Evaluation Task 1: What are Conventions?

Conventions are the familiar and predictable forms and techniques used by the media to communicate certain ideas or to convey a desired impression.

There are many forms of codes, often coupled with the term of conventions, such as technical, symbolic and written codes, when shared operate by means of conventions.

Conventions are often hidden or unspoken rules that we, as an audience, learn to accept and recognise.

Conventions can eventually become so familiar that they appear to be the only ‘natural’ way of doing or understanding something.

Conventions can be used, supported or reiterated. But groups can appear different and controversial by challenging the established ways most commonly by deliberately breaking or subverting conventions.

Codes and conventions can be applied to different media concepts such as narrative, genre or realist codes.

 

Examples of conventions within the media industry are as follows:

·         Introduction and Finalisation - TV programmes and films have lengthy introductory and closing credit sequences.

·         Time - Sitcoms and soap operas are roughly half-hour shows.

·         Layout/Format - Magazines and newspapers come in a limited range of formats with recognisable, repeated layout features.

·         Symbolic codes - Film and TV genre products are governed by certain predictable narrative features, dress codes (Western/War films), lighting effects (Film Noir), special fx and explosions (Sci-fi and Action).

·         Modes of presentation –news broadcasts are usually conducted by a middle aged, serious, upper middle class person in a suit, usually seated behind a desk and reading off an autocue.

Evaluation of Music Video Shoot Day

In order to set up for our group’s shoot day we chose our cast member for the narrative strands, our settings which would then shoot at on the day as well as our props and costumes for the actors. Because our group were not going to shoot in the studio we consequently did not have to set up any staging, backdrops or equipment in order to prepare for our shoot day, as other groups had to because of their studio based shoot day. This was therefore a benefit in some ways due to the fact that we did not have to set up the afternoon before, however, it was also a disadvantage because of the fact that we did not know what the shooting conditions would be like on the day of our shoot as well as what the circumstances of the weather as well as public access would be for some of our desired locations. Since our group planned for our video to incorporate narrative strands of certain activities on rooftops we had to decide on our cast members very carefully. We chose one of the girls, Philippa, to be in a bikini in our music video on the rooftop sunbathing. This would therefore attract the male gaze and target audience to our video, widening the range of our viewers. However, the problem with this is that we are shooting at the end of November, which is a particularly cold month this year and could present problems for her, therefore we may have to improvise with another sixties outfit on the day if it is too cold. We chose our other girl, Bo, because she studies drama at school and would therefore be able to act a realistic and believable role in the music video of a 60s woman putting up washing on a line. Our last girl, Jemma, was also chosen to add an ethnic and cultural sense to the video and to widen our range of viewers and target audience. Our female cast members are all good looking girls and would therefore attract a heightened number of males for the target audience. Our final cast member of a drummer boy, Dillan, is an actual musician and producer and is therefore in the know about music and can therefore realistically be seen to play a drummer in a drummer boy’s outfit on the day of the shoot day, however, other commitments arose and he was unable to make it on the shoot day. When preparing props for the day our group searched eBay and Amazon websites for cheap and suitable props and costumes of a 60s style that were needed, primarily for the narrative strands. There were only a couple of props we actually bought ourselves as many of the props were everyday objects that we had at home ourselves therefore this did not present any problems to us as a group. The matter of selecting 60s costumes required more time and effort however due to the fact that each cast member was a different size and I had previously specified the actresses different outfits from the 60s as to not be a predictable stereotype of the era. Therefore with the help of eBay and Amazon we were able to select our costumes with ease. When it came to choosing locations for the shoot day to film at, we each carried out our own research and formed a list of prospective locations. We chose, as a group, in terms of what would benefit and complement the urban yet 60s vibe of the music video. Therefore our preparations for our shoot day were to choose the cast members, their outfits and props as well as the locations we would film at, which was all completed successfully.

