Evaluation question: In what way does your media product use, develop, or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

I believe there are aspects in my media product where it follows conventions of its genre and also where it challenges them. In the video there is a lot of close ups of the lead singer and she is framed centrally. If we compare this to the Foo Fighters music video ‘The Pretender’ we can see how they do this as well thus could be said is following conventions. However Indie rock is tough genre to assign conventions to as it is generally aimed at a niche audience especially unsigned indie rock bands. The set up of the band is very common with a lead singer, a guitarist, a drummer and a bass player. The colours they are dressed in are quite typical; red’s positive connotations are: passion, sexiness, love and negative connotations such as danger and anger. The other dark colours worn could imply the band being mysterious, rebellious and dark. In the cd cover and magazine ad the clothing style is similar to that of the video and conventions. The font used is quite typical of the genre. From an earlier post these are the conventions of a indie/alternative rock music video;

Independent music videos used to be solely performance based but with time has become mostly a mixture between narrative and performance. The narrative of the video tends to follow closely to the lyrics of the song. Depending on the lyrics of the song the colours used in the video could be colourful (e.g. Scouting for Girls – Heartbeat) or dark (Kings of Leon – Sex on Fire) or even black and white (Kings of Leon – Use Somebody). The band performing tends to feature quite a lot in the video and there is likely to be close ups of the lead vocalist. The location the band performs in could be anything from a small empty room to a massive stage where they are performing to vast crowd; or even something unconventional like what the Killers did for their music video ‘Human’ where they were performing in an open desert.

There are quite a few examples where my media challenges conventions of real media products. Firstly unlike the generally seen male dominated rock bands my group has 3 girls and only 1 boy. It shows a dominating female figure (lead singer) who comes across as strong, rebellious, attractive and energetic. She is framed centrally and has a lot of screen time as well as extreme close up shots taken. This completely overthrows the stereotypical ideas represented in such videos where women are simply objectified. This contradicts Laura Mulvey’s male gaze theory where she thinks men see women as objects and just something to look at. The use of close ups and putting the band on a well lit, isolated ice rink can show star theory, making the audience focus on just the band. It is quite unconventional for this type of genre to use brightly lit backgrounds; however the foo fighters did do this. The video has a narrative structure thus following Todorov’s theory but the structure order is changed around where the narrative starts with boy and girl arguing (which seems like the present but actually is in the past) then it goes onto the present where the boy is not there. It later goes into the past again where she remembers his funeral and finally goes to the very start of their relationship where they are in love together (black and white). The reason I did this is to add a post-modern element to the video and I think it suits the band’s style and goes really well with the story behind their song; which was about a friend of theirs who didn’t know how to express her feelings after the loss of her spouse, and ran away from her problems.

How did you use media technologies in the research and planning stages?

Google

I used google.com a popular search engine throughout this project. I used it initially to research on music videos different genres and media theories. Later when I found the band I would like to work with I used google to find information about the band and the genre of music they do. Google has definitely been useful as it has provided me with lots of information on all the aspects I researched. However this could also be seen as a negative since a search can get you

more than a thousand results it could be hard to find

the specific information you are looking for. I used google images to research cd covers and magazine ads. I used goolge maps to find possible filming locations quickly and effectively.

Youtube

Youtube stands in forefront of video sharing; it’s used by millions of people everyday and is a good place to start researching. I used youtube to find music videos and analyse them. I also used it to look at existing A Level music videos to get some ideas. I listened to talks by recognised media theorists and teachers. Youtube has been really helpful and I could only fault it for maybe not having all the videos people might be looking for as it’s a sharing site and someone has to post it.

Facebook

I used facebook to initially contact several bands to ask if they would be interested in this project. Seeing as I was looking for unsigned bands this seems like a good option as any as unsigned bands generally tend to have

facebook accounts to try and get some publicity. After finding a few who were quite interested I tried to contact them directly. I managed to talk to ‘In Your Honour’ via a mutual friend and we got things started. I also used this website to advertise the need for possible actors in this video. I would say facebook is quite an effective means of communicating and advertising and is even used by famous artists for publicity. But it is important to use this website responsibly as it is a sharing site and any one could access the information you put on it.

Digital Camera

I used a digital camera to take pictures of the possible film locations and show it to the band.

How did you use media technologies in the construction of your project?

