Creativity:
After looking back at all the work I have completed for Unit 2, I think that I have been quite creative. But I definitely think that I have got more creative as the course went on and as I learnt new skills. E.g. using Final Cut, Photoshop etc. I have done lots of research into each topic we were doing e.g. making a music video, opening sequence, magazine etc. to make sure I got the results that I was wanting and had hoped for. I also brainstormed so I could build up ideas and then choose the one that I was most happy with.
Working Accurately:
When I am creating a new piece of work for Unit 2, I always make sure everything is made presentable. For my magazine I aligned the cover lines on my magazine to make it look neat and tidy. For all my pieces of work I have mostly used Photoshop, I ensure that all my photos are cropped neatly and are inline with all the other images. When I am writing a piece of text, (like this one), I re-read it to check that I have used punctuation, grammar, and to check that I have not spelled anything incorrectly. As having mistakes in your work looks scruffy and unprofessional. I also underline and bold important headings, so that people reading it can see that this is the main topic.
Saving/Storing Material:
On my work area I have saved all my documents and media pieces in a 'Media' folder, which is inside my 'mccg96' folder. I save it here as they are always saved in my area, as saving on your desktop is risky because the computer could break therefore losing your work. I have a number of different folders inside the Media so that I can easily find my work. E.g. I have a Magazine, Movie Poster, Music Videos, Music Video Textual Analysis, Video Screen Shots one etc. All my documents and folders are correctly named so that if I did lose something, I can quickly find it by going to Finder and typing in the name of it.
Use of Equipment
The equipment that was new to me was using a tripod when we were filming our opening sequences, and a scanner for when we had to scan our movie posters and magazines in. Also I had not used the programs Photoshop or Final Cut before. We use Photoshop to create all our pieces of work, and used Final Cut to create my opening sequence. We then upload these pieces of work to our blog on Blogger. But I can now set up a tripod, scan in work, and use Photoshop confidently. The equipment that I had used before was a camera, printer, apple mac, word, Blogger, Google Documents and YouTube. Although I have learnt new skills for using Blogger (uploading JPEGS) and an apple mac (all the shortcuts) which I did not know before.
Strongest Skills & Skills That Need Improvement
I think my strongest skill was when I began the course is using Blogger, a mac and using a camera. My skills with these programs have definitely improved as I can now work my way round a mac quickly as I have now learnt some short cuts e.g apple T = new tab, apple W = close tab, apple S = save, apple N = new window. I knew how to use Blogger but I have learnt how to select different layouts and backgrounds. I found using Final Cut for editing our opening sequences quite difficult as it was new to me at the start and it was hard to use. I do know some aspects of using Final Cut but I definitely think I could improve on my skills and that I could learn a great deal more. I think I am quite good at using Photoshop as I know how to use it but I think I could improve my skills further. I will improve my skills on Photoshop and Final Cut by looking at tutorials on YouTube on how to do different things. I could also ask other students and my teacher on things that I am stuck on and how to improve my pieces of work
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Research Report
1. Explain what you have been researching and for what reason?
2. What were the findings from the research?
I have learnt a range of skills from doing this project, by looking in depth at my artist to get the image right to go with the genre. I focused on the types of shots I wanted which ranged from Long shots, Mid shots and Far out ones. I chose a variety of shots so you can get a different view of Justin from different points. Using different shots also gets the viewer focusing on the artists image and how he is acting, which is important for this type of video. I chose a specific location (white, empty room) as I wanted the audiences main focus to be how he is illustrated. Justin's attitude is different in this video compared to his other videos. As he is acting romantic and lovable whereas in other videos he is acting cool and rebellious. I downloaded the lyrics to Justin's song to feature in my mood board. This gives the audience a feel of what the song is about even though there is no music. I dressed Justin in a casual yet smart dark suit. This appeals to the target audience which would be woman who are interested in Justin and his music. His performance is very much based on the narrative of the song. As well as singing the song in the music video, he acts out the lyrics in some parts of the song, to emphasis the meaning of the song.
