Prelim Task Evaluation

Scripting
For our preliminary task we made a music video so scripting was very limited as the majority of our video was narrative with no dialogue or miming being used to show the lyrics. However before we started filming we printed out the lyrics of the song and then made notes on what we were goign to do for every line including shots, effects and scenes. Doing this helped us establish a timeline what to do first and what shots we could do individually, as taking notes around the lyrics helps you break up the song and in turn break up the video, it definatly helps you plan your time much better.  So when i make my final project i will plan it all before hand and also have second choices just in case things do not go right the first time. We decided to go with the linear narrative and use the lyrics to relate to the video we finally made.

Storyboard
Storyboards help make you visulaise what you want to achieve so when it comes to music videos you can draw the different scenes you would like to film. But because of the limitied time space we had we didnt have time to make a story board so instead just made notes with the lyrics on what we were going to do when and where, we also took notes on effects and shots. doing this was easy and did not take up a lot of time which worked in our favour as we had to establish the main and basic ideas quickly, even though it was not extrmely detailes it showeed what we wanted to do and how we visualised it. But when it comes to my final peice i will have mroe time so i will be making a story board with much more detailed explainations which will hopefully make filming much easier as on or prelim even though we establish most of what we wanted to achieve sometime shots did not go to plan so we had to improvise. Storyboards will be usueful as i will be able to use it while filming to see what i wanted to do for each scene.

Locations
Locations were limited mostly because of the time in which we had to produce the relim task, so for a lot of the scenes we had to film on school grounds  rather than the locatons we visualised at the begining. however we were able to film some scenes on school site as we took cameras back to our homes and ilmd some scenes there and then bought them back into school to put it together. But we tried to vary the locations over school, location is a very importna tpart of music videos so it can affect the uality of it, for example we thouht that the best scenes we filmed of site, but as this is just a practice task we are able to learn from it and improve on it. We originally wanted many different locations as it was supposed to show a variety of memories over time but in some places it just looks the same adn can falter that idea, so next time i will be planning location much better.

Planning/Organisation
Planning is important when making a music video along with filming as it establishes what you have to do and how you are going to do it. My partner and i did not find planning difficult as we agreed on most of the ideas and filmed various sceens together and separtly. we wrote down a timeline of what we were going to do on certain days when we were free in order to finish it in time. At the end of the lessons we would look over what scene was next and jsut summerize what we were going to do and how we were going to do it, such as time, place and scene.

Teamwork
Me and my partner worked well as a team, as we had very similar ideas of what we wanted to do in the music video so we did not have to spend a large amount on planning. We managed to produce our video in the specifc time range set, so this shows we worked together well in order to make the video. We put both of our ideas into the video and when it came to filming we both had individual filming scenes to do and then on most of it we would film together one filming and the other giving direction as to what to do and where to go. We also edited the music video together so we were both happy with effects and plcemnt of clips. I hadnt actually used the software before and my partner had not used it in a while so we had to figure it out long the way which may have set us back a little bit but my partner was helpful and still knew bits of how it worked so that was really helpful.

Editing
Editing the video took longer than both of us thought, but once we got used to using the software we seemed to edit faster. We had already decided that we wanted the present scenes to be in black and white to mimic the sorrow and then we wanted the rest to be normal however on some days that we were filming the weather was not great and did not set the perfect scene so we decided to change the colouring and make it brighter to reflect happier times. In our plan we also wanted to do a fast rewind of memories in the built up part of the song so when we did that we thought it would look better with an old fashioned tv effect which also links in with the beggining as the man switches on the TV and watches the memories. The technology we were working with was not great so it was difficult to edit, for example on some scenes the picture does not fit the screen but as this is a prelim and we had not ime left we had to leave it how it was and just learn from it when we do our final project. We did have a minor setback when we were cutting down clips to get the best bits out of them we found that we did not have enough footage to fill the time of the song so in soem parts we had to use slow motion on various clips however when we did this we found that slow motion actually worked better thoose clips than before as it made emphasis on certain parts that link in with the lyrics and actually tied the video together.

Final Product
We were very proud of our final product, as a lot of effort went into it and it paid off, and as it was out first attempt we were a bit unsure of how it would turn out. It was also our time using the vidoe recorder and editing software so we have learnt a lot from it. By doing this task we are able to look back at it and learn from mistakes and see how we can improve on it for our final project. Even though it was eant to look like ammatuer filming in places in others it was meant to be still and professional but without the correct resources eg tripod we had to do our best, however this is our first attempt to we were unable to spend a lot of time editing and perfecting. This has helped me a lot to decide what i want to do for my final project

Preliminary task

For the preliminary task my partner and i decided to do a music video the song we choose is called Here Comes Goodbye by Rascal Flatts. We choose this song because of its lyrics as the were narrative, and we both wanted to make a narrative video as it suited us best. This song originally has a music video however we decided not to watch it as we did not want it to influence our judgement and ideas on the music video we were creating. We wanted to create a music video from scratch made up of our own ideas.

When it comes to music videos it is much better to have more than one or two people in it, however we a were unable to find people able to be in the music video. Our original idea was to film a girl and a boy's relationship to fit the lyrics however we could not find someone to play the boy so instead we improvised and made it so you were watching the memories and relationship through the boys eyes and all you could see was the girl, this way you never had to see the boys face as it was show through his eyes.

When filming we were limited on resources such as euiptment, on some parts of the video like to beginning and the end scenes the filming is shaky because it is handheld so would have been much more professional is we had a tripod, to keep it steady. We were limited on locations as well due to the time frame in which we had to make this so we just had to make it the best we could with what we had.

When we started editing the video we had three types of settings memories, future and present. The present is shown at the begining and end in black and white as the song is very sad and explains how the boy is waiting for the girl to say goodbye. He sings about how he remembers her when she was happy so for this we filmed everyday things such as her walking and talking with him and messing around, with these scenes we brightened it up a bit so convey happiness. there is also a future scene of what could have happened wither her in the wedding dress, the editing technique here is just adjusting the brightness to give it a dream like effect. We also used a rewind effect to show that something bad is happening to the happy memories which then link in with the present scenes.

This type of song and video would appeal to women in their late teens and early 20's as it is about heartbreak, love an relationships, which appeals to women more than men.

I will be taking in all aspects of this video when deciding on my final piece and what genre i want to do, and how i can improve in technology, editing and the structure of it in any way.

The Pudding Bowl

What does this short film mean to you?
I like this film as it is uite sweet. The young girl is punished by her mother for something her brother did by having her hair cut of however she doesnt let this affect her and makes herself feel pretty and glamourous with other resources, she punishes her brother by stealing his bike. This whole storyline is great because i can empathise with the little girl as she was very upset when getting her hair cut of as it obviously meant  a lot to her and she cares about her appearence, but the way she deals with her annoyance towards her brother for causing the upset is really sweet as she makes the most of her situation and doesnt let it hold her back. It can be seen as inspirational as she did not let something get her down, and i think this is very important as we see her cutting out a picture of a woman who is inspiration to her yet in the end she has become inspirational.

Mise En Scene
This film is set in the 1950's so the clothes and location reflect that.The hairstyles also show the period of time especially in the picture that Ivy is looking at of a famous woman. However when her mother cuts of her hair the inspiraiot tshe has to look like the woman in the picture is momentarily destroyed but she instead decides that she is not going to stop her from becoming what she wants so she uses her resources to makes her feel pretty like the picture, she puts a pair of tights on her hair to represent longer hair and the steals her brothers bike to get the boys to ru after her, giving her the illusion that she looks like the woman in the picture and the boys are acutally running for her as admirers and fans.

Shots and Edit
Form the beginning of the film thier are slose up shots of the little girl and the images she is cutting out givfing the viewer the impression that these aspects will be linkin in the film and as we see they are as the litle girl wants to be like to woman in the photograph pretty and glamourous.

Sound
The main sound at the beginning of the film is the scissors cutting which the little girl is using, this outs emphasis on the fact that the are going to be playing an importat part in the story. At the end of the film when the girl is rding on the bike she turns into she women in the picture whe this happens elegant music is played to match her feelings towards the way she feels.

Theory

If we look at Todorovs theory we can see that this film follows the theory. At the beginning we see Ivy (the little girl) happy and in her own little world, cutting out pictures of pretty famous people, We then see a disruption which is her brother putting glue in her hair and her mother cutting her hair off, which hurts her. To solve this problem she puts stocking on her head to act like hair. Ivy then steal her brothers bike and is cycling away form them happy yet again in her own world, whilst also imagining she is the women she was cutting out at the beginning.

You can see the equilibriums, where she is happy at the beginning and at the ending. You can also see the disruption in the middle that is eventually solved.

Video analysis

Boyce Avenue-Find Me

This song is a power balled which is indie based, and the video is a narrative and performance video. The video appeal to the female demographic mainly because it is essentially a love story and in a way a cliche which most women want in relationships, if you narrow it down even more it is aimed at emotional women either happy or sad, because it is an emotional song which ever way you look at it. it also appeal to the male demographic slightly when there are close-ups of the band and there instruments. The age range for this i late teens and early 20's because this is the age where serious relationships form and you look for relationships for the long-term. If we look at Young and Rubicam, i think this video i for mainly strugglers and maybe even mainstream
Charlie Simpson-Parachutes

This song is aimed mostly at the male demographic, and is a narrative and concept video. The age range that tis video is aimed at and will appeal to is late teens and 20's, this is considered a more mature audience because of the lyrics and video being more intellectual. The reason that it appeals more to men is because it is about apologies and not love which would appeal to women. If you look at Young and Rubicam you can see that this video is for the mainstream and succeders.

Analysing Music Videos

The Script-Man who cant be moved

1.Genre Characteristics
This video is a performance and narrative based video as it shows the story throughout but has cutaways of performance scenes. The song is about a Man who is waiting at the corner of a street where he first met the girl he is waiting there for her. The main genre of this video is pop/rock and it as strong generic elements of this as it has a romantic plot as the man is waiting on a girl and by doing this he is showing is love for her by doing something dramatic on his part. this in turn creates some sort of relationship and connection with the demographic about relationships and love as they can empathise if they have been through a similar thing. The tropes of pop song are usually about love and romance and so this video definatly follws that convention. But because this is also rock, it also contains elements of rock conventions such as the performance cutaway scenes where the entire band is singing in a car lot, the rock genre is usually associated with performance videos and that is why this video contains elements of that to appeal to both sets of demographics.

2.Relationship between the lyrics and visuals
The visuals do match the lyrics a lot as it is narrative and tells the story through the lyrics. For example "Going back to the corner where i fist saw you" when he sings this he is walking to the corner, and also when he talks about a policeman "policeman says son you cant stay here", the video shows a police officer talking to him and he says these lyrics making it seem as though he is speaking for her. even though it is a narrative video not all of the lyrics match the visuals as it says "cos if one day you wake up and find that your missing me" there is not actually any visuals to match that, throughout the video you don't actually see the girl he is singing about.

3.Relationship between the music and visuals
The shots seem to match the beat of the music and change shots when the beat changes at the beginning of the song, Because the song is essentially about him missing someone and waiting for them he is very downhearted ad sad and this is reflected in his clothes aswell as his facial expressions he is wearing black and grey clothes which are considered 'boring'

4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (visual style) 
Danny O Donoghue is the main focus of this video and so dominates the screen time, at points we see the rest of the band but even then they are in the background and he is up front and close to the camera so he is still the main focus. He is also considered a good-looking guy so this then appeals to the female audience as they would interact with the video and want someone to do that for them or be the girl he is singing about. It also can appeal to the male audience because they want to be like him, because he is a Female Icon and a a lot of women like him.

5.There are freuent references to the notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particulary voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
In this video there is not any voyeuristic treatment of the female body as this does not relate and link with the genre of the music video.

Further Analysing
The person who made this video is a very strong believer in the rule of thirds, as everything is so precise it almost makes it clinical.
It is similar to another music video-We cry by the script. In the sense that in both videos Danny is walking around an urban city and there are shots of the whole band in a parking lot rather than a flat. But is slightly different because in the man that can't be moved, there is an apparent story to it.
Towards the end of the video there is flash forward of events to show time moving.

Director
The director of this music video is Marc Klasfeld who has directed for people such as Katy Perry, Jay Z, Nelly, Kid rock, Foo Fighters and Avril Lavigne. He also has acompany called Rockhard which is made up of many other directors. The company has directed for Justin Beiber, LMFAO, Lady Gaga, Jessie J and Mariah Carey along with many others

Theorists

Todorov
Todorov is a bulgarian structurist who suggested that stories begin with an equilibrium/status quo, this means that it starts with everything being as it should be. There is then a disruption called the disequilibrium. The problems are eventually solved and a new equilibrium is made. His theory describes narrative as circular and not linear however the equilibrium at the beginning is not the same as the end one.

Levi-Strauss
Levi observed that everyone makes sense of people with the Binary opposition. He thought that there were always opposing characters such as Hero vs Coward and Good vs Evil. It is where one side of the pair always seemed to be valued by society more than the other.

DropKick Murphy's-Going out in style

We played this video without sound to see whether we could determine the genre of the video and deconstruct it.

This video shows a bunch of people after a funeral partying, having drinks and dancing. The colour scheme is green black and white, and green is usually linked with the irish so we determined that the people were irish but then we saw that all the women there were very attractive and portrayed in an attractive way by the clothes they were wearing and how they  danced, from previous work we have seen that America is the country that likes to have attractive people in videos and posters in order for people to aspire to them and want to watch it, in order to the increase target audience. and so we came to the conclusion that the video was set in an irish bar in America and the people there are Irish-American.

When we turned on the sound we could hear that we were right in saying it was irish american as it was  irish based with the american punk style and lyrics
People will appeal to this music video because the people in it are the best looking people from this stereotype and people will be able to relate to them and aspire to be like them.
Men would aspire to be like them because the are jumping around, drinking, smoking and surrounded by good-looking women, which are typical stereotypes of what men want to be doing.
The people in the video seem to make everything look as fun as possible, for example the video is set at a funeral or wake but nobody is mourning instead they are partying and having a good time. This seems to be a stereotype of the irish as they are known for drinking a lot and being care free.