Digipak

Initially we had to come up with a logo design. We knew we wanted to include a circle within the logo; we made this image to test out how the text and logo would look.

 After testing out the text and graphic on top of a photo we took of Rae, we chose the font of "secret code" as is was formal with a contemporary feel to it. We decided to have the text offset to the right of the circle, this presents the idea of not being normal or in-line, which is something we wanted to present within the artist.

We made our first design on the basis of the above screen shot from our music video.

This was our first product, we felt it did not represent our artist well enough. Her body language was very closed and the darkness of the image didn't present her as being young or free. This gave us the direction of collecting an image that would allow the final product to present our artist as free-spirited whilst retaining the alternative image we were trying to market the artist with.

We collected the image and decided the ancillary task had to be completely limited in nature. We achieved this by having the image directly in the center of the advertisement, we stuck and chose between two fonts whilst remaining to a limited composition of blacks, greys and whites.

Here is our completed set of ancillary tasks;

1. The magazine advertisement
2. The CD front cover
3. The CD back cover

After making the first design of the magazine advertisement we knew the composition would not present the artist as being free-spirited well enough. We decided on a colors that would work well with our artist and set out collecting images of Hi-res paint in water. We collected the images and after manipulating them we had a skin to peel over our designs. The color worked well and i feel it presented our artist as not only being contemporary but, it gave a psychedelic, hippy vibe that reformed our artist and allowed us to attract a older, perhaps more sophisticated demographic.
The inside CD covers colors were inverted this presented the diversity of subject matter over the album.

Construction Sliderocket

Dark Room Lighting Experiment

In the shot below we filmed in a dance studio which was used as a dark room effectively, this allowed us to experiment with dynamic lighting using a spotlight and a cover over it. Then we used the cover to allow certain amounts of light to be released and projected onto our performer Rae, at the same time we were moving the light in the movement of the music.

1. White studio

As part of the production we had to set up a white studio. This was to be set up over three days of shooting. We started with a thin 2 metre wide backdrop that had a curve and created the infinite white backdrop as the subject had to stand on the sheet. 

 

 I then put together the dolly making sure it was able to track forwards and back. The tripod was then added on top of the dolly.

The 3 point lighting was then set up however we ran into some difficulty due to there not being the appropriate equipment. It led us to use the soft box, to light the left of the subject, various low wattage lights to light the right and a reflector (at times) to peel the subject off the backdrop.

** After doing this initial shoot we have discovered that we need more lighting, if we were able to successfully light the subject the quality of footage will increase dramatically.

After the first day of filming we decided we needed a larger canvas for the backdrop. The next day we got a white sheet to put up as the backdrop, we iron it and stapled it to make up the back of the frame.

This gave us a lot more area to work with and we were able to get much longer shots, seeing more of the subject in the frame.

Studio

Final Animatic

Final Animatic from George Dennehy on Vimeo.

Test shots

Test Shots. from Jacob Sedgwick on Vimeo.

We discovered alot from carrying out these test shots;

1. Lighting - The lighting wasn't sufficient. We need a lighting rig that lights the subject to the standard of High-Key lighting. We are researching 3 point lighting rigs and are confident we can acquire 2 soft box's and a small filler light. We also want Dynamic-lighting so we need to look at how we can achieve a strobing effect with a small halogen light.
2. Choreography - We discovered more thought needed to go into our dance moves and what the artist will actually be doing on screen.
3. Costume - We have come to the decision that the artist needs to present a house style through what she is wearing. It needs to be familiar across all the shots and the demographic of our audience needs to be related to.
4. Camera movement - We have decided the camera will move accordingly to the movement of our artist. This means changing shot types to hand gestures and movement on the artists movement.

Shooting schedule

6. Concept

5. Image annotation

4. Lyrics Annotation

Flying, climbing,
This is what I feel when I'm reverse skydiving,
Neptune, shining,
Frying all the elements as they're combining,
Rewind, timing,
This be the contract for sky I'll be signing,
No concern for wining or dining,
Wind so blue that it might be blinding,
All that I know is I won't be minding

You don't have to jump to fly with me
You don't have to jump to fly with me
You don't have to jump to fly with me
You don't have to jump to fly with me

Flying, climbing,
Giving me a smile, that's the inverse of crying
Upwards, mining
My dress seems like a ruby and the stars be aligning
Sky that's shining
Angles that I'm turning on continue refining
No concern for eyes that are prying
Spell my name with lighting and keep rewinding
All that I know is I won't be minding

You don't have to jump to fly with me
You don't have to jump to fly with me
You don't have to jump to fly with me
You don't have to jump to fly with me

Flying, climbing,
This is what I feel when I'm reverse skydiving,
Neptune, shining,
Frying all the elements as they're combining,
Rewind, timing,
This be the contract for sky I'll be signing,
No concern for wining or dining,
Wind so blue that it might be blinding,
All that I know is I won't be minding

You don't have to jump to fly with me
You don't have to jump to fly with me
You don't have to jump to fly with me
You don't have to jump to fly with me

There is definitely a sense of it being out of this world; the lead is somewhat presented as a goddess, due to the reference’s to planets and space.

