QUESTION 1:
QUESTION 2:
QUESTION 3:
QUESTION 4:
Monday 21 March 2016
Friday 11 March 2016
The Evaluation Transcript
Before filming my evaluation, I had to know what to say. After planning in rough, I wrote a full script which I later used when recording the voice over. Here is the final evaluation script:
1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge form and conventions or real media products?
Before planning my own music video I did a lot of research into the conventions of a traditional music video. During this period I learnt about the types of music videos and common features used. Just like in TV and film; camera work, mise en scene and editing are used to convey the tone of the song as well as creating a deeper layer of meaning. During my research I also discovered that each music genre also have their own individual conventions. All the information I learnt was written up on my blog where I analysed music videos of different genres and types.
Researching the Andrew Goodwin Music Video Theory was extremely helpful when producing my own music video. I learnt that there are six keys that feature in most music videos.
The first key aspect is the relationship between the visuals and the lyrics. Visuals are used to amplify, illustrate or contradict the meaning behind the lyrics. Within this key there are three steps, which are as follows:
• Firstly, we look at the music itself and its structure including choruses, verses and bridges.
• Secondly we look at the main body of the song. The voice of the main artist can be unique and can be used as a form of identification or a trademark.
• Thirdly, is the mode of address. Music videos are often in the form of a narrative so songs can be seen as storytelling devices.
In my own video, the clips were cut to emphasis the beat. I wanted to clarify the importance of certain lyrics, so I switched to the clip where it showed the actor lip-syncing. Watching her lip sync emphasises the words she is saying.
The fifth key is the frequent gestures and notions to looking and is particular the voyeuristic treatment of the female body in music videos.
An example of this in mainstream media is the male gaze. In videos such as Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines there is the use of deliberate cuts to bring attention to certain female attributes. I avoided this convention in my own video. None of the angles or camera movements I used was used in an indecent way. In my opinion, I felt it was unnecessary to include this simply because it is not needed and the impact it has on the portrayal of women is negative.
The sixth and final key is the frequent use of intertextual references to TV shows, films, other music videos and other media.
Other forms of media including other music videos have been very influential when creating my own work. There are no direct references however; you can see the influence certain videos have had when watching my music video.
To make my music video look like a real music video, I knew I had to research what kind of things feature in typical music videos. Though I did not stick to some conventions, it was helpful to see what is popular in music video production. Traditionally music videos use a variety of different camera angles and movements however I noticed that certain types of shots were used more frequently than others.
Close ups are among the most common type of shot used. They are either used to show to artist or actor lip singing to the song or are used to show important features in the video. Close ups are used in videos such as Taylor Swift’s Shake it Off, Adele’s Hello, Coldplay’s the Scientist and many others. I used close ups in my own music video for the same reason – to show lip singing. Close ups allowed me to convey emotion which matches the tone of the song and also to emphasis certain lyrics that are important in the story of the music video.
Other types of shots that are often used are mid shots. Mid shots, like close ups are one of the most common types of shots. It shows a combination of the mise en scene but also a slight close up of the artist or actor’s face so that you can see the emotion conveyed. There are numerous videos that use mid shots but some examples are Avril Lavigne’s Girlfriend, Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal and Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit . In my own video it is the most used type of shot. It shows the action of the actor playing the guitar as well as showing the face so the lip singing can be seen.
Similarly, long shots or establishing shots tend to be used in most music videos. It shows everything in the surroundings and all of the action. They have been used in music videos such as, Sia’s Chandelier and Beyonce’s Single Ladies. I did not use long shots in my own music video as it the area of the projection was too small. If I had used long shots, it would have shown parts of the room that I did not want shown as well as affecting the framing of the shot.
When editing a music video, jump cut editing tends to be the most popular type of transition . When a video is cut to the beat using jump cuts, it creates a connection to the song and emphasises the rhythm. Jump cuts also feel likes a more natural type of editing. Most modern music videos want to create a natural feel so jump cut editing is the best type of transition to use. Examples of jump cut editing are Daughter’s Numbers and Twenty One Pilots’ Lane Boy. In my own music video it is the only type of transition used. It was simply because I liked the natural feel to it. It meant that I could use the cuts to emphasis the beat and highlight certain parts of the song. It created an underlying meaning behind the song. The lyrics do not make a lot of sense and are open to interpretation. By using jump cut editing I was able to emphasise parts of the song I felt were important and therefore what is shown is what I believe the song to be about.
For example, I wanted to go with the angle that the song could be about transition, specifically the transition from being a care free child to an adult . The use of natural imagery in the background was used to represent the sense of freedom that open spaces have. To me, the outdoors is reminiscent of childhood when everything is big, open free – the ‘world is you oyster’ mentality . I also wanted to convey the idea of moving on, which slightly links back to the idea of transitioning. In the background video, there is a lot of movement in the clip that draw the eye along with it. It created a flow which resembles the idea of movement and moving on.
As I wanted my video to look like a real music video, I mostly followed the conventions of a traditional music video however; I did not want to sacrifice creativity for traditionalism, so I challenged some of the typical conventions.
One genre that I did further analysis of it the indie/alterative genre. The song I had chosen is and indie song so I wanted to know what features a generally used in music videos for this genre. After analysing existing music videos and writing about my research on my blog, I found that most of the conventions are the same as a typical music video but there are a few defining ones.
Handheld camera shots are more frequently used in indie/ alternative music. An example of this is the video for Car Radio by Twenty One Pilots. The entirety of the video is not filmed with a tripod making the video clips unstable and shakey. It gives the video a sense of chaos, which adds a deeper meaning to the video.
Indie/ alternative music videos tend to focus more on performance and conceptual music rather than storylines. The emphasis is more on visual poetry – linking the lyrics to the visuals. This is unlike pop music videos where there is a lot of colour and dancing that don’t necessarily link to the lyrics. By using primarily performance-based video clips, my video was following convention.
There are three typical types of music videos . These are narrative videos, conceptual videos and performance based videos . Most modern videos use a combination of types but also try to have some sort of underlying narrative. An example of this is the video for Dance Dance by Fall Out Boy. The video follows the story of the boys going to homecoming, yet there are also performance aspects meaning that the video is a combination video. Most videos tend to have some sort of story or at least a beginning and an end however my video lacks narrative. I felt that it gave me the opportunity to explore the lyrics more and base the video on the lyrics rather than the story told by the lyrics . In this sense I challenged the conventions. I decided that I would focus more on the performance aspect as it is the type of music video that Daughter tends to use themselves in their older videos such as ‘Youth’. Other examples of performance-based videos are Panic! At the Disco’s This is Gospel and Green Day’s American Idiot.
Behind any creation or idea is inspiration. I picked inspiration from a variety of places such as Youtube videos, artwork, other songs and even other music videos. I used elements of everything I was inspired by and mixed it all together, creating ideas of my own. For example, the video for Taylor Swift’s Style starts with a fascinating visual where is shows Taylor herself overlayed with a video of the sea. This visual is what inspired the projection idea. I developed this idea by taking a video and laying it over a person.
The video for Stromae’s Ave Cesaria inspired my use of VHS home-video aesthetic. In the video the resolution is lower and the screen rolls. I recreated the same effect in my video by using an effect called Bad TV. I did not use this effect on the actual video but rather on the video that is projected in the background.
