Holiday Diary:

This week I’ve been focusing on getting audience feedback on the draft designs I created before Christmas. I asked several people to give their opinions on what they felt was successful about the designs so far and how I could improve them. I created a prezzi of their feedback which I will be uploading soon.
In the next few weeks after Christmas I’m going to start my final drafts for my digipack and magazine advert as well as finish creating my video. In order to ensure that my final products are as good as possible during these holidays I want to create a document ( based on the feedback I got) of possible improvements I want to make and really consider areas I need to develop on. This will enable me to know exactly what I need to do when I get back to better my product.

Back cover digipack-

This is the back cover design for my digipack, I’ve used a mixture of puzzle pieces with the names of the song written on the back of them as well as a brush effect with a faded image of the artist in the background. I like the initial idea because I think it’s quite eye-catching in terms of the colours used but at the moment I think the overall design is fairly plain and not really different and this is something I need to work on when creating my final product as well as improving the type of font used.

Magazine Advert- First Draft:

This is my magazine advert first draft. I decided to stick to the puzzle piece concept in order to keep consistency between the album covers and the overall theme however for my final draft I want to make the advert look a bit more realistic and perhaps use a different font which stands out more. However one thing which I think is successful is that I’ve appealed to current audiences by using Facebook, this social networking site is really popular amongst my TA and it’s something I can use to connect to them.

Production Diary:

Today I uploaded the draft designs for my digipack as well as my music advert. Currently I do like the basis of the design but I know they need some work in terms of font type, brush effects used etc. In order to see areas which I really need to improve on in the Christmas holidays I’m going to ask a few people who would potentially be interested in my product to fill out a form on what they think of the designs so far and how for the final products these could be improved. This will really help me in developing my current ideas.
I’ve also been working on finishing my music video first draft however while working through it I’ve realised that a lot of my footage isn’t varied enough and therefore after the Christmas holidays I’m going to plan some re-shoots and use different people and more props.

First Draft DigiPack- Front and middle designs:

This week I’ve been working on finishing the first drafts of my digipack and I’ve currently created both the front and middle design to go in the album and I just need to finish creating the back design.
At present I do really like the overall concept of the design but I think elements of it such as the text need to be improved however before I make any improvements I need to get audience feedback in order to see what elements they feel need more work and what elements they so far find successful, so I can work on making the successful elements better and improving those which are less so.

Front Design:

Middle Digipack:

Potential Music Advert ideas:

I want my magazine advert to include a visually striking image and design which will stand out on the page and thus intrigue and attract audiences to read on and therefore it’s also important that I include large, dominant text too. The following are idea's I like:

Weekly Production Diary-

This week I’ve been focusing on creating my draft Digipack’s on Adobe Photoshop and it what in this respect that my research and planning (creation of my first drafts on paper) was really helpful. I experimented with a variety of colours however and after seeing that visually my initial idea of having lots of words related to the artist, running down the side of my front cover made the design look cluttered and detracted attention away from the artist and other relevant text on the cover I decided to keep it simpler by only utilizing the puzzle effect and bright, dominant text. I’ve recorded a video of me creating the Puzzle effect on Photoshop (cutting out the individual pieces of the puzzle by using the magnetic lasso tool and using colour fill) and experimenting with the text and font designs on my front cover which I will be uploading soon. I’ve also been focusing on creating the first draft of my music video however when putting all of my films together I’ve realised that it will be necessary to conduct several more shoots.
In the next week I want to focus on creating my magazine advert and looking at potential sources of inspiration for which will in turn influence my own product. It’s also important to gain audience feedback on my initial idea in order for me to see whether it’s a successful product and if my TA like it.

Audience Feedback on initial films clips (Emma Pople)-

I showed Emma a few clips from my shoots in order to get her opinion on whether she found them successful so far and if they could potentially make a good music video but most of all to get her opinion on things she thinks I should change and do in the next re-shoots which I want to conduct soon therefore her advice was helpful in planning what changes and what to include and do in my next shoots.

Audience Feedback Form Emma Pople

Weekly Production Diary-

This week was my research and planning deadline and therefore I focused on finishing and uploading all the planning documents I had to create before beginning the filming of my music video such as the floor plan, equipment list and running order. I also went back over my blog, in order to see what I could improve on and two areas I felt I hadn’t done in enough detail were my inspiration page and my audience feedback. Therefore this week, as well as uploading my design inspiration Prezi, I analysed a few successful music videos which I found effective and discussed how I would like to use some of their features or concepts in my own for example never shout never- What is love? Where I particularly like the way in which the video communicates to the audience by using signs and this is something I am doing for my own. I also feel like I hadn’t gained enough audience feedback, specifically from the male part of my TA, so therefore I asked Aaron Hunt (someone who in the real world would be interested in my product due to his personal interest in this genre) to fill in an audience feedback form on my digipack drafts and I found his advice really helpful. In the next week I’m also planning on showing a few members of my primary TA clips from the first filming shoots in order to see what they think of it so far, and how and what they think for the next shoots I could change.
This week I’ve also uploaded my footage of the first 2 shoots I conducted and began to work with them on Adobe Premiere in order to make my first draft.

Photo Sequence-

This is a sequence of some of the photos from my first shoot. It was important when conducting my photo shoot to take pictures from varying angles and different shot types in order to make the pictures look as interesting as possible as well as provide me with a large variety of images to pick from, minimising the chances I would have to conduct a re-shoot.

