Shooting schedule

I was unable to shoot on the 28th of November so I have now arranged to shoot on Saturday 5th December. I have also checked the weather for this date to ensure that it wouldn't rain. The weather is set to be windy but dry, this means that I will be able to shoot all my outdoor scenes on this day. I will start shooting at about 10:00 am to ensure I have plenty of time outdoors before it gets dark, I will try to shoot all of my indoor scenes on this day as well.

Font

These are the fonts that I am considering using for the name of the album on my digi-pak. I have chosen to use a handwritten style font as I think it will compliment the serif font I used for the artists name. From feed-back of my mock-up, I was told that the font I used for the album name was too similar to the font I used for my artists name therefore I have chosen a font that is very different yet have a few similarities e.g. the fact that both fonts are formal.

Out of these fonts, the font that I think will look the best on my divi-pak is "Jellyka Delicious Cake" (the forth one down)

Feedback Of Digi-Pak

From my feed-back, I found that people think that there is too much contrast between the two fonts I used on my front cover. As a result of this feed-back, I could either change the hand written font that I used for the album title or I could change the formal font that I used for my artists name.
I have also been told that the artists name should fill the whole width of the album cover.

I have decided to change the hand written font to a font that is more classic/old fashion as I think that it would go better with the classic serif font.
I have also changed the layout of my font so that it can be seen more easily, here are two ways I have changed the layout.

Name Survey

I had three names that I was considering using for my artist;

Triyo- (because my artist uses triangles to convey the point the her album displays her emotions)

Solé- (because it has connotations of being alone which is well suited to my artist)

Virani- (Is of indian origin and means "alone" which again suits my artists nature)

I conducted a survey to find out what names my target audience members liked the most.

The results from this survey show that my target audience members like the name Solé the most as 80% of the participants picked the name as their favourite. 0% of my target audience picked Virani as their  favourite and many stated that the name was; "too common." Due to this feed-back, I have ruled out the name Virani.



The name that I have decided to use for my artist is Solé due to both the positive response in the survey and my personal preference.

Mock-up

This is an example of how I want the front and back panels of digipak to look. I have created the
disintegrated effect shown in the first panel by layering two of the same images on top of one another and liquifying the bottom one using the liquifying tool. I then used a brush to remove bits of the top layer and reveal some of the bottom layer.


I wanted every panel to look cohesive, therefore I used used the same background colour and the same font, I also incorporated parts of the disintegrating face in each panel.

I based the name of the songs on concepts that could be seen as gothic as well as basing it on my artists personality and feelings.

This image will take up the three back panels of my digi-pak. I have chosen to use images of my artist   and change the opacity of each one to give the illusion that my artist is disappearing which relates to the name of the the album (Disappear) it also gives the panels some coherence.

Shooting schedule

My first day of shooting will be on Saturday 28th November between 3:00pm and 6:00pm. On this day I will film all the shots that take place at my house, therefore I did not have to take into account weather when planning when to shoot.
Before shooting (at about 2:00pm) I will set up all the equipment such as the lights, the tripod, reflectors, costume, make-up etc so that I am prepared to film.

Digipak Ideas

These are a few ideas for my digipak. My album will be entitled disappear therefore I came up with the idea of my artist disintegrating on the front cover, this also relates to the lyrics for my song which suggests that she may want to disappear from society.
I came up with the idea to use triangles in my digipak this is because triangles represent fiery emotions such as; love, hate, empathy and anger in many Tibetan cultures. My artists songs are based on her emotions and feelings therefore I think that she would use triangles to convey that the album will be based on that.

