Digipack Anaylsis

RnB CD covers

I have started researching for my album cover and digi pack and print add . I've made a mood board of cd covers from the most popular people in the RnB genre , so i can look at generic conventions that they all follow , so it can help me when i start producing mine.

music video

Rough Cut for my Music video

This is the rough cut of my music video . The next thing ill be doing is getting audience feedback from a facebook group or from a focus group.


 After uploading the rough cut , i decided to conduct a focus group to get feedback on my video .
I came up with five questions to ask and the question are open ended , which gives room for opinion from the group.
1. Do you think the narrative is appropriate?
2. What genre do you think it is ?
3. What can i change in term of editing ?
4. What do you like about the video?
5. Anything in general that i can change ?


Feedback summary 
1. do you think the narrative is appropriate
They all thought the narrative was appropriate because they thought it reflected what they saw on screen but they weren't sure about what the actual storyline for the narrative was. I decided i would make the narrative more clear by selecting different clips that better convey the meaning of the song . My narrative doesn't have a particular storyline it's just showing a happy couple in love doing happy things and i really want to make that clear in the video.

2. What genre do you think it is ?
They were able to identify that it was RnB.

3. What can i change in term of editing .
they thought that some clips should be more consistent specially the piano scene , which was only seen in the opening. they didn't think the video flowed well. These are all things that i can change  and the piano scenes could integrate more.

4.what do you like about the video
some scenes matched really well . It represented music videos that are current and are in the charts rights now.

5. Anything in general that i can change ?
Speed of editing is too slow .
lip synching is a bit of.
different angles would help.
change the lighting .

time management

ghj 

28/11/2012

 Right now it shows that i'm a week behind, because it's the 28th and i haven't uploaded my rough cut yet . So i have decided to come in on my free lesson and finish it , other than that my entire blog is on track and i have made a few updates for my filming and for the editing .

editing update

19/11/12

I have started my editing process.

Today I extracted all the video clips I intend to use . I used final cut express to do so. I then used my memory stick to transfer all the clips i captured to Sony vegas 10 , which is the software i will be using to edit my music video .

 

filming update

Filming
I finished my filming today Wednesday 14/11/2012. I was filming the piano scene in the drama room.

time management
I'm right on track and the moment and i'm planning to start editing nex week . First i have to capture my videos using final cut express.

PLACE PICTURE

Time management.

At the moment i'm right on track and i only need one more week of filming . which i have planned to do on Monday 12/11/2012 and Wednesday 4/11/2012 . i plan on finishing all the needed filming for the perfomance and start editing by next week.
Things needed for filming on Monday
- Look at the song
- remember to bring needed clothes for the shoot.
- Printed sheet about health and safety in chose location.

Filming update

i filmed today , during the media lesson .
My filming stage is almost done , i have completed the filming for the narrative , i have completed all my scenery shots and i have almost finished on the filming the actuall perfomance . all i need now is to finish half of the perfomance on the piano . today after college i'm having meeting with the drama teacher to talk about whern the drama room is avalible for filming .

filming update

Today 01/11/12 I filmed my main performance at Mortimer forest , which is my second location.

Filming update

Today (28/10/12 )I filmed my narrative at my first location . We finished a lot earlier than i anticipated so i though i , take advantage on  the location and weather and did a lot of scenery shots , which i had planned to film later on the production stage . Everything went well and we didn't have any problems with any health and safety . Before we started filming , i warned people on any hazards or potential dangers and how to avoid them . So everyone was cautious and there were no unfortunate accidents . 

Filming schedule

I'm planning on filming most of the scenes of the narrative on Sunday . I picked Sunday because it was everyone was available and because the weather was really appropriate for the scenes , clear skies and a few sun rays.
Shots needed
- Couple sat on a bench.
-Couple holding hand , being playful.
- Close ups of the couple gazing at each other , lovingly.
- Couple holding each other.
There are no props needed and the actors have to bring their own costumes
(which are casual but stylish and handpicked by me).
All i need to take is the camera and tripod and a copy of the music , for inspiration.

