From AS to A2
Last year in my AS studies I made a radio news bulletin. Throughout the production of this I needed to work effectively in a group and learn to edit on software like audacity and premier pro for my evaluation. This differs extremely from what I'll be doing this year. This year I will be making a music video. This means instead of working with sound I'll be working with video. I will still be working in a group so the teamwork skills I learnt from participating in a group will transpire to this year. However I will need to learn how to edit on new software such as Adobe after effects. The coursework will also require my group and I to use a camera. So I will need to learn specialist language like close-up mid-shot or establishing shot
History Of Music Videos
the first music video to aired on MTV was 'video killed the radio star' by the buggles in 1981. Michael Jacksons 'Thriller' was considered the first narrative based music video
Types of music videos
There are two types of music videos these are:
Narrative based- the main focus of the video is on the storyline. the music video is filmed like a short film and the song replaces the dialogue and explains what's going on. An example of this would be 'Im not the only one' by sam smith
Performance based- This is where the main focus of the video is on the performance of the artist. the focus is on the delivery of the song by the artist. An example of this would be 'Bad and boujee' by the migos
2. Relationship between lyrics and visuals
The first level of narration is form. This is the type of narrative being displayed E.G. a conversation, joke or poem
The second level of narration is order of events. This is the sequence in which the narrative unfolds and the reason why. An example of this would be a film starting in media res but the story begins in the middle therefore creating the narrative.
The third and final level of narration is narrating. This is the way in which the story is told. this what creates the narrative. Examples of this would be narrators or camera angles.
It was considered that before the age of the internet people were more likely to be a passive audience. passive refers to audience members that just observe the media and doesn't actively respond to it. however after the invention of social media it means that audience can be more active about the media they consume. Active means that media audiences don't just receive information but get actively involved in it.
Decoding Theory
According to Stuart Hall's theory of encoding and decoding he states that audiences receive messages from encoders that they are able to then decode. Encoders are the initial message sent from the producer. Decoding is how the audience interpret this message.
Stuart Hall states that there are three ways in which messages can be decoded/Read. One being the Dominant Reading-this is when the audience fully agrees with what the media has presented it. there is no miscommunication between the encode and decoder. Negotiated Reading- this is where the audience partially agree with the message of the media but challenge parts of the view. Oppositional Reading- this is when the audience member completely disagrees with the view because of their own personal beliefs.
This is an example of the male gaze in the music video Blurred lines by rRobin Thicke, Pharell Williams and T.I. The shot is taken from the perspective of a male. In the shot we see a female who is half naked riding a bike. this is trying to appeal to males sexuality as it has deeper connotations of intercourse.
The female Gaze- A film theoretical term representing the gaze of the female viewer. its a response to Laura Mulvey's 'Male Gaze'.
This is an example of the Female Gaze as its a shot of a female artist from the perspective of a female. The artist is holding another females leg and playing it like a guitar. So according to the Female Gaze we perceive her in an empowering manner. this challenges the male gaze.
Type of shot and angle- focusing on the vast amount of camera angles and types of shots used
lighting- whether natural or artificial
Diegetic and non-diegetic sound- sounds that are actual happening in recording or sound added in post production
Props- the different items on set
Costume- the clothing warn by interviewees/actors
Case study
For the A2 course I have to make a music video. So I decided to do a case study on another music director to get an idea of what making a good music video requires. The music director I chose to study is Hype Williams. Hype Williams has directed Notable music videos like Kanye west's "all of the lights" and "No Scrubs" by TLC in which won the MTV music award for best group video. one of his signature styles is the 'fisheye lens'. this is where the camera view is distorted around the central focus. this can be seen in the music videos "gimme some more" by bust rhymes and "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" by Missy Elliott.
The auteur theory which is mainly derived from the concept of camera pen, holds that the director is the main author as he oversee's all audio and visual elements of the motion picture. this is because it is believed that visual elements like camera placement, lighting and scene length are more important in conveying the message of the film rather than the plot
One way in which primary Research was done for our music was:
Interview- we interviewed four people ( two women and two men) about their experiences with hip hop videos. This was done in order to get an idea of what we should incorporate into our own video. the type of data this gave us is qualitative data. This is data that is not in a numerical form.
Findings- What we found out from this was that most people like to see Rappers flaunt their wealth and and dance in interesting places. We also found that our target audience was against the objectification of women in music videos. This will have a lot of influence on whether we include female models in our video
Test screening- another way in which we did research for our Music video was making a test video and showing it to members of our target audience.we did this to get feedback and figure out what works well and what does not. This allowed us to see what we need to include in our real music video and what shouldn't be put in.
A key tool for researching about music videos is search engines but I wanted to use one that didn't base its suggestions on previous searches and was also a trustworthy source of information
Software we're going to use
Adobe After Effects
Another piece of software we had to use in order to create our music video was Adobe After Effects. Adobe After Effects is a digital visual effects, motion graphics and composition application developed by adobe systems. It is used in the post production process of film making and television production. Just like with Adobe premier pro in order to create a high quality entertaining music video I must become familiar with using Adobe after Effects.
