Artwork Plans

These are some rough first ideas I have had for the artwork for the album cover. I am hoping to use Photoshop to make the album cover artwork.

Album Cover Analysis

These are some album covers of artists that are similar to our that I have analysed.

Media Filming

Today we went back to my friend Suraya's house to re-record some shots that were not quite right, and we also shot some cut aways when we saw that Suraya had a little heart shaped light that changed colour so we recorded some footage of this too. These shots were simple enough to re-recorded but it did take us a while to get there and it was especially difficult to do this carrying the camera, a tripod and 3 lights but we managed.
Unfortunately again we had to use camera 2 with the broken screen so once again we are hoping the footage is good but we can't be certain. We will know when it is uploaded for editing tomorrow.

Media Editing

Today during one of my free lessons I went in to upload the footage we got yesterday and to start to edit some of it. It took a little while to upload the footage but I made good use of my time and uploaded a good quality version of the track on to the computer and on to Final Cut. I have also started to edit. I have edited some of the footage and I have so far, editing 2 different close-ups of the collage to use and also I have started to edit some of the footage of singing in front of the collage. Unfortunately some of the footage we recorded yesterday has not turned out exactly how we had planned it, but I have had another idea that I should be simple enough to record but also look really effective. This is to have the artist looking at pictures, we then use an over the shoulder shot to show the audience what the artist is looking at, we then cut back to the artist in a mid-shot of the artist lip-syncing the song and watching the picture burn.

Media Filming

Todat we filmed some shots for the second half of the first verse. We had the idea to have a collage of pictures behing the artist and for the artist to sing in front of it, have close ups of the pictures showing the artist and her boyfirend when they were happy and then at the end of the music video for the artist to rip up the collage.
However, the camera we used had a screen that was jumpy and it was impossible to see what we were shooting properly so we had to take extra footage to be on the safe side. I ended up filming some close ups of the collage for almost 15 minutes but it was worth it to be on the safe side and hopefully get good footage. As of yet I am not sure how this has turned out but I am hoping to upload this tommorrow and edit it.

Editing and disscussions

Today we watched the footage we have edited together already and decided what needed to be re-shot and what footage was needed.
We have decided that most of the shots in the house do need to be re-shot as they are just not working, some are to wobbly as the camera is unsteady and when we are trying to create short clips and cuts ususally seen in music videos they aren't working.

We have also disscussed some new ideas that we need as we feel their aren't enough amazing shots in the music video that are interesting and memerable apart fromt the candle shots. I came up with the idea of having photos on a wall as a collage of the artist and her boyfriend which we see close-ups of and the artist standing in front of it with her boyfriend at first but then the camera spins and the boyfriend is gone and the artist is alone. Then at the end of the video she rips the collage or burns one of the photos. We also had an idea for a cutaway where a chocolate heart is melting which represents their love melting away. I also had the idea for another cutaway where a phone hanging from a cord can be seen hanging over the side of a table (close-up shot).

Editing

Today we have been working on editing, we have discussed which shot sequence is best and we are making good progress in editing so far.

Record Company Research - SYCO

Syco Music

Syco is a record label founded by Simon Cowell, it’s parent company is Sony Music Entertainment. It holds the exclusive right to sign the winner of any of the TV talent show competitions winners produced by Syco TV such as Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor. It’s two most successful artists are Leona Lewis who won The X Factor and Susan Boyle who was runner up on Britain's Got Talent. Syco has received success in the UK market, producing 22 UK number 1 singles since 2004, as well as having success in the international market with artists such as Leona Lewis and Susan Boyle, who have managed to crack the American market, which is notoriously difficult to crack. Syco has signed contestants from the reality shows such as Olly Murs, One Direction, Alexandra Burke, Rebecca Ferguson, Leona Lewis, Matt Cardle, Cher Lloyd and Jai McDowall. However Syco do not only sign artists from the reality shows. In 2010 producer/singer-songwriter Labrinth became the first artist to sign to Syco without coming from a reality show in six years. 

However, although Syco has found much success with there artists it has also been criticised for bad choices. It has been particularly criticised for Leona Lewis’ second album not reaching the same success of her first album, some claimed that singles were chosen poorly and that releasing singles six months apart hindered the success of the album. It is also claimed by some fans similar poor choices are the reason Alexandra Burke has not found international success.

Editing

We have been editing our footage during this week. So far we have had a lot of problems with uploading the footage on to Final Cut, as it hasn't been opening so we couldn't upload. However we have now managed to upload the footage and we are about to start editing. Duresh has started to edit and has also been adjusting the colour in the candle scene to make the candles brighter.

Alex Day

 

Alex Day, 22, is a YouTube producer (video blogger) otherwise known as Nerimon (his account name). He has had over 1,702,000 channel views  and he has over 50,420 subscribers.

Day has been recording music and posting music videos directed by his flatmate Charlie (also a successful YouTube producer known as Charlieissocoollike)  made. He also released his music on iTunes, so far he has released two albums and three singles. These were released without the backing of a record label, on DFTBA Records which is a company that distributes YouTube artists work and is largely independent.

 In November 2011, Day posted a video telling his viewers that he had written a song and he wanted to attempt to get to Number 1 in the Christmas Charts with this song. He admitted he thought it was unlikely they would reach the top 20, but decided that he was going to attempt this anyway. He posted a video asking his viewers to download his single ‘Forever Yours’ on the 18th of December, which he named ‘Forever Day’, so it would count towards the Christmas Chart. On December the 18th, much to the surprise of the official chart company, Alex managed to reach number 4 in the iTunes chart, and this was only the first day of his attempt. This caught peoples attention and during the week leading up to Christmas Alex appeared on the BBC and ITV London news and was interviewed by newspapers and radio stations. Alex Day also released 11 alternate versions of ‘Forever Yours’ after learning that alternate versions of the song count towards the place of the single itself in the chart. He confirmed that all sales revenue made from the alternate versions would go to the charity World Vision. On Christmas Day, 2011, "Forever Yours" reached number 4 in the UK Singles chart, selling over 50,000 copies. Day became the first unsigned artist to reach a top four place in the Official Charts in the U.K.

This is an amazing example of the power the internet has for the success of an artist and also the ability for a musician to have their music heard on a wide scale without the backing of a record label. 

Moodboard

This is my own moodboard.

Influences from other Music Videos

The music video for Cheryl Cole’s The Flood influenced us as we really liked the concept. We particularly liked a shot where Cheryl (the artist) holds a match in front of her face, and later blows out the flame. We felt this was a really effective shot and was a shot that was simple to achieve. We then used this in our own music video where the artist holds a candle in front of her face and then blows it out. We also liked the shot where the artist sits in the window, as we feel it conveys the mood of the song. We are also hoping to take inspiration from this shot and create one similar.

 

We were also influenced by Christina Perri’s A Thousand Years music video. In the music video the artist is sat in the middle of a room with candle surrounding her. We really liked the effect of the shot and realised that this would be a shot achievable for us to create and use. I feel this shot is stunning to look at and sets the tone for the song perfectly.

Logo Preference

Ideas if we need more footage

I have had some new idea for the music video. The first is that we have some shots with a dolls house and we can see the artist looking through the little windows at a couple of dolls inside.
Another idea is that the artist texts the words 'I'm Still Here' at the end of the video.