Monday, 29 March 2010
Dénouement
We have finally completed our A2 Media Studies coursework and are rather pleased with the finished product. We look forward to our results.
Evaluation -
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
After extensive research in to the codes and conventions that professionals use to create media texts, my understanding flourished and I attempted to use this knowledge to create professional looking products. Firstly, with the magazine advert I challenged media clichés in the sense that the main image is of a semi-nude male with clothes draped round his neck implying that he is the one who will be stripping. This defies the traditional sense of the song it is advertising because it is a male singing to a female, “baby, take off your dress”. This role reversal challenges the taken meaning of the song and adds a comedic effect. The photo could also be seen to be voyeuristic which challenges Andrew Goodwin’s theory that voyeurism is predominantly witnessed with female characters.
Secondly is the DVD cover, which I am very proud of in the way it mimics similar media items. The use of the provocative male model again challenges female scopophilia but also challenges Laura Mulvey’s “male gaze” theory in which she states that, “women are objectified and seen only for their beauty.” Our product contradicts this by objectifying a male character instead. The male is also comically wearing a pair of ladies neon pink knickers in an attempt to challenge the social norm and to blur the line between male and female. In doing so the audience sees the product as an emblem of sexual liberty rather than prejudicing against a particular gender. It may be sexually arousing for women but it may also be viewed by men because its challenge of social apartheid is humourous.
In terms of material content, the DVD cover features many conventional emblems that are seen on professional DVD’s. Most notable are the billing block, which was produced using a professional standard font (Universal 39 Condensed) to add authenticity to the piece. There are logos, trademarks and technical information on the lower half of the DVD in small print so as to mimic the technical jargon that legally has to be printed on DVD’s in circulation around the world. On top of this there is an age rating logo informing any possible consumer of the age restriction - which is again a legal necessity in the industry. Moreover, there is a brief review from a newspaper on the front cover used as a marketing ploy.
Our final item is the music video of our chosen song. Ours conforms to Sven E. Carlsson’s theory of music videos in that it is a “conceptual clip” because it doesn’t merely contain footage of the songs performance it also attempts a multi-strand narrative entwined with this. Andrew Goodwin states a list of aspects that he believes are featured in the majority of conventional music videos. Firstly he realizes there is a link between lyrics and visual aspects. Ours conforms to this because the narrative implies the lyrics meanings and illustrates, possibly amplifies their meaning. Ours also conforms to the second of his checkpoints that says there is a link between music and visuals. This is seen throughout our piece and in fact it was our videos syncing and footage being matched to the beat that our positive audience feedback picked up on quite a number of times. Again, our video conforms to his third point, which is that there are several close-ups of the main vocalist.
In terms of filming techniques our music video challenged clichés in the way it was both filmed and edited. We used a number of comical editing techniques in an attempt to maximize the videos comedy value. Most notable is the brief fade out of the song while a slow Ken Burns effect zooms on to a spontaneous and naturally funny expression on one of the characters faces. Set to the backdrop of the clichéd sound of tumbleweed the brief scene garnered a lot of laughs. We also used this juxtaposition technique at the start of the video, which begins with “Hark the Herald Angel Sings” and abruptly flows into “You Can Leave Your Hat On”. The opposing musical difference between the songs has a comical effect on its audience. This type of humour is seen in many sitcoms and TV shows especially.
The effect used on the narrative scenes of our video is the raster effect and this creates a sense of surveillance for the audience watching it (as used in such films as “My Little Eye”), it allows them to feel as if they are witnessing something that they shouldn’t be or that the stripper does not know they are seeing. This is gaining audience pleasure from voyeurism and in accordance to Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model (1973), the audience definitely views this video from a negotiated reading because although the video does not attempt to stamp any persuasive influence on the audience, there is definitely a part of the video left to the imagination. Moreover, the final scene in which the stripper is in two places at once should leave the audience questioning as to whether the stripping really happened or was it just a scene of fantasy.
Finally, re-running the song over the end credits makes for a pleasurable viewing experience because the audience is allowed to continue enjoying the comedy and also sees the human side to the characters as the footage shown is deleted scenes/bloopers. In relation to Blumner and Katz’s ‘Uses and Gratifications’ theory (1974), the audience consumes this video for a means of diversion or escapism, but allowing them an insight into the actors reality this way allows them to become more connected with the characters, especially due to the final scene which is a snippet from the filming log and because of this I would say that it could possibly be said that its audience views the video for a personal relationships purpose.
2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
I believe our three texts work well in correlation with each other. Aesthetically it is evident that they are promoting the same thing through a number of ways. There are only characters used and at least one of us features on each of the texts. The use of colour is important, I believe the mise-en-scene used in the music video correlates with the DVD cover especially because the lighting was romantically lit and it is fluent and aesthetically pleasing on the DVD cover. The connection brinked between the magazine advert and the DVD cover is the use of the Joe Cocker logo that we created that consists of a brown and yellow diagonal bar with red writing that we used on both texts.
One of the key themes I researched was ‘intertextuality’ and the use of the pink neon knickers in the video helps shape the meaning of the DVD cover. To an oblivious viewer who saw the DVD cover but not the video it would be comical but not nearly as much as if he he/she knew the importance of the pants in the music video. It was the main climax of the music videos narrative and probably the most memorable part. Being included on the DVD cover aswell I think it is easy for the audience to grasp the connection.
Stephen Archer theorises that in music videos “There needs to be a strong and coherent relationship between narrative and performance in music promos. It needs to market both the song and the band”. I believe we realize this theory in our music video but also across our ancillary texts. The music video has an even balance of performance and narrative and when the stripper appears as a backing dancer for the performers towards the end of the video, the bridge is crossed between the two and they are linked together nicely for the conclusion of the song. The DVD cover promotes the song with the theme of nudity but also promotes the band by giving them a personality. When the viewer opens the DVD case they are faced with a before and after shot of the band members naked. Giving them a personality will allow the viewer to connect with the band members as people because everybody can relate to nakedness and this will help promote the band.
