Evaluative Commentary of our Music Video

Directors commentary script

Q1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms + conventions of real media products?

Livvy:         The genre of the song we chose was folk rock/ indie, which gave us a wide range of possibilities for our music video, as the conventions were very open. The main convention was it could be artistic and very creative, but also we had to avoid mixing it with the genre conventions of pop music. We decided to emphasis the main convention by our main character in the narrative being a mime, which is a very profound and skilful art form.

Rachel:    Our music video is controversial to many conventions of real media products as usually there is a link present within the video to the lyrics of the song. Although some actions of the mime are featured in the lyrics, for example the mime making a heart shape with his hands to the lyrics ‘loving somebody doesn’t make them love you”, the plot of a mime love story is totally unrelated to the song. This gives a unique twist to our music video that perversely conforms to conventional music video requirements of selling the artist and attracting viewers.

Maura:     By shooting a lot of our footage in a natural environment like the park scene we also followed the other conventions of a folk rock video as many include natural instruments or just singing so the setting goes well with what the music is about such as in Bon Iver’s video Holocene where it is set in a very natural outdoors setting.

Rachel:     Our music video uses the conventions of other music videos by using footage of the artist throughout quite a lot of the video and shows them singing to the camera so that it is clear who the artist is to the audience. A lot of these shots are close ups so that we could comply to the demands of the record label which are to sell the artist as a product and to ensure the audience knows who the are. We also used notions of looking (voyeurism) as the mime is looking longingly at the girl within the video as he is trying to get her attention, which is similar to other music videos.

Maura:     Although I think to improve we could have used more props for example a guitar as they are usually included in folk rock videos and I think it would have made it even clearer what genre it came from.


Q2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Livvy:         Our music video and ancillary products (a magazine advert and a digipak) have a very strong link, even though we didn't directly use images from our music video. We thought that it would be better if we used a strong theme that linked the two products with subtle reference to the music video, as if it is a complete package. We chose the theme of circus advertisements, but not modern times advertisement, but older, almost Victorian style. In the planning phase we found a film called "Les Enfants du Paradis" which we found had a really nice feel to it and this made us choose this style.

Rachel:     The aim of this style is to make the audience feel as if by getting the digipack they are being admitted to the weird and wonderful world of Jack Johnson the artist and would get access to exclusive behind the scenes action such as on the video set and tour, which we have included as two of the special features of the digipack. All three products work together to create a slightly eccentric view of the artist that encourages them to want to find out more by buying the products.

Rachel:    The unique and unusual theme of mime artistry promotes the artist as he is shown to stand out from other conventional artists that may conform to regular music video ideas.

Maura:     We could have however done a lot more with this and added more to our DVD by creating and inside design which used the juggling balls in more focus which I believe would have worked well in the place where the DVD itself would go as the shape of both would fit together. But overall I feel that we were able to create three products that when seen next to one another it would be clear that they were all related to the same video.


Q3. What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Livvy:         The feedback we got from our audience was in general positive, they said our lip-syncing was of a high standard, which has taught me that the method of putting markers on our music track, to mark when the beginning of versus and choruses, worked well. Although they said our music video was to narrative heavy, so it would have been useful if we had filmed more scenes of the artist singing.
They also enjoyed our use of multiple locations because they found it made the video more varied and interesting, thus making it more watch-able.


Rachel:     The feedback from the rough cut showed us that we needed more close ups on the artist as we hadn’t got and it wouldn’t sell the artist enough but the lack of close ups until the end did make the ending where the two mimes meet very powerful. Our final cut feedback showed us that although we had increased the number of close ups there was still not enough so in future products we need to include more.

Maura:     I think we have developed our video a lot from when our rough cut had feedback as one of the main points for that was to change the tone of the video and we done this by using filters so the whole mood of the video is changed. They also said that they did not see enough of the performer so we added some shots of him so that it would break up all the scenes of the mime.




