Saturday, 31 March 2012

Evaluation


For my Advanced Portfolio in A2 I created a music video using the song ‘Set Fire to the Rain’ by Adele and the genre is Pop/British Soul. Before I began creating my music video and ancillary texts I researched the history and conventions of music videos, magazine adverts for digipaks and website homepages and also the conventions of both Pop and British Soul genres.

Since the 1960’s soul music has been popular in Britain. A clear genre of British soul did not emerge until the 1980s, when a number of black and white artists who made soul their major focus began to enjoy some commercial success. Popular British Soul artists include Adele, Amy Winehouse, Duffy and Joss Stone. There are several subcategories in soul music such as my music video genre British Soul, Neo Soul and Motown.

By looking at the history of music videos I found out how music videos used to be distributed and how the Internet is used with websites such as Youtube and social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook to watch music videos. Having music videos on these websites allows audiences to view them at any time, new bands to be discovered and allows audiences to tell their friends about it.
I chose my target audience by doing a questionnaire. I asked 10 females and 10 males whether they like British Soul music and 10/10 females said yes and 5/10 males said yes. I looked at the age range of who said yes and it was 16-19 year olds. I asked if any had part time jobs and 7/10 females worked in either retail stores or fast food chains and 5/10 males worked in either retail stores or bars. Overall I concluded my target audience would be females aged 16-19 years old.  

Looking at the conventions of music videos in general helped me decide what type of form I was going to choose for my music video. There are many different forms and conventions such as performance; this is when the artist or band is performing in one or more settings. A performance cliché is the artist walking down a street. It can be instrumental, song or dance performance. For example 'Nothing Compares to You' by Sinead O'Connor. It is only set in one location. Animation; this is when the video includes digital features such as flash. For example in the music video 'Californication' by Red Hot Chili Peppers. In this video they are taking part in a 3D game which is all animated. Narrative; this is when the song involves a narrative and the lyrics are acted out by the artist. For example 'Telephone' By Lady Gaga and Beyoncé as the narrative is following on from Lady Gaga's previous song 'Paparazzi' as Lady Gaga killed her boyfriend by poisoning him and got arrested. This is following on with Lady Gaga in prison and Beyoncé breaking her out. The lyrics fit with the narrative.



My music video is based on the conventions of British Soul rather than Pop. I have used both performance and narrative. The narrative of my music video is my artist remembering her ex-boyfriend and wanting to move on from her breakup. (See figure 1)




 
         








(figure 1 – example of the narrative)

This links with the lyrics which is conventional of music videos. For music video conventions in British Soul the video usually has a frequent use of mono-tone colour schemes to make the video look more realistic, low use of special effects, usually no backing dancers as the songs are slow paced, slow editing to match the song and a narrative which is to do with a love story e.g. a break up for example the song I have chosen. In my music video I only had one performer as it was a slow paced song so there wasn’t any need for back up dancers or other performers.

At the start of the year I analysed four existing music videos; ‘Someone Like You’ by Adele, ‘Who You Are’ by JessieJ, ‘Because of You’ by Kelly Clarkson and ‘You Lost Me’ by Christina Aguilera.The music video for the song ‘Someone Like You’ is the most similar to my music video. 'Someone Like You' was released in 2011 from the album '21' and the label is XL Recordings. The song for my music video is from the same album so it is sending the same message of losing someone you love. The video is set in black and white which suggests it is a memory. It is set in Paris which is seen as a romantic city so Adele walking there may be suggesting she used to be in love and now she is walking away from her relationship. Adele is wearing a long black coat and she has her hair tied back a bit and some of it down. The video starts with a tracking shot of Adele walking. This can connote she is walking away from her past and walking to a fresh life. In my music video I used tracking shots to connote she is trying to find a new life. 

