Commentary - Pop Promo Evaluation

Here is a Commentary that I have created to back up my points made in my written evaluation. I wrote the questions myself which are basically a simplified version of the questions asked in the evaluation. The person reading the questions is my brother Charlie. I also added final edited clips of the pop promo to run with my commentary so the audience will understand exactly what I am evaluating. There are two parts below:

A2 Coursework Breif "What I Will Be Doing This Year" 2010/2011

Music Video Album Promotions Coursework Project
Using a range of technical skills within media I will produce a promotional package e.g. Music Video, CD Digipack and Small Advertisement to promote the ban Distraction that are featured in the Music Video. I have been teamed up with two other people; Charlotte Clarke and Josh Harvey. Together we will each take responsibility for each element of the production i.e. Cinematography, Editing, Art Design, Paperwork etc.
The progress of the promotional package can be recognised through this blog in which I will post updates weekly soon after every practical media lesson. After the completion of the promotional package I will then complete an interactive evaluation of the project in which I will focus particularly on the areas that I was responsible for.

(detailed reference of project aim)
What I will be doing this year is creating a music video, adding some of my own genre characteristics and narrative/concept basing it while working with a band that are on a music course at Suffolk New College. The band are called Distraction and their main genre focus in music is the rock genre, having already chosen a song all that is left to do is create the music video. (Song Choice: "Let The Sun Shine" by Labrinth. The project will involve team effort so I am not in this alone. I also have to discuss with the band how they should dress and what image they should present on the day of shooting the music video.
Theory work will also be involved with my other media teacher where i will be learning about how media is Globalised and how it will affect us, using Disney and Studio Ghibli (Anime) BBC News will be involved as I will be studying everything the network has to offer and just how much it can extend its reach throughout the world while changing to suit those of different regional backgrounds

Evaluation: Promotional Package, A2 Media

Before creating my own Promotional Package I researched one because I had to and it was also ideal for me as I was quite unfamiliar about them. I've always said that Distraction remind me of a UK version of the US band Nickelback. Their mixture of Hardcore Rock with Soft Rock, the cover songs that they choose involve fast-paced, sensitive, loud rock music which more or less matched Nickelbacks style of performance and lyric creation. The way which Distraction wanted to be presented was similar to Nickelbacks established look. I wanted our narrative to have a cross-over with the performance making it more close to home for the band which would have symbolically drawn them into the narrative; this would have been similar to Nickelbacks "Remind Me" or Enrique Iglesias' "Hero" however the band had to keep to a recording schedule as part of their course and unfortunatly had no other free time after the filming of the music video.

I may have also wanted more romantic encounters in the narrative to really emphasise love as well as sexual tension between the two which is common in most music video that have a romantic narrative however my co-workers deemed this idea embarassing, I would have made it so its done in an artful way but everyone was against it. It was hard to establish more of an interesting character in the male and female because it would risk taking more attention away from the band and promoting them less but I did make good use of Camera Shots to possible establish some type of iconic shot throughout of the whole music video; my personal favourite would be the Spotlight beaming down on the lead singer which I thought emphasised the title "Let the Sun Shine" One of the Camera Shots we used was the "Meet Cue" that was most recently used in the Romantic/Action film "The Adjustment Bureau" a shot which instantly establishes romantic interest between a couple on-screen (fancy CU) this was a classic move and just had to be used for our narrative. The setting of the music video was in a basic place where band would just practise in the college, it was not quite what I had in mind but over time I got used to the idea of keeping it simple and authentic; it reminded me of Rick Springfields "Jessie's Girl" as during the chorus Rick would sing in an unattractive yet a potential setting for great music to be made.


