Alexander's Creative And Media Blog: October 2010

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Organise A Focus Group

Our focus group had 4 people take part in it. It was done today (19th October 2010).

Today was very difficult doing this as we needed a quite location and we needed 3 to 5 people to watch it in a group then we had to interview them. It took us a very long time to find a location where we could record it in quite. We searched all over the college and most rooms were taken and the only free rooms that was available, were at the time we found them and we was not ready as we did not have our people who would participate in it. When we found a room that is not used now, we tried to find someone so that we could get permission to work in it, but it is a separate key that the site managers have, and we could only use it if we had supervision for the time that we was in it. Then we found a group of people out side and we asked them if they could participate and two of them was willing to participate. Then we came across a small room in the D Block and we filmed it in there. We was still one person shot, so as went out to find Charna, an old course pupil, she saw me. (we had previously seen her and she said that she would like to do it). She was with her friend and asked if he could take part as well so we said yes, so then i took them to the room where were going to film. The room was very small and we all only just fitted in so we was lucky.

Once in the room we set up the laptop so that we could play them the video and then we had a problem. We could not find the video. So Alison loaded up Final Cut and the created another video copy. Once that was done, Sophie then got into position ready to film the 4 people watching our webisode, then we played it.

Once the video has finished playing, Alison then sat down and asked them a set of questions 1 by 1. This was also recorded by Sophie. All the footage was recorded handheld as the tripod was missing a part and there was no other tripods. Once this was completed, we thanked them and then they went and we went back to the classroom and put away the laptop to charge and put the tripod back and put the camera in a safe place so that no one would use it while we was on our lunch break.

After our lunch break, all the footage (them watching the video and interviews) was uploaded onto the Macbook and each part is now being edited by Alison. Not much editing should have to be done as we only have one camera shot view and we only recorded the footage that was needed. The first person that Alison Interviewed said a few words that was not suitable and this might offend some people, so hopefully Alison will edit those words out.

The answers to the questions were all expected as we have had feedback from class member and they have brought up the problems. Same with everyone else, the storyline was not clear enough and people did not really understand it. This is a big problem with our video.

Here is the questions that was asked by Alison:

Focus Group Interview Questions

Webisode Genres: Psychological thrillers, Mystery, Vampirism

1. Would you agree that the chosen genre’s for the webisode are being represented?

2. How does the webisode make you respond (emotions)?

3. Would you continue to watch the second episode? And why?

4. Does this webisode entertain you? And why?

5. Does this webisode meet your expectations?

5 questions were asked.

Here are some screen shots form editing the footage. I shall be uploaded at the end of this post.

All the footage will be processed as one video as this makes it quicker and it all is in one place and it will be much easier to watch as you don't have to keep going back and forwards to watch each interview with the footage with them watching the webisode.

The video of the group watching our webisode and interviews have now been uploaded to Vimeo.com

Here is the focus group video:

or http://www.vimeo.com/16018770

Here are the photos that i took during this time:

Monday, October 18, 2010

Comparing Roughcut To Finished Video

The final finished video is very different to our rough cut. In the rough cut no effects were added, but now in the final video, we have alot of effects, which is a light effect. We have cut alot of scenes as this slows the video down and the viewer would find it boring. An example scene of being cut from the final video is Alison walking down the corridor. Picture below:

Our final video is 3 minutes and 46 seconds long and our rough cut is 3 minutes and 28 seconds. The final version is longer as we did not add some scenes in the rough cut so we had a big chunk of that missing so now it is in the final video. Our final video would have been longer if we did not cut any footage, as i said some footage slowed the video down.

Here is the Final Version:

Here is the Rough Cut

Title Sequence

Here you can see that we have changed the title sequence in the final version. The text was plain and simple in the rough cut and it appeared on the screen as if someone was typing it on. While this was happening, the background footage as moving, these both at the same time are hard to concentrate on and and for me, you have so many things moving in the background at a fast speed and then you have the titles over the top, makes me sometimes feel sick. So in the final version it was changed. We have a more stylish font for the titles which is very nice and it fits in with the style of the video. The name of the video is on a black background then, the rest to the titles are on a slow moving background which is more gental for the eyes. I feel that this is much better and suitable for the video. Only the name of the video is in a stylish font as we did not have the time to create the rest of the titles like this one so we had to keep with the rough cut titles but with a different background.

