Music video-final cut

Digipak

We include an exclusive photo pack in our digipak for the fans so they can see behind the scenes images.

Magazine advert

Evaluation: Question 1

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

Evaluation: question 2

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

Evaluation: Question 3

3. What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Music video with annotations: 

I learnt that people liked our on beat editing and our location. We found that our shots of money weren't as effective as we had hoped. We found that our audience linked our video to others such as Jay Z which we liked. We found that we could have re done some shots as they were either too dark or shaky. We also found that our audience like the opening.

This is the questionnaire we asked our target audience to gain information about our music video. From our results, we found they were all of a similar age but they all like varying genres of music from heavy metal to RnB which was good for us as we had a range of opinions so our research was more representative. They all agreed that our music video fits the genre of a rap music video and they all like varying parts of the video from the time lapse to the on beat editing as they said they fit the video nicely and enjoyed watching it because of the editing. But they said that not all of the lighting was effective as some shots were too dark and some of the shots were shaky which made the video look less professional. They all agreed that it was a successful way to promote an artist because of all the close ups and they agreed that the video appeals to their age group as it included people form their age group and places they had been to before so they enjoyed watching it.

Evaluation: Question 4

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

Behind the scenes magazine photoshoot

We had a screen so the background would be plain, this was so it looked professional as usually magazine adverts are done in studios.

We had a soft box and lighting gels to get the effect we wanted. We used the soft box to create even and diffused light.

We were happy with the effect we created with the lighting gels as the blue and red created a purple tinge and 3-D shadow effects.

Target audience feedback: Comments on music video

· From our feed back we took into account that our lighting could be improved so we decided to re film some shot as not all of the shots looked professionals, but mostly we were happy with the feedback as it was mostly positive.

Magazine advert flat plan

Instagram update

From our Instagram page we have got a positive response from people commenting on our pictures, saying they like the photos, which would build a fan base for our artist, so if we were promoting a real artist, we believe Instagram is a successful platform to use. 

Target Audience interview analysis

After our target audience interviews, we evaluated the answers and discussed how we should edit our music video to accommodate everyone's tastes and a wide target audience. We found that the people we interviewed had high aspirations, so we incorporated this into our music video, the showing of money shows that the character is successful, what the target audience would aspire to be. Secondly, we found that all the people we interviewed were creative, so we incorporated a creative element onto our video, e.g. a known creative area (Camden) and street art to accommodate our target audience. When asked about music videos One of our interviewees said that they 'express the artists vision', so with this we tried to take what M.I.A had expressed in 'paper planes' and incorporate that its visuals, which also follows Goodwin's theory. We asked our target audience what they thought made a good music video and they responded that they liked ones with good story lines, which we tried to incorporate. They also said ones with interesting shots, we also tried to get a range of camera angles. One of our interviewees said she like choreography in music videos but we discussed this and decided it would be unrealistic and difficult as we don't know any dancers. Another one of our target audience said she liked music videos that 'goes with the beat', which we did incorporate, and the music matching the visuals also follows Goodwin's theory. Finally, we asked our target audience how they felt youth were represented in music videos, they said youth are represented as 'partying all the time' and in a negative light. Often, they said teenagers were associated with drugs, money and sex. We have included money in our music video but have tried to present it in a positive light, as a sign of success and to motivate our target audience into having high aspirations. Another one of our target audience said that teenagers are 'misrepresented' as most artists aren't even teens and so don't represent a realistic picture of youth. So, from these comments we decided to include a teenager in our music video, that is portrayed in a positive light, with an up beat and friendly music video to oppose traditional stereotypes of youth in music videos.

Digipak analysis

The inside of the digipak shows Katy Perry the image matches the front cover and enforces a pop feel. The theme of the digipak is sweet foods; which fits the younger target audience. It also shows Katy Perry to be sweet and innocent her makeup and clothing is bright and fun, making her look like a sweet so adds to the pop feel and contributes to her matching her target audience. Although, the main image contrasts this as she is naked, although this could suggest she is reborn as an artist and trying a more naturalistic approach which contrast the artificial sweet theme. The clouds around Perry make the nudity almost acceptable as it softens the tone but also shocks the audience. The swirls and sweet effect on the CD's go with the general theme of the digipak. The font is also almost childlike bubble writing which also matches the theme of the digipak.

On the inside cover there are images of the band. The underlying theme of the digipak is the French revolution and ultimately: change. On The front cover of the album is a picture of the French revolution, with the French flag flying, I believe Coldplay were trying to appeal on an international level as ‘Viva La Vida’ means long live life’ in Spanish. The font looks like it was painted on, fitting with the revolution theme.  The revolution theme could also represent the band changing their style as revolution means change so it could be the bands way of showing the have changed as artists.

There is a picture of the band on the inside cover. The theme of the digipak seems to represent them. The typography looks like paper clippings and shows that they have a relaxed view on how they are perceived and the S coming off at the end could also represent that they have no issues about how they are perceived. The actual cover of the alum shows two member of the band photographs, which I believe reflects their style of music and their attitude towards life. The colours used are towards the darker ends of the spectrum, with reds, browns and skin colour tones the picture has a bleak edge to it which hints of drug use also, the clothing hints as a non-caring mind-set, representing them as artists.

Digipak: initial ideas

Font tests

 We looked at this font as we liked the effect but we decided it wasn't appropriate for our magazine advert as it looks too gothic.
 We also looked at this font, but we felt it want appropriate for our magazine advert as it was too fancy and didn't fit with our theme.
We considered this font, we liked the bold 3-D effect but decided it was too comical and not professional enough for our magazine advert. For our magazine advert we decided on a 3-D font without a fill as we felt it was appropriate for our magazine advert.

Magazine advert- rough draft

This is the rough draft of our magazine advert. To make it look more professional we are thinking of changing the font ad looking on websites that will help us wit  that. We also want a clearer image so we are going to take more pictures so we have a less squashed image, but with this image, we like the colours as we believe they stand out and the bold writing clearly shows who the artist is, the 5 stars and the reviews will make an audience want to buy the album.

production log #6

We went into the studio, but we couldn't do much as our actress was occupied so we had an idea of filming the drum to edit into one of the chorus'. We thought this would be effective in moving in time to the music as the drums on beat would match the audio. We also used a light to get this shot so it was high key and clear. and filmed it as an extreme close up and from different camera angles, mainly high angle,  to see what we liked best. We may use this footage, we are undecided as we have already filled up the spaces of our fast paced editing but we could replace the older footage with this newer footage.

Treatment

Our video opens with a time-lapse from a view of a bus, a high angle shot. Secondly there are beats where we will use on-beat editing of 7 shots. The first will be a mid-shot of graffiti. The next shot will be a long shot of the Camden lock bridge. Afterwards there will be a scene in the market. Then a long shot of the Camden underground sign. Then another mid-shot of a different bit of graffiti and finally a close up of the Camden tube sign. Then the lyrics come in and there will be a low angle shot of our character lip synching into the camera. Then a close up of the back of her shoes walking, then back to the lip synching shot, then a close up of the back of our characters head walking. Then we have a close up of our character lip-synching and the camera is moving, giving a disorienting feel. Then there is another shot of the back of feet walking, this introduces our second character. Then it goes back to the first lip synching shot, then the back of the second characters head walking. Net is another lip synching shot with the moving, disorientating camera. This changes to an extreme lose up of our characters lips lip-synching. This goes to a mid-shot of our character walking into a shop, to a loser shot, looking at clothes, to her looking in a mirror. After this is another shot of our character head walking, although this time she is on a different location. It then goes back to the extreme close up of our characters mouth. This is where the chorus comes in, we introduce this with a mid-shot of our character lip synching in front of some graffiti which changes to a close up of her standing in front of graffiti and the background changing on beat with the chorus. Then there is a quick close-up skateboarding shot, this goes back to the lip synching shot, then a close up of bubble gum popping, then back to the lip synching shot. Then for the second set of on beat editing we have money appearing one after the other, then back to the skateboarding, lip synching and bubble-gum popping, this repeats throughout. The third set of on beat editing is our character walking through a crowd, getting closer each time. The fourth set is our characters changing on the same background. The net shot is a lip synching shot, our character, Lj, is walking on a busy street and singing as she goes along. Then, there is a mid-shot of Lj walking into Charing Cross station, after this it goes back to the previous lip-synching shot. After this there is an over-the-shoulder shot of our second character, Luke, on his phone which turns to a close up of him texting Lj asking where she is. We then go back to Lj, with a close up shot of the back of her head going down an escalator. This switches to another lip-synching shot where Lj is walking along a graffiti wall. This goes back to a mid-shot of Lj walking down some stairs to the tube platform, the train is then see pulling in then there is a close up of Lj on the tube then a high angle of her on her phone which goes to an extreme close up of her replying to Luke’s text. This changes to a high angle of Luke skating. There is then another chorus, where the same lip synching shot is used as previously, although the on beat editing is Lj changing jackets, the second lot of on beat editing in the second chorus is Luke standing in front of graffiti and the backgrounds changing behind him and then Luke’s jackets changing. Finally, the last of the o beat editing is the repeat of the money although this time there is appearing in a different order. As the hook comes in the Camden tube sign is shown, the there is a mid-shot of Lj leaving the station, and then another skating shot. After this, there is a mid-shot of Lj walking up to Luke, then a close up of Luke standing up, then a mid-shot of the two hugging. After this, there is a mid-shot of them walking together, showing the back of their heads. Another close-up skating shot and finally a long shot of the two walking off together arm I arm leading to a backwards shot of the tube to symbolize the ending.

Storyboard

Production log #5

Our last day filming was successful, it was a bright day so we got lots of high key shots. We managed to complete our final shots effectively, now we need to edit the new material into the music video and decide where to put our final shots. After getting a response from our teacher we decided to add more moving shots, as seen in may rap music videos, so we filmed some of these today, we also added the chewing gum shots as we needed something to fill that gap and we collectively came up with the idea. We will now edit the new footage in and decide whether we need to change anything.

Rough Cut Evaluation

Rough cut evaluation
We still need to film more shots for our on beat editing section as we are not happy with all of them as some of them look unprofessional as the lighting is too dark. We would also like to re film a few shots as they didn’t come out as well as we had hoped as it was darker than we had anticipated. We believe the opening shot is successful as it introduces the video nicely; we also like the on beat editing as it introduces the video and works to establish our music video and location, it does this by showing the scenery and tells us where the video is set. We also like our first low angle shot of our character as it sets the scene of an urban music video.

This first long shot establishes the scene and we believe the long shot is effective as it includes a wide array of things into the shot such as people, traffic and famous landmarks, making it interesting and recognisable. Which works with what we are trying to portray.

 For our on beat editing we changed the background. We thought this was successful as it complimented the music and matches the videos aesthetic. We also need to cut shots as some are too long and insert a different section it of film in between. We are also going to try and incorporate a larger range of costumes and more camera angles such as close-ups and focus more on lighting
 This tracking shot is effective as it includes voyeurism that attracts audiences as it shows something you wouldn’t usually see, in this case it’s our character being followed, but we think we need to change the tracking shots of Luke as they aren't as good as Lj's ones.

We may have to re film these shots because on this particular day we were running late and didn’t get to film these parts until it was darker, when we re film we will do it in more high key lighting to get a clearer shot to match with the rest of the video.

We used money as part of the mise-en-scene as M.I.A is singing about money so we followed Goodwin’s theory of matching the lyrics to the visuals, we also did this with trains as we filmed a train and this correlates with some of the lyrics.

Magazine Advert

Ellie Goulding is wearing a simple black top which fades into the background and emphasizes the lighting. Her name is clear in luminous font, which matches the album name of lights. Underneath is the name of the album and reviews at the bottom, this is conventional of magazine adverts and is simple to follow  as it clearly shows the artist and the album, this is similar to Jessie j’s album advert as  both show the artist and the name of the artist clearly. The reviews have come from magazines and may be smaller as the magazines may not have recognizable names. Goulding's  pose represents her being laid back, indicating the genre of the music to be calming. The font has a Gatsby feel and could represent that the album has a classy, sophisticated  feel to it this also could have been used as it was around the time of the Gatsby film coming out which would have increased its audience. The neon lighting helps the advert to be bold, the colours contrast as it is light on dark and make the font look almost 3-D.  The album cover is the same, apart from the reviews at the bottom, this links the products together, also Goulding being on the cover will help her brand  as she becomes recognizable and people will start to know who she is. Also, the sparkly lighting in her hair and background represents that the music could have a pop feel  as pop is associated with the look and bright colours.

Jessie J is wearing black lace which suggests she is rebellious which could indicate that on the album the music is rocky and alternative. Her name is in gold writing which suggests she is  royal and important. Also,  the font has a gloss to it making it look 3-D, the album name is almost unclear, but matches the picture as Jessie is expressing who she is. Jessie’s pose indicates that she is confident suggesting that the music is going to be edgy with a bit of attitude. The album cover is the same, so the audience will associate these two images. Jessie’s make up is also heavy and expressive giving off an attitudey vibe and indicating that the target audience is teenagers as they are associated with being rebellious and different.   The songs are mentioned on the front as they are singles and the audience could recognize a song name and want to buy the album because they like the song.

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This magazine advert is rather simple, suggesting that this band is all about the music and doesn’t need extravagant make overs to advertise their music, this type of advertising also gives an insight into the genre of music as it doesn’t conform to the average advert, suggesting that the music would be rock or alternative. The font of the band is in a slanted, cartoony font which could suggest that their music has a similar feel. The album cover is the same which makes this image recognizable, giving the band a brand. The heart monitor like symbol could represent how the beat in the music correlates with a heartbeat and how music makes you feel alive. Also the white on black makes the advert very clear so it is easy to consume as an audience also there is a harsh contrast of the colours, which catches the readers eye.

