Technologies including Web 2.0 used in our Music Video

Throughout our music video and ending it, we used a constant array of Technology/Web 2.0
We talk about the uses of these Technologies in our Video Commentary but I have also made a few notes about what else we used here:

Digital Video Camera - Canon MD 205

The use of a handheld video camera was brilliant for our music video as we planned a lot of shots and movements that would need something of it's mobility. The fact that it is

small in size and very easy to use made our days of recording much easier and quicker. It also has a small flip out screen which you can watch to see what you are recording and then use it's playback feature which we used a lot to see if we had achieved what we wanted to achieve. E.g: The shot that pans across from a low to a high angle in front of the runner was quite difficult to

capture and it took us several time to get what we wanted, so to go back and watch how quickly the camera needed to move across and where it started from was a lot easier to do with it's playback

feature. Uploading our footage was also a lot easier to do also as it has a simple 'Plug & Play' feature which was also quite quick and simple.

Premiere Pro

Premiere Pro is a Video Editing Programme made by Adobe. We

directly uploaded the camera's footage onto Prem Pro which was quite fast and therefore helpful as it quickened the process of editing which helped in the long run of our editing. The programme allowed us to do the simple, yet effective, things like cutting to and from each shot that we wanted, but it also allowed us to create a different feel to the video like using the diegetic sounds at the end of the video and fading to and from black.

Photoshop

We used a lot of Photoshop for our Ancillary tasks, in my case it was the CD cover and my work partner used it a lot for the Poster Designs. Using Photoshop also allowed us to create a look of both the CD cover and poster that would suit with the music video. Photoshop allowed us to insert original images and change things like colour and contrast which we used to our advantage to fit our codes and conventions of a typical Indie CD cover.

Blogger/Blogspot

This blog site that we have used was at first very difficult to use and I thought I'd preferred to use something offline like Powerpoint. However, I got very used to using this as it is a simple piece of Web 2.0 which allows me to quickly research others peoples work and see what I need to do myself to improve and actually include the pieces of work that I need.

Blogger also enables you to embed videos from other websites, in this case we only used YouTube. Uploading our work once we had finished was also really great as we could then send around this link to other people and they could view the finished piece and we could gain audience feedback. We also did this by creating a Facebook group for Lights On Productions which we invited our friends and they could answer a questionnaire which we wrote. We also created a Lights On Productions YouTube account where we have all videos we have made as an alternative view for people who want to see our work.

Facebook Group & YouTube Channel for 'Lights On Productions'

Facebook

YouTube Channel

We have made a Facebook group & a YouTube Channel for Lights On Productions and here we have uploaded both versions of our video so we can ask the members of the group a questionnaire:

1) Did you think the video suited the songs genre?
2) How well do you think the editing suit the movement of the video?

3) Do you feel you can relate to the main character at all?
4) What bands do you think could also match this kind of music video?
5) What codes and conventions do you think this matches?

We used this Facebook page to gain feedback and it worked really well with what we're trying to achieve with Web 2.0 as it tells us that we are more likely to get feedback from people if we simply upload the video onto the Internet instead of gathering an audience and handing out a piece of paper.

To view the comments on our page please click the Facebook link.

Final Evaluation Video

Frank & Kenny Final Evaluation from Kenny Cummins on Vimeo.

Final Video (Extended Cut)

The reaction from the audience was that they wanted to see what the main character was actually running from and that they think the suspense built from the rest of the video needed to have something at the end to finish that off.
We were okay with this so have now finalised a video with an ending.

In this version, the majority of it is the same (with some sound glitches cut out) but now with an 'ending' which tells us that the runner is actually playing a harmless game of hide & seek with his friend.
We really liked this idea of it being playful and fun as the stereotype of teenagers is that they are free to do whatever they like and just like to have a good time.
The fact that the song is also called Run & Hide also works really well with this and we also like the fact that the narractive of the song is quite serious throughout and that we'd like to have something to make it more friendly and lighthearted at the end.

As we have two different versions of our song, we also think that if we were to release this video on a bigger scale and if the song was actually released then this ending of the song would only be shown to fans on the band if they were to buy the single as an 'extra' on the CD or the sleeve could have a code that could be typed into the bands own website which would show the ending of the video.

Final Video (Short Version)

We showed this version to an audience and put it on our Facebook page to see what reaction it would get. This is a short version of the video as it has no ending and doesn't tell the audience what the main character in the narrative is actually running from. We wanted to see what the audience had to say about it and see if they wanted to see an ending to the video.

Video Blog

Here we have made a couple of Video Blogs after we had filmed certain parts for the video. Video blogs are usually created on small cameras and given to the cast of productions who can then act normally in front of the camera and put these as extras on DVD's and/or their Internet sites.
Here we highlight a few things on Day 1 of filming like where we are, what time of day it is and what we have achieved.
We do the same thing on Day 3 where we filmed more running and speak about how different day times have affected our filming as well as the weather.

CD Front & Back Cover & Inside Sleeve Idea

I have designed a few different CD Cover ideas with original images. I will pick one of these to be my final pieces.