Planning
In order to make the filming of our music video easier we decided to make a schedule. On this schedule it stated what we had to do and when we had to do it by. Another reason for doing this was to make sure we met the deadlines of the course. This was a good decision because it helped us to organize our time so we didn't neglect other tasks that needed to be completed. The only issue we had was that at the start we weren't realistic of how quick edit the footage we got. To resolve this we gave ourselves more time to edit.
Above are screenshots of conversations between me and mark. As we couldn't be together all of the time we used this as a way of communicating what we needed for shots. This was also where we shared ideas about what to put in our videos
Filming
One edit we did in the production of our music video was the clip speed/duration edit. We did this in order to make scenes longer to create a slow-mo effect. The effect this had on the overall production was created a contrast in shots. It was also done to create an effect that the viewer was on drugs which fit in with the theme of the song.
Another editing tool we used was RGB curves. We used this to colour correct our music video to warmer colours. We did this because the main color theme of our project was red so color correcting synched our music video with the rest of our project.
Another bit of editing we did was add special effects to our music video. We did this by getting an effect off youtube and placing it onto our video. The effect we had was a light coming down the side of the screen. When we were doing research into real media texts we found that a lot of hip hop music videos had flashy effects. We did this to have a contrast in shots and so our project would be recognised more in the genre.
Another special effect we added was the spherical blur. This was a transition edit to help us get to another scene. when Researching other media texts we found that a staple of hip hop performance based music video was there creative use of transitions to keep the video entertaining. in order for our project to be recognized within the genre we made sure to us interesting transitions wherever we could
Another vital tool we used was the cutting tool. this allowed us to make cuts in lengths of shots and transition to cutaway shots. our use of the cutting tool was influenced by Andrew Goodwins conventions of music videos. the song we used was quite fast paced. Therefore we added cuts so the visuals of our music video matched the music.
Draft 1
This was the first draft of our music video. I uploaded it to youtube so our group could get feedback on what to improve and what we did well.
Final Task
This is the final completed version of our music video. We took the feedback we got on the first draft and made changes accordingly.
Outcomes
The overall process of making this music video was relatively smooth. At times it was hard to keep up with the schedule due to equipment failure or the artist not being able to make it to the shoot. Researching into our audience before filming made the job much easier. We knew what shots we needed to include and how we wanted the whole thing to look. The hardest part of creating this project was the editing. In order for our music video to be entertaining we had to add a lot of special effects and this was very time consuming. Sticking to the schedule was harder than we anticipated.
What I learned
The creation of this whole project was a learning experience. We had to learn how to use Adobe Premier Pro and Adobe After Effects to a high standard in order to create a good music video. I also had to develop on my ability to research from As to make sure all angles were covered when doing my A2 research. In order to create a high quality music video I had to learn how to use a camera and how to create the angles I wanted.
The Final Product
Overall I am very happy with the final product. We managed to get all the shots we wanted in all the locations we planned to shoot at. In the end I produced a piece of work that would be recognized in the genre I wanted it to be and in a quality that represents the hard work I put in.
What went well and what challenged you
What went well during the production of our music video was we were able to get all the shots we wanted. An example would be the scene of the game of fortnite. I wanted a shot of our artist getting a kill on fortnite so we had a some visuals that. matched the lyrics. We also managed to add some cool effects that fit in with music video. A part that challenged us was adding in good transitions. A key part of Hip Hop music videos was using interesting transitions. Finding places where we could add this in was very challenging because alto of transitions we used were standard cut aways. after careful analysis of the video we found some good places to add special effect transitions. Another part of filming that challenged us was the lip synching. we found it hard to synch up what the artist was saying in the video to the music this created a lagging effect when watching it. in order to fix this we decided to add visuals to distract from the mouth.
Ancillary Task 1(Website)
The first Ancillary task consisted of creating a website. In order to do this I had to look into other artists websites to get an idea of what ours should look like and include.
What we found was that we had to:
Audience
Cultivation Theory
This a theory that tries to explain the long-term effects of tv and mass media on our social reality. it states that the higher the exposure to messages from social media the more likely we are to believe the social reality portrayed. an example of this would be the "mean world syndrome". This is the idea that violent content shown by the media has made the world sound more dangerous that it actually is. A real life example of this would be shows like CSI and NCSI making people feel like there's always serial killers and rapists around every corner. Therefore how we present our Artist on the website is important. According to this theory if we present our artist in the wrong way it could lead to him and the genre being stereotyped in way we don't want.
Media Language
Media language is how media texts create meaning. We need to know about this because when creating the website we will be using pictures and videos to tell the audience about our artist. Factors that will effect how our Artist is portrayed are:
Props- the type of items we have on set can have deeper connotations. For example a big stack of money can present our artist as a drug dealer
Costume- How our artist is dressed can convey different ideas to our audience. For example Designer clothes conveys wealth or youth whereas balaclavas could convey gang activity.
Colour Scheme- The main colour theme of our website can display diferent emotions. Red has the deeper meaning of aggression whereas yellow would have the meaning happiness. Red also can have relations of gang activity.