On the morning of the shoot day I felt confident for the day ahead as well as at ease with our plans and preparations for our music video. Since our preparations for our narrative strands were not in fact needed on the day, I felt much more at ease due to the fact we did not need all our extra actresses and their costumes and props. However, since we decided to change our narrative on the day to Rosie starting off in the town, filmed to be shopping, and gradually moving towards the Brighton coast at the end of the day, provided our group with a vague narrative. Therefore, it was hard to know how we would film Rosie until we actually got to the locations and decided on the most suitable shots to use.
Our shoot day was not a matter of being prepared as we simply had to turn up at the planned location in Brighton and begin to shoot Rosie, lip-syncing and posing for the camera. The fact that we had neglected our plan to shoot the narrative strands on the rooftop meant that we did not have as much to bring and prepare for Brighton. However, before we decided to reject this narrative idea of the different actresses on the rooftop, we were very organised with the choice of our props and costumes. When we arrived in Brighton, because we were solely focusing on the subject of Rosie, we therefore just got stuck in to filming her walking around Brighton.

Our group did not shoot in the studio, we shot in and around Brighton. We were particularly impressed with the location of the Prince Albert Pub. When we arrived at this location we found that the shoot day really came to life. We all loved the Banksy style art on the walls of the pub and it really seemed to fit and emphasise our desired 60s style for the video. The fact that Dusty, one of Rosie May’s idols, was on the exterior wall of the pub was perfect to be included in Rosie’s music video as this incorporated some of Rosie’s personal likes and interests, giving the audience a hint of her music taste. The other location we used that really impressed me, and the rest of the group, was the last location at the end of the day on the Brighton coast line with the background of the Brighton pier and eye as we caught the sun going down. The location set an atmospheric finale to the music video as it really encapsulated the mood of the song. Also as she includes a lot of language about light the incorporation of the sunset at the end was very apt for the finale of the music video. As the day ended so does our music video.

Our group divided our roles on the shoot day equally. For the entirety of the day I was the photographer, documenting the process of the music video and attempting to capture the album cover for her digipak as well as the photos to be shown in the leaflet inside. I also filmed a few close up shots as well as mid shots on the terrace of a restaurant in Brighton within the town. I also acted as an assistant, holding up the reflector to Rosie in the darker scenes by the Brighton pier. Nick, our other group member, spent the majority of the day shooting wide shots and establishing shots of the settings we used around Brighton. Georgie, the last group member, took it upon herself to manage the play back music and continuity in each shot.

I personally feel as though I worked particularly well on the photography of the shoot day. I photographed our processes and efforts on the shoot day to get certain shots in certain locations achieved, as well as photographing the star of the shoot, Rosie May, in her element, lip-syncing the words to ‘Morning Blues’. Consequentially this will benefit us when we come to make our album cover as we can definitely use my images I shot on the shoot day for the four-sided album cover and inclusion of images inside the inner leaflet. I also acted as a runner on the shoot day, helping to carry around certain parts of technical equipment such as the tripods and cameras as well as Rosie’s possessions of makeup and clothing whilst she was on camera. When I had a chance to be the cameraman I also felt as though I achieved the extreme close up shot of Rosie on the rooftop in Brighton particularly well. I thought to set up an additional mid close up shot on the second camera we had with us for the day in order to simultaneously capture the lip-sync and offer variety in the way of shots in the final cut when editing.

The main problems our group experienced was as a result of locations. When outside the pub, against the wall of art and graffiti, we had some issues with cars as Rosie was one side of the road and the camera crew were the other side with a frequently used road in between. However, we solved this by a member of the group volunteering to stand around the corner of the pub calling out when the next car was coming so Rosie and the film crew could prepare themselves for its arrival. Our next problem consisted of location accessibility. Our group wanted to shoot on certain locations such as a dinner near the pub which we very successfully shot outside of, however, this was not permitted by the owners as it was private property and restricted from everyone else in the way of filming also. The other location problem our group faced was the fact that the old Greek church our group researched was unfortunately unobtainable as it had been shut and restricted from public access for the day, chained up outside at the gates. The last location, which we had a problem with, was a fairly sparse urban area of white columns and pillars amongst greenery in the park we had listed on our location list. However, this area was next door to a nursery, which was just finishing for the day. Therefore, children and parents were crowding the area, warning us off filming because they did not want their children caught on film. Consequently, with all of these locations, we made to simply push on with our next location on the list as we had no time to waste and the light was fading fast which meant we had to be down by the pier to capture our desired and prioritised sunset shots for the grand finale of the music video. The problem we experienced with the sunset shots was that the sun was in fact fading too fast, despite our missed locations, we captured a couple of shots of Rosie lip-syncing in front of Brighton pier and the setting sun, however, we were cut short and were successful in reverting to use the reflector to grab the last remains of the sun’s golden light as possible, but this did not last for long and we were forced to pack up the equipment and end.

