Final Music Video

Ancillary Task - Album Ad

For the album advertisement, I kept with the black and white theme as it looks highly effective in real like and also carries on the theme on the album cover therefore the audience will find it easier to link together. 

Ancillary Task - DigiPak

 

This is the front cover, back cover and spine of my digi-pak, I kept with the black and white theme for the artist much like in the music video. Contrastingly:

 

 

 

I used colour for the inside of my digipack, as these characters scenes are in colour on the music video also it provides a nice contrast from the outside. I used the same image however flipped it for the inside to represent the happiness they share together, also I think it will look highly effective if I were to print them out and put them in a disc case.

Evaluation: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?

Evaluation: In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products

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

Evaluation: What have you learned from your audience feedback

I made both open and closed questionnaires for my audience feedback so that I could be given two set of data to evaluate. Whilst the closed questionnaire is great for statistics, I was focusing more on the open questionnaire as viewers were able to leave comments which would be more useful when it came to evaluate. I gave these questionnaires to 30 different people ranging from 14-25 as this is my target audience for my music video, out of the thirty, twenty five enjoyed it whereas the other five didn't like it as much. Although I gained a great response for enjoyment, around twenty people did not understand the storyline, this big of a number obviously shows me that more context in the video would have been helpful, especially for younger viewers, if I were to do it again, I would definitely try spend a little more time on thinking of clever ways to make the story easier to follow. All thirty of the people thought that the shots that were most effective were the close-ups and the quayside location as they were scenic and complimented the song, two people who did understand the story line expressed how the close-ups denoted a 'loving look' possibly highlighting the way the two girls feel about each other, which is something that I was hoping to achieve with the cinematography. The shots that most people found least effective were the shots of the girls walking around, because it seemed tedious after a while, this brings me back to my point before about context in the video for the storyline, if I had the time I would have liked to reshoot with a different outlook on portraying the story to gain better results. Twenty people thought the editing was good, five thought it was average and the other five said they didnt really pay attention to it, overall I am happy with this result as I was new to Imovie this year and with more time I could have gained alot more skill using it, but in the short amount of time I am happy with my progress and the feedback given. Twenty two people said they would recommend the video to a friend, some of the reasons for this being that they enjoyed the video, the acting was good and it broke conventions of music videos with the storyline. The other eight said they wouldnt recommend it because they didnt enjoy it themselves or they didnt understand the storyline. Overall I am happy with this feedback and will take it all on board if I were to do it again.

Ancillary Task Editing

This is the editing process of the inside cover of my digi-pak, I have included a grain effect in order to give it the vintage feel I am hoping to achieve throughout my piece, I am thinking about keeping it in colour as their scenes are in colour in my music video, however this may look odd with my front cover hopefully being black and white, I will edit them together and see how it turns out.

Progress Editing

Genre Revision

Over the past week we have been looking at genre, this is a prezi that I have created inorder to help me revising for the exam

Theory Lesson

Today we discussed Genre's and were set a task to pick a genre we liked and research how that genre has changed over time with reference to specific films, this will be uploaded in my next blog post

Studio

I have decided that I am going to the 'artist' in my music video, this will mean it is easier and quicker than having to find a person who has the same free time as me, I will begin this next week when I have organised studio time.

Progress

I have decided to slow down a lot more of the footage in my music video as when I was listening to it with the music the pace seemed off, however some of my clips now seem a bit too stretched therefore I think I will need to go out and get more footage to include.

Spine

This is the spine for my digipack, I have carried on the background from my back cover so that it does not look out of place and also kept the same font I am using for the majority of digipack. I have changed the colour from white to black in order for it to stand out more, also I've only included the artist name and album name because I dont want it to look messy and packed.

Back Cover

I have began adding the legal information and barcode to the back cover this will make it look authentic and more professional

Back Cover

I have began adding the track list to my back cover, I downloaded a font off dafont.com as the fonts on photoshop were not what I was wanting. One of the troubles I had when putting the track list on was getting them in alignment with eachother so I found the ruler setting in photoshop and it helped a great deal

Back cover picture

I was taking practice photos for the digipak so I could get a feel for the layout etc, however when I uploaded it to photoshop in focused on the top left corner of the picture, I then began to mess around with edits etc and I liked the turn out. 

