How did you use digital technologies in the planning and research, construction and evaluation.

Audience Evaluation

 

The concept of audience feedback is paramount within the media as it has the power to determine how successful a pieces of work can be as well as highlight the potential it has throughout the production stages. The aim of the editor is to create a product that will catch the attention of their target audience as well as please, complying with all four points of the Uses and Gratifications theory. In my opinion, audience feedback must be consistently collected throughout the project to create the best understanding of what stage the product is at and how popular it is. Audience feedback can be collected in many ways which allow a wider understanding plus, a variety of responses to improve the product in which is being constructed. Without collecting the necessary information from a primary target audience the product can be deemed as pointless and not confirmed whether it fulfils its purpose. The feedback I collected for my advert, video and digpak gave me clarification of the ideas I had on top of highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of my work throughout the process and enabled me to have a detailed understanding of what the audience was looking for in the product.

My main priority for the music video and ancillary tasks I wanted to created was who would be the target audience and how would I make my work appeal to them. I decided to profile my target audience as males between the ages of 16 and 25 due to these ages being the responsible ages to go to the bands gigs as well as have the disposable income to purchase the bands tickets or music through disposable income. Furthermore, the profile I gave my typical audience would be the demographics and psychographics of individualists that are outgoing and mostly from the classes ABC1. This is due to although the audience being young students which may not have all the money to purchase gig tickets their parents elevate their social status.  The Plain White T’s are similar to Ed Sheeran in the sense that both artists follow the genres conventions in order to be successful with their music videos and portray the themes and messages they want the audiences to be able to relate to.  Both artist's are part of the same genre and consist of a live performance narrative, with potentially a small narrative within.

To allow the audience to get the best understanding of the music video I wanted to place some of the artists well known traits into the narrative as well as personal experiences. This enabled me to stick to a clear image of the band within their chosen genre and positively put forward the themes as the majority of audiences that enjoy soft rock music would expect to see these conventions. To give an example within my work the  official music video for their song “Hey There Delilah” is heavily performance based emotions and themes of a young love with close ups and saturated colour editing of the artist and his surroundings. The idea of this editing subconsciously gives the audience emotions of sadness due to the draining of colour and use of greys  This I felt was successful and so used this for inspiration when creating my work with the themes of love and nostalgia which I wanted to portray. I think this is an extremely effective style of editing the video to drain the colour as it conveyed the necessary emotions to the audiences, due to the fact they were focused on substance rather than style. Hence, using the idea of little colour in my live performance; using black and white. Black and White connoting the simplistic ideas and themes and the idea that the emotions are so strong and obvious to the audiences that anyone can relate because it is "black and white in meaning" and so I wanted to use this convention in my own work.

When studying the primary audience I chose to relate my work to their personal experiences and how I  was going to highlight specific mise en scene. Therefore I decided to research into theories in which would give me ideas and understanding to do this excellently. I focused on the uses and gratifications theory as I felt if my work consisted of the factors then the audiences could make a relationship with the artist as well as relate to the music video themes and be entertaining. The linear narrative of my music video highlights the male’s memories of his visit to London as well as his memories of the female he met there. The live performance is intertwined with iconic London scenes which represent the City admirably due to many people knowing the city due to these locations of the fact they have personally been there. The extreme close up shots of the female’s eyes and lips can be said to inform the audience the love the artist had for this girl as the lips and eyes can be sexualised to draw individuals in; especially because my primary audience is male and so following the hegnomic norm.

Furthermore another theorist I considered was Andrew Goodwin’s and his theory of the six elements observed within music videos; element one being the visuals are illustrations of the lyrics. An example within my own work with arguably uses Laura Mulvey's male gaze as well, the lyrics “close your eyes” was enhanced through the visuals of the female closing her eyes. The simple idea not only illustrated Andrew Goodwin's idea but due to using the females eyes and lips together from the males perspective enforces the way in which females are seen in the media by audiences. I furthered this with the idea that when the lyrics “walking to you” I captured the females shoes walking round the halls of her school, which later linked to the ending lyrics “two more years and you’ll be done with school” which gives the music video constant linking and repetition throughout. A final example which is a strong link to Goodwin’s theory is the constant reference to the artists iconic guitar, close ups appear capturing the detail and visually showing the audiences his guitar I which arguably made him famous.

Once I had focused on the idea of audience relationship with the video and artist I also needed to consider how to portray the themes which needed to be consistent and run through the song successfully. In order to make the theme of nostalgia and love for the city apparent I needed to refer to Saussure’s theory of signs and signifiers and represent them clearly within my video. An important factor for my music video I felt would make the work seem professional and realistic was the focus in the planning and research stage when deciding on the mise en scene; lighting and props in particular. This was due to the choice in lighting of 800W hotheads and a soft box with the guitar as a prop enabled me to ensure I was demonstrating my intentions to the audiences that the genre was soft rock and live performance. The audience would subconsciously understand this as they would have typically been to gigs in the past and so would understand the lighting choices as well as an acoustic guitar being an iconic signifier for the soft rock genre. I was aware that the focus for soft rock music was more about the substance rather than the styling and so I felt I needed to understand this element with in more detail hence I created mood boards and researched the genre to come to terms with the importance of the lyrical focus and how I would want artist to be styled. Hence when it came to the mise en scene and styling I decided to dress my artist in casual, high street clothing such as jeans, simple trains/shoes and a casual jumper which could be replicated by fans to allow them to common traits.

