Tuesday, 30 October 2012
Star's finalised star personna
Sunday, 28 October 2012
Music Video Director
This is an interview with Chris Jean who's occupation is creating and directing music videos. He is a director who produces music videos on a smaller scale with a low budget which is easily relateable and relevant to us and our production of a music video. This interview with him is
very useful for our group as we can see what is achievable within his budget and time scale. He has access to similar equipment and similar editing software to us and still has managed to produce a reasonable quality and conventional music video. I think our final video will be comparable to his.
What exactly is the director's job during the production of a music video?
The director's job on a music video is to develop a visual concept for the song and assemble a creative production crew to produce the content. During physical production of the video - the filming - the director manages all activity to capture the concept on film. This includes working with various creative professionals to ensure everyone is on the same page and persisting in the same vision creatively.
What crew is used to produce a music video?
Music video crews vary depending on budget. On a project for an independent artist - where budgets are small and no funds are being advanced by a record label - you're working with the bare essentials: the performing artist, whatever actors the concept calls for, a producer, a director, a cinematographer and hopefully a few extra hands to help wrangle gear, food and location needs. If you're lucky, a still photographer is available to document the process for print marketing, epk, website and festival purposes.
What equipment is used to produce a music video?
The basic equipment you need for an indie music video is a reliable camera package, a basic lighting package, digital storage drives and a computer with editing software. The equipment is usually cost-prohibitive, unless you're working with talent who can supply the resources - cinematographers who own a camera, editors who own an editing system, actors with interesting clothes in their closets, etc. Shoot digital HD if you can - you won't have to purchase tape stock.
How long does the average music video take to produce?
On average, a quality music video takes two days to shoot - one day for filming the conceptual or story material and one day for filming the artist performing the song. Development prior to shooting and editing after shooting can be a moving target depending on everyone's schedule, but generally can last anywhere from two to six weeks each. On average, let's say six weeks from concept to final, edited piece.
How do you prepare to direct a music video?
The director has numerous responsibilities in order to prep a music video. First, you need a great concept the recording artist likes. Next, you need to assemble a crew with all the right equipment and schedule shooting dates that work for everyone at locations that are appropriate to the concept. In prep for shooting, the director maps out the story beats to be filmed along with directions and adjustments for the actors. Because you're not dealing in dialog performance, casting for the right look and energy becomes essential. If you've prepared properly, everyone understands what they need to do, and you're able to give productive direction when challenges emerge.
How does the music of the song itself affect the production of a music video?
The song itself affects production less than you might think. By all means, you want the song playing during performance. But sometimes silence - or a different kind of music entirely - works to evoke the emotion you're looking for from your actors. If properly constructed, the spirit of the shoot is drawn from the concept, which in turn has been inspired by the song. So, aside from physical performance, the song itself functions best as subtext.
Can you describe the editing process?
The editing process is where everything comes together. First step is to digitize your footage into an editing system. Then you play through everything, sub-clipping and labeling the material for easy access. It's painstaking. It's maddening. But you're building a puzzle, and you need to know where all your pieces are. Sometimes you discover juxtapositions of imagery in editing that never occurred to you previously. The technical term for this is VPMR - visual perception montage rhythm. You're editing musical beats and visual beats to tell a story without dialog. It's a lot like dancing, but on a screen.
Music video directed by Chris
very useful for our group as we can see what is achievable within his budget and time scale. He has access to similar equipment and similar editing software to us and still has managed to produce a reasonable quality and conventional music video. I think our final video will be comparable to his.
What exactly is the director's job during the production of a music video?
The director's job on a music video is to develop a visual concept for the song and assemble a creative production crew to produce the content. During physical production of the video - the filming - the director manages all activity to capture the concept on film. This includes working with various creative professionals to ensure everyone is on the same page and persisting in the same vision creatively.
What crew is used to produce a music video?
Music video crews vary depending on budget. On a project for an independent artist - where budgets are small and no funds are being advanced by a record label - you're working with the bare essentials: the performing artist, whatever actors the concept calls for, a producer, a director, a cinematographer and hopefully a few extra hands to help wrangle gear, food and location needs. If you're lucky, a still photographer is available to document the process for print marketing, epk, website and festival purposes.
What equipment is used to produce a music video?
The basic equipment you need for an indie music video is a reliable camera package, a basic lighting package, digital storage drives and a computer with editing software. The equipment is usually cost-prohibitive, unless you're working with talent who can supply the resources - cinematographers who own a camera, editors who own an editing system, actors with interesting clothes in their closets, etc. Shoot digital HD if you can - you won't have to purchase tape stock.
How long does the average music video take to produce?
On average, a quality music video takes two days to shoot - one day for filming the conceptual or story material and one day for filming the artist performing the song. Development prior to shooting and editing after shooting can be a moving target depending on everyone's schedule, but generally can last anywhere from two to six weeks each. On average, let's say six weeks from concept to final, edited piece.
How do you prepare to direct a music video?
The director has numerous responsibilities in order to prep a music video. First, you need a great concept the recording artist likes. Next, you need to assemble a crew with all the right equipment and schedule shooting dates that work for everyone at locations that are appropriate to the concept. In prep for shooting, the director maps out the story beats to be filmed along with directions and adjustments for the actors. Because you're not dealing in dialog performance, casting for the right look and energy becomes essential. If you've prepared properly, everyone understands what they need to do, and you're able to give productive direction when challenges emerge.
How does the music of the song itself affect the production of a music video?
The song itself affects production less than you might think. By all means, you want the song playing during performance. But sometimes silence - or a different kind of music entirely - works to evoke the emotion you're looking for from your actors. If properly constructed, the spirit of the shoot is drawn from the concept, which in turn has been inspired by the song. So, aside from physical performance, the song itself functions best as subtext.
Can you describe the editing process?
The editing process is where everything comes together. First step is to digitize your footage into an editing system. Then you play through everything, sub-clipping and labeling the material for easy access. It's painstaking. It's maddening. But you're building a puzzle, and you need to know where all your pieces are. Sometimes you discover juxtapositions of imagery in editing that never occurred to you previously. The technical term for this is VPMR - visual perception montage rhythm. You're editing musical beats and visual beats to tell a story without dialog. It's a lot like dancing, but on a screen.
