Thursday, 29 September 2011
Mrs D
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Filming Schedule
This will include the window scenes, floor scenes, bath scenes and any other extra shots that may need to take place. I have allowed 3 hours for these shots as I will need to take multiple takes from different angles and will need to take into account the costume and make-up changes and setting up the scene.
Outside scenes - 2 hours
There is minimal outside scenes, however I have allowed 2 hours for this as it's dependent on the weather as it needs to be raining. This is unreliable and may need to be shot on a seperate day to the inside scenes, so I must allow time for this and be prepared for this event.
Letter of acceptance to be filmed
Hi Olivia,
I'd like to ask if you'd take part in my A-level media coursework where I'm making a music promo including a music video, magazine advert and digi-pack. I'd like you to act as the artist throughout these 3 tasks. This involves you taking part in the music video and also feature in the ad and digi-pack.
Thanks very much for your time
Laura
I would be delighted in taking part in your A-level media coursework.
No problem,
Olivia
Monday, 26 September 2011
MES choices and ideas
I think costumes should show individual style to stick to the alternative genre. But also in some shots when she's looking over her body it would be better if she was wearing less clothing, although when doing this I need to do it in a tasteful way as in my questionnaire people specified that they didn't like to see nearly naked girls as they found it tacky. To achieve a tasteful way to do this, I will probably put my actress into an oversized t-shirt or jumper and combine this with dim lighting, possibly candle light to reflect the emotion the girl is feeling.
I would like part of the video to be shot in the rain, as I feel the rain also reflects the mood the girl is feeling, and people can often related to the weather reflecting their mood.
I'd also like to have a scene set in the bathroom, as people often think about things in the bath and I think this would be a good way to piece the video together.
Email to Record Company
Mrs D
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Proposal
Mrs D
Ideas
Ed Sheeran- Miss You
This would be an appropriate song choice as the song is narrative. It tells the story of a boy missing a girl desperately and being completely lost and losing his mind without her. Due to the lyrics telling a clear story it would be easy to incorporate visuals to match lyrics which from my real media artefacts I found is often used in alternative music videos. I will have to make a poster and digi-pack for the single as this is not on an album.
Regina Spektor- Braille
Although this song is not overly alternative, the artist is extremely alternative and usually has very artistic videos. All of her songs have a clear narrative and this song also tells a clear story throughout, making it easy to match visuals to the lyrics. Being very centred around art it would be important to try and incorporate an artistic view so that the viewer still feels like they can relate to the artist. This was first released in 1999 on a demo cassette, but re-released in 2001 on her album 11:11, which I would have to create a magazine advert for and a digi-pack.
Jacks Mannequin- Dark Blue
This song talks about feeling alone and uses the colour to represent the darkness of being alone- if I were to choose to proceed with this song I'd have to try and incorporate this colour into the video so that it helped the narrative of the song. I'd also have to think about using this colour on the magazine advert and digi-pack as it's a running theme and can't be ignored.
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
How research will inform planning
My target audience will be 16-19 year olds as this is the age group that answered the majority of my questionnaires. Through my questionnaires I found that alternative is the second most popular music genre of music videos to watch with 30% opposed to 33% RnB. I have chosen to proceed with the alternative genre as in other questions people stated they enjoy music videos more if they're artistic and relatable to their emotions, which I feel is more achievable using alternative music instead of RnB. I'll make a narrative music video as in my questionnaire participants stated that they liked the video to be understandable and to have a story line. I will try to make the story line relatable and relevant to people's feelings as this is the feedback I got in my focus group. Looking at my real media artefacts I found that a sense of location is important in an alternative video and helps to set up the story line, not only this but visuals matching lyrics isn't always clear in these videos but is definately including in alternative videos which will be important for me to include.
When making my magazine advert I found from my questionnaire that most people like to see an interesting picture of the artist and an artistic design and choice of colours was also very important, I will take these things into serious consideration when planning and construction my magazine advert. People also that they like to see some relevance to the CD that it's trying to promote, which might include an image of the CD. Using my real media artefacts for magazine adverts of CD's I found that either using the CD as an image or using the CD image as a background is a key tool that is used for alternative artists.
Looking at my questionnaire analysis I have decided it will be important to include the track list on the back of my digi-pack as 97% of people said they like it. I also found that majority of people like a photo of the artist to be on the front of the CD which I will need to think about including. The most popular things people like to see included in an insert are exclusive pictures of the artist and tour dates. Although in my real media artefacts exclusive pictures were used in both and lyrics were used in one. In my focus group people said they thought the digi-pack needed to represent the artist and have some sort of relevance to the song, which I will try to incorporate into my digi-pack.