Camcorder

The camcorders felt a lot friendlier this time around. I think I must have learnt from my mistakes from the AS project on the horror film opening sequence. This time I let the camcorder focus on the target before recording and also kept it steady so the target remains in focus. I made sure the cameras were fully charged and as a precaution kept the charger with me at all times; the footage tends to become corrupted and distorted when filmed with low battery (a lesson I learnt the hard way during my AS project when I lost a day’s worth of filming due to this problem). The zoom in feature was useful when I wanted to focus on a single object or person. The zoom out was equally useful when trying to show my audience the wider picture after having grabbed their attention with a zoomed in and framed shot. The biggest drawback to the camcorder was the low quality. Shots that involved low key lighting such as the footage at the Croft where the band were performing live had to be disregarded as the subjects cannot be seen. The distance you can zoom in was also limited due to the low quality.

MiniDVs

This time instead of buying all the tapes from

the shop I bought some spare unused tapes off my friends to save some money. The tapes are a format of recording and playing back digital video and are compatible with the camcorders we had available. I would recommend getting your own tapes so you can be sure they haven’t been tampered with or previously used.

Tripod

The tripod was used to get steady still shots and also a steady panning shot in the ice rink. Rest of the video I shot handheld to get a raw and edgy feel as the music is quite fast paced.

I initially used Adobe Premiere Elements for video editing and Adobe After Effects for post production. However due to some technological malfunctioning I had to use my back up work which was edited using IMovie. I imported the video footage onto a mac using a firewire. Although IMovie has a smaller number of editing tools it was easier to use as I had used it in my year 12 coursework. I used IMovie to cut the clips, get screen grabs, add effects and add transitions between the clips.

Photoshop Elements

I used Photoshop Elements to create a CD cover, magazine ad and CD inserts. Although not familiar with this software in particular I managed to get the hang of it quite quickly. I was quite lucky to have a qualified teacher explain to me about how the programme works and how to bring my ideas to life on screen. I kept the products as original as I can and did not use too many graphics and designs as I believe it won't suit my music genre’s conventions. I used layers to add different designs, fonts and colours.

Blogger

I used a media blog to regularly note down how my project is going. I used it to add images, videos and links. I also used it join other people’s blogs and see how they are getting along.

Google

I used google images to find images to add onto my blog. This image of the google logo is a good example.

What have you learnt from your Audience Feedback?

When creating a media product it is important to target a specific target audience to ensure the success of the product in sales. Once the product is made, audience feedback is used to reflect upon the product and to see what improvements need to be made to ensure high sale figures. Both positive and negativ

e feedback is useful; positive feedback tells us what we are doing well and m

otivates us to keep doing it and negative feedback tells us what needs improving.

As a producer or artist your main aim (generally) is to sell as much of your product as you can and make a profit. This is why producers and artist use means such as questionnaires, social networking sites and interviews to find out what the target audience think of their products. It will not be beneficial to change the product to suit every reviewer’s opinions, but rather take on all the suggestions and then make

educated changes. It may even be your product needs better marketing strategy and the product itself is good.

Here is what some of the people said about my media products;

Music Video

Positive Comments

+ “Great location”

+ “Lots of good camera shots and angles”

+ “Editing looks professional”

+ “Love the way the story is kind of not in exact order, made me kind of think more and I guess I was more into it as well because of this”

+ “A very good video, enjoyed watching it”

+ “liked it”

+ “the scene where the girl was at her boyfriends grave looked really good, especially with the sunlight coming through in rays”

Negative Comments

- “Editing could definitely be improved on”

- “Some of the bits were really shaky, I don’t know if that’s what you were going for but I didn’t like it”

- “story was a bit hard to follow the first time I saw it”

CD Cover and Magazine Ad

Positive comments

+ “Visually very attractive and I can see how it represents the band and the genre"

+ "Love how you have included images from the making of the video onto the booklet inside the cd cover. Also love the how each band member has their own page reminds me of 'The Boat That Rocked' advertisements. Very well constructed".

+"Front and back of the cd cover is hilarious. genius."

+"I can see the cohesiveness between your main product and ancillary text"

Negative comments

-"Should be more cohesive"

-"Basic font and typography"

-"Could have been more simple"

CLC

At the CLC we were introduced to Adobe Photoshop Elements by a professional teacher who showed us the basic skills we need to create our final CD inserts and magazine Ad. Here I learnt about the importance of cohesion.

Although the software was unfamiliar to me I truly enjoyed being creative and trying different things.

Overall I was happy with the work that I had created but was a bit disappointed it wasn't cohesive enough. Next time to correct this mistake I would use a similar colour scheme and typography in both the cd inserts and magazine ad.

I learnt how to use layers. Change composition, contrast and colours. I learnt how to crop and construct images to a high standard. I learnt how to blend images and typography. I learnt how to change backgrounds and use various tools like the smart touch brush. I also learnt to revert images and use the dodge tool (to deal with exposure and work on the shadows), and the sponge tool and burn tool.

