Evaluation

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

After doing research into our audience and looking at many different professional music videos from the rock/indie genre, we decided to make a video diary of the band and the different gigs that they played and travelled to. We have many different locations within the video as we filmed in Camden Town, which helped to produce interesting fast montage and added more edge to the video. We also shot in two different bars adding more footage for our video log/diary.
















Wolvves band members, showing their personalities and wardrobe at different gigs.




Our music video for the band 'Wolvves' and their song 'headache' fits well with the indie/rock genre playing with some of the typical conventions of this genre, such as drinking, staying out late at pubs and bars and being rebellious, which is also presented in the video, as the video plays with peoples minds and is very out there and confusing for some people. Our video also shows a bit of a twist on the typical conventions as we have fast paced montage and many different location. For example from 2.27 till 2.31 in the video is a classic example of fast montage.

In most of the professional performance videos that we have watch within the indie/rock genre have had a mix of shots from different gigs that they have played with sound checks, interaction between the band and the fans/crowds adding more energy while showing the fans and their dedication to the band. Some of the professional videos also had shots of the different band members hanging around and relaxing with friend, these shots helped to cut up the video.

Using the professional videos as inspiration we decided to make a video which was a video diary of the band and different gigs they played at local bars and up in Glasgow where they performed on the street, sound checks, hanging out, friends and family, and getting ready for different gigs, creating a video which plays with the idea of a video diary mixed with random shots that almost give you a headache. Adding different effects to the video by desaturating some of the shots to show the audience that there has been a change in location and time. In the video you can see the band members and their causal style showing that they are your typical, average guys which makes it easier for the audience to relate to them, as you still see their personalities and passion in their music and performance.















Compared to other bands such as stone sour where frontman Corey Taylor performed in ladies underwear, showing his personality in his wardrobe, performance and stage presents. The Wolvves have a simular fashion sense with other bands in the same rock genre.





After changing the song and the band we decided that the video had to be changed to a more edgy, artistic and energetic piece using different shots of the band performing in different bars and on the street, and mixing this with different shots that were picked up before and after gigs in Camden and Watford, we then managed to get the band performing on the street n Glasgow, which created a very relaxed and refreshing break from all the flashing lights and crowd pleasing performances for the audiences to see the band promoting themselves but also having fun entertaining people on the streets. . During the desaturated parts we show the band doing sound checks and socialising and having drinks with friends before the show. This part was inspired by many different videos where they have desaturated parts of the video to highlight a change of venue or performance, alongside many other elements. This technique is shown in a video from Avenged sevenfold-dear god, where you see the live performance with bright lights and crowds in colour. You also see some of the bizarre moments on the tour bus and in interviews.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzX0rhF8buo
Screen grabs from the video showing the different shots from the live performances and touring mixed in with fan artwork and different effects.


For example bullet for my valentine-hearts burst into fire, which shows the video has been put together using different shots of what the band have been doing on tour such as, getting tattooed, watch home videos, touring the country and performing gigs. The fans were also shot in the video cheering outside venues and inside the crowds which added more energy for the band to vibe off. The video was produced in all black and white, which I think creates a different feel to the video and make the audience pay more attention to detail. This video also inspired me to speed up different shot from our video such as the street performances in Glasgow which added the fact that time was changing, the band were changing, and locations were changing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n3cUPTKnl0


Another video that inspired me with the editing was Avenged sevenfold-burn it down, which is a performance video but was edited and made into an interesting and strong music video. All the different shots and angles added and edge to the piece alongside the lighting and colours, which was brought together with different shots of the band members and the energy from the crowds. In the video you see many close ups of the band members individually showing their power/talent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNOgvZRzwP4
Screen grabs from the video showing the different shots with the lighting and colour mixed in with the black and white shots.


2) How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

We tried to keep the artwork in the theme of edgy, and indie using different techniques and mediums to create the final digipak cover such as fine liners, thick liner pens and Photoshop. I then used some of the different effects to brighten up the piece and add more dept to the drawings creating a realistically 3D piece. The piece I think goes well with the video and we as a group have kept the video and print work within the theme of edgy and indie. I used the text tool in Photoshop to create the text and pick a font that fits well with the piece and the theme. I was influenced by Eric Van Den Boom who is a freelance artist who works in the fields of illustration and graphics. We kept the colour scheme the same throughout the print products so that they will link together and promote the band in a way that is professional and attractive. We used blue and red mostly to link the pieces together. In both the digipak cover and the insert we used crinkled lines and spirograms in blue and red to add detail and continue the theme. Once I showed the digipak to our audience to see what they through about it I was able to finalise the piece and add the smaller details in the background, adding the text, and enhancing the colours. I decided to make a piece which advertised the band in a good way, and so the first thing that you look at when you see the cover is the band’s name, as it is in the foreground and was made plain but bold, so it would catch the attention of the audience. BELOW IS A PIECE FROM ERIC VAN DEN BOOM:

Some spriograms and crinkled lines in booms style, using fine liners..