Music video directed by Chris
History of stop motion
Stop motion (also known as stop frame) is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence.
The first instance of the stop motion technique can be credited to Albert E. Smith and J.Stuart.Blackton for The Humpty Dumpty Circus (1897), in which a toy circus of acrobats and animals comes to life. This was the beginning of the very basic stop motion which was seen with full potential to create something further. Stop motion started off as animation with models and objects a successful animator Willis O'Brien created a milestone for stop motion when he create King Kong in 1933.
At 1.45 seconds we see the use of the stop motion which is already creating the effect of an animation having realistic features which it this is trying to create. However with our video we are trying to create a less realistic approach and trying to make the video as abract as possible.
An example of present day succesful stop motion is Wallace and Gromit. Although this is also animation it is important we still look and research into this as this is where stop motion orginated through animation and how it has progressed into real life stop motion like our own music video.
Nick Park created Wallace and Gromit and has been very successful in creating numerous sequels within this franchise. Because a second of film constitutes 24 separate frames, even a short half-hour film like A Close Shave takes a great deal of time to animate well. General quotes on the speed of animation of a Wallace and Gromit film put the filming rate at typically around 30 frames per day — i.e. just over one second of film photographed for each day of production. The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is an example for how long this technique takes to produce quality animation; it took 15 months to make.
Even within the filming industry we can see a lot of time and effort goes into stop motion even with the resources and equiptment that we dont have.
The first instance of the stop motion technique can be credited to Albert E. Smith and J.Stuart.Blackton for The Humpty Dumpty Circus (1897), in which a toy circus of acrobats and animals comes to life. This was the beginning of the very basic stop motion which was seen with full potential to create something further. Stop motion started off as animation with models and objects a successful animator Willis O'Brien created a milestone for stop motion when he create King Kong in 1933.
At 1.45 seconds we see the use of the stop motion which is already creating the effect of an animation having realistic features which it this is trying to create. However with our video we are trying to create a less realistic approach and trying to make the video as abract as possible.
An example of present day succesful stop motion is Wallace and Gromit. Although this is also animation it is important we still look and research into this as this is where stop motion orginated through animation and how it has progressed into real life stop motion like our own music video.
Nick Park created Wallace and Gromit and has been very successful in creating numerous sequels within this franchise. Because a second of film constitutes 24 separate frames, even a short half-hour film like A Close Shave takes a great deal of time to animate well. General quotes on the speed of animation of a Wallace and Gromit film put the filming rate at typically around 30 frames per day — i.e. just over one second of film photographed for each day of production. The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is an example for how long this technique takes to produce quality animation; it took 15 months to make.
Even within the filming industry we can see a lot of time and effort goes into stop motion even with the resources and equiptment that we dont have.
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
Copyright mail
This screenshot shows the message we posted on the Ellie Goulding Facebook page informing her that we are making the music video and we are not using it for any commercial reasons
Half Term Homework
Advanced Portfolio Half Term Homework:
You must think seriously now about how your music video works in combination with your magazine advert (advertising the digi-pack) and the digi-pack cover (at least 4 sides).
Answer the following questions:
1. What is your finalised star persona? Include a photograph of your star that best communicates their persona. Discuss what ideas/ideologies they communicate (materialism, rebellion, innocence, the cultural “ideal”, alternative to the “ideal” etc.). How do they communicate these ideas? How is their persona expressed visually? (costume, hair, makeup, bogy language, lighting, framing etc) How is it expressed through lyrics, genre?
2. How are you going to ensure continuity between the 3 products? Remember your digi-pack cover cannot look like a single (can’t be images from the music video) but an album. Compare your ideas for the digi pack cover with professional promo images. A digi-pack is a combination of audio and video (a cd and a dvd with special features such as a few music videos or concert videos)
3. Write down all of your individual or group ideas for the digi-pack cover and magazine advert. Ideas for costume, setting, lighting, colour, hair, makeup, Photoshop special effects etc. If you can do some mock ups of your own, or experiment with effects in photoshop.
Word count : 500 words minimum
ALSO Catch up with your blogging. Make sure Target audience work is complete and you have done at least 25 individual posts since the start of the project! It is not just the amount that counts though but the content!
Monday, 22 October 2012
Colour correcting
This lesson we focused on editing through colour correction. This overall gives our music video the proffesional edge to make it look more of a high standard music video. We brightened both shots with a blue tinge and created a higher key lighting along with the high hey lighting we used whilst his makes the whole video even more quirky and unrealistic to fit with the conventions of stop motion and following our star persona.
How the FaceBook page has helped our group
The facebook page for Eliza Mindel has helped our group because it has help us make our target audience and helped us create a star pesonna for Eliza Mindel.
Also our twitter account has helped raise awareness to what our stars target audience.
We created these social networking accounts also to let Ellie Goulding know that we are using her song to make our music video work and that we wont be using it for commercial purposes and also we invited her to see what it looks like.
Also our twitter account has helped raise awareness to what our stars target audience.
We created these social networking accounts also to let Ellie Goulding know that we are using her song to make our music video work and that we wont be using it for commercial purposes and also we invited her to see what it looks like.
things to do
- why doing facebook page has helped us
- vanessa needs to do results summary, more than two
- sam and luca need target audience, i.e more interviews and shizz
Thursday, 18 October 2012
Qualitative Research
I played ‘The End’ to four people and asked them several questions.
Female: aged 27
Did you like the track?
Yes, the track was soft and her voice is very unique. I enjoy this genre of music.
Which age range would you typically associate with this song?
Teenagers, its not too serious, but she isn't trying to appeal to really young girls with this tone about love.
How would you picture the artist?
Casual clothes, not glamourly dressed as if she is hitting the red carpet. Because of the tone, I would suggest that her make-up and hair wasn't too heavy either.
What sort of music video would you expect to accompany this track?
An imaginary world? Or something outside, like her strolling through a park singing her lyrics. Something easy to watch, but something that could be frequently played.
What sort of music video would you expect to accompany this track?
An imaginary world? Or something outside, like her strolling through a park singing her lyrics. Something easy to watch, but something that could be frequently played.
Female: aged 15
Did you like the track?
Did you like the track?
I liked the track because it has a constant beat, and is easy to listen too. She doesn't take herself too seriously I dont think which is nice.
