Meesage to Moderator

Dear moderator,

This is my G324 media portfolio. To create the final products, I worked in a group along with  Richard Parker and Adam Dixon. 

On this portfolio you will find the final music video and the ancillary tasks that contribute to the final promo package. The final products can be found listed on the tab at the top of the page. You will also find the tasks I  have completed to help me create the final products, which are listed under the other tabs at the top of the page. 

Thank you for taking the time to read through this blog and I hope you enjoy it. 

Regards, 
Josh Newton

Music Video

Question 2

Final Digipak

This is an image of our final digipak. Although it has changed a lot from our initial designs, we feel that the changes we have made only help to convey the genre of the band.

Magazine Advert

Magazine Article Development

To make the digipak we started off by looking at our initial sketches. Once we all had the same vision of our magazine article, Adam started to make the product on Photoshop. 

To make the make the magazine article, he built up the product by using different layers on Photoshop.

He started off with the basic background which was the picture of the clouds and the field. We then added the logo and a photo of the digipak album. Once these were in place he found a textured patter and created this over the document in another layer. We then thought about where the digipak would be available from and we decided to use icons in or magazine article at the bottom. Adam then wrote New album coming soon in a font that matched the theme of the title. After building up a few layers of effects, adjustments and modes he put all of the layers together and had created the final product. 

As a group we were very pleased with the final product. We all felt that it fit the genre really well and that the theme between the digipak and magazine advert were very consistent. 

Magazine Advert Sketches

To ensure that all of the group understood what we were trying to achieve we sketched out our initial idea for the advert. It is evident that we went for a simple and effective magazine article, taking inspiration from the Kasabian and Daft Punk adverts we analysed. From this sketch we can now start to create the final advert. 

Photoshoot Images

These were the images that we took for our photoshoot. We decided to take them when we were in the studio to keep the video and the photos consistent. After we had taken these photos we looked through all of the photos and then selected the four that we thought fit best. 

Digipak Sketches

For our digipak we want to continue with the contrast between the ambient dynamic outdoors and the dark lighting of the studio. To create this effect we have created the back panels of the digipak with the theme of nature in mind. This links with the ambient outdoors and features of the dynamic landscape. When the digipak is printed with colour, the colours used on these panels will be bright and eye catching, especially on the front cover. 

Then when the audience open the digipak, they will see the band name wrote across the inside panels. This will be printed and designed using dark colours and will have black bands across to make sure that the logo stands out. Then the middle panel will be very bright and very colourful, with a pattern on the CD that matches the colour scheme of the panel. 

However we understand that throughout the development process we will learn about making a digipak and this may alter our design. Also our ideas will change throughout the process and this may be another factor that influences our designs and final digipak. 

Preliminary Task

Music Video Trends

Looking at other bands within the alternative rock genre, we have created a list of common features that were easy to to recognise within these music videos.

Editing Effects

One of our finding were that a few music videos used different coloured effects, such as black and white and sepia. This is used to fit the style of the music and to help created the star image of the band. Another reason this effect was used is because the music is low tone and has a moderate tempo. This could suggest that the music video has been made with this effect to match the ton of the song.  One video that used the black and white effect was Arctic Monkeys - One For The Road. 

Another music video we looked at is Kasabian - Fire. This also uses the same black and white effect, as well as a sepia effect. We believe the sepia effect has been used to create an aged effect, as this makes the props look part of the music video. The black and white effect has then been used to create the CCTV effects as the robbery takes place. 

Colours

In the Miles Kane - Rearrange music video, we see a range of different colours used. The bright colours  reflect the fast tempo of the song whilst the dark backgrounds reflect the song when it is at a low tempo. This means that the beat matches the visuals and makes the music video make sense. However there is no narrative to the video and this leaves questions in the audiences mind. 

Key Media Concepts

It is important to include some theory in the planning stages as this will ensure that our music video is as accurate as it can be. The main theorist we will refer to and take ideas from is Carol Vernallis. We will consider all of the following points although we may consider some more important to others as the process develops.

Narrative

• Fragmented / Unclear Narrative 
• Video may not answer all questions 

Editing

• Jump Cuts
• Breaking the 180° rule

Camera Movement & Framing 

• Camera moves in time with music 
• A lot of close up sots are used

Diegesis

• Characters / Objects move in time with music 
• Some frames are more important than others 
• Gaps in audiences' understanding  

We will use more theorists and their findings as the process develops, however this will be the main theorist we want to focus our video on as it fits the video we want to create and will hep us create the vision we have whilst making sure that the video is realistic. 

Advert Research

Adverts are one of the most popular methods used to attract peoples attention to a certain product. In the music industry advertising is heavily used to ensure that the record company institutions make a lot of money of the records and products they sell. Music adverts often feature in music themed magazines as this allows the companies to narrow down the advert to a particular genre, which will help people who like that genre see the advert and then make a purchase.

Usually magazine articles either use a photo of the band or have an illustrated image. This is used to create a certain star image that can relate to people who are interested in that particular genre. They often take up a full side of a page so that they can be seen and use different sized fonts and colours, which usually depend on the genre.

Group Members Blog Links

This is a list of the group members and a link to each blog.

Adam Dixon
Richard Parker

Rough Cut Two

This is the main rough cut. We have combined and edited the majority of the clips we have. We are aware that there are some sections of the video, which do not yet have visuals with the sound. However now that the rough cut is finished, everyone in the group has a good idea of what needs to be filmed and edited in order to have the final music video completed. 

Rough Cut One

This is the first rough cut we did. It is not very long but we used this as a preview of the complete rough cut. We made this clip so that all group members could have a quick glance and were assured that everything was matching before we wen ahead and created the full rough cut. 

Shooting Schedule

Shooting Schedule

Shot Number	Description	Day / Night	Location	Cast
1	Time Lapse	Day		-
2	Medium shot of Drummer	Day	Studio	Adam
3	Close Up of Drum kit	Day	Studio	Adam
4	High angle shot of Drummer	Day	Studio	Adam
5	Long shot taken from behind drummer	Day	Studio	Adam
6	Medium shot of Bass Guitarist / Lead Singer	Day	Studio	Richard
7	Long Shot of Bass Guitarist / Lead Singer	Day	Studio	Richard
8	Close up of Bass Guitar	Day	Studio	Richard
9	Time Lapse	Day		-
10	Medium Shot of Guitarist	Day	Studio	Josh
11	Close Up of Guitar	Day	Studio	Josh
12	Long Shot of Guitarist	Day	Studio	Josh
13	Long Shot of Full Band	Day	Studio	Josh, Richard & Adam
14	Medium Close Up of Band	Day	Studio	Josh, Richard & Adam
15	Time Lapse	Night		-

We have created this document using all of the planning and preparation we have done. This should ensure that our video resembles the conventions and storyboard. However we understand that during the filming, it is likely that we will decide to remove shots and add other shots in and this will therefore alter the document.