Production Post 13 - Magazine Advert Planning

Today I carried on with designing my Magazine Advert draft and was thinking of ideas that I could use which would create a running theme through the Advert and the Digipak. I came to the conclusion I wanted the photo to consist of scenery and have a female in three or more difference stages of a spin but on the same, still backdrop. I could either take 3 separate photos of her and merge them together afterwards on photoshop - or I could slow down the shutter speed so that the shot was open for longer and could capture more. I really wanted to have the blurry, motion effect on the female so I experimented with both ways. I put together a video of all the pictures I took and sped it up. This shows how many pictures I tried out and explains my idea much better than in words. The photos I choose should hopefully be inserted into my magazine ad on indesign soon and that should finish off the magazine ad.

Props List

As I am hoping to film my video in the on-coming weeks I need to get together the props I will need for filming. I need to think of this now because I will have to know where to get the props from and contact people if I am required to borrow anything.

The props I need for my video are:

• Tracksuit bottoms
• Crop top
• Heated rollers
• Water bottle
• Gym bag
• Sports shoes
• High heels
• Glamorous dress
• False eyelashes
• Make-up
• Stereo
• Car headlights

Production Post 12 - Magazine Advert Drafting

Yesterday, as I am waiting for my two performers to both be free so I can film my music video I decided to crack on with the additional task of the Magazine Advert. I used the prior research to help me get a generic idea of what they need to and don't need to include. Underneath is my draft of the Ad without a photo - I hope to take the photo for it sometime next week once I have thought of a unique and original idea so it doesn't look like the typical, generic mag ad. I drew one on paper which were my initial thoughts. As you can see form both the PowerPoint draft and paper draft that I am going for a photo which contains 3 or more separate images of the same person in the different stages of a spin. This has an underlying meaning which ties in with the album title "Lungs". The photo will be taken outside and this shows fresh air and freedom and the blurry motion photo shows that the girl is escaping very slowly and that her lungs are running out of breath.

Production Post 11 - Audience Feedback

As I said, I managed to get some audience feedback for my idea's so far and have put together a video with the audience members discussing what they like and also what they dislike about my idea. I will use all the feedback to try and change my idea in such a way that I won't have to start again but just adapt and evolve the ideas I have already.

Locations and Raw footage of Locations

Here is some photos and a video of the studio I hope to use for my music video. The studio is located in South Ruislip's Young Peoples Center. The size of the studio is decent and there is a variety of equipment available for me to use.

I took the photos for my Magazine Advert at Ruisip Lido and managed to get a few photos of the different spots I used.

Audience Research

I chose to do my audience research as a mood board as I think it will be easier to show who my target audience is by photos of what their interests and hobbies are. I included various images of places they might visit, clothes they might wear, other music they might listen to and also colours they would regard as their favourite.

What is a Digipak?

Digipak is an original style of CD or DVD packaging, typically consisting of a book-style paperboard or card stock outer binding with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside. Digipak-style packaging is often used for CD singles or special editions of CD albums. However such packaging is less resistant to abrasion than optical disc packaging, so it tends to show signs of wear relatively quickly. Digipak-style cases grew in popularity among record labels and recording artists in the early 2000s.

Analysis of existing Digipaks

Analysis of previous students A2 work

Here is an analysis of 2 previous students music videos. I decided to analyse them so I could try and gain an understanding of the standards that those of a similar ability as me, were able to create. This will help me in the creation and development of my music video as I can adapt the ideas I like and also I can point out possible improvements and make sure that I don't make the same mistakes.

Jordon's music video of We Found Love by Rihanna is a really good video which is a great example of a typical pop music video. It shows only one performer throughout the song which focuses all attention onto her, the singer. Lots of close ups were used to try and create a bond between the audience and the singer. I think that Jordon edited the video with lots of thought in mind as each cut matched the beat of the song and as the song has very fast beats, the quick cuts made sure that the audience didn't lose focus and get distracted. There were a variety of locations used such as a bonfire, rural roads, fields and a few more. The lip syncing was done extremely well and was almost faultless. If I were to give this music video any improvements it would be to maybe include more visual progression throughout but this would be a minor alteration I would make - it's not 100% absolutely necessary and I think that this video is of excellent quality.

