Evaluation

Final Music Video

Final Ancillary Tasks

These are the final copies of our ancillary tasks:

 

 

Logo Change

After creating a draft of our back cover, We realised instead of the Island Records logo, we should include our own company's logo. So Emily added our TEK Records logo to the back cover:

Barthes theory

Barthes identified five different narrative codes that can be used to analyse media products. This is how our product relates to this theory:

Action Code
In our music video the action code is present throughout as an unwinding story, however, the trigger for the audience is simply when the popular girl and alternative boy smile at each other. This suggests to the audience that there is emotion between them, which in itself shows that they want to be together but can't.

Enigma Code
The enigma code in our video is whether or not the lead singer of the band will get together with the popular girl. The audience at the start of the music video see the boy and girl look at each other but the girls friends drag her away. This is designed to infer to the audience that they secretly like each other but cannot be together. This will make the audience want to know if they will get together.

Semic Code 
The school set in our music video tells to audience that the characters are teenagers. All the props and mise en scene in our video has been placed to indicate that our characters are young , mostly alternative and in school. All theses elements of our video is typical to the genre of Pop Punk and is featured in a lot of Pop Punk artists videos such as Wheatus.

Culture Code 
Our target audience for our music video is tennagers therefore we felt that a school/sixth form setting would be relatable and appropriate to use. We also felt that by having the popular girls friends not allowing her to be with someone from a different social group (perhaps, stereotypically, a less valued one than herself) was an accurate representation of how our alternative audience may have felt at some point.

Code Of Oppositions
Our video features two binary opposites, love v evil. The love element is the popular girl and the alternative boy (lead singer of the band) wanting to be together and having feelings for each other.
The evil element is the idea that two social groups cannot interact as they are too different. This is portrayed through the popular girls friends that are trying to stop this. However, as stated by Vladimir  Propp's theory , the villain is punished and the hero is rewarded , therefore love triumphs over evil.

Today We Start To Film

Today we are starting to film. We will be filming some of the lyric shots.

After filming , we realised that it was a far more lengthy process than we realised. This was purely because we had to consider every single item in the shot , as most of the shots that we did today were still, this meant that if ANYTHING moved we had to do the whole shots again.

The writing on the white board was the hardest shot to film as we had to make sure the writing was all in the same place so the shots looked almost like a moving image when put together. However, it was quite difficult to get in the right place.

Richard Dyer

Richard Dyer proposes that a celebrity is an image and not an actual person. He argues that their image is purely fiction and is constructed. The music industry has more control over how a celebrity is portrayed as the can have more control over the image that is being portrayed.

Many examples of this can be found in pop culture such as lady gaga and Johnny Cash. Both of these celebrities have been portrayed in a similar light throughout there career due to the type of magazine articles that are written about them, the fashion they wear, the type of songs they promote and also their music videos. Although these comparisons are very different to each other , it is interesting to look at the similarities between them. They both have a specific iconic identity, and what Richard Dyer argues is that this image is not their own but one constructed by record company's and their manages but also the media.

I thought this theory was relatable to my research of music videos as it indicates that we have to consider the image of out band that we are presenting to the audience. As well as their image fitting with the genre of music, we also have to consider the type of image that we are portraying carefully. Usually with the genre of Punk Pop music, the band members are usually young alternative males that have had a hard life but have a 'happy-go-lucky' attitude towards life. Dyer argues that stars are commodities that are produced and consumed on the strength of their meaning. Therefore, to me, this suggests that our band's image needs to be relatable to our audience.

The Start Of Filming

Today we are planning to start filming. This means we are working on a filming schedule which starts tomorrow.

We have decided to film the lyrics being spelt out first for the chorus because we thought that this was the easiest part of filming to organise and arrange. We thought this because we do not need to rely and on actors and do not have to organise them. We also do not have to worry about securing a specific location as this can be filmed anywhere. We also that these were shots and scenes that can be obtained quickly and efficiently as there are only three of us so we do not need to have a specific time schedule. We are also using my bridge camera to film so we do not have to worry about booking a camera from school , there for these shots will be even quicker and easier to achieve. We have chosen to film the lyric part of the film in school as this fits with our theme, this also makes the shots more convenient as we do not have to travel anywhere.

We will be filming tomorrow morning from 10 to 10.

What we will be filming:

• someone writing lyrics on paper
• typing lyrics
• writing lyrics on a white board
• holding up signs with lyrics on
• lyrics on a Facebook status
• lyrics on hands

Christmas Task

As a Christmas treat, in the final two lessons of the term, our teacher told us we could create a Christmas video if we wanted. As a class (there is only about 9 people in my class), we decided to create a video together, and came up with the idea to recreate a famous Christmas music video. It was only a bit of fun, but our video for "Fairytale in New York" by the Pogues actually turned out pretty well. We managed to achieve quite seamless editing, and Megan, who plays Kirsty McColl in the video, performed brilliant lip-syncing to the lyrics.

