Music video (draft 1) analysis

We have finished our first draft of the music video but we will be making improvements on it. I have analysed it a lot and picked up on the good and bad things. I think some of the shots in the video are very good. I think the black and white effect looks very good because it relates to the genre of the song itself. There is a number off different camera angles which I done that look really good like medium shots, long shots, low angles, crab shots, establishing shots, and high angles. I needed to be very steady with the camera all the way through which was very hard but I don't think it looks too bad in the video.

I think a good few parts in the video, the lip sync is out of time. This is the main thing we will be looking to improve over the next couple of weeks. Connor knew the sync wouldn't be perfect but he thought himself it would be better than it is now. The locations of the video were all very good because they are all just simple everyday locations. I think we got the best shots in the park like the slow motion medium shot of him walking in the first few seconds. 

Summing up I really like how the video has come together and how it looks. Some of the shots look very professional but others don't. We will be looking to improve on this. Also as I said before the lip sync needs to be fixed for the second draft.

Our finished music video (draft 1)

Jury Duty

In October I was randomly selected by the Liverpool Crown Court to take part in two weeks or more of Jury Duty. This means that I will be Blogging new posts a lot less than I normally would. I apologise for this and even though I will be trying to blog as often as I can, I will be catching up with my work when my duty finishes. Its very hard for me to be blogging because I do not get home from jury duty until half 7 at night.

Here is some proof that I am taking part in Jury Duty.

Album cover attempt

After seeing all of our pictures we took from inside the church, I decided to have a go at making an album cover that we will need to do in the coming weeks. This isn't official it is just an attempt because I thought the picture would look really good. Using photoshop I messed around with the colours, filters and sharpness of the picture and then come up with the idea to put the Writing "Hozier, Take me to church" on the table cloth on the alter. I also decided to do this because it looks like he is looking down at the writing so it would be messing with the audiences minds.

Day 4 of shooting

On our 4th day of shooting we were in the church. The church itself was quite nice inside and because we asked if we could use it a few days before, there was nobody inside it so the lady who was in there just let us go wherever we wanted to film. 


It was good for myself as the camera man because I got to take some very good shots of the statues and pictures that were on the church walls. I also got to take shots from a balcony in the church (shown on the right). This shot was a very good and hard one because it was awkward with the lighting in the background. 

Michael also got to show a lot of his skills as a producer because he put Connor in certain places that would look good on the video. 
We filmed a lot of behind the scenes videos to show the audience that we were having a laugh while filming and because we had never been in a empty church before we took advantage of this opportunity. 

I think another positive thing we got from the church is all the pictures we took that we could use for our album cover. My next blog post will me having a go at an album cover for our music video. I am also going to upload some videos behind the scenes from the church in the upcoming days.

The Church

Today we are going to film in the church. We've had a bit of a problem with the church and finding one  that would be useable. After asking 3 different churches we found one that give us permission if we had a letter off the school or teacher. We will have our student cards incase they need to get our ID and proof that we are students. 
The location is St Andrews church that is located Clubmoor.

Day 2 and 3 pictures

Second and third day of shooting

Over the past two days we were filming some long and short clips for our music video. We done the filming in Everton park. The location changed from Newsham Park to Everton Park when we seen the views and wildlife in Everton Park. Also the hills and the pathways also caught our eye because we knew they would suit some of our camera shots and movements. 

On the first day the weather was very cold but it stayed dry. This was a good thing because we knew Connor needed yo film some scenes on the floor and it wouldn't have been as good on a wet floor because he could ply have done so many shots before being soaked through. We only needed Connor in front of the camera on the first day.

 Connors girlfriend come with us on this day to do Connors make-up. We needed him to look beat up so the make-up included blood and bruising. I thought she done extremely well to make it look so realistic. As the camera man I thought I done very well because not only did I get the shots on the shooting script but I managed to get in some of the wonderful views in the background. Like the first day of shooting Michael was very organised and knew where he wanted to shoot Connor all the way through.

On the second day we didn't need any make-up so we didn't need Connors girlfriend to be there. We went to the same location because we needed more shots. We needed to film Connor being beat up by me and 2 other of our mates (Paul and Adam). These two people were very helpful and done a very good job and followed all Michaels instructions very well. I had to take on a new role as an actor. This was new to me but I thought I done well in playing the role of the gang leader. Michael needed to take on two rolled so he was the director and the camera man. I also thought I helped him out with the directing because I tired to put the other actors in a certain spot that wouldn't show us not really hitting Connor. The weather was more wet than the first day so I don't know if this will show on the music video. If it does it is a bit of a let down. 

