Music Video Idea 2. THE HILLS- THE WEEKND.

After making a mind map of the genres that I wanted to make videos for, I picked 2 of my favourite artists from the RnB genre and made a mind map of my favourite songs of theirs. I then quickly thought of some different ideas for each song and finally I picked the idea that I liked most and thought would look best- that is how I ended up with 'The Hills by The Weeknd'.

Most of the Weeknds music sounds very different to typical RnB, it has a bit of an alternative twist on it. I thought the video should be in Black and White as it fits with the song and I thought it would be quite cool to include things such as strobe lights and quick editing to give that 'trippy' effect, which is reflected in the track

Once I knew a couple of things I wanted to include in the video, I made another Mind Map of things I wanted to include in the video such as costumes and props, the artist/band image, Narratives and how everything links together from the artist, to the video, to the song, to the website and album cover. 

After looking at what I wanted to include in the video, I then began to make a story board of my idea so I could show it visually,I also thought about camera angles and editing when creating this. (see below)For the chorus of the song, I thought it would be better to type my idea as it would be hard to draw. I imagine it to be lots of close up shots of the girls body, reinforcing that he is objectifying her, and then close up shots of him walking into her house, more close ups of bottles of wine/vodka/whiskey and then cuts to a cigarette being lit which quickly cuts to him blowing out the smoke. Next we see a close up of him putting his hand on her waist and then it would cut to more shots of them touching each other. I would like them to be quick cuts as then it shows action and i also think it would go better with the beat of the song. The next shot we see is of him walking down the drive/road at night which is an extreme long shot with long duration. Next it cuts back to her sitting in a dark room at a table. she pours a glass of wine and blowing out a candle. Finally, we see him driving away and then fades to black (or repeat chorus)


Next I created the home page & digipak. Following the theme of Black and White I decided to create the cover of the album simple and keep the theme of black and white, and I also gave the album the name of the single. For the back cover I decided to make it very plain, this makes the names of the tracks stand out. 



Album Cover.

Back cover

  



                  









Black and White theme continued, Name in big bold writing to make it stand out, link to where to download the latest album and a picture of the album cover. Link to social media so fans can connect.

(https://tinosantino.wordpress.com/)

Music Video 1. 'DANGEROUS LOVE-FUSE ODG'

In the holidays I went to notting hill carnival and a lot of the music there was afrobeats/soca/bashment. I also loved the costumes so I thought it would be a good idea to use this to influence one of my music video ideas. I began to look for songs that would be cool to use as the main track when I found lots of Fuse ODG songs, I heard dangerous love and I thought it would be a complete different vibe to the weeknd song as they are completely different. So I began thinking of ideas. 

As I did with the weeknd song, I made another mind map and included things I would like to include in the video. I loved all the different costumes at carnival and I think visually, they would look cool, so they I looked online for some inspiration. Along with the costumes, I also wanted to include bright colours and show people having fun as the song is really uplifting and makes you feel happy. Below are some images of the costumes I liked. 

Costume Inspo:

Mind Map:

VideoIdea:
Starts with a black screen while it goes 'Fuse ODG and S Beezy what we tell them. Blazing." Then the lights come on we see 3 girls standing still in carnival costumes, the camera zooms in on the first girl and films from head to toe, so we see all the costume, it is then repeated for the second girl, then the third girl. When the beat kicks in, the camera then zooms out and we see lots of other girls in colourful/carnival clothing walk on set, so the whole room/audience is full. The verse then kicks in and we see an artist/band walk on stage so it is like the video is being filmed at a concert. Throughout the video we will see a veriety of different shots of the girls dancing in the crowd and having a good time and of the main singer and the band. I think it would be good to also 

Album:

(front cover)

(back cover)














Homepage:

I kept the theme of bright colours to represent the fun side of the music. As the header I also used the artists name so the viewer knows exactly what they are looking at listening to when they first click on the site. I didn't include any photos of the artists face as this will intrigue the viewer into finding out more about the artist so will make them explore the site more. I also included a photo of the latest single 'dangerous love' and put a link to where the viewers can download it & finally, I included a social media bar so viewers and fans can easily find and connect with the artist on social networking sites. I would also like to film the band/artist in the studio playing different instruments against different coloured backgrounds as I think all those elements reflect the 'fun vibe'


http://claudiarosehugo7.wix.com/ashmillions

Lip Sync Evaluation

What did you do to prepare?

