Here is a post regarding a lip sync task we were designated to do in one of our project lessons. This blog is written by me (Sharon).
Our teacher has provided us with the task of a lip sync video to help us utilize the technical skills that can be applied to our final component 3 music video project to the hit song by Backstreet Boys, "I Want It That Way". I hope to feature all the criteria (e.g. 3 angles, 4 edits, all members featured) in order to construct a fun music video through, perhaps, simple editing and camera shots. To add, I hope this project would allow my group to aid the problems we might come across throughout this mini project so that they could be avoided/done better for our component 3 music video project. A few of my worries and concerns would be filming and editing in such a short period of time, coming up with ideas, and testing out our lip-syncing skills and/or performance.
Below is our general storyboard (drawn by Timo)
Below is our annotation of the lyrics sheet (annotated by me (Sharon))
Below is the final product (entirely edited by Timo)
Self Reflection: Overall, filming went well in accordance with our general storyboard as all shots were done in that short period of time (time used effectively), and we were also able to come up with ideas shortly. However, as I checked our annotation on the lyrics paper, we had forgotten to do 1 shot, in which we needed to film on our own time. Moreover, to prevent that, we decided to improvise by filming in class last minute through the transition from an iPad. Therefore, by the time we film our music video, we believe that it would be better to tick the lines once filmed to keep better track of what must still be filmed. In this project, Maxi had the most lines (besides acting, he helped in recording Timo's scenes), so Timo was the one who recorded and edited, while I was in charge of playing the music (specific lines in accordance to which part we were filming on) via a phone which assists in easing the performer in lip-syncing (better synchronization, more effective editing). Additionally, I also shared ideas and how we can improvise the shots and simply capture them behind the scenes. Here, I developed time management skills due to the short deadline as we were only given 10 minutes for the storyboard - including coming up with ideas - and approximately 20-30 minutes to film. Secondly, I learned the value of teamwork. We had to work effectively with one another, such as actively giving suggestions/ideas for what's best and making decisions as a team. This project tightened our teamwork since everyone participated well (including Nay who wasn't in class due to exams, still willing to participate - filming was done quickly). Lastly, I acknowledged that lip-syncing wasn't for me as I am naturally more of a behind the cameras person. The next time we film a music video, perhaps we can utilize a clapper/clapboard to ease editing for our final music video project as this would allow the editor to find where to start the clip which helps a more effective synchronization. Likewise, we must develop a more detailed storyboard, annotate the lyrics paper and bring it as we film to ensure we don't leave any lines out by ticking the lines we've done/filmed (in order to prevent any more shoots outside scheduled filming hours which can be time-consuming) knowing the deadline.
Here justifies the statement of intent on the music promotion package. As a team, we all involved ourselves in the discussion of the genre, final song, target audiences and engagement, theme and message, representations, and many more. This blog post is written by me (Sharon).
Below is a table given to us as a guide in forming the statement of intent, which was written by me (Sharon) and Maxi.
Below is a fully written statement of intent by Maxi - taken from his blog.
For our music promotion package, we have decided to make a music video in the pop genre that targets young-adult, female audiences from the age of 16-25, from all ethnicities and backgrounds, but more-so targeting Asian demographics, as we aim to have our artist be Asian, as well as using other Asian actors to play as additional characters in our music video. Our artist will be a 17 year old Asian up and coming artist, who is already well known from being a child actor in the past. By doing so, we are also trying to represent a commonly under-represented demographic in the music industry, which would be Asian artists. We want our artist to have a cute and warm personality and a celebrity that still feels like someone audiences know and can relate to.
We decided that to best represent our artists personality and beliefs, to use the song "Feather", from the 5th studio album of American pop singer Sabrina Carpenter, "emails i can't send". We believe the song itself would be perfect for our artist and music video as the songs lyrics focus on topics and issues that we believe audiences in our target age group and demographic care deeply about and can definitely resonate with. We can see this as in the song, Carpenter focusses on how after cutting ties with a toxic relationship, she feels much lighter and is able to live her life to the fullest. This allows us to spread the message of how instead of being sad and feeling down over a break-up, audiences should instead see how life can and should actually become exponentially better after ending a harmful and hurtful relationship. This idea/message is something that we believe many young people, and especially female audiences, will be able to connect with, appreciate, and want to have in their own lives. Furthermore, the vibe of the song is funky, fun, and disco influenced and has a very catchy beat and chorus. The lyrics themselves are relatable and empowering, which all in all will allow us to showcase an inspiring and compelling storyline through our music video. The song is a feel-good anthem that is perfect for singing along with a group of friends, and allows audiences to feel relieved as they forget about their problems, which are feelings we aim to shine the spotlight on.