The Youtube video Moving at Midnight which is a music video of Pure by Blackbird also inspired my work. I liked the use of cuts to the beat as it created emphasis on the rhythm of the song. I also liked the use of silhouettes as it created an interesting visual. In my own video I developed the idea of using light to create interesting silhouettes as seen in my video.
2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
In addition to the music video, I created a digipack and an advert that linked to the album. I started work by researching. All my ideas and plans stemmed from other digipacks and album posters. Without research, I would have been stuck for ideas. Initially, I started researching digipacks before I researched adverts. From my research I discovered that most digipacks include:
A front cover
Pages for lyrics
Credits
Thank you page / a message from the artist/band
Legal information
And a back cover.
The front cover always has a large eye catching picture. Typically, the photo is part of the artist or band’s image . For example, Daughter are associated with this particular image found on the front of their debut album “The Wild Youth”. It is an image they continued to use on their second album “His Young Heart”. When taking my own photos, I took a picture of the actor who starred in the music video and used her face as the band’s image. I wanted to stay true to the band that originally created the song, which is Daughter . Daughter’s lead singer Elena Torna is at the forefront of the band. Her face is what is used to promote the band. For both my digipack and my advert I used a black and white theme. To tie in with this theme, my front cover image was in black and white. It better suited the rest of the digipack and because of that it did not look out of place.
During my research, I also learnt that front covers only tend to include the name of the band/ artist and the name of the album , so that is all I included on my own work. As the background was grey, I used white text. It made it stand out from the picture and therefore easier to read. At the beginning of my music video, the titles show the band’s name above the name of the song. I continued this over on my digipack, making the text larger than the name of the album. I also added the signature dots at the beginning and end of the band’s name to tie in with the band’s image.
I also included a few lyrics pages so my digipack resembles a real digipack. I felt that these pages did not really need to be elaborate. Being simple makes it easier to look at. To tie in with the black and white theme, I made the background black. The lyrics on top were white, which made them stand out and easier to read. However, at this point I felt that the pages looked overly simple. To make it more interesting I added small doodles on each page. The 'doodles' all were different types of paper craft such as paper planes and paper boats, but they all also had a similar theme of 'travel' which links to a tone of the album. Like the text, I made the doodle white, but they were a faded white so the white text on top of it stood out.
For the last double page spread, I decided to also add a credit page and a thank you message page. Instead of using the Internet to research what information should be included I used digipacks that I found in my home such as the digipack for the ‘Folie a Deux’ album and for the ‘What We Saw from the Cheap Seats’ album. Looking at these digipacks gave me an insight into the kind of people who work on an album such as photographers and producers. In addition to this, it gave me an idea of what artist’s typically included in their thank you messages.
The back cover typically contains most of the legal information . As you can see on the back of the Folie a Deux album, there is a black box that contains: copyright information, the record label’s logo, the barcode and the band’s website. From my research, I learnt that this is exactly what most back covers include. On the back of the Bad Blood album, there is also legal information regarding piracy. It states, “Unauthorised reproduction is a violation of applicable laws.” Depending on the country and the record label the message changes. The aim is to prevent piracy and unlawful distribution . To make it clear to the audience it has to be visible on the album. At the bottom of my back cover I wrote: “All rights reserved. Unauthorised copying, reproduction, hiring, lending, public performance and broadcasting prohibited.” I placed this information at the bottom in a small font so it does not distract from the main body of the back cover, which is the track list. For the track list, I used the same font but instead all the letters were capitalised to create a clear definition between the names of the song and the additional information below it. At the bottom of the track list, I wrote, "Written by Elena Torna and Igor Haefeli, except where noted. Produced by Igor Haefeli." Some of the songs written for the album were written just by Elena Torna, therefore I added additional credits underneath the songs only she wrote.
The track list was placed over the picture. To create a sense of continuity, I wanted to use a similar image to the one on the front cover. As it was the back cover I wanted to take a photo of the same subject but from behind. Additionally, I used the same grey scale colour scheme to make the images look the same.
For an album to sell, it has to be promoted. Posters, TV and radio advertisements, social media posts and websites are all ways the music industry promote their artist’s albums. I decided that a poster would be the best way to advertise my album ‘Smother’. After researching and analysing album posters I discovered what sort of features and information typically are included. For example most albums include information such as the artist/band’s name, the name of the album, the name of the top single featured on the album, album reviews, record label information and the release date of the album. I included most of this as it is what an interested consumer would want to know prior to buying the album. In addition to this I also added where consumers can download the album and what forms the album will come such as CD and digital download.
Most album posters include a photo that it the same or similar to the photo used on the album cover. An example of this is Jessie J’s “Who You Are” album where it uses exactly the same photo as the album cover. This influenced my advert, where I used the photo from the front cover of my digipack. Some album posters such as Ellie Goulding’s Lights and Lady Gaga’s Born this Way use an extend version of the album cover photo so that it fills an A4 space, however some album posters such as Ed Sheeran’s Plus and Florence and Machine’s Lungs use the cropped version straight from the album cover. When I took the photos originally, they were landscape therefore could not be extended. I took influence from these album posters and used small photo rather than one that filled the entire space. The rest of the space I used for information. I preferred to do this as it also means that the text would be easier to read than if it had been placed on top of a picture.
To create a strong association between all the ancillary texts I used the same theme throughout the digipack and the advert. I continued to use the black and white colour scheme for my advert. As a colour scheme it is over used but it does effectively create a contrast which helps make the information stand out.
The picture and the text on its own looked boring. To make it look more interesting I added additional accents such as the border around the entire advert. It filled space and made the advert look fuller.
Typically, album posters have to include legal information such as the record label’s logo and copyright information. I used the logos that I created for the digipack and put it in the right corner. I did not what to make it any bigger as it would have stood out too much compared to the rest of the text. Typically, on any form of promotion the legal information is small. By following this, my advert looks like a real advert.
3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?
To find out my target audience I created a questionnaire . From this I could see what age and gender are my target audience, and what the target audience would like to see in a music video. In the questionnaire, I asked six questions , which included basic information about the participant, and general information about features of a music video they feel is important. The results influenced what I included in my own music video.
The first question was: Are you male or female?
75 % of the participants were female which mean that the results were biased. I felt that this did not truly represent a real audience for a music video. However, what I did learn is that from the males who participated had similar answers to the females. Gender did not have any influence on the likes and dislikes of the participants.
Questions two: What age group do you fall under?
There were eight age groups to choose from including:
• Under 10
• 10 – 15
• 16 – 18
• 19 -25
• 26 – 35
• 36 – 40
• 41 – 59
• 60 +
Out of the people who watch music videos, 60% were aged 16 – 18. From this I knew that the demographic for my music video would mostly be teenagers. I kept this in mind when planning my own music video and made sure that the features I included were what this demographic wanted.
Question 3: How many times do you watch music videos per week?
The options for this video were:
• Every day
• Three times
• Two times
• Once
• Never
12 people in total watch videos every day, which implies that these people are eager to watch music videos rather than just listening to the audio. This question was not important in finding out my demographic but it did emphasis that the participants are very interested in music videos and therefore they are more likely to know what they want to see.
Question 4: Where would be the first place you would watch a music video?
I gave the participants the options of:
• Youtube
• Websites
• Apps
• Music channels
They were also given an ‘other’ option where they could write other places they use to watch music videos.