As we and mark couldn't be together all the time we used WhatsApp to communicate ideas to one another and keep on schedule. In this screenshot we decided to keep the main color theme of our project as red and added everything we needed for it to fit the conventions of a website.
Construction of website
In order to make the website we had to use another website called wix.com. This is a cloud based web development platform. It allows users to create HTLM5 websites and mobile sites through the use of of online drag and drop tools. It took a while to get used to using this website but it was relatively easy to use
During our research we found convention of hip hop websites so in order for our website to be recognised within the genre we had to include these conventions in our website.
We included a page for tours. this is so our audience knows when we're performing live. We saw these in all of the websites we looked at
We also included a section where fans could buy our artist's music. this was another convention present in the Hip Hop websites we looked at.
Another section we included was a videos section. this was done to showcase all the videos our main artist had been in.
This section was about the biography of our artist. this is done so fans can relate with the artist and know their history. Another convention we needed to add in our website
The last page we finished creating was the home page. This was the first thing that people saw when they came to our website so we put a picture of josh so people immediately know who the main artist was. the use of the artist on the home page seemed to be a staple of Hip Hop websites.
what went well
What went well during the production of the website were we able to implement colour to create the tone we wanted for the website. We were also able to combine the images we took and the text on the website to create engaging web pages. For this part of the production we were also able to stay ahead of schedule which meant we didn't subtract from other parts of the Course
What challenged me
https://markjmurphy99.wixsite.com/mysite
Outcomes
The overall process of making this website was a smooth one. we were able to create a website that wasn't only visually engaging but represented our artist in the way we set out to. The hardest part was gathering the photos for the website as some had to be edited in photoshop which made it harder to keep to the schedule.
What I learned
Just like the main task the production of the website was a learning curve for me. I had to learn how to use wix.com to an extent where I could produce a high level website. I also had to learn to use a camera for taking photos. The more shoots we did the more I understood how angles and lighting can effect the representation of the video.
Am I happy with final product
Overall I am very happy with the website as a final product. As a group we succeeded in keeping the main colour theme as red which provided a continuity between our website and Music video. we were also able to present our Artist as someone our target audience would be interested in. In my opinion the website looks very engaging and this what we set out to do.
Ancillary Task 2(Digipack)
The second ancillary task consisted of creating a digipack. In order for me to do this to a high enough level I decided to look into other album covers/Digi packs.
Research into real media texts
Above is the album cover and back cover for the album Damn by Kendrick Lamar. As we can see it features the artist as the main focus of cover. it also boldly features the name of the album on the front as well. On the back cover it also features an image of the artist and the track list. The name of the album is also present on the back. there also appears to be a filter put on the front cover to provide a more grainy effect. The disk for this album has its name on it.
On the front cover of this blog we see a image of the artist and its the main focus of the album cover. An effect has been added to it to make it more engaging. The name of the album and the artist is featured on the cover. On the back cover see a track list in a different colour to the front. The disk is black and features the name of the album and artist
On the front cover of the Album Take care we see the Artist Drake as the main focus of the shot. An effect was added over the front and the name of the album is clearly visible. On the back cover we the track list. This disk is also black and features the name of the album and artist.
After looking into real media texts we found that what we should include is:
Media Language
Props- the type of items we have on set can have deeper connotations. For example a a Knife can have connotations go gang activity
Costume- How our artist is dressed can convey different ideas to our audience. For example Designer clothes conveys wealth or youth whereas balaclavas could convey gang activity.
Colour Scheme- The main colour theme of our website can display diferent emotions. Red has the deeper meaning of aggression whereas yellow would have the meaning happiness. Red also can have relations of gang activity.
In order to create an album cover we had to use Adobe Photoshop. Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed by Adobe systems for Mac and windows. it can edit and compose raster images in multiple layers. In
order for us to create a album cover of high quality we had to become proficient in using it.
Editing
Examples of editing
As we saw in a lot of Album covers there were effects on the cover. So we decided to add our own effects to the cover of our album. one effect we added was a RGB effect on the smoke. This gave the cover a hallucinogenic look. This was what we were going for as we wanted to give off the connotations of drug use. This is a topic discussed in the song we used for the music video and a staple in the rap genre
Another edit we did was adding a knife to the table. We got a knife off the internet and use the rubber tool to create the effect that the knife was going into the table. we also got a crack off the internet to further create the illusion. The reason for doing this is that we wanted to create a representation of our artist for the audience. The knife was a key part in creating this.
In the Real media text we looked at we saw that the name of the album was featured. So we decided to add the name of the album and the artist's name on the front cover. Behind the artist's name and the name of the album we added a scribble using the paint brush tool. We did this to make the writing stand out more and to create the look of graffiti. we got the font for the writing off the website DaFont.com. We chose that specific Font as we thought it would be the type of writing seen on Graffiti. This fit into the urban aesthetic new were going for.
