Coursework submission- Tuesday 15th December

I am at an A Level Media conference in London on Tuesday.

I will do my initial check of your coursework on the train home, so everything must be complete and posted by 5PM on Tuesday at the absolute latest.

Do not email me on the day- I will not see it. Any major technical catastrophes we will have to deal with on Wednesday if you can't solve them yourself.

 

 SUBMISSION HELP

1. To export your music video as best quality for YouTube from Premiere:

Click on 'Publish+Share' in the top right of the project screen

Click on 'Computer'

Select AVCHD, drop down the 'presets' menu and select 'YouTube Widescreen HD' at the bottom.

Change the name and where you want to save it, and then click 'Save'.

This is the best format for uploading to YouTube.

2. Export your ancillary texts from InDesign as high quality JPEGs.

3. Check that all links work properly, and that all videos play properly all the way through.

4. BLOG CHECKS:
- Make sure everything is posted on the same blog (no separate blogs for evaluation this year)
- Make sure the evaluation is presented as one blog post per question
- Title each post clearly- help us and the moderator be able to find things on your blog easily
- Make sure posts are in a logical order
- Check all posts are legible/readable- especially if you've posted ppt slides as JPEG
- Double check everything is as you wanted it!

Digipak template for InDesign

It is recommended that you use a template for your digipak in Adobe InDesign. 

I have downloaded a good one for you that you can use: 

Start a new project in Adobe InDesign and click File > Open

You will find the digipak template here: 

Computer > Subjects > Media Studies > Year 13 A Level > InDesign Digipak Template > (double click on the file).

You apply your work on top, using InDesign in the normal way (ignore the upside down bit- do yours all facing the right way up obviously!), but here's a video to help explain the basics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmdInWDPLvw 

Evaluation

Evaluation: 20 marks available

• The expectation that you blog 'creatively' steps up massively for this element. Even if the things you write are perfect, you can't get above a level 2 for your evaluation unless you are presenting it in creative ways.
• Leave plenty of time to do this- it's worth the same as your research and planning and has a big impact on your overall grade. 
• Present this on the same blog as your planning and products. 

Ideas for creative presentation of evaluation: video, vlog, animated Prezi, images, powerpoint on Slideshare.

Your evaluation must cover the following four focus questions- title your blog posts clearly with these:

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

·         Look at all three texts (music video, magazine advert and digipak), and how you met, developed or challenged conventions. You should explore the conventions of your chosen music genre/style, and also how they meet the general conventions of that type of a music video/magazine advert/digipak. Include references to representation and stereotyping in your products. Compare to existing products.

·        Consider both the conscious decisions you made in the design process, as well as the completed text’s effect on the audience.

·        You should refer back to the texts you analysed during the research and planning process, and how these informed your construction. 

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

·         How are your three products clearly linked (how is there synergy between the products)? What visual clues inform an audience that these are promoting the same thing? E.g. model, font, key prop, colour theme, recurring motifs etc.

·         Do you think the music video, digipak and magazine advert combine to have the right effect on the audience/strike the right note? Refer to your audience research (conducted for question 3)

·         Refer back to planning (where you analysed video/digipak/advert combinations) and how this helped you to develop your own.

3.     What have you learned from your audience feedback?

·         AUDIENCE FEEDBACK: ask your target audience a series of open questions to encourage longer responses. Ask questions for both qualitative (opinions) and quantitative  research (measurable responses e.g. multiple choice questions).

·         Reflect on the audience research you did as part of your planning, considering how this shaped your planning and final products.

·         Audience feedback on completed products- anything you learned about the way the audience ‘received’ your products compared to the way you intended? Most effective elements? Lessons learned?

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

·         Reflect on how you used all elements of technology- internet, ppt, cameras, photoshop, video cameras, Blogger, Premiere, PowToon, Prezi, SurveyMonkey, Facebook etc…

·         How did you use them effectively in pre-production, production and post-production?

·         Any new skills learned in any of these new technologies?

·         How did you solve any problems met?

Marking criteria for evaluation:

Level 4 16–20 marks

ü There is excellent understanding of the forms and conventions used in the productions.

ü There is excellent understanding of the role and use of new media in various stages of the production.

ü There is excellent understanding of the combination of main product and ancillary texts.

ü There is excellent understanding of the significance of audience feedback.

ü There is excellent skill in choice of form in which to present the evaluation.

ü There is excellent ability to communicate.

ü There is excellent use of digital technology or ICT in the evaluation.

