R+P Post 23: Planning my web page

A website is particularly useful as it is arguably a very effective means of marketing seeing as all the artists work is on place like a kind of "hub" allowing for all kinds of synergy with different music platforms such as iTunes and Spotify as well as social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. This cross media convergence is useful for the audience as they can easily navigate from platform to platform but it is also useful for the recording company and artist as not only is it consolidating their brand but they will be making money off it. 

We asked our target audience what they would expect/want to see when they go onto an artists website and the main features which came up were. We made sure to have this as our essentials and to therefore incorporate it into the website.

• merchandise store
• information about the artist
• tour dates

The example that we were really following in terms of aesthetic was Selena Gomez's website

We first designed the menu bar for our website, which includes the artists band logo clearly in the middle. The menu bar is an absolute essential as it is the key way people will be able to navigate across the website.

·      Home - where all the information is, you are able to navigate everywhere from here

·      About - the gives personal information about the artists adding more depth to them

·      Music - the consumer will be able to purchase the album and individual songs as well as be able to have some insight into song writing and the inspiration behind the album - the music video will be embedded here 

·      Tour - location and dates for live performances

·      Shop - consumer will be able to buy merchandise such as T-Shirts, jumpers, posters and mugs

Our group conducted website research and afterwards we had a meeting where we discussed our findings, the conventions of a website and our own personal visions for the website. Soon after we all found common ground. Below are rough drawings of our first website draft 

This showcases the homepage of our artists. The main parts to take away from this is the large focal images which move on rotation horizontally, revealing images focused on advertisement of the album, the tour as well as promotional shots and behind the scenes footage. 

The audience will be able to scroll down the website to reveal even more engaging content including snippets of different sections such as the "About" section (which allows the audience to learn much more about the artists and what they believe in) and a live twitter feed (which allows the audience to see updates on the artists life and events to look forward to). 

Soon after audience feedback and sharing ideas between each other (group members) we decided that there were some more features that we wanted to incorporate. 

Such as...

• A greetings page  that will have our artist logo, this will appear before the user will access the website.
• An interactive slide show of our best promo shots that will be from the Instagram account.
• Available links to social media and the music video

R+P Post 22: Planning my promo shot

Promo shots are very important because they introduce us to the people behind the music and help create or reinforce a narrative or concept of an artist which overall grabs there audiences attention.

An aim we have for our promo photos is that we want it to give some indication of your artists overall vibe and personality which will help them stand out from the crowd.

We drew some drafts that express how we wanted some our pictures for the promo shots to look like, in regards to the set up.

Below are three pictures that showcase our initial ideas

For our promo shots we would like to represent our artist in terms of costume and location. This is because both these factors play a part in the artists identity. A strong part of our artists identity is London and how it acts as a huge influence over their lives as well as fashion and costume which showcases the "youth culture" they are trying to emit.

This is very common amongst other artists as well, because they too use shots that clearly represent them and what they believe they are all about. For example, indie bands would usually have promo shots where the artists are playing at a live show since they are all "about the music"

Example: The foals - this image was taken from their website where there were many other live photos

These promo shots below have inspired us because they are very effective in capturing the different elements of the artists character whilst still maintaining a very striking overall look. The specific thing I like about the promo shots of Miley Cyrus is the effectiveness of the location which promotes the "hippie, natural, easy going" image that she is trying to cultivate for her recent album

 

R+P Post 21: My key shots storyboard

This is our storyboard which contains all of our key shots for the music video.

Our Key shots were colour coded so that we could clearly identify the different shot types to see if we had enough variation in our music video. For example, we included a colours to showcase close up shots, mid shots and long shots as seen in the image below.

