To-do list

I have almost finished the construction of my media product, but there are a few things I need to do before it is fully complete.

• Final filming shoot- (shots 3, 5, 6, 19, 29, 30, 33, 36, 40, 48, 49, 51, 61, 62, 63) 19/12/14
• Collect found footage
• Research digi-pack and full-page magazine advert
• Photo shoot for digi-pack and full-page magazine advert

Applying audience theory to my A2 coursework

The majority of the audience for my music video is young females. I believe that this particular audience can aspire to be like Taylor Swift who is a down-to-earth female who sings songs that the audience can relate to as they are at a similar age.

The desensitisation theory is the concept that audiences are non-reactive or insensitive to a media text. We become desensitised due to the the repetition of the media. However, this theory does not support my music video. The aim of my video's affect on the audience is to make them feel emotional about their upbringing and is meant to send the message to appreciate what we have. The audience won't look at the theory and physically react, but it will bring out emotion and make them sensitive to watching the video.

The cultivation theory is the idea that TV has a dominant impact on an audiences real-life experiences, and mainly a negative affect. George Gerbner theorised that heavy viewers of the media see the world as a dangerous place because 80% of material is violent and racist. Again, my music video does not link with this theory because it does not portray the world as a dangerous environment. The music video instead implies how wonderful life is and sends a message how we take it for granted. The actress is seen outside in different locations, which indicates how the 'outside' world is safe. 

28/11/14 shoot

28/11/14
Progress for the music video is going well,  on this day's shoot we went to film at the lake grounds. My friend's sister Izzy was unable to act in my music video so I asked a year 7 called Sophie to be in it. We filmed all the shots of the artist and her younger-self together.

Below is a picture of me filming the same shot but at a different angle to add variety.

Below I am directing a shot between Abbie and Sophie.

Updated Shooting Schedule

Date	Time	Shots	Location	Crew	Actors	Equipment
21/11/14	3:30pm-4:30pm	44, 46	Abbie’s House	Rachel Howard	Abbie Taylor	Video Camera Photo Camera Tripod Photos Pen/Paper
28/11/14	3pm-5pm	7, 8, 10-17, 23, 25, 37, 39, 41	Lakegrounds	Rachel Howard Gemma Briggs (Helping set up shots)	Abbie Taylor Sophie Baldwin	Video Camera Photo Camera Paper Heart Speakers Tripod
Date to be confirmed (15th-19th December)	To be confirmed	Re-shots of singing 19, 29, 33 36, 40, 48, 49, 51, 61-63	Lakegrounds	Rachel Howard	Abbie Taylor	Video Camera Photo Camera Guitar Speakers Tripod

Anamatic

I took pictures of my storyboard and fitted it into the song. It acts as a guideline as what my music video will look like and help me to know how long each shot is going to be. I can fit the real footage into the anamatic to make the editing process easier.

Applying Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze to my A2 coursework

The Male Gaze theory by Laura Mulvey can be applied to my music video in a number of ways. In summary, the theory explains how the audience of a media text are positioned as a male viewer where the females on the screen are seen as desirable and physical objects to be admired. This is achieved through camera angles and costume. The costume of the artist is my music video portrays her as innocent as she wears a white skirt which can symbolise purity. This may be attractive to the audience as she seems ‘hard to get’. Another way in which the male Gaze is achieved in my music video is through camera angles. The camera follows the artist as she walks in front, turning around and giggling at the camera. This could be seen as a flirtatious action which teases the audience and makes the artist seem even more desirable. However, my music video also subverts the argument of the theory for many different reasons. The music video is not aimed at men and is instead targeted towards teenage girls who can relate the artist and the song. This challenges the theory because the camera will position itself as the target audience of the music video and not a heterosexual male position. However, as discussed in previous blog posts, the artist could try to appear more appealing to the male audience to widen her popularity. Also, the protagonist in the product is the artist who is female so the audience will be encouraged to identify with her. Therefore, the artist cannot be seen as an object if she is pushing the narrative and playing an active role in the text.

Applying genre to my A2 coursework

Genre is the categorising of texts to indicate to an audience what they will be experiencing. Genre plays a big part in media productions as there are certain conventions that they have to meet and develop. The genre for my music video is country/pop. I have made a music video for Taylor Swift's 'Never Grow Up'. There are many ways in which my music video supports and subverts stereotypes of genre.

Nick Lacey's Repertoire of Elements supports my genre. The artist, Taylor Swift is played by Abbie Taylor. The artist conforms to stereotypes of the genre through her character's costume. Cowboy boots, denim, checked shirts and cowboy hats are normally associated with western media products and the country/folk image. My artist wears a white skirt to display her innocence, a checked shirt, a denim bodice and cowboys boots to meet these stereotypes of the genre. The element is the main way of communicating to the audience the genre of the music video was purposely planned.

Again, some of the iconography featured in the music video can be seen as meeting the 'criteria' of the country genre. The artist plays a guitar which lots of country singers play, and in acoustic versions of pop songs, guitars are often used. However, I have deliberately subverted stereotypes of the country genre to make it more modern. For example, a fiddle, banjo and harmonica are all instruments associated with the genre but I chose a song that doesn't include them to attract a wider audience as these instruments are not normally featured in popular music. Christine Gledhill can be applied here as she quoted 'Genres... are not discrete systems, consisting of a fixed number of listable items'. This relates to my product because I have not included the 'list' of things that are normally considered to make up features of the country genre. 

