Sunday 28 March 2010
Friday 26 March 2010
Evaluation
1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
However they thought some aspects could be improved on. For example, some commented on how some of the editing could have been faster paced, even though the song itself is a fairly slow song, to make it more realistic as a music video. They also commented on how some of the effects seemed a bit inconsistent throughout the video. They thought that the video needed more shots of our character singing and/or playing an instrument, especially the guitar shown in some shots, however many viewers did understand the relevence of the guitar being broken next to him as he was singing, to represent aspects of his life not working or being 'broken'. They said at times the singer was singing to slow for the pace of the song, so some of the lip-synching was slightly out of sync with the music. Some commented that occasionally they noticed that the camerawork was slightly shaky but it wasnt incredibly noticeable when watching the video whilst not looking for faults.
Below is an example of one viewers comments after watching the video.
Yaiden-
liked the Colour changing effect in park
liked the train
liked him walking away from the camera
Didn’t like the ‘studio’ type scene, out of sync.
Costumes fit in well with the genre of the song.
Split screen at the beginning was a good introduction to the narrative. Liked the colourful editing effects.
4) How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
▶Digital cameras
▶Digital video cameras
▶Mac computers
▶Online research
▶Computer based planning
▶Typed evaluation
▶Music player
▶Youtube
▶Facebook for pictures
▶Myspace
▶Online blog (blogger.com/blogspot.com)
Within the research stage we used online research using search engines, youtube to refer to music videos from the same genre aswel as their profiles. We used Myspace in the same way. Most of this was done on mac computers. We used Microsoft Word to type up our notes on each video and different points from their profiles. I used digital cameras to take photos of possible locations and costumes. I used Digital video cameras to film all the footage for my video. We used mac computers to edit both of our videos using Imovie. I uploaded our song to our myspace page using the music player, aswel as the logos which i designed using programs such as 2D design. I also used online editing software such as photofunia.com and picnik.com to design the logos and digipak. I downloaded some of our character photos from our characters facebook profile. I created a myspace profile for our band, with their history and information about them aswel as uploading the pictures to the profile. We have both typed parts of our evaluation and information on our blog.
Caroline logging off
Caroline: My music video uses aspects of different music videos from the same genre. To make our music video seem as realistic as possibly we decided to refer to some existing music videos from the same/similar genres to our song. We used and investigated aspects of these videos and how we could adapt ideas in order to use, develop and challenge the different forms and convention within these media products to produce the best possible product ourselves. Below are some videos we studied for ideas.
The Fray – You Found Me
▶What we liked about this video is mainly the use of many different locations, which aren’t usual places for a band to be playing or singing. We also liked the use of lighting in the video however we thought for our video we would rather use natural lighting for most of it and only if the lighting is too dark we will use lights of our own.
The Spice Girls – Two Become One
▶What we liked about this video is when the cars are going faster than the people are. We were thinking about using this in our video to convey the meaning that the world is moving too fast for the character to keep up. This fits with the meaning of the song which is that the singer isn’t happy where he is in life.
The Kooks – Ooh La
▶What we liked about this video was the appearance of the video, the fact that the video was made up of black and white and old fashioned camera effects. I decided to mimic this in my video, because the meaning of the song, is that the singer feels as if he is not where he wants to be in life, and feels out of place, therefore using the black and white/ old fashioned camera effects, compliment the meaning of the song, by also being slightly out of place compared to what you would expect from a song made in this day and age.
2) How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
▶Fast/Slow Sequence
▶Britney Video
▶Feed the fish Sequence
▶‘PowerPoint’ timeline of Pop music.
These are the four things that we learnt that stuck out for us whilst filming and editing the Britney and fast/slow sequences.
While filming the Britney video we learnt that to get all the shots we needed of every angle of the same actions, we needed more than one camera rolling at the same time so all of our shots would fit together. Also we had some problems with continuity so we learned to make sure people were in the same places wearing the same clothing and makeup, etc all the time.
