Digipak

During the lesson we were asked to present our digipak draft to the class for feedback.

pros -

• they thought that the images went well with the song
• the colours were also dull which went with the genre of the band
• they especially liked the concept of good and evil and the way we portrayed the concept by placing a contrasting colour of material under each mask.
• there were suggestions that the eye shot made them think about the theme of the song and that it gave them a sense of mystery
• the back cover was also said to suit theme of the song and that the framing was good

cons -

• it was suggested that we didn't use enough photo manipulation and it order to remedy this problem we could put images on the eyes and turn the font into flames.
• they also told us the play with the opacity of the title of the song and smudging it
• they also told us the outline the title of the song so that it didn't blend in with the background

CD covers in our genre

The genre of our band, Hurts, is classified as synthpop. Their covers are usually in black and white or in faded colors, which makes it look vintage. Most of their covers usually have the artists depicted on the front cover.  Other bands of the same genre, such as the killers have a resenblance to their covers as they are mostly in black and white.

digipak

what is a digipak?

a digipak is a patented style of packaging for DVDs and Cd's. the are made from heavy card or different types of cardbard. Cd's from the same artist can include DVDs with their new CD. They usually have 4 or 6 panels.

what is the purpose of a digipak?

unlike the traditional jeweled cases there is more space to include additional Cd's/DVDs. It can also be used for special editions of CD albums and the tall Digipak can be used as a premium package for DVD sets. Digipaks are also less likely to be damaged then jeweled cases and are better for the enviroment as they can be made out of recycled material.

brainstorm- what should it include?
images- masks, forests, wildlife, antiques
colours, dark tones with hints of brighter colour.

feedback from rough cuts

positive feedback -
the audience thought that the way we edited the color made the video more surreal and that they liked the way we experimented with the lighting. they also liked the props we used such as the masks and candles.

negative feedback -
some people thought that the video didn't go to the beat of the music. they also thought that there should be more action instead of still shots and that we should get a singer for some shots in order to tie it all together whilst making it look more like a music video. The audiencealso thought we should change the speed of the video to make it more rapid.

Half Term filiming

During the half term we were unable to use the full week as i had an opening evening on Saturday my partner had gone away from Monday to Sunday. this left us the rest of Friday and Sunday to do any filming.

As we only had a small amount of time to film we decided to use the whole day on Sunday which meant we had a varying range of lighting for some shots.

other problems we encountered was that the weather was too cold and that we we were not wearing enough clothes. Another problem we had was that it was getting darker sooner so we didn't have a lot of time for daylight shots. People would also stop and stare whilst we were filming which would distract us.

Breakdown sheets

Animatic and Feedback

Above is the Animatic our group made for our music video. Upon it's completion, we presented it to the class in order to attain constructive feedback from them. Using this feedback, we were able to make some invaluable adjustments. 

The positive feedback was that they thought we used a variety of shot types and angles. The negative feedback was that some of the shots were unclear and needed an explanation. We solved this problem later on by annotating the shots that were more confusing and adding arrows to show movement.

Another problem that was outlined to us was that we had a dandelion shot. Due to the filming schedule, by the time we went out to film, the seasons would have changed, therefore we wouldn't be able to get that particular shot. In order to overcome this problem we decided that we may have to replace the shot with something else, such as a candle being blown out. 

Questionnaire Results

In order to find out our target audience preferences in music videos, I made an online questionnaire which I sent to friends and family. Doing the quiz allowed us to attain a wide variety of opinions which would affect our decisions when making the video.

Overall, 11 people completed my survey. The results showed a preference of a mixture of moods instead of one set atmosphere. The majority of people liked to see the artist in the video and when asked if they preferred videos with or without dancing the results were mixed. Most people liked there to be a storyline in the video and liked videos to have hidden meanings. The results also showed us that people liked to see a mixture of casual and costume wear and a varied pace in the video. a natural setting was favoured over and urban setting and people did not mind videos that were longer than 3 minutes. In addition, the audience also felt that the age of the actors in the video did not discourage them from watching the video.

