Evaluation

Music Video: Final Production

Music Video - Codes and Conventions

The codes and conventions of music videos are the various different techniques that are used to construct meaning in them. These commonly used techniques help the viewer to identify what genre or type of media text they are watching as they provide a certain structure in the viewers understanding.

Different genres of music will have different codes and conventions for their music videos. One such convention is the use of "sound parallels", which is when the music that is currently playing matches the mood of the video. This is prevalent in many narrative based music videos, where the tone and emotion that is shown in the video is matched by the music. Sound parallels also take place where the source of the noise or sound that can be heard is shown in the video, with this often taking place at breaks in the music or at the beginning or end of the video.

Print Artefacts

Evaluation Questions notes

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

The influences that we took from other music videos - the original Bounce video, the V for Vendetta mask, etc. The way that the title is shown at the start of the video in the bottom left corner. How we challenged the forms and conventions - the effects that we added in editing, the colours, brightness and shading that we used as well as the reversing of some shot. We also increased the speed of the majority of the shots in the video in order to quicken the pace of the music video and slowed the speed of a few others to create a slow motion effect. Slowing certain shots down also allowed us to slightly stretch the length of the shots so as to ensure that the video would fit in with the song and that we could fill the amount of the timeline that we needed to. It also focuses the audiences attention to a certain part of the shot, making sure that they are paying attention to this part of the video and giving them more time to view and analyse the shot. Going back to the colour and lighting effects, the addition of bright, vibrant colours helped to add an unusual cartoon-like effect to the first half of the video, drawing the audiences attention to the music video straight from the beginning.

2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Print artifacts. How they related to our main production and why we chose the design/style that we used. Why they were effective. Aimed at our target audience.

3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

What we learned from the feedback that we received. How we improved our music video based on the feedback, why we decided to change/edit certain things. Added/ removed certain shots to improve the overall product. How we expanded upon and improved the first draft.

4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

How and why we used Adobe Premiere Pro to complete the editing of our music video. Reverses, slow motion, fast forward, other effects that we used.

Below is the link to the finished version of my music video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Vt0vSuPDgZk.

Blogger Screen Recording

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.

Music Video - First Draft and Improvements

Improvements

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

1. What are the good points of this draft of the video
2. Does it fit with the conventions of a music video
3. Is the narrative of the video clear
4. Are there any issues with the lighting or brightness
5. What changes would you make to the current draft
6. Is the pace of editing suited to this type of music
7. Does this music video fit the song that we have chosen to use
8. Are there a sufficient variety of camera shots and angles used
9. Which shots or parts of the video would you say need to be improved
10. What level and mark would you give this music video if it was completed at this level

November Feedback Response

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

November feedback

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.

Music Video Task 6 - Storyboard

Music Video - Album front and back cover ideas

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.

Music Video - Risk Assessment

Hazard	Risk	Solution
Cars driving near filming	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)

Music Video - Locations

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.

Music Video - Production Schedule

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.

Music Video Task 7 - Casting and role allocation

Main character, artist, DJ - Brandon Moss

Backing characters - Saul Baxter Plant, Ryan Simpson, Lewis Ball, Jack Brain, Lewis Haden, Myles Mason, Nathan Smith, Dan Price

Producers - Dan Price and Brandon Moss

Directors - Dan Price and Brandon Moss

Editors - Dan Price and Brandon Moss

Camera work - Dan Price

Music Video Task 4 - Target Audience

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.

Music Video - Permission Email

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

Pitch feedback

I like the ambition of re-mixing a song yourself. Keep it to 4-5 minutes.

How will you brand the artist in the video.  Who is the artist and what influenced the way he is portrayed?

You need to make your ideas clear in the web-log with detailed planning and research.

What music videos have inspired your ideas?

Research the genre of music to see how other artists are branded.

What is the USP of your artist and outline where your brand lies in the market.

What camera shots will you have

Can you share some drafts of print products and storyboards

Outline the narrative of your story further so that we can see the dream sequence. 

Lay the audio track down on the timeline first. 

Task 4: Audience Research

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.

Task 2: Lady Gaga - Bad Romance: Textual Analysis

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.