Audience Feedback Form- Aaron Hunt:

I’ve currently got more audience feedback from girls than boys and because they will make up part of my audience, as the secondary audience, I thought it was important to ask another male to fill in this feedback form. I asked Aaron Hunt for his opinion on my digipack drafts; I specifically asked him to do it because he is a fan of the genre and therefore would potentially be interested in buying my product. He really liked my idea but he gave me some good advice on the back design for my digipack (attaching puzzle pieces to strings with the names of the songs written on these puzzle pieces). He suggested I do as much as the design as I can in Photoshop as if I did it all by hand it may look a bit tacky and unrealistic and this is something I’m really going to take on board when conducting the second photo shoot for this cover and when actually creating the real thing.
Audience Feedback Form- Aaron Hunt

Running order-

This was the running order I created for both shoots, even though I did them on separate days. It was helpful because it gave me a basic outline of the kind of shots I needed to take for my music video however my filming was not only restricted to these and during the actual production I was able to experiment more with different shot types/ angles and movements.

Running Order

Floor Plan:

Because the two shoots I’ve done so far have been in front of the green screen I used this floor plan in terms of arrangement for both of them.
Floor Plan

Equipment List-

This was a list of the equipment I need on the day of filming. Organizing exactly what I needed before production was particularly helpful for example it minimized the chances I forgot something on the day.
Equipment List

Audience Feedback- Digipack Designs:

The following is an example of the video feedback I received from my digipack drafts design; I also made sure I asked Talya (the person participating in the video) to give me advice/criticism on how to improve my drafts as well as pointing out the aspects she found successful,this therefore will allow me to work on the elements she felt needed improvement and strengthen those she already found successful.

Production Diary-

Last week I started filming my music video, on Tuesday and Wednesday, and therefore before this I was working on my floor plans, release forms, call sheets etc some of which I’m yet to upload. I found the whole process really fun however when undertaking the filming I realised the importance of organisation beforehand where for example my call sheets were really useful in helping me to arrange what props to take in the following day. Additionally when conducting my re-shoots I think it will be much easier if I separate the groups into even smaller groups who will film on different days as it’s much easier to direct a smaller group than a larger one.
This week I’m going to really concentrate on working on the design inspirations of my products and how these have come to shape my own ideas. I’m currently in the process of creating a Prezzi on this and by conducting such similar product research I think it will help me in understanding what I actually want to achieve out of my product by the end. It will also help me in terms of allowing me to identify the specific parts of other products which I find successful and how I want to incorporate these into my own video.

Actor Release Forms:

These are two examples of the actor release forms I got the people participating in my video to sign before production. It was important I get the actors to sign these so they knew how to contact me if for example they were ill on the actual day of filming, this would provide me with sufficient time to get someone else to replace them while it also gave me their consent that they would participate in my video and granted me the right to use the material filmed as well as underlining the possibility that re-shoots may have to be undertaken at a later stage in the production process.
Actor Release Forms Becca Smith



Actor Release Forms Matt Williams

Call Sheets-

I created these call sheets before actually filming my music video. It was an important part of the production stages of creation because it helped me in planning everything I needed for the day for example the equipment and props I needed to bring with me as well as the overall details of the shoot in terms of the kind of shots/scenes I wanted to film on that day. I found this really helpful as well because I’m using a lot of people for my music video but I’m shooting on several different days and therefore they allowed me to plan who I was using on specific days and what I wanted them to do beforehand which in turn help the filming run more smoothly and efficiently, for example I knew what props to bring beforehand because I knew what I wanted the actors to do/perform and it also minimized the chances that I forget something on the actual day.
Though I will have to do more shoots and re-do some, these are two of the call sheets for my first attempts at filming:
Call Sheet- Charlotte and Tally



Call Sheet 2- Becca Etc

Risk Assessment:

It was important I create this so I am aware of all the potential risks which could disrupt the production process of my video on the day such as if my main actor is ill but most importantly it gave me ideas of how I can overcome such events and ready myself for them as much as possible which will in turn help production run as smoothly as possible on the day.
Risk Assessment

Production diary:

Because I’m filming in two days time today I focused on going out and buying all the props I want to include in my music video like balloons, the cardboard to make my ‘simply wonderful’ signs and other things like glitter. Also I’ve finished completing my risk assessment sheets and will soon be uploading these as well as the actor release forms I’ve got all the people participating in my video to fill out and the permission slips I got participants to fill in as agreement they wouldn’t let me down on the day and not turn up.
As well as concentrating on filming, I’ve also been getting audience feedback on what people thing on my digipack draft designs as in the next few weeks I’m planning to create my first drafts and I think it’s necessary that I understand firstly whether people find them effective as a product or not and whether they like the design and find it interesting and eye catching, which is its main purpose.

Production Diary:

The following is a time lapse of the photography process for the creation of my digipack. I took a variety of shots of my model from different angles and perspectives however I still need to go back and take some photo's of the puzzle pieces and strings which will make up the design for the back of my album cover.

