Final Production Music Video - Don't Take it Personal

Evaluation Part 5

For our final production we used technologies that really helped us progress and played a huge part in completing our final product. Technology was used at all three different stages which was: pre-production, production and post-production.

Pre-production

 I used OneDrive to convert videos into blogger.  OneDrive was very successful as i was able upload files such as videos to convert into blogger which was very helpful as it was safe on OneDrive through having an account i was also able to access at home.

  Google drive was used to upload files such as images and videos. This was successful as I could communicate with my group members as we saved worked in the drive which was kept safe and emailed any work we had allocated to ourselves. Also because i don't have access to a Mac outside of lessons this technology allowed me to be able to access work from the drive after saving it from the Mac in school.

Blogger was used to upload work to keep track of coursework. Blogger was successful as it was a new technology that was introduced to us this year. Last year, we saved work on the computer and for you to access the outside of lessons was to have a USB and a disadvantage was if you lost the USB you lost your work. Whereas blogger enabled you to save work online and was accessible at home and also accessible elsewhere as they also had an App so I was able to access my work from my phone.

  Twitter was used to contact my artist to ask for permission to use his video. This was successful as I got in contact with my artist through social media and asked for permission in the direct messages on twitter. This use of technology allowed me to see the social trends which i was able then to consider implementing into our final production.

   This was used to edit the audience feedback and cut out scenes that were disruptive and irrelevant. This was very successful as this advanced technology of being able to using features such as the blade tool in final cut pro allowed me to cut out scenes that had no relevance to the video.

  Powerpoint was used to present our idea to our class mates. This was successful as this application was useful in order for me to express what I'd like my video to look like. Also the visual references i was able to show through the slideshows helped the audience be able to understand my vision for the music video I want to produce.

Production

   This was used to take pictures of our media products and taking pictures of locations. This was successful as through taking pictures of our media products I was then able to implement them into my blogger to show the flat plan before creating it. It was also a success as i took pictures of locations where me and my group 

The film camera was used to film the music video. Using the film camera was very successful as it was a technology i used last year and quite used to it. A tripod is required to use in order for footage not to be too shaky but i decided i wanted to be more free with the camera so it was hand-held. 

Post-Production

  Photoshop was used for editing our magazine cover and digipak. I believe to photoshop was initially unsuccessful  as it was my first year experiencing the software. I believe i created a well produced magazine cover but my digipak could do with a huge improvement. Towards the ending i developed my skills in this area as i was able to use the magic wand and lasso tool which initially i didn't have no idea of how to use or what they do.

  Twitter was used to post and share our music video. I used social media to gain qualitative feedback as twitter approved easy to use and saved time as the feedback was immediate through retweets, favourites and people leaving their views under the post.

This was used to upload our final production to receive feedback. After the final production i used Youtube to upload my final production which was a success through receiving feedback of both positive and negative. I believe it was a success as it gives me the information i need to be able to improve for next time which wasn't a software i used last year for the post-production.

Evaluation Part 4

I have learnt quite a lot from our audience feedback which went very successfully. First of all I believe that we have reached our target audience as all three participants which were young males could relate to the music video in a way. They believe ethnicity played a big role in to our music video with the mindset there is also a secondary target audience we targeted which was the white background. Our primary target was black young males (African/Black American) as they tend to go through the lifestyle of being in the hood. One of the audience feedback was they could relate to it with personally knowing people who have been through the similar stages the artist went through. I believe being able to reach our target audience helped the audience be engaged as one of the audience members said: ''There was no scene that I thought that was boring because every scene was related to the lyrics'' it essential the audience feel like this as it enables them to stay on their seat and watch on.

When planning my production me and my group thought of having a full-on narrative video which wasn't the case as there was narrative scenes but not for the whole video which wasn't bad as we was still able to catch our target audiences attention. We also wanted to show in detail of Yungen's lifestyle in before he became a superstar for us to be able to show a clear juxtaposition between Yungen as a teenager and him now. The reason for not showing his past in detail as I believe the target audience would get the gist through the brief shots of no food in his fridge and his non-luxury clothing and him robbing people which they did. Also being also to show scenes of him hanging out with his friends and playing around with his older sister enabled me to fit the stereotype of what young teenagers do as one of the audience members say: ''I believe I can personally identify with some of the scenes like him play fighting with his sister and him hanging out with his friends because it kind of portrays a stereotypical teenage life.

In addition,  the audience also believe we were able to create a secondary target audience of including a Portuguese female and the sister as the way they were presented subverted the male gaze theory of women being sexual objections for mens pleasures. As in the music video they were represented as females who played a role of being there for the artist Yungen. The secondary target audience created here may be females who may have brothers who go through the life of growing up in the estates getting caught up with trouble and females like that watching this will be able to relate and empathise with the female character.

