Friday 18 March 2016
Thursday 11 February 2016
Monday 8 February 2016
Tuesday 2 February 2016
Evaluation - question 1
For my media task I was set, I was given a brief which I had to follow. This brief was that my group had to consist of around three people, where I was to create a music video which was to last between 3-5 minutes approximately which my group and I achieved, and decided to opt with an indie music artists song; two fingers by Jake Bugg.
There are a number of purposes behind why an artist might go to create a music video a music video, which is often for three main reasons; to tell a story, to show a particular representation of the artist, and to help promote them.
In regards to telling a story, this is known as the narrative of a music video. This story might contain a hidden connotation/ message in it that the artist might want to express, or possibly a personal story from their own experience, or simply just for the sake of entertainment value. An example of this where a story is told through the visuals of a music video is evident with Ed Sheeran A team, where it depicts a story of a girl who is homeless, who attempts to make a living via prostitution, as it shows her story. If the audience was to find the music memorable for the story told, it might make them remember the song better, and take a liking to the artist.
Sometimes artists release music videos to show a different side to them and to change their image and to potentially branch out into a different target audience. This has been evident in the past with such artists as Justin bieber, where the media got a certain image of them, but have wished to change this. With this example, Justin Bieber changed his "innocent" teen image through his music videos in recent years, as he changed music genre and wished to change the target audience which he appealed towards. Therefore, music videos can have a big influence upon an artists image and there following.
Another reason why music videos are made are to promote an artist. This can be achieved in a number of ways, be that making the music artist come across as being down to earth and in a relatable way, or perhaps the complete opposite through making a diverse music video. An example of an artist who has come across in both a down to earth and extraordinary way would be Miley Cyrus; for down to earth that would relate more towards her older music such as the video for best of both worlds, whereas she is shown as being extraordinary in her more recent content. Both types of videos would make the audience find the video entertaining, which makes the artist come across in a positive light and make the video more memorable.
With my group and I's music video, I feel as if we followed the conventions of our chosen music genre, oppose to challenging or developing upon them. This is as the artist is a new artist, therefore people are going to be unfamiliar with the type of music which he creates and what he is like as an individual, therefore I only see it fitting to include a number of genre conventions within the music video to allow the public to identify that the artist creates indie content, and so that the visuals are more likely to be appealing towards the niche target audience at hand.
One common convention of the indie genre which can be seen in the video is that of the artists clothing. He can be seen wearing all black for the entirety of the video. My inspiration from this came from the artist Hoozier, more specifically with the song "take me to church", where all of the characters within the music video can be seen wearing black and other dark colours, as it helped towards creating a dark and eerie atmosphere. I used this for inspiration for my artists clothing as it helped towards creating a sense of hopelessness around his character. For my group and I's music artist, this helps show him as being unhappy and depressed with how things are, and to also show that he represents the indie genre.
My music artist represents the indie genre in a large number of other ways; evident in my music video through the locations my artist is shown going to, the iconography of the guitar which he plays and carries with him, as they are commonly seen conventions from within the genre, and are frequently seen within music videos by my group and I's chosen artist of Jake Bugg.
Another convention of the indie genre which my group and I followed was the use of iconography, specifically a guitar. I was inspired to include this convention by indie artists as a whole and how it is frequently present in indie artists music videos, one particular example being with Jake Buggs music video "what doesn't kill you", as the entirety of the video is the artist playing the guitar. Within my group and I's music video my artist can be seen, adding a performance element to it. The artist can be seen performing in the Liverpool street scenes, and shortly after this in the new playing location at Liverpool street. Performance is an essential element to an indie music video as the audience can see the artist performing the song, allowing them to get more familiar with his image and to get additional exposure of his physical image, as well as clearly showing that he creates indie content. The niche target audience of indie fans would be able to also form a relationship with the artist due to the visuals of him performing by directly towards them, while often showing a direct mode of address alongside the indie conventions present such as everyday relatable locations would make the artist come across in a more down to earth light, so the viewer would be able to relate towards them.
