes some rules about using other people's footage, which concerned me hugely, because I felt the clips, were a perfect match for my video. The specification basically said that, and clips I include, that are not my own work, won't be marked, and can only be used if the original audio is not used, that the image is distorted in some way and that the usage was limited. This news relieved me a little, as none of the clips I had used, or intend to use have any sound, as I wanted my music to be playing over the top; also I had decided to distort the images (as I stated in a previous post). All the clips I would like to use, I have distorted the colour, or changed the shape or view of it, sped it up, and used various other filters and effects. I chose to do this, as the shows would link with the title and nature of the song 'Kids' and put a spin on the recognisable shows, as the distortion would create a sense of unbalance, as the altered clips, were not expected to be what I changed them to. This is also similar to the official video, that has a small child being scared, by people with monster-style masks, implying that children see adults and others in a much more twisted way, to fit the song, and is a theme I wanted to convey in my video too. Also, complying with the spec. the length of any of the clips I use a very short, definitely no longer than 1-2 seconds, which is only when I want a specific part, but most of them are around a thirteenth of a second long, and I am in no way intending to use them to simply fill up time, or create any kind of narrative.


I really liked the idea of using the clips, as they break up the large amounts of stop-motion, creating a new dynamic to the video and keeping up the pace. I am aware that the clips that are included, I could have attempted to create in some way, myself, but I wanted the contrast between my attempt of creating a child-like themed animation, and well known children's shows to be clear. Also had I made my own 'children's shows' they may not have necessarily been interpreted in that way, as they would have never been seen before, so would just be a part of my video, rather than an emblem of children's televised youth. I wanted the clips to highlight the constructed nature of the much larger percentage that I developed myself (which is slightly post-modern, as is the band and song I have chosen) showing how different the two styles are, but also, with the distorted clips, linking with my slightly off, playful, but slightly more sinister youth themed video. Finally, I liked the clips being included, as it gives the audience something to relate to, it allows them to recall their own childhood, or any memories associated with the shows, creating a more welcoming attitude to my video, as it includes something they can relate to, in a slightly more mature way, and incorporated in a popular song. I found this effect was successfully created, as a peer of mine wanted to see the progress I had made, and commented on the clips, recalling them with much joy. I am not using the clips as my own, but almost an homage to them, as by simply showing a twelfth of a second of any of them, they are easily recognised, and fondly remembered. I felt I should post this, to show the detail and thought I have put into the use of these clips, and why exactly, I feel they will enhance my work.

Editing Continued...

Today I continued editing my music video (hence the title) and have around 2 and a half minutes completed now. Today was the first time I tried inter-cutting clips of children's TV shows, to break up the stop motion, and it seems to be a very effective technique. The variation prevents the stop-motion from becoming too monotonous, and gives the video a bit more depth. I hope to use this technique throughout my video (only where appropriate), but I have found cutting the clip to the perfect length, but still including the action I want, is a little difficult, and requires a lot of precision and time, but I think the end result will make it worth it (it's also quite fun watching old clips of Sesame Street!)
As I have been editing the video in different sections, there are some gaps between the parts I have done, which I find is helpful to work out exactly where I'm lacking footage, and what needs to be done, but I hope to fill in a few of these soon, so I can put a few clips on here to give an idea of the progress I have made.

Music Video Editing So Far

About a fortnight ago I uploaded all my footage onto the Macs, and have been editing it on Final Cut Express since. I have made a fair amount of progress, and about 1.30 to 2 minutes is edited, however I have been editing the song in small chunks, not in order, to get the more complex parts completed, such as lip syncing. However at the beginning of the editing process, I was unable to do a lot of work, as I had shortened the 5 minute version of 'Kids' to around 4 minutes, )as it would have been far too lengthy) - on and older version of iMovie (for ease), but it would not transfer to Final Cut. So without the actual track on Final Cut, I was fairly limited to what I could do. I had sought help to solve my problem, but after over a week, I still hadn't been contacted with a solution. As I couldn't waste any more valuable editing time, I tried to find a shorter version of the song that I could buy, and found a radio edit that was 3 minutes 50 - a perfect length. The song has now been successfully uploaded, and my editing has gone smoothly from there, I have had to alter the lighting in some shots, for continuity and clarity, but apart from that, the editing has been straightforward.