The next music video I watched was Ria's from last year. I really enjoyed this music video as the tempo of the visuals matched perfectly with the tempo of the song. The song used was a slow one and this allowed Ria to increase the amount of time one shot could remain on the screen. A variety of different shots were used such as Long shots, mid shots, Close ups, Extreme close ups, Worms eye shot and also high angle shot. Only two characters were seen throughout the video which kept all attention on them. The video had a clear narrative behind it and to keep this story realistic - no miming was used. This created the feel as if it was a short film within a music video – you could connect with the actress as she was showing all emotions through her facial expressions and body language. I particularly enjoyed the interesting shots which made the video look more professional and makes it seem that bit better. These include the worms’ eye shot when she is walking on the bridge and also the close up of her touching the leaf. If Ria were to make any improvements, should she have the time, then I would suggest that she moved the woman at the window to the window above the door as it seemed it didn’t flow and there wasn’t continuity editing. This is a minor improvement and wouldn’t alter the video drastically.

Florence + the Machine in Magazines

I decided to look into how the band was presents in magazine - both music and fashion ones. I have analysed 4 different double-page spreads that the band appears in from 4 different magazines. The analysis is seen below.

Storyboard

Influences of Music Style

This post shows the influences on different music styles - in particular the Pop style. It also shows a PowerPoint of genres  and their overall impact on music and music videos. I think these will help me with the creation of my music video as I need to follow in other artists footsteps who have created similar music video styles to mine.

Production Post 10 - Research Complete!

This past week I have finally managed to complete all the research tasks bar a few which will have to be done throughout the course of the year such as the audience research and feedback. This now means that I can focus completely on the planning of the music video and also my magazine and digipak. Over the next week I hope to get some audience feedback on my music video idea and story board and try and gather together some constructive criticism to help me improve the quality of my music video and make it the best that it can be.

Music Videos I Admire

There are thousands of music videos out there and I found it quite difficult to pick my favourites. My top 3 are "Everything Has Changed" which is a new release by Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift, "If I Were A Boy" by Beyonce and "Thinking Of You" by Katy Perry.



I like this video as it tells a story throughout the song and it builds as the song progresses. The audience can connect with the characters and follow the story with ease. The audience know immediately that there two protagonists are miniature versions of the artists and this is made clear at the end of the video. The concept is very easy to understand and my view is that the video is about how people, lives and everything changes throughout our lives and it is showing younger versions of them but how they can still fall in love - the only thing that doesn't change.




This video is about role reversals and the story is put to the audience by a good use of costume, facial expressions and body language. The visuals run parallel with the lyrics and this creates a story as it is a narrative song. Lots of close-ups are used to show Beyoncés facial features and how attractive she is. This creates an "icon" for her target audience who inspire to be like her.



Finally, Katy Perry's 'Thinking of You' is an excellent video as it is very emotional but not too much that the audience find it too hard-hitting. It has a 1940's theme and this is clearly seen by the costumes, mise en scene and the camera filters. I like it because it opens the audience up to a whole different era of time and those of the older generation can relate and reminisce and those younger can get a small insight to what it was like and how different it is to the 21st century.

Further Research into the Band

Above is the various different magazines that Florence Welch has appeared on the front cover of. This shows the success of her music and also how that she is the main focus of the band and is as well-known as a solo artist. The different styles seen in each cover shows the style of the magazine such as "Scarlett" looks like a teen mag and uses pinks and yellows and she is dressed in gold, playful and colourful clothes whereas in Vogue, which is an adult, civilised magazine - she is wearing a duck egg blue satin dress with natural makeup.

Auditions

Here are the auditions for the role of the female dancer of those who didn't get chosen - the reasons why they weren't picked is because they were out of time with the music and had no coordination.

Magazine Advert Analysis

In order to help me gain an idea as to what I need to include in my Magazine Advert I have had a look at some existing Adverts that I enjoy from current artists and bands of a similar genre. Overall, the basic codes and conventions are the same and I hope to follow these guidelines in order to make mine look profressional and realistic.

Mag Ad Analysis

Research Equipment

As I mentioned earlier on, I will be using my 600D Canon camera to film my music video which means that I will not have to wait for a camera to become available. This will speed along the process nicely. I will also use this camera to take the photos for my Digipak and will have to use additional lights and attach a flash onto it to get the best possible quality photo.


I will use the lights seen to the right of the post which are available from school for me to use and to borrow and take to my locations. I will also require to use a tripod from the school in order to keep the camera still when filming various parts of my video. This gives the footage a more professional look as it will not be unsteady and distract attention away from what is happening in the video.

Analysis of Music Videos

This Prezi shows 3 music videos being analysed. I chose Best Song Ever by One Direction, Firework by Katy Perry and You've got the Love by Florence + the Machine. The reason I chose these videos is because they are all of the pop genre and will help me when choosing appropriate angles and shots for my music video so it fits in with the codes and conventions of other similar ones.