All the music videos which have been produced during this A2 media course were screened in the Seward Studio today at 12:45, lunchtime. It was a public screening with a turnout of over 100 people including teachers and students of ages 11-18. The event was advertised via posters around the school and through an event on Facebook which was created purely to engage the audience. Through the event page, messages were sent out to everyone that had been invited to the event and on the event wall was a short 1 minute trailer which had been created to hook the audience.
I am very grateful for the fantastic response we received to our music video and I am glad to say the screening proved successful for all groups and was incredibly helpful for our feedback on the videos. At the screening everyone was given a sheet with the names of each group and a brief description for them to vote on which video the preferred most. The results will be entered into the 'Laftas', an award night for Latymer Media projects being held next year, into the category of the 'Peoples Choice Award'.
After our music video was seen by other media students, the feedback received was that there wasn't anything that we had to change. Which was fantastic news! There were two points which were brought up, however that if we wanted to change would be down to our personal preference. These points were:
1) The slo-mo jump shot phrase of the 'girl in the green top' doesn't last long enough.
2) The shot where the 'boy who is listening to the music' high fives the boy next to him is too early. It should be after the drop.
As a group we decided these ideas weren't beneficial to the video since we felt the video in these areas already appealed to the target audience as best as it can so it wouldn't be necessary to change this.
So I can definitely say we are fully signed off here!
For the last few weeks we have been working incredibly hard editing our various tasks and encountering new problems along the way. But now I am happy to say that we have had a production tasks all signed off, with Mrs Blackborow becoming teary eyed after watching the music video!
It must be said that there were a few changes to make to the album cover and website, however I am pleased that these amendments weren't too difficult to make and we are now signed off!
Michael used an online website designing programme called 'Wix' which allowed him to create a website from scratch!
He had to ensure that the website was easy to navigate, user-friendly and clearly promoted the artist. By taking inspiration on our research of a debut website (i.e. One Direction - the post of my research for this site can be found on my blog by clicking the research & planning label) he was able to produce a website where the interactive and purchasing opportunities were clear to the audience.
In terms of interactivity, we have links to the Influx Facebook page and the Influx Twitter account to make optimum use of Web 2.0, there are links to YouTube and Spotify to help promote the band. There is a forum page on the website where the audience is able to talk to the band and amongst each other perhaps to discuss the debut video or the competition. Which leads me to the competition page. Here, the audience is able to download the individual components of the track from our SoundCloud account, produce their own mixes at home on their personal computer and then submit them to our competition. The 3 best mixes, as voted by the band, will have their tracks released in their own album as part of the Promises - EP. I feel that the interactivity which has been incorporated into our website is of professional standard.
In terms of purchasing, there is a link on every page to iTunes where you can buy the album 'Get On The Night' and the single 'Promises'. The events page is purchasing opportunity for the audience since they can purchase tickets to see Influx and both of these events. Of course, there is the shop as well which is easy to navigate and when you click on an item in the shop page you would be taken to a separate site which consists of the full Influx store.
The institutional information is clearly located at the bottom of the site and can be seen on every page. The same institutional information that can be found on this site, can also be found on the album back cover.
Today we asked Mrs Blackborow to view the video with the hope that she'd be please enough with the video to sign it off. After watching it, she became teary eyed and said that it was "excellent" and she was really proud of the quality of the edit. She was pleased to see that we had taken into account all the feedback she gave us previously.
Her only critique was that she would like the video to begin by fading in from black because the first shot of the teacher's feet is poorly lit.
Overall, she was very pleased with the final edit and so are we. We may not have been signed off with the video but at least we know we are very close and I am relieved to see that on the whole our video is much liked. On monday we will find out about snagging points if necessary.
Today, my timetable meant that I had around 4 and a half hours in school where I was able to edit and as there was a school production that evening too I was able to stay till 10 o'clock in the evening to maximise my time in the edit suite. After spending all the time in the edit suite, including breaks I edited the whole first drop, along with the build up and transition into the next verse. I feel my time was used incredibly productive since I experimented with lots of new tools that I had never used before and came across this one tool which I'd never seen before but I had hoped to find. The spherise tool let me do this blowing up screen effect, similar to what I had seen in the club scene in the film 'Limitless' and I had brought this effect to the attention of my group early on in the project.
