Wednesday, 23 April 2014
Tuesday, 22 April 2014
Sunday, 20 April 2014
Evaluation Question 4
New media technologies have been used to advance the level of work produced, research collected, and planning gathered. Many mediums have been used along this A2 course, all have been used effectively and correctly to deliver the best results.
Research:
In the research stage, i have used all the technologies availble to myself. i have used both my iPad and my phone to research my artist and other artists through the internet to gather enough data to being to produce my music video, digipak and advert. I have also used my iPad to caputre photography for my advert and edited through iPhoto. I used both an iMac and my iPad to blogger many of the posts i have created, i have used the software of blogger extensively to produce much of the content i have. I have used survey monkey, and a HD digital camera to collect audience feedback and ideas through vox pops to gain audience preferences which therefore will help our music video become sucessful, and surveys aswell as the old fashion face to face collecting verbal feedback and colletcing the results through pen and paper in note form. I have used Youtube to not only post videos i have created to extract them onto my blog but also to view videos of my artist and other artists to research them further and show the content on my blog.
Planning:
The planning used the format of both traditonal and new medias. pencil and paper was used to create the storyboard, and a camera was used to display storyboard in the form of a picture. With the planning sheets I created it was easier to use Microsoft Word. This is due to the fact that Microsoft Word is the most widespread text orientated software, allowing you to produce tables, spreadsheets amoung other things. This means that Word is compatible with all computers and has been developed over many years to create the most user friendly interface possible therefore making it quicker and more simple and easy to display the work on blogger. Also the brainstorm was done on paper, this was due to the fact that I wanted some variation between old and new technologies as I feel that traditional techniques can still play a part in modern ways of interpreting data.
Production:
software such as photoshop and final cut express were used to create both the digipak, advert and the music video. In the production of the music video was done through Final Cut Express, this allowed me to appply filters and slide tranistions to effectively have flow throughout and eliminate and footage that wasnt going to be used, the cut tool made the avaliblity to differeniate from raw footage and the final footage. photoshop was used to apply filters and construct the advert and digipak effectively, also allowing me to apply text to the images and icons and logos to make the digipak and advert appear as professional as possible.
Evaluation Question 3
I have used audience feedback to correctly produce a product that serves the right purpose and attracts the audience. Audience feedback has been a important part in the production of all the products and it was important to follow audience feedback as it helps to fairly reflect the artist of the song, and also helps to promote the artist but still attract the a audience that would continue to follow and purchase the artists other products, the main function of the products is to get the audience to buy from the artist and there is no better way of doing that than using the audiences expectations to attract them to buy.
Survey monkey was used to collect the necessary information from our target audience, thier likes and expectations were reflected through the survey. I created a survey that could give an idea what audiences are listening to right now. The questions featured; What is your gender?, How old are you?, What is your favourite genre(s) of music?, What is your favourite music video of all time?, Why do you like this particular music video?, If you are watching a music video, what would appeal to you? and Finally what is the most memorable thing you have seen in a music video?
The results showed a clear correlation to what would be needed to make an successful music video within the genre i was working in, this allowed me to produce my music video, digipak and advert. After creating the survey, the next step was to interoperate the data. The data showed that 75% (to the nearest fifth) of the 122 people who took the survey were males. This may cause the problem of a baised survey however the genre and artist appeal to male views greater than female views, which made the survey still relevant. The final product would indefinately present context that is appealable to a male auidence. examples of how the content was aimed to the male audience was through the presence of alchol, recognisable male fashion, a youthplaying football in the street and the protagonist playing guitar. this can be associated with a large amount of young/teenage boys especially if they grew up in less privileged area of the UK (referring to being "Stuck In The Ghetto").
Also the majoirty of the feedback was delivered by 10-19 year olds. This is due to the fact that 66.67% of the people who took part in the survey were within this age bracket. This positively correlated with the types of genres that were selected on question 3. Genres that are more affiliated with "the younger generation"
Feedback was also gathered through the viewing and comments system on YouTube. The comments system works when an video is uploaded onto YouTube and Google+ members can post their thoughts and debate between eachother. The viewing system is operated when the link to the video is clicked, therefore taking you to the main video page, this will count as one view. Views on a video can determine popularity e.t.c.
