The importance of font

We sat down to search for a range of possible fonts for both the magazine advert and digipak as these would usually mirror each other and be the font utilized by the artists on varying promotional items.

Most of these font we thought we could use although some really stood out, after screen shooting the chosen font names writing 'Plan B' we could then see what font would fit the name of our artist best. I have two personal favorites, i think something too bold will ruin a title, as many fonts I have analysed are very simple. 'New garden' appeared the most stylish without feeling too harsh.

A few more examples of artists advertisements illustrate the different approaches to using font. The fonts would usually mirror the particular artists usual font which would also be used on the digipack and for other promotional reasons. These first two examples, Laura Marling and The Verve have a simple approach to using font, the graphic/photograph is the main focus. Laura Marling's font reflects her acoustic female routes, italicised rounded writing for her name and simplistic yet complimentary font to depict the important details that the poster has to contain.

This advert for The Verve also conveys a simplistic approach to font, with important positioning and sizing it manages to keep the focus on the dramatic photograph behind. These next example portray sa more prominent creative use of font, Panic at the Disco's magazine advertisement uses two bold flamboyant fonts which clash somewhat but work as they compliment both 'panic' and 'pretty odd' as well as the floral antique esque graphics behind.

Having a play with final cut

Whilst waiting for our second days shooting we decided to have a little play with the footage from day one in final cut. Importing our footage using a memory card reader was simple and then importing to final cut was instant. Sampling the softwares effects, video filters and transitions available that we always had in mind such as colour change and dissolves was helpful as we felt more comfortable with Final Cut afterward.

We also were excited to try out overlays, the screen grab below displays how this powerful and dramatic overlay was created.

The line across the top layer of film was the 'toggle' which had to be fiddled on each piece of film to find the right ratio of opacity, as you can see the location image is half overlaid over the tunnel filming, this means the lower level of film will be 100% opacity, and the other 50%.

... and the image produced from doing so, the image had previously been edited in final cut as the the image shows how the brightness had been changed to -5 and the contrast heightened to 33, we tried out many combination but we decided that was was most aesthetically pleasing.
Here we played with overlaying positioning, overlaying the movement condenses the time implied from the many positions. This effect is really nice yet the lighting of the shot is not brilliant and he fades in to the background in parts, nether the less the white gates adds to the urban location and enforces how alone he is again. We had this effect in mind when shot which is why all the positions were filmed from exactly the same spot to maintain coherence.

The many positioning could be utilised for fast cuts, the shot framing will be the same but his positioning could change to the face pace beat. This would be effective as it would suggest he has been there for a long while, and we have condensed time, moving from a long shot to a close up to a medium close up will also be effective, increasing depth to the shot. Again we changed the colouring of the footage, the brightness and contrast had to be heightened as the original footage was dark due to the lack of aesthetic lighting - the brightness 22 and contrast 23 and shown in the screen shot above.

Full final cut screen grabs showing experimentation with overlay and colour enhancement

We attempted to overlay a long shot of Leake st. with trees in Richmond Park. This overlay did not work however as the shot became too cluttered, displaying how you have to choose wisely and be specific to the shot you do overlay, thinking about composition and colouring. We again, ( yes again ) became picking with the colour correction to both shots, and editing them can blend an overlay together. On this image as shown in the screen shot the brightness had been decreased to - 8 and contrast heightened to 41.

The colour correction is extremely important as it can enhance the quality of the video and create a more professional look, thus i hope this attention to detail will pay off. I can tell even now we are going to be extremely colour picky people!

Cast

William Martin - Male protagonist

What to wear? Grey hoodie, black coat, boots, black jeans, white t shirt, very casual, a casual urban mode of address will appeal to our male target audience.

William will have to maintain a constant emotion and understand the emotion over the course of the shooting. Anger, remorse and despair will have to be obvious through his actions and expressions in order for our video to mirror the dramatic lyrics. Will will have to act confrontational and defensive, however in flashbacks to the couple together he will be nothing but loving and comforting towards Paige, as their happy memories only increase the regret in his mind.

Paige Lidbury - Girl

What to wear? Again very casual but feminine, a fur coat, heels, jeans, attractive wear to again appeal to the target audience and maintain a stylish urban appearance.

Paige will have to be the catalyst to Wills anger, so during flashbacks she will have to be the face of happiness and intimacy, closeness and femininity is key.

Tom Martin - Other boy, to fit our narrative

What to wear? black coat, black jeans, a casual urban mode of address will increase relation in our male target audience.

Tom acts as a leash to Will's despair and regret, he is at the face of the confrontation and will have to act with the same defensiveness a male would in the situation, he is angry at the outburst shown by Will and will have to protect Paige to again emphasise our protagonists loneliness

Shoot Schedule

A tube map shows the route of our journey as we have planned each location. Google street maps got us a little closer to the exact places, whilst virtually walking down Hackney Rd we spotted a cafe named 'Taste of bitter love' Coinsidence? We could use this as a location of a flashback, showing them together through the window of the cafe or walking outside. Also on Hackney Rd was many fast food restaurants which could host flashbacks of the couple. All of these locations embody and establish and urban scene to fit to our genre.

On google street view I captured images of the places in question, also trying to find possible locations along Hackney Rd. to save time in darkness. This derelict house next to an abandoned hospital looks perfect for gritty urban decay for our genre and a possible strong location.

Again google mapping another location Battersea power station, we believed a long shot would look better than closer toward the area, thus the other side of Vauxhall bridge would be perfect to shoot from.

Okay so we know where were going! Thats a good start!

Location update

The inside Battersea Power-station idea will not work out as the permission and risk assessment is great, yet outside shots can still be done, yet other industrial places that are accessible can still be assessable. Walking from greenwich to the O2 riverside is extremely industrial and would make for great dramatic shots, these photographs were found on this website

The alley ways and derelict walls are prefect for the conflict and controversy we are trying to capture.

Moodboard

To collect the themes, images and words that have inspired us we created an A1 mood board, the lyrics are in the middle, the mood board was great to reflect upon when we started to story board, and collect all the ideas and features that we would like to incorporate in our music video.

Location, Location, Location

We began to brainstorm the locations we could use for our music video, then we would be able to visage the scene better. The derelict room which would host the performance part of the video was suggested to be my garage, a clear space, breeze block walls and perfect space to decorate accordingly. We then thought of gritty places which would compliment the ambiance of the video we had in mind. The locations will need to embody and illustrate the urban nature of our track.

Battersea Powerstation - An iconic, yet not popular London location which is eye catching, dramatic and beautifully derelict, outside and inside. We would have to request permission to film inside however shots from the outside would not create a problem.

Hackney Rd. - Perfect for night time shots, a bridge which could be utilized for interesting shots and has the grittiness and edginess.

Leake St. - Known for its amazing and unique graffiti, this underground tunnel is perfect for shooting our video, it will give provide dynamic and interesting Mise en scene effortlessly. Here are some photographs of Leak St. i took on a visit last year which display its atmosphere


Matt Brown esq - (Link opens in same window) hosted a beautiful photograph of Leake St. Its red glare inspired the idea of blood red lighting, its effect is gorgeous. His photo stream consists of a lost of shots of a Holga camera, the light achieved through a Holga camera is vibrant and would be the type of effect we would want some of our video to have. Here are two examples.

Graffiti has typical connotations to the urban scene and would relate to many of our target audience, it also mirrors the track and compliments his an aggressive mood

Richmond Park - To host our idea of running animals Richmond Park is the perfect place. There are over 600 deer and Stags wild in Richmond Park, you are able to get up reasonably close to the animals, and them running would make for beautiful shots. These photographs are of the deer in Richmond Park by