Here is Question 4 of my Evaluation, displayed on web-based presentation software Prezi.
Link to view on Prezi:
http://prezi.com/2dyelwqnk3td/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share
Update: 24/4 - Images added and evaluation completed.
Update: Half Term: Due to low loading speeds at home, and the potential of Prezi crashing, I still need to upload some supporting images to the Research, Planning and Evaluation sections of this Prezi. These will be added when I am back at college, at the same time that Question 2 is recorded/edited.
Update: 20/4 - Full edited directors commentary completed and uploaded.
Update: 15/4 - Unedited directors commentary filmed and uploaded. Now in the process of editing in clips and images.
SCRIPT
In order to create a professional collective product for my A2 Media Project, I recognised the importance of synergy throughout my texts and main product. Through constructing my music video, and through conducting research into the conventions of both music videos and digipaks, I established an understanding of the ways in which these products interlink and support one another in their design and content. I endeavored to replicate this in my own media product in order to maximise the effectiveness of the product and make it usable be my artist.
Firstly, before I began with my own project, I conducted various pieces of research, into the music video, and into digipaks and magazine advertisements, the ancillary texts that would go alongside my video. It was important to consider the genre of my own artist when conducting this research, as different genres utilise different conventions in each of these texts- for instance, a "pop" music video would differ hugely from a rock video in content, imagery, and representations. Hence, I looked at a British Band that I likened to my own artist, Abandoning Sunday, a music project that varies between rock and acoustic, but attracts fans of multiple genres- so I studied a music video, digipak and advertisement from Norfolk-based Deaf Havana. Fronted by James Veck-Gilodi, the band have changed in their style almost continuously, and their products have done so accordingly to accommodate their latest genre. Most recently was the album "Old Souls", which served as the inspiration for my digipak, and the accompanying Old Souls tour, which I analysed for a poster. In the analysis of Old Souls, I briefly looked at the lead single's music video, "Mildred (Lost A Friend)" (my main analysis was of Hunstanton Pier) in order to draw links between the products.
Immediately a theme became apparent, which could be related to the Uses and Gratifications theory - on the digipak, the front cover shows a small child running across a pale beach. The theory states that audiences seek out the media that they wish to consume, and focuses on what the audience does with the media text, rather than what the media does to audiences. Where other bands would perhaps overtly brand themselves over their covers where audiences are given a prescribed view, such as in pop music, the blank canvas of the inside cover creates an open interpretation of the band for the audience to make their own "use" of, and decide what it symbolises in terms of the bands ideologies. This is a much more descriptive approach in which there is no set idea of the band given in the digipak, making them more accessible to wider audiences, who may feel that they can get in to the bands music for this reason. This could be applicable to my artist, as an unsigned artist looking to increase their following, and so translating this into my own digipak was something I seeked to do. However, creating the link was then important. It should be noted that the theme of children continues from the digipaks into the music videos. The video for "Mildred (Lost A Friend)", follows two children throughout the video, one of whom bears a striking resemblance to the same child used on the front cover of "Fools & Worthless Liars", and could perhaps be an older version of the child on the front of Old Souls. It does depict the children as doing some adult tasks, such as working in an office, and does also feature several shots by a beach, continuing the coastal theme of this digipak. This research was vital into creating my own product, as I now understood how to make my own products effective and to construct them with synergy in mind. Like with Deaf Havana's set, I knew location could be an easy link to create. My digipak is shot mainly on Thorpe Marriott Green, which is nearby to and the same location to where I film some of my shots in the video. These shots include Elliott's character at the end of the video as he is smiling, and then some of the opening sequence shots - the shot where "Real Talk" is shown in the trees, for example, is the same exact place where the back cover image for the digipak was taken, and the opening time-lapse over the field is the image for all 3 of the inside panels of the digipak. Having 3 panels covered by the same image was something inspired by Old Souls which I discuss more about in Question 1, but I found this to be effective, and the image also created direct links with my video, creating synergy.
This of course is the most obvious and most basic link between the main product and the ancillary texts, but tends to be one of the most effective. I also created a house style to apply to all of my products. All artists tend to have a logo and then a specific text font that they use across all of their products for a specific album at least, and so I have replicated this to enhance the inter-connectivity between all three texts. The font in question is "Please Write Me a Song", which was selected after a lot of deliberation, as it wasn't too brash or bold, and reflected the nature of my artist. This text is seen in my video for the text "Abandoning Sunday" and "Real Talk" at the start, and for "Struggle" being shown at the end, and is the main font used in both the digipak artwork and in the magazine advertisement.
