Evaluation Question 4: How did you use new media technology in the construction and research, planning and evaluating stages?

Whilst creating this project i have uses a series of new media technologies in the Construction, research, planning and evaluation stages.

Research: Using new media in the research stage was very useful one of the main sources of of technologies i used was music channels such as MTV VH1 etc.

I have also Used YouTube, YouTube is a video sharing website on which users can upload and share videos. Three former PayPal employees created YouTube in February 2005. In November 2006, YouTube, LLC was bought by Google Inc.
YouTube has proven to be a good form of research as pretty much every music video is readily available for viewing on the site.

Another Big advantage in the research process has been Google search engine. Google is one of the most reliable and well know search engines out there it takes a wide range of information from all over the World Wide Web that other search engines are unable to do. Another useful feature that Google offers is there Image search this has offer me with good quality images quickly and ready to use at any point

Wikipedia has also been a useful technology as it is the biggest online encyclopaedia. By using this i was able to carry out some valuable research into the song, Wikipedia is constantly updates and has proven to be one of the best forms for finding up to date research.

Planning Stage

In the planning stage i have used basic drawing board software to create story boards and locations plans.

We have also used a Panasonic Lumix camera. This camera proved to be useful in the planning stage as we were able to use it for location scouting and then later on to compare the best location and run through its pros and cons.

Google again played a big part in the Planning stages as it allowed us to gather information. I have also used Microsoft word to log most of the planning whilst adding pictures. The online blog played a good part as we were able to upload the planning in stages as we completed it.

Construction

During this construction stage i feel we have used the most new media technologies in order to construct our project.

Filming- all the filming was carried out on my Song Handycam. This digital camera had allot of features that were very beneficial to us in order to help us film our piece. We also used a wide angle lenses that we added on to the camera. This allowed us to get a wide range of shots and helped us to achieve the type of establishing shot we were looking for.

Editing software- to edit our piece we uses ‘Sony Vegas 9’ Sony Vegas is a great editing software that has allowed us to experiment with many different forms of editing, effects and transitions. We have tried to keep our video fairly simplistic although it does involve lots of edits in between shots, it also involves a Video FX used during the dream sequence. We used a Glint effect throughout the dream this allowed us to make it seem more realistic and corny as it is suppose to be inside his imagination. We have also used a blurred stretch effect as he leave the dream and enters back into his reality into the underpass.

Photoshop- We have also use photo shop to construct our album cover. Photoshop is a software that enables us to create realistic and genuine cover-work for our CD – reminiscent of that of real record labels in the music industry. Photoshop boasts an array of different and diverse tools – allowing us to produce an authentic CD cover – one that we feel rivals that of CD covers by established contemporary bands and singers.

You Tube- I have used YouTube to upload our final version of our video onto the internet. YouTube is perfect place to display our video as it can be viewed easily and quickly, it has also helped us to get valuable feedback in the evaluation process.

Evaluation Question 3: What have your Learned from your Audience Feedback?

We have used audience feedback throughout multiple stages whilst creating our music video and extra tasks. The Forms of feedback we have used are:

YouTube: By uploading our video on to face book we were able to get valuable feedback from a wide range of audiences.

Facebook: We also uploaded our video on to Facebook, by doing this we were able to gather feedback and constructive criticism.

In School: We have shown our piece to groups of classmates, friends and staff in school. This has helped us get a broad range of feedback and suggestions of how to improve our piece.

Internet Forums: We have also uploaded links to our video to various internet forums to maximize the amount of feedback that we were able to get.

From early stages of gathering feedback we got many positive comments about our piece. Many people liked the story line and how he enters the dream sequence. We also received some feedback about a sepia effect that we used originally in the dream sequence.

We decided to remove the sepia effect as we felt it did not give the right effect of a dream and looked more like an old film. We also decided to add sparkle effects on to the hands, face and microphone this helped and made a more believable dream sequence.

Here is some of the feedback we received from various sources:

‘Great Plot, unusual but works well.’

‘Good acting an Lip Sync, fits in nicely’

‘Love how he exits the dream sequence and the ending into the sun set, brilliant’

‘

Not too sure about the effect on the dream sequence dosent fit that well.’

