Evaluation

Final Production

Final Printed Artefact - Poster Advert

Below is a screen shot of our final printed artefact for a poster advertisement. Since HMV is a large and well known company which has a huge amount of music stores around the country and various venues where bands play.

We wanted to make our poster look as realistic as possible, so we chose a city skyline background similar to that which HMV have used before. However, we manipulated the colours and edited it to give it a unique and individual look. We displayed the album cover on it with a 3D effect to make it look as if it is literally jumping off the poster.

We added two legitimate reviews from NME and iTunes about the actual Bombay Bicycle Club album to make it seem more realistic.

We also added a price and release time (out now) as this is required to be on real HMV posters.

 

 

Final Printed Artefact - Album Tri-fold

Here are some screen grabs of our front and back cover of our printed artefacts to accompany our music video to Bombay Bicycle Club's - Shuffle.

 

This is an exampe of one of Bombay Bicycle Club's album covers. We wanted to recreate an image that looked like it matches the type of music that it is, but while creating a completely new kind of image at the same time. Album art is high in importance because not only does it communicate to audiences what is on the album, but it makes the product visibally identifiable to the audience.

Here are some images of our final trifold which will accompany our music video production.

Locations For Filming

We will shoot a variety of different scenes in different places locally to us in Tamworth. These will include:

• Boys Bedroom  - where the scrapbook will be looked through
• Road - couple will walk along side walk together holding hands
• Castle grounds - where leaves will be kicked
• Kitchen - where work top will be utilised to bake cakes
• Side of a Road - where a car will break down and an argument will commence
• Costa Coffee Shop - a cute date where they hold hands over the table
• Living Room - playing xbox together
• Floor Outdoors - boy sitting on the ground feeling sorry for himself
• Girls Bedroom - lying in bed feeling sorry for herself
• Pub/Bar - where the boy is sitting with his friends feeling sad
• Vintage Telephone Box - where the boy tries to contact the girl

We shall use my car as a way of transportaton to get to and from each destination, and to ensure that the camera and all of its equipment is kept safe on our journey.
When we are filming in public locations, we will ask permission from the manager before hand, e.g. costa coffee.

Printed Artefacts - Existing Album Cover

We are required to produce an album cover to go alongside our music video as part of our coursework. We will design the entire inner sleve of the cover, including the front cover and track listings on the back. In order to make it look as professional as possible, we will ensure that we follow the codes and conventions of a real album cover. This will include making sure that the font is of a particular colour against the background so that it can be easily read.
Our main idea at the moment, is to have a close up photo of the main character quite central on the cover, with the name of the band at the top.
This is a photo of the original album cover:

This image gives the impression of calmness due to the light blue colour. This suggests to the audience that the songs featured on the album will be somewhat mellow. The album cover compliments the sounds of the songs because the same mellow/indie theme will be featured in both the songs and the artwork.

The record company that Bombay Bicycle Club are signed to is 'Island Records'. To ensure that our album cover looks prefessional and legitimate, we will encorporate the picture of this logo onto our album cover, preferably on the back cover.


This is the Island Records logo, which the band Bombay Bicycle Club are signed to, therefore it is important that we feature this logo on our album cover so that it looks more realistic.

Track Listings:

1.	"How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep"	3:30
2.	"Bad Timing"	3:34
3.	"Your Eyes"	5:21
4.	"Lights Out, Words Gone"	5:01
5.	"Take the Right One"	3:36
6.	"Shuffle"	3:54
7.	"Beggars"	4:12
8.	"Leave It"	3:54
9.	"Fracture"	4:04
10.	"What You Want"	4:20
11.	"Favourite Day"	4:57
12.	"Still"	4:25
13.	"Beg" (Bonus track)	3:52       

Inspirational Images

Here are some images and gifs which have inspired and me my group for our A2 media music video coursework.      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Task 10 - Filming

Production Schedule:

·         When will you film?

·         Who will you film?

·         What will you film?

·         How will you film?

·         What equipment will you need?

Are there and Health & Safety issues or concerns? (risk assessment)

Do you need permission to film at your locations? (do you have evidence of permissions to film in your locations)

Date of Filming	Location

 

Task 9 - Casting

There will be two characters in our music video; a male and a female, both young adults, which represents the age of the target audience for the song itself.