Which age range would you typically associate with this song?
Most definatley female teenagers, but I think it would also appeal to women in their twenties as it is a song about passion.
How would you picture the artist?
In an airy, white dress? Not sure why, probably an element of innocence.
What sort of music video would you expect to accompany this track?
I can imagine a video that would show her performing, but with natural lighting, possibly something shot in the daytime- the sunshine showing its a friendly video.
Female: aged 17
Did you like the track?
Did you like the track?
Yes! Very much! The first lines capture you with her soft voice. Im a fan of her music, her personality is strongly represented throughout.
Which age range would you typically associate with this song?
15-25? Well I think that this will be the most appropraite age to target it too; considering what she is discussing in the song, and who is likely to already be a fan of this genre.
How would you picture the artist?
Flamboyant/colourful. A pretty, little outfit, to match her soft tone and persona.
What sort of music video would you expect to accompany this track?
Erm, again something colourful, but maybe something out of the ordinary, as the song is quite slow, so the video needs to keep viewers interested- portraying a surreal world?
What sort of music video would you expect to accompany this track?
Female: aged 20
Did you like the track?
Did you like the track?
It's a slow paced song, but yeah I do like the constant beat running throughout and the lyrics are meaningful, which is unusual for some artists these days.
Which age range would you typically associate with this song?
From the track, I would base it on an age range of 14-28. Purely because it is a soft song, that would appeal to a lot of girls that are in a 'love' stage in their lives, which would make them feel for the song. The genre is quite mainstream too.
How would you picture the artist?
Bright and freshfaced! Something that will put a good image acorss and be encouraging for teenagers- but not so they feel they have to conform to this idealised image.
Bright and freshfaced! Something that will put a good image acorss and be encouraging for teenagers- but not so they feel they have to conform to this idealised image.
What sort of music video would you expect to accompany this track?
Because of the beat, and the simplicity of the lyrics, there is a lot of experimentation that can be done. For example stop motion would work well as the lip synching could be achieved.
Results
I feel that after interviewing these four females of the same age that we suggested for our target audience, that this is the correct audience we should be approaching. This is because they are easily influenced at this age, yet this artist will be influential in a positive way. The persona of the star appeals to them, and her music is the genre that they find they are often listening too and enjoy. From the video feedback, I feel that our idea of stop motion as a 'surreal' outlook still fits well for this target audience, as a visually interesting moving image that will help the track to be enjoyed.
Our star persona for our artist also seems to positively fit well with this audience. Her look needs to be innocent, and creative.
I feel that after interviewing these four females of the same age that we suggested for our target audience, that this is the correct audience we should be approaching. This is because they are easily influenced at this age, yet this artist will be influential in a positive way. The persona of the star appeals to them, and her music is the genre that they find they are often listening too and enjoy. From the video feedback, I feel that our idea of stop motion as a 'surreal' outlook still fits well for this target audience, as a visually interesting moving image that will help the track to be enjoyed.
Our star persona for our artist also seems to positively fit well with this audience. Her look needs to be innocent, and creative.
18/10/12
This is our editing for today, we cut the sequence up in order to show where the artist performance will go and the timings for how long the footage will be.
Production Meeting 18/10/94
This meeting we achieved further goals for the editing process. This included cutting up our sequence in order to make room and see clearly where the live motion would fit. We also edited both sides of the footage to make sure they were well timed and fitted in time with the passing through of objects through the split screen. We also researched further into split screen and other examples of ideas. We also looked at using colour corrector and how this will work for our split screen.
We also brainstormed ideas for our artsist's performance within the sequence and decided on making that stop mation also as this would give us more opportunity to film and would carry on with the theme of the video. We decided on keeping the surreal idea and innocence of the artist but creating a fantasy background with the artsist singing in front of it and also the artist holding up the lyrics of the song.
Split Screen example
This is Example and Calvin Harris- We'll be coming back. They use split screen in this video but they use it with a horizontal effect and the fact that it is a extreme close up lets you identify with them both and shows the similarities in the shot.
This screenshot is from Beyoncé's music video 'countdown'. there is lots of uses of split screen showing two different characteristics of beyonce. this creates a cool effect which makes the music video much more interesting and original.
Interviews
Interview with 15 year old male
Being a male teenager, what genre of music do you prefer to watch/listen too?
Erm, can't say im very fussy but generally rap, or R&B. Something that has a good beat and is catchy.
Do you have a favourite female artist?
If I had to name one, it would have to be Pixie Lott.
What do you like about her and her music?
Well her music is popular, and catchy. She tends to sing about men... but she is very young, and definitely good looking which makes her my favourite.
What would you expect to see in one of her music videos?
You would definitely see her, most probably wearing something very little and sexy. I would expect men to be in the video too, showing how many people are after her I guess..
Does Taylor Swift's music appeal to you?
I think she is a good artist and has a nice voice, but im not a fan of her music. The only songs I have heard have strongly revolved around love and are not to my taste.
What about Florence and the Machine?
Oh I love some of her songs! She has been popular in the charts, and her music is vibrant and definitely catchy. But to be honest I wouldn't go buy one of her albums. I only know her as I have seen her name in the charts and heard her on the radio.
What would you expect to see in one of her videos?
Something outrageous! Unlike some of the artists I listen too, I gather that she is attracting a different kind of audience, purely because one of the videos I have seen has been brilliant, but crazy. I think that defines her personality really, which is a good thing.
Having listened to our idea for our music video, do you think this will attract the right target audience we are aiming for?
To me, it sounds conventional for this type of genre, and especially for targeting females as there are actors and this will relate the lyrics for them to the storyline. Split screen is a great idea for a music video, as long as there isn't too much to look at at once.
Interview with a 22 year old female
Still very young, but no longer a teenager, what genre of music do you prefer to watch/listen too?
Commonly I would listen to R&B or Pop.
Do you have a favourite female artist?
Wow that's hard! I have always been a fan of Beyonce, but recently I have been a dedicated fan to Lana Del Rey!
What do you like about Lana Del Rey and her music?
She seems very down to earth, and her lyrics are powerful! I find her music to be very soulful.
What would you expect to see in one of her music videos?
She has an unusual out look on things, so something crazy yet extroidinary! Unconventional I would say, and quite serious! At the end of one of her videos, a man is holding her dead...