Thus, for our music video, to capture these feelings of joy and the energy of freedom and letting go, we will follow the songs eccentric storyline and portray the experience of our artist enjoying every moment of her newly found single life - filled with experiences that are fun, exciting, and euphoric. These emotions are also commonly explored in, and are a convention of the pop genre, which will help us engage audiences who are interested and enjoy pop songs and their music videos. We want our artist/music video to promote and explore the representations of the topics discussed in the song like taking care of oneself, and letting go of what doesn't matter, a message that we believe our audiences will greatly appreciate and will want to hear. To effectively spread this theme and message, the general idea of the plot of our music video will most likely follow our artist and a group of her girlfriends as they hang out and partake in a variety of thrilling, exciting, and fun activities that girls that age like to do, for example including scenes where the group does makeup together, dance and sing, try on clothes, have a picnic, sleep over in a villa, and more. Additionally, since these representations of activities and our artist are similar to our target audience, they're interests will most likely fall in line with what is shown and portrayed in the video, which further allows them to relate and enjoy the video further.
Here we break the convention of the average "break-up" song, as most songs that talk about losing a partner often include connotations and representations of sadness, but instead we will follow the feel of the song and go for a happy vibe instead. According to Steve Neale's genre theory, breaking these conventions of sad breakup songs/music videos will help our music video stand out compared to other music videos of the same pop/breakup genre. We want the music video to be fun and for our target audience to have the chance to feel like them and their problems are being represented by our music video, such that when they watch, they'll be able to feel as if they're there with the artist and her friends, living in the moment and enjoying all the new experiences she's able to go through now after she's freed herself from the chains and anchors of her toxic partner.
Self Reflection: This statement of intent helped my group by giving a sense of direction, guidance, and a plan throughout the time given for the production of this music promotion package. It assisted my group in planning the general concept, fun, energetic, and free, in ways that the star's personality must reflect on that, the overall tone of the music video, outfits, activities, and 'energy'. My role in this task would be filling out the table guidance given by our Media Studies teacher, which Maxi helped me out too. However, I was struggling to justify a solid explanation for most of them since some are quite repetitive (so Maxi developed a summarized statement of intent to ease comprehension for readers), and, it was taking a good amount of my time (took around a week to complete the statement of intent fully). Yet, I felt alleviated that I was able to finish this upon schedule and not hold any setbacks for the team. The next time, I should finish my task as soon as possible and avoid any procrastination whenever I encounter anything challenging. Also, I couldn't seem to embed the link of the PDF (downloaded from Google Docs) to Blogger, therefore, I asked for guidance from my teacher and did my own research from YouTube (further explained in my 'COMP 3: Technical Skills (Online)' blog post).
Analyse the key characteristics of postmodern media. [15]
Postmodernism is believed to be a rejection of modernism. It is the saturation of culture through mass production to the extent that we can no longer differentiate between reality and representation (hyperreality). The aim of post-modernism in films and TV would be to subvert the mainstream conventions of narrative structure and characterization and to rest the audience's suspension of disbelief. Its core value is to celebrate imitation and mimicry. In this essay, I will be explaining postmodernism's key characteristics attached along with appropriate case studies.
A media text that is greatly postmodern is the 2022 release of a Disney+ show, SheHulk, which includes features and characteristics such as parody, self-reflexivity, and satire. Firstly, the use of parody (a 'mockery') in SheHulk's season finale (episode 9) is presented through the reference to Marvel's Executive Producer, Kevin Feige, as SheHulk fights the "K.E.V.I.N." robot purposely named after Kevin Feige himself. Naming the machine after him could be to pay respect for his media production work. This particular information raises Barthes' narrative codes of cultural code which requires audiences' prior knowledge of Marvel and their executive producer in order to understand the "K.E.V.I.N." robot. As the audience acknowledges this, it could interest them further through the sense of humour to provide a good-natured comedy. Secondly, self-reflexivity is displayed by SheHulk herself "breaking the 4th wall" explicitly in ways of interacting with the audience, "Is this what you guys want?" and quite literally breaking the 4th wall. We were exposed to SheHulk forcefully exiting out of her show from Netflix's home page to the Marvel/Disney studio lot and straight into SheHulk's writers' room, or the "real" world. Self-reflexivity, such as breaking the 4th wall, subverts to typical superhero films. This utilisation can further hook audiences' interests since it shifts their expectations of this superhero film and will proceed to watch to expect the unexpected. Lastly, SheHulk also utilized the postmodern feature of satire that being copying/imitating something targeted to a larger group of people. In this case, SheHulk made a commentary and/or critique on how all Marvel movies have a blueprint of implementing the same plot and ending, which is eventually boring and dull - where the story and ending are heavily predictable and expected by the audience. This critique by SheHulk was really unexpected as the show SheHulk itself is a Marvel Universe production. However, as superhero films normally end with the hero winning, SheHulk still conforms to this even after the critique made towards typical superhero films' endings.
