Rob's Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

As are music video was of a hip-hip genre normally there would be typical characteristics that conform to this type of genre. But we chose not to conform to these characteristic. It challenges the way a stereotypical hip hop video looks by the way we have chosen not to objectify women or have expensive mis-en-scene, both these aspect being of the stereotypical hip hop genre. For example in the music video ‘Candy Shop’ by 50 Cent, this has a lot of objectified women. Looking at good wins points there is a large contrast between the music and the visuals, this being that the song is rapping about something complete opposite to where we have filmed, this being a school. The locations as well is not very conventional as most rap videos are situated on the streets or in some pimped out club or mansion. The idea of the school was just to empathises it being a normal situation for the nerd character(artist).

We thought it would be a good idea to differ the iconography that typical hip hop music videos uses for example the hoods and chavish clothing. We wanted to represent the artist as a normal everyday character. This was so the audience could relate to the character in the video as it is similar to most teenaged audiences. The artist is represented as a nerd not very social or attractive, we wanted this as we didn’t want to conform to the hip hop genre, though I feel doing this attracts the audience in a way that is more funny. The idea of the nerd was to make the audience laugh, this again is why it relates more to a teenaged audience because they would find this odd immature character funny.

Also through the video it doesn’t always have the artist rapping to the audience thought we did put a small amount of this in. In some parts we chose to conform to the genre by the way we had the artist always on screen, this being the nerd. We did this as we thought it be best to give some sort of idea to the audience that it was a hip hop style song but with a cheeky fun twist. Not serious gangsters rapping to an audience giving impressions of toughness and glamour. Our music challenges these conventions with a more comic video. Typical hip hop video have a variety of shots that stick to the beat of the music as well as lots of main close ups of the artist , our video conforms to this characteristic as well as we kept a lot of the editing linked to the beat of the music as well as the visuals in the video also kept with the beat of the music, this conforms to the stereotypical characteristics. There are many close ups of the nerd character in the video this conforms to the genre and the audience are able to identify this character to be the artist as he is the main character on screen.

The choice in making are character funny gave the video a sort of comedy element we wanted to keep this thorough the whole video, this differs from typical rap videos for example, “ok, you’re right” by 50 cent. This video starts with a cops and robbers shoot out. Very different to how we started are video with a comic start.

Are video meets the demands of the audience by the way we have tried to make the audience laugh as the video start the audience can guess its going to be funny by the way the nerd starts dancing to the quirky start of the song.

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

There are a variety of links between our digi pack ad music video for example we have keep the same clothing from the main artist character ( the nerd) in the video and used images of this same character in the dig pack, this keeps continuity through are products, this I feel is very effective. Another thing we did to are dig pack was to have a ongoing theme of colour, this colour was purple as it was the main colour on the artists top, example of this theme being that the images and colour of fonts were all purple this again was to keep some sort of link between each piece, I thought this was effective as the combination between all of them worked well and have made each product stand out more , empathising them. This empathise on each product in the dig pack promotes the artist well which would enables album/ gig sales. Similar image were used one both the DVD cover and magazine advert this empathised the artists on the front, selling the artist to the viewer, this was the effect we wanted. To keep with the comic side of our video we also choose to have funny pictures of the main artist on the dig pack this was to empathises the products as funny. This challenge normal conventions as we wanted it to be funny not serious. The magazine advert promotes the DVD cover by the way the audience can relate to the cover as they would recognise the artist( nerd image on front), this enables the promotion of the artist and as well this would then attract new audiences. It would appeal directly to the audience by the way it shows similar images from the video plus as well we have tried to make the product and a comical element to them by the way we have chosen the images of the artist to have very comic expressions.

