This is just to say a massive thank you to everybody that made this music video possible.
Amy - Amy was our actor and she was amazing. She did that we asked her to do and never complained about it. Amy also wore clothes that are not suitable for this cold winter, so thank you for freezing for our video too.
Fiona - Fiona gave up her free time to come out and take photos for us. These photos are of the group filming and preparing to film. These are going to be used in our commentary to show our process of each day. Fiona also took professional photos of Amy posing and these are going to be used in our ancillary tasks.
Gene and Stan - These gave up their lovely home to us and were very welcoming to all of us. Their house was perfect for the grand setting we were looking for and are very grateful for letting and able to film at their house.
Parents - Finally, we would just like to say a big thank you to all our parents for giving us lifts throughout the three days and not complaining.
Friday, 31 December 2010
All over
So this morning we went to a grand house to film our black and white section of our music video. This filming was at my neighbours parents house and we started at 10am. It was very important to us not to be late. This is because a couple are giving up their house for us and we have to consider their needs. To make sure none of our group got lost, we decided to meet at half 9 but as a few members were a little late, two of our parents kindly drove us down to the house so we arrived on time. After recovering from the shook of the house, we got on with filming.
The dolly took us a while to figure out how to use it but when we did we realised that the dolly would not fit between the piano and the furniture. As we didn't want to have to move too much of their furniture, we decided to work around the problem. As a solution, we took shots from many different angles of the actor playing the piano. Also, to help make this scene more interesting, we took many different shots of her, for example, by the fire place and by a rocking horse.
Overall, today was very successful and we got everything we needed to be done. Now our filming process is all complete, we have achieved things the we didn't even realise that we could do. We worked very well together and splitting our music video into seasons and two members of the group taking the lead in their set season, made our group work even better together and has given each member an even chance of directing and doing the camera work.
Well done all!
The dolly took us a while to figure out how to use it but when we did we realised that the dolly would not fit between the piano and the furniture. As we didn't want to have to move too much of their furniture, we decided to work around the problem. As a solution, we took shots from many different angles of the actor playing the piano. Also, to help make this scene more interesting, we took many different shots of her, for example, by the fire place and by a rocking horse.
Overall, today was very successful and we got everything we needed to be done. Now our filming process is all complete, we have achieved things the we didn't even realise that we could do. We worked very well together and splitting our music video into seasons and two members of the group taking the lead in their set season, made our group work even better together and has given each member an even chance of directing and doing the camera work.
Well done all!
Thursday, 30 December 2010
Second day of filming
So today we were filming our second day at Ickworth park. This day was our Autumn and Winter seasons. To try and get the best weather possible of our winter season, we planned to meet at half 8 to catch the fog and frost before it disappeared later on in the day. This was the day in which Jade and myself took more control, however, we all had a say as we all need to make sure that we all like each different shot.
Due to a few members being late, we were able to start filming at half 9. This meant that we had less time to find a suitable location and was fighting against the weather. However, we took it in our stride and worked quickly but still to a high standard. For the Autumn part, we found a location in which showed many trees and leaves as this is what is associated which autumn. The winter season created a lot more problems. This is because we originally planned to film in the maze, however, the gates were shut and we were unable to film there. Walking around, we were then able to find a location that would suit the season. We found a large pond surrounded by fields and a few trees and the pond was frozen. This was a great find of a location and are very pleased we were able to find it. The trouble that later came was the lyrics that said "they made a statue of us". After trying to find a statue, we found that the gardens opened up by 11am and we were then able to go inside. However, the maze was closed due to "maintenance". To over come this problem, we just got our actor to stand against the house door and just sing these lines. This isn't what we all imagined, however, we had very little options left as all the statue's weren't accessible. Even though, some of the shots didn't go to plan, we worked with what we had and, after editing it and using special effects, it will look just as good and no one will be able to tell that some of the shots weren't how we planned it.
One of the main parts of our music video was make up and costumes as this was going to enhance our seasons. However, some of the costumes weren't how we planned it and this is the same with the make up. Some of this was due to the weather as it was very low temperatures so the actor needed to wear clothes that weren't planned as it was too cold for her not to wear them. The make up ideas didn't work and this was because the actor wasn't too keen on wearing some make up. As the actor is doing our group a massive favour we had to make sure she felt comfortable in what she was wearing and what she looked like otherwise this would have been been seen in her performance. This means that we would just have to adjust to our actors need and then work around that.
Before we even started filming, we all realised that there would be difficulties and step backs, however, we have over come them all so far and we still believe that they wont have effected our final music video at all.
