Animatic - 'Crystal Poison'

For the production of the animatic i used the images i drew for my storyboard. I took photos of each frame on my 4 story boards, and i then put each photo into a sequence on windows movie maker, and i put the images into a video along with the 'Crystal Poison' Song by Alison.

Overall i believe the production of the animatic went very smoothly and there were no apperent problems during the production process of the animatic

Here are some images of me working on the animatic using windows movie maker (there is also a screen grab of the editing process of the animatic on windows movie maker)

Here is the finished animatic which i will use to give me a rough outline of shots i will use for my music video, and also to give the audience a rough look at what i wish to achieve with my finished music video project.

(The music for this animatic is a draft and i may re-record it) 

Crystal Poison (Draft) - By Alison

After the editing process of Alisons song 'Crystal Poison' i have produced the following song.

The editing process of the draft cut version of 'Crystal Poison' went quite well. During the process we had to cut out much of the song as it was not up to the standards of the artist and she wanted certain bits cut out, for example bits where her voice went lower than she wanted (due to her cold like symptoms) had to be cut out.

Also during the editing process we (me and alison) decided to add a certain effect to the 'voice' clip of the soundtrack, which was an echo type effect which we believe added an errie mysterious feel to the song, and this compliments the music video idea rather well, such as the black and white etc.

Overall the editing stage of the music for my music video went aswell as it could of done.

Due to alison having cold symptoms made it hard for her to sing, but as i said before i may re-record it at a later date, but if not then this draft version will be what i will base the video on

Here are a few images of me working on the editing of 'Crystal Poison' using the mixcraft audio editing software.

Here is the draft version of Alisons song 'Crystal Poison'.

The song is put to a few photos that relate to the theme / costume for the music video

For the video upload i had trouble getting it to upload to the blog as an audio file and not a video, so therefore i had to make a slideshow in order to make the audio file into a video, so that you can listen to it on my blog.

Here are some screen shots which show the stages i went through in order to upload this video / audio file to my blog :

Here is the video on blogger which did not succeed in uploading

Here is the programe that i used to limit down the size of the video file so that it can fit onto my blog, the programe i used is called ' Windows Movie Maker' i decided to use this as it is quick and easy to export videos from

The recording process (Evaluation)

What succeeded during recording and what Did not:

During the recording process i found out that the revised version of the song works a lot better than the original due to the lyrics being limited down to a few choruses.
Also the recording of the voice/ piano was rather clear, due to prior testing of both settings and distance adjustments of the microphones.

One of the obvious step backs was that the artist was unable to perform her best due to having a slight cold. Due to this I may have to record the song again sometime next week.

To try to improve the singing voice we decided to try a new method, which was to use a microphone and a small amp setup. I soon realized that this was not a successful method to use, As the sound quality was not improved but was made worse due to the crackling and distortion from the audio coming from the amp.

Here are some images from the recording process :

Here is the amp from Alisons electric guitar and the microphone from college that we used to do a test recording. Also there is a an image of the microphone which was connected to the mini amp.

Here is the microphone setup which I used in order to capture both Alisons voice and the sound of the piano. After all the tests I found this to be the correct / best set up in order to capture the best sound quality from both the Piano and Alisons voice.

Here is an image which shows the way in which i labeled both the microphones in order for me to know the diference between the two. Also you can see there is an SD card in the image, i can take the SD card straight from the recording devices and then slot them straight into my PC, so it makes it much easier when it gets to the editing stage on MixCraft.

change of lyrics

During the recording process of Crystal Poison I soon found out that there were to many lyrics which meant that the song went on for to long. (over 5 mins)

Me and Alison decided to take the chorus out of the Crystal poison song in order to make the song shorter. As I hope to get the song down to about 3 minutes or even less. to make it much easier to shoot footage for the song.

What succeeded during recording and what Did not:

During the recording process the revised version of the song works a lot better than the original due to the lyrics being limited down to a few choruses.

Also the recording of the voice/ piano was rather clear due to prior testing of both settings and distance adjustments of the microphones.

one of the obvious step backs was that the artist was unable to perform her best due to having a slight cold due to this I may have to record the song again sometime next week.

To try to improve the singing voice we decided to try a new method which was to use a microphone and a small amp setup I soon realized that this was not a successful method to use. the sound quality was not improved but was made worse due to the crackling and distortion from the audio coming from the amp.