We wanted to make our videos look really good and fun to watch, so to prepare, we learnt the words to Taylor Swift's shake it off, and we also brought in lots of different costumes and props so that it would be fun to both film and watch our videos. We brought in things such as hats, glasses and feather boas. 

What did you do in the studio?

In the studio, we set up 3 different cameras using different set. The first set/background was a green screen, the second was a sofa and the third was a background that looked like a stone wall(where the tracking camera was set up). There was three different groups within my class for filming, so each group started on a different set, we played the song out loud and began to film those from the group that had volunteered to be in the video, we took several takes to make sure we had enough footage when it come to editing, the people in the groups then swapped round so we all had a turn infant and behind the camera, we then repeated this process on the other sets. My favourite set to film was the stone wall background as there was a tracking camera so one person sat down and filmed the people behind the camera whilst another person pushes it also the track.  

What did you learn?

I had never filmed a music video before and I had never used the tracking camera, so It was fun to learn about how that worked, (as explained above). I also learned it is a lot harder to edit a music video and you need to get the words to match the lyrics in the song, which is quite hard to do because if it is a little bit off, it looks so bad and silly as it doesn't make sense. 

What did you do in suite, what steps did you take to cut the video?

In the edit suite, we watched through all the footage and picked the good from the not so good/unusable footage. We then had all the good footage in a bin, from which we dragged to the timeline and for each clip we had to listen for the high pitched noise that happened just before the first beat. We would have to pause footage and then using the arrow keys slowly go through it to find the moment just before the beat to make sure that the song and video were in sync. We repeated this for all the clips. Next we  began cutting the clips and re arranging them on the timeline to create the final video.

What did you learn about editing a music video?

It is much harder to edit a music video as I mentioned above, than it was editing our thrillers for example because it is a completely different process, the words and song have to match up. At the start of all our clips, we had a really loud beep that would play just before the song started, so we alined the clips with the song, by carefully and slowly going through the clip until we found the moment after the beep but just before the beat to make sure that the song and the persons mouth were in sync.I found it much harder than what it looked. Also I think you need to think more about where you cut the video as it could look silly at times depending what is going on in the song and if its with the beat etc. 

Did you make any mistakes on the day? How could you shoot or cut the video more effectively next time?

I think the most common mistake we made was we kept forgetting to sing, which made it 100x harder when it come to the editing as we didn't have a clue if the song and video were actually in sync, and people were just guessing the lyrics, which made it obviously harder as we were confused trying to figure out what lyric it was actually meant to be and then when we finally did get it right, it looked wrong as their mouths didn't match the words, this obviously wasted a lot of time when in the editing suite, which caused us to rush the editing making it not as good as it could have been. In a few shots we also forgot to focus and get the exposure right on the camera before we began filming, so then when cutting between shots, it looked funny as one shot it would be in focus and the exposure was right and then it would cut back to a shot out of focus with high exposure. Also I think in the editing suite, we wasted a lot of time re watching footage and laughing at the footage that had gone wrong and because my group found it a bit tricky syncing the video and song, we were pushed for time. So for next time, I would say, always make sure the camera is set up correctly and when it comes to editing, just jump straight in and don't waste time 'umming' and 'ahhing' about footage.

Watch our video below:   

Comparing Wix & Wordpress.

I decided to create two websites for two completely different artists. I used wordpress to create a website for Rihanna and then I used Wix to create a website for Arctic Monkeys.