Front Cover Designs

Design 1
I think I have done this CD Cover quite well as I have linked it with the song name. This was an original image which I changed and I liked the idea of having a choice to Run &/or Hide. Keeping the title of the band name was simple as I had quite a blank black space at the top, and therefore think that the band name sticks out quite well. I have made the Crown logo red which I think was a good idea as it contrasts really well with the rest of the image being black and white.

Design 2

I think I have achieved some good codes and conventions in this picture as most Indie bands don't have their faces shown on their CD covers but when some do, they seem to almost hide or change the way in which the image is seen. (They are usually looking away from the camera or have something else in the picture that is more the focus point) So I think I have done well to show the bands faces but show the rest of them differently. We also wanted to show something a little more 'playful' and less serious than some other Indie covers.

Design 3

I really like this design as we took the picture

whilst we were filming in the area. Therefore I like

the connection between the song and the front cover. However this isn't usually done with CD covers and music videos so I don't think we will use this as our final idea. Another thing I like about it is the same as the first deisgn and that it is black and white but with the Red Crown logo which helps the cover to stick ou a little more.

Back Cover Designs

Design 1

I really like the original image on this picture as I tried to correspond with some other Indie bands when they show some images of them playing live gigs and don't just pose for an album cover in a studio shoot. I think that making it black and white isn't such a problem as it won't be seen as much as it is a back cover. I think the placement and amount of song titles are perfect for the final piece and I have also managed to fit in some Copyright information, our production company logo, the bands websites (which is now usually found on CD sleeves) and a barcode.

Design 2

I liked the other idea of linking both the video and CD cover so decided to do it again. As the videos narrative has quite a lot of action/fast movement, I think we have captured that in this original image. However, again I don't think we'll use this design as the final one as Indie bands rarely link the video and CD cover together. I do think though that I have done well to fit the song titles, copyright information, band website, our production company logo and the barcode.

Design 3

I again like this image as it captures part of the band (in this case the lead singers guitar) in action. I have had to rearrange the song titles for them to fit a little better with the image but feel I have done well again to fit the rest of the information, logo and barcode in. I have also kept this image in colour and think it would probably correspond better with the second front cover design that has a lot of colours in it.

Inside Sleeve Designs

Design 1

I really like this original image as it is very different to most inside sleeves. I have edited the contrast and colours slightly but think that it is good because it is so different.

Design 2

I like the simpleness of this image but also quite like the way it shows the fact that it shows the drum kit in the studio where the CD was recorded I wasn't too sure about the images lighting and colours so decided to turn it black and white. I think that this would go quite well with front covers 1 & 3.

Different Roles for our video...

We have divided up each of the roles between the two of us so we can both focus on seperate pieces which we can then bring together and decide what we want for our final pieces.

Director: JOSH
Camera: JOSH
Props and Costumes: KENNY
Lighting: JOSH & KENNY
Blog dairy: JOSH & KENNY
CD cover: KENNY
Posters: JOSH
Editing: JOSH
Music: KENNY

Reflective Paragraph on My Research

The research I have done has included past proffesional music videos from bands with a similar type of genre that we are looking at. I also looked at videos that have the similar shots that we are looking for like the running ideas and the night-time filming that we are also hoping to emulate from previous videos. Whilst watching these videos, I took notes of when and where I can possibly film and how I can film it using Media terms like 'high angle shot from on top of crates in practice room' and 'low angle shot to perceive chasing character as more dominating'
The shots from these videos were very useful as I can therefore use the same and immitate them into my own music video.

Plan of Action

After the recent part of research, we are now going to plan out our filming section.

What we have to do:

• Storyboards


• Test of camera work in the dark i.e Street lighting


• The plan of who to film (the band)? What to film? When? And how we will film it
  

Interviews

We have asked several teenagers a set amount of questions detailing information required to find out what is favoured within our target audience.

Questions:

1. How old are you?

2. What genres of music do you listen to?

3. How often do you listen to music?

4. Do you attend live music events?

5. If so, how often do you attend these events?

6. What hobbies do you have?

7. If you had £100, what would you spend it on?

8. What social networking sites do you use?

9. Do you download music? If so, what website do you use?

10. What music promotion are you most drawn too?

Shot Types Research & Storyboarding

Shot Types Research
To gain more of an insight into my shot types, I will watch several different Indie Music Videos that show both the band performing in the video and a narrative to the video if it has one. Whilst watching each video, I will stop it at most camera changes and take note of what angle and shot it is and see what effect it has on the video. I will also quickly sketch out each shot that I think is intresting and that I could use in my own video so I will use for both my storyboard and later on use in my filming process.

For the running part of our filming, I have looked for Music Videos which involve people running so I can see which is the best way to film and how to film it.

Jack Peñate - 'Second, Minute Or Hour'

In this video, the running is constant so the camera is always moving. For our music video however, we won't have any constant running as it is for our narrative and therefore we wont have to film it with the song playing unlike this video where the singer is in sync with the song.

This was filmed with a motorbike driving in front of the runner and is really quite smooth with this. We won't have this ability however and our shots would therefore be quite shaky and bumpy if we were to have someone running backwards whilst recording the main runner going towards them.

