Research into Narrative Theorists

Levi Strauss - Binary Oppositions

• it's an idea that can be applied to all media texts.
• In the mid 20th century, Levi Strauss and Roland Barthes had the idea that the way that people understand words depends not on its meaning but on the word and its 'binary opposite'.
• words act as symbols for society's idea
• the meaning of words is a relationship between opposite ideas, rather than a fixed thing.

Examples

• good and evil
• young and old
• weak and strong
• rich and poor

Todorov - States of Equilibrium

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Propp - Character types/ spheres of action

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Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 1

Storyboard for music video

Digipak

We made the digipak on Coral Draw and used stills from our music video so there would be synergetic themes running throughout all our media products- the music video, poster and digipak. I think that the digipak is good for a first try however it could be improved by having all the backgrounds to the images as the same as the image on the front.
The digipak shows the potential audience that the music is quite upbeat with a soul influence.

Poster

This is the poster I made for our music video.
Analysis of Poster

• The image is a still from our filming footage for our music video.
• We used a green screen for the background and an effect from iMovie for the beige, old-looking background.
• On the poster there is the singer wearing his suit from the music video, this creates synergy between all of the media products as all the pictures have the suit in them.
• The poster summarises the storyline we wanted for the music video as it has the singer watching the girl who is facing away from him- suggesting that she isn't interested in him.
• The girl is wearing the clothes that she had on in the video (again, linking them), they are casual jeans and a top- implying that the singer has made an effort to impress her.
• The background is similar to the poster I researched for planning as it is plain and beige with a simple worn out effect.
• The font I used for the poster was a free font from the internet called 'Katy Berry', I chose this font because I felt that it went with the synergy as it seems quite light-hearted.
• The purple contrasts with the beige however it seems to go with the dark colours of the characters on the poster.
• The font for 'Stake Your Claim' is the same size but a lighter purple so the artists name stands out more.
• 'Out Now' is in a small white box- giving it a stamp/sticker-like appearance.

Mise en scene

Costume
Singer- The male singer will wear a black suit. This give a formal impression of him, it also is quite romantic because it suggests that he is going to propose to the girl he is following.
Girl- She will be dressed more casually in jeans and a top. This is to show that the singer has made an effort to impress her, while she doesn't want or need to impress him.
Boy- The girl goes off with another person, and he is also dressed casually in jeans and a plain white top.

Props for Filming

• Saxophone
• Drum kit
• Guitar
• Green screen and green screen poster

Setting

Design corridor in college.
Media room with green screen set up.

Music Video Ideas Spider Diagram

I made a spider diagram of ideas that our group discussed for our music video. There are a few shot ideas and our idea for the storyline of a boy who is in love with a girl and follows her around singing to her and trying to win her over.

Song For Music Video

Eli 'Paperboy' Reed- Stake Your Claim
Lyrics:

Quit messing around

With every man in town

If you want me baby

You know I'll be around

Oh it's a shame

When you keep playing games

Baby stake your claim

Stake your claim on me

When I told you I love you

You just looked away

When I went for the door

You begged me to stay

If you love me

Baby take my name

Oh just stake your claim

Stake your claim yeah yeah yeah

(Song cut down to approximately 1 minute long)

Analysis of Music Video

She's So Lovely by Scouting For Girls

• the music video shows the story of a man (the lead singer) who fancies a woman with a boyfriend.
• the video has this story running through it in the setting of a bowling alley
• the people in the video have retro outfits which goes along with the bowling alley setting. The setting has the feel of a fifties diner in America.
• the video cuts in and out of two main scenes- the bowling alley and the band playing with the lead singer singing. This is a typical convention for music videos and my group will probably use this in our mini production piece.
• there are a variety of shots used for example, close ups of characters faces capturing reaction shots; different angles and shots of the band playing instruments and singing; tracking shots of bowling balls.
• the shots vary in length and the pace of the sequences. For example towards the end, the shots of the girl changing her mind and walking to the lead singer are in slow motion to emphasise its importance to the end of the story in the video.

The music video doesn't seem to match the synergy of the album cover and poster, because it is much more fun and upbeat. The album cover gives the impression that the music would be slow and possibly an indie band.

Analysis of Poster

The poster for the Scouting For Girls album (with the same name).

• the album has synergy linking the CD cover and the advertising poster together- this creates an identity for the band.
• the poster has the same beige textured pattern of the album cover, again creating a worn out and old look. This goes along with the ideas of youth suggested in the same image of two boys in a boat together.
• the poster has the band and album name in the largest font size and in the darkest colour, in the centre of the poster.
• under this are some of the well known songs from the album to attract the audience and encourage them to buy the CD.
• the date the album is out and the website- which will give the possible audience more information on the music and the band.

Research- Existing Digipak,Poster and Music Video

Scouting for Girls album digipak cover
Analysis of CD Cover


Back Front Inside

• The album cover is very plain with the main colour being one shade of beige.
• The background has a textured pattern to give it an older look- maybe reflecting the idea of looking back on childhood (that is also suggested by the picture).
• On the front of the album is an image of two boys on a boat suggesting the band or music will have a link with youth.
• The image is in a darker colour to stand out on the album, with the font on the same colour.
• The album cover is very simple and isn't likely to stand out, however it this may reflect a different genre of music.
• Looking at the cover alone I would think that the music is slow and downbeat, but this isn't the case as the music has a pop/indie rock feel to it.
• Inside the digipak there is very little apart from the continued textured beige pattern that goes around the whole album cover.
• On the back of the cover there is a list of songs in the same font as used on the front.

Mini-Production Piece

Create a:

• Music video (1 minute long)
• Cover for DVD
• Magazine advert