Evaluation Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary text?

The Combination of our main product and ancillary text consist of; a music video, webpage, and album cover. Our Album cover is slightly connected to our video as the sparkling microphone shows the singers lust to be a star.

Before designing our album cover we decided to look at the bands original album cover. Here is a copy of the bands original piece.

After looking at these album covers we decided that they where very out dated and that we wanted to design a new album cover with a fresh look that was still in keeping.
After searching for suitable images of a microphone we found a retro style microphone that we all liked the look of. We then took this image and began to edit it on photoshop. We added a shine effect to make it stand out and be eye catching. By placing this image and text on a black background it stood out well aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Here is an example of an eye catching album cover on a black background;

We all agreed that a simplistic look was a good choice for album cover for many reasons. Often album covers get over crowded and are not easy going on the eye. After asking class mates family and friends what they thought of our cover, most agreed with our points stated above it was eye catching, stands out, easy on the eye, simplistic. We also asked if they understood the connection between the video and the cover through the form of the shining microphone showing his want to be a star. Most people we asked understood the connection between the two products.

Over all I thing the combination of our two products work well and both complement each other in their own individual ways.

Here is our Finished Album Cover the text is easy to read and stands out well it blends well with the image of the microphone.

Evaluation Question 1: In what ways does your media product Use, Develop or Challenge the Forms and Conventions of Music Videos?

Music Videos contain a very wide variety of conventions and do not always follow a certain genre pattern this would make it hard to explain every single aspect of music video conventions. But the most common consist of;

Editing most music videos have fast pace quick edits in order to keep the audiences interesting. Often the edits will be moving in pace with the song. Such as a fast pace song like ‘Dizzee Rascal Bonkers’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci40ae8BlcE Has a lot of fast edits, jump cuts, flashes etc. Many music videos also use CGI in them at are technically brilliant and generally astatically pleasing to the viewer.

Lip Syncing – Lip syncing is one of the most common forms of conventions used in music videos and is often the most effective. It has been said that the viewer enjoys visual hands on expirences in music videos such as the artist singing and bands playing etc. Even though they are not physically playing or singing some people still find it more enjoyable to watch.

Our Video uses three main types of music video conventions that i mentions above Editing, Lip, Syncing and visual effects. We use a variety of edits to keep the piece flowing and to keep it in time with the music. The song is not that fast so our edits are in time with the song and help to keeps the piece flowing.
Camera work – throughout our video we have tried to use a variety of camera angles, we have used partially close ups of singing for the main chorus and high points in the song to try and make it interesting. By using Close ups it allows the audience to feel more involved with the song.
Speed of Edits- I feel that we have managed to keep most of our editing and cuts in time with the speed of the song. In the main fast points in the song we have used fast edits in-between the audiences reactions and the singers facial expressions.
We have also stuck to a traditional style of music video by using moving text showing the Song and the band name at the start of the video. This is very important in music videos as it allows the viewer to take note of who the song is by and possibly purchase a hard copy.

Character within the piece – Our piece challenges the normal conventions of a music video in most music videos the artist normally performs the song to the story line. But in our music video it is suggested that the song is already a well established song with in the music world that is well known. This is shown by the main character hearing the song on a passing cars radio and begins to sing to the song.

The Narrative behind the video – Music videos generally involve the story line of the lyrics being acted out within the video. Our Video challenges this convention although our video is an amplification video and does involve some aspects of the storyline such as the homeless man does not want to stop believing he is a performer. Apart from this aspect our song does not really follow along with the story of the song we have created a new story for the song and made out the song to already be a well established song.

Evaluation Question 1: In what ways does your media product Use, Develop or Challenge the Forms and Conventions of Music Videos?

Music Videos contain a very wide variety of conventions and do not always follow a certain genre pattern this would make it hard to explain every single aspect of music video conventions. But the most common consist of;

Editing most music videos have fast pace quick edits in order to keep the audiences interesting. Often the edits will be moving in pace with the song. Such as a fast pace song like ‘Dizzee Rascal Bonkers’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci40ae8BlcE Has a lot of fast edits, jump cuts, flashes etc. Many music videos also use CGI in them at are technically brilliant and generally astatically pleasing to the viewer.

