Reflection of Danbury Filming

Over the past couple of weeks we have visited this location in Danbury multiple times to get as many quality shots as possible. This location is perfect because it has a more industrial feel to it with the abandoned greenhouses and warehouses, but also has a more nature orientated side to it. With lots of beautiful apple trees, plenty of land and nature footpaths. Whilst we were at this location we got lots of great footage, that we can use throughout our music video.

At this location we had planned many different shots: When we arrived at this location for the first time we had lots of different shot ideas in our head. But on arrival the location could not facilitate some of the shots and some were not safe to do so, for health and safety reasons. Shots like the ones inside sheds and along the footpath were completely improvised, but ended up to be really good shots that we can use as footage in our music video.

We did not expect for the location to as picturesque as at turned out to be, as shown below. So we decided after filming some gritty, eerie shots of our character. We would return to the location and film some more pretty and innocent footage of our artist. This shows how the location was very versatile and meant we could get plenty of beautiful footage in one location.

 

What went wrong at this location:

One obstacle that we had to overcome when filming at this location in Danbury was the accessibility. It was very difficult to reach the different areas of the location, so we had to be very careful while walking around the area due to low ceiling and industrial items. This meant it limited the areas we could film in, but luckily there was plenty of places to film there.  Another thing that went wrong when filming was the weather, due to on the days of filming the weather changed while we there, so the lighting changes throughout the footage. This has meant we can not use some of the footage that this has happened to.

Feedback on Editing

After we started to edit our music video and it started to come together. We thought it would be a good idea to ask for feedback on our editing and see what can be improved and what we did well. So below is the feedback that we received:

What could be improved?:

• The locations that we have chosen have very different themes to them and so when edited together they look strange. So to improve this we had the idea of putting the more innocent, pretty footage from Southend at the beginning and end of the music video. Then have the more gritty, weird footage in the middle of the video. This means that the footage will make better sense together because it has a structure.
• Another improvement that could be made to the editing of our music video is the special effects, we need to include more exciting and quirky effects that will fit in well with creepy image we are trying to portray of our artist.
• We also need to work on the lip sync, to ensure that the timing of the song with the footage of the artist singing match perfectly with each other.

What we did well:

• The footage is very clear and the colour of the footage from the different locations match perfectly. Meaning that the footage works well together and looks professional.
• What we also did well from the editing we have done so far, is a couple of fast cut shots, that match perfectly with the chorus of the song and therefore look really good within the music video.

Magazine Article Research

Dijipak Ideas

Album Cover Ideas:



Inside Cover Ideas:

Reflection on Southend Filming

Today we visited Leigh-On-Sea and Hadleigh castle to do some extra filming for our music video. Whilst we were there we got a lot of great footage but we did make a few filming mistakes.

Great Improvised Shots:

• Because we went filming with no real idea as to what shots we wanted to get it opened us up to some amazing, improvised filming possibilities which was really exciting and fun for everyone.
• Shots like this one were purely improvised after we saw the water and the pylons under the bridge whilst walking past. Once we had an idea of what we would do we set up and started filming. The result was a visually stunning tracking shot of the artist walking through the water which serves as a great way to the start the music video.

Another example of fun and improvised filming was our trip to Hadleigh Castle. We went to Southend to film in Leigh on Sea and expected to stay filming there for the entire time we were out but after seeing a map that featured the castle we decided to take a trip down there in the hope that we would get some cool shots; and we did.

The castle and the land were amazing and provided many different shot ideas and camera angles, like this circular tracking shot we filmed inside the castle ruins itself.

What went wrong?:

This was a shot idea that came out of nowhere and was completely improvised in the moment. Two members of our group saw that the train was about to pass and rushed us to set up and film our artist in front of the passing train.
It would have been a great shot if it wasn't for a few silly mistakes. As you can see from the shot below, we accidentally got shadows in the shot which distracts the audience away from the artist thus ruining the shot.
Secondly, because we rushed setting up and didn't have time to focus before the train passed, our artist can be seen smiling and laughing before going into character but at that point the shot was almost over and the train had almost completely passed.

