Friday 18 March 2016
Friday 12 February 2016
Thursday 11 February 2016
Evaluation Question 1
Our production brief was to create a 3-5 minute music video for a song of a particular genre of my choice, I was asked to pick my group that I would be working with, I chose Tyler Osman and Jake Butler for my group. I was then told to make a magazine advert and digipak cover along with the music video so that it would demonstrate my understanding of how to market an artist, however throughout all products I would be creating, there had to be a connection between them all, the digipak and magazine advert need to appeal to my target audience so that my artist was therefore marketable. In the video I had to use various different camera techniques within the video and different locations in the video so that it feels as though the video is always going from one location to another.
Music artists in the music industry decide to make a music video for one of their own songs for a number of beneficial reasons. One plausible reason for an artist to create a music video for one of their songs is so that the artist receives additional promotion from the popularity of the music video, this is because artists usually release songs that are upcoming from their album and what to get as much promotion out there to the public eye as possible. Artists create music videos for songs in an upcoming album of theirs because it creates hype and buzz around the albums release so audience will go home and try to see when they can get the new album of an artist they like, which in turn increases sales of the album. Another purpose of an artist creating a music video for a song in their new album is so that the audience can visualize the song when they watch the video, without the video, it might be harder for an audience to understand the meaning of the song. The video can be presented as a narrative or a theme/message that relates to the lyrics of a song so they are able to visualize the song easier, this allows the audience to build up a relationship between themselves and the artist because they can now clearly see what the artist was trying to get across. This is effective for artists because it can allow more audiences to listen to the song and watch the video and understand what it means and how they then know more about the artist if it is a song that's personal to the artist. The last reason an artist creates a music video is so that the audience to visualize a representation of the artist and how deep the song is for the artist, for example, less colour could connote the meaning that the video is more realistic and more harsh about life which could make it more realistic. The realism portrayed in the video may encourage more active audiences to analyze the video and question certain elements and design choices made when the music video was being created.
All 3 purposes mentioned in the above paragraph can be seen within my chosen genre, which is the indie rock genre, with my chosen artist's, Jake Bugg, music video for "Two Fingers". When the song was released Jake Bugg was still advertising his debut album called "Jake Bugg", this therefore creates hype and buzz amongst audiences because the video shows that the song is a personal story to him talking about what his life was like when he was growing up, it shows that he wants to be taken seriously and audiences will therefore try to analyze his music to see the representation he wants to get across. The next purpose visualizing a song is used here because the video demonstrates a direct correlation between the lyrics and the visuals in the music video, "he's with my momma, they're yelling an' fighting" while the visuals show a man with Jake Bugg's mum in the video followed by a small argument as both actors are shouting at each other. This allows the audience to understand the lyrics easier because they're being told to the audience visually, which makes them enjoy the song. The last purpose that was mentioned before is the artists representation and how they want to be seen, this can be seen with Jake Bugg, he is someone who wants to be taken seriously as the songs he sings are all personal songs he has shared with audiences, this enables the audience to build a relationship with him as an artist because they will eventually understand why he wants to be taken seriously and why he sings about leaving his past behind him.
When creating my music video, I found that there are many conventions of the indie rock music genre, these conventions helped me understand the genre further and they helped me when I started to create my video. One example of a convention I researched was a depressing theme is used to create more depth and meaning to an artist, this can be seen in the music video for "Two Fingers" as it handles a difficult subject matter. The song's theme or message is that the artist, to get what he wanted, left his old life behind him and started his music career, the reason this is depressing is due to the fact he mentions he left his family and friends and some people may find that the sacrifice would be too high, Bugg even says he friends are some of the best people he has ever met in the music video. This convention influenced my ideas as I used a real life and depressing message in the video as well to make the music video feel more realistic for the audience. An additional convention i found when doing my research into the indie genre was that the artists in the video all seem to showcase their talents with instruments. This can be see in the same video "Two Fingers" when Bugg is seen a few times practicing with a band and later performing to his fans. The technique is used to illustrate how talented the artist is as they can play the instrument as well, it further evokes the idea to the audience that the songs are personal as well because the artist wanted to play the instrument to show how much it means to him. This inspiration was taken into account when i began thinking what my artist will commonly be seen with. Another convention is that the artist sings the song in time with the lyrics in the video. This is done to establish a connection between the visuals and lyrics and to visualize the lyrics easier for the audiences sake, they in turn understand the lyrics that they may not have thought twice about before, this can be seen near the end of the video "Two Fingers" when he performs to a crowd and sings "so I kiss goodbye to every little ounce of pain" in time with the song. This convention conveys to my target audience that the artist is very talented as it shows the audience he can play and sing at the same time which is quite a difficult task and to perform it perfectly in time as well, my target audience will therefore respect my artist because of this talent. The last convention is that most indie music videos use some sort of narrative in the video for audiences to follow and later can visualize the the lyrics and video. This again works with "Two Fingers" where Bugg sings "he's with my momma, they're yelling an' fighting" when his mum and another man starting arguing aggressively in slow motion. This appeals to audiences because they like the fact that they can now visualize lyrics behind a song and they then know what the artist was trying to get across.
My music video uses the conventions that are evident in my chosen music video genre. One convention I have used in my video is the depressing theme. After watching Jake Bugg's "Two Fingers" music video, I was inspired to use the same convention for my video but change the theme the video was portraying, I instead show the audience that it's dangerous to run away from everything to become famous because people won't be there to help you when you come back unsuccessful. This sums up the idea behind the narrative because the artist runs away from home to try and become famous, it doesn't work so he ends up going home without money but can't get inside the house because the people who live at the house have changed the locks. This appeals to the audience because it addresses the idea that some peoples dreams don't always become a reality and the audience will see the idea behind the video and think it's very realistic and will like the video further.
Another convention that my music video used was the artist holding the instrument he plays in real life. I was inspired to use the guitar after watching the music video for another Jake Bugg song called "Trouble Town" where the guitar is seen prominently throughout the video and is also used as a motivational push for the artist. The use of the guitar can be seen during a mid shot when my artist is on a train and takes the guitar out to see if it's tuned correctly. The use of the convention is supposed to showcase my artists sheer talent in the music industry and that the song is personal to my artist because he wanted to play it himself for his audience, it also shows that the guitar is pushing the artist more to try and get the fame. The audience will then respect my artist as the fact he sings and plays the instrument shows he is talented in his craft which will further encourage them to buy the artists albums so they can become fans of his music.
Another convention I will talk about above that is evident in music video is the narrative within the video. The narrative I watched for my research into the indie genre was the "A-Team" as the video follows a poor woman with a drug addiction until she eventually reaches his demise. My narrative starts with someone getting a cab at night before the video cuts to another shot of the same boy with the text earlier that day, the video then shows the audience he is going to London to perform music like a busker, he has no success so he goes somewhere else in London and is then ridiculed, his money is then stolen and has to go back to his hometown where the video started. The artist then runs out the cab without paying and goes home and finds the locks have changed while the artist ponders on the step of the house what to do. The narrative is depressing because it tells the audience a narrative about someone who was dedicated to his craft, but it didn't work out for him but his old life has already moved on, showing the audience he shouldn't have ran away and warns them of what could follow when leaving your old life behind you. My audience will find this narrative engaging because it doesn't follow regular narrative structure in the sense that it doesn't end well for the character, they will then analyze the meaning of the video and respect the message that the video is trying to achieve.
An additional convention i'll be talking about is the use of black clothing within my music and my artist. This inspiration came form another Jake Bugg music video called "Broken" which is the artist singing in a bar to try and calm people's troubles. Black clothing is seen throughout my video as my artist never changes his clothes while busking to indicate that he cannot afford better clothing or a flat or hotel to stay in while he performs. The black clothing is used to convey the idea that the artist is represented like the indie genre because the colour black strongly represents the indie genre because of the realistic and dark ideas behind the narrative and the themes of my music video. The audience would relate to the colour black because it's a colour commonly associated with the indie genre and is a negative colour that strongly correlates to the indie genre.
A convention that can be seen in the video is the artist with messy hair or hair the artist hasn't bothered sorting his hair. The idea came from the video made by Bob Dylan which is called "Subterranean Homesick Blues" where Dylan also has messy hair. In my video, the artist can be seen throughout with messy hair or straight hair, this was done because the artist had to stay in the city busking for a day so his hair style changing wouldn't make logical sense. This is conventional to the genre because it represents my artist as a messy person or someone that is messed up because he doesn't seem to really care for how he looks in the city. The audience will relate to this convention because a lot of artists in the genre normally do have messy hair to convey to the audience that they're troubled people with troubled pasts.
The last convention i will be talking about is the urban locations used throughout filming. This idea came from the music video for Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" again because he is standing in the foreground while their is only buildings in the background. This convention can be seen in my video as it's the location my artist leaves at the beginning an ends up returning to after the stories event have taken place. The urban environment is a convention because it shows that the artist could have come from a rough area and that he was raised in that sort of environment. The audience will find this relatable because it shows he started out as a regular person living in normal environment but was able to get into the industry which the audience will respect because it shows he was able to accomplish his dreams.
Music artists in the music industry decide to make a music video for one of their own songs for a number of beneficial reasons. One plausible reason for an artist to create a music video for one of their songs is so that the artist receives additional promotion from the popularity of the music video, this is because artists usually release songs that are upcoming from their album and what to get as much promotion out there to the public eye as possible. Artists create music videos for songs in an upcoming album of theirs because it creates hype and buzz around the albums release so audience will go home and try to see when they can get the new album of an artist they like, which in turn increases sales of the album. Another purpose of an artist creating a music video for a song in their new album is so that the audience can visualize the song when they watch the video, without the video, it might be harder for an audience to understand the meaning of the song. The video can be presented as a narrative or a theme/message that relates to the lyrics of a song so they are able to visualize the song easier, this allows the audience to build up a relationship between themselves and the artist because they can now clearly see what the artist was trying to get across. This is effective for artists because it can allow more audiences to listen to the song and watch the video and understand what it means and how they then know more about the artist if it is a song that's personal to the artist. The last reason an artist creates a music video is so that the audience to visualize a representation of the artist and how deep the song is for the artist, for example, less colour could connote the meaning that the video is more realistic and more harsh about life which could make it more realistic. The realism portrayed in the video may encourage more active audiences to analyze the video and question certain elements and design choices made when the music video was being created.
All 3 purposes mentioned in the above paragraph can be seen within my chosen genre, which is the indie rock genre, with my chosen artist's, Jake Bugg, music video for "Two Fingers". When the song was released Jake Bugg was still advertising his debut album called "Jake Bugg", this therefore creates hype and buzz amongst audiences because the video shows that the song is a personal story to him talking about what his life was like when he was growing up, it shows that he wants to be taken seriously and audiences will therefore try to analyze his music to see the representation he wants to get across. The next purpose visualizing a song is used here because the video demonstrates a direct correlation between the lyrics and the visuals in the music video, "he's with my momma, they're yelling an' fighting" while the visuals show a man with Jake Bugg's mum in the video followed by a small argument as both actors are shouting at each other. This allows the audience to understand the lyrics easier because they're being told to the audience visually, which makes them enjoy the song. The last purpose that was mentioned before is the artists representation and how they want to be seen, this can be seen with Jake Bugg, he is someone who wants to be taken seriously as the songs he sings are all personal songs he has shared with audiences, this enables the audience to build a relationship with him as an artist because they will eventually understand why he wants to be taken seriously and why he sings about leaving his past behind him.
When creating my music video, I found that there are many conventions of the indie rock music genre, these conventions helped me understand the genre further and they helped me when I started to create my video. One example of a convention I researched was a depressing theme is used to create more depth and meaning to an artist, this can be seen in the music video for "Two Fingers" as it handles a difficult subject matter. The song's theme or message is that the artist, to get what he wanted, left his old life behind him and started his music career, the reason this is depressing is due to the fact he mentions he left his family and friends and some people may find that the sacrifice would be too high, Bugg even says he friends are some of the best people he has ever met in the music video. This convention influenced my ideas as I used a real life and depressing message in the video as well to make the music video feel more realistic for the audience. An additional convention i found when doing my research into the indie genre was that the artists in the video all seem to showcase their talents with instruments. This can be see in the same video "Two Fingers" when Bugg is seen a few times practicing with a band and later performing to his fans. The technique is used to illustrate how talented the artist is as they can play the instrument as well, it further evokes the idea to the audience that the songs are personal as well because the artist wanted to play the instrument to show how much it means to him. This inspiration was taken into account when i began thinking what my artist will commonly be seen with. Another convention is that the artist sings the song in time with the lyrics in the video. This is done to establish a connection between the visuals and lyrics and to visualize the lyrics easier for the audiences sake, they in turn understand the lyrics that they may not have thought twice about before, this can be seen near the end of the video "Two Fingers" when he performs to a crowd and sings "so I kiss goodbye to every little ounce of pain" in time with the song. This convention conveys to my target audience that the artist is very talented as it shows the audience he can play and sing at the same time which is quite a difficult task and to perform it perfectly in time as well, my target audience will therefore respect my artist because of this talent. The last convention is that most indie music videos use some sort of narrative in the video for audiences to follow and later can visualize the the lyrics and video. This again works with "Two Fingers" where Bugg sings "he's with my momma, they're yelling an' fighting" when his mum and another man starting arguing aggressively in slow motion. This appeals to audiences because they like the fact that they can now visualize lyrics behind a song and they then know what the artist was trying to get across.
Another convention that my music video used was the artist holding the instrument he plays in real life. I was inspired to use the guitar after watching the music video for another Jake Bugg song called "Trouble Town" where the guitar is seen prominently throughout the video and is also used as a motivational push for the artist. The use of the guitar can be seen during a mid shot when my artist is on a train and takes the guitar out to see if it's tuned correctly. The use of the convention is supposed to showcase my artists sheer talent in the music industry and that the song is personal to my artist because he wanted to play it himself for his audience, it also shows that the guitar is pushing the artist more to try and get the fame. The audience will then respect my artist as the fact he sings and plays the instrument shows he is talented in his craft which will further encourage them to buy the artists albums so they can become fans of his music.
An additional convention i'll be talking about is the use of black clothing within my music and my artist. This inspiration came form another Jake Bugg music video called "Broken" which is the artist singing in a bar to try and calm people's troubles. Black clothing is seen throughout my video as my artist never changes his clothes while busking to indicate that he cannot afford better clothing or a flat or hotel to stay in while he performs. The black clothing is used to convey the idea that the artist is represented like the indie genre because the colour black strongly represents the indie genre because of the realistic and dark ideas behind the narrative and the themes of my music video. The audience would relate to the colour black because it's a colour commonly associated with the indie genre and is a negative colour that strongly correlates to the indie genre.
A convention that can be seen in the video is the artist with messy hair or hair the artist hasn't bothered sorting his hair. The idea came from the video made by Bob Dylan which is called "Subterranean Homesick Blues" where Dylan also has messy hair. In my video, the artist can be seen throughout with messy hair or straight hair, this was done because the artist had to stay in the city busking for a day so his hair style changing wouldn't make logical sense. This is conventional to the genre because it represents my artist as a messy person or someone that is messed up because he doesn't seem to really care for how he looks in the city. The audience will relate to this convention because a lot of artists in the genre normally do have messy hair to convey to the audience that they're troubled people with troubled pasts.
The last convention i will be talking about is the urban locations used throughout filming. This idea came from the music video for Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" again because he is standing in the foreground while their is only buildings in the background. This convention can be seen in my video as it's the location my artist leaves at the beginning an ends up returning to after the stories event have taken place. The urban environment is a convention because it shows that the artist could have come from a rough area and that he was raised in that sort of environment. The audience will find this relatable because it shows he started out as a regular person living in normal environment but was able to get into the industry which the audience will respect because it shows he was able to accomplish his dreams.Monday 8 February 2016
Saturday 9 January 2016
Rough cut
Me and my group received feedback from a number of sources, one method was to use the social media site youtube, this is where we uploaded the video initially and audiences could leave comments in the comment section of the video. Another method was to show the product in front of our class so me and my group could acquire some good things as well as improvements from our fellow students and teachers. Finally I showed the video to some family members of mine to see if they could offer any feedback, indie has such a wide audience age range that it wasn't a problem going to people for some criticisms as well as good things that me and my group did with the video.
