Thursday 29 March 2012
Final Music Video - Today I Cried
It had taken a lot of hard work and effort, but everything has really paid off and I'm really glad with the way this video has turned out. ENJOY!
Evaluation Question 4
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product. Click on the link to hear a voice recording of my answer
Evaluation Question 4
Evaluation Question 4
Evaluation Question 3
What have you learned from your audience feedback?
I personally went round and asked people in my class to have a look at the music video me and Adam had made.
One positive thing that came out of most peoples mouths was the locations we had filmed in. They complemented on how well we used Big Ben, the London Eye, as well as the Embankment to do our filming in. It has proven here that in order for a video to look good, you need a good looking location. All those trips into London every Sunday morning for about 4 weeks straight, rather than just filming it at our local park, had really paid off. It was also mentioned that the gloomy weather also helped the mood of the song. This also shows that you need that bit of luck with the whether if you want to make a video for a serious and emotional song.
A negative that came out of it though was my (Frasers) questionable lip singing skills. Adam was complemented by everyone for the way he performed the song, and the way he looks also made it seem as if he was actually rapping it. The differance was that he actually sang along to the words, whilst i did my bit quietly or just mimed it. This shows that you need to make sure that you have confident performers, somebody who isn't afraid to make a fool of themselves. You also need to make sure that your performer is the right look for it, for example you can't have a 12 year old white kid doing a 50 Cent song.
Another slight negative was that some people didn't really understand why clips from a Jim Carrey film were in the video. Whilst admitting that the clips we picked did suit the narrative of the lyrics, a few didn't understand in what ways the film was relevant to our song. Because of this we put a interview of Adam on the blog where he explains the similarities of the song Today I Cried and The Truman show, in that they are both self evaluations of one anothers lives. We put the interview clearly on the blog to help people understand the concept behind the video.
I personally went round and asked people in my class to have a look at the music video me and Adam had made.
One positive thing that came out of most peoples mouths was the locations we had filmed in. They complemented on how well we used Big Ben, the London Eye, as well as the Embankment to do our filming in. It has proven here that in order for a video to look good, you need a good looking location. All those trips into London every Sunday morning for about 4 weeks straight, rather than just filming it at our local park, had really paid off. It was also mentioned that the gloomy weather also helped the mood of the song. This also shows that you need that bit of luck with the whether if you want to make a video for a serious and emotional song.
A negative that came out of it though was my (Frasers) questionable lip singing skills. Adam was complemented by everyone for the way he performed the song, and the way he looks also made it seem as if he was actually rapping it. The differance was that he actually sang along to the words, whilst i did my bit quietly or just mimed it. This shows that you need to make sure that you have confident performers, somebody who isn't afraid to make a fool of themselves. You also need to make sure that your performer is the right look for it, for example you can't have a 12 year old white kid doing a 50 Cent song.
Another slight negative was that some people didn't really understand why clips from a Jim Carrey film were in the video. Whilst admitting that the clips we picked did suit the narrative of the lyrics, a few didn't understand in what ways the film was relevant to our song. Because of this we put a interview of Adam on the blog where he explains the similarities of the song Today I Cried and The Truman show, in that they are both self evaluations of one anothers lives. We put the interview clearly on the blog to help people understand the concept behind the video.
Evaluation Question 2
How effective is the combination of your main product and your ancillary texts?
The combination of our video product and our ancillary texts work really well. We made the album cover and also the digipack in black and white in order to not contradict the mood of the song. It wouldn't of been a good move to have a all colourfull album cover when the song is a self evaluation about the whole artists career when despite admitting that he is doing well for himself, he still isn't quite satisfied and seems to have a gloomy and angry out look upon himself and the media world around him.
The way in which we used the Group Blog has also been effictive. We have made pages in which we give a whole fact file about the rapper, Noxious. You can find out where he grew up, what his influences are and what record label he is signed to. We got this idea by going on XL Recordings official website in which they do the same thing for their London bred sigings. The blog also has pages on how we portrayed the artist, theres a section solely set on hair and facial hair in which we made our decisions from. You also see why we chose Adam to be the rapper and me (Fraser) to be the chorus singer.
