Past student example- U2 Vertigo

Genre- Rock
Video- Performance- shows the band performing in front of a plain backdrop

Goodwin's 7
Characteristics- Performance aspect, use of instruments and costume similar to the actual band
Close ups of the band demanded by the label
Artist iconography- use of colour manipulation and "Bono" style glasses
                                  Camerawork-
Close up shots of the lead singer and band to promote them.
Extreme close ups of the singers mouth and also of the guitar in the solo and riff.
Mid shots showing what the band are wearing while performing

Editing-
Key framing at "swaying to the music" showing the band moving across the screen
Colour manipulation throughout the whole video showing the posterise effect through the whole video

Mise en Scene-
Location- Plain wall in a room
Props- instruments for the band and microphone for the lead singer
Costume- black t-shirts with rock logos on them and sunglasses for the lead singer (similar to Bono's glasses)

Criticisms- The lyrics are slightly out of sync with the on screen miming.

Analysis: Mumford & Sons Hopeless Wanderer

Analysis: Fountains of Wayne Stacy's Mom

Date for filming

After many days stirring over my calendar of when I can film the video and also checking with the location of filming. I can now say that I will be filming at the farm location on Friday 4th of December. This gives me a couple of weeks where the light it will be getting darker at night quicker and allows me to film all of the barn scenes in one night of filming. The barn is indoors and has a small light. I am providing other lights to illuminate the scene correctly.
This has been brilliant for me as, I can now film for definite at the first choice location.

Weekly Update 6

Ok so this update is obviously longer than a weeks work, but there's been little point in updating every week for the past week or two.

Since the last update I have done a variety of tasks...

I have completed the analysis of my audience questionnaire and posted the results in an earlier blog post. This analysis includes screenshots of the questions and graphs and the results have allowed me to be positive that my final idea will be well received by my target audience.

I have also started looking at the ancillary tasks that coincide with the music video. These include a digi-pak, website and launch poster for the video and song.

Subsequently I have therefore extensively researched 3 examples of each ancillary task. I looked at 3 digi-paks, 3websites and 3 posters/magazine advertisements.

Also this week, I had to alter my idea for the music video due to important commitments (work) and therefore will have very little time to film. My full idea and reasons for altering the original idea are explained in an earlier blog post

That's all for this update :)

Stay classy

Change of video idea

I have just started production of the final music video, however i have had to change some of my original ideas. Due to other commitments including Cabaret rehearsals and working on both Saturday and Sunday. I will have to film, when i have some free time which therefore means there will not be a strict filming schedule. So external actors may not be able to film when i am available to film.

Because of this I have had to alter my idea slightly to accommodate this fact. The start of the video will be shot at the beach and show the couple hand in hand, then show them skimming stones as planned. They will then be shown sitting near the natural stone windbreak and he will be writing a song about her (Hopeless Wanderer). The Beach scenes will have a sepia tint like a vintage photo.

The Pre chorus which originally showed a transition into the barn, will now show the actor/ musician in the barn looking at an old photo. The photo will be a split screen edit of a clip from the beach scene. He will continue to write the song with the girl clearly absent from his side. Where is the girl?

The chorus will be the same as before with him breaking down and going mental on guitar. The second verse will be the same as before but with the absence of the girl. He will stop at some point to write some more of the song.

The second part of the second verse will be the same with him walking with the guitar and practising random chords as he walks, to use in the song.

The second pre chorus will show a transition form the farm to the auditorium. This may be done using a split screen technique similar to the beach to farm transition.

The final chorus will be the same however at the end of the song as he walks out down the alley of trees. The opacity will be altered to show him walking alone and then the girl will appear holding his hand like a ghostly figure. This telling the audience that she has either left him or tragically died and he completed the song that he started with her (hopeless wanderer- at the start of the video) in honour of her memory as they are no longer together.

The video therefore is more of a narrative video than the original concept with a loose narrative.
One continuity error I may not be able to avoid is the use of an electric guitar in the video rather than an acoustic guitar , purely because my electric has a strap on it and I do not have an acoustic guitar.