I chose the costume carefully for my artist, she wore plain black leggings, a black top a denim jacket and a gold necklace for the chorus and East Park scenes. The costume was plain as it isn’t conventional to wear bright colours or sexually appealing clothing in British Soul music videos. The black connotes sadness and emptiness as she has just broken up from her boyfriend. In the house scenes she wore a plain black top and black leggings. This shows she is upset so hasn’t been dressing up. Originally I was going to have her wear a neck scarf which had pictures of chains on. This was going to connote she was being trapped by her grief. The artist/band of British soul music stereotypically look natural and wear fashionable clothing but not over the top. They usually have their own independent style for example Amy Winehouse with her beehive hairstyle. Also another example is Joss Stone as she is known to wear hippy style clothing. 

Slow editing is conventional of British Soul so I made sure that during the editing process I kept this is mind. I used the video transition dip to black for the chorus scenes and I also used cross and additive dissolves. I didn’t want to use loads of transitions as the song is slow paced and I wanted it to link with the narrative so if I used constant cuts it wouldn’t match the soundtrack. I used lip synching for the beginning for the lyrics ‘I let it fall’, the chorus and the door scene. I found it hard to get the lip synching in time however I kept practising and managed to do it in the end. I matched the lyrics with the narrative for example while the door scene linked with the lyrics ‘Sometimes I wake up by the door….’. This is conventional in music videos.
The mise en scene in my music video was conventional of British Soul music videos as I used mono toned colours and different props to make the video look realistic. For example in the kitchen scene I created a scenario where it looked like my performer had made dinner for her and her boyfriend yet he didn’t turn up as they have split up. I used a close up on the full glass to show the audience that the boyfriend won’t be showing up and the performer will be alone. The candles linked with the lyrics of the song as they symbolised fire. The also represented the artists relationship burning away. In the bedroom scene I used photographs of my performer and her boyfriend and placed them on the bed. They were in black and white to connote the past. (See figure 2). The photographs are post-modern as they are an example of a simulacrum. I used an over the shoulder shot so the photos were clearly shown to the audience. It also lets the audience feel they are there with the performer. (See figure 3). At the beginning when my performer is sat on the rock near the pond she throws a rock in the water while the lyrics ‘I let it fall, my heart’ are playing. The rock she throws represents her heart, cold and like stone as she has been left heartbroken. Throwing it connotes she is no longer in love and the relationship has ended. This is conventional as I am linking the lyrics with the narrative.















(figure2 – photos were used to create a more realistic narrative)

















(figure 3 – over the shoulder shot to let the audience see the photos)



Location was important to me as its conventional in British Soul music videos that the location is memorable and intriguing as the video isn’t fast paced so the audience won’t be looking at dance routines they’ll be looking at the location. I chose East Park as the scenery was nice and it was a nice area for my performer to walk. It was also easy to do tracking shots as it was mainly all pathways. The locations in East Park I chose all had specific connotations. For example when my performer is lip synching the chorus she is standing in front of giant rocks. The rocks represent coldness, hurt and sadness, all the feelings my performer is feeling (see figure 4). For the other scenes I chose to film in a house. This suggests the house is personal to the artist. The bedroom in particularly, when she is ripping up the photos makes the audience realise she is hurting as the bedroom its self is representing their past. When my performer is sat by the door, it is connoting she is waiting for her ex boyfriend to come. The door is white which connotes freedom, so its there for her to walk through and start a new life.



 












 (figure 4 – the rock location connoting hurt and pain)

I used a range of different shots such as high angles, close ups, long shots and tracking shots. The use of the tracking shot suggests the performer is walking away from her past life/memories and walking towards a new life. I used a high angle when my performer was sat on the bench and also sat at the dinner table. This connotes she is vulnerable and sad. I zoomed in when my performer was stood on the bridge to make sure the audience could see her emotions. The bridge connotes the performer has a journey to fulfil, in this case the journey is to get over her breakup and get on with her life. The scene when my performer is walking away down the long road suggests she has been let free to live her life again. For the final scene I learned how to repeat footage. My performer is holding a flower which is representing her relationship with her ex-boyfriend and she is throwing it to the ground. I repeated this to show she is finally getting rid of him in her mind. The final shot is a close up of the flower on its own, showing she has left her past relationship there and is now moving on. I have used the conventional cinematography for British Soul music videos.
I wanted my ancillary texts to be conventional so I did some research on the conventions of both magazine advertisements for digipaks and for website homepages. First of all I analysed three magazine advertisements for Katy Perry, La Roux and Gwen Stefani. I tried finding British Soul or Pop artists so it could influence me for my texts. The one I liked best was for La Roux’s album. I liked how it was simple but very appealing to audiences. I liked the fact there is light shining onto her face which can connote she is going to be a shining new star. I wanted to make sure there was some light on my artists face to connote she is a shining new star and also to show she has got light back into her life however the lighting wasn’t very good and the photo came out dark. My advertisement has the colour scheme of pink, white and black which matches the website homepage. This shows continuity and audiences will recognise they are promoting the same artist. The colours are not over the top and bold which is conventional. I created a digipak to put on the advert as this is conventional. It allows the audiences to see what the album looks like so they can decide if they will buy it.