However using YouTube to gain audience feedback for a music video that has had no real mass publication is very difficult, there are 100,000's of music videos on YouTube and this therefore makes it extremely difficult to find the video via the website search engine. Also someone of a unintended audience may comment and the feedback may become irrelevant as it is not intened to this audience.
Possible improvements:
For the audience feedback process of making and evaluating my music video, improvements could be made. Looking back on the process, I feel that the questions I used for my survey may of been time consuming. This is due to the fact that the last 4 questions of my survey were written answers questions this therefore could deter some people who are thinking of doing the survey. In addition to that the use of YouTube could of been improved, with better publication I feel that YouTube could of played a bigger part in the conduction of research.
In conclusion, the effectiveness of the feedback was helped as it made a difference to the production path i would take, variables had been taken out and placed in to extend the appeal to the intended audience. With the use of various methods the ability to mould your video into something that is either appealing to the masses or to a niche auidence is very achievable if accurate and reliable data is extracted, which i feel i had and allowed me to produce a successful advert, digipak and music video.
Evaluation Question 2
Our music video consists of a narrative of young man who is struggling in a society that appears to be against him, he is educated but he lives in a society that is pessimistic, he looks for a break or an escape that isn't there. that is both the narrative of the song and music video. I aimed to fairly reflect this entrapment of the protagonist by society through how we capture the protagonist within his immediate surroundings.
Process:
Advert
I reflected the music video into the advert through the way the location reflects the "ghetto"atmosphere, there is a block of flats in the background and poorly cared for garages which advocate the harshness of the area and the ghetto feel of the area, the area itself is poorly maintained matching the expectation of a ghetto, I also took a direct location that featured in the music video to keep consistency throughout. I deliberately chose to feature the protagonist in well kept clothes as he is an educated man but he struggles to escape, he isn't dressed in a suit as he isn't that well off. In terms of composition, the protagonist is positioned to the far right, looking into the atmosphere, showing how he is over ruled by the ghetto, he looks deeply into what consumes him, showing both his love for the ghetto but his passion to escape, through this I show how the ghetto is far greater forcing a struggle on the protagonist. I washed out the colour of the image and created a deeper shadow to create a 'noir' feel to the image making it feel as if you were in a ghetto, and I was creating an atmosphere the protagonist was feeling. This makes the raw content of the advert effective along side our other products as it is a direct extract from the music video, keeping and maintaining a high level of consistency.
Digipak
A direct link between the digipak, advert and the music video can be seen through the images contained in the digipak. The digipaks cover is the same as the advert, to keep both consistency and to make our product recognisable, assisting our audience into buying our product, the cover of the digipak is the same as the advert to further make our product easy to spot, within the digipak, there is a combination of extracts from the music video that are photogenic and independent images to bring a new variation to the digipak, as other albums use this technique, it appeals to an audience to have both new and old, within a digipak. the images extracted are all used to advocate the message of the music video, the location of the images show the ghetto at its most exaggerated that we could attain, and the protagonist was captured in a way to show his isolation, and was captured in poses and positions that advocated his entrapment, through facial expression the audience can see the struggle, determined but contained against his will.
