Ideas for Main Task

For our Main Task, we listened to the lyrics and decided that we were going to film the whole video in reverse.

We wanted to start our video as if the actual storyline had just come to an end and then use various flashbacks, cutaways and cross cutting to relive the prior events to how the storyline actually reached that conclusion.

A good example would be Katy Perry / Last Friday Night. The video is filmed to show the party that had happened the night before, and we want to take this idea and make it our own.

Steve Archer -

Quoted from Steve Archer on Narrative and Performance (2004):

I can relate this to our prospecting music video as we plan on making the artist narrator and still take part as the main protagonist in the video. Our video will also include lip synch throughout but no miming of instruments as if is based around pop and dance therefore no specific instruments are heard clear enough to mime.

Our mirror shot will be where the artist will narrate the story through the lip synching of the lyrics but at the same time is still part of the narrative due to the scene. But the artist is also the protagonist who lives this double life.

What do you think when you think of Pop?

In my opinion, even though it is not my favourite genre, recently I listen to it on a regular basis. I think this is because the songs are so catchy, that once I hear a member of my friendship group sing the song, it gets stuck in my head and I then go and download it. This is a very effective way of advertising the song as well if we were to think from the point of view of big record companies; it goes to show how easily I am influenced by my friends.

I believe that the songs actually influence my mood. I tend to listen to very jolly songs with a fast beat and this does reflect on how my attitude is. For example, I am currently obsessed with the song MKTO - Classic. I have noticed that I am noticeably more happy and I tend to get the urge to dance, this shows how music not only influences our clothing, referring mainly to the gothic and pop punk genre, but also our moods.

Research - Female Solo Artists

Even though the following female artists all produce and/or are known for pop music, each one of them has a different image and style that they try and portray through their interaction with the media, their lyrics and their music videos.

Lady Gaga:
Essentially, Lady Gaga is categorised as being a pop star although some of her music is dominantly electropop and dance-pop.
She likes to portray herself as the main feature is all her videos; the centre of attention. Gaga has created this bizarre and outrageous reputation for herself through her use of extraordinary costumes, make up and music videos. Her career tends to focus more on her image and reputation rather than her songs and voice.
Her videos tend to contain a lot of sexual references and scenes, as well as a large amount of dancing and heavily featured story lines. Her song lyrics tend to be more metaphorical, as she is a mysterious character and her songs follow in the same way.

The main themes Gaga reinforces through her videos and music are power, sex and violence. She ensures she is seen as a dominant and empowering woman, who has openly admitted that she represents feminism. The main message behind her fame is mainly for woman/homosexuals and it is trying to encourage them to stand up for themselves and to reinforce what they believe in.

Ellie Goulding:

Ellie falls under the genre indiepop, as she has a unique voice and all her songs have some element of folk and indie present in them. This star portrayed as very genuine and a down to earth person; this conclusion is generally made from her voice which is usually described as soothing and angelic.
She is known as the quiet girl, that presents herself to be very innocent and likable. Her clothing is not unusual; thus she wouldn't stand out in a crowd. This attracts her audience of teenagers, specifically aged 15-19, as they feel a direct connection with her due to her simplicity and being like 'everyone else'.

Ellie Goulding's songs are usually about typical themes that her teenage audience are expected to have experienced; for example heartbreak, and going out and having fun with friends. This puts her on personal level her viewers. She focuses mainly on her voice and the ability to write songs instead of her image.
Her videos tend to be very much lyrics related, and rather simple with heavy lighting and editing to make the music video more fascinating. Her songs tend be quite sweet and innocent and her lyrics are very concept specific. This reinforces the idea of her being genuine and original.

Beyoncé:

           

Beyoncé is known as Queen B due to her huge impression with has in the music industry. She has a powerful voice, that engages everyone that listens to her. Her main audience tends to be from mid teens to mid twenties, specifically from 16-25.

She portrays herself as a powerful, feminist and dominant character on stage, she grasps the audiences attention and mesmerises them with her amazing vocals.

Beyoncé's curves have created a hype and she is now renown as a confident woman and sex icon. The powerful and influential artist appeals to girls who idolise and aspire to like her.

On stage, her outfits are revealing and always participates in a complex dance routine. Her videos are usually focused on her voice and the lyrics, as they tend to be very relevant to the current situations or realistic events that are experienced on a daily basis.

