Final Production Music Video

Here is my final production.

Using many of the ideas i have researched, allowed me to signify what i wanted to portray throughout the video. I wanted the video to be a performance video, because i wanted to show off the band and music, rather than having a complicated storyline drowning out the concept of the song.

Final Production + Ancillary Tasks Evaluation

The key features of my music video as a whole is introducing the band to the public, without getting distracted with complicated storylines. The brief was to promote a release of an album with a promotional music video, so instead of making a complex background storyline whilst the music video is going on, I wanted the video to just promote the band and their music. I chose to film the music video inside, on a stage. I chose this location because the lights were a very warm colour, giving an instant feel that the band has a warm feel to their music. Choosing the stage also gives the band an appearance as if their actually performing live to an audience.

Throughout the music video I used many camera angles, and movements. I chose to have a wide selection because I wanted the audience to get a good look at the band. Because there is not storyline going throughout, I felt that it was very important the audience can see every member of the band clearly through the use of lots of camera shots and angles. Personally, I think the most effective camera shot would be the Shot just above the cymbal on the drum kit. Because when the music starts, the drums are silent. Then when the cymbals are hit, and the screen turns to colour, the music has started. It is very effective because it is a great start to the music video because of its momentum.

I wanted to use real instruments throughout the music video, because I wanted it to look as realistic as possible. If the band looked as if they were not playing, or singing along to the track, it wouldn’t be considered their music video. I wanted it to be like the audience was watching a live performance, making the music video have a connection with the band and the music.

Both the album and magazine advertisement has a strong link to the promotional music video, because it is has differences that join the two together. On both of the ancillary tasks, there is a sense of mystery about the band, not revealing too much, so the audience gets swayed into listening to the band. However on the promotional music video, we only see that band, relinquishing that mystery, revealing the band to the audience. They are such big difference, that they compensate the things missing in each other. The uses of colours throughout all three tasks all have a connection. Because the band’s name is an anagram of the word ‘Fire Exit’, all the colours in the ancillary tasks are all green, white and black. These are the colours used on the classic ‘Fire Exit’ signs throughout the country. This gives a strong connection to the band, because this colour is comfortable in the audiences mind. Because of this connection, the audience will be constantly being reminded of this band because of these signs in every building, persuading the audience to listen to this product.

I hosted a small screening of my promotional music video to five random people. And before they viewed the video, I handed out Images of the album cover, and magazine advert. And told them to tell me what they thought of them. This is what some of them said;                                

‘Instantly looking at the magazine advert and album cover, I recognize the colours and logo. The band’s name is very clever because every time I see a fire exit sign, the band’s name will stick in my head!’  (Luke,  Aged 18)

‘Perfect! The music video advertised the band to perfection, Especially at the end, when it seems like the band just carry on with their normal lives, finishing convocations, and walking away, this tells me that the band is very real. Leaves me wanting more!’  (Pete, Aged 50)

‘It’s very good, however I would suggest you add something in between shots to make the video flow more, because it can drag on at times. But apart from that, stunning.’ (Amy, Aged 23).

Listening to all these comments helped me develop my promotional video into the final product that would have been less efficient without these comments. The comment from ‘Amy’ made me realise that the video, at some parts, seem to feel slightly less entertaining than other scenes. So I added in a film strip to break up the shots, and it is extremely effective because it makes the music video flow between scenes much better.

The technology I used throughout the process of this task, and how I developed my skills on them were a big help in the making of this entire brief. Completing this brief has improved my camera skills a lot. I feel more confident with the camera, and will not have any trouble positioning the camera in future tasks.

The main program I used to edit the music video was called ‘iMovie’ before making this music video I didn’t know anything about ‘iMovie’, I always used ‘Windows Movie Maker’ in previous tasks. However this time I wanted to challenge myself, by teaching myself how to use ‘iMovie’, to make the promotional music video. This developed my editing skills significantly for future tasks I would have to do.

