Music Video - Final Edit

This is our final Music Video with all the mistakes taken out

Final Website

Finished Digipack

Evaluation Question Four

How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Throughout all of our research and planning we have come across lots of media technologies for example during our formation of the website we used dreamweaver which at the start was very difficult to use and moving pictures and adding text was really hard to do but once we had got use to the program it became really simple and this is when we began to see our website become whole. For finding our track when used google to search for unsigned websites and we then came across a website called http://www.totallyunsigned.co.uk/ and we just looked randomly at some songs after picking the genre from the websites serach engine when then came across Anna neales song and we new that it was the perfect song. During our mock ups for the CD cover and website we used basic programmes such as word and powerpoint just until we had finalised our designs and ideas before using the bigger programs to do our actual real websites and digipacks such as dreamweaver and fireworks. Blogger also helped me present all of my work and allowed me to include videos and images of the filming process and our actually finished products. QA blog is much easier to keep upto date with and handing in a folder would not have been permitted. Youtube was also another main source to help us upload our video onto and this also helped us get our written feedback.

Evaluation Question Three

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Once we had finished editing our video when then uploaded it to youtube straight away, once it had been on a couple of days we then began to get feedback from the viewrs that had watched it some of the comments were:

Love it guys, fab x
annaneale 6 days ago
Love the video, very authentic and realistic. Good use of lighting and really impressive camera angles.
AthenaSky093 2 weeks ago
Wow factor is huge!!!! Great visual story, amazing lip synch. Loved it!!!
donandgerlinde 2 weeks ago
Wow factor is huge!!!!
donandgerlinde 2 weeks ago
Omg Love this video :)
SophieSockett01 2 weeks ago

These were all the comments that were taken from youtube, i was really proud for myself and the group on recieving these comments as all of them were positive and the main comment that really did stand out was the one from the song writer herself Anna Neale. We were really happy with the people that had viewed it also because the age range we wanted was males and females that were young adults and through monitering youtube this was the target audience that has been watching our music video. One comment that i do entirely agree is that we have created a great story and presented it visually in our music video this is what we aimed to do as a group and with this comment it has obviously succeeded in doing so. I also agree with the Lip syncing i think as a group we worked so hard to match the song up correctly with the video and took so many shots just to make sure that it would look in perfect timing that personally i dont think we could of got any better timed with the song, this was one of our aims at the beginning of creating the music video to make sure the lip syncing was in time. And also to make the lip syncing more believable during filming i actually sang the song outloud. I also thought that the video must of been of good quality for the song writer to put such a positive comment like that on youtube. Another one of our intentions was to make the shots look real and 'film like' and as naturalistic as possible so it didnt look fake or unrealistic. One comment was left saying that the use of lighting and camera angles was really impressive the reason for agreeing with this is because when we were filming we made sure that we re-filmed the shots as many times as we could for example filming long shots, mid shots and close ups this was so we had variety in the music video and also to take our pick of which shots to use instead of worrying that there wouldnt be enough material to fill in some missing gaps. Some shots I noticed in the final uploaded version we didnt cut correctly therefore showing a couple of seconds of film that shouldnt of been in the final version, so we had to go back and make changes so the video looked up to standard. On a whole I think that the video is fantastic even though some of the qaulity of shots let us down for example the first sequence where i am sat on the bench look really professionally done where as some other shots through out the video could of been better. Some shots were also not added from previous filming sessions due to the white balance being incorrect or the widescreen not set correctly. Overall the feedback so far has been positive apart from the few comments on our draft version which were given as advice rather than criticism. We have changed the errors in our music video and me and the rest of the group think we have worked hard to make this look believable and have succeeded in doing so, so we all have positive views towards the video.

Evaluation Question Two

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

The groups ancillary texts of the website and Digipack will make a very effective combination along with the music video due to having the similar costumes, lighting, tone and locations and these all together would create an overall image that the artist would promote the album.

Digipack

Our digipack uses most of the conventions that any existing CD's would use. The large image on the front of our album cover is the artist which is aimple yet effective and looks professional. This is the style that most artists use for their albums for example Lady Gaga, Ellie Goulding and Kelly Rowland to promote them as an artist and their songs.

This images just like our Cd cover and inserts have a very sexy and confident image and each of these have different themes for example Ellie gouldings album Lights you can see from the editing on her hair are made up as lights and the background uses metalic colours such as golds and silvers and this fits in with her theme of lights.

The insert for our album cover consists of a range of images of me with one side the innocent character and the other side the darker more confident character and this fits in with the main song "Not made for this" but again sets the theme and atmosphere for all the other songs on the album.

Richard Dyer has noted: “a star is an image constructed from a range of materials”. For pop music these materials include:

1=The songs and their lyrical themes and musical structures/ genres
2=The record covers- singles and albums display a large part of the image the artist wants to create and present to an audience
3=Music videos, which may draw upon the image presented in each of the other aspects.

The group has conformed to this theory by creating cohesion between the three products we have made which include website, digipack and the video itself to create a star image. An artist will release a particular song from their album as a lead song before their album is actually released. As an artist it takes time at this point to create their particular style and image. Our lead single from the album would be " Not made for this" as we have done this for our music video. This idea for the ablum cover and other ancillary texts is to create a atmopheric mood that fits in with all the songs and shows the difference between the two characters. The inserts have two pages the left half is the innocent images and the other half is the more confident sexier look. The innocent character represents the acoustic songs on the album which again is why we chose that character as the album cover.

Website

Our website has the influence from the real Anna Neale website and we have incorporated the colours and the tones that we have used for the digipack and used in the music video, which is mainly back and white. We have used pictures of me that we have taken from filming session to add into our website design which we took inspiration from the way Anna Neales website looked. All websites have tabs linking to another page on their website so we managed as a group to hyperlink our tabs on our website to another page which uses the conventions of other websites. On our website just like other artists we have out in our music video on the page to show it off and this is what is normally on a artists website. We also wanted to keep that acoustic feel

Evaluation Question One

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenges forms and conventions of real media products?