Very serious then! What do you think about Florence and the Machine?
Oh she is very talented! An amazing voice and I love her songs! She seems like the sort of person that wouldn't change, and likes that she is different. I think the fact that she is different makes her unique.
What would you expect to see in one of her videos?
From what I have seen, something glittery and unconventional! Her songs are very meaningful but not serious, so this lets her explore a wide field of things she can acheive in a music video.
Having listened to our idea for our music video, do you think this will attract the right target audience we are aiming for?
Definitely! Stop-motion sounds really good and effective, as the song is not serious so it would need a subtle tone but it would still relate to the lyrics. The actors would appeal to the target audience as it is describing a narrative in an efffective way. I also like how your artist will be shown in the chorus performing, as this creates a very good image of what is important to her.
To summarise, my interviews has shown that our artist and track would be more popular with females of the younger generation, whereas boys wouldn't be overly enthused. Unconventional ideas are a big element with this target audience, because of our stars persona. Our music video idea was impressive to the correct audience, and our added effects will also make the video unique!
Being a male teenager, what genre of music do you prefer to watch/listen too?
Erm, can't say im very fussy but generally rap, or R&B. Something that has a good beat and is catchy.
Do you have a favourite female artist?
If I had to name one, it would have to be Pixie Lott.
What do you like about her and her music?
Well her music is popular, and catchy. She tends to sing about men... but she is very young, and definitely good looking which makes her my favourite.
What would you expect to see in one of her music videos?
You would definitely see her, most probably wearing something very little and sexy. I would expect men to be in the video too, showing how many people are after her I guess..
Does Taylor Swift's music appeal to you?
I think she is a good artist and has a nice voice, but im not a fan of her music. The only songs I have heard have strongly revolved around love and are not to my taste.
What about Florence and the Machine?
Oh I love some of her songs! She has been popular in the charts, and her music is vibrant and definitely catchy. But to be honest I wouldn't go buy one of her albums. I only know her as I have seen her name in the charts and heard her on the radio.
What would you expect to see in one of her videos?
Something outrageous! Unlike some of the artists I listen too, I gather that she is attracting a different kind of audience, purely because one of the videos I have seen has been brilliant, but crazy. I think that defines her personality really, which is a good thing.
Having listened to our idea for our music video, do you think this will attract the right target audience we are aiming for?
To me, it sounds conventional for this type of genre, and especially for targeting females as there are actors and this will relate the lyrics for them to the storyline. Split screen is a great idea for a music video, as long as there isn't too much to look at at once.
Interview with a 22 year old female
Still very young, but no longer a teenager, what genre of music do you prefer to watch/listen too?
Commonly I would listen to R&B or Pop.
Do you have a favourite female artist?
Wow that's hard! I have always been a fan of Beyonce, but recently I have been a dedicated fan to Lana Del Rey!
What do you like about Lana Del Rey and her music?
She seems very down to earth, and her lyrics are powerful! I find her music to be very soulful.
What would you expect to see in one of her music videos?
She has an unusual out look on things, so something crazy yet extroidinary! Unconventional I would say, and quite serious! At the end of one of her videos, a man is holding her dead...
Very serious then! What do you think about Florence and the Machine?
Oh she is very talented! An amazing voice and I love her songs! She seems like the sort of person that wouldn't change, and likes that she is different. I think the fact that she is different makes her unique.
What would you expect to see in one of her videos?
From what I have seen, something glittery and unconventional! Her songs are very meaningful but not serious, so this lets her explore a wide field of things she can acheive in a music video.
Having listened to our idea for our music video, do you think this will attract the right target audience we are aiming for?
Definitely! Stop-motion sounds really good and effective, as the song is not serious so it would need a subtle tone but it would still relate to the lyrics. The actors would appeal to the target audience as it is describing a narrative in an efffective way. I also like how your artist will be shown in the chorus performing, as this creates a very good image of what is important to her.
To summarise, my interviews has shown that our artist and track would be more popular with females of the younger generation, whereas boys wouldn't be overly enthused. Unconventional ideas are a big element with this target audience, because of our stars persona. Our music video idea was impressive to the correct audience, and our added effects will also make the video unique!
Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Progress
We have now used 4 lessons to edit our music video however the process is taking a lot longer than we intended. Our plan was to get a lot more editing done at this stage than what we have currently. We have faced minor set backs and problems which has resulted in this. Our main problem during this editing stage is how long everything takes to render and how after editing something in the slightest, our whole video has to be rendered in order to continue editing and this takes up time we could be spending editing everything else that needs to be done. In these lessons we have only achieved uploading and ordering our stop motion, our split screen, trying to time the split screen well so movements from both sides are near enough syncronised (even though there's still work to be done) and moving the animation at the beginning. Although we thought stop motion during editing would be a long process we didnt bare in mind just how long it would take. However after realising this we are trying to be more patient and making use of the time by keeping up to date with our social networking pages, bringing together ideas for our promo pack and keep updating our blog.
We have also faced another problem by loosing our live motion footage. As we were unable to have enough time to upload our live motion the same time as our stop motion as this was too time consuming, we forgot to say about keeping our live motion on our camera and ending up with our footage being overwritten. Although this is a setback we are planning on filming the live motion footage again in the next week, however we are unable to film out of college and lesson time, so we may have to consider and plan alternatives to how we filmed the live motion previously.
We have also faced another problem by loosing our live motion footage. As we were unable to have enough time to upload our live motion the same time as our stop motion as this was too time consuming, we forgot to say about keeping our live motion on our camera and ending up with our footage being overwritten. Although this is a setback we are planning on filming the live motion footage again in the next week, however we are unable to film out of college and lesson time, so we may have to consider and plan alternatives to how we filmed the live motion previously.
Target Audience
Our target audience for our artist, Eliza Mindel, is female teenagers stretching to young adults in there 20's. We have decided that this will be her target audience based on research and interviews, but mainly looking at other artists in the same genre, such as;
- Florence and the Machine
- Ellie Goulding
- Lana Del Ray
- These female artists attract the same target auduience we are aiming for, the younger generation. Their music never portrays them in a negative light, or ever gives the assumption or the 'ideal' look their target audience should have, unlike other artists appealing to the same age group such as; Niki Minaj, Cher Lloyd, Rihanna, who are aiming to target a wider audience, including men- they achieve this by sexual references and obvious camera angles that percieve us to be voyeuristic. We are appealing to this target audience, and not the mass market as young females should be influenced by her music, as there is no harsh tone, and the video is soft- Eliza is an artist that we want to make 'all about the music', where females can simply enjoy, and be influenced by someone very natural.
