Performance part filmed

This evening I filmed the performance part of the video with Jack, now that this is done I can finally edit the whole of the video.

Preperation for the performance based filming

Last night I set up the projector and lighting for the performance based part of my music video. I did this to test the projector and see if it gave the effect that I desired and to just give myself some experience before the actual shoot. I am glad that I did so as I encountered some problems along the way and if I had not dome this I would of only come across such issues when doing the actual shoot which would of resulted in a poor quality result.

ADD PICTURES OF THE MEMORIAL HALL AND ALSO ADD IN A CLIP OF THE FOOTAGE BEING PROJECTED.

Video analysis 3

To start off this is most definitely the COOLEST music video I have ever seen!!! Without a doubt this video challenges pretty much all forms and conventions. I had to analise  this individual video as it and stands out from all other videos I have ever seen.

The video has a performance based narrative showing a band inside a car driving through a pre-arranged driving course with various instruments and objects.

The lighting in this video is natural, and as far as I can tell there have been no special effects added to the footage. Unlike most videos the cameras are not hidden from the viewer and are in sight as are the microphones attached to the outside of the vehicle, this gives the video a sense of authenticity and adds to the realism of the video.

Video analysis 2

This video follows a performance based narrative, the concept of the video is fairly simple and does not challenge the conventions of an acoustic video. By intermitting between there being an audience and there not being one the video gains its own individual style and brings the idea behind the song (fear) into life by showing the artist facing his fear (an audience). The lighting in this video is natural to the environment of a band performance and there is no irregular lighting.

Depth of field has been considered and has been used to focus on the performing artist and blur out the background or in other parts the foreground. As far as camera angles and movement is concerned they are fairly simple and all follow the forms and conventions for a performance based music video.

When considering the mise-en-scene the set is very realistic for a band performance, as is the stage, equipment etc. The artists clothing is dark which prevents attention being drawn away from them and more to what clothes they are wearing, this often down in acoustic videos, particularly for this particular artist.

1st rough edit (opening 30ish seconds)

This clip is a rough edit of the opening part of my music video.

Video analysis 1

This video follows a performance based narrative, the video is very simplistic and meets the forms and conventions of a soul music video. The video is filmed in black and white, by doing this a calm mood has been set which ties in with the style of the song. Depth of field has been taken into consideration a lot in this video and has been used to focus on the artist performing, along with this the mise-en-scene has been set in such a way that also focuses attention to the artist, with an empty room with no particular features that divert the viewers attention away from the artist.

The use of the colour effects being played over the footage has a great effect and gives the video its own individual aspect that makes it stand out from other videos, I think that the use of this effect is very effective and yet simplistic.

The camera angles used in the video create a very emotional effect. There is a lot of close ups which focus on the artists face, by doing this we see can read his emotions which relate to the song playing, with these close ups and the depth of field focusing on the artist and blurring out the background the overall effect is much more powerful.

When looking at the what the artist is wearing we see that he is wearing neutral colours that stop attention being drawn to them rather that towards the artists face, this is very effective. It is such considerations as clothing, location and the use of depth of field that add to the overall mood set by the video. As well as this, the lighting within the video is very effective mainly relying on natural lighting, by doing this a natural effect is given and adds to the calmness of the video

This weekend

This weekend I will be filming the nature scenes and opening urban scene.

Complete story board

NEED TO SCAN

This weekend

Yesterday (Saturday) I did some filming it went fairly well. I WILL UPLOAD THIS ONTO YOUTUIBE AND EMBED IT HERE

Crew

The crew will be myself and my father who will hold the lights when filming at night. Other than that partiular task I should not need any assistance

Equipment list

For my video I will need:

Video camera - NAME OF THE CAMERA
Tripod
Camera (to take pictures for my digipack and poster)
Projector (to project video footage)
Grand piano
Car (to get from location to location)
Clothes for my artist
Lighting for night filming (however I will mainly rely on street light

Filming

This weekend I will be going to Crackington Haven to film some shots to use as fill ins, this will not require Jack (my artist) and will be of clouds, water moving etc.

The concept

The opening shot will be looking at an ipod in a hand, on the screen of the ipod the album cover of my song will be shown and then the person will press play, from this point the song will begin. The following shots will show the artist walking along the street. Within 20 seconds of the clip the artist will reach a building and enter(town building). From this point we will see the character walking down a corridor with the exact same style of shots as the outdoor ones.
He will reach a room and enter (there will be a piano) a projector(not within view) will be playing showing static. He will play the piano and sing the projector will play nature shot of which he will be in, from this point the shots will vary from performance to the projection shot of the artist in the nature shots.

Locations

I originally planned to film the nature shots on Dartmoor National Park as the location consists of woodland, moor and rivers, however due to the distance of Dartmoor from my house I had to reconsider. After thinking of different locations I decided to film at Crackington Haven. http://crackington-haven.com/

As well as Crackington Haven I will also be filming in Bude for a night scene.

My final location of filming will be in the performance hall at my school where my artist will be playing the piano.

Story Board so far...

When making my storyboard I did some research to find out about story boarding.

I found this video very helpful as it made me consider the size of the frames, by considering this I were able to make more detailed plans.