Q4. How did you use media technologies in the construction, research and planning and evaluation stages?

Maura:     Throughout the process I have learnt how to use many different types of technology and been able to develop skills on those I have used before. The first thing I used when in the planning and research stage was ‘blogger.com’ this is where all my research and planning would be displayed. To research into music videos I used youtube.com which was able to give me so many music videos and ideas as to what kind of thing is usually included in different music videos.

Rachel:    Final cut was used a lot during the production of our music video and it helped a lot to create the old style atmosphere of the video because of the wide range of effects it has on offer such as the noise filter and colour corrector we used to make it look dark and grainy and in the style of old mime films. Photoshop was useful for creating the digipack as it allowed us to edit the circus poster and ticket we found to show the information we wanted to include.

Livvy:        In the construction of our music video we used HD handheld cameras, which were easy to use and gave use the opportunity to film close up shots without the camera feeling overpowering over artist and mime.
Having a blog was also very useful to us in the research and planning stage, and the evaluation stage, because it meant all our work was online so we could look at home, or in college, or blog articles where ever we were, if we suddenly found inspiration or found a good location etc. Using a blog also meant our work was neatly stored, and made it easier to link all our products together as we could get inspiration for work we'd previously done for the Music Video.

Timed Evaluation

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our music video is controversial to many conventions of real media products. Usually there is a link present within the video to the lyrics of the song. Although some actions of the mime are featured in the lyrics, the plot of a mime love story is totally unrelated to the song. This gives a unique twist to our music video that perversely conforms to conventional music video requirements of selling the artist and attracting veiwers.
I feel we develop the idea of a music video being more of a miniature film, a trend that has recently become more well-known and recently appeared in videos for artists such as Lady Gaga and Katy Perry where the central artist is involved with characters with a whole story.


2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

our products combined interest the viewer, promote our artist and relate to each other in a way that communicate to the consumer our idea. The theme that is used in all products is Victorian poster art. As our mime character is inspired from the very old art form of street and circus performance, the idea for out magazine advert and digipak is a poster for a Victorian style carnival. I feel this is effective in interesting the viewer as it is unique and unusual, not unlike our central mime character. It is this unique feature that also promotes the artist as he is shown to stand out from other conventional artists that may conform to regular music video ideas.


3. What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Primarily, I have learnt that originality is never ignored. I also have learnt that colour, texture and feel play a large part in the overall opinion of an audience. Our rough cut was lacking the grainy feel of Victorian artistry, which is our main theme. This impacted on the viewer as the footage was bright and neutral which contrasted greatly with our idea.


4.How did you use new media technologies in the construction, planning and evaluation stages?

As many ideas start out, ours began with pen, paper and a cup of tea. However, the use of a blog as a type of portfolio was used to update ideas, clearly view research and track planning stages. We used Final Cut Express to edit our video and took full use of colour correction and filters in order to achieve a more appropriate feel in our video as opposed to a sunny afternoon, as we aimed to achieve the style of an old, grainy film.
Again, the idea for our magazine advert and digipak started on paper and a quick browse of google images, however, they were both constructed using the program Photoshop. This software was used to construct and edit images. We also use colour overlays, filters and burning and smudging tools to achieve the effect of an aged poster.
The blog was very useful again in that every process was accessible and clearly displayed in order to evaluate.

Director's Commentaries

com·men·tar·y  (kmn-tr)

n. pl. com·men·tar·ies

1. A series of explanations or interpretations.

2. An expository treatise or series of annotations; an exegesis. Often used in the plural.

3. An apt explanation or illustration: a scandal that is a sad commentary on national politics.

4. A personal narrative; a memoir. Often used in the plural.

A director's commentary is an audio file, sometimes accompanied by interjections of video of the commentator,  that can be evaluative summary of the production, screen action and thoughts and opinions of actors, producers or directors.

