Album Art

In this coursework lesson we learnt went what onto album covers and what we would need to add to ours. We began by analysing album covers to see whether there was any correlation between them. We discovered many conventions such as:

• Band name
• Album names
• Picture of the band
• Parental Advisory 
• Synergistic type face
• Band logo 
• Record Label 
• Barcode
• Spine with name 
• Copyright
• Release date
• Promo code

As a class we then discussed how we then group different album covers. Some of the ideas that we came up with were:

• Colour
• Genre
• Digital format
• solo/band
• Style
• Debut or not
• Audience
• Influences
• Gender
• Mode
• Media

After analysing the reason for these conventions we began to question the purpose behind album covers and why are there so many correlations between them. A few reasons we came up with were:

• To promote the artist 
• Attract fans
• Iconic
• Make money 
• Entertain 
• Synergy
• To inform 

After that we presented our analyse of an album cover we chose. I analysed 'Stereo Typical" by "Rizzle Kicks'. This was there debut album so there artist identity needed to be strong to attract fans and become known within the industry.
The cover of the album is a picture of them. This clear image makes them clearly recognisable- this is a common convention of album covers. Throughout there whole campaign they use the same typeface. This then creates synergy between posters, t shirts and the album allowing them to be easily recognisable by their fans. The colour scheme is quite light using mainly pastel yellows and browns. This is because as a band they aren't very 'flashy' so the pale colour scheme allows the target audience to focus solely on the music rather than the bright/eye-catching album cover. The CD cover itself its just a picture of a pair of trainers and a packet of biscuits this makes them as a band very easily relatable to their target demographic which may encourage sales.

    

Artist Identity

In this coursework lesson we realised that as a consumer we don;t actually have as much control over the artist and music as we are led to believe. The character that the artist becomes is actually carefully constructed by the recording labels to appeal to certain demographics. During the lesson we were given the challenge to create our own artist from scratch. We were able to decided exactly how we, as a consumer, wanted our musician to look, dress, think ect...
The artist that we created was willow. She was 20 years old and was studying zoology at the University of Sydney. She was very inspiration to fans due to her simple ideologies and views.

Music that means something to me!

Now

Asaf Avidan - One day / Reckoning Song (Wankelmut Remix)

My sister showed me this song about a year and half ago and immediately I become obsessed.Usually when I like a song I will listen to it on repeat which is exactly what I did with this song. I this listened mainly during last summer and at the beginning of September when I started at Latymer so this song really reminds me of my first couple of weeks at Latymer.  

Early Teens

Lady GaGa- Boys Boys Boys

In year 8 class become obsessed with Boys Boys Boys. In Year 8 when we went to Swanage it was the trip so which meant every time I now hear it it always reminds me of the trip to Dorset. 

Childhood

S Club 7 - Bring It All Back 

When I was younger this the song that me and my sisters would sing together. I think they became my favourite band after I heard them on one of my first CDs. I would listen to them when I went on holiday using my sassy walkman along with my packed CD collection

Prelim Music Video Workshop-Evaluation

On Friday the 12th of July all year 12 media students participated in a media workshop which revolved around recreating 'Wings' by Little Mix. The cast consisted of year 13s and previously Latymer media students who now work within the media industry. 

Did you enjoy the workshop day? What were your best bits and why?

Overall the workshop was an amazing experience. The weeks leading up to the day allowed all the cast and crew to properly get organised and excited for the day. 

My favorite parts of the day were definitely all the group little mix set ups and all the dance scenes. Although I did enjoy perform alone as Perrie I enjoyed it more as a group and it gave me more confidence and energy to perform to the best of my abilities. 

It was also very interesting to see how all the roles of the cast interacted in order to pull of a successful music video shoot. 

The 'costume and make up' part of the day was also very fun as it allowed everyone to feel as if they were on a professional shoot. 

Overall I did enjoy my time in front of the camera. At first when I was originally cast as Perrie I was slightly skeptical on whe I would be able to deliver a good performance in front of such a large crew. However when I was performing I really enjoyed myself and felt comfortable in front of the crew as everyone was very energetic and enthusiastic.

What have you learnt from participating in each of the prelim tasks?

Analyzing music videos- From this section of the prelim I learn how to successful analyse different music videos. By analyzing Wings I was more aware of how I needed to perform and all the small details within the video.

Making an audition video- This was the first time that we had be properly able to perform in front of the camera. By creating the audition video it helped me to see how to successfully lip-sync and be confident in front of the camera. Furthermore the editing of the video allowed me to practice how to edit music videos and practice matching the lip-sync to the music.

Planning/Preparation- One of the most demanding parts of the lead up to the workshop were the many dance rehearsals for the group performance at the end of the video. I'm not the best dancer so I found this one of the most challenging parts of the experience. However this section of the prelim task taught me how to let loose and have fun. It also gave me practice on how physically demanding the workshop day would be and how important team work would be.

A lot of preparation went into organizing the costumes for the shoot day. This taught me how far in advance you need to plan your outfits and be prepared to be flexible. It again taught me organisation and team work as i had to rely on people for costumes and they had to rely on me. 

Are you pleased with your footage and your edit? Is it how you expected it to look?

