Wednesday, 8 December 2010
Monday, 6 December 2010
Decided Performers for Music Video
Our group took the bold decision of getting rid of our previous performer Kyle, because we believed him to be heavily detrimental to the efficiency of our production due to consistent non-attendance to shooting sessions, undesired nature of attire to the shooting, and overall unreliability.
We therefore decided to continue searching for our main performer, and we came across Clayton, who possessed at least the same level of camera skill, knowledge and experience as Kyle, and looked just as conventional and appropriate towards the Grime genre as he did. He also proved he could be available, reliable and flexible enough to be able to work with our group and show up as much as possible when shooting needed to be done.
We also decided to finalize our decision on using Kalise as our female, co-main performer within the music video. And this being because of her excellent availability, look and overall proficiency that we knew she was qualified with.
We chose David above to be our singer, as we believed he could possibly be capable of filling out the part of the singer well, and we crucially needed somebody to perform this role. He possesses the conventional look of this type of performer, was of great availability and had camera experience before; so all of these qualities allowed us to form the decision that David would be an efficient performer to use within our video.
Sunday, 5 December 2010
Feedback
Enyinna, I am really impressed with your work on the ancillary tasks; you have shown real flair. Your research and planning is up to date and you should now aim to complete a weekly running commentary of your group's progress with the music video.
Targets: 1) Upload the vox pops ASAP
2) use peer and self assessment to make any improvements to the video.
Targets: 1) Upload the vox pops ASAP
2) use peer and self assessment to make any improvements to the video.
Friday, 19 November 2010
Potential design image for A4 poster
Based on this photograph of our artist, I produced this piece of artwork, which was for potential use towards the A4 poster. However due to the unreliability of the performer and unaccessibility towards him, our group are considering replacing him for another main performer. Therefore this conceptual design would be rendered useless and have to be scrapped if we do indeed decide to go along with that decision.
Thursday, 18 November 2010
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
CD Cover Idea - Front Cover
Step 5: I removed the shine within this newer version because I believed the technique seemed to start overused, and more so 'tacked on' rather than becoming an actual necessary and essential feature for the design.
I finished colouring the background of the image to sufficiently match the foreground, however now looking back at it I believe the colours do not provide for the most successful job at highlighting and relating towards the grime genre. Instead the red/ mahagony brown tone of the main colour and the also gold relate more towards the Soul and R&B genres instead.
The font was just a prototype use in order to see how the title would appear on the CD cover, and whilst I believe I will be sticking with the name, the actual font I feel is bland, boring and non-connotive towards the grime genre.
Step 3 and 4: Focuses on adding artificial shine within certain features of the artist's appearance, such as the artist's earring, in order to exemplify upon the artist's wealth due to success, make him appear flashier and therefore more acceptable to the audience, especially one within this genre of grime, and just make him appear more satisfying to look at on a whole. Shine was also added to the artist's eye as experimentation to see if he would again appear more pleasing to look at in terms of aesthetics, and also illustrate a glimmer of the foreboding, accomplishing future that lies ahead of this artist as symbolically he is only looking towards the light, and therefore towards positivity. This is subversive of the stereotypical grime artist, as usual they will look back upon a grim, dark background instead.
I also added some colour to the background of the image, to make it fit in with the design of the artist as well.
I finished colouring the background of the image to sufficiently match the foreground, however now looking back at it I believe the colours do not provide for the most successful job at highlighting and relating towards the grime genre. Instead the red/ mahagony brown tone of the main colour and the also gold relate more towards the Soul and R&B genres instead.
The font was just a prototype use in order to see how the title would appear on the CD cover, and whilst I believe I will be sticking with the name, the actual font I feel is bland, boring and non-connotive towards the grime genre.
Step 3 and 4: Focuses on adding artificial shine within certain features of the artist's appearance, such as the artist's earring, in order to exemplify upon the artist's wealth due to success, make him appear flashier and therefore more acceptable to the audience, especially one within this genre of grime, and just make him appear more satisfying to look at on a whole. Shine was also added to the artist's eye as experimentation to see if he would again appear more pleasing to look at in terms of aesthetics, and also illustrate a glimmer of the foreboding, accomplishing future that lies ahead of this artist as symbolically he is only looking towards the light, and therefore towards positivity. This is subversive of the stereotypical grime artist, as usual they will look back upon a grim, dark background instead.
I also added some colour to the background of the image, to make it fit in with the design of the artist as well.
Step 2: Cropped out parts of the background, and made the image bigger to make the artist take up a greater portion of the CD and therefore sub-consciously appear of greater significance.
Step 1: The actual photograph for the desired image to be used within the CD cover.
With this idea for the CD cover, I had taken a photo I had of our performer; and decided to add various effects onto it to grant the image with greater aesthetic gratification and therefore make it appear more appealing. The concept of giving the artist a 'cartoonish' look I believe is subversive and challenging to the stereotypical grime artist, as it alters the tough, sinister, intimidating appearance that may be usually and conventionally associated to such an artist. I thought what would be conventional to a grime artist would be to have the artist looking away from the camera, to become a non-direct addressing pose and therefore subtly highlights the artist's ego, and makes him appear trendy and 'cool' because of it. Since he seems important enough to not have to stare at us yet we still have to stare at him.
Thursday, 28 October 2010
Feedback
Enyinna, this blog is well organised and easy to navigate. Your use of slide shows are particularly useful in viewing the more visual apects of the research and planning and work. You now need to upload your group's vox pops. You have worked hard so far - well done.
