Monday 22 December 2014
Friday 19 December 2014
Drafts
Production Diary #14
With the majority of my research tasks completed, I have started completed planning tasks. The first task I did was artist syling and costume planning. This was insightful for me to gain a clear indication of what I want my characters to look like and how they should be presented to meet the teenaged demograpic. For starters, I realised their make-up and clothes should be relatable, therefore simple and generic but appealing at the same time.
Furthermore, as the drafts deadline was nearing I began to create my album poster and my digipak on Adobe InDesign. I gained a clearer understanding of the tools I used to edit the pictures, for example drop shadow was a main component in the drafts to make the font or the image to stand out. I used DaFont consistenstly, thus they had a variety of fonts that suited the indie element I was going for as opposed to those which were already on InDesign. They also looked more professional in comparison to the ones on InDeisgn.
With the majority of my research tasks completed, I have started completed planning tasks. The first task I did was artist syling and costume planning. This was insightful for me to gain a clear indication of what I want my characters to look like and how they should be presented to meet the teenaged demograpic. For starters, I realised their make-up and clothes should be relatable, therefore simple and generic but appealing at the same time.
Furthermore, as the drafts deadline was nearing I began to create my album poster and my digipak on Adobe InDesign. I gained a clearer understanding of the tools I used to edit the pictures, for example drop shadow was a main component in the drafts to make the font or the image to stand out. I used DaFont consistenstly, thus they had a variety of fonts that suited the indie element I was going for as opposed to those which were already on InDesign. They also looked more professional in comparison to the ones on InDeisgn.
Thursday 18 December 2014
Wednesday 10 December 2014
Monday 24 November 2014
Saturday 15 November 2014
Shooting My Music Video
Production Diary #13
I have completed my storyboard, I'm still making tweaks to it and therefore haven't posted it yet. By completing my storyboard, I have a clear insight of how my music video will be visually. As a result, I quickly planned a day to shoot my music video soon after completing my storyboard.
Deciding to shoot my rural location first, we went to Richmond Deer Park. Originally, I thought it would be a great location to evoke the remoteness and naturalistic side of the video, and the deers would be a great aspect to my music video. However, on our way to Richmond Deer Park we came across a different park, named 'Terrace Gardens and Buccleuch Gardens'. The view fit one of my first shots perfectly where the characters are looking out in to the landscape. We ended up shooting there instead.
I have completed my storyboard, I'm still making tweaks to it and therefore haven't posted it yet. By completing my storyboard, I have a clear insight of how my music video will be visually. As a result, I quickly planned a day to shoot my music video soon after completing my storyboard.
Deciding to shoot my rural location first, we went to Richmond Deer Park. Originally, I thought it would be a great location to evoke the remoteness and naturalistic side of the video, and the deers would be a great aspect to my music video. However, on our way to Richmond Deer Park we came across a different park, named 'Terrace Gardens and Buccleuch Gardens'. The view fit one of my first shots perfectly where the characters are looking out in to the landscape. We ended up shooting there instead.
Thursday 13 November 2014
Monday 27 October 2014
Alternative Rock
Production Diary #12
I have completed two more research tasks, 'Equipment List' and 'Influences of Music Style'. For Equipment List, I planned out the mise-en-scene props I'm going to be using in my music video. I included the lighting, white screen and camera (Cannon SLR) I will be using to shoot my music video. Also, the mise-en-scene of the clothes my characters will be wearing which will have generic teenage conventions e.g. converse to appeal to my demographic.
For influences of music style, I researched Echosmith's music influences - U2, The Killers and The Smiths, to make it apply to my music video. Also, 'Cool Kids' is alternative rock/indie, therefore I wrote about where the genre came from, and what kind of people the genre applies to. For example, alternative rock arose from the underground music scene in the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s and the people who usually listen to this genre are introverts. The mood boards I contributed into the power point conveys what kind of person would listen to this genre. This provided me a clear insight of who my target audience is and what conventions of the genre I should use in order to apply to my demographic.
I plan to be shooting my music video soon.
I have completed two more research tasks, 'Equipment List' and 'Influences of Music Style'. For Equipment List, I planned out the mise-en-scene props I'm going to be using in my music video. I included the lighting, white screen and camera (Cannon SLR) I will be using to shoot my music video. Also, the mise-en-scene of the clothes my characters will be wearing which will have generic teenage conventions e.g. converse to appeal to my demographic.
For influences of music style, I researched Echosmith's music influences - U2, The Killers and The Smiths, to make it apply to my music video. Also, 'Cool Kids' is alternative rock/indie, therefore I wrote about where the genre came from, and what kind of people the genre applies to. For example, alternative rock arose from the underground music scene in the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s and the people who usually listen to this genre are introverts. The mood boards I contributed into the power point conveys what kind of person would listen to this genre. This provided me a clear insight of who my target audience is and what conventions of the genre I should use in order to apply to my demographic.
I plan to be shooting my music video soon.