Album cover Drafts- Front and Back:

In order to stick to the concept of the album title ‘missing piece’ I’ve decided to create an album cover which utilizes a puzzle like effect. For the front I'm going to include a side on picture of my artist and colour specific sections of the puzzle in so it looks like pieces are missing from it and down the side I've decided to write key words related to the artist and the album in different colours in order to make the cover stand out. For the back I’ve decided to have separate puzzle pieces, hanging down on strings or shoe laces, with the names of the songs on these pieces. I think this will be effective because it will be striking and is quite different while it ties in to the album name and the overall puzzle concept.
The following is a more detailed analysis of the specific components that will make up my album covers:

Digipack Drafts Power Point

Animatic:

This is a sequence of the draft storyboards I created accompanied by my chosen song: Simply Wonderful by Tim Myers. Even though I’ve drafted several different types of shots such as extreme close up and long shots for my actual music video I want to include a wider variety of different camera angles and shots to make my video look more interesting and keep the audience intrigued.
I initially wanted to use only one ‘story line’ within my video where I would base the video on one couple and the rest of the people featured within the video would mime and dance to the song however with the audience feedback I gained, specifically that this idea may become slightly repetitive, and advise of my teacher I’ve reassessed my ideas in order to include several story lines in the video. I’m still going to include people dancing and miming however the video is now going to be based on what people find ‘simply wonderful’ where I will film them doing what they love for example painting and after they will hold a sign up saying e.g. ‘art is simply wonderful’. I think this is a better idea because it’s less repetitive and therefore more interesting while it directly incorporates the lyrics of the song with the whole theme of the video.

Half Term Holiday Diary:

My half term Homework this week was to begin the draft storyboards and the animatic for my music video as well as the drafts for my digipak. I’m currently in the process of creating these and have nearly finished but before actually creating these it was vital I get audience feedback for my overall idea. I asked several people to fill in audience feedback forms on my proposal and how they thought I could improve the idea for my music video. I also made sure that I didn't just give these forms to people in my media class but to people that will be able to give me a more impartial opinion. Additionally I didn’t just give out the forms to anyone but to those who will potentially be interested in my product and the kind of people that would listen to this genre of music.
This was really useful because it not only provided me with a fresh perspective on my ideas but also showed me how my potential target audience would react to my product and ultimately whether they would like it or not and what parts they did and didn't like. It also gave me ideas on how to improve some aspects of my music video idea and what difficulties I may face in the process.

Before creating my draft storyboards I handed out these forms to a few people to see what they thought of my initial idea so far, the aspects they liked and didn't like and overall what action they thought I could take to improve it. I've also created some polls on blog and these will enable me to understand better how my Target audience interact with music videos and music generally in terms of where they watch videos and what on the whole they consider to be the most important/entertaining aspect of a video and how they interact with the music industry in terms of where they get their music from etc. As well as this I have created polls asking my audience on the kind of things they like and find effective in an album cover/digipack. Such feedback really helped me in understanding where and how I could improve my overall idea for example in this feedback form he suggested that I include more than one story line within my video in order to make it a bit more interesting, specifically as I'm not using a location and such feedback I'm going to actively take on board and I'm now going to include a few 'stories' in my video, rather than just one main one which was my initial idea. Feedback also allowed me to understand which aspects my target audience found successful for example in this form he liked my idea of using props to make my video more vibrant and interesting, this is also something I'm going to take on board where I'm now going to make full use of all the props I’m thinking of having in my video and include more which fit in with my music video theme of love. Audience Feedback Form- Matt Williams


As well as handing out these forms I filmed Becca's response to my initial proposal idea, she is an example of my 'ideal' TA and therefore it was important I get her opinion beforehand as she is someone who will be most interested in engaging with my product.

Weekly Production Diary:

This week I did the photo shoot for my album cover. I already have an idea in mind of what I want to produce in terms of my cover and digipack and this helped me when conducting the photo shoot as I knew what kind of photo’s to take however in case I do change my mind at a later stage I took a lot of pictures so I won’t have to redo the photo shoot. Before actually carrying out I had to get my model to sign a consent form, this is print screened below. I also created a time lapse of the whole photography process which I will be uploading soon :)

Target Audience Profile:

Its fundamental that I understand my target audience in order to make sure my product is both attractive and suitable for my audience and therefore I have created a Target audience profile of my intended audience and how in terms of the uses and gratifications theory they will ‘use’ my product:

Production Diary:

This week we out and experimented with the cameras, we were given a checklist of shots we had to take for example high angle as well as of a list of effects we had to create on the software Adobe Premiere like reverse and extreme slow mo. We then tested shooting different objects, one of our ideas for reverse was to shoot people smoking and then put this in slow motion however when we did this it wasn’t as effective as we first thought because we had to take the camera of the tripod so the footage was really shaky. After shooting I uploaded the footage to Adobe Premiere and then experimented with different effects, noting ones down I found particularly successful like colour pass as I may use this in my own music video. I found working with the equipment and software really useful because I now feel better prepared to make my video and shoot it.
In order to make a successful product its important I get audience feedback at every stage of the production and planning of my music video, specifically by people who will interact with my product in the real world. I’m therefore in the process of creating polls on my blog to find out about the kind of things my target audience find successful in a video and where they would typically watch a video as well as getting feedback about my proposal idea and what people think is successful/ unsucessful about it and their ideas about how I could change these unsuccessful elements. In the next week I’m also going to create a target audience profile, by understanding my target audience better it will enable me to make a better product that will suit their wants.

