Behind the scenes

This our behind the scenes video. Although a lot of it is comprised of outtakes, there are some interesting moments too - for example, we get a better look at our props and our lighting set ups. There are also some cut scenes involving an action man figure , and people trapped in coffins. Just another day in the life of Group Two

Final Website

We have now finished our website. Here is the link:

theDropouts OFFICIAL SITE





Final Album Cover design

Final Music Video

Rough Edit: Sequence

We finished the rough edit of the sequence on Monday and got feedback on it. Here is a summary of the main feedback points:

• Narrative needs to show more progression, start seems a bit loose (input more candle shots and boyfriend shots instead of pulpit shots)
• Change the first chorus so there is more movement in the shots, seems a bit too static
• Input more CU of lead singer during first verse, change the opening band shot so that there is less black space
• Shots need to go in closer, input more CU
• Only show lead singer on the breakdown, don't go to the ECU of guitar

Rough Edit: Album Cover



We completed the rough edit of our album cover this week, which we then got feedback for before we edited it again to make it a final copy.

Our feedback is as follows:



• Add a white background to the behind disc cover so you can see the skull logo more clearly
• Add barcode to the institutional information (We also inputted our QR code here)
• Back cover looks too dull, add an effect to it
• Add an effect to the inside cover, also looks too dull

From our feedback, we are going to keep the front cover the same, as that was good. We are also going to try a spray paint effect on the back cover and make the inside cover black and white, although we will keep the eye colours of the band members.

Rough Edit: Website

Today we finished a rough edit of the website ready for feedback.
Here is the feedback we received:

• Make sure your link to buy the single works (couldn't be clicked on)
• Too much white space on the Gallery, News and Competition pages, put in some more visuals
• Include a link to the record label's website
• Organise the gallery page a bit better, looks slightly unfinished

Whole Band Performance

We came into school at 7am to do set up and then film the whole band performance shots. We had learnt from the previous week how time consuming these shots could be, so we set up to shoot from 8am-11am with the whole band.
We also got rid of the platform for the drum kit, as this complicated things as the drums kept falling over during the shots.

We shot the drum solo and the guitar solo, as well as the whole band shots with them all interacting. We took a couple of still master shots, but we mainly took moving camera shots with the camera weaving in and out of the band members whilst they were playing.

By the end of the shoot we were tired yet happy with the footage we had. We are now ready to input the footage into our final sequence, meaning we now have all the shots we planned for.

Band Photoshoot

We took the band photos today, which comprised of photos with the band in two different outfits - their band outfits and their 'smart' outfits.
We started by taking photos of the band all together in their band outfits, and then with the members individually in their band outfits.



We then took photos of the band in their 'smart' outfits. Some photos were of them together and some individual. We have sorted through the photos and are currently editing the best ones to put on our website and album cover where necessary.

Frank Solo Performance

Actor(s): Frank
Costume(s): Band outfit
Prop(s): Bass guitar, Amp


After we had attempted to take the band shots on Friday, we knew how to change the performances to improve them. With Frank's shots we knew he had to 'strut' about more whilst playing the bass. We took a number of shots, from the long shot of him in the solo spotlight to the CU of the bass strings and the OTS shot with his neck tattoos.

Pulpit Set-up

Actor(s): Olivia
Costume(s): Band outfit
Prop(s): Pulpit

We shot the pulpit shots this evening. The shoot didn't take very long as there weren't a lot of set-ups needed, and by then end we were happy with the shots we had taken. The main shot we had was the low angle with the pulpit, to make it seem as though she was giving a sermon to an audience.

Boyfriend Set-up

Actor(s): Olivia, Michael
Costume(s): Band outfit, Regular clothes
Prop(s): Wooden Chair, Rope, Crash Mat

The shoot for the boyfriend set-up went well, once we had tied Michael (unsuccessfully) to the chair. We then decided to record Michael being pushed backwards on the chair, and so brought in the crash mat. After some practice, we finally got the shot we wanted of Michael falling backwards onto the crash mat. We the took the shots of Olivia slapping and kicking Michael. Again, after a lot of practice we got the shots that we wanted.

Olivia Solo Performance

Actor(s): Olivia
Costume(s): Band outfit
Prop(s): Microphone, Microphone stand

We filmed Olivia's performance shots this morning. We took a range of shots, from the long shot master to the extreme close up of the microphone with Olivia singing into it. The shoot went really well, and Olivia had by now got into the character better so the performance shots we took were very useful for our final sequence.

