Magazine Advert Third Draft

Magazine Advert Second Draft

Magazine Ad first draft

First Draft of my DigiPak

Editing stages - After Effects and Photo Shop

This screenshot shows me using the pen tool to erase everything else in the scene.

Below is a before and after shot for the inside of my DigiPak. I used After Effects to key out the green screen and to add effects to the image such as the colouring.

To undergo this edit I chose to use the programme 'After Effects', as I'd never really used it before I struggled at first to get the effects on the images. I learnt how to 'key out' the green screen to make the background transparent. I then played around with the colouring of the image by giving a reddish tint to give the image more edge and depth. After doing this I then imported the picture onto photoshop, another editing programme, to remove any blemishes on my artists face, I also gave her a beauty mark as I thought it was rather fitting for the character of Liberty Haze.

Photo Shoot

Below are a selection of some of my favourite images from the shoot. I have also made a short slideshow video on Final Cut to exhibit all the images taken on the shoot in their original format to demonstrate the variety of shots and costume used. I shot my artist in front of a green screen as I planned to change the background in post.

                            
                           

Draft of digipak

Test Shoot

Below are some images I took when I did my test shoot for my music video.

This is a shot of Primrose Hill, this is the place that I have chosen to film the time lapse for my video and the set for my artist to be hanging out with her friends. I chose this place in particular because its's an infamous place for tourists and young people to hang out as the view is amazing and it is only two stops away from Camden Town on the bus. The one issue with this shot is that because I focussed mainly on the landscape the skyline looks washed out.

This was an accidental shot that I took when I was playing with the focus button on my camera but I thought it looked really good because it captured the colours from the sun and her hair beautifully.

This is a screenshot of the footage I retrieved from my first attempt at filming the time lapse. As you can see the picture is quite drab compared to the other pictures which were all taken on the same day, this was because the footage was highly exposed thus resulting in this looking like there was an overcast.

In my video I want to be experimental in my choice of shots, so I tested out an extreme close up shot on my friends eye, as in my video I want to show my artist putting on mascara so I wanted to see if this would be doable. However as you can see the focus was on her hair mainly so the eye isn't as clear as it could be.

Here is my second attempt at an extreme close up, I believe this one is much better as there is more focus on her eyeball and eyelashes compared to the first one.

Feedback from my peers and teachers

• I contemplated changing the song to be about the demise of my artists career by making it about a dancer who is throwing her potential away by tuning up to rehearsals late and being drunk on set but I was informed that by changing this it would make it too confusing for the audience to follow. 

• However by talking to another peer, she helped me to develop this idea by suggesting that the song could be about her past, my artist could have been a budding dancer when she was younger (which suits because the rest of the dancers look really young.) To ensure that she looks older in the rest of the footage I'll be using more make up to age my artist and her costume would be more glamorous and sophisticated.

• For the section in the video where my artist walks away from the rehearsal after being yelled out, my peer suggested that I should slow that part down for added effect and also to match the sultriness of the song. She also suggested that I could add an effect to that scene; to make it more grainy to imply that it is a faded memory.

• I  received another idea to cut between the ensemble of dancers dancing and my artist strolling down the streets of Camden with a cup of coffee in her hand, to show the audience where she is supposed to be. Thus highlighting to the audience that she is late for a rehearsal that has already started which would then make it even more clear when I show her getting yelled at by the choreographer. 

• I came across an issue with my video as I found that my footage wasn't in HD, so I was suggested to turn the footage I had already filmed into a movie, where my artist would be watching herself in the therapist scene, as if it was a past memory to show her mental state. 

• I was then suggested to have my artist come out of the screen and confront herself, the actress who was sitting down watching herself on the screen will then turn around on the stage as she is watching the artist pass her will then turn into that artist performing on stage. I then suggested to have diegetic sounds of crowds cheering when this transition happens and they really like that idea.

• For the opening scene, I was advised to create an inception inspired scene by showing my artist watching herself, watching herself being interviewed. To do this, I'd shoot my artist being interviewed and mask my artist into the scene to show her watching the interview and then I'd cut  to show my artist watching this on a big screen, which is her mind. 

