After researching some digipaks that were produced by artists that fall in the indie/rock genre it became evident that they share many of the same conventions. Below are just a selection of album covers that I found inspiration from.
The most noticeable feature is the simplicity of the visuals and designs. They rarely include the feature of voyeurism that Andrew Goodwin spoke about but instead feature some sort of icon that links to the artists theme of music. For example Bon Iver's music is especially calming and pacifying, hence the mellow colour palette of oranges and browns. Additionally The Arctic monkeys design holds the trademark of cigarettes and smoking, which is closely linked to the nature of their music and music videos.
I also particularly like AM's digipak as it includes two images that relate to each other. This is a convention I wish to include in my digipak design as I feel it includes the audience in their 'behind scene' banter.
Below are a selection of just some of my favourite shots that we have taken so far.
These two specific shots were captured in our first location, alongside the canal.
The bench is framed in the centre of this shot making it the focal point. However this changes when
Janadhi enters the composition as she is then placed where the vertical line indicating
where the rule of thirds compostion of '9v9' would be, drawing attention
from the bench onto her.
This shot is my favourite from this location. It was one of the many Kelly captured whilst she climbed and walked along the bridge. Not only does it establish our setting with its wide angle composition, but it also emphasises the vastness of our location by the prominent diagonal line that runs through the shot.
The next three were filmed in our school gym.
To comply with the 'rule of thirds' Jan was positioned in a way which seems 'natural' and 'comfortable' to the audience, this is due to the symmetry framed by the positioning of the rowing machine bike against where Janadhi's body is.
By leaving the rowing machine in the foreground out of focus and placing it entirely on Janadhi's face, it enhances her facial expression and draws attention directly onto her.
By directing Janadhi to act out this particular body language, it paints to our audience how exhausted the protagonist is, and emphasises and in a way foreshadows the struggles she is currently suffering and what she is to expect.
These last few shots were taken at our last filming location.(The agility park in Primrose Hill)
This high angle close up shot has her hands gripping the bar, in focus. Whereas her face, which is distant is left out of focus, this is one of many shots where we chose to include a varied number of different and 'unique' angles in which we can capture her exhaustion yet determination to succeed.
In order to capture her empowering facial expression in this specific shot, Janadhi was framed in the middle of the shot, her arms acting as the two vertical lines to comply with the 'rule of thirds,' this allows no distractions to occur leaving her face as the dominant feature.
Similar to the previous still shot, Janadhi's arms during this close up of her 'attempting' a push up follow the two vertical lines of the '9v9' grid, leaving her in direct view for the audiences attention.
Not only did we need to film Janadhi training in the agility park, we also needed to capture Jan in her official army uniform running up the hill and standing at the top. The main message within our video is focused on the empowerment of women and to inspire the movement of equaling the gender gap within certain sectors of the economical world.
To showcase this message we wanted to capture a wide angle panning shot of Janadhi standing at the peak of the hill looking down at the city of London framed in the distant background, symbolising her character reminiscing on the past struggles and achievements she had to go through to get to where she is now.
In order for us to capture the steady tracking shots of Janadhi running we brought our friends skateboard along with us. We aimed to be able to place the camera on the flat surface of the skateboard, and roll it alongside Jan as she jogged, this angle would be able to capture just her feet, but we imagined it would be a successful way of achieving the shots that we wanted.
When it came down to actually using the prop, rather than filming Jan running on the flat surface of the ground, we ended up wanting to film her running along an extended wooden beam that was included in her workout routine instead.
However with the camera sitting on the flat surface of the skateboard it wasn't elevated high enough to capture her feet running along it. After much brainstorming over the items we had with us at the time, we decided that propping the camera up with my scarf was the best way to capture the perfect shot, and it worked! Me and kelly rolled the skateboard back and forth to each other which enabled us to get some really nice steady shots.
At our Primrose hill location we were attempting to capture all of our agility training shots. These shots reveal Janadhi in her army uniform and her journey through her intense training.
The montage of her action shots need to last approximately 45 seconds, as these are shots needed to fill the instrumental section found in the middle of the song, because of this we needed to film A LOT of Janadhi working out in the agility park, and as we were filming for around 3 hours I'm hoping got all the footage we needed!
Below are just a few of the behind the camera shots I took showcasing the workouts Janadhi had to endure through, I must admit I was very glad I was on the other side of the camera.
Last Friday Kelly, Janadhi and I traveled up Central London to the fitness park located in Primrose Hill, at this location we focused on filming the agility course shots of Jan in 'training.' These specific training shots differ from the previous training shots where the protagonist is in her 'local gym;' they feature Jan in her army training uniform, working out in an outside gym\ agility course, giving the shots more verisimilitude of featuring the theme of being 'army-like.'
