Experimenting with Mirrors

Telephoto Lens

I have began to test filming with a 55-200m telephoto lens which I have attached to a Canon 600d. This lens is cable zooming 2 times the standard 18-55mm Canon lens. I have also used a Jessops extension lens which allows a further 2 times zoom, totally in 4 times the standard lens.

I plan to use this lens in filming the wide, open countryside, sky and Norwich cityscapes for my music video. This lens allows me to view, in detail, far away objects. I have taken a picture of Hardley Windmill to demonstrate and practice the lens' range. This picture was taken over a mile away from the windmill and as you can see it is still quite detailed.  When practicing with the telephoto lens I have learnt that that it makes the front of the camera quite a bit heavier so it is more likely to weigh itself down when on the tripod so it is important to lock the tripod in place or hold it steady.  As well as this, I realised that when zoomed in to the extreme a small jolt or wobble of the camera is exaggerated which means I must avoid moving the camera quickly when the lens is zoomed in.

Call Sheets

Call Sheet Norwich

Recce Checklists

Recce Checklist Yare

Recce Checklist Norwich

Risk Assessment Forms

Risk Assessment Form Norwich

Risk Assessment Form Mill

Music Video Storyboard

Hover for annotations.

Seeing as I plan to produce an entirely conceptual, montage style music video for Static (Get Out My House) I found it difficult to design a traditional storyboard because there isn't any real narrative (apart from change in visuals following change in music). So I decided to divide the song into 3 sections, depending on the sounds, lyrics and speed of the music, and construct a mood board for each section (each section is around 1 minute long). The mood boards contain found images of location and shot types that I am planning on using in my music video. This will give me a reference to look back on as I go along and is a useful way of visually producing my ideas. Also, as I have created these mood boards virtually (using thinglink.com) it will allow me to edit them and add new ideas as and when they come to me. Hover your mouse over each individual image to read the link.

The first section is the introduction and build of the song, it is mostly instrumental and the pace is slow and light with a calm mood.  Section 1:

The second section of the song is a lot louder, faster and has heavier bass than the first section also it contains a lot of repetitive lyrics. To link this music change with the visuals I want to speed up the pace of editing and use a lot more visual effects in this section. Section 2: 

The third and final section of the song slows down again and the music and instruments slowly fade out. To form a relationship between this and the visuals I want to make the shots last longer and editing pace slow back down. Section 3:

 

Location Ideas

Green Screen Testing

As a class we decided to test filming in a green screen studio. We did this to practise our skills in front of and behind the camera and also to get more understanding of how to film with green screens convincingly. Some of us already had some experience with using green screen but not in a professional studio. Previously we had to paste an image onto the green backdrop manually using the chroma key tool in Adobe Premier Pro but in the studio we used computers which did this automatically.

When filming with green screens we learnt that it is important to keep the camera still, otherwise it looks like the object in front of the camera is flying around. We also found out that getting the object the right size in relation to the background is vital for the shot to look realistic, this can be done by zooming the camera in or out, or moving it closer or further away.

Music Video Proposal (second draft)

Seeing as Jackal reproduced the song for me (to make it shorter and remove swear words) I have had to re-do the Production Treatment and Proposal. I have added in new ideas, updated the schedules and adjusted the timings of the visuals. With the new drafts of the Proposal and Production Treatment I have a secure base to plan my music video.

Music Video Production Treatment (second draft)

Time Lapse Testing

This short video is an example of time lapsing. Whilst researching the use of the Canon 600d I experimented with the use of the exposure and ISO functions. This video clip's original duration is 15 minutes. I changed the duration in Premiere Pro by 5000% which means it is now 17 seconds and appears to pay a lot faster. This is what a time lapse is. I am planning to use this application in the post production of my music video, so this research exercise has proven extremely useful. The experimentation with the ISO and exposure functions on the camera was beneficial because I found that the higher the exposure was, the brighter the picture came out because it effects how much light the lens lets in. This video has very low exposure because I was filming the sky which produced a lot of light so the lens doesn't need to be too sensitive to light. This meant that the camera was able to see the clouds in detail which gave a nice effect as they moved and transformed across the sky, especially when the film is time lapsed.

Camera Lens Testing

Here is a compilation of several test shots using different styles of camera lens and filter filmed by me and friend, Fraser. Explanation of each lens or filter is in the video. 

 I found that a lot of the filters we tried were not the kind of thing that I am looking for in terms of quality style and effect in my music video. For instance the sand filter did not appeal to me because it hides a lot of the shot, if I want this effect I can create it in post production. Also the multi image lens (as we wrote in the video) is quite retro and 1970s, this is not the style that I am aiming to create with my music video.  I think the reason for my disappointment with these filters is because they are intended for still photography, not filming.  Therefore some of these filters prove inadequate for this project.

Audience Research

In order to create a realistic view of my target audience which I have collected some data using a online questionnaire courtesy of surveymonkey.com. This will aid me in the design of my promotional package, as I now know what my audience want from their musical experience and I can use this information to best market my product. Below is an example of the questionnaire and the results of the survey in the form of infographics. Hover over links for annotations.

UK House Music Audience profile

This my target audience profile for UK House music fans which I created visually on Pinterest.com. I have included examples of common favourite food, drinks, media, clothes/shoes, accessories and pastimes of male and female young people and teenagers, which is the target demographic. This mood board demonstrates the type of person that I must have in mind when planning and constructing my product and I will use it as a reference to remind myself of this.