Video shooting - BTS Footage

This video displays all the behind the scenes footage of my group and I when we were filming. Ollie took most of the shots here so that the action of filming our music video could be seen. In this, it portrays that not only are we shooting the video, we had fun along the way. It allows us to see where whether we went wrong anywhere on the previous day of filming so that we could fix it for the next day.

Shooting/Production Schedule

Below shows the shooting/production schedule as well as the emails of each member in the group in case we needed to contact each other and tell them we'd be late or couldn't make the day.  We also had each others emails so that we could arrange the times to meet. Usually it was after school or on a Saturday, therefore, suggesting we just had to keep that day free.

From doing this, I have learnt that organisation is key when making a music video or any media text because otherwise, if we weren't organised we wouldn't have got our video shot and edited on time.

Ollie – olliemiracco6@gmail.com

Yasmin – yasminarron@gmail.com

Natasha – natasha.black30@gmail.com

Tom – tomlucazini@gmail.com

Costumes and Props

For this task, I made two pages of possible outfits that the cast would wear within the music video. As there are a wide range of choices of outfits that could fit music artist and the other actors around him. I had to narrow it down to three options for the main characters in the video. I have emailed this to the rest of the group and we will then discuss the costumes for each character as a group so we all come to a mutual agreement and create the best possible look for each person. 

I have learnt that as there is a lot of choice for the wardrobe, in order to get the best option, speaking to the rest of the group will help as we will decide which outfit will suit the characters best.

These are the main props that we will have within our music video. The reason I have chosen these props along with my group all have different reasons. We picked a guitar and drum set due to the fact that we are going to have shots of the band 'performing' and we would need instruments for them to play on to look like they're either processing for a performance or performing for an audience. Gel will be used for when Sean gels his hair back in order to look like a boy in a band as well as looking 'cool.' In the narrative parts of the video, Sean will have a cigarette in is hand to portray that he is a smoker, this is essential as it embraces the stereotype of a young lad in a band. He will also have his phone in the piece in order to look through it when walking, again, embracing the stereotype. The last prop shown on the page is the house number, 505. We will need this number to be shown as it is ultimately the name of a song, nevertheless, we are using this number to be the number of the house that the girlfriend lives at in order to link it together with the title of the song.

Casting

I created this image using Canva and put everyone on the page who will be involved in the film. We, as a group have chosen Sean to play our main singer of the band as he has the right look: brown hair, very defined facial features and this is one of the reasons that fans would like him as an artist and would therefore purchase the songs he makes. We decided to use the people in the group as we thought we looked right in terms of casting for the actors in it. Yasmin will be acting as main camera, nevertheless, when we have to shoot inserts, the other members in my group and myself will have a go at filming and learning how the camera works.

Permisions

This is the location and permission form for when we go to film our music video. It explains that we have permission for Yasmin's bedroom, Ollie's room, on the street and forest. we Just needed to get permission to use the bowing alley, nevertheless, as Yasmin's dad knew the owner, they said we didn't need permission to film there. By having this piece of information, it allowed our organisational skills to improve as we knew we could film in these specific places without hassle.

Shot List

This is the shot list for our video in which we would be using to film each frame. It has all the information on the page that we would need. Such as the costume that each character would wear in that particular scene. In the other columns, the number of the shot and scenes are displayed and this is to make sure we don't lose track while filming. The location is important so that we know where to film each shot and it is marked down in the second vertical column. In order to make sure we got every shot perfectly, we decided to write down the timing and action of each shot, as well as what type it is.

Animal Video

In order to learn how to cut to the beat in music videos, the use of the mise en scene within the camera and the editing play very significant roles in making sure the beat of the music matches what is shown on the screen. In order to practice this, I was given a selection of animal videos (people dressed in animal onesies) and I had to cut them in the editing process to that specific beat which could be heard through the music. The result is shown above.

After finishing this task, I feel that I have learnt a lot more in how to cut the action on the camera to a specific beat so it would look creative and exciting to watch. This will help for when we start editing our own music videos.  

