Research | Political policy

Labour - http://labourlist.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/cost-of-living-crisis-2.jpg
             - http://www.labour.org.uk/what_is_the_labour_party

Green - http://greenparty.org.uk/policies.html

Lib Dem - http://www.libdems.org.uk/campaigns

Conservative - http://www.conservatives.com/Policy.aspx

Sketchbook notes have been written up from these links.

Inspiration | Silhouette graphics

I found this on YouTube by searching "BBC Opening sequence". Although it's not offiial I really like it. The silhouette style is perfect. I would need to incorporate all the different colours and possibly some more relevant political buildings etc.

I've been thinking about personalising each different scene to relate to a different party. Green party for instance could have a washed out green background with a wind farm in the background and a more saturated green silhouette in the background.

Need to think about these different scenes more and come up with a few strong ideas.

There are 4 different parties that i'd like to show. I've got 29-30 seconds to work with. At least 10 of these seconds will be out/ in time so possibly 5 seconds allocated to each party will be supplementary.

Order of these is irrelevant but the time they're allocated has to be equal.

3 sec in
5 sec - Green
5 sec - Conservative
5 sec - Lib dem
5 sec - Labour
7 sec out

Design decisions | Colour

Colours for the intro will be based upon these logos. Each party has a different colour and will have either a male or female representative. The different scenes haven't been worked out yet. I am, however, planning to have at least one scene in the house of lords and another showing a ballet box with a voting paper being place into it. 

By the time I next post I will have a clear understanding of my visual style. Photographs just aren't going to cut it. 

New idea | Graphic representation

I'm going to go with a more graphic based title sequence rather than photographs. This is because finding copyright free images of local politicians is very difficult.

I'm going to be using a blank silhouette style to graphically represent each of the different political parties. I will utilise a small, neutral colour palette in order to differentiate between each of the different parties. The way people are judged in politics is their party, and so its an effective and realistic way of representing them.

I'm really excited by this new idea. I've been looking for alternatives all morning and this is finally here!

Thoughts and research | Opening title length

Since my last post i've had some communication with Val. She has confirmed that I'm making 3 stings and 1 opening title of 29 seconds. I was a bit dubious of the length to begin with but the sequence above I've come across point towards 29 seconds quite nicely. It saves messing about with the audio as well which is always a bonus.

This is a montage of different BBC sequences that, in contrast to the first example I found, are around 10 seconds each.



Another longer sequence I've found for 'Luther' a Tv series that was aired on BBC One. These longer sequences seem to work more effectively for darker, longer series rather that on something that could be aired almost daily like 'The Vote'. I will message Val about my concerns on this.

Research | Political buildings and speakers

Brighton/ Hove Town Hall
Mayors office
Council buildings
Tax office

Simon Kirby - Brighton Kemptown - Conservative

Mike Weatherley - Hove - Conservative

Caroline Lucas - Brighton Pavilion - Green

Brief and Communications | Latest TV

So far I've had little communication from Latest TV, not very impressed considering they're getting motion graphics for free but hey-ho.

I've been asked to create a 29 second TV title sequence for a new programme called 'The Vote'. This show is all about local politics. I have also vaguely been told about 3 stings I need to make too: 3,6 and 9 seconds in length. I've been given a rough soundtrack for the title sequence. I will post this up later on.

Since the emails have stopped I've decided to write up my own brief. Time is running out and I need to have work for my degree and portfolio.

I discussed some visual styles with Val Aviv when she came into Uni. She really liked my Eastpak piece and specified i make something similar to that. The parallax effect was thought to work well with The Vote. I will be using images of local and national speakers as well as political buildings. Although its only a local TV station I was asked to include some national political speakers because they would be discussed during the show.

I will be using Adobe Premier Pro and Adobe After Effects to complete these motion graphics pieces. I will be outputting in full 1080p at 25fps interlaced. These are the specifications my classmates have been given and so I'm going to adhere to them as well.

