In order to help to show the creative journey that was involved with the creation of my music video production I used QuickTime Player to make a screen recording showing the blog that I have built up on Blogger.com. I felt that this would give a good insight into what my blog looks like from both my perspective and the perspective of the viewer. As well as this, the recording showed how to effectively use some elements of Blogger, such as how to insert a video into a blog post and how to edit the size of videos and images using the HTML code given on the site.
The image above shows me recording myself embedding a video into a new blog post using the "insert from YouTube" option given in Blogger. I did this to show the viewer how to embed a video and to show one of the skills that I have picked up while using Blogger to showcase my creative journey. I had to embed a video into my blog when i made the post titled "Music Video - First Draft". Rather than using the same insertion method shown in the screenshot, I chose to copy the embed code from the video on YouTube and paste this into the HTML section of the post on Blogger. This embedded the video into the blog and allowed the video to be watched by both me in the draft of the post and the viewer when they viewed the blog.
The screenshot above is another one that has been taken from the screen recording that I captured using QuickTime Player. This screenshot shows me using the HTML code in a Blogger blog post to edit the size of the video that I previously embedded by decreasing the height and width of the video. I did this after viewing my blog and seeing that the video was too big for the page and did not fit correctly within the borders of the blog.
When the first draft of the video was exported and uploaded to YouTube, the quality of the video decreased as the resolution seemed as i it was quite low. We will attempt to solve this problem by first of all rendering the entire work area rather than just the effects, which is what we have currently been doing every time we rendered it. We also need to ensure that it is exported in the highest quality possible, hopefully at 1080p.
We also need to finish the filming and then the editing of the video by the 18th December to meet the project deadline.
Questions
What are the good points of this draft of the video
Does it fit with the conventions of a music video
Is the narrative of the video clear
Are there any issues with the lighting or brightness
What changes would you make to the current draft
Is the pace of editing suited to this type of music
Does this music video fit the song that we have chosen to use
Are there a sufficient variety of camera shots and angles used
Which shots or parts of the video would you say need to be improved
What level and mark would you give this music video if it was completed at this level
In response to my November feedback that I received from Mr Rutherford on Friday 13th November, I will be using my A2 Media Studies student guide to improve my blog, which lists the individual tasks that need to be completed for the blog and the coursework.
The first thing that i will be improving is the production schedule. Currently the schedule is not detailed, so I will be adding a lot more detail to the post by describing exactly what we will be filming on each certain filming date and when we will be editing the music video. This will also detail which types of shot we will be using and which cast members we will need to use on each day and in each individual scene/shot.
SMART Targets:
Complete music video filming, editing, research and planning by the 18th December
Make sure that all work is at a high standard according to the success criteria
Ensure that there are no spelling or grammatical errors in my blog
Steady progress is being made on the
web-log so you need to gather momentum and fill in the gaps using your A2
booklet as a guide.
Planning needs to be made clear and
documentation needs to be thorough. You need to evidence a lot more planning
documentation to reach level 3 and 4. Schedules and risk assessments need to be
detailed.
I am yet to see evidence of filming.I now need to see a first cut of the film and
you need to gain audience feedback.I
have seen evidence of editing but we need to stage-post the edit to evaluate
how we can improve.
Storyboards are basic but show planning an
give an idea of the shot type.Ideally
you should storyboard each shot.
Ideas are outlined. A risk assessment has
been provided with some detail. Tasks have been started but there is a lack of
detail.For example, the investigation
into a target audience is still basic despite the time spent outlining the ways
of defining an audience in class. Further research is needed to move into
levels 2 and 3. Personalise the blog, reflect on the creative process.Manage your time effectively.
Front Cover Ideas
A photograph of all of the characters that are acting in the music video. This will be a shot of all characters facing the camera, with the artist (Brandon) at the front of the shot standing in front of everyone else, with the rest of the characters standing in a group behind him, maybe on either side of him. This will make the artist stand out as he will be the closest to the camera and will be in the centre of the shot with the rest of the group standing behind or to either side of him. Back Cover Ideas This will be a very similar shot to the one on the front cover, but will have all of the characters facing away from the camera, with the artist being the furthest away standing beyond the group. A bright light will be shown in the background of the shot in the direction that the characters are facing. This will essentially be a shot with the same set up as the front cover, but with the image being taken from behind the group rather than from the front.
