Artist research

As we are creating a music video it is important that we research into different artists in order to make sure that we create a product that we are pleased with. In order to do this it is important that we are inspired by the lyrics in the song in order to create something that is visually entertaining for the audience.

As a group we thought that it would be best to create a music video where the female is the main focus of the narrative. As a result of this I have carried out some research into female vocalists that are currently in the charts. Although we could still have a male character feature in the video as part of the narrative aspect. As well as this we want to recreate a music video for a song that is quite upbeat and lively rather than something that is low key. Therefore the artist research that I have carried out is dependent on the type of song that we want to use.

One of the artists that I have researched into is Ellie Goulding.  Ellie Goulding is a British singer and songwriter.  She released her first single in 2009 using an independent record label and since then has had a number of successes in the charts and won numerous awards such as British single of the year for her single "Burn". Some of the songs by Ellie Goulding that we are interested in recreating are:

• Figure 8 
• Burn 
• Anything could happen 
• Explosions 
• Our Song 
• Starry Eyed 
• Lights

Another artist that I have done some research into is Katy Perry. Katy is an American singer and song writer although she has had success outside of the states as well. Katy Perry has had a number of successes including Firework, E.T and Last Friday Night which reached number one in the charts.  Some of Katy Perry's singles that we are interested in recreating are:

• Hot n Cold
• Waking up in Vegas
• Hummingbird Heartbeat
• Part of Me
• Roar

Next I carried out some research into Jessie J. Jessie is an English singer and song writer. Jessie's debut single was "Do it like a Dude" and has since then had a number of successes in the charts. I carried out some research into Jessie J because she often has quite up beat songs and therefore represents the style that we are going for.  Some of the singles that we are interested in recreating are:

• Laser light
• It's my party
• Thunder 
• Do It Like a Dude

Lorde is quite a new artist that has featured in the charts. Although she is very young at only age 18 she has already had a number of successes. Lorde is best known for her debut single "Royals" which achieved a US number one single. Some of the songs that we are interested in recreating are:

• Royals 
• Team 
• Tennis court 
• Glory and Gore

Birdy is a young artist aged 18.  Birdy became well known through her debut single which was a cover of Bon Iver's "skinny love" which was released at just the age of 14.  her debut album also reached number 1 in several countries.  Birdy is a very unique singer, therefore I think it would be interesting to create a music video using one of her songs as she is not just a regular pop artist.  Some of the songs that we are interested in recreating are:

• Skinny people 
• People Help the People
• Light me Up 
• Words as Weapons
• All you Never Say

Taylor swift is an American singer and song writer. She is aged 24. Taylor Swift started out her career as a country singer. However as she has progressed through the music industry she has started to create songs that are more suited to the pop genre such as one of her latest tracks "Shake it Off". Taylor Swift does a variety of tracks, both upbeat and more mellow.  Some of the songs by Taylor Swift that we are interested in recreating are:

• We are Never Ever Getting Back Together 
• Red
• 22
• The Story Of Us
• State of Grace 

Lady Gaga is an American singer and song writer. Lady Gaga is aged 28. Lady Gaga's album produced a number one single "Born this Way". Lady Gaga is a very well known artist for her flamboyant outfit choices and song choices.  Some of the songs by Lady Gaga that we are interested in recreating are: 

• Bad Romance 
• Poker face
• Love Game
• Edge of Glory 
• Marry the Night 

 

Overall I think that the use of this research has been helpful to our group as it has given us a better idea of the songs out there already that are available to use. Although a song choice is not yet certain, it is given us an idea of the type of artist that we want to use and the type of song we want to recreate.

Music video timeline

As part of my research I have watched a real music video and created a timeline of the conventions that you would expect to find in a professional music video. The video that I watched as part of my research was Sam Smith - I'm Not The Only One.  This is a narrative style video that is about a woman that is aware that her husband is having an affair.

The artist, Sam Smith does feature in the video as he does a performance piece where there is lip syncing involved. Although the majority of the video is a narrative. The video showing a male and two female actors who mirror the idea created in the lyrics.

The conventions used within this music video are the use of lip syncing. This is an important aspect to have within a professional music video as it displays a high level of skill. For our own coursework we are going to use lip syncing in order to make the video appear professional. Another convention used within this music video is the use of repetition.  Throughout the video it cuts back and forth between the performance of the artist and the story line. Therefore this is a repetitive aspect. This is effective because the repeated lyrics therefore match the sequence.

The ending of the video is also another convention. This is because it sums up the narrative. However the ending of the video is also quite unclear for the audience as they are not sure whether the character is going to stay in the unfaithful relationship or leave her partner.

Overall I think that this is an effective music video because it displays the typical conventions that you would expect to see in a music video. One of the aspects that I particularly like about this music video is that it has included both a narrative and a performance. The use of these two different techniques is able to keep the audience interested, as they are able to follow a story line but also see the artist themselves.

Lyrics

During our media lesson we printed off a song and looked at the lyrics in order to generate an idea. Even though we are not using this music video for our own coursework, we wanted to see how it is possible to create an idea just looking at the lyrics alone. Therefore we did not watch the music video beforehand as we did not want to have an idea already imprinted in our mind. 

The song that we looked at was Torn - Natalie Imbruglia. From these lyrics we generated an idea as a group of a woman who has recently split up from her partner walking round her house and every where she turns she is reminded of the times that they spent together. We thought that it would be effective for these images to be fainted out to show the audience that they are in her memory and the past. As well as this, we thought it would be effective for the actress to reach out to touch the memories however as she does they fade away to emphasise that the relationship is over and her partner is not the person that she thought they was.

I thought, I saw a man brought to life
He was warm, he came around and he was dignified
He showed me what it was to cry

The lyrics in the opening stanza influenced our idea. This is because of the use of "I thought I saw a man" this emphasises the idea that her partner is not the person that she thought he was and is therefore just a figment of her imagination. 

Well, you couldn't be that man I adored
You don't seem to know
Seem to care what your heart is for
But I don't know him anymore

This is reinforced in the next stanza as she says "But I don't know him anymore" This is where we got the idea for that as she reaches out he is no longer there. 

Illusion never changed

Into something real
I'm wide awake and I can see
The perfect sky is torn
You're a little late, I'm already torn

As well as this the chorus also inspired our idea. In particular because of the use of the word of illusion. This is why we thought that it would be a good idea to have the memories in her mind faded out to show that the love is no longer there. 

Therefore after carrying out this task we have found that you do not need to take inspiration from the whole of the song. You can instead look at individual lines and words and go into further detail from there. I think that this was a useful task to do as it showed us that it is quite easy to come up with a creative idea if you look at the lyrics in depth.  I also think that it was useful to not look at the music video before hand. 

A2 Media Studies Music Video - Rolling in the Deep - Analysis

Here is another A2 media music video that I have watched. I thought that this music video was particularly good and looked quite professional. One of the things that I liked the most about this music video is the use of over lapping shots, as one scene finishes the other one enters over the top of it. I think that this is a good technique to use as it keeps the audience interested as they are shown something dynamically different on the screen.

Another thing that I like about this music video is the use of smoke effects. I think that this makes the video look professional and shows that the participants have gone out of their way to create something effective.

As well as this, the group have used more than one location which I think is useful. This is because it keeps the audience interested. If the music video was set in just one location the audience might become disengaged as it would get rather repetitive and they would become too familiar with the surrounding.

Next, one of the techniques that I think the group have shown very well is the use of lip syncing. From watching the video you can see that the group have put a lot of time and effort into making sure that the lip syncing is accurate.

I also like that the music video has had a filter added onto it so that it is in black and white as I think that this adds to the dramatic effect. However I do think that a use of some colour in the video would've been effective as it would've given the audience something to focus on.

Overall I think that this music video is very good and is at the standard that we as a group are hoping to replicate. I have taken some inspiration from watching this music such as the use of smoke effects and the over lapping of shots as I have not seen this been done by any other group whilst carrying out my research.

Lady Gaga - Applause (A2 Media Coursework) - Analysis

After watching this music video of another students coursework I was very inspired. One of the things that I like most about this music video is that the student has not used an over complicated setting or too many actors. They have instead used very good effects and lip syncing to make the video look effective. 

I also like that some of this music video has a filter over it, meaning that some of it is in colour and some of it is in black and white. I think the use of different colours and visual effects keeps the audience watching interested. I think this video is a great example that you do not have to over complicate the narrative and back ground in order to make something look effective and professional.

Another aspect of this music video that I like is the use of split screens. I think that it is effective to change the dynamics of the video sometimes in order to keep the audience interested and the of split screens is an effective way of doing this. I think that if the concept and dynamic of a video remains the same throughout it is more likely that the audience will become uninterested and turn it off.
When creating my own music video I am interested in adding some split screens as I think that it is a good technique to use and is visually appealing to the audience.

I also like the use of wind effects that have been used in this music video to blow the actresses hair. I think that this is a professional technique to use as you often see this being done in music videos that are on the television.

Overall I think that this music video is very good. I think that the group have displayed that you do not necessarily need a narrative or lots of locations in order to make something look good. I think the use of effects in this video were enough to make it appear at a professional standard and I have therefore been inspired to do something similar for my own coursework.

A2 Media Coursework: Royals - Lorde (Music Video) - Analysis

One of the things that I particularly like about this music video is the opening. I think that the establishing shot is effective in setting the scene for the rest of the music video. I also like the use of titles and think that they are effective in letting the audience know who the artist and what song it is. In some of the other music videos that I have watched whilst carrying out my research they have not used titles therefore I think that it is effective that this group have done so as it makes it instantly appear as something different to begin with. 

I think that some of the shots used throughout the video are very effective. An example of this is the shot of the water dripping out of the tap as it is in time with the beat of the track. Even though this is a simple shot, I think that it has the ability to keep the audience interested. 

furthermore, I think that it is effective that the group have used a range of different locations as it keeps the video interesting and the audience are more likely to want to continue watching to see how the narrative develops. 

However I think some of the negative things about this music video is that there is no lip syncing involved. Therefore the group is unable to display their full range of skills. For my own coursework I am planning on having a large amount of lip syncing in order to display a large amount of skill.  I think that lip syncing is a vital skill that needs to be displayed in the coursework therefore even though the shots within this video are very good and creative, I think that the video could be a lot better by including the lip syncing aspect.

As well as this there is no use of visual effects used throughout the video. By this I mean that there are no split screens. Although this is not a necessary requirement in a music video I think that after a while this music video has the potential to become disengaging to the audience as there is no change in sequence.

In conclusion I think that the shots used within this music video are inspiring to our group for when we come to create our own coursework as they are quite creative. However I think that there are little things that could be added to this music to make it more interesting for the audience, which I have already mentioned previously.

Music video Vs Film trailer

After carrying out some research and watching music videos that other media students have created we have since changed our mind about creating a film trailer and are now going to create a music video. 

Before making this decision we made sure that we made up the pros and cons of creating both. After doing so we found that we have more pros for the music video then we did for the film trailer and therefore think that it would be more beneficial to our group to create a music video.

 

	Pros	Cons
Music video	·         Something new and different ·         Already have a basis to work with based on the lyrics ·         A wide variety of songs to choose from ·         Do not need many people to star in it ·         Do not need a lot of locations	·         Difficult agreeing on a song within the group ·         Haven’t experienced lip syncing before ·         Need to be careful that we don’t use ideas from a pre-existing music video.
Film trailer	·         Experience in this area with our AS coursework ·         Have a blank canvas to work with ·         Create a completely original idea	·         Have to create your own music which is time consuming ·         Need several different locations and actors ·         Have to create a completely new idea which can be time consuming ·         Difficult for group members to agree on a solid idea.

Gone Girl | Official Trailer [HD] | 20th Century FOX - Analysis

One of the film trailers that I have looked at is from the newly released film Gone Girl.  This trailer gives away the basic narrative of the film which suggests that a man hides the disappearance of his wife. Although I do think that the trailer is effective because it gives away the right amount of information the audience. Without watching the film you would not be completely aware of the storyline. This is effective when creating a trailer as it entices the audience to watch the rest of the film.

There is a voice over used at the beginning of the trailer, this is used to give a basic idea to the audience of what the narrative of the film is about. I think that it is effective to use a voice over as it adds to the tension as the audience watch and anticipate what is going to happen in the rest of the film.  For our own film trailer I will definitely consider using a film trailer as I think that it is a useful technique to use and hooks the audience in right from the beginning.

As well as this there is a non diegetic soundtrack used throughout the film trailer, the soundtrack is constantly playing even if it is only faintly in the background whilst the actor/actress is using dialogue. I think that it is effective to use a soundtrack throughout the trailer as it keeps the audience interested and it also adds to the storyline.

This film trailer also shows the audience a wide range of characters, although it focuses particularly on the main characters. I think that it is effective to display to the audience a broad amount of characters, however focusing in on a particular character is also important as they are going to be in the majority of the film and if the audience does not like this character in the trailer they are unlikely to want to watch the rest of the film.

Overall I think that this film trailer is effective. I think that it draws the audience in from the beginning and has the ability to keep them interested throughout the trailer. As well as this, it doesn't give too much of the storyline away and therefore makes the audience more likely to want to watch the film.

Initial idea

We have the option to create either a film trailer or a music video. My group is interested in creating a film trailer. We are particularly drawn to creating a film trailer because we have experience in this field already as we created the three minute opening to a film for our AS coursework. Therefore we have some of the basic skills that are required for this task. For example we know how to target our audience and we are aware of the codes and conventions of different genres.

One of the genres that we are interested in creating a film trailer for is a thriller.  We are interested in creating a thriller because we find this genre the most interesting and feel that would be able to construct a solid idea for this particular genre.