Comparing my initial images with my final products:

Cd inserts

inner cd inserts...

magazine ad

before after

Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze Theory

Laura Mulvey is a very successful feminist as well as the professor of film and media studies Birkbeck, University of London. She like others aims to live in a world where women stand at equals to men.

Mulvey looked at the imbalance between men and women in society and media. She looked at how men see women; women see themselves and how women see other women. She claimed audience look at women represented in media through the eyes of a heterosexual male. In an essay Mulvey wrote in 1973, ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ she stated men see women as objects. This theory applies not only in film and music videos but also in advertisements where women are used as selling point for products not even related to women (e.g. a men’s deodorant ad where it may have an attractive female who is dressed in a seducing manner). She stated the female audience only gets to experience the media secondarily; as the camera is controlled by the views man has of women.

Mulvey was later questioned by other film theorists why women would watch such media if Mulvey’s theory about the male gaze was true. She then wrote a follow up article ‘After thoughts on Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ which was included in the ‘Visual and Other Pleasures’ collection. The Male Gaze theory says when men watch an advertisement of a product with an attractive woman featured next to it they have the assumption they can get a women like that by buying the product. While if a woman watched it she would be the assumption she had to buy the product to be attractive to men or if a woman watches a music video where a women is represented in such a way that the male gaze theory holds true the woman watching would supposedly think she had to look like that woman in the music video for men to find her attractive.

Mulvey suggests audience consume media in two ways; voyeuristically or fetishistically. Women may be looked at as attractive and desirable or may be considered to be simple and have no self respect.

In the narrative part of my music video I have used a lot of close up and extreme close up shots of the female actress in way to highlight her beauty. There are a few point of view shots which are filmed through the point of view of the boyfriend; we litereally see through the point of view of the man which relates to the theory in subtle manner. The point of view shot was also filmed to make the audience feel more involved, as if they were there watching her.

The lead singer has a lot of close ups and is framed centerally. She shown to go against this theory as she dresses to express her individuality and shows her dominant character. She doesnt want to be seen how men want, but inspire other women that they too can be who they want to be (a

How did you use media technologies in the evaluation stage?

Technology has played a significant role throughout the evaluation stage of my project. For my audience feedback I used the camcorders to film several responses from various target audience. I then used iMovie to edit it and add the questions in. I also have a review of the music video, ad and cd cover from the band and how they think it could be improved.

I took pictures of my product and send it to several people through hotmail and yahoo. Email is quick and reliable. Many people contacted me back with their opinions and views on the products through email, but some simply send me SMS. I found generally the email reviews were a lot more detailed than the SMS, as the SMS reviews were short and in text speak.

If I had the permission from my band I would have put the music video on youtube and facebook as it will help get the product out there and get noticed by my target audience. Also there is chance it might help spread some positive advertising through means such as word of mouth.

Blogger was something I was very familiar with due to having used it extensively in my AS project. It is easy to upload evaluations, text and video responses. There is also a section for comments if people wanted to have their own say on my product and its content.

Unfortunately QuickTime player did not work on the blogger website thus I couldn’t upload my audience and band reviews. I decided to write down the reviews instead.

Postmodernism and Other Theories (*IMPOPRTANT in understanding what the music video is about*)

Postmodernism rejects conventional reality and conventional forms. In today’s society the fine line between media and reality can be difficult to be seen; people interpret reality by how media has represented it. Out of the many forms of postmodernism I have used a few:

The narrative of my music video is not structured in chronological order with the simple beginning, middle and end. There are many different narrative theories out there, all which bring an order so people can understand and recognise the text. Without order events may seem to be random and is only understood as chaos. My main character is in a disturbed state of mind due to the loss of her lover and to show this I have used an aspect of postmodernism called erosion of time. The use of discontinuity signifies the state of mind the girl is in, it also contributes to the audience gratification theory in this case. The story starts with the boy and girl arguing, she then walks out of the room and slams the door. When she opens the door and comes back in, he has disappeared and the place (bed) where he was sitting we see three red roses (the colour red is used to signify death and blood but also love and passion; all which relate to this situation). There is then a flash back to where she remembers his funeral and the 3 roses are placed on his grave (this was done so audience can make the link between the roses on the bed and the funeral. I wanted the audience to figure out he is dead and not have me tell them so they get audience gratification for they believe they have worked something out which others might have not. However this could also lead to people interpreting the meaning behind the flowers as something else in which ‘death of the author’ theory comes into play where the meaning I implied has not been received by the audience). Towards the end of the video we see how she remembers further into the past where the couple were happy together and this is shown in black and white to make it less confusing. So the video starts of in what seems to be the present but is actually the past or in the main character’s head. When she comes back into the room that is the actual present/reality. There is a flashback into the past and the video ends further into the past.

