The Professional Audience Feedback I received was mostly positive.
They seemed to like the fact i had used a large range of shots, and that i used the overlays to give it more character. They also enjoyed the idea that it was in the same setting and that i was creating my work for an already established artist. They also thought that it was good that the lighting was low key and so it maintained that sense of darkness throughout.
They did however think i should of started the video much before hand, as in not making it start going straight into the song. They also said that the shots toward the beginning of the video were maybe too long for the conventional music video however he did say that it worked with the overlays, which kept it interesting.
He mentioned that the target audience could be anything from 15-30 stating that the music its quite versatile and could attract many audiences.
He also said that the type for the type of music suited the artists style, and it looked professional and mature.
Overall he scored the video the highest scores of 6/6
I also got feedback from the artist herself, who was very impressed with the video and thought that the overlays of the teardrops and the words was her favourite part
Thursday 23 December 2010
Audience Feedback
Audience feedback for the ancillary tasks was fairly positive, people seemed to like the idea of the ribbon being wrapped around the chess piece and how it related to the album title.
However people did agree that I could of used the ribbon again in pieces of the album artwork.
For the main task, people seemed to particularly like the use of the drawings/overlays on the video, others commented on the fact that the action seemed to match the beats and the tempo of the song, which was good. Others however thought it may have been better to start with another image rather than jumping straight into the song.
If i were to change something about this now, i would most probably have to change the beginning of the video to give it some time to wind into the song, however i didn't think the opening was too bad, i liked the idea of it being straight into the song as it accompanied the artists sense of style with that upfront sort of attitude.
People seemed to also enjoy the use of scenery in the video, which weren't used often but it made it seem less dark, but still maintained that sense of mystery about the artist. If i knew i was going to intend on using these clips i would of gone about filming them in a more constructive way.
One of my teachers influenced me to add more of the overlays into the video, and make them frequent throughout it, which i did - in the end it turned out well, it added more character and interest to the artist.
However people did agree that I could of used the ribbon again in pieces of the album artwork.
For the main task, people seemed to particularly like the use of the drawings/overlays on the video, others commented on the fact that the action seemed to match the beats and the tempo of the song, which was good. Others however thought it may have been better to start with another image rather than jumping straight into the song.
If i were to change something about this now, i would most probably have to change the beginning of the video to give it some time to wind into the song, however i didn't think the opening was too bad, i liked the idea of it being straight into the song as it accompanied the artists sense of style with that upfront sort of attitude.
People seemed to also enjoy the use of scenery in the video, which weren't used often but it made it seem less dark, but still maintained that sense of mystery about the artist. If i knew i was going to intend on using these clips i would of gone about filming them in a more constructive way.
One of my teachers influenced me to add more of the overlays into the video, and make them frequent throughout it, which i did - in the end it turned out well, it added more character and interest to the artist.
Building The Image
This is the finished part of the top of the chess piece, i created this simply by using different blocks of black to make up the basis of the image, the same with all the other images and then added in the finer detail in photoshop by magnifying the image and cutting out irrelevant parts and making it look convincing.
This is the second to top piece of the chess piece, again this was taken from a black square, the detail was added in afterwards, originally i had drawn the chess piece and so i was able to structure this graphic on the drawing i had.
This being the simplest of the images, I took a simple square block and made it the right size to fit with the rest of the chess piece.
This is the bottom of the chess piece, the bottom I changed because this version looks warped, so i made the base at the bottom look rounder. Again this was a case of taking each block and making it look smooth, the curves were made using photoshop.
Friday 10 December 2010
Final Magazine Advert
I have designed the magazine advertisement around the same image as the album art, to give a relatable, professional feel.
I have also included a quote that is often used to express NLX, it is shown on her website and other websties.
By including the date I have given a professional appraoch to showing when the album will be released.
Complete Album Cover Layout
Front Cover
I have decided to use a chess peice design for the front cover of the album, my main reasons for doing this is because it ties in with the idea of the album name 'The Games That Play Us' It still maintains having a dark eseence to it, that NLX has. I decided to make the image bold, and stand out in the middle of the page as it gives the essence that the artist somewhat stands alone from other artists, even of her own style.
I have decided to use a chess peice design for the front cover of the album, my main reasons for doing this is because it ties in with the idea of the album name 'The Games That Play Us' It still maintains having a dark eseence to it, that NLX has. I decided to make the image bold, and stand out in the middle of the page as it gives the essence that the artist somewhat stands alone from other artists, even of her own style.
I have remained using the same text as NLX uses for her logo to give a sense of authenticity to the artist, and so it looks more familiar to the artist.
Back Cover:
I have remained using the same chess peices but merged them together to make it look more unique.Although I have made another name for the album I have still used the same track listing as the NLX album. I have also included a bar code to make it look more realistic/authentic.
CD Design:
The disc design still uses the same writing as the album cover and same chess peice print, however I have inverted the image and dragged it out and changed the colours so it has a psychadelic feel to it, however it still maintains that 'dark' image that NLX promotes.
This is the inside pages, i composed the thank you notes from previous thank you's NLX has done to show professionalism.
I included the checker board to continue with the theme of the chess piece.
Tuesday 2 November 2010
Music/Genre/Choices
Why: I have decided to investigate the music and genre that the artist to get a better understanding of who she has worked with and similar artist's to NLX
The artist I am promoting is NLX : Natasha Alexandra, as I have already said, her music is coined as 'dark pop/dark wave/electronic/ballad' genre.
Other artists that are associated or related to the type of music that this artist creates are : From Last FM website, their linked artists are Chris Koster, Amy Campbell, Emily Fennel Band, Jonathan Gallivan and The Lonely. These type of artist seem to focus and bring a lot of their talent into lyrics. Amy Campbell for example is also an independent canadian artist like natasha; she is explained in her biography as “...Simply put, Campbell is well poised to one day inherit Joni Mitchell’s place as Canada’s quintessential female singer-songwriter...” As we already know that NLX is a fan of Joni Mitchell we can draw more links to the musical relation there. Emily Fennel Band is also a canadian rock/pop band who are true to their roots in the fact that after the birth of Fennel's daughter they stuck to playing around their hometown, Ontario. Fennel does not have a label or grant funding which is suprisingly like NLX also. Jonathon Gallivan was also born in Toronto, Ontanrio, already giving him another link to the likes of artist's like NLX, he is a musician, producer and multi media developer. He has had mild success in the fact that he has won a SOCAN pop music award for the song 'The Music' by David Usher and a Juno award nominee for pop album of the year - co-producer/performer on the David Usher album 'Wake me up and say goodbye' He has also worked with My Brilliant Beast, The Crystal Method, David Usher, Roger Mooking, The Clear and NLX.