Our first shooting day analysis

I think the first day shooting our music video went very well. I think we worked very well as a team and we all stuck to our roles that we were supposed to do. Connor done very well in front of the camera. His acting and lip syncing was very good and at some points we didn't even need to play the song because he knew the song and lyrics very well.

Michael was the producer. He was telling what shots I should get of him and what shots would look the best in a music video. I believe Michael knew what he was talking about because he done a lot of research on A2 media music videos before we started out shooting.

I think i done very well doing the shooting. At some points the camera was a little shaky but we have a software that can fix that. I tried to get as much footage as possible because the more footage I got the more footage we have to work with when we come to edit the video.   

First day of shooting pictures

Album covers we can relate to

These are 4 very well known album cover. Some recent and some older. These album covers are Jay Z and Kanye West "Watch The Throne", Lady Gaga "Born This Way", Justin Bieber "Believe" and Michael Jackson "Bad". 
From looking at these album covers the first thing I can see for three of them is that they are simple. I can see that there is obviously Photoshop work on them but we can easily come up with something like this. The "Watch the throne" album cover is a lot more detailed and more complicated. All the colours suit the artist on the front of the album cover. This is the main thing we need to focus on because this is what gives the cover meaning.

Our shooting equipment

This is our first piece of shooting equipment. This is a standard Hitachi video camera that we are lending from the school. Here is some information on what the camera can do and some of its features.

• 23 x Optical Zoom
• 120 x Digital Zoom
• 3in LCD Screen
• Full HD 1080p Recording

Accepts SD, SDHC and SDXC memory card formats




This is the Apple iphone 5c. Michael and Connor both have this phone and will both be using it to take some different kind of shots while we are filming so we can choose which shot is the best to use. Here is some information about the camera on this iphone...

• 1080p HD video recording (30 fps)
• LED flash
• Time-lapse video
• Video stabilisation
• Take still photos while recording videoFace detection
• 3x zoom
• Video geotagging

A new group decision

As a group we have decided on a new location we are going to do some scenes in. This is Everton park located in Everton (15 minute walk from the Liverpool city centre).

As you can see the views from this park are brilliant which is why we have decided to get some shots here. We also think the hills in the park will be good to film on because we can really get good use out of shots like a low angle and a high angle.

Shooting day 1 weather update

When we film for the first time on Saturday, we aren't hoping for the best weather due to this daily weather update that was updated on Friday. We will make sure we are ready for any weather by taking coats, umbrellas and bags to protect our equipment. We know the weather take take a turn for the worst at any time during the day.

Final risk assessments and story board

Our locations

The Albert Dock is located in Liverpool. This is one of the most famous landmarks in the UK because the docks were known for being one of the largest trading areas in the world back in the 1900's.
We decided to use this location because of its history and because we thing we will get some very good shots her including the background and the weather.






Opening in 1868, Newsham Park is known as one of the largest parks in the city with over a thousand people visiting the place every day. 
We decided to go with this location because like the Docks, we want to get some good angles and backgrounds. Also we need benches and a certain scene is filmed in a park that is probably the biggest scene in the video.







We are yet to know specifically what church we are going to use for the video due to certain rules they have about filming but we know we are defiantly going to use a church at some point. We needed to use a church because it is a vital part of the song. The song is very religious and so is the official video by Hozier. I think this was the location that needed to be in the video most because it will link in very well with the song.


We are also going to use a bedroom for some shots. We are going to use Michaels bedroom for this. This location was just chosen for the video to look original and like every day life. Also we need to show Connor thinking as people think best in a private place like their bedroom.

