Filming...

Nuxley Village:
Today, both myself and the rest of the group returned to Nuxley Village to complete our scheduled filming at this location. We had already booked out the equipment again for today so it was just a quick pit-stop to the art floor of the New Block and we were on our way!

Once we had stopped down Nuxley Road, we set up the tracking equipment as quickly as possible and recorded Melissa walking down the busy street. We made multiple attempts at this as we tried to capture a variety of camera angles.

Here an example of the footage taken today:

  

Sitting on the bench is me and Rebecca! This was our chance to cameo in our video, as we all plan to be shown at some point.

Lily-May Smythe

Bookmark Update...

The bookmark is no longer needed for the merchandising page on Jennifer and Melissa's website, therefore production on this has been cancelled.

Lily-May Smythe

Filming...

Nuxley Village:
Today Rebecca, Melissa, Jennifer and I all went to collect the equipment from Mr. Ruck in the art block and carried it onto the bus to film in Nuxley village as it was just too heavy for us all to carry! We had pre-arranged exactly when and where we needed to film as some of us had a lesson last so we had limited time.

We were able to get all the shots that we needed so the shoot was rather successful. The shots that we captured were of mid, low and high angles of Melissa in the streets. However, setting up all the tracking equipment was slightly problematic as everyone in the village kept staring at us and were wondering what exactly we were filming. Also, as I was filming an establishing shot of the village a man crashed straight into our plastic poles on the floor and even though Jennifer and myself told an elderly lady three times, she still managed to trip over our equipment. I think we may need to bring some sort of sign next time.

After sorting through the footage most of it was usable. However, we will need to return at a later date. We need to re-book the equipment for the future shoot. I enjoyed directing some pan & track shots of the streets and also creating an establishing shot of the village. It was difficult though as continuity became a problem as cars and people kept moving!

Here is an example of the shots we captured:

And another:

Lily-May Smythe

Army Letter...

Notification of Death:

I was responsible for designing the letter from the army notifying Melissa (in the video) of her love interest's death. I did some basic research using the search engine: Google only to discover that there isn't really much available in the way of exemplars due to the fact that nowadays they send people instead of writing in letter. However, for our video at least, we needed a letter. So I asked older people what they would have included and designed the following:

The purpose of this letter is to, during a close up shot, highlight that the love interest has died. Afterwards, the letter will later will torn apart by Melissa.



Lily-May Smythe

Photoshop...

Editing the Key Image for the Bookmark:

After taking several photographs at Jennifer's house, I sorted through which ones would best suit a bookmark. Going back over my research, I saw that many photographs had been halved. I really liked this design so I looked into how to do it using Adobe Photoshop. Following a tutorial, I then went on to Photoshop several other elements even further. I found the entire process very interesting as before this task my Photoshop skills hadn't really been very good. Now I can say that I know how to crop and edit an image!

Step 1:

Original image, having cropped it.

Step 2:

I added a gradient background of grey-white using the 'gradient' tool.

Step 3:

I sharpened Melissa's hair for a more professional finish using the 'sharpen' tool.

Step 4:

I then blurred her coat to make it smoother and added a shine to her fringe.

Step 5:

I darkened Melissa's lip using the 'burn' tool.
Beforehand, I matched the pre-existing colour using the 'colour adapter' tool.

Step 6:

Lastly, I whitened Melissa's teeth also using the 'burn' tool.

Step 7:

Finished image.

I now intend to transfer this saved image into Adobe Illistrator for further editing.

Lily-May Smythe

Further Photography...

Jennifer's House:
Today, along with Melissa, I went to Jennifer's house to take a couple more photos for my ancillary tasks. As I had previously planned the costumes and poses ect. I was well prepared when I got there.

As I already had an idea of what I'd like Melissa's hair and make-up to look like, I quickly got to work with Jennifer:

Me & Jennifer doing Melissa's hair and make-up.

We decided that it would be best to use a blank white wall for the background so that they would be easier to edit on photoshop. After the first few images we also opted to change the lighting- adding a spotlight to the images.

I was very pleased with the images produced and plan to use them for my tour poster.

Below are a select few taken on the day:

I took the opportunity to take a headshot of Melissa, just in case. I really like the natural look.

I really like this photograph; I think her costume is great! This will look great on the tour poster.

This is possibly my favourite photo I've taken so fast. I hope to use it for my second ancillary task.

I am now going to try to incorporate these new images into my previous draftwork to ensure that I can use them.

Lily-May Smythe

DEVELOPMENT...

The Bookmark:

The development stage began for my optional third ancillary task when I constructed the initial draftwork. Inspired by the existing products I had analysed during my research, I started drawing bookmark design ideas to see what I could come up with.

Seeing as I had already chosen the font and colour scheme, it was just a matter of images. Then I remembered that the photography shoot the group had scheduled to take place at Jennifer's house was coming up soon and saw it as a great opportunity to take a photograph for the bookmark then.