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Looking back I have learnt alot about how our audience thought about are video. With there ideas and comments made we have been able to edit are music video to improve it in ways our audience felt it needed be. Also feedback from audience showed us what aspects of the video worked well and whether we had continuity in our dig pack. Other feedback criticised our work which I feel was also need as then from the criticism our group was able to improve of things that weren’t so good. For example are video had gaps and our audience wanted more footage so we went out and filmed more. Audience liked are pitch however they thought it would be hard to film in Cambridge, this we to into account and changed our idea so it was more easier so we chose to film in college. Our rough-cut people said it was funny though we had major gaps this was letting us down to we had to film extra bits. Once we had done that and finish most of our feedback was good, our audience said it was funny. If there was anything that I could change about our video it would probably be the way we chose to edit the video, if we had longer I would of tried to put some kind of effects on it to inhanse aspects of the video just to make it more stronger and comical.

　

How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Thorough the project a variety of media technologies were used. In the construction and planning stage, we used internet blogs to record are daily work so that people could see it and give used feedback this being useful in the evaluation stage. Editing software was used in the construction stage this was useful as I learnt how to create and used different tools on Final Cut to adapt and change the effect of our groups camera footage. I learnt to uses different transitions and ways to make clips of our video move whilst playing. Another part of Final Cut I used was how to change the filter of a part of footage so that it emphasised colour to make are video brighter. Final Cut software was a major part in the construction and editing stage. When make the dig pack I used Photoshop to create a magazine / DVD advert , here I made images by creating layers and using different filters and tools on Photoshop. For example the image of the nerd on the magazine advert its half cartoon half normal this was done using two layers and a filter on Photoshop. This I found to be most useful as it enable our group to create a attractive dig pack that would catch the eye of a viewer which is what we need for our dig pack.

Since the projects we did in AS and the preliminary task I feel I have improved my editing techniques as I have learnt a variety of way to inhase colour etc. these tasks help me get use of the software so that when it came around to my final project I found it easier to use the software and create a music video.

DIGIPACK Magazine advert

This is the magazine advert created on photoshop. To keep try and enhance the look of the advert I have used the same colours in the advert as those that were on my top when filming.

THE FINAL VIDEO :D

DVD Cover and Magazine Advert Analysis.

This is the DVD cover for the rock band Rolling Stones.
I chose this cover because I found it to be very intriguing and the use of image editing software to create the enhanced shin on the iconic lips of the rolling stones. these lips being the focus of the cover. this allows the audience to identify with the iconic image and would no this is a rolling stones product even if the title wasn't there.
As the rollings stones is such a large band they chose not to have much writing on the front page, I'm guessing this is because the viewer would already be able to recognize the DVD due to the bands vast popularity.

need to link footage together

After uploading are footage so far it seems to show that the footage we have filmed is good but just isnt long enough to create a realistic feel for the character as he is walking around college. Also another problem was that some of are scenes are to short and need to be filmed again to allow us to link them to other clips, this then would hopefully help the flow of are music video.
To solve this problem we will need repeat a few scenes of footage just so we are able to keep the idea of a narrative theme throught are video.
Parts we may need to film again are :
1. bullies chasing the nerd scene.
2. the nurse scene.

Todays Lesson 21/10/09

In todays lesson we are going to be finishing our rough cut and identifying gaps and working out what we need to film to fill in the gaps.
We are finding difficult to put the footage we have together as we have quite a lot of gaps so we will not get a good idea of what our finished music video will be like until we have filmed more footage.

Test Footage

This lesson we have filmed some test footage. First we tried using an old skateboard as a dolly but we had trouble keeping the tripod on and keeping it still. We also thought that using the skateboard would be quite restricting as we cannot turn corners using it.
We then decided to try out the college's dolly and we found that it worked much better. This is the best clip we filmed although when we film our actual footage we need to make sure we keep Rob in the center of the shot.

Feedback Evaluation

We were very pleased with our feedback comments we got from the rest of the class.
Good points we picked up on are:
- Good use of colour
- Good picture to word ratio on blog
- Clear explanation of music video idea

We also picked up on things we need to improve on our blog:
- Write a bit more about Goodwins Point Analysis
- Perhaps include some information on an auteur

Story Board

This is are storyboard it shows each shot and a rough drawn image of what we want it to look like in the frame. This rough plan will be useful as we can use it as a rough guideline when filming to insure we get what we want out of the time we have filming.

