Assignment 3 work: Tuesday 3 February

You have your Tuesday Media lessons to complete two extremely important aspects of your Research and Planning. You've had plenty of time last Thursday and over the weekend to finalise your groups and discuss ideas for your video. Today, you need to work quietly focused on your own individual work and finish the following:

1) Existing product research: minimum of 1,000 words on up to 10 different music videos.

2) Music video treatment: maximum of 2 pages on Microsoft Word outlining your plan for your music video.

Both of these documents must be completed in Microsoft Word and will contribute to your 15 marks for Research and Planning.

You must stay in your seat and focus entirely on your own work. If you are in Mr Halsey's class, Mr Qureshi, Mr Parker or Mr Matthews will be available to help with any questions you might have.


Extension work: target audience

Once you have completed your research and treatment, the next stage is identifying and detailing your target audience. Complete the following:

Write a detailed demographic profile of your chosen music artist's target audience.

So, if you've chosen to The Script's Hall of Fame as your music video track, you need to research and identify a detailed audience profile for The Script. Make sure you research or identify the following:

• The music genre(s) the audience listens to 
• Age range
• Gender breakdown by % 
• Race/ethnicity
• Social class 
• Job/earnings/educational status
• Living arrangements and/or locations (estates/houses/towns/countryside etc.)
• Brands they use/enjoy - including technology, food and drink
• Activities the audience enjoys doing in their spare time

Focus group preparation

We will be carrying out focus groups next lesson to get feedback on our music video treatment and make improvements. Prepare the following:

1) Your target audience demographic breakdown
2) Your music video concept summed up in one sentence
3) Where and how you plan to film your idea


Audience Profile

On Thursday, you will be creating an A4 Audience Profile in Photoshop for your band/artist.

Your Audience Profile needs to include the following:

1) Band/artist logo or graphic

2) Demographic breakdown of target audience

3) Lifestyle statements that the target audience would agree with

4) Collage of brands/items that your target audience would use or enjoy

Use this NME example to help you - but remember you are making an AUDIENCE profile, not a reader profile.

Good luck!

Music video treatment: notes

Music video treatment

At the beginning of every music video project, there is a need to work with the artist to define a desired treatment. A video treatment, also known as video concept, outlines information with regards to what the music video will be about.

Conceptually, a music video could show the artist performing the song in front of a live audience or by itself; alternatively, a music video can also present a story line where certain situations and storytelling takes place. Furthermore, it can also be an experimental exercise where random images are shown to complement the music in a more abstract way. All of these angles constitute the treatment, or concept, of a music video.

However, a video treatment goes beyond this exercise of defining the overall direction of the video. The treatment goes down to describe the kind of locations, situations, stories, images, look and feel, tone and colour, pacing and so on of the music video. Even though most treatment writers don't follow specific guidelines or structures, a well written treatment is one that can successfully communicate complete ideas to artists.

Summarizing, a music video treatment is the starting point of every project. It allows the production company to communicate its ideas to the artists and it allows artists to make decisions regarding the direction of their video. The treatment also helps production companies to write production budgets that are accurate and that give artists a complete view of what to expect when embarking on the production of their music video.

Source: Creando Music Video Production

Example music video treatment

Alt-J: Breezeblocks by Ellis Bahl 

Three shots, slow motion, played in reverse.

Cool tones. Blues and Whites.

Scene 1: A man sits on the floor of a bathroom, head in hands.

The camera moves to the bathtub, the water is running, a fully clothed woman lies submerged, a breezeblock on her stomach. Her hair floats on top of the water, hiding her face. Blood slowly runs backwards into her head. The man gets up and the breezeblock bounces up off the woman's head and into his hands. He puts it on the ground next the the tub. The two of them scuffle.

Scene 2: They sprint backwards down the hallway. Her in front, him in back. (he's chasing her) They backwards fight through a flat. They unshatter dishes and bookshelves stand up with books placing themselves back into order as they reverse fight their way through the apartment.

Scene 3: They make their way towards the front door. A knife flies off the floor and into the woman's hand. The man grapples with her. He turns away from her and she recedes into the shadows. 

