Permission from the band.

Due to our problems with using Jem's song, we had to find a song as quickly as we could. We found a few songs that we liked on soundcloud - including the song 'oceans' by Coasts.

We messaged a few bands and a few of them replied, but Oceans was by far our favorite. We were lucky that they were so quick to reply.

We had to regroup to change our concept slightly, as the song is about the ocean - we decided that one of our main locations should be Brighton. This was quite a big change to our previous idea to film in London, but we wanted to make sure that the video was relevant to the song.

We are all solid on our concept now so now we can really put all the planning into motion.

Our Song: Coasts - Oceans

Problems with using Jem's song.

Our original idea was to use our friend Jem's song. He is a new artist who is signed to a label and has some original songs which we really liked.

We brainstormed some ideas and we think we should definitely incorporate busking in our video as Jem regularly busks on the southbank. We also definitely want to film on the Jealous rooftop as we think that this location is perfect.

We also wanted to incorporate a story-line in our video, we want there to be a love story running alongside the visuals of Jem playing on the roof and lip syncing.

We were all really happy with the concept...
However we discovered a problem.. The song that we really liked was not properly recorded; originally Jem said that he can finish the recording and production in the studio, however today he told us that he cannot book any studio time with his label and his contract states that he cannot record anywhere else.

This means we are going to have to find a new song - and as fast as possible so we can get our plan back on the road.

Location Scouting - Jealous Gallery Rooftop.

Jealous Gallery Shoreditch

This is the rooftop of the gallery that my dad works at. We think its the perfect location for a music video - both at daytime and night time.

We have permission to use it on the weekend when no one is working there - we are also allowed to paint the wall however we want (potentially green to use as a green screen) 

Target Audiences

The Mass/Mainstream Audience :

Some media texts attempt to appeal to a broad range of people. Although difficult to achieve, this is an ideal way to create very large audiences and, therefore, maximize the potential for success and ultimately profit. This group, consisting of males and females, young and old and a wide range of social groups is often called the mainstream or mass audience.

Niche Audiences :  

The mass audience is not the only one that can make a lot of money for media producers. Some media texts are created with a specific sub-section of the audience in mind - a niche audience. Whilst a niche audience is likely to be smaller in number than a mass audience, there are many ways appealing to a specific group can be profitable. Niche audiences are ones which have a specific interest in the content of the media text. This means they are more likely to:
• be loyal (watching or reading on a regular basis)
• purchase other products related to the media texts – merchandise/ DVDs etc.
• respond to advertising which is targeted towards their interests

Target Audience vs Actual Audience : 

Even though media producers may have a specific audience in mind when creating a media text, this is not to say that only those people targeted will access these texts.
Men are known to read women’s lifestyle magazines and women will watch Fifth Gear even though they may not be the target audience for these texts and are in the minority.
The actual audience may end up being quite different to the intended target audience.

The Importance of Audience.

One of the most important concepts within Media Studies is that of audience.

Every media text is made with a view to pleasing an audience in some way.

Success is measured by the audiences response to a media text and those that do not attract and maintain an audience do not survive. At the heart of this is the fact that all media texts are created in order to make money. They do this in a number of ways: 
• Films – via box office takings, DVD and other related merchandise sales 
• Newspapers and magazines – via advertising revenues and sales 
• Television programmes (commercial TV) – via advertising sales, sponsorship and audience participation 
• Television and Radio etc. (Public Service Broadcasting) - The BBC are not funded by advertising but they need to be able to justify the money they receive via the licence fee.

The way they gauge the popularity and the success of the television and radio programming is through the viewing/listening figures.

If a media text is deemed successful it needs to attempt to ensure it offers appropriate pleasures (gratifications) its audience. Each media text will be targeted towards a specific group and the way it is constructed will be carefully considered in light of who the target audience is.

Music Video Conventions.

1. Camera Shots: 

• Long shots to create emphasis on the location of the video.
• Close ups to emphasise the emotions of the artists which often show the artist lip syncing the lyrics, this is common with emotional ballads (eg. Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U)

•  Camera movement such as panning, tracking and ariel shots are used to follow the artist, especially if the music video is telling a particular story.

1. Mise-en-scene: 

• Mise-en-scene puts importance on the representation of something.
• In music videos, the mise-en-scene is important because it usually reflects the mood of the song through the use of atmosphere. 
• For example, a music video for an upbeat dance song would have a happy mood and atmosphere. (eg Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk, this video uses bright colours and the mood is very happy)

• Lighting, props, camera, editing and storyline all make up the mise-en-scene of a music video.
• Music video producers use all these methods to convey the meaning of the song.

Editing: 

• Jump cuts is the predominant editing technique used in music videos. This is because this allows a sudden change from one scene to another. 
• Similarly, transitions such as fade and dissolve are very common in music videos as they create a different effect to cuts. 
• It is common is music videos to cut between a storyline and shots of a band/artist lip syncing.

Lighting:

• Some music videos are black and white which help emphasise a particular mood and some videos have artificial lighting which put the artist/s in an enhanced look.

This is an example of a black and white video, in this case the lighting is meant to convey a cool 'rock and roll' mood:



Sound:

• Sound is mainly the vocals or the song but in some cases such as Michael Jackson – Thriller, the producers can make the music video into a short film.

 

 Props:

• These are a vital in aiding to add to the scene and create significance on particular objects or people.

Conventions in Indie/Rock music videos:

• black and white
• The artist/band is shown throughout the video
• Use of extreme close ups and long shots are popular 
• Dark locations 
• Fast paced 
• Some use of special effects

Conventions in Hip Hop music videos:

• Location usually in clubs/parties with dance scenes
• Use of alcohol
• Recognised brands and clothing
• Expensive cars and houses
• 
  

  Camera shots tend to long and establishing to show the money involved.
• Close ups to show the jewellery and assets of the artists.
• Attractive women seen as objects/dancing for men
• Usually does not follow a storyline, only follows the genre conventions

Conventions in Pop music videos:

• Bright and colourful
• Very upbeat
• Close ups of the artist usually lip-syncing, showing the happy and upbeat and happy emotions  
• Aims at the teenage audience