I showed this clip to Chris, our media technician and he thought it looked superb. He asked how I managed to do it and more particularly he was interested in how I gave the shot a vivid cyan overlay. Again I found this through experimenting with the effects and I actually achieved this by mistake. In the colour correction section, I used the RGB curves tool because I wanted to increase the amount of red, but when I dropped the reds and came across this colour I felt this actually looked a lot better.
We showed her the video when the rough edit and a decent proportion of the fine edit is complete so we were able to get thorough feedback. She told us to make three amendments:
1) She understood that the narrative shows the teacher going through a progression of confidence, however the stages of her character development needed to be in the correct order, when at the moment it is not. So we need to amend for this, which will only require moving a few shots around.
2) The transition where the teacher starts accepting the chaos and joining in needs to be more obvious. For this I need to arrange the slo-mo jump shots to allow more time to see the teacher letting down her hair.
3) The pace of the build up to the first drop is too fast. To change this I need to remove much of the strobe and slow down the shots showing the students getting up.
Other than this she feels the video is of high quality editing, and although there is still time and room for improvement, the presentation of the narrative was clear and enjoyable to watch in combination with the performance.
During the post-production stage we knew we needed to be efficient in managing our time so we designated the three task between us. Adam concentrated mainly on the album cover, Michael on the website and I on the video. Conveniently, we were able to position ourselves in the roles which we all preferred to do. This will allow us to produce the best possible quality products we can because we will have no problem in focusing on our individual task and producing the correct amount of work to the deadlines we set ourselves.
Today we had the second performance shoot which is also our final shoot all together!
This time round we were much more prepared, having planned out the shots we missed out from the first shoot and we were much more efficient in setting up the lights and also getting into character since we had the confidence from the last time.
We had to make sure this time that we corrected an issue with the camera which resulted in grainy footage from the last shoot, but that wasn't a problem.
I'm happy to say the shoot was a success and I can't wait to watch the footage back when we capture.
Today, we conducted a promo shoot for our artist, Influx, in order to promote our artist image and create images for the fanbase on our website and album cover.
We varied the depth, lighting and mood of the shot to entice the audience into divulging further into our campaign.
At first, we used the same costumes we wore when shooting the performance for the music video (Charley: sophisticated black dress with a dropped shoulder strap, DJs: Black suits, shirts and shoes, along with our iconic masks and headphones.)
We then changed the costume for added interest and variety.
Finally, we had another costume change so that the DJs were wearing casual clothing, with particular emphasis on wearing a hooded jumper, since this type of clothing is commonly associated with the clothing that is worn by the target audience. With this added grunge look, we can look to reach further into our target audience because it allows the audience to relate to the band, and this interactivity that is contemporary and very popular with the audience.
Here are a few of the shots taken that dat which have been edited for the website.
For this shoot we had already shot and edited a sketch video narrative storyboard as preparation. Charley was the actress for this shoot, and here is a picture of her in her teacher costume.
This enabled us to be efficient with our actors so they wouldn't get bored and so that we could film everything we wanted in the time constraints (Charley had to leave for a lesson later in the day). I felt that the shoot went incredibly well, and I was happy that this time I was able to direct and work the camera. I had to be spontaneous with the dancing shots, but my job was made much easier by the fact that all our actors were other media students her understood our situation and were able to get into character very quickly. I took some shots from interesting jaunted angles and used many shaky handheld camera and zoom techniques so I look forward to re-watching the footage when we capture it.
This is the video narrative storyboard which we had prepared in advance.
After having 2 production shoots and capturing the footage (for the first shoot) we have realised there is still much to do in the way of constructing a believable and relevant narrative. Chris was with us in the shoot on Saturday 5th and we received feedback from him saying "the dancing felt inappropriate and didn't convey the ideas we wanted."
