Research- Amy Winehouse case study

The documentary "Amy" by Asif Kapadia I viewed was an insight into her life where the director tried to view it from her perspective rather than that of the paparazzi who apparently place a negative view of her as a drinker and substance abusing but talented individual, This can greatly be related to Dyer's star theory in the way that she had an image that was constructed by media which was due to her troubled lyrics and general attitude and drug use the attraction of such a disposition was perhaps how it repulsed people so they had to see/hear her.

As her image was personified by something she wasn't but it eventually forced her with a sense of peer pressure to become it which sheds light on the titles aptly named tagline "the girl behind the name" obviously to show there was more or a different  her below the media's surface slander. While people consider her loud and morally unsure she was in fact simply damaged and misunderstood going through her parents' divorce and loose parenting then later in life an abusive boyfriend. Meanwhile the news agencies that acquired this information would not necessarily warp what they found more shed it in a different light so it fit her image. There was a point however when the two identities merged as her most recent hardships with her boyfriend Blake, breaking up with her hit hard while her grandma's death was piled on top. As she was the main source of encouragement for her music career this dealt a killing emotional blow and degraded her to a point she resorted to drugs when she was back with Blake. A demand for her intoxicated state became her selling point. 

So in great relation to dyers star theory she became what people viewed her as in order to maintain her star status. She even predicted even stated "I couldn't handle being famous" and that she was "out of her depth" however even though her life till her death fluctuated highs and lows she found stability towards the end and was clean but her own album "back to black" was her downfall symbolising all the hardships shed faced. She struggled to face singing the album live again. She began drinking again and in her frail state with a week heart beat already. On Saturday the 23rd of July 2011 she passed away. I believe this can truly show media's influence and power in swaying peoples opinions and decisions, as long as they get the publicity and work.

Main task- Props and equipment list

Props:
Apron
Water bottle
Watercolours
Tracksuit top
Baseball bat
Fingerless gloves
Scarf
Tin can
Copper coins
Balaclava
Multiple sets of clothes
Top hat
Waistcoat
White shirt
Beer bottles
Food in a Tupperware tub

Equipment:
Tripod
DSLR
SD card
camcorder
TV
Laptop
HDMI cable
USB cable
Memory stick
SD card reader

Research- Male gaze theory textural analysis

The male gaze theory was devised by Laura Mulvey as a feminist idea that is a concept of how media has specifically placed aspects that appear appealing for men as sexual inclinations or pleasing images and the idea that the use of these can affect an audiences anticipation to see it often used in trailers or music videos as a method of attracting male based audience a well know example of the male gaze theory in affect on a film would be the "James Bond 007" collection which was ironically know for its women in bikinis. although this is a very subjective idea as it is established on the principal that it is all men who are pulled in by such things which would not be the case.
It had big influence during the 19070's and she describes it as voyeuristic  in that its for likable appeal or simply sexual. the theory was developed in 1975.

Examples in music video may be blurred lines by Robin Thicke which is a blatant use of sexual appeal aimed at men as it features top naked women posing with the artists in a sexualised manor obviously an attempt at male gaze to attract popularity especially as music videos are rarely this explicit it can be considered controversial to attempt this.

Main task/Preliminary- Filming schedule

	Time filmed in the day
Day filmed	Period 1	Period 2	Period 3	Period 4	Period 5	After school
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

Key

Filming

Unavailable

Main task- lip sync practice piece

Main task- Cover prototype

This piece below designed by Brantley Steer on the programme "Photoshop" is a practice design of the cover concept we drafted. The piece shows 2 walls opposing each other separated by I middle section, on one side the wall is derelict with graffiti and missing bricks while the other side is clean and well-kept to show a contrast in society and class.

This will be greater represented as we will conduct an image of us leaning against the wall in scruffy “chav” like clothes with cigarettes and cheap alcohol and a mirror image instead wearing suits with a cigar and a martini glass on the other side.

This blog will progress with time and advancement in the course...

Main task- Applied lyrics and script

contradictive music to the happy sound the lyrics are run down and depressed visuals. Start happy and slowly become darker as time passes.