Digipack

I found this on a website called http://www.entertainerlaw.com/pdf/albumnotes_101.pdf and I think it will be very helpful when thinking about the layout of the digipak

Cover

• Artist name 
• Album title 
• Artwork/pictures 
• Parental Advisory Explicit Content notice (if applicable)

Spine

• Artist name 
• Album Title 
• Record label (if applicable) 
• UPC code 

Back Cover

• Track numbers, song titles and length of songs 
• Credit

-Usually for the producers, but may also be for the artist, songwriters, musicians, producer, engineer and others who helped put the album together

-Songwriter credit should be given for each song, unless the same artist or the entire band wrote all of the songs, in which case “All songs written by [artist].” should be sufficient. Make sure to include this information for cover versions and samples as well.

-Note: While you are only legally obligated to give credit to those who have required it in a contract with you, such as producers, managers, lawyers, and labels (although you should give credit to songwriters regardless of contracts), it’s a nice gesture and good karma goes far in this business.

• *Publishing information “© [year] [publishing company name] ([ASCAP, BMI, etc.])” 
• Copyright notices

-“© [year] [artist name]” – This denotes the copyright in the lyrics and music on the album. This symbol should be used whether or not you have registered the work with the U.S. Copyright Office.

-“(P) [year] [artist name or record label]” (the P should be in a circle just like the © symbol and denotes a copyright in the sound recording) – This denotes the copyright in the sound recordings on the album. This symbol should be used whether or not you have registered the work with the U.S. Copyright Office.

-If the copyright in the lyrics and music and the sound recordings belong to the same person or entity (which is often the case), the following should be put on the album “(P)(C) [year] [artist name or record label]”

• “All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws.”
• “Manufactured in USA.” (but only if this is actually the case)  Artwork/pictures – Be sure to give credit to the artist(s). “[Artwork or Photographs] by: [artist]” or “[Artwork or Photographs] © [year] [artist]”  Website
• UPC bar code 
• *If you have liner notes, you may want to include this information there instead of on the back 

Liner Notes

• Track numbers and song titles 
• Credit

-For the artist, songwriters, musicians, producer, engineer, label and others who helped put the album together

-Songwriter credit should be given for each song, unless the same artist or the entire band wrote all of the songs, in which case “All songs written by [artist].” should be sufficient. Make sure to include this information for cover versions and samples as well.

-Note: While you are only legally obligated to give credit to those who have required it in a contract with you, such as producers, managers, lawyers, and labels (although you should give credit to songwriters regardless of contracts), it’s a nice gesture and good karma goes far in this business.

• Publishing information “© [year] [publishing company name] ([ASCAP, BMI, etc.])” 
• Song lyrics 
• “© [year] [artist]” after the lyrics for each song 
• “All rights reserved. Lyrics used by permission only.”
• Copyright notices 

-“© [year] [artist name]” – This denotes the copyright in the lyrics and music on the album.This

symbol should be used whether or not you have registered the work with the U.S. Copyright Office. 

-“(P) [year] [artist name or record label]” (the P should be in a circle just like the © symbol and

denotes a copyright in the sound recording) – This denotes the copyright in the sound recordings on the album. This symbol should be used whether or not you have registered the work with the U.S. Copyright Office.

-If the copyright in the lyrics and music and the sound recordings belong to the same person or entity (which is often the case), the following should be put on the album “(P)(C) [year] [artist name or record label]”

• “All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws.” 
• “Manufactured in USA.” (but only if this is actually the case) 
• UPC code numbers 
• Thanks – This is where you thank everyone (from your mom to your lawyer ☺) who has helped you get where you are
• Artwork/pictures – Be sure to give credit to the artist(s). “[Artwork or Photographs] by: [artist]” or “[Artwork or Photographs] © [year] [artist]” 
• Website address 
• Contact information (especially if this is a demo or you have a fan club) 
• **If you do not have liner notes, you may want to include this information on the back cover of the album and/or on the reverse side of the album cover.

CD/ Other Media

• Artist name 
• Album title 
• Artwork/picture
• Song titles and length of songs 
• Website 
• Copyright notices

-“© [year] [artist name]” – This denotes the copyright in the lyrics and music on the album.This symbol should be used whether or not you have registered the work with the U.S. Copyright Office. “(P) [year] [artist name or record label]” (the P should be in a circle just like the © symbol anddenotes a copyright in the sound recording) – This denotes the copyright in the sound recordings on the album. This symbol should be used whether or not you have registered the work with the U.S. Copyright Office.

