Tuesday 23 April 2013

Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In my opinion the purpose of a music video in relation to bands is to represent what the band is like on a personal level and their star image; it is much more effective than an interview in a magazine or just the Album/CD art. As I decided to do an Alternative Metal Rock music video, I instantly decided that I would have a performance based video; this is very common in Rock genre as well as it is with the sub genres of this style of music. I used Andrew Goodwin’s theory of visual relations as the visuals in the video create a completely different mood to a conventional music video, as it is nearly completely dark with a orange and yellow tinted hue makes it almost sinister.

The pace of my music video might also link to Goodwin’s theory that music and visuals also intertwine at times. The song I chose “Get Back” by Nine Lashes starts off by dropping straight away rather than having the conventional energy building intro that most rock song genre music videos have. It begins with a up beat tempo and towards the end the mood changes and builds to a temporarily slower tempo and then goes back to the same up beat tempo, therefore when editing my music video, I ensured to keep a steady pace, making sure the cuts of shots were on the beat, and did not contradict the melody of the song.

Furthermore, Goodwin states that music videos might also be used to amplify and provoke emotions and moods, without completely illustrating the song. In terms of this theory, my music video conforms perfectly, due to the fact it is all performance based; none of the lyrics of the song are illustrated and leaves the audience in the 'unknown', my intention from this is to provoke an almost inquisitive mood. Towards the end of video when the tempo initially slows, the shots I used are more up close and personal with the instruments and the members, creating a new perspective to be viewed from when watching my music video. This grabs the audience’s attention, keeping their interest the whole way through, and my intention of this was to evoke feelings of 'idolism' not only to the band members but also to the instruments being played, I wanted the audience to want to play the instruments themselves.

In terms of the representation, I attempted to create a sense of escape and full immersion in the song within my music video. I essentially did this through the use of mise-en-scene. For instance, by filming in one location I was able to take advantage of the darkness of the location which in turn created a sense of 'band members and the music', this is also stopped anything else from taking away from this. Furthermore, it allowed the mood and feeling to stay constant and only change when I wanted it to which is evident when the band members look directly into the camera which would spark an instant change and then go back to normal once that particular scene had finished .This allows the audience to relate to each individual band member and instrument and when keyed on individually a different emotion would be linked to them. Another way this was portrayed would be in the costumes of my actors; dressing them in dark clothing, also signifying the genre and mood of the song, reinforcing the idea of the band members are fully immersed in the music.

My music video fits into the metal/rock music genre, due to the footage within my product echoing many shots used in music videos for artists such as Rise Against, Nine Lashes and Dead By April. An example of this is my focus on the dark matters. Close-up shots of the band members allows the audience to get closer to their idols; places them in a God like position, and also encapsulate the codes and conventions of metal rock music videos typically shots that are used in order to create an intimate feel to the video, as the songs usually aim to make the listener sympathise with the bands emotions – in contrast to perhaps indie music that initially aims to make the listener feel calm and mellow.

My focus on an array of different shot types is what makes my music video so aesthetically pleasing. Thinking outside the box when it came to placing the camera's in different unique positions, such as the angle from inside one of the drums looking up at the drummer placed the audience in the position of being part of the drum kit, giving of an intimate feel. Shots like these help me in aiming my music video at the right audience. Those who listen to Metal rock music and some of the sub genres of metal will appreciate the unique camera angles and be able to enjoy the music video more. Therefore, the camera angles within my video are easier and more effective for my audience to identify and appreciate. 

Furthermore, those who listen to metal rock music who live in city areas might find great joy in enduring within footage outside of their normal environment, creating a sense of escapism, whilst also maintaining the codes and conventions of a metal rock video showing the band playing on a proper stage with lighting. My video would largely appeal to a young, predominantly white audience, increasingly growing number of audience members from other ethnic backgrounds and blue-collar, however the group also includes those outside its core demographic base who follow its dress codes, appearance, and behaviour. This is because the band consists of young men who sing about issues that others in their group can relate to. Their vocals and lyrics portray this; therefore largely appealing to those of a similar social group. Due to this, I carefully picked my band members and actors to appear as stereotypical alternative metal rock types; Attractive lead singer, attractive guitarist and backing vocals singer and also an attractive drum player. This is so I could ensure that my audience would feel a personal identification with my actors, as they belong to that group of fans, also helping them to feel more engaged with the song as they too may be able relate to the lyrics. By definition this means that my video is also applicable to Bulmer and Katz' Uses and Gratifications theory.

My video reinforces the concept of how the emotions you portray during a band performance will get an equal and opposite reaction from the audience. This also will demonstrate the emotions that the artists have towards the events depicted in the lyrics of the song.