We specifically chose this location due to its agility course present on the site, however it also features a very prominant steep hill, the views acquired from the top of the hill are rather breathtaking making it perfect for any climatic shots that we could use as an empowering ending scene.
A Digipak is 'a type of packaging for CDs or DVDs, typically made from cardboard with an internal plastic holder for one or more discs.'
CD Digipaks can also give a product an expensive professional look and feel – especially when well designed CD artwork is combined with clever use of specialist print finishing options such as Matt Lamination, Spot UV or Embossing.
Another advantage of using the Digipak is that it can be made from recycled card and producing the pack uses much less plastic, therefore reducing your carbon footprint allowing you to have an exclusive yet eco friendly product.
So today our class was lucky enough to be able to sit and and listen to Tom Woodcock present to us how to make the perfect A2 music video. We began by learning the history of Music Videos and how we have grown to the stage we are at today. From the 1930s to today we noted how different advances such as scopitones, the establishment of artist image advertised through film and the launch of MTV on tv changed how we produce and film music videos.
Woodcock also established 10 easy steps to creating a good music video:
1.Assess your resources: the technical kit, the performer, the locations and mise-en-scene.
2. Warm Up: do some testers such as a lip sync practice, photo shoot of the main protagonist, remake a music video etc
3.Recce: limited your locations, floor plan, lighting and power source
4.Pitch: if you cant explain your idea to someone then it remains an 'idea.' you could also create a mood board, production tasks etc.
5:'Planning beats ideas.'
6:Plan everything and stick to it.
7:Shoot: shoot 10 times, include plenty of cutaways, record more than less and think of the lighting.
Because our music video is strictly a narrative piece of work, that means lip syncing is very sparse. Due to this we decided on a number of lines in which we can link with the visuals in order to include some lip syncing in our video.
For the line, "Look me in the eye when I'm talking to you" as a group we thought that line would perfectly match with a scene of Jan being intimidated by the conventional 'scary sergeant,' mouthing the words 'look me in the eye' whilst shouting in her face.
To get a feel of the framing and composition needed for these shots we filmed a couple tester shots using our friend Ertan to personaify the aggressive character.
The setting we used was simply the backfields connected to our school, making it a really easy location to get to.
In cinematography, composition refers to the frame of the image and how the elements of the mise-en-scène appear in it. Composition guidelines must be observed when telling stories visually, as in filmmaking. Useful conventions are applied to make heroes stronger, villain ominous, generate anxiety and give the audience tranquility.
(Composition rules and conventions are older than cinema and photography. Most concepts have been used for thousands of years in painting. Filmmakers and photographers have borrowed many techniques from painters and used them as a springboard for new ideas and practices.)
RULE OF THIRDS
Another basic composition principle is called Rule of Thirds. To follow it, you must imagine the frame with two vertical lines and two horizontal lines, as to create three vertical sections of the same dimensions and three vertical sections also of the same size. The result is something like this:
The intersections of the lines are points of interest, where important objects are often placed. These points of interest are comfortable to the eye, thus the middle portion of the frame are kept "empty" or clear.
USE OF DIAGONAL LINES
Diagonal lines generally work well to draw the eye of an image’s viewer through the photograph. They create points of interest as they intersect with other lines and often give images depth by suggesting perspective They also can add a sense of action to an image and add a dynamic looks and feel as well as leading the eye to your photograph’s main subject or point of interest.
(I found this video below incredible useful in explaining the rule of thirds)
The results of our surveys clearly indicate what demographics take an interest in the Indie genre, which will point us towards a target audience in which we can advertise too.
It showed that the most popular age group for 'indie' music is 13-18 year olds, and actually it was recorded that no one over the age of 30 preferred the indie genre, instead favouring the rock genre.
So now we know that our music video is definitely aimed towards a younger audience rather than an older one.
The results also points to a female audience rather than male, who as a demographic favoured the rock genre. However we can counter this by appealing to both genders by focusing on a more 'indie rock' genre.
The open questions we included in the questionnaire such as 'what makes a good music video' equipped us with some qualitative data rather than quantitative. This type of data allows us to study our audience feedback in depth, and being able to fully understand and incorporate the improvements and suggestions we have been given.
So earlier today my group began filming in our schools gym, we were able to access the equipment we needed, such as the rowing machine, the spinning bike, a skipping rope and some weights. We were able to capture some really nice action shots of Jan.
