Music Video - [Style]

The video above is a quick example of the 'look' that I want to achieve. The reason behind this is because I think that it helps the 'flat image' problem and helps focus attention on the performer. The technique isn't too complex and subtle hints towards the film 'Saving Private Ryan' therefore linking with conflict. To pull this off I have to make sure that the only blue in the scene is the performer and that it is well lit to avoid grain, The style allows me to have a different take on 'Film Noir'. I would create a rough cut like this but I only have limited footage to work with I want to shoot some more footage that will be used in the final product.

Other Project - School Promo - ISO Help

While making my music video I had to make school advertisement, the only catch was that I had a day to not only film it but edit it. This helped me learn a lot about time management because I had to get as much done in the small amount of time I had. Furthermore I learnt about soft outdoor lighting because at 00:28 I had to interview someone outside. The main problem I had after shooting was this video is the reason that I found out about the camera settings. The grain that is seen throughout was because of the 1600 ISO, this was very frustrating because I couldn't reshoot but it did help me figure it out in time for my music video shoot.

My EUREKA moment! - New camera settings [Research]

Within media I am often faced with challenges I set for myself or that arise while I am making my media projects but I had never realised how something so simple could have such a vast effect. While I was editing my test shots and experimenting with the VFX I noticed that my videos were infected with 'grain' or 'digital noise'. I thought at first that it was because my footage was not rendered properly but that was not the case, so I then thought that it was because I did't have enough lighting so that cause the grainy look but that was still not the case as shown by my test shots. So I was left frustrated with my camera for not performing and went to the internet in search of answers or people having the same problem. I spent hours trying to find someone who could give me an answer but still no luck... but then, while I was shooting a promotional video for the school I realised the problem. The reason my camera was performing so badly was because of ISO and various settings, which I must have tampered with. This led to me going into extensive research into camera settings. While researching I learnt about using the camera's manual mode to set the camera to film as flat as possible, you can achieve this by either film in RAW or using the camera settings that I now use. So now before I film anything I am always checking my settings and learning about different ways to achieve the style I want before post production, which has improved my ability within filmmaking by miles.

Evaluation Questions - [Progress]

The evaluation requires the following questions:

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? 
2. How effective is the combination of your main and ancillary texts?
3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages? You may have noticed that there are less questions compared with your AS evaluation. However, the expected response to each of these questions should demonstrate a far more technical and detailed approach.

In approach to these questions I want to be able to confidently answer them throughout. The reason for this is that I want to constantly improve my process, this means that every shoot will become smoother and smoother. By having confidence in the way that my shoots will go it'll help me become more ambitious therefore help the music video improve.

Lighting Technique - Film Noir

This is a rough sketch of how I am going to solve my problem of depth. The plan is to add more lights to the traditional lighting setup, the two lights in the background will be there while the performer raps. The reason the lights are going to be within the framing of the shot is because I don't want to have to spend loads of money on a hairlight, instead I will use two lights I already have as part of the mise en scene. This will kill two birds with one stone in the sense that it will act as a strong hairlight because there are two and this will further help with my problem of depth because it will create a barrier between the background and the artist.

More Edited Test Shots - Evaluation

These are the majority of shots that I have edited to see what I can improve for the future shoots. Aspects of the sequence I will be checking include: Lighting, Mise en Scene, Lip syncing, pacing along with a variety of visual effects. Firstly the lighting was meant to present film noir, this is because I wanted to see if I could create the contrast between black and white. I believe that I had achieved the film     noir style but there are still improvements that have to be made. For example at 00:07 the two characters are not lit at all, we only had a reflector but it didn't do a lot because of the weather. This lead to the shot looking very bland and flat because they aren't being lit separately to the wall. I feel that in future shoots I will try and light my subject using a standard three point lighting setup but use a strong key light and a strong hairlight to create the harsh shadows. To further improve this shot I will use better aspect ratio's in order to provide a modern wide screen look, without the gaps to the right.

This shot at 00:13 was constructed using a poorly lit white screen, it worked surprisingly well and I was happy with the result however I would want to refine the 'Trebor' mints wrapper by get closer shots of the packaging or creating my own version in illustrator to stop the shot looking so out of focus. Furthermore I will be adding more camera shake onto the image because this makes the video more aggressive instead of the shot being bland. However in order to do this I have either move all the elements separately or I have to put them all into a single clip, kind of like merging the layers to form a single entity. Going back to the white screen, I may change this to a better lit green-screen because it allows me to cancel out the white boarder around the character.

The next shot at 00:19 is a shot that I like because it really gives the sense of filmnoir because of the lack of light in it, which illuminates the Dan Bull logo. However I would like to take a shot like this and apply the three point lighting setup in order to distinguish the rapper from the background instead of him just blending in. This is because I want to add depth to this shot and because it will increase the contrasting lines that I am trying to achieve. I am looking into using a further two lights to illuminate the face more but light create a low key light look. Lastly I am going to be adding a little camera movement in post that will add to the overall aggressive vibe of the music video.

This shot at 00:26 is probably a shot that I will not be using in the actual product because it doesn't show enough of the performer. However I wanted to point out that the use of the light adds depth, which is distorted by the VFX  and this is why I am either getting rid of the VFX on the shot or the shot its self. The reason the VFX don't work well is that they are not intergrated with the scene but instead put on top. Furthermore this shot isn't lit properly because we wanted one light behind the performer to see if the 'hairlight' would create a strong outline. Instead what we found was that we need a stronger 'hairlight' and 'keylight' in order to create the harsh shadows. In future shoots I while bring more lights to the scene.

