Music Video (Draft 2)

Here is a version of my music video prior to me adding all of the video game effects into the scenes.

Magazine Advert (Draft)

Here is a draft magazine advertisement placed in the magazine I created for this band last year, Risen. I felt as though this shot of a close up of me holding the masks indicates a pondering on the former and possible identities of the band moving forward.

Digipak

Here is my completed Digipak:

I created a consistent house style by using the colours of the mask with the text and backgrounds on the CD cover and backing and the CD print respectively.

Ancillery Texts-Guide

Ancillary Texts: Planning

            A Magazine Advertisement

                 A CD Cover

Conventions of Digipak

Front panel displays the name of the artist/band and the title of the album

International DVD logo appear on spine and back panel alongside the record label logo and other corporate / organisation

Track listing on back panel

Copyright and regional information of the edge of the CD/DVD

Barcode on the back panel to allow retail sale

Copyright, DVD classification & legal information on the back panel

Magazine Advert for Digipak

Establish publication that the advert will be placed

Decide the dimensions of the advert. Perhaps do multiple versions – full page, half page and quarter page

Ensure that the artwork reflects the design of the digipak or features a digipak pack shot

Look to include conventions

Distribution “Available at ……”

Formats that the release is available in download, vinyl……

Website url

Release date

Ancillary Texts Checklist

The Brief – the 2 selected ancillary texts

Analysis of codes & conventions

Textual analysis of 3 existing texts – use LIIAR

Draft designs, photographs, video stills & graphics produced

Step by step guide to the production of y

Ancillary Text Production Checklist

Maintain a consistent house style through all 3 media texts – same colour schemes, fonts, design layout, mode of address (targeting the same audience)

Tangible link between all 3 media texts – eg use still frames from a video sequence within a poster or digipak cover / or embed clips of video within a webpage.

Create a logo for the artist/band that will brand the media product across all three media products

Ancillary text mark scheme and how to meet criteria

awareness of conventions of layout and page design	Conventions analysis of a minimum 2x digi packs Conventions analysis of a minimum 2x advertisements Does the artist have a motif/ logo, if so explain this and why/where it features.
awareness of the need for variety in fonts and text size	Research in to different font types
accurate use of language and register	Using the correct language and explaining your choices.
the appropriate use of ICT for the task set	Using Photoshop well.
framing a shot, using a variety of shot distances as appropriate	Image research, look at the imagery used on existing products of the artists, how are they posing, how does it have continuity with the music video. Take images and post them on to your blog.
shooting material appropriate to the task set; selecting mise-en-scène including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting	Compare and contrast existing artists to gain inspiration to design your own, what do you like about them and why does it reflect the genre?
Manipulating photographs as appropriate, including cropping and resizing.	Video your construction (use quick timer on the mac to video the screen) or screen shot progress
Where a candidate has worked in a group, an excellent contribution to construction is evident.	All group members are to make their own ancillary texts.

Draft Music Video-Changes

  Draft Music Video-Changes

Originally, the introduction to my draft music video included several shots of my band performing. One initial long shot and several extreme close ups followed by a medium shot of all the members leaving. Unfortunately the drum kit I was planning on using has been discarded, and the location of filming the rehearsal scene is being used as storage space. It can be cleared out easy enough but the drum kit is gone. And there’s no way I’d be able to take one out of Wyke.

So I thought of a new intro, that doesn’t involve playing instruments. The intro will fade in to an over the shoulder shot of me writing in the same garage, trying to write a song. I’ll write some awful verses, cross them out moderately angrily, and decide to take a break and clear the writer’s block by playing some video games, and from there the narrative aspect of my music video will remain mostly the same.

My initial idea also included a large amount of shots of the band performing in the garage, but that has to change now. So I’ve decided to replace those shots with ones that further the video game’s narrative, and depict the band member becoming increasingly invested in the life of the virtual character. While this was initially disappointing, and I didn’t like the switch from narrative and performance to purely narrative, it actually allowed me to improve the story idea greatly. There is more development in the two characters now, both the band member and the virtual version of him. The idea that by the end of the video the band member changes his stance on playing video games and how they shouldn’t be a central part of your life is now more plausible.

The ending will remain the same however, with a medium shot of the two band members standing at the door with a car running in the background, so the other band members will not be completely cut from the production. One member is still featured in the intro, and both are present part way through when my band member presents the song idea to them.

