EVALUATION: 1) In what ways does your media product use develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The conventions of a music video usually include; most obviously, fast-paced editing to the beat of the music. Edits may also be really obvious to draw attention to themselves, such as wipes and special effects. Jump cuts are used frequently  and other rules of 'continuity' editing are broken all in order to draw attention to what is on the screen.

Andrew Goodwin says that music video conventions show that narrative in music videos is approached from a totally different angle to novels and films in the sense that, firstly, they tend to rely on repetition - something that is not used in any other kind of media. As a result of this the audience become more and more familiar with the genre each time viewing the video and begin to form certain expectations of how a music video of that genre should be and the trends it should follow.

Goodwin also explains how the visualisation of a song may go beyond the original meaning and it can be said that there are three types of relations between songs and videos:

Illustration: This is where the video tells the story of the lyrics. Dance is often used to express the feelings/moods in the song.

Amplification: Occurs when the video introduces new meanings that do not contradict with the lyrics but add layers of meaning.

Disjuncture: This is where there is little connection between the lyrics and the video or where the video contradicts the lyrics.

Laura Mulvey looks at other conventions of music videos including what she calls the 'Male Gaze'. She says that there is an obvious imbalance between men and women which forces the audience to view the text from the perspective of a hetrosexual male. To do this, music videos constantly focus on women's curves and women are perhaps objectified to an extent.

Mulvey's theory is something we definitely considered when making our music video as it is used more in grime then most other genres. An example of some videos that also follow this theory and influenced us in this aspect are Dizzie Rascal's 'Holiday', Jay-Z 'Big Pimpin'. In these videos we see barely dressed, attractive women being filmed with sexual camera angles (e.g tilt up legs, slow motion close ups of lips etc.).




                            Jay-Z - Big Pimpin'

                           Dizzee Rascal - Holiday

We learned that the basic conventions of a cd cover include:
- Prominent display of artist name and album title
-Image of artist (echoing visual style and colour scheme of cover)
-No more then 3-4 colours
-No more then 2 fonts
-Elements of graphic design
-Some sort of visual link to advertisement

Conventionally an advertisement should include:
-Prominent display of artist name and album title
-Release date
-Image of digipak itself
-Record label logo
-Same graphic style as digipak


I followed these general conventions when making my digipak and also looked specifically at the conventions of a grime/r&b digipak. Looking at other similar artist's digipak's I found that they tend to use dark colour schemes and maintain a reasonably simple, cool and sophisticated over all look. Here is an image of my cd cover front and back and a few examples of how it follows the conventions and style of what is expected of the genre.

All of the above cd covers have used black backgrounds, a clear introductory image of the artist and simple fonts that, like mine, contrast between the artist name and the title. White or pale fonts have been used as in my cd cover. The example I have provided of Rick Ross's cd cover is most similar to mine with a black and white image and subtle bits of grey.



My advert is also similar to other similar artists' :

I have kept the advert simple with minimal colour but just enough for it to stand out, an image of the cd cover and included relevant dates, credits and logos.

Final Embeded Music video

          

Digipak Practice

This is my first attempt of making a digipak using photoshop. Unfortunately I ran out of time during the lesson to finish it but it gave me the opportunity to explore photoshop and learn how it works as well as helping me to start thinking in more detail of ideas for my digipak.

Progress Review Blog

I feel that I was more detailed in my blogs during the research and planning stages of the project as opposed to during the time of construction. Perhaps this is because before we began filming and editing I had more time and thought to put into my blogs. I aim to blog far more successfully in detail throughout the production of my ancillary products as I think that the more I blog about what I am physically doing the more ideas I will come up with and  the more opportunities I will have to think carefully about my decisions throughout the remaining of the project.

Overview

Overview

 

What have you done so far in terms of editing?

First we sorted our clips into those that we want to use and those that could not be used for whatever reason (e.g poor quality, previously missed mistakes etc.). Next we established all our base tracks and matched them up to a particular lyric by marking both the clip and the song at the same point and laying one on top of the other. This ensure that the video will be in sync with the song in terms of lyrics and the timings of the lip syncing. Following this we placed the base tracks onto the timeline. Finally we began cutting the shots and we have even started to
mark potential cut aways.

What do you have  left to do in the editing?

We have a small amount of footage left to get as after sorting through the clips we were left with an unstable amount.
After that we will continue to add cutaways and jump cuts until we are ready to add effects / filters to our shots and start to slow down / speed up any clips where necessary.

If all goes to plan the last thing we do will be adding a few bits of text to the video and tidying up anything else that we may have missed.

What was the best part of this project for you?

For me, the best part of this project was the planning; thinking about colour schemes, costumes, locations, props etc. This is because it is the point where you are able to be as creative as possible and really think about what it is that you want to put across though your video.

If there is anything you could change, what would it be?

I would put more thought into the lighting of the shots before filming to avoid wasted footage because of poor lighting and I would also get more footage initially to save time in the long run.

Skills Development

While constructing this video I have learned many skills to take forward an apply to all areas of media production in the future. As a result I have enhanced my personal skills in everything from planning to filming to editing.