The shot by the tank at 00:31 is probably the shot where our location was right and it really helps with the mise en scene. Furthermore the cameraman zooming in really help get that dramatic movement towards the artist. The lighting on the artist could have been better however I feel that with some colour correction tweaks I could make this shot look good enough to go into the final edit. I may try and re-shoot this scene or find another vehicle for this shot because I would like to get more shots of the vehicle. I will further be using this handheld technique for the majority of other shots.

For the shots of Fraser's character at the begining of the music video I really wanted to push the idea of film noir in this music video. Furthermore I wanted to add depth using the camera to focus harshly on Fraser's face and then upping the blur in post. I only brought one light with me but I was fairly pleased with how this test shot has panned out. However for the actual shot I will be in a different location at a different time to avoid people walking in the background. This is because it can distract the audience from the character's emotion. I may further try and improve the shadows on his face by having a stronger key light.


This shot is another VFX shot that I wanted to try. It takes place at 00:?? and worked really well in terms of the visual effect, I thought that it would be a lot harder to pull off but by keeping it simple and not moving the camera it worked really well. However I want every shot to be perfect so I do have some aspects that I would change and some further things that people pointed out to me when I asked them for their critical opinion. I personally would change the framing of the shot, which was a view further expressed by others. This is because the shot doesn't focus on the flashback as much as I thought, which means that by the time the audience realise whats going on the action has already disappeared. Another mistake that was shown to me was that the light I used was reflecting in the window of the door, which overall distracted the audience from the narrative. On the topic of lighting I would light the scene better in terms of lighting the outline of both 'Fraser's' to provide an outline to them, separating them from the background further creating depth.

Lighting [Research] - Film Noir

This is my basic plan for achieving the film noir look, I want to take the standard three point lighting display and modify it to create harsher shadows similar to chiaroscuro. I want to adopt the low key lighting setup to create these harsh contrasts between black and white in my music video to create depth and atmosphere in my shots. I have researched into lighting my music video outdoors and indoors furthermore I have looked at how to 'light the dark in order to avoid the grain.

Animatic

This has some updated scenes that have been cut like the introduction, which I am cutting.

Storyboard - Analyses

Before I started filming my product I knew that I had to get my ideas onto paper, this is so that I don't forget my ideas and can easily explain them to others before the shoot. I had taken inspiration from the music videos that I had analysed previously. I knew that I wanted to start my music video with a strong narrative following a nerd character through a school. I wanted this to create an emotional connection between the audience and the character. The shots included on the first page are to introduce Fraser's character to the audience and setup the idea for the balaclava. Furthermore I knew that I needed to show physical attack to draw an audience into the narrative and to set an emotional attachment with the idea of conflict. This makes the song have more meaning than just the link to a video game, which would attracted more commercial listeners and viewers. 

 I know that the opening had to setup ideas about the music video taking place within his head, this meant that I had to give a reason why he puts on the mask and why he is performing in the music department. At first I wanted the bully to make the song play around the whole school through a microphone. However this may be cut from my final product because I don't want to stay in the school to long, furthermore I want to focus on the actual music video instead of the setup.
The problems I have with these scenes is that I want a black and white film noir feel to this. I will include these in the animatic because I want to test the pacing but I may cut them. I want to film these scenes after school however the only problem is that they were meant to take place in the morning. However I'm sure I will be able to solve this by either adapting the story or using lighting to create an early morning atmosphere.





The shot where Fraser's character turns into the rapper is one that I need to test because it is actually a VFX shot. Furthermore it is one of the opening shots to the music video and is essential to setting up the idea that the music takes place within the characters head. In addition to this I wanted to have a free moving camera ('K-Pop' convention) to connote the idea of dream like state. However this is proving harder than I expected because it takes a crane, drone or a glide cam to achieve this. Although I have purchased a glide cam it has proven very tricky for my camera man to use and takes a long time for him to get it right. This has lead to me ultimately having to decide not to use it but it kills the look I wanted. An alternative that I am looking into is a dollytrack and or a wheelchair.





The next shots are also VFX heavy, I want to have an interactive gunshot. I want the VFX to integrate with the music video and help create a surreal dream like mood. I have tested many of these shots because I want to refine them before I release the actual music video. Furthermore the constant change of locations and characters will prove a challenge to get a shooting schedule together. One scene on this page that includes a tricky location is the military vehicle that I have to coordinate with an army reenactment group, which means getting my crew and I to all be there on the same day as them.
The shot on the bottom right is something that I have tested a several times before I do this for the actual product, this is because I have to keep the camera completely still and in the same place in order for the effect to work. I will film the shot twice using someone as reference and I will be once on the left and once on the right then mask the two together in order to create the illusion of a single shot.


I have got the props and costume, which will help build up a mise en scene however the location in these scenes are also very important. For example I want to have short snippets of lyric supported narrative like the scene top right. This is only going to be in the music video for 5 seconds so it's important to have a good location to help with the iconography which ultimately helps push the narrative. Another example is the shot underneath where I want to blow up London. This shot relies heavily on the iconography of London to help the audience understand what is going on in those few seconds. I further wanted to incorporate action scenes in my music video. The POV shot bottom right shows a shotgun going off and flashbangs etc, this is influenced by the lyrics. The storyboard page shows the idea behind this music video: Performance then narrative because there is performance on the left and action on the right.