To create and edit both the ancillary tasks, I used a program called ‘Adobe:  Photoshop’ Doing this task challenged me to create an entire album cover and magazine advertisement for the album. This task has helped me develop my ‘Photoshop’ skills, and will help in future tasks.

In Conclusion to my final production, I think that I have excelled in expressing camera work in the music video. My skills helped me handle the camera successfully; to portray the want I wanted to show in the final production.  Having the music video as a production rather than narrative was a brave move to take because it would be hard to keep the audience’s attention throughout the duration of the production. However I feel that without the narrative of a concept video, my production has a flow to it, making each shot connect with the rest, making it easier for the audience to understand who the band are without any complicated storylines.

Magazine Album Advert Analysis

For the magazine advert of the band, I wanted it to be as eye catching as possible, but not be over the top. I also wanted it to be showing some of the band, but not revealing too much, letting the audience work out the band for themselves, giving the band name to be the only thing left in the audiences mind. What if learnt from the ‘deerhoof’ album advert, is that the colours black and white produce an excellent combination to make something stand out from a page, instantly drawing attention onto it.

My first thought on the magazine advert, was to have it exactly the same colours as the album, so that it would have a connection between them both, so the audience feels familiar with the album when seen in shops. However I soon came to notice that on the advert, it needed to have an actual image of the album, so the audience would know what to look for. So when I placed an image of the album onto the magazine advert, the whole advert became too crowded, leaving it too complicated to see what it was.                                                                                                                                    I overcame this issue by using the ideas from ‘The Beatles’ album advert. On that advert, it was very simplistic, having a complete background, with just an image of the album in the middle of the page, this instantly draws attention to the album, without giving too much away, leaving the suspense to the audience.                                                                                                                                             I decided to use this idea by having a complete black background, with just the image of the album in the centre of the page, similar to ‘The Beatles’ advert.

I soon came to another problem. I felt the advert I had created was now too plain, and not telling the audience anything about the album, so I decided to put the band’s name ‘Retie Fix’ in large bold white letters, making that the most dominant item on the advert, this takes some attention away from the album, however the name of the band will stay in the audiences mind, because it has a strong presence on the advert.

Much like the album cover, I wanted to include a small image of the band, but not in full colour, giving a sense of mystery to the audience about the band. So I placed an abstract image of the band at the bottom of the page. I made the image slightly faded so all the attention is on the album, and name of the band. Final additions to the album advert, was the music magazine reviews. When an album gets a good review from well known music magazine, it tempts the audience to listen to the band, also making the album advert look very successful according to the music industry.

Overall I am pleased with the magazine advert. Its eye catching display captures the aspects of the album and the band, without showing too much of the band themselves. This leaves all attention onto the album and logo which will stay in the audiences mind.

Magazine Album Advert

Album Cover Analysis [DIGIPACK]

On the album cover of the band, I wanted to have all attention to the band name, and logo. The name of the band ‘Retie Fix’ is an anagram of the word ‘Fire Exit’. The initial idea would have been to have the image of the running man on all fire exit signs, and that would get the audience to use their imagination about what the band is about, and what they sound like. But I soon came across a problem that I would need to fill a whole Digipack, but using the initial idea of just the logo, it would not be enough to fill the album. So it came to my attention that I would need to add some photos of the band, to show audience members what they are all about. Much like the music video, I wanted all focus on the band, and no distractions of a complicated storyline to divert attention from the band.

I wanted the digipack to stand out from any other competitors on the shelf in a music store. So I set myself a task to make the front cover as eye catching as possible. From previous research, on the ‘Tinie Tempah’ album cover, by adding a simple white border to a purple background, it stands out when next to other album covers, So I developed this idea by putting a bright white border around a green background on my cover. The green used is the same shade as the green used in all ‘Fire Exit’ signs, so the colour is very common without the audience knowing that they are familiar with that colour. 