15 people used Youtube over other platforms. If I were to publish this music video, the best place would be on Youtube as it is the most popular platform.
Question 5: What is your favourite music genre?
I gave the participants a long list of different genres and asked them to pick at least one favourite. Pop and Indie were the most popular at 29% each. Due to this, I decided to focus on these two genres. It helped me pick my song, which is from the Indie genre, with Pop aspects.
Question 6: What is the most important feature of a music video to you?
The options for this question were:
• Features the band / artist
• Video links to the lyrics
• Performance /singing
• Follows a storyline
• Costume / make up
• Features dancing
• Props
Like question 4, the participants were also given an ‘other’ option.
According the participants, the most important features are that it features the artist and that it features performance aspects. I used these results and focused solely on these two features in my own work.
To support my research I also conducted an interview with people who had seen my music video. Before asking them to watch the video I asked them: What are your expectations for the music video?
I then showed them the video and filmed their reactions.
Questions asked:
• What word comes to mind when you watch the video?
• Did you feel that it looked professional?
• What did you like the most about the video?
• What would you improve about the video?
4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
Throughout the planning and production processes, I used a variety of media and technology. For the filming, I had to use a selection of equipment including:
• A DLSR camera
• A tripod
• SD card
• A projector
• And a screen.
The camera used was a Canon EOS 110D. It allowed for full 1080p filming, which meant that the quality of my video was significantly better. I filmed in the standard mode using the in-built auto focus to make sure my clips were sharp and in focus.
To keep the camera steady, I used a tripod. It was very usefully during the filming as I could not stand in front of the projector to film as it would have obstructed the video, but the camera on the tripod did not block the projector. The use of extending legs and rotating base meant that I could get every angle I needed. However, I found that for some shots it was not long enough so I had to place it on a stool to increase the height.
The screen was used to create a blank background to project the background video onto. The screen was easy to put up. It simply had to be pulled up using a handle. Thankfully, the screen was low enough for the actor to stand in front of. Other projectors in the school were screwed into the ceilings and could not be lowered. The projector I used was a mobile projector which meant that I could move it around with ease to fit onto the screen.
Additionally, other equipment I used included:
• A camera battery
• Extension cords for the projector
• And my laptop to play the background video .
After I had filmed, I started the editing process. For this I used the same program that I used for AS media coursework – Final Cut Pro X . As I had used the program last year, I was confident using it again this year. Unlike last year, I used the multicam tool. When I filmed, I filmed the same thing from six different angles. Using the multicam tool I was to sync all the clips together on the timeline and then using the blade tool I cut between the clips, creating jump cuts timed to the beat of the song. I found this tool very helpful as the manual way of editing it would have taken longer. Once the clips were on the timeline I went in to manually correct each video. Using filters and colour correction tool I was able to adjust the contrast of the video. When I looked back at raw footage the video blended in with the actor’s face a bit too much. By adjusting the contrast it made the visual clearer.
For the evaluation, I used the same program to edit all my clips together. I manually edited all the clips together by dragging them down onto the timeline where I could shorten them using the in and out tools. Before editing the clips together, I used other forms of media to collect the visuals for the evaluation. Camista is a screen-recording program. I used this to capture videos from Youtube to compare to my own music video. In this program I was also able to resize the videos so I could place them side-by-side.
For my digipack and album advert I used InDesign. I had never used the program before, so therefore I was unfamiliar with the layout. However I found that after some practice the program was easy to use. To create the digipack, I opened a new document and changed it to a ‘compact CD’ in the options. The dimensions of the page are the same dimensions of a real CD. From here I added a four double spread pages and a back cover. Using the text tool, I was able to add all the information such as the lyrics and the album title on the front cover. To add the images I went to File > Place and picked the images. Once the images were added, I used the select tool to drag it to the right size. From here all I had to do was move everything into place. The same process was used whilst creating my advert. However, to create the black background and the white borders I had to use the rectangle tool to make the shapes I wanted.
Some of the images used in both my digipack and my advert had to be made specially. To create these images I had to use additional programs such as Paint Tool Sai and Photoshop. To create the two logos and the barcode on the back cover as well as the double page collage of home photos, I used Photoshop. Additionally, I used Photoshop to change the front and back cover images to black and white by going to Enhance > Convert to black and white. For the lyric pages I had to use some special equipment to create the images I wanted. I used a Wacom Bamboo graphics tablet with Paint Tool Sai which meant I could physically draw what I wanted. I started with a black background which was the same size as the double page spread. After this, I used the ‘chalk’ brush to draw the doodles. Once I was finished, I exported the pages as jpeg files and imported them onto InDesign.
After creating all my ancillary texts, I uploaded them onto different platforms. My blog was my main platform and it played important part in my research process. Blogger is an easy to use blogging platform that I could access from any computer or even my phone. At a click of a button I could create a new post and then just as easily publish it – sharing everything I’ve researched and learnt. The site supports most files which meant I could share my digipack, photos, advert, music video and even this evaluation. As Blogger is a Google owned site, it supports Youtube which meant that it was even easier to share my music video and evaluation.
Youtube was another important platform that I used in my creative process. Not only could I use it to research music videos and other influential videos, I could use it to upload my own experiments and final products.
Without all the different types of media, technology and equipment, I would have never been able to create the products I did and I would never have learnt what have learnt.
1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge form and conventions or real media products?
Before planning my own music video I did a lot of research into the conventions of a traditional music video. During this period I learnt about the types of music videos and common features used. Just like in TV and film; camera work, mise en scene and editing are used to convey the tone of the song as well as creating a deeper layer of meaning. During my research I also discovered that each music genre also have their own individual conventions. All the information I learnt was written up on my blog where I analysed music videos of different genres and types.
Researching the Andrew Goodwin Music Video Theory was extremely helpful when producing my own music video. I learnt that there are six keys that feature in most music videos.
The first key aspect is the relationship between the visuals and the lyrics. Visuals are used to amplify, illustrate or contradict the meaning behind the lyrics. Within this key there are three steps, which are as follows:
• Firstly, we look at the music itself and its structure including choruses, verses and bridges.
• Secondly we look at the main body of the song. The voice of the main artist can be unique and can be used as a form of identification or a trademark.
• Thirdly, is the mode of address. Music videos are often in the form of a narrative so songs can be seen as storytelling devices.
In my own video, the clips were cut to emphasis the beat. I wanted to clarify the importance of certain lyrics, so I switched to the clip where it showed the actor lip-syncing. Watching her lip sync emphasises the words she is saying.
The fifth key is the frequent gestures and notions to looking and is particular the voyeuristic treatment of the female body in music videos.
An example of this in mainstream media is the male gaze. In videos such as Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines there is the use of deliberate cuts to bring attention to certain female attributes. I avoided this convention in my own video. None of the angles or camera movements I used was used in an indecent way. In my opinion, I felt it was unnecessary to include this simply because it is not needed and the impact it has on the portrayal of women is negative.
The sixth and final key is the frequent use of intertextual references to TV shows, films, other music videos and other media.
Other forms of media including other music videos have been very influential when creating my own work. There are no direct references however; you can see the influence certain videos have had when watching my music video.
To make my music video look like a real music video, I knew I had to research what kind of things feature in typical music videos. Though I did not stick to some conventions, it was helpful to see what is popular in music video production. Traditionally music videos use a variety of different camera angles and movements however I noticed that certain types of shots were used more frequently than others.