My Digi-pak and magazine advert both conform to forms and conventions of an metal rock album cover and poster. They both are inspired by existing products. The front cover is inspired by ‘Black Canvas’ by Yonas, and the Back cover of the Digi-pak in inspired also by the back of ‘Black Canvas. While, these are for a different target audience, I found when researching effective metal rock Digi-paks that the best ones have a very similar style and make, this is because they rely on the art and not the image if any of the artist/band. This means my Digi-pak in a minor sense challenges the typical conventions of metal rock music ones with the use of art used in other products in a completely different brand. I think that looking at real life products and emulating their style is a very effective way to create a Digi-pak and poster.

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

How did you use Media Technologies in the Construction, Research, Planning and Evaluation Stages?

Internet:
Blogger - Blogger has been a great tool in documenting the creation of my products from start to beginning. By being able to post a wide range of formats/media/software products and being able to use its easy embedding utility, has allowed me to demonstrate all four stages of creation in my course effectively and clearly. The use of labels and dated posts also allows for easy navigation to older posts for myself or any peers and examiners making it a key tool in the course.

Prezi - Prezi is an effective online presentation tool which is completely different to all others in its field. Unlike PowerPoint which has set slides and can at time be awkward to fit everything on the already very small slides, Prezi allows you to work on one GIANT canvas with zooming in and out capabilities  which fits hand in hand with the synergistic ability of being able to display information, pictures and videos. This gives a great affect that is eye catching and exciting.

Vimeo - Vimeo whilst not being one of the leading video hosting sites around, it is by far my favorite. One reason for this is it is genre specific to creation pieces such as short films, documentaries and music videos making it a great site to host my music video on rather than sites like Youtube or Dailymotion which host a vast and obscure range of footage. Vimeo is was also the first and leading video sharing site in hosting HD videos. All videos are encoded into H.264 for HTML5 support and have a higher bit-rate than any other competing site.

Youtube - Youtube whilst being the leading video hosting site, it was a no brainer to use this site to host my music video on as well. Many successful music artists/bands have music channels where they display all their music videos and behind the scenes footage for the fans to openly view and comment on. While being less genre specific to creation pieces, it is still the most world known video hosting site, therefore, it would be largely beneficial for me to take advantage of that. Like Vimeo it is has HD hosting capabilities and all videos are encoded into H.264 for HTML5 support and has a almost equal bit-rate as Vimeo.

Software:
Sony Vegas Pro 11 - Sony Vegas is a form of video editing software and the one I used to edit and create my music video during post production. I decided to use this brand of video editing software over others such as Adobe Premiere, as the pool of effects available are greater and the ability to manipulate are much more simpler. For example in the scenes in which I had to do multiple cuts in very quick succession I was able to zoom in to edit my clip per 0.1 of a second and simply press the "S" key to separate the clip where I needed. However the best consequence Vegas was able to offer me was the ease of applying effects to clips by simply dragging and dropping a preset on to all the clips which I wanted to look the same. This allowed me to change the order of the clips i gathered and wanted in my music video and this allowed it to look darker and more ominous in seconds. This effect was very useful and played upon the theme of my music video excellently. This saved me having to use after effects which could become complex using multiple forms of software on the same project and could in a worst case scenario lead to corrupting and rendering a a file unusable which I worked so hard on.

Adobe Photoshop - Adobe Photoshop was a great tool for any image editing I wanted to do throughout the course. This was especially helpful in creating my magazine advert and my digi-pak, both of which were done purely on Photoshop. I was able to cut out my models and change the effects e.g lighting and contrast. When using black and white settings as well it enables you to have more free reign in the hues to get the 'perfect' picture. Another way in which Photoshop was very helpful was in my production posts on my blog. After doing a photo shoot I would need to upload all my photo's to the blog. I was able to create contact sheets for all my photo shoots with ease. However, individually uploading every single photo was time consuming and would clutter up my blog. Therefor Photoshop was the clear and more ideal choice.

Equipment:
Canon 550D DSLR - To film my music video there was only one choice from the beginning and that was the Canon 550D DSLR. The Canon allowed me to film in 25 frames a second rather than the typical 24, this extra frame was used in order to give my music video a more real life effect rather than cinematic. The fact it is digital is another key benefit rather than in the past where film was needed. This is beneficial as instant playback is possible after filming and doesn't need to be developed or processed on a computer before being able to view it, this allowed me to cut down the amount of filming I needed to do as I knew exactly what footage I had and was going to use. Digital cameras also have a vast memory capacity compared to film which allowed me to capture more footage, in better quality, and for free. It also makes post production a lot simpler as in Sony Vegas I can cut, speed up, reverse, slow down and generally mould any clips I have taken, into the way I desire. This camera was also used to take the photos for my poster and magazine article. This is because the camera is equipped with a cinematic shutter speed and with a 1.8 aperture lens I could take detailed and artistic photos of my models.

