Filming prop list

We are going to use two cameras to film. These are both DSLR cameras from Nikon and Canon. The reason for using two cameras is so that we can get as much footage as we can so that we can select the best bits, best angles and have the benefit of lots of bloopers!

  We are going to use a tripod for the video so that we can make sure that the camera isn't having camera shake and we can direct the cast more as we won't have to focus as much on the positioning of the camera.

 For parts of the video, we're going to have several jars similar to this which will smash or be carried. This is a good way of linking the music video to the lyrics.

This jar is decorated with hearts and lights. This is the object that we will use to be the jar of hearts. For the video, we plan to experiment between the fairly lights in the jar or a candle to express that although the hearts have been taken and jarred, there is still enough love and life in them to still be alive which is represented by the light.

Actors profiles

Name: Alanis Lazaro
Age: 20
Contact details: 07577449001
Role: Main artist

Alanis Lazaro is a singer/songwriter. She is known for touring with major artists such as Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande. She has always had a passion for singing and has always looked up to pop artists.

Name: Charlie Hart
Age: 19
Contact details: 07853994542
Role: Love interest

Charlie has been acting for several years, performing in many school productions and has always been interested in featuring in a music video. He believes that featuring in the music video could open up doors for him in the future.

Name: Maisie Tarling
Age: 17
Contact details: 07896332577
Role: Dancer

Maisie Tarling is a young aspiring dancer who has enjoyed this as a hobby for about 2 years. She is very happy with the opportunity of being in a music video so that she can show off all her hard dancing work.

Name: Esmee Whitfield

Age: 17

Contact details: 07845523863

Role: Dancer

Esmee Whitfield is a young dancer who has featured in many plays where she has had the opportunity to perform. Likewise to Maisie, she is very excited to be in a music video!

Creating the digipak - Ancillary Task

The photo that I have chosen for the front cover of the digipak is this image of Alanis as she looks professional, elegant, sophisticated and fierce. The angle used is a low to mid angle. However, I plan to zoom into a close up for the actual digipak photo as the typical code and convention for a pop digipak is to have the artist in a close up photo.

 I used dafont to choose a font for the artist name on the digipak. I decided that I wanted a curly font as they look handwritten, popular which fits the genre and is also a stereotypical font type to use on pop digipaks.

I decided to make the album title 'Love Story' as I think that Alanis' music is going to be a wide variety of happy love songs and sad love songs. Love Story fits well as in real life, peoples relationships are a mixture of happy and sad times.

I have experimented with three different pinks for the artist title.
This pink worked well because it is a bold pink which represents Alanis' personality.

The problem with this colour pink is that it is dull and boring.

I like this colour because it is girly, innocent and professional. I think that this applies to Alanis' personality.

This front cover works well but I decided that the album title needs to be on the bottom of the frame and the artist name needs to bigger than the album name.

Website survey and feedback - Ancillary Task

In response to creating the website for Alanis - our artist, I sent out a short survey which just asked for a few positive and negatives of the website and how it could be changed.

 

 

Digipak Photoshoot - Ancillary Task

Media Photoshoot - Alanis on PhotoPeach
When I started the photo shoot, I experimented with the use of flash photography. However, it made the model look yellow as well as the white background. Also, the shadow looked unprofessional and I decided that it'd be better to experiment with taking the flash off. We also got the model to experiment with her clothing choice, meaning we had some photos with accessories such as her sunglasses and hat and then other photos she had a coat on and a white top whereas in others she didn't which makes the series of images look more interesting and gives us a vast variety of photos to work with.

Artist's Facebook page - Ancillary Task

We have created a Facebook page for our artist for her fans to see what she is up to by seeing her frequent statuses as well as pictures and check ins to various locations. We have met some of the typical codes and conventions of an artists Facebook page as we have included a cover photo and profile picture which features the artist to emphasise her importance and illustrate that the page is primarily about her.

Requesting location permission

We have emailed the care taker who has the keys for the location that we are insisting on using for the main shooting of our video.

Time table schedule for filming

I have gone through the different timetables of everyone who is involved in the video (Laura, Lauren and Alanis - main casting). I have selected similar frees where we can film and also have scheduled time for after school where we can film with the other actors/dancers.

Twitter Account - Ancillary Task

I have created a twitter account for my artist where I write tweets to keep the audience and fans engaged. I try to make them music related so that it looks more professional. I have my website for Alanis linked into the page and a small bio.
The twitter username is @AlanisLOfficial. I decided to use the official in the name because stereotypically, famous artists use that to show that they're the real one.

After researching three twitter accounts belonging to well known artists across the UK and the USA, I have altered the website to fit in with the codes and conventions of a twitter account.
I changed the picture to an image which advertises the song that she has released.

However, I don't feel like this is effective as the quality is poor and the image used is the same as the header which I don't think  looks as professional let alone interesting to look at.
I decided to completely change the image to a different one which makes Alanis look classy and elegant which allows her to be a good inspiration to her fans, especially the younger ones.

Following this, I have decided to change the bio to advertise the new song more efficiently. This is a typical code and convention of a musicians twitter page and I think that it works well rather than having a image advertising her single.

The new twitter page:

The new twitter page looks a lot more professional as the bio clearly states what her single is called and where to find it and the icon looks more professional. Other than that, the twitter page meets the typical codes and conventions in having a website, location and bio with pictures of the artist.

Existing artist's twitters - Ancillary Task

Before creating a twitter account for my artist, I have decided to research into existing artists twitters.

On Niall Horan's twitter, he has made his username @NiallOfficial. The official represents that he is the real Niall Horan considering there will be a lot of false accounts pretending to be him. He has the One Direction website embed in the side and a simple bio to keep his fans engaged with what he's doing however, it doesn't explain who he is. He has a lot of followers which expresses how famous he is and how many people follow his music. From Niall Horan's twitter, I have picked up that typical codes and conventions are having a form of showing that you are the real artist and a short simple bio with a website linked in.

On R5's twitter account, their username is @officialR5. Similar to Niall Horan, they have met the codes and convention that I have already listed that they are trying to make their selves be recognised as the real artist. They also have a short bio stating who everyone is in the group and their own individual twitters which allows their fans and the audience to see each individual personality of the band. As well as this, they also have the website linked in which allows the audience to access their site, this covers another code and convention of a twitter account for a pop artist. They also have a poster as the twitter header which expresses that they have a new single and it is available on iTunes. This is another code and convention of a twitter account for an artist.

On Katy Perry's twitter account, she has her header and icon advertising her world tour to express how big she is. Her world tour is also mentioned in her bio which is a code and convention of a twitter account to have subtle self done advertisements. Likewise to Niall Horan and R5, Katy Perry has her website embed onto her twitter which engages with her audience as they will go through her twitter and see her website. However, it is clearly recognisable that Katy Perry has nothing on her account other than the verified logo to suggest that she is the real Katy such as official or real in her username which goes against the typical codes and conventions of a twitter account for a musician. 

Artist's Website - Ancillary Task

I have created a website for our artist where the fans can have a place to visit to read about Alanis and see her tweets as well as tweet her. I think that the website has worked well as I have taken ideas from my research and used a different picture per page and have added an interactive twitter feed which engages the audience with Alanis and allows them to see what she is up to.

On the home page of the website, I have a short description which quickly and sharply states who Alanis is and where she is from. I used a hyperlink from the home page to the contacts by posting a button. I have also embed twitter into the page so that there is a constant updating feed on the page as well as being able to interact with the audience.

On the about page of the website, I have summed up a short Bio to describe who Alanis is. I think that this is an effective aspect to have on a website because it allows the audience to see what Alanis is like and what influenced her to become a singer/song writer. It also allows them to create a first impression of her which may influence Alanis to get more fans.

On the contact page of the website, I have listed contact details for the record company which Alanis has signed to. I created the record company's address to be in London as it'll be recognised as a more financial label due to being in the business city of England and also allows it to have a more professional location rather than being in the suburbs of London which may result in the label having less money to shoot efficient videos and create less professional websites. I have also created a contact box for general enquiries which saves the page visitors time as they can quickly send their email through the website rather than  opening more documents on the computer.

Overall, I think that the website that I have created works well as it engages with the audience and is effective for a new upcoming artist. It looks very professional and is well structured for the audience to navigate their way around the site. However, to improve the website to fit in with the codes and conventions of a pop artist's website, I would have a sound bar which allows the artists music or her favourite songs to be playing and a youtube box where her videos can be played. As well as an album section where it can have links to buying it.

URL: www.alanislofficial.weebly.com
(To see the images clearly - click to enlarge)

Music Video Story Board