Special Effects

The special effects were add after the rough cut. We have many effects in our video and this makes it more believable, but having the effects still don't tell the story to the viewer. The special effects were created by Alison on her PC at home as she had Sony Vegas Pro 9 as Final Cut did not have the after effects that we wanted. So Alison took the footage home to create this amazing light effects. She has also darkend the footage in the woods scenes. In the shot below, you can see the difference between them both with having the effects and without having the effects. You can see that having the effects make it look much better.

New Scene

This scene had been added in after the rough cut. The rough cut was only a work in process version and not all scenes were added in when the rough cut was processed into a video then uploaded. We have the two trees centre stage with the light high up between them, this was done with the effects in Sony Vegas Pro 9. This scene also shows the progress of the character, then she transforms. Our original idea we her disappearing going back in time then coming back, but here she does not, she justs transforms between the two trees.

Significant Change
Significant changes made to the final version was that in the rough cut we had loads of footage of Alison walking down the corridor, through reception and out the doors, then through the car park then heading to the college woods. Showing the process of the character getting to another location slow the video down so much so we had to cut most of that footage. The walking footage stops with the image below, then a shot of a doorr opening, then walking into the woods. The final version looks slightly strange when it keeps cutting, but i feel that we could have had some of the walking footage still in it so that it does not look strange.

Significant changes were also made form the script to the footage as the character was going to go back in time then come back, but as a vampire seeking revenge. But now time travel was included in the final video, it just shows the transformation of her into a vampire, but you do not know this until she bits her boyfriend in the neck in the woods, but then we cannot see her bitting him, so the storyline is more confusing in the final version.

We have tried to respond to the feedback to the rough cut version. But the main problem is that people still don't really understand the storyline. What happens in the woods? Why does she bite or kill her boyfriend? Why is she a vampire? The final version is 10 times better than the rough cut. When i saw the final version compared to the rough cut, it looked so much better, and the effects looked real as well and i did not expect this.

Audience Feedback On Finished Product

Getting audience feedback has be difficult. I have posted messages on Facebook hoping people would read the message and click on the link within it and view the video and give feedback. I the messages i have asked people to follow the link that i have posted and view the video on the website that i have made for the video.

Here you can view the screen grabs of the messages that i placed on facebook:

So far i have not received any feedback for the video from my Facebook post. The only feedback is from the class which is located below. It is disappointing that people cannot spent 5 minutes to watch the video and then give some feedback on it. People now don't really comment because they cannot spent a few minutes of their time to help someone else out, even my friends and family have not taken the time to watch it and comment. People are not bothered about see other peoples work .

This hear is a screen grab of a graph from vimeo of the page views and video views. I did not expect anybody from America to even come across the page because it is halfway around the world. I think that the views in Great Britain are mainly from the class as Facebook had not worked on promoting the video. I have been thinking about going online on Facebook, then talk to the people online and ask them myself if they can watch it and give feedback, but this would take a very long time.

Here is a screen grab of the location of the people who have viewed our video. It has had many page loads than views.

Here is the feedback from the class, which has been screen grabbed from vimeo below:

Only 4 people have given feedback on the video out of the class. This is still disappointing as Me and Sophie have each given feedback on their videos but they cannot take the time to give feedback on ours. The feedback that has been given is quite detailed and it tells us their view on our video.

I have around 70 to 80 friends on Facebook and no one has given feedback, but the class members have given some feedback. This is surprising as My Facebook message got sent to nearly 80 people and no one commented back, but the class of around 20, 4 people have commented. When out of college, people don't want to even hear the word work, and as i asked them to watch it and comment on it, they would relate this to work and ignore the message.

Here is a screen grab of the page views of the webisode i have made for the webisode series The Revenge Of Jessica Hill. It is on blogger. Link: http://therevengeofjessicahill.blogspot.com/. There has not been many page views but at least it shows that some people have followed the link from my Facebook messages and view the blog. It's a shame that no one from Facebook have watch it.

