DiaryBlog Entry 4: Pitch Aftermath

I have just performed my pitch to my Media Studies class, it went quite well a-part from the fact that I had to do most of it again as the camera ran out of memory space :/
Now I'm planning for what I'm going to do for My Digipak and Magazine Advertisement. Got some really good consistent ideas so far!

Research of the Digi-Pak

Here is my research on the Digi-Pak, as this shall be one of the products that I shall produce for my Coursework.

This product is a patent style of CD, DVD or BD packaging which is personified as an upgraded version of a the normal casing featured with the above products.
This usually consists of a gatefold (book style) paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside. This form is usually used for special editions of the products, especially CD's, as this presents a higher quality of work than the standard packaging for the above products. This offers greater quality in display, protection and aesthetics as it produces a new medium for products, such as these, to be sold at.

The history of the Digi-Pak consists of trademark changing ownership between different companies. Originally it was owned by IMPAC Group, Inc where it went through great changes to now be owned by a combined company called "AGI-Shorewood".

Here is a picture of a Digi-pak, in comparison to a CD case:

Resource Audit

From what I understand, a Resource Audit is a simple list of different resources that is available to a specific entity, in this case it shall be my Music video. These I shall list briefly, yet may edit further on if  something new comes to availability!

• "Canon EOS 550D" (camera used to film and take photoes of the music video)
• Camera Tripod (used to stably position the camera within a comfortable position to take photoes or film at a higher quality)
• The contents of my Bedroom (this is my main setting for my music video, all contents in my room will be used to set the scene of a modern teenagers and kids room, when looking back in the past, etc.)
• From my Bedroom, the most important prop is my Toy Bear which is the star of my video.
• My house (again, will most likely be involved as a setting)
• Mac OS X, Version 10.5.8 (my home computer that I shall use to store, create and simply use as a necessity for the making of the video itself)
• Computers at school (these will be used for the same reason as my home computer, YET this will probably have the software that I'll need to finish and most likely make the video itself)
• I pod Touch (my I pod that shall be involved in one scene)
• Haribo Star mix (prop in one scene)
• Beer bottle (prop in one scene)
• Laundry bag (prop in one scene)
• Internet (research tool)
• TBC

Human Resources:

• I will have myself as a character in my own video, for the camera I will use either a tripod to film myself, or I'll have my brother, friend from school, or other such person film me in a scene.
• I will use a few friends who come round mine as other characters featurted in my video including close friends, my friends little brother (who shall be given the toy at the end), etc.

Classification of Performance

Performance - I will most likely not be having a performance section in my video, and if it does come to one, It shall be very obscure and quick, as to not show the detail, etc.
Animation - Highly likely won't be present
Narrative - Shall be presented through intended actions related to the lyrics or mood of the current theme in the song, etc
CONCEPT - I have a nice concept idea of having my old toy bear, trying to reconnect with me, after so many years of him sitting at the bottom of my wardrobe, waiting for me to finally see him again
This I'll achieve, by controlling him, like a puppet, showing him to spy on me (representing voyeurism), whilst he goes round trying to get my attention.
He interacts with new technology, and discovers new ways of having fun (inspired by the series storyline of Toy-Story and the concept of how they feel if they were alive).

For this, I'd like to use the song: "Someone Like You - Adele" (COVER) by "Ice Nine Kills", this'll show how the toy bear shows his feelings for me, wanting things to be back like they were before in my childhood when we played together.

I also have ideas for certain parts of the song:
Like the lyrics: "And, you're married now", obviously it'd be stupid to have me married by the age of 17, so I could have a friend (posing as my girl friend) to have a bag of "Haribo Starmix" (intertextuality) where I can use the certain sweet, shaped as rings, to then let us be in a scene where we joke and eat together, showing a pun of the lyric.

Other such scenes, would involve the toy's interaction with current technology, like how he tries to send me an email saying to play with him, yet because he hasn't got fingers to interact properly with the Ipod touch, he ends up sending a mess of text to me, simply making me confused.

Another really good idea that I had, would be to have the toy bear, stand in the centre of the room (showing that the plot is focusing on him), and then have the camera rotate around him (looking slightly up at the character), as it shows the viewers my room, as it rotates, it constantly changes from past - to - present, with the items of the room simply being swapped around (like Xbox 360 - Playstation 2, DVD's for Toys, books for children's books, etc, etc).
Also another good point here is to show a lot of intertextuality, as I plan to have posters (in the present room) of screenshots from the videos that I have analyzed for this music video.