For both the front and back covers we may be able to use a screenshot taken directly from the music video or from unused footage on the cover.
It is possible that, because we will be filming next to or
even on roads, there could be cars driving near the place of filming. This
could potentially lead to the actors that are starring in the music video being
injured by a car or lead to equipment being damaged.
We will all be as careful as possible when filming near
roads so as to ensure that no one is injured and no equipment is damaged. We
will also try to film only when the roads are not too busy so as to avoid
filming near drivers as much as possible.
Filming near water
Due to the fact that we will on occasion be filming near
water (next to a canal), it is possible that equipment could fall into the water if not handled
with the appropriate amount of care during use.
We will ensure to handle all equipment with care when
filming close go any water sources.
Filming on a bridge over a railway track
Equipment would be damaged or permanently lost if dropped
onto the railway track.
All equipment will be handled with care and kept as far
away as possible from the edge of the bridge so as to ensure that none is
accidentally dropped or falls over the edge onto the railway track below.
Issues with weather
Due to us wanting to film the majority of our video outdoors, the weather at the time of filming will be an issue as to weather or not we can film and what shots or scenes we will be able to film. This is because our video will be mainly upbeat in style, so filming in the rain or at night would not fit in with the theme of our video.
While we cannot help the weather, we will film as often as possible when the weather allows it. Also, if the weather is not good enough for us to film at any point, we can instead film part of an indoor scene so as to ensure that we are still getting some filming done despite the limitations of the weather.
Damaging equipment
Throughout the entirety of our filming, we will be
handling various pieces of equipment that are necessary for the filming of
our music video. Because of this, it is a possibility that any piece of
equipment could be damaged at some point in the filming stage.
Anyone who uses any equipment throughout the duration of
filming will be careful to not drop or damage it in any way.
Corruption of files and data
During the editing of our horror film project in Adobe
Premier Pro in the previous year at AS level media studies, we encountered
some issues with certain shots being corrupted when inserted into the
software for editing, meaning that these shots could not be used. This meant
that we had to spend more time than planned to re-film these shots.
We will ensure that we use a camera that has a fully
working SD card with a lot of spare space so that no footage is corrupted and we do not run out of storage space. Also, backups will be made of files and videos once they have been downloaded from the camera's SD card onto the mac that we will use for editing.
Equipment
Sony HD camera
Camera Tripod
Mac Desktop (used to store and edit footage)
DJ mixing deck to remix song and
use as a prop in the video
First aid kit
Mobile phone (used to contact
someone in case of emergency)
The
main locations we have chosen to set our music video is around Amington
in Tamworth which we will be filming around a house estate using the
streets, roads
and main road which has a train track in the background. Also there is a
farm where we are going to film using the fields and rivers and an old
bridge which is over a rail way. The locations we have aimed for are
every day routes and spots which have a lot of
character and good background setting. We chose these setting because we
felt the location suit our narrative of a journey through every day
life effectively. We will also use a house in the estate in a dark room to film the
scene of the artist with the DJ deck and showing
performance elements.
When we begin the filming of our music video we will mainly
be filming on Saturdays as we both have a lot of free time on this day. If we
have to cancel a filming session, we will either rearrange it for a weekday or
we will change the production schedule so that we film what we missed on a
different Saturday. Due to the fact that Brandon and I live close to one
another it will be relatively easy for us to meet up and film whenever
possible.
This will allow us to complete a lot of filming and put our
ideas into practice. We are not able to film during the first week of the October holiday due to my partner, Brandon, being away on holiday. If, during editing, we find any mistakes in our footage or feel that any shots need to be re-filmed, we will use the following Saturday after the end filming date to make amendments to the video.
Dates (during October holiday):
25th October - Filming of the solo shots of the artist, shot at night.
26th October - Touch ups of shots from previous day but with more angles and a wide range of shot types so that we can create quick cuts to the artist during editing.