 Beyoncé portraying herself as the headstrong and determined artist, makes her private life, as a dedicated mother, very aspiring due to her being able to control her two contrasting lifestyles with facility as well as enjoying them both at the same time.

Her lyrics tend to be very meaningful and have an affect on her audience. Beyoncé's image is simple and sexy, and yet she is unique due to the fact that she can achieve being so dominant yet so soft and loveable at the same time.

What conventions are used? - Miley Cyrus Video

First impressions:
The video opens with an extreme close up of the artist emotionally singing the lyrics. This focuses mainly on the pain she is feeling which is represented through her facial expression.
With the surrounding being white, it gives the impression that she is innocent and pure which is later contrasted with the rest of the video.
This idea carries on throughout the video, and there are various jump cuts to close ups of Miley in an emotional state.

Camera Shots: 
The video mainly consists of close ups, mid shots, and establishing shots.
Close up and extreme close ups are mainly used to capture the emotion of the artist. In the initial section, there are various close ups of the artist singing the lyrics directly to the camera. This engages the audience as they feel a connection with the artist, especially when she begins to cry. There are cross cuts throughout the entire music video, going from long shots of her to the intimate close ups of her having a breakdowns and her with the main props in the video.

The mid-shots of Miley show her surrounding and the actions she is taking. The wrecking ball and other industrial props such as the sledgehammer refer back to the concept of the song which is the destruction of a relationship.
These camera shots focus mainly on her appearance, and therefore the mid shots and close ups feature her lack of clothing and mainly her body.

     

The shots then become more mid to long shots of the artist as well as establishing shots. This again is to set the tone and show the atmosphere of the video itself. It also reinforces the concept of the song. Like a common pop convention, the video contains a lot of sex imagery. This is shown with Miley eventually being naked and having extreme close-ups of her body.

 

Editing:

The cuts rate is quite slow at the beginning before the song reaches its climax. This is before they are emotional scenes and therefore the shots are long; as the video progresses the cuts become more rapid and on the beat of the song, which is a typical convention when filming a music video. This cutting rhythm is to create an exciting effect for the viewers.  

There are mainly cross-cuts as they are relating the two different scenes together and to show the contracting situations with the artist has found herself in; the destructive, rebellious and serious Miley that only seems to have a blank expression on her face at all times and the innocent, heartbroken and emotional Miley that is hurting.

M.E.S:

The props in this music video play a large role. Industrial equipment such as the sledgehammer and the wrecking ball are all related to the song's concept. These feature most in the close ups as it is what the artist is using to destroy the setting.

The settings it self is very simple; three concrete walls and a white background. This is because the video is focused mainly on her and her image.

Miley is known for her outrageous choice of clothing; in this video she is wearing what seems to be underwear and a crop top which are white. It is very simplistic which relates to her surroundings. In the video, she ends up completely nude with only her boots on; this reinforces the rebellious image she has of herself, and what engage her audience and make them love her even more because of her having no boundaries.

Lighting:

It is high key lighting throughout the entire video to highlight her and her body as well at what she is doing. There is no sinister or dark concept to the song therefore having unnatural high key lighting reinforces the innocence and pain she is trying to portray.

Sound:

The video is very much based on the lyrics of the song, hence the reason the artist comes into the music video on a wrecking ball when the lyrics are 'I came in like a wrecking ball'. The song is upbeat and has the classic verse-chorus-verses structure that most pop songs consist of.

All cuts are based around the beat, and the different camera shots are based on the lyrics.





Digipak Analysis - Comparison of two different Digipaks

  

Conventions of our chosen genre - Pop

When researching our genre I found good presentations explaining the basic conventions that are used in Pop music videos.

          

     

Conventions of pop music from zahraaliyah64

Analysis of Pop Music Video - Miley Cyrus

The music video for 'Wrecking Ball' by Miley Cyrus shocked the nation when it was released. The extrovert pop star had taken her wild image a step further with this video. Her naked on a wrecking ball and licking a sledgehammer created chaos in the world.

The music video was produced by Dr. Luke, Cirkut and directed by Terry Richardson. 

- Dr. Luke co-wrote and produced commercially successful records such as "Who Knew" for Pink, "Girlfriend" for Avril Lavigne, and "I Kissed A Girl" for Katy Perry and "My Life Would Suck Without You" for Kelly Clarkson.

While continuing to produce for Perry, Lavigne, and Pink, Dr. Luke has also worked with other artists, including Taio Cruz, B.o.B, Jessie J, Britney Spears, Flo Rida, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj and Rihanna.

