a2harrowcollegemediaray1

2010-04-28T03:24:00.000-07:00

Copyrite

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2010-04-26T02:11:00.000-07:00

Evaluation - Imran Bashir

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge the forms and conventions of real media products?

My media product both challenges forms and conventions of similar products in the industry; my music video is based on the band Domino Theory which is a group of 4 males that perform together. It is both a performance and narrative music video with the performance being based around a rehearsal of the band which we used the location of the Grims Dyke hotel in Bushy, and we shot the narrative part in several areas in London and tube station, it is a typical narrative for the genre of music which is a love song so this reinforces forms and conventions as its similar to most music videos in that genre. A love song about a couple reuniting and living happily ever after,

The use of mis-en-scene was key to us in this music video we tried to shoot it to similar videos in the genre again reinforcing the forms and conventions by using wide angle shot of the band, we did handheld so we got close ups of the vocalist and ranged from medium to close up’s of the band, we also tried a few tracking shots but this didn’t work out as well as expected so we didn’t use it at all, the performance of the band is shot in normal colour but the narrative story is edited to have a cartoon effect we did this to challenge the forms and conventions as other music videos in this genre don’t feature this. We used the track by Domino Theory Titled Try A Little Harder which was written and produced by Domino Theory and we used some speech from the band to make sure that we identify with the audience it is a rehearsal and not a live performance. The editing process was difficult and we found ourselves constantly going back and forth and receiving feedback to improve it we use the software ‘Final Cut Pro’ which is a professional editing software that allowed us to do multiple things, it was a learning curve but valuable and essential. As we took multiple shots of the band we had a lot of selection to choose from majority of the shots we used were hand held, we used a selection of fades and cuts from performance to narrative

We had multiple ideas for this music videos we used the idea of a Romeo and Juliet theme which became too complex as finding the right characters and developing the story as we first wanted to challenge the forms and conventions of this music video we then changed from using the Romeo and Juliet theme to using kids and puppets which we later decided to change to just using a couple in love who find their way back to each other.

The main influences of our music video was looking at similar artists and band within the same genre and see how they approached there music videos some of them completely challenge forms and conventions other reinforce we tried to strike a balance between both so that we reach out to a larger audience, also Romeo and Juliet played a big role in our influence as characters as we wanted two couples you wouldn’t expect to challenge forms and conventions and ideology so we used a mixed race male and an Afghanistan girl which we used popular locations in London and the Christmas lights to represent colours and happiness

2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

We tried to brand the video to reach a mainstream audience we used several representation methods of image for the band as we wanted to brand them as the band they want to be seen as which is an indie pop band so they came in their own style and we used the title screen to present the band and title of the song so audience recognize this for brand recognition,

For the digipak we used multiple branding elements we used a group shot of the band and used a piano and placed the singer behind it this is a key branding strategy as in the music video you can see the piano with the lead vocalist performing on the same piano, in the digipak the band is also placed behind him with Domino Theory in the same font as the music video starting title this is to keep it consistent and ensure it looks professional. We placed the band website around and used a guitar on the back of the digipak for the musical feel we kept with a colour scheme of black, red and white as these were key colours and are enhanced in the music video then more colours, the Band feature the same costumes and location as in the music video as it was a good location with the piano in place there to reinforce the ideology of the group and keep the brand recognition consistent so audience feel as if there not seeing two different bands in different locations as the band remained in the same location throughout the music video.

The main influence of the digipak came from the music video itself as it was an indie pop group breaking onto the mainstream we wanted to make sure the audience feel they are with the band the whole way, this is why we use the same scene and colour scheme text font, size in both the digipak and music video. This will in return help create the true brand recognition as they are a new band and our trying to establish an audience the use of the instruments was suitable as they were key instruments in the track and video.

3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

From our research our key market was females between the ages of 16-24 of white ethnicity this we tried to cater to our target audience by using mis-en-scene such as the characters costumes the band consists of 4 young males who females may be drawn to, this will create some interest within the same age group as they can see themselves relating to their audience and likewise. We chose this particular market as it was the one that appealed to the group the most.

We used a number of elements in the music video to try and appeal to our audience, such as the band itself is appealing as their ages range from18-24 and are attractive which can really grab the attention from the female audience. We also used popular places in London this can help as audience can relate if they been to those places such as Leicester square, Trafalgar we also shot during the Christmas time so the lights and decorations make the music video have that sense of love and more attractive. Throughout the music video the narrative is a linear about two people travelling we don’t know where they’re going or who their meeting this keeps the audience as they want to know who these two character are which they later find out are a couple.

We aimed particularly to a young adult of middle class social groups we tried to aim for a wide market as it could relate to a large amount of people we did this using costumes and let the characters and band feel comfortable and sell themselves not a particular image. The camera shots we used for the performance are wide angle shots and close ups so the audience feel involved the shots for the narrative are more close ups hand held’s to get the facial expressions to keep audiences interested and so they can feel in her position and we used particular shots to go with the Lyrics “maybe one day I’ll see you walk the isle with me” we used a shot of the female character walking down steps so audience have a visual idea.
I believe our music video achieved its goal towards our particular audience so they can relate to them also I believe with the research we collected this was the best audience to appeal to as it was a similar audience as the band.

Our digipak technically include everything relevant to another digipak with in the market it uses a band shot the Group Name and track title so audience are familiar. The colour scheme is used throughout with red being the predominate colour our images are also effective as it establishes the band in the same location and we use a candle and a guitar on the back as the candle is used to start the music video and also at the end of the music video so we thought it would be effective. We used the relevant logo’s and brand to make it look professional and similar to other products in the industry we did make some changes based on our audience feedback especially with the first draft of the band being cartoon it didn’t look attractive so we changed it.

It is definitely a video you could watch again as it contains the mis-en-scene of a product with in the market of a professional standard and it tries to reach out to a mainstream audience appealing to all markets which is what a Major Record Label would be looking for. What suggests this is the use of our research was across a wide amount of people from all types of ages, gender and social class even though are key market was 16-24 year old females of a middle class status someone in an different age group, gender and social class could still watch this video and enjoy it. Our USP of the music video is the Group themselves Domino Theory we wanted to brand them as they are the main focus of the music video, this can lead to all different types of opportunities for them especially helping them break into the industry.

4. How did you use the media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

I used multiple technologies during this process it was a learning curve and was a good experience as I can use them as life skills at times I found some tasks more difficult than others but had help. For the research stages search engines and social networking sites were a huge factor on collection research and finding out information.

I used social networking sites like MySpace to help research into similar bands and see what kind of branding and there types of music, I used another social networking site face book to help carry out research and what our target audience would like and get feedback and make changes accordingly these were extremely useful technologies as it allowed me to collect research quickly and controlled. YouTube was another popular website it’s a website that allows user to host videos so allowed me to look at music video and help influence on my music video as I can look at similar bands and there music videos. I also used Google as my main search engine as we did allot of research into Romeo and Juliet this was a useful tool to collect information to give us ideas and how we could incorporate them into our music video effectively which we later chose not to go with as it was too complex in the time we had with the characters. We place all out work on blogger which at first was difficult for us all to use but was a learning curve and soon learned how to throw things up there with ease and keep things under clouds so our work is organised.
We set a time and location for us to meet the band at the Gryms Dyke hotel in bushy, we contacted the hotel about using their location as it featured a nice theme and a fireplace which was a real interest to us and the band as it would be nice to get shots of them performing in front of the fireplace. We brought the filming equipment such as the lights; camera’s the dolly for the tracking and so forth. We did encounter some problems with the lighting at times it seemed it was too dark or too light so we had to adjust it various times this was also harder as one of lights was damaged by accident.

We used the Cannon XM2 digital camera and a widescreen lenses so we could capture the whole group in a comfortable frame the camera also had a tin built mica. We didn’t use green screen as we had no use for it as we had all our location that were suitable. The camera was a problem at the beginning we needed to adjust the settings with the white balance as it seemed too dark at times but we soon adjusted it. We used the tripod for the shots of the whole group the rest of the shots were close ups so we could get in close so it adds variety and helps the audience feel more involved in the video, we also did a tracking shot with the dolly but didn’t use it in the final video as it wasn’t stable and consistent and didn’t look very professional.

We used Mac computers loaded with the software known as Final Cut Pro, this was really learning curve for me as a joint editor as I have had no experience in this area of media before so I found it difficult and frustrating at the beginning getting used to the software as I was also used to Microsoft software running computers. Final Cut Pro is extremely professional software for editors it allowed us to constantly make changes with ease and apply the effects we wanted such as the cartoon affects to certain parts majority the narrative story parts, a difficulty we found when using Final Cut Pro was keeping the track in sync with the performance when making a change. We used different fades when crossing over to performance or to the story.

With the digipak for the photo we used the FinePix 56000 Digital Still Camera we shot the Group placed in front of the piano as I mentioned before to keep the brand recognition we used Adobe Photoshop CS4 and In Design DTP software, seeing as I have used Photoshop before in my previous year I had experience so found it easier to pick up then using Final Cut Pro. This helped in being more efficient as I could make changes quickly and not find much technical challenges however one challenge we did face was the initial idea of making the reflection of the band from the pianos reflection making them look like cartoon which we later withdrew the idea as it didn’t look effective as it would of related to the story narrative as it has a cartoon effect. Another problem was the headings and logo placements to ensure the
spaces were equal so it looked professional and consistent.

The college equipment helped to get an idea of the placement of the images as we had a rough idea but using the actual college equipment allowed us to visualise what we wanted and that’s how we ended up including the Guitar and candle at the back of the digipak which fades to black.

2010-04-25T06:23:00.001-07:00

Evaluation - David Goodwin

Updated

2010-04-25T05:56:00.000-07:00

http://docs.google.com/#all

Note: This is the link to my evaluation. I would have imported it directly but I have not been able to access Slideshare.

2010-04-24T16:00:00.001-07:00

Audience feedback charts

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2010-04-24T15:59:00.001-07:00

Questionnaire

http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayerd.swf?doc=audiencefeedback-100424180050-phpapp01&stripped_title=audience-feedback-3843462"
/>http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayerd.swf?doc=audiencefeedback-100424180050-phpapp01&stripped_title=audience-feedback-3843462"
type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always"
allowfullscreen="true" width="477" height="510">

2010-04-24T15:57:00.000-07:00

Audience feedback

In order to get feedback from our on what they thought of our music video, we asked them in various different ways to get as much feed back as possible. We made the links available on Facebook because it reaches a wider range of audience as it is a worldwide social network site. We asked them to comment on the video and tell us what they like and dislike about it. The feedback we received from them was; they loved the cartoon effect idea but it should be on through out the whole of the video. They loved that it was set in central London at night during Christmas because the lights gives a great effect to it and makes it look more professional. Some people commented on the band and said that it was a great choice a male band and the band members all looked really professional and attractive which is what our audience look out for when watching a music video.

However we also received some negative feedback via Facebook. Some people said that the video didn’t relate to the song and they got confused and didn’t know what its purpose was. Some said that they didn’t like the cartoon effect and that it ruined colours and was a downfall to the rest of the video. Most of the feedback we got from Facebook were students aged between 16-22 which was brilliant because that was the age category we aimed the video for.

As well as using Facebook for audience feedback, we also used msn and wrote out a short questionnaire to get as much feedback as possible. We wanted to find out their thoughts on camera work and editing. We also wanted to know what they thought of the song and the use of mise-en-scene. The feed back we received from this was all positive. We created a short closed questioned survey and each of our group members asked five people. The kind of feedback we received from this were, that most people thought the music video was different regarding the mise en scene, more than half of them said this when asked “what did you think of the narrative part of the video regarding the use of mise en scene?”, and more than 60% of them said was entertaining when asked “what did you think of the performance part of the video regarding the use of mise en scene. This was one our main aims and we have achieved it according to the results of our feedback. We also wanted feedback on the use of camera work and editing. We asked them “how well was the use of camera work presented in the video?”, more than 80% of the people asked said that the use of various shots and looked professional. Many also said that the hand held camera work was very steady.

Ten out of the fifteen people asked said that they liked the cartoon effect when we asked them what they liked about the editing and all of them said that it was very well edited and looked professional. The negative feedback we got was that some of them thought the characters, the couple, were too young and a few mentioned that they were underdressed but overall it was all positive and the majority was leased with the final product.

Overall, we are very pleased with the final product and the audience feed back because we have met their potential needs on a music video. We have also met the forms and conventions of professional existing products. We have created a video which our audience found entertaining and professional as well but also different and unique which was what we were aiming for.

2010-04-24T15:38:00.000-07:00

Final Video

2010-04-24T15:25:00.000-07:00

Evaluation - Amina Diwa Saadat

1. In what ways does your product use, develop or challenge the forms and conventions of real media products?

Our music video is performance/narrative driven. The video is split into two very different sections, each set in different locations. The performance is by the band practicing and the narrative part is the couple travelling separately in London to meet up with each other. This is similar to the forms and conventions of existing music videos because many are narrative/performance focused. An example of this would be “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved” by The Script, which is a similar love song containing both narrative and performance scenes. The style of presentation of our music video deviates from other music videos because we have used a special effect called Red Giant Toonit which gives a cartoon quality on screen and I have used this for the narrative part of the video, it is something you don’t normally see in existing music videos.