The shots on this page show the high level of interactivity between the performer and the camera. This is a common convention in K-Pop music videos, which have had a strong impact on the commercial music scene in western music videos. For example in the top right I wanted the camera to use blurred transitions when the camera is hit into the next shot. This level of interactivity is increased further when the camera is sprayed with water. I want the performer to constantly break the fourth wall because it will constantly reinforce the idea that the music video is taking place within the characters head. I also wanted to include scenes, which include intertextual references towards other types of media like what the artist has done in the song. I have achieved this by including a StarWars scene. This is another visual effect that I have practiced twice in order to get the effect right.




I want the camera to often be either a close ups or mid shots because it has to feel very personal to the viewer. The shots where there are two of me will have to be a mid shot or wide shot so I actually can be seen. A lot of these shots are close ups because it relates to the platform that it will be shown on, Youtube. This platform is all about watching your content grow which means that the viewers have a strong emotional connection towards the Youtuber, this is connoted through the use of close ups. I also decided to have a yoga motion as a mini narrative to engage the viewer and keep them entertained.









I want to have an 'X-ray' scene where the skeleton lip syncs to the track, this is because towards the end of the music video I wanted the character to grow in strength and confidence. It further relates to the lyrics of the song to do with x-rays, which will further support the track visually. In addition to this it signifies strength and power for the character.
I will further try and include canted angles like film noir films and rap music videos, these transitions will also be using fire to relate to the rap idea of 'fire' lyrics.

Towards the very end of the video I'm going to use more fire elements and lower angles to give the character more power within the rise pace of the song. Furthermore I will be using a change in costume to relate back to commercial rap therefore playing on stereotypes that are often seen in mainstream media. I am deciding whether to use a mask of Tony Blair on the lyric about Afghanistan. However this may be too controversial for my artist even if he is slightly political.










Finally I will end the video with a low angle to show complete dominance over the rap, then he will walk off.

Reflection and Evaluation [My Process]

Within the process of making this music video I have tried to improve upon the weaknesses I showed in the creation of my AS media product. I feel that I gave myself a good foundation for the start of the process. The reason I felt the start was so important is because I wanted to become more fluent and professional in my process. To begin with I researched loads of music video to get a sense of style and genre I wanted to work in. Furthermore I had over the summer already got permission to use an artists song, which allowed me to work on what I wanted to do visually a lot quicker because I had already established a genre of music. However I did have to do further research on the different sub-genres within music videos and the variation of hybridisation of these genres. Compared to the previous time I had to research I felt that I improved within the amount of it I did and the depth that I went into. To further understand the conventions of a music videos I looked into specific features such as: smoke, location and lights. I felt that these were essential were creating the professional look within my Mise en Scene. Instead of looking at purely professional music videos I diverted to more unaccepted forms of music videos. I felt that this built a greater understanding of media I am working in and this help set a standard for what I want to achieve.

However planning was a different story because although I can draw at storyboard up from the foundations I laid earlier in the year, I felt that my ambitions have overcomplicated my approach to this. I wanted to make something extraordinary for this final product but didn't realise the time that I had to make it, furthermore I much preferred working in a group because although this does create challenges through disagreements, it means that the product was always becoming stronger. In addition to this, having to explain my ideas to other people forced me to write in detail about everything so that they would understand, without that I am finding it a challenge to get everything to paper in enough depth. An example of this is the storyboard, which is all done however the annotations on the storyboard aren't in enough detail to explain or post on my blog meaning that I am unable to make an animatic because the camera movements aren't definite. Another problem is now I am on my own, I am relying on opinions of people who aren't creating it, this means that although the feedback I get is critical I fear that my ideas are far to extravagant for one person to make, especially in the time scale. This means that I am skipping important parts of planning so that I can actually get the filming done in time, but these parts of planning are essential to making the shoots less stressful and overall making a better product. The fact that I have to perform the song as well makes the shoots even more challenging because my camera man is not part of the production process with me, which means I have to explain it to him instead of him knowing what I want to achieve. I am fine when it comes to the album cover task because I am confident in my photoshop capabilities and it will not take me too long. Overall I have done everything to some extent but it is not on my blog or it is not to the standard that I want. I need help with finding a suitable location to achieve a low key lit room, where I can have a black background.

[VFX] Test Shots

This is my skeleton test shot. I am currently doing loads of test shots to test both visual effects and lighting so that on the actual shooting day I am prepared. This allows me to improve what I have achieved for the actual shoot. This allows me to improve upon my weaknesses to achieve the professional standard and work towards excellence. I have filmed more test shots but they are still in editing. I want to get all this done by the end of the month (November) because I need to start planning the actual shoots in January, which are more likely to take place in a studio.

Location Scouting

- The look?
- Sound?
- Light?
- Time and distance?
- FOOD!
- Safe?
- Law for guns etc?
- Power?

For my music video I need several locations for both my performance and narrative scenes. The location can reflect how professional a music video is because the location is the foundations that the mise en scene is built upon. For each of these locations I will be asking myself the questions above. The location firstly has look right, this may sound obvious but I have to visit each one to look at the lighting capabilities structures there. This is because I want to avoid the problems I faced last year where it took hours upon hours to setup. Due to my shoots being less flexible because they are public places, I want to have a more organised and planned approach towards shooting my music video. Although I don't need sound in my music video because it's all being replaced by the song I would like to be able to hear the song playing so I can match it in post. The timing of the location is essential as well because it has to be easily available for long periods of time and not to far to get to. Although one location is two hours away I will make an effort to make the others closer. This is so we can re-shoot easily and get the shots we need without having to travel far. For example I will be filming in the community centre instead of renting a studio because it's more flexible and I got it for free for five hours. The safety of my crew is essential especially if I am filming in a military base. This is because we did't have permission to film there because they did't reply so I took it as a yes meaning we had to sneak around the military. Furthermore the base did't have power so I had to buy battery powered L.E.D. lights to avoid digital noise and grainy footage.