Dr. Luke is also noted for signing recording artists such as Kesha, playing a vital part in their careers.
Dr. Luke's work has been merited for various music industry awards. Music publication Billboard named him as one of the top performing producers of the 2000s. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers awarded him Producer and Songwriter of the Year honors from 2009 to 2011. At the 53rd Grammy Awards, he was nominated for a Grammy Award for Producer of the year. 

- Terry Richardson is an American Fashion and portrait photographer who has shot advertising campaigns for Marc Jacobs, Aldo, Supreme, Sisley, Tom Ford and Yves Saint Laurent amongst others. He has also done work for magazines such as Rolling Stone, GQ and Vogue.

How was the music video laid out?

1. The opening of the video refers to the 'obvious' difficulties that every relationship suffers. The problems that happen when you try and balance out the 'give and take' between the relationship between the two. 
2. The second level to this song is the still somewhat obvious timing of being released right after Miley Cyrus's spot on performance that caused so much buzz recently. Her performance was indeed a "wrecking ball" and her line of, "I came in like a wrecking ball.." would seem to elude to the manner of her emergence on the public stage.
3. Some people recall this for being from "other dimensions", in this third level you can see some very obvious symbols on Miley's body during the music video in the form of tattoos. Even though she got these tattoos at various different stages they can be understod together and in context. You need things together to understand the meaning, and so it is with her tattoos and placement that we understand her. 
4. The 4th level of understand on this piece is going to be difficult for those who don't believe in other realms, spiritual beings, angels or the afterlife. The words to this song and the visual imagery are a direct message from the Devils to God and the other angels. It is a flagrant attempt at stating her 'misunderstood' position in humanity and it is her attempt to seduce others to fall.

How was it influenced?
The song itself is about the breakdown of a relationship; this is shown in three stages: 

The video was inspired by the music video for 'Nothing Compares 2 U' by Sinead O'Connor, The close up shots of Miley emotionally singing directly to the camera with a white backdrop behind her are the main features taken from that video. Scenes of her licking the sledgehammer and swinging on a wrecking ball are sections that have lead on from that initial idea.  

Response from the artist

After asking for permission to use the song 'Tove Lo - Habits' for our main task; I received an email to say that they were going to pass on the message to hopefully obtain the rights that we need to use the song for our coursework.

Here is the email I received: 

Codes and Conventions

As an introduction to the course, I produced a short plan of what we can expect from most pop genre music videos.

Song Choice

During our research into the different music genres and the ample amount of artists inside that chosen style, there was one song that stood out for us more than any other and that was: Tove Lo - Habits.
We did email the artist in the hope that we gained permission to use their song for our video, but we have had no response yet.

This song is classes under the genre of pop music, therefore it has a very fast paced beat. We mainly liked this song because of the storyline behind the lyrics.

Tove Lo - Habits

The lyrics describe a way of release. Someone, in this case the girl in the music video, is suffering from a loss and the only way to stop her from ending her own life is to be out get high off of drugs and alcohol as well as getting involved with other people.

This concept is reinforced in the music video with the character being shown walking around very 'zombie' like, with no emotion or care; this refers back to the lyrics which say 'numb the pain'. It seems she has become numb to everything around her and that is her way of mourning.

The location of the music video again reinforces the idea of someone being addicted to drugs and alcohol. There are graffiti all over the back walls as well as there being a very low key lightning which gives it a very cold and uncomfortable place to be.  

With this song, even though the lyrics are quite concept specific and dark, we thought there could be various different perspectives to interpret them. There is nothing to say what is it or who it is that has been lost, or if anything has been lost for that matter, that is just the automatic conclusion we come to. I think this song would enable us to think outside the box and conclude to an interesting outcome.



Song Choice - Group Discussions

After much deliberation on our group chat on Facebook, we went through various story lines and different ways in which we could interpret the song, in terms of lyrics and artist image that we want to create.

    

   

             

   

   

Song Options

In a chat on Facebook with all the member of my group, we discussed the various song choices we have and discussed what we storyline we could fit to the song as well as interpreting the lyrics. Solo female artist was the option that stood out most for us as we could use the stereotypical view that viewers have on female artists and manipulate it to make it different to all the other music videos. Another reason as to why we chose to do a solo female artist is that our group consists of 3 male and 1 female and therefore they nominated the female to be the star of the music video. These included:

• M.I.A - Paper Planes

The song emphasised the stereotypical view some people have on immigrants that are not accepted in the society. This is represented through the use of MES, the urban settings and a large part on the lyrics. 