I then analysed the website homepages for the singers Adele and Duffy.  I looked at these websites to see if they used the conventions of website homepages. I liked the Duffy website as it was black and white which gave it an old fashioned look. My website has the conventional features such as; menu bar, links to other websites, photos and a blog. I print screened my music video from Youtube and placed it in the ‘video section’. This would let audiences view the music video while browsing the homepage. I took separate photos and placed them in the ‘gallery section’. I also took a photo for the ‘blog section’. She is happy in the photo which gives a good feeling about the artist. This also shows the artist is part of the website, it’s not just ran by someone else. I included little links of social networking websites so word can be spread to promote the artist. I created a small music player where audiences can listen to Lydia’s songs.

The music video, magazine advertisement and website homepage I produced, all work together to promote the artist. I have kept the same colours for both my website homepage and album advertisement. I used pink, white, black and grey. The pink connotes love as the album is about the artist’s relationship and the black connotes her sadness due to the breakup. In my video, I have used pink/red mise en scene which connotes romance such as the sheets on the bed. This is keeping with the theme of relationships. For my ancillary texts I have used the same fonts which show it is consistent and allows audiences to recognise both products are promoting the same artist. I tried keeping both ancillary texts minimal and plain to keep it in the theme of British Soul as conventionally it isn’t over the top like the pop genre. I asked 5 people whether they liked or disliked the ancillary texts and 5/5 liked them. I also asked whether they worked well together with my music video and 4/5 said they did. Some comments made were ‘the fonts are consistent which makes me remember the artist’ and ‘the colours used can represent love which is what the song is about’.
I created a poll on my blog before production to find out audiences views on music videos.  I found that 3/6 people voted that they preferred performance videos rather than narrative, abstract and animation. Because of this I chose to create a performance based video with narrative as 2/6 people voted narrative. I found 20 people to watch my music video and fill in an audiencefeedback questionnaire which I made. I wanted to know whether the audience understood the narrative as there was only one performer so I thought it may have been hard to however all 20 answered ‘yes’ they did understand. When asked to ‘explain the storyline’ all the answers were similar for example ‘it is about a bad break up’, ‘her boyfriend cheated on her’, and ‘the woman is going through a hurtful break up’. I was pleased with these responses as its showing that the message of losing someone you love is being clearly portrayed. I asked ‘what type of genre is my video’ and 17/20 said ‘soul’. This shows that I followed the conventions of soul music videos and they were clearly portrayed. I asked ‘what needed improving’ some responses were 5/20 said I should have included more lip synching and 2/20 said I should have used another location.