Thursday 16 October 2014
Update
Production Diary #11
I have finally established my locations for my music video. I'm going to use a juxtaposition of settings; the city and a mountainous area. I have done this to heighten the relation between the audience and my music video. The majority of teens either live in the city or in a remote area which the mountainous setting embarks on. Both settings connote freedom, which is an important theme for my music video. I am therefore shooting my music video in central London and in a naturalistic landscape. This provides the message that wherever you are you can relate to the music video.
I have also improved my mood board to achieve full marks. Underneath my mood board I wrote about how the pictures represent my music video, how the structure and editing would be fragmented and disoriented to achieve a sense of adventure, perhaps through using ghost lens.
Afterwards, I wrote about the genre of 'Cool Kids' which is a mixture of alternative rock, indie pop and indie rock. I wrote about how the genre conventions would apply to my music video e.g. images of the band performing which meets the indie genre.
Currently, having a clearer view of how my music video would be; my next step is to create a storyboard using the software 'Celtx'. I plan to use different clips from music videos or pictures to provide an insight of how my music video will look like.
I have finally established my locations for my music video. I'm going to use a juxtaposition of settings; the city and a mountainous area. I have done this to heighten the relation between the audience and my music video. The majority of teens either live in the city or in a remote area which the mountainous setting embarks on. Both settings connote freedom, which is an important theme for my music video. I am therefore shooting my music video in central London and in a naturalistic landscape. This provides the message that wherever you are you can relate to the music video.
I have also improved my mood board to achieve full marks. Underneath my mood board I wrote about how the pictures represent my music video, how the structure and editing would be fragmented and disoriented to achieve a sense of adventure, perhaps through using ghost lens.
Afterwards, I wrote about the genre of 'Cool Kids' which is a mixture of alternative rock, indie pop and indie rock. I wrote about how the genre conventions would apply to my music video e.g. images of the band performing which meets the indie genre.
Currently, having a clearer view of how my music video would be; my next step is to create a storyboard using the software 'Celtx'. I plan to use different clips from music videos or pictures to provide an insight of how my music video will look like.
Genre 'Cool Kids' Theorists
The genre of my music video is classified as a mixture of alternative rock, indie pop and indie rock. I would be applying my mise-en-scene to these genre conventions, thus there would be images of the band performing in the studio playing instruments from acoustic guitars to drums which are typically seen in indie music videos (performance based narrative - Andrew Goodwin/John Berger). The band members, outfits would be casual/boho. The location would be in a mountainous landscape. where the theme of adventure and freedom is evident. Naturistic settings are typical in indie music videos. There would be diegetic sounds of laughing and rain establishing a cinematic realism. Black and white grainy footage would be present to create a nostalgic ambience to the audience, along with flashbacks as if the audience are looking at memories (illustrative - Andrew Goodwin). The mise-en-scene holds strong connotations of the characters being strong and fearless (semantic code - Roland Barthes), creating a juxtaposition to the lyrics of the song "I wish I could be like the cool kids" (amplifying - Andrew Goodwin). Establishing the music video as progressive, thus in the beginning the characters were anything but strong and fearless (the action code - Roland Barthes). The progressive concept is reinforced with the music video beginning as slow paced and then building up as fast paced and then slow paced to emphasise the characters complete transformation. The flashbacks enforce the cinematic soap opera narrative by evoking hurt and bullying which makes them say "I wish I could be like the cool kids" and not fitting into the 'norm'. There is cliched icongraphy of adventure with the group of friends running around the mountains and the city (vesimilitude).
Wednesday 8 October 2014
Cool Kids Moodboard
Cool Kids Moodboard from osnapitsalina
It's obvious from my mood board that the theme of adventure and nostalgia would be present in my music video. The characters in my music video would'nt be focused and would appear as silhouettes to appeal and relate to the mass teenage audience generically. The structure and editing of my music video would be disorientated and fragmented cohering with the rhythm of the song. Looking at the location pictures, you can see the city and nature sense of the scenes that will be placed in my music video.
It's obvious from my mood board that the theme of adventure and nostalgia would be present in my music video. The characters in my music video would'nt be focused and would appear as silhouettes to appeal and relate to the mass teenage audience generically. The structure and editing of my music video would be disorientated and fragmented cohering with the rhythm of the song. Looking at the location pictures, you can see the city and nature sense of the scenes that will be placed in my music video.
Progress
Production Diary #10
Since my last production diary, I have completed four research tasks. I am attempting to complete all my research tasks quickly as I am ready to shoot my music video and want to move on to do the planning for my music video and the analysis of the techniques I will use that will correspond with theorists like Andrew Goodwin's, Todorov etc.
The first research task I have completed was 'music festivals' where I had to explore all the current, famed music festivals in the world. This included 'Coachella', where a variety of celebrities attend in LA with successful acts and 'Donauinselfest' which is a music festival that takes place in Austria with the attendance of 3.2 million people. Using my knowledge, from the film 'Almost Famous', I also put the Woodstock Music Festival into the presentation; it took place in 1969. I knew it was one of the very first music festivals in history, with "hippies" attending and it is seen as iconic because of this. It had huge, famed acts including Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and Mick Jagger.
