Issues With Guitar Synching

During the filming for the performance, we ran into some issues with the guitar synching. Our main actor who was also lip synching in the video and being our artist couldn't play the guitar, and it looked very unprofessional. We got around this by using another friend who could play the song. We carefully recorded him playing the song, so that you couldn't see it wasn't our original artist and then synched it perfectly with the song. This ended up really well, with the synching then being perfect and the whole project looking more professional.

Editing Process

This is a screenshot from early on in the editing process. At this point, I was inserting the initial clips into the timeline to start working on the narrative.

This shows a jump cut being added to speed up the pace of the video and as a result, make it more interesting for the viewer.

The jump cut ended up staying in the video and the jump cut practice which I did in the planning process helped out a lot.






 This shows a jump cut being added to speed up the pace of the video and as a result, make it more interesting for the viewer.

The jump cut ended up staying in the video and the jump cut practice which I did in the planning process helped out a lot.

This screenshot shows the title being added at the start of the video.

This is something that I had always planned to do and as a result, I planned the shooting of the first shot on where the title would appear.

This shows the project timeline further into the production process. 

You can see editing features such as clips overlapping and also quick cuts.

This task was essential for my video. Editing is a huge part of the process of making the video, and it has taught me loads about how to use iMovie and video editing software in general. I now know how to add, remove, trim and tweak clips, as well as compile all of the shots from filming into one film. This, behind filming, is the most important part of making my music video, and I feel I have learnt, experimented and succeed in my editing.

Rough Cut #1

This is the first cut for my music video. At this point, some of the performance is very out of synch, and some of it isn't placed in yet. A large section of the narrative is placed in, however they are not necessarily the correct length or in the exact right position. At the moment this is just placing the clips generally where they will go, and a lot of future changes will happen. The first third of the video is very near completion but the last third is far off it. Overall this is a very mismatch cut, but gives me  the basic outline for the structure to my video.

Completed Digipak and Digipak Poster

This is the final design for my digipak and the digipak poster. I am really happy with how this came out, as I believe that it will appeal to the target audience and sticks the the themes of the genre and type of artist I am trying to represent.

Digipak Contents (CD and Inside Cover) Construction

For the CD I used the cut out tool as heavily as I could. This makes the face unrecognisable however I really like the ffect it has. I feel that the image sticks and fits nicely with all the other themes of the digipak that I have already matched the other areas with.

The CD fits in well with the rest of the digipak and I am happy with how the whole thing is looking at this stage.

The inside cover is something that I am very proud of. Instead of showing one image, or multiple with the same level of decay, or edge simplicity and fidelity, there are four copies of the same image, but each more decayed than the next. This shows a progression or transition of the artist, and with the album names also showing a transition, this is another theme of the album.

After I finished the inside cover, the whole album was complete and I was very happy with how all the areas fitted nicely together. I believe that this final product will appeal to the target audience, and I also believe that I have learnt a lot about photoshop and computer editing techniques by completing this task.

Digipak Back Cover Construction

For the back cover, I used the cut out filter much more heavily. I Made it just recognisable as a mid shot, and used the album font for the song names on the back. This dark theme is continued throughout the digipak.

I decided to have 7 songs, all named in different and strange ways, as I believe this sticks well to the album name and theme of having different sides to a person, hens the different types of songs throughout the album.

  

This bcd cover fits nicely with the front cover, stem and poster. The very dark and cut out themes fit nicely with not only the strange genre but also the song and album names. From doing this I have learnt a lot about how naming things such as albums and songs can greatly change the representation to the audience.

Digipak Front Cover Construction

This is the design for my front cover of my digipak. Similar to the poster, I desaturated an image from my shoot with Cameron, our main actor, and used the cutout filter on photoshop. This once again gave it the reoccurring theme of eeriness and hows the artists "Dark Side" hence the album name.

I believe that I managed to successfully create a good digipak front cover, and this would be largely down to the planning and research I did at the start of the course. Creating this has taught me further about photoshop and what appeals to the audience.

