Thursday 19 April 2012

Evaluation - Question 4 Ellie Glickman

How did you use new media technologies in the research, planning, construction and evaluation stages?

In the first stages of our video production we had some practise in using Final Cut and how to edit shots to music. Firstly we did some lip syncing practise, which is vital in creating a music video, as a class. We used the song ‘It’s Not Unusual’ by Tom Jones (http://youtu.be/3Zmk6aDvuOc) and as a class we spent a day filming different shots of performance. This gave us the opportunity to see how different shots and angles can be effective and how they look when put to music. It also showed us how important it is to be able to cut shots to the beat of the music, which we also practised with our animatic storyboard (http://gliscoproductions.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/blog-post.html) and the pink panther editing tasks. (http://gliscoproductions.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/blog-post.html)



When we began our A2 coursework we started off by researching different videos that we could use as inspiration using YouTube. We also used Google and Wikipedia in the research stages of production, and once this research was complete we used sites such as Wordle to present our research and help us see our ideas clearly, such as our prop lists and costume ideas. This technology was extremely useful throughout this stage of our coursework production. Here is the link to our Wordle mind maps: http://gliscoproductions.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/word%20cloud















The internet was a major part in the creation of our coursework, not only for research but for presenting and logging our ideas. We used Blogger.com to keep a log of every stage of production, to write down our ideas and to plan what needs to be done next. Every group member contributed to the blog, and our teacher was able to see our work in progress. Blogger was extremely useful in helping us document our group work as well as posting work as individuals. We also used software on the Macs such as Photoshop and Final Cut Express. We used Photoshop for our digipack and magazine advert, in which we uploaded our own images and used the features of the software to change the images to fit our theme and to make our work look as professional as possible. This program was vital in the creation of our coursework, as without it we would not have been able to create the various effects, such as font and backgrounds, on our artwork. At first we found it difficult to use this software as we had never used it before, but once we had used it a few times and had some of the more complicated features explained we found that we were able to use it effectively. We used Final Cut Express to edit our footage for our video. We were somewhat familiar with this program after using it for our AS media coursework, but we felt that it was important to learn how to use many more of its features to enable us to make sure our video meets the brief. We practised using the software with simple editing exercises and this made us more confident when making our music video. Without this software we would have not been able to produce our video to a professional and high standard and were extremely lucky that we were able to use it successfully.





























For our A2 coursework we were able to use a Sanyo HD Camera to film our music video, which was very useful and helped us to make our footage look as professional as possible. Using a good quality camera was essential in making our footage clear and this was also useful when transferring it onto the computer. As a group we were very thankful that we were allowed to use such good equipment and it also taught us some of the basic rules of shooting a music video. We learned that correcting the white balance on the camera was vital, as it made the colours in the shot stand out and adapted the camera to the natural light on display. We also used a tripod when filming to stable the camera and ensure the same stability in our footage. The tripod enabled us to film shots from different angles and different heights whilst always ensuring the camera is steady and straight. Our group managed to use this equipment easily and made sure we put it to good use.




Our video is set in various places in London. When filming on location we found that one of our biggest problems was accessibility. As London is constantly busy we found it hard to get some of the shots we had planned due to the large crowds and hectic traffic, including the shots inside the various shops and the panning shot in Oxford Street. This caused us to rethink some of our shots, and eventually we decided to change them to more realistic shots. Another problem we faced whilst on location was the unpredictable weather. Due to the fact that we filmed our video in the November/December months, we were aware that we would be partial to shooting in bad weather. On a few occasions we had to cancel filming due to rain, as we didn’t want to risk taking the equipment out in the rain and we didn’t want to waste time shooting un-useable footage. We also had to ensure that the natural light was the same in every shot, which proved difficult when the weather changed daily. To try and avoid this problem we made sure that we had planned every shoot in advance and had checked the weather forecast daily in the lead up to filming. Despite being inconvenient it ensured that our footage would be of a good quality and that we would not be wasting any time.

