Drawing in the style.

This is essentially a practice drawing,  I recreated the drawing on Sketchbook pro on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.  The program allowed me to add different layers to the image, to make sure I got the proportions right I first drew the image detailed and realistic,  afterwards I added a new layer on top and began removing the detail from the image. The image it's self can be broken down into 5 layers separating background clothing, outline hair and skin, and facial features.

Reception theory - Theory

This theory is an active audience theory which sees the audience as being actively engaged in the interpretation of media texts rather than as passive consumers. Individuals receive and interpret texts in different ways.

This theory demonstrated that even though one message is sent out that not one understanding is made from the text.

This theory allows for a media text to be consumed individually and take into consideration the meaning of a text and the relationship between the individual.

The study of semiotics encoding and decoding

This theory says that media texts are encoded by the producer (the people who make media texts) and these texts are full of ideologies values and messages

The text is then decoded by an audience, however not all audiences will decode and respond to the text in the same way. In some cases this is not what the producer intended.

How encoding and decoding works

When a producer creates a text it is encoded with a meaning or message intended to be conveyed to the audience. This is called the preferred meaning.

This theory will sometimes be correctly decoded and the audience will understand what the producer wants them to.

Sometimes the producer can encode a message which is not a message that is not completely understood by making a message ineffective.

Audience types

Hall identified three different types of audience readings

Dominant or preferred

Negotiated

Oppositional

 

How can understanding be determined?

Many things can affect which reading we take (from the above)
Life experience
Mood at the time of viewing
Age
Culture
Beliefs
Gender

     By using recognised codes and conventions, and by drawing upon audience expectations relating to aspects such as genre and use of stars, the producers can position the audience and thus create a certain amount of agreement on what the code means. This is the preferred meaning.
 

 

Semiotics - Theory

Semiotics- Semiotics, also called semiotic studies is the study of signs and sign processes (semiosis), indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication.

Semiotics is often divided into three branches:

 Semantics: Relation between signs and the things to which they refer; their denotata, or meaning

 Syntactics: Relations among signs in formal structures

 Pragmatics: Relation between signs and sign-using agents

The study of semiotics encoding and decoding

This theory says that media texts are encoded by the producer (the people who make media texts) and these texts are full of ideologies values and messages

The text is then decoded by an audience, however not all audiences will decode and respond to the text in the same way. In some cases this is not what the producer intended.

How encoding and decoding works

When a producer creates a text it is encoded with a meaning or message intended to be conveyed to the audience. This is called the preferred meaning.

This theory will sometimes be correctly decoded and the audience will understand what the producer wants them to.

Sometimes the producer can encode a message which is not a message that is not completely understood by making a message ineffective.

Hypodermic Needle - Theory

The hypodermic needle is an idea suggesting that an intended message is directly received and wholly accepted by the receiver. The model is rooted in 1930s behaviourism and is largely considered obsolete today.

The theory suggests that the mass media could influence a very large group of people directly and uniformly by ‘shooting’ or ‘injecting’ them with appropriate messages designed to trigger a desired response. 

The "hypodermic needle theory" implied mass media had a direct, immediate and powerful effect on its audiences. The mass media in the 1940s and 1950s were perceived as a powerful influence on behaviour change.

The theory is now not widely recognised anymore in society today because there is not enough evidence to suggest the theory to be true. Only a small amount of the audience believe the press and would act on the ideas instigated by the press.

The classic example of the application of the theory was illustrated on October 30, 1938 when Orson Welles broadcasted the radio edition of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds." On the eve of Halloween, radio programming was interrupted with a "news bulletin" for the first time. What the audience heard was that Martians had begun an invasion of Earth in a place called Grover's Mill, New Jersey. The audience believed that this news bullion was true and mass panic ensured with raided grocery stores and interrupted religious services.

