music channel history

Above i have created a time line showing the history of music channels and at the very top of the page created a collage in Photoshop of some of the current music TV shows and channels.

Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms of real media products?

http://prezi.com/-jtvylxcsdi34pqe/edit/#72\hskkdk


how effective is the combination your main product with ancillary texts?

http://prezi.com/wfsq09y3bzxp/untitled-prezi/

what have you learned from your audience feedback?

http://www.slideshare.net/tannerjac/what-have-i-learned-from-audiance-feedback

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

http://www.slideshare.net/tannerjac/digitalmediapowerpoint-130312150702phpapp02-17501626

Final edit

 here is my link to my final edit of the song cannonball by Damian rice, after analyising my adjustments i re-edited the video to make it into the final product you can see.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhsclS_O_CI

Adjustments to music video

In the first edit i had 2-3 gaps, these have been filled by shots of time lapses, these i felt helped to show the passing of time and maybe gave a feeling of isolation to the video. once i was happy with the editing i then went about sharpening up all of the clips, as i had created an extension format of 1080p HD quality i wanted all of the images to be crystal clear as this gives it a more professional look.

First draft

This is my first draft of my media music video for Damien rices "cannonball" there are a few black spaces where i am yet to add clips of time lapses and various shots of the artist throughout the video.

Health and Saftey

When filming my media video, i had to take into account the health and safety issues when filming outside, during the time period of filming it was the middle of winter so we had to take precautions to deal with any situations that could accour, for instance wearing the correct clothing, or keeping and eye on weather conditions and making sure there were no injures attained by falls of slips in the winter conditions.

Digi pack planning

While creating my own Digi pack i looked at a wide range of other bands and artists Digi packs for ideas and inspiration, i knew my digi pack would be different from most digi packs due to the genre style, as it is more of a niche in comparison to wider market artists like Jessie jay and Micheal buble.


Below are a range of images i plan on using in my digi pack, i have also used screen shots to show the process of some of the editing to show step by step processes to the final product.

Front cover

On the left is the album cover, here i used a screen shot from my music video of my artist stood looking over the landscape, i liked the as it really con-inside with the theme of the song that i had chosen.

I opened the image in Photoshop and then used the type mask tools to add text varying each letter in size to give it a similar effect to the original albums, i then used stencil tools to create the box around the outside of the "new album" text and then used a rubber to erase parts of the box to make it look like a stamp, i used red for this as it is very eye catching and is normally associated with sales or advertisement.

Here shows the process of the layers used in Photoshop to create the type masks and boxes.

Back cover


On the right is the back cover of the album, here i used another screen shot from my music video to make the image. i liked the way the clouds contrasted with the sky and it was ideal for the genre of music.

When creating the track listing i decided to place them in different locations on the back cover to make it more interesting to look at and because the genre that it fits into doesn't have a theme or order in contrast to a pop album where it would be in straight lines to look modern and sharp. I also used record lables to give it a more realistic look and used a blending mode to hide the white background, i also added in a bar code and text about "copyright" and the music production company to make it as realistic as possible. The screen shot below is another demonstration of how i created the album cover using Photoshop.

Internal images

I only wanted one picture on the inside of the digi pack, mainly because i personally thought it looked better and because of the minimalist theme i wanted to follow when creating the digi pack.

Again when it came to the CD its self i wanted it to be as basic and as simple looking as possible as it con-insides with the conventions of this genre.










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Editing Software

For my media A level music video i will be using new and modern technologies in editing such as Adobe after effects and Adobe premier pro, mainly because of the huge variety of editing techniques available and the more simple, brightness and contrast, B&w, clone stamp tool, layering, transition effects, music mixers volume output controls, because of the ability to manually manipulate the imagery in the editing sweet i was able to create the perfect effects that i had originally planned out for my video even if the sound quality was damaged or the camera was shaky i could fix it through the editing software. This i feel made my video more unique and gave it alot more of a proffesional look and feel when watching the final product.

Story Boards

Above are my 6 main story boards, due to my inability to draw the story boards are very rough sketches consisting of stick men, but in compassion with the first draft and the final edit you can see all of these shot types are in the video and i have tried to create the video shot my shot using the story boards.

Filming Schedule

Contact with band/ Artist

Above is a screen shot copy of my original email sent to Damien Rice, where i asked his permission to use his song "cannonball" for my Advanced Portfolio music video. But unfortunately i have had no reply in corresponding with this email so i decided to go ahead with my idea and to create the music video.

Props list

For my music video, it didn't follow a convention or narrative based theme.

so my props list is very short as i didn't need much to create the effect i needed in my music video, the only prop used in the video was a guitar as the video was set out doors in the wilderness to show isolation and solidarity.