3) What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Our target audience is 15+ and anyone who is into indie/rock music, both males and females and all ethnicities. We decided that this would be the best audience for our video as most people in this age range use YouTube and may even have their own videos which they have uploaded onto YouTube. We also had to take into consideration the fact that there was alcohol involved/ shown in the video which may not be appropriate for teenagers under the age of 15.


Screen grab from the video once it was uploaded onto youtube, lead singer having a pint.

I used the results from the audience feedback to improve on the video by re-editing parts and adding more edge and creativity to the video, but also kept in mind that the shots had to almost blend into one another and flow. We decided that as we have a young audience that it would be appropriate to create a video which will play with the audiences mind in some parts with the fast montage and all the different locations. I also did a lot of different research on what my audience likes and dislikes as I had questionnaires, in dept interviews, and text analysis of today popular and professional videos, which helped to create a profile for my target audience. This helped us as a group to expand on our ideas and produce a video which was professional.

After filming in two different bars and sitting in on a practise session, we decided to film in Camden at night to pick up some random abstract shot of different lights and signs using different angles to capture some amazing shots which made the video flow and broke it up a bit to show something different. We also then picked up shots in Glasgow of the band performing on the street which worked to our advance to create some interesting shots. The video has a variety of different and creative shots, we played around with the speed and the colours of some of the shots to help the audience see and understand the different locations. We made all the shots from the house/practise session desatuarted making the video a bit easier to watch, giving the audience small breaks from the flashing colours and lights. We put together night and day shots adding contrast throughout the video. We had some more abstract shots such as the light/sun slowly fading away adding a shadow against the buildings.

The feedback I got back from this was that the different speeds helped the video stay with the tempo and that the pops/flashes of colour throughout the video added a strong visual effect to the video and made the piece come together and almost look like a professional video which people could relate to in some way. I was also told that the video fit well with the title of the song which is ‘headache’(link to our video) as all the changes in location and fast montage of different elements messes with the audiences mind and make it hard for them to understand what’s going on. A lot of people who watched the video particularly liked the clips from the street performances as it was abstract with the natural lighting as you can see it fading across the building in the background, this mixed with the speed of the clip created a shot that was artistic but also natural and entertaining.

We were told to be creative and work to the tempo of the music by adding in different and visually strong cut a ways of the band hanging around, drinking, dancing, with friends and family at the pubs and clubs and we even managed to get some shots around and about in Glasgow with the band.



4) How did you use new media technologies in the research, planning, construction and evaluation stages?

To get some more audience feedback I decided to upload the video on to Facebook to see what peoples reactions would be to the video, so that they could leave comments, using some modern technology to help us improve in future projects and to see what our audience and people our age like about the video. We asked a number of different people to answer our questionnaire within college and outside college who were of different ages and could help us to find out what people in our target audience like and how they would expect the band to be presented in the video.


This is a screen grab from the Wolvves offical facebook page after the band had uploaded the video on to their page.

Most of the schools equipment that was used was handy as for the practise/house session we used lighting to enhance the colours or to change the way the shot looked to the audiences. By changing the light the shots would become darker making some interesting shots as we tried to use the small amount of light that was pouring in to the room between the closed curtains. I used final cut pro to do all the editing for the video which was easy to use and make a professional video using some of the different effects and seeing what worked and what didn’t.

Using Photoshop I produced a digipak cover with original drawings which were based on photographs taken at the gigs and wolf images which i got from the internet via Google. I then used Eric Van Den Boom style as inspiration to add detail to the background and to help frame the piece using fine liners, crinkled rules and spirograms. I used many links to YouTube to show examples of different video, which we used as inspiration, creating hyperlinks between the text and videos.

This is the digipak cover art which was inspired by Eric Van Den Boom style.

Music Video - Final

This is the final music video for the song "Headache" by Wolvves.

Digipak Cover - Final

This was the final print of the cover for the digipak which i produced to the theme of indie rock. i kept an edge on the piece by adding the blue and red crinkled line and the spirogram which also helped me to frame the piece and add some more detail to the cover rather than a blank background. I kept the text simple as I wanted the main part to be the drawings and the name of the band which is in bold black pen and in a different style to the rest of the text. At the time of designing we didn't have the full band information so I wasnt able to add any of the other song names, but will be adding the song names later.

Development - Sketches for Digipak Cover

Using fine liners I added different tones and shades to the wolf. this image was orginally done to go on the back of the cover but after drawing a few different wolves I decided that the second one was much more appropriate to go on the cover. This is my second image below using the same colours, and technique to keep the artistic theme/flow the same.

Development - Background ideas

These were inspired by Eric Van Den Boom's style and were produced for the cover of the digipck, using spirograms and crinkled rules with red and blue fine liners.

Development - Sketches for Digipak

This was one of the other skecthes that I produced, after looking at all the elements in the piece I decided that it didn't fit with the video and decided to go back to the drawing board. This was on of the first rough sketches that I produced just to get the idea down on paper and to map out how and where thing were going to go.

