Weekly Production Log 7

This week my group and I have completed the pre-production documents for the music video. The process was quite unbalanced and we as a group didn't have the best communication. However, this didn't stop us from completing the documents and getting through the process. The next steps for us would be to start experimenting with the music video by shooting in our chosen locations and seeing what our cast members can come up with. Once this is done we can then we can progress on to experimenting with lighting and camera angles/shots, to see what works best. 

Production Schedule

Call Sheets and Risk Assessments

Music Video Evaluation on Focus Group

Focus Group

Production Log-6

This week my group and I have put together a series of opened and closed ended question for our qualitative and quantitative research. When coming up with the questions we found it quite simple as our idea was very realistic and so we were able to produce good questions.

Next we went on to film our focus group with 4-5 pupils from year12 and 13 in order to vary the ages and ethnicities. This went well in terms of getting everyones opinions, however we realised that many if not all the people we asked were one sided in their opinions, saying that they did not like the actual song itself, the idea was complicated and the characters were not going to be able to represent the Canadian artists well.

From this we decided to draw a line on going with Selim's idea, and instead go back to our original intentions of using my idea and song. Since, agreeing on this we have produced a new set of questions to go with the new song and idea and filmed a new focus group. Our next steps would be to continue developing our idea and film our focus group evaluation.

Location Recce

Park Cafe outside view 

Park Cafe inside view

Apartment flat- living room

One of the locations we chose to film at is in a small cafe in Kennington park. We decided to film there because the interior of the cafe looks similar to a living room, which we think will look good as it is much more spacious than the apartment. It also looks like a living room of a house from the inside. The park is also located quite close to all of us and is about 5 minutes walking distance from my house which makes it easily accessible to me if per say my group members were not available to film. In terms of the permission, we have already gotten it from the cafe manager who has said that we are welcome to film at any day, any time. This location is going to be part of our 'flashback' scenes where the two characters will be acting out their happy moments spent together, and although this is not the only location that is going to be used to show the couple during their happy times and memories it is still going to take up a few shots and so we'll need to pick a day from our production schedule that will be sunny, to show them enjoying the weather on a day out. Another location we're going to be filming in is an apartment flat, which belongs to my neighbour who I have kindly asked her permission for.  The flat was in fact used before for filming when I was making my unit 1 & 22 short film, and from that experience I found that it would also be suitable for filming the music video. The shots in the flat are going to be showing the female character (the girlfriend) lipsyncing the lyrics of the song we have chosen (Amanda Kaletsky - Desire). These shots will convey her regretting the relationship and remembering the happy memories she once shared with her ex boyfriend. 

Vauxhall Way

Vauxhall Way

This is another set of images showing another location (Vauxhall) where we will be filming 

Shooting Script

Job Roles / Risk Assessments

Job Roles

Job Roles 

Risk Assessment 

Richard Dyers Star Theory

Richard Dyer is a British media theorist who has come up with a theory called the 'Star Theory' which discusses how stars have a special place in the audiences lives. His theory is split up into 3 different areas including; audience and institution, constitutions and hegemony.

He argued that the star image is manufactured; meaning that it is produced or invented, and that individual stars have their own USP in order to be able to grab their audience's attention. e.g KPOP stars with their unique hairstyles and music videos. the highly seen expectation are the following examples such as boy band being good looking and confident whereas girl group's expectations are bubbly, cute, stylish and so on.