3. How will these findings affect your idea?
After reading through my feedback from Milagro and Megan for my mood board. I decided that if I was to go back and change any part of it, I would include on the analysis page information about how I would edit the video afterwards, e.g. talk about effects, the cuts, images etc. Also I would add a warp effect to the writing so it fitted to the shape of the picture. When I was researching music video conventions I found that artists like Justin Timberlake are usually based in tropical, night life locations, are not found with instruments, usually found dancing with woman and featured with cars and money. Whereas I went for the opposite - white room, no props, no woman or cars. As I thought that the song would go better with this image rather then the stereotypical one. The feedback I got from Megan and Milegro; that my idea was original, the images fit in with the treatment and they both understood where the artist was heading.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Music Video Screen Shots
Rihanna, Ke$ha, Nicki Minaj + Will.i.am and Beyonce + Lady Gaga:
Kanye West Screen Shots
Kanye West Screen Shots:
I chose four different songs and videos by Kanye West, but they all have the same genre. All of the shots are always close up or full body of Kanye, to make sure you focus and look at the way he moves and looks. Each video has some similarities and differences. In each of his video he is seen to be just rapping his lyrics, looking cool whilst 'dancing'. (As there is no real dance routine there, he is just free styling), which is very typical for a rap artist. In nearly every one of his videos, it features him dancing with a girl e.g. Gold Digger, Good Life, American Boy. Kanye keeps his image the same throughout each of the videos aswell as some of the locations e.g. Good life is shot in a white room, so is American Boy and Love Lockdown. Although Homecoming is shot outside. In Homecoming he is doing his usual rapping and dancing but it hasn't got any attractive ladies dancing with him. Also it has a member of Coldplay playing the piano which is the first music instrument shown and played during one of his videos. The Homecoming video is probably the one that is the odd on out from all of his videos. There are lots of interesting shots in homecoming with him looking into a mirror, a shadow of coldplay playing the piano, the piano being played and other effects which can be seen in the pictures. American Boy features Estelle singing and then Kanye rapping. There are no props used in this video other than the couch that Estelle is seen sitting on at the beginning, Then it is just Estelle and Kanye dancing with each other or on their own. In good life Kanye and T-Pain act out the lyrics whilst animated objects flow round them as the song carries on, whilst dancing with an attractive woman. Finally, in Love Lockdown, Kanye is singing to himself in a white room. Also half way through the song african tribal dances come on and start dancing out rituals. For all the videos the editors have used quick, interesting shots with colourful effects to keep the audience watching, make the artist look good and to make the video/artist seem professional. Kanye wants his audience to think of him as this rebellious, 'do anything he likes' character which appeals to the rap style audience.
I chose four different songs and videos by Kanye West, but they all have the same genre. All of the shots are always close up or full body of Kanye, to make sure you focus and look at the way he moves and looks. Each video has some similarities and differences. In each of his video he is seen to be just rapping his lyrics, looking cool whilst 'dancing'. (As there is no real dance routine there, he is just free styling), which is very typical for a rap artist. In nearly every one of his videos, it features him dancing with a girl e.g. Gold Digger, Good Life, American Boy. Kanye keeps his image the same throughout each of the videos aswell as some of the locations e.g. Good life is shot in a white room, so is American Boy and Love Lockdown. Although Homecoming is shot outside. In Homecoming he is doing his usual rapping and dancing but it hasn't got any attractive ladies dancing with him. Also it has a member of Coldplay playing the piano which is the first music instrument shown and played during one of his videos. The Homecoming video is probably the one that is the odd on out from all of his videos. There are lots of interesting shots in homecoming with him looking into a mirror, a shadow of coldplay playing the piano, the piano being played and other effects which can be seen in the pictures. American Boy features Estelle singing and then Kanye rapping. There are no props used in this video other than the couch that Estelle is seen sitting on at the beginning, Then it is just Estelle and Kanye dancing with each other or on their own. In good life Kanye and T-Pain act out the lyrics whilst animated objects flow round them as the song carries on, whilst dancing with an attractive woman. Finally, in Love Lockdown, Kanye is singing to himself in a white room. Also half way through the song african tribal dances come on and start dancing out rituals. For all the videos the editors have used quick, interesting shots with colourful effects to keep the audience watching, make the artist look good and to make the video/artist seem professional. Kanye wants his audience to think of him as this rebellious, 'do anything he likes' character which appeals to the rap style audience.
Music Video Textual Analysis
Music Video Textual Analysis
By Georgia McCoy!
The video I am analysing is Kanye West - Good Life ft. T-Pain. It was directed by Jonas & Francois with animation by So-Me. The genre is Rap, RnB, hip-hop and electro hop. The characteristics of RnB and rap usually include sexy woman, money, fast cars, beaches, dance routine and a performance but without the instruments.
Throughout the whole of the video the lyrics have been illustrated with animated pictures coming up linking to the lyrics. E.g. “ popped the trunk, I popped the hood, Ferrari” it then shows an image of Kanye sitting on a Ferrari. “Watch the money pile up” it then shows Kanye singing these lyrics next to a stack of money.