The use of Binary oppositions can be seen in the conflict between the boy and girl. Also in the cinematography I have used scenes with high key lighting along with scenes with low key lighting to create an oxymoronic effect (dark and light). The conflict between the boy and girl, the conflict between light and dark and the conflict between reality and imagination is all questioned. I wanted my audience to see this for themselves, that is why I made it so subtle so if they do manage to see it, it would add to the audience gratification theory. The main character’s conflict with her lover and more important conflict with herself is a key message I hope the audience can see and most likely relate to.

I have also used intertextuality towards the end where we see the boy and girl being in love/happy with each other. I got the idea of this from a Korean Pop music video called Haru Haru by the BigBang. In the BigBang video the guy has a camcorder and so does the boy in my video. Also a lot of close ups and point of view shots are used in both. Both of them are shot around similar surroundings. Here are images comparing both of them.

(*last 2 frames on this picture*)

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary text?

Having cohesion between the products and its advertisement will help the target audience recognise the product and artist. It can be confusing to have an advertisement that shows sun shine, rainbows and bright colours to promote a heavy metal rock band such as Iron Maiden or Metallica. I think there are some very recognisable abstract links between my main product and ancillary texts. However if I had the opportunity again I would make the synergy between my products more obvious and noticeable.

For the CD inserts and magazine ad I decided to use photos I had available of the band. The photos used on the CD inserts tell us a lot about the Band and what type of genre they are. Indie-Rock tends to use quite simple yet powerful imagery and generally stays away from complicated graphical designs. On the front we see all four band members standing outside a garage door in a group photo where everyone has equal focus (the spend a lot of time practicing inside this garage thus it holds some kind of a sentimental attraction to them). We can see the band members are framed using the brick wall and roof almost like a picture frame; being framed relates to their songs about struggle and feeling insecure or trapped. Also by framing the band together we immediately think of the connection between them (juxtaposition). The band members each hold an identical piece of paper with the name of the band and the song. They use this paper to cover their faces; this implies the band want to be noticed for their music and not their physical appearance. The back of the CD cover uses similar framing and props but we see the fun, creative side of the band by their poses. They seem to be expressing their individuality and a glimpse of their characters in this image. Obviously the target audience may derive different meanings from this image as ‘death of the author’ theory suggests audience don’t have to always get the same message the band wanted to convey as everyone is individual and have their own way of seeing things.

Cohesion between the CD inserts and magazine ad can be seen in the mise-en-scene, props and lighting. The pieces of paper are used in both to display the band’s name. The band members wear similar styles of clothing in both the pictures. And we see how lighting is used in both to create shadows; the shadows relate to the songs and imply about the hidden struggles and dangers in life. The typography used in both has the same font style and binary opposite colours (black and white). The dark colours in the magazine ad also link with the colours used in the ice rink scene and graveyard scene while the brighter (natural lighting) lighting used in the front and back CD covers link with the rest of the narrative scenes. We see a sort of oxymoronic effect where wee see the battle between love and hate, dark and light, reality and imaginary. This is the deeper meaning of my main product and ancillary texts. I believe having a deeper hidden meaning which is not noticeable straight away will be appreciated by the audience to greater degree when they recognise it. This is using the Audience Gratification theory which implies the audience are not passive viewers and they challenge the media they view; this is contradictory to the hypodermic needle model which says the audience are influenced by the media where they simply take in anything and everything said by the media passively.

Indie Rock

Indie rock is a sub genre of alternative rock which started off during the 80s in the UK and US. ‘Indie rock’ is short for independent rock; artists of this genre tend to be unsigned or signed onto small independent labels. These small independent labels would not have much capital for advertising and marketing thus rely on means such as word of mouth and touring to get their artists noticed. Indie Rock artists tend to be anti-hegemonic and don’t create mainstream music but rather produce distinctive music for a niche audience.

The band ‘In Your Honour’ is an indie rock band. It is generally aimed at a young audience; aged from 16 to late 20’s. The band consists of a lead singer, drummer, guitarist and bass.

The UK was greatly influenced by major record companies during the early 1950’s to about late 1960’s. It was very difficult for independent labels to make a name for themselves due to their low funds and publicity. The majority of these independent labels failed to achieve commercial success and tend to have a small group of loyal fans.

Indie rock tends to have some conflicts with the cultural conventions of rock music. They tend to be rebellious and a lot more varied. From the songs such as ‘Get Outta’ My Head’ and ‘take this life’ we see the rebellious side of ‘In Your Honour’. The venues they play at such as the ‘The Croft’ and the ‘Cooler’ are clubs with a younger audience and this is the crowd the band caters to.