I feel as though the most successful parts of the shoot day was the wall of art location and the Brighton pier location in front of the sunset. Additionally, the shots of Rosie May amongst the crowd in Brighton allowed the viewers were able to see a different style and technique of filming, compared to the remainder of our video. With these different location shots I feel as though the sense of journeying is successfully captured in the music video. However, I wish we had been more efficient earlier on so we could have then accessed and filmed at the different locations we missed for certain reasons. Also I wish we had filmed many more general shots of the atmosphere of the city as well as the lifestyle of the residents of Brighton as we only captured a couple of shots and noticed this when we were editing. Therefore we could have definitely benefitted from more shots of the general area as we were running out of shots towards the end of the rough cut when editing.

I was a key member in attending to her needs and making sure she was satisfied. On the way to Brighton on the shoot day I was the member of the group to be in touch with her, agreeing a meeting place and time in order to be organised and as efficient as possible. I offered and helped to carry her possessions as well as informing her of what was to be filmed when and where.

I enjoyed the market location of the shoot in the lanes of Brighton. This was something that I had never experienced before in that we were filming amongst crowds of other people who were not aware of the music video we were aiming to shoot. The super eight style of filming possesses an inaccurate style of filming in that it is incredibly quick and simply prioritises the filming of subjects, being the main area of importance to viewers. Therefore with our use of super eight filming we simply chose to capture shots of Rosie walking amongst the crowds. We would often start off shooting a sign on a building or a part of the setting and then pan the camera’s viewfinder over to where Rosie would be situated. Another example of our super eight techniques would be when we were shooting Rosie inside of the vintage store; we focused on a clothes rail and panned over to Rosie coming in through the door. Next we captured short shots of Rosie looking through the rails and then another shot of her picking something up off the rails and admiring it. We were also anxious to include shots of Rosie replacing the clothes on the rails, as we particularly didn’t want it to seem like Rosie was out on a shopping spree. Therefore we achieved all these shots by the camera following her everywhere she went in the market. The sunset shots were also enjoyable to shoot as the lighting and setting was so beautiful. I believe we managed to get our best shots of the day down on Brighton promenade, as these were the most visually aesthetically pleasing and rewarding part of the shoot.
I am particularly looking forward to seeing the sunset shots from the end of the shoot day in the edit. I felt as though these shots were most aesthetically pleasing. Also the super eight style footage we filmed on the day in the market area was particularly well executed with a handheld camera technique and therefore it would be interesting to see what it will look when it is edited together. Potentially it will make for an effective contrast between the still and precisely composed sunset shot and roughly, quickly and edgily filmed market shots. I feel as though these different filming techniques, which will be shown, will emphasise the key action of journeying in the music video.

I feel our group worked very well as a production team. Through out the whole of the music video process I believe that our group worked well together considering how much we had to do in such little time. Although we had so many different ideas for the video and it took a while for our final idea to be passed we were consistent in our ideas, recovering from each rejection and working hard and efficiently at a new idea. On the shoot day we all had our designated positions in the team on the shoot day and organised points at which to rotate positions so we all had a chance to experience each role of cameraman, director, music operator and runner.

I have learnt some valuable lessons today that can definitely benefit my media work on shoots in the future. For example, since we knew that we were going out in Brighton for the day and would inevitably be walking around the city we decided to only bring two small easily portable cameras, being the Sony NX5 models, rather than the professional FS100. This was a very good idea and the lesson I will remember for future shoots is to always think about the amount of equipment you are bringing on a shoot and whether it is physically possible to manoeuvre in your circumstances. Another lesson that I learnt on the day is to be overly prepared. The mistake our group made was to not ring up the various locations we were planning to film at in order to check their availability and accessibility. Our group missed out on a lot of necessary filming opportunities, which would have made for some very successful shots. Another lesson that I can safely say our whole group learnt is not to overthink music video ideas. You should always start off with a simple thesis and then build on it. Our group’s problem was that we started off with too much of a complex idea and ended up getting endlessly rejected. However, when we utterly simplified our idea it was instantly accepted. Therefore, knowing this will save me a lot of time in my future shooting endeavours. The next lesson I learnt is to bring a reflector on every shoot I do. As the reflector bounces light off from the sun onto the subject the tool was incredibly helpful through out the shoot to provide Rosie with a warm, complementing complexion. At the end of the shoot it provided our group with a few more essential shots in front of the pier and therefore served as a vital piece of equipment.

I don’t think there are any changes to be made to the website or artwork as our group perfectly constructed and replicated Rosie May’s vintage and classy 60s style with an urban edge as her unique star image for all of the products we created for her, being the music video, website and digipak. The music video starts with a super eight style image of a concrete tower block and shows Rosie to be situated amongst a concrete jungle of modern architectural features of Brighton. The video goes onto depict Rosie journeying through the city, enabling some viewers to recall the prior renowned music scene of Brighton belonging to mods and rockers and openly illustrating its general alternative atmosphere in the market scene. The finale of the video provides the video with a climax and last burst of colour as the journey ends in front of the setting sun of Brighton pier. Therefore this feature matches our group’s efforts on the website and artwork as the website’s opening home page displays an image of Rosie stood against a wall on a pavement, which suggests the familiar urban sense felt in the music video. The image then continues to serve as a background to the whole of the website reminding the visitors of her individual star image. I have incorporated a gallery section within the website which also shows images I have taken on the shoot therefore this links back to the music video constantly. Additionally the artwork I have created entirely fits with the music video and website due to its colourful, urban and classy nature. The images are of Rosie stood in front of the wall of art of the pub in Brighton on the shoot day therefore the album cover images tie in perfectly with the video.

Evaluation of Editing Our Rough Cut Music Video

Since this was my group's first attempt at a cut of our music video we were new with the process of cutting a music video. However, we were not beginners with the editing software we used to create the video, Final Cut Pro, as we used the software to edit our thrillers in our AS year.

The way in which we started to work was by reviewing all of our footage that we shot on the shoot day and then commenced with separating the potentially usable shots and unwanted shots into separate bins.

As we were not sure of whether our final product would completely evolve into another product we were not expecting at the start we did not want to dismiss too many shots that we were not primarily happy with as we could possibly make something of the shot, especially as we wanted to employ the style of discontinuity editing, therefore, many parts of shots could be used to create a fast paced, erratic music video. Consequently our group decided to only reject the shots that we knew we certainly would not use in any way, for example if the framing of our artist, Rosie May, was completely off, disobeying the rule of thirds in a shot when we were intending to create this effect, or the camera was unbalanced, because of a lack of prior bubbling when preparing. Another problem with any shot that we primarily decided would inevitably lead to rejection would be that of over or under exposure. At first we thought this would mean immediate discarding of the shot until we experimented with an overexposed shot by including it in the rough-cut sequence. It looked surprisingly effective and projected an alternative vibe that my group were trying to achieve in her star image.

Once our group had reviewed and organised, either accepting or dismissing, shots we had to complete the next step of creating a base for our music video. This was done by laying our shots out onto a timeline on Final Cut Pro, therefore resulting in multiple layers of clips on the timeline to work with. Once we had the shots laid out on the timeline we then started to edit the shot lengths of each piece of footage creating the base and structure of our music video as this would act as a way of interweaving different shots among one another, maintaining concentration and interest from the audience. Editing required our group to order the shots in terms of each section of our performance, enabling us to introduce and create the theme and idea of journeying into our music video.

We cut the transitions of the song to the beat of the song in order for the viewers to feel comfortable whilst watching the video. Also the way in which transitions of a music video are matched to the beat of the song is a typical convention of most music videos promoted and exhibited within the music industry today.

Our group made a decision to engage in both of the styles of continuity and discontinuity whilst editing our video. This means that our video will conform to continuity by displaying the artist’s journey through Brighton in a day, however, the discontinuity will be visible in the style and cut of the shots, being fast and erratic, as well as the inclusion of the repetition technique as multiple shots will be repeated through out the song, due to the verse chorus verse musical format. Therefore, our group will strive to gain and maintain the audience’s attention and interest from the start, being sustained to the end.

