We’re Done!

We have finally finished creating our music video, as we have filmed, edited and have now uploaded the video to YouTube so that we can each upload it to our blogs and show the video in its final format. I believe that I heave learnt a lot in performing and editing through this process, whilst also learning the importance of research and planning towards creating a successful piece.

Below is our music video:

Overall this post is just to say, we have finished our A2 Media Coursework and the above video shows our music video that accompanies this blog, all of the details towards the creation process of this video can be found in this blog!

Enjoy! 

Evaluation Question 4: How did you use media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?

Within the construction, research, planning and evaluation of our media product technology was largely used in a variety of ways to aid and assist our work, as well as improving and changing the way in which we were able to complete certain tasks towards the overall creation of the product. Within this post are a series of videos and a podcast giving detail into how we used technology to enhance our work.

Research

The podcast below gives details on the research (both primary and secondary) towards our media product:

As mentioned within the podcast above; the primary and secondary research we took into music videos and their conventions was mainly aided by the use of the internet allowing us to research multiple examples of music videos as well as find details on specific examples of editors as well as allowing us to view their work and gain their opinions on what makes a music video. Giving us an overall insight into music videos before we began our work.

An image of one of our secondary resources ‘Dancing In The Distraction Factory’

Our research included looking into examples including (as prior mentioned within the ‘secondary research’ category of my blog) Andrew Goodwin’s ‘Dancing in the Distraction Factory’ and Suzy Davis – a professional editor, from whom we were able to gain an insight into what goes on during editing sessions to give us practical insights into the methods used whereas our research into others such as ‘Andrew Goodwin’ gave insights into the different types of music videos and the associated styles surrounding them. Which additionally allowed us to gather information into different styles of music videos before we began our work.

These different styles included:

• Concept
• Narrative
• Disjuncture
•  Amplification

Styles which allowed for different levels of creative freedom, whilst including features for the audience such as the introduction of star image and meta narrative, seen through mainly narrative videos.

Screen shots and an album cover from Foo Fighters song ‘Walk’

As a group we chose to use technology to research further into narrative music videos, therefore using YouTube we researched the narrative music video ‘Walk’ By Foo Fighters, which as a group we found that compared to other music videos we had seen and experienced that this video did not allow a large enough scope for creativity. The PowerPoint below gives further details into the research we undertook and how we used technology to represent this information.

Upon choosing the song for our music video ‘Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked’ by Cage The Elephant, we looked further into their own work, by using the internet to search for details of the bands songs, so that we could further study their own music videos.

From this primary research we wanted to learn the styles and techniques used within their music videos, so that we could take inspiration for this when creating our own music videos. From this we learned first hand about the textual schizophrenia including within their work, as the majority of their music videos combine narrative with disjuncture whilst injecting performance elements to boost their lead singers star image.

Their post modern fusion of styles was seen through the music videos of theirs we studied, which included:

• In One Ear
• Back Against The Wall
• Shake Me Down

Screen shots from Cage the Elephants music videos we researched

This research also allowed us to see how Cage The Elephant address their audience and therefore through identifying these conventions we hoped to replicate them so that we could address their audience and our own target audience through conforming to their styles and genre of music video.

However as a group we decided during planning that live performance would be too difficult to arrange therefore we decided to focus mainly on lip syncing within our work, which was achieved through the use of technology allowing us to over lay a pre recorded version of the song over footage of our protagonist miming the words to further the authenticity of our piece, this was initially experimented through our lip syncing tasks our final version of which is shown below within this post.

Planning

Our planning process utilised technology through the use of YouTube to allow us to watch the existing music video for our chosen song ‘Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked’, which allowed us to take inspiration from the use of narrative and disjuncture to represent the lyrics. From this we were also able to create a ‘timeline’ of events before creating a story board, as we could play our chosen song and make notes to the specific second of the song through this use of technology. Allowing us to accurately plan out ideas for each verse and chorus of the song, depending on the length of the verses and the repetitive features within the chorus.

We also used PowerPoint to create storyboards, both a rough draft and final version allowing us to plan from the ‘time line’ below directly giving us an idea of potential camera angles and shots which we could use within our final piece. This further planning also helped us structure our filming process.

Our location choices were also enhanced by the use of technology as we were able to (for the location of Queensgate) use Google Earth in order to view the area via satellite imaging, before physically going out to take location photos on our mobile phones. Which helped us narrow down our options of different areas before we were physically in the location.

The process of taking photographs on our mobile phones, despite lacking the quality that would be achieved from using a camera when filming still allowed us to compare locations and see the contrasts and similarities, which ultimately helped us narrow down our choices and additionally ensure that the chosen areas suited the specific scenes.

Furthermore the contrast created between the urban and rural areas was easily comparable via photographs as this allowed us to visualise both locations simultaneously so that we could begin to imagine how the final piece would look once the filming process had begun. Which enhanced the quality of our piece as we were able to decide upon locations quickly and narrow down our choices meaning that filming could commence earlier.

