Video Diary

This Video Diary is a reflection of the last day shooting the performance footage, by using the green screen effect. During this session, we covered both the chorus and the verses aspect. The footage taken earlier was to say the least unsatisfactory and it lacked the very essence of hip-hop videos, the enthusiasm. We made sure the rapper(Allin) showed his enthusiasm while recording, by telling him to make hand gestures while rapping signifying the lyrics as he is rapping. In my role as director of this project, I also had the singer(Jerome) to take on a RnB singer persona, which typically involve dancing to reflect that aspect. I used various different camera angles with obvious connotation such as a worm's eye view symbolises dominance, key aspects into creating hip-hop videos.

Music Videos That Have a Narrative

This is Eminem's hit song "Stan" featuring Dido,  this is a powerful story about a crazed fan who goes to desperate lengths to meet his idol, Eminem. The narrative structure is present from the beginning when the titular character Stan argues with his pregnant girlfriend who happens to be the featured performer. When he goes to his basement surrounded by Eminem posters surrounding him. He pretends it is a shrine, and treats it as if it is. The frustration you see in Stan is shown by his body language, the way in which he aggressively writes the letter to Eminem and the way in which he recites his lyrics and makes himself feel like Eminem. The use of lighting is key in this video, the way in which Stan;s room is dark, symbolizes dark, oppressed and emphasizes his frustration. The way in which they used the climate, winter to give the tone of this video which is very dark and it's focused more on the narrative with the lyrical content complimenting the narrative aspect of it  This music video, is so narrative centered it makes it seem more of a short film than a actual music video, with little performance footage from the main artist the audio is there to reflect the video rather than the other way around.

Photo shoot for both Digipak and Magazine Advert

This is a selection of photos, that can potentially be in the final digipak, and magazine advert. 

                         These two photos are there to be placed back to back, showing the clash of both genres.

 This photo can be used as a feature page in the magazine advert. Me and my group are going to create this shot will be effective as the male actor is dressed to fit the genre of music which is Hip hop and R&B the hood and the baseball cap are key conventions of the hip hop genre.

The reason, we will not proceed with this photo is because the performer is supposed to represent the singer Will.i.Am, whilst 95% of the costume fits his representation the baseball cap takes this representation into hip hop. Will.I.Am's genre is R&B so we will re shoot this pose but with a different hat.

Out of the two images above this I would most likely use this one for the simple reason the representation of this shot suggests this performer (Jerome) is an R&B singer the significance of this is the contrast between the costumes of the two male performer, Male performer 1 in grey has an urban hip hop representation whilst, Male actor 2 has a softer R&B representation and the combination of these two photos can be used to fit into the music genre of hip hop and R&B.

The body language of this performer two fits the R&B genre and can be manipulated well to in a magazine.

In conclusion i believe the photo shoot was successful as we obtained a variety of photographs which I can use and manipulate effectively to create a digital package that is fit for purpose and relates to my music genre as well as being targeted to my target audience.

Equipments We Used

Our Record Label - Final Analysis

The record label from Maah246

Character Planning

These are side by side photo's, of both Allin and The Game. As you can see there are similarities between them both, they both are dressed in urban clothing reflecting the fashion trend in the Hip-Hop community. We can use Allin as the lead artist in the music video, because he's clothing resembles the urban clothing seen in Hip-Hop videos. As he is in our group it will be easier to get hold of him aswell.

This is a side by side photo, of both Jerome and Will.i.Am. As Will.i.Am does the vocals on the chorus, he also dresses very different to Common, he shows his sophistication whilst still retaining his urban background. I thought Jerome would be a perfect fit for the role of Will.i.Am, as he does dress in that same manner, sophisticated but still retaining his original fashion. I was very fortunate that he is part of this group, this in return will prove to be easier when trying to contact him, because he will be motivated to make this project a success.

Music magazine advert analysis

This is a magazine advert that would have been intended to fill a page of a music magazine. Magazine advertising is a huge business worth billions and marketers use magazines as a way of promoting artists work or upcoming tour. Evident on many music adverts is a prominent feature image of the star in question, in this instance it is Wretch 32. The advert is somewhat less informative than other types of media it simply informs the viewer of the artist, the work and the release date. It does however sell the album by letting the reader know of the talent that has helped produce the album. The image of Wretch 32 is a casual yet romantic one of him he could easily be seen as a role model because of his enviable style and suaveness.

If you don't know who the artist is, it is quite easy to see from a cultured youths point of view that he is a producer of urban music and this is given away by his choice of clothing, his race and the block of flats situated behind his shoulder denoting that he is from 'the streets'. He may not be from 'the streets' at all it could be a marketing ploy to engage viewers who are from working class backgrounds who would be interested in this artist. Blumner and Katz's 1974 uses and gratifications theory would suggest that viewers of this main gain personal identity with the image and if so will be more inclined to purchase the album. 

Although the image cleverly and subtly implores techniques that imply that the image is loyal, i would still say that the audience views this from a negotiated position in accordance to Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model because the viewer

sees what the artist/producer/music management team want you to see.

