Wednesday 26 September 2012
Audience Research
This is a video that was made by a member of my group, Danielle. This is all about Audience Research and what she found when she asked people what they thought 'Indie' music was.
Wednesday 19 September 2012
Prezi
Here is a link to a prezi that i made on the genre of music that we are studying and also who i think our typical audience member is.
Monday 17 September 2012
Inspiration and Lyrics for "Hazel Eyes"
This is an email that we received from the man whose song we have decided to make a video for. We asked him what his inspiration behind his song was and also for a copy of the lyrics. He provided us with both, although he said that there wasn't much inspiration behind it but it was all about a previous relationship that he was in. We found this helpful as it gave us more of an idea of what we could do for the video.
Tuesday 11 September 2012
Facebook Research.
After scrolling down on some of the comments that they had posted onto the wall of the site, i noticed that the majority of them were male. They seemed to be in their 20's, and spoke about how inspirational they found him.
One comment that caught my attention was:
Dear Ben,
I doubt you'll ever read this, but your music came at the perfect time in my life and has been my soundtrack for months now. The music you make has changed my life for the better, and I want to thank you for it. It's truly beautiful.
Can't wait for your Seattle show :)
Best wishes,
Christina
Research.
I decided to look into what fans of Ben Howard thought of his music on youtube. I thought that he was good to look at because his his music is very similar to the song that we want to do for our piece.
Comments that fans wrote on the video of "Keep Your Head Up" were:
this song just completely blew me away and the lyrics really touched me and I'm sure they inspire all who listen to this song to keep their head up, music is so strong, each individual person here is sitting at their laptop/computer/phone now somewhere in the world, in their own world right now thinking about their own problems whilst listening, whether it be about a lover or personal problems, keep your head up guys! PEACE from ben howards #1 fan truly!
Same story for me. It was a normal day in the cab to school when this caught me when playing on the radio. Right now im playing it on the maximal volume of my speakers. It releases all your stress and calms your mind.
I love this video..cuz i think being like this makes ppl happy..being like kiddo is awesome ..when we ve our own world we r safe..nd we dnt need money for it..nd this video can learn it..shows that nature nd real happiness is success in our life..carpe diem
Fans from different countries all said that they thought that the song was really strong and made them think about what matters in life. The ages that it seemed to be were mainly 16-25 year olds, and the majority of them were males.
Comments that fans wrote on the video of "Keep Your Head Up" were:
this song just completely blew me away and the lyrics really touched me and I'm sure they inspire all who listen to this song to keep their head up, music is so strong, each individual person here is sitting at their laptop/computer/phone now somewhere in the world, in their own world right now thinking about their own problems whilst listening, whether it be about a lover or personal problems, keep your head up guys! PEACE from ben howards #1 fan truly!
Same story for me. It was a normal day in the cab to school when this caught me when playing on the radio. Right now im playing it on the maximal volume of my speakers. It releases all your stress and calms your mind.
I love this video..cuz i think being like this makes ppl happy..being like kiddo is awesome ..when we ve our own world we r safe..nd we dnt need money for it..nd this video can learn it..shows that nature nd real happiness is success in our life..carpe diem
Fans from different countries all said that they thought that the song was really strong and made them think about what matters in life. The ages that it seemed to be were mainly 16-25 year olds, and the majority of them were males.
Full Video Analysis.
Cheryl Cole - Under The Sun
The background story behind the video is that the artist, Cheryl, is meant to be working in a bar that is full of men and no women. As soon as her shift is over, she leaves the bar and shows her control over men and how she can stand up for herself and is quite cheeky and flirty.
In the first scene, we can see and hear that its a busy place, and it sounds like a bar. This is confirmed to us at 0.05 seconds when we can see that drinks are being poured. It looks like there are only men in the bar at this point. We then see the image of a woman filing her nails. We don't at this stage know who it is although we pressume it is the artist. The filing of the nails is associated with being bored, and having nothing better to do. We then get a close up of the artists face, now meaning the audience have had it confirmed to them that she was the one filing her nails. You can see by her face that she is clearly bored and waiting for something.
