Question 4 :How did you use media technologies in the construction and research planning and evaluation stages?

Research and planning

We used internet as our main researching source and the websites such as YouTube and MySpace provided us similar songs to the one we wanted to do, so we could compare and decide what the final product would look like from the very start. We used YouTube to get the song and used Google to find the lyrics of the song. The idea of doing that drum and base song came from one of the group members ‘Aiden’ and we liked it so we started to do the planning for that song which started with doing the story board.

We used a scanner to convert the story board to an image to put on our blog. We had to use a photocopier to get different CD adverts onto Blogger.com to be analysed as well as using it to copy the storyboard on so that it could be described and explained. Lastly I had to use Microsoft Word to print off the lyrics and write up a letter confirming the use of the song to the artist. I also used it to write up the questionnaires we did.

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D&B music with narrative video?!

For our video we will be filming a concept/narrative-based video, which we ended up deciding because of the influence of the lyrics of anti-violence/crime. The song is obviously a social message, so we think we can convey some visuals to contribute to its message.

It will start with four people in identical masks (which are usually worn by the Jabbawockeez dance group) leaving their separate houses. For this we thought that during editing we'll intercut between each leaving their house through the door so it's all in time. They will then meet up in an open space most likely a park with them each running from opposite directions seen from a birds-eye view if possible showing them meetin diagonally and as they meet, the beat of the song kicks in and they will break into a run as the song speeds up.

To represent the lyrics of seeing the error of your ways and giving up on your delinquencies, we'll have each member in a different scenario (with two of them in a pair) in which they will harm someone or perform a crime and then all get rounded up to the police station where they get lectured.

For example, one of them will be smoking and accidentally ran into by a kid upon which he will angrily jab the cigarette into the kid's eye while it will be kind of hard to make that look convincing, Ali assured us we'd be able to contribute to it in the editing process.

Another scenario will involve another member attempting to steal a pregnant woman's purse who, already wary, manages to hold on to it so he hits her so that she lets go; unfortunately he hits her in the belly hard enough to damage and kill the foetus inside. We can show this by filming a close-up of the impact and, if we can, get some red coloured water to look like blood briefly pouring out so it's obvious what happened.

We haven't thought of a scenario for the other two yet but I think the process is that they will all feel some remorse/guilt once they are home and are then each rounded up by a policeman. Our idea for a postmodern reference was that we would use a reference to the film Taxi Driver as we had in mind that one of them would be staring in the mirror, we thought that could be related to the scene in which the main character has the "you talkin' to me?" sequence.

For the last verse they are seen in the police station interrogation room of some kind, and this is rapped by Dynamite MC so we'll have the police lieutenant 'rapping' it to them as a lecture. I think that would be quite cool and original, but we'd need the actor to memorize the lyrics so they can mime them. We got the idea that we could have some light works on the rapper, like a light flashing on and off or have him in a spotlight or something stylish. We got this idea from the video 'Pass Out' by artist Tinie Tempah shown below.

I think we could achive this by using the lighting in the drama studio, which is supposed to be available at lunch times.

After that, the four 'criminals' will leave the station and now fully aware of the wrong path they have been treading on, will take off their masks which will represent them starting anew.

I think if we are able to make our video and include all that we want, it will be a succesful video as it should provide interest and entertainment at the narrative and will contain a social message against crime which is always nice to have.

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Questionnaire

We printed 10 questionnaires and handed them out to people in the class but seeing as most of them didn’t know about drum and bass, the results weren’t much help for our music video so we printed 20 more and this time we found fans of this genre and asked them to fill the questionnaire. And the results were more specific and helpful.

1) Do you like Drum and Bass music?

Yes No

2) What type of music video do you like?

- Concept

- Narrative

- Performance, and why?

because you can see the story behind it.

3) What emotions do you experience when listening to Drum and Bass?

Most the answers say it should have lots of beats and make you want to dance to it. Angry and full of hype.

4) What artists do you listen to? Name some.

Pendulum, Massive attack and usually any remixes of normal songs that are turned into D&B

5) Would you find these album covers typical of the Drum and Bass genre?

90% chose all except the first one

6) What do you like to see in a drum and bass music video?