The main source that an artist uses to promote their song is the music video, and their albums show the style of the artist and songs it can show their versatility and make sure that it is exciting for the audience. A music video allows the song to be visually represented on the screen. When planning our music video as a group we wanted the style of the video to be authentic as attention was drawn to other music videos typical conventions.

Performance

“Often, music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the band. Additionally, a carefully choreographed dance might be a part of the artist’s performance or an extra aspect of the video designed to aid visualisation and the ‘repeatability’ factor. Sometimes, the artist (especially the singer) will be a part of the story, acting as narrator and participant at the same time. But it is the lip-synch close-up and the miming of playing instruments that remains at the heart of music videos, as if to assure us that the band really can kick it.” (Steve Archer 2004)

Our video confroms this theory as me playing the role of the charcater is present throughout most of the video. I play a troubled girl that goes on a journey through every day life situations. And her charcater fits in with the changing of scenes such as the urban street look she changes her personality and her looks. So we conform to this theory very well and the video looks believable to the audience watching. Showing some target audiences that we had aimed our video at having a critical eye thought that our video looked very professionally done. I do believe that our video looks professional due to the group researching styles and following closely to the conventions of exisiting videos.

'Music videos allow an element of acting, which could include facial expressions, eye contact and mise en scene which allows the performer to be accessed by the audience in various ways, like the use of close ups and panning so everything is seen. This adds a story to the song which can match the lyrics or explore other meanings. As with star image this makes the song memorable and allows connections and implications the song would not have without a music video for people to see the song visually depicted'. (Pete Fraser)

In our music involves me acting a lot of the time as our video is based on the actor and lip syncing. I play a female character that is unhappy in her life with a relationship that is not working. Our video starts with a argument sequence with me playing the female character and Tom playing the boyfriend, this scene was very quick to film as me and Tom have taken A-Level Drama and also GCSE so we have gained experience. We wanted Tom to come across in a threatening manner and for the girl to eventually stand up to him at the end of the argument sequence and it ends with me leaning against the window with a unhappy expression on my face which again looks believable to the audience as was all the acting during this scene. As the music video carries on I portray a number of different personalities and a lot of different emotions through out as different bits of the song requires faster shots and slower parts of the song requires slower shots. As the character changes through the video I portray a different character which shows opposite emotions such as agression and frustration. My acting really shows and fits in with atmosphere of the song and this is the one strongest element of our music video which makes it believable and professional and from comments i think the group are also proud of the acting in of music video.

Camera and Editing

'A variety of camera angles and movements of different locations featuring the artist are used in quick succession to create the unique music video style that differs from how a film operates. This style of camerawork gives the video a more dynamic feel and vibe that promotes the song and generates interest by leaving an 'imprint' or memory on the audience so whenever they hear the song they will have an image of the music video in their head'. (Pete Fraser)

During the planning stage for the music video at the very beginning we said we all wanted to avoid long takes of shots because it looks more amateur and would also get very boring to watch and repetitive. Our video does involve this theory because we have used lots of different sequences in different locations for example the street locations against the wall and walking down the street. We used close ups of me acting and then filmed another shot of the same thing, the reason for using close ups was because we wanted the character to connect with the audience and show her emotions.

Changes and corrections made for final edit

'Although the draft edit was near enough as perfect as we could get it there were a few changes we knew needed to be made to improve the quality and make the final version as good as it could be. In addition feedback from the draft edit gave us some areas to work on. So in the final edit the following areas were changed.

Pre-Song Material
Originally we used the sound from the footage of the house pan and arguement zoom in the pre-song material however our feedback told us that the background noise sounded like hoovering and was very annoying, this was the building works on the house opposite the street. You could also hear the noises of the camera moving and zooming in, which was distracting and unprofessional. For the final edit we downloaded a background wind sound effect to play over the images. We also downloaded some bird noises that we placed together and manipulated to add another ambient sound. Unfortunately when trying to export the video we realised one of the bird sounds had a copyright on it and could not use it. The other bird sound was to short to use on its own as it sounded artifical and annoying, so in the end we did not use any bird sounds. (Me and Josh executed this change)
We increased the length of the 'Suffolk Lodge' sign shot because it cut between it to quick in the draft edit. (I executed this change)
We cut a section at the start of the arguement sequence off so as the shots comes up the couple are already arguing whereas before we were still and started arguing- making it look as if we were waiting to start. (Sophie executed this change)
We tried to find a way of hiding a part where the camera distorts for a second in the zoom towards the window through fades and other effects however this just made it more obvious so we just have to live with that one error being in there- it is quick and not too obvious. (All of the group tried to rectify this)
We cut the end of the argument shot sooner as before we uploaded the draft edit we extended the clip too much by accident and you saw Sophie come out of role. This has now been rectified. (Andrew executed this change)
Other Changes

Opening instrumental- we extended the shots of the garden as they were cut between to quick before hand. We then shortened the mid-shot of her looking through a window so the footage stayed to the original timing with the music and avoid being out of sync. (Sophie executed these changes)
In the draft edit at the end of the second verse another clip was to long and you saw Sophie come out of role- we extended the fade to the next shot so you cannot see this anymore. (Andrew executed this change)
In the draft edit at the end of the second verse we cut to a walking shot we had already used that did not make sense. We placed it there quickly before uploading, we replaced this with a side on mid-shot of Sophie on the bench where she sighs and looks down, this links to the narrative and further conveys her emotions. We placed fades to black before and after the shot as it his suits the slower tempo of the song. (Me and Andrew executed this change)
In the bridge of the draft edit the camera cuts to a low angle shot of Sophie and she looks away almost immediately. For the final edit we extended the clip before where she looks towards the camera and then placed the low angle shot again and she returns from looking away to look at the camera in this postition. This makes it flow better. (I executed this change)
Near the end of the song the camera cuts to a pan around Sophie in the street, however at the start of the shot Sophie looks like she is waiting to start. Therefore we extended the clip and fade before this shot so it cuts to this shot just as she starts singing. (I executed this change)

