Music Video Final

Freddie Sayer Final video from Caroline Birks on Vimeo.

Inside Panels

Here are the pictures that I wish to use for the inside pannels of my digipak. Again of course I am aiming for simplicity so I thought the picture of a guitar would relate to my genre of music.

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

The internet was a very useful research tool when learning the layouts and characteristics of real media products. I was able to research example such as the Coldyplay album so that I could get an understanding of where the logos should be placed and the overall layout of the image. However I also used solid copies as examples such as digipacks of real artists.
Final Cut Pro was the software I used to edit my footage. I simply loaded what I had onto a project list and selected the clips that I needed. I found the trimming of footage easy and flexible which allowed by to pick out unnecessary and unwanted parts.
I used a Sony a290 to take recce photos of where I wished to film. Using such a high quality camera proved useful as I was able to capture images which proved useful for the setting of the music video.
I used a Panasonic SDR-s26 for filming purposes. Ideally I would use a better camera in order to capture better quality shots. However this camera fulfilled its purpose and I was able to film with ease. The best characteristic of this camera would probably be the zoom. This proved useful for zoom in longshots of the character walking across the field. Zooming was also effortless so there was little camera movement.

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

The combination of my ancillary texts and my music video work very well. The music video has the country up-beat feel and the ancillary texts support this by portraying the sub-urban setting and the lone artist. I think the combination of ancillary texts and my media product is effective. Both my ancillary products and my media product share the same charactertistics in terms of simplicity and genre. My music video revolves around the narrative of a single character, who simply decides to sing the song around his sub-urban home town. There narrative is simple to follow, there are no catches before or at the end of the video and in the beginning the audience is fully aware of the main characters situation. This simplicity is duplicated in the ancillary texts by the layout of the digipaks and the digipak advert. I made sure that my background for both of them was a simple picture of my main artist whose face remained hidden to give the character a mysterious effect. The genre of my music fits that of my music video and my ancillary products making them an effective combination and recognisable/relatable media products.

What have I learned from my audience feedback?

The audience feedback has been useful with forming my media product. After having a dilemma with the female character, I took to taking advice from the audience feedback of the first video and saw that the audience do not see enough of her to establish her as a character in the music video and instead she was seen rather more as an anomaly. Audience feedback also showed me that the audience were not comfortable with some of the lip syncing in the video. I took concern over the certain parts pointed out and tried to fix them as best as I could. My audience also made me aware that some clips of the video would be better somewhere else, for example at the end of my video I was told that the sequence in which the video ends would be better if the close-ups of the guitar on the floor were before the medium shot of the artist looking towards the trees so that it looked as if the artist had left his guitar behind and walked away, giving room for the song to end.

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

My media product focuses round the genre of Irish cultural pop music. My music video has used the same editing and filming techniques of that of bands such as Mumford and Son’s Little Lion Man and The Cave. There are short and snappy editing techniques that I have used to exploit the liveliness of the song and there are also extended clips that fit in with the rather emotional stages of the song. The setting of my music video also fits the genre of music that I am trying to relate to, it is set in the sub-urban along with large fields to really fit the country feel of the music. The way that my music video challenges the conventions of actual media products is the way that there is no use of slow motion effects that at some points calm the speed of the video, this would be because there was no effective tool on Final Cut Pro which would allow fluid visual movement. My music video also has only one musician playing and singing in it, this does not challenge the conventions of this kind of genre as much although, with this kind of Irish Cultural Music there are more than one person playing in the music video.
My album advert does not challenge the conventions of other media products that much at all. I have kept the large open space at the top of the advert so that I have made plenty of room for the image of my artist. The only challenge to conventions I have with my advert is that my character/artist is hidden by the dust/scratch effect I have used using Photoshop. Most artists of this genre usually have themselves on their advert, usually to gain a visual reputation.
My digipack like the album advert challenges the forms and conventions of its real media products disallowing the audience to see the face of the singer/artist. However the layout of the covers resemble that of its real media products. I have kept the front as simple as possible whilst keeping the back more detailed yet spaciously laid out.

Digipak Front Final

I have left the previous draft of my digipak because I feel that if I make anymore changes then it would effect my theme of simplicity. I feel that it still stands out and relates to my genre of music.

Digipak Back Final

In this the final copy of my digipak back cover. I have fixed the issue with the faded text due to sun rays in my picture. I have done this by creating a new layer and paint filling it white. I then changed the opacity so that it created a new shade layer so that my text could be easily visible on it. I have also created a glassy effect on the text by over lapping a bronze coloured text with a black coloured text.

Album Advert

This is a my final version of my album advert. I have tried to keep it relatively simple. I have used a "cut and scratch" effect on my main picture background. Getting the picture to fit an A4 format proved difficult as I had trouble spreading it over what room I had. However I feel that I have prevailed seeing as I have used the parts of the picture I wanted effectively.