On the blog you also have videos. One video is of a interview in which Adam is answering as if he was actually Noxious. He speaks of why he wrote the song, his motive behind the video, why he chose Eric Jonsson as the singer and the reasons he has for having clips from The Truman Show in his video. We have directors journals in the blog, and you also have video journals, or behind the scenes clips with me, Adam and Alex. We talk about our difficulties with getting to locations and how much we had got through on that day. It is all relevant for anybody who is interested in finding out more about how the music video was made.
The website which we made for Noxious, which we made on Wix.com, would give a potential audience ideas on ways that the rapper would market himself. There is a link to the actual music video itself as well as the latest photo shoot in which the digpack was being done for.
The combination of our video product and our ancillary texts work really well. We made the album cover and also the digipack in black and white in order to not contradict the mood of the song. It wouldn't of been a good move to have a all colourfull album cover when the song is a self evaluation about the whole artists career when despite admitting that he is doing well for himself, he still isn't quite satisfied and seems to have a gloomy and angry out look upon himself and the media world around him.
The way in which we used the Group Blog has also been effictive. We have made pages in which we give a whole fact file about the rapper, Noxious. You can find out where he grew up, what his influences are and what record label he is signed to. We got this idea by going on XL Recordings official website in which they do the same thing for their London bred sigings. The blog also has pages on how we portrayed the artist, theres a section solely set on hair and facial hair in which we made our decisions from. You also see why we chose Adam to be the rapper and me (Fraser) to be the chorus singer.
On the blog you also have videos. One video is of a interview in which Adam is answering as if he was actually Noxious. He speaks of why he wrote the song, his motive behind the video, why he chose Eric Jonsson as the singer and the reasons he has for having clips from The Truman Show in his video. We have directors journals in the blog, and you also have video journals, or behind the scenes clips with me, Adam and Alex. We talk about our difficulties with getting to locations and how much we had got through on that day. It is all relevant for anybody who is interested in finding out more about how the music video was made.
The website which we made for Noxious, which we made on Wix.com, would give a potential audience ideas on ways that the rapper would market himself. There is a link to the actual music video itself as well as the latest photo shoot in which the digpack was being done for.
Evaluation Question 1
What ways does your media use, develop, or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I have recorded my answer on this memo which i did on my phone.
Memo
I have recorded my answer on this memo which i did on my phone.
Memo
Album cover for Today I Cried
Front
Back
We chose to have the albim cover in black and white because we didn't want to contradict the mood of the song. It is a serious song, a self evaluation about the artists life in which he has made it to stardom, but isn't satisfied or happy.
The brick wall could also show that he has hit a wall with his life, has hit a dead end.
We chose the name Oxymoron for the album name because it puts two different things together, for example a beautiful crash. It can be used for the song Today I Cried because although he talks about how he earned a hit here and there, his mood isn't what you'd expect it to be.
The XL Recordings tag and the bar code are there, as we wanted it to look more proffesional, like an actual album.
Link to website we created for artist
We went on Wix.com to make a website for Noxious. We did this to show a way in which the company would market itself to the audience. You can have a look at the photo shoot he did for the album, and the video itself.
http://www.wix.com/crompton_media/noxious
http://www.wix.com/crompton_media/noxious
Analysis of Music Video - Professor Green, Jungle
This is a dark video which tells the story of how Hackney, all due respect, is not a great area and the video along with the lyrics tell of how the society in the London area has learned to live with a life of gun and knife crime.
It also indicates that it is a predominatly black area, where Professor Green is one of only 2 or 3 white people in the video. This siginifys that black people are perhaps more involved in gun crime, atleast thats the way the media and this music video portrays it.
It could be based on Professor Greens life. Being born and raised in Hackney, and he himself being involved in a stabbing, would know better then most about how most people living in the area have had to go through and he also says in the lyrics it seriously is somewhere you should keep your nut down at.
The Truman Show
After deciding that our footage we had for the narrative wasn't good enough, Adam decided that he would have the narrative of the video coming from a film he watched called, The Truman Show. Clips from the film pop up in our music video to try and help illustrate the story the lyrics are describing.
The video which is linked on this post basically sums up the video in 10 minutes. The film stars Jim Carrey, and describes about how his whole life is being watched by loads of people as part on reality entertainment. The character Jim Carrey plays however, is at first completely un-aware of this, and the film tells the story of how he is finding out who, how, and why he is being watched.
The way in which it is relative to our music video, is that both the song and the Truman Show are self evaluations of the protaganists lives, in which they experience love, anger, and the sense of winning and making it at the end.
