Rihanna-'You Da One'

 

Feedback Sheets...

Today we presented our music video to our media class for the first time.Though it was not completely finished, they viewed what we have done so far; then they gave us feedback by filling in sheets answering what was good about music video/what could be improved or what did not work at all. Overall, we were pleased with our feedback as it was pretty positive as most individuals stated that our music video definitely has potential. Generally people liked our costumes and locations and the concept of the chase. However, Some individuals did consider that the 'chase' theme needed a bit of developing and that it was at times confusing who has control. Though, we thought that  it was obvious to see that the women (Studded Roses) actually have control. 


Also, most of the class the liked the fast cuts at the beginning of the video as it made the video edgy, which also links to our ideology as we are quite an edgy/different band. however, they believed that this sense of edginess was lost as the shots became to long.  In addition to this quite a lot of individuals in our class considered that the performance element could be improved as there was a few parts within the video that captured something of the members laughing which seemed to make the the idea of them being dominant females less convincing.


Overall, I believe that the feedback provided for us was very useful as it allowed us to see our video from another perspective, looking at it from an audience's point of view, not a producer. I consider that the feedback was very constructive as it allowed us to see what exactly was good in the video and also to develop on what individuals may have considered to be not effective.

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Ideas for our Video..

We researched into crime boards that prisoners have as we want to incorporate this within our video. Each band member will hold their own board . Some of the boards will have 'Studded Roses' on them whilst the other will have 'Scandalous' on them'. Currently we are designing a template for our board. Below are some pictures as to the idea we want to feature in our video.

Intertextual Reference...

We have decided to use this new advert for Rimmel's new mascara 'Scandal' as an intertexual reference to be used within our video. We feel it suits our video and it also goes well with the theme.

Intertextual References

INTERTEXTUAL REFERENCE FOR RIMMEL LIPGLOSS

INTERTEXTUAL REFERENCE FOR L'OREAL LIPGLOSS

INTERTEXTUAL REFERENCE FOR MAYBELLINE MASCARA

INTERTEXUAL REFERENCE FOR RIMMEL MASCARA

Feedback from our Pitch...

Production Journal...RECCE

Megan made screenshots of the different locations we plan to film in. Here are two of the locations the other is in her house using the plain red wall as a background.

Whilst Laura was taking pictures of the storyboards for our animatic.

Feedback from Questionnaire...

Results From Our Questionnaire

Questionnaire 2...

This  is our second questionnaire, we did previously make one but our media teacher specified that our questionnaire should revolve around our music video. Therefore, we have based this questionnaire around our music video and we are currently distributing them.

We are making a music video for Mis-Teeq's scandalous. The idea of our video is 'the chase ' where viewers will see the four members of our girl group 'Studded Roses' dominating the males. The locations for our video include streets, a car park, car and a homemade setting. We have also decided to include a dark edge to the video to make it somewhat different from the typical pop/r'n'b music videos of nowadays.

1. Do you believe the locations we have chosen for our music video are good? Whether yes or no, explain you answer.

2. What do you feel about the theme of our video, ‘the chase’?

3. Do you feel the song we have chosen is suitable for this theme?

☐Yes ☐No (explain)

4. Our target audience is people between the ages of 15-30 (particularly females). Do you think our music video will interest them?

☐Yes ☐No

5. We have decided to include a dark edge to our music video. Would this appeal to you? Please explain your answer.

6. Do you feel there are any common themes in girl band’s videos (particularly that of the pop/r’n’b genre)?

7. What type of costume do you think would be suitable for this music video?

8. Is there anything you believe we should be wary of when shooting our video?

9. What would you like to see in a music video of this genre?

10. Do you have any other ideas as to other things we can include within our video?

Questionnaire..

Below is a questionnaire that we created as part of our audience research to see the type of things associated with our target audience. We created two questionnaires according to gender.

Questionnaire for women.

