Planning The Layout Of The CD Cover And Digipack #1

As I was up to date with my case-studies I had some time inclass today to start thinking about the layout and presentation of the digipackand the advert. I have considered what type of images I should use and thefonts and layouts of the text.

I have decided that I need to use the logo of the band atsome stage of the production of the digipack as I have learned from my casestudies that it is a conventional feature of the work of this band.

At the back they often put the list of songs that arefeatured in the album, therefore I thought that I could choose a number oftheir songs and put them in a list along with the song that I made a video for,I have also noticed that they tend to have symbols that relate to the songs inthe album on the cover rather than photographs of the artists, therefore Ibelieve I should focus on that.

I have decided that I need to focus on a different song fromthe list as my focus point as I thought that if I focus on my song it wouldcreate too much emphasis on it and that is not something that can be seen inany of their albums.

These are some of the images I looked at for inspiration:

Case Studies (CD, digipack, magazine advert) #9

I have chosen this advert to be a part of my research for the CD pack because it is of the same genre of our song. The font is quite plane which is conventional in this stye of music adverts. It is maintained throughout the page, the only aspect that changes is the size of the font, which I think adds a sense of consistency to the advert and is something that I will need to look very closely at when making one for my own album. the font is white- it is done to maintain the style of the advert which is black&white and the white font also contrasts with the dark background which reinforces the fact that the text is the focus point.
The main parts of the information are written in a large font whereas information which is not as significant but still has to be in the advert is placed at the bottom of the page in white small font. I will try and adapt this technique for my own magazine advert.
The image itself is a full-body shot of the whole band which connotes equality and unity in the band. I like the shot type that is used and will consider using it in my own advert, but I will not incude the whole band because I believe that it should be based on the video we have produced previously and it will therefore only make sense to make it so ony the main singer is in the shot. The artists are all dressed up in clothes reevant and conventioal to the genre which I think is also very usefull in this particular image because it adds to the overal feel of the advert and the message that was intended to be sent, which the reader of the magazine will use as a tool in constructing their initial reaction an opinion of the band as well as the album itself. 

Case Studies (CD, digipack, magazine advert) #8

I have chose this advert as a part of my research into similar products because the genre is the same as our video. The photograph chosen was well thought through because it features a close-up of the artist which adds a personal touch.The photograph itelf Also, it is a clever image composition because it allowed editors to layout the information without interfiering with the face of the artist as only the background is used for that. I will use this technique for my own advert. The fonts used are different for each part of the information which adds character of the band ton the advert. The name of the band is written in the most bold largest font which makes it a focus point. The title of the album is written in a font that was intended to translate some of the mood and emotion of the song and abum to the advert. Lower quartile of the page contains information about the new single and the album, all written in the same font but colours are switched between white and red to connote different sections and make it easy for the reader to folllow. All of the colours that dominate in this page follow with the colour scheme of the album cover which is placed at the bottom of the advert. I will consider incuding the album cover into my own advert.

Case Studies (CD, digipack, magazine advert) #7

I chose this magazine advert as a part of my research for the CD package because of the similarity in genre and the unusual layout of this advert which makes it very useful for my market research.
The image used is symbolical to the genre which is a key factor which I might consider using in my own advert, using a symbol relating to the song to illustrate it, rather than just using the image of the artist. I believe it was done in this case in order to distiguish thuis advert and make it loook unique, which contributes to generating fan interest.
The colour scheme is dark, contrasted with the white font throughout the page, which makes the text focus point of the page, while all other aspects also play a role in creting and transfering the atmosphere of the actual album.

 

Case Studies (CD, digipack, magazine advert) #6

This image was used in a rock magazine for an article about one of their albums. As it is a high angle long shot it makes an impression of power and importance of the band members. It was shot outside as the sky is used as the background, but rather then leaving it in its natural state it was edited via Photoshop to make it darker and more pronounced. Costumes that the artists wear in this image is also conventional as they dress similarly in all the shoots that they appear all together.



Case Studies (CD, digipack, magazine advert) #5

This is a typical photograph used for the adverts in magazines. Differently from the album covers there is also the photographs of the artists rather then symbols. In this particular shot a rough location is used to connote the general style of the band, it is used so that people who don't know about the band would form an initial opinion which then should lead to further interest. The fact that it is a medium shot allows all the members be in shot and seem equal. They are also all wearing similar, dark costumes which are conventional and also used to reinforce the style of the band.



Case Studies (CD, digipack, magazine advert) #4

This is one of the earlier albums of this band. It can be noticed by the layout as after this one over the years their style has changed.
There is a large logo of the band positioned in the upper quarter of the page and the title has been placed at the bottom in a very small plane font.
Background chosen is a photograph of peaceful landscape, which has been made darker to achieve low mood atmosphere which is then reinforced by the songs and choosing this image appeals to the viewer as they build up the expectations and form an initial opinion of it just by looking at the cover.