In addition to the lighting I wanted to portray a dream light state which would leave the viewers in awe and be overwhelmed; I was able to create this with the lighting and the editing tools within the program Premiere. I researched lighting which would be the most successful when it came to editing and would help me to create the spot light effect to enhance the detailing of his face. Furthermore I used hard light facing outwards to the camera to create such a drastic contrast when it came to editing in black and white. On top of this, I decided to use a soft box which enabled me to enhance the dream like state as it soften the overall shots I was taking and gave a softer appearance when watched back. The lighting was an important factor of my music video as it was heavily performance based, meaning I had to keep the audience’s attention with the interesting lights and constant change in camera shots and angles. The lighting I chose follows the conventions of typical soft rock music videos due to the fact I used a Redhead which is typically used for stage lighting. The majority of soft rock music videos are performance based and so use Redhead which are a typical convention, again seen in Ed Sheeran’s ‘Thinking out loud” as well as The Plain White T’s music videos. This is because the term “spot lights” connotes live performances and gigs which is what my chosen band is known for and so successfully fitting the music video into the small, exclusive image they have portrayed.

Throughout the editing process of my music video, I decided to use the use of colour and contrast in my work to make it interesting and convey the difference between performance and narrative. For example I increased the brightness to 4 as well as slightly blurred the London scenes at a scale of 2 so that the bright lighting was not in focus. This would be apparent to the audience instantly as it contrasts the black and white performance narrative. Moreover, being a signifier to the audience that these are the artists dream which are unclear and flashbacks, hence not being as long at the performance shots, subliminally suggesting to the audience we are going back to past trips which are significant to the artist. In addition many people connect the idea of photographs with past memories and so this was delivered throughout all three pieces of my work using the polaroid editing effect and the line and pegs to suggest the images had been taken of personal past events.

When considering how I would improve my work, I feel that if I had more time to create my work and observe it in more detail I would have been able to take more time in editing and understand more editing techniques which would enable me to create a more sophisticated piece of work. Finally when looking back I feel that some mistakes I made along the way could have been altered if given more time as well as consider my choices in a lot more detail and research to make sure the audience feel my work is successful. Overall, my audience feedback was positive given an average of 7 out of 10 for the success and look of the video and digipak. When considering audience feedback as the task went on I began to comprehend that in order to get the best feedback to improve I needed to have detailed questions which would receive open answers. This way I was able to have the best chance at improving my work as I would have a greater understanding of what my audience were looking for. Moreover, leaving comment boxes on my surveys as well as holding focus groups to collect the best feedback and a variety to collaborate my findings as well as find the best technique for me and my work. Personally the idea of focus groups enables me to have conversations with the individuals as well as ask more detailed question and answers as well as being able to point out specific parts.

DIGIPAK & MAGAZINE ADVERT

When considering my digipak and advert I felt it was my most successful pieces of work in respect of being able to relate to the audience. This was due to my colour scheme of blue and gold which as connotations of calm and exclusive due to the band only playing exclusive gigs and so although their styling isn't expensive the limited tickets are, hence the audiences being ABC1 class. Moreover, the genre itself is known to be more lyrical and focused on the on the relationship with the fans they had, hence including a personal message to the readers which would buy the digipak to allow them to feel a relationship with the artist. Furthermore, to make sure my work linked and was recognisable to the audiences I used the same typography in all my work to make sure they could be easily spotted. Finally, I felt that the simplistic and spacey layout kept the focus on the meaning behind the song and kept away from the styling aspect.

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

The Plain White T’s are similar to Ed Sheeran in the sense that both bands follow the genres conventions in order to be successful with their music videos and portray the themes and messages they want the audiences to be able to relate to. For both these artists within the genre of soft rock their music videos would typically be live performances, with potentially a narrative of some sort running through it. When making my music video I made sure that in order to stick with the bands image within the genre I would follow this convention and highlight the themes through a linear narrative. For example The Plain White T’s official music video for their song “Hey There Delilah” is heavily performance based capturing the artist’s emotions and themes running through the song with close ups and saturated colour editing. This I felt was successful and so used this for inspiration when creating my work with the themes of love and nostalgia which I wanted to portray. I think this is an extremely effective style of video and therefore wanted to use conventions of The Plain White T’s videos within my own.

