Final Music Video

Final Digipak

Front Cover

1st Inside Panel

2nd Inside Panel

Back Cover

Final Website

Here is the link to our final band website as well as picture of the Homepage: 

http://leilatoulmin.wix.com/3launch-new

Task 4: How did you use new media technology in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

In order to establish what shots we needed for our music video we firstly created a paper-based storyboard which we then filmed later on a Sony NX-5 in order to create our digital animatic. Using Final Cut Pro we soundforged our picture storyboard to our chosen pop track. This helped us to establish how the transitions would happen between the narrative and performance elements of our real music video as well as help us realize the variety of shots that we needed in order to hold the audiences attention for the duration of our music video.

We wanted to have a band image similar to the Black Eyed Peas therefore it was essential that we screen-tested the main artists in our music video so that we could get the dynamics of the group right. We did this using our iPhones in the studio asking them to lip-synch along with the track that was being played out loud using portable Bluetooth speakers.

In order to synch the lip-synching with the track we used a digital clapper on an ipad for the shoot. It also worked as a playback so that when we pressed the button the music would start and a time code would be running alongside so that when we used multiple video channels when editing the lip-synching throughout all of the rushes were matching the music lyrics.

We filmed using a Song FS100 which had multiple lenses that we could use in order to create the most effective shots. This worked by measuring the distance between the camera and the object that we wanted to focus on so that our camera shots look more professional.

At one point during our music video someone walked into the background of the shot where the three artists/judges are watching the auditions. Luckily the background behind them is still and this enabled us to use masking to take him out. We took a screen picture of how the set looked like just before he came on. Then at the point he did walk on we pasted the image on top so that he didn’t appear and made it look like nothing had changed.

All of our music video was edited using Final Cut Pro. For our music video the narrative played a very important role therefore we needed to do multiple takes on the shooting day. When we had to edit our performance we had to separate all the takes in multiple different channels. In order to find the best performance clips for the music video we had to pull back and forward individual clips to find the one best suited for the point in the music video. We did this by putting markers on the beat and blading off clips when we had found the right one.

As you can see we had quite a large cast. In order to keep in contact with everyone about the days shooting schedule and costumes we kept in touch via Facebook where we had everyone in a group and could send out messages that everyone would easily access.

The final stages of our editing involved us using a software called Color. This enabled us to enhance the primary colours making them come a lot brighter. This was a very important finishing task for our music video because we wanted our music video to be energetic, youthful and vivid therefore having the colours enhanced especially during the party seen allowed us to portray this image across to our audience.

Task 3: What did we learn from our audience feedback?

Task 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

In Richard Dyers star theory he identified some common values of music stardom bring youthfulness, sexual magnetism, success against all odds, etc. He also states that star image is based upon two paradoxes. Firstly the star must be ordinary and extraordinary for the consumer at the same time. For example this could be travelling around the world, staying in top hotels but then the star also eating the same fast foods as a “normal person”. Secondly the star must be simultaneously present and absent from the consumer. This means always seeing them on the TV, having posters in the room but them not being physically there.  All of these points were very important in the creation of our band for the music video, digipack and website.

Firstly we wanted to have a brand image similar to the Black Eyed Peas. This meant a group with a strong lead. We chose the lead in our band to be a strong female similar to Fergie in the Black Eyed Peas. We thought that in our music video our female lead was extremely relatable to Fergie because she had a more glamorous side which Fergie has in some of her music videos, as well as a very chilled-layed back style just wearing jeans and a T-shirt that made her seem more relatable to her audience which we had also as a common element in our music video when the group was doing the auditions. Having a variety of looks was a very important aspect of our music video but we thought that the main thing that our lead female artist had to have was sexual magnetism. Similar female pop artists like Britney Spears also use their sexuality in order to have a larger audience because this will encourage women to be like her hence they buy her music, go to her concert and buy her products. She is able to achieve this sex appeal through the certain clothes that she wears and the use of her make up. In our music video our female lead wore tight-fitting short dresses and make-up that made her eyes look bigger and lips look fuller in order to try and give her the sexual appeal that we wanted similar to many other stars in order to attract the male gaze.

Our rapper star image was important because through him we wanted to portray the glamour of the bands lifestyle. In order to do this when you see him in the music video majority of the time he is surrounded by girls. When doing the initial research for the music video we looked at rapper 50 Cent and how he uses his entourage of beautiful girls to prove the power he has through wealth and fame. Therefore in our video we used the idea of two models trying to get his attention to demonstrate his power and fame.

Commonly most DJ’s tend to remain faceless in music videos but in ours because we wanted to have a band image it was important that the DJ was shown to be apart of the group. We wanted to show that his music was popular and mainstream especially in the club/house music scene therefore in the party scene we wanted to have him DJ’ing with all the people around him to show that his music was popular and enjoyable. Avicii is similar to our DJ in the sense that he doesn’t remain faceless and when he performs with other artist’s majority of the time he is also in one of the music videos. Majority of his music videos are filmed with him playing at festivals showing hundreds of people enjoying his music. This is somewhat what we wanted to achieve through our music video but it was done to a much smaller scale. 

Since the digi-pack was supposed to be the first album for the band we wanted it to demonstrate what the image of the band was like as well as try and market the debuting song “ A Little Party Never Killed Nobody”. Therefore our idea for the front cover of the digipack was to have all the common hangover cures and on the back cover have them all drunk trying connote the idea that someone had just gone to a party, had a wild night and the next morning they are left with a hangover, trying common cures to get over it. Being the first album however we wanted the band to try and get a mass audience as quickly as possible therefore knowing who the band members were and what they looked like was very important. Therefore on the first side of the inner digi-pack we put a collage of pictures of the band. Many popular pop groups and artists have a picture of themselves somewhere on the album and in order to make ours as professional as possible we also did this.  We found that bands such as The Rolling Stones and Red Hot Chili Peppers had really recognizable logos.  Our idea was that in order for our band to be successful mainstream it was important for them to have their own logo, where if there music wasn’t being played or there faces wern’t printed somewhere people would still be able to recognize the band by. Therefore on the inside of the digi-pack where the CD gets placed underneath we thought that this would be the perfect place for our logo.

Our band has very mainstream music that means that they are very modern and it was important that our site reflected this. In Dyers theory he mentions that stars should be present and non-present in their audiences lives. I think that we have achieved through the website where if the audience wants to know more about the artists they can on the website. Also merchandise of the band can be purchased on the site similar to many other pop artists where they sell posters, iPhone cases, bags and T-Shirts to the fans.  We also made sure to put up a touring section of the band so that their audience could see when they are going to preform in order to go and see them live. Our site was designed for a band with a cult following. The type of fans like One Direction where they tried to have as much band merchandise and information about the stars as possible.

Task 1: In what ways do your media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our opening shot in our music video conforms to conventions of other real media products. For example this shot of Fergie in the music video Meet Me Half Way. Having a close up of the female leads in bands shows that they are one of the main band members.

How the artists are portrayed in music videos is also really important because it sets the tone of their star image. The way we have represented her is quite stereotypical of main female leads because everyone expects them to be portrayed as glamorous. This will also help attract our target audience who will most likely be young girls aspiring to be like our female artist.

The shot of the whole group together is another common convention of music videos. Also the way the group is positioned gives the audience an idea of the main artists. For example in our music video it is clearly the girl, standing in the middle. In the Black Eyed Peas music video it also shows the two main artists in the center or the group when they are performing. 

A common type of form in a music video is when the lyrics illustrate the visuals. Our music video talks about how ‘a little party never killed nobody’. This is accompanied with a type of clubbing scene in the music video, showing people enjoying themselves and having a good time. In Feel the Moment, the artists sing about their lavish lifestyles of traveling around the world and preforming, enjoying themselves that is accompanied with exactly that by the visuals.  This helps establish the artists as young and mainstream, which also relates to the type of audience that this video attracts.

An extremely common convention in majority of pop videos is showing women through ‘the male gaze’. Portraying woman as objects and having them crowding around the male artists.  In our music video we have done this to try and illustrate the popularity of the main male artists. Jason Derulo also does this in his music video to represent his power and wealth.

For the female singers a typical convention are them wearing tight clothes with short skirts, this is in order to get the men’s attention. Even though they are the main artists most likely they will still be portrayed more as objects of desire. 

Most music genres will have their own music video style. Our pop video also conforms to this common rule. The video shows a very party/clubbing scene where everyone is enjoying themselves as well as highlighting the glitz and glamor. In Ellie Goulding’s music video it’s the same type of atmosphere. A party scene, everyone young and enjoying themselves.  This kind of style is the common iconography for pop music videos.

Fast cuts are another common form of music videos especially for ones of the pop genre. This is very typical of music videos that want are more mainstream in order to keep the audiences attention for a long time. Our music video used a lot of fast cuts because of the party scene, which is similar to Avicii’s music video, who is also a very mainstream popular artist.

This relates to the artists image portraying them as being popular, young and always onto the newest trend. Typical of popular music artists nowadays. 

In some ways our web homepage is very similar to other groups and bands because it shows the bands logo which is present in the music video along with the Digipack, it has a tool bar showing the different pages of the website and the Facebook, twitter and Google+ icons illustrating the other types of media the band promote themselves on. But unlike many other band homepages, it doesn’t show any information about the band or even a picture of them. To do his on our site you must enter into it.