Mock Exam Edit

I was given a two hour period during mock week to produce a rough edit 30 seconds to a minute long. I am pleased with what I achieved in a short space a of time and look forward to finishing my video. Due to not filming all of my shots yet there are gaps in the video. In order to give you an understanding as to what will be placed in the gaps I imported my animatic onto a layer of the video.

Idea to help with timing

Whilst editing, I decided to help me with my timings of shots, I placed my finished animatic on a video layer. This helped me to understand which shot came next and how long it should be on for. I was told that this was a great idea by my teacher and that he has never seen anyone do it before.

Ancillary Text Images

 

These are my images for my ancillary texts, I will be making an album cover and a poster for the single.

Animatic

Questionnaire Responses

This question has proven that the majority of people who answered my questionnaire are female. Although the prime target audience for alternate rock is male, I think that women are more likely to spare some time to answer a survey than men.

The answers to this question were what I was hoping for, this is because my taget audience is the younger generation aged 17-24. Due to my survey only being sent out to the media groups in college, this limited the age range I could analyse. To improve on this I should have given my survey to older people outside of that age range to get their opinions also.

78.57% of the people who answered my survey listen to alternate rock. This suggests that the genre is popular with the youth of society. This allowed me to gain valid information as to what I should include in my video and what the audience like.

 The answers to questions to 4 & 5 gave me an insight as to artists my respondents know and like. Unfortunately, the band I am doing a music video for was not part of anybody's favourites which could suggest they are not very popular among my target audience. However, the question 7 responses shows that 13 out of 14 know have heard of them. 

 The responses to this question show me that the majority of my target audience listen to music through YouTube. After this feedback I decided that my finished music video will be put on YouTube as it is the easiest place for my audience to access.

The Courteeners LIIAR

Filming Diary

Filming Diary:

8th November- My actors were free to film but the weather put it off as it was raining.

19th November 2014- I started filming some shots for my video. I also took some images for my ancillary texts; these have been posted on my blog.

22nd November 2014- My actress was called into work last minute therefore filming for this day was cancelled.

10th December 2014- On this day I filmed the shots as a band (fake photoshoot). 

14th December 2014- One of my actors cancelled on this date, due to my mock being the following day I wasn't very pleased. Fortunately, my female actress was still available so I got enough footage for the mock. The rest of my filming will be done on another date (unconfirmed).

Weather Problems

As Saturday was the only day of this week that my actor was free, if the weather forecast is correct, I will have trouble filming due to rain. This will mean that I will have to film next weekend instead.

As the weather forecast was right, filming will put back for a week. Here is the forecast for Saturday 8th November.

Visual Inspiration

Richard Dyer's Star Theory

Richard Dyer suggests that celebrities and stars aren't real people. He argues that they are constructed by institutions for financial purposes and are built to target a specific audience.

In class we came up with a list of qualities a pop star need:

• Confidence
• Good looking
• Controversial
• Conforming
• Mold-able
• Sob story
• Brand Image
• Powerful
• Bold
• Creative
• Aspiration

The theory can be broken down into three sections:
1. Audiences and institutions: Stars are made for the sole purpose of making money. Audiences want to consume what they believe is ideal.
2. Constructions: Star is built for an audience and not an actual person. A persona is created for each individual star.
3. Hegemony (cultural beliefs): Leadership or dominance - people idolize stars and want to be and copy them.

 Quotes on the theory:
"Stars are commodities that are produced by institutions"
"A star star is a constructed image, represented across a range of media and mediums"
"Stars represent and embody certain ideologies"

Representation Theory- Laura Mulvey

Laura Mulvey- Male Gaze Theory

This theory is about how the audience view women in the Media. Mulvey states that women are there to be seen and that the camera portrays them as sexual objects through shot types and movement.

Her three main focuses are:
1. How men look at women.
2. How women look at themselves.
3. How women look at other women.

Focuses on:
- Emphasising the curves of the female body.
- Referring to women as objects, not people.