Due to a few members being late, we were able to start filming at half 9. This meant that we had less time to find a suitable location and was fighting against the weather. However, we took it in our stride and worked quickly but still to a high standard. For the Autumn part, we found a location in which showed many trees and leaves as this is what is associated which autumn. The winter season created a lot more problems. This is because we originally planned to film in the maze, however, the gates were shut and we were unable to film there. Walking around, we were then able to find a location that would suit the season. We found a large pond surrounded by fields and a few trees and the pond was frozen. This was a great find of a location and are very pleased we were able to find it. The trouble that later came was the lyrics that said "they made a statue of us". After trying to find a statue, we found that the gardens opened up by 11am and we were then able to go inside. However, the maze was closed due to "maintenance". To over come this problem, we just got our actor to stand against the house door and just sing these lines. This isn't what we all imagined, however, we had very little options left as all the statue's weren't accessible. Even though, some of the shots didn't go to plan, we worked with what we had and, after editing it and using special effects, it will look just as good and no one will be able to tell that some of the shots weren't how we planned it.
One of the main parts of our music video was make up and costumes as this was going to enhance our seasons. However, some of the costumes weren't how we planned it and this is the same with the make up. Some of this was due to the weather as it was very low temperatures so the actor needed to wear clothes that weren't planned as it was too cold for her not to wear them. The make up ideas didn't work and this was because the actor wasn't too keen on wearing some make up. As the actor is doing our group a massive favour we had to make sure she felt comfortable in what she was wearing and what she looked like otherwise this would have been been seen in her performance. This means that we would just have to adjust to our actors need and then work around that.
Before we even started filming, we all realised that there would be difficulties and step backs, however, we have over come them all so far and we still believe that they wont have effected our final music video at all.
Wednesday, 29 December 2010
First day of filming - Done
Well, today we finally got round to filming our Spring and Summer seasons. Initially we had planned to do these seasons, but then last night we saw the forecast and decided to change to Autumn and Winter, as the weather did not look particularly summer-y, but at the last minute, Jade rang up from Ickworth house to say that it looked sunny enough to switch back!
We arrived at about half past 11 (we had planned to meet at half past 10, but our actress was stuck in traffic) and although it looked a bit foggy, the weather seemed quite good. Setting up the camera was a bit of a challenge, but I think we managed quite well. You could immediately see the difference that the HD camera made to the normal camera, and we were all glad that we went to the extra effort to get hold of it. Amy looked really good, exactly how we had imagined (unlike some people, she actually looks nice on camera!) and Ickworth House looked amazing too. The only dowside of filming the Spring section at the front of the house was that there is scaffolding up at the moment, and an exhibition being advertised, and so we couldn't show the whole house, only the rotunda. However, we managed that quite well, I feel.
By this time, we had noticed that the battery was running low, only about a quarter power was left, but we thought that there was a spare battery, so we didn't worry. However, it wasn't until we were travelling from the front of the house to the back of the house that I checked the other battery and found it was flat. Luckily, we still had about half an hour of battery life left, so we decided to try and get all of Summer done - which we did. So all in all, a good days filming!
One last thing, I accidently took the camera charger home with me whilst Roisin took the camera, so I went back to her house a few hours ago to give it to her so we can film tomorrow without worrying!
We arrived at about half past 11 (we had planned to meet at half past 10, but our actress was stuck in traffic) and although it looked a bit foggy, the weather seemed quite good. Setting up the camera was a bit of a challenge, but I think we managed quite well. You could immediately see the difference that the HD camera made to the normal camera, and we were all glad that we went to the extra effort to get hold of it. Amy looked really good, exactly how we had imagined (unlike some people, she actually looks nice on camera!) and Ickworth House looked amazing too. The only dowside of filming the Spring section at the front of the house was that there is scaffolding up at the moment, and an exhibition being advertised, and so we couldn't show the whole house, only the rotunda. However, we managed that quite well, I feel.
By this time, we had noticed that the battery was running low, only about a quarter power was left, but we thought that there was a spare battery, so we didn't worry. However, it wasn't until we were travelling from the front of the house to the back of the house that I checked the other battery and found it was flat. Luckily, we still had about half an hour of battery life left, so we decided to try and get all of Summer done - which we did. So all in all, a good days filming!
One last thing, I accidently took the camera charger home with me whilst Roisin took the camera, so I went back to her house a few hours ago to give it to her so we can film tomorrow without worrying!
