Just a little something…

I finished my research on album covers, and it gave me a few ideas of what to do in mine. i noticed most convers have continuity from the front to the back. and i also realized i like the album covers that do not make the band seem big headed.

So today i started to make mock ups of my album, i wanted to show continuity and i wanted to show what type of music it was on the cover (hence both of my covers including an acoustic guitar. I am not entirely sure which album cover i like the most. however i really like the style of my second one’s back cover.

To help me decide what parts work and what don’t i shall hold a focus group next week using members of my media class.

I have made great progress today and next week i shall be focusing on starting the final album covers.

Today i started to research exsisting album front and back covers. I decided to do this on paper as it would be easier to analyse, once i have completely finished these i shall scan them into my blog. I have been analysing colour schemes, positioning of band names and albums titles and the image.

Currently i have no ideas about what to put on the front cover of my CD, because i have not finished researching. However i shall hopefully have some initial ideas next week.

Due to being ill over the past week i have fell behind, however I have found a singer to replace the original, and have been location scouting for my background sequence. The background sequence is meant to put a negative twist on such a positive song, therefore i have been looking for run down areas which show ’street life’ as it really is. Location scouting has helped me picture my music video even more, and now that i have ideas about where to film i feel i have made progress. Filming the background sequence will now take prioity and recording the song should be happening next week. It has taken so long to film the song due to the music department being on a different timetable to myself and as they are busy with shows and their own work we have had to find a time where the guitarist, singer and myself are able to work together.

Meanwhile i will start to research album artwork in order to progress on the coursework as a whole.

Today i did some more work on my story boards, so i have some idea about camera angles (which I’ve added to many of my sketches on my storyboard). I also went to find out how much of the song my musicians had learnt, this is where a problem arose. The singer i had originally asked to sing for me has become busy with his own college work and has declined his role in my music video. This has set me back because i now need to find someone else who is willing to help me out and allow them time to learn the song. To overcome this problem i have decided whilst looking for an appropriate singer, and whilst waiting for them to learn the song, filming will take priority and i will start to film the background sequence.

Whilst looking at my storyboard i decided i did not want my camera and my musicians to be still, instead there will be some close up shots on the artists. I got this idea from the music videos i looked at last time, (Funeral for a Friend and Good Charlotte).

I am not quite on target according my SMART Targets, however i know exactly where i am and my next step will be to start looking for a singer and starting to find locations to shoot my background sequence.

I didn’t use my time appropriately today, and i realize how this can be a disadvantage throughout the rest of the making of my music video. I will improve my time management by next week, and will be back on track, and ready to start considering production.

Good Charlotte – The River.

Funeral For a Friend – Oblivion.

The above two videos share my idea of using a screen behind the band. After watching these i can see how it is effective, and I have finally seen how my video will look once I’ve finished it. The videos above are faster paced and they have a bigger ground area to use, i am limited as my chosen song is acoustic and space available is limited.

The video below does not share my idea, however i feel the video is a powerful video and the filming style is one idea about how i want to film my background sequence. The filming is jumpy and and the images are shocking and powerful. Teenagers are been shown as themselves, and i like the vibe this video gives, it leaves a lasting impression, something i want my video to do.

Today i started to storyboard and will be completeing it by next week, i am on track with my SMART Targets. I now have two vivid ideas about what i will be filming for each line of the song, the first is a positive with my initial ideas of everybody having fun and jumping around, the second is my later idea of using juxtapostioning. I will present my ideas to a focus group before i decide on which one to choose, in order to get some feedback about which is more appropiate.

I also went to the music tutor in my college to ask him whether i would be able to use his equipment to record my track. He said it was no problem, as long as i let him know in advance, he also said he’d give me some training on the equipment i will need to use.

Everything seems to be going well at the moment, and it seems to be full steam ahead!

Today i took at a look at some more music videos, and concentrated on juxtaposition. For example:

The song is a beautiful song, but the images going with it show hurt and pain. I feel this is a very strong contrast and i’d love to do something like this, only not with animation but videos.

However i still really like my idea of everyone having fun, so im thinking of placing the two ideas of fun and hurt together will be better. Therefore when it gets to the chorus “I got love, i got so much love, love in my heart…” I’m thinking of having people jumping around and having fun, whereas when the verses are being sang i’ll use juxta position and put negative images on there. showing poverty, different social classes, sadness and hurt. Hopefully my idea will turn out well.

Next week i will be producing a storyboard of my ideas for the background of my video. As i have already started brainstorming some ideas onto paper.

Today I created my SMART targets, i did this so that i know exactly where i am and where i should be. I found this is a difficult task to do because there is a lot of stages you need to remember. However i feel i have done it to the best it could be, and i’ve already found it helpful.There is a lot of work to do, but hopefully this should keep me organized and on track.

I then created most of the forms that i will need throughout the creation of the music promo video, CD front cover and the magazine advertisement for the CD. I printed these out ready for when i finally need them, this will give me more time and i won’t have to worry about not having them at a later date.

After this I found the lyrics to the song i want my video to be for, The King Blues – I’ve Got Love. On the background (green screen). I’ll be playing clips of video that fit with this song. So i started planning for my clips of video, to do this i am making notes of ideas on the side of the lyrics (which i printed out). I printed out a couple of copies of the lyrics so that i can brain storm ideas, and not just stick to one set.This will be helpful when i’m planning my story board, and of course, it all leads to my final product.

I am on target with my SMART targets and next week i should be finishing the plan of the background scenes and creating a script.

Working to SMART Goals

I will be using a smart target plan, which basically sets out how much time i will have to do achievable things to forward me in my project.

The acronym SMART has a number of slightly different variations, which can be used to provide a more comprehensive definition for goal setting:

S – specific, significant, stretching

M – measurable, meaningful, motivational

A – agreed upon, attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented

R – realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented

T – time-based, timely, tangible, trackable
The SMART Goals I am going to use.

Specific

* Well defined
* Clear to anyone that has a basic knowledge of the project

Measurable

* Know if the goal is obtainable and how far away completion is
* Know when it has been achieved

Agreed Upon

* Agreement with all the parties what the goals should be

Realistic

* Within the availability of resources, knowledge and time

Time Based

* Enough time to achieve the goal
* Not too much time, which can affect project performance

My Smart Targets.

Smart Targets.

(click the above link to see my SMART targets.)

Well so far I’ve researched a few music videos, and came up with an initial idea. I have thought really hard about my idea and feel it will work. I have also had permission to use the green screen however i will have to sort out the lighting myself, which could impose a problem, i will go and talk to the owner of the green screen soon, tell him my ideas and ask him how he thinks i should light the screen (as he has more knowledge than me). I also need to start thinking about the clips being shown in the background, to do this i need to write down the lyrics of the song i have chosen to use and then decide what each clip should be. This will be a long process as i want my background video to be perfect.

I have also chosen a song, and thought about ways to get around copyright, which i feel i have achieved quite well, the next thing i need to do on this part of production is finalize the artists and sit and have a chat with them about what i am trying to do. Then give them each a copy of the song and ask them to learn it.

I think my idea is achievable and i am really looking forward to getting started on it.