Marketing Campaign Lesson

Today in class we did a lesson on the general music industry, how it works and what they can do to impact upon their desired target audience and create successful products. Obtaining this goal allows the industry to make money. We were also informed and advised on thinking about marketing campaigns in much more detail.

Some examples of how record labels can get their artists out there are:

• Social Media e.g. twitter/facebook
• Posters and other forms of above the line advertising
• Television appearances and other forms of below the line advertising
• Celebrity endorsements
• Their official website
• Youtube adverts
• Television adverts
• Guest appearances
• Competitions for example on radio stations

Interesting facts I learnt from the lesson:

• That contrary to popular belief, contracts worth a certain amount of money are not necessarily mutually beneficial, as countless artists never end up making a profit. To make a profit, they have to pay back the music industry.
• Many artists are not given the opportunity to flourish as they are dropped after an unsuccessful debut.
• The music industry feeds into the publishing industry. The music industry constructs an image for their artist (including clothing and personality) and newspapers set out to destroy this image with bad publicity. 
• We were also encouraged not to ignore the over 50s in our target market. They would be very aware of what their children are listening to just by having it played around  the house. They are also one of the larger demographics and the ones who saw the rise of music videos and the music industry as a whole. They are also technological immigrants so are more likely to buy music.
• We were encouraged not to rely too heavily on young people as our target market as they are the least likely to pay for their music.  

What Music Means to Me

Childhood

Steps - 5,6,7,8

My mum really liked Steps and was always playing their CDs around the house. This one was my favorite because there was a dance routine and it is fun and catchy. When I went on holiday recently we rediscovered it in one of our ipods so it now strongly reminds me of that holiday.

Early Teens

Kate Nash - Foundations

I really liked this song because it was quirky and funny. Watching the music video massively complimented these traits, and was centered around everyday life. In Year 7 cwm, Ms Preston who was our form tutor at the time had the CD and always used to play it on the minibus which is why it has stuck in my memory. 

Now

Foals - My Number

I like this song because it is upbeat and reflects several aspects of my music taste - indie but still contributing an atmosphere. I can also listen to it in whatever mood I'm in and the lyrics leave slight ambiguity which allows more people to relate to them.

Music Video Prelim Evaluation - Little Mix: Wings

Did you enjoy the workshop day? What were your best bits and why?

I did enjoy the workshop day and value it as a unique experience that not just anybody gets to benefit from. Most of all there was a fun atmosphere generated by everyone, including the cast who created a vision of exactly what it is like to work in the media.

There were 3 main things I enjoyed particularly:


1. Doing the actual performance
It was very exhilarating to get up and dance and even when we weren't on camera, everyone was singing along to the lip sync as encouragement. As a result, the whole day carried a performance element that was undoubtedly the most enjoyable part. We had also spent so much time practicing the dance, that the final performance paid of.

2. Observing the crew
There were times that we got to sit back and observe what the crew was doing. This gave us an exclusive insight to how music video shoots actually work professionally, and to relate this to what we see as the finished product. This allowed us to grasp the different roles by seeing them in action for ourselves.

3. Joining the crew
When we weren't doing the performance we spent time filling in the roles of the technical staff and runners. For example, we all contributed into doing each others hair and make-up, becoming the role of the stylist. I also had an opportunity to go up to the top of the studio and see how we were lighting the room and how live television works. I also filmed one of the pink grunge shots, being pushed on the dolly by Zenia and Alice. However something happened and I fell off, showing how things can also go wrong.




What have you learnt from participating in each of the prelim tasks?

• The audition video taught us that to lipsync properly you have to exagerate how you move your mouth otherwise it looks like you aren't putting any effort in when you watch it back. While editing the lip sync we also realised that timing the lip sync to the music can be very challenging, but worked out the method of timing the lip sync to the music first and then cropping it.
• Learning the performance was a great learning experience for me as I found the importance of time keeping and how easy it is to get fired. I also learnt that giving it my all is the best factor to looking good when dancing, and not being scared to embarrass myself.
• Planning and organizing costumes was a success for me. However, the biggest learning point here was to communicate your problems if they arose and to take advantage of whatever the group can offer. 
• The one day work shop was the most rewarding experience for the reasons I mentioned above.
• The workshop edit enabled me to manage my time efficiently and get it done by the deadline. I also came across different difficulties to when I was editing the film opening, for example timing the lip sync and dance moves. In some cases we had to compromise for the closest shots to the original. We also learnt how to function in groups bigger than usual.

Are you pleased with the footage and your edit? Is it how you expected it to look?

Yes I am very pleased with the footage as we have done a very good job in replicating the original. In this way, for the majority it has turned out the way I expected. I am also happy with the few compromises we had to made and feel these work well. 

How do you think your prelim experiences will impact on your approach to next term's music video coursework?

• Confidence - If we didn't have this prelim experience, we would have not had a chance to gain our confidence with the making of a music video. That would've impacted very badly on our real thing.
• Planning - This was a key aspect of the process throughout. Everything was in order and scheduled, with strict deadlines planned far in advance. This is how things get done most efficiently, and we will recognize this in the making of own our music video.
• Editing - We now have two experiences of editing a lip sync, which will prove to be a benefit when we edit our real thing.
• Dancing - As we have been forced to dance, we have started to enjoy it and will not be as embarrassed if dancing becomes a part of our music video.    

Music Video Analysis

The music video I am analysing is 'We are Never Getting Back Together' by Taylor Swift. In my opinion, this video conforms to the performance music video key features.