The skills I have developed include;

- *Consider lighting from as early as planning*

- Marking and Matching 

- Cutting tool

- Inserting 'input' and 'output' to a clip

- Slowing down / Speeding up clips

- Adding text to a clip

- Adding transactions between clips

- Rendering clips

- Adding effects / filters

- Organising footage initially

Problems During Filming

As the majority of our shots were filmed at night one of the biggest problems we faced was with lighting. Because we had not practiced our lighting arrangements before our first day of filming we found it a real struggle to get our shots appropriately lit and always knew that we could lose a lot of footage because of this. As a group we put our ideas together in order to be as creative as possible with the little lighting we did have access to and managed to get a fair amount of well lit shots. This was something we definitely all learned from and will know to be more careful with in future.

We also often struggled with getting the camera properly focused at the start of the filming process which slowed us down a lot as we didn't feel as though we could even start recording before the shot was properly in focus. When we were back in college we spoke to our teacher about this problem and it all made sense when we were reminded that the camera should be left on auto-focus as opposed to manual. Following this, throughout the rest of the filming process we were able to keep our shots nicely in focus.

Problems During Editing

Throughout the editing process as a group we were faced with many difficulties;

- Difficulty with rendering shots

- Finding suitable images to use for our green screen shots

- Marking the basetracks to the exact part of the song when first laying them

- Adding text

- Cutting to the beat throughout

- Adding effects/filters

Album Advertisement - Magazine

This magazine advertisement has been kept perfectly simple but the few bits of red text and the fantastic use of image are enough to catch the eye of the target audience.

Plan B has used the positioning along  with the authentic look of the chosen image to reflect his unique style of music. His suit and retro style microphone work hand in hand with the vintage black and white effect and strategic lighting and shadowing.

All important information has been organised and neatly listed down the left hand side of the page and legally required small print has been kept to a sensible size that is readable but no bigger then necessary.

This advert could potentially be used for inspiration to help me when I come to creating my own as part of my digipak.

Examples of Digipaks

Features of an effective Digipak

This is an example of an effective digipak as it includes all the appropriate features. To begin with, a red and white colour scheme is consistent throughout keeping it simple and sophisticated. I also particularly like how the look of the digipak reflects the mood of the album itself. Next, similar but slightly different images have been positioned sensibly and comfortable ensuring that there are no large empty areas. These features combined create a perfectly balanced and suitable theme for the digipak.
Finally, all appropriate information has been included within the digipak (e.g. track list, acknowledgements etc.)

This digipak also caught my eye, particularly as i feel that my group could benefit from taking ideas as inspiration for our own digipaks. This is because I feel that a good balance has been established between keeping the digipak bright, loud and funky as well as sophisticated, fresh and chic - appropriate for our artist and genre.

Rough Cut Feedback

The rough cut was the first opportunity we got as a group to think about how we were going to edit accurately to the fast beat of our chosen song. To begin with we struggled with this a lot, more specifically which shots to use where and for how long to cut the shots. Towards the end of the production of our rough cut we had the idea of juddering one shot for the chorus in which the beat also judders. This immediately got positive feedback from peers as well as our teachers and so it was something we decided to use consistantly throughout the video and take forward to the final production.

Another flaw that our teacher pointed out to us was that we hadn't been clear enough in our introduction of the artists. Once this had been brought to our attention we immediately noticed where we had gone wrong and thought about how we were going to improve this. We discussed whether it was necessary to have the artists' names in text in the opening shots but figured that a subtle introduction would be more appropriate and effective. Eventually we decided as a group that the best way to introduce the artists would be to slow down the first shots that they are in slightly and use reasonably close shots of their faces to show that they are performing their own song.

After making these changes to the rough cut it started to become easier to really visualise what our end product was to look like. 

Importance and functions of a digipak

What is a digipak?

 A digipak is a modern approach to cd packaging. Digipak's allow for inclusion of more information on the artist/band.

The outer sides of the digipak should include;
- Artist name
- Production info (copyright, year of production, record label etc.)
- Track listing
- Professional sticker

To be included on the inside of the digipak is;
- Graphic design - Visual style
- Acknowledgements
- Repeat of Track List in more detail

The appropriate advertisement should include;
- Album Title
- Artist Name
- Release Date
- Record Label Name / Logo
- Tour Dates
- Images of Digipak / Album Artwork
- Official Website

Photos During Filming - Production

Feedback - Production

Rough Cut - Production

Videos During Editing

Pitch

Draft Story Board - PLANNING

Amended story board (opening)

We were told by our teacher that in the opening shots we must establish and introduce our artists (something we didn't do in the original story board). We have amended this by adding and changing some shots to ensure that the artists are clearly introduced.

When the artists arrive at the scene their names will be displayed in a few second freeze shot. This not only introduces them but also continues with our genre and theme as in other music videos of the same genre this is something you may expect to see.

Mood board - Brand Image - Planning

This is our mood board reflecting our artist's image, giving ideas of clothing, props and accessories.

Letter requesting copyright - PLANNING

This is our letter requesting copyright from the artist's manager.