My next research task was exploring the different music channels. This included MTV, 4Music, VH1 and Kerrang. I realised that the purpose of music channels were to generate revenue and make profits. Completing this by selling advertisements, which is attracted by developing a large viewer base. However, the main purpose of music channels are to deliver high-quality entertainment to those who are a fan of music.
After that, I did 'evidence of music video you admire'. I had in mind music videos that would be similar to mine, following the same theme and concept. However, I could not embed the videos due to network issues with YouTube and will, therefore, embed them into the post later. The music videos were 'Flashed Junk Mind' by Milky Chance and 'Prayer in C' by Lilly Wood and the Prick a Robin Schulz remix.
I did a lyrical analysis of 'Cool Kids' to receive a clear insight of what originally the band wanted to put across in the song. According to Jamie, the band member, the song tells a story about a boy and a girl who just wants to be noticed. "This cry to be like the cool kids ... it's something that everyone goes through whether you want to act like it or not," Jamie explained to Radio.com. "There's always somebody out there that you kind of wish, 'If only I could do this, or do that.' I think that's why it connects with people so well.'
My music video will not be following a direct narrative, thus it's got to be a little disjuncture, completely illustrative and amplified with hidden meanings - a performance based narrative corresponding with Andrew Goodwin's theory. Like Jamie the band member states it relates to everyone somehow, to push this further I will not be focusing on the characters in my music video to make it more generic and for it to relate to the teenage target audience.
Since my last production diary, I have completed four research tasks. I am attempting to complete all my research tasks quickly as I am ready to shoot my music video and want to move on to do the planning for my music video and the analysis of the techniques I will use that will correspond with theorists like Andrew Goodwin's, Todorov etc.
The first research task I have completed was 'music festivals' where I had to explore all the current, famed music festivals in the world. This included 'Coachella', where a variety of celebrities attend in LA with successful acts and 'Donauinselfest' which is a music festival that takes place in Austria with the attendance of 3.2 million people. Using my knowledge, from the film 'Almost Famous', I also put the Woodstock Music Festival into the presentation; it took place in 1969. I knew it was one of the very first music festivals in history, with "hippies" attending and it is seen as iconic because of this. It had huge, famed acts including Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and Mick Jagger.
My next research task was exploring the different music channels. This included MTV, 4Music, VH1 and Kerrang. I realised that the purpose of music channels were to generate revenue and make profits. Completing this by selling advertisements, which is attracted by developing a large viewer base. However, the main purpose of music channels are to deliver high-quality entertainment to those who are a fan of music.
After that, I did 'evidence of music video you admire'. I had in mind music videos that would be similar to mine, following the same theme and concept. However, I could not embed the videos due to network issues with YouTube and will, therefore, embed them into the post later. The music videos were 'Flashed Junk Mind' by Milky Chance and 'Prayer in C' by Lilly Wood and the Prick a Robin Schulz remix.
I did a lyrical analysis of 'Cool Kids' to receive a clear insight of what originally the band wanted to put across in the song. According to Jamie, the band member, the song tells a story about a boy and a girl who just wants to be noticed. "This cry to be like the cool kids ... it's something that everyone goes through whether you want to act like it or not," Jamie explained to Radio.com. "There's always somebody out there that you kind of wish, 'If only I could do this, or do that.' I think that's why it connects with people so well.'
My music video will not be following a direct narrative, thus it's got to be a little disjuncture, completely illustrative and amplified with hidden meanings - a performance based narrative corresponding with Andrew Goodwin's theory. Like Jamie the band member states it relates to everyone somehow, to push this further I will not be focusing on the characters in my music video to make it more generic and for it to relate to the teenage target audience.
Thursday 2 October 2014
Planning my Music Video
Production Diary #9
Still completing my research, I decided to do 'research into the band/artist', hence since October was nearing I thought it would be best to begin the planning for my music video. Echosmith, the band who sang Cool Kids, was the band I researched. Looking into what the band members said about Cool Kids, allowed me to identify the song personally, providing me with insightful ideas for the music video I'm about to shoot. Although, the song can be interpreted differently to what the band put forward. I'm probably going to use a different interpretation to make it different from the band versions of the music video.
The main theme of my music video will be adventure, silhouettes of teenagers running around the city as well as with a nature back drop. The reason why I want silhouettes of my choice of people is for the music video to relate to everyone, there doesn't need to be an identity when it is supposed to appeal to teenagers generically. The music video can relate to all teenagers, as the narrative of the song is relatable to everyone in one way or another. Like the film Breakfast Club relates to someone somehow.
As you can see, my most recent post was of my mood board. This is to provide an initial insight to what my music video will be like visually. It looks disorientated, the theme of adventure is evident, there are silhouettes, with city pictures and natural landscapes displayed evoking the locations I would film my music video. All in all, the music video conveys adolescence and nostalgia of the teenage years.