This is the back cover of this album where the logo appears at the top of the page followed by the list of songs positioned in the centre and the direction of text is also central.
The font used is the same as the one used for the title on the cover which makes it look coherent and consistent.
The image that was used for background is brighter then the one on the cover, while still being of similar style.





Case Studies (CD, digipack, magazine advert) #3

This is a CD cover of one of the more recent albums of this band. Straight away it is clear that the focus point is the rose in the centre. It was emphasized further by illuminating it to make it look as if it glows which is a very nice idea and helps with the feel that is created.

The rose has been edited via Photoshop to modify it so that it looks more symmetrical and angular which contributes further to the atmosphere. Due to it being related to one of the songs directly it generates additional interest in the album.

The text is positioned at the top of the page and it has been made small to draw the attention away from it and focus on the object.

This is the back of the CD which has all key information smartly laid out in the space available. There is a list of songs, videos and the behind the scenes footage of filming one of the videos.

Font is the same through out the page, however, the colours change as the page is split in two unequal parts where the bright side has a list of songs and the font is dark, at the top of this part there is also the logo of the band which appears on all their albums the only thing that differs is its position, and the other - dark side has bright almost white font which displays all the marketing information, copyrights and the barcode.

I believe that it is a very intelligent layout as every element appears to have its own designated space and is there for a reason, all the space has been used so there is minimal unused blank space which I think I will need to focus on when making my own version of the digipack.

 

Music Video Feedback In Class

Today we have showed our music video in class to get some feedback. We received some positive response on narrative, costumes and locations, however, it was noted that our lip-synch was not 100% clear in places.
We got praised on the transitions, colours, layering techniques and other effects we used as it connoted the genre well. However, I consider the lip-synch one of the more serious problems as I agree with the fact that it should have been emphesized more.
Overall, I think it has been useful to hear different opinions and view points on our video. I was also glad to know that we made a conventional video that looked quite genuine.
Audiences appeared to particularly like the girl we used in the video as they identified her to have the right look and acted convincingly too.

Our Music Video

Case Studies (CD, digipack, magazine advert) #2

 

 

This advert uses a lot of assumed knowledge as there are no photographs of the artists it is assumed that the viewer will make a connection between the symbol and the artist, as it relates to the image of the vocalist of the band as he often wears feather in his hair when appearing in the videos It is all light with the contrast of dark colours which is quite common feature of many adverts by this band. The positioning of the object on the page is very central which makes it a focus point and emphasizes its importance for the mood of the image. Text is positioned at the bottom of the page to connote that it is not the most important aspect of this advert. However, I believe that it is much easier to relate to this advert only after you have heard the song therefore it reduces the power of advertisement as it is only relevant to the people who watched the video, instead of appealing to a wide range of audiences and attract new people.

At the top of the page there is a logo that appears in all of their adverts. It is important because the viewer can instantly relate the font to the band and therefore a greater effect is achieved rather than if they have put their name in just plane font.

The back cover has a big logo of the band located in the centre, the transparency has been decreased so that it serves as a background for the copyright information which is written in small dark font and also positioned in the centre. The main aspect that stands out to me about this back cover is that the focus point is not the copyright information but the names of band members which are written in bold and positioned at the top of the page.                           

Editing Finally Finished!

Today we have FINALLY completed our music video. I have went through it a couple more times to make sure I was happy with it, and adjusted colour balance in places, video will be uploaded on Monday as today it needed to be exported and also I didn't have a USB stick to put it on. On Monday we will also be doing screanings of our videos to our group to get feedback.

Editing #8

Today I have used extra time at lunch to contunue with editing of my video. I have almost finished but still have about 1minute to sort ou which I will do tomorrow.
I have added effects like colour adjustments and speed adjustments in places to make it flow better in the overall video.

Editing #7

Today was quite a successful day. I have made good progress in editing, got through more then half of the video, pieced together clips, added transitions, adjusted colours and worked on continuity, while doing that I kept an eye on continuity and making sure the story line makes sense. I have worked extra apart from the main lesson today because I need any time I can get because we are a little bit behind everyone else in our class due to finishing filming late, however, today gave me extra sense of confidence that we will finish our video on time because we have made some extra bookings for the editing suite outside of class time to get it done.

Editing #6

Today, we have made some great progress in editing our music video. We have added transitions, adjusted colours and fixed the lip-synch for the first minute of our video. We have also reduced speed of the clips in places as we decided that it makes more sense with the pace of our song being quite slow as well. Overall, I believe that we are well on track to finishing our music video by the end of this week.