Call Sheet

• Project Title - Stop Complaining
• Date - Friday 9th October 09
• One day shoot
• Locations for the day - Cambridge, Market Square
  
• Travel - Bus into Cambridge
• Contact details - Producer 07765432908
• Recommended clothing - Waterproof/casual clothing for camera crew. Chosen costumes for actors.
• Scenes to be shot - See storyboard
• Broad Schedule
• Call Times: Meet at 4:10
  
• Make up and Wardrobe times: 4:30 in costumes at location
• Breaks: Half way through filming
• Estimated Wrap time: 6 pm
  

• Weather forecast: Forecast is for dry and cloudy, if there is heavy rain we might need to film on another day.
  
• Equipment details: Camera, Tripod, Skateboard for dolly, Costumes and Props

Shot list

This is our shot list. It roughly states what types of shots we shall be using in are video and in what order. It also shows a description of what actions will be involved in each shot. It consists of the below:
1. Establishing Shot
2. Close up
3. Close up
4. Long Shot
5. Long Shot
6. Long Shot
7. Long Shot
8. Close Up/ Mid shot
9. Mid Shot
10. Mid Shot
11. Mid Shot
12. Mid Shot
13. Close up/ Mid shot
14. Close up/ Mid shot

Filming..

As a group we have decided to film our music video on Friday 9th October. We have made sure that we are all available to film after 4.10 when lessons are finished as this is a good time for our actors to film too.

We need to bare in mind that it gets darker faster in the evenings now so we need to start as soon as possible when we get to our location and make sure we are prepared and organised with both our filming and costumes etc.

Seek for Permission

Here I have seeked permission from the artist to be able to use his song in our music video, I have tired to contact him thought his fan page on facebook. I thought it would be a good idea to ask for permission as it is more professional and respectful that we did because if he was not to be happy with us using his song there would be a major problem. Therefore as a whole it would be best we did jsut to make sure everything is sound.

StoryBoard Timeline

This is our storyboard time line it states what is happening at each stage( 30 second slot) of the film.

1. In the first 30 second slot there will be an establishing shot showing people in the streets. The camera would track towards the artist who then turns to look at the camera.
2. In the second slot, the music fades in and the artist begins to sing the lyrics. He starts to walk to the beat of the music
   
3. Here the first character is identified (business man) who starts walking with artist and sings a line of the song.
   
4. Second character is identified and joins the artist. We also see the next character join the group. The group is shown coming round the corner into another location/street.
   
5. Another character joins the group, they carry on walking together.
   
6. As group are still walking, two of go off screen.
   
7. Next pair of characters go off screen followed by a second pair.
   
8. Artist walks singing to the camera, stops and looks around to realise everyone has left. Video fades out.
   

Feedback on our Pitch

Positive Feedback
Our audience found are pitch to be clear and understood how we want are music video to be comprised. Our teacher stated that overall the pitch was presented up to standard and liked the fact we discussed what we might need to consider when filming.
Another point was that the way we discussed how Goodwin's points were to link with are film, they found came across well.
Overall they understood most of are pitch.

Negative Feedback
The understanding of how were exactly were going to compose are DVD cover and music video was not present well and was quite confusing to the audience, thought they new how we wanted to use colour etc. We just didn't inform the audience well enough.

Improvements from Feedback
After getting our feedback I have tried to change are DVD /Magazine cover post so it is more easier to understand. Also I have expanded on the post explaining how else we might create them.

Target Audience:

The target audience for our music video is quite difficult to depict, we feel that our video is aimed at most people in particular those who take an interest in the Hip-Hop genre. Within the Hip-Hop genre followers tend to be a part of the younger generation commonly teenagers and young adults. On the other hand our music video is going to be performance based and therefore people that enjoy videos that consist of performing are targeted. Our video is going to be located in everyday places for example, in a street in Cambridge, the audience will be able to relate to these places as they should recognize them. Furthermore the people within our music video are going to be dressed to represent the different social groups found in society, therefore this widens the audience as more people will be able to relate to the video. Finally the lyrics from the song in our video do contain swearing which will give our music video a certificate rating of 18., therefore the video will have to be targeted at people over the age of 18.

