My Video So Far...

I have been experimenting with my video and this is what I have so far. Im sure I will have plenty more shots when the other guitarist actually decides to show up to practise.

Album Cover Mock Up 1

My first mock up is a very simple design.
Although the image used is not my own, my finished product will contain my on pictures, these mock ups are guidelines only.

This cover uses a bandana-style border/background, which ties in with the song title, as bandanas are often used to hide identity. I then erased the pattern from the centre and simply used the band name and song title, which are in a 'fancy' font which can also be perceived as darker and more eerie than a standard font.

Album Cover

As my recording and editing for my video is currently taking place outside of school, I have decided that it would be more beneficial to utilise my time in lessons to begin work on an album cover.
As the song is quite a gritty and aggressive song, I need the cover to reflect this, so I intend to use darker images and colour schemes. After my research I hope to utilise what I have discovered and use a simple but effective design.
Mock ups to follow...

Final Song Choice

I have decided on my song that I will be using for my project.
The title is 'Your Disguise' by The Edition, which is my own band
This removes the need to ask permission to use the track and also makes the video alot more personal as it is a song that I created.

Research Part 3: Poster

The 2nd poster I have chosen to analyse is slightly different from other products I have analysed, as the band 'The Devil Wears Prada', are an American metalcore band, but nonetheless, I found that the poster is still useful and could aid me with my own project.
The poster is very simple and effective. The main image is of the band members, which is a good idea for my project, I would probably use a black and white image against a more 'residential' area on a poster of my own. The bands name is at the bottom of the poster and is dominant as it is in white, whereas the rest of the poster is rather dark.
In the bottom right hand corner is the album art for the album that they are promoting. The bottom of the poster has websites, which is a good idea as it attracts a wider audience.

Research Part 3: Poster

The first poster I have chosen to analyse is the promo poster for the first album cover that I analysed, 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not' by the Arctic Monkeys. As you can see, this is a poster-sized version of the album cover, and is only a picture. It gives no information whatsoever, but is still easily recognised due to the image shown. This is know as intertextuality, and can be seen in all 3 Arctic Monkeys products that I have analysed. This was intentional as they are all from the same album and this can be seen easily through the use of black and white and more negative images.

Research Part 2: Music Video

My second music video to analyse is Helicopter by Bloc Party. This is once again set in black and white and begins with an establishing shot of a rather eerie looking building, the cuts then speed up and show band members playing in different areas of the building, which appears to be a house. On closer inspection, I believe that the background is actually green-screened in, as rough edges can be seen around the band, and the perspectives are not perfect. However, a green screen would not be needed if a suitable location could be found, and even if the technology would need to be used, it is relatively cheap and easy to set up and use. As the video progresses, at around the 1:05 mark, transition effects and special effects come into play. The transition and the grain used on the video make it seem as if it is being shown on television, and as the camera changes from each member, it gives the effect of someone changing the channel. At different intervals, a shape that resembles a body in a bag can be seen, with an electric glow surrounding it, this adds to mystery and is a clever way of keeping the viewer interested, in case the identity of the 'thing' is shown. In the end it is revealed to be a ball of electricity which darts around the rooms mindlessly.
As the video progresses, more effects that resemble an old television set are used, such as 'ghosting' where a faint image of the cut before remains on screen and fuzzing, or 'white noise'.
This is once again a simple video video to make, if CGI is not taken into account, as it is not essential for the video.

Research Part 1: Album Cover

I chose to analyse this album by The Loud Wars as it is very unusual yet simple.
At first this may just look like the band name written in an abstract style of font, but upon closer inspection all the writing is actually made from musical equipment such as cables, pedals, keyboards and drums. This is very creative and clever. The name of the album is also present, written on the drum which makes the letter 'O'.
I also like the design of this cover as it has the 'amateur' look to it, and could easily be used as an idea when planning my own project.

Research Part 1: Album Cover

The second cover I chose to analyse is "This Song Is About You" by The Enemy.
The main image is simply a picture of a crowd, probably taken at a gig, the main focus is on a fan who is elevated from the crowd and is wearing a t-shirt saying 'I Love COV', which refers to Coventry, where the band originated.
A bold font is used which makes the band name stand out, and intergrated into the band name is the title of the album. This makes the consumer take a closer look to find the name of the album.

Research Part 2: Music Video

Arctic Monkeys - The View From the Afternoon @ Yahoo! Video

My first music video to analyse is 'The View From The Afternoon' by the Arctic Monkeys. The video is almost entirely in black and white, and uses a 'council' style area as the setting. This shows that the song will be reflected as a dark and gritty song, I would like a similar style of setting for my own song, as it will be a similar style and genre.
The video starts with a man or a woman pushing a trolley with a close up of their feet, followed by alot of establishing and long shots that set the scene.
The main character of the video is then introduced, who is sat in the middle of an empty playground. This shows lonliness. The character then begins to play the durmkit and quicker cuts are used, as the music has now started.
The video remains black and white for almost the entirity of the video, until the character has a flashback, which is in colour, showing that it is vivid, which may bear some significance to why the character is so determined to constantly play his drumset.
The song is called 'The View From The Afternoon', and although the video seems to tell a story, it does not seem to tie in with the title nor the lyrics of the actual song, I like this idea as it allows the director to go off on a tangent and create a more impressive video instead of having to stick to guidlines.

Research Part 1: Album Cover

My first piece of research is on the album cover for the Arctic Monkeys album, 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'.
The main focus for the picture is a man smoking a cigarette. This is a very simple and effective design as it draws in the target audience as it is not a typical album cover. The picture is also in black and white, this gives a grittier feel to the album and allows the audience to know what to expect from the CD.
In the top left hand corner of the design in a solid white box is the name of the artist. The solid white background allows the artist's name to really stick out, especially as the rest of the cover features darker colours.
One thing I did notice when analysing this cover, was that it states nowhere the actual name of the album, which could be confusing if the artist has multiple albums out, when I create my product I will be certain to include the name of the album for ease of the consumer.

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First Post

My name is Jordan Brady, and I am an A2 media studies student at Biddulph High School.

For my coursework, I will be creating a music video for a song that has been created by my own band. I intend to make an Indie styled video and need to do research of similar videos in order to get ideas on how to produce and edit my video.