Photos Posted to Flickr

I have posted my images on Flickr in order to receive feedback to see if my images capture the attention of my TA, if not I can use the feedback in my TA audience and make amendments.

Media Technology: Final Cut Pro X

To add the technological knowledge I developed last year using Adobe Photoshop 11, Blogger and other methods,. 

I now have learned basic skills on Final Cut Pro X. 

Firstly I had to ensure the external hard drive and memory card was showing up on the home screen.

Secondly, I had to click on the external hard drive to ensure that is where my work would belong as the Mac itself wouldn't have enough memory. 

I then had to create a new event to save my work into.

I also had to click on the reel, then the external hard drive, create a new project.

After setting my folder up I had to click on the import media box and import all of the videos me, Greta and Rhea took in the lesson beforehand.

I had to click optimized media, analysed for balanced colour and analyse and fix audio problems and then import all. 

I had to move the playhead to the point in the primary storyline or a selected storyline (or make a range selection) where I wanted to insert the clip. Then click edit and insert.

To attatch a soundtrack I needed to go to file - import media and select my external hard drive. Choose the mp3 file of the song and select and import it. 

In conclusion I have learned how to add videos into the studio, add an audio track, how to scrub and how to set up the file and the external hard drive.

Selection and Rejection: Principle Photography

 

This location is going to be used in our music video as it will be synonymous to some of the lyrics, we want it to fit the frame of the camera so if this was a little straighter this would be ideal, I would also remove the ornaments in the window as well as photoshop myself out of the frame.  

I also like this image as it is straight in using the camera when filming it could be very effective if the camera zooms in on the window, once again I just need to remove ornaments and myself from the frame.

I will not use his angle or this image, the angle doesn't complement the window and the reflections are very irrelevant and make the shot look even more unprofessional. 

This photo will possibly be used, I think this image is effective as the railway fades away, it can be represented to show times have changed, not necessarily for the best in some peoples minds, therefore being able to link it to post-modernism.

This image will not be used, it doesn't really have any meaning behind it, I used this image more to just show the surroundings.

This may be used as it shows a sense of journey as it could be perceived as a train's point of view, it also shows what's close in the distance, but what's further away is unknown, could be linked to a persons destiny. 

This image will not be used as it again doesn't really have meaning, it doesn't have much of a landscape or horizon and it doesn't really show journey like the other image of the tracks, it can't really be linked to anything and can't be used later on effectively to create synergy.

This image will not be used, it was mainly again just to show off the location found any other ideas to take pictures here and wanted me to go back, the photo doesn't show meaning, just the location.

An image like this will be used however as a group we have decided these cads look cheap and tacky, as a result of this we will use cards but we will use classic white ones, a better more plain or meaningful background will also be used.

Music Video Research 9: James Blunt - Heart to Heart

Genre: Pop/Pop-Rock
Style: Performance and Concept Based

James Blunt is looking into camera in the video, this convention can be heavily linked to Goodwin, it is imperative that an artist makes and eye contact with the camera and interacts with the audience in a promotional music video in order for it to be successful, it is also a convention to look into camera when singing in a music video and due to pop being the mainstream genre it is not a surprise James Blunt has adhered to this convention. 

Product Placement also plays a large part in this video which has become more of a convention for pop videos in recent years due to contracts and sponsorship's however, James Blunt's older music videos do not contain product placement so it shows how he has moved along with the new and modern conventions of music videos as time has. The fact it is a new piece of technology could also be reaching out to a younger target audience as technology is a huge part of youth culture, therefore James Blunt is clearly aiming to satisfy a wider audience as he already has an older existing audience. 

He also uses an undercranked background throughout this whole video, this may be representing how quick time passes without realising or making reference to living in the moment. This once again is an advance in the technology by speeding up the background of his video whilst he is moving in real time and singing in real time. Although the video doesn't necessarily have a concept I think it is making a comment on how everyone is theirselves and the world just flies by with every individuals daily routines. 

The shot of these train tracks is very effective as I think it shows a sense of journey and it could be making references to escapism and post modernism in the way that people aren't hay with living in their era and they wish they lived in a different time. The fact that on the video it also is extremely sped up it may also be making reference to how life is a journey and how quickly the journey goes by. The lyrics when this shot appears includes the phrase "Guides me to wherever you fall", as train tracks are a method of transportation this makes reference to finding your destiny.