The truth in media texts has become difficult to distinguish due to postmodernism, as supported by Jean Baudrillard's idea of reality and hyper-reality. Baudrillard's idea of hyperreality states that we're surrounded by representations of reality (simulations) and that we can no longer distinguish between simulation and reality. Additionally, Baudrillard's idea on reality: heightened reality and hyperreality (simulation), believed that we are still able to tell apart the truth (has a strong link with reality). Whereas, hyper-reality has little to no link to reality but is packaged as real, meaning that there are artificial copies filled with simulacra (attempts to seem real) - it is difficult to differentiate as they are often packaged in the same way. One post-modern media text that is considered as heightened reality would be the 2020 release of a documentary, "David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet". Here, it presents the impact of the destruction of humanity, and/or war. David himself was first shown wandering around an abandoned, destructed house/shelter, where we can still presume that that location was the inevitable impact of the war. To add, a time-lapse shot of scenery in the wild, a falling tree, predators hunting their prey in the wildlife, and close-ups of small animals are generated to be genuine, and are clearly seen to be actual. Moreover, artificial effects may also be present, such as narration (voice-overs), editing, and non-diegetic music, where it is still easily distinguishable from the certainty of reality. On the other hand, one of the heavily postmodern shows and/or documentaries that are considered hyper-reality would be "Keeping Up With the Kardashians". One of the very few true events that we can still distinguish could be their runway, fashion events (e.g. New York Fashion Week), nightlife, and the sets (e.g. their houses). Elements that make it difficult to tell apart reality include scripted scenes and events, such as pranks done among friends and/or family, and hence, scripted emotions and reactions. This effect may have on the audience that we prefer hyper-reality over reality (it may become more entertaining to us rather than heightened realistic documentary (David Attenborough's - as previously mentioned), possibly due to the reason that we are in denial of the truth. However, hyper-reality will eventually create unrealistic standards in media, thus applicable to our daily lives. For instance, the Kardashians portray a certain image and/or encourage a certain ideology of themselves in the media, such as "the perfect face". This will inevitably add to unrealistic beauty standards. All these raise one of the many possible critiques of postmodernism, where the audience may need to and is required to be media literate to define and/or distinguish between reality. In the case of the Kardashians, the audience must acknowledge the fact that the Kardashians' lives aren't everything that has been exposed to the audience.
Here is the research I did on a few artists' branding on one of their albums, which I will be further analysing on their digipack. My research on music videos can be viewed here. This blog is written by me (Sharon).
One Direction's "Midnight Memories" Album
One Direction is an English-Irish pop boy band formed on the show X Factor in London back in 2010. However, ever since their announcement of a "break", they never came back until now. Yet, their hit albums are Midnight Memories, Four, Made in the A.M., Up All Night, and some discographies. Midnight Memories, the album shown above, is a 2013 release of their third studio album that describes the life of partying at the age of entering the 20s, and making midnight memories, hence the name. As seen, the digipack simply has a front and back cover with the album's tracklist (as per normal album/digipack), a CD, and a simple statement that says, "Listen to this" with an arrow pointing to the CD. I admire the simple design on the CD that still strongly resonates with the theme of 'midnight' with the additions of little stars all around. As much as I like the simplicity, I believe that for our music promotion package, we would prefer to add lyrics paper/booklet, and possibly collectables that align with the theme of the album to help in appealing to the fans/target audience better. Another way One Direction branded this album was through social media, such as Instagram. As seen above, they published a post a month or two before the actual release, informing fans that the album would be globally released on the 25th of November 2013. This, however, was only done through one Instagram post and no posts were made on the day of release. One Direction has a Twitter account too supposedly, nonetheless, I wasn't able to find any posts regarding the release of 'Midnight Memories'. Despite all that, this album still managed to become successful, thanks to their huge fanbase.
Taylor Swift's "1989" Album
Taylor Swift, the infamous American singer-songwriter for her hits albums such as 1989, Lover, Red, her debut album - Taylor Swift, Reputation, and so much more. She mainly converses on the ideology of love, heartbreak, and past lovers. The 1989 album, as shown above, contributes to her emotions and reflections resulting from past romantic relationships. Yet, I suppose, the addition of having birds on the CD and front cover enhances the concept of finally 'letting go'. As seen above, the back cover has the tracklist for this album, as per a normal digipack. Inside the album, there seem to be eye-catching lyrics of each song that still resonate with the overall theme, such as pastel colours. The additions of collectable polaroids, too, align with the major theme of polaroids, which is also used as the front cover of the album/digipack. Those collectable polaroids will allow fans to actively purchase the digipack as a whole to collect the polaroids they haven't gotten yet. However, as this album was released back in October 2014, Taylor Swift wasn't on Instagram yet, or Twitter. So, no posts were made regarding 1989's release. Additionally, I admire the idea of having collectables from the album which is one of the biggest factors when wanting to appeal to our fans - more for them to unfold from the artist.