The weather
Before Christmas, all members of our group was worried about the filming for our music video. This is because the snow would mean that we wouldn't be able to film the seasons summer and spring. However, none of us expected the fog. This means that we are facing problems that we didn't see coming. For the winter, this isn't a problem and we can also get away with it for autumn. However, the fog is a serious problem for spring and summer.
After filming the more difficult seasons in this weather, we had to thin on our feet on what we can do to make it better. For spring, we filmed in front of the house and didn't do an extreme wide shot so the fog isn't noticeable. On the other hand, summer was a lot harder. To get the shots we wanted, we had to use the long shots as we wanted to include the beautiful setting of where we were filming it. The only way to beat the weather is to do some post production work on final cut to make it look more like summer.
Lets hope the weather turns out the way we need it for tomorrows seasons.
After filming the more difficult seasons in this weather, we had to thin on our feet on what we can do to make it better. For spring, we filmed in front of the house and didn't do an extreme wide shot so the fog isn't noticeable. On the other hand, summer was a lot harder. To get the shots we wanted, we had to use the long shots as we wanted to include the beautiful setting of where we were filming it. The only way to beat the weather is to do some post production work on final cut to make it look more like summer.
Lets hope the weather turns out the way we need it for tomorrows seasons.
Friday filming
Well after having the bad luck with Ickworth house being closed, we struck luck when Gene and Stan (my neighbours parents) offered to let us film in their house. We are filming in this location on the 31st and I said to them that we will film at anytime in which suits them as they are the one's who are giving up their house for a couple of hours. Therefore, we are meeting their and starting filming at 10am and we will be there for a couple of hours, depending on how quickly we get it all filmed.
Fiona Waugh - Our resident Photographer
As we have chosen the digipak for one of our ancillary tasks, we wanted to ensure that a large selection of quality photographs were taken of Amy during the different 'seasons'. Therefore, we decided to enlist the help of Fiona, a fellow Thurston student who aims to take a degree in photography next year.
We are also looking for an outstanding image to become our motif that will tie all 3 final products together and felt that this would be produced more effectively by someone who knew exactly what they were doing and the concepts/framings that would be most striking and dynamic.
Unfortunately, Fiona was unable to attend the Spring/Summer shoot today. However, she will be joining us for filming on both Thursday and Friday; in which we should hopefully be able to create THE perfect photograph.
We are also looking for an outstanding image to become our motif that will tie all 3 final products together and felt that this would be produced more effectively by someone who knew exactly what they were doing and the concepts/framings that would be most striking and dynamic.
Unfortunately, Fiona was unable to attend the Spring/Summer shoot today. However, she will be joining us for filming on both Thursday and Friday; in which we should hopefully be able to create THE perfect photograph.
First Shoot...Spring and Summer
Although all a little worried when we saw the weather forcast this morning, the worst of the thick fog managed to thin out and clear during our shoot, so it didn't effect the footage in any dramatic way. Infact, it created a very interesting and calm atmosphere that suited Spring beautifully. Despite Summer looking a tad dull and grey on camera, we plan to manipulate colour contrasts in the editing process to pick out the hints of blue in the sky and make it more prominant (further experimentation with final cut will reveal the methods in which to do this).
The footage captured today was extremely successful. I am really pleased that we selected Ickworth Park as our setting, it was definitely the right decision. The house and gardens bring so much character and beauty into the frames, as well as matching the style of our song to a 'T'.
The house pocessed a particularly dynamic and powerful presence in the long shot (summer sequence) where Amy appears from behind the shaped trees/bushes; all the more emphasised by the rolling swells of fog.
Our actress, Amy, was brilliant! She really took to the role and was great at conveying the delicate balance between a strong and vulnerable performance; something I think our female target audience will appreciate and relate to. At least for tomorrow's shoot, the costumes are more apt for the weather!
Both myself and Gemma managed to take an array of production photographs which document our progress through the shoot (from the halogen light, to walk throughs, to filming). These will become very helpful when we begin to put together our evaluation.
Roisin also managed - with her very shiny, new hightech camera - to take some 'professional portraits' of Amy in various locations about the set, which we plan to include in our digipak.
I think we were all taken aback at the quality produced by the HD camera. Our theme means we have to focus on very subtle, yet very significant, details to determine a transition through the seasons. From what I have seen so far, the camera is going to provide us with these shots perfectly.
Well done for braving the cold everyone, I can't wait to jump back in it tomorrow for the Autumn/Winter shoot!
The footage captured today was extremely successful. I am really pleased that we selected Ickworth Park as our setting, it was definitely the right decision. The house and gardens bring so much character and beauty into the frames, as well as matching the style of our song to a 'T'.