Final Music Video

This is my finished and completed music video. This much better quality than my drafts and I am overall very pleased with how it turned out.

Magazine Advert

Today I completed the first magazine advert I intend to create. This advert is for promotion of the bands in my music video fictional UK Refugee Tour. It includes the date of the concert and information about ticket purchasing, this in my opinion will make the audience appreciate the band more.

Digipak

This is my completed Digi-pak. I feel it follows the genre of the music video I have chosen and works in hand with it by complementing it greatly. I chose a simple design as from what I gathered from research, simpler is better.

Front Cover
Inner Right Cover
Disc Holder
Back Cover

Music Video Draft

This is my draft for my music video, my final product will be very similar to this only with a few changes, mainly to the lighting and contrast of each section of footage.

Music Video Final Draft

 This my second and final draft of my music video, this is much closer to the final product I have been trying to achieve compared to my first draft. I made changes to the lighting and contrast and also added some cool effects which take this performance video to a new level.



The final version of my music video is completed, however there are certain effects that will be added to it upon uploading it to YouTube  This is because YouTube has a video editor built into its uploading system, therefore, it will look just slightly different to this.

Tuesday 16 April 2013

Storyboard Of Opening Sequence

I have storyboarded only the opening and closing sequences of my music video. I only storyboarded these sequences because as my video is footage of  a 'live performance', the middle and rest of video is to be more of a freestyle in terms of the mix and types of shots and angles used.

Comparison of My Music Video (DRAFT vs FINAL)

This is a small video I made showing the differences from my DRAFT and my FINAL cut of my music video. The obvious changes that can be seen are the lighting and the colour balance. Also the continuous flickering (White strobe) also makes my video more authentic. Many of the shots are the same, however I zoomed in on them and this also makes it more authentic. However there is a stabilize effect that can only be added through YouTube  therefore, to see what the 'complete' final version is like, it will be required to watch separately.

Audience Feedback

These are some of the selection of comments I got on my music video once I uploaded it onto my blog. They showed me that my music video was edited well and well recieved by my audience.

Planning For Digipak

This a basic initial sketch of my digi-pak, it shows the ideal placement of each important part of my digi-pak.


Magazine Advert Planning

This is a sketch of the design for my magazine advert. This will look very different on computer however this is ideally how everything will be place.

Structure Of My Music Video

Nine Lashes - 'Get Back'

Genre: Rock Metal
Characteristics: Whole video shows a performance, there is a band wearing dark clothing.
Lyrics & Visuals: As the whole video is based on the band performing, there are little or no links between the visuals and lyrics.
- However, the meaning behind the lyrics are how the viewer interprets them.
Editing: This will be in time to the beat, with some quick cuts and some fades.
Camera: Close ups of the band and their instruments.

Overall: As the video is all performance based it will strongly focus on the actors and their instruments.

Post-Project Days

Upon the initial grading deadline of our projects, our teacher gave us these forms. This forms are optional, if you wish to have your work re-marked, you would have to write which things you updated and this has to all be done before the next deadline.

Monday 15 April 2013

Pitch Your Ideas/Initial Ideas

This is a short bullet pointed list of some of my initial ideas, these are to act as pitch, before any production in terms of my music video was to occur.


  • Live performance based video.
  • Small side narrative: No story, just a meaning.
  • Performance scenes all to be shot in a all black room.
  • Some kind of strobe or continuous flickering lighting.
  • If possible, have drummer and drum kit on an elevated small one -man stage.

DigiPak Super Imposed

This is what my digi-pak would look like printed and constructed.







Magazine Advert Super Imposed

To show what my magazine advert would look like in the real world I super Imposed it onto various well known everyday things that my target audience would see on a regular daily basis, including the online world.

Super Imposed Facebook Page
Super Imposed Twitter Page
Super Imposed Motor Way Billboard
Super Imposed News Paper

Alterations Made Along The Way

Alterations Made Along the Way

Firstly the BIGGEST change that happened during the course of this project was due to conflicting schedules and the breaking of a contract (on my cousin’s part) if they were to feature an original song in a music video not produced or shot by their agents label. This then required me to back track over some old blog posts that were directed and intend for the early project days.

