Planning and research: Changes to casting

Originally, we were going to use Liv Jones to play the 'wind up doll' in our video, but because we didn't use any of the pictures of her for the print work, we have changed the casting to Emily Jones instead. I want to make sure there is continuity between the digipack and the video so it is clear as a whole product.

Second draft of print work and advert design

Advert Design

I am really pleased with the changes I have made to my advert. I think compared to the first draft of my advert, it looks more professional and authentic. I feel that the pose that the model is in optimizes the fun, quirky styling of the media product. She looks really glamorous and I also really like the cluttered room as the setting which fits in with the reckless, glamorous feel for the media product. I feel like I have chosen the right font, the sans serif at the top of the page looks really funky and the serif font makes it look bold. Although, some of the feedback has said that they felt the font didn't stand out as much as it should, I feel that it fits in well with the chaotic style I was aiming for.

Digipack Design

I am really pleased with the finished version of my digipak. I feel it looks professional and although the photographs are all contrasting, they fit in with the glamorous and unique style I wanted for the product. I feel that the font looks funky, I am pleased with the lyrics I have added on the top left photo which I think adds to the professional look of the digipak. However, I am still unsure about the editing of the photos as they all have contrasting lighting effects, I am not sure if this makes the product seem unprofessional. I really like the top right photograph which was a setting shot for the video, I feel it compliments the style of the product well and fits in with the bottom left photograph.

Research and planning: print work and advert feedback

Cat gave me really good feedback on my first draft of my print work and advert but I also wanted to get some other opinions so I put them on Facebook and tagged my friends into the photograph. The feedback from Cat helped me to make some vital changes to my print work and advert, for example I felt that the top left photo was too empty and therefore added lyrics over the top of the photo.

Feedback for digipack:

• • • December 3 at 4:05pm · · 1 person
    • 

      Josh Taylor

      The top left photo is really nice, I think it would be better used as the front cover, there's a lot happening in the bottom right one and I think it's a bit too cluttered what with the text an' all. I think if you used the same filter (guessing that's the wrong term) that's in Em's pic on the top right it would bring a bit more continuity overal?
      
      :) x

      December 4 at 7:54pm · · 1 person
    • 

      Leah Dennison Agree with Josh, they sort of look mismatched because the edits are all slightly brighter than one another. If you sort out the contrasts and maybe switch over Em and Sam, so the writing is over the ginger then it will be sick x

      December 6 at 12:44pm · · 1 person
    • 

      Milly Morris Thank you for the helpful feedback conrads :)xx

Research and planning: making the dress for the wind up doll

This is one of the costumes for the 'puppet.' We put it together as they are similar colours and look really quirky. We added flowers to the pockets and onto the left side of the dress. I feel it looks really good and looks especially good on Sam. I think with the finished extravagant hair make up we plan to do, it will look really effective.

We bought the dress and some netting from a charity shop for £6. We knew we wanted to dress to poof out at the bottom so I cut the dress to knee length on the model and then pinned netting underneath it. I then got lots of different shades of materials to create a petal shape across the bottom. Once I had done this I cut out loads of flowers from vintage style material and sewed them across the top. I then sewed buttons onto them to make it look a bit obscure and quirky.

This is the finished design of the dress for the wind up doll. The only thing left to do is give it to Carlie to fix the key onto the back of it. It will look really effective with the hair and make up.

Our other puppet, will be using a clown costume bought off the internet. It is really extravagent and will look amazing with the harajuku make up we plan to do.

Print work and advert

Research and Planning:Focus group

Focus Group

This is my focus group to help with the planning for my video. I asked two of my friends Cat and Yasmin to take part in the focus group because they both fit into my audience profile. They both enjoy mainstream music but also like indie music which has a quirky side to it.

Research and Planning: Costume design

Puppet 1 (Sam)

To make this this dress we will need to buy a dress from a charity shop and then sew flowers, or similar creatures onto the top of the dress and alone the straps. We would also put netting underneath it to make the bottom poof out.

Wind up doll

I really

like this photo, it is inspiration for our 'wind up doll' costume idea. I feel this type of dress would suit the actor playing the wind up doll and also suit the style of the video, it looks vintage and quirky but glamorous at the same time.

The costume for our video will be difficult to create, I have drawn out what I want the finished actor to look like with sketches of the materials we will need. My friend has a degree in theatre make up and is very talented at making costumes. She said she will help me to create the costume.