Filming on the Ice Rink

To be honest it was extremely fun filming on the ice; it was something new for everyone and we all were very excited. This excitement could be seen in the footage as the band preformed with a lot of emotion and energy. We were also able to control the lighting to fit our needs thus making the footage a lot clearer than the one filmed at the gig.

Negatives: I have always enjoyed ice skating and thus felt confident enough to try doing some filming while on skates. My Idea was to get a tracking shot using the skates to help me glide smoothly but unfortunately I was told the ice wasn’t in a fit enough state to skate on thus was unable to try it out. We had to make sure to get all the equipment onto the ice being careful not damage the instruments or scratch the ice. Setting up the equipment on the ice took longer than I had anticipated thus the time we had to film was significantly shortened. Due to the limited time we had I was unable to get all the shots needed.

Here is a comparison between a shot from the pretender’s music video and my music video. As you can see the camera quality for my video wasn’t great, I think if we had better cameras the video would look a lot sharper and professional.

Dancing in the Distraction Factory – Andrew Goodwin

The Pretender by Foo Fighters (2007) Part 2

Sam Brown uses a lot of pans, zooms and tracking shots. Several close-ups and extreme close ups of the lead singer can be seen throughout the video. This is because Dave (the lead singer) is the most recognised and popular member of the Foo Fighters as he used belong to the well known band called Nirvana. Brown has decided to place the band on an empty airplane hanger to keep the visuals very simple and thus the lyrics and the band are the main focus of the audience. The riot officers and the strong lyrics ‘What if I say I’m not like the others’ ‘I will never surrender’ makes me think this video has political meanings behind it. When the band was asked about the meaning behind their song they said they want their audience to come up with their own meanings. But later on Dave did say the song he felt the song showed people standing up against what was going on at that time in the government and politics. What I found interesting is that the officers although shown to be very intimidating and threatening by their body language was shown to be cowardly unless in numbers; as the first officer did not attack until back up arrived. The band puts up a very energetic performance to cover up for the lack of action and a lot of edgy panning is used to give the video intensity and emotion. The red screen behind the band seems out of place and adds to the suspense; keeping the audience wondering what it is for?

I really liked Sam Brown’s music video ‘the pretender’ for the foo fighters and was blown away by how effective keeping a video simple and direct can be. When I met up with my band ‘In Your Honour’ for the first time in the Croft (Bristol) to film one of their live gigs I was very impressed by the emotion and energy they displayed throughout their songs (especially run). This is when I remembered Brown’s video and started considering changing my initial idea of filming live gig with real audience into something similar to the pretender and use an isolated location.

Filming a live gig shows the viewers the band in its element and they get to experience it as if they were there. Problems I found while filming the live gig was it was hard to set up cameras as the audience kept getting in the way of the shots and it was hard to use techniques such as pans and track shots as there wasn’t enough space. The lighting was too dim and some of the band members couldn’t be seen. By filming the band in an isolated location it would help the lyrics and the band’s performance to stand out. It would be easier to experiment with different shots and camera movements. Also the lighting and other details can be controlled. The negative would be lack of action and excitement for the viewers as they have to watch the band performing on an empty ice rink with not much else going on. But I am hoping the band’s energy and some clever camera shots can compensate for the lack of action. There would also be the narrative which will go with the performance to add tension, suspense action and a story.

The Pretender by Foo Fighters (2007) Part 1

The Pretender was the first single from the American alternative rock band, Foo Fighters’ 2007 album (Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace). It was one of their most successful songs with hundred thousands of views before the video even came out. The pretender was number 1 for 18 weeks in the Modern Rock Tracks and also spent 6 weeks as number 1 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks.

The music video which was nominated for the MTV Video Music Award 2008 for Best Rock Video was directed by Sam Brown.

The video shows the Foo Fighters performing the song in an airplane hanger which was lit up brightly with dozens of strip lights on the ceiling. The airplane hanger is the only location throughout the whole video. The location was very simply laid out and was completely isolated initially; except for the four band members and a massive red screen (that doesn’t seem to belong there). The band members are later joined by one riot police officer with a number on his uniform and he stands behind a black line. As the song progresses, even more riot officers join the initial one on the black line (all with individual numbers, around 40 of them). The officers are shown to be very threatening and dangerous by their body language and facial expressions.

During the bridge just before the last chorus the music becomes very quiet and calm. At this time all the riot officers charge screaming at the band in ultra slow motion. This effect where the audio doesn’t match the visuals is used…

As they get closer to the band the last chorus starts loudly and the red screen behind the band suddenly explodes shooting out a huge amount of red water which crashes into the band and the riot officers. The officers get knocked down and struggle to get back on their feet while the band continues to play aggressively. At the end Dave the lead singer smashes his guitar onto the floor I think to signify the band’s victory over the officers or to represent the exhaustion after this intense face off.

