what ive done music video final draft

my final poster

layout of my digipak.

inner pages

outer pages

Question 2: How Effective is the Combination of Your Main Product and Ancillary Texts?

click on the image for a large view....

I have gone with graffiti on a street wall as the genre of music that we have chosen for our music video is rock and rock is affiliated with miss-behaving so I decided to go for the graffiti vandalism effect in my digipak

I have looked into graffiti artists and I have found Banksy, his graffiti art was the type of graffiti that I was looking for so I have copied and applied a similar design, I have also copied some of the typical graffiti text / fonts that are all over urban streets for the back cover and the poster.

I came up with the brick all idea by looking at the background of the shed and I thought that the look of the bricks would look better than wood

I have removed the wood background apart from some of the grooves in the wood as this shows that there are two different kinds of materials in the background

The main colours that I have used are: black, white, brown and dull orange. The brown and the dull orange were used for the brick work and the black and white were used for the images on the wall e.g. the band

I have applied brick work and a grenade with HW on and I got this logo from the video, so I decided to apply it to the CD and the CD holder

I have followed the band logo design onto my

poster and this is a collage of the logo being different sizes

Question 4: how did you use new media technologies in the construction and evaluation stages?

Equipment used...

Laptop:

I have used my laptop to edit all of the videos and to edit all of my pictures taken for the digipak and poster, I also used my laptop to gather all of the research, planning and finding what song to use for our group video. The software that I used on my laptop were Sony Vegas pro 9 and Corel Paint shop pro X2, as I already had previous experience on using the software on my laptop I knew what I was doing on them so my editing was more precise and this meant that my final video, digipak and poster were up to the best standard that I could produce, although for the music video there were no transactions other than fade and there were no special effects as the idea of our music video was to show the band playing the song and nothing more. Without this my laptop I would of had to use the college’s computers and they are no good as they are old Macs (eMacs) and they use iMovie and I do not have much experience on this software so my video would of suffered, also there is a small amount of them (5) and they are used by every media student in the college so usage would also be limited, where as I have unlimited access to my laptop at any time and any where...

Camera

I have used my camera to take all of the photos for location ideas, proof of working (editing ect...), photo shoots for the digipak and for the poster, I have used my camera for high definition photo taking and I used the digital screen to view all of the pictures to see if I could improve the photos even more. Without my camera I would of had to borrow the colleges cameras and for this I would of had to take the camera back the next day and they would of deleted all of the pictures that I had taken off of the SD card in the camera so all of my work from the photo shoot would have been for nothing and this would cause problems for my digipak and poster.

Video camera

I have used my own video camera to capture parts of the music video that we have made as a group, I used my camera when I was not part of what needed to be filmed like the shots of Rhys on the drums and I used my camera to record most of them shots. Without my video camera I would have had to borrow the college’s cameras and this would have caused problems as they are available to borrow from every student and they also use tape so I would have needed a fire wire cable to insert the videos onto to computer and my laptop does not have a port for fire wires.

Tripod

I have used my own tripod for the filming and the photo shoots for the poster and digipak, this was handy as it provided a still video from the video camera, without my tripod I would of either had to not use one, borrow one from the college or borrow Damon’s.

Question 3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Here I have shown a scan of some of the feedback that our teachers have given me about the draft video that me, Damon and Nick have made. The peer assessment that we have been given is a list of all of the things that the peers have put down to help us improve and make our video better. Here is the list of points made for our draft video:

Click on the image to enlarge it:

1. The first thing that I decided to do with Nick and Damon was to remove all of the narrative elements that were in our music video as neither the class peers or our teachers understood what was happening in the storyline as it did not show the story in much detail. It was important that we followed and took note of what feedback we had as this would help us in making a better, more understandable music video, also the audience feedback suggested that our music video did not fit in with the conventions of a rock music video because there was more narrative than performance. I decided that the best solution would be to completely remove it as the band performance would suffer if we extended to narrative, or left it as it was, also we were then fixing some of the conventions of a rock music video that we had previously broken in the draft music video.

2. In the feedback we were told to completely re-film our video as our draft did not work, we took this advice because some of the points were that the continuity of the lighting was all wrong, the location was obvious that it was a pub garden and there was not much effort put into it like Rhys on the drums looked like he did not want to be there. After making the changes to our music video by using the audience feedback I decided that it would be a good idea if we started from the beginning, using the feedback we just had a performance throughout the whole music video and I think that this worked as the video felt more like a rock video.

3. When I was reviewing our first draft I realised that the location of the band was all wrong as they were in a pub garden and this was clearly shown as there was wooden benches and a park in the background, therefore it did not feel like the band was a rock band as the location was all wrong. This was also mentioned in our audience feedback as it was so obvious, after receiving this feedback we had the choice of angling our shots so that the location remained hidden, or we could re-film and use a different location and i decided with Nick and Damon that it would be best to use an inside location, so we used my shed... Also the teachers noted this down too as they had a similar feel to it.

4. After we had received the feedback from our teachers we had read about the location being all wrong and this noted us about having to rethink all about our location again, so I decided to have a group discussion with Nick and Damon and from this I suggested my shed, Nick suggested his garage and Damon suggested his garage, to find out where we would be filming I looked into the practicality of where would be best and found out that it would be easier to do it in my shed because i had all of the instruments that were needed, so it would be easier to not transport all of the instruments everywhere and Nick and Damon agreed. After looking at the audience feedback we thought that it was very important that we listened to what they thought was wrong and what they thought was right as we did not want our video to look like another genre such as dance, in the video and this would of broken every single convention of a rock music video apart from the clothing.

5. In the peer and teachers feedback that we had we were told that we need to put all of our effort into playing the instruments as there was a feel of we did not want to be there in the first draft, this audience feedback was important as the audience did not feel that the band were an actual band as there was no passion in the video, and this was very important as we were not fulfilling the convention of playing the instruments with passion, so when we re-filmed I told the band to show more of a passion for playing the song and i showed more passion as the main singer. An example of what the audience feedback was referring to would be our drummer Rhys, as he was not doing anything to suggest that he enjoyed playing the song, this was shown by him looking miserable and sitting still, because of the genre of music that we were perusing we needed him to look like he was enjoying the experience.

6. This was aimed at me (the singer) in our music video as I was not singing the song out in filming and this makes the video seam and feel more real as all of my facial expressions and body movements would look more realistic. This was picked up by the teachers feedback that we received so, to solve this I learnt all of the lyrics in the song, when they appear and I practiced singing along with the song to enhance my performance in the video, this was important because the audience picked up that I was slightly out of tune with all of the lyrics being said and this broke conventions for the genre of music that we were making and also it made the audience feel that I was fake and we did not want them to feel that it was fake

7. In the teacher’s feedback we were told to stay where we were as we did not need to show the band walking in and this saved us time on the storyboard, we followed this information as it was a good point that was made by our audience, because our opening scene was too long the audience were becoming board and this breaks the rock music video convention as most rock songs start straight off with the music. Doing this alteration helped us get the message out that the band really likes to play the songs and that they just want to rock it out.

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

Shot 1
1. In the first 5 seconds of our video there are shots of all of the band members getting ready to perform the song and this is quite common in music videos as it is one of the conventions that are in music videos, showing the audience the band getting ready by plugging in. One of the first people that we see is the drummer putting on the headphones and getting ready for the drum coverage, this could show that he enjoys playing the drums as he is quick and eager to get going.

Although this technique is very common in music video, i have looked at an existing example in the rock genre of music for an opening scene and this scene is from Green Day and the song is called Basket case:

shot 2
2. In this series of shots there is a shot of the band logo that is placed on the drums and this is a convention that is in all rock band music videos as it shows the audience who the band is and it is also a little form of identity. The logo is located on the drums as this is the most common place to put the logo and it is also most easily seen as the drums stand out in the background. I have also included some close ups of the logo on the drum set to allow the audience to focus on the logo.

this technique is very common in rock videos as it allows them to spread their band name and identity around all of the audiences, below is an example from The Big Pink, performing Dominoes:

shot 3
3. In this shot there is a high angle shot to show that the main singer is in charge and to emphasise that he is a big powerful person and this is a different to all of the other people in the band as the shots of them are mostly level and they are only high angle shots if they are in charge, this is another rock music video convention that I have followed as it shows the audience who is the main artist in the band and that he / she is the most important person in the band.

this is used by most music video to show, power and the main person who is in the band, below there is a clip from ACDC Black In Black showing the high angle shot:

shot 4
4. In the video there is not an establishing shot, but this emphasises that the band just want to get on and start to play the song as they do not mess around and this shows that they have a passion for rock ‘n’ rolling, this is a convention for rock music as it is more focused on the stars and the playing of the instruments so there is no need for the narrative. The location of this video is obvious although there is not an establishing shot as the background is covered all wood and the most common wood building is either a shed or a log cabin and this is where the band performs the songs and it is just for making music, this is another convention as the location is given away without an establishing shot so therefore there is no need for one. Although this is not the most commonly noticed way of performing rock music it is still used as there is a dedicated room instead of a stage with thousands of people.

most of the rock bands do not have any introductions to them as they mainly all start straight off with the music and an example of this would be Paramore performing Misery Business:

shot 5
5. Another way of showing that the band likes to play the music is shown as they are seeming to enjoy playing the song, this is because they are all showing their enthusiasm when they are bobbing up and down and dancing with the music, this is a convention that is used by all of the existing rock bands as it shows a passion that they have in playing the song and that nothing can take it from them.

all of the rock bands that are in music videos show a passion for performing and playing their instruments ect... and this is shown by enthusiasm, jumping, dancing and so on... an example of this would be the Foo Fighters performing the Pretender:

shot 6
6. When we received our feedback of our group video, we were told that our narrative was not clear at all and that we had too many long shots, this meant that we would need to rethink about our storyboard and we also decided to choose a different location as the location that was previously chosen was not suitable for the genre of music that we had and finally we removed all of the narrative as this was the easiest and quickest option that we had, this meant that the conventions that we had broken e.g. the location and the narrative were corrected as we were then in a room for just performing and there was only performance in the video and this is a common rock video convention

some of the music videos have no narrative and this is mainly in the rock genre as it is about the instruments that are being played, and an example of this would be My Chemicle Romance performing Welcome To The Black Parade

shot 7
7. Our music video has narrative that applies to it as we have proven some of the theories that the theorists have made and one of the theories that our video has proven is by Sven E Carlson and his theory is that all music videos either have: performance, narrative or both in and the video that we have produced is all performance based, so this proves that Sven is correct, another theorist that we have proved to be correct is John and his theory is that a music video is like an advert a there are lots of close ups of the singer and band logo

Convention that I have applied / broken for the music video:

in our final version of the music video I have applied all of the conventions with Damon and Nick and these are all here to follow what conventions make a rock music video and I will be listing what convention that I have applied and what I have broken in our music video below:

1. All of the music video is performance - For this I have altered the draft video storyboard so that the video is only performance

2. The performance is more aimed at the band either playing in an urban area with lots of straight lines and sharp edges in the background or they are performing at a concert to thousands of people - For the setting I have used my shed as it has many sharp edges, with lots of straight lines and this is following the convention

3. There is a band logo on the drums or somewhere else in the video - For this I have applied the band logo that I have created into the video by applying it onto the base skin of the drum

4. the location and the props have to fit in with rock - For this I have set the video in my shed and have also put some posters in the background and this following the convention as they are all fit in with the genre of music, also i have used all of my instruments for the band and these are all instruments to do with rock music and they all follow the convention.

5. the lighting has to be dark in the background - I have broken this convention as the song that we were making a video for was more of an alternative rock song and this is light rock, so therefore I decided to use a lighter setting to emphasise the more gentle side of this music

6. all of the colours that are used are dark and deep - For this I have only applied dark and deep colours for the bands clothing and the props such as the instruments. And I have broken this convention by using a lit up room where the background is a very light, bright brown shade of wood. this combination of colours being dark and dull to bright and light shows that the video is not a rock song or video, but it is an alternative rock video

Digipak

In my digipak I have made an effect that makes the images look like they were made by Banksy and this is an artist that goes around doing street art also known as graffiti. As the song that we were doing was of the rock genre I thought that it was appropriate that I make a digipak that was based on graffiti as this shows that there is a lot of miss behaviour and this is shown a lot in most of the rock bands e.g. Green Day

I chose to follow all of the conventions of a rock CD album apart from using dark colours as there is a building with bright brick walls in a street that I have broken this convention because I used the brick wall to show the audience that it is some sort of graffiti in the streets as there is a bright coloured building in the shot, I then followed all of the other conventions that almost all of the digipaks are formed around

My digipak design was inspired by the images of Banksy’s artwork on street buildings that is further through the blog and they are images of the grim reaper, child with umbrella, monkey in a suit and a rat on a building painting (I got my main idea for the digipak cover from the rat painting of banksias work) here is a link to the picture of my inspirationhttp://farm1.static.flickr.com/86/232486050_5e9f669df8.jpg , other inspiration I hade was: Banksy art, graffiti, urban art and streets, from all of these inspirations I set out to make my digipak

I have used all of the shots in the digipak of the band and then there is a page for each of the band members and on them pages there is a list of their stats and this was inspired from the playing card game called top trumps and this was used in my digipack e.g. guitar skills: 8

I then had a page where there was a little information of the band and this was a single column that briefly described the band

Convention that I have applied / broken for the Digipak:

For my final version of the digipak I have followed the conventions for a rock digipak and here are what conventions that I have followed / broken:

1. the lead singer is the centre of attention - For this I have used a Banksy style of street art and I have positioned it so that it looks like the main singer (me) is painting the rest of the band on the wall although the main singer is a painting on the wall.

2. the colours that are used are dark and dull - For this I have edited the pictures so that they look like graffiti and that the colours they are is black and white, then the background is a picture of a brick wall and road.

3. the font of the text must suit the genre of music - For this I have used the font "Chiller" and this is a graffiti looking font so it fits in with the theme of the digipak, also it fits in with the genre of music because rock has a miss behaving effect to it, and miss behaving now is mainly graffiti

4. usually set at night time or in the streets - For this I have set the pictures in the streets as there is a brick wall just off the road and this is a street, although I have not set it at night time, because this would of effected the quality of the picture and it would be harder to see the text and images.

Poster

I have followed the effect that I have used for my digipak for my poster design and this is to make the effect that Banksy painted it on a wall, in this design I have included a series of the logo that are being carried by the main singer of the band and the inspiration for this design came from the image of three people with TV’s as their heads and here is a link to that picture: http://wallpampers.com/pictures/2679/Banksy-Banksy%20Urban%20Eyes.jpg , as the three people had the same head this gave me an idea to use a similar design but the people are carrying the objects instead of them being attached to them selves

I chose to break the convention of there being reviews on the poster as I thought that they would not be needed as they are just showing what somebody thinks of the new album and that people have different tastes to what they like e.g. rock, jazz ect... and therefore I decided not to use them

My poster design was inspired by the green day poster that is further through the blog and this is a drawing of a man walking, other inspiration I had was: Banksy art, graffiti, urban art and streets, from all of these inspirations I set out to make my digipak and poster

The text font idea that I have used in my poster design came from the image in the link: http://www.wallpaperbase.com/wallpapers/photography/graffiti/graffiti_3.jpg , as you can see in the image the font sticks out and it is quite hard to read at first, but then it becomes clear and this is the effect that I was aiming towards as it distorts the audience and it also follows the theme that I was aiming for of street graffiti/banksy effect.

Convention that I have applied / broken for the poster:

for my final version of my poster Ihave followed the conventions for a rock poster and here are what conventions that I have followed / broken:

1. the band logo is on the poster - For this I have applied four pictures of the logo being held by the main singer and all of this is in a Banksy style of art

2. the colours are dark and dull - For this I have used black and white for the images on the wall and there is then brighter colours in the background as there is brick work and reflections of the sky

3. the font must be easy to read - For this I don't think that the band name and album name is clear as it is supposed to be graffiti, therefore I have broken this convention to make the text follow suit with all of the graffiti pictures on the wall