MUSIC VIDEO: VIDEO EVALUATION

Below are 2 video evaluations of my music video:

CAMERA EVALUATION:



EDITING EVALUATION



Apologies about the reference to the silence at the beginning of the video, this was done before the change was made.

MUSIC VIDEO: FINAL PRODUCT

YOUTUBE LINK

**apologies about the jumpiness of the sound at the ending and the beginning rain sounds, this happened during exporting and is not meant to be like that.

MUSIC VIDEO: AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

Music Video Review  click to see the link.

What I learnt:

People seem to think that it is a well constructed video and relivant to the music. Favorite areas seem to be the green screen bits, aswell as the chorus shot.
Areas which people weren't so sure on was the silence at the beginning, which they found slightly confusing, as well as the end, which has a shot that drags on too long.

What I need to do:

• Add ambience sounds at the beginning of some sort.
• Cut down the ending or use other shots.

MUSIC VIDEO: FIRST DRAFT

MUSIC VIDEO: MAKING OF

After planning out each shot of the music video, i then began production. I filmed my shots in a variety of places, the JCG media room (green screen), various streets of Jersey, gardens, parks houses etc. Once gathering enough footage, I then decided to start editing.

For my editing, I used an Apple Mac and the software iMovie HD.

I began by uploading all of the clips i had filmed into iMovie.

I started by creating the silent introduction that is not accompanied by the track. This would help me know where to put the music. I started by draggin the clips into the timeline in the correct order.

I then use the split tool to cut my clips to the appropriate length, so that my music video had conventional continuity editing.

After i was satisfed with the cuts, and that the clip rolled together well, i then imported the music track, to the part of the playhead that i wished for it to start. this would give me a outline of the timings for the clips to follow.

The first shot to edit together with the music was the 32 beat scene (as explained in planning). This required the majority of shots edited together within the space of 12 seconds, all with precise timing, making this one of the hardest bits of editing. By building the clips up in order, and cutting them to the correct length, i was eventually able to get the timings correct.

To create the effect of the sky changing from grey to blue, i used the video effect tool gamma adjust on the clips of the sky that i had filmed.

Once cutting the rest of the clips together, it was time to create the green screen background.

Creating the green screen backdrop

To create the backdrop, I started by getting an image of the UK, from the internet, then editing it so only the outline of the image showed, using photoshop, as shown below.

I then used photoshop to colour the image in, creating a large blue space to the left of the UK, where the weather man can stand, making sure that the ratio of the image would fit the green screen.

After doing this, I then created cartoon images of the sun and clouds that would eventually layer on top of the UK image.

To create the animation, i used Macromedia flash. I started by putting in the background image.

I then created a time scale appropriate to the length that it was in shot for, adding the other 2 images a variety of times to give the impression of a weather forecast.

I then created different layers so that the images would appear one at a time, in beat with the music.

To create the motion of the clouds moving off the screen, I used a motion tween for the cloud layers, making them all move in unison.

I then had my full green screen backdrop, which i exported as a movie file. The video below shows how I applied this effect to my greenscreen shots:
VIDEOS WONT UPLOAD (ask to see at school)

Another particular tricky shot to edit was the screen spilt into 3 sections for the chorus of the song. Below is a video showing how this was done:

VIDEOS WONT UPLOAD (ask to see at school)

Once i had finished putting all the clips together, i began working on the finishing touches. I added certain transitions in various places for various effects, such as the impression of time passing etc by using a fade in and fade out. Also, the Circle Closing effect is used specifically in a shot to give the impression of the forecast being turned off, going with the narrative of the story.

To co-inside with the video fading out, i decided to fade out the end of the track, by lowing the audio bar slowly.

The last touch I added to the video was to place a title at the beginning, a convention i picked up from my research. I did this from the Title option, which one of them happened to be Music Video.

MUSIC VIDEO: PLANNING

Below are some rough storyboards that i have have done as a plan for my music video. This will help me get a rough outline of what my product will be, which i will then create a more complex version.

Below is an far more complex animatic storyboard, which is what I will use to base my production around:

MUSIC VIDEO: LEGALISING

Getting hold of the record producers for Electric Light Orchestra was very difficult and require a lot of research. As the band are no longer together, it was difficult to find the record label which would hold the rights to the song. Eventually I managed to trace the song back to Sony Music BMG. The Website for Sony Music offers a "Contact Us" option for problems such as mine, as the screen shot shows below:

The Message I sent was as follows:

"I am a student of Victoria College Jersey, and am currently in my final year of my A Levels. For my media coursework, it is required to produce a music video for a song of our choice. I have chosen "Mr. Blue Sky" by Electric Light Orchestra, and due to the band no longer being together, I have had trouble finding the appropriate record label to contact for the legal use of the song, however have managed to trace it to Sony Music. My enquiry is this; Could you please point me in the right direction for finding legal approval for the use of the song, and if this is in fact the correct area to contact, I await your decision for approval.

