Dear Blogger,
It looks like our time has come to an end. Its been a great experience hope you enjoyed working with me.
The Denz :)
Showing posts with label Denzel Assiamah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Denzel Assiamah. Show all posts
Sunday, 29 January 2012
Thursday, 12 January 2012
Q4) Why Have You Learned From Your Audience Feedback?
*Positive
As you can see from the video's above we received a lot of positive feedback after the cinema screening from peers and teachers. What people where really impressed by was the lip-sync of the Artist performance ( WHICH WAS ME :) which I had to mastered over a few weeks of learning the lyrics which was hard but as person with rhythm it came easy over a period of time. The narrative also received a lot of praise the way we move back on fourth on the BEAT!! All in all the audience loved our video which is a great achievement.
Learnt
If I had a chance to re-do my music video I would of used more technical camera angles and try also to keep all my shots in the framing. My audience feedback where a tad critical on that and felt that could of made my video 11/10. From my feedback my audience also said I could have used 3-4 more different locations to broaden the visual aspects of the video. In my Music Video what was really effective and the audience loved was the performance, narrative and story which is exactly some of the key points which we wanted to portray to the audience. The narrative was rarely seen in video's this year so by us doing this made us stand out to the others as behind the lyrics you actually saw the story behind the Artist.
Q3) How Did You Use Media Technologies In The Construction And Research, Planning and Evaluation Stages?
Planning and Research
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| Youtube |
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| Official Site |
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| Wikipedia |
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| Blogger |
Animatic + Storyboard
For making our animatic we used the digital camera's to take pictures then importing them onto Final Cut Pro which we then edited into one clip. Video Below -
Evaluation
During the evaluation stage Media Technologies are playing a key role communicating the research and different stages of filming also showing the influences of other videos. I have used sites such 'Go animate' which allowed to me to make a cartoon conversation between to characters as they talked about the conventions of Rap music video. I aslo used 'Prezi' which is seen below which allowed me to make a presentation inserting images and videos in a spider diagram style. I have also used Final Cut Pro and the Flip Camera to make video clips explaining my theories.
Using Technology
Final Cut Pro
Above is brief Tutorial in using Final Cut Pro
* - Open Final Cut Pro
* (CLICK) File (SCROLL DOWN) - Import... FILE
* Select a Clip from your video drive (WHICH WILL BE EDITED)
* Drag this clip on to the time line
* Chop the clip using Razor tool
* Add a new clip beside 1st clip
* Run both clips beside each-other (Random clips please dont judge me :)
Q2)How Effective Is The Combination Of Your Main Product (Video) and Ancillary Texts ( Digipak and Advertisement)
The Ancillary And Video Links
As you can see from above a fitted cap is a convention which is followed by Rap Artist which immediately links to the visual image of my character. Caps are seen by the public as urban wear and my artist wears one to connote his style and also to show like other rappers he is involved in wearing exclusive head wear. My particular artist wear an 'Obey' cap this an snap-back fitted cap which you can amend the size to your head shape. I wore this hat because it is a limited edition cap and is hard for anybody to get there hands on it so I felt it would appeal to the my target audience as they'll like my unique style.In my video the visual was also an urban look but I decided to go without the cap and have a fresh low 'Skinned fade' haircut which is also popular amongst rap artist as it shows their freshness and also a smarter side to the Genre which again appeals to another target audience who like change and is not expecting there favorite artist to have a predictable style. In both my main product and ancillary text you see my urban style wearing notable brands such as 'Ralph Lauren', 'Supremebeing' 'Prada' and 'LRG'.
In my ancillary work the front cover you see the background a graffiti wall in a basketball court in a council estate in Hackney. I feel this visual clearly links to the hometown of my artist which is London and how he is representing the streets of London also giving the album and urban look to show my target audience where he is coming from. After looking at many options I felt the graffiti was the most effective as it shows a rebellious side to my artist as in some parts of London graffiti is banned. I also felt like this as graffiti is seen as a form of Art and a way for people to express their feelings and this is exactly what I wanted to do through my music, so the graffiti was an instant connotation to my feelings.
Visual Links and Artist Persona
The hand-sign visual was something I 100% wanted to create as I felt nobody else that was doing our genre would think to have a hand-sign personal to the artist. I felt the hand-sign I made for my artist was very unique as it has never been done before as you see above some example from current rappers. I feel the hand-sign I made will be recognizable across the globe and used by my fans for positive reason.
I feel it also helps my artist's visual for things like concerts as I may use this to pump up the crowd and they may respond to my music with this gesture which will be an amazing achievement as it is something personal.
The hand-sign I create is perfect from my genre as it creates a bull head which connotes being fearless which is how I'd like to see my artist portrayed. I'd like to think my artist is fearless as you see in my video and listen to the lyrics he shares a personal experience, which shows the public he is not afraid to share his life problems.
Successful Main and Ancillary Text ?
I feel both my Ancillary and Main text where successful as the both gave of the persona of an artist in the genre which was UK Rap. I feel in the video I portrayed my artist well with body language, posture, and mis en scene for example clothing. Again I felt my ancillary product was successful and will appeal to my target audience being young teens as when doing research I followed the conventions of previous UK Rap music album covers but also using my own unique twist to attract a wider audience. I felt both of my products gave an urban effect which is exactly what was needed for both my products.
Font
Finding the right font was difficult as there was so many to choose from on Photoshop it was essential I went through all of them to find the perfect font which created the visual effect I wanted. I want the font that I chose to connote a story and for it to tell a lot about the Artist. I then tested out a font called 'Stencil' and it had a big affect on my piece and had a great response from peers and teachers. As you can see above the font is in upper case letters, the design is very powerful as it looks as if all the letters have cracks in them. This immediately connotes my artist's mind frame as the upper case letters connote his strong character and the cracks represent the pain in his life and how nothing is perfect.
Target Audience
Q1) In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop, or Challenge Forms And Conventions Of Real Media Products?
COSTUME - MIS EN SCENE
GoAnimate.com: Costume by AA25231
In the UK rap scene you also get underground artist's promoting this 'Hood' look by wearing hoods and trying to promote there fine jewelry this immediately connotes a 'Gang' representation, but this is rear for mainstream artist such as Devlin as he has broken through and received a record deal. In our music video you see one location the 1930's block of flats replica the scenery in the original video. Also in our video where we set it was conventional as it told the story and the audience understood the narrative. Below you see a screen grab of now up and coming UK star Sneakbo in his video 'Hometown' where he talks about growing up on the gritty streets of London. In this video him and his peers wear hoods throughout also trying to flash expensive chains and watches. Although this is an underground video you see influences from American Rap Artists as they are trying to reveal to the public the power of money. In Mainstream Rap in the UK Artists such as Devlin, Chipmunk,Wiley and Lethal B who have all grew up in tough estates in London are trying to get away from the 'Hood' look and be more formal with the Mis-en-scene they use in video's and when promoting themselves as an Artist for example Polo shirts. I feel the way Rap artist try to dress as unique as possible promoting brands such as 'Ralph Lauren', Stone Island and Levi's. I feel the way mainstream Rap artist in the UK dress is developing the scene as stereotypically it is normally seen as a bunch of youths in hoods as seen below, which again links to gang violence.
INFLUENCES
As you can see from above the Mary J Blige feat Ludacris influenced our Music video in more ways then one and the 1st being the scene which featured both artist in the frame whilst reciting the lyrics. I felt this was effective because it connotes togetherness as well as the feelings between the artist's and makes it easier for the audience to emotionally connect to the song as both of the songs were talking about pain. In this scene we also follow the conventions of a rapper featuring singer collaboration as they are mostly seen in the same shot in a numerous amount of Music videos. Look Below -
Ancillary Work
The Ancillary work I produced followed the conventions of a UK Rap artist. As you see below from other artist in my Genre they all follow the rule of having an unique urban look as well as showing there personality. What I really found interesting when researching Digi-paks in my Artist genre was how they used the city (London) and images from there personal background to show what they feel. A few that really interested me was Wiley's - 'Playtime's Over' and Skepta's - 'So Alive'. What I felt about both of these Digi-paks were they told a story just by looking at them which was what I also tried to portray with my Ancillary product by using this sharp eye contact. Also in my inside panel you see and image of me looking over London which shows you I'm in deep thinking. On Wiley's Album we see him in a neglected playground in a dark black tracksuit with his hood on immediately we think to ourselves there's a problem and in his songs he will tell us his problems hence the title 'Playtime's Over'. On Skepta's album he also goes for and Urban look with his use of Mis en scene wearing a wooly hat, but for me on Album the facial expression says it all. You see him screaming out which I feel connotes for people to hear his message, which I feel this Album is going to talk about hearing what he has to say and listening to his message.
EDITING
When Editing our Music Video we felt it was only right we edited the video on the beat as in the song we chose it had a nice sound on the 4th beat which we felt was perfect for us to go back n fourth from our narrative. Whilst editing we used base tracks which is a convention of a Rap music video which allowed us to cut clips we didn't need. During a base track the Artist performs the whole track without stop which is then layered on to Final Cut Pro. Whilst editing marked the 4 beat throughout the song on Final Cut Pro so we knew when to import a new shot this is also called continuous editing. I think this works as it helps the flow of the video run smoothly and after a while you get the beat of the tune for anyone watching the video will understand the narrative behind the song. Below are some clips which follow this convention of editing continously on a particular beat.
CHALLENGING CONVENTIONS
UK & US RAP
I feel our video also challenged a lot of video's in the rap genre especially in the U.S. In American rap you see a lot of the video based around three main things as you see below : JEWELS. CARS. WOMEN. I feel in the UK the videos take a very different approach again as you see below. I feel in British rap especially they talk a lot about life and there personal story as a rap listener I feel that's lacking in US rap as they focus on MONEY!! a bit too much but then again they still make quality music in my personal opinion. So I feel the UK challenge America to a degree with the representation of artist's.