Ancillary Task Magazine Advert research

Marina & The Diamonds
The magazine advert looks highly professional.  it is very eye-catching to the reader getting their full attention. The images are all stills from the video showing the lead singer in her bedroom at home. The colour scheme suits the genre and the target audience of the song. Nothing on the poster is central and at a straight angle except for the iTunes logo that shows the reader where they can purchase the song. Making the logo stand out draws the reader to it. the artwork for the front cover of the album is also shown and uses the same colour scheme as the whole advert. The plain black background is effective due to the mosaic of images in the foreground and the quote from an NME review allows the reader to see what other professional organisations thought of it and also promotes NME magazine. The one thing that could be improved is the more availability of where the single can be purchased (HMV etc)


Viva Brother
The advert is more of a billboard poster that has been designed so that it can be used in a magazine also. The main image shows the band in an iconic scene from the video with the lead singer in the middle of the shot. In the top corners there are an image of the album front cover and also an image of the record label that the band are signed to. The main text shows the bands name. the main difference is that this is an advertisement for the album release party for the fans. This is why the ad looks more like a gig poster- this is however the style of the genre. At the bottom of the page are logos of the labels and partners of the band (MTV, NME and EMI records). there is a time and date for the release party and a web address to but tickets for the party. The ad also has the logo of the location (relentless garage) at the top of the page centred. Like the above example the band have used a black background so that the readers attention is not taken away from the images and information in the foreground. the band have also used the same colour scheme as their website.

Andrew Hone
The advert is very simplistic and yet highly effective. The image is also the background. The image used is the image on the front cover of the album that also shows a panoramic scene when the cover is unfolded. The font used is the same font as the album cover and the colour scheme is very natural but does not blend and get lost with the countryside background. The bottom of the advert shows the production logo, record labels, a small copyright notice and also where the album is available from. The overall design i feel would only be eye-catching and of interest to the select target audience of the genre. Also there could be more logos of labels and also places of availability such as iTunes and HMV.

Ancillary Task Website research

Mumford & Sons
 The homepage shows the bands name and logo, there is a welcome message and also the completed music video. This is very simple but highly effective. The only negative point is that the comments box should be on  contacts page not the home page.

The News page on the site shows a couple of stills from the video. There is also a scroll bar that shows dated posts of production and the events of the band. This looks very similar to a professional bands website. The black and white colour scheme links to the final video due to the stage setting with one spotlight. this making the whole stage black except for the one white spotlight where the artist sits.

The albums page shows a couple of different video stills and gives little information on the the album. there are a few spelling mistakes making the page look fairly unprofessional. The black and white is carried on through the whole website.

The store page shows a small range of merchandise that can be brought by fans. The products show the band logos and motifs. The layout does not look as professional as the other pages and certainly does not look like the official bands page.

The final page is a photos page showing many images of the artist rehearsing and also singing while the video was being shot. This is the most professional page of the website.

Overall the website is ok, however i would've used a better more unique font solely for the band rather than a conventional normal font. I would also have used a different colour rather than black and white, i would've used a parchment folk brown colour. This would relate to the genre more.



Bullet For My Valentine

The homepage shows the bands video as the centre piece. The Digi pack is also advertised. The bands logo is watermarked at the top of the page and there is a faded guitar and drum backdrop. The Sony records logo is in the bottom corner. Also there is a tour dates and small band bio in the bottom left corner.

The News page shows an image of the band posing with their instruments on the runway of the video shoot location. There is a small paragraph of information telling of a new tour coming up. There is also a second small paragraph making the reader aware of the new video and also the accompanying Digi pack. There is also a second image from the video of the initials BFMV spelt out in flames on the ground.

The Media page shows a music player where you can play the song that they made the video for. There is also another link to their video and also a second video link that does not work but shows coming soon. Implying, like an actual band they have another video in the pipeline.

The band photos page shows individual photos form filming the video and also the band posing for individual photos. These photos are similar to band wallpapers and can be viewed in a slideshow.


The final page is a merch/ merchandise page. there is three pieces of merchandise that can be brought by fans. A tshirt with the album cover on it, a tshirt with the bullet for my valentine logo on it and a set of guitar picks with the bullet for my valentine logo on it. I think that they could've added a couple more pieces of merchandise such as posters or hoodies etc.

Overall, the website is very professional and uses the correct fonts and images for the genre of the band and the song. their are no grammar or spelling mistakes. The one criticism would be the fact there are no links to facebook, twitter or other social media sites.





Viva Brother

 The homepage shows a main image of the band in front of a brick wall as the background. this image is one of the main images in the video. In the right hand corner of page, the actual video plays automatically and it is up to the viewer to stop it rather than the viewer having to start it and less people watching it. There is also a pop up box at the bottom of the page that shows quotes from news reviews of the album/video. The pop up box also shows the closest up coming tour date and venue and a news feature where the latest piece of band news shows at the bottom of the age.

