Artists in the news

What makes a Star?

Video Ideas

This video we found on YouTube is another students A level work. We found it interesting and thought it had some good ideas which we could incorporate into our own work. It is also of a similar genre which means we can relate to the video and use it as a comparison to ours, helping us to improve our work.

James Bay- When we were on fire (Music Pitch)

Codes & Conventions of Music Videos

Teacher assessment feedback

Since our last teacher assessment I have picked up on some of the comments and tried to improve my work. One of the points made by my teacher was to try and differ the software and tools used to present my work. Since then I have used online web tools such as Emaze, Prezi and Slide share. There are still many different tools I can use to vary my posts.
Another point picked up on was the colour of the text and the background. My teacher was finding it hard to read my posts when marking, so i made sure i changed the background and the font so they could be seen more clearly.
One piece of work that miss said I was missing has now been completed. This was my Digipak research which is important for us as we had to re-create our own. We needed to know the general conventions of a Digipak and then completed the task of making our own interpretation of a famous Digipak. We chose to use one by rapper, Eminem.
I have also got a few things missing off of my blog which need to be completed in the next few days.

What music means to me

When we were on fire- annotated lyrics

House music mood board

Mise en scene ideas

Audience Survey

research into music videos

James Bay- When we were on fire- Final song choice

Drifting apart, getting hard to hold you
Days getting dark and the nights are growing cold
Are we burning out?
Swept out of sight, rolling up on an ocean
Let's cut all the ropes and get lost in the moment
If our hearts are alive, maybe then we might
Send us back to the sun

Now I know, I know
That we're losing light, our love is dying
Out cold on the floor
Like a fallen star that shines no more
Take, take-a-me back to where we was before
When we were on fire, fire

Head down, heading underground feeling wasted
Cold to the bone, so alone I can taste it
Let's light it up
Streets are alive now, and everything's bracing
You're on my mind, running in my veins fueling the flame
Let's start it again

And I know, I know
That we're losing light, our love is dying
Out cold on the floor
Like a fallen star that shines no more
Take, take-a-me back to where we was before
When we were on fire, fire
We were on fire, fire

Oh, oh, whoa, oh, whoa-oh-oh, now don't tell me no
That we're burning down
Oh, oh, whoa, oh, whoa-oh-oh, now don't tell me no
That we're burning now

I know, I know we're losing light and our love is dying
Take me, take-a-me home
Back to where we was before when we were on fire, fire
And I know, I know that we're losing light, our love is dying
Out cold on the floor like a fallen star that shines no more
Take, take-a-me back to where we was before when we were on fire, fire
When we were on fire

AS Evaluation essay

AS Media Evaluation-

Research and planning

My AS coursework included a lot of research and planning. We spent quite a bit of time looking at what genre of film we would choose and what making a film opening actually involved. Once we knew our genre, which was horror, we started looking at other factors we needed to consider like location, props, actors, costume etc.

 Location was a very important part of making our film opening, especially when thinking about our budget and time, which is why we spent so long making sure we made the right decision. We looked at a few different possible locations which would be good for our genre. Eventually we chose an old abandoned hospital for mental patients; we chose this because we knew it would work well with our horror genre. We had to get permission to go in there from the security guard who was in charge of the building, in a way this wasted time and meant we had less time to get footage. We also faced a big problem when we went back to film the second part and the building was being checked for asbestos. Because of this, we ended up filming in a different building. 

Our research and planning went fairly well except for a few problems. If we were to do it again we would definitely choose a more stable location that we would not need permission for, although taking the risk of filming at Warley asylum did work out ok. Luckily it had good lighting and added a spooky feel to our film opening. We also should have spent more time working on a storyboard. We had a very basic storyboard which we did not stick too when filming. Having a clear storyboard would’ve given us an understanding on the exact shots we had to get and would’ve made things a lot easier. It would have also made our filming quicker and more fluent, I think that we spent too much time on filming and not enough on other aspects such as recording what we had done and evaluating.

Following the conventions of real media text

                First of all we had to research the conventions of the horror genre. We looked a trailers and openings for recent horror films that had been released. This gave us a good understanding on what the common conventions of a horror film that we needed to include like mise en scene, editing, sound etc.

                A feature that we found very common in horror films was Foley sounds; they are used as an effect to add tension. Although we found these very common, we did not use many of them in our film opening, which means we could’ve possibly got more marks by using them effectively. A soundtrack was also a key feature which is used to build suspension in horror films. We picked a slow song which got louder throughout the clip, therefore building suspension and helping us to easily reveal our film as a horror to the audience.