Dark pop music often feautres strong piano undertones and electronic pulses, not so much familiar with the sounds of general pop or mainstream music, it often features sounds that may be heard in house music or dupstep, however NLX has differentiated her sound by adding an essence of ballad and classical to the mix, originally her music was mostly focused on piano melodies, rather than having the electronic sound added, however with her new album 'Bitch Get Fit' it has become a lot more focused on the electonic sides. The sound that NLX has created is unique, and not many other artists sound like her. Artists that hit close to her personal sound would be, A Fine Frenzy, who i also featured on the tour poster as i knew they sounded alike, so i could imagine them touring together. A Fine Frenzy have a similar piano driven sound, especially from their first album 'One Cell In The Sea' songs such as 'Almost Lover' are particularly similar to the sound of NLX's 'So Far Apart' in terms of slow, haunting sounds and lyrics.
Another artist that links to NLX's sound is Everly, who are a new and upcoming band, that features Bethany Joy Galleoti, who is an actress/singer/songwriter. Galleoti was also a solo artist before she started working with Everly. The song 'Maybe' is especially similar to NLX's sound as it features dark lyrics and a strong sense of electronic music throughout it, it's quite slow yet powerful in the singing and music, which is what a lot of NLX songs tend to do.
In linking this to my music video and album cover and magazine ad, NLX's signiture tone is that of dark lyrics and music, which seems strong and feminely driven, therefore the album cover i have created links to this as it shows the darkness of the music yet the brightness of what the songs appeal may be, it's a minimalist approach and therefore shows the mystery to NLX, which is what she likes to keep so well.
In linking it to the music video - the video is going to mostly focused on the artist because of the song title and what the song is about, it would be strange to have the artist shying away from the camera and being mysterious in this video as the song is so bold and straight up, so i gained the approach of just featuring the artist in this video, as it reflects the song clearly and gives it a more proffesional look.
How this will help with my studies: This will help with my studies as it could help with other written work about the artist and shows how i have linked my music video to other works.
The artist I am promoting is NLX : Natasha Alexandra, as I have already said, her music is coined as 'dark pop/dark wave/electronic/ballad' genre.
Other artists that are associated or related to the type of music that this artist creates are : From Last FM website, their linked artists are Chris Koster, Amy Campbell, Emily Fennel Band, Jonathan Gallivan and The Lonely. These type of artist seem to focus and bring a lot of their talent into lyrics. Amy Campbell for example is also an independent canadian artist like natasha; she is explained in her biography as “...Simply put, Campbell is well poised to one day inherit Joni Mitchell’s place as Canada’s quintessential female singer-songwriter...” As we already know that NLX is a fan of Joni Mitchell we can draw more links to the musical relation there. Emily Fennel Band is also a canadian rock/pop band who are true to their roots in the fact that after the birth of Fennel's daughter they stuck to playing around their hometown, Ontario. Fennel does not have a label or grant funding which is suprisingly like NLX also. Jonathon Gallivan was also born in Toronto, Ontanrio, already giving him another link to the likes of artist's like NLX, he is a musician, producer and multi media developer. He has had mild success in the fact that he has won a SOCAN pop music award for the song 'The Music' by David Usher and a Juno award nominee for pop album of the year - co-producer/performer on the David Usher album 'Wake me up and say goodbye' He has also worked with My Brilliant Beast, The Crystal Method, David Usher, Roger Mooking, The Clear and NLX.
Dark pop music often feautres strong piano undertones and electronic pulses, not so much familiar with the sounds of general pop or mainstream music, it often features sounds that may be heard in house music or dupstep, however NLX has differentiated her sound by adding an essence of ballad and classical to the mix, originally her music was mostly focused on piano melodies, rather than having the electronic sound added, however with her new album 'Bitch Get Fit' it has become a lot more focused on the electonic sides. The sound that NLX has created is unique, and not many other artists sound like her. Artists that hit close to her personal sound would be, A Fine Frenzy, who i also featured on the tour poster as i knew they sounded alike, so i could imagine them touring together. A Fine Frenzy have a similar piano driven sound, especially from their first album 'One Cell In The Sea' songs such as 'Almost Lover' are particularly similar to the sound of NLX's 'So Far Apart' in terms of slow, haunting sounds and lyrics.
Another artist that links to NLX's sound is Everly, who are a new and upcoming band, that features Bethany Joy Galleoti, who is an actress/singer/songwriter. Galleoti was also a solo artist before she started working with Everly. The song 'Maybe' is especially similar to NLX's sound as it features dark lyrics and a strong sense of electronic music throughout it, it's quite slow yet powerful in the singing and music, which is what a lot of NLX songs tend to do.
In linking this to my music video and album cover and magazine ad, NLX's signiture tone is that of dark lyrics and music, which seems strong and feminely driven, therefore the album cover i have created links to this as it shows the darkness of the music yet the brightness of what the songs appeal may be, it's a minimalist approach and therefore shows the mystery to NLX, which is what she likes to keep so well.
In linking it to the music video - the video is going to mostly focused on the artist because of the song title and what the song is about, it would be strange to have the artist shying away from the camera and being mysterious in this video as the song is so bold and straight up, so i gained the approach of just featuring the artist in this video, as it reflects the song clearly and gives it a more proffesional look.
How this will help with my studies: This will help with my studies as it could help with other written work about the artist and shows how i have linked my music video to other works.
Monday 1 November 2010
Changing the idea
After the fisrt filming attempt i have decied to change my idea, i have realised that it's probably more beneficial and easier to focus mostly on the artist. I am mostly going to focus on close ups (especially of the face) and tie in the movement of the character with the beats of the song, so it obviously and clearly flows.