Props such as cactuses and horses can also be said to be obvious characteristics associated with the genre theory. However, I did not use these in my music videos, not only because they were unaccessible but I don't think they relate to the song and will be attractive to the audience. These 2 features could be mocked and are not appropriate in the modern country/pop music videos. This is supported by Steve Neale, who said ‘difference is absolutely essential to the economy of genre' which means that repetition would not attract an audience. 

Difference is important to genre because it keeps the audience interested and means that they won't expect what is going to happen and get bored. In my music video, difference is also applied when it comes to the setting of the shoot. I shot my music video on a beach but the country genre would stereotypically be associated with a desert, farm, bayou, or a location in deep South America. Although I didn't fit the conventions of the country genre through setting, I did use a natural setting which is appropriate for the vibe of the song. The conventional settings were inaccessible to me also. 

My narrative also subverts the country genre in some ways. Country songs are often happy and about love but my song itself is subverting this genre as it is about reflecting on youth and growing up so it has a sad tone to it. However, lots of country songs are about childhood and this is relevant to the lyrics. I have used found footage and anachronic flashbacks to convey the artist's childhood.  

I have considered using a sepia tone in the editing process of my music video which would fit the style of country. This is because it creates a vintage effect which can be linked the the country genre. 

7/11/14- First Shoot

Below are some shots of my artist getting her make up done ready for the shoot. I was unable to get any pictures of us actually filming because it was only Abbie and I on location. The shoot was not very successful because for two reasons. Firstly, I collected the video camera from the technicians and they told me the camera was fully charged. However, when we arrived at the location and started filming the camera had low battery. Therefore we had to use the back-up camera to film. Also, the weather was bad and it was raining a lot so we had to wait for it stop before we could go out and shoot. When we were shooting it was very windy. However, we did get some of my footage filmed which was a good start.

Risk Assessment

I have made a risk assessment as a way of showing my preparation for possible problems that could occur. I have evaluated the likelihood of the issues happening and the precautions that should be taken.

Risk	Level of Risk (1 being unlikely, 2 being a possibility and 3 being likely)	Course of action to prevent risk
Camera runs out of battery	2	I will bring a back up portable camera with me in case the main camera does not work or runs out of battery. I have a battery charger so will make sure that the camera is fully charged before the shoot.
Bad weather	3	This is something that I have no control over and will be a major issue because my shoot is all outdoors. Unfortunately, this means I am going to have to rely on luck on the day of the shoot but will need to check the weather forecast on the day of the shoot and decided whether to reschedule or not.
Cast or crew can not attend shoot	1	The cast and crew may have other priorities, which may mean that they cannot attend a shoot. There is also the possibility that they get ill or another problem occurs which means that they cannot come to the shoot. To prevent this risk as much as possible, I will contact the cast and crew asking which days they are available to shoot to fit in with them. Therefore, there is more likelihood of them turning up to the shoot. I will also notify the cast and crew the day before and the day of the shoot.

Shooting Schedule

Below is a copy of my shooting schedule. Some of the dates still need to be confirmed as the artist and characters are not sure on future plans as of yet but I will record the date that we filmed in my blog posts for each filming session.

Date	Time	Shots	Location	Crew	Actors	Equipment
31/10/14	12pm- 1:30pm	Test Shots	Lakegrounds	Rachel Howard	Abbie Taylor	Photo Camera Guitar
7/11/14	1: 30pm- 3:30pm	1-4,9,18,20,22,26-29,31,34,43,48-49,52-55,64 (Abbie singing)	Beach	Rachel Howard Lauren Hampton	Abbie Taylor	Video Camera Photo Camera Guitar Speakers Tripod
8/11/14	7pm	42	High Down Fireworks Night	Rachel Howard		Video Camera
10/11/14	3:30pm-5:30pm	Same as 7/11/14	Beach	Rachel Howard	Abbie Taylor	Video Camera Photo Camera Guitar Speakers Tripod
14/11/14	3pm-4:30pm	Same as 7/11/14	Beach	Rachel Howard Lauren Hampton?	Abbie Taylor	Video Camera Photo Camera Guitar Speakers Tripod

Costume

 

 The photo on the left is the costume that my artist will be wearing in the music video.

 The photo on the right are the shoes Abbie will be wearing. These shoes fit in with the country genre as they are cowboy boots are a typical accessory piece of attire that Taylor Swift would wear.

 I have kept the make up natural and the hair messy for the music video to keep in with the Taylor Swift look. I think the natural look is appropriate for this music video.

 The photo on the left shows Abbie modelling the whole outfit together and the photo below is a close-up of the bottom part of the costume. I think that the checked shirt makes the look more casual yet edgy but fits in with the country genre.

 The white skirt is just above the knee so is appropriate for the 'star' image and portrays the innocence of the artist as she grows up.

 

The tie-dye top with rips in the back is edgy and cool.

 

The denim crop top underneath is acid wash so looks worn out. I think it the denim fits in with the overall look that resembles Swift and contrasts with the top worn over it.

Test Shots

31/10/14

I arranged to meet up with Abbie to do some test shots. Although I've already scouted some locations to film my music video, I thought it would be best to practice setting up some shots with the artist to see how they would look for the final product. We went to the lake grounds and tried out different shots such as close-ups, medium shots and wide shots to see what worked best and captured the essence of the video's meaning. I thought the tree was a good use of representation, as it symbolises growth which is relevant to the song's meaning. I also made good use of the spectacular views that Portishead has.

Storyboard

Below are the photos of my storyboard which is a visual guide to the plot of my music video. Some of the shots are repeated but they are all numbered, and labelled with a time-per-shot as well as the lyrics that are sung for a particular shot. The storyboard is in chronological order.