Pictured right is an interracial homosexual couple, it could be said that James Blunt is trying to appeal a wider audience by adding different ethnic groups and sexual groups to the video. Although the phone will be heavily linked to product placement, I also believe this couple taking a selfie could be seen as narcissists as they are almost admiring themselves by taking the photo that contrasts with James Blunt who faces the phone camera away from him when taking a video as if he is ashamed to look at himself due to his clear insecurities that are portrayed in the lyrics and by his facial expressions matching the lyrics. The emotion on James Blunt's face is also clearly intend to be noticed as there are repeated close up/extreme close up shots of his facial expressions to portray his emotion.

It could also be said that the narrative throughout this video could be linked to Cameron's theory of Forking Paths, for example James Blunt in this video is clearly insecure about losing his girlfriend as he pulls nervous faces whilst the lyrics sing "I lie awake at night and worry for a while" however on the other hand he is very demanding and passionate in singing "You and I won't part til we die" and "we see eye to eye, heart to heart" almost as if he is adamant that he is going to stay with this girl for the rest of his life when in real fact these two story lines contrast so much that the outcome to the narrative is not clear.

In the video when he sings the line including the word "Halo" the background is very shiny, almost as if an urban heaven is trying to be displayed, this could be stressing how he is in 'heaven' when he is with his girlfriend. Although it could be a bit too implicit, he may be trying to appeal to a religious audience also possibly making reference to his religious beliefs through his music.

In the video James Blunt isn't really dressed like a pop musician he is just dressed in casual clothing and this therefore breaks Richard Dyers theory of representation as he is breaking the conventions of dressing in modern/mainstream clothing e.g. Adidas.

Planning Post: Photography

On Tuesday the 26th of September I will go down to the Railway near my house in Brigg in a rural area that we may use for our music video, it is surrounded by trees and it looks secluded, which can make a lot of references to the lyrics in our song, I will take several different shots at the different angles in order to decide whether it is certain we will use this location in our music video.

Planning Post: Organising Principle Photography

Group Post Research: Lyric Analysis

Group Post - Planning: Beat Script

The general concept of our music video is romanticising nostalgia. Instead of being a stereotypical narrative, this video will be exploring the concept of utopia and how the modern day life is dissatisfying to young people.
Intertextuality will be referenced by mentioning The Wizard of Oz as some of the lyrics refer to Dorothy and yellow bricks being the yellow brick road.
The video will involve the singer just as much as the actress, as they both hold similar significance within the music video.
The actors will express their dissatisfaction with the modern day life through symbolism and through facial expressions/acting and body language.
The video will begin with opening credits and the title slide of the song. The colour yellow will be implied throughout the video in small aspects as this is the symbol of intertetxtuality.
Whenever the star image will be shown in the music video, a large amount of the shots will be closeups/ medium closeups as this displays the star to the audience and helps build a relationship between the audience and the rising star.

Treatment for our Music Video

Music Video Research 8: Locations in Indie Music Videos

I believe the location of an abandonded building will be very good for the theme of our music video and it is also accessable to me, Greta and Rhea as I can drive and I know several spots like this, we have made a lot of plans to use an abandoned building and I think they are very good to enhance post modernism in a video, I think it shows how people are going to abandoned places to try and remenisce the past and feel a thought of escapism, when in reality, the past wasn't that great. Abandoned, damaged buildings are not normally used in Indie music videos so this is not only breaking conventions but it is also linking to Steve Neale's theory that 'difference is essential to the economy of the genre' however artists like Ed Sheeran use run down buildings in their music videos and drain the coour to show the state the world is in and make links to postmodernism.  

This location can be easily recreated near the Humber Bridge, I think this image is simply aesthetically pleasing and it shows a couple having fun living an enjoying life in front of a beautiful landscape. Due to the people we are using in this video this could also be easily recreated, having an iconic location like the Humber Bridge in the background could also capture a Northern audience as well as the audience we already aim to satisfy (17/25). The behaviour of this young couple among the landscape also relates to youth culture as a lot of young couples in love try to live a dream like the people on this image.

