Advert poster

Our idea for the advert was to make it as obvious as possible what the album was called and what artist was trying to promote it. This was again an important aspect of what we thought was important because the main idea of adverts/posters is to clearly promote the piece of work that the artist is trying to sell. Also we wanted the image to be large so that it was obvious who the main artist was if someone didn't know what the artist name was but if they knew and would recognise them as an artist they had seen before. 

Digipack plan

Our digipack design mainly consists of photos from our location and ones of our main character as well in these locations. Having these photos of Southbank is effective because we are able to get the skyline images or ones of various parts of Southbank such as the actual walkway or parts around the area. We wanted to make the digipack stand out as much as possible by using a lot of pictures we have taken but also having a main colour scheme so that it is obvious what the theme of our cover actually is obvious and apparent for someone to look at it and understand what genre it is from just from looking at the digipack. Also we wanted it to be clear with who the artist on the front cover is and what the album is called to make it seem as a successful album cover.

Location permission reply

The response to be able to film in our chosen location was good as they were fine with us to use Southbank and was not worried about us doing so. Getting the response was important because it shows that we are allowed to have certain building that big companies may own and that they cannot complain if they see that they are in our music video because we had got permission to film them. Also because we have permission to use Southbank it means that it should be fine if certain people may be seen in our shots that we haven't got permission from directly; this is because the location is where we have permission to film at so if the person is there it is not our fault/responsibility of whether they are or aren't in the music video.

Track permission reply

We got a response back from the company that owns the legal rights to the track that we wanted to use as our chosen song. It was good that we got a response to give us permission to use the track so that we won't get into any trouble about copyrighting the track without having permission to use it.

It was good as well that we got asked to send in a finished version of the music video that we made. This is good because if when they see it and if they choose to perhaps make a slight adaptation of what we created then it will prove if we managed to make a good, successful music video. 

Assessment

Peer assessment

Shooting schedule

 

The shooting schedule is very important for the planning because it is used for our group to know and to follow when we begin the filming process. Also on it, it says what equipment we will need to have on us for each time that we are filming at and which location it is needed, which is important because again it helps our group be more prepared for when we are filming because we should all know what we need for what we will be doing that time of filming. For most of the days that we decided to film on it was when we had a lesson on that day; however, on the days that we are filming at Southbank we intend to stay for longer after school when we have been filming so that we can have a variety of lightning for some shots because it will be getting slightly dark at the time so it will add variety and make it look more interesting because of the change of lighting.

Props, costumes, make-up and equipment

Costume:


For our costume ideas we have decided to try and keep all of the costumes quite casual for each of the people because in this genre the clothing worn by most people is very casual; for men, chinos, t-shirts, jackets and shoes, and for women they are normally dressed in either casual clothing such as jeans, with a shirt; or sometimes depending what tone they need so sing in (soft and slow) they may be dressed in something a lot smarter like a dress but that isn't always the case. W e are going to try and follow the style of clothing as well as possible so that we are following the conventions of the genre successfully but also perhaps making it clearer and more apparent as to what they genre is.

Jordan drew out 2 ideas of what he thought that each person should look along the lines of.

For the female artist he thought that they should be wearing some skinny jeans, in wither black, pink or purple; however when we spoke about it more as a group we decided that they should be more of a beige colour or white to add a contrast to the male character in the video. He then thought that they should wear a jacket with a t-shirt but which is a fair idea/example which is quite easy to do when making our music video. However, whilst thinking about this again we decided if not the clothing above they should perhaps wear something nicer such as a dress or something.

For the male character he thought they should be quite casually dressed. For example, they should be wearing black trousers, being probably wearing jeans to show they are casually dressed. The shirt they should be wearing would also need to be very casually dressed, meaning they should have either a t-shirt on or a polo perhaps, to show they are from the genre  and they are casually dressed. Also they should be wearing a bit of jewellery to show they are wearing basic conventions of the genre we are doing and also to make it clear what genre we are trying to put across.

