Sunday, 11 April 2010
Evaluation
Main Text: Producing the main text was my favourite aspect of the project seeing it come together little by little throughout the creative process.
costume: Keeping within the genre of Film Noir i took inspiration from 'Out of the past' 1947. featuring Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer which takes its audience down a very dark dream of gangster murder and double-dealings. The costumes of the male character within this film are almost identical to that of the protagonist and antagonist within my media text. The Trilbies, cigarettes, Large sun glasses and dark clothing are features of the mise en scene which are all present within film noir and my music video. However in contrast the performance band are in a more modern dress sense as we see Danny in a loose shirt and tie and Mike and Otis in a t-shirt. This dress sense gives off an 'i don't care' punk image which i was trying to achieve and feel i have done.
shots: The lessons in cinematography through analysis of media texts in my media lessons were a huge help in the variety of shots i was able to capture when shooting the film. The Text has a wide range of shots, movements and angles which i thought long and hard about how they would work together when we eventually started editing. Some of my favourite shots in the music video are the closeup shots of the protagonist and antagonist capturing there emotions as they oppose each other. This adds to the intensity of the sequences and helps to break up the action shots giving them more variation and excitement. I especially like the use of many intricate closeups of the protagonist smoking to reflect the genre of the video. One of my favourite shots is the medium upward tilt to reveal the antagonist for the first time. This shot adds suspense and tension as he is slowly revealed. Another aspect of the cinematography that i Really like is the use of long shots to emphasise the length and intimidation factor of the dark back alleys. The only thing i think could be improved in the cinematography is the fact that there is hardly any shots of the whole band together. This is because it was a very small space and was hard to get a frame big enough to capture all three of them and make it look good. However overall i think i did a very good job in capturing the exciting and energetic shots of the performance whilst keeping the shots within the chase scene very orderly and professional.
editing: The editing was really exciting and held a great sense of accomplishment when you see all of the shots coming together. Following the stylistics of Film Noir we decided to put the whole video in black and white to add authenticity and a touch of class. I feel this worked really well. The hardest bit about editing was getting the lip syncing in sync with the actual track. This proved to be very frustrating but we managed to get it looking very effective in the end. I think one of my best skills within the whole of the creative process is how i create the continuity from shot to shot. I feel Ive executed this perfectly as all of the match on action are convincing and all of the shots make sense together.
problematics: The problems i encountered when shooting the main text was that it was very hard to manage all of the costumes every time i had to re shoot as actors would shave, change there hair styles and even lose there clothes. Another problem was getting the material onto the editing suites as there were only a limited number of computers free to work on and most days they were always busy. A problem we encountered as a group was the amount of work that each individual produced varying from each group member as some did more then others which coursed conflict and tension within the group. The last problem was my time keeping skills as i felt i left a lot of the things to last minute and if i started the project again i would definitely get the whole of the creative process going in the very early stages.
how i felt: Overall i felt that the media product was a big success considering the limited number of actors and acting skills they possessed. I felt that the group was a great way of getting things done however i feel that i should of worked individually and created the music video exactly how i wanted it to look.
improvements:The improvements that i would of made to the music video would be to make the stunts bigger and better as the health and safety issues got in the way of making the text more action packed and dangerous. Also i would have improved it by having more willing actors to create a more diverse and exciting narrative.
Ancillary text 1. Digipak
The Digipak was really fun to create although i found in quite challenging in the respect that most of my time was took up by the video making the Digipak a very rushed product. I should of managed my time better as i feel i could of created something much better and more professional. Although i think the Digipak expresses most of the major ideology and genre aspects effectively through the use of imagery, font and layout.
Ancillary text 2. Magazine advertisement
I thoroughly enjoyed creating the magazine advert and because of the previous experience i had in the AS year i found that i knew all of the necessary skills to create a forceful and effective magazine advertisement which appealed to its target audience.
