Jack Garratt - Weathered A2 Music Video

Evaluation

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Evaluation Questions

Q1.

Our music video, as a narrative, demonstrates characteristics that place our video in this genre. One example is the story in the video where a boy and girl both go to a place where they have had many memories together and we included a recurring motif of love. The story is told visually with no narration as it is instead coherence with the lyrics so the images on the screen direct correspond to what is being said in the song such as a case up of a pocket watch when the song mentions growing old. A story told in 1st person is common in current pop and indie music as well as synth pop here such as Alan Walkers faded which is a 1st person story of a male who is finding a lost home or the remains of his past life. Imagery depicting the recurring ideas/motifs  in our video and the story being acted out shows our music video to be narrative and differ form that of stage performance for example which would include band members playing the song on stage.

There is a clear relationship between the music and visuals on screen which is illustrative of the lyrics. This adheres to Andrew Goodwins theory of music video which is typical of the Indie genre as well as the sub genres Altertaive R&B, Electronic and Trip hop. The illustrative style allows the audience to focus on the lyrics more as an image reinforces the themes of the song such as time passing by, illustrated in our video by a time-lapse of a river. This is seen in indie rock artist James Bay video for Let it go where the setting and acting can demonstrate the artists feelings/emotions in the song. A room with no lights on with James staring out of a window creates a withdrawn emotion which later turns into emotional pain when the house slowly burns down. A linear narrative  also shows the  use of conventions of music videos; in particular the pop indie genre as almost all have linear narratives such as Ed Sheerans song "shape of you" which follows his preparation to box in a ring.

The mise en scene aspect of the videos in this genre is very important to create a meaning in the lyrics as the costume can evoke a first impression onto the actor/artist.  For instance, we have presented the two teenagers in the video as following the social norm in the style and make of clothes; the female is wearing bright clothes that match her surroundings which is the same in the James Bay music video for Let it go where the artist wears an all black outfit and hat which match the dark room he sits in.

However, the music video does challenge some forms and conventions as we have a time lapse of  river and a small waterfall which is not typical cinematography in music videos. As well as this, we have an open ending to the video where the narrative can take multiple meanings or interpretations. A medium shot shows the two finally together in one shot yet it is not clear if they are there at the same time due to a line being die into the frame in the editing stage so it could be inferred the couple are no longer together or the footage shown in the video before is what could be, if they were together.

Q2.

For the ancillary texts, we made the covers of an album for a standard 2 sided cd case. On the front cover are the two actors seen in the music video from the shoulders up facing each other but blended int together with the title of the album cover on the front "Weathered". The digipak folds out once as a double sided album. The design is similar to that of Kings of Leons new album Walls, in that it only shows the band members heads.

The title on the album cover is in bold black letters which reads "Weathered". This helps to promote the main song of our album which we have done the video on and for consistency we have used the same font as seen in the opening of the song just before the lyrics come in when the song name fades in and out onto the screen. For the artwork, we changed the contrast of the colour on the two faces so they would overlap and be part of one image which helps to show the song to be about the love of the young couples relationship. This also demonstrates the a symbol for evoking thoughts and feelings as emotions are associated with the head.
Q3.

To gather audience feedback on the ancillary texts, I printed out the two different designs for the album cover and showed this to 10 people outside of my media class. I asked them which the preferred and kept a tally chart to document what the participants felt was the best for an indie genre album cover.

The first design was more colourful and focused on pattern to create a vibrant image that had connotations of light and emoted a happy/playful theme. I asked for verbal feedback from peers in my Media class on how to improve with two suggesting to include the singer or character(s) in the song. After receiving this feedback, the second design included incorporated two characters from the music video we made as well as having a logo on the inside cover. This logo was simplistic in design but matched the font colour and colour scheme of the wording on the back cover.


Although at first the second design received just one more vote, the second design which incorporated the actors featured in the music video was favoured more when I showed people outside of the initial 10 I asked which they thought they would buy if they were buying an album.