Development - Background ideas

Using Photoshop I produced an idea for the background of the cover. Using different brushes and colours I created a piece which looks almost outer space like and creates a 3D effect, which is made from the positioning of the different shapes.

Development - Sketches for Digipak Cover

After looking at the photos taken of the band and friends i found this one which I found different and interesting, something that I could work with and turn into a line drawing for the print work. I used fine liner pens to add tones and highlights to the face and hair. I then added a background made up of crinkled lines keeping to certain colours which were blue, red and grey to make the man and text stand out more. I layered the piece so that the text(bands name) would be in the foreground as the text is the most important part of the piece.

Production design

Set design- We had a number of different locations where we filmed the band and picked up any extra shots we needed to make the video combining all of the different gigs and locations we made a fast moving video diary packed with funny, random and entertaining clips mixed in with the performances clips. • Camden – night and day shots • Glasgow- street performances, bars, gigs, coach journey with the band. • Bar 1 gig number 1: South Harrow • Bar 2 gig number 2: Watford- The Flag • Practise/house session
Props- Some of the props we used were instruments, speaker and any other professional equipment, lighter, drinks, cigarettes, friends and other people at the gigs (drunk men, dancing crowds, dancing girls) alongside many other shots.
Special fx- We decided to used the desaturation tool to create a contrast between the different locations and gigs.
Lighting- The gigs that they played had very interesting lighting one was much more glamorous and flashy compared to the other which was just barely lit up with yellowy lights.
Use of colour – We have a lot of bright and bold colourful shots from Camden and Glasgow

Characterisation

Name: Jack, Alex, Lewis and Tom

Age: All four of them are within the age range of 19-22

Ethnicity: All White British

Social class / Status: Working class

Gender / Sexuality: All four are male and straight

Ability / Disability: N/A , one disability (adhd)

Marital / family status Single

Physical looks / build: Height ranges from 5ft6 to 5ft11, average build.

Personality: Confident, energetic, entertaining, friendly

Costume, Hair & Makeup: Costume is smart casual for all four guys and hair is natural no products used in the hair and No make-up was used at anytime.

Representation issues: They all just about fit into the stereotype of indie rock, with the way that they dress and present themselves.

The photos below are of all the band member at their gig in The Flag in Watford, showing the set and lighting with the costumes and their own personal style.

Proposal - New Song

As a group we decided to change the idea for our music video and make a much more edgy, abstract and creative piece, which also attracts a younger audience and i think that the video fits in well with the youtube community, as alot of people make interesting and odd pieces for millions of people to watch. The new band was in the same indie/rock genre which allowed us to make a video which was odd and fast paced. we decided to create a video which was almost like a video diary of the band and the gigs that they have played, and the journey to Glasgow where they performed on the street.

Inspiration for this video was from videos such as Avenged Sevenfold- afterlife (live)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHyr4gJE1KA&feature=related
which shows the quality of the live performance which has been edited to show cut aways to the crowds and show the band from different angles making the video interesting and visually strong and creative.
Another example is also from Avenged Sevenfold, the songs name is 'Dear God' which is full of sound checks, touring and performances - a video diary which is simular to a video from another band Bullet for my Valentine-Hearts burst into fire

Proposal

After looking at the different videos that had been analysis and looked at in terms of the way the different artists were represented within their work, from the costumes, to the performance, lighting, the camerawork (angles, shots used) to keep the audiences entertained and create a wider audience by appealing to different age groups, races, and classes.

The band that we have chosen to work with are a indie rock band who can be related to bands such as the horrors, joy division, but also the prodigy who are pshycodelic, with huge success with attracting audience with their outrageous and in your face performances in there videos and live showing the passion that they have for their music. This inspired me as I want the audiences to be able to connect with the band and enjoy the music.

The lyrics for the song that we chose are very limited but still very important and meaningful for the audience to connect with the band and the song, I personally think that some of the viewers will be able to relate to the lyrics more than others as the first thing that pops into your head when you hear the song is drug abuse, relating the headache with drug abuse and this will give us the opportunity to mess with peoples minds and show that even though it is bad for them they feed off this drug and it takes over their lives but they still want more. This make me want to create a video which will shock the viewers and have them think ‘WOW’ what just happened.

I then came up with that idea that the video will start off with slow paced flashes of the bands members, panning between the different members and the instruments, with shots from live performances to the band playing in an abandoned room, to them on the beach. The flashes then turn into a point of view shot in the lead singer’s perspective where he starts to things such as blurry people walking pass in masks, laughing and pointing creating an atmosphere of confusion. The people who are pointing and laughing in the masks are shown to the audience in stop motion which creates a flashing montage of memories. The clip ends with the lead singer waking up on the side of the road realising it was all a dream.

The location that i would be using for the filming of the video would be camden at night to create a gloomy look to the shots with natural lighting from the stalls and shops.

Funding and Distribution

There are two types of record labels the first is major record labels and independent labels. Major record labels • Roadrunner record label • Warner bros record label • Vagrant record label • Elektra record label Roadrunner Records, who have worked with different bands in the genres of heavy metal and death metal. Some of the bands that are with this label are Slipknot, Stone Sour, Dream Theater, Trivium, Alter Bridge, Nickelback, Killswitch Engage, DragonForce, Murderdolls, Machine Head, Kiss, Rob Zombie, Airbourne, Black Stone Cherry, Lamb of God, Slash and many other showing a slight mix within the genre of rock, indie, heavy metal, and death metal. Below I added in a link to the Roadrunners website where it shows that current release from different bands who Roadrunner records are working with. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/newreleases/ Rob Zombie- Dragula I chose this video as it shows different visual effects which combined with the hair and make up and wardrobe added a high quaility and professional feel to the video creating an interesting piece to go with the bands style, of outrageous and in your face looks and stage presents.
Warner bros record label has a number of different genres such as comedy, alternative, rock, hip hop, pop and country. Artist such as Avenged Sevenfold, Arctic Monkeys, Disturbed, Goo Goo Dolls, Deftones, The Used, Serj Tankian, Metallica, HIM, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The White Strips, Oasis, Cher, Jack’s Mannequin and many others are under this record label. Avenged Sevenfold have a vast variety of different videos some of which are live preformances showing the interaction and dedication presented between the band and the fans showing the stage presents that they have and the reactions that they get from their performance. in some of the videos which are of performances you hear the fans as well as see them adding a contrasting effect that shows the fans are like family. Then they also create interesting and well throught out narrative videos which are a combination between shots of the band members and the story behind the song where they create some gorey and abstract shots/clips. Nightmare is an example of one of the interesting narrative pieces which Avenged Sevenfold have done. the video is below:
Avenged Sevenfold - Burn it down http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNOgvZRzwP4 Above is a link to the performance video which shows the bond between the fans and the band but still looks and feels professional. Vagrants record label is also a major record label with current bands such as Rammstein, Placebo, Alexisonfire, and in the past have worked with bands such as Alkaline Trio, EELS, and many other. They have worked with different languages/cultures such as Rammstein who are a German band formed in Berlin in 1994 creating a wider audience attracting different cultures. Rammstein-Amerika
Elektra record label is an American record label which is owned by Warner music group and was merged into WMG's Atlantic records group. Elektra records was a label which concentrated on folk music in the 50s and 60s recording and releasing a number of albums by Judy Collins since then they have grown into a major record label recording and releasing music from different artists within the genres of psychedelic rock from the 60s signing different artists such as Paul Butterfield blues bands with Mike Bloomfield other bands that were signed included The Doors, Tim Buckley. Paul Butterfield Blues Band "Oh Pretty Woman" live
Some other artists that have worked within this label include- AC/DC, Anthrax, Aphex Twin, Tim Buckley, Damageplan, Pantera, Dream Theater, Motley Crue and many others. Dream Theater - Constant Motion
Pantera are a good example of a band who have many hit with performance videos have many shots of different members and the fans adding lighting effects from the live shows/performances to create a simple but effective and professional looking video. i think this video shows that its not about the video but its about the music and the fans and that they dont need any gimics, dancers, or any extras on stage with them to get the crowd excited. Pantera-walk music video
Independent record labels • XL records • Cooking vinyl records XL Record Label is an independent British record company who with the success of bands such as The Prodigy who are electronic, Late 1990s the record label started expanded into other genres which included freak folk, alternative rock, hip hop and UK garage alongside the original genres which were rave and dance. They have a range of different artists including the likes of Radiohead, basement Jaxx, Dizzee Rascal, friendly fire, Adele, vampire weekend, amongst other. In March 2008 they signed the horrors who fall into the genre of indie. The Horrors – Whole new way

This is a video from the prodigy's 1992 album which was was released under XL records showing the huge differenece between the bands work then and now with there latest album invaders must die which was under cooking vinyl record label in 2009. The Prodigy- Warrior dance
The prodigy then moved on from XL records where they had released five albums to cooking vinyl record label who are also a independent British record label where they produces and released their latest album in 2009 invaders must die. Cooking Vinyl Records Label who produced the latest album by the prodigy – invaders must die are an independent British label who originally set out to produce bands within the genre of folk music with artists such as Billy Bragg and Michelle shockeds. The label has grown and become diverse when it comes down to the genre of the music creating a stronger and bigger company attracting more artists and a wide range of consumers. They have branched out into the genre of rock with the likes of The Lemonheads, The Donnas (to name a few), indie with The Charlatans, Idlewild, punk with the Buzzcocks, Blondie, The Undertones, and electronic with The Prodigy and The Orb. Billy Bragg-New England
The Lemonheads- Mrs Robinson
Distirbution There are different ways in which the albums/music can be promoted and distirbuted by the record labels such as record sales, concerts, commercials via radio, internet, TV, billboard, posters, and magazines, computer games, films, and mobile phones. Different music channels distribute on the TV (scuzz, kerrang!, Q, NMEtv, etc) and internet (facebook, youtube, myspace, etc) can play and promote the different bands. Some of the channels mostly play major label successful bands/artist, whereas the internet allows the consumers to tap into both mainstream artists and non mainstream, making the internet a more successful way of receiving different music from different sites.