Cutting To The Beat

This video is another cutting to the beat task. We could pick any footage that we like and cut the action on screen to a contrasting song with a lot of beats in it. I chose the Pink Panther and used the theme tune from James Bond. As one would infer, the collision of both media texts has a comic effect on the audience as it is not would the spectator would be used to viewing in relation to pink panther which is a kids show to the non-diegetic James Bond where it relates to action films and has a higher target audience than just kids.
I feel that this task has helped me to learn how to cut to beat within certain pieces of music.

SWEDE

This is the swede in which I created with Yasmin and Louise. We took turns in acting in it as well as filming so that it would be fair for all of us to gain experience, both on camera and behind it. The shot displayed above gave me an insight into how to lip sync in a music video. This concept of lip syncing would help me when we came to making my own with my group as if I was to act in it, I would know how to do it. In order to make each shot as perfect as we could get it, we played the music when we took a shot so that we knew the timing of the action occurring. From doing this activity, I have found that team work is an important aspect in making a video so that getting the job done is easier and much more entertaining.

Animated Storyboard

This is the animated storyboard of what our music video will look like. We have timed each shot correctly so that we would be able to use this to help us when we actually come to film the real life version. As it is only a story board, there isn't any movement that can be shown on screen, moreover, we came to the conclusion writing what we want the actor to do above the box would be the clearest way to remind us what we want the actor to be doing in the shot.
From doing this, I have learnt how to become organised with the timings of each shot as well as how to edit each shot to the correct length. This will help me a lot when coming to making and editing my own video with my group.

Storyboard

This is our official story board. it took a long time to make, nevertheless, we got it done and came up with some great ideas that we thought could work. We started off with a different sheet for the beginning of the video, however, after discussing it with my group, we decided that we should stick to the new sheet for the beginning as it suited the video better. I think this was a good idea to do due to the fact that when it came to filming, the storyboard would help us visualize the shots in which we wanted, so that it would help us to become much more organised when making the video.

Idiots Guide

This is the Idiots Guide to creating a story board. In the video, it shows all the different aspects within a storyboard that one should be aware of when making a planned film or video. There are lots of different ways a person can make their film interesting, and in the video above I have shown only some of them. However, to be really creative, you can take it even further.
From doing this task, I have learnt more about storyboarding than I ad ever known due to the fact I didn't know about the arrows that needed to be including depending on the movement of the camera. This is a big help so that I know to draw arrows on future storyboards to make it easier for me to understand if the camera is moving on any particular shot.

Research into the record company

Arctic Monkeys, like all other bands and artists have a record company. In order to find out more about the band, we decided to research more into it. Tom ended up putting all the information we found, together into a powtoon video. This is so our information on the band's record label would be evidently clear in case we need it to help us with the identity of the band and which shots we should include in the video and which ones we should not.

Target Audience Research

This is a presentation I made with the web 2.0 tool, animoto. I researched different aspects of target audiences and created a presentation of the key points in which I found. I found out a lot of useful information that I would then bring forward to my group when planing and making our music video. For example, I thought it would be a good idea to use a younger cast in order to appeal to our audience. This is so that our targeted audience can relate    

Improved Treatment and audience feedback

This is our amended treatment. We did like the layout of our old one, nevertheless this treatment has more of a simple feel to it and would make the audience that much more interested as they would focus on the content rather than what it actually looks like.

 

From the questionnaire above I found out a lot of my answers along with my group in order to come to the final decisions in completing our film. We took all the answers we were give and created a pie chart for each question as shown above. I feel that this feedback really helped in making our video much more successful than it would have been if we didn't do this. 

Auduience feedback 2

From this feedback, I have learnt a lot about what our target audience wants to see in a music video with a genre such as ours, alternative rock. I have discussed with my group all the different opinions each persona had in mind and we have come to an agreement on the different ideas and either used it or denied it. All in all, this way has made it much easier to eventually have a successful video.

Audience feedback

From this feedback I have learnt that our treatment can appeal to different audiences and it is evident that using multiple locations and having a dominantly male cast will create a better response from our audience.