Test Sequences-

After going out and experimenting with the Sony HVR A1E cameras I uploaded some of the sequences we shot into Adobe Premiere Pro- I then experimented with using various effects on these sequences such as reverse, colour pass and distort. I did this in order to gain a feel for both the equipment and software, which in turn will help me when creating my music video.
One of the shots we took which I found particularly effective was one I did picking a dandelion and when I put this in reverse it looked like I was putting the petals back on to the flower. I added to this effect by using the effect of colour pass which makes everything black and white except for one part of the sequence, I chose to make the Dandelions petals a bright yellow and this amplified the effect.
We also experimented with a lot of different camera angles for example extreme close ups, I found that (though not in every instance) extreme close ups looked really impressive and in my own video I would like to use a few extreme close up shots for example of just a person’s lips when there miming the song.
Some sequences which didn’t work as well as I thought would included shots we took when the camera was of the tripod, these were shaky and looked really unprofessional. Additionally all the videos we took outside were quiet noisy, even if it wasn’t actually that windy you could hear everything in the background and this is something I’m going to take into consideration if I choose to film anything outside.
The following video is the one of the Dandelion I created; I personally think this was the most effective and best looking video and it wasn’t difficult to do either.

Production Diary:

Album Covers I like:

Production Diary :)

This week I focused on creating my proposal, in here I listed details about the kind of music video I want to make and some of the ideas I’ve come up with already for example locations, the people I want to include in it and the narrative behind the video. I’ve already got quite a clear idea of what I’m doing already but writing out all my ideas enabled me to really think them through thoroughly. In my proposal I also started to consider the actual production process of making my video and some of the complications I might face for example people dropping out on the day and I started to think about ways I could prevent any complications like making the people in my video sign an agreement form before they feature in my video. Even though I’m pretty sure now that I’ve defiantly decided on the basic features of my video, I might change some smaller things and add stuff as I go along.

My Proposal:

I have decided to create a music video for my A2 media studies coursework and I’m going to do the song simply wonderful by Tim Myers. I decided to choose this song because I can successfully draw on its romantic elements and this would therefore enable me to create an overall theme for the video, I also really like the fact it’s cheery because I can draw on the positive elements of the video such as by including props like balloons and love hearts. Additionally I feel it would appeal to both genders, though specifically women more. My target audience would predominantly consist of females aged between 15- 25 but not be restricted to this, even though my main music video idea is based on a sort of romantic concept I also want to include in it other people singing, dancing and just miming the song and therefore I think my target audience will extend to some males too.
My idea for the video is to have around 7 or 8 people of both genders miming the lyrics to the song as well as singing dancing and spelling out some specific words such as the chorus. One way in which I want them to do this is by holding up signs with the individual letters of the words to correspond with when they are said in the song. However the main ‘story line’ of the video will involve a couple and by using them I will create the romantic ‘feel’ to my video. One idea of mine is to make him propose to her at the end, this romantic theme will be directly reflected by the props in my video such as flowers, key iconography of the romance genre. In order to link the lyrics of the song to the video itself, part of one of Goodwin’s theoretical approaches to music videos, I also am considering incorporating an almost natural kind of theme where I will focus on the simplicity of love and life, relating to the lyrics of ‘simply’. This will be directly demonstrated by the people in my videos costumes which are mostly going to be casual and the females in my video won’t be wearing a lot of makeup. In terms of my locations I’m going to just use the green screen because I want my video to focus more on the props and people in it and less on the actual locations, I believe by using a landscape location for example I will be taking the attention away from the people within the video and I want them to be the principal focus. Additionally I do want to create a lot of editing effects in my video such as split screen and again a location may take away from this. However I am considering creating effects in the background of the video for specific parts of the song such as a sky background, going with the nature theme; I would create something like this in after effects.
In order to prevent any complications in the actual production stages of my music video I need to be really organized and systematically think through every stage carefully. Therefore I’ve decided to create a thorough plan of who, what, where and this will help me in organizing time schedules for filming which are ok for everyone and therefore ensure the production runs smoothly. Before I begin filming I want a clear idea in my head of everything I will need to do during, not only will organizing my time effectively make filming less time consuming meaning I can really focus on other parts thoroughly like editing but will have a direct impact on the overall quality of my work. Additionally I’m going to create permissions slips as well as making the people participating in my video sign agreement slips, this will reduce the chances I have no one dropping out on the actual filming day.
Because my target audience are predominantly younger and in their free time use social networking sites and most probably are quite ‘technically’ in touch I would like my video to go viral and spread through such social networking sites such as Facebook. As well as this I would like it to air on such popular music channels as MTV, though this type of music is not as mainstream as something like Hip Hop and would better be suited on more Indie music channels.

Production Diary:

Screen Test-

Though I've already got a good idea in my head of who I want to use as my main actor/actress for my video I needed to firstly make sure that they feel comfortable in front of a camera and confident enough to make the video look realistic. Therefore my screen test was an important part of the planning of my music video as it allowed me to see whether my chosen main actress would be suitable for her role as well as introducing her to the music and the general part she would play within the video.

Holiday Diary 12/8/11

This week I finished my song lyric analysis and I’ve now began to create my location recce. I decided to analyse Lady Gaga’s song poker face because the whole song is a metaphor for her being a expert at deceiving men into loving her and then taking their money, its also one of the songs Im considering to use for my music video. By understanding a song’s lyrics I believe this enables you to understand the concept of the song better and this in turn allows you to develop a better music video, if you decide to stick to this concept. My next task was to create my location recce, I’m currently in the process of this. I’ve just started to take pictures of possible locations and considering why these would be good, I do already have an idea in my head of what kind of locations I want to use in my video and because I want my music video to centre more on the people in it my locations are less important personally to me but still important.