The two websites are completely different to each other, The Rihanna website is a lot more brighter as it is more colourful and the images included are also in colour compared to the Arctic Monkeys website, which is Black and White, including the images. This is because the artists are different genres, so by using different conventions such as colour codes, this helps the viewer establish and identify the genre easier.
The images on the Rihanna website are also much more natural,for example, most photos are of her out in public and there is 1 photo from a magazine, but this helps the viewer connect as they can see she is actually a normal person and does normal things. Whereas the Arctic Monkeys images are all from live performances to give it that indie/rock type of feel, however, this will make the viewer want to go and see them as all the photos look like the concerts will be fun.

At first, I preferred working on WordPress but I think this is because I prefer Rihanna in general as appose to Arctic Monkeys. But once I started uploading things such as the photos for the gallery, I started to have trouble as my laptop wasn't compatible and some of the photos wouldn't upload or show on the page, which was a bit of a nightmare and meant I had to go on a computer at school (which wasn't a mac) to enable my pictures would upload and show. It was also quite annoying as the photos wouldn't go where I wanted them to  and as time went on, I found it more and more stressful as I kept losing work that I had spent loads of time on and things (pages) were harder to find.

Next, I used Wix, which I found a lot easier as my laptop was more compatible with, it was also a lot clearer then Wordpress as the menus were a lot more simple, My work also didn't get lost unlike wordpress- So I preferred this website to wordpress. Therefore, I will use this to create my artists webpage. 

My Website (WIX)

http://claudiahurtwood.wix.com/arcticmonkeysx

I liked the idea of using a simple theme, which also looks good, so thats when I thought of the idea of making the website black and white. I think it looks 'edgy' which also goes with the sound of the band. I used the bands logo for the header of the website, this allows the album and the artist to connect and it is also part of the marketing/merchandise so as soon as people see this logo-straight away they know what it is. Next I added the Facebook and Twitter widgets, so fans can click on the buttons and it will follow or like their page on either Facebook or twitter, which allows the fans to connect to the artist directly. Then I added a few photos of the band live- to give it the concert element, I made all the photos black and white so that they fit with the website. Above these images, I also added the option to 'buy tickets here' which means if the viewer looks at the photos and thinks 'they look like they would be really cool to see' they can click buy tickets now and get info and tickets on all the bands latest gigs. I also added the list of tour dates on the front to show the viewer that the band could be visiting a city near them, so they could go and watch. Finally, the menu bar at the top, which consists of  'HOME', 'GALLERY', 'CATALOGUE', 'ABOUT' and 'TOUR', all of which are pretty self explanatory.

Looking At Album Artwork

Do you think the album work is for a band or artist. And why?

I think that this album work is for an artist, this is because the image we see on the cover, is a woman on her own, it is a mid shot of her sitting down looking at herself in the mirror, so it is very much centred on her, where as I think if it was a band, there would be an image of all the members together on there. The name 'Marlowe' is also in white which stands out against the Red background, but the name Marlowe also looks like a artist name, not the name of a band.

Do you think they are synthetic or organic?

I think that they are organic, this is because the image is very plain and naturalistic, she is just sitting looking in the mirror and it is all Red and she is outlined in Black- it doesn't look forced.

What kind of music/genre is it and why?

I think that this type album would be to do with the alternative genre because of the colours and effects reflected off the album. 

What do you think overall about the artwork?

I think that it is quite simple and I think the Red, Black and White work together well, I also think that it represents the alternative genre quite well as it is plain, naturalistic and simple but also different at the same time. 

Why is all the album cover Red?

Do You think the album work is for a band or artist and why?

I think that this album work looks like it is for a band, even though I thought the previous album was for a solo artist and they are the same person/people, this is because we can see more than one person on the cover, all though I don't think that they are the band members, each person on the cover could represent or reflect some of the actual band members.

Do you think they are synthetic or organic?