Deleted Scenes

Music Video - Draft Version

26th November - Website Draft Design

26th November - Front Draft Cover

26th November - Back Draft Cover

26th November - Digipack Draft

Friday 19th November

Editing Continues

Today as group we found it really hard to get the majoirty of our editing done as the software kept closing down on us and there was errors with the new clips that we filmed on a different camera to the one we had originally been filming on. Due to having this error on the clips this is making us really fall behind with our editing as it takes twice as long to load the programme and takes us even longer to insert and arrange the clips. At this moment in time if the clips we have just filmed are not going to work as a group we are going to have to decide very quickly on what would be the best thing to do, which maybe re-filming on the camera we used before to do the previous footage or to use the footage we have already even though the video then would not make sense and yet again there would be gaps in the footage. We could of used this time more wisely to either do the website or the CD Cover but due to the group worrying that much about finishing the editing we had to go and find out how to resolve this problem in order to finish the video on time.

Tuesday 16th and 17th November - Final Filming Session

Aim: To head back to Suffolk lodge and re-film all the shots the either didnt work properly or gaps that need to be filled in the editing section

Today and yesterday as a team we managed to complete our final session of filming for the music viedo. In all the day was very successful and we managed to get all the shots done including some new last minute ideas. The main footage that we needed to re-film was the bits in the cage, wall and street this is because the white balance on the other shots are very poor and the quilty is not very good. The other reason for filming these shots are because all the other shots that were successful look very sharp and very good quality and we wanted to continue this throughout the video to make it look as good as we could. Unfortunately Josh was not present at either of these filming sessions for unknown reasons but the group worked on and got everything that needed doing done and we came out with some really good quality shots.

First set of shots: Make-up, corset/transformation shots

As we were editing the group noticed that from the vulnerable girl into the wild stronger character the transformation between the two characters was very quick and unexplained so we agreed that we really needed to shoot some more shots basically explaining how shes transforms into this confident character. And by not having these longer shots of the transformation the audience would not notice and they would be poitnless shots but thats not what we intended, we wanted them to get the idea that this girl is growing with confidence and is about to go on a journey so tom then came up with the idea of longer shots letting the audience see her getting changed and putting on her make-up to make the transformation crisp and noticable. To start with we filmed the shots of me in the inoccent outfit first to make things a bit quicker so we started with the shots were i am looking out the window and through a photo album, these shots were intended to again show the innocence of this girl and to deepen the narrative of her relationship with her boyfriend and the meaning of the song. These shots are designed to slot into the instrumental at the beginning of the music video after you have seen parts of the argument. After we were happy with how the previous shots were we then moved on to film some more shots so we had a bit more variety with shot selection, we decided to film me singing on the bed the first verse still in my innocent costume still, These shots are designed to show that she is fed up with her relationship and shes had enough which then leads the sequence to when shes getting ready. These shots also link in with the lyrics (Here goes another night). The reason for choosing this bedroom was so it really deepens her vulnerablity and shows that she has lived there all her life and hardly ever goes out which shows her isolating herself. Another reason for choosing this set was to really get across to the camera that she feels safe in her bedroom in order to express all these feelings and shows that she is a typical girl and spends her time in her room dwelling on things. At this point when i was lying singing on the bed towards the side into the camera i decided i wanted to move the camera for more of an interesting shot so Tom stood on the bed above me for a birds eye veiw shot of me singing below him which really shows how vulnerable this character is and by looking at the camera enhances the connection with the audience. This shot was very difficult to film as tom was on the bed also and had to steady the camera during the shot. Web then tried another shot that didnt really work and was tricky to film this shot consisted of me getting off the bed quickly and walking away showing that i was getting stronger as a character but this didnt really work as the shot looked very under performed so we decided not to include it. We then filmed a range of shots showing shes getting stronger and becomes more confident in herself. A shot of me pulling the corset out from the wardrobe really worked well even though we just thought of taking that shot incase we didnt have anything else to slot in but in the end this worked really well. We then had a shot of me actually putting the corset on which fitted in with the transformation. We then tried something different with this next shot we decided to move the camera behind me so you could see me putting the make-up on in the mirror and with the camera not in sight this shot looked professional. The next shot was a close up of me zipping up my heels as a filler for the chorus or instrumental. The reason for using the mirror was to make the audience think that they are also looking into to her life and seeing what this girl is going through and doing. During some of these shots we have tried to add in some sex appeal to the character and by doing this we can see in the shot of me putting my corset on which part of my back is showing which will create sex appeal that a male audience will like and many female artists include in their videos.

Tuesday 16th November

Last Minute Filming

We re-filmed the following scenes:

'Against the wall shot'

'Walking down the road'

'Putting on make up and getting ready'

'Innocent shot on bed'

'A new shot In the leaves'

'Ending in the middle of the crossroads'

'Extra cage bits'

'Walking out the door'

'Putting clothes on and taking them out the wardrobe'

Filming Plan

For the final filming session tom had created for us a filming sheet that had on it all we needed to do for this final filming session.

(List Below)

Shot List for Final Filming Session- 16th November 2010

Opening Instrumental Film some shots to be placed here?

Section One
Here goes another night, I sit and hold on tight.
Listening to my half circle preach.
Can never get it right, they stay or leave in fright.
Maybe I'm just not made for this.

Because I'm not designed for this,
I wasn't made for this.
I'm not designed for this,
For being so twisted, yeah.

‘Transforming Shots’ (Possible shots do not have to use all)
• Mid- Long Shot- Sophie on bed looking annoyed, she gets up after having enough
• Close up- Hand reaches into wardrobe removes corset
• Mid-shot- Through mirror see Sophie apply makeup
• Extreme close up- Puts a heel on her foot
• Long shot and Mid- shot- Re-film dance sequence in the cage X2
• Long shot- grabs coat off a fence hanging up and walks onto street


Section Two
Look at me, and see what you can achieve.
Don't, doubt your insecurities.
Money is power, and I have everything.
But I think you forgot the meaning of happy.