Thrift Shopping

Ever since Macklemore released the song 'Thrift Shop' there has been a complete surge in the trends of shopping in unique and second hand/charity shops. We decided to incorporate this new trend in the video as it is showing that Rosie is part of this new phase. Although this video was uploaded a year ago, from the #trends on twitter we can see that #thriftshopping is still a craze and an iconic activity.

Although in our video we show a deeper meaning to her shopping, that Rosie cannot fill a hole that her love has left with her, yet it also shows iconic shops that are the attraction to many visits to Brighton. 

By also including the aspect of thrift shopping it also shows that Rosie is a down to earth and normal 'girl next door' artist, who is just the same as her fans, which could also be similar to the image that Lorde has created with 'Royals'. 

By making the craze thrift shopping it gives Rosie a good link to a level headed artist like Macklemore who is seen to be respected in the industry, as well as showing support for causes such as gay rights with his song 'Same Love'. This makes Rosie support and show iconography with an idol of music. Where as if we would have used something like 'twerking' this could have been a negative link to the artist Miley Cyrus who has been getting bad press in the music industry for pulling stunts like smoking weed on stage. This would not have been a good thing to link with Rosie as Rosie, like Macklemore is a respected and level headed artist.



MACKLEMORE

ROSIE MAY

 

Photo Shoots of Rosie May

 

 

 

Album Covers

Our group had planned our album cover, front and back, to be made up of images of Rosie May standing on Brighton promenade in front of the sea and the Brighton pier and eye. Therefore I edited the images that I took on the shoot day that were adequate for the album. I then used Photoshop in order to alter the colour temperature of the images as well as adjusting the colour of the sky with the brush tool, enhancing the blue hue of the sky. I then experimented with the text fonts, position and size on the album cover in order to introduce Rosie May to the public on the front of her album in the best way possible.

 

 

Our Shoot Day

We spent the whole day in Brighton shooting Rosie at different locations and lip syncing. There were a few changes to our schedule because of the unpredictability of the day. First we shot her against the panorama of the city because we have tried to portray her as an urban artist. Then we decided to film her against the pub, opposite, with a large amount of art on the walls of musical stars she looks up to, therefore meaning something to her and worthy of being in her video. This was my favourite location to shoot at. We had her walking towards us across the street and singing into the camera. This was done to emphasise the fact that she is a single artist and this video is directed entirely at her in order to attract the audience and make her star image memorable.
  We then filmed her as she walked down the streets and also her entering different shops and looks at different 'Brighton products' (e.g. punk jackets, Steel boots). This was done in order to concentrate on her background and present her as an English artist. This will help us attract a certain audience of girls 13-21 who are from UK or even specifically in Brighton. Also, the fact that she is walking around, suggests that she is not an untouchable artist, she is down to earth and able to live a normal life which may appeal to the audience who may be looking for a genuine, organic singer.
  At the end of the shoot day, we filmed her against the view of the sunset and Brighton pier, whilst I additionally photographed her for our album cover and website. The warm colours of the shot and the beach portrayed her sexuality and her beauty. We were able to capture effective close-ups of her eyes and lips as she was singing meaning that we can heighten the intimacy of her song so that male audiences will be interested. We decided to have few shots of her against the sun and we used two cameras simultaneously. This enabled us to grab her performance element from different angles and portray her as a mature star. The audience would see her as a courageous and mature songwriter which links with the stars we were mostly influenced by (Lana Del Rey). The fact that we were shooting around the panorama of Brighton and had her walking around town looking at many different objects to purchase (which are symbolic of this city), we were able to convey the fact that she is an organic star because of her close contact with people and the way she is mixed up in a crowd. This would make audiences believe that she is just the same like everybody else.
 We enjoyed walking around and getting different shots in Brighton. We could sense the spirit of this city and we thought that it was perfect for Rosie to be in Brighton and not in London. However, because we decided to cut out the narrative strands, we had to compromise and get many different shots of the market and Rosie walking around. This will enable us to grab audiences attention and keep them interested for the whole length of the video. Another element which we really enjoyed was the fact that we had Rosie amongst other people that made things enjoyable and interesting. Because we had a real artist and we had to film on a real outdoor location, we learnt a lot of things about how we must plan our shots beforehand in more depth and expect the unexpected. Overall, I believe that our music shoot day had been successful and we have managed to grab many shots that would keep our audience interested and our artist satisfied. Now for the editing...