The Making of my Advert

I started off my creating an initial layout on Microsoft Word. This was a pretty straightforward layout with simply various fonts and colours. The majority of the work was then done in Adobe Photoshop.

I decided on a red and black background because it would both fit my genre as well as looking really appealing.  In this particular case, I was inspired by some general backgrounds that are desktop wallpapers more so than previous bands adverts:

These examples however would be far too hard to replicate with not much time to create an advert as well as a digipak. This left me with the decision that I want something that will stand out, yet be simplistic whilst doing so.

The different shades of black and grey were created by creating different sized shapes in Microsoft Word, and then then by altering the shades of grey and black, I was able to create the perspective that some are protruding more so than others, and so the first draft of my background was done.

 

 

I have previously used Photoshop, and therefore had a rough idea of how I was going to go about creating the background, however just to be on the safe side I thought it would be best to look up a video on YouTube of how to create a wallpaper (in my case, a background for an advert).

 

 

The man in this video had pre downloaded brushes to have a wild effect, whereas all I needed was simple lines of bright red. I used effects much like those seen 11 minutes and 40 seconds into the video to create the dashes of red, of course I made it so it is as if it is seeping through the black. Meaning that it seems more direct and subtle than how the video designed the wallpaper, it was a slightly different process as the pattern I needed to produce isn't as extravagant as seen in the video. I also believe that this would link with my song choice, because it could be viewed that there is a deeper, darker meaning to 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams', which when listening to the song there is. 

 

 

I finished by to sharpening the overall image as well, giving it a glossy appearance and added a lens flare in the centre of the 'o' in Ragnarok. However it does not appear as much of a lens flare as I focused the light directly on the 'o'.

I wasn't sure whether or not to have my final advert with the lens flare or not, so here's both:



Cast/Actor List

My music video will require 3 band members, one of which will also star as the main actor. There will also be various other actors playing much smaller roles.

Vocalist - Will Corrie

Guitarist - Daniel Bunn

Actor - Will Corrie

The props that will be required when filming in the studio will be nothing but the instruments, and the costume will be dark casual wear (such as jeans and a black top).  I would like the actors to continue wearing dark clothing when filming outside (perhaps instead of black, a royal blue). However the props that would be required are more easily obtainable.

Lip Sync Video

Before I started filming my music video, I undertook the task of taking a snippet of a song and editing it so the words that are being mimed fit perfectly. The song that was given to me and my group to film and edit was The Human League's 'Don't You Want Me'.

This was a rather straightforward task, however we were given a limited amount of time (2 hours) to record all of the footage and edit it in Adobe Premier. Another part of the task was to incorporate shots that reflect what the singer is saying, hence we included various shots of the girl the singer was referring to in the song.

What I learnt from this activity:

• How to cut down footage in order for it to fit perfectly with the song
• That seeking what you require to film can take more time than expected
• How to effectively use an array of effects on AAE

 

Location

My music video will be shot in a variety of places. These places will predominantly include, a path which is surrounded by trees, a darkened alleyway and an empty road with flat land for hundreds of yards around:

Woodland location:

 

Darkened Street:





















The first half of the music video (at least) will be featured in the rural setting of the trees and  a small building amongst said trees, and a section of the second half of the music video will be featured in streets. There will also be a section of live performance which will be staged in a small studio.The video will then cut back to the rural setting at the end to see the main character drive off in his car.