                Part of editing our film included making a production logo. We had to make it specific so it linked with our genre, which is why we made ‘hanging hill productions’. It had a spooky looking image and the word ‘hanging’ which immediately gives the audience an understanding of the genre. Overall I think our AS work was edited well and followed most conventions of a horror film. To improve for my A2 work I think we should take a little bit more time editing than filming, because a lot of marks can be gained when editing is done well.

              When it came to looking at mise en scene, lighting clearly stood out as a key aspect for a horror film. If we filmed in a light room or even outside in the sun it would be a lot harder to portray our film opening as a horror and to build tension and fear. As we filmed in an old hospital, some of the lights did not work, and we were able to turn the others off, this enabled us to add a spooky feel to our film opening. As soon as the abnormal part of our opening was over, we went back to normal lighting to show that our other part was an old clip from the past and this part was up to date.

               Overall I think that we understood the conventions of the horror genre fairly well, however I think in the future, we need to make sure that we present the genre more to the audience through our editing and filming techniques, using more mise en scene.

Creativity and originality

                Although we followed the conventions of a horror film fairly well, we did put our own touch into our work and tried to make it as original as we could. One of the things that helped us do this is by filming at the hospital. We did this because it was different, most people in our class who were also making a horror filmed it in their own houses, which has its advantages, but doesn’t give as much of a horror impression as an abandoned hospital.

                We also used a black and white effect during the majority of our film opening which made our film seem like it was shot in the past. This also added enigma to our film opening, making the audience wonder why it was in black and white. Our film opening also included speech, which gave the audience more of an insight to our characters and their personalities.

                To make our opening more creative, we could’ve picked a different location to film the last part in, instead of using the school. We did this because we ran out time. If we had planned ahead more clearly, we could’ve filmed the last minute in a more original location.

                Overall, I believe our film opening went well, although we lacked planning in most areas. In our A2 work we will need to make sure we plan ahead so we know exactly what to do and how long it will take when we come to film and edit.

Aaron Smith- Dancin (lyrics)

Get up on the floor,
Dancin' all night long,
Get up on the floor,
Dancin' till the break of dawn,
Get up on the floor,
Dancin' till the break of dawn,
Get up on the floor,
Dancin'

All the time,
My baby you on my mind,
And I don't know why,
Yeah but the feeling is fine,
Can't you see,
Honey you are for me,
Ohh we were meant to be.

Dancin' in the moonlight
Gazing at the stars so bright,
Holding you until the sunrise
Sleeping until the midnight

Everytime when I look in your eyes
I smile with pride, Happy that you're mine
Trust your love, your love is true I know,
You are the best thing that has happened to me at all

Get up on the floor,
Dancin' all night long,
Get up on the floor,
Dancin' till the break of dawn,
Get up on the floor,
Dancin' till the break of dawn,
Get up on the floor,
Dancin'

[Chorus: (x6)]
Dancin' is what to do,
Dancin's when I think of you,
Dancin's what clears my soul,
Dancin's what makes me whole

Get up on the floor,
Dancin' all night long,
Get up on the floor,
Dancin' till the break of dawn,
Get up on the floor,
Dancin' till the break of dawn,
Get up on the floor,
Dancin'

infinity ink- games annotated lyrics

 

James bay- Burberry- possible song choice

This was one of our choices for our music video. The reason we chose this song was not only because their wasn't a video for it, but also because he has a brilliant voice. The song has a very relaxing feeling to it but at the same time when he sings the chorus it picks up again. We also felt we could make a very good song for this video. This is because we felt like we could come up with lots of different shots and easily relate the video to the lyrics. Also two of our group members play guitar, so we would be able to figure out how to play the song. This would mean that we could make our video as realistic to the song as possible.

possible song choice- Dancin by Aaron Smith (Krono remix)

https://soundcloud.com/kronopage/aaron-smith-dancin-remix-by

This song seems like a good choice as it has a lot of lyrics the whole way through, it also changes in pace which means will be able to edit the video to fit with the music well. I think it will also be easy to come up with a narrative to fit with the lyrics. Overall i like the song and think it will be a good choice if we decide to use it for our work.

We have emailed Krono to see if we can use the song.

possible song choice- lyrics

Infinity Ink- Games
You tell me that you love but you're fucking with my mind.
Why you playing me like that.
You tell me that you're happy but you're crying all the time.
Why you playing me like that.
X2

You playing those games with me, baby.
Games with me, baby
There’s no love in the world is what you say...
Your calculating ways are infinitely twisted,
I can see in the cold light of day,
It's just a masquerade.
Why you keep playing those games with me, baby.

You say that time is on your side
But time is an illusion when you open up your eyes
and you see, whats in the light
im watching your delusions
there aint no use in playing games with me, baby
Games with me, baby

Digipak research- Conventions

Editing practice

This is a video I have made using a clip from YouTube to practice my editing skills. I have reversed it and slowed it down, these are some skills that I will be likely to use when editing my music video.

Teacher assessment - general

A Level Media Progress Check - Bobby
	Assessed by		NSE - Teacher
Focus of assessment		General
Relevant assessment criteria		Planning and research evidence will be complete and detailed
Evidence of progress/ evidence of meeting criteria		You have some of the key research and planning on your blog and have begun your production diary.
Areas to work on next/ ideas to consider		Production diary needs to be up to date. You must ensure that you have all the work on your blog, as listed in your planning sheet in the pink folder in 212. Try to use as many different web 2.0 tools as possible. You might want to reconsider background of posts (make it a block colour), as it can be difficult to read and we need to make the moderator’s job as easy as possible!)
Additional comments

Teacher assessment - song pitch

A Level Media Progress Check - Bobby
	Assessed by		NSE - Teacher
Focus of assessment		Song pitch
Relevant assessment criteria		There is excellent research into similar products and a potential target audience
Evidence of progress/ evidence of meeting criteria		You have used a new web 2.0 tool. You have considered some basic ideas behind the choice and possible locations for filming.
Areas to work on next/ ideas to consider		You need to be as specific as possible about why you want to do the song and what you feel the video would show us. Try to reflect on each image where possible. Ask for audience feedback on your ideas.
Additional comments

Teacher assessment - digipak analysis

A Level Media Progress Check - Bobby
	Assessed by		NSE - Teacher
Focus of assessment		Digipak research
Relevant assessment criteria		There is excellent research into similar products and a potential target audience
Evidence of progress/ evidence of meeting criteria		You have identified the key areas of a digipak.
Areas to work on next/ ideas to consider		You need to analyse each area and talk about how it links to genre, purpose and audience. You should look at this for more than one genre. Ensure you also look at the generic conventions of a digipak.
Additional comments

Teacher assessment - music timeline

A Level Media Progress Check - Bobby
	Assessed by		NSE - Teacher
Focus of assessment		Music timeline
Relevant assessment criteria		There is excellent research into similar products and a potential target audience
Evidence of progress/ evidence of meeting criteria		You have the work uploaded from the different eras.
Areas to work on next/ ideas to consider		This will need adapting as I cannot read any of them. This will also need a reflection to say what it has taught you.
Additional comments

possible song choices

Eminem- digipak research

Britney task- camera shots

Class work- Music video timeline

lip syncing- lyrics

"Jammin'"

Ooh, yeah! All right!
We're jammin':
I wanna jam it wid you.
We're jammin', jammin',
And I hope you like jammin', too.

Ain't no rules, ain't no vow, we can do it anyhow:
I'n'I will see you through,
'Cos everyday we pay the price with a little sacrifice,
Jammin' till the jam is through.

We're jammin' -
To think that jammin' was a thing of the past;
We're jammin',
And I hope this jam is gonna last.

No bullet can stop us now, we neither beg nor we won't bow;
Neither can be bought nor sold.
We all defend the right; Jah - Jah children must unite:
Your life is worth much more than gold.

We're jammin' (jammin', jammin', jammin')
And we're jammin' in the name of the Lord;
We're jammin' (jammin', jammin', jammin'),
We're jammin' right straight from Yah.

Yeh! Holy Mount Zion;
Holy Mount Zion:
Jah sitteth in Mount Zion
And rules all creation.

Yeah, we're - we're jammin' (wotcha-wa),
Wotcha-wa-wa-wa, we're jammin' (wotcha-wa),
See, I wanna jam it wid you
We're jammin' (jammin', jammin', jammin')
I'm jammed: I hope you're jammin', too.

Jam's about my pride and truth I cannot hide
To keep you satisfied.
True love that now exist is the love I can't resist,
So jam by my side.

We're Jammin' (jammin', jammin', jammin'), yeah-eah-eah!
I wanna jam it wid you.
We're jammin', we're jammin', we're jammin', we're jammin',
We're jammin', we're jammin', we're jammin', we're jammin';
Hope you like jammin', too.
We're jammin', we're jammin' (jammin'),
We're jammin', we're jammin' (jammin').
I wanna (I wanna jam it wid you) - I wanna -
I wanna jam wid you now.
Jammin', jammin' (hope you like jammin' too).
Eh-eh! I hope you like jammin', I hope you like jammin',
'Cause (I wanna jam it wid you). I wanna ... wid you.
I like - I hope you - I hope you like jammin', too.
I wanna jam it;
I wanna jam it.