Editing #5

Today we finally transferred all the necessary footage onto a Mac and started putting together our music video. We got through around 30 seconds of the video: made it black&white, slowed the pace down as we decided that this way it looks better with the genre of music. Also we have started adding transitions in between the shot types. I believe that we made good progress and will be able to finish our music video by the end of this week

Filming FINALLY Finished!!!!

Today was a great day: we have organized the actors, locations, props and everything and got all our filming done. We had to re-shoot some of the scenes a couple of times to make sure we were completely happy with it but on the whole I believe it went quite well.
Due to the lack of time we had to re-think the idea with the cafe as we were working towards a tight schedule, therefore we decided not to film it and compensate that with an extra scene in the park.
Our actors were amazing: listened and obeyed by what we told them to do, worked efficiently and shown some fantastic acting skills even know none of them are actually studying acting.
I got to be in a part of it as well as when the scene with friends came up we decided that we need more people, therefore it was good that I was prepared as we planned that I would be in the video if the other girl could not come.
As we are really late with this assignment we will work really hard to get all the editing finished in the coming week, I feel that we are really lucky to have such understanding teacher who extended the deadline for us as we had issues with our actors from the start.

Planning The Filming #4

Today we have finally organised everything we need to finish filming our music video: actors, locations and equipment. Therefore, I hope that after numerous times if organising, cancelling and looking for new actors we will finally get it all done.

Editing #4

Yesterday, I started looking at effects on the editing software. It was not hard to make sense of the features, and I got on well. I hope to finish the adding of the effects today or tomorrow.

Case studies (CD, digipack, magazine advert) #1

This band tends to release covers for each of their songs according to the music videos. Each has elements that could be recognised by the viewer and linked to the video. In this particular advert photographs are used of all the band members wearing the same costumes as in the video. I believe that it is very important to make these connections as it creates certain mental associations for the viewers, also having photographs on the advert may serve as an incentive for viewers to listen to the song even if they have trouble remembering the name of the band after seeing this advert they will be able to identify it.

Close-up shots are used in all four cases however the composition of the shot is different every time. Using this type of shot is important as it makes a greater connection with the viewer and they are more likely to listen to the song after seeing this advert, therefore it helps to get the music out there on the market, also as it is more recent song by this band and they have an established fan base around the world it also serves as a treat to fans.

Location of where the photographs were taken is also very important in my opinion. It has been done in the studio against white backdrop which not only links to the video but lightens the mood as well. Also, professional environment enables appropriate lighting setup with numerous soft-boxes. All of the pictures used are taken in high key lighting conditions therefore aces are evenly lit in all four cases.
The font of the band title is adapted to the images in the advert to create the same look and make the advert more coherent.

 

Editing #3

Today we have completed putting the footage we have so far on the timeline. We will be adding effects onto our video as soon as we have all the footage we need. We will be filming the rest tomorrow and Saturday.

Editing #2

Today we have started looking through our footage and putting it on the timeline. We have cut down parts that were irrelevant for example some of the clips had some space at the beginning before the guy starts singing, this is because during the filming I always pressed the record button a few seconds prior to the action to make sure we have the right shots, it's framed well and that we haven't missed anything out.
Overall, I think the second day of editing went well and we made good progress, also we decided that we will be adding effects to our video only after it is all there and we have checked through the continuity to avoid any mistakes.

Editing #1

Today I have started editing footage I have so far for my music video. I have transferred it onto a MAC and started a new project on Final Cut Pro. I have also downloaded a clean version of my song because before I only had it on my iPod and it needed to be in mp3 format in order to use it on this software.

I have also put the song on the timeline and rendered it to be able to start editing. I have started to look through the footage and adding it onto the timeline as well.

Change Of Plans

We have planned to film the next part of our video today, however, due to some of our actors being busy we could not do it. Therefore, we will be filming all the remaining parts for our video on Saturday, because it is certain that the whole crew required for filming will be available then. It is also good because then if we film everything in one day then that ensures that the continuity is maintained. I believe that we will get all the filming done over the weekend and will be able to start editing on Monday

Filming Production Schedule #2

Thursday 15th November: 

Location: Cafe Leyton E10
Contacts: Irena Karbauskaite 07563475423, Sana Kausar 07427501128, Owais Ahmed 07586619399
Transport: walk to the location from college
Equipment: HD camera, spare battery, tripod
Props: casual clothes, coffee, mobile phone, newspaper
Times: meet in college at 3:00, walk to the cafe (approximately 5min.) start filming 3:15 to allow time for hair and make-up, expect to finish filming at 5:30 

weather forecast for tomorrow:

Filming #2

Today we have filmed the chorus part of our music video. We have filmed it in parts so that the actor is comfortable with the lyrics. We asked a technician for some help with the light setup. We have got the footage we needed and the actor did a good job of filling the role. We have used close-ups all the way through to make the facial expressions of the actor the focus point. On a whole I believe that this filming session went well and tomorrow we will be able to start editing.
The actor was dressed according to the style of music and that was lucky because due to some last minute difficulties we had to find a new actor and we did not have time to brief him in on the appearance suitable for the video. He learned the lyrics quickly which was helpful so that we had more time to focus on the filming, it was important as we only had the studio booked for one hour.
Overall, I believe that this filming session went much better than our first attempt because we were more organized with the camera and the light setup, as well as the actor was prepared to work hard and followed our instructions.

Filming on Location

Today we have discussed our plans for today's filming. As we have booked the studio for 3pm and it will take us a while to film until we are happy with the result, we have realized that it will get too dark outside. Therefore we have decided to film the park scenes another day.
We will still be filming the studio scenes today as planned.

Filming Production Schedule #1

Tuesday 13th November 2012

Location: TV Studio, Park
Contacts: Irena Karbauskaite 07563475423, Sana Kausar 07427501128
Crew: Owais Ahmed and Irena Karbauskaite
Transport: walk ton the studio, then take bus 257 towards Stratford to the park
Equipment: HD camera, tripod, artificial lights and soft boxes for the studio.
Props: casual clothes, microphone.
Call times: 15:00-studio filming the lip - synch of the chorus 16:00-park filming the flashbacks for the first 20sec of the video.  


I have also thouhjt that because we will be filming outside tomorrow it is very important to keep up-to-date with the weather.

 

Changes To Filming Schedule

We have encountered a problem with our filming. It turned out that this is the week when all the Performing Arts students have a major event on, which means that they are all busy throughout this week.
It is a major project for them and they will be working on it every day 9:00-18:00, therefore, we are unable to get any filming done this week.
We have spoken to our teacher and she allowed us to finish our production next week because it is then when our actors will be available. 
We have cancelled our studio booking and will transfer it to a day next week.

Planning The Filming #3

Today we have discussed the filming schedule. We have agreed to film to two major parts of the video tomorrow. I have booked the TV Studio for the first part, then the second will be filmed on location-park near the college. This is the first part where I will be acting as well. Other person in my group will be filming the park scenes, and I will take care of the studio part. We have asked a friend of ours for help with hair and make-up. All of the filming should take approximately 2-2,5 hours. We expect to finish at around 5pm.
I have booked a camera and a tripod to take with us for the location filming and agreed to return it the following day. It has become much stricter now as it is the last week and many people require cameras for filming. This means that we must be extremely well organized and plan our schedule well in advance.

Evaluation Of Filming (#1)

Yesterday we had our first filming session, the crew turned up on time, I had a bit of help setting up lights, I gave the actor a couple of minutes to prepare and then we started filming. My other team member took control of the camera while I was in charge of playing the song so that it is easier for the actor to lip-synch correctly. However when I showed the footage to the teacher this morning we realized that none of it could be used as the camera kept moving and zooming in and out, she told me that it must be re-done from scratch, preferably all the way through three times - close-up, medium and long shots so that later we have enough footage to choose from in editing. I will try to organise something this week but if not then it will have to all be done at ultra-speed after half-term.

Pre-Production Evaluation

This is a presentation I have made reflecting on the text based work done so far. I have talked about each stage separately and reflected on them.
I have chosen this software because I found that it enables me to make a PowerPoint style presentation completely online and it has some very interesting features to adjust the appearance of the presentation.

Production Team Meeting

We have met-up today and discussed our progress so far. We have decided that I will be taking on the female role of the video. we will have our first filming session in the outside location where I will be involved. we have aggreed that i need to wear a casual dress or a skirt, heals and a dress-shirt.
We have enlisted help with a hair and make-up person who will help us prepare for tomorrow.

Filming #1

Today we have filmed the chorus part of our music video in the TV studio. I have enlisted help of one technician on light and camera setup. We have run through the whole recording a few times to make sure we are happy with the result. We have mostly filmed in close-up to emphasise the emotions on character's face. The footage will be repeated in the video when the lyrics repeat.

Planning The Filming #2

Today I have met with my main actor to discus when we can film the chorus part of the song for the video. We have agreed to film tomorrow, I have also booked the TV studio and asked technician to help me with light setup.
We have planned to have a black-back-drop with 1 actor lip-synching to create a contrast from the main narrative idea which is going to have more actors involved and will be filmed in different locations.