Here is our video that we planned, filmed an edited all in under two hours:

Whilst the video was being edited, I decided to create a CD cover to go with our video. I had the idea to show a New York scene with a faded screenshot from our video. I simply found the background photo from a Google image search of New York, then added in the screenshot in the corner and faded it using the opacity tool. I then used the text tool to add the text. We decided to have the CD cover in black and white to match both the original video and our own video.

Animated Storyboard

This is our storyboard put to music. We are planning to do another video including a voiceover of us explaining what is going to happen in each shot, shot types and angles etc. The music and storyboard pictures are not exactly in time but counting the beats helps you to keep on track.


The blank spaces in the storyboard are where we are spelling out the lyrics. The boxes are numbered, and below is a list of the corresponding ways that we are spelling out the lyrics.

Why We Storyboard

Our Story

Practice shots

Today, we did some practice shots of some of the things we intend to include in our music video. For example, this video is a practice shot of typing some of the lyrics to fit with the music. We plan to speed up to video to fit in with the timing of the song.




This video is a slideshow of images that we took to spell out the lyrics of a part of the song. Instead of using video for this particular shot we have decided that it would be easier to take individual photos and play them in the correct order to fit with the lyrics.

Lyrical Analysis

I took Pit bull and Kesha's song Timber and analysed the lyrics to see what mood this portrayed. As I had already analysed the video I thought it would be interesting to see if the lyrics had effected the video.

 

The lyrics did seem to have a lot of relevance to the video but also it was evident that the general sound of the song (western vibe) had an impact too. However, it could be argued that the song was just a generic pop song with generic lyrics about promiscuity and wealth.

Sum 41 Fat Lip Music Video Analysis

Sum41 In Too Deep Research

The music video was directed by Marc Klasfeld and premiered in September 2001. It is a parody of the diving competition from the Rodney Dangerfield classic, Back to School. Sum 41 face another dive team, represented as stereotypical high school "jocks" with muscular bodies and red Speedos.

Marc Klasfeld is an American music video director. He has directed over two hundred music videos for artists such as Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Kid Rock, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Michael Buble', Nelly, Foo Fighters, Jewel, Sum 41, Avril Lavigne, Aerosmith and many others with multiple MTV award wins and nominations.

Music Video Analysis

 

Blink182 Music Video Analysis

This video is of the pop punk genre that I have chosen. This is by a similar band to Sum41, Blink182. This song was released in 1999.

Camera

There is a variety of different shots including: long shots, mid shots, close ups, extreme close ups, tracking shots and panning shots. These are used to convey the reality and starkness of what they are doing, running around naked. This links with the lyrics of 'What's My Age Again?' as they are playing a prank on society and being immature. This links with Goodwin's theory is the lyrics are linking to what we see on screen. The video begins with a close up of the bassist Mark Hoppus. This is done deliberately to immediately gain focus and make the audience wonder what they are doing. This zooms out to a long shot of the band running.

 

The shots don't change often to enforce the shocking image of them being naked. This furthers the idea of them being immature. The shots are also mainly mid or long shots to make sure that the audience can see what the band is doing.
 
Editing

The editing has continuity and includes sharp cuts. This is to give the idea of verisimilitude. The idea of the band being cheeky is furthered by this and is seen as to be the truth. The cheekiness of the band is a convention of the pop punk genre. Other videos that I have watched include teenagers playing pranks and being rebellious. For example, the video for the Sum41 song 'Fat Lip' includes groups of teenagers 'messing about'. As the band are naked in the video, blurred boxes and guitars are used to cover their genitals. This because the band may get a bad image if the boxes were not present. The video also probably would not be aired or gain popularity with the masses. The end shot however, features the band members bums. This was done deliberately to be edgy at the time and shock audiences, gaining popularity. Nudity was not something normal to see in music videos. 

 

Mise en scene

 

The locations and props used are quite typical to American life. This contrasts with the not normal thing that they are doing, being naked. This furthers the idea of them being cheeky and rebellious as they are seen to disturb the peace of the normal setting. The performance aspects are set in a plain white room. This does not take the focus away from the band, their music or their message of rebellion that they are trying to convey. Costume isn't used in this video as the nakedness adds interest.

 

CD cover

The cover is a typical pop punk CD cover. It is fairly simple and colourful. This one features the band. They do not always feature them unless they have star power. As Blink 182 are one of the biggest pop punk bands of all time, their star power added extra popularity to their products, especially with the band featuring on the front. The cheeky naked theme links to the video and the song lyrics again. Even though they are in their underwear, an audience can still identify the genre of their music with their cheekiness, tattoos and punk hairstyles. The logo and style of writing that the band have adopted remains the same as on their other albums and singles, allowing the audience to make connections to immediately see which band the CD belongs to. 

