Genre by Megan Russell
By completing this task I have learnt the following :
- Performance is KEY in indie rock music videos and must intertwine well into narrative using editing techniques
- Aesthetics must mirror the song well and connect to the band's usual style to attract the target audience
- Camera and mise-en-scene must be planned in great detail as they will make or break the narrative and performance aspects of the music video
Friday 30 June 2017
Thursday 29 June 2017
Marketing Package
From doing this analysis I have learnt that successful marketing packages have clear connections that are consitent throughout in terms of aesthetics and content.
I have also found there are many ways artists can promote albums both physically and digitally.
Overall, the biggest piece of information I have gained from this task is the importance of consitency in marketing and the planning I must see through before creating my own marketing package.
This planning must ensure I tackle all areas of promotion including a digipak and magazine advert which fuses well with my music video and other pieces of marketing.
Sunday 25 June 2017
Prelim - Contribution
I belive that each member of the group provided an equal amount of effort in each task with no friction between members at any stage of the process. When one person began to take control of a task the rest of the group stood by providing aid and opinions where needed giving a great atmosphere to each task.
- I contributed to 90% of all tasks when planning, filming and editing
- I attended each session of work and was present for the entire 4 hours of group work
- The scenes I filmed include : Establishing shot
The hallway/locker shot
All shots of Chloe as Jessie J
Chloe as the girl in glasses
Csenge as young Jessie during
'rampage'.
Examples :
- I was an actor in the classroom scenes so did not film these
- I did not lip sync in the video as my character does not take on this roll in the original video but I did sing with Chloe when filming her as Jessie j
- I edited many shots during our group editing session and helped with refinements
Prelim - Editing
23/06/17
Editing session
The editing of our preliminary task took place in one three hour session with the entire group as this was the most convinient time for all members. The workload was suistainable and taken at a steady pace to ensure quality was not compromised.
Initially, myself and Chloe took on the task of arranging the videos in the timeline with rough cuts to give structure to our editing process.
After we had done this Vicky and Csenge took the majority of control in the second stage of cropping the clips to ensure the timings were precise and cut well. In terms of replicating slow motion segments,an example being the locker scenes, Csenge took control as the group supervised giving opinions on the takes.
The last stage took up the majority of the editing time as we removed our audio and added the track into the editing software. We began to realise timings were not accurate especially with lip syncing causing our focus to move onto audio cutting.
To sync all clips we worked together with an pair of headphones to each individual as we took it in turns to move clips and try removing different lengths of the clips with the razor tool.
Though the original video does not sync with our visuals completely we have ensured audio is correctly in sync which was our main priority throughout. We were all happy with the outcome of lip syncing and watched the video through a few times before uploading to confirm we were happy with the final edit.
After gaining opinion from others on the video quality I uploaded the video to my channel on YouTube, we ensured you could see the original music video in the corner of our recreation to meet requirements. I also ensured a disclaimer was featured in the video description to comply with copyright laws and monetisation disputes.
Editing session
The editing of our preliminary task took place in one three hour session with the entire group as this was the most convinient time for all members. The workload was suistainable and taken at a steady pace to ensure quality was not compromised.
Initially, myself and Chloe took on the task of arranging the videos in the timeline with rough cuts to give structure to our editing process.
After we had done this Vicky and Csenge took the majority of control in the second stage of cropping the clips to ensure the timings were precise and cut well. In terms of replicating slow motion segments,an example being the locker scenes, Csenge took control as the group supervised giving opinions on the takes.
The last stage took up the majority of the editing time as we removed our audio and added the track into the editing software. We began to realise timings were not accurate especially with lip syncing causing our focus to move onto audio cutting.
To sync all clips we worked together with an pair of headphones to each individual as we took it in turns to move clips and try removing different lengths of the clips with the razor tool.
After gaining opinion from others on the video quality I uploaded the video to my channel on YouTube, we ensured you could see the original music video in the corner of our recreation to meet requirements. I also ensured a disclaimer was featured in the video description to comply with copyright laws and monetisation disputes.
Prelim - Filming
Filming
Day one
During filming the entire team took a role in each session, I filmed the majority of the first filming session as Csenge was the only actor in these scenes.
We had little trouble during this filming as the team worked together to move between locations and dress sets accordingly. We utilised the tripod in all shots during the first day to increase camera stability.
