A Scopitone - Neil Sedaka "Calender Girl"

Research on Scopitones

Scopitones were around during the 1960s, their production based on technology developed during World War II. The term refers to a type of jukebox featuring a 16mm film component. It was a forerunner of music video. The first Scopitones were made in France. The last film for a Scopitone was made at the end of 1978. At the time, it was one of the few sources of electronic entertainment. It was popular as it offered visuals as well as sound.

Audience Research Ideas.

Three methods to recieve audience response for our video:

1. Online Polls/Surveys
Links from social networking sites to a short poll/survey are likely to get some responses from a variety of the population. This method is sure to get variable results as the internet is accessible by a majority of the diverse population. Also people can vote and the results will reveal which artists are more popular among the public.

2. Questionnaires
Can be distributed in locations such as schools where the young feel quite strongly about music at the time. Their views will provide an image of what they expect when they watch a music video.. Depending on our own target audience, their response can be beneficial to us during production as we can cut certain things out.


3. Voice recording
Asking random people about their music preferences and using a voice recorder to record their responses is a simple approach. This is advantageous opposed to the above methods as people tend to present the first response that enters their head rather than thinking about it too much, like they would when faced with a questionnaire. Also its not as formal as the above and allows flexible answers unlike polls etc.

MUSIC GENRES

Chose 2 genres of music to focus on over the week and find out the following things:
1. Who are the most popular artists from that genre (why do you think they're so popular).
2. What are the generic conventions of music videos in that genre of music - give examples from videos you have watched and refer to costume, editing, camerawork and mise en scene.
3. Try and find a copyright free track that you think would make a good video.

Genre 1 - Contemporary R&B
Popular artists - Usher and Beyonce
Generic conventions of music videos in R&B:

Lypsyncing Task

What went well?
The filming went well, Nilufa was vibrant in front of the camera - however I felt very uncomfortable. In class we reveiwed peers work and found that when a range of shots are used, it is more enjoyable to watch. Having shots that are short in length are more effective than shots that are longer as this can create a dead effect. A good tip is cutaways of random objects can be used to cover up short blank spaces. When characters are in different positions it is more interesting to watch and also when there is more movement between shots.
What could be improved?
Definitely the editing, the footage is not in perfect sync with the song. If more time was spent on this area, it could be easily changed. Also, I am not comfortable in front of the camera, my lip movement was not clear against the lyrics to the song. So in future shoots, I should avoid having this role. There was a big contrast in our performances as I was less confident.
What tips or advice would you give yourself on effective lipsyncing?
Practice the song alot before hand so when you're being filmed, your performance is natural (avoid reading off a paper).
Big clear mouth movements are required.
Be relaxed.

Previous Work - Psycho Swede

By Tamanna, Rujina & myself

Previous Work - The Meeting (Video and Evaluation)

We created this video in the very early days of Media at AS. We were experimenting with editing effects at the time: we used different transitions to create certain effects. We changed Mirzas voice to make him appear more scary and used a negative effect to establish the anger of my character and the seriousness that exists within the scene.

There is so much that could be improved of this video. One of the elements that could be made better is actually establishing what's really happening. It is pretty unclear although we have attempted to make it obvious through the use of props (school book, location within school). Over the past year, we have gained a wider experience of media in the sense that we know that the plot has to be made overly clear to the audience.

Also the camera shots could be perfected, and my acting more neutral. In the scene when me and Shamima were walking up the stairs, I felt awkward in front of the camera thus I acted in a way that was not neutral. I was showing awareness of the camera's presence which made the scene look unprofessional.