PRODUCTION DIARY
This page displays the process of my production and how i felt toward each new venture of my journey.
1/4/2021
This weekend I experimented. I drove down to the Peak District and camped there for the weekend, I took my camera so that I could start experimenting with different types of shots and compositions that I thought I would like to include. I played around with my camera and got used to using it in different exposures. Putting into to practice my knowledge of aperture, ISO and shutter speed to solve any issues I may’ve had. I looked at how The North Face gear looked in this setting and different ways of making the item look engaging through different motions and positioning.
22/4/2021
Today I created a shot list. This is because I am going to try and get most of my footage tomorrow and it is important that I think about the different types of shots I wanted to get and how I was going to get them. I listed about 15 different shots in various ways - this led to me creating a storyboard for my film. I also took note of the different types of frame rates that I could use to create slow-motion shots and fluctuate the shots of my piece. REFLECTION LIKES AND DISLIKES
Reflection: I was happy with how this turned out, it was great opportunity for me to get to know the basics of my camera and play around with different compositions.
Reflection: If was to do this again I would use photography as my way of demonstrating the frames and compositions i wanted to use. However, it wouldn't be cost effective for me to use this method during this project as it can be difficult having to rely on actors, transport and location. I am pleased with the final look of my storyboard as it still communicates my expressions through text and colour.
23/4/2021
Today was shoot day. I was able to get to a decent location that was perfect for the video. I took myself and three friends to Torside reservoir, just outside of Glossop and the Peak District. This was not the original location I had in mind; initially I was going to shoot at Ladybower reservoir as they had nearby forest, streams and lakes, that I thought would work quite nicely for the piece I wanted to create. However, the snake pass that lead up to Ladybower was closed due to a collision, this meant that I was unable to get to this location, as it was the only route. I then had to think on my feet and find a new location to film at; this was Torside reservoir.
Once here I had to find a decent spot that would work for what I wanted to create, I need flowing water and tall trees to replicate footage I had experimented with weeks before. I was able to find a spot similar but not quite the same, meaning I had to adapt and finesse the location I had.
When putting the set together it was important that I had the logos showing and that what I had created felt natural and realistic. I had ensured that everything looked cohesive, the crockery and the blanket, bright shades of blue. I also ensured to remove any branded packaging of food and had The North Face as the sole logo presented throughout. This was to ensure brand integrity and guarantee that the video had a professional feel.
When shooting I made sure to retake the same shots multiple times so that when looking back at the footage, I could select the best one. I tried to take some different transition shots to make my piece more engaging. When making my camera rotate 180 degrees clockwise, I struggled to cover the lens entirely so that I could edit it easier in post. To solve this, I placed my arm underneath the camera so that this was the last thing the camera would record, allowing the screen to completely go to black.
I found that some shots worked better when using my tripod to help steady the shots movement, other times I decided to film by hand. This was discovered purely by experimentation and seeing what looked and felt more natural.
28/4/2021
Today I review my footage. I wanted to make sure that the footage I had was good enough for me to use in my final project. I had to make sure that I had reviewed the entirety of my footage and select the moments that I thought were best for my narrative. The goal for the end of the day was to produce a rough cut that I could present to my peers next lesson and obtain feedback. Reviewing the footage was quite overwhelming as I had to watch everything I had recorded that day so that I was able to make smart choices about the clips I wanted to use. At first, I reviewed each clip individually through a media player. This was taking me too long, so I decided to add all the footage into premiere pro and edit it further from there; selecting and cutting bits that I didn’t like. This turned out to be an easier process as I meant I could begin to experiment with colour and different shots to figure out which direction I wanted to ultimately use. I have produced a rough cut and edited part of it to an audio that I thought would fit with the theme well. I will play this clip in class to obtain feedback.
5/4/2021
Today I received feedback. I intend to use this feedback to make he relevant changes to my piece and develop my piece accordingly. I was very nervous when presenting my video, I made sure to show the stimuli and then my video side by side. I will gain feedback through a survey with questions I thought would make the most impact. The feedback I got from the class was quite mixed but one big thing to work on was my use of colour. This was the most disliked option, another aspect I will look at is the music I chose. Was this appropriate? Did it match the mood and tone I was trying to produce?
12/5/2021
Today I looked at adding context to my piece. I had researched powerful women that made extraordinary contributions to exploring and adventure; women that have travelled the world in 70 days on bicycles, women that posed as men on ships and many more. However, I found a quote by the famous Annie Smith Peck that I believed tied everything together well and brought a substantial bit of context to my piece. I also then started to think about ways I could add that context to my video without making it look like a documentary. iI found a quote by the famous Barbra Hillary that ammsued me slightly , i thought it was very motivational but not right for the feel of my video so i decided to go with the quote from Annie Smith Peck.
13/5/2021
Today I looked at techniques on how to add the context. At first, I was unsure on how I could add the quote and an image of Smith to my video. I did not want it to just be added in randomly within the middle of the footage. At first, I was going to pause my original footage and then have an image of Smith appear on screen amongst the other actors, however this felt random and more of a sloppy tribute rather than adding historical context that still made the video seem like an advertisement.
Eventually I decided to add continuous text to the video. I did this in AfterEffects using coding that I found online. I decided that I wanted to use a code because when looking at the pre-sets within the software they gave off a less professional feel as when they typed a letter, they would chop it in half rather that typing the full letter, which is not realistic. I also downloaded a font that was like The North Face’s font (Helvetica world bold) so that my video would look more authentic and truer to The North Face style.
I then wanted to add a picture of Smith so that the text was more engaging. I cut out the picture using the pen tool and then made sure to animate it as it would then be even more engaging to the audience. After this I realised that adding sound would only elevate this sequence, so I searched online for different wind noises that were suitable for the top of a mountain, I then added a mooing noise and birds to further enhance the mountain top like atmosphere.
The final thing I did to the sequence was add colour, I used a film burn and used the setting ‘colour burn’ to ensure that the film burn went behind the text and highlighted the whiter parts of the clip. I didn’t like how this looked as a block, so I chopped the film burn into pieces to make it appear as if it was flashing.
The final sequence came out quite nicely; it gets the message across strongly in an engaging way, whilst setting the mood for the rest of my video.
17/5/2021
Today I looked at system memory and problem-solving. I really struggled to make this progress this week as my computer kept crashing due to not having the sufficient hardware. This was because I was working on a hard drive rather than an SSD as my laptop could not contain all the data in premier pro. I found this very frustrating as I wasn’t able to do any premier work without my laptop shutting down or the software itself crashing. To resolve this, I bought an SSD drive so that I could continue to make progress. At first, we could understand why this was happening, we initially thought that it was because I filmed the footage in 4K that the laptop couldn’t process the data, we also thought that it may have something to with the amount of storage I had on my laptop. However, the issue was resolved when I used an SSD to store my work and work from.
24/5/2021
This week is deadline week. This week I added the final changes to my website and my video. I wanted to ensure that everything looked perfect, so it was important that I checked everything thoroughly, adding movement to the text at the end and making sure that it was eased in and out so it ran smoothly. I had a lot to do with my website it was important that I had put all the evidence on there so that I could get my final grade. It was hard for me to do this as I wasn’t sure what to evidence. I also feel as if I may have not had enough evidence to share but I will do my best to make sure that everything is the best that I can get it.
Obtaining fedback was quite frustarting as some entries were mixed and some opinions didn't agree with, however, I had to ensure that