Lyrics:

keep you in the dark you know they all pretend

keep you in the dark and saw it all begin

send in your skeletons

sing as the bones come marchin' in again

the knee you buried deep

the secrets that you keep are ever ready, are you ready?

I'm finished making sense

done pleading ignorance

that whole defense

spending this energy

but the wheel thats spinnin' me is never ending, never ending

same ol' story

what if I say you're not like the others

what if I you're not just another one

look at your face, you're the pretender

what if I say I'll never surrender x2

in time I'm so I'm told

I'm just another soul for sale, oh well

the pages I repressthey are not permanent, they are temporary, same ol story

what if I say you're not like the others

what if I you're not just another one

look at your face, you're the pretender

what if I say I'll never surrender x2

I'm the voice inside your head you refuse to hear

I'm the face you have to face mirroring yourself

I'm whats left, I'm whats right, I'm the enemy

I'm the hand that takes you down and brings you to your knees

so who are you, yeah who are you, yeah who are you, yeah who are you

even in the dark, you know they all pretend

what if I say you're not like the others

what if I you're not just another one

look at your face, you're the pretender

what if I say I'll never surrender

what if I say you're not like the others

(even in the dark, you know they all pretend)

what if I you're not just another one

(even in the dark, you know they all pretend)

look at your face, you're the pretender

(even in the dark, you know they all pretend)

what if I say I'll never surrender x3

so who are you

yeah who are you

yeah who are you

yeah who are you...

Filming In The Club Review

I decided not to use this footage in my music video. The lighting (even after asking the club manager to brighten it up) was too dim; it was really difficult to get a clear shot as members of the audience kept walking into the frame. I was restricted to the amount of camera movements as the club was quite small and packed.

This was the first time I saw this band performing live and was amazed at the passion and intensity expressed by them. This gave me some vague ideas on what I thought could be some good performance footage. After some research and work I came to the conclusion the best way to bring the band's charisma would be to isolate them out. I was looking for a location similar to the music video ' The Pretender' by the Foo Fighters.

Magazine Ads Analysis

http://popbytes.com/img/HardCandy-album-advert.jpg

Madonna Hard Candy

Colours

The colours used are pink and blue on the background and black on her clothing. The colours pink and blue are very feminine also they are bright full of life (like her music). The colours are also used on her album cover and it is important to have cohesion between the products so they can be easily associated with their artist and each other. The black clothing signifies how she is rebellious and dangerous.

Main Image

The main image is a seductive and provocative image of Madonna herself. She is well known for being individual, sexy and rebellious. The revealing clothing reflects this idea.

Target Audience

The name of the artist is not shown as she is easily recognised among her fans. Her music appeals to a wide range of audience.

Typography

Hard Candy is the biggest and most 'in your face font' as it is the name of the album. Underneath it there is the release date of the album. On the top there is a line of lyrics from her one of her song.

Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze theory could be applied onto this Ad where Madonna is seen represented as sexy. The camera looks at her through the eyes of a heterosexual male thus this would appeal to a lot of men stereotypically. Women might also look at her and want to be like her so men consider them sexy too.

Genre

This Ad is typical of the pop genre due to the use of colours and the artist being the main focus.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlo6nzJM7XuyBJEEf_JCeDXW6vojP77Ja3y6jS0CMUVp_3Jsh7PYIJ_fueuqJ1Q3xxxXN9hduMZSXoFAUHKRXAMUmca64p7OJzbtXtAFEQdfSOh5hWXsIEjh9V-GwZu27-cJw1aKURyx4/s1600/GROUP+19+Music+Magazine+Advert.jpg

The XX - Heart Skipped A Beat

Colours

The colours used are dark and raw.

Lighting

Low key lighting is used and also there are a lot of shadows. This signifies mystery and danger. The sunshine across the middle might signify hope and something bright coming out of the darkness. This works well with their music as it is full of life and has uplifting beats but the lyrics do sound slightly dark and mysterious (oxymoron effect in a way).

Mise-en-scene

The setting seems to be some sort of an underground area with trash lying around. The underground area is immediately associated with drugs, gangs and teenagers. There is wheel from a bicycle in the middle of the image. The wheel like a ring could mean eternal as it goes around forever without a start or end. In this case it could stand for eternal struggle. The graffiti on the wall shows vandalism which is associated with rebellious teenagers and gangs.

The Band is not featured, probably because the band wants their audience to listen to their music and judge them rather than judge them on their appearance. This is not typical of the indie rock genre. But it is tough to assign conventions to indie rock as most bands do their own thing, but generally the band is shown.

Typography is very simple and straight to the point like their music. The band's name is on the top right corner and the name of the song is underneath it it; both don't have much emphasises (not bold or big or colourful), again band doesn't want recognition for anything other than their music.

Audience

This product target's a niche audience who already know the band and are loyal fans as there isn't anything on the Ad to make it eye-catching. The target audience is probably young teenagers aged between 16-25.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheaqDtE2ZBbiUdDti4gXLc0Xdd9dAg_qlfLgoz95GZcS2EYwYnrZBkf1r3Qa3TCkfjCpprbDW07VlgGTTHDz1_f6wqNHjLpRIiC3H-1jzDcmO4w28OX1QxbGScSYUHjlG-lrrLVKsmnfgy/s1600/theverve1.jpg

The Verve - Love Is Noise

Colours

The image is in black and white colours. The contrasting colours stand out well against each other.

Lighting

Natural high key lighting is used alongside low key lighting that causes shadows. This gives us a mixed message about the music similar to the lighting used in The XX (in both cases sunshine is coming through the darkness signifying hope among what seems to be a bleak reality).

Main Image

The main image contradicts the conventional view of rock with the use of sunshine and clouds. It gives more of a gospel feel. The use of black signifies mystery and the unknown which is normally associated with the alternative rock genre. The image resembles the sky at dawn just before the sunrises; this could imply a new start for the band or a new turn in their style of music.

Mise-en-scene

We see clouds and a horizon where

Filming The Live Gig

The gig was held at a local club called the croft on the 18th October.

Textual Analysis of Good Charlotte – Cardiology

The name of the band is displayed on the top of the cover in an attractive large font. The font used is easily associated with the band as it is a signature font of theirs. This font is used to display the band’s name in all their products so that their products need to be cohesive so that it is easily recognised by their fans. The name of the album is also displayed clearly in script typography on the bottom.

The colours red and yellow are used to show richness and power. Green is also used as it is complementary colour with red thus will attract more people while on the shelves. The colour gold used on the typography shows luxury, wealth and prosperity.

The image on the centre of the cover is that of a heart with tree like features. The heart and tree could represent life or even new life. This could maybe signify a change in the band’s music or the addition of a new member. There is synergy between the image and the album name. Furthermore to symbolise new life the words earth, fire, water and air are written on the heart in Latin. Notice how there is shadows on the edges of the cover and the light seems to radiating from the centre of the heart; this could be done to show how the music of the band gives hope to their fans and how it is warm and nice.

Location: Bristol Ice Rink

I wrote a letter to the manager of the Bristol Ice Rink in order to convince him to let me use the ice rink for filming. It would normally cost £300-£400 pounds to hire the ice rink; but with a lot of persistence and a bit of luck I managed to get the ice rink available for about 2 hours for absolutely free.

Redcliffe Sixth Form Centre
Dulverton House
Redcliff Hill
Bristol
BS1 6RB
07960217025

Bristol Ice Rink

Frogmore StreetBristol
BS1 5NA
UK


18th October 2010


Dear Sir/Madam,

I am a student from St Mary’s Redcliffe Sixth Form Centre who is currently studying Media Studies at A2 Level. I have been assigned to create a music video for an unsigned band.

The band, ‘In Your Honour’ is made up of students from St Bredan’s Sixth Form. They have been recognised by the media (The Guardian, The Times and various music magazines) as a very talented and creative young group of musicians.

We would be very grateful if we could use your venue for an hour of filming. We would not need any skate hires as we don’t intend to use the ice to skate at all. There will be 8 of us including the band.

We are available to come and do the filming any time during the whole week. Special thanks to the Bristol Ice Rink will be mentioned in the music video.





Yours Faithfully

signature


Cliffy Nelson
(Student)

Filming on the Ice Rink

I managed to arrange transport for the band and equipment. Once we all got there setting up the equipment took a lot of time since we had to make sure not to damage the ice. It took about 45 minutes to set up the lighting and equipment leaving us with just over an hour of filming. Due to this I wasn't able to do many experimental shots and had to multi-task quite a lot; operating several cameras and getting multiple shots done at the same time.

The video camera quality wasn't as good as thought they would be. Also it was quite hard to panning shots on the ice. I tried using ice skates to get the panning shots but they were still too shaky. More time to do the filming would have been useful too.

I am really grateful to the manager of the Bristol ice rink and all the staff who were very supportive and helpful. Also grateful to the band and the supporting film crew.

Lyrics Of The Chosen Song

Run – In Your Honour

VERSE

Don’t run away from the problems you’ve made

Don’t hide behind your lies

Why can’t you see?