Prior to filming, we pitched our ideas on filming to the teacher and rest of the class. The pitch consisted of presenting initial ideas for a narrative in our music video shown via a powerpoint and talking about potential themes and motifs within the song lyrics. At this point, we had already filmed a test shot for the time-lapse of the river near to our location of filming, Hopwas. The sequence was shown to the class and was received well although it was suggested by a few students to speed up the time-lapse as it was hard to tell at first the shot was a time-lapse in the 8 second sequence. We agreed this would be re-filmed and upon editing we decided on the second take of this scene. In this pitch, students mentioned props they would consider important in the Indie genre of music. This included personal items such as diary, a locket and small pocket sized photos of family members or companions. This would help affirm the audience the song would have personal meanings and divert it away from hip-hop genre which is often more to do with partying and breaking up in relationships. Although our production does somewhat fit the latter, it is more concerned with a personal journey of youth nostalgia hence the focus on the collage of photos on the smartphone and the focus on the passing of time (pockewatch) included in the final edit of the music video.

Q4.

For research and planning, I used Spotify to find artists in the Indie genre as this was a genre I was already interested in personally. I decided on Jack Garratt having listened to his music before and chose the song Weathered for this. After listening to the song, I created a mind map using the website called "Mindmup" which allowed me to form initial ideas and interpret the song to create my own music video for it.


The first use of media technology was a graphics tablet which enabled a digital version of a storyboard. A pen on an electronic tablet connected to the computer and we were able  to draw and colour a storyboard which could then be printed off; the result was a stark and professional look but I decided the original drawn images were a better result so stuck with this.

When constructing the media product, (music video), I filmed with a Toshiba Camillo X2000 camcorder in HD which I took with me to set along with a tripod. For back up incase the battery run out on the camcorder I bought a samsung compact camera. I experimented to find the right mode to film the video in and opted with a 720x480 ratio in the end and mad use of the macro mode feature for two shots ( the smartphone and pocket watch shots, provide example with picture). In order to have stability in tracking shots and a few close ups, I used a Visionary Tripod which was easy to assemble and could be folded away in a waterproof bag easily, which was essential when filming as the floor was somewhat wet from rainfall in the woods the day before and we didn't the equipment to be damaged.

Some footage was shot on an iPhone using the app (name) which enabled us to record a river flowing under  a bridge and have this sped up. This was free and had the best reviews on the App store so we opted to use this and included the footage post production.

As there was lots of raw footage, I uploaded this onto my personal macbook and begun selecting the clips which would be used in the editing stage. We used Sony Vegas Pro to edit the raw footage and first imported all the selected footage before using the trimming tool to trim them to match with the lyrics.

Magazine Poster

Print Artefacts: Album cover

After receiving the audience feedback, this was our final outcome for the album cover.

Additional Audience Research

I believe the primary audience for the song  "Weathered" is young adults of both sexes who chose to listen to the Indie/pop genre whilst tapping into other sub genres such as Alternative or Electronica. As the messages in many of his songs are often centred around personal and emotional troubles, particularly regarding growing up into adulthood in this song, I would expect my audience to favour lyrics over the brand of an artist or ego. I sent my survey out to 10 students at my sixth form who were all between the ages of 17-19; I anticipated most people, due to their age would use more modern forms of media to listen to music such as free/paid streaming services like Apple Music or Spotify.

The following are some of the results. Although only 5 completed the survey before it closed, it was enough to see a general trend in most of the questions.

I expected an overall result of my target audience to have an interest in other genres as the artist himself is inspired by a variety of musicians such as Stevie Wonder, Tom Waits and Ed Sheehan so doesn't confine to one specific genre. As such, the music influences come through in Garrets music much like how the late musical icon David Bowie inspired a glam rock style in the 80's of Guns n Roses as well as Ozzy Osborne in the 70's; not to mention his ever lasting influence in hip hop and electronic dance too.

