MUSIC VIDEO
EVALUATION Q1
EVALUATION Q2
EVALUATION Q3
EVALUATION Q4
PRODUCTION DIARY
PRINT WORK (ADVERT)
PRINTWORK CONSTRUCTION
BRIGHTON VIDEO
ADVERT ANALYSIS
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH
AUTEUR ANALYSIS
ARE MUSIC VIDEO COMMERCIALS, PORN or ART
GOODWIN MODEL (CELESTINE)
MUSIC FESTIVAL POSTER
Wednesday 19 December 2012
Friday 14 December 2012
Group: Evaluation - Question 3
QUESTION 3
The target audience for Coldplay, Mylo Xyloto is 13-24 male and female. It is always important to test a concept for a video with the target audience before going into production, as it is a very large investment, and a production company need to make sure that the product will sell. We ensured that we undertook this process during pre-production by creating a mini pitch/mood board and presented it to a sample (of 11 people) from the target audience so that the flaws and difficulties were highlighted to us, and we could alter and correct these. The methodology we used was a focus group.
http://prezi.com/d1f6eb6nva7h/mood-board/
http://prezi.com/d1f6eb6nva7h/mood-board/
Mini Pitch Results
Strengths:
- Design of the pitch
- Interesting visual ideas
- Excellent use of media technology (such as the green screen and various effects)
Weaknesses:
Weaknesses:
- Not enough concept, it may get quite tedious having one shot
- It could be incredibly difficult/complicated to do, especially in reverse and with the green screen
- It could look really basic if we don't come up with a 'twist'
Evaluation & Changes:
Evaluation & Changes:
- Splitting up the one single shot with B-roll footage of the destruction of objects and toys
- Not have the footage of the child in reverse as it's too complex
- Instead, have the people playing in the background in reverse
- Have some kind of interesting 'twist' at the end involving the child, fire and toys
We added to our mini pitch in order to create a main pitch which would be presented to another sample of our target audience in the method of a focus group. We incorporated our concept into the pitch, along with ideas for costume, lighting and location to reinforce the research that we had previously conducted. We combined the focus group with the method of questionnaires which were distributed to a group of 14-18 year olds in order to ask questions about our concept, and we included these results into our pitch. The target audience gave us feedback when we pitched, and highlighted weaknesses and issues that needed to be changed before we could get the green-light and go into production.
http://prezi.com/cseu250kafgr/pitch/?kw=view-cseu250kafgr&rc=ref-795874
http://prezi.com/cseu250kafgr/pitch/?kw=view-cseu250kafgr&rc=ref-795874
Pitch Feedback
Strengths:
- 30 seconds of visual
- Well planned and thought through
- Location ideas
- Concept and visual ideas
- Detailed, clear layout of the pitch using Prezi
Weaknesses & Issues:
- Actors... Where will we get them from, and who?
- Constant tracking back shot... How will we ensure a steady track every time we shoot?
- Is the whole concept too boring or uninteresting, due to the slow cutting rate?
After shooting, and whilst in post-production, our classmates, teachers and technicians gave us helpful advice and feedback, as well as constructive criticisms, suggesting changes that needed to be made. This acted as continuous feedback that we achieved throughout the weeks of editing. This wasn’t necessarily feedback from a target audience, however it acted as technical support which improved our final product and acted as support.
Finally, we carried out a screening of our music video to a sample of our target audience, in this case our peers, aged 17-18. The purpose of testing it was to ensure that it met the expectations of the target audience, was conventional of the postmodern form of a music video, and to see whether it either reinforced or challenged the conventions of the Alternative-Pop genre. We again used the method of questionnaires, receiving 24 back out of 30, and the results stated that some of our key strengths were: the opening sunrise time lapse sequence, the slow motion shots of children running in the smoke as people thought these shots created a professional look, and finally the overlaying footage of flames because it related to the song title.
We encoded the text to portray the narrative of a boy whose life has literally gone ‘Up In Flames’ and is now a social outcast, and it was clear from our music video screening that this preferred reading was largely taken by the majority of the sample due to the positive feedback and evaluation.