Close ups are among the most common type of shot used. They are either used to show to artist or actor lip singing to the song or are used to show important features in the video. Close ups are used in videos such as Taylor Swift’s Shake it Off, Adele’s Hello, Coldplay’s the Scientist and many others. I used close ups in my own music video for the same reason – to show lip singing. Close ups allowed me to convey emotion which matches the tone of the song and also to emphasis certain lyrics that are important in the story of the music video.
Other types of shots that are often used are mid shots. Mid shots, like close ups are one of the most common types of shots. It shows a combination of the mise en scene but also a slight close up of the artist or actor’s face so that you can see the emotion conveyed. There are numerous videos that use mid shots but some examples are Avril Lavigne’s Girlfriend, Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal and Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit . In my own video it is the most used type of shot. It shows the action of the actor playing the guitar as well as showing the face so the lip singing can be seen.
Similarly, long shots or establishing shots tend to be used in most music videos. It shows everything in the surroundings and all of the action. They have been used in music videos such as, Sia’s Chandelier and Beyonce’s Single Ladies. I did not use long shots in my own music video as it the area of the projection was too small. If I had used long shots, it would have shown parts of the room that I did not want shown as well as affecting the framing of the shot.
When editing a music video, jump cut editing tends to be the most popular type of transition . When a video is cut to the beat using jump cuts, it creates a connection to the song and emphasises the rhythm. Jump cuts also feel likes a more natural type of editing. Most modern music videos want to create a natural feel so jump cut editing is the best type of transition to use. Examples of jump cut editing are Daughter’s Numbers and Twenty One Pilots’ Lane Boy. In my own music video it is the only type of transition used. It was simply because I liked the natural feel to it. It meant that I could use the cuts to emphasis the beat and highlight certain parts of the song. It created an underlying meaning behind the song. The lyrics do not make a lot of sense and are open to interpretation. By using jump cut editing I was able to emphasise parts of the song I felt were important and therefore what is shown is what I believe the song to be about.
For example, I wanted to go with the angle that the song could be about transition, specifically the transition from being a care free child to an adult . The use of natural imagery in the background was used to represent the sense of freedom that open spaces have. To me, the outdoors is reminiscent of childhood when everything is big, open free – the ‘world is you oyster’ mentality . I also wanted to convey the idea of moving on, which slightly links back to the idea of transitioning. In the background video, there is a lot of movement in the clip that draw the eye along with it. It created a flow which resembles the idea of movement and moving on.
As I wanted my video to look like a real music video, I mostly followed the conventions of a traditional music video however; I did not want to sacrifice creativity for traditionalism, so I challenged some of the typical conventions.
One genre that I did further analysis of it the indie/alterative genre. The song I had chosen is and indie song so I wanted to know what features a generally used in music videos for this genre. After analysing existing music videos and writing about my research on my blog, I found that most of the conventions are the same as a typical music video but there are a few defining ones.
Handheld camera shots are more frequently used in indie/ alternative music. An example of this is the video for Car Radio by Twenty One Pilots. The entirety of the video is not filmed with a tripod making the video clips unstable and shakey. It gives the video a sense of chaos, which adds a deeper meaning to the video.
Indie/ alternative music videos tend to focus more on performance and conceptual music rather than storylines. The emphasis is more on visual poetry – linking the lyrics to the visuals. This is unlike pop music videos where there is a lot of colour and dancing that don’t necessarily link to the lyrics. By using primarily performance-based video clips, my video was following convention.
There are three typical types of music videos . These are narrative videos, conceptual videos and performance based videos . Most modern videos use a combination of types but also try to have some sort of underlying narrative. An example of this is the video for Dance Dance by Fall Out Boy. The video follows the story of the boys going to homecoming, yet there are also performance aspects meaning that the video is a combination video. Most videos tend to have some sort of story or at least a beginning and an end however my video lacks narrative. I felt that it gave me the opportunity to explore the lyrics more and base the video on the lyrics rather than the story told by the lyrics . In this sense I challenged the conventions. I decided that I would focus more on the performance aspect as it is the type of music video that Daughter tends to use themselves in their older videos such as ‘Youth’. Other examples of performance-based videos are Panic! At the Disco’s This is Gospel and Green Day’s American Idiot.
Behind any creation or idea is inspiration. I picked inspiration from a variety of places such as Youtube videos, artwork, other songs and even other music videos. I used elements of everything I was inspired by and mixed it all together, creating ideas of my own. For example, the video for Taylor Swift’s Style starts with a fascinating visual where is shows Taylor herself overlayed with a video of the sea. This visual is what inspired the projection idea. I developed this idea by taking a video and laying it over a person.
The video for Stromae’s Ave Cesaria inspired my use of VHS home-video aesthetic. In the video the resolution is lower and the screen rolls. I recreated the same effect in my video by using an effect called Bad TV. I did not use this effect on the actual video but rather on the video that is projected in the background.
The Youtube video Moving at Midnight which is a music video of Pure by Blackbird also inspired my work. I liked the use of cuts to the beat as it created emphasis on the rhythm of the song. I also liked the use of silhouettes as it created an interesting visual. In my own video I developed the idea of using light to create interesting silhouettes as seen in my video.
2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
In addition to the music video, I created a digipack and an advert that linked to the album. I started work by researching. All my ideas and plans stemmed from other digipacks and album posters. Without research, I would have been stuck for ideas. Initially, I started researching digipacks before I researched adverts. From my research I discovered that most digipacks include:
A front cover
Pages for lyrics
Credits
Thank you page / a message from the artist/band
Legal information
And a back cover.
The front cover always has a large eye catching picture. Typically, the photo is part of the artist or band’s image . For example, Daughter are associated with this particular image found on the front of their debut album “The Wild Youth”. It is an image they continued to use on their second album “His Young Heart”. When taking my own photos, I took a picture of the actor who starred in the music video and used her face as the band’s image. I wanted to stay true to the band that originally created the song, which is Daughter . Daughter’s lead singer Elena Torna is at the forefront of the band. Her face is what is used to promote the band. For both my digipack and my advert I used a black and white theme. To tie in with this theme, my front cover image was in black and white. It better suited the rest of the digipack and because of that it did not look out of place.
During my research, I also learnt that front covers only tend to include the name of the band/ artist and the name of the album , so that is all I included on my own work. As the background was grey, I used white text. It made it stand out from the picture and therefore easier to read. At the beginning of my music video, the titles show the band’s name above the name of the song. I continued this over on my digipack, making the text larger than the name of the album. I also added the signature dots at the beginning and end of the band’s name to tie in with the band’s image.
I also included a few lyrics pages so my digipack resembles a real digipack. I felt that these pages did not really need to be elaborate. Being simple makes it easier to look at. To tie in with the black and white theme, I made the background black. The lyrics on top were white, which made them stand out and easier to read. However, at this point I felt that the pages looked overly simple. To make it more interesting I added small doodles on each page. The 'doodles' all were different types of paper craft such as paper planes and paper boats, but they all also had a similar theme of 'travel' which links to a tone of the album. Like the text, I made the doodle white, but they were a faded white so the white text on top of it stood out.
