choice of song...

After choosing Jessica Drake's song You You You as our song we thought it would be professional to ask her permission to use the song.  The image below is the messages we sent to her as well as the one we received back

Music Video Analysis- Selena Gomez- Who Says

This music video is taken from a pop artist called Selena Gomez. Her target audience are teenage girls and this is apparent in this music video. The music video includes both narrative and performance and they are usually combined so she is singing during narrative scenes. The song is about seeing what is beautiful within each other and not listening to those who say you are not worthy. The song has a very important message which is carried through to the music video. The song is very upbeat and positive and the music video is fast paced with a lot of editing on the beat. One example of editing on the beat is at the beginning of the video where there is a strong beat and the shot changes to one very similar to the previous one...

 This is not fast paced editing on the best but instead focuses on the strong back beat at the beginning. I believe that this fits with Andrew Goodwin's theory of what is happening in the music video to fit with the music. The shot changes shows the beat and therefore there is a connection
between the music and video.



There is also a shot where Selena is walking and there are jump cuts to show a close up of her feet and her face and then there is a medium length shot of her upper body as she walks and performs. This shot also sets the location  for the music video as a busy American city this can be seen behind her.

There is also a shot where Selena is walking and there are jump cuts to show a close up of her feet and her face and then there is a medium full length shot of her whole body as she walks down the street singing.

As she drives around the city she sees important messages on signs and painted onto buildings. This seems to stick with the message of the song. The words are taken from different signs and then they are put together using split screens to show them as one phrase...

This once again fits with the message of the song and also these are edited on the beat. The picture on the left appears first then the middle picture then the right hand picture. They appear on the underlying beat of the song which is played by string instruments (violin/cello).  This happens for all three of the sentences. However, they do not happen straight after each other but there are performance shots in between.

At the beginning of the music video, the location is a photography studio where the artist is being photographed. Then the location changes to the street in a busy American city. She travels around the city in a taxi looking for signs with messages. There are also locations which are just the sides of buildings with messages written onto them. For example one say 'Beautiful since 92' which is the year the artist was born in. Another location seems to be a bathroom which is very plain where the artist takes of her makeup. Then the final location is a beach where the singer performs with her band. The music video only focuses on one location where Selena is at a  time and does not jump cut between the scenes. The narrative seems to be a journey to where she is performing at the end of the music video. The mise-en-scene for the music video is very different for each location. The first location (photography studio) is very dull and boring with a grey colour palette. Whereas the street location is very colourful and busy to show that the artist is happier. The beach location is very bright and has a very warm colour palette (orange, pink yellow). All of these colours have connotations for happiness and this is a perfect way to end the upbeat happy song.

The music video has very little still shots. The camera is always moving and unsteady. I have found that this is a classic convention of music video as the camera moves with the artist instead of the artist performing to a still camera.

Audience Feedback...

Now we have chosen our song we think it is a good idea to get some feedback from them.

Here are some members of our target audience and their opinions...

Naomi


Initial song feedback
"reminds me of Avril Lavgine"
"Very catchy"
"i like the ending bit where her voice is more exposed"
"really good song"


Questions
Q: What kind of colour scheme can you imagine it being set in?
A: Bold colours, possibly red as it symbolises love etc


Q: Where can you imagine it being set?
A: Possibly parts in a bed, similar to the Talor Swift 'teardrops on my guitar' 


Q: What weather do you think would best fit in the video?
A: Mainly sunny because its quiet up beat, bt possibly rainy in the reminissing parts


Q: What type of clothes could you imagine the artist wearing?
A: Maybe a flowery, floaty dress? not anything indescent


Q: Is there anyone inparticular you can imagine actinng as the artist?
A: Me (charlie)


Q: Could you imagine instruments being played in the video?
A: No, just her singing as it shows her strength


Q: Do you think we need to use bright lights or more dimmed?
A: I think dim lighting would be better because it reflects the song more.


Q:  We had an idea for the video: the artist would be walking forwards (filmed from a distance) continuously however the backdrops would be changing from and to famous cities for instance Paris, London, Singapore. Do you think this would fit with this song?
A: Yes, i think that would work really well because the beat is strong enough and also it kind of helps with the strength of the song- exaggerating her isolation.


Q: Another idea we had is having the artist in a white dress, and getting sprayed/ splattered in bright coloured paints. Do you think would work?
A: Possibly, however only for the chorus part as it's the most upbeat and relating




Louis


Initial song feedback
"Upbeat drum beat"
"vocals attacking"
"wants to sound like a typical american singer"
"Bass line follows guitar"
"chorus is catchy"
"generic"
"long and winey notes"


Questions

Q: What kind of colour scheme can you imagine it being set in?

