How did you use media technologies in the planning, construction and evaluation stages.

When creating a music video, a lot of time and planning needs to go into it before it can be filmed. Costumes, scenes and the lyrics need to be assessed and evaluated before a story can be created.

Research into a music video is extremely important as it allows you to see already existing products that are successful. Looking at these videos will allow you to see what the directors did that was successful and what they did that wasn’t successful. It also allows you to see the codes and conventions that can be found in the genre.

YouTube is a key component to this research as it allowed me to see existing music videos which have been made for big time artists. It also allowed me to research into student made music videos in the same genre. This again allowed me to review and improve on the techniques used which made the music videos high quality. These are the music videos I researched into and used some of the conventions from when making my music video.

Whilst planning the music video, I used blogger which helped to keep track on all my research. It also allowed the group to see each other's ideas and it allowed us to combine our ideas and create a music video we were all a part of.







When constructing the music video, digipak and magazine advert rough ideas have to be drawn up and discussed between the group to decide what the video will look like in the end. The main points that need to be considered are scenes and lighting. I researched into different scenes from films and music videos to get an idea of the lighting and the mise en scene of those scenes. I found that in a more sinister film or music video the lighting is a lot darker and more naturalistic, whereas in a more cheery music video or film the scenes use more artificial lighting to create a more peaceful feel to the video. 
In our music video we used naturalistic lighting for our performance shots and darker artificial lighting for the narrative shots to show the contrast between the two scenes. The darker lighting in the music video gave connotations of the danger and death that would soon ensue. 
For filming we used a Sony HD camera and a tripod. The camera gave us a high quality picture which we could then adjust accordingly on iMovie, which is the editing programme we used to finalize our project. iMovie was extremely easy to use as it allowed us to easily cut and import the clips we had recorded in the filming stage. It also gave a wide range of filters which we used to help create the desired effect on our music video. 

On the magazine advert and the digipak we used similar lighting and shots to create a link between our ancillary products. In the production of the digipak and the magazine advert we used Photoshop after drawing up several designs by hand. Photoshop allowed us to play with the different designs that we had each come up with. When we finalized our design we then created a basic design on Photoshop. Photoshop is a very complex programme, however with time it can give extremely high quality products. Whilst designing the advert and digipak we tried different filters and text designs which we thought would suit the genre. In the end we went with a graffiti styled text font and added a small amount of cell-shading on the bricks of the wall. 
Again the internet was key in the research of this as it allowed me to see existing designs for magazine adverts and digipaks, which then gave me inspiration for my designs on my digipak.

Throughout the evaluation of the project I used iMessage, Facebook and Hotmail to get the music video and ancillary products out to friends and members of the target audience.
To answer the evaluation questions we were given, I used blogger, iMovie and YouTube to create different forms of media that I could then put onto my blog to create a multimedia way of answering the media questions.

What have I learned from the audience feedback.

Feedback on digipak design 1

Feedback on digipak design 2

Feedback on final digipak design

Feedback on magazine design 1

Feedback on magazine advert 2

Audience Feedback on Rough Cut 2 and rough cut 3

This looks like a very good music video, improvements would be that some of the shots seem to drag, so to cut them down a little bit,
another improvement would be to sync the first clip of the girl singing, as its not quite on point, also that the shots seem really dark, i understand its to reflect the song but its a bit hard to watch,

It's really good I like the filter all is old say is the lyrics are slightly out with Anna's lip syncing but that's it really good!

Its good only criticism is that Anna's miming is really bad

The only thing I could think of would be some interaction between Anna and the main character

 

We have taken into account all the feedback that we have received from a varied sample of friends, family, peers and teachers. Having listened carefully to their comments, we have produced our final designs.

The most important feedback that we gained was that the music video, the digipak design and the magazine advert should all be closely related in design, so that the three products linked together. From my research into my chosen genre of punk rock bands, I learnt that this linking of products is stereotypical of the genre. As a group we worked hard to achieve this link between the products and I am very pleased with the results. I feel that all three are linked by the same concepts and ideas and these are incorporated into the designs.

I feel that my studies of other products from punk rock bands was invaluable in these designs. I feel that our designs are very much in accordance with stereotypical representations, both in design and in colour.

This is our final music video. We took on board all of the feedback we were given which allowed us to make a product that appealed to our target audience.

