Final Magazine Ad & DVD Cover

Below is the magazine advert for our music video, which was made in Photoshop. We decided to use the same 'paradise'/beach background, and to use the same logo as the one used on the DVD cover. This makes the brand more recognizable. We used a smudge tool to give a wind affect, this makes the band appear like they are in shock or surprised by the paradise, this fits with the video narrative. Another effect we used was the Flare which gives the light circles across the image, it's found at Filter > Stylize.

The fonts all match, it is the official Gun N Roses font, which means fans will recognize it.

dvd cover research

through looking at various guns and roses DVD covers it is easy to see that most have an image of the lead singer on the front. Ttggggggggggggggggggghis is most likely because he is the front man of the band and the man in which the audience interact with the most.

DVD Cover Ideas

We will create a DVD cover for the music video that we have just completed. The band was originally Guns N Roses which is an internationally known rock band, therefore we need to create a cover that is typical of this band and genre.

It's important to show the band image/style, therefore we will use an still from the video that shows us all in suit costumes. The still will be from the part that we look over to the left,  in Photoshop we can make it look like the band is looking at the text on the left.

During editing we used the green screen to import a 'paradise' background, this must be included in the cover so that the audience/market can relate the song title to the video. 

The text of the cover should follow the Guns N Roses font which is seen on almost all their album covers, and other promotional material. Below are some of their covers, there is normally some use of red or black on the cover and the font is consistent.

Final Music Video - Paradise City

Storyboard & Shot List

Here is our initial storyboard and shot list ideas. However, as we mentioned earlier, if the weather isn't suitable we will be adjusting the narrative and using the green screen room to create a more abstract video during the editing stage.

Narrative ideas

Ideas so far:

• Start in building, playing instruments 
• Find a door a go through to "paradise city"
• Cuts back and forth between two location 
• End up on the floor dead at end
• Everyone in the group a band member, Sam singer.
• George in charge of camera angles
• Charlie in charge of make up
• Sam in in charge of location
• Jack in charge of costume 

Music Video Initial Ideas

We are going to be filming a short music video to the song "Paradise City" by Guns & Roses. This will enabling us to test out our lip syncing skills, and to work out any problems that we might face in the future.

However, we believe that we should follow a similar idea to Kasabian's "Fire" narrative, where all the characters come together and converge on this narrative. This means that we will cover the intertexuality point of Goodwin's theory.

We initially plan to film the video in two locations: a music room for the performance scene, and outside for the 'paradise' scenes. However if the weather isn't suitable or the music rooms are unavailable, we plan to use the green screen room and film the entire video there. This will enable us to create a more interesting; abstract 'paradise city' during the editing stage.

The music videos for "Paradise City" and "Fire" are below.

Analysis: Group 37 Music Video

The video we are analyzing is good for many reasons. There are many interesting camera angles and the cuts are normally on the beats of the song. The video has a good narrative which is clear and interesting to follow. The camera effects are good when looking through the main characters eyes, they blur the footage and make the audience understand he is under the influence of a drug.

In the video, they use a number of effects, these effects look hallucinogenic, these reiterate the drug use in the clip. They also use layering and slow motion, these also assist in the drug use and emphasize the characters lack of control of himself.

Analysis: Group 10 Music Video

We chose the evaluate Group 10's (2009-10) music video of the song 'A Long Time Ago' by David Ford.



In relation to Goodwin's theory, the video follows genre characteristics by focusing on the singer and their talents (guitar playing) throughout the narrative. There is a clear use of lip syncing which is almost flawless, although there are some instances where the singer doesn't continue singing during a fade out. The song is a folk/acoustic style which we expect to be in a natural location.

The video follows the lyrics of the song because the video follows the narrative of the song. Also the characters follow some of the actions in the lyrics, for example, "look up" is used when the girl looks up at the photo on her mirror. Voyeurism is used when you see the girl in the mirror, but also in the scene where the two characters meet - this appeals to the audience who enjoy the song lyrics.

To achieve the points of the criteria there are a range of shot types, both angles and distances are used along with some movement. The shots are all steady and have been edited well with a good use of special effects, for example, split screen, wipes and fades. The performance is believable and shows continuity throughout.

Analysis: E.T by Katy Perry

After learning Goodwin's theory I have used the elements to analyse Katy Perry's "E.T" music video which is very popular right now. The video can be seen after the analysis.

The genre of the video is pop which is represented with bright colours, an abstract narrative and many costume changes, it also cuts on the beat which we expect. The lyrics of the video match the visual, for example "cosmic" and other space references refer to being out of this world. The video is very abstract and for this artist, the video competes with Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" video which has similar elements - this is an attempt to sell the artist and appeal to that audience. The video is also very controversial because of the narrative and costumes such, for example, Katy Perry is shown as half women half animal at the end. The intertexuality of the video is the reference to "Born This Way" which has an alien theme and similar costumes to the ones used in "E.T", it is very post-apocalyptic, it seems like the film Aliens, and finally there are some Vogue sunglasses used.

Goodwin's Theory

Goodwin constructed a theory which includes six points on the structure of a music video.

1. Genre characteristics
2. Visual lyrics
3. Visual music
4. Selling the artist
5. Intertextuality - references to something in popular culture
6. Voyeurism - the pleasure of watching someone

Introduction

In this short project we will be learning the skills required to create a music video, this will include both the practical and theory elements (Goodwin's Theory). This project will assist us in preparing for the coursework project in the A2.