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Vox Pox questions used
What do you expect to see in a music video of this genre?
Which music TV channels would you expect to see this music video on?
Why do you watch a music video?
What themes or narratives do you expect to see in a music video of this genre?
How do you think a male performer in this music video should be represented?
How do you think we can make an RnB/ Grime music video original?
Which music TV channels would you expect to see this music video on?
Why do you watch a music video?
What themes or narratives do you expect to see in a music video of this genre?
How do you think a male performer in this music video should be represented?
How do you think we can make an RnB/ Grime music video original?
Friday, 15 October 2010
Potential Performers for Music Video
The performer, Kyle, who will be taking the main, leading role as Wretch 32 was chosen by the group because we believed he had the key appearance to that we were looking for in the artist. This is due to our assurities that he fits into the conventional ideology and stereotype of what you would conceive an artist within this genre to look like, so we thought he would consequently be the best representation of the artist Wretch that we could find. We felt that he had all the features and attributes to depict a realistic and most importantly believable grime artist, therefore he would be an ideal performer to use for him.
Kalise we believe has key features as well to displaying a great image for Wretch's partner and being an appropriate, believable actress that would be able to illustrate companionship between the couple vividly. She not only has the looks but also, along with Kyle, has a certain amount of knowledge into the field of music, film and media; and therefore would also be suitable to work with in order to display an excellent and fitting embodiment of the character she is acting as.
Tara was also another actress we considered of filling the role of Wretch's partner, as we believed she fulfilled the necessary requirements both in image yet also in belief and realism. This is as she possesses great skill and ability in theatre and drama, and therefore could be able to perform top level acting supporting the realism and immersion of the performance.
Friday, 8 October 2010
Shooting Schedule
Weekly Shooting:
Date: Monday 11th October – Sunday 17th October
We will hope to get the performance shots done within these dates.
Date: Monday 18th October – Sunday 24th October 2010
Within these dates we hope to get some footage for the narrative scenes.
Date: Monday 25th October – Friday 29th October
Within these dates we are attempting to get more footage from the narrative scenes but at another location.
Date: Monday 1st November- Sunday 7th November 2010
Within these dates we are hoping to get more footage for the narrative scenes within the video.
Date: Monday 8th November – 22nd November 2010-10-03
Within these date we hope to go over and reshoot any parts of the music video we feel need to be improved.
Date: Monday 23rd November – 30th November we hope to get the final pieces of footage done within these dates.
Date: 1st December -19th December- get all filming and refilming of both performance and narrative scenes done, so we can move on to editing after holidays.
Date: Monday 11th October – Sunday 17th October
We will hope to get the performance shots done within these dates.
Date: Monday 18th October – Sunday 24th October 2010
Within these dates we hope to get some footage for the narrative scenes.
Date: Monday 25th October – Friday 29th October
Within these dates we are attempting to get more footage from the narrative scenes but at another location.
Date: Monday 1st November- Sunday 7th November 2010
Within these dates we are hoping to get more footage for the narrative scenes within the video.
Date: Monday 8th November – 22nd November 2010-10-03
Within these date we hope to go over and reshoot any parts of the music video we feel need to be improved.
Date: Monday 23rd November – 30th November we hope to get the final pieces of footage done within these dates.
Date: 1st December -19th December- get all filming and refilming of both performance and narrative scenes done, so we can move on to editing after holidays.
Some Equipment Shots
A few examples and types of equipment to be used for the production of the music video:
Themes into music video (Potential)
Themes
Themes into music video
View more presentations from Preston Manor.
Generic Codes and Conventions
Generic codes of R&B/ Hip-Hop
Technical codes
- Many two shots can be used to show the two people (Boy and Girl) together (highlights romanticism that couple share).
- Tracking shots and performance shots of the artist towards their "lover" in the video is also generic and will convey their relationship to higher gravity, virtue and significance.
Symbolic codes
- Interactions with the other model who is playing the part of the lover such as; touching, holding, deep stares into their eyes and a common generic symbolic code is when a male/female holds their partners chin and gazes into their eyes as an example.
Generic conventions
- Items of Mise en scene such as rings, bangles and necklaces/ expensive jewellery are all generic for an R&B/Hip-Hop video
- Clothing will range from stereotypical attire for the main grime artist, his spouse and other minute characters in the video in order to fit into the conventions of the genre appropriately and aim at our main target audience well. However the costumes will also have a sense of casualness to them, that can illustrate a less intimidating and more sophisticated/ laid back feeling to the performers and the video on a whole, which will be useful to subverting the conventions because of the romantic tone that the video will possess.
- Dark colours are often used to portray negative feelings of the artist (through the grime genre and somewhat stereotypical portrayal of artist from a Marxist perspective)
- Bright and vibrant colours however will also be used to show the artists positive feelings, which will connote well towards the song as it is meant to be positive and uplifting, and therefore also subversive to the genre.
- R&B video's tend to be performance and narrative based
Technical codes
- Many two shots can be used to show the two people (Boy and Girl) together (highlights romanticism that couple share).
- Tracking shots and performance shots of the artist towards their "lover" in the video is also generic and will convey their relationship to higher gravity, virtue and significance.