Lip Syncing – Lip syncing is one of the most common forms of conventions used in music videos and is often the most effective. It has been said that the viewer enjoys visual hands on expirences in music videos such as the artist singing and bands playing etc. Even though they are not physically playing or singing some people still find it more enjoyable to watch.

Our Video uses three main types of music video conventions that i mentions above Editing, Lip, Syncing and visual effects. We use a variety of edits to keep the piece flowing and to keep it in time with the music. The song is not that fast so our edits are in time with the song and help to keeps the piece flowing.

Camera work – throughout our video we have tried to use a variety of camera angles, we have used partially close ups of singing for the main chorus and high points in the song to try and make it interesting. By using Close ups it allows the audience to feel more involved with the song.
Speed of Edits- I feel that we have managed to keep most of our editing and cuts in time with the speed of the song. In the main fast points in the song we have used fast edits in-between the audiences reactions and the singers facial expressions.
We have also stuck to a traditional style of music video by using moving text showing the Song and the band name at the start of the video. This is very important in music videos as it allows the viewer to take note of who the song is by and possibly purchase a hard copy.

Character within the piece – Our piece challenges the normal conventions of a music video in most music videos the artist normally performs the song to the story line. But in our music video it is suggested that the song is already a well established song with in the music world that is well known. This is shown by the main character hearing the song on a passing cars radio and begins to sing to the song.

The Narrative behind the video – Music videos generally involve the story line of the lyrics being acted out within the video. Our Video challenges this convention although our video is an amplification video and does involve some aspects of the storyline such as the homeless man does not want to stop believing he is a performer. Apart from this aspect our song does not really follow along with the story of the song we have created a new story for the song and made out the song to already be a well established song.

Editing

Editing
We have carried out the editing for our piece using ‘Sony Vegas’.

Sony Vegas is a great editing software that has allowed us to experiment with many difernet forms of editing, effects and transitions. We have tried to keep our video fairly simplistic although it does involve lots of edits in between shots, it also involves a Video FX used during the dream sequence. We used a Glint effect throughout the dream this allowed us to make it seem more realistic and corny as it is suppose to be inside his imagination. We have also used a blurred stretch effect as he leave the dream and enters back into his reality into the underpass.

Step by step the production of our video.

After we had thought up the initial idea for our song we began storyboarding the video. We planned out a storyline sequence putting together ideas that could match the song.
The basic outline for a story we came up with was that of our main character beginning the sequence as drunk and alone. He would then hear the song being played and begin to sing it himself. This then led on to his performance on a stage that he believed to be there although in reality he was just singing down in the ‘gutter’ somewhere.

Once we had thought through a basic storyline we researched locations looking around local areas to try to find a suitable stage-like area to film. The location we found was the underside of a bridge that had a low barrier which could act as the front of the stage. To begin filming we had then to improve our storyline to make sure we had enough to film and to make sure what we filmed matched the song especially as we were going to involve a lot of lip-syncing.

We thought of having a car go past under the bridge as it would seem appropriate that it was still in use and whilst the main character sat there drinking away his thoughts, the song playing on the cars radio would blare past and put the song into his head.

We began to film the opening sequence with the car going past the main character sat out on the barrier under the bridge. As the song played he began to tap his foot and his hand would begin to go and eventually he mimed playing the piano as it starts in the song.

Back to the drawing board we thought up how the video was going to play out, we thought of having the character singing the entire song as he was drunk but he would believe (because of his apparent location) he was on stage singing to an audience and performing the song live. We would show this as a ‘switch’ between what he was singing where he was in reality and what he believed he was singing and the stage he thought he was on. This led us to film each of the shots we needed in order of how we wanted them to appear, either in reality or in the dream sequence.
We planned to have the majority of the start of the song in reality so that the audience could get to grips with the storyline of a drunk beginning to sing a song he had heard. Then we devised certain areas in the song to be filmed in what he was dreaming. We improvised a spin which would take the video forward to his dream, which would consist of him singing indoors to an audience.
Filming each of these sequences was fairly straight forward as we had pre-planned our locations and the order of play in which we wanted to film. The difficulties we faced were getting the close-ups right so that the lip-syncing was in time to give a realistic effect to the end product. Overcoming this was simple in that we used an ipod so that the main character could sing the song in the exact time it was played from the version of the song we had. This worked to a good effect as we were able to place the audio over the video exactly making the lip-syncing look as realistic as possible, giving our video an aesthetically pleasing finish.