Along with this, I find out a mixed result on what those in my target audience thought about the artist behind the music. The majority said they didn't know enough about him which is most likely due to his musical career only making it into mainstream and chart music in the last few years so interviews and aspects of his life outside his music have not been in the spotlight

"I genre-hop quite a lot... I love manipulating genre and deconstructing it and making it irrelevant" - Jack Garratt

24 year old Jack Garratt is renowned for performing live shows with multiple instruments in a variety of tracks ranging from Indie pop & Trip hop to Electronica and Alternative R&B

Casting

To carry the uplifting, nostalgic theme of youth and relationships, it was important to have both my actors for the narrative at a young age. It was also idea if they were, offscreen, in a relationship as it made for a more convincing display and could show a genuine emotion towards each other in the final seconds of the music video where they are both in shot together.

After failing to match two friends that would do this, I asked friends Bethany Thompson & Ellis Morgan as these were a couple in real life and I had a good rapport with both of them; this made filming easier than if i didn't know the actors, as they would understand what I wanted them to do.

As they both attended my Sixth form, it made organising a day for filming quick to do as I could see them at very short notice.

Creative Journey: Filming & Editing

The device I used to record the footage was my persona camcorder, a Toshiba Camileo x2000 as seen below







October 2016:Raw footage is recorded and imported onto my Macbook as I begin to filter out clips that won't be of use

Creative Journey: Planning

To gather initial ideas, i begun a mind map online using the software "Mindmup". This enabled me to create ideas about the themes, settings, miss-en-scne, props and more aspects of the music video. I could organise the sections to expand on in a clear visual manner, rather than writing this out on line paper for example.

Forming ideas

Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines Textual analysis

The music video for Blurred lines pushed the boundaries for what could be said in a song and performed on screen. It received disapproval and angered some people who branded it to be a sexist and promote worrying attitudes towards sexual consent.

Although Thicke appears playful, alongside singer Pharrall Williams, the models strut past whilst the phrase "Blurred Lines"appears followed by "Thicke" with the latter appearing numerous times in the video. This would suggest he is comfortable with the lyrics and perhaps didn't mean for line such as " I know you want it" as dismissing consent. Whilst the women all wear forms of white clothing with gold jewellery, both Thicke and Pharrall wear predominantly black which immediately separates them. Perhaps this is to place more attention of the females who often look directly at the camera; this could be their way of showing they have power as the females display this assertive behaviour throughout. It depends on how the body language is interpreted and if the lyrics are interpreted to have an underlying tone about sexual consent.

A close up of a bottle of Remy Martin vodka shows expensive, high end taste which shows this video is intended for a more mature audience such as those in the early years of adulthood.

Print Artefacts Research

For the creation of our print artefacts, we drew inspiration from the release of  Tom Odelles 2016 album wrong crowd which incorporates simplicity with high quality in a close up of the artist from the neck up. The extreme close up creates a dramatic effect on his face enhancing his facial features such as eyes and mouth thus adding colour to the image and showing a focused look; this position breaks the fourth rule as the artists is not gazing off away from the camera. As well as this, it is effective in branding the artists music as we can infer the music on the album will be centred around his emotions and the exaggeration on stark colours on the face such as blue eyes is welcoming and effective in appealing to its intended audience (a demographic that is young, perhaps mostly female and relates to situations such as heartbreaks and fractured relationships which is the theme of many of Tom Odelles songs. The font made us realise the need to be clear what the album is called when making our own yet doesn't have to be obtuse or appear too ordered

"Youth" is the third studio album of rapper Tinie Tempah. Although this is outside our genre, the artists shares the same age for its audience (maturing teenagers and young adults) so we looked at how their albums are presented. Similar to Jack Garrets album Phase, the rapper Tine Tempah is also seen on his own album cover in a medium shot as he sits on some steps in front of, what could be inferred to be, his upbringing or a place he feels familiar in. The block of flats and clouds above symbolise reality and presents the artist to be true and genuine to where he came from which is important to our audience as this characteristic suggests the music will be raw and honest. Set to be released in March 2017, the album includes a song titled "Text From Your Ex" which was made using a combination of Facetime, emails and Facebook messages. Because of their topics in songs and discussing relationships as a solo artist, people who listen to Tinie Tempah would be likely to listen to Jack Garratt. In addition, they are both aired on Capital FM.

