A2 MEDIA STUDIES : November 2015

Monday 30 November 2015

Group Work - Budget Improvement

After our meeting minutes we have all concluded that we need to increase our budget for the filming of our production. Our main cost includes travel, train journey to central London where we are going to film parts of our music video. The other cost includes food for each person, maximum for 4 days (estimated number of days filming). Final cost includes a spray can which will be used for graffiti. This will cost us also £3 per paint can. All together we are planning to spent approximately £61.00. This price is more likely to decrease depending on our filming days and time management.

Group Work - Equipment and Props

This is a list of equipment and props needed for our production. We included visuals to demonstrate needed equipment and other mise-en-scene elements. We have already gathered most of the objects meaning we don't have to increase our budget. This will be beneficial for us as we're going to use equipment which we already have.

CAMERA EQUIPMENT / LAPTOP - The DLR camera Nikon D7100 will be used as our main tool during recording of our music video. To re-ensure successful use of this equipment we are planning to take additional elements such as tripod, camera cables and a charger. With the tripod we will be able to get consistent and fluent shoots without any interruptions such as hand shake. Besides, from that the tripod could be successfully used for still close-up shots which we included within our video. Additional camera cables and extra batteries will re-ensure along with the laptop that our shots are appropriate, giving us more time to film if the battery would die.

GOPRO SET - The GoPro is another action camera we are planning to implement within our video. The main element of this equipment is the use of laptop along side in order to view recorded shots as the camera does not consist an image viewer. Besides, from that we are planning to take the GoPro set which includes selfie stick which we are planning to use for high angle shots, head belt for perspective shoots and so on. The use of laptop along side will be really useful to check the recordings in order to reduce our filming time.

PORTABLE FLASHLIGHT - We are planning to take a portable flash light which we might use in areas such as Ealing Parking where the light source is significantly limited in certain floor levels. This will allow us to greater the light source if needed.

SKATEBOARD - We are planning to take the skate board in our first day of filming for the Ealing Parking location. Beforehand, we will re-ensure the skateboard is working correctly to avoid any risks. Besides, from that we will make sure the actress will use the skateboard on flat and accurate surfaces.

SPRAY CAN - We will use the spray can on a cardboard in order to avoid any public damage. By this way we will avoid any potential risks. We are planning to use small amount of spray meaning the actress will be safe without a mask.

VODKA / TOBACCO - In order to reinforce our negative connotations within the video we are planning to apply a vodka bottle and tobacco pack in order to highlight the careless approach to habits but also props associated with youth partying in particular. The vodka bottle will be filled in with water to gain realism.

NECKLACE / COSTUME - The necklace and the costume will be brought by our actress. The necklace is very simple and small without any symbol or recognition while the costume will be following our research choices. We are planning to obtain casual look which would consist of: trainers, casual t-shirt, loose jacket, scarf or hat (due to weather conditions) and jeans.

Group Work - Film Production Risk Assessment

Saturday 28 November 2015

Group Task- Social Media (Facebook)

In terms of the social media, we have already created a Facebook page for our artist. This was completed in the earlier posts. In addition to this profile, we have decided to follow and like the official profile for the original artist of the song "Beautiful Now" - Zedd. Furthermore, this has included the official Facebook page for our chosen record label - "Fly Eye Records". That will allow us to stay up-to-date with the artist and the record label, what could be very useful for us to refer to during the further process of our music video planning. Discovering the latest news linked to the artist and the record label will allow us to obtain more ideas and extra knowledge in regards of the progressive house genre and its sub-genres.

Group Work- Costume Notes

Group Work - Artist Analysis / Cast Notes

In this section we will present our chosen actress for our Progressive House music video.

In this section I will provide various facts about the actress herself and why have we chosen her to play the main role in our music video.

Name: Wiktoria Lubera

Age: 17

Characteristics / Why we chose her as our actress: Wiktoria is a teenager who easily takes on new styles and trends. She's interested into current fashion trends which she follows and regularly updates. She leads a 'typical' teenage girl lifestyle. Wiktoria is a fun person to be around and provides positive influence to the people she surrounds. It is in Wiktoria's nature to be "young, wild & free". As a person she is very adventurous and spontaneous therefore we have chosen her to play the roll of our main actress in the video. By choosing her our crew has made sure our filming will go as planned due to Wiktoria being well organised and good to work with as she is a good listener. Wiktoria's clothing style follows the current trends therefore she perfectly fits into the Dance music subculture which will allow our music video to be tailored for the specified genre. On top of this, Wiktoria is very photogenic and had previous experiences as she played a role school video projects. This experience will allow our group to stick to the specified time and produce effective footage in order to create a suitable Progressive House music video.

Friday 20 November 2015

Group Work - Location Recce

Wednesday 18 November 2015

Group Work - Treatment Draft I

Group Work - Synopsis

WITHIN THE BEGINNING SCENE WE ARE PLANNING TO INTRODUCE A SURREAL ELEMENT BY POTRAYING THE ACTRESS FALLING ASLEEP ON THE GRASS BY WHICH SHE ENTERS THE DREAM. THIS IS FOLLOWED BY THE BEAT OF THE TICKING WHICH ALLOWS TO REEINFORCE THE SURREAL FEELING OF DREAMING.

THE ENDING OF THE TICKING BEAT ENTERS THE MIDDLE OF OUR STORY LINE WHICH MAINLY POTRAYS A SENSE OF CONFUSION AND LONELINESS WHICH IS MAINLY REEINFORCED THROUGH THE LOCATIONS AS WELL AS PROPS SUCH AS CIGARATTES AND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES. THE MIDDLE OF OUR STORY SLOWELY PROGRESSES FROM A CONFUSED CHARACTER TO SOMEONE WHO REALISES THE SENSE OF LIFE AND CHALLENGES HER NEGATIVE APPROACH. THIS TRANSFORMATION WOULD BE DEMONSTRATED THROUGH FAST CUTS SHOTS TO REEIFNORCE THE DYNAMIC NATURE OF THE CHARACTER AND CHANGE OF PERCEPTION.

THE ENDING OF THE SONG IS FOLLOWED BY FAST BEAT WHICH SUDDENLY CUTS, CREATING TENSION. THIS CUT WILL ALLOW US TO CREATE A CYCLE WITHIN THE MUSIC VIDEO AS BY THIS WE WILL BE ALLOWED TO REFER TO THE OPENING SCENE OF THE ACTRESS FALLING ASLEEP, AS THE ENDING WILL PORTRAY THE ACTRESS WAKING UP FROM THE DREAM.

Friday 13 November 2015

Group Work - Record Label Final Decision

After looking at different music record labels, we have come up with a conclusion and decided to go with the choice of the "Fly Eye Records". The main reason for our choice is that this record label suits well with the Progressive House genre which we have decided to follow. However, we also looked at the 'Spinnin'Records' due to their specialization in electronic dance music similarly to the ''Fly Eye Records'. One thing which discouraged us to follow this record label is the fact that it's based in Netherlands, meaning it would be harder for the label to distribute and market our product to the audience whereas the 'Fly Eye Records' is placed in United Kingdom - a multicultural country with opportunities open world-wide.

Moreover, the main advantage of considering the "Fly Eye Records" as our record label to distribute the single is that they specify in the electronic dance music. This will allow us to target a wider range of audience as the electronic dance music refers to many different sub- genres / sub-cultures including: techno, house, progressive house, trance, hardstyle, drum and bass, dubstep and trap. Overall, the "Fly Eye Records" is a quite new record label, as it was found in 2010. Considering this, the record label continues to develop with some new artists signing. In addition, looking at the past successes of the record label, especially considering Calvin Harris and his new hit songs, I think that choosing the "Fly Eye Record" is a very reliable choice.

Furthermore, we consider the Fly Eye Records as a very suitable option, as according to the questionnaire results, the target audience is set to include teenagers and young adults. The Calvin's Harris record label seems to be very appropriate as he produces popular music which can be discovered at nightclubs, raves and festivals. This would definitely engage with our audience profile.

Summary by: Ernest Staszak

Wednesday 11 November 2015

Group Work - Location Analysis

1) Central London - Oxford Street / Hyde Park
2) Hanwell Bunny Park - Maze/ Field
3) Underground - Hyde Park Corner
4) Ealing Broadway Parking
5) Perivale Horseden Hill

SUMMERY BY: MAGDALENA ZYGMUNT (1504)
DAWID TOMCZUK (1494)

Friday 6 November 2015

Group Work - Audience Profile

Group Work - Who will appear in the video?

As a group we have decided not to include the artist in our music video. The reason for this decision is based on the research we have completed, as the artist's don't tend to appear in the music videos. However, this cannot be generalized due to exception of the video “Beautiful Now” where Zedd (the artist) was involved in within narrative but not performance. Therefore, this will help us to follow the typical codes and conventions associated with the dance music genre and its sub-genres. The use of narrative which will be based on a female actress will allow us to create a sense of story telling rather than performance.

Due to the fact that the artist will not appear in the music video, we are planning to reflect them through the models. Currently, we are thinking about using only one actress, however there is a possibility to include a second model within the story line, depending on the time management and storyboard plan itself. Including one or two characters will help us to follow the codes and conventions as well as the narrative often involve more than one person. The possible characters include: Wiktoria, Natalia and Karolina. The characters are in the same age as the target audience which would be even more appealing and appropriate for our music video as it will allow the audience to relate their personal life to the situations and scenes portrayed within the narrative.

Moreover, we are planning to include some pastiche elements in or music videos. This idea was influenced by the video of Carly Rae Jepsen – “I Really Like You”, where the female artist is represented by Tom Hanks. In this video, the vocals are lip-synced by the male character – Tom hanks. We are planning to take this idea and apply it in our own music video, where the original artist – Zedd, would be represented by a female character. We believe that the decisions in terms of the actors included in our video will be much clearer once we start planning our story board. Our ideas will be then developed and the decisions will be much easier to make.

SUMMERY BY : ERNEST STASZAK

Group Work - Narrative, Concept, Performance or Hybrid?

As a group we have decided to follow the idea of a narrative. This is influenced through our previous research on the codes and conventions of house genre. Looking at music video examples we have came across surreal concepts, which are involved throughout the music video narrative. This can be considered as modern convention within this genre as it's often included within progressive house. We are considering to include surreal elements within our own product mainly through editing techniques such as multiple exposures, mirror reflections or time manipulation.

Within the narrative we are planning to have a model which will follow the storyboard of our product. Within our research we have found out that the house genre artists often don't appear within the video products, however once they do, they tend to play the role of the actress within the narrative where they blend in within the streamline. This can be particularly seen within our chosen song video 'Beautiful Now' where the artist Zedd is involved within the narrative. Moreover, this applies differently to the music bands, who are often exposed through performance along with the narrative. This combinations allowed us to make a decision of having a female actress rather than male performer.

Our chosen actress will reflect the representation of youth culture through various stereotypes but also modern perceptions/ problems associated within young people. These are often seen within this specific genre of music videos due to energetic and dynamic nature of house, in particular progressive house. These representations can be also seen within the original video of our chosen artist supporting our decisions.

SUMMERY BY : MAGDALENA ZYGMUNT & ERNEST STASZAk

Thursday 5 November 2015

Group Work - Representations

During our meeting minutes we were discussing the representations which we will include within our music video. Looking back at the chosen song 'Beautiful Now' by Zedd we all agreed to particularly focus on the representation of youth (in particular young woman). This decision was mainly inspired by the original video which portrays five different narratives. Three of the stories are based around youth and their problems while two of those stories were based around the female gender. We decided to use the video in the form of pastiche, as it gave us many starting points. The fact that young characters are often seen within the progressive house genre supports our decision even further.

Within our own product we decided to portray a young, white female character in the age of 17 / 18. The narrative based concept will include various stereotypical representations which are associated with youth. These are often seen within the music videos of this genre. The 'party life' with strong association to drinking alcohol and doing drugs as well as relationship conflict will be portrayed in a form of a narrative, bringing the sense of freedom and living in the moment. The idea of youth being seen as emotional, questioning their sense of belonging as well as obtaining relationship conflicts might be also interesting to interpret. This representation can be linked to Dick Hebdige theory of youth division into categorisation of fun but also trouble. We would like to focus on the contrast between what is seen as right and what is seen as wrong.

Moreover, the fast beat of the video will allow us to portray the character in constant movement which can be also associated with the modern perception of youth and the way they spent their free time, whether it's due to partying or educating. This will also allow us to reach to wider audience, as the youth might be interested in the representation of their age group. Bringing stereotypes as well as challenging them will allow us to create a sense of identification with our audience, as they would be more likely to relate to the given narrative.

In conclusion, we are still in process of deciding on the representations within our production, however we are sure we want to go into the direction of youth representations. However, this will depend on our number of actresses. We are planning to go with our questionnaire results which showed clear answer of 1 to 2 characters. The narrative will strongly depend on this aspect. Having two actresses would allow us to create contrasting narratives of going with and against the stereotypes of youth. I think this combination of two would be quite unique and unusual. This can be supported through the original video of 'Beautiful Now' as there is clear portrayal of balance between good and bad. The characters develop their negative representation into more positive. This is something we will be continuously discussing.

DIRECTOR: MAGDALENA ZYGMUNT

Group Work - Permission Letter

This is a screenshot representing our final permission letter draft. This was an important aspect within our work to gain permission for the use of song we have chosen. We used formal language, explaining about the purposes of the song. We are planning to now sent it by post as well as via email to re-ensure quick response from the Interscope Records.