We managed to get through filming fairly efficiently and then began the editing process. During editing we cut and changed parts of what we had filmed so that we were satisfied with the clips we had. We then put them in order and began to add them together with the audio slowly creating our music video. We were then able to add different effects as necessary to give the video a smooth running feel to it.

Having edited what we had so far we showed what we had to a small audience and the feedback we got was positive. They liked the storyline and thought what we had achieved so far was good and this encouraged us to continue with the rest of the film in the same light.
Eventually finishing our filming with the end of the dream sequence and the jump off stage back to reality, the song ends and the main character walks off into the sunset. The location we had under the bridge slopped off into the distance which was perfect for the ending, luckily we had timed it just right so that the sun was setting as we filmed and were able to get the perfect ending shot.

We added in the idea of dropping the beer can (which the character had previously used in place of what he thought was a microphone) which then rolled back down into the gutter where he had performed. As a series of shots this was difficult to film as we had to get the exact roll of the can right, but eventually getting there it turned out to be a good feature in the video and worked well with the end of the song.

The Filming Begins

The Start of our filming basically consisted of us matching up our locations to the story boards. We started off by gaining a few panning shots in order to establish the location we did this by carrying out a few panning shots and still long shots of the under pass.










This was then followed by a shot of the car arriving a the underpass we used a mixture of inerior and exterior shots to establish where the music is coming from.
We then used a range of shots to show the man hearing the song and then start tapping to the beat.


















We took a couple of shots to show him hearing the song and we felt that the shots that showed him most getting into it was a close up of his feet tapping, his fingers tapping and him playing his air piano. As he starts to sing we then went into different shots such as using long, close and wide angle shots.













We also used panning shots as he roamed around the underpass, we decided to use and POV (Point of view) shot of the man spinning around has he goes into his imagination.
After a blurry POV image of the man spinning around we then cut into the man’s imagination, we then use a mid shot of the audience cheering and clapping.
















We then use a mid spotlighted spot of the man singing on his imaginary stage. We then used a series of shots such as close ups of the audience and side shots of the man singing into the microphone.













As the song continues to the line ‘Street lights People looking down the bulivards’ we use a moving panning shot into a close up to show the audiences focus on him. This is an affective shot but was hard to achieve whilst trying to keep the camera steady.














We then use a panning shot of the audience clapping along to the guitar solo. This then goes into a couple of low angle shots that we use to show his emotion as he carrys on singing as the audience go wild cheering and clapping.
















As we get to the line ‘Hold on’ we then use a low side angle shot as he jumps of the stage back in to reality as his little dream ends.

We then use a low shot of his feet landing into his reality back in the underpass. We then use a close up to show his disappointment of finding himself back in the underpass.














Shortly followed by a panning shot of him walking out of the underpass, we then use a shot of him walking down a road. He then jobs his beer can and we follow it with a low shot as it rolls into the gutter.

The last shot as the song ends is the man walking down a long road into the sunset this symbolises the end of the song.

Location

For our piece we need two main locations; the underpass and the stage. We have managed to find a suitable underpass located on a now disused road the underpass is quiet it has some graffiti this added to the scene and is what you would normally expect in this type of location. The underpass has a road running underneath it so it was possible to fit this in with our story as the man hears the music first from a passing car. We have also chosen to use the school drama studios for the imagination scene, the studios have a good size stage and a good lighting system.

Story Line

We decided to take our possible story ideas along the lines of an amplification video, although are video does not really consist of the story line of the song it would involve most of the song being lip synced. Are basic story line consist of; and unknown man sitting in a underpass by the side of a road, a car passes by and he hears the song journey don’t stop believing blasting out the speakers. The man is intoxicated and starts to imagine he is a famous superstar and begins to start dancing around and singing. He then imagines that he is performing on stag to an audience.