The changes that followed this were the obvious ones; I had to choose another song to cover, had to recruit new people to be in my music video and also had to re-evaluate and re-think about the previous locations I planned to have featured in my music video as they were only really applicable to the previous idea.

Another change that was necessary as a result of this was that I had to re-design my digi-pak and magazine advert which I had already designed and completed prior to this change.

Other changes made throughout the rest of my project were minor changes that happened upon impulse and are not worth listing and explaining.

Analysis Of Song Lyrics/Meaning Behind The Lyrics

Nine Lashes – ‘Get Back’ Lyrics 

I guess you don't believe me now
You never wanted this
Back turned in wind, that's all you have
It's all you needed

You're all right, you're all right now
(You believe what you want to)
Gone somehow, you gone somehow
But I'm waiting for you

Get back to where you once believed
Get back, get back
You want so bad to bury mean
Get back, get back

More cry from the picture perfect calm
Oh can you see it?
A bright life from the distance lead you dark
And never free her

You're all right, you're all right now
(You believe what you want to)
Gone somehow, you gone somehow
But I'm waiting for you

Get back to where you once believed
Get back, get back
You want so bad to bury mean
Get back, get back

You never know just why I had it mine (had it mine)
How many way, but you're way so far now
Whatever feel you, you just had to find (had to find)
You never see it but it killed you slowly
Yeah, it's gonna kill you slowly
Yeah, it's gonna kill you slowly

Get back to where you once believed
Get back, get back
You want so bad to bury mean
Get back, get back

Get back to where you once believed
Get back, get back
You want so bad to bury mean
Get back, get back.


Meaning Behind the Lyrics:
Coming together from various avenues the five guys that make up Tooth & Nail Records’ newest signing, Nine Lashes, have one common thread: to stand up for what they believe and pour their hearts into everything they do.

It is a band self-description about taking a stand for your beliefs even if that means that you are standing alone. The song covers a variety of subjects from perseverance to a wake-up call.

Furthermore, the lyrics are a personal address to someone who has turned their back on their original beliefs due to what ever given reason. The song overall is a part 2 continuation from the bands other song and music video ‘Anthem of the Lonely’.

Analysis Of Previous A2 Students Work

For this task I took three students’ work from the previous year at my school who had created videos with a similar style of performance to the one which I am trying to create, and analyzed what features and conventions their videos had which made them successful, and also what made them not look professional.

Firstly, I analysed a video by a previous student named Faisal Choudhry and even though his video was from a different genre to mine; it still had performance that was compelling and played a key part in the video. The video was shot very well throughout and used camera work, movement and framing which gave it a very professional feel and I believe that the use of location was also a great beneficial contributing factor in terms of achieving this. The narrative of the child is compelling as the audience feels a warmth and welcoming emotion towards her due to the fact that the child is waiting for her father to return home and is ultimately vulnerable. I believe that the narrative was a good idea but was not strong enough and the main influence was placed onto the performance aspects of the video, and the two parallel plot lines conflicted with each other. This is therefore different to the video that I want to create as I am planning to have a solely performance video, and as a result of this need to make my performance very compelling and strong enough so that narrative isn't needed, but the meaning of the song is still understood.

Next, a student named Josh Barry also from my sixth form used a narrative in his video alongside a performance that included a young man talking about his unrequited love for a woman. From this, there were then two different plot lines being shown next to each other showing the two different ways in which the story could unfurl. I think that is a successful narrative and could have had a lot of potential to be effective, although the shooting of the video- I believe- is poor and it does look as though a student at a school has shot it. This is my biggest fear for my video, and I want to avoid this aspect at all costs so that my video remains as professional as possible.

Finally, I looked at how Charmaine Cablanca used narrative in her video and if it was effective. The opening of the video strikes many questions in the audience and I believe this to be the strongest part of the video as it really draws the viewers in and has many enigma codes. Furthermore, the effects and camera shakes and distortions throughout the video are very striking and again add a great deal of complexity to the video and are certainly a convention and technique which I feel as though I could and maybe should use throughout my video in order to highlight the skills that I have in terms of editing but also to make the video more visually entertaining. To conclude, there are some very good points in this video but in my opinion it is let down by its choice of location and the shot in-between the stairs really takes away all the good work and creativity that was generated by the fantastic start to the video.

Filming/Editing Schedule


This is a filming and editing schedule I typed up near the beginning of my project, this was so I could follow this and meet deadlines comfortably, however, some issues occurred during the project but things still went smoothly.

