Practising for Digi-Pack

  

 Our main actress, Emma is one of our closest friends and has volunteered to be the main actress, in a way acting as 'Katy Perry' in the original video. She is a model for Models 1 in London and so it was really good for us to get some ideas for photographs done for our digi-pack or magazine advert. As we didn't want to interfere with her portfolio, we have just looked over it and picked a photo that was quite 'vibrant' and would work well for our ancillary tasks. It is only an idea at the moment, however we decided to use a website called 'Taaz' that enables you to edit photos, adding different types of makeup including lipstick, and eye makeup. If we use this photo for any of our ancillary tasks I will be editing it more on photo shop and just use this website to enhance her makeup.

Letter of Copyright Permission

We have decided to send an email to the record company 'Capitol Records' that produced the song 'California Gurls' for Katy Perry. This will ensure that we do not intend any copyright, and we have permission to use the song for our A2 Music Video.

This is the email that we have sent to the company to assure them that there will be no copyright and we do not intend to gain profit from our video as it is only for our A2 Music Video.

Initial Idea in Writing

As we want the video to have a 'holiday' theme, we wanted to interpret some kind of holiday within the video. At first we thought we may find this difficult due to it now being winter and snow coming soon. However, as you will see from the other blog posts, we visited Center Parcs when are friends took a holiday there last weekend. This enabled us to get some shots with a holiday theme, on the man made beach they have and also in the 'Subtropical Swimming Paradise', which has a holiday theme with the use of palm trees and water slides. 

At the start of the song there is a small bit which includes 'Snoop Dogg' saying a few words, so for this part we will have shots of lots of people mouths saying these words for a second each to show variety. Next, there will be us driving in the car to start the first verse off, where there will be lip syncing and also this will start the story off for the audience. 

Then there will be a shot of the sign when entering Center Parcs to show where we are in the video, and then a short shot which shows the girls in the car excited to be there. In short, there are then a few clips of the girls on the beach, the door to the sweet shop and then entering the 'Subtropical Swimming Paradise'. After this, there are a couple of shots of the girls in the swimming paradise place.

For the chorus, we have got a group of dancers together to perform a dance to include in each chorus. This will be colourful and bright to link to the original version of the video, and to enhance the 'fun' side of the video.

Basically, throughout the whole video there will be shots of inside the swimming paradise to link to the 'holiday' theme and also on the beach.

Snoop Dogg's rap is halfway through the song, and lasts around 30 seconds. This will involve either multiple shots of different peoples lips singing as it is in the intro, or having all the girl dancers crouched around a male actor while he raps. We haven't quite decided this part yet, however it won't take us long to decide.

After this there is the chorus where the girls will do their dance routine again, and then there will be multiple shots of different aspects from the video to conclude the music video. There may  also be a shot at the end of a close up of the main actress' face winking to conclude the video, this enhances the fun and childish side of the video.

Digi-pack research (A1)

As you can see from these album covers they are pretty similar to the ideas that we are thinking about using for our music video. It shows a close up shot of the artist which relates to the pop genre with the photo of the artist on the album cover. In my opinion, the font on the album covers connotes the artist themselves, e.g. Nicki Minaj is outgoing and shows herself as different in all her music videos, which connotes the font on her album cover, which is in capital letters and there are lots of bright colours all over the cover. Whereas, on Carly Rae Jepsons’ album cover the writing is less outgoing and shows her more as a calm and quiet person with a small personality than Nicki. As the background on Carly’s album is plain pink this also shows her to be more ‘simple’ than the other two artists and also very girly.

These album covers make the artists in the photos come across as individual and shows they wanted to put across their personalities with the use of their album covers. That is why for our album cover we would like to make it similar to Katy Perry’s original video for ‘California Gurls’ as we feel that our main actress is very similar to Katy Perry with their personalities and the way they act (outgoing). 

As you can see, this is a very different ‘pop’ album cover as it does not contain a photo of the artist. However it is very effective as it uses bright colours which are eye catching and also cartoon pictures which may attract fans. Even though this is a very effective album cover for an artist to use, we decided that it would be too complicated to use the idea for our video, as we do not have the tools such as animation programmes to get an effective album cover like 

this. 

