Thursday 15 December 2011
Back with Oscar
Sorry for the angle the youtube uploading feature on windows movie maker changed it. In this video Oscar analyses my music video. What I have learnt is that the message in the video was clearly represented and people understood why the effects were used. However, on the bad side he said the lighting was bad in parts and the overall quality of the video could have been better but he understood why it wasn't because of my budget.
Wednesday 7 December 2011
Evaluation Question: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research and planning and evaluation stages?
Research and Planning
Firstly, I had to find an artist since I didn't know anyone who was in a band or who produced music. To do this I used the internet and found a website called Unsigned.com which has loads of artists on it looking to be signed up and to expand their fan base. It was here that I found Arty's profile page with a link to his Facebook page and website. After listening to some of his tracks I quickly fell in love with the song Heat and contacted him through Facebook about using the song for a fan made video. He said I could use the song but wouldn't be able to take a big part in the planning and construction stages since he was busy producing music in New York. Even though not having Arty's input would be a setback I was confident that I could put some imagery together to go with this great song. It was from here I used the worldwide video site youtube to browse music videos of electropop artists like David Guetta and Nero to get some inspiration of what features made a great music video of that genre.
Although I was lucky to find an artist who was willing to cooperate it took me a lot of time to do this sending lots of emails to different people and at the same time making sure that their music was something I thought I could make a music video out of. In addition since Arty lives in the USA I couldn't feature him in the video or do a interview with him which is also a downside.
I also used Microsoft Word to type out the questionnaire for my audience research. This was important because if I didn't know what the audience wanted in the video it would be destined to fail. Another product I used was my Samsung Galaxy S2 mobile phone to take still shots of things like my storyboard (no I didn't get given it I have a part-time job). I also used my mobile phone to text my friends James and Karima. It was important to keep in contact with them so I could plan ahead dates to film, tell them what to wear and I even texted their lines to them for the start of the movie!
I also used Facebook in order to message James and Karima about filming dates and times etc.. I also used it to connect with Arty through his Facebook page and listen to his music to see if it fitted with my ideas for the video.
I also used youtube and Google throughout all three processes but mostly in the research where I watched video's to find more about electropop and I watched videos about software like Photoshop in order grasp how the program works. I used Google to found out more about artists like David Guetta. For instance, I would research where they got there inspiration from and what things they consider to be associated with their music.
Construction
To shoot the film I used two camera's. My Samsung Galaxy S2 which shoots in HD1080P and my Flip Ultra HD camera which is great because it fits nicely into your pocket. Even though I have some old digital cameras at home I chose to use the flip Camera since it comes with it's own computer software Flipshare which is great for cutting down clips ready to be edited. I also chose this camera because it has great image stabilization and comes with optical zoom which means I didn't have to move in closer or further away that much. The ultra HD also shoots at 50 fps (frames per second) which means that there is virtually no lag on the camera even when objects are fast moving. After you film a shot is comes pre loaded into the computer in H.264 format which is a very high resolution video format. However, the best thing about this camera is it's connection capability which means that can work with any program like Imovie, Powerdirector and Adobe Premier Pro. It also doesn't use a connection wire and instead has a USB connector in the camera which plugs straight into the camera. This meant I didn't have to worry about loosing any connector leads.
Some bad points about this camera however are that it is very hard to keep still especially with a tripod. Therefore, this meant I had to edit out a lot more jumps in the music video. Even though video in the night is bad on most camera's I found it especially bad on the Flip Ultra HD - a lot of the video was fuzzy or even unavailable in the dark. In addition the still shots it takes aren't very good which is why I used my Samsung to do these.
To edit my film I used Powerdirector 10 Ultra 64 Bit edition. I chose this software over Imovie which I used last year because the interface is much more clearer and I find that there are more options to play around with. For instance, Powerdirector has over 50 transitioning effects and has it's own audio editor included.
