Photoshoot 1 of Alice

After doing extensive research into my Ancillary task, it was time to have a photo shoot. However, before shooting, we wanted to experiment with lighting. This way, we could find which one was most effective in the particular time of day and for the classroom we were in. 

Our most successful lighting appears to be last one shown here. Due to the extensive amount of photographs we had taken, I decided to take a screen shot of our photos and pick out the best ones to upload. 

As you can see from the selected few we have chosen, we tried to stick to the idea of having Alice's hand in the photograph. Although the above ones are rather successful, the one below was our favourite. 

I believe this photo corresponds to our research. (As shown below):

The photos below are some that we are keen to use in our project further as we believe they capture the character of Alice:

I believe that our photos are successful enough to use. I do not believe we need to have a second photo shoot. 

Ancillary Task 2 - More developed research

Now, I will do more specific research. Having looked at Adele and Rihanna for my Digi-pak, I decided to find their adverts. As I noticed in my basic research, Adele's advert also contained the feature of the use of her CD on her cover. (shown below). The black and white effect is again shown. She has made sure that her CD cover and magazine advert have a clear link.

Shown here are all the magazines I have found which use this same feature.

I want to incorporate this feature into my own.

                          

Rihanna's album advert is shown above. She has used the same photograph on her album as on her advert. The black and white feature has been used through many adverts. We will use this. 

As shown, the females on the adverts I have researched have been photographed using close ups. The females all appear to be center of the advertisement.This is something I would like to use. As well as this, all the examples I have found again, have the use of the models hands. For our magazine advert I hope to use this feature again. It will mean a connection between the album and the advertisement. 

From this research, I have discovered that Alice will need to be in the center of the advertisement. As well as this, I believe that putting the music album onto the advert is a good way to promote it. The advertisement will be in black and white as it will then link well to our album, maintaining continuity. 

Ancillary Task 2 Research

Our second ancillary task, after the Digi pack will be to create a magazine advert for our page. Shown below is some basic research I have found. I will look at these and then go on to do specific research into magazine adverts. 

Ellie Goulding: 

As you can see, my research started as rather broad. I searched artists that I knew of to see if any adverts took my fancy. Ellie Goulding is an artist who I know can sometimes write depressing songs. I therefore, did some research into her album covers. This is one I found. 

The example below is that of Jessie J, a female pop artist. The advert stood out to me as rather bold and eccentric  Although this does not reflect the character of Alice, I still find myself intrigued by the body language of the model and I feel drawn to the advert itself. 

 N-Dubz:

This advert shows a pop artist advert.I do not believe I will use this advert for any further use as I believe it is too bright and portrays a vibe that we do not want for our own project. 

Marina and the Diamonds:

I quite like this advert. The use of the album cover being used on the bottom right of the poster is a feature we are being to like a lot. It is something we will look at in our specific research. The duller colours here are also effective in my opinion. 

Plan B:

Again as you can see, the album cover is present on the bottom left. I really like the use of colour in this particular advert. It is mostly black, white and red with a hint of yellow. I would like to further look at this (and adverts like this in my more specific research). 

Beyonce's advert above, is rather similar to Plan B's. I really like the black and white effect.

I will now go on to do specific  research, looking for more successful posters and looking more specifically at the research I have found already. 

Fourteenth Filming - Re-shots

As the sun seemed to be a problem last time we filmed outside, we decided to re-shoot the scene with Alice telling her friend that she loves her. We needed to ensure that we filmed more close ups of Alice's actions in order to make the story line obvious to the audience. 

Firstly, we re-shot Alice waiting for Jessie to turn up. We liked the previous filming of it so; we did not change the angles we used.

As you can see, our second shooting was a lot more successful in terms of lighting. We kept the angles the same. 

Extreme close up:

Mid shot  (1):

Mid shot (2):

Next, we decided to re-shoot Jessie’s arrival at the scene. We already liked the follow shot we had from previous filming so we re-filmed point of view shots from both Jessie and Alice’s point of views.

Jessie’s point of view:

Alice’s point of view:

We also filmed Alice getting stressed from Jessie's point of view:  

We then used shots where we were behind the characters. This was again, the same as shots we have used previously:

As you can notice, we also took off Alice's blazer  This is because throughout the rest of the video, she does not wear it. We know continuity is key. 

We filmed Jessie and Alice’s reaction shots once again (hoping to get an improvement on lighting).

Jessie's Reaction shot: 

Alice's reaction's shots are shown at the end of previous videos.  

Next, we decided to film some key close ups that we had missed out previously. First, we filmed Alice touching Jessie’s hand – an action of intimacy and bravery.

From the front:

From the front (2):

Bird’s eye view/over the shoulder shot:

Lastly, we filmed Alice’s admittance of love to Jessie. We did this using close up shots so that the audience could clearly see what she says: 

Thirteenth Filming - Alice taking the Pills

One scene that it is important we get right is Alice's suicide (she tries to kill herself through pills). Shown on this post will be how we developed this idea. Our first attempt was not very successful as I believe we did not think the scene through.

