Wednesday, 27 October 2010
First shoot - 26/10/10 - Street
We faced a challenge with this shoot as the conditions were not at all ideal. It was raining and there were hardly any people around which meant that we had to make some changes and do the best that we could.
Instead of having a crowd, we kept the camera in the same position and filmed our actress walking, standing or dancing in different places. We will hopefully be able to have her repeated in lots of different places but also with a MLS of her staying still.
We need to upload this footage and see if it will work when we get back to school. If not, we will definitely reshoot.
I am thinking that we need to add something to this video. It is simply 3 locations with some lip synching. It could be anything such as some more interesting shots.
A while ago we thought of filming in a location such as a field and having the actress jump in the air time and time again each time moving along. We would then edit this so that it looked as though she was walking or running in the air. It may not work but we could try it in a free period after half term.
Friday, 22 October 2010
22/10/10. Group discussion
We are currently in the process of completing our storyboard.We both completed 30 seconds of the storyboard. One of us doing the first 30 seconds and the other doing the last. We decided that, in order to colabourate our ideas for shots, we would do the remaining 3 minutes of the storyboard together with one person drawing but the other feeding in ideas for shots and working together, just not drawing. We find that this is more effective as we can combine our ideas and decide together on the shots that we really want.
We aim to finnish the storyboard in this lesson and then we will be able to take out the camera for the next week in half term. In this week we are planning to film 2 of the locations on 2 different days. We are going to do the field and street locations as these locations are dependent on weather and may need to be repeated. We will then be able to film the studio location as soon as we are back to school. This should hopefully mean that we will have all of the footage ready promptly after half term and we will be ready to edit. A large part of our ideas will be completed in post-production.
We aim to finnish the storyboard in this lesson and then we will be able to take out the camera for the next week in half term. In this week we are planning to film 2 of the locations on 2 different days. We are going to do the field and street locations as these locations are dependent on weather and may need to be repeated. We will then be able to film the studio location as soon as we are back to school. This should hopefully mean that we will have all of the footage ready promptly after half term and we will be ready to edit. A large part of our ideas will be completed in post-production.
Thursday, 21 October 2010
GD: Music Video Research
The video for Sinead O'Connors - 'Nothing Compares 2 U' show how effective a close up of an artist lip syncing in a video can be, although we don't want to shot our whole video within the studio this video shows the camera angles and distance that we want to emulate. I think that although this video only feature the artist lip syncing it is powerful and the audience are drawn to continue to watch it. This reinforces our idea that sometimes a simple music video can have just as big effect than a high budget highly choreographed video can achieve.
Group: Class Practical 21/10/10
Ojectives:
- Using artifical lights for an inside location:
Becuase we want to use a well lit white studio for our music video this practice will be usefull as we will be able to practice the different lighting to see how we can achieve our desired effect.
- Using HD cameras to achieve technical excellance during filming of performance narrative:
The HD cameras will allow us to practice our technical skills and learnig how to achieve the best appearance for a meat shot of the artist.
- Using artifical lights for an inside location:
Becuase we want to use a well lit white studio for our music video this practice will be usefull as we will be able to practice the different lighting to see how we can achieve our desired effect.
- Using HD cameras to achieve technical excellance during filming of performance narrative:
The HD cameras will allow us to practice our technical skills and learnig how to achieve the best appearance for a meat shot of the artist.
Monday, 18 October 2010
Feedback #2
Well done - this blog is a clear record of your concept development. I particularly like your reflection on the pitch and research into technical ideas
Keep up the good work
Keep up the good work
Friday, 15 October 2010
Pitch script
Here is the script that we used with our pitch. This shows more detailed information than the presentation.
Slide 1 – title
Slide 2 – pictures
Slide 3 – photo of Chloe
This is the actress that we will be using. She will be the only character in the video.
Slide 4 – Track and initial response
These initial audience responses were similar to our first idea. We will try to incorporate most of these ideas into our video. We will be using the three locations of a field, street in the dark and a studio and there will be a strong emphasis on ‘lights’. Our actress will be strong and lip synching.
Slide 5 – Secondary research
Ellie Goulding is an indie artist. Indie artists are extremely independent and usually unique in their style. Their videos are original and often include aspects of postmodernism. Ellie Goulding has all these attributes and we will try to ensure that our actress is of a similar style but that our idea is original.
Slide 6 – Surveymonkey
We created an online questionnaire to ask our target audience their preferences and what ideas they had for the track
Slide 7 – Our audience was predominantly between the ages of 16-20. This age group is the audience that we are targeting.
Slide 8 – We asked our audience what they would expect an indie artist to wear. Their responses mainly suggest that the artist should wear jeans, a top and a jacket. This was in fact the idea that we had for the costume in the street location.
Slide 9 – The audience said that they would expect the artist to be looking at the camera some of the time. Taking this and our previous ideas on board, we decided that the artist will only be looking at the camera in the studio location and not on the street or in the field. We will be filming a lot of close-ups of the artist in the studio.
Slide 10 – The results for appropriate locations were fairly close. They suggest that the top three locations (the locations that we will use) are a busy street, then a white studio and then the field. The beach was the least popular location which suited our ideas as we did not plan to use that location unless it was extremely popular with the audience.
Slide 11- These results also suited our plans as we wanted to use bright colours in our video. We may desaturate some clips depending on the lighting once we have filmed and there is always the possibility of converting some of the footage into black and white at a later stage.
Slide 12 – Most people said that they would want to see just one character. We will just be using Chloe as our actress, although there will be other people walking past in the busy street location.
Slide 13 – The main themes that appeared here were lights and bright colours. Again, we will try to use these aspects in our video.
Slide 14 – The audience preferred a slight and natural look in relation to make-up but a small majority wanted heavy makeup. In the field location and studio the make-up will look natural. However, we will go for a heavier look in the street location to help the artist stand out amongst other people in the dark and add depth to the character.
Slide 15 – Most of the audience said that they would like to see little or no lip synching. The artist will only lip synching in the field location in the verses and not to the chorus.