Self Reflection: One problem and challenge I encountered while doing this branding research was unable to find the complete contents of the album/digipack as those 2 were really old releases (such a rare occasion to still be selling them). However, I managed to find all that by adding specific keywords to my searches and through online shopping apps that might still sell them. Another challenge would be going through their social media posts which took a whole lot of scrolling to the time of their album's release. As I did on their Twitter accounts, all that scrolling was for nothing as I did not find any posts regarding the release. Doing this research would greatly help my group in broadening our ideas when developing the digipack for our music promotion package (moreover, as each of my team members is researching different artists' albums/digipacks) such as whether we want it to be really simple, simple, or complete (includes other benefits, such as picture prints). Starting this task, I was quite confused about what to add and write on, even so, as I saw examples from my teammates, I quickly caught up on the task. The next time I was told to do branding research, I would be able to understand better what to include.
Here is the research for my music video, which compiles of both short and detailed analyses. My research on branding can be viewed here. This blog is written by me (Sharon).
Wetsuit, The Vaccine
The audience for this music video would be ages 18-35 as we were exposed to a live music concert consisting of mostly teenagers (one of the examples would be the showcase of alcohol), and a separate group of families with children. I like how unique, but simple this music video is because the band simply did a compilation of fan-recorded videos of their live concert in Leeds, UK, which they were able to create a storyline out of (a guy as the 'leading' character as shown in close-up, slow motion edited shots). This music video conforms to the song as a whole, reminiscing about the young, wild, and free life as teenagers, and getting to look back at it. This can be presented via the vibrance colours (widely used in the 2000s-2010s) and minimal editing. Nonetheless, I suppose that this music video wouldn't suit our music video since we are likely to go for a narrative, and/or a performance-based music video. Also, 'reminiscing' is not what we're looking for as our main theme/concept.
Backburner, NIKI
This "low-budget" music video is simply a compilation of a phone/handycam recorded montage of Niki (the star) herself, which still successfully appeals to the target audience. The target audience is young girls, teenagers, up to young adults. Likewise, it portrays a life of freedom, making memorable experiences and memories out of the smallest things in life, which gives us a meaningful message from this simple music video that I admire. In addition, the diegetic sounds from the self/home-recorded videos are not removed, which further creates the effect of happiness and freedom. Possibly, the only 'acted out' scene would be the beginning, whilst the rest are self/home-recorded videos from various time frames/periods. The zoom-ins, zoom-outs, and unstable camera movements from the self/home-recorded videos exemplify a 'homey' feeling and contentment at the moment. Despite the sing-along music (where the videos are cut based on the beats which makes it more enjoyable to watch), there seems to be no major storyline. Hence, as much as I enjoy this music video, I am not entirely sure if this music video will be a great inspiration for my group's final music video as we prefer a storyline/narrative-based product.
I Like Me Better, Lauv
This music video presents the two sides and times of a young couple and an old couple and how their love still sparks no matter the age and time. The target audience for this music video would be teenagers, young adults, adults, or even elders as it also features an old couple. Their happiness is portrayed through the bright lighting, even if it is at night, there will still be a light source. It enhances an emotional and joyful feeling towards the audience as exposed by the slow motions and close-ups of their acts and/or whenever they smile. Also, the slow motions suggest that they are, in a way, or in all possible ways, living in the moment. The camera would smoothly move according to their actions presenting their routine and a romantic sensation. The fades between some scenes could allow the audience to also be in the moment while it transitions to another romantic scene of theirs. Additionally, as for teenagers and young adults, 'love' is a common theme/concept/topic that is huge and widely talked about in this generation.
I personally find this music video to be a mix of emotional and positive feelings. This is due to that it presents flashbacks, and/or scenes where both the young and old couple are making memories in the same location. However, I believe that this music video is too slow-paced (e.g. the overall narrative and edits are slow), which we aren't aiming for in our music video.
get him back!, Olivia Rodrigo
It is uniquely unusual for professional singers to film music videos on an iPhone (an iPhone 15 in this music video). Yet, the product was still able to deliver an accurate message to the audience through CGI, edits, and camera shots. The target audience for this music video would be teenagers to young adults. This could mainly be due to that the main theme of the song and music video is heartbreak, love, and (sweet) revenge, which I strongly believe the target audience can relate to. Additionally, the song talks about the star's mixed feelings towards her ex, such that sometimes, she wants him back, but at some point, she wants to get revenge. The swift camera movements which resonate with the song (and its beats), and frequent harsh breaks of glasses, exemplify the feelings of anger, wanting to have revenge, and her constant changing of her mind between 'love' and 'hatred'. However, I believe that the style of this music video isn't the one we are going for as, to me, the camera movements are too sharp and harsh (makes it extremely thrilling), as well as the quick movements of her actions which can be difficult to fully enjoy.