Altogether all three products come together to fairly advocate the same message and product. there is no difference in who i attempt to appeal, it is always consistent and this is achieved through maintaining the style of images and extracts from the original music video, in keeping the same house style, it is easily recognisable and marketed correctly. Each of the products alone meet the requirements that are required to serve purpose, none divert from the main objective, the advert attracts our intended auidence, the digipak attracts our audience both through memorable images, housestyle and also refelcting the artist in a creative way, and the music video keeps the audience entertained and wanting to watch more, it advocates the song and gives a fair reflection of our artist
Process:
Advert
I reflected the music video into the advert through the way the location reflects the "ghetto"atmosphere, there is a block of flats in the background and poorly cared for garages which advocate the harshness of the area and the ghetto feel of the area, the area itself is poorly maintained matching the expectation of a ghetto, I also took a direct location that featured in the music video to keep consistency throughout. I deliberately chose to feature the protagonist in well kept clothes as he is an educated man but he struggles to escape, he isn't dressed in a suit as he isn't that well off. In terms of composition, the protagonist is positioned to the far right, looking into the atmosphere, showing how he is over ruled by the ghetto, he looks deeply into what consumes him, showing both his love for the ghetto but his passion to escape, through this I show how the ghetto is far greater forcing a struggle on the protagonist. I washed out the colour of the image and created a deeper shadow to create a 'noir' feel to the image making it feel as if you were in a ghetto, and I was creating an atmosphere the protagonist was feeling. This makes the raw content of the advert effective along side our other products as it is a direct extract from the music video, keeping and maintaining a high level of consistency.
Digipak
A direct link between the digipak, advert and the music video can be seen through the images contained in the digipak. The digipaks cover is the same as the advert, to keep both consistency and to make our product recognisable, assisting our audience into buying our product, the cover of the digipak is the same as the advert to further make our product easy to spot, within the digipak, there is a combination of extracts from the music video that are photogenic and independent images to bring a new variation to the digipak, as other albums use this technique, it appeals to an audience to have both new and old, within a digipak. the images extracted are all used to advocate the message of the music video, the location of the images show the ghetto at its most exaggerated that we could attain, and the protagonist was captured in a way to show his isolation, and was captured in poses and positions that advocated his entrapment, through facial expression the audience can see the struggle, determined but contained against his will.
Altogether all three products come together to fairly advocate the same message and product. there is no difference in who i attempt to appeal, it is always consistent and this is achieved through maintaining the style of images and extracts from the original music video, in keeping the same house style, it is easily recognisable and marketed correctly. Each of the products alone meet the requirements that are required to serve purpose, none divert from the main objective, the advert attracts our intended auidence, the digipak attracts our audience both through memorable images, housestyle and also refelcting the artist in a creative way, and the music video keeps the audience entertained and wanting to watch more, it advocates the song and gives a fair reflection of our artist
Evaluation Question 1
Theories of narratives are not uncommon in the media world, and with my music video "Stuck In The Ghetto" Tzvetan Todorov's theory which states that a media text has a equilibrium then involves a disruption, a resolution into a new equilibrium. This theory cannot be applied to my music video as it only documents a problem that is always unresloved, the music video lists continued problems, the equilibrium in sense, is a problem, even though it is paradoxal, there Todorov's theory is cancelled. In addition to this my text is ploysemic, the dominant/prefered reading of the video is the struggle of a young man, trapped within his hostile community, where life is a struggle, everbody is continuosly struggling, however, the oppositional reading is that the protagonist is better off than most, able to visit his friends whiles others work and indulges in alcohol without worry, and is probably claiming of the government, a similar reading to that of the tv series "benefits street", but less engaging.
Also Vladimir Propp's character roles also do not apply to the music video as there are only two characters throughout the video, there is only a protagonist. The music video follows the narrative of the protagonist, with only a glimpse of another character who has a minimalist role in the music video.
Binary opposites is the theory produced by Claude Levi-Strauss, he theorised that media texts can be put together through conventions such as gender stereotypes and religious beliefs. He classified two types of characters, dominant and subordinate. the dominant reading includes: Male, White,
Middle classed, Middle aged,
Hetrosexual, and Able-boddied, and the Subordinate reading is: Female, Other ethnic groups, Working class,
The young, old, Homosexual, bisexual, Disabled. This applies to
Furthermore the narrative and performance of the video is a key feature. The narrative is a young man struggling on a day to day basis, which many people can relate to. It reveals him performing to the camera, expressing his betrayal and sadness at the world the character lives in, with reference to not being able to get a job, even though he has a degree. The performance by the actor in the video shows passion yet does not overwhelm the video so much so that the mellow mood is still kept.
