Final Post

THIS BLOG IS NOW CLOSED.

Evaluation 4

Evaluation 3

Evaluation 2

Evaluation 1

Evaluation Questions and Mark Scheme

Here are the evaluation questions that we must address, concerning our music videos. Below is the mark scheme and criteria that we should follow, in order to achieve a high mark. It is also quite helpful, as i am able to distinguish what is needed in each evaluation and what vital information i should incorporate overall. 

Finished Magazine Advert

Here is my finished magazine advertisement, illustrating the band album cover so that viewers immediately know the band and can recognize the album.I have also kept with the same colour scheme and theme, as the digipak for continuity purposes and associations that viewers can make. At the top I have also included the release date for the album for selling purposes. The song 'Deep End' which we produced our music video for is at the bottom, illustrating, as well as some reviews and star ratings to attract interest. In very small text i have also included the record label so that it is a continued feature throughout, and so they are also recognised.

Finshed DigiPak

Here is an image of my finished digipak, showing all four panels, and including the spine.

 

Concerning the text on my digipak, on the front cover I have used the band name 'ARLA' and the album name 'The Waking Hour.' On the back panel of my digipak I have listed all 12 songs, including 'Deep End' in which our music video was made for. I have also inserted a bar-code in order for it to look realistic. In the right hand corner i have put the record label, and the websites of the band and record label. After researching various CD covers i decided to include this, once again for my digipak to appear realistic.

®2014 NETWORKRECORDS LTD
WWW.ARLA.ORG

WWW.NETWORKRECORDS.COM

Digipak and Magazine Vlog

The FINAL Product - Deep End

So here it is, our final and finished music video for Ellie Goulding's 'Starry Eyed' which we renamed 'Deep End.' After a long period of time and hard work, that consisted of research, planning, filming and editing we finally managed to finish our Advanced Portfolio project in time! Hopefully everyone enjoys it, just as much as we enjoyed producing it!

Finished Product Vlog

In this vlog, i am explaining how we have just finished our music video, as well as an explanation of any changes we had made to our Advanced Portfolio. 

Dinner Scene Representation

Here are some screen shots from the 'Dinner Scene' that we filmed for our music video. The reason for filming this particular scene was to present the differences between our female protagonist Rosie and her family, as she appears as isolated and the odd one out throughout this scene.

Mise-en-scene was highly considered when filming this scene, therefore we included props such as a teapot, teacups and a plate of cakes. This made the scene appear realistic and illustrated the characters of Rosie's family. These props also signified our 'Alice in Wonderland' theme as it was like the 'Mad Hatters Tea Party' which again conforms to the idea and representation that Rosie is alone and lost, just like the character of Alice.

In this scene that i have taken from our music video, you can see the contrast between Rosie and the rest of her family, as the drinking of the tea appears to unite her parents and sister, whilst Rosie is left alone. This isolates her from the remainder of the family, presenting her as an outcast.

The editing was significant in this scene, as the fast pace and layering of the clips creates a chaotic atmosphere. This illustrates the confusion and chaos surrounding Rosie and her life. Also, in this scene we see Rosie again appearing isolated and different to her family, as her dad shouts at her, presenting conflict and Rosie as an outcast from the rest of the family once again.

  

Snapshots

Here are some screenshots, that i have taken from our music video just to give an ideo of the narrative and the ideas we were aiming to achieve.

So from these clips of our music video, you can identify that there are many different stages and settings throughout, in order to present our female protagonist, Rosie's journey to the audience. The first image is a london shoot we filmed, which illustrates her lip synching, an aspect that we felt was very important and appears quite a lot throughout, as it does in many other music videos. The use of lip synching gives our music video more of a narrative and two dimensional feel, as well as clearly presenting the song to the audience.

The second image presents Rosie in a woodland area, covered in the colour powder paint. This particular scene illustrates Rosie at her most comfortable time, as well as presenting her at ease as the use of the powder paint demonstrates her with her 'tribe' and finding her self, away from the remainder of society. This contrasts with the dinner scene below, in which we felt was vital, as it presents our female protagonists home life with her parents and sister, displaying how she feels isolated and dissimilar to them all. This particular scene appears at the beginning of the music video, in order for the audience to gage the immediate contrast between Rosie and her family.

The final screenshot of the trees presents our editing skills and techniques throughout our music video, as this illustrates our use of layering of two shots, frame speed alteration and direction of clip. The use of this editing through iMovie here demonstrates quite a chaotic scene, which foreshadows the remainder of the music video. We also decided to film this particular scene as it is associated with Rosie in the woodland setting and once again how that is a vital scene throughout the music video. 

To Title Or To Not?

The question came up in class whether to put opening titles at the beginning of our music video's, stating the band name and song title. So far in our music video we haven't put any titles at the beginning of ours, however after some research i found some music videos that do it, here is one from James Blake and i think it looks quite good. So this could be debatable!