Nonsense, Sabrina Carpenter
This music video mainly targets teenagers, to young adults, especially girls/women. This is due to that the song talks about being in a new relationship, where all the butterflies happen, which I most certainly believe that teenage girls experience this too. This is exposed from the medium to close-up shots of the artist to suggest the emotions, such as, moving on from the past, and falling for a new guy. As seen on the music video, it takes place at a party, possibly a school party, which further exemplifies the "normal" life of teenagers (nightlife and all). This can be presented through red cups, dark lighting (with only LED lights as the source), vapes, red cupt, and drinks. Speaking about the song, I suppose this type of song (e.g. the beats, melody, and meaning) would be the one we are going for. Moreover, the overall concept of this music video is girlhood, which would be fun to work on. This music video has a good balance between narrative/story-telling and performance, which I mostly prefer to do.
You Belong With Me, Taylor Swift
Media Language
'You Belong With Me' is considered pop music which has common conventions of a dance-along beat and rhythm, especially in the chorus, common themes of heartbreak, in this case, a love triangle and/or unrequited love. This music video has a clear narrative and storyline of how a cheerleader is dating a football player, but it's suggested that he belongs to the 'nerdy' girl or "the girl next door". The love triangle (both girls admire the football player, whereas he belongs to the nerd girl) is depicted through high school events of prom and a football game where the love triangle is unravelled. We can see the nerd girl's emotions of anger and irritation towards the cheerleader's relationship with him through close-ups and long shots that can capture her body movement indicating rage and annoyance. Moreover, point-of-view shots are greatly used to give the audience an insight into her emotions
Representations
Representations of different types of people/students in high school are implemented, such as cheerleaders, football players, and popular, and average students. The heaviest and most clearly represented stereotype here would be the nerdy girl and the cheerleader. The nerdy girl represents the embodiment of "the girl next door" archetype whereas the cheerleader represents the popular, glamorous archetype. The nerd is represented through the use of heavy-framed glasses, and everyday attire, whereas the cheerleader is represented via her popularity, charming attire, and seemingly dating the guy that the nerd girl is fond of (a football player) - cheerleaders would commonly date a football player, as implemented in this music video. Likewise, another representation would be when the nerd, who normally wears basic and essential fashion attire, transforms into someone who dresses up with a glamorous dress, making a red carpet entry to a school prom - all eyes on her, by which she had never been the centre of attention. She then ended up with the football player. Next, typical high school events, and/or romance (unrequited love, cheerleader dating a football player) are representations of high schools that are utilized to attract the target audience of teenagers. Common high school events include a football game, a prom,
Audience
The audience is identified through the overall narrative and representations. The target audience for this music video would be young girls, teenagers, and young adults ages 13-28 not just simply due to the leading characters being 2 girls and 1 guy. Likewise, it covers common themes of heartbreak, romance, and unrequited love set in a high school, which I'm heavily sure the target audience can relate to those topics. Simply, one major target audience would be Taylor Swift's fans themselves. This would greatly appeal to them as Taylor Swift has 2 roles in this music video, the nerd girl and the popular girl. So, I strongly believe fans would want to see those 2 personas of her as it had never been done by Taylor Swift herself in her other music videos.
Industry
This music video is distributed and/or posted through online streaming sites, YouTube. YouTube allows this media product to be monetized (globalised issues of commodification) from the number of views and advertisements (typically in the beginning, middle, or near the end of the video). The use of social media, such as Instagram (the artist's Instagram, or the music company's) to ease the reach to the targeted audience, possibly from algorithm and fans are highly likely to follow the artist's social media. To add, the utilisation of cinematic shots, and different lighting (could be from editing or camerawork, where both can be costly) to create a clear narrative. However, I believe that not much technology was used as all the locations seem legitimate, such as the high school's football field, hallways, and bedrooms (although they might be set designs made for that scene).
Self Reflection: Doing this research helped me gain a better understanding and have a gist of how music videos are done. It guided me in deciding what type of music videos would suit us best, such as a narrative-based music video, a performance-based, or a mix of both. This research could and will be beneficial for my group in the long term since it would prevent us from any regrets of making bad decisions, for instance, on the type, or song of the music video. Additionally, a better understanding of the genre/type of the song can be gained through this research as to which would be easiest to work on in ways of developing ideas on what goes on in each scene/line. However, what I found challenging while doing this task was analyzing the music videos as it had been a while since I had analysed media language, representations, audience, and the industry itself. So, I don't really feel confident in what I have written and analysed.
Here is a weekly diary that tracks my group's progress on the music promotion package project. I have also included the rough plan/timeline that would be ideal/must follow. This blog is written by me (Sharon).
PLAN
This plan would be ideal for us to follow for this music promotion package project. Below this plan is my team and I's weekly progress.
