Teacher feedback

Hello group 21
This is shaping up to be an excellent blog - well done!  I've really enjoyed reading all your entries today.  Just a couple of points to note:  Erika - are you sure that you've posted a picture of the real Andrew Goodwin?  he's looking rather young in your picture.  Jess: keep an eye on your 'use of ICT' - remember the importance of it for the mark-scheme.  It's not a major problem - just your most recent blogs could do with a couple of photos or links.  Stav: There are a couple missing....  Valeza: You've caught up now - which is excellent.

Keep up the good work group 21 - it's looking brilliant already!

Research for Music Video: Skills Audit

I think that from the AS year we were required to research a lot in order to create our final product. We spent most of our time watching thriller movie openings so that we could get inspiration for our own openings. Also we learnt about all the different sub-genres of thrillers such as political, action etc in order to determine the genre and how our characters will be represented.

This is sort of similiar to the research that we have to do this year for our A2 music videos. However I think that this may be more enjoyable, because music is an outlet for all of us to be creative and visual with our ideas... and some of us weren't too keen on thriller films. Although from this I think that know that my abilities for researching now are more thorough and I am doing an increased amount than from last year. I've also learnt to use blogger as a tool to talk about my ideas as I think of them and to keep my organisation in check as well.

During our thrillers, we would have to think about portraying a different genre that perhaps wasn't our favourite in order to get as much marks as possible and think more about the aspects of camera, mise en scene, editing and sound instead of our preferences. This is the same for our music videos, we cannot opt for a particular song/ genre just because we like it, if it doesn't give us many options for editing or to be creative with the visuals of our music video.

From the research of last year I've realised how important it is to have alternative shots / extra days in order to film just in case things go wrong.. this will ensure we can still finish our music video with enough time to alter it, as I remember that lighting from the cameras can be different when portrayed on the big screen.

Research for Music Video: State of the Music Industry 2011

There is a contrasting difference between the music industry now and ten years ago.

Production: The process of the making of the music and the recording has changed. Back then there wasn't as much focus on the artist itself but on the quality of the music. The industry was very established and professional because you could only record in a studio and analog sounds would be produced.

Now there is much more focus on the style of the artist and for them to be relevant with the changing genres and there are a lot more artists to each genre now. Therefore artists will record songs more often in order to stay current and for their image to keep up with the audiences' expectations. Recording now produces digital sounds and can be recorded anywhere, as many artists can record songs in their bedrooms.

Distribution: The way music gets to people and how we know about it is really different. Before most people only had channels 1 to 5, so there wasn't any music channels to advertise music videos. Music was mainly listened to on the radio and advertised by posters on the street, or most popularly different artists would perform live on shows such as Top of the Pops.

Now online video websites like Youtube are very popular, as they show videos worldwide and allows audiences to view the same videos. There are also loads of music channels such as MTV that show official music videos to advertise them in the chart run-downs. Videos and artists are also highly advertised on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. On Facebook many users share videos with their friends to increase recognition and on Twitter, artists can promote their music directly to their fans and message them.


Exchange: This has changed heavily over the years, this is where the people who own the music and how it changes hands to us the audience so that we can listen to it. Then fans would listen to the music on the radio or purchase it as CD records or to make the sound more authentic then on Vinyl. The music industry would then profit by this, as they would make money from selling the physical product.

Now due to the emergence of new technology there are many illegal online websites in which you can download songs and albums for free. Therefore the industry suffers because they are not making money from the physical product or from legal downloads such as iTunes. This way the industry has to make money through other revenues such as concert tours and guest appearances on television shows.

Research for Music Video... Skills Audit

Last years research skills, well let's face it, they weren't the best. But I'm glad we've had the basis to them done because I feel more experienced and guided this year in my research. Last year consisted of a lot of movie watching (mainly first 5-10mins) to get an idea of the different styles. I have to say in that sense this year is very similar except that we ought to watch the entire video. This year seems to be double the work of last. This is why I think it's important that we went through a research phase before. Every teenager likes music. With so many different genres out there everyone is bound to find something they like, that's why we all know what YouTube is. We spend most of our time with it and relate more with the artists than we do with our friends. I can't deny that I am also a massive fan of Radio. For my 17th my parents got me a fantastic little 'Roberts' radio. I absolutely LOVE it. Any new songs that I hear on it that I find inspirational, always write down the name and upload it to my iPod. Maybe even watch the video for it. It all helps me develop my skills in research.
Last year, from having done our research we could plan accordingly. However not everything went according to plan, as I was in charge of getting a costume and my other group member was in charge of getting the fake blood. The costume shop didn't have fake blood so we settled for food coloring (which my the way, I would actually say looked more realistic than fake blood - we got it in a deep red) on the day of filming and I couldn't find the dress in my vision until that chaotic morning of filming. This year I hope to get all the costumes and any extras that we need at least a week in advance before filming - just something that I've learnt from last year - organisation is key to success. This year, so far we have researched the type of angles and costumes that we'd like to use already, giving it thought and dropping it down from the beginning isn't such a bad idea we can always use it later on in production.

Research for Music Video... The state of the Music Industry 2012

The music industry has changed dramatically within the last 10 years. In class we studied an article from 'The Guardian". It was based on the music season and what changes are being made and what bands are actually beginning to suffer as well as why. We studied an article called "Music is thriving, but the business is dying. Who can make it pay again?" I could not agree with this more as as we all well know because of websites like YouTube and programs such as YouTube Converter there is no need to buy CD's anymore.
Despite all the hype about Brit awards and digital revolution the music business is serious financial trouble. "Sales were down 7% last year in the UK and by nearly 10% in the United States" these figures are drastic, the music industry needs to be coming up with something and quick, music no longer seems like a great business to get yourself into, of course there are special programs created such as iTunes that encourage you to buy your music  and the thing that persuades them is the fact that iTunes promises best quality recordings. However, the question is was iTunes that big a success considering that they are destroying the notion of an album. The music industry has HALVED in size as there are hardly anymore purchases of "Physical" Sales. "The US, where all music business trends start, download sales growth has stalled, posting just 1% growth throughout all of 2010". These numbers are ridiculous, this just accentuates the amount of trouble that the music industry is in even in Britain 60 HMV stores had to shut as digital sales hope to save the industry.

Take That, with Robbie Williams maybe be one of the few bands that can still sell large quantities of CD's. "It is Radiohead that point the way to the all-digital future. Radiohead released their second album The King of Limbs as a download". Their style of self-promotion has been called a 'logical progression' from the 'honesty box' approach - this is where the listener can buy the album for what they think that it's worth. They also planned a physical release with special additions, comprising a CD, two 10-inch vinyl discs and a "host of artwork on sale for a healthy price of £33."
The main problem is, Radiohead's approach can't work for every artist therefore each record label needs to be coming up with a clever way of distribution. The X Factor winners are unlikely candidates to be selling albums for £33 the main way of making money now is performing live music as people still have to pay for the tickets. Another example of making money is Ellie Goulding, "she likes to run as much as she likes to sing" therefore she created an event with her fans that was supported by Nike, and through Facebook organised a race on tour in seven different cities with selected fans.
"Many hope that music subscription services, such as Spotify in Europe and Pandora in the USA can generate new, meaningful forms of revenue." Of course this is just a test so far If you were to listen to spotify for free you would be bombarded with adverts that would make it impossible for you to enjoy music, so now they have come up with the solution of 'pay £10 and you'll have no adverts, they are now looking for "broader combinations of ways to make money."
The main solution bands now have is selling out tickets to gigs and shifting to merchandise instead. Lady Gaga's telephone video featuring Beyonce has roughly 121million view on YouTube. This helps create her image - controversial, half naked and a bit freaky. It obviously attracts attention this makes the song spread as it soon becomes VIRAL. YouTube advertising revenue gets the artist extended profits that may fit into her sales, also this video in particular was a massive thing as a mini movie for a music video created a massive event and aroused interest for the viewers.

The differences between now and then:

• THEN there was more fuss created about the music and it's sound rather than the promotion of the actual artist. NOW it almost seems that the music doesn't even count if you love the image of the artist you ought to love all their music.
• THEN the industry only needed to advertise the music with posters and maybe radio, this would create interest and people would go to music stores to get hold of a copy of the song. NOW technology so so developed that it has become a threat to the music industry YouTube, music channels, social networking, nobody even needs to own a music player to get to play music. Most people don't even need a record label because they can record and put their music up on YouTube, as soon as it becomes Viral and creates a big enough fan base... we have a new 'star'. 
• THEN computers were not so well developed, there was no such thing as illegal download, NOW that technology is developing, so are we. Illegal downloads have been created and who wouldn't use them, you get to have thousands of songs that you love and listen to them whenever you like. 

Research for Music Video... Previous Student Work

My favourite video of previous student work is 'Don't hold back'. The video uses such a variety of shots and you can tell that the video was shot with editing in mind. It also includes great mise en scene (how the artist is singing 'don't hold back and it's written on the DJ's t-shirt), and there isn't really a story to tell that's why I think the video works, it's just random shots that have been edited to the beat of the music video. I made this little board of my favourite shots at the top. I like how when the video starts there is additional sound that they have created themselves whilst inserting the CD hinting that that's where the music is coming from. Or the fact that they got a dancer to make the video more effective, the spray painting reflects the artist genre and style as well as the belly dancers that make the video more effective, the lighting in each shot has so much variation I think that's what makes the video look so exciting and makes you want to watch it the whole way through just so that you don't miss anything.

This was my favourite edit because you could tell it was clearly thought out and the person who was filming obviously thought it was going to be effective when the editing all came to place. I like how the 'dancer' runs towards the camera and it's shot not to keep the 'dancer' in mind but to just create a variety of visual interest, he then jumps up and the  next shot we get is where he has landed. I just thought it was very professionally done.

I also like how they used the car in the beginning to indicate the arrival of something and as the car drives each move the car makes is recorded to the beat. Every time the beat goes 'bang, bang, bang' the car move jumps forward at the same pace. I also like the fact that they've experimented with different lightings and used filters on parts of the clip so that it doesn't feel too repetitive or boring. I think they've also deeply considered their locations and the impressions that the video ought to make. For instance when at the beginning the girls get out of the car we only see their legs and no faces so we wait for the moment when we find out their relevance in the video. Also the way they they are filmed dancing next to the DJ reminds me a lot of 'Calvin Harris ft. Dizzee Rascal - Dance with me' video. I think that's really good because it helps you make up your mind about the style and genre of the video so right away the audience will be able to see if the song is part of what they like or not.

The way they are so confident and from time to time lip sync to the video is really good and extremely effective. Their outfits were also chosen carefully. It doesn't look like they're dancing in a fancy club which fits in with the style of their video. The colour in this shot contradicts with the last shot for example, but I like the way that in the last shot they finish it how they started it, although the shot is grey scale as the graffiti boy drops the can we can can hear it this is what cuts of the music and we only see his feet walking away accompanied by police sirens. All of these things to me add up to a great video that I can clearly look up to as inspiration. 

Research for Music Video... Laura Mulvey's Theory

"Representation consists of many parts - gender, age ethnicity, place, etc." In music videos gender is usually the most common representation. This is where Laura Mulvey comes in as her famous words on the subject were "In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure which is styled accordingly" - Laura Mulvey, 1992 - in my understanding Mulvey is trying to show the world that even when it's developing and we are moving past points of extreme sexist behaviour, the principle still exists. This is a world where males and females aren't equal, even women (Beyonce) who make a massive fuss about how women should be respected by men dress down in their own videos to look attractive and more appealing to their male audience.Usually this mainly applies to two types of genres; hip-hop and heavy metal videos. Of course there are other artists who try to challenge this representation. 'Lissie' is one, her videos aren't revealing, they're just simple with a clear motive. "This tired heart just want's to be at home" picturing the elephant obviously out of his comfort zone, but apart from that this video is made of disjuncture there is no relation between the lyrics and visual effects except for the artist, also the female artist is selling her music not her image as she doesn't specifically undress to 'bribe' the male audience. Have a look:

"The image of an artist in a music video will have been carefully planned; from the choice of clothes and style of hair to the solution of 'narrative' that the artist is placed within. As an audience we will 'read' or reconstruct this representation and will interpret it based on our own cultural references and understanding. Through doing this, we also become accustomed to seeing familiar representations within the videos for particular artists/groups." This just shows how important research and good planning is relevant to our own production. Careful thoughts of the mise en scene and editing techniques to create an appealing image for the artist seems like one of the most important parts in production.