The tool I found most useful on there was the power tools option which lets you determine the speed of the video. It also comes with over 300 video tools including dual core video rendering. You can also free hand draw over video clips to add information in. I used this to add the writing at the start of my music video which I found very effective. One of the best things about Powerdirector though is it's ability smart fix videos. It can use its true theatre technology to fix impurities like noise, lightning and it can even up scale SD video in HD quality which is something Imovie can't do. One other tool that I played around with when editing my video was the WaveEditor tool which allows you to edit the music so that certain parts of the video have louder audio than others it also allows you to speed up parts of the audio as well. I implemented a speed up effect at the start of the video in order to match the visuals with the music. Finally the last tool I will point out that makes it stand out above Imovie is it's export to devices tool. This meant that I was able to export the video to my Samsung Galaxy S2 to show people the video instead of having to carry around my Laptop or USB.
A couple of bad points about Powerdirector though is that you have to download most of the effects and tools to use on the software from their website. This is time consuming which meant making the video took a lot more effort. In addition because it uses such a user friendly interface the software unintentionally hides more advanced tools that can make the video much better and to get to these I had to do some research into the software.
Another piece of tech I used was Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 Extended Edition. I used this to produce my print work which included the CD cover and magazine advert. I found this software very helpful since it let me erase bits of the picture I didn't want using the crop and magic wand tools. It was also very easy to adjust the size of the image so that it would fit into a CD case. Another thing I like about Photoshop is it's layer functionality which was very useful when creating my front album cover. This meant I could drag the cropped picture of James over onto my pre-made background without worrying about him turning a different colour or looking more transparent. Another tool I used throughout my print work was the distortion tool particularly on text. I found the concept of distortion to be a very important aspect of electropop since it goes with the whole funky idea of pop music. In my print work I used this tool to distort the writing on the front page on my booklet and on the back cover to make Arty's name stand out above everything else.
Although Photoshop is the most advanced tool in it's market I found that for me personally it takes a lot of time to get used to all the tools and effects that can be produced with it. When I first used Photoshop I was overwhelmed by all the buttons that appeared on screen and I had to spent several hours watching tutorial videos on youtube to get the gist of it.
Evaluation
The main piece of technology I used here was Blogger which I have been using throughout this project. I think I was able to get the most out of Blogger this year since I had used it last year as well for my AS project. I found out how to import youtube videos in and how to upload pictures from your hard-drive or phone onto Blogger. I again also used my phone to take a shot of the post-product questionnaire and my computer to take screen shots of my work where necessary.
Even though Blogger is a nice piece of software for recording your work I find that it can sometimes be very slow. For example, when I was trying to upload my print work onto Blogger it took a very long time and wouldn't let me put pictures close together. Also compared to slideshare.net I found Blogger wasn't as interactive and the layout generally looks more dull.
Firstly, I had to find an artist since I didn't know anyone who was in a band or who produced music. To do this I used the internet and found a website called Unsigned.com which has loads of artists on it looking to be signed up and to expand their fan base. It was here that I found Arty's profile page with a link to his Facebook page and website. After listening to some of his tracks I quickly fell in love with the song Heat and contacted him through Facebook about using the song for a fan made video. He said I could use the song but wouldn't be able to take a big part in the planning and construction stages since he was busy producing music in New York. Even though not having Arty's input would be a setback I was confident that I could put some imagery together to go with this great song. It was from here I used the worldwide video site youtube to browse music videos of electropop artists like David Guetta and Nero to get some inspiration of what features made a great music video of that genre.
Although I was lucky to find an artist who was willing to cooperate it took me a lot of time to do this sending lots of emails to different people and at the same time making sure that their music was something I thought I could make a music video out of. In addition since Arty lives in the USA I couldn't feature him in the video or do a interview with him which is also a downside.
I also used Microsoft Word to type out the questionnaire for my audience research. This was important because if I didn't know what the audience wanted in the video it would be destined to fail. Another product I used was my Samsung Galaxy S2 mobile phone to take still shots of things like my storyboard (no I didn't get given it I have a part-time job). I also used my mobile phone to text my friends James and Karima. It was important to keep in contact with them so I could plan ahead dates to film, tell them what to wear and I even texted their lines to them for the start of the movie!
