Closing Blog Post

This is my finished coursework.

Here is a break down of my blogs for each month.

October - Research into music video's and some theory behind them

November- Feed back on my pitch and work towards my print tasks

December -All the planning for my music video, as well as planning for my print tasks and the actual finished prints them selves

February - My finished music video

March - Evaluation

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

Through out my media course I have used various forms of technologies in the construction, planning and evaluation stages.

The new technologies available to us now such as the Media 2.0 has enabled me to firstly research into already existing artists and their products and then go on to learn about certain conventions of digipaks and music video's in order to create my own products and using the technologies available to me in a more professional manner.

Before I'd even began the initial planning stages, new technologies available to me helped me in choosing and finding an unsigned artist, due to the Media 2.0 and thanks to sites such as Myspace, which allows unsigned artist's to freely upload their music onto the internet and promote themselves, without the help of a record label.

There once was a time when the media and music industry was controlled by record labels and there for what we could listen to and also distribute ourselves was controlled. In order to create a video or record your own music you required expensive equipment which only the professionals could afford. These days anybody is able to record a video of themselves using phones, camera's or even just web cams. These videos can then be freely and easily distributed globally on sites such as You Tube where home made video's can be viewed by the general public.

Because of the media 2.0 era, unsigned artists are able to create, promote and distribute their own music without the help or need of a record company. This can then be similarly uploaded onto the internet for download, so now audiences are less passive and more active as we are able to choose what we want to watch/listen to.

I was able to find my chosen artist 'Gorge Clarke' on 'Myspace.'

http://www.myspace.com/gcaoa

(above is the site I discovered him on)

One of the first technology related tasks I did was to link my phone up to my college outlook web mail, which meant that I could update my calendar and make notes using this application whilst outside of college and on the go.

Using outlook web I set up a calendar for the months of November and December and used this calendar for my planning, filling it up with tasks I had to complete and the deadline for these.

Here are screen shots of my calendar for each month and also a task screen screen shot which is were I would write my description of the task in further detail.

When I knew the type of music I would be using I was able to research further into this genre, which in my case was folk/acoustic music.

Using Google/Google-images I was able to see already existing folk artists and their products, such as their own digipaks and any music video's they had.

From this research I was able to develop my own idea's using what I'd learnt from my research and taking into account the features included in them.

Once I had completed my research I was then able to start drawing up some of my initial idea's and sketches and then present them on prezi.com, a website on the internet which allows you to create on-line presentations.

This is a screen shot which shows some of my designs and my write up on each sketch.

Once my research/planning for my ancillary texts was complete I was able to go about creating them. To do so I photographed my model using a Nikon D60 camera which enabled me to be creative with the different settings available to me.

One aspect of photography I was interested in using was the depth of field setting. I wanted to create a shallow depth of field in my photographs but I had to learn how to using a coke bottle in my classroom.
This is an example of Technological determinism, which is where society's technology drives the development of its social structure and cultural views. Some would argue that because I knew this technology was available to me I'd use it and there for in some cases determined what I aimed to create, but I feel that I more carefully used the technology available to me to create the product which I wanted, there for helping me be more creative with my photography and not just using the straight forward settings.

This prezi presentation shows how I used technology in the creation of my print tasks. Using all this technology available to me I was able to create a more professional looking product and make them look coherent, as the professionals do in the industry. I was also able to experiment a lot more with the tools available for me to use. There for making me more adventurous and creative.

Again the Media 2.0 played a part in the production of my ancillary texts as I was able to download a template of a digipak and then copy this straight to adobe photoshop were I could start layering my photo's and text.

When it came to the planning of my music video again the Media 2.0 played a part as I was able to research into already existing music video's suitable for targeting a folk/acoustic audience.

I was also able to use YouTube to research time-lapse video's on rotting apples. This was a feature I wanted to use in my video and the Media 2.0 enabled me to see how to create a time lapse video and also watch them to see if they would be a creative feature to add.

Here is an example of a video I found on YouTube

Using Adobe Premier Pro I was able to create an animatic story board using sketches for each frame which I hand drew. Using this piece of software I was able to take photographs of these drawings and open them in Premiere Pro where I could also import an MP3 of my chosen song and create a draft of how my music video will look, using drawings instead of footage.

