G7: Storyboard and Anamatic

This is the storyboard for our music video. We have decided the locations for each part of the video and have thought about types of shots we are going to include as well as how we are going to edit the video and interesting ways to go between parts of the narrative and the performance.

This is the storyboard for our music video:

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To ensure that we will have enough footage to last our track, we made an anamatic using the pictures from our storyboard. Whilst doing this, we thought about the cutting rate and the different types of shots we would have to include for both the performance and narrative. This also helped when writing the call sheet for our shoots over half term.

This is our anamatic:

• To produce the animatic, we scanned each shot we had drawn out for the storyboard into the computer. Beofe putting it together, we listened to the song to decide which shots of the performance or narrative we wanted to use for each part of the song. We then used Premeiere to edit the shots together in a similar way that we are planning to do our music video.
• As we were only putting pictures in the animatic, we could not show the camera movement or the transistions we were planning to include in our final video. For this reason, our animatic shows several long shots of the band members which will include movement in our real video.
• As our music video is longer than the film opening at AS we had to think of more shot ideas to fill the whole song. This included the shots we wanted to include in the performance as well as the narrative. We also have a faster cutting rate in the music video than the film opening meaning we had to come up with more ideas for shots in both sections of the narrative.
• After completeing the animatic, we realised that we would have to ensure that we include a lot of movement in our shots. The longer shots we plan to include movement in, such as panning or zooming in or out, looked boring in the animatic as we could not add movement. These emphasised the face that we will need to include enough movement in these shots. While editing the animatic, I also realised how important it is to keep a relationship between the music and visuals, such as having the cutting rate in time with the music and changing to suit how the song sounds.
• When shooting our video, we are going to think about our animatic and which aspects of it worked well, for example, we will decide whether we want the same amount of narrative and performance as we put in the animatic. We will also think about the variation of shot types and sizes we will want to include in our music video when filming which we have not always shown in the animatic.

G7: Concept Development 26/10/12 - Filming Plan

• In the lesson we are filling in our call sheet and risk assessment for our film shoots over the half term. We are planning to film in Dunorlan Park and the Grove Park in Tunbridge Wells.
• We completed the animatic using pictures drawn for the storyboard to ensure that the footage we are planning to film over the half term will be a sufficient amount for our track.
• After looking at the results of our online audience research survey in our previous lessons whilst developing our concept, we put all of the results together into a powerpoint to ensure that when we are filming and editing, we can look back at our audience research to ensure we are fulfilling audience expectations.
• This is the call sheet and risk assessment for our first filming session.

G7: Concept Development 24/10/12

After having lengthy dissucions within the group, we have decided to alter our idea as to give it an authentic spin on the conventional idea. In doing so, we hope to make our video unique to the genre.

After out pitch, we decided to change our concept to make it more original. We have kept the original idea of a couple in the locations, however we have changed it to focus on them arguing throughout the video with a few flashbacks to the happy times in their relationship. For this reason we are going to use the same locations to film but rather than just using them for the happy flashbacks, we are also going to film the couple arguing in these locations. We are going to film our performance in the drama studio after half term.

G7: Shooting Schedule

MS: Print Analysis / Digipak

Digipak

The digipak is a form of cd case made of cardboard and recycled materials as opposed to plastics and metals. They often contain extra album art, a lyrics booklet and the cd itself in a simply fold out casing.



A typical digipak (Top) and a smaller version (Bottom).



The band "Gorillaz released an album called "Demon Days" which was presented as a digipark. It was a unique design as it folded out and had 100% recycled materials in the making of the pak.

A basic digipak of most modern bands or programs will have related designs on the CD's and or album lyrics booklets. This is an example of a computer software and it's digipak. Note the colours droplets are on the front cover and on the print of the CD too.

G7: Similar Music Videos

• After out pitch we were advised to look at music videos with a similar narrative and think about exactly what would go on in each location of our music video.
• I though that the following videos had similar narrative and have similar ideas to those we are planning to include in our music video.

Taylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (Whitebloom, 2012)

• This video is based a couple arguing and breaking up. As the lyrics reminisce about the past in the couple's relationship, it shows past arguments they have had as well as some 'happy days.'
• In spite of the performance being part of the narrative, this is a similar narrative to what we are planning to achieve. For this reason I looked at some of the things that the couple do in this video that could be similar to our video.
• Some ideas we could take from this video include the couple arguing in a cafe, a location we were already planning to use, and the shots of the couple on the phone to each other. We could this last idea for the couple during the happy times of their relationship as well as arguing to each other later on.

Train - Drive By (Weins, 2012)

• This video starts before the song with a clip of the singer on the phone to his ex with her telling him that he should be sorry. 
• The narrative of the video shows the three band members and other in cars on the way to the place he met the woman. During these shots the singer also attempts to call the woman.
• This is intercut with shots from their brief relationship, showing them meeting and having fun together. It also shows the singer waking up in bed with her and leaving before he wakes up.
• This concept is very similar to ours, using shots from the narrative, the previous times of the couple's relationship and time from after they have broken up. For this reason we can look at the couple in these two different times and think about whether we could show the couple in our video doing similar things.
• In our video we were planning to use some of the same locations to show the couple when they are together and after they have split up. In this video the singer is shown in his car on the way to see the girl, followed by a flashback shot of them in the car together.

 

The Killers - A Dustland Fairytale (Mandler, 2009)

• Similarly to ‘Drive By’ by Train, this video shows a man in both the present and past. The past shows him spending time with a girl, before watching her cheat on him with another man. These scenes are intercut with a scene of the two men fighting as a result of this, ending with the main character stabbing and killing the other man. In the present, the man is thinking about this and returns to similar locations to those shown in the past.
• Similar shots are used to show the man in the past and present, for example him in his car and CU shots of his face. As we are planning to use some of the same locations for the flashbacks and post-break up scenes, we could try using similar shots from each time to create a similar effect.

 

 

• In the scenes of the couple together, they are shown in rural locations. In one shot, they are shown throwing stones into a pond. As one location we are planning to use (Dunorlan Park) has a lake, we could use this location in a similar way. These scenes also show the couple dancing and walking together, something we could also think about including in our music video.

Simple Plan feat Sean Paul - Summer Paradise (Stauback, 2011)

• This video shows the band on a beach and a boat with some girls. As this is a completely different location to those we are planning to use, we will not be able to do similar things to this video. However, rather than just showing the couple on their own, this video shows a group of men and women hanging out together. This is more casual than the more intimate scenes of just the couple on their own. We could do something similar to this by introducing a larger cast for some scenes.

• To do this, we can use any of the locations we have planned and think about how we can shoot these scenes and what the group of people would be doing. I think suitable locations for this would be these places in Dunorlan Park: 

The Grove Park: (benches)

And The Pantiles:

G7: Pitch and Feedback

On 18/10/12 we presented our pitch to our class to get feedback on our ideas for our concept, locations, mise-en-scene and shot ideas. This was our pitch:

Group 7 Pitch on Prezi

• After presenting our pitch, we received feedback from the rest of our classmates on what they thought was good and what we could change or consider.
• We were told that our ideas of slow motion shots shown throughout the video were good and that we should come up with more of these ideas to create a theme throughout the video. We already had the idea of showing a glass being thrown and smashing against a wall and a leaf falling from the tree, so we will consider some more ideas we can include.
• We were also told that our ideas were conventional of Bloc Party. When doing research, we looked at costumes often used in Bloc Party videos and focused on their band image. We are planning to replicate their image in the performance section of their video. We were told that looking at costumes and shot ideas commonly used in Bloc Party videos was good and that our idea for both concept and mise-en-scene were conventional of the band.
• We discussed how we were going to film our shots in the drama studio and what we would have as a background. We were warned that we would have to be careful to frame the performance shots in a way that would make it look professional as it would be easy to show the areas of the background we didn't want to include in our shots.
• We were advised to choose a new location for the couple’s argument as it didn't make sense to have part of the narrative in the performance location. However, when looking at Bloc Party’s music videos in the research stage, we found that this is often the case, for example, their most recent music video, Octopus, shows the band performing while a disjunctive narrative takes place in the same location. We will, however consider changing this location to something more conventional. Another idea was to use the green screen to change place the characters in an outdoor location.
• For our scenes in The Pantiles, we have considered the time of day we film there so that it is not crowded and how we will film the shots to prevent unwanted people from being in our video. We were also told to think about the shops and cafes that might be in the background of the shots and, as we would not want them in our shot, how we would prevent them from being in our shots.
• As we have chosen a fairly conventional narrative for our music video, we were told to work out exactly what would happen in each location to fill up the song. We will do this by looking at similar music videos and thinking about our locations to work out what will be happening at each point in the song and at each location. We were also given the idea of using cross dissolves or another transition between the flashback shots to create a contrasting feel to the performance and current day narrative.