I also used Facebook in order to message James and Karima about filming dates and times etc.. I also used it to connect with Arty through his Facebook page and listen to his music to see if it fitted with my ideas for the video.
I also used youtube and Google throughout all three processes but mostly in the research where I watched video's to find more about electropop and I watched videos about software like Photoshop in order grasp how the program works. I used Google to found out more about artists like David Guetta. For instance, I would research where they got there inspiration from and what things they consider to be associated with their music.
Construction
To shoot the film I used two camera's. My Samsung Galaxy S2 which shoots in HD1080P and my Flip Ultra HD camera which is great because it fits nicely into your pocket. Even though I have some old digital cameras at home I chose to use the flip Camera since it comes with it's own computer software Flipshare which is great for cutting down clips ready to be edited. I also chose this camera because it has great image stabilization and comes with optical zoom which means I didn't have to move in closer or further away that much. The ultra HD also shoots at 50 fps (frames per second) which means that there is virtually no lag on the camera even when objects are fast moving. After you film a shot is comes pre loaded into the computer in H.264 format which is a very high resolution video format. However, the best thing about this camera is it's connection capability which means that can work with any program like Imovie, Powerdirector and Adobe Premier Pro. It also doesn't use a connection wire and instead has a USB connector in the camera which plugs straight into the camera. This meant I didn't have to worry about loosing any connector leads.
Some bad points about this camera however are that it is very hard to keep still especially with a tripod. Therefore, this meant I had to edit out a lot more jumps in the music video. Even though video in the night is bad on most camera's I found it especially bad on the Flip Ultra HD - a lot of the video was fuzzy or even unavailable in the dark. In addition the still shots it takes aren't very good which is why I used my Samsung to do these.
To edit my film I used Powerdirector 10 Ultra 64 Bit edition. I chose this software over Imovie which I used last year because the interface is much more clearer and I find that there are more options to play around with. For instance, Powerdirector has over 50 transitioning effects and has it's own audio editor included.
The tool I found most useful on there was the power tools option which lets you determine the speed of the video. It also comes with over 300 video tools including dual core video rendering. You can also free hand draw over video clips to add information in. I used this to add the writing at the start of my music video which I found very effective. One of the best things about Powerdirector though is it's ability smart fix videos. It can use its true theatre technology to fix impurities like noise, lightning and it can even up scale SD video in HD quality which is something Imovie can't do. One other tool that I played around with when editing my video was the WaveEditor tool which allows you to edit the music so that certain parts of the video have louder audio than others it also allows you to speed up parts of the audio as well. I implemented a speed up effect at the start of the video in order to match the visuals with the music. Finally the last tool I will point out that makes it stand out above Imovie is it's export to devices tool. This meant that I was able to export the video to my Samsung Galaxy S2 to show people the video instead of having to carry around my Laptop or USB.
A couple of bad points about Powerdirector though is that you have to download most of the effects and tools to use on the software from their website. This is time consuming which meant making the video took a lot more effort. In addition because it uses such a user friendly interface the software unintentionally hides more advanced tools that can make the video much better and to get to these I had to do some research into the software.
Another piece of tech I used was Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 Extended Edition. I used this to produce my print work which included the CD cover and magazine advert. I found this software very helpful since it let me erase bits of the picture I didn't want using the crop and magic wand tools. It was also very easy to adjust the size of the image so that it would fit into a CD case. Another thing I like about Photoshop is it's layer functionality which was very useful when creating my front album cover. This meant I could drag the cropped picture of James over onto my pre-made background without worrying about him turning a different colour or looking more transparent. Another tool I used throughout my print work was the distortion tool particularly on text. I found the concept of distortion to be a very important aspect of electropop since it goes with the whole funky idea of pop music. In my print work I used this tool to distort the writing on the front page on my booklet and on the back cover to make Arty's name stand out above everything else.