Our use of camera work and sound follow established music codes and conventions. We have used basic hand held shots such as the crane shot of the girl standing under the lights in Oxford Street and also the tracking around her face. This is also done with Alex in the train station. As well as hand held with the couple we also used it for each of the band members to get a real feel of what they are doing and who they are whilst the camera is moving around them. We have also used the tripod to get steady medium and wide angle shots of the band all together and also used the dolly and the tracks to get a steady tracking shot of the band. This camera-work is similar other music videos because it is constantly moving, featuring a range of shots differences and angles. However if our music video presenting scenes with tall buildings, it would be much more difficult to film and would have to film at very high angle to get shots such as bird’s eye view shots, an example of this is “New York” by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, the music video is about New York so it contains various high angle shots f the sky scrapers.

The editing techniques are also similar to other music videos because we have used basic transitions such as dissolves between the narrative and performance shots. It is one of the basic transitions you see in most music videos based on love. However the main technique that differs our video from other existing videos is the Red Giant Toonit effect we have added to the narrative part of the video. You don’t normally see this in music videos which make our original and different. The mise en scene of our video also follow the forms and conventions of other music videos because it is not based on a fancy show biz style, it is a casual rehearsal performance between the band. And also the narrative part is about couple meeting up so they don’t need to be over dressed. The settings do not need to be over done because it is only a practise within the band itself because they are seen as relaxed and laid-back. The band members are dressed in casual shirts and jeans with trainers connoting their relaxed life style and also create a relaxed atmosphere; this also goes with the couple as ill. The fact that they are wearing just jeans and a coat suggests they are not going anywhere special. This creates the music video as an overall all relaxed, simple video which is what most videos are like with the similar genre.

2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

We have adopted the principles of branding including brand image very well. Regarding our music video, we have developed used the band as the main brand image because they are the performers shown in it. The main singer playing the piano whilst singing associates with the DVD cover which has a picture of the band standing in front of the piano with the main singer sitting down like you would see him in the video. The colours are very natural and light, which is similar to the cover.

We have also used the same location for the video in the performance to the DVD cover to get the same branding image symbolising Grimsdyke hotel. The use of the band’s style and dress is kept the same throughout the video and DVD cover because we wanted their identity to be known. Their causal relaxed dress sense gives them a brand image of laid back band members and not as show offs.

This then leads to the magazine advertisement. In this advert we have used the same picture used in the DVD cover so that they have a link with each other. It is kept simple and basic just like the cover and we have used the same font and colours so that our audience will instantly know that it is linked to the video and DVD cover. The conventions are much similar to the DVD cover; it doesn’t contain any images of the animation because it would stand out from the DVD cover. Because we are advertising the cover, we therefore need to be similar to the rest of the products. It creates an overall image of the band as a male band standing in front of the black piano connoting the piano is involved in the video somehow and set in a posh old fashioned setting.

3. What did you learn from your audience feedback?

The elements we built in to our video to appeal to our target audience are the use of using young characters in the video, such as the band members are all male and young and also attractive, therefore most young girls would be interested to watch this because they get drawn towards young attractive men. This will mainly attract an audience at that age because audiences are attracted by people from their own age category and create some kind of bond or feelings for them. Another way is the choice of song; it’s a nice slow love song which youngsters like to listen to, especially females. The use of a cartoon effect for the couple which fades to reality towards the happy ending is another great way to encourage their identification because it is all about being different and standing out from the crowd, which is what everyone wants to be nowadays as well as upbeat. Our narrative isn’t over dramatic or out of the ordinary, it is about people’s everyday life about someone’s feelings towards their partner so the video will make them feel like they are a part of the video because they relate somehow to the song. They are being allowed to witness the feeling of falling in love and caring for someone you love so much. The setting in the video could also relate to them, the narrative part is set in central London so the audience might be interested in that the city life where it is a place for so many to meet their partner under similar circumstances.

In order to get feedback from our on what they thought of our music video, we asked them in various different ways to get as much feed back as possible. We made the links available on Facebook because it reaches a wider range of audience as it is a worldwide social network site. We asked them to comment on the video and tell us what they like and dislike about it. The feedback we received from them was; they loved the cartoon effect idea but it should be on throughout the whole of the video. They loved that it was set in central London at night during Christmas because the lights gives a great effect to it and makes it look more professional. Some people commented on the band and said that it was a great choice a male band and the band members all looked really professional and attractive which is what our audience look out for when watching a music video.

However we also received some negative feedback via Facebook. Some people said that the video didn’t relate to the song and they got confused and didn’t know what its purpose was. Some said that they didn’t like the cartoon effect and that it ruined colours and was a downfall to the rest of the video. Most of the feedback we got from Facebook was students aged between 16-22 which was brilliant because that was the age category we aimed the video for.

As well as using Facebook for audience feedback, we also used msn and wrote out a short questionnaire to get as much feedback as possible. We wanted to find out their thoughts on camera work and editing. We also wanted to know what they thought of the song and the use of mise-en-scene. The feedback we received from this was all positive. We created a short closed questioned survey and each of our group members asked five people. The kind of feedback we received from this were, that most people thought the music video was different regarding the mise en scene, more than half of them said this when asked “what did you think of the narrative part of the video regarding the use of mise en scene?”, and more than 60% of them said was entertaining when asked “what did you think of the performance part of the video regarding the use of mise en scene. This was one our main aims and we have achieved it according to the results of our feedback. We also wanted feedback on the use of camera work and editing. We asked them “how well was the use of camera work presented in the video?”, more than 80% of the people asked said that the use of various shots and looked professional. Many also said that the hand held camera work was very steady.

Ten out of the fifteen people asked said that they liked the cartoon effect when we asked them what they liked about the editing and all of them said that it was very well edited and looked professional. The negative feedback we got was that some of them thought the characters, the couple, were too young and a few mentioned that they were underdressed but overall it was all positive and the majority was pleased with the final product.

Overall, we are very pleased with the final product and the audience feed back because we have met their potential needs on a music video. We have also met the forms and conventions of professional existing products. We have created a video which our audience found entertaining and professional as well but also different and unique which was what we were aiming for.

4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Compared to last year I have improved our skills in the use of technologies dramatically. I have gained the skills on using the college filming camera, the Canon XM2 with David Goodwin and Imran Bashir. Before we started shooting, we practised with our group on using the camera and gaining different skills from it, for example we practiced creating different angles using the tripod. We also practised filming creating steady hand held shots. Our strengths ire that we was able to film hand held shots as well as using the tripod and was able to keep the camera steady without shaking so we ended up with some really effective steady hand held shots which we wouldn’t get using the tri-pod. Our weaknesses however are that we didn’t know how to use the white balance on the camera effectively to get the right natural colour. When we eventually worked it out, we were supposed to have kept the button pressed until the icon on the screen would stop flashing. Unfortunately we let it go too soon so the performance part was too red and didn’t have the right colours. however when it came to filming the narrative scenes we remembered to switch the white balance on and knew how to work it and we ended up with the natural colours of what I was filming.
We also started off with having difficulties on setting up the tripod when we was filming for the narrative scenes, we couldn’t set the camera on the tripod the right way because we was using a slightly smaller tripod made for a stills camera. We chose to use the smaller tripod because it was much easier to carry around with me because we were travelling by foot but we did manage to get a few effective shot. We found it difficult operating a pan because it was hard to follow the person when she was walking as the camera person wasn’t quick enough to keep up with her, but I did end up with a few shots that could be used for the video. The rest was all filmed hand held. During the procedure of filming the band, we also wanted a few tracking shots of the whole band performing together so we used a basic suit case dolly. David filmed the tracking shots which he did have some trouble with to start with because he kept tripping over the tracks which made the camera shake a little but we did end up with at least one good tracking shot without the camera shaking. We also used a few extra lighting, due to the clumsiness of one our team member one of the lights fell off and broke so we only had one left which we used as a flood light to lighten up the area of which the band was performing. The loss of one light didn’t affect our filming as much because we also had the lights of the room so we needn’t need extra lighting. Over all we found the hand held shots very useful because it was very easy to use and also we were able to be creative with it as you were able to create various different shots from different angles which we wouldn’t able to do with the tri-pod. This was well presented with the hand held shots of the band members.

Generally, the college equipment enhanced our ideas because it gave us a chance to develop our skills and create new ideas. For example we used a hand held camera create effects such as the crane shot going up from the girl’s feet and reaching up to see the lights in the sky. This wasn’t originally planned but having the camera available gave me the chance to come up the idea and do it.

As a lead editor, I learnt the basics of editing to start with because last year I didn’t participate in much of the editing. We also had improved editing software and facilities so it was all new to everyone. The editing software we had to use was Final Cut Pro. Throughout the editing procedure gradually we picked up the basics and the advanced skills for example adding a transition and adding the cartoon effect. Our main strength in editing was the cartoon effect we used for our video. When we first added it, it didn’t look very effective and the colours were too dark, however due to the skills we gained we managed to soften the colours a little which enhanced the whole of the video and completed a great effect to it. Although this took me quite a long time, I believe we mastered it very ill. For creating our overall pace and style of editing, I found the cross dissolve transition very effective because it was a nice way of changing scenes and settings, from the performance part to the narrative part. It also added a soft touch to it which added a nice flow to the video. We also used this transition to transform the cartoon effect to real life, this works really well because it can change the pace to it and we used it to change slowly to catch the audience’s attention and making sure they don’t miss anything.

2010-04-24T14:15:00.001-07:00

Shot list

2010-04-24T14:12:00.000-07:00

Risk assesment

2010-04-24T14:10:00.000-07:00

DVD Case Insert

This is the DVD case insert. It is inserted inside the case on the left.

2010-04-24T14:03:00.000-07:00

Final DVD Cover

Our Music video DVD cover.

2010-04-24T14:00:00.000-07:00

First draft music video

This is our first draft of our music video. There were a few things we were not happy as a group and decided to change, the main thing was the colour.

2010-04-24T13:59:00.000-07:00

Equiptment

2010-04-24T13:47:00.001-07:00

Permissions Of Access

With reference to the following production: Performance

Produced by: Amina Diwa Saadat

In consideration of the request for audio / video recording as follows:

Location: Drimsdyke Hotel

Date: 16/12/09

Time: 8:00 PM

Please select as applicable:

Permission is given - Yes

Permission cannot be given

Permission is given subject to the following conditions:

Name (Please print): Robert Cannon

Date: 12/12/09

Position: Manager

Address:

113 Goldstone Way,
Berryfield ,
US3 7HA

Contact telephone number: 07784523456

Signature:

2010-04-24T13:38:00.000-07:00

Minutes of meeting

Production: Music Video

Production team: Amina D Saadat, Imran Bashir & David Goodwin

Date: 22/011/2009

Those present: Amina D Saadat. Imran Bashir, David Goodwin

Apologies for absence: N/A

Matters discussed:

1) Organising the dates and timing of shooting – main priority is filming the performance

2) Planning on what equipments needed

3) Deciding on what job is suitable for which member

Action taken / to be taken (and by whom):

1) Calling up the band to organise date which they are available to film - Amina

2) Making a list of the equiptment and booking them for the date of filming when confirmend - David

3)Practice camera skills and making a list of the shots needed for the narrative - Imran

2010-04-24T13:34:00.000-07:00

Consent / Clearance Form

With reference to the following production:

Produced by: Amina Diwa Saadat

* In consideration of the non-remuneration agreement between myself and Harrow College Media Productions I consent to the interview / contribution given by me to you on ……16…./…12……./……09…. giving over ‘unlimited’ rights to the above named production company. This agreement also allows ‘unlimited’ future copying / broadcasting of the said material without payment.

This agreement enables the above named producer / production company to exploit the performance / interview / contribution, which I hereby give my consent, in any contemporary or future audio-visual media throughout the territories of the United Kingdom and the rest or the World.

Name (Please print): Stuert Poole

Date: 12/12/09

Address:

11 Mary Avenue,
Harrow,
Ha5

Contact telephone number: 07983445321

Signature:

2010-04-24T13:30:00.000-07:00

Call Sheet

Production title: Grimsdyke Hotel

Recording format: Performance

Date: 16/12/09

Start time: 8:00 PM

Wrap time: 11:00 PM

Location address & directions:

Old Redding,
Harrow,
Middlesex,
HA3

Contact Nos: 02083853100

Scene / shot Nos to be recorded: Narrative

Equipment required: Camera, tri-pod, stills camera, lighting, filters, dolly.

Props / costume / required: Candle, candle holder

Misc required: N/A

Production crew & contact Nos:

David = 0770183338
Amina = 07538021404
Imran = 07595423675

2010-04-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

Professional Job Roles:

Producer

The producer is the one who puts everything together such as the director, screenwriter, cast, the finances and the production team. He/she has an overall control of the film’s production. He/she has the responsibility to make the best of what he/she can find, for example take something plain and boring and turn it into something creative and extraordinary. They need to be a good businessmen/woman. They need an extensive knowledge of cinematic narrative, and a thorough understanding of all the creative processes of filmmaking, including screenwriting, directing, editing, and composing music. They must know how to prepare a budget for the production, secure financial recourses and have an overall control planning of the production.