Mood Board

Here i have created a mood board made of images that came to mind when creating my music video, as the mood board shows i plan on having a concept based/ random video and the use of black and white and singular images helps to create the effect i wanted in my music video as it co-insides well with the lyrics of the song, i also hope to be able to gain an actor who looks like the artist (with similar genre styling) and can sing like the artist.

Pitch of Ideas

After analyising the lyrics i decided that the video should only have one person in it, this was perfect as a good friend of mine new this song and was a keen musician and he was happy to help with the filming, the only downside is that we are both students studying A levels and it was hard to find free time between our coursework and actual work.

Initial planning for ideas

For my planning stage i used multiple print outs of the lyrics from my chosen song and used them to create ideas for shots and then to brain storm and plan out the actual video.

Still a little bit of your taste in my mouth
Still a little bit of you laced with my doubt
Still a little hard to say what's going on

Still a little bit of your ghost, your witness
Still a little bit of your face I haven't kissed
You step a little closer each day
That I can't say what's going on

Stones taught me to fly
Love ‒ it taught me to lie
Life ‒ it taught me to die
So it's not hard to fall
When you float like a cannonball

Still a little bit of your song in my ear
Still a little bit of your words I long to hear
You step a little closer to me
So close that I can't see what's going on

Stones taught me to fly
Love ‒ it taught me to lie
Life taught me to die
So it's not hard to fall
When you float like a cannon

Stones taught me to fly
Love taught me to cry
So come on, courage, teach me to be shy
'Cause it's not hard to fall
And I don't wanna scare her
It's not hard to fall
And I don't wanna lose
It's not hard to grow
When you know that you just don't know

After analysing the lyrics, the song seems to be about a break up or loosing someone e.g the chorus " stones taught me to fly" would imply he has been hurt by people before and throughout the song you get the feeling of sadness.

My VIDEO TREATMENT/INSPIRATION

 

This is the video for the song "sun down" by radical something  after watching this video it gave me an idea that the video should be shot outside in the wilderness to show true isolation of the character artist whilst giving a real meaning to the video as it would follow the same emotions of the song, seeing the combination of random shots and lip syncing shots it gave me a great idea for my video.

My treatment for my video is very simple, i wanted to keep the video as minimulistic and create a huge feeling of solidarity as i felt this would really have an impact with the songs lyrics, my plan was very simple but yet effective, with all of the verses and bridges e.g "still a little bit of your taste, in my mouth", i wanted the singer in the video to be walking and looking at the landscapes because this would help to set a mood as the some builds towards each chorus  then using the chorus to lip sync as this would really amplify the meaning in the song - this is called "lyrical amplification" which tends to be used on videos of this genre because it gives a great effect to the viewer.

Audience Research

Students music video

I chose this A level portfolio music video for analyses as i felt it had a very similar layout and plan i wanted for my video, the use of wide angles, the same B&W effects, and follows the same codes where there is only 1 person throughout the video following the conventions of the song. I especially liked all of the slow motion shots and the use of 1080p quality to enhance the clarity and to also make it stand out from other music videos, the use of shot types goes well with the music and keeps the viewer interested the whole time.

Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin identifies the 5 key aspects of music videos that we as an audience should look out for. These are:

• Thought beats- seeing the sound

The structure of the song and how it effects what happens in the music video, for example the change between the verse and chorus.

The voice of the song, the artists voice is extremely unique and can form identification or trademarks to that particular artist or record label.

The mode of address Andrew points out how music videos can tell a story and that the artist is the storyteller, making the music video a communication device to help tell the story.

• Narrative and Performance

Songs don't usually give us the whole story and we only tend to get the gist of the meaning and we interpret it in our own ways and make our own ideas. Goodwin explains that music videos should avoid common narrative and aim to create something different to make it stand out for advertising purposes

He says that the narrative and performance aspects of the video should work together to compliment each other and cut between them constantly to make the video easy to watch over and over without the audience getting too bored.

The artist acting as both a narrator and participant in the story helps to make it more realistic and believable, though the lip syncing has a huge impact seeing as the audience has to believe its real to make them interested in the story line.

• Star Image

The artists image is a vital aspect in a music video, artists want to look unique in order to stay current and be remembered.

All artists have their own 'star image', which is their characteristics and style which make them recognizable and iconic, here are a few examples:

Take that: popular British boy band who's music and looks always grab attention. there style has always been in fashion throughout the ages.

