Friday, 16 December 2011

Music Video


Petunia and the Monsters from Kathryn Furness on Vimeo.

Evaluation (Updated)

 In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
First of all I am going to talk about in what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products. I don't think that my product develops or challenges any conventions of real media products. For the music video there have been a number of camera angles and locations used in the filiming which is used in actual music videos also at the top left hand corner of the video is a logo as if the music video was being played on a music channel. The video uses a circular narrative which is used in many videos. The video starts in black and white and ends in colour which  shows that there has been a change. At the beginning of the video it is meant to be negative and by ending the video in colour it shows the message has become positive and then the camera pans up towards the sky which symbolises freedom. For my ancilary texts I have used several conventions that are used in real media products. For my advertisement I have included an image to catch the attention of anyone reading the magazine the advert would be placed in, the name of the artist is placed at the top and then at the bottom is the name of the album including which tracks are featured on the CD and the date it will be released. It includes things such as 'featuring the hit single Infidelity'. As for my digipak I have continued to use the same font which is used on the advertisement. 
The CD includes many of the conventions that are included on actual albums such as a track list on the back which after it was decided the music video track would be called 'Infidelity' I tried to use similar terms for other tracks. The CD has copyright information on the bottom of it which is almost exactly the same to what is used on actual albums, I read the copyright information on several CDs and slightly altered it so that it would fit to my work.


How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
I think that the combination of my main product and ancilary texts are quite effective. For both of my ancilary texts I have used black and white images and the start of the music video is in black and white therefore it creates a link between the two and shows continuity. I have used the same font for both of my ancilary texts and kept the same colours. The digipak features images from close by where the video was filmed so therefore I am able to link the video to the ancillary task through the images i have used.


What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Audience feedback showed that for the filming of the video the camera should have been steadier in several scenes, this is because it was a handheld camera so maybe if we had used a tripod to sit the camera on then the filming would have been more steady and cause the video to look less amatuer. For me I believe that I spent more time on my digipak than my advertisement so I think that if I was to do it again I would improve on my advertisement to make it more eye catching, I put quite a bit of effort into my digipak to make it appealing to the target audience which was determined through questionnaires which also provided information on what the target audience like to see in music videos. The music video was originally going to be all in black and white however audience feedback showed that the audience like a way to be able to determine the goody from the baddy so by using light to represent the woman and ending the video bright when she walks away it was easy to determine the good from the bad in the video, I think this comes from childhood with being afraid of the dark and having a light on to feel safe.



How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages? 
Finally I am going to talk about how I used media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages. Before we were able to produce the music video we had to research into story boards and produce our own story board, this was so we would be able to plan out and have a clear idea of how the music video would go. Some scenes ended up being cut from the video as there wasn't much time left, such scenes as the grave yard scene and the party scene were cut.To produce the music video we used a handheld video camera to film and to edit the video we used iMovie. The actual production of the video took a while as we had to shoot each scene several times by using different angles to see which looked best. 
After filming was done we then had to edit the video which was done on iMovie, this involved removing the audio from clips, choosing which clip would be best in the video, adding transitions and cutting some clips so that the video didn't become too long and boring. We did research into several music videos to see how long scenes last and what kind of transitions are used so that our video would work with our piece of music.

Overall I am pleased with the final product and think that both of the ancilary texts (magazine advertisement and digipak) work well with the main product (the music video). If I'd had more time I think that the music video could have been made better by have a steadier camera and I could've improved my digipak by having an image of the artist on the front. Looking back at my research and planning I believe that I have been able to apply conventions of real media products quite well to my main product and both of my ancilary texts.



I tried to improve my ancillary tasks from my laptop at home, this included the digipak and advertisement poster. However after spending 2hrs+ improving each of them I then had issues saving them. They wouldn't save to any of the files used for blogger (JPEG's, GIF's and PNG's). Not only that, as I use a macbook when I did a compatibility check to see if I would be able to send it to a PC it said it wouldn't be compatible. I saved the file to a pen drive and tried it in both of my two other laptops which are both PCs however when it uploaded images etc were missing. The improvements included new images on the digipak and also an entirely new advertisement post which included more information on the CD and a new image and a new background.

Wednesday, 14 December 2011

DigiPak


The image above shows the inside of the digipak. In the center is the CD which is just one solid colour with the name of the artist 'Petunia and the Monsters' at the top and at the bottom is the name of the album 'Infidelity'.  It also contains three images which will be seen when the digipak is opened up. The two images on either side of the CD are of the area outside the house which some scenes from the video were filmed & the image at the bottom is of the coast near where the video was filmed. On the bottom of the disk and on the back of the digipak is the copyright which reads 'An original sound recording made by Petunia and the Monsters. All trade marks and logos are protected. All rights reserved.©''.

The above image shows the outside of the digipak. The front of the album contains the artist name 'Petunia and the Monsters' at the top and at the bottom is the name of the album 'Infidelity'. The image at the bottom is upside down as it will be the right way up when it is all folded together. The back of the digipak contains a tracklist of 7 tracks then at the bottom again is the copyright information 'An original sound recording made by Petunia and the Monsters. All trade marks and logos are protected. All rights reserved.©''.

Tuesday, 6 December 2011

Magazine Advertisement (Updated)


Above is my original advertisement for the CD to be featured in a magazine.


Above is my improved magazine advertisement. I have fully explained in my evaluation the problems I encountered when trying to upload the complete advertisement.

DigiPak Ideas


 Above is my drawing of one of my ideas for how the digipak should look. For this specific idea I took different ideas from a few digipaks to create my own idea. Overall I will be using four images for the digipak, 3 for the inside and one on the cover. The cover of the digipak will feature an image of the artist and then above that will be the name of the artist. This is the only digipak where I decided that the CD would be completely visible in the packaging. On the back of the digipak is information about the CD and the artist which is the same for all of my ideas.



This digipak was my second idea and I based it on the digipak for P!nk's Greatest Hits. For this digipak I would only be using two images, one on the inside and the other for the front. I havn't completely copied P!nk's Greatest Hits digipak as for the cover I'm going to place the artists name underneath the image on the cover. The back of the digipak will once again contain information on the artist and the digipak.




The above digipak is my third idea. I will be using four images for this digipak also, 3 will be on the inside and one on the cover. Again the back of the digipak will be one solid colour based on the theme I choose for the album and feature information on the artist and the digipak itself. This digipak also doesn't have the CD fully visible. Inside and in the middle of the digipak there will be the artists name in big lettering between the two images of the artist. The front cover will have the artists name on the top of the album.

Friday, 18 November 2011

Poster Advertisement For CD Release


This was a poster that was released to promote Rihanna's 2010 album 'Loud'. The poster contains an image of Rihanna which was used for the album cover with text underneath. The text contains the artist's name 'Rihanna' the information about the album & then in the same font & colour it has the album name 'Loud'.

The text underneath Rihanna’s name reads in white ‘The New Album’ it then has the albums name and then more information about the album also in white ‘Featuring the #1 Hit. Only Girl in the World’ & then underneath that is the release date ‘Coming November 16th, 2010’. The poster was universal and used around the world.

The poster contains all necessary information about the album release, there is no indication of price on the poster as different shops will have different prices & this kind of poster will be displayed in bus shelters & billboards, posters that are placed in shop windows will have that shops logo on the poster & show a price for the CD to try and attract customers.

Here is the poster advertisement for the 2011 release of Lady Gaga's album 'Born This Way'. The poster doesn't contain much information however the album still went to #1 in over 20 countries. The poster contains a black and white image of Lady Gaga's face with prosthetics on her cheeks & forehead. The poster then has in big red lettering the word 'Gaga' with the release date over it reading '5.23.11'. Between the numbers in the date are crosses which were used in the title of her previous album 'The Fame Monster'. I think this was used to create a slight familiarity as in interviews she was saying her album would be very different to previous work.

Thursday, 20 October 2011

Narrative Theory in Relation to Our Product.

Todorov:
Start - Equilibrium- the 2 main characters (male and female) are in a very loving relationship, they are happy with one another having no problems.
Disruption 1- The main character (male) doesn't show the other main character (female) any attention or love. This pushes her away and makes her feel upset and lonely.
Disruption 2- The main character (male) cheats on the main character (female)
Resolution - There isn't much of a resolution within our music video, although the main character's (female) friends help her and get her through the cheating, by giving her support and reassurance. The ending of our music video is a cliff hanger leaving our audience to make the ending of the story, keeping them hooked and interested.



Vladamir Prop:
Princess- Main character (female) - Annabelle
Villain 1- Main character (male) - Jack
Villain 2- The lover (female) - Cece
Helpers - Main character (female) - Friends
Not a lot associated with the Prop theory but there is still a small amount.



Levi - Strauss:
Main Character (female) - Annabelle: Good innocent. This is shown in costumes; she will be wearing angelic colours such as whites, blues, and light pinks.
Main Character (Male) – Jack: Non supportive. He will be pushing her away. He will be wearing blacks, reds and dark blues to show this.
Home wrecker – Cece: Promiscuous and Devilish. This will be shown in her costumes. She will be wearing Red and Black.
Friends: Supportive and always nice. They will be shown in angelic clothing, light pinks, blues and white.





