Music Video finally finished

Music Video finally Finished

With relief I am proud to profess that our music video is finished! After months of going out to film in the freezing cold in central London and weeks of editing, we are done. It has been a long but enticing journey and I am extremely pleased with the product as a whole. This includes the music video, digipak and the magazine advert. When looking at them together as a whole I strongly believe that it is effective and appealing to the eye. The product as a whole came together as we intended and this is only due to good research, planning and dedication. It has been a pleasure to work my group consisting of Dapo, Aaron and Connor and the quality of the music video is a reflection on the hard work that each of us put in.

Digipak

Digipak

Here is our final version of our Digipak. In comparison to the previous one we had, I can gladly say  I'm extremely satisfied with the quality of this digipak. As you can see, we have again kept the black and white theme but in comparison to the old digipak, we have added our faces to some of the panels. We each took pictures of ourself and then opened the pictures in Photoshop and played around with the contrast till we felt that the pictures had a relation to the 'ska' appearance we where looking for. I am very happy with the result and I believe the it will look amazing if printed in real life.

Magazine Advert

Magazine Advert

Evaluation Question 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Evaluation Question 1 - In what ways does your media product use, 

develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Evaluation Question 2 - How effective is the combination of the main product and ancillary tasks? (DVD, Digipak, Magazine Advert)

Evaluation Question 2 - How effective is the combination of 

the main product and ancillary tasks? (DVD, Digipak, Magazine Advert

Evaluation Question 3 - What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Evaluation Question 3 - What have you 

learnt from your audience feedback?

At various stages throughout making our media product, it is important and necessary to get feedback from peers and teachers, this is to ensure that you can make the best product possible. During the course, I had various forms of audience feedback, this included the survey monkey, the pitch and the focus group. I will thoroughly discuss the effectiveness of all the feedback I received which led to me making the best media product possible.

The Pitch
Myself and my group set up a pitch. A pitch is basically delivering your ideas and selling it to a targeted audience. The pitch gave our target audience information about the band, such as how many of them where in the band (they have split up) and where the band were primarily based. It also told the audience about the genre of music that the band perform, which is a mixture of 'ska' and 'punk' which gives them a very unique sound. The last slide on the prezi which is the program which we created our pitch on, tells the targeted audience about our ambitions in regards to making the music video. Once I had posted this pitch onto my blog, I then informed my friends, peers and family to go onto my blog and look at my pitch. The reason why I told people of different ages to watch my pitch is because I wanted to know who they felt that the music video will be targeted at. From the results obtained, it was clear that the audience felt that it would be appropriate if the music video is targeted at teenage boys and girls but in particular boys. The pitch also gave my friends and classmates a chance to see what our music video will be about, and the results that I got where very encouraging. My classmates thought that the music video that we intend to create will be extremely unique and different and if we use all the key conventions of a music video, my audience agreed that this could be a hugely successful music video which was very promising to hear. To conclude, I learnt from my audience feedback whether our idea seemed realistic enough to go forward with and also how to make an effective music video.

Elton John and Kiki Dee Duet Activity
The next form of feedback that I obtained was not explicitly directed at the media product but nevertheless the feedback proved to be helpful on my journey to creating a successful music video. As part of the coursework criteria, my media studies class was required to undertake an activity which would give us an insight to making our media product. We where asked to get into a groups, no larger than 4 and complete a performance of the famous Elton John and Kiki Dee duet 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart'. This song was chosen by our teacher because the lyrics are easy to lip synch and also it is easy to memorise. From completing this exercise we learnt that lip synching in a music video is not as difficult as first thought rather it is the editing that is difficult as you need to match the song and the lip synching almost perfectly. I was able to get audience feedback from this activity by uploading this activity onto YouTube but it was later removed from YouTube because of copyright issues. As a result of this, I then showed my teacher and classmates the activity on final cut express which is the program that is used to edit footage and also in addition my group member Connor was successfully able to upload the activity onto Vimeo. After my classmates had seen the activity, I was able to receive constructive criticism. They agreed that the editing was to a high standard which is was very promising to hear because on the program Final Cut Express, because we had the audio clip of 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' on the last layer and our lip synching on another layer, this made editing harder than what we are used to because these to layers had to match as well as having interchanging shots. Going forward they also suggested that at some stages whilst Aaron and Connor where performing, that there was lip synching issues. This was disappointing to hear as we got so much footage but it only meant that we would be extra careful when we started to film our music video. Overall from the feedback given to me by my audience, I was able to identify faults and ways to improve from this activity such as more accurate lip synching which only benefited myself and my group when we filmed our music video. 