I used the website ‘Blogger’ to post all my coursework which included research, production work and post production work. Using this blog allowed me to learn how to upload photos of my work for example the different costumes my artist was goingto wear. I also learned how to upload videos and create a poll. When uploading photos onto Blogger I had to make sure I changed them into .jpg files. Using Blogger was beneficial as other students and teachers were able to view my work and give me feedback. The poll allowed anyone to use it and it helped with audience research. One problem with creating the poll is I didn’t put it on for very long which meant that I didn’t get a lot of responses. Another web 2.0 site I used was ‘www.youtube.com’ to upload my final video. This allowed others to give me feedback.  I also used Youtube in the pre-production stages as I used the website to watch existing music videos and analysed them. For both my ancillary texts I used Adobe Photoshop CS5 to create my website homepage and my magazine advert which promotes my artists album. I was familiar with this programme however I learned how to use some of the tools such as the quick selection tool. I also used the programme Picasa 3 to edit some of my ancillary text photos by using edits such as sharpen and warmify. In the pre-production stages I used the website ‘Prezi.com’ to create an electronic spider diagram for my props and first ideas. I learned how to change the colours, add text and change fonts, add shapes, images and videos. This allowed me to show my ideas in a different and more interesting way. I used Microsoft Movie Maker to create my animatic as I was familiar with this programme and learned how to import it onto my blog. Originally I used Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 on my own laptop to edit my footage however I had difficulty with it as it kept crashing and not letting me open files. I changed to a college editing suite and used an older version of Adobe Premiere Pro. I used this one to create my final music video. I learned how to use different dissolves, add music and text and also how to fade out music.  For my production work I used a camera with a DV tape to capture my footage. The camera was easy to use and had many different functions such as zoom. For my ancillary texts I used my own Kodak digital camera to take photos as I was familiar with this camera and I knew how to upload photos. For my ancillary texts I used the website ‘Dafont.com’ to get different font styles. This was a useful website as it had a range of fonts and the suitable one for my media production.

If I had the opportunity to do this project again I would do a few things differently. First of all I would film earlier to make sure that any footage which needs re shooting there will be still time to do it. Filming early has many benefits such as being able to practise editing beforehand and getting a feel with the editing suites. I would also choose a different song from another genre because I feel that I ran out of ideas. I also would have put out adverts asking for volunteers as I would like to have had more performers involved. However overall I am pleased with the final result of my music video as it was the first time I had used the editing suites and the video cameras. 

Word count: 3,318

Wednesday, 28 March 2012

Drafts of website ancillary text

This is my first draft for my website homepage. I first made the background plain and black. I then added a grey box so I could put everything into it. I then added the artists name at the top so it was clear to see. I used the font 'Celion Dion' which I downloaded from the website 'Dafont.com'. I wanted a handwriting style font as it connotes the artists signature and that she is actually involved with the website. I used an image of links to social networking sites such as twitter and facebook and placed this in the top left corner. This allows audiences to view more information of the artist. I created a pink box and placed my menu into it. The menu font is 'The Fragile'. I placed a pink box into the grey one and print screened my music video into it. This is for the 'videos' page.

I then placed a pink box behind the artists name so it didn't look so plain. I created a few other pink boxes for the 'latest news' and 'gallery'. In the gallery box I placed small photos of my artist into it. I edited my photos using the program Picasa. I used sharpen, shadows, highlights and warmify to edit them. The colour pink connotes love as my artists album is about love and relationships.
I used the quick selection tool on Photoshop and cut an image of my artist out and placed it on the left. I edited it using overlay.







I decided to move the image into the grey box and so it was in the top pink box. Her face is in the pink box next to her name so audiences will see her straight away. I did this with another image but placed it so her eyes were lined looking directly at the audience. This connotes the artist is connecting with the audience.

Photos for magazine advert ancillary task

These are some photos I took for my magazine advert. I have chosen the second one as she looks natural. I will edit the photo so it will be on the album cover. I didn't use the ones where she was looking at the camera because I think when she is looking down it creates an emotional response from the audience as she is looking sad. It draws your attention to it.



Pics for website ancillary task

 The photos where my artist is outside were taken for my website homepage, to use in the gallery section. The ones which are edited are the ones I used. In some of the photos my artist is posed however in some she isn't. I took photos when she was talking and walking to get natural shots. This was to represent her personality.
 The photos where my artist is holding a guitar was used for the blog part of the website. I chose the bottom one as she is happy and showing she is having a good time. The guitar is showing she writes and makes her own music. Her costume is showing what she usually wears in everyday life. This is making audiences feel they are similar to her and can connect with her.




Layout for website ancillary task

This is the type of layout I would like to use for my website. There will be three large images of the artist to show it is her website. The menu will be at the top with another colour. I haven't decided on the colour scheme yet. The artists name will be at the top in a bold font. The font will be the same on the advert ancillary task to show continuity.The background will be black and plain so you can see the photos.

Tuesday, 27 March 2012

Updated cast list

When I filmed at the beginning I had two cast members Lydia Tomassi and John Henderson. As I changed some of my ideas John Henderson is no longer in the music video it is just Lydia. I chose Lydia to be in my music video as her age (19) will appeal to my target audience.

Thursday, 22 March 2012

Health & Safety considerations

When I was making my music video I had to be aware of the health and safety hazards which could occur. I had to make sure that there wasn't anything which could cause any risk of injury or harm. I had to make sure that when I was filming all my actors were safe by telling them what could cause an accident so they were aware. For example when I had lit candles, we both made the area safe. New hazards can be introduced if there is any significant change in the activity, equipment, substances or procedures. I made sure I was aware whenever I changed location.

Here is an example of risk assessment for a camera platform: Production wants to use a tower scaffold as a camera platform. The producer delegates the task of conducting the production risk assessment to the production manager.

Hazard - Falling objects and equipment
Who is at risk? - People at ground level
Controls - Toeboards fitted
Severity of injury - Serious
Control measures - All equipment secured to scaffold and no loose items.

For my production I made sure there was no loose equipment for example if I wasn't using the tripod I would fold it and place it so it wasn't in the way. When I was filming in East Park I made sure where I filmed was safe by checking if there was any glass, or if it was slippery for when my actor performs there.

Tuesday, 20 March 2012

Website analysis 2

This is the website for the singer Duffy. It is black and white. The site is made up of 10 main photos of Duffy from different magazines, concerts and photoshoots. At the bottom of the page there is the artists name. The menu consists of home, news, galery, video, live, discography, movies, store and mailing list. At the bottom of the page you can buy her two albums. This is allowing audiences to order online so they don't have to go out and buy it and also it allows them to see what other albums she has made.

Website analysis 1

http://www.adele.tv/

The link above is for Adele's official website. For one of my ancillary tasks I am going to make my artist a website homepage.

When you first enter the page there is a advert to promote one of Adele's concert. The font used is the same as on her '21' album which shows consistency. The colour scheme is white, black and green. This is also on the album. There is also an image of Adele's album which is also promoting that. There is also links to social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter. This is aiming for a larger audience. The second image is the actual homepage. The colour scheme is the same as the enter page. This is to show it is still Adele's page. A image of Adele's album is in the top right corner which is promoting her album. The header is large and the same font as her album. This is so the audience recognises that it is about Adele. The menu consists of home, bio, blog, news, store, forum, videos, live, music, photos and links. The font is still the same. The background is black but it also has a faded picture of Adele. The picture is the same as the ablum cover which is promoting it. The colours are dark which connote sadness, this could be reflecting her album as it is all about a break up. Blog and News posts are the main parts on the website which is showing Adele is actually part of the site, this will attract more audiences.


Idea change

Originally in my music video I was going to film scenes in my friends house where her and her boyfriend were going to be in the scenes. This was going to be part of the narrative as it was showing the artist arguing with her boyfriend. I filmed some of these scenes by using close ups, medium shots and over the shoulder shots. However I have changed my idea so the boyfriend isn't in the music video now. I have changed my idea so it is now the artist in her home in different rooms. One scene is the artist sitting at a dinner table alone, this shows her boyfriend hasn't turned up and she is now alone. It also connotes she is sad. Her costume is plain black which connotes sadness.

Another scene is the artist is sat on her bed cutting up photos of her and her boyfriend. This is showing they are not together anymore. It is also showing she is upset and angry with him. The photos are in black and white which is representing her old life. The bed is representing her personal space and ripping the photos here are showing it is personal. Her costume is plain black which connotes sadness and emptiness. I am going to put the music video into black and white to show her life is now sad and she is lonely with out her boyfriend, then I might change the ending so it is in colour to show the artist is going to forget about her ex boyfriend and get on with her life.

Thursday, 15 March 2012

Drafts for ancillary task - advert



I think I am going to use the second draft for my advert as I think it will stand out more. The background will be an image of the artist looking directly at the audience. The image will be in colour however the text will be bold and stand out more.

Drafts for ancillary task 1 - homepage