Throughout the music video, the artist seems to be addressing the camera and engaging the audience through over dramatic gestures and miming to go with the lip sync. For example, Taylor accompanies the line 'we broke up the first time' with a gesture to show the number. This establishes her own personality, also assisted through many costume changes that show her style to be quite geeky and not necessarily fashionable. This promotes the song as the audience can relate to the artist being like them. However a strong artist identity is constructed through not changing her hair and make-up, shown in many beauty shots that portray her as beautiful and aspirational. 

The performance drives the video as we mainly focus on the artists singing and dancing that isn't necessarily supposed to look choreographed. This matches the comical element of the video as many of the background characters are dressed in comedic monkey costumes. However the performance element not only includes dancing but also playing instruments. This reflects the merging of both pop and country, and appeals to both fan bases. There is also a heavy inclusion of a narrative as we see the artists acting out moments in her personal life as well as singing to the camera. The story plays out, creating a sense of development. However, by the end of the music video the artists finds herself in the same predicament of resenting her boyfriend again - creating a cyclical narrative at the same time.  

    

Reservoir Dogs

This is our reservoir dogs remake by me and Alice. I was Mr White and we kept it as close to the original version as possible, but made a few changes such as modernising what the characters wore.

Prelim Evaluation

Tom Trouble

Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?

I worked with Rakhi, Ella and Alice. We worked together to brainstorm and discuss ideas, create the shoot schedule, script and finally to storyboard our specific shots. Alice and Ella were acting, I was working the camera, with help from Rakhi who was also the producer. Everyone got a chance to be behind the camera as when it was Alice’s scenes, Ella shot them and when it was Ella’s scenes, Alice shot them. The shots of them together were filmed by me and Rakhi. We also brought lots of props to use in the sequence.

 

How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? What theories did you try to take into account?

The Storyboard

We planned our sequence in our initial meeting when we decided on a chick flick as our genre in the process of brainstorming. We had other ideas but this seemed the most suiting to the area we were using, what characters we could play and what props we could provide. Next, we created the script that we made sure conveyed the genre through characterising our characters. We specifically decided on what each shot would contain and what type of shot it was in our shotlist and transferred this visually to a storyboard. At this point, we took into account continuity principles and rules we had to abide by. We agreed not to include too many close ups in a row and to not jump across too much space between shots, as this could disorientate the audience. We decided to include a total of 15 shots as this was enough so the audience could understand what was happening and we could include those shots mentioned in the brief, yet it was a manageable amount that wasn’t too much to handle. While choosing the actors, we thought Alice would fit the role as the cool blonde and Ella would suit the innocent girl crushing on Alice’s boyfriend. Lastly, we made a schedule to ensure that everything was planned and in order on the day of shooting.

What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it?

To complete the task, we used a camera and a tripod to film the actual sequence. We used this in a way that made the most of the space and also gave convincing angles that fit continuity principles. We also used adobe premiere pro to edit the sequence after shooting.

What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?

Me editing

As we weren’t filming outside, unreliable weather wasn’t a problem – yet it didn’t come without its difficulties. We had to alternate between the groups who would film in the hallway at each time and assigned ourselves particular rooms to try and film in. While planning, we chose the media block to film in because disruptions such as other students were kept to a minimum and were much more controllable. However, at one point the bell rung when we were filming in the hallway which was unexpected, so many students walked past the door. This was easily edited out though. While editing, we had to make sure there was no background noise and could only use the shots in which it was completely audible what the characters were saying. We also had to make sure everything flowed convincingly.

 

How successful was your sequence? Please identify what worked well and with hindsight what would you improve/do differently?

Our sequence was successful as it conveyed the genre and overall followed the continuety principles such as the 180 degree rule. We also included everything that was in the brief: shot reverse shot, match on action and a character coming into a room followed by an exchange of dialogue. I would say that all of these worked well although there was one crucial mistake that we notcied towards the end of the editing process that disrupted the continuity flow. When Ella was hiding the diary, in the corner of the shot you could see a door opening when Alice had already come in. Therefore, this didn't all fit together. To tackle this we just edited out the entire shot, as it wasn't of great importance to the storyline as a whole - and the audience would still be able to understand what was going on.

 

What have you learnt from completing this task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework, do you think?

I have learnt a lot from this task such as how to work a camera and a tripod and how to apply the techniques that we have learnt in the lessons. I also used Adobe Premiere Pro for the second time and learnt how to use it to edit and add titles. This will be significant because now, in the foundation coursework I will take notice of minor details that could disrupt continuity. Also, because I know how to use Adobe Premiere Pro, this will save time that I would've spent learning it later so we can make the most of our future time. Doing the preliminary exercise also made it more clear why there was a rule against 180 degree filming as I could see for myself how it doesn't work. Overall, it was a good learning process and was very beneficial.

DYM Dexter Re-Edit Evaluation

The conventions of title sequences that were most important to this task were:

·         Conveying details of the cast and crew and in what order

·         Introducing the main character and the title

·         The film title

·         Indication of mood, tone and genre

We planned to edit the title sequence by bearing in mind what conventions we needed to include. We initially decided on what font, colour and effects to use, deciding to make this constant throughout. We then added the cast and crew names in the places we thought they could possibly go and flow smoothly.

We decided to use red text with a quite plain font to make sure it looked professional and real, yet also conveyed the genre. When deciding on the effect, we wanted something that looked good yet wasn’t too distracting so fit with the rest of the title sequence. When deciding on names, we featured members of the class as the cast to make it more efficient.

In comparison to the original, our re-edit was similar in some ways but different in others. For example, we used dark red writing so it showed against the background and matched the blood that we thought might be significant to the genre. This proved to be the exact choice of the editors who did the original. Had we had more time, we could’ve inserted more titles to make it even more realistic, but generally the titles we did put in were in the correct places. We could’ve used a bolder font to exactly match the original, but ours was clear anyway and not distracting to the eye.