Construction

When making and producing our video we tried to keep everything in keeping with the genre and style of video we wanted to achieve. The methods we used when planning helped us a great deal when making the video. When making the video we wanted to keep it as simple as possible and keep everything in keeping with everything else. For example, even though the actual music in the video has an almost sombre tone the lyrics and meaning of the song are quite positive so because of that we tried to keep it a positive video with aspects such as the lighting trying to get shots with sunny windows and open doors and making sure there is a light source in the majority of shots, encompassing pathetic fallacy.





As you can see we took a range of shots at different times of the day and night to add to the mood which is also known as pathetic fallacy, which is when the mood being portrayed is represented by the outside or the weather.

As regards to shot type construction we tried to get in as many shots as could to keep a wide variety and to keep the video interesting, for example at point in the video when our actor was singing we used a worms - eye view shot to emphasise his power and also emphasise the lyrics he was singing which happened to be about power and dominance and coming over his fears.



This shot is an example of a worms eye view shot.


When it came to aspects such as props and costume we kept it as simple and realistic as possible we didn't really use any extra, we filmed in a house and all the props were already there and the costume was just our actors normal clothes which kept the video down to earth and simple which was our goal at the beginning. Also having the use of an HD camera aided us greatly as it gave us the chance to have the best quality possible for our project and we do think that it did give us an edge on our project. this was also aided by having the right programme on our computer for when we wanted to start editing.

Planning

When first planning our projects we started by researching different videos within the same genre to get a feel for what was expected**. After this we used storyboards both drawn and photo to just get an idea of what we wanted to do and how it would look. The drawn storyboards just helped us get an idea of what we wanted to do, however the photo storyboard gave us more of a picture of what our ideas would look like and if we felt it would look like what we wanted. These storyboards did exactly what they say on the tin, for example they gave us a chance to play around with some different shot ideas, close - up, extreme close - up etc. And what ideas seemed to benefit our project, as these ideas were only quick drawings or photos this meant we could take down as many ideas as we wanted. Also, these storyboards acted like a script for the entire project, meaning that we knew exactly what shots we needed and when so if we missed one out or felt it didn't look right we could see exactly which one it was and what could in its place.
After we did these storyboards we took photos of drawn storyboards and uploaded them on to the Apple Macs and made a short video with the photos to see a very rough idea of what our video would consist of and if it made sense to us and other members of the group.

As regards to the photo storyboards we also uploaded these to the Apple Macs and again created what's called an animatic, a moving animation, to see in a bit more detail what we saw in the drawings which we uploaded. After seeing these we knew what we wanted to do and how we go about it. As part of the video making we also had to create a CD cover and a webpage, as regards to planning these we just researched and studied already published webpages and already selling CD covers, especially the CD cover produced by Athlete.

**I did try to embed 3 different videos from youtube to show what and where we used videos to help us plan our video, However when I tried to embed these it would not let me as it came up with 'embedding disabled by request', Athlete - Superhuman Touch, The Killers - Smile like you mean it and Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars.

Evaluation

Our music video of Athlete - The Getaway uses many of the conventions used in popular and emotive music videos. For example, the use of close up shots which we used to portray the emotion of our lead character, photograph shots and a variety of different locations. However, we have tried to add our own unique touch to many of the shots, such as, using our own houses, and props e.g. personal family photographs.
We decided early on that we didn't wish to completely conform to a stereotypical style of music video. So we decided, even though our choice of song is fairly slow in tempo and create a rather upsetting atmosphere, we aimed to keep the pace of the shots and the action fairly upbeat to try and challenge the conventional style found in similar music videos.
Another convention we did use was that of close – up shots, these help add to the emotion felt within the video and which emotion is portrayed to the audience. We tried to keep to this convention as much as possible because we felt that perhaps trying to challenge or change the aim of the convention would take away the meaning that we would be trying to convey. In this sense, a close - up shot helps portray emotion, convey a sense of what atmosphere is being represented within the shot.
In association with this, we also shots such as worms eye view and birds eye view, which along with close – up also help the understanding and help emphasise the emotion and feel of the scene because these shots create a feel of authority or in contrast a sense of belittling. These are typical characteristics of the music video and can be found in many a video.
A music video is meant to aid the storyline that is being depicted within the song, as much as we tried to keep with this, at times became a challenge, however, reflecting upon this we feel it adds a sense of unpredictability to the video which overall does entail with story line of the song.

Our subsidiary tasks include a web-page for the band and a CD cover.

We aimed to keep the theme the same throughout to keep the continuity feel. However we did adapt each one to their means. For example, with the CD cover, an audience would want to be able to recognise it without having to read every CD case in the store, so making it recognisable is one of the key aspects. However, the web page is more a method of advertising, the band, the single and the album. Rather than selling an individual product unlike the CD.



