Bokeh

"bokeh describes the rendition of out-of-focus points of light"

By using this effect in our music video, it would create a charactered background. This would tie in with our mystical, magical theme that we want to capture. It softens the shot aesthetically, making it easier on the eye for the audience. 

Wild Youth - Daughter music video mood board - Emily

Photo shoot ideas; CD and poster - Emily

As there will be one girl that is the main focus of the video, she will also be the main focus for the CD and poster. The story will also be shown on the poster and CD so people are also interested in what the song is about, and if the know the song already, then the images will draw their attention in even more especially if they know the video.

Ideas for photo shoot; CD & Poster:

- Katy Perry, wide awake video-inspired image of the girl and her ex touching hands in the air in the dark, woodland setting with a fire around highlighting their hands and side of face.

- Girl walking in the dark, searching, while holding the lantern.
-Girl and boy standing next to each other, sillouhettes of each other.
-Face shot of girl with text drawn on her face which shows the song title and artist name.
-Face shot of girl, subtle makeup with tribal pattern on face. 

Band photo shoot analysis - Lizzy

     The Wanted in this photo show how some bands choose to position themselves in order of relevance in the band. In this instance, the lead singers who appear more in the songs are at the front, whereas the members who tend to offer harmonies are behind. We could use this with Little Grim, and position the lead singer and the front. This technique is very striking and engaging for the audience. 

     This image of the Beatles isn't posed, and suggests they are a band of 'real' music. They are pictured playing their instruments, which is an aspect we may include in our band photos of Little Grim. This is because it tells the audience that they are a band, rather than just a vocal group.

  This photo of One Direction is conventionally similar to the above photo of Radiohead, but offers a different meaning. The band members are slightly separated from one another, seen leaning on each other, holding props, or having their hands in their pockets. This allows the audience to separately observe each band member, as they each covey their personalities. They appear to be standing against a white backdrop or wall, which makes the photo easier on the eye, and gives the photo a cleaner edge. 

    This photo of Radiohead shows all five members in a tightly compacted frame. The positioning of the band members allows the composition to work well, as they have taken close attention to the heights of each person. They appear laid back, which suggests the type of music they make, and conveys the personality and quality that it may offer. Black and white are usually related with formality, so the effect used may be suggesting that they are professional in the way they make their music.

Album poster analysis

Tinie Tempah is placed in the center of the frame, which suggests importance and authority. His name is positioned above him at the top of the poster, which shows that the music company are trying to capture the audience' attention as to who's album they are selling. His expression, body language, and dominance within the frame show that they are predominantly featuring him as the main selling point. They have not chosen to use many props as the selling point. Although, we can see that he has a city held within his arms, which suggest that he has the world 'in his hands', highlighting his ability to create music that is enjoyed across the globe. The darkness of the poster, and use of sunglasses convey secrecy and wonder - thus making the audience want to know what Tinie Tempah has to offer in his new album.

They have included the date that the album will be released which allows the audience to become excited about the release of the album, which hypes up the reputation of the album - attracting a larger and wider audience. It can be seen as a "teaser" poster, which explains why the poster is so intriguing - used to entice the audiences curiosity without revealing too much. - Lizzy

Ed Sheeran dominates the majority of this poster, his expression is happy and looks like he is smiling about his achievements - as below his Brit award is highlighted. By showing his well earned Brit award, the audience are enticed by his credibility and high end achievements. This is shown in an orange text which contrasts with the black and white background picture - making it stand out from the poster. The use of orange also relates to his iconic ginger hair, which is widely recognized in relation to the famous artist. They continually press that he is British - suggesting that his music may be less mechanical and commercialized like we see nowadays in country's such as America.

They use the same font for all the text on the poster which may suggest a linear genre within his album, and could show the fluency of his music. His face is dominant within the frame, conveying his fame and level of recognition - they choose to use his face as the selling point rather than his name or elaborate props. The lighting represents a contrast of light and dark, on two halfs of the poster. This depicts that some of his music may be light and positive, and that others could be darker and deeper in meaning and background content. - Lizzy

Marina is the main focus on the poster, capturing the attention of people, especially the target audience. The look of the poster links to the cover of her album as this image has been used many times before for different promotions, and covers. As she is takes up almost the whole of the page, this suggests her status; how important she may be within the music industry and in her style of music. The way she is looking in the image shows her facial expression clearly, it shows her looking slightly mysterious yet also portraying that she believes that she is the most important person, her eyes also capture attention as it draws you in making you wonder and question to yourself if the image is intriguing, what the album may also be like.

  The text on the poster is all the same; the advertising text matches up to the font that is used othe album ‘Electra Heart’. The size of the text is the same, apart from her name, which dominates the top third of the advert, which suggests that she is the main focus and therefore her name draws attention to the eye of the audience. Also, by having the words “THE #1 ALBUM IN THE UK” suggests to people that it is an album that they need to buy and if they don’t, they are missing out on something which could be amazing. - Emily

The main focus of the poster for this Coldplay album are the band itself, mainly of the lead vocalist; Chris Martin who is floating up by the ceiling, this dominates the actual image showing the audience that they are the best, especially the man (Chris Martin) who is floating as it makes you think, why is it him floating? why not the other members? The overall look of this album poster looks quite old fashioned; vintage. The image itself is very eye catching because of what is happening, and even though the colours are very dull and vintage looking, the black border going around the edge contrasts everything and makes everything stand out. Apart from the image itself the text of the band dominates the page, especially with the white text against.  The white text stands out against the dark background. At the bottom of the of the page they have also included small text that has been placed at the bottom of the page informing the audience about their website therefore it lets people know where all information can be found and also about any other information about tours etc.  - Emily

CD front and back cover (unfinished) - Lizzy

Wild youth, Daughter, example poster - Emily

When it comes to creating the poster, it will be the same as the CD cover, this is because when people see the poster they will know the CD cover a lot easier, and it is very eye catching for the audience.

Aslo, when we create the image, it won't be as close up, slightly further back so the hair can also be seen, and the eyes will be closed with the song title on each eye lid. 

Poster draft, developed - Lizzy

Animatic - Lizzy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7fAuTSGhrU&feature=player_embedded

Storyboard - Lizzy and Emily

Questionnaire results - Lizzy and Emily

Emily

This graph shows the results of when we asked 10 people how old they are, so we are able to work out the average age of the target audience.

Lizzy

 This graph shows that out of the people we interviewed, there is an equal distribution of thoughts on how relevant music videos are to the promotion of the band. This leaves our options open as to whether we make the music video's aim to promote the band rather than the song. Although, more people think that they are not very relevant.

Emily

The results of this graph show how many people believe that the magazine advertisement of the band could reflect on whether they would consider even buying the bands album.

 Lizzy

% of the people we interviewed watch music videos, and the other 50% do not. The people that answered yes, were more in our target age that we want to attract - this means that we have more chance of them wanting to watch our music video

Emily

This graph shows the results of how often people do still watch music videos, and the feedback from the questionnaire shows that people watch them at least once a week.

Emily

The results on this graph show that when we asked people about the colour schemes of a CD cover, which combination would work best for a music CD cover. The results show that people believe that bold, vibrant colours work a lot better as it captures the attention of the target audience.

 Emily

The results indicate that the majority of the people that we asked for the questionnaire show that they prefer the idea of having a storyline within the music video, therefore we are able to try and think of a way to add a storyline to our video. 

Emily

This graph shows the results of when we asked people what kind of music they like best out of the chosen selection above. The results show that out of all the choices given, the majority of people said they prefer to listen to indie music compared to any of the other genres. 

Emily 

The graph shows the result of how people find the relevance of a music video of a band when they are trying to promote their-selves/music. 

 Emily

Having the results of whether people still buy cd's helps a lot because it gives us an idea of whether we could find out if music video's are even worth having these days as most people will download from websites such as iTunes etc. These results show that the majority of people still do buy CD's. 

Emily

The results of the graph show that there is an equal amount of numbers of female and male  who were intereviewed which therefore means that we will have to make sure that when we produce the music video, and genre, that it will appeal to both Male and Female. 

CD ideas - Emily

When designing and creating ideas for a CD cover, researching simular genre artists are key. I looked at an Oasis cover and got some ideas of how the cover of the band we are producing a video for (Little Grim) could look like. The simple layout of text and the image taking up 2 thirds of the cover is very eye catching because everything is very easy to look at. The colours work together with the image being black and white, and all of the text apart from the album name; making it all stand out and catch the audience's eyes when it is placed next to many other CD's on a shelf in a store.

This particular cover of The Vaccines album 'Coming of Age' really caught my attention because of how simple it is. The layout of everything is very structured and centered in towards the middle of the cover. The black and white image makes the vibrant red stand out and both things work well together and really contrast each other. Even though the name of the album is not on the cover, the image seems to tell that story by the body language, attitude of facial expressions, clothes etc. the story being the idea of 'coming of age'. This idea could work well witht he band that we are working with and the title of the song.

     The cover of this album Foo Fighters 'Wasting Light' caught my eye straight away and thought that something like this would well very well with everything that we are planning for the video for Little Grim. The idea that is being planned has a big connection to this cover due to some parts that could be used within the video. I do also think that the cover is very striking and eye catching because of the black background contrasting with the bold, vibrant colours, therefore making everything stand out and catch the eye of the audience.The cover of the album and also when it comes to designing and planning ideas for the magazine advert/poster, without the album being eye catching it will not capture the audience's attention let alone the target audience that we hope would want to be the CD.

When thinking up ideas for the booklet that will go inside the CD I wanted the layout of the page to link with the cover, and song itself. As there is a storyline in the video, there is still a theme that is going on, it has a dark feel to it. The inside of the booklet seemed as if it could carry the story on inside, therefore having these two layouts to chose from would fit in well; a simple layout with an image that would link to the video; dark background, image of a prop, the band etc. any of that would be able to work for the booklet. The layout of the text from the second idea (above, right), I found slightly more interesting and eye catching to look at as has a more unique, original layout compared to a usual booklet, having the text the right way up istead of having to turn the page around to read the text.

The layout of the back of the CD can be very simple, with a dark background just like in the video and also on the CD cover. By having the text laid out in the centre, will allow us to then add smaller text running down the side, inspired by the Coldplay album (above, right) to make it slightly more eye catching. Text will be in a contrasting colour allowing it to stand out, and let the audience read the song title's with no problem.

Music Video ideas - Wild Youth, Daughter - Emily

Questionnaire - Lizzy and Emily

Questionnaire

1. How old are you?           10-14           15-18          18-24              25+

2. Are you male or female?              Male         Female

3. What genre of music are you interested in?     

Indie     Pop     Rock     R&B      Country     Rap/Grime       Dub-step      other

4. Do you watch music videos?        Yes         No

5. If so, how often do you watch them?   

Everyday        Once a week         once a month           other

6. How relevant do you think music videos are to the promotion of a band?

Extremely relevant        Quite relevant          Not very relevant

7. Do you buy CD’s?       Yes          No

8. Do you like the music video to tell a story?          Yes           No

9. Do you magazine adverts make you want to listen to the album?   

   Yes       No

10. Would you but a CD based on a music video or magazine advert?      

Yes      No

11. What colour schemes of a CD cover would you find more eye catching?

Pastel colours           Vibrant, bold colours           Black and white       

Music videos - Lizzy

5 years time - Noah and the Whale

    The most striking thing about this music video is the quality that has been created by the type of camera they have used - and the skillful way in which they have used it. They have used a 'Super 8' camera, which has generated the vintage/rustic edge that is iconic to the video. The quality of shots are not as good as you see in the generic music video's of the 21st century, which makes the video stand out and appear independent - contrasting with chart music. The style in which they have filmed it suggests they have used a handheld based camera, as the shots appear shakey and unsteady. This makes the music video look old and dated - thus portraying an indie/vintage feel to the video. 
 The camera shots go along eith the song - increasing and decreasing in speed as the song changes in speed and dynamics. There are no continual shots used as this would give the video a much different feel and message. They have used a montage of short camera shots to tell the story behind the song.
It appears to be quite ammeateur-like due to the simplicity of shots, to perhaps suggest a more homemade theme. This is also highlighted through the use of transitions. They have used swipe cuts, and split screens which are an old fashioned style of editing - which ties in with the message of the song.
  They have chosen to tell a story in this music video, of a relationship between boy and girl. Some people prefer music video's to tell a story as it captures their attention, and they are more intregued to watch it. The video starts with the introduction of each band member, which immediately creates a friendly tone - and conveys positive feelings towards to viewer. It foreshadows the meaning of the song, suggesting that it will be a happy and positive song. This is good as it directly informs the viewers the genre of the music, thus allowing them to create a decision to if they wish to continue listening. They end the video with text reading "The End" which is iconically recognised as being the closure of a story that has reached its end.
   In terms of costume, setting and props - Noah and the Whale capture an indie/vintage persona. This shows that the target audience for their genre of music, will most likely be those of similar sense in fashion and interests. In parts of the video, they are filmed sharing happy times with eachother in a sunny outdoors location. This relates entirely to the lyrical content of the song, by shadowing the words they are singing, which actions. 
   Noah and the Whale do not choose to be extravegant or over enthusiastic in their dancing/actions. This allows the listeners attention to soley be on the music rather than an over-the-top music video, with too much going on. This conveys the band as being very down to earth and relatable which generally makes the video more enjoyable to watch. However they do include an iconic array of dance moves which are humerous to watch.

Paradise - Coldplay 

   In the first few camera shot that we as an audience are introduced to - a particular shot displays that it is "A Mat Whitecross Film". This immediately suggests that the music video with have a story telling format. This is followed up by the journey of an Elephant, which escapes a London Zoo in the aim to reach his paradise. We are shown clips of a sunset in Cape Town - South Africa, which are typical scenes of a 'Paradise'. This conveys the initial message of the song, and shows the audience the end result of the Elephants jouney - thus making them want to watch it and find out.
   Throughout the majority of the video, the camera is unsteady, which informs the audience that they are looking in on another person's jouney - which they would not usually be able to look in on. The video/song is made immediately iconic by the use of an Elephant suit, worn by the band members. This aspect allows global recognition, and a recognisable icon that people will be able to relate with the band or song.
   The song takes us on a journey, as the progressive, story telling camera footage allows the viewers to go on the same journey as the elephant. The use of a camera being attatched to the bottom of the plane, makes us as viewers feel like we are there with him, and are making our own personal journey as we follow his. 
   Almost every camera shot including Chris Martin dressed in an Elephant suit, show him on his own, with enourmous desolate surroundings around him. This focuses all attention on his character, and enforces the hilarity of the video. 
Establishing shots introduce the audience to the new surroundings and show the progression of the journey that they are being taken on. The colours are intensified in these shots, which create an unnatural, saturated image of paradise - mirroring many peoples perception of a place of paradise.  As we near the end of the video, the lighting becomes more intense. This is conveying the positivity of the ending, and portrays a message of metaforically finding happiness at the end of a tunnel.
   Culture plays a huge part in this video. London is portrayed as urbanised and lonley, whereas South Africa is bright and colourful - highlighting the transition of cultural difference between London and Africa. 
   They include live performance footage at the end, which many bands choose to include in their music video. This could be to make the video more realistic and current, showing their success as we see huge crowds of screaming fans. Coldplay are all dressed in Elephant costumes, which is humerous and leaves a lasting impression on the viewers as it is not an everyday occurance. 

Ayla - The Maccabee's

   The video as a whole displays a strong representation of surrounding. This gives the video an artistic edge, and conveys the style of the song as being quite laid back and mellow.  This particular song is from the album named “Given to the wild” which explains the vast use of the countryside and the contrast of natural and warm vibrant colours. The use of footage and editing are very simplistic and are made more aesthetically pleasing through the use of colour change. We are shown the colour of the sky changing colours vibratly, which creates a more energetic feel to the start of the music video. 
   Longer, continual shots are used in this music video as the song is slow in pace, and has a calm feel to it. The shots therefore mirror the feel of the song, and create meaning which can be easily followed by the viewer. The target audience of this genre of music and music video would enjoy chilled out music, with an independance to it. 
   Compared to some of the other music video's, this one tends not to tell a complex story, but chooses to take us on a journey of a young man cycling through beautiful surroundings. This is aesthtically pleasing to watch, as it is more attractive to the eye. 
The intensity of colour increased as the song progresses, until we reach the end where the effect is similar to Pop art. The surroundings are therefore less easy to recognise compared to the high quality shots at the beginning.
   The simplicity of the video allows the audience to interpret the message in their own way, which may appeal to people to tend to dislike idealising things into certain boxes and stereotypes.

Norgaard - The Vaccines 

   At the beginning, a slow motion effect is displayed within the camera shots. This creates quite a sensual and intense feel, relating with the song's theme of teen romance. We are introduced to the girl character who the focus is mainly on throughout the video. We know this because many shots are centered on her, displaying parts of her body and full length shots.  The cast and band are young adults which is the same as their target audience - this helps them to attract the right people, as it is easily relateable for that age group.
   They cast a pretty, blonde model who will be easily relateable to many young girls, they may look up to her/want to be her. Boys will also want to watch it because of this reason, which suggests that the Vaccines music is enjoyed by both male and female. It is also a fun/upbeat song, which connectivly uses footage of the band and the girl carrying out enjoyable activities such as riding a bike and bowling. This portrays teen life, and is made simplistic by the white backdrop.
   The white backdrop allows all the attention to focus on what is happening in the frame. We are forced to watch what is going on, rather than being distracted by things in the background. It mirrors a photoshoot setting, which makes the music appear to be current and fashionable - helping to attract their youthful target audience. 
   The audience are shown the seperate band members in their roles, for example we are knowledgable on who is the lead singer, as we see him miming to the lyrics. By doing this, we as viewers have a better understanding of the band - thus making it easier to follow.
Camera movement such as panning and spin effects make the video energetic, and convey these feelings in order to make the audience feel uplifted by the song. It makes it more enjoyable to watch and relates to the pace of the song. 

Ed Sheeran - Small Bump

  The beginning of the video very much sets the scene by showing us a clock, medical bins and a hospital bed - showing us that the obvious setting will be in a hospital. The lighting is very dismal and grey, suggesting to us that the song and story line will be sad and heartfelt. 
The camera starts by slowly moving down a corridor towards Ed singing. We as an audience feel like we're creeping up on him, in a very private yet public place - a hospital waiting room. We are made to feel like we are looking in on/intruding on somebodys life.
   The setting of a hospital relates to the song, as he is singing about an unborn child. Hospitals are emotional, and sometimes heartbreaking places to be which strongly supports the message.
   A slow, continuous camera shot is used to focus our attention on Ed singing. The camera then slowly tracks around his head, which show us his facial expression. We can see the emotion written over his face, and allow ourselves to get lost in the song - like he is his thoughts. He looks very lonely and isolated within the frame, which once again focuses our attention onto him and allows us to follow the emotional message behind the song.
    Everyday people occasionally flash up and then fade away again to show time passing by. This highlights the slow camera movements, and the deep meaning being portrayed. He is sitting in the same place throughout the whole of the video which is different to many music videos that are made these days. This simplistic style allows us to listen intently to the song and really see the story that he is trying to convey.
    The camera zooms in and out of the waiting room via the corridor, making it seem as though we are entering the hospital and seeing patients go about their day. This temporarily takes away the focus on Ed, although he remains to have presence within the footage. We as an audience can then follow the steps of other patients in the hospital through the lyrics of the song, and interpret it in our own personal ways. It takes away his identity, and blends him into the surroundings - making him seem like one of us. This makes it easy to relate to, and people will therefore want to continue to watch the music video.
   Ed Sheeran has a typically young fanbase, but the music video and meaning behind the song makes it relatable to all ages, especially women who may have had a child, or expecting fathers. This increases his chance of sale as well as increasing the diversity of people listening to his music.