RB - Pitch Evalation

The feedback from our pitch was generally quite positive. However there were a few things we need to adress:

• The track is too long. 5 minutes is the maximum length the exam board will allow and ours is 5:30. We have a 2 points in the track where we can cut it. This is makes the track only 3 minutes and 50 seconds.
• We need to add examples and our own tested shot ideas into the pitch. To show the kind of feel were going for in the video.
• We need to come up with more ideas to keep the video interesting while at the same time not repeating anything.

Once we adress these issues the pitch will be given the green light and we will be allowed to begin filming.

JD - Prezi Pitch

We decided to put our pitch together in prezi. This was a collective decision as it allowed us to make a more creative and slick looking presentation. Prezi also showed good use of ICT as it's harder to use than powerpoint and shows that we have developed another skill.

JD - Audience Research

When we were putting our questionaire together on Survey Monkey we decided that we were going to go with quantitive rather than qualititive as we wouldn't have time to organise a meeting of people and we also didn't know enough people that our into that sort of genre of music to be able to give relevent feedback. If we went for quantitive we were able to post the survey on various Drum & Bass forums and Facebook.

RB - Deconstructing Print Media

• The visual signifiers on the album cover are the woman with motion blurring on her face to give a ‘two sided’ sense.
• The linguistic signs are the band’s name (Placebo) and the title of the album (Meds), both of which are in a fairly generic font, as a fancier font that would commonly be found on a more popular, trendy album covers intended for a mass audience wouldn’t suit the bands own unique style.
• The title ‘meds’ coupled with the image of the woman with what appears to be two faces suggests that the album could relate to two sidedness or things like schizophrenia. There are no non-representational graphic signs on the cover art.

• The woman on the front of the cover is positioned in the centre of the image. This challenges the common ideology that males are more important/more dominant than females.
• The woman is also not wearing any clothes, which reinforces the common ideology that women are seen as objects. However she does look almost too thin to the point where she looks ill. She is also quite pale. This not only challenges the dominant ideology that beauty is shown through thin bodies and smooth skin (as the woman has both of those attributes) but creates a connection between the album art and the title of the album by relating the word ‘meds’ (short for medication) with an image of an ill looking woman.
•  When you look at this album art your eye is first drawn to her face(s) then it follows the bit of hair on her right, across her right shoulder and down her arm to the band name and title. This sort of cover reinforces the bands alternative/indie-rock style as it quite odd and almost disturbing.

• Social myths conveyed in this album cover are: album art is quite strange, which adds to the authenticity of the band by representing their alternative style. The cover is also sort of disturbing which again promotes the bands wierd style of music.

• The indexical signs in this album cover connote the buyer’s taste of music, and the fact they are diverting from the trends in society by buying an album different to the popular, trendier style. This also allows them to construct their personal identity through the products they consume, as the band is quite strange and odd the consumer will want to relate to that and create their own identity around that kind of style.

JD - Hastings Reccie

When Sam and I decided to go to Hastings th weather wasn't great, but we managed to get round this by finding an underground subway and underground carpark to get some practice shots in. We felt that the carpark may be a good location for us to film due to the colours on the pillars and the reflections in the puddles.



During the practice shots I have found that I need to work on using the tripod and focusing at the same time as sometimes it comes out juddery and not as smooth as it could be. This could be resolved with practice or using 2 people.

JD - Deconstructing Print Media

I have chosen to deconstruct the album cover of a High Contrast album, as he produces music in a similar style and genre to that of Netsky, who remixed the track we have chosen for our video

- The visual signifiers on this album cover are the artist himself, the lights on the wall, the obviously textured wall and the writing on the top left of the album cover; 'True Colours' in a rainbow colour and 'High Contrast' in plain white. These are all the iconic signs of the album cover.

- The album cover appears to be fairly unconventional with artist appearing in the centre of the cover, making him seem like he is not what your eyes are meant to be drawn to first. This is also enhanced by the fact that the whole background is in black and white. The light in the top left corner helps to create a leading line diagonally downwards through the writing and finally to the artist. The fact that the album name 'True Colours' is in the colour spectrum, connotes that the music may be happy, but on the other hand the 'True Colours' could be another reading, that the music is more about the artist and how he feels; his true colours, which may not necessarily be happy or good.