Photographs of political building will be difficult to source royalty free, although I will try. I can imagine the same can be said for pictures of leaders such as David Cameron and Ed Milliband. The local politicians will be even more difficult to find photographs of but I think I can do it.

Currently I'm wavering between working solely for myself and trying to make things work with Latest.

Evaluation |

I'm very pleased with the work I've produced in this project, although I have no doubts that i'll be changing some parts of the PDF and promo video before handing it into YCN. Nostalgia was the key concept to begin with but it developed further as I re-read the brief time and time again. Its something I still struggle to do. Listening to others in my class who weren't answering the same brief didn't help either. As frustrating as it is for me, I'm the only one to blame for listening to them instead of reading the brief religiously.

I feel I've learned a lot about After Effects. Not only about what it can create as a program but also the work flow I should stick to when I'm using it. The development of the promo was great for me but I think I overused After Effects ability to make things visually exciting. Maybe a more subtle approach would have worked out better for the older target audience.

I'm glad I got to make the whole video by myself. Shooting the photographs and using my friends as props was very satisfying and low budget. I think it expresses the ease in which videos like this can be produced and amplifies the impact of it.

PDF |

Download from here - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6P_AmSGAWkcUzVnUGFqa2sxbHc/edit?usp=sharing

Feathering |

Feathered edge on the wheel and actor as suggested during crit. I think it is a great improvement, and I aim to replicate this throughout the other cut outs where applicable.

Ideas | PDF

In my PDF I aim to talk about my ideas, research, construction and how it could be taken further by Eastpak in the future. Such as sharability on social media sites. Would be good to show this by taking screenshots of it on the different media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc. Make a quite promo video/ photo of scanning the QR as well. Show everything you can do in terms of sharability and interactivity! Eastpak highlighted this was the point of the campaign we are making. 

We discussed in my critique how there's potential for the style to be used across an array of videos showing their different products.

Can't wait to start doing this using InDesign. It'll kick start my print work and layout I think. Its going to be odd making a PDF about a video and using screenshots as opposed to fully finessed illustrator exports. 

Feedback | Critique

I found the feedback quite general as usual, and being last never helps. It was interesting to see how everyone reacted towards something I regarded as a completely rough piece as being nearly there. This has given me the confidence in what I have so far and the way its cut to the music makes me want to keep it this way.

To do:

Clean up sharp edges around out of focus objects, this will add a sense of finesse and tidy the images up considerably. The image of the school boy in the first photograph is the most successful so something like that is what to aim for.

Sort out the camera movement in the Mini Comp. At the moment the camera stops moving before the next scene folds in making for a clunky cut between the scenes.

Reshoot the train station scene. I need some smarter shoes and suit trousers on the actor to finish this off. Other than that I'm quite happy with it. The swinging bag got plenty of compliments. This made me very happy as its one of my favourite elements too!

Possibly shoot the interview scene?? I don't want to put extra work in but I did plan to do it in the first place; I think it will throw the timing of the song out which would be a shame.

3:30am

Critique in roughly 6 hours!

I've got this on the go, pretty happy after some hours of commitment. Still a lot to finess and film.


Im going to watch Lord Of The Rings until I nod off.

| Roughian

Still tons to do but heres a really rough version of what I have in mind. I haven't planned how each scene will merge into another but this kinda works. Maybe I should have them dismantle before the next one is fully built? Its a visual bombardment for now, and I'm enjoying it.

Still no audio - 1:44am

Station

So i went against my own words and didn't stick to completing what I had to the best of my ability.

Instead I went out and shot the commuter train station scene in the dark.

Here's the rough:

Update | To do list

Original list:

Intro Vid
School
Football/BMX
Car
Interview
Commuter
Outtro vid
Outtro Ident
QR code?

To do:

Intro Vid
Interview
Commuter
Outtro vid



I've really struggled trying to get the interview scene to look formal enough. I think I will have to use an office at Uni for this scene. Surprisingly everything at home just feels too 'homely'. 

