Research : Features Of A Music Video (Independent Work)

Promonews describes itself in the following way:

This daily update of the latest and most interesting music videos…. If you’ve got the slightest interest in film or music, you’ll quickly get hooked.”
Guardian Guide

Celebrating the best in music video creativity, daily updates of music video news and information, links to high quality video files, and its ever-expanding archive – Promo News is the first stop for everyone who loves music videos, and everyone who makes music videos.

It’s where to find new work in music video, the stories behind the making of the videos, the most exciting new music video makers, and lots of production and crew information – from mainstream pop promos to low budget creative gems – every day.

It is a great place to go to look at interesting and unusual music promo videos. There is also a lot of other interesting information such as interviews with music video directors.

If you are on Twitter, follow them @PromoNewsTV



Research Task

You can visit the Promonews website by CLICKING HERE

Choose a genre from the 7 that are listed.

Watch a selection of music videos from this genre and select 3 to focus on.

Are there any common features that you think you can identify in relation to the following 3 technical areas in these 3 videos?

1. Use of the camera (angle, shot type, movement, framing)
2. Editing
3. Mise-en-Scene

Homework

Create a post with exactly the same title as this one.

Embed the 3 music videos you have looked at (you should be able to find them via Youtube).

Take a photograph of your completed A3 notes sheet and embed this beneath the videos.

What does your consideration of these 3 videos suggest about the common features in music videos of this genre in relation to use of the camera, editing and use of mise-en-scene?

Research : The History Of Music Video

This was chosen as the first ever music video to be played on MTV when it launched in 1982.

Why do you think this was the video / song that was selected to launch the channel?

Top Of The Pops was the most popular music television programme for over 4 decades. It launched in 1964 and went off air in 2006.

The show was broadcast on BBC1 in a prime time slot on a Thursday evening with up to 20 million viewers tuning in to watch their favourite acts and to see the countdown of the latest Top 40 chart.

The show was important for artists as it enabled them to be seen by a wide audience and was god for their promotional work. 

The clip below shows the band Lynx performing on a TOTP from 1981 -  the band are clearly lip-syncing which was a common feature of the majority of performances. 

If an artist's song was selected to be played on TOTP but the artist was not able to be there in the studio, it was a regular occurrence to have an all-female dance group (such as Pan's People below) put together their own choreography to go with the song.

This was not always to the artist's advantage as some of the dance routines were strange to say the least and would not always communicate the correct image for the artist.

The power of the music video was increasingly realised by a growing number of artists from the mid 1970s onwards.

In the video below for Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen's image as a band is carefully mediated through the music videos editing and mise-en-scene.

Artists, and their promoters, quickly came to realise that having a music video to accompany a song was a real advantage - it also meant that this could be shown on show's like TOTP without the artist actually being present.

In the 1980s music videos reached the status of 'art' and bands such as Duran Duran spent millions of pounds producing videos for songs such as 'Rio'. 

A new Duran Duran music video was eagerly awaited by fans and the music video became almost as, if not more, important than the song itself in securing success in the charts.

Advanced Portfolio : Workflow

The following information provides a workflow for your Advanced Portfolio.

Stage 1


Research Into existing existing music videos, CD digipacks and music magazine advertisements.


Stage 2

 

Selection of artist / album / track for Advanced Portfolio.


Stage 3

 

Planning of own music video, CD digipack and music magazine advertisement.

 

Construction of music video, CD digipack and magazine advertisement as follows:

• filming and photography
• editing using Adobe Premiere Pro (video) and Adobe Photoshop (print)

Stage 4

Evaluation of completed products.

Stages 1, 2 and 3 will be completed by the end of Term 4 in the academic year 2016/2017

Stage 4 will be completed during the Easter holidays and presented at the start of Term 5 in the academic year 2016/2017

Advanced Portfolio : How Will My Work Be Assessed?

In order to achieve the highest grade possible for your coursework it is important that you understand how it is marked.

You will receive a total mark out of 100 for your Advanced Portfolio.


Grade boundaries work out (roughly) as follows:

A grade = 80+

B grade = 70+

C grade = 60+

D grade = 50+

E grade = 40+

The mark is broken down into 3 areas:

Research and Planning = 20 marks

Construction = 60 marks (Music Video 40, CDD 10, MMA 10)

Evaluation = 20 marks

How to Reach Level 4

Your research and planning has to meet the following criteria to be deemed as level 4.