The main character of the video will be the boy. This follows the codes and conventions of a real music video by having a main character, but challenges them by having this person as a male.
Most videos which follow a relationship would be from the point of view of a girl, for example a Taylor Swift music video. However, due to the singer of the band being a male, it seems more appropriate for the main character to be a boy.
The major character is this boy’s love interest who will decide she does not want to be with him anymore at the end of the video.
·         Main character – Josh Roberts
·         Major character – Rhianna Camsell

To make our final coursework piece appealing to our target audeince, our cast members must fit within the age bracket and have a fashion sense which fits in with the song. This is an 'indie' trend.Our cast members must therefore be wearing clothing which looks indie.
Here are some examples of indie clothing in fashion today:

Our main character is going to be Josh Roberts, who completely suits the look we were intending on for the main character. He is within the age range of the target audience which we feel is important. He has a modern indie fashion sense which compliments the modern indie sound of the song we have chosen to make a video for. We wanted the male character to be taller than the female because they are supposed to be a couple, and a height differece can look endearing  for the girl and makes the girl look more innocent and easily hurt. The main focus of the duration of the video is on Josh and his actions and choices, therefore the music video will be more from his perspective than Rhianna's.

We have chosen Rhianna Camsell to be our major character. with her feminine look, petite frame and long hair she looks 'girly' and innocent, forshadowing the fact that she will fall for josh's affections. She is also within the age range for our target audience and has an indie fashion sense similar to Josh. Furthermore, she is able to drive, which is important for one of the scenes which features her driving away from Josh. There will be a lot of focus on Rhianna throughout the production, however the main emphasis for the video will be on josh since he is the main character.

We chose to use Josh and Rhianna for our final production because they are both very confident and have been used for photoshoots and various media projects before. They are required to look natural in shots, in order to create a sense of verisimilitude so that the audience feels that the situations in the music video is real. Josh and Rhianna are also friends in real life, which we felt was important because they will be comfortable around each other when being filmed. Since the storyline is of the both of them acting as if they are in a relationship, it is important that they are not shy with one another in order to portray chemistry and a realistic-looking relationship.

Task 8 - Final Proposal

My group consists of Simone, Abbie and Myself. We have all agreed on the song we would like to do a music video for. This is Shuffle by Bombay Bicycle Club.

We have all agreed on the style and overall look of the final piece, which is rather convenient and helpful to the planning process as we have not had any disagreements in relation to the music video.

The song is somewhat passive and does not sound heavily either happy or sad. It is up to the listener to determine what feeling the song portrays to them. In my opinion, the song begins happily, and ends on a more sombre note, with elements of happy and sad throughout as the notes change. We have decided to make the video fit the song as much as possible.

The main concept of the video will be a journey of a couple’s romance together, starting off happily and ending with a kind of cliff hanger which will leave the audience wondering the fate of the couple. It will be a montage of images of their time together, some happy and some with more sad emotions shown. It will begin happily, with a short clip of sadness shown to make the audience wonder what has happened to this seemingly ‘perfect’ couple. As the note changes in the song, the mood will change to make the video parallel to the tune. As the song comes to an end, more sad images will be shown to make the audience wonder if the couple will be able to work out their problems or if they will break up.

The video will begin with someone playing piano, a close up of their hands will be shown playing the tune of the song. A montage of happy images will begin such as: driving in a car, walking along in a field, in the sunset, holding hands, hugging, kissing, lying on the ground together. It will then change to the girl being upset/crying with her close to the camera and the boy standing behind her. She will be in focus at first, then a focus pull will change to focus on the boy in the background, he will be unaware of her facial expression as he cannot see it. The connotations of this will be that he is upsetting her, but is not sure why/how. Perhaps he is being distant in some way.

Bombay Bicycle Club - Shuffle

Ideas for scenes to shoot:

Dosthill park 

Girl hugging him from behind – 8seconds

Holding hands

Driving to a place on a sunny day

Walking in a field - light-hearted fun

Lying in a field      

(flashforward) Focus pull girl in foreground upset, boy behind – 25seconds

Baking cakes

Letting go of hands (til its gone) -42seconds

(change of mood)

Argument

Close up of each face showing emotion, not with eachother – 1.45

(breakdown) Boy receives text?

girl driving alone

girl Meets another guy -3mins

Sees guy with another girl

Eyecontact as they walk past

Fast montage of everything - memories

Look back at eachother (till it’s gone) fades out with song

Task 7 - Role Allocation

Our group consists of Abbie Taft, Simone Douglas and Myself (Nirvana Stevens). We will share the roles of the production, since we have all collectively agreed on the storyline therefore we have all taken on the role of the writer. We will be using one camera in order to film the production so we will have to allocate one person to operate the camera while another takes on the role of director. All of us will take on the role of editor because this is a job that we need to do as a team. There are other roles that we will need to cover such as make-up artist, costume organiser and casting recruiter. While these roles are important, they are minor in comparison to the director, editor and cameraperson roles therefore we will each take on a minor and a major role.