Early Stages of The Website

The website of an artist is extremely important as it is a universal platform that allows the artist to connect with their fans and vice versa. We have begun designing the website for our artist Ivory and are slowly getting to grips with the perfect layout and content in order to accurately represent our artist.

Improvements to make:

• Once our music video is complete we must upload it to the website
• When we have completed the "Making of Gasoline" video it must be uploaded also
• Tour dates are to be added
• We must complete and update our biography paragraphs
• Complete our gallery page
• Create an Instagram link
• Create a unique fan page
• Add a merchandise page
• Create a press release for the new album
• Finalise changes and layout
• Receive feedback and make further improvements

Album and Track Listing

Album name: Elements
Available to pre-order on 11/02/2017

Below is a new and improved track listing, the first track listing that we completed did not entirely fit with the theme and ideas we were aiming for with 'Ivory' our artist. So below is a new and improved list of tracks from our artists album 'Elements'.

Track Listing:

Gasoline
Falling
Hurt
Reckless
Hurricane
Black Heart
Tangled
Spirit
Deeper
Scars

The current single 'Gasoline' is out now and available to buy.

Artist Synergy

After having looked into synergy across band products (Beyonce's Lemonade album) it became clear to us that we would need to brand our artist in a similar way. Synergy is key for an artist to present continuity and to stay consistent for their fans. This something we considered extensively whilst creating our artist, her logo, digipak and music video.
The beginnings:
At the start of the process we, as a group, struggled to come up with a theme for the music video that we could also use to tie all of artist products together. Here are a few of the ideas that we came up with:

• florals
• natural elements (wind, fire etc.)
• concept ideas (powder paint, water etc)

However, after thoroughly studying the lyrics we decided that none of these themes, on their own, would work for our music video and our artist synergy.

Lyric Analysis

"Are you insane like me? Been in pain like me? -  We imaged a crazed women, with smeared make up and tangled hair singing this line. A woman on the verge of madness. We had the idea of demonstrating a slow descent into madness throughout the music video, with our artist starting the music video appearing calm and collected but slowly appearing more and more deranged and unhinged as the song and video develops.
These voices won't leave me alone,
Low on self-esteem, so you run on gasoline."
These lyrics paint a much darker image than we had previously thought and so we had to appropriately adapt our music video and artist to fit.

On the other hand, as this is our artist's first single we did not want to go too alternative just in case we alienate a large proportion of our possible fan base, so we had to try and combine our previous theme ideas and the new lyric research we had collected to create our final theme. 

Merchandise Research

We liked the idea of having a song lyric on the front of a grey or white jumper, with the name of the artist on the back. This is an idea that we got from merchandise like this Beyonce jumper which features a lyric from her single 'Formation' on the front of it.

We also had the idea of not only creating clothing but hats and snapbacks, as well as other accessories like tote bags and wristbands. For example, this snapback features a lyric from another Beyonce song and has Beyonce's name on the back. We took the idea of featuring the artist's name and decided to create a snapback that featured our artist's logo on the front.

Merchandise

Here are our merchandise designs which we will feature on our artist's website:


Our t-shirt design which will be available for both men and women. We will price it at £20.


Here is our hat selection that we have created, both featuring our artist's logo. We will price the beanie at £10 and the snapback at £15.


Here is one of our jumper designs, available for both men and women and in a range of different colours. It will be priced at £25.
 

Our second jumper design still features our artist logo but is a bit more inventive and will be available in a range of different colours. Priced at £25.

Artist Logo

This is the logo I created on photoshop. We liked this design because it was simplistic and matched the IVORY brand image we were going for. Also we though this logo would look good across all the digital media creating synergy.
 

Website Research

Below is the website research we conducted. We looked at similar artists within the same genre to make sure we were designing ours along the right lines.

 

Artist Photoshoot

This a photoshoot of IVORY. This allowed us to easily access images to use in different media products such as the magazine article. We also used the photo album in the website to make IVORY more relatable to fans.
 