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Behind the scenes: record label logo

We decided to try out Photoshop before we created our Digi pack so we added a picture that we thought could work and tried out different edits on it, we discovered that Photoshop is very complex to use.
From the image above we got an aliasing tool to blur the edges so the rest of the image wouldn't be in view, we then airbrushed a creamy colour on top to cover the D. We then used a scatter brush to overlay the image, we decided on the bright colour as we felt it matched the genre. We finally added and '&' sign to complete M&E records. We were happy with our finished product because of the edgy look and how it stems from the location of our video.

rough cut one

Video diary

Target Audience Interviews

Lip synching practice/ screen test for possible actors

We decided to have a screen test to see other possible actors we could've used before we decided on who was the right fit, this was also a successful way to practice editing lip synching, which we found is difficult and often it doesn't match up, also we felt that the character we picked was suitable for the part. If we refilled a couple of times we could have done this better. We ruled out Kat (first person in the video) as her natural style doesn't fit the urban feel we wanted. Davina, (second character) was also considered, but we felt Lj was more characteristic in her delivery of the lip synching. We used wrecking ball for our practise as we felt it was a simple song to lip sync to, but the song didn't match with our idea and Paper Planes did.

Behind the scenes

This is me directing Lj, our character. This is the part where the backgrounds change, we filmed on a number of backgrounds so we an decide which ones work the best.

Behind The Scenes

We liked the lighting and we found that the brighter colours worked best and luckily it was a bright 

day so the lighting worked well.

 We found this location and thought it would be ideal for a background to lip synching, but unfortunately it was closed off.

 We used this background for one of the changing background shots for a second character, this background is beneficial because of the bright colours, which works best as it makes the shot look more interesting.

 We took a break to plan before going back out to film.

This was a possibility for one of the changing background shots but we tried it and realised that not all of the tiger is shown in the shot so we decided against it.

production log #4

We had thought our 4th day filming would be our last but we re watched the footage and realised we need to re film a few parts because of lighting as some shots are too dark. We got some skating shots that we are happy with, we got our inspiration from Avril Lavigne 'sk8er boi'.Apart from that the day was quite successful, we managed to get more lip synching shots and shots on the train. Our music video is almost done we just need more shots of our second character.We are also going to look at the costumes, we are happy with our main costume as we got our inspiration from Rihanna's 'we found love'. also, in MIA's original video she has a number of outfits, we thought this is a good idea so we are going to have Lj and Luke wear a range of outfits.

Instagram Page

We have created an Instagram page for our music video to gain interest and to update the public on how filming is going. The Instagram page will also help advertise our artist.

Music Video Permission

Representation of women in music videos

In the pop genre women are represented as only caring about guys and what guys think about them. One example of this is in Little Mix's video 'Love me like you', the girls are all asked to prom by the same guy and they just cry about it when they find out. There is no positive ending for the women and the guy is shown to have the good time. Women are also shown to care about the way they look, for example in 'Bang bang' Ariana Grande is shown applying make up, emphasizing that girls should care about the way they look.

Often in the RnB genre, women are shown to be sexual objects, in videos such as 50 cents 'candy shop' women are shown in little clothing dancing seductively singing sexual lyrics. Women are often objectified in music videos, in Akon's song 'Smack that' women are dancing half naked and he is singing about smacking them, showing women to be passive and worthless.

In our music video our lead is a female, she is shown to be in control as she is singing. Also, she is portrayed as being down to earth and having a personality rather than being the object of oppression or sexually objectified. In our video we will try to represent women as strong and independent.

Animatic

Costume Analysis

 This is our second costume in the video. We thought we needed variety in what our character wore so we added a second outfit, the coat is vintage style so this represents our character being interested in vintage fashion. She is also wearing a stripy turtle neck which shows that she is casual and wears what she feels comfortable wearing. We chose this to show that our character is an average teenager, representing our dynamic. We thought the black and white turtle neck was simple, but effective in our music video.

 There is a part in our video where there is on beat editing and our characters coat changes which could represent her being unsure or that she is still young and can choose multiple pathways in her life. We also thought the yellow on the coat stands out and is effective.

The main outfit in our video consists of a black top and jeans, with an oversized black jacket, this outfit shows that our character is laid back and casual. This style of casual clothing is often used in pop music videos for example in Rihanna's 'we found love', she is wearing similar baggy, comfortable clothing. We believe this style of clothing will influence the viewer as they could relate to themselves and what they wear, the black also represents that our character is down to earth and chilled.