[Fraser] - Actor Profile

The reason behind our choice of actor is because he has experience within acting due to him staring in many school performances and drama exams. His role in my music video will be playing a nerdier character. I think that we worked well last time so due to him being reliable and a genuine great actor.

Furthermore he is already a student, which fits the part.

Location Scouting - [Military Training Site]

When I created my AS media film I wasn't to concerned about the location and the whole affair was very last minute. However within a music video I will be going to a variety of different locations because music videos are very fast pace and the average amount of locations, which I calculated from my research was four different locations for the performer(s). I will aim to match this average because it allows me to have more options when editing. Furthermore I want to be able to overshoot on set to be able to get around double the amount of shots I need because it means that if I can't get the shot I want or another shot doesn't work I will have some to back up. I always do this because it avoids re-shoots. Re-shoots are really frustrating and must always try and be avoided because they take up valuable time in the shooting schedule and if the scene s only on screen for five seconds in a music video it becomes even more of a burden. The locations that I have looked at are broken down abandoned places, areas in school and military themed locations. The mise en scene in my music video is very important because I have so little time per shot to keep an audience gripped and to withhold a narrative. I will have to do extensive research into location, costume and props to help me construct a gripping visual narrative. 

   

These images are taken at the location that I am looking into filming at, this location is a two hour drive away or an hour train ride. This means that I will have to be really organised because it is unlikely that I could return to reshoot anything once I have left. This is because it is still an active military training site, the site is only open 50 days a year. The reason for that is because they often hold live fire exercises in the abandoned town. The town was abandoned after the second world war, which provides a close link to my idea of conflict and I think this would add depth to my music video. The reason I want
this military link is because the song is called Battelfield.

This is the perfect location for my shoot because I could get everything I want from one location. Problems that come with this location is the accessibility due to the short window we have to shoot and the opening hours of 6pm - 8am.  Furthermore I doubt that this place has running power supplies, which means a whole lot of batteries for lighting and camera equipment. This means that I will have to make sure everything has enough charge before we get there or we can't film anything.  Another option
would be to charge the lights from a car battery if possible. Another problem is the opening hours are for the public, this means that the site will not be exclusive for us. The site is actually open for people to pay their respects, this is my biggest concern because we don't want to be disrespectful towards the visitors and disrupt their visit. This is why I want to get permission to film their before I go because I don't really want to upset the army.

Product Research - [Glidecam vs Shoulder mount]

http://www.amazon.com/TARION-Stabilizer-Release-Cameras-Highest/dp/B00HF4F9R8

http://www.amazon.co.uk/eimo-DR-2-Stabilizer-Blackmagic-Camcorders/dp/B00E57A7O8/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1444820914&sr=8-10&keywords=dslr+shoulder+mount

I wanted to achieve a sense of floating through music video because it is based in the characters head, I wanted to take the conventions often found in K-pop when they are dancing the camera is often moving towards and away from them, which creates this abstract floating effect. To keep the motion smooth I have to keep my hands away from the body of the camera. Due to my budget being to low to have a crane on a dolly track I have started to research alternatives. The first product I had in mind was the extremely well priced shoulder mount. This multi-purpose mount doesn't do one thing specifically instead a variety of different technical aspects just not to professional level. This is a great option for an amateur film maker because although it's not at professional level you can achieve very similar results for a fraction of the price. The reviews for the product consistently say this is great value for money however is NOT  a professional replacement. Obviously this product will not stand the test of time as well but I think that it will do the job fine.

This could achieve the style I want however I will look another product to compare them .

The glide cam has slightly less positive reviews but more consistent in terms of the range of views. When looking at the glide cam it really only has one function compared to the multifunction mount however the quality of the build is much better, this means that the mount will last much longer. The style that the glide cam provides unlike the multi mount because the way the camera is held is completely different. I would want to buy this because glide cams also require skill and I love the unique shots you get.

Music Video: Budget List

• Crowbar/Weapon  £5-15
• Clothes - For nerd and bully  £10-20
• Comic book  £0 - £5
• Music Poster  £0
• Intercom £0-50
• Glidecam £80 DONE
• Microphone  £0
• Guns £0-30 DONE
• Mask £10-20 DONE
• Smoke Machine £20-50 DONE
• Lights - Battery LED £20-30 DONE
• Jumper [Dan bull] - £20-30 DONE

MAX - £330

MIN - £165

This list shows the maximum and the minimum the budget for this music video will cost me. The predictions allow to to see what really is taking up my budget therefore allowing me to see what order I should try and get these items. Furthermore it is now clear to me that I can save a large sum of money by either finding props and or making them myself. The only items that I would consider essential to the production of this music video is the 'comic book', mask and jumper. The reason behind my thinking is that these props are present in either most of the scenes or are essential to the narrative. I will be looking into using my skill set on photoshop to create the comic book not just to save money but to give me more control over the images within it. Another item that I may make myself is the smoke machine because this is probably the most expensive item on the list, I have looked into the chemical reaction needed to create the smokey fog I want and may experiment with the effects. Another item that is expensive is the light, the reason for this is because I want an L.E.D. light that's battery powered. The battery is useful because most of the locations I am looking at shooting are exterior and run down therefore they have a lack of power sockets. 