My Storyboard

This is a rough sketch of what I wish my final product to have included in it:

Initial Design of a Digipak

Inside (Top)

Left
To the left of my digipak I have a simple slip case. The sleeve will not have any extravagant artistry or pictures, instead it will a very dark shade of red in order to match the colour of the band name

Centre
This is where the CD holder will be, with a picture of the instruments used in the music video behind it. Further indicating what type of music is on the disc

Right
This is a picture which relates to one of the most repetitive quotes in 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' about walking alone. I have drawn him walking through woods to display just how alone he actually is

Outside (Bottom)

Left (Back Cover)
This is simply the track listing, the first track is the one I will be using, the rest are song titles that I have come up with to create the perception that it could be a genuine EP whilst still fitting the genre

Centre (Front Cover)

The word 'ONYX' dominates the front cover in a dark shade of red, whilst the album title 'Plagueis' (which I may change later) is written in a smaller and different style of font just below it in black

Right
As this will be on the inside until the album is opened, I have decided to leave this as a single shade of royal blue/black

Peer Assessment

• Instead of a mysterious man walking alone for the picture, my peer thought that it would be a better idea to have a picture of my band, and perhaps have the lone man on the outside of the cover
• Where there is the single shade of royal blue, there could be the picture of the mysterious man walking down a path (if the point above takes force)

Examples of Digipaks

Research of Advertisments/Advertisment of Band

Layout of Advertisement

My initial concept is of a picture of the band members (from the waist up) dominating about three-quarters of the entire advertisement (starting from the top). The band name would be what is written in the biggest font, followed by the title of the album and the fact its a debut album.

Peer Assessment
I did however talk with my peers about their opinion of my initial thoughts. Some of the feedback of ways to improve my piece includes:

• The band name could be across the middle of the band, instead of below them
• It could include 'Out Now' signs
• Include 'Available on iTunes'

My Song Choice and its Lyrics

I am currently waiting for a reply from Warner Music Group, however if they get back to me and there is no copyright issues, the song I would choose to appear in my final project/music video is a song that I have previously analysed - Green Day's Boulevard of Broken Dreams. However I have tried several times to contact Warner Music Group and various people it employs.

Looking at the exam boards requirements, it states that there is no need to obtain permission as long as the student has tried to get in contact with the music company. I originally E-mailed the man who sent me the link to the request form on the 9th of October and instantly got a reply.

   __________________________________

"Boulevard Of Broken Dreams"

I walk a lonely road

The only one that I have ever known

Don't know where it goes

But it's home to me and I walk alone

I walk this empty street

On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Where the city sleeps

And I'm the only one and I walk alone

I walk alone

I walk alone

I walk alone

I walk a...

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me

My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating

Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me

'Til then I walk alone

Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, aaah-ah,

Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah

I'm walking down the line

That divides me somewhere in my mind

On the border line

Of the edge and where I walk alone

Read between the lines

What's fucked up and everything's alright

Check my vital signs

To know I'm still alive and I walk alone

I walk alone

I walk alone

I walk alone

I walk a...

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me

My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating

Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me

'Til then I walk alone

Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, aaah-ah

Ah-ah, ah-ah

I walk alone

I walk a...

I walk this empty street

On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Where the city sleeps

And I'm the only one and I walk a...

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me

My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating

Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me

'Til then I walk alone...

 

                                              __________________________________

 

Brief History of the Band

• Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt
• Their big breakthrough happened between the years of 1994 when the producer of Reprise Records (Rob Cavello) signed them on, and soon after their debut album 'Dookie' was released, 3 of the songs that featured on it instantly went to #1 
• They are one of the world's best-selling bands of all time, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide
• The group has won five Grammy Awards: Best Alternative Album for 'Dookie', Best Rock Album for 'American Idiot', Record of the Year for 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' and Best Rock Album for '21st Century Breakdown'

Awards

• The band has won a total of 94 awards whilst being nominated for a total of 215 (lost out 121 times)
• Their first award was presented in 1994
• They've won every award they have ever been nominated for at the California Music awards (18 times)
• The majority of the awards they have won have been won by the group as a whole for their performance, instead of individual songwriters, etc.

Band Name

 

These are various names I have come up with that could have been the name of the band that will appear in my final project/music video:

 

 

After eliminating the ones that didn't particularly sound right for my genre of music (Punk Rock) I was left with Ceres, Back to the Light and Onyx, and after determining which one I preferred, I arrived at the conclusion that Onyx would be the name whilst merging it with the font I used for Ceres...

 

I used the website 'Cool Text' to generate the image. The form of text was called 'Lasers', and the font is called 'BatmanForever'.

Music Magazine

 

You're Gonna Go Far Kid

 

 

The music video I'm going to look at that can be associated with my Youth Sub-Culture presentation is The Offspring's 'You're Gonna Go Far Kid'. Unlike the 4 music videos I previously analysed on this blog where I applied Andrew Goodwin's and Joe Gow's concepts to the videos. For this one I will be looking at the codes and conventions of the piece.

 

Props:                                                                                                                         The main prop that the music video director has decided to focus on is an acoustic guitar. This is rather strange given that the song is actually performed on electric guitars. At the beginning of the music video, the star can be seen cutting things down and out of his way with a scythe. Indicating he is on a path of destruction before the lady hands him a guitar which turns out to be his saviour. After he is handed said guitar he is never seen in any shot without it until it is taken off him at the end, the star even clutches it tightly when travelling through a dodgy looking neighbourhood. Implying that he fears without the instrument he will lose all respect that has been gained from various people.

 

Costume:

At the beginning of the video, the man's costume conveys the man as being poor or and/or irrelevant to society. As the song progresses, the guitarists clothing gets more formal as he gets increasingly recognised for his skill. The different audiences he performs to dress as if they are in different places on the socio-demographic model, because when he gets richer, the onlookers appear to become better dressed as well.

Stock Characters:

There are only 2 stock characters in 'You're Gonna Go Far Kid'. There is the guitar player and the woman that appears to be an angel. Through the entirety of the video, it appears that it is the male is in control, however going against stereotypes, the woman has the true source of dominance in the video as she possesses the ability to take away everything that made the guitarist so important.

Stock Events:

The primary stock event of the video is a man finds fame through learning how to play the guitar. It turns out that everyone seems to love his music, and it is because of this that he starts to become increasingly egotistical.Over the music video we have seen the man progress from bringing other people joy for the fun of it to expecting riches for the music he makes. The woman takes away the guitar from him because he abused his power too much. After this he gets taken away from the social gathering as he now has nothing to offer the people.

SFX:

In this shot we see the star of the video surrounded by darkness. The guitar is acting as a beacon of light, and of happiness and hope. The people in the background start to surround the guitarist as if they want to listen to the music in order to be happy. This shot in particular connotes that in even the darkest of times, music does not fail to bring joy to those playing it and the onlookers that are merely listening.

Lighting:

In the early stages of the music video when the star is playing his guitar as he walks through the town, the lighting is very dim. This darkness personifies fear, treachery, and terror of the unknown. When the video gets to the stage where the guitarist has found fame, the lighting has gradually gone from dim to bright. It is generally understood that light stands for purity, hope, and new beginnings and from what the video suggests the star has all 3 of these things.



Youth Sub-Culture Presentation

 

 

Stop Motion Animation

Another project that I had to undertake was a stop motion production. Much like my first transition project I was put into a group with 2 fellow media students. The task involved us picking two objects which would be the main focus of the clip, and we would then move them into various positions to construct a story. My group chose a T-Rex and a 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle' with which we would create a series of events, and we would use a Samsung Galaxy 3 to film these events.

This project has given me the option of using the stop motion effect in my music video. Although I don't believe I will use this type of effect for my final product, it is good that I have at least obtained the skills so that if I change my mind, I still have the option.

Mood Board

 

In order to present an initial concept of what things my music video is likely to contain, I created a mood board featuring an array of props, bands, clothing and album covers. This allows me to have many kinds of thoughts when it actually comes down to making my music video.


In order to create this mood board I used pictures from Google images and screenshots from various music videos on YouTube. Guitars feature heavily on my mood board, meaning they'll almost certainly feature heavily in my video also. Aside from instruments, there are pictures of various bands that have a fashion sense that I believe would fit the style of my music video very well. For instance the pictures of the two bands on the top row (Sum 41: Left & Green Day: Middle) have the type of 'punk rock' look I would like to have, however I may also wish to take style tips from Jim Root (middle left) and Metallica (middle right) as I believe my choice of genre could well work with the black outfits too.

Transition Project 1

 

This video has no relevance to the genre I have chosen...at all. I merely set about this task in order to familiarise myself with Adobe After Effects. I had previously used AAE about 3 years ago briefly around a friend's house, and over those years there has been a few developments. Not many major changes, primarily the layout. I worked with fellow classmates Brandon Wisdom and Dan Bunn in order to film all of the footage.

 

What I've learnt/relearnt from this project:

• How to cut down footage in order for it to fit perfectly with the song
• How to effectively use an array of effects on AAE
• That seeking what you require to film can take more time than expected

Angels

Although 3 music videos would be enough to analyse. I thought I should analyse another just in case, because I'm not entirely sold on producing a music video in the style of 'Shipwrecked'.

Continuing with Andrew Goodwin's 5 aspects of music videos and applying them to some of my favourites, I decided that the second music video I will be one from a sub-genre I have not explored yet. 'Angels' is a song by the symphonic metal band Within Temptation. Although the video has drums and electric guitars featuring in it, the singer's voice is one that you would usually associate with a more classical piece of music, however the mix of the voice with the metal styled music to create ' symphonic metal' is surprisingly pleasant to listen to.

In terms of the relation of the song to the visuals, it's pretty accurate compared to the past couple of music videos I have looked at. It tells a story of two people. The star of the video was hurt and a man came a long and took her into his home to take care of her. She gradually fell in love with him, only to be killed by him later on. "Dark intentions, your feelings for me" indicates a long time before she is murdered that something unfortunate was going to happen to her in the near future.

The star portrays a character of a delicate nature, who is also rather vulnerable. This can be shown not only through the way she moves when singing and the fact that she is trying to make herself small when she is sitting at the side of the road (as well as looking down). Yet the implication that she is vulnerable is expressed in her style of singing.  If we compare her image portrayed in this video compared to previous music videos (such as 'Mother Earth'), unlike the star in the Green Day and Blink 182 videos, the singer for Within Temptation barely develops at all. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. Due to Within Temptation being a much smaller band than either Green Day or Blink 182, it is understandable how the band would want to stick to the style of music video that first found them major success.

The song is rather slow paced in most places, and in order to make the video reflect the slowness of pace, the camera movement is particularly slow, and that goes for the speed at which it zooms in and out as well. Special effects are featured in this music video because it is the simplest technique that can be used to create the spectacle of something that could be viewed as supernatural (E.g. The angels flying and the red eyes of the priest that light up to symbolise evil/the devil). The priest is also wearing black that could back up the idea of him being evil, while the woman wears white/light clothing to display innocence. The video has been edited in such a way that it has been given a browner/dustier effect. The colour brown traditionally connotes security and stability, everything she felt towards the man who betrayed her. However, as the video progresses, the atmosphere changes from having a brown 'tinge' to having a red one, conveying her rage towards her killer's actions.

The voice is a very expressive instrument in this video, not only are the lyrics deep and meaningful that create a serious story to the audience, but the style of which she delivers the story in expresses her pain and sadness of the fact that she was deceived and betrayed by the person she loved. The star of the video was hurt and a man took care of her. She fell in love with him, only to find out he was a serial killer. It acts as a metaphor to everyday relationships and how people can hurt someone without knowing it ("You took my heart, deceived me right from the start").

For the music video to be effective, the audience must feel as if what they are seeing is real. To make the video more authentic, the artist acts as both the narrator and a participant. This allows her to express her emotions as the character who has been victimised as well as the narrator viewing the story from another perspective.


Album: