A2 Media - My Perspective

Production of music video: Reflection on filming

Successfulness of costume choices:
Our costume choices have changed and developed through our planning to pitch.
I believe our costume choices are successful. Red is the main focus which is shown through the bandana, lipstick and red vans. Two out of the three outfits are monochrome which keeps it simple as one outfit is very bright and colourful.

Successfulness of locations:
Angel 'Love what you do' - This was successful as the background is very colourful and bright which matches the song and our artist.
Carnaby Street: As there was too many people in Carnaby Street, they would disrupt our filming by staring, asking questions, getting in the way, bringing attention to themselves on camera we decided to use a nearby street next to Carnaby Street which was similar but much more quieter. Although it is to be expected the general public still did make filming harder as they were a distraction. However the location Newburgh Street still had the same visual effect we imagined for Carnaby Street.
Bombay Burrito: We gained permission from Bombay Burrito to film as we particularly liked their decor, black and white wallpaper. The shots in there were extremely successful as we went after the lunch rush, it was very quiet and other people were not a distraction! There was lots of space to set up the dedo light too which was great.
Southbank: We filmed on the merry go round which didn't come out as expected. It went really fast so the camera was shaky and dark. We also filmed infront of a colourful painting in Southbank, this also attracted the attention of people but as we weren't in the middle of the pathway we were still able to film good shots.
Leak Tunnel: In this tunnel, there is graffiti and spray paint everywhere. It is extremely creative and cool in there despite the fumes. Our shots worked well in there, Li got increasingily confident as a performer too so her body language was very effective.
Infront of the London Eye (Southbank): We filmed on the grass here. It went well!

My Group and I

Production of Music Video: Photos - Day Four

Production of Music Video: Vlogs 28th Oct

Production of Music Video: Filming Day Four

What went well?

• Finished what we planned to do today
• Stayed within time and didn't finish too late
• Had time to relax and take a break too
• Kept all equipment 
• Ensured safety when in traffic and filming in public places
• Worked excellently as a team

What could've gone better?

• If we had more battery charge, we could've filmed more
• Got there a bit early today so had to wait until Bombay Burrito was empty
• If we didn't lose footage from last time, today could've been finished quicker

What's next?

• Give back equipment tomorrow by 10.30am
• See what footage looks like on a bigger screen and plan what needs to be done again
• Empty out memory cards and put footage onto video drive
• Re-do the storyboard with our new shots
• Re-do animatic

Production of Music Video: Photos - Day Three

Production of Music Video: Vlog 27th Oct

Production of Music Video: Filming Day Three

What went well?

• Got loads of footage with a variety of shot types
• Kept equipment safe
• Stayed safe and together
• Worked well as a team
• Managed even with difficulties

What could've gone better?

• The SD card stopped working so we had to go out and buy a new one
• If we had our boy ready for our shooting today, we could've filmed that scene
• Met a bit late so lost some time

What's next?

• Re-film filming day one shots (not a lot)
• Scene in the cafe with bad/good boys
• More close-ups 
• Give all equipment back on Wednesday

Production of music video: Notes for evaluation question 1

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

Production of music video: Skills development

Production of Music Video: Photos - Day Two

Production of Music Video: Vlog 26th Oct

Production of Music Video: Filming Day Two

What went well?

• Got lots of footage for scenes with a variety of shot types
• Travelled around the area to end up finding even better settings for our video
• Worked well as a team
• Didn't waste time
• Kept equipment, making sure it was all safe
• Avoided risks and problems

What could've gone better?

• If we were a bit earlier (time-keeping)
• Had the whole group there to film
• Public got in the way so some time was wasted (not a lot)
• We filmed on the merry go round but it didn't go well because of the noise so we couldn't hear our performer sing & the lighting was bad too. It also looked very wobbly because of the moving horses

What's next?

• Shooting the cafe scene tomorrow
• Travel to Carnaby Street and shoot our first shot 
• Any re-shooting that needs to be done 
• Making sure the clothes are consistent and outfits too (continuity)

Production of Music Video: Photos - Day One

Production of Music Video: Vlog 25th Oct

Production of Music Video: Filming Day One

What went well?

• Got a variety of footage and shot types
• Used time wisely 
• Brought all equipment that was needed
• Kept all equipment safe as well as staying safe too

What could've gone better?

• Having all group members there
• Meeting earlier
• Coming prepared, e.g. lip stick and knowing exactly what to do in specific shots

What's next?

• Tomorrow we will be shooting near South Bank at the merry-go-round for our base tracks
• We will also be filming the shots with the performer on the grass
• We need to film the cafe shot on Monday with two boys for our performer

Production of Music Video: Introducing Saffron (Photoshoot)

Now that we have photos of our artist and showing that she is promoting her new single for her album, we've uploaded these onto the Instagram account for her which builds up an image too. We used a wide range of shots that can also be used for the digipak and advertisement such as close-ups and long shots. Using the dedo light, we could add extra artificial light and it looked very effective.