The four roles they have to take on as a producer are:

Research and development: producers are often responsible for coming up with the original idea. They secure the necessary rights, select the screenwriter and story editing team, raise the development financing and supervise the development process.

Pre - Production:

This is when the producer brings n together the key members of the creative team such as the director, cinematographer and principal cast. Once the Executive producers have raised the finance for the production, they select others such as the Line Producer, Associate Producer and Production Manager as well as the remaining Heads of Departments such as Production Designer, Editor and Composer.

Production:

At this stage the producer is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the producing team; they have to be in consistent communication and consultation with the director. He/she decides on the script changes and the cost reports.

Post-production and marketing:

He/she must interact personally with post production. This includes the Editor, Composer, and Visual Effects staff. Then he/she consult with all creative and financial personal on the production of the answer print. Usually the producer gets involved with the financial and distribution entities in planning the marketing and distribution of the finished piece.

Director

The director must have brilliant artistic vision and creative skills to develop and winning and unique film. He/she needs to be committed and have a deep passion for filmmaking as well as the ability to be confident, lead, constantly make decisions but also be able to delegate and collaborate with others. He/she must be inspirational and inspire the team and motivate them to produce the film they have envisioned.

The responsibilities a Director has to take on are:

Write the film’s script or commission it to be written. He/she must develop an idea for the finished film and define a practical role route for achieving it. During the pre-production he/she has to make vital decisions on selection the right cast, crew and locations for the film. Then he/she direct rehearsals and the performances of the actors once the film is in production. As well as taking on the main roles, the director also manage the technical aspects of filming such as the camera, sound, lighting, design and special effects departments. The director especially works closely with Editors through many technical processes of editing during post production.

Camera-person/operator

The cameraperson is the one who operates the electronic and film cameras in multi and single camera operational conditions. By combining the use of complex technology with creative visual skills, he/she produces pictures for directors. A camera operator is often supported by camera assistants; these are focus puller and clapper loader. A potential cameraperson needs to have a good theoretical and knowledge of cameras. He/she has to have an interest in lighting, video, film, or theatre. He/she needs to have excellent hand-eye coordination, a good hearing and colour vision, patience, and attention to detail; he/she also needs to have the knowledge of editing and sound engineering.

The responsibilities a camera person has are:

 Assembling, preparing and setting up equipment needed for filming, including tripods, monitors, lighting, cables and leads, and headphones.
 Explaining the visual impact created by the angle of particular shots.
 Planning shots - when filming an expensive scene, there is no chance for any mistakes and therefore the shots need to be meticulously planned beforehand.
 Practicing required positions for pre-arranged shots.
 Studying scripts.
 Finding out solutions to technical or other practical problems, being prepared to innovate and experiment with ideas.
 Taking instructions from the director.
 Working quickly, especially as timing is such an important factor.
 Taking sole responsibility in situations where there is only one camera operator involved in the filming.
 Keeping up to date with filming methods and equipment.
 Repairing equipment.
 Demonstrating good awareness of health and safety issues.

Editor

The editor works closely with the director in order to meet his/her requirements; it is the key skill of the editor that determines the quality and delivery of the final product. Digital technology is now meeting the needs of broadcasting, film and video tape editors. This is done by using desk top computers film or videotape pictures and compressing them, it is then digitised and stored on the computer. The video editing process involved two stages, offline editing and online editing.

Offline editing assembles all the raw footage, these are called rushes. You usually work with relatively cheap equipment in an offline editing suite and the work mainly involves inputting all the uncut rushes into the computer where they are stored into files, re-arranging and creating digital rough cut and fine cut of the programme to the director’s wishes, and drawing up an edit decision list (EDL), which is the visual ‘script’ for the next stage of the process – the online edit.

The second stage is online editing, this involves someone who is more responsible for the creation of the final product, again working to the director’s wishes. It involves working with high cost equipment, the online editor must have a high level of technical competence to produce the finest quality work. The work involves inputting the necessary rushes material into the advanced online computer system to bring it to advanced high quality resolution. Editing the rushes according to the offline editor’s EDL, while adding any special effects and grading/colouring required perfecting the final end product.

An editor need to show willingness to get involved and has to be prepared to do most of the menial of the task from the outset. He/she must also be able to show their appropriate editing skills and be able to use software packages such as AVID and Final Cut Pro. The main qualities needed in an editor are that he/she has to have a keen eye for detail, had to be reliable, have perfectionism, the ability to listen to others and have excellent communication skills, both written and oral.

2010-04-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

Interview 6 - David Goodwin

What do you think a music video should be based on and why?

A band performing in front of a big crowd, in a huge massive arena. The place should be full of people screaming to show how much they love the band because their music is really good.

What kinds of music are you interested the most and often listen to and why?

I am interested in hardcore rock music, I love really loud and up-beat tunes because it’s something you can go crazy in and be wild.

What do you normally look for when watching a music video based on a love story?

Emos and Goths, really dark and scary scenes to really scare the hell out of you. It should involve murder, the girl ending up being a vampire and sucking her husband’s blood, but she will look sexy and not one of them ugly ones.

What do you think is a great theme for a general music video?

Murder will be a good theme because it adds tension and excitement to the scene. It creates horror which everyone loves and it wouldn’t be boring like the other typical boring love songs. I think more people will be attracted to this kind of video.

What kinds of setting/s do you think would be good to use for a music video based on a love story?

In a dark cave, or a grave yard, because that is where the dead live so it makes it even more dark and scary. Or maybe in the city at night, in an empty ally way. The night is known to be dangerous.

What time of the day do you think is perfect for filming a music video, especially a love story?

The night would be the perfect time, because that’s when all the danger comes out and that’s when vampires come as well so it would look really cool. It wouldn’t be as scary if it was set during the day. So the night is when all the action occurs.

The interview: 19 year old, male white - student

2010-04-24T10:39:00.000-07:00

Interview 5 - David Goodwin

What do you think a music video should be based on and why?

I think a music video should be based on religion. Most people call themselves Muslims and yet they do all the wrong things. They still wear tight revealing clothes, eat haram food and commit bad things, so a music video based on Islam would be perfect because it will spread the message to al the young Muslims and make them realise the consequences of their actions.

What kinds of music are you interested the most and often listen to and why?

I don’t listen to music, however I do listen to nashids which is a song without instruments used, just a table, an instrument like a drum. They are beautiful songs about Allah and Islam, it makes me proud to be a Muslim and also helps me stay on the right path and keep my deen up high.

What do you normally look for when watching a music video based on a love story?

I normally look for people dressed modestly, especially women, not doing anything haram. If it is a love song then I would look for the by going to the girls father asking for his daughters hand. This is the right way to do it and from this love will grow between the girl and the boy, not by going out together, kissing and touching each other.

What do you think is a great theme for a general music video?

Allah and Islam, showing how great the religion is and how everything about is perfect. Showing the believes and the rewards you get for believing the right and the truth.

What kinds of setting/s do you think would be good to use for a music video based on a love story?

For a love story, I would have to say that the girls house would be a great place because it is where the boy goes to ask for the girls hand, and after if it is accepted then it’s the right place for celebration, but if it is between a husband and wife then it also be set in their house because that’s the place where the wife cooks dinner for her family and her children are playing and growing up so it a very special and meaningful setting.

What time of the day do you think is perfect for filming a music video, especially a love story?

I don’t really mind when, they are both beautiful creations form God so both say and night should be used.

The interview: 21 year old, male Arab - student

2010-04-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

Interview 4 - Imran Bashir

What do you think a music video should be based on and why?

Culture and tradition, because I am Afghan I would prefer it to be based on the Afghan culture and their food, clothes and the country itself. It would give other people (non Afghans) a chance to see the good side of Afghanistan and what it is really about, because they are being brainwashed by the media that Afghanistan is just a land where you get bombed all the time but there is more to that.

What kinds of music are you interested the most and often listen to and why?

I love all different kinds of music, form Arabic, Afghan and English, I am always listening to music because it entertains me and helps me concentrate. It feels weird when I am doing something, for example my homework, and if I don’t play music then I would be able to concentrate so in a way music helps me to relax and think properly.

What do you normally look for when watching a music video based on a love story?

For a music video based on a love story I normally look for men respecting women and true love. I don’t like the fact that in most music video women are labelled as an object and for entertainment dressed in revealing clothes. So I would like to see something different to that.

What do you think is a great theme for a general music video?

A happy atmosphere, where everyone is happy and enjoying life. Most of the music videos nowadays are full of street crime and youngsters getting in trouble and going to prison. I would like to see achievement and reaching goals.

What kinds of setting/s do you think would be good to use for a music video based on a love story?

For a love story I would say a big field of flowers, or on a beautiful island, somewhere beautiful and extraordinary where no one else is around and the couple are enjoying each other’s company are both deeply in love. It will make it to a fantasy, where nothing goes wrong which what most people, especially girls, dream of.

What time of the day do you think is perfect for filming a music video, especially a love story?

During the day, if it is going to be set on an island then it should be set during a bright sunny day. The sun makes the day so much brighter and changes people’s moods to much more positive and happy. A love song set in the rain at night would just seem depressing and dull to watch.

The interview: 16 year old, female black/Nigerian - student

2010-04-24T10:32:00.000-07:00

Interview 3 - Imran Bashir

What do you think a music video should be based on and why?

I think a music video should be based on children and the younger generation. It should be like a sequence starting off with a baby and him growing up and achieving his or her goals and winning so many prizes and competitions and also getting married and having children and in the end it shows him or her sitting down with his or her grandchildren. It would be different from other music videos so people will be more interested to watch it.

What kinds of music are you interested the most and often listen to and why?

I listen to different kinds of music form Trey songz to Kelly Clarkson, because there is a variety of different kinds of tunes to set the right mood for me, for example when I am feeling down I choose to listen to slow jamz where as if am in the party mood I would choose to listen to Cascada.

What do you normally look for when watching a music video based on a love story?

I don’t really watch music videos but if I was to watch one based on a love song I would probably look for a young couple walking together by the beach or on a date. Something sweet and romantic but not too over the top where it should contain sexual scenes.

What do you think is a great theme for a general music video?

The perfect theme for a music video would be to have loads of different colours; it should involve bright colours everywhere and loads of confetti and colourful balloons to make it lovely and exciting. There should be little kids everywhere, playing and enjoying themselves. So the main theme should be childhood and colour.

What kinds of setting/s do you think would be good to use for a music video based on a love story?

Possibly in a posh restaurant or on the beach, somewhere fun, the fun fair or a theme park would be the best place to set a love song, it create excitement and a lively atmosphere. Also it would look really good at night because all the lights would be. Once again the different colours would add a great effect to the setting. It would also help you shoot the video because you wouldn’t really need any extra lighting.

What time of the day do you think is perfect for filming a music video, especially a love story?

At night, defiantly. It seems more romantic and it is the time when couples usually get together because they are too busy during the day. The night gives the male partners a chance to look after and protect the female partner because it is said to be more danger at night then during the day.

The interview: 17year old, Female English - student

2010-04-24T10:30:00.000-07:00

Interview 2 - Amina Diwa Saadat

What do you think a music video should be based on and why?

The music video should be based on the genre of the song. For example slow songs should have a meaningful video to it, such as a sad song shouldn’t have dancing and partying in it because e it would go with the song. It should be slow and sad just like the song. This will prevent people from getting confused and they will understand the song.

What kinds of music are you interested the most and often listen to and why?

I am interested and mostly listen to RNB because it has an upbeat rhythm to it which get going and on my feet. It gives me energy and is really entertaining. It puts me in to a positive mood and I enjoying dancing to it.

What do you normally look for when watching a music video based on a love story?

I look for a young couple, getting along well, maybe someone who has fallen in love with a young attractive girl, and really wants her to know how he feels but doesn’t have the courage to tell her. This is because it brings the audience closer to the boy and creates an emotional bond with him, mainly the females. I also like to see dancing and people enjoying themselves because that is what music and love is all about.

What do you think is a great theme for a general music video?

Dancing!! Everyone enjoys it, no matter what kind of dancing it is, for a music video I the main theme should be dancing and it should have all different kinds of dances in it to show all the dancers about there about different cultures and their traditional dances.

What kinds of setting/s do you think would be good to use for a music video based on a love story?

Mainly I would have to say a club would be the best place for a love story because it is the perfect setting where two people meet, everyone is looking their best, dancing and enjoying themselves so it attracts attention. It gives a positive vibe and has great atmosphere. It could have the guy who likes the look of a girl dancing in the club with her girl friends and cannot keep his eyes off her.

What time of the day do you think is perfect for filming a music video, especially a love story?

Seeing as it will be set in a club then it doesn’t matter because it will be internal, but I would like it to be in the dark with loads of flashing lights everywhere to give that exciting feeling. For a love story it could make the couple want to dance with each other and enjoy their night. It would be really cool if it was in the middle of Las Vages in the streets because that place is full of lights.

