15th December

Slight problem

Our final shoots we supposed to happen today but Ellis is ill so couldnt make it into school. Not only was disappointing for our final shooting but wanted to get it done before christmas holidays...

We then couldnt edit either as the MACs were down due to updating...

However, we started our digipacks and updated blogs.

13th December

More editing

We carried on editing our video today but found it really hard doing it without the parts that were missing. The reason for this, was that everytime we lip synced the music to the video it would move again when we added more clips.

We just couldnt wait for the filming to be finished so we could finally start bringing it together.

We also discovered we cannot split screen on iMovie so we have to rough edit and when we get 'final cut' we can finish it.

8th December

SNOW!!

Because of the whole week of snow we missed out on filming as we needed the school as our set.

However, we didnt let this get the better of us and filmed the remaining that we could. We still have two more parts to film but as we need a crowd of people we wanted to wait til the 15th December as we know people will be free that day. 

Once we filmed the parts we did, we started to edit what we had on iMovie and it was going really well.

29th November

Third shoot

Today we filmed the bits we had left out with Peter on the 22nd.

We shot him falling over down the corridor with the bags and the ring. We also managed to film the shots of the phone ringing and emails on the computer.

We only had an hour today so it was a productive lesson.

22nd November

Second shoot

So, for the second shoot straight away we had a slight problem as Ellis forgot the storyboard, BUT nothing could stop us today! We watched the animatic and decided on what shots we wanted to film.

Then, Peter realised he forgot his red tie so we couldn't film anything with Peter in, so at this point we were stuck for what to film but didnt want to waste a day. We came to the decision to film single shots of the band for the parts we needed.

17th November

First shoot

This time we did finally get some shooting done.

We got in our outfits and dressed up ready for the shoot and then we used the green screen to take some photos as we couldnt use the designated room in the morning. This was quite productive as we got a few shots done that we could use. These pictures could be used on our digipacks and posters if desired.

When the afternoon finally came we managed to shoot the band singing the whole song all the way through so when came to putting the perfomance into the video it would be easy for us to cut.

We did have a bit of a problem as I really couldn't get into the mood of performing as I felt a bit embarrassed, however seeing as we will only be using quick clips in the video it won't be visable.

Some of the process...

   Here you can see the banners we have made for our video. We wanted these colours to be bright but edgy, however then realised the video will be black and white anyway. 
  We are going to use these props because a music video of our genre doesn't necessarily have a live performance in their video, however this is what happens in real life and we wanted to put real life scenarios into our video. 
  Consequently, our video will have conventions of a rock video seeing as it has live performance/fans.

  This is the process when doing our animatic. Firstly, we had a problem with making each shot longer for the beats on the song but then figured it out by copying and pasting the shot. 
  Along the way, we discovered that some of our shots were too long and added repeated shots so it cuts more, so therefore we now have more shots in our video. 
  Our next problem was the song we uploaded was a remix and we could not cut parts of the song out so we had to reinstall another version. 
  Once this was done, we finally finished the anamatic. 

10th November

First attempt of shooting

Today we was going to try and shoot, however we couldnt get into the rooms we wanted to, so we did some test shots instead.

We liked this shot as you could see the spotlight behind which broke up the light and had a nice effect.

 This shot we liked even better as it was darker and had a nicer effect than the first one. This is what we went with in the end and decided to use a completely black background instead of the white one.

Rich Mix notes

Part One

1930's experimentation:
A colour box by Len Lye- Putting film to music, was an advert for the post office.

Go team- Similar to Colour Box, made up of found images, scratched and played around
                  with.

1940's: Soundies
Nat King Cole- Concept of perfoming and watching himself on screen, and shot of going up 
                           up the girls legs.

France called a jukebox and Scopitone.

1960's:
Beatles- Characteristics of lads, helicopter shots, handheld shots and overhead shots.

1970's: Queen

1981:
MTV- launched by accident.
Big breakthrough was Maddona. It brought a rise in female artists.

