Creative Task 2: 30 Cut Chorus (Task 10)

Storyboard for the sequence

Learning Comment

This task was fairly difficult to complete as trying to come up with some relative narrative in 30 cuts was challenging. The continuity was a huge issue, this was the first time filming and editing in a while and so this was far from perfect or what our standards are. We had fingers over the lens and as you can see in the bottom right of the thumbnail, our cameraman can be seen in the reflection of the car, which makes this look very amateur. Some clips have not been edited correctly, such as when the ball is played, i have my hands on my hips when the clip starts, this is noticeable and makes it look like the editing has been rushed. There are also parts of the performance that are very armature looking, when the boy interrupts the scrap he is laughing, this is obviously very unrealistic in this particular scenario, small specific moments can make the entire chorus look shaky and unprofessional. in the next creative task we'll pick up on these minor mistakes and get it back up to the standard we expect our work to be like. 

However, there are some positives we can take from this short clip. For example, we coincided the performance with the songs lyrics, this fitted perfectly with the narrative of the song too. When he's on the floor and he lip syncs "what do you mean" it really engages the audience as our narrative and the songs fit. Making it far more interesting, we also had thought through our 40 seconds of film with a rough storyboard, this allowed us to know exactly what we needed to do and therefore the narrative was quite strong.

Creative Task 1: Lip Syncing Battle (Task 9)

Learning Comment
From doing this task, I've learnt how difficult it is to match the lip sync to the song's lyrics. For it to look flawless, we needed to perfectly edit the sequence to ensure the mouthing of the song was correct. This was very hard at first as in some shots, our mouths didn't open enough and in others over exaggerated the movement of our mouths. This was a problem when it came to editing as the sequence lacked the seamlessness about it due continuity mistakes made from inconsistent mouth movements. Another challenge we faced when producing this sequence was when the character transitioned to another. The cut had to look realistic and not just cut to a different scene. It had to take place in the same environment and consist of roughly the same actions. i feel pretty confident about editing a lip sync video now and even though the editing types were very simple, i hope to further build my knowledge and skills when working with more advanced editing techniques the more videos i produce.

Task 8 : Audience Research and music consumption

Focus Group from Tom Cornock on Vimeo.

Learning comment
Today i took part in two interviews. The first one was about where i stream music videos, why i stream them and how often i watch them. This wes very helpful as it allowed me to think about where my finished piece was going to go, it also allowed me to understand the effort which t takes to create a successful music video. During the interview many answers came up about the kind of music videos people our age watch, this was very insightful as i now know what our target audience is interested in and why they are, this further develops my understanding of what to use in my video, weather that being props, narratives and performance ratios and just common aspects of the music video making side i never thought about. We must make a video that not only pleases us but also potential viewers in our target audience. This has made be consider changing from punk rock to perhaps indie as indie most defiantly associates better with the target audience at hand. These interviews were also nice as it allowed me to express my feelings about music videos in general which could potentially help other groups as they now know what their target audience is looking for. This talk not only helped me with ideas but also the skill of listening to others and understanding their views and thoughts.


Task 8.2

"Audience readings of media texts are affected by variables such as age, gender, social status and social context." How might different audience members interpret a variety of music videos?

Music video Theories

Media Effect Therory- This is how media can affect society and how society can respectively affect the media. Some of these can have negative implications towards a community and local society. For example, seeing violent content can make it more likely for somebody young to be aggressive or in fact violent, and therefore be more introverted and not care about other peoples feelings. Another way is by promoting fast food chains as their food is unhealthy and fattening. There was also a moral out cry when a boy murdered his friend after playing the game Manhunt on Playstation 2.

Goodwin's Theory- Goodwin has six key principles
1) Genre Conventions
2) The notion of looking
3) The placement of brands
4) Links between visuals and lyrics
5) Logos featuring
6)Intertexual References

The Hypodermic Needle Theory- known as the "Magic Bullet Theory" suggests that all mass media has a direct response to any given audience. Furthermore suggesting that as soon as a message or value is given to the mass media it's accepted almost immediately by anybody. This originated in the 1930s of America. As media was taken very seriously then as it was the main source of information back in the 30s. A man was reading part of a book down the radio to thousand of homes as a past time. He mentioned a passage from a book which includes " Martians had landed in New Jersey and were attacking humans. As this a reliable radio station, People began to flee homes and start buying supplies and food. thousands of people also flooded local hospitals and police departments about the "invasion"
This incident was later referred to as the "Panic Broadcast". The first big example of this theory of communication. The theory implies that the media has the power to inject highly influential messages into vulnerable audiences. As the audience members have no other means of finding out about information, The theory can exploit this.