'Everything's Remix' - Analysis [Secondary Evidence]

Copy, Transform and Combine - Evolution

Remixing in the music industry is common, especially in the hip hop genre. This is usually to do with the rhythm, lyrics and style because they have either been heavily inspired by previous artists or they are less well known and the bigger artists steal their lyrics and or the beat. This often leaves the bigger artists being sued. When people record these tracks they have to give credit to the other artists and get permission. Although most artists claim to be original they often are using sampling in their tracks to construct a beat because it is quicker than composing a track from scratch.

Within film the idea of remixing is more to do with the stories and ideas to create familiarity with audiences in films, which recycle ideas and make the films know as 'reboots'. Movies are also extremely expensive to make and originally is a huge risk with audiences because they like to know what to expect. Furthermore because all films follow genre much like music, they have to follow many conventions in order to satisfy audiences. This can act as a restriction for originality because of the expectation within the world of film.By just overlapping genres to fake originality because films are built on other films. For example StarWars was mainly built on Westerns, War films, Flash Gordon and a story structure called 'The Monomyth", which describe several scenes from within StarWars. By transforming these materials and combining them StarWars was created, this denotes that creation is impossible without influences from the surrounding world.

Copying is a form of learning for example to make music most artist will first parody their favourites to learn their craft. This helps us understand and develop ideas. However this does make the lines between original and copying. Most people will improve upon existing ideas because it allows for a great ideas to become advanced. Creative leaps are creating by the combination of ideas. An example is the now popular Mac, this is a combination of household appliance and professional tool. The idea of ideas shows that multiple people can have the same ideas at the same time, multiple discovery can cause the same films to made around the same time.

Ideas are then made into property, which can cause a problem when ideas aren't as static as the law. Instead ideas are inspired and layered to created new ideas and more often than not are inspired by other previous ideas. This create a problem when someone thinks that their ideas are property because it means nobody can use them or develop them because we live in an age where everything has to generate money and be profitable. By people copying ideas for products means that there is an unfair balance because research costs mean that if someone takes the design and sells it they can make more cuts to the price due to them not having to develop the idea. Intellectual property means that people get protective over their ideas. We can justify our own copying but get territorial over our own.

Parody - Poke fun [Humour]
Intertextuality - See other types of text within other texts
Bricolage - Various things to build something new not original
Pastiche - They have copied it to not to poke fun

Initial Ideas - Conflict Mindmap

For my music video I wanted to relate the song and the lyrics so that they work in unison to provide entertainment for my audience. This is because I found that in my survey people prefer the music video to be relating to the lyrics of the song because they it helps them connect visually with the soundtrack. Due to my song choice being a fast passed rap, I knew that I would have to make a fast paced video for it. This would mean that I would have to have fast cuts between a variety of different scenes, which makes it hard to tell a narrative. This means that I will have to create a narrative hybrid because I want to h be able to have the fast cuts of a performance music video while maintaining the story of a narrative music video. In order to achieve this I will be using the first minute or so to set up my story and interlink the performance in the narrative. 

To start my planning I wanted to look at a topic that related to the lyrics so that I definitely made a video surrounding the song, this would make sure that the video is linked with the lyrics. I proceeded then it make a mind map focussing on conflict because in feel that this can link to many ideas while still keeping the links to the song. The words that I felt were important to the development of my idea I highlighted as possible ideas to explore. My initial ideas that stemmed from this included one focussing on war and soldiers,  this would mean that I would have too place my character in war driven situations. I am not sure if I would be able to technically speaking pull this off because of my low budget but it is a topic that would be interesting to explore.

Another idea I had looked at more of a bullying approach to conflict idea, this will allow for the film to be relatable to both sides of my target audience. This is because at some point in everyones life people have experienced or seen bullying, mist commonly in school. This has lead me to think about setting my narrative in a school because it is technically possible and easily accessible for me. I want to use the words from this mind map and my audience responses to construct my first storyboard for the music video. This would then allow me to construct a shoot plan including: Test plans, Animatic, Shotlist and Edit decision list. By doing this I can make sure that I am  prepared for every shoot and do not waste time.

Conclusion - Album Covers / Adverts [Progress Tracker]

When I looked into music video album covers I wanted to find out how they are composed and constructed. I looked at the different forms of design and how the designers used typography, colour and composition.

 I learnt (can't change the colour?) that an Album covers are an essential part of promotion within the music industry, the album cover can depict the artists tone, genre and style. This is all important information that the target audience requires when making the decision whether to buy the album or not. This meant that i had to be able to meet my audiences expectations and still be original enough to attract new viewers to the album. 

The album cover has to reflect the songs within it and the artist themselves. I learnt that this is very similar to film in which we portray a character to an audience. This is exactly what we do with the artist, build a public image. I looked at various artists and albums to build my understanding of what I want to achieve on my cover. U looked at similar conventions like the bold text and fonts used on most album covers and the bold use of colours. These were all to make the album eye-catching to a new viewer but recognisable to a current fan of the artist. This is why it's important to look at previous album covers of the same artist to see what they kept the same and what changed. I found that my artist used the same logo throughout his albums covers, which I will defiantly incorporate into my work because it is s sign to do with DanBull. 

This lead me to research into signs because they are a powerful tool in design much like film. The signs often used on these album cover and adverts were to do with video games and violence, this is because 'rap' is seen as destructive and this actually attracts my younger audience because they like the fact that their parents are shut out their music. This is because their music is an escape from rules and restrictions in the everyday world. I learnt that to appeal to my target audience I have to use this as a sign in my design.