I am pleased with our final edit and all the footage from the day. I'm thoroughly surprised at how professional it looked from the framing, lighting and settings. There were a few shots that were missed there were plenty of other available shots to use. Originally I wanted the remake to be an exact replica of the original. As i watched the footage I soon realized that it would be the exact same as moves differed etc...However, I believe that our costumes, settings and own personalities meant we were able to produce a professional music video with our own twist.
The editing process was a difficult task in such a short time-frame. The style of the video is very quick and energetic. This meant the editing was hard as the quick style editing meant they were  many shots to edit together. After we over came the initial problems and adopted a more efficient way to edit- The style of editing that we used will be helpful during the A2 course. The grading of the video was quite a long process as each character had a different personality which affected the grading of the piece. Jessie was quite a grunge character which meant we need to make the grading quite dark, whilst Perrie was more bubbly so needed brighter lighting.  This meant we needed to grade each shot individually. 

How do you think your prelim experiences will impact on your approach to next term's music video experience? 

This experience has taught me the importance of planning and organisation! Whilst music videos can be more freestyle shots it is still important to plan a fully thought out shot list so you know the exact types of shots you want. 

It also taught me to variety of shot types and set up we would need in order to keep the attention of the audience. 

Furthermore appearance is key. We will need to create strong identities for each of the performers which is shown through their personality in front of the camera and through their costumes much like with the Little Mix group.

Although the shoot will be over several days I now know how physically demanding a shoot can be and the energy that is needed throughout the day.

With my role being in front of the camera it has given me the confidence and experience to be in front of the camera for our own video!  

Performance music video analysis

"Down with the Trumpets" the first song that Rizzle Kicks released off their debut album "stereo typical'. As it was their first song to be released the music video does use many conventions in order to create a successful reaction from their target audience as well as to discover their main fan base.

Throughout this video the pair successfully lip sync to create the feel that they are singing directly to the audience. Imagery is used in this video but is not heavily relied on in comparison to other videos as there is actually a story being shown with the video. Simple movements such as pointing downwards when saying 'lets get down with the trumpets' is commonly used throughout. Props are used more to connote the imagery within the video with the continual use of trumpets.
The basis of the video does conform to the audiences expectations by seeing the artist singing, dancing and playing instruments. Dancing is more commonly done by the back up dancers. There is no set dance moves that are used which means its harder to replicate- This means its more set for the older market.
The bands performance is visually engaging through the use of slow motion effects and repeats for the dancing. Furthermore the video is also impactful through their use of trumpets to represent modern drug culture. It also explores the side affects of drugs and uses the video to show how it makes to feel. This is interesting as it allows the audience to see the impact of drugs and how the band react as well as creating an interesting storyline.
Rizzle kicks appear to come across as very 'everyday person' so the location and costumes are very relatable. The video is shot in their hometown of Brighton. It is shot in variety of locations yet all are very simple locations such as the beach front, a forest and their home. Their costumes are very simple and create no strong sense of artist identity. This maybe because this is their first video so have not have yet created an identity within the music field or because they wanted to be relatable to their fan base.
Controversially in this video there are not that many beauty/ money shots. This maybe because the video is focusing more on the storyline than them.
Opposites are used in this film repeatedly to show how the to react when on drugs. As the two fall to the ground they switch to an opposite location such as from beach to forest.
Discontinuous editing is not strong throughout as the video is mainly following a story line.
There are many references to popular culture which references to drugs. This also creates a polysemic natures offering different layers of meaning with trumpets used to represent the growing drug culture.

Reservoir Dogs Remake 
During our media lessons we recreated the opening sequence of 'Reservoir Dogs'. In this task i was camera crew. In  addition to editing the final version .

Dexter Re-Edit Evalutation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28LSXtw0AaA&feature=plcp

1. Summarise the conventions of title sequences that were most important to this task

• titles showing the cast and crew (with respective roles)
• keeping with the genre, crime/drama, through the use of fonts and color schemes

2. How did your group plan to edit the title sequence? (consider timings, industry requirements etc). 

• Firstly we chose a font style,cracked, who suited the genre. We then chose a dark red color scheme to created the sense of blood-complimenting the genre.
• We then watched the clip and noted any appropriate places to add our titles. We looked for images/ movements that would be able to connect with the titles and look at transition from scene to scene.
• When adding the titles we needed to make sure that they were timed well so that they were on the screen long enough to been seen, but not too long that it detracted from the focus of the scene.
• In addition when adding effects to the titles/ movements we needed to make sure that they complimented the genre. we did this my including 'shaky' effects which would disorientate the audience.

 3. Explain the creative decisions made by your group.

• when creating the title sequence we wanted to keep in with the feel of the genre.
• How color/ fond would add to the genre
• Our creative decisions consisted of the location of the title, the effect and how it would connect with the action on the screen
• We made decisions by testing out all the possibilities before deciding on which one worked best.

4. How does your re-edit compare to the original?

• After watching the original back we noticed similarities and differences when comparing it to our re-edit.
• The original had a lot more titles but used few effects. In addition the titles would stay on the screen for a lot longer in the original
• In our we would use the effect tool a lot more in order to add the genre. 
• We noticed some similarities in the timing and positioning of the title in ours and the original- the sink scene.
• The original showed to us that you didn't need effects on every single title in order to make it more interesting as sometimes a static title allowed you to focus more on the action in the shot.