Wednesday, 21 April 2010
Thursday, 25 March 2010
A2 Advanced Portfolio - Evaluation
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The use of conventions started with our research as we did a lot of research into the drum and bass genre. We wanted to understand how the already established conventions of drum and bass can be applied to the mainstream music market. Looking into successful drum and bass artists such as Aphex Twin, Prodigy and Sub Focus, we were able to acknowledge what was apparent in all of them that enabled them to appeal to their target market. From the music videos themselves we saw consistent use of fast cuts and edits, also from their product design we saw a strong, definitive use of colour. After concluding our research we took these already established conventions and applied them to the construction of our product, this enabled us to gain a stronger appeal to our target audience of 18-35.
As well as using already established conventions from within the drum and bass market, we were also keen to develop the typical understanding of a music video. Music videos are a tool to express the story within or behind a music track and often express a strong and clear narrative. We wanted to express this idea of telling a story but aimed to extend it further to make it a more specific, symbolic portrayal of narrative. Thus through the use of Alec's script we were able to construct semiotic representations of class, society and age; this in itself gave the video an abstract look and theme.
Our music video also challenged typical conventions when constructing a music video. The typical music video relies relatively heavily on the interpretation of the song's lyrics; this is seen throughout the music industry from all manners of genres, from Indie to pop, Classic Rock to R&B, and even the more popular drum and bass artists such as the Prodigy. The track that we chose to use, however, has no lyrics at all; thus forcing us to derive meaning from something other than lyrics. So our initial ideas for the music video all stemmed from the title of the track 'Mainline'. This word resonates with words such as mainstream and control; the line in which everyone is made to follow. From this we were all able to get a foundation for what we wanted the content of our video to consist of and gave Alec a strong basis to construct a script. Though it would seem that having a track with no lyrics would be a con when constructing a music video, it was in actual fact one of the key reasons why we chose the track in the first place. The lack of lyrics allowed us more creative freedom in our interpretation of the song and didn't limit us to the clichéd conventions seen in other genre's music videos such as love songs.
We tried to include postmodern theme within our video not only in its narrative by using strong symbolic representations, but also in the video's overall look. We wanted to draw a comparison by juxtaposing the use of strong saturated colour alongside the grainy sepia look seen in early cinema. Through its postmodernity the video becomes very abstract and challenges typical conventions of story telling which matched our initial intentions.
2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
The combination of our music video with our ancillary products was an important issue with us. As we have such a specific theme in our video we wanted to keep the theme and style consistent throughout. We therefore constructed our ancillary texts after the completion of the video and actually used the video in order to create the CD/DVD cover as well as the magazine advert. For our ancillary texts we decided to actually take a still from our video to become the centre point in the design. Our covers and advert display a still of the villain within a circle, we then edited the image; turning it into solid shapes of black and white. The magazine advert we approached slightly differently, we wanted the ad to show a little bit more of the theme and ideas behind the video itself. To do this we took the same colour scheme from the video and applied it to our design. Also we tinted the edges of the advert to mimic the colour of the old style film. All this is done to great effect as the repetition of the same images raises enigma codes that provoke curiosity, along with the abstract use of colour.
3. What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
We learnt a lot from our audience feedback from very early on, at every stage of our production we were keen to get as much input from our perspective audience as possible. We posted our video on YouTube in its various stages in order to find what needed be tweaked or changed. The video on a whole was met with a lot of positive feedback, not only from friends and family but also by complete strangers. A few people however did make comment on a few aspects of our video, the most frequent of which was the choice of colour; we initially had used a strong sandy yellow colour but some people didn't feel that it fitted with the effect we wanted to achieve. Also due to the theme of the video being intentionally abstract and postmodern, some people struggled to understand it, however were still able to enjoy it merely on an aesthetic level.
A few people did comment on the choice of song, however we put this largely down to the fact that comparatively few people are fans of the drum and bass genre.
We also posted a series of polls and questionnaires on Facebook in order to help us construct our ancillary texts, helping us to make decisions such as colour choices.
The feedback we got was a key component in helping us reach the final cut of our video and was an influential tool throughout.
4. How did you use new media technologies in construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
In terms of study, the Internet became a vital method of research. We researched a lot into the drum and bass genre and, through the use of YouTube, studied a series of video examples in order to gage the typical conventions of the genre. Also through this site we were able to research tutorials on how to make a snorricam which we were keen to include in our video.