What you’re doing to me and yourself

How I can help when you push me away

CHORUS

You say you’re all alone

You say you’re all alone

You say you’re all alone

VERSE

Stop running away from the problems you’ve made

You don’t seem to understand

Keep your friends close

And your enemies closer

I won’t be there to hold your hand

You say you have none but you’ll always have me

CHORUS

You say you’re all alone

You say you’re all alone

You say you’re all alone

You say you’re all alone

BRIDGE

Aaahhhh (Harmonies) x4

CHORUS

You say you’re all alone

You say you’re all alone

You say you’re all alone

You say you’re all alone

Music Video Analysis – Bullet For My Valentine – Tears Don’t Fall

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sTQ0QdkN3Q&feature=related

Camera

Shots: lot of close ups are used for the girl. Showing Laura Mulvey’s male gaze theory where the camera is through the eyes of a heterosexual male.

Movement: The movement is minimal. Except for the scenes where the lead signer is screaming, during which a lot of shake is used.

Editing: straight cuts are used to keep the continuity.

Mise en Scene

Props: The can of oil/water is used as a prop to help tell the story.

Lighting: The lighting used is low key to go with conventions as well as to add to the tone of music. The lighting adds tension and mystery.

Costume: The girl wears clothes that reveal a lot of skin to add to the notion of ‘looking’ (male gaze). The band wears black which relate to the dark intent of the song as well as the heavy metal genre.

Sound

The music is generally fast paced and loud but there are bits where the pace is slowed down and becomes quieter. The editing matches the sound. Also the camera movements are raw to match the sound. The sound is diegetic.

Music Video Analysis – Story Of The Year – Until The Day I Die

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyIrInZp49U&feature=relmfu

Camera

Shots: A lot of close ups and mid shots are used. There also few extreme close ups. This is to show the band’s expressions and passion. It is quite intense parallel to the tone and beat of the music.

Movement:there is a lot of shake and tilts used to add to the rawness. It is used to make the audience feel part of the video and most of the audience in the video watching the band on stage will be moving to the beat (the camera movement creates the similar feel and makes the audience feel more involved).

Editing:straight cuts are used to keep the continuity.

Mise en Scene

The location is inside a club while the band is doing a performance. There are a lot of black and neutral colours being used as is conventions with this type of genre (rock). The clothes worn by the band are also black. The lighting used is low key lighting to add to the mystery and feel of the club. This is a performance based video so we can see the instruments and general stuff you would expect to see in a club like posters of bands on the wall, etc.

Sound

The music is quite fast paced and the editing matches the sound. Also the camera movements are raw to match the sound. The sound is diegetic.

StoryBoard

Initial Questionnaire

1) Do you listen to Indie-Rock?

2) How old are you?

12-15 16-19 20-25 26+

3) How often do you watch music videos?

Never, I simply listen to the audio

Sometimes, I watch them occasionally

Very Often

4) What type of music video do you prefer? Why?

Narrative

Performance

Conceptual

5) Where do you generally watch your music videos?

Youtube

MTV

Spike

Vevo

AOL Music

Other

6) In what order would you rate these 4 music videos? (1 being the best and 4 being the worst)

Foo Fighters – The Pretender

The Killers – Human

Nickelback-Far Away

Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

7) After listening to the song Run what do you think the music video should consist of?

Initial Ques Results

1) Do you listen to Indie-Rock?

yes 80%

no 20%

2) How old are you?

12-15 5%

16-19 30%

20-25 55%

26+ 10%

my target audience will be aged between 19-26

3) How often do you watch music videos?

Never, I simply listen to the audio 0%

Sometimes, I watch them occasionally 10%

Very Often 90%

4) What type of music video do you prefer? Why?

Narrative 55%

Performance 35%

Conceptual 10%

My music video will have a mix of narrative and performance. I will put more emphasise on the narrative.

5) Where do you generally watch your music videos?

Youtube 60%

MTV 10%

Spike 0%

Vevo 20%

AOL Music 0%

Other 10%

Upload video onto youtube

6) In what order would you rate these 4 music videos? (1 being the best and 4 being the worst)

Foo Fighters – The Pretender (1)

The Killers – Human (3)

Nickelback-Far Away (2)

Arcade Fire – The Suburbs (4)

I really like the pretender's video thus will try and copy their style. It is mainly performance based though so I will take ideas from Nickelback as they are well known for creating interesting storylines in their music videos.

7) After listening to the song Run what do you think the music video should consist of?

Ideas that came up the most were:

Struggle

Conflict

Love

Confusion

I will definitely try and use the ideas of struggle and conflict also I will try and show the confused state of mind my character is in. I must make sure to use postmodernism as well as I want to create something unique and innovative. The love between the characters could be expressed possibly through flashbacks.