This year i have worked with Muhammad Patel, Lauren Widdop and Lauren Pollard. The project gave us the option of producing either a film/ Television trailer or a music video and as a group we decided that it would be more interesting to do a music video. For the main task of creating, shooting and editing the music we worked as a whole but when it came to the ancillary tasks we split into pairs and designed an album cover and magazine advertisement. I contributed to the tasks by:
Our Target Audience
Genre
When asked what genre is most people will say it is something to do with the type of narrative used in media texts, literature and music but what they don’t know is that it is much more complex than that. Genre is not static but constantly renegotiated between the industry and audience. Graeme Burton thought that the best way to achieve this is by using a combination of the familiar and the unexpected. In the sense of an ideological level genre can close down the complexities of life whether it is for the duration of a blockbuster film or for just a matter of minutes. The main genre we will be concentrating on is pop-folk music. This sort of music is not featured in the official music charts very often which would seem like a problem yet “our unique selling point is that our product is the individuals who prefer following music of their own accord and own interest” (Graeme Burton) This makes it harder for artists to get noticed and signed but there have been several artists which have become successful which gives hope to our product if it was to be released.
- edited some of the footage
- Helped shooting the footage
- Creating the CD covers
- Contributed to the research.
Our Target Audience
Genre
When asked what genre is most people will say it is something to do with the type of narrative used in media texts, literature and music but what they don’t know is that it is much more complex than that. Genre is not static but constantly renegotiated between the industry and audience. Graeme Burton thought that the best way to achieve this is by using a combination of the familiar and the unexpected. In the sense of an ideological level genre can close down the complexities of life whether it is for the duration of a blockbuster film or for just a matter of minutes. The main genre we will be concentrating on is pop-folk music. This sort of music is not featured in the official music charts very often which would seem like a problem yet “our unique selling point is that our product is the individuals who prefer following music of their own accord and own interest” (Graeme Burton) This makes it harder for artists to get noticed and signed but there have been several artists which have become successful which gives hope to our product if it was to be released.
When it comes to music videos there are 3 types:-
The narrative which is when a story is being shown that relates to the song. Artists can feature but it is not essential.
Performance is when the band are performing throughout.
Last but definitely not least is experiemental in which artists and producers show the music in a different light.
Codes and Conventions: Music video.
The narrative which is when a story is being shown that relates to the song. Artists can feature but it is not essential.
Performance is when the band are performing throughout.
Last but definitely not least is experiemental in which artists and producers show the music in a different light.
Codes and Conventions: Music video.
1. Lyrics influence the music video (If I were a boy – Beyoncé)
Beyoncé lyrics talks about how she believes that guys take women for advantage and that if the roles were reversed she would be different. The video reflects this by her and her husband switching positions sort of like the film Freaky Friday however they are in their own bodies. It shows how the couple acts and reacts to the situations and people around them.
2. Artist is performing (Tik Tok – Ke$ha)
Throughout the song the artist is shown performing whether it is in a bath tub, on a street, in a car or walking into a club. It helps the audience connect with this new upcoming artist and give them a feel for what her personality is like.
3. Pace of editing fits the music (Rude Boy - Rihanna)
At the beginning of the video it has the sound effect of a DJ’s deck being scratched when this happens the video reverses slightly. Also when it says “BOOM BOOM BOOM” the words appear on screen in sync with the music.
4. Code of dress reflects the mood of the song (The Fear – Lily Allen)
She is dressed in Indie, feminine clothe. This reflects the song as she talks about change when she says “ Life’s about film stars and less about mothers” Also, it shows how much society has changed. She walks into a manssion in this "common" clothing and yet gets treating just the same as a person of a higher status would have.
5. Genre of the music is represented by the mise en scene (Takin back my love - Enrique Iglesias and Ciara)
The song is about 2 people breaking up. The mise en scene is effective as it’s in a plausible setting of a house. Also there are photographers of the couple all around the house and included in some of the close up shots. The lighting has a tint of blue to show the emotions that the couple are feeling.
6. Camera shots/angles are used to represent the band/artist (Fat Lip – Sum 41)
Medium shots are used to show the band members playing their instruments and singing. Whereas the long shots are used for the comedy aspects within the video; to entertain the audience whilst showing their personalities.
7. Intertextuality (Sabotage –Beastie Boys)
The video uses the style of an 80’s Tv cop show.
Our music video
Beyoncé lyrics talks about how she believes that guys take women for advantage and that if the roles were reversed she would be different. The video reflects this by her and her husband switching positions sort of like the film Freaky Friday however they are in their own bodies. It shows how the couple acts and reacts to the situations and people around them.