Today Daniel had a meeting with Miss Blackborow and discussed the issues to do with the teacher suddenly blaring music during the test in class and creating a narrative which is appropriate and works well with the performance and the artist.
We have decided to cast Charley as the teacher due to difficulties in getting Lauren to the school and ensuring time is used efficiently and we feel this way there is a stronger connection betweent he narrative and the performance. Effectively, we are going back to an initial idea by the group where the narrative merges into the performance.
I used the rough timeline Michael and I created at lunch to take notes. We are going to include a 20 second prologue in which there is the introduction to the class room environment (teacher entering classroom with test papers). The song starts as the ideas below take hold.
We have two possible ideas to be used for the entrance to begin the dancing:
After giving out the test papers and telling the class to begin, the teacher sits down, plugs in her headphones and starts listenign to music quietly whilst marking work - this is when the song will begin. A naughty student leans over the teachers desk allowing the music to blare loudly. This leads to many hysteric reaction from the class as well as the teacher and everyone starts dancing to the music.
Again, the teacher sits down after giving out the test and she opens an email with the !NFLUX music video in the email window. Suddenly, there is an error message and from hear the song would start. The image on screen begins to break away leaving behind the music video in full screen, with the music blaring and everyone dancing.
Currently we are more inclined to do the first option due to the practicalities involved in creating this email.
From the second verse, the DJs begin to get involved with the narrative. We will create much build up other their entrance through many slo mo shots of them approaching the classroom and with the reactions of the students and the teacher when they first see them. During the bridge, the DJs set up their equipment (decks and keyboard) on the teacher's desk and gradually students melt away from the classroom to leave just the band (now including Charley). At the drop following the bridge, there will be a BCU of Charley addressing the camera, with her jumping backwards (and perhaps a focus pull) to act as a transition between Charley as a teacher and Charley as a member of the band.
To bring the music video full circle, the final few shots will be of Charley leaving the classroom with the test papers.
It's only a few days after the last shoot, so it's still fresh in our minds. With that experience we were able to set up much quicker and act much more efficiently with the camera and lighting throughout the morning that we got to shoot.
My friend Lauren was our actress for the narrative and she played a science teacher who was holding a class back to do a test. After the test begins she looks at her laptop and starts listening to the track, when she starts dancing around the room.
The shoot wasn't successful since we realised that the idea was flawed in that it was too provocative, the location wasn't very nice and left too much clutter in the background of the shots and we now don't feel that Lauren is suitable for the part.
We will discuss the possible changes when we come back to school.
We have just had our first performance shoot and although it felt like we started slow, we soon got into our roles and became much more efficient on set. I expected that to happen to an extent anyway.
The performance includes the three band member, the 2 DJs (Red and Black) and Charley. We filmed it in the newly built Seward Studio and we had Chris, our media technician help us out with the lighting and ensuring the exposure and focus on the camera was on the correct settings. We soon came to grips with using the camera though.
I was the Red DJ and I know that afterwards I was absolutely exhausted but I'm sure it was worth, especially from Michael's reaction afterwards when he said that he was very pleased with the footage. So I'll guess I'll have to wait to have a look for myself when capture after the weekend.
Our friend, Ming took pictures for us on the shoot and he is a stunning photographer! Here are a few of the images he took that day.
We wanted to create the masks for our DJs instead buying a mask that’s already made, since we knew that only we could create the hidden identities of Influx, and no one else. If our DJs actually existed this is what they would do because that would mean that the masks are more personal to the individual DJ and help present their personalities.
We bought a standard plastic white hockey mask and a few different spray paint and standard paint colours and the brushes and sponges required to manipulate the paint to personalise our design. Also we bought masking tape which is required to ensure the paint dries on the surface of the mask and create various patterns or shapes.
First, we covered the masks in masking tape. Michael then painted several coats of black paint on the mask and once it had dried he created arrow shapes using the masking tape and then painted all over it using red spray paint. Once this had dried he removed the masking tape to reveal the black arrows which are now on a red mask.