Still completing my research, I decided to do 'research into the band/artist', hence since October was nearing I thought it would be best to begin the planning for my music video. Echosmith, the band who sang Cool Kids, was the band I researched. Looking into what the band members said about Cool Kids, allowed me to identify the song personally, providing me with insightful ideas for the music video I'm about to shoot. Although, the song can be interpreted differently to what the band put forward. I'm probably going to use a different interpretation to make it different from the band versions of the music video.
The main theme of my music video will be adventure, silhouettes of teenagers running around the city as well as with a nature back drop. The reason why I want silhouettes of my choice of people is for the music video to relate to everyone, there doesn't need to be an identity when it is supposed to appeal to teenagers generically. The music video can relate to all teenagers, as the narrative of the song is relatable to everyone in one way or another. Like the film Breakfast Club relates to someone somehow.
As you can see, my most recent post was of my mood board. This is to provide an initial insight to what my music video will be like visually. It looks disorientated, the theme of adventure is evident, there are silhouettes, with city pictures and natural landscapes displayed evoking the locations I would film my music video. All in all, the music video conveys adolescence and nostalgia of the teenage years.
Wednesday 1 October 2014
Friday 26 September 2014
Catching Up
Production Diary #8
In class, we were given a sheet where we had to write down all the tasks we have to complete by certain dates. Thus, currently I have been completing these research tasks I set myself to do. So far I have done history of music videos which taught me how music videos were originally a tool for advertising with the help of MTV which was a good platform for artists' to advertise their music - it was created in the 1980s. However, music videos in the present day have become experimental due to YouTube which allows anyone to post music videos as well as it easily being created by anyone due to the easy accessibility of digital cameras.
Looking at the updated coursework checklist, I saw my meaning of a digipak was at a 2 so I improved it and re-posted it on my blog to achieve a higher mark.
Recently, I have looked into my research for famed music video directors e.g. David Fincher and Spike Jonze who are considered highly established in the music video and film industry. Both directors have worked with numerous successful artists ranging from a variety of genres such as Madonna, Beastie Boys, Jay Z and Kanye West conveying their diversity of work. Even making music videos as iconic as Madonna's 'Vogue' by David Fincher and Beastie Boy's 'Sabotage' by Spike Jonze.
My next step is to make a mood board for my music video, a storyboard and then finally begin shooting my music video. This needs to be done quickly as I plan on completing my music video in october and begin editing it.
In class, we were given a sheet where we had to write down all the tasks we have to complete by certain dates. Thus, currently I have been completing these research tasks I set myself to do. So far I have done history of music videos which taught me how music videos were originally a tool for advertising with the help of MTV which was a good platform for artists' to advertise their music - it was created in the 1980s. However, music videos in the present day have become experimental due to YouTube which allows anyone to post music videos as well as it easily being created by anyone due to the easy accessibility of digital cameras.
Looking at the updated coursework checklist, I saw my meaning of a digipak was at a 2 so I improved it and re-posted it on my blog to achieve a higher mark.
Recently, I have looked into my research for famed music video directors e.g. David Fincher and Spike Jonze who are considered highly established in the music video and film industry. Both directors have worked with numerous successful artists ranging from a variety of genres such as Madonna, Beastie Boys, Jay Z and Kanye West conveying their diversity of work. Even making music videos as iconic as Madonna's 'Vogue' by David Fincher and Beastie Boy's 'Sabotage' by Spike Jonze.
My next step is to make a mood board for my music video, a storyboard and then finally begin shooting my music video. This needs to be done quickly as I plan on completing my music video in october and begin editing it.
Thursday 18 September 2014
Saturday 13 September 2014
Tuesday 12 August 2014
Song Choice
Production Diary #7
As you can see, from my selection of songs in my production diary #6, I tried to incooperate indie style music that many might not have heard of to make the video appear different to others. After much consideration, I have finally decided on the song I am going to use for my music video - Cool Kids by Echosmith. I first heard the song all over the app 'Vine', where many people made edits with the song. Making the song slightly recognisable. I thought the genre - indie, was good as you can get creative with the video but it can be simple too, making it effective. Also, the lyrics of the song has a narrative tale that I will be able to visually display.
Now that I have chosen my song, I will move on to making the storyboard by using the software Celtx. Shortly after, I will hopefully begin to shoot my music video and do further research along with this.
As you can see, from my selection of songs in my production diary #6, I tried to incooperate indie style music that many might not have heard of to make the video appear different to others. After much consideration, I have finally decided on the song I am going to use for my music video - Cool Kids by Echosmith. I first heard the song all over the app 'Vine', where many people made edits with the song. Making the song slightly recognisable. I thought the genre - indie, was good as you can get creative with the video but it can be simple too, making it effective. Also, the lyrics of the song has a narrative tale that I will be able to visually display.
Now that I have chosen my song, I will move on to making the storyboard by using the software Celtx. Shortly after, I will hopefully begin to shoot my music video and do further research along with this.
Wednesday 6 August 2014
Further Research
Production Diary #6
The summer is over and school has started. In our first media lesson back Sir showed us a music video where a band named 'Arcade Fire' created a music video that was cleverly constructed in one shot, performed live at an award show. It made me realise that there are many creative ways I could make my music video.