I find this album cover very effective as it uses vibrant colours and the use of writing on the cover is simplistic so it contrasts with the colours and the photo. In my opinion, this would also be quite simple to do if we took multiple photos of the artist, cut them up and stuck them back together to create an effective look for the album cover. Due to us being media students we obviously do not have as many tools and programmes to help us to create this specific look however, as this would be simple for us to do, it will make it look a lot more effective than the typical 'pop' genre album cover.  

Information about Digi-pack's (A1)

How much does it cost to produce a digi-pack for artists?

It's not surprising that it will cost a lot of money for artists to pay production companies to produce there albums. For example, it was stated on 'techdirt.com' that for her album released in 2011, it cost Katy $100,000 per song for her record label EMI to produce the album. However, this may seem a lot of money but the company and Katy made around $8 million in profit in the US that year for the album. Techdirt.com states that, "That's not bad for a year, but for an album with five hit singles and which was clearly one of the most successful albums in 2011, you begin to see why the labels are struggling." You would think that it would be the artist struggling, paying that much money per song, however in actual fact it is the production companies that are struggling, as you may think $8 million is good for a year, but for a large music company, it is not. 

Fans compared to casual listeners?

A digi-pack is important to fans of the artist, as for casual listeners they may not be interested in buying the physical album. This is because, fans of the artist like the novelty of having the album, for example for older people they may love the fact that they have an album from say 20 years ago that they wouldn't be able to find now, as this will enable them to feel nostalgic about their past. It also enables the fan to feel a 'sense of belonging' as they will know other fans of the artist that they will be able to speak to about the album, e.g. talk about the photos inside the digi-pack, which relates to uses and gratifications model. However, with the casual listeners they may not be a huge fan of the artist, but they may just enjoy a song that has been released off their album and therefore, would just rather download it. For fans, they feel that they 'know' the artist and if they buy the album they feel they are helping the artist gain profits, therefore feeling a sense of belonging again. When the digi-pack is released and then there are adverts in magazines about the new album from the artist, it creates synergy between the two products which fans may then feel they have something extra compared to casual listeners. 

What does the marketing and promotion of the digi-pack do for the artist?

The marketing and promotion of digi-packs is important for the artist as it enables them to promote themselves, e.g. their album being at the front of HMV or a supermarket. This is where everybody will be at some point and so will be intrigued to know what the album is like and if the artist is already well known audiences may  be excited to here the new album of the artist. Promotion of the artists album on social networking such as Twitter and adverts on Youtube, will enhance the promotion of the album. This is because if the artist has twitter such as people like Miley Cyrus, they tweet about when their album will be released  so fans may pre-order the album or get it the day it is released, and also YouTube adverts are before videos people watch on Youtube, so when people see it, they will be encouraged to buy it. 

Ideas for CD cover (A1)

Here is the single cover for the original single cover for 'California Gurls', it is very brightly coloured, although the actual artist has dark clothing on to enhance the colour of her hair and her facial features. The border around the CD cover is also bright colours and shows continuity with her hair colour and also the video itself. In my opinion, the font in on the CD cover works well as for the artists name and the name of the song, they are different. It connotes each word as 'California' is a huge state in a America which known for being fun and lively as the font shows. For the word 'gurls' the font is very 'girly' and also changing the word 'girls' to 'gurls' shows that the artist feels as she has power and wants to be different from other artists. 

Below are the ideas that we have for the CD cover including what the artist will look like and also the font. Please zoom in to view each idea and click center to see it overall. 

Storyboards for Initial Idea

 I am currently creating the story boards for our initial idea and thought that some photographic evidence was in need on my blog! It's not all finished however, this is just halfway through the initial idea of story boards. We don't think that the story boards should change much for the final idea, but there are a couple of bits that we would like to add in between slides, with footage that we haven't filmed yet. These storyboards have enabled us to think realistically about what footage is going to be included in our music video. It's encouraged us to think about other locations that we may use, and also the timing of each shot.