For the last double page spread, I decided to also add a credit page and a thank you message page. Instead of using the Internet to research what information should be included I used digipacks that I found in my home such as the digipack for the ‘Folie a Deux’ album and for the ‘What We Saw from the Cheap Seats’ album. Looking at these digipacks gave me an insight into the kind of people who work on an album such as photographers and producers. In addition to this, it gave me an idea of what artist’s typically included in their thank you messages.
The back cover typically contains most of the legal information . As you can see on the back of the Folie a Deux album, there is a black box that contains: copyright information, the record label’s logo, the barcode and the band’s website. From my research, I learnt that this is exactly what most back covers include. On the back of the Bad Blood album, there is also legal information regarding piracy. It states, “Unauthorised reproduction is a violation of applicable laws.” Depending on the country and the record label the message changes. The aim is to prevent piracy and unlawful distribution . To make it clear to the audience it has to be visible on the album. At the bottom of my back cover I wrote: “All rights reserved. Unauthorised copying, reproduction, hiring, lending, public performance and broadcasting prohibited.” I placed this information at the bottom in a small font so it does not distract from the main body of the back cover, which is the track list. For the track list, I used the same font but instead all the letters were capitalised to create a clear definition between the names of the song and the additional information below it. At the bottom of the track list, I wrote, "Written by Elena Torna and Igor Haefeli, except where noted. Produced by Igor Haefeli." Some of the songs written for the album were written just by Elena Torna, therefore I added additional credits underneath the songs only she wrote.
The track list was placed over the picture. To create a sense of continuity, I wanted to use a similar image to the one on the front cover. As it was the back cover I wanted to take a photo of the same subject but from behind. Additionally, I used the same grey scale colour scheme to make the images look the same.
For an album to sell, it has to be promoted. Posters, TV and radio advertisements, social media posts and websites are all ways the music industry promote their artist’s albums. I decided that a poster would be the best way to advertise my album ‘Smother’. After researching and analysing album posters I discovered what sort of features and information typically are included. For example most albums include information such as the artist/band’s name, the name of the album, the name of the top single featured on the album, album reviews, record label information and the release date of the album. I included most of this as it is what an interested consumer would want to know prior to buying the album. In addition to this I also added where consumers can download the album and what forms the album will come such as CD and digital download.
Most album posters include a photo that it the same or similar to the photo used on the album cover. An example of this is Jessie J’s “Who You Are” album where it uses exactly the same photo as the album cover. This influenced my advert, where I used the photo from the front cover of my digipack. Some album posters such as Ellie Goulding’s Lights and Lady Gaga’s Born this Way use an extend version of the album cover photo so that it fills an A4 space, however some album posters such as Ed Sheeran’s Plus and Florence and Machine’s Lungs use the cropped version straight from the album cover. When I took the photos originally, they were landscape therefore could not be extended. I took influence from these album posters and used small photo rather than one that filled the entire space. The rest of the space I used for information. I preferred to do this as it also means that the text would be easier to read than if it had been placed on top of a picture.
To create a strong association between all the ancillary texts I used the same theme throughout the digipack and the advert. I continued to use the black and white colour scheme for my advert. As a colour scheme it is over used but it does effectively create a contrast which helps make the information stand out.
The picture and the text on its own looked boring. To make it look more interesting I added additional accents such as the border around the entire advert. It filled space and made the advert look fuller.
Typically, album posters have to include legal information such as the record label’s logo and copyright information. I used the logos that I created for the digipack and put it in the right corner. I did not what to make it any bigger as it would have stood out too much compared to the rest of the text. Typically, on any form of promotion the legal information is small. By following this, my advert looks like a real advert.
3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?
To find out my target audience I created a questionnaire . From this I could see what age and gender are my target audience, and what the target audience would like to see in a music video. In the questionnaire, I asked six questions , which included basic information about the participant, and general information about features of a music video they feel is important. The results influenced what I included in my own music video.
The first question was: Are you male or female?
75 % of the participants were female which mean that the results were biased. I felt that this did not truly represent a real audience for a music video. However, what I did learn is that from the males who participated had similar answers to the females. Gender did not have any influence on the likes and dislikes of the participants.
Questions two: What age group do you fall under?
There were eight age groups to choose from including:
• Under 10
• 10 – 15
• 16 – 18
• 19 -25
• 26 – 35
• 36 – 40
• 41 – 59
• 60 +
Out of the people who watch music videos, 60% were aged 16 – 18. From this I knew that the demographic for my music video would mostly be teenagers. I kept this in mind when planning my own music video and made sure that the features I included were what this demographic wanted.
Question 3: How many times do you watch music videos per week?
The options for this video were:
• Every day
• Three times
• Two times
• Once
• Never
12 people in total watch videos every day, which implies that these people are eager to watch music videos rather than just listening to the audio. This question was not important in finding out my demographic but it did emphasis that the participants are very interested in music videos and therefore they are more likely to know what they want to see.
Question 4: Where would be the first place you would watch a music video?
I gave the participants the options of:
• Youtube
• Websites
• Apps
• Music channels
They were also given an ‘other’ option where they could write other places they use to watch music videos.
15 people used Youtube over other platforms. If I were to publish this music video, the best place would be on Youtube as it is the most popular platform.
Question 5: What is your favourite music genre?
I gave the participants a long list of different genres and asked them to pick at least one favourite. Pop and Indie were the most popular at 29% each. Due to this, I decided to focus on these two genres. It helped me pick my song, which is from the Indie genre, with Pop aspects.
Question 6: What is the most important feature of a music video to you?
The options for this question were:
• Features the band / artist
• Video links to the lyrics
• Performance /singing
• Follows a storyline
• Costume / make up
• Features dancing
• Props
Like question 4, the participants were also given an ‘other’ option.
According the participants, the most important features are that it features the artist and that it features performance aspects. I used these results and focused solely on these two features in my own work.
To support my research I also conducted an interview with people who had seen my music video. Before asking them to watch the video I asked them: What are your expectations for the music video?
I then showed them the video and filmed their reactions.
Questions asked:
• What word comes to mind when you watch the video?
• Did you feel that it looked professional?
• What did you like the most about the video?
• What would you improve about the video?
4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
Throughout the planning and production processes, I used a variety of media and technology. For the filming, I had to use a selection of equipment including:
• A DLSR camera
• A tripod
• SD card
• A projector
• And a screen.
The camera used was a Canon EOS 110D. It allowed for full 1080p filming, which meant that the quality of my video was significantly better. I filmed in the standard mode using the in-built auto focus to make sure my clips were sharp and in focus.
To keep the camera steady, I used a tripod. It was very usefully during the filming as I could not stand in front of the projector to film as it would have obstructed the video, but the camera on the tripod did not block the projector. The use of extending legs and rotating base meant that I could get every angle I needed. However, I found that for some shots it was not long enough so I had to place it on a stool to increase the height.
The screen was used to create a blank background to project the background video onto. The screen was easy to put up. It simply had to be pulled up using a handle. Thankfully, the screen was low enough for the actor to stand in front of. Other projectors in the school were screwed into the ceilings and could not be lowered. The projector I used was a mobile projector which meant that I could move it around with ease to fit onto the screen.
Additionally, other equipment I used included:
• A camera battery
• Extension cords for the projector
• And my laptop to play the background video .
After I had filmed, I started the editing process. For this I used the same program that I used for AS media coursework – Final Cut Pro X . As I had used the program last year, I was confident using it again this year. Unlike last year, I used the multicam tool. When I filmed, I filmed the same thing from six different angles. Using the multicam tool I was to sync all the clips together on the timeline and then using the blade tool I cut between the clips, creating jump cuts timed to the beat of the song. I found this tool very helpful as the manual way of editing it would have taken longer. Once the clips were on the timeline I went in to manually correct each video. Using filters and colour correction tool I was able to adjust the contrast of the video. When I looked back at raw footage the video blended in with the actor’s face a bit too much. By adjusting the contrast it made the visual clearer.
For the evaluation, I used the same program to edit all my clips together. I manually edited all the clips together by dragging them down onto the timeline where I could shorten them using the in and out tools. Before editing the clips together, I used other forms of media to collect the visuals for the evaluation. Camista is a screen-recording program. I used this to capture videos from Youtube to compare to my own music video. In this program I was also able to resize the videos so I could place them side-by-side.
For my digipack and album advert I used InDesign. I had never used the program before, so therefore I was unfamiliar with the layout. However I found that after some practice the program was easy to use. To create the digipack, I opened a new document and changed it to a ‘compact CD’ in the options. The dimensions of the page are the same dimensions of a real CD. From here I added a four double spread pages and a back cover. Using the text tool, I was able to add all the information such as the lyrics and the album title on the front cover. To add the images I went to File > Place and picked the images. Once the images were added, I used the select tool to drag it to the right size. From here all I had to do was move everything into place. The same process was used whilst creating my advert. However, to create the black background and the white borders I had to use the rectangle tool to make the shapes I wanted.
Some of the images used in both my digipack and my advert had to be made specially. To create these images I had to use additional programs such as Paint Tool Sai and Photoshop. To create the two logos and the barcode on the back cover as well as the double page collage of home photos, I used Photoshop. Additionally, I used Photoshop to change the front and back cover images to black and white by going to Enhance > Convert to black and white. For the lyric pages I had to use some special equipment to create the images I wanted. I used a Wacom Bamboo graphics tablet with Paint Tool Sai which meant I could physically draw what I wanted. I started with a black background which was the same size as the double page spread. After this, I used the ‘chalk’ brush to draw the doodles. Once I was finished, I exported the pages as jpeg files and imported them onto InDesign.
After creating all my ancillary texts, I uploaded them onto different platforms. My blog was my main platform and it played important part in my research process. Blogger is an easy to use blogging platform that I could access from any computer or even my phone. At a click of a button I could create a new post and then just as easily publish it – sharing everything I’ve researched and learnt. The site supports most files which meant I could share my digipack, photos, advert, music video and even this evaluation. As Blogger is a Google owned site, it supports Youtube which meant that it was even easier to share my music video and evaluation.
Youtube was another important platform that I used in my creative process. Not only could I use it to research music videos and other influential videos, I could use it to upload my own experiments and final products.
Without all the different types of media, technology and equipment, I would have never been able to create the products I did and I would never have learnt what have learnt.
Editing the Video
Background Video:
To start the video I dragged down the clips onto the timeline. I then added the music underneath which I used to help with the timings. Before adding any other clips I wanted to mark out where the beats are in the music and where the cuts would be. I did this using the marker tool which left little blue tabs on the timeline when I pressed the 'm' button. It made it easier when it came to shortening video clips as I had a visual mark to show exactly when I needed to make the cut.
Once the clips were cut down to size, I could edit the clips themselves. I wanted to change the lighting and colour settings so all of the clips matched but also to create the impression that they were all filmed at the same time. Using the colour preset 'Cold Steel' I was able to create a cool base colour. Using the saturation and contrast sliders I was then able to tweak the lighting so it matched the clip prior to it. The cool tones made the clips look older which was the aesthetic I was aiming for. To add to the old video theme I used a free Final Cut Pro plugin called 'Bad TV' (which can be found here.) The plugin created an old VHS feel to the clips, creating lines across the screen and static. It made the video look as if it was an old home video made on an old camcorder which adds to the theme. I repeated the process on all of the video clips, adjusting each on individually so it matched the rest. Additionally, the clips had to be stabilised because all the clips were shakey. I did this using the built in 'Stabilisation' tool. It made previously shakey clips look smooth and slightly more professional looking.Before I could film the next part of the music video I had to export the background video. To do this I went to File > Share > Master File.
Main Video:
Once the main part of the editing had been finished, I started on the clean up process. This is where I made the video look nicer by adjusting things such as the colour and by adding filters to create the effect I wanted. Angle 1 had some issues which meant the video made the actors face too dark. To combat this I used the colour correction settings to adjust the contrast. Though it was not perfect, it was better than what it looked like before. After correcting this, I went on to add the letterbox filter to all of the footage. I changed the size to 5.5 which meant that the black bars were visible but they did not take up too much of the video. In my experience, I have found that the most professional looking more serious videos use this effect. It was easily replicated by dragging the filter onto each clip.
At this point, I felt my music video was complete. I did at a later stage go back to it to make a few slight tweaks. Once I was finished, I exported it as an MP4 file. By exporting it in this format, it meant that I could upload it onto Youtube and additionally onto this blog.
Thursday 10 March 2016
Photoshoot
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| Image A |
All the images were taken in front of a brick wall as I felt that it would be a suitable background. It is plain enough to distract from the main body of the image but has some texture making it more interesting compared to a plain white background. However, for it to look good the framing had to be perfect. For example, in Image A, the photo was taken slightly from the right and therefore, the bricks look slanted and it makes the photo look less professional.
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| Image B |
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| Image C |
When I took the photos, I had already known that I would have liked them to be in black and white. Due to this, it did not bother me what the colours were like in the photo. If I were to use colour, I would have muted the colour of the wall, perhaps changing it to grey. The yellow brick does not suit the tone of any of my ancillary text which all uses either black or white or muted colours.
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| Image D |
Friday 4 March 2016
Creating the Advertisment
For the advert I also used InDesign. After working on the digipack, I felt more confident using the program. I started the advert the same way I did for the digipack by creating a new document. I used the typical A4 dimensions and made the document portrait.
Firstly, I added a black background using the Rectangle tool. Using the guidelines, I dragged the tool from the bottom right corner up to the top left corner to fill the entire space. After creating the background I could start on the text. I knew that I wanted the band's name above the album title so I placed it in the centre of the at the top of the page. I used the font Minion Pro which I what I used for my digipack. By making it white, it stood out from the background. Just like the digipack, I also added the iconic dots at the beginning and end of the text as well as the line underneath. 
Underneath, I wrote the name of the album. I used the same font and colour but instead of adding the dots I added a line above the text. It was placed under the main image, so the line on top of the text looked as if it was framing the photo. I felt that it filled the space better so the whole advert looked more complete. 
The main part of the advert was the block of information underneath the image. I continued using the same font ensuring consistency and a more recognisable brand. The release date was the most important piece of information so I decided to put it in a bigger font. The same goes for the information regarding what formats the album will be released in. 
Most album adverts have some legal information in the bottom right corner. To ensure my digipack looked like a real digipack, I decided to place my legal information in the same place. I did not want into to overpower the rest of the advert, so I made the logos and copyright information smaller than the rest of the features.
At this point, I felt that the advert was not complete. There was still a lot of black space around the edges. To combat this, I created a white border which filled the space.Using the rectangle tool, I made one long vertical box and one smaller horizontal box. I filled them with white and copied them onto the other side.
The final result can be found here.
Using InDesign: The Process of Making a Digipack
This square is just the cover page. To create the inside pages I went to Layout > Pages... > Add Pages. From here I could add the numbers of pages, including double spread pages. In order to have enough pages for everything I wanted to include, I added a minimum of five double page spreads, one front cover and one back cover. One these pages I aim to add; lyrics, credits, any extra artwork not used on the cover and a 'thank you' message.Before Making the Digipack:
Before starting, I had to create additional features in photoshop. For the back-cover I created a barcode with a made up UPC number. The barcode image was created easily by creating noise and dragging it out so it looks like long black lines of varying length. To add the noise I went to Filter > Noise > Add Noise and selected gaussian and monochromatic. I adjusted the amount to about 300% which created a good amount of noise. Once this is done I used the Single Row Marquee Tool to select a single row of pixels. Using Cmd + T to transform the selection, I dragged the selection up creating long black lines. Using the selection tool and the paint bucket I created areas of white space where the UPC number will be. After this, I used the Text Tool to add random numbers. Standard UPC codes have 12 numbers with one on its own at the beginning and one at the end. I replicated this to make it look as realistic as possible.
The final product looks like this:
To avoid copyright issues I had to recreate the logos for the music companies associated with the band. The album was produced by 4AD which is a British indie label. When recreating their logo I changed their name to 5BE. The logo I produced is very similar to the 4AD logo with the black and white boxes. The parent company of 4AD is the Beggars Group. Like I did for 4AD, I changed the name of the company. I changed it to Vagrants Group as a vagrant is a synonym of beggar. Similarly, I made the logo for Vagrants Group with the Beggar Group's logo in mind. It features rough letters of varying shapes and sizes and even orientation.
To avoid copyright issues I had to recreate the logos for the music companies associated with the band. The album was produced by 4AD which is a British indie label. When recreating their logo I changed their name to 5BE. The logo I produced is very similar to the 4AD logo with the black and white boxes. The parent company of 4AD is the Beggars Group. Like I did for 4AD, I changed the name of the company. I changed it to Vagrants Group as a vagrant is a synonym of beggar. Similarly, I made the logo for Vagrants Group with the Beggar Group's logo in mind. It features rough letters of varying shapes and sizes and even orientation. Both logos were created using Photoshop. Using the text tool I was able to type in the letters and reshape them to fit the image I wanted. For the Vagrants Group logo, I used the vertical text tool for the letters 'T' and 'S'. It meant that I could write them vertically and create the desired effect.
The group Daughter tend to use old family photos for their album front covers, so I decided to pay homage by using family photos in the digipack. A common feature of digipacks are picture collages featuring the singer/band, so I took this one step further and created a double spread page of family photos. To create this I used photoshop as it gave me the means to crop and edit photos as well as collaging them together. First I imported all the photos I wanted to use. Using the crop tool I was able to cut out the background, and using the transformation tool I rotated the photo so it was straight. I copied the picture a pasted it onto a black canvas where I would start the collage. I repeated this process until I had edited all the photos. To fit the theme I adjusted the images so they were all in black and white. I did this by going to Images > Adjustments > Black & White. Lastly, I just had to move around the photos so they were overlapped and placed in a neat order.The final product looks like this:
Making the Digipack:
For the front cover, I used the same font as the inside text. Again I used the dots and the line to tie in
with Daughter's aesthetic. For the album name, I kept the name 'Smother' as it is the last single on the album. I made the title smaller than the name of the band in true Daughter style. It establishes the band as the most important feature and it creates a strong association between the band and the album.
I used the back cover as a place to put most of the needed information. Using the Rectangle Tool I created a black bar at the bottom of the cover. In this bar I placed all the copyright information, social media links and the barcode. The two music company logos that I had produced early were also placed with the black bar. I used the same font as the previous pages to create a sense of continuity. All the information placed was influenced by the back cover of the 'Folie a Deux' album. It meant that I had a rough idea of what information is typically on a back cover.
Above the black bar, I filled the rest of the space with the track list. It used the same font but instead all the letters were capitalised to create a clear definition between the names of the song and the additional information below it. At the bottom of the tracklist I wrote "Written by Elena Torna and Igor Haefeli, except where noted. Produced by Igor Haefeli." Some of the songs written for the album were written just by Elena Torna, therefore I added additional credits underneath the songs only she wrote.For the lyric pages, credit page and thank you page all share a similar background. I wanted to tie in with the theme of the rest of the booklet so I use the same colour scheme. I used muted colours and a simplistic design to make sure that the eye is not drawn away from the text. I could have left it blank as the text filled the space, but it did not look as interesting. Up until this point, everything had been in black and white, so I wanted to continue with the darker colours. I made the background completely black and added a few simplistic white illustration. The 'doodles' all were different types of paper craft such as paper planes and paper boats, but they all also had the a similar theme of 'travel' which links to a tone of the album. I created these images using Paint Tool Sai and a Wacom Bamboo graphics tablet. Using the 'chalk' brush I drew out the images on a black background. When they were finished I transferred them onto InDesign and placed it on a new layer separate from the text. I changed the text from black to white so it would stand out on the black background.
The final product looks like this:
To complete the digipack I added two photographs - one on the front cover and one on the back cover. The front cover features the person who starred in the video in front of a brick wall. It showed her with her hands in front of her face. Similarly, the back cover showed the same image but from behind. It creates a strong sense of continuity. As the rest of the digipack was in black and white, I used Photoshop to edit the two photographs so they also were in black and white. I did this so it would tie in with the theme and so it would not look out of place.The completed back and front cover look like this:
Wednesday 2 March 2016
Ideas for the Advertisement
After analysing various advertisements and Daughter photographs I started to plan my own album advertisement. From the research I did I knew that I needed to include features such as Elena's face (or in this case, the actor who plays Elena), the name of the band, the name of the album, the release date, the name of the number one single that features on the album and possibly even what platforms the album will be released on such as iTunes and Google Play.
An important feature of adverts is the link to the album. Most adverts use photos from the same photoshoot as the album cover photoshoot. It creates a strong link between the album and advert. In some cases, the picture becomes an iconic image which people imagine when they think of the band. When I create my own advert I plan to use the same image as the album cover. The association between images helps with advertising, as the audience automatically know what is being advertised. The image used on the album cover has been cropped to fit the digipack. For the advertisement, one idea is that I can use the full picture. The advertisement is meant to be for a magazine so it should be around the size of an A4 portrait piece of paper. Another idea is to use the cropped image and then create a black box around it where I would put all of the text. This is an idea used in the Florence and the Machine advert for the album 'Lungs'. I like this idea the most as it also links to the colour scheme of my digipack which is black, white and grey. It creates a strong sense of continuity which I something I aim for.
For the text I want to use the same font as the digipack which is Mono Lt. I also wish to use dots at the beginning and end of the band's name as well as the line underneath it. It is what I have done in both my digipack and my music video so I would like to keep up with the image. In all of my products, the name of the band has been above the name of the song and in a bigger font. For my advertisement, I intend to continue this idea by put the bands name at the top and put the album name in the middle. The text underneath will be smaller but centred just like the rest of the text. Another idea is to put both the name of the band and the name of the song together in the middle. This is like the album poster for Ellie Goulding's 'Lights'. However, it is important that the bands name is above the name of the album regardless of where they are both placed.
