Group: Concept Development

• Today we have had to organise the filming schedule for half term as we need to take every opportunity to film. As a result we are filming fo at least 4 days over half term.
• Also we have to share equipment with group 1 over the holidays and have to organise when we can collect the equipment once group 1 has finished with it. We have spoken to them and decided that thursday the 1st November will be the best day as group 1 will have finished all the filming they need with it.
• We have found it quite hard to story board due to the fact our production is going to potentially have hundreds of shots. Therefore we have broken it down into sections and drawn a few scenes to represent all the other shots.

Group: Filming Schedule

Half term filming schedule

Group	Date	Location	Cast/Crew	Equipment
3	Monday 29/10/12	Brick lane & Camden town	Alex, Dan, Blake, Max	Steady Cam
3	Tuesday 30/11/12	London south bank & Leake street Waterloo	Alex, Dan, Arlo, Jack, Max,	Dolly, Tripod
3	Friday 2/11/12	Brighton Town	Alex, Dan, Molly	Track, dolly, Tripod
3	Saturday 3/11/12	Dan’s house	Alex, Dan, Molly + any other friends	Steady Cam
3

Potential issues: We believe our largest problem will be depending on weather, seeing as the majority of our shoots take place outside, hopefully the weather will be permitting. To add to this, shooting the fireworks scenes may be challenging due to it being dark, we hope to combat this with artificial lighting and changing settings on the DSLR to make it more sensitive to light.

Group: Audience Research

We got most of our audience research from creating a survey on 'surveymonkey' and distributing it by social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to ensure people would answer it. We did this in order to get feedback from our target audience so we would be able to appeal to them successfully. We had a mixture of male and female respondants, however, all of them were in the age bracket of 15-20 years old meaning we only got response from a certain sector of ages.

Here are the questions we asked and our responses:

We got very encouraging feedback about our ideas as nobody answered with ‘no’ or ‘no not at all’ , meaning that if we get good shots then our response for our music video should be very positive.

Again, we got very encouraging feedback on the track that we have chosen as all of our answered were above 7/10.

We got a variety of answers for this question and so we will be sure to cover all of these areas. However, no one thought that ‘ensuring that the video is repeatable and widely appealing’ was very important in the making of our video so we will prioritise the other aspects.

This was an interesting result as none of the people who answered our survey answered with ‘drum and bass’. However, with our ideas for our music video, we will make it exciting and vibrant and hopefully change people’s minds about their favourite genre of music.

This was a successful answer for us as we wanted to include all of these aspects of mise-en-scene in our music video. However, due to the fact that some features were more popular than others, we will prioritise those to fulfil the needs of our target audience.

As the majority of answers state that the cutting rate should be synchronous to the beat of the music we will make sure that this is our main concern as the beat of our song is so fast and definite.

This is another very positive response as all scores were 7/10 or above meaning that our target audience like our ideas.

Group: Concept development 25/10/12

• Today we discussed whether or not to do the time lapse shot of passing cars on a motorway. Molly and Dan felt it would work very well with our production however i wasn't as keen. But we are going to go ahead with the shot.
• The reason we are going to go ahead with the shot is because we recieved advice from our audience feedback saying we will need as much footage as possible.
• Also we found out that we will not be able to rent the fish eye lens from the school as it won't fit on our digital SLR camera.

Group: Shot Idea

• Here is the video from which we got inspiration to do the backwards tracking shot.
• The shot can be seen from 0.07 to 0.10, it is used a lot throughout the music video.
• The reason we want to perform this shot is that we believe it is a professional shot that would suit our music video.
• The way in which it slowly moves away from the subject and how it clearly displays mise-en-scene means it can be helpful in representing our use of mise-en-scene and the theme of our production.
• The shot in the music video connotes enjoyment and keeps the audiences focus firmly on the subjects.
• The way the shot is filmed allows JME to put it upon a fast pace song whilst looking smooth and professional.

Group: Concept Development 23/10/12

• Today we developed our production in the way of location. At first we planned not to return to Brighton and film. However after showing our pitch and Brighton location reccie to our peers we have decided to do a day of filming there.
• Our classmates said it would be a great idea to go back and film as they enjoyed our small production of our time in Brighton. Therefore we are planning to film there for the day on Friday 2nd of November.
• During our discussion we came up with an idea for a new shot. This shot is going to be a backwards track filming from Molly's car as activities unfold in front of the camera.
• After telling the teacher about this shot idea we found out we can rent a fish eye lens from the school which would suit the shot hugely.