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
I feel that the ancillary texts reflect the genre, image and stylistics of the main music video text amazingly well. This is because not only does it use unique fonts that mirror the raw and grungey look of the band actual images are used from the music video itself to give the audience a sneak preview into the narrative and genre of the text.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Looking at my music video from a performance aspect it puts in to play many conventions of many music videos especially from the rock genre. The first convention is the lip syncing as on every music video the song which has been recorded in a studio is put over the bands performance. The fast energetic shots give the video a lively and rocky feel creating a more exciting atmosphere for the audience. The music video challenges and develops the narrative from various Michael Jackson videos. The binary opposition of good and evil is mirrored within my music video and Billie jean, which also follows a similar narrative as the detective chases Michael Jackson.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
I feel that my media product would appeal to all sorts of audiences due to the fact that the video combines elements from new age fashion, 80's music and an even older film mise en scene taken from Film Noir. The audience for my media product would be appealing to the younger teen audience as the genre of the track is popular music which they all enjoy and can relate to. Also the idea of a rock bands, rebellious attitude and new age fashion is what appeals to a teenage audience. However the track 'Beat it' is appreciated by audiences of all ages it would be more appealing and memorable to the audiences which experienced it the first time around who would be in the age range of 30 plus. The elements of film Noir would also be very much appreciated and remembered by an audience of elderly people. I think that it is a great achievement to produce a video that can be appreciated by a wide variety of audiences.
How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
In the research stages i used various new media technologies to record my findings and also to find the information i need to give me greater knowledge of the texts i am going to create. The main use of technology for the whole of the project was Blogger. This is a great way to record all of your findings and help keep track of the order of the production process and the best part is you can access it from home as well as college. Also it was very easy to use as i had already used it in AS. Within the construction of the music video i used my own video camera and mini dv tapes. The camera was a Sony handy cam which was perfect because it was easily transported and the Dv Tapes were easy to upload through a fire wire cable onto the editing suites. The editing programme which i used was Adobe Premiere. I found this programme relatively easy to use as i have used programmes with a similar layouts out at home in private projects. To create the ancillary projects were both created in Microsoft publisher as it had all the necessary tools needed to create the layout to how i wanted it to look. Again i had used this programme in AS year so it was fairly easy to use. Photo shop CS3 came in very handy because it allowed me to create some professional effect on my photos. As i also study graphics this programme is familiar to me. 'dafont.com' was a brilliant site to be able to take fonts from because they look professional and you Can get some very unique designs. When creating the Animatic i used windows movie maker to get the slides together and also to get them to the duration i needed. I found the media technology to be very comfortable to use as i had experience in all of them.
I found that trial and error is the best way to improve the quality of your outcomes within a production aspect because it is not up to you to decide how good your texts are it is the target audiences opinion that matters.
Friday, 26 March 2010
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Final Magazine advert
Final DigiPak
This is how the Digipak would look on sale at a music store. It fits in well with the surrounding CD designs and is also quite subtle not being to overpowering and over the top.
This is the front cover of the digipak showing a medium high angled two shot of two members of the band. I think that this picture is a great way to engage with its audience directly giving them all the information they need about the digipak. The black and white suggests to the audience that there will be elements of Film Noir which in keeps with the classic original beat it music video. The text is very unique and modern revealing to the audience the grungy and raw ideologies of the band. I think the composition of the piece is very nice as it is very evenly spaced and also the the busy is a nice contrast to the simple yet unique title. I would like to improve this image front cover by adding slightly more information and maybe taking a little more time to research into other existing digipaks.
The spine is very simple. It sticks to the black and white film noir theme and has all the necessary information which the audience needs. The font is the same to the font features on the magazine advert which shows a clear link between the different media texts. I like how the composition is top heavy making the overall digipak feel different and creative.
This is my favourite part of the digipak as it seems to look the most interesting visually. This is my favourite Photo of the whole of the DigiPak as it gives the audience an insight into the genre and stylistics of the video. Also showing the protagonist as the central image is a great marketing technique as it allows the audience to idolise with him and get a sneak peek at what they can expect from the video and style of music. Another one of my favourite characteristics about this back cover is the font. Its is edgy and raw reflecting the music style and genre of the video. The track list is clearly listed in a bold red font which makes it stand out from the background giving the audience a clear look at the track list.Digipak Ideas / Magazine Ideas
I like this shot because it shows the energy of the band and also it is framed very well giving u a good clear look at the singer and the microphone. However i wont be using this shot within my Digipack because it doesn't on the whole look that impressive and also i think there are several better shots which could be used.
The thing i like most about this shot is how it is framed through the drumkit which allows Otis to be framed centrally. I wont be using this shot however because of the motion blur of the hands and sticks.
This is one of my favourite shots, It has unique composition, style and really reflects what the music video is all about. I especially like how you can see the brick wall in depth bringing your attention right ot the protagonist.
This variation of the previous shot would make a very good magazine advert i think because it doesn't reveal to much about the music video and has a sense of mystery to it which could possibly intrigue the audience and make them want to buy the music video even more.
Although this is a really good action shot i don't think i will be using this within the digipack as it is quite hard to make out who the characters are and exactly what there doing.