Questionnaire

In order to help us create our music video we created a questionnaire to help us find out what audiences like a music video to consist of. Here is a copy of our questionnaire


Q1 Age 0-15 15-20 20-30 30-40 50+
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Q2 Favourite form of music Rock/Hip Hop/Pop/Punk/Rap/Dance/Other
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Q2 Do you like music videos to follow a story? YES NO
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Q3 Do you like a music video to affect you emotionally? YES NO DONT MIND

What Makes a good music video?

We carried out research into what makes a good music video we have searched numurus articles and websites also including music television stations to try and find out what makes a good video here are some of the examples we managed to find.
1. Credits. Yes, yes, it adds a cinematic element to the video. Yes, yes, it makes everything look professional and epic. Awesome, it’s like the audience is watching a movie. But what’s the major difference between music videos and feature films? Oh, I don’t know, maybe about two hours! Also, millions upon millions of cash. Yes, some videos deserve special admiration for its technical feats but credits? Really? It just looks so pretentious. And if there’s one thing musicians want to avoid it’s being pretentious.

2. Sound effects/dialogue. I’ve watched a lot of videos and this is one kernel of truth I’ve discovered: all music videos aspire to be movies. The director usually wants to be filming a movie, the crew usually wants to be filming a movie and we all know the artist wants to be filming a movie. This leads to silly little ideas like adding dialogue or special effects to a music video. Explosions, heavy rain, bad bits of conversation. Yuck. Is this a MUSIC video? Why are people talking? Why does this feel like a film trailer? Oh, that’s right, everyone’s stuck in a state of arrested development and can’t come to terms with the fact that they’re not Brad Pitt. Deal with it, people! Cut out all the extra bells and whistles, it comes across as stupid and contrived.

3. Too much story. This is the biggest one of all. A music video is best when it realizes the confines of the medium. Let’s be honest: you’ve got a couple minutes to draw in the viewer’s attention and leave a lasting impression. Use those few minutes in your favor! Be creative, be inventive! Try something new! It’s a horrible idea to try and create a larger-than-life story and cram it into the short amount of time. It never works, it looks silly and it lends to parody.
(This article was useful as we felt many of the opions stated where valid)

• It the piece technically well executed? Regardless of the style, the performance - whether improvised, derived from notation, or electroacoustically produced - should be free of extraneous notes, sounds, effects, nuances of any kind that do not contribute to communication of the musical ideas.
  
• Does it exploit a variety of elements of music, i.e. rhythm, harmony, melody, texture/timbre? Although a quality piece of music need not have all elements equally represented (in fact, many if not most fine works do not), a piece that relies solely on any one element is likely to be less than fulfilling.
  
• Is the chief attraction not the music but the words? If the answer is yes, then the piece probably should be considered more as a theater piece or as poetry, than music. For music is the most abstract of arts, and although the marriage of text and music can be transcendent, the best does not need verbal associations to enhance it.
  
• Are the elements of the work highly integrated so that each supports the other’s function? Melody, for example, cannot exist without at least some degree of rhythm; rhythm, however, can exist without melody, as can harmony without either rhythm or melody. But it seems that most truly satisfying music exploits the elements in ways that cause the product of them to be greater that the sum of the elements, disparately.
  
• Does the piece appeal on a variety of levels – intellectual, emotional, spiritual? A piece can be strong enough in any one of these areas to justify being called good, but the best music somehow seems to appeal on many levels.
  Is there a feeling of "musicality" about it? That is, does the piece invoke a desire for body movement that corresponds to the gestures in sound? Musicality is distinctly human and inexorably connected to physical movement in ways that are imbedded in our psyches from the first expressive sounds uttered by our ancient ancestors to experiences as recent as our last rehearsal.
  
• Is there satisfying formal organization to the way the gestures are presented and developed? Since music occurs over time and for practical reasons, if for no other, music has to have a beginning and end, it seems to be our nature to expect some kind of sequence and development of the ideas that we find satisfying as anticipation and memory blend to create a mental image of form.
  
• Is there a good balance between familiarity and variety, appropriate for the length of the piece? Clearly, very extended pieces will need to introduce more variety than very short ones; likewise the task of maintaining coherence within greater diversity is more difficult and expected in longer pieces.
  