The house pocessed a particularly dynamic and powerful presence in the long shot (summer sequence) where Amy appears from behind the shaped trees/bushes; all the more emphasised by the rolling swells of fog.
Our actress, Amy, was brilliant! She really took to the role and was great at conveying the delicate balance between a strong and vulnerable performance; something I think our female target audience will appreciate and relate to. At least for tomorrow's shoot, the costumes are more apt for the weather!
Both myself and Gemma managed to take an array of production photographs which document our progress through the shoot (from the halogen light, to walk throughs, to filming). These will become very helpful when we begin to put together our evaluation.
Roisin also managed - with her very shiny, new hightech camera - to take some 'professional portraits' of Amy in various locations about the set, which we plan to include in our digipak.
I think we were all taken aback at the quality produced by the HD camera. Our theme means we have to focus on very subtle, yet very significant, details to determine a transition through the seasons. From what I have seen so far, the camera is going to provide us with these shots perfectly.
Well done for braving the cold everyone, I can't wait to jump back in it tomorrow for the Autumn/Winter shoot!
Tuesday, 28 December 2010
The weather forecast
The weather forecast for Wednesday and Thursday.
Wednesday - It's pretty bleak! Fog/100% humidity all day, dubbed very poor visibility, top temperature=6 degrees.
Thursday - Is pretty much the same as Wednesday but a couple of degrees colder and drizzlier.
Looking at this weather, we will be best to do Summer and Spring on Wednesday the 29th and Autumn and Winter on Thursday the 30th.
Wednesday - It's pretty bleak! Fog/100% humidity all day, dubbed very poor visibility, top temperature=6 degrees.
Thursday - Is pretty much the same as Wednesday but a couple of degrees colder and drizzlier.
Looking at this weather, we will be best to do Summer and Spring on Wednesday the 29th and Autumn and Winter on Thursday the 30th.
Filming Schedual
It's our first of three shooting days tomorrow and I think I speak for everyone when I say how excited we are that the date has finally arrived!
Luckily, the hand-over of all the neccesary equipment has been completed so we are fully prepared for tomorrow's tasks.
Today we certified the specific shooting times which are as follows:
Luckily, the hand-over of all the neccesary equipment has been completed so we are fully prepared for tomorrow's tasks.
Today we certified the specific shooting times which are as follows:
- Wednesday 29th - Ickworth Park - 11:00 until 3:00, possibly 4:00 if we want to capture dusk shots. We feel this time frame will provide the flexible lighting wanted for seasons, Spring and Summer. Being their designated seasons, Roisin and Rachel will take a more dominant role in the framing and shooting of these sequences.
- Thursday 30th - Ickworth Park - 9:00 until 2:00, possibly even an 8:00/8:30 start if the prospect of catching a thick frost was essential. A greater time slot was needed here as the transition of make-up and costume for Autumn/Winter is far more dramatic and complex than Spring/Summer. Being our designated season, Gemma and I will take a more dominant role in the framing and shooting of these sequences.
- Friday 31st - Thurston House - Time to be definitively set tomorrow after final confirmation from house owners - Here, every member of the group will have an equally prominant directing role. This is the sequence that requires the use of the dolly.
Monday, 27 December 2010
Getting Equipment
As you might be aware, this Wednesday (less than 2 days time) we are starting to film!! It seems very soon, but luckily, we have had the time to plan very extensively, and so we all feel very prepared. However, there are still some very important things that we still need, for example, the tripod and the dolly!
We weren't aware until the last day of term, but another group (in the other class) needed the HD camera as well as us, and so we weren't able to take it straight from school, and we needed to work out with Sarah and Danni getting hold of everything. They needed basically all the equipment that we wanted, the camera, the dolly and the tripod, and originally Gemma was going to get all of the equipment from Sarah, who lives near her. However, whilst Gemma has the camera, the tripod and dolly are still with Danni and so I am hopefully going to collect them tomorrow.
Also, tomorrow I need to test out the 500W light that my step-dad has, to make sure that it will be suitable to light the outdoor set that we are going to use. Luckily the light has a generator that should work with it, so we don't need to worry about finding a power source or anything (which would prove very difficult as Ickworth House is shut this week). So basically, as long as I can get hold of the equipment tomorrow, we should be set!
Friday, 24 December 2010
Costumes
Here are some 'mood boards' that our group made to show the ideas we have had for the different seasons of our video, including the indoor scene that we are now going to shoot in Gemma's next door neighbour's parent's house. As you can see, some of the seasons have more specific detail in, whilst others are more of a general idea (eg Summer). However, we have already decided the exact detail of what Amy will be wearing, and so this basically just sums up our ideas. Enjoy!
