Meeting with mixy on the 30th of Jan

Liam and myself have had a meeting with Mixy. the agenda for this was as follows:

AGENDA

Update Meeting

30^th January, 2011

12:00 – 1:00

Meeting called by Connor Page

Attendees:      Connor Page

                        Liam Olivier

                        Mixy

Please bring:  Laptop

                        iPod

                        Blog

5 minutes	Introduction Apologise Welcome to meeting	Connor Page
30 minutes	Discussion Talk about  where the project is and what is currently happening, talk about shot ideas and goals for the project.	Connor Page Mixy Liam Olivier
20 minutes	Improvement to be made Mixy can offer any improvement that need to be made to the project: such as changes to backing story, shots or location. Notes to be taken by Liam Olivier	Mixy Liam Olivier
5 minutes	Questions If the client is unsure on any area covered they can air their opinions, worries or quires. Giving feedback on ways the project can be improved. Notes to be taken by Liam Oliver	Connor Page Mixy Liam Olivier

Actions

·         Talk about new ideas

·         Answer and questions to the best of ability

·         Gather feedback from meeting

·         Keep note of any major changes

A copy of this was sent to all Attendees, this explains in detail the subjects that will be brought up in the meeting. we gathered allot of feedback from this meeting, allowing us to make changes to the project where necessary. there were a few Major adjustments to this project:

• Change to Song
• Location
• Story Plot
• Use of Actors

We will be posting these changes in more detail, on following posts.

Location List

here are a list of different locations that we thought might be quite effective for our shooting. I have also attempted to use street view to get some sample shots.

• Starbucks
• City cathedral
• Guild Hall
• Town square
• Queensgate car park
• Market car park
• Shopping underpass
• Inside an average house

We have discussed filming on Queensgate car park with the managers. They then gave us requirements that we had to fulfil to get permission to film on location they included: risk assessments, at least one weeks notice, emails and notification of when the video is online.

 Guild Hall

Starbucks/Cathedral Entrance

Walkway next to the Cathedral

Town Square

The Cathedral

Equipment We Will Use

Below is a list of the new equipment that we will be using for our production, below that there will be more detailed descriptions of what it is and how we will use it.

• Nikon D7000
• 50mm AF-S 1.4G prime lens
• DSLR Rig shoulder Mount
• GGS Perfect Foldable LCD Viewfinder f
• Dolly and Track
• HD Video SD card
• Microphone
• LED Lights
• Tripod

Nikon D7000
where to begin with the D7000, this camera is the newest camera to be released by Nikon (other than the D4 however the D4 is a full frame camera, the difference being the D4 has a bigger sensor amongst other things to the D7000), her are some of the specs of the new camera:

Nikon D7000 Body only

Packing high-end image technologies into a surprisingly portable body, the D7000 marks a new era in creative flexibility. Sturdy enough to travel anywhere and powerful enough to handle any situation, its range of advanced features will satisfy any photographer ready to further their skills.

• 16.2 megapixel DX-format CMOS image sensor delivers lifelike images with vivid colours, reduced noise and smooth tonal gradations.
• High ISO (100-6400) light sensitivity - manually expendable up to 25600 using the Hi2 setting. Enables faster shutter speeds for finely detailed images with minimal noise when you shoot fast-moving subjects or take pictures in low light. Features an Auto ISO setting.
• EXPEED 2 image processing engine: optimises the camera's technologies for superior performance and maximum image quality, all while consuming minimal energy.
• Durable design: boasts tough, yet light, magnesium alloy top and rear covers, and environmentally-sealed joints that protect the camera from dust and moisture.
• 100% viewfinder coverage with approx. 0.94x magnification for precise composition.
• Durable shutter unit tested to 150,000 cycles. Delivers precise shutter control and exceptional reliability with a shutter speed of up to 1/8000s, and flash synchronisation at up to 1/250s.
• Twin SD memory card slots: for enhanced shooting flexibility. Use the second card when the first is full, or record stills on one and movies on another. SDXC compatible.
• Razor-sharp 39-point Autofocus system with nine cross-type sensors in the centre. Offers fast and precise autofocus coverage across the frame. Four AF-area modes, including 3D-tracking AF, deliver sharp results, whether your subject is off-centre, moving fast or completely unpredictable.
• 2,016 pixel RGB metering sensor delivers highly accurate metering for exact exposures and provides precise data to the camera's Scene Recognition System, which optimises exposure, autofocus and white balance immediately before the shutter is released for sharply defined images.
• 6fps continuous shooting: capture fast-moving action at six frames per second.
Quick response: boasts a near-instant start-up time and approx. 0.052-second shutter-release time lag.
• D-Movie – full HD (1920 x 1080) movie clips: a dedicated record button lets you capture beautiful high-definition (HD) movie clips instantly. AF-F mode keeps everything in focus while you are shooting and the camera supports use of an external microphone so you can record in quality stereo sound. Simple editing functions let you make edits of your clips in-camera.
• Large 3-inch 920k-dot, high-resolution LCD monitor with reinforced glass makes it easy to view essential camera information, and a pleasure to review and edit your photos and movies.