Rough Sketch Of Magazine Advert

This is a rough of our Magazine Advert, this is a concept of our magazine advert. After analysing magazine adverts I knew what ours had to include, conventions like; album name and artists, ratings, where its available at, what date it is out or out now, the no.1 single it includes and possibly a picture of the album.

The Record Label (Work in Progress)

This is a first draft of the record label for the music video, this is a concept and while this is still a work in progress an idea that will come to fruition.

Audience Feedback - First Draft

This is a video response to our first draft of our music video, I went around and asked fellow peers what they had thought about the music video we produced. The feedback that they gave us, is going to allow us to implement changes necessary to fit into our music video. I have to agree looking back onto the video I can see where we might have went wrong, there were too much performance in the video, while we forgot to add key elements such as connotations to help navigate the audience into the narrative. I have also looked at contemporary Hip Hop/RnB music video examples examine the use of cross-cutting and abstract scenes. By analysing the feedback provided I now have a clear vision of how we should approach the music video, and follow conventions of Hip Hop/RnB music videos.

Rough Sketch Of Our Digipak

Behind the scenes footage

This is a behind the scenes footage of the music video, as you can see that both performers are on the same scene. We had an interesting idea of having both performers, so that they can intercept each others parts of the song. This is an interesting idea, and we will add it to where it is necessary.

The Editing Process

These are photos from where I was editing, as you can see i'm using the keyer to utilise the green screen, and put a background which conveys and effectively represent what we're trying to achieve. I'm also experimenting with different filters such as "spot" which strengthens the light in one area, this is to emphasize the lost romance, by using this technique it allows us to stretch the narrative and aid the audience into the key moments of the music video.

Digipak Analysis

This is my analysis of David Guetta's Album digipak, what I gathered from analysing this digipak is that this does without fail signifies what genre this falls under and I feel with the use of black and white it further exemplifies the genre and gives specific connotations to back it self up 

Music Video Analysis

Music video analysis from Maah246

Music Video(Work in Progress)

This is what the music video looks like so far, this is still in working progress. The feedback from audiences has been noted and have been improved, I will just need to add the keyer onto the green screen backgrounds and then find an appropriate background, we have thought about adding a background that reflects the tone of the music and ultimately convey the idea we are trying to put forward. Bear in mind that this is the unfinished video which explains the distorted audio.

Intertextuality

“The idea that a given text is a response to what has already been written, be it explicit or implicit; the reference to another separate and distinct text within a text”

Intertextuality is where something takes influence.from something else, different conventions. For example, music video's taking the medium and conventions from film to put in to music video's. Influences from one media e.g. film/fashion/videogames are found in another media e.g. music videos.

Here we can see the same scene has been used in the film Inception, and with the music video 6 foot 7 by Lil Wayne. Lil Wayne uses intertextuality in his music video '6 foot 7', which was directed by Hype Williams, he uses conventions from Inception within this. As we can see on the left Lil Wayne appears within his music video to be falling back into a bathtub, in the same scenario, same close setting, and even down to similar costume as the inception film.

Little White Lies & Total Film Comparison

Representation of Women in Music Video's

Representation of Women in Music Videos

Digipak Analysis

Presentation2 from Maah246

Lyrics Planning

What makes a good/successful music video

What is the main purpose of a music video?

The purpose of a music video is to;

1) Sell the song, and invoke a reaction so it leaves you remembering the song

2) To give the listener a better understanding of the song. (If the video is narrative)

3) To entertain (to show off other talents the musician may have, for example dancing or acting)

4) To sell CDs and DVDs to viewers. Creating a memorable visual for the song increases its chances to sell

5) Marketing for the purposes of exposure and expansion of the artist's profile:

Despite all of these being factors in why a music video is important, some people argue that the end result still has to serve one purpose: promotion. The music video is a promotional tool for the artist. It sometimes serves as a conduit to attention from a label, but more often it is a catalyst for CD sales or artist song downloads

What makes a good/successful music video 

Generally, successful music videos are predominantly based around close-ups and mid-shots, some of which will be of the singer or the band. As in most TV this is partly due to the size of the screen as well as to meet the desire of the viewer so that they feel personally connected to their band or artist.

It could be argued that the music video is a means of advertising; if people who are not yet fans are able to view a music video which is exciting and captivating, they will have a stronger desire to buy the artists records than if they were exposed to an uninteresting music video.

Continually, to maintain audience interest, directors and editors make sure to use the most effective means of editing in music videos. This is known as ‘fast cut montage’ which does not allow the viewer to be immediately aware of what the images are as they move so quickly, meaning that they will want to watch the sequence again to have a greater understanding; thus ensuring a higher level of hits on websites like ‘Youtube’ while keeping the audience interest very high.

And example of a music video which uses the technique of ‘fast cut montage’ is the ‘Hype Williams’edit of Big Sean's "Marvin & Chardonnay".

Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' was listed by Guinness World Records in 2006 as the "most successful music video", selling over 9 million. In 2009, the video was inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, the first music video to ever receive this honor  This was for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant. 

