A2 Media Studies Music Video: Evaluation

Evaluation:

Transcript:

Hello, we are James and Rich and this is our evaluation for our Media music video project. The song we had used for the video was Darling by a Metalcore band called Eyes Set To Kill.

Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The genre we’re working in is Metalcore, which is a subgenre of Metal, that focuses on the heavier side of the genre. Metalcore is made up of  various elements from hardcore punk and extreme metal. Bands in Metalcore include Killswitch Engage; Bullet For My Valentine; Bleeding Through; and Trivium.

Metalcore, or Metallic Hardcore, emphasizes on certain hardcore elements such as the heavy guitar riffs, and a punk established base of musical variety through the genre. Highlights of this music genre include various sounds such as ‘Breakdowns’, on which tends to be a similar sound followed by a burst of instrumental heaviness using guitars, bass guitars, drums and sometimes techno symphony’s, on which the audience tend to show their enjoyment by ‘moshing’, which is a form of ‘dance’, in their own way, allowing the participants to push and shove each other in aggression to the musical genre.

Our video of Darling, by Eyes Set To Kill, has a wide variety of characteristics, which is common in the Metalcore genre. We’ve kept to the dark surroundings, making the video stand out by highlighting the key features, such as the silhouette of the male vocalist which is in the dark, but the bright backlight to emphasize loneliness, along with the corded telephone which is used in a variety of music, such as ‘Silverstein – Apologize’, which we thought was a nice touch overall, which adds a sense of loneliness.

Finding the female vocalist was difficult, but we managed to persuade an individual that would perform the song, as she fit the basic characteristics of the dress sense for the lead singer of ‘Eyes Set To Kill’, and would fit into the genre of metalcore nicely. We used a diverse range of effects for the video, some Video Transitions we used included ‘Dip to Colour Dissolve’, and ‘Fade In and Fade Out Dissolve,’ other than that we tried some Video Filters such a ‘Earthquake,’ ‘Overdrive,’ ‘Fresh hold’ and ‘Black and White.’ Therefore, we attached some Text Generators onto the video, displaying various emphasis on the profiled words, for the Female, we used Edwardian Script ITC, and for the Male text we used Cracked, which fit into the genre perfectly.

Eyes Set To Kill tend to use various effects, such as a hand held camera in some of their footage, which displays the raw effect of their music, whilst implementing editing features to darken areas, aswel as overlaying images with text which shows the lyrics, bringing a lot of emphasis on certain feelings or drama within the music.

For the casting, we’ve managed to film a female for the female vocals and a male for the male vocals, which keeps in context towards the video and making it as real as possible. We’ve aimed this as the metal/punk/rock audiences, ages 18 to 25, in which the music fits, and in our opinion, so does the music video for the genre. Using darkening techniques and locations, we’ve managed to reenact the typical surrounds in this genre, using spotlights and plain back drops to allow focus on certain areas during the video, such as outlines, text and the vocalists.

A theorist we looking at was Richard Dyer, whom bought in the Four Notions of Representation, he talks about ideology, conventions, gender, the audience and the individuals within the music genre. Looking deeper into this, we came to the conclusion that we’ve addressed the majority of these in various ways. An over and covert message within our video shows the basic display of heartbreak to certain individuals, and how they react. The idea of items breaking show represent a breaking heart came across perfectly whilst maintaining the focus on the genre. Furthermore, showing the gender, usually the male is the more dominant sex, where as in the video it displays the male being the inferior due to the heartbreak. We also stereotype the metalcore genre, showing dark clothing, and emotions that usual sexes tend to hide.

We kept the parts of the male and female vocalists to show realism in the everyday world, that females and males are equals, with no superior or inferior sex, however the video displays the male as being the more inferior sex, with the female being the more superior sex.

Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Our overall products, such as the digipack, poster and the music video, all have various items implemented within them, such as dark surroundings, red throughout but not over the top, and sections of white. Surrounding the focus points, including the title, text and logos. The fonts used were as close to Eyes Set To Kill’s fonts as possible, but in which we slightly improved for the better result, for the music video, we used Edwardian Script ICT or the female vocals which followed through onto the digipack on the from cover showing a delicate side to the music genre. Alternative fonts we used included Cracked, which was used during the male vocals of the music video. These fonts make a real impact on the band, showing their softer side along with maintaining the fierce genre stereotype of the music.

Question 3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

To gain audience feedback on our final product of the music video, we sat down amongst 15 to 20 people, whom watched the final outcome, and presented us with an open and honest opinion of the video, this included what was good, bad and improvements which could be taken out to enhance the final outcome of the video.

Various Good points that were implied starting with:

·      Shadow/silhouette – fits with music.

·      Split screen/looking at each other, separate clips mirrored.

·      Screaming at end = stronger screaming, effects.

·      Smashing items – fits with music.

·      Guitar angles – fade in / fade out.

After the positive feedback, we moved on to the negative feedback, which we tended to agree with. These points were:

·      Female Costume – Needs to fit the genre, darker clothing, fit appearance of genre.

·      Lighting – More consistency, female lighting, effects?

A final overall view of what improvements could be taken out include:

·      Guitars – Fill more of the screen

·      Darker Lighting – more consistency

·      Fit text onto screen

·      Female – effects, costume, various angles,

·      Smoother transitions between effects and overlays

Question 4: How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages? 

·      YouTube(research, ideas, effects, improvements)

·      Blogger(documentation, display, influences)

·      SLR (Nikon d3100, Photoshop - digipack)

·      Photoshop (digipack, logos, editing, final production)

·      Final Cut Express (clips, editing, sync, colour filters, transitions, colour scheme)

·      Phone (communicate, play song for recording, share ideas, feedback – text others on opinion)

·      Google – Search engine, which allowed us to search for items, products and research quickly and easily.

What I learned from this production?

·      Photoshop – first time using properly, overlay, opacity, layers, cropping, blending/smudging, effects.

·      Final cut express – cropping, editing, zoomed, effects, layers(opacity)

·      Filming – tripod(first time), angles, day light filming.

·      Lighting – during filming(dark room, spotlight), outside(natural)

·      Editing – Experiment with effects (V Trans – Dip To Colour Dissolve, Fade In/Out Dissolve) (V Filt – Earthquake, Overdrive, Fresh hold, B/W) (Text Gen – Female = Edwardian Script, fit to screen. Male = Cracked, conveniently placed)

·      Layouts – Music Video, YouTube, Screen Fillers.

·      Crop/zooming – Close Ups, Crop scenes, etc.

·      Speed of clips – Sped up Phone Throw sped up. Slowed down phone break.

·      Missing scene section – Reenacted original video, flickered effects, colour distortion, off-centre.

·      Split screen – Fills screen, 2 sides to the story, multiple instruments.

·      Opacity – Text (slightly faded, fit into background image) Clips (overlay, opacity ontop image lowered)

·      Fade in/Fade out – smooth’s transitions between clips.

A2 Media Studies Music Video: Our Video

Our Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP4t-gscUo0

We had picked this song, 'Darling' by Eyes Set To Kill, because it was a pretty simple concept. All we needed to do was to film me, as the male singer, get some props to smash up safely, and to film our actress, Kirsty, as the female vocalist. We had also filmed me and my group partner, Rich, playing guitar. It went quite well, apart from that we were trying to imitate the original video to the exact angle, etc, but it would've took too long to create.


The audience reaction to the video is mainly positive because of aspects like the split-screen section where the male and female vocalist are looking at each other singing; and also of the sections of the video where there is stuff being smashed up because it fits with the song; where-as the downsides to the video include that the lighting has to be consistant and also the costume of the female vocalist wasn't that consistant with the conventions of the genre.
The guitaring in the video needed to have a darker lighting technique and they also need to fill up more of the screen when they are playing as the split-screen sections of the video.
The text also had a bit of a downside to it because it needed to be squashed more onto the screen so that it could be read perfectly.

