First draft - advert and digipak

Magazine Advert

Digipak

The lyrics in the background is interesting and I like the fonts used. However, you could possibly add a design to the CD to make it more interesting.

First draft - music video

Production Diary 18 – first draft

This week I managed to progress the editing of my music video quite a lot as I added in backgrounds and text which made my music video start to come together. I used many effects such as wipe and slide which makes the text appear in different ways. I tried to choose effects that matched with the lyrics for example I added in a wave for the lyrics “I'll sail the world to find you”. For some parts of the song I didn’t add lyrics in the background so that there is a variety or scenes.

For my digipak and magazine advert I had used the lyrics of “Count On Me” as a background. This made it look quite nice and matched well with the simple design I had initially created. I also added a thick black border to the front and back cover of the digipak so that it there was more to it and so it would look neater.

I managed to finish the first draft of my music video and ancillary tasks on the first week of the holidays. I uploaded my music video on YouTube and saved the magazine advert and digipak as images and uploaded them on my blog.

Production Diary 17 – editing out green screen and putting video together on Premiere

This week I managed to put together a draft version of my full music video.

The first task I did was the rushes log which is where you list all the videos you have filmed and note what it was, the length of it and whether you’re going to keep it or not and also when to cut it if necessary. This helped me sort out which video clips I would use in my music video.

Afterwards, I followed a tutorial to setup up my Premiere file. I then imported all the videos I could possibly use. Then I followed a tutorial to remove the green screen background for my videos. It was fairly easy to do and I was able to pick up on it very quickly and comfortably. It wasn’t necessary to repeat the same steps over and over again as you are able to copy and paste the effect onto other videos.

I imported the song and then put each video in sync with the song. I had to cut some of the videos to make sure that the image on the screen matched with the audio of the song.

After I had everything in place I started to experiment with the background. Firstly I added in a ‘colour matte’ which is just a block of colour. I used this for the background for some parts of the song.

Green screen editing

In this video it shows how I edited the green screen out on Premiere.
I followed a tutorial to help me edit out the green screen in my videos. It was fairly simple to do and I could copy and paste it onto separate videos so I wouldn't have to repeat the same process for every video I had. I also scaled some of the videos so that it would fill up the screen.

Rushes log

Rushes Log

I went through each individual clip I filmed for my music video and identified what it was, the length of the video and whether I was to keep it or not. For those that I kept I wrote in the comment section what I may need to do when editing e.g. cut some of it out. On the other hand, for those which I decided to remove I still wrote in the comment section what was wrong with it.
Out of the 46 videos I removed 15 of them which were faulty (highlighted in grey) and this left me with 31 possibles videos I could use for music video.

Production Diary 16 - actor and location release, floor plan, filming music video

This week I filmed most of my music video. Before the shooting I had to get permission for using the location as well as permission from the actor so that there would be no access problems. I got a form signed from my teacher and my actor.

I also created a floor plan so that I know how to layout the set for my video shoot.

I managed to do the shooting of my music video using the green screen at Haydon School. We started the shoot with separate parts of the song e.g. verse 1, chorus etc. In between we had to do some scenes a few times as we tried out different positions and expressions so that I would have a lot of to use.

I also got another camera set up to take photos of the whole shooting process so that I could create a behind the scenes clip.

In lesson, I then transferred the files so that I can start looking through the clips and images. For the behind the scenes photos, I had over 600 photos so I picked out some of the unnecessary photos such as at the start when the camera was on when we hadn’t started the shooting yet.

I took about 46 video clips for my music video. These were all fairly short clips which I would have to edit and put them together on Premiere. Some of the clips are not necessary as I had to re-do some of the scenes because the camera was out of focus. So I will start to edit my video after I have looked through each video and picked out unnecessary clips.

After I have done that I will learn how to remove the green back ground and remove it from each video so that I can insert a different background and possible effects with the lyrics of the song. I will look online for tips on how to do this effectively.