The main character has power particularly over men; she is an archetype, and could be seen as a femme fatale as her sexual allure controls her audience. 

- Archetype: A statement, or pattern of behaviour, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated.

“Elements as they’re combining”

 “Stars realigning”

“Neptune, shining”

“Angels that I’m turning on continue refining”

We could definately relate to space or something, "out of this world".

She comes across as having frontier spirit, having no fears, hardiness.

Women are often perceived as being inferior to men but she is setting a standard portraying herself as having dominance over men.

There is definitely a sexual nature that runs throughout the song, there is no literal reference however, lyricism could connote to sex or anything on the matter. 

3. Song Details

We have chosen to make a music video for the remix of Hot Natured - Reverse Skydiving feat. Anabel England. The remix is by shadow child who is pioneering the house industry at the moment, this make it appropriate to our genre.

2. Roles

Here are the individual roles we have been chosen to do. 

1. Initial Idea's

We all were initially aware of the genre we had chosen which was house. We didn’t come to an agreement on what song we were going to choose but, we did after going over the finalised choices of song. We decided Rae would be our artist and we talked about the locations we had in mind, some of which a studio with a white back drop, a party type scenario, train station and a tall building. We thought about prop and costume suggesting that the artist should wear various different outfits all confiding to the image we are trying to portray, and the used of red lipstick as well as a hifi-system with halogen light bulbs, technic decks and a fixed gear bicycle. I think communicating by expressing anything that we thought improved development of ideas, this way we each was able to develop thoughts with help of others. We chose house music because it had not been done by anyone before and it’s a malleable genre.  

17. Audience Research 2

GENDER:


The feedback we received appeared to be mostly from male students. Females 41% and males 59%. This means that most of what my group will be working from will probably be male orientated as the female percentage falls lower.






WHAT GENRE OF MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO:


From the people we ask to fill out the survey the range of genres that people favouritise vary. The most popular genre appears to be Indie with a percentage of 27%. The smallest percentage of 2% shared with 7 other genres such as hip hop, drum and bass, old school, house, punk, trap&rap and most genres in general. This gives our group an opportunity to show individuality and creativity in our music video which will be focused on the genre of House. Dance and old disco both share a percentage of 5%. These two genres are very similar to house music as they use electronic noises and synth's created not only through instruments but also computerized. Brit pop is alone at 3%. A lot of artist land under the genre of pop which is why i feel it is the second highest percentage of 24%. It is an easy option to choose to favouritise as although all artists are unique and may not necessarily feel as though they are pop, it is the artists name which puts them there. R&B was chosen by 7% of the people we asked to complete the questionnaire.






HOW OLD ARE YOU:


60% (which is over half) of the people that filled out our survey were the age 16-25. This means that we will be focusing our music video creation on the majority of the amount asked which luckily are our target audience.






DO YOU LISTEN TO HOUSE MUSIC:


The majority (82%) of people we questioned happened to say yes to listening to house music which is convenient for me and my group as it means each will be willing to watch our music video. The 38% who said no are most likely those that favouritise indie, rock etc which does not affect us.






HAVE YOU SEEN HOUSE MUSIC VIDEOS:


Again, 82% admitted to watching house music videos and named the ones which they did. The most popular seen house music videos are from disclosure as they are in the charts.






WHAT DO YOU EXPECT TO SEE IN HOUSE MUSIC VIDEOS:


The feedback from this question is most effective in the making of my groups music video. From what we have been told is most expecting means we can be unique whilst also satisfying our viewers. The two highest things expected to be seen in house music videos are Dancing (36%) and unsure (32%). Although the 'unsure' percentage is not much help, the rest makes up for it. Clubs, money, house parties, kissing, girls/women all share a minor percentage but could play a big part in the video if they appear. The mostly things that we will include and which my group have been influenced by from other house music videos are dancing, girls, raves and other conventional images which will most likely be unique.