Picture Examples.

This shows the 'Thresh-hold' filter that we had used for these scenes. What this does is it turns it into black-and-white and then the dark colours get darker, whilst the light colours get lighter. We had used this because it shows how emotionally dark the song is and to reinforce how harsh the male vocals are.

This is showing one of the scenes where an object gets smashed up. We had put these scenes in black-and-white because it represents flashbacks.

This scene is showing the text on the male vocals scenes and also in the female vocals at the end. This font is 'Cracked' with an 'Earthquake' animation to the text.

What we had done for most of the guitar sequences was we had cropped them so that we didn't have any unnecessary scenery in the background, and we had them stretched the sequences to fit fully into the screen, so it looked like we hadn't cut any bits off the scenes.

This text is used mainly for the female vocalist. This is to have a softer look at the song, and also to show the female vocals are sung melodically and clean. The font is 'Edwardian Script', to also comply with the typical conventions of the genre.

 With this guitar sequence, we had inflated the image to see the guitar technique being played. This is to keep up with the continuity of the songs rhythm.

With this guitar sequence, we had shrunk both guitarists so we could see them both play and also to put a cool background onto it. The filter we had used was 'Caustics' because it had a relaxing feel to it and it fitted well with the style of guitaring that is in this sequence, which is lighter and more melodic than other sections in the video.

This guitar scene, however, is heavier than the one that's described above. The filter we had used for the background is 'Clouds' for the texture and 'Overdrive' for the colours. This was used because we wanted to reinforce the heavier section of the guitar style and to add a stylistic view into the background, instead of it being plain black. The guitar at the top wasn't supposed to be there because we had planned to have some drums in that space, but we didn't find the time to get a drummer to perform for the video.

This scene is of the two vocalists 'looking' at each other because of the double vocals. This is useful because it allows the audience to see both vocalists performing and also to show that the lyrics are about a break-up in a relationship, which is about a guy and a girl.

This snippet of the video shows a guitar crossing up into another guitar. This is something we had done to make sure that the guitar sequences in this instrumental section of the video didn't drag on a lot. We had also done this to the female vocals because it makes sure that there is a break in the vocals, so that it doesn't drag along.

This sequence was left alone because of the emotion that the male vocalists facial language conveys. This is a strong point for the video because it keeps the emotional atmosphere of the song.

This scene is at the end of the song. The reason why we had done it was to do something different by shooting some footage of a piece of paper that we would drip wax onto. Another reason why we had chosen to put this into the video is because it relates to the lyrics to the song.

Theories.

Our video theoretically mainly relates to the 'Uses and Gratifications' theory by Blumler & Katz. The broad needs that are useful to explain the video are Diversion and Personal Identity. The Diversion aspect of the video relates to how the lyrics and the song itself is used as a form of emotional escapism. This is used by the audience to get away from everyday pressures either physically or emotionally. The use of Personal Identity in the video is to let the audience compare their life to the lives of the persons involved in the video and how that no-one is on their own in this world.


The other theory that could be used to describe the video is Richard Dyer's 'Four Notions of Representation' theory. The reasoning for this is through the typical representations of sociological groups. The typical representations of the Metal genre in the aspect of gender is typically male-dominant, even-though there are female members in some of the bands, mainly playing keyboards at the back of the stage. The stereotypes of the Metal genre include the use of dark colours, mainly black and red; wearing jeans, T-Shirts, chains, etc.; tattoos that relate to other Metal bands; and also singing about personal pain.

A2 Media Studies Music Video: Our Digipak

Digipak.

Original Design.

These are our digipak sketches to show our work towards how we got to the final digipak design. The top one is the one that Rich had created, which was the nearest we got to the  final digipak. The one below it is my digipak design, which was a bit less useful than the other design. I thought that the heart-box was a bit more interesting to photograph for the digipak, but it would've been hard to try and take the photograph because we'd've had to take an image of an empty box and then photoshop a heart into it later.

Final Design.