-If the copyright in the lyrics and music and the sound recordings belong to the same person or entity (which is often the case), the following should be put on the album “(P)(C) [year] [artist name or record label]”

• “All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws.” 
• “Manufactured in USA.” (but only if this is actually the case) 
• UPC code numbers 
• Compact disc symbol
• Record label name/logo (if applicable) 
• Contact Information (but only if this is a demo)

Other

• Make sure to give proper credit to trademarks where applicable (either TM or ®). Use ® only with federally registered trademarks, as, unlike with ©, you must have a federal registration to use the ® symbol. You may use TM to indicate that you claim trademark rights in a word or logo that you have not registered or if your federal trademark registration is pending.
• If the music was recorded using Dolby, be sure to include their symbol. 
• Add the universal compact disc logo to CDs and add the type of tape and EQ settings on tapes. (You may want to speak with the album manufacturer about adding these symbols.)

Editing

As you can see by the top photo, there was a lack of bright light when filming in the cafe, therefore I have increased the brightness on imovie, so that it looks like the bottom photo, this makes it look almost vintage.
I have also decreased the pace of some scenes which I think are important such as the exchanging of numbers and helping up the stairs, this will add a bit of  difference to the scenes so that they do not seem tedious.

Tracklist

I am beginning to come up with song names for the digipak, I am going to use words that revolve around the theme of love.

1) Only one
2) Lovestruck
3) Unwritten
4) Words
5) Rollercoaster
6) The View
7) Mirrors
8) If Only
9) The End

The songs may be a bit cliché however they are centred around love etc.

Another plan of action

My teacher gave me a great idea to video in a café whilst in town tomorrow, previous students have used blakes café on grey street so it is not off course for us heading to leazes park. I am going to ring the café to ask permission for us to use the café early on in the morning so that we don't disrupt any customers or business, and of course we will be buying food and drinks
for their cooperation.

Plan for tomorrow

Tomorrow I am visiting Leazes park in Newcastle with my two actors to film more of the music video, hopefully we can get most of the filming done here. On the way there and back I am also going to film them in points of the day when they don't realise such as the metro journey over there, this will get footage that isn't acted and looks more real, considering they are best friends and could get some great footage.

If we have time I am hoping to also get photos taken of myself for the ancillary tasks, however I still want the use of fairy lights.

Also if possible I am wanting to go to the quayside to film some more footage however it is at the opposite end of town and the quickest way to get there is foot, and we only have a certain amount of time before needing to be back at school.

Ancillary task photos

When taking ancillary task photos just to give me an idea for the layout I came across a health and safety problem. For my photos I am wanting to use a pitch black room with fairy lights all around myself and possibly the room, however it has just came to my attention that if I was to do this in school it would propose numerous health and safety precautions, something which I am going to have to discuss with the technician at school.

A problem with the font

This is a problem I found when testing the font on a picture, since I only transfer the fonts, the background from where I am selecting it appears on the photo, this is a problem I am going to have to find a solution for. I will have to speak to a technician about possibly enabling me to download the font so this wont happen or I will have to get photoshop at home and do it there, if none of these ideas work then I am going to have to find a font on photoshop that will be suitable.

The fonts

These are the fonts I selected from the wide variety dafonts offered. I wanted to go for a signature type look for the artists name, therefore the font needs to be handwritten however still look professional, which is why I feel the bottom font would be best.

Ancillary Task

In first lesson I have been looking at various fonts for both my digipak and album advertisement, I want a font that is simple, clear yet has an edge to it. Photoshop does not have many fonts like this so I am using a website called 'dafont' which features a vast amount of different fonts which I could download and use in photoshop, I would however have to do this at home because of the restrictions at school. In order to post the different fonts on my blog I am print screening the page of the font, copy and pasting it then putting it on photoshop.

Problems

When messing on with the editing I found the problem that when editing two different clips which I recorded at the same time the lighting was different when I made the contrast diffent. Although I made the contrast the same percentage on both clips they are noticeably different, this could be a problem throughout the whole of my filming process. Unfortunately it is going to be difficult to overcome this however I will have to make the best possible effort to make it look professional.

First Day Back

Today is the first day back from the holidays and I am beginning to edit the footage I have by messing on with lighting etc and removing the sound. I have not started filming from the very start of my music video as I am videoing the more simple parts first. Therefore I will be saving the footage I have edited so that I can just combine the clips.

Elements of a Music Video

Elements of a Music Video
Andrew Goodwin, in 1992, identified a number of key features which distinguish the music video as a form:

There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals (with visuals either illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics)
There is a relationship between the music and the visuals (again with visuals either illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music)
Particular music genres may have their own music video style and iconography (such as live stage performance in heavy rock)
There is a demand on the part of the record company for lots of close-ups of the main artist/vocalist
The artist may develop their own star iconography, in and out of their videos, which, over time, becomes part of their star image.
There is likely to be reference to voyeurism, particularly in the treatment of women, but also in terms of systems of looking (screens within screens, binoculars, cameras, etc)
There are likely to be intertextual references, either to other music videos or to films and TV texts
In addition, Steve Archer in Media Magazine 8 has drawn attention to the need to consider the relationship between narrative and performance in music promos.