Interview Script

Below is a script for the IVORY's MTV interview... 

Interviewer: When was the first time you realized music was your future?

Ivory: When I was 10 years old I picked up a microphone from a karaoke machine I had got for Christmas, I started singing 'The Promise' by Girls Aloud. And from then on no one could stop me singing. I think I started to annoy everyone haha.

Interviewer: What is your most embarrassing moment in your career so far?

Ivory: My first gig that I got was because of my mum, she got me a gig in a local bar in Camden. I was 16 years old, I was so nervous. But when I arrived there was only one very very drunk man sitting at the back of the bar. He ended up booing me off the stage, to be honest I was happy to leave and go home

Interviewer: Best moment of your career so far?

Ivory: Last week I was talking to one of my friends and she told me that I had become one of the top 10 best newcomers in the Radio 1 chart. This was a big moment for me and I sat calling everyone I knew because I was so excited.

Interviewer: What was the first album you ever bought?

Ivory: When I was 12 years old, I saved up my pocket money for a couple of months and ran down to the local music store. The album that I bought was The Best of 'S Club 7', I still have the album to this day.

IVORY Interview

Below is the interview that our artist Ivory had with MTV, this interview helped us to find out more about Ivory and her life. In this video she answers many different questions from MTV and about her life and the start of her amazing music career.

Website Research

Below is the research we did into creating our website. This helped us design the website in line with similar artists within the same genre.

 

Mood Board

A mood board was created to show different images of inspiration for the group to use when struggling for ideas. This help give direction when the group was struggling at points.

 

Costume

For the performance at the river, church and in the greenhouse shots, Tilly's style will be like this:

- Natural, light make-up that is slightly smudged for the effect that she slightly unhinged.

- A flowing, black/white dress will be her outfit. Slightly ripped and discoloured for an indie feel.

- For the artist’s shoes, we have decided to go for basic shoes, such as little black pumps and maybe a couple shots of her in bare feet.

- For Tilly's hair, as the performer, she is going for a very natural look. Her hair will be natural and very straight.

Location Shots

Below are the pictures took from different location shoots. By doing this it allowed us to see if the images matched the look we were going for with our artist.

 

Lip Sync Task

In order to help us to decide on our song choice for our music video, we completed a lip sync task. The two songs that we have narrowed it down to are:

• Gasoline by Halsey
• Everchanging (acoustic) by Rise Against

Below is the videos of the lip syncing that all of us completed, Tilly and Sarah sung Gasoline and Connor and Jack sung Everchanging. Here is the lip sync video for Gasoline...

 Here is the lip sync video for Everchanging...

Lyric Timeline

By completing a music video timeline it allowed us to identify different shot types we thought would go with the lyrics. This gave us a direction to follow when we started filming.
 

Song Suggestion Feedback

Below is a presentation showing the feedback that we received from our  class when presenting our three favorite songs to them, including 'Gasoline' by Halsey, 'Candy' by Doja Cat and 'Everchanging' by Rise Against. This feedback is very important to us because it will help us to decide what song we feel will work best for our group.

Permission Letter to Astralwerks Records

As a group we decided to write a permission letter to send to the production company of our artist Halsey. We researched and found that her production company is called Astralwerk's records. We found the companies email from their website and contacted them. I then emailed the record company the below letter of permission to ensure they know we will be using Halsey's song 'Gasoline' in our music video.

Risk Assessment

Below is the risk assessment I created and handed out to each member of the group. By doing this it allowed me to identify the potential risks to the group and equipment. as result of the group being made aware we talked though some procedures to put in place to avoid injury/damaging equipment.

     

Artist Name

We came up with 3 names for are artist, they were...

1. Ivory 
2. Isla 
3. Innari 

We decided to use names beginning with 'I' because we thought it looked slightly creepy but futuristic. We emailed a survey monkey to year 13 to decide the artist name because we could not decide ourselves.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/WPX7HNL