This is an example of our webpage, however if this was created it would encompass drop down menus and movable features.

Overall, I think our 3 different products link well together but keep their individual characteristics. When designing the 3 different products, at first we kept the same design throughout just making it larger or smaller whenever or wherever needed however when looking at them collectively we felt this did not give a professional feel or look to any of the products, obviously for the video when bounced ideas of the original but when looking at Athletes own orginal CD cover and webpage we were not thrilled by their ideas so thought it best to come up with out own. Which I think overall this method benefited our project and looks as though we put a lot of effort in to it to create our own ideas.

From our audience feedback which was both positive and negative we gained a lot of knowledge as regards to our projects. For example, with the video it was quite obvious that at time the syncing with the voice over and mouth was very tricky and when showed to our peer group this was picked up, meaning that we had to pay more special attention to this issue. We took all negative comments on our projects as positive criticism rather than negative, seeing as the comments were to benefit us in the long run. Another issue bought up when an audience viewed our video is that some of the shots didn't quite turn out how we would have liked for example there was an extreme close - up shot of our actors eyes moving quickly we after viewing for our selves we didn't think looked professional or added anything to the video so we decided to remove the shot.



This is the shot previously mentioned however we kept this section but this example shows what the clip we removed looked like.
In contrast to this the positive comments were very positive. For example to video all seemed to flow and a sense of continuity was felt throughout, our video was very well understood. We took all of the comments made into consideration and did try to address all them by either editing them, emphasising them or removing them all together if we felt they would not benefit our project.

Media technologies have greatly aided our project. Even from the start of our project we used media technologies such as youtube which we used when researching music videos that we could use ideas from and when studying the actual band who's song we used, Athlete - The Getaway. We used a number of other media technologies throughout our project for all the tasks as well as the music video. For example without the use of an Apple Mac,we wouldn't have been able to put together or edit our video to the standard we have achieved. The programme we used was called imovieHD, as we used an HD video camera this helped us bring the best quality out of having the chance to use an HD camera. On the Apple Mac,imovieHD, we were able to change almost everything we wanted to,from the effects on the video such as lighting or black or white and even down to sound as well, as we used a popular song we obviously had to sync up the lyrics with our actors, which did pose as a challenge, however, on the imovieHD programme we were able to slow down and speed up the pace of the video when our actor was singing which meant we were able to sync the singing with the lyrics better. However, as previously mentioned when it came to the peer evaluation we did encounter a few criticisms but we did take these as constructive and then went to smooth out and improve on the syncing and timing in our video. The Apple Macs even helped us when doing tasks like this evaluation, using the programme 'Grab' so take screen shots to implant on our evaluation to help express and emphasise the points being made in our writing. As regards to our subsidiary task, media technologies really helped us, for example when designing the webpage, having programmes that we could change colours on, cropping images editing images was a great help. Meaning that we could create a much more professional look for the task. Also, this helped with the CD cover as we could create a blank canvas which was the exact size we wished for a CD cover which meant when designing it we knew what space we had left and if it looked like a real genuine CD cover would.
Overall, our project was an overall success taking criticisms from others was probably the most influential part as we could see what others would think not just us as we would obviously be bias so meaning that we could improve and our projects for the better. There are plenty of things if we did this again we would perhaps address in different ways or perhaps evaluate our ideas however in the basis on what we have produced I regard all our projects as successes.

Task 3 (Research - The Growth of Music Videos)

Timeline of The Music Video;

- 1941 - : A brand new product hit everywhere in America, A jukebox, the Soundie, that plays short video clips along with the music, the beginnings of the music video.

- 1960 - : A French version of the 'Soundie' is released, which does not have much success.

- 1962 - : British Televisions new invention, a new form of a music television show for example, Top Of The Pops, Ready! Steady! Go! and Oh, Boy start as bands become huge successes.

- 1964/1965 - : Such bands as Bob Dylan, Subterranean Homesick Blues and The Beatles, A Hard Day's Night'. start appearing on shows such as 'Hullabaloo' shortly followed by 'Shindig'.

- 1966 - : The very first promos are shown, The Beatles 'Paperback Writer' and 'Rain'.

- 1967 - : The Beatles first successful promo's for 'Penny Lane' and 'Strawberry Fields Forever' are released.

- 1968 - : The Rolling Stones collaborate with Jean-Luc Godard on Sympathy for the Devil

- 1970 - : The record industry discovers that these TV shows are a great opportunity to promote artists. The industry focus' on selling short music videos which started to replace the live performance of the artist on TV.