Product Placement
Music video's are used as a promotional tool to advertise an artists/bands song. To promote the song as much as possible to music video needs to be accessable to the target audience and a large amount of people. Using my questionnaire I found that most people watch music videos through the internet and in particular Youtube. Artists can upload their music video's for free onto the site and then they can be watched by viewers around the world for free, due to recent technologies audiences can now watch youtube and music videos on their phones which means they can be watched anywhere. Another popular way in which music videos are watched is through the TV, my questionnaire found that the most popular channels to watch music videos were MTV and NME. It's free for the artists music video to be played onto these channels and then free for the consumer to watch. However this is less popular as you can watch what music videos you like on demand on the internet, but have to be watching TV for a while to see multiple videos.
A magazine advert for an alternative CD is most likely to be seen in magazines like NME or Q as they feature alternative and indie artists. It costs money to buy ad space in a magazine but are very good for sales to the CD if they're seen. The information put on the ad is key as it needs to inform the consumer when the CD is available, where they can buy it, possibly cost and what is featured on the disc. These details can help the consumer to locate where to buy and also encourage them to buy through the use of language.
The album digi-pack should be sold in well known music stores such as HMV and also available on online such as play.com and amazon.co.uk as online shopping has become increasingly more popular and to maxamise sales it should be available as many ways as possible. The album cover should be designed to fit the alternative genre, but also attract people from other audiences as well, this way maxamising the sales.
RMA Owlcity digi-pack

This is the cover for Owlcity's album Ocean Eyes. It features a picture of Dubai's famous hotel Burj Al Arab and the sea lasting until the horizon. This shows him as alternative because the hotel has no reference to his songs or to music, but is seen as a work of architectural art, and he focus' on the beauty opposed to the relevance. His name is in a large white font placed in the sky, the white matches the white from the building and from the clouds. Ocean Eyes is written in a slightly different font but it still matches his name. The use of white contrasts with the dark blue and helps it to stand out.

This is the first page of the insert of his CD. It features a different picture of the sea, and includes the outline of the moon and clouds, similar to the one on the front, but still different. This allows a continuity factor from the front of the album through to the insert. It gives thanks to all the poepl involved in bringing together the album and the font is very small and hard to read, this suggests that they don't expect it to be read by the consumer but is put in for legal purposes or other reasons.

This is the second page of the insert and features a picture of a city on the horizon with the sea before it. This continues the theme of the album and instead of having exclusive pictures of the artist it features exclusive pictures chosen by the artist that he feels reflects the purpose of the album. This is different to what is normally featured inside an album cover and again reflects the alternative genre.
Mrs D
Monday, 19 September 2011
RMA Kate Nash digi-pack


The back of the album has the track list aligned in the centre of the page. The tracks are numbered for easy reference and written in the same font as the title is on the front of the album, this is good continuity and enables the audience to link that style of writing to the album and to Kate Nash as an artist. The way the track names are laid out in a casual manner makes the audience seem closer to the artist as it looks like Kate Nash wrote the tracklist herself.

RMA Noah and the Whale- Tonights the kind of night
RMA Owlcity- Fireflies
Focus Group Analysis
Focus Group Results
Person 1- I really like this video because it's artistic, but not in a confusing way as it's easy to follow and gives you a good understanding about what she wanted the song to about.
Person 2- It's a good video and she features in it a lot. She makes it relatable but in a funny kind of way which makes it a lot more fun to watch.
Person 3- She mocks her feelings a bit but it is still really relevant to a lot of feelings that people have.
Person 4- I didn't really understand the objects moving around in the video at the beginning and I thought it was a bit random, but then I realised that they relate to the message of the song and the emotion that it's supposed to be about but she uses other things to help make the feelings relatable.
Person 5- It's a fun video about a serious subject as it's about breaking up, which is a bit of a contrast and not what you expect, but it helps establish her as an individual as she doesn't do the stereotypical break-up video.
2. What do you think of the concept and narrative used?
Person 1- I like that she's linked the two as it's artistic and creative but with a relevance to the storyline of the song.
Person 2- There is a clear storyline and concept, and she is in the video throughout so it brings you closer to her as an artist but the lyrics allow you to relate it to yourself.
Person 3- I enjoyed the video because she incorporated both of these things. Close-ups and different camera angles made the video not repetitive and she used objects to show how things grow apart which was really creative and interesting to watch.
Person 4- At first I found the objects a bit confusing until I understood that they were linked to the lyrics as well. I thought this was a good song to incorporate a concept like that into as it's easy to objectify.
Person 5- I like the narrative and that she sings and plays along to the storyline as she could easily have had someone else acting out the story. I also like how she used his and her possessions as an indication of what was happening to them emotionally.
3. Do you think the video fits the song well and why?
Person 1- The song is upbeat and quite fast which isn't what you expect a typical break-up song to be like. But there are some quick cuts and camera angles that keep up with the beat of the music and also the way the artist moves keeps in time with the music so I think they go together well.
Person 2- I think they fit well as the video helps you to understand the song more fully because she used creativity to make it clearer.
Person 3- I think the video represents her and her music very well as it's colourful and fun and she is in it a lot.
Person 4- They do fit together well as the storyline directly links to what the song is supposed to be about through the story of the video.
Person 5- The song is about trying to hold on to a relationship because you've drifted apart and the music video makes that clear with the storyline and the way she's represented their relationship in object form as well. So I think they go together very well.
4. What could be improved?
Person 1- I think that you could see more of the relationship between her and the guy and for her to show more emotion in her face, although it's supposed to be light-hearted I think if she showed more emotion it would help the story be more believable.
Person 2- I think there were bits that were clearly less creative than others and were maybe to just fill time so I think there could be more continuity.
Person 3- There's good use of colours, maybe they could relate to something?
Person 4- The guy in the video doesn't seem to be featured much or playing his part very well, he should be more in character.
Person 5- There's a shot where she opens the fridge and is singing along but then she's half in the screen and it seems like the framing of the shot was off.
5. Do you think the digi-pack and the music video go well together?
Person 1- I think that the album cover represents her as an artist. The cover of the album is a house which could be linked to the song Foundations.
Person 2- The album features bright colours just like in the video so the do go well together.
Person 3- Overall the album cover summarises her but doesn't really link to her video.
Person 4- The digi-pack does go with the video as she looks similar in the picture to how she does in the video and she uses bright colours as well.
Person 5- I don't think there's a great amount of linkage between the two but they do go together as they both represent her as an artist.
RMA Magazine Advert -Friendly Fires
Underneath the picture are tour dates for September and October, this allows them to make not only CD sales but also sales for their upcoming tour. At the very bottom of the ad in a much smaller font are the websites for the recording company that the band are signed to and for the band itself. This can increase the bands popularity and increase more sales of not only their album but concerts and merchandise.
Focus Group Questions
1. What did you think of the music video overall?
2. What do you think of the concept and narrative used?
3. Do you think the video fits the song well and why?
4. What could be improved?
5. Do you think the digi-pack and the music video go well together?
RMA Noah and the Whale – Tonight’s the kind of night (key notes)
- Narrative based video- boy leaving town/ everything could change
- Visuals match lyrics “There’s a boy with his head pressed up to the window of the bus headed out of town” while showing visuals of a boy on a bus looking out of the window
- Superimpose clips of members of the band playing the guitar over a clip of the road the boys travelling down- as if they’re narrating the story
- Shows other passengers and the road they’re travelling down on the bus giving a sense of location- good understanding of the story
- Shows clips of the band performing together to incorporate them into the video
- Boy is left by his bus at a petrol station and things aren’t going well for him, but he meets a girl there and things look up for him- overall storyline fits the main lyrics “tonight’s the kind of night where everything could change”
- Used to promote the band as a light-hearted group
RMA Magazine advert- The Dresden Dolls (No, Virginia)
In the bottom left and right hand corners there’s a picture of each one of the duo, set in the same place and matches the album cover nicely, as the album cover doesn’t feature the duo, this allows the consumer to see the artists so they get more of an understanding of the duo. In between the two pictures it says “In Stores Now” letting consumers know the album is available right now and they don’t need to wait for it to be released. At the bottom of the advert in very small print the website for the band and the website for the record company are shown. This further promotes the band as a brand and also allows people to go onto the record company’s website to look at other artists and promoting their company.
Sunday, 18 September 2011
RMA Owlcity- Fireflies (Key points)
- Concept based video- as he plays the keyboard and sings, toys and electronics come to life
- Visuals match lyrics- words come up on the screen of a toy
- Promotes him as an individual artist as his video is unique
- His music controls the objects coming to life and creating light etc
- Quick jump cuts used to show the speed at which everything is coming to life
RMA Ed Sheeran- The A-Team
Ed Sheeran’s first music video for his single ‘The A-Team’ is a narrative based video, with a story line about a girl who prostitutes for money so she can buy drugs, and sleeps on the street. This is quite a controversial video and Ed only features in his video once when he gives money to the girl on the street. This video is used as a promotional tool to show Ed as an artist who cares about his music and it’s message, opposed to him trying to promote his celebrity through his music video. This helps him stay relatable to his audience as he stays an ordinary person to his audience. The video has clips of a similar length, which are reasonably long so that they give a good sense of surrounding- showing the streets and the bench she wakes up on, further allowing the audience to follow the story of the video. Blur transitions are used in between clips so that one blurs out and the other comes into focus, possibly linking to blurry vision from alcohol or drugs. There are a few times that the visuals match the lyrics, for example the lyrics say “she doesn’t want to go outside tonight” as the visuals show her putting on her make-up as she gets ready to go out prostituting. Another when the lyrics say “her face seems slowly, sinking, wasting. Crumbling like pastry” as the visuals show her beginning to break down and cry. However the video doesn’t often show visuals to directly match the lyrics, as the the visuals throughout the video allow an understanding of the song through the story they tell.
The video is in black and white throughout, showing a symbolism of the darkness the girl feels and the severity of the situation she’s in and it seems to translate that feeling across to the audience. The video is set mostly on the street, with the girl in tattered and broken clothes, wrapped in a blanket. This shows a basic use of mise-en-scene yet is very effective as it makes it so much more realistic. I will look into using a good sense of location in my music video as I thought it was very effective in this video and allowed a good narrative.
Saturday, 17 September 2011
Dolby
Friday, 16 September 2011
Questionnaire analysis
I mostly asked 16-19 year olds as they seem to be more interested in music, however I did try to get a range of ages.
I tried to get an even split of gender to make it fair, however I ended up having slightly more male participants than female, although I don't think this greatly effects my results.
Most people watch music videos every other day, and some everyday, this means music videos are frequently watched through different medias. Nobody answered that they never watch music videos, showing that everyone is exposed to them.
6. What's your favourite music video and why?
Questionnaire analysis
Most people prefer to watch the music video of a band opposed to a solo artist. Possibly showing that they like to have more to watch or perhaps the video seems to fit together more neatly.
Most people enjoy the artist to be on the advert for their CD and for it to be creative and artistic, including colours. However people didn't seem to be interested in the font or the setting of the pictures.
13. Why does this attract you?
It's agreed among most of the people who answered my questionnaire that it's important for the advert to be eye catching, this may be through the artistc approach to the ad, and has to be individual and stand out for them to feel they should buy it.
14. What else do you like to see in an advert for an alternative artist?
People answered that they liked to see a picture of the artist on the ad, which has a relevance to the CD and liked it to be artistic, another option was that people like to be inticed to buy the CD so liked things like competitions or free posters inside the CD.
Most people like to see a photo of the artist on the cover of a CD, others seemed to like the band/ artist logo to be on the front of the CD. Both of these favourites seem to show that audience like an artist to brand themselves and for a continuity from their music videos through to their CD covers.
When I asked 30 people if they liked the track list to be on the back of a CD 29 people answered yes and 1 person answered no. When asked why, majority of people liked the track listing as it's practical and also lets them know what they're getting on the CD, whereas one person said that they never looked at the tracks until they were uploaded onto their computer and therefore it was useless. However track listings have proven extremely popular.
Majority of people like to see exclusive pictures of the artist inside a CD insert and tour dates. One person said they liked to see new musicians that the artist is supporting inside the insert, which is rare and not commonly liked. Overall this shows that consumers like to have information on the celebrity, such as their website and upcoming tours, and to see exclusive pictures and info on the artist.
Thursday, 15 September 2011
Mrs D
RMA Ed Sheeran- The A Team (key points)
- Narrative based video, visuals match the lyrics throughout the video.
- Controversial issue about a girl addicted to drugs who prostitutes and sleeps on the street.
- Video in black and white, possibly to represent the darkness of the subject.
- Ed features in his video once, giving money to the girl as she sits on the street.
- The video represents Ed as someone who cares about the message of his music and promotes him as a musician instead of a celebrity, keeping him relatable to his audience.
- His first video so seems low budget.
- Set mostly on the street, costumes show tattered clothing etc.
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Questionnaire final draft
1. Age (Circle)
12-15 16-19 20-26 27-32 33+
2. Gender (Circle)
Male Female
3. How many times do you watch music videos a week? (Circle one)
Everyday Every other day Once or twice a week Never
4. What genre music videos do you enjoy most? (Circle one)
Indie RnB Drum and Bass Rock Hip-hop
Heavy metal Dance Dubstep Alternative Other…………
5. How do you watch music videos? (Circle one)
TV (which channels_____________________________)
Internet (which websites________________________)
Download (legal or illegal download?)
Phone (downloaded onto phone or use of internet sites?)
6. What’s your favourite music video and why?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
7. What makes you enjoy music videos? (E.g. relatable, artistic, insight into life of artist)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
8. What type of music video do you most enjoy watching? (Circle one)
Narrative (video has a storyline)
Performance (live performance video or staged performance)
Concept (arty with little/no reference to the song)
9. What don’t you like to see in a music video?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
10. What do you like to see most in a music video?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
11. Do you prefer to watch the music video of a solo artist or a band? (Circle one)
Solo Band
12. What attracts you most to an alternative artist/ band(s) magazine advert? (Circle one)
Colours Interesting picture of artist(s) Artistic design Font
Scene Story being told through pictures Other…………
13. Why does this attract you?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
14. What else do you like to see in an advert for an alternative artist?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
15. What attracts you most to the cover of an alternative CD? (Circle one)
Photo of the artist
Band/ Artist logo
Irrelevant image to single
Relevant image to the single
Bold colour scheme
Font
Other……………………………………………
16. Do you like to have the track list on the back of the CD and why?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
17. What else do you like to be included inside your CD insert? (Circle any that apply)
Song lyrics
Exclusive pictures of the artist
Tour dates
Artist website
Fan-mail address
Other…………..
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Mrs D
Questionnaire 2nd draft
Age (Circle)
12-15 16-19 20-26 27-32 33+
Gender (Circle)
Male Female
How many times do you watch music videos a week? (Circle)
Everyday Every other day Once or twice a week Never
What genre music videos do you enjoy most? (Circle one)
Indie RnB Drum and Bass Rock Hip-hop
Heavy metal Dance Dubstep Alternative Other…………
How do you watch music videos? (Circle)
TV (which channels_____________________________)
Internet (which websites________________________)
Download (legal or illegal download?)
Phone (downloaded onto phone or use of internet sites?)
What’s your favourite music video and why?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
What makes you enjoy music videos? (E.g. relatable, artistic, insight into life of artist)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
What type of music video do you most enjoy watching?
Narrative (video has a storyline)
Performance (live performance video or staged performance)
Concept (arty with little/no reference to the song)
What don’t you like to see in a music video?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
What do you like to see most in a music video?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Do you prefer to watch the music video of a solo artist or a band?
Solo Band
What attracts you most to an alternative artist/ band(s) magazine advert?
Colours Interesting picture of artist(s) Artistic design Font
Scene Story being told through pictures Other…………
Why does this attract you?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
What else do you like to see in an advert for an alternative artist?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
What attracts you most to the cover of an alternative CD? (Circle)
Photo of the artist
Band/ Artist logo
Irrelevant image to single
Relevant image to the single
Bold colour scheme
Font
Other……………………………………………
Do you like to have the track list on the back of the CD and why?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
What else do you like to be included in your CD cover?
Song lyrics
Exclusive pictures of the artist
Tour dates
Artist website
Fan-mail address
Other…………..
Mrs D
Monday, 12 September 2011
Questionnaire first draft
How many times do you watch music videos a week? (Circle)
Everyday Every other day Once or twice a week Never
What genre music videos do you enjoy most? (Circle one)
Indie RnB Drum and Bass Rock Hip-hop
Heavy metal Dance Dubstep Alternative Other…………
How do you watch music videos? (Circle)
TV (which channels_____________________________)
Internet (which websites________________________)
Download (legal or illegal download?)
Phone (downloaded onto phone or use of internet sites?)
What’s your favourite music video and why?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
What makes you enjoy music videos? (E.g. relatable, artistic, insight into life of artist)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
What type of music video do you most enjoy watching?
Narrative (video has a storyline)
Performance (live performance video or staged performance)
Concept (arty with little/no reference to the song)
What don’t you like to see in a music video?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
What do you like to see most in a music video?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Do you prefer to watch the music video of a solo artist or a band? (Circle)
Solo Band
What attracts you most to an artist/ band poster?
Colours Interesting picture of artist(s) Artistic design Font
Scene Story being told through pictures Other…………
