When deciding on a narrative for my music video I felt it needed to follow the uses and gratifications theory for the audiences to make a relationship with the artist as well as relate to the music video themes and be entertaining. The linear narrative of my music video highlights the male’s memories of his visit to London as well as his memories of the female he met there. The live performance is intertwined with iconic London scenes which represent the City admirably due to many people knowing the city due to these locations of the fact they have personally been there. The extreme close up shots of the female’s eyes and lips can be said to inform the audience the love the artist had for this girl as the lips and eyes can be sexualised to draw individuals in. This relates to Andrew Goodwin’s theory of the six elements in music videos; the one explained here highlighting the visuals are illustrations of the lyrics: “close your eyes”. I furthered this with the idea that when the lyrics “walking to you” I captured the females shoes walking round the halls of her school, which later linked to the ending lyrics “2 more years and you’ll be done with school” which gives the music video constant linking and repetition throughout. A final example which is a strong link to Goodwin’s theory is the constant reference to the artists iconic guitar, close ups appear capturing the detail and visually showing the audiences his guitar I which arguably made him famous. 

An important element when creating a music video is the chosen theme which needs to be consistent and run through the song successfully. In order to make the theme of nostalgia apparent I needed to refer to Saussure’s theory of signs and signifiers and represent them clearly within my visuals. My main focus of the music videos planning stage was the mise en scene; lighting and props especially to ensure I was demonstrating my intentions to the audiences.  To begin I created mood boards and researched the genre to come to terms with the importance of the lyrical focus rather than the styling. Hence when it came to the mise en scene and styling I decided to dress my artist is casual, high street clothing such as jeans, simple trains/shoes and a casual jumper which could be replicated by fans to allow them to common traits. 

When considering the chosen lighting I needed to create a dream like state which would leave the viewers in awe and overwhelmed. I researched lighting and decided to use the 800W Redheads to create the spot light effect to enhance the detailing of his face and give a hard light facing outwards to the camera to create such a drastic contrast when it came to editing in black and white. On top of this, I decided to use a soft box which enabled me to enhance the dream like state as it soften the overall shots I was taking and gave a softer appearance when watched back. The lighting was an important factor of my music video as it was heavily performance based, meaning I had to keep the audience’s attention with the interesting lights and constant change in camera shots and angles. The lighting I chose follows the conventions of typical soft rock music videos due to the fact I used a Redhead which is typically used for stage lighting. The majority of soft rock music videos are performance based and so use Redhead which are a typical convention, again seen in Ed Sheeran’s ‘Thinking out loud” as well as The Plain White T’s music videos. This is because the term “spot lights” connotes live performances and gigs which is what my chosen band is known for and so successfully fitting the music video into the small, exclusive image they have portrayed. 

Throughout the editing process of my music video, I decided to use the use of colour and contrast in my work to make it interesting and convey the difference between performance and narrative. For example I increased the brightness to 4 as well as slightly blurred the London scenes at a scale of 2 so that the bright lighting was not in focus. This would be apparent to the audience instantly as it contrasts the black and white performance narrative. Moreover, being a signifier to the audience that these are the artists dream which are unclear and flashbacks, hence not being as long at the performance shots, subliminally suggesting to the audience we are going back to past trips which are significant to the artist. In addition many people connect the idea of photographs with past memories and so this was delivered throughout all three pieces of my work. 

Goodwin stated that within a music video, the music and visuals must intertwine with one another. Hence I decided to use an acoustic song as it portrays harmony and the voice are much slower and create a calming, soft atmosphere with audiences being able to focus on the lyrics.  In order for the visuals to fit with the music i needed to ensure I cut the shots on beat as well as use slow minimal movements when filming the live performance. This was able to be created with a steady cam and tripod to ensure the camera did not have harsh movements and was steady. For example when changing shots during the chorus I editing the quick cut on each start to a new line as well as changed between a long shot and close up to keep the audience interested as well use a variety of shots. This way, all of the shots aren’t static but still do not act as a distraction from the visuals but keep the chorus interesting. For each time the chorus was played within the song I repeated these shot sequences to create a consistent pattern and allow the audience to become familiar with the video. This is similarly to other soft rock music videos that are acoustic as they use slow moving shots, however the majority of upbeat songs which are seen within the genre use harsh, static movements to portray the 'buzz' at gigs and so my music video challenges this convention. This is because my music video is slow and also has another narrative intertwined with the performance. 

