Editing update 1

With footage captured, I decided to start editing together my music video. Although final cut declared that a lot of the video files needed to be connected, they actually worked perfectly when I added them to my timeline and was putting together the video. I didn't really get a lot done, but I laid the foundations for how my video would begin. One problem that plagued me was that I was beginning to notice just how long a three minute music video would be, and that I didn't really have that much variety to fit into those three minutes. I knew from this moment that more footage would need to be collected if I wanted the video to be engaging. 

Something else which bothered me was rendering. Rendering took up most of my time when I was editing. If I wanted to complete my work on time I needed to try and get all of the 'big' changes out of the way first, so that rendering was minimal for the future. 

Production update 2

Today I was able to film the rest of my product (unless I decide I need more footage). I produced a variety of shots in the belmont/epsom downs area with my main actress Lily Picton.

I was happy with the quality of my shots and the connotations that could be drawn from them. Most were tracking shots, following her through the foresty area, and some were long shots taken with her walking up a hill and towards the camera and past it. Although not clear or obvious when filming or reviewing footage on the camera screen, it's possible that some shots might not have the same colour balance as others because it was significantly darker towards the end of the day than the start, but this isn't too worrying.

At the moment however, I'm beginning to worry about how little I have to work with on my editing. I feel as though I'll need to film quite a bit more footage of more exciting mise-en-scenes if I want my piece to be engaging.

Production update 1

Yesterday I was able to film all of the shots that I wanted (unless I need to revisit) which take place in the house. The kitchen shots and bedroom shots are fully collected.

I faced some difficulties timewise - however. Towards the end of filming I was running out of good light to use, and had to use my house lights as I didn't have any equipment. This led to a very warm lighting set up which could be disappointing in my final product. I may have to remove saturation to instead use these shots as black and white shots.

Besides that, filming was productive and I felt that I got some very good shots to use in my product.

Main actress in music video

At the moment, my music video is to feature a single main character who will be played by 'Lily Picton March'.  

I chose her to be my actress because she is willing to help with my production and even played an acting role within another one of her friend's media courseworks - so she has atleast a bit of experience with acting. 

Another reason why I chose her to be my actress is because I feel she has the capability to display the conflictingly deep but also empty emotions that I'm looking for in my character. She is also very reliable at keeping to schedules and I can count on her to turn up. 

Having a female character in my video could help female audiences to relate and identify with her character and my music video. However, I don't think that this necessarily will effect how male audiences view the video - it is still sung by a male and the music itself is the defining content while music videos are additional experiences. 

Having already tested out make ups and costumes I'm extremely pleased with the overall look - edgy and jarring but still 'pretty' and photogenic - which can help in the overall aesthetic of the video. 

Questionaire

After finding that I can't decide whether James Blake's audience is predominantly male or female based, I decided I am going to conduct a small questionaire on 50 of my friends (they will be in the sixth form all the way to ages thirty five, which I would say is most probably the target audience's age for James Blake's music). 25 of them will be male and the other 25 female. I will play extracts from two tracks 'Retrograde' and 'Limit To Your Love' (the good thing about doing this is that there is a lot of repetition in James Blake's songs, it doesn't appear to be much of a bad thing in his case but 30 seconds of his songs can often sum up the entire track). And simply ask 'Did you like this artist'. 50 people may not be significant enough to conclusively give an idea of which gender Blake's audience is preferred by, but it will do for purposes of my production. I will use a likert scale of:

I really like it - 5

I like it - 4 

It's okay - 3

I don't like it - 2

I hate it - 1

and then consult my psychology teacher (who I know is experienced with statistical tests) or media teacher to analyse the data I collect.

If my results are particularly heavy in either direction, it could lead to me rethinking some ideas for my music video production. 

Comparing James Blake's Retrograde video to Kieza's Hideaway video through Andrew Goodwin's theories part 1

James Blake's Retrograde video and Kieza's Hideaway are in some aspects pretty polar opposite. I thought it would be useful and insiteful to compare the two and how they fit (or don't fit) Andrew Goodwin's theories, and what different effects are drawn as a result.