Digipak Poster Construction

I started off the construction of my poster by using a photo shoot of Cameron I did. I used the cutout photoshop filter and desaturated the image to give it a really nice indie feel. I used four photos from the shoot that are noticeably different to give the impression of different sides to the artist, similar to the album name "Dark Side of Me" and that fits well to the indie genre.

This is the final design for the digipak poster. It has all the inessential information, yet doesn't overload the viewer with pointless info. I really like the black and white cold feel to it, I believe that this sticks well to the album name "Dark Side of Me" and appeals to the target audience of the indie/alternative genre.

From doing this task I have learnt more about how to use photoshop and what will catch the audiences eye. Using what I learnt from earlier on in the course I feel I managed to make this a very successful digipak poster.

Editing Task

From this task, I have learnt a lot about high level editing techniques such as transitions, jump cuts and sound effects. The video I made has helped this learning, while also helping me with knowing how to use iMovie effectively.

Task 26 - Filming and Editing Planning

Task 25 - Photo shoot Planning

Task 24 - Logo Planning

Created with Padlet

Task 23 - Ancillary Planning

Digipak Advert

Website

Digipak

Task 22 - Storyboard

By doing this task, I now have a step by step guide of how my filming shall be done. This

Task 21 - Location and Actor planning

By doing this I now know who the main actor for my photo shoot and video will be, and have a sure location of the photography suite in sixth form. This will enable me to take top quality photos and be able to use them to great effect in my work. This will appeal to my target audience, as the actor is part of that audience, and therefore easily relatable, and the location is familiar to the target as well. This also helps me decide when and where to shoot, as everyone involved can see the conversation.

Task 20 - Fashion Planning

This task shows me what type of fashion and clothing I should follow to appeal to my target audience. This includes old fashioned clothing such as corduroy trousers, leather shoes, denim shirts and beanies. This style also includes fashion items such as beards and outdated accessories.

Task 19 - Mood Board

This task will help me a lot with understanding the content of my video and what the audience wants to see. The target audience for indie music and indie music videos, are young trendy males and females. This mood board shows ideas that stick to that audience, and show what type of content will be in the video.

Task 18 - Initial Ideas

Music Video Pitch Script

For my A2 music video the song I will be using for my video is ‘Compliment Your Soul’ by Dan Croll. The video will be performance based with narrative elements included throughout which is similar to other videos of the same genre (Indie). The main reason I have chosen to make my video mostly performance based is that lyrics in the song are somewhat repetitive and basic, making it difficult to base a narrative around them.

However, the song I have chosen does not restrict me too much in the way of locations. The song is about love and does not focus on specific ages meaning that I can be very flexible in terms of actors and locations in which I choose to use. The video will most likely be illustrative which will be made obvious through the video’s miss en scene. It may also have amplification included also to help the video stand out from others.

The video will not be shot in one main location and will switch between throughout. It will feature two main actors in the narrative parts of the video that will follow a love story and then cut between the solo artist in the performance based scenes. As for locations, the video will be shot mostly outdoors in quiet locations so there are very little distractions for the viewer. Clothing will also be stereotypically Indie which can be seen clearly in the fashion planning task that has also been completed above.

By doing this task, I have a further understanding about how my video will look and what the story will be like. This will be incredibly helpful when it comes to story-boarding and the actual filming of the video.

Task 17 - Lyrics Analysis

By doing this task, I now know more about what the video should include relative to the lyrics. The lyrics are very abstract, so this tells me that it would help to make sure the video is also abstract in some ways. This is evident in the actual official video for the song. The whole official video is very strange, and this works well, so by following similar concepts, but changing the general look, feel and content of the video, my video will hopefully be successful as well.

Task 16 - Genre Cards

This task has taught me a lot about other songs and their videos from the same genre. This is vital when it comes to understanding what the target audience wants out of the video we will be making. These are similar song, and therefore have a similar target audience. This in turn means that the videos will be what the target audience wants to see, as they are very successful songs and video. I will aim to use techniques used in these videos in my own. This includes close ups, deep emotions from the actors and happy endings to the narrative story lines.

Task 15 - Song Choice

Part 1 - Song Choice

I went back, 

I went back to your love, and I felt, 
So many wrongs
That I wasted on you by the crowd, 
And I called, 
You called me and I whispered your name
I went home, 
We stared blank to the pages I wrote, 

Well, I just wanna compliment your soul, 
I just wanna compliment your soul, 
Yeah, I just wanna compliment-

And I wasted tears, I let go, 
So many rights, 
So many nights, that I come and I go.
I just wanna know, that you, 
And I can't ever be, 
Shut out.
You're meant to be.
And wrong, I'll
Tell it twice, 

'Cause I just wanna compliment your soul
Yeah, I just wanna compliment your soul
I compliment your-... 
I compliment your-... 

Yeah, I just wanna compliment your soul
Yes, I just wanna compliment your soul
'Cause I just wanna compliment your (soul...)
I just wanna compliment-

Part 2 - Permission Letter

Part 3 - Artist Profile

A British singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist (piano, trumpet, guitar, bass, drums, and organ among them), Dan Croll combines folk elements and classic Paul Simon-like melodies with electronic beats, African polyrhythms, and guitar hooks, giving his work a lot of varying sounds and dimensions. He was born July 18, 1990 in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, moving to Liverpool when he was 18 years old to attend the Paul McCartney-founded Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. While there, he won the national Songwriter of the Year award presented by the Musicians Benevolent Fund, and the attention the award generated eventually led Croll to sign with Turn First Records early in 2012. The label released a debut single, "From Nowhere," in the fall of the same year, with a second single, "Compliment Your Soul," arriving in the spring of 2013. His debut LP, Sweet Disarray, finally arrived in March 2014.

From doing this task, I have learnt a lot more about the artist, song and institution I am planning on basing my music video for. This will help me when it comes to distributing it. This is because I will need to know the artists target audience, how the institution works, and what the song's lyrics and themes are, so I can use these to full effect in my video.

Task 14 - Thinking of a Concept

By doing this task, I have now decided which song I'm going to adapt into my music video. I chose Compliment Your Soul by Dan Croll. I chose this song for a number of reasons, all explained in this prezi. Overall, this video is a good choice for me to be able to show the top of my ability when it comes to video making, editing, filming and directing.

Task 12 & 13 - Barry Island Research and Special Effects Research

By doing this task, I have learnt a lot about professional editing techniques and technologies. By spending time in a studio using really advanced technology and having the help from professionals, I now know a lot more and can use this to great effect when it comes to making and editing my own video. Things such as green screens, super imposing titles, colour correction and transitions are methods I can show in my own work.

Task 11 - Music Institutions

From doing this task, I now know a lot more about the institutions behind the music videos that I see. By looking a the three major labels, I have covered the majority of popular music videos. This will help me if I should ever need to seek the help of a label in the construction of my video, which most directors do.

Task 10 - Music Video Directors

From doing this task, I have learnt about how each music video director develops their own style. This could be portrayed in techniques they use, genres they specialise in, or even particular artists they work with regularly. Developing as style is something that most, if not all, famous and successful directors do, and if I want to be equally successful, I will have to do the same, but over time.

Task 9 - Music Consumption

   This is a mood board to describe how music is consumed in modern days. It includes a number of different technologies, websites, programs and software that is used a lot in modern times. By looking at how the audience uses their media, and how they consume it, I can choose the best platform to use when advertising, marketing, distribute and exchange my product.

   By doing this task, I have gained knowledge on how music is consumed in modern times. This shows to me a range of different platforms and it will also help me when I decide how to market and distribute my music video.

Task 8 - Audience Research

PART 1 - Audience Research Video Interviews

Doing this task has helped me understand what the audience generally wants in a music video. By interviewing a wide variety of audiences with different music interests, it becomes a lot easier to depict what is essential in a music video.

PART 2 - Scouting for Girl - She's So Lovely

This task has taught me further about each specific expert theory. Ranging from the male gaze, to Goodwin's theory the knowledge of what each sets out to do and how they are used can help me when it comes the the construction of my own music video.

Part 3 - Music Video Survey

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Y2FWL53

This task has also helped me understand what the audience wants in a music video. By asking a large range of questions, reaching over many different areas of which music video directors have to think about, I will be able to gain a better understanding.

Part 4 - Timeline for Music Consumption

By doping this task, I now know the history of music consumption, and have a general idea of how audience consumption develops, I can use this knowledge when it comes to deciding how to distribute my video, and deciding how it gets exchanged.

Task 7 - Music Video Analysis

PART 1

From doing this task I have learnt a lot about the theory and technique behind professional and successful music videos. Looking at different elements of the theory behind music videos such as the editing, sound, camera angles, mise en scene and expert's theories gives me a broad understanding of how music videos are effective. This can include appealing to a certain audience, spreading a message or portraying an emotion.

PART 2

Created with Padlet

This task has taught me in greater depth about media expert's theories on music videos. Using multiple different theories, I was able to choose the best for each video to best describe its purpose. This will greatly help me when I come to making my own music video. This is because I can choose different theories to help me with the purpose and reason for my music video.

PART 3

From doing this task, I have learnt a lot about how different genres have different stereotypes and expectations from the audience. This prezi goes through the 5 main genres and explains what clothing is expected, what stereotypes there are and how men and women are represented in the videos. I can reference this later in my work to help me once I've decided the genre of my music video.

Task 6 - Other Student Videos

The Good:

This video is of a superb quality.
The editing of the video is great with slow motion, blurs and special effects are used well. The section of the video where the girl is surrounded with fire brought down the overall quality, because while it was good, it wasn't the same as the rest of the video.
The lip syncing is great with it all being spot on and the acting is also very good. The actors are all in costume and it does look quite high budget despite it being a very low budget production. This shows that the creator has put a lot of time and effort into finding the right people for their video. This is a vital part of any music video and can also be the hardest.
Finally the locations are well thought through and they add to the whole look very well. This shows the amount of thought and planning put into the video.
Overall, this video is clearly of high quality, and could almost be mistaken for a professional video. This is the type of quality that I will try to achieve with my video.

This video is also of good quality.
It is a rap video, which set the actors a really big challenge for lip synching, but they seem to do well and it doesn't hold the video back. The emotions while lip synching are great and add a lot of realism. This is because the actors are brilliant, and the creator has done a great job at choosing them. They add a lot of professionalism to the video and add to the quality in general.
The editing is also top quality with the cartoon section looking absolutely great. A lot and time and effort must have been put in to make it all work together nicely.
Finally, the only drawbacks are the locations. They are very low budget looking and don't seem professional. It is understandable why they chose them, as the lighting is good, however it doesn't make up for the cheap look.
Overall, they pull off the video very well and have achieved something that I hope to too.




The Bad:

This video is noticeably worse.
The editing is almost non-existent and when it does come in, it looks tacky and as if there is little effort put in to it.
The actors while wearing decent costumes, are not who you would expect to star in a video of this type. This makes the whole production seem a little fake and the whole thing doesn't work as well as it could've as it doesn't adhere to stereotypes.
As the video is done outside, the lighting isn't a worry, but the type for song doesn't really suit the time of day nor the weather.
The angles and camera movement are a bit dodgy but suit the type of music video, so it doesn't matter too much.
The backgrounds and surroundings do suit the video, but in a low budget sort of way. This means that while they suit the video, they don't really add much.
Overall, as there are many different factors to a music video that the creator has thought very little about, I don't think the video is as good as other ones I have seen.