Production Diary 28/7/11

Part of my holiday homework was to create a presentation of 10 iconic music video still or ‘visual child’s’. I picked out ones that I personally felt were more iconic to me as well as ones that were more universally renowned. I also had to do a song lyric analysis of the chosen song I was going to do for my music video to and I’m currently in the process of doing this.

Ten Iconic Music Video Stills :)

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Production Diary 17/07/11

This week I focused on 2 main tasks: the creation of my reverse story board and the understanding of the music video equipment I would be using to create my actual video. I started by creating a reverse story board of 2 music videos, I deconstructed and analysed 5 still shots from each of these music videos and wrote about how all its components: sound, mise-en-scene, shot type and camera angle worked together to create an affect. When analysing these specific shots it helped me to realise that each shot s purposeful in achieving something and how when it comes to producing my own music video I need to be just as careful with each particular shot as in professional music videos such as these. It also showed me how everything works together to give an effect and how important other elements of a music video that as an audience we may not focus as much on such as lighting and colour are to a music video. My second task was to begin to understand the equipment we would use in the music video production stage and as part of this research I uploaded pictures of all the equipment we would need to use and gave some brief descriptions of equipment that I didn’t already know what it was such as a visual switcher.

Music Video Equipment:

Reverse StoryBoard of Music video's X2

The first storyboard I created included stills from the Foo Fighters music video the pretender, I picked 5 stills that used both sound, camera shot type and mise-en-scene and discussed what these reinforce as well as symbolise all together.



















The second story board I created included still shots from Lady gaga’s music video you and I, I discussed what they represented and how all of sound, camera shot type and mise-en-scene were linked. I decided to analyse this video because it completely contrasted with the Foo fighters music video as it has more of a background story and focuses more on this than the actual band itself.


This is an example of a long shot and captures the desperation of Lady Gaga running to find her lover. This search for her lover is reinforced by the use of the non diegetic soundtrack in which she repeats continuously the words ‘you and I’. In terms of mise-en-scene the use of location, which is completely deserted and isolated, teamed with the use of Lady Gaga’s black costume paint a bleak picture of the artist’s life without her lover and ultimately enforce her loneliness and how deserted she is without him, the use of black demonstrating negativity, such negativity mirroring her life without her lover.


This second shot is an example of an aerial shot, it captures the whole of the artists body and helps play on the almost mystical theme of the video as well as the various supernatural elements where we are able to directly see Gaga, by means of this shot, yet are unable to fully understand her or her story through the video because she is ultimately superhuman (a mermaid) and therefore we are not given proximity to the action or emotions in the music video, as a close up would have allowed an audience to do. In terms of mise-en-scene the use of low key lighting represents how miserable her life as a mermaid, linking in with the whole of the story behind the music video where Gaga is unable to be with her lover because she is a mermaid and he is a human.


The intensity of this shot is captured by the use of an extreme close up. This makes the shot appear more intimate and passionate because only two ‘characters’ are occupying it and because nothing else is included in the shot such as other props or even the location it makes the audience feel they are personally involved in the romance, being ‘taken’ in the moment as much as the characters are and therefore unaware of all other surroundings.


This is an example of a long shot and captures the artist’s vulnerability at being alone or not with her lover. This is reinforced by the use of positioning as by capturing the artists back it presents her vulnerability whilst her body language suggests she is surrendering, perhaps surrendering to the fact she cannot live her life without her lover. In terms of mise-en-scene such a notion is played upon by the use of low key lighting which gives the setting an element of negativity which once again reinforces the darkness of the artist Gaga’s life without her lover whilst the use of a white costume connotes her vulnerability and innocence, linking back to her arrangement as well as submitting like body language.



This mid shot of the two lovers presents the artists dream: to ultimately marry her lover and live happily with him however because she is a mermaid she is unable to do so. The use of white costumes for both characters represents their innocence at falling in love and being unable to live together however the almost neon tint of the white is used to give the shot a surreal look so as an audience we are aware this is only Gaga and her lover’s dream and can never amount to anything more. The use of low key lighting presents the unhappiness of the artist at not being able to be with her lover and therefore the reality of the situation, the dark location connoting negativity and enforcing the couple’s dismal circumstances.

Production Diary 8/7/11

This week I focused on the second part of my ancillary task, to create a magazine advert. I conducted research into 2 adverts I thought were particularly successful, deconstructing such elements and considering which I could use in my own product. I recognised the importance of making the text on my magazine advert stand out as much as possible in terms of the album name and making sure that the background for example did not outshine such important elements. Additionally this week I conducted research into another 2 music videos, bettering my understanding of the elements which create a successful video on the whole and I know feel much more confident in creating my product. I chose to research 2 videos of completely different genres to see the contrast between them in terms of codes and conventions and the different representations.

Music video research X2

I researched into another 2 music videos in order to enhance my understanding of successful elements of music videos and to help me come up with potential ideas.
I decided to analyse the music video Pretender by the Foo fighters, I believe this is successful because the action builds up slowly and steadily meaning as an audience we are kept on edge, as opposed to everything being thrown at us from the very beginning. It’s also a creative yet fairly simplistic idea in which I could realistically create on a lower scale.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBjQ9tuuTJQ

•The music video begins with the lead singer walking to the middle of the stage whilst the lights slowly flicker on, the low key lighting which steadily changes to high key as Dave Grohl walks to take his position in the centre and more and more lights turn on is used to symbolise things coming to life with his emergence which links to his dynamic character as well as the lyrics of the song itself in which ultimately neither he or the band will conform to the norm. This connects to Andrew Goodwin, a media theorists, proposition where he stated not only is there a relationship between he visuals of a music video and the lyrics but also videos demonstrate genre characteristics where stage performances are linked to the genre of Rock or metal. As the lead singer gets into place a clever back shot is used, this not only can be seen to represent his vulnerability at not conforming to society’s norms or ‘pretending’ but also aids in projecting the sheer size of the stage, this in some ways increasing his vulnerability, specifically as he is on his own. After this the camera focuses on the lead singers readying himself, in reality this is to play the guitar but within the context of the video this can be seen as readying himself for the later fight at the end. As the other members of the band enter we see the colour of the backdrop- a vivid red and this has connotations of passion and anger whilst the white stage enforces the dominance of the band. Various shots are then used to display all members of the band performing the song, with fast jump cuts to mimic the pace of the song whilst in terms of Mise en scene their costumes reflect their uncaring attitude, this not only being stereotypical of the genre of rock music but also links in with the lyrics of the song.
• The video focuses on the bands stage performance for a while, various camera movements are used to capture their performances such as Pan or close ups and it is at the point where their performance begins to become repetitive that we are introduced to the back of a mysterious man. The fact he is dressed all in black immediately means we associate him negatively and even fear him and as he beckons towards the line we understand he is a soldier of some sort. The black line that divides the stage acts symbolically as a line that divides those that conform and thus pretend and those that do not i.e. the band whilst the fact he is a soldier acts figuratively to represent the negative consequences of not conforming, even the danger. The performance after his arrival becomes more intense and this is demonstrated through the use of repeat close ups as well as frequent shot reverse shots from the soldier to the lead singers and in terms of Levi Strauss’ theory this enforces the binary opposition between characters.
• By the mid point of the song the soldier is joined by several others, pushing the narrative along as well creating yet more friction between characters where such binary opposition creates both suspense and mystery and later events. The performance becomes yet more and more heated as they band defiantly continue and the use of varying close ups enforces such, once again the visuals bare a significant relationship with the events of the music video where each time the artists states he will not surrender we understand this is a symbolic war between opposing sides. A panning technique is used to reinforce how large the opposition are as well as several long shots which capture both the lead singers back and the soldiers, demonstrating his vulnerability as well as the size of the army and their weapons. Suspense is created by means of camera movement, which is timed perfectly to fit in with the lyrics of the song, as we wait for the soldiers to attack.
• When they begin to attack slow motion is used to track their movement and this coincides with the song losing its intensity and suddenly getting more calm and slower and then rapidly, as the song hits the final chorus the new equilibrium is established as suddenly the red backdrop behind the bands turns to paint and splatters the enemy, this acts as the finale of the big build up. Various close ups are used to present the battle, as stated before red has connotations of anger and passion and this signifies the chaos of the battle, but the last shot presents a close up of the lead singer as this demonstrates his victory.
• In terms of narrative the music video does not have a complex structure and alike to Lady Gaga’s telephone follows a linear narrative structure where the story is told in order of the events which happen. While in terms of narrative view point because we are unaware of what will happen at the very end of the video it is a restricted narrative, only knowing as much, or even perhaps less than the characters do. This adds to the success of the video as we constantly wonder which direction the video is going to take and therefore it creates both suspense and mystery.




The second video I chose to analyse was Misery business by Paramore, this music video focuses heavily on binary opposites between characters and the conflicts that are provoked between these.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCyGvGEtOwc

• The video begins with scenes of the band performing and therefore in terms of Andrew Goodwin’s theory, the video demonstrates genre characteristics such as the stage performance which are often associated with rock music. The editing during this performance is fast paced and reflects the overall heated rhythm of the song, this continues throughout. As the narrative progresses we are introduced to the main character within the video, her power immediately demonstrated by the use of a low angle camera shot as she pushes past the group of girls, such power is reinforced by the fact throughout the narrative she mostly occupies one shot as the camera tracks her movement down the school corridor. The video moves back to frequent edits of the band performing where various close ups of the lead female singer are used, this not only supports one of Goodwin’s theories about the voyeuristic treatment of the female and her body (specifically her lips in this music video) for example part of the attraction of the female antagonist is her body, but also plays on the idea of binary opposites where frequent one shots of each opposing character are used to reinforce the conflict between characters. In addition to this the setting uses intertextual references, in terms of needing to understand the clichéd American school with all the stereotypes of groups, the antagonist being the typical ‘bitch’ but various stereotypes are also evident within the narrative for example the cheerleaders and perhaps the band Panic present the ‘Goths’ of the school, therefore when considering such conflict and binary opposition these two are in direct competition with one another and as part of the new equilibrium at the end the Goths win against this ‘bitch’. The competition between groups is furthermore demonstrated by the use of mise-en-scene for example the lead singers mismatched costume and quirky make up, which in effect represents the uncaring ideology associated with rock music, opposes the revealing dress and excessive makeup of the antagonist.
• As the narrative pushes on further we begin to understand the antagonists evilness as she begins to deliberately hurt people within the narrative and this once again links to Goodwin’s theory where he proposes there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visual material on screen, for example the lyrics state “God does it feel so good” and this is projected by the antagonists taking pleasure from hurting various people within the narrative. As she walks down the corridor her control increases, she dominates the whole corridor but the fact people remain oblivious to her horribleness and the fact she is such a fake character are displayed by the use of colour of her dress, light blue connoting calmness and peacefulness. As the antagonist continues to bully people, the band appears to get angrier and their performance becomes more heated and intense, aiding in building up to the final fight at the end.
• At the end of the music video the band teach the antagonist a lesson where the camera two shot, capturing both characters represents the conflict between them. The lead singer wears all black and her costume, in terms of mise en scene this connotes dominance and therefore suggests she upholds power over the female character. The lead singer purposefully takes away from the antagonist the fake aspects that give her her attraction such as her body and make up and this perhaps acts as a feminist commentary on beauty and how the falseness of exteriors and appearances can be misleading when directly compared to the interior of a person, specifically here a female. Her influence has been taken away from her completely by the end of the narrative, one of the last shots that display her back represents her recent vulnerability as a character and lack of control and therefore in terms of Todorov’s media theory the new equilibrium of the story, where peace is restored, is her characters downfall .
• In terms of narrative structure the music video follows linear conventions, where the story is told in terms of cause and effect, it also follows the conventions of omniscient narratives where we understand as much as the band do, unlike the other characters within the video and therefore ‘side’ with Paramore in terms of the conflict that arouses between characters.

