Secondary ResearchLauren Kilvington

Music Video Research: Theory

1. Well-known songs.

2. Overdone effects – you shouldn’t use effects just to disguise poor

footage.

3. Aimless driving around.

4. Scenes involving booze, fags or drugs (even simulated).

5. Shots of people just walking around.

6. Speeded up footage or footage run backwards to cover lack of

material.

7. Zooms.

8. Found footage – it should be your own unless there’s an

exceptionally good reason.

9. Atmosphere-less stage footage.

10. Over the top stories.”

- Pete Fraser, Media Magazine

“A look at any professional work will identify conventions but you need to look at material from a similar context to your own to see what can be achieved and also what can go wrong.

Ten Things to Avoid

“A student video can never be entirely like a real video. They have budgets of thousands of pounds, you have some borrowed

equipment and enough for a round of sandwiches – but you do need to consider exactly what you are planning to deliver before

you start the whole process.” - Pete Fraser, Media Magazine

Student Music Video

Professional Music Video

Music Video Research: Theory

Magazine Research: TheoryJason Burns’ article states top tips of how to set out a professional looking magazine.

1. Plain Background when taking the photograph so it is easy to Photoshop.

2. Photos taken in natural light3. Vary angles and shot distances4. Take as many images as possible5. Try out different fonts6. Follow the rule of thirds7. Think carefully where everything is placed8. Make sure everything is selected appropriately

to suit your theme.

- Jason Burns, Media Studies teacher and A-Level examiner.

Student album advertisement

Professional Advert

Digipack Research: Theory

“Of course album cover art is usually to promote an album, to make it eye-catching (it will usually be reproduced not just on CD covers but also posters), and to tell us something about the musicians and the music behind it, While the immediate

target audience is likely to be those who frequently buy music, and particularly those who favour the specific band or genre, the artwork may be designed to attract a wider audience.”

Who made it, why, how, for whom, and for what purpose?

- Christopher Budd, The Iconography of the Album Professional digipak

Student digipaks

Music Video Research: ConventionsThe main conventions that music video creators focus on are cinematography, mise-en-scéne and editing

Cinematography: - Close-ups of the band - Close-ups of the instruments - Long shots of the whole band.

Editing: - Cuts between the band and the storyline - Edits are in time with the beat of the music - Large amount of varied shots

Mise-en-scéne: - Filmed onstage in front of an audience or outside - Low key lighting - Dressed in dark clothing - Alice Clark, Media Student

http://prezi.com/ddhuv_gdyms9/alternative-rock-music-video-conventions/

Magazine Research: TheoryTypes of main image in a poster:

People: The most obvious image to use is one of the band, This will make people identify closely with the people in the poster, but can remove any sense of mystique. Straight photos of people would tend to be used for pop acts.

Photomontages:This is where several photographs are combined into one image that tells a story

Illustrations:This could include a version of the band usually in a stylised way – maybe as a stencil, or a cartoon cariacature. But an illustration could be of something else entirely – maybe something that sums up the theme of the tours or just an eye-catching image

Words:It can work really well just to have words on your poster, to get across the message really quickly and effectively. To do this you’ll need to think about typography

People have very strong associations with colours, and the ones you use will suggest a certain mood. - Black and red suggests danger, horror and crime. - Bright pink tends to suggest romance or cuteness. - Blue and white can be dreamy and hopeful (like staring into the sky). - Neon-effect colours tend to suggest nights out, and possibly something sleazy. - Sepia colours (the brownish tone you get on old photographs) usually means something is historical, or maybe a fantasy theme

- Mark, article writer

http://www.trashedmag.com/?p=558

Proposal - These tips have helped my development in the thought process of my music video. They have made me think of what I can avoid and how to be less predictable with my ideas. We have chosen a not well known song from a band in Hungary and we have been in contact and had permission from the band themselves. These tips will be useful because they are from the chief examiner himself so they will be taken in and used to our advantage.

- We know not to expect a high quality professional made music video when it comes to presenting it. I will try my best in making as good quality as it can be, but it won’t be as good as someone who has the budget we don’t.

- We are going to think about the quality of the photographs for our magazine advertisement. We know the theme and audience is important so we are going to think about them throughout the project.

- We now know we have to think about the audience’s understanding and thought pattern when buying an album. The cover is important to catch the eye of the audience and entice them to buy the album. We are going to create an album cover that suits the genre of music and the audience’s needs when it comes to standing out from other artwork.