As stated before, me and my group created the rough cut in the efforts to achieve some constructive comments and things we did well. Me and my group created a rough cut first so that when me and my group had all our comments and pieces of feedback we could then use them all to better the final production. If all these improvements are made it will make the video look better and feel like an actual music video as with our rough cut there are improvements to be made but we just need the audience to point out particular problems. The rough cut comments and improvements gave me and my group a good indication of what we needed to improve on and what we did well, and if all these improvements are made to our existing video then we would have accomplished our task of making a video that appeals to our target audience. The rough cut we made and what we will do with that information will benefit the industry because all audiences will feel appreciated that their feedback that they gave is going to good use and will be implemented and rectified so that they can have the most enjoyable experience when they watch music videos.
Another positive comment we received was from a fellow student saying that the artist has a very clear representation throughout the video, and that the way he is portrayed struggling to make it in the city is clearly demonstrated throughout. I believe that me and my group did convey this effectively when making our video as there are several scenes that show he has reached his lowest low/rock bottom like when the camera cuts to an extreme close up of the money box and there are only 1 and 2 p coins showing that the artist isn't making any money which also relates to the scene where he runs away from the cab because he didn't pay the fare.
The last positive comment me and my group received was from the teachers saying that we have used a wide range of diverse camera angles and techniques throughout the entire video wherever it was possible or needed. Me and my group can agree with this comment because we kept making sure the shots weren't being repetitive whilst filming in London and Loughton. All of the shots we used were used so that the audience would be interested in the amount of diverse camera techniques used and some of the shots we used help create certain ideas from the audience like when the artist tries to get into his house near the end and the shot is a high angle shot looking down on him as if to suggest he is inferior.
The first constructive comment me and my group received was from our teachers after showing them the video was that the lens on the camera wasn't adjusted properly and as a result certain shots are showing the artist out of focus. This is extremely noticeable when watching the video a second time an me and my group are very thankful for this constructive comment. However re filming the shots would be problematic because the filming location would be very difficult to get to again so that it's still bright and sunny as we are in the middle of winter, and the distance was very far for re filming all the way in liverpool street, this is also the reason why the second location is Loughton because it's busy as well as close by so me and my group thought that it would work there. Me and my group just need to focus on how to clear up the camera shots so that it doesn't look as if they are out of focus.
Another constructive comment made was that we need to use filters a lot more in our video so that it can look more professional as stated in the youtube comment we received. Me and my group have taken this comment on board and think that we could use a grainy filter to take some of the colour out of the video so that it looks a bit more depressing this makes it more conventional for the audience which will make it more professional as it will look like a realistic music video for the indie genre.
The last constructive comment made about our video was that one of the characters in the video, who is a successful individual and signs an autograph at one point, doesn't look as though he is a successful music artist. This is a very good comment that was made because though me and my group knew what he was, the audience would struggle understanding his purpose in the video, me and my group know he is a direct opposite from our artist but because the successful person isn't given much of an identity and it's difficult to see if he is even a music artist whatsoever. Me and my group planned on re filming these scenes so that he was listening to an Ipod so a connection could be hinted at, but in relation to the camera shot that should follow this one, he isn't seen at all with the with the ipod or even headphones, so this was a problematic constructive point but we still haven't corrected.
Me and my group will start improving the video by adding several filters throughout, one idea me and my group have had is to use a filter that takes away a lot of the colour from the shots our artist is in so that it looks as though it is a depressing story. Me and my group then had the idea of adding colour back into the video when our artist is playing the guitar and when the successful artist is on screen because the colour would show success for the successful artist and would show hope for our artist. One last correction me and my group will be making is that there is a focus filter we can use to blur the edges of a shot so that the artist doesn't look out of focus as much anymore, he'll still be blurry but the background will be a lot more blurry so that our artist stands out.
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