The performance of the therapist when the second verse starts will be unaffected, and he’ll still keep the cowboy hat and I’m in the process of acquiring a fully-fledged cowboy outfit for my actual video. This is primarily to add some humour to the text, as I think the mixture of full cow pattern cowboy pants, freakishly tight rawhide jacket and an even larger cowboy hat would definitely do the job.

There is still a way that I could insert performance aspects into my music video. I may have the opportunity to use a drum kit, guitar etc that are owned by Wyke, and use the college facilities to film. This means that the mise-en-scene and location of the performance aspects of my music video will not be what I initially wanted or planned, but because my available resources have changed, this is now my best option if I still want to include a performance aspect with good production value. 

Music Video Shooting Location Ideas and Photos

For the filming of my actual music video I decided on my Aunt's house, as it has locations for everything I plan to include in my production. I collated these images into a video with some background music, but I'll also post the pictures individually for convenience and explain why I believe each location is a good choice for a scene for my music video.

These initial shots show the garage in which I plan to film my introduction, as I was advised to create one due to my song choice being slightly short. In this intro, I plan to have two of the band members wracking their brains trying to come up with new material, and failing. The member played by me will then turn to the masks the band used to wear in a final attempt to find inspiration. This will all be done sat at the white surface you see on the left and will be used as an establishing shot.

I felt as though this location was ideal for the parts of the music video wherein the protagonist goes home to play video games after failing to find inspiration. The positioning of the TV and couch has the potential to allow for some great medium and long shots, and the lighting during the day is very good.

The photos here show the study, which I felt would be ideal for the therapist scene that begins at the start of verse 2. Again the lighting is good, and the positioning of the blue/grey chair on the left is just shaded enough for me to infer meaning. in addition to that it fits the part very well, and looks like a genuine therapists office. My character as the protagonist will be seated in the blue chair, whereas my friend who is playing the therapist will be seated in the brown leather computer chair on the right. I also plan to have some video game related material on the screen when my character enters the room, to symbolise how the protagonist is constantly influenced by video games.

During the filming I was able to do at my Aunt's house, I gathered enough footage to construct a draft of my music video. The footage was good for a draft to convey the narrative I would like to create and for the audience to visualise my idea, but I don't feel as though the footage was high quality enough to be my final product.

Magazine Advert- Usable Photos

Digipak Progress

Digipak- a type of packaging for CDs or DVDs, typically made from cardboard with an internal plastic holder for one or more discs.


The two main images I'm considering using, out of the array I took of the field over the two occasions, are these two.

This first Image will be used as the cover of the digipak. I felt as though this was a great shot because of the brilliant lighting and great overall quality.

This is the photo I plan to use for the backing of my digipak. In the cover photo, just to the right of the centre, there is a bridge in the distance. This photo was taken on said bridge, so I feel as though using the two in conjunction would be very complementary.

Here is what they looked like when I was finished using photoshop to turn them into my cover and backing.

Field Photos (January 2017)

I recently took some more photos of the field backing my house, in order to get some more shots that I could use for my digipak advert, and I feel as though the wet terrain actually looks better in the pictures. I wanted to take some more photos for my digipak advert, as I felt that having some varying shots of the band member contemplating the meaning and usefulness of the maks on a bridge was a very good idea and conveys the much needed change of the artist.

Aditionally, These shots provided me with the idea that towards the end of my music video, it may be an idea for the band to throw their masks over the bridge, to symbolise them finally making the necessary change of removing the masks. For my music video, I had my band member constantly looking over and contemplating the masks anyway, showing how they where still always there, and always a major part of the group. I feel as though discarding the masks over the bridge here would provide good closure, and would also provide me with a good reason to use one of these photos in my digipak, as the bridge would then be very relevant.

So I was given the suggestion that the field behind my house could house some interesting and possibly ideal shooting locations for my music video. So I took a selection of photos of various areas of the field, some of which I feel could also be used for my digipak, as they have adequate lighting and would fit well with the diegesis of the fictional character in my music video.

While we were shooting, the wind actually blew several of my props away, but the position in which this mask got stuck in the tree I feel actually could be used, and could be very symbolic of how the band is stuck in a rut currently.