• Re-film Close up of Sophie at the side of the wall in widescreen and correct white balance
• Film another scenario that could be cut to in this section?- Looking at pictures, upset etc:
• Re-film the mannequin shot that goes in this section on another day if possible

Section Three- Important

I need a break from this, cause I just can't process it.
It wasn't like that from the start.
Can never get it right, they this I’m dull or bright.
Maybe I'm just not made for this.

• Re-film singing of this section- back against the wall(movement to beat, aggression)
• Sing this section in the cage as well- to add extra shot in (dance/movement)
• Another scenario to cut to in this section?
• Re-film singing this section with mannequin if possible?

Because I'm not designed for this,
No I wasn't made for this.
No I’m not designed for this
For being so, for being so, twisted!

• Re-film singing this section back against the wall- widescreen and white balance correct (More movement and aggression)
• Re-film- walking towards camera- handheld shot with correct white balance
• Narrative- arguing, aggression between couple

Instrumental
• Film some shots for this- need some ideas!

*Section Four-Most Important*
No I'm not, cause I'm not, no I'm not made for this.
No I'm not, cause I'm not, no I'm not...

I'm not designed for this,
No I wasn’t made for this.
I’m not designed for this,
For being so twisted.

No I’m not designed for this,
No I wasn’t made for this.
I’m not designed for this,
For being so twisted.

No I’m not designed for this
I wasn’t made for thi-ehhhhhhhhhhh-is!

• Re-film running section
• Climax to story- revenge on boyfriend, show him stronger, fighting, smashing...
• Another scenario
• Movement and aggression- coming to a climax so needs to be BIGGER than other choruses!

9th November

Filming Session Three

Drama Room and shots with the Mannequin

After Half term and a week of doing the editing we started filming again which would be our third big filming session. At the end of our school day we all decided to head into the drama room and film our shots with the Mannequin. The reason for picking this location was because the room has black walls and the size is just enough for us to film in, we also made good use of the rooms stage lights which were used to create different effects. The room was set a bit like a studio and to make sure there was nothing in the background we managed to move everything out of the way when we were filming. And to tye in with the other locations that we have filmed in this created a very dark and atmospheric setting perfect for our music video. The idea for these shots were to show that this girl is unhappy with her boyfriend and by using the mannequin to show her re-shaping him.

The reason for using the mannequin is to symbolise her model boyfriend and her ideas of how she would like her boyfriend to be and this fits in well with the lyrics "Not made for this". During this filming session we thought that the mannequin could represent the boyfriend as we have filmed shots with me singing to him. This will give it a a weird theatrical twist and this links perfectly to the darker mood of the video. We all decided to have the mannequin bare with no clothes on in the shots to make me playing the character look superior to my boyfriend and to make the mannequin look powerless and vulnerable and gives the impression that the gi is in a stronger position and is controlling. The prop was chosen so in the shots i could move the mannequins arms and interact with it, the mannequin is very easily breakable which gave me the chance to be a lot more agressive with it for example taking the arms off him and throwing them to show the agression. I brought with me three costumes to this filming session so i could get change for a bit of variety. A range of costumes is always a big part of other female artists in their music videos as they try to change their outfit throughout the video and always to portray emotions via costume. We also for this shoot got some professional lights from media to enhance the lighting and to create a dark effect. The lighting was also to create shadows but we had to be careful as the lights were powerful and we had to watch in case it was to bright in certain shots.

Location Shots of Suffolk Lodge

Tuesday 12th October

Drafting the CD Cover Again

During the filming session at and around suffolk lodge we managed to take lots of photos in and around the house and also where we were filming on the street. The reason for taking these photos as well as evidence and for our blogs we also thought that these photos were good enough to be put onto the CD cover (Digipack) and Backcover and also for the website. We managed to get pictures on me in the corset which is the character portraying that she has had enough and also my other character the more vulnerable one to show both sides of the personality. The idea for these two sets of costumes is to portray and vulnerable side and a stronger side which gives different floors to the narrative. We kept the same locations and same costumes as in the viedo for the digipack because if this album was to be released we would have "Not made for this" as the main song on that album therefore these pictures would fit in with the mood of the album. The main image used on our CD cover would tye in with all the other songs and the mood of the album. The main image on the digipack consists of me lying on a guitar and we have decided to put this image in black and white to again fit in with the mood of the album and the songs. Images that have a link to the music video would be used on the CD to continue the style for the whole album. For our album we have created more of a rock/pop more than a pop style album cover so we can express the mood of the album, the album cover creates a journey/adventure that links to the main song which many other pop artists do.

For the images above we tried to convey a young, inoccent look for the artist to fit in with the song. The instruments such as the piano and the guitar shows the acoustic style of "Not made for this" and the other songs which feature on the album. The use of costume in these pcitures really shows off the inoccent and lighter side of this character and the colours such as the greens and browns gives a more natural feel. With the images below when im in the corset we have deliberately tried to make this side of the character more sexy and confident which most artists portray this. This side of the character was ment to give a much more darker side to the video and album and create a sense of freedom which is shown by the outside locations where as the more vulnerable character is more confined to the indoor shots. The street locations and the costume really tyes in well and creates that rock effect for the album and video. With the confident facial expressions and poses that come through in this side of the character really shows what this character wants and gives a much stronger side to the artist. In the end we went for an inoccent picture with the black and white effect so it gave off both sides to the cover and again fitted in well of a picture of the artist that featured in the video. The two sides to this character creates a realy interesting feel for the album and as group we have agreed on one particular picture.

Tuesday 12th October

Filming In Progress

First verse and chorus

Today was the groups first filming session for the music video which took place at a friends house called Suffolk lodge. As a group we decided that the narrative would be a girl singing about her boyfriend/relationship and how unhappy she is and we thought that this fitted in and worked really well with the lyrics of the song. Originally we decided that as me playing the girl in the music video i would play two different sides to this character and innocent version and a much stronger confident, sexier character. But before we started filming we thought as group that this wouldn't be very clear. So Tom suggested that we start the character in her innocent state and as the song works through and picks up pace and tone we then decided to change her costume and character to a much more sexy and confident girl and this shows she is toughening up throughout the video. By showing she is becoming stronger we show this through the use of locations such as the streets and the wall shots and also by her costume its much more revealing than the innocent one. As the group were discussing loctaions Tom suggested that we use a very big old fashioned house to show that the innocent side of this girl leads a sheltered life which again links to the lyrics of the song. Andrew suggested that a friend of ours Louise had a big old fashioned house in which we could film in.