Lastly we added a grain over the entire cover. We did this because it fit in with in the representation of drug use. Drug use is a staple in the Hip Hop genre so we wanted the audience to view the album cover through the eyes of someone who does recreational drugs
For the disk we decided to go against making it black and instead using an image of the artist. We also found out that most disks for Hip Hop music videos featured the name of the album and the Artist so we made sure to include this on ours. Below I will be showing the progression of the CD Cover.
In this step we added the the name of the artist at the top of the disk using the same font as the album cover for continuity.
At this step we added the name of the Album below the name.
We then added a small piece of the text at the bottom talking about the copyright of the disk. We did this so that the disk had a more professional look.
Decisions Made Post-Production
The decisions we made post production were mainly to do with how we wanted to represent our artist. On the front cover we decided to add a knife in the table to give off the connotations of gang activity. We continued to have our main color theme as red because it was a vibrant color that made our artist stand out and also had deeper meanings to gang activity. The initial shot of the front cover was at a dutch angle. We decided to do this to show the audience that our artist wasn't on the straight and narrow. It also presents the idea of drug use as from the camera's point of view it can't see straight a side effect of drug use. These decisions were influenced by our theories of media language because the way we have used angles and props have created meaning about our artist. We also used theories of representation. By having shots that mirrored real life we presented josh in a way that makes the audience believe it reflects real life.
Final Task
Outcomes
The overall process of the creation of the album cover was again a very smooth one. We were able to get the shots we wanted. we were also able to add the effects that represented the artist in the way we intended to. We were able to stay ahead of schedule and complete this on time.
What did I learn
Throughout the process of creating this album cover there was a lot of things I had to learn. One being how to use the Adobe Photoshop software. For us to make a album cover of high quality our skills on premier pro had to be proficient. I also had to learn how to use a cannon camera in order to take good pictures of our artist.
Am I happy with the final product
Overall I am very happy with the final product we were able to obtain some high quality pictures that of our main artist. we were able to edit the picture to represent our artist in the way we intended to as a rich drug abusing rapper. we did this by having him wear expensive trendy clothes and set the scene in a expensive house. in the shot our artist sits on expensive furniture. this presents the idea of wealthiness. we added hallucinogenic colours to give the vibe of drug abuse.
What went well
What went well during the production of our album cover was that we managed to stay ahead of schedule. We got all the shots we needed and edited it in time. The shots we managed to get were of high quality.
What challenged me
What really challenged me in the production of the album cover was getting to know how to use Photoshop. Photoshop was instrumental in making a good album cover so struggling to use it held us back for a little while. in Time I became better and the production became smoother
Evaluation Questions
2.How effective is the combination of your main product and your ancillary products?
4.Evaluation question 4 How did we use media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?
Link to evaluation question 4
Last year in my AS studies I made a radio news bulletin. Throughout the production of this I needed to work effectively in a group and learn to edit on software like audacity and premier pro for my evaluation. This differs extremely from what I'll be doing this year. This year I will be making a music video. This means instead of working with sound I'll be working with video. I will still be working in a group so the teamwork skills I learnt from participating in a group will transpire to this year. However I will need to learn how to edit on new software such as Adobe after effects. The coursework will also require my group and I to use a camera. So I will need to learn specialist language like close-up mid-shot or establishing shot
History Of Music Videos
the first music video to aired on MTV was 'video killed the radio star' by the buggles in 1981. Michael Jacksons 'Thriller' was considered the first narrative based music video
Types of music videos
There are two types of music videos these are:
Narrative based- the main focus of the video is on the storyline. the music video is filmed like a short film and the song replaces the dialogue and explains what's going on. An example of this would be 'Im not the only one' by sam smith
Performance based- This is where the main focus of the video is on the performance of the artist. the focus is on the delivery of the song by the artist. An example of this would be 'Bad and boujee' by the migos
Understanding Genre
Andrew Goodwin 6 Conventions
1. Genre conventions/iconography
These are the traits that relate to specific music genres. An example of this would be in the rap genre most of the music videos contain beautiful models surrounding the artist and acting provocatively. Another trait is the artist would be dressed in expensive clothes or in or around a expensive car. An example of this in a music video would be 'call me-NAV'. The video features him and his friend in a strip club while a lot of beautiful women dance around him and on him. in another scene he's standing in front of a expensive car. |
| NAV dancing with strippers |
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| Nav in front of expensive car |
2. Relationship between lyrics and visuals
Another convention is that theres a link between the visuals and the lyrics. For the most part what we see on screen matches what the artist is saying. An example of this is in the music video 'New freezer-rich the kid'. in the video Rich the kid says 'pull up drop top with a eater'. On screen we seen a car with a drop top roof closing. Another example from the same video is Rich the kid says 'spend a grip on my necklace' while in the video he grips on his necklace
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| drop top car |
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| Rich the kid gripping on his necklace |
6. Relationship between music and visuals
Andrew Goodwin believes that the visuals should comply with the rhythm and the beat of the music creating visuals that match the music. This means that with every synchronised beat there is a transitional shot. in the music video 'awful things-lil peep'. Throughout the music video the music is slower and the beat slower. so what we see is longer shot with less cuts. but 1:08 mins into the music video the song picks ups. As the beat comes in more aggressively the camera cuts more and there is an increase in visual effects.
