group meetings

The purpose of the group meetings to gather the overall groups opinion various subjects such as the artist image, the group must then come to a conclusion on what they think would be the best choice for the chosen subject.They are essential as it allows for all opinions of the group to be expressed which is important when making vital decisions better choices can be made and the choice will also represent the entirety of the group.The group meetings helped myself and my group as it provided us an opportunity to vocally exchange the ideas that we had which led to constructive criticism and development of ideas which eventually led to an overall better choice which represented all the ideas of the group. Our strengths consisted of coming to an agreement on choices relatively quickly as we all had similar mindset which was to be conventional to our chosen dance genre.In terms of what i would have liked to have changed there is very little as i feel the group came to the correct conclusion for all of the choices that  we have made.

From participating in these group meetings i have learned that they play an essential role within the film making process as they all group members to convey their ideas and opinions which often leads to better decisions.My group and i worked well with this process as we had a similar thought process and vision for our music video which made the process far more simpler.If were to do this again i would consider making the overall plot of the music video a little more conventional as this may make our music video seem more appealing to our chosen target audience.

Date	Action	To be done by	By whom	Discussion
14.09.15	To decide on an artist and a song	18.09.15	All group members	Various ideas were discussed and the group to decide on an artist and genre created a mind map. We decided to create a video for the song “I Know” by Shift K3y.
	Group discussions of initial ideas		All Group members	We sat together and discussed whether we wanted our music video to be a narrative, concept or performance video. We decided on creating a narrative based music video and came with the potential narrative’s for our music video.
	Apply for music copyright		All Group members	As a group we researched the record company that owned the rights to out song and found there contact information. We then proceeded to email the record company and ask for permission to use the song for educational purposes. Fortunately we were granted permission and preceded to use our song choice.
	Lyric analysis		All Group members	The group analysed the lyrics, which was very essential as the music video we had planned was a narrative based which often gains inspiration from the lyrics. There were very few lyrics to analyse due to the genre however from the few lyrics we were able to analyse the general message that is trying to be portrayed.
	Planning mise-en-scene		All Group members	Various section of mise-en-scene such as lighting or costume were planned out for what we wanted to include in the music video. Examples of the lighting that we wanted to include consist of strobe lighting and coloured filters.
	Planning cinematography		All Group members	All group members planned the style of shots that we wanted to achieve when we started to film such as close up and mid shots based on the conventions of the genre.
	Planning artist image		All Group members	We decided on what sort of persona we wanted out artist to have within our music video. It was decided that we wanted our artist to be perceived as someone who was wealthy and successful.
	Planning editing styles		All Group members	As a group we planned on what editing styles we wanted to include when editing our recoded scenes, we decided on mostly using fast paced editing as it is conventional to the dance genre.
	storyboards		Individual	Each group member created his or her own storyboard of the scenes that would be added to our music video to help visualise what was needed.
	Filming schedule		All Group members	The group produced a schedule that stated what scenes would filmed on certain days as well as other aspects included in the scenes to help us stick to our deadline
	Risk assessment		All Group members	As a group we discussed the possible risks that may occur when filming and then stated way of preventing the risk in order to make filming more efficient
	Filming music video		All Group members	Before the group started to film we discussed what we aimed to achieve from our filming with the help of the film schedule.
	Photoshoot		All group members	As a group we discussed where we would like to place the photos that we had taken for magazine advert and digipak. We also give our opinions on the images that were taken and what we thought suited both advert and digipak best.

Magazine Advert

The purpose of the magazine advert is to engage with the audience and sell the artists album to his/her desired demographic. It helps to promote the artists album and music video gives the audience information on the content of the album and also gives them an idea of the general theme from the image that used. The software we have chosen to use is Photoshop cs6 as it is sufficient for the tasks in which we require it to do, for example add various effects to our chosen images and other editing techniques. The idea for my magazine advert derived from various research and planning that I had previously, my main aim was to take an image that was very conventional and gave the audience a sensation of the dance genre which I feel I have achieved.

 The colours that were used within my magazine advert are very conventional to the genre, for example the large use of neon green lighting. The neon green lighting is used largely throughout my magazine and becomes one of the main features as it illuminates from the crowd as well as the large laser beams from the elaborate lighting above the crowd. The use of the white typography is to make it stand out further to the audience against the dark background, the information provided is very important to the audience as it provides them with release date, name of the album and other features. The colour of the text was clearly quite an important choice when editing my magazine advert. The neon green lighting would appeal to my audience as it is a colour that they are most likely able to relate to when they go to the familiar setting that they seen on my magazine advert.