A location similar to this is also easily accessable to me and I think it would work in our video as it shows a sense of exploration and it carries a hidden meaning relating to youth culture (our TA) who at their teen age are starting to explore new things and find out who they really are, it also can simply make relevance that young people like to live a life of exploration and they are having fun together in new, different locations and surroundings.

Research ancillaries 4: Linkin Park/Jay Z Digipak

Research ancillaries 3: Lana Del Ray Digipak

Research ancillaries 2: Jessie J Digipak

Research music video 7: Closing Shots of Indie Music Videos

Here are some closing shots of Indie music videos, my first thoughts are that to adhere to conventions a scenic background has to be included as fans of the genre appreciate the background within the video just as much as the music, detail is a huge part and due to the Indie having such a broad style within it opens a lot of doors for different opportunities for my music video. I could follow the route of using emotions, love and show a close relationship however it can be also seen that only one of the videos clearly represents love, therefore I will not go down that route and I intend to apply weird and wonderful things that follow a theme however they are unpredictable and are understandable yet unexpected.

This has influenced my research and planning as it has given me a rough insight of how to end our music video, I like how most of the shots are empty or include the main star performing something to queue the end of the video.

Research music video 6: Establishing Shots for Indie Music Videos

Here are some establishing shots of Indie music videos, I think it is instantly clear to see that a convention for an Indie music video is to have an establishing shot that either contains the main theme/character in the video or have a scenic background that is quite abstract. I intend to follow this trend in my music video as I think it is a key convention of an Indie music video, I think adhering to these conventions will also attract an existing audience of Indie music videos and as it has no segregation of any group of people it can attract any group although I primarily intend to attract 'aspirers' and the working class.

• This has influenced my research and planning as it as I have noticed a convention of an Indie music video is having a location shot as an establishing shot, sometimes semiotics can also be included within the shot, this can be very effective
• I also like some of the CGI/Animiation that is used, although it may not be possible due to budget reason I would quite like to use something like this in the video.

Research Institutions 2: iTunes

I tunes research from RyanFrankish7

This has influenced my research and planning as it has shown me the large market that iTunes provides and the broad audience it satisfies due to the mass amounts of different genres it has. It has also influenced me to make links to iTunes when adverting our artist.

Music Video Research 5: Foo Fighters - The Pretender Edited

Genre: Rock
Style: Performance

Conventions according to Goodwin: The artist is making eye contact with the camera which is addressing the audience and is creating a personal relationship with the audience when referring to Blumler and Katz and close ups are imperative in a promotional music video as they provide fans with close ups of their idols that they want to see, with the video being performance based it also gives fans the feel they are receiving a gig experience when they see the artists playing their instruments.

It is clear to see there is hierarchy in the band as Dave Grohl, the male pictured above walks out first, this instantly lets the audience know he is the main member of the band as he is the first member you see. He is also aimed to stand out as not only the main character, but also a tough, stereotypical male as the camera aims to show his tattoos and the bandage on his wrist whilst he is gripping the microphone aggressively.

The rest of the band then enter and it is evident that Dave Grohl is intended to stand out as the rest of the band are wearing black whilst Dave Grohl is wearing white and whilst the lyrics say "What if I say I'm not like the others" it is clear to see the lyrics are synonymous to the happenings on the screen.




The theme of Dave Grohl looking like an alpha male continues when you see Dave Grohl confronting several riot guards who are most notably wearing black which also once again enhances the theory that he is intended to stand out, though this music video doesn't seem to have a main concept I think it holds a theme of do not back down to be different and sometimes you have to be confrontational to stand up for your beliefs. I also think that the huge stampede of riot guard makes reference to the lyrics as they say "What if I say I'm not like the others" I believe the riot guards are "the others" the director has not only used quantity to make this point stand out but also uses contrasting colours showing their huge differences and how "the others" are out to get Dave Grohl.


I also feel the red background could be making reference to semiotics, I believe the red background could represent anger that is constantly in the back of Dave Grohl's (the frontman) head, I also feel this makes reference to anger due to the aggressive style the band carry throughout the video combining with the red that symbolises danger/anger.

• This has influenced my research and planning as I like the use of of colours in this video, they seem to represent segregation.
• I also the scale of the room is good, I like how such a large empty room is used and is made effective with the colours once again representing segregation.