LB: Print Analysis - Advert

The Streets Advert Analysis

Genre & Representation:

•  The Streets are UK Garage band from Birmingham. They are well known for such tracks as "Dry Your Eyes" and "Fit But You know It". The advert for one of their latest singles, 'Blinded By The Lights' is conventional of the genre. This is due to a number of reasons.  
• The reason I chose to analyse this advert is that is is very similar to some of Bloc Party's own adverts and album covers in that they are often very simple and minimalistic. As well this, this advert can be found in an edition of NME, recognised more often as magazine for indie music.

• Firstly the image denotes five sombre lighters, which are also shaped to look like shotgun shells which connotes violence, anger and fear. 
• In addition to this, the lights are also the logo of the band incorporating the bands image as well as building on a consistent yet ever developing meta-narrative. 
• When I researched some similar artists like Jamie T or The Prodigy, there were some similarities between the adverts. One of which being that each of the adverts feature one significant striking image creating enigma.

Media Language:

• A few visual techniques have been employed when developing this Print work for The Streets. To begin with, when considering colour, the advert uses two contrasting colours, black and white. This allows the image to stand out with little need for additional detail to draw a readers attention.
• Another technique used is lighting and shadows, which is shone from just offset from directly above the lighters. This techniques, suggests to the reader, that they are the one's looking over the light, as if they were choosing which one to pick. 
• One last technique to mention is repetition. Due to the minimalistic nature of this print work, it does not utilise many methods, however whilst it remains simple, it repeatedly displays the bands name along with its logo, almost like subliminal messaging, persuading the reader to buy the album.

Institution & Audience:

• The print here would be consumed through texts such as in newspapers, music or entertainment magazines, some of which magazines would be more focused on similar genres either to appeal to the long time fans of The Streets or to draw in new fans who can relate or enjoy this genre. Other media texts such as newspapers may be used to raise awareness to potential new fans or consumers who have never heard of the band or even the genre. 

G7: Ending Ideas

• When we held a group discussion with some peers to get some feedback on our music video concept, one of the main ideas discussed was how we would end the video. We had two ideas which we told our discussion group: a happy ending where the couple got back together and a sad ending where the couple are shown going their seperate ways.
• In the discussion group, we recieved feedback saying that the happy ending would be more relevent to the track because of the lyrics.
• After this discussion, we thought about some ideas for our ending. We agreed on the idea of the couple arguing and breaking up throughout the video, but ending on a CU shot of them holding hands. We discussed how the video would end based on this shot.
• One idea we came up with was a montage of short shots from throughout the video and performance shown as the song comes to the end with the cutting rate increasing, and finally ending on a static close up shot of the couples hands. We also came up with a similar idea, but fading out as the couple's hands move towards each other.
• Another idea we had was to have a fast cutting rate between the couple's hands moving towards each other and the band's performance finishing.
• When we do our individual discussion groups, we will ask which of these ideas, if any, they can see working well with the rest of the video and with the song.
• In our discussion session, we were told that our idea of having a glass of water being thrown across the room was good. For this reason, we came up with some more similar ideas that we could include, all connoting that it is working towards the end. Some examples of this are a brown leaf falling to the ground, a door slamming shut and the second hand of a clock.