Andrew Goodwin's Theory (applies to all Music Videos)

Andrew Goodwin has identified a number of key features in music videos. They are:

- A relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.
- A relationship between the music and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music.
- Genre-related style and iconography present.
- Multiple close-ups of the main artist or vocalist.
- Voyeurism often plays a major part, especially in relation to females.

- Inter textual references to other media texts may be present.

He says that music videos are often constructed by the link between the visuals and the song plus the artist. Relationships are built between these in the video, and the close-ups of the artists gives them the representation and publicity they require. Voyeurism is used to increase the video’s attractiveness, particularly to males, whilst intertextuality is often employed in humorous videos.

Many of these features are present in all music videos, depending on the genre of the song and the aim of the record company/artist.

This is an example of a music video, that utilises Andrew Goodwin's theory, this is the Hype Williams directed music video by Lil Wayne's song "6 foot, 7 foot".

I Want You - Lyrics Breakdown

I Want You Lyrics

Location Analysis

The reason we picked this location is because it bears a close resemblance to the Eiffel Tower, this fits perfectly with the imagery we are trying to compose. The Eiffel Tower is the romantic hot spot in France so we wanted to utilize it to compliment the narrative.

The ducks symbolizes union and security, we wanted to present that connotation in our music video, its important to include subliminal messages in our music video 

The steps shown in our music, symbolizes ambition and desire. These Steps are in crystal palace park and instantly I thought this would be effective location for performance scenes where the main artist can rap on theses steps from a worms eye view, or featured artist can sing and dance on these steps with a long shot being used to capture the entire profile of featured artist.

Laura Mulvey's "Male Gaze" Theory

—Laura Mulvey coined the term ‘Male Gaze’ in 1975. She believes that in film audiences have to ‘view’ characters from the perspective of a heterosexual male.
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Features of the “Male Gaze”:

• —The camera lingers on the curves of the female body, and events which occur to women are presented largely in the context of a man's reaction to these events. 

• —Relegates women to the status of objects. The female viewer must experience the narrative secondarily, by identification with the male.

This theory applies to the genre in which we are trying to follow the Hip-Hop genre, the genre has known for being controversial regarding the "Male Gaze" by the way in which they portray women in their videos.

Examples of Music Videos, which conform to the "Male Gaze"

Britney Spears - Toxic

50 Cent - Candy Shop

Scouting For Girls - She's So Lovely

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Research into Existing Music Magazines

This is our magazine research for the magazine advert we are eventually going to do. The research will help us in doing so

Director Case Study

Filming Schedule

- Tuesday - 8.30 to 10.30 - At this times we will try and film either the chorus sections, or go off-site and film the rest
- Weekends-Free Periods- We will film in off-site locations such as the park, the high street etc.

Review for the first day of shooting the chorus

Video hook shooting review from jaystarzy

Lighting

Today we were taught about lighting and how as directors of our music video, we have the ability if we so desire to manipulate the type of lighting and the effect of this may create in the drama studio at school. The drama studio is best for shooting scenes of a play  or something which needs a very precise effect or feel about it, for example, the contrast in Kanye West's "All of The Lights" most of the video would have been created in a studio.

First Day of Shooting the Narrative Footage

This was the first day of shooting the narrative footage for the music video, this was a productive day as we were able to get amazing footage. We experimented with different camera angles to convey the theme of love which is shown through the flashback footage we got, over the shoulder shots, low angle shots, establishing shots and panning shots. The use of natural lighting will prove to be effective as it can have different undertones and convey different connotations.

Video Diary - Shooting the Chorus

This was the second day of filming for our music video, in which we used the drama studio. We are going to use the green screen, to add different background's for the singer that effectively represent the genre. The day was productive as we experimented with different camera angles and different lighting to convey different meanings. We thought about having a strobe light effect, but then the footage that came out of it had this black flash on the camera, I think we would hold off using the strobe lights for now, if we can fix the problem we will definitely think about using it.

Music Video Filming Schedule

This is a filming schedule for our music video, these are days in which we hope to get the necessary footage for our music video. We hope to stick to this schedule without any interruption.

Influence

Music video analysis (r&b) from jaystarzy

This is a music video by Hip Hop artist Lupe Fiasco featuring R&B singer Trey Songz. This video is a huge inspiration for the making of our music video. The way in which the director uses natural lighting to convey key aspects and themes of the song. It has made us understand the key concept of lighting and the way in which it could be used for creating effect.

Music Videos that have inspired us

This Music Video by Eamon "F**k it" was a massive inspiration, through the use of flashback, and the relation between the lyrics and video. The way in which they were able to cleverly distinguish between flashback and reality through the use of colours to convey the memories and stretch the narrative. This video is primarily a narrative structured music video with the performance scenes blending into the narrative.

This is a great examples of story driven music video, this is hopefully what we want to accomplish through our music video, we want to be able to have that perfect blend between performance and narrative.

Music Magazine Analysis