Another element of Goodwin’s theory I choose to utilise is the idea that due to the high demands of the music industry, there is often a strong need or demand for lots of close ups. This meant when researching and planning my work I understood that the video needed to be informing and entertaining and so to do this I needed a range of close ups. Yet when researching the idea further I began to notice these shots were mostly used to sexualise females within the industry for example Taylor Swift and Rihanna. Therefore I needed to use this idea of what the audiences wanted to make my music video successful but I needed to fit it to my original ideas. This lead me to use many close ups but challenge the idea of using them to sexualise the actors and instead, work as a way of highlighting certain signs. An example of this is the constant close ups of the guitar as well as as microphone and London scenes to have emphasis the importance and sentimental value it has for the artist. The close ups also will allow audience’s to identify with the artist (uses and gratifications theory) which will create a greater emotional response when the narrative becomes clear. Audience would be able to feel like they have a gained a personal relationship with the artist as stated within the Uses and Gratifications theory and be able to relate to the raw emotions which are apparent within his facial expressions and direct look into the camera lens. This mirrors the effect Ed Sheeran used when creating his music video "all our stars" when after each flashback he looks directly into the camera as if looking directly at the audience to make a personal connection.

Moreover, a final point is that the music video I created follows the hegemonic norm of heterosexual relationships. I decided to use a male and female relationship along with a iconic city for the reason than many individuals will be able to relate the themes portrayed; directly or indirectly. I highlighted this through the constant close ups of the females defining features such as her eyes followed by the males close ups whilst singing. Many music videos currently see fit to define the conventions of their genre and have little boundaries yet when creating ideas. However I felt that due to the renowned song I chose I felt in order to do the song justice and have a successful music video I needed to follow the conventions. This in a sense gave me a unique advantage as well as able to relate to many generations as my secondary audience.

MAGAZINE ADVERT

When considering my magazine advert within detail I would argue like my video it conforms to the conventions and links to the video. Firstly, I felt the images were the most important factor of my advert and so they had to be center focus, having the detailing and other factors as simplistic as possible. I decided the house style of Polaroid images would be best suited giving a blue tint to the images and linking to the video of black and white edit for the performance. I decided to enhance the Polaroid effect with an outline of a washing line and pegs which hold up the main image of the artist and two other images which enforce the music video. I decided to use this effect to allow the piece to feel personal to each individual as if they have taken the images and held them up themselves. At the top of both the landscape and portrait version I have used a main masthead with the bands name in a Broadway font. This is due to the Broadway writing being well known and iconic within new York which is a running theme through the lyrics.

Furthermore, the band is known for performing at small gigs and building up to large events occasionally. Moreover their music being used within other pieces of media work. I chose the colour scheme of blue, white and gold to be appealing to both males and females as well as connote a calming but expensive feel the single due to the band performing at gigs which have expensive ticket prices for high end students. Finally, I followed the conventions when looking at the basic needs of a magazine advert with the release date and other informative pieces which are typically seen in adverts. This meant my magazine as well stuck to the uses and gratifications theory of being informative. The images I chose had a blue tint which linked to the blue grey background and complemented it greatly. The advert I have created would typically be seen within magazines such as NME and Q reaching out to my primary audiences of males between 16 and 25 as well as secondary audiences of females and males between 13 and 30. 

DIGIPAK

Similarly, my digipak must be personal to the target audience as well as link to the advert in order for it to be noticed on a shop shelf or music downloading website such as iTunes. In order to do this I stuck to the same housing style of Polaroid images to make sure the main images were used throughout the ancillary tasks. This meant when identifying my work it was quick and easy as well as stuck to the themes. When considering the conventions of a digipak I decided to keep it simplistic with a four page piece with the typically seen size 6 Arial font for the production information on the back page. Furthermore, I used the logo of the record company as well as a bar code in order to make the medium seem as realistic and professional as possible. I continued the colour scheme of blue, white and gold to keep consistency throughout my work. The tracks at the back of the digipak were placed in a white Arial font with the main song the digipak is centered around in gold. This allowed the single to stand out and been as a main focus. My inspiration for the back page of my digipak was from Ed Sheeran's "X" album with a cut out of him. Due to Ed being within the same genre I felt it was appropriate and could make my own take on this idea with a white and gold silhouette of the artist placed on top of each other. The idea conveyed a sense of unknown and simpleness to the audience and to highlight with no detail the artist can still be identified. 

In conclusion, it is apparent that my music video follows the conventions of soft rock music videos with the discoloration or black and white themes running throughout with the contrast of bright colours. Furthermore the idea of a performance and narrative running along side it within thew music video. When considering all these factors and the typical conventions expected of a basic magazine advert, digipak and music video my music video hits the criteria successfully.  

Final Music Video

When looking at my magazine posters and digipak I have created I have changed my ideals dramatically from colour schemes to layout out due to the fact that when i flet i had completed the work it was not giving me the personal feel i wanted audiences to feel.

Hence i decided to use the time i had left wisely to change the style and uses a polariod edit on photoshop to make the images feel like they have been hung up to dry and so relate more to the uses and gratifications theory.

I have completed my music video and other products such as the digipak and magazine adverts and have began to upload them to my blog. When looking at all my work I have dramatically changed some ideas such as my digipak to make it seem unique and enhance the genre I chose. It also makes the work seem more personal to the audiences as well as making the themes behind the music video stand out in the print work.

