Locations for Digipak and Magazine Advert...

As it is part of their planning for the photo shoot for the digipak, Arfa and Leon came up with and took pictures of various locations around and nearby school that struck them as being conventional to the indie genre and pleasing on the eye. As group we decided that choosing a location near school would be the best option for the photo shoot, as it would be easy for our band members to get there, so instead of spending time travelling to a location that was far away we could spend our time actually taking the photographs in order to get the best possible image.

After looking around the school, Arfa came up with two locations that she thought were quite indie and that she could envisage being on any of the panels of the digipak and the magazine advertisement.

Location #1:

This location was chosen by Arfa because of the metal railings along the side, as many bands, such as The Kooks, have taken photographs near or beside metal railings, so it has become kind of conventional to the Indie genre to take pictures in ‘urban’ areas. However, as a group we felt that the block of flats, cars and bicycles were distracting and took away from the full effect of the metal railings, so ultimately we decided against this location.

The Kooks walking by a metal railing

Location #2:

Arfa liked this location because of the log in the centre of the image, as she thought that a photograph of the band members sitting on the log playing their instruments would be quite indie based upon her research. However, as this location was on school grounds it would be difficult to make it our location for our photo shoot because there would be lots of children around playing at lunch, before school and sometimes after school. Furthermore, when evaluating all of the locations chosen as a group we thought that the writing on the fence would be distracting and we wanted the band to be the main focus of all of the photographs that we took, so in the end we ruled this location out because of the aforementioned reasons.

Leon, on the other hand, went to take photographs of locations from outside of our school. He went to the park and took some photographs locations within the park that he felt were conventional to the Indie genre.

Location #3:

These photographs were taken in different areas in the park. As a group we decided that, based upon these photographs, it would be a good idea to make this park our location for the photo shoot. This was largely because we felt that these locations highlighted the fact that our band was cool, fun and quirkly, as well as showing that they enjoy hanging out together. By going with the theme 'a day out in the park' it meant that we could invite our target audience into the world of the band, and the sorts of things that they do together when they aren't making music.

When conducting my research into Indie digipaks/album covers I found that some album covers, like The Kook's album artwork for 'Inside In Inside Out' deliberately invite their potential target audience the world of the band, because they took the image of the band from the drummer's perspective. This, then, gave their album a much more personal undertone, which would be appealing to their target audience. Therefore, the theme of our photo shoot and the location would, we believe, be conventional to the Indie genre and appealing to our potential target audience.

Costume for Photo Shoot...

In order to create a link between the music video, the magazine advert and the digipak we decided to create a colour motif between all three products - the colours that we chose were blue, black, grey and white. Thus, we asked the actors that we were using to play our band to wear these four colours for the photo shoot and wear clothing that was similar, but not the same, as what they wore when we were filming the music video.

Unlike if we were producing a music video for a real record label or band, we do not have a budget and we could therefore not afford to buy costumes for all of our actors. So instead Arfa sent out a mass email, via Facebook, in order to give our actors some idea of the clothes that we wanted them to wear:

However, some of our actors were a bit unsure of what she meant so she then clarified our costume choices further:

Below is a mood board, that I created, of the kind of look we were going for:

This conventional Indie type of clothing would be very appealing to our target audience, as it is reminiscent of the types of clothes that they would wear, or that their friends would wear. Moreover, it shows that our band, like our target audience, are just ordinary people that are fashion conscious and are proud to show that they are part of the Indie fashion subculture. It also creates a positive band image that would be attractive to our target audience, as the clothing above has connotations of fun, cool, effortless style and therefore, highlights that they are not a manufactured band that have been put together and over styled.

However, we understood that due to the cold weather conditions it would be unlikely that we would be able to get many shots of the band without their coats on, as it was simply too cold outside. So instead, we decided that we would take most of the photographs with their jackets/coats on and then ask them to take off their coats for about five minutes to try and get some shots of them wearing their v-neck tops etc.

Finished Music Video...

Anthony and I finished editing the music video and uploaded it onto YouTube. The final version is embedded below:

Feedback from YouTube:

Feedback from Facebook:

Analysis of Feedback:

Overall, the feedback that my group and I have received from, the social networking website, Facebook has been immensely positive, as we have consistently been given at least 8/10 for our music video. By using Facebook as a way to get feedback it was easy to make sure that we were getting feedback from the right audience demographic, as we could check to see if the people that were giving us feedback we of the right age group etc. However, as all of the people that my group and I have on our individual Facebook pages are people that we know and are friends with some of the feedback that we received could be classed as bias. This is why we also uploaded our music video onto YouTube, as via YouTube we could reach a world wide audience and get feedback from people that we don't know and that would, hopefully, not be classed as biased.