Whilst on this topic, the two ancillary texts link very strongly through content- naturally, the advertisement has the front cover of the digipak taking up a large proportion of the page, which clearly links the products together, and through the font being the same and including some of the track names from the album on the poster, "Words" and "In Your Dreams", but also more subtly- the backdrop of the advertisement is taken along Marriott's Way, the same place where the back cover image was taken, just a little further down, and so shares some of the thematic meaning that was constructed originally with the digipak. I discuss this throughout my blog in regards to location, in how I make a religious reference to the famous epic poem "The Divine Comedy" by Dante, specifically Inferno Canto I, wherein I reference the line "midway upon the journey of our lives I found myself within a forest dark, for the straighforeward pathway had been lost." As I discuss in my digipak analysis of my own product, This path may seem monotonous and endless, but ultimately there is an end- the brightness of the image contrasts the literal meaning of the word "struggle" like in the front cover. The shaded areas could be seen as representative of these struggles along the path, and the brighter areas offering the positives- a simple Light vs. Dark analogy that gives clear connotations that relate back to "the struggle", the name of the album. The advert is in keeping with the autumnal theme established in the digipak's images, and there are regions of colour contrasted with the browning leaves, helping these colours to stand out, such as the yellow leaves to the right and the leaves that are not yet brown in the foreground. The bare trees and dying leaves are perhaps indicative of some of the issues the album deals with, such as themes of sadness (winter or seasonal depression could be dealt with here), but more so gives a sense of tranquility. Both of these relate back to the issues that are dealt with in the music video. There are religious references in both halves of the narrative, as my artist is religious and so I thought it important to reflect these ideas, such as Tom finding himself "lost within the forest", like in Dante's poem, and Elliott's loss of faith in the Church more overt, but linking to ideas of hopelessness, depression and so on. Overall, I feel that the links between my products are very effective. The digipak, although minimalistic, appears aesthetic and professional. It links to the main product and advertisement overtly through locations and the house style, so that the audience immediately recognises certain aspects and associates it with Abandoning Sunday. Furthermore, there are more subtle links between my products which makes the whole package have synergy, including the references to themes, religious context and issues dealt with in the song and album as a whole. There are of course things that do not link- I do not have the dog on the front cover in my video, for example, but the dog links in with the ideas portrayed in the video, the symbolisation of hope, freedom and happiness, which is shown towards the end of my video as the narratives are resolved. I wanted to create something that was, although inspired by previous products that I have known to be effective, unique to the artists style and lyrical themes, eye catching and professional, and I feel the combination of my texts is effective enough to have accomplished these aims.
This will prevent images and text from moving randomly across the screen and obscuring the other images. Due to pad let's restrictions, most of the supporting images can be found at the bottom of the document. If this does not work, the document can be viewed as an image below, but this does trim some of the far right hand side. Text boxes can be read fully by clicking on them.
In recent years, it has become easier for unsigned artists to make a name for themselves in the music industry. Although chart success may not be apparent, bands and artists make a name for themselves through almost incessant touring, and creating a real link between them and their fanbase. With the aid of technologies like YouTube that create a platform for music to reach a global audience, as well as Social Networks like Twitter and Facebook to connect with fans, and music sharing services like SoundCloud, Spotify, ReverbNation, PureVolume and so on, artists can get their music out to the public easily, and develop from there. It is this sense of community about music that has led to increasing amounts of unsigned artists making waves in the industry. Although some bands are then recognised and choose to join a label to increase their profile, or move labels in order to progress as a musical unit, record labels have many disadvantages, with law disputes frequenting the history of many household name artists, leading to manipulation, dishonesty and a loss of identity- often causing these names to go their own way. In this essay, I will explore the constant battle being fought between Music and what it stands for, and the corporate, business side to do with the music industry.
This was the headline for an article discussing how and unsigned artist had huge chart success, winning multiple awards and securing headline slots at festivals across the globe. Ben Haggerty, better known by the pseudonym Macklemore, is an american rapper, who since 2000, has released three EPs and two albums- independently. "The Heist", 2012, sold 78,000 copies in its first week, and circa May 2014, has sold 1.3 Million copies. The album was independently produced, recorded and released, alongside Ryan Lewis, and reached #1 in the US Billboard and won the Grammy for best rap album. This was all the success of one man, his lyrical content and ideologies, and fans- without the support of a big record label which surely would happily house such a talent. His success has ultimately made a large amount of acts realise that with hard work, they too can be "famous", within the industry.