Magazine Final Landscape 2

Magazine Final Landscape

Magazine Final Portrait

FINAL DIGIPAK

When looking at my magazine adverts, I felt that the music video was not portrayed well within the adverts. Furthermore, the advert did not hold much of a unique touch. Hence, I decided to change the colour scheme as well as use a poloriod effect on my main cover photo in which I have decided to use.

Magazine Advert

Evaluation Questions to Consider

Magazine Advert

 

These are my magazine adverts which I have created and constructed myself. In order to make sure I got a feel of what the advert would look like I composed a landscape and portrait version of my work which enforces that what I have created is versatile and could be placed in many locations.

Evaluation Plan

This is my plan for an evaluation question I need to answer with key ideas and theories in which I could mention in relation to my work

I have started to plan my evaluation sections and make sure I cover all concepts that I have included and mentioned in my work. 

I have began to consider my evaluation tasks and started to create surveys using survey monkey and collect feedback about my music video using a range of formats such as focus groups, surveys and interviews.

Survey

This is a link to my survey i created on survey monkey and got my target audience and secondary target audience to complete and comment on the music video I have created.


https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7X9THR2

Questions - Planning

1. What is your age
2. What is your gender
3. What is your occupation
4. What is your prefered music genre
5. What would you class the music video you have just seen
6. Do you feel the music video is good at representing the song
7. Would you agree the music video is professiona looking
8. Out of 10 how interesting do you feel the music video was. Did it capture and keep your attention?
9. Do you feel the split narrative between performance and narrative is successful?
10. Do you feel the music is in time with the video?
11. Is the contrast between the black and white filter and colour filter eye catching and create a clear divide between performance and narrative.

LIGHTING RESEARCH

DigiPak Draft

This is another draft of my digipak I am creating to present the music and artist. I have changed a few things such as font types and colours as well as images due to feeling as I have progressed I have gained more knowlegde on what my audience are looking for. Moreover, the last page has changed dramatically as I was unsure with ideas but used Ed sheeran's digipaks as inspiration to create my own and collect ideas.

Similar Product 1

I have been considering some initial shots for my opening music video and I have decided that I shall use this shot as inspiration. This is because I feel the blurring effect is visually appealing and could be a good beginning to my 'dream' like music video. Furthermore, it seems fitting with my colour choice of black and white to introduce the artist.

I have uploaded...
- Magazine Poster Draft 1 (landscape)
- Magazine Poster Draft 1 (portrait)
- Digipak draft 3

I now need to consider...
- chosen images (expecially double page spread digipak)
- continue editing music video narrative
- consider last minute filming

Magazine Draft 1 - Portrait

This is my first draft for my magazine poster which is portrait. I currently am deciding between images to use due to wanting to use a range of shots within the poster to capture readers attention.

Magazine Draft 1 - Landscape

This is my magazine advert that I have created which is landscape. I have decided to create 2 posters which is landscape and portrait to give readers a greater idea and variety of the music. Also it makes the poster more interesting and can fit in with more magazines etc.

Draft 3

This is the draft for my digipak that I am creating, I understand I need to continue to improve my work and consider some image ideas that I could potentially use for the spreads.

Recently I have been focusing on the digipak and magazine advert that I need to create. I have been planning how I want them to be laid out as well as colour ideas within my drafting.

Last week I went up to London in order to take some city scenes to incorporate within my work to make the images have a greater range than just studio shots. Furthermore, I have also been working on my music video with the narrative part of the video.

Contact Sheet 2

 

When considering the task of creating a digipak I came to the conclusion that in order to make the media text look interesting I need a range of images. Therefore I decided to expand the range of images I had already taken to capture some London city scenes. This was due to the album being primarily aimed at London fans as well as the song holding connotations of London.

In order to get the best images I took night scenes with the bright lights as well as during the day images. The city of London can be identified through key iconic icons such as a London bus and red telephone box. Hence believing it was appropriate to include these within my media product.

Within the last few days I have been working on making sure that the planning and research is up to date as well as detailed to ensure I have the best information to help me make my products. Furthermore I have also filmed slightly more footage for the narrative part of the music video. I shall upload the work I have completed in the next few days.

DIGI PAK INFORMATION

TOM HIGGENSON – LEAD VOCALS
DAVE TIRIO – RHYTHM GUITAR
TIM LOPEZ – LEAD GUITAR, BACKING VOCALS

MIKE RETONDO – BASS GUITAR, BACKING VOCALS

DE’MAR HAMILTON – DRUMS

CREDITS

PRODUCED - ARIEL RECHTSHAID

RECORDED – HARD DRIVE STUDIO
PUBLISHED – HOLLYWOOD, FEARLESS

LYRICIST - TOM HIGGENSON
COMPAOSED – TOM HIGGENSON

TRACKS 

 

