Final website

http://mikey308.wix.com/a2musicvideo
This is the link to the final website for our band.

Music video

This is the music video I have been working on since the start of year 13. As a group there have been different challenges to overcome such as loss of footage, being unable to edit for a week, equipment not being available all the time and trying to find time so that we can record. We have had constant feedback from audiences to see what works well and what doesn’t and that has left us with this product.

In case you cannot see the video here is the link to it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YziQtHw5vuo

Website screenshots

Screenshots of editing

Shot list

Shot list

Treatment

For our music video we have decided that we are going to use both narrative and performance based storylines and have them intertwining with each other. For example in our introduction we are going to start with a narrative structure that’s follows the character while the song begins to start then he will walk past the studio and the camera will stay fixed on that then zoom into the studio to show the band performing the song. We will use this throughout the video and will have the band constantly in the studio.

We are also going to try and include techniques such as animation. This will be used when the main character sees and memory. For example when he arrives at the train station he will see a memory and will be fascinated before the song picks up and the projection shatters into shards. We will use this throughout the song for whenever there is a memory. When this does happen we will either have the whole scene as animation or just the memory.

Another technique we are going to try and use is lip-syncing. This is because it will show that were actually trying to recreate a band when doing performance based. We think the use of lip-syncing will help us link our song to genre as most rock videos are all performance based but we wanted to add the narrative to the video as the song can have many meanings and messages which we hope will help us with the effect we have on the audience.

Another aspect is the band we are going to use. We are using people who know how to use instruments so that it looks more professional as well as using someone who knows the song for lip-syncing so that it looks like a better quality and that people look comfortable when their playing the instruments.

We are trying to include iconic shots of London as well and mix real life shots with animation to suggest that the character has been here before and that their memories still live on when we show the animations. This will help us link our images with thee song as we will be able to manipulate certain shots meaning it will be easier for us to record as well. For example there is a part of the song where it talks about a son and a father. We are going to use animations to show the memory once the character reaches a specific area.

We are hoping to include a lot of close ups of the characters face because we want to show a lot of emotion in the video. This is because we think it will help us show the genre of the music as well as helping us portray a message throughout the video. We will be using these shots when there are memories shown so the audience can try to relate the character due to the emotions that will be shown.

Music video deconstruction

Audience feedback (2)

One of the people I asked for feedback on our ideas for the music gave me back this response:

First of all I listened to the song and tried to understand the lyrics and try to understand the underlying message. Then I was explained the storyline and the aspects of the video and was asked what I thought was good whether I liked it and whether anything that I would change. One of the aspects I liked was the use of memories and the way that they shatter once the chorus kicks in. for example the memory of the silhouetted father and son when the main character is on their journey and they walk towards the silhouette and it explodes into shards. I also believe that if the animation part of the music videos is in black and white it may make some parts look effective but some wont depending on the weather. The music video will work with the song as the song is powerful and helps with the change in pace of the song.

Age-18

Favourite genders-rock and pop

Gender-male

Audience feedback

Audience feedback

From both questionnaires we gave out to people we have recorded the results and have made a conclusion from the answers. The yes no questionnaire gave us some results that suggested that most people who we asked preferred listening to rock and pop music. This is good for us as we have a chosen one of these to make a music video from. In this questionnaire not everyone answered but some of hot points were clear enough for us to realise what we had to do to make people enjoy our video.

We believed that although we had some good answers from the previous questionnaire we decided that we needed more information on our target audience so we created a more detailed questionnaire that helped again gave us results that we wanted to hear.  Again the rock genre has made the most answers for genres people listened too. As well as showing that more students preferred videos that tell a story, visualise the lyrics and don’t glorify the artist.

Risk Assessment

There will be two types of risk assessments for our project. One will be to do with the equipment and one could be risks that can happen when we are recording.

The risk relating with recording could be that some locations may need permission to record such as Crystal Palace station. This would be a risk as if we cannot record at Crystal Palace station then we would have to find something similar to this and would also mean that we may have to postpone recording till we find something similar. This can be solved quickly as before us going recording we will ask for permission to record in crystal palace station and will also come up with an alternative location to use.

One of the risks related to recording in the station is that a lot of people will be walking by and looking at the camera. This will mean that we will gather good recording and for this part of the song. To stop these we will need to make sure that we record and ask people not to look at the camera as it will hinder our recording. If this does happen and it is part of the animation section then we will be able to draw and modify it so that people are not looking at the camera.

Another risk whilst recording that may happen is that because we are recording during the winter months we may face is the change in weather. This is because it will ruin the consistency of the video and may make it look weird. This could work for us as we are doing a rock song the weather may help us portray a feeling. For example we can connote sadness with the rain and it can enforce this feeling as a lot of depressing scenes in music videos and films use rain to add to the effect.

Another risk we could encounter is when shooting in London if someone is in a rush they may jog the camera meaning the setup of the camera will be mucked up and mean it will take time to set up again. This can be stopped as we can make sure people walk around the camera or have specific settings that we can go back to if this happens over and over again.

Mood Board

http://prezi.com/ohctkwzoltki/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Analysis of existing product: Digipak

From the previous post about the website you can see that both the website and the digipak of the album ‘AM’ both reflect each other with the artwork. From the digipak you can see a very simplistic design but it is also effective. The characteristics of the digipak conform to the codes and conventions for example the artwork on the front cover is used by every band even if it’s not the only thing on the front cover. Another example would be the back of the cover as it has the track list. This is a major code and convention and is used by all bands when creating a digipak.

Deconstruction of music video

Analysis of exisiting product: Website

The website I am going to analyse is Arctic Monkey’s website. This is because this will be what we try to recreate with our website. This is because it promotes there new album more throughout the design. As you can see from the screen shot they display the front cover of their new album ‘AM’. The colours on their website have also been linked with the album cover. This can change depending on the latest album out. This is the most used design for a website with most other bands doing the same.

Target audeince research 2

Group findings from detailed questionaire.

1. what genre of music do you most listen to?
jazz
rock
indie rock
metal
classic rock
moddern rock
pop-punk
punk

2. do yoyu prefer story or performance?
story 2
performance 1
both 1

3. do you like videos that compliment and visualise the lyrics of the song?
yes 5
no
unsure/dont mind 1

4.do you like technichal aspents like CGI, animation?
yes 2
no 2
unsure 1

5. Do you listen to different music depending on your mood?
yes 2
no 3

6. do you like music videos that glorifies the artist?
yes
no 5

Codes and Conventions

I will list some codes and conventions that are used in music videos, Websites and Digipaks (CD covers). This will help me in my coursework as we have to produce a music video, a Digipak for the CD and create a homepage for these products. Using these codes and conventions we will create products that use them to make them effective.

Codes and conventions (music video):

• Performance- this shows the band/artist playing throughout the video.
• Narrative- where the words and meaning of a song is portrayed in a storyline.
• Mixture- this is where there is a storyline but it intertwines with a performance aspect.
• Cameo- this is where there is a storyline but the artist/band are in the storyline.
• Animation- this is edited in and makes the video creative and entertaining.
• Pans/tilts are used to show the band members.
• Close ups can either focus on the specific character’s facial expression in a storyline or can be used to show the musicians face when they are singing the lyrics.
• Tracking shots are used in cameos to show the artist walking through somewhere in the storyline.
• The editing must be on beat to the music.
• The lip-syncing should match the speed of the lyrics of the song.
• Including diegetic sound before and after the song to show the start and ending of the video.
• Props and costumes should be based on the genre.

Codes and conventions (digipak):

• Visual image.
• Band/artist name - allow audience to identify band/artist.
• Album title - on main cover and along the spine.
• Track list on the back of the digipak.
• Occasions reviews from companies e.g. NME, MTV, Kerrang etc.
• Colour scheme usually reflects the mood of the album.
• Lyrics book inside.

Codes and conventions (website):

• Clear and easy layout.
• Interactive buttons on home screen to link with other websites.
• For a band it may be used to promote their new album or song.
• Used to inform and entertain.
• Links with the genre of the topic of a website.
• Has pictures linking in with the topic.

Target audience research

To distinguish our target audience we have decided to compile 2 questionnaires. From the results we should be able to see who we would be targeting. Here are the results from our more basic questionnaire:

Gender

• Male-1
• Female-5

Age

• 17-4
• 18-2

Do they watch music videos?

• Yes-6
• No-0

Do you watch music online or retailed?

• Online-3
• Retailed-3

Pick at least 2 genres

• Rock-2
• Pop-3
• Dance-1
• Techno-0
• Hiphop-2
• Country-0
• Rap-0
• Jazz-0
• Blues-0
• Classic-0
• R&B-4

Market/Genre research (2)

The video of ‘Take on me’ by A-ha showed our group that doing animation would be effective and not too difficult as we could have aspects such as drawing in as animations. This has helped our planning as well can incorporate this into certain parts of the music video. We could use this for many different parts and could link the drawings with the lyrics.

For example the part of the song where it talks about the father in heaven we can use the animation to show the boy/artist looking up to the sky and could see something that reminds him of his father.

The video also shows how you can have both real life footage and animation in the same scene and how effective it can work together if done well enough.

Notes for music video

We have had discussions about what we are going to use in our music video.

We have split the plan up into 5 different sectors which include; Props; Locations Cast and crew; Equipment and Technical aspects.

Technical aspects:

·         Overlapping images- this will be where we have the artist lip-syncing and then the images is overlapped by another segment of the storyline.

·         Changes in speed- this will be used to show the passing of time behind the artist during a sequence of the song too add to the effect of the lyrics.

·         Animation- to show the thoughts of the artist and linking in with lyrics.

Cast and Crew:

·         Actors

·         Camera men

·         Lead singer

Props:

·         Instruments- these will be used to show that some of the actors are actually part of the band we are trying to promote

·         Lighting- additional lighting will be used to highlight the members of the band and show them in the studio adding the focus onto them.

Locations:

·         Studio- we will use this for the scenes where the band are all seen and this will link with the performance side of our video.

·         Crystal Palace Park- this will be used for our storyline parts as we show the artist walking up the stairs as the artist is show to be alone linking into the lyrics.

·         Station- this will be used for the scene in which time passes by the artist as he sings the song.

Equipment:

·         cameras

·         tripods

·         green screen