EVALUATION

The brief was to create a music video for any artist (signed or unsigned) and to complete 2 ancillary tasks from a list of three (create a cover for the digipack, poster for the digipack, website for the band). The music video along with the ancillary tasks was to promote the band and the song.

Music videos don’t have much storyline to them; the videos merely show what the lyrics are saying. As the song I chose had no lyrics, I was to create a storyline or meaning to portray. Before I began to think of a story/meaning for my music video, I researched the band The XX. This helped me because it gave me background information on the band as well as the style of music videos.

This is a print screen from The XX’s song, Basic Space. It’s dark and works with the song well because of the abstract style. I wanted to keep this style for my video.

The Kills also have quite different and weird videos as well. Both artists influence my work.

From this I decided to go down a different route, rather than keep to the classic upbeat storyline that is feature in the majority of music videos now-a-days. I wanted to create something that would shock people, maybe scare them a little.

My video is quite similar to The XX’s other videos because of how different and unique it is. Yet at the same time it’s different as it still tells a story of fear.

In my video, I used the horse to represent fear which the man is running from. He isn’t actually being chased; fear doesn’t take a form, it’s all in the mind. To show this, I had the horse in black and white, like it’s a memory. In the beginning scenes of my music video, the man’s lying down, staring at the sky. I wanted to have the end at the beginning, as if he had been running away and collapsed where we (the audience) finds him.

My video is quite fast paced, even though most of it is in slow motion, because of the sharp cuts and angles, it creates a faster pace. Each clip was carefully cut to even sizes, depending on which section they featured in. so in the beginning clips, the zooming into the face were all the same length, as well as the sharp flashbacks, which had to be 0.3 seconds long. The song itself isn’t fast, the band are notorious for their slow paced music. But the song featured heavy beats, which I used to my advantage by making them the cuts in the clips. Making the video more abstract and almost hard hitting. I think the pacing of the music video fits well with the song. Any other song and it would work; because of the heavy beats and weird guitar sounds, the fast paced video and the slow paced music works perfectly.

A generic convention used in music videos is the story. With no lyrics I had no pre-made story to base the video around. Creating one from scratch was the hardest part of the video because it was such an open song, as in most storylines would work with it. Another is the cast, there is no band performing; there is no reference to the band at all. Normally the band or artist would be shown in the video, to keep the viewer aware of whom they are listening too. Also the artist influences the audience a lot. I decided not to feature any band members as they would seem out of place.

The camera was running along with the subject in a few clips, a convention used in music videos. It creates a sense of involvement with the viewer, as if they are also running. Also the edits to the beat of the music is a convention.

This video doesn’t represent anyone, I think. It would appeal to the older teenagers, 16+ all the way to 40-45. Creative people would enjoy the video more because they could understand the story and the beauty of the video. This would attract them.

To edit this piece together, I used Video Pad. As well as that I file converter (Pyramid File Converter) because my clips were in an unworkable format. Both these new media technologies were new to me, and from this video I have learnt a great deal from them. For the ancillary tasks, I used Photoshop to change the photos used in the digipack cover and the poster.

The ancillary tasks also sell the band because it is where you see the singers. It also backs up the style of the video, thus showing what style of music the band are. For the digipack cover, I merged a few pictures of a horse in negative and black and white together on Photoshop. The song titles are in different fonts and sizes, keeping to the abstract theme. I included the normal small print as well (record label, copyright laws). Middle panel, I used a photo of the band and lyrics from a song on the album. I kept the horse theme by having the horse photo in the top and bottom panels, either side of the band photo.

Keeping the colours cold, it represents the style of the band and shows that they are no ordinary band.

The poster is the same idea as the digipack, its has the same pictures and the title of the album is centred and big, so it would be easily spotted. Also reviews by news papers and companies to promote the album, influencing people to purchase it.

I feel this music video fulfils the functions of a music video. It represents the bands music, with it being so individual and almost needing its own genre. Although my video doesn’t show the `singers ` or anyone who seems to be part of the band, I find that in itself it is a piece of art; with the storyline and the song. I think it would feature on any music channel because you couldn’t class the song as one specific genre. It would work well on MTV and Kerrang, as well as a dance channel (because it doesn’t have lyrics).

I’ve showed people my video, who hasn’t heard of the band before. A few said they would listen to other songs by this band again because it’s different. Others have said that the video grows on you, the more you watch it the more you like it. Some people didn’t understand the story in it. They didn’t get what was happening and why till I explained it. It is a music video you have to watch over and over to get a full understanding of it.

All in all, I think my video works well with the song I chose and really captures the unique sound of the band. I don’t think I would change anything, if I had the chance. The only thing that worries me is the quality the filming came out like, but it’s not a major issue.

for my video i followed this story:

• man lying in feild, flashbacks of him running
• he's being chased by horse.
• the black horse represents fear
• contrast between the black and white horse, which shows bad, and the bright day time which shows good.
• the end at the beginning like he's remembering how he got there, telling the story.

the song was the main thing that inspired the idea, i liked thr thought of the end at the beginning like we see how the person got to the state they are in. i wanted to make it quite abstract and surreal, like a dream

i researched the XX's songs, to see what style they do their videos in. they did different, abstract videos, and so this confirmed my idea. i wanted to keep the video in they stlye of their already made videos because i liked the idea of it being surreal.

here is my finish product (had to be put onto youtube due to uploading problems):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpTVOVJUMyM


editing process:

it took me 2 days to film all the footage needed, and around 2-3 days in total to edit it all together. first thing i did was convert the video files into a format that i could use to edit (mov). after that i went straight to editing. the beats in the song are quite strong, so i wanted cuts to happen bang on the beat. this was difficult as one second out, and the whole thing would be out of sync with the music. i changed the horses scenes into black and white, to represent fear. and i changed the contrast in all footage to make it darker and more surreal.
i put titles at the begining, to show who the band are, whats the song called and the record company they were with.

i have again changed my poster and digipak covers.

this is the front and back panels. i have merged photos of a horse running together and changed them to black and white. giving a cold feeling. i changed how i put the song list on the back. this way is more interesting and unusual. i kept the small print and websites and stuff. mainly just changed the pictures to fit the band better. i also added a name to the album `no trust, no pain`. to me it means that trusting someone leads to emotional pain. so like a love quote, which is what the songs are mainly about.

(the middle panels) i have the band members together, keeping to the cold colours and i have some lyrics from one of their songs as well, in the style of the playlist on the back. i have the horse's feet on the bottom to keep that theme going.

this is the poster advertising the digipak. i have used the same pictures from the album, so it would recognisable to any one who wishes to buy it. i have included reviews from papers`magazines saying how good it is. the name of the album is centre because it is the one of the most important things, as well as the bands name.

i prefer these covers because it's different and says something about the band. beforee it was all X's and this time i've taken that away to make the voice of the band come through the pictures.

i have changed the middle panels of my digipak. this is because where the cd would go, looked bland and needed a picture or something there. even though the cd would be going there, it still needed a little something.

here is the new middle panels.

i put a picture of the artists and then put a circle over the top, which changed the colours of the photo. it makes it interesting and the circle would be where the cd would go. i kept to the theme of the X's yet made it different by changing the layout it was in.

as filming is concerend, i will be starting it shortly and from then on editing.

i have done my 2nd ancillary task, which was to create an advertisement for the digipak. i looked at a previous years work, to see what was included and not.

this is the year befores work, they used the same picture they used on the album cover, and added the title of the band, album and that it was out. i like how simple it looks and that it's the same as the album, making it easier for anyone who wants to buy it.

i have made a few copies of my advertisement because i wasnt sure what direction to take it.

this is the first one i made. i used the same image as i did with the album, i added a couple reviews and that it was the bands first album. because the album is self titiled there was no need to put the name of it down. i kept the double Xs in the centre like the cover of the album as it's the bands name and is most important.

this is the simpler version. it states the name of the band and that it's out now, i prefer this one because it's simple and gets people quessing. what are the XX? whats kind of music do they play? things like that, which would increase sales as people would purchase the albums or download singles from it to get to know the band. i made the colours quite cold, making the XX stand out. and i shadowed the `out now` making it interesting and obvious.

i have been told that the DVD cover i posted was not part of the tasks, and so i have created a digipak cover instead for the CD album.

this is the front/back cover of the cd. i kept the front simple, with just the bands name and a photo behind it. i wanted to create an eerie feel, making the album not make sense. The xx's sound is unique and new. i wanted the cover to reflect it. on the back panel i put the songs on the album and the barcode. as well as the copyright and record labels. so the album is realistic. again i have the Xs going across the back with a cropped version of the photo on the front. this is to keep the theme going.

this is the inside of the cd cover. i carried the theme of the Xs on. i added information about the band on the left panel. just to show some background on this band. the photos behind the writing are of a person, the singer in the band. i layered two different shots of them, but not showing the full face, keeping the band mysterious.

my next task is the poster advertising the digipak. it will be uploaded shortly.

i have completed my first ancillary task for `intro`.

i used a photo i had taken of a horses eye witht he background blurred and the colours muted. to create a harsh contrast against the negative text. it reflects the music video as it's soft yet also weird and cold.

i put legal stuff at the bottom of the back, as well as symbols which are featured on dvds, along wioth barcodes, website and record label logo.

after posting my last post, i brought a new album and became inspired to do a song from that instead. the bands called The XX and the song i like the most is Intro. it starts the album off but it's such a beautiful song that i just have to do it!

so i looked up some home made videos for this song, and only found a few.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX5cAzP8wzY

this music video features fashion photography. it's the only video i found that had images, relating to the song, although it relates in a weak way.

i have filmed little parts of the video already, but i need much more. i'm going for a surreal video with lots of cuts and cold colours to match the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faLalGQk4Bg

this extract from the twilight saga:new moon, shows the kind of effect i want to use. it's at 1:28. where one character runs towards the other, whom pushes them back. but they run slowly and are pushed back in normal speed, then back to slower. i thin

k it's a great effect as it makes you see the little details.

i have done my first ancillary task. firstly i will put up what i started of the `when she loved me` dvd cover.

i went for soft colours because of the singer being a girl. and also i put friendship photos behind because the song is about friendship and memories.