1.) Characteristics from their music genres: Kieza's song is within the 'Deep House' genre - which is a mix of house music, jazz and soul. Her song is probably most akin to house - which is described as being 'electronic dance music' - this really is reflected in her video. It can therefore be said that her song fits into this aspect of Andrew Goodwin's theory. This works well because dancing provides entertaining visuals and it can be easily recognized by fans of the genre.

James Blake's genre however is a lot more misty. It's like an experimental version of dub-step, soul and R&B - and even then it is still difficult to define. In their own way, however - his videos seem to fit into the characteristics of the often slow and weird music. You could say it fits into Andrew Goodwin's theory - and it's good because the content of the videos is often just as ambiguous as the songs themselves. They stay interesting and give people the chance to take their own meanings from the text.

2 AND 3.) Illustrative, amplifying or contradicting visuals to the lyrics/ melody of the song: Other than the ecstasy-esque 'high' of Kiesza's 'Hideaway' (as shown below)

'Uh, you send me the shiver and the spine might overflow

You're bringing me closer to the edge, I'm letting go'

There isn't really any other similarities between the music video's content and the lyrics of the music. She dances down the street both solo and within groups in a euphoric manner - which you could say amounts to an 'amplifying' connection between the lyrics and the visuals of the video. This allows audiences to experience the same up-beat intensity across both the sound and the visuals - making that connection fluid and easy, as opposed to contradicting visuals which might require more effort to decipher and understand and which certainly wouldn't be as easy-watching.

James Blake on the other hand probably features a mix of illustrative and amplifying visuals. The video is just as odd as the song and you could take out different meanings from the visuals to go alongside different possible meanings of the lyrics. For example, 'You're alone now' - could be illustrated by how the woman in the video has a motorbike helmet on - cutting her off from everything else. When he sings 'Suddenly I'm hit' and the intensity in tempo and loudness of the music seems to rise, the screen flashes white and the imagery turns more extreme in the video.

Shooting schedule (UPDATED 10TH OCTOBER)

Shot	Location	Date
Bedroom shots – bed – position 1: -        -  Medium-long shot -        Medium shot -        Medium-close shot -        Close-up shot -        Zoom from medium-long to close-up -        Shaking camera shot	House, bedroom	20th September 2014 – 21st September 2014
Bedroom shots – bed – position 2: -        Medium-long shot -        Medium shot -        Medium-close shot -        Close-up shot -        Zoom from medium-long to close-up -        Shaking camera shot	House, bedroom	20th September 2014 – 21st September 2014
Bedroom shots – bed – position 3: -        Interchanging by zooming between medium and close up from the side of actress’s face.	House, bedroom	20th September 2014 – 21st September 2014
Bedroom shots – bed – position 4: -        Interchanging by zooming between medium and close up from the side of actress’s face	House, bedroom	20th September 2014 – 21st September 2014
Bedroom shots – bed – position 4 WITH MAKE UP	House, bedroom	20th September 2014 – 21st September 2014
Bedroom shots – bed – position 3 WITH MAKE UP	House, bedroom	20th September 2014 – 21st September 2014
Bedroom shots – bed – position 2 WITH MAKE UP	House, bedroom	20th September 2014 – 21st September 2014
Bedroom shots – bed – position 1 WITH MAKE UP	House, bedroom	20th September 2014 – 21st September 2014
Bedroom shots – by the window – position 1 WITH MAKE UP: -        Medium close shot -        Close shot	House, bedroom	20th September 2014 – 21st September 2014
Bedroom shots – looking into the mirror – position 1 WITH MAKE UP: -        Medium close shot	House, bedroom	20th September 2014 – 21st September 2014
Kitchen shots – making tea: -        Low angle medium shot	House, kitchen	20th September 2014 – 21st September 2014
Kitchen shots – sitting at table: -        Medium-close shot	House, kitchen	20th September 2014 – 21st September 2014
Kitchen shots – sitting at table – black and white: -        Medium-close shot	House, kitchen	20th September 2014 – 21st September 2014
Woods shots – Entering the forest and down the path: -        Tracking shot 1 – varying between behind actress and in front of actress, varying between long, medium and close shots. -        Tracking shot 2 – varying between behind actress and in front of actress, varying between long, medium and close shots (but at different places)	Belmont Downs wooded area	27th September 2014
Woods shots – Walking down the path: -        Tracking shot 1 – behind the actress -        Shaking camera shot – medium close up -        Tracking shot 2 – in front of the actress	Belmont Downs wooded area	27th September 2014
Woods shots – Walking up the hill: -        Tracking shot 1 – behind the actress medium to medium close shots -        Tracking shot 2 – in front of the actress medium to close shots -        Long shot 1 – behind the actress low angle -        Long shot 2 – In front of actress high angle	Belmont Downs wooded area	27th September 2014
Woods shots – the same shots all around – WITH MAKE UP	Belmont Downs wooded area	27th September 2014
Bedroom shots – off the bed and out of the room: -        Shot 1 panning medium shot -        Shot 2 panning medium shot (different position) -        Shot 3 medium close shot – putting on coat -        Shot 4 Medium close tracking shot (from the side).	House, bedroom	18th October 2014
Bathroom shots: -        Shot 1 low angle medium shot -        Shot 2 low angle medium close mirror shot -        Shot 3 low angle viewing sink	House, bathroom	18th October 2014
Door shots: -        Shot 1 high angle long shot putting on shoes -        Shot 2 tracking behind actress out of the door -        Shot 3 tracking in front of actress out of the door	House, downstairs door hallway	18th October 2014
Pavement/street walk shots: -        Shot 1 tracking shot behind actress -        Shot 2 tracking shot in front of actress	Street – pavement walk	18th October 2014
Grassland shot – Medium close to close up shot	Overton Grange park	18th October 2014