Equipment:

 

For the equipment we want to use it will basically be only the essentials to enable us to film our video. This would be the camera, tripod and perhaps the fig-rig. The camera and tripod are obviously essential to film successfully, such as, for all of the shots to record our video, but then also the tripod is definitely needed to hold the shots steady so the camera doesn't shake and makes it look more professional. The fig-rig was another thing that we wanted to use because it enables us to get shots to hold steady with camera movement around the people singing to add some dynamics to our filming.

Props and make-up:

We did not intend on using too many props in our video. If we was to really use any it may be known as the people who are skateboarding behind us when doing our video. We wanted to use the recording studio as well because we want to give an effect that in the video you are seeing the making of it as well, so all of the equipment we hope to be pretending to use in the recording studio may also be seen as a prop that we want to use. Otherwise we have not really intended on using any other props. The make up as well is not much that we have thought about because for the male singer it is not essential to use make up however if the female singer wants/needs to use make up then that is fine but we have not really planned on using too much make-up. We wanted to try and graffiti the album name on the background of the skate park at Southbank ot make it clear what the album title is when we design the CD cover but also because it adds an individual effect to our video rather than having random graffiti meaning nothing relevant to what we are doing in our video.

Track permission form

We needed to have and send a permission form to the company who owns the legal rights to the track we wanted to use. we need them to sign it to show that we understand that we cannot benefit or make any profit from making a video using their track.

Location permission Email

The email we sent about locations that we wanted to use was necessary because we need permission to film certain places with people knowing that it is ok for us to do so. Also we need permission to film some buildings on site from perhaps the company or council of that area. This email basically shows that we have got permission from the council of the area we want to film in and have got permission to shoot all of buildings, locations and people that are seen whilst filming are not allowed to complain about them being involved because we had permission of filming in that area.

Talent release form

The talent resource form is needed because if there is someone that we are filming that is not in our group they need to sign a form to give us permission to be filming them. We need to give this out to the people we want to have in our video so they are sure that it is fine for them to be in a video that we upload onto youtube. 

Location shots

For our location we are going to try and use three dominant locations but shoot at different parts around them. These were going to be at Southbank, in PDH at school and the school recording studio.

We thought these would be good considering the genre that we are doing because Southbank is quite a busy location but is clear that it is part of a big part of the city making it popular for people but also it is well recognised. Also we intended on filming here when it was beginning to get dark so that you had the effect of the lights to make it look better and seem more effective.

For PDH we were only going to film shots of the girl singing. This was because her part is quite slow and soft and we are able to play around with the lighting in there to create an effect and because it is a drama room we could get or use a stage that is in there. WE were going to use a spotlight on her whilst she was on stage to add the effect she is performing but also to help set the mood for the part that she is singing in.

We also wanted to try and use the recording studio at school because it looks quite professional and serious which would be a good approach to use for our music video because it looks more realistic which is a positive impact/effect to have. Also this was going to have a black and white effect for this bit so that it seems that this part was done in the making of the video so it has the  effect this was previously done in  the build up to the actual music video.                      

         

Storyboard

Animatic

Having the storyboards is important for when we actually film our videos because if we follow them well and successfully enough to as we planned out then we have a good basic structure to follow. This would also make it easier for when we are filming because we know fully and clearly what we are doing so the whole filming process should be a lot easier. Since when we first planned it out the only real difference form what we thought of was adding in the shots in the recording studio. This was a good idea to add into our storyboards because it adds variety of a different location that we can use to make our video seem more interesting and be more varied. This is important because the variety of locations should help to avoid viewer fatigue. 

Song details

The song that we have chosen to do is:
Wrtech 32 ft. Delilah -Don't be afraid


We decided to use this song because it is apparent that it is from the hip hop genre. Also the song is three and a half minutes long which was in the time that we needed to have a song of a certain length and this song is of that needed length. Also we are able to plan out and sync the song well because of the people who are singing in this song which also helped us decide upon choosing this song. Another important reason that we chose this song was because there hasn't yet been a video released so we are able to completely decide upon our own look of what we think the video should be like without being influenced by a music video already released for the song.