Slidely TA Profile

Ryan Frankish's Slidely by Slidely Slideshow

As can be seen in my slidely, the indie genre mainly attracts younger fans, who seemingly appear working class, my aim is to apply these factors into my video so I can adhere to the conventions of the indie genre and create something attracting and appealing to current fans of the indie genre. I intend to use working class style clothes that appear casual and to use messy hairstyles that can either be short or long, hairstyles of the indie genre are varied as almost anything is accepted and that is the whole point of indie, to be independent and unique, this is how I will portray the star in the video. The audience will not be niche as a lot of people can fit into a young category 16-25, these normally are a group called 'aspirers' who are pursuing a dream, I also aim to find away to attract aspirers to my video, apply characteristics to my artist that they were young, they worked hard, chased a dream and now they're riding high. Due to it being a young audience we are attracting we also most likely need to include links to social media and even create a page for our artist as youth culture are stereotypically extremely addicted to internet use and social media and this a their main source of consuming information and videos via social media and You Tube. Due to the indie genre varying so much it allows young people to open a door to find out who they really are and this is why if the video is successful in adhering the conventions of the indie genre we can attract any sexuality.
I could also apply product placement in order to reel in a certain audience, for example I could use a phone/electronic brand within the music video in order to attract youth due to the reason I mentioned before, they are stereotypically attracted to phones therefore applying one in the video my attract a young audience. Youth culture are all about socialising so I could apply groups of people in the background as extras or apply meeting places such as Costa Coffee or Starbucks which also adds product placement to the video.

Music Video Research 4: Iron Maiden - The Trooper

Genre: Metal
Style: Performance and concept based

Conventions according to Goodwin:  Fans and followers love the band to have close ups as due to it being a part performance based video it allows the fans to get an experienced that is remotely similar to seeing them live, especially with older music videos as most are recorded on a stage with the band playing rather than in a studio. It is also critical in a promotional video that close ups are attained as this is what fans want to see and also when making reference to Blumler and Katz eye contact with the camera can create a personal relationship as it addresses the audience and makes the song more direct.

This music video also adheres to the conventions of a metal music video, it is performance and concept based, there is a lot of movement in the performance aspect of things and the movements are very aggressive. When looking at the appearance of the artists they also have a very stereotypical metal genre look about them, they have long scraggy hair and plain, yet aggressive faces expressions.

The song also adheres to the conventions of a metal song as it is not written like a ballad or has a meaning of love throughout the song, a lot of metal songs are written about past events and although the events mainly included death, destruction or hate this is what makes metal different to other genres and also how it attracts such a large following, a lot of metal music is similar to historic poetry.

This songs main theme is the charge of the light brigade which was a historic battle in 1854, video clips are within this video showing how brutal it was and a lot of the lyrics are synonymous to the happenings on the video throughout, for example the lyrics "As I lay there gazing at the sky, my bodies numb and my throat is dry" is being sung while a clip including this image is on the screen.



Concepts: The main theme in this music video is clearly the charge of the light brigade but when looking at the lyrics it very accurately portrays the brutality of war as do the clips in the video of the battle, this is something that can still be relatable even though the charge of the light brigade was almost two centuries ago as war is still a huge presence in the world today and it is a way of life in certain parts of the world and different cultures. Metal wasn't exactly pop music in the 80s so it wasn't a large part of youth culture but Iron Maiden were still a very popular band who attained a huge following very quickly, their main target audience was Men from ages 20-40 that is why it is very graphic and the lyrics are very gory, because the stereotypical man is tough and is stereotypically not affected by scary and squeamish things. Middle aged men in that era were also most likely to have been brought up knowing a lot about WWII as it will have been just finish/finished when they were born, so they may have a large interest in historic battles and events and this song provides a historic theme as it shows part of the poem 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

This influenced my planning and creativity as it has inspired me to use instrument performance shots in my video which would enable me to change the style of the video to performance and concept, this would allow me to attract a larger audience as well as giving the video a more rugged, pure rock feel.

Research: Moodboard on hairstyles for Music Video

Here is a moodboard of some hairstyles that are of the similar genre of the song that is going to be used for my music video, the Indie  genre is full of the weird and wonderful and near enough anything is accepted, that is the whole point, to be unique. This is why the styles vary to such a broad scale.

Research ancillaries 1: Foo Fighters DigiPak