2. Introduction. As our media coursework I decided to work in a group to create a music video and some promotion material for a music band. At first we we’re going to use a band with a pop/punk genre however we struggled to find a band we would have, or be able to get, permission to use their material. Then we found a band called Black Kids that we were relatively unfamiliar with, which we acquired permission to use their song ‘Love Me Already’ after emailing their record label. After listening to the song a few times, we picked up on the happy, girlfriend and fun related theme. So we decided to try and use this to help influence our music video whilst sticking to generic conventions of a music video to help it appeal to the target audience. To help with this we looked at other recent music videos. For this we used FinalCut editing software, and all contributed towards the editing. For the ancillary tasks we produced a full CD cover (including front and back cover and full inlay) and also a magazine article to advertise the bands music video in a magazine. For this we all contributed towards and helped where ever we can, as none of us were fully literate with Photoshop we helped each other out which I felt helped us all benefit by picking up new skills on the way.
3. Research, Planning And Development For this we all gathered as a group and debated suitable themes whilst looking at previous music videos, CD Covers and articles. For the music video we decided to use a theme of using a Guitar Hero set as comical instruments and decided to film us playing in obscure places, whilst having a laugh. We took inspiration for this from the music video I Set My Friends On Fire/Smosh – Sex Ed Rocks. www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_6ItxioUco
4. After looking at research we decided to keep planning there, but not strictly, so that we could really capture us being ourselves. This is because we thought it would be a lot more appealing for an audience to see us being like this as appose to us acting. I believe this approach was very effective as we weren’t acting out of character and gave a more personal feeling to the video. However this had drawbacks as spots we had originally intended to film in were abandoned, and also the weather meant we had to play around with ideas, but eventually this worked to our advantage. We decided to include clips of us messing about in snow, where we left a camera filming and let ourselves do what ever.
5. As we were trying to be ourselves we feature clips of myself skateboarding, running around a skatepark, playing in snow, and generally having a good time. Whilst also using clips of us playing these comedy instruments to represent the band members in a comical way. We also decided to use an outtake of us jumping over a ramp, where hassan accidently hits me in the face. We also decided to try and maintain this theme in the editing whilst featuring lots of clips that are sped up or reversed. I feel it adds to the effect we were intending.
6. A few screenshots of us playing about and acting ‘ourselves’ including the one to the left of Hassan hitting me in the face by accident.
7. A few more screenshots showing us playing as a band in our video, as you can see they aren’t meant to be taken seriously. We used the Guitar Hero set in several places and got several shots, however we chose to basically take the shots of us messing up or showing personal traits. This was to fit with the theme of having a good time and i think when played in sync with the music and with other clips works really well.
8. The Brand. A brand is a name, sign, symbol, slogan or anything that is used to identify and distinguish a specific product, service, or business. We decided to use the purple and green as our colours as they are quite bright, playful colours, the green will appeal to guys and the purple to girls. This is to help refrain from limiting our target audience. The font at the bottom was used as it matches the ‘B K’ involved in the logo and stands out as an alternate style.
9. Front Cover. The border was quite a spur of the moment idea. It was originally meant to be black and grey however i felt like it needed to stand out more so added our brand colours to it. We used a graffiti style in the title and again in our magazine article to show the playfulness side. It also looks right with the theme and helps draw attention to it. The logo is discretely shown in the background to help, again, reinforce the idea of brand identity, this was added in greyscale to prevent it from being dominant or standing out too much. We tried to keep the front cover from being too ‘in your face’ but so it still stands out. I think we achieved this and works well with the rest of the tasks.
10. Back Cover. Again we used the same purple as previous to promote brand image, however the font was used as it appropriate fit with the cover, looking back though I think we should have used a more graffiti style font similar to the front cover. The same idea was used for the back cover, it includes all the technical information that usual CD’s contain such as record label and barcode. We also used the exact same border as the front cover to show continuity and help it relate to the front cover, however this is in greyscale to help the track list stand out, as that is the focus of attention we desired. We used the same tracklist as the album ‘Partie Traumatic’ by Black Kids. This was to help keep it look authentic. We included a picture of the band on this similar to the one used inside, however this being in greyscale like the logo, to not stand out but still visable.
11. CD Inlay. We used an idea of a silhouette of houses at night to show a mischievous side, this is mirrored on both sides. It also reflects the idea of the pun used in the magazine advert of ‘new kids on the block/scene’. Our inlay is more vibrant than the front and back covers and again has a very strong brand image. A lot of this is just ideas being repeated as continuity. Reflecting back I know think that the colours used on the background with the repeated colours should have been toned down as they are too bright. I personally like the photo of the band together with the effects used.
12. Magazine Advert. A similar font to the one used on the CD cover. For the advert we decided to use a pun to try and help the audience remember what the band is about, we repeated the word out of the band name “kids” too help it relate and used a different brand colour to help it stand out. We tried to keep this rather simple and to the point to try and draw the attention of readers by not overloading them with information. Again we have used the same distorted band photo, similar border and a distorted logo in the background to help it look part of the “Black Kids” franchise.
13. Test Audience Feedback Below in a separate post you can see a video showing the feedback we received. Overall it was a lot better than I expected we would achieve when we set out. It highlights the strong and weak spots of all the finished work which I agree with, the ancillary tasks were the weaker area of production as we knew it would from the start as we were barely Photoshop literate. It also shows how we successfully completed what we set out aiming to do. And seeing that the test audience was the same age as the target audience i believe it to be a success.
14. Personal Thoughts. Overall I think that the main task of the music video works really well, for I think what we set out to achieve was accomplished. There are little bits of minor editing that could have been improved and a few shots we couldn’t get due to the change in weather. I think the use of location was perfect as where we took most of our shots was an area of Clitheroe surrounding a castle. This let us be creative with the idea of us “being ourselves”. Also along with this i think the comedy idea of using Guitar Hero instruments worked really well as it adds to the humour side and relates to a lot of people that play such games, opening a niche market maybe. It also helped us to offer something different to the video as they are conventionally designed to be “the same but different”. Also getting a girl to sing the vocals at parts worked effectively as well, opening up the idea of an enigma, who is she and why is she involved are questions that spring to mind.
15. The ancillary tasks however I believe where not as successful, at parts they are really effective at what they are designed to do but parts i really dislike, such as the inlay for the inside. I feel it is far too busy and garish without any real reason. The magazine article I believe worked really well, with the only place I can see for improvement being the font at the bottom, although easy to read, doesn’t fit with the rest of the branding which we were trying to promote. The logo design i feel worked equally as well, as it was different from other band logo’s and stands out as what we were trying to show the band to be, fun and spontaneous.
16. Last Thoughts... I feel this project has been of great benefit to me, and the group. Before this we barely knew each other, yet this has helped us pull together to help each other whether it be for help using the camera, help using the editing software or even driving people to locations to ensure the task was done. I also personally believe I have benefitted from helping reach the final pieces as I can now use Photoshop to a higher standard and also understand the basics of film editing. In all, I feel as a group we all contributed to make this work to the standard it is, which now seems a lot better than it would at some parts of production. Thanks.