Michael Jackson-
First black artist on MTV- Billie Jean
His breakthrough was thriller.

50 Cent- Candy shop-
Humorous element underlies the sexual element.
A display of wealth and sex.
Mainly womens bodies on show, however his shirt is ripped off shows his tattoos and muscles.
Typical of its genre and was expensive.

Jay Z-99 problems-
Over 300 cuts
Contraversial with its violence
Camera moves all the time

Part two

Method of analysis:

• Genre characteristics
• Visuals relationships
• Sell artist as a star
• Intertexuality
• Voyeuism/looking

User generated content:
Mash up of Jay Z and The Beatles called the Grey Album. Remix of the videos.

Lego re-makes- Prisoners doing 'Thriller'.

Machinima- Lady Gaga.

Tips:

• Excercises with 'found footage'
• Learn to lip sync
• Karaoke multi angle version of a track for film
• Re-make an existing video frame
• Alot of cuts
• Needs to be visually memorable and worth repeat viewing
• Pitch the material
• Clear concept
• Be realistic
• Stroyboard
• Plan locations, props etc
• Shoot early
• Know the lyrics
• Blog video influence
• Research
• Blog photos
• Blog location shots
• Animatic
• Shots not too long
• Make sure you have all the equipment
• 10-15 times shooting
• Extra angles
• Lots of close ups
• Shoot more than you think you need
• Label everything you capture
• Be organised
• Sync up first
• Cut and cut again
• Aim for dynamic piece of work
• Blog rough cuts
• Screen grabs as evidence
• Lots of feedback
• Maybe artist feedback
• Evaluate

3rd November

Today we finally finished our storyboard and our animatic.

Our animatic took a while to do as we couldn't edit how we thought we could as seeing as there were many cuts in ours, it took a while to get the hang of working iMovie. As we got towards the end of the animatic we realised we uploaded the remix version of the song so then had to change that.

Apart from these minor problems we managed to finish.

List for video shoot

Prop list...

• Red lipstick- From Nancy
• Red tie- Peter
• Costumes- Own houses
• Camera- From Ellis
• Phone- Either of ours
• Plastic gun?- Nancy

Costume list...

• Girls- skinny jeans, vest tops, heels, blazer, handbags  
• Peter- red tie, jeans, shirt, trainers

Location list...

• Drama room- school
• Green screen- school
• LCC Uni- £7 travel
• Danson park

Audience profile

Age: 15-25
Background: Working class
Occupation: Students, part-time work, casual workers, unskilled
Gender: female and male
Sexuality: homosexual and heterosexual and bisexual
Likes: shopping, girly chats, travelling, independant women, learning new things
Dislikes: xfactor, WAG's, being told what to do, copycats, narrow minded, trends
Ambitions: to be respectful people, become successful
Musical preferences: Christina Aguilera, Madonna, Rhianna, Beyonce, Spice Girls, Kings Of Leon
Consumer habits: cinema goers, tv programmes such as, skins, friends. No soaps, action and horror films
Idols: Madonna, Marilyn Monroe, Barack Obama

Mood board

   Our mood board started on a pink background which connotes our femininity. The 'B' had barbie dolls in the middle which reflects the 'barbie' part of our group name. The skulls however gave it the edgy feeling which our band has. We are all about girl power and independence and the mix between the girly pink and skull pictures gave it that.

  
  Our original idea came from Madonna's video 'Vogue'. We liked the black and white theme throughout which inspired us to do ours black and white too. 
  We have also decided to have the emphasis on light as it accentuates us on screen. 

As well as the black and white them, we wanted Peter's red tie and our red lips highlighted throughout the video as it shows the connection between them. 

                                                     

Our inspirations were celebs like Rihanna as they are not dressed up really girly, however still has sex appeal in jeans and heels.

13th October

Ideas

Our automatic inspiration for our video was 'Vogue' by Madonna. We liked the black and white idea and the fact the video is emphasised by the lighting, as well as using split screens.

We also came up with the idea of having Peter's red tie and our red lips in colour while everything else black and white. The red connotates love, but also danger and anger, which could be the fact the girls are being bugged by the boy.

Outfits would be skinny jeans, blazers, rather casual but also attracts the male audience.

After deciding these ideas we had a thought to change the name of our band to something that suited our band a bit better and more modern. After many attempts to find the right one we came up with 'Bullets and Barbies'. We thought it had an edginess to it as we are girly but also fiesty.

Genre analysis

Destinys Child-Bugaboo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QVd1Xv8HzI

I chose to analyse this video because I wanted to show why this song is appropriate for our band.

  To start off with the video shows close ups of the girls as they're walking around a corner. Their clothing is very revealing which automatically attracts the male audience as it shows theyre are veyr sexy women. The fact they are walking into the camera and walking gives the impression they are important and people are out of their way to walk.

  There are also birds eye view shots of the band singing which symbolises how they feel about this male they are singing about. The message is that this male is bugging them and you would expect them to feel belittled by it hence the camera angle.

 One of the band members also throws her phone into a nearby bin after getting a text from the guy. This refelects how she feels about the guy and no matter what he tries she will still have the power to have one over on him. It shows the audience the female dominance and she can't be controlled.

  The girls then change into yet another revealing and sexy outfit. So through out the video, it is not only attracting a female audience for their girl power and fun but also the male audience as they carry on to look appealing.

  As well as this, the narrative in the video is now showing the lengths they go to to get away from the 'bugaboo' .

Genre analysis

Spice Girls-Say you'll be there 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ro0FW9Qt-4

  At the beginning of the video each member of the band is presented as a character. Here you can see Geri playing a part as Trixie. She is dressed in black leather which connotates her as being sexy and appealing to the male audience but she is also holding a gun which gives the impression she is in control and also in power.
Emma Bunton is also shown as sweet and innocent with her hair in bunches but then punches at the screen, this gives the same impression as Geri; a bit of girl power!

  Throughout the next part of the video the girls sing one by one but the rest of the band dancing behind them. This also symbolises girl power again because although singing alone, the girls are still backing them up as if united.

 

  The setting is them in a desert which connotates being stranded, nowhere to go, illusinations and misleading. This also reflects on the band too as although in sexy outfits and there is a glitter screen behind them to show their girly side, that is what seems to lure the male figure to them. However, as you can see, they tie him up on the floor, this shows they dominate him, which can then lead back to the black leather clothing.

  Going back to being stranded, the lyrics repeat, "I'm giving you everything" which the video shows relavance to as the girls drive around in a car seeing as the only way out. Also, they're bursting every glass of water there which is the only way he will survive, connotating he needs the female figures to survive not the other way round. Once again, girl power is shown throughout.

  The video ends with the band driving off into the sunset with the male strapped to the top of the car. It shows that the females will always have the dominance over the male, in a sexual way symbolising leading them on in their sexual leather outfits, but also as a unit of having power over him.

6th October

Choosing our briefs

In my group is also Nancy, Ellis and Peter.

Today we chose the band and single we were going to use for our music video. This was really hard as each brief had something to offer and positives, however, we came to a decision to go with 'Good Girlz Bad'.

This band had four members so we had to change to three seeing as Peter was a guy but he would be in the video.

The song choices were:

• My Lovin'-En Vogue
• No Scrubs-TLC
• I know where it's at-All Saints

We didn't think that any of these songs were appropriate for our band and in the end came to the decision of using, 'Bugaboo' by Destiny's Child. We thought this song was a good song choice as they are a sexy group that has alot of male attention but also the song shows girl power and independance.


 

Music Video Directors Study-Wayne Isham

Wayne Isham was born in 1958 and is an American music video director who has directed music videos of many popular artists. As well as this, he has directed many films too. 

Descriptions of some of his music videos:



Will Smith-Miami-1998

• Changes locations
• Combination of green screen, studio shots and real locations (miami beach)
• By 1998, he had more money now so the videos are more complicated
• Use of special effects
• Use of live performance
• There is a dance break

Ricky Martin-She bangs-2000

• Use of special effects
• He is the only man in the video which has a lot of sexual inuendos
• The video is more dance based than previous videas Wayne has directed
• Genre-pop/latin

N'sync-Bye Bye Bye-2000

• Use of special effects once again
• Alot of dancing with a break
• Change of location again
• First video that has a narrative/storyline
• Less sexiness than other videos he has directed

Bon Jovi-It's my life-2000

• Staged
• Change of location
• Use of special effects-jumping off bridge
• First sign of technology-computers
• There is a narrative/storyline again
• Actors are telling story where the artists are just singing

Kelly Clarkson-Life Would Suck-2009

• On stage
• There is no special effects this time
• There is a narrative/storyline though
• Advertises a mobile phone-Product placement
• When the beat kicks in the light shines

Sony BMG

   Sony BMG Music Entertainment was a global recorded music company. They began as a result of a 50-50 joint venture between Music Entertainment and Bertelsmann Music Group completed on March 4, 2004. On August 5, 2008 Sony Corp. bought Bertelsmann AG's 50 percent stake in the music company for $1.2 billion to get full control. The music company will be renamed Sony Music Entertainment Inc and this allowed Sony to have ownership of current and previous artists and also to better intergrate its functions with Playstation 3. The music company is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America and operates music labels such as Arista Records and more.
   In October 2007, Song BMG successfully sued Jammie Thomas, who made $36, 000 a year by making 24 songs available for download on the 'Kazaa' file-sharing network. Also, in 2008, Sony did not restrict minor children's participation in its websites, therefore paid a $1 million fine.

1. What are the subsidairy labels that sony bmg own?
Sony BMG is one of the four major record labels, the others are, Universal Music Group, EMI and Warner Music Group. Sony operates music labels such as, Arista Records, Upstate Records, Columbia Records, Epic Records, J Records, Jive Records, RCA Records and Zomba Records.
 
2. How does sony benefit from being a vertically intergrated company?
Bertelsmann sold its stake because it's a traditional, horizontally-integrated media company. Sony bought it because it's a vertically-integrated company well equipped to take advantage of it's inter-divisional synergies.


3. How does it profit from products other than music?
Sony makes it's money from electronics and producing films but also through products such as, playstation and blu-ray.  

Rough Trade-21st century

How has Rough Trade evolved in the 21st century?

Previously, Rough Trade had made mistakes not having their artists to a contract so when the 'Strokes' came along in 2000, they signed up. As well as these, so did 'The Libertines'.

 

How are their working practises different to the music produced through programmes such as X Factor?

...

What success did they have at this time?

'Duffy' was a developement deal with them at the time but then brought Rough Trade's first number one single.

How has Rough Trade's ideology developed for the company in the present day?

When they started out no-one knew anything about the industry they was going in to and they learnt along the way. For example, the arguments between distribution and the record label and also using contracts. Although the idea of the love for music and helping artists who cannot make the larger industry, it has developed into also helping themselves. 

Rough Trade- 1990's

What problems did Rough Trade incur at the start of the 1990’s?
At the start of the 1990's, two thirds of the staff had been axed and it was coming to an end. The company's name had got sold off and Geoff Travis moved into an office with a new partner, Jeannette Lee.

What effect did this have on the Record label and distribution?
It was falling apart and coming to an end, the arguments between the record label and distribution was bringing the company down.

How did major record labels branch out into the independent music scene?
...

What actions were taken to revive Rough Trade?
Well, Geoff and his new partner Jeannette moved into an office in 1991. In 1993, there was new artist management and hearing a clip from the band 'Pulp', which was something different that they had not heard before, made them realise that Rough Trade can still be successful.

Rough Trade-1980's

How did contracts effect the development of Rough Trade?
As Rough Trade's artist were selling and becoming bigger in the music industry, they would then sign up with larger corporations as a better opportunity, such as, 'Aztec' and 'Scritti Politti'. This meant Rough Trade were losing their artist before making it to number one's etc.

What issues occured between the record label and distribution?
In 1982, Rough Trade had to hire and accountant which lead to them nearly going bust and closing the shop. This created a riff between the record label and distribution. As they become more of a larger organisation, distribution accounted for 90% of Rough Trade and it ended up being like 'war' between the distribution and the record label, especially Geoff Travis.

What changes did this lead to within the structure of Rough Trade?
In 1984, they left the original shop and moved to Kings Cross. 'The Smiths' were also on a contract to Rough Trade this time, so they had learnt from their mistakes. There was also bad management towards the end of the 80's as the arguments between distribution and the record label was strong.

What has been Rough Trade’s ideology and how was this effected by the change in structure?

Well Rough Trade's ideolgy when they first started was all about the music, however, now artists were being put on contracts it was more about not losing them. Also, as they had to close down, it was about making money as well.

Which artist lead to success for Rough Trade?

Although many artists were made successful through Rough Trade, 'The Smiths' were the ones who introduced Indie music. As they were on a contract, they became successful with Rough Trade and Indie music became mainstream since punk was.

What differences were there between Rough Trade and independant labels and this time?

Independant labels at this time wanted 4-% share. Also, although in a larger corporationm, they would sell artists as independant, whereas Rough Trade was.

Rough Trade: 1970's

How did Rough Trade start?
Rough Trade started 20th February 1976, with a shop that traded music with bands that couldn't make it in the real industry.

Which music trends were popular?
Punk was very popular when Rough Trade started out, selling music from artists such as 'Per Ubu'. Reggae was also sold in the shop soon into the trade as there were many cultures around.

What was the ethos of Rough Trade at this time and how were they different?
  Rough Trade was different from the major corporations as their artists were treated equally and not under control. They had freedom. The larger corporations would have their artists under contract or tell them what to sell. For example, Robert Wyatt became a solo artist with Rough Trade as he wasnt allowed to produce certain songs.
  Also, Rough Trade wasnt there for the money they wanted to help bands who couldnt make the larger industry. Punk at the time was rebelious and made a statement of being different and that's what Rough Trade was all about, they were individual.

What techniques were used to expand the independant music scene?
On each artists alubms in the shop, there would be instructions on how to make your own album covers, press vinyls and advice on becoming more successful. This would inspire more people to follow their dreams and see that they can do it themselves too.

How did this lead to Rough Trade's expansion?
It brang more publicity to the shop as more and more artists were starting to produce music. This lead to them becoming a record label in 1978.

Explain the successes of the distribution departement and the record label?
In 1979 Richard Scott was in charge of International distribution. This enabled the trade to grow more as a company as they were producing more and more artists such as 'Stiff Little Fingers'.

Case Study- Madonna: Creation of the Queen of Pop

• Born August 16, 1958
• She's a pop singer, song-writer, record producer and an actress
• From Detroit, Michigan and then moved to New York to study ballet
• Released her album in 1983
• She's had three number one albums on the 'Billboard 300' in the 1980's
• Seventh album 'Ray of light' and made four more consecutive albums
• Had roles in twenty-two films
• Won a Goldne Globe award for role in the 1996 film 'Evita'
• Recording Indusrty Association of America - Best selling female rock artist of 20th Century
• Sixty-three million certified albums in the United States
• She has two biological children and an adopted child

1982-Sire Records-'Everybody'

• Directed by Ed Steinberg- first release
• Budget of $1500 dollars
• Clothing- Lace tops, capri pants and cross jewellery were her trade marks and copied by many people- looks like a boy (80's fashion), dramatic make-up (drag queen/hooker), glam earrings, it was a hard look.

1984-Sire Records-'Like a virgin'

• Directed by Mary Lambert
• Stayed at Number one U.S charts for six weeks
• Fairytale, more feminine, white-pure and black-tainted, different images, venice is romantic and there is a sexual undertone

1985-'Desperately seeking susan'

• Releasing tracks with her film work
• First concert tour- Virgin tour with the Beastie Boys
• Penthouse and Playboy magazines published black and white nude photos of her in the 1970's

1989-'Like a Prayer'

• Directed by Mary Lambert
• Winner People's choice MTV awards
• Signed a deal with pepsi- there was angelic crosses but seen as disrespectful as she is dressed like a slag

1991-Sire Records-'Vogue'

• Directed by David Fletcher who is a fashion photographer
• When Madonna became blonde
• Her eighth number one single
• MTV wanted to cut scene out of the video of her showing the outline of her breasts but they failed

• Marilyn Monroe style, classy, black and white, classic 50's.

1992-Maverick Records-'Erotica'

• Directed by Fabien Baron
• Maverick was her own company
• Joint venture with Time Warner
• $60 million recording and business deal
• 20% royalty- same as Michael Jackson
• Sold 500,000 copies in the United States
• MTV showed it three times before banning it
• Explicit images, showed use of drugs and it contrasted with the use of crosses

1996-Evita-'You must love me'

• When the film 'Evita' was released
• She sang 'Dont cry for me Argentina' and 'You must love me' which won an Academy award
• Global award for best actress
• Classy, natural and she was acting her age

1998-Maverick-'Ray of Light'

• Album debuted at number two in the United States
• Album produced three U.S top ten singles
• Won three grammy awards
• Ranked number 363 on Rolling Stones list of '500 Greatest albums'
• Inspired by 'Royaanisqatsi'
• Played a violin teacher in 'Music of the Heart' but left the project
• Hippie clothes, club scene, looking younger, was bit of a time lapse

2001-Maverick-'What it feels like for a girl'

• Directed by Guy Richie
• Banned on MTV awards and VH1 due to scenes of murder by a car-violent
• Starred in 'The next best thing'

2002-'Die another day'

• Starred in 'Swept Away' which was directed by Guy Richie
• Failed and released to video in the U.K
• 20th James Bond film-she has cameo role

Blink 182- All the small things

What makes it good?

• Intertexual references- taking the mick out of cheesy pop. Even more so of boy bands
• Funny

Promotion of the artist to their audience:

• Giving the image they are fun, different and edgy

Pink- Please don't leave me

What makes it good?

• Intertexual references- 'The Shining' and 'The Omen'
• A pastiche of horror films
• Narrative

Promotion of the artist to their audience:

• Gives the image that Pink is edgy, dark and sexy but not girly

Semi-precious weapons

What makes it look good?

• There is a live feel and atmosphere which makes it look like a gig
• Looks good for a low budget video and their first
• Shows the bands lifestyle- punk/rock

Promotion of the artist to their audience:

• Homo-erotic - usually their are women half naked trying to be attractive but here, he is the one doing so.

Madonna- Vogue

What makes it good?

• Filmed by a photographer
• Black and white emphasises the beauty

Promotion of the artist to their audience:

• Enhances her image. It makes her look classy and elegant

How the video creates representations:

• Gives representations of fashion at the time especially of how the photgrapher films the video
• Seems that Madonna has similarites to Marilyn Monroe

Tenacious D

What makes it good?

• It has references to other films
• Strong narrative
• Intertexual references

Promotion of the artist to their audience:

• Shows that one of the main artists is an actor
• The album is shown at the end which advertises it and the band
• The name of the band is solid at the beginning
• Shows they are multi-talented
• Represented as if they are amateurs

How the video creates representations:

• Sub-verts the stereotypical old lady as she is seen as devilish at the end
• The artists look like ordinary dads not 'rock stars'