Advert Example

Hereis an example of a music advert. It may not be in the same format as the advert I wish to create however it does give me some pretty good ideas to what an album cover should include such as the logos, and positioning of text. What I have learned from looking at album adverts is that the majority of them have their text and logos far at the bottom, leaving plenty of space for the main image either of the artist ir band or any picture they have wished to put there. As I am focusing on simplicity I wish to exploit this main idea.

Digipak Front Cover draft

This is a draft image of the front cover of the digipack. I have tried to keep it as simple as possible however hopefully I have given it the epic country effect I have wanted.

Potential Digipak Backgrounds

These are some potential photographs for by Digipak front cover. My main concern is to avoid the same problem where the sun rays effect the viewers ability to read the text. I think all these pictures suit the genre of my music. I want to capture the green fields and the sun to match the Irish Pop culture theme.

Digipak Back Cover

This is a draft copy of my Digipak back cover. I am currently having a problem changing the text colour so that it is clearly visible, however due to the variety of bright and dark colours, caused by the trees and the sun it is hard to get a font that will work. Other than that I am happy with the layout and the design however if I can not fix the text colour I may have to re-design the layout so the text can cover a more solid background where it can me seen.

Music Video First Draft

Freddie rough cut from Caroline Birks on Vimeo.

Digipak planning

I am currently concentrating on the Digipak cover. Here is the layout of what I would prefer it to look, a four sided cover. Having a four sided cover would simplify the layout of the digipak cover. This is a good thing because I was the front side of the digipak to be as simple as possible, perhaps with just a picture of my character with his name and album name. The back cover however is going to be more developed, obviously because I would need the DVD content, the song list and all the copyright features. 

                                                                                                                                          

Digipak examples

Here is an example of what the front and back cover of a digipak. The front cover resembles the theme of simplicity that I would like to have in my front cover. There is plently of space in the picture as well that has made room for the titles to seem isolated.

The back cover is an urban theme. In my back cover I wish to expoit both the country theme and the urban theme. I will still try to use the theme of simplicity however because it is a back cover of a four-sided digipak it would need elements such as soung list, dvd explanation, copyright infringement statement as well as the various logos.

Lip Syncing Issue

Despite making another version of my song I still have an issue with my characters lip syncing. I have replaced the majority of the clips which have this problem with some footage of the character playing and singing inside. This was because inside it was far easier for the character to listen to the song and sing along with it. Because of the short amount of time I have to film more footage I have resorted to critically refine the footage I have to make it fit in the best I can.

Music video V2

After some debate I have decided to create another version of my music video which does not have any scenes of the girl in it. It is also significantly shorter as feedback suggested that the previous version was too long. The narrative has remained exactly the same however I have broadend my use of match on action as well as some other visual effects.

Filming cont

I have returned to filming my character playing the guitar. Instead of filming outside I have decided to film him inside. The main purpose of this was to simply film guitar and singing actions that would film in the gaps I had in my original filming. I originally had difficulty trying to sync the singing with the music. Now however I believe that this footage will create a more synced version of the singing.

Filming cont.

I have filmed someone from inside school to play the role of the girlfriend in the music video. Finding a room that would set the scene of her bedroom was difficult so I decided that instead of staring out of her bedroom window, she would be playing that piano whilst regretting what she has done.

Putting these shots into my music video has proved challenging as I feel that it does not mix well with the narrative of the music video. Sometimes when she comes up on screen I feel that it is quite irrelevant and the audience will have trouble relating it to the narrative of the video. Therefore I have used little of her in the video and have placed her around the time where the character is staring at her name on the wall. I still plan to do more filming of my main character and Ill see if this helps relate her to the narrative.

Story Board 2

 

1. Low angle shot of  light bulb turning on.
2. Zoom in shot of singer in his chair.
3. Close up shot of the iPhone recieving a message.
Character picks up the phone and reads the message. The disruption of the narrative has been introduced.
4. High angle shot of the guitar being picked up. This signals an attempt to fix the narrative.
5. Low angle shot of the character leaving the house.
6. A variety of shots will be used to film the character on the fields. The most used will probably be the extreme long shot or close ups of the guitar.
7. A scenic shot will be used at one point will the guitarist walking down the hill.
8. A medium long shot will be used when filming the singer in an underground walkway.
9. There will be a variety of close up shots and zoom out shots on some graffiti (already made).
10. There will be close up shots at various different angles of the singer walking past the graffiti.
11. Long shot of trains passing under the bridge.
12. Medium shot of singer walkting down a street.
13. A variety of shots of a girl sitting by a window.
14. Close up shot of singer knocking on the door.
15. Girl opens door and sees the singer standing in front of her.
16. Girl closes the door on him and the singer walks away. Low angle shot.

Change of storyboard

I have recently contacted my friends to find out that they cannot make the date set for filming at Bancrofts school and I cannot make the date that is most applicable for them. As a result I am going to  change the storyboard for my music whilst keeping more or less the same narrative going. The video will not be shot in the Great Hall, but instead in someones house and in the local area. The video will also be a solo act played by one of my guitarists.

The storyboard will involve my main singer getting a text from his girlfriend saying that his relationship is over, he suddenly leaves his home on a journey to his girlfriends house. There will be various shots of the singer walking whilst singing and playing his guitar. Close up shots of him playing will be used for greater effect and there will be shots of his girlfriend fading into the picture during the beginning and the chorus.

Despite the change of location the narrative of the my video still holds the same representation of my original plan. However there will be a change in the representation of class as the video will be shot in a middle class neighbourhood and not a prestigious school hall. The character also represents middle class and due to the absence of the two guitarists in suits, there is no attention drawn to the upper class.

Recce Photos cont.

               

These are more recce pictures of the locations in which I wish to film. These show locations which will turn up later during the video. The photos show where the guitarists and the singer will be walking together during the choruses. Each location gives me the ability to perform a long shot, zoom in/zoom out shot and medium to close up shots. The last shot highlights the setting of the video, a grey suburben area.

                                       



Recce Photos

 Here are some recce photos taken from Bancroft's school where I plan to set the beginning of my music video. The two archways are where I plan to position my guitarists just like in the storyboard posted earlier.

 This picture shows the door the character will be running out of during one of the choruses and the archway where he will be followed by the two guitarists.

 The balcony of the Great Hall will be used to create a birds eye view shot of the characer sitting at his desk.







This shot shows the scale of the hall. It is perfect for the eiree exam session effect. By filming from this balcony I can create a long shot of the setting for the songs narrative.

Digipak Sketch

This is a quik sketch of what I plan my Digipak cover to look like.

Representation

Gender is not a key issue in my music video. The only difference between the two is that the guitarists and the main singer are all male and they are chasing after a female. This could have a referance to how men are stereotypically chasing after women. However the narrative should explain to the viewer that the main singer is chasing after someone who he actually cares about and not being stereotypically mindless as represented in most modern day music videos (more commonly in electro music or R&B).

Class and status is perhaps more prominant. The setting at the beginning is set in a grand hall of a privatly run school. However later we see the same character on various modes of public transport where he seems to fit in more. The narrative of the music video also shows how the main singer feels isolated in his community by the way he chooses to leave an A level exam in order to search for his girlfriend who he had an argument with before.

My music video has no representation of race.

This picture is my first attempt at using photoshop. I was introduced to using the very basic tools however I feel that these tool will help me to create the effects I want for my Digipack.

The image below is an example of how I would like to take adavantage of the colour sketch to use in my background and the image in my forground.

Set

The picture above shows the train station where my music group will be performing. I intend to use both platfroms so that we can save filming instead of having to use a different train station. Some of the filming will be done in the interior of a train.


After the singer leaves the Great Hall he will run through this car park.

Story Board

Treatment Sheet

TREATMENT:  PROPOSAL FOR MUSIC VIDEO

In order to decide which video to make, the music company will ask for treatment sheets from several different directors.  Once they are all submitted, the company along with the artist will decide which idea they like the best.

The following sheet has some points to include for your treatment.  Note that you do not have to include everything listed if you feel that you have covered the point elsewhere.

Proposed Title/Song:  Little Lion Man

Synopsis of song lyrics:  The Lyrics are about the mistakes someone has made in his relationship and how poorly he has treated his lover. He admits his faults in the song and explains how difficult the relationship was for him.

Proposed storyline and characters:  The video will present the singer in a hall doing an exam paper, however there is something else clearly on his mind. He has a change of heart and immediately makes a break for the door. The remainder of the video is his journey to the one he loves via train, car and bus. However he reaches the girl only to find that she doesn’t want him anymore.

           

Setting:  Bancrofts school great hall, train station, bus, car.

Length:  There will be an introductory narrative with a little extra narrative at the end of the song, therefore the video will last around 4 minutes

Format: Digital and edited on Final Cut ProX

Style:

Genre, mood etc:  The genre is Pop Folk Music with a jumpy hearty feeling. However the middle of the song is a sad an emotional tune.

Camerawork/type of shots:  There will be long shots and zoom in shots of the main character. There will be close-ups of various different Items and people.

           

Length of shots/editing:  Because of the mix of hearty/ jumpy music and the slow emotional music, there will be a variety long length shots and short and snappy shots. There will be a lot of match-on-action as well as long takes. When the memory shots are introduced, they will fade in slowly to emphasize the fact that they are past events.

Movement and action:  The singer is running towards a destination, there will be a lot of quik movement.

Visual qualities:  The video will be shot in colour.  There is mainly an urban theme, therefore the setting will be grey and dull.

Handling of narrative:  There is a rather simple narrative and a rather simple storyline. The viewer should have no trouble folling the story line despit the use of match on action and relatively fast editing.

Target audience:  My target audience are cultural pop music fans aged from mid-teens to early twenties.

Technical aspects

Production methods:  As I am working by myself I will play all the roles in creating this music video.

Equipment:  Plenty of cameras, lighting, editing equipment

Locations/studio:  The first part of the video will be shot inside the Great Hall of Bancroft’s School. From there I will be filming on various train platforms, trains and buses including a corridor.

Resources

People: Angus Stevens will be the main singer, Charlie Downs and Sandip Samantha will be the two accompanying guitarists.

Time: Because there is going to be a 30 sec narrative, the length of the video should be around 4mins long. This may be edited to a shorter version as I am planning on cutting out a large section of the actual song.

           

Budget:  Cost of London Transport est. £6 per person.

           

Rationale

This is an up-beat music video. The narrative will hopefully give the video a repeatability factor as well as draw in the viewer. Obviously this video is not intended for monetary gain however I want it to strongly present cultural pop music.

Finding my cast

I am using some old school friends for my cast as they all have experience in performing music. They have more experience however in the more rock band and classic rock side of music, however the majority of them do have some classical guitar experience. Another reason why I have chosen this group of people is because they all live locally to the school and currrently attending it and the areas to which I want to film.

Costumes

I have come up with some costumes that I plan to use in my music video. Because I am using a country folk song I plan to use smart casual clothes such as tweed jackets with jeans. I want the guitarists to look the smartest whilst the lead singer remains more casual. This I hope will isolate the Singer from the guitarists as primarily I want to give the impression that the singer is not aware of the guitarists presence.

Filming permission

The school I have contacted has given me the persmission to film on the premises with the exception that my filming does not falsely portray the morals of the school or just generaly make the school look bad. They also said that there are exams goin on at his time so the hall will be set up with desks and chairs, however I have notified them that this would not be an issue as the set will require the hall to be set up like this anyway. I have lately had to cancel a date and time due to the fact that many of the cast could not make the set date, hopefully the 21st will be an ideal time for everyone. I have been told that the school has not changed since I have left so I do not think that a recce would be nessecary.

Shooting schedule

12.30- Film in school Hall.

13.30- Film exterior shots of school hall.

13.50-Make way to Highams Park Station.

(break)

14.45- Film railway shots as well as exterior shots.

15.30- Take 275 bus to film interior shots.

Risk Asessment

During filming I will be using various different types of transports such as the train and the London Buses. It will be quite cramped at times so intruments should be tucked away to avoid injury.

The train station itself is on an open platform, when filming walking backwards I must be carefull to not trip over anything or fall onto the tracks.

Of course we would also have to be careful where we film. Some station managers may not be happy with what we are filming for security reasons. Also areas in London can be hazardous due to anti-social behaviour.

About the video

For the cast for my music video I am going to use a group of friends who were previously in a band together. They do however play and prefer a different kind of music, that being classic metal, however they all have had experience playing with classical intruments. There will be only two guitarists and and singer, one of the guitarists will be playing a Yukilele and the other will be playing a classical guitar.

I hope to film the beginning of the music video in the great hall of my old school, Bancrofts. I am still waiting for a reply to whether or not I have permission to do this, if not I will have to relocate perhaps to the great hall of my current school, which will create difficulties in terms of how I will be able to get my cast together. The reson why I am eager to use the great hall is because I could use the balcony for bird's eye shot of my character which I plan to use at the beginning of my music video. I am going to use various shots at different angles on my character and on the different props so that the viewers gets a good idea of the situation.

The rest of the video will be filmed on different modes of transport. The character is still being followed by the band so I will have to choose trains and buses that have very little people on them. I want flashbacks of the main character's past times with his girlfriend flickering on the screen as he sings on the trains and the buses. I plan to get a long shot of the character walking down a vast alley or field.  This I feel would fit more in with my genre of music due to the more empty atmosphere.

Nearing the end of the song I am planning on the rest of the video being flashbacks. The flashbacks are going to be set in inner London, with first-person and third person shots. By doing this I am planning on creating a more dreamy effect, in editing i will also have these shots fade in and out on screen.

The ending of the video will be fimed in a counsel house estate. However when the character goes inside I will use footage from inside a house as I do not have access to a cousel house interior. When the music starts to die down the character will knok on the door, as the music finishes the ex-girlfriend will close the door and main characterwill walk away. I am planning on using a low angle shot here for more dramatic effect.