Again this one isn't very clear although i do really like the location as it has a very grungey and backstreet feel to it which is the focus location within the music video.
This two shot of mike and danny is quite a fun and energetic shot. However i am dissapoitnted in the motion blur as it could of bee a really good magazine advert.
This shot is one of my favourites because it reflects the raw ideologys of the band. Danny really fits into the part here with his costume and style of playing. The shot its self is very forceful and creates a contrast between the other types of shots which i already have.
I may use this shot within the digipack because of the effective angle which captures the band members in motion. Also it allows room for text in spaces which arnt occupied by important imagery.
The framing within this shot is excellent giving equal space to the character and location. The fact that the face is slightly blurred is very dissapointing as i would of defiantely used this shot for the front cover of the digipack.release forms and edit log



These release forms will allow us to use the video how we want for example putting it on youtube or facebook. It is a declaration of the participants approval for it to be seen by others.

This Edit log allowed us to keep track of what we had edited in terms of day to day sessions. It allowed us as a group to see how much work we had done individually and also see how much editing we have to do. One of the major problems with editing was the number of other people who also wanted to use the editing suites. So the vast majority of the text had to be edited in bulk.
Digipak Analysis
I chose to analyse this digipak because i think the colour scheme is very powerful and effective. It draws you straight into the design as it is eye catching and bold. The contrasting colours help to add to the genre and ideologies of the digipak as well. There is a lot of information including lyrics and track listings which is essential to navigate around the software.
This Digipak uses some very modern and experimental colour combinations. I feel that this has definitely paid off as it emphasises the ideologies of the artist and his songs. The yellow and pink/purple have an amazing contrast against one an other creating an eye catching effect that no one could resist.
The thing that really draws me into this digipak is the cover art. I especially am amazed at the power such a simple colour scheme and design plan could be so effective. The font its self is nothing special however the imagery surrounding it bring out the best in it emphasising colour tones and mark making techniques. The whole design seems very organic not only with the imagery of the plants and trees but with the bright green colours that bring the piece to life.
This is the template which i have used to achieve the correct resolution for each of my images.
New Genre
In keeping with the rock genre of mad world Beat it takes a slightly more American pop edge giving it a more up-tempo and rhythmic feel. The song itself is about gang’s and fighting which I felt was the perfect opportunity to remake a music video as it already has a great idea behind it. However the pop audience is slightly younger then the soft rock audience as compared to a more adult audience it is aimed at the mainstream music audience, teens. "Beat It" was released on February 14, 1983 as the album's third single. The song was promoted with a short film that featured Michael Jackson and his gang opposing against another gang using dance moves.
Location List
Prop List and cast list
Film Noir
Song change
[1st Verse]
They Told Him Don't You Ever Come Around Here
Don't Wanna See Your Face, You Better Disappear
The Fire's In Their Eyes And Their Words Are Really Clear
So Beat It, Just Beat It
[2nd Verse]
You Better Run, You Better Do What You Can
Don't Wanna See No Blood, Don't Be A Macho Man
You Wanna Be Tough, Better Do What You Can
So Beat It, But You Wanna Be Bad
[Chorus]
Just Beat It, Beat It, Beat It, Beat It
No One Wants To Be Defeated
Showin' How Funky Strong Is Your Fight
It Doesn't Matter Who's Wrong Or Right
Just Beat It, Beat It
Just Beat It, Beat It
Just Beat It, Beat It
Just Beat It, Beat It
[3rd Verse]
They're Out To Get You, Better Leave While You Can
Don't Wanna Be A Boy, You Wanna Be A Man
You Wanna Stay Alive, Better Do What You Can
So Beat It, Just Beat It
[4th Verse]
You Have To Show Them That You're Really Not Scared
You're Playin' With Your Life, This Ain't No Truth Or Dare
They'll Kick You, Then They Beat You,
Then They'll Tell You It's Fair
So Beat It, But You Wanna Be Bad
[Chorus]
Just Beat It, Beat It, Beat It, Beat It
No One Wants To Be Defeated
Showin' How Funky Strong Is Your Fight
It Doesn't Matter Who's Wrong Or Right
[Chorus]
Just Beat It, Beat It, Beat It, Beat It
No One Wants To Be Defeated
Showin' How Funky Strong Is Your Fight
It Doesn't Matter Who's Wrong Or Right
Just Beat It, Beat It, Beat It, Beat It, Beat It
[Chorus]
Beat It, Beat It, Beat It, Beat It
No One Wants To Be Defeated
Showin' How Funky Strong Is Your Fight
It Doesn't Matter Who's Wrong Or Right
[Chorus]
Just Beat It, Beat It, Beat It, Beat It