·         I will take on the role of director and casting recruiter

·         Abbie will take on the role of cameraperson and costume organiser

·         Simone will take on the role of editor and make-up artist

Overall we will share the load of our roles and help each other when in need,  but specifying in each area to ensure that everything is getting done.

Task 6 - Storyboards

Below is a scanned image of the storyboard in which we have constructed in order to aid our filming process. We have organised and planned out our ideas so that we know exactly what to film.

Task 4 - Audience Research

We have chosen to create a music video for our A2 media coursework.
Questionnaire: Music Videos

1. What is your favourite music genre?
Metal/Screamo
Rap/Hip-hop
Acoustic
Dance
Pop-rock
Other
Please state ...

2. What music channel would you rather watch?
Kerrang!
Scuzz
MTV Hits
Magic
Q
4 Music
MTV Rocks

3. Would you like to see the performance of the artist in the video, or the use of actors/actresses?
Artist
Acting
Both

Explain ...

4. Would you prefer to watch a music video with a storyline or a collage of scenes?
Story
Collage
Both

Explain ...

5. Is a pleasant outdoor location more favourable than an indoor one?
Yes
No
Both

Explain ...


6. What is your favourite music video?
Explain...

Questionnaire: Documentaries

1. Would you like to see a documentation of an aspect of nature?
Yes
No

2. Would you like to see a documentation of an aspect of human behaviour?
Yes
No

3. Would you be more interested in a documentary which uses film-like conventions?
Yes
No

Explain...

4. Which documentary has intrigued you the most?
Explain...

5. Would you rather see a reporter documenting the issue as opposed to just a voice-over?
Yes
No

Explain...

Audience Feedback:
From the audience research, we acumilated both qualitative and quantitative data
My group and I decided to create a music video as opposed to a documentary after recieving the feedback from the audience.
To gain a fair outcome from the audience research, we aimed to ask a balanced number of males and females from all different ages.
The feedback from question 1 showed us that our audience is most in favour of acoustic and generally mellow music, with some people in the 'other' column stating that they enjoy an indie genre of music. We believe that by choosing a somewhat mellow song to do out video to, we will gain interest from a wider audience as this type of music is enjoyed by all and is not necessarily specific to a particular audience.
The music channel that appeared to be most popular in our audience feedback was 'MTV Rocks'. This channel plays a lot of indie music, with some more alternative bands along with some acoustic music.
The feedback stated that people would rather see the acting out of a storyline in a video as opposed to a bands performance. this is because people are able to be engaged with what they see on screen and entertained more.
The response from question 5 was balanced, therefore we have chosen to use a mix of outdoor locations and indoor locations.

Task 3 - Ideas for A2 Media Coursework

Ideas for Music Videos:

1 - A group of teenagers embark on a road trip:
- The group would be followed on their journey to a destination, shown to be having lots of fun.

- Footage could be taken from inside of the car, and from the destination, which could be a beach or a field perhaps.
- Time could be shown to be passing by outfit changes etc to prevent us from having to film over a long period of time.
2 - A group of teenagers have a house party:
- The concept behind this idea is relatively simple, so to compel the audience, and make the video interesting a variety of interesting camera angles and shots must be used.
- Interesting edits and filters could be used to give a 'trippy' effect to the video, making the audience feel  as if they are literally involved in the party itself.

Ideas for Documentaries:

1 - Documentary about a local band 'Call Atlantis':
- The concept behind the documentary could look at the idea of a new upcoming band trying to 'make it big' and the struggles they have faced along the way.
- There could be shots of their music videos used to show the effort they have put into their work and the progress they have made.
- One to one interviews with each member of the band, as they give opinions, comments and reflect upon their time.
- Gigs could be attended, with real life gig performance footage taken and used in the documentary.

2 - 'The Only Way is Tamworth' or 'Made in Tamworth':
- A friendship group of young people in Tamworth
- The concept behind the documentary would be scripted to ensure that some compelling action occurs, so that the audience will be interested in watching a potential, entire series.

3 - A look into why McDonalds food looks different on advertisements:
- A construction of a burger as it looks on a poster and compare it to one that has just been brought.