From the examples I have posted previously, I really liked the idea of using one key image on the front of the bookmark and several smaller ones on the back. This is what I plan to do and I hope to incorporate a theme within the images, seeing as they are all going on the same product, by keeping Melissa in the same costume. I hope that this will give the product a sense of consistency.

Therefore I have constructed a basic plan so that, when I have taken the desired images at Jennifer's house, I can fit them to the plan and move onto development work in Adobe Photoshop & Illistrator on the computer.



Highlights colour schemes, image positioning and copy in specific fonts.

Lily-May Smythe

Updated Video Plan...

Meetings, Meetings, Meetings:
Today we had another group meeting together. We discussed and listed the necessary changes that are now going to be made to the video:

Introduction- Melissa walks into the school hall and plays the piano.
Instrumental- Flash Back.
Verse 1- Melissa walking through Belvedere village.
Instrumental- Flash Back.
Verse 2- Park.
Verse 3- Green Screen.
Verse 4- Woods.
Instrumental- Flash Back.
Verse 5- Cafe.
Instrumental- Flash Back.
Verse 6- Looking at cards and photos, ripping up letters and throwing teddy.
Instrumental- Flash Backs.
Verse 7- Green Screen.
Verse 8- Woods.
Instrumental- Flash Back.
Verse 9- Vanessa lying on her bed with the camera panning around her head.
Verse 10- Vanessa walking through Belvedere village.
Verse 11- Park.
Verse 12- Green Screen.
Verse 13- Woods.
Verse 14- Pier.

This shall be vital for reference when we begin the editing process.

Lily-May Smythe

RESEARCH...

Bookmark:
I have decided to produce an item of merchandise to be featured on Jenny and Melissa's website and the item I have chosen to construct is a bookmark. To ensure that I incorporate all the common features that a bookmark entails, I have conducted some preliminary research.

I searched the Internet for existing products and analysed their common codes and conventions:

Immediately after seeing this design, I realised that I would need to create both a back and front for the design. I hadn't realised this so it's lucky I saw this one. The front of the bookmark uses one large image and several smaller images for the back. I may use a similar design.

Similar to the Taylor Swift design, these Justin Beiber bookmarks use a collage of smaller images. I'm not to fond of this idea to use it on both the front and the back but I like the way the images have been blended into each other. This is an effect I could easily achieve on Photoshop.



I like the way this bookmark uses the famous Demi Lovato logo when they have designed her name. I may use this convention on my bookmark as I am aware that a Vanessa Carlton logo has been produced within my group. It would be an excellent way to tie in all our ancillary tasks.

Having researched this product and highlighted several common codes and conventions, I now have a much clearer idea as to how I am going to construct my design for the bookmark. I am going to create some draftwork now whilst the ideas are still fresh in my mind and I shall upload it as soon as possible.

Lily-May Smythe

Filming Set Back...

Continuity:
Melissa has dyed her hair black. Unfortunately for the rest of the group this means that we shall have to re-shoot all the filming we've completed to date. This is due to our video's continuity. Having discussed the situation with out teachers, it is felt that for the sake of our marks we should re-shoot everything. I'm still unsure as to whether or not this will affect our ancillary tasks.

Lily-May Smythe

EVALUATION...

The Tour Poster:
This is the very first draft of my second ancillary task and I am well aware that there is a serious amount of work that still needs to be done. Unable to put my finger on it, I submitted it first to my teachers for feedback.

I have listened to my teacher's comments and have decided to act on them all. I agree with their improvements and have even noted a few of my own. My main concern is the key image; I think I am going to need to reshoot for a better photograph. I shall inform my group as soon as possible to organise a time and date that both Melissa and myself are available. The rest of the improvements should not take too long as soon as I have thought of a new design, this however cannot be done until I know which image I am going to use!

Lily-May Smythe

General Update...

Brief Update:
With the ancillary tasks on schedule, our main focus at the moment is on filming. We have had our fair share of setbacks; equipment has been damaged, we experienced problems with continuity and our choice of font had to be reconsidered. But fortunately, we have had the time to correct these minor complications as we allowed a small amount of contingency time within our schedule. Luckily, as a group, we have acted quickly and sorted everything out. We shall meet together as soon as possible to discuss more filming dates for the near future due to the fact that we still have quite a bit more filming to complete. Having said this, I have no doubt that we shall meet our deadlines and begin the editing process soon and the final construction of our music video.

Lily-May Smythe

Ancillary Update...

Brief Update:
Both my billboard design and tour poster ancillary tasks are now well underway and almost finished. It is now just a matter of adding the finishing touches such as refining the images and checking that all the relevant codes and conventions are in place.

With my computer drafts complete, I would now like to get some feedback from both my peers and teachers as soon as possible so that I can act on it in time for the deadline. I am to do this within the next week or so and shall upload any changes that have been made/suggested.

And finally, I have recently spoke with Jennifer and I am looking into creating a bookmark. It shall  be featured on the Merchandising page of her website. Any progress made with this third ancillary shall be recorded on here.

Lily-May Smythe