No One Wants To Be Defeated
Showin' How Funky Strong Is Your Fight
It Doesn't Matter Who's Wrong Or Who's Right
[Chorus]
Just Beat It, Beat It, Beat It, Beat It
No One Wants To Be Defeated
Showin' How Funky Strong Is Your Fight
It Doesn't Matter Who's Wrong Or Right
[Chorus]
Just Beat It, Beat It, Beat It, Beat It
No One Wants To Be Defeated
Showin' How Funky Strong Is Your Fight
It Doesn't Matter Who's Wrong Or Right
Just Beat It, Beat It
Beat It, Beat It, Beat It
Within the music video 'beat it' there are various aspects within the stylistics which i would like to use in my own project. The cinematography gives the spectator a wide range of diverse shots, movements and angles. I feel that if i do the same within my video it would help to create a more interesting and powerful final product. The editing is fast and static creating the feeling of excitement and adding more action to the sequences. I would like to use fast paced editing in my music video because it would allow me to express my narrative in more depth and also work well mirroring the upbeat song. As the video is set at night time the mise en scene is very dark and grungy which works really well with the song. I would very much like to mirror this effect by also using darkly lit sequences and maybe even using black and white. The narrative of the video is split into to segmants before they become one. It is made up of a performance part as michael Jakson is miming to the words which will be put in sync through the editing later and also a segmant in which there is a narrative unfolding between two gangs. Personally i feel this has a very clever meaning behind it as the creators of the video want to keep the audienced entertained with a story whilst letting them see michael Jackson in action. This gives variation which i would definately take inspiration from for my final outcome.
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Original images for Mad World digipack
This is one of my original digi pack ideas for our first idea. It presents a ghostly image of our protagonist as he looks on into the distance. This would of fit in well with the genre of the music video because it has very sad and mellow tones to the song. The text is very eroded and unique providing a more forceful effect for the Digi packs audience.Wednesday, 3 February 2010
Starting from the week back after half term i have divided my teams tasks into a 6 week action plan to help manage our time.
Week 1 : Shoot the whole of the video as we really only need one location based around Wyke college it will be easy to get from one place to another. This is also handy because if we need to re shoot we don't have to go very far.
Week 2 : Upload the footage and analyse it making sure that it is what we wanted and if we need to re shoot anything we can go out and do so.
Week 3: Finish the editing and add any finishing touches we think are necessary to the main text
Week 4: Draw up some ideas for our auxiliary texts and start writing up our music video evaluation
Week 5: Finish our auxiliary texts and music video evaluation
Week 6 : Evaluation of the whole project and make any changes necessary to the blogger and the texts.
Monday, 14 December 2009
Sunday, 6 December 2009
Animatic
This is our original Animatic which outlines the structure of the scenes we are using. However looking back on the detail of the scenes shown within our animatic i think that more closeup shots are needed to be put in to give the music video more variation to make it more interesting and exciting.
Friday, 27 November 2009
Location list
Wyke college entrance and outside campus. - Protagonist enters through the gates and walks down the path to interact with some piers. The college is perfect for this sequence as it reinforces the verisimilitude of the music video as it is a realistic place for the events to happen. Also our target audience can relate to the situation and surroundings.
Dining room - This location is necessary for the family eating scene to show how the family mistreats the protagonist. The dining room needs to really have the protagonist singled out and centred at the head of the table to symbolise his loneliness.
Quiet street - For this scene various health and safety issues come into play. As we are running somebody over attention could be brought to the fact that spectators might think there has been a real accident. So to avoid getting into trouble with the police we either need to film at a very early time or inform the police and the public in the surrounding area.
Function room - This room dosnt have to be to big as we only really need to use one of the walls to create the effect we are looking for. As we are having a cake with a candle this is a health and safety issue of either getting burnt or causing a fire.
Lecture theatre - We are going to be using the lecture theatre to create .......
Cast List
Emma Hirst – Car Driver
Nicolle Freitag – In the car
Dan Armitage – Bully
John Hamlin – School teacher
Mike Davis – Paramedic
Prop list
Bikes
Cap
Back pack with books in
Table, chairs, cutlery
Dish cloths
Birthday banner
Balloons
Cake with candle
Party hat
Paper
Car
Ambulance jacket