• After having been listened to many times, does the piece still have appeal, appeal that is based on some new revelations rather than solely on comfortable familiarity? Complexity in and of itself is not especially valuable, but exceptional music seems to have many facets, and holds up well and continues to interest even after many listenings.
  
• Do you feel positively stimulated, better, richer, fuller, or improved in some way for having heard the piece? This may seem a lot to expect, but truly great pieces (which, or course most music, even very fine music, will not be) often have a beneficial effect on careful listeners. Like the nutrition axiom "we are what we eat," (which, although obviously not literal, makes the point that our physical health is affected by our diet) in the arts we are what we consume, and what we habitually listen to affects our spirits. The best music makes us better by stimulating our minds and touching our hearts, and helps us feel better about ourselves and the world.
  (Also a useful article that we have tried to take pointers from in order to make our own piece a success)

Dancing in the Distraction Factory

We have used the book Dancing in the Distraction factory as a useful research tool. The book is very useful and was a valuable insight into the world of music videos. Andrew Goodwin the author has analysed many music videos through extensive research to identify the key aspects of a music video these include:
Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. stage performance in metal video, dance routine for boy/girl band).

There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals: illustrative, amplifying, contradicting. There is a relationship between music and visual: illustrative, amplifying, contradicting. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work a visual style.There is frequently reference to notion of looking screens within screens, telescopes, etc and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body. There is often intertextual reference to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc.
An interesting point we have taken from the article is the research into Meta Narrative, often used in the form of star stories, a prime example of this would be Madonna, once promoted as a sex icon in the 80’s. Madonna has now become to old to be promoted into such lights she has changed her path and is now promoted as a role model to women. Music videos often market the star as a product through Meta Narrative they way they act and how the audience responds.
This has proven to be a good article and we have tried to take many examples given in the article and include them into our project.

Pop up Music Videos

Pop up music videos was a programme in the 1990’s that involved music videos being played whilst little bubbles of trivia about the artist or video appeared. Other music video stations have also adopted the pop up trivia bubbles and sometimes appear. A more common time of pop up on music videos now days is personal messaging where the viewer text’s their message into the station and is displays bellow the video.

Music Video Directors

One of the most establish music video directors in the business has to be Spike Jonze. Since the early nineties, Spike Jonze has been taking the images that make up America's visual vernacular - TV shows, ad campaigns, B-movies - and turning them inside out, upside down, and into vehicles for his sly, ironic humor. He first appeared on the media map in 1994 when he directed the video for the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage," a gritty, winking homage to seventies cop dramas like Starsky and Hutch. His 1995 video for Björk's "It's Oh So Quiet" riffs on Busby Berkley's choreography, and his award-winning clip for "Praise You" with the "Torrance Community Dance Group" reimagines the amateurism of America's Funniest Home Videos as Broadway spectacle.Even Jonze's commercials are full of funny remarks and sight gags lifted from the pop-culture slag heap. His Lee Jeans ad sends up superheroes when the pint-size "Buddy Lee" doll jumps into a runaway automobile to save a baby - who turns out to be in another car. His Levi's commercial mocks emergency-room dramas by having a half-dead patient and the doctors trying to revive him break into Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" to the faint bleat of an EKG monitor. That he's also directed a series of ads for Wrangler only testifies to his youth-culture persona.

Technical aspects

Speed - is visualised by the camera movement, quick editing (montage) and digital effects.

Speed - Speed is usually created using the following aspects.Camera Movement is motivated by running, dancing or walking performers (the more of these actions will cause more movement)

Editing Speed can be created through fast edits and 'montage editing', these will cause a visually decentered effect which is needed for repeatability e.g. images are moving so fast that they are impossible to take in on the first view and are required to be viewed several times so the viewer can take in all the information

Camera Movement - is often motivated by running, dancing and walking performers.Fast cutting and montage editing - creates a visually decentered experience important for music video consumption, with the images sometimes moving so fast that they cannot be understood on the first viewing and needs to be viewed several times.

Colour and lighting- the Use of colour in videos is very important as different forms of colour and lighting can help a video set the scene in a variety of ways to make the video interesting and more advanced.
Mise en Scene- is important in music videos as it helps to set the scene and allows the audience to imagine the environment in which the video is taking place in.

