Final Music Video

Hot Stop-Adventure Of A Lifetime from joshcoulson on Vimeo.

Final Treatmant

Here is our final treatment for our music video which Josh Coulson developed and improved. This is to help suit the audience requirements. 

The beginning scene will start with a medium wide shot which will pan slowly across the studio. This will help set the scene to our production and create ease of audience viewing. This will also show the audience every band member as they walk past the field of view. The idea behind the narrative is a girl and boy who have broken up. However despite being apart they are grateful as it was the "Adventure Of A Lifetime". The character playing the boyfriend is also the main singer as he sings the song from his own outlook. For the majority of the music video it will incorporate various shots of the band playing live. These will include close-ups and tracking shots of the narrative and live band. The live band will be edited to advance swiftly to and from shots conducting the story of the couples breakup. The protagonist will be lip synced as the song lyrics commence. The protagonist will be introduced with an opening close-up shot. The video will then cast over single shots of each band member to show there importance in the song as well as the main singer. 

Final Digipak

This is the final digipak that we have decided to use. Again, this was created by Josh, and we decided to use both his magazine poster and digipak, so that continuity was shown with the photos used in both products.

Final Magazine Poster

The poster below is the one our group has chosen to use as our final poster. This poster was created by Josh Coulson. we decided to use both his magazine poster and digipak, so that continuity was shown with the photos used in both products.

Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Below is an Emaze I have created for the evaluation question 'What have you learned from your audience feedback?'. In the PowerPoint I have included feedback from our first feedback on our draft music video. 

Evaluation Question 2

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

 

Creating synergy between media texts is something producers use to help to sell and advertise their products. My brief was to create a music video, digipak and magazine advert to create a brand for a new upcoming artist. In order to create a brand identity, it was essential to create similarities between the products so that features of each product allow the audience to identify the artist easily. I believe that the overall branding of my artist was successful because I created similarities between my three texts through the use of colour, text, font style and size and promotional features like my production company logo.
 

In the music video we shot our band from a lot of different shots to give is a wider range to choose from, but also so that we could show the audience the whole setting I the scenes of the Pell. So when it came to creating the digipak, we took a range of images in the same locations in order to link the two products together. By doing this I feel like the combination between the music video and the digipak/magazine is effective as it creates a sense of continuity.

On my digipak, I have used a range of images on each panel which include the band members together and as individuals. This was because I wanted the audience to be enabled to connect with the band by having a visual of their appearance. I decided this because the band is not yet well-established, so by creating a design for a digipak that uses a range of images, their faces and individuality can be easily recognised in the future from the audience and this will help with promotion. I used mainly long/mid shots when capturing the images for my digipak because in the music video. Also we used images of the park on our digipak in order to link the location of the music video with the album.

Evaluation Question 1

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

From our music video our group managed to develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products within our own production. Our music promo is based on a narrative and performance based video. This shows scenes of the story of a couple in a park and the band playing in a studio. Narrative and performance based videos are commonly the most used type of promo with present day artists. By choosing to do this style we were able to use more camera shots/angles and fully cover mise-en-scene. This was particularly within props and lighting as we used a studio with bright lights that helped create the effect of us playing live. The props we used were musical instruments that were needed if we were going to look like we were playing the drums, guitar and singing into microphone. I think that by us mixing both performance and narrative promo's we were able to challenge the typical conventions by creating a more unique style of music video.
 

In our music video we used various camera shots/angles, which would be seen in real promos, this helped support the conventions of real media productions. To achieve this we analysed different music videos from narrative types and performance types. In the performance based videos we analysed, it was apparent that many close up shots were used to see the facial expressions of each character. This created a more quality feel to the video and showed the importance of the band members, especially the main singer. In order to perform the close-up shots we had to perfect the lip sync for it to look professional. We also performed close-ups of the instruments as we were performing.

The band members within our group took on a similar style to that of Coldplay. The pop rock genre is usually male groups, which meant our group or band members suit the conventions of real promos. This is not the case throughout all genres as women play a large roles in other genres such as pop where groups like Little Mix, Fifth Harmony or singular artists such as Britney Spears or Beyoncé are all high up in the music industry. The gender chosen for our promo is the most conventional choice. This is because it also appeals more to our audience, as they are familiar to the conventions of an all male band.

In our music video we partially took on the conventions of everyday music promos. This is because we used 2 different locations, which included a park and our drama studio. The outside scenes included shots of a canal, bridge and a woods. Due to the different locations throughout the video I feel as though we slightly challenged typical conventions of many music promo's. We used the drama studio for performance scenes as this allowed us to set up instruments and chose our desired lighting. The performance part of our music video stayed within normal conventions as we followed a similar format. Some of the shots such as the close up were inspired by this particular music promo.

For props the audience would see that we followed all the normal key conventions, which would be expected within a narrative/performance, based video. In fact the most common and conventional props used are the instruments that are seen within the shots of the drama studio. At first the normal conventions of our shots looked unprofessional, as none of us knew how to play an instrument. This made the shots of the performance look cheap and tacky. Were-filmed the bad shots within the sequence, this helped us follow key conventions. By using props it helped us identify the roles of every band member that is key to typical conventional roles. By doing this it helps reduce errors and develop key conventions.
 