The man emerges as the dominant power within the created film fantasy. The women is paasive to active gaze from the man.
To conclude, the male gaze theory states that women within the media are represented sexually, and that the media is viewed from a straight male's perspective. To back this up, in class we examined the top 5 songs in the charts and their music video's and argued whether or not we thought the male gaze theory applied to them. Astonishingly, the theory could be applied to each and every one of the video's. This was due to the sexual content, the way the camera explores the female body, tight clothing on females and cleavage being on display. When concluding this theory, watching these videos helped us to realise that the theory certainly applies to modern music music video's. Furthermore, in Iggy Azalea's music video for the song Black Widow, even though the ideology and messages of the video are women power. Women are still represented as sexual objects and appeal to the active male gaze.

Narrative Theory applied to Anaconda

Nicki Minaj- Anaconda

Using Tim O’Sullivan’s narrative theory; which states that every media text tells the audience some kind of story. The lyrics in the song tell a story throughout. In the first verse it is noticed that anaconda is referring to the buttocks. Whereas in the second verse, more of the narrative is established. Throughout the verse Nicki sings about a boy from Detroit buys her designer clothing from money he earned selling drugs; this suggests that Nicki has a pimp.

Within media, it is argued that there are 3 different aspects of music videos. These are performance, narrative and abstract. This video is only performance based as it just features the artist dancing/twerking and showing her behind to the audience. Nicki Minaj is known for her sex appeal and flaunts her behind often as it is globally recognisable.

This video lacks any kind of verisimilitude within the diegesis. It is extremely rare that you would find a large number of scantily clad women dancing in a sexual manner in the middle of a jungle. Additionally, as a person, Nicki Minaj is viewed as a fantasy figure. This links to Laura Mulvey’s male gaze theory. This theory suggests that women within the media are represented sexually and that the media is viewed from a straight male’s perspective. The theory certainly applies when watching this video as women are viewed as sexual objects from start to finish in the media text. Women would argue that this video gives them a bad name as they are just viewed as sexual objects, they would suggest that they should be able to have control and success throughout dressing and performing whilst scantily clad.

In narrative theory it is said that there are three types of relationship between song content and narrative content; these are illustration, amplification and disjuncture. When applying this to the anaconda video the relationship type is amplification. This is because the narrative whilst inspired by the song adds a narrative element to complement the themes. For example, the song is about how women’s sexuality is powerful over men. This is injected into the narrative through the vast use of close ups on women’s sexually prominent body parts such as their legs, bums and breast. It can be argued that the video is used for the purpose of gaining male attention; rather than the genre’s intended audience of young females.

Levi-Strauss’ binary oppositions are implemented in the video; the key oppositions put across are men vs women and rich vs poor. The men vs women opposition is the one shown more often as women are not only represented as objects, which in some cases people would suggest this is a weakness, however in the lyrics Nicki is singing about how her sexuality can influence and control a man. She even suggests that control over men gained her wealth. At one stage of the song, Nicki sings “Real country ass nigga, let me play with his rifle, Pussy put his ass to sleep, now he calling my NyQuil”. Vicks Nyquil is a medication that will help you sleep through the night. Therefore Nicki is suggesting that after engaging in sexual activity, the male just goes to sleep; this implies that men only want women for sexual reasons and after they have been used they just let them go.

Treatment

The theme of my song is beauty, modernisation and Britain. Throughout my video I plan on implementing these themes in a variety of ways. For example I will have shots of both performance and narrative in rural and urban areas; this is to compare the two places in terms of beauty and modernity. The lyrics within the song are extremely important, therefore I will have many people lip syncing (close ups) to reinforce the lyrics importance. I will use tracking shots to follow my performer; the locations of the shots will be in old town. I will also have my actress dancing under a waterfall due to the name of the song; she will then proceed to dry herself with a Union Jack towel which is iconographic of the song’s theme. I will be filming some shots of an audience and band in concert and splicing them into the video.