Sites like MySpace gave us an idea of the presentation and advertising of a music artist and were able to research music magazines from their own homepages.
Our blogs were a central piece of technology throughout all the stages of our coursework. We were able to use them to aid research, help plan and assemble our ancillary texts and receive feedback to aid us in our evaluation.
Social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook also helped at various stages of our coursework, Facebook especially. Through Facebook we were able to set up poles, post various stages of our video and immediately gain feedback.
We used other technologies to create our music video; we had access to two HD cameras, with a series of lenses such as a Fish Eye lense. We also had the use of two laptops with Final Cut Pro in order to compose and edit our video.
The use of conventions started with our research as we did a lot of research into the drum and bass genre. We wanted to understand how the already established conventions of drum and bass can be applied to the mainstream music market. Looking into successful drum and bass artists such as Aphex Twin, Prodigy and Sub Focus, we were able to acknowledge what was apparent in all of them that enabled them to appeal to their target market. From the music videos themselves we saw consistent use of fast cuts and edits, also from their product design we saw a strong, definitive use of colour. After concluding our research we took these already established conventions and applied them to the construction of our product, this enabled us to gain a stronger appeal to our target audience of 18-35.
As well as using already established conventions from within the drum and bass market, we were also keen to develop the typical understanding of a music video. Music videos are a tool to express the story within or behind a music track and often express a strong and clear narrative. We wanted to express this idea of telling a story but aimed to extend it further to make it a more specific, symbolic portrayal of narrative. Thus through the use of Alec's script we were able to construct semiotic representations of class, society and age; this in itself gave the video an abstract look and theme.
Our music video also challenged typical conventions when constructing a music video. The typical music video relies relatively heavily on the interpretation of the song's lyrics; this is seen throughout the music industry from all manners of genres, from Indie to pop, Classic Rock to R&B, and even the more popular drum and bass artists such as the Prodigy. The track that we chose to use, however, has no lyrics at all; thus forcing us to derive meaning from something other than lyrics. So our initial ideas for the music video all stemmed from the title of the track 'Mainline'. This word resonates with words such as mainstream and control; the line in which everyone is made to follow. From this we were all able to get a foundation for what we wanted the content of our video to consist of and gave Alec a strong basis to construct a script. Though it would seem that having a track with no lyrics would be a con when constructing a music video, it was in actual fact one of the key reasons why we chose the track in the first place. The lack of lyrics allowed us more creative freedom in our interpretation of the song and didn't limit us to the clichéd conventions seen in other genre's music videos such as love songs.
We tried to include postmodern theme within our video not only in its narrative by using strong symbolic representations, but also in the video's overall look. We wanted to draw a comparison by juxtaposing the use of strong saturated colour alongside the grainy sepia look seen in early cinema. Through its postmodernity the video becomes very abstract and challenges typical conventions of story telling which matched our initial intentions.
2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
The combination of our music video with our ancillary products was an important issue with us. As we have such a specific theme in our video we wanted to keep the theme and style consistent throughout. We therefore constructed our ancillary texts after the completion of the video and actually used the video in order to create the CD/DVD cover as well as the magazine advert. For our ancillary texts we decided to actually take a still from our video to become the centre point in the design. Our covers and advert display a still of the villain within a circle, we then edited the image; turning it into solid shapes of black and white. The magazine advert we approached slightly differently, we wanted the ad to show a little bit more of the theme and ideas behind the video itself. To do this we took the same colour scheme from the video and applied it to our design. Also we tinted the edges of the advert to mimic the colour of the old style film. All this is done to great effect as the repetition of the same images raises enigma codes that provoke curiosity, along with the abstract use of colour.
3. What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
We learnt a lot from our audience feedback from very early on, at every stage of our production we were keen to get as much input from our perspective audience as possible. We posted our video on YouTube in its various stages in order to find what needed be tweaked or changed. The video on a whole was met with a lot of positive feedback, not only from friends and family but also by complete strangers. A few people however did make comment on a few aspects of our video, the most frequent of which was the choice of colour; we initially had used a strong sandy yellow colour but some people didn't feel that it fitted with the effect we wanted to achieve. Also due to the theme of the video being intentionally abstract and postmodern, some people struggled to understand it, however were still able to enjoy it merely on an aesthetic level.
A few people did comment on the choice of song, however we put this largely down to the fact that comparatively few people are fans of the drum and bass genre.
