Website & Video Links

Website-

https://ghance23.wixsite.com/website


Music Video:

Outtakes Video:

Statement of Intent

How do you intend to use the four areas of the media theoretical framework to communicate meaning and meet the requirements of your chosen brief? (approx. 400 words) 

Product 1 

I intend to use the ages 16- 25 AB class demographic target audience to help tell the narrative of the video- as they would be culturally sophisticated, I have chosen to set the video to a time period that is currently engaging among the 16-25 age range: the 80’s (this is evident in shows like Stranger Things that are aimed at a similar audience). I will do this by using a neon colour scheme in my lighting and props, such as cars, that were made around that time. The brief’s genre is Dance music- a genre that has been getting increasingly popular. I will use this to my advantage and I have chosen a song that breaks the convention of a dance song, as it belongs to the chilled-dance genre, unlike the upbeat songs that many dance listeners listen to today. By breaking this convention and not follow the norm, I aim to engage the culturally sophisticated target audience, as cultural sophistication is usually reached within the niche sections of a market or , in this case, genre, by applying an experimental style of editing, using chroma keying and an array of effects that portray a disorientated and intoxicated environment. To portray the reoccurring hallucinations the main character has of his ex-girlfriend, I will use the chroma keyer with a purple, blue and pink underlay when she appears on-screen, as well as ramping up the effects as the video goes on to convey how the effects of the breakup on the protagonist are getting worse. In the last confrontation with his hallucination (just her without her new girlfriend) I will foreshadow the 'end' to the protagonist by gradually closing the boarders on the video and continue to highlight the increasing impact of the heartbreak through a constant use of effects. I also intend to make it realistic by using as many practical effects I can- using an actual car to drive in, have my actor actually fall through the air onto onto a trampoline and fall into a pool filming with a go-pro; other than the physical effects, I will be including characters my audience can relate to; therefore I will include characters from the LGBT community, as well as multiple races, that wear an era- ambiguous style of clothing that class AB 16-25 year olds would be interested in.

I will convey a sense of branding through the use of the band’s logo (which is in a synthwave style, hence connecting the identity of the artists with the theme of the music video), which is at the start of the video, as well as the name of the band, Au Revior Chins. Another part of the branding is the institution branding (Universal) - this will be shown in the video at the end with the text directing the viewer to the website.

Product 2

For the website, I intend to use a simplistic design that conveys a chilled theme. I will include the artist’s name (Au Revoir Chins) and their logo at the top of the page- in order to have a sense of continuous branding throughout the website, the colour used in the logo will also make the base of the colour scheme for the website. In order to appeal to 16-25 year olds, I will use a combination of popular conventions that other dance artists use, who have similar audiences, such as a revolving main page (multiple pictures of screenshots from the music video) and social media icons that would ‘link’ to social media profiles. My linking page will be to the Music and Tour Dates tab, where the two videos will be featured, along with a few upcoming tour dates. To help make the website seem realistic, the news sections will be written as though they were written by a media team of the artists, like other artist’s news sections are; therefore they will be written formally and from the third person. I will also be portraying the institution (Universal) by displaying their logo at the bottom of the Music and Tour Dates page.

How do you intend to link your media products to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the digitally convergent nature of your media production? (approx. 100 words) 

In order to demonstrate my knowledge and understanding of the digitally convergent nature of my media production, I will notify the viewer of the website at the end of the video. I intent the last shot to be filmed underwater, and therefore it will be a perfect background to have text appear on; there shouldn’t be any prominent props or colours to distract the viewer, neither should it make the text harder to read- the shorter the text and the easier it is to read, the more likely the viewer will actually read it. The text will read something along the lines of “Visit the Au Revoir Chins website for more”, accompanied with their logo, followed by the Universal music logo.

Schedule

This schedule will enable me to organise when my shoots are, what I need and what the weather will be like- this will make sure I stick to dates and that I can see what I need to know about that day/night.

If one of my actors becomes unavailable, or the weather takes a turn for the worst, then I will have to reschedule to a day that is a better fit as soon as possible. Also, I have researched in advance whether I am able to film in those locations, so I know where I am allowed to film. I am using all of my own equipment, so there is not issues of availability- I will bring spare batteries and SD cards with me to avoid any issues with storage or battery life.

Casting

This task is to identify who I will be casting in my music video and why they suit the role they will be playing.

After this, I know what to expect from my actors in terms of experience and availability- after consulting them, I can now make a schedule that will incorporate all of their available time.