I have one major location that I am using and I will upload photos of soon, it is an abandoned barn, and has a rustic look to it, with broken peices around the place and broken windows, i like the use of lighting in the barn too, it is dark but with the light coming through the windows and large open area the character face still seems to light up when being filmed.
Previously i had filmed in the school hall, and the lighting made the shots look quite red and blurry, which didn't seem to match with the rest of the video, i also tried to incorporate images of the previous parts i have filmed, of images of trees, and flowers etc, not only that but from my very first time filming i have tried to incorporate parts of filming i managed to get from that.
It doesn't look awful so far but i would like it to look more professional by keeping the lighting all the same and keeping it to one location, i also think that the idea of keeping it one place links somewhat to the song, and how it reflects the song.
The basis of the song is about a girl who has had a relationship or liked a person and they have treated them with disrespect etc in return, so the girl is still confused as to whether she loves him still or doesn't but the impression the song also gives is that the girl loves and hates this person at once, so the idea of keeping it one place could represent the effect of being stuck in a circle of this feeling, also with the fact that the place is rather dark mixed with light gives it a good sense of feeling dark and confused etc.
I have one major location that I am using and I will upload photos of soon, it is an abandoned barn, and has a rustic look to it, with broken peices around the place and broken windows, i like the use of lighting in the barn too, it is dark but with the light coming through the windows and large open area the character face still seems to light up when being filmed.
Previously i had filmed in the school hall, and the lighting made the shots look quite red and blurry, which didn't seem to match with the rest of the video, i also tried to incorporate images of the previous parts i have filmed, of images of trees, and flowers etc, not only that but from my very first time filming i have tried to incorporate parts of filming i managed to get from that.
It doesn't look awful so far but i would like it to look more professional by keeping the lighting all the same and keeping it to one location, i also think that the idea of keeping it one place links somewhat to the song, and how it reflects the song.
The basis of the song is about a girl who has had a relationship or liked a person and they have treated them with disrespect etc in return, so the girl is still confused as to whether she loves him still or doesn't but the impression the song also gives is that the girl loves and hates this person at once, so the idea of keeping it one place could represent the effect of being stuck in a circle of this feeling, also with the fact that the place is rather dark mixed with light gives it a good sense of feeling dark and confused etc.
Friday 22 October 2010
Filming attempt 1
I intended to do a night time theme, with a lot of focus on light for the video, which reflected the tune of the song. However when I had set all the lights up and worked out the positions of all the lights, when i tried to film the focus was grainy and I couldn't see much, another thing was the actual setting itself, first off i thought that with the lights off and just having spotlights and christmas lights i wouldn't be able to see the doors or windows of the actual place, however when filming we had to try and light up part of the room because we couldn't see anything with all the lights off, but the problem was turning one of the lights on in the room lit up all the settings around the place, and therefore we couldn't film properly,
I decided that the best option would be to change the song, still by the same artist but a different song, and to make the video more focused on the artist, this will link with the choice of the song, as it has a very in your face attitude to it.
I have already done some filming of the video, i have recently filmed outdoors, in an abandoned barn and in other areas, also the school hall.
I will begin to edit it soon, and clips of the first video attempt will also go up soon.
I decided that the best option would be to change the song, still by the same artist but a different song, and to make the video more focused on the artist, this will link with the choice of the song, as it has a very in your face attitude to it.
I have already done some filming of the video, i have recently filmed outdoors, in an abandoned barn and in other areas, also the school hall.
I will begin to edit it soon, and clips of the first video attempt will also go up soon.
Tuesday 12 October 2010
Setting to film music video
This is the inside of Horrabridge Youth Club, I have chosen to film my video here as seems like a good location, as the video features a lot of lights it needed to be held somewhere that had electrical outputs, the good thing about this place as well is that it isn't oversized. Obviously the sofa's chairs etc will be removed for the filming as it distracts from the overall look of the video.I also plan to cover up the back corner of the room and the drawing on the back door, again so it doesn't detract from the look of the video.
This is another shot of the room from the opposite side, as you can see it does have an open kitchen area, so I have decided to film most of the video away from this area because it doesn't fit with the look of the video, however the tall chairs have a very classy look and may come in of some use at some point.
The high counter is also useful for high angle shots.
Another good point about this location is that it has beam ceilings, that can easily have lights roped around them to give an interesting 'night time' effect which with the lights I am aiming for. Hopefully then I can also shoot the video without any main lights, fingers crossed.
Another benefiting point about this place is that the main lights are optional, you don't have to have them on all the time, or all of them on all the time, which will be interesting to play around with on camera, as the most difficult thing about the video will be the effect of light, so this could come in handy.
This is another shot of the room from the opposite side, as you can see it does have an open kitchen area, so I have decided to film most of the video away from this area because it doesn't fit with the look of the video, however the tall chairs have a very classy look and may come in of some use at some point.
The high counter is also useful for high angle shots.
Another good point about this location is that it has beam ceilings, that can easily have lights roped around them to give an interesting 'night time' effect which with the lights I am aiming for. Hopefully then I can also shoot the video without any main lights, fingers crossed.
Another benefiting point about this place is that the main lights are optional, you don't have to have them on all the time, or all of them on all the time, which will be interesting to play around with on camera, as the most difficult thing about the video will be the effect of light, so this could come in handy.
Thursday 7 October 2010
Institutional Research and Exhibition
Transmission2 media is an independent production company producing things such as,
Professional Editing
Professional Videography
EPK Production
Music Video Production
Documentary Production
Videofact Applications
They are based in Vancouver, and focus on music inspired productions.
http://www.transmission2.com/work.html
http://storeyelementary.com/work/clients/
"We have a wide range of experience with music video production, documentaries, event videography, and EPKs, as well as Videofact and Factor Grant application processes, budgets and promotion strategies." -Transmission2 mediaTransmission2 have a very narrow range of artists, they seem loyal to particular clients rather than having a wide basis of them, artists that are featured regularly in Transmission2 are, Tegan and Sara, Acres of Lions, and Jets Overhead.
Transmission2 makes money through it's use of keeping loyal clients, it not only produces music videos but also creates other packages for those artists including websites, articles, CD covers, settings that go into the video etc.
In relation to my product, if Transmission2 had offered to help make and produce my videos it would be similar in the way that the artist I am promoting is very independent and like to keep to the roots of the music inductry rather than the 'glamourous' aspects of it. Therefore this would link considerabley into the fact that the company has a similar aspect.