Music Piracy Research

What is music piracy?

Music piracy is when tracks that are copyrighted are stolen (released without owner consent, sold without owners consent, copied, used without owners consent.) This infringes copyright laws.

The Digital Economy Act 2010

1.       ISP’s music regulate illegal file sharing and downloading files by slowing down accesses to internet, sending letters to the offenders and issuing strikes

2.       ISP’s must tell police

3.       Websites can be blocked if there is a threat of copyright infringement

4.       Fines up to £50,000 can be issued- considered to be proportionate to the harm caused to the UK industry’s

Criticisms of the Digital Economy Act

1.       Public Wi-Fi?

2.       What should happen to people who illegally download material? Criminal record? Fine?

3.       One person or group?

4.       Can it ever be proven?

5.       Do the public want/agree with this law?

6.       BBC found that 87% of people thought that internet access should be a human right

7.       TalkTalk has claimed that 80% of youngsters will continue to download music

8.       TalkTalk – don’t disconnect us , 2009 , shouldn’t be everyone that gets punished

9.       Can it ever be stopped?

10.   Why is it the ISP responsibility?

11.   How have other countries done it?

 

Case Studies

Lime Wire (2010)

1.       Four-year legal battle with the US music industry.

2.       Platform intentionally caused a "massive scale of infringement" by permitting the sharing of thousands of copyrighted works by its 50 million monthly users.

3.       Founded in 2000 by Mark Gorton

4.       US recorded music sales fell to $7.7bn in 2009 from $14.5bn in 1999.

5.       LimeWire planned to release a service called Spoon, which would allow users to legally purchase copyrighted tracks. The deal fell through, however, when record labels were told that the site would need at least a year to migrate illicit filesharers to the new service.

The Pirate Bay (2006)

1.       The Pirate Bay was launched in 2003 and has established itself as the world's most high-profile file-sharing site.

2.       The Pirate Bay's fame became too much for Swedish authorities, and in March 2006 the site's offices were raided by police investigating allegations of copyright violations.

TV shack

1.       A British student can be extradited to the United States for running a website linking to sites carrying pirated TV shows and films, a court has ruled.

2.       Richard O'Dwyer, a 23-year-old student at Sheffield Hallam University,  judge Quentin Purdy ruled that there were no valid reasons why he could not be sent to New York state for trial.

3.       US customs agents are seeking his prosecution over a website O'Dwyer set up when he was 19 called TVShack, and ran until his arrest last year.

4.       This provided links to other sites hosting pirated versions of TV shows and film.

5.       so popular that the student earned £15,000 per month in advertising revenue, US prosecutors claim.

 

 

 

I wanted to make sure that we were aware of the piracy that happens in the music industry as this could be potentially damaging to the products that our chosen artists produce.

 

 

Video Analysis

 

 

Camera

This music video uses a range of shots such as long shots and close ups. However, there is a correlation between the type of shot used and when. There tends to be a use of the close up shot, mid shot or extreme close up when lip syncing is being used by the artists. This could be to make it clear for the audience who the singer is if they have never been seen before. The artists also look into the camera which would suggest confidence to the audience. This may make the audience want to be like the artists as they may idolise them.

Long shots and angled shots are used when there are other people acting, this could be because the extra’s in the video are not as important therefore the audience do not need to know who they are. This could also be relatable to this particular song as its about having a night out therefore it could be showing that a lot of people are out and that the artists are the most important people out. This could also relate to the personal identity aspect of the gratifications theory as the audience may be subconsciously thinking that they want to be part of that.

 

Mise en scene

This song has an element of country music, therefore the video include iconography of that genre of music and element of the culture as well. For example, they are in a saloon, which is quite a key element and iconic symbol of American culture. The props and locations use are typical of that aspect of America. It is also easily identifiable by the cow boy boots and hats. This shows that the director of the music video also chose the outfits for the actors very carefully. Both artists also look typical of this aspect , however they both have garments on that are typical In the pop genre to create a unique take on the country riff used , although both artists specialise in the pop genre.

Editing

All of the cuts used are quick and sharp. This could be reflective of the tempo that is used in this song as it has an element of dance music in the chorus. This quick cutting could also reflect the lyrics as it is talking about having an amazing night and drinking a lot therefore may want to give the illusion of time going fast and everyone having fun. The editing on the lighting also makes the scenes in the saloon look dark and have a red hue. The dark red effect that this creates could be relatable to the sexual suggestions that this song has as red is often related to love and passion and sex is often the main focus of a pop song.

Lyrical Analysis