Location Information

This task is to identify where I will be shooting, the reason for shooting there and the possible problems I could face whilst shooting there.

After this test, I have assessed the risks and now know the appropriate precautions to take as well as what to expect regarding the environment and potential issues regarding the public.

Product Style Profile

This task will cover the importance of planning and sketching the creative process of creating a music video- to do this I will sketch the outlines of my music video and get feedback on them; by completing this, I can then see how these sketches influence my decisions on lighting, framing and composition of the video.

I showed my storyboard to 4 people in my class and the majority of feedback I got was that they liked the theming and the lighting choices I plan to make. They understood the narrative and felt like they would connect with the protagonist through the close ups and tracking. The question I got asked most often about my shots was how feasible they were, which I then explained how I would shoot them.

I asked the same 4 people what they thought about my draft for my website. They said it was simple, yet artistic- this is what I was aiming for due to the results of my survey. The majority of people I asked said that my projected colour scheme of blue and black was a good idea because it suits the genre of the band well. Also, after researching other artists' websites and taking into account the target audience, I have decided to use two types of register in the website- for the bio, as it would be from the point of view of the artists (two teens), the language will be informal. For the rest of the site, including the news section and captions, the language will be formal, creating the illusion that the site is run by employees rather than the artists. 

Mood Board

This task is to help me map my image of my video and website. In the boards, I have my inspiration for aesthetics I plan to use in the products and help me to choose what shots, lighting and mise-en-scene to use in the music video, as well as the layout and content of my website. I will use this mood board to help me decide if the combinations of techniques and themes work and complement each other, and see if the narrative matches the video (in terms of mise-en-scene and editing).

Video Mood board:

Here, I have used images that inspired my editing techniques (for example, top right and second down from middle-top), lighting (top left), shots (top middle) and the overall theme of the video (bottom left and bottom right). I have also included pictures of some of the locations I plan to shoot at- laying out all of these images together allows me to preview what my video might look like concerning the overall feel and look of it. 

In this video, I aim to have an 80's vibe- this is because this is a recent trend (Stranger Things, The Goldbergs, Wonder Woman 2) and my audience analysis showed that my audience wanted to see the current styles in the music video. One of the editing techniques I plan to use (top right) will be used when the protagonist is seeing a hallucination of his ex-girlfriend (the hallucinations will be due to the drinking and the pining). This technique will convey a sense of dream-like fantasy, that it is all in his mind. Another technique I will use to help me achieve an 80's effect is using a VHS overlay- this also helps me to contradict any graininess from the footage. I have also chosen to shoot at night, fitting in with the lyrics and title of the song Nightcall. Also, I have chosen my locations to fit with the changing mood of the narrative- the car scenes represent a journey, which is why that will be the first scene. The falling scene will represent the failure of the protagonist to get over their ex-girlfriend, sending him to his fate of drowning, both figuratively and literally. 

Website Mood Board:
On this board I have included intertextuality examples and guidelines I plan to follow, as well as the colour scheme (top right), themes and examples of symbols I plan to use (middle left and right).

After researching the most popular music artists, some of which include dance artists, I have decided to merge the website conventions on each together. Au Revoir Chins go against the stereotype of dance music being something that is a fast-paced and non-lyrical by 'creating' a song that could be considered as 'chill dance' music. This is because I want the website to reflect the values and interests of the band I have created. I will use a colour scheme consisting of electric blue and black to stay in-line with the dance genre, but I will include a short biography and a news section, which is more similar to pop and classical artists. Keeping with the 80's vibe of the music video and unconventional artist theme, the logo for Au Revoir Chins will be a music tape. Concerning the layout of the website, the sections of the website will take up the whole horizontal width of the screen, much like the websites of dance artists such as David Guetta and Martin Garrix. 

My Audience

In order to research my target audience and learn what they want and expect from a dance music video and website, I created two separate surveys asking about their preferences and opinions on the matter. Firstly, I asked their age (making sure I'm hitting the correct age range), sexuality (as this will be explored in the video) and their race (this too will be explored in the video). I then asked more specific questions to do with the video or website itself.

Music Video Survey
Music Video Survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/V5S2KSR

In conclusion, I found that the majority of the people I asked were aware of what dance music is, but there was a split over what they think should be in a dance music video- the answer mainly revolved around either a club and actual dancing or a full narrative. The participants also expected the pace of the video to be fast, to suit the speed of the music. They also expected neon and strobe lighting, suiting the club theme. In my video, I want to explore the creative side of lighting, using unconventional techniques and colours to achieve the look and feel I want to.


Website Survey

Website Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/7FJLZQK

Overall, the participants wanted a simple yet artistic website, with tabs that direct to social media, music, merchandise and tour dates. I will also include a small section for a short biography to give the website more personality, as well as a page for the music video. The pictures I will include on the home page will be pictures of the artist and stills from the video, but also a few landscape pictures to fill in between the two. Regarding how the video and website will be connected, most people opted for a clickable link. Depending on whether I am able to embed a link and the video, I will strive for this. I will prioritise tabs linking to tour dates and social media as that is what people said they use the website primarily for.

Therefore, my audience comprises of male and female 16-25 years old, class AB demographic. The majority know what dance music is and favour normal to fast-paced changes in shots and story line. They prefer strong and colourful lighting (such as neon and strobe lights), fitting in with the current trend in pop and dance music videos. I can infer from this that they would also prefer a more on-trend approach to my cinematography, such as using the rule of thirds as much as possible when I am framing my shots.

Testing- Editing

This task is to test how I will achieve the colour scheme I want to and how my planned editing techniques will look on the footage I have.

Colour Grading Testing

Before

After

Before

After

Effects Testing (Masking/ chroma keying)

Before

After

After this test, I found that the editing technique I want to use will work with what I have recorded and it portrays the symbolism I want it to. I have also found that, if I use footage that was filed during lighter hours and does not look like it is set at night, I am able to make it darker and look like it is nighttime through the editing process.

Testing- Car

This task is to test if I am actually able to film in a moving car, and if I can get the shots I plan to get; this task is also to see how these shots will will look on the camera I have and how shaky the shots will be.

Test of a b-roll shot

Test of a rear view mirror shot

Test of an over the shoulder shot

Overall, I found that I am able to get the shots I want and I now know what angles to film from to get them- I also found that I can add stability by using a pillow to mitigate the impact created by the car's movement on the window; I will use this to get the exterior shots of the car. 

Testing- Handheld

In this task, I will test if I am able to shoot movement shots without a stabiliser or track. I will keep the camera as still as possible and try not to produce footage that is too shaky- I am using handheld shots because I want to portray an unstable feel in the video to fit in with how the drunk protagonist feels. 

After completing this test, I found that, when shooting handheld, the footage can get quite shaky- to combat this, I will use a stabilising software when I am editing my shots. Yet, I think that going handheld for some shots will portray the unstable vibe I am going for.

Testing- Lighting

I will test my lighting in this task- I hope to find the optimal camera settings as well as test to see if my lighting actually works- as I do not have any proper lighting equipment, I have fashioned my lighting out of heavy duty torches, elastic bands and coloured cellophane sheets.

f/4.5, exposure 1/25, ISO 12800

f/4.5, exposure 1/80, ISO 25600

f/4.5, exposure 1/4, ISO 1000

f/4.5, exposure 1/4, ISO 5600

Testing for blue lighting

Testing for pink/purple lighting

After this test, I found that f/4.5, exposure 1/4, ISO 1000 was the best settings to use. Also, the equipment worked really well- as the torches are handheld, they are easy to move and change the colour of if we needed too. Something else I discovered was that I can replicate a passing streetlight by using an orange cellophane sheet and moving the light past the subject's head.

Testing- Location

This shows the testing of one of the locations as part of the woods scene. I am testing this because I want to scope out what kind of shots I am able to do here and if it is safe to do the shots I am planning to do- I am also looking to see if it is easily accessible and not too busy. 

Testing a possible shot

Testing a possible shot

Testing if this alcove is suitable for a shot

Recording the terrain

Testing a possible shot

Recording possible background

Recording possible background

The feature for a possible shot

The trinkets and ribbons on the tree.

Possible sunset shot

Testing backlighting

Documenting of how the sunset looks in the woods- possible establishing shot (pt 1)

(Pt2)

Possible shot

Testing long shot

Testing mid shot

Testing head and shoulder shot

Testing establishing shot

Another possible hallucination scene location

Possible shot (pt 1)

(pt 2)

Test for possible shot

Alternate angle for hallucination shot

Test shot for tree

Test shot

Test for walking shot 

After this test, I know where I will shoot, the angles that I will shoot from and when is the best time to shoot at. There are no light sources around this area, so I will have to provide my own. There is a path that I plan to shoot on, as well as a tree with hanging ribbons and trinkets- this scene will include a hallucination, so I think the creepy vibe of the tree will fit into this.