3. What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
Gaining feedback has been an integral part of our journey. Firstly we showcased the film to our classmates who were asked to give us anonymous but critical feedback. This was very useful to see how a previously unbeknown audience reacted to our video. A recurring
theme that came up was the confusion about the shots of the bath. We made this shot a while back when we had thought about making a “narrative clip” (Sven E. Carlsson’s music video theory). We were experimenting with time lapse photography and thought that having a bath-full of water come out of a small glass would be an effective shot. After changing our idea we thought the shot was scrapped but then during editing I decided to add it in to add a little bit of uncertainty into the piece. The feedback we got was basically that people did not understand why the shot was there. This led many people to even shun the bath shot quoting it “would have been better without the bath”. This showed to me that the video was being seen from a hegemonic reading (Stuart Hall 1973) because some audience members were making their own decisions to not appreciate the bath scene because they didn’t understand why it was there.
Amongst the class feedback was also many comments saying that they would of loved to have seen more stripping. This may not be taken seriously but the fact that it was mentioned so much challenges Laura Mulvey’s theory of objectification. It would appear that where female objectification can be misinterpreted or purposely derogatory, male objectification does not cause controversy. Our biggest praise was for the editing because of how in sync it was with the music and the lyrics. This accredits our conformation to Andrew Goodwins theory that music videos visuals should maintain a good relation to the music. The video was edited on iMovie on an Apple MacBook Pro. iMovie is an amateur consumer program but with a small bit of practise, anybody can edit together professional looking shots, transitions and effects. Using iMovie allowed us to transform somewhat moderately average mid shots and close ups and turn them into an enjoyable experience.
After the class feedback we posted our video on social networking sites YouTube and Facebook. Positive feedback has been received off both. We have had ratings on YouTube and are maintaining a 4.5/5 star average. This has been fun and interesting to find because it gives us an insight in to what an audience thought of the video that has relation to us. Our classmates obviously know us and relate to us as they are doing the same coursework as we are but for people we don’t know to be giving the video good feedback we are very pleased.
One thing we definitely missed out on was gaining feedback for our ancillary texts. I think this could have been very useful because it would have been easily to make minor changes here and there depending on our feedback, with our video it was slightly more of a challenge but if I was to do it again I would definitely put aside more time for feedback, moderations and continguency.
4. How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
Without technology creating what I have created for media would have been impossible. Technology is involved in all stages of my work. To be able to view my coursework and to have a secure place to store it where I could easily access it from multiple workplaces and it still being able to be seen by my tutor whenever is necessary is something that could not be done without the use of the internet. More specifically I have used a website called www.blogspot.com which has allowed me to post continual blogs as I progress through my coursework. Without this easy access trying to share coursework and produce together in a group of three would have been traumatic. Blogspot is accessible to anyone and when a post is published the whole world can see it. This is how the internet has impacted modern society. We now live in a ‘global village’ according to Marshall Mcluhan, in a world that has “electronic interdependence”. He theorized in the early 1960’s that this would happen, he reckoned it would draw communities closer together and we as a race will become more of a collective identity.
This to some extent proves true as the internet provides a platform for anybody, anywhere in the world to communicate. Without such sites as photobucket.com, 4shared.com and other file hosting servers, demonstrating my work would have been difficult. Without social networking sites such as YouTube and Facebook we would not have been able to gain the anonymous feedback like we have. Social networking is a phenomenon that David Gauntlett has recently theorised as the cause for audiences to become eager to create their their own media rather than be exposed to mass media and unquestionably absorb its messages. Gauntlett’s ‘making is happening’ theory supposes that the curious audience of today would rather learn and make their own assumptions by themselves by creating media than to entertain it and naively swallow its portrayals without questioning.
Besides the internet, computers themselves have played a huge part in our work. From iMovie and Final Cut (with which creating such a successful film would have been impossible), right down to Fireworks and even Microsoft Word, attempting such a product without them would have been unfeasible. iMovie allowed me to create a professional looking movie with very little practise of usin the program – it was built with the intention of beginner use. Having access to Apple Mac computers was a huge bonus aswell because they are less liable to crash and work loss is a lot less frequent because of how well they are made but also because of iMovie’s built in settings that’s auto-saves work after every new action.
During our music video production we obviously had to use a handheld camera and equipment. This did prove tricky at times because battery loss is common or lack of memory on card but we did our best to work around it. We played about and experimented with the camera before we did any final filming so we had knowledge of the camera settings. I particularly like to change the white balance settings to a fluorescent balance because I thought the look appropriate for our filming.
Secondly is the DVD cover, which I am very proud of in the way it mimics similar media items. The use of the provocative male model again challenges female scopophilia but also challenges Laura Mulvey’s “male gaze” theory in which she states that, “women are objectified and seen only for their beauty.” Our product contradicts this by objectifying a male character instead. The male is also comically wearing a pair of ladies neon pink knickers in an attempt to challenge the social norm and to blur the line between male and female. In doing so the audience sees the product as an emblem of sexual liberty rather than prejudicing against a particular gender. It may be sexually arousing for women but it may also be viewed by men because its challenge of social apartheid is humourous.
Our final item is the music video of our chosen song. Ours conforms to Sven E. Carlsson’s theory of music videos in that it is a “conceptual clip” because it doesn’t merely contain footage of the songs performance it also attempts a multi-strand narrative entwined with this. Andrew Goodwin states a list of aspects that he believes are featured in the majority of conventional music videos. Firstly he realizes there is a link between lyrics and visual aspects. Ours conforms to this because the narrative implies the lyrics meanings and illustrates, possibly amplifies their meaning. Ours also conforms to the second of his checkpoints that says there is a link between music and visuals. This is seen throughout our piece and in fact it was our videos syncing and footage being matched to the beat that our positive audience feedback picked up on quite a number of times. Again, our video conforms to his third point, which is that there are several close-ups of the main vocalist.In terms of filming techniques our music video challenged clichés in the way it was both filmed and edited. We used a number of comical editing techniques in an attempt to maximize the videos comedy value. Most notable is the brief fade out of the song while a slow Ken Burns effect zooms on to a spontaneous and naturally funny expression on one of the characters faces. Set to the backdrop of the clichéd sound of tumbleweed the brief scene garnered a lot of laughs. We also used this juxtaposition technique at the start of the video, which begins with “Hark the Herald Angel Sings” and abruptly flows into “You Can Leave Your Hat On”. The opposing musical difference between the songs has a comical effect on its audience. This type of humour is seen in many sitcoms and TV shows especially.