Media theorists have said that this is the greatest example of the hypodermic needle theory. The broadcast suggested that the media could manipulate the public, leading theorists to believe that this is one of the primary ways media authors shaped audience perception 

Album Cover Drafting

This is my first draft of the Album Cover of my artist, at the moment the cover is only the artist and does not feature any text. The image is drawn in the style of Julian Opie. This style removes detail from the image but manages to keep personal aspects of the image e.g. glasses and hairstyles.

The image was hand drawn on the Autodesk Express Application for Apple iPad. The images were then uploaded to dropbox to send them to the computer.

The image will be edited further with the lines straightened out and some removed. The image will also be colourised to further fit into the style of Julian Opie. The colouring of the image will also be completed on the Autodesk Express application, when colouring the image I will be removing detail from the skintones and replacing it with smooth block colours.

  This is the First colourless draft.

Existing Album Covers

 

All of the selected album covers show the artist in a medium close up shot, this is to show the importance of the artist but also prompts the audience what artist is inside. An album cover shows the artist as the record company wants to portray them, this means that this is the only and 'ideal' way to portray the artist.

The Album covers all portray the artist with a unique style, nearly all of them portray the artist with an expressionless face, usually breaking the fourth wall and making eye contact with the audience targeted or otherwise.

The albums all feature individual looks making it impossible to confuse them, this makes them easier recognisable to the audience in a shopping environment. The backgrounds are usually also monotone with a basic colour to draw attention towards the artist . The album covers main purpose is to sell the artist to the audience and is at the forefront of doing so, it fits in with the phrase 'Don't Judge a book by its cover' although that is exactly what the audience do.

Makeup And Hair Tutorial

This was the makeup and hair tutorial I conducted on my model for the beginning of shooting.

things applied to model
Hair- Texturising Gum This was applied to add a textured and messed up look to the models head.

Lips- red, black and white makeups, These were applied and removed and layered up to add a deeper colour to the models lips for filming.

Skin- red facepaint- this was applied then removed to give the model a more full complexion, it was also added to add more colour to the models cheeks.

Julian Opie

Opie was born in London in 1958 and raised in Oxford. He emerged as an influential figure in the British art scene of the 1980s after producing a series of painted metal sculptures that humorously combined loosely painted imagery with steel shapes. As his work developed it dealt increasingly with the exploration of visual and spatial experience, often with reference to digital simulation.
  Opie's graphic portrait style and his use of computer aided design has enabled him move between the fields of contemporary art and commercial design: in 2000, he was commissioned to design an album cover forBlur, and in 2006, he created an LED projection for U2's Vertigo world tour.


Julian Opie designs very basic imagery but the images manage to retain personal characteristics and features. The style use is very basic because of its limited colour pallet and lack of features.

This is the style I have chosen to draw my Album Artwork because it is immediately noticable by audiences and so will create a media product that is unique and distinguished from others. This Image of Blur's album cover really stood out to me because of the way the band stand out  froom the monotone backgrounds.

Identity Of Artist

Name of artist- Cosmic Rays
Genre of Artist- Alt-Indie

First Photoshoot

these shots comprise a major part of my original music video ideas, However They have been shot in 4:3 aspect ratio. This means that it does not conform to the standard music video aspect which is 16:9  this means that I will have to reshoot the major parts of my music video, I have learned that the camera settings must be readjusted before setting out to film.

Some shots can still be used as they were filmed because I filmed them in the 16:9 aspect ratio, the camera switched back to 16:0 when switching to full HD. this means that I will have to film in Full HD instead of 720p HD to maintain the correct aspect ratio. Filming in full HD will also allow me to add better effects because the better quality my footage the less damage post production editing will have on the final outcome.

clothing

 The costume will comprise of a t-shirt, jeans and black boots. The selected costume is quite modern and is based around the Alt-genre, this is better than other parts of the genre such as flowery dresses and summer styles. This style appeals to the mainstream audience in the 15-19 age group this is rebellious and generally a non-conformist ideology. This means that my costume must reflect this ideology of rebellious and not fitting into 'mainstream' fashion, the costume however does fit in to alternative conventions appealing to the target audience.

