The notes i had used to make the director's cut video

1. In what ways does my media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

A) last summer - aerosmith research
music videos like walk this way
Rock good music videos
Started reviewing newer music videos
runaway love
we are champions lyric analysis (read parts of it)
story boards

B) narrative story lines in music videos effective, e.g. bad to good, losing to winning.
we are champions lyric analysis (read parts of it)
story boards drawn for running, because it is the most effective way/sport to show the overcoming of life's problems.

C) idea of print works came from scott pilgrim vs the world poster

2. How effective is the combination of your main products and ancillary texts?
Clear links of actors, as well as colour scheme. music video has beth and emily, and most shot in black and white.
rock linked with darkness, whereas we are the champions is about winning and hope, thus light (thus flame holds us together) thus using white, black and white, bad and good.
music video to CD has actors
CD to magazine has the band on it

3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?
TALK ABOUT THE FEEDBACK FROM THE BAND. I have learnt to spend more time looking closely to find any small and minor problems in the video, for example continuity error of grass colour.

4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

A) During the last summer term in year 12, my research into other bands to find out what's the best option for me was good, but as i started getting more into year 13, i slowly started to let go of the planning part, and stick more to the practical part of the project. so eager to start filming and editing, as oppose to knowing exactly what to film at which point.

B) Toward 2/3 of the way, emily and i decided it's best if each of us focus on different aspects of the project; print products and research was left up to emily, as it is her strong point, and the filming and editing was left up to me, as i had the more experience and ambition in this (although we each took a part of this project, we were both involved in each other's work from time to time)

C) the problem i've had with the blogger website is that it seems i cannot open it using my home computer, the Apple Mac. When at school, it is easy to log in and post my blogs, but when at home, sometimes it does not log in, and sometimes it just simply does not let me post my blog, then erases it before i can copy and keep it for another time.

D) the Digital camera - getting used to the hard drive ones this year, as oppose to the usual digital cam corder of last year.

E) problems - it deleted some scenes, therefore we had to take them again, thus creating the continuity error.

F) whilst emily was more busy with Adobe photoshop and Microsoft power point, i was mostly into using the Adobe Premiere Pro on the school systems, as well as Apple's iMovie 08.
problems with premiere pro included the constant crashes, the constant need to render files every time opened. (towards the end, all up-to-date files were converted to AVI to help to be supported by premier pro.

I am finito!

We are the champions by aStOUND music video (A2 media) from Abbas Tajik on Vimeo.

Music Video; final copy and finished.

Commentary

aStOUND Directors commentary (A2 Media) from Abbas Tajik on Vimeo.

This is the director's commentary.

Abbas A2 Band Evaluation from Abbas Tajik on Vimeo.

Band feedback

The director's cut is converting

Urgent update!

Dear Mr. Earl

I am making this post because the VLE is not working for me to email you. It has been broken since last night, but it was supposedly fixed this afternoon. I've tried over and over again on my laptop to get through to my working area to upload the band's finished footage as well as some of the documentary footage that's on the system, but i cannot get to them to edit the last bit of my documentary and evaluation.

I will keep trying until i can successfully upload them.

Honey, I'm home!...

It's been about 3 months since i've updated my blog. I've been using these several months to: - Filming for mine and Emily's music video at multiple dates as each time we've come accross a problem, wether it has been that we hadn't got a certain shot, a wrong angle or even when our footage was deleted and set us back alongside the weather. - Editing the footage with the help of Mr. Earl, trying different effects and versions of the movie to see which are the most effective. - Helping Emily with the photography of our album art cover and digipak. - Lastly filming the feedback from the band. The next step, in this crucial week, i will be updating my blog with progressing footages of the music video, as well as the final piece last. I will be uploading the important tasks asked to be done by Mr. Earl.

January update 2

In this post, i am going to talk about what we need to shoot for our movie.
Firstly, we need the last running scene when Emily, the underdog, achieves her goals and wins the race, overcomes the challenges and in other words, becomes the champion of the video. This would take place after the training montage within the timeline of the movie. I will need to take multiple shots and angles of the race and make sure i get everything in one go, as time is not our friend right now, and we can't afford to not do everything as quickly as possible, yet with the quality that we are expected, and more.