Task 2 - Video Game Trailer Analysis - Dead Island

Dead Island

The colours are simple and do not initially give too much away about the genre of the game. The titles fade in and out. Incidental music is used in the form of slow piano music which is quite melancholy and emotional. This known as contrapuntal sound as it constrast with that we see on screen.

The intro is like a major film in the sense that studio logos appear whichmake the trailer look highly professional. These logos are copywrighted which shows the legitimacy of the company. The titles are in black and white only which makes the text stand out.

hat is, a zombie outbreak. One would expect the music in this instance to be fast paced and heavy, however this trailer is done in a clever way, where the zombie outbreak is in slo

The confusion that w motion which makes the music seem almost parallel, despite the on-screen violence.

the audience feels is a contributing factor to the popularity of the game and upon it's release there will be a potentially high demand for the game, as the only way the actual storyline will be revealed is if you go ahead and play it.

Task 2 - Short Film Analysis - 'This is the Life' By Craig Devine

Craig Devine: "This is the Life"

The mise en scene refers so location, setting, costume and props within a film. The initial setting is a working class household where Dean - the main character asks his mom and sister for his tie to be done up for him, this implies a lack of father figure who would have stereotypically shown him how to do it.
Incidental music fades in which provokes a sense of emotion from the audience as it is slow, acoustic and melancholy.
The scene cuts to Dean waiting outside his school for his siter to pick him up. His uniform looks particularly scruffy which makes him look unkempt. He is also wearing trainers which implies a rebelious aspect to his personality, which could also be a result of not having a father figure to 'keep him in line'.
We may have assumed that his sister would be picking him up in a car, however, she appears with a shopping trolley, which furthers our preconcieved ideas of this being a working class family and environment. The same music which was used previously becomes aparrent again, as they are shown to be having fun as they run around town with a shopping trolley. However, this fun comes to an abrupt end as the 'father' makes an appearance.
The sister seems happy to see him, whereas Dean in somewhat reserved in his emotions. Perhaps he resents his dad for some reason? That reason is unrevealed at the present, but due to the aspects of the storyline, one can make educated assumptions. As the father hugs Dean, a close up is used which focuses only on the father's face, through this, the audience is able to see and almost feel the emotion of him without being distracted by the environment behind him.
The camera work is handheld which gives a sense of verisimilitude making the film seem as real as possible, almost documentary-like. The film is to some extent, autobiographical of the writer which makes it feel as if you are literally looking through the eyes of the writer.
The houses in the surrounding location appear to be former council houses, and the 'TV dinner' which the family have is a typical aspect of a working class family. There appears to be some tension between the father and Dean this is shown through their body language and the exchange of stares here and there.
http://vimeo.com/11686493

Task 2 - Research into Documentary - Louis Theroux: Behind Bars

The documentary begins with an establishing long shot of the prison - San Quentin. This is the most famous prison in America.
There is then a 'snip-it' shown of a part of an interview at the opening, to intrigue and captivate the audience without revealing too much of the investigation. It talks about a man who has been sentenced to live in prison which causes the question: "what does a man have to do to get 500 years in prison?" to be raised. The answer to this however, is not quite revealed until later (3/4) into the documentary.
The BBC logo appears, which is like a stamp of quality, and in turn makes the documentary look legitimate. This is because it appears to be an acomplished programme which has not been made by intermediates.
There is a montage of prisoners, while louis is watching, with a voice over to introduce documentary. There is relatively pleasant music which is soft and gentle playing alongside the montage, this juxtaposes what we see on screen as it is an unexpected kind of music which is contrapuntal to what we see on screen.
The cut to the actual title does not appear until just over a minute in, it is an animated title.
Danger is shown to be apparrent within first few minutes in which alarms the audience by showing the possibility that the documenter could, potentially be killed or seriously injured in such an environment. A handheld camera is used to show reality and a sense of uneasiness. If dangerous prisoners are around, time would not be apparent to allow equipment to be put away, this furthers the reality that they are in a highly dangerous environment.
There is a fade to black transitioning which shows the passing of time and gives the idea that it is a new day. This shows that the documentary had been somewhat time consuming to film and did not merely happen over a number of hours.

