Blog Reflection

Introduction

In this task i will be explaining the choices i will be making when creating my music video. I will need to discuss the following:

Who will i be working with and why?

My Ideas on how to set out the music video?

What i think i will struggle with?

Who Will I Be Working With and Why?

To create my music video, i will be working with Roxanne and Chireece. I have chosen to work with these two students as we have a strong connection and were able to work creatively well together. I find it important that you like the people you work with, otherwise the product could lack communication. We have had previous working partnerships before, and it was a success with the final product.

What are your initial ideas for advanced portfolio?

For our music video, the genre is R&B; i will need to have many codes and conventions of a R&B music video. From my research i want to use the layout from "It's My Birthday" Will/I.Am ft Cody Wise, The song i have chosen to use can be split into two different themes, this enables me to have more creativity with the music video, i have chosen a few styles below that i might want to use in my video as they are applealing to who is watching the video and they are also achievable with FinalCut Pro. 

The style of the music video is in the center, with both top and bottom blacked out. I think this is creative and it would be able to keep the audience's attention more as they're looking straight forward. I would like to use this effect as it has a professional look to it and it is also achievable. However, i am not able to have lots of people in the background like this scene has, due to the music video i am going to produce only focuses on two people. Though still having them positioned in the center of the screen is able to keep viewers from feeling bored or looking across the screen. 

I would also like to use the red effect, the idea came from the music video 'neighbors Know My Name' by Trey Songz. I would like to use this as it clearly shows love, and sexualises the male and female, this is a code and convention of R&B music videos, which is the genre i have chosen.

This can also be done by FinalCut Pro, and can be applied to all scenes of the music video if necessary.Also, the redness of the scene is able to notify the viewers the themes of the song and the actual music video; this scene looks sexual, indicating children under the age of 16 should not be able to watch this. 

I would also like to use the shadow effect of both people in the music video. This is because it can show mystery, and it's still in a red mist theme thats still able to show the themes of love, The characters will be positioned close as this is able to show through a mid shot of the actual closeness between both characters in the music video. My music video will be split into different themes, when the boy is asleep it will be more seductive than the second part, showing lonliness and will have a car in the corner of the screen, as this is a code and convention of music videos. The fact they are positioned together very closely also can show inner feelings of both the characters without even talking to them. The background is red, also deeply black, and this is able to show there could be hidden secrets within the story line, which there is; that the whole thing is an actual dream. 

I would like to use the scene from "We Dem Boyz" Wiz Khalifa, it is a scene in his home town on a quiet road. This is able to relate to the story line of my music video, of the boy character walking down the road by himself. This is able to promote the themes of lonliness within his life. Also he is in his own general surroundings, with chains, baggy clothing and wearing a hat; these are codes and conventions of music videos, specifically the one i have chosen for R&B. Furthermore, the car in the corner right is also a code and convention of music videos, Wiz Khalifa is positioned on the right side of the screen, this could signify cars, money and fashionable things are able to be a complete part of famous/general's people lives. I would like to use this scene in my music video as it is able to say a lot just with one scene. 

What are your hopes and fears about the project?

For the project, i will hope that it will go to plan. I would like to complete the tasks on the date set as this gives more time to film the scenes. Also, the people i have chose with are trustworthy and i get on with them well, this can bring huge hope as we would be able to work together well without any disagreements. 

Though, my fears for this project are if any technology stops working, this can be difficult to finish the project and would need to film the scenes all over again. Also, if one of the group members decide they do not like the themes of the music video, again it would have to be changed and this could take up a lot of valuable time that could be used on something more important like editing the scenes. I also feel that the weather may be a worry as filming on an empty road, could be difficult if it' s raining, it could also break the camera. This is a worry as it could effect how much we're able to film in a certain amount of time.

 Another fear is if the effects do not go to plan. This could be difficult as it would not look as professional as it should in order to achieve the correct grades. Although this can be avoided if another person in the group is able to understand how to make the effects work better on FinalCut Pro. Also understanding how to use FinalCut Pro again may be a challenge, although i know how to use it i haven't used to programme in a long time, which means i would of forgot some of the effects that are able to be created.