Research into Magazine adverts

For my chosen brief I had 2 ancillary tasks, one being to create a DigiPak and the second a magazine advertisement for my album. The following is an analysis of 2 magazine advertisements I felt were particularly good, I analysed these in terms of their formats, colour schemes and conventions:



A simplistic colour scheme of black, red and white is used however this is very effective as the use of such a vivid colour scheme makes the advert particularly eye catching yet not overbearing, specifically the use of red and white for the albums name ‘Mojo’ , this being the most striking thing about the advert. Additionally it is the largest text on the advertisement, this being a generic convention of such Magazine advertisements where either the album or artists name are the largest text while the use of a bold font makes the album name dominant on the page, attracting the most attention as well as the colours used where white connotes supremacy and red passion. The font placement, directly in the centre of the advert also works to make the album name prominent on the page as well as the use of the 3D font which really grabs your attention and our eyes are instantly drawn to this aspect of the advert, second to this the band members who are cleverly placed above the album name. The use of mainly black background means the white aspects of this advert stand out, specifically the album release date as well as the other available ways to get the album such as by download. Also as the advert is so minimalistic attention is directed to the most important parts of it for example such things as the release date, this is successful because it means audiences are not ‘drowned’ in information and only know what’s necessary. The use of two different fonts at the top of the advert (the artist’s names) mean attention is drawn specifically to the artists however though a slimmer font is used here overall a consistent house style is kept which gives the advert a feeling of familiarity and fluency. Additionally the fact it is the artists first studio album in 8 years appeals to audiences as it emphasises its exclusiveness and its value somewhat and perhaps making them more inclined to buy it. The overall look and ‘feel’ of the advert is quite classic and can even be described as ‘1980s’ like-where the font used for ‘mojo’ in some ways connotes this period of time in terms of music- specifically as the band are not modern.



I also felt this magazine advert was successful and quite creative. In terms of the artists’ name, alike to the ‘mojo’ advert the text is the largest apparent on the page and once again a three dimensional technique is used, more so in this advert, to make the groups name stand out. The font is bold and domineering and appears to be carved out of wood, this is quite an abstract technique which coincides with the often elusive, even senseless genre of Indie music which attempts to challenge mainstream conventions as opposed to going along with popular culture. Though the use of a wood like quality for the font could literally link to the material drums are made out of I believe it’s more about as an Indie band being purposefully intangible and meaningless to encourage people to look at the advertisements and question it, rather than passively flicking through it. Additionally the fact the text saying drums on it is bigger than the ’the’ furthermore makes the band name stand out, dominating the whole advertisement. The wood like pattern is kept consistent in the advert, giving it a sense of fluency, as the background of the advert is a wooden dark floor. Not only does this create such familiarity but its dark colour allows the band name to stand out furthermore amid the backdrop. The background also features a small part of a curtain and this links to the idea that the whole backdrop could be a stage, relating to the idea that the band may be getting ready for a performance or any other music related thing, this being reinforced by the faint footprints evident on the floor. The other font on the advert is white and quite simplistic, font such as the day the album comes out and the minimalism of such font means attention is successfully drawn to arguably the most important aspect of the advert- the band themselves however the fact a capital font is used and the white stands out on the dark background means we are also drawn to these aspects of the advert, even if secondly. Additionally the fact the album is available to pre-order creates a ‘buzz’ and makes it feel more exclusive because people that pre-order will be the first people to receive the album, generating an almost ‘hype’. Lastly I really like this advert because its not overbearing like some, its simplistic at parts yet detailed in others and this makes it not too much or too little and therefore I feel like it is a successful product.

Production Diary 2/7/11

This week I focused on the second part of my brief, the ancillary task and I conducted research into 3 DigiPaks which I believed were successful and I could potentially adopt similar colour schemes, fonts and styles of. I analysed these in terms of format, colour and font type as well as their overall success, pointing out particular features I deemed successful. This research helped me a lot because before I was unfamiliar with what a DigiPak actually was and now I have a better understanding of what I would like to include in my own as well as what creates a successfull DigiPak. This week I also did research into one music video- telephone by Lady Gaga and Beyonce and though my potential song choice is not pop and the video is too far fetched and complex to create I think it is very cleverly produced and contains messages such as feminist thought that surpass the video itself.

Research into Music Videos X1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoZP1XQbqpI

For this research I decided to choose the music video Telephone by Lady Gaga and Beyonce because I believe it very cleverly structured and though unrealistically I would never be able to create something like this for my own music video product it contains many interesting elements.

• The video begins with the setting of a prison, this I believe physically symbolizes the entrapment of characters at the hand of the patriarchal societies they live in where in terms of Levi Strauss’ binary opposites, from the very beginning of the video it is evident there is a power struggle between men and women- the men being symbolised in the beginning by the transsexual female prison guards. Additionally as she is escorted to her cell Lady gaga where’s the stereotypical black and white prisoner outfit, to demonstrate her captivity but the fact her outfit is ‘subverted’ is purposeful in representing her quirky nature as an artist. She then uses the video to address some controversial rumours circulating about here currently in the media. All other inmates in the prison are heavily sexualised and this I believe demonstrates the power men uphold over women in terms of the negative stereotypes they cast upon them, heavy feminist themes apparent the whole way through the music video. The setting then jump cuts to the prison grounds where Lady Gaga receives a call, this supports Andrew Goodwin’s theory where he proposes there is a clear relationship between the lyrics of the song and the visuals of a music video. Both extreme close ups and close ups are used in this part of the video which allows us to see both Lady Gaga’s costume and makeup, which present her as a stereotypical rebel. The setting then once again changes to the prison cells again where Lady Gaga and some backup dancers perform a routine, this once again supports one of Andrew Goodwin’s key theories on music videos where videos demonstrate genre characteristics, in this case a dance routine for a pop song while the use of swift jump cuts to the prison CCTV cameras enforces the setting.
• Lady Gaga is then bailed out by Beyonce, the use of low key lighting represents the negativity of the prison setting and this completely contrasts with the bright yellow and pink of the ‘Pussy wagon’. In terms of intertextual references the wagon is from the film Kill Bill. As the video progresses Lady Gaga begins to take pictures of Beyonce, in terms of her costume she wears all black and this establishes her dominance as a character within the video as well as foreshadowing both Lady Gaga and Beyonce’s later actions, black have connotations of mourning. The pictures are discarded as the artists travel to the next setting of the bar, I believe this symbolically represents the idea of female idealistic beauty also being cast off.
• When both women arrive at the bar the rivalry between men and women as binary opposites increases where a chauvinistic rude man acts as a representation for all males on the whole and perhaps acts as justification for Beyonce’s later act: to spike his drink and food with poison. Fast dissolve cuts are used as Lady Gaga makes the poison to kill all the characters, the theme of telephones still evident the whole way through the video as both characters hold them, whilst Lady Gaga has one in styled into her hair. In terms of narrative after the former equilibrium in the prison setting, the video reaches the disruption stage as all the people in the bar die and later as the characters run away together, uncaught this acts as the new equilibrium as part of Todorov’s narrative structure theory where as part of the background sound we hear police sirens and a mock news reporter discussing the homicide. The structure of the video is not particularly complex and follows a linear narrative pattern where the story is told in order of the events that happen, it also follows conventions of an omniscient narrative where as an audience we are aware that Gaga and Beyonce are plotting to poison the people before they do so.

Textual Analysis of Ancillary Task- DigiPaks

This PowerPoint document is a textual analysis of 3 digipaks, as part of one of my ancillary tasks I have to create this to accompany my music video. By conducting research into those I deemed successful it gave me useful ideas as to what to include in my own as well as helping me to come up with potential design ideas.


Textual Analysis of Ancillary Task- Digipak

Research into Music videos

This Powerpoint presentation is the prior research I did into music videos in order to better my understanding of what actually makes a music videos.
Research Into Music Videos

Production Diary 20/6/2011

This week I focused on firstly choosing the specific brief I wanted to do for my A2 coursework and once I decided to do a music video as part of my research I did a resource audit to work out the materials I had readily available to me and ones that I could work with. This helped in allowing me to see what I could potentially produce and what I couldn’t, after this I focused on research into music videos in terms of their purpose which gave me a clearer idea of what I needed to produce as well as looking at similar music videos of the genre I am considering doing in order to find ideas. I created a PowerPoint where I discussed important aspects to consider before creating my music video such as generic conventions or elements of music videos, this being important in increasing my understanding of what to include in my own as well as the technological development of music videos throughout the years, the issues surrounding representation in music videos for example if they represent people progressively or regressively and what media theorists and critics like Andrew Goodwin stated about music videos.

Resource Audit

These were the initial ideas I had for my music video in terms of who would feature in it and other things like the props I could use and these allowed me to see what I was working with and the equipment readily available to me which therefore helped in my music video proposal as it allowed me to see what I could potentially do and the equipment I could take advantage of.

A2 Coursework Brief

This is my chosen brief for my A2 Coursework:

A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:
· a website homepage for the band;
· a cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package);
· a magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package).

I decided to do this brief due to the fact I have a personal interest in music and therefore music videos on the whole. I also believe this brief allowed me to be very creative and therefore demonstrate my own individual ideas whilst enhancing my technical skills for example in terms of camera work.