When we tested the digipak and advert, the methodology we used was questionnaires. Our sample size was 15 and the main results were that both ancillary products reinforced the meta narrative of the band, and the front and back panes of the digipak looked highly professional, along with the image used on the advert. However, our target audience said that the behind-CD pane with the bokeh shots appeared disjunctive and unrelated to the rest of the digipak.
When we tested the digipak and advert, the methodology we used was questionnaires. Our sample size was 15 and the main results were that both ancillary products reinforced the meta narrative of the band, and the front and back panes of the digipak looked highly professional, along with the image used on the advert. However, our target audience said that the behind-CD pane with the bokeh shots appeared disjunctive and unrelated to the rest of the digipak.
JP: Evaluation
QUESTION 1
QUESTION 2
Presented on Slide Rocket. Please click the logo below to access this slideshow.
QUESTION 4
Presented on Prezi. Please click the logo below to access this presentation.
QUESTION 2
Presented on Slide Rocket. Please click the logo below to access this slideshow.
QUESTION 4
Presented on Prezi. Please click the logo below to access this presentation.
HCT: Question 1
You can use Andrew Goodwin’s (dancing in the distraction factory, 1992) critical framework to analyse our new music video for ‘Up in Flames’ – Coldplay (Mylo Xyloto). From viewing our video you can see that it conforms to the typical conventions of a modern music video in that there is a clear relationship between the music and visuals as well as an increasingly popular convention of visuals before the music begins.
The music video conforms to conventions of this genre of alternative pop, for example we shot at 720p at 50 frames per second allowing us to slow the footage 50%, giving the video a dull emotional feel. We further reinforced this through emotional colouration and de-saturating our image around 40%-this gave a cold, seriousness to the video. Also the iconography in the video, specifically costumes the character wear are modern and commonly associated with the ‘pop’ scene.
The performance in the video is conventional in some respects however in others it could be seen as quite an artistic, conceptual approach. For example the protagonist is lip syncing to the lyrics although this action is very normal he seems to be in an unconventional location of a rural area, which challenged stock locations. Therefore some shots of flames and the teddy burning are very unconventional of this style as the performance shots seem incongruous and disjunctive.
The post production is somewhat conventional in that the typeface is related to the traditionally used ‘Every true type is a waterfall’ font in the Mylo Xyloto album. They are used for the main titles in the video whilst the record label logo is also shown to be conventional. A slightly transparent effect by changing the opacity of the title is shown which creates a unique style. Using these fonts also increases the bands meta-narrative and image as they are used with the Mylo Xyloto album. This construction is also reflective of the genre.
The video employs an artistic/creative approach to conventions in that there are many shots throughout the video that seem irrelevant to any kind of narrative such as the flames and light bulbs. They may also seem unconventional in that much like the child lip syncing; the bulbs and brick seem unorthodox in relation to the music creating it as a pastiche and reworking of a deeper meaning or signifier. Although these shots seem disjunctive they are a part of a narrative, this creates repeatability and an intriguing style.
Goodwin discussed the relationship between lyrics and visuals to be an important convention. In relation to the whole video, it is clear that the main singer is lip-syncing in time as well as moving to the beat expressively. This reinforces the words and themes trying to be portrayed. However in the chorus sequence it is more performance-based and lip-syncing is shown more loosely as visuals are primarily based upon ‘flames’ and destruction. This is because the image of the real flames is a much more powerful image that the shot of purely one singer as it is more illustrative, especially for the chorus where the song is more upbeat creating an amplified message. This is important on a song of slower pace.
He also considered the relationship between music and visuals to be important conventions. In certain shots we can see evidence of some kind of link between the music and narrative trying to be portrayed. There is a hard narrative to understand and could also be seen as a pastiche of certain elements such as a child’s life or a situation is metaphorically going ‘up in flames’. In some negotiated readings we are unsure on the particular meaning of this narrative and therefore quite a lot of enigma surrounds the narrative.
