Arcade Fire The Suburbs by Spike Jonze

Living Sisters How Are You Doing? By Michel Gondry

“Produce a music promo project for a local band or a copy right free track”.

Research and Planning (20 marks)Construction (60 marks)

Evaluation (20 marks)

THIS PROJECT IS WORTH 50% OF YOUR A LEVEL GRADE

The Advanced Portfolio in Media coursework is worth 50% of your overall grade

A2 G324: Advanced Portfolio in Media (50% of A2 media mark)

G324 is marked out of a total of 100 marks: Planning: 20 marksConstruction: 60 marks Evaluation: 20 marks

Brief: Students must produce a promotion package for the release of an album to include:

1. A music video (worth 40 marks)2. A music DVD digipak (worth 10 marks)3. A magazine advertisement for the Digipak/DVD (worth 10 marks)

Just like in AS Media Studies, all A2 project work (planning, construction & evaluation) is uploaded to your blog.

Rules for the Music Promo Project:

1. The track must be for an unsigned artist OR be a copyright free track2. The track must be a good quality MP33. Do not film in a car4. No simulated drug use5. No weapons – fake or real6. No recreation of illegal activities7. No bedroom shots8. No sexually explicit activity9. Don’t rely on the editing software to sort out your dodgy filming10. You are responsible for your footage – you transfer and save your footage to your

Media folder on the PCs or on the User folder on the Macs11. You are responsible for the equipment. Lost or damaged equipment is your

responsibility

Top tips for the Music Promo Project:

1. Think carefully about the styling, art direction and mise-en-scene for your DVD Digipak, print advert and music video. All three elements must combine to give a ‘brand identity’. They must promote the band in an effective way.

2. If you work with a local band you need to trust them; your A Level mark is dependent on them being reliable.

3. Working with a copy-right free track is simpler and potentially less stressful than working with a band – best sites for copy-right free tracks are www.jamendo.com www.creativecommons.org/legalmusicforvideos

4. Give thought to your shot composition – treat each shot like a photograph.5. You need to consider lighting when filming your music video. The best times to film

are early morning and/or late afternoon6. Use a tripod, Fig-Rig or Stedicam for a professional look.

7. Use your research to help shape your production ideas. It is fine to stylistically reference professional’s work (music videos, films, TV, photography, art).

8. Use the edit suites outside of normal class time to get the best possible results.

The deadlines below have been agreed by the academic staff. They have been set in stages so that you can monitor your own performance during your Advanced Production Portfolio. After submitting work on time you will receive detailed feedback on your progress during the project and you will be given an individual action plan on ways to improve your work. The deadline dates are final, however please feel free to submit work before the deadline dates and move onto your next task.

Wednesday 12th September 2012Submit Summer Project (Tasks 1 – 9)

Wednesday 3rd October 2012Youth Subculture and Band Negotiations (Tasks 10 - 13)

Wednesday 24th October 2012Complete Digipak and Advert (Tasks 14 - 21)

Wednesday 7th November 2012Complete Pre-production Paperwork and film test footage (Tasks 22 – 23)

Wednesday 12th December 2012Complete filming and first cut of music video (Tasks 24 – 26)

Wednesday 16th January 2013Complete final cut of Music Video (Task 27)

Week commencing Monday 28th January 2013EXHIBITION (Tasks 28 – 29)

Wednesday 13th March 2013

Complete evaluation and upload to blog (Tasks 30 – 31)

1) Set up your new Advanced Portfolio blog.

2) Embed a range of music videos that you like onto your blog; say a bit about what you like about each video (camera, editing, styling and mise-en-scene etc.)

3) Upload your Transition Music Video Project to your blog; write a little bit about what you learnt and what techniques you used; include screen grabs from your production timeline to illustrate how you achieve certain post-production effects

4) Analyse three music videos using precise technical terminology and the Key Media Concepts of Media Language, Genre, Narrative (if applicable), Representations and Audience. You must reference Andrew Goodwin’s book ‘Dancing in the Distraction Factory’ – use his key characteristics of a music video to help frame your analysis.

You also need to reference Diane Railton and Paul Watson’s book ‘Music Video and the Politics of Representation’. Use the chapter ‘Genre and the Music Video’ from your summer project reading resource pack and decide which genre your music videos best fit into. Also use Joe Gow’s terms when deciding on the style and genre of your music video (see summer project brief)

5) Research a music video director of your choice. You should include examples of their work (screen grabs) and you should comment on their visual style, the artists or bands they have worked with; the genre of music they specialise in (if applicable); whether they produce mainstream or underground work; their stylistic influences; their use of live performance; their use of narrative elements; their editing style; and why you like their work

6) Get in touch with a band. You can use a royalty-free track from the Internet, but students that work with an established local band tend to get better grades. Find out: who are they; what genre of music they play; where they play out; where they rehearse; have they got a MySpace / Facebook; - do they have a studio recording of the track; do you want to spend time with the band? Finally, but most importantly, are they reliable?

7) Find a Royalty-Free track to use for your project. Do this even if you have a band lined up for the project as bands can be notoriously un-reliable. There are thousands of Royalty-Free tracks you can use. The best place to look is www.jamendo.com or try www.creativecommons.org/legalmusicforvideos

8) Sketch out some early ideas for a music video; what do the lyrics, beat, tempo of the song mean to you? What is the tone of the song (happy, sad, upbeat, downbeat); What do you visualize when you listen to the song with your eyes closed? How do you want to interpret the feel of the song on film? What key elements do you want to include (e.g. band playing ‘as live’; choreographed dance routine; narrative/film/story element to the video.

9) Upload all of your work to your Advanced Portfolio blog.

COMPLETE TASKS 1-9 AND UPLOAD TO YOUR BLOG BY WEDNESDAY 12TH SEPTEMBER 2012-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10) Research into youth subcultures and current fashions for ideas about the look and styling of your own video and the band. Upload research to your blog.

11) *Jot down and/or record band discussions and conversations; video the meetings with the band; scan and upload notes taken during the meetings; complete a diary of when and where you met the band – what was discussed and agreed; keep copies of emails/texts sent to the band.

12) *Upload all notes, pictures, sketches, drawings, copies of emails, video footage of meetings etc to your blog (the more you have; the more marks we can give you for Planning)

13) *Decide whether your band is reliable and want to be involved in the project. If in doubt use a copyright-free track instead. You haven’t got time to mess around with bands that are not into the project. You will not lose marks by using a copy-right free track.

*Tasks 10 – 13 do not need to be completed if you are working on a copy-right free track.

COMPLETE TASKS 10-13 AND UPLOAD TO YOUR BLOG BY WEDNESDAY 3rd October 2012------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

14) Research what digipaks are; upload examples of digipaks to your blog; state some of the key elements of a digipak.

15) Develop ideas, sketches and designs for your original music DVD digipak; upload designs onto your blog.

16) Take original images for your DVD Digipak.

17) Produce the final music DVD Digipak and upload onto your blog.

DVD Digipak for Joe Potter Enough is EnoughBy Oliver Saunders

18) Research existing magazine adverts that promote the launch of a new music DVD digipak; what are the key features of the advertisement; upload your notes to your blog.

19) Develop ideas, sketches and designs for your magazine advert; upload designs onto your blog.

20) Produce a magazine advert that promotes the launch of the music DVD digipak; upload your final advert to your blog.

21) State the ways in which your DVD Digipak and Print Advert promote the brand identity of the band in a way that will be appealing to the target audience

COMPLETE TASKS 14 - 21 AND UPLOAD TO YOUR BLOG BY WEDNESDAY 24th October 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DVD Digipak Advert for ArkaicBy Kelly Cartwright

22) Pre-production paperwork:

Proposal

Song lyrics with timings and annotations

Mood board(s) mood boards are selected images from magazine shoots; music videos; TV; film; advertising that have inspired you. They are used when pitching your ideas to the band so they can visual the style and look of your video.

Animatic storyboard

Production schedule

Cast and crew list

23) Film test footage

COMPLETE TASKS 22 – 23 BY WEDNESDAY 7th NOVEMBER 2012

24) Film the music video

25) Upload and save the rushes to the your Media folder

26) Complete first cut of the music video

COMPLETE TASKS 24 – 26 BY WEDNESDAY 12TH DECEMBER 2012-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

27) Complete final cut.

COMPLETE FINAL CUT AND UPLOAD TO YOUR BLOG BY WEDNESDAY 16th JANUARY 2013

28) Prepare for Exhibition – all production work: Music Video, DVD Digipak and Print Advert completed and displayed for public exhibition week commencing Monday 28th January 2013

29) Prepare Audience Feedback sheets for display at the Exhibition

TASKS 28 – 29 COMPLETED FOR PUBLIC EXHIBITION ON WEEK COMMENCINGMONDAY 28TH JANUARY 2013

30) Respond to Audience Feedback from Exhibition and make improvements to your work. Upload completed production work: Music Video, DVD Digipak and Print Advert to your blog

31) Evaluate your final music video using the key OCR evaluation questions.

COMPLETE THE EVALUATION AND UPLOAD TO YOUR BLOG BYWEDNESDAY 13TH MARCH 2013

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For an A* student project go to: www.jrobertsmusicvideos.blogspot.co.uk or use the QR Code below:

A Grade music video analysis and evaluation of production at www.benpollocka2media.blogspot.co.uk or use the QR Code below:

Reading List:

Music Video and the Politics of Representation by Diane Railton and Paul Watson. Edinburgh University PressDancing in the Distraction Factory; Music Television and Popular Culture by Andrew Goodwin. University of Minnesota PressKey Themes in Media Theory by Dan Laughey. Open University PressOCR Media Studies for A2 by Julian McDougall. Hodder Education.

Andrew Goodwin identifies the following characteristics of the music video:

1. There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals (with visuals either illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics);

2. There is a relationship between the music and the visuals (again with visuals either illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music;

3. Particular music genres have their own music video style and iconography (such as live performance in heavy rock or choreographed dance routines in RnB);

4. There is a demand on the part of the record company for lots of close-ups of the main artist/vocalist;

5. The artist may develop their own star iconography, in and out of their videos, which, over time, becomes part of their star image;

6. There is likely to be reference to voyeurism, particularly in the treatment of women, but also in terms of systems of looking (screens within screens, binoculars, film and movie cameras etc;

7. There are likely to be intertextual references, either to other music videos or to films and TV texts (this may or may not feature actors from the original film or TV programmes).

Benny Benassi - Satisfaction Remix:Goodwin Topic: Representation of women; voyeuristic and highly sexualised portrayal of women which is a signature feature of his music videos – see his ‘Who’s Your Daddy’ and ‘Every Single Day’ videos.

Nas – Street DreamsGoodwin Topic: Intertextuality – the video recreates a number of famous scenes from the Martin Scorcese film Casino.

Lady Gaga – Poker FaceGoodwin Topic: The record label demand lots of close-ups; Lady Gaga has used her music videos to exaggerate her star persona and image.

Main Task = Music Video Ancillary Task = DVD Digipak & Print Advert