I haven't completed the actual music video yet so in the aspect that my text looking similar to them i would argue that the cd cover and magazine adverts are on the same proffesional looking level as theirs. It uses simple design yet looks most effective, the idea that i have used in bunching up the writing to the centre of the image draws your eye to that main focal point, meaning no space really needs to be filled around the design.
I'd argue my text would appropriate for them because the artist isn't widely known and is very in style 'indie', through research i have found out that the artist likes all things design, therefore i think that the text would be appropriate for them.
The channel that would probably show my music video would mostly be NME.
Transmission2 media also have links with http://storeyelementary.com/ (storyelementary) in which they produce album covers, websites, designs for video shoots etc.
Therefore from this i can see that by looking at their work for album artwork, i can see how it relates to mine, and also how an idividual company has developed it's own style.
They are based in Vancouver, and focus on music inspired productions.
http://www.transmission2.com/work.html
http://storeyelementary.com/work/clients/
"We have a wide range of experience with music video production, documentaries, event videography, and EPKs, as well as Videofact and Factor Grant application processes, budgets and promotion strategies." -Transmission2 mediaTransmission2 have a very narrow range of artists, they seem loyal to particular clients rather than having a wide basis of them, artists that are featured regularly in Transmission2 are, Tegan and Sara, Acres of Lions, and Jets Overhead.
Transmission2 makes money through it's use of keeping loyal clients, it not only produces music videos but also creates other packages for those artists including websites, articles, CD covers, settings that go into the video etc.
In relation to my product, if Transmission2 had offered to help make and produce my videos it would be similar in the way that the artist I am promoting is very independent and like to keep to the roots of the music inductry rather than the 'glamourous' aspects of it. Therefore this would link considerabley into the fact that the company has a similar aspect.
I haven't completed the actual music video yet so in the aspect that my text looking similar to them i would argue that the cd cover and magazine adverts are on the same proffesional looking level as theirs. It uses simple design yet looks most effective, the idea that i have used in bunching up the writing to the centre of the image draws your eye to that main focal point, meaning no space really needs to be filled around the design.
I'd argue my text would appropriate for them because the artist isn't widely known and is very in style 'indie', through research i have found out that the artist likes all things design, therefore i think that the text would be appropriate for them.
The channel that would probably show my music video would mostly be NME.
Transmission2 media also have links with http://storeyelementary.com/ (storyelementary) in which they produce album covers, websites, designs for video shoots etc.
Therefore from this i can see that by looking at their work for album artwork, i can see how it relates to mine, and also how an idividual company has developed it's own style.
For example, below is their example of Tegan and Sara's album artwork, as you can see they have taken a normal photo of the artists yet they have made it look qwerky by cutting a circle out of the back of the cover and using it on the front to show the artist's face. The album is called Sainthood and therefore the outfits of the artists could represent this, also the album cover has a strong sense of white to it reflecting the name of the cover. Not only that but the fact that the artist has her face cut and pasted from the back of the cover and that she is looking up almost makes her look as though she is in the posistion of a 'saint' or something of similar status. 
Tuesday 5 October 2010
Audience Research
These are the first two peices of audience research i have done so far, i decided to post on forums that would be relevant to my media choice, so the first website was called videomaker.com and the second is slicethepie.com, i think from feedback so far that slicethepie is the better option as i think it is more based around the teenage community, and unsigned bands whereas videomaker focuses more on the technological side of things.
Regulating Bodies
The regulating bodies for the use of music video's and what can and can't be broadcast are Ofcom.
Ofcom is the communications regulator, they TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecoms and mobiles.
The main set of guidlines that Ofcom set are:
Protecting the under 18's Guidance:
which basically states that the most concentrated age in the media is concern of the 10-14 year olds.
"Viewers and listeners make a distinction between channels which appeal to a wide-ranging audience, including children, and those that attract a smaller, niche audience, unlikely to appeal to children. Although broadcasters of these niche channels still carry a responsibility towards a potential child audience, the majority of homes do not contain children and viewers and listeners have a right to expect a range of subject matter."
Watershed:
Audience research showed that there is strong recognition for the watershed to be in place.
"The watershed plays a crucial role for parents and carers with children aged 5 to 8 and trust in pre-watershed programming is essential, particularly leading up to 1930. It is also important that the content of pre watershed trails is appropriate for the time of broadcast."
Drugs, Smoking, Solvents & Alcohol Abuse:
"Programme makers should always consider the impact that the representation of the use of illegal drugs, the abuse of drugs, smoking, solvent abuse and the misuse of alcohol, may have on younger viewers and listeners."
Any use of the following before the watershed should be severly justified.
Ofcom would not wish it to be a reccurent theme in certain television programs as it would not liked to be seen as glamourised or enourageful.
"However where that occurs e.g. in a movie that pre-dates the understanding that smoking was linked to cancer and other health effects, then the editorial justification for such material must be carefully thought through."
Violence and Dangerous Behaviour:
"Audience research is inconclusive about the direct influence of violence on behaviour, but does highlight how children interpret violence and what reduces its impact and what causes distress."
Research showed that children may emulate what they see on television.
Children have different stages of development and broadcasters should bear this in mind. Areas of concern include:
• the use of accessible domestic implements, such as knives, or other offensive weapons, articles or substances portrayed in a dangerous or harmful manner
• any portrayal of household items, such as micro-waves and tumble-dryers, which can cause harm if misused,
• certain locations, such as railway lines;
• certain material which may lead children to fail to recognise potentially dangerous play especially if there is no serious outcome; and
• hanging or the preparations for hanging, if easily imitable, particularly if shown before the watershed, unless the setting gives strong grounds for believing that imitation is unlikely.
Offensive Language:
Audience expectations and composition vary between television and radio and each medium has different listening/viewing patterns. Broadcasters should know their audience.
Offensive language is a feature of British life and sometimes has a certain place in broadcasting. However it raises concerns about the harm to children and offence it could cause.
"There is a concern that children may imitate offensive
language or be upset to hear this language, when their parents or carers have told
them it is wrong, before they have worked out their own attitude to its use."
Milder use of language may be acceptable in the earlier parts of the evening if it is used in a humorous way.