Face book group

I created a Facebook group for my cast and crew for the music video because i thought , it would be a great way to keep in touch and we could discuss and decided to key dates . i chose Facebook because it was accessible to everyone who was part of the cast or crew

Creativity

This is a mood board that i created on a word document , to show my inspirations for the music video. The mood board shows the type of things , that are associated with the RnB genre i.e the theme of relationships , the fashion and the piano.
This video is called try with me by Nicole scherzinger and it is my biggest influence in making my music video, because it gave me an idea for where i wanted to film. Try with me is set in a beautiful location in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. It shows the singer sorrounded by a shrubbery of nature and a babbling waterfall. It also inspired me to make the video more perfomance based rathern than narrative based because through the entire video she is singing, dancing and emoting and this is something that an RnB audience would respond well to even though it would be slightly redundant.

My second inspiration , comes from a film called 500 days of summer , which is a , is a 2009 American comedy drama film. It inspired me when i was writing for the narrative in my storyboard . In the film i liked how the main couple interacted with each other , through body language , facial expressions and dialogue and i wanted to emulate this for the music video.

time management 2.

this is my second time management post and i used this show that i'm right on track with the project  and that i will start filming this week .

Audience theory

Animatic for music video and blocking

Choreography / movements and blocking 
My music video won't incorporate any dance or choreography because of the tone and mood of the song and also because RnB music videos rarely ever use dance and choreography but when done i'ts seen an entropic . I have decided to follow most genre conventions , so i can create a video that has a sense of familiarity for an RnB audience.

For the perfomance , there won't be any dance ether but they will be a lot of specif movemnts that i want to follow at a specific time . i want to start with an over the shoulder shot of the person playing piano, which is the intro to the song.at this point we just watch the lead performer playing and i think this will be affective as an opening shot and will create a sense of mystery as it will be set in darkly lit room. This will last for 5 seconds.

Then the performer looks up addressing the camera , the lighting changes, because we aware now aware that the song maybe slow but is quiet upbeat. When the lip synching starts we do a variation of close up shots and close up mid shots , and i will use this as a way of showing of my biggest prop which is the piano  and also the close ups be affective and will follow a convetion of RnB which is often used as a way to promote the artist. This will last for 20 seconds. 

We then cut away to the couple. and its a long shot ; to show the location and background and the zoom in to a mid close up . at this point we don't know who the characters are yet but there is a clear relation ship because the male character has his arm around her .

 they are dressed quiet casually and this will create a relaxed mood. this shot will last for 4 seconds.

then there is a piano solo for 3 seconds , so ill show a close up shot of fingers playing the piano and this  will show a clear link between music and the visuals.

 

 

we then go back to the close ups of the singer lip synching and still playing piano, mid close ups to show the piano and then long wide takes to show the entire set , almost like an establishing shot , to show the full location

 

Now its the chorus the first few seconds will be full of scenery shots of where we are , i chose to do this since it was a new location but during editing i will overlay the images instead of cutting from one one to the other and this will help the video keep it's relaxed and flowing mood and visuals. the chorus will last 30 seconds . the 30 seconds will have a few shots of the couple mixed with the performance. The performer at 0.50 is supposed to be walking out into the forest clearing. The chorus is very upbeat and happy and this will be shown through the movement of the lead performer , facial expressions and body language.

The next 10 seconds will be showing the scene with the couple but now the location has changed and they are now in the forest clearing and are again they are having fun and being really playful, a lot of long shots while playfully chase each other around . then at the lyric ' you see this vision when you look into these eyes ' i do a close up of them individually as they look at each other (Edit to emulate an eye line match). Then we go back to the piano but just for an 2 second shot. then cross cut back to the couple for 5 more seconds and the they create a very intense mood  as they continue to gaze at each other.

