Actor acting up

One problem I'm not sure I can fix using editing magic, is at some points in my footage it appears as though jacks mouth is hardly moving. This is due to Jacks inability to enunciate. However I can't fully blame him, the day we filmed was absolutely freezing so the last thing on his mind would've been "I hope it looks like I'm really singing for Cal's coursework to look accurate."

With the deadline approaching and exams closing in, I don't think I can find time where everyone will be willing to come back and re film. However now I know this can be an issue, in future projects I will ensure that the footage lines up with the sound before it's too late to re film.

Furthermore I have realised that the version of the song we played during filming for Jack to sing to (karaoke style) plays at a slightly different speed than the audio track I have used to edit the clips together. To compensate for this I adjusted the speeds of the clips to either speed them up or slow them down to fit in time with the audio.

I will be asking Jack to re-sing the song so I can have his voice instead of Carly Rae Jepsen.

Final cut faff

The timings of some of my clips are slightly off, therefore I had attempted to change the timings of my clips to fit the audio of the song. I have the original music video as the bottom layer when I am editing on final cut, I then place my footage on the layer above. This means I see my footage but I can hear the song playing so I know when each clip needs to start and stop.

So far this has proved effective, however some of my clips are either slightly too fast or too slow, but I could not find out how to edit the timings of clips. Right clicking on a clip shows the option change duration, however this doesn't seem to actually do anything at all. Another member of my media group had a similar problem, so we googled it and found out how to do it. 

Now that I know how to do it it's incredibly simple, you just need to select a clip then click the speedometer symbol. This opens a sub menu where you can change the percentage of the speed of the clip. 

One of my clips actually needed to be slow motion, so I just reduced the clip speed down to create this effect. I don't know whether there is a slow motion setting which can be applied to a clip, but the way I used worked just as well.

Final cut filters

I googled and found out how to add filters to clips and how to change saturation etc. I have added a filter to all of my footage which adds the effect of artificial light. This is an attempt to replicate the filter from the original call me maybe video.

The filter gives my footage an aesthetic quality which makes it stand out from other home made movies. It makes my footage look more professional and more accurate to the original.

The original video seems to have a yellowish hue, I'm not entirely sure what the purpose of this is, however it makes it look warm. This is the opposite of the weather we had during filming, so I have used the filter to make it look like a sunny day.

Editing with Final Cut Pro

I have edited on iMovie before for the project I did last year in media, my opening title sequence. I had never edited before, all the skills I acquired were self taught with some insight from peers. For this project however I have decided to use Final Cut Pro which is a professional editing software. It is far more complex than iMovie, and I have a again taught myself how to use all the basic tools required for editing.

So far I definitely prefer Final Cut to iMovie, it has a more professional feel about it, I feel as if I am producing a reasonable quality media product, as opposed to a slightly above average home movie with my mates.

Due to its complexity I have had a few issues with Final Cut, and there are easier ways of doing things which I am finding as I go. One thing I am still struggling to find is how to add effects to clips e.g saturation and contrast control, filters etc.

Filmed

Yesterday on the 3rd of December I managed to get all the filming done for my first edit of the music video. I still need to record the sound which will be Jack singing to Call Me Maybe, and add that in in the editing stage. It was very cold but we still did all the outside shots in the same outfits as they had in the original video. Safe to say I now have a cold.

Props

As far as props go, there are very few which I do not already own therefore it shouldn't be too hard to attain them. As there are no guns or anything which isn't a regular household item I don't need to rent anything from a prop shop or borrow from other people.

Costumes

For my costume all I will need is a V cut white t shirt, which I can buy at most clothes shops for not a lot of money, and jeans. For Jack we are undecided on whether he will wear women's clothes to further accentuate the parody element, or whether this could be interpreted as offensive because he is playing the role of a gay person. My band members will be able to more or less wear anything as the band in the video don't have a specific style, if anything they are just wearing dark colours, shirts and hoodies. 

Props

I will be using a hoover in the first scene as I hoover inside the house. I am using a Dyson hoover because I have one available to use, also it is a fairly common hoover seen in households in the UK. If we decide to do the car scene then we will need two cars to be cleaning/repairing. In the video he uses an american muscle car which unfortunately I do not have access to, therefore I will most likely be using my mums car which is okay because it will add to the parody element due to the difference between the cars. Jack has a car so we will use his car as his own in the video, he gets a free car wash out of it, although he will be the one doing it...

Instruments
Instead of hiring or borrowing band instruments I have decided to use instruments from the game guitar hero world tour which I own. This also adds to the comedy element of the video because people will notice that they are clearly not real instruments.

Location

I will be filming my production at my house. The reason for this is all the specific areas/scenery are available without having to book permission etc. My actors all live fairly locally so they can get to my house easily as they know where it is. Some of the video involves filming indoors, however some will involve filming outside which is when we have to rely on good weather, or at least good enough to not get drenched.