The "star image" is the only sub-convention that is not highlighted in my music video. The actor is hiding away from the lime light rather the showing the viewer his claim to stardom. This is due to the fact that this ties into the genre of the song, most soul singers/artists are soft people, with a warm heart. If star image theory was not displayed in a pop or rap music video, it would seem more odd.
"Stuck In The Ghetto" visuals are constantly relating to the songs lyrics, the lyrics of the song automatically drove us to come up with the idea that we did because the lyrics are so meaningful therefore we thought we could elaborate on the lyrics via a music video. With constant reference to lyrics such as:
Friday, 4 April 2014
What Makes A Music Video
The purpose of a music video is:
This is done via a few methods, one way is by looking at video viewing websites such as YouTube and Vimeo. The number of views often positively correlates with how commercially successful a video has become. In addition to that, a video might make the song more popular even if the actual song has been out for a long period of time, one example of this the Harlem Shake, the actual backing tune of the song has been around for nearly 15 years yet it has only recently become successful due to the cross media convergence of recent times allowing to post insane videos all over the internet.
Other ways a music video might implicate on a songs success is via CD sales and Downloads because these are the main import of income from a commercially successful song.
- To promote a band/artist/performer
- Increase awareness, therefore increasing customers/listeners, therefore increasing sales, therefore increasing revenue
- To illustrate a song or add visual reference e.g. "Eminem - Stan"
- Add/show the performers raw emotions e.g, "Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2U"
- Product placement, one modernday example of this Dr Dre (Beats by Dre) a audio company created by Dr Dre, the products are scattered are music videos from artist such as Will-I-Am, Juicy J and Drake.
- To raise audience awareness, one example of this is the Spice Girls. Before the release of Wanna Be in November 1996 the Spice Girls were not very well known, in their case, the video was a success overnight launching them to stardom.
- Music videos can be a form of creative, risk taking media. With artists such as Lady Gaga with her extravagant videos for "Telephone" and "Starstuck" the music video has allowed her to create her own persona. Music videos are very good at being able to show off an artists individuality therefore making it good way of marketing and this will inevitability increase sales.
This is done via a few methods, one way is by looking at video viewing websites such as YouTube and Vimeo. The number of views often positively correlates with how commercially successful a video has become. In addition to that, a video might make the song more popular even if the actual song has been out for a long period of time, one example of this the Harlem Shake, the actual backing tune of the song has been around for nearly 15 years yet it has only recently become successful due to the cross media convergence of recent times allowing to post insane videos all over the internet.
Other ways a music video might implicate on a songs success is via CD sales and Downloads because these are the main import of income from a commercially successful song.
Production Process
Planning:
During the planning process, one will depict elements and feautres of a music video that will be soild to the production, other areas will be more dilute and avalible for alteration. Also during planning you will find the good ideas from the bad therefore making it able to create a music video of real quality. In addition to this, the planning process will help the construction take place with hassle as the vision and core content is there, it will just be a matter of adding small parts, variables such as location, shot list, schedule, animatic make all of this easier.
Filming:
The filming is the capturing of shots that will be incorporated into the music video. The planning process would have given a correlation between the planning and shooting. Certain days (where the weather is good) filming will commence and hopefully go smoothly. Whilst filming certain things could go wrong such as missing equipment to bad weather. These things need to be taken into account when you are at the filming stage, this means that time is off the essence, and this therefore makes the planning process seem even more important.
Editing:
The Editing process is the most important, it is the make or break stage of any music video as it gives a producer the avaliblitiy of a music video to look and feel professional, it will allow for a perfect finish, taking mediocor or amatuer shots and translating the piece into something far greater.. All the footage that is captured will be imported into editting software such as After Effects or Final Cut Express. This is where you are able to sequence your shots and sync your music to the video, bringing the creation to life. The editing process will allow the user to add filters such as sepia and add effects such as blurs.