Friday 13th November - Filming the majority of the music video. We have organised for as many of our cast members as possible to be ready to film on this date at 2:30 PM in order to give us enough time to film before it gets too dark to film.
In order to start to gain an understanding of the target audience for our music video, I used YouGov.com to create a profile of the type of person who would watch our video. I did this by searching for an audience profile for Calvin Harris, who is the DJ who produced the song that our music video is based on, "Bounce". After this, I also researched the audience of some other songs which are of a similar genre and sound to Bounce, as well as looking into some artists who are similar to Calvin Harris, mainly focusing on DJ's.
The results that this gave me are that the target audience for our music video, based on the artist and type of music, is both males and females, mainly between the ages of 16 - 24. Finding this information will help me with the creation of my music video because it has given me an idea of what features to include in the video based on the audience. This will also assist with the creation of the print products, as I now know who to focus on aiming the products at. As well as using YouGov to find an outline for the target audience, I myself also enjoy this type of music so used this in order to help me to find what type of things would help to market the video and song towards potential viewers.
Shown below is the email that I sent to the "Selected" YouTube channel asking for permission to use their song Bounce as the track for my music video. This was a necessary step in order to avoid any copyright issues that could occur if I used their song without gaining the correct authorisation beforehand.
Hi, I am a student at Landau Forte Academy Tamworth Sixth
Form and am planning to create a music video for the song listed in the
subject of this email (Bounce by Calvin Harris). I will be creating
the music video for my A2 media studies coursework but need permission
from the songs uploader in order to proceed with creating the video. The
video will be used for educational purposes only and will not be used
for any monetary gain. Please reply letting
me know whether or not I have your permission to use this song for my
coursework.
Regards,
Dan Price
Student: LFATSF
The target audience for my horror film will be any horror fans over the age of 15, as this is the age certification that my film will have. The film is aimed at people of any ethnicity, sexuality and gender. Because of the genre of the film, it will be aimed at horror fans, who are likely to be mainly teenagers and young adults, but can be of any age over the age of 15. The audience for my horror film are likely to follow the passive audience behaviour theory, but people that go to view the film at the cinema and are expecting to be scared will be behaving actively. as it will directly affect them by scaring them. There are multiple different ways in which I cold choose to circulate my product. These include film posters, which would be useful when placed inside cinemas due to the fact that they will be viewed by people who are going to watch films at the cinema, which is the target audience that we are aiming our product at.
Another way that I could market my product would be to make film trailers to be shown either or TV or at the cinema in the trailers that are shown before a film starts. This way, the trailer will be seen by a large amount of people as a lot of people go to the cinema to watch films and even more watch TV so will see the advert during advert breaks. This is a passive behaviour because the audience will see the advert on TV and this may make them want to watch the film or learn more about it. These audience members would be experiencing the hypodermic needle theory, as the product is affecting them without them actively looking into the product. The behaviour of audience members in different age ranges may be affected differently upon viewing my horror film. This is because older audience members are likely to not get as scared as younger members, especially if the older people a have been horror fans for a long time as they will be used to getting scared by horror films. Despite this, younger people may get more excitement and a larger adrenaline rush out of viewing my film, due to not being as used to experiencing fear from a film, especially if they are not a fan of horror films. The gender, social class and ethnic background of the members of the audience that watch my film is unlikely to affect how they behave upon viewing it in any way or how they respond to the product. I would expect that younger viewers would have a better response to my film due to the fact that they are likely to be more frightened of horror than many older viewers.
The opening of the music video for Lady Gaga's Bad Romance shows the characters that are involved in the music video bathed in a bright white light, ensuring that the video will capture the viewers attention from the outset. In this opening shot, Gaga is shown sitting on a white chair, which could also be described as a throne, in order to make her stand out from the rest of the characters on screen and to show that she is to focus of the story and the most important character. To add to this effect, Gaga is shown in gold coloured clothes and heels, while everyone else is wearing either black or white, more plain clothing. The main thing which stands out in the background characters are the headpieces that some are wearing, using masks to cover their faces. The fact that the background and floor are both coloured white with black stripes also ensures that Gaga will stand out as much as possible, as some of the other characters almost seem to blur with the setting of the shot. As this opening scene continues and cuts from the original pan shot to a close up of Gaga's face, it becomes apparent that the glasses that she is wearing are made of razor blades. This is likely a metaphor for Gaga being dangerous or unsafe and shows that she is capable of acknowledging this fact. This is also shown in the way that she is wearing what looks like some kind of metal mesh over the tips of her fingers, meaning that she has a dangerous touch. This close up of her fingers also shows some product placement, advertising a speaker made by a brand named Parrot.