The overall magazine would be considered extremely conventional in my opinion as the initial thought of any viewer will be that this advert is related to the dance genre which is clear from the image which shows bright neon green laser emitting from the top and on to the crowd people within the club, the crowd have also seen to be emanating a green glow which correlates to the over green theme of the advert. The club or party setting is a very convention of the dance genre which adds to the conventionality of this advert, this style of music is usually played within these environments which creates the association between them.The style of lighting used within this advert is also very clearly conventional as the neon green lasers are typical of dance genre music videos and settings such as clubs which again creates an immediate relationship between the audience and magazine advert and most likely will create a deeper interest into the contents of the magazine advert. A large crowd enjoying music and partying together in the same place is considered to be quite conventional of the dance genre as this is a common visual within clubs and parties where dance music is widely linked with.

The images used consist of a club setting that shows the lighting and overall environment and another picture to show the audience that was taken at another time. My reason for using the image of the club setting is that is purely conventional of the dance genre so when the audience see's the magazine advert they are able to quickly associate it with a dance genre album. In my research we had concluded that the chosen audience preferred more conventional aspects of the dance genre which further supported my choice of using an image of a club. The reason for using the added image of another crowd was to eliminate the possibility of seeing any of the audiences faces as well as fitting better with the image of the club, it allowed for greater opportunities to edit such as creating an neon green glow emitting from the audience to mirror the neon green laser that is above the crowd.

The layout and design of the magazine advert is relatively simple as the majority of the advert consists of a single image however there was a large amount of thought was involved in the layout of the text and the placement of images. I decided to place the text at the top of the magazine so it was clear to the audience what was the title of the album as well as the name of the artist which are two very important pieces of information on a magazine advert.I have also placed other popular singles which are on the album to familiarise the audience with other songs that they may have heard of which creates a greater initial relationship between both the audience and the artist. The release date has been placed at the bottom, not to show its lower relevance but to allow the audience to be captured more by the images for the magazine advert. In order to make the release date still noticeable and substantial I increased the size of the font in comparison to other pieces of information which subliminally tells the audience that this piece of information is important. The design of the magazine advert is a club that shows the crowd enjoying themselves under an elaborate style of lighting which links to the typical conventions of the dance genre.


The typography used consists of a more basic style of white font. My reasons for using a basic style of font is so the font does not take any attention away from the image which should be the main focus of the image. The typography is only used to state certain information that is important hence its colour which stands out in comparison to the darker background, I have also used different sized fonts so the audience or reader is able to distinguish which is the more important information.

In regards to Photoshop, I did have a few weaknesses in regards to the font , general implementation of the images and editing techniques. To overcome my weaknesses I used a mixture of trial and error, online help and using some of my peers who were more proficient with Photoshop. Within Photoshop I did not start with many strengths however as I used the software more I started to quickly grasp the various editing techniques that are apart of the program. The inspirations that I have taken from my research consist of various magazine adverts from Example and Avicii, the reason I chose to use these was due to their conventionality to the dance genre which worked so well in relation to their audience so I hoped to mirror something similar when creating my magazine advert. I did not necessarily follow my exact original plan as I had chosen to include a picture of the artist and the Gherkin building however upon taking the images I felt that this made my magazine more subversive as appose to conventional which led to me changing my proposed idea.

As previously mentioned I think my magazine advert adheres completely to the conventions of the dance genre as it is set in a setting that is widely associated with the dance genre and also includes many other conventions such as the use of bright and extravagant lighting which can be found many dance genre associated settings. My advert most definitelty appeals to my target audience as it is simply very relatable, the large majority of my chosen demographic have been to similar settings which allows them to relive those moments when viewing my magazine advert and the small proportion that I have not been to similar settings have seen comparable settings in other dance music videos. In my opinion the use of a magazine advert will help to promote my artist album and music video as the images I have chosen  to use in my advert will leave the audience wanting see more.  

photoshoot

There is a need to take our pictures due to copyright reasons that often do not let images be re-used or edited, it also needed as in order to make our magazine advert and digipak more unique and relevant to the style of our music video and song we have to ensure to use our own images. It is important to take a variety of shots as some images when placed within the digipak or magazine advert may not suit well however if there are other shots we have a choice as to what image we think looks best.