HEY THERE DELILAH

RHYTHM OF LOVW
I REALLY DON’T LIKE YOU

TAKE ME AWAY

1,2,3,4

BREAKDOWN

LAZY DAY AFTERNOON

WITH THANKS TO

ARIEL RECHTSHAID, HARD DRIVE STUDIO, HOLLYWOOD FEARLESS, LOREN ISRAEL, DANNY WILDE, SHELLY PEIKEN

UNDER EXCULSIVE LICENSE TO HARD DRIVE STUDIO

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PUBLISHED BY HOLLYWOOD FEARLESS

FACEBOOK.COM/PLAINWHITET
@PWTS

 This album was born through the friendship of five guys, starting out when they were only teenager boys and breaking into the music industry like no other band had before at such a young age. They’ve had their fair few heart breaks, drunken nights, fallings out and hung-over mornings together leading to the distinct album ‘Hey There Delilah’. An international tour in 2003 with the meet and greats of all their wonderful fans left Tom inspired about one specific girl… Delilah…true love? Promising to write a song in the future the band have got together for another time to keep to their promise, practising for hours and visiting London land marks for inspiration the single had evolved. 50,000 miles, 50 Cities, 44 Encores and numerous early morning fry up’s the guys have made it. Giving you the fans the song like none other, a personal look into the boys lives.  

Music Video Draft 2

Music Video Draft One

This is the first draft for my performance half of my music video. I have began to order the shots I believe are visually interesting along with lip syncing them to the audio. I have made no colour correction edits yet or black and white filters to this half of my music video which is my intention. This is because I believe at the moment I need to ensure that the shots are all included and in time with the audio. I will then begin to edit the frames themselves.

When looking at the first draft I am aware I need to make improvements and have a wider variety of shots. I have considered the music video so far and have come to the conclusion that I need to observe and re lip sync parts of the footage as well as remove and replace parts I am not happy with. An example being when the artist sings "Hey There Delilah" and is not only late on his intro but laughs. Furthermore, I also need to begin to add the narrative part of my music video to the video with the footage of the female character.

So far I believe that I am on track to making the music video that I have set out to achieve, allowing the audience to relate to the artists personal experience. A small critique would be I need to consider changing the shots faster due to the slow paced song.

Some thoughts for my next upload and draft would be to include narrative parts of icon London scenes and the female character to get a better idea of what the video is beginning to look like.  

SO FAR...
I have been placing my raw footage into the software I will be using to edit my music video and beginning to edit my music video together. I have been choosing my frames which I feel are visually interesting.

DigiPak Draft 2

Digipak – Draft 2

This is my second plan I have created in order to get a better idea of what the digipak i am creating will look like. This means I have removed the previous drawings with web images and sizes to allow me to consider the idea I have and whether it will be successful.

Proposal

Production Log

Location Images

These are a few images of my initial location ideas, I have decided to use the black drama studio to record the performance part of my music video due to needing the space for lighting and other props such as a microphone. These locations could allow my music video to look successful if I use the lighting correctly with a clear idea of what I want to achieve.

Brand Guidelines

 

This is a piece of work to highlight the brand guidelines for the music video i will create along with the digipak. This will help my work seem more professional and aid me in making the work to a high quality.  

Narrative Structure

Within media so far I have been uploading to my blog alot recently with information such as raw filming footage, filming timetable and other work. When looking at my blog I feel I have a well range of media on my blog and will be having more to upload within the next few days.

DigiPak - Draft Plan

This is my first Digipak draft which are drawings of my inital ideas and a rough idea of how i will be laying out the piece of work. I have given parts of the digipak labels in order to understand the colours I am considering using as well as the font and styling of the digipak. The next stage in order to carry on with the drafting and idea stage is to creat a rough draft on Powerpoint with real web images in order to see if the idea is realistic and fitting,

Raw Location Footage - Filming

Filming Timetable

Part 1:
Filming - 22nd October 2014, (15:00 - 17:00)
Editing - 23th - 29th October 2014
Progress - During this day of filming I shall film the main artists singing the song in the 'studio' location. The artist shall be singing the song which will be the performance based part of the music video. Furthermore, I shall use the studio lights and box light which will give me the look I need.

Part 2:
Filming - 11th November 2014, (15:15 - 17.30)
Editing - 12th - 17th November
Progress: I shall be filming the narrative part of my music video, which will be the female charayer in locations such as putting her make up on and city sceens.  

Part 3:
Filming - 22nd November 2013, 17:30
Editing - 22nd - 29th November 

I shall carry on editing throughout this process to make sure I am happy with the end results of the music video. I shall use outside class time and within class to make sure my editing is up to date.

Production Log

Colour Connotations

When considering the digipack I will be creating colours are an important factor to consider due to different colours connoting and denoting different meanings. Therefore I have taken some time to consider the meanings of specific colours in general to help me plan my digipack to reach the correct target audience.

Production Log

Contact Sheet

Permisson

I sent an email to the record label that over see the band asking for their permisson to use the song Hey There Delilah for my music video.