The Focus Group
My group and I also set up a focus group. The purpose of a focus group is similar to a pitch as it gave my group reliable and necessary feedback in regards to how to proceed in the construction phase of the music video. The focus group was the first chance I got to obtain feedback from my audience whilst we where about to go ahead in constructing the music video but we still had some ideas lingering in the back of our minds which was creating uncertainty. At the stage of this focus group, we still had two very strong ideas. We always knew that the 'Superman' idea would be our primary idea but just in case this could not work we needed a plan B to fall back on which proved to be Dapo's idea. The 'Superman' idea was about a boy who wants to get back into his childhood memories and even though he is now a mature man, he still wants to pretend he is a Superman. we had put a lot of thought into this idea and we knew that it is possible and we are where very determined to go forward with this idea. The second idea was Dapo's idea of a pop video in which he would use a green screen and appear to be doing multiple things at once such as playing the drums and being the lead singer and simply lip synch the song in various different locations throughout the video. As simplistic as this sounded, with the involvement of some of the key conventions in a music video, this idea could have also been very effective. It is obvious to state how the focus group gave us feedback but what is key is to outline what we learned from this. From the feedback we got from our audience in the focus group, we learned that our audience felt as though practical issues would arise in regards to using the green screen ideas, these issues include money as to get a top quality green screen to use in our music video is not going to be cheap! Whereas the other 'Superman' idea seemed to be more realistic and they agreed that the 'Superman' idea has no limitations meaning that we can be as creative as possible. From learning what our audience felt about our two ideas, we where able to go ahead with our initial 'Superman' idea as it proved to be stronger in comparison to the second idea of using the green screen.



Survey Monkey

After the focus group, I then went on to conduct another form of research. I set up a survey on the website 'Survey Monkey'. The purpose of this survey was to find out what our audience like about a music video and what they believe makes a good music video, this includes any key conventions. I also wanted to know what kind of music people my age are interested in because the song that we have chosen to do for or music video falls under the category of 'Ska/Punk' music genre. In my group we all did individual survey's and we all asked different questions so that we could obtain a vast amount of answers. My survey was completed 5 times and from some of my questions, I could begin to analyse what my audience thinks about music videos. My most pivotal question that I asked that would definitely affect how my group where to construct the music video was question 5. This question asked 'What key conventions are needed to make an effective music video?'. I say this this question was pivotal because it ultimately would shape the way the my group proceed to making the music video. The results showed that 3 out of 5 people suggested that accurate lip synching is necessary to creating an effective music video and the remaining 2 answers suggested that a variety of shots in a variety of locations is necessary to completing an effective music video. I also asked the question 'Do you think the music video is just as important as the song?'. The results showed that 100% of people that answered this question argued that 'yes' the music video is just as important as the song. This gave myself and my group motivation to ensure that the music video is just as entertaining and also effective as the song we have chosen. From the feedback that I received from my audience, it was very pleasing as key conventions that they suggested that my group and I should use, where already key conventions that my group had the intention of using meaning that the targeted audience would enjoy the music video because the key conventions will be in the music video.

Rough Cut
In addition another form of feedback that we got from our target audience was from doing our Rough Cut. After getting sufficient feedback from our focus group and surveys, we had enough to go and start filming. After weeks and weeks of hard work and dedication, we had done enough filming and editing to release what is known as a rough cut which is part of the coursework criteria. The rough cut is self explanatory, it's simply a draft of the final music video. We then put the rough cut on YouTube and from there people from around the world could add their comments and also it could be now viewed by my friends and peers. We had several teachers and members of our class watch our music video and it was very rewarding to hear their positive responses especially because it wasn't even finished. In the rough cut, towards the end of the music video, there is a long section which had been titled as 'placeholder' and this was there because my group still needed to go out to Eastbrookend Country Park to film a scene of Tomas, the Superman, retrieving Alex's phone as it had been taken off him by a thief. The rewarding feeling that I got from the feedback of the rough cut was that many of my classmates assumed that it was finished to a high standard even though my group still had the intention of going out and obtaining more footage. The editing of the music video was collectively praised by everyone who had seen it with one of my friends saying it was so good that it could be on TV! They also praise how the beginning linked with the ending because at the beginning of the music video, Tomas begins to daydream and then the music video starts and then at the end my group member Connor is attempting to wake him up. This idea was popular and praised for it's  originality, however even after hearing these inspiring comments from our teacher, classmates and friends, my group and I still had the intention of doing the last scene at Eastbrookend Country Park. Overall it was very rewarding to hear these comments even though the music video was not quite finished and we learnt from the feedback that we got that we had already produced an enticing and original music video but we still wanted to do more.