Toderov's theory- He believed that in film and television, there is 5 parts to the narrative in nearly every film and show
1) Equilibrium
2) Disruption to the equilibrium
3) Somebody recognizes that the equilibrium has been changed
4) Attempt to save the equilibrium
5) New equilibrium is formed

Blumler and Katz Theory- They decided that there were 5 main reasons why media was consumed by audiences.
1) Informed or educated about said topic
2) To relate to characters and situation characters fine themselves to be in
3) Entertainment
4) Socially interact with others ( Discussions, watching, reading)
5) Escape their reality and be put into another "world"

Hozier - Take me to Church

Effect Theory- This video shows the relationship between two gay men and how it effects the other people close to them through the violence of a thug group. I feel that many people can relate to this video through the idea of a metaphor. It shows how homophobia is still very much an issue in todays society and that people are scared to come out gay because they get bullied and beaten up for it. Reading through the comments, people obviously know that this is wrong and that everybody has equal rights. Some comments also stared that this is how they feel if they were to come out as gay and therefore they don't, they don't want the negative backlash from being different. The depressing implications are exaggerated through the black and white filter, the saddening melody, the pure voice and of course the visual.

Goodwin's Theory- Only one of the 6 characteristics is relevent in this music video as it's not showing any performance and the narrative would be ruined if there were fashion elements riddled throughout. The lyrics and visuals don't always match in this specific music video. The lyrics perhaps represent that being gay is seen as wrong and the chruch doesn't accept it. "We were born sick, heard them say it..." " I was born sick, but i love it..."  It also states how the community that this is set in is extremely homophobic as the chorus emphasis the lines " I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife. Offer me that deathless death." This links with the visuals as a mans family home is burnt down and his dad is beaten because his son is gay. The end of the video it shows that they've killed the gay man and are kicking him because he admitted to being gay. On the flip side it shows that being gay isn't wrong and that this man died to being gay.

Hypodermic Needle Theory- This whole video shows how bad your life could be potentially for being different. the black and white aspect suggests that there is no way out, there is no hope left and this is portrayed through close ups of violence such as a Molotov cocktail and a knife. There are also several close ups of the gay men crying which suggests that they fear their lives but love is love. They'd rather die and be gay than live with a woman, this is emphasized through the lyrics suggesting "I was born sick" it wasn't a choice to be gay, it was natural. Throughout there is a clear theme of fire, which could be also personified as a metaphor. If you're gay then you know the potential consequences and if you get caught, it will cost your life. This video shows the cons of being gay in today's society. Maybe not death but perhaps seen as an outcast or bullied.

Todervoz's Theory - This theory can be successfully applied to this music video as it's all narrative. The equilibrium is that it's two men love each other and they express their feelings through physical attraction. The disruption to this is how a group of men despise against their feelings and the video shows us ways they ruin the gay couples lives. The gay couple realize this when the group of me start walking to the gay mans house. The man tries to restore the equilibruim by running to the house before the thugs get there but cannot arrive in time. They have already beaten the dad and set fire to the house. The new equilibrium is that the gay man is killed.

Task 7 : Music Video Research Part 4

Learning comment
This task made me think bout how theories and traits of the industry has influenced the punk rock scene. While studying Jesus of Suburbia, i have learnt that all the theories can be used in any genre, they're more of a concept that relates to music videos general. This music video shows the life of a young man who is in a stereotypical punk world. He is introduced to parties, drug, sex and how these can lead to a devastating life for friends and family members. This is all represented through micro elements which include the codes and conventions of a punk rock music video and many key theories. These are used in the mainstream to ultimately bring as many viewers as possible. For my music video i will try and include as many of these as possible for my selected narrative. This task will further aid me down the line when i come up with an original idea.