http://symboldictionary.net/?tag=triangle

Shot List

Shot Type	Angle	Movement	Notes
Mid-shot	Eye-level	circular tracking around the actor starting from the back going all the way around ending with direct mode of address.	The shot takes place in the woods and the actor is still (with the lyrics; "mmmmmm")
Mid-shot	Eye-level	Slowly tracks forward toward the actor.	The shot takes place on a dining room table that is fully set. ("mmmmmm")
Mid-shot	Eye-level	Slowly moves closer to the actor.	The actor is looking in a bathroom mirror ("mmmmmm") and starts to sing. ("I'm a princess cut from marble, I'm smoother then a storm")
Mid-shot	Birds eye shot	Slowly moves over the dining table until the shot becomes a mid angle shot revealing the artist sitting on the table.	("and my necklace is of rope, I tie it and untie")
Mid-shot	Eye-level	Slowly moves closer to the actor then circles her	Actor is sitting down in a living with people talking around her room (goes with the lyrics; "people talk to me, but nothing ever hits") then stands up and walks out of frame. (Goes with the lyrics; "I'm done with it")
Mid-shot	Eye-level	Tracks the actor as she walks through the forest	Actor walks through the forest whilst singing ("ooooooo, this is the start, of how it all ends")
Mid-shot	Eye-level	none	Actor is dancing in the forest.  ("they use to shout my name now they whisper it, Im speeding up, and this is the red orange yellow flicker beat sparking up my heart")
Mid-shot	Eye-level	Moves closer to the actor then moves further away from the actor	The actor is sitting at a dining table singing ("I dream all year, but theyer not the sweet kind, and the shivers move down my shoulder blades in double time")
Mid-shot	Eye-level	Moves closer to the actor then moves further away from the actor	The actor is in a bathroom looking in a mirror whilst singing and moving to the music("and now people talk to me, i'm slipping out of reach now, people talk to me and all their faces just blur But I got my fingers laced together and I made a little prison And i'm locking up everyone who ever laid a finger on me") then actor wipes off her lip stick. (Goes with the lyrics; "I'm done with it")
Mid-shot	Eye-level	Tracks the actor as she walks	Actor is walking through the same forest but is further along to show that she has been walking for a long time ("This is the start of how it all ends")
Mid-shot	Eye-level	None	The actor walks towards the camera whilst singing ("they use to shout my name now they whisper it, Im speeding up and this is the red orange yellow flicker beat sparking up my heart")
Mid-shot	Eye-level	Tracks the actor as she walks	Actor is walking through the same forest but is further along to show that she has been walking for a long time ("we're at the start, the colours disappear I never watch the stars, theres so much down here, so I just try, keep up with the red orange yellow flicker beat sparking up my heart")
Close up shot	Eye-level	none	Actor looks at the camera ("beat")
Close up shot	Eye-level	none	Shot of actors left side profile ("beat")
Close up shot	Eye-level	none	Shot of actors right side profile ("beat")
Close up shot	Eye-level	none	Actor looks at the camera ("beat")
Distant-shot	High angle shot	Slight panning across to show the scenery	The actor is at the edge of forest looking into the distance ("mmmmmm")

CD Cover Analysis

CD cover analysis

We can see that this album cover follows the conventions of its genre (which is pop), we can see this through the fact that it uses close up shots which is a generic convention that has been used by many other pop artists e.g.. Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Demi Lovato, Jason Derulo, Justin Bieber etc. This CD cover also uses direct mode of address which again is not uncommon in CD covers of this genre. Close up shot are usually used to show the audience the artists identity and so that there album stands out to fans, it also enables them to know who the artist is. CD covers of this genre tend to vary a lot in colour schemes as they can be colourful or not be very colourful. However there are many examples of pop artists using a black and white colour scheme for example; Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and many others have used a black and white colour scheme.

The writing on Jessie J's CD cover is the only thing on the CD that is not black or white, this makes her name stand out which would help her audience to identify her album on a shelf at a shop. The font that Jessie J uses is also a font that represents her as an artist as it is a font that she uses in her music videos and on her follow up album cover, therefore the font acts as a symbol of Jessie J. It is very common for artist to do this, example of artists that have their own font are; Ed Sheeran, Adele, Little Mix, Rihanna and many others. Jessie j's font fits with the genre of music as it is curly and big which compliments the style of music.

In the image, Jessie J is wearing black lipstick and black nail polish which could be due to her personal style or perhaps due to her personal influences (e.g. she my be influenced by gothic culture). This shows some of her individuality within the genre of pop. 

People may buy this album because of influences from their niche group which would provide them with a sense of belonging. Audience members may also be able to relate to the artists style. The name of the album is in smaller writing then the artists name which suggests that it is not as important.

The back of the CD is very plain and only has the names of the songs on the album, as well as the production details in small print. the colour (white) also matches the background of the front cover.

The font used for the song list is bold and big and it is all in capitals which reflect the pop genre and stands out.

My Pitch

Mood Board

Style and Make-up

Due to my artists influence from gothic culture, my artists style will be relatively dark and smart, this is because my artist dresses for herself rather than anybody else.
At the beginning of the music video when she looks at herself in the mirror, her cloths will be more normal and she will be wearing more make-up, she will then wipe the make up of her face to show that she is no longer conforming and from then onwards her cloths will go against conventions.
When my artist walks through the forests, she will be wearing a very formal and elaborate black dress. I feel that because the style is so out of context, it adds to my artists rebellious nature and non-conformist personality.
My artist will be wearing minimal make-up to show that she is comfortable the way she is and wont let social norms tell her otherwise.

