06/02 Filming Session: Green Screen

As a result of the advice I had gathered from my teacher today I filmed with the green screen and the studio lights, this was the first time I had used this equipment so it was a very different experience and environment to film within.

Firstly we set up the studio lights, the most important element when using the green screen is to make sure there is no shadows in the shot, otherwise when dropping in the background image in the editing suite it will not be as clear and in some cases not work, therefore this is the a very significant aspect. The studio lights where placed at either end of the green screen without the diffuser on the bulbs to make sure maximum light was present.

When setting up the camera I made sure it was central and that the green screen was the only object in the background of the shot. I then filmed the main shorts which where the actor putting/using his rucksack, the African head mask, the drum sticks, the banjo and the flag. Theses where the elements the element of my rough cut which I felt were the most engaging and had a connection which the concept behind the advert, Child’s imagination being reflected into the music fest hence the service title ‘Imagine Fest’ and the slogan ‘Release the child in you.’

Following the advice of my teacher and my own improvements I used a variety of shots starting with a mid-shot and using close-ups to further the quality of the advert.  I also featured the shots from a different angle to develop the advert technically.

Evaluating Work with teacher:

Today I evaluated my work with my teacher, there were both positives and negatives that we discussed and there are many improvements to be made.  The improvements to be made are as followed firstly the framing of the camera was not good enough, in terms of how the projected image was framed, the black areas at the sides of the shot were bad quality. This made the overall look of the shots bad quality and decreased the value of my Coursework, therefore this is an improvement that which will have to be made.

Furthermore the lack of variety in shot is an aspect of my adverts which will have to be changed, I will do this by changing the shots distance, starting with a mid-shot and then using close-ups and in some cases Extreme Close-ups, this will therefore add variety and depth of the piece.  Also, I personally feel the advert will need changes in angles; consequently I will be filming from various angles to add a range of shots and angles to my advert, increasing its quality.

A piece of advice from my teacher was to use the green screens instead of projecting the image in the background like I have done previously, then when editing the image of the festival background will be dropped in the background.  This will mean I need to film again and use the old advert as a Rough Cut rather than the finished project. I feel this is a good idea as it will enhance the image quality and as a result of this the advert will be of higher quality technically, making the audience engage with the product to the maximum level.

Things I need to do:

Re-film with Green Screen, using studio lights.

Use a Variety of shots and Use another angle to add depth and variety of the advertisment.

Use old advert as Rough Cut to guide me through the process of re-filming.

Radio Advert Session:

In this practise session we learnt about radio adverts and how to use Garage Band overall it gave me an idea about whether I felt radio adverts would work with my brand image and the service I am promoting.  There are three major components within radio advertising- Voice, sound effects and Musical jingles. Theses are the most signifcant elements of the radio adverts and I will have elements of these feature which correspond to my own brand image.

When on Garage Band there are two ways in which to record the voice over, one way is through a mp3 player  recorder and then upload the voice over to Garage Band. Another way is to record the voiceover directly on the mac book in the external microphone. A good tip is to use headphones when recording to make sure the input level is clear rather than distorted.  Another tip if recording on the MP3 player recorder  is to keep the recorder stable and static.

Instruction on Garage Band: Open Podcast

Select Female or male voice dependant on the actor

Record on Garage Band

The jingles are located at the bottom of Garge band and there are various sound effects which are free to use, furthermore there are various sites that i will be able to download more relevant sound clips and then they will be able to be directly transposed into Garage Band, which takes both WAV formats and mp3 files. Another optition to get extended sound effects is to record them myself and therfore I would have the specfic jingle.

To add my own music that I have used in my advertising sequences, you drag and drop the music into the Garage band bar to the various tracks. 

This will be helpful when making my radio advert, as I now understand how to use Garage Band and the way I want to promote my Brand on the radio with just sound, which will be a challenging element to overcome. 

3/01 Editing Session:

In this editing session I reviewed where I was in terms of my footage and how I was going to further the development of my advert.  Currently my footage in total amounts to three minutes however this will have to be cut down further to thirty seconds.  I have been cutting down the footage and the particular shots that I was unhappy with and felt the shot I left were unneeded in advert. 

In this session I also thought about the different effects I could use such as transitions to and from the different shots to make the transition smooth and flawless. This is an element that I will be focusing on in the next editing session. 

Advert after first Editing session:

This is my advert after the first editing session, and at its present construction within the editing and filming stages there are many changes to be made. However by uploading it I am able to see it all together and from a different viewpoint which is very significant in the development of my advert.  This was also part of the development in my feedback as it is always a good idea to look at how your advert has evolved and developed. 

22/23 Editing Session:

Editing Session

From my editing session on the 22nd and 23rd, I have deleted the footage that wouldn't be useable, because the framing of the shots wasn't right.  I have also uploaded the footage to premier pro and I had 10 mins worth of footage which I have cut, editing down and compressed to 3mins worth of shots.

I have compressed time in some of my shots; this was my initial idea, to speed the footage down and have the changes of the actor gradually happening therefore it would include the whole narrative idea and be visually interesting of the audience. However from this editing I am also going to slow some of the footage down, as this will place emphasis on certain key points of information and certain parts of the advert for example the end with the flag.  

From my first editing session I feel it went very well as I have cut down a lot of the footage and now have a clear target, to cut certain unimportant shots out and compress certain parts of the footage along with experimenting with sped up footage adding another dimension to the advert itself.  

Actor Shots:

Theses are my Actor Shots which identify the actor I will be using, these are with the correct mis-en-scene and props that he will be wearing and attaining in the advert.