Problems I faced whilst making the music video
As enjoyable an experience it has been making the video, there were a lot of problems and difficulties that we faced whilst making our music video.
For a start, it seemed as if the camera battery always seemed to die on us. For example the first day of filming the narrative we had literally only filmed about 5 minutes before our day was cut short by the battery dying. We were in the middle of London doing our performance shots, we had filmed the best part of a hour, but it then died on us again.
Secondly it was difficult finding a good location for our chorus, we found this brilliant location which was owned by a media company. However when we got to the door they weren't willing to help much and basically told us to go away. We did manage to find a equally good place, but it was a cold January afternoon and filming that day was not fun.
The most irritating problem I had though was the editing. I personally found it difficult to get used to Final Cut. Whilst admitting that it is a great, professional programme to use, it is a pretty daunting task trying to get used to the functions and features. Also little things such as trying to get the lyrics in synch with the song and the wide screen borders constantly changing took up a lot more time then it perhaps should of done.
For a start, it seemed as if the camera battery always seemed to die on us. For example the first day of filming the narrative we had literally only filmed about 5 minutes before our day was cut short by the battery dying. We were in the middle of London doing our performance shots, we had filmed the best part of a hour, but it then died on us again.
Secondly it was difficult finding a good location for our chorus, we found this brilliant location which was owned by a media company. However when we got to the door they weren't willing to help much and basically told us to go away. We did manage to find a equally good place, but it was a cold January afternoon and filming that day was not fun.
The most irritating problem I had though was the editing. I personally found it difficult to get used to Final Cut. Whilst admitting that it is a great, professional programme to use, it is a pretty daunting task trying to get used to the functions and features. Also little things such as trying to get the lyrics in synch with the song and the wide screen borders constantly changing took up a lot more time then it perhaps should of done.
My journal of our filming days
Please note that this is also availible on the group blog.
Day 1. Our first day of filming, we wanted to have iconic images and interesting locations for our music video, and with the influence from music video's like Professor Green's "Never be a right time" video, we decided to head to London. We wanted to be performing in front of locations such as the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye. We managed to get right next to the river Thames and film performance shots among the beach of the river with the London eye in the background, then went along the embankment to perform shots in front of Big Ben. It was a good day out into London and we were satisfied with what we got.
Day 2. Using Adam's house, we wanted to film the majority if not all of the narrative on the second day of filming. We were very thankful of Ella and Alex who agreed to be in our video. We were hoping that we would be able to do the florist shots but our man behind the flowers Martin wasn't available. We still managed to film most of our narrative with really good acting performances from both Alex and Ella along with Adams role. We were disappointed not to do the florist shots but once again it was a good days filming.
Day 3. A relatively quiet days work compared to our other working days. Adam and Alex went to the florist in Worcester Park to finish off the narrative. We wanted a good shot of Adam having to steal flowers to show the measures the protagonist will go for his girlfriend. This was also helped by the man who owned the florist Martin being very cooperative.
Day 4. On our way to London on our first day we saw a court yard on the train journey which we both thought would be another great place for a performance shot, so we made another journey up to a very cold Vauxhall. It turned out that the court yard we spotted was in fact owned by a broadcasting company, the said that they would of let us book the yard but there was no chance it being available on that day. So we walked around then found a equally good little stretch of land. It looked like a old car park which was behind a car garage. It in truth looked as if it had been deserted for a while. This location had brilliant graffiti and traffic cones as well as a few rocks, which made it another brilliant place to film some performance shots. We got loads and loads of different angels here, and at the end of the day we were very happy with what we had achieved that day, despite it being bitterly cold.
Day 5. It seemed as if we had been filming forever, but we felt that we needed just one more location for our video as we saw that most videos have a different location per verse. Instead of trekking it all the way to London we decided to stay local and just use Frasers house. Fraser had already used his house for filming his preliminary task, and with the room being done up to look less like a bedroom, Adam asked if we could use the same location. A much warmer day in and we finally had finished filming the video. Editing the film however is what is really going to test us.
Day 1. Our first day of filming, we wanted to have iconic images and interesting locations for our music video, and with the influence from music video's like Professor Green's "Never be a right time" video, we decided to head to London. We wanted to be performing in front of locations such as the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye. We managed to get right next to the river Thames and film performance shots among the beach of the river with the London eye in the background, then went along the embankment to perform shots in front of Big Ben. It was a good day out into London and we were satisfied with what we got.