The first picture i have taken is of the skyline from embankment which shows buildings such as Big Ben and Parliament.My reason for taking this particular image is to relate to the artists environment and type of lifestyle which is seen within the music video. The artist is portrayed as being an extremely successful business man which the picture of the London skyline represents in a sense as only the elite work within the city. I intend to use this picture within my digipak as it relates to the artist however there is not a huge correlation with the dance genre although dance music videos are quite often set within quite extravagant settings in which our music video most certainly reciprocates. This picture would not be considered typically conventional of the dance genre however i would argue that there is a conventional element as like previously mentioned dance music videos tend to link to extravagant locations such as iconic cities which would make the choice of this picture more conventional and relevant. The picture i have chosen to use is good as i feel that it  gives the audience a clear understanding and representation of both the artist and the music video. The image itself i would consider to be exceptional as it clearly shows a classic image of one of London's skyline views which was the initial target. This picture will help to build a better relationship between the artist and audience as it provides them with a clearer understanding of setting in which the artist is based, this is an important factor that is made throughout. By gaining a better understanding of the setting it allows the relationship between the audience and artist to increase the audience then begin to gain a better understanding of the artists background.

My reason for taking this picture is to show the audience artists working environment which adds to their perception of him already being successful however this photo reinforces their insight and continues to add to their opinions as now they are able to see A more personal vision of the artist which is the working environment he is  working in within the music video. My intention is to use this picture within my digipak as it continues to build the artists image and perception to the audience specifically in relation to the music video, it fits well within the digipak as this is something that is purchased when the audience would like to gain a better understanding of the artists which this image does. This image would not necessarily be considered as conventional to the genre which therefore makes it subversive, however I felt it needed to be included as it adds to the general setting and theme of the album. The dance genre usually incorporates images which are more colourful and within party settings which makes this image subversive, although there is the no colourful lighting after editing this photo with then be re-engineered to be more conventional with the use of filters and other editing tools. In my opinion the overall setting is the main feature of this image as well as the artist been present, the setting is quite exceptional my view as it is at the gherkin building in central London which is considered to be a very iconic building and shows the artist statue. The artist being present within this image he's quite keen as it shows that he is clearly quite comfortable within the setting as it is quite natural for him, the choice of clothing is seen to be wearing also adds to the overall image of the artist as he seems to be dressed quite well with a suit which will add to make him seem more successful.This image will help to build a greater relationship between the artist and audience as they continue to see a greater insight into the artist life which creates a closer theoretical bond.

My reason for taking this photo is show a party setting in which the artist should be regularly associated with as he is a dance genre artist and a club is an atmosphere at which this style of music is predominately played.This picture will be used for the magazine advert as the bright colours and general image is very captivating which is an element that all magazine adverts should have, it also of course makes it very clear to the audience which style of music the magazine advert is for, the extreme relevance to the genre may make it seem more appealing. This image would be considered very conventional as the setting in which it is placed is clearly a club which the dance genre is deeply associated with, aside for the setting the vibrant green laser used as the lighting is another clear convention of the dance genre as i have seen it be used within many dance music videos. There is also the use of smoke behind the green lasers which distorts the lighting and again is something that is quite regularly seen within these conventional settings. The best part of this image is the reliability and conventionality which is very clear to he audience. The audience are most likely able to relate to this image immediately as it is similar settings to which they have been then themselves which creates a greater relationship, it will also greatly appeal to them due to conventionality as well as the aesthetics of the image . The conventionality also makes this image great as the picture almost speaks for it self and immediately tells the audience that this magazine advert if for the dance genre.It will help to build a better relationship between the audience and artist as they feel as if they can relate more to the artist especially with the setting as the environment of a club is somewhere that the audience has been to.





In conclusion i feel as if i was able to capture conventional images which contained many connotations of the dance genre and the subversive images that i have also displayed are still relatable more specifically to my artist and music video. The images captured were also quite unique and eye capturing which is always an advantage when trying to draw the attention of the audience which is important when trying to create promotional ancillaries such as the digipak and magazine advert. In terms of what i struggled with was mainly lighting issues that occurred as a large majority of the shots were taken during the evening which sometimes made certain shots grainy per se however this was able to be overcome with the use of editing techniques and also the settings on the camera such as the exposure setting which let in more light into the lens which made the image more brighter.The overall representation that my images gives the artist is that he is clearly quite a successful man which likes to lead the city life however he also has another side to him which shows he like to have fun within the dance/party scene just like many of the viewers which makes him both inspirational and relatable. In order to make our digipaks and magazine adverts more unique and indiviual each group member we had take a wide variety of photos for the indiviual ideas that we had.