Macklemore is no exception. American rapper Hoodie Allen has also been operating in the underground for several years, releasing 5 mixtapes, 3 EP's and his debut album "People Keep Talking" in 2014. Hoodie, another independent artist, puts a strong emphasis on his fanbase, dubbed the "Hoodie Mob", which he interacts with through social media and meeting at the merch desk at shows. In his record "People Keep Talking", he calls out rappers who are so focused on making money "step on the back of your favourite fan, charge them like fifty to take a quick picture, you scummy a** rappers are not in demand", and also proclaims how he "did it on [my] own with no management" , both obvious "disses" to record labels and how these acts often charge for "VIP" packages for people to meet their favourite artists. In a previous track, he simply states that "Fame is for A*******". Hoodie's latest single saw him alongside the world famous Singer/Songwriter Ed Sheeran for "All About It". This has brought him a huge influx of fans, who heard of him through Ed Sheeran on social networks, as Hoodie admits himself: "now my fan base is full of Megan's and Ashley's".
However, the flip side of this argument is simply that unsigned artists that are successful do not sign to labels because, if they have the funds, they make more money- less money goes to record representatives, managers, and so on down the chain. A prime example of this was highlighted in "Bartholomew Cubbins" (Jared Leto) film, "Artifact".
Firstly, I would like to state what an incredible documentary this is, and urge whoever is reading this, even if you are not a fan of the band, to watch it. The documentary followed the giant Rock band Thirty Seconds To Mars during the production of the 2009 record, during their law dispute with record label EMI. The album, following the dispute, was aptly named "This Is War." with a lot of the lyrical content referencing a metaphorical war- Vox Populi, namely, the latin for "Voice of the People", beckons the Echelon, the fanbase, "this is a call to arms, gather soldiers, it's time to go to war". During the documentary, Leto discusses the facts and figures related to the dispute and the amount of money an artist actually earns when signed to a big label. The band were sued for $30,000,000 over a hidden contract in EMI, after they tried to sign to a different label, when EMI stated they had failed to produce the amount of music they needed to within the set time of the contract. Despite selling millions of albums worldwide, Mars were over $1 Million in debt to EMI, the parent label of Virgin Records, whilst simultaneously the band had made no profit from album sales, all profits came from merchandise, etc - hence why Artifact was screened on their VyRT. They tried to resign in 2008 causing EMI to file the suit stating the band had failed to produce 3 of the 5 albums they were obligated to deliver under their 1999 contract. Mars responded by stating that under California Law, where the band originally signed, one cannot be bound to a contract for more than 7 years- the band had been with them for 9 years, and so exercised their legal right to terminate the "old, out of data contract, which, according to the law, is null and void." Another interesting thing is the amount of cameos in the film, namely one Chester Bennington, who toured with Mars as a support, Nu-Metal titans Linkin Park.
The following is a clip taken from Artifact that I have edited myself to illustrate both the effects of the lawsuit and what record labels do to bands in general to exploit them - it is a summary of how the music industry works at the top end.
The history of distrust with the record label spans as far back as the Sex Pistols in 1977, when the band recieved negative publicity and were subsequently fired from the label, due to the anarchy that the band hoped to instill with their lyrics. The song "EMI" followed. Throughout history, larger acts have turned to going their own ways to make their own independent record labels- Led Zeppelin, Oasis and The Beatles being the most famous examples, but more recently, Jay-Z has firmly established "ROC Nation", his partner Kanye West runs "GOOD Music", and Eminem and Dr Dre own Shady Records and Aftermath, all of which accommodate a large amount of upcoming rappers in the USA. Having an independent label in this sense means there is a lot more focus on the music, rather than the business aspect, and gives the owner artist especially much more freedom.
As perhaps a Case Study, another recent dispute involved that of Ocala rockers A Day To Remember.
ADTR suffered a similar lawsuit to Mars, but by Victory Records- In this case however, it was the band taking matters into their own hands, and filing the lawsuit against their label. Jeremy McKinnon and co sued the label for $75,000 worth of Royalties, and filed the suit under breach of contract. The label stated that, like with Thirty Seconds to Mars, the band had not fulfilled their album contractual commitment, and were not allowed to leave to a larger label- the jury ruled in favour of A Day To Remember, and the band were allowed to release their 4th studio album, "Common Courtesy", on "ADTR Records", as an independently released digital download, supported by the bands large fanbase, until over a month later, the jewel case CD became available.
The lyrical content of Common Courtesy includes songs like "City of Ocala", which opens with a much awaited "F*** YEAH!", and moves into "Right Back At It Again", the first single from Common Courtesy, opening with a perhaps belated "We're coming out swinging!", a massive "screw you" to Victory, where McKinnon says to all the people that said that the band couldn't be where they are today that he "[doesn't] wanna hear about it". The single was released on October 7th 2013 on the Radio 1 Rock Show, after Victory stated that "the End begins 8th October 2013", the date of the self release of Common Courtesy. "Right Back At It Again" was also a rather apt way to announce, in the title alone, that they were back, fighting against the record label.
Once you've digested this memorable conceptual video, the most notable inclusion on Common Courtesy is that of the penultimate track of the digital version, "The Document Speaks for Itself". Some stand-out lyrics include "I gotta get out, I gotta get out", in reference to the label, and then perhaps more strikingly, the hardcore section that shouts "Even when your worst surrounds me, you'll never get the best of us", and as the final lyric, "No f****** respect!". Which, simply, speaks for itself.
The band are even more firmly estbalished than even before, after playing slots at Reading and Leeds Festival and being set to be sub-headliners at this years Download Festival. Lead singer Jeremy McKinnon has recently completed production of the upcoming album for rising pop punk stars from Wales, Neck Deep, and the band organise the annual "Self-Help" Festival in America, this year headlined by Pierce the Veil and Sleeping With Sirens.
As a retaliation, and form of "trolling" the band, Victory Records flew a plane over the ADTR organised Self Help Fest in the States this month, after being banned from entering by organisers.
"Visit Victory Records .com" ... At least they have a sense of humour,..
As highlighted in the Artifact documentary, another band to undergo a lawsuit with EMI are Smashing Pumpkins, where the band sued Virgin Records for Digital Royalties, saying the label shut them out of the profits of their digital sales. In Artifact, Jared Leto states how the label can actually charge for the packaging costs, artwork, and damages for digital records, where of course there is actually no packaging, no way they can be damaged and no physical artwork.
This begs the question, why do bands continually seek the status that comes with being signed to a large label? In some instances, fans interpret what the band see as progression as "selling out", and only being it in for the money, yet as shown by the documentary, this is not necessarily true. From what I have seen within the genres my artist, Abandoning Sunday, fits, rock and pop punk, being signed to a label that is recognised within a genre brings about increased awareness and ultimately broadens the fanbase. For this section, my case study is Neck Deep.
Founded in 2012 by Ben Barlow and Lloyd Roberts as a bedroom project, they released two tracks which recieved a huge online response, encouraging them to produce more as a band, ultimately leading to the release of the "Rain in July" EP a few months later. They attracted musicians Matt West and Fil-Thorpe Evans, previously of Climates, to release "A History of Bad Decisions" in 2013.
The flasgship track, "A Part of Me", caused massive waves when the band played some shows in America, supporting We Are The In Crowd, and subsequently lead to them moving from a small independent label to one of the biggest labels in America, Hopeless Records, which has an impressive roster including All Time Low and The Wonder Years. This threw the band into the limelight as the band to know, and after the release of 2014's "Wishful Thinking", the band played a full UK headline tour, before a tour in America with Knuckle Puck and Light Years. This incessant touring as well as backing from a well known label within the genre meant that on 2014's Vans Warped Tour, they were the band to see, and had quite literally blown up in popularity.
This was illustrated when, as a warm up to their Reading & Leeds return, and ultimately one of their final UK shows, Blink-182 played the O2 Academy- not two years before, Neck Deep was a bedroom project, and over that space of time the band increased in popularity so much that they actually opened this show. As expected, they are returning to the Warped Tour for 2015 and have just come off the back of the "Intercontinental Championship Tour" in the UK with Knuckle Puck (USA), Trophy Eyes (AUS) and Seaway (CAN)- which I actually attended. As mentioned earlier, the band have just finished recording a 2nd album with Jeremy McKinnon.
These big labels ultimately have helped the success of the band- within two years the band were turned around and sky rocketed in popularity, as the label hosted bands of a similar genre and subsequently has a huge audience- Hopeless have 230,000 followers on Twitter, and have a dedicated street team that promote bands on the label. Being a part of a "Clique Label", such as Hopeless Records, does give artists a platform to which they are accessible, and ultimately increase the speed at which they become known. For instance, I followed Neck Deep on Twitter when they had under 10,000 followers, in late 2013, and now they have 82,000.
This is no rarity, bands are snapped up by clique labels as they grow in popularity and are associated with a genre. Another UK example is As It Is, who only very recently signed to Fearless Records, as the band had grown such a relatively large following due to lead man Patty Walters' YouTube channel- now, the band from Brighton have the ability to play shows in America, they are currently on the Glamour Kills Tour, and reach an even larger audience, and follow the same footsteps as Neck Deep did with Hopeless. Sometimes, a band switches labels due to the direction the band is taking- for instance, Knuckle Puck moved to Rise Records in 2014 for the release of their 2015 EP "While I Stay Secluded", again to access a new clique of fans who listen to a different sub-genre. The impact touring has is also notable, as the more a band puts themselves out there, even as support acts, they become more and more known, and as supports they are saying that fans of the main act will likely enjoy their music as they are similar- for instance, the supports on Neck Deep's UK tour. Bands that are dedicated to touring will ultimately reap the rewards of this as their name becomes more recognisable.
To conclude, most record labels help to provide a platform on which artists can reach a wide range of fans, but larger ones are proven to be more trouble than they are worth, from the cases detailed in this research. The extent to which they are actually needed is still arguable, with the success of Macklemore and Hoodie Allen going alone, and also some of the bands we are working with for our coursework- Cartel, for example, used to be signed, and are now unsigned, yet still have a large enough following for a huge 10 year anniversary tour of their first album to take place across America as well as a slot at this years Slam Dunk festival, and even my artist, Abandoning Sunday, has a small but dedicated following without being signed, enough so for him to have put out 2 albums and several EPs, from the response he has received online from fans of the genre. As long as the big, corporate Record Label exists, music will be restricted, but music will always find a way to reach the people, as shown in Artifact.
Bibliography:
Macklemore - https://silentattraction.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/how-an-unsigned-white-rapper-changed-music/
Smashing Pumpkins Lawsuit - http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1044671/ex-pumpkins-members-sue-for-digital-royalties
A Day to Remember Lawsuit - http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/a_day_to_remember_victory_records
"Artifact" - 2013, Directed by Bartholomew Cubbins / Jared Leto.
Neck Deep - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neck_Deep
Twitter
Victory Records Trolling ADTR - http://www.rocksound.tv/news/read/whatever-you-think-of-victory-records-their-adtr-trolling-game-is-on-point
After conducting my initial audience research, I created a Focus Group of 6 people to which I would consult in more detail regarding changes I could make to my ideas to make my video as effective as possible for the genre whilst still including the technical aspects that needed to be observed, such as intertextuality and "Britishness".
During the initial discussion, they echoed my thoughts to change from the initial idea from the first Treatment drastically, and eliminate the character who would be playing the guitar, as it mis-portrayed the star image and didn't add to a narrative, which was what my questionnaire found to be most engaging.
Examples of Physical Questionnaires.
The initial responses shaped my first draft, and after completing my first draft, I created a Questionnaire that I distributed to my Focus Group via E-Mail.
Focus Group Questionnaire
This was sent out to each member of the group who then replied to the E-Mail with a completed questionnaire, seen below, with Elisha's E-Mail.
From these responses, the focus group effectively helped shape the changes from my First Draft to my Final Cut. The most striking concern was in Elisha's response, she described the plot as something completely different to what I had intended (Hall, Preferred/Oppositional Readings) and had misunderstood the video due to the gaps that were in there.
Elisha's Response to the Plot Question.
However in general Elisha's response was one of the most helpful, as she picked out how I made use of Britishness and Intertextuality and links to Goodwin's theories such as the links to lyrics, seen below in a more complete example of her response.
This showed I was along the right lines with my First Draft. However, in Jack's response, he picked out that the editing and some scenes seemed "repetitive or slightly too long"- as a result, I made the intro section with Elliott shorter, including clips with Ria in this section, and then also eliminated shots that were similar in the Bridge, and replaced them with clips of Ria's side of the story, to enhance the narrative.
As a result, the finished video differes hugely from the initial shot list, but the greatest change was that right at the start, where the initial shot list changed drastically, and then small adjustments were made to shots to make it more appropriate- for example, the intro remains very similar, and in the shot list, shots such as "group in the city", changed to "group in the streets".
This all contributes greatly for when it comes to answering Question 3 of the Evaluation, what did you learn from your audience feedback.
Intertextuality
Intertextuality regards the relationship between texts, and within my piece I included many intertextual references, for many purposes. Including an intertextual reference has the benefit of including the audience more, for the target audience may identify with the intertextual reference regarding a particular subculture or interest depicted and hence find the associated character more relatable, which is ultimately what Althusser says in their theory regarding self-image in media. Other references make the video more intriguing or captivating, such as a reference to other videos, TV, film and literature.
Intertextual references I have included are:
Posters in Elliott's Room
The purpose of this intertextual reference was a result of my audience research, feedback and focus group comments. I found that my target audience were interested in music of other genres and hence I have included 4 posters from different musical sub-genres that were all included in my audience research: Mayday Parade, top left, a pop punk band, Gnarwolves, a UK Punk band, The Word Alive, a post-hardcore band, and Real Friends, a Pop Punk/Emo band. This adds character depth to Elliott and makes him more accessible through referencing these other bands in the posters. In my focus group, when I asked about intertextuality and explained its meaning, members of my focus group picked up on the use of the posters and liked them, hence why I kept them.
CDs and other mise-en-scene in Elliott's Room
These screenshots show the other mise-en-scene I use in Elliott's room. Not only does it demonstrate the turbulence and has connotations of lack of control, the mess is stereotypical of representations of young people, particularly young males, that are unruly and have a lack of organisation. It is a common representation in most media texts, be it TV shows/other music videos, but it is a relatable/accessible one. The mess is not as bad as portrayed in other media texts too, being sure not to put off my target audience through them feeling discriminated.
On the floor are scrunched up pieces of paper, pertinent to the narrative, but also CDs: the bottom image has the CD for pop punk band The Story So Far's album "Under Soil & Dirt", and I found this band to be one that my audience also supports from my audience research. The inclusion of this is also more subtle than the posters as it is perhaps harder to notice them compared to the posters which have more prominent positions in most shots. I also included other CDs around the room in the shoot, but not all of them are visible. The lamp shade in the background of the shot and in the video could also be referenced to the use of the lampshade by several artists in their artwork, notably the Real Friends poster and digipak, and recently by British band Moose Blood.
Posters in Ria's Room
The intertextuality in Ria's room is similar to that in Elliott's, but looks into a different audience demographic entirely. The posters in Ria's room reflect her own musical tastes, but also cater for perhaps the older section of my artists' fan base from my audience research. Bands such as Foo Fighters, Pink Floyd, The Sex Pistols and Guns N Roses have posters on the wall in the background of most shots including Ria's character, which would appeal to the older demographic and also younger audiences, like Ria, who are interested in music from previous generations. Also, there is a map of Mordor on her wall, from the Lord of the Rings trilogy of films, creating an intertextual link by including it in the video, again to make the characters more accessible to the audience.
Religious References - Literature - Dante's "Divine Comedy"
As mentioned previously, my artist has a religious influence and hence I portray religious ideologies in the video, namely the Church section with Elliott's character, and in my digipak design. From lyrical themes of hope and feeling lost in the video, I reference Dante's work, Inferno, Canto I, with the famous line "Midway upon the journey of our lives I found myself within a forest dark, for the straightforward pathway had been lost". Throughout Tom's section, I show him looking lost within a forest, a reference to this famous piece of literature.
(NB: Unintentionally, most of these shots happen in the middle of the video! After this, Tom is shown to exit the forest and come out onto a beach, and then move on to the final location with his friends - the Divine Comedy was split into three sections, Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso - coming out of the forest, in the narrative, is Tom becoming less lost and discovering what he needs to do, and is re-united with his friends- the reference to Dante is he comes out of Hell, the forest, onto the barren never-ending landscape of the Beach, Purgatory, before being reunited with his friends, a metaphorical heaven.)
For my Music Video project, I used different equipment to film and edit my piece. For filming, I used a Sony HVR-HD1000E Camera with Tape, and then my iPhone 4S with Hyperlapse. For Editing, I used Final Cut Express on a Mac computer. I also utilised a wide array of props to aid the narrative and discuss different ideas as well as create intertextuality.
Filming
Equipment: Sony HVR-HD1000E Camera, Standard Definition Tape, iPhone 4S, Hyperlapse Application
Reasons: I used the Sony HVR Camcorder as it was easy to use, and was provided by the college and so was practical. I could film in 480p with the camera with although not ideal was still good quality and allowed for smooth, steady shots to be filmed, and it is manoeuvrable so it would be easy to film in the main locations and capture some interesting shots. For smaller, impromptu shoots when the main camera was not avaialble, I switched to my iPhone 4S' camera. This camera shoots in 1080p which is a higher quality, but is less stable and more susceptible to smaller movements and other subtle changes in the composition of the image. Hence, I downloaded and used the application "Hyperlapse", produced by the makers of Instagram, which automatically stabilises video footage with the purpose to make time-lapse videos, but with the option to slow the video down to it's original speed. This allowed me to film both time-lapses for the start of the video and then shots from smaller shoots that were simply dropped into my timeline on Final Cut as the core of the shots were there from the main camera. The downside of this was the constant rendering of these clips, but it was far more practical and at no loss of quality.
Props
Mobile Phone
Notepad & Pen
Posters & CDs
Bible
Beer Bottle
Car
Textbooks and Essay
Vase of Flowers
I used each of these props to convey different aspects of the video through the mise-en-scene. The Mobile Phones were pertinent to the narrative and hence contributing towards understanding the characters relationships and contact. Without conversation, as the sound in a video is almost entirely the sound, the phone indicates conversation occurring without the presence of both characters and the audience recognizes this. The Notepad & Pen are used to convey Elliott's character's state of mind, and the way in which he conveys his emotion, and they also are a fitting expression of his rage in the penultimate section of the video. The Posters & CDs in both rooms lend themselves towards the significance of intertextuality and allow the target audience from my audience research to identify with the characters through their music, TV and film interests. The Bible is a fitting prop in the Church section and fits in with the lyrical themes of losing hope, in the religious context of the song/band, and Elliott closing the Bible is perhaps indicative of a loss of faith. The Beer Bottle shown at the start is another interesting prop I use to create a sub-narrative- half drank, it is depicted during the lyric "I've got a real bad habit", indicating a potential drinking problem, discussing an issue of modern society which is alcohol abuse and the reasons for this, which, as conveyed through the other props and narrative, include hopelessness, depression and self-depreciation. Regarding Tom's character, the car is a useful prop as it resembles the lengths to which his friends will go to find him and also creates a link between locations. Regarding Ria's character, the textbooks and essay is shown before the last chorus as she discards them and looks at the vase of flowers, pertinent to the narrative, as by this stage we assume that they were given to her by Elliott's character and that she cannot concentrate due to the preceding argument. The props used throughout strongly aid the narrative and allow the plot and ideas to be clearly or subtly illustrated.
Editing
Equipment: Final Cut Express, Mac Computer
Reasons: I used Final Cut on the College Macs for my AS project and found the interface easy to use and organised with a variety of extra editing features to enhance my project. I was familiar with the software and hence did not have to learn how alternate softwares like Adobe CS6 After Effects operated. The clips from the Sony Camera did not need to be constantly rendered and re-rendered, making it easy and quick to create, and I only used the iPhone shots for supporting shots which would render quickly.
Here is a screen grab of my project in Final Cut. As you can see at the bottom, I locked my audio layers so that adding in new clips did not move the clips around, and then locked video layers as sections were completed. The top left displays a "Bin", or folder in Final Cut, where I store clips from a specific shoot, the one in question here is the shoot with Ria.
Above here are a further two screenshots illustrating the organisation of clips into "Bins" for the shoots in the main window in the top left. Clips were all renamed so I knew what they were as soon as I imported them into the Library, making them easy to access and organised. I felt this worked well as I could simply drop clips in where there were gaps, and the quality is turning out well.
I also made use of other editing features in my project. I used a variety of dissolve transitions throughout where jump cuts were not neccessary due to the pace and nature of the instrumental, and then preferred the use of jump cuts in the faster section. I also made use of make-shift transitions by adjusting the opacity of clips over time- the screen grab to the left is from when Tom's character is in the tree during the first chorus. In this section, I also adjusted the scale and rotation of the shots to make sure that the transitions did not cause the central tree to move, and only Tom's character warped around the shots. I also used audio effects like Gain and Colour Levels to enhance specific aspects of the shots, i.e. I had a Gain on the diegetic noises of the seatbelt and car starting up.
Overall I feel that the filming and editing process was very successful and that I have progressed from AS, leading nicely on to the evaluation section of my blog.
This location is used for the introduction to the video as it allows for some aesthetic shots that introduce the ideas in the video and is briefly seen at the end of the video. This shot is from the time-lapse I use at the start, where the clouds move quickly across the sky. This links to the digipak, as it is in very close proximity to the place where I took the pictures for the digipak, and allows for links between the video and ancillary texts, creating synergy.
Bawdeswell Heath
This location is used for all of Tom's section, as it represents the place he goes to be alone with himself. He gets lost in the forest, representing him actually feeling lost and without direction, and alone, as he feels this way without his friends. This is highlighted particualry in the shot where Tom whips his head around as the camera pans around him in the opposite direction, creating a sense of a loss of direction (see above). Also, the location is interesting as it references the religious idea of Dante's Divine Comedy, in the line "midway upon the journey of our life I found myself within a forest dark for the straightforeward pathway had been lost" which is shown in Tom not knowing where to go, until he stumbles out of the forest and onto a beach- which could also be interpreted as him coming out of "Hell", in the context of the Divine Comedy.
Cromer/Overstrand Beach and Cromer Forest
This location allows for the transition in Tom's section from forest to beach. The forest comes out onto an isolated segment of Cromer's beach, further towards Overstrand, where Tom's character is again completely alone on the bleak landscape. This represents how Tom's character has come to the end of what he can physically take and needs to make a change, leading into the last bridge before the final chorus and the conclusion of the narrative - marking the end of the "disruption" phase of Todorov's Narrative Theory.
Taverham Streets
I used the streets of Taverham to film certain sections pertinent to Tom's section of the narrative. In one section, Ben and Lee, shown above , Tom's friends, are out looking for him, and they then proceed to get into the car. At another section, they are shown to be waiting outside an area of woodland (the forest) for when Tom's character finally emerges. These locations are more practical as they are nearby to where all characters lived.
Norwich City Centre
For the final section of the video for Tom's section, the three men are shown having a good time together. For this I decided the busy city centre of Norwich would be most appropriate. This also links to the time-lapse of the different locations at the start of the video.
Room 1 - Elliott's Room
For Elliott's characters section of the narrative, where the video begins, Elliott's character is shown in his room. His room is fitted with many intertextual items such as posters, CDs, drinks etc. to make his character more relatable to the audience. Intertextual choices can be found in a later post regarding intertextuality throughout the video. The room is quite messy and unorderly, stereotypical of young males rooms, again making the character more accessible from the offset.
Room 2 - Ria's Room
again for Elliott's section of the narrative, he is in a turbulent period in his relationship with his girlfriend in the video. For this, I used my girlfriend Ria's room, again fitted with intertextual references in the form of posters of bands and other artworks, including a Lord of the Rings map. Intertextual choices can be found in a later post regarding intertextuality throughout the video. The room also has a lot of sixth form work and the shots also make reference to the stress that the education system places on young people, a very relatable idea to my target audience. The room also allows for a link for the story later where Elliott's character meets up with Ria's character in the finale of the video.
Taverham Church
In the middle section, Elliott's character goes to the local Church where he is shown to be questioning his faith, pertinent to the lyrics of the song and the religious themes of the artist and video. For this section, I obtained permission from the Reverend, and filmed on a weekday when the Church was empty, again to emphasise the emotion of feeling alone, shown in the above screenshot. This location also strongly links to the lyrics "Promise me you'll keep believing", and the religious ideals of the band. Regarding Britishness, Britain is a predominantly Christian country, hence the link here suggests inherent "Britishness" (The Church of England) and outside the church, I include a shot with a wreath of poppies, a symbolic memorial of the First World War, a significant part of Britain's history and hence the Poppy, semiotically, holds a strong sense of British Identity.
Below are some maps showing where my locations are compared to one another and hence why they were chosen.
Full Map of Taverham and Thorpe Marriott
This map gives an overview of 5 of the 8 locations I used in my video, and all locations are within a 15 minute walk of one another. This, logistically, is a huge benefit, although a lot of filming occurred on different days, but allows for actors, Elliott, Ria and Ben, to all be close together for filming- for example, for the last section I needed to film, Elliott simply walked down to meet myself and Ria at the location to film.
Zoomed map of Taverham and Thorpe Marriott
This enhanced map gives a better idea of the locations. From bottom left to top right, they are:
The full map shows that the last 3 locations are much further apart - this shows a large section of Norfolk where the video has various sections scattered around. The far left is Bawdeswell, the top marker is Cromer Beach/Forest, and the bottom right is Norwich City Centre. Logistically, filming at each of these locations required it's own day, hence this was taken into account on the shooting schedule, to make sure the required actors were available, we could get to the locations and the weather was suitable. The Bawdeswell shoot occurred in the October Half Term, where my Mum drove Tom and I to the Heath whilst they walked the dog, allowing us to film. In Cromer, Tom got a train from North Walsham which wasn't too far away, whilst I got transport from my Dad, who works in Cromer, and then met Tom to walk to the location. In Norwich, Lee drove all 4 of us into the centre, and we filmed prior to a concert we were all attending later that evening in the city, so it was practical.
Macklemore is no exception. American rapper Hoodie Allen has also been operating in the underground for several years, releasing 5 mixtapes, 3 EP's and his debut album "People Keep Talking" in 2014. Hoodie, another independent artist, puts a strong emphasis on his fanbase, dubbed the "Hoodie Mob", which he interacts with through social media and meeting at the merch desk at shows. In his record "People Keep Talking", he calls out rappers who are so focused on making money "step on the back of your favourite fan, charge them like fifty to take a quick picture, you scummy a** rappers are not in demand", and also proclaims how he "did it on [my] own with no management" , both obvious "disses" to record labels and how these acts often charge for "VIP" packages for people to meet their favourite artists. In a previous track, he simply states that "Fame is for A*******". Hoodie's latest single saw him alongside the world famous Singer/Songwriter Ed Sheeran for "All About It". This has brought him a huge influx of fans, who heard of him through Ed Sheeran on social networks, as Hoodie admits himself: "now my fan base is full of Megan's and Ashley's".
ADTR suffered a similar lawsuit to Mars, but by Victory Records- In this case however, it was the band taking matters into their own hands, and filing the lawsuit against their label. Jeremy McKinnon and co sued the label for $75,000 worth of Royalties, and filed the suit under breach of contract. The label stated that, like with Thirty Seconds to Mars, the band had not fulfilled their album contractual commitment, and were not allowed to leave to a larger label- the jury ruled in favour of A Day To Remember, and the band were allowed to release their 4th studio album, "Common Courtesy", on "ADTR Records", as an independently released digital download, supported by the bands large fanbase, until over a month later, the jewel case CD became available.
The band are even more firmly estbalished than even before, after playing slots at Reading and Leeds Festival and being set to be sub-headliners at this years Download Festival. Lead singer Jeremy McKinnon has recently completed production of the upcoming album for rising pop punk stars from Wales, Neck Deep, and the band organise the annual "Self-Help" Festival in America, this year headlined by Pierce the Veil and Sleeping With Sirens.