2. Artist is performing (Tik Tok – Ke$ha)
Throughout the song the artist is shown performing whether it is in a bath tub, on a street, in a car or walking into a club. It helps the audience connect with this new upcoming artist and give them a feel for what her personality is like.
3. Pace of editing fits the music (Rude Boy - Rihanna)
At the beginning of the video it has the sound effect of a DJ’s deck being scratched when this happens the video reverses slightly. Also when it says “BOOM BOOM BOOM” the words appear on screen in sync with the music.
4. Code of dress reflects the mood of the song (The Fear – Lily Allen)
She is dressed in Indie, feminine clothe. This reflects the song as she talks about change when she says “ Life’s about film stars and less about mothers” Also, it shows how much society has changed. She walks into a manssion in this "common" clothing and yet gets treating just the same as a person of a higher status would have.
5. Genre of the music is represented by the mise en scene (Takin back my love - Enrique Iglesias and Ciara)
The song is about 2 people breaking up. The mise en scene is effective as it’s in a plausible setting of a house. Also there are photographers of the couple all around the house and included in some of the close up shots. The lighting has a tint of blue to show the emotions that the couple are feeling.
6. Camera shots/angles are used to represent the band/artist (Fat Lip – Sum 41)
Medium shots are used to show the band members playing their instruments and singing. Whereas the long shots are used for the comedy aspects within the video; to entertain the audience whilst showing their personalities.
7. Intertextuality (Sabotage –Beastie Boys)
The video uses the style of an 80’s Tv cop show.
Our music video
1. Lyrics influence the music video
When we emailed the real artist about what the song was about this is the reply I got “my life inspired me to write the song, and it's just about the crazy things that relationships do, I guess! Sometimes we put our partner above us, and it can be good to remember that we are equals. We have our own worth. We need to accept and love ourselves as much as we do other people” We reflected this in our music video by having the model on her own throughout, she was representing the independence and that we need to take time out to understand who we are and recollect our memories, skills and relax.
2. Artist is performing
Throughout we used clips of our artists singing for example using the green screen in Manchester city centre. Due to the direct address it helped her to connect with the audience, they could see the emotions she was experiencing.
3.Pace of editing fits the music
The majority of the video fit to the music. However, the first few shots at the beginning were fast cuts which contrasted the slow pace. Nevertheless it was effective as it allowed us to display the majority of the locations that would be shown throughout.
4. Code of dress reflects the mood of the song
The mood of the song is relaxed and due to the fact that the genre is pop folk we used costumes that were on more of the quirky side. The clothes were individual, flowing and feminine. Not only did it reflect the music it also represented the personality of the artist.
5. Genre of the music is represented by the mise en scene
During the music video we added in extra details and props such as the clock, chess board and weighing scale, this helped us to class our video as experimental but it also helped with the aspect of indie. The lighting contributed to the genre, the natural lighting helped portray a sense of reality and gives the impression that it is a home video, which includes lots of memories which allows people to relate to her.
6. Camera shots/angles are used to represent the band/artist
We used various shots in our project to help create different connections. The close ups to help her communicate with the audience. The steady camera was used to show this memory and give a feeling of reality and as if you were friends.
7. Intertextuality
We didn’t use as we wanted it to be unique.
Anything Different
What did the audience think?
The audience liked the use of the green screen effect and the black and white. When asked what the black and white represents they replied with things along the lines of "it is from a different time". Although the effects used gain a postive review the song itself didn't seem to appeal to the audience.
Branding
Our logo
How was the brand maintained?The logo was maintained in a variety of ways. Although the logo wasnt shown in the video the same conventions were used. The nature fact was used in both. In the music video the artist was shown in places away from urban areas reenforces the nature elements and in the ancillary tasks we use the local park.
The silhouette used on the cd is the relaxed image that we wanted to potray which is similar to the basement scenes. The nature element is reflected in the forest scene and also throughout the ancillary tasks. The back cover (bench picture) is in parrell to the scenes in which the artist is sat on the basement stairs as they both have a sense of the artist in deep thought.
Audience feedback
In order to see how effective our product would be amongst our target audience we conducted a pilot study. We distributed 14 questionnaires between 8 males and 6 females which was our target and secondary audience. The results showed us that a lot of people enjoyed the product yet some minor alterations were needed such as the lip syncing.
The majority of people that would not be interested in watching it again was males which was predicted as we focus all our designs mainly on the female audience.