Afterwards, we went on the computers to do further research for our music videos. Since I am still unsure to what song I should use for my video and how I will conduct it as it depends on the genre of the song to meet the conventions - I went to look at music genres and put all my information in a Prezi. I learnt that the genre is an important part of the identity of the song and that it effects the music video dramatically. I attempted to put examples of artists' and music videos with each different genre e.g. Avril Lavigne's 'Hello Kitty' which is Pop. I realised that the video held all the pop conventions - it was colourful, pink, it has dance routines and held commercialism with the company Beats which a lot of pop music videos now do. Not only as a signifier but to promote the product, the artist and the label receive payment for including their product.Whichever song I end up using, I know that the genre plays a huge part in the creation of the music video as the music video has to meet its typical conventions.
I was hoping to complete a draft storyboard at this point, but a song needs to be chosen. So far, I am contemplating in using one of these songs:
Hopefully I have chosen a song when I have completed my next production diary post.
The summer is over and school has started. In our first media lesson back Sir showed us a music video where a band named 'Arcade Fire' created a music video that was cleverly constructed in one shot, performed live at an award show. It made me realise that there are many creative ways I could make my music video.
Afterwards, we went on the computers to do further research for our music videos. Since I am still unsure to what song I should use for my video and how I will conduct it as it depends on the genre of the song to meet the conventions - I went to look at music genres and put all my information in a Prezi. I learnt that the genre is an important part of the identity of the song and that it effects the music video dramatically. I attempted to put examples of artists' and music videos with each different genre e.g. Avril Lavigne's 'Hello Kitty' which is Pop. I realised that the video held all the pop conventions - it was colourful, pink, it has dance routines and held commercialism with the company Beats which a lot of pop music videos now do. Not only as a signifier but to promote the product, the artist and the label receive payment for including their product.Whichever song I end up using, I know that the genre plays a huge part in the creation of the music video as the music video has to meet its typical conventions.
I was hoping to complete a draft storyboard at this point, but a song needs to be chosen. So far, I am contemplating in using one of these songs:
Hopefully I have chosen a song when I have completed my next production diary post.
Monday 4 August 2014
Thursday 24 July 2014
Symbolism
Production Diary #5
After analysing a previous student's work much like when I analysed the Primadonna music video; I learnt that an effective music video would be one that visually displays the song by following the lyrics, the editing has to match the beat of the song, the whole 'image' of the music video has to be based on the song's genre e.g. Eminem's music videos can be controversial, personal or humorous but all together it conveys his hip-hop rap star persona often evoking his life in the beginning which was tough and his current successful life which he portrays from his split personalities Eminem/Slim Shady (evil) and Marshall Mathers (nice). Beyonce also does this by having an alter ego 'Sasha Fierce' in effort to separate from her own shy personality to in-cooperate to the R&B, hip hop, pop genre that conventions involve a strong performer. Also, I think it's important to hold connotations and symbolism throughout the music video which is what the student did when I analysed her music video, holding connotations of nostalgia and innocence with the props of a balloon and ribbon.
I came across music videos by The Neighbourhood that I thought held good symbolism and editing. I thought the music video successfully, visually displayed the meaning of the song to the viewer which the viewer might not have thought when listening to the song alone as the lyrics can hold different interpretations.
The mise-en-scene of the dark lighting and the dark shadows masking the characters' faces adheres to the theme of the music video: evil and death. Although, the filter is black and white the colour black is heightened throughout the music video especially on the scary woman who looks like death, who violently drags the girls to what looks like her burial. The opposition of the girl attempting to fight this woman off reinforces the symbolism of evil and death and how she is vulnerable to the woman this coheres with the lyrics 'die die die' and 'I think I found hell'. The contra-panel of the shot of the normal, suburban houses juxtaposes to the child's life which is anything but normal due to her parents who constantly fight in front of her, the violence put on her and alcoholism conveyed by her dad. This could also suggest how everything may appear 'normal' on the outside, like the houses but on the inside there is a lot that no one knows about which corresponds to the lyrics 'don't tell them anything'. The child is living two lives. However, towards the end of the video of what looked like her burial was in fact the child burying her tragic past and moving on. This is realised when a close-up of her holding someone's hand is illustrated with the lyrics 'I think I found love' instead of 'I think I found hell'.
