Weekly Blog Twelve

In week twelve we started planning for our magazine cover where created a rough copy of what we want it to look like.  When creating our sketch we had to decide what image would be best for the front cover as of the course of last week we went out to take pictures for our magazine cover. Me and my group came to a conclusion of what we want image to use and we came to this conclusion through putting ourselves into the audiences positions of what feeling they'll receive from the magazine advert which was denoting the hood sense our artist has. Later on in the week we got images and started testing them on photoshop and experimenting with the varieties of tools on photoshop as it was the first time using the software.

Here is an example of me experimenting with different tools and effects in photoshop. I wasn't really familiar with photoshop and my editing skills wasn't up to scratch. I did learnt how to merge pictures together as you can see at the top hand left we denote the characters hand on a phone box.














Below is the image of our sketch of our magazine cover where we have place at the top graffiti style writing which as done to be able to attract the intended target audience of young black males. I believe sticking to keeping the generic convention of the font blatantly shows the audience what type of music video they're expecting which will automatically grab the audiences attention. The main image of him taking up most of the page was done to show his high status and what big of star he is.

Weekly Blog Eleven

After filming for the previous week we then decided to evaluate and analyse all the shots that we took during the course of the week to be implemented into our final production. When filming we made various of mistakes but retook the shots to perfection but didn't delete the mistakes as they can become useful when filling in each second in the music video. Final cut pro was the software device we used when editing which we then uploaded all footage onto the software. What was really successful was being able to come to an agreement with what shots were appropriate for the scenes. Although, there were some scenes that i may not have thought would look good my group members ensured generic conventions were conformed and subverted when implementing in the shots. As we went along it was good to see that they were right. When having about edited about one third of the film we decided as group we needed to do more filming as the rest of the footage wasn't up to standard in order for us to implement them.

Weekly Blog Ten

In this week we started filming our music video. Our first scene was located at the Mohamed's house who was playing the role of Yungen the artist. We chose this location as we were able to alternate the house in the manner we want without any hazards or risks of anyone. This scene was specifically shot in the front room which was there setting we was looking for with clothes all over the sofas, floor and all sorts. This was done to be able to create the atmosphere of negativity and represent the character in the past and how he used to live which as explained in the lyrics. Although explained in the lyrics were wanted to ensure it is visualised clearly so the audience are attached to the video and empathise with the character. The reason for the messy state the front room was to enable that the character symbolises the fact he is lonely and wasn't looked after which is said in the lyrics but was essential to be visualised in order for the target audience to be able to understand his situation. Through filming we used a variety of shots to symbolise many things. A birds eye-view shot was shown he surroundings when using his hoody to cover himself whilst sleeping which supports the lyric when he says: ''Has your house been so cold that you can't sleep'. A close up is shown of his face to show the frustration in his eyes of his current situation in the scene. I believe this week was a success with including the various of shots and generic conventions through them.

Weekly Blog Nine

After the first draft of our digipak we decided we should make another copy as we wasn't entirely sure the first copy was the way we wanted it to look. In the second copy we changed  what we was initially going to include which was just an image of him all over the digipak. When analysing the first one we decided it'll be ideal to create a meaning where our intended target audience will be able to relate. In one of the boxes in the digipak we thought we'd include an image of him behind railings to signify he is trapped in the society the audience live it but then subvert it with the next image where we denote him performing into the camera. We intentionally added the religious side of it to show to the audience Yungen believed in his religion to get through the situation he was in.

Week Eight - Blog Reflection

In week 8 me and my group allocated roles to each other according to our strengths and weaknesses. Music videos require a lot of team effort in order to produce a quality video. We have ensured everyone in the team is happy with the job they have been allocated with to avoid any sort of conflict that could occur.

The roles that were available were:

• Location/Recce (Johnson)
• Manager 
• Casting agent
• Costume designs
• Photgraphy
• Script writer
• Flatplan
• Production schedule
• Camera operator
• Cast
• Director
• Cinematography
• Graphic designer
• Make-up artist
• Costumes
• Copy writer
• Typography
• Photoshop
• Editing
• Sound editor 

Job roles

The job roles was significant to us as a group because it gave clarity regarding what we needed to do. This helped clear any ambiguity as we could always reference back to the allocated roles each of us had to do. In the end, we were able to come to conclusions regarding who would be doing what. Additionally, understanding our own weaknesses and strengths helped us to reach our decision in an easier way. For example, we understood that Johnson had a vast amount of nuance when it came to Photoshop, so allocating him with that job was paramount as that way we could manipulate his skills in order to make our final production impeccable. Similarly, he was able to do it with Cherly also, which meant that she could learn from him and improve her own personal knowledge regarding the process of Photoshop. Continually, this in turn helped Timi, as he watched, listened and understood the process and although he wasn't allocated to that job role, he gained an insight as to how to process it because it may prove useful in times when Johnson and Cherly are away.
Furthermore, the group had one female member in it and we felt it necessary for her to utilise her skills also. An example of this, is the allocation of make up to her. This conforms to the perception of teenage girl and Cherly was happy to take up that role as it came naturally to her.

Timi's skills are in grammar and based on this, we allocated him with the task of typography. This way, it ensured that grammatically our work was impeccable and in turn made it clear and understandable to readers.

• Location/Recce (Johnson)
• Manager (Johnson)
• Casting agent (Johnson)
• Costume designs (Cherly)
• Photography (Cherly)
• Script writer (Timi)
• Flatplan (Cherly & Timi)
• Production schedule (Cherly)
• Camera operator (Cherly & Johnson)
• Cast (Mohamed & Johnson)
• Director (Johnson)
• Cinematography (Timi)
• Graphic designer (Cherly)
• Make-up artist (Cherly)
• Costumes (Johnson)
• Copy writer (Timi)
• Typography (Timi)
• Photoshop (Johnson & Cherly
• Editing (Johnson & Cherly)
• Sound editor (Timi)

Week Seven - Blog Reflection

In week 7 in order to get prepared for our filming we had to create a shooting script as a group. In preparation for our this me and my group discussed how we want our video to look so we watched a videos on youtube getting different ideas and aspects that may want to input into our own video. We created our shooting script on microsfot excel where we wrote the locations we intend to shoot out, description of action in detail so its clear of what we actually want it to look like if we were to give it to someone to shoot for us.