Our second lot of shooting will take place on Monday. We will be filming the piece of footage which will go in the begining of the video, as well as a piece of footage which will come after the first race, to show that it was a flashabck of what's happened and what she will do about it. We are doing this after school, and as we don't care about the weather or lighting outside because we are filming inside and using artificial lighting, we have 1 less thing to worry about. As well having the advantage of less ambient sounds within the recording.

January update 1

Second day back at school, and i am planning on what Emily and I need to shoot. yesterday i spent the lesson talking to Emily abut the time and place for our shooting. We decided on Saturday, the 8th, at Maiden Castle sports centre, to film our last running scene, which would take place around 12, this is because in my opinion, it would be less busy, as people would be going for their lunch and we would have the advantage of day light. And for our second lot of shooting, we decided on Monday the 10th, in one of the actor's rooms, after school.

Magazing & cover art.

This is the advertisement poster from the movie Scott Pilgrim VS. The World. The reason i have chosen to upload this particular picture, was due to the way it is set up. firstly, the background is white, which makes all the other colours stand out to the consumer. Secondly, the main characters are shown in a split screen style at the top of the page; i plan to do the same design, but with the band in the background, whilst having the two rivals, Bethany and Emily, in the front, back to back, just like Scott and the main girl are shown here. I plan to do this design in the magazine and if possible, on the CD cover as well.

Album Artwork research (2)

This is the first ever CD i purchased, i uploaded the pictures onto here, because it's very effective in my opinion. Firstly, the CD comes in another paper pouch which has the barcode and price tag on, which i think makes it look better value for the price you pay.

On the inside of the CD pack, you will find the Leaflet, which opens up to relevant advertisement and promotions, which may be interesting for the consumer, it'd be similar to a magazine, with different promotions, information and news about the band or company. Then you will find 2 CDs and a clever turn-able plastic sheet to put both CDs on the same plasti, but different sides of it.
This is a rather relevant piece of Digipak to me. I think this because firstly, it has no plastic cover, therefore better for the environment, which right there is a small slogan and seller to put on the back of the cover, as well as being very effective and colourful. The front background is shown to be black once again, which is typical and effective of Daft Punk to do so, but then they use images of their helmets, their signatures, to surround the album name.

The inside of the digipak is very simple, a small leaflet that tells you about the music on this CD, the CD, as well as the track listing on the back. Plus the barcode which every CD case has. This is by far, yet the most simple and effective digipak i have found.

This is 2001, one of the most influential albums created by Dr. Dre. the main theme in this album, which is displayed at every chance, is drugs. in particular, marijuana (dope, weed, grass, green, etc). The leafs are shown pretty much all over the casing or inside it even. on the front, the label presents the most famous tracks on the album, the name of the album alongside a marijuana leaf, and a shiny sticker with the name Universal on it, the label company for this album, it's pass of authenticity. Another feature is the Parental Advisory Explicit Lyrics sticker on the front to warn parents and guardians that this album is not suitable for minors.

Inside of the pack, there is the CD, with a Large marijuana leaf on it, as stated, the main theme. There can also be found a large leaflet that has information of the songs and producers and makers of each song.
On the back of the leaflet, there is a large collage of the pictures taken, within the 4 years of creating this album. this is very effective to show the consumers, the effort and time taken for this album. On the back of the album art cover, there is a track list as well as a barcode for shops to scan.