Day 2. Using Adam's house, we wanted to film the majority if not all of the narrative on the second day of filming. We were very thankful of Ella and Alex who agreed to be in our video. We were hoping that we would be able to do the florist shots but our man behind the flowers Martin wasn't available. We still managed to film most of our narrative with really good acting performances from both Alex and Ella along with Adams role. We were disappointed not to do the florist shots but once again it was a good days filming.
Day 3. A relatively quiet days work compared to our other working days. Adam and Alex went to the florist in Worcester Park to finish off the narrative. We wanted a good shot of Adam having to steal flowers to show the measures the protagonist will go for his girlfriend. This was also helped by the man who owned the florist Martin being very cooperative.
Day 4. On our way to London on our first day we saw a court yard on the train journey which we both thought would be another great place for a performance shot, so we made another journey up to a very cold Vauxhall. It turned out that the court yard we spotted was in fact owned by a broadcasting company, the said that they would of let us book the yard but there was no chance it being available on that day. So we walked around then found a equally good little stretch of land. It looked like a old car park which was behind a car garage. It in truth looked as if it had been deserted for a while. This location had brilliant graffiti and traffic cones as well as a few rocks, which made it another brilliant place to film some performance shots. We got loads and loads of different angels here, and at the end of the day we were very happy with what we had achieved that day, despite it being bitterly cold.
Day 5. It seemed as if we had been filming forever, but we felt that we needed just one more location for our video as we saw that most videos have a different location per verse. Instead of trekking it all the way to London we decided to stay local and just use Frasers house. Fraser had already used his house for filming his preliminary task, and with the room being done up to look less like a bedroom, Adam asked if we could use the same location. A much warmer day in and we finally had finished filming the video. Editing the film however is what is really going to test us.
Group Blog Link
I'm having problems trying to link my blog to the group blog, so to try and help a little bit, here is a link to it http://fwacmedia.blogspot.co.uk/
Goodwins theory in a music video - Gotye, Somebody that i Used to Know
Gotye's video for this song is a great example of how a music video can really illustrate and contradict the lyrics of a song. The music video starts off his the performer being naked whilst singing. This shows that he is empty and is perhaps singing for nothing.
By the sounds of the lyrics, he is talking about how he once had a perfect relationship but it is now over. He sings "I'll admit i was glad it was over". As this is happening, the video contradicts the mood of the lyrics and colorfull paintings start forming behind him, this could suggest that the bond is getting stronger between him and the woman he was once with, rather than him being glad of it ending.
The video contradicts the lyrics even more by the time the chorus comes along, the chorus makes it seem as if he is having a go at the woman "you didn't have to stoop so low", by the end of the chorus his whole body is painted and matches the patterns with the wall behind him, this would signify that it is a perfect relationship, but its contradicted by the lyrics.
The camera then takes a few steps backwards and you see that their is a girl to the left of him. She as well is nude and is painted to match the patterns on the wall perfectly. Her lyrics suggest that she wasn't the only guilty party in the relationship, and she is having a go at the man as well. She shuffles her shoulders and moves towards Gotye which could illustrate that she is coming out of Gotye's perfect view upon everything, and completley ruins the perfect matching of the patterns on the wall. By the end of the song, the woman (Kimbra) has had all her paint removed, this hear illustrates that the bond between her and Gotye is broken, and that the relationship has ended.
Album Cover Analysis - Eminem, Recovery
Eminem here is made to look as if he has a long walk ahead of him. With the title of the album being Recovery, it could perhaps signify that he has made mistakes and is on the way to putting them right, but he has a long way to go and isn't really anywhere near yet.
The yellow line which seperates the two lanes could perhaps suggest that Eminem has nearly crossed the line, or gone too far, which perhaps the errors of his ways. The road also seems pretty empty, could show that for the whole journey he will be alone, only with his thoughts
His thoughts could perhaps become blury and perhaps not make any sense, this could be argued by the fact the telephone poles and wires are distorted and cannot be seen well. The road however is in great focus, which could suggest more that all should be focused on, is Emimem and the long journey he has ahead of him. This is further backed up by the fact he isn't in the middle of the picture.