The logo wasn’t a necessary feature on the album, but I wanted to have a single image that would constantly remind audience about the band throughout their daily routines. Using the theme of the ‘Fire Exit’, the logo I decided to put on the album, was of the running man on the fire exit signs, so that in every single building across the world has the logo of the band above their doors. This is a huge promotional stunt that requires not much advertising because it has already been done for the band.

On the back of the digipack, the list of songs are displayed which are contained on that album. In the background we see a faded silhouette image of the band, which is displayed on the front also, so the front and back have a link between them. This makes looking at the digipack easier for the audience. On the inside pages of the digipack, we find a photo of the band opposite the actual CD, showing the band in full colour, showing the audience a normal picture of the band, giving them a feel for the bands real personality. The colour of the CD is the same green, so it has a connection with the rest of the album.

Overall I am pleased with the album digipack. Its eye catching cover captures the aspects of the band, without showing too much of the band themselves. This leaves all attention onto the logo which will stay in the audiences mind.

Album Cover [DIGIPACK]

Final Production Storyboards

Album Cover Analysis - Crystal Castles - 'Crystal Castles'

Album Cover Analysis - Crystal Castles - 'Crystal Castles'

This is the self-titled second album by a band called Crystal Castles. I chose this album cover to analyse because it does not follow the stereotypical view of a usual album cover. This album cover has no title and no band members on it. The picture is of a small girl in a graveyard, giving off a disturbing feeling to the audience. Unlike other albums, the music on this is quite different and abstract, which relates to the album cover, because the album cover is also different. The grass on the floor is a bleached, faded colour that gives off a sense that death is a main theme on the cover, because it relates the graveyard. Also the girl is wearing black, which is another clue of a possible funeral that took place here. The camera is facing down slightly to her, and she’s walking up towards the camera. This could suggest she came out of the grave or back from the dead.

I feel that this album cover would not stand out from any others in a shop; however it has a very unique image. This can be very successful because it hasn’t been seen before.

Album Cover Analysis: Tinie Tempah - 'Disc-overy'

Album Cover Analysis: Tinie Tempah - 'Disc-overy'

This is the album cover of Tinie Tempah’s album ‘Disc-overy’. I chose this cover to analyse because of its eye catching appearance. The use of the colours purple, white and black really grab your attention if it was seen on a shelf at a shop. Tinie Tempah is a new artist to come into the music industry, that’s why he has a full medium shot of himself on the album cover, to get his audience to feel familiar to him. The positioning of his arms seem to be leaning on a table of some kind, and facing directly towards the audience, making the audience feel as if he’s staring right at you. The shining effect on his arms and shoulders gives off an impression that he is a fresh new sound that’s coming into the music scene. By the way he’s dressed shows us he’s up to date with the fashion. It seems that he’s holding a city in his arms, suggesting he has power and dominance over the music industry?

I find this album cover very powerful. The colour of it stands out from any other albums, and also the stare of ‘Tinie Tempah’ himself, shows that he’s confident about his album.

Music Video Analysis: Canerbury - 'Gloria'

Music Video Analysis: Canterbury - 'Gloria'

I chose this music video to analysis because it is a typical music video to introduce bands into the music industry. The setting of this video is in a dark room with a bright light behind the instruments giving them a silhouette style on screen. The music video is filmed using a black and white filter to portray the purity of the band, this shows the audience just the band playing there instruments, to give the audience an idea of what they’re like as a band.

The video starts with the guitarist playing a small melody on his own, this follows the music track. Then the vocalist comes in when the singing starts, so there are two people onscreen singing together. This also shows the audience that the band is friendly with each other, enjoying the sounds that they are producing. Another portrayal of this is at ‘2:09’ when the two lead singers part away from each other and the guitarists in the background throw something to each other, almost not part of the music track, but this shows that they have a good connection with each other, giving a good feel to the new audience they are advertising to.

Every minute of the music track, a new member of the band walks in and starts playing their instrument in front of a large bright light and smoke, so when we see the band, that’s all we see, nothing else, so when the audience views the music video, they’ll get a better idea of the bands image and personality.

