Deadlines/Brief

Music videos are so 80s/90s, right? They belong with the era when MTV screened wall-to-wall vids instead of 'reality' TV? Try telling that to the millions who bought Gangnam Style; were they really simply loving the music? 1.6bn (and still climbing) have viewed the video on YT, not to mention the many re-makes (school eg, eg2), viral ads + celeb link-ups (even political protest in Seoul) - and it doesn't matter how legit it is, this nightmare for daydream Beliebers is making a lot of money, even from the parodies + dislikes. All this for a simple dance track that wouldn't have sounded out of place in 1990 ... but had a fun vid. This meme itself was soon displaced by the Harlem Shake. Music vids even cause diseases it seems!
This blog explores every aspect of this most postmodern of media formats, including other print-based promo tools used by the industry, its fast-changing nature, + how fans/audiences create/interact. Posts are primarily written with Media students/educators in mind. Please acknowledge the blog author if using any resources from this blog - Mr Dave Burrowes

Tuesday, 4 October 2011

What you should be blogging on!!!

Your blog should reflect all aspects of our Media work in and out of lessons; I've added links to relevant posts on a variety of your blogs to the list below of recent topics you should be covering.
Many of you are looking good for the 19 or 20 out of 20 for R+P that we can all aspire to; some of you have significant catching up to do. If in doubt over ANY aspect always ask!

  • Your vodcast should be embedded [here's Tom's w/ Rob]
  • class vid pitch too, and research underpinning it [here's Jess']
  • brief summary of the winning pitch + the subsequent class project [Tom's - needs updatin]
  • detail + reflect on the process: the limited research+planning time, limited shoot time - what went well/badly, and what lessons did you learn? [see SamP's]
  • what have you learned in regards to using Final Cut? [see Rob's, 1 of several on distinct aspects]
  • ideas for coursework pitch (including any you've rejected) [Conor has added several posts on this]
  • once narrowed down, your pitch material, including relevant research into band/genre etc [here's Rob on Muse's music vids]
  • sean kingston + prof green vids, analysis of these in lesson [see Sophie + Rob's]
  • marking a 2011 IGS vid - see Rich's post, copied in below. Its so, so important you have a good grasp of what marks are awarded for (+ taken off for) from the outset! [also Will's on Men at Work]
  • ongoing analysis of music vid examples you've looked at - once you've done the 15 that doesn't have to be a long post; even ONE detail you noticed and thought useful to remember would be fine. If you can, sit down and watch some VH1/MTV top 20 shows of whatever genre, making brief notes as you go; thats a very handy way of accessing a wide range of vids in a short space of time. I find it useful myself, not least to replenish the stack of older vids whirling about my head with some more recent examples. Watching several in a short space of time is highly instructive.
  • try to keep up with my blogging too; recently I've posted on convergence using Bill Bailey eg; contrasting vid egs of Sean Kingston + Prof Green [notes to be added]; Lady Gaga + ideology; role of new media; Rihanna saying censorship helped her sales; the controversy over the MOBOs and Black British music; Streets' anti-vid and much, much more before then
  • if you didn't blog on our June-July work, this and this post will help you recap the ground covered, and you'll find much more in further posts on the various topics mentioned.


Joy Division - Disorder (A2 Video Deconstruction)

Holding a shot steady, where appropriate:

Excellent

Throughout the video the almost all the shots are held steady, the exception is the very first shot, the shot is shaky for the first 3 seconds. Apart from this the rest of the shots are held steady.
A good example of when the shot is held steady is between the times 1:03 to 1:10 the reason why this shot is a good example of the shot being steady is due to the shot tracking the protagonist as he turns around on the spot. Throughout this shot it remains a close-up. This type of shot is repeated throughout the video during the same section of the song.


Framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate:

Excellent

The framing of the shots has been well thought through. This is shown throughout the video an example of this is when the protagonist is walking down an ordinary street which the audience can see ordinary street objects which anchor the location. As well as this the shots used that feature the protagonist are normally centralised.



Using a variety of shot distances as appropriate, editing so that the meaning is apparent to the viewer and using varied shot transitions, captions and other effects selectively and appropriately:

Excellent

Throughout this music video there is a wide range of shots and angles used, these shots include from
close-ups to extreme long shots.

A good example showing the wide range of shots is whilst the protagonist is in a wood. The shots included are close-ups, medium, long and extreme long. The close-ups that are featured in this section including a tracking shot which follows the protagonist as he turns on the spot, the angle used is a low angle. The other close-up included in this section is whilst the protagonist is in another location, which appears to be a cramped room. Fading in and out transitions are used to link the two different locations together. The medium shot used mainly focuses on the protagonist smoking or falling down. To add to this during one shot, the shot is reduced with a black box around it and the image scrolls up signifying that it could be from an old film reel this is future anchored due to the colouring of the video being black and white. The is maintained throughout the video with the exception of a close-up of the cigarette when being smoked at the beginning which appears to have red glowing ash as the protagonist is smoking it. Long shots are used to show the audience the route the protagonist is taking whilst walking through the wood.



Shooting material appropriate to the task set:

Proficient

The footage filmed is appropriate to the task set although it could be argued that the cigarette could be taking it a step too far. The only reason for that is that there has been recent news that media that includes smoking should be given an adult certificate. Despite this the target market would be adult which would therefore rule this argument out. The target market would be aged between 15-24 and a secondary audience of 40-60. Another reason why the material is appropriate to the criteria set is because the music fits into the music video.


Selecting mise-en-scene including colour, figure, lighting, objectives and setting:

Proficient

Throughout the video each aspect has been thought of clearly and been well delivered.

During the entire music video all the colour has been extracted leaving black and white, with exception a shot of a close-up of a cigarette being smoked which appears to have red colouring. This also effects the lighting of the video although in some sequences the sequence where the protagonist is in a subway and where it appears the protagonist is in a small room) the audience can tell the group has this is because the lighting darkness and brightens up giving the sense of realism.


Using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task:

Excellent

The sound that is attached to the footage has been appropriately edited out with exception to the beginning and last shots which contains wind. Although during these sections the track isn’t being played therefore this could be deliberate. As well as this the lyrics contains no explicit lyrics. The editing for this music video has been edited appropriately so it looks like it is an actual video for the band.

In conclusion I would give this coursework 37/40.

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