Monday, September 9, 2013

3 Songs

Childhood
WHO LET THE DOGS OUT- Baha Men
This was the first CD I ever owned, which I listened to on repeat for months.


Teens
MR BLUE SKY- E.L.O.
I've loved this song ever sice I first heard it on Doctor Who a few years ago. It's my feel good song, and I'll always feel happy whenever I hear it.


Today
Love Is Easy- McFly
I've loved McFly for years, and they were the first band I ever saw live, this song is one of their newest and is so cute, with a really good video, showing the boys grown up and showing off their new 'suited up' image.


NEARLY CHOSE:
Ever Fallen In Love- The Buzzcocks
Posh Girls- Scouting For Girls
When There Was Me and You- High School Musical
Want U Back- Cher Lloyd

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Music Video Track Research

GENRE: Pop

ARTIST: Female, girlband duo (or more)

Inspiration- Last Friday Night- Katy Perry
Love Machine- Girls Aloud
Just Can't Get Enough- The Saturdays

That Girl -Noisettes
Boys, Boys, Boys- Lady Gaga
Atomic Kitten -See Ya
As I Am- Miley Cyrus
Full Circle- Miley Cyrus
Gentleman- The Sats
Not that kinda girl-
Karma
Keep Her
Ladykiller
Lose Control
Open Up
Puppet
White Lies
Lightening Stikes- Diana Vickers

Thursday, July 18, 2013

EVALUATION

LITTLE MIX- WINGS REMAKE!

On Friday 12th July 2013, the year 12 Media students took part in a remake workshop, where we remade the video for Wings, by Little Mix. For the main band roles we auditioned with lipsynch videos, and I was given the role of Jesy. Jesy has a lot of attitude, and is very sassy, with a distinctly Essex urban style, I found getting into this character very exciting.
 
Olivia Downes (who I did my lipsynch with)played Perrie, Arianna Tipper played Jade and Anjana Stephens played Leigh-Anne. Each band member also had a dance double, who assisted us in learning the moves specific to our individual characters prior to the shoot, and on the day they watched as we performed, and directed us in perfecting our moves, and informing us of anything missed out. The rest of the year 12 media students took part in the dance scene, wearing all black costumes, some close ups of a few students can be seen within our music video remake.
 
 
DID YOU ENJOY THE WORKSHOP DAY? WHAT WERE YOUR BEST BITS AND WHY?
Yes, I found the whole day really fun, and really enjoyed playing a lead role, espeically a character as fun as Jesy, dressing and performing in character. I loved seeing how costumes and sets were used, especially during a remake style music video, as we were able to really accurately liken our video to the real thing. The day was very long, with me being up for my solo performance first at 8.30AM, which was very nerve-wracking, but everyone else on set was very energetic and enthusiastic, and they cheered me on as I performed, and this made me feel much more at ease. I had so much fun, that I actually felt sad when my part was over. My least favourite part was the dance, as I cannot dance, and was not used to performing at the front.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT FROM PARTICIPATING IN EACH OF THE PRELIM TASKS?
In my analysis task, I learnt about music videos, especially performance style music videos. Here we looked at things such as style, genre, shot types and presentation of artist and setting, and learnt how crucial each individual part is in creating a music video. With the lipsynch, I realised how hard it was to link up the sound to the video, and how to create the most effective lipsynch possible. When watching video back, it was clear that the more energetic and enthusiastic you were, the better it came across, and a music video shoot was no place to be shy. Prior to our workshop day I learnt how much planning is involved in each stage of the shoot, and how many aspects need to be thought of and pre-planned to ensure a successful shoot, and eventually a successful and accurate remake music video. On the day I saw how each section of the team worked together and interacted to ensure that every shot was achieved, and when editing, I learnt about the editing of music videos, for example; discontinuous editing, which was especially helpful as I think the music video I create next year will be of a similar genre and style.

ARE YOU PLEASED WITH THE FOOTAGE AND YOUR EDIT? IS IT HOW YOU EXPECTED IT TO LOOK?
I am pleased with the footage as it looks really professional and authentic, with the relation to the original video being clear. However, some specific shots were not achieved, as certain moves had been forgotten or missed out, during the edit we needed to find substitutes for these shots. In spite of this, I thought our edit was very accurate, as we were able to include replacement shots, usually of the same character, and although the actions were not exacty the I felt the similarity in costumes and sets played a huge part in creating a likeness. I did not expect our remake to look as similar as it did, and was pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of footage, though some shots were incorrectly framed or not focused. In cases where these shots needed to be used, cutting was very fast, and anything that did not appear perfect would not be so stirkingly obvious.

HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR PRELIM EXPERIENCES WILL IMPACT YOUR APPROACH TO NEXT TERM'S MUSIC VIDEO COURSEWORK?

After experiencing the entire process I realised how important planning is, when mapping out the entire video, and the shots that needed to be taken. When I come to plan my own, I will definitely make sure that every aspect is planned as thoroughly as it was for our Little Mix remake. I feel I would like to create a music video with a similarly bright and girly style, probably of the same Pop genre, and I felt the impressive and detailed sets were something I would really like to experiment with if possible. I would not like to work with a large group of performers, as I think this would be very difficult to organise, and some people would be hard to rely on. I liked the fast paced editing style, with lots of similar shots used together, and different sets and costume styles throughout.






































Thursday, June 20, 2013

Performance Music Video Analysis

MILEY CYRUS - Party in the USA

1.The music, lyrics and imagery all work in collaboration here, with the American imagery playing a key role, evident through the lyrics, costumes and props.
2. Miley's performance and attitude drives the music video, and she definitely sustains this confident, fun attitude throughout, as the video loosely follows the narrative of her arriving and performing in the USA.
3. Her lip-sync is believable and realistic throughout.
4. Miley's role as the artist performing is cross-cut between shots of her in her 'bad-girl' character performance as she interacts with her friends and has fun in the USA.
5. As the audience would expect, we see Miley singing and dancing, thus conforming to their expectations of her.
6. Miley is visually striking, with her perfect hair and make up, and summery, teenage 'bad-girl' outfit. 
7. While Miley's costume stays pretty much the same throughout, with the same short shorts, and cowboy boots shown, typical of the character portrayed, the backdrops are changing regularly, with several settings such as a parking lot, a dark chained swingset, and a stage complete with an American flag being seen.
8. A strong sense of development is felt, as Miley's party in the USA progresses, and she moves from performing on the back of a truck, to performing on stage.
9. Miley's dancing and general attitude is very typical of her style and the image she has created for herself, and she is seen as an inspirational figure to some fans.
10. Beauty shots are frequent, with several shots of her cowboy boots also featured.
11. Juxtapositions between settings can be seen, and within her different attitudes, from the crazy party girl, to the more chilled out serious presentation.
12. Discontinuous editing is standard and is shown here, with this making sense within the music video context.
13. References to popular culture include Jay-Z and Britney, as well as several American place names mentioned.
14. Different layers of meaning are offered, while predominantly this video appears to be about having fun, and living the American Dream style life.
15. A strong audience reaction is provoked from this video, with it being very well known and memorable to both fans of Miley Cyrus and the pop genre, as well as some others.