Evaluation

My music video is for the song ‘Safe to Say’ by a local unsigned alternative rock band called ‘Crayolar’. With my music video I wanted to make it mainly about the band and their music, therefore I tried to keep it as simple and as basic as possible with focus mainly being on the band and their music. I decided to set my music video in the bands recording studio in order to show them performing their song as I found that many new bands use performance based music videos in order to establish themselves as talented musicians and to show the audience who they are. I decided to stick to this convention and therefore the music video is mostly footage of the bands performance in the recording studio. Many music videos also contain narratives which help to tell the story of the song as well as making it more interesting for viewers to watch. We decided that a full performance video may not be interesting to viewers so we decided to have a small narrative intertwined with the bands performance. The narrative was very basic and didn’t have a strong story in it; instead it showed one of the band members, Joe, waking up and getting himself something to eat whilst clearly feeling depressed. We felt that this fitted well with the song because of its sombre mood and its unclear meaning. During the narrative Joe consumes alcohol and takes some pills, this is similar to many other rock genre videos which often show people drinking and partying and therefore the video conforms in this way to its genre.

My CD cover meets the conventions of its genre by making the band’s name its main focus point as well as making the cover interesting and original in its design. I decided to challenge the form of many CD covers by stretching the band’s name over the front and back covers rather than keeping it just on the front. This makes the digi-pac look more interesting and gives people a reason to pick up the CD and look at it in order to see who the band is. The extra large font on the cover, along with the contrast of bright coloured text and dark background also makes it more eye-catching to customers in shops. There is a convention with rock and alternative rock bands that the band members to not appear on the covers of the singles and albums. I kept to this convention of the genre as I have no images of the band or anyone else on the covers; however, on the inside of the digi-pac there are images of the band so the customers know who the members of the band are.

My ancillary texts were the digi-pac and Poster which I designed to promote the release of my music video. I wanted the three products to link together in their appearance and themes but found this hard to achieve once I’d finished filming the video. I wanted the poster and digi-pac to relate to the video and therefore thought about using a screen shot or photo from the video as the main feature on them both. However, I found that most of the shots of the band performing didn’t make very interesting still images and most of the shots of the narrative were either too dark or didn’t make any sense on so couldn’t be used. I decided that instead of directly linking the ancillary texts to my main product I would try to keep a regular theme between them. With the digi-pac and poster I used the colour orange to connect them both together as it is the primary colour in both pieces, this meant that people could easily connect the two through their similarities. I connected my video with the digi-pac by including photos from the music video on the inside on the case. Overall the digi-pac and poster had moved away from the music video and didn’t reflect its content and themes much but still worked well as advertisements for it through their use of bright colours and contrasts.

In order to research my project I used the internet search engine Google to find examples of digi-pac’s and posters as well as research music videos on video sharing websites such as YouTube and Yahoo! Video. This research allowed me to analyse existing music videos to give me a better idea of how to present mine. I also used the social networking website MySpace to listen to the band’s music and choose a song to use for our video. I used another social networking website, Facebook, in order to gather audience feedback on my music video. I uploaded the video to the bands page and then people could view it and leave comments and feedback about the video on the page me to see.

Last year I produced a website for a charity as part of my AS level media coursework. I was able to bring across several skills that i learnt during the process of building the website and use them in the production of music video and the ancillary tasks. During the AS project I learnt to research and analyse existing media products and then use this information to help my brainstorm and draft ideas for my product. In the AS product I researched and analysed existing websites of political party's and charity organisations and then used this information to create my own website by using the best qualities that I'd picked out of the existing ones. In my A-level course I used these skills again by researching and analysing existing music videos. I also learnt to produce sketched drafts of my plans and then evaluate and produce them once I'd chosen my favorite design. In my AS project I created elements of my website using editing software such as Photoshop Elements, I then used these skills again in the production of my digi-pac and magazine advertisement.