The next scene begins with a shot of a yellow light becoming the centrefold of the shot with a black background heavily contrasting with the light. The light then begins to fill the setting of this scene, with a soft yellow light bathing the contents of the room that we are shown. The viewer now sees a line of what look like pods, each of which says Monster on the front of it. After this, a white light is turned on and lights up the entire scene, at which point the pods open and people start to emerge from inside of them. When put into context, this scene seems like an awakening, as the yellow light from the beginning of the scene seems to wake up the people inside of the pods, like the rising sun waking people up from their beds in the morning. The "Monsters" from inside of the pods are dressed in all white, matching the background of the scene, and begin to dance stiffly once they have all emerged from the pods. One of the following shots to this shows Gaga looking in the mirror, now in a setting with dimmer lighting and dressed all in black, including sunglasses and a large black crown. This could serve to show that she has changed in mood or personality, or that she has a darker side to her than what we have been shown in the previous shots.
Tzvetan Todorov
5 stage narrative theory. Todorov developed this theory in 1969, and believed that this theory could be applied to every film, as he believed that all films followed the same narrative pattern.
1. Equilibrium.
2. Disruption of the equilibrium (conflict).
3. Realisation of disruption.
4. Attempt to repair damage caused by disruption.
5. Restoration of a new equilibrium.
Roland Barthes
5 narrative codes.
Action code: Conflict
Referential code: Audiences external knowledge
Symbolic code: Symbolism
Enigma code: The main mystery/unknown of the story according to the audience
Semantic code: Additional meanings
Ferdinand De Saussure
Binary oppositions
A binary opposition is a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning. De Saussure also states that people cannot understand the concept of good without understanding evil, so binary oppositions are necessary for language in general.
E.g. good vs evil, young vs old, protagonist vs antagonist.
The above video is the music video for Lady Gaga's 2009 song "Paparazzi"
The opening of the music video for Lady Gaga's song "Paparazzi" is set at a very different pace than the later stages of the video and is much calmer, putting it in direct contrast with the more upbeat, fast paced action shown in the rest of the video. This start to the video is used to open the storyline of the video and set up the plot that is shown throughout. One example of this is the use of text in the opening credits of the video. Due to the font that is used the text looks very old fashioned, more like something out of the 1950's or 60's than a font that would be used in 2009. As well as this, the scene for the video is set, showing a large, lavish house with a lot of expensive looking luxuries littering the inside of the house. After this, the early stages of the video are used to show Lady Gaga's power, wealth and how important she is. This is shown in the way that her face is on the 100$ notes that can be seen in the video and how she has large amounts of money and expensive looking jewellery just lying around throughout the house. The camera also focuses on a newspaper headline which states "Lady Gaga reaches the top yet again". This shows that she is an important public figure as she is appearing as the main feature on the front page of a newspaper. As well as this, some parts of the video are used as advertisements for other companies or products. The stand out example of this is the fact that Gaga is wearing rings on her fingers that spell out Dior, at one point even holding these up for the camera, which does a close up which shows her face and the product placement in the same shot. As she fades out away from the camera, Gaga is shown in a Christ like pose similar to that of Jesus on the cross. This could be Gaga attempting to compare herself to him or possibly implying that she is a martyr for the music industry and is trying to get her message heard at any cost.
