A2 Research Into Existing Products - Club Music

Our group has decided to make our own music using the Musix Maker programme - this is becasue we wanted to make something totally original which would fit a music video with our own creative ideas - it would mean that everything would be totally our own work and it would help us into fitting our own ideas into a song as well as a video and artwork.

We chose club music as this is something that interests all members of the group and based on our focus group we felt the younger members of the group liked dance and beats in their music videos - something that's prominent in club music and we felt appealing to a more contemporary audience is important.

I did some research into exisiting album covers for club music, and came up with this group of covers



All these covers share the same ingredients - bright colours and bold, 3D effect text, along with club style lighting. This stands out to the viewer and shows straight away the type of music it is - these effects are typical of all club album covers and something we will try and employ in our promotional package, along with our own twists based on how the music sounds.



The artist of the music is very rarely on the front cover which is good for our group as were making it ourselves. All the covers have a summery feel with the choice of colour and (lack of) images - this mood is reflected in all the covers I've looked at and through colour, images and text something that our cover will have to get across. The music gives off a party feel as it's used in clubs so this will have to be reflected in our cover.



I also had a look at music videos for club music. The majority of the videos were set in clubs but this will be tough for us to do due to the impracticality of filming in a club. Looking back at our focus group, some of the older members of the group liked to see something a bit more creative than a typical video you'd see all the time - this is something we'll definitely be considering once our music is actaully complete so we know how far to go outside the box with the video and what effects our needed to make sure the video and the music go together well.

Hurt - Johnny Cash

In 2003 Johnny Cash covered the Nine Inch Nails song “Hurt” after hooking up with legendary producer Rick Rubin. The original was industrial rock but Cash gave it a country and western twist, giving a more emotional feel. Cash gives hindsight into his life and the mistakes he made in his life through the music video - his declining health was also highlighted. The video was seen as iconic in Cash’s career as he died only 5 months after the video was made.

To really understand the full emotional pain in the video, it’s important to look at events in Cash’s personal life. His older brother, Jack, was killed after being pulled into a saw mill, in 1944, and Cash was emotionally scarred by the incident, being only 12 at the time. His divorce from his first wife, Vivian Liberto, is the incident that most relates to the lyrics in the song as it began the downward spiral into an addiction of drugs, alcohol and affairs with other women. The video portrays this by showing clips of Cash in his youth followed by his present state. His wife also features in the video, although that wasn’t the original plan. We also see images of the Johnny Cash museum – once in its heyday and later when it’s rundown and ruined. This represents how Cash’s health and career have fallen from the top to the bottom.

The lyrics in the Cash’s version are identical except he changes the lyric “I wear this crown of shit” to “I wear this crown of thorns”, to compare himself to Jesus’ crucifixion in terms of his illness. The religious references don’t stop there – an image of a crucifix is shown many times and we see fruit and wine on Cash’s table – a reference to the last supper. The constant references to religion and Jesus in particular are there to highlight how Cash’s life has gone from one where he is idolised to near-death.

The editing of the video is important as the slow, long takes create a mellow atmosphere that, combined with the old pictures of Cash’s career, really emphasise the sadness and pain of Cash. Also the slow pace lets you follow the story and understand Cash’s pain even more.

The video was successful as it played on the heartstrings of the audience as Cash’s ill-health gained huge sympathy as he was such a popular figure in his prime. The contrast between Cash’s hugely successful career and younger life to his declining health in the video made the video iconic, especially with his death coming only 5 months later.

Busted & Fightstar Album Covers

On the Busted album all the band members are on the cover to promote the star appeal of the album. The logo is prominent on the cover so it’s easily recognizable for its young audience. There are no band members on the cover of the Fightstar album as the band is looking for something more meaningful than just promotion and star appeal. The image used – a women and child on the steps of a house surrounded by a flood create an incredibly thought-provoking, surreal feel to the album. The band name isn’t the most prominent thing on the page and isn’t meant to stand out like the Busted one.

The Busted cover is very simple in terms of colour. It uses primary colours and there’s only 3 colours used. The Fightstar cover, on the other hand, uses darker more somber colours and there is far more depth, light, shade and perspective compared to the Busted cover which has no light, shade or depth.

The cover creates a simple vibrant look which would appeal to a young demographic as there is nothing more to the cover than what you see. The Fightstar cover, in huge contrast, creates a much more artistic and meaningful cover which could have many different meanings behind it. It is far less poppy as it isn’t aimed at a mainstream audience and more at people who specifically understand and listen to the genre of music Fightstar make.







The Busted cover is very similar to the previous one. It has all the band members on the front cover with the logo prominent. Again this is to appeal to a young demographic and to a mainstream audience. There is very little more to the cover than the images you can see. Again, this is in complete contrast to Fightstar image, which is complex and thought provoking – it’s likely to have some relation to the music itself whereas the images for the Busted cover are purely for promotion. The logo on this cover is different to the previous Fightstar logo which shows they’re not relying on the name of the band to sell the album and would rather let the music do the talking.

The colours on the Busted cover are, as with the previous cover, primary and as simple as possible to not overcomplicate the page. This appeals to the mainstream target audience. This is a huge contrast to the somber, dark coloured Fightstar cover which has depth, shade and perspective, similar to the previous cover.

The simple cover of the Busted album, exactly like the previous one, gives the effect of mainstream simple music that would appeal to a young, pop demographic, as there is nothing more than meets the eye than the bright front cover. The Fightstar cover, in contrast, has much more to it than meets the eye and the music and the reasons behind the music, would, more than likely, explain the cover choice. It’s appeal is more at a core fan base who are into their style of music rather than a huge demographic, like the Busted cover.

Paulo Nutini – New Shoes

The video starts with a animated images of a street before we see into the inside of one of the houses which is real with Nutini lay in bed. The caption says “Paulo Nutini… as himself” – this comedy film-like opening gives the impression that the song will be pretty lighthearted and fun, which it is. The video relates exactly to the lyrics, which tell the story of a day with his new shoes – the events happening in the video relate directly to the lyrics at the same time. This makes the story flow better.

As Nutini’s music is mixture of genres the video doesn’t follow any typical conventions of a certain genre which gives more creative freedom in terms the editing and camera shots as there is no “rules” to follow – this also gives Nutini much more artistic freedom.

The camera shots used throughout the video are all a front view of Nutini as he goes about his day. We see the story unfold through this view and it lets the viewer familiarizes themselves with Nutini as well as making the transitions flow better. It creates an interesting way to tell the story as we only see one perspective to it. Also, it gives a star quality to Nutini and is instant marketing for the artist as the audience will remember him.

Fast takes are used in the editing to speed the story up and engage the viewer in the song and the video. This makes the video more interesting and fun to watch and suits the light hearted tone of both the song and video. This links in with the animated scene at the beginning of the video.

The Phantom (FILM)

Due to our school having issues with cameras we weren't able to add in our new titles to the film or capture the footage at all. There is nothing we could have done about this as none of the cameras in the school would connect to the computers.

Research Into Existing Products

Before we even started our preliminary task, we had to research into existing films to get ideas and techniques (including camera shots, lighting and sound) used the film that we could then use in our own film. I chose to look at the action thriller XXX. (click on image to see larger)

Main Task Evaluation

I felt that the filming and editing of our media film was hugely successful. After our original planning stage, we went straight into filming, closely following our storyboard and script.

We then started drawing up a script. To make this as realisitic as possible we put ourselves into the roles of the characters and using out storyboard, instinctively improvised the speech. This would then make our script sound like a real conversation rather than unrealisitic and monotonous.

When filimg and editing, however, we had to take into consideration the target audience for our piece. We were aiming our film at any gender from age 15-30. This was, becuase of the violent nature of our initial idea, we didn't think it would be suitable for any below the age of 15. Therefore, when doing our script, we were able to add in swearing and more adult lanaguage to make it more realistic and suit the audience it was aimed at. We also felt a more mature audience would appreciate more stylistic features, such as the point of view shot from the phantom (including the heavy breathing sound) and a more wide ranging use of the camera, which we used most notably when the phantom was looking at the explorers from the bushes. Also, premonitions are something that will be grasped better and taken more seriously by an older audience. This gave us room for freedom and creativity.

After the planning stage, we got straight into our filming. We completed our filming process over a few days and then took a further few weeks to edit our film. We felt that we completed our film to match the brief as well as possible by keeping it under 2 minutes and gave the common expectations of the opening of a thriller as we made the beginning almost like an anecdote to the rest of the film, as it shows what the Phantom could do and leaves the audience unsure of what will happen but excited to find out.

We followed closely the Final Destination 3 opening in terms of the premonition idea. However, in our film, we used more effects to make it seem clearer that it was a premonition so not to confuse the viewer. For example, at the end of the premonition, we zoomed into one of the characters eyes then back out again to the beginning of the film again. This created the effect that everything that has happened was in his head. We also used flashes as the camera went in and out of the characters eyes, which created a confused effect. Using the basis of these ideas we’ve our unique twists on it helped us make this idea much more effective and helped us make the film like a modern day thriller with our own ideas incorporated within.


We also followed the brief when it came to technical abilities:

-Holding a Shot Steady - We used this plenty of times throughout our film. A good example was at the beginning of the film where we had an establishing shot to set the film. This had to be steady so the viewer could instantly see the surroundings. Looking back on this shot, however, we felt that we should have shot this from higher up to give an even greater perpective, although this was impracticle at the time. This was also used at the end of the film when one of the characters walks away - this is pivotle to the opening and meant we had to keep the shot still.

-Using a Variety of Shot Distances - Throughout the film we shot from different distances. We used a close-up shot just before the Phantom attacks Chris, a mid shot when Will and Chris were talking at the beginning and a long shot when the Phantom watches them walk away from at the top of the building. The point of view shots from the phantom all have a variety of distances - from watching Chris and Will at the begining from a long distance to watching them from the bushes at a short distance to chasing Will with a medium shot.

-Shooting Material Appropriate To The Task Set - Our material suited the idea of an opening of a thriller in the fact it was under 2 minutes long and would have left the viewer wondering what will happen next. The use of a premonition is typical in contemporary films, especially in openings.

-Selecting Mise-en-Scene - We chose to shoot our film in the back lanes behind our school. This gave a spooky, mysterious effect for our film and suited the idea that the Phantom was haunting an abandoned school. Our clothing for Will and Chris wasn't too formal as they were only young explorers and were chasing a beast but weren't too casual as they were on a serious mission.

-Editing so that Meaning is Apparent to the Viewer - During the editing process we added in a range of colours and a heartbeat sound whenever the camera was from the Phantom's point of view so the viewer would immediately know this was no ordinary character and would identify when the shots were just "narracting" to when we looking from the phantom's point of view.. We also used a two flashes of black when the premonition had finished so this was fully apparent to the viewer.

-Using a Variety of Appropriate Shot Transitions - As Will is killed, we used quick flashes to change from the premonition back to the beginning of the film again. This created an interesting effect and made it apparent to the viewer that the previous action was a premonition. We also used quick transitions when the phantom is seen running down the stairs and out of the door - this, combined with the shaky camera movements, created another sense of tension.

-Using Sound With Images And Editing Appropriately - In the editing process, we added in different sound effects, including a heartbeat when the phantom was on a screen, to create mystery and throughout a quiet bit of tense music up until the phantom attacks which created a huge amount of suspense in the piece

-Using titles appropriately - The final bit of editing involved adding in a 20th Century Fox opening and, after creating the logo for out film, we added this in with a spooky transition to create a thriller-type effect. After consideration we didn't feel this titles were good enough and decided to change them. After using artofthetitle.com as a guide we used an idea that's prominent in many contempary films: short clips relating to what the film is about are used. We used clips showing piles of books on a table, a noteboard with clippings on and a whiteboard with scribblings all over it - this relates to the explorers in the opening and Chris' first line: "We've been researching this for 6 whole years". We followed this up with the name of the film.

We received good audience feedback from our piece and everyone enjoyed the editing process as we took our time perfecting it and the variety of camera shots. We also received good feedback for the parts where the phantom was on screen as this point of view shot created a very unique look and gave an exciting and mysterious feel to the piece. There were some things that the audience felt we could have improved, especially our opening shots, which looked much more amateur than the rest of our film. If we were to do this again, we would think more carefully about our opening shot and try to make this more creative, maybe making the shot higher to get a better perspective of the surroundings.

We used modern technologies when planning and editing our film. During the planning process, we used the internet and DVD and video to research into other thriller films, including the ones I mentioned above which influenced out final piece. We also used the 2D Design Programme to create a more professional looking storyboard and Microsoft Word to create a script. In the planning stages I also used Microsoft Powerpint to create a slideshow showing research into the film XXX - this was then put into Paint using the Print Screen button so it could easily be uploaded to Blogger. Every bit of work we have done in lessons has been updated on Blogger. Although we had some problems uploading things to the site, we managed to work our way around it.

During editing, we used Adobe Premier to edit our film. At first, we struggled to upload our film to it, but after changing cameras, we solved this problem. We could then use plenty of different techniques on the programme, to make our film look as professional as possible. We also got sounds and music from files that had already been added to the music programme iTunes.

I felt that we made huge progress from our preliminary task to our final main task, especially in using original ideas and concepts. We spent much more time planning (see the Time Sheet) our piece which gave us a good idea of what we wanted in terms of editing, storyboarding and camera shots. We could also be much more creative when filming our piece, making the final product more polished and professional.

Storyboard

This is the storyboard which out group will use as a basis to work upon when filming our 2 minute opening. Although we'll work ideas around this, this is the general plot.

Script

This is the final script we have decided upon for our filming.

Character List:
Will (played by Mike)
Chris (played by Joe)
Phantom (played by Reece)

Will: Chris, I really don’t know, this doesn’t feel right…

Chris: Will! We’ve been researching this for 6 whole years! And you want to back out now?

Will: Yeah… sorry, just last-minute nerves…

(Will glances up at abandoned school. Switch to phantom point of view)

Phantom: (heavy breathing)

(Quick takes of phantom down stairs, out of door, going to the path. Phantom spies in bushes on Chris and Will talking)

Chris: Christ, Will, you look like you’ve seen a ghost... (Laughs)

Will: (shouts) SHUT UP! I can’t do this!

(Will walks off. Twig snaps. Will turns round)

Chris: …the fuck?!

(Phantom attacks Chris and kills him. Will starts running)

(Trips over. Phantom attacks)

Will: ARRRGHHHH!

(Camera zooms out of eye. Back to beginning)

Chris: Will! We’ve been researching this for 6 whole years! And you want to back out now?

Will: Chris! Listen to me, we can’t do this. I’ve seen what’s gunna happen…

(Interrupted by Chris)

Chris: What?! Well, if you’re such a psychic, fuck off then. I’m doing this, whether you’re coming or not.

Will: Please, Chris! I’m begging you. Don’t go!

Chris: Did you just hear what I said? I’m going whether you’re coming or not.

Will: (angry) don’t say I didn’t warn you Chris!! (Storms off)

(Camera behind Will walking away. Looks round and hears scream)

(Zooms into Will’s eye. Blackout)

Time Sheet

This is my time sheet, which will help me organise my progress throughout the coursework task. It gives my group and I a good basis on which to work upon.

Main Task Plan

After discussing ideas with our group and coming up with a mind map and a storyboard we came up with an idea that we felt best suited our ideas and that would help us use the best camera shots, editing and sound to help us get the highest grade possible.

Our final idea is about two explorers who are looking for a Phantom by an old abandoned school. After the Phantom leaves the building he kills both explorers before it's revealed this was a preminition. This creates a huge sense of tension and this type of early anecdote is used in many thrillers (especially ones that contain mythical creatures) to show the audience what the film will be about - it leaves the viewer wanting to know more.

During this process there were two film ideas that we wanted to incorporate into out film. The first was the film Predator. In the film, the Predator is always seen through its own eyes and we felt that this created a much more spooky effect than if the creature was seen the whole time, as you wouldn’t know what he looked like, but could still see the danger of it. Not only this, but whenever the film was shown from the Predator’s eyes the screen would be a strange range of colours and make everything look abnormal, which not only distinguished the Predator from other characters, but makes the Predator far more mysterious. This was another idea we felt would suit our film.



The other film we took inspiration from was Final Destination. With our own twist on it, we took the idea of one of the characters having a premonition, and then when the premonition finished, another character not believing his friend and carrying on. We wanted to use this idea as it is guarenteed to keep the audience in suspense and is typical of popular thrillers.



When planning our piece we have already and will do the following:
-We will organise our actors, time, location, costumes and props although we have already started this with our location and actors
-We have drafted some of our ideas onto paper and as time goes on we will update this to fit our -Once we have finished these drafts we will outline this to show how our project was managed.
-Research into exisiting films. We used ideas when planning from the film 'Predator' where the Predator is seen from a point of view shot and has a different view of the world to other camera shots. We will be encorparating ideas from this effect into our own film.