• Below is a screenshot of an image I wanted to choose for my front cover. However the feedback I received was that although the image looks good it will be better suited for one of the inside panels as there wouldn't be enough space for the writing.

My Pitch

I recently partook in a pitch, where I discussed: my artist, my chosen song for my music video and the story that I'm going to try and portray within the music video.

I found doing a pitch to be really helpful as it allowed me to voice my opinions and initial ideas. Moreover, this sort of set up mimics what actually happens in the media industry as ideas are put forward in this professional manner in front of a record company and a group of producers.


It also was a big help as having to talk through my ideas to an audience and seeing their reactions helped me separate what aspects of my plan were strong and which were weak or confusing. The main thing I have taken from presenting my pitch was the valuable feedback I gained from my peers and my teacher.

Below is some of the feedback I received from my teachers and peers. Fortunately, my feedback was fairly positive and all the causes of concern such as being able to retrieve a Chaise long for the therapist scene, which has now been resolved by my fellow peer. 

There was also a suggestion to film the performance part of the video at a bandstand, which sounded pretty interesting because my teacher suggested the emptiness of the bandstand could be a reflection of how my artist feel, which would then give my video even more depth.

Audience responses from survey

According to my own research carried out on "Survey Monkey", my artist and her video will mainly appeal to: females aged 25 and lower. Through this research I discovered that my initial idea of my target audience fit perfectly for the video I'm directing as you can see from the screenshots of the results of my survey, these people either preferred solo artists or didn't mind, like videos which have a narrative or story-based feel to it and are fans of indie and alternative music which is the sub-genre of which my artists song falls into. This feedback will really help me when I'm creating my Digipak and Poster because I now know for definite who I'm targeting.

Analysis of the Uses and Gratifications Theory

passive                  audience                           active

<--------------------------------------------------------------->

The theory of use and gratification is about how passive or active an audience member is.

The media effects theory assumes that audiences are passive.

An active audience is more discerning, they actively seek out media texts to have their needs met or gratified.

Uses of media text:

To be informed

• self-education
• finding out about relevant events and conditions in immediate surroundings, society and the world.
• self-identity- don't want to appear ignorant to what's going on around you
• perceived by others
• the audience might find this interesting 
• satisfying an ardent curiosity and general interest.

To be entertained

• To be amused
• to be distracted
• it fills free time
• emotional release
• escaping, or being diverted from problems.
• from a stressful world
• getting essential cultural or visual enjoyment
• sexual arousal- whether through pornographic image or explicit texts i.e. magazines and music videos.

Catalyst for social interaction

• mainstream texts bring people together, to discuss what they liked or hated
• helping to carry out social roles.
• having a substitute for real-life companionship.
• enabling one to connect with family, friends and society.
• identifying with others and gaining a sense of belonging.
• gaining insight into circumstances of others; social empathy.

Sense of identity

• connect with the texts whether its music or films
• feel an angst in the lyrics
• gaining insight into one's self
• finding reinforcement for personal values
• finding models of behaviour

Animatic of my music video

How will I use Goodwin's elements within my video?

I will have frequent references to the notion of looking and I will show the voyeuristic treatment of the female body by showing my artist looking at herself in the mirror and using close ups of the zip of her dress when she is changing. The notion of looking includes men or women being portrayed seductively or if there is eye contact with the camera, this will feature heavily in my video as it is quite a sultry song and my artist will be quite a seductive and alluring character in parts of the video. My video will acquire the notion of looking as it references the use of props. e.g. Mirrors and cameras.

There is a succinct relationship between music and visuals. e.g. either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting this will feature in my video as I'm basing my narrative on a girl telling the audience her life story, therefore illustration and amplification will be key.

Record companies tends to have certain demands for their artist and my record label isn't any different. They often include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist will have a visual style which recurs across their work. The “4th wall” will be broken in my video because there will elements of performance, which is a direct address to the audience.