Slide 16 – Field location
For this location it needs to be midday and the sun needs to be out. This will mean that we can use natural rather than artificial light.
Slide 17 – Street location
We went on a reccie to the Pantiles and took pictures of the location where we want to film. It wasn’t busy as it was a Tuesday night so we need to find out when the busiest time is and use this time to film to ensure that there are people around.
Slide 18 – Studio location
We will be using a white studio and here we will film many close-ups of the artist. This means that there are no distractions from the face of the artist. Here we can emphasise the use of artificial lighting.
Slide 19 – Our main focus in the studio will be close-ups. However, we will experiment with a variety of shots in the other locations. The field will be interesting as there are hills which would be perfect for worms-eye view shots. A 360 degree pan would also be good to film in the field as the wide view will show the audience how alone and deserted the artist is. In the street location we will probably use mainly still shots speeding up the footage. We may also do some birds-eye view shots.
Slide 20 – Treatment
The instrumental part played at the beginning will be used for our opening title sequence. We may use the effect of writing the title in glitter and speeding it up.
The first verse will commence in the field location and the actress will be lip synching. We will probably use mainly mid to long shots here. We may use high angle shots. These shots will emphasise the mise-en-scene and we will use lights in the sense of outdoor brightness and brightness of colours here. All verse shots will be filmed in this location and we will experiment with shots, for example, possibly using a 360 degree pan. The lip synching in this will not be directed at the camera, unlike the studio shots.
The chorus that says ‘calling’ repeatedly will be in the street location in the dark. We will use the lights of the street lamps here and lights from shops. We may also take torches to shine on the actress for pro-filmic effects. The artist does not lip synch in this part.
When it says ‘lights’, this part will be in the white studio. This is because we can use a variety of unnatural lights and the white background will help us to emphasise the beauty of the artist. Although this set up is unnatural, the artist will be wearing white and plain clothes which allows the audience to focus on the close-ups of her face and the naturalistic look. The artist will not lip synch in this part.
Slide 21 – Difficulties
When filming outside if it rains it will ruin the shots and the lighting will not be as required therefore we will shoot these parts first too give us more time. We will always have the white studio to rely on.
If lighting is poor or not as bright as we require we can edit the footage post production by editing the hue an saturation levels
We also need the weather to be sunny for the field location for good natural light
Slide 22-make-up
In the field location the artist’s makeup will look natural. This will be the same in the studio although the artist may have glitter on her lips. In the street location the makeup will be heavier to add depth to the character and make her stand out amongst a crowd.
Slide 23 – In the field the artist will be wearing a colourful dress. This will make her stand out and bring more bright colours to the field. In the studio she will probably wear a white top to avoid distractions from the artists face. In the street the artist will probably wear leggings or jeans and a top or dress with a leather jacket.
Slide 24 – The image of the artist will be original and not too outrageous. She needs to have an individual look and stand out from a crowd, yet her costume should not be too outrageous. The artist needs to have strong character and conform to the typical ideology that that indie artists are independent.
Slides 25 and 26 – Digipak advertising campaign
1 – Our first idea is to take an image of our actress in one of the locations and make it black and white or sepia. This would mean that the font would use bright colours and be bold.
2-Our second idea is to use bright colours. As an example we increased the saturation and contrast of this picture of Ellie Goulding. The text would then probably be black and plain to contrast with the bright image.
Slide 27 - Moodboards
Slide 1 – title
Slide 2 – pictures
Slide 3 – photo of Chloe
This is the actress that we will be using. She will be the only character in the video.
Slide 4 – Track and initial response
These initial audience responses were similar to our first idea. We will try to incorporate most of these ideas into our video. We will be using the three locations of a field, street in the dark and a studio and there will be a strong emphasis on ‘lights’. Our actress will be strong and lip synching.
Slide 5 – Secondary research
Ellie Goulding is an indie artist. Indie artists are extremely independent and usually unique in their style. Their videos are original and often include aspects of postmodernism. Ellie Goulding has all these attributes and we will try to ensure that our actress is of a similar style but that our idea is original.
Slide 6 – Surveymonkey
We created an online questionnaire to ask our target audience their preferences and what ideas they had for the track
Slide 7 – Our audience was predominantly between the ages of 16-20. This age group is the audience that we are targeting.
Slide 8 – We asked our audience what they would expect an indie artist to wear. Their responses mainly suggest that the artist should wear jeans, a top and a jacket. This was in fact the idea that we had for the costume in the street location.
Slide 9 – The audience said that they would expect the artist to be looking at the camera some of the time. Taking this and our previous ideas on board, we decided that the artist will only be looking at the camera in the studio location and not on the street or in the field. We will be filming a lot of close-ups of the artist in the studio.
Slide 10 – The results for appropriate locations were fairly close. They suggest that the top three locations (the locations that we will use) are a busy street, then a white studio and then the field. The beach was the least popular location which suited our ideas as we did not plan to use that location unless it was extremely popular with the audience.
Slide 11- These results also suited our plans as we wanted to use bright colours in our video. We may desaturate some clips depending on the lighting once we have filmed and there is always the possibility of converting some of the footage into black and white at a later stage.
Slide 12 – Most people said that they would want to see just one character. We will just be using Chloe as our actress, although there will be other people walking past in the busy street location.
Slide 13 – The main themes that appeared here were lights and bright colours. Again, we will try to use these aspects in our video.
Slide 14 – The audience preferred a slight and natural look in relation to make-up but a small majority wanted heavy makeup. In the field location and studio the make-up will look natural. However, we will go for a heavier look in the street location to help the artist stand out amongst other people in the dark and add depth to the character.
Slide 15 – Most of the audience said that they would like to see little or no lip synching. The artist will only lip synching in the field location in the verses and not to the chorus.
Slide 16 – Field location
For this location it needs to be midday and the sun needs to be out. This will mean that we can use natural rather than artificial light.
Slide 17 – Street location
We went on a reccie to the Pantiles and took pictures of the location where we want to film. It wasn’t busy as it was a Tuesday night so we need to find out when the busiest time is and use this time to film to ensure that there are people around.