Filming/editing schedule

Film/editing schedule

Date	Filming/editing	Details
3rd December 2014	Filming	1st video shoot
4th December – 22nd December 2014	Editing	§  Create a music video without background §  Add background colours §  Add lyrics §  Add transitions
6th February 2015	Filming	2nd video shoot – with new props and parts which were out of focus
7th February 2015 – 20th February 2015	Editing	§  Add transitions using key frames §  Add in new videos §  Adjust colour of new videos

Actor release

Before I started filming my music video I had to get the actor to sign an actor release form to get permission from them to allow me to use any footage or photos of them. This would make sure that the actor and I both agree to the use of the imagery regarding the actor and makes it clear that they have read and accepted the terms and conditions.

Location recce

Location Recce

For this task I had to identify the location I plan to use to shoot my music video. I noted the details of the location and also included an image. I then discussed the advantages of the location as well as some considerations regarding the problems with using the location.

Location release

Before I could start filming my music video I had to get permission to use the location I wanted to film my music video at. For my case, I had to get the permission from my teacher to use the green screen located at Haydon School. This contract made it clear what terms and conditions I had to comply to and also ensured that I was able to use the location as I wish.

Production Diary 15 - costume planning, digipak initial design layout

This week I managed to get the costume planning task done. I noted the kind of costume, hair and makeup I want the artist to have for the music video. The overall style I aim to achieve is quite simple but bright. I also found some images to illustrate these ideas. I looked on clothing websites which were aimed at my target audience for ideas for the costume.

I also finished the initial design layout for my digipak. I used the same font throughout the digipak which was “A little sunshine” as this made it looks consistent. I altered the font to make some variation within the text by making the name of the artist in a bolder style than the rest of the text. I also make it in capitals so that it would stand out more than the album name as it is the most important piece of information on the digipak. For the back cover, I put the tracklist in capitals and aligned in the middle of the lines. I also added in other details such as the barcode, logos of the companies related to the digipak and the copyright and production details. I decided to include these bits of information because I thought it would make my digipak look more professional.

Digipak initial design layout

I created the digipak on InDesign using a page size of 210 x 210 mm. I used 4 pages but only designed the front and back cover as I intend to put just images on the inside pages. For the front cover I put the artist name and album name on it, with the artisit name at the top and the album name at the bottom so the image would fit in the middle. I made the artist name in capitals, in bold and in a larger font. For the album name I used lower case and capitalising the start of the words with a smaller font compared to the artist name. This created a contrast between the two names.

For the back cover I added the tracklist and other details such as the barcode, copyright information, company logo etc.

Costume planning

Costume Planning

Props for music video

I made some props for my music video using paper and cardboard. Firstly, I sketched out the image on paper with a pencil and then coloured it and outline it with a black marker so that it stands out and makes it looks neater. This is important because I want to make it clear to the audience what it is as in the music video it will only be shown for perhaps a couple of seconds so I need to make sure they can recognise what the object is.

I then cut the piece of paper out and stuck it onto some cardboard using a glue stick. Finally I cut out the cardboard following the black outline of the object.

Production Diary 14 – risk assessment, location recce, location contract and call sheet

In this week’s lessons I managed to get a few of the pre-production tasks done and some of them started. I completed the risk assessment as well as the location recce. I then started to complete the location contract and call sheet in preparation for the shooting of my music video which is likely to take place in the next two weeks. I also completed the personnel details task.

For the risk assessment I had to identify some of the possible risks that I would need to consider for my music video shooting. These included: health and safety, personal injury, damage to equipment and halting production. Since my music video will be shot indoors there are perhaps fewer risks than out on the streets for example. However there are still some risks which need to be taken into account such as tripping over objects in the studio.

For the location recce I had to mention the details of the location including the address and note the advantages and possible issues with the location such as access to it. I also had to take a photo of the location.

In the personnel details tasks I listed the people that would be involved in shooting my music video. Along with the people’s names I also had to write the role they were playing as well as the equipment required for the role.

Completing these tasks will ensure that I am prepared to shoot the music video as soon as possible.

Personnel details

Personnel Details

In this task I stated the details of the different roles required for my music video shoot such as the director and actor. I also mentioned the possible equipment required so that I could check this list whilst preparing for my music video shoot.

Call sheet

Call Sheet

For this task I had to make a note of the details of the people and equipment required for my music video shoot. I also stated the date, time and location of the shoot so that the people attending the shoot would be clear on when and where to go. I also briefly wrote what I'll be filming so the actor can prepare for it.

Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment

This risk assessment demonstrates my awareness of the possible risks that may occur during the making of my music video. These risks include health and safety, damage to equipment, halting production and personal injury. I mentioned the type of risk, ways which I would try to minimise the risk and who is responsible for it.
On the day of the shoot I will make sure to check over this risk assessment to avoid these risks.

Production Diary 13 – storyboard, anamatic

Since I have changed my music video I have been working on my storyboard which would bring me a step closer to shooting my music video. For the storyboard I sketched a rough idea of each of the shots I want to shoot for my music video. I also stated the type of shot and the lyrics that would be heard at that point.

For a lot of the shots they showed the singer singing to the lyrics and there were also quite a few shots which had props to display the lyrics.

After I have completed my storyboard I plan to make all the necessary props for my music video so I will be ready to shoot it as soon as possible. Some other tasks I intend to complete next week include the costume planning, photographs of chosen locations and props list.

Afterwards, I created the anamatic which consisted of the sketched scenes in my storyboard. I scanned in my storyboard to make the animatic which consists of the scenes I illustrated in the storyboard. I created this in Adobe Premiere and synced the images with the song so that it created a moving version of the storyboard. This roughly sketched out what my video would look like. I then uploaded it onto YouTube and on my blog.

Anamatic

I created the anamatic using the sketched scenes in my storyboard. I cropped each scene and saved them as separate images. I changed the colour of the image so that it was slightly brighter and sharper as the colours of the scanned image was not too good. I imported them into Adobe Premiere and also put the song in so that I could sync the images with the song.

Storyboard

Production Diary 12 – digipak design layout and altering music video idea

I started to make the layout of the digipak on InDesign. I decided to have 4 parts for the digipak –front cover, back cover and 2 pages inside.

After much thought and discussion with my teacher I have decided to alter my idea so that it would to allow me to create a music video which would look professional. The fault in my original idea was creating a theme and being able to find a variety of ways to present the lyrics in an interesting way. As I got on to plan it I found it very difficult and different from what I had expected. My original plan was to have a lyric video without showing much of an actor but now I have decided to make the video a playful performance which interacts with the lyrics. I kept the main point of my original idea which was to do with the lyrics but instead I am going to be focusing on the actor more compared to what I had planned for my original idea.

Production Diary 11 - magazine advertisement initial design layout

This week we started to look at the digipak and magazine advertisement for the album.

We firstly looked through previous student’s work and picked out point which were good and parts which were not as good so we know what we should imitate and what we should avoid. For example, we found that the most successful ones were fairly simple which made it look professional. The less successful ones generally has a lot going on. I therefore learnt that I should keep my magazine advert and digipak design more simple to achieve a professional look.

Afterwards, we started to create our own magazine advertisement in InDesign. This was our very first version which is just a brief idea of what we plan to create. Some of the things we included on it were: artist and album name, reviews with stars and date of release.

After my teacher demonstrated to us I learnt how to create the stars for the reviews. This was interesting as it we usually use shapes to create each individual star but for this we quickly created consistent looking stars which looked professional.

I selected some fonts from dafont previously and I used them for the text I had added on the magazine advert. I decided to use 2 different fonts which matched well as this would give show a bit of variation on the advert yet it wouldn’t look like they don’t belong in one place.

I created a hierarchy for the text on my advert as it is important to make sure that the most important bit of text is much bigger. I made the artist name and album name the biggest and then the release date and finally the other information including the stars and reviews.

In progression of the making of my music video, I have made some of the props for my music video. For example I created “123” on some paper which I plan to hang on some string and film it using a pan shot. I also wrote some lyrics on an envelope and letter which I intend to use. To match the lyrics I also drew a picture of a boat and an anchor.

Magazine advertisement initial design layout

I managed to create a magazine advertisement brief layout idea on InDesign. I put all the important information which I am likely to include in the actual product. I have yet to decide on a colour scheme as I haven't got an image so it is quite difficult to choose one as the colour scheme is usually derived from the colours used in the image.

Production Diary 10 – storyboard, proposal

This week I carried on with some more of the planning tasks.