The different shot types are imperative as it is common convention in many music videos of using many varying shot types as continuous editing is not essential. Which is why we have for example, switched from a close up shot to a long shot. This is good as it only makes the music video more interesting and engaging

Our storyboard consists of the location shots that we are planning on having (which also has elements of the narrative we will be representing). Having this separation from studio shots provides us with clarity and more understanding as we know exactly what we will be aiming to do when we go to shoot on location. This is especially important as this is the part of the music video that needs to be coherent to ensure the audience understand its full meaning.

phone shot - apart of the narrative

Overall, the storyboard that we created has been very useful. This is because it acts as a great way to share the ideas of our group through a visual medium so that we are relying on more than just words. As well as this it makes production much easier and simpler as it ensures that we will not forget any key shots and will help us piece together the video according to our vision. And finally because the storyboard provides us with a tangible way to represent the relationship between the music video and the lyrics of the song

R+P Post 20: My music video timeline

We created a music video timeline to help break down the song into separate sections, this allowed us to also break up the music video not only mentally but down on paper. Making this meant that we had a clear "beginning", "middle" and "end", which made things much easier when discussing narrative. 

The music video timeline had different markings which included the different verses, choruses etc. This was very useful as it meant that we could see how long the sections were and by extension how many shots we could include in the chorus for example. We included the different lighting setups too so that we could create a mental picture for each other.

As well as this we had a separate section with the lyrics so we could match up the shots and lyrics especially the ones that are directly linked.

R+P Post 19: My influences and vision for the project

To showcase our influences and visions for the project we created a Steal-o-Matic. Which acts as a moving visual representation of all the key shots we discussed from the initial ideas we put forward from our group meetings. This task was meant to test if they would work. The shots in the steal-o-Matic were taken from varying music videos from many genres such as pop, grime and Korean pop

Below is the Steal-o-Matic

Overall, this was useful as it showed us exactly how our key shots would look like with the music playing so we knew if it matched or not. This task made us realise exactly what we wanted such as the projections, and the car shots. It was very inspiring as after we created it, we had many more ideas and it provided us with a clear vision instead of rough written plans

R+P Post 18: Analysis of my track's lyrics and instrumentation

Below is an analysis of my tracks lyrics and instrumentation - looking at literal meaning as well as what the lyrics could suggest/imply

Intro]

Mind, mind, you think I would

Mind, you think I would, mind

Mind, you think I would mind

Oh, you think I, oh, my mind

Mind, mind, you think I would

Mind, you think I would, mind

Mind, you think I would mind

Oh, you think I, oh, my mind

^^^

The imimation of pain is mirrored in the production elements with the repetition of the beat in conjunction with a fractured vocal sample that pulls apart her voice to the point that it is not even recognisable. This reassembles an incoherent loop, much like the relationship she was in, where she feels like she is getting nowhere, suggesting the impossibility of her healing, however when finishing the song you realise she has done the previously perceived impossible.

[Chorus]

Don't want to feel you

Don't want you on my mind

Don't want to feel you

Don't want you on my mind

Don't want to feel you

Don't want you on my mind

On my mind, on my mind

Mind, mind, mind

^^^

Analysis: This is about the Jorja being done with her boyfriend. It can be taken very literally, she doesn't want to see him nor even thinking about him. She want’s him out of her life entirely.

[Refrain]

So I ask myself, do I let you go?

Or do I keep you in the frame of my mind?

Now I'm growing wise to your sugar-coated lies

Nothing's sweet about my misery, yeah 

^^^

Analysis: Jorja has doubts about what she should do, she doesn't know whats best for her but clearly there are many options she can take. However she realises what he is, a liar and a cheater, and she knows that she doesn’t want to be with someone who’s like that. Jorja realises that the person she loved wasn't real as their whole relationship was one big lie. because of this, she now knows what to do now.

[Verse 2]

You again, why'd you call?

I don't need to hear you cryin' out my name

^^^
Analysis: He’s now asking for her forgiveness, but Jorja no longer want's to deal with the situation. She doesn't want him to explain himself as she knows he is not at all sincere.

R+P Post 17: My Chosen Track

Album: Single (collaboration)

Genre: R&B/Garage

Label: Famm Records

Writer: Jorja Smith 

Producer: DJ Preditah

Released: 25th August 2017

We chose On my mind because we all really liked it and because of this it was a lot easier to come up with ideas in terms of the music video and editing as well as costume. There are parts of the song that are very slow and parts that are very fast, this was great for our group because it meant that we could do a lot more with it, in terms of shot type, camera movement, narrative and editing. The song's lyrics were very clear in that it was describing a heartbreak which meant that we knew exactly what to do for our narrative. And finally, because this is a genre that is very popular with the youth subculture.

Below is the music video