Below is the video of the lighting experiments that we thought could be used in our music video.
But trying to carry this to Southborough would prove quite difficult, so we looked for alternate closer locations and found that the mounds behind our drama studio are perfect. It is an open area, grassy, with trees visible in the background. There is building works going on nearby so there is a lot of noise but this isn't a problem for us, there is however the fence behind so we have t make sure that it is not visible in our shots, which it is possible to do so, but we need to make sure before we start recording out footage.
We went to the location today and had a go at position the props and seeing how it would work on camera, and consequently made a video:
Also, with regards to the chair idea, we already talked about how we couldn't find an armchair as we pictured so we thought we might improvise. Lucy has a folding camping chair that I thought we could use and embellish. We can cover it in fabrics, I have several depending on what style we want [I have fabric left over from the harlequin dress so if we wanted to match it then we could do that]. I thought then we could also get pillows on the chair and perhaps on the floor around it, oh and I thought of a new location. We already have a photo of it previously on the blog but I will put it here again.
I was thinking we could put it in the clearing and have around it the lanterns/candles, the birdcage, the clock, some other random bits of furniture like maybe a table with something on it, something random like a cup of tea? Or some books? I have several old old books that are brown with age and in the vintage sort of hardback, books from the 1800's that I think would look nice scattered around and on a table perhaps. We can be clever with the titles as well, like I have a really beautiful copy of 'Diary of a nobody' which I think will fit in if it was to be sat on a table next to her, I also have a lot of Dickens, Wuthering Heights, The Wide Wide World, The Background of Art, The complete Oscar Wilde, and so on. Just a thought.
I do also have some chinese paper lanterns, I have 2 blue ones and a white and pink one with some flowers on it. I am literally just listing anything I can think of. I might decorate the birdcage too, with ribbons, flowers or something...
Yesterday we did our pitch to the rest of the class. I think it went very well and our concept was very well recieved.
.jpg)
We have some posts previously on Mise-en-scene, and prop planning.
We are going to get together as a whole group on Tuesday morning to finish our pitch and get it all ready for Thursday. We are also planning to do our final reccie during that time as well. And we should be up to date.
This video includes some of the ideas we have thought up. For example the costuems I really like as well as the location that they walk through. I also really like the way water is used in it, I'm not sure if it would be possible for us to do this however it might be something we could consider.
This video includes something that i really like but we havn't actually considered at all. I think the way he is drawn works really well. I think if it would be possible for us to do this in certain parts it would look really effective. For example draw her standing in the drama studio singing and then cut to a shot of her actually standing there singing.
I was also thinking about costume, I know me and Lucy were discussing it on Friday and about the possibility of her wearing more than one costume. So I have two dresses that I think might be appropriate but obviously it is up to the majority, and I'm not fussed either way, I am talking to the actress as well to see what she has and if anything is suitable.
The first dress is black and white harlequin with coloured pleats, and the skirt is a perfect circle so if she was to twirl it would look like the second picture.
The second dress is made up of multicoloured ribbons sewn together, which sort of fits the theme of Florence more so than the one above. But both are a little odd and different which I think is very much Florence's style.
I think it is most likely to be viewed ambiently as there is nothing on the poster which leads you to look closer as everything is displayed clearly. However, I think it is a successful advertisment as nothing is given away leading to more interest and research from a potential audience member.
Close up of a photograph of Florence in a field [the field behind the park by TWGGS, still need to do a reccie there] colour fades back in, zoom out to reveal video footage of Florence in field. To film this we need to film the field footage first and then take the first still from it and turn it into a black and white photograph and then film the footage in the drama studio.
In field just general dancing and being like herself. Possibly with a tambourine.
My boy builds coffins he makes them all day
But it's not just for work and it isn't for play
He's made one for himself
One for me too
One of these days he'll make one for you [long note repeated]
On the drum beat of the word 'my' back to the drama studio, silhouetted. Has her tambourine in the studio as well now possibly. Moving around, using space, lighting etc. not sure what is happening here but in this location.
During this verse we are going to have Florence walking down the pathway through the balloons and then through the photographs scattered on the floor. Differnet angles so would have to film several times.
On the lines 'my boy builds coffins.... /to / he can't see it again' near the end of the above verse, there should be some sort of imagery/symbol to represent this but not sure what yet, possibly something to the photographs.
My boy builds coffins he makes them all day
But it's not just for work and it isn't for play
Back to Florence on the bench but now with lit candles and lanterns around her, sat on the bench. Pan out to side and fade into a pan coming into shot of her in the drama studio, so that it looks like the camera has made a 360 pan and has changed location in doing so.
On the long 'for you' note again, back to Florence in the graveyard.
End with Florence on the floor surrounded by the balloons. Crane shot to end.
One thing we need to remember is to clear up after ourselves as we don't want to upset the public.