In the editing stage of production we used Final Cut Express to complete our music video. Our ability to access the software at school proved very helpful, as this is where most of the editing took place and we were all able to contribute as a group. The various features of Final Cut let us edit our music video to how our group wanted it, as well as making it look expert and in keeping with the OCR brief. We were able to improve some of the mistakes we had made when filming, such as increasing the brightness in some shots and cropping out any unnecessary images. The software also helped us to keep track of our progress and store all of the footage we had shot without including it in our final piece. We made a first draft of our video which helped us to see how well we were able to use the footage and the software as well as looking for changes that needed to be made. Here is the link for our first draft: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34pigPEBH3c


After our video was completed we then focused on making our digipack and magazine advert using Photoshop. As I was mainly working on this task, I personally found Photoshop easier to use than Final Cut as I had more time than the other girls to become accustomed to the different tools of the software and to practise using them with multiple images. At first I did find the program challenging as it was something I had never used before but practising with different images and ideas definitely helped me improve my skills and essentially helped me to produce high quality work. The facilities we were given by the school were fundamental in creating our coursework. The various practise tasks we were given, as well as tutoring by our teacher and school technician helped our group to produce a high quality and professional media product.




Tuesday 3 April 2012

Evaluation - Question 3 Ellie Glickman

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

To help relate our product to out target audience as much as possible, our group devised an audience profile of a stereotypical consumer of our product. We looked at the punk/rock genre in detail and used BARB.co.uk to look closely at the demographic for viewing figures of channels such as Kerrang, Scuzz, MTV Rocks, NME TV and Q to help us create our audience. 






















After conducting this research we were able to create a profile for our typical consumer: a 17 year old male who attends college and listens to music of the punk/rock genre. He enjoys going to gigs with his friends and listening to music on channels such as Kerrang and NME TV, whilst also reading these magazines. He enjoys watching topical music programs, such as ‘Never Mind the Buzzcocks’ and ‘Top of the Pops’. Our fictitious viewer also shops at alternative clothing stores such as Topman, Urban Outfitters and vintage stores such as Rokit.

Once we had established who are audience are we then had to decided what to include in our video that would appeal to them.  We used other music videos for inspiration, particularly ones from the same genre. Blur’s video ‘For Tomorrow’, set in London, also follows the concept of visiting famous London landmarks. The video is shot entirely in black and white which gives the footage a more vintage quality, however we felt that this would not be appropriate for our video, as we are using modern characters and mostly colour footage. We also took inspiration from the Gwen Stefai video for ‘What You Waiting For’. This video is uses mise-en-scene effectively, and we wanted to include this in our own video. The costumes and props make the video more interesting and exciting, while helping the audience relate to the characters through what they are wearing. 






To appeal to our target audience we incorporated various characteristics of the punk/rock genre, to build an atmosphere of rebellion and anarchy that fits with the tone and lyrics of the song. The lyrics of ‘London Calling’ evoke a sense of hatred and bitterness towards the British government, and we reflected this in such shots as the St. Pauls protests and shots of the band performing. This showed a direct link between the lyrics and the visuals while also giving the video a comical and ironic tone. Our target audience would be someone who could see the comedic effect in these shots, but may also have grievances against the government in the same way the protestors do such as student loan cuts etc. However this comedy could also appeal to people from a wider audience. Our target audience may also represent certain social groups and classes, such as the working class or Labour supporters. To ensure out video appeals to them the two characters are repeatedly mocked, appearing to be involved in a romantic relationship, and are shown to be completely different from their real life personas. 















In regards to audience positioning we wanted our audience to be taking the view of the British public, who despite knowing of the problems in our country also take pleasure in London’s many landmarks and the beauty of the city. As a group we included various techniques concerning camera and editing styles. We adapted a very popular style of fast and quick cuts, not only to incorporate all of our footage into the allotted time but to keep the viewers attention and make the video entertaining and exciting. The fast paced cuts can also symbolise the pace of London and show how quickly a day in London can go buy. Another way we engaged our audience was through mise-en-scene, such as the masks. These were a constant feature in our video as well as out brand, and help the audience to identify the characters. Most of the mise-en-scene was used for a comedic purpose, as well as helping to convey the conceptual and performance aspects of our video. 



Audience feedback was very important throughout the creation of our video as well as the evaluation of our final product. We received four different groups of feedback at different stages of production to help us develop out ideas. This feedback helped us to ensure we included certain aspects that would appeal to our target audience and showed us how effective our editing was. From all four stages of production we received very positive feedback from our classmates, many thinking the video was funny and the patriotic theme was portrayed effectively. Many also thought our idea to use politicians was extremely effective. As a group we were very happy with this feedback as well feel our ideas and our hard work was appreciated and shown creatively in our video. We also received feedback for our digipack and magazine advert, again which was very positive. Both our classmates and our teacher agreed that the continuous use of the red, white and blue text worked very well in keeping with our theme and brand. The rebellious tone was also conveyed through the font and images used. We were also very happy with the feedback regarding this. Our intention of keeping the same text, colours, images and background throughout our product appealed to our audience in the way it was intended to and the way we had hoped it would.