4. Star Representation
This is the star of the music video is made prominent to be more appealing to audiences around the world due to their star power. This is done to increase sales and popularity. This can come through the use of movements and appearances. This convention can be seen in the music video 'just hold on we're going home-Drake' In the video we prominently see drake as he is the main protagonist of the narrative. we also get to see another star asap Rocky as a side character. This was all done to increase the market value of the video
5. Voyeurism
This convention is interpreted as watching people in a video watching other attractive people. The artist may also look dead on at the camera braking the 4th wall. an example of this is in big sense blessings-Big Sean. in multiple scenes we see him look directly at the camera breaking the 4th wall of the video.
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| Big Sean looking at the camera |
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| Big Sean looking at the camera |
Intertextuality, Pastiche and Parody
This is the convention where a music video makes a light reference or homage to another music video, films or television. An example of this would be in the music video California love-tupac. This music video is based on the film series mad max which is clearly evident by the post-apocalyptic setting.
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| Similar imagery to the movie mad max |
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| Imitation of the thunder dome from Mad Max |
Narrative (Gerard Genette's theory)
Gerard genette's theory states that there are 3 levels of narrative that can apply to any form of media. these form the narrative story.The first level of narration is form. This is the type of narrative being displayed E.G. a conversation, joke or poem
The second level of narration is order of events. This is the sequence in which the narrative unfolds and the reason why. An example of this would be a film starting in media res but the story begins in the middle therefore creating the narrative.
The third and final level of narration is narrating. This is the way in which the story is told. this what creates the narrative. Examples of this would be narrators or camera angles.
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| Gerard Genette |
Understanding Audience
hypodermic needle theory
the hypodermic needle theory is a model suggesting that intended message from media companies is received and wholly accepted by the receiver. this model was originally rooted in 1930s and was considered obsolete until recently. it is called the hypodermic needly theory to symbolise direct and planned infusion of message into an audience member.
Active/Passive Audiences
It was considered that before the age of the internet people were more likely to be a passive audience. passive refers to audience members that just observe the media and doesn't actively respond to it. however after the invention of social media it means that audience can be more active about the media they consume. Active means that media audiences don't just receive information but get actively involved in it.
Decoding Theory
According to Stuart Hall's theory of encoding and decoding he states that audiences receive messages from encoders that they are able to then decode. Encoders are the initial message sent from the producer. Decoding is how the audience interpret this message.
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| picture of the Decoding Theory |
Understanding Representation
Henry Widdowson is a professor in applied linguistics. He says that media texts can either be be representational or referential. According to Henry representation is an "alternative reality in parallel to the real world". The representational side is when media is perceived in a way that is simplistic, whereas the referential is when its an exact showing of the real world and people. |
| example the representational side of media |
An example of the representational as it is more staged and most likely wouldn't be seen in real life. People don't normally blow money around and carry their money in trucks. The artist is trying to represent a lavish lifestyle.
The Male and Female Gaze
The Male Gaze- refers to the act of depicting the world and women in media from a masculine and heterosexual point of view. Also presenting women as objects of male pleasure. The term male gaze comes form the feminist Laura Mulvy. |
| Example of Male Gaze |
The female Gaze- A film theoretical term representing the gaze of the female viewer. its a response to Laura Mulvey's 'Male Gaze'.
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| Example of the Female Gaze |
Understanding Media Language
Media language is the way in which a media text is constructed to have a meaning. These can be things like Mise-en-scene and using lighting to create different meanings. Factors that contribute to this are:Type of shot and angle- focusing on the vast amount of camera angles and types of shots used
lighting- whether natural or artificial
Diegetic and non-diegetic sound- sounds that are actual happening in recording or sound added in post production
Props- the different items on set
Costume- the clothing warn by interviewees/actors
Case study
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| Hype Williams |
Auteur Theory
The auteur theory which is mainly derived from the concept of camera pen, holds that the director is the main author as he oversee's all audio and visual elements of the motion picture. this is because it is believed that visual elements like camera placement, lighting and scene length are more important in conveying the message of the film rather than the plotPrimary Research
Primary Research is research that is collected by the researcher themselves. An example of this would be the research we did into our target audience. In order for our Music video to apply to our target audience we interviewed hip hop/rap aficionado. I did this to get an idea of what should be in our music video.
How this was used in terms of our music video
How this was used in terms of our music video
One way in which primary Research was done for our music was:
Interview- we interviewed four people ( two women and two men) about their experiences with hip hop videos. This was done in order to get an idea of what we should incorporate into our own video. the type of data this gave us is qualitative data. This is data that is not in a numerical form.
Findings- What we found out from this was that most people like to see Rappers flaunt their wealth and and dance in interesting places. We also found that our target audience was against the objectification of women in music videos. This will have a lot of influence on whether we include female models in our video
Test screening- another way in which we did research for our Music video was making a test video and showing it to members of our target audience.we did this to get feedback and figure out what works well and what does not. This allowed us to see what we need to include in our real music video and what shouldn't be put in.