Taylor swift: in all performances she is smiling, happy and has an overall happy look which can be contrasted by the lyrics in some of her songs

• Relating the visuals to the song

Music videos work in 3 different ways to promote the song:

Illustrate- the images are directly related to the lyrics, using a set of images to illustrate and highlight the meaning of the lyrics

Amplify- the meanings of the lyrics are manipulated and constantly shown throughout the video to make us remember them

Disjuncture- where the meaning of the song is completely ignored

• Technical Aspects

the technical aspects such as the camera angles and movement, mise-en-scene, added sound, editing and special effects create and hold the music video together. They help to improve and highlight all of the points above, by cutting between shots in time with the beat of the song, using lighting to set moods and close ups to highlight the artists style or emotion.

Music Video Censorship

Whilst the Censorship of popular music started in the early 1940's when traditional values were being challenged by early rock and R&B. “Sex and drugs were no longer hidden and secretive acts, but something to be exposed and celebrated” In the early 1970’s and 80’s, music censorship expanded from songs to music videos. Heavy metal, rock and rap music were targeted by moral authorities due to the amount of violence that was expressed in the music. This was followed by the black and white Parental Advisory symbol which occurred in 1990, after the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) urged the music industry and government to create and promote a rating system for music, evaluating the musical content, in 1985.


A good example of censorship was done by the BBC with the song relax by Frankie Goes To Hollywood released in 1983, was banned from BBC radio stations and TV shows, but of course its within human nature when told "no" we want to disagree this gave them a huge amount of publicity which shot their single from number 6 in the charts to number one for 5 weeks running and later on becoming the 7th best-selling UK single of all time. This supports the phrase 'any publicity is good publicity' seeing as the songs lyrics, front cover design and music video encouraged the song to be banned due to its 'overtly sexual' nature.

The original video was directed by Bernard Rose, set in in a gay bar/ erotic night club where the men wore S&M/bondage style leather clothing. The video had a very strong homosexual theme which was considered inappropriate by the BBC and was banned straight away. Whilst this music video created a huge amount of publicity, the band decided to create a 'clean' video, seeing as the original was not being aired.




Another great example of UK censorship is the video for the song "smack my bitch up" by the prodigy  released in 1997, the song on its own was very controversial and the same theme went for the video, where there is drug taking, abuse,nudity, drinking and grand theft auto, the video was shot from a 1st person point of view hiding the identity gender of the main character  The behavior in the video is stereotypical of a young male but ends up with a twist when the character looks in the mirror and it is the refection of a young/teen-aged girl going against general stereotypes and caused huge controversial within religious and social groups.


Fredrick Wertham


Fredrick Wertham is a theorist who released a book in 1954 highlighting how comic books are a 'negative form of popular literature'. He argued that they included both covert and overt violence, sex, drugs and crime, he also highlighted the hidden sexual themes such as wonder woman having a bondage subtext, which was admitted by creator William Moulton Marston. 

Because of this the comic book industry were pressured into a code of conduct which restricted the representation of many ideas and episodes.

The seduction of the Innocent can be related to music videos and film, seeing as it supports censorship, arguing that children and teenagers shouldn't be exposed to sex, drugs and violence as it can be damaging and has a negative impact.

Analysis of Bands/ Artists websites

Here is a screen shot of the Red Hot Chili Peppers website, like most modern band or artist webpages its sticks to the conventions of being minimalistic, possibly through styling reasons or even budget reasons but all seem to follow the same basic conventions.

on the webpage the main image is of the new album "i'm with you" as this is the only image on the home page ti focuses on the band and there new album, if you were to compare with Carly Rae Jepsons webpage there are completely different in genre and in page set up, her website focuses heavily on advertising her new and existing albums with a slideshow effect on here front page with heavy focus on her name, and in comparison with the Red Hot Chili Peppers webpage there is alot more writing and a wider variety of colours used, with Carly's she has gone with the stereotypical POP girl theme, blues , pinks and whites to make it eye catching and appeals to her target audience  But there are some similarities with the two site, although they contrast hugely in genre and target audience  they both have heavy advertisement about there work, pages for posting your thoughts and opinions and links to all of there upcoming tour dates and dates for new songs, videos and album releases, this i believe helps the fans to feel more connected to the artist when they can have their say and get the artist/band to read it. they both also use social media links on there websites such as Facebook, Twitter and youtube to showcase themselves to there fans.  Bellow are some examples of other band/ artists websites that follow similar conventions.

What is a Digipack?

Here is the digipak for taylor swift album RED, the imagery shown throughout the pack is very girly and sweet , this new imagery has a mixed telation to the music style and genre, the new album is still fitting into the same music genre Pop. A strong close up of Taylor swifts face is used for the front cover of her album, though her style and star image has changed dramatically, the close up insures that the viewer recognizes her straight away. Seeing as she is a very well known, famous and attractive artist her face sells, using a close up for the album cover draws in her fans encouraging them to buy the album just because it has her photo and name on it. Because of her huge fan base she is able to change her style constantly without risking loosing her fans, this change also makes her interesting and stops people from getting bored of her, her bright red hair will make her album stand out when displayed in a shop with many other albums.