Stars as Constructions

KPOP

From researching into Richard Dyer's star theory, I have found in many websites quotations from him suggesting that , stars are constructed in order to have their audience to be able to relate to them in some way. Dyer states "a star is an image, not a real person that is constructed out of a range of materials (e.g advertising, magazines, news paper..) Stars are made to meet the expectations of an audience. This can be linked well with one of the vast growing music genre "KPOP" which is huge in America and Europe as well as it being well known in Asia. They are known as K Idols and most of their audience look up to them as they meet the typical "beauty" expectations. Many of the K Idols are afraid to reveal their image without any make up as it might ruin their reputation of being "beautiful". When they travel around the world to meet their fans, stars would usually wear masks to hide any flaws that is being shown. A pop star is usually seen as an image presented to the audience. This is because it will most likely be to please the audience as they are the ones which will make the star successful. This relates back to the music industry because the word pop performer and pop star has become interchangeable that there has been a high in demand between difference of pop performers who are performing pop music and pop stars who have an identity or persona other than their music career.Some of the reasons why most pop performers get promoted is due to famous partners or featuring in magazines. This helps a record label company to increase sales due to their labelled products such as music by well known artists which leads to a large amount of audience's responding to the product by purchasing their album or downloading it from iTunes as well as becoming a fan. KPOP stars are said to be perfectionists which leads them into working hard in order to become the best. They give fan service during meet and greets; this brings out a great image to the group as well as the idols themselves. A fan service is is where an idol group does something out of the ordinary to please their fans. In a Korean male idol group, fan service can vary such as hand-holding, face-touching, pretending to playfully fight or even snog each other. Idols realise that their fans adore it- so they are encouraged to do it to get more affection from fans.

 

Stars as Personalities

 

A star is built with the help of someone's signature to them in order to differentiate them from other stars. An example of this is Lady Gaga's outrageous fashion when she wore an outfit that was made out of meat and wearing ridiculously long high heels. A persona is created for the audience to identify with and so that the audience can differentiate different stars and decide whether they like them or not. Stars also construct "characters" to create an identity to appeal to their audience. Some of the characters may become icons and it enables the star to be known.

Sia 

Taylor Swift 

 

For example, most of the audience will recognize the singer Taylor Swift as she is known for writing songs about her ex boyfriends which is very iconic. Therefore, many of the talk shows and hosts would refer back to Taylor Swift as the "song writer for ex's". Another example of this is the singer Sia; she is often known for her outstanding wigs that disguises her face in public as well as while she is being broadcasted. The reason why she has kept it this way is because she is trying to have some control over her image. She also mentions, according to Nightline, that she does not want to be recognizable. Sia does not want to be criticized about the way she looks on the internet. he also jokingly mentions that the reason why she has the wigs on is that she could go to her local Target to purchase things without having any paparazzi to take photos of her. "I was at Target the other day buying a hose and nobody recognized me and my song was on the radio. And I thought 'okay this experiment is working.'." quoted by Sia.

Stars as Ideologies and Embodiment's of Cultures 

 

Stars represents cultural values and attitudes which promotes a certain idea to the audience. It is the idea where the audience would want to relate to the stars because they have a feature that they can share or admire. Some fans may attempt to replicate the star in their behavior, with what they wear or what they do. Audience interest in these values which enhances their star quality and it is through conveying belief ideas; stars initiate or benefit from cultural discourse (e.g. their Twitter feed), and create an ongoing critical commentary. Now more than ever before, social networks give pop stars the opportunity to establish their own values outside their music.

Often, stars also provide us with a focal point for our own cultural thinking - particularly to do with Youth and Sexuality. Ideology tends to have a positive side and its negative side; an example of this is the rapper Wiz Khalifa is very open about Marijuana despite the fact that he has been arrested on drug charges. He says that  he is Marijuana should be legalized and the world will be at a better place. Lil Wayne is also open about his love for pot; he openly smokes weed in concerts and in public events. He recently discovered that his Miami home was not selling because the buyers were put off with the smell of weed. Rapper Snoop Dogg has been rapping for several years about weed and he has never hid his feelings for the herb even through tough times. This clearly shows us that it could be a huge impact on the audience's perspective on weed and marijuana; younger audiences may most likely be influenced by this so therefore, ideology may need to be in control as it affects audiences especially when they are shown the negative side of the idols.

However, there is a positive side ideology according to Dyer's theory. An example of this is when Lady Gaga frequently tweets about LGBT issues, and she expects her Little Monsters to engage with that discourse just as much as she expects them to listen to her music. This allows her fans to be able to share awareness about the LGBT in a positive way as possible. A star begins as a "real" human, possessing gender and race characteristics, and existing against a socio-historic background.

 

 

Stars provide the audiences with a focus for ideas of "what we are supposed to look like" (e.g. for women we tend to look beautiful and skinny) - they may support hegemony by conforming to it or providing difference. In the KPOP industry, one in South Korean idols had some form of plastic surgery. A very common cosmetic procedure that is colloquially known as the "V line" surgery. This involves breaking and shaving the jawline to create a V shaped face. This surgery is common amongst young Korean pop stars who have their face re shaped to give them elfin, anime like appearance.  KPOP culture and its look have spread across East Asia and into the Asian community in the US. This popularity and the value placed on the surgery behind the stars has meant that South Korea is now synonymous with medical tourism and has established itself as an epicenter for all sorts of cosmetic surgery. KPOP girl groups, often members, have had plastic surgery. 

 This shows a huge influence on the audience who look up to the girl group. The audience feel the need to do plastic surgery to feel pretty like their idol. This could be a negative impact on the audience as it lowers their esteem and the way the media portrays women idols nowadays are unrealistic. A big industry ensures they stay that way. Everything, from their vocals to their face shape, is manufactured by their management companies. Cosmetic surgery is a large part of creating the KPOP image. Many of the KPOP idols even act as spokespeople for surgical companies.

 

 

Production Log- 4&5

This week my group and I were discussing each individual idea and which would be the most effective in engaging its target audience. At the end of our discussion we decided to go with my idea, because the group thought it had great potential in becoming an engaging music video, they also picked up on the lyrics and the different interpretations which could be drawn from them. We planned out the overall video using a mind map, this included the editing, locations, actors, camera language, lighting, props/costumes etc. Although, my idea was strong I have had some problems in terms of the initial actors that were supposed to be playing the parts of the partners having an argument. They have decided to withdraw from the production, so this makes the idea quite useless, as they were the sole part of it. 

After further discussions with my group we have now decided to go with Selim's idea as it was the second choice, in a case where my idea could not be carried out-which is what has happened.
The next steps would be to plan out Selim's idea just as we did with mine.

Mind Map-My idea 

Production Log-3

This week I have pitched my music video idea to the class, explaining everything from my idea of the video/visuals to target audience and where I got my inspiration from in terms of lighting/costumes/locations etc. The pitch covered most of what I wanted to portray in the video and I felt it went Ok, however I could've been a lot more elaborate in some of the points I was making. For instance, when I spoke about my target audience and wasn't clear on why exactly I chose that particular age range or socio-economic class. In my feedback I found that most of my class peers were criticizing me not being 100% sure on some of my idea's and saying 'maybe' a lot. This is mainly because of the fact that things will undoubtedly change and I can't stick to one assumption, despite this I should have been more decisive and firm on my delivery of my overall pitch. 

Next week my group and I will decide on whose music video we're going to go for and why by discussing the main points of cast/crew/location/costing and the idea - whether it is achievable? 

Production Logs 1 & 2

Last week I started planning my idea for my music video after researching on non-signed artists on the website unsigned.com. I then decided to go with the artist Amanda Kaletsky who is an American Hip-hop/ pop artist, this is because her music captured my attention and I could see great potential in her songs becoming a music video.
The lyrics of the song 'Desire' are perfect in terms of making something out of it, I could incorporate more than one convention and style to my music video as well as use lighting and mise-en-scene to grab my target audience's attention.
Next week I will pitch my idea for the music video and I am in the process of preparing for that now.

Music Video Pitch Presentation

Pitch Feedback

Music Video Pitch

Transcribing and Analysing Lyrics and Music

The artist I have chosen is an American pop singer and songwriter from New York. Her songs are mainly built around passion and melody, and usually are influenced by Joni Mitchell and Carole King. She has sold over 2,000 copies of her song 'Wait' and is constantly in radio rotations from the Northeast to Hawaii. I chose this artist because I thought her songs were engaging and my audience will enjoy the music as well as the video I make to interpret it.  My intended primary audience would be women and girls between the ages of 14-38 and a socio economic class of D's to C2's all ethnicities.  My secondary target audience would probably be both genders, from 14-50 year olds and the same socio-economic class and all ethnicities. I have chosen this primary audience because the lyrics of the song have a strong meaning relating to a women feeling as if the man she's with isn't believing in her enough, and this isn't something men can relate to straight away but rather women. Especially as the artist is a female, also I've decided to cut the age range at 38 because I think anyone older isn't going to necessarily find personal identification as people above 38 years usually stop trying to impress or be impressed. My secondary target audience is both genders because men can also enjoy this type of song as they are represented by the man mentioned in the song. I have made the age range higher because it isn't fact that all over 38 year olds aren't trying to woo or appreciate love. 

Amanda Kaletsky - Desire

 

My bags are packed, I’m standing at the door

With nothing but a smile

I’m riding in the car, to leave it all behind

With no guitar, no microphone

I left it all and I’m going home

And it’s a last song for a tired soul

It’s a last stand for a hungry heart

I’ll take what you have given me, and pass it on

That you can’t be a king, if you’re born a vagabond

Don’t say I’m beautiful, unless you mean to paint me

Take back the times you said I’d win

I want something genuine

Not a smoke-screen flat lie, fake words or alibis

You can have all your polite goodbyes

And it’s a last song for a tired soul

It’s a last stand for a hungry heart

I’ll take what you have given me, and pass it on

That you can’t be a king, if you’re born a vaga-

Bond, you said I had to it, but you never believed

Break, you said that I would get, but it’s not that easy

Let go of my hand, I’ll take the path through the fire

And it’s a last song for a tired soul

It’s a last stand for a hungry heart

I’ll take what you have given me, and pass it on

That you can’t be a king, if you’re born a vagabond

The key themes in this song would probably be; Regret, Contemplation and heartbreak in a relationship. I have picked this up from the lyrics and general idea behind the song. I think the main theme here is regret as the chorus continuously talks about something terrible happening in a past relationship that its left the artist with a ''tired soul'' and a ''hungry heart''. These words make me think of someone who has fought through a relationship and is letting it go now because it is too much to handle. The second theme in this song is contemplation, I think the artist shows us this where she says ''take back the times you said I'd win, I want something genuine'' this shows that she's looking thoughtfully at what he's said and come to a decision that it should be something genuine not ..''a smoke-screen flat, fake words or alibis''. The last theme I've picked up in the lyrics is heartbreak, this is illustrated throughout for instance when the artist says ''let go of my hand, I'll take the path through the fire'' and repeatedly saying ''It's a last song for a tired soul, I'ts a last stand for a hungry heart''. 

The lyrics carry many meanings, filled with strong and sorrowful language where the audience are almost made to feel empathetic for the artist in their situation. For example, the words ''tired soul'' conjure up an image of a heartache and general body ache because although the word 'soul' is referring to the heart being tired it could also mean the soul and spirit is tired. The language also contains a lot of imagery and helps the audience imagine the situation clearer instead of trying to figure out what is meant, this is shown when the artist says ''My bags are packed, I'm standing at the door'' it is a very clear image of what is happening and the audience are able to picture it clearly without making up an image of their own, through their interpretation. The lyrics are structured in a narrative order, from the start where the artist has left her partner and throughout is thinking and regretting the relationship even more, then at the end it finishes with something the partner has taught her which is that you can't be a king, if you're born a vagabond.  

The music is very subtle and at a slow pace, it is very suited to the lyrics because there are no hard beats. The only instrument I can hear being used is a piano, and it is more than suitable for the lyrics and the artists tone because piano's are generally seen being used with vocalist and soul artists which Amanda is. The impact this may have on the audience is that it will allow them to sink in with the emotions and feelings of the lyrics more as the music isn't overriding the singing but rather helping to bring it all together nicely. Also, the tempo of the song is quite a slow pace and stays this was throughout the song, which is what it should be because it will otherwise contradict the lyrics and their meaning. 

It think this song will make a great music video because it is simple but can be used and interpreted in different ways. I will do this firstly by the style of the video which would be a narrative and interpretative because they fold in nicely together and relate to the song and its structure.The techniques which would be successful for this song would probably be lip syncing because the lyrics are simple and not too heavy on the tongue. Cutting to the beat and camera language, because there are a lot of stops here and there so the camera shots/angles and movement will be varied. Also, although the editing is going to take up a lot of time and is the most straining part, I think the song will make it easier because the beats occur frequently so the cuts would work in that respect.