• Planning and research evidence will be complete and detailed. This means for your main task and your 2 ancillary tasks.
• There is excellent research into similar products. Again, you have to have evidence of carrying out research into existing music videos, CD digipaks, music magazine advertisements or artist websites.
• There is excellent research into a potential target audience. This has to happen after you have chosen your artist but before you start the planning of your products.
• There is excellent work on shotlists, layouts, scripting and storyboarding. You will need to have this for all 3 components of your portfolio.
• There is excellent organisation of actors, locations, costumes and props. The quality of your actors 'acting'is not marked but you need to bear in mind that the people you choose need to be comfortable in performing for the camera.
• Time management is excellent. This is seen by the trail of posts on your blog and reinforced the importance of managing your time effectively.
• There is excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation of research and planning. This links to the idea of making your blog as media-rich as possible.
• There are excellent communication skills. Your blog isn't assessed for the quality of your use of English but real weaknesses in this area can affect your mark.
• There is an excellent level of care in the presentation of the research and planning. 

To get a level 4 for the construction element of your coursework then bear the following in mind. 

You get a mark out of 40 for your music video's construction and then a mark out of 10 for the construction of each of your ancillary products. 

This actually makes it easier to score highly IF your products are of a high standard. 

Level 4 candidates are expected to demonstrate excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:

• shooting material appropriate to the task set; including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot sizes and close attention to mise en scene
• editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions, captions and other effects
• recording and editing sound with images appropriately.

The evaluation is critical to your success. It is important that you know the questions in advance so that you can relate to these as your production work develops. There are only 4 questions as opposed to the 7 you had to answer for AS. They are:

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?
4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

In order to reach Level 4 the following criteria have to be met:

• There is excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the evaluation.
• There is excellent understanding of the forms and conventions used in the productions.
• There is excellent understanding of the role and use of new media in various stages of the production.
• There is excellent understanding of the combination of main product and ancillary texts.
• There is excellent understanding of the significance of audience feedback.
• There is excellent skill in choice of form in which to present the evaluation.
• There is excellent ability to communicate

Advanced Portfolio : What Is It?

For your Advanced Portfolio you have to produce a promotional package for a contemporary album of your choice which includes the following 3 media texts:

1. A music video for a song from your chosen album (video : the main task)
2. A CD Digipack design for your chosen album (print : the first ancillary task)
3. A music magazine advertisement for your chosen album (print : the second ancillary task)

Frequently Asked Questions



Can I work in a group?



You are allowed to work either individually or in a pair only.



What does 'contemporary' mean when choosing an album?



For the purposes of this task 'contemporary' means released from June 2011 onwards.



Can I choose any album from June 2011 onwards as the focus for my coursework?



No. You need to choose an album by an artist who is relatively unknown. We will discuss what this means at a later point in time.



What is a CD Digipack?



Don't worry. We will research this in due course.



I have already decided on my album. Is this OK?



No. Undecide quickly! You will not be asked to make a decision regarding your album choice until we have undertaken the research stages of the coursework.



I don't know how to use Adobe Photoshop. Will this mean I am disadvantaged when it comes to producing the two ancillary tasks?



No. You will be shown how to use Adobe Photoshop when this is required. However, all of the PCs and Macs have this programme available for you to use and it would be a good idea to try to learn a little more about how it works independently.

Task : Me As A Consumer Of Music

Your task is to produce an essay of at least 500 words in which you explain how you, as a young person in 2016, consume music.

Your essay must include the following:

What genres of music do you enjoy listening to and who are your favourite artists?
Why do you like these genres /artists?
What has influenced your choice of music as you have grown up?
What genres of music do you not enjoy listening to and why?
How and when do you listen to music?
Do you listen to the radio, listen on your iPod/phone, watch music to channels?
Do you buy physical/digital music or do you download music in other ways?

Your essay should also include some evidence of reflection relating to the BPI report that you were asked to read.

How do some of the statistics in this report reflect your own consumption of music?

For example, there has been a massive increase in the consumption of music via streaming services, does the way you listen to music reflect this?

This essay needs to be evidenced on your blog with the same title as this post ready for our lesson on Friday morning at 8:55am.

Me As A Consumer Of Music

Your coursework for A2 relates to the music industry.


Before we start, it is important to consider the state of the music industry and how you, as a young person, consume music.


Read the British Phonographic Industry's 2015 Music Market Report and think about your own consumption of, and interaction with, music.

Setting Up Your A2 Blog

Your first task is to set up your A2 blog.


This needs to use the following format for its address:


johnsmithkbaa2.blogspot.co.uk


If you are not able to set this up in class, you need to do this at home ready for Thursday's lesson.