"Children enjoy a wide variety of music. However, where lyrics in songs might cause
offence, broadcasters will wish to consider the context which may increase or
mitigate the offence, and the possible use of track remixes and edits."
In relation to my own music video it has brought attention that I am using Eliza who is 17 years old in my video, the video itself does not have any offensive language, behaviour or content in it, it is just a video based around her as the posing artist.
It would be beneficial however to get her permission for the use of her images in writing though, to add a more proffesional basis to the project.
Actor Profile/Profiling
Why: These are some photos i have taken of the artist, however i may change them as they don't seem to represent the artist's personality.
These are photos of Eliza, who is going to be the stand in for the music video.
I chose her because she has a similar look to the artist, which i think would look good and give the video a more proffesional feel.
She is staged doing the same poses that the artist has done in most of her photos, to give it a realistic feel and to show that she is a good choice for the stand in as she has the same feautures, hair, etc.
Hopefully this will make the video look more proffesional in the end.
How this will help with my studies: This will help with my studies as it shows me how i will represent the artist in the video and within the album cover.
I chose her because she has a similar look to the artist, which i think would look good and give the video a more proffesional feel.
She is staged doing the same poses that the artist has done in most of her photos, to give it a realistic feel and to show that she is a good choice for the stand in as she has the same feautures, hair, etc.
Hopefully this will make the video look more proffesional in the end.
How this will help with my studies: This will help with my studies as it shows me how i will represent the artist in the video and within the album cover.
Sunday 3 October 2010
Lyrics Analysis
Why: I have analysed lyrics of a song to show how a narrative could be unfolded from lyrics in order to make a video.
Artist: Brand New
Song: Limousine (MS Redbridge)
The song is about the tragic story of 7 year old Katie Flynn who was killed in a car accident in 2006, on the way back from her Aunts wedding, by a drunk driver.
The song is obviously named limousine as that is what the family travelled home in.
The song draws many parallels to the incident.
The beginning of the song is seemingly from Katie's mother's point of view, as it reads,
"Get your petals out and lay them in the isle
Pretend your garden grows,
And it's your own day to wed." It is said that Katie laid flowers in the isle of her Aunts wedding hours before they left to go home, so drawing on from this is could be said that from her mother's point of view she explains to her daughter to pretend it's her own wedding day, as we know that she never got that far."And I've only one more night to be your mother" also shows how it's in the perspective from the mother.
The song also shows other points of view, such as the drunk driver's that crashed into the families limousine
"Yeah, you were right about me.
But can I get myself out from underneath
This guilt that will crush me
and in the choir I saw our sad Messiah.
He was bored and tired of my laments.
Said, "I died for you one time, but never again"
This could show how the driver felt about the situation, summing up his feelings for knowing what he did was so obviously wrong. As he explains that all the people at the trial and Katie's family were right about him being a 'murderer'. It almost seems as though he is asking the question 'Can he get out from underneath this guilt that will crush him?' as if he doesn't know himself if he can ever answer that question or if it is right to do so.
It also goes on to talk about a choir, which may often be used in funerals; along with talking about a Messiah, which is a religious figure, it then say's being bored of laments, which is a poem or song said to express grief, regret or mourning, which then in turn could mean as a whole that the driver is feeling like nothing can resolve his sins of what he did, not even religion could purge his sins, which obviously links to the lines before hand that expressed his confusion and questioning about ever being able to get out of the guilt he feels. The last line then says 'i died for you one time, but never again' this could link to being a religious term, as Jesus was said to die for our sins, however the use of the term never again states that even the Messiah or Jesus figure shows there is no help for the driver's well being or hope. It could also be stating to more than one thing, not only in this story and this one man's sin but humanities sins, as societies are now becoming more secular, it could be just a absolute statement.
The song then progresses into a series of verses that are similar but change by one or two words each time.
"One'll love you so much, but do me a favor baby, don't reply.
'cause I can dish it out, but I can't take it."
This continues until it says 'Seven'll' which reflects Katie's age, she was seven years old when she died.
It could also represent the seven sins, envy, sloth, gluttony, wrath, pride, lust, greed.
The seven deadly sins also originates from the bible, stating sins such as murder and drunkenness.
In the ending parts of the song this is sung in the background
"I'll never have to buy adjacent plots of earth
We'll never have to rot together underneath dirt
I'll never have to lose my baby in the crowd
I should be laughing right now"
This is said to be from Katie's point of view, expressing her adolescence, that now she is gone she will never have to buy adjacent plots of earth, or die with her love, or loose her child in a crowd, it says she should be laughing right now to express the relief and gratitude she could feel for not having to go through the pain that everyone does in life, with loosing people, etc., which could also draw a strong parallel because it shows how sad the song really is.
How this will help with my studies: This has helped with my studies because it shows how to break down the song in order to get a feel for the video and what it could be based on, which i have done for the video.
Artist: Brand New
Song: Limousine (MS Redbridge)
The song is about the tragic story of 7 year old Katie Flynn who was killed in a car accident in 2006, on the way back from her Aunts wedding, by a drunk driver.
The song is obviously named limousine as that is what the family travelled home in.
The song draws many parallels to the incident.
The beginning of the song is seemingly from Katie's mother's point of view, as it reads,
"Get your petals out and lay them in the isle
Pretend your garden grows,
And it's your own day to wed." It is said that Katie laid flowers in the isle of her Aunts wedding hours before they left to go home, so drawing on from this is could be said that from her mother's point of view she explains to her daughter to pretend it's her own wedding day, as we know that she never got that far."And I've only one more night to be your mother" also shows how it's in the perspective from the mother.
The song also shows other points of view, such as the drunk driver's that crashed into the families limousine
"Yeah, you were right about me.
But can I get myself out from underneath
This guilt that will crush me
and in the choir I saw our sad Messiah.
He was bored and tired of my laments.
Said, "I died for you one time, but never again"
This could show how the driver felt about the situation, summing up his feelings for knowing what he did was so obviously wrong. As he explains that all the people at the trial and Katie's family were right about him being a 'murderer'. It almost seems as though he is asking the question 'Can he get out from underneath this guilt that will crush him?' as if he doesn't know himself if he can ever answer that question or if it is right to do so.