The most favorite part of the music video for both the audience and me was the use of the green screen as it is different to what is usually seen in student films, resulting in a more authentic product. As well as the green screen a lot of people enjoyed the black and white effect, the audience recognized that this effect was to represent a different time and memories. These effects made the overall product professional looking. I am pleased with the feedback as we spend a lot of the time correcting footage so that it would look authentic.
The ancillary tasks produced by myself and Lauren Pollard received positive feedback with the ratings being high. We based it on real album covers and so it would look like an actual product that would be sold in stores. We use some of the key conventions such as the artist appearing on the cover and facing the camera.
When asked what could be improved we received the same answer from all of our audience and that was lip syncing. On the computer screen it looked reasonable correct however when on a bigger screen we could see that it was out of sync at times. This could be improved on. Some people also suggested that we could have included more transitions. We possible could have done but we didn’t want to make it look cheesy and over used.
Technology
Hardware and Software
To shoot all the video footage we used a canon MD235 Digital video camera that the college supplied for us.
· 45x advanced zoom
· wide high resolution
· widescreen tv
· wide colour EVF
· Quick start
· LCD video light
All of these features allowed us to make a more professional looking music video. However the only disadvantage was the availability of the camera. Due to various other groups doing a project which required the video cameras it was harder to access one. Also while uploading footage it would upload in real time so to upload 30 minutes of footage such as the manchester scene which took 30 minutes
For both the music video and the ancillary tasks we took pictures locations and the artist we used a Panasonic Lumix Digital stills camera. It features
· 12 megapixel camera
· 5x optical zoom
· USB connection
The pictures produced were good but not up to the standard required, the picture quality was adequate for our task. However, if we used a professional camera such as the ones used in photography the pictures would have looked more authentic. The only disadvantage that was apparent was that it could be a bit slow at taking the pictures so it was difficult to take spare of the moment pictures.
To import, store, edit and distribute the footage we used an apple Mac. Due to the fact that i have always used a Microsoft computer it took some times to get used to where some of the applications were. After a few times of using the Mac it became easier and so objectives could be completed quicker with none of the quality removed.
Final cut express is one of the most famous video editing software that Mac has created and because of its success it has gone on to evolve and regenerate.
· It is compatible with the most used formats in camcorders
· Essential editing for video and audio
· More transitions, filters and effects.
All of these features allowed us to be more creative however because of the extra and more complex tools it made it harder to use.
For the ancillary tasks, as it is more physical merchandise we will need to use Photoshop cs3. It is a quick way to make professional photo products such as magazine covers. Some of the main features include:
· Colour correction
· Cloning and healing tools
· Blending layers
· Quick selection
· effects
These features help make the image look pristine and flawless. The errors in the colouring can be altered and corrected. For beginners (such as myself) it can be difficult to create professional looking photos, to overcome this problem I searched the internet and found various tutorials online which helped me to do basics yet create effective photos.
In The evaluation stages of the project i used Microsoft powerpoint 2007 to create presentations.
· Get better results faster with the Office Fluent user interface.
· Create powerful, dynamic SmartArt diagrams.
· Create presentations quickly and easily by re-using custom layouts.
· Apply a consistent look and feel in one click
· Dramatically modify shapes, text, and graphics with new tools and effects.
Conclusion
At the beginning of the research and planning one person was doing a lot of the work that was set. However, it motivated me and I found out extra information which would be relevant to the project.
For the first piece of research I watched and evaluated a music video. At first I was struggling with it as I wasn't sure what to look out for but soon I got the hang of it but then I research the artist so that I know her background information and genre of music. This helped me to evaluate the music video as I could relate the lyrics not only to the video but also her life.
In the planning stages I did the storyboard with the brief description. It allowed us to know which locations we were hoping to use and what we wanted to happen whilst there.
I contributed to the shooting of the video, I attended all the shoots that I could and set up the camera so it was in position for shooting. I took pictures of the locations and posted then on the blog. I helped out in the editing stages such as simple suggestions about colouring and effects.
I helped with the research of the cd covers that had been effective and inspiring. I also sketched some of the possible design ideas for the front cover. I took inspiration from blends that are found on help sites for Piczo. When it came to the photographs for the CD and magazine advertisement I asked the model if she wouldn't mind if we use her. I went to the park with one of my friends and did the shoot there. When I came to editing the images we did it together.
Overall I think that the project was a success, it received good feedback. It was a good experience and the entire group worked extremely hard.
Our Finsihed Products
Hannah Tabor
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