For my CD cover and Print Ad it was hard to think of a picture for the front cover that would really catch people attention but rather than just using up more time thinking of a band logo I decided to use a picture of Clouds, Sun Rays that would help emphasise the albums title alot more. It was a very decent idea because it was not a one-off completely because most famous bands have used it on their album covers like ACDCs "Blow Up Your Video" and U2s "The Joshua Tree" the pictures on these album covers took the song titles quite literally like I did in the end. The simple picture on the CD Cover has the possibility of becoming iconic which happened to Pink Floyd with their "Dark Side of the Moon" logo. An original idea of mine was to use the Fight Club font for Distractions logo because I admire director David Fincher for his work on Madonna's "Vogue"

and films that involved the dark effect like our music video did however it did not really work with the Sunshine background which worked more with the title yet the Fight Club font worked more in creating the bands image but in the end I chose the Sunshine picture. The pace of the music was just beautiful because Distraction had really evolved it from its original RnB counterpart; the keyboard playing and slow bass strumming put me in mind of the works of soundtrack composer Harry Gregson-Williams with his most recent work in Ben Afflecks "The Town" this section from the soundtrack helped emphasise the romance and innocense in the film so I wanted to take a leaf out of his book in terms of pace, only at the most calm stages did we introduce our narrative in the music video.

I think that all three elements of my promotional package constructs Distractions star appeal to appear light-hearted and sensitive yet dark and moody, this is noticeable on the CD cover how everything is just Sunny on the cover but as you venture inside and see the B&W effect it contrasts greatly to what you just saw and keeps Distraction a mystery to the audience that may be dying to know more about them, possibly gives the impression the less you know the better. Also with the introduction of the Pleasantville effect to the B&W music video boosts the romantic side to the song and gives the band an image of fiery passion judging by colour codes and representation. It also pays tribute to the 1993 iconic film "Schindlers List" (the girl with the red coat during nazi invasion) I put together the effects in the music video to help it appeal to our target audience. The Print Ad was the same with the contrasted colours but with the mention of a concert coming up at several O2 arenas would be sure to have a bigger impact on our target audience. It was hard to construst the CD Cover and Print Advert to promote the rock genre but I think with the use of the dark filmstrip style it could pay tribute and promote how the rock genre has evolved this decade and how Distraction altered RnB to their rock style. The excessive use of instruments in the Cinematography in the music video keep it in the rock genre despite the romantic side of it. As a result of all these ideas put into the Music Video, CD Cover and Print Ad I think it was pretty successful, the B&W effect thrown in with the Pleasantville made the video beautiful to watch on the screen and judging by audience and band feedback the music video had a pretty good response. For the CD cover it was the filmstrip idea that most people found interesting which I thought really gave the promo pack a big boost, positioning the font as a crossword really helped the background picture to emphasise the Sunshine and the same goes for the Print Ad as it included all the pros from the CD Cover and was kept simple for audiences.

Response to our Pop Promo was generally positive from the rest of my media class however they hinted that they wanted some more in depth treatment with the development of the narrative; in other words they wanted the romance to have more of an impact in the music video. The audience also wanted more various camera shots to be used during the bands performance which focused on more than just the lead singer; particularly on the Bass players and Keyboard guy. Other than this constructive critisism the Pop Promo was quite successful in entertainment mostly due to the bands mind-blowing performance. When I screened the Pop Promo (music video) to the band; Distraction they were pleasantly surprised with the narrative and how it emphasised their music through the romance while they were also amazed at how the editing had made their performance look very professional because a few members were beginning to become unsure to whether they had made the right song choice, the band really enjoyed the music video so it was a big success in this area of the audience category. I have learned that my 'acting skills' are a big hit in the music video, my facial expressions for the love at first sight scenes are incredibly over-the-top yet my media class insisted that they worked well in order to establish the romantic narrative quicker. I didnt just depend on possible entertainment for positive feedback, I had to research certain target audiences and their other interests in order to determine whether they would find Distraction and the Pop Promo to their liking. Males and Females seem to contrast to one another in music tastes when rock music has been turned into a hybrid for example: Females tend to prefer Rock/Pop like Miley Cyrus and how she has adopted classic 80s rock music and evolved it to suit her female target audience.


Males prefer their rock music to either be hyped up into Gothic music like Marilyn Manson or to have it clash with Indie; taking us back to Nickelback once again.