Research and Planning checklist

A2 Media Studies: G324 Music Video

Research and planning checklist

Must do:	Could also do…
Research:
Research conventions of music video genre- what are the common features? Typical media language features.	Research and analysis of representation of various social groups in music video
Explore functions and purpose of music videos
Types of music video- performance-based, narrative and concept.	Research into different music genres' videos (could also get audience research into their perceptions of different genres' videos)
Analysis of a music video using Andrew Goodwin’s theory
Research into a star image (Richard Dyer and Geoff Dyer)
Analysis of key concepts in at least 2 music videos- media language, narrative, audience, genre and representation (we did Bad Blood together)
Ideas and inspiration (ongoing)	Blog about anything you see- it doesn't have to be a music video- that inspires you or provokes ideas. Could be an image or a piece of art, a fashion magazine, a film etc.
Research into digipaks and magazine adverts- aim to analyse 3 of each	If you can, find a trio of a music video, digipak and magazine advert for the same track and analyse the synergy between the 3
Audience research: what do people want/expect from a music video? Mix of both primary and secondary research, analysed.	Be creative in the way you gather research- video? Images? Electronic survey?
Planning:
Detailed target audience for your song and video: this is crucial and is often neglected!	Creative ways to present this- video? Picture montage? etc
Song choice- shortlists and very initial ideas.	This could be ongoing all through your research and planning stage- blog every time you discover a song that could work well for a music video
Explain final song choice in detail. Give rough ideas for the direction you want the video to go in.	Ask your target audience to vote on your ideas?
Music artist development- who will your artist be? Name? Image? Back story?	How do you ‘sell’ your artist? Think of it from a music industry perspective… Which artists out there are comparable to yours?
Designing digipak- plan fonts, images, layouts etc and include multiple drafts.	Audience research to measure reaction to your different ideas
Lyrics analysis- connotations of lyrics, and what aspects you will use or develop in your music video.
Treatment- a written 'pitch for your music video (Miss B's unfinished example here)
Storyboard of shots in your music video (blank storyboard on shared area) EXAMPLE PRE-PRODUCTION PAPERWORK FROM MOVIES	Make an ‘animatic’ of your video- put storyboard shots together to make a ‘draft’ music video
Shot list/breakdown for your filming (blank shotlist on shared area)
Planning props, costumes and make-up	Mood boards, inspirational images etc
Call sheet- including call times, locations and contact details, props, costumes etc (blank call sheet on shared area)

Adjusting frame rate on our cameras for a more 'cinematic' feel

Find my photography tips here, including help with shutter speed, ISO and aperture!

Miss Blakeman's (unfinished) treatment!

MUSIC VIDEO TREATMENT

Frightened Rabbit

‘State Hospital’

Producer: E Blakeman

Director: E Blakeman

Frightened Rabbit:

(Overview of your (imagined) artist- description of their style, background, where they’re at in their career etc, and what purpose this video will serve for them (e.g. new sound or image))

State hospital:

The song tells the story of a girl born without hope of a good life, and tracks her seemingly inevitable path to self-destruction as she is “born into a grave”.

She is born into a world that doesn’t want her; probably an accidental conception, she is raised in a home of anger, violence and probably drugs. She is neglected and never made to believe she can achieve anything in life; she believes even the teachers in school have given up on her.

The song lyrics follow her into adolescence and young adulthood, as she begins to lead a lifestyle crying out for affection and validation, but finds it in negative behaviours – excessive drinking and sexual promiscuity.

The song ends with ambiguity in the lyric “all is not lost”- is it always inevitable that she’ll lead this life?

Music video basic concept:

Throughout the video, the images we see appear to tell the story of the girl’s life as featured in the song’s lyrics.

We’re walked through her life as a child, an adolescent and a young adult. We never see her face, but we experience things through her point of view throughout.

Possible twist?? (Hollywood ending?!):

However, at the end, it will become apparent that the images we’ve been seeing are actually of her mother. The mother’s story was one of inevitable struggle, but the “born into a grave” lyrics turn out not to apply to the daughter featured as a baby at the start.

In a quick montage at the end, the images of her mother’s life are replaced by a new narrative- that of the daughter succeeding against the odds (“all is not lost”). Full circle- back to mother and baby scenes from the start, but with adult daughter now present somehow…

Style:

Muted colours, almost bleached, watching the mother’s life to convey the melancholy and hopelessness of her life. A lot of the lighting will be low-key and will make effective use of shadows, especially in the mother’s home. For the final montage at the end, we see more light and colour.

In order for the audience to make meaning from the narrative, there will be certain recurring motifs to help them follow the video.

The cinematography

Scene-by-scene

Rough lyrics analysis:

How to write a music video TREATMENT

Music Video Treatment

Overview:

A treatment summarizes your vision for a music video for your client (in the industry, this would be the artist), using visual and written communication. It is effectively a form of ‘pitch’. A record company would approach many directors to submit a treatment, and then choose the best idea. For the director, getting a music video can be great exposure for them, so the treatment is crucial in securing that work.

Format:

It is advisable to blog this directly and include links and images to support.

GUIDE:

(This is from a music video director, but you can ‘interpret’ this as there is no set way to do this!)

Section 1: Introduction

Start with a title page. Include the name of the band and the song. I also usually try to find a nice image of the band or artist if it fits with the mood of the video. Put your name as director and producer.

Section 2: ‘Elevator Pitch’

Explain your vision in a paragraph or two. (An “elevator pitch” is a quick description you could give to, say, someone who wants to give you a million dollars whom you meet in an elevator, giving you only a fraction of a minute to pitch to them.) Use visually descriptive words, be specific, and paint a picture of what the video will look and feel like. Keep this brief, get them excited and leave them wanting more.

Section 3: Script

“Some music videos get to be very literal when it comes to the lyrics of the song; some are completely abstract. However you decide to do it, this is the place in the treatment to go into detail. I like to break down the video into scenes and describe each separate scene in a paragraph or two and will usually add some photos as well.”

Section 4: Moods / Style

Describe the feeling and look of the video. What format will it be shot on? Are you going for a stylized look? What kind of editing? Long cinematic shots or quick jump cuts? Cite references for the style; this can be anything such as films, paintings, books, celebrities, or photographs. Whatever best communicates how your video will look. Include plenty of images.

Summary Section: Sum it up

Summarize your video in a few sentences reminding your client why it’s a great idea. Keep it short and simple. 

Audience research

Research the Target Audience

You have completed secondary research into music videos, now you need to conduct primary research in order to find out more about what appeals to an audience.

Primary Research – draft a questionnaire in order to determine who your target audience are and how to target them (present to a sample of 10 people minimum). Remember to ask qualitative (opinions) and quantitative questions (answers that can be displayed in a graph/chart etc)

Example questions:

·         How old are you?

·         What gender?

·         What typical features do you expect to see in an indie music video?

·         What appeals to you mostly in a music video?

·         How often do you watch music videos and on what platform? (Could be multiple choice)

·         Do you prefer a music video to have a narrative/storyline?

·         Would you prefer to see more than one location?

·         Do you like performance in a music video?

·         Is location important to you?

·         Which of the following appeals to you…. (etc etc)

Once you have collated your data, summarise the results and produce pie charts and graphs to support your results and findings.

Next step: produce a target audience profile!

Geoff Dyer- star theory

Richard Dyer's Star Theory

Star Theory- Richard Dyer

Richard Dyer’s Star Theory is the idea that icons and celebrities are constructed by institutions for financial reasons and are built to target a specific audience or group of people. Dyer’s theory can be broken down into 3 sections:

 ■Audience and Institutions

 ■Constructions

 ■Hegemony (Cultural Beliefs)

Audience and Institutions:

Stars are made to make money for that purpose alone. The institution then modifies the stars image around the target audience, for example Rihanna.

Constructions:

The star is built for an audience and is not an actual person (as audiences are made to think). The star is built specifically with something signature to them that differentiates them from other stars, for example Lady Gaga’s outrageous fashion or Katy Perry’s bright hairstyles.

Hegemony:

We relate to the star because they have a feature that we admire, can relate to, or that we share with them. This develops from an admiration into an idolization. Some people may attempt to replicate what they like about the star, but this can be negative as even though stars are seen as role models, some abuse hard drugs and alcohol which can lead to people who worship these stars copying their actions.

Dyer states that ‘stars’ are constructed, artificial images, even if they are represented as being “real people”, experiencing real emotions.  It helps if their image contains a designed audience so that they can be copied to the interests of that audience. Their image may be made over a single item or characteristic e.g. Katy Perry’s hair colour. Pop stars have the advantage over film stars in that their constructed image may be much more consistent over a period of time and is not dependent on characters or the films they choose as star vehicles.

Dyer proposes that “A star is an image, not a real person, that is constructed out of a range of materials”.

Stars provide audiences with a focus for ideas of what people are supposed to be like (e.g for women, thin/beautiful) they may support hegemony by conforming to it (thin/beautiful) or providing difference (plus size/still beautiful).

Stars represent shared cultural values and attitudes, and promote a certain ideology. Audience interest in these values enhances their ‘star quality’ and it is through conveying beliefs ideas and opinions outside music that performers help create their star persona. A star may initiate a fashion trend, with several fans copying their hairstyle and clothing. Ideologies drawn upon include materialism and sexuality.