Symbolic codes
- Interactions with the other model who is playing the part of the lover such as; touching, holding, deep stares into their eyes and a common generic symbolic code is when a male/female holds their partners chin and gazes into their eyes as an example.
Generic conventions
- Items of Mise en scene such as rings, bangles and necklaces/ expensive jewellery are all generic for an R&B/Hip-Hop video
- Clothing will range from stereotypical attire for the main grime artist, his spouse and other minute characters in the video in order to fit into the conventions of the genre appropriately and aim at our main target audience well. However the costumes will also have a sense of casualness to them, that can illustrate a less intimidating and more sophisticated/ laid back feeling to the performers and the video on a whole, which will be useful to subverting the conventions because of the romantic tone that the video will possess.
- Dark colours are often used to portray negative feelings of the artist (through the grime genre and somewhat stereotypical portrayal of artist from a Marxist perspective)
- Bright and vibrant colours however will also be used to show the artists positive feelings, which will connote well towards the song as it is meant to be positive and uplifting, and therefore also subversive to the genre.
- R&B video's tend to be performance and narrative based
Possible Video Plan
Wretch 32 and Haydon actors will perform in front of the green screen doing the performance scene; this is going to be done by us because we have seen performance scenes in a lot of Grime music videos. So for us not to include a performance scene would have meant that our music video does not look properly like a grime music video which is essential in attracting your target audience.
The next part to our video would be wretch 32 properly introducing himself and talking about him and his girl, In this part of the video we want to include some narrative scenes. These narrative scenes would be of wretch 32 and his girl going through minor difficulties, we may even include a love triangle as we feel there are parts in the song where he says there maybe a another involved in the situation.
The third part to our music video is a performance of Haydon, performing his part of the song. The character Haydon is not going to be included in the narrative scenes because we feel as though this will blur the storyline between wretch 32 and his girlfriend; we don’t want to confuse audiences so we opted out this idea. In the performance scenes we will try to shoot Haydon from a range of angles and use some close ups to engage the audience and withhold their interest. There may also be performance parts where both Haydon and wretch 32 will be together, so that there is some variety to our music video.
The next part of the music will focus back on wretch 32 and his girlfriend we will show them together having a good time in a range of places which we are thinking maybe their neighbourhood, central London, out to dinner, at a funfair and other places where they can enjoy themselves. We will want to show how they have progressed by changing location to more sophisticated places as the scenes move on.
In between the different scenes where wretch32 and his girlfriend are going out we will show Haydon performing the chorus, we will try to make this subtle as we do not want the audience to be put of from the jumps in scenarios. There will also be a combination of performance and narrative towards the end closing the video. Our group wants to also include stop motion or some other technique within our video which we may possibly do in the end if we are able to because we have not thought of how we will do this so far.
The next part to our video would be wretch 32 properly introducing himself and talking about him and his girl, In this part of the video we want to include some narrative scenes. These narrative scenes would be of wretch 32 and his girl going through minor difficulties, we may even include a love triangle as we feel there are parts in the song where he says there maybe a another involved in the situation.
The third part to our music video is a performance of Haydon, performing his part of the song. The character Haydon is not going to be included in the narrative scenes because we feel as though this will blur the storyline between wretch 32 and his girlfriend; we don’t want to confuse audiences so we opted out this idea. In the performance scenes we will try to shoot Haydon from a range of angles and use some close ups to engage the audience and withhold their interest. There may also be performance parts where both Haydon and wretch 32 will be together, so that there is some variety to our music video.
The next part of the music will focus back on wretch 32 and his girlfriend we will show them together having a good time in a range of places which we are thinking maybe their neighbourhood, central London, out to dinner, at a funfair and other places where they can enjoy themselves. We will want to show how they have progressed by changing location to more sophisticated places as the scenes move on.
In between the different scenes where wretch32 and his girlfriend are going out we will show Haydon performing the chorus, we will try to make this subtle as we do not want the audience to be put of from the jumps in scenarios. There will also be a combination of performance and narrative towards the end closing the video. Our group wants to also include stop motion or some other technique within our video which we may possibly do in the end if we are able to because we have not thought of how we will do this so far.
Initial Ideas for Music Video
(MAY NEED TO CLICK IMAGE TO ZOOM IN IF TEXT APPEARS TOO SMALL TO READ.)
Analysis of the lyrics
This song is sung by Haydon and wretch 32, wretch 32 is a predominantly grime artist whereas Haydon is an RnB artist. The main performer of the song is wretch 32, he is discussing his relationship in this song. Wretch 32 has made many songs about his love life; this is one of his more famous ones. He is an unsigned artist who is relatively well known in the Grime scene.
The opening verse of the lyrics of the song, reaffirm that this is a love song, as the Haydon singer says “Me and you”. This shows that this singer is talking about a relationship with a girl, as very few if any grime songs are based on homosexual relationships. We then here wretch 32 explain that he will not leave his girl, this represents him as caring which I think our group will have to take into consideration when thinking of how we will represent the main male performer. Wretch 32 then describes the reasons as to why his girlfriend likes him, e.g. he says,”with my smile she can’t stay mad at me”. This represents the artist as confident and comfortable with himself, this is a stereotypical representation of grime and hip hop artists. This alpha male representation is something our group will try to mediate in our music video. The fact that wretch then says “my egos a problem, were working around”, shows that he is aware of his over confidence and need to please, which is unconventional representation of a grime artist, giving our group a option to make the main performer less conventional. The mentioning of another male suggests that there may be a love triangle involved, which is a theme that we may also be able to incorporate into our music video.