We will be using the living room for the scene where I will be hoovering and jack will see me through the window. I have a decent sized window in my living room so any angles I need to film should be possible, also I can turn the light on inside to make it easy to see. The only problem will be seeing Jacks face which might be hard depending on the outside light or reflections from inside. To get around this we might ned to use some form of lighting.

The other scene with the car washing will need to be outside, however I might need to change the stage directions slightly so we are doing something other than washing cars because if the weather is awful then you wouldn't be washing your car in the real world. Perhaps we can do some kind of indoor activity. If we can do the car washing scene then I have a large enough drive to make it seem as if the cars are far enough apart to not be on the same drive.

I had considered doing the band scene in the garage also however I had the idea that rather than playing real instruments my actors could be playing guitar hero on the playstation. This is good because it is parodying the original video and also it means we can film it indoors.

The thermostat I will use in the video is in my living room also.

Casting

I needed two main characters for my production, the role of the male interest and the role of the stalking character, then there are three band members who only appear in the band shots. I told several people about these roles and I have had success in finding people willing to do it.



As the main male character I have decided to play the part because I'd like to be in my production, also as the director I know exactly what I want to happen and I think it's easier to do it myself than try and get someone else to. furthermore I meet the requirements for the role which are tall, slim, not ugly etc. I am quite specific about the way I like things to be when I am producing a project such as this therefore I would like to have a direct part as well as being behind the scenes.

To replace Carly I have chosen Jack Ramsey. I think Jack is a good choice for the role because he is confident and willing to play the role which will involve some singing and strange behaviour on his behalf, however he will be able to pull it off because he is good at that. I will film all of the shots with Jack on the day of filming, and also record him singing the whole song so I can play the audio of him singing over the footage.

As my three band members I have chosen a few people, however there is a chance I may have to change them as they might become unavailable. One of which will be my camera man for when I am in a shot, however we will switch when they are on screen.

Not yet filmed

I was not able to film on the sunday because some people were suddenly unavailable, and also the camera I wanted to use was unavailable. This is a problem because now I need to find another date which everyone is free on and where the weather wont be atrocious which is going to be difficult as we enter December. It will have to be on a weekend as the people I need are at sixth form during the week, same as me. I will do my best to get it filmed as soon as possible. I am ready to film with the storyboard complete, and the props I need.

Filming... Hopefully

Hopefully filming should begin on Sunday 23rd Nov. I have asked people to help with he production e.g acting, filming etc. The original person I asked to be the camera man is busy so he can no longer come. This is annoying because he is a good photographer and knows plenty about cameras and how to film/ take pictures. However my new camera operator is also a photographer so she should be able to do a good job.

The cast consists of 5 people including myself, the jobs include acting and filming. I will not need anyone to be a sound operator as I am going to add in the music to the footage along with the lyrics, therefore the footage needs no audio supervision. I will be acting as a main role, however shots which don't have me in them I will be switching with the camera operator to film, as they will also be acting.

The original issue I had with weather is no longer a real problem, as I have accounted for it and planned the video to be indoors mostly rather than outside. I don't yet know how the weather will be on Sunday, however providing it isn't raining all day we should be okay.

Satire or parody?

I have done some research on the differences between satire and parody to refine my decision on what angle I will come from regarding the original video as I don't intend to cause offence to anyone who enjoys the original, or to the original artist (not that she will ever see it).

The definition of satire according to Google is "the use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues." This essentially means that satire is when you mock or joke about something which is a somewhat serious issue, however you do so by softening it with comedy.

The definition for parody is "an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect." This is different to a satire in the sense that it is more of a copy but a funnier version.

For example any of the Austin Powers movies is a parody of James Bond as it follows a similar narrative structure and even makes references to the James Bonds films. Whereas a good example of Satire is Weird Al Yankovics music videos. To select one, the video "White and Nerdy" is a comedic song about being a nerd in a neighbourhood of gangsters, and how they reject him because he's "too white and nerdy". The issue being mocked is discrimination, though it is not a laughing matter the video addresses it quite well without causing (too much) offence. However Weird Al's videos are usually also parodies, as he uses other music videos and songs as a template for his own. The song "White and nerdy" is a parody of "Ridin" by Chamillionaire and Krayzie Bone.

Here is Weird Al's music video White and Nerdy


Here is Chamillioanire's music video Ridin

Target audience

This post is just to be clear about my target audience and how I will attract them with each product.

My music video is a parody of an existing video by Carly Rae Jepsen. For this reason anyone who is familiar with the song and has seen the video will know what I am parodying, and therefore hopefully notice the differences. The original video is aimed at a female audience because it is a romantic song, it is also aimed at younger people because Carly Jepsen's target audience is primarily girls of all ages up to around 25. I know lots of dudes who know the music video but can't stand it, so I am hoping that by recreating it they will have a reason to watch it and can enjoy the version I produce.

I have also extracted some more information from Pete Buckingham's audience theory, showing that music is something that appeals to men, women and young people more than film. This shows that music is something available to all genders and ages, however my product is steered towards younger people who are familiar with the original.

My target audience will be young people aged 15-25, either gender really, who appreciate that I have created a parody of a mainstream music video.

Change of plan

I have decided that I no longer want to create a digipak, I'd rather do a magazine cover advertising the digipak. The reason behind this decision change is that designing and producing a digipak is going to take time and resources, whereas I can produce a magazine cover easily on a program such as photoshop. I will need to do some research on magazine covers to identify the key features.

I will use magazines such as Q and top of the pops to Identify the features of a pop magazine which I will then use to produce my own. Because my target audience are young people, and the genre of the song is pop, my magazine will need to be suitable and appealing to that band. The original song is aimed at a female audience as love songs are far more aimed at a female audience than at males because they don't enjoy romantic media products as much as women, according to Pete Buckingham's research on audience types.

Production Planning- Main Production

My primary product I am making is a music video accompanied by a website homepage and an album digipak.

In order to meet the deadline I need to complete the following tasks;

Music video

In my music video I will need people to play the parts of the characters. I intend to use my friends as actors because I can easily contact them, and they are willing to help me. 

Website
I will create the website on my own rather than depending upon someone else to do it for me because I need to manage my time efficiently. I have some experience making websites from projects in the past where I have used website creators such as Wix.

Album digipak
To create the digipak itself I will use a template from a graphics project in my school and create my digipak using it as a guide. I have done engineering and resistant materials in the past so it shouldn't be hard for me to produce. I can even make it out of plastic using vacuum moulding.

Filming
Weather wise I have slight problem because I was hoping to keep my video quite similar to the original, however I am going to be filming between now and December to have it finished by January. This doesn't match the original video which is filmed on a sunny day in sub urban America. If it comes to it, I will add a filter to the video to make it appear to be sunnier than it really is. 

Production Planning- Audience

Over the next 2-3 months I am going to produce a music video as my main product, an album digipak for the band and a website homepage for the band as my two ancillary products. The target audience for my music video is anyone who is aware of the music video Call Me Maybe. The original song had mixed reviews, but a large proportion of people did not like the song, myself included, so I aim to put a twist on it so it can appeal to anyone who didn't enjoy the original. My version will again be dealing with the issue of homosexuality as done so in the original video, and as this is a matter children might not understand I am aiming my video at people aged roughly 15 upwards. In order to do this I am going to plan stages which will help me along the production line. I will need to get a better understanding of my audiences and find out what they are looking for in a music video, I will do this through different types of research.


Primary research

• Interviews- I will interview people who meet the criteria of my target audience to get an understanding of what they will want to see in the music video. I will most likely perform a semi formal interview, this means before we begin I will give them a quick outline of what I will be asking them so they can somewhat plan ahead for what they will be thinking about. If I did a formal interview I would have to provide a print out of the questions in advance so the recipient can plan all of their answers. 
• Focus groups- I will ask members of my media group for their opinions because they are all above the age 15 and are aware of the original song and music video. By my guessing I think a majority of my group are not fans of the original, therefore my version may seem more appealing to them. Asking my group is a better idea than asking my family because they will be able to provide me with useful feedback, whereas family would likely tell me everything I've done is brilliant and not be entirely honest. 
• Survey- I will also create a survey on survey monkey with some questions regarding my ideas for planning the content of the video to see what people think. To make sure I can use the information I will ask people who meet the criteria of my audience to take the survey. 

Secondary research

• I will use internet research to plan how I am going to distribute and exhibit my music video to my audience. Using the BBFC I will refine why I have chosen my target audience to be young people aged 15+, and I will also consider a rating for my music video due to it's content. 

What is a music video?

I have decided to analyse all of the components of a music video, hat it is, what makes it good or bad etc. to strip it to its most basic form as a product, a music video is a short moving image accompanying a song. The video will usually follow a narrative and tell a story related to the theme of the song, however some are not related at all and are purely for entertainment.

A music video can also be used as a promotional tool to promote the song itself or the band. Music videos can become more popular than the song, or at least significantly reinforce the number of consumers of the song. For example the song Call Me Maybe is a pretty basic song about love following the girl meets boy and falls in love story line. However in the video there is a twist at the end which reveals the boy to be gay, leaving the girl in a state of confusion. This comedic event is not in the actual song, therefore by watching the video as well the consumers get an extra level of entertainment.

Here is the music video for Call Me Maybe on Vimeo




Sometimes a music video can have a specific purpose, perhaps to convey a certain idea or story without mentioning it in the song, or it sometimes has a video which in no way relates to the song itself, but is there for entertainment purposes. A recent example is "Wont look back" by Duke Dumont. The song itself is somewhat about love, it is clearly a woman talking about how someone else makes her feel. However the video is three men robbing a store, wearing politician masks, with pogo sticks as weapons. They then proceed to escape on the pogo sticks as they are individually tracked down by a policeman on a segway who takes them out one by one. Personally I cannot find a link between the meaning of the song and that of the video, therefore the video is just there for entertainment.

Here is the video on Vimeo



Music videos are usually released to boost the sales of songs, this is because it just offers another way in which the song can be consumed, therefore widening the array of people that are able to consume the product. On iTunes it costs £0.99 for a song, and £1.89 for a music video, so if the song is successful then people will want to see the video for that extra level of consumption and entertainment. Most if not all music videos for songs nowadays can be found on streaming sites primarily YouTube.

Deconstruction of Call Me Maybe shot by shot

I am going to analyse the aspects of the music video Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen. In doing so I will have a better idea on how to recreate the video ensuring I keep my parody similar to the original video. Firstly I will do a shot by shot analysis of the entire music video. I will then use this almost as a structure for my version of the video in order to keep it a similar length and to keep the scenes as accurate as possible.

22/01/15
I never did this deconstruction as I found that it would've been of no use to me. I did however use the original video to construct my storyboard frame by frame. I simply watched the video pausing after every cut and drawing a new shot on my storyboard for each new shot. I added notes about effects such as slow motion or blurring, also camera angles and movements such as panning. The storyboards proved incredibly useful during the shoot as I used them as a guide for which shot I needed to film next. This kept everyone on task and helped me organise filming.

31/03/15
Oops, forgot to upload it here. I have added a new post containing an Emaze I made analysing my storyboards.

Audience types

Here are some different types of audience my products may be viewed by. I have taken into account that my main product is a parody music video and will be distributed using modern digital means rather than traditional means such as CD and radio etc. 

• Passive= The product is received by the audience, but they choose not to engage with it. 

• Active= The choice is made by the audience to consume the product, and to actively engage with it. 

• Preferred= The target audience whom the product itself is aimed at. 

• Oppositional= A potential target audience who require persuasion from the industry.

• Traditional= Stick to safety and familiarity by watching videos on TV and buying CDs. 

• Hedonist= Take risks by watching/listening to new, different and challenging conventional music videos/music. 

• Post-modern= Use new ways of watching music videos/listening to music, such as streaming and parodying etc.

Being a parody music video it will very much apply to a post modern audience because post modernism is about taking old things and putting a twist on them to make them appealing to a modern, younger audience. I am also hoping to hit the active audience because I am relying on people voluntarily getting involved to help me spread awareness of my products, because I wont be using any above the line advertising due to the scale of my products. 

My choice of Brief

For my second presentation I created a Prezi about which brief I would be choosing. I chose brief 1 which was A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with a website homepage for the band, and a cover for it's release as part of a digipak.

I had originally decided to do brief 2 which was a promotion package for a new film with the main product being a teaser trailer. I decided not to do this idea because I had a good idea and a plan for a parody music video which I wanted to do, however producing a teaser trailer would include coming up with a plot for an entire movie and compacting it down to only several scenes which I would put in the trailer. This is where I came up with the idea of a parody movie, however I preferred the idea of doing a parody music video as opposed to a teaser trailer for a parody movie.

Here is the Prezi I made:

Genre

The media type of my main product is a music video, the sub genre of the video is parody because it is a version of an existing music video (Call me maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen).
Here is a link to my prezi explaining my three products and the genres of each:

Analysis of a media artefact

For my first presentation I analysed the BBC one TV series Luther and created a presentation on Google slides, which I then showed to the class. Part of the presentation was to find three other related products to the original, in different media genres.

Google slides allows you to embed your presentation, so I have embedded it below. One slide has a transition even though I have removed it multiple times, I can only assume it is a glitch with Google slides. I may refrain from using it again in the future.



After doing my presentation I collected feedback from the class and from my teacher. I then used this feedback to improve upon my presentation. The main piece of feedback I received from my teacher was that perhaps Luther wasn't a great choice for this particular presentation, mainly because it doesn't have lots of other preliminary products as it is a not very commonly know BBC one series. Other places I could've looked for information are fan sites perhaps on Facebook or Tumblr where fans of the show have come together to share their appreciation of the show, and possibly even created their own content.

After researching Luther I reflected on the differences between UK and Us marketing, it would appear that UK marketing for short series such as Luther is done on a significantly smaller scale compared to US. An example of this is The Inbetweeners USA and the english version. The original version released in the UK was advertised on E4 which is the channel it was aired on. Whereas the American version was even advertised on UK TV to try and hook the interest of people who were fans of the original. I think this is due to the budgets that American tv series are made on, it being far larger than the budget of a show such as Luther.