Music Video Filming Day 1- Wednesday 28th September 2011

The filming went very well today and we managed to achieve all the shots which we aimed to film. The weather was very good and sunny, so we were able to film the outside shots successfully.

We added some additional shots and changed some of the shots which we set out in our storyboard, this was because some of the shots were not possible to shoot with the equipment we had. We will have to refilm at a later date as we did not having suitable lighting for some of the shots which will wanted to film. The shot which we need to film is the shot of Elena in the mirror as we need lighting under the mirror so we can see her face.

Music Video Permission- Created by Sophie

Permission from Amanda Kaletsky

We found Amanda Kaletsky track on www.unsigned.com it has no copyrights therefore we could use it without permission. Even though this was the case I still messaged Amanda Kaletsky via MySpace to ask her, below is the message which I sent to her. Currently, I am still waiting for a reply from Amanda Kaletsky. 

Music Video Track- Created by Sophie

Amanda Kaletsky, 'Everything Lies'-

Below is the track which we will be using for our music video.

After completing a lot of research into different artist which we could possibly use for our music, we decided to use Amanda Kaletsky as she has such a unique voice. We did a lot of research into artists from the website www.unsigned.com She was a perfect artist, as the ideas which we had for our music video we would be able to be make possible with the track which we have chosen. The ideas which we had were to create a music video similar to Adele, 'Make you feel my love'. 

Also, we wanted to go for a music video from the pop genre as this interest both of us the most. I messaged Amanda Kaletsky via her MySpace account to ask permission to use this track and this can be seen in the post 'Music Video Permission'. 

Video Music Mock Digipak Cover- Created by Sophie

Music Video Mock Magazine Advert- Created by Sophie

Music Video Shooting Schedule- Created by Sophie

Music Video Shooting Schedule

Music Video Location Permission- Created by Sophie and Tom

Music Video Camera Angle and Postions- Created by Sophie

Camera angles and Positions

As our music video is in the pop genre we want to use a large amount of close up shots. Although we will be using a large amount of close up shots we will also be using a variety of camera angles and positions.

Below are some examples of shots which we will be using in our music video:

Top left: Close up shot, Top right: Mid shot, Bottom left: Long shot, Bottom right: Over the shoulder shot

Top left: Aerial shot, Top right: Low angle shot, Bottom left: High angle shot

As well as using a variety of different shots, we will also be using different camera movement for example:

• Pan
• Tilt
• Dolly
• Zoom
• Reverse zoom

Music Video Risk Assessment- Created by Sophie

Music Video Costume Planning- Created by Sophie

Music Video Props Preparation- Created by Sophie

Music Video Actor/Performer Decisions- Created by Sophie

Performer decision

Name: Elena Hamilton

Age: 17

Occupation: Student

When considering who could perform in our music video we wanted to choose someone who had experience in performing and also someone who was very confident. Elena has studied Drama from GCSE and is currently studying A2 media and hopes to have a profession in performing. She is very confident, outgoing and is up for any challenge. Although, Elena has not performed in a music video before she has been involved in a number of productions both inside and outside of Sixth Form. 

Music Video Location Reece Shots- Created by Sophie

Images of the outside of our location

We considered a number of locations for our music video which we have brainstormed. We considered locations such as the school field, a school classroom and the school hall. After going to view these different locations we decided that Thomas's grandmas house would be more suitable. We decided to use this location as we could dress the location and would be able to leave the props there if we don't manage to film it all in one evening.

We decided to use the outside of the house as it is very deserted and we will be able to film from a variety of different angles, this will also fit well with the song choice which we have chosen.

Images of the inside of our location

The second location which we will be using is inside of the house in one of the bedrooms. We chose this location as it has a large window which we want to use for some of the shots at the beginning. We also chose this location as we took inspriation from Adele's videos and we thought that this looked very effective. This location also fits well with the start of the track which we have storyboarded. The shots which we want to use for this location can be seen in our 'Music Video Storyboard' post. 

Music Video Animatic Storyboard- Created by Sophie

Music Video Treatment- Created by Sophie

Music Video Brainstorm- Created by Sophie and Tom

Research into Magazine Adverts

Define a magazine advert-


A magazine advert are adverts which are in magazines, they can advertise/promote anything but will have to market to the specific genre of the magazine to ensure they are successful. Magazine adverts are placed throughout publications and a lot of magazines depend on the revenue from these adverts. Magazine adverts is one of the most powerful marketing tool available. Source

Conventions of a magazine advert- 

• Information about the release, this is often written in large, bold lettering
• An image or background linking with the music video or album cover
• The name of the artist in order to create brand awareness
• The name of the album so consumers can see what will be on sale
• The place of purchase
• Reviews, could be possibly from well-known celebrities 
• Persuasive, eye-catching text and imagery  
• Record label 

Research into magazine adverts-

Adele magazine adverts-

These second magazine advert of Adele do not advertise her music but advertise her as a artist. Although, they only advertise Adele as a artist people always think of her for her music so will automatically think of her music from this advertisements. The strong, dominant image of Adele is typically one of the conventions of a magazine advert. Both of these images of Adele are very dominant as she is the main headline on the front of the magazine. The image makes you want to open the magazine and read about her, on the front of the magazine it gives you minimal information about the story and on the first advert asks the consumer a rhetorical question. 

Both of these magazine adverts of Adele look very seductive this is shown as Adele is looking directly into the camera. Adele is also wearing very little facial make up but her eyes are heavily made up. This draws attention to Adele's face and makes her stand out.

                                    Source                                

                                               Source

Research into magazine adverts-

Lily Allen magazine adverts-

These two magazine adverts below are advertising Lily Allen's music videos. The first advertisement uses typical conventions of a magazine advert, firstly a strong dominant image is used of her this shows the audience that it is about her straight away without even reading the advertisement. Secondly, tracks from her album are listed on the advertisement which gives the consumer an insight of what is going to be on the album and also what to expect. Lily Allen's MySpace and website is also listed on the magazine advert, this is where the consumer can find information about the album and also keep up-to-date with what she is doing. Also on the magazine advert it gives you a place of purchase for the album which allows consumers to go and purchase it from there on the release date which is also stated. Lastly, the colours which are used on this magazine advert are the same colours which are used on the album which is being advertised. 

                                                                                                             Source

                                                                  Source

Research into magazine adverts-

Katy Perry magazine adverts-

This magazine adverts below is advertising Katy Perry's music videos. The advert uses typical conventions of a magazine advert, firstly a strong dominant image is used of her this shows the audience that it is about her straight away without even reading the advertisement. Katy Perry is dressed in the same clothes as she is on the front of the album, this shows continuity throughout. Secondly, the track which Katy Perry got to number one is shown clearly on the front of the advertisement this entices the consumer to purchase the CD as it has been such a success, this also gives the consumer an insight of what is going to be on the album and also what to expect. A picture of the album is on the advertisement so that the consumer knows what they are going to be purchasing but a place of purchase is not on there.

                                                                                                             Source

                                                                    

Research into Target Auidence

Question 1-

I asked this question so I could see which gender had answered my questionnaire, my questionnaire was completely random as I posted my survey on Facebook so that my friends could answer it. From the people which answered my survey, I found that 64% were female and 36% were male. Although, when making my music video I will ensure that I target both male and female gender. 

Question 2- 

I asked this question 'What age bracket are you?' to distinguish a suitable target market for my music video. I tried to ask a wide range of age ranges to make this completely fair but this wasn't very successful. From the data which I have collected whilst undertaking this survey I fond that the age range 12-21 was the most popular and this seems a relatively suitable target audience for my music video. This question has enabled me to find my target audience for my music video, I will be targeting the age range 12-21 year olds. 

 Question 3- 

I asked this question to find out how popular music videos are and how often people watch music videos. From the survey which I did I found that music videos are very popular, although I only asked a small range of people 5 people I asked said that they watch music videos everyday. From doing this question I have realised that in order for my music video to get a high number of views I will have to promote and advertise it well. 

Question 4- 

I asked this question so that I could see what kind of music video people prefer, I asked 'Do you prefer a music video shot in the same location or in a variety of locations?' From the survey which I asked I found that 73% prefer a music video shot in a variety of locations and 27% of people prefer a music video to be shot in the same location. This has enabled me to think about the setting of my music video and I will consider shooting my music video in a variety of locations. 

Question 5-

I asked this question to find the most popular genre within music videos. Although, I have already selected the music video which I would like to use I still thought that it was important to see the views of my target audience. Unsurprisingly, the most popular genre of music videos were pop and indie music. The genre of the music video which I have chosen is pop and indie. 

Question 6-

I asked this question to see the whether people prefer bands or artist and the results which I got back from the survey were relatively neutral. 55% of people asked prefer bands and 45% of people prefer solo artist. As they are relatively neutral I will stay with my first choice of track which I have chosen. 

Question 7- 

I asked this question to see where people normally watch music videos, as from this I will be able to see the most suitable form of advertising and what online methods I could use to promote my video. From the survey which I did most people watch music videos online this could be via YouTube, BBC iPlayer or by artist/bands websites. When designing my website and my magazine advert I will take this into consideration. 

 Question 8-

I asked this question to see if music videos do influence people to buy/download the CD, as this will help me   advertise via the digipak or on the music video where to find the CD to buy/download. From the survey which I did I find that the majority of people (73%) asked do think that music videos influence them to buy/download the CD.

Question 9-

I asked this question to see whether the digipak does help to sell the CD and from the survey 91% of the people asked said no, I think this may be incorrect as I believe that the display of the digipak does influence the sales of the CD. 

Question 10-

I asked this question to see which gender appealed to the people asked in my survey, from the survey very little people said either male or female appeal them to a certain artist, the survey shows that both genders appeal to the people asked. This makes it easy when making my music video as people do not mind if the artist/band is male or female.

Research into Websites

Research into websites-


Katy Perry's website-

Source

Lily Allen's website-

Source

Adele's website- 

Source

Research into Digipak Covers

Research into Video Directors

Research into video directors-


Source

David Fincher-


David Fincher was born on 28th August 1962 and is an American film and music video director. He is known best for his stylish thrillers but also for the music videos he has produced. David Fincher has been directing films and music videos since 1984. David has been involved in directing big budget music videos, for example: 

• Madonna- Express yourself, Vogue, Oh Father and Bad Girl
• The Rolling Stones- Love is Strong
• George Micheal- Freedom 90, The Motles, Shame
• Micheal Jackson- Who is it?

What impresses me about David Fincher is that he has directed such a vast and wide range of music videos, this shows that he is very diverse and is able to apply his skills from one genre to another. As well as producing big budget music videos he has also directed big budget films, such as 'The Social Network', 'Seven' and 'Panic Room'.

Source

Films which David Fincher has directed-

Source

Jonas Akerlund-


Jonas Akerlund was born 10th November 1965 and is a Swedish film and music director, and drummer. He is best known for his stylish music videos, which are often mock forms of movie trailers and short films. Jonas has recently won 'Video of the Year'. Jonas Akerlund has directed some big budget music videos, for example:

• Christina Aguilera- Moves like Jagger 
• Duran Duran- Girl Panic
• Britney Spears- Hold it Against Me
• David Guetta feat Rihanna- Who's that chick?
• Lady Gaga feat Beyonce- Telephone

Jonas Akerlund does not have a specific genre of music he directs, from the films which he has directed they seem to be from a vast range of genres and a very different range of music. What impresses me about Jonas Akerlund is in some of the music videos which he has directed, he uses his imagination and is prepared to take risks, for example Lady Gaga, Telephone was a very adventitious idea but was pulled off very well and achieved a world-wide global success. 


Films which Jonas Akerlund has directed-

Research into the Industry (record company, artist)

Research into the artist- 

The artist that I am planning to use has not yet been signed by a record company. The artist is from the United States and I found her songs on www.unsigned.com. 

The solo artist is called Amanda Kaletsky. The genre of her music is pop, soul and indie. Amanda Kaletsky is a singer/song writer. Amanda has sold over 2000 copies of her songs and is regularly on the radio.Amanda trained as a classical violinist from the age of four. At the age of 13, she broadened her focus by learning guitar and piano, and began developing her vocal skills with the nationally recognized Elm City Girls Choir. Armed with years of classical training and non-classical influences, Amanda eventually found a personal balance in singing/songwriting. Source

Research into the 'big four' record companies- 

"Record label" is a term originally coined to describe the physical label on a vinyl record, which would display the manufacturer's name. Over time, record labels have developed into big companies that brand and promote music. The current music market is dominated by five of the biggest record labels. These big companies are known as major labels, in contrast to the smaller independent labels which, between them, have a one-fifth to one-quarter share of the U.S. music market.

Universal Music Group

• Universal Music Group is the biggest record label.
• Universal Music group has a market share of almost one-third overall. 
• Universal Music group either owns or has a significant share in labels including Interscope, Geffen, A&M, Island Def Jam Music Group, Decca and V2. 
• Universal Music Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of French media conglomerate Vivendi. 

Source

Source

Sony Music Entertainment

• Sony Music Entertainment is based in Japan 
• It approximately has one-quarter market share in the U.S
• Ranking as the second-largest of the major record labels
• Sony Music Entertainment owns labels including Columbia, Epic, RCA and Jive.

Source

Warner Music Group

• Warner Music Group has a 15% percent share of the US market
• Warner Music Group is the third-largest record label
• Warner Music Group was previously part of Time Warner
• Warner Music Group owns labels including Atlantic Records Group and Rhino Entertainment.
• At the end of 2008, negotiations between WMG and YouTube.com broke down with the result that WMG moved to have all videos by its artists removed from YouTube.com.

Source

EMI

• EMI is based in the U.K
• EMI Group has a U.S. market share of approximately one-tenth. 
• In the 1990s, many British popular bands were signed to EMI. 
• Now the label is branching out into newer genres such as "grime," with the signing of U.K. rapper Dizzee Rascal.

Source

It is highly unlikely that Amanda Kaletsky will get signed by one of the 'big four' as they have so much control and ownership of the record industry market. There are smaller more independent record companies situated in the US, for example Sweatshop Studios located in New York could sign Amanda. Sweatshop Studios signs artist from any genre and tries to turn their 'raw talent into professional attractive artist'. 

Source

Genres of Music

Genres of Music-

A genre is “a kind of literary or artistic work”. A genre can also be described as “a class of artistic endeavour having a characteristic form or technique”. Source

Pop-

Rihanna

Pop music (a term that originally derives from an abbreviation of "popular") is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented towards a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes. The basic form for pop music is the song and usually a song consisting of verse and repeated chorus. Most often, the songs are between 2 1/2 minutes and 5 1/2 minutes in length. There have been notable exceptions. The Beatles' "Hey Jude" was an epic 7 minutes in length. However, in many cases, if the song is abnormally long, an edited version is released for radio airplay such as in the case of Don McLean's "American Pie." It was edited down from its original 8 1/2 minutes length to just over 4 minutes for radio airplay. Source

Rhythm and Blues (R & B)-


Rhythm and Blues music, or R&B music, was originally termed "race music". It was intended for black audiences. A combination of jazz, gospel, and blues, the term "R&B" was originally coined in the late 1940s in the United States to be used as a less offensive marketing term.  In the late 1940s and into the fifties, R&B groups consisted of brass instruments and woodwinds, as well as drums, piano and vocals. These elements were common in jazz bands, but R&B musicians produced a heavier sound with a steady beat. As the fifties progressed, the genre became notable for its sexually suggestive lyrics and provocative dancing associated with it. Source

Left: Mary J Blige, Center: Janet Jackson, Right: Whitney Houston

Independent (Indie)-


In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie", is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing.  In the 2000s, because of changes in the music industry and the growing importance of the Internet, a number of indie rock acts began to enjoy commercial success, leading to questions about its meaningfulness as a term. Source

Left: The Stroke, Right: Coldplay

Jazz-


Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a confluence of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th century American popular music. In jazz, the skilled performer will interpret a tune in very individual ways, never playing the same composition exactly the same way twice. Depending upon the performer's mood and personal experience, interactions with fellow musicians or even members of the audience, a jazz musician/performer may alter melodies and/or harmonies. Source

Left: Louis Armstrong, Center: Frank Sinatra, Right: Lena Horne 

Hip-Hop


Hip-Hop is a popular urban youth culture, closely associated with rap music and with the style and fashions of African-American inner-city residents. Source Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing. Other elements include beat boxing. Source

Left: T-Pain, Centre: Flo-Rida, Right: Cee-Lo-Green

Rock- 

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music. Rock music also drew strongly on a number of other genres such as blues and folk, and incorporated influences from jazz, classical and other musical sources.

Left: Elvis Presley, Centre: The Rolling Stones, Right: Led- Zeppelin