Crew Meeting

Today we have organised a full crew meeting with all the actors. However, even know all of them knew the date and time of the meeting, and the fact that it is important to attend it because we were planning to talk through our plans, filming schedule, get them to sign a talent release forms and give out the lyrics, but none of the actors turned up. We now have to find new people, especially male actors as we have reserved the TV studio for tomorrow to film the chorus part of our video.

Camera Workshop

Today we had our first hands-on camera workshop. We were taught how to use many different camera settings as many of us including me have very little or no experience of working with a camera before. We were showed how to adjust brightness, how to use manual focus, depth of field and were generally given some useful tips on how to use the camera efficiently and get the best results. We were then given time to practice some of the techniques ourselves. We were split into groups and given an HD camera to practice on. It was a lot like the one in the picture below.

I have found this workshop extremely useful and enjoyable as it will make filming our music video much easier as I wont be facing as many technical issues as I believe I would have encountered without this workshop.

Recce (TV studio)

This is the reconnaissance for the TV studio in Leyton Sixth Form College. There are numerous electrical power sources available as well as enough space for camera placed on a tripod and a couple of artificial lights. There is a black wall which we plan to use as our background to create the right mood. It is useful for us to film in a studio as our first session in order to gain more confidence with the camera before filming in other locations where there won't be anyone on hand to help us out. We have asked a technician to help us to set-up lights and position the camera correctly on the day.
I have booked the studio in advance to make sure we have enough time to film and that it is available when we need it.

Location Release Form (Flat)

Risk Assessment (cafe)

 

Risk Assessment (Flat)

 

There are not a lot of risks involved because it is a safe, residential area. However I have identified 1 risk.

 

 

Recce (flat)

 

This is the corridor that will be used for filming the characters getting out of the flat and walking towards the lift. It is quite narrow but there is sufficient amount of space for two people to walk together and position the camera and the tripod comfortably as well. The camera will have to be fully charged as there are no power sockets available in the corridor.

This is the lift that we will use for the two characters (couple to get down-stairs). There is quite a lot of space near the lift to position the camera and capture a few shot reverse-shots of them. The lift itself is quite adequate size and the two characters will be filmed comfortably. There will have to be a camera operator in the lift with characters so it is vital to be careful while filming as there is a mirror on one side of the lift, therefore we will have to make sure that only the characters are in shot.

 

These are the stairs that will be used by the main male character to get downstairs when he decides to follow the other two characters. This will have to be filmed in stages as we will need to show him walking down the stairs but in order to not make it too long we will use editing to progress the story. There is more than enough space to position the camera and the actor. camera will be moved a couple of times to capture the actor in different stages.

 

 

All three characters will end up downstairs. The couple will be filmed getting out of the lift, and the main character will be captured lying of the floor. Then there will mainly be close-ups of the girl and the boy shot-reverse-shot to show the changing emotions. There are power-sockets available for the camera, but it will still mostly work on the battery charged before-hand.

 

 

 

 

Story-Board #4

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At the beggining after the close-up of hands we will have a shot reverse shot of the 2 characters.

 

After the two-shot of friends show them both individually in close-up, cut to the main boy a couple of time to emphesize the importance of his reaction.

 

At the start show a two-shot of the couple at the table, then cut to the close-up of the guy watching them. Shot reverse shot of he guy and the girl to show the contrast of their reaction.

 

at the end shot reverse  shot of the guy on the floor and the girl crying.

 

 

 

Pre - Production Documents

This was the last week to give in all the pre-production documents. We have completed all the work, except for the actors talent release forms, we have arranged a full crew meeting tomorrow at lunch time when we will get the actors to sign the forms as well as talk to them about what we expect from them. We will also give out the lyrics of the song so that they have time to learn them before we start filming on Friday.

Planning The Filming #1

Today, we have discussed all the actors that have auditioned for us on Friday. We have decided who we want to appear in our music video and wrote them an email saying what we want them to do next and what our plans are.

We have also realized that for our video to look professional we have to consider ethnic groups that will be represented in it. We came to a conclusion that in order to make the video conventional and consistent, if we to use a white male actor as a main character then we have to maintain the theme and use a female actor that belongs to the same or similar ethnic group.

As there was no one that would fall under that description out of the people that auditioned we have decided that I should be the one who does it.

We have agreed that I would think about it until Wednesday and do it if we are not able to find anyone until Friday.

Editing Workshop

Over the past week, we have spent two lessons learning to work with Final cut Pro - a piece of software for editing videos.
We were given a series of rough cut videos and were asked to edit them together, as well as add music, special effects and transitions.

I found it interesting as I was able to see how the video comes together, furthermore, these skills will be very useful when we have to edit our own video, this exercise also gave me a little more practice of working on a MAC computer as it quite a bit different from Windows and takes some getting use to. It is good because when we will be editing our own video there will not be a lot of time to waste.