Demographics and Psychographics (Target Audience)

For my music video, I believe that the intended target audience are most likely to be both males and females between the ages of 16-25 due to the fact that the whole music video revolves around a live performance and creating a connection with the audience and these are all key themes that are instantly identifiable and appealing to people from this age range. However, I am of the opinion that the video may be slightly more appealing towards the male gender due to the close ups of the instruments and the dark nature of the video can be linked more closely to them. The lyrics of the song that I have chosen (Get Back by Nine Lashes) consist of the ideas of cheating on a girlfriend, waiting for your true love, and revenge; and as a result of this it is clear to see why I am attempting to create a dark music video. These themes are likely to be more appealing to a younger audience, and this can be reflected in the age range which I have highlighted earlier.


As a result of the target audiences' age, it is most probable that they are going to be students and I believe that this has a fundamental role in the creation of my music video as they are the most likely customers to consume my media as they will have the most time on their hands. These people will then be seeking a sense of escapism from their somewhat repetitive and monotonous lives and will do so through viewing my music video and possibly playing the instruments that the band members play. The young age of my target audiences means that it is difficult to place them exactly into an social class, as this is constantly changing variable at this end of the spectrum, however I believe that they would fall under the category of C-D1 as the indie and rock genre's do not usually appeal to the mass markets or higher classes due to the negative connotations that are attached to them.


Finally, my video is from the indie/rock genre and as a result of this, I believe that the music video will be aired on less popular music channels like MTV ROCKS, Kerrang and NME as an niche market are most likely to be attracted to my video due to the dark nature of the video and the scenes that some people of higher class may consider to be explicit.

Diary 15/04/13

Recently I have completed and uploaded my draft music video and my final version, I will now endeavour to upload a comparison video before the deadline tomorrow.

Sunday 24 March 2013

Diary 24/03/13

While trying to meet the interim deadline set by my media teacher I realized I had kept up with my diary posts. Since the interim deadline my teacher has given us until the 16th April to get EVERYTHING that we want to get marked completed and onto our blogs.

As I have been slacking with my diary posts I am now aiming to have a diary post up every Wednesday and Thursday to help keep track of tasks and additional things I have done for my coursework.

The most recent task I have somewhat completed is a magazine advert for the promotional package of my music video, the advert advertises a fictional UK tour that my actors in my music video are going to do in April. I will most likely add to the advert as I am 98% happy with the 'finished' product.

The next task I am dedicating my time to for the next 2-3 days is a promotional video for the album release of the actors in my music video for the other part of the promotional package for my music video.

Friday 15 March 2013

Research Into Digipaks

Researching on Google I found many Digi-paks, of all sizes (how many CD's it can hold) and colours.

I looked primarily at this Digi-pak for Oasis. In terms of the guitar, an artistic view point was considered when taking the picture because it doesn't show all of it and it is suitable for the title of the cover because it says 'Acoustic'. The back is simple enough, and follows the colour scheme (sticking to 3 or 4 so it does not get too 'loud') and it lists all the songs on the CD; this will be useful for a listener to choose which song they want to listen to first. Unfortunately, due to the camera angle I cannot see what it says on the inside, but I presume it includes either lyrics or band information.





This Digi pak layout is simple and calming due to its natural colours of green, brown, white and yellow. Even the CD itself is decorated, which shows they were thoughtful about the design, as it added additional information or just summarized in case you lost your cardboard Digi-pak sleeve. The information on the left is I assume band information, however what is missing I think is a picture of the band to make it feel more personal, however they could have one on the back.




For this Digi-pak the front is very simple, because it only uses two colours however, it is very abstract which could highlight the bands individuality or type of music. It has an image of the band members which is good as it makes the Digi-pak more personal to their fans, almost a limited edition collectors item.



Lastly, I particularly liked this Digi-pak when I found it while researching, it is for the band SteelWing. They use a futuristic font to emphasise their Progressive Metal style. Their track listings are very eye catching as the letters are predominantly Russian but if focused on can still be interpreted as English quite easily. It essentially challenges people who buy the album

The front cover boasts a futuristic robot/soldier next to an alien. On the back it’s a zoomed image of this alien face. This could be a reference to the problems this band has had to overcome in their fight for fame and recognition and is very aesthetically pleasing for their intended audience and fans.

From this analysis I understand that in order to create an effective Digi-pak I need to have a colour scheme that has a maximum of 3-4 colours and to have a good balance of text and images, as I do not want to crowd the small amount of space available in a Digi-pak.

Tuesday 5 February 2013

Diary 05/02/13

Due to unfortunate circumstances, I have had to scrap my original music video idea, this is very frustrating as it is requiring me to go back to the research tasks I have already completed and change them. However, with help and suggestions from my peers I have  been able to come up with an idea which will work out better as the facilities I need are on the school premesis and can be easily rearranged to suit my requirements.