Conclusion - Music Videos [Progress Tracker]

This conclusion will begin from when I first chose the brief right up to the present day. At the beginning of my research I looked at musics videos I knew, using my film knowledge I analysed these music videos to the best of my ability not knowing what I was really looking for. However I did understand that music videos were different depending on the people making them and the genre of the music. I have learnt that music videos can carry visual jokes and meanings, which can link to the song. I first saw this in the 'Smosh' video "Dixon Cider" in which they have a lot of visual gags that link with the overall on of "Dixon". I further learnt how this same technique is used in Sia's music video "Chandelier" however this is used to create emotion instead of comedy. This is because the music video links the interpretive dance to the lyrics, which heightens the emotion to the song. Lastly I had learnt that green screens are important to the visuals of most music videos because it gives more control over the elements due to the artist being a separate component/ layer to the background. I has to then look into how to achieve this myself because I wanted to be able create a digital feel very similar to 'Rap God'.

Further on in my blog after research narrative in film and music I looked into the song I wanted, however it was clear to me that I can't just take an artists song without his/hers permission. Therefore I went away and constructed a lighthearted by professional email to send off to my chosen artist hoping that he would see my email and respond. A week passed and I was coming to terms with not being able to use his music until I went on his twitter and saw that he was on holiday. This lead to me sending him a tweet asking if he had looked at his emails; he then responded and sure enough he hadn't. This had taught me that it is important to stay patient and professional when dealing with people who are more successful than yourself because they have a lot of emails coming through everyday. He then responded to my email the next week giving me permission to make him a music video with his track. This was a great learning experience for me because it taught me a to about contacting people and copyright restrictions.

After that I then went on to research more music videos and look at how they use the camera to keep the music video interesting and relatable to the music. I wanted to see how the editing and pace slowed down depending to the rhythm of the song, there was no better video to look at than "Youtube Rewind" because they have to change their pace all the time because the song changes. I loved the way that the transitions were clever and simultaneously linked all the different artists and music together in one video. Looking back at the blog post a I may look into more of the pacing instead of the transitions because I think that that style is too hard to achieve on the budget that I am on. However I did want to look into doing this in some parts of my music video just not throughout.

To further extend my research into music videos I looked at the history of them and how their objectives have changed over time and how the technology into making them have changed over time. To do this I looked at several timelines to get a greater understanding of the history. I learnt that they have been around 94 years and that they have developed over time. I learnt that they have evolved because they became more of a promotional video for televisions and helped keep the song memorable. Furthermore the rise of MTV made it easier for these videos to be shared and that directors were now being given credit for them.

I then looked at the construction of my genre, 'nerdcore' this was because I wanted to understand what people expected in a nerdcore video and see if the idea of 'nerds' takes up the hole of the music videos. I found out that the mets en scene included old computers and servers which defiantly connoted nerds and geeks. The setting of a basement, locked away form society further enforces the stereotype that nerds don't socialise. However in my music video I intend to subvert these conventions and show nerdcore as a form of expression compared to the oppression of a 'nerd' stereotype. To show the oppression of nerds in society I looked into 'Film Noir' because this genre created vast shadows and used low keyed lighting to created mystery and show oppression. I researched the history of it and in my group we created our own music video using purley 'Film Noir' techniques. This taught me a lot about lighting and shadows.

Lastly I looked into more abstract music videos because I wanted to see how people have subverted conventions in their work to create something original. I went to several art galleries in hope of finding abstract inspiration, I then found a whole section on music videos and this is where I found the different variants of conventions within music videos. I found: Narrative, Concept and Performance. I then went away and researched these in order to develop and understanding of different types of music videos. I learnt about the different forms of narrative and which one I want to use, how concept is developed off artist and how performance and be made visually interesting through VFX.

After learning all this I created a survey to research into what other people thought of music videos and find out what they expect. Overall I think that I have learnt a great deal to do with music video conventions, genres and audience.

Survey Analysis - Audience Research [Part Two]

I had to cut out some questions because they didn't fit. I wanted to find out in this question if people watch the music video only for the first time they find the song or if they found the song because of the music video. I wanted to see if people see the music video as one with the song or they see it as a separate form of entertainment. The most popular answer was "Sometimes" which tells me that people expect the music video to be able to work in unison with the music. However some people obviously are not interested in the video, maybe because they see it as a distraction. If I was to do this again or make another one I would want to add an option to make a comment saying their option on music videos.




Another question I asked was to do with genre, this was because I wanted to find out what genre is the most popular in my target audience. I want to identify the genre that is most popular within my target audience because I can then cross over conventions from that genre in order to make my music video although from a different genre more enjoyable for those viewers. Now my results showed that there is some variation to my audiences favourite genre however it is clear to see that pop is the most popular by far. This means that I will look into conventions of pop videos and some of the other popular genres like pop in order to see if there are any conventions that appeal for me to use in my video.

The next question I asked in my survey was to do with where my target go to watch the music videos because this will help me decide which form of distribution I will choose. Furthermore it will help me understand where different ages go to view their entertainment. Youtube would be the most popular because of the huge worldwide audiences it entertains, furthermore it is where the top artists post their music videos making it the a very well known place for music videos.
The fact that the television is nearly as popular shows that I should defiantly make sure that there is a version that MTV etc would air. Or I have to be prepared to let the television company censor it.