Week
Term 1
Week
Term 2
1
(2 Oct)
Brief, Research
8
( 8 Jan)
Development
2
Research
9
Shoot
3
Research
10
Shoot, Self Reflection
4
Proposal
11
Post Production
5
Development
12
Post Production
6
Development
13
(13 Feb)
Deadline(Tuesday 13th February)
7
Development
14
DIARY (WEEKLY PROGRESS)
[Semester 1] Week 1
We were introduced to the brief for the music video and set up initial blog posts (e.g. brief, weekly progress and plan, my group, and research). I am greatly looking forward to starting this project with my group, however, the genre and overall outlook for our music video haven't been finalized just yet - although it is most likely to be a pop music video. We also researched two music videos to give ourselves a general idea and a good starting point for this project. The music videos we researched include 'Wetsuit' by The Vaccines, and 'get him back!' by Olivia Rodrigo, which are unique.
Week 2 - 10th October 2023
We, as a group, discussed the overall theme for our music video, which we finalised with a 'happy' and 'free' concept. 'Maniac' by Conan Gray, 'Feather' by Sabrina Carpenter, and 'Greedy' by Tate Mcrae were our top 3 choices for the songs, finalising with 'Feather' by Sabrina Carpenter.
Week 2 - 13th October 2023
We did further research on music videos on our own per our finalised genre (pop). We also watched music videos that covered certain social groups and issues, such as mental health, gun violence, and racism to give my group a general overview of the main concept to ease decision-making. To add, we were introduced to the analysis of branding as well, for instance, album covers, the band/artist's social media page(s), and other promotional methods, that must be researched on.
Week 3 - 20th October 2023
We got time to continue our research of music videos mostly of our preferred genre (pop). Moreover, we worked on our statement of intent on a given template to ease discussion (effective timing), along with several critiques and advice for our blog posts (e.g. avoid dangerous scenes such as gun violence, suicide, etc., be more reflective, do screening (tests), and organize better). Problem: I haven't completed the research due to the amount of homework and tests this week, and we didn't get much time to finish our statement of intent. Solution: Complete our statement of intent and research as homework (in our own time). To-Do: Statement of intent, and finish the research before week 4 (Friday, 27th October 2023).
Week 4 - 27th October 2023
This week we were assigned a mini project of creating a short music video (a verse or two from Backstreet Boys' 'I Want It That Way') by which the (technical) skills can be applied to our final music video project and/or get a gist of filming a small music video so that we wouldn't repeat the same mistakes. Today, as a group, we created a shared moodboard for the overall theme of my group's music video, such as the colour palette, and included pictures of activities that will be included in the final product via Canva. Next, we worked on our development (possible names for our artist, the casts, the timeline in the video, storyboard/screenplay (which cannot be done just yet since we haven't started on the 'timeline' in the video), and locations).
Problem: Finalizing the artist's name, work on the development post (timeline in the music video via annotating the lyrics sheet, hence, the storyboard/screenplay)
Solution: Discuss bit by bit in our free time as a group as it's not guaranteed we will be given time to do these in upcoming media lessons
To-Do: Embed the statement of intent to Blogger, finalize my research, and group discussions in our free time
(online skill development, add the YouTube video I learned it from)
Week 5 - 3rd November 2023
We submitted our lipsync video which was edited altogether by the teacher. I was able to reflect back on and evaluate what to avoid for our final music video project. Today, we worked on annotating the lyrics sheet, where we needed much more time, but got halfway done.
Problem: Our filming schedule will be during the rainy season (December 2023), more time to do a breakdown of the scenes (annotating the lyrics sheet)
Solution: Use our free time to annotate the lyrics sheet, and plan an effective filming schedule
To-Do: Technical skills blog post, screenplay and storyboard to be completed before Term 2 (late November 2023)
Week 6 - 10th November 2023
We continued annotating the lyrics sheet, which we were able to complete today. I started with the storyboard (done roughly) per verse to ease following through. Nayana also made a Pinterest board to gather inspiration for the outfits so we can start purchasing the apparel our cast members may not have yet.
Problem: The screenplay isn't suitable for the music video
Solution: Only include the parts that are appropriate for the screenplay (selective) and focus on the storyboard
To-Do: Storyboard, screenplay, screentests
Week 7 - 14th November 2023
We were simply given a checklist by our teacher for our Comp 3 blog posts (tick if it's already in your blog, completed, labelled, and given a reflection). So, throughout this lesson, we tried our best to complete them all - less work to do during the week. And that's all we did in this week's project lesson.