The man looks down into a cupboard. ANOTHER woman is tied up and sucking in a scream. Her eyes close. They kiss. They stop and the man slaps ducktape over her mouth. He closes the door. He walks backwards, flips the lights off and exits out the front door.

The woman with the knife returns and opens the cupboard. The tied up woman's eyes are filled with terror. The knife woman says something. "I think I'll have a bath while we wait for your Husband to get home. You don't mind, do you?"

Music video treatment task

You now need to finalise your group and choose the song you will use. Once you've done this, brainstorm ideas for your music video and then write a treatment planning exactly what you are going to film. A reminder of the three main types of music video:

• Performance
• Narrative
• Visual effects

This online Powerpoint of music video key conventions may help you plan your video.

Remember the songs you can choose to use are as follows:

• College – A Real Hero
• Clean Bandit – Rather Be ft. Jess Glynne
• Woodkid – Run Boy Run
• M.I.A. – Paper Planes
• Sam Smith – Stay With Me (Rainer + Grimm Remix)
• Bastille – Of The Night
• American Authors – Best Day Of My Life
• The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
• Coldplay – A Sky Full Of Stars
• Frank Ocean – Thinking About You
• The Script – Hall Of Fame

If you have a specific idea that requires a different song you can pitch this to your Media Studies teacher and see if they agree. If your song choice is approved, you will need to bring your own copy of the song in (WAV, mp3 or mp4 format).

Use this music video treatment template to document your planning.

This is a vital part of your 12 pages of planning and you should make sure your treatment is no longer than two pages.

Your music video treatment AND existing product research is due by the end of the day on Tuesday 3 February.

Assignment 3: Existing product research

The first part of your Research and Planning is existing product research - that means analysing existing music videos and learning from them.

Research ten music videos, writing a minimum of 100 words for each video. Focus on a different aspect for each video:

Video 1: Creative concept
Video 2: Narrative
Video 3: Performance element
Video 4: Visual effects
Video 5: Camerawork (shots/movement)
Video 6: Mise-en-scene
Video 7: Editing (inc. counting the shots in the video)
Videos 8-10: Your choice of focus/analysis

Example:

You must complete this for homework - due next Tuesday.

Assignment 3: Music promotion

Preliminary exercise

In your assigned groups, create a 30-second music video by the end of Thursday's lesson.

Note: you will be put in a group for this exercise but can choose your group for the actual coursework.

In your groups, you need a choose a track from a selection and then film a variety of specified shots (as well as your own ideas).

You will then edit them together into a 30-second video, learning how to use Premiere Pro and apply certain edits and visual effects.

The songs available are:

• College – A Real Hero
• Clean Bandit – Rather Be ft. Jess Glynne
• Woodkid – Run Boy Run
• M.I.A. – Paper Planes
• Sam Smith – Stay With Me (Rainer + Grimm Remix)
• Bastille – Of The Night
• American Authors – Best Day Of My Life
• The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
• Coldplay – A Sky Full Of Stars
• Frank Ocean – Thinking About You
• The Script – Hall Of Fame

These songs are available on the school's VLE: Departments > Media > Shared documents > GCSE Music video

You MUST include the following:

• A close-up
• A high/low angle shot
• A long shot
• A handheld camera shot
• A slow dissolve transition
• A super-speed OR super slow-motion shot
• A minimum of 10 shots
• Use of colour AND black and white

Timing

Tuesday - choose song, concept and filming
Thursday - editing and exporting video with Mr Qureshi

The Wolf of Lady Margaret Road

The Wolf of Lady Margaret Road award for commitment to detailed essay writing and maximum Assignment 2 concentration goes to - Asmit Sharma - congratulations young man.

Assignment 2 analytical task

To complete Assignment 2, you need to write a 1,200 word essay analysing the film poster and trailer for the film you chose to study throughout this unit.

This essay guidance might help you structure your essay but you don't need to stick to it exactly - original and effective responses will be awarded plenty of marks.

Deadline: Thursday 15 January