Barthes:
Action: We think that the main character (male- Jack) is phoning main character (female- Annabelle) but really he is calling his lover (Cece)
Semics: Outfits, colours, props, body language and facial expressions
Enigma: What happened after the end? What will happen at the party? This keeps the audience guessing and allows them to make the story up.
Cultural: Stereotypically in a bad relationship which is the boys fault.
Symbolic: Innocent female vs male Character and innocent female vs
promiscuous female.

Wednesday, 19 October 2011

StoryBoard.

Below is our initial StoryBoard for our Music Video.










Storyline. Harvey.

At the start we see Annabell sat in a grave yard on a bench crying and at the bottom of the screen it will the tell the time which will be later on in the day (close up) she is staring at a ring (mid shot) then she chucks it to the ground and we see it land on the grass (extreme close up). The scene then fades and we are taken back to the start of the day, early morning with the time on the bottom of the screen again, and we see Annabell just getting up, walking into the kitchen and living room, and relaxing before university (pan, lean line, tilts, dolly shot, hand held). Then she gets dressed and heads out (extreme close up of putting make up on & low angle of her walking out). We then see her at university in class and then with her friends socialising (mid shot, crane on stairs and long shots). Then she walks off to call her boyfriend and we see him describing without sound that hes going out and he is with his friends on break from work and she is still at university (split screen while both on phone mid shot, long shot and close up). We then see both of them get off phone, she walks away with her friends and he just carries on and laughs with his friend and makes a gesture as though he is calling his fiance crazy ( mid to long shot of Annabell walking away and mid close up of Jack). Now we are back at Annabell's and Jacks house and we see Jack getting ready and Annabell walks in and as she walks in he is just getting his shoes on ready to go out to his friends house to watch the football match and have a few drinks, and we see her actions as surprised that he's not spending any time with her, so he walks out and she leans against kitchen counter looks around for a bit then walks to the window to see him get in his friends car and drive off ( close ups of talking, over shoulder, long shot of Annabell on kitchen bench, point of view shot as Annabell looks out the window). We then see her getting a phone call of her friend Alex and the screen keeps moving from Annabell to Alex on the phone, and Alex is convincing Annabell to go round and have a 'girls night in party' at her house (extreme close up of phone when Alex rings so we see her name). Then we have Annabell getting ready again and seeing her put make up on then leaving but not happy almost as if she is fed up or being forced to do something she doesn't want to (close ups of face again when putting make up on and high angle of when she leaves to make her seem small and weak as now she is upset that her fiancee left her to go out with his  friends). Then she is at her friends house having a little party and Jack is at his friends having a party but there are girls there as well (split screen, full screen of each party, close ups, mid shots). Then at Annabell's party the alcohol runs out so her and 2 Friends walk to the shop to get more alcohol and as shes walking, they turn a corner and walk up towards Jack outside a house smoking, they did not know that they were actually in the same area, with another girl, and then he kisses this other girl not realising Annabell is next to them. (over shoulder long shot focus pull, close ups, mid shots) so Annabell runs off to the grave yard and we are back at the first scene (hand held following her run, dolly and pan). After a few seconds her friends come and cuddle her and pick her up and they walk out of grave yard (long shot, we only see bench and then they walk out of camera).

Costume Design. Harvey.

Annabell, through out the video there is going to be costume changes for each character, as the day progresses, so does the characters costumes. She will wear alot of light colours to give connotations that she is a good innocent character

  • At the start of the day we see Annabell in very relaxed clothes in the house, she will wear typical house comfy clothes like woolen track suit bottoms with her fiancees hoody on, the bottoms will be grey and the hoody would be a white one, because these light colours give a connotation of purety and innocence, so it makes the character seem like the sweet good innocent one in the video.
  • The second costume is what annabell wears to university for her lectures and work then lunch after, she wears; jeggings with a white dress top, again the white bright colours would connote her purity and she would wear ugg boots to show she is trendy, so overall we get an image of a young trendy girl who is in university, so this gives us a good girl image of her.

    Jack is being portrayed as the bad one in the video, so his clothes will have to connote his personality, so there will be a lot of blacks, reds

    • When we first see jack it will be him in work clothes, so he would be wearing ripped jeans and work boots with a white dirty top, the white dirty top would connote that there was purity but now its all dirty so it has been taken away.
    • Second costume for Jack would be when he's going to the party, he will wear chinos and a black top, darkness connotes that he is the bad person in the story.