So below is our written up version of the storyboards, in total there are 44 individual shots to be filmed in around 13 separate locations. It took us more time than expected to complete the entire thing and the detail to each shot is a massive step up from that of AS storyboarding. However it is evident that the detail is vital whilst filming to ensure we're on the right track. Obviously we may adapt the boards as we film, and in that case we would have to alter the details.
So today we took to Edmonton, one of our filming locations, to begin filming some landscape and running shots of Jan. We filmed along the Lee Valley river and was able to capture some really good shots of Janadhi jogging along the canal from varied angles as well as being able to capture the sense of 'escapism.' We were also able to boost Kelly and the camera up onto a kind of bridge/ kind of electrical cable pathway (as seen in the last picture) in which we were able to film some really good landscape and running shots from such an unusual angle from above the river.
So here is our finished animatic storyboard, we decided to show it through editing together some secondary images off of google to the correct timings of the track with a descriptive caption.
An audience is an individual or a group of people who experience a product, whether it be watching a movie, listening to a radio podcast, reading a book or even using your phone, however for us, the audience will be the people who view our music video and purchase our 'digi- pack.' Adapting your product to the correct target audience is vital in producing a successful media product, and if done properly will open the gate to free marketing and advertising through 'word of mouth,' my group and I have started to think about purposing our product for the correct target audience. We already have a gist of what we are expecting, (a 15-30 year old who enjoys listening to the indie/pop genre) however to find out more details we plan to carry out a written questionnaire in which people can complete in front of us. We decided to focus on printed questionnaires rather than asking people to fill a survey out online as some questions may come across 'ambiguous' leading to the data being unviable. Within our questionnaire we aim to include both open AND closed questions. Doing so will ensure we gain both qualitative and quantitate data leading to a wider and more credible target market. We asked the following 10 questions;
How old are you?
What is your gender?
What is your ethnicity?
Any hobbies/ interests?
Favourite music genre?
Do you have a favourite movie video?
How do you consume music videos?
What makes a good music video?
Is the narrative clear in our storyboard?
Are there any elements you would change in the storyboard?
So last night Justin Bieber took to social media website Instagram, and began posting photos of graffiti works revealing the track titles on his upcoming album, Purpose.
By taking advantage of this source in which he shares with 42 million users he was able to publish and advertise his upcoming album simply by posting photos.
From New York to London, Paris, Sydney and more, he tagged in to major cities worldwide to illustrate just how global he can be.
I’m never going to put boundaries on myself ever again. I’m never going to say “I can’t do it”. I’m never going to say “maybe”. I’m never going to say “I don’t think I can” I can and I will.
Katy Perry is one of few artists that feature a theme of military for a music video, it makes it even better that she stars a main female protagonist. The video follows the build up towards her journey through the U.S military, however it focuses on elements of direct combat and use of heavy weapons such as tanks and machine guns, which obviously we will not be able to do as A2 media students. Despite this the shots and framing compositions that are used act as a great inspiration to our group and gives us a good idea of the types of shots and angles we wish to include. Below are my favourite two shots and the lyrical visuals I would hope to par them with.
Always started a social experiment back in 2014 by asking different groups of social groups what it meant to do something #LIKEAGIRL, what they found was that the little girls they interviewed ran, fought and threw with force and confidence, however groups such as young boys and grown women took the question as an insult reproducing actions of weakness and fragility. They aim to 'epically battle' the common conventions of acting #likeagirl and change it from being an insult to being a compliment. Below is their original campaigning footage. This (video below) is a more recent campaign they've started, in which they aim to empower girls and women of all ages to understand that they ARE unstoppable and they CAN be anything they want to be. I find this campaign links well with our music video as in 2014 it was recored that Female personnel currently make up only 9.4% - some 17,620 - of the British armed forces. The area of military is an obviously male dominated sector and our group aims to use this theme as a focal point in order to show that we ARE unstoppable, much like always' just #likeagirl campaign.
This girl can is one of my favourite female positive campaigns. They describe themselves as 'a national campaign developed by Sport England' who advocate the activeness of women across the world by publishing videos which capture the essence of females and their sporting techniques. The theme of matriarchy and unity throughout their main campaign video (posted below) is truly influential and inspiring and I hope to be able to successfully reproduce the same sense of empowerment in our music video. They also feature individuals stories such as RUBY VS PRECONCEPTIONS, VICTORIA VS SWEAT AND GRACE VS PACE.
All of which you can find on the website listed below.
We are around half way through storyboarding! It is proving to be quite the challenge in regards to the timings and the content. We weren't fully prepared with the entire narrative so having to work out where to put all the shots we wanted to include is becoming rather overwhelming. Our deadline however is the lesson after half term so the group as an entire week to get it finished so then we can finally start filming!