Album Cover Analysis - Tinie Tempah, Discovery
The sunglasses he is wearing makes signifies his character a lot. It could suggest that he is a cool, chilled out guy. It could show that he is not afraid to have the world under his control and won't be phazed or put off by much.
You can see he is wearing a shiney watch on his left hand, along with a shiney bracelet on the other. This could suggest that he is a rich guy and had plenty of cash to throw away on what ever he wants. His belongings also signify more that the city which he is holding is his own property.
There is what looks like a spotlight shining over him at the top of the picture. This shows that now that spotlight is on him, and he's the one that people are going to listen to.
Song Lyric Analysis
I only went and fucking did it
Used to be a dream but now I fucking live it
Weren't even writing raps I was down and out about to fucking quit it
Lucky for me that I fucking didn't
See lily came along when I was at my lowest (Lily could be a girl that came along or he could be referring to the slang word for money used in London 'lily' or more commonly known as 'Lizzy'. Implying money and success came to him at the right time.)
Selling wraps of coke not the raps I flow with
I made it and I owe it to a chat I had with her,(confirms that he is referring to a lady)
Who knows where I'd be if that chat hadn't occurred
Back with the bag, with the bag full of herbs init (without her he'd still be selling drugs)
Instead I got upon on a track and I murdered it
My name started causing murmurs in the industry
But none of these labels would work with it until virgin did (referring to the day Virgin Records signed him)
Put my first single out and we earned a hit
That's why we never...
I know it must burn a bit
Just did a show and everybody knew the words to it
The day I risked everything for I couldn't have given anything more all these years have weighed heavy
But this is something that nothing could have readied me for
What you think all my problems are remedied cos' I get an applause, there not (all the fame and money isn't as perfect as it seems to the fans)
Today I cried
And I don't know why
But today I cried
And I don't know why x2
My single went in at 3 (referring to his debut single "I need you tonight" which was his introduction to the public eye)
My album went in at 2
For a debut not to shabby if I have to I make do
Finally some form of reward for the things I came through
But it's different to the perfect picture people paint you (all the rewards from fame our not as great as they seem)
On the way up you might be a person people take to
Then you break through and the same people who rated you hate too (referring to fans who turned their back on him and began to hate him once he made it)
All of a sudden anything you do may do may make news
And I'm sick to death of explaining was is and aint' true (the tabloids and gossip always has to be explained, it clearly effect him)
Spend a day in my shoes and maybe you would feel the same too
Though I know I've got to make the most of it there will be no take 2
And ungrateful I would hate to seem cos' I'm leaving my dream now (sarcasm at how we will convince him he's living his dream)
But I don't sleep now
And all the hours awake are making me senile
Snap every time I see now
Even people I've been round my whole life are looking at me like I'm a new me now (paranoia and depression has lead his friends to question him)
They say I've changed but I just don't see how
I've always lived my life taking corners that I can't see round
Never knowing what it is I'm trying to seek out
But I'm even beginning to question me now (self explanatory conclusion)
Today I cried
And I don't know why
But today I cried
And I don't know why (don't know why I cried)
I know it must seem mad to you
It's mad to me
All I've done is what I've had to do
Been who I've had to be
But the path I've walked has been so gravely
It's been a strain to remain humane amongst all this inhumanity (his surroundings, his life is described as inhumane, and he is the humain one. He clearly feels unconfortable and the unusual life of a celebrity in the spot light)
Thankfully I had a nan who was a mum and dad to me (he had someone in his life who was a role model, implying his parents weren't there for him)
You can choose your friends but you can't choose your family
Temporary happiness for me has been a fallacy (he has become a custom to his constant sadness)
It's so sad isn't it, stick your sympathy it means jack to me (mimicking something that he has probably heard alot of times by fans, psychiatrist etc.)
