LINK TO MUSIC VIDEO

https://youtu.be/Sk9ihgjbNW0

LINK TO WEBSITE

https://darcymorganmedia.wixsite.com/mysite-1

NEA PLANNING PART 6 - Schedule

SCHEDULE

It is important to produce a schedule of activities when working on a production as it means that I am able to work with deadlines, meaning that I will be encouraged and motivated to work within a certain time limit, and my work will not be put off. 

I am most likely to struggle with creating my website, specifically: producing the images, writing the text and producing the graphics and logos. This is because I struggle to make my websites look professional as well was fun and entertaining. 

In order to achieve these difficult activities I am going to perhaps ask for advice from my peers, as well as look up examples of other artists' websites in order to gage how I want my website to look. 

NEA PLANNING PART 5 - Casting

CASTING

The purpose of this task is for me to identify what actors / actresses I am going to use within my music video. Establishing what actors / actresses I will use will help me to plan out what events will occur throughout my video as I will be able to know who will be able to play what parts. Also, I will be able to plan the theming of my music video around the actors / actresses and their looks and styles, creating consistency throughout the costumes used and the settings.

MATT WATSON

What makes this person suitable?

This person is suitable to be in my music video as I wanted someone of the male gender in order to channel a stereotypical romance between a boy and a girl - something that many people and audience members can either relate to wish to relate to. I also decided to use Matt Watson as he has over 1000 follows combined on social media - this will give my product a selling point as young audience members will link his popularity to the music video, and therefore the video will get more views.

What makes this person unsuitable? 

Matt Watson could however be unsuitable for this music video because his personality can sometimes be very shy - this may limit us to filming very casual shots in front of as little people as possible in order to achieve the actor's most confident acting. 

DARCY MORGAN

What makes this person suitable?
This person is suitable for my music video as they will act opposite the male role as the main love interest for the male actor. This is a common convention used throughout pop music videos and therefore my two actors working together will appeal to my target audience because of their romantic chemistry.

What makes this person unsuitable?
This person could however be unsuitable because she is not always available - filming production would have to take place based on her availability. 

NEA PLANNING PART 4 - Location Information

LOCATION INFORMATION

The purpose of this task is to assess and identify the locations that I will use for my music video, further developing my knowledge regarding the locations I will be using and the impact that they will have on my final piece. Furthermore, I will also be researching these locations in order to understand the potential hazards and obstacles that could appear when filming and working out how to overcome them.

DISNEY WORLD, FLORIDA

WHAT MAKES THIS LOCATION SUITABLE? 
This location is suitable for my music video because it appeals to almost everyone, especially those who are within my target audience bracket of 16-25 year olds. This location will make my music video seem very uplifting which will coincide with the pop music genre in my music video very nicely. Furthermore, the weather in Florida is well known for being hot and sunny, creating the perfect weather to film a music video in as blue skies and a low chance of rain is almost guarantee. 

POTENTIAL RISKS / HAZARDS? 
Although the Disney World location is very suitable for my pop music video, there are several risks and hazards that I will have to keep in mind and work around if they occur.
Some of which include:
- Large masses of crowds. These may ruin the camera's shot and therefore I will have to attempt the work around the people and perhaps retreat to a quieter area.
- The weather. Although the sun in present in florida for 90% of the time, Florida also experiences bad thunder storms which may damage the equipment and also make the shot seem very miserable. I may have to wait out some of the storms and bad rain falls in order to achieve the perfect shots.  

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, FLORIDA

WHAT MAKES THIS LOCATION SUITABLE?
This location is suitable for my music video because, like Disney World, Universal has a wide appeal to a lot of families and friends, especially those who are apart of my target audience of 16-25 year olds. This location is filled with bright buildings and a lot of photo opportunities and therefore the pop music featured in my music video will be suited to the bright and uplifting location. I would also like to point out that Universal studios has been an ideal place for other artists to shoot their music videos in the past, some of whom include: Britney Spears and Lady Gaga.
POTENTIAL RISKS / HAZARDS?
Universal Studios is the ideal location for shooting a music video because of the bright colours and uplifting atmosphere, however there are several risks and hazards that we have to take into consideration whilst filming.
Some of which include:
- Some places such as the Universal shops or limited expeditions may not allow filming due to copy right reasons. This means that I will have to research before hand where specially I will be allowed to film, and note down the locations.
- There may be trip hazards. This means that I have to keep a careful eye out and make sure that the floor is clear for everyone to walk across safely.