Thank You"

MUSIC VIDEO: RESEARCH INTO TARGET AUDIENCE

The target audience for a music video varies as to the target audience of the song itself. For example, if the song was of a 'Dance Music' genre, than the music video would attempt to appeal to the audience who listened to the genre, which would assumable be people who enjoy clubbing, raving and up-beat, high-tempo sounds. The music video would therefore most likely be people dancing, possibly at a night club or an arrange professionally choreographed dance, possibly sped up and with a lot of cuts to appeal to the target audiences' desire for adrenaline.

To understand the target audience for my music video, i am going to create a questionnaire which I will get 60 people of equal age groups and gender to answer. The questionnaire will reveal who the target audience is for my song and what genre the music video should be.

Below is the Questionnaire:-

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for participating in this questionnaire. Your answers will be used for research purposes only, and shall remain disclosed from any other individual. Your name will remain anonymous for the questionnaire.

Please answer the following questions below by circling the appropriate answer:

1. What gender are you?

• 
  
  Male
• 
  
  Female

2. What age are you?

• 0 to 9
• 
  
  10 to 19
• 
  
  20 to 29
• 
  
  30 to 39
• 
  
  40 to 59
• 
  
  60+

I am now going to play you the song "Electric Light Orchestra - Mr. Blue Sky".

Once the track has finished, please answer the following questions:

3. Did you enjoy the song/ does the song appeal to you?

• 
  
  Yes
• 
  
  No

4. Which of the following would you like to see in the music video for this song?

• Live Performance - A completely live performance of the song, with a complete band in a studio, or other location.
• Mixed Live/Story - Half a live performance with a story line mixed in, played by a cast of actors.
• Story Line - A complete story line performance by a cast of actors
• Singer Story - A lead singer preforming a story line whilst singing.
• Fun Video - A structured mess about by character(s) with a very loose story line.
• Other (please specify below).

Thank you for participating in this questionnaire, your help is greatly appreciated.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Fortunately i managed to find an equal number of people for both gender groups (30 each) and age groups (10 each). After collecting all the results in from the questionnaires, i compiled the data into a Microsoft Excel document in tables, and then converted my tables into charts, to get a better visual understanding of the results. The first table shows the results to Question 3 in the form of a bar graph:

As the bar graph shows, the results indicate that there is little difference of oppinion between males and females in terms of the songs appeal, as the results only vary by 3 people. This indicates that my target audience is both genders.

The next bar graph shows the results for the same question, however this time compairing it to the age catergories:

As the graph shows, once again there is no massive distinction between the age catergories, which the possible exception of the 60 + and 0 to 9 groups, who still managed to maintain a majority (or equil) number of yes. This suggests that again the song does not appeal to any one age catergory, but many. The biggest suprise from the results was the teenage catergory (aged 10 to 19) which i would have assumed being the MTV generation would have dislike the "vintage" genre of the song, however teenagers today are more and more bring back "retro" fashions, such as music and clothing, so it is understandible that this type fo song has appeal to teenagers.

I then took the results of question 4 only from those who answered yes, as they are the people who i am trying to please with the music video. The results are shown in a pie chart below:

As you can see from the above chart, the two most popular ideas for the music video were "singer story" and "Fun Video". In order to please the majority of results, i have decided that i will try and do a mix of both, for example have a very loosly structured storyline following a character (the singer), who embarks on a variety of random, fun encounters.

I decided to look into my audience research further by seeing what the demographic is for the various MTV channels, including MTV CLASSIC, which plays the origional "Mr. Blue Sky". These figures are from http://www.barb.co.uk/ (broadcasters audience research board) which collect viewing figures of all television channels. I thought it would be useful to look at the music video channels as I am producing a music video, therefore it is a visual text which would be seen on a music channel.

As the figures show, MTV classics has one of the smallest reaches which is to be expected due to MTV's youthful demographic, which contrasts with the ideals of having a classics programme. What this means is that the current coverage of music videos such as Mr. Blue Sky get the smallest audience due to the youthful demographic MTV is aimed at.

What I hope to achieve is by giving "Mr.Blue Sky" a modern, up-to-date music video, it will bump itself into the listings of the MTV demographic, allowing a larger reach for it. By doing so, this will increase the range of my target audience, as the song will appeal to the older generations, however the music video itself will hopefully appeal to the younger generations, therefore creating a mass audience for my music video, and maximising profit margins.

MUSIC VIDEO: RESEARCH INTO SIMULAR MEDIA TEXTS

Example 1: Paolo Nutini - New Shoes (CLICK HERE FOR LINK)

Here is a very conventional style of music video. The song itself tells a story, so the artist acts as a narrator to this story and carrys out the lyrical story, whilst miming along with the song. The start of the video shows a small animation of a neighbourhood, followed by introduction text overlayed on the clip, to resemble the start of a television programme or film. Editing is very conventional to that of a film or T.V programme, shot mostly in mid-shot and occasionally in full shot to show his location/position. There is some clever cutting, including the opening of the fridge door and wardrobe, framing the character, and each shot is generally interesting, but maintains the narrator as the focus point. The entire clip itself seems to follow the structure of a normal day, from morning to night, and as the song is upbeat, the mise-en-scene suggests an upbeat atmosphere, for example. There is clever suggestions of instruments, but fitted into the party scene, not as if a live performance like in other music videos. The clip finished with a standard information bar overlayed on the final shot, with the name of the song, the artist and the album.

Conventions to Note:

• Narration of the lyrical story by character.
• Character miming the lyrics throughout.
• Mostly shot in Mid-Shot, occasionally Full Shot.
• Interesting and clever cuts.
• Mise-en-scene appropriate for the upbeat genre of the song.
• Suggestions of the instruments played in the song.
• Ending Information Bar.

Example 2: Bon Jovi - Always (CLICK HERE FOR LINK)

Another music video which tells a story, however it isn't as obvious as the previous example. The video cuts from the story to a live performance of the clip by the band, with a story being acted out by actors. As the story is separated from the live performance, it is filmed much more to the style of a film, with a wider variety of shots and camera angles, and the performance with simple mid-shots and close ups to relate to the romantic genre of the song. Another thing i notice when watching this music video is that a lot of the cuts go to the beat of the song, another convention of a music video. Slow motion shots are also used to emphasize the romantic genre also.

Conventions to Note:

• Live performance from band.
• Cuts between story and Live performance.
• Story shot in similar style to a film.
• Camera cuts to the beat of the song.
• Close up shots of instruments being played during solos or key instrumental parts.

Example 3: The Kooks - She Moves In Her Own Way (CLICK HERE FOR LINK)

Another slightly different style to the previous two examples, rather than having a story, the music video is simply the band playing in a variety of random places, with vague shots of them traveling from place to place. The entire time the lead singer continues singing to keep the realism of him singing. There is a lot of hand held camera use, to give the impression that its an up beat, messing about sort of video, which could have been filmed by one of the members, giving the video a very laid back, relaxed feel to it, which goes with the genre of the song well. Camera shot are very simple, with mid-shots of the lead singer, full shots of the whole band, close ups of the instruments being played, and establishing shots to recognise the location.

Conventions to Note:

• "Fun video" - quite random, vague story/ little relevance to the song.
• Continuous singing/playing of instruments, keeping the realism.
• Hand held camera for fun, upbeat, laid back feel.
• Mid-shot for lead singer.
• Full shot for band.
• Establishing shot for location.

Example 4: Nerina Pallot - Everybody's Going To War (CLICK HERE FOR LINK)

This music video has a very loose story line, based on the idea of war, relating to the lyrics of the song itself. However, the music video has a clever spin off of this idea by setting it in a supermarket, lightening the concept of war in order to not make the song appear depressing or too serious, a clever concept for a music video. The artist (Nerina Pallot) is the character in the music video, miming along to the song being played, similar to Example 1. This gives the music video a more realistic feel as the audience will recognise the song being sung by a woman. Unlike the previous 3 examples, the shots on the character singing are most often close ups, and this is because the song itself has a deeper meaning behind its lyrics, so this is emphasized by the close ups. The music video often cuts away from the singing character, with shots of the public fighting in this supermarket.. This adds a very comical element to the music video and also is a convention that a lot of music videos use. As the music video begins, there is a simple instrumental introduction, to which the music video uses to establish the location of the video. Also, the singer isn't singing the entire time when in shot, for example towards the end. This gives her a more realistic role in the storyline itself, as we wouldn't imagine her to be singing, and is another convention often used in a music video.

