Progression With My Digipak

I've made some changes following my audience feedback

Meaning

The spine of my digipak is where the two images come together in the middle. This is conventionally a plain colour with text on but I decided to challenge conventions. This is because the symmetrical images create an archway which the boy appears to be walking towards. This helps suggests that he wants to be walking away from everything to escape from the love triangle because it is giving him emotional pain.

More Progress And Some Audience Feedback

I got some feedback and they suggested I change my front and back covers to my inside images. This is because the triangle of the people would look great with the CD over the top, and it would also look better if the chopped off image was inside and not used as the front cover.

I love the back cover I have. It links in with the shot as you can see the back of the character. However using my inside covers as my back cover would accommodate the text better than the one I have now.

Making My Digipak

I've been editing my video clips on Final Cut Pro and then importing then to Adobe Fireworks

I have used this effect because it reflects the narrative of my music video. It looks like the images are burning away which links with the love triangle in my video.

Digipak Research

On the second digipack a picture goes over two pieces of the digipack, with writing on the left hand side. The CD had no picture on and contasts hugley with the image on the case.

On the first this digipack has two separate images for the inside of the digipack. the images are very similar ans link with each other.

Digipaks Relevant to my Genre

These album covers are conventional of the genre I have used.

The top right is Alt-J's official album cover.

INDIE ROCK ALBUM COVERS

The XX

Arctic Monkeys

Pony Pony Run Run

 Young Bloodhawke

The XX

 Two Door Cinema Club

All these album covers are similar. They have a bold font for the text which is positioned in the centre and stands out. Bold contrasting colours are also used, such as the black and white. Pictures are rarely used, and if so they are belittled by the text being bolder that it and over the top. The title of the artist is the main concentration, rather than the title of the album.

Digipaks I Don't Like

I dont like this because the images contrast too much. They use a completely different colour scheme, making it look like they should be from two different products.

Digipaks I Like

I like this because the images are striking, making it stand out. Although they are of differnt things they still link. This is because the framing of the images are central and very simnilar.

Final Cut

Decisions

I've decided not to follow through with the ideas below as I think it will be too obvious that I have added it in. This is because of the mise-en-scene - the weather has changed. This would disrupt the continuity of my product.

Ideas

Another natural element could be added to my music video, following the twigs and the stones.

Some ideas are...

Flowers 

Leaves

Water

Adding another element to my video to break it up would link into the idea of "three" that is represented throughout my video. This is because there would be three different montages of natural elements.

If I used flowers...

-Three flowers could be in the shot

-Dissolves could be used

-Two could slowly fade out the shot

-This would represent them as dying

-Linking to the breakdown of the relationship of the two girls disappearing

-The flower left in the shot would represent the boy at the end still standing

Response From Audience Feedback

I thought my audience feedback was good. It was very positive. I liked how we got another media class to give us audience feedback as it gave me more of a variety of things to think about. One thing I could try that might improve it is adding shots in in between the girls running to break it up a bit.

Audience Feedback

Something I Wasn't Sure About

I wasn't sure about the ending of my music video. I was worried that the shots of the boy could become boring for my audience.

One of my main questions for my audience feedback:

Does the several different shots of the boy at the end help to build up the climax for the end of my music video?

First Cut

Something that Didn't Work

Different Ideas

Filming

Filming went well. We finished within three hours which was perfect as it didn't go too dark, but the lighting did change noticeably  so we could tell on the film. However there were dog walkers in the location I chose so I had to re-take some of my shots.

Planning

 I gave both my actresses a copy of this so they knew which words to learn

I created a note on my phone so I could remind myself what I needed to bring

I text my actresses to discuss when I could film when they were available

I used facebook to create a group message so I could let everyone know what was happening

I text my actresses so they knew what to wear

Animated Storyboard

part 1

part 2

Final Shooting Script

Shooting Script

Media Language

LIGHTING

The lighting will begin light and throughout the video will get darker. This will reflect the narrative. This is because it gets worse as there is no equilibrium at the end as the girls disappear. This goes against Todorov's narrative theory.

LOCATION

I will film in a field as it signifies freedom. This freedom however, is contradicted through the narrative, as the characters are in a love triangle.

MAKEUP/COSTUME

Natural make up will be used because I don't want the characters to look too 'fake'. The girls will wear a dress to connote femininity, it will be floaty to further show freedom. This will be purple as it connotes power and mystery.

Audience Feedback

Pitch

Man walking to beat

Shot rewinded

Man disappears

Two girls singing lyrics

Two girls singing lyrics then fall back

Twigs in a field

Dissolve into twigs in triangle shape

Graphic match to characters lying in a triangle

Walking forward

Girls look up and sing lyrics

Man pulling expressionless face

Cut to the beat to girl with expressionless face

Close ups changing to beat on song

Close ups changing to beat of song

Close up changing to beat of song

Close ups changing to beat of song

stones in a loveheart shape

Dissolve to stones messed up

Dissolve to stones messed up

Camera tilts up to landscape

Dissolve to girls running

Girls running towards boys

Girls running

Girls running

Development of Idea

I initially wanted to do the majority of my filming on a beach, however this isn't possible as it is too far away. I have manipulated my idea to fit into a different location - a field.