Various other conventions are evident within the music video, another of which being the faded sun filter which my group and I added in after receiving feedback from the rough cut of the video, as one constructive comment was the lack of filters and other forms of editing throughout. The filter was added by going onto final cut pro, going to the drop down section of the filters on the right hand side, and dragging it onto the individual pieces of footage of the time. It can be seen in every shot where the artist is either changing location, or simply where the artist isn't playing, which is every shot apart from the ones seen playing in Liverpool street and the new playing location. The use of this filter was conventional to the indie genre as it helps towards creating a pessimistic and hopeless feeling around the video and the artists situation, which creates the connotation of how the artists playing isn't getting him anywhere and he isn't improving. The target audience would find this appealing as it would make them see him in a sympathetic light, as despite his efforts nothing is changing. Because of this feeling created, the audience might also be able to relate towards the artist and to form a relationship with him due to the down to earth which he is shown, through his struggle emphasized through the connotation created with the filter use. I gathered inspiration to use this filter as it is commonly used within the indie genre, with such artists as Jake Bugg, Arctic monkeys and many others, one example being within the music video for "the song about love" by Jake Bugg, which has similar filter use to create a sense of emotion towards the viewer.
Another convention present within my group and I's music video is that of the artists hair, which is messy and scruffy, which is conventional to the indie genre. I gathered inspiration to portray my artists appearance in this way because of Jake Buggs portrayal in his music videos and with his media portrayal as a whole. The artists hair being scruffy can be seen throughout the entirety of the video, although it can be seen to get even messier come the later end of the video to show the artists downfall even further. This is conventional to the indie genre as it shows his life as being messy and unorganized, and it is connoted as getting gradually worse as his hair gets messier as the visuals progress. This is appealing for the target audience as it shows him in a down to earth and relatable way due to his appearance not being tampered with to create an extraordinary image, and rather an ordinary image which many would be able to relate towards. The viewer may also feel sympathy for him as he is shown as only further worsening his position in life as connoted through his hair getting gradually worse and further renforced through the visuals seen through the narrative of the video, making the viewer feel empathy for the artist.
The use of urban locations is something which is frequently seen within the indie genre, and is evident within my group and I's music video. I gathered inspiration from watching a number of real life indie music videos, one example being from the artist of Bob Dylan, where within his music video of subterranean homesick blues, where an urban location can be seen. I incorporated this into my groups and I's music video, which is evident within both performant segments, as they take place in the urban location of Liverpool street in London. This is conventional to the indie genre as it is a everyday location which many individuals would be familiar with and be able to relate towards, which in turn assisted with showing my artist in a ordinary and relatable light. This enabled for a relationship to be built between my artist and audience because of the use of the urban everyday locations, which are visuals people would be able to relate towards and fans of the indie genre would find appealing as they are familiar visuals.
The last convention that I included within my music video is that the narrative structure of the video is conventional to the indie genre and follows indie like themes and messages seen throughout the entirety of it. I gathered inspiration for the narrative of the music video by watching the music video of Two Fingers by Jake Bugg, where the music video follows a depressing personal story of the artist relating towards some hardships he's experienced in his life and some family issues he encounters. I applied this to my groups music video also by creating a depressing ton around the music video as the artist is shown in such a beaten down and unfortunate way, as the end of the video results in the artist having no money, and his music career not going anywhere. Various dark/ depressing connotations can be seen throughout the music video, another being a theme of the difficulties getting into the music industry, as evident with the artists lack of progression seen in the performance scenes when in Liverpool street and the new playing location. A depressing narrative is conventional to the indie genre, and is appealing towards the target audience as it shows my group and I's artist in a sympathetic light, and as he is shown as being an ordinary and down to earth person the audience is likely to sympathise with them because of this.
Overall, I followed genre conventions so that the niche target audience of fans of the indie genre could relate towards the visuals seen within the music video, and in turn making the artist come across in a more appealing light towards the right group of people. This is as the audience would be able to relate towards the indie conventions and visuals seen, one strong element to this being the everyday environments seen, as well as being able to feel sympathetic of the artist through his down to earth portrayal through the use of conventions.
There are a number of purposes behind why an artist might go to create a music video a music video, which is often for three main reasons; to tell a story, to show a particular representation of the artist, and to help promote them.