He also considered the relationship between music and visuals to be important conventions. In certain shots we can see evidence of some kind of link between the music and narrative trying to be portrayed. There is a hard narrative to understand and could also be seen as a pastiche of certain elements such as a child’s life or a situation is metaphorically going ‘up in flames’. In some negotiated readings we are unsure on the particular meaning of this narrative and therefore quite a lot of enigma surrounds the narrative.
The narrative also draws upon binary oppositions through the juxtaposition of the solitary child and happy children in the background. This is done through their raw emotions as the protagonist is seen to be dull and emotionless whilst the children are laughing and enjoying themselves. Also through iconography and mise én scene the dull and dark costume of the protagonist contrasts against the children’s warm, bright, colourful clothing. The bands meta narrative is addressed through the symbols on the protagonists cheek. These relate to the album and Coldplay overall image.
He made reference to the notion of looking. The particular effect represented in this music video is how the boy is and the only character in the video breaking the fourth wall and looking directly into the camera, reaching out to the viewing and allowing us to see into their emotions through an extra diegetic gaze.
Tuesday 11 December 2012
HCT: Advertisement Construction
I used Adobe Photoshop CS3 to construct my advertisement for or song of choice - 'Up In Flames'. I decided to use print screens to keep track of my progression so that I can place them onto the blog here and explain the process.
1) Firstly I created a blank A4 document as this is the size we would be printing onto. Through 'File' 'New' and selecting the international paper size of 'A4'
9) After this I thought that there could be some kind of promotion at the bottom, similar to the one I analysed as part of my research to make it more conventional. I also 'placed' the parlophone logo and made the white transparent by using the magic wond tool and deleting the selection. I thought that a promotional text line would be appropriate to advertise the music video. I came up with, 'Pre-order the single on iTunes and recieve the music video for free.'
1) Firstly I created a blank A4 document as this is the size we would be printing onto. Through 'File' 'New' and selecting the international paper size of 'A4'
2) Next I used the 'Place' tool to put the photograph of the boy in. We took this photo on the second shoot day. I used the 'Black and White' tool in the image adjustment menu after 'resterising the image' in order to customise the black and white effect. I also used other adjustments such as 'Shaddow and Highlights' and the 'curves' tool to change the white highlights and darker tones to create a more contrasted image.
3) After creating the black and white base image I created a text layer and typed 'Up In Flames' in the conventional coldplay font which i found on dafont.com as 'every truetype is a wisefont'. I then used the 'magic wond tool' to select hte text, selecting inverse and deleting to create an effect that made the text subract itself. Then the selection allowed me to fill the outer area around the text with white so the text was visable.
4) After I used the 'Magic Wond' tool to select the text, right clicked and selected 'feather'. I changed the feather property to 6px. This was to get rid of angle sharp edges that didnt look natural, the result is shown below.
5) Then I used the 'Rectangle Marquee Tool' to draw two rectangular boxes and painted them yellow. This looked great although it masked the original image and was quite dazzling. So I changed the 'opacity' to 63% which gived a great look.
6) After I thought that the Coldplay font needed a shaddow, so I applied a 'drop shaddow' effect by double clicking on the layer and changed the angle to 56%, the distance to 9px, spread to 9% and the size to 5px.
7) After this I thought the the orginal image was still very masked by the white background and that there was quite a lot of negative space in the advertisment. I changed the opacity of the white to 53%. This allowed the original image to seep through and just about ilimate any negative areas. I also added some titles to the areas above and below to make our advert more convention. These included 'Coldplay Presents' at the top and 'Mylo Xyloto - January 2013' at the bottom. I did this by using the text tool. I also applied the same drop shaddow effect as before to this text.
8) Then i decided that the white was quite contrasting to the main image underneath. I selected that layer and used the paintbursh tool to paint on a darker grey colour.whilst keeping the same opacity. The overall effect looked very good and was a good representation of the dull feel we were portraying.
10) The text needed to be slightly altered by changing the spacing and alignment of the logo. I matched up the bottom line of the text 'parlophone' with the mylo xyloto text and the spacing of the promotional text.
FINAL ADVERTISEMENT:
Monday 3 December 2012
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