The costume is one of the major parts of this and any music video, this is because it represents what the artist stands for and can sometimes give visual cues as to what the subject of the music video is about. Costume represents the artist subliminally to the audience, they show what the artist believes in, sometimes however the costume can have a more direct influence over the audience, through the use of product placement it can influence an audiences purchese decisions and maybe fashion choices.

questionnaire responce

Questionnaire

1. Age range…

X

12-14

15-19

20-24

25-30

31+

 

2. Do you watch music videos?

 

.......................Yes..........................

 

3. What do you think is the most important aspect of a music video? E.g. performance

 

…………………The performance because it makes the music video compelling to watch….

 

4. What is the most important part of the composition of a music video e.g. sound, mise-en-scene cinematography or editing?

 

……………Mise-En-Scene because it comprises everything in the shot……………………

 

5. When watching music video do you expect a narrative from the video or is it better if it’s more of an abstract video?

 

……………Narrative…………………….

 

6. Do you prefer it when an artist appears in the music video? Why?

 

Yes,  because I enjoy seeing the Artist perform their song, although I also enjoy seeing the creative approach to a video………..

 

7. What genre of music video do you like?...............I like the Rock genre...................

 

8. Do you enjoy music videos that do not generally conform to the conventions of a music video?

Yes because I get to see the stuff I expect from a music video, although it makes the video more compelling to watch when its something I haven't seen before.

This feedback shows me that audicences expect what they are used to seeing in a music video, this means that I will stick close to the conventions of a music video, this also means that when trying out new methods I will make sure to link them to what audiences expect to come from the video.

this feedback also shows me that I need to work the most on the Mise-en-scene becuase it is the part of the footage that everyone sees so will be the one that needs to have to most focus.

Questionnare

Questionnaire

1. Age range…

12-14

15-19

20-24

25-30

           31+

2. Do you watch music videos? .................................................

3. What do you think is the most important aspect of a music video? E.g. performance …………………………………………………….

4. What is the most important part of the composition of a music video e.g. sound, mise-en-scene cinematography or editing? ……………………………………………………

5. When watching music video do you expect a narrative from the video or is it better if it’s more of an abstract video? …………………………………………………….

6. Do you prefer it when an artist appears in the music video? Why? …………………………………………………..

7. What genre of music video do you like?..................................................

8. Do you enjoy music videos that do not generally conform to the conventions of a music video?

Shooting Schedule

Filming will Start

 23rd November at 13:00 for the inside shots
 23rd November at 14:00 for the start of the external shots


Filming will finish
23rd November 13:40 for internal shots
23rd November 17:00 for external shots

Re-casting Infomation

Due to unforseen circumstances with my Previous Actor, I have had to recast another actor.
this means that I have had to readjust shooting schedules so that I can still film all the shots required, this also means that the person in the Animatic Video will no longer match the Person portraying the role.

Name of Replacement Cast member;
Lauren Wilson

the person I have chosen to reshoot with can still portray the character, however it means I have had to rethink some shots to fit into the character I have changed the composition of some of these shots from being light and early in a morning to dusk and nightitme to fit into the image of the actor. this means I had to carefully select styles that still conform into the genre types.

Hazards

Animatic

conventions of music videos

styles of music video:
Performance- This is were the band or artist are performing in the music video.

Narrative- This includes a story, it gives the audience a visual message or just visual amusement.

Abstract- this is a mixture of the two above, but can also just be visually stunning to the eye but not have a clear storyline.


Camera movements
The camera in music videos is always moving and flowing, the camera is hardly ever stationary, when the camera is stationary it is usually to focus on the artist/band performing.

 The framing of shots of the artist is usually close-ups of the artist performing crossed between mid-shots and long shots usually of the artist doing something other than performing.

Mise-en-scene

Music videos have many different types of Mise-en-scene depending on the music video its self.
For an abstract music video the mise-en-scene would be things that the audience may not associate with the music and/or lyrics. The lyrics of a music video can influence the video giving the audience visual cues to the meaning of lyrics. for a performance music video, the artist/ band will be shown to the audience and will usually put on a performance for the video. Narrative music videos will usually feature a mise-en-scene that many people would see as ordinary although this does not always have to be the case (an example of this would be Gorillaz music videos which usually follow a narrative but do not always apply a typical mise-en-scene that audiences can recognise).

Sound

Music videos usually only have the song of the artist playing in the video and nothing else, however they can feature diagetic sound in the video (an example of this would be Lady GaGa's Telephone music video in which diagetic sound is played in place of and along with the non diagetic music).

The music in music videos can line up with the mise-en-scene to give audiences a visual cue of what the lyrics are about and the narrative and/or context of the music video.

Conventions Of The Genre

The Indie-Pop genre usually consists of lyrics that have a small meaning when looked at closely but usually have a catchy rhythm associated with them, this means that the lyrical content can usually be overlooked by audiences listening to it. The lyrical content is usually the visual cues for the music video, this means that the music videos of Indie Pop are usually quite distinctive and individual, this also means that a more abstract form of music video is adapted, with in part narrative and performance blending in with abstract forms.

Indie-Pop usually follows the same light style of pop, but accompanies the music with alternative rock elements, these are usually guitars and vocals as well as a different vocal style more associated with Alt-Rock rather than Pop, although it can go the other way with Pop vocals as well. The style is deeply influenced by what audiences want and expect of the genre because social trends are always changing the genre itself dynamically adapts to the change in style.

 

 

the indie Pop music genre features vocals which usually feature a natural sounding voice without auto tune or effects applied. This means that audiences listen to this style of music because they appreciate that they are listening to the artist as they actually sound.

The marketing of the Indie Pop genre is targeted to audiences as being rebellious towards the masses, this means that the music and in extension to this the music videos do not follow traditional form and conventions. This can be things such as using abnormal camera shots or using scenes in a different way than the audience are used to, all of this is used to show the audience that the music and the genre do not fit into the stereotypical society and it is good, in fact encouraged through the music its self to stand out.

History Of The Genre

Indie Pop Genre

The Indie Pop genre began in the Uk, developing from alternative Rock. originating in the mid-1980s having origins in Post-Punk bands of the Postcard Record company.

Indie pop was inspired by punk's DIY ethic and related ideologies. The term "indie" had been used for some time to describe artists on independent labels (and the labels themselves), but the key moment in the naming of "indie pop" as a genre was the release of NME's C86 tape in 1986.

The genre was initially dubbed "C86" after the tape itself.

A link between a genre and the C86 tape is often disputed by journalists and the bands on the tape. Everett True has argued that "C86 didn't actually exist as a sound, or style. I find it weird, bordering on surreal, that people are starting to use it as a description again"

 

Indie pop continues to have a strong following and inspire musicians, not just in the UK but around the world, with new bands, labels and clubs devoted to the sound.

Poll Results And Target audience

This research shows me that my primary audience will be aged 15-18 because this is the age group that mainly watches music videos. The target demographic is this age group because music videos in general are targeted towards a younger audience, this means I will be targeting my music video at younger age groups. Between males and females more females appear to watch music videos, this means I will be targeting females more in my video and appealing more directly to them. The main audience voted on pop videos the most in my poll, this means that I'm going to incorporate pop elements into my music video and focus more on the pop side of indie pop rather that the Alt-Rock side, however due to still getting votes for Rock I will be incorporating the Alt-Rock side of Indie-Pop as well.

Casting Infomation

Main Cast Member.
Sylvia Parker
this cast member is going to be my only cast member in the production.

shooting location

 

shooting location

This location is Country Park, in this location I will be using the natural lighting coming through the trees to shoot my talent. this could cause a problem because if there is not enough light it will be difficult to provide power in the middle of the forest.

Lyrical analysis

Focus Group

 

storyboard template 2

this is the revised version of my storyboard template and contains more space to fit the important aspects of the music video.

storyboard template

this storyboard template doesn't contain enough space to write about sound so I will revise to create a better layout.

Gotye- Somebody That I Used To Know Analysis

Gotye-SomeBody That I Used To Know

Cinematography-the cinematography of this video is very strange it features one smooth shot at the beginning tilting up along the artist’s body. The artist is painted using stop- frame animation this gradual painting shows him blending into the background. This fits with the song, showing he is being forgotten and is just fading away. Camera movements are very limited with only two movements of the camera shown.

Mise-en-scene- in this music video the main background is hand painted and slowly appears more throughout the video. The artist is stood  and the audience is given the impression that he is naked, this is to show the audience that he has nothing left to hide and is shown bare and truthful to the audience. The artist is them slowly painted and blends into the background, this is used to show that the artist is fading away and is being forgotten, this is used to show the feeling of the artist and what emotions are impacting him literally he wants to fade away and hide in the background.

The sound I weird when combined with the music video because the music video does not follow on with the song, the editing timings do not match the beat of the song due to the length of shots, this means that it is a peculiar song to watch because something about it (the timings) doesn’t always fit into what audiences expect from music videos. This means that the codes which audiences recognise are sometimes not applied and so do not appear to conform to what is ‘normal of a music video’ . the video does however also include codes and conventions that audiences can recognise such as conventional camera angles such as close ups on the singer and two shots when two are singing together.

Editing in the music video is not conventional becuase editing happens but shots last longer than is conventional for music videos.

Christina Perri- 'Jar Of Hearts' Analysis

Cinematography in Jar Of Hearts consists of cameras on tripods quite a lot, this is to emphasise the action occurring in the scene because the surroundings appear still in  comparison to Christina Perri who is rapidly moving. This is coupled with a lot of cuts between different angles with slow movement, these cuts between action and stillness are emphasised by the camera movement.

Mise-En-Scene in this music video is very dark for all of the other characters except for the artist because she is different to other girls. Animation overlaps the live action to show the audience inside the artist’s chest, the reason for this is to emphasise the lyric jar of hearts because she has an empty jar in place of her heart. The use of animation also fits into the music video because the style used is dark and inky; the style is very basic but gets the point across that she has a missing heart. The missing heart is shown to be stolen through the animation because it physically shows the heart leaving the girls; it puts an emphasis on the heart being stolen and changes it from a metaphorical meaning to a physical one. Once the artist gets her heart back the lighting changes from being dark to bright and cheerful, this is to indicate to the audience that all is once again right in the world and balance has been restored.

Editing consists mainly of long shots with cuts pronouncing the action occurring. Some of the scenes are played backwards to the audience to emphasise the action occurring, some scenes also play the action backwards and then play it forwards to re-emphasise the action and gives an unusual style to the video.  The editing gives the impression that the artist is watching the other girls get their hearts sucked out because it cuts between the girls getting their heart sucked out and the artists reactions to it, this is further emphasised when the girls who have just had their heart sucked out join the artist to dance as backup dancers.

The music videos message is that if you get too close to someone you can end up getting your heart taken and you may not be the first one for it to happen to. This is illustrated through the narrative of the music video.  The music video genre is one of alternative pop, the genre appeals to a wide range of audience members because it is designed to appeal to different groups within the same audience. The genre appeals to older teenagers who are looking for something alternative to typical pop songs produced by mass pop artists. The ideology of the video is one of revenge and if you keep trying you can become strong and independent without the need for someone.

The audience for this music video is mainly teenagers between the ages of 14-19, this age range is popular with alternative, this means that the music video is identifying its audience and creating visual elements to please this demographic. The ideology of this music video is directed at teenagers and so its message carried is aimed to a young audience who may not have all the life experiences, the videos main message is saying don't let someone mess around with your heart otherwise you may have to fight against their memory to get it back.