Candles Set-up

Actor(s): Olivia
Costume(s): Stained white dress
Prop(s): Tealights

We filmed the candle shots at the end of the shoot on Tuesday, after we had completed the Coffin shots. We didn't have as many setups for the candle shots, so we were able to shoot these in a quicker time. We took shots from different angles, and had one with her 'dancing' in the circle and the rest with her singing to the camera.

Coffin Set-up

Actor(s): Olivia
Costume(s): Stained White Dress
Prop(s): Coffin

The coffin set up went quite well, although to start with we were slightly behind our schedule as it took slightly longer for us to get used to the studio with the lighting and the camera than we had anticipated. We took a range of shots from different angles and distances, so we should have enough footage to use in our final edit.

Call Sheets

Group 2 Call Sheet Michael

Group 2 Call Sheet Dito

Group 2 Call Sheet Ben

The Shoot Schedule

This is our initial mock-up of the shoot schedule. Here, we have noted the times our actors are free for filming, that coincide with our Seward Studio bookings.

Group 2 Draft Schedule

After comparing our actor availability with the shots we need, also bearing in mind that we want to keep hassle with props and costumes to a minimum, we have come up with the resulting shoot schedule.

Group 2 Shoot Schedule

Album Cover Design

These are the original mock-up sketches for our album cover. Using these, we were able to further explore different ideas using the photos and functions available on Adobe Photoshop, to come up with our final design.

FRONT AND BACK COVERS

INSIDE COVERS (L&R)

The Test Shoot

Photos from our test shoot

Our test shoot was held the day before we broke up for half term, so that we will be prepared for starting production in a weeks time. We are using one location - the Seward Studio which comes equipped with a range of lighting, so a large amount of our time was spent arranging the various set ups. Unfortunatly, despite our requests, the chairs had not been put away, so they feature in our photos, but they will not be present in the actual shoot. We experimented with a range of spotlights, using a HD camera to check whether the strength of the lighting paled out the band. Overall, we now feel much more prepared for entering the production stage of our coursework, as we have defaults now set in the lighting box. Other things we became aware of was the need for stronger make-up under studio lights, and the need to wear clothes that don't overheat too quickly. Seeing as we will probably use leather jackets in our shoot, it will be important to remember to bring lots of bottled water with us to the studio.

Shooting Schedule

Here is our shooting schedule for the main set-ups in our music video:



As you can see the schedule is split into three sections; the set-ups with just Olivia, the set-ups with both Olivia and Michael and the set-ups with all the band members. As Olivia is in our group, the shots where it is just her will be easier to shoot and can therefore be done first. We can then move on to the shots involving other members who are not in our group, such as the whole band shots and the boyfriend shots.

Shot List

Track Edit

Our chosen song, Goin' Down by The Pretty Reckless was originally over 3 and a half minutes long, which was too long for our music video. This meant we had to edit the track so that it would be shorter and therefore easier to edit to.

Editing our track

After much discussion and editing on the Mac, we finally agreed on cutting out the second half of Verse 2, which now means that our song is 3 minutes 20 seconds and that we still have the main basis of our lyrics for our music video.

Our 'new' Verse 2 and Bridge 2

Studio Bookings

Week 0:
Friday 21st Oct - 7, 8

Week 1:
Tuesday 1st Nov - 2, 3, 4, 5
Thursday 3rd Nov - lunch
Friday 4th Nov - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, lunch

Week 2:
Mon 7th Nov - 1, 2, 3, lunch, 6, 7, 8 -> 4:00
Wednesday 9th Nov - 7, 8 -> 5:30
Friday 11th Nov - 1, 2, 3, lunch, 6, 7, 8

Actors, Props, and Costumes Organisation

This is the provisional list of things we need to bring in for the various shoots.

Please tag the name of the person who can bring it in, in italics.

Band Members performing together/spotlights

Actors:      Ben and Dito

Props:       Guitar with amp/speakers - Ben?

                 Bass guitar with amp/speakers - Ben/James?

                 Drum kit - Music dept?

                 Microphone - James (SALT)

                 Microphone stand - James (SALT)

Costumes: Olivia - Black and purple - Olivia

                 Frank - Black and blue - Frank

                 Ben - Black and gold

                 Dito - Black and silver

                 Transferable tattoos - School

                 Purple hair extensions - School

                 Silver hairspray - School

Lead singer at Pulpit

Props: Podium - from Great Hall

Costume - tbc - something with slight religious imagery - netting/confessional box

                         

Coffin on floor
Props: full size coffin - school

Costume: White dress stained with blood - Olivia/school

Seance 

Props: Tea Lights x ? - Frank

Costume: White dress stained with blood - Olivia/school

Boyfriend Hostage 

Actor: Michael

Props: Wooden Chair - James (SALT)          
          Small/medium spade - James