The bright and colourful background of the wall allowed our theme to run through continuously and also made our artist's dark hair and clothes stand out against the background too.

Production of music video: Updated production schedule

After our pitch, we finalised our choice of locations and the days we plan to film in each location.

Planning: Costume changes

From our research into pop music videos, we found that there are multiple costume changes so we have decided to use the conventions and have costume changes in our music video too. Here we demonstrate the reasoning behind our final costume choices and show them below!

Planning - Practice filter video

We tried a test of a filter we could use for our music video. Our performer is getting used to the lyrics and the use of the top light was useful because it added an extra effect for the video too.

We will work in a brighter environment so it'll look more professional and of better quality. We will use more edits too.

Practice Filming

We had Anuli practice filming with the song and she's got her new hair (yay) to suit our artist's theme and look. We used the following equipment:

1. Top light
2. Camera
3. Battery
4. Fig Rig

• We used different shots such as medium shots, close-ups and long shots.
• Anuli used her body language well by keeping it vibrant, fun and upbeat.
• Using the top light whilst moving it about with the artist adds to a funky theme and keeps it upbeat, again.

Filming shots using BeFunky

Production of Music Video: Ideas for Evaluation Question 1

Production of Music Video: Skills development

Planning: Product placement in music videos

Product placement is when companies subtly promote their products, usually without explicit reference to the product. Most commonly, branded products are features in movies, television shgows or other media. 

This is an example of product placement on TV. Here we can see Coca Cola drinks on the table, so this promotes Coca Cola whilst American Idol is on. Judges are seen holding and drinking the drink too.

However, product placement in music videos have been increasingly popular recently. Artists earn money from companies asking to feature in their videos, and the companies earn money from the publicity they receive. In 2010, Lady Gaga - Telephone was the first music video to shock people as it featured 9 brands of product placement (shown below).

Product placement doesn't always have to be advertising products from other brands! Britney Spears often promotes herself and her perfumes in her videos, which helps to advertise her perfume to a wider audience. For example in Britney Spears - Hold It Against Me her perfume 'Radiance' is promoted.

Analysis of the digipak for final song choice

Planning: Overview (Audience task)

What we've been asked to produce:

The promotional package for the release of an album.

What it must include:

• A music promo video
• A digipak for its release
• A magazine advertisement for the digipak

(Via Photobucket)

Our target audience and genre must be clear. We have chosen a song where the target audience is pre-teens to 17 year olds (mainly female). They look up to an audience as a fashion guru, but also inspiration as what they would like to be in the future. You could call our artist a role model. We must produce a music video that can relate to our set target audience and can suit the genre too. We have to use our digipak and advertisement in such a way that people of the specific age range are interested in. 

Planning: Differences between animatic/storyboard

The difference between these is that the storyboard only shows still shots of our music video and we can't imagine it as much compared to the animatic because it has the music and we can clearly see when shots change etc.

Using the toy characters added a 3D element to the music video so far and allowed us to see if there is anything we could change or make better.

Having both a still and moving representation of our music video allows us to manipulate the way it looks put together and gives us a more clearer idea of what our finished product may look like.

Reflection on progress

So far for planning I belief that I have used a wider range of platforms for the planning part of the blog. I also belief that my information is more detailed than when my group and I were working on the research portion of blogging.
I still belief my analysis' could be more detailed so that I can achieve a higher grade and I still think that I should use a wider range of platforms for when it comes to production.

Planning - Analyse 3 music videos that have influenced planning

Planning - Analysis of the digipak/CD for final song choice

Extra research - More possible settings

There is the perfect place to film one of our shots for our music video in Angel, Islington. It is perfect because:

• It is bright and colourful
• Nearby college so very convenient
• Suits our theme of fun and youth
• Has a message on it that relates to our video - "Do what you love, love what you do"

This message relates because our artist wants to do what she wants to do and what she enjoys - which is clearly not the guy she is with.

Planning: Reflection on Progress blog

reflection on progress

lip syncing

we did a lip syncing tutorial where we learned how to do base tracks 

Planning - Ideas for Digipak

My digi-pak will contain a poster and a CD cover the colour scheme consist of Red, Blues mainly with a red bandana which will appear on the artist in the music video and will appear on every item in the digipak. This makes it the synergy.

Different artists that I have looked at for inspiration:

Planning- Analyses of song lyrics

Planning: Analysis of digipak

Planning: Analysis of original video

There is no music video for 'Dirty Love' by Cher Lloyd. This means we can create a new innovative idea that conforms to the pop genre. This is ideal as this song isn't as well known so our peers will not be comparing our video to the original, this can taint our image.

However I can analyse Cher Lloyd's previous existing music videos!