Crystal poisons original lyrics

Here is the original lyrics for Alisons song 'Crystal Poison'

Verse 1

As the sweet voice in the woods are heard

the whistling wind stole away my time

seal your lips least my secrets be known

your poision tipped tounge

with words of truth and wisdom be known

Spirits of the woods hear me speak

the crystal poison inside you shall seek

Chorus

Crystal Poison

Some flowers die or bloom

sweet lips drink upon a wooded dine

I believe the crystal poison is inside

Verse 2

Twas a day when I felt not a touch

Of the sunshines rays absorbs into my cheeks

The black roots and white petals

Dark and light clouds of the underworld

the dark lord of these woods

raped my beauty and woman curves and

crystal evil eyes demon upon my cold sickness

in the distance walks a spirit above the surface of cold water

Chorus

crystal Poison

crystal poison

Some flowers die or bloom

sweet lips drink upon a wooded dine

I believe the crystal poison is inside

crystal Poison

crystal poison

Some flowers die or bloom

sweet lips drink upon a wooded dine

I believe the crystal poison is inside

crystal poison

crystal poison

Recording Process (Test recording)

During this weekend i have been testing out the microphones and also the settings for the recording of Alison's song 'Crystal poison'. So far i have found out that the distance of each microphone is the key to getting the correct balanced sound for recording. For example i have a 2 mic set up for this recording (one for the piano and one for the voice). For the piano mic i have positioned it on a table near to the piano, but no to near as to create a distortion yet not to far away as to create an echo / faint recording.

I have also been testing with the levels of sound recording (0-125) And have found that for both microphones (65) is the best setting for the recording.

The main difficulties i have come across during the test recordings are that either the ear phones or the actual recording of the piano / voice is slightly crackly and slightly distorted, but due to me not having a usb cable i cannot see what is true until i have access to my computer and the software in order to play / edit the recordings.

So far the recording process is going well, but the only set back now is that my chosen artist has unfortunately got a cold which will of course mean her singing voice is not as clear as it usually is, so i may have to re-do the song before the final cut of my music video is released, but due to time constraints i may just have to stick with todays recording as my final piece for my music video production.

further planning ready for recording of the song

Shown below is a video which best describes how to get the best recording possible with the low budget that i have which is £0, but i have access to the zoom mics so i will follow the hints and tips within this video to get the best recording possible...

Story Board / Further Planning

Today i produced 4 story boards to give a better idea of what i will be doing for my music video and also what shots i am using and also what the main actor / artist will be doing in each shot for my music video.

From doing this i have realized that some of the drawn shots on the story board i may not use but i have decided to draw them down incase i do find the need to use them. I also know i will have to use many cuts and shot changes within my music video so the story board is their plainly as a prompt for each shots and not as an accurate directional tool for the production of the music video. Also for each separate shot on my story board i will be using at least 4-5 different camera angles


Also today i have got hold of the much needed zoom microphones for me to use at the weekend in order to record Alison's track 'Crystal Poison'. i have be informed that the microphones take SD cards which i have at home, this is a really good thing as i can then take the SD card straight from the microphones and place it into my computers SD card slot, which will mean it will be quick and easy to import into mixcraft and then edit into a soundtrack then export to MP3 so i can burn it to disk and use it while on the shoot of my music video for the artist to lip-sync to etc.

Overall the planning process so far is going well and i will start shooting my music video soon, after some more planning etc.


(Shown below is a photo of the zoom microphone and also my story boards)

Introduction to Junction

Today i visited the Junction with the rest of my class to get an insight into what we would be doing over the next few weeks (6-8 weeks) (Aprox)

When we first arrived we were intorduced to the staff we would be working with during oour time at the junction. After this we were led around the Junction by Simon, who as we were walking around explained to us about the diffrent rooms around the Junction. (Including: Room 1-3, outside, and the offices (Including his own).

After the tour was over at the junction we discussed what we wanted to use the various rooms for. Me personaly do not wish to use any of the rooms at the Junction, but the other students like joe for example do want to use the space available. (I do not wish to use the junction as my music video is within a more naturistic setting inwhich suits the song)

We also discussed about what we were going to do in the future while we are at the junction. For example we will be helping out with the junction fiver. We were told by simon that we will be planning and producing a promo video for the up-coming Junction fiver event this year.

Overall today was enjoyable and i will enjoy helping others out with their music videos. (For example Hayden wishes to use my green or blue screen for his music video so i will be more than happy to help him, and also any other students that wish to use my green or blue screen while at the junction.)

Shooting / editing schedule

Here are to images showing my shooting / editing schedule. (Page one & two)


Both of which include the times i am at college and the times im not. They also include what i will be doing that day and also whom will be included for that activity that day.

(Click the tables / images to view them in a seperate window in full screen size)

Planning the music video

In todays lesson i helped dave out with the planning of his music video.


What we done was produced a time sheet for the music in which he is producing a music video for. The sheet had a table on it which stretched from 0:00 too 3:30 and these were the minutes of the music.

For this exercise we had to listen to Daves music and place the beat changes, chorus, begineing of the song ec on the sheet and also note down what ideas dave / me had about the music video which could possibly match the song beats etc.

( I couldnt work on my song today as i am still unable to record my song to make it itto MP3 format inorder to edit it)

Also i am waiting for the microphones so i can record the music for my music video, which i will hopefully get recorded by next monday, provided that i am able to get hold of the microphones on friday in rder to record the song over the weekend

Feedback on Pitch 1 & 2

Overall the feedback that i received from both the class and Pete was mostly positive with some negative points, such as the lip-sync issue and also the fact of the video becoming to boring for the audience.

Shown below are the positive comments i received for both pitches:

- Good thought for video and effects (black & white -> colour)

- Choices of locations are good and well thought through

- Organization work so far is well thought out

Shown below are the negative points i received for my pitches:

- Not a good idea to have no singing / lip-syncing in the music video

- May get a bit boring for the audience as it seems like one long shot / journey

- The idea for the colour changing effect may not work

- Artist needs to be confident and needs to perform the song within the video not just act

Improvements for my pitches / ideas :

- Keep the footage interesting

- use a variety of camera shots / angles during the shoot

- Artist needs to perform her best to make it believable during lip-sync

- Lip-sync is a must for at least some points during the music video

- Need to use more references in my blog to improve ideas for effects / camera angles

Pitch i will use for the music video:

Based on what i have received in ways of feedback from pete and my fellow class mates i am going to merge both pitch 1 and pitch 2. I am going to use a mix of the effects and see what works out best, but i am going to keep in mind that i don't want to over complicate the video during the filming / editing stages of the production.

Websites that i have found helpful for the planning of my music video

These websites that i have found have many different aspects which ive found very helpful during the planning stages of my music video.

www.youtube.com (Main search base for videos / audio)

www.google.co.uk (Main search page for finding other websites / images)

shown below are some specific links to certain websites which have been particularly helpful to me:

http://motion.kodak.com/

(This website has some handy tips near the bottom of the page which reminds me of some technical aspects to consider whilst filming my music video, such as cutaways and camera angles etc)

http://www.dvinfo.net/

(This website has a helpful discussion form on it where some media / film enthusiasts are discussing tips of filming in the woods, so that is the main reason why ive found this website useful, because i will be shooting most of my music video in the woods (Fens and Babraham)

http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/

This website has been particularly helpful in the location side of things, as it explains what is within the fenlands and what kind of area it is, or though i may not definitely use the fens as my final shooting location it would be good to have a variety of shots taken within the fens, for example at sunset would be a good time to get some really nice footage at the fens.

Pitch For music video idea (Draft verion)

Pitch 1 (Draft)

"Crystal Poison"

Classic yet modern.

With footage shot in the woodland area of both Babraham and The fens, this music video will show the journey through the song "crystal poison".

It will capture the essence of both nature and the theme of the song itself.

for the video there will be many visual effects used.

from simple black and white, too jittery old fasioned effects, which all add to the mysterious theme of the surronding nature and song.

To show the sense of mysterious enviroment i will use a variety of close up and long shot camera angles.


Pitch 2 (Draft)

"Crystal Poison"

From one point to another ( a journey)

A journey through the woodland area, turing dark into light.

By using many effects, i will create the ilision that Alison is turing dark and white into colour, simply by her touch apon the nature in the woods.

Also there will be a few stop motion effects used in order to create a flip - book kind of style which will make the music video much more interesting to the viewer.

For this video i will use a variety of camera angles, many of which will be close ups of the nature within the woods, such as the flowers that Alison will touch and turn into colour.

Planning for costume, location and Theme for music video

These Photos show possible costume, location and theme for my music video

for the song ' Crystal Poison' By Alison

Costume Ideas / Theme

(in these photos is the artist Alison she is wearing the costume that we wil use for the music video)

Location Ideas:

(Woodland area will be the main focus point for this music video)

(Possibility of doing a few river shots aswell)

General ideas - Videos / Images

Here are my general ideas, expressed through videos and images.