Tuesday, 16 October 2012
Interview with a 15 year old male
Eliza Mindel is attracting a similar audience to the likes of Ellie Goulding/ Taylor Swift, do you enjoy their music?
I enjoy their music sometimes and particularly like them when they do collaborations with dance DJs and do more up beat songs.
What conventions would you expect to see in this genre's music videos?
I would expect to see them in different kinds of clothing to the normal kind of singer because they personify themselves as quite different singers and advertise themselves for more of a niche market, but i like the fact they don't follow the crowd and trying to be more quirky and different.
Does our idea for our music video follow these conventions to our genre and will attract our target audience?
I think so yes because you are using istopmotion which gives the video a kind of surreal and quirky feel to it anyway and using techniques such as green screen adds to the difference in these artists music. Also the actors we use in the music video aren't the actual singer so this follows conventions.
Do you have social networks, if so is this a good way to promote an artist aimed at teenagers?
I do and i think this is very good way to promote a artist as all my friends use social networking websites regularly, and this is a great way for fans to feel in touch with their favourite artists and lets the artists listen to what to what the fans have to say which i think is very important for the music industry and the fans especially.
What would you expect her promotional package to look like?
i expect it to be colourful and imaginative which will follow her conventions and personality. I also expect to have picture of her but have a real life sort of feel to the images and not look like a typical model picture i also expect it to have imagery of her playing the music.
I enjoy their music sometimes and particularly like them when they do collaborations with dance DJs and do more up beat songs.
What conventions would you expect to see in this genre's music videos?
I would expect to see them in different kinds of clothing to the normal kind of singer because they personify themselves as quite different singers and advertise themselves for more of a niche market, but i like the fact they don't follow the crowd and trying to be more quirky and different.
Does our idea for our music video follow these conventions to our genre and will attract our target audience?
I think so yes because you are using istopmotion which gives the video a kind of surreal and quirky feel to it anyway and using techniques such as green screen adds to the difference in these artists music. Also the actors we use in the music video aren't the actual singer so this follows conventions.
Do you have social networks, if so is this a good way to promote an artist aimed at teenagers?
I do and i think this is very good way to promote a artist as all my friends use social networking websites regularly, and this is a great way for fans to feel in touch with their favourite artists and lets the artists listen to what to what the fans have to say which i think is very important for the music industry and the fans especially.
What would you expect her promotional package to look like?
i expect it to be colourful and imaginative which will follow her conventions and personality. I also expect to have picture of her but have a real life sort of feel to the images and not look like a typical model picture i also expect it to have imagery of her playing the music.
Progress in lessons
This week in our lesson time we have been focusing on the editing of our music video and also creating a star pesonna for our star by creating various social networking pages for her.
In our editing we have really just been focusing on getting the timing right of our shots to the beat and also because we are using split screen we have been trying to get both of the videos to run at the same time to match the events that go on in both of the videos, this will make it look more effective and make the split screen really stand out because we have used certain techniques like passing objects from one screen to the other.
This week we have also managed to pretty much complete our rough cut for the music video and although some of the shots are slightly off the beat and out of time with each other we are happy with the results we have created this week. Slight problems we encountered were the timing of the stop motion and how fast we should make it to fit with our music video but to still give it that imaginary and unrealistic real, but with trial and error we managed to overcome this and have pretty much got there with the timing of all the shots.
The plan for next week is to keep on cracking on with our editing and trying to get to a more neat and groomed video, and also we will try and add our live action next week so the video really will be starting to come together. Also we will be starting our digi pack cover and magazine article.
In our editing we have really just been focusing on getting the timing right of our shots to the beat and also because we are using split screen we have been trying to get both of the videos to run at the same time to match the events that go on in both of the videos, this will make it look more effective and make the split screen really stand out because we have used certain techniques like passing objects from one screen to the other.
This week we have also managed to pretty much complete our rough cut for the music video and although some of the shots are slightly off the beat and out of time with each other we are happy with the results we have created this week. Slight problems we encountered were the timing of the stop motion and how fast we should make it to fit with our music video but to still give it that imaginary and unrealistic real, but with trial and error we managed to overcome this and have pretty much got there with the timing of all the shots.
The plan for next week is to keep on cracking on with our editing and trying to get to a more neat and groomed video, and also we will try and add our live action next week so the video really will be starting to come together. Also we will be starting our digi pack cover and magazine article.
Split Screen
I reseached into other split screen music videos and found this one. This looks really effective to me with the moving sections of the split screen and the similar images to create the whole image. This is similar to the effect we wanted. We wanted to create the effect that the image is altogether as the same shot however to give it the quirky edge both sides of the screen we wanted to keep different, with the same location but a contrasting mise-en-scene to show both sides of the narrative. This inspired me to maybe trial moving the split screen images to create an even quirkier effect. Im not sure whether this will work or look as effective as this video, however if we have the time we may consider this idea.
Monday, 15 October 2012
Target Audience
Target Audience is very important when promoting an artist, it allows you to make sure you are targeting the right people in order to appeal to them and make them successful. Our artist, Eliza Mindel would appeal to mainly females who are teenagers/ young adults. We have based this theory on similar artists to her such as Ellie Goulding, Lana Del Rey, Taylor Swift who are part of a niche audience however are very popular and famous within that niche. Our artist is mainly about her music rather than her image itself that is why we are not classifying her in a mass market like Cheryl Cole, Rihanna and Beyonce as she is not using her image to appeal to the male audience, mainly her music. We want females to be able to relate to Eliza and not create the 'perfect perception' of what a female should act or look like.
Interview with female 17 year old:
Eliza Mindel is attracting a similar audience to the likes of Ellie Goulding/ Taylor Swift, do you enjoy their music?
Yes, I listen to Ellie Goulding and enjoy her music as I can relate to it.
What conventions would you expect to see in this genre's music videos?
They seem quite abstract and almost quite weird. They look out of the ordinary and would be something you wouldnt expect, rather than typical female singers that are quite conventional.
Does our idea for our music video follow these conventions to our genre and will attract our target audience?
I really like the idea of the stop motion as this fits with the abstract idea and will look very effective. Also with the actors in the video you aren't focusing on the artist as much which is following conventions however the idea of the live motion of the artist in some parts is important too, so the audience know who the artist is and how to follow the fan base.
Do you have social networks, if so is this a good way to promote an artist aimed at teenagers?
I do and yes most people my age have got social network and it is a very good way to promote something. You can create a large fan base and people can get to know your personality and what your about.
What would you expect her promotional package to look like?
I think it would look quite colourful with the artist on the front and some images of her playing her music. You would create a real image for her if you followed a theme throughout the pack.
Interview with female 17 year old:
Eliza Mindel is attracting a similar audience to the likes of Ellie Goulding/ Taylor Swift, do you enjoy their music?
Yes, I listen to Ellie Goulding and enjoy her music as I can relate to it.
What conventions would you expect to see in this genre's music videos?
They seem quite abstract and almost quite weird. They look out of the ordinary and would be something you wouldnt expect, rather than typical female singers that are quite conventional.
Does our idea for our music video follow these conventions to our genre and will attract our target audience?
I really like the idea of the stop motion as this fits with the abstract idea and will look very effective. Also with the actors in the video you aren't focusing on the artist as much which is following conventions however the idea of the live motion of the artist in some parts is important too, so the audience know who the artist is and how to follow the fan base.
Do you have social networks, if so is this a good way to promote an artist aimed at teenagers?
I do and yes most people my age have got social network and it is a very good way to promote something. You can create a large fan base and people can get to know your personality and what your about.
What would you expect her promotional package to look like?
I think it would look quite colourful with the artist on the front and some images of her playing her music. You would create a real image for her if you followed a theme throughout the pack.
Final Storyboard
This is our storyboard for our final idea for our music video. We tried to stick to this as much as possible, however we did think there could be some difficulties with timing to create the image that we were thinking.
Eliza Mindel facebook Page
We created our own Facebook page for our artist Eliza Mindel. We are updating her statuses to create a fan base and appeal to her target audience. We decided to promote her through social network as it is cheap and easily accessible, also her target audience is aimed at teenagers and young adults who are likely to have these medias. We are using cross-media convergence in order for this promotion.
 |
| This is Ellie Goulding's Twitter account- it is fun and interesting, also shows bits about her personality; |
this is what it reads in her bio section.
 |
| This is a facebook page that a fan has made, continually updating other fans of what she has been up too, and when we should expect to see her latest releases. the page is visually interesting, with one of her album covers as the cover photo and profile picture. I feel this would be a good idea to have the same idea on ours, to promote her on social network sites. |
Ellie Goulding Album Covers
All of these album covers are visually attractive and grab your attention with the use of colours and contrasting tones. Ellie Goulding is the artist, so it would seem that she is the only feature on all of the covers- simple backgroud, highlighting that it is focussed on her. Light is a big part of all of her album covers!
It is extremely appealing and is recognisable to her. A gold colour is conventional to be seen on a CD cover or other media format of the artist as it relates to her surname of 'goulding,' emphasising her individuality.
The font is simple and rarely changes- this is a good thing as it is conventional to have your brand name on everything, and not confuse others by changing it. Also showing she isnt changing her style of music. She is portrayed to be very natural. This is because of her personality, and the genre of music she plays, but on the front cover she is represented in mainly casual clothes, and is never hinting to 'this is how you should look.'
All of the covers have had interesting effects added to them, making them more niche, which is expected as she performs for a niche target audience
Production Meeting 15/10/12
This lesson we are working towards getting our rough cut completed, as the deadline is the 17th. We still have plenty to edit, such as;
- Creating the split screen effect
- Adding the song
- Editing the live action
Thursday, 11 October 2012
Production Meeting 11/10/12
Todays meeting consisted creating a facebook page and a twitter account for our artist who we named 'Eliza Mindel' we have promoted her through social networking as this is a free and easily accessible way of promoting and advertising something. We have made her upload promotion on her new single 'The End' and about recording her new album to bring in her fan base and target audience.
We also continued with the editing process however rendering the video takes a long time everytime so we didn't get as much done as we'd hoped to but are on the way to creating the split screen.
Next meeting we hope to further our editing and add pictures to her twitter and facebook account which will be similar pictures to the digipack we will be creating.
We also continued with the editing process however rendering the video takes a long time everytime so we didn't get as much done as we'd hoped to but are on the way to creating the split screen.
Next meeting we hope to further our editing and add pictures to her twitter and facebook account which will be similar pictures to the digipack we will be creating.
Production meeting 10/10/12
Today we uploaded all of our footage from our filming on monday. This took up most of the lesson
as we had over 1000 pictures for our stop motion to upload we are still in the process of uploading our live motion footage too. After transferring our footage and stop motion onto final cut we made 2 sequences for the footage, one of the man and one of the woman and this meant we were able to speed up the footage in order to create our plan of 2 frames per second and to fit with the pace of the song.
Next meeting we hope to further our editing and hopefully start to put together our split screen. We also will start to plan our digi pack and promote our star on social network and make an account for this artist.
as we had over 1000 pictures for our stop motion to upload we are still in the process of uploading our live motion footage too. After transferring our footage and stop motion onto final cut we made 2 sequences for the footage, one of the man and one of the woman and this meant we were able to speed up the footage in order to create our plan of 2 frames per second and to fit with the pace of the song.
Next meeting we hope to further our editing and hopefully start to put together our split screen. We also will start to plan our digi pack and promote our star on social network and make an account for this artist.
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
Target Audience
The target audience for our music video is teenagers who will be predominantly female, aged from around 12-20 however it could also attract a slightly older audience (in the 20's) but this is not the main target audience. The target audience is mainly female because A. Our singer is a female solo artist and B. she comes from a folk background therefore does not include sexually appealing photos or nor does she convey a similar message in her media. Something that usually attracts a male audience.