Finally, re-running the song over the end credits makes for a pleasurable viewing experience because the audience is allowed to continue enjoying the comedy and also sees the human side to the characters as the footage shown is deleted scenes/bloopers. In relation to Blumner and Katz’s ‘Uses and Gratifications’ theory (1974), the audience consumes this video for a means of diversion or escapism, but allowing them an insight into the actors reality this way allows them to become more connected with the characters, especially due to the final scene which is a snippet from the filming log and because of this I would say that it could possibly be said that its audience views the video for a personal relationships purpose.
2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
I believe our three texts work well in correlation with each other. Aesthetically it is evident that they are promoting the same thing through a number of ways. There are only characters used and at least one of us features on each of the texts. The use of colour is important, I believe the mise-en-scene used in the music video correlates with the DVD cover especially because the lighting was romantically lit and it is fluent and aesthetically pleasing on the DVD cover. The connection brinked between the magazine advert and the DVD cover is the use of the Joe Cocker logo that we created that consists of a brown and yellow diagonal bar with red writing that we used on both texts.
One of the key themes I researched was ‘intertextuality’ and the use of the pink neon knickers in the video helps shape the meaning of the DVD cover. To an oblivious viewer who saw the DVD cover but not the video it would be comical but not nearly as much as if he he/she knew the importance of the pants in the music video. It was the main climax of the music videos narrative and probably the most memorable part. Being included on the DVD cover aswell I think it is easy for the audience to grasp the connection.
3. What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
Gaining feedback has been an integral part of our journey. Firstly we showcased the film to our classmates who were asked to give us anonymous but critical feedback. This was very useful to see how a previously unbeknown audience reacted to our video. A recurring
Amongst the class feedback was also many comments saying that they would of loved to have seen more stripping. This may not be taken seriously but the fact that it was mentioned so much challenges Laura Mulvey’s theory of objectification. It would appear that where female objectification can be misinterpreted or purposely derogatory, male objectification does not cause controversy. Our biggest praise was for the editing because of how in sync it was with the music and the lyrics. This accredits our conformation to Andrew Goodwins theory that music videos visuals should maintain a good relation to the music. The video was edited on iMovie on an Apple MacBook Pro. iMovie is an amateur consumer program but with a small bit of practise, anybody can edit together professional looking shots, transitions and effects. Using iMovie allowed us to transform somewhat moderately average mid shots and close ups and turn them into an enjoyable experience.
After the class feedback we posted our video on social networking sites YouTube and Facebook. Positive feedback has been received off both. We have had ratings on YouTube and are maintaining a 4.5/5 star average. This has been fun and interesting to find because it gives us an insight in to what an audience thought of the video that has relation to us. Our classmates obviously know us and relate to us as they are doing the same coursework as we are but for people we don’t know to be giving the video good feedback we are very pleased.
One thing we definitely missed out on was gaining feedback for our ancillary texts. I think this could have been very useful because it would have been easily to make minor changes here and there depending on our feedback, with our video it was slightly more of a challenge but if I was to do it again I would definitely put aside more time for feedback, moderations and continguency.
4. How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
This to some extent proves true as the internet provides a platform for anybody, anywhere in the world to communicate. Without such sites as photobucket.com, 4shared.com and other file hosting servers, demonstrating my work would have been difficult. Without social networking sites such as YouTube and Facebook we would not have been able to gain the anonymous feedback like we have. Social networking is a phenomenon that David Gauntlett has recently theorised as the cause for audiences to become eager to create their their own media rather than be exposed to mass media and unquestionably absorb its messages. Gauntlett’s ‘making is happening’ theory supposes that the curious audience of today would rather learn and make their own assumptions by themselves by creating media than to entertain it and naively swallow its portrayals without questioning.
During our music video production we obviously had to use a handheld camera and equipment. This did prove tricky at times because battery loss is common or lack of memory on card but we did our best to work around it. We played about and experimented with the camera before we did any final filming so we had knowledge of the camera settings. I particularly like to change the white balance settings to a fluorescent balance because I thought the look appropriate for our filming.
Evaluation - Audience Feedback
When we presented our music video to the class we had a range of feedback written to us anonymously that gave us an insight into how it conveyed to an audience but we also received some useful criticism that helped us to improve our work. This is what our class said:
At present our music video on YouTube has gained 4,369 views which is a respectable amount in such a short time for an amateur video. It has had 8 ratings and averages a 4 and a half star rating. We have also posted the link on Facebook and this is some of the feedback we have received
We had multiple comments of both male and female saying that the video was funny. According to this feedback we have somewhat succeeded in creating diversion or escapism for its audience (Blumner and Katz 1974). There were also quite a few comments about the bath shots in our video. Many people did not understand why it was there and so received it with an oppositional reading according to Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model of 1973. Because members of the audience could not understand the relevance of the bath shots they rejected it and even said that it "would have been better without" the bath.
1."Yes, it has the conventions of other music videos of similar genre."
"Yes."
"Parts did, although some parts did not really feel relevant to the rest of the video."
"Costume, characters, locations all seemed to fit in well"
"Similar to other videos I've seen in that genre"
"Yes but what was with the bath!?"
"I really liked it, the combination of expressions, body language and costume all fitted in with the genre of the video!"
"Yes it worked well"
"Yes, although the bath didn't fit in with the rest of the video?"
"At times."
"LOL"
2. "Everything - camerawork, editing, costume, lighting etc fitted perfectly!"