It was hard to get solid feedback from the audience and the band for the CD Cover and Print Advert as they were both finally completed on the day before all the coursework had to be handed in so unfortunatly I do not have any solid feedback only some opinions from the media class who said that they were attractive products for advertisement and the CD Cover was a good stab at emphasising the emotions and style in the music video. My mood at the time of creating the Print Ad was just to get it done and dusted but I suppose if I had more time I would probably beef it up more to give it that strong persuasive language and attractive in-your-face design; this would require a weeks planning before hand though in order to get it just perfect. it was hard to embrace new technology because I think that music videos used considerably less technology during the filming stage than the film noirs did for the AS year. The type of camera I used was a Canon HDV 1080i (handheld) with all the essentials such as Tapes, Tripods etc. As you know I have used this Blog to record all stages of the project and keep all my work organized, sharing the CD Cover, Pop Promo and Print Ad online to the public. A Compressor was used to upload the Pop Promo to the blog. I felt that Animatics were slightly unecessary as I had already made a Storyboard for part of the planning and development stage plus we were slightly behind scheduale with the filming stage. In order to apply the Pleasantville effect to my Pop Promo I had to learn how to do it so I used Youtube for my source as my teacher was unfamiliar with this particular effect, the video on Youtube walked me through the process of creating the Pleasantville effect.

Print Advert for Album Release (Final)

Here is the final design for the Print Advert that will advertise the Album "Let the Sun Shine" release and be part of Distractions promotional package. The Print Ad contains some of the designs and styles from the CD cover in order to avoid confusion and to keep it simpler.
CLICK PHOTO FOR A SHARPER IMAGE

"Let the Sun Shine" Album CD Cover (Final)

The Front cover (right square) and the Back cover (left square) of Distractions Album "Let the Sun Shine"
CLICK PHOTOS FOR A SHARPER IMAGE

The Inside cover of Distractions Album "Let the Sun Shine" where the disc will go and where I added my Filmstrip effect to serve as a frame for the screencaps from the music video.

FINAL CD COVER

Distraction's Feedback (Music Video)

Tuesday 3rd May 2011 - During my theoretical Media Lesson I was given the surprising news that I had to show my final edit to the band: Distraction in order to get their view on the whole thing and to post the feedback on the blog. Due to the surprise I had to quickly gather some questions together that will be the most relevant and easy to understand, these questions is what I asked Distraction after the showing of my
Music Video. The only members of the band to review my Music Video were the Bass Players: Jake & Nathan (left) as the other members were in recording sessions.

1. Is this how you would like to be portrayed? (Jake) "Well kind of.... but I did think that our ideas for a performance were pretty dumb and needed more effort put into it" (Nathan) "....but the music video is cool its hard to notice our banal performance concept"



2. Is the Black & White a good idea? (Jake) "I liked it...I thought it was very beautiful to watch on the screen" (Nathan) "I don't know....I would have liked to have seen more colour especially in the final scene"



3. Do you think the pace of the music video runs smooth enough with the rhythm of the song"Let the Sun Shine"? (Jake) "Yeah I think it runs perfectly, slow and romantic sort of thing going on there" (Nathan) "Yeah its fine"



4. What about The Pleasantville effect? (Jake) "I love the red! it looks cool" (Nathan) "Yeah its awesome! has a nice symbolic effect on the narrative"



5. Do you like the Romantic Narrative? (Jake) "The narrative was a nice surprise, I didnt expect it" (Nathan) "Its good to have a merge of ideas, a good representation of our song"



6. Anything need correcting? (Jake) "The Synchronisation, it should run with the guitarists during the solo chorus instead of the Drummer" (Nathan) "I want to see a clip of me and Jake when we stood up to perform the final solo along with the lead guitarist"



7. Was the Setting a good location or was it too cramped for a performance? (Jake) "Slightly, we wanted to stand up alot more during filming but we couldn't"



8. Finally was the 'Larkin Around' scenes a good addition as well as the narrative? (Nathan) "that was hilarious mate" loads of laughing during the showing of the Music Video.
   

Distraction showed signs of dislike towards their final song choice of "Let the Sun Shine" when they were talking about the lack of effort in their own ideas. Jake also added that it was weird to see Ollie performing in Jakes voice but it still works. After the interview I told Jake and Nathan to give the rest of the band my best and that it was a pleasure to work with talented musicians like them. I apologised for the absentiesm of the other members of my group.