The key elements of a music video are:

Lyrics
Lyrics tend to help establish a general feeling, or mood, or sense of subject matter rather than offering a coherent meaning. Key lines may play a part in the visuals associated with the song but very rarely will a music video simply illustrate the lyrics completely.

Music
A music video tends to make use of the tempo of the track to drive the editing and may emphasise particular sounds from the track by foregrounding instruments such as a guitar, keyboard or drum solo.

Genre
While some music videos transcend genres, others can be more easily categorised. Some, but not all, music channels concentrate on particular music genres. If you watch these channels over a period of time, you will be able to identify a range of distinct features which characterise the videos of different genres. These features might be reflected in types of mise en scene, themes, performance, camera and editing styles.

Camerawork
As with any moving image text, how the camera is used and how images are sequenced has a significant impact on meaning. Camera movement, angle and shot distance all need to be analysed. Camera movement may accompany movement of performers (walking, dancing etc) but it may also be used to create a more dynamic feel to stage performance, for instance, by constantly circling the band as they perform on stage. The close up predominated, as in most TV, partly because of the size he screen and partly because of the desire to create a sense of intimacy for the viewer. It also emphasises half of the commodity on sale - the artist, and particularly the voice. John Stewart of Oil Factory said that he sees the music video essentially as having the aesthetics of the TV commercial, with lots of close-ups and lighting being used to focus on the star's face.

Editing
Although the most common form of editing associated with the music promo is fast-cut montage, rendering many of the images impossible to grasp on first viewing, so ensuring multiple viewing, some videos use slow pace and gentler shot transitions to establish mood. This is particularly apparent in promos for many female solo artists with a broad audience appeal, such as Dido. Often enhancing the editing are digital effects, which play with the original images to offer different kinds of pleasure for the audience. This might takr the form of split-screens, colourisation and of course the use of blockbuster film style CGI special effects.

Intertextuality
The music video is often described as a 'post-modern' form, a slippery term which is sometimes used to mean intertextuality, one of the post-modernism's more easily identifiable features. Broadly, if we see music promos as frequently drawing upon existing texts in order to spark recognition in the audience, we have a working definition of intertextuality. Not all audiences will necessarily spot a reference and this need is not significantly detract form their pleasure in the text itself, but greater pleasure might be derived by those who recognise the reference and feel flattered by this. Arguably, it also increases the audience's engagement with, and attentiveness to the product, an important facility in a culture where so many images and narratives compete for our attention.

It is perhaps not surprising that so many music videos draw upon cinema as a starting point, since their directors are often film school graduates intending to move on to the film industry itself. From Madonna's 'Material Girl' (Mary Lambert, 1985) which drew on the song sequence Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend and Howard Hawks' film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (USA, 1953), to 2Pac and Dr Dre's California Love (Hype Williams, 1996) which referenced George Miller's Mad Max (AU, 1979), there are many examples of cinematic references in music video. Television is often a point of reference as well, as in the Beastie Boys' spoof cop-show title sequence for Sabotage (Spike Jonze, 1994) or REM's news show parody Bad Day (Tim Hope, 2003). People see visual references in music video as coming from a range of sources, although the three most frequent are perhaps cinema, fashion and art photography. Fashion sometimes takes the form of specific catwalk references and sometimes even the use of supermodels, as by Robin Thicke in Blurred Lines (Diane Martel, 2013). Probably the most memorable example of reference to fashion photography (and to the fetishistic photography of Helmut Newton) is Robert Palmer's Addicted to Love (Terence Donovan, 1986), parodied many times for its band of mannequin style females, fronted by a besuited Palmer. 

A description of music video as 'incorporating, raiding and reconstructing' is essentially the essence of intertextuality, using something with which the audience may be familiar, to generate both nostalgic associations and new meanings. It is perhaps more explicitly ecident in the music video than in any other media form, with the possible exception of advertising. It is suspected that the influence of videogames on music videos, particularly for younger audiences, has generated more plasticised looking characters.

Narrative and performance
Narrative in songs, as in poetry, is rarely complete and often fragmentary. The same is true of music promos, which tend to suggest storylines or offer complex fragments in a non-linear order, leaving the viewer with the desire to see them again. Often music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the band. Additionally, a carefully choreographed dance might be a part of the artist's performance or an extra aspect of the video designed to aid visualisation and the 'repeatability' factor. Sometimes, the artist (especially the singer) will be a part of the story, acting as narrator and participant at the same time. But it is the lip-synch close-up and the miming of playing instruments that remains at the heart of the music videos, as if to assure us that the band can really kick it. 