Editing is key to making a video run smoothly and to be able to appeal to our audience. In real music promo's you will notice that the video cuts to the music. This is apparent in most music promo's, just a few promo's are edited out of beat to the music. For our video we chose to follow normal conventions and cut the song to the beat of the music. This would be a safer, easier option. This would also look a lot more appealing to our audience. As you will see in our song it only cuts to the beat at certain points. The rest of the song is edited to merge slowly which will fit the pace of the song. In my opinion this will keep our audience more engaged than a promo that is cut out of time with the music.

Music artists have had an increase in dressing up more and more casual. The pop rock artists such as Coldplay are beginning to dress in casual clothes as well as have there own themed clothes which they wear in promo's like their latest video 'Hymn For The Weekend'. Unfortunately we could not grab hold of Coldplay themed outfits but instead used casual clothes and shirts, which fit well with the theme and are being more commonly used within the promo industry. Choosing to dress in casual outfits as well as shirts helped us appeal to our audience of young and middle aged men/women.
 

Within our promo we have correlated Andrew Goodwins theory to help follow and develop forms and conventions. Our type of music video would come under amplification due to our performance/narrative-based style. Within our video we have stylised the genre to fit the song. This is visual in the iconography of the promo. The bright colours match the outdoor and studio shot scenes. This also suits the genre of pop rock. The use of black and white symbolizes a sad time period. This also provides the appearance of past tense. We ensured that emphasis would be on the main singer of the band. This would make it clear to our audience who the song is focused on. Another Goodwin theory we followed was editing cut to the beat which I apparent at the beginning of the song. However we did use slow merging cuts as this fit the pace of the music and helped with continuity editing.

For my digipak to be successful I had to ensure the use of key form and conventions. The 1st key convention I followed was including the track list on the back cover of the digipak. I used this as it is very common amongst digipaks and would hard to challenge as my audience would be unable to see what songs are included in the album. I included images of the band members including 3 of the main singer. This permits our audience to adhere the band but more so with the main member of the band. The band name and album title is situated on the front cover. This notifies the audience of the band and the name of their new album. The last convention which is key to follow was a bar code and QR code which gives the audience a way to interact with the band and there new releases direct from their website. 

 

To help sell my album I have created a band poster. This has followed most of the key conventions that should be used to sell an album. I have included band name and album name, as this is essential for our audience to know. I have then included awards from NME of the albums success as well as page links to follow the bands movements. This shows our audience the album is worth buying and also keeps in touch with the audience to keep them following.  I will include a QR code to allow the audience to access more pages with information of the band. This gives the audience a fun way to communicate with the band and there new releases.

 

I am confident in the fact that we have followed the majority of forms and conventions within our promo. This follows almost every Goodwin convention, as we didn’t really challenge any major forms, as this would make the video non-appealing to a larger audience.  

Creating my Digipak and Magazine Advert

Creating my Digipak and Magazine Advert

The Influence of Music Videos and the Synergy Created

Music videos have a huge effects on other media products. This is mainly in the configuration of synergy through a cross-media convergence.  MTV was one of the largest influences as it has been going since the 1980s and was once the only way to advertise music videos. Since then there has been an increase in influence of music videos on the internet on sites such as YouTube and Vevo, as so many people across the world have access to the internet to be able to get onto these sites. Synergy corresponds to film trailers and is displayed in production of promos. These videos help to sell the singles and albums and boost the artists recognition. They now frequently aid the success in the sales of films.

Conventions of a magazine advert

Below I have embedded a photo of some magazine posters that I have annotated and explained what all magazine posters include and what some include.

Analysis of a Magazine Advert

Below is a page I have created analysing the album Blueprint 3 by Jay-Z.

Magazine poster Advert analysis

Audience Feedback on our Final Music Video

Audience Feedback A2 Media from joshcoulson on Vimeo.




Above I have embedded a copy of the audience feedback we received from some of our target audience. We used the online tool Vimeo, which we paid £49.95 a year for. This shows how dedicated we are to achieving a high grade.

Final Audience Feedback On My Final Digipak

Sketches of My Digipak

Below is a sketch/outline I have made to help me for my digipak. I will include individual photos of each band member, plus 2 band photos.

Photographs of Filming and Editing

Lighting and Camera Workshop

As with any moving image, how the camera is used and how the images are sequenced has a significant impact on meaning. Camera movement, angle and shot distance all need to be analysed. Camera movement may accompany the movement of performers such as walking or dancing but it may also be used to create a more dynamic feel to stage performance, for instance by constantly circling the band as they perform on stage. The close up camera shot dominates, as in most TV, partly because of the size of the screen and partly to create a sense of intimacy for the viewer. It also emphasises half of the commodity on sale – the artist, and particularly the voice.


John Stewart of the music video production company Oil Factory said, that he sees the music video as essentially having the aesthetics of the TV commercial, with lots of close ups and lighting to focus on the star’s face.


Before you even open a light stand, it's important to select a location to film and roughly find your shot. Ask a friend to stand in, then walk around with a camera and take a few shots to choose your shot location. As you're finding that perfect shot, consider the light that comes with it. Avoid shooting under overhead lighting. This type of lighting creates shadowing, which isn't very flattering. Moving your actors over a small amount can often make a huge difference in the nasty shadows cast from overhead lights.

Production Company

I have decided to call my production company JHJ productions. This is because it is the first initial of each member of our group. The production company name features on the front of a vinyl record to relate to music. I have placed an imagine of this below.