Album Artwork research (1)

This is one of the most famous and best selling Daft Punk albums within their careers. this is the front of the case, it's very effective in my opinion due to the very dark background (which daft punk seem to use a lot within their work) and then with a very peculiar graphics use for their title, it's a mercury substance based letters, which mark the album as Daft Punk's work, with a strange rainbow coloured glow on the outside of the letter. This makes it stand out and look very effective to the consumer.
On the inside of the pack, the CD, which has is black with silver writing, as well as the leaflet can be found. The leaflet has track information, the listings, the lyrics for each of the songs, how to get onto the Daft Punk online club, a picture of the band at work as well as a Poster for the album, on the other side of the leaflet. On the back of the album, there is a listing of the songs as well as a barcode for shops to scan.
This is the front of the Adulthood movie soundtrack CD. the photography is rather interesting. the way the actors are all positioned at the front of the digipak. it relates to the idea i have for my digipak.
This is the inside; on the left there is a booklet which is also in the next picture. The CD has been placed outside the pack to show what's underneath it, another picture.
The booklet has the name of each track, as well as scenes from the movie itself. The back of the casing is also shown, which has the track listing as well as the picture of the main actor from the movie, plus the barcode for shops to scan.

update - monday 5th

Today is the first day back after the dreadful snow week which i was unable to get into the school. Within the last week, i have made multiple daily blogs to keep updated and also showing my research for the digipak. I have drawn some designs on paper which i will upload alongside the blogs i have done within the last week which i have not been able to upload from home. Over the past week, I have not been unable to shoot anymore, nor have I been able to edit my footage, as they were on the school network. Although i have a copy of all the footage on my personal computer, i do not have the software to edit the footage properly at home, the Premiere Pro is only available to me via the school network. Due to this weather, i will and the deadline being moved to this Friday for the rough cut, i will spend this week editing my video, staying after school to do so, just to make sure this meets the deadline. after the rough cut, i will start on my digipak, bringing it out of just sketches and creating a final piece to start my work on.

Saturday the 20th's blog

Today I researched the ideas I want to use on my album art cover. Emily and I thought it would be a good idea if we used an Olympic torch in the front of the cover. This is significant because it would relate to the song we have done, We Are the Champions, as well as the video, which is based upon the loser becoming the champion. The reason I chose to research this is because to use such a significant symbol, I needed to know what it really meant and why I was using it. The Olympic flame or Olympic torch is a symbol of the Olympic games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, where a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics^. The fire was reintroduced at the 1928 summer Olympics in Amsterdam, and it has been part of the modern Olympic games ever since. According to legend, the torch's flame has been kept burning, ever since the first Olympics. One of the problems that lies here, is that if I intend to use this in any shape or form for my album art cover, I will need to create myself. Therefore, an idea that Mr. Earl had, was to use a match stick, or even more simple, a flame of some sort. It does not have to be an Olympic torch, but to use the fire itself would be effective. And reading the urban legend that the fire had been running since it was founded during the first Olympic game, I had an idea for the album art cover name; astound presents, The Flame That Holds Us Together.

Friday 19th blog. Thurday's

Last night, I stayed after school to help shoot a video for a classmate, Rob. Whilst we filmed, I set Adobe Premiere Pro to render the video files I had uploaded to the school network earlier that week. By the time I had finished the filming, the rendering had only been completed around 64%, in light of this situation, I turned off the monitor and left the rendering go on, until the next morning when I checked it and it was fully completed, I saved my project and logged out.

Recording of the music

Yesterday, during lunch time, at Framwellgate Durham, Emily and I attended the music room A27, to re-record our music track. Alongside Philippa, James, Oliver and Jonathan we took about half an hour of practice, to just get the entire band ready to record at the best of their ability. Whilst the band practiced, I used the camera and the tripod to capture different angles of the band playing; I filmed Philippa singing at different times during the song, James playing the piano at different angles, Jonathan playing bass, an angle from the top of the neck of the bass guitar, as well as a P.O.V (Point Of View), Lastly I filmed Oliver playing drums at different intervals and different angles. I will get the recorded song from Mr. Lamb, who has the track saved on his computer, as it is his device which we've used to record the sound track of the band playing. I then went into my media lesson after lunch and uploaded the footage I captured onto the camera to my laptop to try and use the Adobe Premiere Elements 9 I have on my computer, but as it is a trial, it leaves a watermark on the footage, and to remove this, I will have to pay around £80 to buy the code to unlock the full version. This makes it harder for me to edit at home as I’d have to not only pay a lot of money, but also it takes up a lot of space on my personal computer, therefore I have decided to edit on the school network; this is because the school network has an entire separate Media Drive, which gives me a larger space to upload footage and edit videos within. The computers will be faster and much more reliable as there are many to use within the school, but I have only one laptop if I chose to use it for editing my footage.