Having researched different record companies both major and independent I have I come to the conclusion that for our band we should go with an independent label such as Cooking Vinyl Records as they have worked with simular bands and can give Wolvves( the band that we are using for our music video) a kickstart in the right direction working with a label that has past experience with the genres that Wolvves dab into, knowing what to expect and how to deliver and promote the band attracting audiences of a wider range. Wolvves could be distributed amougst different channels such as scuzz, mtvrocks, kerrang!. It can also be distirbuted via the internet using youtube, facebook and myspace amongst other.

At the moment the band are promoting themseleves via the internet on fecebook which is attracting fans. link is below:

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Wolvves/183191635049089

Representation

Representation of different characters within the music industry changes within each genre creating stereotypical characters for males and females and in some cases age changes the way they are represented in the videos. The characters are also represented by their social group, race, and surrondings.

Different genres are represented by different aspects within the video such as

• Props
• Locations
• Gender
• Lyrics/soundtrack/music
• Narrative/storylines
• Performance type
• Wardrobe/styling

All of these aspects change the feel of the video and create/attract certain audiences. Some videos are based on performance such as Nickelback –burn it to the ground showing the performance footage from a live show and made it into a video. Showing the energy and commitment from the fans at the show and the chemistry between the band and their fans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l4i-ernOKk

Going against the forms and convention of the genre/stereotype, attracts a larger audience in some cases showing the artist/s are not concerned if it is not part of the image that they should portray but want to show the creativity in different ways. This might represent different types of people male or female, young and old. For example some artists at live shows like to change it around and surprise the audiences. I have a video which was from the 31^st October 2010 at Hammersmith Apollo of stone sour where the lead singer Corey Taylor poses as a woman in a white tutu with a purple wig, this also added to his stage presents and added humour to the performance.

Watch from 0.48 seconds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIZoekhY5NI

Other bands like kings of Leon create different videos such as use somebody which almost everyone can relate to, this song to me created a wider audience for them due to the bands creativity and music. This video shows different cities where they played different shows mixed in with abstract shots of the band on tour getting ready for shows with many props such as the shower, a car, and beer. These where put together in different ways some fast motion montage shots, footage from different shows showing different parts of the song and concept shots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWhairF_DS8

Compared to 30 seconds to mars with closer to the edge, where fans were part of the video the album making appearances in the video at shows and speaking their minds on during the video.

Also from the same album by 30 seconds to mars the song kings and queens showed a group of people cycling through downtown la and toward Santa Monica pier with the lead singer showing the band interact with the fans and allow them to be a part of the album in many other ways including being on the cover of the album which had a different fans face on each cover.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTMrlHHVx8A

Avenged sevenfold show, props that were used added to the performance of the genre. Props used were metal gothic gates with a backdrop of an old abandoned house/mansion creating a cemetery feel, also the fire in the background added to the gothic feel where it was used in time with the beat creating an effect look and a gives the audience a well throughout performance.

Females in the rock genre are represented in a number of ways compared to hip hop of r’n’b where the women in videos are usually shown as sexy, and usually prance around in the back of the video shaking their body parts to appeal to the audiences. The men in hip hop videos tend to be presented as gangsters with props such as guns, cars and women. Whereas in rock videos the band usually star in the video showing different creatures and get involved with the fans.

The lyrics of different songs in the rock genre are about different issues in reality in the video by stone sour sillyworld which combines politics and real opinions and feelings about war and other topics. In hip hop videos the lyrics are mostly about drugs, sex, money and cars sending the message to audiences that to have these elements in life all you need is money and you will be content with your life, but what they don’t show is that with money comes a dream world full of fake relations and material items.

Stone sour-sillyworld

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2R8Q685Bz0

Role Research - Editor

As an editor I have to work closely with the director to portray his/her vision and to help to produce the best possible video, which will appeal to a wider audience. In this case the band’s input is also important to a certain extent as they may have a certain look or vision of how they want to portray themselves for their audiences. Using final cut pro I am going to be editing the different shots to create interesting and attention grabbing combinations within the video. Some of the other

The skills that and editor is required to have are:

Organisation skills and an eye for detail, from the sound and the shots keeping them in time with one another making a professional and perfected video for the band, which can be used to promote them. As the editor I will have to have good communication skills with others in my group and the band to put together a video that we are all happy with and believe looks best for the band.

This video is not a music video but is a very good example of stop motion and it shows how long it took to make with all the stoping and painting over and over again till they had a moving image, using a still camera, creating a interesting and effective video. With this type of filming/video making the editing is what brings it altogether to create a professional and interesting video which resembles a flick book.