I have looked on the internet at various charity shops such as Oxfam. Here are the different dresses I have found for cheap prices. We can customize the dresses, for example we can put netting underneath the dress to make the bottom of it more poofy. I really like this dress (shown below) because I think it would be really easy to customize and cutting the back to insert the cardbourd key would be simple with the shape of the dress. It is £15.50 so I will look for a lower priced dress, but otherwise I feel this is a bargain and we can do so many things to make it look good.

Timeplan

Photography for print work

Shooting the photo's for print work was easy due to good organizational skills. Jodie and I bought all the equipment needed before hand eg: face paint, party poppers. We then decorated the set accordingly before the models arrived, moving furniture and arranging the setting to look good. When dressing and doing the models make up, we tried different styles till we found the one which we liked best. Most of the models were easy to work with and came across really well on the camera. We got them to move around the set, try different positions and different angles.

Here are the best photos from the shoot edited on Photoshop:

I really like this photo because Sam's face looks flawless and there was hardly any editing needed. I like the pose and her eyes look really pretty. It reflects the style of the video we want to create and that character she will be playing is a sophisticated and confident woman which is what she reflects in this photo.

I really like this photo because it looks really natural and really fun. It also captures the essence of a party and it is similar to shots we want to do in the video.

I really like this photo because of the bright colours and natural posing. It looks like someone has just taken a picture during an actual party, which really comes across well on camera.

I really like the pose in the photo. Also the make up, wall paper and patterns on the shirt all work really well together to create a striking image. I am really pleased with all the photographs of Emily because they all look really natural and odd in an original and unique way.

I love this photo because of the flirty pose. Sam also looks really comfortable, she was really good in front of the camera and threw herself into the poses. I especially like the vintage wall paper contrasting with the brightness of the model. I used a brightening technique on this photo and shadowed the wall paper. I also used a slight contrast across her face.

I really like the pose on this photo because it looks strong and confident. The styling of the photo reflects the weird, unique and fashionable style Jodie and I wanted to create for the video.

This is my favourite photo of Emily. I brightened the photo and I love the way this gives it a dreamy, weird effect. I think the balloons look really good with the 'clown' styling and I feel it creates an 'Alice in Wonderland' style.

I really like this photo, I like the way Emily is naturally looking at her tin drum. It is an updated version of the classic children's toy, 'the tin soldier' in a modern, fashionable style and creates a quirky and fashionable image.

Setting shots

Here are photographs for the various places we will be shooting in our video, set up for the print work and as they would be for the video.

Costumes and props

Costume/prop item

Wind up doll

Dress - charity shop

Cardboard (to make the key)

Ballet shoes - Liv has some

White tights - Liv has some

False eyelashes - Tesco

White face paint - Milly has some

Red face paint - Milly has some

Puppet (Sam)

Red dress - Charity shop

White material - Charity shop

Hairspray - Milly has some

False eyelashes - Milly

White face paint - Milly

Red face paint - Milly

Blue eye-shadow - Jodie has some

High heels - Sam has some

Knee length socks - Jodie has some

Puppet (Em)

Wet look leggings - Aimee has some

Shirt - Milly has one

Braces - Milly

bow tie - Milly

ruffled collar - 'Rags' the material shop

Puppet (Leah)

Bright coloured tights - Leah has some

Shorts - Leah has some

Pink hairspray - Party shop

White face paint - Milly

Sam (Party girl)

Tight dress - Sam

High heels - Sam

Tights - Sam

Red lipstick - Sam

false eyelashes - Milly

The other 'party' members have been informed they need to dress glamorously. However, when they arrive at the set, Jodie and I will make sure they look right and re-do make up or clothes. I have lots of clothes which my friends can fit into and will have a wide selection on the day for each person.

Casting meeting

Instead of having a casting meeting, we decided to brief our cast via sending them an email.

Right then lads...

You stunning people have been chosen to be in our Media Studies video. Now, there are different roles assigned to each of you but you need to say if it is a problem for you to get to the shoot or if you cannot take part for religious reasons/you hate me. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE :) It will be after Christmas on a weekend but I just needed to brief you all so I know you are up for it.

The majority of you will be taking part in a party scene, which will take place in my garage. There will be expensive equipment in there, such as the big lights we are lugging to my house so you really cannot mess around else there will be no special snacks. Also, it is for our coursework, so if you do mess around we will fail miserably.

Sam Roberts, Cheung and Em will be acting as 'puppets' and we will get the costumes for you and tell you of the times and place you are needed. This is the same for Liv who is a 'wind up doll' at the start of the video.

This is the same for Sam, Leah Dennison, Roz, Emma Harrison and Emily Sparkes who will all be needed in the studio at some point for the 'narration' part of the video.

Here is a list of what you are all doing in the 'party':

Party people: Emma, Leah, Cat, Roz, Em, Pete, Jord, Sam Roberts, Leah Cheung, Jess Hill, Emily Sparkes, Sophie Milne, Beth Money, Louise Wilkinson.

Costume: For the girls, something you would wear to a party, preferably a dress and heels. THINK GLAMOROUS. Do quite heavy make up so it picks it up on the camera but if not then me and Jode will sort y'all out at my house.

There will be various shots of you dancing which will be slowed down to fit the song. Then there will be other shots of people, eg: people will be knocking back shots and others will be jumping on the trampoline and throwing food etc. We also need three girls to have a shot of them playing strip poker (obviously not naked) but if you arn't comfortable with this then that is fine.

You need to bring weird, random items such as a blow up crocodile. If you have silly string, fairy lights etc to coat my garage in this would also be useful.

Here are the videos we have gotten our inspiration from:

This is the song we are doing our video to:

Performers and Casting

Role

Wind up doll at the beginning of the video.

Who?

Liv Jones

Why?

Liv is really photogenic and a dancer, which will enable her to look good on camera. Her appearance also fits in with the 'unique' feel of the video because she has a unique image.

Role

Party girl/puppet

Who?

Sam Roberts

Why?

Sam is really pretty and very photogenic. She enjoys performing arts and is at ease in front of a camera. She is also a very good dancer and will not get embarrassed about having to dance in front of others. She fits into the 'glamorous' feel of the video and will fit into the role required. As well as being glamorous, she is really quirky which is why she will also look good as the puppet.

Role

Puppets in stop motion throughout the video

Who?

Leah Cheung, Sam Roberts and Emily Jones

Why?

All three girls have really unique appearances which will contrast each other nicely. They would be easy to dress up and will perform.

Role

Dancers in the party scene. They will also have other, individual shots where they will be acting out various scenes eg: Emily Jones will be playing poker and Emma Harrison will be jumping on the trampoline.

Who?

Jess Hill, Emily Jones, Rosie Hazel, Leah Dennison, Emma Harrison, Pete Lloyd, Emily Sparkes, Jordan Edge, Cat Jones, Leah Cheung

Why?

They are all really reliable, confident who will look good on the camera and be able to act well. However, I am concerned that because they are friends they will mess around and it might be harder to film good shots.

The Pitch

Post Pitch

The comments we received stated that they liked the originality of the idea, especially the weird costumes and entropic feel to the video. The audience felt that the video would suit our audience and perhaps engage an older, artistic audience. However, they did say that there would be a lot of organization involved with making the video and costumes. Therefore, we need to be really organized and plan everything thoroughly so that filming can run smoothly and efficiently. Also, we need to plan organization of costume by going to charity shops and making a 'key' for our wind up doll.

Research and Planning: Synaesthesia

This is the song I will be using for my music video. I can visualize the type of video that I would like to produce for it which would be a glamorous, mainstream video. It would possibly be set at a party or bar and have shots of girls getting ready to go out. It will also have elements of quirkiness to the video as the song is unusual. I have taken inspiration from the TV drama Skins and also from the magazine Vogue.

Audience Profile

Demographic

My audience will be hedonistic mainstreams and a-c on the Jicnar scale. On appearance, they will seem to be following the crowd, but with a closer look will be shown to be intelligent and quirky. They will enjoy

socialising and partying with style. A typical Saturday night would involve getting ready with friends and dressing up, going to clubs or a party and getting very drunk and dancing a lot!

They love going to big cities such as Bristol or London where the night life is exciting, cultural and youthful. They enjoy relaxing with family and friends on holidays, preffering to go abroad to hot coun

tries. They try and keep fit by eating healthily, going on runs and attending dance classes. Whilst running they like to listen to R&B or Hip-hop to get them motivated, for example Kayne West.

Although they will be glamorous and enjoy mainstream music, they will also have a quirky side to them and have a vintage take on clothes and make up. They will usually shop in places such as River Island, H&M and Urban Outfitters but may also get clothes from charity shops or vintage shops to create a 'unique' image. They love make up and always look immaculately dressed.

My audience would be interested in relationships but would always choose having a good time with their friends over a relationship.

They will enjoy different types of music, usually mainstream but sometimes indie and older music. They especially enjoy music that they can dance to, but also enjoy soulful music which has not been over-produced. They dislike heavy metal but do enjoy some older rock groups such as Nirvana. They enjoy fashion and are subscribed to magazines such as Vogue where they admire the glamorous models and are always the first to sport a new trend.

My audience will attend festivals such as The Big Chill and for a few days, but would much prefer to be in a glamorous dress rather than wellies and covered in mud.

They regularly buy music, usually by downloading from Itunes, although they do own many CD's and also enjoy listening to older music on Vinyl. They really enjoy watching new music videos on Youtube and searching for new acts on

MySpace. They enjoy listening to feel-good music such as Beyonce whilst getting ready for a night out.

Media 2.0

List ways in which audiences are both producers and consumers of content...

There are various ways in which audiences are both producers and consumers of content. Sites such as Youtube allow audiences to produce and distribute their home made videos online, allowing people to watch them and comment on them. They can also watch other peoples videos. This also applies to sites such as MySpace where bands can upload their music and listen to other peoples as well.

How might the design for your promotional package for an album release respond to this shift from media 1.0 to media 2.0?

The shift from media 1.0 to media 2.0 allows the task of creating our promotional package a lot easier. Sites such as social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter allow us to ask our target audience about our promotional package, what they dislike and what they like about it. This also makes our task easier as people with the same task will be on social networking sites and therefore we can discuss various ideas.

Audience Theories 1

Define Effects Theory: The Effects Theory states that media violence will instantly cause the audience to become more violent. This is sometimes referred to as the hypodermic needle theory because psychologists that believe in feel that violence will be 'injected' into society.

What effects do you want to have on your audience?

We want them to think that the video is artistic and well thought out, but not to have any effect on their behaviour.

What might go wrong to stop you achieving this?

If we are not well organized with our video and do not plan each shot carefully.

Define the Cultural Theories approach.

The approach tries to understand the intended effects of media texts, but also sees audiences as active, they have their own viewpoints of the media texts. The three viewpoints and audience can have are:

Preferred (or dominant) reading - the audience recognise the values being offered by the text and accepts them as natural and correct.

Negotiated reading - the audience recognise the values in the text as legitimate and accept them in general, but adapt their reading of the text to fit in with their experiences and interest.

Oppositional reading - the audience understands the values in the text, but disagrees with them and rejects them.

Preferred - " This video is really cool and artistic, it is just a bit of fun and doesn't mean to offend. "
Negotiated - "This video is really cool but it is slightly disrespectful of religion and is possibly too sexual for a young audience."
Oppositional - "This video is far too sexual for a young audience and makes a mockery of religion."

Audience: Music effects and theory

Effects of rap

What kind of questions are they interested in?

Whether music such as rap or heavy metal effects the behaviour. They feel that rap and heavy metal lyrics are aggressive and could therefore cause violence, teenage stereotypes or a rise in teenage suicide.

What are the key concerns that have been raised about the effects of Rap music?

That rap could create the mentality it is trying to portray in its listeners, for example gangsta rap portrays it's artists as aggressive gangster's which teenagers and other audience member could try and imitate. Genre's such as thug rap have a negative portrayal of African-American culture, often bending towards negative stereotypes. This is similar for negative stereotypes of women, often portraying them as sexual objects.

What does the author of this site consider more problematic than the music?

She argues that rap is not the concern and targets a parade in which more than 50 women were assaulted, arguing that there are bigger worries than the connotations of rap music.

Research and planning: Mood board

This mood board explains the style I would like to do my video in. I would like my video to be mainstream, but also slightly quirky and glamorous. I would like it to take on the style of the Skins advert, with glamorous shots of dancing and teenagers having a good time.

Research and planning: Inspiration

For inspiration for my music video, I looked at various photographs of people I know, photos from magazines and on the internet. I would like to create a mainstream video which also has a hint of quirky fun about it.

For my video, I have been inspired to do a scene from a party by various clips from films and TV shows as followed:

I love the fast paced editing and the shots of people doing crazy things. I like the dark lighting and the music is upbeat and catchy, which is what I would like to make my video like. I especially like the crowd shots of people jumping in slow motion. I would like to re-create a similar style for my music video. Also, I like the fact that despite the video is supposed to seem messy, there is still an element of glamour involved with the video. There is also a carefree attitude in the video and I like the way that the actors are shown to be great friends through them all having fun together.




I like the style of this video, the fast beats of the music contrasting with the slow motion editing create an interesting style. I would like some elements of my video to be like this. I especially like the costume and make up of the characters which adds to the wild, kooky element of the advert.