Location recce and lighting tests

Rather than just guessing, it would be useful to scout out the location like real life photographers would during productions. Whilst a lot of the music video may take place in my house (and so I know what they're like), it would still be beneficial to scout them in terms of how to get good lighting conditions and what looks good on camera. I also need to recce the 'Downs' area for light and to see which locations I might want to use.

The one con is that the weather may not be the same and so the pictures may not have reflected the actual lighting on the day of filming - for example it is sunny in the images shown but when we film the production it could be raining (in which case we most probably wouldn't film).

In the recce, I decided that since I would be filming with my actress, it would be best to capture a lot of shots which actually have her in them, to see how we could use the light to our advantage in practice - rather than just guessing what it would look like when she is in it.

as you can see, there is a wide variety of different lighting scenarios we could use to our advantage in the belmont downs wooded area. The area, despite a lot of it under shade - offers a good amount of consistent light. In the first photograph, although it is an interesting combination of colours, I wouldn't choose to use it for the majority of my film - I would instead opt for the lighting of the 4th, 6th and 7th shot, as they are more easy on the eye and fit a more moody tone that I am looking for in the film. As for the locations, the path through the wooded area was perfect. It gives the impression of being endless  - though after my 3rd test shot, we probably won't be using a shot where she ventures into the trees - it it didn't really look natural. 

Basic schedule for A2 Work

Research and planning	Research and planning commenced soon after we arrived back at school to start our A2 work. This was not long after we finished our exams. We were to research the industries that our coursework was to be based around and also analyse pieces of media related to what we wanted to create. For example I would go on to analyse James Blake’s music videos because I am going to use one of his songs for my own music video, looking at theorists and their ideas – and more. It also includes things such as planning my own production. Work such as my proposal, coming up with ideas and location recces are also included.	Started in July – ended 28th September
Production - filming	First filming in the house – bedroom and downstairs kitchen area	20th September 2014 – 21st September 2014
	Filming in Belmont downs area	27th September 2014
	Last possible filming in house – any last bits which might need filming	18th October 2014 (may not be needed)
Post production – editing	Edit the first version of my music video.	29th September – 17th October 2014
	Edit the second version of my music video if there is one – this will be if I’m not happy with the first attempt.	18th October – 31st October 2014
Research and analysis of sub-tasks, digipak album design and digipak magazine advertisement.	Here I will conduct more focused research onto my subtasks and analyse real examples and use ideas from theorists, much like I did for my main task.	Some parts will be completed in the original July to 28th September timeframe, but I will pick it up again seriously after the second edited music video is completed. 1st November to 10th November 2014
Produce sub-tasks digipak design and magazine advertisement	First I will create my digipak design, as the magazine advert would not have a clear image or direction if it wasn’t able to advertise the front cover of the digipak.	11th November to 15th November 2014
	Produce magazine advert for digipak	16th November to 20th November 2014
Evaluate my A2 coursework		21st November to 17th December 2014

James Blake's audience 1

James Blake is at 25 years old a very young Electronic music producer and songwriter from London. He's still fairly new to the music industry having his debut album release in 2011 before going on to be nominated for two mercury prizes - winning one - and then one Grammy nomination for 'Best New Artist'.

While his music hasn't been a massive hit in the charts - peaking at 39 in the UK, his music has appealed to a more niche market - as evidenced by the millions of views on his music videos on YouTube which accumulated gradually over time, shown below. (From his highest viewed video 'Limit To Your Love')

So it would seem that, rather than through a spike of social media luck (looking at you, PSY), James Blake's audience is one that actively look for his music. This could be thanks to seeing him perform at concert or on shows such as 'Later... with Jools Holland'.

There is also the matter of James Blake's form of music and genre to consider. If you've read my blog, you should know by now that Blake is weird, his music is experimental, been dubbed 'Post-Dubstep' but also containing elements of soul. It's not a typical sound you would dance to at parties or clubs but some aspects of the music is influenced by that - it's just shaken up so that it is unrecognizable. He's not mainstream (although he certainly is in comparison to others who have tried in his genre) and his music isn't necessarily easy listening with songs such as 'I Never Learnt To Share'. His music is often so creative that it's hit and miss - some of his songs are brilliant and others not so good and some even good and then turn bad. It's this that leads me to believe his audience would be looking for self-actualisation as they consume his creativeness and spontaneity. 

Across psychology's social approach, it is widely stated that gender is one of the key factors when it comes to identifying with someone else, and I would theorize that this extends across to some extent even into consumption of music. You might notice for example that a lot of Beyonce's fan base are female in comparison to males. But... the same doesn't necessarily appear to be true (or at least to the same extent) for male artists. One Direction, Justin Timberlake, Robbie Williams, James Arthur - they all seem to have equal or even more female based audiences. It could be fair to say that it's more genre orientated when it comes to male audiences. Rap genres (which characteristically have lyrics which can be very male-dominated 'big booty hoes!!!11') and Rock (can often be far more physical, which testosterone and society gears men towards) are genres which usually have a larger male to female ratio in its audience. But James Blake's genre is so odd that you can't really categorise it as female or male based - it doesn't really seem to lean either way.

Conclusions:

- A niche audience - He won't attract mainstream audiences of 95.8 Capital FM  but rather hardcore audiences of those who go looking for his music or are told to give it a listen by one or two friends.

- Self actualisation - James Blake's creativity and spontaneity in the twists he gives to his genre probably rubs off on his audience. You don't go to him if you're looking for a typical dubstep song.

- Male or female - At this moment in time, it's hard to say that James Blake's music appeals to either gender. I will do research and questionnaires into this to try and define it further. 

Utopian solution theory

Richard Dyer theorised that sometimes audiences consume media texts to make up for inadequacies in their own lives. For example, some members of an audience for James Bond: Skyfall might watch the film because they feel their own lives are too mundane and boring and want the film to make up for this with its fast paced action sequences. It is through texts that audiences can strive for their Utopian realities.

Richard Dyer's Utopian Solutions Theory

Inadequacy	Poverty	Confusion	Exhaustion	Isolation
Solution	Abundance	Clarity	Energy	Community

Aspects of this theory can be shown above. A consumer who struggles with poverty may enjoy a film such as 'Wolf of Wall Street' or 'The Great Gatsby' - while someone who struggles socially may enjoy 'Project X'

This can be applied across to some music videos too. Someone who is 'Exhausted' might watch through  One Direction's "One Thing", which is generally very energetic.

 

Another example might be someone who feels isolated by a recent break up in relationship would find comfort in watching a music video like Beyonce's 'Halo' - which features a sweet smiling happy couple. 

In my video, Utopian solutions won't really be applicable. My video won't be happy or have an abundance of any of the solutions seen in the table above and will instead be about the pain and confusion left behind after events in life such as a break up. It will focus more on identification with the characters and their feelings to attract audiences, whereas the opposite (and one where Utopian Solutions would be applied) would be a cheery music video of someone who has just settled in a happy relationship. 

My criticism of Utopian solutions might be that a lot of the time, an audience member might feel alienated by a text which boasts solutions to their real problems. Someone who is 'isolated' is just as likely to want to watch a film where they can identify with another isolated character - as they are to watch a film which offers solutions to this problem. Meanwhile, someone who feels they are cursed with 'poverty' could feel annoyed by the hyperreality world featuring the wealth of 'The Great Gatsby'. But there are also times when these 

Ideas for elements in a music video 2.) Should I lipsync?

Of course, in my music video's current concept, I wouldn't be the one lip-syncing and would have the pleasure of laughing at whoever would be lip-syncing in my video.

But that's besides the point. Lip-syncing is a big deal in the music video sector of media and it's used across dozens of genres despite the varying moods, tempos and type of music that the video is for. It's become conventional for it to be used in music videos and as it has turned out, it doesn't appear to be a bad thing.

So, the people who are lip-syncing in videos are usually the musicians themselves... why would they lip-sync rather than just perform the song? Well it's because most songs are recorded within a studio environment with high-tech recording equipment - this is so that the musicians can achieve exactly the sounds they want for the record without any disrupting influences. In a music video, you aren't going to get those results if you're dancing around a street with cars driving past. Too many extraneous sounds and interruptions.


Pros for lip syncing:

- You can use it to achieve the impression of giving a 'live performance' - this could make videos seem more intimate between the viewers and the artist as it can be easier to read their emotions when they're appearing to sing.

- You can use it to achieve the impression of giving a 'live performance' while doing highly athletic dancing or moving at a pace that you wouldn't really be able to sing at. An example of this could be found in many Beyoncé videos or in Kieza's Hideaway video.

-You can even use it to achieve a slow-motion effect and still... giving the impression of a 'live performance' (You can speed up the track and have the artist mime the lyrics and then when you put a slow motion effect on the video, the artist appears to be singing at a normal pace)

- The whole video doesn't have to be based on it. Music videos can be diverse in what they provide, and one music video doesn't have to primarily focus on the artist performing for it to retain some of the advantages that come from lip-syncing. James Blake's Retrograde just barely shows James lip syncing to the song, but the moments that it does enforces a connection between him and the audience.

Pros for not lip-syncing:

- It gives the opportunity to focus more on a narrative or conveying a message/ ideology. The Killers' Goodnight, Travel Well video is powerful in the message it gives about human trafficking and sex slavery and achieves it by focusing totally on the narrative and concept of the video.


- Easier. Lip syncing has often been said to be something very difficult to nail. You need to be able to perfectly mime the line and this can be tricky and require many takes. On a large project professionally done with a big budget this isn't much of a problem - but on a small scale A2 student level, it can be too time consuming/ the lip syncing may not look right - and it could kill the feel of the video.

- Less restrictive. If you don't have to include shots of lip syncing it allows you to focus on other aspects of the video. It's also less restricting in terms of who might be cast in the video. For instance, if you wanted to do lip syncing it would be odd to have a woman doing so if it is sung by a male singer. Although Michael Jackson's 'Black Or White' song was purposefully had a variety of different ethnicities miming over the song towards the end (and it was done in a pretty fun way), you can appreciate how odd it looked for some of them with Michael Jackson's voice.

Conclusion:

It depends on what you want to do with your video. It doesn't need to have either - you can still achieve intimate and engaging videos with or without lip syncing, but you can do it in different ways. Sometimes though - if you don't have the artist present - it can look odd when another person is miming - especially if its a different gender! In my video I 1.) Don't think I would be able to find someone who's look matched James Blake's voice and 2.) I want to focus more on delivering the conceptual message rather than getting the look of a 'live performance'.

There is still a chance that I might decide to put in snippets of lip syncing, but the video I have in my mind doesn't really fan out in that direction. In an area as diverse as music videos, things like lip syncing really can fall down to 'I want to' or 'I don't want to' rather than there being a specific answer.