The one issue we faced during our first filming session was the lack of table space in the hallways for the model distruction shot, we decided to utilise an outside bench as an alternative to give the same effect.
Day two
The first scenes we planned to film during the second session were the classroom scenes leaving Chloe behind the camera for these shots. Chloe took responsibility for filming at this time as the rest of the group with extra actors were all involved in the classroom scenes.
After setting up the camera and gathering props to add to the mise-en-scene we dressed the set as a group including folders,pencil cases, work sheets and other stationary to ensure the school semantic field was consistant throughout. During this time our extra actors changed into their suitable costumes as we did not want to compromise on time and quality.
With the audio playing as a guide we got straight into lip syncing scenes with our extra actors going through multiple test shots before finalising the performance clips.
Csenge's chair provided various height and framing issues which we overcame quickly by improvising with positioning.
After filming classroom group and individual shots we moved onto the hallway and locker scene with Csenge and Vicky also extra actors Ellie and Sophie.
At this time I took over filming after discussing possible soloutions of camera positioning with Chloe, Csenge and Vicky aproved our tripod handheld approach after we produced a test shot allowing us to get the shot in the first attempt. The shot was shaky but the best approach to the tracking in the original video.
For the performance scenes with Chloe as Jessie J the teacher the group came together with Chloe and I prepping costume and make-up and the others setting up camera. Csenge took on this filming with Vicky, they shot the scenes of Chloe in the teacher's role before Csenge left for her timetabled lessons.
Our last scenes were then filmed by myself which involved Chloe lip syncing Jessie J's parts, Vicky aided us in preperation and helped us ensure camera positioning and choreography was acuurate. These scenes required many takes to ensure we had the highest quality shot possible, Chloe's acting was admirable in this session and gave us our last elements of filming.
Day one
During filming the entire team took a role in each session, I filmed the majority of the first filming session as Csenge was the only actor in these scenes.
We had little trouble during this filming as the team worked together to move between locations and dress sets accordingly. We utilised the tripod in all shots during the first day to increase camera stability.
The one issue we faced during our first filming session was the lack of table space in the hallways for the model distruction shot, we decided to utilise an outside bench as an alternative to give the same effect.
Day two
The first scenes we planned to film during the second session were the classroom scenes leaving Chloe behind the camera for these shots. Chloe took responsibility for filming at this time as the rest of the group with extra actors were all involved in the classroom scenes.
After setting up the camera and gathering props to add to the mise-en-scene we dressed the set as a group including folders,pencil cases, work sheets and other stationary to ensure the school semantic field was consistant throughout. During this time our extra actors changed into their suitable costumes as we did not want to compromise on time and quality.
With the audio playing as a guide we got straight into lip syncing scenes with our extra actors going through multiple test shots before finalising the performance clips.
Csenge's chair provided various height and framing issues which we overcame quickly by improvising with positioning.
After filming classroom group and individual shots we moved onto the hallway and locker scene with Csenge and Vicky also extra actors Ellie and Sophie.
At this time I took over filming after discussing possible soloutions of camera positioning with Chloe, Csenge and Vicky aproved our tripod handheld approach after we produced a test shot allowing us to get the shot in the first attempt. The shot was shaky but the best approach to the tracking in the original video.
For the performance scenes with Chloe as Jessie J the teacher the group came together with Chloe and I prepping costume and make-up and the others setting up camera. Csenge took on this filming with Vicky, they shot the scenes of Chloe in the teacher's role before Csenge left for her timetabled lessons.
Our last scenes were then filmed by myself which involved Chloe lip syncing Jessie J's parts, Vicky aided us in preperation and helped us ensure camera positioning and choreography was acuurate. These scenes required many takes to ensure we had the highest quality shot possible, Chloe's acting was admirable in this session and gave us our last elements of filming.
Saturday 24 June 2017
Friday 23 June 2017
Analysing other students work
Why I am looking into past students blog's :
I am focsuing my attention to past students work to evaluate their varied approaches to their research,planning etc. to explore the impact this has on their final product and overall journey to produce their music videos.
I have chosen the candidate below as I have seen their video previously and have a good understanding of the concept and process undergone to complete this project.
To explore this blog I will be producing notes on each segment of the blog and their edits to ensure I can grasp the quality and evoloution of the project.