Slide 18 – Studio location
We will be using a white studio and here we will film many close-ups of the artist. This means that there are no distractions from the face of the artist. Here we can emphasise the use of artificial lighting.
Slide 19 – Our main focus in the studio will be close-ups. However, we will experiment with a variety of shots in the other locations. The field will be interesting as there are hills which would be perfect for worms-eye view shots. A 360 degree pan would also be good to film in the field as the wide view will show the audience how alone and deserted the artist is. In the street location we will probably use mainly still shots speeding up the footage. We may also do some birds-eye view shots.
Slide 20 – Treatment
The instrumental part played at the beginning will be used for our opening title sequence. We may use the effect of writing the title in glitter and speeding it up.
The first verse will commence in the field location and the actress will be lip synching. We will probably use mainly mid to long shots here. We may use high angle shots. These shots will emphasise the mise-en-scene and we will use lights in the sense of outdoor brightness and brightness of colours here. All verse shots will be filmed in this location and we will experiment with shots, for example, possibly using a 360 degree pan. The lip synching in this will not be directed at the camera, unlike the studio shots.
The chorus that says ‘calling’ repeatedly will be in the street location in the dark. We will use the lights of the street lamps here and lights from shops. We may also take torches to shine on the actress for pro-filmic effects. The artist does not lip synch in this part.
When it says ‘lights’, this part will be in the white studio. This is because we can use a variety of unnatural lights and the white background will help us to emphasise the beauty of the artist. Although this set up is unnatural, the artist will be wearing white and plain clothes which allows the audience to focus on the close-ups of her face and the naturalistic look. The artist will not lip synch in this part.
Slide 21 – Difficulties
When filming outside if it rains it will ruin the shots and the lighting will not be as required therefore we will shoot these parts first too give us more time. We will always have the white studio to rely on.
If lighting is poor or not as bright as we require we can edit the footage post production by editing the hue an saturation levels
We also need the weather to be sunny for the field location for good natural light
Slide 22-make-up
In the field location the artist’s makeup will look natural. This will be the same in the studio although the artist may have glitter on her lips. In the street location the makeup will be heavier to add depth to the character and make her stand out amongst a crowd.
Slide 23 – In the field the artist will be wearing a colourful dress. This will make her stand out and bring more bright colours to the field. In the studio she will probably wear a white top to avoid distractions from the artists face. In the street the artist will probably wear leggings or jeans and a top or dress with a leather jacket.
Slide 24 – The image of the artist will be original and not too outrageous. She needs to have an individual look and stand out from a crowd, yet her costume should not be too outrageous. The artist needs to have strong character and conform to the typical ideology that that indie artists are independent.
Slides 25 and 26 – Digipak advertising campaign
1 – Our first idea is to take an image of our actress in one of the locations and make it black and white or sepia. This would mean that the font would use bright colours and be bold.
2-Our second idea is to use bright colours. As an example we increased the saturation and contrast of this picture of Ellie Goulding. The text would then probably be black and plain to contrast with the bright image.
Slide 27 - Moodboards
Saskia and Georgina: Pitch Feedback
When the class and teachers gave feedback from this pitch that we presented yesterday, a few key issues arose.
The first issue was that the artist will not be lip synching in the studio location. Somebody asked what the artist would actually be doing as we were planning on using close-ups in this location. I think we have made the decision that the artist will need to be lip synching for this part.
Our idea is not extremely complex. We want to create a surreal atmosphere and a complete narrative fuzz. As we want an emphasis on lights, we will need to use a variety of natural and unnatural light. In the field location we will rely on natural light and hope for the sun to be out. In the studio location and on the street we want to use different unnatural lighting effects such as torches and possibly strobe lighting.
Another issue was raised which was that there is only one character and she will need to be quite active. We decided that, as most of the footage is in the field location, we need a prop and some interesting movements from the artist.
We then had some ideas to solve this which were:
For the artist to be dancing in the field or doing something with a prop
Using props such as a kite, coloured balloons (and letting them go)
Someone made a suggestion that, instead of using a white classroom at West Kent College, we could use a studio in our school and use a white screen. This would suit our needs as we only need mainly close-ups in front of the screen. This location should be more practical as we have assistance with lighting and the use of lights from the school.
FILMING
We want to take the camera out over half term (25th October). We will aim to shoot footage from the outside locations as these are weather and people dependent. If the weather is not good in the field then we cannot film so we need to try filming this as early as possible meaning that we can film at a later date if needed. For the street location, we need many people around in the background. If we go to film and there are not many people around, we will have to film at a later date to ensure enough people in the background. We can then think about filming in the drama studio with the white screen after half term in school time.
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
Reccie 12/10/10 - The Pantiles
Here is a picture of the Pantiles in the evening where we want to film tonight to see if it is a possible location to use for our music video.
Tonight we need to see if the character can be seen clearly in the lights from street lamps and shop lights and test the mise-en-scene to see if there will be too many brand names of shops appearing in the shots. We may possibly film further up from the pantiles as it could be busier which is what we need.
Monday, 11 October 2010
Group: Class Discussion 11/10/10
Today we have started to work on our pitches to present to the class later this week, we have completed the analysis of our audience research, inital repsonses and make-up and pictures of our actress. We need to go on our 'reccie' for our outside loaction and our white studio. We intend to film tomorrow evening to see if we can rely on the street lights for our main lighting for our video, we will post our findings on the blog tomorrow.
Sunday, 10 October 2010
GD: Field Location 'Reccie'
Today we went on 'reccie' to find a field location for our music video. I though this location would be effective to film in because of the varied heights of the hills as this would enable us to film from a high angle to achieve a birds eye views as well as getting a worms eye view of our actress. We are going to our street location 'reccie' on Tuesday 12th October
GD: Advert Analysis
Florence and the Machine - 'Lungs'
I chose to analyse this advert for Florence and the Machine's debut album 'Lungs' because she is another artist similar like Ellie Goulding but put hers own unique slant on the indie music genre
Genre
How is the genre of the track/artist evident? The genre of the artist is Indie, which is shortened from independent. This album cover has typical indie feel because it is not overly styled and it does not rely on the artists body or face to sell the album.