It may not be clear on the photos, but at each side of the pictures that I have drawn to imitate the shots in the music video, there are timings in which how long that particular shot will be on for. 

 I will be creating another blog post to show the initial idea, in writing so that it is a lot more detailed and the images will all come together a lot clearer. 

Surprisingly, we have used quite a large bit of the footage that we took at Center Parcs, in the storyboards and I also looked back on the camera to give me inspiration on what else I could include within the video

It may not visible on the photographs, but I have included a shot that states 'Dance Routine Continued', which is just to show that this is where the dance routine will be. Hopefully, next week we will be organising to visit the year 11 girls in their dance lesson, to speak to them about if they would like to take part in creating a dance routine for our music video.

The dance routine that we will be filming, will be for the chorus and will be where most the lip syncing will take place withing the video. We feel that it will be easier for us to lip sync in this part of the video, compared to when we are the water slides etc., and we want to make it look as professional as possible. There will also be some lip syncing included in the car journey to ensure we have all the lip syncing we need to make it look like a real music video. 

Stylistic Influences and Font Styles for Ancillary Tasks

 The original video for Katy Perry - California Gurls, is extremely colourful and 'pretty' in a sense. The directors and creative artists got so creative with the music video that it will be hard for us to relate to in our music video. As we have our main actress, we are going to need stylist influences from the original music video so that it all links in. 

This is a screen shot from the original video and as you can see there is minimal clothing worn, with tops that enhance the view of that area. This will be seen as quite provocative, and links to the theory of Male Gaze and how men look at women in music videos. However, if we use a dance seen, we will be hoping to use bright and glittery clothing for all the dancers to ensure that they stand out and link in with the 'pop' genre. 

This is the single cover for California Gurls, and again is brightly coloured to show continuity throughout the video and the single cover. Bright clothing is used here again to draw the attention to the artist. Also, I have analysed the font on the single cover and noticed that it is in a 'fun' and informal font to show that this song is going to be fun and outgoing. The blue wig that Katy is wearing encourages the more 'cartoon' look that Katy is trying to get across. It also shows that she isn't ready to grow up yet, and still wants to create fun songs that will entertain the audience, instead of songs that could be about her life e.g. upsetting and slow songs. 

As we obviously cannot copy the style of Katy Perry's outfits on her single California Gurls, I thought that 'The Dolly Rockers' (a British girl band), have a great style that would relate to the style of the video. They were 'quirky' outfits that grab the attention of the audience, and show off their personalities perfectly. Even though their style is not necessarily bright and colourful, the band are very similar to Katy Perry and their style would look great on the dancers within the video. Also, the outfits that are shown on The Dolly Rockers, are more likely to be accessible and more likely the girls will have outfits like these, compared to Katy Perry's outfits that were hand made and took a lot of time to make. 

Break Up of Song Lyrics

As the song is 3 minutes and 55 seconds, I wanted to break it up so that when we complete the story boards for our initial idea, we can ensure that the timing is right for each part of the song. So I just copied and pasted the lyrics to the song onto this blog post, and watched the original video to get all of the timings write with the lyrics and different parts of the song. So this is just a break up for us to analyse when creating the video and storyboards.

We are currently are thinking about who we could include for 'Snoop Dogg's' part of the song as there is quite a big bit in the middle of the song where he is rapping. This shouldn't be difficult for us as we have quite a few friends that would be confident enough to play this part. We are also hoping to include a dance for the chorus which will involve a number of girls performing a choreographed dance for the video. More blog posts will be posted soon about these details.