Mise en scene

For my music video I will have to take the mise en scene into great consideration. From the start of my story boarding I have already begun to consider this as such details will be the fabric of a successful video. For the urban night scene at the beginning of the video I have had to consider lighting and location, for example when picking out where to film the shots of Jack walking down the alley I went out and looked at many different locations until I found one that looked the best. For the urban night scene I wish for it to be raining (a good chance of that in England) as the lights in town will reflect on the water and give a better effect.

For the nature shots I have been looking at various locations trying to find the best ones, I have considered having the sea in the video but have changed my mind, when looking I went to Crackington Haven which is along the North Coast of Cornwall and is a few coves along the coast from where I live, within Crackington there is a footpath which goes through some woodland and has a river and streams joining and parting from it. I chose this location as it seemed to match the song. The emotions that come with the song, in my eyes suit the setting and help add to the effect that the artist is creating.

The performance part of the video will be located in the performance hall in my school, it will be very important for me to make sure that it does not look like just some hall in a school and I will have to consider mise en scene when setting this up so that I can create the atmosphere that I wish to give.

Progress

Since carrying out my audience questions I have begun to story board, taking into  consideration the thoughts of the 50 who completed the questions for me.

Analysing my audience question results

For the first question asking about what setting to film the video in the majority (78%) said to film in a nature environment, and a further 22% said to film in an urban area. In response to this I went to the same 50 people and asked them what types of locations, such as the beach, woodland, fields, country lanes etc. they would want. Their response was...

By asking this question it has helped me to consider locations for shooting my video.

When looking at the responses to the second question asking whether they would prefer a narrative , concept or performance based video the responses were fairly similar all results being waiting the 30% mark. Due to this I will include performance a narrative as I think they will tie in well with each other, such an approach is conventional within the music video industry.

When asking on the third question about filming during day or night the majority responded with day (67%) which is pleasing as there are greater demands for night filming including lighting which could be hard to do. However 33% did say night which is quiet high, I will consider incorporating some night shots into the storyline if I can.

For the final question asking about who I should use as my artist the majority said Jack (62%) which was good as he is keen to take part and is available most days I am.

Overall it was very useful asking my audience about what they felt would be good things to do, I will most definitely be asking these same people throughout the process.

                                                                



Audience questions and results. I asked 50 sixth formers to answer these questions to give me a rough idea where to go with my plan..

New target audience

When making my music video I will need to consider my target audience. A target audience, is a specific group of people within the target market at which the marketing message is aimed.
Target Audiences are formed from different different groups, for example: Adults, teens, children, mid-teens, pre-schoolers.

To market to any given audience effectively, it is essential to become familiar with your target market; their habits, behaviours, likes, and dislikes. Markets differ in size, assortment, geographic scale, locality, types of communities, and in the different types of merchandise sold. Because of the many variations included in a market it is essential, since you cannot accommodate everyone’s preferences, to know exactly who you are marketing to.

My Target audience range from 20-50 year olds and then a few younger and older people who follow the particular genre. I would say that may target audience are within the ages 20 - 50 because when researching my genre (alternative) I found that they were the most common listeners. The genre 'Alternative' is very popular with many ages but due to the roots of the song and the style of how it has been performed it could also be associated with the genre 'soul'.However the song that I have chosen has recently been in the top 20 in the UK charts so listeners on the radio or TV show viewers may of come to like the song, due to this some teenagers or older people may also be interested.

When I think of who would watch my video I think of a person who wants to unwind. The style of the song is very calm and my intentions for the video will result in a calm mood being created.

As far as types of communities are concerned with my target audience I wouldn't say there would be a specific type, however it is less likely that a young unemployed rap fan would be part of my target audience.

After considering my target audience I will when storyboarding take into consideration what my target audience will expect, want and not want to see in my video, for example most soul fans would not expect or want to see such footage that my be shown in a stereotypical rap video or pop video.

Permission letter

As I have changed song and have had to send an email to the record company for my new song. Bellow is a copy of the letter I have sent.

Dear Copyright Holder,

I am an A-level media student and I am writing to you to request your permission to use the track Getting Nowhere by Magnetic Man ft John Legend.

With your permission the track would be used in my current A-level Media studies project in which I have to create my own music video as well as creating a digi-pack and poster for the artist.

If I received your permission the track would only be used for educational purposes and would only be viewed by my media class, teacher and the exam board moderator.

The artist and your company would of course be fully recognised throughout production and the final video itself. If you wish for there to be a copyright notice to be included in the video I would need any information sent to me so that it could be included in the project. If this is wanted please inform me with further details.

I look forward to your response,

With thanks

            Jake Claridge

Decided

This is now the song I shall be making a music video for. Now its story boarding time...

Artists

When thinking of what artist I automatically think Benjamin Francis Leftwich, however his videos are so amazing I dare not attempt this. However another artist that is similar is James Vincent McMorrow. I have been listening to his music recently and I will now listen through a few of my favourites, of which I am sure I will pick one of them.

Going back to my original outdoor theme

After reflecting on what I want to do I have decided to include nature in my video, I need to find a song that will tie in with this...

Well since my last post I have filmed the first section of my music video. I have decided that I have chosen the wrong idea for the video and possibly the wrong song due to this I have started to look at new options. I know that this is pushing the time limit, but with good organisation this should not be an issue.