I started to do the storyboard for my music video. I sketched the rough look of each shot I plan to have and noted the edit, length of shot and type of shot. I listened to the song to know how long each shot would last for. I also gave some more details to make it clear what I am going to do for example some of the shots I plan to show the lyrics in the notebook so I noted that beside the shot. To do this task I used the ideas I had noted in the task where I analysed the lyrics of the song. This made it much easier to gather my ideas together and draw the storyboard.
I will carry on drawing the storyboard in my next lesson.

I also completed the proposal task. For this task I had to write the brief of the coursework and identify the aim and my intentions for the music video I am going to make. I briefly outlined the type of music video I wanted to create. I also had to write about my target audience and note any similar products.

Proposal

Proposal by Fiona

Production Diary 9 – influences of music styles and improved previous tasks

I had improved some tasks I did before because I did not get the highest score I could have. I added a few sentences describing what I had done for the contact artist task. I also added some images in the conventions of a music video task.

For homework I improved some of the previous research tasks: music label research, genre research and I also completed the influences of music styles task.

For the music label task I added in a few sentences summarising what I had researched and what I found out whilst doing the research.

Similarly for the genre research task I wrote a couple of sentences regarding how the task had help me in developing my music video.

For the influence of music styles task I researched the different kinds of pop music that exists and noted some of them such as pop rock, dance-pop and indie pop. I found the notable artists, some characteristics as well as a brief history of the genre. I also made a venn diagram to represent the instruments used in each of the 3 genres. This venn diagram showed the instruments which overlapped in the genres and instruments which were more distinct to one of the pop genres. I found this research task quite interesting as I found out that there were so many different types of pop genres which had developed. However, I found that most of these subgenres overlapped by quite a lot and it is possible quite hard to differentiate them as a lot of artists belong to more than one of those pop subgenres.

Influence of music styles

Influences of the pop genre

The pop genre has been dominated by the American and British music industries.

The pop genre has also made use of technological innovation. For example, in the 1940s improved microphone designed allowed a more intimate singing style.

There are many different types of pop for example, indie pop, pop rock and dance-pop.

Indie pop

§  It originated in the UK in the mid-1980s with its roots in Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label and the dominant independent band I the UK at the time: The Smiths.

§  Typical instruments in the genre include: guitar, bass, drums and vocals.

§  Power pop, punk and post-punk was a significant influence of indie pop.

§  Notable artists in the indie pop genre include: Marina & the Diamonds, Lana Del Rey, Bastille, Camera Obscura, Lykke Li etc.

§  NME released a compilation cassette called C81 and 5 years late released another one called C86. These cassettes featured a wide range of groups which reflected the different approaches of the immediate post-punk era. It is seen as the birth of “indie” in the UK.

Pop rock

§  Typical instruments include: electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, drums and vocals.

§  Pop rock music is used to describe the commercially more successful music that uses features of rock music. It has defined as an upbeat variety of rock.

§  The music genres pop and rock is argued to have a clearer distinction in the US than the UK as pop is rooted in white crooners whereas rock is rooted in African-American-influenced forms such as rock and roll.

Dance-pop

§  This genre of music originated in the early 1980s. It developed from post-disco and synthpop and is generally quite up-tempo music which ideally is for clubs as it intends to be danceable but also suitable for the contemporary hit radio.

§  Characteristics:

·          Strong beats

·          Up-tempo

·          Easy, uncomplicated song structures

·          Emphasising on the melody as well as catchy tunes like pop music

·          Prominent hooks

·          Simple lyrics

·          Polished productions

§  Typical instruments include: drum machine, synthesizers, keyboards and vocals.

§  Some notable dance-pop artists include: Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.

§  Post-disco is a more modern variant of disco music which intends to be more experimental, electronic and producer/DJ-driven which often uses sequencers and synthesizers.

§  Dance-pop music was usually created, composed and produced by record producers who would then hire singers to perform the songs.

§  It became a major genre in pop music by the 1990s.

§  It was influenced by other genres such as contemporary R&B, house, synthpop and techno.

