We are now beginning the practical side of producing our main music promo video. Over the weekend and the following week, we are as a group going to begin searching for ideal locations to suit the song that we have chosen. When we find the suitable places we will take a list of there location and take pictures, this should make our filming much more effective when it comes to it when we are ready.
We will keep accurate list of the locations with pictures and an explanation of why we have chosen the particular shot (why it is suitable for the shot we need). If neccessary we will change the shot location to our needs after the draft has been completed.
by planning our shot locations we should make the proccess of filming alot more effective and less-time consuming. We have learnt from last year in the way that we had to return to places to re-film and find some shot locations as we went along. The method that we used last time was poorley planned, therefore used a lot of valuable time in which we could of used more effectively to complete our blog or other relevant work to a higher standard.
Friday, 30 September 2011
Rules on Copyright for music promo videos
All music is protected by copyright if it is being used for practical purposes. We are therefore going to be using music that is protected by copyright law. To apply with the rules and regulations which have wrote a letter to the record label, asking for there permission to use the music in the music promo video we will be producing.
Copyright is used to protect the artist, producers and record label, it assures legally that they recieve the money that they are owed when people use there music.
All music which is used in media not by the original record label has the rights to recieve royalties. Royalties is an amount of money that is given to the producers and record label to use the rights of the song. When the music is used e.g. Radio, background non-digetic sound in films, adverts etc. they will recieve money from the relevant sources that use them.
We will however not have to pay royalties we will not use the music in a way in which we will promote or recieve any profit (purely for Educational purposes)
Copyright is used to protect the artist, producers and record label, it assures legally that they recieve the money that they are owed when people use there music.
All music which is used in media not by the original record label has the rights to recieve royalties. Royalties is an amount of money that is given to the producers and record label to use the rights of the song. When the music is used e.g. Radio, background non-digetic sound in films, adverts etc. they will recieve money from the relevant sources that use them.
We will however not have to pay royalties we will not use the music in a way in which we will promote or recieve any profit (purely for Educational purposes)
Friday, 23 September 2011
Codes and Convention - Website
Layout and design
- Websites (in order to not create ambiguity) have to be clear, logical and easy to navigate.
- There are many several conventional types of layout and design, they often emulate some form of old media.
- Grid system- Used to seperate certain sections of websites to present information in small, easy to access segments.
- Centre of page- Main content.
- Left hand side- Navigation tools + links.
- Right hand side- More detailed links.
- Background and font colour is often used to seperate different types of information.
- Images are included to add visual interest and stop the information from becoming boring.
- Many sites include audio/moving image content while also incorporating some type of audience interaction.
- Links can be associated with genres/subjects linked with the websites subject.
- Websites which contain factual information will look different to those created for entertainment.
- Information will always be linked with the subject.
- Specific genres have specific colours and pictures to subliminally allow the viewer to gauge the genre of the website on visuals alone.
Analysis into Similar Website
Here is the kings of Leon Official website, the background colour, Text Font, Pictures and text colour are all consistent throughtout the website and CD cover (Digipak). This common convention is used throughout many Digipaks, CD covers and music promo videos. You can see underneath that the consumer would be easily able to sub-consiously link the products together form the many similarities. This is a clever marketing ploy used by many record companies. The main title is easy to see quickly and draws your attention immiediatly, the white text on the background stands out well to the viewer. Websites stick to common conventions in the way that they are clear and easy to navigate to get to the information efficiently. we will try to adapt and use this convention when creating this our Website product.
On the website there is a central scroll where you can see further information but against common conventions it does not contain any interactive activities for viewers, videos, audio or any marketing for any products other than merchandise internal link and the up-coming tour dates. Hardly any onventions have been adered to which makes the website more unique. We will however try to stick more closely to the conventions of more common websites.
The CD Covers and Digipak are clearly linked closely and the audience would easily notice this.
The Digipak front cover is well layed out and very simple, it is easy to identify the bands name and the name of the album as they are the only form of text on the front page.
The title of the album is relevant to the picture on the cover, this could help the viewer to recognize the album on a shelf through the thoguth they have ibn there head due to the Album name.
The common aspects of a reverse digipak are found on this example. You can clearly see the track list, the record label, the bar code and a further picture that is similar in many ways to the front image of the digipak.We will include slightly more information that shown in these 2 example so we can stick to the conventions easier. We will however use some aspects from this successful Digipak when creating our product.The Website features a design with a picture centered that is the same as the image on the album cover.
The website also has the same Font choice and colour. The similarities between the two show to the audience that they are from the same producers/band without them having to read in depth. The colours, font and images make a clear link to the audience sub-consiously.
The Website for 'The Kooks' fits with the conventions of a modern bands website. It has images related to the song and the album. The website also features links to different archives within the website such as: Gallery, Live, Store, Home etc. This is a common convention with many websites for bands as they try to include extra information for fans and as a way of making money they have hyperlinks to sub pages where they can sell merchandise. This website sticks to all the main conventions of this type of production for an indie band and using the space effectively for advertising upcoming events and information for fans. when producing our website we will try to adapt our product to fit in with the codes and conventions of a popular similar product such as the above. however we are planning on challenging some codes and conventions to make out product stand out from the crowd and hopefully become unique. Thursday, 22 September 2011
Further Research and analysis into similar products
This video has been made in a similar style in which we are thinking of using in our promo video. It has a vague storyline that has many interpretation, but has an undoubtable link with the lyrics of the song.
Camera Shots
A range of shots have been used in the creation of this music promo video, including many of the well recognized conventional shots, which are used in most promo videos. the opening shot is a smooth horizontal panning shot, which allows the viewers to see the singer after a short introduction of the music has began. Tracking has been used to follow the character, keeping him the center of attention ashe travels up the escalator.
Close to the end of the promo video there is an establishing shot that shows the main character throughout in the for front of the shot. This goes against common conventions as most promo videos stick to the general conventions of any film (the establishing shot is at the start). Changing the common conventions is more risky from a likability point of view, however it makes the video more unique; this may help the viewer recolect the video easier.
Camera Angles
They have used some more un-usaual camera angles within this promo video for example the shot on 0.40s which is a crane shot which zooms out from a close up to a mid-close up vertically. These kind of more un-usual shots make the promo video more interesting and destinctive. We are planning on using some more destictive and un-fimiliar camera angles in out production to test our abilities and make our product stand out from similar vidoes.
Mise en Scene
Many of the lyrics to the song are directly related to the props in the shots, this creates a strong link between the audio and visual. Clearly a large amount of thought and planning has been contributed into the props and scene locations, i believe we should stick to this convention closely as the small details make hige contributions to the final piece.
They have used strong continuity throughout, following closely to common conventions it portrays to the audience that the main character is following the storyline and is continuous on the same day. We will use continuity when neccessary to show time references to the consumer.
Editing
The editing has been made to match the visual shots with the overlapping tempo of the music. This is in my opinion the main convention of a music promo video. When creating our promo video we will make sure that we include this common convention. Most of the editing has been completed using straight cuts but has cleverly been made to look smooth and slow matching the songs mood closely.
Camera Shots
A range of shots have been used in the creation of this music promo video, including many of the well recognized conventional shots, which are used in most promo videos. the opening shot is a smooth horizontal panning shot, which allows the viewers to see the singer after a short introduction of the music has began. Tracking has been used to follow the character, keeping him the center of attention ashe travels up the escalator.
Close to the end of the promo video there is an establishing shot that shows the main character throughout in the for front of the shot. This goes against common conventions as most promo videos stick to the general conventions of any film (the establishing shot is at the start). Changing the common conventions is more risky from a likability point of view, however it makes the video more unique; this may help the viewer recolect the video easier.
Camera Angles
They have used some more un-usaual camera angles within this promo video for example the shot on 0.40s which is a crane shot which zooms out from a close up to a mid-close up vertically. These kind of more un-usual shots make the promo video more interesting and destinctive. We are planning on using some more destictive and un-fimiliar camera angles in out production to test our abilities and make our product stand out from similar vidoes.
Mise en Scene
Many of the lyrics to the song are directly related to the props in the shots, this creates a strong link between the audio and visual. Clearly a large amount of thought and planning has been contributed into the props and scene locations, i believe we should stick to this convention closely as the small details make hige contributions to the final piece.
They have used strong continuity throughout, following closely to common conventions it portrays to the audience that the main character is following the storyline and is continuous on the same day. We will use continuity when neccessary to show time references to the consumer.
Editing
The editing has been made to match the visual shots with the overlapping tempo of the music. This is in my opinion the main convention of a music promo video. When creating our promo video we will make sure that we include this common convention. Most of the editing has been completed using straight cuts but has cleverly been made to look smooth and slow matching the songs mood closely.
Theory (British Film)
Scriptwriter – John Hodge
Directors - Danny Boyle
Producing – Andrew McDonald
Actors:
Setting – Set in Edinburgh, almost all of the film was filmed in Glasgow
Date Made – February 1994
Released - 23 February 1996
Distributed by - PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Budget - $3,500,000
Sunday, 18 September 2011
Main Pitch and feedback
We have announced to the class that we have selected Neon Trees - Your Surrender as the song of choice for our media product (Promo video). As a group we are all happy with the song choice.
We also pitched the main ideas we have for the filming and content of the promo video to our peers and teacher and welcomed all criticism both positive and negative.
On the whole we was pleased with the comments of the class and feel very optimistic and excited about the production.
The class responded well in particular to the storyline that matched the lyrics of the song with many strong links and references throughout.
Our teacher Mr Devita was pleasently suprised with the level of detail and depth of research and planning had helped us to create the ideas we pitched. He commented on:
We were happy with the feedback and will take into consideration what was said by our audience.
We also pitched the main ideas we have for the filming and content of the promo video to our peers and teacher and welcomed all criticism both positive and negative.
On the whole we was pleased with the comments of the class and feel very optimistic and excited about the production.
The class responded well in particular to the storyline that matched the lyrics of the song with many strong links and references throughout.
Our teacher Mr Devita was pleasently suprised with the level of detail and depth of research and planning had helped us to create the ideas we pitched. He commented on:
- The time frame we allowed (he thought it was to small unless the planning was in depth and a good risk assesment had been completed
- Some of the shots we suggested involved using equiptment we didnt have at the time so he thought we should have the equiptment ready before planning complex shots
- He also commented on the length of the shots we had suggested and thought we should include more scenes to keep the audience interested throughout
- The main criticism we recieved was that we planned to shoot the shots in conditions that were bright and sunny, he suggested that the weather could change and continuity could be comprimised
- On the whole he commented saying that the ideas were good and complex
We were happy with the feedback and will take into consideration what was said by our audience.
Saturday, 17 September 2011
Friday, 16 September 2011
The permission letter we have prepared
I have sent this email to 'Lauren Schneider' as she is directly linked to Neon trees and their websites at the moment is completely dead.
Thank you for your consideration on this matter,
To Whom It May Concern,
We are writing to you regarding the permission to use the song 'Your Surrender' by Neon Trees for our school media video. The course specification consists of creating our own music video, and we decided that we would like to use 'Your Surrender'.
Please could you let us know if you have any problems with us going forward with this, no doubt you are very busy and don't have time to reply to every email, so we will assume that it is okay if you do not reply. If there are any problems whatsoever please let us know and we will not use your song for our video.
Thank you for your consideration on this matter,
Yours sincerely,Isaac Warburton, Joe Wright and Luke Pitchford A2 Media student from Ken Stimpson Community School
Thursday, 15 September 2011
Further Analysing of Similar media products
This video sticks to many main conventions of a music promo video for example the shots straight cut to other shots always keeping in time with the songs tempoT the shots flow smoothly, but jump between different locations always returning to previous shot location to carry on the scene.
Camera Shots
Many Camera angles are used in this promo video to make the shots more interesting to the audience. Some less used, more un-common camera shots have been used like the wide angle convex shot 12 seconds into the promo video above, this gives the video something different and therefore more interesting for the audience.
A mix of long, Mid and close shots have been used frequently throughout the product. they have used the close up mainly on the lead singer as he will be the most recognized member of the band if common convention stays true.
Camera Angles
Many conventional camera angles have been used frequently throughout.
Vertical Panning 0.36s this shot slowly reveals the scene and creates a small amount of suspense to the audience.
Looking down on the people showing they are powerless 0.39s flows well and portrays power to the group fitting many common conventions of any media product.
Tracking 1.52s, this keeps focused on the central recognized lead singer for the audience and flows with him through the scene.
Many counts of using a steadycam were used this was used in production to make the shots more interesting and faster to keep strictly to the tempo.
Mise en Scene
Mise en Scene is used well in this example of a music video, a great amount of detail has gone into the set, clothing and props of each scene. The clothing is relevant as the song is upbeat therefore there clothes are colourful and portrays happiness within the characters. The masks in the latter stages of the video shows the actors wearing animal masks which is also relevant as the title of the song is animals. Most productions stick to these conventions as it makes the music connect easier with the visual shots, bringing the two things together more naturally and fluently.
Editing
Some more complex editing was used in this promo video, the screen got split unequally into 3 sections at 1.32s this is not commonly found in promo videos and makes it stand out from the crowd more making it more interesting for viewing. the Editing cuts are straight cuts that fit in well with the tempo of the song which is a huge convention of a media product (promo videos).
A fast fade to black is used to end the last shot, this also fits in well with the tempo at the end of the last shot as the music fades out also.
Match on action has been used regualry in the film to help the fluency of the shots making the storyline easier to follow and again sticking closely to common conventions.
Camera Shots
Many Camera angles are used in this promo video to make the shots more interesting to the audience. Some less used, more un-common camera shots have been used like the wide angle convex shot 12 seconds into the promo video above, this gives the video something different and therefore more interesting for the audience.
A mix of long, Mid and close shots have been used frequently throughout the product. they have used the close up mainly on the lead singer as he will be the most recognized member of the band if common convention stays true.
Camera Angles
Many conventional camera angles have been used frequently throughout.
Vertical Panning 0.36s this shot slowly reveals the scene and creates a small amount of suspense to the audience.
Looking down on the people showing they are powerless 0.39s flows well and portrays power to the group fitting many common conventions of any media product.
Tracking 1.52s, this keeps focused on the central recognized lead singer for the audience and flows with him through the scene.
Many counts of using a steadycam were used this was used in production to make the shots more interesting and faster to keep strictly to the tempo.
Mise en Scene
Mise en Scene is used well in this example of a music video, a great amount of detail has gone into the set, clothing and props of each scene. The clothing is relevant as the song is upbeat therefore there clothes are colourful and portrays happiness within the characters. The masks in the latter stages of the video shows the actors wearing animal masks which is also relevant as the title of the song is animals. Most productions stick to these conventions as it makes the music connect easier with the visual shots, bringing the two things together more naturally and fluently.
Editing
Some more complex editing was used in this promo video, the screen got split unequally into 3 sections at 1.32s this is not commonly found in promo videos and makes it stand out from the crowd more making it more interesting for viewing. the Editing cuts are straight cuts that fit in well with the tempo of the song which is a huge convention of a media product (promo videos).
A fast fade to black is used to end the last shot, this also fits in well with the tempo at the end of the last shot as the music fades out also.
Match on action has been used regualry in the film to help the fluency of the shots making the storyline easier to follow and again sticking closely to common conventions.
Final choice for main product
I have met with the group on many occasions throughout the summer holidays. Unfortunatley I forgot my password for my blog, therefore i have not been able to post any updates until I returned to school.
When we met to brainstorm ideas for our final piece we eventually found a band that matched the style that most suited our filming qualities. We came to the decision through each going seperate ways to independantley research bands that we thought would be most suited for us. We all pitched our ideas to each other and collectively decided on the band and song that we wanted to produce our media product for.
Our decison was: Neon Trees - Your Surrender

Now that we have decided on the song and band choice we have more focus within the group, we now have more direction for our research into similar products and believe our research will be far more relevant as a result.
Neon Trees Website:
http://www.fameisdead.com/invasion/
When we met to brainstorm ideas for our final piece we eventually found a band that matched the style that most suited our filming qualities. We came to the decision through each going seperate ways to independantley research bands that we thought would be most suited for us. We all pitched our ideas to each other and collectively decided on the band and song that we wanted to produce our media product for.
Our decison was: Neon Trees - Your Surrender
Now that we have decided on the song and band choice we have more focus within the group, we now have more direction for our research into similar products and believe our research will be far more relevant as a result.
Neon Trees Website:
http://www.fameisdead.com/invasion/
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