We also posted a series of polls and questionnaires on Facebook in order to help us construct our ancillary texts, helping us to make decisions such as colour choices.
The feedback we got was a key component in helping us reach the final cut of our video and was an influential tool throughout.
4. How did you use new media technologies in construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
In terms of study, the Internet became a vital method of research. We researched a lot into the drum and bass genre and, through the use of YouTube, studied a series of video examples in order to gage the typical conventions of the genre. Also through this site we were able to research tutorials on how to make a snorricam which we were keen to include in our video.
Sites like MySpace gave us an idea of the presentation and advertising of a music artist and were able to research music magazines from their own homepages.
Our blogs were a central piece of technology throughout all the stages of our coursework. We were able to use them to aid research, help plan and assemble our ancillary texts and receive feedback to aid us in our evaluation.
Social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook also helped at various stages of our coursework, Facebook especially. Through Facebook we were able to set up poles, post various stages of our video and immediately gain feedback.
We used other technologies to create our music video; we had access to two HD cameras, with a series of lenses such as a Fish Eye lense. We also had the use of two laptops with Final Cut Pro in order to compose and edit our video.
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
A2 Advanced Portfolio - DVD and Magazine Ad
The next stage of our ancillary task was to create a DVD cover to go along with the CD, to be sold as a digipack. Also we had to create a mock up of a magazine advert for the Digipack.
When faced with the task of creating a DVD we immediately drew ideas from the CD cover in order to make the look and theme consistent throughout all our products. We decided to use the same image seen on the CD cover along with using the same font style and use of circles. Here is the net view of the DVD cover:
When faced with the task of creating a DVD we immediately drew ideas from the CD cover in order to make the look and theme consistent throughout all our products. We decided to use the same image seen on the CD cover along with using the same font style and use of circles. Here is the net view of the DVD cover:
This reinforces the enigma codes raised from the CD cover and makes a strong, consistent product.
Last we tackled the magazine advert, we were keen to keep the same sort of style for the same reasons we kept the style of the DVD consistent to the CD. But before this we looked into the style of magazine adverts it order to understand their look and the amount of information posted on them.
Here are a few examples I looked at as part of my research:
Last we tackled the magazine advert, we were keen to keep the same sort of style for the same reasons we kept the style of the DVD consistent to the CD. But before this we looked into the style of magazine adverts it order to understand their look and the amount of information posted on them.
Here are a few examples I looked at as part of my research:
Both examples display very little information regarding to the product itself and is focused more so on an image or style of the advert. With this in mind we began constructing our advert, using similar methods. We drew inspiration from the other CD covers that we had previously researched, Sub Focus became a key influence when designing the Magazine Ad, their use of colour tied very well with our concept of the music video, also the we incorporated the idea of circular imagery into our design as well. We made sure that each aspect of the design derived from our music video, the use of colour from the highly colourised sequences, the sepia tone on the edge of our design from our early cinema influence, and the use of the Villain blacked out on the front. All of this was done in order to raise the interest and curiosity of the viewer; raising questions to its meaning and the content of the video.
After looking at other examples of magazine adverts we decided to give as little information as possible to in keep with the idea of mystery and to provoke curiosity. We designed this Ad to be featured in music magazines such as ATM, Lexicon, Kmag and Rinse Magazine, all of which are drum and bass magazines.
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
A2 Advanced Portfolio - CD Cover
In order to develop our CD/DVD cover for our digipack, it was first important to ensure that we had some strong artistic influences from the world of the drum and bass genre. We looked into a series of drum and bass producers, most of which given to us by Ben who is the only one who is an avid fan of drum and bass music.
Prodigy Album Covers:
Sub Focus Album Cover:
After looking at these album covers we took the styles and designs and tried to apply them to the planning of our music video; expressing the idea of the title 'Mainline'.
These are the very first ideas that Ben came up with very early on, each relates and expresses the ideas conjured by the title of the track.
After this, we put the ancillary task to one side in order to focus more on the planning, research and construction of the music video. After its completion we once again turned our focus back to the ancillary tasks and were able to create much stronger priducts.
We we able to look at the music video and develop its postmodern theme by using it to construct the CD, DVD and Magazine Ad in keeping with the script, stlye and more importantly our artistic intention.