Arriving at Suffolk Lodge

When we got to Suffolk lodge as soon as the group looked at the house and stepped inside we knew it was the perfect house for the idea we had. Before we started filming we had chance to look around the house but at this stage we took pictures for our blogs. We all thought that it would be a good idea to start filming some shots of the gradens and the house itself just to introduce the audience to the location. While we were on our tour of the garden we came across a bench that we thought could come into use in the music video somewhere and Andrew suggested we use it in the first verse. Also while looking around the garden we came across a fence that looked very much like a cage so we thought we could film the girl in there to show that she is trapped. But the very first shots to be filmed with the actors in it was me and Tom. After the location shots were finished me and Tom rehearsed a short little scene that can be used in the first verse and possibly the instrumental while Andrew was taking pictures of us rehearsing, Josh was filming the front of the house outside. We also as a group tried to include a variety shots and angles including close-ups, Pans, Mid shots and Long shots of the house and the gardens.

Mock up of CD Cover

Mock up of CD cover

CD Cover

For the cover we plan to have a simple design that includes one large cover image of the artist, this will be a close up so the image captures and sustains a connection with the audience. The artists name and the album title will be in the bottom right corner of the cover. This is a traditional design that works well as it effectively mimics what many existing covers look like. Originally we planned to include a range of images to create a collage cover however we believe this will look too much like a student created cover, whereas using one well taken and effective image is simple but looks much more professional.

CD Back Cover and Side Panels

For the back cover we plan to have another large image, this will become the background for the rear cover. The tracklist will be placed in a column on the left hand side. Again this is the traditional design that is present on many existing CD covers and works well as it is what is expected as a CD back design. The image we will use will not be distracting and will blend in so that it does not clash with the tracklist and make the design to hectic. The side panels will be black with white writing for the artist and album.


CD Insert Image
Inside the CD case behind the CD is where the insert image is placed. For this we will use a large image of the artist however unlike the cover this will be a long shot so you can see all of the artist as a well as the setting around her. This will reveal more about the style and image of the artist and album. This image will not be too full or busy because it will appear over the top and dominating therefore it would not look professional.

Filming Plan

Plan
The group plans to film every Tuesday afternoon as this is the only free time where every member of the group is available. This will give us up to three hours. Then in subsequent lessons we will use the time to start editing the shots we filmed in each session together. Therefore both filming and editing will be carried out simultaneously until all the filming is completed and we can further concentrate on editing. This is a slightly different approach to last year where the group filmed in two weeks in lesson times and then completed editing afterwards. This year the locations for filming are further away from the college and so need more time to film than the time available in lessons. Editing in lessons as we go along with the filming will ensure no time is wasted and enables us to start creating parts of the music video as soon as possible- it also allows us to have mulitiple draft versions to show as we go along and get feedback before the 'official' draft edit on Friday 26th November

Filming Session One

Date: Tuesday 12th October
Time: 13:00 to 15:00
Location: Suffolk Lodge- Garden, Driveway, Living Room
Actors: Sophie (Singer) Tom (Me) (Boyfriend)
Props: Only those that form the Mise-en-Scene of the garden and house
Costume: Normal Costume and Corset Costume
Equipment: Camera, Tri-Pod, Charger
Shots to be filmed: Location Shots, Arguement Sequence, Bench Sequence, Cage Sequence

Filming Session Two

Date: Tuesday 19th October
Time: 13:00 to 16:00

Location: Streets around Suffolk Lodge
Actors: Sophie (Singer)
Props: None Needed
Costume: Corset Costume
Equipment: Camera, Tri-Pod, Charger
Shots to be filmed: Wall Sequence, Handheld Sequence, Walking/ Running Sequence

Filming Session Three

Date: Tues 26th October *UPDATE* Re-scheduled (After Half Term) Tues 9th November

Time: 15:30 to 17:00
Location: Drama Room
Actors: Sophie (Singer)
Props: Mannequin and Microphone
Costume: Prom Dress, Short Lacy Dress, Flower Dress
Equipment: Camera,Tri-Pod, Charger, Block, Studio Lights, Media Filming Lights, Black Sheet
Shots to be filmed: Variety of Angles and Shot types with Mannequin and Costumes

*UPDATE* on 15th November
Filming Session Four

Date: Tuesday 16th November and Wednesday 17th November
Time: 13:00 to 16:00 and 10:00 to 12:15
Location: Suffolk Lodge- Bedroom and Garden and Streets around Suffolk Lodge
Actors: Sophie (Singer)
Props: Photo Album, Mobile Phone, Corset, Heels, Make-up and Bedroom Mise-en-Scene
Costume: Normal Costume and Corset Costume
Equipment: Camera,Tri-Pod, Charger
Shots to be filmed: Transformation Sequence, Re-Filming and Instrumental Sequence

(Tom made this filming plan)

Monday 27th September

Website Design

Inspiration from Anna Neale

Today as group we decided that we should really get to work on designing and coming up with ideas for our website so with lots of inspiration from Anna Neale herself we began to design our website.

http://www.annaneale.net/

The website address above is Anna Neale official website

Today i began by helping andrew as we both started to do some mock to begin with I sat and helped Andrew before then going off by myself and trying some out for myself. To start with me and Andrew started off with a blank sheet and to start the mock up we used microsoft powerpoint until we were confident enough that was the design we wanted and we were all ready to use dreamweaver.

Anna Neales website consisted of colours such as whites, reds and ligth greys so we decided to take that onboard and then went on to create our own including these colours. These colours would fit nicely with the photos taken during the filming process due to them being in black and white and having the bright red coloured corset to stand out. We also decided to use photos of me to use for the website and the CD cover to make it look a lot more realistic and to fit in with the video. I then left Andrew to continue with the mock ups that had already been started and went on to try and have a go with a few of my own

Storyboard

Costumes

A lot of costumes are needed through out this music video to create the effect of the pop video which is stereotypical for women in pop videos for the costume changes.

We have decied that we want to give the main character some sex appeal so by doing this putting the character in something that looks attractive but doesnt show to much skin for video reasons. So we have decided to put the character into either some tight leather trousers or some wet look leggings. We want to capture the stereotypical female pop artist by going for some high heels and to give off the rock look a red corset. To again fit in with the song we are going to add in some dark coloured hair extenions and very heavy make-up.

In one particular scene I thought it would look really classy for the three characters to dress in very smart looking coats for example knee length for the shot were we are all walking down the street.

A costume change may be needed for the other side of the character if we decide to go forward with this idea. ( The opposite of the Rock character?)

Props

During the shooting of our music video a lot of peops are going to be needed in certain scenes:

First introduction scene

• Mannequin - This prop is needed to film one of the first scenes which involves me playing the role of the woman in the video lying down ontop of the mannequin lip syncing to the song. (This will be a really good effect if we can the lighting that we want with a good shadow effect).








• Microphone - This prop is needed again in the first scene and maybe later on in scenes too. This is to make the scene more realistic and look like she is singing into a real microphone.








• Guitar/Instruments - These Instruments will be needed just in case we want to add other characters in and make it look more like a band video. (Guitar also needed incase we decide to go through with the guitar smash).








• Motorbike - May be needed if we decide to go for a particlar scene which involves me getting onto a motorbike but this may come with risks.








• Helmet/Leathers - Need to go into the scene with the bike to give off that more realitic effect.








• Glasses/Bottles - Could be used incase we need anything else to smash up or can be used in the video to symbolise something.

Risk Assessment

The Risk Assessment

Motorbike/ Traffic
This is one the main risks that could be very dangerous if we don’t focus or take care. Due to the fact we may have motorbike in our video means that the person using the motorbike or getting near the motorbike may get badly hurt. In order to use the motorbike for one of our scenes we will need to task extra care before beginning the shot and make sure there are no cars or any traffic around before doing this shot so we can get a really good effect on the camera. And we may need to shoot this scene more than once.

Mirror/Guitar
For this particular scene we have to again take great care in what we are doing or this could cause a lot of problems and has the potential to seriously hurt someone. We will have to ensure that we put a very large sheet down before attempting the smash so any broken bits of mirror or glass will remain on the sheet so it’s easy for us just to roll up at the end.

Microphones/ Broken Equipment
While going through the filming process for our music video using the props without care. This could slow the process down if things get broken and could again hurt someone.

Video Cameras Being dropped
Again while filming there is a big risk that the camera we are using could get dropped or the lens may smash which again will slow the process down and if bits of lens or parts are left lying around could again injure someone.

Actors

First of all picking the particular track that we really liked the sound of involved the singer being a woman so that could be a problem to the three boys in my Group. But we then decided we really liked that song so I agreed and would be happy to do the Lip Syncing for the music video which includes me being the leading role for the video as well. So it wasn't all focused on the woman in the video we also wanted to include bits were other characters are introduced such as band members which would be Tom and Andrew or we would agree on different characters near the time. Including other characters into our music video would also make it have a lot more variety and we as a group wanted to give each other a chance to appear in the video so each of us had chance to again work the camera and do some particular shots for the actors in the scene.

Location

As a group we have decided that we really want a video that stands out a lot, in order to do this to suit our theme which is Rock/Pop we really wanted it to begin in a dark room so we are going to ask our drama department if we could use their studio and make it completely black so we can really nail the effect of the white spotlight at the start. We will also use each others houses in order to do certain shots for example if we carryout the guitar smashing scene. We would also have to gather together at night to shoot the nighttime scene which consists of three characters walking down a street a night to catch the effct of the street lamps hitting the road. At this stage we are still unsure of the exact scenes we are doing so we may add and erase locations at this point.

Analysis Of Existing CD Covers

The design for this CD cover is very simple it gives you the title of her album and her name/band name. The reason I have chosen this particular album cover is because she herself appears on it. And this is the type of idea I had for my album cover. It gives off a very rock/pop image with the use and tones, shades and colours (browns and blacks). The costume she is also wearing in the album also gives off a rock feel. They have also tried to make the name look very appealing and put the font in white against the dullness of the background.



This album cover in comparison to the Evanescence one instantly draws your attenion due to the amount of colour and attention to detail. This gives off a more "pop" type album cover. This cover is also very different to the other one as Mika doesn't appear on the cover. His album also links to the iamge that he creates and to the type of music that he had made.

Video Directors

Jospeh Kahn - An American music video, advertising, and feature film director.

Early Life
Kahn was born in Jersey Village, Texas, a suburb of Houston. He is of Korean ancestry. He spent part of his childhood growing up in Livorno, Italy until his family moved to Texas. After graduating from Jersey Village High School in 1990, Kahn went to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He later dropped out after one year to direct music videos.

His Career
In 1999, Kahn started his own production company, Supermega, which was housed under HSI Productions before being let go over budget cuts. Kahn has worked with artists such as Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Destiny's Child, Kelly Clarkson, Ashlee Simpson, Muse, Ciara, Monica, Courtney Love, Rob Zombie, Backstreet Boys, U2, The Chemical Brothers, Blink 182, Chris Brown, Eminem, TLC, Katy Perry, Moby, George Michael, KoRn, Janet Jackson, Black Eyed Peas, Lady GaGa, BoA, Gwen Stefani, Brandy, Pussycat Dolls, Sun Ho, Kylie Minogue and many more.

Kahn has collected multiple Music Video Production awards. He has won several MTV Video Music Awards with nominations for Best Video of the Year for Brandy & Monica "The Boy is Mine", and Britney Spears "Toxic". In 2002 he won his first Grammy for Eminem's "Without Me" video which also won the MTV VMA's Best Video of the Year, as well as Best Direction.