AIRPORT, LONDON

WHAT MAKES THIS LOCATION SUITABLE?

This location is suitable for my music video because it is linked massively to the travel theme throughout my video - the scenes that will be shot in the airport will be featured heavily at the start of the music video in order to introduce the traveling aspect of the video and unfold the events that will occur later on. The airport has a huge association with holidays which, in turn, will cause feelings of excitement within the target audience and hopefully create a great appeal from several audiences. 

POTENTIAL RISKS / HAZARDS?

Although the airport will be a perfect location for my music video, there are a lot of risks and hazards that we will have to keep in mind whilst filming.

Some of which include:

- Filming may be prohibited in certain locations, meaning that I will have to find out before hand where we be allowed to film in order to plan out my music video.

- The heavy equipment needed to film a music video may be limited due to the amount that we are allowed on the plane, and therefore we will have to film with less equipment and perhaps only a camera. 

NEA PLANNING PART 3 - Product Profile

NEA PLANNING PART 2 - Mood Board

MY MOOD BOARD

The brief that I decided to choose was brief 4 - music video and online, I am required to produce one 3 minute music video and also a 500 word statement of intent. I am required to complete a statement of intent, a music video, a distribution channel, a number of web pages and to appeal to a target audience from ages of 16-25. My target audience will be, as stated before, from ages to 16-25 who are fun loving. My preferred target audience would be teenagers.

In this task I will be exploring the different types of images, fonts, colours and backgrounds that I can later use in my music video. This means that when it comes to creating my music video, I will have a rough idea of, for example, what colour schemes and fonts look more appealing together. This task will help me develop the theming of my music video as well as help me to decide what specific locations I can use throughout my video.

MOOD BOARD 1:

MOOD BOARD 2:

Mood Board analysis':

Both of my Mood Boards have helped me define content for my music video through their specific theming - the use of specific locations used within my first mood board have helped me narrow down the places that I will travel to in order to get the perfect shots for my music video. Also, the travel theme used within my second mood board has helped me decide that both the airport and plane will act as a main feature in my video in order to achieve the correct storyline. The overall colour scheme in my music video will be quite bright and colourful due to the locations that I will be using and the very common sunny weather in Florida however, I would like to include a lot of deep oranges and pinks from shots of the sunset (much like the colour scheme within my second mood board) in order to achieve a visually pleasing video for my target audience to enjoy. I will be using a variety of different shots and images within my music video in order to make my video seem as professional and realistic as possible; specifically however, long shots are a favourite of mine as they allow the camera to capture the setting of the scene very nicely which is important for my music video because of huge part that the location will play throughout my video. I will keep the fonts throughout my music video quite plain and simple, making sure that my target audience as well as other audiences are able to understand and read, for example, the title of my music video very clearly. I would like to think that the mise en scene of my music video is very travel related due to the abroad location of the video, I would like to achieve this mise en scene as it will create almost an escape from the real world for my audiences when they watch my video. I will use intertextuality in my video through the use of Disney World and Universal as it will help my storyline seem similar to a Disney fairytale or a Universal happy ending. The media theory that I will most likely use is the genre theory which I will achieve through the codes and conventions in my music video that will lead to a specific genre. 

NEA PLANNING PART 1 - Audience Profile

AUDIENCE PROFILE

My Survey Monkey Results

HOW OLD ARE YOU?

This particular information is useful for my own considerations of my music video because the variety of ages that answered my survey benefits the accuracy of the answers - this is because a wider sample has been questioned and therefore the answers will be more realistic as opinions from all ages have been revealed.

WHAT IS YOUR GENDER?

This information has a similar effect as the example shown above - the fact that both genders have given their answers has meant that the information that follows is more of an accurate sample because opinions from both genders have been expressed. If only one gender had answered my survey then the answers given would potentially only fit to that gender, and my finished product would also only appeal to that gender.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE TYPE OF MUSIC?