Conventions to Note:

• "Fun Storyline Video" - random and vague story, relates to the song and puts a comical twist on it.
• Singer miming in the video.
• Singer is artist.
• Close up shots for powerful lyrics.
• Cuts between storyline and character singing.
• Instrumental introduction used to establish location.
• Singer not singing entire time for realism.

Example 5: Foo Fighters - Pretender (CLICK HERE FOR LINK)

The reason why I chose this music video is because I think that it is a very clever concept. As the music video begins, the location of a band set up in this large white room is establish during the short musical introduction. During the first few lines of the song, the shot doesn't actually show the singers face, showing that the shot doesn't necessarily have to show miming if the lyrics are being sung. After making the audience think that the music video is simply a live performance, the audience is introduced to this line on the ground and a riot police character, which through establishing shot, we find is facing the bands live performance. Soon the audience is introduced to an entire line of riot police characters, who appear to be getting aggravated by the music, as we can tell from the close up of the singers faces cut to the close up of angry riot police faces. With the clever use of the quiet interval of the song, the riot police begin to run towards the band, when suddenly, in sync with the climatic burst of music, masses of red water sprays out from behind the band, knocking over all the riot police as the band remain standing. The entire scene is shot in slow motion as to capture the drama of the shots, even the instruments being played, which despite being played out of sync, can still be understood as playing the beat. The entire concept of the music video goes well with the genre of the song, which is heavy rock, known for its rebellion, which the music video epitomises here.

Conventions to Note:

• Shot reverse shot to relate the characters.
• Challenging styles of music videos.
• Setting up the scene during the musical introduction.
• Don't necessarily have to show singers face whilst miming.
• Simple story line.
• Slow motion shot capturing dramatic moments.
• Instruments can have slow motion shots and still be established as being played with the music.
• Music video relates to the genre of the song.

MUSIC VIDEO: IDEA

THE SONG

I have decided that the song i will be doing my music video to is Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra. It was released January 1978, so is considered a very old song, however remains very popular to this day, probably due to the bands origional, ahead of their time sound.

The reason for choosing the song was that recently old things or "vintage" have become fashionable in all aspects of life, including the music industry. A good example of this is Vera Lynn's "We'll Meet Again", which recently topped UK charts, due to its classic and historic appeal.

The song was played in a recent Television advert for "The Invention Of Lying" and having recognised the film, I suddenly thought that it would be a brilliant song to re-release, with its catchy melody. After researching the song on Wikipedia, i found that the song had also appeared in other media in the last 3 years:

The CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode "Lab Rats" used the song during the "Hodges' Lucky Day" sequence in 2007.
In 2007, it was in movie Martian Child.
The song featured in The Game Plan in 2007.
Jet Blue played the song in a commercial for "Jetting" in 2008.
The song was used in the 2008 movie Role Models.
In 2008, the song was featured in a Guinness advert, which depicted the adventures of a dot.
The movie Paul Blart: Mall Cop used the song in 2009.
In 2009, it was used in the trailer for the movie The Invention of Lying.
It was used in the movie Run Fatboy Run.

Having seen this, it confirmed my decision to use the song, as it showed a clear popularity to be used in todays times, therefore i should create an modern music video for the song, to re-release it in to the 21st centuary.


THE VIDEO

The song is a very up tempo, cheery, happy song, so this is how I wish to make my music video. I got the inspiration for the music video from the story of Jeff Lynn writting the song. He wrote in during a heavy and long period of showery days, and during one day of sunshine he wrote the song. I decided from this to take a very litteral interpritation of the lyrics and base it around the idea of a period of rain bettered by one sunny day. I then thought that the best lead character for such a story would be a weather man.

The story would begin with a weatherman in his studio looking grumpy, and the weather report being given to him which reads more bad weather. The weatherman has a genious idea of forecasting the weather as sunny to cheer people up, however it has more of an effect than this as the sky begins turning sunny everywhere. The weatherman, so please with this gets carried away in the song and eventually the studio decide to terminate his broadcast leading to the end of the song.

THE TASK

It is important before i start my coursework project that i understand my task. I have chosen the following:

1. A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, with two of the following three options:
• a website homepage for the band;
• a cover for its release on DVD;
• a magazine advertisement for the DVD.

The main task consists of filming and editing a music promo video, which means that I will need to choose a song and think of an idea for the music video.
The two follow up task which I choose to do will be the cover for its release on DVD, featuring the film and the poster for the film. These will also require research into the codes and conventions of both film posters and magazine covers. I will be using a computer graphics programme (For example photoshop) to design both of these.