Target Audience: Music Video First Rough Edit & Responses

I posted my very first music video draft to youtube last month and my friend has responded to it. She has said she loves it and that its very good but I just need to extend a clip in my video.
I took this on board and have changed that part of my video. Although she was so kind I have changed quite a lot of my video as some of it did not fit with the song.

Drafting & Planning: Editing/Effects

Recently, I have been editing my music video and started editing a clip of my actress spinning around where the camera pans up to the sky. I used 'film burn' over this clip to make it look nostalgic and outdated. I have kept the 'film burn' but added a colour balance to my clip. I made the clip more red/pink so that when the camera pans up and the sky is visible it looks like the sun is setting or rising and the sky has gone pink. I love this effect I have used because I think looking at a pink/red sky is very aesthetically pleasing and is nice to look at and makes people happy to see so I incorporated this into my clip. I decided to do this besides the fact it looks nice but because I took a photo of the sky on my phone when it was pink/red and loved it so took inspiration from it.

Research into Similar Products: Digipak/Magazine Advertisement Image Ideas

I have looked into more images of Lana Del Rey for inspiration for my digipak and magazine advertisement images. I really love these images as they all incorporate nature in some way. The first one includes grass and the second has blossoms on trees and the third is outside on grass with a sun glare. I love Del Rey's facial expressions in all of the images as she is not smiling or frowning but she seems expressionless which makes a viewer wonder what she is feeling. This idea links to the album name and track list as the titles don't include a lot of emotion in them and don't give anything away just like her face does not.
She is making eye contact in all three images and I love this as it invites a viewer to look closer at the image and ultimately the CD cover and the magazine advertisement as she entices the audience.
My favourite image is the third because of the sun glare, the direct mode of address and how she is looking over her shoulder like she is looking at her past and this links to my idea of looking back at her past relationship.
I will definitely take inspiration from these and try to imitate them slightly when taking images of my actress.

Drafting & Planning: Ancillary Product Magazine Advertisement Practice

I have been practising using PagePlus to make a magazine advertisement for my chosen artist. I have copied Del Rey's style of her 'Born to Die' Poster and used different colours and a different image of Del Rey. I have not used my own actress yet as I am still in need of photos that are the way I want them to be.
I like the layout of the advertisement I have created as it is neat and looks professional and there is not too much information on there so it is not cramped. I also like the colours I have used that link to the yellows in the image such as the light yellows and the white. I think these fit with the image colours and tie in nicely together.
I have also used a similar font that Del Rey uses on her albums and posters, etc so I have used this on my pracitse.
I like this made up poster and aim to use the same fonts and I will always try to tie in the colours with the colours in the image.

Drafting & Planning / Research into Similar Products: Editing

After looking at Lana Del Rey's video 'Freak' I noticed she had used a 'film burn' effect which I adore and she uses it often in many of her music videos. I decided to try and make the 'film burns' I have used more evident in some clips from my music video. I didn't want it too obvious but I wanted it to be seen and I think I achieved this in my clip as shown below the first GIF. I love this effect as it makes my clips look more vintage and unique and it fits with the style of Del Rey so I am happy with this result and will use this clip in my final music video.

Drafting & Planning / Research into Similar Products: Editing

After watching Lana Del Rey's music video for her single 'Freak' I noticed that I had used similar editing in my music video and easily made a link. I edited my clip of my actress using a rosy pink colour, similar to Del Rey's pink. I love this colour as it is unique and pretty but also suggests happiness or the idea that my actress is seeing the world through rose tinted glasses and everything is not as she seems (she feels happy but her relationship is breaking down). Pink also has connotations of love and passion so I felt that it fitted well in this clip of my actress and the idea of love and broken love in my music video.I can now also link my clip to Del Rey's as she has used it too so it makes my clip seem more in the style of Del Rey.

Research into Similar Products: Freak Music Video

Lana Del Rey has recently released a new video for her single, Freak and I decided to create GIFs out of certain parts to use as further inspiration for my music video. 

I really love this music video as it is very unique and aesthetically pleasing. There are a wide range of shots used such as close ups, medium close ups, long/wide shots and extreme close ups. I particularly love the close ups/extreme close ups as they show emotion from each person in the music video.

I particularly love the two GIFs below of Del Rey in dark lighting inside a house. I love them because of the lighting and it sets a dark tone to this part of the music video. I also adore the camera angles/shot types used such as the close up of Del Rey's hand on the record player and how it zooms out to show her and her surroundings. I also like how it is a bit shaky and not stable as this creates a pretty lens flare.

I like the second GIF as the camera is not stable at all and goes all over the place which creates a drunk effect and makes this scene looks more unique and fits with what the character would be feeling.

Drafting & Planning: Effects Practice

I have continued to practice using Polarr to edit images. I really like the effects featured on this and my favourites are cinematic and warmth as they brighten the image and make them look lighter and happier. I also think these effects make my actress stand out so I will test out these effects again on my final digipak cover and make sure they fit with my ideas.
The only issue with these effects are that they might be too bright and may not fit with my sadness idea that runs through most of my music video so I may not use them but I will definitely try them out before dismissing them.

Cinematic

Warmth  

Drafting & Planning: Effects for Digipak

I have practiced using different effects for my digipak images on a Google Chrome extension called 'Polarr'. I have experimented with a few different effects as shown and named below which I really like and which make my image look much better than the original. My favourite effects  'clear' and 'calming' as 'clear' makes the image much clearer just as it says but also makes the colours seem slightly lighter which I like. I love 'calming' as it provides a foggy look to the image and makes it look more pleasing and unique. I like how it is foggy as it fits with my idea of broke relationships and how people are clouded with feelings and emotions.

Clear

 Calming

 Triple Scan

Amelie

Target Audience: Responses to Editing

I have asked for responses to my editing in this blog post so that I can see whether the effects I have used are good or not.
Both responses said that they are good edits and I get my message across clearly when using them so I am really happy about this. I am glad I did not use the same effects and used 3 different ones so that it all looked unique and different.
I will definitely be using all 3 effects in my clips in my final music video.

Research into Similar Products: Blocking and Effects

I have decided to look into blocking/positioning and effects in two of Lana Del Rey's images for her new upcoming single 'Freak'.

I love these two images mainly because of the effects used. The effects gives off a vibe of 'old film' and 'sepia' and even make the images look like they have been coloured yellow or the lighting has been brightened. I think that for my own images used for my magazine advertisement and digipak I could try out effects similar to these to create/give them a 'Lana Del Rey' feel. I love how there is no evident colours in these images but everything seems neutral which looks pretty and doesn't flash too many bright colours into a viewers eyes.

I like the positioning of Del Rey in the first image. I like how she is looking to the side with her arm on her elbow. I think this is good because text can be positioned above and around her figure to fit nicely. I also like how she is at the center of the image but she is not giving a direct mode of address which makes a viewer look at her but she is not looking at them but she still attracts their attention and the fact that she is not looking directly towards the camera creates a sense of mystery and is unique.