[Snoop Dogg] 0:04-0:07

Greetings, loved ones

Let's take a journey

[Katy Perry - Verse 1] 0:08-0:38

I know a place

Where the grass is really greener

Warm, wet and wild

There must be something in the water

Sippin' gin and juice

Laying underneath the palm trees, undone

The boys, break their necks

Trying to creep a little sneak peek, at us

[Bridge] 0:39-0:53

You could travel the world

But nothing comes close

To the Golden Coast

Once you party with us

You'll be falling in love

Oh oh oh oh

[Chorus] 0:54-1:24

California gurls

We're unforgettable

Daisy dukes, bikinis on top

Sun-kissed skin, so hot

We'll melt your popsicle

Oh oh oh oh

California gurls

We're undeniable

Fine, fresh, fierce

We got it on lock

West coast represent

Now put your hands up

Oh oh oh oh

[Verse 2] 1:25-1:39

Sex on the beach

We don't mind sand in our stilettos

We freak in my Jeep

Snoop Doggy Dogg on the stereo, oh oh

[Bridge] 1:40-1:54

You could travel the world

But nothing comes close

To the Golden Coast

Once you party with us

You'll be falling in love

Oh oh oh oh

[Chorus] 1:55-2:25

California gurls

We're unforgettable

Daisy dukes, bikinis on top

Sun-kissed skin, so hot

We'll melt your popsicle

Oh oh oh oh

California gurls

We're undeniable

Fine, fresh, fierce

We got it on lock

West Coast represent

Now put your hands up

Oh oh oh oh

[Snoop Dogg - Verse 3 (Rap)] 2:26-2:57

Toned tan, fit and ready

Turn it up 'cause it's getting heavy

Wild, wild, West Coast

These are the girls I love the most

I mean the ones

I mean like she's the one

Kiss her, touch her,

Squeeze her buns

The girl's a freak

She drives a jeep

And live on the beach

I'm okay, I won't play

I love the bait, just like I love L.A.

Venice Beach and Palm Springs

Summer time is everything

Homeboys bangin' out

All that ass hangin' out

Bikinis, zucchinis, martinis

No weenies

Just a king and a queenie

Katy my lady,

[Katy Perry] 2:58

Yeah...

[Snoop Dogg] 2:59

You lookie here baby,

[Katy Perry] 3:00

Uh huh...

[Snoop Dogg] 3:01-3:03

I'm all up on you

'Cause you representin' California

[Katy Perry - Chorus] 3:04-3:37

Ohhh yeahh...

California gurls

We're unforgettable

Daisy dukes, bikinis on top

Sun-kissed skin, so hot

We'll melt your popsicle

Oh oh oh oh

California Gurls

We're undeniable

Fine, fresh, fierce

We got it on lock

West coast represent

Now put your hands up

Oh oh oh oh

California... California Gurls...

[Snoop Dogg] 3:38-3:39

California gurls man...

[Katy Perry] 3:40:3:55

California... California Gurls...

Our day at Center Parcs

As you know from previous blog posts, Alice and I visited Center Parcs on Saturday 16th of November to practise some filming for our music video. Originally we only thought we would be practising for the video, however we were more successful than we planned and got some really good shots for the video including, under water shots, some going down the big water slide and also on the small beach that they have there. As our chosen song is quite 'summery', we tried to work with this as well as possible by not filming anywhere that could bring us away from the original theme.

This was the entrance to Center Parcs at Sherwood Forest, and we gained a shot of this that we would be able to interpret into our music video, to tell a story, and so it shows where we are on holiday within the video. As we haven't really got a detailed plan of what will happen within the video, we will be sitting as a group and discussing this later today so that we can ensure that all the good shots we have taken from Center Parcs can be put into the video.



This is a photo of the small, man made beach that is at Center Parcs and we thought that it would be really convenient to get some shots of us 'having fun' on the beach whilst we were there. Luckily, even though it is now winter, the sun was out and we made it look as summery as possible by taking coats, scarfs and shoes off (it was absolutely freezing!!). Apart from it being freezing cold, we worked hard to get the shots we needed and definitely need a hot chocolate afterwards!!

As we couldn't take a photo whilst we were inside the slide as we were recording, I took a photo from the outside of the slide to show what it looked like. Thankfully, the sun was out and we couldn't tell it was winter, except from how cold it was! Whilst on the slide, there was four of us in a rubber raft, which enabled one of us to film and the rest to enjoy the ride to ensure that it looked like we were having fun on the video. This was a really good shot whilst we were on the slide, as the lighting was brilliant and the slide was really lit up by natural light.

Whilst at Center Parcs we took around 100 short videos that we can included within our music video. We tried really hard to keep it within the same theme of 'holidays' as the song is, and also including us girls as it relates to the song with girls 'having fun'. We felt that Center Parcs was a really good place to do this and we hope that we can include all of our shots from here in our video.

Textual Analysis of album covers

 

This album cover is from 'The Saturdays' and is very similar to the other albums that they have in terms of pictures and colours. For example, this album cover is very bright and colourful which connotes a 'happy' album which contains upbeat songs. Also, the original song that The Saturdays first bought out was called 'Up' and in this video they each had a different colour that fans then related them with when the band was first together. This shows continuity within the album covers, as the colours are still used to market the band.

 

In my opinion, the album cover links extremely well to the 'pop' genre as it is bright and colourful. It also relates to the pop genre as there is a photo of the band members on the front of the CD. This shows a comparison between a 'pop' genre album cover, and for example a 'metal' album cover as they do not generally use a picture of the band as they are mostly concerned about marketing their music and not themselves.

 

This is shown to the left, which is an album cover produced by the band 'Slip Knot'. As you can see there is a clear comparison between The Saturdays album cover and the Slip Knot one, as the Slip Knot album cover is very dark and quite daunting to look at. However, this appeals to the fans as they know that their music is very dark and heavy, and so the album cover links in very well. As you can also see, there is not a photo of the band however, it does link to what the band look like as they wear masks in all their videos.

 

This analysis of CD covers has helped us to make a decision on what our album cover will look like, as we will be able to make it bright and appealing to the pop genre audience. We will not be relating it to the album cover above, due to it being too dark for the song we have chosen and also it not relating to the genre of 'pop'.

Textual Analysis of Magazine Cover

This is a magazine cover of Katy Perry from the Magazine 'Billboard'. Billboard is an American, weekly magazine that devotes all its work to music and the news that surrounds the music industry. This is a well planned magazine cover and all the aspects stand out in different ways, and they have also prioritised in what aspects such be bigger than the others, for example the name of the artist "Katy Perry" is the biggest in font other than the name of the magazine. In the smaller font, there is information that is inside the magazine, however this is in smaller text to ensure that people are not diverted from the main picture on the cover. Due to Katy Perry being a well known artist within both the UK and America, the idea of having Katy Perry on the front cover on the magazine is a good idea as she is popular all over the world.

This week edition of the magazine is the 'spring' edition, which is clearly shown in the colour and ideology in the photo. As the background is pink and Katy Perry has large flowers around her, as if she is 'modelling' then it creates a vibrant cover which will attract audiences to buy it. Katy Perry is also shown as a 'style icon' in this picture as she is wearing a floral dress that was very current in the spring and summer of this year. This invites people in even more to buy this edition of the magazine as, they may want to find out where the outfit is from, and think that this information is in the magazine.


'Billboard' is a usually associated with pop/chart music and so is quite popular and a lot of people know about the magazine even if they do not listen to the type of music that the magazine involves. However, magazines to do with more alternative, rocky, or indie music are usually not as well known and applies to a much more niche audience. For example, below there is a photo of a magazine cover from NME magazine. This magazine focuses on a much more different side to music, involving indie, metal music and rock.

 As you can see from the magazine cover, there are lot more darker colours and compared to the 'billboard' magazine where they show the seasonal nature, NME do not. They generally have the same colours within each edition of the magazine, just involving a different artist.

As you can see from the front cover, they still have the same aspects of a typical magazine cover, involving the large font for the artist and then small font for the other aspects. However, the font underneath the artist is a lot more 'vulgar' and 'sexual', involving words such as "sex, skins and standing in the way of control". This connotes that there maybe photos about the band inside that are nude or with minimal clothing. This is a large difference compared to the pop magazine 'Billboard', which is quite 'sweet' and 'pretty'.

This shows the difference between genres and the types of magazine that the music industry produce. It connotes the different clothes they wear and the way that people that enjoy the music, look. As we are doing a pop video, we will aiming the look of our magazine cover towards the 'Billboard' magazine look, to enhance our chosen genre. 