magazine advert

Digipak

This is our final digipak cover

Final Music Video

Techno editing

Filming

When filming, we took full use of digital HD handheld cameras supplied by the media department. We used varying camera shots including close ups, zooming, longshots and techniques such as tracking. Although, we found that in different locations the lighting severly varied, requiring extencive use of colour corrector in order to rectify a neutral colour pallet.
NB: the public are a nuisance. (as mentioned in a previous post)


Editing


When editing we used final cut express to compile all of our shots into a beautiful music video. It wasn't too much of a challenge to sync the artists vocals with the footage of our artist singing, although our artists mouth moved slightly abnormally, so sometimes it didn't look like our artist was singing the right words in comparison with the accent and tonality of the original artist.
We used many layers footage tracks in the compilation of our music video, as this allowed us to clearly view raw footage and edit accordingly.
The filters in final cut express were also very useful to us. We used a filter called "vignette" and also put a layer of light noise on it in order to achieve the effect of old style filming, to get the feel of an aged piece of tape that has been exposed to light, dust, and years of love. We also used colour corrector to even out the lighting and tonal differences, for the use of different locations and times of day.

Feedback from rough cut video

Goodwins points:

• Visuals, lyrics all linked really well together
• The pace of the song fitted well with the camera work
• Lyrics and visuals 'waiting for you' shown well by mime waiting for the girl to take notice

Editing:

• All the cuts were on the beat and natural transitions and filming
• All the footage is filmed smoothly and the camera work was effective 
• Shot reverse shot
• Use more interesting filters and different shots

Mise-en-scene:

• Good costumes and makeup, and location
• Convincing man
• Utilizing natural light well

Creativity:

• Original, a very unique video
• The story link will keep the audience interested because they will never have seen any thing like this
• Good use with vocalist meeting up with the actors. Makes a good effect 
• Not boring!
• Overall very good :)

ROUGH CUT!

Jazzeh.

The Nextmen - Thinking Man's Session Q1-50



     1.Genre Characteristics
The genre of the song is rap. I believe this video very accurately presents and represents many conventions in the rap genre and culture.
The street setting of the 'gang' of boys directly exemplifies the environment in which gang culture and the genre of rap are set.
The clothing worn by all characters is highly associated with rap and hip/hop. They are all wearing casual sports clothes; shorts, jogging trousers, hoodies, basketball vests, ect. This ties in to another characteristic of rap, the association to sport and dance. This is also featured withi the video as in many shots, the group are playing basket ball and the main artist is performing modern hiphop dance and breakdance (1:28)
The saturated colours also flaunt the characteristics exemplified in this video. A key element to the gang culture associated to rap is the display of material possesions and clothing. By hightening the brightness of primary colours, it clearly emphasises the value of clothing in gang culture; a characteristic of the genre.


     2.  Lyrics/Visuals
As the primary directive of this video appears to be to sell the artist and emphasize gang culture, the need for lyrics to relate of visuals is minimal. However, in accordance with the bodily movements of rappers when they are rapping, some of the lyrics are 'acted out' with slight hand gestures. For example at (1:48) lyric: to write rhymes, the artist mimes writing on his hand. This is also a characteristic of many artists in the rap genre.


     3.  Music/Visuals
The editorial reactions to musical ornaments within the record are highly effective in this music video. The most interesting element of the editing of this video is the use of image 'shuffling', example: (0:11), when there is a disk scratching effect on the record. This creates the feel that the video and soundtrack are closely linked. I feel that this hightens the interest the veiwer has in the video as it gives a sense that the accompanying video is a necessity, or even that the music was written to the style of the video as opposed to the video being produced to support the music.  

     4. Needs of Record label
Clearly, due to use of branded clothing and centralisation of the artist, the needs of the record label were in high regard in the production of this video.
5.Voyeurism
6.Intertextuality

Editing - 18/10/11

Editing today was cool. BUT we didn't notice this guy in a hat walking into the center of the clip, looking at the camera, and walking off. This ruined one of our clips and we don't have a similar.

daymn.