I have just sent an email to all my contacts in my email (Time 12.03 - 18th ) asking if they can watch the video by following the link to the webisode website. Here is a screen grab of that email:

When any replies come, it will upload them. Hopeful by doing this someone will reply with some feedback/comments, even if they are bad comments as the bad stuff is good to know.

If i was to get a reply, i would expect to receive it by Tuesday night, so i will keep checking my email.

Here is the blog that the video was uploaded on and this is the website that people will be going on if the decide to watch the video.

19th Oct

Yesterday i recieved an email back from Dana Kleiman, an old friend. She replied with 'I love the light effects' The reply is not detailed as i hoped for, but it is nice that she has taken the time to watch it and give a comment.

A screen shot of this email is located below. I am still hoping for more replies.

This feedback is important to us as it gives us an understanding of what the viewers expect and have we included this in our video. Getting feedback helps us know what needs changing and is it good enough and is it up to the standards. The viewers view is the most importance thing in the industry. For example, If a creator wants to create a new show for The CW Television Network, a pilot episode would be created ad if the viewing figures are good enough, they would commission a whole season. An example of this is Nikita - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_(TV_series).

Getting feedback for our webisode has been hard. We have posted it on Facebook, I have around 80 friends on it, then i sent an email to my hotmail contacts and i have only had 1 reply out of all.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Final Webisode Video

Here is the final version of the webisode.

The Revenge of Jessica Hill (FINAL) from cmdiploma on

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Website For The Webisode

Here is the link for a website that i have started created today.

It is still a work in progress, and i shall not bee working on it for long as the project is nearly over, so i will try to work on it until then.

-------------- http://therevengeofjessicahill.blogspot.com/ ----------------

Webisode Rough Cut 2

Here is the 2nd rough cut of your webisode. This version as the after effects on and this makes it a lot better.

Untitled from cmdiploma on Vimeo.

Here are some screen shots of the after effects:

This shot below is one that i really like, it gives it that strange look including with the bird sounds.

Contingency Plan for Resources, Locations, Cast

Camcorder - before filming we shall check for a camcorder that is full battery. After filming we then shall upload our footage to the Macbooks and while doing this the camcorder will be charging for its power plug connected to the mains.

Locations - When we come to filming, if it is raining outside we shall film our indoor scenes. When it is not raining, we shall film our outdoor scenes.

Cast - If a cast member is not in when we come to filming, we shall film another scene that does not involve that cast member that is not in.

Location List

14th October 2010

This is the Location List that was created by Sophie. It is also located in our group production bible.

Roles and Responsibilities

14th October 2010

This is the roles and responsibilities sheet that Sophie created this morning. It is also located in our group production bible.

Technical Specifications and Pricing On All Software - What the software was used for

Alexander Shaw 14th October 2010

What The Software Was Used For:

Final Cut Express

Final Cut Express is the most important software that was used during the project. Without it we would have not been able to edit our footage and this would mean that we would had not been able to create our pilot episode for the webisode. It was the only piece of editing software on the macbook that we had.

Sony Vegas Pro 9

Sony Vegas Pro 9 is the software that Alison used to to add the special effects to our video. The special effects that we liked was only available in Sony Vegas Pro 9 which Alison had on her PC at home. So Alison added the effects one night at home. The effects has a great effect on the video.

Technical Specifications and Pricing for All Hardware - What the Hardware was used for

Alexander Shaw 14th October 2010

What The Equipment Was Used For:

Canon LEGRIA FS306 Camcorder

The Canon LEGRIA FS306 Camcorder is the camcorder that we used to film our footage for our pilot webisode episode. It is small and compact and easier to use. The battery life is over two hours and this was suitable for filming. It is also stored in a carry case which has a lot of protection and this is what it is stored in and we carry it around in this to keep it protected at all times.

Jessops Tripod TP320

This tripod was used to hold the Canon LEGRIA FS306 camcorder as it keeps the camcorder safe and steady, but we had to be careful not to trip over the tripod. The Tripod extends its hight 3 times the actual size as this makes the tripod compact, and safe when we move it around.