Task 7 : Music Video Research Part 3

Learning comment

This task has aided me when making my film by understanding representation is important for a well thought through performance. For example, female artists commonly use the male gaze theory which works, as it attracts heterosexual males to watch as it's very revealing. I have also shown how representation in music videos can be contradicted and females can be considered stronger than males. For example in Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus, she can be seen crying at the start which is a common stereotype within women, they're weak and vulnerable. However as the video develops, she is seen to be riding a wrecking ball implying she has strength and should be feared. This task made me thing about how i can use suitable representations and possibly alter them as the song develops. 

Task 7 : Music Video Research Part 2

Click to open My GoConqr

Learning Comment
This task has allowed me to understand how in narrative based music videos, theory is used throughout in order to entice the audience and also make a generic narrative. I've also seen conventions that i'd particularly like to introduce into my own personal music theory, this would be breaking the walls down and performing during the narrative. I also found how to make a narrative last using various editing effects and camera angles. In Jesus of Suburbia i noticed that the narrative doesn't always need to be linear. Some points can not make sense and it still works well with all the other pieces. My understanding has further been developed as the narrative doesn't need to be particularly over the top or complicated, as long as it's suitable to the topic and is relatively clear, it should work. This is a huge relief as coming up with a new narrative can be frustrating and usually over thought through.                  

Task 7: Music Video Research Part 1

Rock - Queen

-High key lighting - Expressing the song's title and how lively their music is, upbeat.
-Static camera - Video isn't about the performance but more about the music
-Leather clothing - popular and common style throughout the genre, iconic
-Lack of props - Only items on set are the instruments used, further reinforcing the view that the music -video is straight to the point
-Non diegetic sound - No narrative to base diegetic sound upon
-Pace of cuts varies on the pace of music
-No narrative

Pop/Punk - SWMRS
- High key lighting - express how up beat the song is and if the melody sounds happy.
- Fast cuts - punk is energized and full on, fast cuts exemplifies this trait. Some songs are slower resulting in slower cuts.
Diegetic and non diegetic sounds - SWMRS are very much a DIY band and they like to experiment with studio and real life sounds together.
Original music videos - very atheistic and usually 90s looking, including VHS camcorder recording parts of the video.
Some videos are nearly entirely narrative and some are entirely performance. Linking back to their DIY nature, they can do as they like, they are not trying to be mainstream.


Folk - The Lumineers

-Narrative based - easily illustrates the lyrics
- Pace of cuts depended on the narrative, helping build structure, anticipation and character development. Montage esq at some parts to show passing of time.
- High key lighting showing the couple traveling implies joy and adventure
- Long takes on specific takes such as loving scenes to emphasize the couples excitement and admiration for each other
- Casual clothing, appropriate for narrative
-Diegetic sound makes narrative more realistic.

Learning comment
From doing this task i have understood the clear differences from different genres music videos, i have also looked at how the micro elements are perhaps more important in a particular genre over another. Learning codes and conventions from 3 different genres has allowed me to think about the genre i'm interested in and would like to do. I have also seen how far music videos have came from the 70s/80s with Queen and the early 10s with SWMRS and The Lumineers. The music video industry has been given more time and money to invest in it, making it part of a usual artists album. I also found it interesting to study these music videos as it meant i could find influences from a less know genre such as folk and use certain traits in a rock or pop song.

Task 6: Analysis of student videos, digipaks and adverts.

CLICK WATCH ON YOUTUBE TO WHAT THE ORIGINAL VIDEOS.

Learning Comment

From watching 3 different music videos from fellow A2 media students, i gained a sense of what works well and what compliments a variety of different potential cinematography ideas. Furthermore, i now have the understanding of picking a suitable song to make the music around. The pace of the actual song is very influential to the overall nature of the production, likewise of the lyrics. Some songs are hugely narrative based, these are songs we're going to deter from due to their lack of performance based content. Narrative based songs are particularly hard to make a copy music video for because their lyrics can only mean 1 thing. It's very difficult to come up with a new perspective and interpretation of the lyrics if they're very set in their meaning.