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Candidate : Daniel Bates
Blog : http://batesa2gsa.blogspot.co.uk
Music Video :
Research
In terms of research Dan has explored relevant music videos from the genre he wished to utilise for his own video. There is evidence of shot analysis aiding his sorces of inspiration for his final product ensuring the video uses conventions of music videos well. A strength of his planning is the focus on his chosen genre, though he has explored mostly rock music videos the candidate does look into other narrative types to compare the shots from multiple videos ensuring he has a good grasp on music video formats and narratives. The candidate also includes research into the industry and a wider effect of music videos to give a solid understanding of his project.
Though Dan does have sufficent research into music videos and the different shot types and edits involved he lacks details into the production process. Most of his analysis focuses on visuals and does not feature the prefered production approach of the director giving little insight into the typical genre conventions compromising on initial high level research. These weaknesses do restrict the candidates breadth of research and hinder his exploration of production.
Planning
The planning aspects of this blog illustrate the strength of ideas the candidate had and their organised approach to their narrative and filming sessions. Clear plans for props and costume relating to the genre are seen in the planning helping to establish the initial ideas of narrative. A key strength of the planning is the shot by shot storyboard illustrating the key shots and narrative the candidate wished to include in their final piece. This storyboard would allow for easier filming sessions and edits as a precise narrative and visual plan was produced prior to the first stages of production.
A weak area of the planning in this work is the overall lack of details and development on ideas. In terms of basic planning all content is suitable however, when producing the final product I would find the blog of little use. In terms of visuals the blog sets up a clear plan but annotations are limited suggesting more developments could be made to explore the ideas and production plans.
Music Video
The final video has various strengths including the conventions utilised throughout, an example being the intercuts of the band playing the song with the lip syncing of a satisfactory execution. I appreciate the shots of props which are the cornerstone of the narrative allowing parallel character development.
However, the piece does face some weaknesses including a lack of convincing characterisation and mise-en-scene. The locations of a living room and field do not lend well to the overall piece and compromise the quality. The editing is good but could be improved to give the shots a faster, typical music video pace.
Digipak
A strength of this product is the main colours which reflect the artist well and their music genre. I would prefer more images on the digipack which indicate who the artist is especially due to the product being for a debut album and not an well established artist. This weakness is balanced with the clear title of the artist on the digipak and key conventions of the digipak.
Another evident strength is the multiple audience testing which clearly aided development of the digipak suggesting the candidate was efficently developing their product to a suitable standard and audience preferences.
Magazine Advert
When comparing the final magazine advert to the candidates research it is evident they have attempted to introduce typical conventions to their own product including artwork and reviews from music publications
Contrasting with these strengths the advert does not grab my attention and would become lost in a magazine if I were to see this. As this is a personal opinion it is not clear if others would feel the same however the advert does clearly state the artist and their recent singles which effectivley communicates to fans. I believe the advert does match the genre of band well but I would like to see more diversity between the magazine advert and the digipak.
Evaluation
The evaluation of this candidate's work takes on many forms that display both strengths and weaknesses,like the rest of the blog there is a cleae lack of detail but the evaluation does focus on each aspect of the process effectively to ensure the candidate understands which areas of their products would fit into the exisiting industry and market.
His mentions of media theorists gives an interesting perspective to the evaluation and balances the information well. The conventions utilsied are explored well but lack depth so it is not clear if the candidate feels they have grasped the typical products well or could improve their use of the platform and conventions.
The different uses of formats makes the evaluation an interesting read but the content of latter questions could be explored in much more depth. I plan to use many formats to provide key details but would like to ensure my response to the project and audience feedback is communicated more effectivley.
Seeing the questions being answered in different ways is beneficial as I now have some knowledge of the best approach to the evaluation and content I must produce for this.
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From exploring this past candidates work I have foud the process to create the final video must be documented clearly with details for each aspect of production ,planning and research as with insufficent work I will find the final video will suffer due to lack of preperations. I will also check to ensure each post is easy to navigate and clear to understand when I come back to it as the majority of this content was lacking in clarity.
I am focsuing my attention to past students work to evaluate their varied approaches to their research,planning etc. to explore the impact this has on their final product and overall journey to produce their music videos.
I have chosen the candidate below as I have seen their video previously and have a good understanding of the concept and process undergone to complete this project.