Here is my animatic storyboard. Because of the technology available to me I was able to create a draft video which would give me an insight into how my finished product will look. Without this technology I wouldn't have a rough idea of how this would look.

I also had a miming lesson with my chosen model. I was able to do this using the Media 2.0 through the social networking site Myspace which offers me the free listening to my chosen songs on my artists music page. Having this available to me allowed my model to practise miming and improve this before the actual filming. It also helped to boost his confidence.

For the actual filming of my music video I used a Panasonic DV camera. I could on this create focus pulls, linking into the idea of the shallow depth of field in my photographs for my ancillary texts. I used this technology available to me in order to create the image I wanted which was the sense of a dream like state of mind, where all is not as it seems for my model.

To edit my music video I used Adobe Premiere Pro, where I had a vast array of editing options available to me, which again helped to boost my creativity.

I was unaware you could layer two pieces of footage and change the opacity.

Below is a section of my music video where this is clearly demonstrated.

Finally I have used Blogger on the internet to create a series of blogs throughout my media course, for the planning/research stages, actually putting my finished products on the blog for marking and to create my evaluation.

For my evaluation I have again used the Media 2.0 in order to upload both my ancillary texts and finished music video in order to receive audience feedback. Without the Media 2.0 I would be able to get audience feedback so easily, as facebook enables my friends on my site to watch my video and comment easily.

I have also used my camera to record video's of audience feedback and them upload them onto YouTube and embed them in my blogs as well as using prezi to present some questions.

Because of the technology available to me such as the Media 2.0 I was able to do extensive research into my products in order to learn about the features included them so I could then include them in my work and create an over all package with a much more professional outcome.

Thanks to the recording equipment available to me I was able to record footage of a decent standard and quality and then go onto to edit this footage on advanced editing software. Without these forms of technology I wouldn't of been able to a: create a professional, creative looking package, b: research into existing products in such detail and finally c: make my work viewable by my audience easily.

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

At this level my audience feedback is going to be qualitative as a pose to quantitative as this type of research would require a lot of time and money and may also not even be as useful or revealing as qualitative methods.

Once my music video was complete I had to gather some audience feedback from people who fitted my target audience. In order to do this I took advantage of the media 2.0 and social networking sites such as Facebook as well recording one persons feedback and uploading this to YouTube.

This is a screen shot I have taken showing some audience feedback I received of Facebook. I embedded my video into a message on Facebook and sent it to a selection of my friends.

This particular piece of feedback was written by a female, aged 29. Her overall views on the video were that it had an atmospheric feel to it which encapsulates the mood of the song, through the use of location and the soft hues I have created through editing. From this I have gathered that my editing and the way I have constructed the video through the use of colours has made my video pleasurable for her to watch.

She mentions the apples being a nice feature and the colour of them stands out from the rest of the footage and 'leaps of the screen.' This is an interesting comment as I hadn't thought of the apples being a good contrasting colour, instead I was mainly focusing on their symbolic importance and the entropic visual imagery they would create. The apples being symbolic wasn't picked up on by her, instead the colours and what they added visually to the screen was instead noticed by her. This shows me that she possibly didn't have a preferred reading of my video and instead judging by what David Morley argues she would have a more negotiated reading because she wouldn't argue the apples purpose was to symbolise Adam and Eve and instead make the visual imagery more appealing.

Something else I noticed from her feedback was their was no mention of the female model at all. This puzzled me some what as there is a lot of footage of her and she is big part of the story behind my music video. This suggests to me that maybe she was only focusing on the editing and over all appearance of the music video and hasn't really made a real reading of my video. It could be argued that she took an aberrant reading of my video as she didn't have the cultural capital to understand it.

She did mention the focus pulls I use in my video weren't easy on her eye, following this comment with a remark to do with her age. She is almost 30 and I had the same comment regarding the focus pulls from someone else over 30. Nobody else under 30 commented on the focus pulls in a negative way, which suggests to me that although she was only mentioning her name in a joky manner, perhaps age does play a part when it comes to effects and what's easy on the eye.

