Music Video - For Critique

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3HVV2V9_Po

Naming my Artist

I researched similar artists in the same genre as ours to see what their band name is like and how it was created. Artists including Maroon 5, Coldplay, Clean Bandit and Arctic Monkeys.

Most of the artist similar to ours have a name that is formed of two simple words, as such I will create a unique name made from two words.

Maroon 5, uses a colour in part of their name, as such I plan to use the name of a shade of colour as part of the artists name such as Navy, Indigo, Cyan, Teal

Also these bands have contradictory words, which adds a sense of intrigue for the audience. Therefore if the colour is a shade of blue, then the connotations that are made from using this colour should be contradicted with the other word used.

Those who write slow and downtempo songs usually use cold connotations in their name to reflect their work, to symbolise their depressed sombre lyrics. However those artists who write upbeat and cheerful songs have warm and colourful connotations in their name.
Therefore our artist is more likely to have warm coloured connotations since the song we are using is positive and cheery.

I also found that the artists name doesn't reflect the bands personality and style, such as Clean Bandit, which sounds like a gangster/R&B style group who are actually a band that only use orchestral instruments in their music. Therefore I can be really creative with the names, and any connotations from the words used will not be used to prejudge our artist.


Some example I created include:

• Indigo Sun
• Navy South
• Bitter Summer
• Dirty Saint
• Tropical Winter
• Humid Nights
• Organised Chaos
• Indian Summer
• Trouble in Paradise
• Hapless Romantic

I conducted a survey with my Target Audience on what they thought the best name for our artist was, and they thought that 'Hapless Romantic' was the best fit.

This also relates to our song since our narrative in the music video is our artist being unlucky in love and the band name 'Hapless Romantic'

Like other artists in the same Pop Genre including Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith and John Mayer all seem to tell stories about past relationships through the medium of song.

The name 'Hapless Romantic' is also associated to the target audience since the artist we are creating needs to be relatable to the audience. Since the target audience is Teenage girls, they will be probably going through the same situations as our artist.

Example Websites

One Direction are a synthetic boy band, their main audience members are teen girls which is highlighted in the layout and overall imagery of the website.

The first landing page is of the band in a face on shot with the One Direction Logo pasted atop, then the name of their most recent album is underneath 'Four' and then a hyperlink for the user to purchase this album.
If left on this image for a long time, the shots of the images change fairly quickly in a series of collages, displaying to the fans their childish and cheeky personalities and also adds a sense of depth to the website overall feel.

Further down the page the user if left with hyperlinks to different sections of their website, including: Music, Band, Tour, Journal, Shop and Merchandise.
If hovered over, the hyperlinks change through a series of fonts, which makes the website feel more interactive.

Down the page the user is overwhelmed with a large picture of the bands new music video, with a short description on one side of the page and a rather large play button on the other.

Then embedded into the page is a feed to the bands Instagram account, and a highlight from the 'Journal' section of the website, where the user is advertised to "Read More" of the article
Then a music section advertising the bands most recent album, then the bands next tour dates are displayed with a 'Buy Tickets' button.

The user is also encouraged to subscribe to the bands newsletters, to find out major news in the lives of the most successful boy band in recent times.

Another hyperlink to the bands gallery is joined with a link to the bands twitter feed, which has also been embedded into the page.

Lastly at the bottom of the page the user is finally able to listen to the bands music through various different platforms, there are also numerous links to the bands social media pages including: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Soundcloud, Spotify, YouTube, Instagram and Google plus

And also right at the bottom of the landing page is the artists record label, privacy policy and the ability to toggle the language which is seen on the page.

Social Media links and footer at the bottom of the page including Record Label, Language Toggle and Privacy Policy

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To contrast with the very synthetic boy band artist that is One Direction, I chose to look at the artist, Alt-J website, hoping to find the similarities and differences between these two different artists websites.

They are an indie band, however they relate to our artist since the artist is not featured in their music videos or on their album covers, and rather opt for a faceless and abstract approach.
The imagery of the artist used on both their album and throughout their website could be seen as childlike and abstract since the image is of coloured paint. This adds a sense of innocence to the bands personality.

The website homepage is very clean and relates to the artists album with imagery of the paint splattered.
The links on the first page include News, Live, Music, Shop, Sign Up. Once hovered over they have a different colour.
Underneath the links to the website they have links to social media and online media pages, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, SoundCloud, Tumblr and Spotify.

The News, Live and Music links automatically moves down the page where the contents is located, however the user can scroll down the page themselves without having to click a link.
However the Shop and Sign Up links take the user to a different webpage opened up in a new tab.

Other artists in their News section would include an embedded feed from their social media, however this artist feels though this is unimportant and feels like this is not actually news.

The next section is their Live concerts they are playing, it appears in a list with the most current show first, and also includes a link to where you can purchase tickets.

The SmartUrl website which allows the user to find
different ways to listen to the artists music

The Music Section, lists the artists songs on their most recent album, the user is then given the option to purchase through iTunes, CD or on Vinyl.
On certain songs which have been previously released as singles, once clicked, the user would be directed to a SmartUrl page where the user is given options to listen or watch the song or music video through various services such as YouTube, Vevo, Spotify, Rdio, Beats Music, Deezer, Google Play, Xbox Music etc.




At the bottom of the page it has the artists copyright, links to the artists record label, the websites privacy policy and terms & conditions.
And lastly there is a link to the website creator

Similarities	Differences
Highlights of content on one main page	1D – Links to different sections of the website for a more detailed look Alt-J – Directs you to items on this one main page
Interactive links to main pages including: ·      Music ·      Tour/Live ·      Shop ·      News/Journal	However these are in different orders for each artist. 1D – Also have link to merchandise
Interactive links to Social media pages including: ·      Facebook ·      Twitter ·      SoundCloud ·      Spotify Sign up to the artists’ newsletter for fans to receive major news happening to their artist.	1D – Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, Google plus - These links are placed at the bottom of the page since their music isn't placed at the forefront of their careers success. Alt-J – Tumblr Instagram is a place where images are used to tell a story, and since 1D are sold on their looks, this is a perfect way for them to reach their fans, which may not be quite right for Alt-J.
Takes full use of the whole screen, adding to the viewers experience	1D - Large pictures of the band members
Buttons to purchase tickets for their upcoming events	1D - Twitter & Instagram feed embedded as part of their news
Able to play music video, stream and listen to music at a click of a button	1D – They are the face of their brand, not the music they create Alt-J – are faceless and use colour and imagery used on albums as a means of connecting to their fans
At bottom of page: Record Label, Privacy Policy	1D – Able to Toggle language

Audience Questionnaire - Survey Monkey

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Account of Editing

To get all our content onto our work space we had to connect the video camera to the computer to upload it onto the server for us to edit.

Once that was done we used the editing software, Adobe Premiere Pro. This software is easy to use and the functions that it can achieve are simple yet effective.

To start I cut down the video into shot type and labelled each one depending on the shot type, this was done so that we could easily move the shots around the work space, and be able to identify them easily.

Next we cut down the specific shots that we didn't like, so that all the shots that do end up in the final edit look presentable, this meant that we didn't need to waste time cutting shots up later on
Next I placed the footage in narrative order, since on the shot day we filmed shots out of order so that our actors could come at different times of the day, by placing it in order it meant that it was much easier to work with and less time consuming.

Next we put the shots together along with the accompanying music, and 'cut to the beat' of the music where we deemed appropriate, the outcome of this meant that the visuals seen on-screen look as though they fit well with the music. This is critical in trying to sell the artist, which is what we are trying to achieve.

Once I placed all the shots together, I found that some shots lasted too long or didn't fit well, this meant that I had blank shots in place so that I could place other shots in at a later date, this meant that I could easily visualise any extra shots we needed to produce in a second shot day.

After the second shoot day, I was able to place all the remaining shots in the sequence.
Then once all shots were put in place, I watched the video the whole way through, and analysed each shot and judged whether it was too long or too short, this is where I either sped up or slowed down the speed of the footage, this meant that the final product was timed correctly and looks professional.

Shots I edited in particular include:
The shot of the model walking in to the room for the first time. I reduced the speed of this footage, this meant that it relates to other typical movies in which the editing is in slow motion when the boy and girls eyes meet.

The shot, near the end, of the artist getting annoyed that the model has a boyfriend had to be flipped this is because we didn't shoot from another angle, and I thought that just having this shot playing for too long meant that it got rather boring.

Account of Shooting Day

The Day Before the Shoot our group:

• Transported the camera equipment from the school grounds using one of our team members cars.
• The day before filming took place on the Sunday, Kim started setting up the Art Studio for us to film in
• She gathered props together including: Painting Paraphernalia - Easel, Oil Paints, Paint Brush, Paint Palette, Old Paintings; Table, Chairs etc.
• Before filming each shot the actors rehearsed the scene a couple of times over, to familiarise themselves with the scene, and to make the scene look as believable as possible.

To prepare for the shoot we had to set up the filming equipment at the first location.
This included the Tripod, Camera Stand, Camera Batteries and the Video Tape, We also had to get the camera at the right balance on the stand so that the shot ins't tilted, we also had to white balance the camera, this was done to make the final cut look as professional as possible.
We also set up the lighting so that it looks realistic and life like.

The first set we filmed at was an art studio, it was based in a garage and therefore we had to remove cars from the facility. The walls were adorned with old paintings, we placed 'dirty rags' over places where it didn't suit the concept, we then placed the Easel with the painting and a stall, in the middle of the room, so that the room looked effective.
Personally I thought the rooms ambiance was effective as it looked like a typical dingy and dark art studio.
Most of the shots had low lighting, this links to our Star Image since many artists in the same genre don't go by the typical bubblegum pop of Pink and bright colours, since they try to keep their masculinity which attracts the female audience further. It also means that the video can reach to an ever larger audience including males.

We divided the roles in half

• Myself and Kim were directors. We decided on the shot type; including the angles, where the cameras were placed and instructed the actors. We were also the ones behind the camera; viewing what the final video would look like once in the edit, we also made decisions on extra shots.
• The extra shots we chose were: Close up of Paint pot, close up of Paint squirting out of the paint tubes, Close up of first painting on Canvas, I also decided to have a shot where the artist throws the pictures of the other girls directly towards the camera and for it to actually hit the camera lenses, this was done by bending down where the camera was very low with a high angle. This was my idea and I personally think it is effective, and seems professional since there is a vary of shots.
• Ben and Jake acted as producers, their role was to take care of the actors and make sure that the directors kept to the shooting schedule, we created before the shoot day which explained the timings of the shot day and where we had to be with each actor. And also explained which shots we had to film from the Storyboard we created.

I thought that what we did well was our time management, since we thought it would take much longer to do things so we left a large gap in the shooting schedule. However we were actually a lot quicker than we first thought we would be and so we were not rushed when filming. For example filming Brandon getting ready & printing out model advert (shots 2-3, 24-26) we thought would take over 45 minutes but actually only took about 30 minutes.
Also because we had extra time it meant we could spend longer on each individual shot if needed, and had extra time to film extra shots, that make the video far more professional than it would without them.

The problems we had on the day of shooting, included:

• One of our actors not being able to show up on the day of shooting, and therefore we had to find a last minute understudy to take her role, this turned out to be a far superior choice since our stand- in had done Drama for A Level, plus the actress also knew our other actor beforehand and so the relationship worked better on-screen.
• Another problem was with the scenes we filmed outdoors. Since it was raining, the shots from outside were rushed and looked bad quality. Also because it was extremely difficult to set up the equipment again outside in the pouring rain, we only used it free hand, and so the camera looks fairly shaky.
• Another problem was that one of our team members not turning up on the day of shooting, this meant that we lacked leadership and we just wanted an extra person for their input.

The most successful part of the shoot was the extra shots that we had to create on the day which we can use with the main shots that we intended to film from the Storyboard we made. These extra shots had the most professional feel, as they looked fairly artistic, and added a sense of depth to our world we created.

The parts of the shoot that I thought could have been done better was the lip syncing section. We could have filmed more of this and used it throughout the video rather than in just one section, however we have planned on shooting again another day, where we have planned to film more of our lead actor lip syncing from all different angles and in different locations. The is because, the final video would have more of a cinematic feel if there is lip-syncing throughout, as lots of other music videos that have been created for other similar artists in the same genre, have some sort of lip syncing in them.

We managed our actors fairly well, since we were able to get them on set on time. The actors were able to voice their opinion on the different types of shots, however we had the bulk of control of what was actually going to be filmed.

The part of the shoot that I enjoyed the most was choosing extra shots that we could film, this was one of the creative parts of the shoot day as we could experiment with different ideas, and almost everyone had some input in choosing some of the extra shots.

On the day of shooting we tried to use a vary of shots, including: Birds Eye View / High Angle, Extreme Close Up, Close Up, Medium Close Up, Medium Shot, Medium Long Shot, Long Shot and Extreme Long Shot.
We then did shots in multiple angles to create depth, and so that it looks more professional.
We had another shot where we tracked the actress, and the camera moved with her, this was only used for the model that the artist chose, since we wanted it to look different from the other girls that came to audition, we used this technique so that the audience is able to easily identify the difference from the other girls

The onscreen chemistry between our actors, is the one thing I want to see the most out of our footage we filmed. This is because many people seem to judge the effectiveness of media by their actors, and so the relationship that we portrayed on screen must look real.

Our production group worked very effectively as a team, since we were able to get most of the filming done in a reasonable time, without too much going wrong. While the only things that didn't go right was because they were out of our control, i.e. the weather, meaning that we were unable to film certain scenes outside, since our actors and the camera equipment would have got extremely wet.

The lesson that we learned from this shooting day was to try to keep to our original Story Board and our timing we made beforehand, this would mean that time management and all shots would be filmed.
Also shoot as many shots as possible from all different angles, we lacked a vary of shots in some instances meaning that it looks quite dull, however filming again would mean that we can rectify this mistake.

Risk Assessment