The interview: 20year old, male English - student

2010-04-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

Interview 1 - Amina Diwa Saadat

1. What do you think a music video should be based on and why?

I believe a music video should be based on sending a message to the community, something about different beliefs and religions. No matter where you come from or what you believe you are still counted as someone. It will bring people together and maybe make people think twice about judging people or racism maybe, even discrimination. This is because there is so much conflict going on the world, especially within Britain and everyone listens to music so I believe that if music with a message like this will really make people think.

2. What kinds of music are you interested the most and often listen to and why?

I don’t really have a favourite but I do love listening to Outlandish and The Script, they create amazing music with real meanings and nothing like checking girls out in a club. Music like that has real meanings about live and taking the right step. It makes people really listen to the lyrics rather than the tune itself.

3. What do you normally look for when watching a music video based on a love story?

I normally look for a great looking couple who really love each other for who they are and not just for material things or looks. If the couple is good looking then most people would want to watch it. So it should be based on a true love story and makes the audience emotionally attached to the song or couple.

4. What do you think is a great theme for a general music video?

Like I mentioned earlier I think a video with a massage to help the world become a better place would be a great theme. Scene of wars and devastation going on around the world and people injured would really give a great message and will definitely attract audiences.

5. What kinds of setting/s do you think would be good to use for a music video based on a love story?

For a love story I think the beach would be the perfect setting for a music video. It is the kind of place where people meet each other and enjoy themselves. Also it has a great vibe and everyone is happy so it will be perfect to hold a love song. Also the city would be another great setting for a love song, especially somewhere like New York because it has a modern up to date atmosphere and everyone gets on with tier own lives. So it makes it seem less like a fairy tale and more like reality that people have their own lives apart from love and relationships but that is the main aspect in their life.

6. What time of the day do you think is perfect for filming a music video, especially a love story?

During the night because it is the time where everyone gets together. During the day everyone is busy with college, university or work but at night it’s the time to relax and just enjoy them. If it’s set in the city then the lights would look amazing in the dark sky, if it is set on a beach then it should be at a sun-set. Sun-sets are really romantic with its different shades of yellows and red filling the sky, it brings the couple closer.

The interview: 18 year old, female afghan - student

2010-04-16T07:05:00.000-07:00

This is a plan for the DVD cover (not used, Romeo and Juliet basis). The Item on the left is a planning sketch for the recent Domino Thoery title text (used).

2010-04-16T07:02:00.000-07:00

This is a more recent plan for the dimensions of the DVD cover based around the case. It's hard to see so I've added clearer lines and text over the top (blue).

2010-04-16T06:39:00.000-07:00

This is an early brainstorm for the music video based around Romeo and Juliet (not used).
Terrible handwriting (mine).

2010-04-16T06:37:00.000-07:00

This is an early sketch for a MTV-style information bar that was to be featured at the beginning.

2010-04-16T06:34:00.000-07:00

An early plan for the DVD cover based around the Romeo and Juliet original idea.

2010-04-15T13:19:00.000-07:00

Production Design

Location: Grimsdyke Hotel - Band Performance

Set design

Props

Special fx

Lighting

Use of colour

Other points of note

In a large room/hall with a fire place and a piano. It has a posh/ old fashioned design to it. (Grimsdyke Hotel)

The instruments such as the drum kit, the loud speakers, the guitars and the bass, as well as the piano and the Christmas decorations on the ceiling, a candle lighted on a small candle stand places on the piano.

N/A

The four lights on the ceiling are going to be used and one or two extra lights to flood up certain areas such as the band member’s faces and the instruments.

The use of natural colours added by the lights from the room. No added extra colour effects.

2010-04-15T13:17:00.000-07:00

Production Design

Location: Train Station

Set design

Props

Special fx

Lighting

Use of colour

Other points of note

Starts off at Harrow Hill train station outside in the platform, Alex waiting for the strain to come. Then in Baker Street station running down the escalator in side the station.

N/A

Cartoon effect added through the video until Alex meets up with Sarah. (Toonit Red Giant)

Use of lighting of the station. No extra lighting needed

The use of natural colours, no colour effect added apart from toning down the cartoon effect if needed.

2010-04-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

Production Design

Location: Central London

Set design

Props

Special fx

Lighting

Use of colour

Other points of note

Exterior – Central London – Oxford street, regents street and Piccadilly Circus. Girl walking around London, on her way to see her boy friend. Filmed during the night. Christmas lights everywhere.

N/A

Cartoon effect added through out the whole scenes of girl until the end when she meets up with Alex. (Red Giant Toonit).

Didn’t need any extra lighting. Used the lights around the streets, because it is going to be filmed during Christmas and new years time there will be lights around central London so it will light up the streets and will be light enough to film with.

Use of natural colour, no extra colour added. Maybe toning down the colour of the cartoon effect if needed.

2010-04-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

Characterisation

Name: Female (Sarah)

Age

Ethnicity

Social class / Status

Gender / Sexuality

Ability / Disability

Regional identity

Marital / family status

Physical looks / build (inc any mannerisms)

Personality (eg shy / nervous / confident egocentric)?

Costume, Hair & Makeup

Representation issues (in relation to above) inc relationship to archetype / stereotype.

18 years

Greek

University student and also a part time assistant in a retail store

Female – heterosexual

N/A

British citizen lived in London for 12 years. She was six when she moved to London.

Family follow the Greek culture. Her father is architecture and her mother is a house wife. She has one older brother living in Greece, and two younger brothers and sisters.

Tall and slim. Light skinned, long black hair tied in a bun. Looks after her body well.

She is very polite and respects all her friends and family. She is very bubbly and chatty and full of energy.

Dark eyes, black eye liner around her eyes to make her eyes stand out. Mascara on her lashes to extend them a little and blusher on her cheeks to add a hind of colour and tone to her face. Long blue scarf around her neck. She is wearing a medium length black and blue coat and black skinny jeans with black and white heels.

She is represented as a typical young girly girl who likes to dress up and look nice for her boy friend. She is in a relationship in with Alexander who is also shown in the video as her partner.

2010-04-15T13:10:00.000-07:00

Characterisation

Name: Male (Alexander)

Age

Ethnicity

Social class / Status

Gender / Sexuality

Ability / Disability

Regional identity

Marital / family status

Physical looks / build (inc any mannerisms)

Personality (eg shy / nervous / confident egocentric)?

Costume, Hair & Makeup

Representation issues (in relation to above) inc relationship to archetype / stereotype.

20 years

Black Caribbean/Jamaican

University Student and also a part time worker in a shoe shop

Male – heterosexuality

N/A

Christianity, he is not very religious but family is.

Lives with family – mum, dad and two younger sisters, family owns restaurants across the country so they are very proud if them selves and are also a little strict.

Medium built, medium height, black, very short hair (looks shaven).

Impatient, loving, polite and a little nervous around girls he don’t know. He respects people, especially his parents. He likes to keep active on his skate board.

He dresses casually, blue jeans, t-shirt and a black jacket with trainers. He mainly wears dark colours. He has short black hair and carries a small back sporty back pack.

He has a girl friend called Sarah who is presented in the video too. He is a typical young boy who likes to enjoy his life and look after his family and girl friend. He is very proud of his back ground and overall is a genuine nice boy.

2010-04-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

Ofcome Code Of Practice

What is Ofcom?:

Ofcom is the communications regulator. They regulate the TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecoms and mobiles, plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operate. They make sure that people in the UK get the best from their communications services and are protected from scams and sharp practices, while ensuring that competition can thrive.

Ofcom operates under the Communications Act 2003. This detailed Act of Parliament spells out exactly what Ofcom should do. The Act says that Ofcom’s general duties should be to further the interests of citizens and of consumers. Meeting these two duties is at the heart of everything they do.

Accountable to Parliament, they are involved in advising and setting some of the more technical aspects of policy, implementing and enforcing the law. Independent of Government, their decisions and advice are not swayed by party politics, which allows them to act solely in the interest of citizens and consumers.

Legal duties:

Their main legal duties, as set out in the UK Communications Act 2003, are to ensure:
• The UK has a wide range of electronic communications services, including high-speed information services (for example, broadband);
• A wide range of high-quality television and radio programmes are provided, appealing to a range of tastes and interests;
• Television and radio services are provided by a range of different organisations;
• People who watch television and listen to the radio are protected from harmful of offensive material;
• People are protected from being treated unfairly in television and radio programmes, and from having their privacy invaded; and
• The radio spectrum (the airwaves used by everyone from taxi firms and boat owners, to mobile-phone companies and broadcasters) is used in the most effective way.

Ofcom is required under the Communications Act 2003 (“the Act”) and the Broadcasting Act 1996 (as amended) (“the 1996 Act”) to draw up a code for television and radio, covering standards in programmes, sponsorship, fairness and privacy. This Code is to be known as the Ofcom Broadcasting Code (“the Code”). Broadcasters are reminded of the legislative background that has informed the rules, of the principles that apply to each section, the meanings given by Ofcom and of the guidance issued by Ofcom, all of which may be relevant in interpreting and applying the Code. No rule should be read in isolation but within the context of the whole Code including the headings, cross-references and other linking text.

In setting these standards, Ofcom must secure the standards objectives set out in the Act. This not only involves setting minimum standards but also such other standards as may be appropriate. The Code also gives effect to a number of requirements relating to television in EC Directive 89/552/EEC, as amended by Directive 97/36/EC and by Directive 2007/65/EC (“The Audiovisual Media Services Directive”) 2 Extracts can be found in Appendix 2 of the Code. The Code has also been drafted in the light of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the European Convention on Human Rights (“the Convention”). In particular, the right to freedom of expression, as expressed in Article 10 of the Convention, encompasses the audience’s right to receive creative material, information and ideas without interference but subject to restrictions prescribed by law and necessary in a democratic.

The Legislativeckground to the Code:

1. In this Broadcasting Code, where the context admits, references to any legislative provisions, whether in primary or secondary legislation, include a reference to those provisions as amended or re-enacted or as their application is modified by other provisions from time to time; any reference to a statutory provision shall include any subordinate legislation made from time to time under that provision.

2. A codification of the provisions has been proposed by the European Commission in order to consolidate the requirements into a single directive. The new Directive, which will replace the existing version, is expected to be adopted and brought into force during 2010. Although the new Directive will fully preserve the content of the existing legislation it will lead to a renumbering of provisions which will need to be reflected in this Code. We will carry out this exercise at the appropriate time.

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/ifi/codes/bcode/bcode.pdf

Broadcasting:

They are responsible for licensing all UK commercial television and radio services. These include:
• The existing TV channels and radio stations;
• Digital TV services such as Freeview, Sky and Virgin Media and all digital radio stations;
• Internet TV services such as Home Choice;
• Public Teletext and Restricted Service Licences for both TV and radio; and
• Community radio. Their Broadcasting Code sets out rules which television and radio broadcasters must follow.

The code aims to set standards to protect people under the age of 18 from material that is not suitable for them, while allowing broadcasters a appropriate amount of creative freedom. They aim to maintain and strengthen the UK’s high-quality public service broadcasting. They make sure a broad range of television programmes are made – and by independent producers as well as by broadcasters including those in countries and regions in the UK.

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/what-is-ofcom/
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consumeradvice/guide/of256.pdf

Principles:

To ensure that broadcasters exercise the proper degree of responsibility with respect to the content of programmes which are religious programmes.
To ensure that religious programmes do not involve any improper exploitation of any susceptibilities of the audience for such a programme.
To ensure that religious programmes do not involve any abusive treatment of the religious views and beliefs of those belonging to a particular religion or religious denomination.

Rules:

1. Broadcasters must exercise the proper degree of responsibility with respect to the content of programmes which are religious programmes.
Meaning of a "religious programme":A religious programme is a programme which deals with matters of religion as the central subject, or as a significant part, of the programme.
2. The religious views and beliefs of those belonging to a particular religion or religious denomination must not be subject to abusive treatment.
3. Where a religion or religious denomination is the subject, or one of the subjects, of a religious programme, then the identity of the religion and/or denomination must be clear to the audience.
4. Religious programmes must not seek to promote religious views or beliefs by stealth.
5. Religious programmes on television services must not seek recruits. This does not apply to specialist religious television services. Religious programmes on radio services may seek recruits.
Meaning of "seek recruits":Seek recruits means directly appealing to audience members to join a religion or religious denomination.
6. Religious programmes must not improperly exploit any susceptibilities of the audience.(See Rules 10.13 to 10.16 in Section 10: Commercial References and Other Matters, regarding appeals.)
7. Religious programmes that contain claims that a living person (or group) has special powers or abilities must treat such claims with due objectivity and must not broadcast such claims when significant numbers of children may be expected to be watching (in the case of television), or when children are particularly likely to be listening (in the case of radio).

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/ifi/codes/bcode/religion/

2010-04-12T11:03:00.000-07:00

Magazine Advertisement

This is the magazine advertisement.

2010-04-12T10:56:00.001-07:00

Digi - Pack DVD Cover (1st draft)

This is the first draft of the DVD cover for our advert.

Script Development

2010-02-22T11:17:00.000-08:00

Script

2010-02-22T10:55:00.000-08:00

Representation Issues

Love

Romeo and Juliet is sometimes considered to have no unifying theme, save that of young love. Romeo and Juliet have become emblematic of young lovers and doomed love. Since it is such an obvious subject of the play, several scholars have explored the language and historical context behind the romance of the play.