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| Pictures of the filming process for Test Screening |
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| Pictures of the filming process for Test Screening |
Secondary research
Secondary Research is when the researches summarises or synthesises existing research. In contrast to Primary Research which involves the generation of data, Secondary uses primary data as the source of data for analysis.
Search engines
A key tool for researching about music videos is search engines but I wanted to use one that didn't base its suggestions on previous searches and was also a trustworthy source of information
I decided to use duckduckgo because although google is the most commonly used search engine with its 1.7 billion users. I wanted a search engine that didn't use my 'cookies' and 'filter bubble' to track my searches. so instead I like to use duckduckgo as they emphasise the fact that they don't use cookies to track searches. This is important to me as it can affect the results that I get so limits the validity of the research I do.
adobe spark
To help with the transition from the audio work of As to the visual work of the A2 course I practiced mixing audio with visuals on an app called Adobe spark. I did my adobe spark on the evolution of rap as I am very passionate about the genre and how it changes over different periods of time.
Software we're going to use
Adobe premier pro
One piece of software we had to use to create our music video was Adobe Premier Pro. Adobe Premier Pro is a timeline based video editing app developed by Adobe systems. This app is being used to edit my music video. In order to create a coherent music video I must become skilled in using Premier Pro.
Adobe After Effects
Another piece of software we had to use in order to create our music video was Adobe After Effects. Adobe After Effects is a digital visual effects, motion graphics and composition application developed by adobe systems. It is used in the post production process of film making and television production. Just like with Adobe premier pro in order to create a high quality entertaining music video I must become familiar with using Adobe after Effects.Planning
In order to make the filming of our music video easier we decided to make a schedule. On this schedule it stated what we had to do and when we had to do it by. Another reason for doing this was to make sure we met the deadlines of the course. This was a good decision because it helped us to organize our time so we didn't neglect other tasks that needed to be completed. The only issue we had was that at the start we weren't realistic of how quick edit the footage we got. To resolve this we gave ourselves more time to edit.
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| screenshot of chats between me and mark |
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| screenshot of chats between me and mark |
Construction
Filming
Editing
Examples of Editing
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| Example of editing the duration of clips |
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| example of editing using RGB curves |
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| Before adding effect |
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| After adding the effect |
Another bit of editing we did was add special effects to our music video. We did this by getting an effect off youtube and placing it onto our video. The effect we had was a light coming down the side of the screen. When we were doing research into real media texts we found that a lot of hip hop music videos had flashy effects. We did this to have a contrast in shots and so our project would be recognised more in the genre.
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| Example of Spherical Blur |
Another special effect we added was the spherical blur. This was a transition edit to help us get to another scene. when Researching other media texts we found that a staple of hip hop performance based music video was there creative use of transitions to keep the video entertaining. in order for our project to be recognized within the genre we made sure to us interesting transitions wherever we could
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| Example of the cutting we did |
Decisions made post-production
We had to make many decisions in the post-production to make a good Music video. Some decisions we made was influenced by previous theory we researched into. An example of this would be Andrew Goodwins 6 Conventions of music videos. We made sure our video included voyeurism so there was a substantial amount of shots of the main artist staring down the camera at the audience. we also had to make sure that there was a relationship between the music and visuals. We did this by adding more cuts in the video when the music was more aggressive and high tempo. But in the slower parts of the song we added longer shots. Another convention Andrew Goodwin talks about is the visuals matching the lyrics. This can be seen in our video when the artist says shooting at these ops (opposition) on the screen we see the artist playing a shooting game and he kills an enemy on the game with the gun. This goes hand and hand with the visuals.
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| Example of Voyeurism |
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| Example of Visuals matching Lyrics |
Draft 1
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| screenshot of Audience Feedback |
One of the criticisms we got was that the lip synching was off. In order to fix this we added text that would shoot across the screen in order to distract the audience from the artists mouth. We also decided to add more effects to make it a bit more engaging for our audience.
Final Task
This is the final completed version of our music video. We took the feedback we got on the first draft and made changes accordingly.
Outcomes
The overall process of making this music video was relatively smooth. At times it was hard to keep up with the schedule due to equipment failure or the artist not being able to make it to the shoot. Researching into our audience before filming made the job much easier. We knew what shots we needed to include and how we wanted the whole thing to look. The hardest part of creating this project was the editing. In order for our music video to be entertaining we had to add a lot of special effects and this was very time consuming. Sticking to the schedule was harder than we anticipated.
What I learned
The creation of this whole project was a learning experience. We had to learn how to use Adobe Premier Pro and Adobe After Effects to a high standard in order to create a good music video. I also had to develop on my ability to research from As to make sure all angles were covered when doing my A2 research. In order to create a high quality music video I had to learn how to use a camera and how to create the angles I wanted.
The Final Product
Overall I am very happy with the final product. We managed to get all the shots we wanted in all the locations we planned to shoot at. In the end I produced a piece of work that would be recognized in the genre I wanted it to be and in a quality that represents the hard work I put in.