When making our magazine cover, we will include such aspects of the 'billboard' magazine, including bright colours, large picture of the artist etc, and I will continue to research more magazine covers to develop my knowledge and ideas further. 

Consuming Habits (Ancillary)

Who are magazines & album/single’s consumed by?	How are they consumed?	Where are they consumed?
Depending on the type of magazine, in my opinion magazines are generally consumed by women the most. This is because there are is a lot more magazine choice for women than there is for men, such as ‘home’ magazines, celebrity gossip magazines and there is slightly less revealing celebrity magazines for teenagers. Men and boys are not usually associated with magazines unless it is to do with cars, gadgets or women. For me, I do not usually buy real CD’s due to the ability to be able to buy singles online such as iTunes. It is more accessible for people now to buy CD’s online for people that have grown up with this source. However, the older generation may still feel that they like the novelty of CD’s and still go out to buy them at a shop. This may be because they cannot get used to the internet and its advances and so would rather go to a store to buy music.	Looking at the obvious answer of consuming magazines, people read them. However, it’s wear people read them that makes it different as many people will read them on their own to enjoy the certain things they are interested in. However, many people may be reading them when sat within a group, which will allow them to discuss altogether, making them feel a sense of belonging socially. Singles and albums can be consumed in a number of different ways such as playing them in the car, on CD players, and also downloading CD’s onto mobile phones. With the new advances in technology many people are not listening to CD’s anymore, however in my opinion the use of CD’s won’t ever be completely defeated by online music as people still enjoy the novelty of CD’s.	Magazines can be consumed anywhere and are a practical way in which people can gain new information on celebrities, new cars, new products etc. Whether at work, school or at home its always easy to pick up a magazine. However, with new advances in technology such as Web 3.0, people are able to look at new websites such as, news websites, clothing websites and social networking sites such as Twitter, to look at any new information about anything new in the world. CD’s are limited in where people can consume them however, when they are consumed people are usually in that one place for a long amount of time and so get their use out of them. This could be such as long car journeys or in a place such as a hair salon; they may have CD’s playing on CD players. The fact that people can insert CD’s into their laptop or computer to put the songs onto their phones, allows people to still ensure they are using the CD, but in a different way due to the advances in technology.

Under water camera cover arrived!!

As we will be visiting the holiday village of Center Parcs in a couple of days, as you know I have purchased an under water camera cover, so that we can gain some under water camera shots when taking shots at Center Parcs. The 'camera housing as Polaroid call it, was delivered to my home today and has got us super excited about practicing some shots for the music video!

Here is the camera in the box, I was slightly skeptical about purchasing the 'housing' and was even more worried when i received it, as I was scared that it would not be water proof at all. However, with the brand being 'Polaroid' I asked my dad as he is quite into cameras and he said that he would trust the brand. 













Here is the 'housing' broken up into pieces, and how you would assemble the cover once putting the camera in the large 'box' shape. It was fairly easy to remove all the bits and pieces of the camera cover, however the 'U' shaped parts are quite stiff. In my opinion, I see this as a positive as it means the camera cover will not fall apart if it was in the water and my camera will not fall out. 










Here is the camera taken out of the packaging and with nothing inside. I found that the space inside the 'housing' is very generous and is enough to fit a medium side camera inside. It fits my camera in perfectly, and it also gives you sponges that you can cut up and place inside the camera if you camera is too small. Even though my camera does fit inside the 'housing', I think that I am still going to place the sponge inside to simply support my camera more. 

When putting the camera inside the 'housing' there are small latches on the outside of the camera cover which state whether they are open or locked, to give the user reassurance on if the camera is safe inside or not. The only problem I would say we may have with the camera cover is that even thought the material is quite easily moulded, it is quite firm and may be hard to push particular buttons when inside the 'housing'. We will simply just play the film or look at the photos when we have took the camera out of the 'housing'.