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
Copyright Permission
We recently found out that we need to ask the record company in charge of Regina Spektor's music for permission to use the song we are planning to use for our video. So I found WMG's website and sent them the email you can see above. Hopefully they will reply saying 'yes', otherwise I don't quite know what we will do!
Monday, 20 December 2010
HD camera
The first of the equipment has been handed over. Sarah, the group before us who had it, dropped of the HD camera to myself today. However, the other group member, had the dolly and the tripod. Sarah has had trouble getting hold of Danni. This then means that we have just over a week to be able to get the rest of the equipment before we are able to begin filming.
Fingers cross to be able to get the equipments
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Organisation for us all
During Mondays lesson, we sat down as a group to write a list of what costumes we will need for each season. On top of this, we then decided that next to each item of clothes, we need to know who has got it and who's responsibility it will be to bring that on the correct day.
Key:
A = Amy
J = Jade
G = Gemma
Ra = Rachel
Ro = Roisin
Spring
- White flower dress = A
- Grey tights = Ra
- Flowers for hair = Ro + G
- Brogues = Ra
- Pink lipstick
- Pink eyeshadow
- Pink nails
Summer
- Pink dress = Ra
- Brogues = Ra
- Flowers =Ro + G
- Red nail vanish
- Red lipstick
- Black eye liner
Autumn
- Wellies = Ra
- Brown top = Ro
- Cardigan = Ro
- Black leggings = Ro
- Black hat = Ro
- Berry lipstick
- Brown eye liner/eye shadow
- Purple mail vanish
Winter
- White scarf = J
- Pink coat = J
- White gloves = G
- Grey leggings = Ra
- Wellies = Ra
- Blue gems = G
- Blue eye shadow
- White eye liner
- White lipstick
- White nail vanish
Inside
- Mask = J
- Black dress = Ra + Ro
- Black tights = we all have them
- Black high heels = Ra + Ro
- Black nail vanish
- Red lipstick
Please note: there is no names next to the make up because it is likely that we will all have them so if we find there are some items in which we didn't have between us all, we will then go out and buy it.
Key:
A = Amy
J = Jade
G = Gemma
Ra = Rachel
Ro = Roisin
Spring
- White flower dress = A
- Grey tights = Ra
- Flowers for hair = Ro + G
- Brogues = Ra
- Pink lipstick
- Pink eyeshadow
- Pink nails
Summer
- Pink dress = Ra
- Brogues = Ra
- Flowers =Ro + G
- Red nail vanish
- Red lipstick
- Black eye liner
Autumn
- Wellies = Ra
- Brown top = Ro
- Cardigan = Ro
- Black leggings = Ro
- Black hat = Ro
- Berry lipstick
- Brown eye liner/eye shadow
- Purple mail vanish
Winter
- White scarf = J
- Pink coat = J
- White gloves = G
- Grey leggings = Ra
- Wellies = Ra
- Blue gems = G
- Blue eye shadow
- White eye liner
- White lipstick
- White nail vanish
Inside
- Mask = J
- Black dress = Ra + Ro
- Black tights = we all have them
- Black high heels = Ra + Ro
- Black nail vanish
- Red lipstick
Please note: there is no names next to the make up because it is likely that we will all have them so if we find there are some items in which we didn't have between us all, we will then go out and buy it.
Thursday, 9 December 2010
Finally Some Good News
Earlier today we got some bad news when we found out we wouldn't be able to film inside Ickworth house as they are closed, however, we are able to film in the gardens and surrounding area. My next door neighbour has a piano and so do her parents. They have both said yes to us being able to film there in the dates we have set ourselves.
My neighbours have a piano (not a grand one) and she says that her parents also have a piano but I don't no how big it his, however, their house is very grand. This means that we have two locations in which we can film at. Now its just up to us as a team to decide what we want.
However, overall, very good news. We are now back on track.
My neighbours have a piano (not a grand one) and she says that her parents also have a piano but I don't no how big it his, however, their house is very grand. This means that we have two locations in which we can film at. Now its just up to us as a team to decide what we want.
However, overall, very good news. We are now back on track.
Final Cut
Final cut is known to be hard and as it is knew to us all, here is a youtube embed of how to us it. However, please note that this is only for basic editing but it is the best place to start.
Storyboard
Today we finally managed to get round to making our video-storyboard, which, I think you will agree, looks quite good really! By doing this, we got a basic idea of what our video will hopefully look like. We made the video on Final Cut, so we got to know the basic layout of how to use it (surprisingly, it isn't actually as complicated as it first appears!)
