Jonny's Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions?

Before the planning and creation of our media texts we did research into the conventions of the music industry. This included the general and fundamental forms and conventions of music videos but also those specific to our own genre. This new found knowledge we incorporated in our music video and ancillary tasks.

A good place to start is with a couple of the conventions that we used, conformed to, not stretching or subverting the ideal in anyway. One such instance is the use of a panning/crabbing shot, capturing the band while they are performing. This idea was originally inspired by the Paramore video – Crushcrushcrush. (Click here to view Paramore-Crushcrushcrush. View between time stamps 01:13 to 01:17 for the crabbing/panning effect.)

On the left, a still from our crabbing sequence.
On the right, the start of Paramore's crabbing sequence

This is relatively common in many videos and films. However, everything that is included in the shot is of interest in relation to conventions and audience appeal. The movement of the camera is critical to the effect. In both our text and the Paramore video there are many close ups and stationary shots where the camera is not moving. To compensate for the lack of movement there are multiple cuts in a very short space of time to give the video pace. When you use a panning or crabbing shot you slow down that very sudden changing of image. Instead you have a constant image which takes in a lot more: an almost panoramic effect. In our video what that does is give the audience the change to absorb what is going on in the scene: the band performing in their own space. As it is, using the mise-en-scene to our advantage we have followed two prominent indie conventions at once. One is focusing on the music as well as a narrative which is a key idea shared and promoted by the theorist, Steve Archer; and the other, simplicity. This means that the audiences eye is not distracted from the band. In doing so you are forced to focus on the band and the music.
The use of the former convention gives a 'real' connection between the video and the music but also the band and the audience. Having that link to the audience really makes them feel apart of the scene. Common in this part was general voyeurism targeted at no individual and not in a sexualising way though this was also used in relation to the singer. This is further enhanced by the proximity of the band to the camera and how the body language of the lead singer subtly plays to the camera. This can be associated with an exhibitionist's view that a female artist is often portrayed in such a way as to attract a sexualised gaze.

Left, still from our video.
Right, still from Cold Play - Fix You

The idea which of the lead singer being alone for a part or a lot of the video is also one we used early on. In the indie genre there are many videos where the whole band is together the entire time. Likewise there are videos where the lead singer is the only person you see throughout the entire text. Cold Play's Fix You is a mix between the two and again proved to be a source of inspiration. The video starts with the lead alone and builds to a performance toward the end. 

We went for a similar cross between the two. In so doing we put into practice the theory of Laura Mulvey about the 'male gaze' where by the female artist is sexualised. To build on this though, in the shot above, and those after, there is a distinct feel of a voyeuristic gaze which was highlighted by Sigmund Freud: the maybe perverse fun in watching someone without them realising, often in a sexual context but not always.  

Just for tonight - One Night Only

This was something that was brought out by the study of other videos in the genre. Many of them had themes related to unity or lack of it and as such much of the footage was of the band or group together as a unit. However we went for the other end of the spectrum whereby there was divisions within the group to begin with. This gave us a lot of room to develop the rest of the narrative with the ability to swing toward division or unity by the end. The examples of the relevant shots above show our group (left) divided and the group One Night Only (right) together. We are challenging the convention of unity in a group at this time thought later that does change. 

Left, our performance
Right, Paramore - Brick By Boring Brick

Lighting is a topic within the music industry that is crucial to having a good video but is often unappreciated and over looked by inexperienced producers and directors. As much as we may want to believe otherwise this is what we are. However, lighting was something that I was acutely aware of in the production of our text. As a result I think we have produced a good text but to do so we went against a few general rules and conventions of lighting within our music video, challenging them. First off, using three point lighting theory, is that you always have your subjects fully lit with at least a key light and fill light. Sometimes, even in big industry it is not always practical or feasible to have a back light but when it is it is used. We were limited in our ability to fully light people but instead we subverted this ideal. As a result we strategically used shadows and darkness and natural light as well small sources of light to create our effects. 

This is especially apparent in the studio when compared to the scenes based outside. The outside was gloriously lit by sunshine so our extra sources like industrial flood lights and car head lights were rendered useless. However, when inside we relied on studio lights and the standard 'house lights' in each room.


This is in stark contrast, quite literally, to Paramore's Brick By Boring Brick video, one still of which is sited above. That image above is just as the girl walks into a cave like room from the outside with the yellow sky in the doorway behind. However, from the light reflecting off her face and clothes there has to be a light source somewhere behind the camera. This luminescence and lack of deep near the characters continues for most of the video.

For the audience this brings into play another dynamic and also enhances the viewing experience and repeatability. It is something different which grabs the attention of the audience and adds a sense of mystery which is automatically associated with darkness and shadows. 

Left, our CCTV effect
Right, a still from Arctic Monkeys - View from the afternoon

This was an idea that was incorporated not as a convention but as an aesthetically pleasing form to enhance the audiences viewing of the product. However, the technique of simulating a CCTV Camera follows conventions in its own right. It was an idea we developed from a series of videos where there were shots from a distance or high angle watching the action. Among these was Arctic Monkeys View From The Afternoon which had these shots in but was also made black and white with every shade of grey in-between.