Sick of hearing how happy I should be
I just don't know how to be
I can no longer pretend
No more making out to be
Maybe all I need's a slap,
Someone to shake it out of me
Help me to spell my irrational thoughts and think more rationally
Sick of being in the state of vanity
It's agony
Am I torn or is it all some twisted form of vanity(he questions who he really is, this song is a reflection and self-evaluation of his life at this moment in time)
Can it be I'm really just obsessed with myself, obsessive compulsive depressed, my pressures reflecting my health
Taking care of my career but I'm neglecting myself
Rejected therapy no I just won't except any help
I pride myself on my honestly but in all honestly today I lied
I was asked how I was and I said I was fine, I'm not (if he's lying to himself, he believes there must be something wrong with himself)
Today I cried
And I don't know why
But today I cried
And I don't know why x3
Used to be a dream but now I fucking live it
Weren't even writing raps I was down and out about to fucking quit it
Lucky for me that I fucking didn't
See lily came along when I was at my lowest (Lily could be a girl that came along or he could be referring to the slang word for money used in London 'lily' or more commonly known as 'Lizzy'. Implying money and success came to him at the right time.)
Selling wraps of coke not the raps I flow with
I made it and I owe it to a chat I had with her,(confirms that he is referring to a lady)
Who knows where I'd be if that chat hadn't occurred
Back with the bag, with the bag full of herbs init (without her he'd still be selling drugs)
Instead I got upon on a track and I murdered it
My name started causing murmurs in the industry
But none of these labels would work with it until virgin did (referring to the day Virgin Records signed him)
Put my first single out and we earned a hit
That's why we never...
I know it must burn a bit
Just did a show and everybody knew the words to it
The day I risked everything for I couldn't have given anything more all these years have weighed heavy
But this is something that nothing could have readied me for
What you think all my problems are remedied cos' I get an applause, there not (all the fame and money isn't as perfect as it seems to the fans)
Today I cried
And I don't know why
But today I cried
And I don't know why x2
My single went in at 3 (referring to his debut single "I need you tonight" which was his introduction to the public eye)
My album went in at 2
For a debut not to shabby if I have to I make do
Finally some form of reward for the things I came through
But it's different to the perfect picture people paint you (all the rewards from fame our not as great as they seem)
On the way up you might be a person people take to
Then you break through and the same people who rated you hate too (referring to fans who turned their back on him and began to hate him once he made it)
All of a sudden anything you do may do may make news
And I'm sick to death of explaining was is and aint' true (the tabloids and gossip always has to be explained, it clearly effect him)
Spend a day in my shoes and maybe you would feel the same too
Though I know I've got to make the most of it there will be no take 2
And ungrateful I would hate to seem cos' I'm leaving my dream now (sarcasm at how we will convince him he's living his dream)
But I don't sleep now
And all the hours awake are making me senile
Snap every time I see now
Even people I've been round my whole life are looking at me like I'm a new me now (paranoia and depression has lead his friends to question him)
They say I've changed but I just don't see how
I've always lived my life taking corners that I can't see round
Never knowing what it is I'm trying to seek out
But I'm even beginning to question me now (self explanatory conclusion)
Today I cried
And I don't know why
But today I cried
And I don't know why (don't know why I cried)
I know it must seem mad to you
It's mad to me
All I've done is what I've had to do
Been who I've had to be
But the path I've walked has been so gravely
It's been a strain to remain humane amongst all this inhumanity (his surroundings, his life is described as inhumane, and he is the humain one. He clearly feels unconfortable and the unusual life of a celebrity in the spot light)
Thankfully I had a nan who was a mum and dad to me (he had someone in his life who was a role model, implying his parents weren't there for him)
You can choose your friends but you can't choose your family
Temporary happiness for me has been a fallacy (he has become a custom to his constant sadness)
It's so sad isn't it, stick your sympathy it means jack to me (mimicking something that he has probably heard alot of times by fans, psychiatrist etc.)
Sick of hearing how happy I should be
I just don't know how to be
I can no longer pretend
No more making out to be
Maybe all I need's a slap,
Someone to shake it out of me
Help me to spell my irrational thoughts and think more rationally
Sick of being in the state of vanity
It's agony
Am I torn or is it all some twisted form of vanity(he questions who he really is, this song is a reflection and self-evaluation of his life at this moment in time)
Can it be I'm really just obsessed with myself, obsessive compulsive depressed, my pressures reflecting my health
Taking care of my career but I'm neglecting myself
Rejected therapy no I just won't except any help
I pride myself on my honestly but in all honestly today I lied
I was asked how I was and I said I was fine, I'm not (if he's lying to himself, he believes there must be something wrong with himself)
Today I cried
And I don't know why
But today I cried
And I don't know why x3
Contact to Artist
We used my Twitter account to contact Professor Green and asked him whether it would be ok to use his song for our media video. We did this to prevent any copywright and for Professor Green's own personal feelings.