Costume – Florence is known for her loose fitting peachy/cream vintage dresses and her signature red hair this advert shows both of the artists star motifs.
Setting – The artist is standing in front of a woodland ares with pink flowers entwined, the advert has a Gothic feel to the setting.
Colour – The colours on the advert contrast in order the make the artist stand out, by having a Gothic and dark background makes the artist stand out because of her porcelain skins tones and pale dress.
Typography – There is a variety of font used. The artists name is written in natural and 'handwritten' font which reinforces the indie and unique aspect of the album whereas the albums title is in stronger bold font which makes it stand out and it becomes obvious that it focal point of the poster.
Media language
What visual techniques are used?
The rule of thirds is again evident in this advert as although the artist is positioned in the centre of the poster her body position varies between the 1st third and the last third. the Kate Nash album cover. The advert features a strong visual pathway as the audience first looks at the white artists name, then the artists pale skin draws you down to the name of the album and then the release date.
What linguistic devices have been used?
The title 'lungs' is reinforced by the image of lungs super-imposed on the artists. This gives the impression that the artists music is wholesome and really sings from the 'lungs' which would conjure up a style of music in the audiences mind.
Is there any intertextuality/references to popular culture?
Postmodernism is evident in this advert as there is a small aspect of borrowing from another music genre for example the Gothic background could be expected in rock or metal band advert.
Representation How are the band/artist represented?
The artist could be represented as unusual and unique manner because of the visual body parts. The artist is represented in a positive way in which does not alienate any consumer group.
Institution and Audience
How might this print text be consumed?
This text may be consumed in an ambient way at first, because of the uniqueness of the style of music, through hearing the song on the radio or through award shows or through music television however this may then lead the audience to focused viewing to encourage them to buy the whole album.
Friday, 8 October 2010
Saskia - Lighting Tips
http://www.videomaker.com/article/14521/
I found this website which has helpful tips for lighting one person. This will especially be useful in the white studio for lighting our artist. This link provides the basics for 3 point lighting.
Here are some key tips from this website:
Three-point lighting consists of a key light, a fill light and a rim or hair light. Each one performs a different function.
The key light is the light that defines the look or feel of the set. It creates mood. So, if you want a classic Hollywood look, then you want a pretty direct, unmodified light source such as a raw light, spotlight or fresnel at some distance from your subject. If you want a soft, flattering look, then a softer key light is in order, such as a small umbrella or softbox.
The fill light determines how well defined the shadow details are and also helps to create mood for your image. The fill can be moved about the set to produce several different effects, as we shall soon see.
The hair light creates a wraparound rim of light emanating from above and behind the set. This is what makes your subject stand out from the background.
I found this website which has helpful tips for lighting one person. This will especially be useful in the white studio for lighting our artist. This link provides the basics for 3 point lighting.
Here are some key tips from this website:
Three-point lighting consists of a key light, a fill light and a rim or hair light. Each one performs a different function.
The key light is the light that defines the look or feel of the set. It creates mood. So, if you want a classic Hollywood look, then you want a pretty direct, unmodified light source such as a raw light, spotlight or fresnel at some distance from your subject. If you want a soft, flattering look, then a softer key light is in order, such as a small umbrella or softbox.
The fill light determines how well defined the shadow details are and also helps to create mood for your image. The fill can be moved about the set to produce several different effects, as we shall soon see.
The hair light creates a wraparound rim of light emanating from above and behind the set. This is what makes your subject stand out from the background.
Update 8/10/10
The field that we want to use is by Georginas house. We have already seen the location yet it was raining heavily so Georgina will take some pictures this weekend.
We then need to do our second reccie and we have decided that we will try the pantiles in Tunbridge Wells as it is often busy at night and it is fairly scenic. We will do this reccie next week on Tuesday evening.
Some people have already filled in our survey, and we will collate the results in a few days when we have more responses to work with.
We are currently working on our pitch, doing individual tasks and working together on some parts.
We then need to do our second reccie and we have decided that we will try the pantiles in Tunbridge Wells as it is often busy at night and it is fairly scenic. We will do this reccie next week on Tuesday evening.
Some people have already filled in our survey, and we will collate the results in a few days when we have more responses to work with.
We are currently working on our pitch, doing individual tasks and working together on some parts.
Planning for Pitch
Shot ideas - Both
Difficulties - Saskia
People attached - Georgina
Band promotion - Saskia
Digipak/advertising campaign - Both
Track and initial response - Georgina
Secondary research - Both
Audience research - Saskia
The treatment - Both
Mise-en-scene - Georgina
We have devided the tasks, yet we will help each other.
Difficulties - Saskia
People attached - Georgina
Band promotion - Saskia
Digipak/advertising campaign - Both
Track and initial response - Georgina
Secondary research - Both
Audience research - Saskia
The treatment - Both
Mise-en-scene - Georgina
We have devided the tasks, yet we will help each other.
Brighton reccie - courier newspaper
I sent a picture in from the Brighton Reccie to the Courier and it was published in the 'Reader's Picture' section on Friday 8th October.Thursday, 7 October 2010
Group update - 7/10/10
In the lesson today we handed out our audience research questionnaires to other members of our class to get some practice feedback. We then ammended out questionnaires so that they were exactly how they should be and created one on surveymonkey (as seen on a post below). We will be asking people to fill in this survey and collect the results to use for our pitch.
The pitch is next Thursday and before then we have a lot of things to put together. One main task that we need to complete is our reccies. As we were unable to take pictures on our last reccie, we will take some in the next few days. We also need to decide on a street location and visit that location to take some pictures and practice filming in the next few days.
We have our basic idea, yet we will need to develop this in greater detail within the next week ready to present to our teacher and the rest of our class for the pitch.
We will discuss and plan our two reccies in our lesson tomorrow and make a start on the pitch.