The way that she is dressed and has her hair looks very 70's. She's got her hair on top of her head with a red bow to hold it all up. We are then shown a close up of the clock, which shows to be dead on 12pm. This then shows us the significance of why she is meant to be looking bored and as if she is waiting for something. We then see her dramatically look up at the clock, and the re is a sound effect to go with this.
We are then shown a close up of her walking away. She is in a tight red skirt, and the way she is walking and the fact that her skirt is so tight makes it look very sexual and seductive. We then see her go towards a duke-box, and the way that she is bending over it again makes it look very seductive and as if she wants all of the males that are in the room to notice her and pay her attention. As she walks away from it we see her eyeing up all of the men.
She looks very in control and as if she is a very confident person and confident in herself as a person. She doesn't seem to mind the men looking at her, infact she enjoys it and welcomes it. As she knocks into a man walking past, we see that she says nothing, looks at him and then walks away. We then see her get very close to another mans face as she pulls out a cigarette from his mouth and throws it on the floor. This again shows the audience that she is the one in control, even though she is surrounded by dominant looking males.
The music then starts as she goes to leave the bar, and as she opens the doors and walks out, the lighting changes. In the bar, it was very dingy and smokey, but as she opens the doors light comes rushing through, and she is lit up.
The background story behind the video is that the artist, Cheryl, is meant to be working in a bar that is full of men and no women. As soon as her shift is over, she leaves the bar and shows her control over men and how she can stand up for herself and is quite cheeky and flirty.
In the first scene, we can see and hear that its a busy place, and it sounds like a bar. This is confirmed to us at 0.05 seconds when we can see that drinks are being poured. It looks like there are only men in the bar at this point. We then see the image of a woman filing her nails. We don't at this stage know who it is although we pressume it is the artist. The filing of the nails is associated with being bored, and having nothing better to do. We then get a close up of the artists face, now meaning the audience have had it confirmed to them that she was the one filing her nails. You can see by her face that she is clearly bored and waiting for something.
The way that she is dressed and has her hair looks very 70's. She's got her hair on top of her head with a red bow to hold it all up. We are then shown a close up of the clock, which shows to be dead on 12pm. This then shows us the significance of why she is meant to be looking bored and as if she is waiting for something. We then see her dramatically look up at the clock, and the re is a sound effect to go with this.
We are then shown a close up of her walking away. She is in a tight red skirt, and the way she is walking and the fact that her skirt is so tight makes it look very sexual and seductive. We then see her go towards a duke-box, and the way that she is bending over it again makes it look very seductive and as if she wants all of the males that are in the room to notice her and pay her attention. As she walks away from it we see her eyeing up all of the men.
She looks very in control and as if she is a very confident person and confident in herself as a person. She doesn't seem to mind the men looking at her, infact she enjoys it and welcomes it. As she knocks into a man walking past, we see that she says nothing, looks at him and then walks away. We then see her get very close to another mans face as she pulls out a cigarette from his mouth and throws it on the floor. This again shows the audience that she is the one in control, even though she is surrounded by dominant looking males.
The music then starts as she goes to leave the bar, and as she opens the doors and walks out, the lighting changes. In the bar, it was very dingy and smokey, but as she opens the doors light comes rushing through, and she is lit up.
Wednesday 5 September 2012
Song Choices
These were 3 songs that i found on soundcloud. I thought that they were all really good and would be interesting to make a video to. I decided that i liked the artist Rich Lown the best, and listened to all of his songs. After listening to all of them, i found that i really liked the sound of "Hazel Eyes". I then decided to email him and ask for his permission to use his song.
Media A2 Summer Work Part 2
Chris Brown - Don't Wake Me Up
In the first shot you can see the artist is alone, and the camera is quite blurred. You can see him in the distance and you then see him slowly start to walk towards the camera. It then cross fades into a closer shot of him, showing his full body. The camera is still quite blurred, and almost instantly after cross fades again, this time into a shot of his face and top part of his body. The camera pans down him, and then again cross fades into the shot of him showing his full body again.
The camera then flicks to a shot of him asleep, lying down. As the artist gets up, the camera moves up with him, turning so that it is the right way up. There is a woman walking behind him who goes through the door and disappears. Its representing the fact that he is alone, and doesn't have anyone with him. His facial expressions make him look sad and depressed, and he also looks thoughtful and as if he is thinking about something important.