On their first meeting, Romeo and Juliet use a form of communication recommended by many etiquette authors in Shakespeare's day: metaphor. By using metaphors of saints and sins, Romeo was able to test Juliet's feelings for him in a non-threatening way. This method was recommended by Baldassare Castiglione (whose works had been translated into English by this time). He pointed out that if a man used a metaphor as an invitation, the woman could pretend she did not understand him, and he could retreat without losing honour. Juliet, however, participates in the metaphor and expands on it. The religious metaphors of "shrine", "pilgrim" and "saint" were fashionable in the poetry of the time and more likely to be understood as romantic rather than blasphemous, as the concept of sainthood was associated with the Catholicism of an earlier age. Later in the play, Shakespeare removes the more daring allusions to Christ's resurrection in the tomb he found in his source work: Brooke's Romeus and Juliet.

In the later balcony scene, Shakespeare has Romeo overhear Juliet's soliloquy, but in Brooke's version of the story her declaration is done alone. By bringing Romeo into the scene to eavesdrop, Shakespeare breaks from the normal sequence of courtship. Usually a woman was required to be modest and shy to make sure that her suitor was sincere, but breaking this rule serves to speed along the plot. The lovers are able to skip a lengthy part of wooing, and move on to plain talk about their relationship—developing into an agreement to be married after knowing each other for only one night. In the final suicide scene, there is a contradiction in the message—in the Catholic religion, suicides were often thought to be condemned to hell, whereas people who die to be with their loves under the "Religion of Love" are joined with their loves in paradise. Romeo and Juliet's love seems to be expressing the "Religion of Love" view rather than the Catholic view. Another point is that although their love is passionate, it is only consummated in marriage, which prevents them from losing the audience's sympathy.

The play arguably equates love and sex with death. Throughout the story, both Romeo and Juliet, along with the other characters, fantasise about it as a dark being, often equating it with a lover. Capulet, for example, when he first discovers Juliet's (faked) death, describes it as having deflowered his daughter. Juliet later erotically compares Romeo and death. Right before her suicide she grabs Romeo's dagger, saying "O happy dagger! This is thy sheath. There rust, and let me die."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet#Love

Love is any of a number of emotions related to a sense of strong affection and attachment. The word love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure ("I loved that meal") to intense interpersonal attraction ("I love my husband"). This diversity of uses and meanings, combined with the complexity of the feelings involved, makes love unusually difficult to consistently define, even compared to other emotional states.
As an abstract concept, love usually refers to a deep, ineffable feeling of tenderly caring for another person. Even this limited conception of love, however, encompasses a wealth of different feelings, from the passionate desire and intimacy of romantic love to the nonsexual emotional closeness of familial and platonic love[2] to the profound oneness or devotion of religious love.[3] Love in its various forms acts as a major facilitator of interpersonal relationships and, owing to its central psychological importance, is one of the most common themes in the creative arts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love

Judaism

In Hebrew, Ahava is the most commonly used term for both interpersonal love and love of God. Judaism employs a wide definition of love, both among people and between man and the Deity. Regarding the former, the Torah states, "Love your neighbour like yourself" (Leviticus 19:18). As for the latter, one is commanded to love God "with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:5), taken by the Mishnah (a central text of the Jewish oral law) to refer to good deeds, willingness to sacrifice one's life rather than commit certain serious transgressions, willingness to sacrifice all of one's possessions, and being grateful to the Lord despite adversity (tractate Berachoth 9:5).

Rabbinic literature differs as to how this love can be developed, e.g., by contemplating divine deeds or witnessing the marvels of nature. As for love between marital partners, this is deemed an essential ingredient to life: "See life with the wife you love" (Ecclesiastes 9:9). The biblical book Song of Solomon is considered a romantically phrased metaphor of love between God and his people, but in its plain reading, reads like a love song. The 20th-century Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler is frequently quoted as defining love from the Jewish point of view as "giving without expecting to take" (from his Michtav me-Eliyahu, Vol. 1).

Islam and Arab

In a sense, love does encompass the Islamic view of life as universal brotherhood that applies to all who hold the faith. There are no direct references stating that God is love, but amongst the 99 names of God (Allah), there is the name Al-Wadud, or "the Loving One," which is found in Surah 11:90 as well as Surah 85:14. It refers to God as being "full of loving kindness." All who hold the faith have God's love, but to what degree or effort he has pleased God depends on the individual itself.

Ishq, or divine love, is the emphasis of Sufism. Sufis believe that love is a projection of the essence of God to the universe. God desires to recognize beauty, and as if one looks at a mirror to see oneself, God "looks" at itself within the dynamics of nature. Since everything is a reflection of God, the school of Sufism practices to see the beauty inside the apparently ugly. Sufism is often referred to as the religion of love. God in Sufism is referred to in three main terms, which are the Lover, Loved, and Beloved, with the last of these terms being often seen in Sufi poetry. A common viewpoint of Sufism is that through love, humankind can get back to its inherent purity and grace. The saints of Sufism are infamous for being "drunk" due to their love of God; hence, the constant reference to wine in Sufi poetry and music.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love#Impersonal_love

Black people

The term black people usually refer to a racial group of humans with skin colours that range from light brown to nearly black. It is also used to categorize a number of diverse populations together based on historical and prehistorically ancestral relationships. Some definitions of the term include only people of relatively recent Sub Saharan African descent (see African Diaspora). Among the members of this group, brown skin is most often accompanied by the expression of natural afro-hair texture. Other definitions of the term "black people" extend to any of the populations characterized by dark skin, a definition that also includes certain populations in Oceania and Southeast Asia.

Asian people

Asian people or Asiatic people are a demonism for people from Asia. However, the use of the term varies by country and person, often referring to people from a particular region or sub region of Asia. Though it may be based on residence, it is also often considered a race or an ethnicity. In North America, the term refers most commonly to people of predominantly East Asian and Southeast Asian ancestry; however, in the United Kingdom, the term refers most commonly to South Asians. In other countries (like countries of Continental Europe), the term is applied in a wider sense to all people from Asia or from a number of its regions. In the United States, however, West Asian and Central Asian people are usually not considered "Asian."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_people

2010-02-22T10:53:00.000-08:00

Subject Matter

Romeo & Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young "star-crossed lovers" whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet and Macbeth, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers.

Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity. Its plot is based on an Italian tale, translated into verse as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke in 1562, and retold in prose in Palace of Pleasure by William Painter in 1582. Shakespeare borrowed heavily from both, but developed supporting characters, particularly Mercutio and Paris, in order to expand the plot. Believed to be written between 1591 and 1595, the play was first published in a quarto version in 1597. This text was of poor quality, and later editions corrected it, bringing it more in line with Shakespeare's original text.

Shakespeare's use of dramatic structure, especially effects such as switching between comedy and tragedy to heighten tension, his expansion of minor characters, and his use of sub-plots to embellish the story, has been praised as an early sign of his dramatic skill. The play ascribes different poetic forms to different characters, sometimes changing the form as the character develops. Romeo, for example, grows more adept at the sonnet over the course of the play.

Romeo and Juliet has been adapted numerous times for stage, film, musical and opera. During the Restoration, it was revived and heavily revised by William Davenant. David Garrick's 18th-century version also modified several scenes, removing material then considered indecent, and Georg Benda's operatic adaptation omitted much of the action and added a happy ending. Performances in the 19th century, including Charlotte Cushman's, restored the original text, and focused on greater realism. John Gielgud's 1935 version kept very close to Shakespeare's text, and used Elizabethan costumes and staging to enhance the drama. In the 20th century the play has been adapted in versions as diverse as MGM's comparatively faithful 1936 film, the 1950s stage musical West Side Story, and 1996's MTV-inspired Romeo + Juliet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet#Themes_and_motifs

This was the origal balcony scene we was going to use for our video but unfortunetly the band did not like the idea of Romeo and Juliet so we had to come up with a different idea.

2010-02-22T10:51:00.000-08:00

Subject Matter Research

From our research we came up with many ideas for our music video. We started off the idea of having a Romeo and Juliet as the main theme. It will involve a young couple aged between 18 – 22 who have fallen in love with each other but due to their difference in their religion, their family would not allow each other to get married. The boy would be Jewish and the girl Muslim, they both have strict religious families who try their very best to keep them away from each other and despite the fact that they have fallen in love.

It will be set in old fashioned settings where the band can perform, the Grimsdyke hotel is a perfect setting for the performance because it has this old fashioned posh theme to it, with a grand fire place including statues on either side. This will give a feeling that they are back in Shakespeare time when he wrote Romeo and Juliet.

We were planning to represent different religions and cultures and their differences between them. The girl for example would wear a hijab on her head and an abaya to cover her body, and pray in a Mosque, whereas the boy would wear a Jewish skull cap and pray in a Synagogue. We came up with the idea of the families and community from both sides looking down upon them, disappointed about what they are doing.

We would have them walking on Harrow view point to make it seem romantic and because it mentions the setting in the lyrics of the song. We would see them together in different settings, together enjoying themselves but we would also see them being shouted at by their families for betraying them and their beliefs.

The band, Domino Theory, disagreed with this idea of bringing in religion to it and Romeo and Juliet. They wanted it to be a simple modern love story between a young girl and boy; therefore we changed a few ideas. We kept the performance setting and made it into a practice performance. We chose to keep this setting because we were running out of time and there was no other setting available for the band. We originally wanted to use a studio but unfortunately it was being used that day. However for the couple scenes we decided to make it a girl walking around in central where all the Christmas lights are out and she is walking around getting to a destination, the audience at this pint don’t know where she is going, then towards the end there will be scenes of the male walking around the station and in the end they both meet.

We will have a special effect in the couple walking around, we will make them look like cartoons when editing and they will come to life when they both meet. But it will mainly involve fades from the bad to the couple, and continuity cuts.

This is the exterior of the GRymsdyke hotel.

2010-02-22T10:47:00.000-08:00

Domino Theory – “Try A Little Harder” Lyrics

I’m taken over, the stars are shining overhead,
And I remember the first time I held your hand,
Under starlight on Harrow View that midnight,
And nobody feels what I feel with you.

You hold me from falling into pieces,
But I don’t remember the last time I said the words.
You told me we won’t give up that easily now,
I’m trying to give you what you deserve.

Every time you stay the night,
I know I’m gonna wake up in paradise,
And every time you cry,
I know I’ve got to try a little harder now.

You know I blunder, come crashing down like thunder,
Now you know I’m a clumsy guy
Or maybe I’ll fall at the final yard.

You warm to me just like the morning sunshine,
And you’re giving me light from the inside.
And maybe one day I’ll see you walk the isle with me
And stare into the eyes of eternity.

Every time you stay the night,
I know I’m gonna wake up in paradise,
And every time you cry,
I know I’ve got to try a little harder now.

But don’t let me fall into the fire
Don’t make me have to find another.
Because she’ll be just like you, just like you,
She will be just like you, just like you.

Every time you stay the night,
I know I’m gonna wake up in paradise,
And every time you cry,
I know I’ve got to try a little harder now.

I love you, I love you, I love you
I’d love to hear you say
I love you, I love you, I love you.
I love you, I love you, I love you.

2010-02-22T10:39:00.000-08:00

Conclusion Drawn

From our research on similar text analysis and the research we did on genre forms and conventions of music videos, we have found that the forms and conventions in majority of music videos are; it is usually performance based. It usually involved the band or the artist performing the song themselves whilst playing their instruments. Nowadays music usually represents love or a relationship between couples, so the lyrics are mainly based on someone’s feelings towards someone else, i.e. Love.

The narrative built music videos involve an act of what the song is about, for example in the video “man who can’t be moved” by The Script, it is narrative /performance built because it contains a performance by the band and also a story of the man walking in New York city and scenes of the sky scrapers and the setting he is in and him waiting in the corner of the street which is what it says in the lyrics. The narrative makes the video more realistic and brings the audience closer to the music/ song. It lets them understand what music and lyrics better.

Another example is the music video called “so sick” by Neyo which is narrative built all throughout the video contains scenes of what it was like in his relationship, although the song is about a breakup. The video tells the background of the story and why the song was written. Other videos are concept built which involves cartoons of added special effects that just makes the video seem more interesting and stand out from the rest. It sometimes have hidden message which can’t be easily figured out just by the lyrics.

The mise en scene of the videos according to our research is; the setting is usually a studio or a stage if it is performance built, however if it is a narrative built, it usually takes place in the streets or any external area, it all depends on the song, for example, of it is a love song then it is likely it will take place in a restaurant or in the streets at night or maybe somewhere where you can see the sun-set, anywhere romantic.

The costumes and hair/make also depends on the genre of the song. Usually it would be a love song. The video usually involves the band/artist as the main characters in the video. The women are seen as the “sexy” slim beautiful ones, usually dressed in revealing clothes, whereas the men are dressed in baggy jeans, t-shirts and hoodies with big expensive looking gold chains on. This is mainly shown in an RBB/Hip-pop video. However in most videos, the female is seen a beautiful, and different. She is dressed beautifully but in revealing clothes, usually a nice dress, her makes up is perfect, not too overdone. The male is dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt, also once again not over doing it.