From my audience feedback I learnt that a lot of people enjoyed the variety of shots and angles used during the performance part of the video as they thought it kept it interesting and kept a pace to the video. People also said that the lip-synching in the video was done very well and the timing of some of the shot transitions with changes in the music. However I also learnt that people were confused by the narrative part of the video and weren’t sure what was going on. Many people also commented on some of the continuity errors during the performance video as the people sat in the recording studio changed between shots. From this feedback I would plan any future videos more carefully and be stricter about who is present during shoots to avoid continuity errors getting into the final video. I would also make sure the narrative has more of a direction and storyline in it so it is easier for the viewer to follow.
From the feedback I received on my ancillary products I learnt that people liked the use of bright and vibrant colours to attract the audience to the product and the interesting presentation of the band’s name on both products as it makes it more like a logo for the band rather than simply being text. The negative feedback that I received for both products was mainly about the lack of images of the band to show who they were and the images that were used on the digi-pac looked quite messy.

I used the photo editing software Photoshop Elements to design and construct my posters and digi-pac as it allowed me to easily import and edit images onto my media and create interesting and original designs manipulating the text and images on my designs.
I edited my music video using film editing software on an Apple Mac called Final Cut Pro. This software allowed me to easily cut my footage into small shots and play around with their position in the music video until I was happy with how it looked. It also allowed me to accurately synchronise the video footage with the audio of the song so that the band looked like they were actually performing their song rather than miming.

Audience Feedback

After I had finished editing my music video I uploaded it the bands page on the social networking website 'Facebook' so that fans of the band could comment on it. A screenshot of this page is shown below.

The comments left on this page wer'nt critical and didnt provide any analytical feedback but did show that the band members and fans of the band enjoyed the video and thought it was well made.

After deciding the feedbook from Facebook wasn't very helpful I sent the video to several friends and asked them give me thier opinions on it. One of them replied via email which is displayed below.

"Very good video for a very good song. I like the syncing, as it is almost perfect throughout, just falling out a couple of bit on the drums and guitar, but to an untrained eye, this would be un-noticeable. I liked the good variety of shots you used throughout, keeping the video fresh and managing to avoid repetitiveness. However, I did notice some things that i wasn't too keen on. Forgive me for sounding picky, but I noticed the person in the studio changes. I would have liked to have seen more consistency here to give the impression that it was all done with one take using more than one camera. Also, normally in music studio's, the band would face the technichians, for constant feedback. If they are looking away, they can't see if they are doing well or if there is a problem. I also thought the story line was a tad hard to follow but apart from this, very good effort."

Production Diary

We began work on our film by visiting possible locations to decide which ones would be best to use in our music video. We looked around three locations in our school, the theatre, the recording studio and the school hall. We decided that the theatre would be too complicated and time consuming to use as we'd have to book it and find someone to operate the lighting system for us. We decided the hall was too bland and empty to create an interesting video in. The recording studio however was easy for us to book out and use and also proved to be an interesting place to set the video. We then chose to film the narrative part at one of our group member house as it was easy for us to get to and had plenty of room for us to set up cameras and equipment.

We created a filming schedule and gave a copy to everyone involved so that everyone knew when and where they were required for filming. The schedule is provided below.

Date: 18th MarchLocation: Recording Studio, Music Block, NK schoolTime: 13.00 Start 14.00 EndActors:
All band members (Casual clothing)
Crew:
James Hann - Camera and directionJohn Hackney - Camera and direction
Tim Brooks - Music Studio operator/sound

Date: 27th March
Location: 307 Brant Road, Waddington
Time: 11.30 Start 16.00 End
Actors:
Joe Rudd (Casual clothes, preferably dark colours)
Crew:
James Hann - Camera and direction
John Hackney - Camera and direction

To help with the production we produced a series of storyboards to plan out what we would film. Scans of them are below.

Final copies - Poster and Digi-Pac

After creating three initial draft sketches of both Posters and Digi-Pacs I made the choices about which designs I would produce into full colour designs using the editing software Photoshop Elements and then use as my final pieces.



Final Poster Design
This is the final copy of my poster, it is based on my third design although it has changed quite a lot from the original design. I changed the position of most of the writing and the streaks of colour as the streaks look like they are framing the text in their new position which makes the poster easier to look at. The contrast of the bright and dark colours makes the poster stand out really well and also makes it more interesting to look at. I decided to alter the shape of the band name at the top of the page as the text was the only thing to look at on the poster and therefore I felt it needed to look more dynamic. I used a variation of text sizes to add some variation to the poster as I felt when the text was the same size the poster looked dull and bland.

Feedback:

• Very bright and cheerful - nice to look at



• Interesting design and variation of colours



• The green and orange colours don't work too well together



• The contrast of the white and black do work well



• The name of the band is made the centrepiece by its size, position and the contortion of its shape

Final Digi-Pac Design
This is my final design of the digi-pac, it is based on the second of my three preliminary designs. I decided that the design looked better when there was a coloured background on the outside covers rather than a plain white one. I decided to use a parcel style wrapping paper as it gave the impression that there was more to the CD than just a box with a disc in it due to the connotations of parcels and gifts created by the wrapping paper. I also decided to put a background image behind the CD as a plain background looked to dull. I chose an image of the band's drummer, Corey, in the recording studio, this relates to the music video and also the image on the opposite cover which shows Joe singing in the recording studio. Together the two inside covers show a scene similar to the performance part of the video.

Feedback:

• The size of the band's name over both covers is interesting and original
  


• The orange writing is quite difficult to see with the brown background of the parcel
  


• The colours on the CD work well together
  


• The images on the inside covers could be better as they look a bit chaotic
  
  
• The colours used are similar to the colours on the poster which creates a link between them
  

Planning: Poster Designs

Part of my task was to create a magazine advertisement to promote the release of the single and the digi-pac, in order to do this I came up with three draft designs out of which I would choose and design one.

Design 1. My first design is split into two halves. The top half of the poster shows the three members of the band with the central member holding a piece of card with the band’s name written on it whilst the other two members stand either side of him. The picture resembles a police mug shot of a criminal and therefore gives the band a rebellious appearance. The piece of card with the band’s name on it show the bands independence from record labels and low budgets for promotion as they have had to write themselves a sign and pose with it to shows who they are. The bottom half of the poster has text advertising the release of the single written over it. Amongst the text are reviews from various music magazines to convince potential buyers that the single is worth spending their money on.
I like the picture on this design as it is interesting, shows who the band are and shows that they are a independent band without the backing of a major record company. The thing I disliked about this poster was the amount of empty space which makes the poster look too plain on the bottom half.

Feedback

• Good image of the band - makes them look interesting
• Too much white space
• Bottom half is very messy and chaotic

Design 2. My second design features the band's drummer, Corey, performing in the recording studio. Above the image is the band's name in large text along with the name of the single. Beneath the image is information about the singles release and reviews from critics.
I think this design is too plain and not very interesting. However the image is quite good as it would link in with the video as it is a photo from the video shoot.

Feedback

• Logo looks good at the top
• Doesn't look very professional
• Very plain and not very interesting

Design 3. For my third design I decided I wanted something that looked completely different to the other two posters and was very eye-catching. I decided to simply create a colourful poster with the band's name and the release details of the single as its main feature. The band's name, Crayolar, is very similar to the name Crayola; a famous brand of colouring crayons, this means the name of the band will often have connotations of colourful images for many people. This design plays on that connotation by being very colourful and bright.
I liked this design due to its simplicity and its eye-catching colours. However it doesn't show the band and who they are or reflect the video in any way.

Feedback

• Stands out easily and is very memorable so consumers remember the name if they see the CD later.
• Interesting and original design
• Doesn't have much to do with the band or the single

Planning: Digi-pac designs

Part of my project brief was to create a 'Digi-Pac' for the release of the single. A digi-pac is the package which comes with the CD/DVD release of media, they often include booklets about the media, posters or other printed media. I decided my digi-pac would include a classical style CD case and would then include a promotional poster and a booklet about the band and it's members .

Design 1. This is my first plan for my digi-pac. On the front cover (bottom right) is a road stretching across the cover with a no-entry sign in front of it. I thought about having the band travelling down the road against the no-entry sign either on foot or in a vehicle to represent them trying to enter the difficult world of being professional musicians. As I was unable to decide how they should be travelling I decided to leave them out of the sketch and would include them later if I chose to use this design. The back cover (bottom left) has a picture of the band performing on stage with the track listings written in front of them. The inside cover (top right) shows a larger version of the back cover that includes the crowd watching the band perform. The CD would be on a plain white background and would be plain white itself with the band's name written on it along with the song title.
I thought that this design contained too many photos and may have provided the digi-pac with a messy and chaotic look to it. However I liked the idea of showing the band on the front cover but couldn't decide how it would be best to show them. I also thought that this cover may seem too serious and not reflect the song at all.

Feedback

• Back cover doesn't look professional


• CD is a bit plain


• Front cover image is interesting but doesn't relate to the video
  
  

Design 2. My second design was very simplistic. It had the band's name written in very large text and stretched across the front and back cover with the singles title written just on the front cover. The back cover also has the track listing underneath the title. The inside cover would show a photo taken from a band recording session in which Joe, the bass player and singer of the band, was singing into a microphone that was decorated with some plastic flowers. I thought this was an interesting image to use as it showed the bands sense of humour and playfulness and showed that they didn't take themselves too seriously. For the CD I decided it should reflect the front cover and have the same text displayed across it. This design was meant to be very simple but also eye-catching and interesting compared to other CD's.
I liked how this design challenged convention by having the name of the band only partly shown on the front cover. However I disliked the amount of the amount of white space on the front cover and thought that this may look too plain and dull.

Feedback

• Front and back covers are original and eye-catching


• CD looks good but could do with a background behind it


• Plain white background might look boring on the front and back covers
  

Design 3. My third and final design has the same photo on its front cover that design 2 had on its inside cover. I decided to use this image again for the same reasons I had last time but this time I thought it might be better on the front cover to draw people in as it is an interesting and strange image that will catch people attention. For the back cover I decided to have a simple block coloured background with the track listings written on it along with the names of the band members and their role in the group. The inside cover featured a picture of the band's equipment in an empty recording studio, this would link in with the bands performance in the same room in the music video. In this design I decided the CD would be placed on a plain black background which would contrast with a plain white CD with black writing on it.
Although I liked the image on the front of this design I thought that it highlighted one member of the band in a way that would be unfair to the other members and may give the impression that 'Crayolar' was a solo act rather than a band. I did like how the inside cover related to the music video though as this is something the other designs didn't do.

Feedback

• CD sleeve is too dark - looks dull and boring


• The back cover is too empty


• Front cover image shows a sense of humour and is very original

Planning: Camera shots and angles

In order to help me produce my music video I took some photos demonstrating key types of camera shots to help me decide which ones to use in my video.

Establishing Shot (Est) - Often used to set the scene and provide context of the location to the viewer.

Long Shot (L/S) - Used like an establishing shot but provides a more detailed look at a smaller area.

Mid shot (M/S) - Still provides some context whilst providing more detail on what is happening in the scene.

Two Shot - A type of mid-shot that shows two people and is often used to show conversations.

Close-up (C/U) - Focuses the audience's attention on a single character, often used during conversations to switch between characters involved.

Big close up (BCU) - Used to show emotion in a person's face or provide detailed looks at objects.


Framing

Head Space

BAD- There is too much room between the persons head and the top of the frame which makes them look small and leaves too much empty space in the shot.

GOOD - The room above the subjects head is about the size of an apple, an give the subject a more balanced position within the shot away from the edges.

Looking space

Looking space gives a character somewhere to look into within the picture and makes the image appear more balanced and natural.

GOOD - The subject has plenty of room to look into and the picture is well balanced, easy to look at and more interesting.

BAD - The character is at the edge of the frame and the shot looks cramped

Planning: Music Video 'Mind Map'

After viewing several existing music videos and doing research into what makes a good music video and the conventions of the Alternative Rock genre I drew a mind map of my idea about how to create the music video.

Planning: Digi-Pack and Poster ideas 'Mind-Map'

After doing some research into existing Digi-pacs and promotional poster I created a mind map of my ideas of how i could create my own. Below is the mind map I created on Microsoft Word.

Planning: Permission

In order to use the bands song for our music video I first sent the band an e-mail to request their permission to use the song. As I was friends with two of the band members this was simple for me to do.

I sent this E-Mail to Joe Rudd who wrote the song we wanted to use:


Hi Joe,
In media we have to create a music video using a song by an unsigned band. Would it be okay if John and I used 'Safe to Say' for our video? Also if you and the rest of the band are available would we be able to record you performing the song to use in the video?

He replied to me with this E-Mail:

Hey, yeah of course you can. I'll see if Max and Corey are available to film the video as well and get back to you.

Research: Posters

To help me design a poster to accompany my music video and digi-pac I've researched and analysed existing poster promoting albums by successful bands.



This poster, advertising Kasabian's album called 'Empire' has a rather basic design. It features the same image that is on the album cover which is a King of Clubs from a pack of playing cards. However the image on the card isn't vertically symmetrical as playing cards usually are, this makes the design interesting and unique. The poster also features the release date in large text at the bottom of the poster so fans know when they can get the album.

This poster for Muse's album 'The Resistance' is similar to Kasabian's poster as it features the same image that is on the front of the album its advertising. However, unlike on the album, the poster has the bands logo in huge writing over the top of it, this makes the poster very noticeable and allows fans to identify the band easily as well as get the band's name out to people who haven't heard of them. The grey background of the poster contrasts greatly with the multicoloured image in the middle; this makes the poster more interesting to look at.

This poster advertising 'Only by the Night' by Kings of Leon is very different to the previous two posters. It's very dark, dramatic and moody compared to the others light colours. The main image features one of the band members playing guitar in the darkness whilst shrouded by smoke and mist, this gives the poster a very mysterious and atmospheric feel to it which will draw interest to the album and make the poster more memorable to fans.

Research: CD Covers

To help me in the design of my Digi-pack I looked at the designs of the CD covers of successful bands so I could judge what makes an interesting design. To get a wider look at conventions of CD covers I analysed the covers of bands from several different genres of music.


Muse - Alternative/ Rock Genre

'Muse' are a alternative rock style band who have a very unique style and sound and see themselves as very artistic. This is reflected through the design which is unique and original which reflects the bands image. The image on the front cover shows a man stood in a multicoloured tunnel stretching through space towards Earth, with a plain grey background behind the image. The bands logo is in the top right of the cover in small writing with the name of the album on the opposite corner. This shows that the band are very well known and don't need to advertise who they are too much as their fans will already know who they are and what the album looks like. The main image reflects the bands image as well as reflecting the futuristic theme of many songs on the album. The tunnel on the main image is made up of many multicoloured hexagons which help make the album stand out strongly on the shelf because of the bright, eye-catching colours. These colours also provide a strong contrast to the dull colour of the images background making the album even more eye-catching and interesting.

Plan B - Rap/Soul/Hip-Hop Genres

Plan B is a rapper who's latest album sees him make a move into more a mature and sophisticated genre of soul music which he combines with his old rap/hip-hop genre. The front cover of this latest album is more typical of the singer's new Soul genre than his old Hip-hop one. It shows the singer (Plan B) sat on an empty stage with his head down and looking depressed, the room is unlit apart from an electric sign on the stage with the singers name and album title which illuminates the singer. This is more typical of Soul music as it is rather moody and shows lots of emotion whereas rap/hip-hop covers tend to be more vibrant and focus on the singers/band. Although Plan B himself is the main focus of the album he is showing himself in a sophisticated manner and is drawing less attention to himself than would be expected by rap artist.

AC/DC - Rock and Roll/Heavy Metal GenresAC/DC are a Rock and Roll band from Australia who are one of the most successful bands of all time. The album covers main focus is the band's name rather than any image. The band's logo is written in a large font across the front of the album with the album title written across the cover just below it. The band don't feel the need for a complex or artistic cover as they are so well known they just need to use their name for people to know who they are and want to buy the CD. They can do this as they already have a huge fan base, but an independent band like the one I'm using for my video will not be well known enough to do this so will have to draw people in with an attractive CD cover design.

Research: The History of the Music Video

To help me in the creation of my music video I researched the history of Music Videos. Below is my essay on my research.

Music videos evolved from short promo videos that would be made to promote new songs. Promo videos became increasingly common during the 60’s and 70’s when television began to devote more airtime and programming towards the music industry with programmes such as “Top of the Pops”. These videos would normally be simple videos of the band performing which they could use on programmes such as Top of the Pops if the band couldn’t be there to perform live.

In 1975 the popular rock band “Queen” released their hit song “Bohemian Rhapsody”. The complexity of the song meant that it was very hard to mime successfully, this along with the fact that the band didn’t like to mime on Top of the Pops meant they didn’t want to appear on the show to perform it. This meant their song would instead be played whilst a dance group performed on stage, the group however didn’t like this either so they organised a promo video of the song to be made. The resulting video is widely regarded as the first real music video as it contained original footage of the band, and used special effects and editing to create more of a representation of the song rather than a simple recording of the band performing. This set it out from other promos of the time and other bands also began to create more creative music videos that helped to tell a narrative in the song or simply to entertain.

In 1981 MTV (Music Television) was launched. It played continuous music videos from the bands and songs that were currently topping the charts. It operated similar to a radio Top 40 show with VJ’s (Video-Jockeys) introducing a video before it was played. As the channel gained popularity more record labels recognised the potential of the channel and began to produce more and more extravagant videos for MTV to play. The video for Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” was a huge hit on MTV, this video along with many of Jackson’s other videos helped to increase the popularity of MTV hugely as audiences tuned in to see them. Michael Jackson’s video often showed the singer playing the part of a character in a story representing the song and involved many of his famous dance moves and routines. The most famous of Jackson’s videos was “Thriller”, this video was more of a mini-film lasting a mammoth fourteen minutes in length. The video was a horror film spoof and used special effects to turn Michael Jackson and his dancers into zombies and then turning the singer into a werewolf. The song was hugely popular as was the music video and remains one of the most iconic videos to date. The video helped to show again how a good music video could boost a singers career and album sales.

Since its creation MTV has spawned many sister channels catering for different kinds of music and many other music channels showing music videos have developed. As MTV’s popularity began to soar then channel also began to show regular programming and began to produce its own shows, most of which were based around music and musicians. The growing attraction of MTV and other music channels led to teenagers of the 1990’s onwards being labelled “The MTV Generation” due to their music based lifestyles and their imitation of the behaviour and cultures displayed in music videos, especially those of rap and R&B genres. The music video had a huge impact on society as more than ever music fans could now get an insight into their favourite bands as the videos began to show singers lifestyles, fashion and behaviour.

Research: Analysis of existing music videos

I viewed and analysed successful music videos as part of my research, below is my analysis of three of them

Time is Running Out - Muse
The video features the band performing on a large table in a large dark room. The table is lit with lights around its edges and there are military personnel sat around the table who ignore the bands presence. As the band play the military begin to move together to the beat of the song. As the song progresses the military begin to act stranger and seem to go insane.
Lyrics: The lyrics of the song are not directly linked to the video as it is more performance based rather than narrative based. The song has themes of insanity and panic and the way the military personnel behave reflects this as they begin to march around the table before dancing on it, crawling around it and eventually throwing their papers all over it.
Music: The song features a lot of edgy and fast paste guitar and some heavy drumming. The band is seen performing with their instruments on the table. This gives the effect that they care about their music and want people to know and see that they are good musicians. The military begin to dance in a fast and erratic style matching the music
Genre: The genre of the song is alternative rock. The video is performance based which is typical of the rock genre and also features a dark and surreal setting which is often characteristic of the alternative rock genre. The band are dressed in black and are in a dark environment which is again typical of the genre. The presence of the military personnel who begin to act insane, dance spontaneously and even take their clothes of has strong anti-establishment connotations which is very typical of both rock and alternative rock genres.
Camera: The video contains a lot of close-up shots of the band and their instruments; this shows the band want to be seen as musicians and is highlighting their skills with their instruments. There are also several log shots of the table with the military dancing and the band performing on it, this shows the band are more important than their dancers as they are above them and in a central position, this again shows that the music and performance are more important than the narrative.
Editing: The video contains a lot of fast paced shots and mixes between lots of different shot types, this fits in with the fast paced and erratic nature of the song.
Intertextuality: The video has a reference to the film “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” in its setting, the room the band are in, and the table with its hung lighting are from the film’s war room scenes, this gives the impression that the song is about war and the role of military bosses in ‘round table’ situations like war rooms.

Just Lose It – Eminem
The video is narrative driven and shows Eminem and an actor portraying Michael Jackson on disastrous nights out at a club. The video is very satirical and pokes fun and many celebrities, most notably Michael Jackson.
Lyrics: The video is narrative driven and the song and video interlink constantly as the lyrics often describe what is happening in the video, for example, the line “Dre, ah ah ah, beer goggles, blind, I’m just trying to unwind.” Accompanies a scene where Eminem drunkenly hit’s on the rapper ‘Dr. Dre.’
Music: The song features a bouncy and upbeat backing track which is reflected in the satirical nature of the video. In the video there a several scenes with dancers performing street dance style routines that are typical o rap music videos.
Genre: ‘Just Lose It’ is a rap song and follows many conventions of its genre. There are lots of fast-cut scenes and there are several appearances by celebrities and other rappers which is common in rap videos. Eminem wears tracksuits, baggy clothes and lots of jewellery which all have connotations of rap. The video follows lots of rap genre conventions such as having the rapper heavily featured in the video and performing straight into the camera.
Camera: The video uses a wide variety of shots in its narrative. It uses wide, long and establishing shots to show audiences and the inside of the club. It uses medium and close up shots to show characters, dancers and Eminem himself. At several points Eminem raps directly into the camera giving the impression that he is looking the viewer straight in the face and performing directly to them, this technique is often used in rap videos and is typical of the genre.
Editing: The video uses fast paced montages to try and make the viewer watch the video again to see what happens in the montage. It also uses blurring to give the impression of drunkenness.
Intertextuality: The video and song are very satirical and therefore contain lots of references to other media and celebrities. The video features cameos from Paris Hilton, Dr Dre and Erik Estrada. It also features actors playing several other celebrities such as, MC Hammer, and Michael Jackson as well as making a reference to the film “Bad Santa”.

Vindaloo – Fat Les
‘Vindaloo’ is a nonsensical football song written for the 1998 World Cup in support of the England national team, it’s a parody of football chants sang at games. The video features a large group of odd characters and minor celebrities following a man down a street whilst chanting the song.
Lyrics: The lyrics to the song are mainly nonsense, for example “Can I introduce you please, to a lump of cheddar cheese, knit one, pearl one, drop one, curl one, kick it”. The song also features heavy repetition of the words “na na na na na na na vindaloo” in a manner similar to a football chant. The songs random and odd lyrics are reflected in the odd collection of characters in the video, sumo wrestlers, hockey players, French maids, a waiter behaving like a chicken and French onion seller.
Music: The music is a repetitive chanting tune similar to those heard at football games, the main character walks in time to this tune as he walks down the street, the other characters jump around and pump their arms in time to the music, this again reflects the nature of football fans singing chants.
Genre: Vindaloo is a comedy/football chant genre song; its video reflects this in its random and humours nature. The video parodies the video for “Bittersweet symphony” by ‘The Verve’ in which a man walks down a street barging into everyone he comes across. Parodies of other music videos are common in the comedy genre.
Camera: The camera uses a lot of close ups of different characters and they often chant straight at the camera, this helps to create a playful nature to the video as the viewer feels like they are in the crowd with the characters. There are often long shots and tracking shots of the crowd following the lead character which helps to show its size.
Editing: The video contains a lot of quick shots of the gathering crowd, this makes the viewer want to watch again to try and pick out individuals in the crowd and to try and find the numerous celebrities in the video.
Intertextuality: The video makes references to numerous TV shows and characters through the costumes of the background actors, for example, the TV show St Trinians. The video is a parody of “Bittersweet symphony” by ‘The Verve’ and features an actor playing Richard Ashcroft, the lead singer of The Verve who is featured in the bittersweet video. In the Verve’s song Ashcroft walk down a street in a perfect straight line, barging into people and knocking them over, and climbing over car bonnets as thy interrupt his path. The vindaloo video features the actor playing Ashcroft attempting the same journey but getting foiled at every turn, people barge into him rather than the other way round, a car pulls back just before he leaps on it making him fall over and he get’s hit in the head by several footballs.

A-level Project Brief

For my A-Level media I have to create a promotional package for the release of a music single. Included in this package was a music video which formed the main part of the project, I worked on this part with another student and we produced the video together.
The other parts of the project were a magazine advert advertising the single and a Digi-Pac which the CD single would be sold in.

The course required the band chosen to be an unsigned act and they must have given us full permission to use their song in our project.

I was also asked to produce an electronic presentation in order to show the research, planning and development of my project. I decide to make mine on this blog as it is a simple to use service that's easy to view and also allows me to include audio and video in my presentation if I wish.