Did katy perry's firework deserve to win the music video of the year award?

Katy Perry 'Fireworks'
 I strongly believe that music video for 'firework' iss completely overrated. By toying with peoples emotions they were able to control the audience by making them think of the video as uplifting or inspirational. The video excels at being unoriginal by using a classic 'getting through the tough times' story. Didn't we see something like that in Christina Aguilera's 'Beautiful'? The video is also riddled with bad acting and dancing. Shots were  limited and boring and it looks as though the lighting and costumes were barely thought about. Overall the music video seems normal and unoriginal, thus bland. One thing the video has successfully done is hoax people into watching it.

EVIDENCE - Christina Aguilera 'Beautiful'

Our Target Audience

What type of music do they listen to?
Alternative rock, synthpop, electropop. new wave, disco lento, pop, rock

What they do on the weekends?
Go out with friends, work, read at home, go to the library, go to charity and bootsales

What breakfast cereal they like?
Coco pops

What mode of transport do they use?
tube/bus//bike

Where/how they live
Rented out flat somewhere in London

Their favourite drink?
Coca-Cola

Their favourite TV show?
Dexter, the vampire diaries, naruto, death note

Their favourite vegtable?
potato

What sports they watch/play?
martial arts

Ideal partner?
Megan Fox

Where they go in the holiday?
 Work

What restaurants they go to?
 Mc Donalds

What political party they would vote for?
They don't care for politics.

Music Video Survey

Below is a link to a survey i have created in order to have a better understanding of what my target audience want in a music video.

[click here for survey]

Copyright Letter

Copyright

against -

• artist lose most of the rights to their own music
• artists need to trust audiences to fund them buy buying their music etc
• takes years to make money

for -

• the music can be listened to and shared for free
• the music can be shared amongst people which means that there is more exposure for the artist
• when using licenses that incorporate ShareAlike provision, it can be hard to monitor whether people are sharing or not
• artists can distribute without a distributor without worrying about people using their music outside its intended purpose
• no legal complications
• the music would not be protected to a  rediculous extent

Sony Network Entertainment Europe Limited

10 Great Marlborough Street
London W1F 7LP
United Kingdom

UK Company no. 6020283
UK VAT no. GB 760 9739 93
Australia GST no. 29 533 270 448

or

Sony Music Entertainment
550 Madison Avenue, 23rd Floor,
New York, NY 10022-3211

Johnny Cash - Hurt
This video expresses real emotion and uses material throughout Cash's past till the near present. These extremely personal elements create a connection with the audience which is rare in music videos. The lyrics also match his situation in a literal sense so we have an idea of what he thinks he has become.

Michael Jackson - Thriller
I think this music video was popular as at the time it was released complex story lines, a lot of dancing and visual effects was severely uncommon.

 Lady Gaga - Bad Romance
Bad Romance's video is able to capture the audiences attention consistently with interesting imagery that also intrigues them with their hidden meanings. It's also creepy and sticks in the viewers mind.

Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit At the time this type of music was new which excited the audience.

Korn - Freak On A Leash
Freak on a Leash mixes both animation and live performance. During the live action portion of the video, clever camera moves and good special effects were used. There was also an interesting story line during the animated parts.

Mu

mood board for illuminated

this mood board is inspired by the song i want to create a music video for. i included pictures of the river thames which are shown in different lights. i also included pictures of costumes which are modern and from the past

Question 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product

Establishing
for both of these shots we used an establishing shot. For our preliminary task we did not use a tripod when panning around the the classroom. When we shot out horror movie opening we were able to use our experiences from the preliminary shot to help us make the establishing shot better. We did this by using a tripod which helped keep the camera movement smooth. This kept it from being mistaken as a point of view shot like before.

Closeup
in the preliminary shot we tried to do a close up shot the show the audience the kind of emotion our character was feeling. We were able to further the meaning of our close up shot in the horror movie opening as we changed the angle of the camera. This made our victim seam more vulnerable than before as we were looking down on her from a higher angle.