The second page is titled Releases and shows a main image of the full album that the song in the video is from. There is information on the video telling of the hit singles that are on the album. Below this are four individual covers of the main singles on the above album.  Next to the covers are the release dates of the singles.

the third page called Video shows four video links. The first is to the Alevel video for still here. The other three links are youtube links to the official videos by the actual band for the other hits on the album including darling buds of may.

The fourth page is the store showing a variety of t-shirts, posters and mugs that can be brought by fans of the band. All the products show the bands name and motif.

Unlike the above websites, there is a tumblr page that directs the viewer to the bands tumblr account where they can see updates from studio recording across the world and also the poster for the upcoming release party.

 This website is most definitely the most professional looking of the three and could easily be mistaken for the actual bands website. The creator has thought of the right fonts, layout and colour scheme for the band, the song , the target audience and genre of the band. the black and gold colouring shows the indie genre and portrays the look of the band. At the bottom of each page on the website there is a copyright notice and also links to social media sites including Facebook and twitter. The one minor problem with the website is that the pages do not fully fit onto the screen of the internet browser. The viewer has to scroll down and to the sides to see the full website. This could be annoying for the viewer.

Ancillary Task Research Digi Packs

 

Mumford & Sons - The Cave
The Front cover shows the singer/guitarist sat playing in a spotlight in darkness. This is a simplistic cover but is highly effective as it promotes the video and shows the artist and song title.
The font is indie and does not look out of place on the cover compared to the genre.

This relates to the video as the video shows the artist performing in the spotlight on stage as a dancer performs around him.

The inside cover shows two key images from the video. One image shows a close-up of the artist playing the guitar on stage. The second image over two pages shows the girl in the narrative of the video breaking down leant on a tree. The guitarist is on the opposite side of the tree. He is almost a ghostly figure in the video and does not have a character in the narrative of the video. Overlaid on the image is the web address of the band to allow more content to be available to the buyer of the album.

The back cover is black and shows the song title, barcode and record label. The back cover shows the black stage and the artist in a faded spotlight shown on the cover.  The inside flap of the cover shows an image from the video of the artist playing the guitar in the woodland setting. The back cover could include a different image from the video and also some more logos such as band logo and cd/dvd compatible logo.



 Bullet for my Valentine - Dignity
The front cover shows a silhouette of the band performing in front of a flaming backdrop. The bottom of the cover is black and shows the title of the song in the same font as the band logo (top left of cover).

The back cover shows the band with their instruments walking along a runway. The cover shows the song titles in an eroded font that suits the genre of the band. There is also a barcode, record labels and credits at the bottom of the cover. This image relates to the video as the band performed on a runway to the camera. The cover is grey scaled to show the mood and emotion of the genre and to appeal to the gothic target audience.

The inside left cover shows a blend of images from the videos narrative relating to the theme of war. It shows the top secret plans burning alongside the army officer taking aim and looking stone faced toward the camera. These images illustrate the grungy depressing feel of the videos narrative and also relate to the song and the bands target audience.

The inside right cover which will hold the cd in front of it shows a blend of ripped up old photos that show the grungy vintage look of the video and also illustrate the appropriate moods for the song.

The cover is very effective, however the colour manipulation on the front cover should be used throughout the cover.



 Daughter - If you leave
The front cover shows an image from the video of the two girls on top of each other. The girl on the bottom is trying to push the other girl down like she is her conscience. The girl being on top shows she has defeated her conscience. The font is clear and looks modern and not out of place with the video narrative and the song itself.

The back cover shows an image from the video of the dancer (conscience) behind the fire, so it looks like she is passing through it like a ghost. The track listing is in the same font as the front cover and there is also a barcode, record labels and licensing terms and conditions for the record label.

The inside left cover shows the two girls in the video lying down on the grass in the dark and looking toward the camera and therefore the person who has brought the cd. This is similar to the rest of the Digi pack and therefore compliments the theme and style of the video, song and cd.

The inside right cover where the cd will be cased is a close-up of the roaring fire seen in many shots during the video. This is simplistic but effective as many people will only look at this when taking the cd out and therefore it is not very important, however it cannot be left blank and undersigned.

The digi pack for this video is highly professional and has everything that is needed in a cd cover. It would not look out of place in a music shop or any where, where you are able to buy it. Also the cover is that professional I think it would sell well if put into stores.