In terms of the actual feedback that we received I think that my group and I achieved what we wanted to. Quite a few people commented that it looked 'professional', both class members and people that gave us feedback online, which is ultimately, what we wanted to achieve, as it suggests that we followed the codes and conventions successfully enough for people to think that our A2 production looked like a 'professional' music video. This is also reinforced by the fact that all of the people that we asked successfully identified that it was indeed an Indie music video.

One person commented on the fact the shot at the end of Anthony picking up the scarf was a bit confusing, but despite this they successfully assumed that it was the lead singer. When Anthony and I were editing we were a bit unsure about the clarity of who it was that picked up the scarf and gave it to her but we wanted to create an enigma so that our target audience would have a reason to watch our video again and again.

We got a mixture of feedback about the editing, some people liked the lingering shots more the fast past cutting rhythm towards the end of the video, whereas others preferred the fast cutting pace more than the slow cuts at the beginning. However, most people identified the fact that the cutting rhythm had to speed up towards the end because of the change in dynamics as the song speeds up in tempo. This change in cutting rhythm as the song progresses was something that Anthony and I were keen to achieve because when conducting our research into existing Indie music videos we found that many other videos did the same, and it was also a technique that matched the dynamics of our song.

Construction...

After editing roughly a third of our music video we decided to upload what we had onto Youtube and Facebook so that we could get feedback on it and change bits according to what the feedback suggests. What we have so far is embedded below:

Here is the feedback that I received from Facebook:

Feedback from YouTube:

Feedback Analysis:

So far the feedback that we have received has been really positive so I think that we are definitely heading along the right lines for our music video. Everybody that we have shown it to in our media class has liked it too, so my group and I are quite pleased. The feedback also shows that it is quite clear that our audience are able to ascertain what the narrative is about, even after such a short clip of our video, for example, Louis noticed that the male was abusive. Also Scarlett's comment about making the lighting darker for the narrative has also been quite useful and is something that we are going to try to do because dark lighting has negative connotations and these negative connotations would be quite fitting for our domestic abuse narrative. Moreover, her feelings about the lead singer also suggest that we were right to use Anthony as our lead singer because he fits into the stereotypical Indie image and he has made our video popular amongst females (a large group of our potential target audience).

Work in Progress...

Here are some Photographs of my group and I doing work:

(In order to see the title of the picture scroll over the image)

Filming Report - Day Two...

Today, we filmed the narrative element of our music video at my house. We ended up filming for about half an hour extra than we had planned in order to shot from as many different angles as possible. However, we filmed all of the shots that we wanted so hopefully when editing we will have lots of different shots to chose from.

The photographs that we took whilst filming are embedded below (however, a lot of the photos that were taken came out blurry so this is only a small selection of the photographs that were taken):

(slideshow created by me (Hannah))

Filming Report - Day One...

Today we filmed the performance part of our music video on the roof of college house in our school. Initially, it was quite stressful as there were many unforeseen circumstances that took place but we were ultimately able to overcome all of the obstacles.

Throughout the time we were filming our photographer, Leon, took many pictures of what was happening on set. A collage of all the pictures are embedded below:

(scroll over images to enlarge)

The problems and how they were solved:

- The iPod speakers that we had planned on using to amplify the music so that our actors could keep in time with the music didn't work. However, we were able to use the IT technicians stereo to play the music loud enough for our band members to hear.

- We were missing a guitar strap for the bass guitar, as our school's music department unfortunately did not have one. James, our drummer, knew a guitar player that lived locally and was able to meet us at the park near school to lend us his guitar strap.

- Instead of having two cameras like we were expecting we were only able to use one HD camera as there were problems with the battery on the other camera. In order to rectify this we had to film for longer to make sure that we had all of our shots, so in the end we didn't finish filming until almost 6pm.

- The school did not have access to any working tripods. Therefore, we ended up having you use a broken tripod so some of our shots ended up quite shaky.

The potential problem...

As our music video is on a rooftop we have to dissemble and transport the drum kit from the music room in our school to the rooftop that we are using. The door that leads onto the roof is relatively small and we were worried that the largest drum, that makes up part of the drum kit, wouldn't fit through the door so we decided to measure it to make sure that it would fit OK. The pictures of our group members measuring both the drum and the door are embedded below:

(photos taken by Arfa and Leon)

Fortunately, we discovered that the door was large enough to fit the drum through it.

Equipment needed...

As equipment manager Leon came up with a list of all the equipment and props that we would need whilst filming.

PROP LIST FOR NARRATIVE:
- GUITAR/CASE
- MOBILE PHONE
- RUCKSACK/HOLDALL BAG
- PHOTO OF THE COUPLE ENJOYING THE GOOD TIMES THEY SHARED

EQUIPMENT LIST:

- Tripod
- Two digital cameras
- Two video cameras
- School digital camera
- Mobile Phone
- IPod Speakers (to play the song in the background)
- Possible sheet for lyrics (during shooting)
- Guitars x3
- Drum kit
- Bass
- Mic-stand
- Microphone

COSTUME LIST:

PERFORMANCE:
• COLOUR SCHEME OF THE BAND: BLUE, GREY, AND WHITE
• BLUE JEANS
• T-SHIRT
• JUMPER (OPTIONAL)
• TRAINERS

NARRATIVE:
FEMALE:
• WINTER SCARF (BLUE OR TORQOISE)
• BLACK T-SHIRT
• BLACK JEANS
• BEENIE HAT
• PLAID SHIRT
• MAKE-UP (BLACK MASCARA RUNNING DOWN THE CHEEKS OF THE GIRLFRIEND)

MALE:
• JEANS
• RELATIVELY TIGHT T-SHIRT
• TRAINERS

Practice Lip Sync

In preparation for the filming and editing of our coursework we decided to film and edit the first part of the song to practice making the music match up the miming.

Filmed by Leon Thomas

Actor: Anthony Panayi

Edited by Hannah Ram

Actors With Justification...

Actors

NARRATIVE

Umair Fayyaz

Most films and TV dramas present the antagonist as being physically bigger than the victim and as Umair is quite muscular and taller than our female actress, Veena, our target audience will automatically assume that he is the aggressive and dominate member of their relationship - this will idea will be backed up through the use of camera shots during our music video, for example, low angle shots to show his dominance. Also as he doesn't necessarily fit the stereotypical image of a member of our target audience we will not be alienating or offending our target audience by presenting them in a negative light.

Veena Vasan

Veena was chosen to be one of the main actor for the narrative element of our music video as like the other actors within our music video she is part of our target audience age group so our audience will be able to relate to her. She also fits into the conventional image of an Indie girl as she has long hair with a side fringe, which is a haircut that many girls that listen to Indie music have. Also she has quite expressive eyes which means that she will be able to effectively convey the pain and the emotion that someone in her situation (domestic abuse) would feel.

PERFORMERS

Anthony Panayi - Lead Singer

We chose Anthony to be our lead singer because he fits the convention of a typical Indie band member as he has the stereotypical Indie haircut and will appeal to our target audience because he is of their age group so they will therefore, be able to relate to him (as highlighted by my music video research). Also he can play the guitar which will make our music video look more authentic as he will be able to play along to the music convincingly. Furthermore, as he is a member of our group we know that we can rely on him to be there whilst we are filming.

James Mudie - Drummer

James was chosen to be the drummer of our band as he can play the drums therefore, it will look more realistic as he will be able to play along with the beat effectively, which will make our music video look more genuine. Also like Anthony, he will appeal to our target audience because they can relate to his age, as they will be of a similar age group themselves.

Erick Hinds Mingo - Guitarist

Like all the other members in our band, one of the reasons that Erick was chosen was because he could actually play the guitar and we wanted our music video to look as authentic as possible. Furthermore, his age means that our target audience will automatically be able to relate to him, which will be reinforced by the 'Indie' clothes he will being wearing when filming our music video.

Laurence Ede - Bass Guitar

Laurence, like Anthony, also has a conventional male Indie haircut (medium length hair which a sweeping side fringe). His haircut will allow our target audience to automatically indentify him as a member of the Indie subculture and will therefore, have some natural affinity to him because they will be able to relate to him. Moreover, he is able to play the guitar and bass guitar, so our music video will hopefully look more realistic and professional.

Animatic Storyboard...

To help us with the filming and editing of our music video we created an animatic storyboard to help us visualize the types of shots we wanted in the video. The animatic storyboard is embedded below:

Drawn by Arfa

Filmed by Anthony

Edited by Hannah

Before filming the animatic storyboard it had to of course be drawn. Below is a picture of Arfa colouring and drawing the storyboard as evidence of her work:

Picture of Arfa colouring in the storyboard taken by Leon

Picture of the completed storyboard taken by me (Hannah)

Filming Schedule...

Friday 22nd October 2010
Time: 2:05-4:35pm
What is being filmed: Film performance element of music video on rooftop

Location: College House roof

Tuesday 26th October 2010
Time: 11:30-3:00pm
What is being filmed: Film all of the narrative elements of our music video

Location: My house (Hannah's house)

Treatment for Music Video..

Treatment Dykeenies

View more documents from hlr1993.

Written by Hannah Ram and Anthony Panayi

Timetable of free lessons...

In order to work out when we can film our music video Arfa, the organiser, came up with a timetable which shows when each member of the group has a free:

Timetable

View more presentations from arfa4739.

Script/Shot List for Music Video...

Dykeenies Script/Shot List

View more presentations from hlr1993.

Written by me (Hannah)

Pictures of locations with justification...

Performance Location:

For the performance element of our music video we decided that we wanted to film it on a roof, as it creates the impression that our band is cool, quirky and rebellious. Also performing on a rooftop has arguably become an Indie convention as iconic bands such as The Beatles and U2 have famously performed on rooftops. When conducting my research into Indie music videos I found that relatively new bands such as One Night Only have tried to emulate a rooftop performance in order to associate themselves with the iconic bands of the genre to create the image that they are authentic musicians like The Beatles and U2. Moreover, according to the official myspace page for The Dykeenies The Beatles are one of their influences; thus, by having the band perform on a roof in our music video we are paying tribute to one of their influences, sticking to Indie conventions and creating a fun and rebellious image for our band.

(screen grab of The Dykeenies influences from their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/gofindthedykeenies)

Luckily, there are lots of rooftops within our school grounds which we can shoot our music video on so we went to look at two of the biggest roofs at school and choose the one below:

(Slideshow created by me (Hannah))

Video of the roof:

(Film taken and uploaded by me (Hannah))

In order to film on the roof we had to do a risk assessment and go and ask our head teacher for permission to film on a roof. Fortunately, our head teacher gave us permission to film on the roof, but he said that we needed to have a school keeper and another member of staff to accompany us whilst we are filming to ensure that everyone is safe.

However, there are a number of potential dangerous situations that could occur from us filming on a roof so Arfa conducted a risk assessment to highlight all of the possible dangers. Please find this embedded below (it starts on page 2):

Risk assement completed

View more presentations from arfa4739.

Narrative Location:

(Slideshow created by me (Hannah))

We decided to film the narrative at my house for a number of reasons. Firstly, as the narrative is based on domestic abuse it had to be filmed in a domestic situation i.e. a house. Secondly, my house is the closest house to school so it will therefore, be easier for us to carry all of the equipment to my house than it would have been to someone who lives further away. Lastly, my house is decorated in quite neutral colours, which is useful for our music video as it will contrast against the black and grey clothing worn by our narrative actors so that the focus will remain on their behaviour rather than a crazy background.

Roles...

Ancillary Task Roles:

Arfa - Production Manager/Assistant Creative Director (Digipak)

Anthony - Creative Director/Assistant Graphic Designer (Advert)

Hannah - Graphic Designer/Location Scout (Advert)

Leon - Equipment Manager/Photographer (Digipak)

Music Video Production Roles:

Arfa - Storyboarder/Production Manager/Camerawoman

Anthony - Editor/Camerawoman

Hannah - Editor/Camerawoman/Script

Leon - Equipment Manager/Cameraman

Mood board for Narrative

In the narrative part of our music video we want to portray the idea of someone being able to have hope despite the fact that they have been abused. We created a mood board of our ideas which includes lyrics from our chosen song:

Mood board created by me (Hannah)

It was also useful creating the mood board as it gave me a chance to use adobe photoshop, which we will be using to create our digipak and poster.

Brainstorm of Ideas for Music Video

In order to come up with an idea of what we wanted the narrative element of our music video to be on we brainstormed ideas during a lesson. The ideas that we came up with are shown below:

(click on image to enlarge - picture of brainstorm created by me (Hannah))

After brainstorming our ideas we decided that we wanted to go with a domestic abuse narrative, more specifically abuse in a relationship, for our music video.