An example of one of the focus pulls in my video is shown through screen shots below.

Instead she said how she felt that the effect of layering two pieces of footage over the top of each other to create the ghost effect was much more effective and easy on the eye. Again she did not state what effect this had on the story of the video its self, instead purely how this created a pleasurable viewing.

Here is an example of this effect show through a screen shot.

Here is a video showing some more audience feedback I received.

This time of a 39 year old, again female.

Similarly to the audience feedback above the use of soft colours was straight away mentioned as a pleasurable feature in my video, along side with the setting I used to film my footage. She said that theses features contributed to a romantic feel with an air of mystery and she was curious to know more about the couple.

I have interpreted her reading as preferred one as she has picked out all the key features such as the apples being symbolic and the use of my editing technique of layering footage to make my female model look like a ghost. How ever she did have to question the symbolic reference of the apples, but she knew they were their for a reason. I feel that this is because she is used to watching folk video's which often contain visual imagery which has a deeper meaning, as I have shown in question 1.

She managed to understand that the female was imagined and she created a further reading into the female by reading deeper into my video and questioning if the couple longed to be together and simply couldn't.

She states in the video she knows about folk music and the colours I have used, along side with the dress style and the use of filming my artist with his instrument all works well together and fits clearly into the genre of folk music and are features used in the industry.

Instead of just watching the footage and commenting on that alone she linked the video back to the song its self and how they worked together. Her views on this are that the footage reflected the song, so there for she with out realising is labelling my music video as an amplifying one as my footage is adding to the music.

Interestingly the same negative feedback as in the one the above was mentioned again. The use of focus pulls in my video. How ever the feedback is slightly different here as she is not totally opposed to it and instead says how she can see how some of it works in certain places, but that in other places it stays out of focus for to long or occurs to much. On reflection and re-visiting my video I can see exactly where my audience is coming from when watching a certain clip of the video where the footage is possibly out of focus for slightly too long.

Here is this clip.

Over all I have come to the conclusion through my audience feedback that through the use of the colours I have incorporated into my video through the setting of my video, the added visual imagery of the apples and the summers glow I have created a product which is suitable to target a folksy/acoustic audience. But factors which I hadn't picked up on as a negative features before hand have now been brought to light through this research.
Nearly all of my audience research showed that they took a preferred reading on my video, bar the one piece of research I received which I have used as an example on this blog which instead took a slightly more negotiated reading.

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

The task I was set to create was...

'A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with:

• a cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package);
• a magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package).

In order to make both my products look part of the same package I had to produce a coherent package that had a clear house style. The importance of having a house style is in order to attract your audience to the product and there for acts as a marketing mechanism.

A house style is a coherent graphic look which is continued across the entire brand and includes factors such as colour, fonts & size, posture & proxemics, props, lighting and visual themes.

Here are some examples of already existing artists and their house styles.

This is folk band '3 Daft Monkeys'

They have a very clear house style and one which is easily identifiable by their audience, including the use of their own logo which is used on all their products, such as their albums.

In all the promotional photographs they carry out the same stance and posture and also stand in the same order, with the female in the middle, looking as though as they are playing their instruments. The effect of them being photographed with their instruments shows the audience that they are real musicians.

Their sense of dress is quite a quirky and recognizable one and this style is continued through out the photo's, with the top hats and colourful clothing, again giving them a sense of identity and adding to the house style.

When producing their products they would have to follow something called a 'style guide' which is a set of rules, solely for the purpose of the one artists package on how the house style should be created to make it coherent to the rest of their products.

A 'style guide' is something which I had to attempt to follow in order to make both my ancillary texts and music video appear to be part of the same package.

I have created a presentation on prezi to indicate how I have attempted to make my products look coherent and how I went about doing so.

In order to find out how coherent my target audience thought my package was I filmed a person who fits my target audience to find out her views.

Audience Profile :

Name : Jo Border

Sex : Female

Age : 38

Music preference : folk/acoustic

Job : Sales rep for a cider company/care worker

Hobbies : singing, going to festivals, playing at folk sessions

Over all I found her feedback positive and she picked out many of of the features I had aimed to make look like a running feature through out my products, such as the apples, colours and clothing.