Genre Theory - in relation to my music video

Genre is a French word meaning ‘type’ or ‘kind’, generally seen as a fusion of semantic (stylistic) and syntactic (substantive) features that become conventional to audiences over time. When considering my music video Hey There Delilah by The Plain White T’s in is categorised within the genre of Alternative Rock. Firth, 1988 argued that music videos can be characterized by three broad typologies: Performance, Narrative, and Conceptual. These types describe the form and content selected by the director or artist to attract viewers and to convey a direct or indirect message. They can act as extended advertisements, as popular art forms or as self-referential filmic texts. When observing the music video Hey There Delilah it would be classed as a narrative based music video, telling a personal story from the artist’s perspective. Giving out a message to the audiences indirectly to ‘not lose the people you hold dear’ through the flashbacks created with the contrast in black and white overlay edits to the vivid colours. Goodwin’s music video analysis puts forward that Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics e.g. stage performance in rock video, dance routine for boy/girl pop band. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting. Finally the demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work a visual style. The Plain White T’s and the music video I have created follows these concepts due to the artist having a particular style which is followed through being; high street, every day clothes contrasting the genre pop which is fashion focused. Furthermore, there is a strong relationship between the lyrics and the video being illustrative and amplifying the emotions the artist is trying to portray. This is shown through the extreme close ups of the males use and feathered shots of the female.

Magazine Analysis

These are screen shots of my blog since adding my latest work to the corret pages. I have take screen shots to show the current look of my blog.

 

The image to the left is my research page and to the right is my planning. I have added work which will give me a better and more organised approach to my music video.

Narrative Paragraph - Plain White T's

Hey There Delilah Lyrics

Hey there Delilah
What's it like in New York City?
I'm a thousand miles away
But girl, tonight you look so pretty
Yes you do
Times Square can't shine as bright as you
I swear it's true

Hey there Delilah
Don't you worry about the distance
I'm right there if you get lonely
Give this song another listen
Close your eyes
Listen to my voice, it's my disguise
I'm by your side

Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
What you do to me

Hey there Delilah
I know times are getting hard
But just believe me, girl
Someday I'll pay the bills with this guitar
We'll have it good
We'll have the life we knew we would
My word is good

Hey there Delilah
I've got so much left to say
If every simple song I wrote to you
Would take your breath away
I'd write it all
Even more in love with me you'd fall
We'd have it all

Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me

A thousand miles seems pretty far
But they've got planes and trains and cars
I'd walk to you if I had no other way
Our friends would all make fun of us
and we'll just laugh along because we know
That none of them have felt this way
Delilah I can promise you
That by the time we get through
The world will never ever be the same
And you're to blame

Hey there Delilah
You be good and don't you miss me
Two more years and you'll be done with school
And I'll be making history like I do
You'll know it's all because of you
We can do whatever we want to
Hey there Delilah here's to you
This one's for you

Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
What you do to me.

Question 1A

Theories

Gigs

 

When looking into my primary target audience in relation to the music video I have began to understand that my typical audience would go to small gigs in London, typically being expensive and so from the social classes A B C1. Furthermore, they would be students because they would enjoy the party scene with late nights yet enjoy small niche bands that are not considered mainstream.

When researching into my band, I realised that on google their are many gig websites for local areas which advertise to the audiences where their favourite bands will be playing next and th pricing. This would be a brilliant website to use to advertise my music video and engage the audiences as I have

the same audience profile to the website.

 

 

This is a Video of another artist called Passenger who is also within the alternative genre like the band I will be using. The video shown above is a montage of their music video and a gig they played at which I belive is similar to my band which I am research. There are some shots within this video which I may use as inspiration for the performance part of  my music video to keep audiences interested.

TIME LINE

Artist Research

History of Music Videos

Lyric Analysis

 

This is my lyrics analysis of what each shot shall look like during the song. This piece of work aided me to make my stroy board highlighting to me the appropriate shots needed, blance between narrative and performance. Furthermore, it has also helped me to understand emotions that ii want the audiences to feel at given points of the songs because of the lyrics and the shots.

Story Board Phase 1

 

Genre Research

Check List

This is a PDF which has broken down all the parts to my coursework that I need to complete to make sure I cover many angles. This is a simple guide to make sure I use a range of media as well as a check list to make sure I do not miss anything out.

Production Log

I have began to discuss filming with the actor I will be using for my music video. Completing Actor Release Forms as well as costume ideas so that my actor has a better idea of what I expect. I have uploaded these to my blog and am carrying on with planning ideas.

Costume Ideas

Actor Release Form

Director Research

Today I have considered the health and risks when producing the music video, making sure assessments are completed as well as contracts for locations that will be used for the music video.

Location Contract

Risk Assessment

Production Log

Pitching My Ideas

 

This is the presentation I used when pitching my ideas to a focus group of teenagers. I used this powerpoint and highlighted the key features which I felt I needed audiences opinions and feedback on. I have included my idea and a video (underneath) of the pitch and questions and answers I recieved.

