Initial Research into other bands

The Smiths, How Soon is Now.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U5HpeA_WSo

The Video is a mainly performance piece. We all like the lighting used and the emphasis on performance.



T4

The TV channel T4 have a live lounge where band play live sets for their audience to watch as a live act. The stage set up and the concept behind the live lounge is very similar to how jim would like to portray Flashguns in our video. I agree.

Here is an example of the stage set up and the live lounge.

Here is the URL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGc6UEZHUUg

BATTLES

Here is a video by the band Battles. This video has given us confidence in our idea to rely almost completely on a striking use of lites. The idea of using a performance based video without a narrative sequence will highligth their live performances.

EVALUATION TASK 4: How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages? Audio Commentary

A COMPARISON BETWEEN LAST YEAR'S USE OF TECHNOLOGY AND THIS YEAR.

AS Foundation Project

Research and planning

Internet-I used this to find examples and imagery of what I wanted our horror film trailer to look like. However the images I searched for were of Hollywood posters, so the conventions used were pretty specific and limited.

Youtube- Used this for finding and evaluating similar videos, and to find influences.
We used Youtube to publish our trailer and also for viewing any feedback we received for it. Last year we analysed Horror trailers and again the conventions are quite restricted because of the genre, this year however we could reap the benefits of music video's subgenres and mash up techniques and choose from a very wide range of stimuli and a wide range of conventions.

Blog- We used this throughout the year to log our progress during initial production, research and planning, the actual shoot day, and post production.

Stills Camera- We used this for logging what happened in our shoot to add illustration to our written material.

Photoshop- used for making the poster for our horror film.

Scanner- We used to scan in our storyboard.

Construction:
Camera- Used to capture the pictures we were going to use in our poster.
Sony 170- Used to film our sequence.
Final cut pro- We used this program to edit/cut/splice and add after effects to our trailer.
Photoshop- Used to add effects to our poster.

Evaluation of product:

Youtube- Used to promote/launch our video and gather feedback.

Blog- We used this to overview all the material we had created over the whole production process.

A2 Advanced Project

Research and planning



Internet- We used this to find examples and imagery of other similar bands and their star images. We used the internet to research star image, fashion, CD covers and magazines. Because this included mainstream and independent bands, we had the freedom of researching anyone we wanted within our genre.

Youtube- Used this for finding and evaluating similar videos, and to find influences. We also used Youtube to publish our Pop Video and also for viewing any feedback we received for it. We had the freedom of searching for user generated material as well as mainstream videos.

Blog- We used this throughout the year to log our progress during initial production, research and planning, the shoot day, and post production.

Camera- We used this for logging what happened in our shoot to add illustration to our written material.

Photoshop- used for making the poster for our Pop Video.

Scanner- We used to scan in our storyboard and then cut it together in Final Cut Pro to get an idea of what our video might cut like.

Construction:
Camera- Used to generate ideas we could use when establishing a band image.
Sony 170- Used to film our sequence.
Final cut pro- We used this program to edit/cut/splice and add after effects to our Pop video.

Evaluation:

Youtube- Used to promote/launch our video and gather feedback.

Blog- We used this to overview all the research we had constructed and create an evaluation of the whole production process.

EVALUATION TASK 3- What have you learned from your audience feedback?

To collect creative feedback for our video we used several digital technologies to gather information which might help us define the audience our video is aimed at, and find out more about our audience.

We published the video on Youtube and got some feedback from people who watched the Flashguns video:

All of the comments have been positive responses to the video.
Youtube has been very useful to us in media studies because of its easy feedback system and the fact that anyone can leave a comment.
Someone has even shown interest in buying the album; it is good to see we have made a video which can promote the music of band.


