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MEDIA STUDIES COURSEWORK EVALUATION

I chose the music video brief because the audience wanted to direct it at would be more inclined to watching a music video – I think it’s more fun and visually engaging for people age 13-20 that I would be aiming to appeal to. The forms and conventions of a music video to me can be more interesting than those in a short film for example music videos are fast paced compared to a film and can keep the audience’s attention for longer. Music videos I think can be sort of a diversion a way to have a short moment to escape normal life (Blumler and Katz’s theory). I also chose to produce a print task and I made an A3 magazine page. I think that it was better to do it on A3 because I could make it look like a double page spread of two A4 pages that would be side by side in a magazine. I think the print I decided to make is appealing also because it includes pictures and colours and would be interesting to the people who would be viewing the video as well.

I think that I aimed my video from the start at popular YouTube watching age which is roughly between ages of 13-20 because my video includes people age 17 so not a lot of older viewers are going to relate to that kind of content. When doing my research I looked at videos that were directed to an audience of around age 15-18 because they were for viewers a little but older than my age bracket. My video would be aimed more at girls because the people featured in the video are all girls so viewers could have a sense of Blumler and Katz’s personal identity whereas if they’re boys not so much. Also people interested in quite quirky colourful videos that don’t have a storyline as such but a continuous theme. The video that includes a fashion and props might visually attract people interested in that as well. I tried to at a lot of scenes to l keep the viewers engaged. I wasn’t necessarily making it appealing for girls but because I am a girl I made a video that I would like too so I guess it ended up being mostly for females. I wanted to keep Richard Dyers utopian solutions in mind when filming/directing the video. I thought of his utopian solutions; energy, making sure the video was active, engaging and interesting: intensity, having lots of energy and happy emotions throughout: community, a sense of common interests and the people in my video being friends and showing togetherness.

My research beforehand helped me because I got to create images in my head of what I wanted it to look like because I saw other videos and got ideas from them. The videos that I looked at I took certain bits put them in my video but in my own way. For example in the music for the Hinds band I really liked how the band seemed really good friends and like they were having fun and that’s what I wanted to be presented in my video so I made sure my band looked like they were having a good time. Also in the Marina & the Diamonds video there was a lot of different shots and so I made sure there was a variety of shots in my video even though I could have incorporated even a vaster range of shots. With my secondary task, the magazine double page spread, I looked at about Nicki Minaj I liked the use of bright, bold colours so I did that in my magazine. I added elements of colour as I didn’t want to just have white and black I love how it’s not too colourful but it presents the band well. With the range of magazines I looked at I took ideas from them such as colours or the layout but overall my magazine is pretty unique.

I chose to use jump cuts to reach my target audience because jump cuts have connotations with youthfulness. I also used close up shots to let the audience engage more with the band and panning shots to show different perspectives of the shot instead of focusing on one which makes it more interesting. I used a few panning/tracking shots which lets the audience see the video in different perspectives it also added more movement to my video which appeals to a younger energetic audience. I used birds-eye-views to give the audience a different view point from above rather than looking straight on, I did this in the scene where someone in black boots is walking over the grass I preferred this angle than a straight on angle because it is more unusual.

The locations than I chose to use were quite urban. I filmed around Bristol and mostly in a garden. I liked filming outside because I think the lighting was better than inside and it is more engaging to an audience as in my opinion the surroundings are more interesting. Also, the music videos that I researched beforehand had were mostly filmed outside and I thought for me they were more enjoyable and had better locations and because my video age range is around my age I thought it would be more enjoyable for my audience too. I chose to include lots of props in my video because it allowed me to communicate a sense of fun and again youthfulness. The band had quite bright and unnormal make-up like glittery lips/eyebrows and bright eyeshadow this is the image I wanted to give my band quite cool personalities and the way to communicate that through the video was props, costume, make-up and body language.

The music song that I chose for the band that I created was a pop/rock song I chose it because I thought I could create a fun theme around the idea of ‘money’ to appeal to a younger audience. It is quite an upbeat song that repeats itself quite a lot so therefore is quite catchy and I found that a younger audience is more engaged and can interact with a song that is catchy. There was only non-diegetic sound in the video which was the music I didn’t add it any voiceovers or have talking in any part of it which might have been effective. For example, there could have been diegetic laughing at the start or end which happens in music videos sometimes and just lets the audience know it’s going to be an exciting video. In the video, I had several clips of lip-syncing but not as many as I would have liked to. I think to have more lip-singing would have been more effective as you would get to see the band more which would appeal to the audience.