The whole digipak follows girly theme, the use of colours like pink and red throughout the new digi packs suggests a them of lust and romance in her songs, the album also comes with 4 guitar picks this can encourage the people who buy the album to take up music as a hobby but also is a way of selling the product, because at the end of the day if a product comes with a few items for free it its increases our want or desire to have it, its a cleaver marketing strategy called freebie marketing or razor blade business marketing.

The text used on the album cover is very plain, in a simple red and white font across the middle and bottom of the photo, it doesn't stand out, which means that the photograph grabs the full attention of the viewer and the text is not a distraction.




Above is the digipak for Spiritualized album 'Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space' it is presented in the form of a prescribed drug box, this album fits into the music genre 'space rock'. The digipak is very convincing,, the image on the front is very simple in a dark blue whilst the band name is written in a large plain font across the top, the album title written in a much smaller font below. Across the bottom in very small text is written '1 tablet, 70 mins'.

Inside the box is a plastic container with foil sealing it, this similar to the packaging that for instance paracetamol or ibuprofen , there is also a small folded leaflet similar to the ones inside a box. To make this look realistic there are no images or fancy fonts, the whole leaflet is written in a small black font which contains all the information about the album. This album does not include any lyrics for the songs, lyrics are usually seen in pop albums, where the audience may want to sing along. By looking at this digipak it is clear that the band is not worried about their image, this is very different to Taylor swifts  digipak above which includes many photographs of her, seeing as her appearance is very influential on her younger target audience, where 'her face sells'. Spiritualized do not include any photographs in their digipak, this may be because they are more focused on their music than their appearance, or because as people they may not have a different style or look which will make them stand out in a crowd.

Advertisement And Digipacks

Green Day- Rock, Alternative Rock, Punk

Released in 2004, the print advert for Green days album 'American Idiot' is quite simplistic, in a cartoon style which doesn't have much detail. The majority of the print advert is black, a colour which conotates horror and evil, this contrasts with the white hand, making it look bold and stand out, this is a colour that makes us think of surrendering and emptiness. The last colour used is red, this could conotate pain, passion and hatred, combining these three colours and their connotations, the album artwork can be interpreted by the audience in different ways, such as looking at the way the grenade is in a heart shape, signifying that someone's heart is about to break, using the red to show the pain, which is highlighted by the blood. Whilst this grenade could be linked to the style of music, rock and punk, looking at the grenade as being dangerous and about to explode, as if the music will be big, important and maybe even revolutionary. Overall the artworks style and colour is very eye catching and dramatic.

This artwork which is on both the album front cover and print advert, relates to the lyrics 'She's holding my heart like a grenade' in the song 'She's a Rebel' which is featured in the album. The bands name is written in a bold white font is capital letters, this makes it stand out, grabbing the audiences attention and stating their importance. Whilst the albums name is below in a smaller, red font which isn't as eye catching, but is still bold, using the red continuing the colour theme.

Radical Something

There first album release was in 2009 with "sundown" there newest album  in 2012, this album was called "hwe are nothing and is a very original and different album advert, as you can see in the picture bellow the 3 main members of the band are sat in/on there broken down van, their heads have also been edited out to conotates with the album name "we are nothing" which is shown by unidentifiable people sat idol by the road. But in contrast the setting is on a California country/seaside, blue sky's and a sunny day which is a highly contrasting picture to the name and the conatation of the album.

Above on the right hand side is the cover for one of Damien rices albums, he created all of his Digi packs in the same way, so that the were as simple as the previous, cost less to make, and were easier to sell, with all of his album adverts and his Digi packs he used similar sorts of imagery either painted or printed to create the strange effect he wanted his albums to have with gave them a "niche" when being sold in larger stores such as HMV, Play.com, Sainsburys, Tesco's ect. when i came across his Digi pack it reminded me of an album my father had in his car when i was younger by Phil Collins he too used this sort of printed imagery and basic simple Digi packs as he felt it made it unique to his consumers. when looking at there advertisement for there albums the same plane imagery is used, this is a popular aspect when it comes to print adverts due to the fact that simple adverts are much more attractive to the reader when flicking through a magazine because they are easy to look at. There tends to be a small amount of text, seeing as large amounts can put off the reader, so it is no surprise that there is little text on Damien Rice's advert, stating the albums name and the title of one of his singles. The font is also plain and easy to read, another similarity i have noticed between Damien s and Phil Collins  is that all the text is written in capitals, this is their way of trying to grab the viewers attention being more dominant to make it stand out.