Key for who
Warehouse (assault) - Joe
Home (kicked out) - Tom or Sam
Job (fired) - Tom or Sam
All



(leaving job centre happy)
different pubs, same name -
Kids out in the rain - "kids" displays teenager as childish to viewer                                                
Drain on society - waste i.e. unwanted (link to family)
Nothing on the telly -  bored lazy                                           
Barely at school - delinquent, no care for education do at school
Acting like a fool - carefree irresponsible shows irresponsible
Well I coulda done well if things had gone better - reference to education do at school
Slurred singing, wrong lyrics on the dance floor - drunk
Not rich, not poor - just getting by so not a comfortable life
What you living for? - using as a sense to threaten
Poundland pubs and Wormwood scrubs -
Last nights takeaway in Tupperware tubs -

I lost my job in Weatherspoons - sacked *throws apron on ground*
And since that day my bank has hit zero - camera tracks face as lipsinc

Hopefully things'll pick up next year though -
And if they don't then well... - pause music on streets begging for money

intermediate - begging then puts in earphones and music resumes

[Chorus]
It won't be long before I sign on
Is it right or is it wrong?
I've got no money, it's all gone (x2)

Every week do the lottery -
Daylight robbery -
Spend more on tickets than it's worth in the long run -
Young, dumb, living off mum -
Waiting for the right time to come -
Can't afford the bus that I used to run for -
Lurking on the wrong side of the law -
What for? -
Once more, never been abroad -
A week around here's enough to make you crazy -

[Chorus]
It won't be long before I sign on
Is it right or is it wrong?
I've got no money, it's all gone (x2)

All my shoes have holes in the soles
Live my life in second hand clothes (x2)

[Chorus]
It won't be long before I sign on
Is it right or is it wrong?
I've got no money, it's all gone (x4)
(Entering job centre together all miserable)


- walking past school goes to abandoned warehouse messes around assaulted
- walks home leeches of parents living easy, gets kicked out
- goes to job a mess carefree, gets fired, becomes poor
- jobs happy jobs carefree, bad mishaps meet up depressed




Script
(Leave job centre happy)
All - "drunk" record us wobbling outside pub
Tom - coming home in the rain
Tom - lazy scene
Tom - recording me lip-syncing that's played on the TV tom pressing remote
Joe - messing around in abandoned warehouse
Joe - people approach him menacingly
All - being handed "F" grade papers
Sam -
Sam -
Joe - bullying him shouting "what you living for
All - leaving pub looing upset
Tom - eating all the food in the house
Sam - gets fired throws apron on floor
Sam - walking go pro recording me walking mouthing lyrics
Sam - Continue
Sam - sat on the floor in town wrapped in rags


[Chorus - start]
Tom - mimes first line happily
Joe - mimes second line unscathed
Sam - mines third line in apron


Tom - mimes first line upset and depressed drenched in water
Joe - mimes line bruised and beaten and bleeding
Tom - mimes third line without apron scruffily and dirt on face
(think of idea for next part of chorus)
[Chorus - end]

Main task- Idea pitch video

Main task- Story board

Preliminary- Final product

A final cut of our practice piece for our main music video task later in the year, it features the song "seven nation army" by white stripes and served a purpose of experimenting with premier pro editing and visual/transitional effects on scenes as well as Adobe after effects which was used to create certain typography for lyrics in the video. All round this improved my editing skills in which I have strived in the endeavour to improve upon.

our group hope you enjoy:

Peliminary- CD cover design and CD research

Research- Dyer's star theory

Dyers star theory holds the idea that compares and defines the thin boundary between a music performer and a music star as a performer is someone who plays music to audiences while stars are more idolised and there daily activity becomes something of interest to the audience as well, a good example of stars would be David Bowie who become renowned for there feats outside there music career due to fan interest or in the case of his controversy and due to there famousness become well known outside there fan base or cult followers often stars create persona's or identities which are not there actual selves just what they know the crowds would expect of them or want them to be such as Amy Winehouse or lady gaga. Amy Winehouse was believed to be a drug abusing alcoholic performer this was her "claim to fame" which rose her to be a star when in actual truth she didn't begin as one at all, however through the pressures of her audiences and fans drove her to become this persona and she eventually died from drug misuse which shows that the star and the person are not necessarily one and the same. While lady gaga simply was considered a strange person so she constantly tried to create new ways to shock people so she leapt at every chance to be controversial till it was the main thing she was known for and became a "star".

Dyer stated that "A star is an image not a real person that is constructed" meaning the person themselves don't change its simply a mask that's used for attention, while the image itself can eventual change the person (Amy Winehouse) the image is manufactured through how the person is managed using materials at there disposal such as magazine columns tour adverts news feeds social media, things that entwine with day to day life of the potential consumer till news on them becomes frequent. While performers such as "Korn" a metal band tend to only be well known but only within there own genres consumers and with fewer people who follow there life outside the music industry and will either lack a persona or simply have one but is non-functional in the aims of becoming a star.