Our sheets review

I feel that even though it took a while to do we done very well as a team making our official sheets. I had a big role in completing our shooting script. This is the sheets we need to know what the actor will be doing during certain scenes and lines of the song. I split the song up using the lines from the lyrics. 
During certain scenes we will be in different locations like the Docks, a park, a bedroom and in a church. My job was to write what lines of the songs should be lip synced in different locations. 
I think I done very well doing this but a problem we had was asking churches to let us film in them. We've had no luck so far but we are hoping to know in the next couple of days what church we will be using to film in.
Ive also had to break the song down into seconds. I've got myself ideas from different music videos like Ed Sheeran Lego House and The Killers A Dustland Fairytale (two songs we were debating on doing for the music video). I've had to take in consideration the weather, time of day and lighting. Im hoping the video will be a success so I can say I had a big part to play in it.

Our shooting script, official proposal sheet and call sheets

Our Song Lyrics

My lover's got humour
She's the giggle at a funeral
Knows everybody's disapproval
I should've worshipped her sooner
If the Heavens ever did speak
She is the last true mouthpiece
Every Sunday's getting more bleak
A fresh poison each week
'We were born sick,' you heard them say it
My church offers no absolutes
She tells me 'worship in the bedroom'
The only heaven I'll be sent to
Is when I'm alone with you
I was born sick, but I love it
Command me to be well
Amen. Amen. Amen

Take me to church
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life

Take me to church
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life

If I'm a pagan of the good times
My lover's the sunlight
To keep the Goddess on my side
She demands a sacrifice
To drain the whole sea
Get something shiny
Something meaty for the main course
That's a fine looking high horse
What you got in the stable?
We've a lot of starving faithful
That looks tasty
That looks plenty
This is hungry work

Take me to church
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life

Take me to church
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life

No masters or kings when the ritual begins
There is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin
In the madness and soil of that sad earthly scene
Only then I am human
Only then I am clean
Amen. Amen. Amen

Take me to church
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life

Take me to church
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life

Our music video clothing

For our music video we know the main actor is from a rough area in Liverpool because that is were we are going to shoot some scenes from our video. For a teenage boy around this area the mis en scene is black clothing (normally tracksuits). This is the kind of clothing Connor will be wearing when shooting our video. When I am in the video I will be wearing something very similar to Connor because we are from the same area and around the same age. 

Analysis of music video (Skyfall Adelle)

We are now ready to make our music video. During my spare time I am going to anaylse and compare Skyfall with Take Me To Church.

The song its self is very similar with the very slow start and then builds up to the louder and faster chorus. I believe it can be related to the Hozier song because it starts off very similar with the singing very slow. It then builds up slowly for a loud chorus and then repeats during the second verse.

In terms of the video they are totally different because 'Take me to church' has a real music video that involves actors and real camera shots. The 'Skyfall' video is juts the lyrics to the song. 

Hozier fire album cover

This is a album cover I made after doing the Hozier fire text. I thought I'd see what it looked like on the album cover.
My thoughts of it are not good. Firstly it doesn't suit the picture but that is my fault. I also feel that the text looks too simple to do and doesn't look like real fire. I prefer my last attempt at a album cover that I made in my free time.

Image Into Text Photoshop

This Photoshop skill is very hand to know because it can look good on many thing. Its a very easy skill to learn that only takes a matter of minutes to make. This could come very handy when we come to make our album cover for our music video. We will probably use a lot darker colours to go with the theme of the video and the mis en scene.

Exploding picture

This is my attempt at the exploding picture on photoshop. I don't think it looks very good because I wasn't in class when the teacher was showing the class so I had to try and follow a routable clip. I spent a lot of time with the paint brush because I think thats what gives it the exploding look.
I forgot to take screenshots of my work in progress and couldn't go back to it because the work itself took an hour. IThis is the youtube clip I used but I got confused a quarter of the way through the video and done my own thing.

Text On Fire Photoshop

My Hozier Album Cover

I had some spare time during a lesson so I messed around with a a picture of Hozier on photoshop. I thought was I done with the picture started to look like a good album cover. I got a very simple text for the "Hozier" text because I wanted it to be easy to read for the audience. For the image I just simply used nothing apart from the magic wand tool to get rid of some of the background and the picture.

My Music Video Proposal

This is my music video proposal on our chosen song (Hozier, Take Me To Church). I have not gone into big detail but I have briefly discussed that I think we could make our video by relating to the official music video.

Forgetting to write it down, I suggested to the group that it would be good if we could relate it to football, the fans and the hatred for one another. I think this would be a good idea because I think there are parts of the song that can relate to this.