Presenting
The presenting process has evolved in recent years, with the introduction of social media to the mass population the accessibility of the music video has increased dramatically, With social media sites such as YouTube (Google+), Vimeo, Instagram video, Facebook and Vine your video can be presented to everyone. For the music videos in A2 media, YouTube has been used as the set media site in order to view videos, this is due to the fact that its the most widespread used video sharing format on the internet allowing us to reach to a wider audience therefore giving us more intelligent and balanced feedback.
During the planning process, one will depict elements and feautres of a music video that will be soild to the production, other areas will be more dilute and avalible for alteration. Also during planning you will find the good ideas from the bad therefore making it able to create a music video of real quality. In addition to this, the planning process will help the construction take place with hassle as the vision and core content is there, it will just be a matter of adding small parts, variables such as location, shot list, schedule, animatic make all of this easier.
Filming:
The filming is the capturing of shots that will be incorporated into the music video. The planning process would have given a correlation between the planning and shooting. Certain days (where the weather is good) filming will commence and hopefully go smoothly. Whilst filming certain things could go wrong such as missing equipment to bad weather. These things need to be taken into account when you are at the filming stage, this means that time is off the essence, and this therefore makes the planning process seem even more important.
Editing:
The Editing process is the most important, it is the make or break stage of any music video as it gives a producer the avaliblitiy of a music video to look and feel professional, it will allow for a perfect finish, taking mediocor or amatuer shots and translating the piece into something far greater.. All the footage that is captured will be imported into editting software such as After Effects or Final Cut Express. This is where you are able to sequence your shots and sync your music to the video, bringing the creation to life. The editing process will allow the user to add filters such as sepia and add effects such as blurs.
Presenting
The presenting process has evolved in recent years, with the introduction of social media to the mass population the accessibility of the music video has increased dramatically, With social media sites such as YouTube (Google+), Vimeo, Instagram video, Facebook and Vine your video can be presented to everyone. For the music videos in A2 media, YouTube has been used as the set media site in order to view videos, this is due to the fact that its the most widespread used video sharing format on the internet allowing us to reach to a wider audience therefore giving us more intelligent and balanced feedback.
Music Video Process 2
Director - Alex Southam
He is less keen commericals as they allow for less creative freedom, they may pay more but he believes that creativity is key. Southam also uses Vimeo to showcase his videos, Vimeo is becoming an increasingly important platform to show videos as its perceived to have a "higher status" then you tube, this giving his videos that more up market appeal.
His breakthrough video was "Tessellate by Alt J"
- Freelances for OB Management
- Trained as a lawyer but decided to go in a new direction and work in film
- Began making music videos to learn about the trade
- Camera
- Lighting
- Editing
He is less keen commericals as they allow for less creative freedom, they may pay more but he believes that creativity is key. Southam also uses Vimeo to showcase his videos, Vimeo is becoming an increasingly important platform to show videos as its perceived to have a "higher status" then you tube, this giving his videos that more up market appeal.
His breakthrough video was "Tessellate by Alt J"
- Budget: £10,000
- 1 day to shoot
- Large cast
- Special effects - Used "Adobe After Effects"
Music Video Process
OB Management: http://obmanagement.co.uk/about
There role is to work as agents for directors, their company slogan "We represent directors" gives a clear indication that they are in close ties with many top directors of music videos and advertising. They also take part in fashionshoots and videos and recently done work for Thomas Burberry when releasing their 2013 winter collection.
OB Managements role in music videos include picking a specific director to a specific genre or type of music, e.g. Emil Nava is more suited to Pop/Urban genres of music therefore this leads him to be directing for artists such as Rita Ora and Jessie J. They also work with record labels to ensure that the music videos that their directors are taking on are suitable e.g is the single going to be a success, what the financial projections are, what the market for the music video is etc.