Stairs shot

In the prelim shot we did not think much about the framing. The camera was hand held so it was shaky and looked as if the character was being followed. In the horror movie opening we used a tripod and was able to follow the character smoothly.

Doorway shot 

In the doorway shot we decided to use the 180 degree rule to follow our main character around the room. This differs from the shot we did in the prelim task as it is not a high angle shot. By shooting the shot like this we were able to make the audience feel as though we were watching her from the corner of the room. This gives them the feeling that she may be being stalked.

UK Film Council bows out with stereotypes report

On the eve of its closure, the UK Film Council has issued a report saying more should be done in film to portray the country's audiences authentically.

An independent survey of 4,315 people found older women feel marginalised and that they are often depicted as not having sexual needs or desires.

It also claims minority ethnic groups feel they are often stereotyped.

From 1 April, the UK Film Council's funding responsibilities are being transferred to other bodies.
The organisation, founded in 2000, was axed last July as part of a cost-cutting drive by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

The study was commissioned to examine how older women and other diverse groups such as Black African/Caribbean, Asian and Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual audiences are being portrayed in film.
Its findings suggest most Black African/Caribbean individuals believe they are too often characterised as drug dealers and that a majority of Asian audiences feel Asian religious culture is not reflected authentically.
Almost three-quarters of Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual audiences believe that film focuses on them as having problems rather than being everyday people, it continues.

  

Actor Gary Oldman commented on its findings at Sunday's Empire awards

In addition, the study goes on, almost three-quarters of Eastern European respondents believed they were regularly portrayed as being at the bottom of the economic ladder.

The report concludes that "there is considerable commercial opportunity to be reaped if diverse groups are represented more authentically in film".

Mary FitzPatrick, the UK Film Council's head of diversity, said the research "highlights the often overlooked views, opinions and needs of the diverse groups that make up an important part of the film industry's audience".

"Film has the ability to change behaviour and shift opinion," she continued. "We in the industry all have a responsibility to ensure that these findings are not ignored."

But speaking at the Empire awards in London on Sunday, actor Gary Oldman said the report's findings on older women were reflective of the "crazy world we live in".

"Maybe it's something to do with the climate of political correctness," he told the BBC's Colin Paterson.
"You can't do anything now. If you make a woman sexy we're objectifying them."

Prior to this year, the UK Film Council had an annual budget of £15 million to invest in British films.
From Friday, its responsibilities will be transferred to the British Film Institute (BFI) and the Film London agency.

Evaluation Question 4

Gender: Males   Ages: 18-20
 
Favourite Films: Blow (2001), the Italian Job (2003), Avatar (2009), Swingers (1996), Kill Bill (2003-2004), Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Favourite TV Shows: heroes, inbetweeners, skins, Simpsons, family guy, American dad, naruto, bleach, inu yasha

What They Do on Weekends: goes to arcades,bowling, concerts, work, movies and parties.

Mode of Transport: VW Camper/ mini cooper

Favourite Drink: tequila, vodka, beer

Breakfast Cereal: coco pops

Holiday Destination: NEW YORK

Favourite Vegetable: the potato

We think our target group would be of younger ages as they would be able to see the similarities to between them and the characters we have created. This is due to the fact that we kept our target audience in mind throughout the production of the film. The characters in our movie should appeal to our target audience as we used characters that are around the same age. This means that we had the characters lead a normal teenage lifestyle with elements that all teenagers and young adults should have. The mise-en-scene throughout the film especially indicates that our film is targeted to a teenage audience. We used headphones as a prop as we know that most teenagers have some kind of music device. We also showed how dependant the teenager character is when she is searching for her mother and how easily teenagers and young people can be distracted easily when she forgets about her search and goes towards her iPod. Having the characters be of a similar age means that the audience may feel even more anxious or set on-edge by our movie because of these similarities.

Our target audience would enjoys shows and movies such as: Dexter, Friday the 13^th, Scream, the Blair witch project, let the right one in, dawn of the dead, a nightmare on elm street, The ring, Halloween, The Texas chainsaw massacre, the shining, Alien and The Exorcist.