In the next scene of the video, Gaga is lifted out of a limousine into a wheelchair, showing that she is broken and no longer as powerful as she previously was. Contradicting this though is the purple carpet that she is pushed along, purple being a colour that is often associated with royalty and wealth. At this point she is also wearing a neck brace that is adorned with glitter and is bright red in colour, showing that she is still trying to be glamorous and attempting to stand out even though she is confined to a wheelchair and must wear a protective neck brace due to the injuries that she received when she was pushed off of the balcony of her house by her boyfriend. Slightly later on in the video, Gaga us shown dancing, now seemingly fully healed. In this scene, she is dressed in a white outfit with black accessories flowing out from the sides of the outfit. This mixture of black and white could be being used to contrast the two different sides of Lady Gaga, due to the fact that black is often a colour associated with bad and evil while white is more often associated linked to good. This is an effectively used technique in this scene as it is showing the beginning of her transformation from a good, innocent character in the story to a more questionable, possibly evil character, as is shown later in the music video when Gaga poisons and kills her boyfriend. This is also symbolized with much more subtlety with the black highlighted streak that Gaga now has in her hair, as opposed to the bright pink colour that her hair was dyed in previously. Shortly after this, Gaga is seen in an almost entirely black outfit, now with only a small colouring of white in her hair. This is to show how she is no longer an innocent character and now has bad intentions, and should possibly be seen as a bad or evil character.
In conclusion, the music video to Lady Gaga's song Paparazzi has a variety of messages throughout its duration, hidden behind imagery and storytelling, for people to learn. One such message is the theme of sexism that is fairly evident throughout the video. The main points where this is shown are within the first scene of the video and the final one, combining to link the story together. Near the start of the video, Gaga's character is shown being pushed off of the balcony of her home by her boyfriend, who escapes any form of punishment for his wrongdoing. However, when Gaga gets her revenge on him at the end of the video through the use of poison, she is soon arrested. This can be seen as a social commentary on how women and men are treated differently, and how women are unfairly treated and possibly also discriminated against, maybe being seen as less important than men. There is also a small portion of the video which also shows a theme of racism and shows the discrimination that black people face, with the only black men that are shown in the video being servants for Gaga and helping to carry her when she is confined to a wheelchair. This shows the unfair treatment of black people in everyday life, also shown in the way that this subtle undertone in the video can be easily missed.
Your current level of progress is not really good enough at the moment. You are currently working at a level 1, If this is the tone for the blog it doesn't bode well for your coursework. Do the following asap:
Metz theory, complete, add images from history of music videos, beatles el at
Complete textual analysis of Johnny Cash 'Hurt' video
Lynne Ramsey incomplete, needs words, images, video clips,
Media tropes needs concluding
Lots of work to do by next week, deadline for 17th July to make some serious additions.
Genre
Fallout 4, like all of the other games in the Fallout series, is an RPG, meaning Role Playing Game. This means that the player can make their own path in the game, creating their own character as well as choosing from multiple dialogue options during conversations in order to shape your characters personality and deciding what kind of person your character will be. This allows the player to play as either a standard protagonist or a sort of anti-hero, due to the fact that the character can be made to be evil. This is represented in game through the use of a karma system, with evil characters having low karma and good, more heroic characters having high karma. Fallout also has the attributes of an action game, as well as being a shooter.
Duration
The above trailer is 3:04 long, which would most likely be too long to be shown during an advert break on television. Due to this, it is likely that the trailer was made to be viewed by less traditional methods, mainly online through the use of YouTube and other video streaming sites. The trailer was first released for viewing on Bethesda's website and after after a timer had ticked down to 0 the trailer was shown. due to this being the first trailer for the game, this length is quite appropriate, because it takes the time to show the location and set the tone of the game, as well as showing some of the other features of the game.
Sound
The music that is heard at the start of the trailer and continues onwards in the background is a song called "It's All Over". this song is from a band named "The Ink Spots" and the song was first released in 1947. The Ink Spots music has also featured in previous games due to the fact that the majority of the music in the game is from the 1950's and 60's. The Ink Spots song "I Don't Want to Set The World on Fire" was used in the trailer for Fallout 4's prequel: Fallout 3. Due to the use of their songs in the Fallout game series, The Ink Spots have gained somewhat of a cult following well beyond their years among fans of the series. Towards the end of the trailer, there is a short voice over by Ron Pearlman, who has also done voice overs for the previous game trailers at well as voice overs in the actual games. He says the quote "War... War never changes" which has become known as a famous tag line or catchphrase for the fallout series and which has featured in all 5 of the games (Fallout 1, 2, 3, New Vegas and Fallout 4.)