G7: Audience Reseach Results - Group Discussion

First Focus Group Task - 15/10/12

• On 15/10/12 we held a discussion about our music video concept to get some feedback from members of our target audience. We played them our track and asked questions to get an idea of whether or not they felt our idea would work with the band and genre.
• In this discussion, our group told us that they though the track was a good choice as they could imagine it working well with a music video.
• After playing the track and telling them our concept idea as well as ideas for locations, props, shots and the style of the video, our group told us that they thought the track fit well with our video idea and our chosen genre.
• As we were unsure of the ending for our video, we asked our groups opinion on our two ideas. Our first idea is for the couple to break-up and the video will end with them going their seperate ways, and our second idea was for the couple to get back together at the end of the video. Because the lyrics of the song ('I am yours now truthfully') our group agreed that the video should fit with this and have a happy ending.
• We came up with some ideas for our ending based on these comments and how we could incorperate these into our music videos.
• The group liked our idea of having shots from the couple's happy memories in the past and the present day shots of them arguing.
• They suggested that as we are using the same location for our performance and some of our narrative, we could have some shots of the narrative with the band in the background using a shallow depth of field.
• As our group discussion was not as successful as we were hoping, we are all planning to do seperate discussion groups to get more information. For this we will ask more open questions to get more information on what our group thinks of the idea, rather than just 'yes' or 'no' answers.
• As our discussion group seemed to like our idea of the shots of the glass, we have come up with some other similar ideas that we may include. We will also ask about these in our individual discussion groups.
• We are going to ask them which of our ending ideas they think will work well with the rest of the video and some ideas on any other concept development.
• We have also thought about the lyrics of the song and what they suggest about the relationship between the couple. We concluded that it is about a couple who broke up when one of them discovered the 'truth' about the other but got back together. We did not think that it was obvious as to whether it was the man or woman in the couple who was not truthful, so we are going to ask our discussion groups if they think it is obvious. If they do, we may decide to include a shot of one of the couple texting or email the other to apologise. If not we will leave it as the couple arguing with no clue as to which of the couple kept the 'truth.'

Second Focus Group Task - 16/10/12

• As we had not got the response we were hoping for in our focus group on 15/10/12, I held a second session on 16/10/12 to get a better response.
• After playing the group the track, they described the type of themes, and performance and narrative ideas they would expect to see in a Bloc Party of indie rock music video. Mainly, they expected the track to be about a couple because of the lyrics. For these ideas, we were given the idea of using an urban location such as a club as well as the idea of the couple overcoming a difficulty because of the tone of the song. However, they expected it to end happily becuase of the lyrics of the song. Another ideas after hearing the track was for the video to be more of an artistic concept similar to videos by artists such as Gnarles Barkley:

The White Stripes:



and Moby:



•  After talking to someone who was familiar with the band and their past music videos, I was told that a conventional video for them may include less conventional ideas and techniques such as animation or super imposed images.
• After describing our concept to the group, I was told that they thought it was appropriate for the track as the song did not have an overall happy feel, but the lyrics and overall theme behind it was romantic. I was also told that the fast moving song would work well with the narrative as the course of the couple's relationship is being shown over a short period of time and it would create a sense of urgency. Members of the group also thought that our narrative would symbolise the emotions in the song. However, we were also told that we should include a more physical performance (a physical fight scene, for example) as the more upbeat chorus should have a change from the arguements.
• Overall, people liked the ideas we had for both the narrative and band performance as well as specific aspects, such as the glass breaking and the flashbacks to the couple's past. However, we were given the idea of showing some shots of the flashbacks to the couple before the song begins to set the story for the audience. We were also told that the video could be too conventional and we should come up with some shot ideas that would make our video seem different and stand out. We were also told that techniques such as slow motion or abstract shots of the band performance would look good. Building on an idea we were given in the first session of the band being shown in the background of some narrative shots, I was given the idea of pictures of the band being on the wall behind the arguing couple, possibly moving/performing.
• Everybody I asked in this session agreed that the video was conventional of the genre as it has a similar concept to many other music video. However, I was told that out idea seems powerful and as it is conventional, it will appeal to a wide audience. However, I was told that although it was conventional for the genre, it was not similar to any of Bloc Party's past music videos as they are more likely to make more exciting or less conventional videos.
• I asked the groups opinion on what we had discussed in the first focus group, such as what the lyrics suggested had happened with the couple and how we will end the video. Most of the group agreed that the lyrics suggested that one of the couple (although it is not clear which) had done something wrong which had broken them up before getting back together. For this reason, they also liked our idea of the video ending with a shot of the couple holding hands. We also talked about the glass breaking and many of the group thought that if the couple got back together at the end of the video, the glass breaking would oppose this, and we should change the idea of the glass breaking at the end. Some other ideas were showing a sped up reversed shot of the glass breaking when the couple getting back together or stopping the shot just as the glass is about to break.
• It was also suggested that we should not make it clear whether they get back together to make it less conventional. I was also told that because of the repetitive lyrics, we should fade the song our earlier and make it a sad ending. One interpretation of the lyrics was that the couple had broken up but the man (the singer) is saying that he still loves her. For this reason, as well as the idea of juxtaposing the narrative and music and going against the convention, some of the focus group advised us to end the video with the couple breaking up.
• From this focus group, I got a good idea of which aspects of our video our target audience thought were good and what we could work on. Our main criticism was that it was too conventional and that we should change something or come up with an idea to make our video stand out. We will think about this when story boarding and developing our idea to make it more unique.