The pitch is next Thursday and before then we have a lot of things to put together. One main task that we need to complete is our reccies. As we were unable to take pictures on our last reccie, we will take some in the next few days. We also need to decide on a street location and visit that location to take some pictures and practice filming in the next few days.
We have our basic idea, yet we will need to develop this in greater detail within the next week ready to present to our teacher and the rest of our class for the pitch.
We will discuss and plan our two reccies in our lesson tomorrow and make a start on the pitch.
Saskia - Analysing an advert
Lily Allen - The Fear
I chose to analyse this advert as Lily Allen is another Indie artist, like Ellie Goulding. She is also unique and bold in her style.
Genre
How is the genre of the track/artist evident? The genre of the artist is Indie, which is shortened from independent. Independent artists are usually unique and independent in their style and their work is usually created at a low budget.
Costume – Lily Allen has an original and unique style. This is shown in her advertisement for her album ‘The Fear’ as she is wearing an extravagant dress with a hair accessory that would probably be worn to a formal event.
Setting – The artist is sitting on large letters in a studio. This is unusual and typical of an Indie artist as it does not conform to the standard norm of an advert for an artist which would usually be a plain or scenic backdrop.
Colour – The colours are again bright, gaining a ‘quirky’ sense. It shows that Lily Allen is independent and her ideas and songs are different and ‘out there’.
Typography – There is a variety of font used. This album seems almost playful. Not only is the artist sitting in a position with a childlike expression on her face, but she is sitting on block letters connoting childhood. The writing ‘The Fear’ is almost like children’s neat handwriting.
Media language
What visual techniques are used?
The rule of thirds is again evident in this advert, like the Kate Nash album cover. Lily Allen is positioned on the third vertical line and first horizontal. This framing is effective as there is a clear pathway for the audience eye line going from the title to the artist and then looking at what she is sitting on. The colours are bright, appealing and stand out. This could be attractive to an audience who are looking for unique and bold music.
How is meaning generated through these techniques?
These techniques create a childish and odd theme to the advert. It ensures that it is not plain, but playful and interesting. The use of bright colours captures the audiences eye and may ensure focused viewing.
What linguistic devices have been used?
‘The Fear’ seems in opposition with the objects placed in the advert. The word fear could connote darkness or someone being scared, however the objects and artist would suggest a playful and cheerful atmosphere. This adds depth to the album and intrigues the audience.
Is there any intertextuality/references to popular culture?
Postmodernism is evident in this advert, as it was on the Kate Nash album. The two artists are alike in that they are indie artists and both have independent and unique dress sense. This uniqueness is also present in the advert as it seems bold and daring.
Representation How are the band/artist represented?
The artist could be represented as unusual and possibly slightly ‘mad’. The mise-en-scene of her costume and choice of background are bold statements and makes Lily Allen seem completely original.
Institution and Audience
How might this print text be consumed?
This text may be consumed in an ambient way at first. This could happen in situations such as watching the music video to one song on the television or hearing the song on the radio. The audience may then choose focused viewing and to buy the whole album.
Final Questionnaire for audience research
We ammended our questionnaire and here is the final one.
We have created a questionnaire about our music video for the song Ellie Goulding - Lights. Please listen to the track then answer these questions. We can then use the audience feedback to develop our ideas and gain a better understanding of what our target audience expect.
1) What age group are you? Tick the appropriate box
16-20
21-25
26+
2) What would you expect an indie artist to wear?
.....................................................................................................................................
3) Would you expect the artist to be looking directly at the camera? Please tick one
Yes
No
Some of the time
4) Which location do you think would be most appropriate for the track? Please rank in order.
1-best. 4-worst
Field
White studio
Beach
Busy street
5) What colours can you imagine to suit the track? Please tick appropriate
Bright colours
Black and white
Sepia
Desaturated
Other
6) Would you expect the artist to be alone or for there to be other characters?
...................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
7) What one image springs to mind when you listen to this track?
..................................................................................................
8) With reference to makeup, which would you prefer? Please tick one
A plain look
Heavy make-up
Slight, natural look
9) How much lip synching would you expect to see? Please tick appropriate
The whole song
Just the chorus
Just the verses
Not at all
We have created a questionnaire about our music video for the song Ellie Goulding - Lights. Please listen to the track then answer these questions. We can then use the audience feedback to develop our ideas and gain a better understanding of what our target audience expect.
1) What age group are you? Tick the appropriate box
16-20
21-25
26+
2) What would you expect an indie artist to wear?
.....................................................................................................................................
3) Would you expect the artist to be looking directly at the camera? Please tick one
Yes
No
Some of the time
4) Which location do you think would be most appropriate for the track? Please rank in order.
1-best. 4-worst
Field
White studio
Beach
Busy street
5) What colours can you imagine to suit the track? Please tick appropriate
Bright colours
Black and white
Sepia
Desaturated
Other
6) Would you expect the artist to be alone or for there to be other characters?
...................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
7) What one image springs to mind when you listen to this track?
..................................................................................................
8) With reference to makeup, which would you prefer? Please tick one
A plain look
Heavy make-up
Slight, natural look
9) How much lip synching would you expect to see? Please tick appropriate
The whole song
Just the chorus
Just the verses
Not at all
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Group - Proposal for Audience Research
What style is your audience research going to take?
Our AS research was in the style of an online questionnaire on a programme called surveymonkey. We propose to use a variety of open and closed questions and ask people in person, video revording them. This could also allow the audience to interact and ask questions if they are not clear.
What is the purpose of the audience research?
The purpose of our audience research is to find an ideal target audience and discover their preferences. We want to propose some of our ideas and see if they appeal to them, yet also possibly gaining more ideas that we have not yet thought of.
Who are your sample audience and how are you going to access them?
Our sample audience would probably be teenagers and young adults of the female gender. It could also appeal to males, however, Ellie Gouldings songs are fairly feminine.
What are examples of possible questions?
To propose possible locations e.g. Which of these locations do you think would suit the song?
What oufit would you expect Ellie Goulding to wear? The questions below are our first original thoughts for questions, we handed these out to other members in our class for feedback.
What age group are you?
16-20 21-25 26+
What would you expect an indie artist to wear?