Tinie Tempah talks about his upcoming album Youth on Kiss FM

Task 4: Audience Research

Specifying our audience was integral when making both our main media product, the music videos and anciliary texts, (CD cover). I used YouGov to gather information about the lifestyle my audience would have which included factors such as income, brands of clothes they wear and their favourite sports.

As seen in the image below, the basic profile is similar to our initial preconceptions of Jack Garrets fans. The age is in a young bracket of 18-24 and the social grade is ABC1; Though I do agree the main demographic are higher incomes for his music, i feel grades D and E could also be included as E, as the lowest level of income earners, include students and in his live shows students make up a reasonable amount of the audience.

According to the profile, fans enjoy mainstream TV shows such as Coronation street and 8 out of 10 cats does Countdown. These are not particularly niche and don't attract small ratings which suggest the fans to enjoy popular entertainment. Meanwhile, their entertainment interests is overwhelming in pop culture. Adele, Calvin Harris and The Weeknd are all solo artists who have had records in the official uK music charts top 40 at some point in their career. From this, it would suggest those who enjoy Jack Garratt have an open taste to music and are not just a fan of Electronica and Trip hop, (Jack Garrets genre of music). Similar to the music aspect, their interest in celebrities includes those who are well known and have large followings on their social media such as Leanardo di capris and Stephen Fry. These are very influential people in their fields of writing and acting respectively. In their careers, they have been exceptionally talented which is the same for Jack Garrets music career who is renowned for his exceptional live shows, playing multiple instruments looped with a distinct voice. All the musical public figures have a demographic that is the same of Jack Garratt.

The top clothing brand favoured are hughstreet H&M, Barbour and Levis. For students, the first would be within their price range but I would expect some other brands would be aspired to such as Calvin Klein and other luxury brands as the demographic for his fans would typically be explorers (in accordance with Young & Rubicams model) so these would have an instant effect. Also, as many fans would be Reformers, this shows in good taste of transport as Seat as it is regarded as quality but not out a materialistic label for cars. I discovered Mercedes Benz was seven places below top place Seat which supports my demographic for Jack Garratt fans not being in financial bracket such as Social grade A as they do not typically own their own businesses or have enough money to afford a luxurious car like a Mercedes Benz.

Task 9: Filming Pitch

To put forward our ideas on creating the music video, we produced a powerpoint to present to our media class along with lyrics of the song weathered for other students to annotate. Pitching this einitia ideas enabled us to have real feedback such as questions on why we had chosen the actors, enquires about the artist we had chosen and also provided different meanings to the songs lyrics.

Task 2: Beyonce - Formation

World icon Beyonce, released her music video for song Formation which brings up past racial divide and current political/cultural issues that are resulting in violent outbursts and injustice. Although the video shows Beyonce herself dressed/acting like a white woman during the slave era, the meaning/purpose for the song applies more to the immediate present and future as it is heavily linked with a new "formation" known as Black Lives Matter and she asks Ladies to get in "formation" in order to stand up to discrimination and perhaps promote self-confidence. However, some Police in America are refusing to provide security for her concerts due to the alleged attack on Police; Beyonce can be seen to be on top of a Police car which then sinks in the video

The artist is distinctly unique when addressing the Politics and racial issues in America. At the beginning, Beyonce can be seen laying calmly on an american  Police car. This metaphor connotes power and ironically authority, as she addresses the lack of response to the New Orleans flooding. This was traumatic event for those living there and considered a sensitive topic but she is so established as singer, she openly states events such as this in her songs where as other artists might avoid such matters. This demonstrates her to be transparent and will not hold back in her strong opinions about the government, calling them out in the lyric "What happened at the New Orleans?". Anger against the Police force is clearly evident and the history of Black people in America is visually represented when the camera cuts to slow shots of the artist wearing white, luxurious of the time era (1800s) clothes which could be inferred to be the clothes of a white american family who owned slaves. In between these are brief stills of portraits of a group of black women and a separate portrait of a black woman. Although these are only on screen for brief moments, it is perhaps helping to build the recreation of this room which mocks the slave era. Culturally, the video explores what Beyonce is proud of and openly states the physical appearance ("I like my negro nose with  Jackson five nostrils", tastes in food and where her parents are from.

There is no narrative in terms of story, but deep black culture is explored. This is further evident when, in an empty car park, Beyonce flaunts her hair out of a windows of a car before the camera zooms in on the feet, and then the hair of a trio of black women with different hair colours such as blue an purple. From this, we can infer that black women should be free to fulfil whatever part of their culture they want to and be individual in their hair as Beyonce is with hers. The unison of the women is also an early depiction of the women standing with her in an old, empty indoor swimming pool shortly after who gather in "formation". It is very much a rallying call to women and the same grey with red stripes costume worn by the dancers shows they are behind the artist.

It is not just women who she is appealing to and calling to make a stand; a young hooded black boy dances on his own in front of a line of armed policemen who then raise their hands as if to surrender. This is before the words "Stop shooting us" pass by the screen in a slow tracking shot. Not only does this send out a powerful message by including this in a music video, it calls out the US Police department to take action and deliberately portrays them in a negative light  thus demonstrating the freedom she can explore in her music. Though it may appear the artist has excluded a large number of her worldwide following, the message conveyed to be proud of your history and make a stand when an ideology is treating you unfairly should come through.

Risk Assessment

Hazard	Who might be harmed and how?	What are you already doing?	Do you need to do anything else to manage this risk?	Action by whom?	Action by when?	Likelihood	Date
Falling over, slipping on woodland terrain/steep ground	Actors (Bethany Thompson & Ellis Morgan) and camera operators (Kurt Beresford). Cuts/bruise to skin	We are wearing appropriate footwear for filming, trainers that have grip	Check the weather	Actors and camera operator	Day of filming	Medium	20th October 2016
Discomfort of hands/extremities (cold hand and feet making to difficult to move)	Actors (Bethany Thompson & Ellis Morgan) and camera operator (Kurt Beresford). Discomforts/pain of cold hands/extremities	Wearing gloves in cold temperatures	Also wear thick socks and ensure the gloves will keep the hands warm by testing them beforehand	Actors and camera operator	Day of filming	Medium	20th October 2016
Cars and other motor vehicles on the bridge (a narrow pathway to walk on)	Actors (Bethany Thompson & Ellis Morgan) and camera operator (Kurt Beresford). Injury by being hit by the car or motor vehicle	Walking in single file along the path and walking cautiously along the path	Be mindful coming up to the bridge of cars and motor vehicles	Actors and camera operator	Day of filming	Medium	20th October 2016
Falling down a steep hill leading up the location of filming	Actors (Bethany Thompson & Ellis Morgan) and camera operator (Kurt Beresford) Cuts/bruises to skin. Possible injury to bones if fall is severe	Wearing footwear with good grip	Walk at a slower pace and climb the hill cautiously	Actors and camera operator	Day of filming	Very  High	20th October 2016
Damage to electrical (camcorder and mobile phones)	The equipment Water damage to electrical meaning they can't work.	Placing the camcorder in its case and putting the mobile phones and the camcorder in a bag pack to ensure it isn’t water damaged when outside	Ask the actors to put their mobile phones in the bag pack	Actors and camera operator	Day of filming	Low	20th October 2016
Broken glass bottles	Actors (Bethany Thompson & Ellis Morgan) and camera operator Cuts to skin	Keep the equipment including bag away from these areas. Watch where we are treading when around the area	Check our feet to make sure we haven’t accidentally stood in the glass	Actors and camera operator	Day of filming	Low	20th October 2016