CD & Ad: Research & Development (more in-depth info)

The CD Cover
My promotional package challanges forms from other media products. To create my CD cover design I mostly wanted to create a cover that emphasises my narrative which expresses the songs title quite literally "Let the Sun Shine" I began by taking pictures of sunlight with a Sony Ericksson W610i cameraphone in my garden which was my first rough idea however I began to develop a final solid idea with the picture due to lack of ideas and planning from the other members of my group. My contribution idea had no choice but to become the final photo for the CDs front cover. Using the "Photoshop" application on the Apple MAC I was able to manipulate the pictures Brightness and Contrast; giving my photo a moody and mysterious vibe to it which would emphasise the B&W effect that was used in the Music Video. While altering my picture I introduced purple to the blue sky to make it seem more bazaar yet beautiful and interesting to look at. This basic picture would probably echo the simple yet iconic CD covers used throughout the decades such as Pink Floyds "Dark Side of the Moon" etc. After creating this beautiful illusion I had to create a font that would also echo the song created by Distraction. The colour of sunshine I thought would go perfectly with the dark background in order to make it really stand out to audiences however there was a problem because I was never satisfied of the layout of both the album title and the band name. The typeface that I wanted would have worked really well however it came with a white border that I was unable to remove as I found it on the internet. I then decided to form them as almost a crossword puzzle as one letter in both names can link them vertically and horizontally (using the standard text feature on Photoshop) I altered the size of the photo and stretched it across the front, spine and back cover of the CD, on the back I added additional fake songs to the setlist; turning the single into an album (more cover songs) To begin with I wanted to take screenshots from my Music Video and place them next to each other to create a chessboard layout in the inner cover next to the disc. I chose pictures that expressed the style and emotion that I wanted to create which also paid tribute to the David Fincher style; in a nutshell it was just beautiful to look at onscreen. After some guidance from my tutor I had decided to change the plain chessboard layout look and place the individual pictures next to each other in the form of a negative filmstrip with the authentic borders around the pictures as well. This created that "rough but cool" image that I wanted for the band.

The Print Advert

For the Print Advert I had to use Photoshop on Apple MAC once again however I did feel that the quality of my potential advertisement will be as strong as my CD Cover if I kept with this particular programme. I thought it would be a good idea to re-use some of the interesting effects that I had created on my CD cover; copy and paste that onto the Print Advert. Powerpoint might come into the mix because I had originally created a Concert Ad as a first draft; so again I will be able to copy and paste original ideas and edit them on Photoshop like I edited my Garden photos on Photoshop and made them project a symbolic mood to the audience. I have often seen Print Adverts in such famous magazines such as Nuts, Zoo, Rolling Stone, Heat etc. and these have given be a basic idea because I didnt really want to create "just another" Print Ad like all the rest, I wanted mine to stand out and really catch attention. I added 'fake' quotes to the Print Ad to give more publicity and it will further help to attract an audience as they will gain an experts point of view on the CD; it is the same with star ratings. These things help an audience make their decision.

Distraction Music Video "Let the Sun Shine"

Audience Profiles: Male/Female

Male • A younger teenage boy 13-15 • Skater boy • Interested in pop and soft rock • Liked bands and musicians; Mcfly, sum41, blink 182, the wanted, example and Ed Sheeran. • Hobbies include; skating, football, gaming, films and listening to music • Works as a paper boy or waiter.

Female • Slightly older teenager • “Girly girl” • Interested in pop and r’n’b • Liked bands and musicians include; the wanted, JLS, Taio Cruz, N-Dubz and Michael Buble. • Hobbies include things like; socializing with friends, reading celeb magazines, cinema and shopping. • Works in retail or hairdressing.