Lyrics timing

“Waterfall”

Chimes sing Sunday morn [0.15-0.28]
Today's the day She's sworn [0.19-0.23]
To steal what She never could own [0.24-0.27]
And race from this hole She calls home [0.29-0.35]

Now you're at the wheel, Tell me how how does it feel [0.38-0.46]
So good to have equalised [0.47-0.51]
To lift up the lids of your eyes [0.52-0.58]

As the miles they disappear [1.01-1.05]
See land begin to clear [1.06-1.10]
Free from the filth and the scum, This American satellite's won [1.11-1.22]

She'll carry on through it all, She's a waterfall [1.24-1.31]

She'll carry on through it all, She's a waterfall [1.34-1.40]

See the steeple pine, The hills as old as time [1.43-1.52]
Soon to be put to the test [1.52-1.56]
To be whipped by the winds of the West [1.56-2.03]

Stands on shifting sands [2.06-2.10]
The scales held in her hands [2.12-2.15]
The wind it just whips Her and wails, And fills up Her rickety sails [2.15-2.26]

She'll carry on through it all, She's a waterfall [2.29-2.36]

She'll carry on through it all, She's a waterfall [2.39-2.45]

The Stone Roses- Waterfall (Textual Analysis)

History of The Medium

Genre Conventions

For this conventions research I have watched many music videos from various bands/artists of this genre, for example 'The Stone Roses', 'Arctic Monkeys' and 'Oasis'.
The genre my music video will be is alternative rock/indie. Within the genre there are specific conventions of which are included in music videos. The stand out convention is band performance, this is something that may be difficult for me to achieve, however it is a convention I would like to include within my own music video.
With Arctic monkeys I have noticed that unconventionally they do not use much performance within their videos, however they do feature rather strange narratives. But they do have a moral to their narratives. I would also like my music video to have a narrative so ideally I will include both a narrative and performance.
Unconventionally, most of The Stone Roses videos are filmed live, therefore they do not consist of the basic 'lip-syncing' as Ian Brown is actually singing the song. This adds an element of reality to the videos, which most do not have. One thing I have noticed, with Ian Brown, the lead singer of The Stone Roses, is that in the majority of their music videos he wears the same t-shirt. A plain white t-shirt with burning money around the top.This reiterates The Stone Roses' ideology that money doesn't mean everything. Furthermore, to back this up, he is quoted in several interviews "that's not (money) what its about though is it?" so it is clear that he doesn't care about the money he earns, but just the music he creates. Ian Brown is an iconic example of an artist of whom demonstrates that the music and the audience are far more important than the money and institutions.

What makes a good music video?

In my opinion I think that a fast tempo and high levels of energy make a good music video. My favourite type of music video is when it has a very deep narrative, but is also artist based at the same time. The best example of this being the 'Oasis- Stand By Me' music video. The video was a reworking of a famous series of adverts for the newspaper 'The Guardian' entitled 'The Whole Picture'. The adverts showed people appearing to be taking part in criminal acts, only for it to be revealed they were actually helping someone else. For example, a rough looking skinhead rushes at a business man, it appears that the man is attempting to mug him. A man also appears to be trying to break into his car. However, the 'whole picture' reveals that the bald man is in fact trying to warn him of the apparent breaking into of his car, only to find out that the so called "thief" is actually helping the businessman open his stuck car door. In the music video this is also the case, in a few examples. A store appears to be being burgled with its window smashed and people are taking away the electrical goods from inside. However, it is revealed that the victim of the motorcycle accident flew through the window and was buried under the electrical goods. In another example, a dodgy looking character appears to be running away from policemen in what looks like the kidnapping of a little girl. However in this case he was actually saving the little girls life by removing her from the vehicles path so that she wasn't ran over.

The Notorious B.I.G- Juicy

This music video I did enjoy watching, a conventional hip-hop/rap music video. Reflecting on what his life used to be like and comparing it to his life of luxury that he lived when the video was made. I like these types of videos because the locations in which they are shot are usually really nice; which they are in this case. The binary opposites of rich vs poor contrasts really effectively in this video. For example when a shot of a poor neighborhood in Brooklyn is used and then it cuts to a pool  party. The video is artist based and does include the conventional lip sync. I also liked the fact that the video didn't drag out before/after the song and got straight to the action.