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



 

 

 

When creating our music video, digipak and magazine advert we had to ensure that they all had some form of link between them. In the end we decided to have several links between the three products. The first is the word Cyanide which is the name of the song used in the music video, the poison that kills the main character in the music video and the title of the album. This is in a large graffiti styled font on the front of the magazine advert and the digipak.
The second link is the underpass used in the music video and the background of the digipak and the magazine advert. This was good link to use as it has graffiti al over it which is stereotypical of the punk rock genre.
We also decided to have an apple with a face graffittied onto the wall of the underpass which links the magazine advert and the digipak together. We used the graffiti style as it is stereotypical of the punk rock genre and would stand out from the other digipaks on sale.
On the digipak we decide to have pictures of the band members which would link to the music video. This again was another convention of the punk rock genre.

Overall I feel that there is a good link between each of the products as they all link to each other in at least one way.

What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop or Challenge Forms and Conventions of Real Media Products?

Both prior to beginning work on my music video and during the course of the production of the video, I have been inspired by exploring and examining other music videos, particularly videos from the punk rock genre. I personally very much enjoy this genre of music and it is my choice of music to listen to in my spare time. I thoroughly enjoy watching the music videos that accompany the tracks of this genre of music and I have gained a real insight into the forms and conventions used in videos in this genre.

I have chosen some of the videos that I used as inspiration and will highlight some of the key factors that interested me in these videos.

Bon Jovi is a group that I particularly admire, and one of my favourite tracks is It’s My Life. The accompanying video incorporates many conventions that are common to the punk rock genre. It is a performance and narrative based video, and it is this style which I have used in my video. I have incorporated shots of the band performing in an underpass and shots in the bar where the story told by the lyrics unfolds.  This video also contains many close-up shots of the lead singer and the rest of the band, and also close-up shots of the instruments, for instance the guitar being played. This is characteristic of this genre, and serves several purposes. It allows us as an audience to respect the work of the band and acknowledge their talent. It serves to bring the artist to the direct attention of the audience and makes them easily recognisable, promoting the track and selling more records for the band. This would be a requirement of the record label as they would want to achieve maximum publicity for the band. In my video, I have included close up shots of both the guitarist and his guitar, and the lead singer as she sings the song. The narrative of this song is also interesting, as it encourages people to live life to the full and take risks while they are young and before it is too late. I can relate this to my video as the boy is prepared to take a risk and start a new relationship. Also the old girlfriend is prepared to take a risk and right what she sees as a wrong done to herself. As in the Bon Jovi song, she doesn’t fear anything. Most of the Bon Jovi video is set in a darker scene, again stereotypical of this genre of music. In my video, the scene in the underpass was shot under natural light, while the scene in the pub was dark, lit with bright artificial lights creating a more sinister, false atmosphere.

Many videos that I have watched contain intertextual references. This is true of the Bon Jovi hit It’s My Life where there is a reference to the song My Way by Frank Sinatra. In Blink 182’s song All The Small Things, they make a mockery of three well known boy Bands and their songs. The songs and bands referenced are:

I Want It That Way-The Backstreet Boys

Tearin’ up my heart-N Sync

Because Of You-98 Degrees.

The aim of intertextuality is to either parody or pay homage to the reference. In All The Small Things, this parodies the numerous boy bands, whereas in It’s My Life, Bon Jovi pays homage to Frank Sinatra. I have not made intertextual references in my video.

I was very keen to incorporate different camera techniques into my video and I have looked at different techniques in other videos of the punk rock genre. Skillet is a Christian rock band and I particularly admire their work. In the video Monster, there are several camera techniques that I find interesting and that I wanted to incorporate into my video. In this video, they use a technique where the camera shakes both from side to side and up and down. This mimics movement and emphasises the fact that the video is as energetic as the music. This shakiness increase as the video develops, but it is cleverly controlled, for it does not mean that the audience cannot see what is happening in the video. I wanted to try to use this, but I worried that it just looked as if the camera was not being held steadily and it looked rather amateurish. In this video I am also interested in the shot where the band member is in the foreground but the attention of the audience is drawn to the doctor in the background. This is an interesting technique whereby the performance of the band is linked to the narrative of the lyrics.