Which location do you think would be most appropriate for the track?
Field
White studio
Beach
Busy street
How much lip synching would you expect to see?
The whole song
Just the chorus
Just the verses
Not at all
What colours can you imagine to suit the track?
Bright colours
Black and white
Sepia
Desaturated
Would you expect the artist to be alone or for there to be other characters?
What image springs to mind when you listen to this track?
Make-up wise, would you prefer…
A plain look
Heavy make-up
Slight, natural look
Would you expect the artist to be looking directly at the camera?
Yes
No
Some of the time
Testing our Questionnaire!
We circulated the first draft of our questionnaire to a small sample of our target audience. The feedback we recived was as follows ...
Our AS research was in the style of an online questionnaire on a programme called surveymonkey. We propose to use a variety of open and closed questions and ask people in person, video revording them. This could also allow the audience to interact and ask questions if they are not clear.
What is the purpose of the audience research?
The purpose of our audience research is to find an ideal target audience and discover their preferences. We want to propose some of our ideas and see if they appeal to them, yet also possibly gaining more ideas that we have not yet thought of.
Who are your sample audience and how are you going to access them?
Our sample audience would probably be teenagers and young adults of the female gender. It could also appeal to males, however, Ellie Gouldings songs are fairly feminine.
What are examples of possible questions?
To propose possible locations e.g. Which of these locations do you think would suit the song?
What oufit would you expect Ellie Goulding to wear? The questions below are our first original thoughts for questions, we handed these out to other members in our class for feedback.
What age group are you?
16-20 21-25 26+
What would you expect an indie artist to wear?
Which location do you think would be most appropriate for the track?
Field
White studio
Beach
Busy street
How much lip synching would you expect to see?
The whole song
Just the chorus
Just the verses
Not at all
What colours can you imagine to suit the track?
Bright colours
Black and white
Sepia
Desaturated
Would you expect the artist to be alone or for there to be other characters?
What image springs to mind when you listen to this track?
Make-up wise, would you prefer…
A plain look
Heavy make-up
Slight, natural look
Would you expect the artist to be looking directly at the camera?
Yes
No
Some of the time
Testing our Questionnaire!
We circulated the first draft of our questionnaire to a small sample of our target audience. The feedback we recived was as follows ...
- add an introduction
- where questions have more than one option, rank them in order of suitability/likeability
- number the questions
- give a link to the track
- time deadline to return questionnaire
What we are doing now:
We made a survery to send to to our target audience, the link is below ...
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DQR8BCF
GD: Deconstructing a Digipack
Genre:How is the genre of the track/artist evident?
The genre of the artist is Indie, which is shortened from independent. This album cover has typical indie feel because is not made with a high budget and could easily be recreated by other artists.
Costume – Indie artists are often known for they unique style which makes them different and stand out from other more mainstream artists. Lily Allen created a signature style of prom dress, a pair of Nike air Max's and large gold hoop earrings which shortly became her star motif.
Setting – The setting of the album is computer generated but from the images used it is made obvious that it is based around London, this could be because of Lily's upbringing in this area. The album cover ties in with the track list with songs such as 'LDN' which is her singing about hidden sides of the city.
Colour – The colours in the background are predominately black and white apart from the tittle of the album 'Alright Still' in a vivid red which makes it stand out. The artist although in black and white still stands out and the gold jewelry stands out even more because it is such a high contrast.
Typography – The font used is animated and has a cartoon aspect to it and the album title is made to look like a building. This fits in in with genre because it is quirky and slightly mismatched just like the artists style of music.
Media language:
What visual techniques are used?
The rule of thirds as been followed as the artist is place on the far right third of the album cover and the the album tittle is the on the top far left corner. The graffiti styled images tie together the cover and the style of music. Also the artists large gold jewelry adds to the urban feel of the album as this an the Nike air max trainers are heavily associated with/cockney culture
How is meaning generated through these techniques?
The meaning is that the artists music is unique and would appeal to younger audiences as well as those who may prefer 'urban' music. The cover also reflects the artist unique style of music in which the London twang is heavily featured as Lily's style.
tongue and cheek humour
What linguistic devices have been used?
The album is tittled 'alright still' which suggests that the artist is simply dealing with situations as the occur, this is matched by her laid back appearance on the cover image as she does not look overall happy or filled with fake emotions. The song tittles are all names that someone could associate with for example 'Alfie' about a boy or 'LDN' everyday city life.
Is there any intertextuality/references to popular culture?
Postmodernism is often within indie music because it is unique and can often parodic, as many of Lily's lyrics feature about everyday life in a tongue and cheek manor. This album cover could also be postmodern because it features the graffiti which has been borrowed from a more urban album.
Representation:
How are the band/artist represented?
The theme of the songs vary greatly in the album however they all focus around the artists life and things that she deals with from example 'Smile' is about a broken relationship whereas 'Alfie' is a sisters concerned for her brothers welfare. However the album as whole simply represents a young girls thoughts and opinions on day to day life and her views of life.
Institution and Audience :
How might this print text be consumed?
This text would probably be consumed in a focused way. because due to the artists unique style before she became mainstream her audience would have been a certain genre who purposely choose to purchase her album or view her videos. However due to the artist becoming more mainstream people may have heard her ambiently which then lead them towards focused viewing/listening of the album.
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Deconstructing a digipak
Kate Nash
'Made of Bricks'
Genre
How is the genre of the track/artist evident?
The genre of the artist is Indie, which is shortened from independent. Independent artists are usually unique and independent in their style and their work is usually created at a low budget.
Costume – Indie artists are usually unique and have original style that could be described as ‘quirky’ and different. On the front cover of her album, Kate Nash is wearing an extravagant red dress and heels in the middle of the day. This is fairly typical of the artist and could be seen as her ‘star image motif’ as she usually wears bright coloured tea dresses often from the 1940's. Her hair is usually died red with a big full fringe which is also symbolic of her as an artist.
Setting – The setting on the front of the album is original and certainly unique. The house and surroundings appear to have been computer generated and it is almost as if Kate Nash is a ‘doll’ in a surreal world of her own.
Colour – The colours are bright enhancing the surrealism of the cover. They are kept simple and of the primary colours, emphasising this idea of some sort of childhood dolls house. The red dress that the artist is wearing stands out against the yellow house which makes her the main focus of the album cover.
Typography – The font used is not neat and could look almost like a child’s scrawl. It is slightly strange and in all directions, possibly connoting the strangeness and uniqueness of the album. This is kept the same for the names of the tracks on the back of the album.
Media language
What visual techniques are used?
The rule of thirds is evident on the cover as, although the house is positioned in the middle, the artist is placed on the first third.
As mentioned before, the colours are primary colours, possibly generating this idea of childhood. There is a yellow door which is unusual and connotes independence.
The house in the background portrays the name of the album ‘Made of Bricks’ and shows this idea of a little house made of bricks and Kate Nash in her own little world which she has created her self.
How is meaning generated through these techniques?
All these techniques create the surreal and odd atmosphere. It really gives the sense that the artist has her own little world in her house. The fact that the image is computer generated greatly enhances this idea and the uniqueness of the artist and her album.
What linguistic devices have been used?
The title of the album is ‘Made of Bricks’. Bricks are the foundations of a house and what a house (her own world) is built from. The names of the tracks written on the back of the album demonstrate originality as they are random and show different aspects of life such as ‘Dickhead’ which is probably about a boyfriend, and ‘Pumpkin soup’ which could be described as extremely random.
Is there any intertextuality/references to popular culture?
Postmodernism is unique, much like independent music. There is often no set narrative and ideas are original, unique and sometimes borrowed. Animation and special effects are often used in postmodern texts. This is evident on this album cover as the background is computer generated, which is not alike to most album covers which would be a picture of the artist in front of some sort of scenery. Kate Nash has her own style and portrays this well with the original mix of ideas conveying her independence.
Representation
How are the band/artist represented?
The songs in this album are random and the topics fluctuate greatly from pumpkin soup to a skeleton song. There is no set narrative throughout this album and it is represented through the completely different songs, unique style of the artist and unusual background. This album seems to include many different aspects of life, some typical aspects that the audience can relate to, especially females of the same age with topics such as a ‘dickhead’ boyfriends.
Institution and Audience
How might this print text be consumed?
This text would probably be consumed in a focused way. This is because somebody would actually go to the shops to purchase the item. However, this focused viewing may have occurred due to accidental ambient viewing. They may have heard one song on the radio or television and enjoyed it, causing the customer to go and buy the album. This could also possibly be as Kate Nash is an independent indie artist and people with acquired taste would buy the album.
'Made of Bricks'
Genre
How is the genre of the track/artist evident?
The genre of the artist is Indie, which is shortened from independent. Independent artists are usually unique and independent in their style and their work is usually created at a low budget.
Costume – Indie artists are usually unique and have original style that could be described as ‘quirky’ and different. On the front cover of her album, Kate Nash is wearing an extravagant red dress and heels in the middle of the day. This is fairly typical of the artist and could be seen as her ‘star image motif’ as she usually wears bright coloured tea dresses often from the 1940's. Her hair is usually died red with a big full fringe which is also symbolic of her as an artist.
Setting – The setting on the front of the album is original and certainly unique. The house and surroundings appear to have been computer generated and it is almost as if Kate Nash is a ‘doll’ in a surreal world of her own.
Colour – The colours are bright enhancing the surrealism of the cover. They are kept simple and of the primary colours, emphasising this idea of some sort of childhood dolls house. The red dress that the artist is wearing stands out against the yellow house which makes her the main focus of the album cover.
Typography – The font used is not neat and could look almost like a child’s scrawl. It is slightly strange and in all directions, possibly connoting the strangeness and uniqueness of the album. This is kept the same for the names of the tracks on the back of the album.
Media language
What visual techniques are used?
The rule of thirds is evident on the cover as, although the house is positioned in the middle, the artist is placed on the first third.
As mentioned before, the colours are primary colours, possibly generating this idea of childhood. There is a yellow door which is unusual and connotes independence.
The house in the background portrays the name of the album ‘Made of Bricks’ and shows this idea of a little house made of bricks and Kate Nash in her own little world which she has created her self.
How is meaning generated through these techniques?
All these techniques create the surreal and odd atmosphere. It really gives the sense that the artist has her own little world in her house. The fact that the image is computer generated greatly enhances this idea and the uniqueness of the artist and her album.
What linguistic devices have been used?
The title of the album is ‘Made of Bricks’. Bricks are the foundations of a house and what a house (her own world) is built from. The names of the tracks written on the back of the album demonstrate originality as they are random and show different aspects of life such as ‘Dickhead’ which is probably about a boyfriend, and ‘Pumpkin soup’ which could be described as extremely random.
Is there any intertextuality/references to popular culture?
Postmodernism is unique, much like independent music. There is often no set narrative and ideas are original, unique and sometimes borrowed. Animation and special effects are often used in postmodern texts. This is evident on this album cover as the background is computer generated, which is not alike to most album covers which would be a picture of the artist in front of some sort of scenery. Kate Nash has her own style and portrays this well with the original mix of ideas conveying her independence.
Representation
How are the band/artist represented?
The songs in this album are random and the topics fluctuate greatly from pumpkin soup to a skeleton song. There is no set narrative throughout this album and it is represented through the completely different songs, unique style of the artist and unusual background. This album seems to include many different aspects of life, some typical aspects that the audience can relate to, especially females of the same age with topics such as a ‘dickhead’ boyfriends.
Institution and Audience
How might this print text be consumed?
This text would probably be consumed in a focused way. This is because somebody would actually go to the shops to purchase the item. However, this focused viewing may have occurred due to accidental ambient viewing. They may have heard one song on the radio or television and enjoyed it, causing the customer to go and buy the album. This could also possibly be as Kate Nash is an independent indie artist and people with acquired taste would buy the album.
Saturday, 2 October 2010
Saskia and Georgina: Reccie Attempt 1
Saskia and I meet up today to go on a reccie for our field location however becasue of the weather it made it hard to see the location which we wanted to use as we want a look with clear skys so that we can edit the brightness, however we used this time to further and test some of our potential ideas focusing on glitter and lights;
- glitter on lips
- opening credits
- lights/reflections
- 'kissing' glitter
Friday, 1 October 2010
Saskia and Georgina - class discussion 1/10/10
Narrative
We propose to do a performance based video. Therefore, there will be no set narrative. We do however know that it is one character conveying her feelings, particularly through the use of close-ups.
Locations
We have 3 possible locations to be used. The first is a white studio which we should hopefully be able to use. Here, we can play with colour, adjusting saturation, brightness, contrast, hue etc.
The second location will be a field. We will be going on a reccie tomorrow to take some pictures in the field and really take note of the mise-en-scene. We need to know what will be included in the shot and if we want houses or the view of the town in the background.
The third location is undecided, however, we do know that we want a busy street and for it to be night time. Some possiblities are a London street or a busy local street. It needs to be somewhere that is alive and busy at night.
Props
As our concept is based mainly around lighting, hence the name of the song, we will need to use bright lights such as torches and possibly lazers to create these pro-filmic effects.
We also want to use glitter in places such as on the characters lips in certain parts and it possibly being thrown in front of the camera.
Characters
We have one main character, Chloe, who we will use to be Ellie Goulding. She is blonde and has the sort of look we are aiming for (indie girl). We have ideas for different outfits in the different locations.
Studio - We think that she will wear a white outfit/top. This means that we can play with the colours like skin tones and put an emphasis on the make-up.
Field - She will probably wear a bright/floaty dress which will contrast with the location.
Street- This look will be more casual such as jeans, a plain top and possibly a jacket. Her face may be more detailed with make-up to make it stand out on a busy street. We think that this will add depth to the character and show a different side to her as her make-up will be fairly plain in the other locations.
Lighting
This is our main focus for our video. We need lights such as torches, bright lamps and possibly lazers. In the studio, we need artificial lighting. When on the street, as it will be dark, this is where there will be a strong focus on lights. We are hoping to rely on street lamps, the night lights of shops after closing, the lights of cars, and perhaps our own lights such as torches shone on the character.
Performance
Our character will predominantly be lip synching. For the verses, which we plan to set in the countryside location, she will be lip synching. She may also do so in the studio, however the only part in the studio is when the only words are 'lights'. We are undecided which parts will be in different locations.
The next thing we are going to do
We are going to go on our reccie to the field location tomorrow that we have planned. The details of this reccie are below.
We propose to do a performance based video. Therefore, there will be no set narrative. We do however know that it is one character conveying her feelings, particularly through the use of close-ups.
Locations
We have 3 possible locations to be used. The first is a white studio which we should hopefully be able to use. Here, we can play with colour, adjusting saturation, brightness, contrast, hue etc.
The second location will be a field. We will be going on a reccie tomorrow to take some pictures in the field and really take note of the mise-en-scene. We need to know what will be included in the shot and if we want houses or the view of the town in the background.
The third location is undecided, however, we do know that we want a busy street and for it to be night time. Some possiblities are a London street or a busy local street. It needs to be somewhere that is alive and busy at night.
Props
As our concept is based mainly around lighting, hence the name of the song, we will need to use bright lights such as torches and possibly lazers to create these pro-filmic effects.
We also want to use glitter in places such as on the characters lips in certain parts and it possibly being thrown in front of the camera.
Characters
We have one main character, Chloe, who we will use to be Ellie Goulding. She is blonde and has the sort of look we are aiming for (indie girl). We have ideas for different outfits in the different locations.
Studio - We think that she will wear a white outfit/top. This means that we can play with the colours like skin tones and put an emphasis on the make-up.
Field - She will probably wear a bright/floaty dress which will contrast with the location.
Street- This look will be more casual such as jeans, a plain top and possibly a jacket. Her face may be more detailed with make-up to make it stand out on a busy street. We think that this will add depth to the character and show a different side to her as her make-up will be fairly plain in the other locations.
Lighting
This is our main focus for our video. We need lights such as torches, bright lamps and possibly lazers. In the studio, we need artificial lighting. When on the street, as it will be dark, this is where there will be a strong focus on lights. We are hoping to rely on street lamps, the night lights of shops after closing, the lights of cars, and perhaps our own lights such as torches shone on the character.
Performance
Our character will predominantly be lip synching. For the verses, which we plan to set in the countryside location, she will be lip synching. She may also do so in the studio, however the only part in the studio is when the only words are 'lights'. We are undecided which parts will be in different locations.
The next thing we are going to do
We are going to go on our reccie to the field location tomorrow that we have planned. The details of this reccie are below.
Georgina and Saskia: Reccie Proposal
We have decided to go on our 'Reccie' to find our country side location for the verses of our chosen track. This we feel is one of the most important locations because not only has it got to be aesthetically pleasing but practical to film in, have plenty of natural light as well as it not over shadowing the actress. We are visiting several fields which are easy for us access and we have permission to use and film on, we will visit these locations this weekend on the 2nd October.
We also need to find a busy street which as night will have plenty of street lamps to use as the lighting for the proposed footage, we have have had some initial ideas of either using Brighton or the Southbank in London as these are iconic locations which would create a connection with the audience. The dates for this reccie is unknown at present
The final location we need access to is a white studio, where the lighting is artificial and where we have control over it. We think we may have found a suitable location but we need to just check filming permission for this location.
We also need to find a busy street which as night will have plenty of street lamps to use as the lighting for the proposed footage, we have have had some initial ideas of either using Brighton or the Southbank in London as these are iconic locations which would create a connection with the audience. The dates for this reccie is unknown at present
The final location we need access to is a white studio, where the lighting is artificial and where we have control over it. We think we may have found a suitable location but we need to just check filming permission for this location.
Saskia - Technical analysis
I chose to analyse the opening of Young Loves - Rotten Fruit as the cutting rate is fast and there is an interesting use of light.
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