I then asked if the user of the survey to tell me about what their expectations were of youtube videos, I have to go over all the results in order to get a good understanding of my audiences expectations. This is important to research this before production so that I don't make a production for the wrong audience and have to change it. Lastly I asked for their favourite music video to look at and analyse for research.

Survey Analysis - Audience Research [Part One]

To research my potential target audience I wanted to get around 100 people to take a quick survey. I wanted the survey to focus on who watched music videos and which ones were the viewers favourite. I created the survey expecting to only achieve half because of my limited resources, however after spending an evening on social media I managed to exceed my own expectations and the survey limits. The survey couldn't be too long because I didn't want to take to much of the users time.

It is important for me to know who is filling in my survey. If the survey targets a specific audience, it allows you to determine whether you are actually reaching your target audience and whether or not you are gathering the information you are effectively seeking. Furthermore, if I want to aim for a representative sample of a population, knowing the distribution of the demographic characteristics of my users will help me in determining how close the sample replicates the current market.



The first question I asked was the users age, the reason for this is so I can determine the range of ages within my audience and who I should be appealing to. The results were much more vast than I had anticipated, I thought that the results would only show that young teens to adults would be answering because of the fact that the survey is online. These results have shown that my survey has managed to target middle aged viewers and teenagers mainly. I am glad that this has happened because it allows me to see the clear distinction between the internet generation and the television generation. Furthermore it showed that more of an gap than I first considered when it comes to music videos.

Album Advert - Conventions

This King of Leon advert is an example I looked at of a music video advert 

that would either be poster and or a magazine advert. This is used to promote the album and number one hits. The use of intercutting several images including the band members and an eagle.  The eagle can connote that the band is strong and the music is powerful. The use colour in the image makes the advert eye catching, furthermore by using the same colour of text for the band name as the colour of the image it can show that the name of the band and the image are linked. Looking at the advert there are language I would have to use in order to to sell the product. An example is presented from the poster above: "OUT NOW" is an example of giving the vital information to both persuade and inform the audience of the poster. The choice of a red colour for this text shows the importance of these words because it gives the viewer loads of valuable information about the album, this is further supported by the central positioning of the text on the poster. The fact that the text is at the bottom links with the additional information about where to get it, "PLAY.com". The list of songs under the title of the albums acts as an additional selling point for the album because it provides information on what is included within the album. I will have to include this information for my advert to be effective in promoting the album and the artist.

Music Video - Research [Secondary Research]

I used this book in order to broaden my understanding of music videos and really get to grips with the purpose of them. Firstly I looked into the influence of music videos due to  rise of MTV in the early 2000's, the 'MTV generation' usually is influenced by the film industry inter cutting their products with music promotion. This lead to the music videos featuring clips from films while the band performs therefore the music will be linked with the film, which promotes the film and the film promotes the single and the album.

Singing and music have been a tool in culture and learning. Learning from what role models such as musicians do in their videos has always been a concern because it is seen as highly influential. Furthermore sharing music between generations in a family can be a pleasurable experience, which shows that influence can be shared quickly. Music also is often a major part of a teenager's separate world as a form of escaping from the physical world. It is quite common for teenagers to get pleasure from keeping adults out, which causes adults some distress because they can't monitor the influence.
The influence of music videos can link to the development and growth of teenagers is the negative and destructive themes of some kinds of music such as rap and hiphops. The following themes, which are featured prominently in some lyrics, can be particularly troublesome:

• Drugs and alcohol abuse that is glamorized
• Suicide as an "alternative" or "solution"
• Graphic violence
• Sex which focuses on control, sadism, masochism, incest, children devaluing women, and violence toward women

Parents can help their teenagers by paying attention to their teenager's purchasing, downloading, listening and viewing patterns, and by helping them identify music that may be destructive. An open discussion without criticism may be helpful.
Music is not usually a danger for a teenager whose life is balanced and healthy. But if a teenager is persistently preoccupied with music that has seriously destructive themes, and there are changes in behavior such as isolation, depression, alcohol or other drug abuse, evaluation by a qualified mental health professional should be considered.

Analyses - Previous students work [Digi-pack]

Previous students have created full digital packages in which the hard copy of the song is stored.  I loved this example because of the use of stunning photography that reflects the tone of the song and maintains the consistency of the child character. The use of the orange and yellow which are ever so slightly dripped into the sepia coloured images works beautifully with the white background. I will have to create my own equivalent for my artist.

The reason for the digipack is that loyal fans will always want official items to collect to feel apart of the musicians history. The digipak's are more personal and suggest more of an effort has gone into the production, this can help them promote the artist through their love of them. Furthermore they would prefer a hard copy if they are slightly older and or the prefer a physical copy.

Album Cover Research - Analysis

 

This album cover contains a large amounts of colours and objects compared to the the more bold and less busy album covers I have looked at. This album cover has used a more photographic approach to the album cover. The location connotes dreams and infinite space, this is because of the wallpaper being made to look like space with stars and a 'homemade' style moon. This further connotes escape within the music by creating an alternate world much like children fairytale, which is why I think the included the moon. The jungle through the wardrobe further supports this because the jungle can connote the chaos in everyday life and the room the viewer is in is the escape from the jungle or 'concrete jungle'. Furthermore the use of the wardrobe presents the idea of Narnia, further adding to the idea of story telling and escape. The use of abstract animals like a sheep with wings can further connote the idea of dreams because of the unrealistic idea of a sheep having wings. The mysterious use of the colour blue further adds to the tone of the album cover because it keeps the album eye-catching with bright colours while maintaining the mystery tone. The use of whimsical typography adds to the handmade tone of the album and connotes the idea of infinity through the blue glow, this defies the idea of bold text on album covers. I will look into this because I want to show a digital escape for people within the song and provide a digital illusion.