Much like the music video above, in this music video 'Let It Go' there is dark lighting and shadows to enforce the mood of the song 'depression' and the editing consists of contra-panels to evoke what the protagonist is feeling on the inside which is different to what she is appearing on the outside. When conveying the outside, it almost looks like an old 50s advert, staged and forced with a stereotypical woman in the kitchen cooking, cleaning, doing her make-up to look appealing and fending for her husband with a big, fake false smile whilst she is doing all this. At this part, there are no shadows, although there is a black and white filter the lighting is bright and the lyrics at this point are light. As the dynamic and tempo of the song increases into the chorus it reveals the true colours of what the protagonist is feeling with dark shadows highlighted on her face, a miserable facial expression, the breaking of objects and the protagonist screaming is a evident juxtaposition to how she was before. The lyrics 'let it go' suggests of her dismissal to everything she desires as it is not important in the 'ideal world' she lives in. Perhaps the band is proving a point of feminism that a woman's opinion is not as important as to those of men. I like the use of the prop at 2:16 when the protagonist takes off her glasses as if she is putting it on the viewer to portray the reality of what is happening in the scene. This involvement with the viewer allows the viewer to see matters in the protagonist's perspective. In this case, when the businessmen, one which is also the woman's husband is shovelling money down their throats in a greedy manner revealing their true intentions. Proving they are materialistic and corrupt for money. The fast paced montage after this displays all the struggles the protagonist has to face on a daily basis permitting the viewers to emphasise her.
Although, I have not yet determined the song for my music video as I want to be 100% certain, thus I'll be working with the same song for the next couple of months and don't want to regret it later on. I have a few songs in my mind that I would possibly use and would probably post later on to this blog.
After analysing a previous student's work much like when I analysed the Primadonna music video; I learnt that an effective music video would be one that visually displays the song by following the lyrics, the editing has to match the beat of the song, the whole 'image' of the music video has to be based on the song's genre e.g. Eminem's music videos can be controversial, personal or humorous but all together it conveys his hip-hop rap star persona often evoking his life in the beginning which was tough and his current successful life which he portrays from his split personalities Eminem/Slim Shady (evil) and Marshall Mathers (nice). Beyonce also does this by having an alter ego 'Sasha Fierce' in effort to separate from her own shy personality to in-cooperate to the R&B, hip hop, pop genre that conventions involve a strong performer. Also, I think it's important to hold connotations and symbolism throughout the music video which is what the student did when I analysed her music video, holding connotations of nostalgia and innocence with the props of a balloon and ribbon.
I came across music videos by The Neighbourhood that I thought held good symbolism and editing. I thought the music video successfully, visually displayed the meaning of the song to the viewer which the viewer might not have thought when listening to the song alone as the lyrics can hold different interpretations.
The mise-en-scene of the dark lighting and the dark shadows masking the characters' faces adheres to the theme of the music video: evil and death. Although, the filter is black and white the colour black is heightened throughout the music video especially on the scary woman who looks like death, who violently drags the girls to what looks like her burial. The opposition of the girl attempting to fight this woman off reinforces the symbolism of evil and death and how she is vulnerable to the woman this coheres with the lyrics 'die die die' and 'I think I found hell'. The contra-panel of the shot of the normal, suburban houses juxtaposes to the child's life which is anything but normal due to her parents who constantly fight in front of her, the violence put on her and alcoholism conveyed by her dad. This could also suggest how everything may appear 'normal' on the outside, like the houses but on the inside there is a lot that no one knows about which corresponds to the lyrics 'don't tell them anything'. The child is living two lives. However, towards the end of the video of what looked like her burial was in fact the child burying her tragic past and moving on. This is realised when a close-up of her holding someone's hand is illustrated with the lyrics 'I think I found love' instead of 'I think I found hell'.
Much like the music video above, in this music video 'Let It Go' there is dark lighting and shadows to enforce the mood of the song 'depression' and the editing consists of contra-panels to evoke what the protagonist is feeling on the inside which is different to what she is appearing on the outside. When conveying the outside, it almost looks like an old 50s advert, staged and forced with a stereotypical woman in the kitchen cooking, cleaning, doing her make-up to look appealing and fending for her husband with a big, fake false smile whilst she is doing all this. At this part, there are no shadows, although there is a black and white filter the lighting is bright and the lyrics at this point are light. As the dynamic and tempo of the song increases into the chorus it reveals the true colours of what the protagonist is feeling with dark shadows highlighted on her face, a miserable facial expression, the breaking of objects and the protagonist screaming is a evident juxtaposition to how she was before. The lyrics 'let it go' suggests of her dismissal to everything she desires as it is not important in the 'ideal world' she lives in. Perhaps the band is proving a point of feminism that a woman's opinion is not as important as to those of men. I like the use of the prop at 2:16 when the protagonist takes off her glasses as if she is putting it on the viewer to portray the reality of what is happening in the scene. This involvement with the viewer allows the viewer to see matters in the protagonist's perspective. In this case, when the businessmen, one which is also the woman's husband is shovelling money down their throats in a greedy manner revealing their true intentions. Proving they are materialistic and corrupt for money. The fast paced montage after this displays all the struggles the protagonist has to face on a daily basis permitting the viewers to emphasise her.
Although, I have not yet determined the song for my music video as I want to be 100% certain, thus I'll be working with the same song for the next couple of months and don't want to regret it later on. I have a few songs in my mind that I would possibly use and would probably post later on to this blog.
Sunday 20 July 2014
Thursday 17 July 2014
Inspiration
Production Diary #4
I spent the day analysing Marina and The Diamond's music video 'Primadonna'. It took me quite a while as there were a vast majority of different shots contributed, the mise-en-scene constantly changed and there were many editing techniques and conventions to discuss. However, it did benefit me by making me aware of all the different techniques I could use when it comes to my music video. Especially since I know I'll be doing a type of song that is upbeat like 'Primadonna'.