RB: Print Analysis - Advert

Florence and the Machine Advertisement Analysis

Genre

• Florence and the Machine is an indie rock band, similar to Bloc Party. For this reason I have chosen to look at an advert for their first album, ‘Lungs’ which appeared in magazines upon its release in 2009.
• The design of the advertisement is fairly standard, showing the album cover above the details of the album and its release on a black background. These details include the release date, the previously released songs from the album, the formats it is available in and the artist website. 

The album cover also shows the artist logo and album name in their recognisable fonts.

• After looking at various other indie rock band album covers and magazine advertisements, I have concluded that this design is fairly conventional of the genre, both the design of the advertisement and album cover shown on it.
• Whilst looking at album covers of similar artists, I noticed that a lot of them use dark colour schemes, often in black and white of just focusing on dark reds, greens and blues. The album cover for ‘Lungs’ conforms to this idea as both the colours used in the photo for the album cover and the lighting and post production effects used makes the picture look typical of the genre in this way. As well as the album cover, the black background and white writing of the details of the album also display elements of the typical genre conventions as it is a similar style to many other advertisements.

• I also noticed that indie rock album covers are often similar. I noticed that they often either show a person or people not in the band on the cover, or no people at all.

• When the band or artist is often shown on the cover, I noticed that it is often a picture of a similar style to typical shots used in indie rock music videos, such as a long shot of the entire band. The album cover of ‘Lungs’ does not have either an unrelated picture or person or a shot of the entire band as its cover, it only shows the lead singer and face of the band. However, I did notice that a medium close up shot of her is used which is a conventional shot in indie rock music videos, as well as something used often in Florence and the Machine’s videos.

• I looked at other album and single covers from Florence and the Machine and found that they are all similar to ‘Lungs.’ For example, every album cover features only the lead singer, Florence. This fits in with other aspects of the band’s promotion, such as the music videos which also feature on Florence from the band. They also largely follow the theme of using dark colour schemes and similar style pictures on the album covers.

• From comparing this advertisement to other advertisements and album covers of a similar style, I have found that this advertisement is conventional of the artist and genre. It is similar to many other of the band’s album covers, and the same format and style to the magazine advertisements for the singles. It also has similarities to other indie band’s album covers and advertisements in both style of picture and the colour scheme and style of advertisement.

Media Language

• The advertisement has a standard design of the cover work of the album with the details about its release below. Although the album cover shows the singer in the centre of the page, the rule of thirds has been used in the design of the page to emphasise parts of the design. Horizontally, the album title, written in a bold, white font against a black background and the singer’s eyes fall on the thirds of the page. This draws attention to the title of the album being advertised and the eye-level point of the album cover.
• Vertically, the rule of thirds falls on the singer’s shoulders, emphasising the position she is in for the picture. The thirds also outline and emphasis the album title below the artwork.
• The album artwork shows the singer wearing a pair of lungs around her neck. As the album is titled ‘Lungs’ this fits in with that as well as the relationship often shown between the band’s single titles and artwork.