Lyric annotation

The lyric annotation is useful because we was able to plan out basically what we would have like to do on each verse in each location. It helps because it is like a step-by-step plan in the way that it says what happens in each section of the song in a small amount of detail, which is still good enough though to gain an understanding of what needs to be done in each verse. Also it's useful to use because we know what is supposed to happen in those places so that when we are filming we can elaborate on the foundations of those ideas to improve them when we are filming, but still keeping and using them as a basic guideline to follow. The lyrics are good because they were quite creative in some ways and enabled us to think of a lot of different ideas from them, which was useful because this means that we could be quite creative with ideas to try and make it as interesting as possible. Lyric annotation is basically the main plan for what we want to do when we get the filming done; it shows what we want to try and do for each line of the song, but we have more than one idea for each line incase we aren't able do one of our ideas.

Concepts

The main idea of our music video does not follow a basic narrative at all it is more a complication of shots from a variety of locations to try to add variety to and make our music video more interesting. We used 3 main locations Southbank, PDH and the recording studio. We intended on using Southbank and PDH as the 2 main locations for filming the 2 artists. This is not of importance to a storyline but more because the locations are relevant to the genre of the song and the tone that it is a for each location We wanted to use PDH for the female singer because we would be able to set up or use a stage because her parts are slow and soft so it would suit the part making it seem like she is staged and performing. For the male artist we decided on Southbank because it looks quite well suited with the hip hop genre because of the long road and all the building making it look quite busy and it fits the genre well. Also the skate park is going to be good to use because the people skating in the background add something different to our video and hopefully make it more interesting. When we was going to use the recording studio the idea was to add the black and white effect when editing those shots to give the impression that this was part of the making of the video and was a past event. We thought this would be quite effective because it gives the impression that the viewer is seeing the making of the video and again makes it more interesting because it adds diversity to our video because we use contrasting locations and try to make it obvious that we are using different time periods as well.

For the album ideas it was dominantly focused on deciding a name that suited the genre well for an artist, but also getting the album cover to have a good title but also stand out slightly because of the front cover ideas, colour scheme, images..., to make it seem effective but also so that it suited the genre well. We need to ensure though that it has a clear image of the artist on the front cover so that it follows conventions of our genre, and clearly shows who the artist is. Also the font size was discussed as to what should be larger the artist name or the album title; we decided that the artists name should come across bigger to again make it clear and apparent to an audience who the artist is. 

Evaluation

Image annotation

For the image above we are unsure whether or not this person is a hip hop artist however they are wearing the clothing that is usually associated with people that are from this genre. Also They have a chain, hat and a big watch that looks quite expensive which is also expected to be seen in this genre by the artists, which is then a good example to use and perhaps try to follow when making our music which will be useful because we can see see basic and obvious conventions of people from this genre.

For the female artists of this genre they usually end up being dressed in nice clothing usually and they tend to do the nicer, softer parts of the song. Also they do not usually have as many props as the male artists in this genre, such as, chains or a watch which is important to remember when making our video to show the female artist correctly.

The last photo is of the hip hop artist Jay-Z. In this photo he is wearing all the conventions that are necessary to make it clear what genre he is representing. The glasses and chain are a statement to show that they are representing this genre well but also they wearing easy clothing and accessories to follow to successfully this genre well.

Assessment 10/10/11 MCU

Please see your assessment sheet.
Please upload your assessment sheet here.

Tecnical tutorials part 2

We have recently used photoshop to practice editing an image to develop our skills and understanding while using photoshop. We took several photos however and had to decide which we though was the best out of them all to use for our practice CD cover.

We used several different aspects of photoshop to edit our image to try to make it look as good as possible. First however we needed to insert the image in to photoshop by uploading an image from the camera onto the macs the editing it into photoshop. We also had to edit the size of the image by pressing CMD+T and then holding shift when adapting the size to keep the same proportions of the image. Also we added the shadow effect on the images of us on our front cover to also make it look more effective but also it may give it a slightly menacing look because the shadows make it seem darker.

After inserting the image we then used the magnetic lasoo tool to edit around the images and remove the background so we was then able to edit and add in our own background. When we added in our own background we needed to select the effect that looked like a big paint can and select the cololur we wanted and just click onto the page to insert it. However, Jordan used the gradient effect which makes the colour start off lighter in one place and as it fills across the page begin to thicken out and get darker. This is a good effect because it adds a variety of the colour but also makes it look more interesting because it looks different and better than having just one big solid colour on the page.

When we did the text it was quite straightforward because all we had to do was click on the text icon (which was just a big 'T') draw out a text box and choose our font style, size and colour. We tried to choose a font that was quite similar to our genre so we chose quite a messy font for the front and back cover because this also helps to define what genre we are doing. Another thing that we did on the text was adding the smudge effect which again made it look quite messy and link with our chosen genre better because it looks very effective but also looks as if it was recently written and has been painted or sprayed on.

Technical Tutorials

For the jing video that I made the main focus I chose for it was about how to cut and edit clips in the timeline. I also learnt how to use jing successfully and how to upload a video by using screencast to upload a video made on  jing video and then putting it on my blog.

When we did the whole group activity I learnt about using the green screen as well; how you need to have the camera positioned in relation to the screen but then also how to edit the screen in final cut to use an image on the back of the screen. I learnt that it is important the whole of the green screen is the only thing in the background of the shot so that when you have your image on it it looks good as there is no random background in the shot. Also how the positioning of the camera is vital because when doing the whole group activity we used three cameras at once so it was important they were all positioned correctly so that the camera got everything we needed in the shot.

For one of the cameras someone used the fig-rig which was quite effective  because it allowed the camera to move around, but it was done so that the camera didn't shake when it got moved which looked really good because it looked very clean with the camera movement but also allowed us to get a variety of different shots with that camera without having to keep cutting between different shot types, which was also good because it helps to save time.

Roles

In our group I am in charge of editing. This means I need to be able to edit the video after we have filmed it successfully so it looks as realistic and effective as possible. This would mean that I would need to ensure that lip syncing is good when we are doing the filming so that it is easier to edit on the mac afterwards but also so that it is in time with the music well enough so that the audience do not see that it may not be in time and make them lose interest in the video because it hasn't been edited properly. Also this would be shot timing which would mean that when we edit it they are all of a good enough length to get enough in the shot to make it interesting but also so that what we are filming is clear enough for the audience to see and understand what is happening in the shot.

Dan is in charge of cinematography. This would mean that when we are filming it is important that he is setting up the camera in the right places to get the shot types we may want or a variety of different interesting  shots to make the video look more effective than it may be. Having a good range of shots is important because it helps to avoid viewer fatigue and makes it more interesting for an audience member to watch the video. He is also in charge of the positioning of the camera which is important as that would effect what is in the frame of the shot. So this could be done through the use of the rule of thirds because it is making it obvious to the viewer what is the main focus of the shot so the viewer understands what they should be looking at. Also it is important because if we need a certain amount of people in the shot but it is not positioned well enough someone may not completely be on the screen so it looks weird if they are trying to lip sync.

Luke and Jordan are sharing the role of mise-en-scene but they are both looking at different aspects of it. Luke is in charge of what will be the locations of where we film when we have decided on the song depending on what we choose. This is important because the location can help to set the mood of the video which is important because the viewer may feel they can relate to the video more or have a better understanding of it as the location suits the song and makes it clearer to the viewer what the meaning of the song may be. Jordan is more in charge of costuming and props which is also important because the costuming is important as if we did not wear clothing suited to that genre then it may be confusing to the audience member as they do not see what we are wearing makes sense to the type of music we are putting across. Also wearing clothing that is best suited to that genre is useful because it may help the audience feel they can relate to the video because they know other people in that genre who wear that type of clothing but they might also have similar stuff as well. Props are also important because they can help to sometimes get the message of a video across, showing what the lyrics are meaning and what the video is trying to show from the artists view. Also they may give the video meaning as it's not always clear what some videos may be showing, but props make some of the lyrics clearer and perhaps the whole video easier to understand.