Although, I have not chosen a song yet for my music video, I do like a newly released music video by Charli xcx called 'Boom Clap' and will probably take inspiration from it.
Minus the footage from the film, 'The Fault in our Stars', I can imagine my music video to be set out like this. What I liked the most about it was the doodles around the artist during the chorus which cohered with the 'boom' 'clap' lyrics and the camera shots were corresponding with the pace of the music. Also, every time the pace would pick up there would be a jump cut or when it slowed a long pan would be distributed. Creating a fluency with the video and the song. The song itself would be in my list for possible song choices for my music video.
So far, I am researching and collecting ideas. I haven't come to any final conclusions yet but my next step would be to choose a song and create a storyboard for it by using a software called Celtx.
I spent the day analysing Marina and The Diamond's music video 'Primadonna'. It took me quite a while as there were a vast majority of different shots contributed, the mise-en-scene constantly changed and there were many editing techniques and conventions to discuss. However, it did benefit me by making me aware of all the different techniques I could use when it comes to my music video. Especially since I know I'll be doing a type of song that is upbeat like 'Primadonna'.
Although, I have not chosen a song yet for my music video, I do like a newly released music video by Charli xcx called 'Boom Clap' and will probably take inspiration from it.
Minus the footage from the film, 'The Fault in our Stars', I can imagine my music video to be set out like this. What I liked the most about it was the doodles around the artist during the chorus which cohered with the 'boom' 'clap' lyrics and the camera shots were corresponding with the pace of the music. Also, every time the pace would pick up there would be a jump cut or when it slowed a long pan would be distributed. Creating a fluency with the video and the song. The song itself would be in my list for possible song choices for my music video.
So far, I am researching and collecting ideas. I haven't come to any final conclusions yet but my next step would be to choose a song and create a storyboard for it by using a software called Celtx.
Saturday 12 July 2014
Summer Plans and Music Labels
Production Diary #3
Over the summer I intend to have the majority of my planning completed for my music video where the song, theme and location is finalised which would provide me with an idea of what costume and props I would need to use to meet the conventions of the music video. Also, I plan to further my research and to regularly post my progress onto this blog.
So far I have researched into current major music labels such as Universal Music Group, this has allowed me to see the success of artists from different genres who are signed to the music labels and given me an appreciation to why their music videos are so successful. For example, Cody Simpson who is signed to the Warner Music Group has a surfer image, he has used his Australian
heritage to his advantage and applies beach conventions to his music videos wherever possible. Also, Eminem signed to Universal Music Group was brought up in a bad neighbourhood and had a tough life in the beginning tends to use this in his music videos and songs wherever possible too. This has taught me when it comes to my music video I need to stick to a theme and the artist's image that corresponds with the song which will later also apply to the digipak that I would have to create.
Over the summer I intend to have the majority of my planning completed for my music video where the song, theme and location is finalised which would provide me with an idea of what costume and props I would need to use to meet the conventions of the music video. Also, I plan to further my research and to regularly post my progress onto this blog.
So far I have researched into current major music labels such as Universal Music Group, this has allowed me to see the success of artists from different genres who are signed to the music labels and given me an appreciation to why their music videos are so successful. For example, Cody Simpson who is signed to the Warner Music Group has a surfer image, he has used his Australian
Friday 11 July 2014
What is a digipak?
- Digipak is a type of packaging for CDs or DVDs, typically made from cardboard with an internal plastic holder for one or more discs and is a registered trademark of AGI-Shorewood, an Atlas Holdingds LLC company.
Digipacks can flip open like a book, or it can have three parts, so that one portion of the packaging opens to the right and one to the left, with the CD in the center portion. Usually, the portion of the digipack that hold the CD is made of plastic like a traditional jewel case CD - the plastic part is simply attached to the paper background.
Since DigiPaks were among the first alternatives to jewel cases to be used by major record companies, and because there is no other common name for Digipak-style packagaing made by other companies, the term digipak or Digi-Pak is often used generically, even when the media is a hub or "soft spot" rather than a full plastic tray.
Digipak-Style packaging if often used for CD singles or special editions of CD albums and the tall DVD Digipak (DVDigipak) is used as a premium package for DVDs and DVD sets. Such packagaing is less resistant to abrasion than jewel cases, so it tends to convey signs of wear relativley quickly. Licensed digipak manufactures such as domestic U.S printed and disc replication Oasis Disc Manufacturing recommend coating the raw printed paper with a protective UV coating, thus ensuring greater longevity.
Since DigiPaks were among the first alternatives to jewel cases to be used by major record companies, and because there is no other common name for Digipak-style packagaing made by other companies, the term digipak or Digi-Pak is often used generically, even when the media is a hub or "soft spot" rather than a full plastic tray.