A: Natural sunny pastel scene

Q: Where can you imagine it being set?

A: field with flowers, under a tree etc

Q: What weather do you think would best fit in the video?

A: Sunny

Q: What type of clothes could you imagine the artist wearing?

A: Nice dress, with a necker chief

Q: Is there anyone inparticular you can imagine actinng as the artist?

A: Me (charlie)

Q: Could you imagine instruments being played in the video? 

A: Yes, possibly a guy playing an acoustic guitar beside her

Q: Do you think we need to use bright lights or more dimmed?

A: Just natural lighting

Q:  We had an idea for the video: the artist would be walking forwards (filmed from a distance) continuously however the backdrops would be changing from and to famous cities for instance Paris, London, Singapore. Do you think this would fit with this song?

A: Yeh, i think it would fit really well because it fits with the beats

Q: Another idea we had is having the artist in a white dress, and getting sprayed/ splattered in bright coloured paints. Do you think would work?

A: No because it's not generic enough

Mollie

Initial song feedback

"like the song"

"catchy"
"good beat"

Q: What kind of colour scheme can you imagine it being set in?

A: I would imagine it to have bold bright colours

Q: Where can you imagine it being set?

A: A field or bedroom, park, perhaps multiple settings would be good.

Q: What weather do you think would best fit in the video?

A: Sunny

Q: What type of clothes could you imagine the artist wearing?

A: Rock Chic

Q: Is there anyone inparticular you can imagine actinng as the artist?

A: Carris

Q: Could you imagine instruments being played in the video? 

A: Yes I would like to see both instruments and the person

Q: Do you think we need to use bright lights or more dimmed?

A: Bright lights

Q:  We had an idea for the video: the artist would be walking forwards (filmed from a distance) continuously however the backdrops would be changing from and to famous cities for instance Paris, London, Singapore. Do you think this would fit with this song?

A: Yeah it goes really well with the idea

Q: Another idea we had is having the artist in a white dress, and getting sprayed/ splattered in bright coloured paints. Do you think would work?

A: It is a very good idea that would go well with the popyness of the song.

Music Video Analysis- Taylor Swift- The Story Of Us

This video is in the country/pop genre and is has both a narrative and performance within it. The locations during the video are a school, an office and a library. This seems relevant to the track as it is call The Story Of Us. The narrative shows the relationship between a girl (Taylor Swift) and a boy and how it went from being a perfect relationship to an awkward one. For this scene they seem to be in a study hall at a school or college. It is day time which suggests that the song is upbeat and happy and it is. There are many good shots during these scenes. One especially good shot is where you can see the male in the for ground of the shot but there is a focus push to the female at the back of the shot. This shows that she is the focus of the frame and this is correct as she is the artist.

This happens several times in the video and usually it cuts to a shot of the male character afterwards. It is almost a shot reverse shot but the male character isn't aware of this so he is in the shot.

For the performance element of the video, there is a band and also the Taylor Swift but they are all in different locations. Taylor is in a library performing. There are many close up shots of her face along with medium long shots to show that she is in a library.

The shot above is a slow motion shot of her looking up and opening her eyes. This is put during an instrumental section between verses and also there is a similar shot at the beginning. Its not slowed down too much but just slightly. There are other shots which are also slowed down to contrast against the tempo of the song. One of these in a medium shot of Taylor Swift with a window behind her in which she is walking forwards. After this shot there is a similar shot of the male character which is also in slow motion. This scene is built up with several of these slow motion shots. Then, there is editing on the beat where during the chorus there are two clear beats wear the shots cut between the female and the male character.

The shots of the band playing their instruments are very quick and there are often cut in shots of the instruments or the faces of the band members.. The one below is an example.

Also within the storyline there seems to be a few side stories of other people within the study hall. There is one girl who falls asleep, one male who is pretending to drum wearing his headphone and another who is struggling with work and reading a book.

There are often shots which show the pages of a book which contain the lyrics to the songs also. These add to the library setting as it seems they have taken the word story to mean more than just a lyric. The idea of a fairy tale or story seems to dominate the music video, almost as if Taylor Swift is a damsel in distress and the male character a prince and therefore is going to save her. However, there is an unexpected twist at the end as the character don't end up with a 'happily ever after' so this links with the lyrics "The story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now". Another element which adds to the video feeling like a fairy tale is when between the chorus and the verse as she sings "Next Chapter!" a shot of a book page with the lyrics written on it is placed in the frame. This also happens at the beginning although it is not placed with lyrics, it just introduces the first verse with "Chapter One".

