Photos Of The Band

These are 2 of the same photo, however I put a filter over both of them to see what different look I would get. This is taken from a screenshot of a video from a camera I set up to record our band playing at the waterfront. I just wanted to work out possible compositions of the band, which I could use in my music video, I want our positions on stage to match the order in the shots taken by the band. Cam (Drummer) Will be in a different place, he will probably be on the left or right. I also wanted to experiment o the filters I could use, I think the black and white theme look quite nice, as I think it suits the look, of most bands in the same genre as us.
Reflective Comment

I will use this in my Digipak on one of the panels as I think it will give a more realistic look. And I think it would look nice with photos including the band, as we are promoting ourselves and we want to show ourselves of as a band. 

Camera I Will Be Using

Canon 700D
I have contacted my cousin, as she is a photographer, if she knows any good cameras I could use for my music video. In the end she offer her camera, which is brilliant, as the photos I've seen her take are brilliant quality and would be great for recording the shots.

I will be using this to film during the christmas break, we have got 3 weeks off. So I should be able to get a good bit of filming, I want to get the filming done as quickly as possible, so it would leave me a lot of time to edit, as that is what I am going to struggle with the most.

Reflective Comment

I am very happy that my cousin lent me her camera, as I have seen videos she has taken before, and they are really good quality. She's got a break from University, so she is letting me borrow it then, as that would work better for her and me. So I need to get the filming done then, but 3 weeks should be enough to record, we Just need to put a lot of time into it.

Actor For Male Character In Narrative

Harry Colgan

 

This is Harry Colgan. He will be the male character in out narrative part of the music video. I thought he would be good for the role, as he likes our type of music, he dresses like how we want the character to look, and he is a really good actor. Harry will be ideal for the role, he won't have to say anything, he will just have to show emotions. 

Reflective Comment

I have been talking to Harry about this role and he is really up for it, and is really happy to help out. Harry was and obvious choice for me, as he is one of my closest friends and is a really good actor.

Gender Stereotypes

Reflective Comment
This post has helped me find out about the different gender stereotypes for both males and females. I now know about how my characters break conventions of genders.

Semiotics (EP Cover + Music Video)

Reflective Comment
This has given me knowledge on what objects symbolise. How including these items in my music video and EP cover, what sort of feeling will it create.

Indie Rock Music Video Conventions

Reflective Comment
This post has helped my find the typical features of a Indie Rock Music Video, to either stick with and use some of these typical conventions in my music video or 'bend' them to create a slightly different look.

Update 18/11/16 EP "Pieces" Released

Today was the day which our Debut EP "Pieces" was released, which means I have a bit more flexibility with releasing the songs and including the audio of the song "Pieces". I have no uploaded the animatic for "Pieces" which will be used to get a rough idea of the shots used and how they link with video itself. We wanted the title of the EP to be the music video we are going to create, as it is meant to be a trailer for the EP, so I think that if we use this song it will promote the EP well cause it will be the actual song.
Reflective Comment
Even though we've has now released the EP, we will still, use the music video we are making for this song, to promote the EP, even if its going to be done around December / January time.

Animatic: Pieces (With Audio)

This the animatic for "Pieces" with the audio included. You can now properly see how, everything will be edited, I will still have some flexibility with the editing process, and the order of shots. I am still looking up editing techniques. Within the next week or 2, we will be recording some test footage of the band playing the song in the location we want, I probably won't get the right set up, with the black background, But will use different cameras, to see which one gets the best look and position the band in the correct place.
Reflective Comment
This is the first release of the song "Pieces". So I can now include the audio for the song on my media blog, and not having take it out whenever is post anything that is meant to include it. This is the final version of the song, I think it suits the indie/alternative rock genre, so that's what sort stylised look we are going to go for when producing the music video.

EP Promotion

This was tweeted by THE MEEKS official twitter,It is to let the audience know when and where it will be released. The date in which the EP will be released is the 18/11/16. And this means that I will be able to release the animatic with the audio from a previous post.
Reflective Comment
Now that, the song will be release, I am now able to complete, some of the things I needed to do. Also the EP cover design has been created by one of our friends, who is really good at art, so as a group, we think that because we want it to look good, so I will use my EP cover design for everything I do for my media product.