          Lots of rope/gaffer tape - Olivia

          Canvas bag - Olivia

Costumes: Olivia - Black and Purple (pointy heeled shoes) - Olivia

                 Michael - dark clothes, jeans, vest/t-shirt - Michael

Voodoo Doll 

Actors: Michael

Props: Voodoo doll - school

          Pins - school (textiles)

Attacking mattress

Costumes: Olivia - Black and Purple - Olivia

                 Michael - dark clothes, jeans, vest/t-shirt - Michael

Props: Mattress - Chris

          Pillows - Frank

          Sheets - Frank

          Large Knife - Ms. Blackborow

Costumes: tbc

                             

Group Meeting 4

Agenda: To continue with our Pre-Production stage so that we can finish all the planning ready to start shooting after half term

The first thing we did was create a 'To-Do List' for the rest of the week

To-Do List:

• Timeline / Photo-storyboard
• Take photos for photo-storyboard
• Band rehearsals / Screen Tests
• Actor Contracts
• Shoot Schedule
• Time Code lyric breakdown
• Book Studio for Filming Sessions

Note: We have now completed the timeline, the actor contracts and the shoot schedule (12:30 on 18/10/11)

We completed the timeline for the video during the meeting. We made notes on the set ups we would use for each section of the song and how long each section lasts. Here it is below:

Actor Contract

Initial Planning

When we first picked out Goin' Down as the song we wished to use, we started brainstorming ideas for the video on paper. First, we printed out the lyrics and made notes on the types of references we should consider, alongside a plan for set-ups.

To collect our ideas together, Frank wrote down his visualisation for each part of the song. I then made my notes alongside his, and then James read over it and discussed his thoughts verbally. This proved helpful, as by this point we were already working on the same idea, but from this point we were able to tie down our key set-ups and moments within the song.

sheets to be scanned in.

Influential Videos

Madonna - Like A Prayer

This video was inspirational for us as it too has religious references, much like our song. In my opinion, I think this video goes further than is necessary and that we don't need to go as extreme as this, although it does have some strong references which we need to incorporate.
In our video, we are going to show our lead singer interacting with the religious motifs, such as singing the lyrics of the song as if she is giving a sermon from the pulpit.



No Doubt - It's My Life

This was our original inspiration for our video, as it shows a similar narrative to the one we originally wanted to go for. Although we are no longer doing the narrative structure to our video, this video by No Doubt shows the female singer to be strong and vengeful, two characterstics which we want for our own lead singer in our music video.

Music Video Set-Ups

After receiving feedback and talking as a group with the teachers, we have come up with eight main set ups for our music video. Two are straight performance based and six have narrative elements:

1) Performance - Band members alone in spotlights
                        - Microphone and stand
                        - All playing instruments
                        - Black clothes with signature colours

2) Performance - Band Members performing together
                         - All instruments present
                         - Interacting with eachother
                         - Black clothes with signature colours

3) Narrative Performance - Lead singer at Pulpit
                                        - Preaching revenge
                                        - Religious imagery
                                        - Other outfit

4) Narrative Performance - Coffin on floor
                                        - HA shots
                                        - Singer standing on coffin
                                        - Singer lying on coffin
                                        - Singer straddling coffin
                                        - Guitarist standing on coffin

5) Narrative Performance  - Seance with singer kneeling on floor, surrounded by circle of tea lights
                                        - HA and rotating camera
                                        - Stained white dress

6) Narrative                     - Boyfriend captive on chair
                                        - Grabbing his hair
                                        - Pushing him
                                        - Ball stamp with heeled shoes
                                        - Bag on head
                                        - Spade to head

7) Narrative                     - Stabbing Voodoo Doll with boyfriend reactions in background spotlight

8) Narrative                     - Attacking mattress and pillows with knife
                                        - Ripping sheets
                                        - Stabbing pillows
                                        - stabbing mattress

Group Meeting 3

Agenda:
To alter our music video idea after receiving feedback from our pitch, so that we can become Green Lit

Motifs:
1. Pulpit
2. Coffin
3. Chair
4. Kneeling - Seance
5. Voodoo Doll
6. Feathers / Mattress

We selected these 6 motifs for our Dark Room shots, as they all portray messages which tie in with the song.

Cast Changes:
We decided to alter the cast members, as the look of the boyfriend and girlfriend did not match up. Instead of casting James as the boyfriend, we will now cast Michael Cassidy as the boyfriend and try to incorporate James into the band, as we were told he has more of a band member look.