Overall the forms and conventions of music videos are the genre; most videos nowadays are based on a love story. This is one of the main points we need to consider because or target audience is in a young age category, between 16 -30 years which are the years where people find love, so the audience will be interested in a love song. Another convention which we need to consider when making the video is whether it will be performance built, narrative or concept built. We believe that performance and narrative will be the best idea because it gives the audience a good understand of who the band/artist, revealed by the performance, and also the background of the story, revealed by the narrative.

2010-01-20T05:32:00.000-08:00

Filming the band

Here you can see the main singer doing the piano shot on his own . This was also done hand held. We were lucky to have a piano in the room because we didn't have it written in the script and the lead singer suggested we do a sequences of him with the piano as well.

Here is the band taking a break and preparing for the next shot. The hotel kindly provided us with some tea and water.

2009-12-20T10:56:00.000-08:00

Funding and Distribution

A considerate amount of music video production such as funding and distribution in the UK is carried out by major record label companies such as labels signed to Warner Bros, Paramount, MGM, Universal, and Sony Pictures and so on. Such companies distribute and fund there artist for world markets i.e. being mainstream, largely receiving the finance from other successful music videos so the money is continually going in and out of the company causes a powerhouse effect.

However majority of the UK artist are mainly independent and have to compete with much larger successful companies so receiving funding and distribution can be extremely difficult and time consuming, as they have to break onto the scene by being different.

There are a few organisations in the UK that help artist:

o BFI (partial funding for low budget features / films / videos, New Director’s Scheme)
o British Council (assistance to exhibit & attend film festivals abroad)
o Prince’s Trust (and partners in Europe) for help to run a business (inc film production)
o National Lottery (“Glastonbury - The Movie” was first film to benefit from such funds)
o Arts Council of England (docs on arts subjects)

The organisations listed above help independent artist by help funding them and help them to distribute and receive promotion usually artist will start of as indie by doing something original and creative to grab attention of major and to exploit a gap in the market. There are ways in which artist can help to try and promote their selves by using sites such as MySpace, Facebook and other similar sites for recognition which can help them to receive distribution and filming.

These are the 5 largest companies in media dominating the market:

1. United International Pictures
2. Warner Brothers
3. Buena Vista
4. Twentieth Century Fox
5. Sony

The main reason why most artist have trouble breaking into the market are because of the dominance of these 5 companies as they are mainstream so independent artist and groups have no money to put back into the industry and help artist breakthrough and make a successful music video.

Music videos can seek funding from independent organisation that help independent artist who are not signed receive an audience they receive their funding from organisations like national lottery, princes trust, BFI and the British council, these companies have to help rival against the 5 main companies who are dominant in all areas and have horizontal integration, so funding and distribution for major companies are relatively easily on the other hand for an independent company, not only is ‘it difficult to receive funding as well then having to distribute the final product to audiences.

So most independent artist have to start off with an Indie type of music to receive recognition and support and then mainstream to breakthrough on to the market, this can also be done via mix tapes and other independent sources of music to become well known artist that have used this approach in the British UK Industry such as Chipmunk, Tinchy Strider and so forth released mix tapes and when they were known went mainstream to appeal to a wider audience.

Distributing is the act of distributing or the condition of being distributed distribution also describes everything that happens in between production (making the Music Video) and Broadcasting it so such as CD’s DVD’s and other form of technology being discharged into the market, to receive distribution is difficult if you are not signed and is usually expensive and is time consuming so it is much harder for an independent artist rather than an artist signed to a major label.

Finally artists that receive distribution and funding from organisations are trying to exploit a gap in the market to help get signed to a major by getting signed to a major the funding and distributing process is allot more easier and regular as an independent artist may receive funding and distribution little as compared to an artist who is signed and has the backing of a major media corporation. Funding is usually being able to obtain sponsorships to help fund them by placing products o the sponsorship in the music video, but even with funding and distribution independent artist have to compete with artist that are signed and are well established and have better funding and distribution, so the independent artist have to be different and stand out, which is what we plan to do in our music video by incorporating a theme of peace between Jewish and Muslim people on a style of Romeo and Juliet, other artist and groups that have used this approach would be the black eyed peas with “where is the love” by promoting world peace through media and receiving a positive reaction rather than a typical narrative. There are also less cheap ways of disturbing your music video via the internet which may appear to a less audience then being on T.V website that artist regularly use could be YouTube and other websites.

2009-12-20T10:53:00.000-08:00

Proposal

Brief

For our A2 media studies coursework we have been asked to produce a music video. However we are not allowed to use music that has already been produced and well known. The video has to be no longer than five minutes. Our chosen target audience is mainly people roughly aged between 16 – 25 years, therefore we have to consider certain aspects we could in the video to meet their expectations. We have key deadlines in which we have to deliver our work on and our lecture expect us to do so. The whole project including the paperwork and video has to be completed by December 14th. After this we can begin on the creating our DVD cover and magazine advertisement. The deadline for this is on 25th January. By February 8th we must have our blogs completed and finally by the end of March we have to hand in our audience feedback findings & complete evaluation/blog.

Research findings

In conclusion from our group research document, we found that the majority of our target audience prefer to watch a music video based on the theme of love, which includes settings such as romantic islands, clubs/dance floors, the city. This is because it creates excitement and adds a positive vibe to the video. We also researched on technical codes such as the camerawork, sound, special effects and editing as well as the symbolic and cultural codes involving mise-en-scene and graphics/sound effects. We concluded that the characters in all music videos were casually dressed, the males; jeans, t-shirts, trainers. Similarly, the females in tight jeans, low cut tops, which also represents them as promiscuous. Overall, our research indicated that we need to consider the settings, costumes, and camera positions in the video. As we are using a love song, the settings we should consider using, should be in the city at night, or on a hill with the sunset. We also consider to use, simple and modern clothing to compliment the season- winter, so they must wear warm coats and scarves. Also from our genre conventions that the main conventions of a love music video includes a young couple and passion, this could either be about sexuality, dance/music or the setting.

Initial ideas

Based on the above findings, each member of our production team came up with an initial idea in response to the brief.

1. Amina Diwa Saadat

Focusing on our target audience research, my idea was to explore what our target audience mostly expected in a music video. The ideas I came up with to use a live band and make the video into performance as well as a narrative driven. I came up with the idea of having a band playing on stage, cross-cutting to a couple together illustrating the story the band is singing. I chose to use a couple and make it into a true love story because the song is about someone singing about his feelings towards someone he loves. Another idea I came up with based my target audience is that the majority of the scenes should be set at night. Many of our target audience preferred to watch a music video set at night because they believe it makes the scenes more romantic and tells the story better.

2. David Goodwin

I came up with a different idea compared to the other group members. It is set in a college canteen in which there is romance accruing between a customer and a new, young member of staff in the canteen which then leads the couple to a break up because of their differences they have between them. This then leads on to the canteen staff member going off with another staff however of the same gender.

3. Imran Bashir

According to the fact that our audience liked to watch music videos based on a relationship, my idea involved Romeo and Juliet as the love story, it involves an undercover love. Instead of two different families it is going to be two different religions, a Muslim and a Jew. We can incorporate both performances and a narrative of Romeo and Juliet idea as we are also sending out a message showing the conflict in both religions and to find peace and love within both faiths.

Final idea

Our final idea is a development of Imran’s and Geoffrey’s idea, with a modern twist. We decide that it is going to start off with the band performing on stage all dressed in white to symbolise peace. It then fades as the main singer looks to his right and we see a loving couple holding hands on the Harrow view point, at this stage we don’t reveal their faces too much and only see a close up of them holding hands and an establishing shot to show the audience the romantic setting. It then cuts back to the band performing and the singer turning his head forward again from his right. It then fades into the girl praying in the mosque and the guy praying in a synagogue which reveals their identity and tells the audience more about the characters. As the drummer plays the drums we see the dust from the drums forming the lyrics of the song as it rises up into the air. Then we see the Muslim sign of the moon and the star and the Jewish sign of the Star of David blending into each other which cuts into the fireworks bursting out in the sky. In the end of the video we see a close up of the man walking but we don’t know where he is or where he is going and then we see a close of a rose and a medium shot of him standing in front of a grave throwing a rose on it and then it fades in to black.

Production team roles

Planning

Amina Diwa Saadat & Imran Bashir

Responsibilities:

- Create a project schedule
- Plan out who will do what in the group research document and conclude the target audience research
- plan out the proposal and get each group member’s ideas together to write up the final idea
- Write up the script the development, making sure the timings of each scene match up to the timings in the actual video

Construction

Amina Diwa Saadat & David Goodwin

Responsibilities:

- Shooting and making sure the camera shots and right
- Editing including adding the special effects, i.e. the lyrics appearing on the drums.
- Completing misc production paperwork

2009-12-20T09:32:00.000-08:00

We chose a non licensed band who are not well known. Our original idea was based on Romeo and Juliet, however due to the amount of time we had we could not go on any further with this idea and therefore we had to change and simplify it a little.

As you can see in these pictures one of the main setting is going to in a well light area becuae its

going to be filmed during night. These are pictures of the Christmas lights and decorations in Oxford Street.

It has to have bright colours and many lights to catchthe audience's eyes and make it look good. We also want nice bright colours such as the pink light reflected in the water, the pink represents love which links to the lyrics of the song.

2009-12-20T09:14:00.000-08:00

Similar Textual Analysis:Ne-Yo – So Sick - Imran Bashir

R&B

Mainstream Young Adults

Lyrics Can Be Found Here http://www.songlyrics.com/ne-yo/so-sick-lyrics/

#So Sick is a 2006 song by new coming artist Ne-Yo the video was launched as the first single of his album “In My Own Words” the video was directed by Hype Williams and had a positive reception from audience around the world

The music used is a R&B track with has a typical R&B structure with verses a hook and a chorus, it has a slow melody and also a bass line which shortly comes into the song. There is a linear narrative with uses of flashback for example throughout the sings there our flashback of him and his lover happy, when the song’s lyrics explain the story of him losing his lover and there our performances of Ne-Yo, there are a balanced mix between all of narratives of performance, linear narrative and flashback. The main theme of the song is undying love as he loses his lover and still wants her this also reinforces the ideology of girl power being dominant and manipulative over men.

The music video starts with a long shot of the scenery which seems to be snowy mountains, so guessing the film was shot in winter. When the track starts playing it shows a shot of the artist, whilst there is a frame with the shot of the snowy mountains still remain. The artist Ne-Yo appears to be wearing a winter furry jacket and a hat reinforcing the fact that its cold. The cold can be used to reinforce he has lost something he feels cold with the title of the song being so sick. There is a lot of white used within the music video I think this is to reinforce the fact that its cold and he’s lost something he’s ‘So Sick’

There are then more scenery shots of the mountain with fades between Ne-Yo and a female with the female us as viewers think she is the female partner of Ne-Yo. She seems to be wearing makeup and has long curly brown hair. Throughout the video she changes costume and at times is wearing sexual clothes The video is shown with both performance shots as well as a narrative with lyrics matching shots to give a sense of idea and reinforce the understanding for example Ne-Yo sings “gotta change my answering machine now that I’m alone” whilst this is being played over there is a shot of a answering machine.

During the shots it’s clear that the female is his lost partner and they break up, she seems to be wearing revealing clothes with sexual shots this reinforces ideology and hegemonies that women are for men’s sexual desires. The setting and props used are the house which seems to look like an expensive home with lots of modern furniture and open spaces, towards the middle of the song there our shots that of Ne-Yo and the female actress playing his partner where they are getting along and having a good time in happiness this is a flashback, we know it’s a flashback as he is singing the lyrics.

Ne-Yo the artist is positioned in the frame mostly centre and middle with close ups where the use of facial expression can be seen he looks sad and depressed throughout the video there aren’t any long shots of Ne-Yo on his own, and the female partner has mostly close up shots of her on her own the shots with both of them are mainly medium to long shots. There are fadings between Ne-Yo and the female partner this is used to show that they are separated. There are jump shots from performance to narrative where Ne-Yo is featured in both and there is a use of tracking when both Ne-Yo and the Female are running through the snow having a snowball fights.

The main theme in this music video is lost love this is show by fading shots, the use of colour which is mainly white to represent coldness and that he is alone and the use of lyrics reinforce that feeling. The ideology is that he lost his love this is clear by the lyrics and that love is powerful it made him sick , there is a linear narrative that boy has girl boy looses girl boy is upset and tries to get the girl back while there are flashbacks also.

Michael Jackson – Beat It

Pop/R&B

Mainstream

Lyrics Can Be Found Here http://www.songlyrics.com/michael-jackson/beat-it-lyrics/

Beat It is a 1982 song by legendary American Pop singer Michael Jackson. The video, which launched Jackson's stardom to international audiences, was directed by Bob Giraldi and set the tone for what would become Jackson's trademark style.

The video's visuals and narrative are tied directly to the lyrics of the song. Jackson sings advice about a confrontation - a person or group of people have angered another group These groups are likely gangs, as depicted in the video. The angered group tells the other not to show their face around anymore, and the song continues advising them not to antagonise the situation and to just "beat it".