Booklet - Outside
The design actually derives from the music video itself, strengthening the relation and the relevance to the music video thus making it intertextual. The way the image of the villain is edited creates a strong marketing tool as it raises a series of enigma codes that makes the perspective buyer question the content of the video and of the relevance of the man on the cover. The left side of the image is the back cover of the inner booklet.
Booklet - Inside
Back Cover
Prodigy Album Covers:
Sub Focus Album Cover:
After looking at these album covers we took the styles and designs and tried to apply them to the planning of our music video; expressing the idea of the title 'Mainline'.
These are the very first ideas that Ben came up with very early on, each relates and expresses the ideas conjured by the title of the track.
After this, we put the ancillary task to one side in order to focus more on the planning, research and construction of the music video. After its completion we once again turned our focus back to the ancillary tasks and were able to create much stronger priducts.
We we able to look at the music video and develop its postmodern theme by using it to construct the CD, DVD and Magazine Ad in keeping with the script, stlye and more importantly our artistic intention.
Booklet - Outside
The design actually derives from the music video itself, strengthening the relation and the relevance to the music video thus making it intertextual. The way the image of the villain is edited creates a strong marketing tool as it raises a series of enigma codes that makes the perspective buyer question the content of the video and of the relevance of the man on the cover. The left side of the image is the back cover of the inner booklet.
Booklet - Inside
Back Cover
Monday, 15 March 2010
A2 Advanced Portfolio - Music Video Final Cut
On Friday, after a good couple of weeks editing, we finally completed the final cut of our music video. Through the use of effects we were able to enhance the visual symbolism in keeping with Alec's original script, and though changing it slightly were able to keep to its postmodernistic theme and still contain elements of my original storyboard. As a group we are pleased with the end result and truly feel that even though we had a lot of issues to overcome, we worked hard and produced what we believe to be a good music video.
Our final cut of our video has heavily influenced the production of both our CD and DVD along with our magazine advert for the digipak. The strong abstract and postmodern theme present in our music video gave us a strong starting point when constructing the ancillary tasks. The relation between these tasks and the video is a very strong one as they both derive meaning form one another and were constructed with the video strongly in mind.
Our final cut of our video has heavily influenced the production of both our CD and DVD along with our magazine advert for the digipak. The strong abstract and postmodern theme present in our music video gave us a strong starting point when constructing the ancillary tasks. The relation between these tasks and the video is a very strong one as they both derive meaning form one another and were constructed with the video strongly in mind.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
A2 Advanced Portfolio - Music Video Rough Cut
After filming, our next task was to begin the long process of editing. As myself and Ben shot about half video each on the day, Alec and Jack took charge of the editing and began to piece the story together, and slowly we saw our first rough cut take shape. (To view the video at its correct size open in a new window by double clicking the video)
As it is a rough cut we are yet to fit the footage with the music, this was merely a chance for us to see how the video would look after all the footage was brought together. It also allowed us to sample different effects and to explore the use of flashing subliminal images, and though obviously incomplete, is a good indicator with regards to the postmodernist style and feel of the overall video.
As it is a rough cut we are yet to fit the footage with the music, this was merely a chance for us to see how the video would look after all the footage was brought together. It also allowed us to sample different effects and to explore the use of flashing subliminal images, and though obviously incomplete, is a good indicator with regards to the postmodernist style and feel of the overall video.
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
A2 Advanced Portfolio - Stage one of filming
Filming for our music video has definitely been an experience. After I completed my section of the storyboard (over 100 frames or so) we were faced with the daunting prospect of how we were going to tackle this mammoth task. We first started with the basics, organisation.
Using my contacts at a local theatre I was able to gain access to their consume store and was permitted to borrow a selection of items, including a tail coat and top hat for the villain, and briefcases for each of the henchmen. In addition Ben was able to attain three bowler hats and some chalk. The next task was to gather all the equipment available to us, both Ben and Alec were in possession of HD digital camcorders, tripods and a monopod. On top of this we also had access to an advanced editing software. The decision to use our own equipment has given us more flexibility for how and when we can shoot and edit. The main reason for doing this was because we wanted to create the best music video we could, and we believed that the flexibility of using our own equipment and the high quality of the software would enable us to do so.