Representation Theory no. 3

Representation Theory no. 2

Representation Analysis/Representation Theory

Mulvey

Mulvey argues that film provides scopophilic pleasure to the audience. Female characters tend to be displayed for the visual pleasure of male characters and male spectators. For Mulvey, men look, women are looked at. Women are the object of the gaze (looked at), whilst male characters/spectators are the subject of the gaze (or the bearers of the look - the people looking). Women connote 'to-be-looked-at-ness', and are the focus of a clearly male gaze. Mulvey identifies an important process whereby women are coded as the object of the gaze (and represented sexually). Robin Thicke's video supports this theory, where women are represented sexually. However, her work has been criticised for only focusing on the male, heterosexual spectator, and ignoring the male providing the visual pleasure.

Audience Theory no. 3

Audience Theory no. 2

Audience Analysis/Audience Theory

David Morley

Social and Cultural Context

-Reception theory - 'the politics of the living room'

-The meaning of the text will be constructed differently depending on the audience member's position in society

-Differences based on things like social class, gender, and ethnicity, may determine an individual's cultural tastes

-People from different social groups will have a knowledge of the codes of different types of media texts

For example, people may construct this music video differently, with a different teenagers growing up happily with their families. People may think that the signs shown are false because of the background they come from, for example they may not have grown up with a family around them. However, other may think it is a very good representation of growing up because it reflects how they grew up, because it is a similar background they came from.

Narrative Theory no. 3

Narrative Analysis/Narrative Theory no. 2

Todorov

Todorov states that narratives have an equilibrium (the normal life of a character) - diequilibrium (disruption to that life) - resolution (return to an equilibrium). The key idea here relates to the equilibrium and resolution.

The happy family at the start of the video is being represented as 'normal' - the equilibrium

The abuse towards the mother is the disequilibrium

The father being sent to prison and the daughter moving out is presented as the resolution, which is creating a new equilibrium as it doesn't return to 'normal'

This narrative rienforces values that are needed in life, such as happiness and escapism

Narrative Analysis/Narrative Theory

Levi Strauss

Levi-Strauss looked at narrative structure in terms of binary oppositions. Binary oppositions are sets of opposite values which reveal the structure of media texts.

boy vs girl
sitting down for breakfast vs walking out
jewellery vs guns
ignorant vs intimacy

Genre Theory no. 3

Genre Theroy no. 2

Genre Analysis/Genre Theory

Neale

Genres are made up of not just groups of films, but also audience expectations, and discourse including marketing, and media discussion. Genres help audiences understand texts.

Expectations that audience might bring to this product is: women, fast editing, dancing

Genre would help them make sense of the product because hip hop is typically upbeat and played at parties/discos for example.

Initial Ideas Tesselate by Alt-J

Audience Feedback

The Killers

Do you like the song?

"Yeah it's a good song yeah, I like the song."

What do you imagine seeing in the music video when you listen to the song?

"Maybe a romance and the man thinks the women likes someone else so he's telling her to be true to what she think by smiling like she means it when she sees the person she's in love with instead of covering her emotions."

What do you think of my initial ideas?

"They're a good idea! There could be a deeper meaning of it instead of just smiling at something you enjoy."

Alt-J

Do you like the song?

"Yeah it's a decent song."

What do you imagine seeing in the music video when you listen to the song?

"Seeing a group of friends together, and they fit in with each other perfectly, hence tessellate, and they go around doing rebellious things they shouldn't but enjoy."

What do you think of my initial ideas?

"Yes it's a good idea. It's good how you would include a love triangle because it links to the lyrics."

Lana Del Rey

Do you like the song?

"No it's a bit slow, it's not my sytle."

What do you imagine seeing in the music video when you listen to the song?

"A girl loves a boy, but the girl doesn't love her."

What do you think of my initial ideas?

"Yeah I like it, that's what I'd imagine it to be like."

Song Idea no. 3

Lana Del Rey - Video Games

Initial Ideas for this Song...

Could have some performance in it

Montage of a boy who the singer is in love with

Contrast of happiness (the boy) and sadness (the girl)

Song Idea no. 2

Alt J - Tessellate

Initial Ideas for this Song...

On the beach

Animated patterns and triangles to graphic match shots on the beach

Two girls and one boy to create a love triangle

Song Idea

The Killers - Smile Like You Mean It

Initial Ideas for this Song...

Shows the lives of 3 - 4 different teenage girl

Clips of them doing things they enjoy (hobbies)

Close ups of smiling faces

Genre Research

First Thoughts!

I'm looking forward to doing this task. I think making a music video will be an enjoyable piece of coursework to do as I like listening to music, creativeness and analysing lyrics.
I will work on my own as oppose to in a group, as it will give me an opportunity to be independent with my ideas and develop them into a way that I would like.