Contact with the Artist

I contacted Calvin Harris' mangement  in an attempt to get permission to use his song for my coursework. This is an imperative part of my project as legally I must let the artist know that I am using his song as I do not own the song rights and therefore could be sued.

Calvin Harris - Summer (first draft)

Alterations made along the way

19/12
Today I compelted the first draft of my music video. I feel it is a good first draft and am pleased to have met the deadline however it is clear that my video still needs some work. Unfortunately my one of my models were very unwell and therefore she was unable to film a small section of my music video which I had planned to finish this week.

What I will change for my second draft:

• Apply a filter to more clearly differenciate between the flashback/present day scenes
• Add new footage
• Film rain on a window pane at the beginning and add that in
• Possibly change the ending

Drafting of my music video

02/12
In today's lesson I've been continuing to piece together the first draft of my music video. I'm quite happy with how it looks so far however you can see that there are some bits missing where I'm not sure what to put in there. I'm planning to have my first draft finished by 19/12/14 when my school breaks up for the Christmas holidays.

Filming present day scenes of my music video

17/11
Yesterday I completed filming the beginning of my music video with my friends Holly and Louise. These were the scenes of Louise in her bedroom after her and her boyfriend had just broken up, and it was the lead up into the video.
I encountered several problems during the shoot, including lots of problems with the camera as it was one I wasn't used to using. I began with a really nice setting however after trying to zoom out I accidently changed the white balance and couldn't get it back and therefore some scenes are brighter than others - although this can be overcome during editing as I can add a filter.
Overall I'm happy with how the scenes look and I'm glad that I can now begin filming.

Narrative Structure of my Music Video

Progress report

Here is the Powerpoint containing my progress report which I pitched to my class in order to gain feedback on my coursework. Luckily my class agreed that my music video didn't need lip syncing which I decided I didn't want a few months back.

Tracking the Artist

Here is my research into Calvin Harris' biography. I will shortly use these notes to create an interactive timeline to present my findings.

Analysis of Existing Digipaks

What is a Digipak?

What is a Digipak?

 

A Digipak is a book type paper decoration which is slotted into a CD or DVD case in order to make the appearance of the product more distinguishable and attractive.

As you can see from the images, Digipaks can come in a variety of colours and styles, however the size (depending on the product) and the layout almost always follow the same codes and conventions.

Codes and Conventions of a Digipak

Front - A typical Digipak for a CD case will have the name of the artist and their album or single name, and often will have a picture, either of the artist or from the music video.

First compartment - Inside the CD case is where the disk is held. Usually in the first compartment is the CD of the album, in which the songs can be found.

Second compartment - Here another holder for a second CD can be found. This is usually a "bonus" CD which may be a short video for how the music video was made or even the music video itself.

Back - Here a full list of all the tracks on the CD can be found. They usually include track numbers as well so the audience can easily skip to the specific song they want to listen to.

Music Video Directors

I have researched 3 directors who all have worked on music videos for genres similar to my own.

Audience Research

I have also created a Voi of a typical girl that my music video would appeal to.


(Text version: Hi i'm Emily. I'm 18 years old and a student at Mayflower Sixth Form studying English Lit, History and Drama. I'm hoping to get into Uni next year and study History. School is really stressful so at the weekends I love relaxing with my friends or going on a great night out. I make the most of summers too and always try and fit in at least one festival. Last year i went to Global gathering and V festival and they were amazing. I have a part time job during my free time and so i really enjoy spending my money on clothes and going out.)

Audience research

Lastly, here is the video mood board which I put together, including videos and music that represents my target demographic. 

Audience research

Below is a collection of images which I feel represents my target audience. This is the most simple way of portraying the desired "look" of my music video, however I will also look to use other methods such as video mood boards and Vokis.

Audience Research by georgialeaper

Existing Music Channels

Here is my research into existing music channels. I have selected 3 well known and popular music channels that my target audience would watch and have began to learn more about them.

Existing Music Channels

Exisiting Music Labels

Here is a powerpoint that I have put together which contains research into several existing music labels. I included research into the music label which my artist has set up himself, which I found particularly useful as it allowed me to understand how choosing the right record label for a specific artist is crucial.

Music Genre

Here is my research into the music genre. This research was really useful as it helped me understand the different types of genres and which one would be best suited to my music video. As of this research I have decided that I will create a narrative style music video.

Audience Feedback

Today I pitched my idea for my music video to the rest of my class. I thought this was a really useful way to gain feedback, especially as I was really stuck on which location to choose for the reflection scenes in my video. After today I have decided that I will film some raw footage in different urban locations such as an underground station, in an estate and in a typical suburban bedroom.

Researching my artist

 

23/09
(Text version)

Today I used Youtube Creator to create a video of my research into my artist, Calvin Harris. This was really useful because in making the video i learnt a lot more about him and it will be easy to look back on if i ever need to refresh my knowledge of him.

Artist Research

I have created a video of my research into my chosen artist Calvin Harris.

Filming of sunset

15/09

History of Music Videos

History of Music Videos

Codes and Conventions of a Music Video

Photographs of Locations

By using a programme called Kizoa I created a video photo album of some photos of my locations for my music video. Unfortunately the free trail would not allow me to share the video that I created however I proactively used other technological resources and filmed the video on my iPhone instead. I feel the video is of a decent quality and I was even able to edit and trim the video on my phone.
I have also included some of the photos below.

Audience profiling

In media it is imperative to understand the audience in which you are trying to reach in order for your product to succeed. Considering this, I took it upon myself to generate a quick fact file for my target audience, enabling me to reflect on how my video will or will not appeal to them.

		Notes
Demographic	E	As students/young people they will be of a low social group, however their disposable income and parents may elevate their status.
Physcographic	Explorers/Mainstreamers	Traditionally this genre of music would appeal to explorers, however as house music is in the charts a lot now the video may also appeal to mainstreamers.
Age	16-21	As this is the age that the listeners would be going out partying and listening to house music.
Gender	Female	Although males also listen to house/dance music my video will mainly appeal to females as the video features a female protagonist.

Driving to my location

06/08
Here is a video that I took this morning whilst driving down to my location, Clacton-on-Sea.

I've chosen to spend some time here before I revisit with my models to shoot my music video to film the footage which they're not needed in (ie establishing shots, sunrises/sunsets, weather shots, etc.) By doing this I can focus more on my models when shooting their scenes as due to busy schedules, I only have 2 days with them to film all the footage that takes place in Clacton.

Here I've attempted to film some of the shots which I plan to use during the beginning of my video where they are travelling to Clacton. 

At first I held the camera free hand, however the footage was much too jumpy. 

I found although not completely steady, the footage was to a much more professional standard when using the tripod.

Here I was filming some footage of people walking in and out of the pier for during the point of view "home video" part of my music video. To achieve this I filmed with the handheld camera as opposed to using the tripod. 

As I knew sunset was around 8:30pm, I started to look for a nice spot to film it, at about 7pm. Unfortunately the sun would not set by the pier or over the sea, and was setting on the other side of the town. I found a nice field and began to film, however it was too cloudy and the sun couldn't be seen very clearly, so I will have to try again another time, or think of an alternative.

Raw footage of Locations

Props List

Using an app on my phone I created a visual representation of my prop list which I have placed below. I like this because it's an effective way of displaying information quickly and easy to refer back to, however it is not the most detailed method.

The reason for each of my props are:

• Earphones - I will need earphones at the beginning of the music video as my main protagonist is sitting alone in her room, reminising about Summer and puts in her headphones to listen to the song and cheer herself up. As well as this I will need a phone with a large screen (such as  an iPhone) and a download of the song.
• Torn up photos - I will use CU shots of torn up photographs throughout the video to suggest to the audience that the boyfriend and girlfriend are no longer together, and that is why the main protagonist is so upset. To further this idea I may also use empty chocolate wrappers around the room.
• Photo album - The use of a photo album will again suggest that the protagonist is thinking back to Summer when she was with her boyfriend and supports the non linear narrative.
• Sunglasses - This conventional seaside item will support my location and links to the song's title "Summer".
• Bucket and spade - Again is conventional and links to the song.
• Candy floss - In reference to the Male Gaze, I will film a CU shot of my protagonist eating candy floss and focus on her lips and smile.

Planning my props

01/08
Today I thought about my music video and which props I'll need. To portray my thought process I downloaded a slideshow creator from the app store on my phone and used this to create a timeline of photos and music. Although this was handy as it was on my phone and I could refer back to it, I encountered some problems with the free version of the app, however I feel I overcame these well.
Problems included:

• Only being able to choose 6 photos
• Many of the themes and transitions being locked
• The app kept crashing 

 Evidence:

Production Log: Music Video Analysis (17/07/14)

What did I do?
Using YouTube Creator again, I cropped the middle 48 seconds out of Example's music video, as these were the parts set at the seaside. I then print screened moments that I liked and wanted to use in my own music video, and documented them into a Prezi.

How does this help me?
This helps me because I now have a much clearer idea of how a professionally shot video looks at the seaside, and now have something to try and replicate.