Although Photoshop is the most advanced tool in it's market I found that for me personally it takes a lot of time to get used to all the tools and effects that can be produced with it. When I first used Photoshop I was overwhelmed by all the buttons that appeared on screen and I had to spent several hours watching tutorial videos on youtube to get the gist of it.
Evaluation
The main piece of technology I used here was Blogger which I have been using throughout this project. I think I was able to get the most out of Blogger this year since I had used it last year as well for my AS project. I found out how to import youtube videos in and how to upload pictures from your hard-drive or phone onto Blogger. I again also used my phone to take a shot of the post-product questionnaire and my computer to take screen shots of my work where necessary.
Even though Blogger is a nice piece of software for recording your work I find that it can sometimes be very slow. For example, when I was trying to upload my print work onto Blogger it took a very long time and wouldn't let me put pictures close together. Also compared to slideshare.net I found Blogger wasn't as interactive and the layout generally looks more dull.
Evaluation Question : What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
Now having finished my music video I decided it was time to find out what other people thought about it. So I asked my friends to each complete a questionnaire tell me what they thought about the video.
On a whole people gave my video 8/10 which I am very pleased considering I am a amateur and I am working on my own. People said that they enjoyed a narrative that fitted with the lyrics of the song and that me changing the pace of the video to match the speed of the song was a very smart thing to do. They also enjoyed the fact I made Karima stalk James from behind on a slope since the below-eye camera angle made her look more superior than James.
Relating to the Discourse theory some of my audience didn't respond in the way I expected them to. For instance, when I asked them if they liked the locations I filmed in lots of people were happy that I didn't film in a club because it would look to unoriginal. Yet these music videos have millions of views on the web and in the previous questionnaire many people said they preferred unoriginal ideas. In addition, people asked for more shots of James whereas Eletropop videos have typically been focused on the male gaze showing lots of camera time on the female.
Looking directly at the comments nearly all the people were passive spectators. This means they acepted the idea of the boy/girl love story and didn't question what I was trying to portray in the video. I was a bit upset from this because I would have prefered if people had been more critical about the narrative of the film and tryed to challange the plot.
The bad. People said that sometimes the camera was a bit shaky and that more close-ups of James could have been used. One person suggested we could have filmed in a club but then later agreed this would be problematic with getting permission from the owners. Another person said "you should of had James perform a funky dance". Unfortunately James doesn't like to dance on camera and I also felt that going too over the top with comical moments would ruin the mood of the song.
Reflecting on the audience research I did before I made the video I can see that people's views on what they wanted had changed once they actually watched my video. People who originally thought that the narrative wasn't too important changed their minds and said that if I hadn't added props like the thermostat and speech bubbles they may have not got what the music video was about. Comparing the two questionnaire results side by side then I can see that people's views on what makes a good music video do not only change according to the genre but also the lyrics and pace of the video. For instance, a comment I got from my friend Jaypal was that "A Kid Cudi or Dizzie Rascal style video probably wouldn't have worked here since the pace of Arty's music sometimes slows down for long periods of time while theirs stays the same so the fast paced scenes they use in their videos may not have worked here". I think this is an important point to recognize that every piece of music which although may fit into genre's of other pieces of music is unique in itself and so to make a good music video you must adapt to that uniqueness.
The verdict. On a whole I am pleased with the feedback from my friends since even though it wasn't perfect the video didn't come out as a complete shambles.
On a whole people gave my video 8/10 which I am very pleased considering I am a amateur and I am working on my own. People said that they enjoyed a narrative that fitted with the lyrics of the song and that me changing the pace of the video to match the speed of the song was a very smart thing to do. They also enjoyed the fact I made Karima stalk James from behind on a slope since the below-eye camera angle made her look more superior than James.
Relating to the Discourse theory some of my audience didn't respond in the way I expected them to. For instance, when I asked them if they liked the locations I filmed in lots of people were happy that I didn't film in a club because it would look to unoriginal. Yet these music videos have millions of views on the web and in the previous questionnaire many people said they preferred unoriginal ideas. In addition, people asked for more shots of James whereas Eletropop videos have typically been focused on the male gaze showing lots of camera time on the female.