The Sunshine Underground - 'What You Like'

This video has some really good edits to manipulate some running shots look faster and longer than they actually are. The cuts are going to be really influential on our video as the song is really upbeat and fast so we want to use shots that will go with this. The running sequence is very short in this video, but it really shows what we are going to try and achieve.

Fortune Drive - 'My Girlfriends An Arsonist'

Looking at this music video, we are going to try and use the same 'shake' of the camera. We are also filming in the same room as this, so the shots we use with a tripod will also be very similar but without the zooming in and out that this camera uses a lot of.

Fortune Drive - 'Recent Advances Volume 2'

In this video, we really like the quick cuts that are used in between each shot. This is something that is used quite a lot by these type of Indie/Rock bands and therefore we will try to emulate this in our editing as we are using a song with the same genre as this.

Company Name and Logo

We have chosen to use the name 'Lights On Productions' for our production company name as it has many connontations involving Media. We have interpreted this with the media phrase 'Lights, Camera, Action'. We also considered using a light bulb in our logo design as it would imply the 'Bright Idea' concept. This logo will feature on the back of our CD cover much like many other Production Companies names and logos, such as:

CD Cover Analysis

Here are a few analysis of Indie CD covers.

Fortune Drive - 'A Modern Question'
This is the album cover for the Indie/Rock n' Roll Bristol band, Fortune Drive. The cover is eye catching with very simple contrasting colours and a very different design of a picture of a small girl holding a beer bottle with what looks like a 'Parental Advisory. Explicit Content', but actually reads; 'Parental Advisory. Entertaining To Kids'. This shows the bands personal side a little more, as the album is actually clean (free of swear words or sex reference) but they have made it look like it isn't and needs a PG rating. The girl is copied 3 times over the 3 different colours of orange, blue and pink with the bottle changing to the opposite colours to the background. The title of both the band and album title is in a personalised font which is black and white so it stands out to the rest of the colours. Apart from the block coloured background, the rest of the image is quite distorted which represents the band quite a lot as they are quite edgy and 'common'.




The Goodness - 'Run & Hide EP'
This is the EP cover for The Goodness' first EP, 'Run & Hide'. The pictures are both taken in very public places which are underground walkways in the city centre. Like a very traditional Indie band, the pictures have a very decorative background, but with only one person in the picture somewhere. This is on both the front and the back of the EP. The front cover has the bands name and logo (the crown) on the top of the front cover, with the title of the EP in the bottom right, both are in very simple Arial font. The picture on the front is a staircase going down to the underground passage way with a teenager jumping down on his skateboard. This skateboarder gives off a very traditional representation for the band as it is a common connotation that 'Indie Kids' go skateboarding. The colours are also very simple and plain, consisting of a shade of yellow, black and orange. The back of the cover is quite simple but also effective, although without a lot of traditional representation/s except for the one male with his back to the camera. In the distance of the picture, the back wall has some graffiti which is a very strong connotation for where the area is and that this type of background and the area of the bands life is what inspires them in their music.
In the top left hand corner is the EP track list. These are again in very simple white Arial font, with a dark background, this is easy to read. At the bottom of the picture is recording and copyright information. This is very obvious on a CD cover but also very important and something that we need to strongly think about when designing our own.

The Goodness - 'The Shape Of things To Come'
This is the second EP of The Goodness and has a very clever and stereotypical connotation of a bands second CD. The title of the EP is 'The Shape of Things To Come' which is a connotation for what the rest of the bands music is going to sound like is in this CD. They have emphasised this connotation by using childrens building alphabet blocks to spell out the title on the front cover. This is also a backing connotation that the boys are still kids and that they like to enjoy themselves in their youth. The background is plain white, helping the colours of the childrens toys stand out more which makes the cover a lot more eye-catching. On the reverse side of the cover is a barcode and recording information with copyrights, along with the EP's track list. This is again something I will have to take into consideration when designing the CD cover as it is a vital piece of information for all CD's to have.

A2 Media Music Video

I will produce a promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music video, together with two of the following three options:
1 – A website homepage for the band
2 – A cover for its release on CD
3 – A magazine advertisement for the CD

I have have to imagine that I am in a new marketing/distribution company and that I have been approached by a new artist/band that have produced an album and want me to market and distribute it. I will also come up with a name and logo for my 'company'.
I am going to design and make an album for the band, but only make a music video for one of the songs.
The band that we have decided to use is my close friends band, The Goodness. The connection that I have with them is very good as we can always talk too them and collect a lot feedback. The song we have chosen to use is called 'Run and Hide'.

Here is their MySpace link:
www.thegoodness.co.uk

Research
I will analyse music videos (and music video directors) of a similar genre.
I will also analyse albums covers of a similar genre and analyse magazine adverts for albums of a similar genre.

I will also have to produce a set of codes and conventions for each of these areas.
I will hopefully get a lot of audience feedback at every opportunity during all my contruction processes.

Here I have embedded 4 videos from a similar genre of music and video from another local (but signed) band, Fortune Drive. The video of 'My Girlfriends An Arsonist' is filmed in the bands practice room which is also The Goodness' practice room, so we now have more of an idea of how we are going to film when there.