Analysis of Lyrics to Jack Johnson's "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing"

Well I was sitting, waiting, wishing 
You believed in superstitions 
Then maybe you'd see the signs 
     The opening lines of the song set the theme of 'waiting, wishing'. We assume the 'you' is a reference to a lady (male singing) and the basic story is that she doesn't love him and is ignoring him. 'The signs' could be seen as a reference to his own actions. This gives the listener the idea that he has been dropping clues to her that he is not happy with the way he is being treated. 
     The rhyming pattern of the verses are the first two lines rhyming and the last not. It has a regular beat in 4/4 timing with a line to each bar, this is a usual layout for popular songs as it means that the song is easy to listen to and has a fluid motion as it is easy to predict due to the simple layout.

The Lord knows that this world is cruel 
I ain't the Lord, no I'm just a fool 
Learning lovin' somebody don't make them love you 
      These lines emphasize the desperate feeling of the last resort. It is clear that the singer has had enough and references 'The Lord'. A god is generally turned to in a time of need, further emphasizing the desperation of the singer to get attention from the lady.
      The use of 'fool' as a term referring to himself was an inspiration for the central character of the video being a mime as they are typically associated with foolery and clowning. This also makes the character laughable and lighthearted, which coincides with the light feel of the song.

Must I always be waiting, waiting on you 
Must I always be playing, playing your fool 
     The chorus has the feel of begging due to the use of 'must i always'. It is a direct plea to the lady but almost seems to speak to the listener. **
I sang your songs, I danced your dance 
I gave your friends all a chance 
     This part shows the effort the artist has put into this love of his. He seems to have tried his hardest to fit in to certain aspects of her life, even if they don't fit in with his own life.
But putting up with them 
Wasn't worth never having you 
      This show that he is feeling let down and angry because obviously after giving her friends a chance it turns out they are not pleasent to him, This will obviously hurt.

Maybe you've been through this before 
But it's my first time so please ignore 
The next few lines cause they're directed at you 
       This shows that he is naive to the chance that this love may not work, because he's never felt like this before, so it may just be an infatuation. This links to the part in our video when the mime sits down with the artist, who eventually shows him the mime girl whom he falls in love with.

I can't always be waiting, waiting on you 
I can't always be playing, playing your fool 
        **

I keep playing your part 
But it's not my scene 
Want this plot to twist 
I've had enough mystery 
Keep building it up 
Then shooting me down 
But I'm already down
       This part shows us that he's finally getting fed up and not losing interest exactly, but starting to realise that this may not go his way in the end. Also the link to "plot" and "scene" is very theatrical and links directly to the mime and also "Les  Enfants du Paradis" where the mime is on stage with the beautiful woman, whom the mime is madly in love with, and rejects him. breaking his heart.

Just wait a minute 
Just sitting, waiting 
Just wait a minute 
Just sitting, waiting 
     Another link to begging for attention "just wait a minute" makes it seem like he's asking the girl to stop and listen for once instead of ignoring all his moves.

Well, if I was in your position 
I'd put down all my ammunition 
I'd wonder why'd it taken me so long 
        This the final point in the song where he  realises that this is not right and loses his naivete. He realizes that this girl is not the person she though she is and as he says in the next verse, that she is "cruel" for playing him like this.

But Lord knows that I'm not you 
And if I was, I wouldn't be so cruel 
Cause waitin' on love aint so easy to do 

Must I always be waiting, waiting on you 
Must I always be playing, playing your fool 
       **

No, I can't I always be waiting, waiting on you 
I can't always be playing, playing your fool
      This is where he denounces himself from following this "cruel" girl about. This links to the point in our video where he holds hand with the mime girl, the person our mime should be in love with, someone who shares the same interests who has also been mucked about.