We also created a survey using a website called Surveymonkey which helped construct our survey.
We got a handful of students and asked them to watch our video and answer the questionnaire accordingly:We gave the audience options with which to answer so as to gather the right information. Most questions were multiple choice.
Here are the links to two parts of a prototype survey we later used on a group of students:

Click here to take survey

Click here to take survey

Here are some of the questions that we asked in the finished questionnaire:
1. What age are you?
2. What gender are you?
3. What nationality are you?
4. Which styles of music are you listening to at the moment?
5. Does this video look like any other videos you have seen within a time period?
6. Does this video remind you of any other video you have seen recently, please specify what if answer is yes.
7. What genre of music would you say this is?
8. Do you wear similar clothes to the band?
9. What do you find most personally appealing in this video?
10. What do you think the song is about?
11. What us the best video you have seen recently?
12. What is the worst video you have seen lately?13. Do you find any of the band members attractive?
14. Does the video make you want to see them live?
15. Do you think the band would give a good live performance?
16. Do you think the video is original?
17. What did you find most entertaining about the video?
18. Having watched this video would you seek out their other videos?

A large majority of the people that filled out the surveys were between the ages of 16-25. This indicates that out video relates to a more youthful audience which is the target audience we were aiming for. Not many people said that they had seen a video which they found similar to Bells at Midnight within the last six months. This was good to know because it meant that the video has an originality.


Here are the links to two parts of a prototype survey we later used on a group of students:

Click here to take survey

Click here to take survey

We used a site called Survey Monkey to help us construct our questionare.


70% of people said that from watching the video, it made them want to go and see the band live. This is a positive statistic, because the main aim of the video was to promote the bands live performances. The remaining 30% said "It's not my thing".70% of people also thought that the band would give a good live performance.

60% of people said that having seen the video they would go and seek out their other videos on the internet.
This is a good indication that we succeeded in promoting the Flashguns in our video, it is good to know that we were able to make the video so that it connected with our target audience.

Using digital technology has helped us to gather feedback efficiently and effectively, giving me a better understanding of what people expect from a music video, what they like most about music videos, and if I were to ever make a music video again, I would know what to change or keep in mind when wanting to please an audience.

EVALUATION TASK 2- How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Richard Dyer claims that a band or performer's star image is constructed from a range of promotional tools and materials which are designed to attract a specific target audiences. These must have a continuity in design and connotation to produce a strong brand. furthermore the conventions and iconography used must signal some specific qualities or meanings of the star to the audience. We constructed a music promo, digipack art work (CD artwork of Front, back, and leaf pages) and a print poster. We aimed to create a continuity to express the bands:
Youthfulness
Sensitivity and emotion

Originality
Creativity/Talent being Organic - Keith Negus, Producing Pop.
Success against the odds

All of these qualities are portrayed within the Bells at Midnight Video. The lighting was an important element of conveying the sensitivity and emotion of the band's song writer. the use of strip lighting and chiarascuro was the dominating element in our mode of address and thus we needed to show this in the album cover as well. So the image we used manage to also convey a sense of darkness or twilight as well as light. The emotional aspect of the band was important but it had to be balanced with the organic representation of the them as young adventurous and on the road - highlighting their ability to play live so our poster had to show this.

For the marketing of our band and star image we created an album cover and a tour poster using Photoshop. We used a band image which makes the band look more ordinary, which will help people to relate to and to follow the band. This is relevant to Richard Dyers first paradox:

The star must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary for the consumer.
Live performance for this band is essential to their star image, this is why we have made our video on a performance based theme. This is the bands unique selling point. We also used this live aspect in the band poster where they are portrayed as ordinary people. We did not want to commercialize their image by over-doing/ manufacturing the poster, so we kept them simple and emphesize their organic image. (Keith Negus, Producing Pop)

Here are the Front, inside and back images of the Flashguns album we designed in photoshop. We wanted the images to look empty, intregueing and mysterious so that people would be more inclined to find out more about the album and band. We wanted to make sure that this theme was apparent in all the images, and this theme originated from the video that we produced which is also dark and mysterious.

The band have their own web page and myspace this is our institutional context.www.myspace.com/flashguns
www.flashguns.com

EVALUATION TASK 1- In what ways do your media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

FLASHGUNS-
TV BARDS
Function of Direct Address: To make a connection with the audience and invite them into the star's world.