I think that his music video is very successful in introducing a band to the music industry, this is shown well because there’s a lot of close ups of the two lead singers, and also indication of personality of the band as a whole. The video is also being filmed on a low budget; this is shown because it’s all filmed in one take, there are no cuts in the camera to indicate multiple takes. The band itself is not signed to a record label, and this is shown through the low budget music video.

Music Video Analysis: Queens Of The Stone Age - 'Go With The Flow'

Music Video Analysis: Queens Of The Stone Age - 'Go With The Flow'

I chose this video to analyse because it is very distinctive to any other video because it has a cartoon animation effect on the whole video, and this makes the video stand out from others.

The video starts with a panning establishment shot showing a long empty deserted road, this makes the audience unsettled, because the music slowly builds, giving a feeling that something is about to happen. Then the main song starts, and at the same times a car crashes through a barrier, and drives at the camera, this shows that the song has a fast pace to it, because of a car driving fast builds momentum. This is effective because it grabs the audience’s attention right from the start.

We then see the band members on the back of the car, playing there instruments to the audience. However the band have an effect on them, so there faces and hair are all in black, but there eyes and mouth are in white, so the audience’s attention are taken straight to the singers mouth, so the audience understands the lyrics easier. 

Because of the effect put over the video, we cannot see the bands clothing, however we can see a design on the lead singer’s jacket. It is an old western design, and it boosts the setting of the music video, because it is set on a long road on the desert. Also the bands instruments are in bright white, so they stand out to everything in the video, this boosts the visual aspect of the band, and because it shows the audience just the band and they’re instruments. This is a very effective way of introducing the band to the music industry, because it gives a new audience a feel for the bands attitude towards their music. The way that this video is filmed gives a new audience a feel that the band doesn’t want to base their music on image just as much as the music, they just want to express themselves through music, and not how they look.

The song ‘Go with the flow’ is about a sexual relationship between a man and a woman. Throughout the video there are small hints about this, mainly through the image of a dancing woman, wearing little clothing.

Overall this video is very effective in giving an image about the band to a new audience, showing them that the band care more about their sound rather than their image.

Music Video Analysis: White Lies - 'Bigger Than Us'

Music Video Analysis: White Lies - 'Bigger Than Us'

At the beginning of the video, we see a small boy on what looks to be a hospital bed. We see him sing to the camera quite aggressively, portraying to the audience that perhaps he’s in pain. Then we see the first band member walk in and pick up a bass guitar, so this shot enhances the appearance of the band members to the audience.

During the first chorus of the song, see the kid lying on the hospital table, with a band member playing a bass guitar next to him. The kid is singing the lyrics, suggesting that maybe this video is about past experiences of the band. However, this video is not ordinary at all, next to the boy on the hospital bed; we see a giant chocolate bar also lying on a hospital bed. This shows that something is not quite right in the video, showing the un-realistic situation of the plot.

The entire video has a slight reference of the film ‘E.T’ in the film, we see a small boy in a hospital bed in a testing facility with men wearing overalls wandering around with tools, testing on an alien beside the boy. The ‘White Lies’ video has a strong resemblance to this because the giant chocolate bar is being portrayed as different to everyone else. Later on in the video, we see a girl rise from inside the chocolate bar. This shows a portrayal that even though something may look different to us, it’s still is normal inside.

The band members are dressed in smart casual way, showing that their older and more sophisticated than just wearing hooded tops and hats. Their dress code also fits in with the plot of the music video, the lead singer is the person in the video who saves the little girl, portraying that the band are confident, and shown as heroic in the video.

Throughout the whole video, the band has an emotionless look on their faces. They don’t smile or look like they’re angry. This emotionless cover on their faces could express what the song is about, or the situation in the music video. The song title ‘Bigger than Us’ also gives the listener an idea that something is too hard to handle, giving disbelief to the audience. This is clearly shown on the faces of the band throughout the music video.