In regards to telling a story, this is known as the narrative of a music video. This story might contain a hidden connotation/ message in it that the artist might want to express, or possibly a personal story from their own experience, or simply just for the sake of entertainment value. An example of this where a story is told through the visuals of a music video is evident with Ed Sheeran A team, where it depicts a story of a girl who is homeless, who attempts to make a living via prostitution, as it shows her story. If the audience was to find the music memorable for the story told, it might make them remember the song better, and take a liking to the artist.
Sometimes artists release music videos to show a different side to them and to change their image and to potentially branch out into a different target audience. This has been evident in the past with such artists as Justin bieber, where the media got a certain image of them, but have wished to change this. With this example, Justin Bieber changed his "innocent" teen image through his music videos in recent years, as he changed music genre and wished to change the target audience which he appealed towards. Therefore, music videos can have a big influence upon an artists image and there following.
Another reason why music videos are made are to promote an artist. This can be achieved in a number of ways, be that making the music artist come across as being down to earth and in a relatable way, or perhaps the complete opposite through making a diverse music video. An example of an artist who has come across in both a down to earth and extraordinary way would be Miley Cyrus; for down to earth that would relate more towards her older music such as the video for best of both worlds, whereas she is shown as being extraordinary in her more recent content. Both types of videos would make the audience find the video entertaining, which makes the artist come across in a positive light and make the video more memorable.
With my group and I's music video, I feel as if we followed the conventions of our chosen music genre, oppose to challenging or developing upon them. This is as the artist is a new artist, therefore people are going to be unfamiliar with the type of music which he creates and what he is like as an individual, therefore I only see it fitting to include a number of genre conventions within the music video to allow the public to identify that the artist creates indie content, and so that the visuals are more likely to be appealing towards the niche target audience at hand.
One common convention of the indie genre which can be seen in the video is that of the artists clothing. He can be seen wearing all black for the entirety of the video. My inspiration from this came from the artist Hoozier, more specifically with the song "take me to church", where all of the characters within the music video can be seen wearing black and other dark colours, as it helped towards creating a dark and eerie atmosphere. I used this for inspiration for my artists clothing as it helped towards creating a sense of hopelessness around his character. For my group and I's music artist, this helps show him as being unhappy and depressed with how things are, and to also show that he represents the indie genre.My music artist represents the indie genre in a large number of other ways; evident in my music video through the locations my artist is shown going to, the iconography of the guitar which he plays and carries with him, as they are commonly seen conventions from within the genre, and are frequently seen within music videos by my group and I's chosen artist of Jake Bugg.
Another convention of the indie genre which my group and I followed was the use of iconography, specifically a guitar. I was inspired to include this convention by indie artists as a whole and how it is frequently present in indie artists music videos, one particular example being with Jake Buggs music video "what doesn't kill you", as the entirety of the video is the artist playing the guitar. Within my group and I's music video my artist can be seen, adding a performance element to it. The artist can be seen performing in the Liverpool street scenes, and shortly after this in the new playing location at Liverpool street. Performance is an essential element to an indie music video as the audience can see the artist performing the song, allowing them to get more familiar with his image and to get additional exposure of his physical image, as well as clearly showing that he creates indie content. The niche target audience of indie fans would be able to also form a relationship with the artist due to the visuals of him performing by directly towards them, while often showing a direct mode of address alongside the indie conventions present such as everyday relatable locations would make the artist come across in a more down to earth light, so the viewer would be able to relate towards them.Various other conventions are evident within the music video, another of which being the faded sun filter which my group and I added in after receiving feedback from the rough cut of the video, as one constructive comment was the lack of filters and other forms of editing throughout. The filter was added by going onto final cut pro, going to the drop down section of the filters on the right hand side, and dragging it onto the individual pieces of footage of the time. It can be seen in every shot where the artist is either changing location, or simply where the artist isn't playing, which is every shot apart from the ones seen playing in Liverpool street and the new playing location. The use of this filter was conventional to the indie genre as it helps towards creating a pessimistic and hopeless feeling around the video and the artists situation, which creates the connotation of how the artists playing isn't getting him anywhere and he isn't improving. The target audience would find this appealing as it would make them see him in a sympathetic light, as despite his efforts nothing is changing. Because of this feeling created, the audience might also be able to relate towards the artist and to form a relationship with him due to the down to earth which he is shown, through his struggle emphasized through the connotation created with the filter use. I gathered inspiration to use this filter as it is commonly used within the indie genre, with such artists as Jake Bugg, Arctic monkeys and many others, one example being within the music video for "the song about love" by Jake Bugg, which has similar filter use to create a sense of emotion towards the viewer.