We liked the song due to the fact that is was trying to portray a message that was actually quiet meaningful and relevant at this moment in time. We came up with various ideas towards the videos and how we could interpret it and make sure the audience see the song from a different point of view. We came to the conclusion that this song was not suitable for us due to the subject specific lyrics and therefore we have to consider our restrictions such as the location and setting as well as the nature of the song. 

• Lorde - Royals

Royals is about the contrasting lifestyles that famous and ordinary people live. Her song is emphasising how the famous and wealthy artists gloat about everything they own and how much they earn. The artist herself, Lorde, is representing herself through the song by implying that she came from an ordinary, not very wealthy background and how she is not like all the other artists that take face for granted. 

As a group, we liked the song as the lyircs were not very specific so we could interpret them in anyway we wanted to. Famous and wealthy people are the main focus in the media most the time, and we though that this song would fit perfectly for if we wanted to create a parody type video of these people. The only problem we had is that even though the lyrics were not very specific, we found it difficult to manipulate the storyline to anything that had nothing to do with the famous people and the media. 

• Tove Lo - Habits 

Habits is a song about how a girl escapes from the pain and hurt that she receives from a loss - whether it was a death or a breakup, the song lyrics insinuate she goes out and does certain actions to try and forget this horrible ordeal. The music video supports the lyrics as it represents the artist going out and becoming a bit of a mess and taking part in various events that a woman is not expected to be part of. 

We liked this song because it goes against the idea of a typical pop princess and represents the female in a time of despair and hurt. It shows a different side of females as a gender, instead of showing them as the sweet and vulnerable people which we stereotypically see them as. An issue we had with this song was that we could only base the song around a female suffering and therefore we were worried that our music video would look quite similar to the original one. 

Why do production companies make music videos?

Click on the image to view the Prezi!

 

Contacting the artist - Copyright

Due to Copyright on most of the songs that we are looking into using, I had to contact various artists with an enquiry. After deciding we want to base our main task on the genre pop/alternative, I emailed various of the artist's managers and production companies to ask for permission to use their product (song) in our video; I explained that it was for educational purposes and not profitable in any way.

Here is an example of the email that I sent to 4 artists:

Main Task - Preparation

For our music video, I researched into various genres to look at the different target audiences as well as the characteristics that relate to each one.

As a group we came to the conclusion of basing our music video on Pop/Alternative Music. This is because the genre is a popular choice and therefore appeals to a mass audience. Also, the lyrics in pop music tend to be rather vague or very metaphorical when it comes to relating to a specific concept or story line; thus it gives us the chance to look at the song from different perspectives. 

The idea of a band did not appeal to us, and the fact that in pop music, there tends to be more solo artists than groups, hence why we came to the conclusion that we are going to focus solely on a female solo artist. This not only allows us to base our music and video on solo singer/songwriters but it gives the a basic target audience of late teenaged boys between the ages of 16-19; this is mainly because of the artists' sex appeal. 

Before we begin to analyse the genre is much more depth, I lightly researched artist from this genre that will relate to throughout our study: 

Lorde

17 year old singer/songwriter from New Zeland. In 2013, she released her single 'Royals' that made her the youngest solo artist to achieve a US-number one since 1987. 

                                       

  

Tove Lo 

A Swedish singer/songwriter that gained most her attention from her 2013 hit  'Habits'. Later she returned to the charts with a new hip hop remix of the song now known as 'Stay High'. 

                                           

Jess Glynne

British singer/songwriter mostly known for featuring on Clean Bandit's single 'Rather Be' in 2014. She then released her debut single 'Right Here' which reached number 6 in the Uk Charts. 

                                         

National Socio-Economic Classification

When developing my Audience research, I referred to the viewers in very small and specific groups that could be based on age, gender, interests, profession, etc.

In terms of, referring to them basing it on the their social class and economic status, I referred to the National Socio-Economic Classification; this theory enabled me to group the audience based on a broad variety of sections instead of very specific topics. 

