Evaluation

• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
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• Our media product being a music video for the song 'Hearth and Home' by More Than Conquerors limited us to certain methods and conventions. For example we knew early on that we would have to match the pace of the song when it was both slow and fast. 
• Our particular song led us to portray a very sad and angry story and that is reflected in the genre of our band. Previous music videos provided us with examples of how violence and sadness were brought out through the music. We as a group decided to take this a step further with our character committing acts at the very tip of the scale i.e a murder and a suicide, both very grim ideas that are shown in the lyrics of the song. 
• Another concept that we chose to further develop was the idea of true love being taken away, in this case we developed this idea by having the husband character kill his wife out of rage off screen but show the immediate regret at his mistake.
• What we challenged in our video though is whether the audience should like our character of the husband on the run. Some of our audience might dislike this character as he has killed his wife in an angry rage and fled from those trying to bring him to justice but on the other hand some of the audience might be on the same side of the character, judging the murder as a mistake because as the heaven/forest scene demonstrates he misses and loves his dead wife and shows remorse to the point where he kills himself to be with her again.
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• How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

The combination of the website and the digipack were modelled and thought up around the video itself so we used existing elements from more than conquerors and modified them to suit the both types of ancillary texts. 

Intially we had problems coming up with ideas for each panel of it but our result reflects the dark settings and story of our video without spoiling any story elements but also the band shots in the collage depicts shots of the band when we filmed them in March intermingled with story element like in our video. Overall the digipack was effective in representing all elements of the video, the cover containing both elements of love and death and effectively portrays that to the viewer.

The website on the other hand being more geared toward publicising the band itself and contains less narrative elements and more performance focused photos, i felt that the website surrounded the video well and brought out the more informal side of the band whilst keeping the dark somber mood.

• What have you learned from your audience feedback?

From our audience feedback we have learned that the video seemed static with little camera movement despite the fast pace in some parts. I think this is particular problem in the various scenes with the torch pursuers and sometimes killed the pace at times.

The audience also commented on the bad acting of myself but this was essentially unavoidable we had no real options but the people in our media group. 

What we also learned from our feedback was that the song in some parts was out of sync, but even during editing we saw this but couldn't do much to correct this as we had to work with what we had as we had no chance of reshooting or being send a new song.

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• How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
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• Before we were issued a song to work with we compiled a lot of research onto music similar to More Than Conquerors but not contained to the same sub-genre. Last fm was vital in finding music that mirrored the band's as it showed similar artists and bands. From this we studied the work of several different bands noting the different stories they told, their concepts and the various shots and movements they used in their music videos. Some of the work that we viewed via YouTube used brilliant lighting ideas that we then applied to our own video for example the low creeping light of the night to convey a foreboding feeling.
• When we did get the song we began constructing the video around the music and by using Finalcut Pro X we were able to plan when we wanted to change shot right down to the exact millisecond. This kind of planning on the same software that we would use to construct our piece saved us time figuring out when to cut to the next shot. Finalcut also enabled us to make an animatic video of the song with storyboards showing us how the piece would flow against the song and also showed a framework of the shots in order, in context.
• During the construction of the piece the use of the more advanced sections of Finalcut helped add the polish to the video for example the use of optical flow helped make the wife's death more dramatic and the use of effects during the heaven scene makes it stand out as a flashback or afterlife scene depending on interpretation. What is probably unnoticeable during the shots of the band we edited in a beam of light like a torch to evoke that the character is being hunted everywhere and the band may harbor the murderer.
• Social media, in our case Facebook was essential in receiving constructive criticism through out all stages of the project from our audience. By creating a page for our piece we could put forward ideas and progress for the target audience to judge and add comments about our piece even before it is complete. It helped us reach out to our audience and gather their opinion so that we could evaluate our music video based on their comments.

Finished product

Digipack

After researching More Than Conqueror's artwork, and the artwork of similar artists we finally set out to design our digipack. The first cover we designed was the front cover. This was inspired by More Than Conqueror's artwork, the narrative and also the symbolic meaning of our music video and love.

The front cover of the digipack reflects elements of our narrative whilst containing aspects that are like more than conquerors drawings in When The Wells Run Dry. The daggers represent violence and the murder in the narrative and the weddings contain yet a romantic feeling to them.






The back cover is aimed to convey a creepy ominous feeling especially where the torchlight reveals the song list border by thin trees.

Both of the hands here are depicted to be cold and dead which tells the audience that these are the hands of the recently deceased that honoured the commitment of marriage.

The shattered glass is more metaphorical and represents the broken life of our husband character and how everything he knows is falling to pieces





The collage of photos is actually picture that we took during filming of the band but the pictures themselves seemed too bright and happy so we grey scaled them and distorted them to look more somber.