Adam first painted the bottom half of his mask in dark blue. He then used the black spray paint on the top off and held it upright slightly so that it would drip down the mask leaving the ominous black dripping paint. He used silver paint across the eyes in crooked lines for the final detail.
Hopefully, these masks will become the recognisable faces of Influx and will appeal to our target audience. They should create very different personalities for each DJ.
The deep vivid colours used in the masks will work well with the dress code of the band. The DJs will where completely black suits whilst the lead singer, Charley will wear a black dress. The masks in combination with the dress code will help to create a clear colour scheme of the band which is black, red, white and dark blue.
When discussing the pitch we gave for our music video with our teacher we placed an iPhone on the table we were sitting at and recorded our teacher's feedback. She felt the idea needed to be changed to make it more professional and less like an obvious student music video. She also made suggestions as to how we should improve the narrative idea. Without Mrs Blackborow's permission it would not have been possible to record her voice, and so we thank her very much.
1. The Track
The track we have chosen to use for our music video project, is the song Promises by Nero (Remixed by Skrillex). The song belongs to the genre of Dubstep, a genre that has only very recently become popular. Due to its contemporary nature, there is not a huge range of existing music videos, allowing us to be very creative in what we do and giving us a lot of opportunities, whilst still having enough content for us to draw inspiration from. The song is very electronic and drum/bass heavy, giving it a unique sound and making it great to edit to
2. The Music Video
The idea for the music video is split between performance and concept. The performance will focus on the band and creating an image and identity for them, whilst the concept will relate to the song and the idea of promises being broken.
The Peformance
This will take place in a clean white room, well lit, with pale white and blue light. The two DJ's will be raised on platforms, playing on their decks, whilst the lead singer remains on the floor.
The group will be dressed in black - the DJ's in smart, cool suits, whilst still wearing their masks and headphones, whilst the female lead singer wears a sexy black dress, with tied back hair and striking make up.
The performance will all take place in this room, with a lot of fast paced editing and camerawork.
The layout of Chase and Status's performances will be similar to ours
The Concept
The concept will put each of the band members in a different situation, each with their respective partners. The band members will be dressed exactly the same as they are in the performance, but in very normal situations, such as at a dinner table or in the back of a car. Each situation will present the relationship in a negative way, with the partners emotions changing from happy to angry as the video progresses, until the band members leave their situations, get picked up in a car, and drive away. The final shot we see is of the cars number plate, with the band logo stuck over it, as the car drives off.
This is to show to the audience that our music genre is a source of fun and escape in an otherwise undersirable situation, such as a relationship going to shit, with promises that are hard to keep.
3. The Artist Our artist is called !nflux.
Artist Name: Influx meaning an arrival or entry of large numbers of people or things. Chosen because it’s short, memorable, looks and sounds good. Has connotations of a gathering or massing of something, like a crowd or a build up on a song. It incorporates the X which is in the names of many dubstep artists.
In the band there will be three members - Female lead singer (Charley Packham), and two DJ's Red and Black (Adam Romo and Daniel Sheldon). The female lead singer will be the lead performer, whilst the DJ's identities remain anonymous, but their masks create a front. Overall, this creates a unique band identity, having enigma to create audience interest, but still having a strong identity to create a recognisable image.
The bands motif will be the headphones and the masks they wear, as the masks will have been personalised by them and will represent them in some way. They represent the club and rave scene, as they are a current band performing contemporary music, Dubstep/Drum and Bass.
The inspiration for the masks came from 'Hollywood Undead' who do a similar thing.
4.The Audience
We found that our audience could be categorised into 3 categories: Age, Gender and Genre.
Age: Our primary age group is 16-24 year olds because this is the age that has grown up with the discovery and developmentof dubstep. Also, this is the main age for becoming more independent and outgoing. Our secondary age group extends to 15-26, since this is really the limit for the age group where dubstep is popular. Also, you can get adults 30+ who still enjoy going to music festivals, concerts and clubbing, however this group is very niche.
Gender: Dubstep appeals to both males and females in our priamry audience, however in our secondary audiences mainly males are interested.
Genre: Of course, there are fans of the dubstep genre. Often, these fans like drum and bass as well due to the similarities in style and conventions of the genres.
Audience Demographics Profiles:
Name: Ben Kaye Age: 20 Gender: Male Occupation: University student in his second year - studying business management
Interests: He's an outgoing student, loves to go clubbing, partying and have a drink with his mates. He still thoroughly enjoys studying his degree course though. He regularly plays football for his university team and also goes to Powerleague to play football with his brothers and friends most weeks. Last summer, he went to Ayia Napa, a Greek "party" island, with his friends and felt an andrenaline rush when listening to DJs mixing dubstep and drum and bass tracks and dancing with and meeting girls. He particularly liked the music because the heavy beat and reverberations can be felt pulsing through your body, creating a euphoric and invincible sensation. He said that, "dubstep is like a legal high".
When I say dubstep, what do you think?
Chaos, craziness, colours, pure mental, clubs, an amazing time/night, strobe lights, drugs, alcohol & sex, current, RIGHT NOW! Subfocus, Magnetic Man, Skrillex, Ukf Bass Culture Concert
Name: Lauren Good Age: 17 Gender: Female Occupation: Year 13 at secondary school - studying art, english and politics for A levels Interests: Very confident, outgoing with a strong, tight-knit group of friends, both boys and girls. She regularly goes to salsa dancing and has a passion for photography. Last summer, she went to Malia for a week with her best friends and never wanted to leave. She said "boys, best friends and dubstep / dance music is the best combination. Perfect Summer!"
In order to appeal to our audience, we would market the artist and the music in the following way.
5. The Ancillary Tasks
For the ancillary tasks, we will make an cover for the debut album, and a website that will be the hub of the marketing campaign.
Album Cover: Will have a black and white theme. The front cover will be white with influx in black in the top left corner and a picture of the band in the bottom right corner. The picture will be a high angle and shot of the band with the female singer at the front and the two faceless DJs behind. It will have a very simplistic look and the band will look like they are coming from the light.
On the inside cover will be one of each the faceless DJ’s on each side against a black background with possible light sound levels that you would find on a DJ mixer behind them. They could either be standing with arms crossed or playing on decks.
On the back will be a beauty shot of the female singers face along with all the relevant song information etc against a white background. The inside covers will be each of the DJ's, either similar beauty shots, or long shots of them behind their decks.
Website: The website will follow the same black and white colour scheme. It will have a very simplistic and modern colour scheme with shots of the members of the band all over it. It will have a link bar with links to Home, News, Events, Music, Video and Store.
The Home will have our debut video and specific news. One idea we would like to implement in the website is a remix competition - any member of the audience will be able to download the individual parts of the track and create their own remix.
The winners remix, judged by the audience, will then make a place on the next album and the winner will be publicized and endorsed by the band. The website will have lots of social networking opportunities with commenting and Facebook and twitter incorporated wherever possible. YouTube and UKF dubstep links will be on every page.
6. The Practicalities
The music video could be shot in a few shoot days - 1 day for the performance and 2/3 for the narrative performances.
The performance would be ideally shot in the seward studio as it has the best lighting facilities available to us. The narrative could be shot in Daniel's car, in a quiet car park (like that found in Forty Hall), in one of our houses and at a quiet bus stop.
In terms of casting we would use 2 out of the 3 group (Daniel and Adam), and Charley as our female lead singer, all of whom worked on the music video project last year and understand how to perform and lip synch.
As for the narrative, we would like to use Josh Pedro and Lauren Good, actors we know to be reliable, and another actor we have yet to confirm.
Problems that could arise could be the weather, for some of the outdoor shots. Setting up the performance in the seward studio would require a lot of prior planning to ensure it goes smoothly and looks good. We would also need to rehearse to ensure the performers feel a comfortable as possible and perform as well as they can.