Recording all Group planning meetings

We have had a few planning meetings overall where we have discussed ideas for our video. We originally had 3 separate ideas for different music videos. However two of us had the same artist, Arctic Monkeys therefore we chose to do them. Then we had to decide wether to do 'Snap Out Of It' or '505'. We heard both sides to why they wether wanted 505 or Snap Out Of It. We did this using mind maps and writing out why we wanted a certain video and seeing each point through. We then decided on 505 as there was more of a narrative and clearer idea.   

First Treatment

Our first treatment for our music video looks like this. We thought it was quite good as a first one and we would then go out and ask audience members for feed back. Yasmin came up with the layout of the treatment and my group and I worked together in coming up with the information for the music video.

My group and I created a treatment for our music video that we are going to eventually make. As the song and band we have chosen to do is an alternative rock one, we decided to keep the same sort of theme throughout the powerpoint. Due to this, the content that we involved in our treatment was all written in a certain way in order to create the mood of the video that we will produce.

By doing this, we have made it easier to understand what our video will be about, how we will film it, what the style characters will include. We have also thought about and discovered how we will edit our music video in order to attract our target audience.

Initial Ideas

In order to come up with different ideas for the music video that I will be creating with my group, I decided to create a handwritten mind map. By doing this it has allowed me to understand where my mind was at as I just put a lot of ideas and information that I had in my head and splashed it out on paper. This helped me to organise my thoughts so that I could pitch my idea of Arctic Monkeys, "Snap Out Of It." 

Turns out, my group liked my idea however we all thought that doing the song "505" would receive a better result when we would have finished shooting the video.

About the Band

I used comic life to write about the band of the Arctic Monkeys, as they are my chosen artists for research and as I am choosing a song of theirs for the music video. I have explained about their life as  a band in their career. These include what awards they have won and when they released certain songs.

I now have a much clearer and better understanding of the Arctic Monkeys as a whole. This will help me when it comes to making my own music video with my group as I understand their style most of all.

Wordle of Competitors

This is a wordle of the competitors around the Arctic Monkeys. From doing this I have learnt that there are a lot of bands that's are involved in the alternative rock genre. Some bands have very similar music to my chosen band (the Arctic Monkeys).This suggests they are up against a lot of others in the music industry and therefore suggests they have done quite well to be as successful as they are right now.

Mood Board to suggest identity of Arctic Monkeys

This is a mood board for the Arctic Monkeys. I gathered lots of different images that suggest the style of the band as a whole. Some of these include "cool" hairstyles, leather jackets, drugs, cigarettes and guitars. I have also included images of the band to make it obvious that I am focusing on the Arctic Monkeys.

From this I have come to a better understanding of the band and I'll keep these ideas in my thoughts when I am ready to film the actual music video. 

Timeline for Planning

Here, I have created a timeline for my planning in order to become organised when I am ready to create my music video. I have put the dates of each task that needs to be completed by so that I  will be up to date in all the work that I will do.

I wanted to make it look as visually appealing as possible furthermore, I used bright and colourful pictures from the internet and did quizzes within the timeline in order to make the page seem more 'alive.'

Time lapse of myself making a digipak

I wanted to find out what the easiest way to create a digipak was. I looked up how to make all different types of digipak and found the one that I would be most comfortable making. I used a ruler, a piece of paper and a rubber in order to get the measurements correct and to make sure that I would do it right.

From this task I have found that digipak's can be quite simple to make, even if they are more difficult to create. 

Mood Board For Music Videos and why I like them

I have created a mood board for some of the different music videos and styles that I like and that intrigue me. Some are upbeat such as Cant Stop by Red Hot Chilli Peppers and others are slower such as Stay by Rihanna. From these music videos I gathered ideas and information that would inspire me for when I make my own video with my group of Yasmin and Ollie.

I edited these videos together with final cut pro and wrote a little explanation of why I like the video and what stands out most of all. By seeing and analysing each clip, I gathered my thoughts together so that I will end up making a brilliant music video.