Our new boyfriend, Michael Cassidy

Potential Name Change:
During feedback, we also discussed the possibility of picking a different name for our band, as The Dropouts is currently our working name. Since we jokingly said Olivia's stage name could be Pandora, we thought about calling the album Pandora's Box. Since the seven deadly sins released from the box are Wrath, Pride, Greed, Envy, Lust, Gluttony and Sloth, we thought about naming the songs on the album after them, as well as adding an eighth; Hope. We were going to rename Goin' Down to Wrath, as our lead singer exacts her revenge on her unfaithful boyfriend.

We also thought about calling the band Pandora and the Dropouts, however, this doesn't flow off the tongue as nicely as The Dropouts on its own. We eventually decided that renaming the album songs wasn't really going to work either.

Logo design

Frank created this logo. We're not sure what to call it really, but it's simple and to the point. The writing is purposefully misaligned to give an air of uncaring, like the person who wrote it doesn't give a damn. It also flows quite fluidly, in a feminine way, reflecting on the lead singer. The skull in the middle with a pair of headphones on implies a darker undertone, connoting the messages within the songs on the album.



That vector better have been worth the effort.

Audience Overview

Our primary target audience are: 

Girls aged between 13 and 20.

Secondary audiences include: 

Boys aged between 13 and 20

Girls aged 10 to 13

Girls aged 20-25

Other rock music fans

Things that girls may experience in their teenage years:

1. Changes in appearance. This could be hairstyles or colour, body piercings, weight fluctuation, increase in height, or change in fashion.
2. Rejection of family lifestyle. A stronger focus on friends and social life, less time spent with parents.
3. Becoming more argumentative, and defending own beliefs and opinions.
4. Mood swings and magnified emotions.
5. Experimentation. This could be with drugs, alcohol, sexuality, or lifestyle choices.

A selection of statistics about the target audience

52% of children ages 5-17 who have a TV in their bedroom.
Four out of five teens (17 million) carry a wireless device (a 40% increase since 2004)
Approximately 80% of adult smokers started smoking before the age of 18. 
Among young people, those with poorer grades and lower self-images are most likely to begin using tobacco. 
Young people who come from a low-income family and have fewer than two adults living in their household are especially at risk for becoming smokers.
More than half of teenagers are virgins until they are at least 17 years of age.
More than half (56 percent) of youths age 12-17 reported that marijuana was easy to obtain. 
More than 40% of teens who admitted drinking said they drink when they are upset; 31% said they drink alone; 25% said they drink when they are bored; and 25% said they drink to "get high." 
Hours per day that TV is on in an average home: 7 hours, 12 minutes

Video

From researching the audience, it becomes apparent that the teenage years are a highly transitional time for a person, where they try to find their own identity. Our video should tap into the anxieties that teenagers face, as we are promoting a message of making your own decisions and not conforming to social expectation. As it is the teenage years where people become more rebellious, the should be able to identify with our brand of defiance.

Marketing

As it is apparent that young people spend a lot of time online, we decided that the internet should be the main platform for promoting our band. Social networking sites such as facebook, twitter and youtube are highly popular with young people, so creating band pages would be beneficial to targeting a young audience, in addition to creating a band website.

Band Image

Our image is based on rebelling against the traditional system, and calling your own shots. As our target audience is predominantly female, we don't intend to style our female singer in a highly provocative way, as this could alienate some of the potential fanbase. However, we do intend to put a focus on the fashion of the band, as this is a core interest of girls of this age group. In many ways the band represents the 'girl power' portrayed by the spice girls, albeit with rock music. This ties in with the teenage desire not to be pidgeonholed into other peoples expectations.

Copyright Request

After choosing the song 'Goin' Down' By The Pretty Reckless, we emailed Interscope Records to ask for their permission for the project.

Click the image to zoom in.

The Pitch

AMBER LIGHT!

 Today we pitched our idea as a group to the teachers and the rest of the class. We outlined our main idea, our band's identity, the marketing campaign for our band and any practicalities we need to address.

The main feedback we got was very positive, with the teachers saying that the band's identity was very well thought through and that the branding was good as it appealed to our target audience effectively.
However, the main issue was that we had a 2-in-1 situation, where we had 2 ideas within the same video. This basically meant that our original idea had too much narrative and should be focussed on either the performance or narrative centred videos.
After some discussion as a group and with our teachers, we finally decided that we would try and have the whole video set in the black room, but with different set ups within the setting e.g. instead of a grave side, the singer could be singing with a coffin in the background / instead of showing the boyfriend cheating (which wouldn't be easy in the 10 seconds of music) we would instead have the singer beating the boyfriend up and singing to him angrily.