Whilst filming for our fast and slow sequence we realized that you have enough footage but, as we found out, you will rarely ever have enough footage and will quite often need to film more than once. With lighting, you will most likely need to bring your own just in case the lighting isn’t adequate within each location, or the lighting changes due to what time of day you are filming, especially if it was different to the first time you filmed in that particular location.
3) What have you learned from your audience feedback?
▶Jenna:
I showed my class my edited video to receive some feedback on what they thought worked well and also to receive some constructive feedback on what I could’ve improved. Through doing this I found that people liked the shot angles and movements; black and white effect; the slow zooms; they thought that the end shot made them reflect on the video and the lyrics. They believed the mise en scene worked well which included the equalizer top, and the train locations and playground setting worked very well in symbolising the fact that he feels his life is at a stand still. They stated that the actions in the filming went well with the lyrics of the song. The train motif and the shots of him walking away in the park worked well in showing his life is going in another direction but he doesn’t know where.
They however thought that the old fashioned effect didn’t work very well and the effects were also inconsistent. They believed that even though the song is very slow, the editing could’ve been a bit faster paced to make it seem more like a music video. The artist was unbelievable and also the audience would’ve liked to see him playing guitar and singing more often in the shots where he is sat in the room. The audience didn’t understand why the colour shots of the equalizer was in there and they said that the camerawork was shaky at times. Also some shots were repeated too often. I will take all of this constructive feedback and use it in my future work.
▶Caroline:
I showed my video to 10 people in order to find out what my potential taret audience thought or my video, what worked, didn't work and how i could improve my video if i ever got the chance to.
I discovered that my audienced liked the shot angles and camera movements within my video such as the slow zooms, the black and white effects and the colour changing effects throughout the video, mainly the playground scenes. They felt that certain shots made them reflect on the entire video aswel as the meaning behind the song and the meaning portrayed throughout the lyrics. Many commented on the representation that we were trying to put across to the audience and the different ways in which some shots made them interpret the video and the way that our main character is supposed to be portrayed as being stuck in a stand still in life. They commented on how the shots of him in the park on the roundabout sybolise how his life is going in circles and how he is stuck in this situation not knowing how to get out. Also how the train goes past whilst he is at a stand still show that his life, at the current time is not going anywhere. This is also portrayed by the way he walks continuously next to the river and through the fields, he is not seen to actually reach anywhere, he just seems to be walking aimlessely in one direction. Some commented on how they thought that the train motif worked well with the diegesis of the song aswel as the shots of him walking through the fields symolising the fact that he doesnt know where his life is taking him, that it is taking him in new directions but he does not know where or why.However they thought some aspects could be improved on. For example, some commented on how some of the editing could have been faster paced, even though the song itself is a fairly slow song, to make it more realistic as a music video. They also commented on how some of the effects seemed a bit inconsistent throughout the video. They thought that the video needed more shots of our character singing and/or playing an instrument, especially the guitar shown in some shots, however many viewers did understand the relevence of the guitar being broken next to him as he was singing, to represent aspects of his life not working or being 'broken'. They said at times the singer was singing to slow for the pace of the song, so some of the lip-synching was slightly out of sync with the music. Some commented that occasionally they noticed that the camerawork was slightly shaky but it wasnt incredibly noticeable when watching the video whilst not looking for faults.
Below is an example of one viewers comments after watching the video.
Yaiden-
liked the Colour changing effect in park
liked the train
liked him walking away from the camera
Didn’t like the ‘studio’ type scene, out of sync.
Costumes fit in well with the genre of the song.
Split screen at the beginning was a good introduction to the narrative. Liked the colourful editing effects.
4) How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
▶Digital cameras
▶Digital video cameras
▶Mac computers
▶Online research
▶Computer based planning
▶Typed evaluation
▶Music player
▶Youtube
▶Facebook for pictures
▶Myspace
▶Online blog (blogger.com/blogspot.com)
Within the research stage we used online research using search engines, youtube to refer to music videos from the same genre aswel as their profiles. We used Myspace in the same way. Most of this was done on mac computers. We used Microsoft Word to type up our notes on each video and different points from their profiles. I used digital cameras to take photos of possible locations and costumes. I used Digital video cameras to film all the footage for my video. We used mac computers to edit both of our videos using Imovie. I uploaded our song to our myspace page using the music player, aswel as the logos which i designed using programs such as 2D design. I also used online editing software such as photofunia.com and picnik.com to design the logos and digipak. I downloaded some of our character photos from our characters facebook profile. I created a myspace profile for our band, with their history and information about them aswel as uploading the pictures to the profile. We have both typed parts of our evaluation and information on our blog.
