Rebekah Shanahan

Thank you to our extras also

Alan, Genevieve, Jennifer, Liam and Ricky.

Also Nessa for Lighting

We have just finished the video to recreate Losing My Religion as our term project. Working with a team of four, I was able to try out a range of different skills related to video production, including prop creation, video analysis, shot list creation, directing, acting, camera work, and organization and management.

Overall, it was an incredibly positive experience. I was able to explore my interests and abilities in a creative way, developing my skills in different areas of video production. Seeing the finished product was incredibly satisfying and gave me a sense of accomplishment.

Working with others as part of a team was another valuable aspect of this experience. I learned how to communicate effectively, delegate tasks, give and receive feedback, and problem-solve together. These are skills that will be valuable not just in video production, but in many other areas of life and work.

In addition to the technical and organizational skills I developed during this project, I also gained insight into the video production industry as a whole. Analyzing the original video and creating a shot list gave me a deeper understanding of the creative and technical decisions that go into making a music video.

Due to family circumstances I was unable to be involved in the editing part of this, but I’m really looking forward to developing this skill in the near future.

Finally, the project was a lot of fun! There was something exhilarating about bringing a creative vision to life and being part of a team working towards a shared goal.

Overall, recreating the video for Losing My Religion was an incredibly positive and rewarding experience for me. It allowed me to try out different skills, work with a team, gain industry insight, and have fun in the process.

Julian knocking the milk jug

I was concerned that the glass Milk jug would break and could be dangerous. So I came up with an idea to cushion its fall by using foam floor mats that I had at home. I took photos of the floor and printed off numerous copies of A3 sheets to cover the mats. In the end, We used the plastic milk jug as it guaranteed nothing would break.

On Monday 17th April, Myself and Kyra explored the college to find the perfect location. We decided on studio 5 as our location. After a couple of days we decided it was just too bright for the shoot so we decided to relocate to Studio 8 and the greenroom.

Orange and Pink Hat

Models

Genevieve, Liam and Kyra

Materials used:

Leftover felt sheets, jewel stickers, Glue gun and glue sticks, Newsprint paper, pva glue, Plastic bowl, Cardboard, Acrylic paint, Wool.

I used strips of newsprint paper soaked in pva and placed over plastic bowl. I used plastic bowls so that they would easily go on a head.

When bowls were dry I painted 1 orange and the other pink.

Cut out strip of cardboard and painted it pink I glued a sheet of pink felt on top of the pink bowl. I placed second piece on top shaped like a triangle.

Using a glue gun I glued cut pieces of pink wool along the sides

I glued a strip of orange felt along bottom of orange bowl.

Then, I bedazzled the hats with jewels

I only did the front of hats as this was all that would be seen on camera

Prop Making

Golden Wings

I made the golden wings with Julian

Materials used:

Cardboard, Wax Sticks, Glue gun wax, Leftover felt sheet, Gold Spray Paint from Home.

We first drew out the shape of the wings on Cardboard. And cut one wing out and folded it over and copied it. Then we glued down wooden sticks down in a pattern and made four holes for the rope to go through to tie them together. We glued felt at the top and spray painted them all in Gold.

Wooden barrel

Materials used:

Glue gun, glue wax, printed sheets, with barrel background, plastic rubbish bin, cardboard, acrylic paint

I printed off background of barrel and glue it around barrel. I cut out a circle from cardboard. And glued it on top

The video for losing my religion  was nominated for 9 MTV awards in 1991 and won six including video of the year. At the same time the video was banned on the national broadcaster in Ireland. 

The video was directed by Tarsem Singh,  and gathers a number of influences together to create a video in the style of a certain type of Indian filmmaking. It is modelled on a short story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, “A very old Man with enormous wings”. The opening sequence (25 Seconds before the song begins) is a recreation of a scene from “The Sacrifice” by Andrei Tarkovsky.( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODJb2-PLu7Y The Sacrifice Tarkosky trailer). Inspiration is also taken from Caravaggio, and religious imagery from Saint Sebastian, the In redulity of Thomas and Hindu deities.

Michael Stipe the lead singer and writer of the lyrics says that losing my religion is a Southern term for losing your composure. The song is about someone pining for someone else. It according to Stipe is a classic pop obsession song, Like the Police Every breath you take.

Losing my religion video approx 2 minutes 20 seconds

Monday 17th April 2023

Myself and Kyra watched the video numerous times and made a list of everything that would be needed for the set, costumes and props. We made a list of everything that we had and also things that we needed to find or make. I identified a bunch of stuff I could get including:

2 White shirts, 2 waist coats, black suit jacket, 2 black pants, 3 wooden deck chairs, 1 bar stool, 2 black hats, model donkey, glass jug, 2 plastic pots, 1 glass bottle, red shorts, jewellery, pink dress, colourful dress, scarves, black bandana, music stand, spotlight, red flag (Munster).

This still left a few pieces that would have to be made from scratch.

Thursday 20th April

Hope ye like it

Tuesday 18th April

We worked on the props we needed to make the music video. We made the wings and barrel and collected some other props that we didn’t need to make.

Monday 17th April

On Monday I completed the shot list for 0 - 35 seconds

Mini Me project Editing complete

Editing my MIni Me in Adobe Animate, Adobe Photoshop and using Adobe Media recorder.

Tuesday morning with Yvonne

Animation-Icebreakers and Team building. This was a lot of fun and a great way to get comfortable with each other. We were given one word to think about and then tell our peers around us, then we drew a picture of the event. Our final task, we had a discussion and we noted down the best attributes we would want from other team members.

After this we started our Mini me Build

Making my mini me and lips for my lip sync.

I made a small version of my mini me but realised it would be too small for filming, which I made out of pipe cleaners,clay, styrofoam head and wire. I also made a mini me out of clay but decided it might crack so I recycled the clay but took a photo for my records. For my third attempt. I built up the head using soft foam sheets and masking tape for the head. When I decided it was large enough I covered with a flattened sheet of skin coloured plasticine. I also shaped styrofoam board into shape resembling my shoulders and also covered it with plasticine. I placed a wire down through the neck and shoulders allowing enough wire to add the head. I cut out the eye socket shape and placed small stickers which I had printed of an iris on my printer and carefully attached it. I was happy with them because they resembled the eyes well. I glued down yellow pipe cleaners to resemble my hair and added accessories like a scarf and headband.

Using phoneme sheets I made up the lips with plasticine to resemble the dialog for my sentence “I would like a coffee” Each set of lips was designed in the shape associated with the letter sound.

Monday 20/03/23

Introduced to Phonemes in animation.

What is a phoneme in animation?

When a character talks, his mouth or the shape of his mouth moves to match prerecorded dialog. These shapes are known as phonemes. Each sound that the mouth makes has a specific shape that is associated with it and by stringing these shapes together we create animation.

In the afternoon we all watched a movie called "Graves of the fireflies"Graves of the fireflies is a war film telling the story of a brother and sister struggling to stay alive after the aftermath of the bombing of Kobe during World war 2. This film really captures the gritty reality of war in Japan. The visual colours and intricate setting create a fully immersive experience for the viewer drawing them into the story and creating a wide range of emotions. Its hard not to cry. This story effectively communicates the sadness, loss and trauma the characters undergo. Overall this film is a powerful and moving animation demonstrating how well it can be displayed as a medium for telling complex and emotional stories. Some Points that Paul Gardiner made: Animated Anti-war movie A real tearjerker The loss of innocence in people who go through something difficult.