 

From 1.49, the next 30 seconds are the chorus again and so we go back to the forest clearing again . and we incorparate a lot of different shots and mixing the narrative and the performance in different locations and this is something i have seen in a lot of music videos regardless of genre.

then we are back to the couple , because the next verse is very emotional and intense and this is shown in the music and lyrics and they have to convey this through body language .

Then at 2:35 - 3.06
It's back to the chorus again . Since its the final verse of the song , this time ill just focus on the perfomance and not include the narative and i feel like that will add more impact and get across the message it's trying to give . ill also add a lot of shots of local scenery , such as showing off the trees and showing the river as well. then for the pianon outro we are back in piano room on an over the shoulder shot that's just showing fingers playing .

Responce to audience feedback

After receiving my audience feedback i decided i might have to change a few thing i.e my target audience . the feedback was quiet positive but most people thought it would either only appeal to women or a small percentage of men. so i decided to change my audience profile . on my second question i asked if they thought my music video was appropriate for the genre and the feedback was mainly positive. for my third question i asked, does the music video seem achievable with college equipment ? most people thought that i wouldn't have a problem with the equipment but that i may find it problematic to find a piano . so i decided to ask the drama teacher about using the piano in the drama room and he agreed and we set up a meeting to decide what time would be suitable , and posted the permission sleep .

For my fourth question i asked if the narrative was appropriate for the song and the feedback was hundred percent positive and people thought that the narative and the story board reflected the lyrics well and the that the narrative really conveyed genre characteristics . for my final question i asked if there was anything to improve , people thought that i could put more into my story board or re-think my location.

Pitch Feedback - Focus group

This are the answers i got from my focus group.
This are the answers i got from my classmates after i showed them the pitch and asked them a few questions
 1. Does the target audience match the idea for my music video ? in what way ?

- Yes, it links and it's a typical emotive song about love and it goes with the audience
 -I think it does match with the target audience as they would be interested in RnB
 -I don't think it appeals to the male genre. the lyrics and music seem female oriented
- Yes as it quite modern and matched up very well.
 - Yes , the musc relates to our age. more female oriented because its slow.
 - Yes , the idea will be popular with women but maybe not men.

2. Do you think the music video is appropriate for the genre ?

- Yes
 - Yes because RnB songs are about love
-the video seems to fit the song and the idea of relationships is very common
- Yes
- No it's not really RnB
- Yes because it fits well wth the RnB genre and especially the instrument used

3. Does the music video seem achievable with college equipment ?

- yes but a piano might be hard to find
- Yes i do
-they shouldn't be a problem with the equipment but maybe the locations.
-Yes as it's simplistic but straight forward
 -Yes definitely
 - The music video in general seems achievable as long as you can get the piano

 4. Do you think the narrative is appropriate for the song , why ?

- Yes because the song is about love and the location is very romantic
 -yes think you really convey the genre characteristics
-the narrative and story board seem to reflect the lyrics.
-yes as the lyrics match the narrative
 - yes because t related to the lyrics
 - The narrative is very appropriate , because it shows people in a relationship

 5. Is there any constructive criticism , anything I can improve on ?

-could have maybe more of a story line.
- Change locations
- re - think location of piano
- try and encorpatate a lot of different shots for good effect
- Nothing .
 - You will need to add more shots / camera angles more often that you put in your storyboard.

Costumes and Props

Permission from artist.

Locations and health and safety

I will be filming at Mortimer's forest and The Linney forest which are both public locations , accessible to everyone , so i won't need permission.

My chosen location has a few hazards and dangers but most of them if they occurred would result in very minor injuries but can also be prevented by the people being more careful , cautious . Most of the filming takes place in a forest clearing , so i don't have to worry about people being in the way and any disturbances from other people and it's a very quiet area so all the filming should go as planned with out any unpleasnt surprises
My other location is the drama room because it contains the piano . 
I asked for permission from the drama teacher to film in the drama room  using facebook

Performers and casting

My music video only needs three people , the two characters , male and female and then needs the singer. I'm going to be the director.

