Analysing a music video

Say You Don't Want It by One Night Only

The genre of this song is indie rock which can also be perceived through the costumes worn by the band members. The setting of the video is New York, which is revealed straight away due to the various fast pace shots of the city that match the beat of the song, this shows a close relationship between the music and the visuals. Before the narrative storyline is revealed, shots of the band playing on a roof are shown. This reveals who is in the band, who are the stars, along with well-known actress Emma Watson, of this video.

Following those shots is a sequence showing the back streets of New York and the people in it. Then the narrative storyline begins. It is a love story which has similar features to the Disney film, 'The Lady and the Tramp'. The full meaning of the story is not realised until the end when it is revealed that the two characters are both dogs. Then the story begins to add up, for example, when they have a pretzel thrown at them and when he is chased out of the shop.

The video itself uses a wide range of shots such as establishing shots and medium close ups. Most of the cuts are straight cuts and there is not much of a relationship between the music and visuals. There are close ups of the artist who plays a predominant character within the video. He lip sings during the shots of the band playing on the roof but not during the narrative shots. The video uses a sort of misty effect in order to not make the colour so bold.

Goodbye AS. Hello A2

Now that we have finished our AS media, we are starting the A2 course, which means we are studying... Music Videos

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

I feel that I have learnt a lot since our preliminary task. I am more confident when using the computer software and the camera equipment. During our preliminary task I learnt the basics of using the video camera, but now I feel a lot more confident as I know what the features of the camera are. I also feel more confident when it comes to deciding what the best shots are and how far or close we should be from the subject we are filming. When filming our preliminary task, our main priority was to stick to he 180 degree rule and include both match on action and shot reverse shot shots. When filming our opening sequence we managed to stick to the 180 degree rule and included both shot reverse and match on action shots. This, in our opening sequence was a lot more professional than it had been in our preliminary task as we knew what our aim was and how we went about getting the perfect shot.

I also now am a lot more confident when it comes to editing and using the computer software. At first, I found it hard to remember how to add effects and other functions but now I know where everything is and if not, I know I can rely on one of my team members to show me. When we first used Garageband we didn't know how to change the tempo of the instruments, however, after a thorougher search, we found how to edit the instruments. This was the only problem we came across when using Garageband so we now feel extremely confident when using the application.

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

YouTube was a very helpul website because we were able to watch film trailers and clips of films without having to buy the dvd. I also found it very useful that we were able to share videos from YouTube on our blogs.
I used Google and IMDb to help with my research into different genres and films. IMDb was very useful for finding out about what genres films belonged to and finding the synopsis and plot of some films.

After being introduced to this website, I have found it quite easy to navigate. Once I learnt how to publish, edit, delete and add pictures to my posts I grasped the concept of blogging quickly.

The music we composed for the last section of our film sequence was made in Garageband and we then had to import it to iTunes. The track was quite easy to make and we grasped the use of the technology quickly.

Whilst in the process of editing our film we used several different applications from the Apple Mac computers. Most of our film was cut and edited using iMovie HD. The software for this took a while to get used to, but once we knew where everything was and how to do things, we managed to edit our film with ease. The only problem we came across in the editing process was when we tried to add an effect to a clip, which we ended up not being able to do because the size of the clip was too big. But I feel as though my confidence has grown a lot since our preliminary task when it comes to using this application.

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 5: How did you attract/address your audience?

The setting of our opening sequence is in a young girl, Katlyn's, bedroom. This shows the audience how normal the girl is and makes them think that this could happen to any of them. The photos on the girls wall show how ordinary her life is and how her life is revolved around her friends. This targets our audience of 16-25 year olds. Our target audience came from the feedback from our questionnaires which told us that people aged 16-25 are the most interested in horror films. Genre conventions shown in this still image are the white gown which shows Katlyn's innocence and purity and the way her hair is sprawled across her face shows that she is restless and possessed.

The feedback from our classmates was that our opening sequence was confusing, however, this was intended as most horror films start off by confusing their audience and then later on in the film, everything is explained. Other films that do this are 'The Shining', 'The Exorcist' and 'Night of the Living Dead'.

As the credits roll, Katlyn is shown walking to school in ordinary clothes. The upbeat tempo of the music we composed signifies that she has gone back to normal life and is no longer possessed. This music genre is popular with our audience and adds a happy feeling to our film after the tragic few opening scenes.

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Horror films are very popular in the cinema and TV. There is even a whole channel dedicated to horror films, Sky Movies Horror, which shows films such as 'My Bloody Valentine', 'Jennifer's Body' and 'Paranormal Activity'. Main TV channels such as BBC One, ITV and Channel 4 occasionally show films, but they are normally shown late at night because horror films are not suitable for the young audience the channels have.

Independent cinemas such as Curzon in London show a wide range of different films, from 'The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest', 'Monsters' and 'Of Gods And Men'. We would aim to show our film in independent cinemas, however, mainstream cinemas would be our main priority because they produce more income and are more popular.

Vue and Odeon are the main cinemas we would aim to have our film shown in. Vue cinemas are not as well known as Odeon but they are still well respected and show the same films as Odeon. Odeon cinemas are the largest cinema chain in Europe and so we would aspire and dream to have '666' shown in their cinemas.

Our local Odeon cinema, in Guildford, is currently showing all the new films such as, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, The Tourist and Monsters. The genre of horror is very common in cinemas as it is an extremely popular genre because people like being scared and on the edge of their seat.

Horror film festivals are held all around the world, from New York to Aberystwyth. The New York City Horror Festival shows horror films that have been made by aspiring film directors. Awards are then presented such as best feature film, best special effects and best screenplay. Film4 Frightfest is an annual film festival held in London in August. Fans gather for five days of premieres, previews, personal appearances, signings and surprises.

Realistically, we would like our film to be shown in most Odeon and Vue cinemas, but to get there we would have to submit it to film festivals such as the New York Horror Festival and Film4's Frightfest in order for our film to be noticed. After '666' is released, we would look to have our film shown on Sky Movies Horror and occasionally on a mainstream TV channel such as BBC One or ITV.

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 4: Who would be the audience for your media product?

Omar is a member of our target audience. Omar is 24 and is an enthusiastic cinema go-er. He shops at Topman, Jack Wills and Primark. He listens to hip hop and r'n' b music and enjoys going to concerts. Omar enjoys watching The Inbetweeners as he loves how funny and modern it is. Omar's favourite film is Paranormal Activity because he loves the way that the audience have to think about how things could be happening. This is what attracts him to our film, '666'. Our film would keep Omar on the edge of his seat as he loves suspense. He would also be interested in the music used in '666' because he is very enthusiastic when it comes to movie soundtracks.

In the opening 2 minutes of our film there is the use of blood which leads to connotations of murder and violence. For this reason, and the fact that our film has a terrifying element to it, I would give our film the certificate of 15.