In the next verse wretch wretch 32 shows that he is committed to his relationship, as he mentions the idea of marriage in the lyric, “i can put a ring around your finger”, this is also an unconventional representation of a grime/ hip hop artist as they are normally represented as disrespectful towards women. The chorus then plays where we hear the singer Haydon, expressing his care for his partner. He says, “you, words can’t describe”, this a quite stereotypical representation of an rnB singer as these type of lyrics are commonly seen in RnB music videos.
In the next verse we hear the artist wretch 32 acting like a alpha male once again, as he shows his supposed authority over his girlfriend. He says, “She knows what the rules allow”, here wretch 32 is claiming that there are certain rules which his girlfriend must abide by, making him look like the more superior in the relationship. The representations of wretch 32 we see in this verse reflect the stereotypical representation of grime artist in music videos. We are also given this impression of wretch 32 in the following lyrics where he says “money ain’t a Thing”, here he shows off that he is reasonably wealthy. This is commonly done by grime and Hip Hop artist, two very similar genres, as this is a genre in which artists are very money motivated and like to show their wealth and success.
In the next verse we here wretch 32 assert his affection for his girl, he says, “she makes me smile on a rainy day”. This lyric once again represents wretch 32 as a caring and affectionate person, especially towards his girlfriend. Here wretch 32 is not being represented as a stereotypical grime artist as grime artist tend to be portrayed as “tough guys” , who are not very emotional. We also her from wretch 32 in this verse that he in the past was with a lot of girls but has matured and changed his ways, he says, “ girls come and go, I’m tired of the campaign”. This lyric shows that wretch 32 is trying to settle down and commit to one girl.
In the next verse we hear Haydon proclaim his affection for his own girlfriend, just as wretch 32 had done previously. This is a conventional representation of RnB artists and something the audiences would expect. He says, “all I need is your touch”, which shows that Haydon is very passionate. The song ends with wretch repeating “all i need is you baby”, this ending is similar to the opening of the song in that it makes it clear that the songs main theme is love.
Overall, we can say that this song is represents the main artist both conventionally and unconventionally considering the genre of the song. There are some verses where the artist, wretch 32 is represented as caring and affectionate, which is not a stereotypical representation of grime artists. However, there are also verses where wretch 32 is represented as a macho alpha male and the more superior in the relationship. The two different sides to wretch 32 identified in the lyrics shows that in our music video we can have some creative freedom considering the fact that it is a grime song. Our group will also consider making the artist less stereotypical considering the lyrics are allowing us to, also this will help us to make our music video more original.
The opening verse of the lyrics of the song, reaffirm that this is a love song, as the Haydon singer says “Me and you”. This shows that this singer is talking about a relationship with a girl, as very few if any grime songs are based on homosexual relationships. We then here wretch 32 explain that he will not leave his girl, this represents him as caring which I think our group will have to take into consideration when thinking of how we will represent the main male performer. Wretch 32 then describes the reasons as to why his girlfriend likes him, e.g. he says,”with my smile she can’t stay mad at me”. This represents the artist as confident and comfortable with himself, this is a stereotypical representation of grime and hip hop artists. This alpha male representation is something our group will try to mediate in our music video. The fact that wretch then says “my egos a problem, were working around”, shows that he is aware of his over confidence and need to please, which is unconventional representation of a grime artist, giving our group a option to make the main performer less conventional. The mentioning of another male suggests that there may be a love triangle involved, which is a theme that we may also be able to incorporate into our music video.
In the next verse wretch wretch 32 shows that he is committed to his relationship, as he mentions the idea of marriage in the lyric, “i can put a ring around your finger”, this is also an unconventional representation of a grime/ hip hop artist as they are normally represented as disrespectful towards women. The chorus then plays where we hear the singer Haydon, expressing his care for his partner. He says, “you, words can’t describe”, this a quite stereotypical representation of an rnB singer as these type of lyrics are commonly seen in RnB music videos.
In the next verse we hear the artist wretch 32 acting like a alpha male once again, as he shows his supposed authority over his girlfriend. He says, “She knows what the rules allow”, here wretch 32 is claiming that there are certain rules which his girlfriend must abide by, making him look like the more superior in the relationship. The representations of wretch 32 we see in this verse reflect the stereotypical representation of grime artist in music videos. We are also given this impression of wretch 32 in the following lyrics where he says “money ain’t a Thing”, here he shows off that he is reasonably wealthy. This is commonly done by grime and Hip Hop artist, two very similar genres, as this is a genre in which artists are very money motivated and like to show their wealth and success.
In the next verse we here wretch 32 assert his affection for his girl, he says, “she makes me smile on a rainy day”. This lyric once again represents wretch 32 as a caring and affectionate person, especially towards his girlfriend. Here wretch 32 is not being represented as a stereotypical grime artist as grime artist tend to be portrayed as “tough guys” , who are not very emotional. We also her from wretch 32 in this verse that he in the past was with a lot of girls but has matured and changed his ways, he says, “ girls come and go, I’m tired of the campaign”. This lyric shows that wretch 32 is trying to settle down and commit to one girl.
In the next verse we hear Haydon proclaim his affection for his own girlfriend, just as wretch 32 had done previously. This is a conventional representation of RnB artists and something the audiences would expect. He says, “all I need is your touch”, which shows that Haydon is very passionate. The song ends with wretch repeating “all i need is you baby”, this ending is similar to the opening of the song in that it makes it clear that the songs main theme is love.
