Rough Cut #3

I've put together a third rough cut of my video which is much closer to my final cut. I've finished filming all that I'd like to and so there are only a few finishing touches on the editing after getting some audience feedback until it should be complete. 
Firstly, I've added the new beginning which I put together last week and then also throughout the video added a few flashback shots to contrast with the female protagonist as she is now, i.e. single. 
I've also changed some of the clips by adding the hard light effect as I thought that it made them look more interesting and made the colours stand out. This, again, contrasts with the use of the 'romantic' effect on the flashbacks. So in the relationship it was more fuzzy and dream like and now after the break up things make more sense and are more intense: thus the imagery reflects this. 

I also stabilised a few of the clips to make the whole thing a lot smoother to watch.

I am much happier now that I have the flashback sequences as I think it has made the narrative much clearer and has added a new dimension to the video.
However, I am also been thinking about inserting the beginning sequence into the middle section that I originally cut out. I may try this out, but I'm not sure if it will work as the sequence is shorter than the music and it may not work within the flow of the video, but I shall try and see to make sure it is in the right place and get some feedback before making my final decision.
Here is my new rough cut:

Ancillary: Advert Drafts

My second ancillary task is to create a magazine advertisement promoting the music single. For this I have based it upon the album cover drafts I have so far created as this is a common convention that I found whilst conducting my research. 
Here are the some mock-ups I have created...

I liked the idea of using a colour fading effect on the text but it didn't make the artist's name stand out which is important, so I decided not to use that effect. 

I then set about adding more of the conventions such as a review quote and the artist's website.

I like the simplicity of this and that the artist's name is bigger but there is still some work to do. 
I also tried making a vertical advert to see how that would look...

I think I actually prefer this layout as it looks a little more professional. The artist's name is prominent, so as to attract the audiences attention. I also like the different use of primary colours, which makes it stand out a bit more too.

Ancillary: Cover Drafts Continued

I've been looking further at my cover artwork and have now created some more drafts.
Firstly after showing my last draft to some people they suggested to look at the fonts and colours. So I decided to change them around a bit to see if it worked better...

I like the idea of matching the colour with the rose to highlight that better. Red connotes love and passion as well so would help to signify what the song/video is about. I liked this better but then I had a great idea!
Jamie xx's existing covers uses The xx's 'X' logo and so I thought I'd play around with that as audience's who know Jamie xx's work are used to seeing this logo on his work and so it's easy to spot his music. 

As you can see putting it directly over the top of what I've already done doesn't work at all and so I tried moving the layers around...

I wanted to retain the element of the rose so I tried moving it so you could see her eyes as well as have the rose but I still wasn't sure.
Then I thought that as the song is called 'Rolling in the Deep' I could use the ocean portion of the image and have the rose...

...but that didn't really fully work either.
Then I thought about all my research I have done in the past. I remembered my Videos and Cover Art post I'd done and how I'd looked at dance artists who had used stills from their videos in their cover art, thus creating a really strong house style. 
I then looked through my video to find some strong images that might sum up my video and so created this draft which I really like as it has the water element...

I also used the original image of the artist and put the effect of 'diffuse glow' on which I had looked at when I first started experimenting which I also like as it has an alternative feel which matches the genre of music while also having a photograph of the female protagonist from my video. 

My cover from the top is perhaps more mainstream with an urban edge with the colours but the covers with the X maybe fits the conventions of a dance remix and definitely of Jamie xx the artist. 

London Film Festival

This week I visited the BFI London Film Festival, saw three fantastic films and had a brilliant experience which has inspired me greatly as I go into the editing stages of my music video. 

The films I saw were Breathing, Martha, Marcy, May, Marlene and Trishna; all very different.
Breathing was a 'quiet' film but was meticulously edited with fantastic sound detail, making me think about the importance of good cutting between shots to give it a good pace and a strong impact.
Martha Marcy May Marlene looked at dreams and reality and had a hazy quality, with flashback elements - an effect I'm looking at having in some portions of my video.
Trishna was a world of colour, light and movement, but the focus was on the main female protagonist, and her subtle expressions were what carried the film. How my female protagonist is represented is something I have looked at and it is very important to get the right balance between relatable and also being a 'pop star'; being professional on screen.

I've taken a lot away from the experience and has made me look at my video differently and how I can improve it.

River Rough Cut

I've put together a rough cut of my preliminary filming, much of which I will be keeping in. I tried out a few effects and editing techniques to see how it would work...

Special Effects: Match

One of the effects I'm going to use is of the match on the beach. I decided to do an experiment shot at dusk to see what the lighting is like. It was also a good idea because I learnt that you need to hold the match at the right angle for it to burn correctly. Also I need to be aware of the wind on the day of filming as it effects how it burns and the overall effect.