Another group member Michael, thought it would be a good idea to do a literal meaning music video to the lyrics. His thoughts where the video would have to be very religious and in some parts a bit violent. In my opinion I think this is a good idea because even though it would be graphic I think it would be much easier than getting a load of football fans to be apart of the video. 

Spare Time Research

This is just some research I have been doing in my spare time so when it comes to making our music video, we will have some ideas and most importantly, know what to do. 

This is a quick video I watched to give me some ideas so I know what to do when coming to make the actual video.



I have also watched five music videos from behind the scenes to see what is going on and how the professionals do it. I have seen they all have a laugh making the music videos but as actors they have to be very serious and very emotional. The five videos I looked at were...


Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud
After looking at this behind the scenes footage, I can see a lot of things that we can use that are vey helpful like different camera angles and shots. Also seeing how they mad this video will help our main director (Michael) to look at where the actors and the cameras need to be when shooting.

Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal
Looking behind the scenes of an artist who made the most famous music videos in the world, I have been realistic and thought our video will not even be close to this standard, but we can take many ideas from it like the lighting, the camera angles and movement of the actors. 

Eminem - Not Afraid
This video is a much more advanced video that needs a lot of technology and will be hard to get ideas from because we don't have that kind of equipment. This video would have cost a lot of money due to the animation in the video.

Green Screen Idea

Our group member Michael Hickey come up with an idea to go to the green screen room and do some camera angles and movements. This will be uploaded on the group blog soon. 

Basically we wanted to show the audience what kind of movements we could use when making our music video and what kinds would suit the style of the song. This would be hopefully the first of many good ideas from our group members including myself.

Hozier, Ed Sheeran and The Killers

Take Me To Church

This is quite a slow song that suits the tempo of the music video. The story looks like it is about two men who are from a low class area that has a lot of violence and is gang related. The two men look like they fall in love with each other and find out they are gay. This looks like it is frowned upon in this area and local gangs need to do something about it. The two men look like they are former gang members or maybe still are in gangs and they try to keep it a secret. The song really relates to the video because its like a song about hiding and secrets being kept.



Ed Sheeran Lego House

This song is an option for what song we will do. Like the Hozier song and video, it is really slow and keep to the timing of the video. This video is about an Ed Sheeran fan who tries to be like him and is very obsessed with him. The fan (who is played by Harry Potter star Rupert Grint) looks like he is trying to make a music video and be like Ed Sheeran. At the end him and Ed Sheeran come face to face and he look like he is in shock. We probably wont use this song but we can take a lot of ideas from the video like camera angles and movements.



The Killers A Dustland Fairytale
This song starts off slow by kicks in about a quarter of the way through as it then speeds up and the song becomes more interesting. The Killers are standing in the middle of a dust land and singing the song. Some of the camera angles on this video are very good and and very useful. I would have really liked to do this song but as a group we have decided to go with another song. This doesn't mean we cant take some good ideas from this video.

Our group

Today we got in our groups which we are going to make our music video with. My group is myself, Connor Burgess and michael Hickey. After getting to know my group mates well we then shared what kind of music we like, what artists we like and what specific songs we like. Over the next couple of months we know we will have to be working very hard in a team to be updating out group blog which we will create next lesson, and we know we will have to help each other out.
This is what we wrote down for our artists we like and our best songs. We had a discussion about the songs afterwards and we are going to narrow these songs down to 9 in the next lesson.

Lip sync analysis

Today we had a look at other students lip syncs. I thought they were really good and here are some of the comments I gave them. 

They gave me an idea of how I can edit my one when I come to editing it. I was supposed to be showing it today but due to technical difficulties I couldn't. This could be a good thing because I have now picked up on comments so I will be able to edit mine better.

My tour poster analysis

I am very happy with the tour poster I have created. I feel the green really works with Ed Sheeran. I took the colour from his new album 'X'. This was done on photoshop. I wanted to make this to just start getting used to photoshop again because I haven't used it in a while.

My Ed Sheeran tour poster

A look at some music posters

Here are are a few tour posters I found on the internet for the artists Beyonce, Coldplay and Lady Gaga. These are three global superstars so I thought I would take some ideas from them when I come to create my Ed Sheeran poster. I want it to be very simple, like the Coldplay one but I want it to stand out. I am going to use a lot of green to show the fans their will be a lot of songs from his new album 'X'.