Style Influences

The lyrics to my chosen song suggest that my artist strives to be different/unique and does not want to be part of society, examples of these lyrics are; "I'm done with it", (the way I interpret this lyric is that she is done with conforming and being part of society) , "People talk to me, but nothing ever hits", (I interpret this lyric as the artist not being able to connect with anybody and therefore not feeling included  in society). For this reason I feel that my artist would want to stray from conventional pop music




I have researched other artists that attempt to stray from conventions and have taken influence from them to create my artists style.

Amy winhouse's style was very unique in modern day society as it is majorly influence by 50s styles which is clear from the beehive hair style as well as the clothing. This style ignores conventions of modern day artists.

Amy Winhouse's make-up is also unique as is is quiet minimal apart from the lip and eye make-up

Lady Gaga is an example of another artist that doesn't conform, this is evident from all of her unique styles such as her meat outfit which is seemingly completely random.

Gothic Culture

The "goth subculture" is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre.

Being a "goth" means different things to different people however, to many it highlights their indifference towards society. From my research I found that "goths" do not always have the same style or listen to the same type of music etc., however they find beauty in all things dark and possibly dead, in this way, they do not follow social norms and values, for this reason, I think that my artist would find inspiration from gothic culture and gothic culture would therefore influence her style. (My chosen song is also very dark and haunting which relates to gothic culture). 

Artist

My artist is a singer song writer who is influenced by gothic culture (which she was introduced to originally from studying gothic architecture at school, this led to her researching gothic culture and it soon became a massive part of her way of life) as well as pop rock music This is because of the fact that her parents were also interested in this type of music, however the genre of music that she produces is indie (which came about through merging her two influences). Some of the bands she cites as inspiring her were; "Arctic Monkeys" and "The Killers", She started writing songs when she was 14, This came about because of her love for piano playing. She posted her songs on youtube and on her Tumblr. Along with her music she also posts pictures and short clips of things that inspire her for example paintings, and pictures of her role models.

 These are examples of things that Lorde posts on her Tumblr which is similar to what my artist posts on her Tumblr although more personalised to her.
This gives the audiences glimpses of her personality.
Another example of an artist that uses social media to express her personality to the audience is Lana Del Rey who has her own website. here, she puts up information of tours, album and general information about her.

My artist was singed to Republic Records at the age of  15 after being spotted on youtube, she has been working on her first album for two years. This music video is for her second released song from her first album.

Republic Records has signed many other indie artists such as; James Bay and Florence and the machine -Republic Records has the prestige of an indie label but also the power to distribute globally, in particular the American market. Many acts signed with this label are very mainstream such as Taylor Swift, Drake etc.

The name of my artist is Solé, as the name has connotations of loneliness which relates to my artist as she feels that she is no part of the world. The single (yellow flicker beat) also suggests that she prefers not to be a part of society.

My Chosen Song

This is the song I have chosen to use for my music video. ("Yellow Flicker Beat" by Lorde) The genre of this song is indie.

Lyrics

I'm a princess cut from marble, smoother than a storm
And the scars that mark my body, they're silver and gold
My blood is a flood of rubies, precious stones
It keeps my veins hot, the fires find a home in me
I move through town, I'm quiet like a fire
And my necklace is of rope, I tie it and untie it

And our people talk to me, but nothing ever hits
So people talk to me, and all the voices just burn holes
I'm done with it (ooh)

This is the start of how it all ever ends
They used to shout my name, now they whisper it
I'm speeding up and this is the
Red, orange, yellow flicker beat sparking up my heart
We rip the start, the colors disappear
I never watch the stars there's so much down here
So I just try to keep up with them
Red, orange, yellow flicker beat sparking up my heart

I dream all year, but they're not the same kinds
And the shivers move down my shoulder blades in double time

And now people talk to me I'm slipping out of reach now
People talk to me, and all their faces blur
But I got my fingers laced together and I made a little prison
And I'm locking up everyone that ever laid a finger on me
I'm done with it (ooh)

This is the start of how it all ever ends
They used to shout my name, now they whisper it
I'm speeding up and this is the
Red, orange, yellow flicker beat sparking up my heart
We rip the start, the colors disappear
I never watch the stars there's so much down here
So I just try to keep up with them
Red, orange, yellow flicker beat sparking up my heart

And this is the red, orange, yellow flicker beat
Sparking up my heart
And this is the red, orange, yellow flicker beat-beat-beat-beat

Target Audience Member

This is my target audience member.

She is between the ages 15 and 25, therefore she can more easily relate to my artist who is in the same age group and the same gender.

She likes to read books and enjoys English Literature therefore she is interested in finding the meaning of song lyrics rather than being interested in only the tune, as a result likes indie music more than pop music.

She has a unique style and doesn't mind standing out and being different, which is similar to my artist, which is why she is a fan and is able to connect with her, this is also due to the way my artist dresses.

I also found from my research that the artist "Lorde" (The actual singer of my chosen song) has an audience of mainly teens through to young adults.

Lordes Audience

My target audience member will also use social media sites such as Tumblr. From my research I found that Lorde uses Tumblr to engage with her audience. My target audience member may also use Tumblr to find out more information about my artist.  http://lordemusic.tumblr.com


Gratification
personal identity- I think that the target audience member would enjoy this artist and this genre of music due to the fact that it may reinforce their personal values as well as finding a role model.
Information- I don't think my artist will gain any information from this music video apart from possibly learning more about themselves, my target audience member may also use the music video to find a meaning within the lyrics.
Integration and social interaction- I don't think that my target audience member would watch my music video for social interaction as the genre of the music is not a popular genre and therefore would not be seen by a lot of people. However my target audience member may have a niche group of friends that also enjoy this genre of music.
Entertainment- My target audience member may use my music video as a way of escaping reality and entering the world of my artist, it may also be used as a way of gaining emotional release due to the song being very lyrical, the audience may be able to relate to it. My audience may also be able to relate to my artist due to the clothing my artist wears. In this way my target audience member could act as an opinion leader that encourages other to be interested in my artists music.
I hope my target audience member would also be interested in the music video due to the aesthetics.


Although this is my target audience member, there are also many other groups that would enjoy this type of music without having these attributions.

Music Video Analysis Using Vernallis

Narrative
One of Vernalises theories about music videos is that it is a visual response to the music and lyrics, the narrative also tends to be fragmented. In this particular music video, the narrative is not very elaborate but follows the band taking a trip to the beach with some girls, this is a visual response to the music as the band members seem to be referring to the girls as they sing the lyrics; "You don't know you're beautiful."  This music video also follows the convention of fragmentation in the narrative as we see the narrative is constantly being broken up by close-ups of the artist, an example of this is at 1:13.

Editing
Vernallis's conventions of editing such as ignorance of continuity editing is used in this music video an example of this is between 1:22 and 1:31 because we see girls driving and a car, and then it cuts to a scene of the girls at their destination getting out the car. In many places in the music video, the editing cuts to the beat of the music which is another convention that Vernallis states. There is also a stlye of transition that runs through the whole video which is when one shot fades into the other, this can be found anywhere in the video.

Camera Movement and Framing
This music video follows Vernallis's convention of camera movement as the camera hardly ever stops moving in this music video, many of the frame are also incomplete or do not show the whole picture/image which is another one of Vernallis's conventions.

These shots are also extreme close up shots which are very common in music videos and are conventions of both Goodwin and Vernallis. These shots use direct mode of address which draws the audiences attention to the artist and make the feel more connected.

Preliminary Lip Sync task

For my Preliminary task I filmed people singing along to the song rather be (by Clean Bandit and Jess Glynn) I then synced the lip movement with the original audio using Final Cut.




I used markers to mark where the voice sounds start on the audio, I then lined it up with the mouth movement of my actors. (As this picture shows)

























Here is my final preliminary lip sync task


Evaluation
I think that this preliminary task went well as the lip sync in regards to the lip sync as the lip movement was successfully matched with the music however, if I were to do this task again I would improve the visuals so that the video is more interesting and perhaps include a storyline, although the main reason for doing this task was to practice matching lip movement to sound therefore overall I am happy with the product.

Song Ideas

This song is a possible choice for my music video as it is an indie song which I feel is open to interpretation, I believe that this allows me to produce a more abstract video. I also like how the volume and speed of the song progresses over time as it will give me more flexibility with my music video.


Because of the fact that this song is very different from current pop music, I feel that my artist should also have a unique style and appearance. Examples of artist who's styles are going to influence my artists style are;

Florence (from Florence and the machine)

This is because unlike other artist she wears minimal makeup which is very different as most popular artists choose to wear quiet a lot of makeup and bold cloths that stand out however Florence looks very much like a "normal" person.


These are examples of videos that I would like to take some ideas from because they are very different and abstract.

Conventions of Music Videos (Vernallis)

This video is an example of jump
cuts in music videos which supports Carol vernallis's conventions of the music video genre, the cuts  are also edited to fit the beat of the music which supports Goodwin's conventions of music videos.













This clip also supports vernallis's theory that the characters tend to move to the music/dance. It also supports the concept that there tends to be a lot of camera movement within the video which is shown in this video when the camera rotates. The movement in this video also creates a unique style which is another Vernallis concept.

