Question 4

Google - Google was a vital tool when we began researching the conventions used in music video and helped when we needed tutorials in how to use some of the more advanced tools in premiere pro and photoshop.

Photoshop - we used photoshop as the photo editing software when we made the digipak and the advertisement for our music video.

Wikipedia - this was vital when we were doing in depth research on the band we chose.

Blogger - we used blogger to upload relevant research we done which went towards making the video. We also used it to write down the progress we were making on our work.

Youtube - youtube allowed us to view other videos of the same and other genres. We were able to take note of the different types of shots used but mostly the conventions of music videos.

Amazon - Due to the many opinions people had about the genre our band was, amazon gave us exactly what it was. We were also able to view the other artist which came from the same genre which helped towards the making of our digipaks.

Camera - we used the camera to film the shots that we used in our music video. We also used the cameras to take pictures of the storyboards we made for the music video and the drafts we did for the digipaks and advert.

Premiere pro - we used this to edit the shots that we filmed. Editing included cutting shots down, ordering them adding special effects and changing the colours of the shots to create different moods.

survey monkey - we used survey monkey to get feedback from a wider audience.

facebook - we used this social networking site to promote the survey in order to get feedback.

Question 3

The feedback that we received after showing our animatic of our music to the class was generally positive, although they did make comments about how some of the shots were too long and that it did not flow well with the music or change to the beat of the music. They also made comments on how the narrative of the story lacked clarity so they were unable to make out the storyline. The positive feedback at this stage was that we had a variety of different shot types and that the props and costumes gave out unclear hidden messages.

After the animatic we went off to film the music video. We then made a rough cut out of the footage that we obtained and then showed it to our peers. We were positively commented on the way in which we changed the colours of the whole video using the three way colour wheel. This changed the mood of the images to make them feel more linked to the music. They seemed to also find great interest in the two shots that were reversed and agreed that the narrative way much clearer than the animatic. This was due to the fact that we took measures to ensure that the two characters were representing their conflict with each other by give them opposite colour of clothing and making their shots contrast in colour.

The negative feedback was that the shots were too dragged out and that they still did not go to the  beat of the song. Another comment from our teacher was that the shots did not tie together well and looked like random shots thrown together which went against the conventions of music videos but in a negative way. In order to remedy this problem we decided to ask a friend who kindly agreed to mime some of the lyrics.

 Another criticism we received was that some of the longer shots were a bit shaky. In order to remedy this problem we decided to cut these shots into pieces and re-order them. This allowed us to erase the fact that the shots were shaky as the shots were constantly changing. It also gave off a disorienting effect which worked to our favour as it matched the music. Cutting and reordering the shots meant we had more to shots to order into the beat of the song.

After the completion of our music video we moved onto making drafts for our digipak and advertisements. For this we wanted to use key shots of the props that we used in the music video, such as the masks and candles. This showed a clear link between the music video and the advertising.

Overall, after showing the class the final piece they agreed that we had fixed all the problems and that it flowed well together. The only negative feedback was that some of the shots were not as strong as rest of the shots that we used.

After the completion of our music video we moved onto making drafts for our digipak and advertisements. For this we wanted to use key shots of the props that we used in the music video, such as the masks and candles. This showed a clear link between the music video and the advertising.  The feedback that we received was that the fonts were not clear enough. This meant that we needed to play around with the positions until it was clear without it looking dire.

question 2

question 1: music video evaluation

shot number 1: At the beginning of our video we decided that we wanted to have a short soundless intro before the music began. In most music videos this is when someone begins singing or playing and instrument In order to achieve the same effect we needed something that would trigger the music after the into and finally decided to do this when the needle of our gramophone hit the record. I think that the initial idea conforms to the conventions of our genre but we distinguished ourselves by using a gramophone which gave our video a vintage feel which does not conform with the conventions of music videos in our genre.


In one of Swedish house mafia's videos they did a similar thing to us but decided to use and instrument that is far more modern and fits their genre of music.

Shot two: This shot depicted one of the main characters throwing flour into the air. When editing this shot we decided to make it backwards as it produced a ghostly effect as it goes back towards the character. Looking at other videos of the same genre we noticed that they didn’t use this effect in their videos. This gave me the impression that we challenged the normal conventions in our genre.

 Shot 3: In this candle shot we also decided to make the footage go backwards. We wanted to do this as it linked itself to the lyrics of the song which mainly focuses on light coming to us rather than the light going away and leaving us in darkness, which was how the original footage looked like.

Shot 4: this shot depicts one of the locations that we used in our music video. I feel that this shot conforms to the conventions of our genre as the setting is outdoors and shots outdoors are often used when they are trying to make a character look like they are going on a journey or searching for someone or something.another point is that most music videos are often set in unusual environments that are unlike normal everyday locations.

Shot 5: this shot conforms with the conventions of a music video in this genre as we decided to isolate the artist in the darkness when filming. We also decided to make the shots black and white. Together, this allows the artist to be depicted as segregated from the rest of the characters and storyline. This is common in music videos as they don’t want the artist to be confused with the rest of the storyline.

Shot 6: In this scene we see the two characters come together and clash which symbolises a battle between good and evil. I feel that this shot goes against the normal conventions as the shot is obvious in its meaning as the characters act out their feeling with their aggression. Another factor that adds to the tension within the shot is the fast pace in which we edited the shot. It flows with the music which is common in music videos in general when they are at the ‘peak’ of the song.

shot 7: When filming this shot we used strobe lighting to give the shadows depicted in the shot an eerie and intimidating feeling. I feel that this does not conform with the norms of the conventions of our genre as their shots are more subtle and fluid whilst this shot was sharp and shocking.

Shot 8: It is obvious that this shot matches the normal conventions of music videos of any genre as most depict musicians playing instruments.

shot 9: The costumes used in our music video correspond with the conventions of music videos as it is more like a costume than casual clothing. I feel that the costumes that we used challenged and use the norms of the conventions of a music video due to the fact that our characters were wearing masks for most of the video but the clothing looked regular. It is unusual for characters to have a mixture of casual and costume in music videos.  

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