We decided to use this group of people as our target audience for a variety of reasons. One being that it is easy to get teenagers to listen to music, and if they like the music they will then research more into the artist. We think that by having teenagers as a target audience, the radio could be a good form of media to use as well as the internet. Teenagers spend most of their time on the internet therefore by using viral videos and internet sharing (eg. through facebook, using our facebook page) we can really spread the awareness of our music.
One problem with our target audience is that because our singer has come from a folk background, this influences all of her music. Which usually would mean having a niche audience (where teenagers are not usually found) therefore we have to 'bring the niche to the mass' audiences. This is similar to what Ellie Goulding has done. She is mainly a folk/pop singer. But for example her song 'starry eyed' is very upbeat and 'cool' this makes it appeal to a young audience.
We decided to use this group of people as our target audience for a variety of reasons. One being that it is easy to get teenagers to listen to music, and if they like the music they will then research more into the artist. We think that by having teenagers as a target audience, the radio could be a good form of media to use as well as the internet. Teenagers spend most of their time on the internet therefore by using viral videos and internet sharing (eg. through facebook, using our facebook page) we can really spread the awareness of our music.
One problem with our target audience is that because our singer has come from a folk background, this influences all of her music. Which usually would mean having a niche audience (where teenagers are not usually found) therefore we have to 'bring the niche to the mass' audiences. This is similar to what Ellie Goulding has done. She is mainly a folk/pop singer. But for example her song 'starry eyed' is very upbeat and 'cool' this makes it appeal to a young audience.
Sunday, 7 October 2012
Early Storyboarding
This was very early stages of our planning. The first three shots were in chronological order and still seem quite relevent to or idea still.
They are of the split screen and waking up in the stages of two people that are a couple doing exactly the same thing.
The next three shots arent in the correct order however were used a guideline to express our idea.
The forth shot shown is of the couple in split screen with the cardboard cut out of a car which would crash, however we are not persuing this idea as we thought the cardboard cut outs would be too much to handle with us filming so soon we also didnt know how to create the crash effect so we aborted that idea.
The fifth shot is of the actor holding another image by using green screen. We are still using this idea as after our test footage this worked well and effective.
The final shot shown is of the couple not in split screen but with carboard wings and connoting angels. However we have also aborted this idea as it doesnt have relevance to our new song as much and we are now following a different storyline. Also the cardboard cut out would have been hard to look like wings.
Overall we are still following some elements of our early storyboard, but after a realisation we were perhaps being too adventurous for our time limit and facilities.
Filming
We are planning on filming the majority of our video tomorrow we have booked out some equiptment we will need for it. We are using 1 spotlight to create the artificial lighting effect and a smaller lamp to create different angles for effect and experimenting. We are also planning to use a dolly for filming to vary up our shot movements. We may use the dolly while we are filming in live action of the artist. We are also using a green piece of paper for our green screen effect which we found looked effective after our test footage. We are also looking at possible coloured filters or patterns over the spotlight to vary up the shots. We used a filter in our thriller opening and we found it looked very effective therefore there is a possibility we will be using them for our music video too.
Costume
Through research of the young artist, we found that her style choice was rather casual and unique from other videos as she is not afraid to blend in- unlike other artists appealing to a similar target audience.
Our artist for our Ellie Goulding music video will be wearing either a casual top and jeans, with a leather jacket, similar to the one below; we have decided that this look is appropriate for our star, as she is appealing to a wide target audience of teenagers and younger women, her lyrics are not fierce, and this look will connote that they shouldn't feel pressured to look a certain way by revealing a lot of body and through camera work. On top of this, our actress will be sitting on a chair/stall/ladder of some sort playing the guitar, where we will use mainly close-ups in artificial lighting to enhance the chorus and show her star persona, that it is all about the music and lyrics.
Her fashionista side shows through the types of clothes she wears and her obscure jewellery. Our artist will be wearing current casual clothing- we want her to look current but we do not want to give the wrong impression of you SHOULD have these clothes- hence the close-up shots of mainly waist upwards, where the guitar will be an obvious possession.
In most pictures/videos you see of Ellie Goulding her long hair is down, not always perfect, but is never covering her face, which shows confidence. We hope to have our artists hair in a similar way. 
Analysis of 'Cold Water' Music Video
This music video by 'Frances' was very influential to for our music video, as we also wanted a split screen effect. It was also suggested to us after our pitch that during the split screen, we should pass objects between the two frames to make it more interesting- this is a very good example of how impressive it can look!
I like how most of the video shows one side as inside, with artificial lighting, and the other half is of the band, or other members outside with natural lighting. I also like how the two separate locations allow diversity, (we will portray two different bedrooms) for different editing techniques, e.g. rotating of the shot. My favourite element was the heads being met in the middle over the split screen! I think it is good that it isn’t perfectly matched, and rough around the edges as it shows more about the band, also because it is live filming, where we are shooting ours using stop motion- two shots per frame.
Another influence was the synching straight after each other on the opposite frame, for example, if the drums were being played on the right, the next show on the left frame would be the same shot- in our music video we have planned a morning routine where the couple will be doing the same thing, just at different intervals, for example, brushing their teeth.
The effect the two different keyboards have is very simplistic but effective, like a symbol of old and new. There is a lot happening in the video which is reflected in the happy, energetic lyrics- We have discussed that our video will not be this busy as it will obviously be set in one room, also the lyrics are calm, slower and soft.
'The End' Lyrics
We've only ever kissed lying down
We've only ever touched
When there's no one else around
I can be elusive
If you want me to
I'm not being intrusive
I just wish I knew the truth
As to why
I wait for you
Longer than the average person would
And why
I think about you
More than I think one should
Our bodies fit together
Like a make-shift puzzle
And it's clear to see why you puzzle me
And you turn your frame
And you whisper my name
As though I am a burden
Cause I'm making up for lost time
And I'm making up for you
And I'm waking up from last night
And I'm waking up with you
So what's new?
So what's new?I am at your house
So I belong to you for now
Trying to impress you
But lord I don't know how
I can be a statue
If you want me to
I'm not being difficult
I just need to know the truth
As to why
I'm wanting you
And I would take you if I could
And why I'm still (lay?) here
It's something I still haven't understood
Our hands rest together
Like pieces of paper
But they're always blank
When I hold your hand
And it gave you a fright
When I stayed the night
And you gave yourself to me
We've only ever touched
When there's no one else around
I can be elusive
If you want me to
I'm not being intrusive
I just wish I knew the truth
As to why
I wait for you
Longer than the average person would
And why
I think about you
More than I think one should
Our bodies fit together
Like a make-shift puzzle
And it's clear to see why you puzzle me
And you turn your frame
And you whisper my name
As though I am a burden
Cause I'm making up for lost time
And I'm making up for you
And I'm waking up from last night
And I'm waking up with you
So what's new?