Fast editing with people dancing and close ups

7) What makes you buy Drum and Bass CD’s?

- The Poster

- The CD cover

- The Artist

- The music video

93% chose the Artist and rest was the music video

8) What do you think a music video for an anti-violence theme should include?

Gun, Drugs, Violence

9) Would you like to be in a Drum and Bass music video?

Yes No

10) Where do you listen to Drum and Bass music?

Dark Clubs

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The music video plans

So it’s almost the time to start filming and we had to come up with the idea for our music video. We’ve figured to do a narrative and tell a story that’s behind the lyrics but since the song is 4 minutes, the story wasn’t long enough to meet our expectations so we are going to add performance to the video and mix the two together so it’d keep flashing back and forth between the narrative and performance.

We are still looking for some-one to use for our main singer but since we have two subjects to film, we most likely will start with the narrative part and then do the filming for performance. I think I will be able to edit it later on as long as we film the performer on a green cloth so I can key out the green and edit her out and change the background etc...

Right now we are still working on the story board and there isn’t a final thought for it but so far we have four people who have done horrifying things such as taking a pregnant woman’s bag and punching her stomach. There are three scenarios and this was one of them. They all will get caught by police and once they’re in the police station they will get lectured and this has a social message which is good and it’s not like every other video with just the performers. This video is not going to be all about editing and camera shots but it will have a unique story behind it and when it comes to performing part it will have its flashlights and special effects to make it like a music video and not just a short film. Once the story board is complete I can write down the whole story.

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Club Foot by Kasabian

This video is partly set in a recording studio as we see the band playing the song we are listening to. The only colours used are black and white which i think is simple but actually very effective. We see a number of war movie clips such as soldiers dressed in uniform and army vehicles. I think the idea of using the revolutionists helps potray the bands image of being rock stars/ rebels.This video gives off feelings of sadness and depression as it is all about the Hungarian Revolution where thousands of people lost their lives. The props and set of the video add to the sad, depressing and anti war effect as the start of the video before any real music starts concentrates on the derelict buildings, the ragged clothes the people are wearing the empty streets that give off a cold, ghost town looking effect, the life less trees and the poverty people are facing by showing them eating food straight out of a can. They do this to show people how bad war can be. Also the climax of the video shows the death of a women and this also adds to the audience's feelings of sadness. In this video we are again left with the message that war is a negative thing and more peaceful methods should be used to overcome a clash of opinions and i feel this really helps to show off some of the bands political views.

I couldn't share the you tube link on this because the website didn't let me, but here is the link to it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96eZYS7sm88

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Paranoid by Kanye West

Kayne West is an extremely talented individual, known for combining experimental sounds and sampling. He breaks the barriers between genres by mixing different elements from each genre into a huge melting pot. 'Paranoid' features Mr. Hudson and Rihanna

The use of Black and White in this video, creates a surrela 'Sin City' like effect. Even the texts in the credits remind me of the film. The video opens with a track shot of Rihanna on a bed. The track moves Rihanna from scene to scene. I really like this clever effect. For a musician of such with calibre, it's strange that she's a cameo and not really featured artists as she doesn't sing. The mise-en-scene is important, she wears extremely provacative clothes. This can fall into the generic convention of a Hip-Hop music video, where women do not dress modestly. Stop-motion in the extreme-close-ups of Rihanna. Possibly because she is a household name, collaboration with her would make more money for Kanye's record label.
The opening lyrics are haunting and sound effects have been added in "why are you so paranoid?", it sounds echoey - as if Kanye is singing to the viewer, questioning our own paranoia. The mood, lyrics and instrumentals are parallel to the frantic and spontaneous visuals. This video reminds me of 'film noir' movies, when a deranged woman drives a car that seems to be going nowhere. Post-modern intertexuality - Kanye may be original in his music but this video has elements of things they’ve been done many times before.

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meet me halfway by black eyed peas

This video is about people who are far apart each other and are getting back together. It starts with Fergie laying on a rock and singing in a dreamland full of trees and flowers and as the song goes on, she stands up and sings. And camera angles show the place she’s in.

Her facial expression is meant to be sad and tired of chasing the man she’s singing to. And she is even crying towards the end and asking the man to meet her half way.