Green Day is perhaps my favourite band and I find all their music and their videos very inspirational. Jesus of Suburbia is my favourite track and the video has many ideas which conform to and challenge the stereotypical ideas associated with the punk rock genre. One aspect of this video that I find fascinating is the way that the band is shown performing on a television. This is very much challenging the stereotypical presentation of a punk rock band performing, as this is usually done either on a stage in a live concert or out in the open air. I was not sure how I could incorporate this idea into my video.

Aggression is very much a part of this genre of music and is shown throughout this video. This is very obvious in the scene where the lead singer shouts into a mirror at his own reflection.

Drugs are referred to throughout the lyrics of this song. This is an aspect I wished to use in my video as I used the cyanide pill in the glass. In the frame where the lead singer is shown with dilated eyes and a dazed expression, I wanted to recreate this look in the scene where the boy falls to the ground after being drugged.

Lighting is very important and it is something I was keen to get right in my music video. In Jesus of Suburbia the video is shot with dark scenes which are stereotypical of the punk rock genre and connote anger, aggression, violence and rebellion. In my video I wished to use lighting to create a sinister atmosphere in the bar where the murder took place. This was contrasted by the natural lighting in the underpass. The lighting of the music video 21 Guns by Green Day is very low-key so as to create a dark and sinister atmosphere. At the climax of the song the lighting fades to near darkness to show the bullet holes in the wall which in turn creates a romantic atmosphere for the couple. I aimed to incorporate the lighting techniques used in these videos to aid me in my video so I followed the conventions of this genre. I incorporated the low-key lighting in the narrative shots to create a sinister and evil atmosphere where the boyfriend gets poisoned by his ex. I have also used slightly higher key lighting when the cyanide gets put in the glass so as to emphasise the importance of the action. I will use very naturalistic lighting for the performance shots of the guitarist and the singer so as to show that they are the main focus of the video and add a sense of realism to the performance.

The graffiti on the walls in Jesus of Suburbia are very dramatic. The main character has done the graffiti on the walls to show messages in the song and to emphasise certain parts of the lyrics. Many videos of the punk rock genre contain graffiti. It is part of the message of rebellion and anti-establishment feelings that are often put forward in this genre. I included this element in my video, as there is graffiti all over the walls in the underpass where the performance shots were filmed. This helped to associate my music video to the punk rock genre.

Another favourite track of mine by Green Day is 21 Guns. This has a lot of close up shots of the male and female leads which show the real emotion on their face and links to the lyrics of the song. This is going to be very much a part of my video, as I particularly want to portray the anguish of the girlfriend and the desperation which drives her to commit murder.

In the video 21 Guns by Green Day, the mise en scene used creates a lasting image of the music video making it very memorable to the viewer. The costumes worn by the band members and the characters in this video are dark which are a generic convention of the genre. The dark coloured clothing worn by both the actors and the band members creates a link between them throughout the song. I incorporated these ideas of costumes into my music video by having the characters and the band members both in dark coloured clothes to create a link between the lead singer and the characters.

The video Dance Dance by Fallout Boy use lyrics to help create the scenes in which the music video take place. In the main chorus of the song, ‘Dance Dance’ is said, and as this happens the crowd surrounding the band immediately break into their own unique dances. There are numerous shots of the dances that happen in the music video.

The music video 21^st Century Breakdown also uses this technique as they have numerous links to the lyrics in the visuals. For example, in the lyrics it says ‘Thrown the Bouquet’ and the music video has a man throwing a bouquet of flowers into the camera. It also has at the start a series of refinery chimneys and factories which again link to the lyrics of the videos.

I incorporated this technique into my music video as the song title is Cyanide and the narrative involves cyanide being put into a drink to poison someone. The song also talks about broken hearts which again links to the narrative as it involves a breakup between a couple. We also used the line ‘Begging on my knees’ to help us with our music video as we have a shot of the lead singer singing this line on her knees which creates a direct link between the visuals and the lyrics.

In my music video I have tried to follow the generic conventions of the punk rock genre as best as I could. I have done this by using dark costumes, which were inspired mainly by Green Day, which are a generic convention of the genre. One of the locations used are a tunnel with graffiti all over the walls. This created a punk atmosphere as the genre is stereotypically associated with this. Death and violence are recurring themes in punk rock genre, so I incorporated these themes into my music video. 

These are images from our music video and some other music video screenshots. This shows the shots that we used that were similar in style to the ones from existing music videos.