Overall, we can say that this song is represents the main artist both conventionally and unconventionally considering the genre of the song. There are some verses where the artist, wretch 32 is represented as caring and affectionate, which is not a stereotypical representation of grime artists. However, there are also verses where wretch 32 is represented as a macho alpha male and the more superior in the relationship. The two different sides to wretch 32 identified in the lyrics shows that in our music video we can have some creative freedom considering the fact that it is a grime song. Our group will also consider making the artist less stereotypical considering the lyrics are allowing us to, also this will help us to make our music video more original.
Lyrics to 'Me and You'
Me and you, me and you (Haydon)
N I ain’t ever said that I was (Wretch 32)
leaving you (H)
Coz u aint never given me a (W)
reason to
its just me and you, me and you, me and you (H)
N i aint neva sed I was (W)
leaving you (H)
Coz u aint given you me a (W)
reason to
its jus me and you (H)
Im saying im sky fly, dark skin galaxy (W)
and with my smile, she cant stay mad at me
im a wild child my last name's casualty, so i like seeing nurses in outfits
she can wear the skirt, i'll work with the trousers, woah look i aint perfect, im clownin
my egos a problem we're working around it,
but he a throws an option to further the outings,
me and you, me and you (H)
We're out of this world but the earths got us grounded, i can give your index a circle around it,
ring.., its worth every pound is,
bling.., but thats only when the times right, the diamonds will shine like your smile when your outside,
grim.., I know that your down like 3-2, im down like me... too,
sing (W),
You got me feeling right. You girl i cant deny. You words i cant describe, because i jus cant get enough of..
You got me feeling right. You girl i cant deny. You words i cant describe, because i jus cant get enough of your love (H)
Look and we aint never falling out, coz she knows what the rules allow, and if her phones engaged, i just text her call me now, exclamation my juice aint water down,
i tell her blatant, n when we fool around, i always see the back of her n she aint walkin out,
i only got her tab now cos i bought her gown, but honey money aint a thing coz its all about (W),
me and you, me and you (H)
N I ain’t ever said that I was (W)
leaving you (H)
Coz u aint never given me a reason to
so lets jus keep it like that, n we can stay close coz i feel it like that,
i make notes, believe i like cash, and you can stay home n be in like rags,
n we wont break the oaths coz jesus likes that (W),
You got me feeling right. You girl i cant deny. You words i cant describe, because i jus cant get enough of..
You got me feeling right. You girl i cant deny. You words i cant describe, because i jus cant get enough of your love (H)
Look i aint sayin its really love, im jus sayin that she cheers me up,
on a bad day girls come n go n i am tired of the campaign, my chrystals got me tired of the champagne, but you don’t get closer then us,
we share the same bed n I thought the sofas enough, n on her bracelet it says there always in love, n it hurts me to say this aint only a crush (W),
You got me feeling right. You girl i cant deny. You words i cant describe, because i jus cant get enough of..
You got me feeling right. You girl i cant deny. You words i cant describe, because i juscant get enough of your love (H)
Girl you're all that i've got, n you're all im thinkin of, you are everything I want, everything that i need, we aint gotta sing much all i need is your touch, n i'm falling in love, (ohhh) with you baby (H)
I said im feeling you baby, I said im feeling you baby,
I said im feeling you baby, I said im feeling you baby, I said im feeling you baby, I said im feeling you baby, I said im feeling you baby, I said im feeling you baby (H)
N I ain’t ever said that I was (Wretch 32)
leaving you (H)
Coz u aint never given me a (W)
reason to
its just me and you, me and you, me and you (H)
N i aint neva sed I was (W)
leaving you (H)
Coz u aint given you me a (W)
reason to
its jus me and you (H)
Im saying im sky fly, dark skin galaxy (W)
and with my smile, she cant stay mad at me
im a wild child my last name's casualty, so i like seeing nurses in outfits
she can wear the skirt, i'll work with the trousers, woah look i aint perfect, im clownin
my egos a problem we're working around it,
but he a throws an option to further the outings,
me and you, me and you (H)
We're out of this world but the earths got us grounded, i can give your index a circle around it,
ring.., its worth every pound is,
bling.., but thats only when the times right, the diamonds will shine like your smile when your outside,
grim.., I know that your down like 3-2, im down like me... too,
sing (W),
You got me feeling right. You girl i cant deny. You words i cant describe, because i jus cant get enough of..
You got me feeling right. You girl i cant deny. You words i cant describe, because i jus cant get enough of your love (H)
Look and we aint never falling out, coz she knows what the rules allow, and if her phones engaged, i just text her call me now, exclamation my juice aint water down,
i tell her blatant, n when we fool around, i always see the back of her n she aint walkin out,
i only got her tab now cos i bought her gown, but honey money aint a thing coz its all about (W),
me and you, me and you (H)
N I ain’t ever said that I was (W)
leaving you (H)
Coz u aint never given me a reason to
so lets jus keep it like that, n we can stay close coz i feel it like that,
i make notes, believe i like cash, and you can stay home n be in like rags,
n we wont break the oaths coz jesus likes that (W),
You got me feeling right. You girl i cant deny. You words i cant describe, because i jus cant get enough of..
You got me feeling right. You girl i cant deny. You words i cant describe, because i jus cant get enough of your love (H)
Look i aint sayin its really love, im jus sayin that she cheers me up,
on a bad day girls come n go n i am tired of the campaign, my chrystals got me tired of the champagne, but you don’t get closer then us,
we share the same bed n I thought the sofas enough, n on her bracelet it says there always in love, n it hurts me to say this aint only a crush (W),
You got me feeling right. You girl i cant deny. You words i cant describe, because i jus cant get enough of..
You got me feeling right. You girl i cant deny. You words i cant describe, because i juscant get enough of your love (H)
Girl you're all that i've got, n you're all im thinkin of, you are everything I want, everything that i need, we aint gotta sing much all i need is your touch, n i'm falling in love, (ohhh) with you baby (H)
I said im feeling you baby, I said im feeling you baby,
I said im feeling you baby, I said im feeling you baby, I said im feeling you baby, I said im feeling you baby, I said im feeling you baby, I said im feeling you baby (H)
About Wretch...
Wretch 32 (real name Jermaine Scott) is a grime MC and rapper from Tottenham, North London. He was a member of the grime collective "Combination Chain Gang", before forming The Movement with fellow artists: 'Scorcher', 'Ghetto', Devlin and 'Lightning'. Despite his claims to be a grime MC, Wretch has faced frequent criticism from dedicated grime fans, who accuse him of making "bait" hip-hop which he attempts to pass off as grime music. This is due to his tendency to spit over hip-hop sounding beats. He is also often associated with the TMT crew, also from Tottenham, due to his close relationship to fellow Tottenham rapper Cell 22. The pair have made several songs together.
After years of endeavour, Wretch 32 is now recognized as one of the leading urban artists that the UK has to offer. In 2009, he performed in every city in the country and to date his music catalogue has independently sold over 15,000 units. Already this year, Wretch 32 has been honoured with the Best Hip Hop award at OMA (Official Mix tape Awards) and he now plans to expand his profile and clothing line ‘Wretchroboys’.
Radio stations such as BBC 1Xtra, Kiss FM and Choice FM, heavily support wretch 32. He has even won an award from BBC 1Xtra to acknowledge his high volume of radio play. His renowned word play has made him a firm favourite amongst DJs and captured the heart of audiences not only in the UK but also across Europe. In fact, despite never being signed Wretch 32 has performed in venues, which include The Indigo O2, The BBC Big Weekender and the Hip Hop Kemp Festival in Czech Republic.
Wretch 32 already has a popular twitter with over 10,000 followers, a blog and now launches his new website Wretch32.com with a free mix tape. He is currently working on his new album Black and White which is due for release later this year.
After years of endeavour, Wretch 32 is now recognized as one of the leading urban artists that the UK has to offer. In 2009, he performed in every city in the country and to date his music catalogue has independently sold over 15,000 units. Already this year, Wretch 32 has been honoured with the Best Hip Hop award at OMA (Official Mix tape Awards) and he now plans to expand his profile and clothing line ‘Wretchroboys’.
Radio stations such as BBC 1Xtra, Kiss FM and Choice FM, heavily support wretch 32. He has even won an award from BBC 1Xtra to acknowledge his high volume of radio play. His renowned word play has made him a firm favourite amongst DJs and captured the heart of audiences not only in the UK but also across Europe. In fact, despite never being signed Wretch 32 has performed in venues, which include The Indigo O2, The BBC Big Weekender and the Hip Hop Kemp Festival in Czech Republic.
Wretch 32 already has a popular twitter with over 10,000 followers, a blog and now launches his new website Wretch32.com with a free mix tape. He is currently working on his new album Black and White which is due for release later this year.
Research Into Potential Music Channels
Research into a Music TV channel which may distribute my product
MTV Base
Is owned by MTV Network Company and launched in 1999 in the UK. Mostly shows music videos from the genres Hip Hop, RnB, Grime, reggae and Soul. MTV Base is available in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the Republic of Ireland, Kenya and South Africa. The channel was previously available in the Netherlands, Germany and other European countries but was replaced by MTV Dance in some territories from March 2009.
Kiss
This is a music channel owned by Box television channel, launched in 1998. The music channel predominantly plays music from RnB, Dance and Hip Hop. The television channel was created by Guy Wingate who was the original creator of the kiss 100 radio station.
Daily Programming
Deaf Jams - Music videos with sign language.
Fresh Kiss Cuts - The newest urban music of the moment.
Friday Night Garage - Non-stop new and old garage tunes.
Good Morning Kiss! - New and old urban music videos to start the day.
Kissalicious - The very best classic and modern urban tracks.
Kiss Party Flavas - Non-stop urban party music.
Kisstory: Rewind Thru The Years - Non-stop classic urban music videos.
Kiss Urban Hitlist - The biggest urban music videos.
Late Night Jamz - Urban music videos.
Masterclass - One artist’s entire music history with facts and album statistics.
ViVa
A music channel, which has recently changed its name in the Uk from TMF to Viva. It also shows entertainment programmes. It is famous for showing uk top 40 every week. In the Uk the channel was launched in 2009. They show music videos of all genres especially pop, rnb and Hip Hop videos. The channel is available on freeview channels in the UK and originally the channel came from germany where it was launched in 1993.
4music
A music channel which is limited to the uk and some Ireland digital TV providers. It is owned by Box Television Company, who also own channel 4 in the Uk. The channel is free to own as it is shown on freeview television. The music shown on the channel is predominantly Hip Hop, pop, Dance, RnB and rock. They are a relatively new channel having only been launched in 2008. There slogan is “music and more”, and there sister channels are 4 channel, E4, more 4 and film 4.
Further Similar/ Potential Music TV Channels
Thursday, 7 October 2010
Questionnaire Results
Questionnaire results group conducted
Questionnaire results
View more presentations from Preston Manor.
Camera & Editing techniques
Camera and Editing techniques we may possibly use...
CAMERA
Extreme long shot/establishing shot-establishes physical context of action; shows landscape and architectural exteriors
Long shot -shows a large scale action; shows whole groups of people; displays large architectural details
Medium shot- small groups such as two or three people
Close-up- focus on one character; facial expression very important
Extreme close-up- facial features in a character or small objects framing where people etc. are placed within the frame ( composition)
Angles
High angle/birds eye view ( filmed from above)
Aerial shot - (usually filmed from a crane or helicopter)
Low Angle - worms eye view filmed from below so camera is looking up
Movement - pan/panning (camera moves on a pivot from one direction to another
Tilt - camera attached to moving object to follow action
Tracking - tracking shot (camera attached to moving object to follow the action)
Zoom - camera moves in on a object/moves out from the object
Short take - shot lasts for a short time
Long take - camera lingers on the frame
EDITING
(cutting and refining the footage to create the finished text.)
Quick cuts - shot moves rapidly from one frame/shot to the next
Fade (fade to black) - one shot fades away to black and the next shot fades in
Dissolve - one shot fades out as the next shot simultaneously fades in
Wipe - a shot is literally wiped off the screen by another
Slow motion - a sequence is slowed down
Fast motion - a sequence sped up
Stop motion - a series of still shots or drawings etc. are taken with a still camera and mixed into a moving image programme to create a digital animation sequence
CAMERA
Extreme long shot/establishing shot-establishes physical context of action; shows landscape and architectural exteriors
Long shot -shows a large scale action; shows whole groups of people; displays large architectural details
Medium shot- small groups such as two or three people
Close-up- focus on one character; facial expression very important
Extreme close-up- facial features in a character or small objects framing where people etc. are placed within the frame ( composition)
Angles
High angle/birds eye view ( filmed from above)
Aerial shot - (usually filmed from a crane or helicopter)
Low Angle - worms eye view filmed from below so camera is looking up
Movement - pan/panning (camera moves on a pivot from one direction to another
Tilt - camera attached to moving object to follow action
Tracking - tracking shot (camera attached to moving object to follow the action)
Zoom - camera moves in on a object/moves out from the object
Short take - shot lasts for a short time
Long take - camera lingers on the frame
EDITING
(cutting and refining the footage to create the finished text.)
Quick cuts - shot moves rapidly from one frame/shot to the next
Fade (fade to black) - one shot fades away to black and the next shot fades in
Dissolve - one shot fades out as the next shot simultaneously fades in
Wipe - a shot is literally wiped off the screen by another
Slow motion - a sequence is slowed down
Fast motion - a sequence sped up
Stop motion - a series of still shots or drawings etc. are taken with a still camera and mixed into a moving image programme to create a digital animation sequence
Friday, 1 October 2010
Production Log - Planning Work
Now that I have finished the textual analysis' and gained a certain amount of knowledge from existing videos, I will soon be uploading our own planning work and ideas from our group that will be useful to us in the production of our own music video.
Tuesday, 28 September 2010
The Marxist Approach
Marxism and the Media
Karl Marx, the founder of Marxist theory believed that the media and its messages could be used for good in right hands. However, in the hands of what he called the Dominant Ideology the message could have a dangerously influential and controlling effect on the masses.
The Dominant Ideology
The ideological forces that determine how society functions. Marxists believe that all-powerful institutions subtly control how we, the masses, conduct our lives within society.
What are these dominant institutions?
These dominant and governing institutions range from organisations/ industries such as the Press, the Media, Television, Internet, Music industries etc. The Press being a vilification of some of those mentioned groups.
The Media’s Message
Marxists believe that the media plays a significant part in controlling the masses and some would say as an institution it is a greater influence on society than religion, politics and the family (nature over nurture). The supposed subtle dominance with which the media control the masses is also known as hegemonic control.
Hegemony
This was an ideological concept first introduced by Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci. He believed that the media message could perform a subtle indoctrination, influencing the manner in which society viewed the world until the message becomes ‘common sense’, unchallenged by the masses. Hegemonic control is an acceptance of the ‘status quo’.
Karl Marx, the founder of Marxist theory believed that the media and its messages could be used for good in right hands. However, in the hands of what he called the Dominant Ideology the message could have a dangerously influential and controlling effect on the masses.
The Dominant Ideology
The ideological forces that determine how society functions. Marxists believe that all-powerful institutions subtly control how we, the masses, conduct our lives within society.
What are these dominant institutions?
These dominant and governing institutions range from organisations/ industries such as the Press, the Media, Television, Internet, Music industries etc. The Press being a vilification of some of those mentioned groups.
The Media’s Message
Marxists believe that the media plays a significant part in controlling the masses and some would say as an institution it is a greater influence on society than religion, politics and the family (nature over nurture). The supposed subtle dominance with which the media control the masses is also known as hegemonic control.