1. How old are you?

2. What genre of music would you say you like best?

 Pop

 Rock

 Indie

 R ‘n’ B

 Dance

 Metal

 Rap

 Other

3. What three shops do you buy clothes from mainly?

 Topshop

 Primark

 River Island

 Oasis

 Miss Selfridge

 Urban Outfitter

 Hollister

 Oasis

 Dorothy Perkins

 New Look

 H&M

 Next

4. Who would you consider as your style icon?

 Cheryl Cole

 Rihanna

 Kate Middleton

 Jessie J

 Kate Moss

 Lady Gaga

5. What male attention would you say is your favourite below?

 Zac Efron

 Johnny Depp

 Enrique Iglesias

 Eminem

 Olly Murs

 Robert Pattinson

6. What girl group do you like the best over the past years?

 Girls Aloud

 Sugababes

 The Saturdays

 Destiny’s Child

 Pussycat Dolls

7. If you had to choice of a night out at one of these places, where would it be?

 Cinema

 Bowling

 Party

 Meal

 Gig

 Other

Questionnaire for men

1. How old are you?

2. What genre of music would you say you like best?

 Pop

 Rock

 Indie

 R ‘n’ B

 Dance

 Metal

 Rap

 Other

3. What three shops do you buy clothes from mainly?

 Topman

 Primark

 River Island

 Urban Outfitter

 Hollister

 New Look

 H&M

 Next

o Superdry

o Burton

4. What female attention would you say is your favourite below?

 Pixie Lott

 Rihanna

 Jessie J

 Cheryl Cole

 Katy Perry

 Nicole Scherzinger

5. If you had to choice of a night out at one of these places, where would it be?

 Cinema

 Bowling

 Party

 Meal

 Gig

 Other

6. Do you know the codes and conventions of a pop/R’n’B music video? Please list below.

7. What do you think would be an ideal location for a pop/R’n’B video?

8. Do you think there are any common themes in girl band’s videos

What is a Digipak?

Today we starting researching digipaks, a significant part of the coursework. A digipak is a CD release with a cardboard packaging, instead of a plastic case. A digipak usually folds like a book as they consist of 4-6 panels. Digipaks include the following codes and conventions:

-Usually have an on going colour theme
-Include images of the artist/band
-Include the song names from the album
-Include lyrics (sometimes)
-Record label
-Bar code
-Spine
-Website
-Copyright Info
-Usually have a reference to the artist e.g. through colours, fonts

A record label would preferably release a digipak rather than a CD in a jewel case as it would be cheaper because the p-packaging is made of cardboard; thus making it better for the environment. Also a digipak is good for promo copies.

The added benefits for the consumer when buying a digipak is that it may feel as if they are receiving more. However, I believe that a digipak seems less important than a CD with a jewel case because a digpack can get damaged easily and it may be seen as less credible as they are used a lot for promo copies.

Feedback from our Criteria

On Thursday, 6th October my group and I presented our music video criteria and they in turn gave their feedback, which are the responses below.

- We may need to incorporate elements of performance within the video.
- Our idea of 'The Chase' is unlikely to last 3 minutes and it may get boring after a while.
- We should be cautious of 'The Chase' idea because it may get confusing after a while, as to who is chasing who.
- Where is the video going to be shot?
- When doing our storyboard we need to plan it out properly as to which shots will follow what
- We need to be careful that our music video does not get boring or confusing because there is only one sequence.
- There needs to be costume changes within the video, (which is essential for a girl band), the fact that there is only one sequence may make costume change difficult. Therefore, we need to consider our sequence.
- Possibly a performance in a dark, underground club scenario?
- May need to use a street near our school (due to us wanting to film the video at night and because of the lighting.
- Overall, our class liked 'The Chase' idea and the complex narrative but there needs to be more to it.


General Feedback for all:
-Need to shoot a lot of material
-Has to be a lot of variety
-There needs to be a lot of cuts to make it pacy for the audience
-Need to shoot at least three times at three different angles.

Genre Codes and Conventions

The Culture Industry (with examples)

'Assembly Line Character'- 2008, X Factor runner's up, JLS are an example of this. Below are some of JLS' products.



'The idea of the culture industry to a model of mass culture'
Here we see that the capitalist corporation being the X Factor/Epic records has control over this group as we see their image/genre/style/songs have changed over the course of their music journey.

'Assembly Line'

These are all boy bands and they are basically all the same because they all appeal to women, are all commercial and have pop-orientated music.

