Technologies including Web 2.0 used in our Music Video

Throughout our music video and ending it, we used a constant array of Technology/Web 2.0
We talk about the uses of these Technologies in our Video Commentary but I have also made a few notes about what else we used here:

Digital Video Camera - Canon MD 205

The use of a handheld video camera was brilliant for our music video as we planned a lot of shots and movements that would need something of it's mobility. The fact that it is

small in size and very easy to use made our days of recording much easier and quicker. It also has a small flip out screen which you can watch to see what you are recording and then use it's playback feature which we used a lot to see if we had achieved what we wanted to achieve. E.g: The shot that pans across from a low to a high angle in front of the runner was quite difficult to

capture and it took us several time to get what we wanted, so to go back and watch how quickly the camera needed to move across and where it started from was a lot easier to do with it's playback

feature. Uploading our footage was also a lot easier to do also as it has a simple 'Plug & Play' feature which was also quite quick and simple.

Premiere Pro

Premiere Pro is a Video Editing Programme made by Adobe. We

directly uploaded the camera's footage onto Prem Pro which was quite fast and therefore helpful as it quickened the process of editing which helped in the long run of our editing. The programme allowed us to do the simple, yet effective, things like cutting to and from each shot that we wanted, but it also allowed us to create a different feel to the video like using the diegetic sounds at the end of the video and fading to and from black.

Photoshop

We used a lot of Photoshop for our Ancillary tasks, in my case it was the CD cover and my work partner used it a lot for the Poster Designs. Using Photoshop also allowed us to create a look of both the CD cover and poster that would suit with the music video. Photoshop allowed us to insert original images and change things like colour and contrast which we used to our advantage to fit our codes and conventions of a typical Indie CD cover.

Blogger/Blogspot

This blog site that we have used was at first very difficult to use and I thought I'd preferred to use something offline like Powerpoint. However, I got very used to using this as it is a simple piece of Web 2.0 which allows me to quickly research others peoples work and see what I need to do myself to improve and actually include the pieces of work that I need.

Blogger also enables you to embed videos from other websites, in this case we only used YouTube. Uploading our work once we had finished was also really great as we could then send around this link to other people and they could view the finished piece and we could gain audience feedback. We also did this by creating a Facebook group for Lights On Productions which we invited our friends and they could answer a questionnaire which we wrote. We also created a Lights On Productions YouTube account where we have all videos we have made as an alternative view for people who want to see our work.

Facebook Group & YouTube Channel for 'Lights On Productions'

Facebook

YouTube Channel

We have made a Facebook group & a YouTube Channel for Lights On Productions and here we have uploaded both versions of our video so we can ask the members of the group a questionnaire:

1) Did you think the video suited the songs genre?
2) How well do you think the editing suit the movement of the video?

3) Do you feel you can relate to the main character at all?
4) What bands do you think could also match this kind of music video?
5) What codes and conventions do you think this matches?

We used this Facebook page to gain feedback and it worked really well with what we're trying to achieve with Web 2.0 as it tells us that we are more likely to get feedback from people if we simply upload the video onto the Internet instead of gathering an audience and handing out a piece of paper.

To view the comments on our page please click the Facebook link.

Final Evaluation Video

Frank & Kenny Final Evaluation from Kenny Cummins on Vimeo.

Final Video (Extended Cut)

The reaction from the audience was that they wanted to see what the main character was actually running from and that they think the suspense built from the rest of the video needed to have something at the end to finish that off.
We were okay with this so have now finalised a video with an ending.

In this version, the majority of it is the same (with some sound glitches cut out) but now with an 'ending' which tells us that the runner is actually playing a harmless game of hide & seek with his friend.
We really liked this idea of it being playful and fun as the stereotype of teenagers is that they are free to do whatever they like and just like to have a good time.
The fact that the song is also called Run & Hide also works really well with this and we also like the fact that the narractive of the song is quite serious throughout and that we'd like to have something to make it more friendly and lighthearted at the end.

As we have two different versions of our song, we also think that if we were to release this video on a bigger scale and if the song was actually released then this ending of the song would only be shown to fans on the band if they were to buy the single as an 'extra' on the CD or the sleeve could have a code that could be typed into the bands own website which would show the ending of the video.

Final Video (Short Version)

We showed this version to an audience and put it on our Facebook page to see what reaction it would get. This is a short version of the video as it has no ending and doesn't tell the audience what the main character in the narrative is actually running from. We wanted to see what the audience had to say about it and see if they wanted to see an ending to the video.

Video Blog

Here we have made a couple of Video Blogs after we had filmed certain parts for the video. Video blogs are usually created on small cameras and given to the cast of productions who can then act normally in front of the camera and put these as extras on DVD's and/or their Internet sites.
Here we highlight a few things on Day 1 of filming like where we are, what time of day it is and what we have achieved.
We do the same thing on Day 3 where we filmed more running and speak about how different day times have affected our filming as well as the weather.

CD Front & Back Cover & Inside Sleeve Idea

I have designed a few different CD Cover ideas with original images. I will pick one of these to be my final pieces.

Front Cover Designs

Design 1
I think I have done this CD Cover quite well as I have linked it with the song name. This was an original image which I changed and I liked the idea of having a choice to Run &/or Hide. Keeping the title of the band name was simple as I had quite a blank black space at the top, and therefore think that the band name sticks out quite well. I have made the Crown logo red which I think was a good idea as it contrasts really well with the rest of the image being black and white.

Design 2

I think I have achieved some good codes and conventions in this picture as most Indie bands don't have their faces shown on their CD covers but when some do, they seem to almost hide or change the way in which the image is seen. (They are usually looking away from the camera or have something else in the picture that is more the focus point) So I think I have done well to show the bands faces but show the rest of them differently. We also wanted to show something a little more 'playful' and less serious than some other Indie covers.

Design 3

I really like this design as we took the picture

whilst we were filming in the area. Therefore I like

the connection between the song and the front cover. However this isn't usually done with CD covers and music videos so I don't think we will use this as our final idea. Another thing I like about it is the same as the first deisgn and that it is black and white but with the Red Crown logo which helps the cover to stick ou a little more.

Back Cover Designs

Design 1

I really like the original image on this picture as I tried to correspond with some other Indie bands when they show some images of them playing live gigs and don't just pose for an album cover in a studio shoot. I think that making it black and white isn't such a problem as it won't be seen as much as it is a back cover. I think the placement and amount of song titles are perfect for the final piece and I have also managed to fit in some Copyright information, our production company logo, the bands websites (which is now usually found on CD sleeves) and a barcode.

Design 2

I liked the other idea of linking both the video and CD cover so decided to do it again. As the videos narrative has quite a lot of action/fast movement, I think we have captured that in this original image. However, again I don't think we'll use this design as the final one as Indie bands rarely link the video and CD cover together. I do think though that I have done well to fit the song titles, copyright information, band website, our production company logo and the barcode.

Design 3

I again like this image as it captures part of the band (in this case the lead singers guitar) in action. I have had to rearrange the song titles for them to fit a little better with the image but feel I have done well again to fit the rest of the information, logo and barcode in. I have also kept this image in colour and think it would probably correspond better with the second front cover design that has a lot of colours in it.

Inside Sleeve Designs

Design 1

I really like this original image as it is very different to most inside sleeves. I have edited the contrast and colours slightly but think that it is good because it is so different.

Design 2

I like the simpleness of this image but also quite like the way it shows the fact that it shows the drum kit in the studio where the CD was recorded I wasn't too sure about the images lighting and colours so decided to turn it black and white. I think that this would go quite well with front covers 1 & 3.