In this video, Cher Lloyd - Want U Back.. There is a lot of moving graphics like the Polaroids moving. We won't be using this post production effect in our music video. We plan to use edits such as slow motion, opening titles and a filter. There is also a bedroom location, but as we have no budget, our own bedrooms aren't suitable for a pop video as it should look luxurious like her "bedroom". Instead we will be using mainly outdoor locations in London, which cost next to nothing to film at.

Planning: Analysis of music video influences

Planning: Cher Lloyd's website

Here I analyse Cher Lloyd's website and how it promotes her and her music.

Planning: choice of costume, setting/location & props

Costume ideas:

• Red sneakers because it's young, portrays a sense of "swagger" and keeps it simple because our artist isn't overly feminine with heels etc.
• Red lipstick so it can be used as a synergy item along with the red bandana - all eye catching and keeps a memorable experience for the audience.
• The shirt is cool, hip and has "boys" written on it along with logos and signs. This makes it youthful and funky (like our artist)

Setting ideas:

Product Placement:

Product placement has become so popular recently, especially in pop songs so we thought it would be clever to use a coke bottle. It is simple, distinctive/recognisable, and will suit our pop video. We will use a coke bottle in the shot when she is in the cafe with the boy and is just having a drink - whilst being bored of the guy. (As mentioned in the lyrics - "I'm getting bored". It'll also be clever because our theme is mainly bright red.

Planning: Initial ideas for digipak

Our key element, the red bandana is going to feature on my digipak and advertisement. As it is red, this is a bold colour that would stand out. As our artists name is Saffron, (also a spice and flower) this is also a colour that is orange/yellow connotation so I can visualise the red bandana with warm colours such as orange and yellow in the digipak. As the song is an upbeat, playful song I want to include bright and girly colours in the artwork.

Planning: Reflection on Progress blog

In reflection to my 'Reflection on Progress' for research I believe I have improved however there is always room for improvement. My posts are informative and clear, with the right amount of detail and I try to make it interesting to read. I do this by using different ways of presenting the information such as images, videos and different forms of ICT. However I still need to do more extra blogging, and post different things that are specified on the blogging checklist.

My two new targets are to:

1. Make sure to do more individual blog posts that aren't specified on the blogging checklist.
2. Try to do the posts that I'm set as soon as possible or they build up. 

I would give myself a 17 out of 20 as I believe I have demonstrated a good level of care in my research, planning and presentation. 

Planning: Revisions to pitch and final decisions

After receiving feedback on our pitch, we have reflected on some of the comments made.

Positive feedback included:

• Excellent descriptive audience research. 
• Great costume research, clear who our target audience is. 
• A huge range of ICT and technology used in our pitch.
• Our idea and concept are very clear and easy to understand.
• Our music video inspirations are well explained.

Criticisms included:

• Having one boy play the good and bad boy would confuse the audience. There should be a clear distinction between the good and bad boy which would convey the song better.
• Too many choices of locations, it isn't clear what locations are going to be used and on what days.
• Editing on our animatic should be faster as the beat is very fast.

In light of the feedback...

• We are going to find another guy to use in our video or just use one guy to play one character and not both. This will help our audience to understand the song better. 
• We will narrow down our location choices and make it clear why we have chosen specific locations, and decide when we will shoot in certain locations.
• In our promotional music video for Dirty Love we will make sure to use markers on the right beats so the edit is faster. Therefore the song would be edited to the beat and match up.

Pitch Extra - Scouting for boys - Anuli

After conversing with Cher Llyod fans we discovered that they would expect two boys to be in the video one bad boy and one good boy.
Follow me on my journey as I scout for boys.

Extra Research - Settings/Location

I came across Hackney Town Hall where I could imagine a possible shot for our performer for our music video. It isn't too busy so filming won't be too difficult and the big palm tree looking trees suit the big and fun theme to our song.

I can imagine the artist, Saffron, with loads of close-ups and possibly a shot swivelling around our artist during the chorus.

Conventions of a music video

Planning - Extra Katherine

Product placement is often seen in music videos therefore we can use different examples of product placement in our own video.

One video in which product placement is used is Lady Gaga's Telephone where several diet coke bottles can be seen in the artist's hair.

Trial for singing! (Our performer)

Planning: Classwork and Research

We printed out a copy of the lyrics of our chosen song and analysed it by each verse, thinking of possible shots for them.

We also started to finish off our mood board using Thinglink. We used a wide range of pictures we found inspiration from for our music video, and also videos.

We looked through our checklist and we are slowly putting our pitch together.

Planning: Incorporating synergy

Planning: Analysis of song choice video

Cher Lloyd doesn't have a music video so we just have either audio videos or lyrics videos. Our video will be different because there will be a visual element to it, where we see the singer performing not just by lip syncing, but also on the camera in different settings.

We won't have any lyrics or pictures, but all moving scenes.









Here are scenes where Cher Lloyd is actually performing: