I have been exposed to a lot of new technology on this project and have learned many new technical skills. In addition to getting to grips with entirely unfamiliar pieces of technology, I have also been able to use familiar technologies to a much higher level and explore them in greater detail.
Studio Lighting:
A major development this time round was our use of studio lighting as we did a few photo-shoots of our artist in the newly-built Seward Studio at our school.
We learned to use techniques such as 3-point lighting to great effect, employing main, back and fill lights to get the best shots of Liv we could.
We also learned how to use a portable laptop to control the lighting so we did not have to send a group member up to the lighting desk every time, and this proved a very valuable skill both for group communication and time-saving.
We used a tripod and a still camera to take the shots, using the spirit level on the tripod to make sure they were all perfectly horizontal.
When making the music video itself, we used a lot of different technology at different stages of the project.
Camera:
Our most essential piece of kit was our Canon HV30 Camera. I had previously used one of these on the film project last year, however this time around we shot in HD, which proved to be very different, especially at the editing stage, as HD capturing is a lot more complicated than standard digital. HD also gave our video a professional look and added quality to our visuals. However, HD video also shows any physical imperfections in great detail, so we needed to be very careful with Liv's makeup to make sure she looked good.
Tripod:
We decided to take a lightweight tripod on the shoot to enable us to take steady, level shots if we needed to. We used it on some shots, however in order to create a fast-paced, energetic feel, we favoured hand-held camera use for the majority of the shoot. Nevertheless, the few stationary shots we have do vary the pace of the video and add some interesting contrast.
Clapperboard:
Having a clapperboard with us on the shoot proved an essential time-saving device when it came to the editing stage. Being able to instantly see the scene and take number on the thumbnail of each shot saved us hours of sifting through endless shots to find the right one and helped us be really efficient when it came to editing.
We did not have to use any sound-recording equipment, as the only audio we needed on our video was the track 'Meddle', which we synced with the video in the editing suite.
Edit Suite:
At the editing stage of our project, we used a professional PC edit suite running Adobe Premiere Pro CS3. We had used this many times before on other projects, however this project required a lot more complicated editing techniques, which we had to learn how to use (with the help of our technician, Chris). The biggest of these techniques was the speed tool we used to reverse footage.
Once we learned how to use this tool it was quite straightforward, yet time-consuming, to switch all of our shots into reverse.
Another technique which turned out to be necessary was the colour-correct tool.
A lot of outdoor shots we filmed turned out to be disappointingly lit when we captured them, so we were forced to get to grips with basic colour-correction in order to improve their tone.
In our music video, we wanted to use some impressive editing tricks to add interest. Over the course of the editing stage, we learned how to use effects such as split-screen and cross-dissolve.
Blogger has been integral for us at all stages of the project, helping us to organise our ideas and communicate within the group. It is our main tool for presenting our work in the project and has been easy to work with this year, as we used Blogger for our project last year too.
A new piece of internet technology we were exposed to on the project was the website creator Wix. It was certainly a learning curve to get used to the format, however we did not have to deal with any HTML and the website was very user-friendly.
Studio Lighting:
A major development this time round was our use of studio lighting as we did a few photo-shoots of our artist in the newly-built Seward Studio at our school.
We learned to use techniques such as 3-point lighting to great effect, employing main, back and fill lights to get the best shots of Liv we could.
We also learned how to use a portable laptop to control the lighting so we did not have to send a group member up to the lighting desk every time, and this proved a very valuable skill both for group communication and time-saving.
We experimented with different coloured lights on our photo shoots in order to create different moods...
When making the music video itself, we used a lot of different technology at different stages of the project.
Camera:
Our most essential piece of kit was our Canon HV30 Camera. I had previously used one of these on the film project last year, however this time around we shot in HD, which proved to be very different, especially at the editing stage, as HD capturing is a lot more complicated than standard digital. HD also gave our video a professional look and added quality to our visuals. However, HD video also shows any physical imperfections in great detail, so we needed to be very careful with Liv's makeup to make sure she looked good.
Tripod:
We decided to take a lightweight tripod on the shoot to enable us to take steady, level shots if we needed to. We used it on some shots, however in order to create a fast-paced, energetic feel, we favoured hand-held camera use for the majority of the shoot. Nevertheless, the few stationary shots we have do vary the pace of the video and add some interesting contrast.
Clapperboard:
Having a clapperboard with us on the shoot proved an essential time-saving device when it came to the editing stage. Being able to instantly see the scene and take number on the thumbnail of each shot saved us hours of sifting through endless shots to find the right one and helped us be really efficient when it came to editing.
We did not have to use any sound-recording equipment, as the only audio we needed on our video was the track 'Meddle', which we synced with the video in the editing suite.
Edit Suite:
At the editing stage of our project, we used a professional PC edit suite running Adobe Premiere Pro CS3. We had used this many times before on other projects, however this project required a lot more complicated editing techniques, which we had to learn how to use (with the help of our technician, Chris). The biggest of these techniques was the speed tool we used to reverse footage.
Once we learned how to use this tool it was quite straightforward, yet time-consuming, to switch all of our shots into reverse.
Another technique which turned out to be necessary was the colour-correct tool.
A lot of outdoor shots we filmed turned out to be disappointingly lit when we captured them, so we were forced to get to grips with basic colour-correction in order to improve their tone.
In our music video, we wanted to use some impressive editing tricks to add interest. Over the course of the editing stage, we learned how to use effects such as split-screen and cross-dissolve.
Adobe Photoshop CS3:
I had used Photoshop extensively in the past, so it was not a steep learning curve for me. The creation of the album cover did not pose any major problems.
Finally, perhaps the most useful tool we used throughout our project was the internet.
Blogger:
Blogger has been integral for us at all stages of the project, helping us to organise our ideas and communicate within the group. It is our main tool for presenting our work in the project and has been easy to work with this year, as we used Blogger for our project last year too.Wix:
A new piece of internet technology we were exposed to on the project was the website creator Wix. It was certainly a learning curve to get used to the format, however we did not have to deal with any HTML and the website was very user-friendly.Facebook:
Facebook was an extremely useful tool we used to communicate with our audience. We used it throughout the project to advertise our screening and collect feedback on our media product. It is a very effective, completely free marketing tool.
Twitter:
Like Facebook, we used Twitter as a link between audience and institution. We were able to narrowcast information directly to fans through Lexi Grace's official page.
Youtube:
Youtube provided an easy, free platform upon which to exhibit our music video. It allowed us to distribute the video to a potentially unlimited audience and was also very useful when researching other music videos in the early stages of the project.
Google:
Google is always invaluable on any media project. Any website, image or piece of information is instantly available and it has been a vital tool for efficiency on the project.
We had to learn about a lot of new technology on this project and also had to work with previously used technology at a much deeper level.
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