Update With Location For Shots of Band Performing

So I have had a talk with Jack (Lead Singer and Rhythm), about a location we could use for the music video. And he says would could possible use Earth Studios which is where his Dad works, so we can see if we are allowed to put a sheet of some sort to hide the things on the walls. Also, we are going to have to see if we can fit all of the band in, from a wide shot. so during the week, we will record ourselves playing/miming to the track.
Reflective Comment
So Earth Studios will be our location for the shots with the band, we can add things on the walls and take some stuff out of the rooms to get close the look that I want.

Possible Locations For Shots of Band Performing

Earth Studios

Website:http://www.earthstudios.co.uk/

Location:Unit 9 Caston Ind Est, Salhouse Road, Norwich, Norfolk. NR7 9AQ

We always go here for rehearsals, and we are kinda of used to being in the rooms. We also get to use the rooms for free as one of our band member's dad owns the studio, and we would have a bit more control and flexibility on what we could do in the rehearsal rooms. As for looks, the color doesn't quite suit the look that I want as it is very green and I would prefer more blue colors. Even though, it can fit the whole band in I don't know if it would have enough room to actually record the band as a whole.

Epic Studios

Website:http://www.epic-tv.com/studios/studio-2/

Location:112-114 Magdalen St, Norwich, Norfolk. NR3 1JD
Recording here would be nice however it is very expensive and they record everything for you, and the whole project is to be done by yourself. If there's any way we could solve these problems, I think it would a good place to record as it would have the exact look we wanted, created quite easily. I have never been here before so I don't know exactly how it would look, so I don't really want to take my chances.
Reflective Comment
From the looks of it the first location seems like the ideal place to record, as I have to put perspective on how much things will cost and even, it will be difficult to get the right look, I think that Earth Studios, will be the best location, based on money and what we will be able to film there. I looked at other rehearsal studios, cause I couldn't find a plain-ish room where noise cancelling wouldn't be a problem. 

EP Cover (Developed)

I have developed my EP cover idea, by editing the EP Cover on a piece of software called 2D Design. I thought this was very helpful as I could edit the design easier as I wouldn't have to redo everything over and over again. I have changed the colours of the design so it is just black and white, I didn't really like the old EP cover, as the colours contrasted a lot with the red and purple, and then you could really see the text.

Reflective Comment
I think there are still things that need changing for example the lines where the puzzle pieces are, make it it kind of hard to see the image on the EP cover, so why I could do is get rid of the extra puzzle pieces and keep the black pieces, which are missing. I think this will look better as, at the moment it looks quite cluttered.

Props (What We Need & What We Have)

Reflective Comment
In this post I looked at the props that I need to get and a what I already have. I found this post quite helpful, as it allowed me to take control of all the things I need in the music video and take along with us when recording.

EP Cover (Rough Sketch)

This is a very rough version of the EP cover, I just wanted to get a rough look of the idea I had. We had a little discussion on how we want it to look, and as the EP is called 'Pieces' we thought we could have the cover in the style of a puzzle. There are 5 pieces missing (6 if you count, where the band logo will be). One of the things, I think will say which I don't like is the colours of the EP, I'm not too keen on the Red and Blue colours, I think what I will do is have the colours Black and White instead. The objects in the design link to lyrics in the songs (Like the Birdcage and the 2 Chairs) I like this idea as it shows people, kind of what's in the EP before they actually listen to it.
Reflective Comment
I think I will develop this idea, as I think it represents the EP quite well, I've shown it to the band, and they like this design, so I will develop and perfect this design as much as possible to that it looks good as and EP design and stand out / look interesting.

New Animatic: Pieces (Without Audio)

This is the song we're going to use instead of the one previous, as we could get the other song to work properly, and we were basing our music video, form a rough version of the song, instead of an actual recorded and mixed version, whereas this song, is all ready of release so it was easier to put images to  as I could get the right atmosphere for the song.
Reflective Comment
This did take some more of my time to recreate an animatic, however I already had the shots, so all I had to do is make sure the structure of the song so that is fits with the shots. Even though this took me more time, we all thought the other idea wasn't working, and we wouldn't of recorded the song, until like next year, so it would of been too late, at least with this song, it has already been recorded, so its a weight off our shoulders.

Update 30/10/2016

So I have had a chat with the band, and the idea for using the other song for the same idea wasn't working with the idea we wanted. We have all now said that 'Pieces' will be the music video for our promotion of the EP. It makes sense to use this song as the title of the EP is called 'Pieces' named after the song.
Reflective Comment
This means that I will have to adjust the the story board so that it fits in well with the structure of the new song, the order of shots will be the same pretty much, but I will have to adjust the length of shots so they fit in with the beat. And plus it has been properly recorded and mixed so that it is all ready. 