This video is the worst of the four.
The lip synching is literally non-existent, and the actors aren't really acting. This makes sure that little marks can be achieved from this.
The whole video is just a collection of shots of people walking around and kissing, and a few shots of iPhones. There are a couple of good quick shots, but nowhere near enough to bring up the quality of the video.
The setting allows the lighting to be good, however there are still shots that are somehow too dark. A video that is shot outside shouldn't have to worry too much about lighting, however, it should still be made sure that you can see what is going on, unlike half of this video.
Finally the editing in this video is limited to cuts, which are not unique in anyway or form. This makes the quality drop massively as the video is just not interesting at all.
Overall, this video, despite not being very good, helped me a lot in deciding what not to do when it comes to making mine.



From doing this task, I have learnt a lot about what works and what does not work in music videos. I now know what is possible from a student video and what isn't, and can now learn from other peoples previous mistakes. I will use this knowledge when it comes to making my own music video and use it to the best of my ability.

Task 5 - Branding of Music Artists

From doing this task, I have learnt a lot about what image different types of artists aim to portray. This will help me when it comes to choosing what the artists in my video will be wearing, and what they need to be putting across to the audience as a message. Finally, this will help me in making my artist appeal to the target audience for the song.

Task 4 - Digipak Adverts

Digipak adverts follow a few codes and conventions. They all seem to have close up photos and are low key with their lighting and colours. They don't ever have more than one photo, and they all seem to stay basic with the layout, making it really easy to transfer information to the audience.



This is Plan B's digipak advert. It is very effective as it sticks closely to the traditional codes and conventions. Things such as low key lighting, close up photo and is very informative for the audience. This is expected as it is a big artist and sticks to his genre and theme. Low key lighting and close ups are very common practices in the hip hop genre.



Florence and the Machine's digipak advert is also very impressive, as it also follows traditional codes and conventions. While some bright colours are used to make the close up image, the majority of the advert, such as the background and the text are very low key and very muted colours are used. This, and the short, to the point text makes it an effective advert



This is Two Door Cinema Club's advert for their digipak. The indie genre is known for their use of digipaks, so this advert does not follow some codes and conventions, for instance, there is no close up image used, just repeated patterns instead, as the audience would be familiar with the concept anyway. However, short and to the point text, and low key lighting are still key aspects to the success of this advert, which goes to show that not all codes can be challenged.



Stereophonics' digipak advert is a great example of why codes and conventions are traditionally followed. The low key lighting, close up image and informative text really works out well for the artist, and the advert is very successful.



This digipak advert is of Jessie J, and the theme is very familiar to that of pop music. This is a good aspect of it, as the target audience would be pop fans, and audience appeal is an absolute necessity for an advert of any kind. As for codes and conventions for music adverts, it also follows them closely. Low key lighting, a close up photo and informative text is used, making it a generally successful advert.



Finally, Ellie Goulding's digipak advert is also another successful example. A close up photo shows the audience who the artist is, and enables them to get more familiar with them, short and to the point text enables the information they want to get across to get to the audience easily, and unlike many others, this example has high key lighting used. Despite it being unusual, it is used effectively and makes it stand out for the target audience of pop music fans.

From doing this task, I have expanded my knowledge on what makes a successful digipak. I now know there are codes and conventions that can be either followed or challenged depending on who your target audience is and what response you are trying to get back. This could be to do with the lighting, or the photos or images on the advert.

Task 3 - Digipak Research

From doing this task, I have learnt a lot about what digipaks are, and what their purpose is. I can use this knowledge when it comes to further tasks and practical work involving digipaks. I know that this will help me greatly as it is a vital part of the music industry and I will need to master this if I want to make a good product that is of a high standard.

Task 2 - Music Website Analysis

From this task I have learnt a lot about how music websites are set out. I now know how to get certain information across easily and how to keep peoples attentions on the page. This will help if I choose to make and design my own website as I now know what works and what doesn't.

Task 1 - History of Music Videos

From doing this task, I have learnt a lot about different types of music videos and how they have developed over the years. This will help me when it comes to planning and making my video, as I now know what has worked,m and what hasn't been done yet, making it easier for me to make my video new and unique.