    Biography of Characters. Harvey.

    Annabell (main character) - Annabell is a 21 year old university student doing a degree in social work, she lives with her fiancee Jack, in new apartments in the centre of Newcastle, who for the past few weeks she hardly sees because he's working his new job when she's not working, as she's lead to believe. She likes staying in and having nights with her fiancee but when she is left alone she likes to have Friends round for a drink.

    Jack (Fiancee of Main Character) - Jack is 20 and works as in a car factory, he is a stereotypical young man who loves going out and partying with his Friends, he has cheated a few times on his fiancee without her knowing but his actions are affecting his conscience yet he still does not stop, karma will soon catch up to Jack.

    CeCe (extra - nick name) - CeCe is a 19 year old girl not in education or work, she is on the unemployment line living off the doll, she currently lives with her parents in a council flat in Sunderland but spends all her money going clubbing in the Newcastle night scene. She is one of Jacks friends but in the video we see that she is a very beneficial friend to Jack.

    Alex & Steph (Annabell's Friends) - Alex and Steph are Annabell's friends, they go to university with her and study on her course, they are the friends Annabell usually invites round or socialises with when they go out.

    Research into Locations in Music Videos.

    Research into locations in music videos




    Pixxie Lott: All about tonight


    At the beginning of the music video there is an establishing shot of a city, this allows the audience to get an insight into where the next scene will be taking place. The next scene is taken of someone walking down a street, the audience have not yet scene the whole setting of where the scene will be taking place. The scene is then showen, it looks like a deralict bridge and a area. This is where people this age are stereotyped to 'hang' around. The fact that Pixxie Lott is wearing black, along with everyone else gives off an eary edge as well s it being filmed in an eary place. This is effective as it keep the audience hooked to find out what is going to happen next. Her hair being white blond still shows an element of purity and innocence, which also keeps the audience hooked to watch.




    Taylor Swift: You belong with me


    At the beginning of the music video there is an establishing shot of 2 house's. The camera then zooms in to a teenagers bedroom(male) where he is on the phone and seems to be distressed. Across from the bedroom is another teenagers bedroom(female) whee she is reading a book looking across at the male. There is a typical teenage love story involved where the female being a 'Nerd' fancies the 'Cool guy'. This instantly hooks the audience as the feelings within the song are being acted out. This makes the audience want to find out wether they get together or wether her secret stays a secret. This music video is effective to its target audience as it is related to what normally happens around this age range, which is why they would want to watch the music video.

    Research into Costumes in Music Videos.

    Research into costumes in music videos.


    Ne-yo: Mad

    The male actor (Ne-yo) is wearing jogging pants with a black vest top, with a hoodie on top. The is a typical stereotype to the Africain American and is used to send a bad portrayal. This if effective within the music video as the when actor actually does a good deed, which ends up with him dying. The fact that the audience would have already judged him is effective as he actually doesn't fit the stereotype which has been given. The stereotyped clothing fits well with the emotions which he is feeling, by him hitting the door and the verbal language which he said, this again gives a bad portrayal of himself allowing people to again judge him.

    The female actress has natural make up at the beggining of the video, adding definition to her eyes. This is done so that it gets the attention of the audience engaging them to find out how she feels by looking at her eyes. Her hair is straight and looks well kept. She is wearing a black vest top along with a pair of dark coloured jeans. She is wearing casual clothing due to being at home within her own surroundings. Although she is wearing casual clothing you can see that she has put an effort into choosing what she wears as everything is coordinated. As the video goes on she looks like she hasn't got any make up on or has put no effort into what she wears. She isn't wearing any feminine clothing and has taken no pride in her appearance by doing neither her hair or make up. This allows the audience to see the sudden change in her emotions, allowing them to connect with her.




    Rihanna: Take a bow

    The use of red lipstick and red jacket could connote the love that she has for her ex partner but the anger that she cannot stay with him. The red items of clothing and red lipstick stands out well against her skin colour and her dark hair, this is effective as it pulls the audience in even more as it is such a dramatic change from her last outfit. The reason to why she is wearing the bright colours is so that she is noticed when she is out, not only by her ex boyfriend but also others, as this is her opportunity to move on. Dark clothing black tank top and dark blue/black jeans along with mid heeled black shoes, with jewellery. Make up kept natural, definition added to her eyes and eye brows reason for this is because this is what pulls the audience in being the main thing which the focus is on in the rule of thirds. Nails, hair and makeup done, shows that what ever happens she always takes good care of herself ensuring she looks well kept and smart.




    Jason Derulo: It girl

    To begin with he is wearing a  pair of white suit pants with a pinstriped blazer jacket buttoned up along with a shirt and tie, He is sitting on a car leaning slightly forward looking off into the distance. The outfit that he is wearing makes him seem superior making the audience think that he is a business man. This is effective as it allows the audience to make an instant judgement on him. He is also wearing Sunglasses along with a watch which looks like a Rolex. This allows the audience to see that he has a swagger approach to the way he looks by looking at his body language while he is sitting on the car, but also allows them to see that he takes pride in the way he presents himself due to the watch and suit he is wearing. The next shot is of him wearing a white t-shirt along with a leather jacket on top, this is not the stereotypical style with an African American as they are normally seen wearing loose fitted hoodies and tracksuit pants. He then goes on to wearing a pair of white suit pants and a white shirt tucked in. The white could signify that he is angelic and pure, which is a contradiction as he is singing about an 'It Girl' which is about what he wants his girl to look like and act around him. The fact that the women is wearing black could show that even though she fits his description, and acts like he wants her to act, that she might not actually be good for him and could lead him astray. The female is wearing provocative clothing, along with class. As she is wearing a hat along with provocative lingerie showing off all aspects of her figure. She is also wearing a revealing maxi dress with a split up the side showing of her legs as she walks.

    Research into Existing Music Videos

    Research into existing music video’s, that fit with the genre that we are doing.


    Ne-yo - Mad



    The story of this song is a circular narrative. The song begins with the end of the story and as the song continues the story begins to unfold. This is an interesting way for a music video to be filmed as it has a lot of imagination and creativity put into it. The beginning of the music video begins with an argument between the two actors. This allows the audience to connect with the actors and allows them to judge them and take sides. The male actor (Ne-yo) is wearing jogging pants with a black vest top, with a hoodie on top. The is a typical stereotype to the black race and is used to send a bad portrayal. The stereotyped clothing fits well with the emotions which he is feeling, by him hitting the door and the verbal language which he said. The use of close ups in this music video works effectively as we are able to see the emotions within the actors eyes and facial expressions, telling the audience a lot about what they feel, allowing them to sympathise with the actors. The way the female character is curled in on the sofa with her arms crossed makes her have a physcologically defensive pose, this intrigues the target audience and makes them curious to why she is feeling like this. She also looks like she has put no effort into the way she looks, as she is not wearing any feminine clothing and has taken no pride in her appearance by doing neither her hair or make up. Although the male actor seems relaxed lying on the sofa with his hands running across his forehead. This makes the audience want to find out what has happened and why their body language is different to one another. The flowers in the music video are beginning to wither, the type of flowers are Chrysanthemums which are one of many flowers associated with death. The flowers are also drooping and looked uncared for. This could show the death of the male actor, but it could also show that the female actor thinks that nothing else in the world matters. The use of no colour and keeping the whole music video in black and white allows the audience to interpret the music video in a different way as to what they would in colour as it allows the audience to use their imagination. The use of the colours being black and white is effective as it could connote the feelings between the two actors.


    Eminem – Space bound



    Space Bound is a small film about a daydream. About a violent imagery of which a man goes through during the video. His alter ego in the back seat of his car is trying to give a voice to his thoughts. Giving it a sort of dialogue of which is not heard. The way that this music video is filmed is intriguing as it has the audience watching thinking that the violence in the video actually takes place. The darkness within the video gives the music video and eary edge which hooks the audience making them think of what will happen or what is going to happen, it could connote what his emotions are at the time, the use of smoke could connote that not everything is clear in his mind and that he needs to think it out. The lyrics are fast paced with a lot of information on how he feels within them, this could show that he has so much on how he feels but just doesn't know how to say it in a sentence being the reason why he has put it into a song. His alter ego tries to give him a voice to his thoughts but confuses him even more due to the smoke becoming heavier and the rap becoming more and more intense. The way that the video is split in to two halves is effective because in one half it shows the audience what he feels like doing and how he feels this could be sorted out but in the other half it shows him doing what he knows is right. It then begins to flip to and fro each half. This is effective as it allows the audience to see more clearly what is happening and allows them to connect with the situation.