- 1974 - : ABBA show for the first time the use of 'Promos' with their clips, directed by Lasse Hallström. These contain innovative effects, camera angles, and a less static look than is the norm at the time. The band continue using such videos throughout the 1970s.

- 1975 - : 'Bohemian Rhapsody', an historic video released by Queen, marks the beginning of the video era and sets the level for the modern music video. The video is considered one of the first to use advanced video effects.

- 1979 - : 'Devo' releases 'The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprise', which was the first music video to include computer animation, as well as the traditional animation.

- 1980 - : 'Ashes to Ashes' by David Bowie, is released and is considered 'groundbreaking'.

- 1981 - : MTV was the first 24 hour 7 days a week, satellite music channel, launched in August 1981. Initially, a very select few TV operators carried it, but it rapidly became a major hit and cultural icon.

- 1981 - : Michael Nesmith's ' Elephant Parts' wins the first ever music video Grammy.

- 1982 - : Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' is released in theatres.

- 1983 - : 'Friday Night Videos' debuts on the NBC television network in the USA, allowing nearly all of the USA's households to view music videos regularly. Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean' video is released on the TV, and for the first time a black artist's video is featured on MTV with the video for his 'Beat It' hit single.

- 1984 - : Prince released the movie 'Purple Rain', and its soundtrack was nominated for an Oscar. The soundtrack album sold over 15 million copies, the first one of its kind.

- 1984 - : Michael Jackson's short film 'Thriller' was released, changing the concept of music videos forever.

Also in 1984,

- MTV presents its first Video Music Awards, hosted by Dan Aykroyd and Bette Midler.
- The Grammys award Best Short Form Music Video, as well as Best Long Form Music Video.

- 1985 - : 'a ha' acquire instant fame with their hit song 'Take On Me', significantly due to their song and video being played a lot, which featured a combination of live action and rotoscoping animation. The groundbreaking video wins several awards and is consistently rated as one of the best since.

- 1985 - : Madonna's video for her hit single 'Material Girl' was released. It is largely based on Marilyn Monroe's performance of 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend' in the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Interest explodes for the video, The video is considered one of the most memorable and always appears in 'The Best Videos'.

- 1986 - : 'Sledgehammer', from Peter Gabriel, furthers the idea of animation in music video.

- 1989 - : MTV renames its 'Video Vanguard Award' the 'Michael Jackson Vanguard Award' in honor of the pop star's contributions to the art of music video.

- 1989 - : Madonna's controversial video for 'Like a Prayer' was released.

- 1990 - : MTV bans Madonna's 'Justify My Love' video. It was then released as a video single, the first of its kind.

- 1990 - : The first 3D music video is produced: 'Love Can Build A Bridge' starring country music superstars The Judds.

- 1991 - : Nirvana release the 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' video, capturing Kurt Cobain and the grunge genre into the American and Worldwide mainstream.

- 1992 - : MTV begins to credit music video directors.

- 1995 - : Release of the most expensive music video ever 'Scream', from Michael Jackson's History album, a duet with his sister Janet.

- 1995 - : TLC's video for their hit song 'Waterfalls' becomes a groundbreaking video for Girl groups and achieved massive success on MTV.

- 1996 - : Pop-up Video is first aired on VH1.

- 1996 - : Smashing Pumpkins releases the video for their song 'Tonight, Tonight', based upon Georges Méliès's A Trip to the Moon. This video was one of the first to be based upon an early film.

- 1996 - : M2 is launched as a 24 hour music video channel, as MTV has largely replaced videos with other content.

- 1999 - : M2 is renamed to MTV2.

- 1999 - : Making the Video, a series chronicling the production of a music video, premieres on MTV.

- 2001 - : Björk releases the video for 'Pagan Poetry' which was controversial for its depictions of sexual acts and body piercings.

- 2002 - : MTV Hits is launched, as MTV2 is gradually showing fewer music videos (now virtually non-existent on MTV).

- 2007 - : Musicbox is launched by Sony BMG. This online portal signifies the first free streaming effort owned and operated by a major label.

- 2008 - : 3D videos are made by Dave Meyers and Missy Elliott for her single Ching-a-Ling and Björk also makes one for Wanderlust.

Task 2 (Research - Genre Comparative Study)

Comparison of;
Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl

Lady GaGa - Love Game


These videos are very similar but also every unique to themselves. They are both from the pop genre, and have very traditional conventions of this genre which are very apparent in their videos. However, they both have very unique styles which may only be apparent to a more mature audience, meaning that as these songs will most likely be aimed at a younger female audiences, they can enjoy the song and music, whereas mature members of its audience will understand the unique and sexual subliminal styles to these songs.