Another convention present within my group and I's music video is that of the artists hair, which is messy and scruffy, which is conventional to the indie genre. I gathered inspiration to portray my artists appearance in this way because of Jake Buggs portrayal in his music videos and with his media portrayal as a whole. The artists hair being scruffy can be seen throughout the entirety of the video, although it can be seen to get even messier come the later end of the video to show the artists downfall even further. This is conventional to the indie genre as it shows his life as being messy and unorganized, and it is connoted as getting gradually worse as his hair gets messier as the visuals progress. This is appealing for the target audience as it shows him in a down to earth and relatable way due to his appearance not being tampered with to create an extraordinary image, and rather an ordinary image which many would be able to relate towards. The viewer may also feel sympathy for him as he is shown as only further worsening his position in life as connoted through his hair getting gradually worse and further renforced through the visuals seen through the narrative of the video, making the viewer feel empathy for the artist.
The use of urban locations is something which is frequently seen within the indie genre, and is evident within my group and I's music video. I gathered inspiration from watching a number of real life indie music videos, one example being from the artist of Bob Dylan, where within his music video of subterranean homesick blues, where an urban location can be seen. I incorporated this into my groups and I's music video, which is evident within both performant segments, as they take place in the urban location of Liverpool street in London. This is conventional to the indie genre as it is a everyday location which many individuals would be familiar with and be able to relate towards, which in turn assisted with showing my artist in a ordinary and relatable light. This enabled for a relationship to be built between my artist and audience because of the use of the urban everyday locations, which are visuals people would be able to relate towards and fans of the indie genre would find appealing as they are familiar visuals.
The last convention that I included within my music video is that the narrative structure of the video is conventional to the indie genre and follows indie like themes and messages seen throughout the entirety of it. I gathered inspiration for the narrative of the music video by watching the music video of Two Fingers by Jake Bugg, where the music video follows a depressing personal story of the artist relating towards some hardships he's experienced in his life and some family issues he encounters. I applied this to my groups music video also by creating a depressing ton around the music video as the artist is shown in such a beaten down and unfortunate way, as the end of the video results in the artist having no money, and his music career not going anywhere. Various dark/ depressing connotations can be seen throughout the music video, another being a theme of the difficulties getting into the music industry, as evident with the artists lack of progression seen in the performance scenes when in Liverpool street and the new playing location. A depressing narrative is conventional to the indie genre, and is appealing towards the target audience as it shows my group and I's artist in a sympathetic light, and as he is shown as being an ordinary and down to earth person the audience is likely to sympathise with them because of this.Overall, I followed genre conventions so that the niche target audience of fans of the indie genre could relate towards the visuals seen within the music video, and in turn making the artist come across in a more appealing light towards the right group of people. This is as the audience would be able to relate towards the indie conventions and visuals seen, one strong element to this being the everyday environments seen, as well as being able to feel sympathetic of the artist through his down to earth portrayal through the use of conventions.
Wednesday 6 January 2016
Miss Georgiou - Rough cut
Audience feedback is very important for a production. This is as it allows for both positive and constructive comments to be made upon the work, so further changes can be made to improve the final version. This is why a rough cut is so essential to carry out, as if something in particular is said to be a serious flaw of the production for example, through the feedback given from viewers this can be changed, helping towards improving the final quality of the production.
We received feedback from our target audience via a number of different ways. The main one coming from the rough cut of the music video, which I uploaded to youtube, where people that watched it could leave comments on the production. As a group, we also showed the music video to classmates, friends and family, asking for any positive or constructive comments they could provide us with. Before publishing the rough cut onto youtube, as a class we showed each other everyones videos in little focus groups, where we got the chance to comment upon each others work.
