First draft music video

I edited my music video to make it realistic and a replication of live performance.



After speaking to the audience, and my peers I have decided to now use effects to make my final video more exciting.

Digi-pack constructed

I printed my digi-pack work and put it in a CD case to see what it would look like in shops:

Venue

Final Digi-Pack

 

I have completed my digi-pack, below is the front cover of the CD, back and inside of the insert, and back cover for the CD.

 

Back of insert                                              Front of CD

Inside of insert booklet

 CD back cover

Poster Break-Down

This is the final draft of my poster, the techniques I used are:

• I used a different font for the magazine font and the band's house style to differentiate between the two.
• I included a page number, and footer for the magazine as most music magazines have this (I looked at Kerrang! and NME) however I didn't use a bleed all around the page as this is more common in tabloids.
• I included the iTunes logo as it promotes buying the song. I also included a QR code that links to a download of the song.
• I used a photo of the band playing live, as rock music is usually advertised in terms of live performances.
• I used Photoshop to merge the colour of the lights from the top of the image, I did this to make the magazine advert flow better, and create a dark area where the band name is to make it stand out subtly.
• I used the convention of including reviews from other magazines to show the credibility of the product.
• I used the standard hierarchy of font size, with the band name as a priority, then the song name, and finally the release date.

Filming Part 2

Today I completed the filming for the first half of my music video, I took my camera and tripod to the band's practising studios in Sheffield to film a mock band rehearsal for my video. Below are pictures of the band setting up and my camera and tripod set up. There are items in the background of these pictures which i removed for filming as they didn't fit with the mise-en-scene. I will edit the footage I captured into the video I've already done this week and the video will be finished.

Magazine Advert

I have created a magazine advert, I have modelled it for the magazine Kerrang! as it features band of a similar genre to Fierce Morgan. Unlike the other ancillary tasks I haven't used the fuzzy effect filter on this poster as the magazine isn't just appealing to existing fans so everything needs to be clear. Whereas the CD is likely to be bought by existing fans so can be more creative and only use the letters FM instead of the band's full name.

QR Code

 As part of my ancillary task of creating a magazine poster, I have included a QR code that links to the songs download page on BandCamp.

  Fierce Morgan's BandCamp download page

 

The website I used to create the code 

CD Back Cover

Having designed the front cover and insert booklet for my CD, I am now working on the back cover. I have researched recurring features od a CD back cover, I have found the following:

Barcode
Logos of places to purchase the music online (eg iTunes)
Record Label Logo
Small print regarding copyright, ownership and thanks

My back cover looks like this thus far:

Editing

Today I completed editing the second half of my music video, filmed on a stage with an audience. I will film for the first half in two days and then edit it in.

Editing effects

I have filmed and am currently editing my video, as it's realistic performance I haven't used effects with the exception of slowing down one clip because I think the effect makes the video interesting, and it fits well with the music.

CD cover and booklet

As I am prepared for filming tomorrow and next Friday, I have moved my focus until tomorrow to the ancillary tasks. I have created a CD cover and insert booklet.

 

 

For the CD cover I have used an original picture of the band and edited it in photo-shop with a fuzzy effect, as I feel the effect gets across the type of music they play being electronic, it reflects the sounds amps make when turned on. I put the band name as just 'FM' instead of 'Fierce Morgan' because the band are alternative so have a niche market, by not putting the whole name it makes fans feel part of an elitist group, and also goes against pop bands which market a brand. 

 

For the inside booklet I have kept the theme of the effect, the same typography and kept the colours simple and the same. This creates a recognisable house style throughout the ancillary work and keeps the product consistent and convergent with modern expectations of band products.

Fonts

Whilst creating the ancillary pieces I have asked for peer feedback, this brought to my attention that the font was not in keeping with the style of the front cover. I have since chosen a selection of fonts I think fit the modern style more appropriately.

After speaking to the band and my peers I have chosen the top left font as it looks clean and modern and reflects the modern sound of the band. I will also use an effect on the font that I plan to use on the booklet as well, see booklet and cover.

The Pogues/Rogues

For the two last lessons of the Christmas term we were given a choice in what we wanted to do, so we chose to make a music video that was shot for shot the same as the original, and chose a Christmas song, Fairy-tale of NY. The planning, storyboarding, prop and location organisation, filming and editing were all done in two hours so it isn't done to a high standard, but we wanted to utilize our filming and editing skills by creating a video. The video and the original are below for comparison.

Beyoncé - Music News Research

Beyoncé released her new album today called Beyoncé, which is different to most albums as music videos to the songs are included in the album. The physical copy is a DVD and the digital version play the music videos as you listen on your iPod/smart phone. This brings back the relevance of the music video as it makes them more easily accessible to the masses. I would expect this to be a success and more artists to follow this lead, as it's easy and cheap to sell the videos and now almost everyone has access to smart phones.
However, never before have people had to pay for music videos, the cost of the album is £15.99 but there are 32 songs. Below is a link to the information on iTunes about purchasing the album.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/beyonce/id780330041

Audience research

Album cover 1:

It's cool how they are sat on the paper

The font isn't very rock and roll

Album cover 2:

Simple and cool

Looks like most bands logos

A bit boring

Album cover 3:
Really cool effect

Like how the band name is just 'FM'

Album cover drafts

I have made 3 rough album cover ideas on photoshop, I will then get audience feedback on each logo to help me with creating my final album cover.

Things to include in a poster

As one of the ancillaries is to create a poster advertising the single, so I created a mind map of what to include, the size of the text indicates the hierarchy of importance.

Equipment and Props

I've created an infogram of the equipment and props I will need on the filming days.
https://e.infogr.am/equipment-and-props?src=web

Fierce Morgan Research #2

I have created an infogram with information about their previous works and how I plan to match my video in order to create synergy between their products for optimal marketing.
https://e.infogr.am/fierce-morgan-649?src=web

Alien Ant Farm - Music Video Analysis

I have analysed a music video from Alien Ant Farm as they are a similar genre to the band I am using. I have voiced over stills from the video.

Logos

 I have analysed various band logos of bands of a similar genre to the band I will be creating a logo for.

The recurring theme I have noticed is that they are all black and white and have similar 'grunge' type
fonts.
 Therefore, I will use Adobe Photoshop to create
a font for Fierce Morgan, as it is proven in these
logos to be effective marketing for pop punk music.

Questionnaire Feedback

Ratio of men (blue) vs women (red) who answered my survey.

I have collected the results from my small scale questionnaire,  and so all conclusions made are tentative as the questionnaire was extremely limited in the number of responses (20) and information such as all those taking the survey live in the same town. The
majority of people asked were 18, had seen a music video on TV at least once a month. The majority chose this by channel rather than what videos are playing, which suggests niched music channels are being watched with a trust that the music played will suit the audience. The majority had watched a music video on YouTube in
the past week and chose it as their main way of viewing music videos. As well as the millions of views music videos get on YouTube, this could suggest the popularity of YouTube as a platform. This means for my music video, being a niched genre, by putting the video on YouTube, it has the opportunity to reach a large audience. However, the majority of people answering my questionnaire said they watched music videos on YouTube by searching the individual songs which may mean it's harder for an unsigned and relatively unknown band, such as Fierce Morgan, to have their music heard.

Ratio of people who use YouTube as their main way of watching music videos (red) vs those who use other sources (pink)

Director Research: Spike Jonze

Band Info: Fierce Morgan

The band I will be using are a 4 piece from Sheffield




Jack Taylor - Drums
Tom Scott - Guitar
Hope Thackray - Guitar
Owen Cousins - Vocals/Bass






They have been together for a year and describe their music as 'pop punk'.
They have an EP out called 'Dat EP' and a new single 'AFK'


They have recently produced merchandise in the form of t-shirts, hats, stickers and plectrums.




They have had two logos:
Their old logo

Their new logo

 

They have recently moved in together to focus more on their music.

 

I chose to use this band as they are local, have their own songs, so I won't be influenced by covers or an original music video, and they can play the song so it will look more natural and realistic.

Lyrics

I analysed the lyrics to understand the message and tone of the song, but also to help me with ideas for storyboarding. Below is a video I made of the lyrics followed by a list of the notes I made whilst listening to them, many of which helped me plan my narrative for the storyboarding and filming processes.

• Happy and upbeat
• About starting out as a small band -> could include in narrative a progression to becoming a successful band ?
• Three main sections to the song: opening, setting up for narrative/performance -> main bulk, verses/ instrumental -> final section, faster, all performance based on a stage (?)
• More pop than their other songs -> include more close ups
• Loose/general theme of starting a band, no specific storyline just a progression in narrative as the music builds to performance
• NO love storyline or theme!
• Don't be too specific to pop or punk, keep it cheeky and lighthearted

Risk Asessment

I have done a risk assessment sheet to cover my filming in the two venues I will be using to ensure the safety of the band, public and myself.

Location

My video will be filmed in three parts before being edited together, the first will be at the band's practising studio to show them rehearsing:
1st Venue: Practising Studios

The second will be used towards the end of the music video, of them playing a live gig, I have spoken to the owners and have permission to film using the stage before the gig begins. This is so that I can get the shots I need and repeat shots or do close shots without interrupting the gig, but them film from the back of the audience during the gig and switch between the two making it appear as if the shots are naturally happening throughout the gig, and showing the audience.
2nd Venue: 02 Academy Sheffield
 

I chose these two locations as they fit the narrative, and are accessible to the band, although I will have to catch a train to Sheffield for filming, however the band equipment is already there so shouldn't be a problem, and I only have to take my storyboards, camera, tripod, light and umbrella -to act as a light modifier.