Interview 3 (Hana)

I think that the current music videos appeal to the younger generation more so then any other generation. I think that the use of fashion for me is very important it appeals to me showing me the creativity and the inspiration which could have been taken from older generations such as lady gaga and Cher who are from different generations but lady gaga was inspired by Chers fashion style but took it to the next level making the outfits more and more outrageous creating different impressions on all of her fans.

I also think that the lighting makes the videos exciting and different and creates a different mood. The way the music and the light sequences go together for example in ushers-omg video which is a performance video and creates a sense of hard work and shows the fans that he stays true to himself as a artist and a performer. Using dancer routines and special effect lighting to resemble a club scene created a simple but well thoughout performance and different angle shots cut up and put together to create a interesting and abstract piece.

I think that artist in this generation do have to be controversial in any way that they want to be weather it is through their wardrobe their make-up or the performances in the videos, which the fans/ audiences would be into and would inspire people to follow them and be even more controversial through their music and fashion.

My favourite music video would have to be Katy Perry California girls whom I like because it is fun and playful and the sets are amazing and new as they were based on will cottons paintings of these fantasy candy land images. I also like that she has stuck to her style and has stayed true to her fans/audience.

http://http//www.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=will+cotton&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=zHrRTL-0OIqRjAeNxMWiDA&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=2&ved=0CDAQsAQwAQ&biw=1350&bih=530

Interview 2 (Janay)

I believe that to make a music video for me it has to be exciting interesting I prefer to see the performance combined with the narrative showing me a part of both and I think the more creative the larger the audience. On the other hand I think that special effects sometimes spoil the videos and in most professional videos they don’t use a lot of special effects.

By keeping the audience entertained by the lighting and costumes and fantasy make up or location in the narrative it give the audience different aspects to concentrate on and find an element that they can relate too.

I think that as long as the artist is good enough and is just creative and inspiring in the way they may dress or the way that they move and work the audiences through their videos then they don’t need to be controversial to gain publicity. I like that some artist may go against stereotypes and like to be different as they stand out and send a positive message to the younger audiences.

My favourite music video has to be Michael Jackson –remember the time which I found really creative and I loved the location of the video showing that there was a lot of planning and care taken when coming up with the details of where and how the video will be shot. The location of the video was in Egypt with all the different costumes and colours a lot of yellows and gold’s with the rich blues and reds, which all added to the Egypt theme and added to the video in a positive way. ‘I want to be entertained’ is said in the beginning by the women and this is exactly what the audience gets, entertainment. The video was a mix of narrative and performance which is one of the elements that I like to see in a music video. The narrative part being revolving around the Egypt theme and the performance more of an original Michael dance with different and amazingly created costumes and hair and make-up.

http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BEPgeNessg&feature=related

Interview 1 (Julio)

I believe that to make a music video for me it has to be new and fresh I don’t like to see the same thing for different artists I like to see new and excitingly creative performances and videos. I like to see a performance but also like the narrative part of the videos. I don’t think that special effects have a positive or professional affects on me as I feel the video loses the professionalism if not done correctly.

The main part of the video for me is to keep the audience entertained by the lighting and costumes and fantasy make up for example when we all first saw lady gaga and her style and passion for the music and every little aspect was through of in the videos creating interesting new and fresh ideas.

I think that as long as the artist is good and shows the audience that they are passionate and creative and show they have thought about the videos and if their fans would like it or not. I also think that it is important that the artist sticks to their true passion and what they want to create for the world to hear. I think that the artist doesn’t need to be controversial to gain publicity as I think that from the performance they give the music should be the most important part of what they are doing as artists not the publicity. I believe that the artist to stick to what they want even if it attracts bad publicity or good. I like that some artists go against their typical stereotypes in the videos and create something new for the listeners. For example I would love to see a hip hop video which has not got flashing lights and guns all the time and to show me something new and fresh. Music stands out for it-self you don’t need to be controversial.

My favourite music video would have to be electric relaxation by a tribe called quest which is from the movie Wayne brothers. I like this video because I can relate to it as it is set in the city of New York but looks really simple like it could have been done with a group of friends, which helps not just me but other relate too. It is mostly set in just two locations within New York City one of which is in the taxi and the other is in the café.

Similar Text Analysis - Conclusion

After researching and deciding on the band that we would produce a video for we came up with video of similar genre and sound. The videos we looked at were

Nickelback - "Savin’ Me"

The Horrors - "She’s the new thing"

The Prodigy - "Invaders must die "

Joy Divison- "Love will tear us apart"

We learnt that the videos all conformed to certain conventions and stereotypes. Some of the videos such as joy divisions- love will tear us apart were performance videos, where others were a mix of different narratives and concepts mixed in with the performances. We had videos from different generations showing us what has been developed and modernised over the years between the videos. We learnt that the videos have become more creative and chaotic, keeping the audiences interested and inspired.