"The stripping haha"
"I like how it kept switching between the stripping and the performing"
"Mitchell without a shirt :P"
"The editing was really good, and the film flowed very well"
"It was really funny and I loved it"
"Best. Video. Ever"
"The fact I didn't stop laughing all the way through it"
3. "I don't think the bath was relevant"
"Wtf was with the bath guys??"
"I loved the video but I didn't get the bath part"
"The bath"
"Although the bath thing was well done, I didn't get it"
"The fact it ended"
"Didn't understand the bath"
"Too little stripping :P"
"I didn't quite understand the bath"
4."People our age"
"Teens"
"Females"
"Anybody"
"girls lol"
"Females aged between 16 and 30"
"Everyone"
"teenagers"
"teens"
"teen girls"
5."Get rid of the bath"
"More stripping!"
"Parts were abit repetetive"
"I'd change the bath bit"
"I think it would've been better without the bath"
"The screen sometimes had lines across it :S"
"I think the bath sections should be taken out."
6. "LOL"
"Great video guys"
"made me laugh"
"MORE NUDITY!"
"Hilarious - well done guys"
"So funny!"
At present our music video on YouTube has gained 4,369 views which is a respectable amount in such a short time for an amateur video. It has had 8 ratings and averages a 4 and a half star rating. We have also posted the link on Facebook and this is some of the feedback we have received
"excellantiee....im sure they wll all love it at class...expect some stick from wearn those pink panties...lmao"
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"laugh my highly toned buttocks off. that was probably the longest 4 minutes and 24 seconds of my life. and the bath just looks like it's been rammed in there for no apparent reason (which it has...) n i like how you got me at the end doing my apology to the great british public but that is absolutely class even if it makes me cringe to even think about"
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"Genius!!!!!"
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"haha how amazing !!"
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"am i right to be majorly embarassed"
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"Haha that's well kwl. And where the he'll did u get those pants!? When I saw the link I thought it was going to be a guitar cover by u mitch ha sooo wrong"
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"that's legend man, charlotte will not be pleased tho lmao!"
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"Another classy performance from the mig mistro!"
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"You beauty migs, you beauty all I have too say x"
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"No I really wasn't expecting that haha ur full of surprises ;p"
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"im so horny right now"
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"I came back for a second watch"
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"Like Ryan, I was expectin a guitar cover from you lol !! Was NOT expectin tha lol x] well done guys, you had me laughin all th way through !! =)"
We had multiple comments of both male and female saying that the video was funny. According to this feedback we have somewhat succeeded in creating diversion or escapism for its audience (Blumner and Katz 1974). There were also quite a few comments about the bath shots in our video. Many people did not understand why it was there and so received it with an oppositional reading according to Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model of 1973. Because members of the audience could not understand the relevance of the bath shots they rejected it and even said that it "would have been better without" the bath.
Production - Production Demonstration
DVD Cover
1. After taking multiple images we agreed on the best one to use for our design work. This is imported into a blank canvas. Using the magic wand tool as seen below, the image can be modified so that just a selection of the photo exists with the background removed. This allows the image to be layered on to another image and still look authentic.
2. The image had to be rotated because the angle it was photographed at was not the desired angle.
3. Step 1 and 2 was completed for both the front and back covers of the DVD insert and both images were pasted onto a net canvas of size 1600x1072 pixels as seen below. Auto colour level was first used on both images to accentuate their natural colours. I then adjusted the brightness and contrast of the images to give them an aesthetically pleasing and romanticised effect. The contrast was altered significantly while maintaining a relatively neutral brightness balance.
4. After altering the hue, noise was then added to the images to take some of the natural skin tone out of them. This gives the effect that the model is less flawed.5. A pink background was then inserted by altering the canvas colour. Pink was chosen because it reflects the sexual and somewhat feminine-appealing mood of the work. By reducing the opacity also, the images blend into the background with greater flow and consistency, as can be seen below.
Magazine Advert
To create the magazine advert we did a photoshoot with me semi-naked in an attempt to create a professional looking model shot that we could use as the main focal point of our magazine advert. Again Macromedia Fireworks was used as the tool for the job and the sepia-style effect that we eventually settled on was created by experimentally adjusting the contrast, saturation, hue and brightness. The blur tool was also used softly on parts to accentuate certain features.
Original Unedited Finished Edited
After the image had been agreed on, the advertising features were placed over the top. The common theme throughout our advert and DVD cover is the brown/yellow strip across the bottom of both products and also the font style and placing of the headings as seen below.
Production - Album Cover
This is a prototype Album Cover for Joe Cocker that I created using Photoshop:
Although the Album Cover is not one of our ancillary items, we created this as a practice or 'dry run' for the real production project. Doing so helped to remind ourselves of how to use Macromedia Fireworks and helped spawn our creativity. The album cover features a few of the codes and conventiones in traditional album covers. For example, the use of a large image of the artist, that dominates the cover. I have also used contrasting colours between both the background and the picture, and the background and the text, to make it stand out more. The font of the text that I have used for this is quite bright and bold, which reflects the sort of content of the song. The idea of having the text at angles also helps to make it stand out.
Although I have used some codes and conventions, I also believe there are some that we have missed. The fact that there is suggestive content in the lyrics of the song, should warrant there being an age rating somewhere on the cover, which I have not included. The picture I have used also isn't in the central third of the cover, which means it doesn't draw as much attention as it could.
Although the Album Cover is not one of our ancillary items, we created this as a practice or 'dry run' for the real production project. Doing so helped to remind ourselves of how to use Macromedia Fireworks and helped spawn our creativity. The album cover features a few of the codes and conventiones in traditional album covers. For example, the use of a large image of the artist, that dominates the cover. I have also used contrasting colours between both the background and the picture, and the background and the text, to make it stand out more. The font of the text that I have used for this is quite bright and bold, which reflects the sort of content of the song. The idea of having the text at angles also helps to make it stand out.Although I have used some codes and conventions, I also believe there are some that we have missed. The fact that there is suggestive content in the lyrics of the song, should warrant there being an age rating somewhere on the cover, which I have not included. The picture I have used also isn't in the central third of the cover, which means it doesn't draw as much attention as it could.