Here we see Allan Pineda Lindo on another sphere and it looks like there is no gravity and he’s doing some magic to find out where she is and the music keeps playing faster when he is singing so the cut’s between shots are quicker and also he gets cloned copies of him around and they sing with him.

Next we see Will I Am riding on an elephant with some modern technology in front of him and he’s using them to calculate how far he is from her and if he is going the right way. He’s also on space and walking in crates and it looks like he’s on moon.

And at last we see Taboo who’s on space next to the sun and his part is rapping so the shot keeps cutting and changing to close ups and long shots to show the distance of him to the sun. This looks painful and he has his arm covering his face but he is still trying to get closer as he sings “he’ll do anything for her”

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The song

It’s time to do the story board for our music video, so far we have chosen the “no more“song and considering the lyrics and what was on our minds we decided to have a story behind the music video and after the results of our questionnaire we’ll decide how to film it but it will most likely be a gloomy and black and white video.

Here are the lyrics:

Noooooo, no,
(no, no, no, no)
gotta here me (here me, here me)
here me, yeah,
uh, uh, oh, no,

[Verse 1]
what is going on,
you know you surrender to ways that'll end ya
before you have begun,
Mr 'wanna be player' who rules with the terror
of bottles knives and guns,
it aint always the target that your bullet scars,
it's the innocent passers by,
it's always the good that shouldn't 'o died,
now watcha gonna do,
when you look in the mirror, the eyes of a killer,
are staring back at you,
It's too late for prayer and no-one will save ya
with no place to run to,
the thugs that you thought were your people,
had bought you a ticket to your brain,
this is your final day,
but i say...

[Chorus]
No, no more,
put it, put it down,
too many gone before they're grown,
yeah
No, no more, put it, put it down,
you only reap what you have sown,
no more,
(family's torn apart,)
no more,
(tradegy is in the heart of....)
this home, this street, this town,
no more no more,

[Verse 2]
now don't you read the signs,
if those you be down with
have done, got their ass hit,
then you are next in line,
(next in line)
and so on and so on,
don't tell me, your so dumb, that you can't see the light
(can't see the light)
It's time for decision
It's time for some action
to stop it once and for all,
you still wont call,
I'm calling for....

[Chorus]
No, no more,
put it, put it down,
too many gone before they're grown,
I say,
No, no more,
put it, put it down,
you only reap what you have sown,
no more,
(family's torn apart,)
no more,
(tradegy is in the heart of....)
this home, this street, this town,
no more no more,

[Dynamite MC]
c'mon c'mon people,
none of us are made of metal,
so when this bullet hits the street,
now that's not equal!
how many have to cry beneath the steeple
too many walk the streets
with their minds set that's too damn lethal!
I know the argument,
you got yours to protect yourselves,
so you don't need to check yourself,
coz you aint tryin' to wreck yourself,
It's dem,
But then there soon becomes you,
when you find yourself defending a member of your crew,
It's a vicious cycle, too many wanna claim the title,
they wanna be the 'bad man thug' cuz that's their idol,
don't live by the life you're not supposed to be living,
don't try take,take,take with hate just try givin'
cuz one can make a difference,
Ten can make the same,
One Hundred can make things get better round your lanes,
One Thousand a new start,
Ten thousand a revolution
One million we'll finally be close to the solution,
no more,

[Chorus]
No, no more,
put it, put it down,
too many gone before they're grown,
I say,
No, no more,
put it, put it down,
you only reap what you have sown,
no more,
(family's torn apart,)
no more,
(tradegy is in the heart of....)
this home, this street, this town,
no more no more,

No more,
(more, more, more, more.........)

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Genre

We haven’t looked at many types of music but so far we’ve chosen D&B as our genre.

What is D&B?

Internet definition: Drum 'n Bass started as a music experiment on the dance floors of the UK breakbeat hardcore and rave scenes where DJ's and producer's blended reggae bass lines, hip hop, jazz, breakbeats, ambient music and techno. It began during the late 80s and early 90s as the electronic music, rave, club and ecstacy cultures blossomed in the UK. This style of electronic music, originally known as jungle, was pioneered by such artists and DJ's such as Fabio, Mickey Finn, Grooverider and Aphrodite.The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats (typically between 160–190 bpm, occasional variation is noted in older compositions), with heavy bass, sub-bass lines, and occasional infra-bass lines.