We were originally planning to shoot in Kings Lynn but after discussions with regards to transport we decided on Downham Market instead which proved to be just as good, if not better and decided to shoot all day on the Tuesday and Friday of our half term. The only thing that remained to sort out was the cast. Initially the cast needed to consist of 7 members; The Villain, three Henchmen and three Youths. However due to the fact that we were filming on two whole days of the half term holidays, we struggled to get people to volunteer for the whole two day shoot, so we had to compromise and use what we had available to us. So we decided that Jack and Alec would be in the video and double up as bout a Youth and a Henchman. I then managed to get my friend Matthew in to play the role of the villain, as he was a drama student and was more than happy to do so. Another friend of ours was lined up to play the third Henchmen but backed out at the last minute, but we did manage to get our friend Brendon to take his place as a youth and then Ben would have to play the third Henchmen.
Using my contacts at a local theatre I was able to gain access to their consume store and was permitted to borrow a selection of items, including a tail coat and top hat for the villain, and briefcases for each of the henchmen. In addition Ben was able to attain three bowler hats and some chalk. The next task was to gather all the equipment available to us, both Ben and Alec were in possession of HD digital camcorders, tripods and a monopod. On top of this we also had access to an advanced editing software. The decision to use our own equipment has given us more flexibility for how and when we can shoot and edit. The main reason for doing this was because we wanted to create the best music video we could, and we believed that the flexibility of using our own equipment and the high quality of the software would enable us to do so.
We were originally planning to shoot in Kings Lynn but after discussions with regards to transport we decided on Downham Market instead which proved to be just as good, if not better and decided to shoot all day on the Tuesday and Friday of our half term. The only thing that remained to sort out was the cast. Initially the cast needed to consist of 7 members; The Villain, three Henchmen and three Youths. However due to the fact that we were filming on two whole days of the half term holidays, we struggled to get people to volunteer for the whole two day shoot, so we had to compromise and use what we had available to us. So we decided that Jack and Alec would be in the video and double up as bout a Youth and a Henchman. I then managed to get my friend Matthew in to play the role of the villain, as he was a drama student and was more than happy to do so. Another friend of ours was lined up to play the third Henchmen but backed out at the last minute, but we did manage to get our friend Brendon to take his place as a youth and then Ben would have to play the third Henchmen.
We filmed on both the planned days and shot a fair amount of what we needed, though not as much as we'd have liked. Due to this we decided to spend another day filming on the following Tuesday.
This is a short clip of what we filmed on the first Tuesday and Friday:
The following Tuesday didn't quite go according to plan, on Tuesday morning Alec got a phone call from Jack saying that he couldn't make it as he was very ill, also our friend playing the third youth could not be with us for the whole day. After hearing this Ben, Alec and I all got together to discuss our next move, none of us wanted to waste the day as we had everything ready and prepared for our shoot. Therefore Alec suggested that we continue to shoot but just simply what we were trying to do, and just focus on the main theme of Alec's script. This, though changing the script slightly, still displayed the same initial intention of our video and still allowed us to explore the idea of the controlling mainline or mainstream and to do so through the use of postmodern techniques. The main changes that were made were instead of three Henchmen and three Youths, we would just have a single Henchman and just one Youth. Therefore the Villain (still played by Matthew) would chase the Youth (played by Alec) in order to put him back under his control. When failing to do so he calls for the aid of his Henchman (Ben) to help trap the Youth.
This idea, though at the time seeming a little radical, was ultimately a good decision. My previous storyboards became a springboard for us to work from and we managed to tackle the shooting with double the energy and enthusiasm than we had previously (plus it was no where near as cold as it was the previous week!). This process really got our minds working quickly and allowed to also improvise and bounce of each other's creative ideas, turning out some good results.
We shot our opening scene at college and then moved on to shoot the rest around Downham. Shooting around a town like Downham was a lot of fun and became very interesting to see the public's reaction and interest in what we were doing. Before shooting however we made sure we knew the specific regulations with regards to shooting in public, and were told by the authorities that it was fine as long as we didn't zoom in or focus on any member of the public without their written permission. We managed to achieve a lot in that single day taking back with us more footage than the first two days combined, including a highly choreographed and planned out car chase which we were all very proud of.
We shot our opening scene at college and then moved on to shoot the rest around Downham. Shooting around a town like Downham was a lot of fun and became very interesting to see the public's reaction and interest in what we were doing. Before shooting however we made sure we knew the specific regulations with regards to shooting in public, and were told by the authorities that it was fine as long as we didn't zoom in or focus on any member of the public without their written permission. We managed to achieve a lot in that single day taking back with us more footage than the first two days combined, including a highly choreographed and planned out car chase which we were all very proud of.
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
A2 Advanced Portfolio - Anamatic Storyboeard
Mainline Animatic Storyboard
Through the creation of this animatic storyboard we are able to show, for the first time, a clear relationship between the music and the images. This allows us to get a clear preview of how our music video will look at the end of the post production process, and gives us a better understanding of the timing in relation to the shots. The increased rate of cut, compliments the sound and speed of the track and gives a very futuristic, surreal look to the video.
This key shot (seen below) shows an establishing shot of all three of the henchmen, this is key as it shows their identical business-like attire and you see their movement as very robotic. This, along with the use of identical white face masks, creates an image that resonates with the idea of the "Corporate Robot" or "Corporate Machine" which influence and are a product of the mainline or mainstream. The white mask establishes an enigma code as they create an almost in human look and feel to the henchmen and raises the question to what is under the masks.
Below, is another key shot as it shows symbolic elements of the 'Mainline' and their methods of manipulation and control represented by their briefcases. It also establishes another enigma code, leaving the audience to question what they are carrying inside.
This shot represents the idea of conformity and dispels any sense of individuality.
Through the animatic storyboard we can use it to reinforce the appeal to our target audience. The fast rate of cut, the flahsing of images and the vast amount of rapid movement, all would appeal to our target audience of 18-35 as it matches the pace of the music. Also drum and bass is essentially used as an up-tempo dance track therefore the fast edits encapsulate the thrill and excitement of the genre.
This week we have also been researching on how to achieve professional-level shots without the price tag. One shot used in our piece is a technique called a Snorricam, this shot allows the camera to be focused and fixed to the actor so that the actor's face doesn't appear to move whereas the background does, this is a method that is used in such films as Darren Aronofksy's 'Requiem For A Dream', seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9vZ-m7JSM0
In order to achieve this shot we have looked at numerous different ways to build the snorricam harness. Here is one of the examples we looked at:
Here are a few examples of where a snorricam has been used in a music video:
Smashing Pumpkins - 1979:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4_C4yhl33g
Placebo - Meds:
System Of a Down - Chop Suey:
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
A2 Advanced Portfolio - Storyboarding
After Alec completed the script for our music video last week, Ben and I have began constructing the storyboards. Due to the plot we decided to spilt the music video into two different sections. Ben is drawing up the storyboards for the pre-'bomb' section of the video and I am creating the post-'bomb' section. We have done this specifically to show a clear contrast in style of direction, thus emphasising the difference between the villain's controlling 'Mainline' and the youths explosion of individuality. Ben's section will strive to keep to the conventions and capabilities when shooting in a silent movie style, including shooting in black and white. My section however will be in complete contrast and represent a modern style showing the clash between the two genres. This in turn challenges the way in which genres are perceived, and also creates a symbolic representation of the class system.
Villain = Controlling Upper-class
Henchmen = Bureaucratic Middle-Class
Youths = Working-Class
These semiotic representations will help the videos appeal to our target audiences, the younger half of our key demographic will relate the the generational representation and also supports their view that black and white movies are boring and stuffy whereas modern movies are fast and eye catching.
The older half of our demographic will relate to the idea of the class system and controlling force (Government) behind our society. They will also relate to the idea of the mainstream media influencing public consumption.
I initially went about creating my storyboards by playing the track over and over again in order to create a strong visual in my mind. From this I made sure that all my original ideas were in keeping with Alec's initial script and though he was more than happy to allow us to develop our own ideas I feel that its important not to change the original script, but rather work compliment and enhance it.
Here are a few of my storyboard sheets:
Villain = Controlling Upper-class
Henchmen = Bureaucratic Middle-Class
Youths = Working-Class
These semiotic representations will help the videos appeal to our target audiences, the younger half of our key demographic will relate the the generational representation and also supports their view that black and white movies are boring and stuffy whereas modern movies are fast and eye catching.
The older half of our demographic will relate to the idea of the class system and controlling force (Government) behind our society. They will also relate to the idea of the mainstream media influencing public consumption.
I initially went about creating my storyboards by playing the track over and over again in order to create a strong visual in my mind. From this I made sure that all my original ideas were in keeping with Alec's initial script and though he was more than happy to allow us to develop our own ideas I feel that its important not to change the original script, but rather work compliment and enhance it.
Here are a few of my storyboard sheets:
Friday, 22 January 2010
A2 Avdvanced Portfolio - Mainline 1st Script Draft
After debating for a long time we finally settled whether or not to use The Brink or Esion. We've chosen to go with a track called 'Mainline' Esion due to the freedom inherited by using a drum and bass track. Also the title 'Mainline' conjures a lot of postmodern interpretations relating to our reaction an interaction with the 'controlling' media as a nation. The word Mainline resonates with the word mainstream and gave us many initial ideas for Alec, the writer of the group, to create a innovative script based around our concepts.
Also as the main target audience for this genre of music is largely males between the age of 18-35. Because of this we have decided to have teenagers featuring in the video in order to try and widen the perspective audience to teenagers without deterring its established audience.
This is the initial script drafted by Alec:
Mainline Music Video Script by Alec Dent
We see a fold down projection screen upon a stage. The camera films the images appearing upon it whilst slowly moving down the aisle, getting closer and closer to the screen. The footage shows various shots of a well dressed man, an evil looking character much like a stereotypical villain from the silent cinema era.
Although to open only spurious and vague shots of the man are shown to promote mystery and suspense. As the camera gets about as close into the screen as it possibly can the audience and action is transported into the screen footage, no longer viewing it from the perspective of an outsider.
A close up shot of the villains face then comes into view, he is finally presented to the audience and he is laughing an evil hearty kind of laugh. He looks over at a small group of youths standing to one side of his position and he rubs his hands together in a devious and satisfied manner. He beckons them over with his hands and an evil glint in his eye.
The youths approach him casually before he seems to lure them into a state of obedience. The villain begins to draw a chalk line upon the floor and the youths seem to just naturally follow it. This continues for some time as the villain looks very pleased with his new found power and control over the youths.
But at 1.30 we hear the sound of a bomb slowly dropping through the air. The youths stop following the line and hold their heads as if in agony, as if a deafening sound can be heard within their heads. The villain is puzzled and somewhat dismayed at this, he is determined to keep his followers in line.
But at 1.50 after the bomb sound has finished each of the youths separate and begin to follow their own individual lines, no longer led by the villain. The villain is furious at this and their new found independence. He wolf whistles and beckons over his three henchman, each of them smartly dressed in suits.
The three henchman are masked and each has a note pinned to their backs. One says ‘society’, the other ‘the whip’ and the last says ‘governance’. The villain sends his henchman to do their dirty work. The henchman each try to convince one of the three youths to return to the mainline.
All three armed with briefcases with messages written inside. These are, ‘expectations’, ‘control’ and ‘persuasion’. The three henchman try their best but the youths are having none of it, each of them carrying on with their own individual lines. The villain is now extremely angry as he jumps about furiously, although not quite willing to give up yet.
He clicks his fingers and appears in front of the three boys, holding his hands out as if to stop them. the youths do indeed stop in their tracks. They look to the villain who seems to yet again have a devious plan to once again control them. He begins to speak and in silent movie style, his words are then put up upon a black screen.
He promises them that if they follow the mainline, they shall want for nothing. All they must do to achieve this is to follow blindly when they are led. The villain excitedly looks at the three youths as they take a moment to think. He is sure that they will agree to his terms. The three youths turn to one another before looking back at the villain.
They look at him determinedly before each one of them crushes their individual sticks of chalk and lets the broken pieces fall to the ground. The villain is thwarted and falls to his knees defeated, he cries and wails at his loss. The three youths walk of into the distance in their own chosen direction, knowing that they are now free from the grips of the mainline.
- Within the video we could feature subliminal messages , the likes of which the villain would encourage. Such as, ‘follow’ and ‘maintain’.
Our video will have a number of strong links to films such as Eisenstein's 'The Strike' and music videos such as 'Come To Daddy' by Chris Cunningham (Aphex Twin).
Another key influence to our video is the postmodern idea of rehashing of old style genres. We intend to create the beginning section of the video in the style of a silent movie, with a very typical evil villain. This villain will become the constant source of comparison between old and new and encompasses the 1920s silent movie genre.
We also will keep the shots to within the capabilities of the equipment used at the time of early cinema.
A postmodern theme will be evident throughout the video and through the henchmen called 'Expectations', 'Control' and 'Persuasion' we will explore Baudrillard's notion of simulation as a controlling force, trying to keep the youths enslaved.
Another key influence for our video is the work of film maker Dziga Vertov and one of his most innovative pieces of film "The Man With a Movie Camera":
"The Man With a Movie Camera - Dziga Vertov (1929):
Aphex Twin - Come To Daddy:
Eisenstein - Strike (1925):
Also as the main target audience for this genre of music is largely males between the age of 18-35. Because of this we have decided to have teenagers featuring in the video in order to try and widen the perspective audience to teenagers without deterring its established audience.
This is the initial script drafted by Alec:
Mainline Music Video Script by Alec Dent
We see a fold down projection screen upon a stage. The camera films the images appearing upon it whilst slowly moving down the aisle, getting closer and closer to the screen. The footage shows various shots of a well dressed man, an evil looking character much like a stereotypical villain from the silent cinema era.
Although to open only spurious and vague shots of the man are shown to promote mystery and suspense. As the camera gets about as close into the screen as it possibly can the audience and action is transported into the screen footage, no longer viewing it from the perspective of an outsider.
A close up shot of the villains face then comes into view, he is finally presented to the audience and he is laughing an evil hearty kind of laugh. He looks over at a small group of youths standing to one side of his position and he rubs his hands together in a devious and satisfied manner. He beckons them over with his hands and an evil glint in his eye.
The youths approach him casually before he seems to lure them into a state of obedience. The villain begins to draw a chalk line upon the floor and the youths seem to just naturally follow it. This continues for some time as the villain looks very pleased with his new found power and control over the youths.
But at 1.30 we hear the sound of a bomb slowly dropping through the air. The youths stop following the line and hold their heads as if in agony, as if a deafening sound can be heard within their heads. The villain is puzzled and somewhat dismayed at this, he is determined to keep his followers in line.
But at 1.50 after the bomb sound has finished each of the youths separate and begin to follow their own individual lines, no longer led by the villain. The villain is furious at this and their new found independence. He wolf whistles and beckons over his three henchman, each of them smartly dressed in suits.
The three henchman are masked and each has a note pinned to their backs. One says ‘society’, the other ‘the whip’ and the last says ‘governance’. The villain sends his henchman to do their dirty work. The henchman each try to convince one of the three youths to return to the mainline.
All three armed with briefcases with messages written inside. These are, ‘expectations’, ‘control’ and ‘persuasion’. The three henchman try their best but the youths are having none of it, each of them carrying on with their own individual lines. The villain is now extremely angry as he jumps about furiously, although not quite willing to give up yet.
He clicks his fingers and appears in front of the three boys, holding his hands out as if to stop them. the youths do indeed stop in their tracks. They look to the villain who seems to yet again have a devious plan to once again control them. He begins to speak and in silent movie style, his words are then put up upon a black screen.
He promises them that if they follow the mainline, they shall want for nothing. All they must do to achieve this is to follow blindly when they are led. The villain excitedly looks at the three youths as they take a moment to think. He is sure that they will agree to his terms. The three youths turn to one another before looking back at the villain.
They look at him determinedly before each one of them crushes their individual sticks of chalk and lets the broken pieces fall to the ground. The villain is thwarted and falls to his knees defeated, he cries and wails at his loss. The three youths walk of into the distance in their own chosen direction, knowing that they are now free from the grips of the mainline.
- Within the video we could feature subliminal messages , the likes of which the villain would encourage. Such as, ‘follow’ and ‘maintain’.
Our video will have a number of strong links to films such as Eisenstein's 'The Strike' and music videos such as 'Come To Daddy' by Chris Cunningham (Aphex Twin).
Another key influence to our video is the postmodern idea of rehashing of old style genres. We intend to create the beginning section of the video in the style of a silent movie, with a very typical evil villain. This villain will become the constant source of comparison between old and new and encompasses the 1920s silent movie genre.
We also will keep the shots to within the capabilities of the equipment used at the time of early cinema.
A postmodern theme will be evident throughout the video and through the henchmen called 'Expectations', 'Control' and 'Persuasion' we will explore Baudrillard's notion of simulation as a controlling force, trying to keep the youths enslaved.
Another key influence for our video is the work of film maker Dziga Vertov and one of his most innovative pieces of film "The Man With a Movie Camera":
"The Man With a Movie Camera - Dziga Vertov (1929):
Aphex Twin - Come To Daddy:
Eisenstein - Strike (1925):
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