The shows and films that our target audience watch tell us that they enjoy watching horror, physiological thrillers and anything with mystery in it. This means that our film would fit their criteria as our film includes all of these, especially the horror as we have included a lot of gore.

Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

 

Prezi
This source allowed us to present all the ideas we had in an organised format. i learned that i could add pictures, videos and links into our presentation in order to support our ideas. This tool was helpful as we could present our research in a more imaginative way, such as placing videos in pictures and placing things into groups.

Blogger
Using blogger taught me new ways of showing others my work and the process of producing our opening. I was able to experiment with all the tools blogger provides its users to make my blog more appealing. This included being able to upload pictures, videos and links onto my blog.

YouTube
I used YouTube to research similar horror movies and openings to compare with our movie opening.

Google
I used google as a tool to research film distribution and things related to our film opening. I also used it to find answers to any problems i came across.

thefreesoundproject
we used this to search for any sounds we needed, or wanted to enhance, in our film opening.


PremierPro

we used this software to upload the shots we took and edit the material. Throughout editing the opening shots we learnt how to cut clips, add sound, upload the clips, add effects, change the volume of the sound, take screenshots, adding titles etc

PhotoShop

We used this tool to connect sceenshots from our movie and others so it was easier to make comparisons. By using this tool i leant how to connect pictures and change their file types in order to upload them onto my blog.

Evaluation Question 5

Question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

As Balham Butcher is a low budget film, it is unlikely that big name distributors will take it seriously at start. This is why we would like to start screening it at festivals around the UK, such as, “the British horror film festival”, and “Raindance Film Festival”. Both of these festivals promotes independant filmsHaving our movie screened at these festivals would mean that our film would gain more exposure to our main target audience and spread across to other audiences. 

After the movie has gained positive feedback from the audience we would be able to move on to screening it at cinemas such as Cineworld and Odeon. If the film has been able to attract a large audience whom enjoyed it we would go on to selling the film as a DVD, blue-ray disk, online or to download.

We would like our film to be distributed by a leading and well known film distributor such as “20^th century fox”. The company has built up a good reputation by distributing horror films such as Jennifer’s body but has recently distributed the major film “Avatar”.

At Odeon they are currently lacking horror movies at the moment; this means there is space for our movie’s genre. Our target audience would distinguish it from the rest of the movies screening at present and in the near future.

As our film is of a low-budget, we could make use of free or charge sites, such as, youtube, facebook, blogger, tumblr, etc.

If we were to make any profit from the movie we could use a small percentage to increase advertisement gradually. 

Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

THE VICTIM

 

This shot depicts the victim of our horror movie opening. We think this character represents female teenagers of today. She is shown to be doing her hair and makeup which could tell the audience that she cares about her image like any ordinary teen. as she hears footsteps and begins to look for her mother, she is easily distracted from her search when she sees her iPod. this could be seen as common behaviour of a normal teenager.

The victim is shown to be dressed up and a shot shows her putting fake blood makeup. This could suggest that she is accustomed  to going out to party's like most teenagers.

We also avoided the typical stereotype of a blond always being a victim by selecting someone with a different hair color, this contrast from most horror movies, like "Sream".Our main character is also slightly younger than someone who is usually victimised in a horror movie. this gives our horror movie an edge due to the fact that most movie makers refrain from killing younger, more innocently portrayed characters. the fact that the girl looks, and calls out for her mother shows that she is still dependant upon her parents and gives her a sort of innocents.

This character could also be interpreted as belonging to a middle to high class due to the fact that she has enough money to go to parties and spend money on cosmetics and an ipod. She also speaks in a higher pitched voice which could suggest that she is of a high class and has a dressing table in her room.

THE KILLER

Our tormentor, like most, remains anonymous throughout the opening. However, an audience can still pull out characteristics from what kind of social group we intended this character to belong in from his outfit, surroundings and actions. It is visible that he is of a working class as he is wearing an apron and wielding an axe at the end shot (this may or may no be visible). The speed at which he swings his various weapons could also suggest that he is accustomed to physical labour.

We have supported the stereotype of most killers being  males as they are usually seen as the most violent gender. We chose a male character to be a killer a a female character would be unlikely ably to go through all the physical labour of killing someone, such as, dragging the body  to different locations, carrying weapons and holding the victim captive in the first place.

The surroundings the killer takes the girl in the second set also shows the audience that he is of a low or middle to low class as the shed is small, dusty and crowded with old things. The surroundings could also tell the audience that he is uneducated and unprepared to commit homicide as he would be unable to clear up the evidence appropriately.

  

Question 1: n what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our film "Balham Butcher" both challenges and conforms to actual horror movie openings in a number a way. Two movies which are similar to our film are "Scream" and "Halloween". This is due to the fact that the all the killers wear masks and taunt and kill their victims in the comfort of their own homes.

These frames show the masked killers in homes of their victims, looking down on them. The second shot also shows that the killer is looking upon the victim and creeping around the house without them knowing.

Frame 1

Frame 1 shows that we have looked at the time of day we wanted the movie to start with. It shows the street light being on which tells the audience it is fairly late. This time of day conforms with the conventions of a horror movie as the villains usually strike when they are hidden by the darkness. the darkness would provoke a sense of uneasiness as the audience wouldn't see what's coming.We also have the silhouette of a creepy tree which hints to the audience that the film will be twisted like the branches. 

This shot also contains heavy raining and lightning sounds. these sounds are associated with unpleasant things because they bring about negative moods. 

Frame 2

frame two was a point of view shot of the girl collapsing after being hit.We used a special effect which made the shot blurry as she falls. This gives the audience the idea that she is disorientated after being hit by the bat. It also makes the audience feel some uneasiness, as they cannot see what the villain is doing, this makes them question where he is and what he is doing. This challenges the usual conventions of a horror movie as they usually show the villain attacking the victim. 

Frame 3

This shot depicts a close up shot of a clock ticking time down. We used this shot to further show the time of day and time of the year. The time is going onto 6 o'clock, which tell us that it is not too late but if it was shown to be dark outside on the first shot, it must be around winter time. This tells the audince that it is probably cold. It could hint that the victim will become cold when she is killed. the number 6 is also assocaited will evill as 666 is said to be the devils number and is often used in movie to suggest the presence of evil. The time going down could aslo suggest that her life is about to run out.

Frame 4

This is a point of view shot of the killer. We used the back of the mask to show that it is the killed inside the mask. This shot corresponds with the conventions of a horror movie as they usually show point of view shot of the villain looking upon the victim without their knowledge before killing them.

Frame 5

This shot shows the killer behind the girl. As he swings the camera doesn’t show the part that was hit. We did this to encourage the viewers to use their imagination of how badly she was hit. This goes against conventions of a horror movie as they are more likely to show the damage that is caused in order to be gruesome and disturb their audience.

The headphones were used as a symbol of a normal teenager. It gives our audience and victim some kind of connection that they can relate to. This makes the audience more anxious when they see her being hit, due to the feeling of being targeted as she was.

Frame 6

This shot corresponds with the conventions of a horror movie as the surroundings are black. The shot is at a low angle which makes the audience feel as though they are watching something horrific happening. It could also symbolise that the victim has fallen and there is no getting back up for her. The villain is also seen standing tall above her at the end which shows the audience who is in power.

Frame 7

Frame 7 shows the hallway with the girl standing by the light. Her surroundings are all dark which conforms with horror movies as the audince doesn't know what could come out of the darkness.

Frame 8

The villain is surrounded by darkness in this shot. The background shows a dark shed full of old things. This place was used because of it’s dustiness, and creepy feeling. The surrounding changes from when she is regains her consciousness it feels as though the audience is transported with her, like they are in her shoes. At this point the audience should feel the same kind of confusion and unease as she does.

Frame 9

This shot is in fast motion. For the villains costume we used a white apron and a white mask. We used the white mask to show that the villain has no facial expressions, therefore no feelings, which is why he kills. He gives a final blow with his butchers knife to kill her in this shot. Again, we chose not to show any gore and leave it to the audiences imagination to how she was killed.

5 facts on The King's Speech

• it's a historical drama
• directed by Tom Hooper
• written by David Seidler
• was filmed in the UK
• won 2010 Toronto international film festivals people's choice award

http://themediablog.typepad.com/the-media-blog/

What i like about this blog is that it explores and comments on the media in its different forms, such as in magazines, television, blogs alike etc

the blog is humorous in the sense that it has no boundaries. The writer is able to voice out his/her real opinion on the media. This takes a different turn from the media in general which follows rules of what their content must or cannot contain. The writer also questions and puts together information from different sources to make one new post which gives more information on the topic than other forms of media. The audience is able to relate to the blogger due to the fact that the writer writes as though he/she is writing to themselves. The blogger is part of the audience.

 

http://petesmediablog.blogspot.com/

The one aspect that stands out the most is that the blogger gives pupils and teachers information about the media course. When analysing pieces of media, he uses loads of pictures and videos. This allows the viewers to further grasp what he is writing about.

 

 

freedback of the Opening of Balham Butcher so far...

Positive:

• we used a variety of shots which all meant something
• we had good framing
• being able to edit the sound to make it fade out
• having good lighting to reflect the mood

Negaive (things we can improve on) :

• We were told that the titles would need to change due to the fact that they were too dark and could not be read.

St.Trinians reveiw

The plot: Pupils of the school find themselves at war with Pomfrey and his secret organisation of woman haters, A01. Throughout the movie they battle against each other in an epic race towards finding the long buried  Friton's treasure.

Props, Settings and lighting:
During scenes that are shot during the past or when the pupils are venturing into ruins, the lighting is noticeably darker due to the use of candles at that time period, which gives out a gloomy feeling. the sets are decorated with props that seem old, fragile and expensive. when the pupils are exploring, the audience can see the the props are covered in dust and cobwebs. This suggest that the place has been abandoned for a large amount of time. This adds mystery to their findings.
the large bedroom/dorm set is decorated with props that show which type of group they belong to in each section.

the surveillance room is full of high tec equipment and TVs.
during the fight the school is in dark. This means that the audience wouldn't know what is hiding behind the corner when and attack is launched. there are also less shadows to be made. there are loads of flashing lights from the torches which would confuse the enemy and make the shots seem faster as they are constantly moving fast. there are also loads of lights behind the villains so you can only see a silhouette of the people. this gives out a menacing feeling as the pupils do not know who is approaching them.
before the battle the lighting was blue like. after the battle, the next day, the lighting is more orange , bright and positive. This indicates that the battle is over and they will turn a new leaf.

camera shots:
A number of different shots are used throughout the movie. High shots and low shots show which characters hold the most power and which ones are more defenceless. over the shoulder shots are used frequently at an angle which shows most of the people further away, as the people in the film are almost always grouped with others during dialogue. there is some point of view shots when someone is sneaking up behind another person, which gives the audience a feeling of anticipation. a series of wide shots are used when showing large groups or when they want to show the surrounding area to.

During the beginning of the film, when the groups are each stereotyped, a shot of each one is taken and it goes on to become edited with foreign images. The category people think they belong in are shown in text.
 an interesting shot was when the newly acquitted head girl needs the attention of the other pupils. As she asks for them to be quit no one listens. She then retorts into  shouting it aloud. This is when the camera shot goes onto her mouth and quickly zooms out as she shouts the words. these is then quick shots that show that everyone has stopped what they are doing and go into silence.
when the villain first begins to communicate with the girls on the phone they only show close up shots and his voice. this means that he is kept anonymous until later when he reveals himself.
There are also cut screen shots when the two people are on the phone.

Costumes and actors: each group that is labelled all dress similar to one another, separating themselves from the other groups. emos wear black and metal, chavs wear cheap jewelry and have slicked back hair, eco freaks have messy hair and worn out clothes, posh tots have neat hair and clothes that are perfectly and the nerds following the school dress code and wearing glasses.
each group act as how everyone thinks each group act like such as the chavs being rude, the posh tots being stupid, nerds being smart,etc..