The still shot of our actress playing the piano whilst the chorus plays will not actually be still, because, as you can see, it goes on for a very long time! Instead, we will try and pan around the piano whilst she plays, creating some visual interest. However, we did encounter a slight problem today with regards to the piano - Ickworth House (where we are planning to film) will be closed when we film, so the indoor scenes with the piano will have to be filmed somewhere else.
Update 24/12/10: I uploaded the video to YouTube to then embed on here, but within a day the soundtrack had been removed due to copyright infringement, therefore defeating the purpose of making the whole thing, so I have now tried using Vimeo, which will hopefully let us keep the music on there!
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
Background
Here is a little background on our chosen song singer – Regina Spektor.
• Regina Ilyinichna Spektor is a Russian-born American singer-songwriter and pianist born in 1980, February 18.
• Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered in New York City's East Village.
• Spektor was born in Moscow to a musical Russian Jewish family.
• Her father, Ilya Spektor, is a photographer and amateur violinist.
• Her mother, Bella Spektor, was a music professor in a Russian college of music and now teaches at a public elementary school in Mount Vernon, New York.
• She has a brother Barry (who was referred to as Bear), who was featured in track 7, "Whisper", of her 2004 album, Soviet Kitsch.
• She learned how to play piano by practicing on a Petrof upright that was given to her mother by her grandfather.
• She was exposed to the music of rock and roll bands such as The Beatles, Queen, and The Moody Blues by her father
• In New York, Spektor studied classical piano with Sonia Vargas.
• Spektor was originally interested only in classical music, but later became interested in hip hop, rock and punk as well.
• She wrote her first a cappella songs around age sixteen and her first songs for voice and piano when she was nearly 18.
• Spektor completed the four-year studio composition program of the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College within three years, graduating with honors in 2001.
• Around this time, she also worked briefly at a butterfly farm in Luck, Wisconsin [9], and studied in Tottenham, England for one semester.
• She gradually achieved recognition through performances in the anti-folk scene in downtown New York City, most importantly at the East Village's Sidewalk Cafe, but also at the Living Room, Tonic, Fez, the Knitting Factory, and CB's Gallery.
• She performed at local colleges with other musicians, including the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players.
• She sold self-published CDs at her performances during this period: and Songs.
• In 2004, she signed a contract with Warner Brothers' record label Sire Records to publish and distribute her third album Soviet Kitsch, originally self-released in 2003.
Her Style
• Spektor has said that she has created a great number of songs, but that she rarely writes any of them down.
• She has also stated that she never aspired to write songs herself, but songs seem to just flow to her.
• Spektor's songs are not usually autobiographical, but rather are based on scenarios and characters drawn from her imagination and her songs show influences from folk, punk, rock, Jewish, Russian, hip hop, jazz, and classical music.
• Spektor has said that she works hard to ensure that each of her songs has its own musical style, rather than trying to develop a distinctive style for her music as a whole.
• Spektor has a broad vocal range and uses the full extent of it. She explores a variety of different and somewhat unorthodox vocal techniques, such as verses composed entirely of buzzing noises made with the lips and beatbox-style flourishes in the middle of ballads, and also makes use of such unusual musical techniques as using a drum stick to tap rhythms on the body of the piano or chair.
• Part of her style also results from the exaggeration of certain aspects of vocalization.
• Her lyrics are equally eclectic, often taking the form of abstract narratives or first-person character studies, similar to short stories or vignettes put to song.
• Spektor usually sings in English, though she sometimes includes a few words or verses of Latin, Russian, French, and other languages in her songs. She also plays with pronunciations.
• In her songs, "Eet", "Us" and "Après Moi" the titular sounds are used as the focal point throughout.
Awards
• Begin to Hope – Shortlist Music Prize (nominated)
• Studio8's Female Voice of August 2009 (won)
• Soul and Jazz Awards, Best Artist of the Year Act Alternative (won)
• Far – Soul and Jazz Awards, Best Album Alternative of the Year (won)
• "Laughing With" – Soul and Jazz Awards, Best Alternative Song (nominated)
• Regina Ilyinichna Spektor is a Russian-born American singer-songwriter and pianist born in 1980, February 18.
• Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered in New York City's East Village.
• Spektor was born in Moscow to a musical Russian Jewish family.
• Her father, Ilya Spektor, is a photographer and amateur violinist.
• Her mother, Bella Spektor, was a music professor in a Russian college of music and now teaches at a public elementary school in Mount Vernon, New York.