The top image is our covers for the digipak, whilst the one below it is the inside sectors of the digipak. This has been displayed as showing the same characteristics as the genre because of the main use of blacks and reds.

The top image consists of the image with a low opacity and the whole reason for the DVD on the left (the back) and on the right (the front) has the main image on it and the other associated aspects of a digipak (DVD logo, Record Label logo, etc) The reason why this works is because it shows the true meaning of the genre and how the music is reflected by it.

The other image consists of the lyrics on the inside of the digipak and on the right is the DVD. This is reflecting the style of the genre and also how the musicians are getting their material over to the target audience.

A2 Media Studies Music Video: Progression Update

So far, myself and Rich, have filmed the majority of the music video, and edited a selection of footage. The video is our version of the 'Eyes Set To kill' song 'Darling'.
Including:

• Male Vocals
• Guitar Sections
• Breaking Objects

Editing:

• Overlay Of Text With Effects
• In-Sync (30 secs)
• Song Title And Band Intro
• Blending Effects

Male Vocals

For this , we have used a silhouette of me singing into a corded telephone, with a plain white back board lit up by a spotlight, which allows the filming to create a dark figure singing into the phone, but with an unidentified identity.

Guitar Section

We used a similar effect for this. First Rich filmed me playing along to the full length of the song, focusing on the torso and guitar, and not focusing on the face at all.

Secondly, I filmed Rich playing the guitar, which allows us to use different footage for creating certain effects in the music video

The effects we used for this was slightly different compared to the silhouette used for the male vocals, we used the same plain white back board, but placed the light infront of the guitarists, allowing a spotlight on the instruments, this also provided a nice shadow enlarged on the white back board.

Breaking Objects

We managed to gain various items to break for the music video, which included a mug, a 12" vinyl, a 7" vinyl and a 'fake' mobile phone. We managed to gain permission to use an empty part of the college's facilities, due to Health And Safety we were unsure about this originally, but we bought some safety goggles for this procedure.

We filmed in a remote corner, on a paved surface, set the camera on a tripod and started throwing, whilst recording, in an angered rage.

A2 Media Studies Music Video: Production Schedule

Date.	What we are trying to accomplish on this date?	Where are we doing this?
31/10/2011	Filming	Probably Photography Studio
01/11/2011	Filming	Probably Photography Studio
03/11/2011	Filming	Probably Photography Studio
07/11/2011	Filming	Probably Photography Studio
08/11/2011	Filming	Probably Photography Studio
10/11/2011	Filming	Probably Photography Studio
14/11/2011	Filming/Editing	Either Photography Studio or Mac room
15/11/2011	Filming/Editing	Either Photography Studio or Mac room
17/11/2011	Filming/Editing	Either Photography Studio or Mac room
21/11/2011	Editing	Mac room
22/11/2011	Editing	Mac room
24/11/2011	Editing	Mac room
28/11/2011	Editing	Mac room
29/11/2011	Editing	Mac room
01/12/2011	Editing	Mac room
05/12/2011	Editing	Mac room
06/12/2011	Editing	Mac room
08/12/2011	Editing	Mac room
12/12/2011	Editing	Mac room
13/12/2011	Uploading and description	Mac room
15/12/2011	Uploading and description	Mac room

A2 Media Studies Music Video: Video Plan

Darling- Eyes Set To Kill.


Storyboards.

These storyboards are what we had originally based our video upon, which relates to the video that Eyes Set To Kill had used for theirs. We had originally intended to do a remake of the original video because we thought it would've been easier to film, but because we couldn't find people to act in the video, so we made the concept much simpler by using the group as the guitarists and me on male vocals, where we had also asked a female member of the college to do the female vocals.

Narrative.

The narrative is very simple. We replicate the original music video as much as we can. The narrative is pretty straightforward; it is a mixture of the band performing in a darkened room and a girl being examined by a masked ‘doctor’ whilst being strapped onto a vertical metal bed.

Visual style.

The visual style of the video is quite simple. The mise-en-scene of the video is split up into setting, costume, lighting and also some effects.

The setting of the video is in what looks like an abandoned mental asylum, which is dirty and dark.

The costumes for the male members of the cast will be the same as the fashion of Metalcore is, with the black T-Shirts; Denim jeans; canvas shoes and also the dark shoulder-length hair.




For the female members of the cast, there will be dark coloured dresses, necklaces, open high-heeled shoes and also a dark coloured skirt. This all needs to be used mainly because it is what is in the original music video, so we can replicate it as much as possible for accuracy.

The lighting for the music video is mainly focused in the background and not usually in the foreground, apart from the parts where the surgical instruments are in view.

The effects that we could use in the video are the same type that are in the original music video. The grainy effect would be good because it means that it makes it look dark and graphic, whilst making it look like a typical video from the film-age of cinema.







Another good effect would be the effect that looks like pencil sketches on certain parts of certain objects/people. This would be good because it gives the video a dark effect that also makes it look amateur and homemade.




The last effect that we could use would be the effect that makes flashes of light in certain scenes. For this to save time trying to make an effect like that, we could flash a light at the camera. This is a good effect because it makes a contrast to the rest of the dark, gloomy video.

The camerawork for the video would have to be fast paced and mainly out of focus, with close-up shots on quite a few members of the cast. This is useful because it is an accurate replication of the original music video and also that it shows the ‘operation’ taking place in a pretty graphic and timed method.

The editing of the music video would be pretty easy because all we do is we get the scenes that gel together to make the music video. The only problem we have with editing is the effects that we could use within the scenes and also the size of the snippets, mainly because most of them are up to a second long.

Cast.

·      4 Band Members.

Lead Vocals/Lead Guitar(female)-

Bassist-

Drummer-

Rhythm Guitar/Scream Vocals-

·      2 Extras.

Victim- Bassist

Doctor- Any member of the cast/crew.

Practicalities.

The filming location for the video will be in the photography studio, if we can book it for the media classes, If not then we will try and do it in some photography lessons.

The costumes are the same as in the costume section of the mise-en-scene section above.


The props we will probably be using is a case of doctors implements to replicate the scenes with the doctor and the victim. The only problem we have with these props is that it will be hard to acquire the specific implements because they are of a standard for hospital use, so we'll have to use other props, like normal pairs of scissors for example, that could be used as the implements. Another prop we will use is a projector that we could use by putting scenes on of human autopsies and transplants.

We will make a time plan schedule that we will abide to as much as possible. This means that we can keep on track as much as possible, without considering technological mistakes.

The way we are going to do the casting for the video is to try and find some friends of ours who are free when we are filming the video.

How does this link back to my research into other media products?

This links back to my research because we have incorporated the connotations of the Metalcore genre, whilst keeping the plan of the video as accurate as possible to the original music video by Eyes Set To kill.

New Plan.

We have changed the ideas on how our video is going to be set out. The reason why we have decided to do this is that it has been too hard to try and find people to act in the video.


We have changed the concept of the video by having the male singer in a silhouette singing; the guitarists playing into a light on a white background; the female vocalist in the same position as the male vocalist, apart from having her positioned looking the other way to the male vocalist, so it looks like they are looking at each other; and also a scene where the male and female vocalists are having an argument and they walk off in different directions.


The different aspects we have changed include:
. Having one male (me) to play the male singer, the actor of the argument scene and one of the guitarists.
. Having one female to do the female vocals and the actress of the argument scene.
. Having the other member of the group filming and playing guitar, in which them scenes I will be filming.
. Having a drummer playing the drums in an over-exaggerating manner.


Random Filming


The initial ideas for our filming includes:
. Breaking things- Mugs, bottles, vinyl records, etc- Show heart-break
. Burning something: Toy (Cuddly toy)
. People- Lonely people, sad
. Writing on wall- Of heart break
. Signs of main words- 'Darling'; relates to "Subterranean Homesick Blues"- Bob Dylan