We hope you have enjoyed overviewing our progress in the production of our A2 Media Studies Coursework. For more information, analytical responses and personal reflections, have a look at the individual blogs by each group member: Sam Hopkins [link], Jakub Pieta [link] and Harry Moppett [link].

Music Video

We can finally be proud to present to you: our music video for Ike & Tina by Jamie T,
performed by our artist Freddy and the Letdowns!

Lyric Booklet

To go together with our digipak, we created an insert booklet to be held in the left inside sleeve of the album, featuring lyrics, extra photos and more detailed institutional information on the rear, including a message of dedication from the artist.

Front cover of booklet (Done by Jakub)

Inside left, first page (Done by Sam)

Right side of page (Done by Sam)

Center spread on next double page ( Done by Jakub)

Next page, left side (Done by Harry)

Final page, right side (Done by Sam)

Back of booklet (Done by Jakub)

Digipak

The photos were selected from our large pool of stills taken during test runs, artist photoshoots and filming production days with the actors, resulting in the choice of the following four shots:

Front (Part done by Sam)

Inside (Left, acting as a sleeve for additional lyric booklet)
Have been done by Harry.

Inside (Right, behind plastic CD holder)
Have been dony by Harry.

Back (Designed and done by Jakub)

Magazine/Poster Advertisement

Album Art

Audience Feedback

In one lesson we conducted a group showcase for all of the videos as they neared completion, and were asked to offer comments on:

• Synchronisation of the actor
• Camera shots/angles/framing
• Sustained interest
• Pace of the music and linked editing pace
• Narrative
• Target audience
• ....and overall enjoyment!

After looking over the feedback and comments from our audience, we discovered that many liked the pace of the editing as it complements the pace of the song. As a group we were very happy when the audience had only positive points to say on the editing, as we had at times found it difficult to create cohesion between the edits and pace of music. This was because as it was imperative to us to simulate the flow of a real music video, and from the comments we believe we have achieved this.

The other comments were mainly about the narrative and the use of actors, and by reading the feedback we found that the audience fully understand actually the whole narrative not only through the lyrics but also through the on screen visuals. One audience member had an extremely positive response to the the narrative: "Engaging, funny with the use of kid police...good narrative".

We also came across many positive comments about the lighting during the party scene and sex scene in the video. It seems the audience responded well to the interesting display of colours and effects which we used to create ambiance and atmosphere e.g "The lighting is amazing"

Finally, we also received positive feedback about our varied cast, which made the music video more interesting as it stands out from other work in the class which may have only used one or two group members as actors. People were also impressed with the overall performance, including appropriate actor choice for Freddy, his behaviour in character, and the synchronisation of the editing. Therefore we are highly pleased that we carried out our idea well and it worked.

That is not to say we didn't receive any comments recommending things to change. As the screening was to fellow Media Studies students, they were able to give technically-appropriate feedback, such as precise shots that dragged on too long or comments on particular angled shots, which was incredibly useful in perfecting the final product.

Genre, Context and Audience Reflection

As the editing process draws to a close, we thought we should reflect upon how well our video fits in the with genre of the music, and how it meets the expectations of that audience. We first noted the similarities between our video and others from the genre, and after having avoided it during the planning phase (for feat of directly reproducing), we looked at Jamie T's actual videos [website link] to see if they are similar too:

Jamie T - Sticks and Stones Official Music Video

Our Music Video (Jamie T - Ike and Tina)

 We also considered how our video targets our primary audience demographic. The lifestyle we depict is clearly relatable for the young audience demographic, which creates a key link between the audience and the artist, which is highlighted through the fashionable costume styles. Through this, we determined that our product was indeed on the way to becoming successful in being accepted into the genre and the representation of our artist being accepted by the target audience.

Social Media

 We created two social networking websites for our artist in an endeavour to replicate the ways that social media has impacted on how new bands can distribute their music and extend their image.

https://twitter.com/#!/FTheLetdowns
https://www.facebook.com/pages/FreddyTheLetdowns/151886741599090

Logo Designs

We created three different logos in the process of designing a band logo, drawing on genre conventions as well as audience feedback to finally arrive at the logo we used on the artwork at the bottom:

Lighting Experiments

During the making of this video, we experimented a lot with different lighting. The most apparent evidence of this is in the club scene, where we had access to the house lights system in the school drama studio. This meant that over the large reel of footage we shot, we had various light colour schemes to choose from (eg red/blue/green/white strobing). Most importantly, it meant we were able to create a realistic looking setting that the audience could believe.

The other key area we manipulated the lighting was in the 'sex scene', with the deep blue lights reminiscent of the club whilst creating a softer, more sensual texture to the scene. We also used torchlight reflected upwards off tinfoil to compliment skin tones through warm yellow light that didn't overpower the shot.

However, we chose not to experiment with post-production effects (eg exposure/contrast/saturation) for fear it may ruin the independent feel of the video by giving it higher production values and a glossier, more coherent feel, as in many ways the amateurishness of the project is appealing.

Behind the Scenes Interview Footage

We filmed a short 'interview' with our artist as a piece of "behind the scenes" footage for fans to indulge in, uploaded to YouTube and linked to on the artist's Facebook and Twitter accounts.



However, the obviously unprepared nature and low filming quality (was filmed and directly uploaded from an iPhone) of the chat borders of the farcical, but stands to represent what sort or materials we would create for a real promotional campaign.

Filming Schedule and Diary

Tuesday 20th December: Initial planning. Group meeting, where we finalised decisions about costumes and props, and bought/collected any that we would need over the next few weeks. We also filmed a few cutaway shots, but without our artist there was little we could do, and did not want to shoot too much that would then not be usable.-

Firday 30th December: Location research, discussion followed by a scouting adventure. See post for pictures.