The Culture Industry

On Monday 26th September 2011 we started off the lesson by watching the first auditions of some of this year's X Factor contestants. We looked at their first auditions from an industry/judge perspective and considered the following whilst watching:

• Likability
• Their potential
• Their Image
• Will they sell records
• Stage Presence
• Star-quality

We then discussed the following: Are the X Factor looking for talent OR are they just money-makers?

• What genre will the artist fit into?
• How marketable is the artist?
• What song's can they sing?
• Can they be Christmas no.1?
• What audience will they appeal to

The artist is a 'commodity' and the judges are already putting together a business plan regarding the artists; therefore the X Factor is a hegemonic institution. So to a great extent the X Factor could be seen as 'money makers'.
With reference to Production of Culture/Cultures of Production(ed)Paul Du Gay, Sage 1997.

Genre Research

I decided to research into our chosen music genre which is Pop/RnB. I did this to give myself an insight into the genres. Hence, I researched the history of the genres and they came about as well as music artists associated with that genre in the past and present. Below is a powerpoint in which I used to present my research.

A definition of Independent music - an artist that is not attached to a major company and it is on its own.

The Punk rock era was seen as the birth of independent labels as it allowed any one any where to record music and release it to the rest of the public. Punk records were also not played on mainstream labels.The punk rock era brought about a turning point for independent labels, the do-it-yourself ethos of the time seeing the emergence of a plethora of independent labels.

Sony BMG

Which subsidiary labels do Sony BMG own?
Sony is one of the four biggest music companies in the world. There subsidiary labels include:
Columbia Records/Epic Label Group, RED Distribution, RCA/Jive Label Group, Legacy Recordings, Provident Label Group and Syco Music

How are Sony vertically integrated?
Sony are vertically integrated as they own many different companies, thus widening the audience that listens to their music. They have rights to their artists music, so they'll sell their artists CD's and allow their audience to legally download their singles. They also produce electronics such as: MP3 players and through this audiences can listen to their artists music.


How do Sony profit from media convergence at the level of media product?
In 2003 Sony released a PSX, this was a PS2, but had the ability to write DVDs and a hard drive, allowing video recording and DVD burning functionality. It was to be a media convergence device to make use of the PlayStation brand to gain a place on a new market, however due to its high price it failed to gain any major market share. It was never released outside of Japan.

Rough in the 21st Century

How has Rough Trade evolved in the 21st century?
This record company evolved as they have entered into a partnership with Sanctuary and the Beggars group. Thus mean that they would gain financial stability worldwide. Also Rough Trade now has a bigger US presence.

How are their working practises different to the music produced through programmes such as X Factor?
They are different because they allow artists to stick to and sing the type of music they love, unlike programmes such as X Factor that direct individuals on what to sing and create mainstream music.

What successes have they had at this time?
At this time they have had successes from the likes of The Strokes and Duffy. The Strokes were the band that would 'kick start Rough Trade's future'. They became Rough Trades biggest band since The Smiths. Secondly Duffy, who Geoff and Jeanette had managed for four years. 'Mercy', Duffy's first single became no.1 on the U.K. charts.

How has Rough Trades ideology developed for the company in the present day?
They are progressing to find global stars. Also, things such as contracts have become more important for the label as they they do not want to repeat their previous mistakes of letting their artists leave their label easily, when they become well-known.

Rough Trade and the 1990's

What problems did Rough Trade incur at the start of the 1990's?
In July, 1990 Rough Trade moved to another premises due to the fact that their financial peak that was crashing to the ground. Further on, in December 1990 the company experienced cash flow problems yet again!

What effect did this have on the record label and distribution?
There was major arguments between the record label and distribution. This brought the company down and tore it apart.

How did major record labels branch out into the independent music scene?
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What actions were taken to revive Rough Trade? What new music industry areas did Rough Trade begin to work in and with which artists?
Geoff had a new partner name Jeanette, they both moved into an office in 1991; together they bought Rough Trade back to life. In addition to this, in 1993 there was new artist management.

They heard a clip from the band 'Pulp', they liked what they heard and they consequently signed them to their label. Pulp granted Rough Trade 5 consecutive top 10 singles, here a new level of mainstream success was shown.