This feedback benefited my production in a number of ways. It helped towards getting myself gaining a more up to date insight into what the target audience liked and disliked about the production, allowing for final amendments to be made before the release of the final version. With my group and I's production, since receiving feedback we have made a number of significant changes to the production which we believe will help towards making it more appealing for the target audience, which we wouldn't have even considered if any feedback wasn't given. Overall, I believe all the feedback my group and I have received has helped towards creating a better production, and one which is further suited towards the target audience we had in mind. As an industry as a whole, giving feedback to music video productions is important for this reason. A filmmakers objective will be to produce a video which is appealing towards their target audience, therefore receiving feedback from them and following this in theory should result in a happy audience and more popularity and sales, and improving the quality of music videos and what people want as a whole.
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| An example of one of the comments left on social media (youtube), on my group and I's rough cut |
One positive comment we received was that the narrative was used well, and that number of different locations were present in the production. I think this was a fair comment to make, and that as I group we tried to incorporate a number of different locations which we deemed suitable for an indie music video and audience, to provide with a diverse viewing experience which we believed was done successfully.
Another positive comment my group and I received was that the portrayal of the artist was clearly evident, and that the position of struggle which he is shown as being in can be seen. I believe that my group and I did make this portrayal clear through the use of micro elements and the narrative, through the changing locations and the events which happen within the video, such as when the artist can't pay for the cab, signalling that he has reached rock bottom.
The next positive comment my group and I received was that throughout the music video, a large diversity of shots was used. Although the quality of the shots wasn't always great due to issues with the cameras focus, I do believe that the choice of shots throughout the music video were good, and helped towards showing the portrayal of the artist clearly, as well as providing with a diverse viewing experience which was engaging.
One constructive comment we received was that more filters could have been added, to make the music video look more professional and look similar to real media indie videos. I agree with this comment, and since posting the rough cut a number of changes have been made to the updated version, adding in various filters during the entirety of the video.
Another constructive comment we received on the rough cut was that some shots were filmed out of focus, and were blurry and unclear to see. My group and I appreciated this after looking back over raw footage when constructing the foundations of the music video, and is a very valid point. Going back to re film certain shots wasn't possible due to location restrictions (one example being as Liverpool street isn't close by), and as half of the shots were in focus and the other half weren't, we have worked around this and found a way to make the visuals more consistently clearer throughout the entirety of the music video.
The next constructive comment we received was that the role of certain characters and the narrative as a whole was a bit unclear, more specifically that the role of the "successful artist" who can be seen signing autographs and celebrating his success. I do agree with this comment as regardless that those things can be seen, it is clear that he is a successful individual, yet there is no clear indication that he has a relation with the music industry, or that he is a music artist. My group and I appreciated this comment after receiving it, although when going to re film some of these parts, we couldn't find a logical way which would match the previous shots we had filmed to show that he was a music artist, as we couldn't have him holding a guitar for example as it wouldn't be in any of the other shots. This was frustrating as I still believe making this representation clearer would have improved our production for the better, yet no other alternatives could be found.
In regards to the first constructive comment referring to the lack of filters, since receiving this feedback a number of changes have been made to the up to date production. This can be seen throughout the update to date production, where the "faded sun" preset filter on final cut pro has been added during any point where our artist isn't performing. We done this for the sake of making the production look more professional, and while doing so linking it towards the themes and connotations of the music video, as the filter itself has both an optimistic with changing his life for the better, and also a pessimistic vibe towards it, which shows how the artist is gradually losing hope with the lack of success he has throughout the music video.
In regards to the second constructive comment, we worked around the out of the focus shots through the use of a filter on final cut pro. The filter "focus" was used to focus the attention of the visuals to a small part of the shot, and while doing so blurring out the unselected sections. From doing this I believe the production looks more profession to the rough cut, and through the feedback given has enable my group and I to improve an important aspect of the video, as the visuals look more consistently in focus in the up to date version of the music video.
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