Friday 6th January: Filmed the 'sex scene'. Experimented with lighting. Did some photos for artist image. Followed up by shooting the scene outside of the clinic, but due to tiredness/boredom/fatigue, the material we had wasn't as good as we hoped.

Saturday 7th January: Went to London with the camera and cast hoping to capture some of the atmosphere of more claustrophobic city areas (like Brick Lane and South Bank) to contrast the comparatively bland suburban scenes we planned to shoot. However, lack of light became a big issue which ultimately ended our excursion.

Friday 13th January: Due to unavailability of cast members, we were unable to continue shooting, instead deciding to review the material we had already shot to determine any pickup shots we would need to do and the quality and quantity of what we had already shot.

Tuesday 17th January: Re-shot the clinic scene, much better this time. Began shooting the main performance bed of the video, but unfortunately low camera battery cut our day short.

Friday 20th/Saturday 21st: Weather dictated that we couldn't continue filming the performance bed this weekend, so instead we worked on putting the blog together.

Tuesday 24th January: Began uploading the footage we had, and overviewed it to ascertain how our shooting techniques can be improved upon for the next chunk of performance bed filming.

Tuesday 31st January: Shot all the footage required for the party scene, using the school Drama Studio where we had full access to extraordinarily manipulatable lighting equipment. We used readily available friends as extras, which took some time to organise (and we weren't able to get quite as large an enthusiastic group as we hoped) but after weeks of waiting for the Studio to become available, we took the best chance we could, and adapted our filming techniques to fill the frame as often as possible.

Thursday 2nd February:  Uploaded the footage from the party/club scene. Despite first thoughts after rewatching the footage on the small camera screen immediately after shooting, upon full review we found the footage to be entirely suitable and that there would be no need for a re-shoot (with much relief, after how long it had taken to book the studio and organise a reliable 'cast').

Saturday 4th February: Begun the long process of filming the performance section for the music video in Roehampton.



UPDATE: Friday 24th February: Half term holidays, unavailable equipment and unreliable cast members are all attempting to draw the process out, but nevertheless we have been working on completing filming and slowly piecing together short individual sequences on the music video. Only one more section needs to be filmed, as well as one short pickup shoot.

UPDATE: Friday 23rd March: Filming was completed earlier this month, and now the editing process is finally drawing to a close. Meanwhile, we have been working on the ancillary products of album artwork with photoshop, and of course keeping blogs updated.

Tuesday 27th March: Music video and ancillary tasks have been completed!

Prop List

We used many different props to create a realistic diegesis for our music video

• Empty discarded beer cans/bottles- to set the scene of a derelict pub
• Cigarettes - lyrical link, also demonstrating apathetic carpe diem attitude of the youths
• Envelope for the letter - to give the STD results realism 
• Painted backdrop panel - used in the club scene to imply the influence of illegal substances referred to in the lyrics

Creating Artist Image

The alternative genre of music our artist fits into is a defining characteristic of his visual style, and thus informing our decisions towards costume in the film by drawing from research into similar artists. To appeal to our core audience, our star much be dressed in a recognisable and relatable way, promoting normalcy rather than iconic star image (which also endued our decision to not use makeup on our artist):

Costume

Visual style through costuming is key for creating a marketable image to accompany the music. After research into Jamie T's (the original artist) style, and that of other frontmen in similar bands, we took test shots of a number of different outfits for Freddy. Our focus was on the idea of 'the ordinary', as establishing a relatable, down-to-earth artist is much the convention for this genre rather than the idea of a godlike, distanced superstar.

Costumes of other characters in the film (such as the band in the opening shots and the background characters in the club) were decided on through the same process - favouring normalcy over incredulous wardrobing. However, there were some stand out outfits, such as Devil costume (used to provide a humorous counterpoint to an otherwise dreary and pessimistic opening), the police costumes (metaphor of age/maturity/lifestyle), the child's 'normal' wear (to contrast Freddy's clothes), and the girl's leopard print jacket (carrying connotations of seduction as well as animalistic threat - she does give him an STD after all).

Casting

• FREDDY: Our star will be portrayed by Sam Barnham.

• THE LETDOWNS: Tom Roberts, Archie Harris-Eva and group member Harry Moppet will form 'Freddy's' backing band.

• GIRL: The 'love interest' of the video is to be played by Hannah Watson.

• FRIENDS: For the 'background' characters, we will use available friends at school.

• POLICEMEN: We will use two children, David (pictured) and Julek, to play the role of policemen in the film to metaphorically illustrate ideas about maturity, age, and childhood/adolescent/adult lifestyle.

Location Research Pictures

This is the building we plan to use for the 'clinic' scenes, as it has an official look, without being in active use (preventing any problems surrounding the practicality of shooting).

Location Research: After discussions in class, we went around the local area searching for locations suitable for each of the scenes we wanted to shoot.

 

This is the cast preparing for shooting of the 'party/club' scene. By filming in the school drama studio, we had access to a lot of lighting otherwise unavailable (short of the risky business of going to film in an actual club). Experimentation with different lights, shot angles and even messing about with the camera focus enabled us to create a scene which although looked (and felt) silly to film, became believable footage for use.

This is the location for the interior 'sex' scene. This is the result of several experiments with lighting and location. Cold blue lights add a sense of the uncanny to what will hopefully be edited in a chaotic way. We also added yellow torch-light (reflected upwards with tin-foil) to add warmth to the actors in what is essentially a sexual scene.

These are some of the areas we considered for the performance bed where our artist will be singing. They all provide different angles of anonymous and monotonous city/suburban life to reflect the image we want to present for our artist.