I didn’t include many post production words onto the video apart from at the end I added the song name and band name. I think that it looked more professionally edited this was as it would have been unnecessary and of looked out of place if I’d had any writing on the screen. I used a plain white font that was slightly different to a more common font - I didn’t want to use anything to outstanding. In the video, I also wrote the song title ‘Money’ in pink paint which I put at the start of the video, then also showed it being painted further on in the video. This I used instead of font over the top of the music video because it added to the rustic and craziness of the band.  

In my opinion I would say that the transitions from each shot were mostly quite smooth and looked professional I didn’t add too many unique transitions because I didn’t want them to take away from the actual video so I kept with the quite simple ones such as fade to white/black and the blur transition. The editing I made sure was quite fast paced so that it did not become boring and it stayed attractive to my younger audience.

In my proposal, I talked about my audience being age 15-25 however now I’ve filmed it I think it would appeal to an audience slightly younger just because of its youthfulness and the fact that the band members are age 16/17 so older people cannot relate and may enjoy a video that has a story line and is more serious than one a bit crazy and creative like mine. I also think the age range 13-20 is more of the typical YouTube viewer age and that is the platform that the video would be displayed on. I also said I would use a tripod but ended up not as all the shots I was able to do hand-held. Although I didn’t need one or have one for the camera I was using it would have been helpful and may have made some shots steadier. In my proposal, I talked about how I wanted to make a music video that didn’t have much of a storyline but related to the song with a theme and I think that I did that quite successfully. I said in my proposal also that I wanted to use props and costume/make-up as a main element but not let that be more important with the number of shots that I filmed. I decided that I had to film a second time and get lots more shots because I didn’t have enough to work with the first time. By doing this I could create a video with a wider range of shots. In my proposal, I also explained my video would be filmed in mostly urban areas it was. I think overall my video came out how I hoped and even better because I didn’t think I’d have any lip-syncing at all so to have included any at all I think is an improvement because I think it can make the audience feel like the video is more personal.

I think a main strength of my video is the energy that it includes which is purely down to the fact the editing was fast and didn’t stay on a shot for too long. The transitions worked well with each shot and wouldn’t distract an audience from the content of the video. The band was interactive and confident and interesting. I made sure the performers in the video where comfortable in front of a camera and for that reason it made the video easy to make and the end result came out with a realistic looking band. The colours in the video also showed a sense of energy for example a black and white video would have come across as serious and dull, whereas in my video I added elements of black and white to have contrasting scenes. The props communicated a sense of wildness and non-seriousness. I liked the props because I think they are appealing to a younger audience I wanted to connect with. The fake money used was also very effective because it related to the song and showed to overall theme of the video

I think another strength is my location I made sure that it was light and I filmed with the band in mainly one place which was the garden. I filmed other shots elsewhere but they all fitted nicely together and I didn’t have any random scenes which were random or out of place. I did try to film inside but it didn’t look very good quality and so I didn’t add those shots into the video because it would have made the audience think the shots were added in because there was not enough footage or because I didn’t want them to be as appealed as they would be without the bad shots. The outside is also quite playful and fun because it is where younger people tend to hang out so very relatable to some.

My magazine is successful I think because it, like the video, appeals to a younger audience. I included colour to made it more visually attractive. I used a lot of pink and the pictures are of just girls (the band members) so therefore may be more appealing to girls that will experience personal identity or relationships. I included about five pictures because there is quite a lot of writing I wanted to keep the reader fully engaged and because I’m aiming at an audience of 13-20 pictures might be more interesting to them. I included bold writing on important parts which draws the reader to certain sections making sure they read those parts such as ‘tour dates’. I also think my magazine is appealing because I include personal messages from all the band members which makes it more intimate and I did this because it allows the reader to get to know them and feel more included and more a part of the ‘fandom’.

My weaknesses within my video would include not having enough lip-syncing I think it is much more personal and is much more like an actual music video with a lot more lip-syncing for example when looking at the marina and the diamonds video she lip-synced the whole song and it just looked a lot more professional and you see the band/singer more as well which is more appealing to an audience. If I were to make the video again I would also make sure the quality of the video was better I don’t know whether it was the camera or that it wasn’t bright enough outside but it could have been more visually appealing if it was less grainy and more HD. I would also have gone more dramatic with the costume and make-up because on camera it didn’t look as effective and it was a main part of the theme of my video. I would have also made the band more interactive such as added in some slow-motion dancing shots or more close-ups of facial expressions just to make the audience closer to the band. Also, to make my magazine better I could have added in certain features to make it look more like a magazine page such as better column structure and more boxes with quotes or little additional information.  

If I were to use a third media platform and created a website I think that it would have appealed to an audience because online is a popular platform that will appeal to a younger audience as technology is very popular. Online platform (a website) is also very easy to access for most people and is usually free unlike a magazine which you must purchase and it also better for the institution because they do not have to pay a lot either. The website, if I were to have made one, would be promoting the band and have tour dates, an about section, tickets, new music tabs which would allow audiences to find out more about a band or get tickets easily to their concert. Like the music video and the magazine would have made the website bright, colourful and edgy to reflect the personality of the and appeal to the bands target audience. In my magazine, I added links to the bands social media such as Instagram and Twitter, however online this can be clicked and directly accessible which is appealing to a younger audience with phones who can access the sites immediately. The third platform would also be accessed buy a wider audience range because it is more popular therefore gaining more viewers, money and supporters.

Overall I think my video successfully targeted my audience and the video specifically met the audience needs that I needed it to. The video related directly to the theme of the song and the video communicated the ideas of freedom and fun and youthfulness that I wanted to show. The music accurately gives an upbeat representation of teenagers and the bands identity. – They are slightly crazy and childish. The magazine links well with the video and shows the bands personality. I wanted to make both of them look professional and well-made but make sure they are exciting products which I think was achieved well. 2716 words

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music video checklist

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In the Marina And The Diamonds Video I liked the way it was edited and the mis-en-scene is very visually engaging so that’s why I chose it to look at. The colours in it are mostly really bright, the video starts in a theme park with her eating candyfloss and she goes on one of the fairground rides - all things which I think appeal to a younger audience. However the fact that her song is about relationships may contradict that so maybe she wanted to aim it at teenagers. The costume is unrealistic and not what someone would wear on a daily basis but for a music video I think the over the top make-up, props and costume makes it more interesting for an audience. This way it means audiences can use the video as an escapism from everyday life a theory made by Blumler and Katz a reason why audiences consume media. The location is in a theme park but in different parts, the location in my opinion is fun and exciting. I think the location contrasts with the name of the song which is ‘Blue’. The song is about letting go of a relationship and feeling down. I think this one done on purpose to make the song seem like a happy one when if you listen to the lyrics it is the opposite. The song is all non-diegetic and the whole song is lip-synced which is more engaging for an audience they can feel like the singer is connecting with them. The many shot types used such as establishing, pan shot, tracking, zoom in, long shot, close up and medium close up are all for the audiences benefit as they let them see the video form different perspectives angles. This makes the video more exciting and fast paced which the audience really engage with according to Richard Dyers theory of Energy.

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DUA LIPA MUSIC VIDEO

In the Dua Lipa music video for ‘Last Dance’ doesn’t have a lot going on in it, there is only person in the video and that is the singer. I chose to look at this one because it shows that you don’t have to make the video over-complicated to make it a successful video. However it may seem simple but the editing is very complex – she starts of lying in a bath, puts her head down then when we comes up she comes out of a lake and enters the forest. There is lots of editing of colours over the top whilst she is dancing and the trees have been edited different colours. The video does not have a theme or storyline behind it as such but is still a good video. That’s why I thought my video could be successful without a set storyline too. I like the balance between realistically (her being in a forest and dancing) and non-realistically (the different coloured trees and her going into the bath then coming out in the lake).

The mis-en-scene in the video is really engaging the location was only in one place although in different parts in the forest. The trees surrounding her are really tall and are edited different colours as are her costume in some parts to make it visually engaging for the audience otherwise the colours would be mostly green and black. She has a lot of costume changes which makes it more interesting for the audience, in different costumes she is in different parts of the forest like she has been there multiple times. There are not any props but if there were some it might have been distracting from the location, as she is either dancing or running in the forest props would be slightly out of place. Her performance is really compelling and will keep the audiences wanting to watch. She does a lot of lip-syncing which issued to show the singer wants to interact with the digital audience. Her dancing makes the video feel up-beat and when looking at the camera which Dua Lipa does a lot, really keeps her audience engaged. The song ‘last dance’ also relates to her dancing and is about relationships but only her is in the video which has connotations of her being now single.

The shots make sure that the video is very interesting and lets the audience see different perspectives. The bird’s eye view of the trees adds in a shot that isn’t of a person but isn’t random and gives the viewers a different angle. The purple trees have connotations of creativity, independence mystery and power. Without the audience even knowing that they might feel that through the warmth and boldness of the purple. The close up allows audiences to feel connected with the singer through a screen a scene of intimacy. At one point Dua Lipa even sticks her tongue out and laughs (which you cannot here as all the sound is non-diegetic) which is quite childish but targets her audience which is probably about age 12-18. The long shot lets the audience see part of the mis-en-scene which they wouldn’t see with a close-up. It allows the audience to see the surroundings the singer is in, a Blumler and Katz audience need of Surveillance. A tracking shot when she is running through the forest allows the audience to see her doing it from a more interesting angle rather than filming the back of her running with a long-shot. The bold title at the start ‘Dua Lipa’ shows that she is confident in herself and her music.

This video shows that she is a confident singer and wants to attract her target audience of generally younger creative females as they may find an audience need of personal identity in Dua Lipa whereas boys less so. Some dominant ideas about the way she is presented in the video are that she is representing herself as fun with the song and dancing and positive with the colourful editing. She shows that she is very independent because the video only has her in it. The way she could be presenting herself negatively could be she is conforming to stereotypes that women are sexualised in media representations of them because she has quite provocative clothing on which may give a bad influence to younger females that they have to sexualise themselves to be successful as well. Dua Lipa uses the enigma code in her video which keeps the audience guessing and interpreting her video in their own way. This is because of the fact that her video doesn’t have a storyline and is quite mysterious. Also Blumler and Katz’s gratification theory – the video uses the idea of an audience pleasure being an escapism. As the video is kind of non-realistic for everyday life people can watch it who want a diversion from their routine.   In the video there is not a range of ethnicities or genders or ages because the singer is female white and around 18-20. The choice to just have her in the video does not represent a lot of people and not a lot of people will then feel personal identity with this character. However it is suitable for her age group but with a few more people it would have reached Richard Dyers audience need ‘community’.  

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The song Fancy by Iggy Azalea starts with her chosing her clothes on an iPad like in the film Clueless. The music video took ideas from the film such as the characters, the outifts and being based in a highschool. I was quite clever how they chose to have a storyline and relate it to a film. Then they cut straight to the classroom scene where Iggy Azalea is giving a speech to the class like Cher did in Clueless but she is lip singing the words to the start off the song.

The sound is diegetic as they don’t say and words they just do a lot of lip singing which I think really engages the viewer more in the video. The lighting is high-key and they use a lot of bright colours with the costume choices and the setting of the high school. They have quite a few different scenss which they switch to aorund the school. - In the classroom, the lunch tables, cheerleaders practicing, sports class, in the hallway. Because of all these scenes it makes it feel a lot more like a school. It’s interesting to watch because it is almost a reall short movie. Audiences can relate especially if they go to an American school because that is where it is based. The props and costume are key to this video. It also links to thethe title of the song Fancy and how it’s linked to the film in which the main character has loads of money who is played by Iggy Azalea. Audiences can maybe see personal identity in this as they may have loads of money or they want to make choices based of the characters in the video. I chose this video because I want my video to involve many props so I wanted to look at other videos that used a lot of them too.

The music video represents Iggy Azalea in a way in which she seems like a confident singer, she has lots of money - by the way the video was professionally shot, the location - she was able to use a high school and also by the title of the song itself ‘Fancy’. She presents herself to her audience as not being afraid of boasting to the audience about how much money she has. Azalea may seem stuck-up by the song. But the video is light hearted and girly and fun to watch so most viewers would not take effence ad feel unsucsessful but instead enjoy the energy and story to the video.

This video would certainly appeal to a young teenage audience because it is exciting to watch. It is not serious and younger audiences can relate more to a school environment. The bright colours also reflect a fun atmosphere and to those who have watched the film it’ s based around can appriciate it more.

However a negative thing I could say about it is that there is a rebolish element to the music video which may communicate a bad example for the young teens watching it as it is based at a school.

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The music video for a spanish less well none band called HINDS is very creative and not like a normal usual music video that has effects and lots of editing! The video features all four of the band members and they are at a skatepark for the whole video but they moved around to different areas of it too make it appealing. In the video they do a range of things like dancing, sitting and chatting on the bench. The main props are drinks and cigarettes - this makes the scene something that is just an everyday occurance. The lack of props makes you more focussed on the band members and the song.

The props and costume are minimal in the video which makes it look simple and relaxed and possibly a low budget video. It also fits in with them being casually dressed with not an excessive amount of make up. They are outdoors so the light they have is from the sun and they are in a shaded area so its not too bright. They take it in turns to lip sing the words, so it’s non-diegetic sound - this is very engaging and inclusive, they look direct at the camera when lip-singing and they have a lot of energy which makes you want to join in or even be there! Most of their editing is jump cuts which actually works well because too much editing would be unsual for quite a casual video. They do though use lots of angles which makes the video interesting to watch and it’s fun for the audience to see different levels or views. They use plenty of tracking shots and close ups and low angle shots to give the audience a range. It keeps the video lively and interactive.   From the video you can tell the band is a friendly, energetic group of young women. They seem to value their music more than spending money unnecsassarily on props make up and costume they dont need. They wanted to show what they are like as a band and group of friends, their personalities and style. I think it appeals to an audience because it is relatable as they aren’t doing out of the ordinary things.

I guess in some ways you could say that they are presented in a bad way because they are smoking and drinking - so that’s like a bad example on younger people but apart from that I think they are represented positvely as young females who have come together to show their talent and create music that themselves and others enjoy.  

I think that they aim to reach an older teenager audience or people in early tomid-twenties. I think they do this really well becasue of the energy in the video which appeals to a younger audeience. It doesn’ t incorperate a complicated story line which also makes it more watchable for an audience because there is nothing to not understand. They communicate the mood of the video through their facial expressions, they are laughing and smiling. This would appeal to audience needs because of what Richard Dyer calls the ‘Utopian Sensibilities’ that we like to watch films, TV shows, videos with elements that we don’t have in our life - being energy in this case.

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media video proposal

For my AS Media MEST2 Coursework I will be working on my own – I decided it would be easier and then I don’t have to compromise on ideas or rely on other people, although I do like working as groups in a lot of other things. I will be making a 2 minute music video inspired by the song money (that’s what I want) by Charli XCX. She is quite popular on Instagram and is a pretty outgoing and unique artist in the way she dresses and her attitude is fun and expressive. I will be filming mostly in Bristol and Bedminster with outside as well as in side locations. I want a variety so that it makes it more interesting for people watching it. It will be filmed in urban/rural areas but mostly urban because that’s where I live. I’m going to include a wide range of camera shots and angles depending on what shots look best and I will probably add in other features once I’ve filmed it. I want to have a lot of shots so that I have more of a decision with what I put in the video. The sound will be non-diegetic as I will use the music from the Charli XCX song. I haven’t decided if I’m going to have anyone mouthing the song lyrics but I probably wont just because I think it has to be done really well to look good enough. The music video will not have a strict story line but will relate to the song so not to confuse people about what it’s about. Elements of mise-en-scene such as costume, props and make-up will be well thought out because they will be important in this video to help convey a sort of relation to the song. However I won’t let that distract me from the fact that I have to make sure I’ve got enough footage. The main focus on the song is ‘money’ so I definitely want to have fake money incorporated into the video. Before I start to film I am going to do research and have a look at a range of different music videos, which will help me to create ideas for my music video. I will look at other pop music videos and get a sense of what sort of things I want to include but also look at how to make a relatable video without much of a story. The music video will meet the audience needs of people interested in pop music and the videos that come with it – younger people will hopefully like it age 15-25. I just don’t think it will be very suited for all older people because it will include people age 16 and so I think it might be more preferred by a younger age group. Hopefully the video will be creative and involve my friends as I doubt I’ll be in it much as I have to mainly film although I can use a tripod in some situations. The video will be fun and bright as it fits with the vibes from the song and what kind of video want to film.