This is my female lead character

in the narrative , she is available

during my media lessons; has a free period .
 She is also available

during half term when I'm planning to

most of the filming. i chose her because

of her availability and because she closely fits

the image of the character and she is exactly

 what i envisioned while writing my storyboard.

She also does drama , so she has 

experience with acting and taking direction.

This is male lead character in my narrative.
he's only avalaible during halfterm so i plan
on shooting all the scenes he is featured in
during half-term. I chose him because he had
 the right image and look for the videos
and his image suited my other lead character

this is my camera person.

she is going to handle the camera with my

direction. I chose her because of her availability

because she also has a free period when i have my

media lessons and also has half term off. also from

personal experience , i think she is very reliable and

she does photography A2 , so at least she has some

experience.

I will be be playing the role of the singer.

I think i'm the most suitable for this position

because i already know the song and lyrics and so

i don't have to use up any time learning the song. I
also fit the image that's typically shown in most RnB
music videos.
I will also be directing everything that goes on , on
set and edit the music video.

Time management

Now that i have completed my pitch , i thought it would be a good idea to make this timetable so it can help me to manage my time for the remainder of this task. the timetable gives me clear deadlines which i have to follow in order to keep track of time in a responsible manner.

RnB genre analysis

Narrative Analysis of RnB music videos.

Beyonce - Halo
Straight away we can pick out who the hero/ lead performer is in the music video , as she has more screen time and a lot of establishing close up shots,

The video follows a lot of genre conventions like that the lead performer / character always has a love interest , this is  connected to their audiences , because RnB's target audience is in the 18-25 age group and this is the age where relationships are really important. So the idea for the video is quiet redundant; the setting which is the bedroom , the costume and the editing , it was all just predictable and is common in RnB.

 The  enigma code applies to the music video because some scenes are very intriguing and we want to know 'why ? , and how to solve it' i.e when our hero is swimming/ floating in the water while wearing a wedding dress.

Trey songz - heart attack.


the video shows credits at the start of the video; producer , name of artist , name of actress , title of the song. This is intertextuality because showing the credits at the start is usually found in movies but is now getting common in music videos too .

The video follows propp. the video contains our hero , who is also the lead perfomer and main character , again this is shown through the amount of screen time , he has comapre to the other people in the video . The video also has the princes who is the price to the hero.

The video also follows some of barthes , different codes.
The enigma code- the scene starts when he  is in hospital covered in bandage and is hurt and the editing matches his failing heat beat - this keeps the audience intrigued because we want to know more like what happen ?


The cultural code : we see him strapped to a machine and in bandages so naturally we assume he is in hospital.
the video also follows some of todorov's theory.
original equilibrium - we start at the hospital
disruption- the car crash
recognition - his body shaking when he realises.
and then we are back to the hospital which is the original equilibrium .


Mariah Carey Touch my body.

The video follows andrew goodwins theory
- there is a relationship between visuals and lyrics
- there is a relationship between visuals and music- the movement (every time her heels hit the ground the beat drops)and the dancing
-Music video demonstrated genre characteristics- having the hero and the price
-frequent to notion of looking   - voyeuristic treament on the body , the camera tilts up and down to show the artists body in a very seductive manner.
- intertexual reference.
the video also follows some of Todorov's theory
original equilibrium - The male character fixing her computer
disruption - Imagining himself with her in her bedroom
original equilibrium restored - lead character  interrupting his day dream byt talking
 My Music video 
Doing this research made me think about what i would use for my own music video . From the analysis i realized that all the videos didn't just follow one theory but they were a mixture of all and that's what I'm planning for mine . the most interesting theory is for me, which I'm going to incorporate into my music video is Andrew Goodwin's theory and its very common and a bit redundant in RnB