Both songs have these generic conventions, fast beat tune, female colours for example pink, yellow and purple, attractive women and you could imagine them being played at school discos. However, especially in the Lady GaGa video, her style is very voyeuristic, as you can see from the video I have embedded, Lady GaGa only wears very tiny costumes, for example a white swimsuit with a white jacket, with her legs on show. This will entice a male audience perhaps, but as the majority of the male audience will enjoy this voyeuristic trate, it helps sell Lady GaGa as an attractive, feisty pop sensation. This trate is also apparent on the video by Katy Perry, as she is in a pink, fluffy and fun room, which to younger naive audience would appear happy and 'girly', whereas to a more mature and wiser audience it could represent a room perhaps used by the sex industry.
Also, starting at 2 minutes 27 seconds when Lady GaGa pushes a 'police officer' into a cabin, certain sexual positions and sexual references, such as passionate kisses are clearly visable, again adding plenty of voyeurism. However, in the video by Katy Perry, it manily focuses on her, seductively rolling around in various positions across a bed, with silk sheets, so because of this showing a similar theme as Love Game by Lady GaGa.
There are not many intertextual references in these videos. There are a few in the Lady GaGa video, such as, at 0.48 seconds into the video when Lady GaGa is dancing down the stairs, it struck me that the scene almost replicated a scene from 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'.

The selling of the artists are very similar in these two videos, Katy Perry and Lady GaGa are both portrayed as being attractive, seductive and feisty young women. However, Katy Perry is 'sold' as an artist in a much more subtle and subdued way, for example she is costumed in pale, blended and feminine clothes whereas Lady GaGa is wearing very striking costumes, often with bare legs, and cleavage on show. So perhaps a video more focused on selling her to an older audience or both men and women, as the songs will appeal to mostly women where as the outfits and costumes perhaps are made to entice males.

Visuals and Lyrics, there are not so much direct links between lyrics and visuals in either video. But there are links between music and lyrics, as in both videos, at the beginning when the music is at its least fast paced tempo, the cuts/scenes/dancing is also at a slower pace, however as the tempo of the music increases so do the cuts/scenes/dancing etc. Finally leading up to the climax of the song which often in these videos means the climax of the story or dancing within the video.

Overall, these videos are similar but also very different, unique in their own ways. The way the artists are portrayed, the themes and costumes used are quite similar and the way the two female artists are represented also mirror each other. However, the audiences that these videos are aimed at quite vary from Katy Perry's is more of a 'classic' style of pop song, even with subliminal messaging however, Lady GaGa is a lot more overtly sexual in her lyrics and actions throughout her video.

Task 1 (Research - Initial Six Stage Analysis)

1 - Conventions expected;

As 'Candy' by Paolo Nutini is laid back song you'd expect the video to emphasise the atmosphere and emotions within the song. As the video is set at a wedding, where everyone is happy and dancing, and also a 'making love scene' the atmosphere of a 'happy' environment is highly emphasised and the dancing and relaxed atmosphere would be expected.

2- Links between visuals and lyrics;

At the beginning of the song when the lyrics are quite soft and subtle the ivsuals are the same, setting the scene and 'selling the artist'. The video itself isn't really telling the story of the lyrics but showing the emotions portrayed in the lyrics. There is far more links between the music and visuals in this particular video, as will be discussed in the next paragraph.

3 - Links between music and visuals;

At the beginning of the video the music is soft and is just a mellow tune in the background to accompany the song. The visuals emphasise the laid back attitude as they focus on setting the scene and showing off Paolo Nutini himself. Whereas, as the song progresses and the music becomes more prominent and powerful, the video also becomes more intense, with faster cut and more action per scene. Finally, as the music reaches its climax so does the video, with the wedding night between the groom and his wife also reaching a climax.

4 - Intertexuality;

There is not much intertextuality, however the culture is very pronounced, so perhaps this could be used as an example for intertextulity also the idea of s wedding amoung the country in a hot mediterranean country is also used in the film 'The Godfather' which was filmed in Sicily.

5 - Selling the artist;

The artist Paolo Nutini is already well known, however, only to a specific audience, so perhaps this video could entice a more varied audience. The video shows Paolo Nutini as being a laid back, mellow artist, with a lot of emotions and feelings. His songs tend to be happy and loving, and perhaps this is to put him across as happy and loving to entice a nice and friendly audience.

6 - Voyeurism;

At the beginning of the video there is not a lot of voyeuristic scenes. Only a few females dancing, but fully clothed at a wedding party. However, as the video progresses the video turns to the 'wedding night' where there is a detailed sex scene. Showing off the female body and the intense love shown between a married couple. However, this video is not intended to be particularly voyeuristic. So voyeurism is not essential in this type of genre of music.