Friday 28 October 2011

Album cover research!

As I have chosen to design a digipak for one of my ancillary tasks, I decided to research into other female R&B artist's album covers, in order to get some inspiration and make my digipak as authentic as possible!












From my research I have found that close ups of the artists face is very common, I particularly liked 'Loud' by Rhianna 'Here I Am' by Kelly Rowland and Alexis Jordan's. I am partial to the extreme close up of the face and the large, clear font of either/both the artists name and album name! However I also really like Jennifer Lopez's 'Como ama una mujer' I really like how the artist's name and album name is written slanted and diagonally down the side, this makes the cover a bit more interesting and different!    
I am really keen to create something similar and plan to shoot some photos to create a comparable and accurate effect! Depending on how my shoot turns out will determine the style of album cover that stimulates my ideas.       

Wednesday 26 October 2011

H&M advertisement.



I have been inspired by the latest H&M advertisements, I really like the way they have used split screens. Since researching into R&B genre music videos, I have found split screens to be very popular! I will definitely be using this technique in my own video, and these adverts have given me a few ideas and inspiration! 

Wednesday 19 October 2011

Mise en Scene- Hair and makeup research!

As my actress will be wearing five different outfits, I will need to create five different hair and makeup looks, which will contribute to making my footage more interesting.
I came across the female R&B artist Fergie and her music video 'Glamorous' which helps to back up my idea. Throughout this video she changes outfits numerous times, along with her hair style and makeup. Although not all of her costumes are similar to the ones that I have chosen, I have taken a lot of inspiration and ideas from her music video. 

The first two costumes are formal dresses, in the shots where these are worn I will need to incorporate an apropriate hair and makeup look which will fit the style of an R&B artist. I decided to do some more research on this style and the artists wearing formal dresses in their music video's tended to have a 'loosley curled' hair and quite dramatic makeup. I particularly like this look from Leona Lewis's music video 'Bleeding Love' and hope to re-create something similar for my artist (actress.)


The next look is more casual, and involves black high-wasted skinny jeans and lace. When researching costume, the two R&B artists i came across who were sporting this look (Pixie Lott and Alexandra Burke) both had straight hair with reasonably dramatic makeup. My next step was to find more examples of this look featured in R&B music videos, to give me a little more inspiration!
I really like the hair and makeup combo that Nicole Scherzinger is sporting in the Pussy Cat Dolls video to 'I hate this part'. The makeup is minimal compared to the previous look and the hair (although extremely long) is similar to what I am hoping to achieve!

The last two outfits our very casual, and will both involve minimal makeup, which is what i have found whilst researching costume. I have also found that when R&B artists wear the 'vest top and jeans' outfit or the 'leather jacket' their hair tends to be up, or un-styled. I will most likely keep the makeup the same for both outfits, but perhaps change the hairstyles to keep my footage as interesting as possible! Whilst researching, I found a couple of hair and makeup styles that inspired me! The 'Fishtail braid' seems to be a very popular trend for female R&B artists. Fergie, Leona Lewis, Rhianna, Jennifer Hudson, Cheryl Cole and Alisha Dixon or all R&B artists which have sported this look, therefore I know that this would be an accurate style to use in my music video! 

Tuesday 18 October 2011

putting costumes together!

This afternoon Alice and I went through our wardrobes in order to create costumes that closely resemble the outfits i found whilst researching mise en scene (see here) I have decided that I will want at least 4 different outfits in order to make my music video more interesting! I needed to put together a formal dress, leather, casual and lace look, and these are my results!!







Next I need to create some hair and makeup looks which resemble to other female R&B artists!

Friday 14 October 2011

Music Video Inspiration



During today's lesson a concern was raised about my prime location- The studio. As a lot of students will be using the school's photography studio in their videos, I feel the need to make it look unique and perhaps altered slightly, considering the majority of my footage will be taken in this location. 
I came across this music video by the former R&B girl band, The Pussycat Dolls- 'I don't need a man'. 
I am aware That this involves more than one artist, but it does predominantly concentrate on the main singer Nicole Scherzinger. I really like how the footage has been edited, the beat of the song is very quick and the editing meets the speed! The shot changes are very fast, and the footage has been edited with various tools such as a 'grainy effect' and also black and white.


I also really like the zooms throughout this video, and feel that this allows a lot more movement to the footage, without literally moving the camera. Although I will be doing this, I am inspired that I can also create movement when filming on the tripod (when it comes to editing.) These zooms are really fast creating a relationship between the music and the visuals (Goodwin's theory)



It also seems that certain shots have been cropped slightly during editing?

The whole video is shot in the same location, but adding these zooms and crops (along with the fast jump cuts and props!) makes it a lot more interesting! I really want to include a lot of these ideas in my own music video, although my track doesn't have quite as fast of a beat, i feel that i could work around the song and re-create these filming/editing techniques to fit the track  am using! I would also like to try changing the background colour, this could also make my video look different to others who are using the same location!

Monday 10 October 2011

Location Inspiration- Bedroom.

I want to include at least two locations in my music video. I decided to do a little research into other music videos, performed by artists similar to mine.
The 'bedroom scene' appears to be very popular! And I particularly like the idea of using the vanity/mirror, filming the actress's reflection!



I found inspiration from three different music video's. Beyonce- Irreplaceable, which has previously caught my attention. Maria Carey- We Belong Together, and Rhianna- Unfaithful. (All shown above) This appears to be a trend within female R&B artists music videos, therefore it would be both appropriate and relevant to incorporate it into my own. 

I have dressing table in my bedroom which I think could work quite well! I need to decided whether it would be more effective shooting in daylight or at night time as it is positioned in front or my window. 
I also like the idea of using an armchair, this would allow the footage to be a little more interesting, as although the actress will be in the same room, she would be in a slightly different location. 


I was inspired by R&B artist Shontelle's music video, T-Shirt. I really like the way she is giving a direct approach, I intend to use this technique throughout my video and this could be an appropriate setting for it! I conveniently have an armchair in my bedroom, which I think could be used to re-create this setting!


Thursday 6 October 2011

Inspiring Music Video!

Whilst doing some Mise en Scene research, I came across this music video by Jennifer Hudson- Spotlight. I particularly like her attitude towards the male character and the way they have been positioned and filmed! I am not so interested in the 'caressing' shots, but i do however really like the pushing away, and the males gestures!



Monday 3 October 2011

Ancillary Tasks!

Along with making our own music videos, we are also expected to create two of the three set Ancillary tasks:

  • Website
  • Digipak
  • Magazine Advert

The presentation below show's my research on each of the tasks!

Saturday 1 October 2011

Mise en scene Research- costume!

Female Actress
I decided to do some research on R&B music video costumes, as I need to start thinking about collecting outfits for my actress to wear! It is crucial for me to get the costume accurate to make my music video look realistic!  

As I watched various music video's by female R&B artists i noticed four different attire's which i would like to include in my own music video!

The 'formal dress' was a recurring outfit in each music video I watched! I have a couple of dresses, and so does Alice, similar to these, so they will not be a problem to get hold of!   

The 'Leather Look' is also a popular choice for female R&B artists! As the latest music video's include this style, I feel it vital to incorporate it into my music video, to make it look all the more accurate!

The 'Casual Look' is also very common. Many current artists such as Alexis Jordan sport this trend! This should be really easy to put together, as all we will need is a plain vest top, distressed jeans, and perhaps some heals?

A less popular look is the 'Lace Look'. However current R&B artists such as Pixie Lott and Alexandra Burke have worn this look in their music video's and I really like it! I own lace outfits so this is a bonus!
Now that i know the styles of costume I want to include in my music video, i just need to collect together some items to create the outfits!

Male Actor

i want to keep the males costume simple, just like his role. I think either a white or Black plain T-shirt and Jeans would work best! And I am sure that Luke already owns these items of clothing!