The video allows the audience more varied access to the performer than a stage performance can. The close-up, allowing eye contact and close observation of facial gestures, and role-play, within a narrative framework, present the artist in a number of ways not possible in a live concert. The mise en scene  in particular can be used:
As a guarantee of 'authenticity' of a band's musical virtuosity by showing them in a stage performance or a rehearsal room;
To establish a relationship to familiar film or television genres in a narrative-based video;
As a part of the voyeuristic context by suggesting a setting associated with sexual allure, such as a sleazy nightclub or boudoir;
Or to emphasise an aspirational lifestyle, as in the current emphasis on the latest gadgetry
Other commentators have identified some other styles in music videos, including gothic, animated, dreamscapes, portraiture, furutistic and home movie.

My Album Advertisement

For my album advertisement I want the same image used as is on my album cover, I want to keep the same theme by keeping it plain and simple, this will hopefully have the same strong effect as my album cover does. I'm going to keep the same colour scheme etc so that it looks professional and will be easier for my buyers to find it in the shops.

Album Advertisement

Album Advertisement

DigiPak Template

http://www.discwizards.com/cd-dvd-artwork-templates.htm

I found this template online and propose to use it to create my digipak to the correct measurements.

My Digipak

After analysing numerous digipaks I have decided that I am going to keep mine simple yet effective. I want a close up of the artist and for her not to be sexualised, this will keep to my target audience as also highlights the story of my music video, breaking conventions. The text will also be simple with very few fonts as I do not want it to look over crowded and an organised mess because these types of digipaks did not appeal to me.

Last Years Digipak

Image: 

The image is simple, yet powerful with its blurred effect. 

They have kept the background plain which helps to focus on the image more. 

And there is also no image on the back of the cd which once again helps you focus on the text. 

Text: 

The text is highly simple and only features a few fonts which keeps with the theme of the cover. The artist and album name are very small however the album name is bigger, this may be because the artist they have created is successful therefore does not need a huge text.

Track List: 

The trakclist is simple once again like the album cover, making the song clear and easy to read. 

Production Info: 

The production info like the rest of digipaks I have analysed is smaller and placed at the bottom of the album. 

Existing Digipak

Image: 

The image is of the artist on a carousel horse, sticking with the theme of the digipak which is obviously circus themed. Unlike Ellie Gouldings digipak, Pink is showing a lot more flesh, she is known for her raunchy behaviour etc, therefore this appeals to her target audience and attracts them to buy the album.

The background of the album sticks with the circus theme by being very loud and bright, the colour pink seems to be used alot obviously in correspondence with the artists name. 

Text: 

The album name and artist name are surprisingly the same size, unlike Ellie Gouldings where the artists name was significantly bigger, this may be because Pink is a more popular artist therefore is recognised more.

Track List: 

The track list keeps up with the fun theme by varying in font so that the audience are attracted to it more.

Production Info: 

This is small and like the last digipak is in a different colour however much smaller than the rest of the album. 

Existing Digipak

Image:

Shows the artist at an extreme close-up with a series of lights surrounding her, there is no sexuality to her image at all, which is breaking the conventions of a typical female album, showing that she has a specific target audience. 

The background is dark inorder for herself and the lights to stand out, the use of the lights is in correspondence with the name of the album.

There is no image on the back, it is highly simple and just features the names of the songs as if they are alight. 

Text:

The text is highly simple much like the design of the digipak, this enables the text to stand out more so you can clearly see the artist and the album name, although the album name is much smaller than the artist as you are buying the album because of the artist therefore it needs to be apparent that it is her album. 

Track List: 

The track list is very simple following the same theme as the rest of the album, they are simply listen with no numbers etc, just keeping it simple. 

Production Info: 

The production info is in a different colour to the rest of the album however is significantly smaller and not really noticeable. 

Intertextuality

The reason I am going to intertextualise 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' into my music video is because the story line for the film is where I gained my inspiration for the music video, I have always loved Ellie Goulding - The End as it stood out to me on the album as not being like her other songs and it just so happened that I was a big fan of this film when it was in the cinema and the two just seemed to fit. I am going to try and get a hold of the book and have one of my actors carry it or put it in the background of a shot if suitable.

Christmas Holidays

Over the christmas holidays I have been focusing on improving my blog and working on the ancillary tasks, I will post the photos for my ancillary task later on today as I am uncertain about them and the whole concept, however I am going to carry on with my research so I can get the best possible product.