Imagine Dragons album cover is a symbolistic piece of work with a powerful image of a bird, the bird is as signifier of freedom. The bird is rising up the cover which can connote a rising of hope, this can further suggest that the album is up-lifting. The name of the album "Smoke + Mirrors" suggests many connotations of mystery and magic, this works with the visuals because of the light touch of smoke surrounding the bird.  Furthermore the idealism of smoke and mirrors is to hide the truth or irrelevant information. The construction of the image sets an uplifting and religious tone, this is because of the matching colours of the both gold on the bird and the hands. On the other hand it may suggest a lot about the lover the artist is singing about in the album, showing that she is of value. The hands further support the idea of freedom with the hands being spread opening in a giving motion. The use of a drawing instead of a photo adds to the idea of religion and spiritual awakening. The image as a whole .connotes artful deception.

Papa Roaches album cover connotes the harshness and honesty of their lyrics, this is shown through various elements on the album. The graffiti styled typography connotes the rebellious nature of of the albums songs and the harsh black colour contrasting to the white background can connote a lot about them being seen as an outcast compared to the 'pop' being created in that era. Furthermore the high contrast image of a roach can connote that they are an insect or something unwanted but are hard to get rid off. This shows that the album is focused on the artists media representation rather than the songs. This album is a simple bold design, which can be eye catching due to the high levels of contrast.
The cockroach as a symbol teaches you to develop high sense of adaptability which is necessary to be possessed in order to develop heightened survival instinct. If you are highly emotional and easily affected by your emotions, cockroach as your animal can shift all this to be determined and courageous to survive in any challenge, this means that the album maybe just trying to signifies the idea of their music surviving or that it helps others to survive.

The construction of this album cover is one that not only relates to modern media but one that intertexualises the very idea of hybridisation and remixing. Linkin park offers a unique display of graffiti to remix images often unseen together to create an eye catching new image. This links in with the use of modern media in which certain aspects are reused and combined to create something new, the idea of building an album cover around this idea interests me because I think that it makes the album more self aware and postmodern. Furthermore the idea of selective colour makes the central character stand out and is something I want to further translate into my album cover. Lastly the typography is very masculine, which denotes ideas about the artists and helps the audience understand the band.

The Devils Gun album cover is one that utilises bold colours to catch the attention of the audience. Furthermore the use of the iconic sign of a gun would most likely draw in most people towards the cover because the gun connotes danger, this combined with the title "Devil's Gun" and a bold black on a yellow background would connote the idea of 'hazard' or 'danger'. The use of the bullets in the image  personify  the gun with human qualities like finger nails giving the album a very disturbed look. This would be interesting to translate onto my album cover because of the idea of 'digital illusion'

Album Cover Research - Analysis

Album covers are an essential part of promotion within the music industry, the album cover can depict the artists tone, genre and style. This is all important information that the target audience requires when making the decision whether to buy the album or not. The information is sent in the form of signs, which connote ideas and messages about the music and the artist. This is very much like how we use semiotics in film because it portrays the artist much like in film we portray characters. 

The album cover above is by my chosen artist, I believe that is important to see what is included within his previous album cover because I can use the conventions that I like within this cover and challenge or defy the ones I don't. The character in the doorway has been created using Dan's logo, this is important because its what Dan's fan base expect to see. I find that small things like this have a very large effect on the audience because they value their artists and some would be offended if I was to leave this out. I will have to decide whether I want to incorporate it straight into the design and work around it or create a design and then incorporate the logo after. Furthermore I would like to look into using more colour than this darker tone - silhouette look. I do like the shadows representing game characters because afterall that's what he raps about but I want my album cover to present the idea of conflict.

Joywave are a rencently formed American rock band, this is one of their rencent album covers. Joywave has used a distored picture of the lead singer in order to connote a fresh digital look to the rock scene. I want to look into creating these kind of images because of the lyric in my chosen song "digital illusion" which I want to play on visually. I find the image very eye catching because of the almost distorted glitch effect the image contains.The glitch can connnote that they are abstract compared to the normal everyday, which is further connoted by the blank background. Being able to have these massages allows me to show load about my artist and his music instantly. The photo its self is very well shot because of the use of colours, the back and silvery grey all match, which makes the centre eye stand out boldly.

The controversial album cover of Nirvana's 'Nevermind' shows exactly what the band is about. The image connotes the absurdness of the band with the unusual placement of a baby underwater. The situation can be seen as dangerous for the baby, almost creating it's own narrative.  The innocence of the baby could connote that we are all corrupted by the money and it drowns us. The clear blue water creates a strong colourful background, which connotes depth. The hook itself shows that humans will always be enticed by money because that is how we have been brought up.Lastly the serious text contrasts the outrageousness of the image making the text stand out as almost there to create irony or a statement. The image as a hole has been said to connote a lot about corporate America and politicians. In terms of users and gratifications I believe that this album cover is deliberately trying to be controversial and try and offend people ignored the album to be promoted further through debate and magazine coverage.

Cherry Bomb created by Tyler, the creator has a unique look when it comes down to creating an album cover because firstly it is animated. The animation takes on the style of 'doodling' which I think connotes the genre of alternative rap. The use of bright colours against a blank background makes the colours look bolder and brighter. I will look into the use of bright colours and bold backgrounds because it seems to be a reoccurring convention within album covers.