Jewellery
Cars
Girls
UK RAP
MORE VIDEO INFLUENCES
* Influence - Nicki Minaj - As you can see in Nicki Minaj video 'Moment for Life' feat Drake her use of make-up inspired our 'Yasmin' played by Kudiwa Lipstick colour being a baby Pink as it helped the way she was portrayed to the audience as seductive but also respectable. Also the colour also helped in the video with articulation as when the lyrics where being recited it looked more genuine. She also inspired our make-up choice as the foundation used was not heavy and helped the connotation of 'Yasmin' be positive.
*The Game - The video 'Make the world go round' Feat Chris Brown we see famous Rapper wearing a Red Ralph Lauren Polo shirt. In this video we see the famous 'Horse' blurred as the owners of the company do not want to see Artist such as 'The Game' promoting there brand as they are gang related. The Rapper is seen to be a member of The 'Compton Blood Gang' who have committed a number of murders in there history.
*Duffy - In Duffy's video we where inspired by her use of emotion in the video which automatically creates a emotional connection with the audience. In our video we created tears with our character in the narrative as it showed the pain he was going through doing the story.
* Cheryl Cole - In Cheryl Coles video 'Fight for this love' we where inspired by her sense of style and felt it immediately linked to the character we where trying to portray with our 'Yasmin'. What I really felt was a key characteristic with our character was her Mis-en-scene, her dressing. We felt it was imperative her dress style was so cool it will inspire over young teens to follow her image. The leather jacket Cheryl Cole wore in her music video was very attractive and felt we'd steal this image as it was very appealing to our target audience.
The Narrative Inspiration
In our Music video we have a narrative which is basically a story behind the actual song. We had many inspiration for the narrative for example as you see below the videos - Professor Green feat Emili Sande - Read All About it, Mary J Blige and the original video for our song Devlin - Runaway. In our narrative we showed a break up of a couple and how it affected there relationship mentally as you see emotional shots of Shazray. The arguments affected the relationship so bad the male companion decided to leave and never come back and we see the full story in our music video.
And Of Course.... THE ORIGINAL VIDEO
Performance
Conventions
Andrew Goodwin and Carol Vernalis created theories that music videos should follow the conventions of the genre they are catergorized in. In my music video's we also followed conventions of a Rap music video for example ;
Camera moves with music -
Artist looks directly into the camera-
Repeated shots of the Artist -
Base Track Editing -
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Continuos Themes
In my Digi-pak one of the themes which I felt was vital was the fonts and size and especially the colour of the font which I kept as white throughout. As you see in my from my Advertisement and Digi-pak the font 'Stencil' is used throughout as the font is of an urban style as its almost as the text is of a broken form which relates to the mis-en-scene of my Artist who is from the streets of London, which some areas are seen as poverty driven with high crime rates.
Making the Advertisement
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| 4 Stars |
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| 5 Star |
In my Advertisement I felt it was necessary that I had a rating from a Magazine which I researched a famous magazine which operate in the Genre of my artist. This rating gives the target audience some idea of the quality of the Album from a credited source which may lead them in to a purchase of the Album.
Monday, 9 January 2012
Handsign Influences
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| US - Rapper - T-Pain |
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| US Rapper - Jay-Z |
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| Professor D |
The hand-sign my Artist does is to reflect his personality but also for fans to recognise this hand-sign to associate it with the Artist as it is very unique and has not been seen anywhere else. My main influences for this was the American Rapper Jay-Z who is renown for his hand-sign which he is known for all across the world. At concerts Jay-Z uses this Hand-sign to pump up the crowd and they will all retaliate by copying tis hand-sign back to Jay-Z which sets the atmosphere for the concert. I chose to use a hand-sign during my photo's as its something that is personal to me and nobody will ever know the meaning of but will all copy me as a popular Artist, and recognise this sign as my brand.
Influences
As you can see above the UK urban rap influences which helped me set the scene for my Digi-pak.
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
Old and New
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| 1st Draft |
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| 2nd Draft |
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| Final Draft |
As you can see when creating the front cover of my Digi-pak I went through a lot problems. The one thing I wanted my Digi-pak to come across as is 'Urban' and the mis-en scene played a key part in this. Throughout the draft the backround has always been a connotation of the London city at its grimiest which links to the rap genre in the UK. First being the garage shutter, then an image of the London city itself and then the Graffiti walls. The problem with my 1st drafted digi-pak was I felt it looked very artificial and it almost looks as if I am smiling which is not a remarkable trade of a rapper so I took it upon myself to go out during the Christmas holidays to take some new photo's. During this time taking new picture's I found a lot of grimey estates and brilliant locations which suited my Artist. My second draft which I liked this picture but the only problem with it being my front cover was that you could not see the Artist face which you normally see on a Rap Artist front cover as I have seen numerous times so decided to use that image for the Inside panel instead. My final draft which I feel the background and hand signs show a lot of character personality.
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