Website

The website consists of photos from our day of filming with the band but the lack of formal photo's in not in keeping with the dark somber mood.

sunnywithachanceofri.wix.com/hearthandhome

Filming Narrative

Despite the story being told backwards and dealing with problems we adapted to and solved we filmed chronologically with our murder scene being filmed first, then the running scene and fire with the climactic suicide of our husband character.

We organised to meet during an evening when we were all free and before we did we prepared a list of shots we needed to cover and how much time we needed to film. This proved useful and we set up the camera in the living room for our murder/death scene. We had to reshoot the bloody hands later on as the red colouring that we used for blood didn't look real enough to emotionally affect our audience.

At around 9 o'clock at n we headed out to Black's Path to film the scenes in which our protagonist is on the run. We started out with the fire scene as we felt that it made more sense to start with our most difficult scenes as they would consume the most amount of time. It took us a while to start the fire and find logs for our actor to sit on, but after arranging our set and setting up the camera to get the perfect image, we started the fire, but all the while making sure we kept it under control, as well as keeping at a safe distant from the fire so that he wouldn't get burnt. One problem that we encountered was that we didn't have enough copies of the photo to burn so we had the pressure of getting the shot the way we wanted in two attempts.

After extinguishing the fire, we wanted to film the torches scenes straight away as the police stumble across the fire just shortly as it was extinguished. To film this two members of our group climbed up a hill to reach a point just overlooking the spot in which our protagonist was resting. Here we filmed several takes of the lights discovering the spot so that we got the right angle, lighting and effects. After this lighting scene we moved onto the scene where the torches are almost on our main character. We had to film this several times to make sure we knew the exact moment the torches would land on our character, as well as how far he would run before getting caught. The end result looked good on camera with the torch shining right on the spot where our character was just after he had made a break for it.

After the torch scenes we set out immediately to film the running scenes. These scenes took the longest to film, and were also the most difficult. Due to filming in the dark we had problems with lighting, so we decided to use the torches as lighting, we initially had problems making the light look natural in the shots when he wasn't being followed but by positioning the torches further away solved this. The running scenes were set in different locations so we had to figure out where would be the best position to film so that we could create a fluid panning shot for both clips without the scenes jumping, what we did was we progressed up the path like we would normally and stopped to film each shot.

After the running/chase scenes were filmed we only had the suicide scene to film for that night, and after a slight hike up a rather steep hill we found a spot that our actor could fall from in which,using a bit of camera trickery, looked like he was jumping, when in reality he was falling onto the slope of the hill. Before we filmed we had to mark out where our character step to and fall so that he wasn't injured. Then we walked back up the hill and filmed the character running to that spot from a wide shot, mid shot, and different angles specified in the storyboard. Due to it being very dark we once more had to use the torches for light, but we worked them in with the narrative by making the conscious decision of having the character get caught.

We didn't get to film the heaven/afterlife scene until after easter but the script and as a result the video had been changed to a more ambiguous ending with less of our shots that we recorded that were more happy. The reedited scene worked better with the haunting images before the character falls to his doom.

Inspiration for falling shot

In regards to the falling over shot we decided to change the shot from something like this:
 1:12-1:16

to more of a slower collapse where our character drops to their knees then drops in front of our husband character.

Inspiration for running shots

One of the main inspirations for our sprinting/chase is the music video for 'my hero' by Foo Fighters. The handheld following of the main character is somewhat what we want to achieve with our chase but from the point of view of our pursuers.

Filming Performance

As we had planned, we met up with More Than Conqueror's at Conway Mill to film their performance for the video.

As we had previously arranged the set the day before, we were almost fully prepared to start filming. We used different furniture pieces and arranged them in order to create a home-like setting, such as a large rug which occupied the space in which we filmed the band, a sofa-chair, candles, an old television, a tall lamp, a treasure chest, and a table and chairs with flowers. We wanted to create quite an old home setting, and we felt this setting was appropriate in conjunction with the song 'Hearth and Home.'

We used LED spots for our lighting, and also created a black back drop in order to block out any sunlight from interfering with our set. We used a halogen light and red tinted lights to give the set a darker, more eerie feel, and to symbolise the murder within the narrative and the blood. Candles were also placed around the perimeter of the set to make it appear more homely.



