FINISHED ANCILLARY 2 - POSTER

Maroon 5

I saw this poster and became fascinated with Japanese script.

In a western form of popular culture the script would be associtated with J-pop and childhood hyperactivity if used properly, hence my inclusion in my promotional poster .

Our QR Code

This Links to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89x7RD0VCxg

QR CODE

I've decided that as part of our marketing poster we should include a QR code which is essentially a bar code that can be linked to a website and is used on mobile devices, this means that when people see our poster they can take a snapshot of the QR code and directly view our video, not only does this increase viewership of the video but it creates a more accessible product and diversifies our marketing by allowing the audience to directly choose how they wish to consume our media.

The QR code acts a convergence of mobile technology (phone, ipods, wifi-enabled devices), the internet, video sharing sites (youtube in this instance) and social networking. Quantifying the potential of this simple symbol is viable as it empowers us as a manufacturer of media to link their promotional material and intern 'scatter bomb' their product to consumers.

Photography

I took some photographs of Stacy today these are some of the shots :

FINISHED ANCILLARY 1 - DIGIPAK

Photoedits

 

1. Magic Wand - Delete Background
2. Add Adjustment Layer - Contrast Increase
3. Add Adjustment Layer - Saturation Increase, Hue Closer To Blood Red
4. Add Adjustment Layer - Brightness Increase
5. Eraser - Remove Unwanted Edges
6. Blur/Smudge Tool - Remove Crisp Edges To Mimic Cover Panel

With Font and Neatened

I love the way the image looks so iconic, the erotic connotations of the tongue, the resemblance to a 'cut out' image from Andy Warhols work in print and the colors that so easily contrast create a front place image that would stand out on any CD shelf and if downloading from an internet source (itunes, amazon)

BLUE GREEN RED - Colour Experiments

PHOTOSHOP - Alot of edits

Basic Principal (For Pop-Art Rocky Horror Inspired Digipak):

1. Frame Lips/Silhouette Right
2. Saturate red Lips
3. Black out Face
4. Insert Breasts Left
5. Invert Colors (Hue/Saturation)
6. IN addition Choose suitable font - Apply to three color schemes that work.

Film Experiments

Today our group experimented with the idea of a feedback loop in visual media to create one-off effects that would be perfect for the performance element of a music video.

The results gave use abstract images like that of Kandinsky's synthenasia driven artwork, a blend of vibrant colors and radiating shapes.  When use in tandem with production effects in Adobe Premier Pro the contours of lights reminisce the visualizers commonly distributed with media players like Windows Media Player.

I also experimented with these effects when used with ordinary footage. Effects like Colour Replace are brilliant for manufacturing a retro feel video, when used in conjunction with bright colors much like the video 'Standing In The Way Of Control' By 'The Gossip'

MAIN TASK FINAL - Breast is Best By The Knee Knockers

Boobs

A blatant exploitation of the female form this is a stereotypical sado-macho-sadistic album cover that relies upon preconcieved beliefs of women as sexual object. A clear denoted image of midrift and breast connote a
high perspective of derived intellect and male superiority in a society that still has a derogatory view of women.

The likeness of the belt to that of wonderwomans may be a reference to female empowerement through an icon of popular culture. The symbology of the american colours  red white and blue embellished with gold perhaps connote a certain integrity in the american audience but to a british audience, even thought we share the colours of the flag we still associate the values of christianity to the tainted and ignorant country that is America (stereotypically).

When listening to the band 'WEEN' whos album cover this is there is no relation to the representation in this image to the latin american sound of the artist and perhaps this album is a good exmaple of poor artist representation.

Blondes have more fun?

When researching CD covers this image struck me as resonating with the act I need to market.

Defining the band I need to market in a few points would come down to:

1. Novelty
2. Feminine
3. Cartoon Like

Comparing these points to the outlook of this album cover, a clearly female figure, excessive make up, an intense closeup and clear use of blonde and pink (nails and eyeshadow) as a stereotypical  'girl' who is obviously care free (blowing a bubble with chewing gum connotes laziness). A simple concept in its entirety this is the sort of cover I would like to produce.

Ancillary (Digipak)

Researching EP (Extended Play) releases they can be defined by the length/total of tracks they contain.

Popular with Indie and Punk musicians like 'TubeLord' and 'Patrick Wolf' an EP is a way of creating a release with more potency than a single and acts as a sampler for the musician if they are just establishing. They are popular with the teenage market as they are cheaper to purchase (lower production costing) and the accessibility they have, they aren't a full albums  and therefore can be played in succession and their entirety without limiting the experience of the consumer or boring them.

A Definition would be :

'An EP contains 4 tracks totaling 25 minutes of material not including remixes/remakes of other tracks on the listing.'

Therefore on my ancillary task I will propose the track listing of:

1. Breast Is Best
2. Herpes
3. Who'd Want That In Them?
4. In-Your-Endo

The track listing represents that of a novelty act, the omnipresent innuendo like values of the tracks lend them,self to the work of Weird Al Yonkovich the parody artist musician who found the majority of his fame through the internet and his novelty performance.

Sia - You've Changed

Evidence for the argument of a home-grown production is truly prominent in this video by Sia.

The props throughout the video are made of cardboard, roughly cut and not a polished material and are seemingly cheap but the 'cuteness' and non pretentious outlook created by these props is what reflects the flirtatious and fun prowess of the song. Again the suggestion of an overly empowered performance from the actors in this video is not 'cheesey' but just pure fun and for comedy.

The balance of a 'rushed job' and successful music video perhaps come form the source material of videogames such as 'Singstar' which are therefore parodied in the video, if the parody had been of a less 'all inclusive' product I believe the audience reaction would have been poor.

New Direction

As a group we have decided to introduce a sense of narrative with the introduction of an establishing scene that creates the image of an induced dream like state for the rest of the video.

With the use of a few simple shots that canon between a nurse and patient we should be able to suggest a neurotically  manufactured dream to the rest of the video. With the costume for the nurse ans the set (both M-E-S) allowing to produce the verisimilitude of a hospital setting. Although, with a viral video an argument could be drawn that it has to remain a position of amateur like production values. Perhaps an over the top performance from the actors and an unpolished wardrobe ('laxed costume) reflect the image and representation of the song that an audience would expect.

Photoshop

During the ancillary tasks I will have to use Photoshop to edit images. This is my first experiment with creating multiple layers, manipulating hue/saturation and trying to create depth.

I have created a layer called a Saturation Layer that allows me to edit the amount of color that seeps from the layer below and i have used this to intensify the image of the barbie. I have also used stock imagery in the form of a fractal image as a layer that creates a swirling mess of color as an overlay.


As this is a first attempt I am proud of the results and has aided me in conforming that I too should use fratcal layers on my ancillary products as they create a depth in the image that was previously not there.

EPIC FAIL

Our experiments with editing together an annoying orange face transposed onto a pair of boobs have failed.

By creating an iris to reveal the footage underneath of my face and saturating the blue inn the footage to match that of the clothing our breasts are wearing.

By blurring focus around the iris image we hoped to create a more 'realistic' image of a face transposed onto some breasts, but overall the footage became blurred, undefined, unprofessional and overly amatuer to an extent greater than the 'viral' like a representation of an amatuer pallate.

Carry on Scene

Stages of Carryon Scene

1.       Barbra Winsor Thrusting Chest Medium Shot Torso, Strapless Bra.

2.       Kenneth Williams Instructing, Matron In Background.

3.       Barbra’s Bra Pops Off (Shot Reverse)

4.       Kenneth Catches It. (Matron Gains Hair Piece)

5.       Barbra Covered, Embarassed (Medium Shot)

6.       Mouth Covered Matron

7.       Matron Takes Her Away.

The Annoying Orange

This video is an example of a viral internet phenomenom.


The example itself is of The Annoying Orange and has over 34 Million Views. This is probably due to the resonance of the character with a youthful audience that resonate the relationship of the orange and his 'friends' with that of their own relationships. The representation of the orange as the lovable yet annoying companion that everyone can somehow draw upon in their experience is the factor which gives dimension to the personified fruit.