Caroline logging off
Shooting Schedule
SHOOTING SCHEDULE
Day 1:
Bedroom Footage (Jenna and Caroline)
Conservatory Footage
Playground Footage
Riverside Footage
Bridge Footage
Day 2:
Train station and Bridge footage
Level crossing Footage
Day 3:
Bedroom Footage (Caroline’s extra)
Conservatory Footage (Caroline’s extra)
Jenna and Caroline Logging Off
Day 1:
Bedroom Footage (Jenna and Caroline)
Conservatory Footage
Playground Footage
Riverside Footage
Bridge Footage
Day 2:
Train station and Bridge footage
Level crossing Footage
Day 3:
Bedroom Footage (Caroline’s extra)
Conservatory Footage (Caroline’s extra)
Jenna and Caroline Logging Off
Monday 8 March 2010
Carolines Video Analysis: The Fray, 'You Found Me'
"You Found Me" is the first single from piano-rock band The Fray taken from their eponymous second album. The Fray is a well known, four-piece piano rock band. The band Formed in 2002 by schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King and they released their debut album ‘How to Save a Life’ in 2005. This was the song which highlighted the band to the wider consumer market and plunged the band towards their current success.
"You Found Me", a song from their self-titled second album ‘The Fray’, became the group's third single to sell 2,000,000 downloads in the United States. The song also peaked at 35 in the UK Singles Charts.
A few musical influences of The Fray include bands such as, ‘The Beatles’, ‘Better Than Ezra’, ‘Coldplay’, ‘Keane’ and ‘U2’. The Video for ‘You Found Me’ reflects the genre by using textual references throughout the video. For example, the use of instruments and a performance aspect within the video. The most obvious example of this is when the band is seen to be performing above the streets, on the roof. The expectations of music videos from this genre are that they illustrate a story. Whether it is someone looking in on another’s life or the same as this video, where it shows more of a performance illustrated by a story.
In the early 20th century, a multitude of record labels came and went, but a handful of label corporations thrived for decades. By the end of the 1980s, the "Big 6"- EMI, Sony, BMG, PolyGram, WEA and MCA - dominated the industry. In mid-1998, however, PolyGram merged into Universal Music Group (formerly MCA), dropping the leaders down to a "Big 5". They became the "Big 4" in 2004 when BMG merged into Sony.
The Fray is signed to Epic Records. Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. This is one of the four "major labels", mentioned above, which dominate recorded music — Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and EMI.
Epic Record's commercial success, in the 1970s, peaked with releases from acts such as ABBA, Cheap Trick, The Clash, and The Jackson’s. Also contributing to the labels success was its distribution of Philadelphia International Records, which produced additional hit records by acts such as The Three Degrees and McFadden and Whitehead.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Epic's mainstream success continued to escalate with the success of such acts as Adam Ant, Céline Dion, Europe, Cyndi Lauper, Ozzy Osbourne, Sade, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. The labels greatest pay dirt achievement came with the release Thriller, the 1982 album by Michael Jackson, which went on to achieve fifty million in international sales; becoming the biggest selling album in history. More recently, other successful acts on the label have included Jessica Simpson, Shakira, Fiona Apple, Jennifer Lopez and Rage Against the Machine.
The band's debut album consisted of a mix of mid-tempo piano driven pop-rock tracks and power ballads. The band's second release didn’t see a vast change in style. However, the album did spread across a wider spectrum of music; the pop-rock songs were faster and more energetic, while the ballads were softer than that of the first album. Lead vocalist and pianist Isaac Slade's vocal style on the latter release, while retaining the basic style on the debut album, were stronger, edgier and more aggressive, most notably on the tracks "We Build Then We Break" and "Say When". The lyrics on the album revolve around life's problems and issues. Common themes include troubled relationships, growing up, the problem of evil, war and happiness. The emotional nature of the lyrics has also had critics labeling The Fray as Emo, comparing them to mainstream emo acts like Jimmy Eat World and Dashboard Confessional. In an interview, Slade stated that "We're not like real rocking rockers; we'd rather write about feeling and emotions".