RESEARCH

DIGIPAK, POSTER & MUSIC VIDEO RESEARCH... 

Norah Jones- The FallThis album was released on the 17th of November 2009 by EMI's Blue Note Records. This was Norah Jones forth album in seven years however in this album she experimented with different sounds and styles. Her music style is very much jazz but also has acoustic, country and soul elements to it also. Her voice has been described as easy to listen too and beautiful. The image she gives across it a very simple but quirky image. In her first few albums the artwork was very simplistic but still beautiful. However, The Fall has a slightly different image.

Although a little different it is still classy and elegant (like her other albums) just more elaborate.

The packaging for The Fall is a digipak.

The digipak has two folds making there three sides. The front cover has the artists photograph on  it along with the title of the album. The album title could have two different meanings. It could mean fall as in drop or fall as in an alternative word for Autumn. Looking at the mise-en-scene of the artwork, the one which seems more likely to be the reason for the title is the Autumn option due to the backdrop in the picture. It is a collage of the a forest and the sky. However, the dogs within the photos are slightly random. None of the titles of the songs have any reference to dogs so this seems slightly random. The whole mise-en-scene is very quirky and different from what you expect from Norah Jones.

On the digipak, there is obviously the title of the album along with the artist name. On the back, there is the tracklist.

On the opposite sides of the digipak there are similar images to on the other side. However, the image on the right is blurred. Over the top of this there is writing about the extras on the CD. The  image seems to be out of focus so that the buyer focuses on the extras available. In the middle there is the information about the people involved in the album including the producer. The image on the left is an image very similar to the main image on the front. There are two slots on the left and right where the disc is kept and where the lyric booklet is inserted. 

The font is just a simple white font with the titles in the same font as the album title and artist name. 

The promotional poster is very similar to the digipak with almost the same images once again. This keeps the synergy the same throughout. It has the name of the artist along with the album title and the release date. The poster is visually appealing with plenty going on and it is interesting so it would draw in an audience.

The first video from the album is very unusual also although it has nothing immediate link with the artwork on the digipak and poster. Although it is a very imaginative and post modern video. Once again the beautiful side of Norah Jones is shown with the close-ups of her but the concept of the video and the ideas behind it are unusual.

The song is called 'Chasing Pirates' and this is clearly shown throughout the video. When Norah falls asleep she transports into a different world. Although this seems a bit cliche it still seems original as it is done in such a different way. the pirates element comes in as she starts to sail a boat. However, it is not a boat but a block of flats which appear as a boat. It is very imaginative with a lot of careful details put in. For example, the anchor and other things found on ships.

Some of my favourite shots include the first shot with the slow zoom in as she opens the door and picks up the bottle. It is almost as if she is inviting the audience in too.  Another favourite shot is the shot of the bottles with the close up and focus pull on the bottles. This shows all the little details but you can still tell whats going on in the backgroud.

Muse-Absolution

Muse are an English rock band who have been around since the mid 90's. The band are very energetic and have a very unique sound. The released their third album, 'Absolution' in September 2003. The album was very much on trend with the other albums and is very similar to their previous.

The artwork on the digipak for the album doesn't display any pictures of the band like on other covers (Black Holes and Revelations). It is very abstract but expected from a band like Muse. The Front side just contains the name of the band along with the album name. The artwork is continuous along all of the 3 sides and is an almost electric fire. The colour palette of blues and purples against the shocking white implies that the band are making a statement and breaking a mold. The style is very different from other artusts covers but this shows how unique the band are. On the middle side of the digipak there is the names of the tracks in basic white font along with the official things like barcode and company names.

The first single they released from the album was 'Stockholm Syndrome'. Although a very well earning band and from an hit album the video for the single seems a little amateur. It is basically the band playing ther sonand being videoed but they have placed a solorized setting over the top to make the normal shots seem abnormal and strange. There are quick shot changes and no sense of continuity throughout the video which makes it seem even more stange. The changed settings on the shots make the band appear in a mixture of colours but the promonant ones are blue purple and white which are the colours from the digipak. Therefore, there is a consistent synergy.

[inser video]

Katy Perry-Teenage Dream

Katy Perry is a very well known international star whose music is of the pop genre. Her previous album 'One of the Boys' launched her career to unbelievable heights. 'Teenage Dream' was released in the Summer of 2010 and was loved by millions worldwide.