Photos taken of the cast in costume allowed us to again visualise and compare costumes, prior to filming, to ensure that the costumes suited with one another, additionally we wanted to see if certain props looked authentic on camera – such as the ‘mugger’s fake gun, thus ensuring authenticity to our piece. Taking images of the protagonists costume also helped us to visually show the planned change in costumes from the beginning of the video to the end, allowing us to see directly the contrast and the different stages the protagonists costume went through, which combined with our ‘timeline’ helped us to plan when costume changes would occur, ensuring continuity within our music video.

As prior mentioned the lip syncing task allowed us to experiment with the technique of overlaying a pre recorded music track over footage of our protagonist miming. After our initial lip syncing task (including a range of songs) we completed a secondary lip syncing task which focused entirely on the beginning of our chosen song ‘Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked’ which allowed us to refine our practice and gave our protagonist further chance to practice lip syncing upon the chosen song. The video of our lip syncing outlining the importance of perfecting this technique and use of technology is shown below:

Construction

Within the construction phase of our piece technology was used mainly through the filming of the piece, as when filming we used two cameras to give us a range of shots to chose from in editing, allowing us to shoot from different angles which enhanced our piece as we were able to experiment with different camera shots, which we aimed would ultimately make our piece more engaging for the audience.

Additionally the use of a lighting rig whilst filming within the drama studio allowed us to control and style the specific lighting we needed. As we were able to choose the colour of the lights through changing the coloured gels which allowed us to enforce our colour scheme of red and blue, through the use of red blue and yellow lights. This use of lighting and ability to alter the brightness of the lights during the filming also helped us enhance the visual effects as the use of three different coloured lights created different coloured shadows around our protagonist, thus creating visually interesting shots for the audience, improving the overall quality and repeatability of our music video.

The ‘editing videos’ which have been taken from previous posts within my blog help further illustrate the construction process (specifically the editing side) and how technology such as the editing software ‘Final Cut Pro’ was utilised during the creation of our music video.

The main points from this ‘editing video’ as to how technology was used are shown below:

Final cut pro allowed us to overlay specific effects on shots such as the ‘cartoon’ effect and ‘hard light’ which helped improve the visual style and quality of the piece, the ‘hard light’ effect also helped emphasises our colour scheme, therefore improving the quality of our piece visually through this use of technology.

We were also able to edit the amount of the effects imposed onto certain shots, as in some shots the ‘cartoon’ effect improved the quality of the shot however in others the amount needed to be altered and lowered to make the shot aesthetically pleasing.

Using this editing software we were also able to edit on the beat, which helped the authenticity of our music video as we were able to cut shots and edit every 1.13 seconds, as editing on the beat is a feature of professional music videos therefore utilising this effect improved our piece whilst giving us a definitive structure when editing which helped speed up the process of ordering shots, allowing us to focus on which locations we would cut to as the length of the shots was in most cases predetermined. (Despite some shot being double this length to create a contrast)

We were also able to cut and repeat shots during the editing of our piece, which helped make the music video more interesting to watch therefore giving the piece a sense of repeatability, which is key for a successful music video.

This secondary ‘editing video’ gives detail into the further editing which went into the construction of our piece, further points from this video are mentioned below:

The further use of Final Cut Pro, a professional editing software, allowed us to enhance the level of sophistication and authenticity of our piece. Whilst further allowing us to be able to edit the timing and speed of shots as we could speed up, slow down and reverse chosen shots which furthered the quality of our piece and engagement for the audience.

There was an additional use of technology through our found footage sourced from YouTube and downloaded into Final Cut Pro, this use of technology allowed us to use pre recorded footage in our piece which we then edited, changing the visual effects (through adding ‘hard light’) whilst utilising specific sections of the footage to personalise this found footage and ‘tailor’ the footage to our specific needs.

Evaluation

Within the evaluation of piece technology was also heavily featured including the use of social networks, the video below gives further details on the technology used:

Mainly technology was used to collected audience feedback from a range of online sources, using both YouTube and Facebook we were able to take advantage of these social networks interactive comment systems, which allowed people of a range of ages, from a range of places give feedback on our work.

Through this we were able to gain a diverse range of feedback as we were able to ‘share’ our video online to people who both knew us and equally did not know us, meaning that we were less likely to get bias responses. Therefore allowed our audience feedback to be reliable and further more we were able to target people who were both, between 16-24 (our target audience) as well people who were above and below our target audience, to gain a wider variety of feedback.

After gathering feedback we were able to applying these comments and criticisms to our video back in editing to improve the overall piece and take on board our target audiences responses. The technique of ‘posting’ our video on social networks also allowed people to give comments when they were available, therefore enhancing the range of people who were available to give feedback. We were also able to self evaluate during the editing process through the technique of re-watching our music video.

Another way in which technology was used within our evaluation of our piece was through the creation of questionnaires in Microsoft Word and Publisher which, when results were added, were visually represented within graphs charts in Excel allowing us to compare our quantitative feedback from our closed questions. Overall this shows how were able to use technology to gain feedback we were able to take on board the suggestions.

Ultimately media technology was used throughout each different stage towards the production of our music video, the techniques of using these different forms of technology have allowed us to learn the usefulness of technology and the advancements we could make to our work, such as the further efficiency of locations searches using satellite imagery, as well as the use of technology in editing through the use of Final Cut Pro which allowed us to enhance our capabilities. Technology therefore has been seen as not only present but also useful throughout the construction, research, planning and evaluation of our music video.

Evaluation Question 3: What Have You Learnt From Audience Feedback?

Ultimately through audience feedback as both a group and an individual we have been able to take on criticism of our work which has been constructive and overall helpful towards improving our music video. I believe that to gather audience feedback effectively we had to carry out a number of methods in order to gain a variety of feedback from a large range of people. This feedback which we collected as shown below within this post, gives details onto how audiences initially reacted to versions of our product and how we took this advice on during our creation and editing process in order to fully benefit from this process.

Below is podcast which gives an overview of the audience feedback which we have carried out and explain the advantages of doing so:

In addition to the content of this podcast I believe that audience feedback is useful in the evaluation and construction of a media piece as it allows us to get an outside view and gives us a chance to take advise from people directly within our target audience. This being mainly males between the ages of 16-24.

The main points mentioned within the above podcast include details into the use of social networks, allowing us to gain access to a wider variety of people of different ages, of which both know us and are anonymous. Therefore eliminating the possibilities of a bias judgement which allows the criticism to be fully focused on the product rather than upon the group which created it.

One way in which we received audience feedback was through ‘posting’ our video on the social network Facebook, the image below gives a sample of some of the comments we received. Noticeably the names have been covered to protect the people making the comments in case they do not want their  identity revealed, additionally Facebook allows you to ‘Like’  a post i.e. our music video, the highlighted thumb in the top right hand corner shows that our video gained 29 likes when posting on Facebook, showing that although some people did not ‘comment’ on the ‘post’ they were in fact able to show positive feedback through this gesture.

These comments vary in the degrees of detail and structure as the people who commented ranged from students to other friends of which few are media students. Meaning that the comments reflect both a professional review and that of the more general public. Again these comments can be ‘liked’ showing that people agree with the feedback which has been given, showing their credibility. One specific comment mentions the “narrative” and also the “cut away shots” which allowed us to focus, when reviewing our music video the ordering of shots so that the narrative was sustained whilst allowing for elements of disjuncture within our piece.

The image above shows feedback which we gained from the website, YouTube on which we uploaded our video (allowing us to share it on Facebook) which gave us an ample range of audience. The comments shown give criticisms and personal opinions on the music video which again allow us to constructively take these into account, such as the comment which featured the idea that we could re consider possible shots and the overall ordering allowing us to improve our piece. I believe that from the use of social networks that audience feedback is a valuable process to be used when editing and reviewing media work, the use of these networks allowed me to learn the advantages of having a wider range of audiences allowing us to expand our audience as far as possible and therefore gain feedback from both known and anonymous sources.

Another way in which we used audience feedback was through the creation of a questionnaire which we gave to 30 people to gather again a range of responses from a variety of people. This taught us about the use of open and closed questions and how these are valuable in gathering qualitative data (i.e. peoples open opinions, similarly to the comment gathered from Facebook and YouTube) as well as the use of closed questions allowing us to create quantitative data which could be represented visually as seen within the pie charts and graphs below.

The image below shows the first half of our audience feedback questionnaire showing the closed questions which we asked our 30 people:

Following this image is a table of results showing the numerical data shown as both totals out of 30 and percentages in order to better represent the data.

This use of closed questions gave us definitive answers which we could use to show whether people definitely liked or disliked our video as well as giving us answers to key questions such as “Did you feel the music went well with the video?” which is highly important for a music video. Overall our results are shown as positive proving that the majority of people we asked enjoyed the music video and would in fact watch it again, proving numerically that our video has repeatability, a quality which a successful music video must have.

Below are a series of pie charts and bar graphs which we created from the collected data, overall showing positive feedback towards our media product. This ultimately as a group we have learnt the advantages of visually representing data allowing for us to collate results to give definitive answers and information on whether or not our target audience enjoy our music video.

Using both a range of piece charts and bar graphs simply helps to vary the results collected whilst visually representing the results in a way that is more effective for the specific question. Improving the overall aesthetics of our visually represented results.

Overall the charts show our range of audience with an almost 50% split between a male (53%) and female (47%) audience as well as their variety of ages, the majority however being closely within our target audience. (16-20 year olds scoring 37% proving a large majority.) Thus proving the overall effectiveness of our questionnaire in terms gaining and representing our feedback.

These open questions also allowed us to ask questions which would give us accurate feedback whilst allowing the audience to give their own opinions, examples of the questions and answers are given below to show a sample of the answers we received when carrying out our audience feedback:

(The open questions shown on an image of our actual questionnaire shown above are listed below due to the low quality of the image.)

Q1) do you think we conformed to or subverted the conventions of a stereotypical music video, if so how?

A)  “I think that the music video looks like a genuine music video as there is a clear focus on making the narrative about the lyrics while also fitting in random disjuncture shots. But you also subverted this and made the shots more separated so that it added replay value and were spread out throughout the entire music video”

Q2) What was you’re favourite moment within the video?

A)  “I particularly liked the narrative elements which featured the Mugger as the camera angles were very unique, the black and white effect was different and cool to look at and the cuts between the same part, where it cut to different parts focusing on the gun, was a really cool idea and contrasted the other shots.”

Q3) Did you feel the music video went well with the song? If yes why?

A) “I think it went very well with the song. The actions fit the lyrics, it was light-hearted and the way you cut to the beat made it really work with the song. I would definitely watch it again”

Q4) what do you feel could be improved?

A) “I really liked the music video as a whole and didn’t feel that you had to change much. I think maybe some re-ordering of the shots, so that the lip-syncing is more separated amongst the narrative would make the video really engaging. Also a stronger focus on narrative rather than disjuncture shots would make it less jarring. But overall I really liked the video!”

Finally, below is a podcast summarising the importance of audience feedback whilst also giving details into some of the changes we have made as a result of this overall process.

The main points within this podcast include our creative decisions to reduce the amount of visual effects on the product so that the audience can focus upon the narrative, whilst as prior mentioned within the post changing the order of shots to allow the video to flow and the cuts of be seen as less jarring. We believe taking on board the given comments and feedback that we were able to improve our product through addressing the opinions given from members of our target audience.

Overall through carrying out audience feedback we have found advantages through technology giving us the option to upload and  ‘post’ our work online for other users to make comments and give criticisms, people which would not otherwise be able to give feedback on our work as easily. Furthermore the use of visual representation also helped us collate our data and view it giving us definitive answers to key questions such as whether or not our piece has repeatability. To conclude I believe that we have benefited form the changes we have made prior to audience feedback and therefore we have been able to improve our media product through effectively utilising the ample feedback from the widest range of audience we had available to us.

Evaluation Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product & the 2 ancillary texts?

Throughout the creation of both our music video and our digi-pak (consisting of our album artwork and magazine advert) we have included iconic features to create links within our products so that it is easily identifiable from the audience’s perspective that these products fit together and work to market the same overall product: that being our music video.

Below is a video giving detail on the creative decisions which we made to directly link these products and allow there visually to be identifiable factors signifying the connection between the products. Within the video we also give an overview of some of the recurring themes which are present throughout our music video and two ancillary texts, an example being, the protagonist is heavily featured consistently throughout to create an enhance the idea of ‘star image’ for the main performer.

The main points mentioned within the video above illustrate the main links showing the effectiveness of the combination of all our media texts: those being the music video, album artwork and magazine advert.

One important point mentions refers to the recurring colour theme through out the piece of red and blue, this colour scheme was introduced for multiple reasons, however it helps show a clear link between the three products. We chose these colours as they were colours which we felt could be symbolic in showing the protagonists good and bad side, whilst giving clear visual links (within our music video) between shots taken in the drama studio (with the use of red and blue lights) as well as with the shots taken in outside locations wherein the colour scheme came through the costume of both the Protagonist and the Harlot.

Additionally the link through the colour schemes of the products was created due to the location for the filming of the lip-syncing and the capturing of the shots for the digi-pak being the same place: the drama studio. In which we had access to a lighting rig with changeable coloured gels, of which we were able to choose the colours we wanted to use and therefore created clear iconic link by controlling the choice of colour and additionally the intensity of the lighting to help balance the colours we wanted for particular shots. (As visually shown within the image below)

Significantly the protagonist is the main focus (as prior mentioned) within the majority of shots within our music video as well as within our digi-pak, again creating a link through the obvious star image being portrayed by the constant featuring of the protagonists image. For an audience member they can also recognise that the ‘performer’ from the music video is heavily featured in the album artwork and the advert therefore allowing them to clearly recognise that these two ancillary texts are promoting the main product, as illustrated in the image below.

Another clear link between the two ancillary texts and to an extent the music video is the use of the same text and additionally font within the album art and the magazine advert. As the repetition of text creates visual links which the audience can pick up on and therefore see the link between the three products. The text featured mentions the band name ‘Cage The Elephant’ and the song name ‘Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked’, which is heavily included in the lyrics of the song which can be obviously heard within the music video as well as visually represented through the sped up footage which is repeated periodically within the video.

Therefore this ensures the audience can see a link showing the effectiveness of our products together as they continually enforce similar iconic styles and themes through the use of colour, costume and text featuring key words such as the name of the song which can show clear links to our audience.

Overall I believe that the continuity between the three texts creates interest for the audience as they can see clear links from the promotional packaging and therefore are more excited and captured as an audience towards our product. Also the clear links allow the audience to become familiar with the name of our song and some of our chosen themes such as the use of colour to represent the protagonists deterioration.

The fact that our audience should be able to identify this quickly means they will become interested in the narrative faster and thus will be more engaged within the music video and subsequently the ancillary texts which promote it, which as a result shows the clear effectiveness of the three products collectively as the links between each other support and promote the products equally.

Evaluation Question 1: In what ways does your music promotional package use, develop or challenge the forms and conventions of existing music video/ promo packages?

Our music video and promotional packages conform to, develop and challenge conventions of existing music videos/ promo packages as we have included a range of genre paradigms and techniques which include the use of lip syncing, editing on the beat and other popular techniques which make music videos of different styles successful.

An image showing different styles of music videos

From our primary and secondary research as prior mentioned within my blog, as a group we were able to identify existing conventions, so that we were able to choose to conform of challenge to them. Once we had chosen a particular style for our music video specifically, we were able to further identify the specific conventions, therefore once we had decide upon creating a narrative and disjuncture video to an alternative rock song, we were able to structure our creative choices of which conventions to follow for our music video and two ancillary texts.

The video below gives further detail into how we conformed to and challenged conventions within our music video specifically:

The main points discussed within the video concerning the conventions used and subverted within our music video are as follows:

Mainly our music video is in the style of a narrative and disjuncutre video with an element of performance included. We conform to the conventions of a narrative music video due to our interpretation of the lyrics which tell the story of the protagonist. Therefore we decided to include narrative shots to relate the content of the video directly to the lyrics, therefore meaning the video suited the chosen song, making it an effective music video.

We also conformed to the disjuncture style of music video through the filming of ‘random’ and ‘non-relevant’ shots to enhance our creative freedom allowing us to make the video more engaging for the audience through breaking up the narrative shots so that the video did not appear dull or repetitive. This conforms to the styles of Cage the Elephant’s music videos, such as ‘In One Ear’, as this video has multiple cuts to ‘random’ shots to cut away from the performance elements, therefore we replicated this technique to create interest and repeatability within our music video.

A disjuncture shot of the protagonist taken within the Drama Studio

This use of narrative also allowed us to focused on star image as our protagonist was largely in shot for the duration of our music video, we developed this idea of star image further by giving our protagonist a large amount of screen time whilst using mainly low angled shots so that our protagonist appeared superior.

Another point mentioned within the video is the use of performance elements within our video as we included the technique of lip syncing, which is highly recognised as a feature of a music video to help ensure gain of voice and authenticity within the music video.

We also edited to the beat of the song, making a cut every 1.13 frames, so that our editing is in time with the song, and therefore this convention allowed us to enhance our music video overall quality and believability.

Ways in which we challenged the conventions of existing media texts also included the contrast of shots between narrative and disjuncture, as although some music videos include these, videos such as ‘Walk’ by Foo Fighters which are mainly narrative. Therefore by subverting this convention of a single style music video we were able to explore textual schizophrenia by combining different styles of music videos within our post modern piece allowing us to make the video more engaging for the audience .

Within our music video we also subverted the convention of using band footage by not featuring a live performance, excluding our lip syncing footage, we challenged the conventions as usually music videos feature images of the band to help promote the song to the bands audience. We chose as a group not to include this footage as we felt our video already had a large amount of content and therefore we decided not to overload our music video as this would limit our shot choices in editing. Additionally we felt that arranging a band to perform would not be practical and would limit the dates of which we could film therefore we felt this was an unnecessary risk towards the quality of our music video due to the ample lip syncing footage we had planned to use to maintain parts of performance elements within our music video.

A screen shot taken from the music video showing a Narrative shot

Our narrative style prompted us to subvert the expectations of filming only in urban locations, as the protagonist returns home towards the end of the narrative arc, as for the narrative to be sustained as a group we agreed to subvert the usual conventions and film in a rural location. Challenging these conventions of urban areas and studios allowed us to include different locations and therefore difference shot choices to cut to during editing, allowing our video to maintain its narrative whilst keeping the audience engaged as the setting does not become dull and predictable, therefore improving the quality of our music video.

An image showing our protagonist in contrasting locations within our music video.

The PowerPoint below illustrates how we subverted, developed and conformed to conventions of existing media texts within our two ancillary texts:

For our album artwork the main way in which we conformed to the conventions of existing media texts was through featuring our protagonist on the front cover of our artwork therefore showing his star image and metanarrative as a performer through the constant use of his image to promote the music video. This example of synergy with the image of the protagonist through the three texts (music video and two ancillary texts) can be seen as a form of symbiotic marketing and thus enhanced the idea that, due to the clear link between the texts, that the album artwork and magazine article are promoting the music video as product, similarly to the way existing music videos are promoted.

The use of the name of the song and band upon the artwork also allows us to conform to the conventions as it gives our audience a recognisable element towards our artwork and magazine article which further promotes our music video from the credibility of the band name alone, as well as the well known song due to its use within the popular video game ‘Borderlands’ therefore further enhancing the promotion of our piece.

An image showing the video game in which our chosen song was used as part of the promotional package making it recognisable to a wider audience.

The shots for these two ancillary texts were taken within the drama studio, one of our locations used for lip syncing within the creation of our music video. This continuity helps further the synergy used within our three texts as these shots within the music video are therefore identifiable to the audience, making it clear that the album art is to promote this specific music video, therefore conforming to the conventions of utilising images taken from our music video into our album artwork and magazine advert.

The colour scheme of red and blue is further enhanced due to this link as mentioned above, which allow us to use lighting and colour so that our audience can identify our texts together. The additional use of a bar code and copy right information upon our album art gives it further authenticity and makes it clear to our audience that we are advertising a product for sale, which strictly follows the conventions of existing media texts.

An image showing our back (left) and front cover (right) of our album artwork, highlighting the mentioned use of the band and song name on the back and front cover.

We challenged other conventions however through the use of the band name being placed on the back cover of our album, instead of the front as shown above, a creative choice which put in place to challenge the audiences expectations whilst conforming to Cage The Elephants’ abstract style and nature within their music videos and album artwork.

Additionally we subverted expectations through not including track listings within the back cover as we felt the focus should be upon our powerful image of our protagonist to enforce his star image and maintain a visually interesting image use of lighting and colour, as the protagonist is silhouetted in front of a red light, and seen on the front cover in front of a blue light, enhancing our main colour scheme whilst enforcing the ideology behind our music video of the protagonist having both a ‘good’ and ‘bad’ side to his characters, taken from our interpretation of the lyrics “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked”. We felt that the text would obstruct the image therefore we placed track listing within the inside panels of our album art to conform to the convention of including this vital information, whilst allowing our back cover image to remain engaging for the audience.

Furthermore we chose not to include and images of a band unlike existing album artwork, wherein a band image is used to promote song and band, however as we did not include a band within our music video we did not use one within our album artwork to ensure consistency within our work. This creative decision also allowed us to, whilst subverting one convention, focus on another as we had therefore the protagonist as the main focus, once again enhancing his star image to the audience.

Our completed Digi-Pak album artwork

Within our magazine advert we also developed some conventions, such as the use of the same text and font for continuity as well as the repetition of the band name and song so that the audience could recognise the link between the two ancillary texts easily. This can be further seen as the same image is used within the album art front cover as within the magazine article, the only difference being the magazine article image is zoomed in to create further focus on the protagonist whilst choosing a select part of the overall image to transfer onto the advert making it visually interesting and engaging for the audience. This repetition and reconfiguration of the image allowed us to maintain key themes such as our colour scheme therefore showing clear links back to our music video to conform to the idea that these texts are directly promoting our music video.

The use of the ‘Relentless record’ logo also allows us to enforce the idea of our work being a branded product which is being advertised, again confirming this of advertisement idea to the audience through both ancillary texts, showing their effectiveness as part of a promotional package for our music video.

The limited release dates and information on the music video however can be seen as a weakness to our work, as this subverts the expectations and conventions seen on existing adverts for bands and music videos, as we wished to limit text so that we did not draw attention away from our main image. However the limited use of text impacts upon the authenticity of our piece as a whole, although we believe this ancillary text still works effectively to draw the audiences attention towards our music video and therefore serves it purpose well to promote our music video in similar ways to existing texts.

Finally within our album art and magazine article we didn’t use a ‘new’, profile image of our protagonist, as we understand this is a common convention to photograph the protagonist clearly so that he can be identified by the audience, however we wanted to create interest towards our music video an therefore using this abstract image helped enforce the disjuncture style of our piece, thus prompting the audience, upon seeing the advert, to watch the music video to see more of the protagonist that these abstract images show.

A Magazine Advert for our music video

To conclude our music video and promotional packages used a variety of conventions of existing media texts. By using these conventions such as lip syncing and editing to the beat we were able to conform to the stereotypical features of a music video and develop these techniques further by for example cutting from lip syncing to disjuncture shots to continually engage the audience whilst providing an element of performance within the piece. In addition to this we also subverted conventions such as excluding the use of band footage to give our protagonist more screen time, these ways of subverting the conventions also helped to enhance our work as we were able to keep them engaged within the work and give the audience pleasure through having their expectations challenged.

Editing Process: Video (After Finishing Editing)

As a group we have finally finished editing, meaning that our editing process has been completed, below is a video wherein we describe the changes that have gone on since our last editing post. Within the video we give details on the effects which have been added during the last of our editing, including the further use of the ‘Graphic Effect’ as well as the continuation of using the ‘Hard Light’ and ‘Cartoon’ effect.

As we have completed our editing process, following this post shall be our final music video. Similarly to the last editing process video we have commented on various shots and shown on screen how we have used the effects available within ‘Final Cut Pro’ to finish the editing of our music video.

The main points mentioned within this video were:

• Now that editing is practically finished we decided to show the rest of our music video (from the second chorus onwards until the end of the song) showing the rest of editing since the previous post, to give a quick insight into the overall visual appearance of our music video and the style of the shots as a collective piece.
• We have therefore now ordered all shots in the correct way which could be seen through the second verse, chorus, bridge and third verse and chorus. Thus showing the common links and overall visual style which we aimed to maintain through our specific choice and ordering of shots.
• The ‘Graphic’ effect first seen in the second verse has also been repeated, as within the final chorus the protagonist returned to the characters he interacted with in verse 1 and 2 to complete our narrative. Therefore in keeping with the previously used visual style we applied the ‘Graphic’ effect to create the black and white style of the shots.
• One effect we have used multiple times within the entirety of our music video is the over laying of shots. Specifically we showed an example of the protagonist walking past himself 3 different times. This shot is found within the bridge of the song and shows the protagonist in his third costume once again moving the narrative on, as after each verse the protagonist changes costume. These 3 shots were overlaid successfully as the camera was placed and stayed in same position during the filming of each individual shot, however to see each version simultaneously we had to change the ‘opacity’. Giving the illusion that the protagonist appears simultaneously on screen multiple times. This same method was used for each shot that features this effect.
• Additionally we also editing some of our footage by changing the speed of the shots, (for example by speeding them up) this was done on one particular shot within the third verse, as shown within the video above, as initially the protagonist walked too slowly past the camera, therefore to combat this problem we sped up this clip allowing it to fit the timing of our editing (making cuts, mainly, every 1.13 seconds).
• Another effect we used commonly during our editing process was reversing certain shots. In the example given the shot is first shown the original way round and then reversed, to create visually an effect which we believe is engaging for the audience and interesting to watch, the example given shows our protagonist dancing down a slope.

(The slope however appears level as the camera is tiled to create a strange effect as the protagonist who was, when filmed, standing up straight appears to be leaning to an angle, footage taken from this specific location has been used in multiple parts of our music video to enhance the visual style and elements of disjuncture)

• There are also narrative shots within the entirety of our music video, it is significant to state that since the last editing process video our creative choices has still involved using narrative shots within the verses to maintain the theme of a both narrative and disjuncture video. This can be seen within the third verse as the protagonist is watching TV, as described within the lyrics. Furthermore disjuncture shots have also been continually used, although majorly within the 12 second bridge creating continuity throughout our music video.
• It is also mentioned that although our editing is mainly complete as all shots have been ordered “there are still final tweaks” which may still be needed to complete our music video (which were done today after this video had been recorded).
• In keeping with our visual style the ‘Cartoon’ and ‘Hard Light’ effects have been continually used on the shots, showing that throughout our music video these effects continue to enhance the Red and Blue colour scheme.
• Finally it was mentioned within the end of the video that our music video still had to be rendered (which was also done after this video was recorded today) so it could be exported in the correct format and then uploaded to YouTube, as will be seen in the next post.

To conclude, this second and final editing process video shows that we have finished editing and additionally gives details which expand upon point made within previous posts on editing, whilst giving details into how our editing from that previous point until now has  been done. And additionally there is detail into how we have sustained the visual style through our creative choices, meaning that there is continuity throughout our music video.

Digi-Pak design – Magazine Advert

Below is a PowerPoint showing our final design for a magazine advert for our album, this together with our album artwork completes our digi-pak. This advert (as explained within the PowerPoint below) includes a version of the image used for our front cover of our album art. Within the image we have also involved stereotypical features of a magazine advert to create authenticity within the design.

These features include:

• Band name
• Song Title
• Record Company Logo
• Release Dates
• Format of availability – Including listed website
• Review from external source

Here is an image showing our magazine article for our album

We edited our front cover image so that the article would have common links through colour schemes of red and blue as well as the consistency featured within the repetitive use of fonts, such as the font ‘SomeLines’ for the text ‘Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked’ as well as the font ‘Cartoon Relief’ for the band name ‘Cage the Elephant’. The repetition of font and links within colour help tie in the designs for this magazine article with the rest of our digi-pack and music video. Therefore meaning the design is suitable and helps add to the authenticity of our overall final product.

Below is the aforementioned PowerPoint:

Editing Process: Video (Verse 1 and 2)

As we are part way through our editing process using the software Final Cut Pro, as a group we decided to record a video so that we could explain whilst showing examples on screen of what has happened during our editing process so far, the below video gives details on the post production effects added to shots, the selection of shots and arrangement of specific shots, as well as details into the content of our first and second verse.

So far within editing we have managed to arrange the shots successfully for the first and second verse as well as the first and partly second chorus.

The main point mentioned within this video are as follows:

• The beginning of this video shows our editing software Final Cut Pro and gives an insight into our editing so far, it is clear that we have used ‘Cartoon’ and ‘Hard Light’ within multiple shots for our music video.
• These post production effects have been added to illustrate shots with the ‘Cartoon’ effect an emphasise the colours scheme through the use of ‘Hard Light’. Making the main colours of within our theme ‘Red and Blue’ stand out within the shots.
• Additionally we were able to adjust and control the level of all the effects on each individual shots, this feature within Final Cut Pro can be found top right of the screen, whereby the ‘amount’ of each effect and ‘pivot’ can be adjusted, allowing us to create continuity between the visual style of our shots as a collective video.
• The contrast seen between the first and second verse is primarily due to the different effect used, as the second verse includes the ‘Graphic’ effect which creates the black and white look onto the shots, we used this initially to hide the face of our mugger and make the shots both more believable and more intimidating for the audience. Although it is significant that as our editing continues we aim to utilise the effects such as ‘Hard Light’, ‘Cartoon’ and ‘Graphic’ in order to maintain continuity and visual style as the creation of our music video progresses.
• Significantly contrasts are also provided from the shots of the protagonist lip syncing within the ‘Drama Studio’ shots as the alternative shots for the content of the first and second verse and chorus were filmed within location of ‘Queensgate’, we feel that cutting from one abstract location to another creates a distinct style of disjuncture, whilst still including narrative within the content of the shots. Allowing us to maintain a balance between disjuncture and narrative.
• Although there are disjuncture shots taken within the ‘Drama Studio’ the majority of footage captured during filming was of the lip syncing, although we have taken lip syncing from 2 different locations (and two variations of lip syncing within the drama studio) in order to create ample footage of the performance element within our music video, allowing our protagonist to ‘tell the story’ through lip syncing as well as the narrative shots introducing characters, as seen within the video above.
• Each cut within our music video has been timed to the beat at the frame rate of “1 second and 13 frames” as within the song the best hits every “37 frames” and as there are “24 frames per second” cutting at every second and 13 frames allows our editing to be in time and therefore look more authentic, although there are variations as some shots last twice and rarely three times this length to create a contrast and vary the speed depending on the part of the song.
• Finally there are shots which are repeated within our video, as the first half of shots are used and then the second half is placed further within the video to create repeatability for the audience as they will slowly pick up on the repetitive shots. Additionally this creates another contrast to the narrative shots whilst also creating a theme of disjuncture through this placement of certain shots.

Further details on our editing process will be given in a future post once editing is finished, as we still have to order shots for the bridge, third verse and chorus, meaning that we must maintain continuity of the visual style and effects, however details into this will be given in a similar video once our editing process has been completed.

Album Art: Final Design

The final designs for our album art are shown within the PowerPoint below, it shows our artwork designs for each of the 4 panels which make up our album art. These designs are significantly different to our preliminary designs, however reasons for these creative choices are given within the presentation. These designs include images of our Protagonist taken within the drama studio to give an authentic look and higher quality to our images.

Additionally with the control of the lighting rig, within the drama studio (as used within our filming process) we were able to control and stylise lighting as the images were taken. Whilst creating a link between our artwork and music video through the use of red and blue lighting, which as a colour scheme is featured within multiple parts of our work, including our costumes (as previously mentioned) and lighting of certain shots.

Here is the PowerPoint showing the final design for our album artwork:

The images shown within the PowerPoint, are our final designs which shall be printed as part of our overall Digi-pak, the album art designs include stereotypical features such as the name of our chosen song, band name, track listings and copyright information along with a barcode to ensure authenticity within our designs. Thus allowing us to create authentic album artwork to accompany our music video.

Initial Editing: Experimenting Shots

Since we have recently finished filming, we have begun our editing process with the use of the editing software ‘Final Cut Pro’. We therefore decided to experiment with a few shots from our footage collected and as a group we have decided upon two effects which we will be using within the majority of our editing process. These post production effects are known as ‘Hard Light’ and ‘Cartoon’. We chose these effects as we believe that they (in the case of ‘Hard Light’) emphasise the colours of the shots and also (with the use of ‘Cartoon’) bring out the details within the shot making them overall more interesting and aesthetically pleasing for the audience.

The majority of shots within our music video will have the two effects, thus creating a theme through the visual style, although I am sure that some shots may include different effects to create contrasts, however this shall be discovered in the future as and when our editing process continues.

A screen shot taken from editing using Final Cut Pro, showing a before an after image to highlight the effects of ‘Hard Light’

The image above (click to enlarge) shows the post production effect put over a narrative shot of our protagonist walking, this before and after image shows the difference in colour and overall quality gained by using the ‘Hard Light’ effect, therefore it is obvious that this effect will be placed over the majority of shots during editing.

Similarly the image below (click to enlarge) shows the ‘Cartoon’ effect, with a before and after screen shot as before, taken from Final Cut Pro. This image shows the detail enhanced by this chosen effect and this ‘Cartoon’ effect is also likely to be used over the majority of shots within our music video. Significantly both ‘Hard Light’ and ‘Cartoon’ may be used together on shots within our music video to gain a high quality to add to the authenticity of the piece. Although there may be other effects which we use later within our editing process to create a contrast to the visual style of these shots.

An image showing screen shots taken from editing showing the detail added from the ‘Cartoon’ effect through a before and after shot

This image below shows the ‘levels’ which can be adjusted shown by the dial for the ‘Amount’ of each effect, which allows us to change the intensity of the effect within the shots ensuring continuity within our selected footage. Meaning that we can creatively control the ‘level’ of the post production effect to suit our required needs for each specific shot.

A screen shot showing how the levels of the effects can be adjusted

To conclude, the main selected effects for the majority of shots we aim to use for our music video shall be ‘Hard Light’ and the ‘Cartoon’ effect, however any changes of effects added to contrast this theme will be given in future posts. As further information on our editing process will be given in the future as and when we progress within the editing progress, at which time details into the placement of shots, choice and content of the verses (for example) within our music video will be given.

Enjoy