This is the primary social classification in the United Kingdom. This replaced two previous groups: Socio-economic groups and Social class based on Occupation. The version that is intended to be used is divided into 8 categories:

1. Higher managerial and professional occupations. 
2. Lower managerial and professional occupations. 
3. Intermediate occupations (clerical, sales, service)
4. Small employers and own account workers
5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations 
6. Semi-routine occupations
7. Routine occupations
8. Never worked and long-term unemployment

This again can be simplified down to three main groups:

1. Higher occupations
2. Intermediate occupations
3. Lowe occupations 

Audience Research - Personal Interests

Being a 17 year old girl, I am very passionate about my music and greatly depend upon it in everyday life. I asked myself, what genres would engage me personally? Three types of music stood out most:

• Indie Rock
• Alternative Rock
• Pop Punk

The reason why I fond of indie rock is due to the depth and concepts related to their lyrics. Indie lyrics tend to give a very clear picture of what the story line is being told. 

Which is a characteristic that is common in all the music genres; Pop Punk and Alternative Rock have lyrics that are portrayed as being more aggressive and louder than the Indie Rock lyrics. 

I noticed a feature most the bands I listen to from them genre, are bands which consist of all male performers. This is just the stereotypical idea being reinforced as I am more attracted to them because they band members tend to be all male.

A characteristic about the actual music that appeals to me is the loud guitars and the power of the instruments throughout the songs, specifically the drums.
Pop punk would have to be my preference because of the significant amount of pop in the song; hence why I aim to research this genre in more detail and hopefully use it as the topic for my main task.

Comparison of two music videos

The two music videos have very different story lines and broadcast different messages to their target audience. Carly Rae Jephsen - Call me maybe is a pop song that appeals to a mass audience compared with The Prophets, an emo band that appeal to a very niche audience.

                                                 

In the Carly Rae Jephsen video it is the cliche story line of boy meets girl and she falls in love with him. She then tries her best to look attractive which changing her clothing various times and by the actions she takes. It is a stereotypical american based story line which would appeal to the target audience which is young teenage girls. It is very much a pop video which are accepted and very popular in the society.





The lyrics in the video represent the protagonist and how she feels towards the person (male). They are very repetitive which ensures that it is catchy for the audience; the audience are more likely to remember the song and advertise it through word of mouth. The Prophet's lyrics are also rather repetitive again for the reason. The Story line in the song 'Rooftops' is about Gothic teenagers that are constantly under-minded and being shouted at constantly by the older generations with more authority; this song is encouraging them teens to speak out and make sure they are heard.
It appeals to the target audience as they use teenagers of the video contains teenagers of the 'gothic' style which would relate to the niche audience it is aimed at.

                                              
In the music video we see the band playing but we also see the progression between three gothic students that are in very sad and dark situations. The video and message is very pessimistic but is like other videos in the same genre; this contrasts the Pop video which has a very fan girl type concept and the main features in the song are her as a person and the male protagonist.

                                         

Audience Research - Genres

Before selecting the genre for my main task, I wanted to explore into various styles before coming to a conclusion. Each genre appeals to an audience; whether it be niche or mass. I wanted to list each genre with an example just to be able to establish the characteristics of each one.

Indie Rock
A genre originated from the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s.
The term 'Indie Rock' then only became associated with bands and genres that remained dedicated to their independent status; and still currently is. Indie also came to light to describe the music produce on 'post-punk' labels; an artier, more experimental type of rock.


- One of the original Indie bands: The White Stripes.


A recent indie band: Catfish and the Bottle men.
                                                                          

Alternative Rock
It is a genre that refers to rock music has emerged from the independent music underground in the 1990s. The characteristics that apply with this genre are the following: - Defiant attitudes
                                                                                                                  - Aggressive lyrics
                                                                                                                  - Distorted guitar sounds
                                                                                                                  - Independent

Due to the very diverse characteristic that this specific genre consists of, it was known as 'alternative' because of its obvious differences in comparison to the mainstream rock music.

- Original alternative rock bands: Rolling Stones.

- More recent and popular band: Mallory Knox

Pop Punk
A genre that combines the likes of punk rock and pop music to varying degrees. The characteristics of this genres consist of: - Various chord changes
                                        - Fast punk tempos
                                        - Very loud guitars with pop influenced rifts
                                        - Lyrical themes
Other subgenres such as hardcore punk soon emerged after the 1980s.

- Original pop punk band from the 1970s: Buzzcocks

- Recent, well established band from this century: Neck Deep.

Pop Music
This belongs to the genre known as 'having wide appeal'. This genre is usually distributed to a mass audience throughout the music industry. It appeals to popular tastes.
It is the most well known type of music in comparison to the other genres. These songs usually follow the form - verse-course form and rarely change.

- Artist that originated from 1880s - Madonna



- Recent very popular artist - Katy Perry.


Rap Music
Rapping is a form of spoken word poetry that is performed in time to a beat. This music genres is commonly associated with hip hop music and sometimes alternative rock. The characteristic of this genres consist of: - The content
                             - The flow
                             - The delivery
                             - Rhyme/Rhythm

- American rap group from 1979: The Sugarhill Gang

- Artist that is considered to be a popular rap artist currently: Eminem 

Music Video Analysis - Deaf Havana

IThe song "Friends Like These" by Deaf Havana is all centred around the bands friends and enjoying themselves; that is portrayed throughout the music video and the lyrics of the song.

Deaf Havana, 'Friends Like These' music video is solely based on the concept of the product; the main theme is friends and the lyrics reinforce this.

In the video, it is half performance based and half narrative. The band members are seen playing a gig in what appears to be a normal backyard, and also seen on the beach with a vast amount of people.
The main storyline that links in with the video and the lyrics is that friends are irreplaceable and that you need to remember the times that you've had together and not worry about the current or future problems. The moral of this production is that you should cherish your friends and the time you spend with them as they are always going to be there for you, through thick and thin. 

                                

The opening to the music video is a fade in to an establishing shot of the band itself on a small stage surrounded by people. This is to inform the audience on where the music video is set; it looks rather casual and therefore gives the audience a friendly impression. Everyone in the shot is wearing very bright clothing and the scene has a natural high key lighting; this sets the tone and atmosphere; the bright colours insinuate fun and happiness which is the mood the song is trying to get across to the audience. The natural lighting also makes the scene very clear and gives a sense of freshness and being in the open. Gives the audience the impression of them being normal people and not rock stars. Insinuates that the fame has not gone to their heads, which is also reflected in the venue of the gig; a low key, average backyard that everyone who lives in America is owner of.

The song begins straight away, and the alternative rock music sounds through as all the people around the band begin to jump and through their arms and other props such as beach balls around. This is very typical of a rock gig; out of personal experience at shows, all the crowd seem to unite together are create this sequence of dance moves commonly known as head banging and mosh pits.

In the opening scene there are close ups of the band members playing their own instrument. This relates back to them being genuine and as the close up shows them playing, shows that they are an original band and do not have any technical support; represents them as  real and genuine artists.

                                    

By using a close up it represents the emotion and adrenaline that each of them are feeling. Mid shots are also shown of the band playing their gig; this is the performance element of the music video. 

This is followed by various mid shots from a side view so that they are able to include all members as well as the audience surrounding them. This is done so that the audience get a good idea of the atmosphere of the event. A low angle shot of the vocalist shows that his power over his fans and how much control and attention he currently has. 

Throughout these opening shots there are various match cuts. These match cuts are to ensure that the audience are aware of everything that is occurring at the same time; in this case, so that they see the band performing along with the people dancing and enjoying themselves around them. 

Half way through the video, there are cross cuts from the band playing in the backyard, to them and their friends on the beach. This refers back to the idea of friends being very important and having to cherish and enjoy the time you spend amongst them. With them being at the beach also suggests that it doesn't take a lot to have fun; by just going to a beach which is completely free, they can enjoy themselves as long as they are together.

                                    

There's a long shot of them and their friends all stood in the line along the beach before running into the sea. They have used this shot to show how many of them there are; reinforces the idea of keeping all your friends close as they are the ones that will stand by you in the end. In the sections of the beach, the shots are filmed in slow motion and the cutting rates are much slower than when they are in the backyard. They have slowed the beach scenes down to reinforce the idea of really enjoying the moment which is where the cliché - "time flies when you're having fun" comes into consideration as they want you to take it all in and appreciate the time spent together which relates back to the main concept of the song and its video.

The video continues with close ups of the members smiling and enjoying the actual event itself. The match cuts are contradictory towards the middle of the video. Whilst the song slows down and lowers in volume before the climax, there is a long shot of the people walking slowly along the beach which reflects a relaxed and smooth atmosphere in comparison to when the song reaches its climax point and all members begin to jump around and go crazy on stage which reflects a very exciting and loud atmosphere which contradict each other. This is done so that the audience can appreciate the two different sides of their personality that they have depending on their surroundings.

As the chorus plays, 'you'll never know friends like these and you'll never know, you'll never know', there's a slow motion shot of all the band sat on the beach. There's are moments when it focuses on each of the members pulling faces which represents their personality through a single shot. The crowd are also shown in the chorus; this represents them as the friends they are talking about, and show them reacting to the song.

                                       

Most people in the video has some sort of tattoo or piecing which relates back to their genre of the music and the niche audience that it is aimed at. Alternative rock attracts punk people that are very passionate about their music and their appearance and therefore, the tattoos and piercings are just features that really define that genre. There are also props such as beach balls being thrown around in the crowd, this combines the two scenes together, as the ball relates to the beach. Also, everyone is drinking out of red plastic cups which suggests they are in America and teenagers. The performance in this music video is the typical venue they would expected to be at.


The two match cuts joining to the two different scenes together are edited so that they are in slow motion to keep on par with the song. Initially, the editing sequences was very fast paced to keep up with the tempo of the song. Alternative rock is a very up beat and entertaining genre and therefore as the song begins to slow down so does the cutting rate. The band members are shown playing in slow motion, along with match cuts showing people strolling across the beach. This also relates the two very different scenes shown in the music video together as they are both now embracing the time spent with others. 

Preliminary Task - Evaluation

In terms of camerawork, I believe that I replicated the shots in the first minute of the A-Team by Ed Sheeran very well. I have demonstrated that I am competent in framing shots well, at all heights, distances and angles as well as understanding what the effects different types of shots give off. My favourite shot to recreate was the 180 degree shot which was executed very well. It was the most difficult shot to film because it needed to be at a low angle, and pan around an actor smoothly and quickly only taking up five seconds of footage. Despite this, I think that there is some noticeable camera shake in some shots which is difficult to minimise when the camera is in a dynamic state. We couldn't use the tripod in those particular shots as we needed the camera to move with the actor or pan around. Also, in one or two shots we made simple mistakes like leaving filming equipment in the background.

The main target of the editing stage was to cut the shots and concatenate them as best as possible like the official video has done. This has meant timing all the shots to the second in order for it to accurately reflect the real thing. Other features of the editing included adding a slow fade transition and adding a black and white filter to our colour footage. Although these were not difficult, it shows that I have made progress and steps to learn how to use Final Cut Express- an editing piece of software I had not used proficiently before. I hope I can continue developing these skills when it comes to editing my real music video. Overall I believe this was the best part of our Preliminary Task.

Mise-en-scene was the most difficult area of the production process of the Preliminary Task because it takes in multiple factors including costume, props, lighting, setting/location, body language and more.

Costume was relatively easy to mimic as the dress code is very casual int he official video. It included a grey jumper/hoody, black tights, a small black skirt, and black shoes. Our actor Jakarta had already got these items so nothing had to be purchased or borrowed.

The only prop included was a blanket. This is used to provide warmth to the homeless character who is forced to sleep on the cold streets, or in this case, a park bench. The character in the official video actually hands a duvet. However, due to us being unable to bring on to the location, we had to use a blanket instead.

For the first few shots, we controlled the lighting to suit the scene. We did this by simply closing the blinds in the room and turning off the lights whilst still having enough light to see what was happening. We couldn't control the lighting in the main block of the footage because it is set outside, where there is natural high key lighting. However, this didn't necessarily matter as it was the day time (which is what we needed) and the video was going to don a black and white filter anyway.

Overall, I believe the mise-en-scene in our video was well thought out. 

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE BETTER:

Editing was at a good standard as I have experience with editing on Final Cut Express from AS and therefore I was completely comfortable with editing this preliminary task. The only problem that I could potentially come across in our main task is that we have never experienced editing with lip synch and therefore I may struggle when it comes to ensuring that all the clips are in time and that the music video is coherent the entire way through the music video. 

For our preliminary task we only needed one actor and therefore I nominated myself to take part in the filming as they main character. Although we will have to bare in mind other peoples schedule when filming our main tasks we will most likely need more than one actor throughout the entire video. Therefore it is essential that we review our storyboard and tally up how many people are needed for filming and plan in advance so that they are available for when we need them on set. Finally, we amateurs, when filming our preliminary task we believed that natural lighting would be sufficient and although the shots through the cameras used were fine, once we began to edit, we discovered that the shots were darker. This meant that we had to use filters such as brightness and contrast, to enhance the colour: this however resulted in that the image was blurry and rather pixelated. For our main task we need to ensure that the lighting is at a higher key than needed to ensure that the shot is clear and will result in better quality once edited: we can do this with the use of flood lights, spot lights and natural light depending on the time and the scene being filmed.

We only needed to select two settings to replicate the first minute of the video. This included a park and a small dark setting. For the latter, we chose a small dark classroom in the corner of a block at our school. The room is only roughly 3x5m squared in size and has a window and blinds. Suiting us as we could control the lighting, the room was perfect especially because it is rarely in use.

I felt the body language and acting by Jakarta was very good and was an easily recognisable performance from the official video. At the time we filmed, we couldn't get another girl to play as the other female so I personally had to step in and pretend. While this isn't ideal, we know that the Preliminary Task is just a building block where we can learn and improve upon.

A few of our camera shot were rather shaky due to the difficulty as well as for obvious reasons like the camera man's balance. Therefore for our main task we need to ensure we use tripods and a dolly when possible, this means that the shots will be very stable and result with more efficient shots. 
After filming, when we noticed that we had occidentally left equipment behind the location and therefore was noticeable when editing the shots. For our main task we will ensure that everything and everyone will be out of shot to ensure that the final product looks authentic and realistic. I would also research into the location more before filming so that we have acquired the best possible fit to replicate that idea that we had planned. Also, by planning in advanced means that we can get in contact if needs be to book out the venue which will secure our filming dates. 

For our preliminary task, we had to replicate the Ed Sheeran video which required specific props. Due to it being quite simplistic costume, it was easy to access everything that we needed: but when we went to film we forgot to take the coat with us to complete all the costumes we needed and therefore we did not use the correct props. For our main task, we do decide what props we need to make our video realistic. Hopefully this will ensure that we remember and can access all these props as they may be essential to our main task. 

Preliminary Task - Front Cover

After recreating the opening minute to a music video, we had produce a digipak for our version of the product.

Our song's genre was Indie Folk and Soul therefore I wanted to incorporate things that we would typically see in them genres.

Indie is a genre in which the artists basically ignore the fame, they focus solely on having fun and their music. Therefore, after producing the video before the summer, I attended various parties and social gatherings in which I decided I could use to take photos to use for my mock digipak.

The photos in the main cover are all from one party. I used these photos because I like how the have turned out; due to them being taken on a disposable camera, the flash gave the images an authentic feel to them, it made them seem very old and worn out. I like this effect as it suggests that the band are very individual and authentic. The photos seem amateurish and therefore original. This is important in relation to Indie due to them putting emphasis of the fact that they are independent.

I called our artist 'Take Two' because of the simple fact that Ed Sheeran's video was the first take of the video, the first version, and ours was the second, hence the name Take Two. It also refers to the fact that no one can perfect something in one go and that it will take several time to get right. At first, I had the original photo as the main feature of the cover but then I had two bars down the left hand side; these bars represented the second take. It also refers to 'pause', which meant that they took their time when producing the final product.

The name, along with it's positioning links back to the film industry. Take two being an order given by the director to film again and the positioning being on a chair like the director/ producers have during filming. This links in the film and music industry together as well as emphasising the fact that indie music videos tend to be a short film in itself. 

After deliberating the design, I decided that there was not enough fun in the cover, which is what Indie is essentially about. Therefore I look for more photos of that specific party to try and incorporate more visual features into the cover.

I like the photos from this party, not only because of the resulting effect on the photos, but because of the setting and the atmosphere. Even though the viewers were not there in person, the photos represent friendship, through the bottom left photos of me and a friend, fun and laughter in the top left photo of me sitting on a friend's knee. This shows that we are all together are a friendship group and that we enjoy each others company which is a common convention used specifically in Indie music videos.

I used the photos of the artist looking away and distracted as the background because I want it seem casual and natural, as if they did not know and therefore, with the character looking away and paying no attention adds to the authenticity but also represents her as a sociable person, and not faking just for the photos, which is metaphorically referring to the fake artists that pretend to be someone they are not for the media. Also, no eye contact in made on the front cover, as essentially the song is about a class A drug and how the character has to take risks to make money to feed her addiction. Hence, the female character making no eye contact suggests she is very secretive and hidden, as if her identity has to remain unknown due to her connection with drugs.

The setting of the party was in a backyard, a very low key and comforting area. The camping chairs and the fire pit give the photos the impression of being in a festival; hence the connections with music, being outdoors and having fun.

I wanted to use a basic and simplistic font because the main features of the front cover are the photos. The are very small and in capitals so that is stands out, the use of monotonal colours emphasises the artists clothing in the background and the flame from the fire pit.