James Blake - Retrograde

His opening titles for this song are particularly simple and clear to the audience. He uses a black screen with white capitalised text, illustrating his own name and the song title. I think this works quite well, as it matches the remainder of the music video, as it is quite dark lighting used throughout, with moments of brightness, supporting his titles perfectly. 

Powder Paint Vlog

Heres our vlog when we filmed our powder paint scene at Forty Hall. We are discussing editing plans, and current filming.

Showcase

Here is the image we are going to use for our groups media showcase poster.

Band Brand

Here is my track list for my album. I came up with these twelve song titles by using the random quotes generator and rearranging the sayings to create appropriate music titles. Also through the use of the random quotes generator i was able to come up with my album name:

BAND NAME
Arla

ALBUM NAME

The Waking Hour

 SONG NAME 
Deep End

TRACK LIST
Harmful Passions 

No Cure For Curiosity 

Quiet Chaos

My Hearts Hope

Kleptomaniac

Courage So Rare

Being Human

Without Consent

Deep End

Plain Dealing

Waiting For Us

Kindred Spirits 

Album Magazine Advertisements

For part of our Advanced Portfolio we have to create a magazine advert, therefore i decided to carry out some research and analyse other advertisements. From doing this i am able to determine what works well and what is to be included in my own magazine advertisement. 

1. This Magazine illustrates an image of the band Augustines in order for them to be presented alongside their music perhaps, creating a relationship between both the band and audience. Also, their band name appears to be the largest text on the advertisement, once again making them the main focus and immediately recognizable. The advertisement also contains information on the release date of the album, in order to gauge popularity and sales. Also, some of the text appears to mention some of the bands hit songs, once again to interest their listeners. Another aspect of the magazine advertisement that i will be sure to include is a review from a magazine, or some sort of online media. Overall, i think this works well as it is very clear and simplistic, therefore easy to understand, as well as the image being interesting and personal to the band, perhaps enabling much interest to be received. 

2. Here is the magazine advertisement from Warpaint, presenting their new album, which is immediately evident from the large words that read "NEW ALBUM OUT NOW." The interesting and unique image is the main focus of the advertisement and makes their album recognizable when buying. There is not much information on the page, however the reviews do stand out to readers, due to the addition of the large star ratings. This presents the album as a successful, best seller. Also, the smaller text on the page presents the bands website and record company, alongside their logo (in the corner). This feature is included on the majority of album advertisements, therefore i will make sure to include it on mine, to ensure that that it looks realistic. 

Semiotics and Symbols Presentation

Here is a presentation 'Semiotics and Symbols' that i found really helpful. It further explains the meaning of signifiers and signified, as well as the associations of these signs:

Representation

Ferdinand de Saussure's theory presented the idea that 'signs' which can be a numerous amount of things, such as images, gestures, musical sounds or objects, have associations with certain things, often illustrating particular ideas and representations of people. This is particularly used in the world of media and public entertainment. Roland Barthes continued to evolve this theory, helping the theory of semiotics to become more well known and identifiable.

• Signifier - The form which the sign takes. So this basically means the sign that presents something.
• Signified - The concept it represents. What the sign illustrates to audiences. 
• Symbolic Codes - All visual texts use symbols to encode meaning,. Symbols are what we see in the image, such as; colours, objects, body language, clothing and settings. When we interpret these symbols, we decode the meaning which carry a number of connotations.  

  This links to our media projects such as, the music video, digipak and magazine advertisement. We have to consider all of these aspects whilst producing these products as what signifiers and symbolic codes we include and angle, will illustrate what we are aiming to represent and achieve (signified).
  Some signifiers that we are using in our music video enable us to present our female protagonist in a particular way, for example;

• 'Alice in Wonderland' jumper - This use of image presents the idea that Rosie is lost and on a journey to find herself, much like Alice. 
• Powder Paint - This object is used to illustrate a sense of unity and welcoming, much like a tribe.
• The settings - Our choice of multiple settings also demonstrate Rosie's character to the audience, as at times we often see her alone, in an isolated setting, as well as a busy London scene, where she does not fit in with the working people. 
• Pocket Watch  - The use of this object is to link with the Alice in Wonderland theme, again presenting the idea that Rosie's life has parallels to Alice's.

Editing Ideas - The Band Image

Here are some screen shots from the Mumford & Sons music video for 'Whispers in the dark.' After discussing with the group about some editing ideas to make us look more like a band in our music video, we have decided to present something similar to this as it looks amazing and is really creative. So much like the panels they use, we will split our screen into 4 columns, each appearing one at a time (left to right) on a black screen, of each member dancing or playing an instrument. Then much like the last screen shot, we will merge the clips, but still in this style to illustrate the coming together of the band. The use of this concept also enables us to be seen lip-syncing individually, again presenting us as a band to the audience. Although it may be slightly difficult and hard to visualize, once accomplished i think it will look really good and further demonstrate our editing skills in our music video. 