Some of the companies OB have collaborated with are:
: http://obmanagement.co.uk/aboutThere role is to work as agents for directors, their company slogan "We represent directors" gives a clear indication that they are in close ties with many top directors of music videos and advertising. They also take part in fashion
shoots and videos and recently done work for Thomas Burberry when releasing their 2013 winter collection.OB Managements role in music videos include picking a specific director to a specific genre or type of music, e.g. Emil Nava is more suited to Pop/Urban genres of music therefore this leads him to be directing for artists such as Rita Ora and Jessie J. They also work with record labels to ensure that the music videos that their directors are taking on are suitable e.g is the single going to be a success, what the financial projections are, what the market for the music video is etc.Some of the companies OB have collaborated with are:
- Pulse Films
- Rocket
- Agile Films
- Friends
- Wonda
Wednesday, 2 April 2014
Genre Theory
Definition of Genre is kind, sort, or class, from this an audience can depict what will be contained within a piece of text. genres have characteristic features that are known to and recognised by audiences, this formula is reused and reproduced continuously.
Audiences and genres: why do audiences find genres satisfying?
audiences develop an understanding that certain expectations may be fulfilled and may find pleasure in predicting what will happen next.
Audiences recognise the key elements or conventions of a genre and respond accordingly, these elements are called paradigms, for example within a music video, a music video will contain paradigms such as lip syncing, instruments, dance, and scenic views, within my music video there are lip syncs, instruments and scenic views.
Two types of paradigms have been identified within texts genres: these are Iconographic and Structural.
Iconographic paradigms consists of signs and symbols, i.e, the costume, props and setting within a western. in my music video things such as guitars, alcohol and urban location are iconographic to my music video.
Structural paradigms are the ways a text is put together and the shape it takes and how structures in the text deal with issues such as ideology and gender, e.g, how gender is represented in a rom-com, in my music video it is how the protagonist is portrayed, being weakened by the situation, making the audience see that the protagonist is heartfelt, sincere and passionate, these are the structural paradigms that are present in my music video.
Genres tend to become overused and Christian Metz discovered in essence the life cycle of a genre, characterised into four phases; the initial phase (first of its kind), the classical phase (the peak film of the genre), the declining phase (the decline in appeal), the parody phase (the film created to mock the genre).
Institutions and producers use genre of generic narratives depend on a certain amount of immediate communication with the audience, they want the narrative to be easily comprehensible, genres that use key components that are easily recognisable are particularly important.
Audience know what to expect from a genre but at the same time want some variations to prevent dissatisfaction and even boredom, thus any text in genre
Audiences and genres: why do audiences find genres satisfying?
audiences develop an understanding that certain expectations may be fulfilled and may find pleasure in predicting what will happen next.
Audiences recognise the key elements or conventions of a genre and respond accordingly, these elements are called paradigms, for example within a music video, a music video will contain paradigms such as lip syncing, instruments, dance, and scenic views, within my music video there are lip syncs, instruments and scenic views.
Two types of paradigms have been identified within texts genres: these are Iconographic and Structural.
Iconographic paradigms consists of signs and symbols, i.e, the costume, props and setting within a western. in my music video things such as guitars, alcohol and urban location are iconographic to my music video.
Structural paradigms are the ways a text is put together and the shape it takes and how structures in the text deal with issues such as ideology and gender, e.g, how gender is represented in a rom-com, in my music video it is how the protagonist is portrayed, being weakened by the situation, making the audience see that the protagonist is heartfelt, sincere and passionate, these are the structural paradigms that are present in my music video.
Genres tend to become overused and Christian Metz discovered in essence the life cycle of a genre, characterised into four phases; the initial phase (first of its kind), the classical phase (the peak film of the genre), the declining phase (the decline in appeal), the parody phase (the film created to mock the genre).
Institutions and producers use genre of generic narratives depend on a certain amount of immediate communication with the audience, they want the narrative to be easily comprehensible, genres that use key components that are easily recognisable are particularly important.
Audience know what to expect from a genre but at the same time want some variations to prevent dissatisfaction and even boredom, thus any text in genre
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