Aerosmith- Love In An Elevator

This music video by Aerosmith I found to be rather exciting and definitely caught my eye, it stood out from the rest. Even though it is artist based, it also has a narrative. And despite some artist based videos being quite boring due to their simplicity, this one was not. This is because the band are extremely enthusiastic when performing, and I believe audiences thrive on that enthusiasm. In my opinion this music video is very interesting and unique. However, I found it also quite repetitive and very cheesy at times.

Bob Marley- Is This Love

I enjoyed this video and this too was also hard to pick fault with, the only one being it's simplicity. Bob Marley has done something that many artists do not when creating a music video, this is adding a hidden message. He has promoted equality using dancing and positivity throughout the video, as well as singing about togetherness in the song itself. To send this message he included a range of different ethnic minorities in the video. I also thought that the on screen atmosphere was very happy and along with the relaxing music it influences the audience to feel same way.

Pharrell Williams- Happy

This music video I could not simply pick fault with. Absolutely loved it from start to finish. I liked the video because it transfers the happy vibe from within it to the audience, not only by the music, but by what is on screen too. I enjoy watching artist based videos and this is one of my favourite examples. It is bright, vibrant and unique. I also liked the fact that they were many locations used in the video and that the public were involved. Just watching the video and seeing all the dancing and seeing the atmosphere on screen was enough to bring a smile to the audiences faces and make them want to get up and dance too.

The Stone Roses- I Wanna Be Adored

Despite the song being one of my favourites of all time. The music video did not really catch my eye, this was as I found it too simple for my liking. However, they are a few things about the video that I do like. Such as the way it is unusual and conforms to conventions of the bands other music video's. I like the fact that the video is artist based and that the scenery was nice. It also included some nice slow motion shots of the band in action when performing in the deserted location; this added a relaxed vibe to the video. If I were to remake their video I would cut out the start, this is because I found it very boring as it took a while to get to the music.

5 Music Videos

For my planning and research, I watched 5 music videos of different genres, and wrote what I liked and disliked about them. This has helped me in deciding some of the things I would like to include in my music video.

Evaluation

What did you find the most challenging and why?

Throughout the making of this video there was many challenging prospects that as a group we had to encounter. Some of these challenges where editing the lips of the actress in sync with the lyrics, lining the camera up with the actresses mouth at the end of the video and that it was difficult for every member of our group to get to the filming location as it was too far away for some members.

Final cut pro was the programme we used to edit our shots together to make the video. Due to none of the group members using this programme before it made it difficult to understand how it worked. We got through this issue by asking one of our teachers for a basic tutorial around the programe; after this we worked our way around it and with practice we made a successful video.

Our Remake

Shot List

Shot List

Shot one - close up, centre shot, eye level shot
Shot two - close up, centre shot, eye level shot
Shot three - medium shot, align left
Shot four - close up, centre shot, eye level shot
Shot five - medium shot, align right
Shot six - close up, centre align
Shot seven - medium shot, left align
Shot eight - medium close up, left align
Shot nine - close up shot, left align
Shot ten - close up shot, right align
Shot eleven - close up shot, centre align
Shot twelve - extreme close up shot, centre align
Shot thirteen - long shot, left align
Shot fourteen - medium close up, right align
Shot fifteen -long shot, two shot
Shot sixteen - medium close up, right align
Shot seventeen - long shot, two shot
Shot eighteen - close up shot, right align
Shot nineteen - close up shot, left align
Shot twenty - close up shot, centre align
Shot twenty-one - close up shot, right align, camera angled down to the right, moving camera
Shot twenty-two - close up shot, left align, pan right
Shot twenty-three - close up shot, left align, camera angled right, moving camera

Cast List

The song that we are using is SAIL -- By AWOLNATION

 

We are starting filming from the 45th second to 1:45 as this is just before the singing starts.

 

Cast List

Director - Harry Clark

Filming - Alex Ives

Girl with hose - Jaye Best

Main girl singing - Jessica Kelly

Risk Assessment

Props List

Hose

Flower pot (red flowers)

 

Costume

Denim shorts

Plain t-shirt (black/blue)

Black jeans

Yellow hat

Boots

Storyboard