To conclude, the timeline at the beginning of this blog entry shows the various stages in which my group and I received feedback from our audience. I believe that because we received various forms of feedback from such as the survey and focus group that this has benefited us greatly in the construction of our music video. We have learnt what our audience expect and like about music videos and therefore we where able to make a music video that appealed to them and we have also learnt how to improve the construction of our music video through audience feedback.

Evaluation Question 4 - How did you use new media technology in the construction on research, planning and evaluation stages?

Evaluation Question 4 - How did you use new media 

technology in the construction on research, planning and evaluation stages?

In regards to assembling of research planning and evaluation stages, a lot of new media technology was used to ensure that I make the best media product possible. I will be outlining and discussing the new media technologies that I used. These technologies include various websites such as 'Unsigned.com', blogger, eBay, iPhones, digital camera, iMac computers and more. These media technologies proved to be hugely significant for the finished media product. The primary form of media technology that was used as the core to everything we did for our media product was the internet. We used Google to plan and research and it was hugely significant. When we where at the stage of planning where we needed to film, we used the search engine Google to provide us with information that helped us gain knowledge of the whereabouts in London. This is evident through our planning blogs including the 'Location sheet' and 'Shooting schedule'. We also used Google to find out the weather on the days we intended to film and this proved to be consistent as we managed to avoid filming when it was raining and this was necessary in terms of continuity purposes. We also used Google Maps to get a closer look into London and the specific areas that we wanted to film at. Overall Google was a form of new media technology that has proved to be consistent and reliable in constructing our media product in the research, planning and evaluation stages. It allowed us to do beneficial and necessary research on locations before going out filming and it also has allowed us to do research throughout this project for example, researching the band in depth. It has allowed us to plan thoroughly because without using Google we would have been at a disadvantage and it has also aided myself and my group in the evaluation stages of the project. Google has allowed me to access blogger which is integral to completing the evaluation and it has also allowed me to use different programs to complete the evaluation which is a requirement in the specification for the evaluation.

Going further, when doing our research about the band my group and I used the new media technology of Facebook. In order to get around copyright issues you needed to contact your chosen artist/band and seek permission in order to use their music or the alternative would be to go on the website 'unsigned.com' which we did but to no avail. Facebook then became a source of communication in contacting the band. My group member Connor, posted a friendly message on their Facebook wall profile requesting to use their music, however we did not actually get a response which was disappointing. However, on the bands Facebook wall, a few months later, the band released a message saying that the band no longer exist as they have split up and therefore anyone is entitled to use their music without the fear of copyright problems. This was great news and it gave us the heads up to proceed in the construction of the music video. Without using the new media technology of Facebook we would not have known if we could use the song because Facebook is where the band posted the confirmation that we needed to know in order to use their music.


Furthermore on the journey of completing the music video, various forms of new media technology was used in the construction on research, planning and evaluation stages. An integral form of new media technology that was vital and used frequently was the program 'Blogger' which I am using right now to complete this evaluation. Blogger is like a diary which allows us to record everything we've done in relation to the course. This is a form of new media technology that has proved to be essential to constructing the research, planning and evaluation because I am able to show the progression I have made in constructing the final media product.


In addition, a form of new media technology that has been used and has been extremely beneficial and necessary to helping myself and my group construct the research, planning and evaluation stages has been the use of our smartphones. In my group 3 out of 4 of us had iPhones with one person having a Samsung smartphone. The iPhone has a feature which allows you to communicate with other iPhone users, this is called iMessage. So throughout the construction of assembling the music video, myself and my group members where in a big group chat discussing our availability to film. This form of new media technology proved to be essential to the core of filming because this is how we where able to film and meet up with each other. Also we have been able to send each other relevant pictures such as pictures of ourselves needed for the digipak. Our smartphones have given us instant communication when needed for example, when filming in London, we where not too familiar with our surroundings but our smartphones instantly gave us access to a map application which was able to locate us in a matter of seconds and from there we could type in our destination and our phones would be able to direct us there and give an approximate time of when we would be there. Also, I spoke about how important Blogger was for us to record all the work we had done when we where filming. On our smartphones there is a blogger application which is free to download from the app store. The app allows you to blog on your phone wherever you are and whenever you want. This was very important because this application allowed me to upload pictures and blog titles onto my blog via my smartphone without being logged onto a computer. Overall the new media technology of smartphones proved to be extremely useful and almost compulsory on the way to constructing the research, planning and evaluation for our media product.