Debut Single and Social Media

This is my band's debut single. This is to show what sort of sound we have as a band, as we're not allowed to release any music yet, as it has specific release dates, and is gonna to be released as an actual EP.
My band now has:
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/THEMEEKSUK/
Twitter https://twitter.com/THEMEEKSHQ

Animatic: The Jam (Without Audio)

Reflective Comment
Unfortunately I couldn't use the audio from song, 1 being that it hasn't be properly recorded yet or mixed. And 2 being that we can't release the song on anything, until it has been released as a single. So what I'm going to do is show the animatic synchronised with the music and the structure of the song, but without the audio. Then when the song is release I will upload this again but the audio as well.

Character Profile (Female)

Reflective Comment
This is my second character, she causes the most conflict during narrative, and drives the story along. making this character profile made me know exactly what I wan the female character to look like.

Character Profile (Male)

Reflective Comment
This is going to be my main character, he is going to be on the receiving end of his girlfriend's mistakes. He has been betrayed buy his girlfriend. And this post has helped know how this character will act / move around from this problem that he has to get through. 

Update 11/10/2016

I am currently working on the animatic for the music video. However I have spoken with the band and they said they don't want me to use the audio, as it is going to be an actual single that is going to be released, also we haven't properly recorded it yet, we are going to record it late this month, and then it will take about a month to be mixed properly, so it should be finished around December/January.
What I'm going to do is release the animatic without the audio first so I will be able to see this how long the clips will be structured and how long they will be and make sure everything falls in line with the audio. Once the song is released I will show the animatic with the audio alongside the picture.

Reflective Comment
I think this is the only way I can fix this problem, as I want to make this product official and have actual links to an actual single / EP release. As for the animatic, it will be uploaded soon, it just taking a little bit of time to perfect as I want it took professional and I just need to draw the narrative shots and then produce the video.

Order Of Shots

Reflective Comment
Before creating a storyboard / animatic, I wanted to make sure I have each shot in the right order, focusing on a certain part in the music video (Band member / Part of the story).

Textual Analysis: One For The Road - Arctic Monkeys

Reflective Comment
This music video has influenced me in terms of music video style, like using black and white filters over the top of the footage, and I think that this music video has got the exact same look as what I want our music video to look like.

Survey Result (Indie Rock)

Reflective Comment
This is a survey I composed I was able to gain information on likes and dislikes on people with who are fans and people who don't like Indie Rock (Genre of Our Band). This is my survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/XCKQCT7

Textual Analysis: I Don't Love You - My Chemical Romance

Reflective Comment
This music video has influenced me greatly, especially in the performing side of the music video. I taught me about the different shots I should use, and how they narrative should be balanced. 

my nam jeff

Update 26/09/2016

Last weekend, we went to Ashwood Studios in Norwich. and we had a bit of a problem recording one of our songs, which would have been in our first EP, however we're now going to be recording it at a later date, and be its own single, as the band thinks because the one we would have done (Pieces) will be coming out a bit early, for when the music video will be completed and ready for its release, it will be quite a bit after the single (audio)  release. So we're now going recording our new song (The Jam) as we are going record that late October, and then we are going have to record most in November and December, so this is our current solution for the potential problem we've got.
I think we would still be able to use some of the shots, as in the other song (like the live performance), however, I probably won't use the same narrative as it has a different story in the song, and would really fit. So what I'm going to do is come with a new idea as quick as I can and write a new story for it.

Reflective Comment
I've had a word with the band, and now we have adapted the song slightly so it will fit the narrative, I have come up, and we will make it work with the new song.

Music Video Idea

Reflective Comment
This is my current rough idea for my music video, I will sketch it out properly as an animatic, so you would be able to see how the video will form. This is the idea as its simplest format, breaking it down into shots. 

Narrative Theories

There are several theorists who looks at different types of narratives.

-Todorov Theory - Talks about a 5 step narrative (Equilibrium, Disruption, Realisation, Restored Order and then returned to another Equilibrium)

-Propp Theory - Looks at different character types (Hero, Villain, Donor, Dispatcher, False Hero, Helper, Princess and Her Father)

-Barthes Theory - Talks about enigma codes (How the narrative should be like a ball of tangled threaded and need to be unraveled)
-Strauss Theory - Looks at binary oppositions (2 forces against each other 'girls vs boys' 'good vs evil')
-Cameron Theory - Mentioned media product having multiple narratives (Anachronic, Forking-Path, Episodic, Split Screen)
-Freytag Theory - His pyramid shows a rise then fall in action (Exposition, Inciting Incident, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action then Resolution)

Todorov Version

• Equilibrium: The 2 characters (boy and girl) sit opposite ends of a room with empty space in the middle, they are ignoring each other.
• Disruption: They begin to shout across the room and break everything and cause a mess everywhere.
• Realisation: Still arguing and the space in between them looks destroyed and messy from where they have thrown things.
• Restored Order: They walk over to the middle of the room where they look they are about to unite.
• Equilibrium: They turn around and walk in the other direction, knowing that they aren't good for each other. 