Group: Pitch

PITCH MAIN

When we performed our pitch we got some useful feedback on our ideas:

• They said that we need to make sure we have enough shots to include so our video doesn't get too repetitive
• They also said that we will need to vary the angles of our shots in order to make it more interesting
• One idea that they had was to film the same shots with a mobile phone to give a variety of quality throughout the video
• We will also learn how to change the saturation to a professional standard as our audience think our visuals should be brighter
• A question was raised about the safety on including wheelies on motorbikes and wheelspins and handbrake turns in cars as they can be very dangerous so if we do decide to use these, we will ensure that we consider the risks and hazards. However, Molly is a trained first aider so if anything was to go wrong, she would know how to help.
• We were also asked what we would do if the public were to say no to us filming them, if this did happen, we would continue to ask others and perservere in order to achieve our shots of interesting looking individuals

Our audience were very interested in what we had to offer and think our ideas have great potential due to the fact that they're so disjunctive. Therefore, we will try our best to create something unique and original.

MG: Print Analysis - Advert

Genre and Media Language:

·         The genre is very evident as the title of the album is ‘Addicted to Bass’ presenting that the music is of the drum and bass genre. This is also portrayed particularly through the type of font used. It is very angular, bold and 3D which makes it look quite futuristic and electronic, connoting that the music will represent this. The way on some of the letters there is sparks coming off them also emphasises this.

·       There is a list of artists included on the album on the bottom of the advertisement meaning that if they know the artists, the audience can get an indication of what types of songs will be on it.

·         The genre is also evident through the only picture on the advertisement: the logo of the ‘Ministry of Sound’ nightclub and record label which have a reputation for playing very upbeat dance and drum and bass music.

·       The way all the text is in capitals and written at an angle makes it especially eye-catching and memorable representing how the music will also stand out and impress the audience.

·       The colour scheme used is very simple yet effective. The blue, white and black are very contrasting and therefore the advertisement is more striking and noticeable. These colours are also very masculine colours and the majority of the drum and bass audience are male meaning they are targeting their main audience successfully.

·      Under the logo of the ‘Ministry of Sound’, there is a sentence describing the album. The way that they label the songs as ‘speaker blowing anthems’ will appeal to their target audience as drum and bass music is always played very loud and the fact that it will blow your speakers connotes the fact that this album is particularly impressive.

Representation:

·         Also in the sentence describing the album, it states that it was ‘mixed by the Wideboys’ who are bassline and UK garage record producers and remixers. This connotes that it is especially elite and will therefore help to sell the product.

·         The way there are well-known artists listed at the bottom of the advertisement also helps sell the product as more people will purchase it if their favourite artist is on the album. This adds to their star-image as they are increasingly getting recognised for their music.

Institution and Audience:

·         This advert would be consumed through different types of media. It could be seen in a music magazine where avid drum and bass fans would see it. Or it could be displayed as an advertisement on a website: on 'Ministry of Sound' or even on Youtube. It would be consumed through ambient and focused ways of advertising.

AH: Print Analysis - Advert

• The genre of the track and artist is evident by the use of bright vibrant colours suggesting a modern sound to the music. The background helps reinforce this with random textures and patterns which are very typical of the dance genre.
• The visuals here go against the rule of thirds as the dominant picture of the dog with a boom box as a body is in the centre of the page.  It is clear from the picture that the saturation levels have been turned up to bring out the bright colours even more giving it a clear texture. There is great use of the colour spectrum as the advert has been made to catch peoples attention and stand out.
• The Mise-en-scene used here can also be looked upon as semiotics, the image is relatively simple with a dog which has a boom box as a body. This may from first impressions seem disjunctive, however after reading the album title of ‘crazy itchy radio’ you see the dog is itching its body which is a boom box (used to play radio). Therefore the image is an amplified representation of the album name.
• The artists name is clearly displayed at the top of the page and is in a font which is always used by the artist and has been made famous by them. It is typical of the genre as it looks robotic and therefore modern, some words are extended and cut off to give a contemporary feel to the font. The album title at the bottom is in a different font and is a lot smaller than the artists name. The font is simple and clear to reinforce the overall theme of the advert in that it is easy to read, clear, vibrant and catches the attention of audiences.
• The popular culture reference here is in the form of the boom box which is iconic of the modern genres of music. The boom box is very urban and is a symbol of how urban music is now a dominant force in the music industry.
• Audiences may consume this advert from a number of different sources. One may be on the Basement Jaxx website where they will have their key audience who they can rely on to purchase their products as they are loyal fans. Also it may be consumed in a music magazine, this is why the advert is bright and eye-catching. It will be in a magazine where people aren't looking for adverts so they have to catch their attention to make them look and read the advert. Finally the advert may be consumed as a poster in a record shop or on the street.

DW: Print analysis - Digipak

•  The precise genre of this album cover is not particularly clear. However the words “rave” and the use of laser beam club lighting, as well as the white overall which some partygoers wear to “raves” suggest that the music will be dance or club based, therefore perhaps house or drum and bass music. This notion is also reinforced somewhat by the Hospital record label shown in the bottom left hand corner, Hospital Records is a relatively large UK independent record label which specialises exclusively in drum & bass and jungle music. Therefore anyone who knows about the artist or label should be able to deduct that the music is drum and bass 

· Rule of thirds is used in the image to portray the artist and provide an equilibrium. The image has a dark tone - clearly being shot at night, and has been colour corrected to bring out the pink tones, the beams of pink laser may even be an added effect to make them stand out more. The picture looks mysterious and elusive, suiting the name of the album - raves tend to be secretive events which take place only at night. The picture also helps reinforce the album name, almost suggesting that Danny Byrd has “dug up” a rave, added to by the mise-en-scene of a shovel and mound of dirt; therefore giving the image a meaning. Promotion/branding of the artist’s record label shown relatively subtly on the album cover, most likely to gain reputation and recognition.

· Name of the artist and name of the album shown very clearly in thick, simple white font which stands out clearly on the dark background.  The text isn’t unique or bizarre in any way; it is sharp solid and easy to read, however relatively uncreative. The font used is used in nearly every Hospital records advertisement and promotion. The visual doesn't carry much intertextuality, however it is modern and focuses on modern activities and music, there appears to be no parody or pastiche involved in the album cover and the identity of the artist isn’t really put out as a vital element - seeing as you can hardly identify the man. 

· The artist isn’t represented in any particular way, although he is the only prevalent character on the album, his identity is concealed and relatively unclear, thus hardly contributing to any metanarrative. This could be some kind of message or representation which the artist is trying to reveal - that it doesn’t matter about the cover or the content of the image on the album cover particularly, the only thing that matters is how the music sounds , the fact that Danny Byrd is one of the most well known drum and bass artists also reinforces this in that it shows he needs little promotion because of his already high status in the industry.

· This print text would be consumed via advertising - posters, magazine adverts , internet ads etc. websites such as the Hospital Records site for example would advertise this album. The item itself can be bought from most music stores, as well as online, perhaps even in vinyl and mp3 format too. 

Group: Brighton reccie

Where did you go and what were your aims?
We visited Brighton and were designated a large area surrounding the pier to shoot a range of different shots, as well as some footage of a One Direction music video which the whole class colaborated on. For our group personally, we wanted to try and test out shots we wanted to use for the final music video production; for us this was predominantly things like close-ups, changes in focus and time lapses. We felt this acted as a decent preliminary task to help us prepare and plan for shooting our final production.

What did you achieve?
We managed to capture nearly an hour of footage in total whilst in Brighton, which we found very helpful. We also managed to find many interesting locations whilst exploring Brighton, some of which we would like to revisit when shooting the music video, or even use some of the footage we got on that day to use in the music video. Not only did we manage to gain a better incite into how we should shoot and frame each shot i.e. camera positioning, what to include in the shot, length of shot etc. but we also learnt more after filming - in the editing of the footage. From the research on music videos we had already done, combined with our footage we put together a small promotional video of what we recorded that day allowing us to gain further knowledge into the editting techniques we should use, for example changes in saturation, fast cutting rate and so on.

What problems/obstacles did you encounter?
One large problem we had was that we took too many shortquick shots i.e. close-up shifts in focus. Although this wasn't necesarily detremental or a huge obstacle, it would have helped for us to take a few longer and different shots to break up and add diversity to our promotional video. Not only this but we realised lighting was very important to create an upbeat video such as ours, at the start of the day the weather was very poor and when filming the shots looked quiet dull and uninteresting, but when the weather improved and there was more natural light the shots looked much nicer and even more professional. Even this however had its problems, sometimes the light was too bright and items wouldnt focus properly as the shot was too bright - this is something we must learn to combat when filming our final piece.

What did you learn that you can take into the next shoot?
We learnt a great deal from our Brighton reccie, we must be sure for our next shoot to take a wider range of shots - to give the video more diversity, the more content the better. We also learnt more about the actual functionality of the camera, how to use it to it's best ability i.e. changing frame rates and shutter speeds, brightness etc. and what effect it can have - how it can help us. Brighton being quite a diverse town in itself helped us, seeing as this type of environment is what we want for our video it gave us a taste of what shooting the final peice would be like. We certainly learnt a lot from the Brigthon reccie, on both the editing and shooting side of things.

Group: Concept development 15th october

In the lesson today we discussed the pitch further, each doing separate slides and preparing them for the pitch to the class on Thursday.

We also discussed the detailed storyboard that we will have to do in the near future - what shots we will need to include and in what order.

We also planned further into a shoot that we intend to do at a party on Saturday (20th October) we talked about getting to the party early in order to arrange a few camera positions etc. and also make clear where we can and can't film. 

Moodboard

I can't find your moodboard? You need to upload your Brighton footage before the lesson on Wednesday - you know you can't do it in school. I don't see your concept development for today either?

Group: Audience questionnaire

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NQB7VGM

Link to our audience research questionnaire.

Group: Location reccie

We had our first location reccie at South Bank skate park alongside the river thames and also Leake street at Waterloo East train station. We picked out positions for potential shots as well as brainstormed ideas for props, costume and lighting. Doing this reccie allowed us to gain more knowledge about the area and also gave us more ideas for our shots we could include in the final production. Below are some pictures of the locations.

 

Group: Practice Shots

• We had the opportunity to film some practice shots using a dolly, the track and a steady cam in the drama studio at school. This helped us in deciding what equipment we would want to rent out when it comes to actually filming our video.
• From this activity, we found that the dolly was very useful when we wanted to film a tracking shot but changing direction. However, we are not sure if we will use the dolly because the wheels can get stuck on different floor levels so the shot isn't as smooth.
• We will most likely use the track due to the fact that this gives us a very smooth, professional shot.
• The steady cam will also be quite helpful when it comes to filming our video as it will give us a steady, high quality shot.

Group: Our Chosen Track

The track we have chosen is:

Danny Byrd - Hot Fuzz ft. Tomahawk

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT8roApHV-o

Possible Ideas:

• Seeing as this song has an extremely fast beat, we will have to ensure that we have a fast cutting rate in order for the music to be synchronous to the visuals. We will also use time lapse to help us with this and to create an eye-catching effect.
• We will produce a disjunctive narrative as there are not many lyrics in the song and therefore there isn't an immediate storyline to follow.
• The locations we are considering using include the following: South Bank Skate Park, Camden Town, Camden Lock, a music studio and a motorway.
• We want to include a wide range of people in our video of different ethnicities, ages, gender and fashion styles. This will then appeal to a wider audience.
• There is a wide variety of shots that we are planning to include such as: close ups, low angle shots, tracking shots, panning/establishing shots and the use of manual focus.

MG: Initial track ideas

1. Justin Bieber - Thought of you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwj9B6_oyOE&feature=related

Possible Ideas:

• Performance-based, lipsyncing, close ups of artist intercut with long shots
• A variety of shots of the love interest, tracking shots, extreme close ups, dismemberment - close ups of eyes, lips, etc.
• Fast cutting rate to keep in time with the music
• Beach or city location
• Amplifying relationship between music, lyrics and visuals

2. One Direction - Stand Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lucJKAPE9Ag

Possible Ideas:

• Performance based, lipsyncing, low angle long shots and panning shots of band singing to the camera
• Shots of band in an isolated location, e.g, on the beach or in a park intercut with shots of them performing on stage with a crowd of people cheering for them
• Synchronous relationship with lyrics and visuals - when the lyrics say 'Stand Up' there are shots of the crowd jumping in time to the music
• Fast cutting rate to keep in time with the music

3. DJ Zinc - Nexx
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHIIR5He6Ds

Possible Ideas:

• Disjunctive relationship between music and visuals
• Fast cutting rate
• Time lapse used to fit the shots to the beat of the music and also use of slow motion in some places
• Frequent use of jump cuts
• Club location for performance-based part - a DJ performing in front of a big crowd with professional lighting

 



Group: Target Audience

AH: Institutional context of the music industry

Who owns the record labels?

• Sony music entertainment – is owned by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan’s Sony Corporation.They have artists such as Big L, Britney Spears, Chris Brown and Dido to list a few.
• Warner Music Group – is a division of Warner Bros. Pictures as they had no division dedicated to music. They have artists such as Flo Rida, Fleetwood Mac, Green Day and many more.
• Universal Music Group - It is the largest of the "big four" record companies by its leading market share and its multitude of global operations. Universal Music Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of French media conglomerate Vivendi. Artists include ABBA, Blink182, Justin Bieber and Boyzone.

• Boy Better Know – is an independent UK record label specialising in grime music. It was founded by Jamie Adenuga (Also known as JME) in late 2005. The members of the label are: JME, Skepta, Jammer, Frisco, Shorty, Solo 45 and DJ Maximum.

What is involved in a record deal?

• Record deal (recording contact) - is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote.
• Artists under contract are normally only allowed to record for that label exclusively. Promotion is a key factor in the success of a record, and is largely the label's responsibility, as is proper distribution of records.