Task 2 - Research into Documentary - A Very British Gangster

'A Very British Gangster' - directed by Donal Macintyre.
It is about one Manchester's most notorious gangsters. The documentary begins following the codes and conventions of an actual film, with the use of an establishing master shot of a city scape at night in a working class area. There is the noise of a train at the beginning of the documentary, which shows that the setting is urban. With the use of street gang music - Hip-Hop represents the urban nature and criminality within Britain.
The train noise is used a sound bridge, while the titles fade in and out.
The gangsters are shown at a low angle which gives perspective of the surroundings and gives the gangsters authority as they are seemingly positioned higher than the audience who are watching. The gangster standing in the middle is the 'main' guy, with is support men at his side, however it is clear that he is the leader because he is in the main focus. They are all dressed in suits, which is taken from the traditional italian/american gangster style, but not as 'slick' or posh-looking because they in a lower-class area than those gangsters in other countries.
The fourth wall is broken as the gangsters talk to the camera, addressing the audience. This moves away from the idea that what we are viewing is like a film, because this is a convention of documentaries because it makes the on-screen image look realistic. The gangster culture is romanticised as slow motion is used.
When the main gangster is talking, there is a cut away to his hands, showing his jewellry which emphasises his wealth. However, this doesnt appear to be an aspect of the working class, or even of a sophisticated person as the jewellery looks somewhat 'over the top' as it is very 'blingy'. This does show prosperity however. There are cuts to a close ups of his face showing his emotion and expression, which is sincerity and shows he is thinking. He appears to be a bit of a psycho as he talks openly about someone being decapitated, but shows no signs of compassion whatsoever.
The use of the handheld camera shows realism, the documentary is supposed to be like a 'fly on the wall' view.
A crane shot is used within the documentary which is unconvential because it takes a great deal of preperation, but gives the documentary a professional look, similar to a film, making it look legitimate.
The location of a barber shop is used, which part of the iconography of gangster history.
Within the documentary, it does not appear to be real time, the cuts used suggest a jump in time
The main gangster who is whistling is a juxtaposition to the idea of a violent man appearing to be cheerful.
There is a montage of black and white images, they are grainy which resembles undercover cctv surveillance footage. It also looks like newspaper pictures, this montage idea is taken from Quinten Taranteno's Pulp Fiction film. This furthers the idea of this documentary appearing to be like a proper film as opposed to a 'normal' documentary. Many people may associate traditional documentaries with being boring, perhaps the directors intention for this particular documentary is to create excitement and professionalism as it doesn't appear to have been rushed.
The gangsters appear to be enjoying being filmed perhaps because this gives them kudos, identity and respect within their community.
There is a transition effect which show black and white stills turning into colour.
The use of a handheld camera shows how things are happening in reality as opposed to using a tri-pod. Because of the nature of gangsters, the cameraperson cannot afford to have full on camera equipment because if the time comes where they need to run away, they would not have time to dismount and carry the equipment.
Within the documetary, it is shown to be real, as the gangsters have an argument, which is not seemingly scripted, thus reinforcing the sense of verisimilitude.
Oasis music is used which is typically associated with the manchester music scene
Sunny weather and happy music is a juxtaposing idea to gangster culture that is being documented

Task 1 - Research into Codes and Conventions

TV Documentary


What is a documentary film?


Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record. A 'documentary film' was originally shot on film stock — the only medium available — but now includes video and digital productions that can be either direct-to-video, made as a television program or released for screening in cinemas. "Documentary" has been described as a "filmmaking practice, a cinematic tradition, and mode of audience reception" that is continually evolving and is without clear boundaries. (Wikipedia)


GPO - General Post Office film devision to explain and promote work of the post office to the nation.
John Grierson 1933 general director of GPO unit. Father of documentary film. Established conventions of documentary film


Analyse the codes and conventions of a documentary film. Comment on following:


1. what tv channel it is broadcast on


2. what is the title of the documentary?


3. what type of documentary it is:


historical - rise and fall of egyptian empire
biographical - the life of sir stanley matthews
investigative - the truth behind the disappearance of madeline mcann
artistic - the work of van gough
wildlife - the anatomy of the blue whale
political - the new labour years
drama documentaries - margaret thatcher
reality tv - the kardashians
celebrity - david beckhams new tattoo
scripted reality - the only way is essex


4. what style of documentary is it?:


narrative structure - linear/non
editing - fast/slow/fades/dissolves/superimposing
voice-overs - narration/tone/register/mode of address
archive footage - type/style/place/time-period
graphics - pie charts/images
text - captions/subtitles/banners


5. what is the subject matter / content of the documentary?


6. what are the messages and meanings behind the documentary? - what is it trying to communicate to the audience?

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/behind-bars/