Pitch Planning
Have this already for Tuesday so we can discuss as a group as we have the morning off. Then we can make it before Thursday.
The limitation with this location is that it is in high demand and is not always free so we couldn't just rely on it, we would have to plan when we wanted to use it and check with the appropriate staff to ensure it is available. It is probably best to do this after school.
The other thing not in these photographs is the flats that we keep mentioning to hang our photographs from, we can just put those up ourselves as and when we need them, as they are not out all the time because they do get somewhat in the way.
We experimented with stop motion to see if it was a technique we wanted to use in our video. On the stop motion with the pebbles, we experimented with lighting by turning the flash off and on, however this wasn't very successful. If we want to use a stop motion then we will get another light source so that we can control it. We also need to make sure we watch out for shadows.
This uses the same idea of photographs that we want to include. As well as using them as still images then zooms/tracks in and out so they are turned into a change of location or movement. This is something we wish to do with Florence when she is singing in the woods. Our idea is to track into her mouth (XCU) and then track out again to see her in a new location.
This is the video for Peter Andre's song 'Unconditional'. I like the use of the moving images in the background when he is singing. This could be something we could do in the Performing Arts Centre and if the projector isn't working, I have one we may be able to borrow.
6. Scan of Questionnaire
.jpg)
7. What are we doing now?
We are going to make ammendements to our questionnaire and create it on survey monkey. When we were happy with it, we will distribute it using facebook.
8. Results
As this is the advert for the same album I analysed in my digiPak deconstruction there will be some crossover in answers, particularly as the same artwork has been used in both so the techniques and semiotics of which are likely to be the similar if not the same.
The Advert.
Genre
How is the genre of the track/artist evident?
As mentioned before in the digiPak analysis the genre of this band is considered to be alternative rock. This is evident in this advert because of the artwork used which is not a photograph of the band and so can be considered alternative in that sense as they do not need their image to sell products.
The genre is also evident in the sources of the reviews, Q and Uncut are both music magazines with that primarily deal with the rock genre and so their giving this album a positive review helps to determine which sort of audience the band is aiming at as well as reinforcing their genre. The review from the Sunday Times may seem a little out of place as it doesn't necessarily support their genre but it helps to demonstrate that this band has a wide audience and is obviously well known enough for a newspaper like the Sunday Times to be interested in reviewing it, suggesting some of the band's status in contemporary society.
Media Language.
What visual techniques are used?
The right A4 page is a repetition of the album cover so the techniques for that are the same as what is talked about in the previous digiPak analysis post. The use of repeating this image is to familiarise the audience with it and so it is instantly recognisable in the shops. It is also in itself a very eye catching image due to it's use of colour, and so will draw attention to advert particularly because of its large scale.
The left A4 page is predominantly the band name, with the album title, release date and reviews following. The font and colour is the same as that on the album cover for aesthetic reasons and for familiarity so it is again recognisable in shops. The band name is clearly the most important thing in this advert as the belief with this band is that they will sell themselves and that there is no need for images of them and further information, the band name is enough. The size of the font also represents this as the band name is the biggest and so the most important with the text getting smaller as it goes down the page, with the website being of the least importance and so the smallest. The actual design of the band name is something of a logo and is instantly recognisable and is becoming something of a form of iconography for the band.
How is meaning generated through these techniques?
Most of this has been covered in the point above in terms of the left A4 page and the right A4 page the semiotic meanings are already explained in the digiPak analysis post, to save repetition.
However, the use of two A4 pages generates meaning in itself, it clearly shows the importance and status of this band in that they need two pages to be able to show everything. But also that they are mainstream and successful as they can afford two A4 pages in a magazine where other smaller bands may only be able to afford a quarter of one.
What linguistic devices have been used?
This again, will be similar to the previous digiPak analysis in terms of connotations of the album title and affect of the artwork.
However, the size of the advert is quite overwhelming and impacting on the reader of the magazine, again emphasising the importance of the band but also perhaps the scale of this album that it is necessary to have two pages.
The quotations suggest that this is an exceptional band and that they are overwhelming in themselves in terms of their music which is reflected in the advert size and even in the image in the advert and on the album cover, the idea of being overwhelmed and overpowered.
Is there any intertextuality/references to popular culture?
I cannot think of anything that have not already been said about the artwork in the digiPak analysis, only perhaps that the reviewers will have connotations themselves and may be associated with different bands and people for certain readers which may make them then associate this album with that person. But this may not apply to all readers.
The companies responsible for the album such as Warner Bros. and Helium-3 may have certain references to certain readers such as they may associate Warner Bros. with the films they have produced and as a result associate this band with them, but again this may not be the same for everyone and does not necessarily reflect the band or advertising techniques in any way.
Representation
How are the band/artist represented?