Lynne Ramsay is a female British director who made a name for herself in the film industry by directing various short film projects such as Gasman. She has since moved on to create full length feature films including Ratcatcher and We Need to Talk About Kevin. She is known for the large dependence on sound which she uses to create and enhance the atmosphere and mood in her films, as well as the drawn out, lingering shots that she uses to convey a certain point or to suggest how a character is feeling.
I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything
Here, Cash is reminiscing about the past, talking about his use of drugs. In this verse he seems deeply depressed, and talks about how he wants to wipe away his memories of the past but cannot do so. He also mentions how pain is "the only thing that's real", relating this to later in the song where he says that everyone else has left him and he is now alone with the pain. When he says "The old familiar sting" this is an admission that he used drugs in the past an possibly that he had problems or addictions related to drugs, so is now using them again in an attempt to distance himself from the past. The next two lines show how he is or was trying to rid himself of his pain through the use of drugs, but he still remembers the pain and the bad things that he has done throughout his life.
[Chorus]
What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
The above verse is the chorus of the song, and contains the song's most poignant lyrics. The "what have I become" line refers to how much Cash has changed over the years, since he first gained fame to now, as an old man singing about the past. It also implies that he is not happy with the man that he now is, or the man that he previously was. Cash's "sweetest friend" is thought to be his wife, who appears in the video for short lengths of time, and it would appear that he is addressing her in the next few lines, where he tells her that "you could have it all". The next two lines are quite solemn, with Cash stating that all of the people he knows leave him eventually. This is likely a reference to his friends and members of his family who have passed away over the years, leaving Cash lonely and depressed, as can be seen from the lyrics of this song. Cash now feels as though he has nothing left, as he has lost everything and everyone that he ever had and knew, stating that his is an "empire of dirt" and that all he his good for is letting people down and hurting them. Due to the references towards the deaths of people that he had once known, we can assume that he is in part talking about not being able to apologise to these people for the ways in which he has wronged them by lying to them, as we hear in the next verse.
I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liars chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here
The first line of this verse seems to be a reference to Jesus wearing a crown of thorns when he was crucified, and at this point the video shows Cash sitting at a table with a large meal spread out in front of him, seeming to refer to the last supper. These references to Christ could be due to a similar fall from fame that Cash experienced throughout his career, as he was once idolised by many, but at this point had seemingly been almost forgotten. The liars chair statement seems to be Cash once again insulting himself, calling himself a liar, and that this has made him stand out from others for this particular reason. The next two lines are Cash reminiscing about the past, mainly about the mistakes that he has made in his life, and how he cannot forget these memories or make himself feel better about these events. The two lines after this state that many of the feelings and emotions that Cash once had have faded over time, now being non-existent. The final two lines of the verse talk about how the people around him have changed over time, most likely for the better, while Cash is still living in the mistakes of the past as he cannot move on or force himself to change.
[Chorus]
If I could start again
A million miles away
I will keep myself
I would find a way
This final verse is shorter than the others, perhaps serving to give it a larger impact as the lyrics here are mainly focused on Cash speaking about how he feels at this moment in time, rather than talking about the past. These four lines provide a summary for the song and come as a result of Cash reminiscing about the past. He states that if it was possible, he would start his life all over again somewhere far away, avoiding the fame that ultimately led him to the sorry state that he is now in. This shows that Cash does indeed feel regret for the mistakes that he has previously made, and wishes that he could go back in time and correct the wrong turns that he has taken.
Christian Metz theory
The four stages of a genre:
1. The Experimental
2. The Classic
3. The Parody
4. The Deconstruction
Types of music video
1. Performance based video
This is when the mainly shows the artist actually performing the song, maybe in the studio or in front of a live crowd.
2. Narrative based video
This is where a music video is made to tell a story and focuses more on this aspect of the video than the artist actually performing the song, though this may still feature at certain parts of the video.
3. Abstract/artistic/surrealist
When a video does not fit into either of the previous two categories, it usually falls into this one. These videos often do not have any real meaning or story to them and also do not feature the artist performing for any extended period of time.