You can find more information about it on this link, http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/78159/show.html if you then go onto features, you can see all of the technical aspects offered by the D7000.

here is a video that reviews in a hands on manner,


for information on the rest of the equipment use the filters to search fro just equipment related posts.

Conventions of Music Videos

Camera Shots: Music videos often tend to make use of many long shots, close up and mid shots. They use to to create emphasis towards the artist, location and emotions. Close ups are also used to show emotions reflected by the lyrics of the song sometimes via the movement of the lips of the artist.

Camera Movement: Movement of the camera(s) is often mainly used to follow and trace the artist and/or band. This movements can include tilts, pans, tracking and crane shots.

Mise-en-scené: This is the arrangement of performers and props within the video. Mise-en-scené places important on the representation of something.
An example of this being shown is the track 'Mad' by Neyo. This mise-en-scené involves the artist 'Neyo' walking alone down a road, being in an isolated room. This relfects the isolation from his lover. Also, props include dark clothes and hats which represents the down mood of the song. The lighting is also kept very dark, black and white; to again represent the angry and depressed mood.

Editing: Jump cuts tend to be the most used editing technique used in music videos. This allows a sudden change from one scene to another and keeps a fast pace. Transistions such as fade and dissolve however are also very common in music videos as they create a different effect to straight cuts. Each is used depending on what type of action/pace/mood the artist is trying to create.

Lighting: You find many music videos that are black and white to help place emphasis on a particular mood. Other videos make use of artifical lighting to create an enhanced look.

Sound: This tends to mainly just consist of vocals of the song. However sometimes produces can include the sound of the enviroment to help create effect/mood/feeling/etc.

Props: These hold a vital role in aiding to add to the scene and they create significance on particular people and/or objects.

Costume: This matches scenes and relfects the genre or the mood thats trying to be created. Costume is a very important factor within the video because it has an influence over viewers as they might want to dress like the artist as they aspire to be like them (role models).

Colour: Colours are normally used to set the mood of the song by creating an atmosphere within the video. E.g. dark colours would be used to create a down more serious mood and bright colours for a more upbeat, lively enviroment.


These conventions go further when looking at the specifics of certain genres. For example:

Indie/Rock: Tend to be black and white, shots of the artist/band are used regularly throughout the video and close ups/long shots are favoured.

HipHop/Rap: Video locations tends to be a party or club location, achohol/drug references are frequent and branded objects appear often. Luxorious homes and cars are a favouriate. Camera shots tend to focus on long and establishing to show off the 'luxury of their lives'.

Spoze - Speaking to No One

This music video is one that is very similar to our ideas, it uses many techniques that we wish to transfer to our own video. the video a rap (UK grime) video focusing on the same genera as ourselves, using local, low-key artists. The company UpRaw TV, is another small, low budget production company in Peterborough.

The main thing that we have noticed whilst watching this is the framing/camera movements; the camera bounces and drops with the artist, they also use many different camera angles and do lots of switching in time with the beat. I think that by using this in our piece we can create a very similar style however, this video has a faster tempo with a more aggressive feel. due to this i think that the techniques may have to be used in a more controlled way. This may mean doing stuff like holding the shots a little steadier and adding a narrative to break up the singing.

The video also uses lots of transitions, mainly fades, and think that these help differentiate/add more impact to the fast speedy cuts and transitions. they also have a title sequence right at the beginning, I think that this may be unnecessary for a music video however, I may look into the possibility of this later.

updates to roles

Updates to Roles
Fran has now taken over the roll of the digi-pak designer , Liam and myself are taking joint roles with filming, production and web-site.

Location Scouting

For the narrative of the story we wanted to have a Cafe that was ascetically pleasing. we have looked at a few cafes such as: Starbucks, Nero and Cost. we also needed to find some more locations fro the narrative for that we decided to look at the cathedral and its surrounding this through up a couple of great prospects.

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The Cathedral

Alley/Arch way near the Cathedral

This locations should hopefully allow us to create a cinematic/romantic feel. 

Shot research + Dolly track

We have been doing research into potential shots we'd like to replicate within our project. One particular shot that has jumped out to us is one used in the track 'How we Roll'' by Loick Essien. The opening shot is slowly panning around the artist lip-syncing upon a roof-top. This shot continues to appear throughout the video as a solo shot of the artist.
We would like to use this type of shot within our project, as not only does it look good, it alows us to create a fuild scene providing a professional look and allowing us to expand our amount of shot types used.



This video showing the 'behind the scenes' of the previously mentioned track gives a small amount of  insight into how the shot we are interested in was created.
It shows the camera panning round the artist on a dolly track, the use of the dolly creates a smooth, seamless pan. This provides a more professional look and feel to the video and is more effective for entertainment than a standing shot.
We plan create our own dolly track so we are able to do shots like this one within our project, to hopefully create the small effects.