To explore this blog I will be producing notes on each segment of the blog and their edits to ensure I can grasp the quality and evoloution of the project.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Candidate : Daniel Bates
Blog : http://batesa2gsa.blogspot.co.uk
Music Video :
Research
In terms of research Dan has explored relevant music videos from the genre he wished to utilise for his own video. There is evidence of shot analysis aiding his sorces of inspiration for his final product ensuring the video uses conventions of music videos well. A strength of his planning is the focus on his chosen genre, though he has explored mostly rock music videos the candidate does look into other narrative types to compare the shots from multiple videos ensuring he has a good grasp on music video formats and narratives. The candidate also includes research into the industry and a wider effect of music videos to give a solid understanding of his project.
Though Dan does have sufficent research into music videos and the different shot types and edits involved he lacks details into the production process. Most of his analysis focuses on visuals and does not feature the prefered production approach of the director giving little insight into the typical genre conventions compromising on initial high level research. These weaknesses do restrict the candidates breadth of research and hinder his exploration of production.
Planning
The planning aspects of this blog illustrate the strength of ideas the candidate had and their organised approach to their narrative and filming sessions. Clear plans for props and costume relating to the genre are seen in the planning helping to establish the initial ideas of narrative. A key strength of the planning is the shot by shot storyboard illustrating the key shots and narrative the candidate wished to include in their final piece. This storyboard would allow for easier filming sessions and edits as a precise narrative and visual plan was produced prior to the first stages of production.
A weak area of the planning in this work is the overall lack of details and development on ideas. In terms of basic planning all content is suitable however, when producing the final product I would find the blog of little use. In terms of visuals the blog sets up a clear plan but annotations are limited suggesting more developments could be made to explore the ideas and production plans.
Music Video
The final video has various strengths including the conventions utilised throughout, an example being the intercuts of the band playing the song with the lip syncing of a satisfactory execution. I appreciate the shots of props which are the cornerstone of the narrative allowing parallel character development.
However, the piece does face some weaknesses including a lack of convincing characterisation and mise-en-scene. The locations of a living room and field do not lend well to the overall piece and compromise the quality. The editing is good but could be improved to give the shots a faster, typical music video pace.
Digipak
A strength of this product is the main colours which reflect the artist well and their music genre. I would prefer more images on the digipack which indicate who the artist is especially due to the product being for a debut album and not an well established artist. This weakness is balanced with the clear title of the artist on the digipak and key conventions of the digipak.
Another evident strength is the multiple audience testing which clearly aided development of the digipak suggesting the candidate was efficently developing their product to a suitable standard and audience preferences.
Magazine AdvertWhen comparing the final magazine advert to the candidates research it is evident they have attempted to introduce typical conventions to their own product including artwork and reviews from music publications
Contrasting with these strengths the advert does not grab my attention and would become lost in a magazine if I were to see this. As this is a personal opinion it is not clear if others would feel the same however the advert does clearly state the artist and their recent singles which effectivley communicates to fans. I believe the advert does match the genre of band well but I would like to see more diversity between the magazine advert and the digipak.
Evaluation
The evaluation of this candidate's work takes on many forms that display both strengths and weaknesses,like the rest of the blog there is a cleae lack of detail but the evaluation does focus on each aspect of the process effectively to ensure the candidate understands which areas of their products would fit into the exisiting industry and market.
His mentions of media theorists gives an interesting perspective to the evaluation and balances the information well. The conventions utilsied are explored well but lack depth so it is not clear if the candidate feels they have grasped the typical products well or could improve their use of the platform and conventions. 
The different uses of formats makes the evaluation an interesting read but the content of latter questions could be explored in much more depth. I plan to use many formats to provide key details but would like to ensure my response to the project and audience feedback is communicated more effectivley.
Seeing the questions being answered in different ways is beneficial as I now have some knowledge of the best approach to the evaluation and content I must produce for this.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
From exploring this past candidates work I have foud the process to create the final video must be documented clearly with details for each aspect of production ,planning and research as with insufficent work I will find the final video will suffer due to lack of preperations. I will also check to ensure each post is easy to navigate and clear to understand when I come back to it as the majority of this content was lacking in clarity.
Shot count analysis - The 1975
Shot count analysis
Track: 'Love Me'
Artist: The 1975
Record co: Dirty Hit
Director: Diane Martel
Release Date: 28/10/15
Length of video: 3:47
Number of shots in entire video: 248
Average length of shot: 1-2 secs
Within the 30 second segment there are:
Number of CU: 1
Number of ECU:0
Number of LS:6
Number of MS:14
Number of panning shots:4
Number of tilts:3
Other shots: Many tracking
The pace of editing corresponds well with the audio as the frequent cutting in the opening 30 seconds reveals 4 different sets to provide narrative and performance footage.