Problem: Incomplete work: blog posts, storyboard, star's screen tests
Solution: Set a team and personal schedule and deadline for each of the tasks
To-Do: Complete all the tasks by this Friday
Self Reflection: This detailed weekly plan with all the problems, solutions, and to-do lists throughout the timeline of this music promotion package project, helped my group track our progress thoroughly step-by-step, have solutions to any problems we faced, and ensure that all was done well and comprehensively to achieve a pleasing outcome. It also enables us to focus on our objectives better by working on the to-do list to not be left behind/behind schedule, and settle the problems effectively. What I find challenging would be having to be on track and be strict towards the schedule. I was afraid that we wouldn't be able to complete this much work. Moreover, ending this term with our progress, I am quite satisfied as most of the things went according to schedule/plan besides other tasks, such as blog works, along with the screenplay and/or storyboard that must be done by the end of term 2. Throughout this project lessons, I have become as active as possible, such as pitching out ideas, working on the storyboard and moodboard, and assisting in planning the statement of intent. However, I hope that the production process (starting in December - next month) can go as planned as well to avoid any tight schedules - and to give us time for plenty of revisions to construct an excellent music promotion package on time. What we can do in the following term would be to avoid any setbacks, be more effective when making a schedule, such as considering internal and external factors (e.g. weather), and be more strict with our schedule/timeline.
[Semester 2] Week 1 - 12th January 2024
As semester 2 had just begun, I have modified numbering the weeks back to 'week 1'. In today's project lesson, my group collaborated on risk assessments regarding our locations, such as the pros and cons of our specified filming locations, any alternatives, and how we can emphasize the scenes through media language. As a class, we have individually received feedback on our blogs and projects from semester 1, where mine includes having to keep adding to my research (music videos and branding) as the academic term goes on, doing a few more screen tests, and enlarging the week titles. We also adjusted our blog's layout/format to ease viewing for examiners.
Week 2 - 19th January 2024
In today's project lesson, we created a detailed filming schedule to get back on track, and we also created a rough idea for our star's Instagram account, a minimum of 9 posts. This blog post will summarize all the shooting dates.
Problem: One of our teammates couldn't make it to school and one won't be here on one of our filming days (beach day) as he will be in Sydney
Solution: Catch him up on today's discussions
To-Do: Music video and branding research, and filming
Week 3 - 26th January 2024
Starting the lesson, we were randomized into groups that weren't with our group mates to widen our options and ideas regarding the digipak and social media page. Some of these include how to increase engagement with the audience, the purpose of promotion, and what content to include. Following that, we went back with our groups - we worked on our social media research and modified the outline of the posts as the minimum number of posts changed to 12 (originally 9).
Problem: Two of our teammates couldn't make it to school (one went to Sydney and the other fell sick) so we had to resume our discussion without their opinions regardless
Solution: Catch them up on today's discussions and ask for their feedback/opinions
To-Do: Research for music video, branding, social media, digipak, and filming (which will be done tomorrow)
Week 4 - 31st January 2024
We started planning our critical self reflection for Component 3 as a group to ease writing. Last week was our first day of filming (3 days total) at the beach. However, the beach we planned on filming at required us to pay a great amount of money (way above our budget). So, we went to a beach nearby and fortunately, filming is not prohibited there.
Problem: Starting the self reflection is quite difficult for me as the structure is different
Solution: Go to my Media teacher for advice and feedback
To-Do: Complete the 2 days of filming left, and start writing the critical self reflection to avoid workload
Week 5 - 6th February 2024
We had more project lessons this week (2 days), in which we focused on our digipak designs. On our first project lesson this week, Nay, me, and Timo tested out different typography (font) for the front cover of the digipak. I have compiled all fonts and modifications in a Google Drawings page. Today, our second and last project lesson for the week, we progressed with different pages of the digipak. Yet, we made mockups for all pages with pictures we found online that we might recreate on our last day of filming. To maximize efficiency for tomorrow's shoot, me and Timo made a plan on the duration for each shot as we got behind schedule on our second day (last week).
Problem: The weather for our shooting tomorrow (8th February) is forecasted to be rainy
Solution: Come up with an alternative plan and pray for nice weather
To-Do: Finish our last day of shooting, work on my blog posts and the critical self reflection
Week 6 - 13th February 2024
For our first project lesson this week, me (Sharon) and Timo (Nay was absent today) worked on the digipak - doing trial and error with different pictures we took of the star last week, the contents, placement of the texts, and the tracklist. We also asked our teacher for feedback, and he gave suggestions regarding the text on the front cover, such as keeping it simple (e.g. removing the copyright text and moving it to the back cover). We only got 2 project lessons out of 3 due to the election holiday. So on our last project lesson of the week, we (me (Sharon), Nay, and Timo) continued our digipak and experimented with newer pictures from our final shoot (at the park). To add, we asked for feedback from our teacher for our first draft of the music video.
Problem: We had to use another day for shooting as we couldn't get all the scenes completed on our third day (which will be shot today - 13th February at the park), social media posts still need to be done, revise the music video according to our teacher's feedback
Solution: Make sure to complete all the shots on the 13th, use our free time to work on all those (e.g. blog posts, critical self reflection, social media posts, and the digipak), and remind our editor (Timo) to revise on the music video after our first feedback
To-Do: Finish our last day of shooting, work on my blog posts, social media posts, the digipak, and the critical self reflection
Week 7 - 20th February 2024
This week's project lessons got cut short (both duration and number of lessons) due to school events throughout the week. So, to maximize our efficiency, me (Sharon), Nay, and Timo finalized the social media page, as well as the selection of the digipak covers (front, insides, and back) out of all the trial edits we assembled. I also made a personalized link for the star to be put in the bio which includes the link to the music video, ticket sales, and more. We asked for another feedback from our media teacher regarding the second part of the music video and the edited parts upon the first feedback we got last week.