Overall, what was very successful in our production was the huge difference in comparisons to other grime which usually included conventions of weapons, drugs, half-naked girls, luxury assets etc. One comment a audience me member gave was: ''Rather than having half-naked women, you had a showing of a bond of a brother and sister which is different to what you'd normally see'' Here, we have subverted conventions of what you'd expect to see which conforms with stuart hall's reception theory with three ways of looking at things which are the dominant way, the negotiated way and the oppositional way. Our music video is opposing what the audience would expect from a grime video as we used the theme of love in the sense of 'family love' shown through a brother and sister.

To conclude, what me and my group would need to improve on would be to show how close the artist was with his sister as one of the audience says. I believe for for future references if I was to create this again I wouldn't create more scenes of him and his sister as the song is more about his mother and father not being there for him. What I believe i'd need to include or show more is how he managed individually as he was used to being alone most time in comparison to his superstar lifestyle. Also another suggestion was there was too many happy scenes which wasn't the theme and alternative would be show more scenes such as being alone and take it step by step with the lyric of his past.  

Evaluation Part 3

We used synergy effectively through colour, iconography and the mode of address. 

The two images on the left are screenshots of me and my groups digipak and magazine cover which we created for our final production. There is an appealing connection between all three media products ensuring all three products are able to identify each other using synergy. We was successful in doing this as we were able to include a variety of themes that connoted to the lyrics such as crime, love, and religion, which was an unusual theme you normally wouldn't see in grime videos. The main colours we used in both the digipak and magazine video were black and blue which was to connote the idea of having a dark side. Black was to symbolise him having a bad past and the blue to represent his present lifestyle of him being a superstar. When making decisions of what costumes to pick for our character to wear we denoted he was associated with the colour black and red so we wanted to take our imagination and create a similar but different approach of the character using different costumes and colour. We was able to represent his happiness and current situation in the magazine cover through the luxury watch that he wears.  Whereas in the digipak we are able to denote his past through a wide shot where he is sitting down in council flats where that idea isn't shown in the magazine cover. Although that aspect is shown there is a clear interlink as we use the same font in both media products which was Bronx graffiti which was done to  create the  idea of hoodlum aura which will attract the intended target audience of young black males. The theme of religion is used in all three media products through the iconography of crucifix cross which was done in order the final production to be advertised by the magazine advert and also the digipak. It was important to ensure all three media products were similar in a way so they can all be identified for the purpose of the music video. For example, having bright colours through the digipak and magazine advert wouldn't be ideal and wouldn't relate to the video when watched as the audience get a different feeling from the two media products which lured them into watching the music video.
                                                                          

We also wanted to a create a clear juxtaposition of innocence and his hood lifestyle. In the digipak we can denote him opening up his hands which signifies forgiveness and was the action of bringing the religion theme to life. A Jesus cross is on the CD and also placed in the magazine advert above his head and is done to show the seriousness of how important religion is to the artist as we ensured it is supported by the lyric where he talks about God.




This is screenshot from our final production of our artist in the studio. With this close up of him rapping into the the mic with his eyes close was done with the intentions of showing passion for music. This also shows he is a hard worker of practising and expressing his feelings behind of scenes of working towards where is today which sends out a message to the intended target audience to keep pushing forward to get to wherever they want to be.


Here, we used a low angle shot to show the superior power he has rapping to the camera this a  convention we decided to agree and include into our final production. Here we are able to see he is with his friend having fun and is later on in his life where he isn't isolated like he was in past where he says his mum and dad was hardly there for him. The black clothing connotes the past will always stick with him despite moving on and being who he is today.




This medium wide shot shows the character with his hand on his head representing the stress and frustration he's going through.  The dark lighting signifies the turbulent period the artist is going through. We were able to to relate this shot with the lyrics of his mum leaving home alone most time as this shot shows isolation and how he is separated from society.




This is a medium wide shot where we denote a the artist with his sister playing on the iPad. We have added of the effect black and white to represent the past which supports the lyrics when he mentions he felt like his sister was the only one there for him. The theme of love is shown here through the strong bond you denote in the scene.






This a close up of the artists face which was done to be able denote his facial expression which seems about down an depressed. The black hooded jacket shows the rebellious action he has in him with the colour having connotations of evil. Even though, we have showed his religious side and we have represented him with that clothing in order for the intended target audience to empathise with the character as they'll able to relate to the scene.



In this scene is a birds eye view of the artist sleeping with his hoody which was to symbolise the isolation and support the lyrics of not being able to sleep because of the his house being too cold to sleep but as we cannot physically show his house is cold we had to improvise and use our imaginative by using clothes to cover himself to symbolise he is cold. This specific scene subverts the theme of love as love isn't shown through the situation we denote him in.

Evaluation Part 2

Evaluation Part 1 - The Brief

What brief were you working to?
I am currently working for SC records who have hired me to promote one of their new acts. Furthermore, I have been asked to create one music video package, a cover for the artists digipak and a A4 magazine advertisement promoting the digipak.

The artist was Yungen who is a 23 year old grime artist from Herne Hill. Yungen is known for his versatility in grime whether producing upbeat and slow songs; he is also known for the a lot of punchlines he tends to uses in his grime videos. Yungen has his own clothing line called Forever Yung where hoodies, shirts and hats are distributed for his fans. I have inserted an image below of Yungen advertising his clothing line. He is also part of music label PlayDirty with Krept & Konan who are his fellow team members.

I found Yungen through social media such as twitter and youtube as he is on popular youtube channels such as Link Up TV, SBTV & much more. I was able to contact Yungen through twitter on direct message where I was able to approach him formally; evidence of this is placed below with a screen shot.

Grime is the music genre that we have taken into our final production to edit. Grime is english music that emerged in London round the 2000s and started off in East London. Grime has gone on to be one of the most popular genre in the UK. The often included a 8 or 16 bar verses with large bass and various of instruments depending on the song. Artists such as Dizzee Rascal, Wiley & Kano were all part of the first people who brought the genre to mainstream media producing albums based on the genre. Since then many other artists have followed footsteps of these UK artists and engraved their own input in the grime scene era. Grime videos tend to have conventions of men smoking illegal substances, a lot of cash on the table, luxury cars and much more. What really attracted me to Yungen was how he has came with a different approach to the grime scene. For example, in one of his previous released videos called 'Too Real' we denote a medium wide shot at 1:25 seconds of a Jesus cross on the door. Here, I believe Yungen brings a religious side and feeling towards the grime video as in comparison to other videos you wouldn't see nothing do with religion which also shows that young males from the hood also have their good side to them that other people wouldn't see due to what grime artists usually rap about.

Flat Plan

Risk Assessment

Locations

This one of the locations that me and my group have decided to use due to the concept of our music video. Our music video is  grime and we have decided to stick to conventions of what grime music videos may tend to have. The purpose of the the background is to show the lack of fun the rapper gets and what is really behind him is just a plain lifestyle. Also in this particular scene he is selling drugs and we decided this location is suitable to exchange drugs.

This is another location that me and my group have decided to use as there are some good sides to the music video where our artists talks about his fame and in order to show this although he doesn't talk about stage shows we believed if we show him performing it will blatantly show a clear juxtaposition of his fame image and the real image of him behind doors.

This stage has been chosen to be one the locations were interested to use as I have mentioned above we want to show him performing.

This is a location we have decided to use to show the bad side where he mentions he never had electricity or gas in his house and showing this specific scene shows the disorganization in his house as his mum was hardly home as well. I believe it shows the state of the house with no supervision of his mother.

Cast List

Production Schedule

Weekly Blog Fifteen

This week we have finalised all three products to a good standard. Through the past weeks I have developed my editing skills quite thoroughly and I believe I have incorporated various of generic conventions of grime videos and as well as subverting them too. For example, we incorporate the crucifix cross on our digipak and magazine cover in order to a create an interlink with the music video where he mentions God. Being able to show this shows the unique touch we have has a group to subvert the conventions of drugs, half-naked women, luxury clothing etc. Although we may have used a luxury car and jewellery in some scenes it wasn't the main focus.

Above is the completion of my magazine cover.

Above is the completion of my digipak.

Weekly Blog Fourteen

In this week me and my group was finalising our two other media productions digipak and the magazine advert which was done to create an interlink with the music video before people view it.  We had to ensure we had showed the codes and conventions of grime videos through the two media products.  Through the experience of looking at other types of digipaks we was able to use those ideas to be able to incorporate them into our own music video. For example, Jay'z & Linkin Park's digipak  used graffiti writing which is a generic convention we decided to take on and pursue in our own digipak too as we believe sticking to the codes and conventions would allow our intended target audience to notice what type of genre their looking into when looking at our digipak. 

Maintaining the theme of our colour black and blue for both media products was done to show a consistent and blatant approach towards the music video. The colour black was used to represent the dark side of his life in other words his past before he came the artist he is today. In comparison the colour it was used to show the clear juxtaposition of his past with the bright side of his current life we is really positive being a grime artist and having all the things he couldn't and didn't have in his past. It was essential that it was clear that the artist had a bad past with visual references as well as the lyrics as the audience visualising the scenes of him in the past would enable to them to be able to relate and empathise with the artist. As well as making it clear of his past it was also important to show them his progression of where he is today which could play a big role in influencing the intended target audience and even the secondary target audience to work towards what they want.

Here we are able denote the digipak that i got the generic convention of graffiti writing.

Weekly Blog Thirteen

After a week of more recording we got back to editing the work we had filmed during the course of the week. When editing it was very difficult due to ensuring the footage cuts to the beat and the lip syncing is absolutely spot on to maintain professionalism. As well as doing that we had to ensure as well as lip syncing we had to make sure the actions related to the lyrics for the seconds he wasn't rapping into the the camera. We had to cut off a lot of scenes in order to get everything in place ensuring it looks and sounds right. We successful in enabling to gather a range of shots that would go well together in order to suit the music video. What made our job easier was the passion of our cast to perform well enough for it to be convincing the artist was meaningful with his lyrics.

To, conclude I learnt this week the in depth struggle of editing ensuring there isn't shots longer than 5 seconds as it could be seen as boring and too long for the audience to watch. Ensuring shot were 2-3 seconds long was one of the hardest parts due to how many different shots and angles you'd have to implement into the scenes. Although we managed to make progress i believe we could have made more effort in our editing through experimenting far more effects and transitions. Due, to the unproductiveness of time keeping we didn't get to as much footage as we could have done with the time scale we were given.

Further improvements would be to able to use my time productively to be able get more work done.

Weekly Blog Twelve

In week twelve we started planning for our magazine cover where created a rough copy of what we want it to look like.  When creating our sketch we had to decide what image would be best for the front cover as of the course of last week we went out to take pictures for our magazine cover. Me and my group came to a conclusion of what we want image to use and we came to this conclusion through putting ourselves into the audiences positions of what feeling they'll receive from the magazine advert which was denoting the hood sense our artist has. Later on in the week we got images and started testing them on photoshop and experimenting with the varieties of tools on photoshop as it was the first time using the software.

Here is an example of me experimenting with different tools and effects in photoshop. I wasn't really familiar with photoshop and my editing skills wasn't up to scratch. I did learnt how to merge pictures together as you can see at the top hand left we denote the characters hand on a phone box.














Below is the image of our sketch of our magazine cover where we have place at the top graffiti style writing which as done to be able to attract the intended target audience of young black males. I believe sticking to keeping the generic convention of the font blatantly shows the audience what type of music video they're expecting which will automatically grab the audiences attention. The main image of him taking up most of the page was done to show his high status and what big of star he is.

Weekly Blog Eleven

After filming for the previous week we then decided to evaluate and analyse all the shots that we took during the course of the week to be implemented into our final production. When filming we made various of mistakes but retook the shots to perfection but didn't delete the mistakes as they can become useful when filling in each second in the music video. Final cut pro was the software device we used when editing which we then uploaded all footage onto the software. What was really successful was being able to come to an agreement with what shots were appropriate for the scenes. Although, there were some scenes that i may not have thought would look good my group members ensured generic conventions were conformed and subverted when implementing in the shots. As we went along it was good to see that they were right. When having about edited about one third of the film we decided as group we needed to do more filming as the rest of the footage wasn't up to standard in order for us to implement them.

Weekly Blog Ten

In this week we started filming our music video. Our first scene was located at the Mohamed's house who was playing the role of Yungen the artist. We chose this location as we were able to alternate the house in the manner we want without any hazards or risks of anyone. This scene was specifically shot in the front room which was there setting we was looking for with clothes all over the sofas, floor and all sorts. This was done to be able to create the atmosphere of negativity and represent the character in the past and how he used to live which as explained in the lyrics. Although explained in the lyrics were wanted to ensure it is visualised clearly so the audience are attached to the video and empathise with the character. The reason for the messy state the front room was to enable that the character symbolises the fact he is lonely and wasn't looked after which is said in the lyrics but was essential to be visualised in order for the target audience to be able to understand his situation. Through filming we used a variety of shots to symbolise many things. A birds eye-view shot was shown he surroundings when using his hoody to cover himself whilst sleeping which supports the lyric when he says: ''Has your house been so cold that you can't sleep'. A close up is shown of his face to show the frustration in his eyes of his current situation in the scene. I believe this week was a success with including the various of shots and generic conventions through them.

Weekly Blog Nine

After the first draft of our digipak we decided we should make another copy as we wasn't entirely sure the first copy was the way we wanted it to look. In the second copy we changed  what we was initially going to include which was just an image of him all over the digipak. When analysing the first one we decided it'll be ideal to create a meaning where our intended target audience will be able to relate. In one of the boxes in the digipak we thought we'd include an image of him behind railings to signify he is trapped in the society the audience live it but then subvert it with the next image where we denote him performing into the camera. We intentionally added the religious side of it to show to the audience Yungen believed in his religion to get through the situation he was in.