The horrors being very animated with aspects of realism constructing an interesting and creative effect on the audiences compared to the realism in love will tear us apart which was a performance video which was based on the band and the instruments set in one location where as in the prodigy there was a number of different locations and props adding the bands passion into the video and the music. Nickelback-savin’ me was a concept/narrative video which was combined with performance inserts adding diversity and appeals to a wider audiences. The prodigy- invaders must die (narrative/concept) and the horrors-she’s the new thing (concept/performance) had the controversial music video in the genres making them standout.

Similar Text Analysis The prodigy

The prodigy- Invaders must die

Spider symbolises his territory and don’t let them have it means don’t let them take what’s yours and show them that this is yours by tagging it with the spider symbol. Don’t let anyone get in the way not even the police as the black man looks concentrated and feels strongly about his decisions. Man on a mission is what I would describe the young black man in the video. As he looks so concentrated and powered by this one symbol.

Camera work

The video starts off with an establishing shot which is quickly followed by a quick montage of different objects and places within the area around the house creating a flashing/fading effect which as part of the audience I thought it was interesting given some of the objects that are shown such as the army men and the signs such as the unauthorized signs and one particular symbol which was of the spider first on the front door then on the arm men’s flag. I think that the army men represented invasion and war which gave the message to fight. This particular part with the army men is one of the bits in the video that I found interesting and creative as there was a wide shot of the army men on a blank, dirty/old white surface where one of the men are holding a flag with the spider symbol on the front. It then starts to pulls out into a canted high angle which then reveals that the army men are stuck onto the side of the abandoned house with an ink drawing of the spider symbol below them. It then starts to pan to the left slowly and then flashes on a plank of wood on the abandoned house that has got a phrase craved onto it, which says ‘let no one take it’ this to me links in with the lyrics and the army men sending a message to the audiences to fight for your countries as the lyrics are ‘invaders must die’ which links to the army men who support and fight for their countries. It then carries on with a fast montage of flashing images of different signs and then the door opens and the young black man starts walking towards the camera as the camera pulls back cutting to different shots of the man creating close up and mid shots where it then flashes to different objects and animals such as the front door with the craved spider hanging and then back to the man to then flash the two dead birds hanging upside down in the fields.

The way that they have filmed the man is interesting as they have cut up what would have been a long shot of him walking around field. They broke it down with insert shots and different angled shot of him such as high angle shot of just his legs and feet to the spider symbol that was hung on the door which had a special effect on it making it look like it was coming out of the screen to lead onto a close up of the man’s face showing his expression which looked concentrated and angered.

Close up of this arm which is bandaged/casted up it then panned up to his faced to then cut to a long shot of him walking in the field, this is when the montage of slow images starts again this helped to cut the long shot to different angled shot of the man walking where it flashes on the man setting a pole on fire which is then interrupted by more shots of him walking and it then comes back to finish the shot with him throwing the lit pole in the bin which had a spider symbol cut out of it, making it standout with a pull focus on the bin. The shot ends with the man walking off but the camera stays focused on the bin that’s on fire. It then cuts to the man walking with a flash of a dead rat on the floor showing ‘invaders must die’ the rat was an invader. It then cuts to him walking with different angled shots such as long shots close up and a low angle shot making him look bigger and more dangerous, this part also had a special effect worked into it which matched the beat and words which made it sound like diagetic sound making the shot look like it had a computer error and reminded me of CCTV cameras. This is one of the locations which the video was set.

It then cuts to him walking again but this time it looks like he is being filmed by an intruder. He then starts to make a new spider symbol out of branches and nets which is filmed in an interesting way to create a number of different and abstract shots, with a final pull focus shot from the power line in the distance to the spider symbol. It then flashes to the man to show him walking then it flashes to the hanging spider symbol carving on wood, where it pulls out four times with flashes till it goes back to the man walking into the field where the sign keep out flashes with close ups and extreme close ups, it then flashes back to when the man came out of the door at the abandoned house, jumping back to the satellite field where he has a spray can and the shots start to jump/flash again showing him get closer and closer, to the satellite shaking the spray, this is shown with a side profile mid shot of the man. When he is spraying the satellite there are a number of different shots such as close ups of the spray can and high angle of the man spraying the symbol creating interesting shots to keep the audiences entertained. Showing the masterpiece with a wide long shot revealing a phrase under the symbol saying ‘invaders must die’ showing him walk away and then jumping back a step to then carry on walking. He comes to a different part of the field where he finds the paper cut out of the spider which is shown to us twice as he is backtracked again repeating the walk by the symbol with different shots added in.

