Here are two CD covers I designed to used for my digi pack, I like the fact that they are bold and stand out. The effects that I have added to them include, changing the contrast and lighting and editing the colours to black and white, taking out any tone other than these two colours. This simplifies the image and adds an edgy twist to the pictures. However I do not feel they are clear enough to use and may distract from the band identity.

Britney Spears remake preliminary task evaluation

Whilst completing this task I have learnt many things that will help me when making my final music video. One of the things I found very challenging would be matching the visuals to the music to make the lip syncing accurate. It is very time consuming and a lot of takes have to be shot in order to get the timing spot on.  One of the thing I enjoyed the most would be filming and directing, it was challenging trying to get the exact camera angles and movements however I learnt a lot from doing it.

Camera work, I have learnt that I should be using a tripod in more of my shots, this will give a steady shot, making the footage a lot more professional. This is a very simple method to make the footage a lot better. Having said this hand held shots can look effective when used in the right context and not too often.

Setting up shots, I think one of the key things to get right is the lighting as it can have a dramatic effect when setting a scene, we struggled to get this right in our preliminary task as we were in school with very little equipment and a short time in which to complete the task. Costume and props should be though about carefully as they play a key role in explaining the story and giving messages about the people in the scene.

Editing, this took longer than we planned for, it is a slow process if it is to be accurate. For my final product I will allow more time to complete this. From editing the Britney spears takes I have learnt of a lot more effects that can be put over the top of the video, for example some of the takes we shot were too dark to use but we were able to change the effects on the computer to make them a lot brighter. I have also discovered more cuts that can be used between shots that like fades in and out, cross cutting.

Working in a group, I would prefer to work on my own for this task, I have learnt it is hard to get all members of the group available at the same time and decision making can be harder due to varied opinions. I will be able to make decisions without having to check with other people first, this will save time.

Time management, I will need to plan carefully, making sure all people in the video will be available at the same time. I will also allow more time for editing the final piece.

Relationship between music and visuals, for a professional finish I would like to change the visuals on the beat every few seconds. However this may change depending on the genre of the song. Changing the visuals constantly is more fitting for an upbeat tempo, for a slower song I would have to consider adding effects to make the footage more exciting as it may not be fitting to constantly change the visuals.

The most important thing that I have learnt about doing this task would be to plan out my time more carefully, making sure I have time and recourses to complete each stage efficiently.

Preliminary Task, Britney Spears, Baby one more time remake

For our preliminary task we had to remake the Britney Spears, baby one more time video. For this task we were in groups of 3 and were given approximately 25secons of footage to recreate. My group had the first 23 seconds of the video, as show above. We had to watch the video very carefully and make a note of every transaction and effect used in the real footage. After filming between 3-6 takes of each shot, we then edited the footage on the apple macs, adding in effects where needed. Finally when all the footage matched the real video we downloaded the song and put it over the top of our material.

Andrew Goodwin[1]

Cultural positioning

When the audience decodes the text in a specific way, this can be affected by factors such as, gender, social groups or individual experience.

An example of this is would be in Willow Smiths video, twenty first centaury girl, different viewers may interoperate this in different ways, for example younger teenagers would see her as an inspiration and a fashion icon, she has a lot of friends and nice belongings such as cars, the setting is very modern and may inspire young girls to wan this type of lifestyle. This would be decoded very differently by a teenage boy, all characters in this video are female, and is aimed a lot more at girls. For example Willow Smith had a t-shirt on reading ‘boys need training’ the women are seen as dominant in this video.

Audience theory – Linear models

Effects/ hypodermic syringe theory

This theory was developed in the 1920’s, it is where the audience is effectively ‘injected a message by the media, they will agree/ believe this message. This is an example of a passive audience.

Two step flow theory

Developed in the 1940’s,
Sender ---- Message ---- Receiver
Ideas travel from the mass media – to opinion leaders – to passive individuals in society.

Uses and gratifications theory

This theory was developed in the 1960’s and states that the audience uses the media to do four things,
-diversion
-personal relationships
-Personal identity
-surveillance
This is a slightly more modern theory but still considered out of date, however it does involves an interactive audience.

All of the above theory’s are considered to be out of date in the modern society as consumers are a lot more opinionated than first thought and are likely to voice their opinions, new theory’s are a lot more complex as theorists look more deeply into this.

Performance, narrative and conceptual music videos

Music videos are organised into three categories:
Performance - Focuses on the artist/ group performing the track
Narrative - tells a story, normally linked with the lyrics
Conceptual – An abstract approach to a video that doesn’t have a straightforward narrative

	Video 1	Video 2	Video 3
Artist and track title	The doves, there goes the fear	Party Rock anthem, LMFAO	The kooks, you don’t love me
Which of these theory’s are used?	Conceptual, I can tell this is used as the video is very unusual and edgy. I don’t think that it necessarily makes sense the whole way through.	Narrative, I know this as the video follows the main characters, in a scenario in the video.	Performance, this is a performance video as the band is shown singing and playing on the stage.
Why was this style chosen for this track and how does it promote the artist?	It shows that the band is edgy and a little bit different from what’s already there. They are trying to break the mould and show something new.	This is chosen as is it a funky modern setting and dance, that fits with the song well.	It is showing off the bands talent, with them playing instruments in the video.
How does this style enable the audience to engage with the song?	I think that it is encouraging the audience to interact with the video more and look for hidden meanings.	This video makes the audience want to get up and dance with it. It is very lively and energetic. It is on the streets and very modern so relating to the younger generation.	This video shows a concert with bright flashing lighting and loud music like a rave, this will encourage fans to want to go to their concerts.

On this blog I will include all the research and final products of my A2 course. The final products will include a digi pack cover and a music video. I will do research into existing music videos and media theorists work.