Evaluation Question 4

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Evaluation Question 3

Audience feedback is a big part in finding the errors and issues with your music video.  We decided to get opinions on two different occasions in order for us to know what we needed to fix.

Before shooting, we came up with a few ideas and created diagrams and plans of what we wanted in the video and if we were going to include a story.  As the song is quite quirky and upbeat, we felt that giving it an ordinary music video wouldn't be as fun and wouldn't match the song.  We thought that making a non traditional narrative video would make our work more interesting.
After shooting was completed we started to edit and put together the music video.  It had taken a few days when we found that we were nearly finished.  However, to get people's ideas on what else we could add, we decided to let them watch the rough cut version of our video.

They came back with a few different responses such as including more shot variations, different settings, more colour and to overall make the storyline a bit clearer.

We then went back to the computer to finish the video.  We later went to film in other locations, such as South Bank, next to the River Thames and we found bright and colourful backgrounds, fitting with the song.  We were all happy with the outcome, although we felt that by showing people the now finished video, we could get some more criticism or positive feedback.

We did this by giving out an online survey.

Here were the results:

I do agree with some of their comments regarding how there should be less effects throughout the video as this can be a little distracting.  Also it seemed that a couple of people still had trouble understanding the plot line.

However, the video was a success as there were no major issues and we received quite a few positive messages.

I have found that this audience feedback was very important as we would have finished he video and thought that it was great, however, nobody else might have thought that.  This meant that we could be given improvements and also it was seen through many different eyes and everyone views it differently, giving their own opinions.

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 1

Advert

This is the first draft of the advert that I had imagined for the music video.  It had Alex standing in one of the settings from the video and so they related very well.  It contained the name of the artist and song but it also had some reviews from some magazines.  It still needed some touches, such as maybe a release date.

However, my group then thought it would be a great idea to incorporate the cartoon, pop art style into the advert.  We then watched a number of tutorials to add dots to a close up of Alex.  This was a lot better and more exciting than the first advert created.  By adding other touches such as where people could buy and listen to the song, it started to look like a real advert.  We are very happy with the final look as this also ties into the digipak as well.

Digipak

These are the 6 panels that we chose to use for the digipak.  They have been altered, such as the front cover being edited into pop art, to make it unique.  We are very happy with the outcome!

Music Video - Completed

Editing

Editing was a very lengthy process as there were many things that needed to be taken into consideration, such as lip-syncing, pacing and making the video interesting by varying the shots.  Everything had to be kept to the beat of the song, otherwise it wouldn't flow.  The video would also look awful if the lip-syncing wasn't accurate.

To make the video more interesting we added a few different edits in.  The first was 4 boxes, showing Alex doing multiple tasks at once on the screen.

We also added several flash and burn transitions, playing certain parts of the footage backwards and repeating little gestures quickly.

Filming Day 5

Day 5 was filmed in South Bank and was lead by Michelle.  We mainly got lots of filler shots and also the photo shoot for the end of the video.  Lauren took many pictures of Alex throughout the shoot and we then took our pick of what to use for the digipak and advert.

Animatic

                           

Storyboard

This is the story that the video follows.

We are trying to stick as close to this story as possible.  Throughout, there may be add ins that we have recorded and feel like they fit.  These will add to the story and make it more interesting.

Rough cut of music video

There is still a lot of work that needs to be done.  Scenes such as Alex sitting on the floor need to be taken out, as her emotion doesn't match to the song.  Also, the scenes in which she is busking need to be redone as she doesn't actually look like she is.  

Filming Day 4

Filming day 4 went very well as it was only the scene in which Alex is busking on the street.  This meant that she only had to sing into a microphone against a brick wall.  The lip-syncing was still perfect.  Only some small bits to be filmed, and the video should be ready for editing!

           

Filming Day 3

Filming Day 3 again went quickly.  It was a short shoot in the band room, where Alex was experimenting with the variety of instruments.  In this scene, it is Alex trying to become a one woman band, however, she becomes frustrated as she finds it hard to play them.  Although, after some practice she is able to play her song!

     
                 




            

Filming day 2

Filming day 2 went even better than the first! All of the shots were accurately planned, meaning that everything was able to be filmed quickly and easily.  Alex was filming the first scene where she is waiting for people to audition for the band she wants to create.  The camera work and planning was improved as well as the actual filming.

             

Filming day 1

First day of filming went 100 times better than our first few attempts.  Alex had learnt the lyrics to the song, and so her lip syncing was perfect.
She was able to take our ideas and make them her own, her enthusiasm really shows throughout the footage we were able to get.
We feel that this video will be our best!

           

New music video ideas

Echosmith, Cool kids-

             

• Girl feels left out 
• Hangs around her group of friends 
• Not included
• Feels isolated
• Trying to discover herself - trying different styles
• goes out in her new style
• Eventually becomes the cool kid

This song has been chosen as our new music video song.  Our ideas for the Jet Black Alley cat didn't go too well as we couldn't find an appropriate male to be the lead role.  We felt that the video would never be filmed and so we picked a song with a female singer instead.  We already have someone to be in the video, which means all we need to do is plan what the video will include (plot, mise en scene, setting) and complete the planning sheets.

Band Advert

                                                                                                  

Magazine adverts will usually have an image of either the band, the cover of the single/album or something related to the song.  It will then show the release date and where you will be able to purchase the songs, such as iTunes or HMV.  It will also show some ratings and comments from big magazines such as Q and NME.

Album Art Exercise

To get an idea on how I should make my digipak, I tried an album art exercise.

First I had to click a link which would take me to a random wikipedia page.  Whatever the title of the page was, i had to use as the name of the band or artist.  I ended up with Wolfe Video.

Secondly, I had to click a link that would take me to a quotes page.  I then had to choose the last 4 words of any quote which would then become the album title.  The best quote I could find was 'it should end there'.