Freytag Version

• Exposition: The 2 characters walk in and begin to dance in the center of the room.
• Inciting Incident: The 2 of them drift off and go either side of the room.
• Rising Action: The couple begins to shout and scream.
• Climax: The couple through stuff at each other and there is a massive mess in the middle of the room.
• Falling Action: They both begin to walk to each other again and begin to shout less and less and they get closer.
• Resolution: They walk away a final time and leave the room going opposite directions.

Reflective Comment
I think I will go with the Todorov narrative as it seems to fit the story of the song as, the songs kind of builds and builds throughout, as does the Todorov narrative.

Target Audience

Reflective Comment
I think this presentation is quite basic, but I think I have got the rough idea for the target audience, so what I will do is produce a survey on what type of people would enjoy our music.

Brief 1 Pitch (Video)

Brief 1 Pitch (Video) from Wil Allen on Vimeo.

Breif 1 Pitch

Reflective Comment
This presentation just gives people a rough idea of my progress and where I have started and where I'm heading for my music video idea.

Media Breif's

Brief One: A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:

• A website homepage for the band 
• A cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package) 
• A magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package) 

Brief Two: A promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer, together with two of the following three options:

• A website homepage for the film 
• A film magazine front cover, featuring the film 
• A poster for the film 

Brief Three: An advertising package for a new product or service, to include two TV advertisements, together with two of the following three options:

• A radio advertisement 
• A TV program sponsorship sequence 
• A web pop-up. 

Brief Four: A promotion package for a new computer/video game, to include two TV advertisements, together with two of the following three options:

• The cover of the game's package 
• Two hyperlinked pages from the games' website 
• A magazine advertisement for the game 

Brief Five: A promotion package for a new soap opera, to include a TV trailer, together with two of the following three options

• A listings magazine front cover featuring the new soap 
• Two hyperlinked web pages (with video extract) for the soap's website 
• A poster for the soap 

Brief Six: A selection of materials related to an original children's TV drama, to include the title sequence of the TV program, together with two of the following three options:

• The front cover to a magazine for the series 
• A DVD cover for the series
• A radio advertisement for the magazine 

Brief Seven: An extract from a new documentary TV programme, lasting approximately five minutes, together with two of the following three options:

• A radio trailer for the documentary 
• A double-page spread from a listings magazine focused on the documentary 
• A newspaper advertisement for the documentary 

Brief Eight: The first two pages of a new local newspaper, together with two of the following three options:

• A poster for the newspaper 
• A radio advertisement for the newspaper 
• Two hyperlinked pages from the paper's website 

Brief Nine: A website for new TV channel (to include a minimum of three hyperlinked pages with original images, audio and video extract) together with two of the following options:

• A newspaper advertisement for the channel 
• A double page spread for a listings magazines focused on the channel's launch
• An animated ident sequence for the channel 

Brief Ten: A short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes. which may be live action or animated or a combination of both, together with two of the following three options:

• A poster for the film 
• A radio trailer for the film
• A film magazine review page featuring the film

Brief Eleven: The first level of a new computer/video game, together with two of the following three options:

• The cover of the game's package 
• A magazine advertisement for the game 
• A radio advertisement for the game 

Brief Twelve: An extract/package from a local TV news programme, lasting approximately five minutes, together with two of the following three:

• Two hyperlinked pages from the programme's website 
• A generic radio trailer for the programme
• A short title sequence for the programme

Reflective Comment
I chose Brief 1, as I thought it would suit me quite well as I am able to write my own music, as I study music in a level and now in a band, so it makes sense to chose this brief, also it would be something useful for me and I would like to do something in the music industry later on in my life.

Media Texts - Nothing But Thieves (Video)

Media Texts - Nothing But Thieves

Reflective Comment
I have now learnt about the different ways in ways media is spread, as this band is main media focus is music but has reached to different platforms to get audience awareness.