What went well and what challenged you
What went well during the production of our music video was we were able to get all the shots we wanted. An example would be the scene of the game of fortnite. I wanted a shot of our artist getting a kill on fortnite so we had a some visuals that. matched the lyrics. We also managed to add some cool effects that fit in with music video. A part that challenged us was adding in good transitions. A key part of Hip Hop music videos was using interesting transitions. Finding places where we could add this in was very challenging because alto of transitions we used were standard cut aways. after careful analysis of the video we found some good places to add special effect transitions. Another part of filming that challenged us was the lip synching. we found it hard to synch up what the artist was saying in the video to the music this created a lagging effect when watching it. in order to fix this we decided to add visuals to distract from the mouth.
Ancillary Task 1(Website)
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| screenshot from The Weeknd's album |
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| Screenshot from G-EAZY's album |
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| Screenshot from Lil Uzi Vert's website |
What we found was that we had to:
- make it look entertaining
- include a color theme and logo
- Add tour dates
- include the musicians content
- add a biography
- make sure the name of the artist is presented bodly
Audience
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| Picture of Cultivation Theory |
Cultivation Theory
This a theory that tries to explain the long-term effects of tv and mass media on our social reality. it states that the higher the exposure to messages from social media the more likely we are to believe the social reality portrayed. an example of this would be the "mean world syndrome". This is the idea that violent content shown by the media has made the world sound more dangerous that it actually is. A real life example of this would be shows like CSI and NCSI making people feel like there's always serial killers and rapists around every corner. Therefore how we present our Artist on the website is important. According to this theory if we present our artist in the wrong way it could lead to him and the genre being stereotyped in way we don't want.
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| Picture of Cultivation Theory |
Media Language
Media language is how media texts create meaning. We need to know about this because when creating the website we will be using pictures and videos to tell the audience about our artist. Factors that will effect how our Artist is portrayed are:
Props- the type of items we have on set can have deeper connotations. For example a big stack of money can present our artist as a drug dealer
Costume- How our artist is dressed can convey different ideas to our audience. For example Designer clothes conveys wealth or youth whereas balaclavas could convey gang activity.
Colour Scheme- The main colour theme of our website can display diferent emotions. Red has the deeper meaning of aggression whereas yellow would have the meaning happiness. Red also can have relations of gang activity.
Evidence of planning
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| screenshot of a conversation between me and mark |
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| Schedule |
To aid in the construction of the website I created a schedule. This helped us to stay ahead of deadlines and keep focused on the task at hand.
wix.com logo
Construction of website
In order to make the website we had to use another website called wix.com. This is a cloud based web development platform. It allows users to create HTLM5 websites and mobile sites through the use of of online drag and drop tools. It took a while to get used to using this website but it was relatively easy to use 
During our research we found convention of hip hop websites so in order for our website to be recognised within the genre we had to include these conventions in our website.
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| Screen shot of our website |
We included a page for tours. this is so our audience knows when we're performing live. We saw these in all of the websites we looked at
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| screenshot of website |
We also included a section where fans could buy our artist's music. this was another convention present in the Hip Hop websites we looked at.
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| screenshot of website |
Another section we included was a videos section. this was done to showcase all the videos our main artist had been in.
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| screenshot of website |
This section was about the biography of our artist. this is done so fans can relate with the artist and know their history. Another convention we needed to add in our website
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| screenshot of website |
what went well
What went well during the production of the website were we able to implement colour to create the tone we wanted for the website. We were also able to combine the images we took and the text on the website to create engaging web pages. For this part of the production we were also able to stay ahead of schedule which meant we didn't subtract from other parts of the Course
What challenged me
What challenge me in the production of the website was taking and finding images that fit in to the way we tried to represent our artist. we also weren't able to change the url of the website due to the fact that it cost money.
Finished websitehttps://markjmurphy99.wixsite.com/mysite
Outcomes
The overall process of making this website was a smooth one. we were able to create a website that wasn't only visually engaging but represented our artist in the way we set out to. The hardest part was gathering the photos for the website as some had to be edited in photoshop which made it harder to keep to the schedule.
What I learned
Just like the main task the production of the website was a learning curve for me. I had to learn how to use wix.com to an extent where I could produce a high level website. I also had to learn to use a camera for taking photos. The more shoots we did the more I understood how angles and lighting can effect the representation of the video.
Am I happy with final product
Overall I am very happy with the website as a final product. As a group we succeeded in keeping the main colour theme as red which provided a continuity between our website and Music video. we were also able to present our Artist as someone our target audience would be interested in. In my opinion the website looks very engaging and this what we set out to do.
Ancillary Task 2(Digipack)
The second ancillary task consisted of creating a digipack. In order for me to do this to a high enough level I decided to look into other album covers/Digi packs.
Research into real media texts
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| Damn Disk |
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| Damn album cover and back cover |
Above is the album cover and back cover for the album Damn by Kendrick Lamar. As we can see it features the artist as the main focus of cover. it also boldly features the name of the album on the front as well. On the back cover it also features an image of the artist and the track list. The name of the album is also present on the back. there also appears to be a filter put on the front cover to provide a more grainy effect. The disk for this album has its name on it.