Through the city to have a fight. Acting upon the lyrical advice to avoid confrontation, Jackson himself eventually stands between the two gangs as thy are about to fight and convinces them to stand down.

The visuals are also tied directly to the music, in a style that would become known as the definitive Michael Jackson music video manner. Significant portions of the video involve highly choreographed dancing (Notably the gang's fight is really more of a dance number with weapons) to the rhythm and melody of the song. Even in shots where there is little call for dancing, we still frequently see actions in time with the music - such as Jackson shaking his arm for emphasis to the rhythm.

Furthermore, the video is edited in such a way that the majority of the cuts, particularly in the early scene in which word of the impending fight spreads through a pool hall, are at the change between bars.

Jackson himself is general shown either dancing, or in pose designed to suggest he will be dancing soon. This reflects his image as a heavily performance-oriented singer. As a result of videos like this and Thriller, Jackson would eventually become as well known for his over-the-top dance numbers as for his songs. Notably, this video create the Jackson-Trademark "mass dance number" which would be a frequent motif in subsequent iconic Jackson videos, such as the video to Smooth Criminal.

Overall then, this is a hugely influential music video - both for Michael Jackson himself and for the medium generally. One of the most significant and well-implemented efforts to marry stage musical class performance with a narrative in a music video of its day, it still stands up today as incredibly well produced.

2009-11-22T09:23:00.000-08:00

Interview Conclusion Drawn

As well doing a questionnaire to find out what our target audience like in a music video and the kinds of music they are interested, we also created an interview. This included open questions to find out more and detailed information on what our audience are interested in.

The first question was ‘What do you think a music video should be based on and why?’ the feed back given to us was mainly that it should be about a love story between a two lovers. The reason for this is mainly because it is one of the main issues in people’s lives these days especially for the younger generation i.e. our target audience. Therefore we need to consider adding something romantic in our video or base it around something to with a relationship in order to meet our target audience’s expectations and needs. This links to question four when we asked ‘What do you think is a great theme for a general music video?’ the feed back from this was quiet similar to the ones we received in question one, the majority of the people said that it should have a love theme and make to romantic.

We also wanted to find out in more detail what kind of settings so for question five we asked ‘What kinds of setting/s do you think would be good to use for a music video based on a love story?’ because we had a draft idea that we were going to use a love song for a video, we wanted our audience to tell us what they would like to see in a love story based music video. The feedback we received was that it should be set in places like on a hill with a sunset because it is romantic or in the city at night because it’s the season when all the lights come on and it will look good in a video with the couple out on a date. Therefore we need to consider using settings similar like that if we were to use a song based on a love story in order to keep our target audience satisfied.

Overall to meet their expectations, we should consider making a love story based video and use settings like on a hill with a view at sun set, or the streets with lights all around them.

2009-11-16T13:48:00.000-08:00

Interview

What do you think a music video should be based on and why?

What kinds of music are you interested the most and often listen to and why?

What do you normally look for when watching a music video based on a love story?

What do you think is a great theme for a general music video?

What kinds of setting/s do you think would be good to use for a music video based on a love story?

What time of the day do you think is perfect for filming a music video, especially a love story?

2009-11-16T13:41:00.000-08:00

Conclusion Drawn - Questionnaire

The majority of the people we did our questionnaires where female and between the age of 19-21 years of age. Question three was “what kind of music do you listen to?” Nearly 60% of the people we asked said that they are into hip-pop and R‘n’B and just under half said rock/indie. This tells us that most teenagers are interested in hip-pop and R‘n’B therefore we have to think about the kind of music we are going to use in our project, we have to make it similar to either one of these genres in order to meet our target audience’s needs and expectations. Question five asks “when do you usually listen to music?” The majority them said socialising, therefore we have to take on account how we are going to make our music video interesting to watch, how it will entertain our audience which is what they are looking for in a music video.

We found out that our audience are more interested in bands, mainly female bands or male rock bands. For our project therefore we have to find out what kinds of bands there are hand how we can make a video using a band. By meeting their needs we therefore have to choose a song a band has sang and fir the video we could film the band performing it. This links to question eight when we asked them “what kind of location do you prefer for a music video to be set in?” Therefore we have to think about making the video a performance based as most of them preferred it to be set in a studio.

2009-11-16T13:36:00.000-08:00

Results

Target Audience Research - questionnaire

2009-11-14T05:27:00.000-08:00

Questionnaire

2009-11-13T14:51:00.000-08:00

'Saviour' : The Lights - David Goodwin

Title/Artist:

Saviour was produced by a Canadian group called the Lights as a part of their music album called The Listening. It was released in Canada on 6^th July 2009 and in the United States of America in autumn 2009. It had been recorded from 2007-2008. Wikipedia specifies the genre as New Wave, Synth (Synthesised) Pop. The music video is probably aimed at teenagers and young adults.

Narrative:

Poxleitner beings by saying how lonely she is (The night is deafening when the silence is listening) and how she feels that something is missing although she tries to ignore her reliance on who she is missing. She then expands by saying that something has not gone as planned (I´m a bit of a manic when it´s not as I plan it) and that she starts losing her head and panics in this type of situation. She recollects previous experiences of a similar nature when they always knew when to quit it they were kids. “It” is never specified but it may refer to some kind of hallucinogenic drug. The use of “we” suggests that they were both using “it” and she asks whether they are denying a crisis or scared of admitting it, suggesting that they might be addicted to “it” but they want to break the addiction (And break off the chains and throw them away): This probably refers to the “chains” of addiction

The Lights “Saviour” Lyrics

I don´t want to know

I just want to run to you

I just want to be so much
And shake off the dust that turned me to rust
Sooner than later I'll need a saviour
I'll need a saviour

It won´t ever change if you want it to stay the same
I really hate it but I know it´s hard to choose if you´re chained
And when it´s all you control cause you´ve got nothing less to hold
You´re getting tighter and tighter it´s getting harder to let it go

I don´t want to know

I just want to run to you
And break off the chains and throw them away
I just want to be so much
And shake off the dust that turned me to rust
Sooner than later I'll need a saviour
I'll need a saviour

Stand me up and maybe I won´t be so small
Free my hands and feet and maybe I won´t always fall...
Save me

I just want to run to you
And break off the chains and throw them away
I just want to be so much
And shake off the dust that turned me to rust
I just want to run to you
And break off the chains and throw them away
I just want to be so much
And shake off the dust that turned me to rust
Sooner than later I'll need a saviour
I'll need a saviour

Analysis:

The video begins with a fade in from black to a low panning tracking shot of a skull and a shaped white modern art lamp. The scene is lit with blue and purple filtered lighting connoting mysticism and femininity. This is followed by a close-up slowly panning shot of a plain white table with sheets of paper with drawings showing the development of a cartoon character and a storyboard with coloured pencils and paintbrushes connoting that Valerie Poxleitner (the singer) is a comic strip artist. The camera then cuts to a slow track over Poxleitner’s bedclothes and daytime clothing similarly lit by dark blue light, connoting that the music video is filmed at night. Poxleitner is on top of the bed playing a keytar. The camera then cuts to close-up horizontal panning shot of the keytar and cuts to a bird’s eye view shot of her laying back playing it. The use of the keytar is intended to appear to be the live source of the music since the guitar and her singing is the only parts of the music. There is then a horizontal panning shot of mystical plant-like glass modern ornamentation showing the fragility and delicate nature of her imagination. One of the ornaments has falling sparkling special effects around it reflecting the magic-like power of her imagination. The camera then cuts to a close-up hand-held shot of her face (still singing) which moves hand-held to one of the plant-like ornaments indicating a relation between the delicate nature of the plant and herself.

A slow zoom out is used in order to smooth the transition between shots of Poxleitner, and of the other decorations in her room.

There are multiple shots of Poxleitner which bring the viewer’s attention back to the singer followed by a shot of the unpainted cartoon drawings on her table which cuts back to her, some shots having a purple mist/smoke to the right of her indicating the introduction of additions of her imagination. There is a brief shot of her cartoons running along the arms of a settee and more shots of the singer which completes with her starting to get up. The camera focuses on a cartoon drawing of her along with the development sketches to the right which cuts to a blue portal-like light generated by her imagination as she heads towards itself accompanied by “I just wanna run away” as a cartoon version of her rockets out from the light with a jet pack against a cartoon backdrop of space. The camera cuts to a real shot of her drawing cartoons at the table which cuts back to her in bed with the keytar. There is a tracking pan shot of her walking and numerous similar shot of her drawing and playing the keytar and looking at the ornaments.

There is then a shot of a special effect the cartoon version of her still rocketing through cartoon space facing towards the camera. She (the real version) then blows on a decoration releasing a gentle eruption of superimposed sparkles and the camera cuts to a side medium shot of the cartoon version of her rocketing past an imaginary cartoon space landscape including an image of the impossible cube, planets, a gemstone-like rock and strange planets and asteroids. The use of imaginary cartoon elements in the video represents her imagination and how she wants to escape to a surreal realm generated by her imagination. There is even a shot of the cartoon version of her passing through her real room and her drawing. The cartoon version of her plays with the astronomical landscape and explores other-planetary landscapes vaguely resembling her ornaments. The cartoon version of her displays bravery and confidence that the song shows that she lacks in, perhaps suggesting that they represent the confident explorer that she wants to be. Poxleitner then mimics the actions of her cartoon self with her ornaments.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saviour_(song)#Music_and_lyrics

Music Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9jtaWVkNn0

Lyrics: http://www.lyricsmania.com/lyrics/lights_lyrics_40467/the_listening_lyrics_96898/saviour_lyrics_935710.html

2009-11-13T14:37:00.000-08:00

'The Man Who Cant be Moved': The Script - Amina Diwa Saadat

Track
Title/Artists:

The Man Who Can't Be Moved - The Script

Genre:
Romance, Narrative/performance built. Indie style.
Target Audience: Young people aged between 15 – 28 years. Mainly for people who like listening to band performances and its about relationships and broken hearts so people in a similar situation might also want to listen to it.
Lyrics:
The lyrics is about a man who is missing his girlfriend who seems to have left him and he wants her back, however he doesn’t have a clue where she is and by the sound of it he cannot contact her either so he is singing this song for her telling her that he will be ‘waiting in the corner of the street’ for her. ‘The corner of the street’ is the place where they both first saw each other and he mentions this on the first line when he says ‘going back to the corner where I first saw you’, this tells us that he is trying to get a message through to the audience and the girl he is singing to that he is going to wait at the place where they first saw each other until she comes and sees him. He mentions ‘I’m not broke I’m just a broken hearted man’, because he is waiting on the streets people think that he is a poor person and which in slang they use ‘broke’ for when someone doesn’t have any money.
The chorus tells us that the man has hope in him because he says, ‘cause if one day you wake up and find that your missing me…..and you’d see me waiting on the corner of the street’. This tells us what the man wants the girl to do and is hoping that she would come for him. The lyrics are quiet straight forward. They don’t have any secret messages hidden in it. It is simple and tells the story quiet well.
The language is simple and easy to understand. It seems as if someone is talking to you in a polite matter. There isn’t any use of slang or anything most people wouldn’t understand so it’s straight forward and simple.
Music:
The music is very relaxing in many ways. It’s not too loud and fast but yet not slow and boring. It starts off with a slow tune with just a guitar tune which gradually builds up with the beat of the drums added to it. The instruments used to create the music are guitars, piano, and drums. At the performance the music and lyrics are both diegetic sounds because we see the band playing the instruments but when he is on the streets the music is non diegetic as the music is not played in the scene.
Video Narrative:
Narrative:
The video is mainly narrative driven but it also can be seen as a performance video because there are scenes in which the band is actually giving a performance in an empty car park. The structure is multi stranded as it has two sections/settings in it. One is when the man is on the streets in a busy city which tells us the main story behind the song and the other is with the whole of the band playing on the instruments which gives the audience a chance to meet the band and see who they are individually.
The mode of address is the man talking to the woman he loves who is not shown in the video at all and but it seems as if we know. He is singing to her and expresses his feelings towards her which gives the audience a chance to get know who this girl is.
Themes:
The main theme of the song is lost love and a broken heart. The man feels lost and torn apart because he is not with the love of his life and would do anything to see her again, even if it meant waiting on the corner of the street for as long as it takes. It also has a theme of a busy lifestyle showing the city and the crowded lifestyle people work and live in. This tells us that in a crowded city which is so large as well, what is the possibility of him finding the girl and hi made seem so easy and simple, by waiting in the corner of the street where he first saw her.
Ideology:
The main ideology used in the video is true love and to how much it means to someone, especially if they would do crazy things to get it back. It also shows the city lifestyle and how busy your life can be just living in a city.
Representations:
The man is being represented as sensitive and broken hearted. It is usually girls in a situation like this that are left broken hearted but in this song we see it from the man’s point of view. Usually men are seen as stronger physically and mentally but in this video he is seen as mentally weak and giving up. The fact that he is waiting for her on the corner of the street makes him seem small and innocent, someone whose feelings can be easily played with.
Technical Codes:

Camerawork:

The video starts off with a low angle pan of the man’s shadow on the pavement which cuts into a medium shot of his face and back to the shadow and then a cut of a medium shot of the man’s whole body walking on the street showing that he is walking in the city and his characteristics by the way he walks and on his facial expressions. It then cuts to his feet from a horizontal angle and then a medium shot of him to show where the man is walking and how he looks like, we can see that he is young and in his mid twenties probably, also we can see that he is going through a lot of grief and pain because he looks very emotional and unhappy. There is a shot when the camera is looking up at the man and is panning around him creating an atmosphere of the city life and telling the audience that he is the main character in the scene.