Originally Created by Josh Harvey

New Pictures by George Duric-Last

Feedback for "Let the Sun Shine" Music Video

Here is the Feedback for our music video given to use by our Teacher and our Classmates on Friday 25th March 2011. We all watched "Let the Sun Shine" and other peoples music videos with other bands in which we all exchanged opinions and praise. The feedback were based around the questions below. Does the Music Video work with the Song Lyrics/Music? "Yes, i think its an excellent representation of a lost person finally finding a reason to live again" "I think the song is lovely, how it is transformed from club music to a melody with meaning and heart" "A nice relaxed feel to it and the band are well suited to the music video" "The Bass players need more screen time in the music video i think" "I love your reactions, George!" Anything to suggest? "Need a final shot of the two main characters together" "Maybe its a bit too dark?" "I would have like to have seen a wider range of locations in the Music Video" "Bit of a polish with more Wide Shots" "Would like to see more of the Larkin' Around" "Either need more of the flashing light effect or none at all" "Interested to see a CD cover" "Maybe a bit more colour for the sunshine, making it more dominant" Representation? "Calm band, relates to The Red Hot Chilli Peppers" "Indie, anti-superstar representation of the band" "Slightly Charty" "Similar to Nickelback, Blink-182 or Kings of Leon (the band)" What did you like in the Music Video? Editing & Creativity? "The Black and White works very well in the music video" "It's great being up close to the lead singer during the chorus" "The RED effect is very nice, a good representation of romance in a B&W video" "I like the darker contrast effect" "The pace and mood is brilliant, easy to follow and keeps with the speed of the music" "Narrative works quite well"

The Room: Setting for the Music Video

Here are some pictures of the location used in the music video; the bands (Distractions) performance area. This is the location which I thought brought out the natural basic rehearsal effect, not for work but for fun. These pictures mainly focus on the instruments that the band plays but it still gives you a general idea of where they performed. There are some pictures of the Recording Studio that was next door which was where some of the music video was filmed i.e. Larkin' around flashbacks and Light effects. I thought it would be a good idea to create this post to show audiences where it all began for Distraction.

Storyboards for Music Video (Plan)

The storyboards were compulsory to the Planning and Development area of the project however I now know that thet demonstrate the very first basic plan we had for the narrative (a quick example of a treatment) and how we would put it all together on Final Cut Pro. I drew all the sketches and action description with a bit of help from my group, they were coming round to the idea of making it a romance because I said that it will go well with the lyrics and music. I intended to do at least 3-4 scenes of the male and female characters becoming closer to each other emotionally after the meet cue but due to the length of the song and the main plan was to promote the band so we could not let the narrative dominate the music video. After the meet cue there will be one more scene before the final shot. Altogether our narrative probably fits the duration of 1min 30secs. There was no mention of the B&W and RED effect at this early stage of the project.

"Let the Sun Shine" Lyrics + Pictures (Distraction)

I feel a cold flush going through my hair
and hey you know what
I don't even care
The time has passed me by
Its gone with the wind
Its all because the sun shined once again
Now the party's on
Everybody's there
And if you don't know anyone
You'll still meet some new friends
That's the way it is
When i have myself a drink
All because the sun shines once again

Let the sunshine
Let the sunshine baby
Let it all go
Let it all go baby
Let the sunshine
Let the sunshine baby
Let it all go
Let it all go baby

So turn the lights off
Ain't no one afraid
When the night comes
It'll be just like the day
And without the day light
I am glowing from within
All because the sun shined once again
So play that sweet tune
Play it through the air
And the volume

Raise it up
Don't you ask me twice
You know i'm gonna bid
All because the sun shined once again

Let the sunshine
Let the sun shine baby
Let it all go
Let it all go baby
Let the sun shine
Let the sun shine baby
Let it all go
Let it all go baby

I know that the world is gonna smile again
When we go from the darkness into the light
Ohhh

Let the sunshine
Let the sunshine
Let the sunshine
Let the sunshine baby
Let it all go
Let it all go baby
Let the sunshine
Let the sunshine baby
Let it all go
Let it all go baby (x2)
Let the sunshine yeahyeah eh eyy

The (In Depth) Treatment for the Music Video

Distractions Performance
Our band Distraction will be the main feature throughout the music video despite our dark romantic narrative; our aim is to promote the band. We will be filming in the college music room just next door to the recording studio where the band creates their magic. The room was quite cramped for a performance however I thought that it would work well as it would show the authentic "beginning" that Distraction had at SNC. It will be quite simple to fit them all in a camera shot together but we will do several run throughs of the band performing their song "Let the Sun Shine" The focus will be on the band as a whole but I think we should add a little extra focus to the main singer because his voice dominates the track. CUs and mid-shots of each performer, using at least 3 long shots from different points and angles in the room in order to capture the bands performance as a whole. I may pull some focus away from the bass players in the music videos final edit as there are 2-3 of them; the melody they create supports the song perfectly so I will not make their presence completely unknown. Going through several takes of the song and each time focusing on different performers i.e. drums, lead guitar, pianist etc. We will hand the camera to Distraction and let them mess around with it in order to capture them away from strangers and it will go well with the tech shots to create a compilation of the recording studio. We will also use a B&W effect on their performance in order to blend them in with the narrative.