Although she noticed the apple's being featured in both the ancillary texts and music video she did point out she thought their purpose was to symbolise something but she didn't state what their symbolic importance was, which to me implies she wasn't sure. To me this proved that they worked as an entropic feature to include in my work as they're not the typical visual imagery you would expect to see in a music video. So the fact that she had to stop and look at my work and noticed the apples as something unusual shows that they are eye catching.

She found the colouring a coherent feature due to the 'washed out/hazy' look the products all had to them. She also says how the colours compliment each other and work well together and are good on the eye. The research I completed into digipaks helped me to distinguish the types of colouring used in folk/acoustic products and Jo owns a lot of folk albums so for her to say she would notice this digipak was a pleasing comment.

During my research and planning I was hoping to and supposed to be filming different models as to the one now in my work. I was originally going to use different models for the digipak and poster to the video its self due to complications with communication between me and my model. How ever I made the choice to ditch my first choice of models and use some one completely different. Now having completed my coursework and received my audience feedback I am glad I made this choice as the fact I have the same model was a coherent feature Jo pulled out.

Having the same model gives the audience a main feature to identify with and the fact he was good looking model is something which Jo pulled out. I find this an interesting comment as it proves that using a stereotypical model (in my case a your average arty, folksy and well styled male) makes the video more pleasurable for the viewer.

The two only negative points pulled out were the difference in grass length in the video compared to the digipak where it is a lot longer. I had to explain that this was due to the asparagus fern being cut down pre-filming. Although it is a valid point she has made I do not feel that it is a huge worry and a feature which could be used against my package in terms of coherence.

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

We as a society are surrounded by many forms of media texts, available to us through new technologies such as the Media 2.0. Because of this it is inevitable that other media texts we have seen will influence our own creativity when we come to make our own media text.

This is something which I had to take into consideration when planning my own ancillary texts and music video. In order to complete my research I had to look closely at already existing digipaks and video's fitting the genre of folk/acoustic music in order to gain an understanding of the stylistic requirements and features generally included.

One Theorist 'Michael Shore' argues that a performer is no longer a performer of his/her own music and instead they are a materialisation of the commercial exhibitionist, purely selling features such as their image and body in order to be in the spotlight.

This is a strong argument and one which I agree with. When looking at nearly every popular music video there is a clear theme running through out, this being women flaunting themselves and arguably selling their bodies and their sexuality.

I wanted to steer away from this popular out take on music video's which is described as 'pornography' by theorist 'Andrew Goodwin.' Instead I wanted to film my artist with his guitar to show he is a true musician and film a music video which would amplify the existing music and not purely be a mechanism of promoting or selling the artist.

Here are some examples of digipaks for popular artists compared to those of folk/acoustic artists.

These are three existing digipaks for female popular artists. Each one is photographed in front of a dark backdrop and the focus is purely on them. There is no instrument on any of these and they are all dressed in sexually revealing clothing.

Compare this to albums of folk artists.

These are the digipaks of three existing folk artists. There is quite a large difference in their albums compared to the popular ones.

In each digipak the artist is seen holding their instrument, which shows the audience that they are proper musicians. Because of this they don't need to wear revealing clothing or hold seductive poses in front of the camera as they have their music to sell themselves with.

When planning my digipak I used media texts such as these to base my creative idea's around.

Steve Neale argues that genre is an 'instance of repetition and difference.' Because music is divided into different genre's, each having their own image, their are certain aspects and features which are repeated, in order to make them identifiable.

When I came to photographing my model for the digipak and advert I did take some photographs with him holding his guitar or having the guitar positioned close to him, but when it came to the editing process these pictures weren't appropriate for layering text over. Instead I used a picture where my artist is in the background and I have used a shallow depth of field to make him out of focus. There for the focus is less on him as he is blurred and more on the strands of grass in focus in the foreground.

Below is a prezi presentation I have created to show what media texts were influential to me and how I have used and developed the forms and conventions of these real media products in the creation of my own music video.