Looking directly at the comments nearly all the people were passive spectators. This means they acepted the idea of the boy/girl love story and didn't question what I was trying to portray in the video. I was a bit upset from this because I would have prefered if people had been more critical about the narrative of the film and tryed to challange the plot.
The bad. People said that sometimes the camera was a bit shaky and that more close-ups of James could have been used. One person suggested we could have filmed in a club but then later agreed this would be problematic with getting permission from the owners. Another person said "you should of had James perform a funky dance". Unfortunately James doesn't like to dance on camera and I also felt that going too over the top with comical moments would ruin the mood of the song.
Reflecting on the audience research I did before I made the video I can see that people's views on what they wanted had changed once they actually watched my video. People who originally thought that the narrative wasn't too important changed their minds and said that if I hadn't added props like the thermostat and speech bubbles they may have not got what the music video was about. Comparing the two questionnaire results side by side then I can see that people's views on what makes a good music video do not only change according to the genre but also the lyrics and pace of the video. For instance, a comment I got from my friend Jaypal was that "A Kid Cudi or Dizzie Rascal style video probably wouldn't have worked here since the pace of Arty's music sometimes slows down for long periods of time while theirs stays the same so the fast paced scenes they use in their videos may not have worked here". I think this is an important point to recognize that every piece of music which although may fit into genre's of other pieces of music is unique in itself and so to make a good music video you must adapt to that uniqueness.
The verdict. On a whole I am pleased with the feedback from my friends since even though it wasn't perfect the video didn't come out as a complete shambles.
Monday 5 December 2011
Evaluation Question: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
The combination of the main product and ancillary texts has been very effective by using the power of imagery.
I have chosen to use the same image on my album cover as the magazine advert. This is so that viewers can recognize my artists iconic image so that they don't have to spend hours browsing for Arty's album in a store but instead can instantly spot him by the way he looks. The image I have decided to is very iconic it uses a lot of elements that you would expect to see in an Electropop genre. For example I have decided to use dark glasses , clothes for clubbing and a unusual pose which represents funky yet classy style. This continuity all adds to the effect of a image motif for my artist. In the video I allowed people to concentrate on the unique style of James in the video by splitting the video into four sections so you could get a full view of the type of clothing he wears.
Another way in which my product and ancillary texts combine together is in the way that the information is linked. For instance, on my magazine advert I displayed the date Arty's album is released and why you should buy it. On the album cover work I provided a mini biography so people can find out more about Arty and the pictures used on the album tells the audience what kind of person he is. Finally, the main product shows that Arty is a comical yet human person through the way which things are done in the music video like getting water chucked over him. When combined together they all advertise a certain aspect about the artist which combines to give an overall fan base effect because you feel like you are getting to know someone you can admire.
On all the pages of my album work, music video and the magazine advert Arty's name is mentioned. This helps the viewers to remember the artists name and think about him and his work. I have chosen to use a close-up on the last page on my booklet so that viewers can get a better look at the artist in order to recognize him more easily. The photo on this page is fairly simple in black and white to show that he is a normal person just like everyone else. This combines well with the writing on the page which is in a funky font because it reminds the viewers what type of genre Arty's music is and it shows he wants the fans to recognize that he knows this.
Looking at the back cover. I have chosen to incorporate a barcode in order to show the product is genuine and not a fake. I have also added legal and label information at the bottom to warn of copyright infringement and the rights the record label holds. The record label is clearly displayed in order to promote the company that is responsible for Arty. There is also a link to Arty's personal website so that if the viewer wants to find out more they are not restricted and can go directly to the page. The information on this page is very colourful which combines and links to the front cover which shows lots of coloured lights being displayed on the background behind Arty. This helps the audience to understand that Arty's music is all about having fun and letting go of the things that trouble you which Arty's iconic image also promotes.
Another way in which my product and ancillary texts combine together is in the way that the information is linked. For instance, on my magazine advert I displayed the date Arty's album is released and why you should buy it. On the album cover work I provided a mini biography so people can find out more about Arty and the pictures used on the album tells the audience what kind of person he is. Finally, the main product shows that Arty is a comical yet human person through the way which things are done in the music video like getting water chucked over him. When combined together they all advertise a certain aspect about the artist which combines to give an overall fan base effect because you feel like you are getting to know someone you can admire.
On all the pages of my album work, music video and the magazine advert Arty's name is mentioned. This helps the viewers to remember the artists name and think about him and his work. I have chosen to use a close-up on the last page on my booklet so that viewers can get a better look at the artist in order to recognize him more easily. The photo on this page is fairly simple in black and white to show that he is a normal person just like everyone else. This combines well with the writing on the page which is in a funky font because it reminds the viewers what type of genre Arty's music is and it shows he wants the fans to recognize that he knows this.
Talking about the main image image of my product now I think that the main product and ancillary texts help to build a cohesiveness of what the album is about so that when you listen to Arty's music you know what he is talking about. I showed this on my ancillary text my making James surrounded in flames with the word heat coming out of the flames. I made this cohesive with the music video when a beating effect comes into place in the video when James wakes up to show the audience that James is being heavily influenced by the heat of the room. This helps the audience to understand the song is about Arty burning up inside and not just merely heat itself.
A good example of cohesiveness in real media texts is the band Gorillaz, in particular their album 'Demon Days'. This shows the four members of the band all portrayed as demons. This is not only cohesive with their album name 'Demon Days' but also their music videos for the album which show the band as cartoon demons who want to be free and different.
Evaluation Question: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My music video uses many conventions of real media products. One of the conventions it uses is the idea of a traditional boy and girl relationship in order to relate to the audience and create an emotional and funny narrative. In my music video I decided to cast James and Karima because my audience research told me that having a boy and girl narrative would make the music video seem more realistic and exciting. This relates to the David Guetta video 'Love is Gone' where at the start of the video we are shown a beginning scenario where the woman is breaking up with her boyfriend. I have chosen to do the same thing in my video but with the camera seeing things from James perspective unlike in the David Guetta video where it is focused on the woman.
This links into post-moderinism which says that everything cannot be explained and that nothing is set in stone. My video incorporated this idea by showing James as a mentally unstable character (through his disturbing dreams) whereas in the past men have been shown as strong and unbreakable. We also challenged typical environments used in Electropop. For instance, in most pop music video it features at least one scene in a club with people dancing or doing crazy things. For example in the music video 'I got a feeling' by the Black Eyed Peas it shows the group painting themselves in illumanitive paint which lights up in the dark. In my video I challenged this stereotype of pop music videos featuring scenes in clubs or with people dancing and instead chose to do something simple yet effective.
Linking back to my original research on Electropop videos. I still decided to incorporate the idea of Electropop videos being a bit mysterious. For instance, In the analysis of the Nero video it showed that the woman was going against her superiors by not taking her medicine making her stand out from everyone else. In my video I used the idea of Karima disappearing as something that couldn't be explained and going against the laws of science.
In my music video and ancillary texts I also developed conventions of real media products. One of the conventions I developed is the idea of dreams. For example in the famous music video 'Bring me to life' by Evanescence. It shows the lead singer Amy Lee asleep dreaming that she is on the outside of a building. The music video only shows a couple times at the beginning that she is dreaming and mainly concentrates on the narrative involving her and her boyfriend. I have developed this concept so that the video is constantly feeding back to James when he is asleep to remind people that it is a dream. This helps people to focus on the story line and therefore understand the song better since my video is highly diegetic and synchronised. I have also added blur and worm hole effects when transitioning to the dream. I chose to do this because unlike in the Evanescence video the scenery changes a lot and things happen much faster to keep up with the pace of the video so the viewer may get lost about what the video is about. By feeding clips of James asleep on his bed into the video I am reminding viewers about what the music video is about through the power of repetition.
My music video also challenges the texts of real media products. One example of this is the convention of the man being shown as the alpha-male while the woman is shown as a femme fatale. You see this done a lot of time in films. One recent example of this is in the film Thor where the man is shown as the muscular person who saves his girlfriend from his evil brother. Even when it looks like all hope is lost he is still shown as the fearless warrior. My video challenges this stereotype by showing James as the mentally weaker person who is struggling to deal with the stress of his girlfriend breaking up with him. I chose to do the music video like this because it brings to the surface the fact that the male is not always the stronger person.
In my music video and ancillary texts I also developed conventions of real media products. One of the conventions I developed is the idea of dreams. For example in the famous music video 'Bring me to life' by Evanescence. It shows the lead singer Amy Lee asleep dreaming that she is on the outside of a building. The music video only shows a couple times at the beginning that she is dreaming and mainly concentrates on the narrative involving her and her boyfriend. I have developed this concept so that the video is constantly feeding back to James when he is asleep to remind people that it is a dream. This helps people to focus on the story line and therefore understand the song better since my video is highly diegetic and synchronised. I have also added blur and worm hole effects when transitioning to the dream. I chose to do this because unlike in the Evanescence video the scenery changes a lot and things happen much faster to keep up with the pace of the video so the viewer may get lost about what the video is about. By feeding clips of James asleep on his bed into the video I am reminding viewers about what the music video is about through the power of repetition.
My music video also challenges the texts of real media products. One example of this is the convention of the man being shown as the alpha-male while the woman is shown as a femme fatale. You see this done a lot of time in films. One recent example of this is in the film Thor where the man is shown as the muscular person who saves his girlfriend from his evil brother. Even when it looks like all hope is lost he is still shown as the fearless warrior. My video challenges this stereotype by showing James as the mentally weaker person who is struggling to deal with the stress of his girlfriend breaking up with him. I chose to do the music video like this because it brings to the surface the fact that the male is not always the stronger person.
Sunday 4 December 2011
.jpg)
Saturday 3 December 2011
Print Work
After successfully finishing the music video it was time to move onto the second half of the coursework which is making a magazine advert and a 6 page CD cover. To prepare for the print work I made James do a funky type pose with glasses on. This would become the iconic image that viewers would recognize Arty by and would be featured on the front cover of the album and the magazine advert. To turn this image into a magazine advert and front cover I first created a background which would match the style of the image. To do this I used Adobe Photoshop CS5. I had mixed feelings about this software since I had never used it to produce print work before and all the buttons around the screen looked complicated at first. On the other hand, I was also confident since I remembered from my AS studies that Adobe software had been used to create the $2.7 billion box office hit Avatar which was visually incredible.
To create the background I used different brush sizes of different colours and then blended them into to each other using a tool called Gaussian Blur. This allowed me to create an effect which looked like a patchwork of different colours with different shapes. I did this on a black background so that the colours would stand out more. Next I cropped the original picture with James taking a pose in order to remove the boring background. I then carefully brushed around James with the eraser tool to make sure anything unwanted wasn't attached to him. After that I moved the Picture of James onto the background positioning him so that he was in the center. I then added writing making sure that the artists name was bigger than the album titles name. This was important so that the audience would recognize the artist rather than the song since by promoting the artist I am promoting all of his work not just one song.
Before and after pictures.
To create the background I used different brush sizes of different colours and then blended them into to each other using a tool called Gaussian Blur. This allowed me to create an effect which looked like a patchwork of different colours with different shapes. I did this on a black background so that the colours would stand out more. Next I cropped the original picture with James taking a pose in order to remove the boring background. I then carefully brushed around James with the eraser tool to make sure anything unwanted wasn't attached to him. After that I moved the Picture of James onto the background positioning him so that he was in the center. I then added writing making sure that the artists name was bigger than the album titles name. This was important so that the audience would recognize the artist rather than the song since by promoting the artist I am promoting all of his work not just one song.
Before and after pictures.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)