Directly form this Youtube clip our group want to emulate the visual effect of a human face on an inanimate object in the capacity of breast to face. As a partial performance segment singing faces will be transposed onto the image of a woman's clothed breasts, as an almost parodied tribute to the annoying orange.

Shot Ideas

Tomorrow we have arranged to shoot a scene which involves a woman rubbing lotion onto her cleavage, the use of sexual imagery is a driving force for most  popular musicians image and is a brilliant convention when attracting a young audience who have be subsequently informed by media stereotyping that there is a objectification and an irrational sexuality in the form of the female body which transcends the verisimilitude of the media itself.

Carry on Camping

Adam Sadowsky engineers a viral music video | Video on TED.com

Adam Sadowsky engineers a viral music video | Video on TED.com

The video that follows this link explains how creating a viral music video has to be specifically engineered, not only for the viewer but for production aswell.

The video in question is OK GO's This Too Shall Pass

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w


Famous for their 'Treadmill Dance', OK GO have a history of viral videos. The key cinematographic element taken from both videos would be their use of continous shots. The 'Treadmill Dance' is filmed with a static camera on a medium shot, and there is no consequential editing of the footage as there is not multi-camera setup or infact antoher element of the scene that is ealbourated on. Again, they have used a continous shot in their more complex This Too Shall Pass video but have created a dimension to the movement by tracking the camera along a systematic path. The reflection of this camera movement is that of the machine and also the widening and narrowing of shots mimics the machines size.

In terms of misé-en-scene the important factor in the video is the items and props used to construct the contraption. An audience would identify with the use of a toy car, a pool ball and and an umbrella ina  conventional manner but their use in this video is unconventional, the reason would be to gauge a reaction of familirity in unfamiliar circumstances in the audience. The playful identity and symbology of the use of props is crucial to attracting their audience.

Obviously the video has a certian younger audience because of the stereotypical nature of the video in its presence on the internet. the new media platform of Youtube helpped establish the video with a combination of social networking capabilites and freedom of access. The convergence of social networking on youtube, with devices like mobile phones and mp3 players that can now manage video data, music files and the internet allowed users to connect the video with their peer gorup and alsmost out of an organic surgence the viedeo grew.

An important note would be the popularity of this video, in comparison to the lack of popularity for their primary creation. This Too Shall Pass currently has 17,828,613 views whereas Here It Goes Again (Treadmill) has roughly 4 million. Perhaps it suggests their audience prefers the more polished creation and invested video they created after becoming more popular and signed, or infact that cinematogrpahical advancement in movement and depth of field has produced a more enjoyable video.

As a side note fore our video we are likely to use some of the ideas of continous shots in certain scenes and establishings of environments to reflect the viral nature of the video we are trying to create.

Divine

In keeping with the novelty feel of the song, and its viral like sound, the single cover must reflect a playful feeling.

An album cover which I think plays on this idea of flirty fun is the cover of Divine's Greatest Hits. it is a play on the work of Andy Warhol who's prints were created to mimic the simple way in which celebrity can be created through simple representation. Elaborating on this with Divine's iconic image as a drag queen this album cover almost parodies the images of The Queen, Marylin Monroe and Jackie Kennedy as strong women  and attributes their iconic status, power and femininity onto that of the masculine Divine.

This representation of Divine as a symbol of womanhood and 'girl power' is part of the 'Queer' factor of his appeal. Dragging this into practical use it would be brilliant for me to take an iconic image of femininity or an image with connotations of breasts and adapt the color pallet to produce an Andy Warhol like effect.

'Breast Is Best' Vallis Ft. Kezia

Breast Is Best by Singer102

This is the song we have created and therefore chosen to visualize in a music video. The song itself is Novelty Synth Pop, with comedic lyrics that we wish to elaborate on as a metaphor for the plastic surgery/perfection obsessed  society we live in.

Ultimately it will establish  a representation of young teen girls and their struggles to cope with their bodies in light of celebrity culture and peer pressure to be perfect.

"Epilepsy Is Dancing" by Antony and the Johnsons

As a piece of art this music videos is an explosion of colour shown through the use of Misé-en-Scene. The way in which colour explodes onto the pallete is envoyaged with the grey, cold hue of the establishing scene. I could connote this setting as a communist state, as stereotypical as it is, the concrete, smashed glass and delapidated buildings connote rebellion and a distopian society, the females clothing ~(costume) is also suggestive of a cold space. The metaphor of the imaggery is obviously of an epileptic fit, subjectively managed by a bright light and a female figure having a reaction to the brightness of the environment, a dear symbolizes freedom that perhaps the figure desires. With the diegetic sound of birds taking flight and birdsong  that combat with the non-diegetic metalic scrapings like the mehcanicns of our females mind, there is a soundbridge between the setting of the communist state and forest scene.

Seductively the next scene is suggested as a dream like state of being. A contrasting scene from city backstreet to deep forest creates a mysticism that recreates iconic folklore like states of imagery (almost Shakespearrean). There are dancers represent animals like butterlfies and stags that interplay to tease and tanatalise our female lead. As a relation to image and sound the folk like tones of the song are the driving force for the fol like imagery. The forest location is warm (lack of clothing) and saturated in colour, the nakedness of the dancers is suggestive of innocence and liberation. More conclusively with the costume there is a strong sense of stylisation, the balletic minimalist clothing and dramatic combination of body pain, feathers, wood and metal create a plethora of textures on the eyes and add a sense of fullfillment to the audience who expect extravagence from the band, who are known for lavish productions.

Interplayed with the interprative dance, which in itself suggest sexual desire and freedom (flesh on flesh, intimate caressing and teasing glances) are segments of performance from the lead vocalist Anthony. This motion of Diegetic to Non-Diegetic sound interplays with the verismilitude of the situation, confirming its unrealsitic and heightend state of being. In cinematographic use there are alot of close ups and mid shots of figures that relate the audience to a sense of intimacy with the situation and again with the characters, this also increase the loneliness of the isolated female who we return to at a long shot.

The Gossip - "Standing in the Way of Control" Kill Rock Stars

Today our group experimented with the idea of a feedback loop in visual media to create one-off effects that would be perfect for the performance element of a music video.

The results gave use abstract images like that of Kandinsky's synthenasia driven artwork, a blend of vibrant colors and radiating shapes.  When use in tandem with production effects in Adobe Premier Pro the contours of lights reminisce the visualizers commonly distributed with media players like Windows Media Player.


I also experimented with these effects when used with ordinary footage. Effects like Colour Replace are brilliant for manufacturing a retro feel video, when used in conjunction with bright colors much like the video 'Standing In The Way Of Control' By 'The Gossip'

Album Cover - Paloma Faith 'Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?'

The cover of Paloma Faith's Debut Album is a good example of a contemporary album cover. It combines concept with the simplistic use of the artist as a central figure.

Objectively, one can see the pair of doves resting on Paloma's hands perhaps a symbol of freedom, a reflection on the music, or an artists perceived personality, in this instance it is a correlation of the name Paloma that translates as dove in English. Similarly, the subjective connotation of the denoted rose like halo would suggest a beauty and innocence in the representation of Paloma Faith as a musician and as an audience one would expect this explicit use of misé-en-scene to derive the sounds of the music.

The costume that she is wearing is a mixed media based design, the black lace brassiere is indefinitely sexual in her target audiences age group although, this is counteracted with body art in the form of a black, tribal/floral tattoo. This contrast of white skin with dark ornamentation is sensual and seductive in representation, a reflection of the common stereotype of women in the popular music industry. Simultaneously, the deep red and quiffed hair are iconic in the modern stereotypical image of a woman in the 1940s/50s and this amalgamation of old and new is actually attributed to the vocal style of the artist and the genre of music, Popular Soul.

In Cinematographic terms there is a brilliant use of the rule of three, in which the doves head direct a triangular point to Paloma's face, establishing her as the important figure in this medium shot. The contrast of the foreground to the background of this image, a 'doll like fantasy' image in the foreground is opposed by a common Parisian bathroom (stereotyped wooden shutters, blue walls, steam and an old radiator). Perhaps the image director decided to compose the image in this way to promote a sophisticated elegance in a overstressed environment, connoting the artists position in the popular music scene and charts.

As a starting point the visual coordinator for this artist had probably already designed the brand icon for Paloma Faith as is reflected in the font used for the title of the singer and album. Consciously they denote that of a music hall in 1920's - 40's America, again a throwback to the sound of the album but also this particular use of font relies on an audience pre-composed representation of that time period and assumes a level of intelligence from her audience of teenage/youthful 20's to 40s in the working context.

Brief

1. A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:

• a website homepage for the band;
• a cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package)
• a magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package).

As part of our music video we would like to take reference from viral identities on the internet and demonstrate a use of convergence in distribution techniques

Hedwig and the Angry Inch - Origin of Love

Initial Idea

The first idea we spawned revolved around the concept of love and its growth through time. The theme of love and its movement is demonstrated through a combination cinematography and mise-en-scene.

In the setting of a two pathed street we start a long continous tracking shot that intorduces images of the a pair of devolping children that come together in time in the centre of the street. The metaphor of the street is life and the couples coming together is a story of love. Consequently, we then introduced the concept of alternate realities if the couple had never met.

The interaction with song will come in the lyrical interpretation and a match of speed to tempo.

Dream Theater - Lie (Music Video, 1994)

From out initial thoughts, the idea of a continous tracking shot combined with a narrative 'evolution of love' in the peripheral of the audiences vision. This music video uses a similar technique to create a fast paced video, our version would be slower to match the tempo of the chosen track.

First Post - Lady Gaga - Telephone ft. Beyoncé

This is the first post in my Media A2 Coursework Blog.

This Blog aims to categorize, accumulate and store my wealth of research and planning over the coming months.

Having chosen a brief previously, that of which to produce a Music Video (and the ancillary tasks coincident with this choice), here is an example of a related media text from the real world, the first of many:



This example is Lady Gaga's 'Telephone'. The beauty of this video is the extensive use of narrative form, we have the equilibrium of Gaga entering prison and henceforth becoming an inmate, the challenges that she rises too and overcomes are in the form of disagreement with Beyoncé on the phone, breaking out of prison, murdering diners, and a re-established equilibrium comes with the pair escaping into the distance, seemingly safe. It is also crucial that narrative outrides performance in the video somewhat elaborating to the meaning of the song and allowing the video to integrate into viral market with simplistic progression ornamented with the performance elements the audience takes ownership in replicating.

As an unusual music video the reliability on the story is somewhat novel in its parodies and homages to Quentin Tarrantino as a film director, references in the misé-en-scene (Gaga's hair in prison - cola-cans, the 'Pussy Wagon' and the diner setting) are all taken or hinting at films from Tarantino's repertoire. As a gimic the way in which Gaga has used these references she attracts fans of the Tarantino brand a diverse and youthful market but also pleases her own fan base with a contemporary and sophisticated knowledge of popular culture.

Part of the Gaga branding is the outlandish clothing (MES) that is laced throughout the production from the nipple taped Gaga in the cell to the shrouded almost nun like Gaga we see at the end, a complete if irrelevant conversion for the character. Appreciating the costumery is important to the grandeur and allusiveness of the lavish production values this filmic music video creates.

Henceforth, music executives had established a collaboration of artists through the song and video, we have a vision of combined star power in the form of Beyoncé's enormous popularity (and acting ability) with the strength of Gaga's die hard fans. When a video uses the potential of two artists to an extent it would be usual to rely on their performance and brand image but the video actually represents the representation we as consumers have obtained of these two musicians. Most importantly Beyoncé swears (although bleeped) in the video. A common representation of Beyoncé, even though sexual, is a modest, intelligent, motherly like figure and her use of language is degrading in this video. The only real reason to do this would be for shock value and to recreate her image in a later move for the musician. A shock value for a video distributed online would give it viral capabilities on a wider scale as it allows the audience to consume with others in a shared environment, giving ownership and a sense of responsibility that the audience appreciates.