The artist then goes through the door to try and find the girl that has already gone through it. The fact that he is going after her makes the video quite romantic and makes the audience want to know if he finds her and if they end up being together.
The camera shows a birds eye view and zooms out showing that he is now in a massive maze, and showing that it could be impossible to find her. This represents the fact that the relationship might be complicated to have, and that finding her will be difficult.
You then see the artist back down asleep as before, and again the camera tilts up with him. You see the girl go through the second door this time. He goes through this door, in the hope of finding her. It represents him not giving up on her, and wanting to do everything that he can to try and find her. Its very misty and foggy where he is, and he is yet again finding himself following her. A massive tidal wave then appears, washing him away. I think this represents the fact that everything that he is doing shows willing, but he is still finding it impossible and having barriers in the way of actually getting to the woman in the video.
We then see him waking up again, to the third door already open. It is suggesting to us that the girl has gone through this door already, and we see the artist decide to go through it. This door is the final one, and it makes the audience think that maybe this is his final chance to try and find and get the girl. This time he is in a car and you see a figure in a car come smashing into his one. It is made so the audience presume it is the girl. This could represent the fact that she is smashing his heart, and that she is destroying him as well as the car.
We then see the car scene replayed, and this time instead of his car being hit, he is in a car chase with her, determined to try and get her. He falls on a cliff, and we see him wake up next to the girl, as if it is all a dream, and that he had her all along.
The Script - Hall Of Fame FT will.i.am
The video to me represents the fact that if you work hard, and are determined to do something you can achieve whatever you want, no matter what stands in your way. At the start of the video we can see a figure who is clearly a boxer jumping up and down infront of a cheering crowd. We can't see his face so this creates the sense of mystery and makes the viewers want to know who he is.
It then cuts to the image of a boy who is asleep on a mattress that is on the floor and his mother (we presume) is kicking it to wake him up. She is shouting at him. This is a major contrast to the scene before that we saw. We then see a ballerina, clearly on stage being cheered by the crowd. It then cuts to the image of a girl, waking up but to a very loving father. The fact that he says good morning to her in sign language and she replies also with sign language shows us that the girl is deaf.
The contrast between the two families is apparent, and it shows us that both the characters in the video both lead very different lives and that there are so many differences between them both. However, they both kiss their parents goodbye, and leave their houses. Its showing that there may be differences between them but they both ultimately love their parents.
The camera then cuts to a close up shot of someone playing the piano. The camera is zoomed in to show the keys and the persons hands.
The two artists in the video look as though they're competing with each other. This makes me think that maybe they are competing for the best life turning story. One of them represents the girl, who is deaf and people at her ballet class laugh at her who turns out to show them all by becoming an amazing talented successful ballerina, and the other one represents the boy, who got beaten up and had a tough upbringing, learns to use the anger he has inside of him to become and amazing boxer.
The lyrics represent what the song is about, that one day people like these will be in a hall of fame, because they have made something of themselves by having determination and not listening to people who have brought them down. And against all the odds, and everything that stands in their way they have managed to be amazing at what they do best.
B-o-B - Both Of Us FT Taylor Swift
One of the reasons why i decided to look at this video was because of the contrast of the artists who are in the video and sing the song. Taylor Swift is renound for being a girly girl, and in the 'pop princess' genre. Where as B.o.B is a rapper.
When Taylor Swift sings the images that we see are quite calming and makes the atmosphere look very relaxed. We can see someone riding a horse, and we can see images of the sun setting in the distance. All the images are in slow motion which tires to make it all seem a lot softer. She is represented as being very innocent and soft. When B.o.B starts to rap though the images that we see are a lot harsher, and show the area that he is in. All of a sudden the images are thinks like him walking on train tracks, which makes us think that it is quite dangerous, and scary.
In the first shot you can see the artist is alone, and the camera is quite blurred. You can see him in the distance and you then see him slowly start to walk towards the camera. It then cross fades into a closer shot of him, showing his full body. The camera is still quite blurred, and almost instantly after cross fades again, this time into a shot of his face and top part of his body. The camera pans down him, and then again cross fades into the shot of him showing his full body again.
The camera then flicks to a shot of him asleep, lying down. As the artist gets up, the camera moves up with him, turning so that it is the right way up. There is a woman walking behind him who goes through the door and disappears. Its representing the fact that he is alone, and doesn't have anyone with him. His facial expressions make him look sad and depressed, and he also looks thoughtful and as if he is thinking about something important.
The artist then goes through the door to try and find the girl that has already gone through it. The fact that he is going after her makes the video quite romantic and makes the audience want to know if he finds her and if they end up being together.
The camera shows a birds eye view and zooms out showing that he is now in a massive maze, and showing that it could be impossible to find her. This represents the fact that the relationship might be complicated to have, and that finding her will be difficult.
You then see the artist back down asleep as before, and again the camera tilts up with him. You see the girl go through the second door this time. He goes through this door, in the hope of finding her. It represents him not giving up on her, and wanting to do everything that he can to try and find her. Its very misty and foggy where he is, and he is yet again finding himself following her. A massive tidal wave then appears, washing him away. I think this represents the fact that everything that he is doing shows willing, but he is still finding it impossible and having barriers in the way of actually getting to the woman in the video.
We then see him waking up again, to the third door already open. It is suggesting to us that the girl has gone through this door already, and we see the artist decide to go through it. This door is the final one, and it makes the audience think that maybe this is his final chance to try and find and get the girl. This time he is in a car and you see a figure in a car come smashing into his one. It is made so the audience presume it is the girl. This could represent the fact that she is smashing his heart, and that she is destroying him as well as the car.
We then see the car scene replayed, and this time instead of his car being hit, he is in a car chase with her, determined to try and get her. He falls on a cliff, and we see him wake up next to the girl, as if it is all a dream, and that he had her all along.
The Script - Hall Of Fame FT will.i.am
The video to me represents the fact that if you work hard, and are determined to do something you can achieve whatever you want, no matter what stands in your way. At the start of the video we can see a figure who is clearly a boxer jumping up and down infront of a cheering crowd. We can't see his face so this creates the sense of mystery and makes the viewers want to know who he is.
It then cuts to the image of a boy who is asleep on a mattress that is on the floor and his mother (we presume) is kicking it to wake him up. She is shouting at him. This is a major contrast to the scene before that we saw. We then see a ballerina, clearly on stage being cheered by the crowd. It then cuts to the image of a girl, waking up but to a very loving father. The fact that he says good morning to her in sign language and she replies also with sign language shows us that the girl is deaf.
The contrast between the two families is apparent, and it shows us that both the characters in the video both lead very different lives and that there are so many differences between them both. However, they both kiss their parents goodbye, and leave their houses. Its showing that there may be differences between them but they both ultimately love their parents.
The camera then cuts to a close up shot of someone playing the piano. The camera is zoomed in to show the keys and the persons hands.
The two artists in the video look as though they're competing with each other. This makes me think that maybe they are competing for the best life turning story. One of them represents the girl, who is deaf and people at her ballet class laugh at her who turns out to show them all by becoming an amazing talented successful ballerina, and the other one represents the boy, who got beaten up and had a tough upbringing, learns to use the anger he has inside of him to become and amazing boxer.
The lyrics represent what the song is about, that one day people like these will be in a hall of fame, because they have made something of themselves by having determination and not listening to people who have brought them down. And against all the odds, and everything that stands in their way they have managed to be amazing at what they do best.
B-o-B - Both Of Us FT Taylor Swift
One of the reasons why i decided to look at this video was because of the contrast of the artists who are in the video and sing the song. Taylor Swift is renound for being a girly girl, and in the 'pop princess' genre. Where as B.o.B is a rapper.
When Taylor Swift sings the images that we see are quite calming and makes the atmosphere look very relaxed. We can see someone riding a horse, and we can see images of the sun setting in the distance. All the images are in slow motion which tires to make it all seem a lot softer. She is represented as being very innocent and soft. When B.o.B starts to rap though the images that we see are a lot harsher, and show the area that he is in. All of a sudden the images are thinks like him walking on train tracks, which makes us think that it is quite dangerous, and scary.
Media A2 Summer Work Part 1
For AS i think that there are some things that i could have done better. For example, when we were making our video i think that my planning skills could of been stronger. Our group did make a time line of what we wanted to shoot but when we got to the area where we were filming, we found that the fact that it was on a used road meant that we had to rush and do some of the shots on a strict time line. This meant that it was difficult to keep looking back at the plans of our shots so for some of them we had to just get as many different camera angles as possible and change some of our idea's. This meant that when we looked back at all of our planning and the actual shots that we had taken, some of them didn't match up.
I think that another thing that i could of done better was to communicate with my group better and work together sharing all of the tasks equally. Because we didn't assign individual people individual tasks it meant that people weren't clear of exactly what they were meant to be doing, resulting in some people doing more work then others. I think that in the A2 coursework i will make sure that everyone has set tasks to do, meaning that everyone pulls their own weight and that everyone does the same amount as the others in the group.
One more thing that i would of done differently given the chance, is that i would of tried to film in a different location. Although the location that we chose was perfect for what we needed, it was difficult to film. Because it was a road we had to make sure that we had done all the correct safety checks and that we had people standing at both ends of the road looking out for cars. It also meant that we had to keep stopping filming, and due to the weather we weren't sure if we were going to get all of the shots done in time with the weather as good as it was that day. It did mean that we were on a tight schedule and meant that we didn't know if we would have to come back the next day to try and shoot some more of it. This meant that if the weather wasn't exactly the same then the shots would look weird as you'd be able to tell that it was all filmed on a different day.
Something that i did well was that i think i managed our group well. We all decided that i would be 'group leader'. I think that apart from the fact that sometimes we didn't assign tasks, we worked well together and that i managed to make sure that everyone was happy with what they were doing and everyone got the chance to put their input into the video. No one in our group really had any complaints with what we were doing, meaning that we were all able to work well together.
Another thing that i think i did well in was the fact that i managed to learn how to use the Mac computers effectively and learnt how to use the programmes that we needed to use. I watched a lot of you-tube video's, and spent time just playing on them, getting to grips with how to cut and edit a video. This meant that when we had to edit our own video, i had picked up a lot of skills that i was able to introduce to my group and use on the making of our video. I think that this helped me to feel confident and comfortable with the computers meaning that i didn't mind working on them because i had already learnt how to use them.
I think that another thing that i could of done better was to communicate with my group better and work together sharing all of the tasks equally. Because we didn't assign individual people individual tasks it meant that people weren't clear of exactly what they were meant to be doing, resulting in some people doing more work then others. I think that in the A2 coursework i will make sure that everyone has set tasks to do, meaning that everyone pulls their own weight and that everyone does the same amount as the others in the group.
One more thing that i would of done differently given the chance, is that i would of tried to film in a different location. Although the location that we chose was perfect for what we needed, it was difficult to film. Because it was a road we had to make sure that we had done all the correct safety checks and that we had people standing at both ends of the road looking out for cars. It also meant that we had to keep stopping filming, and due to the weather we weren't sure if we were going to get all of the shots done in time with the weather as good as it was that day. It did mean that we were on a tight schedule and meant that we didn't know if we would have to come back the next day to try and shoot some more of it. This meant that if the weather wasn't exactly the same then the shots would look weird as you'd be able to tell that it was all filmed on a different day.
Something that i did well was that i think i managed our group well. We all decided that i would be 'group leader'. I think that apart from the fact that sometimes we didn't assign tasks, we worked well together and that i managed to make sure that everyone was happy with what they were doing and everyone got the chance to put their input into the video. No one in our group really had any complaints with what we were doing, meaning that we were all able to work well together.
Another thing that i think i did well in was the fact that i managed to learn how to use the Mac computers effectively and learnt how to use the programmes that we needed to use. I watched a lot of you-tube video's, and spent time just playing on them, getting to grips with how to cut and edit a video. This meant that when we had to edit our own video, i had picked up a lot of skills that i was able to introduce to my group and use on the making of our video. I think that this helped me to feel confident and comfortable with the computers meaning that i didn't mind working on them because i had already learnt how to use them.
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