Shot Ideas

 I like this shot as it shows both the artists reflection staring, and the person she is staring at. Therefore it gives the audience more information about the scene/situation whilst still not revealing the whole shot which creates mystery. this shot shows also voyeurism towards the male as he is being watched as he undresses and is unaware of it (although we as an audience are aware). This follows Goodwin's concept about the conventions of music videos.

 The lighting in this shot is something that I would want to replicate in my own music video as it creates mystery through the use of shadows, this leaves the audience wanting to see more. This lighting effect may have been created using a main low angle light lighting the front of his face and a weaker filler light from behind. I also like the black and white effect which suits this particular music genre.

I also like the lighting in this shot as it frames her face very well and highlights certain parts e.g. her cheekbones whilst creating shadows on other parts such as the side of her nose and her left eye.

I like how this lighting only focuses on the artists face whilst there is no light in the background. this again supports Goodwin's concept about close ups of the artist.

Amplification And Disjuncture

The use of amplification in music videos may be personifying or exaggerating a lyrics.

An example of this is the Kanye West and Rihanna music video for the song "All Of The Lights"

this is a shot from the music video where the word "lights" was sang and was also amplified on the screen.

The use of amplification in music videos usually highlights important lyrics or highlights important parts of the narrative of the music video it can also  highlight the beat and the song.

Disjuncture is when the actions of the video do not relate to the lyrics or the music.

Bruno Mars's music video for the song "Grenade" is an example of disjunction as the visuals (Bruno Mars carrying a piano) does not relate to the lyrics ("I will catch a grenade") However the visuals do represent the general meaning of the song which is that he would go to great lengths to try and please the women he loves.

Disjunction is normally used to express the meaning of a video to the audience rather than the literal lyrics.

Carol Vernallis

1. Vernallis states that music videos are a visual response to the music and the narrative of the music video doesn't always have to be complete (it may be fragmented with disjointed structure. montage style)
2. Vernallis says that the editing may match the beat or the musical phrases and the video my break rules of continuity editing which is a convention music videos.

Examples of editing used in music videos;
-Jump cuts
-Breaks of the 30 degree rule
-Breaks of the 180 degree rule
-Cutting against the movement
-Cutting with the lyrics
-Extreme jumps in time and space
-Extreme changes in pace
-Juxtaposed frames
-Graphic matches
-A style of editing that runs through the video and is distinctive to the video

3. Extreme shots are used and a style of framing and movement runs through the video that is distinctive to the video.
The camera may move to the music/lyrics.

4. Actions may not be completed or may be interrupted.
character tend to move to the music.
Some frames are more important then others and some frames may be unnecessary

Music Video Ideas

This is an example of camera work that I would like to use in my final music video as it follows Goodwin's theory about the use of close-ups whilst also using slow camera movements which I think enhances the emotions of the lyrics and draws our attention to the artist.

Sia's trilogy videos goes against all conventions of music videos as it doesn't feature the artist and none of the lyrics relate to the visuals of the videos. all the videos are also set in one location, also match on action and smooth transitions are used which goes against Carol vernalis' music video theory.





All these videos also feature the same actor/dancer which is very rare rare for an artist to do. The videos are also very abstract and have hidden meanings. http://popdust.com/2015/01/21/sia-shia-labeouf-elastic-heart-music-video-explanation/

Although I am not making a trilogy, I want to make my video unique and different just as Sia has, as it would make my video stand out. I could do this by not making the narrative of the video obvious. This may encourage people to re-watch the video as they may want to find the hidden meanings.

Examples of Goodwin's Conventions

Goodwin has a number of conventions he states are commonly used in music videos

1. Goodwin's first convention about music videos is; "There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contrasting the lyrics" Here is an example of music video that supports Goodwin's idea; 

This Video Shows a relationship between the visuals and the lyrics as when the artist sings; "pulls me closer," the visuals show a couple pulling each other closer.

2. Goodwin's second convention is; "There is a relationship between the music and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contrasting the music" This is an example of the music being reflected in the visuals of a music video as the scene changes as the music and instruments change.

In this clip, as more instruments are introduced and the music becomes louder the visuals also change to match the music.

 

3. "Genres are complex and diverse in terms of iconography"
The genre of this video is rock there the video has some rock stereotypes such as the scenes of a rock band playing music, which is very iconic, and the spiked hair.




4. A lot of close-ups of the artist/ vocalist.
This is an example of a video that supports the theory



5. Voyerism is present especially in the treatment of women.
This music video show that voyerism as the artist appears to not know that the camera is there, this is shown by the fact that she does not look at the camera.