Digipak Design Ideas

I drew up a couple of designs for my Digipak, so I can have an idea of how I want my finished product to look. I may combine features from the two ideas, as I like different aspects in both of them, and allows me more freedom, when making it, to combine the best parts to make something even better.

DESIGN 1 INSIDE
The picture on the left, actually has a sunset, in front of the silhouette,
 however after being scanned in the colour has been lost.

DESIGN 1 OUTSIDE

DESIGN 2 OUTSIDE
The image on the right also had colour, split into four, with each quarter a
different colour, but again due to scanning, it has been lost.

(Also the colour of the fridge magnets, and button below, is slightly off)

DESIGN 2 INSIDE

Adobe Photoshop

Yesterday, I had a lesson about how to use the graphics editing programme Photoshop, that I can use when making my digipak for my song. I was mildly familiar with the programme, as I have used it before, at home, however, I was learning on a newer version, that has even more effects and tools. I only really learnt the basics, such as selecting, and the different ways, and played with a few of the different effects that are available, to acquaint myself with the programme. The different methods of selecting, were hugely helpful to learn, as it is essentially the base for everything else to work on, without selecting parts properly, I would have much more trouble. I also learnt about the different layers, in that, every image, or added item is on a different layer, and also that naming each layer may be useful, to help me stay organised within my work.
Overall I think it is a very useful programme, and although I do not know how to use all the different features, what I have learnt, I think will be very useful to me and I will be likely to use Photoshop again when designing my digipak.

Final Cut Express

Today I had a brief tutorial on how to use Final Cut Express to edit my footage. I learnt mostly the basics of the program, like how to import the footage, what to do with it once it's in Final Cut, and some basic ways of adding effects. I also learnt how the viewer and canvas work, and 'in' and 'out' points within editing (the beginning and end of what is being cut). I like Final Cut, as it is more sophisticated than iMovie, and once I have learnt how to use it fully, I think I can achieve something really good with it. One thing I like about it, is that the original footage is never deleted, but that essentially a copy is being edited, so you can always get the original back, no matter what. Apart from it being quite complex to learn, due to so many elements of it, the only thing I don't like, is that the edits have to be rendered fairly often, which is slightly awkward, as you can't watch the entire piece until it's rendered, and I find that a little too final, but as the original is still there, it's not quite as bad.
Anyway, that was just a little update about one of the new skills I've had to learn for this project, and the next post will be either an update on how my editing is going, or some more information about my ancillary texts - see you soon.

Filming Completed!

Yesterday all the filming needed for my music video was completed! I went to the play park that I wanted to use for my video, and filmed all of my Point-of-View shots that I will use at the beginning of the video, and anywhere else I deem necessary. It was fairly cold, but this was to my advantage as it meant the park was empty, so I could use it when I intended to, rather than being delayed. Also, as it was cold, the sky was quite white, so the lighting was gerat for filming, and not too dark. I used the camera free hand, without a tripod, as it is supposed to be a POV shot, so I wanted the shots to be shaky and not exact. I also filmed the footage I wanted a few times, to give my self a selection of shots I can pick from, as well as some shots being slightly different, to see which variation looks best. I will only be using short clips from the footage I took, about 4-5 seconds at a time, possibly less, but no more. I also decided, as I had some time left on the tape, and the sky and cloud formations looked quite interesting, that I would film them for a short while, so I could use some time lapse footage, if I wanted to, as I was going to in my original idea, until I decided to remove that part from the song, as it was 60 seconds of an instrumental break, and would make the total time of the song over 5 minutes. I got a total of 25-30 minutes of the sky, it was moving fairly quickly, so once sped up, will only be a few seconds or so, but that was all I had wanted, so if I feel I need to add something different to my video, I can use it.


These are the locations shots I took before I began filming:

Whilst filming, I came up with another idea that I can use in my video, should I not have enough footage, which has been a concern of mine, which I have stated in past posts, hence me filming extra footage whenever I film. The idea I had was to get some clips of children's TV shows, and possibly distort the colours and shape, and edit them in, in a subliminal message style, so have them flashing up, at certain points in the song, like the bridge, or the chorus, I will also use a TV static clip or shot, in between, to enhance the subliminal idea, and make the audience more aware of it. This idea wasn't in my plan, or storyboard, so I have not accounted for using it, but I will gather the clips I want, and see how they look once edited, or if I will need them at all in the video.