Lastly, to make the album cover I needed an image to use.  I had to click a link that took me to a Flickr page of random images, where I then had to pick the third image.  my image was a bird eye's view of a city at night.  To edit the image I made it turn black and white but then brought back the colour of the road as that was the most colourful part of the image.  I then wrote the name of the artist and album name on the edited image. 

  

Digipak

What is a digipak?

Digipaks typically consist of a book-style paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside. It means the CD comes in a cardboard flip-out case rather than a standard plastic hinged case.

Digipak-style packaging is often used for CD singles or special editions of CD albums and the tall DVD Digipak (DVDigipak) is used as a premium package for DVDs and DVD sets.

What is included in a Digipak?

• Photographs / Pictures – usually at least one will be of the artist(s) and another might be of a scene that reflects the mood / genre of the record.

• Track List including song writing credits.

• One box with a Disk impression (perhaps a circle over an innocuous background that shows where the disc will go or alternatively the design on the actual disc).

• A Band/Artist information section (names, instruments, additional musicians, Copyright and year of release etc.)

• Barcode and QR and a  Logo for the record company.

• Possibly reference to other albums by the same artist(s).

Artist's Digipaks:

Arctic Monkeys

                                           

                            

The Killers

Michael Jackson

                                                                   

Michael Jackson was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actor. Called the King of Pop, his contributions to music and dance, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. 

His career started when he was a part of his brother's group, 'Jackson 5'.  They had a number of hits including 'Rockin Robin', 'ABC' and 'I want you back'.

Their videos were very basic as they were just promoting the song.  There was limited sophistication but very good lip syncing.
                          

As Michael got older, he started  to have his own singing career as a solo artist.  His first big hit was 'Rock with you', which came out in 1979.  It's a very simple video which included a lot of lighting to make silhouettes.  His costume is very interesting because of how glittery it was.
                           


In 1982, 'Billy Jean' was released.  This was a very interesting video that told a story and Michael does more than just lip synching as he includes his own dance moves throughout the video.  
                          

In 1983, Michael's music video for 'Thriller' was considered the most famous music video of all time.  It included elaborate choreography, costumes and dialogue.  The video was more like a miniature film than just a music video.  The long version of "Thriller" runs nearly 14 minutes, but had remarkable longevity, easily racking up over 100 million views when it showed up on YouTube. MTV usually ran the short version, which ran a little under five minutes but still contained about a minute of non-song content in a storyline that omits most of the movie the couple is watching at the beginning.  
The video cost about $500,000 to make. Jackson's record company had no intention of paying for it, since the album was on the downswing and they had already financed videos for two of its songs. According to John Landis (Director), Jackson really wanted to turn into a monster, so he offered to pay for the clip himself. Landis took on the project because he saw it as a way to revive the short film genre, which he loved.  

The video won for Best Performance Video, Best Choreography, and Viewers Choice at the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984.

Most homes had Video Cassette Recorders in 1983 and sales of videos were big business. 
You could buy a VHS or beta copy of Michael Jackson's Thriller, which included the full video and also "The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller," a behind the scenes documentary.
                                 
                               

Change in actor

As we found that Tariq wasn't the best person to use for our music video, we made a short video showing his slight improvements.

                             

Narrative Theory

Narrative is the way the story is organised.

Elements of narrative:

• Time
• Enigma- questions or problems that need to be answered
• Closure- How the story ends, are there any loose ends at the end of the video?
• Linear- when the story goes in chronological order and there are no flashbacks.

Todorov-

Equilibrium- Everything is normal, the environment can be relaxed.

Disruption- Something happens that disrupts the plot, e.g. a murder takes place

Resolution- The problems are fixed, e.g. revenge for the murder

New equilibrium- Everything has gone  back to normal however, it isn't the same as the beginning, e.g. the person murdered is no longer there

Barthes-

Open- numerous 'threads to pull' - Inception is good example of this as you aren't quite sure if the main character has died or is dreaming.

Closed- only one obvious thread to grasp - Many films have closed endings, where everything is resolved.

Texts that can be read in a number of ways are known as polysemic texts.  This is when a film can be open to many different interpretations.  For example, 'Scarface' can be seen as 'a glorification of violence' or 'a rags to riches' story.

Propp-

1. Protagonist (the hero)                     Scott Pilgrim
2. Antagonist (the villain)                    League of evil exes
3. Provider (the donor)                       Ramona Flowers
4. The helper                                      Scott's friends
5. The father                                       Scott's ex
6. The dispatcher                               Ramona Flowers
7. The princess                                  Ramona Flowers
8. The false hero                                

Stan:

            

Stan can be seen as based on a few of the above theories.

Todorov's theory can be applied as it has an equilibrium and disruption, however it does not exactly have a resolution and new equilibrium.  The beginning of the video shows how Stan has an obsession over Eminem and shows the disruption as his letter gets lost in the mail.  However, his problems only seem to get worse as he writes his new letter towards Eminem about how he never responds and this ends in Stan going slightly mental and driving off a bridge, killing both himself and his pregnant wife.  This shows that there is no resolution or new equilibrium.

Barthes' theory can be seen in the music video as there are some questions that pop up throughout the video.  However, as the video progresses, we see that these questions get answered.  These include 'Why does Eminem not receive Stan's letters?' or 'Why is Stan driving through the night in the rain?'  It is a closed piece of text as we see why everything happened, however there is no real resolution.

Propp's theory can also be applied to Stan, as there are some of the characters that he suggests.  There is the 'protagonist' who is Stan, however he isn't seen as a hero.  There are also the 'princess' (Stan's wife).  The villain is seen as Eminem through Stan's eyes, however, we see that he was not at fault for everything that had gone wrong.