This was inspired by my first music video analysis of "Walking Disaster" by "Sum 41" where it used the toy robot as it's focused character. From this I may involve performance scenes, yet it will most likely be of the toy bear (which shall be very hard to achieve) as he is the main character, and if I have someone else singing, then it may detract from the attention of the plot itself.

Glossary: Camera Aspects

My teacher (Mrs. Keenan) has now brought in the cameras that we are hopefully going to be using in the making of our videos. These are the "Canon EOS 550D" models that are able to film HD quality video!
For this, I decided to do some research on some of the camera aspects and skills that shall allow me, through further understanding of the medium, to produce higher quality film, than what I intended!
Here is a power point presentation (Microsoft PowerPoint 2010) upon some listed and important factors when it comes to understanding the use of cameras:

The following slides are of:

• Shutter Speed
• Aperture - AV
• ISO
• The exposure Triangle
• White Balance
• Exposure modes
• What can you do if the shot is too bright? Too Dark?
• What is 'gain'?

Unfortuneately there is no possible way that I can upload the presentation itself without converting it into a video file (which I don't really know how to do nor do I think that these computers have the correct software), so here is my presentation within 14 images (in correlation to its 14 slides), in clear and readable detail:

 

Other useful aspects that I have found are within (these) tutorial videos, that show step-by-step guides as to how to use the "Canon EOS 550D" 

Here is a general, yet extremely thorough review of the product:

And here is an entire documentary on the product:

DiaryBlog Entry 3: Update

Sorry for the long wait in posting something, I have a lot of draft work made, but is still incomplete. Hopefully I'll post them quickly, but for now the last post ("Music Video Analysis 6") really took it out of me. I fully went into great detail with the video, and I hope to do this with 9 others! I have started to test the camera, using my own (yet not the same model) to familiarize myself with the settings (that are generally designed into all cameras: ISO, AV etc.). Yet I still have to have to come to the customs of using the Cannon EOS 550D.

Hopefully I shall post more during the week!

Music Video Analysis 6: "Next To You - Chris Brown feat. Justin Bieber" (COVER) by Megan Nicole and Dave Days

Don't worry it isn't a "Justin Bieber" video, this is simply a nice cover by "youtube artists": "Megan Nicole" and "Dave Days" who singularly created a fan base for their music careers by creating music videos of them doing covers... just for the fun of it. This is one of my updated music video analysis' which I hope to now structure throughout my other research, etc:

Overview of Artists and Video:
Megan simply made music videos on youtube because of her enjoyment and enthusiasm for the subject!
While Dave, started off doing goofy music video pardoies of different artists songs, his first ensemble focusing upon the pop - artist "Miley Cyrus".
Both slowly gathered many youtube fans, subscriptions and other commendations for their work on youtube, and are now at a pivotal point of producing high quality work that they simply do out of enjoyment.

This video has the unique concept of using stick note labels, with Dave follwoing them around town, pursueing Megan Nicole who is placing them in symbolistic places. It's a nice concept showing how finding love is a journey, that sometimes cna make us lost a long the way (as represented when Dave missed one of the notes)


(looking at the principals of "Andrew Goodwins" theory:)

1. Genre Characteristics:
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals:
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals:
4. The star image of the artist:
5. Voyeurism:
6. Intertextuality:

1.
This is more like a pop, sort of going towards soft-punk, sort of video, that, doesn't really focus upon the genre as much, seeming as it's a home-made cover of the song, simply focusing on the artists performance, influence and interpretation of the covered song.

2.
There is a meaningful message with the chorus' lyrics: "One day when the sky is fallin' - I'll be standing right next to you, right next to you" symbolises the use of the "love journey" aspect within this video, literally quoting and narrating the meeting of two people, which was implied through this song.

3.
Yes, it intervals at certain parts of the song, and especially with the fact that this is being played as a duet, shows that it flips from one performer/artist to the next. So, when it gets to their parts of the song, in which they sing, they change the focus to show their collaboration with the journey/plot. This is also done to emphasize their part of the journey to the viewer, leading up to the eventual meeting of the two performers/artist.
This also intervals at breaks in the song where neither the two artists are singing, this is allow us to sometimes focus on none-performer/artist related parts to the story, that still contribute but do not have either of them present in the scene. This is sometimes focused upon the intrumental section of the acoustic guitar, showing the harmony and quality of the song that is being played, rather than just focusing the full attention on the performers/artist.

4.
As these artists ARE NOT governed by record label companies, or other large corporations, yet still get paid by youtube to post videos of high quality. These artists simply share at the screen time between each-other, more focusing on their cooperation with the song, rather than simply trying to advertise themselves to their internet fan-bases.
From this, their is less-pressure for them to make their videos, as they can be as artistic and creative as they please, with this, it leads them to crete parodies, or even make music videos out of the sheer enjoyment of making them (as said before). However, despite this, they do use the traditional style of close-ups and focusing effects, as to centre the attention of the viewer around one of the performing artists (within the current scene), yet, this is probably done out of artist vibe and style, rather than the branding aspect for artists.

5.
This is done in most scenes, yet really, it's simply about following them on their journey, rather than looking into something thats secret, as she posts the labels everywhere, showing how open and free it is to the public to come and watch. The performing artists even interact with the general public on the journey, which does not specialise the audience within the plot. However, this does uise some screenshots in a spying manner (as gone into further detail in the Screenshots section:), yet they sometimes connect with the viewers through eye contact, showing that we are involved in their journey, etc.

6.
It hasn't got many big ones, like relating to videos or other artists, yet it does relate to the other people who were involved in the making of the video. This was done in the scene where Dave interacted with the guy on the phone, this is actually a cameo of the cameraman and editor for the video: (simply credited as) "Joey".
Sometimes they use the labels to post lyrics over the streets, again showing the progression of the journey/plot, etc. Yet, this doesn't show a complete sense of Intertextuality, as this is an entire video of the song itself, not really relating to external products or artists.


Technical Codes and Conventions

• Speed, Camera movement, editing cutting and post production

For the speed of the video, this matches the slow pace of the song, cutting only at certain points within the video, showing a lot of interaction within scenes before they cut to another. The Camera movement, is steadily hand-held, as it is mainpulated well within the interaction scenes, yet most of the video is filled with cuts to others, not really focusing on the camera's movement. Yet within the long scenes, it shows this manipulation.

• Lighting and colour help set moods and emphasize key moments of the song for dramatic effect

This is set outside, where the light is bright and natural, symbolising how the future is percieved as being bright, with the natural aspect, emphasizing the purity of their "intended" love for each other. This is ellaborated on in the scene where Dave misses the last sticky label. In this scene he is in a car park, where it is unnaturally lit by the car parks lights, where it is also darker, representing that he has lost his way, and the journey/plot has turned a slight negative turn, etc. This can also be said at the start, where Dave is in his house, again being dark, this shows that the journey has just started, which then emphasizes the middle of the songs bright lighting, as this shows his enjoyment and slow realisation to love over the course of the video. Then when he reaches the car-park area, the lighting becomes a little darker: where this can represent the loss of the emotional path, as he also loses one of the guiding sticky labels. When he is then reunited with Megan in the elevator, the light is focused and emphasized to show their union, as the video then ends.

• Mise-En-Scene

-Setting
In this video, as it was made by amateur youtube artists, this was set in a local part of America that coincides with the artists residence (this could be for either one of the two). This was probably done for convenience (especially with the opening scene with Dave; being in "supposedly" his house) where the area around them was well known, and that the locals would simply dismiss the fact that they were filming. The normal suburban area is relatable to most people as this is a common and recognizable environment, used to relatively link to the audience. 

-Sound
There is no interlude dialogue, as the only sound is the music itself, which is simply mimed/performed by the artists themselves. This is used to focus more upon the song and it's quality, than the performance and plot of the video. 

-Characters
Few characters show up along with Dave and Megan, one notably was the camera man's cameo appearance within one of the scenes. These were used as comical interaction with the environment, to show that the setting is a normal neighborhood, reinforcing it's authenticity. 

-Props/Costume
No costumes were used, YET the essential prop to this video would be the sticky note labels; used to guide Dave to (his metaphorical love) Megan who is shown planting them around the community, involving locals and numerous locations, symbolizing the journey of relationships and other love related metaphors. 
Other such items were of instrumental use; within the performance scenes. This was used to reinforce the origin of the music itself.

-Expression of Movement
It was typical movement and expression, a lot of walking (as to present the journey) from Dave and running from Megan, as to represent the flirtation and secrets kept within relationships (hence, the sticky notes leading a trail to being with her). Most expression used was with the tone and lyrics of the song, as to then perform the lyrics themselves at emphasizing scenes.

• Editing - Cutting to the beat or off the beat: music videos use cuts to go with the beat or rhythm, either on or off, for deliberate effect

The edits are usually placed in time with song; especisally at the transition of verse to verse or verse to chorus (etc.) This is again, to give focus to the song itself, rather than to the performance of the video, as it's quality of the song that shall pen-ultimately be the reason for it's success, not on how well the video has been done.

Star Image & meta-narrative

• The star image is essential to music videos, whether explicitly or otherwise

As said before, Dave and Megan produce these videos on the shear coincidence that they enjoy them, they get a small amount of profit from the video and songs over itunes (and other music marketing brands), but ultimately they will have to put all the singular effort into making the songs and videos themselves, and so, also considering the tools they have to make a good video and song, this would not be to simply create a star image of themselves, as the only profit they get is from making the song and video full stop, no other inquiries or certain contract were made to have one person have more screen time than another, as most of this is just following the sticky labels, with little focus on the characters themselves. 

HOWEVER, because this is a compilation of two artists, it is mandatory in any such songs music video, for the two artists to be shown together, as to confirm that the two have met and collaborated. Through this, it introduces fans from both artists to the other, selectively promoting to artists in one video! Creating an even larger fan base for both.

• Consider the meta narrative of the artist's career or the trajectory of their personal life alongside the narrative of each individual pop promo, eg. How may this realte to their personal life story?

Not much is known of Megan story, as usually her videos are simply of her performing the song, rather than giving a concept or story like in this video, YET Dave is extremely obvious. Throughout most of his love song relatable videos he is shown to be a hopeless romantic, even generating a meme for himself, as he has a continuously joke-like crush on the pop-artist "Miley Cyrus", who he frequently covered at the start of his youtube channel, usually in the form of parodies and other funny videos. This meme even escalated to such a popularity, that one of the last songs that he performed in dedication to her, he actually got the chance to meet her himself, as she participates in being in his video! This sent him sky-rocketing in popularity and internet chatter, as now it was apparent that even "Miley Cyrus" watches his videos. Through the relation to a popular celebrity, Dave firmly placed himself as being one of the most popular youtube/parody video artists on the internet.

Other such songs were more for the parody focus, rather than in reflection of his life, AND when it came down to his own songs, ti showed him to be a hopeless romantic, constantly searching for his true love(?).

Narrative & Performance

• Artist acting as both narrator and performer or participant to create an authentic persona.

Both artists are present in the story, and are both performing in alternating scenes, usually with Dave singing while playing the guitar, while Megan simply sings in her convenient alternating settings.

• Audience need to identify with the artist and believe in their 'Story'

This is done through the simple use of the sticky notes, to represent the small important things in a relationship, and the journey that is taken to finally matching up all of the important notes together to form an entire timeline of story.

• What blend of narrative and performance does the video have? Why have these choices been made?

They have been deliberately made to link with the characters on plain terms, as these can even be identified by younger ages, as to the events of the story that slowly occur throughout the video. This simpleness  is what defines their videos, adding onto their style and creativity.

Screenshots:

Here are some interesting screenshots in this video, which symbolise many different aspects to the song and artist themselves:

"0:50 - 4:08"

This screenshot is shown through the love heart frame in the chair, to show that this is Dave's love interest, and it automatically opens up a positive view to the character, creating a subtle and strong connection to the audience. The lighting in this shows the natural and bright beauty of a young relationship, with the emphasis of the artist expression, this fully defines the theme of the video. This may represent the good aspects that Megan has witnessed through having relationships.

"3:13 - 4:08"

As you can see from the clear opposition of the last screenshot, this one has a much darker lighting with the artist giving off an unhappy expression, to emphasize the negativity of the scene, thus reflecting the bad moments that can occur within the Journey's relationship. This may also represent the disappointment that Dave has witnessed in his life, in trying to find a good relationship.