The current artist I am using "rat boy" an artist who appears as a layabout rebellious teen who comes across as common  creating songs such as "sign on" (to benefits) and "fake Id" he come across as a rebellious spirit while also seeming average as he comes across as poor from a small town making him relate-able to some. Although with him being a singer its doubtful he's poor so he appears to have a fictional "star image" about him although he isn't a star himself as he's a small time niche singer and he's not well known.

Research- music genre theory

Research- Music video regulation and distributrion

Music video regulations are controlled by the same company that regulate films and there minimum age for viewers, this company is called the BBFC, (the British Board of Film Classification). They regulate adult content in media and occasionally ban it from certain media such as when music videos were displayed on the TV in top of the pops, where on occasion the music but not the video usually by being too controversial for the time periods values or in rarer cases of offence or discrimination. Other music video regulations are put into place by the sources of the media in the first place usually in that of YouTube which occasionally bans media. However, this raises an issue as it’s easy to fake your age. This raises issues as the lack of control over media and then hence a surplus of freedom, this means that with the range of music videos there are some that are inappropriate for specific groups of age or that are objectifying or too controversial are easily accessed by anyone. So to combat this the BBFC attempted to regulate YouTube's videos (and music video's) with age rating labels before viewing which was very short lived as people prefer uncensored unregulated media due to the far higher rate of individually who are not offended by much of the material available in comparison to the minority who do usually parents.

 Below is a well-known old controversial music video called "like a prayer" by Madonna that shows how ideas become less controversial over time and the ideas behind it.

 However that in question most music videos banned within the last 30 years or so have been lifted off there "Banned" statues This would include such videos as Madonna's "like a prayer" which featured a black Jesus during a time when there were racial rights but not vary much acceptance let alone for that "blasphemy" insinuates rape by a white gang and the black man is the saviour which some people found unnecessary for viewing. Political injustice is shown as the black man is arrested and shows obvious racism in criminal justice department i.e. the police hastily locking up the black man with no evidence and finally potential male gaze material of Madonna in a black sexualised nightie, this may have been banned and considered as unfit for media as it portraits white's as the villains in the narrative.

Research- We media and its contents

Throughout the duration of my holiday I had to independently find information on the locally sourced media whether through social media, newspapers, other internet sources or verbally through conversation or gossip then rate them on their reliability and their origins and whether it is dependable or plausible if not made up by “trolls”. Most sources of intelligence of current affairs are skewed by personal opinion as the sharing of media becomes more democratic, this is called “we media” or "new media" as anyone is now able to post their own stories and allowed to express their opinion this means the quality credibility and reliability of said information can be uncertain, leading to virtually all news to be distrusted or in some cases not at all, such as believed in the eyes of the consume and the consumer can also be a producer leading to Tapscott and Williams theory of "Prosumers" such as citizen journalists. This can be seen in current daily events that go fairly unnoticed in the democratic sense such as YouTube which allows the free exchange of ideas news thoughts and entertainment and poll shows like most recognised the x-factor where the audience themselves decide the round winners.

 However there are major issues as people who have greater influence over the media such as Rupert Murdock owner of "Sky", "The Sun", "The Times" and finally the "Press Association" who is causing the network to, in a sense become less democratic as he control's a large majority of media as a "Big media" conglomerate . He has openly stated he can decide elections due to the fact that his opinion can be used to shape stories to have views that lean towards his ideals, his conglomerates subsidiaries would have no say in the matter but to print or display it almost giving his power a aerie propaganda feel. For example political views or opinion on migrants. This would be posted in an array of media outlets which is a rather scary and controversial though to believe that no one man has so much power and influence over peoples decisions. Even though our current free flow of ideas in our more democratic media system allows the expression of the opinions in the populous, it can be untrustworthy or purely subjective and allow people such as Murdock to gain more influence than others. By having the UK's BBC even though part of the "big media" category is a supposedly political and unbiased stature on opinions the BBC allows more reliable news feed than the newspaper or internet by having no connection or obligations to outside or opposing parties. The only politicians to openly criticise Murdock was Ed Miliband, and virtually all media shows how terrible he is so the question is who should we really believe?

I found four main pieces of info from 3 different sources this listed as first of all That a blue whale was spotted in the south coast of the UK, and came across this information when told by a friend, although the source of the information isn't necessarily a solid piece of evidence to its truth as i don't know where they acquired it from. There is very little reason for a story such as this to be fiction and no direct profits or effects to be made by even altering the story and cannot be subjective. However stories such as "man dies after cops refuse lift" is, this is because of the current Zeitgeist of hate for the police force this story could easily be manufactured or simply warped to portrait negative views, as its origin is from a local newspaper there is a chance its fabricated with no eye witnesses or statements, and if so it's had to identify if what they state is the truth. So for stories such as this that are hard for the public to believe. newspaper companies above all other media conventions seem to be battle, their opinions especially political with most having a very open generalised low brow highbrow views these would include guardian, the Sun or the Daily mail, and the paper considered for proletariat consumers stereotypically supporting the left wing parties such as labour wile vice versa bourgeois consumers papers such as the independent are stereotypically aimed at the right wing conservative parties. However currently the media of print papers are becoming obsolete some tabloid news companies even going entirely online due to the decreasing number of consumers.

Research: most famous album covers

The Beatles “Abbey Road” album cover is one of the most iconic images of the four current members of the Beatles John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Star and George Harrison Walking in a line over a zebra crossing in Abbey Road the theme for the cover is of funeral symbolism due to the themed clothing John Lennon is white that of a Preacher Ringo Star clad in black as the mourner, Paul McCartney wearing an old suit barefoot possibly depicting the dead finally George Harrison wearing tattered jeans and a shirt, to represent the grave digger. Besides the obvious appearance from further in depth research particularly from the daily mail’s online news feed there are smaller less noticeable indicators of death such as the cigarette in the "corpses" hand.

Nirvana’s never mind is another well-known album covers featuring a baby in a clear pool presumed to be chasing a dollar note, this has many symbolic messages to the image that gained its fame, such as the hinted iconography that perhaps everyone is helpless to money and controlled by it while also it could show the dangers that money brings, as the baby would die in this kind of situation. this suggest they're music to have a very anti-society feel while not coming across as a more "rebel" "teenage" kind of music that became popular around that era like Britney Spears. Additionally Kurt Cobain often had darker imagery and lyrics which is shown by the obviously life threatened baby in the  water so at the same time it reflects and stays true to his own perspective instead of being commercialised.

We will take lengthy consideration into these two album covers as they will help inspire us for our CD covers in both the preliminary and main task and show us that the albums can have a significant meaning through simple images which we will hope we can incorporate the theory into our own.

Preliminary- Editing update 1

I have managed to place an inter-textual reference within my music video as i used a zebra crossing and got tom to wear a Beatles t-shirt while walking across it this relates to a well known albums cover and adds depth to its background. Additionally iv made 7 individual shots of people in a line at different amounts then edited them to create a sound bar visual so the amount of people rises and falls to the pitch of the soundtrack over it.

Research- 8 steps to a good A2 music video

Click the link bellow to watch my animation, it will show you a guide and and insight on what's needed of my A2 course. thank you for watching.


https://www.powtoon.com/show/bRWL19aBUEQ/8-steps-for-music-videos/#/

Preliminary- Music videos analysis

Preliminary- Film update 1

Filmed 3 shots of me Tom and Brantly mouthing the line "were gonna fight them off" so that they can be merged  together once cut up so we each say a work in the line, we played music while recording so it’s easier to tell which part were saying and so that we lip synced on time to the beat. We filmed in the school field grounds and each shot was an extreme close up off the lips and in the same distance/zoom apart to prevent shuddered transitions between words when edited to a later date.

Introduction- Media A2

This will be the second year of my media studies programme, I will be creating over the course of the next year a music video featuring the album cover and research into the history of music videos I will be creating a total of 6 analysis and show progression of my preliminary, main task, ancillaries and research throughout.

1) We will do first of all a 30 second happy music video remake.

2) Second there is a preliminary task on the White Stripes "seven nation army"

3) Finally a 4 minute full music video for the main task of Rat boy's "sign on" single by the end of this year.

music video textural analysis

Preliminary- "Happy" music video

The original development o0f this piece was before that of the preliminary this was to test and experience the difficulties of lip syncing and applying footage that is or made to fit a beat.
Enjoy.

Research- "Californiacation" storyboards

Here we did a storyboard for the music video "Californiacation" by the "Red hot chilli peppers". This was in aid of developing our skills in understanding musical beat and of timing of bar's in music video storyboards, hopefully we can apply this now gained understanding to that of our pre task and main project later in the course.