The last form of new media technology that has been used was absolutely compulsory to completing the research, planning and evaluation is the digital camera. This form of new media technology was used for the obvious reasons of filming and it was used a lot in the construction phases of the media product. The school gave us the digital camera as well as a tripod to go out and film our music video. The camera was brilliant and of produced great quality shots as it was a HD camera, which benefited us when we where filming making our music video look professional. The camera was very portable because of how light it was because it is a modern camera and the camera was able to last for long periods without being charged which is a feature of most modern cameras. When we had gathered a satisfactory amount of filming, we would then take the camera to school in our next media studies lesson and connect the digital camera to an apple mac computer and then begin to edit the footage recorded. The apple mac computer is also another form of new media technology which has been used in all stages of creating the media product including research and planning. The digital camera has been very easy to use due to how modern it is and it has been important for us when filming because that is how we got our footage.

Audience Theory Research

Audience Theory

The Effects Model also known

as the Hypodermic Model

The effects model is one of the seven theories that help us to get a better understanding about the relationship between texts and the audience. The basis of this theory explores the connection between people's consumption of the mass media and their subsequent behaviour. This theory suggests that we are inferior to the media and what they show us is what we will believe. The effects from this theory has been argued that it would influence peoples behaviour and perception on things based on what they have seen. The key evidence for explaining the effects model is an experiment called 'The Bobo Doll Experiment' which was conducted in 1961 by Albert Bandura. In the experiment, children where made to watch a video where an adult violently attacked a Bobo doll. The children where then taken into a room with objects in the room with the Bobo doll. From the findings 88% of the children copied the violent behaviour that thety had watched the adult carry out. The conclusion reached was that the children would copy the violent nature that they had watched. However this experiment is very controversial and there has proved to be many problems with this experiment such as not being able to discover whether a single exposure to the violence can have long-term effects. This theory has been described as a linear communication method which means media conventions can directly express their messages to the audiences minds and the audience are passive and powerless to doing anything about it.

Audience feedback on Rough Cut

Audience feedback on Rough Cut

As I'm sure you know, we are close to finishing our music video 'Superman' by Behind Bad Luck. There are a few adjustments that need to be made to the music video till it can be labelled as completed but these adjustments will not take long at all and they will be done this week. We have had several teachers and members of our class watch our music video and it is very rewarding and pleasing to hear their positive responses. In the rough cut, towards the end of the music video, there is a long section which has been labelled 'placeholder'. Many of our classmates assumed that the video was finished but we still feel that we need to complete one more shot. The placeholder was there just so that we can upload the rough cut but myself and my group do not have the intention of leaving it there on the finished music video. The feedback we got, as I said was extremely positive, with our great editing being highly praised and complimented. What they liked was how the beginning linked very well with the end. At the beginning the first scene is of myself and my group inviting Tomas to join our band, and then Tomas begins to daydream and this is where the song begins. At the end of the song, we come back to the playground where we invited Tomas to be part of our band and because the whole music video was a daydream, my group member Connor attempts to wake him up. This idea was highly praised by teachers and students for its originality and even though it is only the rough cut and it still needs to be altered, we intend to develop this idea further. Overall it is very rewarding to know that even though our music video is not quite finished, it has been described as very enticing which only makes us more determined to make it better.

Rough Cut

Rough Cut

Digipak first draft

Assembling the Digipak for the first time

Here is our first attempt at making the digipak. As you can see, my group and I have remained faithful to our word of keeping the black and white pattern as a base because of the connotations of it with the concept of 'Ska'. The digipak has six panels as you can see below. The front panel is the one at the bottom right hand corner that has the title of the song and the title of the band on it. Overall my group have agreed to disagree in regards to this digipak. Some of us think it is decent for a first attempt and others disagree. One thing we can agree on however is that there is plenty of room for improvement!