The straight cuts between frontman, whole band, female dancer and celebrity cut out set allow the caotic narrative to be established from the offset.
The use of a crane presenting varied angles of each set in each sequence is effective as narrative and lip synching performance fuses into everchanging interesting compositions.
The same set is seen in this shot with new crane positioning. The asethetics of the video are enhanced in the varying shot types whilst successfully representing the genre visually.
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I have learnt through this analysis typical conventions of music videos from the pop and alternative genre.
In terms of shot types adn length this varies throughout the enrtire video with multiple uses of tracking to give movement to longer shots and those of the band.
Utilising fast shots and editing to the beat elevates the pop vibe and provides interest to the narrative paired with the shot type variation.
Track: 'Love Me'
Artist: The 1975
Record co: Dirty Hit
Director: Diane Martel
Release Date: 28/10/15
Length of video: 3:47
Number of shots in entire video: 248
Average length of shot: 1-2 secs
Within the 30 second segment there are:
Number of CU: 1
Number of ECU:0
Number of LS:6
Number of MS:14
Number of panning shots:4
Number of tilts:3
Other shots: Many tracking
Example of editing speed
The pace of editing corresponds well with the audio as the frequent cutting in the opening 30 seconds reveals 4 different sets to provide narrative and performance footage.
The straight cuts between frontman, whole band, female dancer and celebrity cut out set allow the caotic narrative to be established from the offset.
The use of a crane presenting varied angles of each set in each sequence is effective as narrative and lip synching performance fuses into everchanging interesting compositions.
The same set is seen in this shot with new crane positioning. The asethetics of the video are enhanced in the varying shot types whilst successfully representing the genre visually.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I have learnt through this analysis typical conventions of music videos from the pop and alternative genre.
In terms of shot types adn length this varies throughout the enrtire video with multiple uses of tracking to give movement to longer shots and those of the band.
Utilising fast shots and editing to the beat elevates the pop vibe and provides interest to the narrative paired with the shot type variation.
Shot Count Analysis - Catfish and the Bottlemen
Track: 'Cocoon'
Artist: Catfish and the Bottlemen
Director: James Moore
Release Date: 28/07/14
Length of video: 4:04
Number of shots in entire video: 139
Average length of shot: 2 seconds
Number of shots in 30 second segment:15
Within the 30 second segment there are:
Number of CU:5
Number of ECU:1
Number of LS:1
Number of MS:8
Number of panning shots:
Number of tilts:
Other shots:
Intercutting continuity example
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From this shot analysis I have learnt that fast editing with a variation of shot lengths is a favourable approach when creating a narrative based music video focused on characterisation over aesthetics. I have found that narrative is best portrayed with continuity and intercutting to introduce a precise storyline and character group with mine-en-scene playing a significant part in the overall narrative.
Shot count analysis - The Smiths
Track: 'Ask'
Artist: The Smiths
Director: Derek Jarman
Release Date: 1986
Length of video: 2:58
Number of shots in entire video: 50
Average length of shot: 5 seconds
Number of shots in 30 second segment: 6
Within the 30 second segment there are:
Number of CU:3
Number of ECU:0
Number of LS:1
Number of MS:2
Number of panning shots:0
Number of tilts:0
Other shots:0
Example of the intercutting sequence
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By completing this shot analysis I have found some videos use longer shots but increase the speed in smaller sequences to give interesting sections to the video elevating both aesthetics and narrative. The shots vary to present characters in the video and impose the band onto other shots creating a double shot.
Artist: The Smiths
Director: Derek Jarman
Release Date: 1986
Length of video: 2:58
Number of shots in entire video: 50
Average length of shot: 5 seconds
Number of shots in 30 second segment: 6
Within the 30 second segment there are:
Number of CU:3
Number of ECU:0
Number of LS:1
Number of MS:2
Number of panning shots:0
Number of tilts:0
Other shots:0
Example of the intercutting sequence
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By completing this shot analysis I have found some videos use longer shots but increase the speed in smaller sequences to give interesting sections to the video elevating both aesthetics and narrative. The shots vary to present characters in the video and impose the band onto other shots creating a double shot.
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