I think that this band are organic, this is because we can see a lot of nature in the picture and this could reflect the 'organicness' and naturalistic feel within the band and looking at the picture I feel like the people feel free, which is how an organic artist/band should be and feel. 

What kind of music genre and why?

Again, I think that this would be of the alternative genre because of how simplistic it is and the effect on the image makes it look different and edgy, which is a convention of that genre. 

What do you think about the overall artwork?

I like this art work as I like the idea that it looks like the landscape goes on forever, which is what the artist or band of this album will want their music to do. I also like it because it is simple and clear to see/read like the previous one and it is also different to most other album covers.

Do you think this artwork is for an artist or band? and why?

I also feel like this is an album cover for a band, so overall I think that they are a band. However, I don't think any of the people on the covers are band members, I think they they just want to get their music out and that is the most important thing to them.

Are they synthetic or organic?

I think that they are Organic. This is because the person on this album cover looks quite scared or hiding away from something, which could indicate their music or look is scary, which could put people off, However, despite this, they have still used the image on their album cover. 

What kind of music genre and why?

I think again that it is alternative, because the image on the front of the album is very different, but yet simple along with the title and font-which don't stand out as much on this album, so this also reflects they are not pushing their name out their- just their music, which is another reason I think that they are organic  

What do you think of the overall artwork?

I am not as keen on this artwork as I think the image on the front is off putting as the person looks quite scared, so that would put me off. However, the cover fits the genre. 

Goodwin's Narrative Theory.

Goodwin's narrative theory consists of three categories; Illustration, Amplification and Disjuncture.
Illustration; the video tells the story.
Amplification: The images amplify the lyrics as a narrative may be used to covey a deeper meaning that would not be picked up from the lyrics alone. The artist(s) may take on fictional roles within the narrative.
Disjuncture: There is little connection between the lyrics and video or where the video contradicts the lyrics.

Beyonce's video Pretty Hurts is an example of illustration.

 

In the video, we see her getting ready at a pagent and perfecting herself and the lyrics are;

'Pretty Hurts, we shine a light on whatever's worst
Perfection is a disease of a nation, pretty hurst, pretty hurts
Pretty Hurts, we shine the light on whatever's worst 
We try to fix something that you can't see
Its the soul that needs the surgery'

 Here, we see the title of the song is reinforced in the video by being printed on a sash which illustrates the fact they are at a beauty pagent. 

 In this shot we see the girls are getting ready to go on stage, showing the competitiveness of the pagent. 

 She is being measured, this shows the pressure she is under to be skinny to fit in with the other models. 

Here we see that she has lines round her face suggesting she is having surgery- this illustrates the standard of perfection they must be 

Finally, we see all the girls dressed up on stage at the pagent. This concludes the video as we have seen them from the start, getting ready and this is the end result. 









An example of Disjuncture would be Lady Gaga ft Beyonce- Telephone.

None of these images have anything to do with the lyrics, in the video we see Lady Gaga dressed up in several different strange costumes and we see her crawling round half naked in a jail, next we see her with Beyonce in the car and then they poison some people in a diner, which has got nothing to do with any of the lyrics in the song. 

Finally, an example of Amplification would be Judas- Lady Gaga.

 The video opens with an extreme long shot of 12 men on motor bikes and her at the front. The song is called Judas, who was one of Jesus' 12 disciples. Therefore, the 12 men could represent the disciples and she could be Jesus.

 We then see a close up of her necklace, which is covered in crosses and through out the video we see a lot more crosses, this could be highlighting the fact that Jesus was put on the cross to die.

Next we see Lady Gaga on a bike with a man who is wearing a gold crown with what appears to be thorns on it, which is what Jesus was wearing when he died.

Finally we see her dressed in this Blue headdress/outfit, which conveys her as Mary, Jesus' mother. Therefore I think this video has more of a deeper meaning compared to what we see on the surface of the video.