First idea: have Alice get pills from the draw then swallow them: (Shown below)

Bird's eye view:

Behind shot:

Close up:

Side view:

Pills at the sink:

After looking at the videos we shot, we realised that our videos were not good enough. Firstly, Alice shows no hesitations in taking the pills. We needed to change this. As well as this, I believe that the slip will be more successful if she takes the pills at the sink. This will give her time to reflect on what she is doing. Therefore, shown below are our re-shoots:

Close up of the pills:

Leaning over the sink birds eye:

Leaning over the sink birds eye (2):

Worms eye view of taking the pills:

Bird's eye view of taking the pills:

Worms eye view of her looking at the Pills:

Close up worms eye of her looking at the pills:

We also filmed her picking up the cup and filling it up. This is so we could maintain continuity if we needed it:

Tracking shot:

Slow close up:

Our Reasons for Angles

Throughout our videoing, we have tried to use an extensive use of angles and shots in order to display our story and capture emotion. As you can see when looking through, a lot of our shots are filmed from different angles with use of the Bird's Eye View. We have been using this shot in order to convey that Alice is not in control of her life. This view portrays that life is weighing her down. 

However, when it comes to taking the pills, we decided to use Worms Eye View. This was done on purpose in order to emphasise that Alice has control over the pills she is about to take. This is the only thing that she seems to be able to have power over. This pushes her to take the pills, wanting to finally take full control. 

Other shots that we have used extensively throughout the filming are close up shots and extreme close up shots. These have been very successful in allowing us to successfully capture Alice's emotion properly. Using these shots, we have used various angles. This is so that our video remains intriguing and captures our audience's attention.

Lastly, there is also a lot of use of Establishing Shots. This means that the audience knows exactly what is going on within the video and where Alice is. Establishing shots are regularly used in videos especially at the beginning of new scenes. 

Twelfth Filming - Extra shooting in classroom

Due to Alice dying her hair, we needed to re-shoot the classroom scene. As we did not have a lot of time, we decided that we only wanted to film Alice and the teacher. This meant that we could use close up shots to show the expression of each character instead of using a whole class.

Firstly we filmed Alice. Shown below are various shots of her. Before filming her reaction shot to the teacher, we filmed Alice struggling with work. This would allow the viewer to appreciate why Mrs McKenna is shouting at her (her work is not good enough).

Establishing shot of Alice doing work:

Mid-shot with paper:

Side shot:

Mid-shot without paper:

Close up of Alice's reaction to Mrs McKenna:

Extreme close up of Alice's reaction:

(both of the videos above are very effective as Alice's expression can successfully show her disappointment with her bad work which can then relate to her expressions in the bathroom).

We then decided to shoot Mrs McKenna from a couple of different ways. We ensured to use a worms eye view to promote her dominance over Alice.

Eleventh Filming - Shots in the mirror

To correspond with our story board, it is essential that we get Alice's reaction shots in the bathroom mirror as they take up a lot of our video. Therefore, for our next filming we decided to shoot this. We changed where she took her pills(ensuring that she hesitated more so the audience can see the effect on her).

Firstly, we decided to try different lighting in order to see which was best. We tried using the main lights, the lamp lights and natural lighting too.

As you can see, the natural lighting is the most effective due to the lamps being too bright and the main lights not being very successful. We did not want the clips to be too bright as we wanted the audience to feel hopelessness for Alice. 

It was important that we used a lot of 'Birds eye View' shot to show that Alice is not in control of her emotions. We made sure to use this a lot through the mirror. These first videos are some that we will use early on within our video:

As well as her reaction in the mirror, we wanted to film her body language. Therefore, we have her leaning over the sink to portray frustration and the sense that she has given up. She cannot keep her body up due to her troubles being laid on her. This was filmed in many aspects:

Close up of the hand then worms eye view:

Worms eye view:

The use of worms eye view is very important here. Through most of the video, we film her in a birds eye shot view. This is because we are trying to promote life having power over Alice. However, here, the use of the worms eye shot is to show that Alice has power over the pills she is taking. This is effective as the audience will be able to see that Alice could be in serious danger. (no one else has control over her life but her).

Bird's eye view to the right:

Next, we decided that we wanted to film Alice putting on makeup and then rubbing it off aggressively. We thought this would reflect her unhappiness within herself as no matter what she does, she cannot remain positive about herself. It allows our actress to feel frustration which is hopefully clear to the audience:

Close up:

In the mirror to the right:

In the mirror to the left:

Taking all of her make up off:

As you can see, the video above is from a birds eye view and at a rather sharp camera angle. From my feedback, I realized that this was too much of a sharp shot and therefore, this needed to be re-shooted. These re-shoots are shown below:

Close up:

Close up (2):

In the mirror from the right:

Tenth Filming - The Bathroom Scene

Although some of the shots from our ninth filming appeared rather successful, we decided to re-shoot everything in order to have a better chance of successful editing. 