Analysis of Generic Conventions and sub genre of Michael Jackson

For this task, I had to analyse the generic conventions of music videos with a close eye on Michael Jackson as a sub genre. I decided to focus on Earth Song as it has a sinister feel to the video, nevertheless the song addresses a serious issue in the world. Michael Jackson in one of the scenes in the video feels the music and throws his arms out as if he is trying to make a difference to the world through the meaning of the song. As it is a disco funk genre, Jackson still has to look as if he is enjoying the music even though there is a serious issue being addressed, which therefore creates a juxtaposition.
I feel that I have widened my knowledge of generic conventions of music videos and sub genre also of disco funk also. This will help me when I decide to make my own video and which genre I would pick as well.

Goodwin's Theory - Analysing Music Videos

Goodwin is a media theorist that came up with 8 elements that each music video should include. I wanted to find specific music videos that display his 8 elements quite well, nevertheless, every music video is different of course, so this means that each analysis of the 3 videos with be very different. I wanted to see if some of the most popular music videos involved Goodwin's theory in order to make them successful.

 

After researching Goodwin's theory and the music videos to go with it, I analysed each one with the theory in mind in order to learn how each artist can become so successful. The most interesting aspect in which I learnt and understood is how every music video falls under one of three styles; performance, concept and narrative. This will help me in the future of this course because when it comes to making my own music video, I now know to place it under one of these three categories which, in fact, will make it seem more interesting to the targeted audience and the public in general.

Analysing and Explaining the importance of digipaks, print adverts and websites

Due to the fact that we are studying music videos, it is important to understand all aspects of what goes into selling the artist this is why we have started analysing digipak's, print adverts for the album and a website, as we will end up making two of these products by the end of the course. Before learning about each aspect I had never heard of a digipak, nevertheless, when I was told it was the booklet attached to the front cover, I wanted to know more. I was intrigued by how fans would read the digipak to find out more about their favourite band or artist. I wanted to find out how the record label of artists promoted their musician in order to make money, this is where print adverts and websites came in. 

After finishing this task, I feel that I have learnt how record labels make money on their artists for their fans. It is both important and necessary to create awareness that a new song or album has just come out, because if people didn't know about it, then no money would be made and it would be a waste of new music. Nevertheless, if the music is advertised but not well, then that can also cause a loss of interest from the fans. By doing this task, I have learnt the importance of each product and will keep it in mind when I come to make my own. 

The Three Main Music Video Styles

Music videos fall under different rules that they have to abide by. There are seven types of videos that can be produced however the there main ones are listed below:

- Performance

- Conceptual

- narrative

An explanation of each:

A video that is based on Performance includes the featured band or artist performing. There are different locations that should be used as well as outfit changes for the performer. For example; Applause, Pass Out. 

A conceptual video is where the artist or band neither perform or even appear in concept. Nevertheless, they are based an idea or image like Sia or Lady Gaga.

Narrative music videos involve a clear story with a beginning, middle and an end. These types of videos interact with a performance from the band or artist. An example includes Love Story by Taylor Swift.

Other styles are gag/trick, dance, animation, party/club and film clip. These types are used in music videos although they are not the mains types that the artist or band used in the media industry.

Introduction

Hello!

Welcome to my blog. My name is Natasha Black and I am doing A2 Media Studies this year. I chose this subject because I enjoy analysing media texts and making different aspects such as magazines, films, music videos, advertisements and all other media texts because it gives me a spark of excitement that I don't get doing anything else. Furthermore, this is the industry that I would like to take part and fulfil a career in and therefore, it is why I have chosen media as a subject at A level.

I developed a passion for media from a young age. The way that films were made and advertised with the use of posters and in magazines made me feel excited about the way they were shown to a certain demographic. All types of aspects within the media interest me and I have enjoyed AS Media where we made print articles in a magazine about a new music star. Although sometimes doing certain tasks can be challenging, I work through it and am able to make just what I wanted to from the start of each task.

I understand that this year we will be making music videos for the first time and I cannot wait to start. I think this will be a new learning curve for me due to the fact that I have never made a music video before. I have already started gathering ideas in my head and will speak about them with the group that I end up working with. 
I hope this second year of media studies as a subject will help me fulfil what I want to do when I leave school as it will give me the knowledge I need to have to work in the media industry.