When it came to filming with the band, we wanted to to make sure we knew what we were doing, and what we would want from the piece. We moved the camera around the set to find our ideal shots. Once we found the perfect spot we taped X's on the carpet so that we could find our camera placements quickly, and also so that More Than Conquerors could see their placing easily. When More Than Conquerors arrived we helped them to set up their instruments and amps, and brief them on our filming schedule, and the certain shots we would need, as well as where we would be placing them. Unfortunately members of our group had to leave to go to work during the filming, so there was extra pressure on the rest of us to film the performance perfectly. After a moment of panic between each shot, we successfully managed to film the song from 12 different angles/positions. These included: Mid-shots of the guitars, a close-up of Kris singing, an over the shoulder shot of Jamie playing the drums, and a panning shot of the band playing. Before we shot each clip we asked the band for their opinions of each shot, and then asked for their feedback an critique on the clips once they were filmed. They were more than thrilled with the clips we shot, and seemed to really enjoy themselves. After several hours of filming and getting to know the band, we successfully completed our shot list, and were even personally invited to their gig the following week.

Conway mill location for Performance

These photos of conway mill show how it is a perfect it is to film our band playing. The location itself mirrors the urban setting of "When the Wells Run Dry" and is spacious enough for our camera to move about. The brick and the lighting is perfect at dark and a pre-site visit verified this.

Weather for Saturday filming

Hearth and Home ideas

Plot Synopsis

The narrative of the music video is set in the aftermath of a murder in a household. The primary focus of the narrative is the husband who has murdered his wife in their shared home. The narrative is aimed to mirror the songs lyrics in that the main character feels driven from the life he once knew. Throughout the story the character reflects on his past life and the consequences of his actions. These are done in the form of flashbacks. The character throughout feels guilty and regrets what he has done but still wishes to determine his own fate, this is why he runs from whoever pursues him. The fleeing from his actions and from the repercussions drive him to end his own life to rejoin his wife in death. Throughout the narrative of the video, there will be several different shots of the band as they perform in synchronisation with the song. These shots will include multiple close up shots of the band members and also wide shots to include everyone in the frame.

Detailed Plot

The story begins in a long narrow path bordered by broken and battered fences, the path is lined with tufts of grass reflecting the wild nature of the area. The sky grows dull with the sun radiating it’s last rays before being extinguished, the clouds weep, drenching the rough gravel creating large puddles dotting around a solitary figure, motionless at the beginning of the path.
The rain falls on the main character who doesn’t react to it but instead stares at a cherished memory in the form of a photo of the character and his love lost. The scene then changes to a flashback of the characters warm and comfortable home he is now so distant from. As the introduction of the song concludes the hooded and obscured character rips off the section containing him and drops it lifelessly to the rain-soaked ground.
As the chorus then suddenly begins, the character bursts into a run, striving to escape a mistake unknown to the audience. The camera continues to follow the character, viewing him from the side as to hide his face. Despite his best efforts to escape from what he has done he fails to be rid of the sorrow embedded in him.
The scene then changes to another memory, distorted and hazed in the characters mind that depicts the scene of the crime shortly after the character, as revealed, has murdered his wife. The door of their home lays a jar but on the step rests a blood soaked knife still shaking as if recently dropped.The camera moves through the doorway to view the horrifying image of the obscured body. Only the lifeless hand is visible from behind a second doorway, the hand is sprayed in blood.


Away from the flashback the location has now changed to a dark area sheltered at least from the wind. Time has now passed to a point where it is very dark with low visibility, the only source of light and comfort being the fire, providing warmth to the lonely character. The character stays close to the flames to ponder over the remaining strip of photo before throwing it into the fire. he then gets up from the log he was sitting on and runs from the incoming torches hunting him. He sprints with the beams of the flashlights stalking him. Various shots of the pursuit. The character falls over but promptly gets up and continues fleeing.

Now at current time there is a lengthy pursuit of the husband. The character falls at one point but gets back up to escape his pursuers.

The shot then cuts to the husband, now out of reach of his pursuers, standing at a ledge overlooking a large drop. Mingled with this is memories of a better time with his wife that mirror how he feel about being separated from his wife. With his love lost and his action catching up with him he falls off the ledge purposely to his death in which he would rejoin his loved one.

Performance:

Locations:

• Conway mill
• Catchlight
• Townhouse
• Start together studio
• Blacks path
• Springfield road

Equipment list:

• Camera
• Tripod
• Lights (halogen)
• Clothes and costume
• Props (knife, fake blood, wedding rings, photo)
• Drum kit
• Guitars
• Mic and stand
• Fire
• Bedsheet
• Blu tac/Gaffa tape
• Fog machine
• Amps
  
  Mood:
• Edgy
• Scary
• Serious
• Intense 
• Dark
  
  Techniques/Effects:
• Stop motion
• Time lapse
• Animation
• Chromakey
• Slow/Fast motion
• Extreme close ups
• Angles: Overhead/High/Low/Wide
• Focus: Sharp/Blurred/Bokeh
• Exposure: Under/Over
• Lighting: Projections/Pots/Gels
• Lyrics and other text: Overlaid or made from objects

Project Plan:

LOCATIONS

Blacks Path: (location of running scene) [4,6,7,8,10];

This filming location involves the character running away through the dark wooded path, the character is frightened of something but it is not clear yet, this location is used to show the path the character must now take to escape what he has done.