This is followed by a wide angle pan of him crossing the road shows the environment he is in, a crowded busy city, most likely to be New York. There are many tracking shots of him continually cutting to him walking forward. It then zooms into him and the band performing in an empty ground floor car park which cuts connoting that he is part of the band and the main singer. Then it slowly zooms out from the band and cuts to a medium shot of the drummer playing the drums and back to the man singing. This allows the audience to get to know the band members individually and what their roles are.

The setting changes back to the city where there is a low angle shot behind the man where he sits on the ground facing his back to the camera and cuts to him back in the car park and back to a long shot of him on the streets to a close up of his legs folded and a piece of card board placed next to him saying ‘if you see this girl, tell her where I am’, this signifies him a poor man living on the street because a homeless person is known to sit on the street with a piece of card board saying ‘please give spare change’.

We see an over the shoulder shot of the man facing the public approaching him and feeling sorry. This puts the audience in to the man’s position and sees what he sees which helps them create some kind of bond between the man and the audience a gives him a sense of how he feels. There is a medium shot of the news reporter holding the mic to his mouth and on the screen it says ‘breaking news’ with the man singing on the mic making it seem as if we are watching the news at home and it cuts backs to the street of an over the shoulder shot of the man singing on the mic to the reporter. There is a close up of the watch and picture of the girl placed on the ground beside him, the time is fast forwarded and we can see the hands on the watch moving very fast, it then cuts to an establishing shot of the city at night changing into daylight also connoting the change of time. There are shots of the man fast forwarded cutting to the moon moving in the sky, cars passing on the streets, and people passing by on the streets. This gives a great effect of the time passing by and connotes that the man has been waiting days and nights for the girl to come. It then cuts into him a coat with the hood in the snow, connoting the change of weather.

There is a bird’s eye view of the cars passing by on the motor way which is also fast forwarded leaving streaks of light behind which really stands out in the dark background. The clouds moving around the sun very fast also connote the passing of time. There are different angles of the city, high, low, close up and from various directions to give a sense of the city life feels like at night. The video ends with a medium shot of the man sitting on the street with his sleeping bag beside him telling us that he is still waiting and then fades into black.

Sound:

The video includes synchronous dialogue because the man is singing but doesn’t look at the camera, he is singing to the public and himself. There is also voice over used as the man continuously sings throughout the video but at the same time in some of the scenes we see the city and night life. The music starts off with a relatively slow tune of a guitar as he is walking on the road and after 30 seconds the beat of the drums come in. these two instruments create the main tune of the music, when the man stops singing the guitar and drums are still being played. When the man gets to the chorus of the song the beats become faster and the beats become stronger but once he reaches to the bridge of the song the tone of it slows down and becomes calmer but it goes back to fast and stronger once he sings the chorus again.

The instruments used in the song are guitars, piano. At the performance the music and lyrics are both diegetic sounds whereas in the rest of the video, although the man is looks like he is singing, it may be made to look diegetic but really it could be non diegetic. The man’s voice is very sincere and calm with a light tone to it. It draws the audience closer to the man because his voice has a great tone if, perfect for singing and makes the listener want to hear more. His voice also fits in well the background music, when its slow he sings slowly however when the music gets faster and but beat the chorus gets faster as well so the tone of his voice has to fit in well with the pace of the music, both the singing and the music has to be at the same pace in order to sound right.

Editing:

The video relies on continuity editing to maintain a logic flow of events. There is action match used quiet often as he is walking on the streets, it shows him from different angles. There are jump cuts used especially when they are performing in the car park from close up of the man singing to the whole of the band showing the audience who the band is and a change of location as well. There is diegetic and non diegetic sound used in the video. During the video the song is non diegetic as it is not actually sang whilst making the video, however it is made to look like the man is actually singing so it looks like diegetic. The music played by the band in the car park seems to be diegetic as they are playing the instruments and is a performance.

Editing effects are used to create fast motion to indicate a rapid passage of time. In the video this is shown by hands on a watch, the sun and the moon, the change in weather and the cars passing on the motor way.

The screen is made to look as if the audience is watching the news the screen changes to a red caption saying ‘Breaking news’, this creates a story within the video and draws the audience’s attention to what the man is saying.

Symbolic Codes:

Mise-en-scene:
Setting:

The video is mainly set in the streets in the city, by the looks of it maybe New York City. It shows people’s daily lives as they are walking and driving on their way to work or shopping. It is linked to the lyrics; the city is a big place to find someone without knowing where they are but he mentions that he is going to wait in the corner of the street where they both first met which can be easily found. The performance is set in an empty ground floor car par. It gives a sense of emptiness which links to the man’s feelings as he feels empty without the girl he loves. “The corner of the street” id on the road side in the middle of the Big Apple, one of the busiest and well known cities in the world. This setting really fits in well with the lyrics as he mentions the fact that he will be waiting in the corner of the street and in the video he does as says.

Costume, Hair and Make-up:

The singer is wearing casual everyday clothes, jeans and a jacket, and so are the rest of the band members connoting that what they are doing is something they do every day and they don’t have to dress up for it, they are just going through their daily life routine as being part of a band. There is a policeman in his uniform connoting who he is and what is his job. The news reporter is wearing a suit and holding mic which tell us that she has to dress smartly in order to represent herself on the television screen. The key props used in the video are a watch which he places beside him on the pavement connoting the passing of time as the hands of the watch move around really fast. He also uses a piece of card board saying ‘if you see this girl, tell her where I am’ and a picture of the girl next to it. This is to reveal who he is singing about and get to know the girl more. No one is wearing anything out of the ordinary; they are all represented as normal citizens going through their normal daily lives. The only thing that is unusual is the man sitting in the corner of the streets.

Positioning of Character/s:

The man is being filmed whilst walking down the streets but he is positioned in the middle of the screen which shows that he is the main character and is important. As we look up at the character, we can see that he is standing in the middle of the city looking around and seems to be a little lost in his mind. The audience can also see that the man is the important character because the camera only follows where he goes even though there are plenty of other people around him. The people in the background are not shown as important and therefore there are not many close ups unless the main has something is linked to them or interacts with them. The band performing in the empty car park shows that they are professional musicians who know what they are doing, we see this when the camera cuts on close ups of various members playing their instruments or singing. Also the fact that the man is standing in front and singing tells us that he is the main singer and maybe the leader of the group.
When the man is sitting on the floor, we see an innocent and vulnerable side of him. This is shown by the camera looking down on him making him seem small and harmless. The position of the policeman in the car looking out of the window towards the man tells us that he is realistically more important than the man according to his job but not so important in the story the man is telling. The people from the streets surrounding the man and standing in front of the him and looking down shows that they have sympathy for him.

Facial Expression and Body Language:

The close up shots of the man’s face tells us that he is not happy; he seems to be heartbroken and lost in the world he is living in. The fact that he keeps looking around tells us he is searching for someone or something, in this case we know it is a girl. He looks at the people whilst he is walking and singing as if he is talking to the public, for example when he says ‘can you tell her where I am’ he looks at the man passing by as if he is talking to him. He shakes his head and tells us ‘they don’t understand’, this tells us that he feels no one understands him and no one can feel what he feels. He never looks straight ahead, he either looks down on the ground or up in the sky. This tells is that he is in distress and let down but the fact that he also looks up might mean that he is talking to God and is seeking help from him. When he sits ‘on the corner of the street’ he has an innocent look on his face and wants to wait for the girl he loves.
His legs are crossed and he doesn’t seem to care if he is comfortable or if his clothes would get dirty, the girl that he loves seems to be the only thing on his mind and he will wait there until she comes for him. The expression on the police man’s face shows that he is confused about why the man is sitting on the street which is not normal. The people from the public seem to feel sorry for him and want to listen to what he is saying. He looks down at him and their expression tells us that they want to help him. When the news reporter comes, her expression is serious and tells us that she knows how this man is feeling and she is directly looking at him and whilst holding the mic. She probably has experienced what he is experiencing. As the man sings into the mic, his expressions tells us that he wants everyone watching to know what he is doing and is trying to send a message to the girl. The fact that he is sitting by the road and we see the weather changing we can also see his expressions showing us his he cold in the snow and rain.

Lighting and Colour Design:

The video starts off using natural lighting as the majority of scenes are filmed during the day outside so the sun comes across as the lighting here. It is ambient and the bright sun in the busy city feels warm and welcoming. We can tell that it is around in the afternoon because his shadow is very long. When they do the performance in the car park it seems dark and there are streaks of lights coming through the spaced through the walls. Because it is a ground floor car park there are no windows for lights to get through and the light that actually does come through gives it a great effect as it reflects through the camera and shines across the men’s faces. The white streaks of light might connote a sense of hope for the man, as he is waiting for his lover and therefore there could be hope for him that she might come to him. Towards the end of the video, it is set at night time and therefore the lighting used here are the ones on the streets and most probably some flood lights as well. We can see the city changing from night time and its dark into the daylight.
Also the light of the moon gives a great effect on the dark sky as it moves across the sky showing the change in time. The streaks of light left by the cars on the roads as the video is fast forwarded gives great visual effects and tells the audience in the passing of time. The reds and yellows give a sense of warmth and comfort from the city night but it may also create a sense of danger. This gives us a sense of a busy lifestyle to everyone but to him times just passes by whilst he is still waiting for the girl.

2009-11-13T14:30:00.000-08:00

Genre Forms & Conventions

In Dancing in the Distraction Factory (1992, Rouledge), Andrew Goodwin identified seven conventions used in the music videos. One of these conventions is the use of iconography created by the star within and outside of the video, which will eventually become a part of the star's image. Some music videos can be categorised into genre to dictate the style of the video; e.g. performance for a heavy metal band, dance routines for a girl or boy band. Although some transcend genre, music channels tend to focus on particular genres. Goodwin identifies that there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, where one may serve to illustrate or amplify or even contradict the other.

Goodwin points out that music videos also use a lot of voyeurism, particularly with the treatment of women in the videos in the way that camera "looks" at them, for example, in the music videos produced by 50 Cent (late 1990s onwards) such as Wanksta (2002). Goodwin suggests that record labels will often require the artist to have close-ups in the videos, which is largely because of the relatively small size of the television screen and to create a sense of intimacy with the viewer. This emphasises the commodity on sale, which John Stewart from the production company Oil Factory suggests has the aesthetics of a television commercial with lots of close-ups and the use of lighting to focus on the star's face. There are also often intertextual references such as to television programmes and other music videos.

Distinct features characterise music videos, which may be detected by analysing certain key elements of the music videos; the genre style, camerawork, sound track, editing, mise en scene, intertextuality and narrative and performance.

The camera may move to track the performer but can also circle around the stage to give a dynamic feel to the video. Many music videos have a brief opening/closing sequences with sound effects and dialogue (such as the sound effects on The Open Happiness, 2009) but they consist largely of lyrics and music to differentiate them from a singles track. Although it is common for music video promos to use fast-cut montages, this makes it impossible to grasp many of the images on the first viewing, which insures multiple viewing, but some videos use a slower pace and gentler shot transitions, to establish mood (such as Dido in Lets Do The Things We Normally Do, 2008).

Digital effects, such as CGI film-style special effects, are used in music videos to offer different kinds of pleasure for the audience. This is used heavily on the music video Moments In Space (2007) but can also appear to a lesser extent in other videos in the form of split screens and colourization.

The mise en scene of music videos depends on the genre. It may be used to confirm a band's musically by showing them in a performance on a stage or in rehearsal rooms. The mise en scene may be used to emphasise an inspirational lifestyle, such as th latest gadgets. The context may increase the voyeuristic aspect of the video by using a sexual setting such as a sleazy nightclub. The more successful performers will spend large sums on the location, settings, props, costumes and dance routines.

Many music videos borrow freely from existing texts to attract and hold the viewer's attention. This is called intertextuality. The most common sources of texts are cinema and fashion. Madonna's Material Girl (1985) used references to Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend from the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). Intertextuality using fashion may use references to supermodels or the catwalk. Notable is Robert Palmer's Addiction to Love (1986) which included a 'backing band' of identically clothed women resembling catwalk models, with the camera often focussing on their bright red lips and finger nails.

Music videos may be performance, narrative or concept driven. The narrative style often offers a fragment of a story, often out of chronological order, encouraging the viewer to view the video again. A performance driven video focuses on the artist's performance but may contain narrative too and the artist may be a part of the narrative. The music video may allow the viewer close up contact with the artist in a way not possible in a live concert.

2009-11-13T14:22:00.000-08:00

Project Schedule

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