The Narrative
We will start of with some long shots to establish both the male character and the setting, also I think it will help the audience notice the B&W effect in the narrative. An interesting low-angle shot of the male charater on the balcony of the atrium as it portrays him looming over the other students yet he is powerless, make the brightness and contrast a bit deeper to show his dark mood; possibly noticeable to audience. The computer screen effect would be perfect to give artificial light to the dark surroundings - CU, reaction shot to computers failed search of his identity. The hallways of the media department are usually deserted in lesson hours so it will be perfect to film part of the narrative there which will help further separate our tortured male character from the rest of the world, I was hoping to film an additional scene featuring Distraction - a long shot to show them kicking out the male character from the band making him an outcast and giving him some origin in the narrative however it seems unlikely and I think Distraction are not the narrative type of band. In order to shed some light onto the narrative I think it will be interesting to move the setting outdoors yet still keeping it in B&W which will help with the lightening of the mood when the male will notice the female character and then the romance genre will come into play. Filming Charlotte will consist of a few long shots; introducing her to the narrative as a random student, the camera will pan horizontally when she walks. A quick jump cut, CU reaction shot of the male noticing her. A point of view shot watching her as she walks past him without noticing his gaze. After the elongated chorus performance by Distraction will lead to the introduction of the meet cue between the two characters causing the lust to become mutual, CUs of the eyes and hands as we will do the traditional scene of teenagers meeting in school. The RED effect will be used to symbolise the love in order to do this we will use red clothing/accessory items. A few more scenes like the meet cue will eventually lead to the final shot of the male and female character together which will be the perfect final shot, possibly fade to black.

Group Presentation of Distraction

Group Presentation A2 Media

View more presentations from GeorgeDL1993.

Here is our group presentation in which we pitched our idea to the class and the teacher. We have made references to the original creator/performer of "Let the sun shine" and given our ideas of the narrative which we think will run smoothly with the music and band performance. We have also made references to other music videos of bands such as Nickelback and Kings of Leon to convey examples of the mood and MES that we wish to project in our music video. Some ideas have been updated since this but it still remains a pretty solid idea of what audiences will experience in our music video.

Report on Questionnaire

Having a mp3 recording of 'Let the sun shine' and an A4 picture of them helped the participants gain a little knowledge of the band so that they weren't completely clueless about the questionnaire.

Do you think this song works with a contemporary rock band like Distraction?
Most of the participants of this questionnaire are fans of the more contemporary rock genre and felt that the song choice worked perfectly with Distraction and emphasised their new, hip attitude while still paying homage to the classic rock genre through their unique style.

Do you like the look of them for a new rock band?
Mostly positive results for this question even though Distraction does not seem to offer anything new to the rock world that has not been discovered before st some point. This question was just a matter of opinion which can be affected by the participants liking of rock.

Would you go see them play live?
Most people asked me in return 'how much would it cost?' This clearly states that the certain participant felt moved/attracted to further exploring this new rock band at their college but was still snapped out of it with price queries. This is still a strong barrier for a potential audience for Distraction but hopefully with the release of 'Let the sun shine' the price issue will no longer matter and the new song will captivate alot more people.

One of their songs on your iPod?
Most people looked at me and said why not however a larger majority of them seemed unsure of their answer; as if they needed more of Distractions work in order to decide whether they can fit into their playlist.

Are you interested in viewing a music video, featuring Distraction?
Participants became intrigued when I mentioned this and I explained further how it would be about the song I just played them and would involve a story to go with the song. All the participants said YES either to be polite or the fact that they just wanted to explore the band much further.

Do you see this band going further beyond college and making a productive music career?
Nearly all participants were very unsure but they said why not and explained how they looked cool and played, sounded alright thatb they were bound to get noticed by someone sooner or later. They also hinted the possiblity in their own opinion that a label company would not say no to these guys.

