How did you use media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages??

In the early research stages of our media production we utilized ‘youtube’ is my main method in order to analyze the types of videos and the types of concepts used in dubstep/drum and bass videos. Youtube proved extremely helpful as it has a huge archive

Of videos to analyze as well as public feed back to show how the video is perceived by the public.

We also briefly looked at posters and CD covers to understand the sort of ‘style’ the music gives off. This helped us when it came to making our own posters and CD covers as Chase and status CD covers tend to be plain and and simple so we also tried to keep with their trend as our media production was to the chase and status song ‘time’.

We used photoshop to create our ‘digi-pack’ as it is a simple editing software that gave the possibility to create something of a master piece without it being overly complex.

As photoshop was created as a photo editor/creator it was precise and simple. In terms of editing we didn’t do much to pictures other then add effects such a grey scale and negative but it was extremely helpful as it produced the results we wanted.

As our chosen genre is relatively new and recently starting to become more and more mainstream genre it was interesting to see the different concepts used in videos as a lot of them were art house and a few are narrative.

Through the production stages the main technologies used were the cameras and final cut pro. Final cut was the most important part of our production as it allowed us to construct and edit the different shots we had acquired. We used final cut pro’s filters in order to create various different effects (flash backs etc) and took advantage of the fade transition option to make the video run smoothly and not look ‘jerky’.

Though out the evaluation stages we used cameras to film feedback on our production and also used final cut to produce a directors commentary.

what technology was used in the editing and production of the music video and why?

Final cut pro

For our music video we needed to compile the shots using the video editing software which is available from the technological conglomerate apple. To successfully use final cut you must first compile a group of shots in no particular order to be put into the time line. After the pieces of filming are completed and have been successfully transferred into the programme they can be processed and placed in the time line from the list on the left hand side of the screens. This was a reason why we wanted to use final cut pro as it enabled the editing of the clips run smoothly as each shot had it'sown particular name.

The time line in final cut pro was also an advantage to a successful editing process as it gave us a chance to constantly be able to put our clips into place in the time line and this let us edit them i.e. add an effect for example the flashback effect, or the quickening of the pace for the video i.e. the shot of Remeel waiting at the bus stop. This was also a huge advantage for our group because files could be stretched out so we could edit them like shortening a clip so the video ran more smoothly and also didn’t make the story seem to peculiar or too hard to keep up with. There are 2 screens located above the time line,on both of these screens is a shot one of the is of the clip which you are editing at that moment in time and the other one is the whole thing or the finished product after editing is completed. Another positive about the use of final cut pro in order to compile clips and edit them is that the programme has a specific place on the time-line for the audio to be placed in this case it was chase and status ft Delilah “time”.

Media suite.

During the production of the video we used the media suite, this facility enabled us to successfully film some vital scenes of our music video. For example we used the cameras around the room to determine where we wanted Samantha to stand to help us get the footage right from all 3 angles.

To operate these cameras, by this I mean alternate between cameras 1-3, we used the motherboard of the production suite. The motherboard allowed us to alternate between the cameras at a very high tempo this meant that we could have effects inthere such as fades etc

. The studio helped us immensely as it meant that we could also choose what sort of lighting which we wanted on the person doing the lip syncing. these were all key factors when it came top deciding whether or not to use the suite.

Goodwin's theory and our music video project

Goodwin’s theory of music videos consists of 6 steps or categories to analyse music videos; these are:

1) Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics- stage performance.
2) There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals- illustrative, amplifying or contradicting.
3) There is a relationship between music and visuals- illustrative, amplifying or contradicting.
4) The demands of the record label- close ups of artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work.

5) There is frequently reference to notion of looking and female body.

6) There are often intertextual reference- films, TV programmes or other music videos

Our music video has some of these categories in it, so we can use Goodwin’s theory to analyse it.

Music videos demonstrating genre characteristics.

In our music video we had a little bit of performance, with a female lip-syncing in the studio. We did this to break up the narrative and link the next scenes together so it was smooth and all the sequences flowed. We didn’t have a dance routine or much other performance as the genre we were doing don’t have it; we found when researching the ‘dubstep’ music videos didn’t show singing apart from if they were doing a concert and it showed the audience and them performing on stage, however, we couldn’t create this atmosphere as it would cost too much and probably take too much time and so wouldn’t be finished in time. Most of the videos in this genre are narrative, the Nero video was all story so originally we wanted to have a full narrative piece but as the project went on we decided to have some performance in our video.

Relationship between lyrics and visuals.

Our lyrics were about waiting for someone and disappointment; our visuals related to the lyrics sometimes but we used the original video for this song to give us prompts on our video. The Chase and Status one had a girl having to deal with her mum and dad’s fights and abuse and how she was dealing with it, we didn’t copy their video but used an angry, young couple who go through bad times in their relationship but we reflected on their happy moments as well. The lyrics and the title of the song ‘Time’ so we had some references to time for example, a clock and waiting at a bus stop; in editing we sped up these two clips to show how much time the male has waited, thought or remembered about his relationship.

Relationship between music and visuals.

In our video the visuals go with the music very well; the cuts are on the beats and the bigger or louder parts of the song match with the action we have on screen. Each time the music builds, the video is of the clips that have been sped up, this emphasizes on the music and how fast the male’s time is going. Another part in the music is at 2:24 where the music goes quieter and less instruments and noise is going on also Delilah’s voice softens and the notes she sings lengthen; so we have placed a clip of the couple on a rooftop with the sunlight shining through the gaps when their talking, this makes them into silhouettes. This looks really pretty and it matches the music as it creates a happy atmosphere and makes the whole shot and video look like the couple are in love, we didn’t need to put a filter on this shot as the sunlight made the clip have shades of yellow and oranges like the sunset which is natural and obviously not artificial also it goes with the music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we9jeU76Y9E&ob=av2n : and go to 2:24 to listen to the musical change we mean.

The demands of record labels.

Goodwin said that for audiences to recognise the main person or artist they camera angles have to be close ups of the character to distinguish them from any other actor in the video, this makes the viewers recognise them and remember them. Taking this into account we shot the lip-syncing clips with a close up of the female artist and then a faded shot of a mid shot next to it whilst we filmed it using two different cameras at the same time instead of editing it that way after. Also because there’s a male character who tells his story, we used close ups of him as well to show his reactions to things, his emotions and try to put across what he could be thinking.

The notion of looking and female body.

There is some sense of looking in our video, in a way that the male is looking for his life to make sense as everything seem to be going wrong with his girlfriend. At one point he’s looking over the edge of a wall before he jumps so he is looking for reasons and also looking over the edge. Another time he is looking at another female, that’s why his girlfriend started shouting at him. This also links to the part that Goodwin says about the female body, the character obviously saw another girl attractive and this is what Goodwin is talking about, that men see women as sexual figures; even though we didn’t show girls in short dresses and dressed provocatively like artists have in their music videos.

Intertextual references.

Intertextual references mean; in a music video the story line is similar or copying a famous story or another music video. For example, Madonna’s video ‘Material girl’ is similar to ‘Gentlemen prefer blondes’. Our music video doesn’t really do this, apart from maybe a slight similarity to ‘Romeo and Juliet’ because the girl dies so he kills himself, even though he mistakenly kills her. This is the only reference to anything else. We could have maybe done more using this technique but then we would have taken someone else’s ideas and not expanded on our ideas.

By Sam

comparing AS and A2 projects

In AS we had to create a beginning to a film; without giving too much of the story away and over explaining the ideas for the next sequences for the rest of the film. We worked in groups to research, plan, film and edit the opening scene. We were allowed to use our own music for more effect but couldn’t use other artists’ work. We had to keep a ‘blog’ updated explaining what we had done and why, also putting on photos and research into other film openings. In A2 we have to create a music video for any genre of our choice. There are some similarities to this year and last year’s work, for example, we had to work in a group of up to 4 people, use the same technology and software (camera and ‘final cut pro’ in editing), go out of college to different locations, research and plan what we were going to film, draw up a storyboard and also use a ‘blog’ to update and inform teachers and the examiners what we have been doing and ideas for our projects. However there were also differences; this year we could use the studio to film lip-syncing scenes, whereas last year there wasn’t a need to use it because a film had to be more natural and at a location not the subject placed on a ‘green screen’ image.

We have each wrote a post account on how we have found the projects by comparing them together.

By Sam

Samantha McCaul

Last year my group and I made an opening sequence to a film; it was about a boy losing someone he loved. This year a new group and I created a music video for Chase and Status’ song ‘Time’. I found last year’s project easier mainly because we had a set story board and a clear idea what we were filming so we could go out and film the footage; whereas this year we knew what we wanted but came up with new ideas all the time so filmed them along the way. Also this year we had a song to fit clips to in editing so we had to fit the shots with the timing and beats of the music which was more stressful but easier in a way because we knew what we had to fit in where and what type of shots we wanted for different sections in the music. The music project for A2 I got more involved with the editing side of the project because I wanted to learn how to use ‘Final cut pro’, also Rameil and I had clear ideas and thoughts about how we wanted things to look; even though he did a large amount of the editing I learnt how to put effects and transitions on the different clips to create the film.

The ‘blog’ this year was a bit easier to understand because we are using the same software as last year, also I knew the basic information we needed to post onto the it and bring in some of the criticisms, difficulties and positive feedback from last year’s blog to make this one better and have all the information and research we need to get good marks on this part of the project. A new task this year was the ‘digi-pack’ where we had to make four panels for a CD case and an advertising poster to promote our video and it’s song. This was good because as a photography student I could use my skills to copy the Chase and Status style pictures of a simple black and white photo with bright, block, bold writing for the title and artist. However, some ideas didn’t work in the way we had thought it would look so I went with the plain but effective watches on arms and purple writing. Even though last year our group thought it would be good to make a poster for our film so we tried it, this year we had to, so the rest of the group created the poster for this project.

In conclusion, some tasks were easier this year because I had experience of doing the same last year so I could improve in this project. However, there were more tasks this year which had deadlines, I found this difficult to collect everything we needed for each section to be able to hand it in on time –even though we did get everything in on the deadline, I feel if we had more time or sorted out the time limits and when we had to do things by more thoroughly we would have had an end product where all aspects of it were of equal grades and effort put into them-. With this I am definitely concentrating on my time keeping more for new projects especially for university.

2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts (the magazine advert and CD digipak)?

The main product of our project is the music video to ‘Time’ by Chase and Status featuring Delilah. Our music video fits the dubstep genre as it is a narrative that isn’t completely relevant to the song lyrics, for example when we were researching this genres’ videos the Nero song didn’t match the song in some ways; however ours does have some similarities to the original video to the song so it does match some of the lyrics and the emotion of the song in some ways. Also we had a girl lip sync the song to give the performance part of the song and to break up the heavy story that at the beginning was a bit confusing but we changed some and the performance of the ‘artist’ gave it a different feel and made it look more realistic and as if she’s telling the story.

The ancillary text pieces are based again on how Chase and Status design their CD covers by using black and white photography that seems to not have much relevance again to much but because of this and the bold bright yellow text it is easily identifiable as them who the CD belongs to. Our photographs have some similarities to the ones we have analysed; they are black and white on a white plain background however, the photos we have taken are of peoples hand with their watches on to link it to ‘time’ as a theme throughout the cases and some relating back to time in our video as well by using the clock and different times of the day and even different days. The Writing of the title and artist, also the thank yous’ and song list are the same just different sizes depending on their importance to grab the viewer’s attention, for example the title is in a bigger font than the thank you writing. Even though we tried to keep it similar to the original writing so everyone recognises it’s a Chase and Status CD we changed the colour of the writing, keeping it bold, big and clear but instead of yellow letters we used purple as it’s more contemporary and at the moment all teenagers like purple and as they are our target audience we chose this colour, it’s not too ‘in your face’ but it still caches your eye.

By Sam

3) What have you learnd from your audience feedback

Our media project was the music video to the chase and status song 'time' it appeals to the young teenage group of society and some of the adult section as well. We carried out interviews as well as feedback from the people we felt fitted the genre of music that we carried out.

Some of the feedback we gained was the fact that they said the pace of the video at the beginning was slow and a music video to the drum and bass of that category is usually fast pace and has aspects of intensity. This was one of the group’s main worries as the video did not portrait some of the comments given but some did comment that the pace of the video with the song related and that there was a link between them as the song was mostly very soft and they said that this was actually a very synchronized video. However for other it didn’t appeal to so as a group we had to make it more exhilarating by changing the video a bit and giving more effect like the earthquake and glow, to give the feel of intensity and pace as when interviewed again they commented on it as being much better, fit to the people of the genre of a drum and bass music video.

John was one of the people I interviewed, the comments he gave was of great description as he said he didn’t follow the storylines as he said he could not understand or get the concept that the video was trying to create cause we had a love/cheat theme but was hard to understand. We change it to a love storyline and wasted life, which the audience agreed and confided that the video was better as they could not only understand but relate to this and the scenarios they may have faced in their lives. Another aspect was the camera angles that they said could have been done better however is hard as the angle we had done, we felt were to the best of our abilities as there where various shots. We gave after that other angles like high shots and shots looking up to give more variety of shots in the video to keep audiences interested.

Another feedback was from a very technical friend called Kane that made loads of positive contents as well as some extremely critical criticisms that some of the group felt as hurtful as he said that the essence of the video was good and that there were generally loads of drum and bass material in the video however the lip synching as he said was not clear as well as the confidence of the girl in the video showed. To Kane he found this a major floor as this could bring the potential for this video down as the acting was not convincing. He said that the main actor being Remial and Melika were very convincing and looked heartfelt giving more of a convincing atmosphere of love as they kissed which most people would find hard to do on camera. We retook the lip singing and on the time line of final cut pro changed it and made it better, which he confirmed.

The final person was Leah Vell who gave loads of positive feedback as she said the video was very good very entertaining however off the camera she did say that the lip synching could have been better as well as the lighting which we tried to do but found it hard as the weather affected this and could possibly do this as after college when we tried filming the sun had already set.

The final one was from an ex pupil who took media call Derek who gave goo insight however refused to do it on camera but said that this video matched his genre that he loved to listen to and paid good detail to the video and said that we had do a good job on the video however we had done various thing wrong which could have been done better. He commented on the lip-synching, which we had improved and made better. The pace at the beginning to him was slow and could put audience off watching it. He said the acting was good but could have been heartfelt and done in better lighting and gave us examples of key locations that could have been used like the canal next to central Manchester where there is better places to get angles at. These comments helped us with the further development that we had carried out and made better. Initially some feeling where hurt and some of the group took the insight hard and offensive but where professionally and arose from it.