Production
Pre-production is complete and we have moved on to production. Bring on the finished products!
Pre-Production - Evaluation of Pre-Production
If there's one thing I learnt during pre-production it is that time keeping is key! We made an extensive production schedule and it was very hard to stick by but we knew if we didn't then we would very easily run out of time. We ended up doing things in an order that suited us better than simply time because occasionally we couldn't all meet to do certain things or we would be at different point on individual tasks. We went through a variety of ideas until we settled on one but I believe my blog demonstrates this, the ongoing, changing process that we were involved in.
I believe our pre-production work is more than adequate we did a base analysis of the lyrics to begin with and then that was a followed by a more intense summary of the shots to be used against each line of lyrics after our idea had advanced and we knew exactly what we was doing. On top of that we did initial storyboards with charactertures and then post-production storyboards in which we broke down our film shot for shot and discussed the different types of shots used in each and their meaning.
I believe our pre-production work is more than adequate we did a base analysis of the lyrics to begin with and then that was a followed by a more intense summary of the shots to be used against each line of lyrics after our idea had advanced and we knew exactly what we was doing. On top of that we did initial storyboards with charactertures and then post-production storyboards in which we broke down our film shot for shot and discussed the different types of shots used in each and their meaning.
Pre-Production - Production Schedule
15th September 2009 – Deadline for choice of brief/Begin research
17th September – Continue reasearch
22nd September – Formulate list of possible ideas/Continue with research
24th September – Annotate possible song lyrics/Continue with research
29th September – Decide on idea and begin planning/Finish research
1st October 2009 – Write up information on target audience
6th October – Begin planning
8th October – Complete stages of planning - production schedule, draft questionnaire. Begin storyboarding.
13th October – Continue storyboarding/Hand out questionnaire to class and collect results
15th October – Analyse results and formulate tables and graphs to show results/Continue storyboarding
20th October – Complete storyboarding
22nd October – Photoshoot for location report, cast/costume/prop list
- HALF TERM –
3rd November – Finalise location report, cast/costume/prop list and all outstanding sections of planning
5th November – Finish all outstanding work/Acquire music for filming
10th November – Begin filming – also take photos for DVD Cover
12th November – Continue filming – take photos for Magazine Advert
17th November – Continue filming
19th November – Finalise filming
24th November – Finish filming
26th November – Begin editing film – Prepare shots
1st December – Continue editing film/Upload all photos taken for Print Products
3rd December – Continue editing film/Begin editing DVD Cover
8th December – Continue editing film – Add music/Continue editing DVD Cover
10th December – Finalise editing film/Finalise editing DVD Cover
15th December – Finish editing film/Finish editing DVD Cover
17th December – Finish any outstanding work that needs completing
- CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY –
5th January – Begin editing Magazine Advert
7th January – Continue editing Magazine Advert
12th January – Finish editing Magazine Advert/Begin evaluation
14th January – Continue evaluation
19th January – Hand in draft evaluation/Complete any outstanding work
21st January – Edit evaluation according to feedback
26th January – Make any final changes to any work that needs it/Ensure blog is completely finished
January 28th – DEADLINE DAY – Ensure blog is completely finished and everything is uploaded
17th September – Continue reasearch
22nd September – Formulate list of possible ideas/Continue with research
24th September – Annotate possible song lyrics/Continue with research
29th September – Decide on idea and begin planning/Finish research
1st October 2009 – Write up information on target audience
6th October – Begin planning
8th October – Complete stages of planning - production schedule, draft questionnaire. Begin storyboarding.
13th October – Continue storyboarding/Hand out questionnaire to class and collect results
15th October – Analyse results and formulate tables and graphs to show results/Continue storyboarding
20th October – Complete storyboarding
22nd October – Photoshoot for location report, cast/costume/prop list
- HALF TERM –
3rd November – Finalise location report, cast/costume/prop list and all outstanding sections of planning
5th November – Finish all outstanding work/Acquire music for filming
10th November – Begin filming – also take photos for DVD Cover
12th November – Continue filming – take photos for Magazine Advert
17th November – Continue filming
19th November – Finalise filming
24th November – Finish filming
26th November – Begin editing film – Prepare shots
1st December – Continue editing film/Upload all photos taken for Print Products
3rd December – Continue editing film/Begin editing DVD Cover
8th December – Continue editing film – Add music/Continue editing DVD Cover
10th December – Finalise editing film/Finalise editing DVD Cover
15th December – Finish editing film/Finish editing DVD Cover
17th December – Finish any outstanding work that needs completing
- CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY –
5th January – Begin editing Magazine Advert
7th January – Continue editing Magazine Advert
12th January – Finish editing Magazine Advert/Begin evaluation
14th January – Continue evaluation
19th January – Hand in draft evaluation/Complete any outstanding work
21st January – Edit evaluation according to feedback
26th January – Make any final changes to any work that needs it/Ensure blog is completely finished
January 28th – DEADLINE DAY – Ensure blog is completely finished and everything is uploaded
Pre-Production - Risk Assessment
Due to our group filming in a house with household items and upholstery all around us we had to take precautions whilst filming, some of these precautions included:
* Whilst using the household lamp for fill lighting, we had to make sure we were away from chairs and tables so we did not set things alight.
* We didn’t plug the microphone in as we weren’t using live vocals or recording to avoid hazards and taped the wire down to the floor to avoid tripping.
* We made sure there was no eating or drinking around electrical equipment to ensure there would be no hazards.
* Whilst using the household lamp for fill lighting, we had to make sure we were away from chairs and tables so we did not set things alight.
* We didn’t plug the microphone in as we weren’t using live vocals or recording to avoid hazards and taped the wire down to the floor to avoid tripping.
* We made sure there was no eating or drinking around electrical equipment to ensure there would be no hazards.
Pre-Production - Net Drawings
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Pre-Production - Lyrics with Shot Breakdown
BEGINNING SHOTS – Opening title of “You Can Leave Your Hat On" by Joe Cocker fades to black.
Aerial shots of three characters sitting on sofa – slowly change to different angles of the same shot. Mid-shot of all three characters as central character leaves the room. Cuts to close-up of stripper stripping. Fades to black as the music begins. Mid-shot of stripper re-entering the room, cuts to mid-shot of guitarist and singer, which then quickly cuts to aerial then over-the-shoulder shot of the stripper/characters on the sofa.
Extreme close-up of stripper quickly changes to extreme close up of singer. This quickly cuts to a close-up and panning shot of guitarist playing guitar, before cutting to mid-shot of guitarist and singer.
LYRICS BEGIN:
Baby take off your coat (Extreme close up of singer – switches to mid-shot Stripper starting to undress)
Real slow (Extreme close up of singer singing)
Take off your shoes (Mid shot of singer and guitarist)
I'll take off your shoes (Close up of Guitarist playing guitar)
Baby take off your dress (Extreme close up of singer singing)
Yes, yes, yes (Mid shot of stripper continuing to strip)
You can leave your hat on (Mid shot of stripper cuts to mid shot of Singer’s shadow on wall)
You can leave your hat on (Close up of time-lapse of bath cuts to close up of Stripper)
You can leave your hat on (Close up of bath switches to extreme close-up of Singer)
Go over there, turn on the light (Close up of guitarist playing guitar smaller close up shots appear at the side of the guitarist)
Hey, all the lights (Over the shoulder shot of guitarist – other smaller close-ups of guitar appear around the guitarist)
Come over here, stand on that chair (Mid shot of stripper removing shirt switches to continuation of guitarist multi-shot)
Yeah, that's right (Mid-shot of singer and guitarist – Switches to mid-shot of stripper)
Raise your arms up in the air (Extreme close-up of microphone swinging in the air, and the singer then holding the mic still)
Now shake 'em (Quick-cut mid shots of Stripper and Singer/Guitarist)
You give me reason to live (Close-up of singer’s shadow)
You give me reason to live (Close-up of bath)
You give me reason to live (Mid-shot of singer/guitarist)
You give me reason to live (Extreme close-up of singer singing)
Sweet darling, (you can leave your hat on) (Close up of singer’s shadow quickly cuts to mid-shot of Stripper and guitarist then to mid-shot of singer/guitarist)
You can leave your hat on (Close-up of singer’s shadow quickly cuts to extreme-close of singer singing)
Baby, (you can leave your hat on) (Close up of bath cuts to mid-shot of stripper and guitarist dancing)
You can leave your hat on (Extreme close-up of singer singing quickly cuts to mid-shot of guitarist and stripper dancing)
(You can leave your hat on) (Extreme-close up and zoom in of Guitarists face)
There’s no way. (Extreme close-up of guitarist zooms out to mid-shot of guitarist and stripper)
(You can leave your hat on) (Mid shot of guitarist, stripper and singer dancing changes to close-up of singer, stripper and guitarist dancing)
You can leave your hat on (Close-up of singer, stripper and guitarist dancing)
(You can leave your hat on) (Extreme-close up of singer singing)
Give me the reason to live (Close-up of stripper switches to Close-up of singer, stripper and guitarist dancing)
(You can leave your hat on) (Mid-shot of Singer, Stripper and Guitarist quickly switches to extreme-close up of singer’s shadow)
You can leave your hat on (Singer’s shadow switches to close-up of stripper and guitarist dancing)
FINAL SHOTS – (Mid-shot of guitarist, singer and stripper switches to close-up of stripper)
CREDITS – Consist of a collaboration of quick cut close-ups of each actor, which culminates in a final mid-shot of all three before the camera fades to black.
SUMMARY
For our music video we have used a variety of different shots, mainly close-ups and mid-shots. The close-ups of the stripper we have used help to objectify the character, which contrasts the ideas of Laura Mulvey’s “Male Gaze” theory, as the audience are shown the stripper through a feminine viewpoint. We have also used a lot of mid-shots, as they are the only way in which we could fit in multiple characters at one time. A lot of the editing we have used is very quick cut, and in time to the music, which will make it more effective.
In accordance with Andrew Goodwin’s theory, we have used some of what he identifies as key aspects of music videos in ours. We have used several close-up shots of the vocalist throughout the video, and have also established links between the content of the lyrics with the actions of “the Stripper” character. We have also used genre-related styles, for example the use of humorous expressions on characters’ faces, which reflects the parody genre of our video. We have also contrasted one of the key aspects of Goodwin’s theory however, as we have used no female characters, and have instead used the idea of voyeurism on “the Stripper” character.
The fact we continually switch between the Stripper and the two performers means our video follows the theory of Steven Archer. Archer theorised that a music video should have a clear link between narrative and performance that promotes both the song, and the artist. The main narrative of our video is of the stripper gradually undressing, which is coupled with the performance of the singer/guitarist.
Aerial shots of three characters sitting on sofa – slowly change to different angles of the same shot. Mid-shot of all three characters as central character leaves the room. Cuts to close-up of stripper stripping. Fades to black as the music begins. Mid-shot of stripper re-entering the room, cuts to mid-shot of guitarist and singer, which then quickly cuts to aerial then over-the-shoulder shot of the stripper/characters on the sofa.
Extreme close-up of stripper quickly changes to extreme close up of singer. This quickly cuts to a close-up and panning shot of guitarist playing guitar, before cutting to mid-shot of guitarist and singer.
LYRICS BEGIN:
Baby take off your coat (Extreme close up of singer – switches to mid-shot Stripper starting to undress)
Real slow (Extreme close up of singer singing)
Take off your shoes (Mid shot of singer and guitarist)
I'll take off your shoes (Close up of Guitarist playing guitar)
Baby take off your dress (Extreme close up of singer singing)
Yes, yes, yes (Mid shot of stripper continuing to strip)
You can leave your hat on (Mid shot of stripper cuts to mid shot of Singer’s shadow on wall)
You can leave your hat on (Close up of time-lapse of bath cuts to close up of Stripper)
You can leave your hat on (Close up of bath switches to extreme close-up of Singer)
Go over there, turn on the light (Close up of guitarist playing guitar smaller close up shots appear at the side of the guitarist)
Hey, all the lights (Over the shoulder shot of guitarist – other smaller close-ups of guitar appear around the guitarist)
Come over here, stand on that chair (Mid shot of stripper removing shirt switches to continuation of guitarist multi-shot)
Yeah, that's right (Mid-shot of singer and guitarist – Switches to mid-shot of stripper)
Raise your arms up in the air (Extreme close-up of microphone swinging in the air, and the singer then holding the mic still)
Now shake 'em (Quick-cut mid shots of Stripper and Singer/Guitarist)
You give me reason to live (Close-up of singer’s shadow)
You give me reason to live (Close-up of bath)
You give me reason to live (Mid-shot of singer/guitarist)
You give me reason to live (Extreme close-up of singer singing)
Sweet darling, (you can leave your hat on) (Close up of singer’s shadow quickly cuts to mid-shot of Stripper and guitarist then to mid-shot of singer/guitarist)
You can leave your hat on (Close-up of singer’s shadow quickly cuts to extreme-close of singer singing)
Baby, (you can leave your hat on) (Close up of bath cuts to mid-shot of stripper and guitarist dancing)
You can leave your hat on (Extreme close-up of singer singing quickly cuts to mid-shot of guitarist and stripper dancing)
(You can leave your hat on) (Extreme-close up and zoom in of Guitarists face)
There’s no way. (Extreme close-up of guitarist zooms out to mid-shot of guitarist and stripper)
(You can leave your hat on) (Mid shot of guitarist, stripper and singer dancing changes to close-up of singer, stripper and guitarist dancing)
You can leave your hat on (Close-up of singer, stripper and guitarist dancing)
(You can leave your hat on) (Extreme-close up of singer singing)
Give me the reason to live (Close-up of stripper switches to Close-up of singer, stripper and guitarist dancing)
(You can leave your hat on) (Mid-shot of Singer, Stripper and Guitarist quickly switches to extreme-close up of singer’s shadow)
You can leave your hat on (Singer’s shadow switches to close-up of stripper and guitarist dancing)
FINAL SHOTS – (Mid-shot of guitarist, singer and stripper switches to close-up of stripper)
CREDITS – Consist of a collaboration of quick cut close-ups of each actor, which culminates in a final mid-shot of all three before the camera fades to black.
SUMMARY
For our music video we have used a variety of different shots, mainly close-ups and mid-shots. The close-ups of the stripper we have used help to objectify the character, which contrasts the ideas of Laura Mulvey’s “Male Gaze” theory, as the audience are shown the stripper through a feminine viewpoint. We have also used a lot of mid-shots, as they are the only way in which we could fit in multiple characters at one time. A lot of the editing we have used is very quick cut, and in time to the music, which will make it more effective.
In accordance with Andrew Goodwin’s theory, we have used some of what he identifies as key aspects of music videos in ours. We have used several close-up shots of the vocalist throughout the video, and have also established links between the content of the lyrics with the actions of “the Stripper” character. We have also used genre-related styles, for example the use of humorous expressions on characters’ faces, which reflects the parody genre of our video. We have also contrasted one of the key aspects of Goodwin’s theory however, as we have used no female characters, and have instead used the idea of voyeurism on “the Stripper” character.
The fact we continually switch between the Stripper and the two performers means our video follows the theory of Steven Archer. Archer theorised that a music video should have a clear link between narrative and performance that promotes both the song, and the artist. The main narrative of our video is of the stripper gradually undressing, which is coupled with the performance of the singer/guitarist.
Pre-Production - Location Report
The majority of our video will be shot in the one location but using them in different manners for different shots. The hall was going to be used for the audition sequence for the strippers but as mentioned in my initial ideas section we had a change of heart. This picture of the hall was one of many we took on location scouting. The video will now be shot in various rooms around my house in Admaston, as shown here courtesy of google maps. We chose my house because the rooms are easily cleared out to make room for the shots to be taken against plain coloured walls and background so as to try and make the shot as authentic as possible, less like a house.
Although filming at my house was not our first option it had a lot of advantages. A lot of filming was done with a pale coloured wall as a backdrop which meant that when filming we could experiment with shadows. We used fill lighting to create these shadows to give a sense of mystery and sexuality. Another advantage was that we could close the curtains to give an effect of night shooting although we could only arrange to film in the day. We found that because we were filming in a friends house, we felt more comfortable in acting the way we wanted to for the video and we were not as conscious of anyone watching us film. Most of the props and equipment we needed we gained from inside the house so we didn’t need to go out and buy or carry around equipment. One of the other advantages was that we only filmed in one room meaning that we have good continuity in our piece; it does not lose its fluency.
A disadvantage we found is that because of the realistic, monotone setting of the house, people may think, according to the Blumner and Katz theory (19734) that they are viewing the video for relation purposes but the video is intended for diversion or escapism purposes.
Pre-Production - Costume and Prop List
Costume -
Without costume the characters would be 2dimensional and their purpose and meaning would be less obvious to the viewer.
The only character in our film that really needs a costume is "The Stripper". For this character we will use smart business attire, with as many layers as possible to prolong the strip sections. The character will need to wear the following attire:- Formal shirt
- Tie
- Vest
- Smart trousers (with belt)
- Underwear
"The Singer" character will not need a specific costume, however he must wear a pair of headphones (listed in the Prop List).
"The "Friend" characters (seen at the start of the video) will need to wear casual attire, however there are no more costume restrictions for them.
Prop -Props will be used to add authenticity to the locations and to help in creating a sense of time and place that accentuate the effectiveness of the video.
We will need –
Headphones
Keyboard
Guitar
Microphone
We will also need standard household items, such as mugs, chairs, a table, a sofa and a television remote.
Pre-Production - Cast List
Mitchell Hickman – StripperChosen out of the group to be this character purely because I was the only one that would volunteer to get naked for media studies. I also make a cameo at the end appearing with the band members dancing and joining in the climax of the song.
Robert Glass – Joe Cocker
Chosen as the main star because of his flamboyance in singing the lyrics and also because of his appearance.
Ben Scott - Musician
Chosen to be the guitarist of the Joe Cocker band because his ability with guitar to aid in the authenticity of the piece.
Pre-Production - Lyrics Analysis
Joe Cocker - You Can Leave Your Hat On
Baby take off your coat
Real slow
Take off your shoes
I'll take off your shoes
Baby take off your dress
Yes, yes, yes
You can leave your hat on
Go over there, turn on the light
Hey, all the lights
Come over here, stand on that chair
Yeah, that's right
Raise your arms up in the air
Now shake 'em
You give me reason to live
Sweet darling, (you can leave your hat on)
You can leave your hat on
Baby, (you can leave your hat on)
You can leave your hat on
Suspicious minds are talkin'
They're tryin' to tear us apart
They don't believe in this love of mine
They don't know what love is
Yeah, I know what love is
There ain't no way
You can leave your hat on
In the song there is reference to the image of a stripper taking off his/her clothes as the song goes on. To stay away from conventionally following every action the lyrics say in order we will use a stripper in a slightly different way. The lyrics are not extremely poetic and can be taken in a rather literal sense. We attempt to convey this literal and tongue-in-cheek feel that the music has in our music video. It shall be an attempt at a comical and feel-good interpretation of the song as we believe this is what was intended when written, and from the other media interpretations of the song we have seen in films, on TV etc.
Pre-Production - Plot Synopsis
The plot for our music video is relatively simple. We are not aiming for a complex narrative structure but instead aiming for it to flow easily so that it is comfortably enjoyable for the viewer. The main purpose of our video is to promote the song so we have chosen a theme that is memorable to the viewer that they will relate to the song.
The video begins with three people relaxing, looking unstimulating and bored on a sofa while the hymn “Hark the Herald Angel Sings” is played non-diegetically. There is a sound similar to a DJ stalling a record and the scene abruptly changes to a male stripper. The juxtaposition aims to be shocking and comedic to the audience. There is then a definite mixture of shots following three locations. The first is that of “Joe Cocker” singing the lyrics of the song in time to the music in to a mic as if he is in a recording studio recording the song. He should be wearing headphones to emphasise the location and purpose. The second location is that of the Joe Cocker band that plays the song on instruments in time to the music and is also accompanied by Joe Cocker as if in a live showing of the track.
The third is the story that follows a male stripper as he slowly unclothes leaving the audience full of suspense and anticipation. The song climaxes in the stripper becoming naked in a subtle way and also joining in with the band members in jamming to the track. There will be a short sequence of credits after this that will show a few outtakes from the filming to add to the comedic effect, similar to what is seen in the credits of the film “Dodgeball” and “The Hangover”.
The video begins with three people relaxing, looking unstimulating and bored on a sofa while the hymn “Hark the Herald Angel Sings” is played non-diegetically. There is a sound similar to a DJ stalling a record and the scene abruptly changes to a male stripper. The juxtaposition aims to be shocking and comedic to the audience. There is then a definite mixture of shots following three locations. The first is that of “Joe Cocker” singing the lyrics of the song in time to the music in to a mic as if he is in a recording studio recording the song. He should be wearing headphones to emphasise the location and purpose. The second location is that of the Joe Cocker band that plays the song on instruments in time to the music and is also accompanied by Joe Cocker as if in a live showing of the track.
The third is the story that follows a male stripper as he slowly unclothes leaving the audience full of suspense and anticipation. The song climaxes in the stripper becoming naked in a subtle way and also joining in with the band members in jamming to the track. There will be a short sequence of credits after this that will show a few outtakes from the filming to add to the comedic effect, similar to what is seen in the credits of the film “Dodgeball” and “The Hangover”.
Pre-Production - Decision
We have eventually decided to make a promotional release for the song "You Can Leave Your Hat On" by Joe Cocker. Our decision was based on our quest to make a comedic video that our target audience will enjoy and we believe in choosing this song then the sky's the limit. A few ideas were eliminated because they proved to be too difficult in the specificity of the locations needed and the budget would have been too high. This year, instead of starting with something complex we have decided to take something that is rather cliched and has definitely been done before and attempt to put a fresh, new twist on it. Wish us luck.
Pre-Production - Initial Promotional Photographs
We next adopted a completely different idea. We went from a traditional music video idea to an artistic one. The video would have been set to a possible Coldplay record and it would have attempted to make the audience think and have an influence on them with its abstractness and subtly clever ideas. The video would have been about the solitude yet romanticism of isolation. It would have focused on solely one character throught. In terms of Sven E. Carlsson's theory, this would have been a "narrative clip" meaning that it would have been ultimately a short move set to a musical backdrop. According to Carlsson, a true narrative clip contains no lip-syncing or performance of the song.
Even though we really fancied making a comedy video because it was something we had not tried but had curiously wanted to, we were excited about the idea of a narrative clip because we believed in doing so we could use our film production skills to make a video that incorporated many technical and skilled elements of film production that would showcase the best of our abilities. We went out and took some initial promotional photographs as a means of inspiration and testing for the look of the proposed idea.
(Click to make full size)
We used a combination of effects of Macromedia Fireworks to create these images and we were quite pleased with the zeitgeist we had created for a potential film. Eventually however, the idea fell through due to lack of a rock solid plot-line and an improved idea regarding the comedy genre we had wanted to see if we could pull off.
Even though we really fancied making a comedy video because it was something we had not tried but had curiously wanted to, we were excited about the idea of a narrative clip because we believed in doing so we could use our film production skills to make a video that incorporated many technical and skilled elements of film production that would showcase the best of our abilities. We went out and took some initial promotional photographs as a means of inspiration and testing for the look of the proposed idea.
We used a combination of effects of Macromedia Fireworks to create these images and we were quite pleased with the zeitgeist we had created for a potential film. Eventually however, the idea fell through due to lack of a rock solid plot-line and an improved idea regarding the comedy genre we had wanted to see if we could pull off.
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