Initial ideas

While planning we didn't fully decide which song or artist we are going to use yet, but we thought or several different artists which are Brititsh and are popular in the hip hop genre. We thought by choosing several different artists it would help us when we later choose one because we have more options to research into and decide upon which artist would be the best to do when it comes down to deciding. In terms of location  we haven't got a decided one until we are more aware of what song and artist we are going to use because depending on what the lyrics in the song are would impact where we film so it makes sense with the lyrics and relates a bit to them. However, we decided that the costuming would be quite casual clothing regardless which song and artist we chose because in most of the hip hop videos we saw they were always casually dressed which is important because it will show we are following the conventions of a hip hop music video well. We decided upon ideas by just talking as a big group making possibilities o artists and tried to agree which we would think would be well suited to us and allow us to do a music video to one of their songs well, so we listed several and will decide which we use when we have looked into them in more detail.

Peer assessment

From both assessments I learnt that i need to use a larger variety of different visual material, such as, a a contact sheet with several images to make the blog post look more interesting and make it clearer as to what I might be talking about i the blog posts. Also I needed to be more specific as to what I am talking about when analysing because I didn't always keep to answering the question fully in some places,for example, if I needed to include something specific I might not have answered that part.

Questionnaire

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dGZWd0Fub1JPQlk5SlNqMThHaUIySGc6MQ#gid=0
-Link to questionnaire that I made.

Assessment 23/9/11 MCU

WWW

- Fantastic work Alex. You have worked really hard and produced a really good looking blog which shows good understanding.
- All posts (except one) attempted.
- Well done for keeping up with the workload.

EBI

- The images for the record labels and the album covers aren't showing up???
- Include a link to your questionnaire (or embed it if you can) and explain why you needed to carry out research.
- For post 20, explain exactly what you think you will incude in your video now that you have asked your audience.
- Could you be more creative with your visual material? Use shortened clips as well as screen grabs and full videos.
- Include visual material to show that you understand the theories, this will really help you get the higher marks.

EFFORT - EX

YOU WIN BLOG OF THE DAY AGAIN!!!

Survey responses

-Gender

 -Ages

-Ethnicity

-Amount of people that listen to hip-hop regularly

 -Peoples preferred genre if not hip-hop

 -Conventions people expect to see in a hip hop music video.

- Amount of peole that watch live gigs.

 Amount of times on a monthly basis people would go to watch a live gig.

 - How people consume music.

Many of the questions that I asked were generally aimed around many genres of music, however I did try to have at least a couple of questions that were mainly about the hip hop genre. What I learnt from the answers I got was that in hip hop music videos the conventions are all very simple and what are expected to what you anticipate to be in them. This was useful because when we make our music video we can understand easily what we specifically need to include to ensure that it looks a lot like it needs to so that it best suits that genre. Because all of the people that answered the questionnaire were of the same age group it makes it clear what the target audience is and what we need to do to make our video successful in attracting them and making them like the video. Also it helps make it clear of what the clothing chosen should be to best relate to that audience to show that we are aware of what conventions (mise-en-scene) are needed to make the video best suited to and attract that target audience.

The research shows that it will be important to include a lot of main conventions from a hip hop video to make it clear to the audience what genre it is for example, it was dominantly things that are very expensive like a big house, expensive cars, jewellery etc. which would be difficult to get because our video will be low budget meaning we really can't get many of these at all it will mainly rely on the mise-en-scene of the video to make the genre clear. This would be the location and clothing showing clearly what genre it would be. For the location we could use places such as a street, field, maybe a stage and houses because they are all incorporated in other videos from this genre. Also for the clothing it would usually be quite casual because of the locations we are likely to use but also because hip hop is associated with quite a young modern audience so wearing similar clothing to fit in with that target audience would also be important to do to make the genre clear.