Redundancy and entropy play a big part in music video's. Nearly all music video's have one resounding redundant feature which is miming. How ever certain features can be added to music video's in order to create a more entropic feel to them. Making a music video more entropic challenges the conventions of music video's and can be potentially dangerous. This is because music video's main purpose is to be pleasurable to the viewer, by adding in entropic features your adding in aspects which the viewer may not understand, there for taking away some pleasure of watching of the video. This may also change the reading the viewer makes of the video.

I have made a more redundant video in the sense that I haven't been risky with dress sense, I have included the guitar being played and I have filmed my footage in a non-highly-entropic place. All of the above are redundant features of your typical folk/acoustic video.

You could also argue that I am still playing on womens sexuality by making my female model an object of temptation and desire. How ever, I have portrayed this is a more classy way through the use of double layering my footage and not dressing her in revealing outfits.

The use of my visual imagery of the apple is a redundant feature in the sense it isn't an object you see in many video's, or used in the way I have done. But I its not so entropic that it has no relevance to the video what so ever, instead I have used the apples to create an interesting, eye catching feature, which does symbolic reference to Adam and Eve.

Music Video

Finished Print Tasks

Animatic Story-board

This is the first 55 seconds of my animatic story-board..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFQGCYr9oac

Miming lesson

Today I met up with Chas and talked him through what it is he needed to do for me regarding the filming.

He is now aware of the song and is willing to learn the song on the guitar as well as learn the lyrics in order to mime.

Cast Meeting

Today I have met up with Ashley, my new female performer to just run her through what it is she is needed to do for the filming. I have also discussed some dates with her so we can plan filming around her busy work shift.

Health and Safety Risk Assessment

My Potential Dangers are:

1) Tripping over the lighting kit & power cables

2) My cast falling out of tree's whilst filming

3) Filming in the early hours and damp/dark conditions

4) My cast walking around bare footed

5) Cast members becoming cold from lack of clothing

6) Damaging equipment

Potential Outcomes

1) Serious injury or even electrocution

2) Serious injury such as broken bones

3) Equipment getting wet and visibility not being brilliant causing difficulties for performers

4) Feet becoming injured or sore

5) Coming down ill

6) Not being able to continue filming

Actions to avoid potential outcomes

1) Cables are to be 'gaffer' taped to floor for the duration of the shot

2) Only using low branches with soft ground underneath

3) Placing equipment in sensible places and putting back in protective casing

4) Only removing shoes when about to film the shot

5) Always having a coat to wear in between shots

6) Always handle equipment carefully and place back in its protective cases

Change of cast

Unfortunately I have had to change my casting for my music video as George and Paul are now unable to do either the photography or actual filming in January.

This change has brought some problems to my planning of my music video and delayed the production of my print tasks as I have been unable to even begin my photography until I re-cast my video.

This weekend I was able to take the photo's for my print tasks using my new male performer, 'Chas Avery.'

I am now able to make a start on my print tasks!

Digipak Design

As you can see by my prezi I plan to feature apples in my print task. Initially the apple's were the symbolise Adam and Eve in my actual music video but I felt that using the apple in my print task may create an entropic and alternative look and appeal to the target audience I am aiming for. Here are some examples of focus pulls I have found of the internet involving apples.

The apples are in focus in the fore-ground and the back ground is blurred. This is the type of effect I am going to experiment with for my photographs for the print tasks. Instead of using apples actually growing on a tree I plan to use an already picked apple and thread it onto a piece of black string. I felt that hanging the apple in this will create a more interesting way of showing the apple and I can also use some interesting ways of framing the apple in the shots.

Here is a photo I found which shows the idea of apples hanging in an entropic way of tree's..

I think that the colours used here creates a really interesting and eye catching shot and playing around with the colours of the apples and the country side is something I may experiment with when in the editing suit once filmed.

Rotting Apples Time Lapse

Here are some video's of rotting apple's I have found which have been sped up. I may experiment with a rotting apple speeded up as part of my video, to link around the idea of Adam and Eve and love/temptation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVICWwMIr24&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWKTS6px2lw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0En-_BVbGc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U-TTaEq-XM

Choreography/movements and blocking

I have taken some photographs of what angels I intend to film shots from, the mise en scene, locations and movements of the performers, in order to discuss the overall effect of them.

The song is called 'Where the grass is tall' and the lyrics tell the story of two lovers in the country side. Some examples of the lyrics are 'Se dared to, take off her shoes...' 'Unbuttoned her Fathers shirt. I undone my tie, soon all my clothes were on the ground near by ..'

In this photo I have shown both a male and females clothes and shoes thrown on the floor and draped on tree's to create an illustrating effect of the lyrics. I aim to have shots of clothes landing on the floor as my performers take of their coats and shoes etc... as he is led through the country side by an alluring female.

In this photo I have also included a dangling red apple off black ribbon to give the photo an entropic twist as the apple connotes the concept of Adam and Eve and the way it is hanging from the tree is an unusual way.

This picture shows the similar idea of a man's jacket draped over the branch of a tree with an apple in the pocket which again links back to my concept of Adam and Eve.
This is an example of the type of focus and shots I want to use in my music video. This is a long shot and when filmed will show the artist walking directly towards the camera, playing the guitar and miming as these shots will show the artist actually performing the song, as other music video's do.

The shot its self is a low angle shot to make my performer stand out and really capture the idea of him walking towards the camera. I also want to have low angle shots of his bare feet walking through the country side.

This shot shows the apple hanging from the tree and in my filming I aim to record with the apples hanging down in the fore-front of the shot and also experiment with the focus around the apple.

This snippet of the Mumford and Sons video shows a man barefooted walking through long grass. This is a perfect example of some of the choreography I intend to include in my music video. This will show the male walking towards and following the trail of the alluring woman and the use of bare feet will highlight the natural look I am aiming to achieve.

1.45 in the same video shows a hand flexing at the side of a males body. This is also a piece of choreography I want to use in my video as I am going to focus on body parts in certain shots to link to link it back to Adam and Eve and the sexual temptation between a male and female.

Costume and Props

Here is a table I created showing all the props and costume I would require for my video. I have also included where I'd source the items from, cost and who's responsibility it would be.

Here are some photo's of the type of clothing and props I was looking for in my video..

Here are some white gowns that I wanted my female performer to wear whilst roaming through the countryside. I wanted to use this style of outfit for the female as I was taking on the idea of natural beauty and the Pre-Raphaelite idea. Originally I wanted a big green and red dress to compliment the hair colour of my female performer but this was going to prove too costly so I have had to come up with a plan B for the female costume instead. Using the white dress will still achieve the natural look of the pretty woman in the country side and using the colour white highlights the idea of being natural.

No shoes are needed in my costume as I want my performers to be bare footed to again really highlight the idea of the video being a very natural one. I have also seen in other folk/acoustic video's this idea being used so it will definitely fit in with my target audience. Also some theorists say that now the performers are trying to show off themselves and their image and not so much just their music any more. By giving my performers less to hide behind and making it more natural I feel that the music won't be 'forgotten' about so much and the focus won't be drawn just to the performers.
This is Paul my performer and he is wearing the style of large top hat I wanted to include in the dress for my video. He is also wearing a waistcoat which doesn't look to dressy or fancy and is the simple style I was going for with the almost hand made patch work look.

The white shirt will be worn in an open style to fit in with the story line being told by the song, (a couple going off into the countryside and undressing as they do so.) Black or brown chord like trousers will be worn as this is what was worn by men back in the period I am planning to make my video fit.

This table has now been changed due to the fact my original performers are no longer able to do any filming or photography for me, which mean that my whole Pre-Raphaelite idea has had to be changed as I no longer have George or Paul to film.

Now my video is going to take a more modern 'folky' style and my performer 'Chas' will now be wearing no such a period outfit but more along the lines of a tweed country jacket, baggy shirt and brown scuffed leather shoes/boots to give it that worn look.

Here is an example of a tweed jacket i want to use.

Here is an example of a style of shoe I shall get my performer to wear.

I dressed my performer up in the style of outfit I wanted to film him in and took some photographs of him.

In this photo 'Chas' is wearing a tweed style jacket and brown worn leather shoes and simple black trousers to give him that folky/country look.