Research

Music Video info

Music videos are legally classed as a promotional tool/advert. A music video's main purpose is to promote the song. In recent years there have been countless arguments that music video producers should be paid the same as film producers. However, it was ruled that a music video is fundamentally a tool in promoting the featured music & therefore producers should be paid the same amount as advert producers. Whilst a music video can be as technologically advanced and thought provoking as a movie - the same applies to ordinary televised commercials - and as such should be classed as one.

Forms of Music Video

Illustration Shows exactly what is being displayed in the lyrics

Amplification videos take lyrics or mood of the song and develop it into a broader concept

Disjuncture videos completely random/abstract, no link to song at all

Music videos often contains complex editing and effects similar to film, they genraly involved edits that relate to the song such as a fast pace song would have a series of fast edits etc. Often videos contain lip-syncing not always throughout the duration of the whole clip but will normally be in a music video. Music videos came about in the early 80’s due to the launch of cable television station MTV in 1981. The first song aired on MTV aptly was ‘Video Killed the Radio Start’ by the buggels

The Lyrics

The Lyrics
Just a small town girl
Livin' in a lonely world
She took the midnight train
Goin' anywhereJust a city boy
Born and raised in South Detroit
He took the midnight train
Goin' anywhereA singer in a smokey room
A smell of wine and cheap perfume
For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on and on and on
Strangers waiting
Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searchingIn the night
Streetlights, peopleLivin' just to find emotion
Hidin', somewhere in the nightWorkin' hard to get my fill
Everybody wants a thrill
Payin' anything to roll the diceJust one more timeSome will win
Some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on
Strangers waiting
Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching
In the night
Streetlights, peopleLivin' just to find emotion
Hidin', somewhere in the night
[Instrumental Interlude]
Don't stop believin'
Hold on to the feelin'
Streetlights, people
Don't stop believin'
Hold on
Streetlights, people

Permission

Permission
In order to use the song we thought it best to seek permission - we constructed an email and sent it to Journey's record label, Sony BMG.
The email was as follows:

"I am writing to you enquire if you have any objection to the adoption of "Journey Don’t Stop Believing" for a music video as part of my year 13 Coursework.

Regards

We received no response - and thus to our understanding they had no objections.

Background information of the song

Back Ground info of the song
The song was released in 1981 and is from the album Escape, the song is often thought to be the bands signature song. The song only reached 62 in charts when it was first released, but due to its recent popularity & thanks to accesibility and practicality of internet downloads it managed to get to number 19 in November, 2009.
The song currently remains the most downloaded song of all time. The song has made many appearances in films, TV and Games alike - some of which include;
The Wedding Singer
Family Guy
Monster
Shrek the Halls
Bedtime Stories
Yes Dear
King of the Hill
The Comebacks
View from the Top
South Park
Cold Case
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
My Name Is Earl
Just Shoot Me
Laguna Beach
American Idol
Australian Idol
X Factor
Scrubs
The Sopranos
Glee
Rock Band (Game)
Due to its appearance in all of these forms of media it has increased the overall popularity and awareness of the song.

The Song Choice

The Song Choice
Choosing a song for our project was not easy as we found it easy to pick flaws in many of our choices. We found some songs were either too long, too fast or too slow; we needed to find a song that struck an even balance between all of these features. We then went on to discuss genres- we listed some genres such as Pop, Rock, R&B and we discussed the possibility of using modern chart-topping songs - however eventually resolving to go down the route of Classic Rock, which the group mutually agreed to be the most appealing as it boasted some of the most renowned and well-remembered songs of the century. We eventually agreed on choosing "Don’t Stop Believing" by Journey. It is worth noting that said song is the most downloaded song in the world from the well-known digital media store, iTunes.

The Group

The Group
In this project I am working with Mike Jones and Jacob Paul. I feel that we work well together in exchanging ideas and concepts - ultimately helping us to achieve a good result. We have decided to make a music video - and, in addition, for the two extra tasks a website and an album cover.

Intro

Hi, I'm Matt and welcome to my A2 media blog. Here I will show my research into my project - including the planning and the evaluation process.