These results show that 60% of the people that answered my survey prefer the genre of pop music - this means that the majority of my target audience will expect to find pop music within my music video, this also goes hand in hand with the brief which states that only pop music is to be used. Even so, this information is still useful as it is reassuring that the target audience will enjoy the music in the music video. This information is useful because it can help me plan out the style of my music video which will be quite bright and fun. 

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT FAVOURITE MUSIC VIDEO?
This information is extremely useful because I can now gather an understanding of what music videos my target audience enjoys - this means that I can research the music videos stated and analyse the similarities and differences between them. For example, Ariana Grande music videos have been mentioned several times and all of which have been directed by Hannah Lux Davis who I have previously researched - perhaps my target audience would appeal to a music video that is similar to those directed by Hannah Lux Davis, and I can purposely use similarities from her music videos within mine in order to create a wider appeal.

WOULD YOU RATHER SEE A BLACK AND WHITE OR COLOUR MUSIC VIDEO?

These results show that coloured music videos are the most popular option, and perhaps this is because the previous question shows examples of many coloured music videos as people's favourite, for example, Ariana Grande - No Tears Left To Cry. However, a small percent of people did vote for both a black and white music video and a coloured music video - perhaps like Alicia Keys' music video Empire State Of Mind. This gives me the option to explore elements of black and white within my music video, perhaps to create a sad or serious atmosphere. 

WHAT LOCATION WOULD YOU PREFER TO SEE?

These results are useful because it shows that people would prefer to see a city location within my music video - this means that when creating my music video I will have to go to an urban location such as London. However,  several people have voted for other locations such as a seaside and this could give me the opportunity to use several different locations in order to appeal to a wider target audience and make the music video more entertaining. 

WHAT TYPE OF MUSIC VIDEOS DO YOU PREFER?

The particular results are very useful as they show that the majority of people would prefer for my music video to be a narrative type. This is helpful as it means that when I am planning my music video I can create an exciting storyline which carries the music video and goes hand in hand with the lyrics of the song I choose. 

HOW MANY PEOPLE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN A MUSIC VIDEO?

These results show that the majority of people would prefer to see at least 4-10 people in my music video. Although could turn out to be quite difficult because I will now have to find more people to be in my music video, these results are also very useful as I now know how to create a wider appeal for my target audience. 

WHAT FEATURE SHOULD A MUSIC VIDEO PAY PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO?
These results show that most people think that lighting, editing and the artist are the most important part of a music video. This means that when creating my music video, I will have to focus on these aspects in order to create a wider appeal to my target audience. Although the other elements of costume and location have not been voted for as much as the others, I will still pay attention to these features in order to produce the best music video possible. 

NEA RESEARCH PART 7 - Producers and Directors Research

NEA Part 7 - Directors Research 

In this post I will be researching several media directors relating to my music video brief, focusing on the layout and use of media conventions in the music videos these particular people have directed. Also, I will be including some of their existing products and this will give me a slight idea as to how I can produce my own media music video and website as I can gather inspiration from these existing music videos. By gathering a greater understanding about directors of music videos, I will be able to produce a media music video that reflects and follows music video ideologies more accurately.

HYPE WILLIAMS
Hype Williams (born July 1970) is an American music video director, film director, film producer and screenwriter. Williams has received several awards for his video work including the billboard music video award for best director of the year (1996), the BET award for best director (2006), the Jackson Limo award for best rap video of the year (1996) and several other awards.

Empire State Of Mind - Jay-Z feat Alicia Keys

Beyonce - Drunk In Love feat JAY Z

A lot of Hype Williams' music videos feature a black and white colour scheme - this creates a serious atmosphere in which the music video is set, and also makes the music video seem very old fashioned and classic, much like popular old movies like 'it's a wonderful life' and 'a streetcar named desire.' Perhaps Williams uses the black and white feature as a common theme in his music videos in order to channel older movies that people already have an appeal to (due to their popularity and timeless style). 

Williams also uses a variety of shots including wide shots, long shots and close ups throughout his music videos but this varies depending on the theme of the music video. For example, within the Empire State Of Mind music video more long shots are used than in the Drunk In Love music video because the theme of the music video is New York and therefore the setting has to be more established for the target audience than in the Drunk In Love Music video because in this video, Beyonce is the focus point.