Problem: Not the entire music video has been edited and finalized
Solution: Remind our editor (Timo) to complete that before the submission date (Friday)
To-Do: Complete my blog posts on Comp 3
Week 8 - Bonus Week
After our initial submission in Week 7, our teacher gave us extended feedback on our blogs and our overall project to improve our Cambridge submission. Some additions and changes include adding pictures as a guide in our critical self reflection, a regulation post, and our media language blog post. I believe that these additions would be a great help. We also got the chance to improve our critical self reflection by another hundred words as we were instructed to have a maximum words of 1000 for our initial critical self reflection submission in class.
Self Reflection: All in all, the weekly progress helped me track our group's progress to the extent of keeping ourselves in the same direction and along our objectives. It also enables to give us a sense of accountability for our own tasks in order to help the group improve in progress weekly. Due to certain circumstances that didn't allow us to film the music video in December of 2023, I felt worried that it would be too difficult to stay on track throughout, with the submission date being mid-February. However, as term 3 began, we started scheduling and motivate ourselves to stay on track with the tasks, tracked by the weekly progress. I felt relieved as we were able to film as scheduled with an extra week or two to edit and finalize. I have developed planning skills, as tracked on the 'to-do', and teamwork since there were mostly collaborative works done in this project.
Here's an introduction to my team for Comp 3 (music promotion package). This blog is written by me (Sharon).
The team we have formed for this film opening project (comp 1) consists of me (Sharon), Nayana, Maxi and Timo. I believe we would be able to achieve our objectives and assist in developing the product throughout the process from beginning to end. Nayana is highly creative as a person, such as in pitching in ideas, which would be great for developing concepts in this project (the creation of a film opening). Maxi is a diligent person, mostly in teamwork, along with having a strong willingness for responsibilities and putting in the effort. Lastly, Timo has talent in videography - filming and editing - this is a substantial advantage in this film-opening project as filming and editing are the most influential in order for this project to be constructed.
Self Reflection: I felt glad that we got to choose our own group to begin with this music video project as it has been a both fun and productive time working with them, as reflected from previous projects. Hence, my expectations for the project will stay high. I admire how each and every one of our skills and perceptions would construct an effective product in the end. Decision makings also easier with them since we're able to voice out our ideas and are capable of making quick and easy decisions, which eases the process (time-effective). I will be as active as I can throughout this project to ease this process as much as possible.
Here is the brief for my Component 3. I have chosen option 1, the music promotion package.
Self Reflection: As we were introduced to the brief, I was excited to start producing this music video project with my group since I could contribute all my creativity and ideas to the project and put it into action. However, I was quite worried that we would still be rushed by time despite starting this project a few months earlier than comp 1's. All in all, the brief would guide my group to fully acknowledge what to include to maximize our marks. I'm keen to learn new technical skills throughout this project, reflect on the process, as well as understand how we can create effective branding via the development of a digipak and the music video itself.
'Spectacle' was Debord's term for the mass media and consumerism as a whole.
He thought that the term 'Mass Media' was too netural, and that instead media was a spectacle designed to distract us. Believed that mass media is to distract us from the real world and to simply consume (mass media encourages consumerism - Debord is against consumerism).
It is the commodification of everything.
Debord's critiques of postmodernism were rooted in his broader concerns about the dehumanizing effects of consumer culture and the spectacle, as well as his call for a more authentic and revolutionary engagement with society.
Commodification of Culture: Debord criticized postmodernism for perpetuating the commodification of culture, where art and culture become commodities to be consumed rather than authentic expressions of human creativity.
Spectacle: He argued that postmodern society is dominated by the "society of the spectacle," where images and representations of reality take precedence over authentic experiences. This leads to a superficial and alienating culture.
Simulacra: Debord shared concerns with Jean Baudrillard about the proliferation of simulacra—copies without an original—in postmodern culture. He believed that reality itself was being replaced by hyperreal simulations, making it difficult to discern what is real.
Alienation: Postmodernism, according to Debord, perpetuates alienation by promoting a culture of passive consumption and the pursuit of false desires created by the spectacle. This alienation separates individuals from their true desires and from one another.
Loss of Authenticity: He argued that postmodern culture erases the authenticity of lived experiences, replacing them with mediated and commodified representations of reality. This contributes to a sense of disillusionment and disconnection.
Desire for Authenticity: In contrast to postmodernism's embrace of the hyperreal and superficial, Debord advocated for a return to authentic human experiences, genuine interactions, and a rejection of the spectacle-driven culture.
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