WELCOME TO MY BLOG

Over this past year, we have been working on producing a package containing a music video, digipak and website. I have learned alot about the changing music industry, and more specifically about branding and genre conventions of specific music videos. 
On my blog you can find the complete final cut, digipak and a link to the website.
This year i have worked in a group with Sophie and Kristian.

Here is the full digipak I created: 
 
















 The Music Video:




And Website: 

SR: Final Cut

This is our final cut in which I have edited the last few details of the fast paced sequence. Since this was the only thing that was still missing, I tried out 4 different paces in Final Cut Pro, which you can see an explanation and a video on below 

The original pace of each take was only 0.4 milliseconds. When trying to play around with it a bit I had one sequence where the takes were 0.18 milliseconds, one sequence when the takes were 0.12 milliseconds, one sequence where the were 0.8 milliseconds and the original sequence with 0.4 milliseconds. Doing this I was able to compare each sequence and see which one was the best. I ended up with going for 12 milliseconds in the fast paced sequence. Below you can see the video of the different takes. 

DIGIPAK: Final Version

This is the final version of the digipak.  

After getting feedback from my teacher, I have added the following details:

- I sharpened the opacity on the barcode to 100%. I did this because in every example I found, the barcode is sharp.

- I added some bonus tracks to the track listing. As this is a compilation album, it is important to add new unreleased tracks or new versions of songs in order for there to be a reason to buy it, as all the other tracks are on previous albums. The names for these tracks are "BORN", "DIRT" and "THE FIELDS" I like these names as they fit in really with the other grungy titles of their songs, and therefore also fit well with the genre.

-I made the "BMTH" on the spine a lot smaller and put it after the band name as this is much more common that it being before. I also added the SONY logos. and a catalogue number.

- On the front cover, I added a sticker that says "Featuring 3 Exclusive New Tracks" as this will draw attention to the new content and therefore attract the audience to buy the Digipak. I did this in a dark bluey/grey colour as I wanted it to stand out from the black and white colour scheme but also flow well altogether as a whole. 

Evaluation Question 1A

How do your products use or challenge conventions?


Common Conventions of music Videos

• Intertextuality: Intertextuality is the process of creating references to any kind of media text via another media text. There are many examples of this, however a music video in which the intertextuality is very clear is in the music video for Gwen Stefani's song 'What you waiting for'. She references Disney's film 'Alice in Wonderland' throughout the video.
  
• Narrative/Performance/Concept: These are the 3 main different styles of music video. Narrative is when there is a storyline featured. This can be in chronological order, or it could be fragmented.
  
• Dance Routines: Dance routines are a very important aspect of music video, particularly when engaging with an audience/target audience. Simple dance routines are extremely important as they are very easy for fans to copy and recreate. This is something very common in girl and boy bands as their audiences include young female fans, who are more likely to recreate the moves. This links into the uses and gratification theory, which describes the main reasons people consume a media text.  
  
• Stereotypes: There are often stereotypes in music videos, many of which are negative and inaccurate representations. For example, women in music video are often represented as over-sexualized. They are often shown dancing provocatively or wearing tight or little clothing. This links into Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze. There is also the argument of feminism and post-feminism

• Lipsynching: Very important when achieving verisimilitude, there also needs to be convincing playing of instruments/dancing. This is particularly important for rock/metal bands as they want to prove their authenticity: that they do play all the instruments and the vocals are theirs and un-edited.

• Voyerism: Male/Female Gaze

• Special Effects: special effects are very important in music videos, as unlike a film or tv show episode, you watch a music video many times, therefore it has to be interesting. The special effects that are commonly found in music videos are: Layering, Slow-motion, Green Screen, Cutting to the beat and Emphasizing the drop. Long takes must also be avoiding in music videos, again to keep the audience engaged.
  

• Costume Change: This is when the characters/performers in the video change costume. This is to keep the video more diverse and interesting. Although it is very common among female artists, male artists also have costume changes in their music videos. This is also something that fans can re-create.
  
• Todorov's Theory of Equilibrium: This can be applied to the narratives in music videos, particularly linear narratives, as they often start out, for example, as a couple together, happy. There are then a few scenes of them fighting and finally a break up.
  

How did we use or challenge conventions?

(Vodcast)

This is the script I created for the vodcast: 

INTERTEXTUALITY IN OUR VIDEO

In our music video, there are a few cases of intertextual references.

Firstly, the underwater/swimming pool scene references and was inspired by 'This is Gospel' By Panic! At The Disco. 

The lying position from this video is something that we have replicated in our own. It is also quite similar as there is a source of light shining into the water.   

We also were inspired by 'Up in The Air' by 30 Seconds to Mars in terms of the colour powder. However, when we used the colour powder, we focused it on the drums and the end singer rather than a large group of people. 

COMMON CONVENTIONS OF WEBSITES 

Through my research i found the follow common conventions for metal core band websites 

• Black and white/neutral colour scheme 
• Branding is updated to promote new releases (e.g. new single or album) 
• Photos of band/performance
• Simplistic design and fonts (e.g.) not too many photos or links, no over decorative fonts. 

Other Metalcore websites:

 

Our Website:

As you can see, we have used these conventions in order to create a website that really fits well withing the genre and personally i find that it is instantly recognizable as a metal or rock band website.

Evaluation Question 1B

1B: "How do your products represent social groups or issues?"

In order to answer this question, I have created a radio interview. My sister plays the role of the interviewer while i was a producer for our music video. 
 







AGE
Another important aspect of social groups in the media is age. 
All of the characters present in our music video are between the ages of 16 and 20. As you can see, this is not a very large age range. This may be an issue as older fans could feel like they're not being noticed appreciated or represented enough or correctly. Our Target audience:
 




USES AND GRATIFICATIONS

The uses and gratifications theory is a theory that discusses the ways in which an audience view a media text and what they intend to take away from it. 

I would argue that our fans/audience would mainly use our video as a means of diversion and personal relationships.

They could use the band members as a substitute for companionship, as well as imagining themselves in the female protagonists place. 
They could also use the video in order to feel represented and 'less alone' particularly if they have experienced a breakup or gone through difficult times, as represented by the narrative: which features a male and female character fighting and a male character (lead singer) appearing to go crazy and run away from his problems.

                                                                                Here is the script that i created for us to follow. I tried to include some theories/theorists into this question as much as possible. 

 

Evaluation Question 2

How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of "branding"? 

In order to answer this question, I created a PowerPoint. I uploaded it to Slide-share so that i could embed it into this blog post. 

 

Evaluation question 2 from Bronwen Vaughan
 
ADVERT
This is an 'advert' that I created to promote the digipak. This advert would appear in magazines, on social media and on posters. Advertisement is a key factor in attracting an audience. This advert also helps really cement the distinctive branding of the band and new album and helps all elements such as digipak, website and social media to further tie together.

This video is of me acting as someone working for a magazine who has created this advert for the magazine. I talk a little bit more about branding. 


Here is the script I wrote for the video, which i added some images to, which will hopefully help to explain the points made. 

 

Evaluation Question 3A

How do your products engage with the audience?

This is a Prezi that I created in order to answer this evaluation question.