Inspiration

Les Enfants du Paradis

Les Enfants du Paradis or The Children of Paradise in cludes a mime being rejected in its plot. In detail, the mime is on stage and dancing for a "beautiful woman" and she end ups rejecting him completely. This film was made in 1945, in France, by Marcel Carne and writted by Jaques Prevert and is French with English subtitles. Apart from a good cup of tea one cold morning (the moment of Rachel's epiphany), this film inspired us as it has a wonderfully classic feel and is one of the first filmed appearances of a traditional french mime.

Location Shotlists

 

Because we had so many different locations with different shot, which appear at varying times in the music video, we grouped the shots together in which location they appeared in, so our filming was more organized and ran smoothly.

Possible Magazine ad Photos

These are the pictures we took on a still camera while on the video shoot in Cambridge. They will be used in our digipak as images for our magazine advert and the other products.

StoryBoards

Photos of our locations

These are the photos of some of our locations for our music video project.

Sidney Street and surrounding area. The area just outside of Boots is perfect for setting up the scene of a mime artist performing in a street due to the openness of the front and number of people walking past to go to shops. 

The streets below are perfect for shots of the mime following the girl in attempts to woo her. The picture of the alleyway with scaffolding has a dim and eerie tone giving the feel of dirty and saddening, a perfect texture for our classic mime.

Sussex Street

St Johns Street

Garret Hostel Lane. Another grainy, old town feel due to shadows given by high build town houses.

These photographs exemplify the architectural beauty around cambridge. We chose these locations as they have a grainy, old town style feel that correlates to the classic feel we wish to achieve with our mime story. 

Market Hill                                        Christ's Pieces

Nearby Facilities

Toilets - Lion Yard/Grand Arcade

Car Park - Grand Arcade, Pembrook Street entrance

A&E - Addenbrooks Hospital, Hills Road

Supermarket - M&S, Sidney Street 

Folk/Rock Genre

Stylistic Origins
The formation of the genre 'folk rock' has roots in many other genres. The most notable being Folk, Rock, and Popular. Culturally, Folk/Rock was created in mid-1960s England and United States. The very first appearance of Folk/Rock as an identifiable genre was when the Los Angeles band, The Byrds formed.
They encorporated a typical elecric rock style with tradition folk rythms and chord structures.

Instruments
Vocals, Electric guitar, Acoustic guitar (Jack Johnsons choice instrument), Bass guitar, Drums, Hammond Organ, Piano, Harmonica, Fiddle, Ukulele and all frequently used instruments in the Folk/Rock genre


NOT FINISHED. TO WRITE ABOUT

• Genre characteristics and specifics.
• Why Jack Johnson is this genre.
• Current bands and artists within this genre.

lyrics for sitting, waiting, wishing

Well I was sitting, waiting, wishing 
You believed in superstitions 
Then maybe you'd see the signs 

The Lord knows that this world is cruel 
I ain't the Lord, no I'm just a fool 
Learning lovin' somebody don't make them love you 

Must I always be waiting, waiting on you 
Must I always be playing, playing your fool 

I sang your songs, I danced your dance 
I gave your friends all a chance 
But putting up with them 
Wasn't worth never having you 

Maybe you've been through this before 
But it's my first time so please ignore 
The next few lines cause they're directed at you 

I can't always be waiting, waiting on you 
I can't always be playing, playing your fool 

I keep playing your part 
But it's not my scene 
Want this plot to twist 
I've had enough mystery 
Keep building it up 
Then shooting me down 
But I'm already down 

Just wait a minute 
Just sitting, waiting 
Just wait a minute 
Just sitting, waiting 

Well, if I was in your position 
I'd put down all my ammunition 
I'd wonder why'd it taken me so long 

But Lord knows that I'm not you 
And if I was, I wouldn't be so cruel 
Cause waitin' on love aint so easy to do 

Must I always be waiting, waiting on you 
Must I always be playing, playing your fool 

No, I can't I always be waiting, waiting on you 
I can't always be playing, playing your fool