• She has a brother Barry (who was referred to as Bear), who was featured in track 7, "Whisper", of her 2004 album, Soviet Kitsch.
• She learned how to play piano by practicing on a Petrof upright that was given to her mother by her grandfather.
• She was exposed to the music of rock and roll bands such as The Beatles, Queen, and The Moody Blues by her father
• In New York, Spektor studied classical piano with Sonia Vargas.
• Spektor was originally interested only in classical music, but later became interested in hip hop, rock and punk as well.
• She wrote her first a cappella songs around age sixteen and her first songs for voice and piano when she was nearly 18.
• Spektor completed the four-year studio composition program of the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College within three years, graduating with honors in 2001.
• Around this time, she also worked briefly at a butterfly farm in Luck, Wisconsin [9], and studied in Tottenham, England for one semester.
• She gradually achieved recognition through performances in the anti-folk scene in downtown New York City, most importantly at the East Village's Sidewalk Cafe, but also at the Living Room, Tonic, Fez, the Knitting Factory, and CB's Gallery.
• She performed at local colleges with other musicians, including the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players.
• She sold self-published CDs at her performances during this period: and Songs.
• In 2004, she signed a contract with Warner Brothers' record label Sire Records to publish and distribute her third album Soviet Kitsch, originally self-released in 2003.
Her Style
• Spektor has said that she has created a great number of songs, but that she rarely writes any of them down.
• She has also stated that she never aspired to write songs herself, but songs seem to just flow to her.
• Spektor's songs are not usually autobiographical, but rather are based on scenarios and characters drawn from her imagination and her songs show influences from folk, punk, rock, Jewish, Russian, hip hop, jazz, and classical music.
• Spektor has said that she works hard to ensure that each of her songs has its own musical style, rather than trying to develop a distinctive style for her music as a whole.
• Spektor has a broad vocal range and uses the full extent of it. She explores a variety of different and somewhat unorthodox vocal techniques, such as verses composed entirely of buzzing noises made with the lips and beatbox-style flourishes in the middle of ballads, and also makes use of such unusual musical techniques as using a drum stick to tap rhythms on the body of the piano or chair.
• Part of her style also results from the exaggeration of certain aspects of vocalization.
• Her lyrics are equally eclectic, often taking the form of abstract narratives or first-person character studies, similar to short stories or vignettes put to song.
• Spektor usually sings in English, though she sometimes includes a few words or verses of Latin, Russian, French, and other languages in her songs. She also plays with pronunciations.
• In her songs, "Eet", "Us" and "Après Moi" the titular sounds are used as the focal point throughout.
Awards
• Begin to Hope – Shortlist Music Prize (nominated)
• Studio8's Female Voice of August 2009 (won)
• Soul and Jazz Awards, Best Artist of the Year Act Alternative (won)
• Far – Soul and Jazz Awards, Best Album Alternative of the Year (won)
• "Laughing With" – Soul and Jazz Awards, Best Alternative Song (nominated)
Sunday, 5 December 2010
Just dropping in...
Hello faithful followers and fellow team bloggers, I just wanted to apologise for the lack of posts from me as of late!! Art course work and exam preparation has curtailed the amount of time I have to spend on here recently but I promise I'll be back to typing at my normal busy rate very soon.
As for our progress so far I am very very HAPPY!!
We have crafted a good, solid idea and know exactly what we want to shoot on each specific filming date (after the fiasco of last year's 'footage panic', I think this level of meticulous planning and organising is something we will swear to this time around!)
Visions of sets and costumes for each season are also coming together well. We spent a good amount of time and effort in creating mood boards (which should be uploaded soon) to identify 'looks' that would compliment both the theme and genre of the song. With a female target audience, detail in this aspect of production is paramount!!
Our ancillary tasks are also progressing well. Although still in their infancy stages of construction, I think we have a clear idea of the overall motif/theme/finish we are striving for, and knowing us, we work continuously until we achieve it.
All in all, we are exactly on schedual and heading towards success (we just hope and pray the weather works with us for once!)
WELL DONE TEAM!
As for our progress so far I am very very HAPPY!!
We have crafted a good, solid idea and know exactly what we want to shoot on each specific filming date (after the fiasco of last year's 'footage panic', I think this level of meticulous planning and organising is something we will swear to this time around!)
Visions of sets and costumes for each season are also coming together well. We spent a good amount of time and effort in creating mood boards (which should be uploaded soon) to identify 'looks' that would compliment both the theme and genre of the song. With a female target audience, detail in this aspect of production is paramount!!