• In the picture, she is shown looking away from the camera with her eyes closed. This makes her seem withdrawn from the image as she is not looking into the camera; a typical pose for album covers. However, it does fit in with the artist’s alternative persona, reinforced by her unusual costume and image presented through her album covers and music videos.
• The album cover shows the singer standing in front of flowers and plants. The advertisement also has a similar plant coming into the side of the page to continue the theme. I think that this theme of flowers is typically feminine, reinforced by the use of just a woman on the cover, instead of the backing band.
• Goffman et al discussed the way women are often presented in popular culture in comparison to men. When pictured with men, women are usually shown to be weaker, smaller or in a less important position. This album cover only shows a woman, but also contradicts other of Goffman’s ideas. He also stated that women are often commodified or dismembered, meaning they were mainly shown in close ups of their body parts or ‘presented as an object for male pleasure and consumption.’
• I think that Goffman’s theory cannot be applied to this album cover. Unlike many female artists, this album cover does not present the singer in a fetishistic way, and although this picture does conform to Goffman’s idea of licensed withdrawal (‘women appear to be withdrawn from active participation…turning the face away, looking dreamy and introverted’) she is presented in a different way.
• The picture used for the album cover is a medium close up shot which takes up most of the cover. This makes it difficult to compare Florence Welch in this image to the idea of a woman created by Goffman et al’s theory.
• The font used for the album title and information is all a simple white font on a black background. This looks very simple in comparison to the detail shown in the album cover above. The font used for ‘Florence + the Machine’ is not the same as it is the artist logo used on every album and single cover.

Representation

• Florence and the Machine is a band of seven people. However, due to the elaborate live performances of many of their singles featuring mainly the singer, Florence, they are often regarded as a solo singer with a backing band. This is reinforced in the album artwork shown on the advertisement as only she is shown.
• This adds to the meta-narrative at this point in their career as the single covers up to this point all featured only Florence. This continued with their second album cover and the singles released from that album.
•  Except for big fans of the band who would have seen the entire band live, Florence is the only member who most people would recognise. This means that showing a medium close up shot of her taking up most of the album cover is more likely to be noticed by potential buyers than a smaller picture of her along with the rest of the lesser known members of the band.

Institution and Audience

•       This advertisement would be found in a magazine, most likely a music magazine which often features indie bands and artists. Some examples of this would be Q and NME magazine, both of which Florence has appeared on the cover of.

• The advertisement is also likely to appear in magazines targeted at the band’s main audience – teenagers and young adults. This means that it is also likely to feature in magazines such as Bliss magazine, aimed at teenage girls, or Company magazine, aimed at an older audience.
•  This placement would ensure that the necessary details of the album (the release date and title) can be easily shown to the likely audience. These magazines are also likely to print articles or reviews of the album; another form of publicity delivered straight to the desired audience which is free for the artist.
• As there is minimal writing on the page which only displays the essential details, this advertisement would be considered ambient viewing rather than focused as the consumer is likely to be able to flick past the page on a magazine without paying it much attention, but still manage to understand the advertisement.
• The way the advertisement has been created also shows how it should be read by the audience. The artist logo and album title are directly above and below the album cover, drawing the viewers eye straight to them and ensuring that they are the main focus of the page. More information is shown below the album title in a smaller font size, showing the release date and information on the formats it will be released. The font size shows that the consumer is unlikely to read if they are flicking through the magazine, but if the album cover, title and band name were of interest to the consumer, they are likely to look for more information.
• Finally, the artist website is shown at the bottom of the advertisement in smaller font. The size of the writing for each piece of information emphasises how important they can be considered when looking at the page design. The most important information (artist and album name) are in bigger font to catch the attention of a potential consumer. The smaller font is read by those who are interested in the album and would have a proper look at the page. The white font against a plain, black background also makes it more visible and emphasises it which is important as the most prominent part of the advert would be the album cover.
• This shows that the information included in an advertisement must and how it is positioned and sized must be carefully thought out to attract the attention of a consumer. The aim of a magazine advertisement is to be noticed by someone who is just flicking through a magazine which means that it should be eye catching or memorable for another reason.