When filming we ensured that we included a variety of different shots to enhance the footage and to use the setting as a constant feature in our video. The use of a good quality HD camera along with a tripod was extremely important in doing this. The feedback we received in regards to our camera work was very positive, and many of our classmates commented on how the concept of our video was clearly portrayed through our shots. They also felt that our patriotic theme was felt all the way through, due to the portrayal of the politicians and the setting we used, as well as the constant reminder of the lyric ‘London Calling’. In particular we received many encouraging comments about the acting of our two characters who our peers felt worked very well together and brought a humorous tone to the video as well as conveying their relationship on screen.



Due to the amount of hard work put in by our group and the high standard of our three media products I feel that our work does meet the OCR brief. Our music video contains many of the key elements seen in any video today. The camera work is steady and the shots have been thought out in detail and filmed appropriately. The concept and narrative of our video is clearly displayed in all of the shots and the continuity of them. We also used mise-en-scene, lighting, and the editing facilities to make our video look as professional as possible, whilst also showing off our ideas and creativity. Some of the shots could have been improved if we had access to better equipment, such as the performance scenes, but we still feel that the hard work contributed by all group members is shown through the high standard of our media products.

We also wanted to make our products as exciting and interesting as possible so our audience would be encouraged to buy our digipack and watch our music video. The creation of our brand helped our work to be recognised by our target consumers, such as the continuous use of red, white and blue, and the use of the Sex Pistols font throughout our product. As a group we tried to include as many of the genre characteristics for punk/rock music as possible which would also promote our video and digipack. The audience feedback we received reiterated this as many of our peers could spot the different features we had included. The use of comedy in our video also shows how our product may be attractive to a wider audience.


Our group is very proud of our three products, and we feel that our work is unlike anything else on the market at the moment. I think the unique selling point of our video is the comedic aspect, conveyed through the use of the masks. Many people can relate to comedy in different ways and each person who watches our video takes a different interpretation of the comedy we are showing. I also feel that comedy is very engaging and it is very easy to hook a consumer this way. The use of masks also provides the opportunity for our brand to include merchandise, such as copies of the masks. 



Sunday 1 April 2012

Evaluation - Question 2 Ellie Glickman

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

When branding our media products, we were very specific about what our brand would include and how our brand would look, as well as how this would relate to our target audience. With regards to our music video we used our characters to establish our brand. We ensured that the two politicians were wearing the same suit at all times, despite filming on different days, to certify continuity. It was also important to make sure our footage had the same light, which we had to alter in Final Cut for some shots, due to the different times of day and weather conditions in which we filmed. The same masks were also used in each shoot as these were a crucial part of the branding and our video.
















Within our digipack, branding was extremely important to convey the punk/rock characteristics as well as our British theme. We decided it would be appropriate to use the colours of the union jack, red white and blue, as a constant feature of our brand so our target audience would instantly recognise our product. The image of the union jack is also a key element in our album artwork, as we used it as the background for one of the inserts as well as the image on both of the CDs.



Another creative way in which we branded our product in accordance with our theme was the use of the London Underground tube map in our artwork. The Underground is an iconic British institution and our decision to include this was inspired by the artist called Simon Patterson, who incorporated the tube map into a piece of art called ‘The Great Bear’. As a group we all thought this was a very effective use of a simple image and incorporated this into our digipack. We used the map as the back cover and changed the station names to names of tracks on the album.  We also branded a font within our digipack, which we found online and was inspired by the Sex Pistols, another band similar to The Clash who’s music was targeted towards a punk/rock and rebellious audience. This font is effective as it is very eye catching and can be recognised easily.














Despite our patriotic theme, there is also an element of satire included in our media product; in particular our digipack. We held a photo shoot with the two characters and took these images into Photoshop, where we changed them to convey this idea. For instance in one of the images we added graffiti to show some people’s attitudes towards these politicians and the government as well as making the artwork somewhat comical. Other images showing the characters swearing and mocking each other were also effective in creating a comic and satirical tone while also relating back to the song. In the beginning stages of our digipack we had agreed on a completely different brand, inspired by the Arctic Monkeys album ‘Suck it and See’. We all agreed that the bold simplicity of this cover is what we wanted to achieve in our digipack, and that we could use an image that we had used in our video to convey our theme through this.



The idea of using a cup and saucer was chosen and we started to draft some possible covers using Photoshop. After playing with this possible image we then decided that it would not be as effective as our next idea, as it did not stand out enough and convey enough of our themes and characteristics to be recognisable to our audience. When researching ideas for our digipack we came across two examples that we thought were effective; ‘Breakfast in America’ by Supertramp and ‘Sunny Days’ by Kid British. Both of these covers use imagery to show themes similar to ours. ‘Breakfast in America’ used a famous image of the New York Skyline along with a dinner waitress to portray an American theme, and ‘Sunny Days’ is an ironic comment on British weather which many people are aware of. 
















Our magazine advert was also created with our brand in mind. We wanted to use all of the themes from our video and digipack and put them into one image. We used the same font and text colour throughout the keep continuity and to make our advert stand out as much as possible, as well as using our most prominent image from the digipack to brand our advert identically to the rest of our media products. Throughout our whole product the two characters are portrayed in the exact same way, which we feel is a key element of our brand. Our advert follows the conventions of a typical magazine advert as we have included specific features to make it look as realistic and professional as possible, such as album ratings by magazines which follow the same genre characteristics as our product. We researched this using BARB.co.uk where we found specific examples of magazines which are popular with our target audience. We also included logos as a promotional tool, such as iTunes and the record label. 




Evaluation - Question 1 Ellie Glickman

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

For our media product we chose the song ‘London Calling’ by The Clash, which would be recognised in the punk/rock genre. We used various methods to show how our video and other products conform to the characteristics of this genre. Our music video contains narrative, performance and conceptual aspects, which we feel make our video stand out from others which only include one or two of these aspects. The concept of our video follows two politicians on a ‘date’ around London. We felt that this concept relates to other media products, as well as our target audience, as we have used popular and current figures as our central characters and narrate topical issues. 


When trying to relate to our audience we used Andrew Goodwin’s analysis (Dancing in the Distraction Factory, 1992) was essential, the first point being that music video’s relate to genre characteristics. Our media products are targeted to a punk/rock audience and we felt that our theme of politics and anarchy fit this perfectly. This is shown particularly through the shots of the St. Pauls protests of 2011, displaying hate towards the government and relating to the original message of the song, written in the late 1970’s about the terrible conditions plaguing Britain at that time. We also translated this theme to our album artwork of the two politicians. We manipulated the images of them using Photoshop to make them somewhat satirical, for instance showing them covered in graffiti and showing them swearing. Our theme can also relate to another feature of Goodwin’s analysis where there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. Our video often illustrates the lyrics, as well as amplifying them at certain key moments of the song, such as ‘engines stop running’ and the image of cars coming to a halt and the lyric ‘London calling’ with an image of the phrase.


We also displayed a relationship between the music and the visuals by editing each shot to the beat of the music to help the video flow and to keep it exciting and upbeat. As our video focuses on an iconic song, band and setting we decided that the use of intertextuality would be effective in conveying our theme creatively, as well as conforming to Goodwin’s theory. The shot of the two characters at abbey road follows this idea exceptionally, as this is a well known landmark in British music. The shot of the characters walking copies that of The Beatles and their infamous album cover and is instantly recognisable by our target audience. 














Another way we conveyed our British theme was through exaggerated mise-en-scene. We used costume in particular to do this; such as the masks worn by the characters and their suits. We also used various props that are quintessentially British, such as a cup and saucer, newspapers, the Underground and telephone boxes to not only convey our concept but our narrative as well. When filming we used a variety of different shots, such as close ups, mid-shots and long shots, to keep our video interesting yet simple, as we felt our narrative and concept was strong enough to be shown through simple shots and therefore was appropriate for our target audience. We used a High Definition camera to ensure our footage was of a good standard and quality, and made sure we were familiar with all of the features of the camera, such as white balance and zoom, to help enhance our footage. We used the software Final Cut to edit all our our footage. When editing, we kept the shots short and cut between them at a fast pace making our video exciting and interesting and ensuring the audience is entertained throughout its entirety. We took advantage of the different tools available on Final Cut, such as the marker tool and the razor tool to make our job easier and to make the footage look professional.We took inspiration from the video ‘Country House’ by Blur when making this decision, as this also cuts shots to the beat of the music and keeps them short and fast.






















In order to ensure that our music video conforms to the conventions of real media products we looked at and analysed some real music videos in the research stages of production. I looked at the Radiohead video for ‘Just’ and ‘Janies Got A Gun’ by Aerosmith. I noticed that both these videos follow the ideas of Andrew Goodwin’s analysis, such as the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. They also use exaggerated mise-en-scene to amplify the narrative, concept or performance of the video. The video for 'Janies Got A Gun' uses this very effectively, as there are many shots in the video that use the images to amplify the lyrics. 









Monday 26 March 2012

Evaluation, Question 4: Ellie Scott.

How did you use new media technologies in the research, planning, construction and evaluation stages?

When producing our coursework, we used several different sources of technology in order to complete our coursework successfully. We used a variety of websites in order to complete the research for our coursework. We used websites to research ideas for our video, our digi-pack and our magazine advert to use other artist's work to inspire us to complete our coursework. To look at other artist's work, we used You Tube regularly, to analyse various videos, looking at factors such as camera work, mise-en-scene and the narrative of the video. We also used search engines such as Google in order to research for the preparation of our video, such as prop lists, location shots and costume research. One of the key factors in which we used the internet for was searching for our costumes, we used masks of politicians within our video and managed to buy these successfully off the internet. We mainly used the internet before we made our video; researching to prepare for our video, looking at factors such as genre characteristics, similar bands, songs and props. We also used the website ‘wordle’ within the process of completing our coursework. This website allowed us to make mind maps of all the key words associated with our work, the mind maps allowed us to incorporate and organise our ideas before starting our coursework. Topics we made into mind maps include; setting ideas, costume ideas, song choices and key words associated with our coursework


Here is the blog post link displaying our word clouds, using the website 'wordle'

courseworkhttp://gliscoproductions.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/word%20cloud.















When producing our coursework, we used blogger to report updates of our work and to inform both our teacher and the examiner of an up-to-date account of our coursework. As a group, every time we progressed with pieces of work, such as completing a day of filming or completing some research for our coursework, we would post about it on blogger so it is accessible to the examiner as well as our teacher. To add to this, we also used programmes on the computer such as Final Cut and Photo Shop. We used Photo Shop to edit our magazine advert and our album digi-pack, we used this programme in order to make photographs look precise and eye-catching and we also used this programme to create the font used and also make it look professional, bold and colourful. This programme was very helpful as it made both our magazine advert as well as our digi-pack look extremely professional and suitable to that of our brief. It was difficult to use and as a group we did struggle at times, however eventually we managed to use it effectively. Lastly, we used Final Cut to edit our music video; this is a very helpful website and helped us to edit our video professionally. We used features such as the razor tool and markers to help us edit our video successfully. We found this programme easy to use as we had previously used within the beginning of year 13 to make a practice music video, which we made to the song, 'Its not unusual' by Tom Jones. Here is a link to watch this video: http://youtu.be/3Zmk6aDvuOc. Also, using Final Cut we made an animatic story board of our video to give people a visual idea of what our video is going to look like, here is the link to watch this video: http://gliscoproductions.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/blog-post.html. Also, here is a link to our rough cut of our music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34pigPEBH3c&feature=relmfu.





Our group were able to use the Sanyo HD camera to film our coursework, this camera was very good and made our footage look very clear and clean cut when we came to edit it on the computer. We, as a group, feel very privileged to have been able to use this camera as it was very efficient and definitely helped us in getting successful footage for our coursework. We used features such as white balancing the camera. this feature enabled us to ensure that the camera displayed all colours; making them bold and clear. To film our video we also used a tri-pod in order to ensure that our footage didn’t look unstable; the tri-pod helped us in gaining clear and stable footage. It also allowed us to film footage in various different positions without making the camera wobble, this therefore was very helpful as all our footage was stable and did not wobble and look unprofessional. Overall, as a group we managed well when using both the tri-pod and the camera, we were able to use all the controls successfully and use the tri-pod efficiently, putting it up and down quickly and easily when we needed to do so throughout days of filming.

When on location shooting, we did find that the weather was the biggest problem that we faced. Due to the fact that we filmed various times throughout December, we often faced very grey, dull days and often faced rain. This was a large problem as when it rained we were unable to film as we didn’t want to damage the camera or the tri-pod. We also found it hard to film when the forecast was really dull and dark as the footage didn’t look bright, colourful and of the best contrast, which therefore affected the quality of our video. Another problem we faced was the position of the tri-pod when we were filming in difficult and un-even areas. Due to the fact that our video is filmed throughout the whole of London, we had to film on bridges, steps and in very overcrowded places for example, to get the correct shots for our video. This was difficult when positioning the tri-pod as it was often un-balanced and produced un-even and un-professional looking shots for our coursework. To try and solve both of these problems we tried to plan our filming days around the weather, primarily trying to film on sunny days to increase the quality of our footage. In order to try and solve the problems with the tri-pod, we tried to find suitable places to film that would not cause difficulties with the tri-pod, filming in stable and less crowded places within London which is obviously hard to find. The fact that our group was able to use both a camera and a tri-pod from school definitely helped us when producing our coursework; both the camera and the tri-pod were of brilliant quality and improved the quality of our music video.



When editing and completing our music video, we used Final Cut. Yet again the fact that the school was able to provide us with Final Cut to edit our music video helped us massively. The editing programme helped us to improve our music video by allowing us to edit on the beat of the music, improve the quality of certain, rather dreary shots, arrange our footage correctly and also enable us to add details such as our production name and individual names to the video. As a group, we found Final Cut difficult to use at the beginning of the year, but as we got used to the programme we found it easy to use. Also, learning skills such as how to lighten certain shots and using marker tools to enable us to edit on the beat of the song, improved our understanding of the programme and made us more efficient when editing our video. After we completed our music video, we had to complete a magazine advert and an album digi-pack, in order to create this we used Photo Shop. Personally, I found Photo Shop harder to user than Final Cut, as the programme was brand new to me, as with Final Cut I had used in previously within year 12. Photo Shop was very confusing when I first worked on it, however once I had learnt the basic skills from a tutorial, I found it easier and less confusing to use. The special effects that we used when producing our magazine advert and album digi-pack really helped improve the quality of our work. Effects such as brightening and editing photographs to cut out the background and to make the colours look clearer and brighter definitely improved the quality of our work. Improving the quality of photographs and font for our magazine advert and digi-pack was very time-consuming and at times hard to complete, however we are very thankful that we were able to use the schools facilities as they were extremely helpful and definitely improved the quality of our work.


Read Evaluation on Wix: http://www.wix.com/ellie_scott202/gliscoproductions#!question-4

Evaluation, Question 1: Ellie Scott.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Our music video is a mixture of performance, narrative and is also concept driven; our video follows both David Cameron and Nick Clegg around London, with the added scenes of performance and the concept of Britain and the patriotic theme. Our video, due to the focus on the two politicians and our own interpretation on the characters, our video is very much comedy based. Traditional music videos only normally include one or two of the following themes; performance, narrative and concept, however our video includes all three, this has been purposely done to try and appeal to our target audience and make our video both entertaining and exciting. Our video in relation to Andrew Goodwin’s analysis follows many of the factors within his theory on music video analysis. The first factor of this particular theory is how music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. Our music video appeals to the Punk/Rock genre and in order to target our typical audience we have made our video very rebellious and troublesome whilst including the two politicians; Nick Clegg and David Cameron. This is shown within our video with the scenes at St. Pauls and the protests that took place, the protests present the theme of anarchy and the hatred towards the government within Britain; which is also reflected within the lyrics of ‘London Calling’, which is focused on anarchy against the government during the 1980's. This rebellious and troublesome theme is also represented within our magazine advert and our album digi-pack with factors such as graffiti painted on the politicians, the bold and eye-catching font and the un-stereotypical photographs of both Nick Clegg and David Cameron swearing. This therefore refers to the second point within Goodwin’s analysis, focusing on the relationship between lyrics and the visuals. The lyrics within the song are illustrated with the scenes at St. Pauls, proving the anger within Britain over the government and their policies over time. To add to this, as a group we managed to fit as many visuals with the lyrics of the song as possible, we included a scene of the two politicians at Abbey Road and the lyrics mention the Beatles; an iconic British band, this again fitting with British theme of our video. 


The third factor of Andrew Goodwin’s theory is something we definitely, as a group, purposely tried to include within our music video. The third point is about how the visuals have a relationship with music. Throughout the majority of our music video, we edited to the beat of the music to ensure that there was a relationship between the music and the visuals. We edited the video so that on every change of setting or shot it changed on the beat of the music, this factor also makes our music video more entertaining and exciting as the music has a very fast beat, therefore the edits are quick and snappy to yet again appeal to our target audience. Andrew Goodwin also explains within his analysis of music videos about how the record label of artists tends to want a lot of the music video to be focused on the band/singer. Within our music video, we have incorporated this and focused predominantly on our two main characters, the politicians, but have also included shots of the whole band. The penultimate factor of Goodwin’s analysis focuses on the notion of looking and the voyeuristic treatment of the female body, within our video we have not included this particular factor as the notion of looking as well as the female body are not topics focused on within our video due to political references and the prime focus being on London. The last factor looks into intertextuality, this refers to references made to other films, TV shows, music videos etc. Within our video, we have included sights and shots that have been included within other media sources; these include the shot on Abbey Road and key landmarks such as the London Eye, the Thames and Big Ben, all are commonly included within film, on TV and within music videos. An example of intertextuality is the shot at Abbey Road, this was obviously done by the Beatles and was also re-made within an episode of The Simpsons.

Throughout our music video we tried to portray a patriotic theme and a British theme, we also tried to appeal to our target audience from the Punk/Rock genre; a rebellious and troublesome audience. We edited our video on the beat, making it very fast paced in order to appeal to our target audience. We also, to try and appeal to our target audience and present the British theme used several factors involving mise-en-scene. The mise-en-scene that we included within our video includes things such as; suits as the politicians costumes, cups and saucers for cups of tea, traditional British newspapers such as The Sun, settings such as the Tube and famous London landmarks, a ‘Where’s Wally’ scene and well-known British stores. All of the mise-en-scene that we included within our video was purposely included to make our video more patriotic and stick to the British theme throughout. The use of mise-en-scene, the song and its lyrics ensure that our video conveys a British theme continuously; the lyrics of the song discuss the problems within Britain during the 1980’s such as the Miners’ Strike and public unrest due to government decisions. This yet again relating to one of Andrew Goodwin’s theory within his analysis of music videos on the relationship between music and visuals.

Throughout our video we used a variety of camera shots to ensure that our video follows the traditional forms and conventions of established music videos. Within our video we used several different camera shots; long shots, medium shots, close ups and extreme close ups, as well as following the forms of traditional music videos, we also chose to do this in order to appeal to our target audience. Our target audience would want to watch a video with a variety of shots as it would make the video more complex, exciting and entertaining for the viewer; therefore making it an enjoyable viewing experience in instead of it being full of the same shots, making it common and uninteresting. The editing of our video is also similar to that of the traditional music video; editing on the beat of the music. Many other artists do this as it makes the video more exciting and also shows a relationship between the music and the visuals. In the case of our music video, due to the fact that ‘London Calling’ is a very upbeat and fast paced song, it makes our video more eye-catching and definitely more exciting.




In order to successfully ensure that our video was similar to that of a real music video, I looked at various music videos at the beginning of the year. I analysed both, 'Judas' by Lady Gaga and 'Learn to fly' by the Foo Fighters. I looked into the conventions of these videos, such as; the links with Andrew Goodwin's analysis of music videos, the themes of the videos and factors of mise-en-scene. From the 'Learn to fly' video, I was particularly inspired by the comedy elements of the video, the men dressed as women, was an idea that made us think of using costumes and mise-en-scene effectively within our coursework, and therefore inspired us to use masks.  Within this particular video, costumes are very important, as one member of the band is acting as several different characters, so without the costume changes, the video would definitely not be as effective and entertaining to the audience. 'Judas' by Lady Gaga also includes a lot of different costume changes and different settings, the video includes very exaggerated settings, this gave us the idea of featuring lots of various settings within our video; including several London landmarks. Analysing music videos was definitely helpful when making our own music video as we could use these videos that we have analysed as inspiration. 
Our video also conforms to that of Richard Dyer's star theory as our video focuses predominantly on the two politicians. We have done this purposely as we wanted David Cameron and Nick Clegg to be the prime focus, we managed to do this by including several close up shots of the two characters and due to the fact that the whole video follows the two politicians around London, we have managed to present the two characters as stars of the video. 






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