Software

I spent today's lesson speaking with Mr. Earl, getting his advice and thoughts on which programme to use for the editing of our video footage; this is important because if Emily and I start to use the Premiere Pro which is available to us at any time, but only on the school network computers, we will be tied down to using this software at school only, so no editing at home. Where as if we were to use something else, like Adobe Premiere Elements 9, we could edit our footage at any time, or place, with no strings attached to us, we can virtually work outside the walls which programmes on the school computers would set for us. The down side is that i'd always have to have my laptop with me, as the programme we are getting is the mac version. Furthermore as i chose to come home and download the trials available to me via the Adobe website, i am waiting for it to download. I have the majority of the footage on my personal laptop, thus being able to edit it and test the capabilities of this software as soon it is done.

Friday 29th (unable to access from home last week)

Today we shot our second scene, the training montage. On my way to the meeting place, Emily texted me telling me to meet her at the Abbey Sports Centre car park instead, this seemed more suitable than the arnison centre because it would have a training facility, a field to run within; but only to ruin my expectations. This had nothing of the sort and the facilities it had were both full and damaged, and they would have made our video look like we tried to look professional and give off the vibe that we could not afford professional, therefore it would have came out looking very amateurish. When I got to the Sport Centre car park, whilst Emily got dressed for the sporty occasion, Sophie and I discussed whether what she was wearing was sporty enough or she needed some of the other outfits I had in the car with me. After getting dressed, Emily and I were discussing where the best place to shoot would be, and I suggested that a field located behind the st. johns church would the best place for doing the training scene, as it is large, and very quiet, not many people tend to use the field. When we went there, there were only a few children on their bikes alongside the field. We managed to film the training, doing some simple exercises and as well as running to show her progressing. I took each exercise from different angles, to add more shots to the video. Half way through the shoot, I remembered that the camera should be on the stablizer 30FPS, where as previously we had been doing the usual 60FPS; but I am not sure of this. The only way to find out is to upload the footage onto the school system on Monday and see if the Adobe Premiere Pro is able to work.

Thursday 28th (unable to access from home last week)

Today, Emily and I simply discussed when we are doing shooting tomorrow. She’d like to do it in an hour, where as I think that’s far too short, even if it is a small scene. We decided to meet once again at the arnison centre at 1.30 tomorrow. This would be for our second scene, the training montage.

Wednesday 27th (unable to access from home last week)

We spent today shooting our footage for our first scene. I picked up Sophie from her place of work, which was on my route from my house to Durham anyway at about 16:10, I then took us both to the maiden castle parking, where I met Emily, Bethany as well as Leanne Thompson, whom all wanted to be in the movie. After much complication on clothing, personnel and equipment malfunction, I finally set up the camera at the correct places, got all of them actors to go to their positions for each different shot, then started to film; different angles, different times and different shots. Although many of the people taking part n this movie were not happy due to it taking a longer time period than they’d hoped, we got the first scene done. Emily suggested that whilst we were there, we do the last scene too, but looking at the morale of the crew, I thought best if we get them together on another day, when the quality of their performance would be higher.

Tuesday 26th (unable to access from home last week)

Today I started by asking Emily when is the best time and place to meet, we decided at half 1 at the Arnison Centre. But eventually delayed it a bit longer as I had a small errand to run before I got there. I still got there at 14:09 and met Emily, Sophie Balfour and another one of our actors, Bethany Simpson, whom had both gotten a ride from Emily. We spent today planning what were going to do and exactly when and where. We went to different locations, to choose the best surroundings as well as the running track for the first scene, being the race. We went to the Maiden Castle sports centre, checked out the running track and then went to the main office/reception to ask whether they were happy about us filming within their grounds or not, after asking different people, we found out that it would be okay with them.