How does it work for the audience? The song may emotionally relate to the audience, therefore drawing them in.
What is our audience?- Teenagers/young adults- The song is relevent to the standard teenage angst which most young adults experience. Confusion, not knowing your place, and general fear and uncertainty of the unknown.
Our band is very organic, so the Video is too. There is no narrative, just performance, because we wanted to reinforce the raw and genuine feel of the band through there chemisty when they play together and the performence they put on.

LADY GAGA-
COMMERCIAL EXHIBITIONIST:
The video is all about her sexuality, inviting people into her world for a sexual connection, making an audience lust for her. She wears very little clothing throughout and there are themes of money, corrupt, sex, violence and even a hints of rape. The video is very manufactured and malipulated by the record companies, heavy themes of fation throughout, it is a very hight budget commercial video.
WHAT IS YOUR AUDIENCE- Gay men/clubbing scene, young teenage girls/boys middle aged men.

CHEMICAL BROS.
ELECTRONIC SHAMEN-
The video is being sung and preformed by computer generated fish in a tank, with very bright and colourful parts (subtly reffering to drug use and hullucination) ELECTRONICS OF MUSIC TRANSPORT AUDIENCE TO ANOTHER DIMENSION- The mode of address is from the fish, not the band, Enhancing the trippy non conventional way the video connects with the audience. The audience mostly are younger adults on the dance/rave scene.

MISE EN SCENE: USE OF LIGHTING-
Mysterious, disjointed, dark and light flashing, all of which create a theme of confusion, dissillutionment and uncertainty. It is as if the band has problems which they are sharing with the audience but they are being positive about it and making things better through the peformence of the song. "Light at the end of the tunnel" This is quite ironic, that the dark/flashing environment can still produce something positive.

The many lightbulbs hanging are flashing greens, blues and white, but when they are not lit the space is dark and mysterious. It could even be leading the audience into the mind of the band, inviting to share the space with the preformers. There is a black backdrop with the colourful hanging bulbs, strip LED's at the back shinging out mellow blues and then the band who are brightly dressed with no particular colour scheme. The space has Inquisative but dark feel to it, but with the brighter colourded band in the middle there is a sense of aspiring positivity balancing out the negative vibes of the space.

Camera shots and Movement

We used some very fast moving camera shots to create a sense of disorientation and rush. Such shots are not conventional in normal cinema, which adds to the band's organic/rebelling and youthful image. The images are also unclear, dark and distorted to further this sense of bewilderment.


Symbolic Material

Lots of different light bulbs were used, possibly to suggest that this dark, interesting and flashing place represents someone's mind. The lightbulbs could refer to many themes- ideas, fading in fading out of reality, different emotions, thaught, depression, positivity, hope. A light bulb hanging in the middle of a black dark space. It is a pretty powerful image that can represent many things, and the song enhanses these themes, giving it a very inquisitive and questioning feel to the video.

Use of Narrative

This video does not intercut a narrative, it is just performence based. A narrative could have given a wider insight to what the band is about, but at the same time without it promotes the raw style of the band. "Preforming is what we do" It is truthful and pure as there is no missleading plot to glorify or commercialize the band.


Coincept and Performance sections

normally Pop promo's cut between a concept section with a location or event which highlights the start image of the band. This would normally show them as extra-special humanbeings and be designed to provide the audience with a world they can join the artist in through the direct address. It might also highlight a theme or social issue that the band want to be linked with or interest potential fans that they worry about the same ideas. However we have not made the cut between concept and performance obvious and the band 's performance is within a concept area. this way we want to emphasis the organic aspect of the band and that they can play well and that what they write about is liked to a close emotional concept of difficult or inner emotions.

Our Finished Music Video

Early Versions of Questionare

Here are the links to two parts of a prototype survey we later used on a group of students:

Click here to take survey

Click here to take survey

We used a site called Survey Monkey to help us construct our questionare.