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| Beauty Behind the madness Back Cover |
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| Beauty Behind the madness Album cover |
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| Beauty Behind the madness Disk |
On the front cover of this blog we see a image of the artist and its the main focus of the album cover. An effect has been added to it to make it more engaging. The name of the album and the artist is featured on the cover. On the back cover see a track list in a different colour to the front. The disk is black and features the name of the album and artist
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| Take Care Album Cover |
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| Take Care Back Cover |
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| Take Care Disk |
On the front cover of the Album Take care we see the Artist Drake as the main focus of the shot. An effect was added over the front and the name of the album is clearly visible. On the back cover we the track list. This disk is also black and features the name of the album and artist.
- An image of the artist on the main cover
- Add some type of effect to make the cover more engaging
- Feature the name of the album on the front cover
- Add the track list on the back cover
- Put the name of album and artist on disk
Media Language
Props- the type of items we have on set can have deeper connotations. For example a a Knife can have connotations go gang activity
Costume- How our artist is dressed can convey different ideas to our audience. For example Designer clothes conveys wealth or youth whereas balaclavas could convey gang activity.
Colour Scheme- The main colour theme of our website can display diferent emotions. Red has the deeper meaning of aggression whereas yellow would have the meaning happiness. Red also can have relations of gang activity.
Construction of Album Cover
In order to create an album cover we had to use Adobe Photoshop. Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed by Adobe systems for Mac and windows. it can edit and compose raster images in multiple layers. In
order for us to create a album cover of high quality we had to become proficient in using it.
Editing
Examples of editing
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| Original picture |
As we saw in a lot of Album covers there were effects on the cover. So we decided to add our own effects to the cover of our album. one effect we added was a RGB effect on the smoke. This gave the cover a hallucinogenic look. This was what we were going for as we wanted to give off the connotations of drug use. This is a topic discussed in the song we used for the music video and a staple in the rap genre
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| example of editing on photo |
In the Real media text we looked at we saw that the name of the album was featured. So we decided to add the name of the album and the artist's name on the front cover. Behind the artist's name and the name of the album we added a scribble using the paint brush tool. We did this to make the writing stand out more and to create the look of graffiti. we got the font for the writing off the website DaFont.com. We chose that specific Font as we thought it would be the type of writing seen on Graffiti. This fit into the urban aesthetic new were going for.
Lastly we added a grain over the entire cover. We did this because it fit in with in the representation of drug use. Drug use is a staple in the Hip Hop genre so we wanted the audience to view the album cover through the eyes of someone who does recreational drugs
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| Example of editing |
For the disk we decided to go against making it black and instead using an image of the artist. We also found out that most disks for Hip Hop music videos featured the name of the album and the Artist so we made sure to include this on ours. Below I will be showing the progression of the CD Cover.
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| Example of editing |
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| Example of Editing |
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| Example of Editing |
Decisions Made Post-Production
The decisions we made post production were mainly to do with how we wanted to represent our artist. On the front cover we decided to add a knife in the table to give off the connotations of gang activity. We continued to have our main color theme as red because it was a vibrant color that made our artist stand out and also had deeper meanings to gang activity. The initial shot of the front cover was at a dutch angle. We decided to do this to show the audience that our artist wasn't on the straight and narrow. It also presents the idea of drug use as from the camera's point of view it can't see straight a side effect of drug use. These decisions were influenced by our theories of media language because the way we have used angles and props have created meaning about our artist. We also used theories of representation. By having shots that mirrored real life we presented josh in a way that makes the audience believe it reflects real life.
Final Task
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| Front Cover |
| Back cover |
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| Disk |
The overall process of the creation of the album cover was again a very smooth one. We were able to get the shots we wanted. we were also able to add the effects that represented the artist in the way we intended to. We were able to stay ahead of schedule and complete this on time.
What did I learn
Throughout the process of creating this album cover there was a lot of things I had to learn. One being how to use the Adobe Photoshop software. For us to make a album cover of high quality our skills on premier pro had to be proficient. I also had to learn how to use a cannon camera in order to take good pictures of our artist.
Am I happy with the final product
Overall I am very happy with the final product we were able to obtain some high quality pictures that of our main artist. we were able to edit the picture to represent our artist in the way we intended to as a rich drug abusing rapper. we did this by having him wear expensive trendy clothes and set the scene in a expensive house. in the shot our artist sits on expensive furniture. this presents the idea of wealthiness. we added hallucinogenic colours to give the vibe of drug abuse.
What went well
What went well during the production of our album cover was that we managed to stay ahead of schedule. We got all the shots we needed and edited it in time. The shots we managed to get were of high quality.
What challenged me
What really challenged me in the production of the album cover was getting to know how to use Photoshop. Photoshop was instrumental in making a good album cover so struggling to use it held us back for a little while. in Time I became better and the production became smoother
Evaluation Questions
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
2.How effective is the combination of your main product and your ancillary products?
3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?
4.Evaluation question 4 How did we use media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?
Link to evaluation question 4
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