This CCTV camera effect is a prominent form of voyeurism of the type discussed by Andrew Goodwin. Goodwin said that voyeurism (the estranged observation of a person without their knowledge) is a common theme within music video but has no gender specific or sexual connotations. It is exactly what it says on the tin: watching another. It also relates well to potential real life situations where cameras watch your every move which provides something to which the audience can relate. 

Taking the 'lone lead singer' idea and putting it in a more 'real' senario

Developing on two conventions and ideas simultaneously,  we took the idea of the lead singer being on her own but also the idea of using a recording studio. This draws good parallels with the Take That song, Rule The World. In this they also used an idea involving a recording studio. Each of the band members are in their own booth and in a similar way our lead singer is in a 'booth' too. This was the starting basis of the video which was developed further. What it did though was put in place certain expectations of the video which we could ad hear to, bend and break. In terms of view-ability it gave a video a 'real life' look which appeals to our demographic who are more likely to enjoy more down to earth music videos.

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

In this video I am giving an account of the technologies used in the production of our texts. Below this is an extension to encompass that which I missed in the video.

There were a few important websites that I missed out in the video guide above. One of which was key to the organisation and communication of our group and this was facebook. Filming days and editing times were organised through this website either by instant messaging (IM) or facebook messages. The advantage of the latter was that if one of us wasn't able to get online at the time, the conversation would be recorded to be read later. Windows IM, provided as apart of the Microsoft Hotmail franchise was also useful to an extent but we very quickly decided that for what we wanted, facebook was better as a medium to communicate to each other, as well as using good 'old fashioned' phones.

The other two websites, without which we would not have created this particular text, are www.mp3unsigned.com which is the website on which we found our music. The other is myspace. It was using this social networking site that we approached our prospective 'client' to ask permission to use their music. Since then we have kept them appraised of our work by email.

(image sourced apple.com)

On Final Cut Express (FCE) two of the biggest challenges were synchronising the visual text to the audio sequence and getting the continuity. The software allowed us to 'zoom' in on the sequence display and move audio and video clips minute amounts of time which aided very good accuracy in synchronising the texts.

Continuity was a challenge because we were trying to get multiple angles in places (for instance one of the montage shots around the female lead singer) where the camera is moving and getting the constant movement over the screen took time. The other instance of this was where the car is driving through deserted fields. When the camera moved back I tried to make sure the car started on the screen where it finished on the screen in the preceding clip.

PhotoShop

The last thing that I missed out in the video above was to mention the usefulness of the layering system on Photoshop. It enabled us to make changes to a very specific part of an overall image comprised of multiple layers. These alterations included using the 'magnetic lasso' tool which could be used to select a specific object in an image and move or alter; also adding text to the image was imperative for making a CD case and Magazine advert.

It was using the Apple Mac system MacBookPro that enabled us individually and as a group to produce our products using the software outlined above.

(As an after thought I have also used the bookmark system on the internet on Safari, Google Chrome and FireFox on the Mac OS, Windows Vista and Windows XP operating systems (OS) as well as Microsoft Word and OpenOffice on the latter two OS; and my mobile phone for texting, phoning, mobile internet and on the move twittering.)

        

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

This is an annotated version of our video. It has been annotated with various comments and quotes that have been expressed by a portion of our demographic.

As with all feed back some was positive and some negative; some, general; and some, specific. The general consensus seemed to be that we got the lip synchronisation with the lyrics very accurate which helped make the mixture of shots look "professional". However, the instrumental synchronisation was by comparison, not so good. Even described as "unconvincing" at one stage. While that synchronisation wasn't as good as the lip sync, the use of the instruments themselves in the different setting was quite good. As well as instruments, the costume was also well managed, giving variety but also a consistent feel with no overly dramatic changes like in "Katy Perry - Hot and Cold" (change from wedding dress to red leather outfit). One section that was popular was the use of 'BAD TV EFFECT' to create a CCTV like image.

BAD TV EFFECT

Lighting

People were uncertain of our lighting technique saying that in places there isn't enough light but later saying that the light is just right. 

†How effective is the combination of your primary and ancillary texts?

This is the video of our video recording summarising our texts. With it is appropriate imagery relating to the topic of discussion at the time.


 

Some where along the line in our voice recordings of both the technologies used and the effective combination of the media text, we some how didn't mention the convergence of media technologies. This is a fundamental aspect of advertisement and the methods used to put your product out on the market. This ranges from consumer goods to services as well. BBC News is available on television, radio, internet and to an extent, The Radio Times covers the biggest stories of the past week. Music is very much the same. You can buy it in-store, on-line from a shop and have it delivered or you can buy the digital file on-line and download (iTunes). However, despite this world of digital media, print media such as a magazine advert and the cover of the CD play a vital roll in making a product marketable.


Our own product is affected by this. The video is digital media technology which can only be shown using television, film or computer (internet). However to accompany is you have the magazine advert which can be used as print technology or converted to a digital file and used a advertisement on websites as well as in magazines and on posters. Lastly you have the CD case side of the digipack which would be a physical 'print' item in a store or an online file using the album art as advertisement.