(Also these videos & images show possible effects i will use within my music video)

Videos / images that show effects that i like and may portray within my music video:

Shown below is a video that uses the flip-book type effect that i was thinking of using in my music video.

(I was thinking of using the flip-book style but in a less up beat fashion)

Shown Below is the effect i am going to be using within my

music video in some shots.

(I want to use the old fashioned effect but in a less stereotypical

old fashioned way. such as lines, Sepia, and scratches)

I want to show this effect by using just black and white and a few effects

to show it is old fashioned & victorian looking in theme / mood.

Shown below is my mad world video, which i made in 2008.

I got the idea for this music video from this music video i made.

From this mad world video i hope to use the same style (effects) and also use the general idea of movement from

one point to another, while using many camera angles and movements, as-well as using many different angles such as

The mirror shot or the notice board shot whereby i break the conventional camera angles and do them slightly differently

The video below shows the effect i wish to hopefully achieve

within my music video (black & white -> colour footage)

The video below is a tutorial in-which explains step by step

how i can achieve the black and white -> colour effect

Geneal Ideas

Here are some of mine and Alisons general ideas for the music video....


Footage:

- Alison to walk through a woodland area.
- A journey through the woods whilst looking at the nature around.
- Using the footage to express the feelings within the song and its theme.
- Film the journey through the eyes of Alison (at points in the video)
- Base the video around my past video *Mad World* using some of the more effective shots such as the mirror shot of me walking along.
- A sense of bewilderment and confusion while on the journey.


Effects:

- At the start of the journey its black and white.
- Later on in the video fade into colour.
- Flip book effect, where the video footage of Alison is jitering and looks like archive footage.
- Vintage looking footage of Alison at the start almot victorian styled, to add to the bewilderment.
- Scratches and grain effect to make it look very old and strange.
- Colour starts to bleed in and makes the video come alive as the journey ends.
- when the journey comes to an end it fades into colour (contrast change / booster)
- When she steps on the ground it makes colour appear with her steps.
- As she touches the plants / trees they become alive with colour.


Camera Shots:

- Range of close ups to make the viewers feel as confused as Alison will be in the video while traveling through the woodland area.
- There will also be some establishing shots of trees as alison passes them.
- The close ups will be of key features of Alisons face and costume, and of her feet in some shots.
- There will also be a variety of chase type shots as she gatthers speed during her jounrey through the woodland area.
- There will be less static shots as in many music videos its the camera movement that makes the video come alive, and that is what i want, so i will try to avoid static shots.

Chosen song for the music video

I have chosen the song 'Crystal Poison' for my music video.

The main reason (s) why ive chosen this song is beacause, Crystal Poison represents the heart of nature, therefore it will be easy to in a woodland area and will beable to show the main essence of the song.

Equipment & software for film shoot

Here are some images of the equipment i am going to use during the filming of my music video....

Sony HDSR1 (will be used for filming the video itself)

FujiFilm FinePix (Will be used for the on set photos)

Tripod (Will be used to hold the camera during the filming of the video)

Kodak (Will be used as a back up for the on set photos)

Here are some images of the software I am going to use for the editing stage of my music video

Sony Vegas 9.0 (For editing the music video footage)

Picassa 3.5 (For editing the on set photos)

Adobe photoshop elements (Used for editing the on set photos / CD covers etc)

Mix Craft 4 (For editing the audio track / music)

Costume ideas for music video

The general costume idea for this video is a flowery hippy type style which relates to the music.


Alison has been influenced by many other artists / musicians in what they wear, on stage and in their music videos.




Here are some photos which best represent, the kind of costume i will use within the music video:

Profile on Lee kemp (On set photographer)

lee Kemp

(Photographer)

Lee has had an interest in photography for a while now (about a year or two). Just recently he has got an slr camera (fujifilm fine pix camera) which he has been using now for about 2 months or more.

With much experiance of taking photos i thought he would be perfect for taking the on set photos for the music video, also it will provide more evidence for my blog / profile about my music video, if there are photos from the music video production.

So overall i belive that lee is the best person to take photos while on the set of my music video shoot.

Prep for music video production

For my music video i will need the following things (including actor. camera operator and director, also editor)


Props (costume etc)

- Dresses for Alison
- Flowers (variety of flowers and plants)
- Hippy like accesories such as head band / flower hair clip


Equipment (Cameras, tripod, software etc)

- Sony Video Camera (HDSR1)
- FujiFilm SLR Fine pix camera
- Kodak 9 megapixle Camera
- Tripod x 2 (For both cameras)
- Microphone (for recording the song)
- Editing software (sony vegas 9.0)
- Computer (sony)
- Photo editing software (picasa 3.5 / adobe photoshop elemenets 6.0)
-MixCraft 4 (Editing the audio / music track)

People for the Music video production

- Myself (Director, Camera operator, Editor)
- Lee Kemp ( Camera operator, on set photography, Editor of photos)
- Alison Murphy ( Actor, Singer, Musician, Camera Operator, Editor)

As you can see all of the people working on the project will have more than one role, i have decided that this is the best way to get everyone involved and to ensure a positive working enviroment for us all so we can get the project completed on time and in a positive manner.

Also i belive that working on one particuar job for to long will destroy the morale within the working group so to me it is essential that the team works together in a positive working enviroment in order to produce the best possible video we can with what we have available to us.

Artist - Songs

Alison's favourite selected songs (to consider for the music video project)

'Crystal Poison' is one of Alison's heavier choices of genre. She projects the song with a high pitch voice and a lower pitch which brings the song together.

This song is a more fast flowing song that includes is more indie type material.




The song 'Tambourine Flower' was inspired by Alison from attending latitude Festival this year.

The name for the song was inspired by a band of flowers that she purchased from the festival this year.

Alison quoted “The Flowers tied in a circle reminded me of the jingling bells on my tambourine which gave me the impression of jingling flowers on a tambourine."

This song is a gentle tune which is slow in pace and sets a calm fulfilling atmosphere.




The song 'Plucking Timer' is a very heavy song.

Alison projects her voice very heavily in this piece and makes her voice very loud and heard.

Within this song there is also heavy piano playing and harsh foot taps of the tambourine.

Alison quoted: "When you pluck a string on this instrument the time ticks magically inside the listeners."




The other song Alison has made is named 'Beauty in My Mistakes' this was inspired from her own personality.

'Beauty in My Mistakes' represent how Alison feels about her own personal mistakes within life and how they can sometimes be beautiful if you see the good in them and not wrong.

This song has an energetic flow with some African type sounds which she creates by projecting in her voice in the chorus.





‘Moving Statues’: this song was produced at the beginning of the year and was supposedly a mistake when she lost focus on playing one of her other songs on her piano.

During this “mistake” she soon recognized that the mistake had introduced her to a new song and new fresh notes. So she took the mistake and made it into a new song called 'Moving Statues'.

Alison quoted “It is a repetitive and fixed existence for some." This gave Alison the feeling that the repetitive side of some people is viewed to her as movable statues who want to break out of the suffocating stone of repetitiveness.

This song is a simple tune that builds towards the meaning of what Alison has stated about people moving statues.




'The less you smile the more I cry' this song was produced around July 2009 and was influenced by her emotions to love and sensitivity.

Alison quoted "being so close to someone in such comfort creates you too become more tuned with their feelings and your own."

This song has a special entertaining grip to it when it reaches the chorus.

Recently Alison has began work on three new songs. she has the idea of introducing a new genre to her work (classical stories) which is to produce a audio book for radio broadcast. Her idea is to produce a story for the classical song she has written and then using voice audio she will use different characters to play the roles.

characters: pigs, ducks, donkeys, foxes, mouses, rats, toads, horses and more ...

She is hoping to produce an audio book people would enjoy listening to on the radio.

The other new song she is working on will again introduce a new genre to her work, She has created a new song that has the mood of electronic chillout music using the piano, with purchasing equiment this song hopefully should develop.

The last new song she has been recently working on has the ordinary genre she normally creates, it has the indie genre to it.

Artist information / research

Alison’s other interests:

Alison is very fond of writing poems much like me. Her poems are written from the heart and are usually based on the subject of freedom, politics, love and sexual interaction. Some of these poems / lines from the poems have been used in her lyrics within her songs. "The description in my lyrics is used to represent how I feel and my imagination."
Alison has also taken a variety of photos which capture certain moods and feelings, for example for one of her songs she has created a CD cover, which involved editing photos on her laptop and using photos she had taken.

Research into Alison's songs

Alison has produced many songs. The lyrics to her songs and the tunes are always changed throughout the years. Due to them being thought up from heart and mind they are usually changed around quite a bit.
In 2009 she has produced / written eight solo songs this year including the following instruments: the piano, harmonica and tambourine. Alison usually spends two hours each day focusing on her piano and songs experimenting with new piano notes and lyrics. Here is a quote from Alison”I enjoy experimenting with new songs and forming new notes that clash slightly which creates unique sounds."