Auditions #2

Today, we have organised another audition session to make sure we have enough people, and to be able to choose the right people for the roles. We will make the final decitions on Monday and contact the actors. We also need to agree as a group on days and times that we are all available to film the video, and to make sure the locations are acailable as well.

Story-Board #3

Today we have continued work on the storyboard, and have almost finished.
We have also agreed that it would be easier to understand and make sense of our narrative if our characters would have names.

Story-Board #2

On Thursday we have continued working on the storyboard and have made a lot of progress. I have noticed also that with a storyboard it is easier to visualise the action. We will mainly focus on the facial expressions, using it to create an atmosphere for the video. The mood will be quite sad, which will be supported by lighting, gestures, camera angles and acting. With our potential actors in mind I was able to think more chronologically correctly about the camera shots required to achieve what we set out to which is to illustrate the fantastic and imaginative lyrics of the song.

Auditions #1

Yesturday, we held auditions to get actors for our music video. Not many people turned up, but the ones that did were asked to show us different facial expressions as it is the focus point of our narrative idea. After we explained what the song is and what the narrative idea is going to be, the ones that were interested signed up, by leaving their names and contact details. As there is still time, we decided that we will do another audition next week so that we have enough actors for our narrative and also to enable us to have a choice and pick the right people for the roles.

Pre - Production

Today, we have made a poster to announce the auditions for our music video. We have decided that this is the best way to find enough actors for our video. We plan to complete all the auditions in one day and have a complete set of actors chosen by the end of the week, so that we can start working on the next stage, like preparing release and risk assessment forms.

 

We have also started work on our storyboard today. We have planned the first 20seconds of our music video.

Team meeting

Today we have decided that we need to produce a poster to audition the people for our video. We have also decided that we wil meet every Tuesday lunchtime to plan our group work. We agreed that we will do the storyboard together

Treatment

Introduction:

For our coursework we chose a song called Heavy by the Rasmus. This video will have a narrative but will also have some performance elements (chorus). This video will directly illustrate the lyrics of the song. Video will be 4:02 minutes long.

The Narrative:

The video starts by series of close-up shots of a happy teenage couple who are in love. Consequently after the first 10 seconds the scene is jump cut to them arguing and breaking up to progress the narrative.
After the break up the girl quickly moves on with her life but the boy can't come to terms with the idea and starts following the girl around. He sees her with her new boyfriend and understands that they are happy together and that she has let go of the memories about him. He falls into deep depression and becomes even more obsessed about the girl.
One day when he follows the girl around with her boyfriend, they go into town centre with extremely busy roads and decide to cross the road to go to the cafe which is on the other side. The boy follows them and doesn't notice the traffic light switch to red. He ends up diying in the car crash.
The girl turns around, as she heard the noise of the breaks of the car trying to stop, and sees the boy lying on the ground breathless and realizes that he died. She runs to him, falls on the ground and starts crying, the video ends on the close-up of her crying.

Other Characteristics Of The Video:

Professional videos: we have watched Die romantic as a part of the research for this video as it is of the same genre, we have decided that we will take shot type and some editing ideas to use in our own video.

• We are still casting actors for this video.
• We will need 3 locations to film this video: a park, a cafe and a road.
• Props: we will need the characters to wear black clothes so that it looks conventional and goes with the genre of the song.

 Audience Feedback:

Generally, we have received good feedback from the audiences; they seem to like our narrative idea, and the song itself. However, we were advised to think of a backup plan for the car crash scene as it may prove too difficult to film. We were advised to think of a possibility showing the boy taking a handful of pills and killing himself as that is much more manageable in terms of filming it. Also, we received another good idea from the audience: to film the car crash scene: pause the music just before the crash to build up the tension, then resume it after the crash.

 

Planning

Today, we have identified how many actors will be required for our video. We also thought about the shot types we will use to film this video. We talked about camera techniques, and props that may be needed. I acknowledge that budget limitations may apply but I have sourced some pictures that would be perfect as the costumes for the actors.
However, I have considered that because of the budget limitations this will not be affordable. So, I think we will just ask our actors to wear dark clothes for the lip-synch, and casual clothes for the narrative part of the video.

Case Studies (same genre professional videos)

 

Aiden - Die Romantic

For my first case study of this years coursework project I have chosen to analyse a song called Die Romantic. It relates to my own ideas by genre, style, pace and band appearance.