Most of what can be mentioned here as either been mentioned above or in the previous digiPak analysis. Things such as the use of two A4 pages showing the band's status and the reviews showing how they are regarded highly by other industry professionals and their importance in contemporary society, which all helps add to their meta-narrative as they are already considered to be a band of great knowledge and held in high esteem, this serves to reinforce that image as well as selling their new product. It also helps to show that the band is only getting better and better with every album they produce emphasised in the reviews and again scale of the advert.
Institution and Audience
How might this print text be consumed?
People reading through the magazine; if a keen and focused reader, one who is really interested in music and the particular magazine will read every page whether it is an article or and advert. Whereas more relaxed ambient readers will read what they want to read and most probably skip over the adverts. That is perhaps why this advert is so big so as to catch even the skimmers attention, but ultimately this text is an advert and so may be ignored by a large majority of consumers. But having said that a fair number of readers will look at this advert and many will be interested in getting this album but as to how many of them actually buy it is something that is questionable.
This is the same as with the digiPak ultimately that people may see this and may be fans of the band but due to the contemporary society they will download it rather than purchasing, so the digiPak is deemed useless but the advert is still of some use because it may be what tempted the consumer in the first place.
The back.
Genre
How is the genre of the track/artist evident?
This artist's genre is debatable. In their songs they have a fusion of several different types of genres from classic rock to classical music. So it is difficult to pin point one genre. It is therefore reasonable to suggest that they are an alternative band as they are set apart from the others and different in their own way. But to add rock onto the end as well because they meet the conventions of that genre too with their use of power chords and guitar riffs. So they can appropriately be termed as being an alternative rock band.
The genre of this is evident on the digiPak as the artwork on the front is not a photograph, which could be considered alternative as the majority of album covers are a photograph of the band or something related to the band. The artwork for this album was designed by the design company La Boca, a company that specialises in art and design for the film, music and fashion industries. This being their first collaboration with Muse. The black and white photograph of the band on the back and inside covers reinforce the alternative style of the band and that fact that the photograph is blurred connotes and reiterates the theme of being alternative and rock'n'roll.
Media Language
What visual techniques are used?
On the front the image is central as the whole thing demands attention as opposed to just one thing that may be placed aesthetically off-centre. The use of colour helps to draw attention to the image, and the use of red and orange at the bottom merging into blues and purples at the top creates a reading line that draws the eye to the bottom, and so to the silhouette of the man moving upwards around the spherical shape and into the Earth at the very centre. This then moves us to the top left where the band's name is visible in it's iconic logo; the band name with the two lines around it. Our eyes are then drawn down to the sticker advertising the singles and then across to the album title, and back to the centre again. The connotations of the Earth being at the centre are self explanatory that the Earth is represented as being at the centre of everything. The picture is of a human on an illuminated pathway, the fact that it is illuminated could be a suggestion that this is connected to heaven in some way, the shadow of the figure is pointing downwards as if the light source is coming from where the Earth is suggestive that the Earth is similar to the light at the end of the tunnel. That this is a pathway from places beyond to the Earth and that only certain people can go along it, suggested in that the figure is simple and silhouetted so that it could be anyone, man or woman. The walkway is clearly in space as the stars are visible through gaps in the spherical shape, this links to some of the themes expressed within the songs on the album but also connotes that there is more than just Earth, a suggestion that there is more out there and that we only need a way to get there, presented with this walkway.
On the inside covers the two are photographs of the band shot in black and white, the one to the right with a raised contrast, but both slightly blurred. The right photograph is of the back of the band walking through a tight walkway, connoting the movement from back stage to on-stage, also suggested through the walking toward a bright light. This being suggestive of the performance element of this band and the importance of the live shows, reinforcing the rock genre. The photograph to the left is of the band members however none of them are facing the camera, again connoting their alternative rock style, reinforced further by the clothing they are wearing; one in a leather jacket and another in dark sunglasses. The weather in this photograph is slightly overcast connoting the dramatic nature of the band and the album something that is also expressed through the use of black and white. The band is shot in an urban location as buildings and streetlight can be visible behind them, this suggesting their normality as well as being familiar to audiences. It also ties in the with the rock band theme as they are often in cities and places with a nightlife [suggested by the streetlights] as opposed to in a field in the countryside.