As well as this, we realized that we had no Evidence of Alice's suicide in our last attempt at filming. Therefore, we decided to use her swallowing pills. 

First, we filmed her coming into the bathroom from various angles: 

The follow shot (we are continuing to use this shot regularly, wanting the audience to experience what Alice is):

Pan shot:

Tracking shot:

Over head shot: (bird's eye view)

Close up:

Close up (2):

We wanted to film the phone ringing on the side of the bath and have Alice ignore it. This would reflect the idea that no one can help her now.

Close up of Phone and Alice's reaction:

Focus on the phone (not ringing):

Focus on the phone (ringing). This video is not able to be used due to our actress laughing:

Mid shot:

Mid shot (birds eye view):

Side view, close up of the phone ringing:

Ancillary Task (The Back Cover) Research

The next part of research I have decided to do is for the back cover of our Digi-Pack. Again, I wanted to keep my research rather specific. I decided to try to stick to researching the same type of artists. I also made sure that I ONLY researched Black and White back covers. Since my front cover is going to be black and white, I think it is essential to keep the same style for the back too. 

First, I researched Adele. 

I really like this example of a back cover. The use of black and white again allows the Models facial expressions to be clear and effective. I will use this example to further develop my research. I particularly like the writing used for the song names. I believe that it is a font that is simple, easy to read but also stands out. This is my favourite of all the research I carried out. 

The three I have above do not link to what I wanted to find. Although all albums have black and white features, all of these three contain colour. I will therefore, focus on the Adele example to complete my sketches and eventually, my product. 

Rather then a focus on the body like rihannas advert shown here, I want to focus more on the character herself. Just like Adele's, I would like the advert to be a focus on Alice's face. 

Ancillary Task (The CD and the Spine) Research

Next thing I wanted to research was ideas for the CD of our Digipack. Having previously researched certain artists, I decided that I would do further research into their albums as I knew a lot of them reflected what I wanted (in the album front cover). 

First, I decided to research Adele 21's CD. It is shown here: 

This CD is not what I would have expected it to be. I do not believe it corresponds well to the rest of her album designs. I will not not use this example to further develop my product ideas. 

Next, I decided to research Avril Lavigne's CD's (I was not able to find any Kelly Clarkson or Hilary Duff CD's). I do not like the use of the colour Pink in the first example. I believe that for my CD, I want a more simplistic idea. The second example is more successful in my opinion, as I like the use of the darker colours. These reflect the mode of the song - the depressing pessimistic song relates to the dark, gloomy colours of this CD. 

Lastly, I looked at Rihanna's CD of 'good girl gone bad'. This is my favourite example of the ones I have found. Other then the use of white dots at the top, it is rather simple. The name of Rihanna is clear and bold. I would like to use this album to further develop my ideas for my own. 

Next, I am going to do research into the spine of the Digi-Pack. I believe this will be the easiest part of the product to create. 

I believe many Spines of CD cases are similar and therefore, I do not believe that it will take a lot of research. However, I will look further into more CD spines that I have at home. It will hopefully help towards my next sketch. 

Ancillary Task (Album Front Cover) - Extra photo research

At first, we kept our extra photo research rather basic. We did not know whether to include things such as props, location and we were not too sure on camera angles etc.

We first looked at location. The photo below shows this. In my opinion, looking at this photo, I believe having a location (like the one below) distracts from the model. This is something we do NOT want as we want Alice to be the main feature of our DigiPack. If we want to capture her extreme emotion, having defined things around her might ruin this.

Similarly, the two photos below are photos which I believe do not capture the models emotions enough. Botha re mid shots, where you can see alot of the models body or they contain props. Like location, I believe other factors in this photograph distract from the model.

 The next photos I researched therefore, concentrate on the model alone. I tried to find photos that used close up angles or extreme close ups. I believe this will capture the models emotions succesfully.  

The two photos above are rather pose-like. We want to reflect Alice's major depression from the video. 

The three above show the hand touching that is present in the album cover research. However, I believe that none of them capture the depressing feelings that we will want to convey in Alice.

The last four photographs you can see, are my personal favourite out of the ones we have researched. I believe all of them show extreme emotion and capture the models depression well. I will continue working with the Black and White effect as I still maintain the opinion that it is the most effective in expressing emotions.

The bottom two photographs show the model in a location. Although before I stated that this would distract from the model, I believe that the camera has successfully faded out all background to the photo meaning that the model is still the main focus.

The bottom photograph is my favourite. I think it is important that we get Alice's make up to be similar to the makeup presented on the model as this image is present in our film. However, we may not have her in the bath.