Independent Research...

When research music videos for inspiration I came across this previous a2 music video which I feel looks professional as well as given me ideas for my own music video. When watching the video I liked the use of the black and white filter as well as the fading in and out of shots, keeping my attention and interest in the video. I also like how the video began with no song but a 'raw' like start to make the video unique and stand out.

I have added to my blog by adding What is a digipak? as well as Digipak Analysis meaning i am starting to consider how I will structure my digipak that will match my music video. I have presented the information in the style of a prezi to give a variation of ways to give information and keep my blog eye catching.

What is a DigiPak? & DigiPak Analysis...

I have been thinking of ideas from my own personal music video I will be creating and have decided to analyse a previous students A2 course work with similar ideas to mine to help me understand what she has done throughout the video and why she has done it.

Analysis of Previous A2 Coursework

Music Video finalfinalfinale from Haydon Media on Vimeo.


The previous A2 music video I will be analyzing is Clare's due to the fact that I believe it is successful at capturing audiences attention as well as produced to a high standard that could be considered a professional piece of work for Kodaline themselves. The overall style of the music video fits the song lyrics perfectly which allows the video to be more engaging and realistic for an audience member, meaning the lyrically meaning is emphasised and the audience are able to relate to the music video and lyrics. 

When considering the props and costumes within the video, one can instantly identify the time period to be 50's due to the type of clothing the female and male actors are wearing. The woman dressed in a formal, flowing dress as well as the man in smart clothing with bold patterns and intriguing accessories such as a bow tie and her styling of hair to be curled and large with a quiff. When considering the style for my music video I shall use the idea Clare had to having clothing and make up that stands out and is memorable yet I feel I will use a soft rock/pop punk style, rather than 50's to suit my music video better. 

When starting the music video Clare has a extreme close up shot of an old females eyes, emphasising the music video concentrates on the lyrics and emotions. The shot begins without the music solely focusing on the frame and so first putting forward to the audience the idea that the music video is based on a story of this women or what she has experienced. The first shot is clear and in colour focusing solely on her eyes and so highlights the music video to be slow and calming, looking back on past memories.

The use of the camera angles and movements within Clare's music video are very effective, capturing what she wants the audience to see and portraying how they should feel through the actors facial expressions and movements. Clare ensures that she shows the audience what she specifically wants them to see and for a reason that relates to the musics lyrics. Clare has changed the camera shots frequently on the beat of the music due to the slow paced song meaning she needs to catch the audiences attention which I believe she has done successfully. For example, multiple times she changes shots when the actress is putting her make up on in front of the mirror using; close ups and mid shots as well as over the shoulder and reflections in the mirror to create interesting points of views. This is effect as when the audience becomes familiar with the female putting make up on she changes the scene to the male actor getting dressed and styling his hair. This keeps the audience's attention as well as having bright lights and high contrasts to have the colours stand out comparing to the first frame of the old women. Therefore highlighting the frames are conveying thoughts or memories of the woman's and so highlighting the different situations effectively. 

Towards the end of the music video it cuts back to the woman and her face, having the contrast of the colours and camera seem to come out of a dream like state. This confirms the audiences thoughts that these are the women's memories due to ending on a close up of flowers and a photo frame of the young couple at the end, placed next to the bed.  

Due to the songs tempo being slow and calming the camera movements are slow capturing every detail of the actress putting on her make up and detail to highlight the memories are so vivid, furthermore when considering editing all of the cuts are sharp with an odd fade at the beginning and end to give a dream like effect. These techniques create a calm feel and keeps the music video 'mellow'. 

When considering the scene when the couple are dancing, the camera is slow moving, tracking the couples movements and foot work, focusing on the details. This could highlight that when in love one picks up on the details about the other that others do not see. Moreover, the camera shows the woman and male to be seen in an ideal state which shows that this is how the other sees them; perfection.

The music video is a narrative based video, being successful when highlighting the change of scene from the old woman in her bedroom to the thoughts she is having due to the editing and lighting used. The room is dark with bright white lights when watching the dancing connoting emotions of love and happy memories focusing on what is important which was each other due to the background being extremely plain. I believe the music video is extremely successful and it has inspired me when making my own as well as presenting the importance of constantly changing shots when having a slow song to work with to make sure the audience's attention is always captured.

How will this help for my music video?

Analysing a previous A2 student's music video work will aid me to understand and comprehend what is achievable within the time frame I have been given as well as the importance in choosing the correct shots, angles and props to produce the feel i want and what i want the audience to see. Clare's video being similar to mine due to her also choose a slow song and wanting to focus on a persons memories and using the camera to create a dream like state. I chose to analyse this video due to believing choosing a video that had a similar feel to mine would help me even more as I can shoot my video in a similar way. this meaning i would have an idea of what i would be wanting to create, having the same overall effect.