Macbook

The Macbook has been used throughout the project. It is used to upload our footage, and edit our footage in Final Cut Express. It has also been used for our research towards the project and to update our personal project blogs.

Technical Specifications and Pricing for All Software - Sony Vegas Pro 9

Two images are from wikipedia link below.

Sony Vegas is a professional non-linear editing system (NLE) originally published by Sonic Foundry, now owned and run by Sony Creative Software. Originally developed as an audio editor, it eventually developed into an NLE for video and audio from version 2.0. Vegas features real-time multitrack video and audio editing on unlimited tracks, resolution-independent video sequencing, complex effects and compositing tools, 24-bit/192 kHz audio support, VST and DirectX plug-in effect support, and Dolby Digital surround sound mixing. It's designed for Microsoft Windows XP, Vista and 7. In April 2007, Sony along with AMD jointly demonstrated a 64-bit version of Vegas running on 64-bit Vista.

Vegas Pro 9.0

On May 11, 2009, Sony Creative Software released Sony Vegas Pro 9.0 with greater support for digital cinema including:

support for 4K resolution
native support for pro camcorder formats like Red and XDCAM EX

The latest release of Sony Vegas Pro 9.0 is Vegas Pro 9.0e (Released on 13 May 2010), which includes features such as a new white balance video FX.

Also Sony Creative Software recently purchased the Velvetmatter Radiance suite of video FX and these are included in Vegas 9.

Sony Vega Pro 9 is £399.99 on amazon.co.uk

URL Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-Vegas-Pro-PC-DVD/dp/B001GM275C

Information URL Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Vegas

Technical Specifications and Pricing for All Software - Final Cut Express

Final Cut Express is a non-linear video editing application created by Apple Inc. It is the consumer version of Final Cut Pro and is designed for advanced editing of digital video as well as high-definition video, which is used by many amateur and professional videographers. Final Cut Express is considered a "step" above iMovie in terms of capabilities, but a "step" underneath Final Cut Pro and its suite of applications.

Here is a screen shot of Final Cut Express on our class Macbooks.

History

Final Cut Express 1.0, based on Final Cut Pro 3, was released at Macworld Conference and Expo in San Francisco in 2003. The second version, based on Final Cut Pro 4, was released at Macworld San Francisco in 2004. The third version, capable of editing high definition video, was also announced at Macworld San Francisco a year later, and was released as Final Cut Express HD in February 2005. It was based on Final Cut Pro HD (version 4.5) and included LiveType 1.2 and Soundtrack 1.2.

Final Cut Express version 3.5 was released with little fanfare in May 2006 as a Universal Binary. In addition to improving real-time rendering with Dynamic RT, version 3.5 upgraded LiveType to version 2.0 and Soundtrack to version 1.5.

In November 2007, Apple released Final Cut Express 4, which supports real-time editing in the AVCHD format (currently for Intel processors only), imports iMovie '08 projects and includes 50 new filters. It does not include Soundtrack 1.5, but it does still include LiveType which enables users to create advanced text for the movies they create in Final Cut. The price was dropped from $299 for version 3.5 to $199 for version 4.0.

Features

Final Cut Express' interface is identical to that of Final Cut Pro, but lacks some film-specific features, including Cinema Tools, multi-cam editing, batch capture, and a time code view. The program can perform 32 undo operations, while Final Cut Pro can do 99.

Features the program does include are:

The ability to keyframe filters
Dynamic RT, which changes real-time settings on-the-fly
Motion path keyframing
Opacity keyframing
Ripple, roll, slip, slide and blade edits
Picture-in-picture and split-screen effects
Up to 99 video tracks and 12 compositing modes
Up to 99 audio tracks

Motion project import

Two-way color correction.

Chroma key

One feature of Final Cut Express that is not available in Final Cut Pro is the ability to import iMovie '08 projects (though transitions are not preserved).

Information Is From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Cut_Express

Final Cut Express is £114.07 on Amazon.co.uk

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Apple-MB278Z-A-Final-Express/dp/B000Z3DXT2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287046355&sr=1-1

Here is Final Cut Express Website.

URL Link: http://www.apple.com/finalcutexpress/#new