multi screen on final cut express

I recently started my filming and started editing. I decided try and create a multi screen. I watched a tutorial on YouTube on how to do this as this is a new skill that I am learning. I found this very difficult to grasp a hold of to begin with. I have started to learn the basic skills of how to create multi screen as you can see from the image above.

However I was not happy with the final outcome because as you can see it is not particularly neat. I am also planning on re-filming these shots because my artist is not sitting in the centre of the frame how I would like her to but I thought I would use these shots as a practise to learn how to use the multi screen.

The image above shows what the sequence looks like on the track. I think that these test shots were a good idea however they have given me an idea of how difficult it is going to be to create the multi screen and that I need to allocate myself enough time so that my music video is of the standard that I want.  

First filming session

On the 22nd January I had my first filming session. This was used as a trial so that I could get to grips with filming again as it has been a while since we used a camera and also to practise the lip syncing aspect of the video. 

The images below display some of the shot types that I am planning on using and are print screens from the filming that I carried out. I want there to be a close up on the artists face, particularly focusing on the lips. I am then planning on editing the shots so that they appear as a split screen. 

I decided that our artist should wear dark lipstick as I have mentioned in a previous blog post as I think that the colouring matches the mood of the video. I was pleased with how the colouring of our artists lips turned out and will be planning on using this make up in future filming.

The setting that I used for these shots was just a plain white wall. This is because I want the focus to be on the artist and her mouth, not the surrounding settings. I also think that the lighting in these shots is quite good and is of a standard I would be happy to use.

Following on from this, the artist is wearing white clothing, as you can see. However if I was to re-film these shots I think that I would ask the artist to wear black as it is more fitting with the mood of the song and also so she doesn't blend into the background. 

Overall I think that the filming session was quite beneficial to me as I re-engaged with some the skills I learnt from AS coursework. As well as this the filming gave me an idea of how hard the lip syncing aspect will be. I have learnt that I need to be patient with my artist and help her get to grips with the song. 

Furthermore, In order to get these shots it took several attempts. Therefore I need to make sure that i allocate enough time to get all of my filming done and have enough time left in case I need to re-film anything. 

Production Schedule

Date: 18th January 2015

Pre-production planning complete. Ready to start filming. 

Date: 22nd January 2015 

Time: 3:30pm onwards 

Location: School 

Costume: Dark clothing - The actress will be dressed in dark clothing to represent the mood of the video. She will also be wearing dark and vampy make up, as we will be filming close ups on her face and want this to also match the theme of the video. 

Props: Lighting 

Actors: Natalia 

Shots: Close up on lips 

Will also need one camera and a tripod. 

Date: 29th January 2015 

Time: 3:30pm onwards 

Location: School

Costume: Dark clothing and vampy make up again. 

Props: Lighting 

Actors: Natalia 

Shots: Close ups on actresses face, long shots of body movements 

Will also need one camera and a tripod. 

Date: 1st February 2015  

Time: 12pm onwards

Location: Actresses house 

Costume: Dark clothing and vampy make up again. 

Props: Lighting, images of couple 

Actors: Natalia 

Shots: Close up of actress ripping up images of her and ex boyfriend up

Will also need one camera and a tripod. 

Date: 7th February 2015

Time: 6pm onwards

Location: Actresses house 

Costume: Dark clothing and vampy make up again. 

Props: 

Actors: Natalia 

Shots: Any additional filming 

Will also need one camera and a tripod. 

I have set 4 main dates to film the music video. However I am prepared to film on additional dates if they are required.

Date: 13th February 

Filming complete - I have set this date as I want to allow myself time in case I need to film any additional scenes. I will start editing my work before this date. However after this date I will focus mainly on the editing of the video. 

Conventions of a music video

One of the conventions of a music video is a variety of camera shots. This includes things such as close ups and long shots. Long shots are often used so that you can focus on the location of the video and close ups are used to focus on the artist themselves and their facial expressions. As well as shots, they also tend to use camera movements such as panning and tracking.

 

 

Another important aspect of music videos is the mise en scene. It is important that the video appears visually interesting. This includes things such as props, lighting and costume. Therefore when we film our music video we must make sure that we focus on these aspects as they can affect the overall look of the video.
 

Although I have already mentioned costume in mise en scene. It is also a very important aspect on its own. Often in music videos artists appear in more than one outfit depending on the different settings that they use. Therefore this is something to consider when creating our own music video that we have a variety of costumes to keep the video interesting. Moreover, the colour of the artists costume can reflect the mood. Therefore for my own video I am going to dress my artist in dark clothing to reflect the mood that I am trying to set.
 

These are some of the conventions that tend to appear in most music videos. However different genres of music also tend to have their own conventions as well. For example Indie and Rock bands are more likely to use dark locations and costume to match the mood of their music.

 

 

As Rihanna tends to appear under the R&B genre. I decided to research into the conventions that appear in these music videos to ensure we are following the conventions that our target audience will expect to see when watching the video. One of the main focuses in R&B videos is the artists make up. It tends to be quite dramatic with the use of dark colours to emphasise facial features. There tends to be a lot of focus on the artists eye make up. As well as this females also tend to wear a red or dark lipstick to demonstrate their power as a female.

Next, both males and females in R&B videos often try to demonstrate their sexuality. This is often shown through the clothing that they choose to wear. Women often wear minimal clothing to display this. However for my own music video I will challenge this stereotype as we are using a young actress and do not want to display this image. Females also tend to wear high heels to elongate their legs and appear desirable to males. This is something I will consider doing in my own music video.

Another thing that appears to be important in music videos is the use of Jewellery. Such as necklaces and earrings. This can also be used to demonstrate power and wealth. This is something I will consider using in my own music video. However I was planning on focusing on the actresses make up and outfit rather than jewellery.

When female artists are creating a fast tempo R&B music video they tend to use a lot of visual effects. As well as this there tends to be a lot of dancing involved. Therefore they do not necessarily follow a narrative style.

In conclusion, after carrying out this research I have deepened my knowledge on the conventions of a music video and I now understand that different genres of music use different conventions. Therefore when I film my own music video I will use conventions that are specifically related to my genre.

Magazine Covers

As part of our coursework we have to create a magazine cover about our artists single. Therefore I thought it would be a good idea to look at some real music magazines to see how they structure images and the different colour schemes that they use. 

One of the magazines that I looked at was Q magazine. The magazine was first established in 1986 and was originally named Cue. However the company changed the name to a one letter word as they thought it would be more eye catching on the shelf.

One of the things that is obvious from first looking at this cover is that the image is the focus point. This is because it takes up a large amount of space and there is minimal writing surrounding it. I personally like the look of this magazine cover as it is not too over crowded and I think the simplicity of it works.

Moreover, the colour scheme on the front of the magazine is quite minimal. Once again I like this style as I think that too much colour and text could draw away the attention from the main image.

Another music magazine that I looked at was NME. In comparison to Q magazine this cover has more than one image on the front. As well as this, the magazine has used free merchandise to influence the sale of the magazine, such as a free poster. It is important when creating our own front cover that we consider different advertising techniques.

One of the things that I do like about this magazine is the use of bold font. This makes the writing stand out on the shelf and catches the audiences attention. This magazine also has far more colours on the cover than Q magazine.

Although I think this magazine has good selling techniques, I personally prefer the minimal effect that is displayed by Q magazine.

Next, a Magazine that I looked at was Smash Hits. The magazine stopped being published in 2008, I decided to look at the cover because it would've target the same audience as my own, which is teenagers and young adults. Therefore it is interesting to see what worked and what didn't.

One of the things that is obvious when looking at the cover of this magazine is that they are targeting a specific audience, which is females. This is highlighted by the pink colour scheme and the use of "Girls Rule!" in large text in the centre.  Therefore they have instantly ruled out the chances of any male reading the magazine.

Following on from this, the magazine also creates a lot more images than the other two magazines. I think this is because it is targeting a younger audience and therefore visual information is very important to them.

After looking at this magazine I have found out that colour scheme is very important depending on the type of audience you are choosing to target. Although I do think that perhaps this magazine was not as successful as it could've been because the magazine appears quite child like which is not appealing to young adults.

In conclusion, since looking at these professional music magazines I have gained some inspiration for my own. I have decided that I want my magazine to have one image as the focus point and a simplistic colour scheme. Therefore this research as been successful as it has helped me to develop my own ideas.

Institutional Research

There are different industries that are used to represent different artists. Some artists are part of an independent record label where as others are part of a major record label whether that be British or American. 

Many artists begin their career as part of an independent record label and then go on to work with larger companies once they have established a larger fan base. An example of an independent record label is Domino. Some of the artists that would with this company include Arctic Monkeys and Blood Orange.
Independent record labels have less financial backing to help their artists. This means their artists do not always receive the same perks that a larger company would. For example they might not release as many music videos as this is a costly procedure. Therefore it is more difficult to get noticed in the charts.

In comparison to this there are also Major record labels. These companies tend to dominate the charts with their artists. This is because they have the financial resources to make sure their artist is a success and are also able to make technical music videos. Examples of major record labels include Columbia Records, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. Some of the artists that these companies work with are Beyonce, Adele and Pharrell Williams.  As you can see these are very well known artists who have had a number of successes in the charts. This is because they are receiving the financial backing needed to target a global audience. For example they appear on TV shows such as the BRITS.

For our own artist, Alexa Rose, it is important that we decide what type of record label we would like her to work with. As she is an upcoming artist it would make sense for her to be part of an independent record label as she builds up her fan base. However we could work with a major record label to ensure that she has a successful career.  Although artists from an independent record label can also have great success, Arctic Monkey's are a great example of band that have been able to break the mould.

I have decided that our artist, Alexa Rose, is going to be part of an independent record label. This is because she is not a major star and it is therefore unlikely that a major record label would work with. It is important for her to establish herself in the music industry first.

Lyrics Analysis

As part of my pre-production planning I decided to print off the lyrics to our chosen song so that I could analyse what I believe to be the meaning of the song. The song that I chose is Disturbia - Rihanna.

One of the things that I noticed whilst analysing the lyrics is that it has negative language throughout. I have highlighted some of the words that I believe to be negative. An example of this is the word crazy, which is not typically perceived to be a positive emotion.  This word is used in the first verse of the song, therefore the audience are immediately made aware of the negative mood that the song is going to follow through with.
 

As well as this, as I have mentioned before I interpreted that the song is about the emotions you feel after a breakup. This was first established in the third verse when the word consume is used. This suggests to me that the negative thoughts you have often take over your reality for a short period of time.

 

 

Following on from this, one of the verses also contains "faded pictures". I interpreted this as someone looking back on the relationship that they used to have with someone else and this influenced the narrative idea that we came up with.

Next, as you can see I have highlighted "thought will be altered" as I thought this suggested how the presence of love can alter your normal thoughts and you can become blinded by the person you think someone is.

Overall after looking at these lyrics I found that the overall tone of the song is very negative. Therefore when I am  presenting the narrative I need to make sure that this is clearly illustrated to the audience through body movements and mise en scene. For example I am planning on dressing my actress in black clothing to portray this.

In conclusion, I thought looking at these lyrics without the real video in front of me was very helpful as it meant I could not be influenced by the true meaning of the lyrics and came up with my own unique narrative. I thought that this task was very influential on my idea.

Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me - Analysis

As I am planning on recreating a music video to a female artist I thought it would be a good idea to watch a professional video by a female artist that also follows the theme of love and heartbreak. You Belong With Me is one of the first music videos released by Taylor Swift and it currently has over 300 million views on YouTube, therefore there must be something successful about the music video to interest such a huge audience.

This music video follows a narrative structure, which is about a young girl who has fallen in love with her best friend but she has to watch on whilst he is with someone else. However the video does end happily with Taylor's character ending up with the boy.

One of the things that I think is particularly clever about this music video is that Taylor Swift has targeted her audience very well. She is aware that many young girls might have experienced something similar to this in the past and can therefore relate. I think that this makes the target audience more willing to watch the music video if they can place themselves in the situation. As well as this, Taylor Swift has ended the video in a positive light as the character ends up with the boy. Therefore this gives the target audience hope that they will have the same success. 

The music video also displays a lot of close ups of the artists face, I think one of the reasons for doing this is so that the audience can see the unhappiness of the character and sympathise with her. This is something to consider when we create our own music video as we are also following a theme of heart break therefore we should make sure that you can always see the characters facial expression.

Another thing that I like about this music video is how the characters are styled in certain colours to represent their personality/character. For example Taylor's character is styled in white to represent innocence where as the other female in the video is wearing red to display that she is the enemy and manipulative girlfriend. 

Overall I think that this video is successful. The artist has not used many visual effects such as split screens, they have kept it very simple. As mentioned previously I think the one thing that makes this video so successful is the relatable storyline. Therefore this research has made me aware that the narrative of the video is just as important as the effects that appear on screen. 

Purpose of Pop videos in the digital age

One of the main purposes of a music video is to promote the artist and their single. As we continue further into the digital age the narrative of music videos is becoming increasingly important in order to make not only your target audience want to watch the video but also people outside of that. Artists nowadays are constantly trying to spark up attention about their music and get the public talking. One of the best ways to do this is visually through the use of a music video.

One band that I have noticed that are constantly trying to stand out visually is One Direction. I have found that their music videos are often quite different to other artists in order to make people talk. An example of this is when they made the video to Best Song Ever. Within the video they had themselves styled as other people such as the director talking to the boys about them creating a new video.  This is very different to how most artists portray themselves in their music video and therefore made people outside of their fan base watch the video as it got people talking. It is also proving to be a success as their fan base is constantly growing and they are becoming increasingly popular with different age groups and cultures.

Moreover, the narrative to a music video can also provide a greater understanding of what the song is about. When the target audience first listen to a song they might not necessarily understand the meaning of the lyrics. However when you visually watch the lyrics on screen it could help you to understand what the artist is trying to portray.

As well as this, the purpose to a music video is also to entertain the target audience. More often than not you will watch a music video more than once particularly if it has an interesting story line. The use of the target audience watching the video several times could also help with the sale of the single. Furthermore, when you watch a music video on sites such as YouTube it often displays other videos and tracks by the artist, therefore promoting the sale of their whole album.

As you can see from the above points, music videos are extremely important in terms of marketing and promoting an artist especially in todays society when people are able to access media on many different platforms it means that the target audience are becoming more and more interested in the visual side of music.  The majority of artists in the charts will release more than one music video to their current album in the hope of expanding their audience.

In conclusion, after writing up this post I have gained a greater understanding of why music videos are so important in the digital age and has encouraged the development of my own. 

Choosing our artists name

It is very important when choosing our artists name that it is something short and catchy. We want our artists name to be memorable but to also appeal to our target audience which is 16-24 year olds. 

One of the things that I looked at whilst trying to decide on a name for our artist was the top 10 female names.  By doing this I was able to see what is popular as we want to make sure that our artists name is liked by our target audience. Below is a print screen of the top 10 names: 

One of the names that I was quite drawn to on this list was Ava,  although this is clearly a popular name I also think that it is quite unique. Moreover, it is very short meaning that it is easy to remember  and easy to market, which we must consider as we also have to create a digipak and magazine cover.  Another name that I also like is Alexa. I think that either of these names would be ideal. 

I then carried out some research into last names to see which ones were the most popular and not so popular. For our artists last name I would prefer to use something that isn't quite as popular.  Below is a print screen of some of the most popular last names, therefore I will try to avoid using these. 

One of the last names that I am interested in using is Bell. This is because once again it is short and snappy. After doing further research I found that Rose would also flow very well with either of the first names. 

In conclusion after writing up this point I have come up with a final decision that I am going to call my artist: 

Alexa Rose 

I think that is a relatively easy name to remember and it still unique enough that our artist won't get lost in amongst the crowd.  Overall I am pleased with our artists name and think that I carried out sufficient research to see which names were popular to appeal to our audience.

Record label permission letter

Copyright is the legal right given to the creator of the original piece of work. These rights give the person the control over their product and who can use it and reproduce it. For example a photographer owns the rights to his photographs.

When creating our music video it is important that we have the permission from the owner of the song to use their material to create our own video. As a result of this I have had to email the record label that Rihanna is owned by to ask if we are allowed to use their song.  Without this permission we would not have the right to use her material for own our purposes. 

Below is a print screen of the email I sent to Def Jam music label, which is the label that owns Rihanna's music. It was important as part of copy right rules that I asked for permission to use the song before I proceeded to film the video.  As you can see in the email below I have stated what I plan on using the song for and that if the company does not reply to my email I will assume that permission has been granted for me to use it. 

Story Board

In preparation for the filming of our music video we created a story board. This is so that we could map out how we want the music to look and the different shots that we are planning on using. Whilst creating the storyboard we thought that it would be a good idea to draw the shots on post it notes. By creating it in this way it meant that we could easily move shots and change the order if we thought it wasn't fluent enough.  I think that it was very effective to create the storyboard in this way as it made our ideas easily adaptable.  below are some images of the storyboard that we created. The storyboard does not contain the entire narrative of the video however it does give us a basis of where we want to take our idea. 

As you can see from the above image we are planning on having a variety of different shots. One of the main focuses of our video will be the use of the actresses lips hence why there are several shots above. This is because we want to repeat this element throughout the chorus. The actress will also be wearing a dark vampy lipstick to match the mood of the video.  We thought that it would be a good idea to have a close up on the actresses lips as it will display our lip syncing ability which is a very important element to use when creating the video.  

As you can also see from some of the above images, we want the actress to be placed within two spotlights, in order to make our video appear more professional as it will create good lighting. 

Above are some more images of the shots that we are planning on using in the video. the first row of post it notes displays images of a couple, as the video is focused around the breakdown of a relationship and the feelings you are left with. Therefore we are planning on ripping up images of the couple to make it clear to the target audience that this is the message behind the video. 

Furthermore, you can also see that we are planning on using a lot of split screens. The reason for doing this is because we want our video to appear dynamically interesting to the audience as we are not planning on using a grand location therefore we need to make the video appear more interesting using the editing facilities. 

Overall I am pleased that we decided to create a story board as it helped us to map out our narrative ideas on paper. Although I do think that a way of improving this is by creating a storyboard for the full length of the song as this would've given us a solid structure to follow. 

Music video pitch

As part of our coursework we had to create a pitch for our music video to display to the rest of our A2 media class. We created these pitches to share ideas with our peers and also so that we could receive some constructive feedback on what they thought would work and what they thought perhaps wouldn't. This is useful so that we would be able to adapt our ideas before it came to filming and we encountered these problems then instead.

We created our pitch on Prezi so that it would appear more interesting to our audience. As well as this it shows that we are able to use different forms of media.

Our Artist

It is important that whilst creating our music video and other products to accompany it such as the Digipak and magazine cover, that our artist has their own unique image. This is so that they will become identifiable with the target audience. Therefore they must have their own style as an artist.

Our artist will be a female and she will also be quite young. We decided that our artist should be within the age range of our target audience which is 16-24 year olds. This is so that the target audience can identify with the artist and her image. The artist that we chose will be aged 20, meaning she fits perfectly within the age range category.

Above is an image of our chosen artist. We decided to use this person because we think that she will appeal to our target audience. This is because she is young and attractive. One of the things we that particularly like about using this person as our artist is her hair style. This is because her hair is naturally curly and therefore it is quite different, meaning our artist already has part of her image created for her.  As well as this, because our song choice is about a person going crazy after a break up, it will be easy for us to style our artists hair into looking slightly wild to fit the mood of the video.

It is also important that our artist has a name that our target audience can identify her with. We must ensure that our artists name is memorable and not too long. Otherwise this could affect marketing. Therefore this is something that we need to decide as a group in order to ensure success.

Overall I am very pleased with our chosen artist. I think that she will appeal to our young audience of 16-24 year olds because of her being quite young herself. As well as this she is attractive, meaning she will appeal to both a male and female audience.

Analysis of real digipak

Artists image

An artists image is a very important factor in ensuring that they are successful. As part of our research for our own artist I have carried out some research into artists that are currently in the top 40 to see how they have become a success and how their image can potentially add to their success.

One of the artists that is currently in the top 40 is Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift has her own image as an artist. Taylor Swift has had iconic blonde hair ever since she started her career and she continues to do so. This therefore has become a part of her image, as some artists try to change their hair style too often. As well as this, Taylor Swift often wears red lipstick as shown in the above image. This therefore has become part of her image as well. Moreover, Taylor Swift is also well known for not being a very good dancer. Although this could be considered as a flaw in her career, Taylor Swift has played on this image by creating dance tracks such as "Shake it Off" to display to her target audience that she is not bothered by this factor.

Another artist that is currently in the top 40, is Ella Henderson. Ella is a very young upcoming artist at just the age of 18. Ella Henderson was a contestant on 2013 X factor series. Although she did not win the show she has gone on to release a number of tracks since that have made it into the charts, such as "Ghost". Even though Ella has not been in the music industry very long she is already starting to create her own image as an artist. I personally think that Ella's image is similar to Adele's. This is because she is represented as very sophisticated, yet simplistic. 

Moreover, Ariana Grande has also been in the charts a lot recently and has reached great success stemming from her career as a child starring in a Nickelodeon TV show. Ariana Grande is aged 21 however as you can see from the image above, her image as an artist still represents her as someone quite young and innocent to appeal to a younger audience that would've watched her when she starred in the TV show. Also, Ariana Grande's hair style has become quite a large part of her image as her audience recognise her by her half up, half down hair style. 

In conclusion, After looking at these different female artists, it has given me a greater understanding that an artist's image is very important to them. Something as simple as a make up look or hair style can easily became recognisable to an artists target audience. Therefore I have learnt that we do not necessarily need to over complicate our own artists image in order to make her stand out. We only need to make minor changes to our artists look so that they she something within her style that is unique to her.