- The way that the album cover is laid out helps to create a star persona around High Contrast. It connotes that he is a very independent artist, which is a generic theme surrounding DJ's, but this dominant ideology is beginning to be challenged as DJ's are beginning to work together to bring new music into the genre. An example of this is Magnetic Man, a collaboration of three very 'famous' DJ's: Skream, Benga and Artwork. These artists are trying to bring Drum & Bass to the wider audience by creating a buzz factor around their work by using Web 2.0 and the radio to 'tease' their audience and attract listeners that may not have thought of listening to Drum and Bass before hand.

SA - Deconstructing Print Media

I have chosen to deconstruct this album cover from the Chew Lips, as they are the band that our remix originates from.

- The visual signifiers in this album cover are the three people, who are the band members, the overlaying images of the peacock and the two parrots, and two sets of font, one is the name of the band (Chew lips) and the other is the name of the album (Unicorn). These are all the iconic signs of the album cover.

- The female is situated in the centre of the cover and dominates over the two males in the background, this shows her challenging the residual ideology that males dominate over females. Although she is still very feminine, and shows this by seeming to be wearing nothing, and this reinforces the dominant ideology that beauty is shown through smooth skin, make-up and a thin body. The overlayed image of the peacock connotes beauty and finesse, reinforcing her as a 'beautiful' women. The two males have the overlayed image of a parrot, which isn't as beautiful as the peacock, connoting that the two males are there to make the female look good. Although it is not quite as simple as that, another reading could be that the abstract/indie nature of the band is reinforced in the construction of the album cover.

- I think the use of the over-laying of images shows the band authenticity of creativity, and the use of the female singer as the centre of the cover shows the social myth of feminine beauty, with the near perfect look to her.

- The indexical signs present in this album cover are ones that make the listener feel like they are part of the quirkiness and authenticity of the band. There are signs, like the fashion and 'indie-ness' that the buyers can use to construct their identity through what they consume, making this album cover quite postmodern in its stylings, also another way it shows postmodern qualities is the use of the overlaying of images, this has been used many times in photography and art and the band have 'borrowed' and used this technique quite effectively.

SA - What is a Digipak?

• As well as our music video, we will have to create an advertising poster and a digipak for the CD to be placed in. A digipak is different from a traditional CD jewel case, it is made out card and is significantly more graphically appealing.
• They are made up of at least on folded piece of card with a sleeve or clip for the CD to be placed in. On a digipak all the sides have to be covered with graphics, text and information that adds to the overall aesthetics of the digipak.
  
• The difference between a digipak and a jewel CD case is that the digipak is a form of subsidiary media that helps to construct the star persona of the artist as it can include unseen photos and other seemingly exclusive things that make the consumer feel close to the artist.
  

Below are some examples of digipaks:

JD - Representation Of Females in Drum & Bass Videos

After looking at Katy B's Louder in terms of a full analysis, I thought I'd look more closely at how females are represented in the video. All of the main characters in the video are shown as being fairly young and full of energy. The other people in the video, for example the old lady walking past the camera at 0.12, look to be less happy, maybe even depressed, than the 3 girls are shown to be in the cafe. These people are also shown to maybe in a rush and busy with a job, unlike the youthful characters that are enjoying being free and able to socialise. The girls are also shown to be very genuine characters. Throughout the video the females are the main focus, with the few men being fairly insignificant in the narrative which may challenge the residual ideology of men being more important than women.

SA - Representation of Gender in Abstract Music Videos

• I have looked at Kap Bambino's video for 'Red Sign' before and after looking at other videos for their songs, I have seen that they are a duo made up of a man and women.
  
• This symmetry of genders this challenges the residual ideology of men being 'better' than women, as they are both equal in the way they are positioned on screen and their actions in the videos.
  
• This representation of the artist is also shown in the way the social group of gender is shown with the other people in the video for 'Dead Lazers' by Kap Bambino.
  
• In this video a group of men and women are running through a tube station and they are all equal and no one person is leading. This reinforces the Emergent ideology of men and women being equal.
  
• However in this band the female is the lead singer, so in the shots I have taken from the video below, she is in focus and the male is further back and out of focus, this is one exception where the residual ideology about men being more important than men is challenged.

Kap Bambino - 'Dead Lazers'

Kap Bambino - 'Red Sign'