 

The digipak for the album is very typical Katy Perry and is very imaginative, The whole concept is closely linked with the first music video from the album, 'California Gurls' which is a very fun song. The whole concept looks at the concept is based around candy and sweets. The cotton candy clouds and lolli pop decorated cd case shows the fun and enjoyable side of Katy Perry's music and style. On the front of the digipak there is the name of artist along with the name of the album. The fonts for each of these are different and both stick with the theme of candy. Katy Perry is written in floaty almost balloon like font with contrasting colours of blue and hot pink which empahsises the name. Teenage Dream is written in candy cane style font with the colours red and white with an outline of blue to match the previous font.

Also, there is the track names and all of the important information on the back of the digipak. The artwork is the same as on the front with the cotton candy clouds and blue skies. Then font alternates between blue and pink with the o's in the track names being replaced by pink flower symbols.

On the of the digipak, the background is black with photographs of the artist within. The pictures seem quite serious but this is juxtaposed with the extravagant outfit that Katy is wearing. This once again shows her less serious side.

The music video for 'California Gurls' is a very fun video in which Katy Perry collaborates with Snoop Dog. The whole video foccusses on the candy idea but takes it to another level. Katy Perry and her friends in the video seem to be stuck in another world which is covered in candy. There are even gummy bears which are alive. The video at times seems a little inappropriate but this is often the case with the confident Katy. 

[insert video] 

Other posters...

Chistina Perri-Love Strong

The poster basically shows the artist in a very basic medium close-up shot. This may be as she is a new artist and she want to be recognised. Along the top Christina Perri is written in black typewriter font on the white background and to the left the is a pink star which has again type write font in it saying the release date of the album along with the name of a previously released song. This entices the audience as they know of her previous single. Her music style is very pretty and angelic and this comes across in the poster.

Taylor Swift- Taylor Swift

This poster is a bit more interesting than the previous one. It includes picture of the artist which fits with the artwork on the album cover. Its a very simple but effective picture of the artist sitting in a river wearing a white dress which has connotations for innocence and purity which is definately the image that Taylor Swift goes for. The poster includes her name logo which is kept throughout her merchandise and her other two albums. The poster also contains the logo for her record label along with additional information about the album (album release date).

Initial Ideas...

SONG CHOICE...

Upbeat 

Fast tempo

Strong voice and music

ARTIST...

Female

Male 

Duet 

Band

Solo

Target Audience...

Teenagers

12-21

Female/Male

GENRE...

Indie 

Rock

Pop

Alternative

Metal

R&B

Selecting our artist and song...

From our target audience research we found that they want a solo singer and preferably female with a strong upbeat and confident sound.

As our first step to finding an artist, we asked people we knew (friends and family) if they were singers themselves or whether they knew anyone that would happily take part in our project. We found that most of the suggestions were bands and this is not what our audience were looking for and the solo singers were more slow paced than confident and upbeat.

The second step was to search on social media sited to see if we could find a local artist suitable for our project. We looked on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter but we still had no success. 

The third step was to look at unsigned artist websites which we knew held a lot of unsigned artist that would be willing to let us use their music for publicity. However, we still found that these songs were not upbeat enough to what we wanted and some of the music was very outdated. We eventually found the artist Jessica Drake whose sample music we really liked. After hearing her song, we went to her own website which we found her album and chose the song that we wanted from it.

Our chosen artist is Jessica Drake and the song is 'You You You'

Music Video on Prezi

Our Plan...

In order to stay on schedule throughout our project, we have devised a plan which shows the order we need to complete tasks in. Hopefully, this will allow us to be on target at all times when making our music video...




Research

- Initial ideas of what kind of artist(s) and song to use. (mind map)

- Audience Research (questionnaire, graphs, analysis, spoken interviews)

- Choose an artist and a song, and show why we came to the descision (Prezi)

- More exsisting video research, more specific (written) 

- Analyse song feed back (short clip on the mac of our discussion)

- Requesting email permission to use the song (print out of the email chain) 

Planning

- Casting (asking target audience, positives and negaives, audition)

- Decide if we want a narrative or a performance

- Decide on a setting/ settings

- Find the locations and check feasability of them (positives and negatives with pictures)

- Discuss ideas (group mic)

- Story board ideas (hand drawn storyboard)
- Audience feedback on storyboard, change if necessary (filmed interview)

- Photo storyboard and analyse (imovie with pauses)

- Anamatic storyboard (video clip)

- Outfit, makeup and hair ideas and experiments (pictures and videos)

- Camera Experiments and Shots (paused iMovie)

- Health and Safety (Prezi and videos/ group discussions