This piece of felt was delivered with the camera inside the case, with a label on that stated, "This paper is for testing usage, please put the paper inside the case and immerse into water. Squeeze it and if the paper is wet, please return product to the shop." (As shown to the right.) I thought this was a very good aspect to include with the purchase as it shows the company know that the product works very well, and with a good price of £15.99, you are getting a well made product. 

This reassured me that the camera was going to be water proof, and I tested it out in my bathroom sink full of water, to make sure (as shown to the left).  I held the case under the water for approximately 10 seconds and then took it out. As shown below, the test was a success and there was no water at all soaked up into the piece of paper/felt. 

This has reassured me that we should be able to get some good shots when in the water at the holiday village and also, so good underwater photos to upload to the blog. It is a very recommendable piece of equipment so far, I shall see how well it works out when we visit Center Parcs at the weekend. I hope that I have purchased a good product that will help towards my A2 project sufficiently. 

Waterproof/Underwater Camera

Today Alice and I have purchased a cover for our camera so that we are able use it in wet conditions or under water. This is the email that I received to confirm that I have ordered to cover, and we should receive it in time for Saturday when we visit Centre Parcs to take so photos and record when around the pool. I have erased my personal details on the print screen, which is why the email looks 'scruffy'. 

Planning for our visit to Centre Parcs

I am currently planning my journey to Centre Parcs, how long it will take us to get there and back etc, so that I will be able to work out accurately how long we will have to complete the planning and short clips. Above is a map of where Centre Parcs is, which is based at Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire. 

<<<< I have then typed in where I will be travelling from and then to - Centre Parcs, to see what the estimated time will be for us to get to the centre. As you can see from the print screen to the left, there are a  few different routes that I can take from where I live, however I will be taking the quickest route which is the first one (19.1 miles), which will take me approximately 40 minutes. However, if there are any traffic conditions it could take slightly longer.










Here, (right and below) I have asked Google to then give me directions to Centre Parcs. However, I will be using the navigation system on my phone as I will not have to look at the directions when driving, I will just be able to listen to the voice telling me where to go.









As you can see from the print screens of directions, they are very clear and also tell me the estimated fuel cost of driving to Centre Parcs. This research and planning gave me a good idea on how to get there which means I now know approximately where I am going, hopefully meaning we can get there easily and quickly. 

Booking Day Visit to Film - Practise Ideas

We are currently on the Centre Parcs website booking our visit to the holiday centre on this Saturday. This is one of the frequently asked questions on what the 'Full Day Visitors Pass' is, and there is another question below on the options of how we are going to book the day visit.

As our friends are visiting for the weekend, this as enabled us to visit the site to look at locations and different shots that we will be able to take when actually filming the music video. We will also be practicing different aspects that we want to include within our music video such as, driving there and filming us in the car, underwater filming etc. We are going to purchase an under water cover for our home camera that we will be using for some one the shots, such as on water rides and by the lake.

" We have 5 stunning Village locations across the UK, each set in 400 acres of beautiful forest with lakes and streams." 

This is a quote from the centre parcs website, and as you can see we will have large areas of land to work with, which will come in handy as we recognised, when researching music videos quite a few of them, the artist had a large space to work with. For example in the 'Rihanna - Only girl in the world' video, she is in a large field, as you can see from the print screen below from her video.

When on the website we realised that we couldn't actually book the visit ourselves, the people that we are visiting (who are staying for the whole weekend), have to book us in. Therefore, when we reached this part of the website that you can see to the left, we couldn't enter a booking reference. However, our friend Emma that we are visiting is currently booking us onto the day visit so that we can go up on Saturday. 
Unfortunately, one of the members of our group (Amy) has other commitments and cannot come with us on the visit. However, two other of our friends will be joining Alice and I on the visit to Centre Parcs, to help us gain different shots, look at the different locations and practise short parts of the music video. We feel that this trip will enable us to further our knowledge and plan a lot more for the music video. 

When visiting Centre Parcs this Saturday, we are allowed to visit from 10:30am until Midnight so we should definitely have a good amount of time to get all the small parts of footage, photos and planning done that we need. I will be posting throughout the day on the types of the things we have done etc., to prove all the parts of planning that have took place.