Locations we used.
We had a look at other media students music vidoes and decided that we didn't want to film our video in some park or in someones room. So we decided that we wanted some brilliant locations, we went and filmed in London, Vauxhall. We filmed us performing infront of the London Eye and also with Big Ben. We also filmed Adam along the Embankment along the river thames.
Casting our video
We needed to make sure we got the right people to portray the two performers in our song. We needed a typical looking rapper and just a normal looking chorus singer. We went with Adam as the rapper, as he had similar short hair and dress sense, and went with myself as the chorus singer.
Wednesday 28 March 2012
Investigating how a artsts markets itself - JLS
JLS are a English boyband who rose to stardom through the talent show The X Factor. Despite finishing runners up to Alexandra Burke, they have become the most succesful artist to come out of a talent show. They have had 4 UK number ones, one more then Leona Lewis.
JLS had already developed a massive fan base whilst they were competting on the X Factor. This was before anybody had even won it or they were signed up by a record label. One way in which they were being promoted was that they had JLS teddy bears made. Since they had risen to fame they also had made branded lunchboxes and water bottles made for them. They have been marketing themselves by targetting their name and music to young girls. This was probably done to make sure that JLS got themselves off the ground and had a following.
As their name got larger, they now had to think of ways they could expand their audience, perhaps to teenagers aged 14-19. One of the ways in which they did this was that they incredibly had JLS Condoms made. This was a large news story and while they probably recieved criticism for it, their name was being spoken off. They also had a pretty awful pun written on the packet, JLS - Just Love Safe.
JLS - Proud
They are now trying to market themselves on a global scale. They were chosen to record the song for the 2012 London Olympics. The song is called Proud, with the hope that with the whole world watching the Olympics and hearing the song, their name will be heard on a global scale.
Tuesday 27 March 2012
Album Cover Analysis
Example - Playing in The Shadows
Example here has really illustrated the name of the album with his cover, with his face being covered up by black with a white background, and vise versa. This could signify that he is playing along with darker forces which he shouldn't really risk doing. The white side shows that he is still on the good side. This could give a idea of the content of the whole album, some songs may have a gloomy mood whilst the other half could be really happy and ideal for a party (for example). He has perhaps had to come out of his shell a little bit in order to do well in the charts. He has been around a little while now and maybe had to add something new to his songs in order for him to carry on being successful, which could be the reason why he called the album "Playing in the Shadows".
His name is shown in a yellow box, which contradicts the rest of the album. This can be seen as a label or a brand name and can show that despite the differences or looks of him album cover, it is still a Example album cover.
Analysis of a previous Media Studies student music video
I reckon the first thing to say about this video is that the performance isn't great. It just seems to me that the lip synching isn't up to scratch, and in all honesty the girl needs a few dance lessons. That might not be the girls fault though, she has had the decency to do this video for either herself or her friend, but you need a confident performer.
I think the camera angles are good. I think some of the moving shots are really well done and i think the narrative of the song is well illustrated. For example i think the bit where the camera zooms in on the diamonds works well.
On another down point though i think the edits are a little bit jaded. I think its a quickish song and some of the shots are around 6 seconds long, and they need to be so much quicker if they want the audience to remain interested.
Wednesday 21 March 2012
Analysis of Album Cover
Newton Faulkner - Hand Built By Robots.
Newton Faulkner is a singer\songwriter from Reigate, Surrey. He rose onto the mainstream scene with this album along with lead single "Dream Catch Me" in 2007.
The album cover shows a hand of a robot holding a load of people which which are the symbols different ages of times or era's. You have:
Pirate
Knight
Cowboy
Modern army Soldier
Chinese Warrior
Astronaut
Two Typically English Dancers
As they are all in the robots hand, this could signify that everything has been built or created all as one massive system. They perhaps have no way out of it and have to agree and go along with how the system wants them to be. The fact that the hand is in the clouds could signify that the Robot is meant to be God, and this is all of his creations.
The astronaut which is flying away from the hand, could suggest that as technology has advance, people are able come away from the fixed system and are able to express themselves a lot more. This can be linked to real life, for example social networking sites, e.g. Facebook and Twitter, along with all the other access that is availible to us, means that we are able to express ourselves more and let us give our own opinions.
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