Not only does the video cut to the beat but the animates objects come up to the beat as the artist is singing about them. There aren’t any musical instruments in this video as the main focus in on the singers – Kanye and T-Pain. Also there are not any solo instrumentals as both artists take turns in rapping, which takes up the video. The video definitely changes to the pace of the music. Because as the pace builds up Kanye starts moving faster – e.g. as he is saying ‘ay ay ay’ he moves the picture frame back and forth, from him to T-Pain.
The record company tries to sell this track by making the artists look cool, rebellious and rich. The director is trying to get across that all the contents of this video are considered the best life – ‘the good life’. E.g. fast cars, sexy woman, money, beach parties etc. All videos of Kanye West always feature him acting cool and dancing with woman. I know this as I have compared ‘good life’ and ‘gold digger’. Gold Digger features even more semi-naked woman looking provocative whilst Kanye and Jamie Fox rap and dance around.
I don’t really think that Kanye or T-pain is used in a sexual display. I think that it is more the woman that is shown in sexual display, as she is in a very tight, fitting swimsuit type dress, which is very revealing. The camera takes close up shots of the woman, waist up-wards because she is in a low cut, short dress. The woman also dances next to Kanye, which can be seen to be sexual. There are lots of different shots including, far out ones, full body, and close up. Also he uses various references to ‘looking’ as he holds up a picture frame with him in it, he is pictured onto a TV and he sings straight into the camera with eye contact. These features may have been chosen as they are interesting to look at and appeal to the audience.
This music video is very similar to his others as most of his videos contain sexy woman and Kanye ‘dancing’. In part of the video it features a reference to Michael Jackson, because in the lights behind Kanye there is a silhouette of Michael doing his signature dance moves. There is a slight bit of advertising as Kanye holds up his album cover, which is a bear wearing shutter shades. It also makes brief reference to the film Godzilla, as there is building with a dinosaur and a gorilla standing next to them. Another film it mentions is ‘Snakes on a plane’ as it says ‘she said I never seen snakes on a plane’. Lastly, there is a lot of famous places mentioned in the song e.g. L.A., Miami, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York and Chicago. To make Kanye look laidback and rebellious he is reading a rude, ‘censored’ magazine whilst his girlfriend walks up to him. His reaction is “she got the goods, and she got that a** I got to look, sorry” whilst the letters ‘WTF???’ come up alongside his annoyed girlfriend. All these references are used to make Kanye and T-pain look good, cool, rich and rebellious, which appeals to the target audience.
This music video isn’t really narrative based, as it hasn’t got a story within the lyrics. The music video is a lot more performance based as a lot of work has been put in to get the graphics and animations looking good whilst Kanye, and T-pain dance around. This is a concept based video as it has animated words in highlighting the lyrics aswell as the artists singing to it.
This purpose of this video is to make T-Pain and Kanye look cool, rebellious and rich whilst they rap to the song. The video goes with the lyrics and the title as it is portraying the ‘good life’, as it features fast cars, sexy woman, tropical places and lots of cash. The target audience is teenagers to adults who like rap music/ music by Kanye West. I think this is a really good music video as it is interesting to watch and it for fills its purpose.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
REMIX Magazine Proposal
Georgia McCoy 10.3
Room 24
Thomas Adams School
Lowe Hill Road
Wem
Shropshire SY2 5UB
01939 237 000
http://georgiamediaunit2.blogspot.com
Magazine Proposal for ‘REMIX’ Magazine
People will want to read my magazine because it offers the latest gossip about all your favourite artists and bands. My magazine has all the latest chart toppers and will always be up to date as a new issue is released every week. Free gifts and competitions are in REMIX magazine featuring some amazing prizes e.g. Headphones, walkmans, albums, posters, concert tickets etc. The magazines which are in close competition are Vibe. REMIX is different to Vibe as it features gossip about music stars, the latest tracks, dates of popular concerts and tours, free gifts, competitions, chances to meet artists etc. My REMIX magazine contains a lot more than the vibe magazine.
The name of my magazine is REMIX. I have chosen the name as it goes with the music theme, which is RnB, Hip Hop, Rap and Pop. The word remix gives off a funky and up to date feeling which appeals to the audience as they want to read something cool. The mood I am trying to get across to the audience is a laidback one. The typeface that I would want is a bold and big font which captures the audiences eye when it is sitting in a magazine rack. The main image on my magazine is Rihanna. I have chosen Rihanna as she is one of the biggest R&B/Pop stars at the moment so people would enjoy reading the latest gossip about her. The audience may look up to her as an idol so this also makes them want to buy the magazine. The lighting is bright and sharp so you can see Rihanna clearly. The camera angle is quite close so the picture of Rihanna fills most of the magazine. The picture has been taken so she is facing the camera making eye contact, this makes her look tall and powerful. Making eye contact on the front of a magazine is important as it is like the model is looking directly at you, which draws the audience in. One of the coverlines that i am using is THE REAL RIHANNA “Who i think is hot!” I have used this coverline as Rihannas fans will want to know who she is interested in. Another coverline i have used is ‘Beyonce & Blue! The first ever interview!’ the audience would want to read about this as it feautures all the gossip about Beyonce and her new baby! Another coverline that i have used is ‘ Rihannas 25 greatest songs!’ I have used this as people who like Rihannas music will want to see her best songs. The purpose in coverlines is to give the readers a quick insight to what some of the content is. As coverlines show the titles of the content inside the magazine. When the magazine is in a shop, and you are looking for a music magazine, this one will stand out as it has all of the music gossip and stories that the audience will be interested in. I will put effects on the text to make the front of the magazine look good and colourful! The layout of my magazine will not be too crowded but neither sparse. I have chosen it to be like this as if it is too crowded then the front of the magazine looks messy but if too sparse then it looks disinteresting. So i have opted for a balance between both! on the front of the magazine Rihanna would be dressed in a type of black suit. The typeface is a big, black and bold sans serif display type, as I am trying to get across the feeling of confidence and to make the text look loud but cool.
My target audience is people who are interested in R&B, Hip Hop, Rap and Pop music. I am attracting them by including interesting music gossip, stories, concerts, songs, etc. On famous artists and bands from around the world.
Room 24
Thomas Adams School
Lowe Hill Road
Wem
Shropshire SY2 5UB
01939 237 000
http://georgiamediaunit2.blogspot.com
Magazine Proposal for ‘REMIX’ Magazine
People will want to read my magazine because it offers the latest gossip about all your favourite artists and bands. My magazine has all the latest chart toppers and will always be up to date as a new issue is released every week. Free gifts and competitions are in REMIX magazine featuring some amazing prizes e.g. Headphones, walkmans, albums, posters, concert tickets etc. The magazines which are in close competition are Vibe. REMIX is different to Vibe as it features gossip about music stars, the latest tracks, dates of popular concerts and tours, free gifts, competitions, chances to meet artists etc. My REMIX magazine contains a lot more than the vibe magazine.
The name of my magazine is REMIX. I have chosen the name as it goes with the music theme, which is RnB, Hip Hop, Rap and Pop. The word remix gives off a funky and up to date feeling which appeals to the audience as they want to read something cool. The mood I am trying to get across to the audience is a laidback one. The typeface that I would want is a bold and big font which captures the audiences eye when it is sitting in a magazine rack. The main image on my magazine is Rihanna. I have chosen Rihanna as she is one of the biggest R&B/Pop stars at the moment so people would enjoy reading the latest gossip about her. The audience may look up to her as an idol so this also makes them want to buy the magazine. The lighting is bright and sharp so you can see Rihanna clearly. The camera angle is quite close so the picture of Rihanna fills most of the magazine. The picture has been taken so she is facing the camera making eye contact, this makes her look tall and powerful. Making eye contact on the front of a magazine is important as it is like the model is looking directly at you, which draws the audience in. One of the coverlines that i am using is THE REAL RIHANNA “Who i think is hot!” I have used this coverline as Rihannas fans will want to know who she is interested in. Another coverline i have used is ‘Beyonce & Blue! The first ever interview!’ the audience would want to read about this as it feautures all the gossip about Beyonce and her new baby! Another coverline that i have used is ‘ Rihannas 25 greatest songs!’ I have used this as people who like Rihannas music will want to see her best songs. The purpose in coverlines is to give the readers a quick insight to what some of the content is. As coverlines show the titles of the content inside the magazine. When the magazine is in a shop, and you are looking for a music magazine, this one will stand out as it has all of the music gossip and stories that the audience will be interested in. I will put effects on the text to make the front of the magazine look good and colourful! The layout of my magazine will not be too crowded but neither sparse. I have chosen it to be like this as if it is too crowded then the front of the magazine looks messy but if too sparse then it looks disinteresting. So i have opted for a balance between both! on the front of the magazine Rihanna would be dressed in a type of black suit. The typeface is a big, black and bold sans serif display type, as I am trying to get across the feeling of confidence and to make the text look loud but cool.
My target audience is people who are interested in R&B, Hip Hop, Rap and Pop music. I am attracting them by including interesting music gossip, stories, concerts, songs, etc. On famous artists and bands from around the world.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
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