Digipack

DVD Cover

We are thinking of trying to incorporate some of Lyrics Born's style and art work into our DVD cover. We want to take the bright colours from our video and put them onto the DVD cover, this could be done in a variety of ways for example taking stills from are music video and using it as a main image or we could just take photos of the characters and incorporate the same kinda colour on photoshop to give it the same feel as lyrics borns album artwork does.
This is one of the images we found of Lyrics Born and is very bright and artistic however we do not think it has a very strong link to our music video. So our idea is to take a still from our music video of the group of people featured in it, and put it on the DVD cover. We would then enhance the colours on photoshop to link it more with the style of Lyrics Born's look. the DVD cover will be made on photoshop using a DVD cover template, this enabling us to perfectly arrange it.




Magazine Advert

For our magazine we want to continue the the theme of colour but probably wouldn't use a still from the video as it may look too similar. We would use an image of the main artist who would perhaps be wearing the same clothes that they were in the video to keep the continuity between the products. The font on the magazine advert would be quite colourful like in the image above, and would be a fairly big part of the magazine advert to make it stand out. The magazine advert will be created on photoshop.

Music Video Pitch

The track we are pitching for is Stop Complaining Remix by Lyrics Born (Track 11). It comes under the hip hop genre and is sung by Tom Shimura, formally known as Asia Born but now called Lyrics Born.

Our video will be performance based, however will not be performed in a typical venue such as a stage or concert setting. We were inspired by the video 'Drop' by The Pharcyde which consists of 4 American rappers performing to the camera whilst walking through busy streets.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co3qMdkucM0

We chose to base our video on this because the music is a similar genre and we could immediately visualize this kind of music video for our song. We liked it because the whole group was seen on camera at the same time. Although there is only one artist singing our song, we want to incorporate this idea into our video.

We plan to film our video in a busy part of Cambridge such as the the market square. It would start with just the artist walking through the street, singing the lyrics of the song into the camera. He would then tap someone on the shoulder who would turn round and start walking through the streets with him, also singing parts of the song. This would continue happening throughout the song and would end up with a group of people walking together singing the song.

Each person that joins the group would be dressed in different costumes to represent different social groups such as someone in a suit to represent a business man and some dressed in scruffy clothes to represent a homeless person. The idea behind this is that we show different people coming together and singing together as we think the song would appeal to a wide audience. This would also make the song appeal more to a variety of people as different social groups appear in the video.





When filming we need to consider:

Lighting - We would need to think about time of day as we do not have much daylight after college.

Cast - we need to get suitable people to take part in our video and make sure they can film when we need the to. also a major factor would be whether we could somehow film on different days as it maybe be unlikely that everyone will be able to film on one day, could use fading in/out shots to link video together allowing us to link the stuff filmed on different days together without it looking obvious.

Props/Costumes - Make sure we have enough costumes to dress the cast in.

Learning of lyrics- quicker vast amount of lyrics may be hard to memorize , may need to find a way to over come this maybe with shot tracking shots of people or fading in/out shots.

In are video we would like to use a vast amount of bright colour as it will link with the uplifting, posistive mood of the song, emphasising is mood and also its visual aspect of the video.

Goodwins Points:

There would be no voyeurism in our video as all the people featured in the video would be looking at the camera.

The artist will always be infront of the camera and is therefore being sold throughout the whole video.

The visuals would link to the music as people would be walking along to the beat.

The visuals do not really link with the lyrics however the cast in the video will be lip syncing to the song.

Intertextuality - we are using the video 'Drop' by The Pharcyde as inspiration for our music video.

Welcome to our music video blog :)
In our group is:

Rose
Rob
Bryony
Jodie