Shoes will now be worn by my male performer but they will be discarded and thrown into the grass during the early stages of the video. This is to again highlight the idea of the couples clothes being scattered through the country side as the alluring woman leaves him a trail of her clothes to follow.

Ashley, my new female performer will now be wearing a simple cotton white dress and will have bare feet through out. Although I can no longer continue with my Pre-Raphaelite theme I am going to stick with the natural look and there for the white plain dress and bare feet will work well. The use of the colour white also symbolises the girls purity through out the video until at the end where we see this white dress on the floor, showing us the audience in a subtle way that she has now lost her purity.

Here is my new table for my props and costumes. I have highlighted in red the costume and props which I was planning to use with George and Paul and which I no longer need. In blue are the items of clothing I shall need to get for my new female performer and the ones in black are remaining the same.

Performers and Casting

I have had to cast my music video and make sure that the people I use to film are reliable and available. The theme of my music video is a pre-Raphaelite one and to achieve this I have had to cast people who with costume can easily fit into this time period.

My chosen male to perform as the artist 'George Clarke' is Paul.

Here are some photo's of Paul. He is a musician him self and has a quirky/folky dress sense. His wardrobe includes lots of waist coasts and chords as well as the fact he wears lots of silver jewellery and can easily pass as a man of the pre-Raphaelite era.

My female performer for my video is Paul's partner, George.

Here are some photo's of George. I wanted to use George as she has the perfect pre-Raphaelite hair that I desired for my music video. She is also a clear example of natural beauty and her clothes also take a quirky edge to them and she owns a pre-Raphaelite white style gown which she has agreed to wear for the filming.

Both of my performers are prepared to be filmed and be directed by me and more importantly are available for filming in January. By using George and Paul the problem of 'costume' is resolved as they are going to supply the costume from their own wardrobe.

I met with George and Paul on the 30th of November to discuss my concept for the video and make absolutely sure they were going to be around for filming. Whilst with them we also brain stormed idea's for locations and their plot of orchard is an option. We have exchanged numbers and they are going to contact me with in the next day with dates they are free to take some photo's for my print tasks.

Unfortunately I have had to change my casting for my music video as George and Paul are uncertain as to whether they are available in January to film. This was also delaying my photography for my print tasks and I have had to abandon George and Paul and re-cast my video.

This change has brought some problems to my planning of my music video and delayed the production of my print tasks.

I have recently re-cast my music video and now my male performer is 'Chas Avery.'

This is Chas and he will play the part of 'George Clarke' the artist him self. Chas is a musician himself and plays guitar and sings him self so learning the song to perform whilst recording won't prove difficult for him.

Ashley Cotrill will now play the role of the female. Instead of taking the idea of playing with the Pre-Raphaelite theme I am now forced to change the idea to suit Ashley's image. She has long black, naturally curly hair and is, similar to George a naturally attractive woman, fitting for the role.

She has a tattoo on her foot and this may look good on the bare-footed shots as it is going to be for a folky audience and there for entropic so the tattoo is fitting and won't cause any difficulty. Chas also has a large tattoo of a guitar on his arm so again this may work nicely in the video.

Print Task Research

In order to create a realistic and proffesional digi pak design I have had to research into them and see whats generally included and what styles are used for the acousitc/folk genre.

Newton Faulkner

These are some CD designs and also a CD its self for Newton Faulkner. What I have discovered from my research is that the same style is carried out on all of the print work for the same artist. These examples are entropic and also quite quirky. They do not contain an image of the artist him self and there for go against the theory that arists are now a days only selling themselves and not focusing on their music, but in this case Newton Faulkner is not on any of his print products.

This also applies to another acoustic/folk artist I have research called Kate Rusby.

Again, her print designs take on the same idea and style for each CD. This time the style is cartoon based and again the artist her self is not present on the actual Digi Pak. Another example of artists using the same approach to print tasks is Laura Marling, also an acoustic artist.


Again her CD covers are all recognisable in the sense that they belong to the same artist. Unlike the examples above Laura Marling is actually featured in this CD cover above, but instead of have a highly edited image of herself in the centre of the cover she has used a black and white drawing of her self instead, again creating this unusual and unique desgin.