Digipak-Style packaging if often used for CD singles or special editions of CD albums and the tall DVD Digipak (DVDigipak) is used as a premium package for DVDs and DVD sets. Such packagaing is less resistant to abrasion than jewel cases, so it tends to convey signs of wear relativley quickly. Licensed digipak manufactures such as domestic U.S printed and disc replication Oasis Disc Manufacturing recommend coating the raw printed paper with a protective UV coating, thus ensuring greater longevity.
Wednesday 9 July 2014
Monday 7 July 2014
Sunday 6 July 2014
Conventions of a Music Video
Production Diary #2
In my second lesson, we were presented with a check list of all the coursework we have to complete for A2. We were able to choose what we should begin with. I chose 'conventions of a music video' I thought the research would provide me with a better understanding of the type of music video I would want to create.
From doing the research and creating the powerpoint, I learnt that you use certain key concepts and conventions for the genre of the music video. For example, pop music videos usually have bright lighting, it tends to be based on performance, long shots of partying, many close-ups of the artist/s faces and they would typically wear a lot of make-up and fashion accessories. The narratives usually consist of break-ups/relationships, parties or they just tend to be based around a theme. Whereas, Indie/Rock music videos tends to be black and white, dark locations, fast-paced and consistent extreme close-ups and long shots.
I also learnt about the elements of a music video; performance, narrative, mixture, cameo, thematic and symbolic and what they would consist of. This gave me a real insight of what I should be expected to do when I choose my song depending on its genre.
In my second lesson, we were presented with a check list of all the coursework we have to complete for A2. We were able to choose what we should begin with. I chose 'conventions of a music video' I thought the research would provide me with a better understanding of the type of music video I would want to create.
From doing the research and creating the powerpoint, I learnt that you use certain key concepts and conventions for the genre of the music video. For example, pop music videos usually have bright lighting, it tends to be based on performance, long shots of partying, many close-ups of the artist/s faces and they would typically wear a lot of make-up and fashion accessories. The narratives usually consist of break-ups/relationships, parties or they just tend to be based around a theme. Whereas, Indie/Rock music videos tends to be black and white, dark locations, fast-paced and consistent extreme close-ups and long shots.
I also learnt about the elements of a music video; performance, narrative, mixture, cameo, thematic and symbolic and what they would consist of. This gave me a real insight of what I should be expected to do when I choose my song depending on its genre.
Sunday 29 June 2014
Research
Proudction Diary #1
When going through what we have to do for the A2 side, I immediately knew I wanted to do a music video. At first I was debating whether creating a short film would be ideal but I would be doing that anyway for film studies. Trying something different would be interesting. I constantly watch a lot of music videos and the behind - the - scenes videos of how it's succeeded which is beneficial to know the basis of how a music video is created.
As I know I am going to be making a music video, the next step was to figure out what song it will be based on and visually what I'm going to do. It's difficult, thus there is a lot to choose from and so many different ways you can approach it which makes it harder to pin point what you're going to use.
As a result, I browsed music videos on VEVO and the music channels on TV for inspiration. I knew I wanted to go for something simple, I didn't want to overcomplicate things that would end up making the video looking cheap. The set had to be good too, something that doesn't look like it was filmed in your house or a random park down the street.
As a result, I browsed music videos on VEVO and the music channels on TV for inspiration. I knew I wanted to go for something simple, I didn't want to overcomplicate things that would end up making the video looking cheap. The set had to be good too, something that doesn't look like it was filmed in your house or a random park down the street.
I searched random names such as 'Aly & AJ' who I used to listen to when I was younger, now known as '78Violet' and their new music video came up (skip to 3:35):
Although, I don't want my music video like this as the video itself looks more like a video shoot rather than a music video... I did note techniques that I would use. I would use different filters like it is shown in 4:35 and when the room is completely dark but lit up by a single spotlight that moves in a certain speed depending on the tempo of the song at that point 6:36. I also like the speed up of the montage towards the end. The setting of the music video corresponds with the eerily music and it is achievable for me to do as there are many countrysides where I live.
All in all, the video caught my attention, thus it is simple and alternative. I am not looking for a typical pop video approach with green screens. However, the song I am looking for would be like the one in this music video or even a mainstream song but a cover version or an edit that differentiates it from the mainstream.
Moreover, 'Tongue Tied', Grouplove's music video - I like the concept of it going backwards to reveal what really happened at the start of the video.
Although, I don't want my music video like this as the video itself looks more like a video shoot rather than a music video... I did note techniques that I would use. I would use different filters like it is shown in 4:35 and when the room is completely dark but lit up by a single spotlight that moves in a certain speed depending on the tempo of the song at that point 6:36. I also like the speed up of the montage towards the end. The setting of the music video corresponds with the eerily music and it is achievable for me to do as there are many countrysides where I live.
All in all, the video caught my attention, thus it is simple and alternative. I am not looking for a typical pop video approach with green screens. However, the song I am looking for would be like the one in this music video or even a mainstream song but a cover version or an edit that differentiates it from the mainstream.
Moreover, 'Tongue Tied', Grouplove's music video - I like the concept of it going backwards to reveal what really happened at the start of the video.
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