Recent Music Videography
2008
Ladytron - "Ghosts"
Chris Brown - "Forever"
Pussycat Dolls - "When I Grow Up"
Britney Spears - "Womanizer"
Pussycat Dolls - "I Hate This Part"

2009
Lady GaGa - "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)"
Lady GaGa - "LoveGame"
BoA - "I Did It for Love"
Katy Perry - "Waking Up in Vegas"
Eminem - "We Made You"
Kelly Clarkson - "Already Gone"
Ester Dean feat. Chris Brown - "Drop It Low"
Sun Ho - "Fancy Free"
Chris Brown Featuring Lil Wayne and Swizz Beatz - "I Can Transform Ya"
Chris Brown - "Crawl"

2010
Helping Haiti - "Everybody Hurts"
Kylie Minogue - "All The Lovers"
Maroon 5 - "Misery"
Eminem feat. Rihanna - "Love the Way You Lie"

Spike Jonze - An American director and producer, whose work includes music videos.

Early Life
Jonze was born in Rockville, Maryland, and raised in Bethesda, Maryland and in Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania. In 2006, he was nominated by the Directors Guild of America for "Outstanding Achievement in Commercials in 2005." He was nominated for a body of work that included Hello Tomorrow for Adidas, Lamp for IKEA, and Pardon Our Dust for The Gap. He was a producer and co-creator of MTV television series Jackass and Jackass: The Movie.

Recent Music Videos
2000
"Weapon of Choice" Fatboy Slim
"What's Up, Fatlip?" Fatlip
"Wonderboy" Tenacious D As Marcus Von Bueler
2002
"Island in the Sun" (version 2) Weezer
"Guess I'm Doing Fine" Beck
"It's in Our Hands" Björk
2003
"Big Brat" Phantom Planet
2004
"Get Back" Ludacris
"Y Control" Yeah Yeah Yeahs
"Ride" The Vines
2005
"Triumph of a Heart" Björk
2008
"Flashing Lights" Kanye West Co-directed with West
2009
"Heaven" UNKLE Co-directed with Ty Evans
"25" AsDSSka Co-directed with Crysal Moselle
2010
"Drunk Girls" LCD Soundsystem

Lyrics

"Go down, in to yourself and fine those holes.

Because you, are so perfectly wrong.

Listen to me I'll tell you what you want.

Get your life sorted out, go get a proper job.

Here goes another night, I sit and hold on tight. Listening to my half circle preach.
Can never get it right, they stay or leave in fright.

Maybe i'm just not made for this.

Because i'm not designed for this,

I wasn't made for this.

I'm not designed for this, for being so twisted, yeah.

Look at me, and see what you can achieve.

Don't, doubt your insecurities.

Money is power, and I have everything.

But i think you forgot the meaning of happy.

I need a break from this, cause I just can't process it.

I wasn't like that from the start.

Can never get it right, they this im dull or bright.

Maybe i'm just not made for this.

Because i'm not designed for this, I wasn't made for this.

No i'm not, cause I'm not, no I'm not.

Because I'm not designed for this, for being so twisted.

Because I'm not designed for this, I wasn't made for this"

Chosen Track By Anna Neale "Not made for this"

Treatment

Treatment
Our group consisting of Andrew Tinley, Sophie Neil, Thomas Adcock and Josh Curran chose the track, “Not Made for This” by Anna Neale.
We chose this track due to its familiar pop structure and rock influence. We also appreciated the emotional context and relatable narrative of a typical troubled teenage girl, within a relationship. We opted for a pop themed song because of their accessibility, creating a style that can be easily translated in to a music video. We chose a female artist as within the pop genre females are more prominent and are what an audience expect from a pop song and its associated music video.
We intend our main narrative to be a teenage girl, Anna- played by Sophie Neil, who is unhappy with her relationship because her boyfriend treats her badly. As with many existing female pop videos she will feature in different outfits and situations, in our music video this will show the character to have two distinct personalities, one that is the ordinary girl who is upset and scared to act against her boyfriend and the other who is a confident alter ego who is released by her anger to solve her problems and exact revenge. We will portray this with an array of different scenes. Among others these will include:
• Establishing shot to show the conflict between Anna and her boyfriend.
• Close ups of Anna looking scared and upset
• Anna moulding a mannequin to show how she wishes she could shape the perfect boyfriend. (this shot would also establish a dark theme)
• Anna destroying her room with references to her boyfriend.
• Split screen- with both versions of Anna on either side mirroring each other but in their own distinct styles
• A bird’s eye view of Anna lying partly on a mannequin moving into different positions whilst singing.
• Split screen- one side with Anna being hit/ shouted at by her boyfriend and the other where Anna hits/ shouts at her boyfriend.
• A blank room where words from the song are written on the walls.

These will be exhibited in a non-linear order in short parts to create an authentic music video style in which the shots are kept short and have quick transitions between them.

Research into Real Videos

The Reason for picking this music video is because the group would like to take aspects of this to include into our video. This is a short trailer of the particular bits we would want to include. We quite like the idea of Kylie in this shot lying on the floor beginning to do a range of movements which fits in with the first shots of our music video, where we want the main woman to be lying on top of a mannequin singing the first few lines of the song into the camera. We are also thinking about having two people in the background acting as mannequins all in black or suits maybe with masks on. so the viedo is similar as she also has people in the background.

Research into the Industry

Record Company/Artist

'Hailing from Woking in Surrey comes a sensual, playful and feisty singer songwriter, Anna Neale. After touring as a member of the Dublin soul band The Commitments Anna's move to become a performer in her own right has seen her take her career to a new level. So far Anna has performed her unique acoustic rock (or 'sex folk' as dubbed by the National Canadian Press!) with gutsy vocals around the world, attracting the attention of an increasing number of fans with her live, TV and radio appearances.