So far we haven’t found many artist who we could contact and ask for permission for our music video and the one we’ve found is called Roni Size. He is a drum and bass artist whom is also part of the band Reprazent, that has released 19 albums from 1993 with one being released this year. He lives in Bristol and has been signed to his own label Full Cycle Records and recieved the Mercury Music Prize for his LP New Forms which was critically acclaimed. Much of the acclaim centred around the mixing of jungle beats accompanied by live drums and double bass. The band consists of Roni Size, DJ Krust, Onallee, Dynamite MC and rapper Bahamadia. As a result, Reprazent's drum 'n' bass is equally informed by hip-hop, funk, soul and house and he also happens to Aiden’s uncle which makes it easier to contact him for permission.

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3: CD cover

This cover belongs to Paolo Nutiti who is a pop singer and he has some dance songs in this album. The red, green and yellow background and all of these lights choose of colour make the album look like it has some cheerful/happy songs in it which are perfect to start a day with and as we can see in the picture the character is having a breakfast and doing the same thing with his guitar on the background. The hat and guitar and the way the character is dressed shows that he is Paolo himself even though his name is written on top of the album but younger people who can’ read will recognise him from the picture.

We can see that this cover is completely different to the Eminem’s cover and each is made specifically for their audience. Unlike Eminem’s album this cover has no seriousness on it and birds, flower and the rainbow on the background all say individual sweet things about the cd. The picture is also sketched out and has a cartoony look to it which expands the age range for audience and younger children will buy it too.

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2: CD cover

This is the new Eminem’s album cover which is called recovery and there is a aid sign which has replaced the letter “O” to help understand the meaning of the word. The logo on the bottom right is says Advisory which is not usual for album covers to have but this logo makes the album special and puts it on a different level to for example a R&B album.

Recovery sign has a mirrored E and is written with the same font as "Eminem" just like on his other albums so even though it doesn’t say who the artist is on the cover but it’s obvious that it’s Eminem because the mirrored E in his name had been on all his other albums and it is known as how Eminem is spelled although there’s a picture of his back there with a hat and a hoody (the typical rapper style).

he is walking towards an endless road which becomes blurry and hazy the farther you look and there aren’t any cars or anything else on this road which says that Eminem is going his own way in his rapping career without following anyone else and because he is walking the viewer doesn’t think he's just standing there looking at the end of the road and he’s already on his way to become more popular at what he is doing.

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1: CD cover

This is Alicia Keys album cover which is simply photo shoot of her close up for people to recognise her. Just by looking at this album cover you will get an idea that this album has gentle and slow songs in it and it will present you a peaceful time listening to it and you can really see this in the artists face on the cover. Purple is one of the cool colours which scientifically have proven that it calms you down and it’s been used on the background of this cover also all the wings around the corners of album represent a nice quite place where you can relax.The dress that she’s wearing is made out of feathers to show the softness and restful side of album.

Her name is written in capital letters with a white colour so it’s really easy to see and the name of the album is positioned in the right place under the name to get the viewer’s eyes on it. Also the “freedom” is in bold font and written bigger than the rest so it’s really standing out.

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Introduction

Hi, this is the A2 blog for my media project to continue writing my progress and keep up to date with everything that’s happening in my subject. This year I’ll have to create a music video in a team of three. I am working with Oscar and Aiden. We still haven’t decided what genre or type of music we are going to do but since the choices are limited we can only make a video which is not already made and we have to ask the artist for permission. The artist is still unknown at this point but the music is most likely going to be drum and bass.

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Alireza | A2media

About

Alireza Hemadani.

Bristol

Question 4 :How did you use media technologies in the construction and research planning and evaluation stages?

D&B music with narrative video?!

Questionnaire

The music video plans

Club Foot by Kasabian

Paranoid by Kanye West

meet me halfway by black eyed peas

The song

Genre

3: CD cover

2: CD cover

1: CD cover

Introduction

Alireza | A2media

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