SPIKE JONZE
Spike Jonze is an American filmmaker, photographer and actor whose work includes music videos, TV commercials, films and television. In 1994 Jonze directed the video for the Weezer song "Buddy Holly", which featured the band performing the song with clips from the well known sitcom Happy Days. This video became very popular and was shown on MTV very frequently - a 2013 Rolling Stone readers' poll ranked it as the tenth best music video of the 1990s.

Sonic Youth - 100%

The Breeders - Cannonball

A lot of Spike Jonze's music videos are performance videos (or perhaps feature elements of performance videos) - this is where the music video features the artist or band performing to the song of the video. It is common for genres such as alternative rock to include a performance within their music video. 

      Close ups are a very common type of shot used throughout Spike Jonze's music videos - especially those that are performance videos. This may be because Jonze perhaps aims to capture the artists emotions in order to create a particular atmosphere for the music videos; for example, happiness. This idea also creates a connection between the audience and the artist where the audience understands how the artist may think or feel and these emotions may help the audience gather a better understanding of the song. 

     

     HANNAH LUX DAVIS

     Hannah Lux Davis was raised in Washington until she left at the age of 18 to move to Los Angeles where she enrolled in the New York Film Academy, and the Los Angeles Film School a year later - Davis graduated from the Los Angeles film school in 2006 and went into makeup production, and from then on she began making music videos in her spare time, paying the budgets with her own money. 

Little Mix -

Power 

                                     Ariana Grande - 

                                         Side To Side

Within a lot of Hannah Lux Davis' music videos, females are used as the staring roles, perhaps this is because feminism is a big theme throughout the music videos that are directed by this particular director. Hannah Lux Davis is a female herself and therefore may wish to reinforce gender equality by using females, very famous ones, often throughout her work. 

Hannah Lux Davis often uses close up shots within her music videos in order to show the audience a close look at the actors and actresses / artist's appearance (i.e their makeup).

In conclusion, this research is beneficial because I am now more educated and aware of the different types of music videos - this means that I am prepared to branch out into different styles of videos when it comes to my own work. 

NEA RESEARCH PART 6 - Institutional Research

Institution Research: 

Within this post I will be researching the SONY (music) media institution which is included in our brief - I will be focusing on the type of products that this particular company produces. I will also be researching how the SONY ethos is incorporated within their products, and this will give me inspiration as to how I can include this in my own variations of the website and the main task. By gathering a wider understanding of the SONY institution, I will be able to produce a product that reflects the media institution's style and ideologies.
The Sony Music mission statement is: "to inspire the world to do great things through the influence of music by promoting inspirational melodies and lyrics." I personally think that this mission statement is reflected within the Sony company through the wide varieties of music produced and the diversity of the artists. 
To conclude, I will be incorporating this mission statement from this company into my own music video by using a song with particular lyrics that are considered to be 'inspirational' - examples may include modern pop music that involves current issues and events (such as feminism or perhaps romance). 

The name of the company that I will be making my media product for is Sony Music - this American Record Corporation was founded in New York, United States in 1929 and the CEO of this company from the 1st of July 2011 - present is Doug Morris. However, the chairman and CEO of Sony music UK is Jason Iley.

Sony Music Entertainment is a global recorded music company who is the home of both small, local artists and international and successful artists - it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. In the UK, labels such as RCA, Columbia, Commercial Group, Red Essential, Relentless, Black Butter, Ministry of Sound and Insanity all make up the Sony Music Family.

Sony Music's current revenue is at 7.27 billion USD - Sony's global recorded music operation generated $3.92 billion in revenue in the last year. The Sony company estimated that the total net gain in value of its Spotify holdings to be around $1 billion, this is purely based on the Spotify closing share price on the 3rd of April. Sony Music’s streaming revenues climbed 8.2% in the three months to end of March 2019, the company’s total recorded music sales reached $946.3m.

NEA RESEARCH PART 5 - Media Theory Research

21/05/2019

For this particular task, I am going to conduct media theory research in order to broaden my knowledge on the subject and decide on what theories will be suited to my own music video.

SUCKER - JONAS BROTHERS

Narratology - Todorov
Within the 'sucker' music video, this particular theory has been carried out through the presentation of a transition between an original state of equilibrium to another state of equilibrium. This music video describes a story of three males (the Jonas Brothers) and their three female love interests (their real life wives) who originally start off in a calm setting with a performance by the males and throughout the music video get almost targeted by the females, before a resolution is made at the end with all of the characters coupled up.

Feminist Theory - Van Zoonen
Van Zoonen's feminist theory can be applied to this music video because both the men and the women in this video are established as males and females through their clothes, coordination and behaviour. For example, all of the women within this video are presented as very feminine with expensive dresses, styled hair and a lot of makeup; the men in this video are presented as masculine through their suits and their dominant stances (particularly when they are on the stage, performing for the females that are below them).

BLURRED LINES - ROBIN THICKE AND OTHERS


Gender Performativity - Butler
Within this music video, the theory of gender performativity is used through set gender roles. For example, the females in this music video take on the minor roles where they are objectified by both the men in the music video and also the audience (Laura Mulvey's male gaze can be applied here through the females being displayed as objects in very little clothing with a lot of men finding this attractive).

Feminist Theory - Bell Hooks 
Bell Hook's feminist theory can be applied to this music video because the women featured are all dressed is revealing clothing and placed in positions where they are portrayed as 'less important' - for example, in the above image, the females are shown behind the men, making the males appear to be more superior to the females.

NEA RESEARCH PART 4 - Media Language And Representation

26/04/19

SHAWN MENDES - THERE'S NOTHING HOLDING ME BACK



TAYLOR SWIFT - ME!

SHAWN MENDES WEBSITE

LAYOUT
The layout of this website is very simple - the Shawn Mendes name is displayed at the very top of the page and his most recent single's name is displayed under it. These words are presented in a very plain and basic font which matches the single cover's font, this creates consistency throughout the Shawn Mendes brand and creates a recognisable layout for audiences to notice. In the centre of the page a circle is placed with moving images of different patterns, occasionally with the figure of Shawn Mendes himself displayed as a brief shadow every few minutes. This is in order to create a main display for the website and make the page look both appealing and attractive. Below this two buttons are displayed, both in long rectangular  shapes in order to make their purpose obvious, and at the very bottom of the page a button labelled 'enter site' is displayed which brings audiences to a further page with links to merchandise, songs, and other promotional brand aspects. Finally, at the bottom of the page several links are displayed for all of Shawn Mendes' social media.

NAVIGATION
The official Shawn Mendes website has a very straight forward display, with most of the important and main links to other pages displayed in the centre of the page - this is in order to make it easier for audiences to follow the page's links and tabs that lead to important pages. The website's creators have purposely displayed the circle with a constant loop of moving images (which, may I point out, is very similar to several examples of Mendes' album art in order to continue this previous consistency within his brand) in the centre of the page in order to create a main attraction and make the page look very appealing to Mendes' target audience.

LANGUAGE
The language used throughout the Shawn Mendes official website is both basic and simplistic, this was purposely done in order to make it easy for all of Mendes' younger and perhaps less educated audiences to understand. In addition, this would also allow a universal audience to be able to visit Mendes' website and understand both the english language and grammar that is displayed. The specific command 'listen now' is displayed underneath the looped images, this imperative is used in order to make audiences feel the need to select the button and listen to his latest music.

IMAGES / TEXT / AUDIO / VIDEO
The use of one moving image (perhaps considered a looped video) is displayed very obviously in the middle of the website's page in order to make the website's page look more attractive. The specific use of light, pastel colours makes the website more appealing to female audiences because stereotypically females find lighter colours like pink and purple appealing. Furthermore, the use of pastel colours (in particular the baby pink which is also used as the website's main background colour) again creates consistency within the Shawn Mendes brand because many of Mendes' album covers and merchandise feature these soft, muted colours.


Conclusion:
In order to create my future text I am going to use similar media language to Shawn Mendes' - this means that I am going to take on a very basic and simplistic approach in order to allow mass audiences to understand my work and appreciate the purposes of the examples used of the linguistic code.

NEA RESEARCH PART 3 - Intertextuality

04/04/19 NEA RESEARCH - Intertextuality



To conclude, I have found that intertextuality is a very key aspect when it comes to the popularity of music videos, as well as the appeal to a wider target audience.