Everything I have worked on so far has had a black and white colour scheme. To create a sense of continuity, I want to continue with this theme. This can be done through the image used but also by the text and any additional features added. Most album posters use colour, however I feel it would suit my product better to use black and white. If I were to use colour I would use muted colours. Daughter's products often are muted as it matches the style of their music. The album poster for Daughter's "If You Leave" is an example of this. The pale colours link to the naturalistic visuals. If I were to use this idea, I would use colour in the photo and use black and white for the text.
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| Sourced from www.alicehoarlcmedia 1213.blogspot.co.uk |
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| Sourced from amazon.com |
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| Sourced from behance.net |
Reconnaissance of Potential Locations
Potential Locations for the Outdoor Scenes:
- Cooks Field - Cooks field is part of the school grounds as well as a public footpath.There is a lot of green space that is undisturbed. The actress will have to run in the video so it was essential that there was a lot of space. In addition to this, there are many long and establishing shots. It is important that there are no buildings or other features within the shot. Nonetheless, in some parts of Cooks field, there are football nets that could obstruct the picturesque view. However with careful framing, these could be hidden. It is very likely that I would choose this field as it is the most convenient to film. It means the everything can be filmed during a school day which is convenient for the actress. As it is part of the schools property it will also be easier to get permission to film there.
- Moatfield Park - The Moatfield is a field that is near me, so it would be convenient for me to use it. However as it is a public place I would need to be careful not to get people in the shot. Like Cooks field, there is also a lot of man-made features such park equipment and football nets. They take up a lot of space which will cause a problem when filming. It is very unlikely that I will choose this location for filming despite the convenience of it being nearby.
- King George's Park - Like the Moatfield, King George's is a convenient place to film as it is also nearby. There is a lot more land at King George's compared to the Moatfield but again as it is a public place there is the chance of accidentally getting members of the public in the shot. It will be harder to film here due to obstructions.
- Aldenham Country Park - After visiting I found Aldenham Country Park to be the most impressive place for filming. The reservoir and the forests made for some interesting shots. During the winter, it is not very busy so there is not going to many obstructions. It is also convenient because it is near.
Monday 1 February 2016
Storyboard
The storyboard was created during the planning process. I felt that it was a good way of demonstrating what I wanted the video to look like. Additionally, during filming it severed as a helpful visual guide. It meant that I could remember exactly how I orignally visualised the music video. The plan is to film the same thing from these six different angles and then cut it together using the multicam tool on Final Cut Pro X. 
Wednesday 13 January 2016
Script Version Two
Before finalising my song choice I wrote out a script for the song 'Smother'. After consideration, I decided to change the song to something that would be more convenient to film. 'Smother' is a lot longer than the final song choice 'Amsterdam'. Originally I was going to cut it at 3:09 where the music is quieter so the video was not too long.
Tuesday 12 January 2016
Analysis Daughter's Album Covers
To help me with designing the album cover I decided to analyse all previous album covers as well as any of the official Daughter photographs to inspire me. Firstly I looked at the covers of released albums such as 'If You Leave', 'His Young Heart' and 'Wild Youth'.
ALBUM COVERS:
The two EPs; 'His Young Heart' and 'Wild Youth' feature two of the most iconic Daughter album cover. They both feature young children, similar in features. The photographs look as if they are home photos which adds a feeling of nostalgia. This idea, despite being Daughter's iconic image however would be hard to replicate and I think it would not tie in with the song or the album theme.
However I do like the idea of replicating the old photo aesthetic as it resembles most of Daughter's album covers. I could replicate this using film photos such as the ones you would get from a polaroid or I can edit photos I have taken to create a grainy feel with low-key lighting.
In these two photos there are also a sample of the type of text the band use on all of their albums. White text is always used on the covers and the name of the band tends to be bigger than the name of the album.
The full studio album uses a picture of landscape rather than members of the band or the two iconic children. The image uses the same grainy feel as the other two images and the colour has been adjusted so it is not a vibrant. It links better with the songs in the album as the all have a naturalistic feel to them.
This idea is also something I would not replicate as it is rather bland and does not advertise the band. Nonetheless, this is something that I would like to replicate inside the digipack as it will go with the nature-related lyrics.
The text on this album is in black as the background behind it is white, but it uses a similar font to the other two album covers. The name of the band again is shown in large letters in comparison to the name of the album. This is an idea that I am inspired by and I would like to keep the tradition by using it on my album cover.
BAND PHOTOGRAPHS:
Elena Tonra as the lead singer is the fore-front of the band and her face is the image the band go by. In most photographs of the band she is often situated in the middle of the photograph and perhaps even standing in front of the other two members.
In my video there are no actors to play the other band members and there is only a representative of Elena. Therefore I shall not replicate an image similar to these two photos. As Elena is the 'image' of the band, I intend on only using her image on the album cover.
All three images show examples of Tonra's image which include her infamous bob and fringe, winged eyeliner and darker clothes. This is something that I should include in the photoshoot for the album cover (minus the haircut!) These photos also show great examples of poses that Tonra uses in photograph which I am influenced by.
In the first image it uses the same grainy, dark tone as the two EP covers. In addition to this, the third photo uses black and white to convey the same dark tone. This also something that has influenced my work. The second image is one of the few band images where it is colourful and bright. However it still does use a vignette to adjust the colour slightly to tie in with the rest of their images.
The third image resembles the black and white theme of the 'Youth' video. I was inspired by the simplicity of the photo and I know that I could use this effect to tie in with the album theme.
ALBUM COVERS:
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| Sourced from amusicblogyea.com |
 |
| Sourced from amusicblogyea.com |
However I do like the idea of replicating the old photo aesthetic as it resembles most of Daughter's album covers. I could replicate this using film photos such as the ones you would get from a polaroid or I can edit photos I have taken to create a grainy feel with low-key lighting.
In these two photos there are also a sample of the type of text the band use on all of their albums. White text is always used on the covers and the name of the band tends to be bigger than the name of the album.
 |
| Sourced from amusicblogyea.com |
This idea is also something I would not replicate as it is rather bland and does not advertise the band. Nonetheless, this is something that I would like to replicate inside the digipack as it will go with the nature-related lyrics.
The text on this album is in black as the background behind it is white, but it uses a similar font to the other two album covers. The name of the band again is shown in large letters in comparison to the name of the album. This is an idea that I am inspired by and I would like to keep the tradition by using it on my album cover.
BAND PHOTOGRAPHS:
 |
| Sourced from thefoxisblack.com |
In my video there are no actors to play the other band members and there is only a representative of Elena. Therefore I shall not replicate an image similar to these two photos. As Elena is the 'image' of the band, I intend on only using her image on the album cover.
 |
| Sourced from ohdaughter.BlogSpot.com |
In the first image it uses the same grainy, dark tone as the two EP covers. In addition to this, the third photo uses black and white to convey the same dark tone. This also something that has influenced my work. The second image is one of the few band images where it is colourful and bright. However it still does use a vignette to adjust the colour slightly to tie in with the rest of their images.
 |
| Sourced from fashionsoundtrack.com |
The third image resembles the black and white theme of the 'Youth' video. I was inspired by the simplicity of the photo and I know that I could use this effect to tie in with the album theme.
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