DO YOU KNOW OF ANY HOUSE ARTISTS:


From looking at the questionnaire answers myself it would appear the most popular House artists known of are Disclosure and Alunageorge. The percentage that said yes(82%) is higher than those that said no (28%)

16. Audience Research 1

13. CD Cover Research

14. Record Label Research

15. Advertisement Research

12. Genre Research 3

If I could sum up my chosen genre house it would be something like this;

11. Genre Research 2

10. Genre Research 1

This is my mood board of my chosen genre.

9. Music Video Theory Goodwin

8. Music Video Theory Vernallis

7. Low Budget Idea's.

 An element of this video that seems to stick out in terms of maintaining a budget is the use of repetition of shots. In our project it must be done carefully as you run the risk of marks being dropped if does not look like a shot has been repeated for effect. However, you can end up sticking to a budget and achieving a good level of repetition which matches the song and pleases the audience when more shots are released. I believe this particular video has achieved a good level of repetition; it provokes feelings of nostalgia and the shots aren't held for too long causing the audience to lose interest.

Another element of this particular video that I found a great low budget idea was the stock video used. The stock video of powerful imagery really pulls on the emotional heart strings of the audience; from natural disasters, white television noise to chemical reactions that are layered over the top of most of the shots. Despite these shots not necessarily being from indirect source, I believe it would be a good Idea to keep in mind if it’s too expensive to directly source the shot.

This is another example of a low budget music video. Set up like a Model photography shoot there is a white canvas behind to woman. This is a basic shot to set up and the Mise-en-scene, specifically the clothes of the woman would be the only cost, and that probably was provided by the girls themselves. The interesting thing about this video is the use of layering. Like the last video it gives it a third dimension, makes it interesting without spending money on location.

The theme of water, pools and class is predominant throughout without even going to said locations. This is a great idea to keep in mind because you don’t necessarily have to go to a location in order to get a certain feel to a video, you can achieve it through composition, layering or even costume and tightly frame shots.

Brief

RAP: The Underachiever - The Proclamation (Rolling stones soundtrack)

This video is a conventional rap video in many ways; one of the most noticeable assets to a rap video is the artist’s performance within the video. I believe they used pieces of the cinematography well to present these artists. They conventionally used mid/long shots to reveal performance as well as lip-synching. I wouldn’t say its conventional to have a close up to reveal lip-synching within a rap video due to the fact a lot of the performance is done with the artists body language and hand gestures. We should take this into account when choosing our genre: Rap is more about mise-en-scene; good performance, hand gestures and expensive props/clothes. – Another reason why they use a lot of mid/ longs, to show off the “garmz”.

The artists are seen in a multitude of locations, this is conventional to a rap video as the lyricsm and theme is usually about struggle. The often try to present this theme through the mise-en-scene and switch between deprived locations. This could also be related to them demographic of the audience, people who watch rap videos are usually from an area which they can relate to the ones that appear in the video. This is an interesting point to consider when we’re choosing location: - Consider audiences demographic when choosing location.

The post production and pre-production are particularly interesting in this video. The genre is rap however; it’s a reformed version of rap, contemporary rap if you like. It’s where the artists are not only trying to achieve the cleanest mise-en-scene with cars, clothes, etc.  They are trying to achieve the cleanest look to their video.  A mechanical rig looks like it has been used to film a range of shots which allow them to achieve perfect Hitchcock zooms. This zoom is achieved by the camera being placed onto a track and the rig being pulled back while the camera zooms in, and vice versa for a slightly different effect. The post production involved warping various elements of the mise-en-scene, location, costume, etc. I believe this was to add impact to the lyricism within the song, about questioning reality, the future and a neglected past.

Pop: The XX - Fiction

The artist is seen to appear in the video, with close-up's revealing lip synch through his facial expressions. A range of camera movements show mid-shots of the artist’s performance, at the beginning it’s his signature dance.

The composition of the video matches the costume and the iconic “look” of the band, the costume also matches this look and composition. This creates a well-rounded iconic style of the band.

A high frame rate allows for the shots to be slowed down creating a “sexy-smooth” look. This could again relate to the concept or the style of the band. Using a high frame then slowing down the shots could also be down to fashionable videography; it’s becoming widely used due to this technique of filming and post production becoming more popular

Rock: Arctic Monkeys - Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?

Elements of the mise-en-scene personify Alex Turner as a rockstar. The colours in the pub are dark blacks and reds, with the composition of the shot very dark. His performance presents him as being under the influence of drugs and alcohol which is apparent to be a theme through the title. I believe Alex Turner has been portrayed in this way due to the demographic of the target audience he is trying to attract. I believe he is trying to attract a young audience from 18-25. Other elements of themes suggest this with it being a rock song with R&B influences, sex, mentally subjective characters and a love interest.

A good element of the editing in this music video is the super imposed text messages. It creates good viewing pleasure because you feel more connected with the Artist it’s like you’ve delved into his life. This is again targeting a younger demographic of audience who are connected with each other and social.

The song is also cut to the beat – in a way. I believe the success of this music video is due to the adaptation of the original song. After Alex Turner is seen to zone out through alcohol the slappin’ bass brings him back round in a euphoric correction of the song, and the character frame of mind. This substitution of the song with a light buzzing sound allows the audience empathetically relate to the main character as you are in his head. This is a creative way of connecting the audience with the main character. 

Rock: Good Shoe's - Morden Analysis

 Editing is cut to the beat; presenting the audience with close-ups of band members, instruments being played, feet tapping, etc. This tight frame is a good way to reveal the mise-en-scene as they are showing elements without exposing the location to soon. They were also able to alternate between shots quickly, cutting to the beat; this creates a dynamic montage edit of small elements of the artists. This is conventional to an indie rock music video because you often find the editing being cut to the beat to make the video flow correctly with the song.
 The audience is then presented with wide- longs of the location. These cutaways contain subject matter relating to the lyricism and are relevant to the music video.

 The artists costume is everyday clothing; which is no surprise as the video is of a lower budget however, this is still conventional to its indie rock genre. This may be something to consider when choosing our genre, indie rock does not involve a glamorous mise-en-scene in comparison to a pop video.

 It’s conventionally an indie rock song through and through. Religiously cutting to the beat, with close ups to show lip-synch and mid-shots to show performance. This simplistic way of creating a video puts aside a narrative within the video, instead they show what they are sing about through the other shots that make up the video. This is a stylistic to the time it was created, the progression of media and means artists have more opportunity to get more out of there videos. However, this is a type of music video that won’t be lost. It’s the bare bones of a music video the artist’s performance is a great way to show what the band is about instead of having a naff short film on strong naff subject matter with a soundtrack, I suppose.

The Shrine

The basic conventions of a music video are as follow's:

1.  The Artist will usually appear within the video. 
2.  The song will be the soundtrack to the whole video, it will start and end when the music   starts and ends. 
3.  Artist will usually be lip along with the lyrics. 
4.  Artist will perform throughout; choreographed dancing, instrument and lip synching. 
5.  Video will usually have 3 or more different locations which may change.
6.  Costume match location.
7.  Usually, sections of the music video will be filmed within a studio.
8.  There are often a range of camera movements which make the video dynamic.
9.  Video will use mostly close ups for Lip-Synch and Mid-shots/Long-shots for performance. 
10.  The video may often use high angles.
11.  wide range of different shot types/ angles in each location to allow for dynamics and to avoid repetition.
12. Slow motion effect is used to create sexy or slick feel 
13.  Concept rather than story

Pulp - Do you remember the first time? annotation

Annotated conventions.

This song by Pulp is conventional to its genre of 80's alternate rock. You would usually expected to see an appearance of the lead singer in the video, lip syncing along to the lyrics. The artists performance is also key in terms of attracting the audience. The locations usually change throughout with a range of different camera movements which are cut to the beat. This video also contains a narrative which is more of a concept in relation to the lyricism.

In this first sequence it becomes apparent there is a sexual orientation within the piece. The leader singer is seen to be amongst a mise-en-scene of rich red colours and lying on a bed. He is also where a costume which is a cliché of 80's fasion, a silk purple shirt and blazer.This suggests they were targeting a young female audience who would be more inclined to finding the lead singer of a sexual interest, leading them to gain an attachment to the band. This is also supported by the performance of the main singer. What now would seem creepy, in the 80's his leering movements, tone and hand gestures would seem attractive and would attract the audience of the time into supporting, and attaching themselves to the video. 

 

Another asset within the piece which is why i have annotated it, was the unconventional use of camera-work. This exciting use of a crane allows the camera to orbit between the artist lip syncing and the contextual reference to the lyricism within the piece. This Dynamic-ism of the camera is the conventional make-up of Music video's of this time. Filmographers were breaking bounds in the way they used cameras and the innovative originality allows the sequence to conventionally jump between artist and concept. By cutting to the beat. Well, allowing each revelation of camera movement to match the guitar riff in the chorus it connotates a small world in which the target audience are living in. It creates an intimacy between the artist and audience as the concept in the piece is Pulps target audiences lives. And also flows and looks freaking epic.