§  In the mid to late 2000s, new dance-pop artists were introduced such as Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Katy Perry. Some of their notable dance-pop songs include “Don’t Stop the Music” by Rihanna, “Just Dance” by Lady Gaga and “Hot N Cold” by Katy Perry.

Production Diary 8 - improvements to work: conventions, theory, ancillary tasks, work that I admire

This week’s classwork I set myself to improve some of the tasks I previously did. These include the moodboard and work that I admire.

I added in some more images for my moodboard. These images were more closely related to the kind of things I would include in my music video as previously I included a lot of images which were related to the audience. For example, I found an image of someone laying on the grass with a guitar which relates to my idea of having two people sitting on the grass with one playing the guitar and another lying down beside them.

For the work that I admire, I only analysed the videos and said what I liked about it. To improve it I talked about how it would influence the music video I make such adopting similar techniques such as having a bit of narrative in my video ad using similar transitions.

Another task I set myself was to find some fonts which I could use. This is an important task because my music video is going to be based on the lyrics of the song so I need to have a variety of suitable fonts that I can use for the lyrics that will be shown throughout the video.

The homework tasks I set myself last week were to improve the analysis of the ancillary tasks, music video theory and the conventions of a music video. To improve the analysis of the ancillary tasks I analysed another digipak and magazine advert as I previously analysed a website instead. I also added in a short paragraph on how the analysis has helped me to learn about what to do for my own product.

For the music video theory, I added in how I would apply each section (narrative, audience, media language and genre) to my own music video. For example I mentioned how I may create my music video so that it would suit the pop genre.

Finally for the conventions of a music video task, I also added in how I would apply certain conventions to my music video and others which were not necessary. For example, I would still use some camera movements e.g. pan but not some of the editing e.g. parallel editing.

Font ideas

I used the website dafont.com to find a range of different fonts which I think would be suitable for my music video. I chose to have a ones which are cartoon and school-like style because the theme of music video is based around school.

Production Diary 7 - initial planning ideas, moodboard, contact with artist, equipment list, analysis of lyrics

I completed the 2 homework tasks I set myself last week which were: initial planning ideas and moodboard.

I did initial planning ideas on Prezi. In this Prezi I included the brief idea I had on my music video such as the song I am planning to use (“Count On Me” by Bruno Mars) as well as the type of music video (lyric video with a bit of narrative). I also mentioned the possible locations and props I could use for my music video (school themed).

For the moodboard I collected several images of the things related to my music genre (pop), target audience interests (brands, hobbies, status) as well as ideas related to the type of music video I want to create.

For this week’s classwork I chose to do: contact with artist, equipment list and analysis of lyrics.

For the contact with artist I wrote an e-mail to the management of Bruno Mars which I found on his official website. In the e-mail I requested for permission to use his song for my media coursework.

The equipment list requires us to list all the possible equipment which we may use for our music video including the equipment to film the music video such as camera and tripod as well as the props we may use in the music video.

I analysed the lyrics on Prezi as I thought that it would be more suitable as there is no frame which restricts you from putting things like PowerPoint slides. This was important because the lyrics are formatted in a long list and so Prezi would be useful in analysing it wouldn’t fit nicely on a PowerPoint slide. For the analysis I mentioned my interpretation of the lyrics as well as how I may film my music video to match parts of the lyrics for example using the notebook and other props to present the lyrics.

Equipment list

Equipment List

I listed all the equipment I used in my music video shoot which included the equipment that assissted the filming as well as the props I used in the music video. I checked this list before filming to make sure I had what I needed.

Analysis of lyrics

Contact with artist

I sent an e-mail to the management of Bruno Mars and in the e-mail I informed them that I wanted to use the song "Count On Me" to create a music video for my A2 Media coursework. I then kindly requested for permission to use it.

Moodboard

In my moodboard, I found many images which relate to the general idea of my music video. These include images related to the artist and audience of the pop genre as well as the possible props and locations for the music video.

Initial planning ideas

Production Diary 6 - research into equipment, artist, directors, genre and audience

This week in class I set myself 3 tasks to do which were: research into equipment, research into artist and research into music video directors.

For the equipment task I wrote about the different equipment which I plan to use to make my music video. These included the camera, tripod as well as software –Adobe Premiere, InDesign and Photoshop. I briefly explained why I plan to use these equipment and also mentioned how it would help me to make my music video.

I did the ‘research into directors’ task on PowerPoint. I researched the directors of the videos which I liked such as Katy Perry’s “Birthday”. Through this research I found out about the other videos which these directors had directed. For example Tanimura the director of “Birthday” also directed other Katy Perry songs which was interesting to know. I also found that a lot of the music video directors also directed films.

I researched Bruno Mars and noted some of the important and interesting information about him. Firstly, I found the basic information about him including his birth name, date of birth, occupations etc. I also researched the awards and nominations he received and also other areas of success such as his album sales.

I completed the homework task I set myself to complete which were: research into genre and audience research.

I used Prezi to present my work regarding the research into the pop genre. I firstly found the definitions of pop music. This was rather interesting to see how people defined it. I also noted the conventions of pop music, mentioning the clothing and colours used for example. I also mentioned some famous pop artists and included some images of them.

For the audience research I used a website called PowToon. This is a website which creates animated presentations. Since I had used PowerPoint and Prezi quite a few times already I wanted to find a different way to present my work and I came across this when I was searching for different ways to present things on the internet. I found this website fairly easy to use as the way it was set out was easy to get used to. Despite not having being taught or looked at tutorials and managing to make an animated presentation is a personal accomplishment and perhaps suggests the simplicity of the website. Although it was quite easy to use but the outcome was wonderful as it looked professional and interesting.

I typed up the information before I put it in the presentation as it made it easier to work with and also ensured that I had a copy of the information in case it didn’t work out. I wrote about the age, gender, social class and interests of my target audience.

Research into directors

Research into artist

Bruno Mars

 

·         Born as Peter Gene Hernandez.

·         Born on 8 October 1985 in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.

·         Occupation: singer-songwriter, record producer, voice artist, choreographer.

·         Instruments: vocals, piano, guitar, drums, harmonica, keyboard, bass, beatbox.

 

Mars signed to Motown Records in 2004 and after a year he was dropped by the company. He met songwriter and producer Philip Lawrence through the company. They then collaborated, writing songs for Mars but received many rejections from labels. In 2006, Lawrence introduced Mars to his future A&R manager at Atlantic Records who wanted to sign him immediately but it took 3 years for him to be signed to the company as Atlantic felt that it was too early and that Mars still needed development as an artist.  He finally signed with Atlantic in 2009.

His debut album Doo-Wops & Hooligans was digitally released on 4^th October 2011 and physically released on 5^th October 2011. The lead single “Just The Way You Are” was released on 19^th July 2010. It reached the top of the several charts such as the Billboard Hot 100.

On 30^th October 2011, he exclusively performed “Runaway Baby” on the results show of The X Factor UK. On the same day he received 6 nominations for a Grammy Award for: Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.

Mars has released 2 studio albums: Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010) and Unorthodox Jukebox (2012). He has released 1 EP, 21 singles, 17 music videos, 5 promotional singles and 3 other charted songs.

He has featured in 2 films (Honeymoon in Vegas and Rio 2) and 3 televisions series.

 

Success

Ø  Billboard ranked Mars as the 12^th richest musician of 2013, with earnings of around $18.8 million.

Ø   “Just The Way You Are” (12.5 million) and “Grenade” (10.2 million) are two of the worldwide most digitally sold singles of all time.

Ø  Amazon.co.uk named him as the 12^th best-selling digital artist.

Ø  Mars became the first male artist to top the 4 million mark in digital sales with 4 different songs.

Ø  He has sold over 130 million records worldwide as a singer, producer and songwriter.

Ø  Mars has the highest total number one songs on Hot 100 Airplay among all solo male artists.

Ø  He has sold 11 million albums and 68 million singles worldwide as a singer.

Awards and nominations

§  He has won a total of 67 awards and has been nominated for 209 awards.

§  Mars won his first Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance on 13^th February 2011 and also received 6 nominations including Best Rap song, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Producer of the Year.

§  He has won 2 Brit Awards for International Male Solo Artist 2012 and 2014.

§  He won Favourite Pop/Rock Male Artist in 2012 as the American Music Award.