Our ancillary tasks are also progressing well. Although still in their infancy stages of construction, I think we have a clear idea of the overall motif/theme/finish we are striving for, and knowing us, we work continuously until we achieve it.
All in all, we are exactly on schedual and heading towards success (we just hope and pray the weather works with us for once!)
WELL DONE TEAM!
Thursday, 2 December 2010
Snow = Plan B
With filming in winter, we always knew that there may be weather complications. As our music video is based on the idea of the seasons theme and this is also our narrative, therefore, with the weather that is happening at the moment means we need a plan B just in case this is the weather on the days in which we are filming. We need this plan B because 2 members in our group would really like a performance based video and the other 2 would like a narrative. The way we get to have both in our video is by having our actor perform the song and the seasons in a chronological order is our narrative. To help keep the narrative during this weather means we need extra planning.
Doing winter in the clod or in the snow will be easy as that is what you expect in the winter. We also have the plan for summer of filming a low angle shot of the actor and the sun. For the autumn, if there is still snow, we will shove the snow out of the way and we are now starting collecting leaves as after Christmas there will be little amount of leaves. For the spring, we were planning to film by the house, therefore, if we don't show any of the grounds, we can just scoop of the snow from the window ledges.
Location Permission
Although we have already sent an email to Ickworth House asking for permission to film there, they have not yet replied, so today we called them to see if it would be possible to shoot there around Christmas. Unfortunately, the person we needed to speak to was stuck in the snow, so they have taken down our names and will hopefully get back to us before the middle of next week.
So, hopefully we will soon know if we are allowed to film in our ideal location or not (if we are lucky, they will say yes!)
So, hopefully we will soon know if we are allowed to film in our ideal location or not (if we are lucky, they will say yes!)
Self Evaluation
Today we had to carry out a group evaluation of our research and planning effort so far. We marked ourselves as follows, and the reasons why:
Level 3
Organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props. This is because we have not as yet blogged our moodboards/costume designs, but the rest we have organised already.
Shot lists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding. This is because we haven't animated our storyboard yet, but we will hopefully do this next week when the internet is back on the Macs.
Time management. This is because although everything is in chronological order and we consistently meet deadlines, there is still a minimal amount of research and planning to do.
Level 4
Research into similar products and a potential target audience. This is because we have extensively done director studies, textual analysis of both professional and student work and gone above and beyond what was required of our group.
Presentation of research and planning. This is because our blog has been backdated to appear in chronological order to make it easier to read. We also have a nice, clean look to our blog that makes it look more professional.
Excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation. This is because we have used vast amounts of images, embedded videos, polls and links to social networking sites such as Facebook to good effect.
Excellent communication skills. This is because our blog is easy to read and we use an easy to read format, and the pictures etc make it more aesthetically pleasing.
Level 3
Organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props. This is because we have not as yet blogged our moodboards/costume designs, but the rest we have organised already.
Shot lists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding. This is because we haven't animated our storyboard yet, but we will hopefully do this next week when the internet is back on the Macs.
Time management. This is because although everything is in chronological order and we consistently meet deadlines, there is still a minimal amount of research and planning to do.
Level 4
Research into similar products and a potential target audience. This is because we have extensively done director studies, textual analysis of both professional and student work and gone above and beyond what was required of our group.
Presentation of research and planning. This is because our blog has been backdated to appear in chronological order to make it easier to read. We also have a nice, clean look to our blog that makes it look more professional.
Excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation. This is because we have used vast amounts of images, embedded videos, polls and links to social networking sites such as Facebook to good effect.
Excellent communication skills. This is because our blog is easy to read and we use an easy to read format, and the pictures etc make it more aesthetically pleasing.
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
Ancillary Task Preliminal Ideas
On Monday, we had basically finished our preliminary planning for the actual video, and so we decided to get down some basic ideas for our ancillary tasks - a digipack and webpage. What is seen here are some basic ideas that we brain stormed in the lesson. As you can see, most of our ideas are what is conventional in the industry - no boundary pushing here!
What will make doing/starting our ancillary tasks before we film our video is that a lot of the images and footage we want to use in these tasks have not been taken yet! However, what we can do is the basic HTML for the webpage and set everything up etc, and plan where to put the images in the digipack, which will make all our lives much easier when it comes to after we have filmed and we really need to put all our effort into editing the video. Also, we can choose the font and do all the basic stuff like that for the digipack in these next few weeks, as well as properly finalising every detail of the shoot to make our lives much, much easier when it comes down to it.
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