Genre Theory

Theories  - Genre as a system theory 

Introduction 

In this task i have defined what the definition of genre is, explaining the codes and conventions of different types of music videos. 

What is Genre?

Genre is a style of a category of music. They are split into many sub genres, that have their own codes and conventions that make them noticeable. 

                         e.g. Country is a genre of music, though it is a wide spread genre and is split into sub       genres, for example Country Gospel is the sub genre. 

Steve Neale - Genre Theory 

Steve Neale states that "genres are instances of repetition and differences" and "genres are not systems, they are processes of systemisation". He has also explained that definitions are genre a re historically relative and are therefore historically specific. Believed that there was  system of expectation and that by using own knowledge and applying conventions of the genre, the audience should be able to infer the narrative and storyline of the music video. Furthermore, Steve Neale declares that difference is essential to the economy of genre, mere repetition would not attract an audience. The video below tests Neale's theory, Drake - Started From The Bottom.

Repetition in Drake's music video, two skyline shots have been used. I believe this is a way the artist is telling the audience they want to dominate the city. The way all three shots have been angled, the eyes of the artist are looking down on the city, as if to say 'Im more powerful'. The location is slightly different, which can support Neale's theory as it's been repeated however is different based on the location. Another similarity is the narrative, Drake is trying to tell the audience about his life and how it has changed dramatically since he has become famous. He talks about his bad times that he's experienced which gains sympathy form the audience, this can open his audience to a wider spread as they can realise he is not just another 'rapper' trying to become famous, but has a background like general people. 

Expectations Of A Type Of Genre

For different genres. are different expectations. The expectations are usually very clear or can be guessed before viewing the music video. 

pop usually has bright/neon colours and strobe lights are used, close up shots of the artist are used, as this can show innocence of the artist. In every pop song there are fun and light hearted or cheesy dances that break out from nowhere, this shows they're all enjoying themselves and have no worries. There's usually a teenage scenario, for example the singer has a crush on someone, and usually has a happy feel to the song. An example of this is Katy Perry - TGIF. 

Hip-Hop is normally set in a club or a party environment. Dancers, models are dressed in skimpy clothing, for example short skirts, belly tops or short shorts. The jewellery is normally very bold, cars are in the background, money, alcohol, mansions and branded clothing are highlighted in their music videos. The artists generally wear baggy clothing if their males, or urban dress codes. Slang words are also used, and swearing is highly addressed. An example of this is Wiz Khalifa - We Dem Boyz 

Rock always has deep and dark colours, they display the band performing on stage, there are generally no narratives in their music videos. The camera is generally uneasy with their movements, they usually wear black, silver, grey, with piercings and tattoos, their hair is always messy styled wearing bold black eyeliner. An example of this is Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit 

Dance always has upbeat dance routines, they sometimes have a narrative to follow, they are also usually set in a club or a party, their upbeat and have fun videos. They also use bright/neon colours with bright lighting. The dancers are usually wearing similar clothing with bright clothing. An example of this is Shakira - Hips Don't Lie. 

Pop: Having a twist in a music video can be exciting or give pleasure to the audience, this can apply to Neale's theory. It's generally unexpected, for example the song Call Me Maybe - Carley Rae Jepsen, The twist generally goes against the codes and conventions of a R&B music video. For example in this music video, Carly is singing about her next door neighbour, this is popular in music videos. Though the video can be remembered by having a twist that the guy that the girl likes, goes off with another man. This can be humurous to the audience and the music video can be remembered.

To conclude, music genre's have different codes and conventions within their music videos. Although some do not apply to the theories, they can be remembered by the difference of each of them; for example having twists can be more entertaining than general music videos that apply to all theories, and are "expected" from the type of genre. I have also learnt from my research that by spotting the codes and conventions, you're able to see the type of genre the music video is. For example, if a music video has a lot of jewellery, cars, women being sexualised and money on display; this can be classed as R&B/grime. Each genre has certain traditions that gets followed by each genre. You are able to tell them apart by these.