Digipaks

WHAT IS A DIGIPAK?

A Digipak is typically, a type of packaging that holds either a CD or a DVD. On the cover of a digipak for a cd, there is usually an image, which can be of multiple things, but most typically either an image of the band or an artist. There is usually the album/single title and the band/artist name also on the cover. When opening up a digipak, there should be two sides, in a form of a book. On the left hand side of the digipak is typically another image, but perhaps of a scenery or an object. However, it could once again be an image of the band or artist. This side of the case may also contain some information on the band or artist, as well as mentions of other companies involved in the production of the CD. On the opposite side of the digipak is where the CD goes, placed in a plastic surrounding. Behind this, there is often another image. Finally, on the back of the case is the track listing for the songs that are on the CD. Also included on the back of the digipak is a barcode and the name of the music company/producers/distributors, as well as other mandatory information. This layout is the one that i will choose when designing my digipak, as i feel it is the most simplistic, yet explanatory of the music and video, as well as band members.

Here is a template for a 4-panel digipak, illustrating the measurements for each panel and CD casing, as well as the spine of the digipak included, which usually presents the album and band name,

Powder Shot Inspiration

I recently saw this advert from the Schwartz flavour shots and was blown away at how incredible it was! The way they are able to have the different spices and ingredients  blowing out of the sack alongside the beat of the music works really well. This video has been very inspirational in many different ways...

• MUSIC VIDEO - In our music video, as previously explained we are planning to film a scene with a tribal theme, with lots of people and coloured powder paint. This advert has given multiple ideas, for example, to film close up of the coloured powder paint, as well as possibly to try and get the powder to shoot up around the clashing people.

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  DIGIPAK- This advert has also inspired my idea for the digipak. throughout our music video we are planning to have an 'Alice in Wonderland' theme in various scenes. Also, the use of colour powder paint is another aspect of our music video that is vital and important, as it illustrates the coming together and the female protagonist finding herself (tribal scene). Therefore i want to incorporate both these ideas in my album cover, so i had an idea to have a close-up of a  china teacup in front of a white background. i also want the colour powder paint to be shooting out of the teacup, which i think would really represent our music video. 

Tribal Scene

Here is a music video that we have recently seen from The Paper Kites. For our final scene we are intending to film a 'tribal' sort of scene by having lots of people dancing/moving around in the midst of colour powder. Originally, we wanted to film in the dark, however after watching this music video we have decided to do it in the light, as it appears here. we feel it will create a more vibrant and positive scene, as well as easier to see everything that is going on. Our plans are to film this with everyone over the next two weeks so hopefully we will get this on our blog soon!

'Afterglow' - Wilkinson

I recently saw this music video from Wilkinson, 'Afterglow' and i immediately loved it! The simplicity and clarity of the video works really well, alongside the upbeat music. Also the cinematography and editing throughout is really interesting as it focuses in on all the factors of the realtionshop between the couple. Although very basic, the music video illustrates to the audience the ups and down of relationships. I was really inspired by it and realised that our music video concept didn't have to have an extremely complexed narrative, as long as the context and cinematography is interesting!

Vlog Update

Here is a quick vlog update on our next filming dates and what shots that we are going to get an overall ideas we have had...

Symbolism - 'Alice in Wonderland'

Here is a vlog to explaining our 'Alice in Wonderland' symbolism idea that we think would be great in our music video...

The Start of Filming

Finally got the ball rolling and filming started! Before heading out to film, we decided to thoroughly plan as we felt it would be easier and would enable us to get good shots and usable footage for our music video. We discussed various aspects, such as mise-en-scene, cinematography and the location that we all felt would be suitable for the notion we are aiming for. Also, the timing was an important aspect as filming early in the morning allowed the shots to appear fresh, creating a crisp setting.

MISE-EN-SCENE

Our main protagonist in our music video is Rosie, we want her to appear as an individual, dressing differently to her family (as will be seen in the dinner scene) portraying her as an 'outsider' isolated from society and on a journey to find herself. Mise-en-scene is an important aspect in any music video, so we decided that she would wear quirky clothing. As seen in these photographs, the colours appear quite solemn, however the jumper brightens the outfit up, as well as 'Alice in Wonderland' on the jumper being similar to her character.

             

CINEMATOGRAPHY/LOCATION

Various shots were captured whilst filming, here is a preview of one of the many shots. As a group we discussed the fact that the use of wide shots would be perfect for an establishing shot, opening up our music video. As seen in this clip, the location of Forty Hall is very empty, highlighting the fact that Rosie is on her own. Also, throughout the clip, the lighting of the sky gradually changes, illustrating a period of time and creating an interesting shot. Panning shots was another use of cinematography that worked successfully, displaying our female protagonist as well as her surroundings.