Hegemony
This was an ideological concept first introduced by Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci. He believed that the media message could perform a subtle indoctrination, influencing the manner in which society viewed the world until the message becomes ‘common sense’, unchallenged by the masses. Hegemonic control is an acceptance of the ‘status quo’.
Lady Gaga - Paparazzi
‘Paparazzi’ is a music video directed by Jonas Akerlund and was released in 2008. It is mostly a narrative based music video but also has slight themes of concepts and minor scenes where performance takes place as well.
The video has a long opening that all takes place without music, which is a very unconventional feat to a music video. Already the audience know to ‘expect the unexpected’ as the music video has already shifted and strayed past what you would consider to be a ‘traditional’ music video. This among many techniques also allows the video to appear much more cinematic and make the video appear almost more like a short movie than anything else. Another technique that does this would be the typography and the style of the font within the opening titles and subtitles, and the writing within the entire video in general.
It pays a homage to the typical 50’s styles of font that were existent in various movies within that era and it replicates the classic Hollywood movie title sequences of that decade too. Therefore this type of intertextuality makes it an example of pastiche as it is somewhat paying a tribute to the font styles. The opening introduction to the video also pays tribute to the classic 50’s movie ‘Sunset Boulevard’, as the setting also takes place in Beverly Hills, and just as with the movie it has an opening presented through the beautiful scenery of palm trees and is therefore a pastiche to this too.
There is even also another scene that has Lady Gaga spinning in a swirling, whirling, vertigo capsule which also has intertextuality to the famous movie released in 1958 called ‘Vertigo’, which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Further intertextuality is brought forth with the loosely based mini-mouse costume that Lady Gaga is wearing, and this is used to enforce the irony in the situation, as Lady Gaga is just about to poison her spouse and commit a sinful deed, which totally contradicts the sweet and cute innocence of the Disney character. It emphasizes on the twisted and perverse nature that the video takes on.
The music video is about a highly successful celebrity (presumably a singer or actress) who is almost murdered by her spouse by being pushed from the balcony. She survives yet just barely and the rest of the story is almost non-existent, until we learn her motives of taking revenge on her boyfriend. Due to the dark narrative, strong themes and imagery are created and brought forth in the video that shows the tone of it. An intentionally bizarre method used to illustrate the sinister atmosphere the video has are the use of multiple shots of dead bodies present in the video.
Another method is the effect of the colour purple that is often used throughout the video in order to represent the tainted and cursed vibe that is existent within the video, and it is also a colour often used to portray poison. There are mise-en-scene factors in the video such as costume attires that reveal strong tones of purple, and shots where purple has been purposely made be the most viviv colour in the scene.
There is a purple carpet instead of a red carpet, and the rose petals falling are purple instead of red as well, so although they both illustrate royalty, the colour purple makes it seem impure. It could relate to the tainted lives celebrities at times need to lead in order to get what they want from fame, and this is apparent by the fact that after Lady Gaga avenges herself and kills her boyfriend, the public seem to love her again and her reputation is restored, opposed from when she dies in the beginning and she loses all respect and status.
The reasons for this may have also been endorsed due to not only the narrative aspects of the video, but also for personal aspects of her life. This possibly being because she is implying to us the audience that being sweet and innocent has brought her no triumphs and rewards and has only lead to downfall, however when she resorts to becoming a darker, twisted and crazier character that’s when the publicity comes in and her popularity begins to excel, just as it happened in the video.
Another theme present in this video is a blurring of fiction and reality. There is a dance scene that has Lady Gaga dressed, as somewhat of a robot, while the rest of the dancers are all humans. This creates a vague sense of boundaries from the humans and this robot, which adds to the overall and total distortion throughout the video.
Additionally the whole narrative of the video is not based upon much literal truth at all to her life, however the presence of the paparazzi is indeed very true to her life; yet the directors of the video created a blur and link of the two factors. It formed narrative scenes being caused due to the paparazzi (Lady Gaga initially was brought discomfort to her alert of the paparazzi taking photos of her and her lover, which ultimately almost lead to her death)
, and paparazzi being brought forth because of the narrative scenes (due to Lady Gaga murdering her boyfriend and getting arrested, the paparazzi showed up)
.The video also happens to show themes of post-feminist readings as Lady Gaga has all the wealth, recognition and prominence in her relationship, which is reason for her spouse being jealous of her and possibly requesting paparazzi should take pictures of them whilst they are about to have sex to end up shaming her career. However in the end Lady Gaga still ends up prevailing over the man (regardless of how negative of a way she did it in).
This music video is very unconventional and irregular to music videos in general, as not many start with cinematic openings, take on old-fashioned styles and themes, and happen to last for such a long time where only half of the video is the actual song. However there are also actually some conventional feats to the pop genre that the song inhabit in as there are many performance scenes featuring a number of dancers at a time, which is a popular element in music videos of this genre.
In many pop videos there are also desires in artists, in countless of music videos, to have such eccentric and flamboyant outfits which allows them to appear very unique, standalone and distinctive and in this video we see no difference and she arguably has even more unusual attires in this video compared to many other artists of the same genre.
Overall I believe this music video has had an immense amount of thought put into planning and producing it as there is a massive variety of devices and techniques residing in it that all support the quality of the video in one way or another. Although I am personally not very fond of the video on a whole, I can still appreciate the amount of work and skill it would have taken to produce the video to such a high quality, which is needed in such a mainstream industry.
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