Preparation for the Digipak

Preparing to make our 1st draft of the Digipak

In regards to making our digipak, to make a successful one, we need to ensure that it links cohesively with the magazine advert and that the product as a whole, can be seen as one. This means that aspects of the digipak will have clear distinctive links to the music video and the magazine advert. In order to do this we are going to add things associated with the concept of 'Ska'. By doing this we will be increasing our chances of achieving high grades because the product as a whole will look fluent and consistent. On our digipak, we intend for there to be some sort of black and white pattern as the primary base. This is because we have used this black and white checkered pattern with our tie's when filming but also because black and white where the two main colours that where used in the filming process. With black and white as our base, we intend on placing text and images onto it. We will attempt to make these images and text as clear as possible because it is important to be able to clearly see what the key conventions are of a digipak. Overall as a group we have got the foundations to making a successful digipak, but we just need to put it together and we are looking forward to this.

Audience Research findings using Wordle

Audience Research Findings

Based on my survey that I did, I have created a form of research that came from the feedback given to me on my survey. These words and answers that you will see in the picture below are answers and ideas that my audience gave me in regards to making a successful music video.

How to expand, broaden audience and Increase Sales

How to expand, broaden audience and Increase Sales

One of the main things that we need to directors ensure is that they need to know whether or not the music video is going to be profitable. Even it the video and song is very good but it is not aimed at the right audience and the director does not believe it will gain maximum profit then the director will be extremely reluctant to broadcast it. In order to make a music video profitable, you need to think about your target audience and also alerting the public about the product. You can do this in various ways but the fundamental aspect is to conduct research and discover the best way possible to advertise the product to the chosen market with the greatest chance of ensuring maximum profit. This advertisement varies due to the market, for example if aimed at the younger female audience, the advertisement may include colours such as pink, purple and yellow. Going further as well as making people aware of the product, as I said, it is vital that the correct target audience is selected as appropriate to the product. All these aspects need to be taken into account if maximum profit is to be made. An example is a two recent London 'underground rap' artists called 'Krept and Konan' released their mixtape titled 'Young Kingz'. As they appeal to the younger audience, particularly males, they used Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in order to keep their target market updated with their music that was coming out. They also had merchandise that was to be sold as well as competitions to win tickets to their tours. I would definitely conclude that not only was this extremely effective but it ensured sales and increased their popularity as well as their audience.

Feedback on Survey Monkey Results

Feedback on Survey Monkey Results

The first question was how often do you watch music videos. I asked this question just to gain basic knowledge and this question gave the respondants multiple choices to select an answer. The results showed that 60% of the people that did my survey answered that they watch music videos weekly.

The next question I asked was what is your favourite music genre. This question allowed the respondants to type their answer. The results obtained clearly shows that out of all the people who did my survey, 80% answered that pop was the favourite genre of music. This question was asked for the benefit of my music video, as I wanted to know what music genre is preferred the most by my target audience. The song that my group have chosen, has aspects of 'pop' in it but it is mainly considered to be a 'ska punk' genre of music but I do feel that if the audience listened to the song they will be able to see the similarities of our song and pop genre songs.

Question 3 asked where do people watch music videos. I asked this question again to gain general knowledge and it will not profoundly affect my music videos as the only place my music video can be uploaded is on YouTube. This question gave the respondants multiple choices to select an answer. From the results obtained, it shows that there isn't really a specific website or program that people watch music videos on, it is quite even and most probably based on individual preferences.

Question 4 asked what is your favourite music video and why. I was not expecting for everyone to agree on a few of the best music videos that I discussed earlier on my blog hence the reason why I gave the respondants a box to complete their answer. This question was asked purely on the basis of maybe taking an inspiration from one of the music videos that my respondants feel is effective. From the results obtained, 3 of the 4 songs are on the 100 greatest music videos on my blog.

The next question; question 5 was a very important and influential question. It asked what key conventions are needed to make an effective music video. I believe that this question is quite influential because it will definitely give me an idea of what is needed on my music video for it to be effective. This question gave the respondants a box to type their answers and from the results obtained, I was feeling very positive about my music video. In each of the answers, the respondant has either said good lip synching or a variety of shots or both. This encourages me because myself and my group travelled all over London just to ensure that we had a variety of shots that we could use in the video. Also, we did an exercise of lip synching with the Elton John and Kiki Dee task which helped us immensely with editing lip synching and filming it aswell. 

The last question was do you think that the music video is just as important as the song. This question gave the respondants only two options; yes or no. This question was asked to gain general knowledge of my audiences's thinking. The results showed that 100% of people that answered this question agreed that yes, the music video is just as important as the song. I was satisfied as this was the answer that I was hoping to get.

Overall I believe this survey was not only necessary but also beneficial to me on my way to completing a fine media product.

Audience Survey Monkey

Survey Monkey

Here is my survey that has been created for the purposes of benefitting me on my way to creating a successful music video. I hope as many people will complete this as possible and I will then be analysing the results.

Click here to take survey

Our Music Video - Sinead O'Connor Inspiration

Sinead O'Connor Inspiration

In our music video we decided to have a part of it that links to an inspiration that we have all previously studied. Sinead O'Connor's single titled 'Nothing Compares 2 You' is a single that all of us know too well now. In our lessons we have analysed this video as you will be able to see on my earlier blog posts. The music video is very simple and mainly consisted of a close up of O'Connor's face throughout the video. As basic and simple as this sounds it was incredibly effective because the close up allowed the audience to see O'Connor's emotional state as she was going through an incredibly hard time with her mum passing away at the time. This sense of raw emotion caught the audience's attention which made this single extremely successful. From watching and analysing this music video excessively, my group and I decided that it would be a good idea to try and include this in our music video somewhere almost as a tribute. After editing this shot on final cut, we asked many people in our class if they know the reasons as to why we did this. They were able to tell us the reasons and they all did say it looked similar to what Sinead O'Connor did and this was the point that we where attempting to get across so therefore it was a success as people where able to distinguish links between it and Sinead O'Connor.

Detailed Research About the Band

Detailed Research About The Band

An energetic gang of 8 sonic marauders, who roam the countryside playing epic ska punk. Most people who know the band would say they are crazy, but in actuality there an approachable bunch, looking to help people celebrate living and get a little rambunctious. More than just your typical rock stars.

Based out of the frigid north country State University of New York at Potsdam, Behind Bad Luck brings a high energy sound, nostalgic for the good old days of ska, all while still rocking a modern organic injection of their own character. The content is outrageous, the stage antics are playful, and the feeling whenever they play is joyous. These balls are backed up by their "normal life" where all the members focus on "honing the awesome" through their studies at the Crane School of Music.

The band perform at parties, nightclubs, weddings, concerns and are currently looking to go on tour if they can get the right team of worker and funding this year.

We found this band on Unsignedartists.com which has prove to be a very helpful site in terms of finding out more about the band. The website had all of the necessary information people would want to know about the band and how they can follow up the bands movements via there Myspace link and Email address. There is also a playlist available for viewers to click on to list to a few of their singles.

Famous Album Analysis

Famous Album Analysis

American artist Rihanna has released her new album titled 'Unapologetic'. The highly rated singer has arguably once again reinforced her image through her album cover and lyrics in some of the songs. The album was a huge success in both the UK and USA as it sold millions of copies worldwide. I am more interested in how she portrays herself in the album rather than the songs and in this blog, I will attempt to deconstruct the album and discuss with you the effective aspects to it. After seeing the objective of this blog, I knew that I had to choose Rihanna as I knew that there would be a lot to talk about in regards to her image. The album cover is very controversial, but it wouldn't be Rihanna if it didn't spark some sort of controversy. I say that it is controversial because although Rihanna's main fan base is older teenagers, she still widely appeals to the younger audience because of her songs. The younger audience are easily influenced and inspired by Rihanna and if she portrays herself in this way, it is likely that her fan base is likely to imitate her deviant behaviour. The album is called 'Unapologetic' and this is a message stating that Rihanna is not sorry for her past mistakes and controversy that she is created because she is just like us, she is a human being who is able to make mistakes despite the fact that she is famous and looked up to by her fans. The title 'Unapologetic' is a very strong message to the audience. The font that is used is looks handwritten and I believe this makes the album look effective. I say this because the album is called 'Unapologetic' so if the font was bold and precise it would almost look perfect but rather it looks handwritten and careless which I believe links back to the aspect of the album being titled 'Unapologetic'. Furthermore the way the text is all over the album cover is deliberately done and makes the album look effective. Rihanna, herself is in the album cover and this is something that almost every artist tries to do. Going further, in the album picture of Rihanna, she looks extremely sorry and remorse creating irony because of the title 'Unapologetic'. This is definitely purposely done as it almost creates some form of tension between the text and Rihanna herself, as they do not quite go together. One thing that I noticed in this album cover is that Rihanna did not include her name anywhere on the album however she promotes herself. I noticed that the number '7' is on the album and this could be a reference to her tour which is called '777' which means 7 countries, 7 days and 7 shows. She also puts the word 'Navy' with a hashtag. Navy is a group for Rihanna and all her fans to reinforce that Rihanna is not bothered with the criticism she gets for her deviant behaviour for example when she did a photo shoot in a mosque which could have been deemed to be very disrespectful to the Muslim religion. Nevertheless, Rihanna effectively promotes herself in her new album.