The video for ‘You Found Me’, was shot in Chicago with Josh Forbes as the director and premiered on December 9, 2008. It depicts scenes of the band members in different roles- playing the song in the rafters of a steel building, unknown people, and the members of the band are standing on top of skyscrapers looking towards the sky, and at a car accident at which the band oversees those involved, somehow being their own "guardian angel". The video ends with all material objects being lifted into the air.
Songs written by The Fray generally tell a story, and thus the videos to these songs illustrate the diegesis of these songs. For example, ‘You Found Me’, has an element of a story being over-seen by the band members. The story is being portrayed to the audience through the eyes of the band members themselves. However this video also has a performance based diegesis. It is a mixture of the two. In a couple of the scenes, the story behind the lyrics is being shown parallel to the performance aspect of the video. The best example within the video of this, is when the camera tracks from the band performing on the roof, to street level where the lyrics are illustrated by characters on the road.
Within this video, I wouldn’t have said that there are many ‘glamorous; locations, however the locations used are made to look more flamboyant than you would expect them to be in reality. The same is shown within their costumes, they do not have a wardrobe full of flamboyant costumes, instead they are dressed in more ‘normal’, casual outfits, ones that would not look out of place on the high street. This reflects the genre as this is what the target audience would expect from this kind of band. The camerawork within this video varies from close-ups to long shots, for example whilst the band is seen on the roof of the skyscraper, the camera tracks around the band. This shot is a slight low angle, long shot. The video tends to use a lot of tracking shots throughout. This tends to make the transitions and also the flow of the video smooth, to reflect the music behind. This video creates an image of the band as ‘guardian angels’ overlooking the characters portrayed in the rest of the video.
In an interview around the time of release, Isaac Slade voiced his interpretation into the meaning behind the lyrics of the song: "You Found Me" is a tough song for me. It’s about the disappointment, the heart ache, the let down that comes with life. Sometimes you’re let down; sometimes you’re the one who lets someone else down. It gets hard to know who you can trust, who you can count on. This song came out of a tough time, and I’m still right in the thick of it. There are some difficult circumstances my family and friends have been going through over the past year or so and it can be overwhelming. It wears on me. It demands so much of my faith to keep believing, keep hoping in the unseen. Sometimes the tunnel has a light at the end, but usually they just look black as night. This song is about that feeling, and the hope that I still have, buried deep in my chest."
In another interview Isaac Slade stated that:
"I kept getting these phone calls from home - tragedy after tragedy... If there is some kind of person in charge of this planet - are they sleeping? Are they Smoking? Where are they? I just imagined running into God standing on a street corner like Bruce Springsteen, smoking a cigarette, and I'd have it out with him."
Furthermore, in an article about the album, Slade says that the lyrics for "You Found Me" were written two and a half years ago and that the song asks about the problem of evil, why bad things happen to good people, after some of their friends and family went through very tough times.
There are many possible interpretations of the meaning behind this video. For example when I first heard this song, I first thought it to be a suicide note. After watching the video, however, I now believe it to be the mourning of a loved one. Another interpretation of the narrative is that the singer is mourning the loss of his ego, for the reason that he has fallen in love and has now found ‘God’ in a woman's love.
When asking the opinion of a few individuals, I received a wide variety of interpretations. The simplest of answers which I received was merely ‘an imagined argument with god’.
Another was that he needed god when his life was falling apart, but he wasn't there for him and his troubles. But, later on in the narrative, he figured out god was always there. When he was ‘lost and insecure’, god found him. But this was too late for him.
One interpretation of the narrative was that of a place in Texas. The lyrics were taken literally by this individual. He believes that the song tells a story of First and Amistad, a street corner in Quemado, Texas. They said, ‘It seems way out in the country so i think its kind of a random place to be writing the song about, but that may be the whole point: that God is everywhere’.
‘I believe this song to be about a man who has lost someone extremely important in his life, someone that knew him more than any other person ever could. And now that she is gone, he feels helpless and he calls out to God for help. But no answer from God ever comes. He starts to lose his faith, in God and in everything around him. He loses faith in himself and his life. Everything, to him seems to be falling apart. He commits suicide. He does it at the corner of First and Amistad. And that's where he meets God. And that's when he says to God, "Where were you?" and God says "ask anything". He goes on and on, asking God where he was during the hardest and most trying times of his life. Where was He when the man needed him? "Just a little late" shows that God was too late. Too late to help him. The man is angry at God for taking "all he wanted", meaning the woman that he lost’.
"You Found Me", a song from their self-titled second album ‘The Fray’, became the group's third single to sell 2,000,000 downloads in the United States. The song also peaked at 35 in the UK Singles Charts.
A few musical influences of The Fray include bands such as, ‘The Beatles’, ‘Better Than Ezra’, ‘Coldplay’, ‘Keane’ and ‘U2’. The Video for ‘You Found Me’ reflects the genre by using textual references throughout the video. For example, the use of instruments and a performance aspect within the video. The most obvious example of this is when the band is seen to be performing above the streets, on the roof. The expectations of music videos from this genre are that they illustrate a story. Whether it is someone looking in on another’s life or the same as this video, where it shows more of a performance illustrated by a story.
In the early 20th century, a multitude of record labels came and went, but a handful of label corporations thrived for decades. By the end of the 1980s, the "Big 6"- EMI, Sony, BMG, PolyGram, WEA and MCA - dominated the industry. In mid-1998, however, PolyGram merged into Universal Music Group (formerly MCA), dropping the leaders down to a "Big 5". They became the "Big 4" in 2004 when BMG merged into Sony.
The Fray is signed to Epic Records. Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. This is one of the four "major labels", mentioned above, which dominate recorded music — Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and EMI.
Epic Record's commercial success, in the 1970s, peaked with releases from acts such as ABBA, Cheap Trick, The Clash, and The Jackson’s. Also contributing to the labels success was its distribution of Philadelphia International Records, which produced additional hit records by acts such as The Three Degrees and McFadden and Whitehead.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Epic's mainstream success continued to escalate with the success of such acts as Adam Ant, Céline Dion, Europe, Cyndi Lauper, Ozzy Osbourne, Sade, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. The labels greatest pay dirt achievement came with the release Thriller, the 1982 album by Michael Jackson, which went on to achieve fifty million in international sales; becoming the biggest selling album in history. More recently, other successful acts on the label have included Jessica Simpson, Shakira, Fiona Apple, Jennifer Lopez and Rage Against the Machine.
The band's debut album consisted of a mix of mid-tempo piano driven pop-rock tracks and power ballads. The band's second release didn’t see a vast change in style. However, the album did spread across a wider spectrum of music; the pop-rock songs were faster and more energetic, while the ballads were softer than that of the first album. Lead vocalist and pianist Isaac Slade's vocal style on the latter release, while retaining the basic style on the debut album, were stronger, edgier and more aggressive, most notably on the tracks "We Build Then We Break" and "Say When". The lyrics on the album revolve around life's problems and issues. Common themes include troubled relationships, growing up, the problem of evil, war and happiness. The emotional nature of the lyrics has also had critics labeling The Fray as Emo, comparing them to mainstream emo acts like Jimmy Eat World and Dashboard Confessional. In an interview, Slade stated that "We're not like real rocking rockers; we'd rather write about feeling and emotions".
The video for ‘You Found Me’, was shot in Chicago with Josh Forbes as the director and premiered on December 9, 2008. It depicts scenes of the band members in different roles- playing the song in the rafters of a steel building, unknown people, and the members of the band are standing on top of skyscrapers looking towards the sky, and at a car accident at which the band oversees those involved, somehow being their own "guardian angel". The video ends with all material objects being lifted into the air.
Songs written by The Fray generally tell a story, and thus the videos to these songs illustrate the diegesis of these songs. For example, ‘You Found Me’, has an element of a story being over-seen by the band members. The story is being portrayed to the audience through the eyes of the band members themselves. However this video also has a performance based diegesis. It is a mixture of the two. In a couple of the scenes, the story behind the lyrics is being shown parallel to the performance aspect of the video. The best example within the video of this, is when the camera tracks from the band performing on the roof, to street level where the lyrics are illustrated by characters on the road.
Within this video, I wouldn’t have said that there are many ‘glamorous; locations, however the locations used are made to look more flamboyant than you would expect them to be in reality. The same is shown within their costumes, they do not have a wardrobe full of flamboyant costumes, instead they are dressed in more ‘normal’, casual outfits, ones that would not look out of place on the high street. This reflects the genre as this is what the target audience would expect from this kind of band. The camerawork within this video varies from close-ups to long shots, for example whilst the band is seen on the roof of the skyscraper, the camera tracks around the band. This shot is a slight low angle, long shot. The video tends to use a lot of tracking shots throughout. This tends to make the transitions and also the flow of the video smooth, to reflect the music behind. This video creates an image of the band as ‘guardian angels’ overlooking the characters portrayed in the rest of the video.
In an interview around the time of release, Isaac Slade voiced his interpretation into the meaning behind the lyrics of the song: "You Found Me" is a tough song for me. It’s about the disappointment, the heart ache, the let down that comes with life. Sometimes you’re let down; sometimes you’re the one who lets someone else down. It gets hard to know who you can trust, who you can count on. This song came out of a tough time, and I’m still right in the thick of it. There are some difficult circumstances my family and friends have been going through over the past year or so and it can be overwhelming. It wears on me. It demands so much of my faith to keep believing, keep hoping in the unseen. Sometimes the tunnel has a light at the end, but usually they just look black as night. This song is about that feeling, and the hope that I still have, buried deep in my chest."
In another interview Isaac Slade stated that:
"I kept getting these phone calls from home - tragedy after tragedy... If there is some kind of person in charge of this planet - are they sleeping? Are they Smoking? Where are they? I just imagined running into God standing on a street corner like Bruce Springsteen, smoking a cigarette, and I'd have it out with him."
Furthermore, in an article about the album, Slade says that the lyrics for "You Found Me" were written two and a half years ago and that the song asks about the problem of evil, why bad things happen to good people, after some of their friends and family went through very tough times.
There are many possible interpretations of the meaning behind this video. For example when I first heard this song, I first thought it to be a suicide note. After watching the video, however, I now believe it to be the mourning of a loved one. Another interpretation of the narrative is that the singer is mourning the loss of his ego, for the reason that he has fallen in love and has now found ‘God’ in a woman's love.
When asking the opinion of a few individuals, I received a wide variety of interpretations. The simplest of answers which I received was merely ‘an imagined argument with god’.
Another was that he needed god when his life was falling apart, but he wasn't there for him and his troubles. But, later on in the narrative, he figured out god was always there. When he was ‘lost and insecure’, god found him. But this was too late for him.
One interpretation of the narrative was that of a place in Texas. The lyrics were taken literally by this individual. He believes that the song tells a story of First and Amistad, a street corner in Quemado, Texas. They said, ‘It seems way out in the country so i think its kind of a random place to be writing the song about, but that may be the whole point: that God is everywhere’.
‘I believe this song to be about a man who has lost someone extremely important in his life, someone that knew him more than any other person ever could. And now that she is gone, he feels helpless and he calls out to God for help. But no answer from God ever comes. He starts to lose his faith, in God and in everything around him. He loses faith in himself and his life. Everything, to him seems to be falling apart. He commits suicide. He does it at the corner of First and Amistad. And that's where he meets God. And that's when he says to God, "Where were you?" and God says "ask anything". He goes on and on, asking God where he was during the hardest and most trying times of his life. Where was He when the man needed him? "Just a little late" shows that God was too late. Too late to help him. The man is angry at God for taking "all he wanted", meaning the woman that he lost’.
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