dvd extras

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


our media product, music video, uses the conventions of that of a pop/rock group, we developed our conventions from the existing music group the verve, as in, in this video the main singer is following the camera, we tried to copy this technique in our music video. Also out genre fits in well with what we thought our music video was.

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


our magazine advert and our digi-pack work together as we made them both  follow the same forms and conventions, for example our backgrounds are the same we thought we would do this as they are the both promoting the same thing, therefore the public will know immediately what they are promoting giving they have read something about this beforehand, also both of our ancillary products give our artist an image of being quite punk and laid back as for the red and black. The products catch the target audience peoples eyes. Our music video links in well with our front and back cover on the digi pack as they are both shot and filmed in the same location

What have you learnt from your feedback?


We learnt from our initial pitch that it may not be a giant idea to put the band playing the song in. therefore we re-thought our idea and then decided to follow up on our teachers thoughts and developed our music video to that of the verve, we came back with a rough cut and gained a lot of constructive feedback such as the lip sync as many people thought some o the syncing was not up to standard and we took that feedback and re-shot a couple of our old shots also others commented that our pace of the song was slow and that we needed more shots in there and less time shooting our shot and then just added more shots also shooting a couple more. people thought our product was, slightly homosexual as you first see two guys at the beginning and understandably we were then told to put a girl in the music video , early, to prohibit this thought, but as we had time constraints we were unable to shoot a girl there fore we had a picture of one which turned out to quite effective

Media Evaluation Final Product

1. In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge media forms and conventions?

Some of the media products that we have analysed and were inspired from were from similar bands such as Kasabian and Oasis. We also took inspiration from a video from by Verve. This helped with many camera angles and performance of the singer. This is because similar footage were used, for example walking down the street, meaning that we took what we thought were the best bits in the video and used a similar effect in ours. The genre of our music is pop/rock this fits in typically with many other bands and typically has four band members which also matches the usual conventions such as costume, hairstyles, costumes and life style.

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

The combination of our main product and our ancillary texts I think works well, this is because we managed to keep the three promotional packages consistent, and the colours did this used in our theme throughout, also the background images used. This worked well with the genre and mise en scene as similar aspects were used such as the countryside matching the images of flowers used in our theme. This is therefore attractive for our target audience as the typical preference of the digi pack and magazine advert will also like the music video. The bright colours and bold clear text apply help it to stand out from competition.

3. What have you learned from your feedback?

The feedback we have learnt from our initial pitch was very positive, most people liked the idea including the teacher of the narrative/performance and how we planned to apply this. Other positive feedback was that if fitted well with the genre because if matched the typical conventions of the song. Feedback on our rough cut helped a lot towards our final product, this is because we had feedback such as shots that were not necessary and also comments on misunderstanding that the love story in the narrative part of the video is between. We were also given and created more ideas and in this case added a photograph of a girl to show clearly who to boy was thinking about. For our final product we made a lot of changes with the feedback in mind and again had a lot of positive feedback.

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

We used the new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages> Firstly the software we used used such as blogger helped monitor our planning and show clearly where we are. Photoshop we used a lot of effects and particularly in our ancillary. The HD cameras improved the quality and images from last year.

Media Evaluation Final Product Evaluation

Media final product evaluation

1. In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge media forms and conventions?

Our media product used several conventions of those that are present within a professional music video made for a famous band. One of these is the use of a variety of different shots, e.g. the close up and extreme close-up shots. Many amateur music videos do not have many of these shots in them. However, professional ones do and I feel that we have included a substantial amount of these shots in our product.

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

In my opinion, the combination of our main product and ancillary texts worked well and was reasonably effective. This is because we kept a consistent style between our main product and the ancillary texts e.g. we tied in the style of the ancillary texts with the main product and kept the theme/feel of the music video the same for each of our products. Also, the ancillary texts clearly promote the artist of the song and give the audience an idea of what sort of band it is and also what to expect in the music video.

3. What have you learned from your feedback?

From our feedback, we have learnt that we should improve our organisation. The reason for this is because some of he shots in our music video are quite long because we did not have sufficient footage to add in more shots to replace some of the longer ones. Also, we learnt that we needed a wider variety of costumes for the characters that starred in the music video, in order to make it more convincing as a professional product. Another thing we learnt is that the overall storyline and narrative of our music video was interesting and kept the viewer entertained, and we had also added in a picture of a girl to give the audience a better idea of what was going on, as suggested by previous feedback for our rough cut.

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

We used new media technologies in the construction research aspect of developing our music video such as the use of the internet – we searched for images of bands which were similar to the one which we had chosen for our video and took notes of what sort of costumes they were wearing to give us inspiration. This was also used for developing our ancillary texts, as we needed ideas for what sort of things we could include on the album covers and the magazine advert. In the planning stage of our final product, we used YouTube to gather ideas about how we could carry out the performances in the music video, e.g. how the singer acts and what kind of things he does and also what sort of narratives would usually be found in music videos within a similar genre to ours. In addition to this, we drew out as many ideas as we could for the numerous different shots which would be present in our music video on sheets of paper, and then took pictures of each separate one and we then created an anamatic – a presentation of all of our shot ideas which we put where we wanted them to be in the song. We used this as a template for the actual filming of our music video. In the evaluation stage of our music video project, we used the blogging website “Blogger” to type out all of the feedback which we had received for the final cut of our music video.

Magazine Advert

Magazine Advert

Our Digi Pack

looking  our digi pack you can see we have kept good consistency with each of the different parts of the digi pack for example the red flowers on our mid-covers and also we have made a good relationship between the images on the front and back cover.

for example the mid-cover for the the album has flowers all around and the white of the CD stands out from the rest of the album.

Final Draft of CD

Magazine Advert Ideas

We were made aware that the pictures needed for the magazine advert were required to be taken of the actual singer who starred in our music video. After finding this out, we have come up with some ideas which have been typed below.

• To keep the consistency within all of our music video products, we had an idea of taking a portrait shot of Dan (our lead singer) standing up against a brick wall or something similar. 
• Another idea that we had was to take a shot of the lead singer using the green screen studio at college and use final cut to put in an artificial background behind him which looks convincing. 
• We also took some shots of our lead singer standing on a park bench in the the wind with his arms in the air. 
• One more shot we did and finally used was our lead singer posing, by starring into the distance away from the camera against a white building.

Album Cover

What I've done so far

Our Rough Cut Prior to receiving feedback

The Final Mid-cover

Another Mid-cover

Draft Back Cover and CD Slot

I've just finished the back cover for the album:

 And I've also done the CD slot:

Finished Album Cover

I've just finished the album cover which contains, and gets its name, from the single 'Saturday Night'.

I'm now working on the back-cover 

Feedback From Our Rough Cut

• good close ups
• the close up of the phone was good however screen wasn't too clear
• lip sync was good most of the time, some areas need to be adjusted
• it comes across like there may be a possible gay relationship between the two characters
• possibly add a girl in the video
• performance was good and enthusiastic
• maybe add some night time footage
• sunset shot was popular
• the style of song works well with our narrative
• the pace of the editing becomes slowly throughout the video 
• more costumes and costume changes
• some of the shots used were a bit shaky
• horses seemed to irrelevant 

Album Cover

Filming Schedule

On the day of our filming, we firstly filmed the singing aspect of the song and we did not film it in linear order. We decided to film in Cottenham as we thought it would be a suitable location to fit the music video and also one of our houses was there which enabled us to use that as a filming location for the narrative. At first we were a little worried about how the filming was going to go, but then once we had filmed a couple of scenes and it was starting to look like it was coming together well.

Band Performance Scenes - Inspiration From 'We Shall Visit'

Islet | We Shall Visit

This video is strictly a performance showcase, there is no narrative or plot whatsoever. Instead, the band perform in a blandly anonymous location, and careful editing with strange effects (as shown below) give the video the extra something it needs to be entertaining.

We've decided against the use of these effects as they would not fit the mood of the song, as it's not nearly as 'psychedelic' as 'We Shall Visit'.

However there are still things we can take from this video, even if they're small. For example, the idea of the band playing to themselves, instead of the audience is an interesting idea. The cinematography in this video is definitely something we should aim for as it manages to stay exciting by snapping between band members quickly and sharply, and shooting at odd angles.

Animatic

Test Footage

Creative use of technology

Technology

For our video, we will be using a range of different techniques such as using black and white shots, different shots such as over the shoulder, close up and mid shots. Also we will be using split screens for when they are texting, wipes and different effects for when we change from one shot to another.

Cinematographic Style - Inspiration From 'Leave Before The Lights Come On'

Arctic Monkeys | Leave Before The Lights Come On

'Leave Before The Lights Come On' is a music video which is totally plot-driven, unlike our video, which blends a narrative with a band performing the song...

However, we can take inspiration from the video, which we can apply to or underlying story. In particular, we will mirror the style of cinematography. The style in this video is very rough, but neatly edited together. What this does, is create a sense of reality, while still making the story clear to the audience, very important without any dialogue; (this video contains none).

Another technique we will keep in mind during the shoot and apply in editing is the use of jump-cuts. They are used very subtly in the aforementioned video, but are very effective.

A technique which we hadn't at all considered, but are now very attracted to is the use of freeze-frames.

These two images are both freeze frames and in consecutive order, they add tension to the scene and serve as an easy way to help the images sync to the music.

These freeze frames also highlight the expressions on each character's faces, and force the viewer to see them in detail. We clearly see desperation (above) and anger (left). These two simple images tell us a lot about the characters and their place in the narrative.

Risk Assesment

RISK ASSESMENT

Hazard:

What could cause harm?

Knifes and forks.

What is the likelihood of this happening?

The likelihood of this of happening is low.

Who or what would be harmed?

Harm from all of these hazards can cause cuts and bruises to you or others

How much harm?

(2) Reduce or substitute will be required.

(1) Eliminate. (2) Reduce or substitute. (3) Isolate. (4) Control. (5) Personal protective equipment

Hazard:

What could cause harm?

Glasses.

What is the likelihood of this happening?

The likelihood of this happening is low.

Who or what would be harmed?

You and others may be harmed from smashed glass.

How much harm?

2) Reduce or substitute will be required.

(1) Eliminate. (2) Reduce or substitute. (3) Isolate. (4) Control. (5) Personal protective equipment

Hazard:

What could cause harm?

Plates being destroyed.

What is the likelihood of this happening?

Lead to blindness.

Who or what would be harmed?

You and other may be harmed.

How much harm?

Control (5) Personal protective

Applying the following priorities, how will this risk be managed?

Goggles and gloves will be worn and a set up environment to control where they smash.

(1) Eliminate. (2) Reduce or substitute. (3) Isolate. (4) Control. (5) Personal protective equipment

CD Cover Ideas

We have found that the dimensions for a CD cover are 342 by 301 pixels. Some of the ideas that we have for the CD cover are using either a plain coloured background or using a photo as the background.

Locations, Costumes, Props and Lighting

Possible locations:

• Protagonist's house
• Restaurant 
• Cambridge town centre  
• Stage
• Rooftops, car-parks, urban areas in general
• Large fields
• Cambridge shopping centre

Props for the band:

• Acoustics guitar
• Mic (with stand)
• Dum kit (with sticks)
• Costume - bright colour scheme

Props for the narrative:

• Dinner setting including food, plates, cutlery, wine etc. 
• Smart/ casual costume
• Table and chairs
• Watch
• Mobile phone
• green screen

Lighting:

• Bright colour scheme for the band
• Bright colour scheme for the narrative as it begins and and will fade slowly towards darker shots as the mood changes

Copyright Information

This is the e-mail we sent to to The Thrills, making clear that we understand issues surrounding copyright:

The Thrills,
We're a group of sixth form students from Long Road College in Cambridge, England. We're writing to tell you that our current project, in which we are required to create a music video, uses your song 'Saturday Night'.

We understand the copyright information fully, and will make no profit from our video this is purely an educational exercise.

All the best,

Angus, Matt, Dylan, Dan

Performance Idea

After looking at other music videos, such as 'Sea Within a Sea' by The Horrors (pictured below), We've decided on having our performance sequences dimly lit, to add mystery to the music.

Ideas For Album Artwork

Realizing the importance of album artwork, as it is the first thing people will see when they look at the physical or digital product, it is vital to get the right message across.

In my mind there are three popular types of album/single cover:

1 - A photograph of the band / artist, often in a fitting environment. 

2 - An image which represents the music, but doesn't necessarily show the band/artist. 

3 - The name of the album with a blank or abstract background, either simple lettering or stylized. 

Here are examples of the above: 

1: 'The Libertines' by The Libertines

2: 'A Weekend In The City' by Bloc Party                                                                                 

3: 'Suck It and See' by Arctic Monkeys

There is an exception however, recently it has become popular for bands/artists to feature album artwork with no words whatsoever. Instead the cover features a simple image only, which hints towards the tone of the music.

For example: 'Flaws' By Bombay Bicycle Club

Our group is still in discussion over what type of sleeve we will use.

Our Interpretation of the Lyrics

Is this what they call love 
Is this what they call love 
Is this what they call love 
on a Saturday night? 

I’m just a man 
I’m just a man 
Not even a great one 
I’m too vain for greatness 
Is this what they call love 
on a Saturday night? 

Is this what they call sex 
Is this what they call sex 
Is this what they call sex 
on a Saturday night? 

Time for the night clubs 
Time for the night clubs 
Providing the soundtrack for 
Dry humping on dance floors 
Is this what they call sex 
on a Saturday night? 
Alright 

Is this what they call hate 
Is this what they call hate 
Is this what they call hate 
on a Saturday night? 

Broken BEER bottles 
Broken BEER bottles 
Thrown like American footballs 
Hey its just jocks high on hormones 
Is this what they call hate 
on a Saturday night? 
Alright 
Is this what they call hate 
on a Saturday night? 
Alright 



Our Interpretations of The lyrics
From the lyrics in this song, we have interpreted that the story is about a man who is due to have a date on a saturday night and he prepares a candlelit dinner for him and his date, and she never ends up turning up. He then gets fed up of waiting and puts the food on the plates in the bins. He then goes out in anger and ends up seeing his date with someone else and then he gets angry and starts being aggressive.

Progressing Ideas

Progressing Ideas:

- Recurring events
- Have the protagonist calling his girlfriend at the beginning before the song begins.
- Make him look like he is in love at the beginning, then hating his partner at the end.
- Main character not in band; band performance cuts through narrative.
- Thought bubbles tell audience what he is thinking, as there will be no  sound from the narrative.

Rough Notes:
- Watch.
- Thought bubbles
- Heads in his hands
- Walk around the room
- Over the shoulder, where you can see the empty plates

Idea For a Scene:
- Cut to the protagonist's house before he starts getting angry and breaking things things.
- When he is waiting for his girlfriend to return home to the meal he has prepared for them we see shots of him gazing at the clock.

Initial Ideas

Some of our initial ideas that we pitched to the class were:

- We will have many close ups of the main singer, to show emotion.
- Shots of the protagonist walking along a rainy road.
- Shots switching between the band's performance and the narrative.
- Shots of his girlfriend having a good time without him.
- Thought bubbles
- Mise en scene reflects mood.for example dim lighting for when the protagonist is feeling down.
- Ending will be main character walking into his house and slamming the door.

Music Video - First Ideas

The song which we have chosen to create a music video for is The Thrills - Saturday Night, the reason for this is because we thought that it had an interesting narrative and it would make for an exciting music video with a gripping story-line.

Ideas for the content in the music video

The narrative of the song is about a man who believes that his saturday nights are not as good as what they should be due to the fact that he does not have a woman to spend them with. An idea which we came up with was using a man , dressed in a smart shirt and casual trousers as the main character. At the beginning of the video he would be sat at the dinner table with a candle lit and 2 plates of food prepared for him and his date. It turns out that his date is taking a long time to arrive and he then becomes anxious and starts looking at his watch every few seconds to see what time it is. Eventually he gets fed up of waiting and scrapes the food on the plate which was for his date into the bin in anger. He then quickly leaves the house and slams the door shut behind him. From there, he decides to take a walk to soothe his anger but it only turns out worse for him as he walks past numerous couples. As he is walking he is singing the words in the song.

Location Ideas
Some ideas we had for location are filming the part with the candle lit dinner in a house. Also for the part where the main character is walking around, we thought that filming that scene in busy area like town, with restaurants and shops during the nighttime would suit the mood of this scene. Also we thought that we would shoot the scenes where the man is walking around the street in the evening in Cambridge, because the streets will be ideally lit for the mood that we want to create.

Music Video Ideas

Album Cover

Ideas related to the song

Similar Bands