Analysing student Magazine advert

Analysing Student Magazine Advert

Magazine Advert Analysis

Magazine Advert Analysis

As part of the coursework, as well as creating our own music video and digipak, we also are permitted to make a magazine advert. The magazine advert will be a creative way of promoting the song. To understand how an effective magazine advert should be presented, I will need to do some research and look at a magazine advert. The magazine adverts that I have come across promote not only the song but also upcoming tours and events that the artist is involved in. This magazine advert by Bruno Mars strongly reflects the his smash hit single 'Lazy Song'. The use of font and colour is very vibrant and radiant reflective the style of the song. The use of colours are important when creating a magazine advert as it has to reflect the album or single in order for it to be very successful. As you can see on the left, Bruno Mars has put a cartoon form of himself in the magazine advert for obvious purposes as he is the artist of the song however what is more important to take note of is how he looks in the magazine advert. He looks incredibly laid back and 'lazy' as he nonchalantly leans on his desk. This is deliberately done as it makes an indirect reference to his song. The font used in the magazine advert is strong and bold and the colours yellow and purple are actually opposites in the colour wheel meaning that they look very nice together because of the contrast so again this is deliberately done. Overall this is a very effective magazine advert in my opinion as I believe that together with the single, it works coherently. I can take inspiration from this magazine advert and I now am looking forward to the task of creating my own magazine advert for my music video. Exciting times ahead!

Making my own Digipak!

Making my own Digipak

What to include?...

There are many aspects that need to be considered when making a digipak, that is of course if you want to create a successful one. Firstly a digipak is a form of packaging commonly for CD's but also for DVD's usually made by cardboard with an inside vacuum formed piece of plastic which holds the CD in place. It can have multiple holders depending on how many discs are inside the digipak. Myself and my group mates will be making our own digipak as part of the A2 coursework criteria. We have been given a specification that needs to be followed to ensure that we create the best digipak possible. This specification includes the digipak having six panels. These six panels are three for the front of the digipak and three for the back of the digipak. We also must follow the basic guidelines of creating a digipak. What I mean by this, is that most digipak's all follow the same layout. The specification also includes using original images (meaning primary images taken by us) including the artists, bands name and also album name displayed somewhere in the digipak. The key aspect to the digipak is making it associate with the single and/or the album and the artist to produce a successful digipak and this is what myself and my group will attempt to emulate. Our music video consists of our group members in ska outfits therefore we will try and include this someone in the digipak to show the clear link between the digipak and music video. The colours, text and layout are all things to consider when creating this digipak because these features could be the difference between having a successful digipak and a failure of a digipak. I am really looking forward to completing the digipak as I have lots of ideas of how I think it should look.

Digipak Analysis

Digipak Analysis

On the far right of this image you can see the image of the artist . This is purposely done because the digipak needs to show who the artist is in order for it to sell effectively. As you can see the image has been used more than once. The colour scheme of the digipak is very dull, still and almost surreal. The colours of grey, black and white give it this feel. It is possible that these colours are used to foreshadow the tone of this song. So if it is using these dark colours, it could suggest that the tone of the music is sad, slow and deep. On the picture which is furthest below, it shows the title of the album which is called 'Myth' which is also shown on both sides of the digipak because it is an important aspect of the digipak.

Analysing 3 of my favourite Music Videos in regards to Mise-en-scene, Cinematography and Editing

Analysing 3 of my favourite Music Videos in regards to Mise-en-scene, Cinematography and Editing

Analysing 3 of my favourite music videos:

1. Coldplay - The Scientist
2. A-ha - Take On Me
3. Jamiroquai - Virtual Insanity

My favourite music video in general is ‘The Scientist’ by Coldplay which I have previously talked about in my blog. This video is also my favourite in regards to mise-en-scene, cinematography and editing as it is so unique and special. The song is incredibly creative and almost inspiring because of the creativity, the editing is absolutely amazing as it had to be perfect for the song to be effective otherwise the lip synching would have looked out of place. The song is listed as number 11 in the list of the 100 Greatest Music Videos. The use of editing is what I really love about this video. The video is going actually going backwards so Chris Martin had to learn the song backwards and lip synch the song backwards which is incredible. In the song, the phrase “let’s go back to the start” is said a number of times. This phrase links to what Chris Martin is doing so this supports Goodwin’s theory of the song and lyrics linking together to make a successful music video. The editing for me is exceptional and something I have never seen before, it adds credibility to the song and makes me like the song more. It is very modern and looks amazing. The cinematography is also something to be noticed, the specific use of shots again give the audience a certain feel to the song. For example, right at the beginning of the song, the first shot we see is of Chris’s mouth and him lip synching the song then the camera zooms out and we get a feel of the surroundings which I feel is very deliberate, effective and makes the video enjoyable to watch.



My second favourite music video in regards to mise-en-scene, cinematography and editing is 'Take On Me' by 'A-ha'. The video is absolutely top draw in terms of creativity and it is a very exciting video to watch. The editing is very unique and I have never seen editing like this before which is what makes me like this song so much. The use of editing is wonderful and extremely modern in some parts but also quite old in other parts such this alternation makes the video look very effective. The director has merged comic scenes with real life scenes so coherently again making the video look effective. The video also has a fast beat which is why there is a fast pace of editing as it goes from one shot which could be a match on action to a close up so the video matches this by depicted the man on a race car once again reinforcing Goodwin's theory of the music video and lyrics coming together to make a successful single. The cinematography is also something to notice in this video, it uses a lot of various angles and shot types to make the video correlate with the tempo of the fast beat. The mise-en-scene in this music video is widely considered to be post modern because of the location of the video which is an old restaurant with the stereotypical 1950's look. Overall this is one of my favourite videos because of the editing and cinematography because I feel everything is done deliberately and makes the video look very impressive.



Finally, my third favourite music video in regards to mise-en-scene, cinematography and editing is 'Virtual Insanity' by Jamiroquai. This song is just a masterclass in terms of Jamiroquai's performance and all aspects of the video work well together to produce a great single. The song became an anthem of the late 1990's due t its enjoyable beat and catchy tone. In particular what made this song a success was the moving of the furniture and rooms and Jamiroquai himself gliding around which was definitely unseen of around the 1990's. The use of editing in this song is truly what I enjoy the most. I recently described it almost as a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation due to the transitions of the video as one scene glides to another and back and fourth. In addition what I particularly enjoy about this video is his performance. I believe it is truly captivating. The cinematography is also very effective as it uses a variety angles and shots which gives us a feel of the surroundings and also makes us feel almost involved in the video due to the camera pulling us in and out with the zooms and transitions.

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Animatic

Animatic

6th Day of Filming - The Last Day!!

6th Day of Filming

The Last Day!

Today was our last day of filming… we assume! It was a day packed with excitement and good quality bits of footage. It was such a relief to finally assume that this will be our last day of filming as we have been to London many times and it was proving to be quite costly to get there and back especially with train strikes! So the plan today was just to finalise everything and our first stop was Tower Hill. It was extremely busy with many tourists and sightseers visiting iconic landmarks. When we arrived at Tower Hill we needed to get footage of Tom singing in front of the famous ‘Shard’. This didn’t take too long because it was a simple shot and Tom has learnt the lyrics very well. The weather was very nice, it was sunny but it became a tad windy as the day proceeded.  After we finished our short scene at Tower Hill we then made our way to Westminister Bridge where the primary focus was to film footage of Tom running around in London pretending to be Superman. We filmed lots of footage because we knew that we still had a significant amount of space to be filled in the music video so we filmed more than we needed just to ensure that we don’t have to go back and also so that we get a choice of editing rather than putting in footage because we don’t have the choice to put anything else in due to a lack of footage. To conclude it was a short productive day and also very enjoyable. It has not been draining and there is a feel of satisfaction to know that the music video is going incredibly well and according to plan.

Costumes and Props 2

Pictures of possible Costumes and Props

We have selected these costumes and props because we feel that these will not only be necessary when we film but it will also look effective and get us a good grade. These items are essential as they fit the 'ska' appearance which we are attempting to portray because of our chosen band 'Behind Bad Luck'. The items will not cost much as we already have black shirts, black shoes and black trousers as we attend sixth form and it is compulsory to dress smart so most of us have these items. The 'ska' tie can be purchased from eBay for less than £3 so the ska appearance is not too costly. We also need a red cape for our lead actor and singer Tomas, who will be depicted as Superman, so the cape is obviously an essential thing to have. We will also need red underpants that Tomas will wear but this is not compulsory, if we find a pair that looks good then they will be purchased. The props are also necessary because we will be doing a band performance with Tomas lip synching the song so he will need a microphone and a guitar and the rest of us using the guitars and bass guitars in the performance