Abandoned House Springfield Rd (fire, performance?) [shot 13/14];

This location i think fits the song well, it is an old abandoned house, cold and desolate it really emphasizes the feeling of being away from home, being kicked out or not welcome.

Dannys house at 97 oakhurst ave.

(looking into living room from outside) [shot 3/5];

The shot here looks into the window of the house, this shot could be used with the abandoned house earlier to show the difference of what used to be and what is now. this shot will try to convey warmth brightness.

Danny’s front door (Shot of knife on doorstep) [shot 11/12/19];

This shot will be through the open door to a glimpse of a persons forearm lying on the living room floor, knife close by on the doorstep still wobbling and dripping of blood, this will be used to symbolize that maybe not all was as homely as it first seemed and may reinforce why the character was forced to run or has been driven out.

Blacks Path Abandoned House (shot of fire)[shots 13/14/17/18/20];

The location of the fire could be at either of these two locations, the fire would symbolize the solitude of the character, with the only light being the fire this represents the life of his wife, the shot where the fire distorts the characters body could be interpreted as that things are not so simple now and unclear.

 Lady Dixon, memory/afterlife scene (shots 45,46,47,48,51)

 This is the main setting for the memory of a better time with the wife character. Obviously the lighting will be much brighter but still at dusk, the memory is significant in that it symbolises the afterlife for both of our characters.

Shot Summary:
1. Close up shot of guitar being played.

2. Close up shot of lead singer and microphone.

3. Shot of photograph being ripped and thrown away.

4. Close up shot of lead singer and microphone.

5. Shot of inside home from outside - Convey warmth and bright atmosphere.

6. Close up shot of lead singer and microphone.

7. Throws down ripped up photo and slowly breaks from camera into run. Camera follows at mid height.

8. Running down path - slow motion. (Shot from behind)

9. Foot splashing into puddle - slow motion.

10. Camera follows run (sprinting - slowed down by editing)

11. Mid shot of back up vocals and right guitar.

12. Shot of whole body - face covered. (180 degree rule)

13. Door open with knife wobbling on the step dripping blood.

14. Point Of View shot pushing door aside to reveal hand (showing wedding ring)

15. Person seated at location - fire is the only source of light. (Wide shot)

16. Shot through the fire to distort person - Mid shot.

17. Shot of drummer + see whole drum kit - wide shot.

18. Shot of bass guitarist - Either mid shot/full length.

19. Over the shoulder shot (180 degree rule)

20. Close up of photo - then thrown into fire.

21. Close up of hands and knife covered in blood.

22. Runs away from the fire - wide shot.

23. Left guitar back up vocals - mid shot.

24. Torches/flashlights following him from behind.

25. Flashlights flicker around the character as he runs. (Mid shot)

26. Close up of lead singer and microphone.

27. Character falls over but fades to next flashback.

28. Shot of wife bleeding. (After being stabbed)

29. Tilt up to reveal face as husband in shock of what just happened.

30. Close up of wife’s distraught facial expression - tears.

31. Wife falls over (dead) extending her hand like earlier flashback.

32. Shot of drummer. See full drum kit.

33. Mid shot of right guitarist.

34. Left - shot of bass guitarist. Either mid shot/full shot.

35. Point Of View shot - pushing door aside to reveal a hand. Husband runs out of shot with a knife in hand.

36. Husband runs out of door dropping the knife. Door open with knife wobbling on the step dripping blood.

37. Shot from behind left of character running away from pursuers. Can see torch shine on his back.

38. Shot of character slowing to ledge.

39. Character approaches ledge.

40. Close up - singing in to microphone.

41. Shot of drummer. Whole drum kit in shot.

42. Takes step to ledge, light of torches flickering. Calm demeanour of character.

43. Mid shot of back up vocals.

44. Close up of character - tears running down face.

45. Last flash back - shot from behind. Happier times presented by brighter costume and dusk sun shining.

46. Following the wife as she turns around - Mid shot.

47. Wife runs off as he slows down.

48. Wife beckons him to follow - wide shot makes wife distant.

49. Shot from behind, whole body drops off edge.

50. Close up of guitar being played.

51. Walking off into distance - wide shot to show distance.

Animatics Video:

Prezi Blogs: