Commentary

Commentary Planning

Ideas:

• We plan to use screen within a screen for our commentary. This will enable us to communicate to the audience the specific conventions of our music video to help them relate more. 

•  We will have the relavant clips that we are talking about as the main picture in the background and then footage of us answering the questions in the corner of the screen. Using our own footage of ourselves will make it more personal as we will be directly addressing our answers to the audience as well as showing our product.

Script

Ada: 1. In what ways does your media product use , develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (Text with Voice Over)

Charlotte:  The camera work we used had direct address which was effective because like other pop videos it made a connection with the audience. In our music video this helped portray the emotion to make the audience feel more emotionally connected to our artist and understand how the artist felt. We also framed the artist all the way through our music video with a range of shots which mainly included close ups which is another convention that we used and developed through our music video. The emotion that the lyrics portrayed was definitely shown across our music video by the way that our artist performed.  In parts of our music video we had direct scenes which did exactly what the lyrics said, for example "I tried crossing out your words", for these lyrics we had our artist ripping up a piece of paper that said "I'm Sorry".

Lucy: Our music video mostly follows Goodwin's Analysis so we see that it uses the conventions of a real music video, we used the stereotypical performance you would expect to see in this sort of video, the stereotypical genre characteristics and also the narrative clips telling parts of the story so we see we've also shown a relationship between the music and visuals.

Jade: While editing we have made sure to cut the shots on the beat of the song as we realised pop music is intended to encourage dancing. We have made sure the editing clearly shows a link between the lyrics and the visuals to help show off the typical relationship portrayed in pop videos. An example of this would be where we have cut back to past experiences of the couple, walking in the park and the scene where they are arguing. We have also used shot transitions between some shots where we thought it was needed. We choose to use more of a noticeable form of editing at the end of the video, where there is the overlays of clips all present on screen at the same time which works effectively to bring the clips to a fade and clearly show the end of the video on a more professional level.

Ada: For the mise en scene we filmed the artist's performance repeatedly in different outfits so we could cut between them, adding a further dimension to our video, this helps to create the feeling of movement and keeps our video from looking like one long continuous shot.  We used some props in our video, for example a mobile phone, we did this to add a realistic touch to the characters, which lets the audience identify better with the artist. We also used props such as a cardboard box when the male character was leaving to add some realism to the scene.

Lucy: 2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary text?


Jade: Our main product would not be successful without the backing of a digipack and magazine poster as this is what attracts the consumer. To do this we made sure we chose an appropriate name for the album which sounded professional to the way we wanted to portray our artist. We choose to use the colours pink and black as these worked complementary with each other and also seemed to fit well with the track names we used, which portray themes of love, heartbreak and upbeat dance songs. I believe we have created appropriate imagery to conform with our music video and think we have shown realistic qualities.


Charlotte: The shots throughout our main product and ancillary texts were consistent.   We used close ups and direct address in our music video and to fit with our pop genre. This helped to engage and create a connection to our audience. For our digipack we also framed our artist by using a close up which works well along side our music video as it not only keeps a common theme but again connects with the audience and fits in with the conventions of the genre. For our magazine poster we thought it would be more appropriate to use a similar picture but of the whole of the artist rather than just a close up. This worked effectively alongside the other products because it was more of a casual, fun side to our artist which contrasts well with our other products and shows that our artist can be versatile.


Ada: Our product fits well with the ancillary products we created to distribute with it, the digipack cover is influenced by our music video but not directly linked as this is not the title track of the album and we wanted the album to be more reflective of the artist than the song. Our magazine advert ties in well with our digipack and when presented together they look as if they are are meant to be a set.


Lucy: As a package they are effective due to the fact they work together and successfully show what we wanted, which is a promotion and video. The video turned out better than we could hope and we have successfully promoted with our digipack and magazine cover and the fact both show the stereotypical conventions e.g the picture of the artist on the digipack and magazine cover is something you would tend to see on albums and magazines for artists like Lady GaGa and also the mostly performance based video showing close ups of the artist, means when looking at the digipack cover you can be reminded of the close up of the artist in the video.


Charlotte: 3. What have you learnt from your audience feedback?



Lucy: Audience feedback has showed us that we made quite a successful video, following most stereotypical conventions you would find in a professional video of our pop genre.

Charlotte: The feedback that we got through our project was constructive and helped us develop on our product. We took everything that was mentioned into consideration and I think that this helped improve our music video as it was "outside" help. This therefore was effective because it was from an audience's point of view and it is the audience attention who we aimed to capture so their opinion was important throughout.

Jade: The feedback we received for our rough cut suggested we should add more cuts of various shots of the artist and also add more close ups to show breaks from other shots. As we took this on board we think we have made a great improvement from our rough cut to our final video. We as well recieved comments that we have framed the artist well to maintain the audiences attention and they commented on our strong performance from the artist. We learnt that one of our strong points was our editing and the way we have cut clips on the beat as well as using shot transitions where appropirate. Although we have reveieved many good comments we also got some feedback that would help make our video even better such as adding a filter on some shots, for example the shot which we filmed in the green room, as this shot doesn't fit as well as we would have liked.
 
Ada: The feedback we recived allowed us to look at our work from a fresh viewpoint and highlighted areas that we could improve aswell as identifing our strengths witch we could play to, the feedback indicated that we should include more cuts to keep our video from stagnating and looking asif one continuos shot, we were also told that filters were needed to be added to our video to make it look more clean cut and proffesionaly shot.



Jade: 4. How did you use new media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?

Ada: During the course of our project we have used a varity of different technoligies to create our final products, the video was created with the use of HD camcorders, and a DVW (Digital Video Workstation) in our case Final Cut Pro on the Apple Mac. The other half of our final product, the Ancillary project, was shot with a still camera and then edited in Photoshop CS3 a high end proffesional photo editing package. we also used the still camera to take photos of some of our planning and used these images in our group blog on blogger.com.


Charlotte: The whole way through our project we have constantly used blogger to blog our thoughts, ideas, plans, research and now evaluation. The blogs have helped because they are always there to look back on with all our ideas. In our planning and research ideas we used Google to gain the information that we needed. For the music video its self we use HD Camcorders to film our footage and then Final Cut to edit our music video together. The HD cameras were effective because it made our footage look more professional. For our ancillary tasks we used Photoshop to produce our digipak and poster.

Lucy: Nearly every aspect of this project has enabled us to use some form of technology, Blogger gave us the opportunity to get our idea's, research, planning and evalutions out in the open and extend upon them whenever we wished and I found it very beneficial to the project through all the stages due to the fact we all have access to the same thing wherever we may be. Further research was also done via Youtube and Google as the internet is now possibly one of the most informative resources we have. We found relevant artist's video's and this helped us to see stereotypically what we should include within ours.  In regards to our music video, editing and filming was made easier with the use of the HD camera, giving us better quality footage to work with in the construction stage and also the use of Final Cut, a very good editing program which after a while we got the hang of and it was quite easy to work with.

Jade: From the very beginning we used blogger to view last years media groups work so we knew what the coursework entailed. We then progressed in our reserach by using Youtube to view professional music videos, which allowed us to analyse them using Goodwin's analysis and help us gain a better understanding of the characteristics we would need to include. It is clear our video would not be as successful without the help of Final Cut express as this is what we used to put our finished video together and construct our own creative work with professional influences being present.

Evaluation Questions

Our product fits into the pop-music category, which has a large well defined base of common charecteristics and conventions, we had to decide weaather to convene to these forms and conventions or challenge them, we decided as the song is highly mainstream, that we should stick closly to the norm and not make anything to experimental. we wanted our video to look as close to the videos that are seen everyday playing on music channels as our artist is embeded deep within that target market.

• camera work 

We used many close ups of the artists face and medium shots when we were including her dancing this is common throughout pop videos and is prevalent in other videos by our artist. one downside to this is that the video looks fairly static and as if its going nowhere, we tried to combat this by including a storyline including a lover which we cut back to repeatedly during the performance, this was supposed to create two linear attractions keeping the audience engaged, by not letting them watch the same shot for to long.

• mise en scene 

We filmed the artist's performance repeatedly in different outfits so we could cut between them, adding a further dimension to our video, this helps to create the feeling of movement and keeps our video from looking like one long continuous shot.  We used some props in our  video for example a mobile phone, we did this to add a human touch to the characters,which lets the audience identify better with the artist. We also used props such as a cardboard box when the male character was leaving to add some realism to the scene.

• editing

Our shots are all centered on the artists face framing her, this centralises her to the video aswell as keeping all the attention focused on her, this was achived in part through our camerawork, though was mostly done in the editing processby croping the video around our artist and moving her to the center of the shot.

• sound 

the sound in our video was the track being played, we chose to include no other sounds or sound effects, as we felt it would make our project sound and feel less professional,

2

Our product fits well with the ancillary products we created to distribute with it, the digipack cover is influnced by our music video but not directly as this is not the title track of the album and we wanted the album to be more reflective of the artist than the song. Our magazine advert ties in well with our digipack and when presented together they look asif they are are meant to be a set.

Evaluation Questions

1. In what ways does your media product use , develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The genre of our music video is Pop. Throughout our music video we have used several conventions that you would see in real music videos. This was shown throughout:

• Camera Work 

We used direct address which was effective because like other pop videos it made a connection with the audience. In our music video this helped portray the emotion to make the audience feel more emotionally connected to our artist. We also framed the artist all the way through our music video with a range of shots which mainly included close ups which is another convention that we used and developed through our music video.

• Editing

Along side our performances of the artist we also cut to a few scenes which help tell the narrative. We had the artist and the boy she was singing about together, sometimes happy and sometimes arguing and I think this worked well as we still developed on the conventions of the music video as well as making sure that the narrative was shown throughout.

• Sound

The emotion that the lyrics portrayed was definitely shown across our music video by the way that our artist performed. I think that direct address helped portray these emotions because the audience could clearly see how the artist felt. In parts of our music video we had direct scenes which did exactly what the lyrics said, for example "I tried crossing out your words", for these lyrics we had our artist ripping up a piece of paper that said "I'm Sorry". Therefore we used the lyrics and developed them within our music video.

• Mise-en-scene

I think that the locations that we included were amplifying the conventions of the pop genre. We used quite casual, subtle location which I think worked well with the lyrics. As well as this the costume, props etc. were also casual and every day like as we thought that this would fit well.



2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary text?

I think that there is a distinctive theme throughout our media products. The shots throughout our main product and ancillary texts were consistent. We used close ups and direct address in our music video and to fit with our pop genre. This helped to engage and create a connection to our audience. For our digipack we also framed our artist by using a close up which works well along side our music video as it not only keeps a common theme but again connects with the audience and fits in with the conventions of the genre. For our magazine poster we thought it would be more appropriate to use a similar picture but of the whole of the artist rather than just a close up. This worked effectively alongside the other products because it was more of a casual, fun side to our artist which contrasts well with our other products and shows that our artist can be versatile.




3. What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

The feedback that we got through our project was constructive and helped us develop on our product. We took everything that was mentioned into consideration and I think that this helped improve our music video as it was "outside" help. This therefore was effective because it was from an audience's point of view and it is the audience attention who we aimed to capture so their opinion was important throughout.



4. How did you use new media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?

The whole way through our project we have constantly used blogger to blog our thoughts, ideas, plans, research and now evaluation. The blogs have helped because they are always there to look back on with all our ideas. In our planning and research ideas we used Google to gain the information that we needed. For the music video its self we use HD Camcorders to film our footage and then Final Cut to edit our music video together. The HD cameras were effective because it made our footage look more professional. For our ancillary tasks we used Photoshop to produce our digipak and poster.

Evaluation Questions

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? 
Our music video mostly follows Goodwins Analysis so we see that it uses the conventions of a real music video, we used the stereotypical performance you would expect to see in this sort of video, the stereotypical genre characteristics and also the narrative clips telling parts of the story so we see we've also shown a relationship between the music and visuals. We included many shots of the artist as we had alot of performance shots with close ups, which is to promote the artist, something seen in many video's. By following Goodwins Analysis we pretty much use the forms and conventions of a real music video, we felt that challenging it wouldn't work

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
As a package they are effective due to the fact they work together and successfully show what we wanted, which is a promotion and video. The video turned out better than we could hope and we have successfully promoted with our digipack and magazine cover and the fact both show the stereotypical conventions e.g the picture of the artist on the digipack and magazine cover is something you would tend to see on albums and magazines for artists like Lady GaGa and also the mostly performance based video showing close ups of the artist, means when looking at the digipack cover you can be reminded of the close up of the artist in the video.


What have you learnt from audience feedback?
 Audience feedback has showed us that we made quite a successful video, following most stereotypical conventions you would find in this sort of video and also Goodwins Analysis


How did you use new media technology in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?
Nearly every aspect of this project has enabled us to use some form of technology, Blogger gave us the opportunity to get our idea's, research, planning and evalutions out in the open and extend upon them whenever we wished and I found it very beneficial to the project through all the stages due to the fact we all have access to the same thing wherever we may be. Further research was also done via Youtube and Google as the internet is now possibly one of the most informative resources we have. We found relevant artist's video's and this helped us to see stereotypically what we should include within ours.  In regards to our music video, editing and filming was made easier with the use of the HD camera, giving us better quality footage to work with in the construction stage and also the use of Final Cut, a very good editing program which after a while we got the hang of and it was quite easy to work with.

Evaluation Questions

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Our music video is considered to be of the pop genre, I believe we have used the typical elements included in professional music videos to create a realistic video that can reflect real media products. For example, we have made sure to frame the artist so direct address to the audience is present, this being the artist miming towards the camera. We have also emphasised this further by including many close up shots of the artists to clearly show the singer is engaged with the audience through obvious eye contact.

Alongside this we have also developed a narrative to be used alongside the performance aspect, which was an element mostly used in real products. As a group we decided that adding clips of the narrative though out the video instead of in a block would work best to create a visual contrast between the narrative and performance and also show clear breaks as one verse ends and a new one begins.

I think that we have successfully used a variety of shot types within our video so we are sure not to keep repeating shots and making the video lack audience appeal. While completing the filming stages we made sure to record enough footage to cover different shot types that included both long, medium and close ups. This is an important element of real media products to help maintain the audiences attention and add further dimensions to the visuals on screen. We then cut the shots on the beat of the song as we realised pop music is intended to encourage dancing or it uses dance-oriented beats or rhythms as well as maintain interest.

While editing we made sure that the lyrics of the song showed a relation with the visuals. An example of this would be where we have cut back to past experiences of the couple, walking in the park and the scene where they are arguing while the lyrics are describing the relationship the couple had.

Furthermore, we have used shot transitions between some shots where we thought it was needed to show a break from past to present time. This showed a more of a subtle but noticeable change from one clip in the narrative to a new scene without a jump being present. We finally choose to use more of a noticeable form of editing at the end of the video, where there is the overlays of clips all present on screen at the same time which works effectively to bring the clips to a fade and clearly show the end of the video which could develop conventions of professional videos usually just end with a fade unlike where he have created a unique summary of all the clips in the video.

Observing the sound in our video, I notice that the music also shows a link with the visuals, so it is prominent that we have used this convention of true music videos. As an example, where the music has more of a faster pace at the chorus we have used more shots with faster cuts on the beats to show an association with the music, this is as well present for when the pace of the song is slower as we have used longer shot durations to conform with the music.

2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?
Our main product would not be successful without the backing of a digipak and magazine poster as this is what attracts the consumer. To do this we made sure we chose an appropriate name for the album which sounded professional to the way we wanted to portray our artist. This was then emphasised by artist pictures, this being a close up of the artist on the front of the album and also a medium shot of the artist on the back of the album which we used again on the poster to show continuity. From research into professional album covers we noticed that this was the typical type of photos used by professional music artists with the same audience we wanted to attract.

We choose to use the colours pink and black as these worked complementary with each other with the pink being feminine and allowing females to relate making it eye catching if it was on sale in a shop. We also chose track names to conform with the name of our song 'Second Time Around' and decided the album would reflect themes of love, heartbreak and upbeat dance songs. As well as making sure we kept the colours the same for the tasks, we made sure to use the same font type and record label picture as this is what is needed to give a professional finish to our work.

Overall, I believe that the combination of the digipak, magazine poster and music video all relate nicely and would look appropriate as a set. The imagery we have imagery we have created reflects themes of our music video which makes it even more believable.

3. What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Looking back at our rough cut, the feedback we received suggested that we should add more cuts of various shots of the artist so that the video has more interesting qualities to maintain attention. There was also a comment about adding more close up shots of the artist to show breaks from other shots and show the video is engaging with the audience. As we took this into account, I think we have made a great improvement from our rough cut to our final video.

For our final video we received comments that we have framed the artist well to maintain the audiences attention and they commented on our strong performance from the artist. We learnt that one of our strong points was our editing, especially the way we have cut clips on the beat so the music fits well with the visuals. We also used shot transitions where appropriate and a split screen, which both received positive feedback.

Although we have received many positive comments for our video, we also got some constructive feedback that we could use to improve our video further. These featured comments such as adding a filter on some shots, to complement the lighting effects. The shot that we filmed in the green room could as well be improved as the green wall in the background doesn’t fit as well as we would have liked.

Overall we found that most people agreed that our video shows realistic characteristics of the pop genre and we are pleased that the narrative is something others can relate too.

4. How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research and planning and evaluation stages?

From the beginning of our project we used blogger to view last years media groups blogs so we knew what the coursework entailed. We then progressed in our research stages by producing blog posts with our own research to ensure we had a good idea of what we wanted our video to include and made sure we were prepared when it came to the important part of filming. It is clear that without this planning our video would not have been as successful as it is.

To progress in our research we used Youtube to view professional music videos, which allowed us to analyse them using Goodwin's analysis and help us gain a better understanding of the characteristics we would need to include in our own video. This alongside previous student videos allowed us to make sure our planning was thorough enough to use in further stages of our project.

When it came to filming we used a HD video camera, which gave us excellent shooting qualities. Being able to watch the footage as we shot it was useful as we got to see what was working well and what wasn’t. We made sure to use the camera to its full advantage and shot many shots multiple times to ensure we had the best quality footage to use in our video and enough footage to cover the whole length of the song, which made the construction stages much easier for ourselves.

It is clear our video would not be as successful without the help of Final Cut express as this is what we used to put our finished video together while constructing our own creative work with professional influences. While using Final Cut, I also learnt new skills such as lip-syncing all of our footage to our song. I also learnt how to use split screen, which was an effective element in our video.

Finally, we used Photoshop to create our ancillary tasks. This was a new programme to me and I managed to develop skills, such as cutting around the artists photo and placing it on the digipak and magazine poster. I also found that changing the photo colour to black and white helped to make the products even more realistic. I found the programme gave our products a professional look, which we wouldn’t have been able to achieve without it.

Magazine Advert Final & Analysis

This is our magazine advert for our artist...

Digipak Final & Analysis

This is our digipak for our artist...

Analysis of Real Magazine Advert

As are song "Second Time Around" is by the Lady Gaga, I have decided to look at one of her professional magazine adverts to get a feel for what is needed in our own product.

The images used in this advert are very bold and eye catching of the artist herself, by using two abstract photos artist it can show her daring and unique personality that she portrays through her music. Both images are in the colours black and white, although the top image stands out and has a greater impact due to the sharpness of the image. This is then contrasted by the picture below which is slightly faded so that the titles can stand out more.

I believe because the two photos have been made to look different to reflects on her personality that her audience will be familiar with. The top photo can portray her unknown side as an artist as her mouth is covered while the bottom photo can show her beauty.

The advert has a slight monochrome feel to it and is quite retro, again not many artists would use this black and white colour scheme as it doesn't have the bold effect that colour does. However, it can show that the artist is daring and is unique in her own rights.

Also the two images used in the advert are the varied album covers you can get when purchasing the CD, which shows the artist is giving her fans an alternative choice of which to buy. The artists name and the name of the album are very bold and stand out over the faded picture for consumers to clearly see when retailed. Although the text is very plain and simplistic, it still has a boldness about it which can catch the eye against the background colours.

The text contains the names of the songs on the album and where the album is available from, which is very small compared to the name of the artist I believe this is because they don't want the customers getting distracted from the more important elements of the advert. The quote from "Rolling Stones" is also easy to read and portrays the artist in a positive light.

Functions & Conventions of a Magazine Advert

While making our magazine advert we feel it is important to consider the functions and conventions of them and will do this by reseraching what the main functions are:

Functions:

- To Promote the artist
- To sell the song
- To be eyecatching: visually striking

Conventions:

- The name of the artist

- The name of the album

- The release date

- Website and Twitter addresses

- Reveiws and ratings of the album

- Record label branding

- Picture of the artist or relevent imagery to sell the Digipak (Must be manipulated in some way)

- Tour dates

Analysis of a Real Digipak

This professional digipak for Rihanna's album "Loud" especially caught my eye.

Artist Image:
As Rihanna is used on the cover it will immediately draw in her fans because of her established popularity they will recognise the face. Her bold, fiesty red hair is definately what will make her stand out from other artists when retailed as well as her calm facial expression which can show she has the attitude that everyone knows her for. Also, by showing her tattoo on her neck indicates to the audience she still has the wild side and bad girl elements which she relates through to her song lyrics.

Colour Pallette and Imagery:
I believe the red colour scheme has been chosen throughout this digipak of the album because Rihanna has incorperated a new look what with her hair. The red roses contrast well agaisnt the artists skin in the large photo and also make the whole scene bolder and eye catching which is exactly what people look for in the album artwork. The images that have been used agaisnt this strong colour scheme reflect to me themes of  love and lust which give an insight into what is to feature on the album. This can be emphasised by the way her eyes are closed which makes me think she could be dreaming about something or someone.

Genre:
The genre of this album is indicated by facial expressions of the artist, especially on the large cover at the back showing her with her eyes closed which indicates to be she is embracing the music so it then makes me think each song means alot to her and alot of thought has gone into them. However the genre is only obvious to me because I am a fan of this artist and I know all of her music in the past has been R&B based so this one will just follow in them footsteps, but without my background knowledge of Rihanna this album cover gives nothing away linking specifically to the genre. The front cover creates imagery of Rihanna looking more girly and sweet than her previous digipaks and this may be due to wanting to portray another side to the artist.

Visual Narrative:
The only storyline I could relate to this album artwork is what I have just been talking about in the images, the love and lust. In the main album cover the artist looks lost in her thoughts but in a positive way with her hidden eyes which could show she is thinking about that one person. However, in the larger photo her body language and facial expression suggests shes has more of an attitude which can constrast the beauty of the pictures. The use of roses in the images can suggest Rihanna has suddenly turned alot more feminine than when compared to her previous album "Rated R" where she was seen as more of a rockchick. This element can shows her fans how diverse she can be as an artist.

Font and Composistion:
The font that has been used on this album cover is very plain and simple and I believe this is because they didn't want to take all the attention away from the artist photo. I think the colour white works well, as it is subtlely present but takes a background role. It has also been posisitioned at the top and bottom of the album rather than in the middle which works well to draw attention to the central photo.

Conventions of a Digipak

- The name of the Artist

- The name of the Album

- Tracklisting (include bonus extra's such as 'behind the scenes' and/or 'making of' features)

- Website and Twitter addresses

- Record Label branding

- Pictures of the artist or relevant visual imagery to sell the band (must be a different image to those used on the magazine ad and it must be manipulated in some way using a Photoshop effect)

- Barcode

Initial Ideas for Ancillary Tasks

Final Cut Music Video - Own Asessment

Our own thoughts using Goodwin's Analysis...

1. The genre characteristics were shown through the close ups of the artist and the variety of performances we filmed. We also had direct address to the audience which helped to engage their attention.

2. There is a clear relationship between the lyrics and the visuals; the visuals illustrate the lyrics. This can be emphasised where we have the piece of paper saying 'I'm Sorry x' and then cut to the artist shown ripping the paper up, which refers to the line"I tried crossing out your words", so we think that this worked effectively. The whole music video features a narrative of a relationship that we are wanted to put across. For example, the scene where the girl is making the boy leave as she shuts the door behind him also fits with the lyrics ''

3. The clips were cut well in time to the beat and therefore the visuals illustrate the pace of the music. We think we have done well to have slower cuts from each shot on the verse's while then having more quick, shorter shot durations at the chorus as the music picks up pace.

4. We tried to ensure we used many close-ups in our music video as we realise this is an important element in professional music videos as well as having a strong performance element, which seems to have worked well and can show clear demands of a record label.

5. We agree that the way we have framed the artist can hold the audiences attention and this has worked well alone without having frequent reference to notion of looking.

6. There was no inter-textual reference throughout our video and we feel that this is not needed.

Final Cut Music Video Feedback

This is our feedback from the class referring to Goodwin's Analysis...

1. The genre is well represented through variety of close ups of the artist and variety of performances are present. The location was consistent with the genre and fitted well throughout the video.

2. There was a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. This was shown through the clips of the boy and girl narrative that we cut to throughout our video. The visuals are illustrative of the lyrics and this is what would be expected for this kind of track.

3. The relationship between the music and the visuals is shown through the cuts on the beat of the track and this was done fairly accurately and again fitted in well with the genre.

4. There was close ups of the artist and our video was performance based which fits the demand of the record label well. There is a good visual style throughout, therefore it is consistent.

5. We framed the artist for the audience so we didn't need any frequent reference to notion of looking.

6. There was no inter-textual reference throughout our video.

Other Comments....

• Good editing, especially the shot transitions and the merging of clips at the end of the video
• Good use of causal locations 
• Split screen was visually engaging 
• There was a clear progression from our rough cut

Final Music Video

This is our music video... Lady Gaga- Second Time Around

Jade & Charlotte's Extra Editing Session

9/11/11 - We came into college to edit for two extra hours as we believe it would be beneficial for our music video. We realise that our rough cut can be instantly improved by short, quicker shots to help hold the audiences attention so we made sure this was one of our priorities of things to do.

In addition, we have added in more close ups as this is what frames the main artist and helps to cutaway from distant shots. We have also used them to show the emotions of the character more clearly.

We have carried out quality checks in our video editing so far and have looked at that the the lip syncing to make sure it is all synced and the shots are cut on the beat. As well as this we have added in more performance shots to add to our pop genre.

Next lesson we plan to carry on editing and will add filters and shot transitions to hopefully make our music video more representable of professional ones.

Plan of What Remains To Be Done

Video Remains:

• Add more close up shots of artist
• Add shot transitions
• Experiment with filters
• Ensure lip syncing is the best it can be
• Shorten some clips shot durations
• Quicken cuts between some shots

Blog Remains:

• Complete any missing blogs
• Research into transitions, filters and special effects
• Comment on the way we will use narrative/abstract/performance in our video
• Ensure all blogs contain relevant and useful information

Use of Narrative/Abstract/Performance in Your Video

• In order to fit with our pop genre, we have decided that we will have a range of performances, mainly direct address so that our artist will create a clear connection with the audience to portray her emotions towards the male in the narrative.

• The performances we will use included our artist just sitting/standing and singing quite emotionally towards the camera, as though to portray real life situations.

• For more up-tempo parts of the song our artist will move around the screen more to show versatility and to keep the audience interested for the main performance element.

• Throughout our music video we focused on performance as the main aspect but along side this we cut to narrative scenes which our lyrics told and we thought we be effective to make the song believable and again to keep the audience interested.

Research Into Filters & Special Effects

The genre of music our song fits into is 'Pop' music which is highly mainstream. As a result of this Record labels are willing to spend huge budgets on promotion of which the music video is a integral component, to push their songs in the highly competitive market, where huge returns can be made from a successful album or artist.

Our artist Lady Gaga is signed to the Interscope record label, a giant in the American music industry, owned by the Universal music group and based in Santa Monica California, her videos therefore have huge budgets compared to songs released on independent labels and smaller record company's, however Lady Gaga has gone on record in an interview with In:Demand magazine saying "I would never spend that much on a music video. I would never say anythings a waste in reference to art, but I would give to charity before I would spend that much money on a music video." although her video for the song 'judas' is rumoured to have cost $6 Million dollars.

As a result of this the majority 'Pop' videos contain lots of special effects, which is a limitation in lower budgets films, though not always to their detriment,  in fact in some larger budgeted projects it feels as if there far to much special effects and it makes the video feel gimmicky and tacky. Lady Gaga's music videos are all very alternate and yet some are heavy with special effects and others very plain and real, an example of one of her songs which his a lot of effects and editing technique's is 'Born this Way'






In contrast to this the music video for 'bad romance' dosent have the amount of SFX of the previous one yet still utilises many filters to give it a professional clean look.




Filters can be used in the filming stage as filters on cameras to add a colour tone or in the editing stage as software filters on an editing program which are used to change tone,colour, shadow and other visual qualities.

Self Assessment of Rough Cut

1. Editing

• We need to perfect the lip syncing at the start of the music video. Apart from this we are really happy with the standard of our lip syncing
• We think that the jumpy cuts that we put in where really effective, so we will add more of these in order to keep the audience entertained and interested 
• We are going to add filters so some of our shots in order to create a more interesting final image

2. Mise-en-Scene

• We think that the locations and costumes that we've used are realistic and appropriate for the genre

3. Camerawork

• We have a good range of shots that we are happy with
• We aim to add more close ups of the main artist, this will conform to the Goodwin's analysis.

4. Genre Elements

• We have a number of performances which fits in with the genre
• Also we portray a typical boy/girl relationship that is easily related to 

5. Performance

• We're really happy with the standard of the performances of Jade 
• We could have more performance to cut to for more of a jumpy effect to keep the audience interested

6. What and how to improve

• We need to add more cuts within our editing to create more of a faster pace affect that will still fit with the video but be more visually engaging
• We need to add more close ups

Rough Cut feedback from Tanya.

As a rough cut, this has lots to credit it. The performance is good and appropriate to generic expectations and there are some good sequences of shot variety on Jade.

Things that you now need to work on are:

The initial lip sync doesn't come in quickly enough.
You need to 'cut through' the lines more ie. cut during a line back and forth from different coverage of the track.
The performance needs to include direct address to camera (the artist seemingly looking straight at the audience and singing to them) and more close ups of the artist.
You need at least two more complete covers of the track from Jade. One could be the close ups, possibly in the studio with different mise en scene, and one in a different location.
Test out some filters to put onto the footage. This is important within music videos. Also, there may be effects that would be appropriate for you to use. Ghosting/split screen etc.

Rough Cut review from P1-01

P1-02 Rough Cut Analysis

Editing:
Faster cuts
More cuts especially for the last chorus, could easily incorporate shots from earlier choruses.
2nd walk at the end should be cut out, and go straight to bed shot for continuity.
Needs to fit music better, cuts on beats etc
Perhaps filters added, contrast etc because lighting is a bit dull.
Filter added to walking shots/memories?
Shots between present and flashback should have a special effect/transition.

Mise en Scene:
Worked well, good choice of locations and props.
Costumes also well chosen.
No complaints about this.

Camerawork:
Some really good long shots and close up shots.
Not much movement but fits in with the song.
Camerawork would work better if the shots were cut and changed more often.

Genre Elements:
A lot of focus on the lead singer.
Good use of flashbacks to give context to the song.
Very sort of boy-girl song.. typical of genre.
Use of makeup created a nice effect.


Performance:
Lip-synching was good, well timed, singer obviously learnt the words.
Acted performance was good, fitted the genre.
Could have benefitted from more movement.
Could have done with seeing male character more to make us understand why she’s singing the song.

What and how to improve:
Improve last chorus with extra cuts and faster shots.
Filters on flashbacks.
Shoot more footage of male character for backstory.

Love P1-01.

Rough Cut

Summary of Planning so Far

We have completed the following pieces of planning in preparation for our filming:

• We have looked at similar music videos and broken them down using Goodwin's analysis

• We also performed a Goodwin's analysis on two previous student music video projects

• Listened to and produced a blog on a talk given by a professional music video produce, and a previous student.

• Location Recce Shots, produce a blog with them 

• attempted to contact the artist, to let her know we are planning on making a video for her song, and asking for her feedback.

• Researched our artists target audience and genre specific connotations 

• Researched a well known music video producer considered an 'auter'

• Filming schedule 

• Evaluation of our first filming period to assess what we could do better the next time 

• Peer assesment, by another group, on our roughg cut for feedback

Research Into Transition Types

To make our video look more professional we are going to use shot transitions where appropriate so our video has a good flow from one clip to the next.

The definition of a transition is a visual effect that is used to carry along or to change the transition between two clips or images. I have researched the basic transitional effects that are available on Final Cut and have listed them below.

Dissolves:

These transitions are Additive Dissolve, Cross Dissolve, Dither dissolve, Fade In, Fade Out, Non-Additive Dissolve, and Ripple Dissolve. Dissolve is the most commonly used transition. These transitions morph the image into something else by gradually erasing what was there before hand. I believe this would be suitable for use in our video.

QuickTime:

The 13 QuickTime transitions are Alpha Compositor, Chroma Key, Cross Fade, Explode, Gradient Wipe, Implode, Iris, Matrix wipe, Push, Radial, Slide, Wipe, and Zoom. QuickTime has its own selection on effects. Cross fades are used in videos to create a soft yet ghostly effect between clips. Other transitions however are a little too overpowering to be used. 

3D Simulations:

These transitions are Cross Zoom, Cube Spin, Spin 3D, Spinback 3D, Swing, and Zoom. They are used to create a large impact between clips, to catch the attention or to give off a somewhat futuristic or humorous feel to the audience. Such a transition style would not be suitable for our music video as it is too bold and would ruin the emotion we are trying to create through the visuals.

Page Peel:

Page peel is literally as its name states, the first clip feels away like a page to reveal the second clip. Such an effect could possibly be used in conjunction with the flash backs in our narrative, however it is still a little too bold to be placed within our video.

Wipe:

These transitions include Band wipe, Center Wipe, Checker Wipe, Checkerboard Wipe, Clock Wipe, Edge Wipe, Gradient Wipe, Inset Wipe, Jaws Wipe, Random Edge Wipe, V Wipe, Venetian Blind Wipe, Wrap Wipe, and Zigzag Wipe. Wipes are different to dissolves, they do not blend in the transition process. Although, they are not as subtle as dissolves, so would not be suitable for our video as we dont want the transitions to overpower the narrative. Wipes are often used in family memory or home video editing, again as they provide a somewhat comic aspect.

Slide:

These transitions are Band slide, Box slide, Center Split slide, Multi-Spin slide, Push slide, Spin slide, Split slide, and Swap slide.

Stretch and Squeeze:

These transitions are Cross Stretch, Squeeze, Squeeze and Stretch, and Stretch. Using these transitions makes the clips look rather distorted, so would be inappropriate to use in a video of our genre and the narrative we want to create, as they will stretch the faces and backgrounds of clips to something more bizzarre looking.

Time Line

Oh oh oh yeah 0:06 - 0:08
Babe 0:08 - 0:10

Last time I thought we have this talk 0:10 - 0:15
Boy you were getting ready to leave 0:16 - 0:17
I thought baby you were done 0:18 - 0:20
Cause for a while you could barely look at me 0:21 - 0:22

This time I thought that we`d be fine 0:24 - 0:26
That I`d forget the things that you said 0:27 - 0:29
I tried crossing out your words 0:30 - 0:32

But baby you can not forget the past 0:33 - 0:38
But baby you can not forget the past 0:39 - 0:43
Still baby 0:44 - 0:45

I’m so unpredictable 0:44 - 0:46
you don’t know what to think 0:46 - 0:47
So unemotional 0:47 - 0:49
Wonder if I’m even still in love 0:49 - 0:50
You see 0:50 - 0:51
I don’t know what to tell you now 0:52 - 0:53
Its always harder the second time around 0:54 - 0:56

Im so unpredictable 0:56 - 0:57
Just like you used to be 0:58 - 0:59
So unemotional 1:00 - 1:01
Boy I can forget the way you were with me 1:01 - 1:03
I don’t know what to tell you now 1:03 - 1:04
Its always harder  1:05 - 1:06
The second time around 1:07 - 1:08
The second time around 1:12 - 1:14
We tried going back to Joe’s 1:19 - 1:21
That always was our favourite place 1:22 - 1:24
Long rides baby by the coast 1:24 - 1:26
Do you remember where we stayed 1:28 - 1:30

Last time we were hanging out 1:30 - 1:32
You were acting kind of strange 1:34 - 1:35
Now it’s the second time around 1:35 - 1:37
I’m sorry now it’s me that feels this way 1:38 - 1:41
Its me that feels this way, babe 1:45 - 1:49

I know you are the one that is hurt 1:50 - 1:51

I’m so unpredictable 1:51 - 1:52
You don’t know what to think 1:52 - 1:53
So unemotional 1:54 - 1:55
Wonder if I’m even still in love 1:55 - 1:56
You see 1:56 - 1:57
I don’t know what to tell you now 1:58 - 1:59
Its always harder the second time around 2:00 - 2:03

Im so unpredictable 2:02 - 2:04
Just like you used to be 2:04 - 2:05
So unemotional 2:05 - 2:06
Boy I can forget the way you were with me 2:06 - 2:08
I don’t know what to tell you now 2:09 - 2:10
Its always harder 2:11 - 2:12
the second time around 2:13 - 2:14

I`m not sure the best way to say this 2:15 - 2:17
But I can’t pretend to love you no more babe 2:17 - 2:22
This ferris wheel`s got me crazy 2:25 - 2:28
Maybe the second time around is not meant for us babe 2:30 - 2:35
Not mean for us babe yeah! 2:40 - 2:44

Im so unpredictable 2:46 - 2:47
I don't know what to think 2:48 - 2:49
So unemotional 2:49 - 2:50
Boy I can forget the way you were with me 2:50 - 2:53
I don’t know what to tell you now 2:53 - 2:55
Its always harder 2:55 - 2:56
the second time around 2:56 - 2:57

Im so unpredictable 2:57 - 2:58
Just like you used to be 2:58 - 2:59
So unemotional 3:00 - 3:01
Boy I can forget the way you were with me 3:02 - 3:03
I don’t know what to tell you now 3:04 - 3:06
Its always harder 3:07 - 3:09
the second time around 3:08 - 3:10

Im so unpredictable 3:11 - 3:12
I don't know what to think 3:12 - 3:13
So unemotional 3:13 - 3:14
Boy I can forget the way you were with me 3:14 - 3:15
I don’t know what to tell you now 3:14 - 3:17
Its always harder 3:18 - 3:19

Im so unpredictable 3:19 - 2:20
Just like you used to be 3:21 - 3:22
So unemotional 3:22 - 3:23
Boy I can forget the way you were with me 3:24 - 3:25
I don’t know what to tell you now 3:25 - 3:28
Its always harder 3:28 - 3:29
the second time around 3:29 - 3:32

the second time around 3:35 - 3:37

Classification Research

'U'

The first classification is a 'U', which means it is suitable for audiences aged 4 years and over. The guidelines are:

Discrimination No discriminatory language or behaviour
Drugs No references to any illegal drugs or misuse apart from for educational purposes or for a strong anti-drug message suitable for young children.
Horror Scary sequences should be brief and unlikely to cause any anxiety to children of a young age.
Imitable Behaviour No potentially dangerous behaviour which young children will be likely to imitate and there should be no emphasis on easily accesible weapons.
Language Infrequent use of very mild bad language.
Nudity Occasional natural nudity with no sexual context in it.
Sex Mild sexual behaviour such as kissing and mild references such as 'making love'.

After looking at the BBFC classifications, we see that our video does not include any sort of violence, discrimination, drugs, horror, imitable behaviour, bad language, nudity, sex and the theme is treated with sensitivity and is also appropriate making this video fit into the 'U' Classification as it is suitable for all audiences.

Evaluation of Filming Day 1!

Unfortunately, the one of the main locations we planned to film in, turned out to be not available on the day of filming.
However, we filmed everything that we could in order for our rough cut to be completed by next week. We managed to film most of the outside scenes and last minute, Jade took the camera home and used her house as the main location and shot all the home scenes by herself.
We couldn't film any of the shots of both the characters as we didn't have a male character in the end, so we just focused on getting as many variety of shots as we could for the filming that we could do.

Due to this, after our rough cut, we would like to take out the camera again, in order to complete the shots we are missing and make sure the footage is to the best of our ability.

Blog Assessment of Another Group

Filming Schedule - 12/10/11

We are filming tomorrow and have organised a plan so that all members of the group know exactly what is happening and at what time.

1:05pm - We will collect the camera and tripod from college
1:30pm - Arrive at town in preparation to film park and restaurant scenes

• Shot 8 - park
• Shot 10 - restaurant
• Shot 11 - park
• Shot 18 - park

2:30pm - Finish filming the park and restaurant scenes
3:00pm - Arrive at Lucy's house in Chesterton for the remaining shots filmed in the house

• Shot 1
• Shot 2
• Shot 3
• Shot 4
• Shot 5
• Shot 6 
• Shot 7
• Shot 9 
• Shot 12
• Shot 13
• Shot 14 
• Shot 15
• Shot 16
• Shot 17

We will film each shot from different angles to ensure we have enough footage which is of a high standard for our music video.

13//10/11 9:00am - Return camera to media office

Things To Bring With Us
Jade  (main artist)

•  Costume - Three changes of outfit - 3 casual outfits for park, restaurant and house scenes & one outfit for evening attire for shot 9 
• Props - make-up
• Other - learn lyrics in preparation for easy filming

Ada (features in video)

• Costume - One casual outfit

Lucy 

• Props - Boxes and notepad

Charlotte 

• Props - Photos of the couple and iPod with song

Weather for Filming

I have decided to check the weather forecast for this week as we are choosing the best day to film our outdoor shots. As a group we have now decided that Wednesday will be the best day to film as sunny intervals are predicted. This means that we should be able to film our outdoor shots easily without having to worry about disruption from the weather.

Mise en Scene Reseach: Beyoncé - Irreplaceable

I have decided to view the mise en scene used in the song Beyoncé - Irreplaceable, as this video is similar to the narrative and performance characteristics that we plan to use in our own video. I want to see how professional mise en scene is created and will then look at how we could interpret these ideas into our own video.

Location:
- House
- Dressing room

Props:
- Nail file
- Rollers
- Box for males stuff
- Car
- Mirror
- Stall
- Instruments

Costume:
- Casual in relationship scenes
- Dressing up in heels and rollers for performance scenes

Lighting:
- Dimmed lighting to portray tense mood
- Natural lighting outside
- Lighting from behind to emphasise artist

Although this mise en scene was created in on a high budget, I believe that these elements can be created for our own project and we plan to experiment with this further.

Mise En Scene Research

Location: 
We have found that typical locations for our type of music video is normally based on the narrative of the song. For example, Beyonce - Irreplaceable; this was set at a home location shared by the couple. This is something that we could be easily portray, so ideas for this could be a home location which is easily accessible at one our own houses.

Our narrative will also look the relationship between the couple so we plan to use intimate locations that we know the audience will able to relate to. For example, the park and a restaurant are things that are usually associated with couples. Ideas for this is locations around Cambridge, such as Jesus Green. The college also has a green area with a bench at the back of the building, which could work well as this is easily assessable and we wouldn't need permission.

Props:
We plan to use casual everyday props in our video that can help to explain the narrative further. The type of props we will use have also featured in professional videos, so we believe these will be beneficial for us. These will include objects that help to make the narrative feel more realistic and helps the audience relate. Props will include; mobile phones, boxes for the males stuff, notepads, make-up, e.t.c...

Costume:
Casual costumes work well with this type of music video. Similarly to the props it helps create a life like situation that can be related to. Costumes tend to be everyday clothing, nothing extreme or over the top but just simple as this aspect doesn't need to over power the narrative, just fit in with it well.

As the female artist is key for the video, we have chose to use casual costume for the flashbacks which will then be contrasted in the performance aspect; where the artist will be seen more dressed up to add emphasis on her while she is miming to the camera, and making her a noticeable key element in the video.

Lighting:
Natural lighting for flashbacks makes the shots more casual and we think this will work well to portray the relationship in a realistic manner, however we have considered adding a black and white filter as this is something that we have noticed in professional videos.

For performances, brighter lights created through higher contrasts shots may be more effective to use to enhance the artist and show a clear break from the narrative.

Test Footage & Analysis

Analysis:
By producing test shots it has allowed us to achieve a feel for some shots types we will use in our real video. We think the the zoom into the house would make a good establishing shot and have decided that we will use this further in our project. As well as this, we enjoy the characteristics portrayed by the park locations, as this can emphasise the couples relationship and using it for flashbacks in the narrative could work well. We also experimented with a close up of the artist as we realise this is an important shot that must be included in our video.

Producing the test shots has also allowed us to get a feel for camera and movement. We realise that some shots can be improved by making sure the camera is stable so shaking is kept to a minimum. We could also research into filter effects as this can show us what natural light will look like on film.

The Auteur Theory - Michel Gondry's Videos

The French film theory created by André Bazin can be applied to many forms of media today, e.g. films, music videos, television programmes and others. The film director Tim Burton would be an example of an Auteur as he distinctly creates weird and wonderful movies with similar styles, effects and recurring themes, for example Alice in Wonderland.

I have decided to look at some of the creations of Michel Gondry, Director of a wide range of music videos for groups and artists including The White Stripes, The Foo Fighters and Kylie Minogue. After watching some of his music videos I strongly concluded that he was an auteur due to the style that seemed constant throughout the videos that he had directed, conveying that he had been given the authority and control to make the decisions for the video, the filming, framing and its main direction.
For each of the videos I noticed there were recurring themes and a wide range of similarities in styles. These featured effects, camera angles, cuts and movements even though the videos were different genres.
It seems that the videos all had an unconventional nature to them, giving them a sense of the unknown and slightly out of this world. In addition there were references within some of the music videos where there were dream states and the real world being framed and set in a different way either using colour or setting to differentiate them.

The Auteur Theory - Chris Cunningham's Videos

Chris Cunningham





1.  This video was very abstract and did not use genre characteristics, the song itself is a ragga jungle song, but it feels as if it has a view to being more mainstream that most songs in this genre, you can see this in the fact that a music video has been made for it as most songs in this genre would not. The way that the record company has decided to bring someone with such a distinct style as Chris Cunningham, reveals further the mainstream ambitions of this song, and by the MTV logo in the top corner we can tell it was played on TV music channels.

2. In the genre of music there will normally be no lyrics or a very small amount, in the form of samples rather than specific vocals recorded for the song, this means that the director when making the music video had no inspiration from the lyrics however it also means he had no limitations due to the lyrical content either, this suits the style of video that Chris Cunningham creates as he is more free to create a visually challenging and creative product which can seamlessly blend with the music whilst standing on its own merit as a video. 

3. The music is fast paced with a slow beat and repetitive drum loops, though the video dosent relate to the song due to its visuals, the director needs someway to tie in the video to the song itself to create some sort of singular product,  so he has created a relationship between the beat, the transitions/cuts and movement of the characters and camera in the video itself to bring singularity to the product overall.

4. There were many close ups of the artist in the video although his face was somewhat warped, meting demands of the record company.

5. There was alot of reference to the notion of looking, having the television used as a main prop within the video, providing an image of the singer

6.  There was limited intertextual reference to any other media due to the abstractness of the video.

What is the Auteur Theory?

The Auteur theory is a way to analyse a film or other media form. The theory was created by Andre' Bazin, a French film critic. He believed that films should reflect the personal vision of a director.

If you chosen as the director you become known is an auteur. The auteur is known to have full control and authority and will be left to be the leader of the production of the film or music video. They have connotations of the power that an author has of the writing and publishing of a novel, which shows the impact they can have. 

If a director is an auteur, there will generally be a resounding theme within other works in their portfolio and similar shot types, cuts and special effects being used.

Target Audience Research: Expectations & Viewing Habits

The Target Audience for our artist Lady Gaga is females between the ages of 16 - 25, and homosexual men, although she has fans in many other demographics. She advocates LGTB, (Lesbian, Gay, Transgendered and bisexual) rights and speaks at demonstrations. Her lyrics are for the most part reflective of her own experiences and explore certain elements of a bisexual life, due to her explicit subject children are not part of the target audience although if you asked many young teenagers (11- 15) you would most probably find many of them have heard her songs as well.
In Britain music videos need not be classified as such although most music channels at their discretion will only show censored videos, as the channels play throughout the day, operating before the watershed, this is to stop people complaining that the channels are broadcasting inappropriate content at a time when children may be watching. some channels for example, 4Music and MTV will play explicit/uncut videos but only after a certain time (usually 9/10pm) this is because at this time it is assumed children will not be watching and the videos are less likely to offend.

In 2010, a rumor circulated that Lady Gaga's video "Telephone" was banned by MTV, a rumor which reached some press outlets. The rumor claimed that MTV had banned the video because the content could not be shown within their programming. MTV denied the ban and showed the video frequently on European MTV programming to show that it was not banning the video. Lady Gaga's previous videos have also attracted criticism for their sexually suggestive content; the video for "LoveGame" was refused play on the Australian video music program Video Hits, however, other Australian programs aired the video uncensored.




Ciara's video for "Ride" was banned by BET, with the network citing that the video was too sexually charged. The video was also subsequently banned by all UK television channels.







Rihanna's video "S&M", which features the singer whipping a tied-up man, and taking hostages  was banned in 11 countries and was flagged as inappropriate for viewers that are under 18 on YouTube.

Video Genre & Characteristics

Our video 'Second Time Around' fits within the pop genre. To make sure we include the key characteristics of the genre I have deicded to research into what professional pop videos include to make the video a success.

Definition - Pop is usually understood to be commercially recorded music which is often oriented toward a youth market.

Characteristics -

• An aim of appealing to a general audience, rather than to a particular sub-culture or ideology
• An emphasis on craftsmanship rather than formal "artistic" qualities
• An emphasis on recording, production, and technology, over live performance
• A tendency to reflect existing trends rather than progressive developments
• Much pop music is intended to encourage dancing, or it uses dance-oriented beats or rhythms

Previous Music Video from the Artist -



Poker Face by Lady Gaga is known to be of the electro-pop genre.
Using Goodwin's Analysis
1. The song shows the general characteristics of pop music with performance being a strong element. There is the use of dance routines by Lady Gaga and also many close ups of her miming to the camera.

2. The lyrics of the song match with the visuals literally and metaphorically. There is the use of a real poker game with cards used as props which contradicts the metaphorical meaning where there is voyeuristic treatment of the female body to emphasise the lyrics. Lady Gaga is shown wearing minimal clothing to imply this further.

3. There is also links between the music and visuals as the typical genre features dance-oriented beats which are cut with the visuals with the pace of the song.

4. The demands of Lady Gaga's record label means there is the use of many close ups and miming to the camera within the video. There is also the use of dance routines which are present in many of her existing videos.

5. There is no reference to notion of looking, instead the video concentrates all attention on the artist.

6. There is no inter-textual reference to any films, TV programmes or other music videos.

Attempt to Contact the Artist

We contacted Lady Gaga via Facebook in regards to our video, we let her know we are making a music video for her song 'Second Time Around'. As you know Lady Gaga is a very well known artist so we do not expect a reply but being able to contact her through online media is very easy for us anyway.

Recce Still Shots

 Park Location

 Home Locations^ living room/ house

 Restaurant Location