    Rihanna- Take a bow



    The Genre of this music video is Romance, this is obvious as it is about a relationship which is ending and the feelings and thoughts that are being felt. This gives a negative representation of males instantly as it shows betrayal. This is shown by the lyrics used ' baby i know your only sorry cause you got caught' not only the lyrics but also the acting within the music video shows how sorry he actually was. At the beginning of this video there is a direct mode of address when Rhianna looks directly into the camera. This creates a connection with the audience instantly allowing her to create a connection. Throughout this music video you can see that there is a build up of emotions. This is shown by the camera being in slow motion as well as the camera being placed slightly below the person of who is on the screen many of the shots are mid shots or extreme close up’s. By doing this you are able to see the emotion and attitude that she is feeling against her partner. There is also a part of the video which is taken of her feet, this is effective as we are unaware of the next place which she is going to. Each scene seems to have been slowed down.



    Beyonce – If I were a boy



    The story of this song is a circular narrative which means that the song begins with the end of the story and as the song continues the story begins to unfold. This is effective as it keeps the audience intrigued making them want to find out what is going to happen next. It also has a point of view motive where the woman puts herself into her boyfriends position to see how he thinks and feels and he is in her position seeing how he treats her, This is effective as it allows the audience to see her true feelings and allows them to connect with Beyonce. This allows the audience to experience the emotions with her, which is picked upon at the end of the music video. The black and white could connote the feelings, which are being felt. For instance the black may show that there is no feelings left and that it is a dead end relationship, where as the white could show that there is a dream of what they or she wants the relationship to be, pure and fresh. This is interesting as it shows that the video is well thought out to go with the piece of music which was written. At the beginning of the music video it shows a man and a women along with a man saying a set of words which are associated with a relationship. Such as intimacy, honesty, commitment, you , me, us Together. This allows the audience to sympathise with the two people, but this is later revealed within the story. The females body language looks distant and uninterested with her partner, making an awkward vibe, the male actor's body language seems unloved and lonely. This makes the audience again sympathise with the actors. The camera angle is on a mid shot allowing us to see the actors facial expressions along with the items of clothing .

    Target Audience Research. Jack.

    I created a Questionnaire to find out more about our target audience, to see what type of music they like and what they like to see in a music video. The reason for doing this is so that we really know our target audience and know what they want. This means that we are more likely to create a music video that is appealing to a wider range of viewers rather than a minority. It is very important to have a good music video to go with the song. After getting people to fill out the questionnaire I then tallied up the result and made pie charts to make them easier and clear to read here are my results:









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    This Graph shows the results on what all the audience listen to and the most popular was Pop then Hip hop and then R'n'B. This is good for us to see because our music style is going to be a mixture of all three. This shows that we will be able to branch out to a wider audience and be more appealing. It was very important to ask this question so that we really know we are appealing to the right audience.
    This once again was a very important question to ask because, I was unsure of how long to make the music video not too short that people are uninterested but not too long that people are bored of it so I thought medium which was the most highly rated from our target audience.
    I decided to ask this question because some music videos use the colour on the camera to set the theme and the emotion in the music video but this is sometimes very predictable and can be off putting to the audience. Looking at these results we can see that there is an even amount of people who like both, and who like just colour this is going to be something that we need to decide whether to go with both or just with colour.


    A lot of music videos show a story in the music video and most song we hear all have a story behind them. These results show that more people just prefer to a song and not really think about the story behind it. I have decided to actually go with showing a story in the music video so that is is more understandable.
    This question was purely to see how many people should be in the music video and the majority said 1 or more taking this into account I think it would be easy to have more than one in the video because then it makes it easier to explain the story behind the song.


    Because the results on this question were exactly even, We have decided to make the video with half miming and half not miming which will be all mixed up.
    I decided to ask this question because I thought it would be interesting to see what type of clothing people actually wanted to see in the music videos I was surprised that most people said casual because I did predict that more people would want to see stylish because in our day and age most music videos are about product placement of different designer brands.
    When asking this question I was more keen on the idea of just one person singing because I don't really like duet type themed song but that was just my own view so it was important to see what the audience actually wanted and most of them seemed to agree with my view.


    When asking this question I was unsure if people would know what it meant and I was surprised to see that most people did and the ones that did most said that they did like to see this theme in a music video.










    -Because We have decided to use a mixture of different types of music it is pretty hard to point out one type of target audience as we have a much wider range because we branch out to lots of different audiences but our main target audience age will be around 15+. We also think that it will be mostly boys who will listen to this music although we do still think girls will watch this music video.







    Location Research. Jack.













    As you can see in these images we have decided to film in a few different settings mainly all outside in more rural settings and also main areas where there may be people, the reason for doing this is because we think this will make it easy and clean to tell the story behind the music because if we just have it in one setting that may make it plain and boring. We also need to make sure that the location we are filming in is not too sunny but just the right amount of lighting this is because we may be filming some of the video in black and white and if there is too much light it could effect the colour.

    DigiPak Research. Jack.







    Research:
    This is an image of the Beyonce B'Day digipak which contains photos of the singer in many different scenery's for example the main image of Beyonce on the inside shows her to be very dominant. The other images in the digipak show her to be much more feminine. The images show that they are targeted at both male and female audiences as she is seen as a sex symbol which is stereotypically attractive to men but then is also seen as a dominant strong women. The colour scheme is a mix of darker colours mainly golds and blacks, doing this makes it easy for the images of Beyonce to stand out from the background more. The first CD is styled as an old record look alike doing this makes it show that it may have songs on it that are more appealing to the older audience and the other CD is more appealing to the younger generation. The type of font that is used in this digipak instantly shows the genre of Beyonces music and makes it more appealing it also makes it look clean and modern.
    This is an image of the Britney Spears Femme Fatale Digpak. Compared to the colourful bright Katy Perry digipak this one is pretty simple. The colour theme seems to be yellow shades with black, once again creating a house style, although this does not really represent the pop style like in Katy Perry's digipak it is not needed because Britney is such an iconic pop singer she is seen as the princess of pop this means there is not much need to show pop in her digipak because people already instantly know. Britney also is seen as a female sex symbol and you can see that this has been represented throughout to increase sales as all her images seem to show a more sexual and provocative side. Inside the digipak on the leaflet it has an image of Britney in the middle that has a back and the rest is all black. On the left hand side it has the initials of Britney which we instantly know and on the right hand side it has the initials of the name of the album, the reason for doing this makes it more clean and modern which appeals to the audience as the audience for Britney is always growing and getting younger which means they need to keep her modern and up to date. When looking it shows that there is a gold theme going on with the font and they all seem to be supporting the same font, although on the back of the Cd cover the titled music is in a black font this may have been done so it stands out from the neutral colour in the background, but it also makes it much easier and clearer to read.
    This is an image of the Katy Perry Teenage Dream digipak. As you can see the style of the digipak instantly relates to her music and her style and her target audience, the two Cd's in the pack are  designed so they resemble sweet treats, this makes it fun and more enjoyable, it also appeals to her young youthful audience. The leaflet inside the digipak carrys out the pink candyfloss cloud throughout the whole front to create a house style and to keep it looking clean, stylish and vibrant which instantly represents her genre pop.The font on the leaflet inside the digipak is printed in candy red and white spiral which again represents youth as it is similar to that of sweets it is also written in a balloon like font which again is very playful and fun. The two images on this leaflet of Katy are quite provocative as it looks like she has no clothing on and the only thing covering her is the candyfloss which is a big contrast against the young playful side to the digipak, the reason for doing this is because Katy is seen as a female sex symbol so these images will instantly attract all her different types of audience and increase sales. The images inside the Digipak are of Katy dressed up as a prom queen wearing a tiara and a prom king wearing a crown. The reasons for this are because going to the prom and becoming a prom queen is seen as one of the biggest events that happen in a typical American teenage girl’s life. The narrative of the album cover then be suggesting that a teenage girl’s dream is to go to the prom and become the queen

    Planning:
    Looking at this research the Digipak is very important to make sure that is suitable and will appeal to our audience it is also important that we create a good colour and font scheme that goes with our genre of music. Our Digipak is going to feature lots of things that will appeal to our audience and make them want to buy it.
    We will feature pictures that will probably be taken when filming the music video so that they are similar and can clearly show that they are by the same people. We will probably only have four or less images but we will make them big so that they are all over the digipak because we don't want too many images so that it looks too busy and unattractive but we don't want to have too few images so that it looks boring.
    We will have a house style colour throughout the Digipak this will be our colour which shows whenever you see this colour you know that it is us and it just create recognition, this colour will also be a colour that actually goes with our genre.
    We will feature a two pounds voucher for iTunes in each and every pack, this will appeal to our target audience because our target audience will be more younger girls/boys this means that we are not suggesting that they have much money which means they will enjoy to use this voucher online especially as iTunes is very popular now and lots of people prefer to buy off iTunes then go to buy the actual CD.
    We will also have a special prize sort of like a 'golden ticket' type theme which is, in one of the Digipak's there will be a special prize which is that the person who has this will be able to meet the band and spend a day with them.
    We think it is important for us to have special prizes like this because it will probably gain more buyers of the album and it will also show that we care about our fans.

    Wednesday, 5 October 2011

    Analysis of Scripts

    I tried looking for scripts for music videos however I was unable to find any so I used a script from the film 'Almost Famous' from the year 2000. It is a short section containing the first three scenes.


    Almost Famous:

    1     FADE IN    1

    A close-shot of a yellow legal tablet.  A young hand comes
    into frame, holding a pencil.  For a few moments, we hear only
    the soft scratching of pencil on paper, as credits are written
    in a series of dissolves.  The hand carefully erases and
    corrects an error or two along the way.  And then the sound of
    an old friend... the warm crackle of a vinyl record... as we
    now hear Alvin and the Chipmunks' "Christmas Song."

    2     EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN -- DAY      2

    A lone palm tree rises up into a yellow afternoon sky.  Behind
    it, the sparkling blue of the Pacific Ocean and the city of
    San Diego.  A dry, hot Southern California day.  Even the wind
    is lazy, and a little bored.



    3 EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD SHOPPING CENTER - DAY 3 Santa Claus wears shorts and sandals, ringing a bell as he collects for the Salvation Army. This is Christmas in the South land. No snow, no winter wonderland. Just a pleasantly thick heat and an unchanging season, as music continues. Turning the corner, walking into frame is ELAINE MILLER, 35. She is a tall woman, consumed by the fevered conversation she's Having with her pale young son WILLIAM, late pre-teens. They stand apart from the other shoppers.


    Above in red is the small section of the script showing the first three scenes in the film. It starts by stating what transition is used at the very beginning of the film which is a fade in. This then leads to the start of the first scene. The scene starts with a close up it then goes on to describe everything within the shot/frame that will be seen/heard on screen for example 'the warm crackle of a vinyl record'.

    Moving on to scene two, still no scripted lines for actors yet just more description of what will be seen/heard. Using the script along with the storyboard will help to create the image before it is actually filmed.

    Finally in scene three we are introduced to the characters. Scene three contains descriptions of actors movements and how they look. Including this information in the script instead of just lines is helpful for anyone who is involved in the filming. When looking at the script I choose the first three scenes as they included information on transitions and shots and were descriptive of what is in the shot/frame. Using scenes which don't contain a lot of dialogue is useful for me and the work I am going to produce as in the music video there isn't going to be a lot of dialogue so therefore it is better to see how the visual aspect of a script is dealt with.

    Tuesday, 4 October 2011

    Analysis of Storyboards

    Storyboards.
    A storyboard is used as an outline. It allows the director to visualise the flow of camera shots and sets that she/he wants to eventually appear on screen. Drawing a rough storyboard allows the director to see whether the ideas are going to work on screen. Storyboards help the director:
    ·         Decide on the sequence of shots.

    ·         Decide on the movements of actors.

    ·         Decide on camera directions.

    ·         Decide on light directions.

    Even though for our actual work we are producing a music video, I have used storyboards from a film and TV show as it was difficult to find a storyboard for a music video.


    Analysis of ‘The Simpsons’ Storyboard.


    This storyboard is slightly different as it is for an animation so therefore it doesn't involve having to go out and film in different locations. What is drawn on here is probably going to be exactly what is going to be on screen apart from maybe things which contain a lot of detail.


    The above storyboard contains 16 scenes. This storyboard contains quite alot of detail such as annotations on how people and objects should move  e.g. an arrow in the first scene by Homers head to show that his head should turn and in which direction. Other annotations that are on the storyboard state the kinds of shots that should be used for example in scene 8 it reads 'start in close-up (c/u)'. More information that is featured is timings, above each scene it states how long each scene should be so this will be helpful so that you can have an idea of how long you will/should be filming for.
    This storyboard also shows that the director may have changed things as in the 9th and 15th scene there is a cross over the image.



    Analysis of Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ Storyboard.
    Above is the storyboard for the classic horror film by Alfred Hitchcock ‘The Birds’. The storyboard shows a sequence from the film and compares the storyboard to the final product.The storyboard also shows a range of shots that are used when filming including closeup, long shot, midshot, etc.


    Undearneath each image on the storyboard is a small annotation to describe what is happening in that scene, it is mostly describing actors movements. It also contains annotations on some of the scenes. An example of this is on the 5th scene of the storyboard it shows a closeup of a woman with an arrow, this is indicating that the woman will be turning her head.

    The above storyboard helps to show how useful storyboards are in planning/visualising what you are going to film. As the above storyboard demonstrates when it came to filming they stayed as close as possible to the original ideas in the storyboard.  When it comes to filming angles, shots and scenes may change as it will look different in reality to what it does on paper so therefore the storyboard is used a guideline. An example of this is in the first scene on the storyboard where there is meant to be two men and a woman however in the actual film only the woman is in the shot.