Aiden is an American post-hardcore band from Seattle, Washington and founded in the spring of 2003 before the earlier of the current members are Wil Francis (vocals & guitar), Jake Davison (drums), Nick Wiggins (bass) and Angel Ibarra (Guitar) Wil originally thought bass but took over lead vocals when their previous vocalist left because of the spiritual differences.
http://artistwiki.com/aiden

This is a video about psychological problems of two people that hear voices in their heads telling them to commit suicide. One of them is a teenage girl who has an eating disorder and the other one is amiddle aged man who because of debts that are piling up on him decides to jump off a building. It shows the audience straight from the beginning some of the biggest most current problems in the society. It has been well thought trough and I would consider using some of the ideas in my own video as it is going to involve a death of a person as well. It has to be noted that the video is edited in such way that the audiences don't really see any characters dying, it is just lead to believe that this is what is going to happen next. I think it is a smart way of editing as to film the actual accident would involve a lot of hard acting which would be quite challenging to obtain.

This video is very complex as it has elements of performance a narrative and a concept. It cuts between scenes of the two characters and is showing how both stories are progressing but also at times cuts away to the band singing. Continuity is maintained all the way through. It adds the video a selling point as it is not often that the video is edited together between three different locations. I will try and use this technique in my own video, but I would only use 2 locations at once.

It has been intended to show psychological problems appear for a reason. A girl with an eating disorder is a teenager that believes that she is overweight that makes her make herself sick every time she eats. The singer is shown as illustrating her inner voice that what she’s doing is ok and that it is a romantic way to die.

The middle aged man is sitting on a roof of a skyscraper with a stack of papers in his hands looking depressed and lost the will to live, and then the singer appears and tells him that it is a good idea to jump. It connotes the problems with the society today as due to growing unemployment and divorce rates more and more people will be able to relate themselves to this video eventually.

The singer has a negative representation in this video as he is being portrait as the reason for downfalls of these people. However, I think it is appropriate in this video because of its style and purpose. It has been edited in this particular way to help the audience illustrate the lyrics with the action. It is very important for the music video to tell a story, which might not have reached the audiences by just simply listening to the track.
 

Close-ups are used a lot in this video to show the emotions of the characters at different stages. Lip synching to the lyrics is out some times as it’s being exaggerated to show the singer shouting in other characters ears. Eye line match is used when showing the singer and the other characters, this shows that what the singer is saying is important to the other characters. The storyboard of this video is organised in such way that it cuts between the 3 locations that way progressing the narrative.

All the band members wear lots of makeup to connote the genre of music. This style is very common to this genre of music as they tent to connote depression anger and aggression in their videos as well as music itsself.

 

Target audience for this video are teenagers as they are the ones that tend to listen to this particular genre of music and the way it’s been shot only increases the overall effect. Audiences are clearly targeted all the way through. It can seem to some as unsuitable for teenagers to watch as teenagers tend to be easily influenced and some of the people that will watch this video may develop some ideas for themselves, however, I disagree with this point as I believe that teenagers should have a mind of their own, and distinguish this as being just a music video and not a campaign of any kind. On the other hand as the target audiences are teenagers I would have liked seeing two teenage characters to target the population even more.
 

I have picked out some camera angles and shot types from this video as well as cutting between multiple locations. There are almost invisible transitions used in this video when cutting between locations, it is useful to ensure continuity is maintained trough out the video.

 

 

Nickelback - Gotta Be Somebody 

For my second case study I have chosen something completely different, but still potentionally very useful for my own music video ideas. This song is of a different genre and style then my own choice, however the shot types and the way it was edited is very much close to what I intent to do myself.

Nickelback is a Canadian rock band from Hanna, Alberta. Since 1995 the band has included guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist and back-up vocalist Ryan Peake and bassist Mike Kroeger. The band's current drummer and percussionist is Daniel Adair who has been with the band since 2005, replacing drummer Ryan Vikedal who was with the band between 1998–2005. Nickelback's music is classed as hard rock^, post-grunge, and alternative rock. Nickelback is one of the most commercially successful Canadian groups, having sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, ranking as the 11th best selling music act of the 2000s, and is the 2nd best selling foreign act in the U.S. behind The Beatles for the 2000s Billboard ranks them the top Rock group of the decade and their hit song "How You Remind Me" was listed as the top Rock song of the decade as well as the 4th song of the decade. They were listed number 7 on the Billboard top artist of the decade list and they have 4 albums that were listed on the Billboard top albums of the decade.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickelback 

This is a straight performance based video that was filmed in two different locations. This is a performance based video because all the way through the band is filmed performing and the locations and camera angles are the only things that change. It is a good idea as the performance and the band is made a focus point. It is unconventional decision for this genre of music. It puts the audiences in a calm mod and makes them listen to the song objectively, where as many other Rock videos try to illustrate the lyrics in vivid and bright colours, which may affect people in different ways, in this case this video has a major selling point because of the mood it creates.

This video was intended to create a peaceful atmosphere wherever it is being shown as there are no special effects used. Lip synching was accurate throughout the video. This makes the lyrics and the band itself a focus point, it is common for this band, and however it is not so common for the genre of music. On the other hand, the close-ups of the band members and in particular the drummer make it more conventional in style.

 

This video has been filmed using close-ups almost all the way through, which is a good strategy as it creates a contact with the viewer and they are more likely to enjoy the video as well as pay more attention to the lyrics. I will try and use some of these techniques in my own video, even know in my case it would be focused on trying to pass on certain moods and create atmospheres, however at times it cuts to the long shots and panning to show other members of the band. This is used to make the video in keeping with the genre. My own video will also have some performance elements in it to make it conventional for the genre of music it belongs to, but also to reinforce the mood and atmosphere of the clip. It cuts between the locations a couple of times to make the video more interesting and once it even cuts to night time when the lyrics talk about the moonlight.

Target audience are 18-26 year olds. They are encouraged to buy this record through a long term sustained good performances of this band. They are well established and known all around the world, they do lots o tours to attract new fans, they have their own sustained style as they recognise that people like this.  

 

The Rasmus - October & April ft.

 Anette Olzon

 

 

My third case study is a video clip of a song performed by a band who's another song I am considering as a possibility to make a music video to.

The Rasmus are a Finnish rock band that formed in 1994 in Helsinki while the band members were still in upper comprehensive school.The original band members were Lauri Ylönen (lead singer/songwriter), Eero Heinonen (bass), Pauli Rantasalmi (guitar) and Jarno Lahti (drums). Jarno Lahti left the year after and was replaced by Janne Heiskanen in 1995. Heiskanen quit the band in 1998 and was soon replaced by Aki Hakala. The Rasmus has sold 4 millions albums worldwide, 400,000 in Finland alone. They have won numerous of awards both domestic and international.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rasmus 

 

The concept of the video is quite simple. It is meant to illustrate the lyrics and help to tell a story that would otherwise be hard to portray using just imagination. The lyrics talk about a love story that has not worked out most probably because of many personality clashes that have occurred. However the video is shot in such a way that it looks as if two completely different worlds are colliding. This way it is made interesting to watch as well as being useful in passing on the mood and the atmosphere that was intended by the lyrics. I will try to use these conceptual ideas in my own video wherever possible, as well as many of the special effects which I believe add character and personality to the video.

 

This video is both conceptual and performance based, it is performance based as a duet the actors’ lip-synch all the way through the song. The camera cuts between the two characters to create continuity, it important in this video especially because the camera together with the lyrics tell a story that was intended much better together then it would be understood by just listening to the song itself, as it tells the story of the two worlds that were never meant to cross. It is also fascinating special effects are used to exaggerate the effect and imagination of audiences. It is clear that the video was well thought through and that a lot of time was spent on preproduction of this video.

 

Audiences re targeted well because it was taken into account that in our century people watch music videos not just to listen to a song they expect to be impressed by a storyline, props, and special effects as it is all available digitally. The producer of this video has done it intelligently as there are only two characters used, however with a variety of camera angles, editing and special effects this video was really made into something really special and eye catching. They have also considered the cost of actors and decided to use just two and have compensated for it in post-production, which I will try to use as much as possible in my own video as this approach is much more cost efficient.
 

In this video there re different camera angles used, however it is all mainly shot in close-up to ensure continuity and lip-synching. Close-ups are important in this video as it is trying to show emotions of the characters.
 

This video is finished with a long two-shot of the two characters meeting, it is emphasized further with special effects as the darkness meets the light, connoting the power of their personalities colliding. It serves a great closing scene to the video as it ensures that the narrative idea flows according to begging-middle-end scheme, also illustrating the lyrics perfectly. I believe that having a timeline based narrative is important in any video as it makes the video easier to watch for the audience and they are more likely to make positive comments about it, and recommend that video to their friends and family, which is extremely important to the reputation of the band.
 

The male character is a main vocalist in the band. In this video he is dressed in conventional style dark clothes which is common to all gothic bands as well as this genre of music in general. However this concept is used slightly differently in this video, as the male character is shown as an evil, depressed and lost, whereas female character is presented as bright and positive character and these two extremes are contrasted throughout the video. This creates drama and generates more interest to the video, I find this technique to be very effective and will try and use elements of that in my own video as it is going to be relevant given the same genre and style of music.
 

The target audience for this video are teenagers to early 20's people who are interested in this specific style of music as it is quite emotional and deep, and people who listen to music mostly to fix their mood are much less likely to listen to this music. However, The Rasmus are a very well established band all over the world and they have fans of all age ranges and ethnic groups.