On the back cover the photograph is of the 3 band members, again in black and white for the same reasons as mentioned above. The are photographed in an urban location as with the photographs on the inside cover, for the same reasons as above. However, in this particular picture there are sky scrapers and tall buildings visible in the background, as the band is seen as being much larger than these it connotes their dominance and significance in the world and represents them as being more powerful or inspirational than what is in the buildings behind them, another interpretation of the perspective is that it could represent the band distancing themselves from the city and its' constraints, something that is emphasised in their alternative style. They are also photographed in mid-step, connoting their busy schedules as they could not stop to be photographed, but also their fasted paced nature, something that is emphasised in their music. Also reinforcing the idea of their importance as there is somewhere they need to be or somewhere they have just come from. They are placed to the left complying with the rule of thirds as it is aesthetically pleasing. The text listing the songs on the album is placed to right again for the rule of thirds but also so as not to cover up any of the band member. The colour of the writing resembles that on the front with the top being blues and purples and working down to the bottom text turning pink and red. Creating a continuity about the album the movement of colour to black and white back to colour again, even if only very slightly. The bar code and copyright information have been placed in the bottom right corner so as not to be overly conspicuous because obviously they have to be on the album but aesthetically they are not very interesting. They have been placed in line with the text so that the eye is drawn to them after reading the list of tracks, but again so that they do not cover up the band, because this is ultimately an advert for the band and it is important that they are not covered up. That is why there is no text on the inside and no photograph of the band on the front cover.
How is meaning generated through these techniques?
I think this question has been answered above within the first media language question, in the talking of semiotics in the connotations of the visual techniques.
What linguistic devices have been used?
The use of black and white creates a dramatic moody feel to the album perhaps representational of the music it contains. This is contrasted with the bright colours on the front of the album which are exciting and suggest life and vitality and again give an indication of another side of the music in the album, the contrast in the genre and types of songs. The facial expressions that can be made out in the photographs comply with the moody feel, they are not smiling and not looking at the camera, adding to their alternative image.
The connotations of the album title 'The Resistance' suggest this will be a powerfully moving album, with themes of rising up and resisting, a theme that is common in many of the band's previous works as well. This could be reinforced by the visuals on the album as the photographs could connote a resistance, the angry stance on the left of the inside cover and the walking away from the oppression on the back. The artwork on the front reinforces this as well as it shows a figure set apart from the Earth, perhaps out of their own choice so as to form a resistance. Looking back at the connotation suggested for the front cover in the bullet points above the visuals on the front could be a symbol of hope that teamed with the title 'The Resistance' could connote a new era and a new outlook on the Earth, suggested again in the illuminated pathway.
Is there any intertextuality/references to popular culture?
The cover is very reminiscent of the band 'The Emperor Machine' 's album work, this is particularly because the same company designed the covers and so there is a very distinctive style and feel about the pieces. There is also links to magazines and various other album covers due to the designers.
The use of black and white photographs is something that is commonly seen on movie posters, album covers and adverts, so there is a certain resonance with the use of that, it seems familiar to people as well as being aesthetically pleasing and adding to the band's image.
In terms of postmodernism this album has no parody or pastiche that I can think of, there is nothing here that looks as if it has been borrowed from anywhere else, other than the use of black and white photography but I don't think that on it's own can be classed as postmodern. However, this album cover could be considered postmodern as there is not image of the band on the cover which is fairly unusual as this is ultimately a promotional product for the band. Also, the band name is fairly small on the cover, it does seem odd that this isn't the focus of the album cover particularly as there is no image of the band. Perhaps an indication that the band is well known enough for the marketers to think that it will sell of its own according without having to sell several images of the band, which could be considered a postmodern way of thinking.
Representation
How are the band/artist represented?
The band are represented as fitting the style and genre they are associated with for the reasons already mentioned previously through the visual and linguistic techniques. The clothing they are wearing makes them seem normal as the clothes are fairly average unlike some other artists in modern pop culture such as Lady Gaga, however the leather jacket and dark sunglasses, as mentioned above, still add to the star persona and help keep the theme of an alternative rock band evident.
I think most of how the band is represented has been said above in terms of semiotics, for example with things such as their dramatic moody edge by use of black and white photography and overcast weather, and the idea of presenting hope with their music by the image on the front cover symbolic of a light at the end of the tunnel.
This adds to the band's meta-narrative as they are perceived as a fairly normal down to Earth band and the photography represents that, but because of the epic nature of their music they are set apart from others which could be represented in the image on the front with the figure being apart from the world and the illuminated pathway, perhaps representational of their music and suggestive of the nature of their live shows as they are quite often described as being 'out of this world'.
Institution and Audience
How might this print text be consumed?
Because of the nature of contemporary society and the increase in downloading people would only generally buy this album if they really wanted it rather than just for the sake of it, as they could just download it for free. So this would have to be consumed by a focused viewer, somebody that wanted to spend money on it and purchase it legitimately. The band is very popular so people would want to buy this album and there have been several special edition versions of it [still with the same visuals, but with extras such as a DVD and key ring] to try and entice people to buy it. But ultimately the actually digiPak itself only serves focused viewers as ambient viewers will just download it and some may be interested in seeing the album artwork on their Ipod but it is increasingly becoming something that people aren't really bothered by anymore.