'Winner of 2009's Guildford Brit Award for Best Female Solo Artist, this year has seen Anna complete her new album 'Touch' with producer Jez Larder (One Eskimo, Amy MacDonald) and headline at the world renowned Canadian Music Week festival (CMW) in Toronto'.'In 2008 Anna reached the finals of the London Metro's 'On-line, On-tour' competition', and the finals of MTV's 2008 'Get Seen, Get Heard' competition. Her interview and song (filmed live at 'Bed' in her home town) 'Soul Momma' received regular play on various MTV channels across the UK over the spring and summer.

To finish the year, Anna performed as part of O2 Undiscovered before the Elton John concert at the O2 Arena'.'Anna's past credits include playing at the sell out BPI showcase as part of Canada's NXNE festival in 2006, where she was the highest rated solo artist. Part of her Canadian tour saw her writing and recording with Justin Gray (Joss Stone, Emma Bunton) and John Wozniak (Marcy Playground)'.
'As well as showcasing at Manchester's renowned 'In The City' music conference and performing regularly at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Anna has performed as part of SXSW in Austin, Texas, and at the NEMO Music Festival in Boston USA in 2005. Anna's Boston appearances resulted in her track 'All For Nothing' topping the NEMO Starbucks download charts across the whole of New England. Her new album 'Touch' is was released in February 2010 in conjunction with independent label 'Somebody's Music'.

Codes and Conventions of Music Videos

• Camerawork
As with any moving image text, how the camera is used and how images are sequenced will have a significant impact upon meaning. Camera movement, angle and shot distance all need to be analysed. Camera movement may accompany movement of performers (walking, dancing, etc) but it may also be used to create a more dynamic feel to stage performance, by for instance constantly circling the band as they perform on stage.


The close up does predominate, as in most TV, partly because of the size of the screen and partly because of the desire to create a sense of intimacy for the viewer. It also emphasises half of the commodity on sale (not just the song, but the artist, and particularly the voice). John Stewart of Oil Factory said that he sees the music video as essentially having the aesthetics of the TV commercial, with lots of close ups and lighting being used most prominently for the star’s face.


• Editing
Though the most common form of editing associated with the music promo is fast cut montage, rendering many of the images impossible to grasp on first viewing thus ensuring multiple viewing, there are videos which use slow pace and gentler transitions to establish mood. This is particularly apparent for the work of many female solo artists with a broad audience appeal, such as Dido.


Often enhancing the editing are digital effects which play with the original images to offer different kinds of pleasure for the audience. This might take the form of split screens, colourisation and of course blockbuster film style CGI.


• Star Image
As Richard Dyer has noted:
“ a star is an image constructed from a range of materials” (Richard Dyer 1979).


For pop music these materials include the songs (their lyrical themes and musical structures/genres), the record covers (singles and albums and the image of the star they present), media coverage (from interviews about career and private life through to tabloid gossip), live performance (the image through the stage show) and arguably most significantly the music videos, which may draw upon the image presented in each of the other aspects.


Each video may also draw upon its predecessor both in reinforcing the star’s existing image and in taking the image on further, perhaps in new directions. Thus even more than Hollywood films may be seen as vehicles for their stars, music videos will act as a showcase for their talents and a significant part in the construction and maintenance of their image.


• Voyeurism
This idea comes from Freud, and has been much used in Media Studies, particularly in explaining the gendered pleasures of cinema. Broadly it refers to the idea of looking in order to gain sexual pleasure. It has been argued that the male viewer’s gaze at the screen is geared to notions of voyeurism in that it is a powerful controlling gaze at the objectified female on display. In music promos, as we have seen, the female on display has been a staple element through the Scopitones to Duran Duran and beyond. Goodwin argues that the female performer will frequently be objectified in this fashion, often through a combination of camerawork and editing with fragmented body shots emphasising a sexualised treatment of the star. In male performance videos too the idea of voyeuristic treatment of the female body is often apparent with the use of dancers as adornments flattering the male star ego.


The idea of voyeurism is also frequently evident in music video through a system of screens within screens- characters shown watching performers or others on television, via webcams, as images on a video camera screen or CCTV within the world of the narrative. Indeed the proliferation of such motifs has reached a point where it has become almost an obsession in music promos.


• Intertextuality
The music video is often described as ‘postmodern’, a slippery term which is sometimes used as a substitute for intertextuality. Broadly, if we see music promos as frequently drawing upon existing texts in order to spark recognition in the audience, we have a working definition of ‘intertextuality’. Not all audiences will necessarily spot the reference and this need not massively detract from their pleasure in the text itself, but it is often argued that greater pleasure will be derived by those who know the reference and are somehow flattered by this.




• Narrative and Performance
Narrative in songs is rarely complete, more often fragmentary, as in poetry. The same is true of music promos, which more often suggest storylines or offer complex fragments of them in non-linear order. In doing this the music video leaves the viewer with the desire to see it again if only to catch the bits missed on first viewing. As Steve Archer puts it:
“Often, music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the band. Additionally, a carefully choreographed dance might be a part of the artist’s performance or an extra aspect of the video designed to aid visualisation and the ‘repeatability’ factor. Sometimes, the artist (especially the singer) will be a part of the story, acting as narrator and participant at the same time. But it is the lip-synch close-up and the miming of playing instruments that remains at the heart of music videos, as if to assure us that the band really can kick it.” (Steve Archer 2004)


The video allows the audience access to the performer in a much greater range of ways than a stage performance could. Eye contact and facial gestures via the close up, role playing through the narrative and mise-en-scene will present the artist in a number of ways which would not be possible in a live concert.


The mise-en-scene may be used as a guarantee of what Simon Frith terms ‘authenticity’ as in the stage performance/use of a rehearsal room by a band whose musical virtuosity is their main selling point. It can be important to a narrative-based video to establish setting and relationship to existing film or televisual genres. Equally it may be used as part of the voyeuristic context by suggesting a setting associated with sexual allure, such as a sleazy nightclub or boudoir. Or finally, as John Stewart suggests, it may be used to emphasise an aspirational lifestyle for the audience, as in the current dominance of a futuristic look with emphasis on the latest gadgetry.