There is then a panning shot of the white patrolling officer/man with the binoculars and then back to the man walking this time past the abandoned train tracks, where it goes from a long wide shot to a close up of his boots kicking up the gravel. It then pans right and up to show the audience fish heads on poles where the man is walking towards/pass and away from focusing on one fish head while the man is walking toward the camera and walking out of shot which moved the camera to a wide shot of the man walking from left to right of the shot showing that the fish heads on poles have been place to create a pathway. At the end of the path the camera pans down slightly to show the man bend down and pick up a net which he then make a spider symbol out of. Showing that he then pats the ground sorting out the rocks to create the symbol this is shown using a panning shot from the symbol to the man and then a sudden jump back revealing the symbol and the man walking away with a high angled shot. The man is now standing staring at the sprayed white spider symbol when the patrol officer comes up from behind him and a flashing and circling effect starts to happen as the camera circles in from behind the object that was sprayed to the patrol officer and the man there are flashes of the sprayed board and then the two men creating a rotating cycle of shots, which I found very effective and goes to the beat of the song. As the patrol officer starts shaking the man it starts to flash back to all the different spider symbols from before, also a image of a flying bird which could represent freedom and how the young black man feels as he stars at the sprayed board. It then starts to go into a flash backs and you also see the band the prodigy in one of the flashes showing them in a group with a low angle, close up and mid shot of them rambled together in flash flashes. This is all combined with the shots of the patrol officer pulling and pushing the young black man in different shots some with special effects which made the shot look as though the scenery around them was moving but they weren’t.
The video ends with a repeating motion of the young black man jumping on a pile of rope and scraping a long bar in the gravel where it then cuts to a mid shot which zooms slowly into a close up of his face as he says ‘we are the prodigy’ the sound was now computerised and non diagetic, it then cuts and the shot know starts to pan up and left over the sea to reveal stations metres above water level propped on wooden legs. The shot then changes to a high angle panning shot of the station revealing a white painted spider symbol and cuts to a mid shot of the black man standing on the station and then pans away slowly and circles the station. It then does a small montage of different level shots of the stations and the colours of the video have now changed and the sun is setting giving a natural orange effect to the setting, it then fades to black.

The Hair & make-up/Costume

The young black man has a very simple and natural look. He is presented as an ungroomed, which is created by the beard/stubble. He has a leather hat with side flaps. The hat is lined with dark fluff making it warm. The man is wearing a thin black jacket, hood down and sleeves rolled up letting his black hoodies sleeves show from underneath. This created a warm and layered look to finish off his top half keeping the base of his wardrobe to basics which were a white t shirt paired with black jeans and a pair of biker boots which had just been slipped on quickly as they wear untied. He also has a white cast on his right arm creating a sense of vulnerability and injury. Around his neck he has a pair of pilot styled goggles.

The white man who seems to be a police officer/ patrol officer is wearing a black and orange water proof jacket with black trousers and a black hat (standard police hat). We first see him in a close up of his head but with a part of binoculars checking what the young black man is doing spraying the satellite in the large field. He looks fresh and natural with no makeup creating a raw look.

Lighting

The lighting that was used throughout the whole video was all natural lighting. This created a bright clear sky and had to depend on the days that they shot because of the natural light. As some shots could have been gloomy and almost had polluted if they chose the wrong day to shoot on. So for this particular video the lighting was the key element to bring everything together and make the video look professional and well thought of.

Props

Some of the props that were used during the shooting were what made the video stand out from others from the similar genre and created a atmosphere of confusion within the audience, leaving them think what was that and why was it part of the video. I think that it is interesting the way they have left the interpretation of the different props such as the fish head on the end of the thin poles for the audience to work out and come up with a variety of meanings. There was a number of different objects and materials that were used to create the spider symbols in the different locations, such as the spray can was used in the satellite fields and the wood carving was used in the location of the abandoned house, where as the card and branches/nets were used in the fields with a few buildings and the rocks and the nets were used in the field with abandoned train tracks and the pathway marked by fish heads on thin poles.

Locations

There were a number of different locations that the video was shot it started off at the abandoned boarded up house and went through the different locations where you would see the young black man create the same symbol of the spider out of different materials such as brunches, netting, spray paint, rocks, cravings and cut outs from wood and card. Along the way there was a second which is a phrase that was carved into a plank of wood which was nailed to the side of the house, it said ‘let no one take it’ I think that this sends a positive message to the audience to fight for what they want and don’t let anyone take it. Some of the other locations include large fields with power lines and satellite and abandoned and old train tracks. The last location that the audience see is at the beach which is spill into two different shots one being a long wide shot of the black man almost hip deep in the sea until it cuts to a panning worms eye view of the sea, which leads to the camera pulling out and carrying on panning left towards station platforms where on one of them is standing the black man and a spider symbol sprayed in white.

Colours

The colours within the video were desaturated but there was a hint of some orange within the police/patrol officer’s uniform but the rest of the video was set on a palette of black, greys and whites creating different shades and compositions from the lighting which made the different scenes come to life and created the different shadows and tones. This gave the scene an older look and made the field look free and emptier/abandoned creating a world in which the young black man lived and wanted to express his freedom and keep it that way.

Sound

The music was heavy beated and the video matched up to the beat with different and interesting shots which created an abstract video that the audiences want to watch to see what is going on and what will happen next where will he go?. I think that the reapeating effect toward the end was extremely impressive and added a sense of time in the sense of they thought about the beat when it came to the editing.