So what's new?I am at your house
So I belong to you for now
Trying to impress you
But lord I don't know how
I can be a statue
If you want me to
I'm not being difficult
I just need to know the truth
As to why
I'm wanting you
And I would take you if I could
And why I'm still (lay?) here
It's something I still haven't understood
Our hands rest together
Like pieces of paper
But they're always blank
When I hold your hand
And it gave you a fright
When I stayed the night
And you gave yourself to me
The words I have put in bold are the main reasons why we have planned to shoot this music video the way we have. When we first heard the song we instantly thought it would fit well to stop motion, and the lyrics seemed to suggest lovers waiting for each other, so the movement from stop motion says a lot about time, and the fact that the couple are lying in bed next to each other, but not together, suggest that they are still waiting for one another. The idea of passing objects to each other through the screen reflects the word ‘intrusive’, and ‘making up for lost time’ connotes their movement on how quickly they are moving throughout the video. ‘Make shift puzzle’ in our video refers to the split screen and them strangely being together, but apart- like puzzle pieces.
Saturday, 6 October 2012
Compare music video similar to ours
This is a fan video for 'Owl City's- Fireflies' but i have chosen this because it uses the same kind of techniques that we want to create and try in our music video for example iStopMotion and Green Screening. The music video starts of as live action but then the actress falls asleep and wakes up on a white board as her eye (green screen), when you use stop motion there is a sense of surrealism which you feel when you watch it and the way the green screen is used with the eye on it helps emphesis the dream like effect and weird effect stop motion gives video. In the video there is no link between the lyrics/audio and visuals because with stop motion it would hard to edit the lip syncing to be perfect and also if the actress is singing in the video it takes away the dream like feel to the video and that stop motion gives you.
The fact that she is gliding along the floor whist the video is playing and the fact that the video suggests that she is not noticed by any one around her and she is like a un noticed character just helps the audience to be reminded that it is a dream and stops them thinking that the video is unrealistic.
Overall i think that the video is very effective because they manage to create very smooth stop motion that flows very well and it creates a feel of surrealism throughout.
make-up
Our star, Ellie Goulding is going to have natural make-up betraying her laid back star personna and image. We have decided that she will have light mascara and no foundation or eye liner because of the story and shots we want to do in our music video. They're quite laid back a 'duvet day' kind of feel and waking up in the morning.
We feel that our star gives of the image of natural beauty and that you don't need lots of make up to look beautiful and we are trying to follow the image that she betrays, we have tried to follow this with her make up but also her hair and her costume. All of her music and the way the acts in the magazines and media so this is where we are following her natural beauty kind of personna. Also throughout our music video she will be doing her make up and hair and going through her everyday routine so you will see the make up evolve from just getting out of bed, to going out of the house for everyday routines.
We feel that our star gives of the image of natural beauty and that you don't need lots of make up to look beautiful and we are trying to follow the image that she betrays, we have tried to follow this with her make up but also her hair and her costume. All of her music and the way the acts in the magazines and media so this is where we are following her natural beauty kind of personna. Also throughout our music video she will be doing her make up and hair and going through her everyday routine so you will see the make up evolve from just getting out of bed, to going out of the house for everyday routines.
Goodwins points, analyse two music videos using these points
Media-
Goodwins 6
points-
Music videos
demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. stage performance in metal video, dance
routine for boy/girl band).
There is a
relationship between lyrics and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying,
contradicting).
There is a
relationship between music and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying,
contradicting).
The demands of the
record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the
artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).
There is frequently
reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and
particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
There is often
intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc).
Genre 1, Hip-Hop. 50 Cent- just a lil bit
This video follows
the stereo typical hip-hop video, following the lavish lifestyle of the artist
in this case 50 Cent, it follows a sort of story and has parallel editing to
tell different stories between 50 Cents lifestyle and the lifestyle of rich
looking men, it uses woman and stereotypically expensive luxuries. The lyrics
are telling a woman what they would get if they were with him and the lyrics
are seductive to a woman, and the video has a relationship with the lyrics in
the fact that when he is talking about all these woman and living a lavish
lifestyle the video follows this. Also the video is amplifying the what he is
saying in the lyrics even more by showing the viewer what he has not just
saying what he has. Sound effects of ‘blowing up’ at the beginning of the video
are cut in time with 50 cents footsteps to add emphasis on his presence and
also throughout the video on almost every ‘clap’ in the music the video will
cut to a new image but these clips all seem relevant to the bigger story of the
music video. There is a lot of voyeurism to the female body because generally
the song and the video is about woman so there is a lot of sexual shots of
woman.
Genre 2, Pop. Beyonce- countdown
This is a pop video
and this relates genre characteristics because it has a dance routine in it and
throughout the dance routine is performed and a lot of the time the dance moves
relate a lot to the lyrics as in words in the lyrics will be emphasized by the
dance move. Also a lot of times in the video there are shot of a band that is
playing the music. She is talking about someone she loves in the lyrics and
this relates in the video because she is always looking happy. But also the
lyrics sometimes don’t relate to the video at all they’re abstract to the video.
They’re a lot of close ups of Beyonce which is selling her image as a pop star
and the fact that she is dancing is keeping to her identity as a artist because
in a lot of her videos she dances along with the song. It doesn’t really have
voyeurism in it because most of the time she is performing to the camera and
with the setting and the fact she has dancers around her and props it looks and
you get the feeling that she is rehearsing for a stage performance. A lot of
the video is positioned in the male’s point of view because she is dancing in a
way that would be pleasing the male eye, but some of the time is just her head
in an extreme close up taking away this ‘male viewpoint’. Also the video the
video appeals to women as well because the aspire to be like Beyonce and aspire
to have the love that beyonce has obviously shown in her lyrics and this also
reaches out to a lot of woman because they can understand her love for their
partner and also relate to her in that way.
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