The commuter shot can wait. Hopefully I can start it tonight after work. A friend of mine is quite willing to do this with me and with trains running until 11:20 there's no excuse!

In and out vids will have to wait until after the critique. The will be the finishing touches. 

Development | Bmx scene

Before

After

I've recoloured the bag using one of After Effects colouring effects. I upped the red and reduced the green slightly to give it a warmer look. Video below shows it in play!

Song Selection

Ideas | Sound FX

http://www.freesound.org/people/mwmarsh/sounds/85928/ - Paper Rustle http://www.freesound.org/people/keweldog/sounds/181774/ - Rustling Paper http://www.freesound.org/people/zerolagtime/sounds/89790/ - Paper Fold http://www.freesound.org/people/j1987/sounds/178844/ - Tearing Paper http://www.freesound.org/people/baryy/sounds/163401/ - Mechanical Click 

http://www.freesound.org/people/Splashdust/sounds/84322/ - Flip Card

I'd say Paper rustle, tearing and flip card are my favourite 3. Although I'm sure all will become useful in one way or another. Flip card has a precise/ clean sound to it. Theres an exact beginning and end that I find a lot of the others lack.

BMX

So far i've got this for the BMX section. The bag needs a lot of attention, as does the colouring on the background but its getting there.

I aim to pay more attention to the audio and finessing of the bits i've already got instead of having a really rough but complete version to show everyone. This way I will get the more relevant feedback for my project.

Football vs BMX

I might swap the football section for BMX. I can shoot this easily before critique, and then afterwards I can change it if need be. The idea behind football was to convey a hobby, but bmx could easily be the characters hobby.

Here's the newest version of the final ident. It has a QR code at the end that takes you to the Eastpak website. Give it a try!

This addition addresses the interactivity part of the brief set by Eastpak. People can now interact by using their mobiles to scan the code. I could also include others linking to Eastpaks Instagram page or similar.

Plans | Tonight/Tomorrow I must shoot!

 MY 200TH POST!

I've got 2 days until critique at which point I'd like to have my product as complete as possible!! I'm having doubts about it because of the interactivity aspect asked of me in the brief, but I'm going to soldier on none the less. Maybe I should include a QR code at the end so people can interact with the video. It could link to the product page for Eastpak or their instagram or something. A collaboration with Conors idea of an app could be really cool.

Tonight I need to complete my interviewer scene, and tomorrow I need the football scene finished too so that I can edit it all together ready for Wednesday. I also need to shoot the commuter photograph that will end the middle section of my video. Last of all I need to film the 3 second intro/ outro. The hardest bit about this is going to be finding a briefcase to use. Lots to be done!

Here's a list of things to go into the video:

Intro Vid
School
Football
Car
Interview
Commuter
Outtro vid
Outtro Ident
QR code?

I've just made a QR code that jumps you to the Eastpak Home page, I will incorporate this into my Eastpak Ident. I've also made a code that jumps to best selling products, but I feel that the user should be left to their own devices once they've been guided to Eastpak's site.

Dev | School Scene 2

Here's a developed version of the last one. I've placed the background layers at different depths in 3d space. I've then put a camera tracking across the front of the scene. This shows the parallax effect I was going for.

Dev | School Scene

I've started my school scene which will be the beginning of my false 3d style used in the middle of my video. This was shot at my old school using a pupil in uniform. I was given permission to photograph the pupil. I think it could do with being reshot in a classroom because I think the uniform may not connote a school playground scene enough. The background unfortunately doesn't show any school like elements, but I felt it would work well for the parallax effect; something I need to develop in this one more.

Dev | Tester 2

Tester 2 - I've added a character in the background pushing a wheel. It adds a dynamic feel to the ending, and makes the camera move less mundane.

Tester

I used the same effect from the ident I made to make this. I don't feel  that this is exactly the look I'm going for but it was a good tester. The camera movement feels a bit smooth and cliche.