It also goes on to talk about a choir, which may often be used in funerals; along with talking about a Messiah, which is a religious figure, it then say's being bored of laments, which is a poem or song said to express grief, regret or mourning, which then in turn could mean as a whole that the driver is feeling like nothing can resolve his sins of what he did, not even religion could purge his sins, which obviously links to the lines before hand that expressed his confusion and questioning about ever being able to get out of the guilt he feels. The last line then says 'i died for you one time, but never again' this could link to being a religious term, as Jesus was said to die for our sins, however the use of the term never again states that even the Messiah or Jesus figure shows there is no help for the driver's well being or hope. It could also be stating to more than one thing, not only in this story and this one man's sin but humanities sins, as societies are now becoming more secular, it could be just a absolute statement.
The song then progresses into a series of verses that are similar but change by one or two words each time.
"One'll love you so much, but do me a favor baby, don't reply.
'cause I can dish it out, but I can't take it."
This continues until it says 'Seven'll' which reflects Katie's age, she was seven years old when she died.
It could also represent the seven sins, envy, sloth, gluttony, wrath, pride, lust, greed.
The seven deadly sins also originates from the bible, stating sins such as murder and drunkenness.
In the ending parts of the song this is sung in the background
"I'll never have to buy adjacent plots of earth
We'll never have to rot together underneath dirt
I'll never have to lose my baby in the crowd
I should be laughing right now"
This is said to be from Katie's point of view, expressing her adolescence, that now she is gone she will never have to buy adjacent plots of earth, or die with her love, or loose her child in a crowd, it says she should be laughing right now to express the relief and gratitude she could feel for not having to go through the pain that everyone does in life, with loosing people, etc., which could also draw a strong parallel because it shows how sad the song really is.
How this will help with my studies: This has helped with my studies because it shows how to break down the song in order to get a feel for the video and what it could be based on, which i have done for the video.
Tour Poster attempt
I continued to still use the vine theme, and added an embroidered style background to go around the NLX logo which i think makes it stand out more, I have also used tour dates from NLX's actual website, obviously they are from 2009, but that can easily be changed if needs be.
Again i have used the same block font to show a repetition in style.I have included two other bands for support acts that both share a similar piano, electro driven style like NLX has.
Magazine Advert attempt
I have also used a quote that sums up NLX's music style, however i could not find out who said it, so to give it authentic effect of being an advert for the new album i have said that it was a tagline by Q magazine.
Saturday 2 October 2010
Audience Targetting
Audience targetting
The target audience for this genre of music would usually be aimed at 16-25the style of music is very dark wave – pop – electronic which is usually linked with the younger audiences, such as the teens. The lyrics in NLX’s song can be very relatable especially to young women, with subject matters mainly of love and loss, which is what younger female audiences usually feel most relatable too.
NLX’s general image is very independent, which can be very inspirational and impressionable to teens and late teens.
Audiences ranging from 16-25 are usually just experiencing love and intimacy, and therefore this style of music fits that very well, it expresses the highs and lows of these situations and that is what young people like to hear, also the music has a very strong ‘dance’ ‘pop’ feel to it, which also links with modern young audiences with the new club/dance era.
alternate version to album layouts
This is my chosen piece for the album artwork.
The symbolism in the artwork shows a vine coming from a tree, it basically shows musical progression and how the artist has progressed individually and how her music has progressed, it could also show the growth of her popularity and that she now has a bigger fan base and has an official album, often showing that her music is now being taken to the next step professionally.
The vines could also show a passage of time, the use of grey towards the end could also represent how things change, how her music has and maybe her influence in the music industry.
I have also continued to use the same typeface as what NLX has on the website so it still maintains some sort of familiarity to the artist.
The back of the album cover includes the song listing and the bar code which are conventional for every album cover usually.
As you can see the vines are still represented here, and link into the front cover also.
This is the cd artwork, which still keeps the same style of image from the other artwork, it again features the album name and the artist name.
It still also features the same minimalistic style which is good, as it keeps a steady similarity to the rest of the artwork.
The symbolism in the artwork shows a vine coming from a tree, it basically shows musical progression and how the artist has progressed individually and how her music has progressed, it could also show the growth of her popularity and that she now has a bigger fan base and has an official album, often showing that her music is now being taken to the next step professionally.
The vines could also show a passage of time, the use of grey towards the end could also represent how things change, how her music has and maybe her influence in the music industry.
I have also continued to use the same typeface as what NLX has on the website so it still maintains some sort of familiarity to the artist.
The back of the album cover includes the song listing and the bar code which are conventional for every album cover usually.
As you can see the vines are still represented here, and link into the front cover also.
This is the cd artwork, which still keeps the same style of image from the other artwork, it again features the album name and the artist name.
It still also features the same minimalistic style which is good, as it keeps a steady similarity to the rest of the artwork.
Album Cover Number 2
I began to like this piece for the colour theme, yet i found it hard to find anything to fill the space with and the overall piece when finished didn't really seem to look like an album cover.
I still maintained using the same type of images from the website, with the Victorian style illustrations of women, i wanted originally to use that picture of the woman looking at a couple walking away but the dimensions of the piece didn't look right and didn't match so i decided to use a flock of birds instead. This album cover has a stronger sense of feminism. It looks very aged and that is what i liked about it, i also adopted the idea of using a notepad theme which was on the website.
Originally the birds were put there to symbolize the music and meanings of the songs. The album is about love loss revenge etc and birds are a good way of symbolizing emotions.
Album Cover Number 1
This is the first album cover I designed, as I have not created my own band, I have decided to make mock up versions of NLX's latest album, as alternative versions.
For this first one I decided to take the same colour theme as the website.
As you can see i have still kept the block type-face of the lettering from the NLX website to keep the same sort of fluent style, and also i have followed the colour theme of magenta, black and a beige/orange. I have also used a shadow effect on the side of the artwork to give it that dark edge, which NLX's music has.
The design i used as the main image i saw as very boisterous and somewhat tattoo like, it evokes a very masculine feel which could contrast as she is a very feminine artist in aspect of what her songs are about etc, but it could also link because it could show the powerful aspect to her feminism which would be represented through the strong pink in the image.
The overall word I think that can be gathered from this artwork is strong.
The reason I did not choose this as my final album cover is because I don't think it really respects her full artistic feel and her love of all things design, it almost seems to minimalistic.
For this first one I decided to take the same colour theme as the website.
As you can see i have still kept the block type-face of the lettering from the NLX website to keep the same sort of fluent style, and also i have followed the colour theme of magenta, black and a beige/orange. I have also used a shadow effect on the side of the artwork to give it that dark edge, which NLX's music has.
The design i used as the main image i saw as very boisterous and somewhat tattoo like, it evokes a very masculine feel which could contrast as she is a very feminine artist in aspect of what her songs are about etc, but it could also link because it could show the powerful aspect to her feminism which would be represented through the strong pink in the image.
The overall word I think that can be gathered from this artwork is strong.
The reason I did not choose this as my final album cover is because I don't think it really respects her full artistic feel and her love of all things design, it almost seems to minimalistic.
Analysing Album Covers
Why: I have analysed other album covers to show what sort of style i could incorporate in my own and see what proffesional looking artwork looks like.
The artwork for the single all looks illustrated, it features a lot of pastel colours. The single also features an acoustic version of the song, which may be why there is a strong sense of pastel and softness to it; which is in contrast to the bands usual sound, which is pop-punk. The main focal point on the album cover is a cherry blossom tree, the song stay with me is basically about a relationship, possibly about loosing it for the wrong reasons and wanting it back, but having conflicting feelings about it. The cherry blossom tree symbolizes such things as hope, love and life, it also has connotations of power, from tradition in
This is the single artwork for ‘The Kook’s’ ‘Shine On’ single.
The album artwork is all in black and white and features a woman; however the photo of the woman is pieced together with other photos, mainly of the band. From looking up the meaning of the song, it is apparently about a man who is worried about his girlfriend, as she takes the influence of beauty from fashion magazines, yet he wants her to realise how naturally beautiful she really is.
The use of repeated images in this artwork link to the song meaning and even the lyrics at some points e.g. ‘safety pins holding up the things that make you mine.’
The woman on the cover may symbolize the images the mans girlfriend see’s in the magazine yet the photos that make the girl up are her true qualities and his true opinion of her.
This is the album artwork for ‘Bon Iver’s’ ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ album.
By looking at the style of writing in comparison to the title of the album it almost looks like handwriting that would appear in a letter of some sort. With background reading the title of the album basically expresses a the loss of a first love that you never get over, the artist said that there was nobody called ‘Emma’ the name just summed up those emotions. The whole album was recorded using minimalist technology, in a log cabin in freezing winter where the artist spent a few weeks after breaking up with his previous band, being completely alone he wrote this album. From knowing this it may be possible to assume that the photo is of a window, maybe even from the inside of the log cabin, as we can see tall trees and condensation/ice on the window. The whole making of the album was completely natural and that is what the artwork promotes, everything about it is in tune with the artist himself and it simply promotes how he truly felt and the emotion he felt through his life etc.
This is the album artwork for ‘Bloc Party’s album ‘Intimacy’
The artwork is very simple, it is an extreme close up of two people kissing. This clearly states the title of the album. The contrast to this artwork also, is that you almost feel like you are not supposed to be a part of what you are seeing, like it is ‘too’ intimate and private. Yet it could also be interpreted in the way that the band are inviting you into their music and sound, of course it could also represent the songs and nature of the album, it’s secondary genre almost.
How this will help me with my studies: This will help because it has taught me that i have to show artwork that will represent the artist and that will show me how to make a good looking album cover.
Thursday 30 September 2010
Analysis of music video (Swedish House Mafia- One)
Why: I have analysed this music video because it is the kind of style i would like to recreate, the fast paced editing etc.
Analysing Music Video’s 2
Analysing Music Video’s 2
This is one of the first shots in the video, it seems unusual yet it stands out because it is bright white, mixed with other pastel colours, the shot looks bold, so it draws your eye in. The editing pace in this sequence is quite fast, it matches the pace of the music, the clever thing about this part of the video is that the recording device in the shot is made to be controlling the sound of the song, which is interesting because it’s not often used in music videos like that.
The next few shots and ones before hand are mostly close ups of the recording device again, which keep our attention drawn to what is happening, another interesting thing that is used too, is the fact that the lyrics often appear on screen, which is not common in music videos because it often looks amateur. However with the technique being used in this video, it doesn’t give it that effect; within the next few shots that are shown also, the editing progresses and gets faster, with the addition of the sides of the shots moving to make the illusion of loud speakers when they jump.
In this shot we see someone’s eye, with blue eyelashes etc, the colouring to the skin is very de-saturated and cold looking, giving it a very crisp and clear look. Not only that but inside the eye there is a running scroll of different images, this one for instance is of the words in the song, others that run after that are of the recording device again etc.
This is the first birdseye shot we get, of the table and the people around it, during the video the look and things around the table begin to change, in this shot for instance there are various wires, a fan and some chain around, signifying this may be the ‘setting up, getting ready’ stage of the party.
Again we see another birdseye shot of the table, this time though we see more people, which appear now to be our main focus. There is an interesting use of costume in this shot, as the people who are in the room seem to be wearing masks usually associated with breakdance, although they are wearing them on the tops of their heads giving the audience a very surreal, confused presentation, despite that it is very interesting, and does create a good look. The editing in this part is especially quick.
The editing pace at this point is at its fastest. In this shot we see the birds eye view of the table has changed again, this time we see confetti and nobody around the table the shot is mostly of a dark black colour and just the one man Dj-ing the music. This could be a pointer in the narrative of the video as this may be the peak of the party, and it’s now about to start dying down.
This next shot, is of a break dancer, again wearing a mask. However the shot is framed oddly, it appears again to be birdseye but gives the illusion that the dancer is dancing on a vertical wall, which is impressive to look at. The editing again here is very quick.
In this shot, we see how the song title and lyrics are highlighted, this is one of the only points in the video that we can salvage some sort of narrative structure. The song, I’m assuming is about the general club scene and meeting people. This therefore highlights that point. It is an interesting shot because along with the rest of the style of the video, this you would normally pick up on as not part of the same style; however it manages to work in this video, maybe because of the fast editing pace or because the lighting of the shot is still fairly low/dark.
This shot is interesting also, because it has changed from the similar shot of the birds eye with the masked people in, to a close up of this man, we see a different use of editing here as there is effect to the fact he is breathing fire. There is also an interesting use of sound stings throughout the video, there is layered sound above that of the actual music track, giving the video more depth and making it more effective, the sounds almost act as sound effects to certain things people are doing e.g. glass breaking. This becomes especially apparent towards the end of the video.
We then see the silhouette of a woman dancing, throughout this the lighting in the background changes, to a red colour to black and white, which is again unusual because it is in contrast to the rest of the video, which is in colour. However the dancing is obviously significant to the song.
In this shot we see a close up of a woman’s lips, the background is very out of focus, we understand that the use of close up on lips in music video’s is very conventially popular, I know this from the research I did on conventions of music videos.
As you can see this shot is a strong contrast to the one above, on it’s own it even looks like a picture rather than part of a video. The interesting thing about this shot is that the front layer is of the tape recording image again, yet the background is full of colour, there is an actor waving a flare light around, as this is when the end bridge of the song comes in, it matches the pace of the music really well, and the count down on the tape recorder makes it even more powerful because you are anticipating what is going to happen next.
In this shot again we see the lyrics to the song, instead this time though they are presented in the middle of the screen, this is still the breakdown part of the song so the lyrics are clearer now and this may be the reason they are put in the middle of the shot. It is again interesting as something different is still going on in the background, there are various layers to this shot also, with the picture of a man to the right hand side and then the remaining pictures of the flares and sparklers to the left.
This Is one of the last shots and is again layered, only this time the picture of the man is in our centre framing, and the flares are still in the background. This is interesting because it includes so much colour, referring to the person in the middle they have a reversed colouring effect on them, which gives the whole shot an interesting look but it doesn’t make it look too busy, the amount of colour and things going on matched with the fast paced editing matches the style of song.
In this sequence of shots they are many people stood in the centre of the shot with different masks on like the one in this shot, they are edited quickly, jumping from the next to the next. It gives it a real party rush feel, just before things usually die down. It is an unusual shot because these were most probably still images edited into the video, which appears a lot throughout it.
In this shot we see someone’s eye, with blue eyelashes etc, the colouring to the skin is very de-saturated and cold looking, giving it a very crisp and clear look. Not only that but inside the eye there is a running scroll of different images, this one for instance is of the words in the song, others that run after that are of the recording device again etc.
This is the first birdseye shot we get, of the table and the people around it, during the video the look and things around the table begin to change, in this shot for instance there are various wires, a fan and some chain around, signifying this may be the ‘setting up, getting ready’ stage of the party.
Again we see another birdseye shot of the table, this time though we see more people, which appear now to be our main focus. There is an interesting use of costume in this shot, as the people who are in the room seem to be wearing masks usually associated with breakdance, although they are wearing them on the tops of their heads giving the audience a very surreal, confused presentation, despite that it is very interesting, and does create a good look. The editing in this part is especially quick.
The editing pace at this point is at its fastest. In this shot we see the birds eye view of the table has changed again, this time we see confetti and nobody around the table the shot is mostly of a dark black colour and just the one man Dj-ing the music. This could be a pointer in the narrative of the video as this may be the peak of the party, and it’s now about to start dying down.
This next shot, is of a break dancer, again wearing a mask. However the shot is framed oddly, it appears again to be birdseye but gives the illusion that the dancer is dancing on a vertical wall, which is impressive to look at. The editing again here is very quick.
In this shot, we see how the song title and lyrics are highlighted, this is one of the only points in the video that we can salvage some sort of narrative structure. The song, I’m assuming is about the general club scene and meeting people. This therefore highlights that point. It is an interesting shot because along with the rest of the style of the video, this you would normally pick up on as not part of the same style; however it manages to work in this video, maybe because of the fast editing pace or because the lighting of the shot is still fairly low/dark.
This shot is interesting also, because it has changed from the similar shot of the birds eye with the masked people in, to a close up of this man, we see a different use of editing here as there is effect to the fact he is breathing fire. There is also an interesting use of sound stings throughout the video, there is layered sound above that of the actual music track, giving the video more depth and making it more effective, the sounds almost act as sound effects to certain things people are doing e.g. glass breaking. This becomes especially apparent towards the end of the video.
We then see the silhouette of a woman dancing, throughout this the lighting in the background changes, to a red colour to black and white, which is again unusual because it is in contrast to the rest of the video, which is in colour. However the dancing is obviously significant to the song.
In this shot we see a close up of a woman’s lips, the background is very out of focus, we understand that the use of close up on lips in music video’s is very conventially popular, I know this from the research I did on conventions of music videos.
As you can see this shot is a strong contrast to the one above, on it’s own it even looks like a picture rather than part of a video. The interesting thing about this shot is that the front layer is of the tape recording image again, yet the background is full of colour, there is an actor waving a flare light around, as this is when the end bridge of the song comes in, it matches the pace of the music really well, and the count down on the tape recorder makes it even more powerful because you are anticipating what is going to happen next.
In this shot again we see the lyrics to the song, instead this time though they are presented in the middle of the screen, this is still the breakdown part of the song so the lyrics are clearer now and this may be the reason they are put in the middle of the shot. It is again interesting as something different is still going on in the background, there are various layers to this shot also, with the picture of a man to the right hand side and then the remaining pictures of the flares and sparklers to the left.
This Is one of the last shots and is again layered, only this time the picture of the man is in our centre framing, and the flares are still in the background. This is interesting because it includes so much colour, referring to the person in the middle they have a reversed colouring effect on them, which gives the whole shot an interesting look but it doesn’t make it look too busy, the amount of colour and things going on matched with the fast paced editing matches the style of song.
In this sequence of shots they are many people stood in the centre of the shot with different masks on like the one in this shot, they are edited quickly, jumping from the next to the next. It gives it a real party rush feel, just before things usually die down. It is an unusual shot because these were most probably still images edited into the video, which appears a lot throughout it.
Swedish House Mafia ft Pharrell – One (Your Name)
How this will help me with my studies: This will help me with my music video as i can grasp the idea of how a music video looks, the editing pace and theme etc, the music of this video is of a similiar genre to that of the artist and therefore i could show parts of this type of style in my video.
Directed by Christian Larson & Henrik Hanson
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