Do you like this band, Who do they remind you of?
Everyone liked Distraction however there were no similaritiesin their choices of who they reminded them of HOWEVER two people said thaty they remineded them of Nickelback judging by their appearence in clothes and hair. This proves my theory that the band are similar to Nickelback and are creative like them etc, see my band comparison post

Do you think that the Rock Genre has improved over the years?
The people that I asked were students at SNC and were mostly interested in the more contemporary rock music which highlights their interest in Distraction. Only very few seemed to think that classic rock was unbeatable or that the rock genre has stayed the same throughout the decades.

Test Footage, Samples 1&2

These test samples demonstrate the RED effect that me and my group wish to create in our pop music video. The red hoody will stand out as we will B&W the rest of the screen, this effect will relate to the oscar-winning film Schindlers List (1993) when the red effect was used to represent emotions such as innocence and vulnerability. However we are using this effect to demonstrate the romantic side to this dark naarative; making it one of the positive outcomes of this depressing story. These shots right here will not be used in the pop promo. They were filmed in the college which is the main location of the music videos narrative. The RED effect will not be used on the band as we wish to project their full image and not have it altered in any way. Distraction was unfamiliar with this effect and on the day of filming they wanted to perform in their own style.The luminous jacket (Test Sample #1) effect will not be used in the music video, its just an example to show how many different effects we were willing to test out. In the end we all decided that the RED effect was more powerful and helped relate to the narrative in a symbolic way.

Here is the picture; the reference to the iconic Pleasantville Effect that was created in Schindlers List (1993) "The Girl in the Red Coat" The only item in the B&W film to contain colour.

Final Synopsis for Music Video (3rd draft)

After the final review of different versions of the music video synopsis from each member of our group we finally decided to smash them all together in order to create a narrative to which we all contributed to. In my own opinion I thought that this new idea would really work with the effect that I personally wanted to create (David Fincher-style MES) The O Block idea is gone due to property conflicts between Suffolk New College and UCS.

The first scene would involve the main character in the technical area of the recording room at SNC with the band performing "Let the sun shine" through the glass, creating a barrier between him and them which will be explained further on in our narrative. The main character will have drink and cigarettes on show to show that his current state is negative which will make the B&W more understandable. The main character still tries to have some sort of link with the band, however remote; he storms out of the recording room, the band pays no attention to him.
Scene two I suggested that before we brighten things up a bit we should further emphasise his feeling of non-exsistance by having him sit at a college computer and search himself (name, identity) on the internet which will lead to "0 results found" being sent back to him, almost as if he was fading from exsistence.
At least 3-4 scenes in this music video will involve the narrative automatically switching back to the bands performance when the chorus is about to be played. This would be a good way not to distract the audiences focus from Distraction giving them a bigger boost in popularity. They will be involve in the mood changing sequence when B&W will flicker until turning into colour.
The main character will drift outside, still on college grounds suggesting that he is still a student, a flashback sequence will take place from here showing the audience that he was once a member of Distraction and was kicked out for unknown reasons which has led to his spiralling downfall and inner demons. It all looks like gloom and doom for the main character until he basically falls in love at first sight when we introduce our femal character who also has a main role in our narrative. She will be wearing bright colours (red) which will introduce the change from B&W to colour, new inner feelings for the male character. Male character sees her but then the scene will switch to Distraction once again. The narrative will then lead to a string of random encounters where the male and female will run into each other over a period of at least 3 scenes in our narrative which will lead up to the big finish, the relationship will blossom alot more through these clips.
The final shot will be filmed in the Large music room next door to the recording studio, this scene will focus more on the band itself; possibly involving scenes of them setting up, having a laugh with one another. This is all in order to present their image to the audience making them more understandable and likable with the younger audience (that they are not completly professional, more fun) Their live performance will be mimed but set up to look as if it wasn't with the main characters observing them which will establish that the male doesnt need them anymore now that he has a new love interest.
I think this narrative was the right way to go in the end because it is more about the band and our narrative is not too confusing for the audience.

List of all Locations, Props and Costumes needed

Locations
Recording Studio/Booth, Suffolk New College – This location will be used for a majority of the bands performance throughout the music video “Let the sun shine”
The Learning Curve, Suffolk New College – 2nd scene that serves to the narrative where the main character is descending into darkness and his existence is fading. Google’s himself – 0 results.
College grounds, Suffolk New College – Important scene where the character sees his new love interest and the mood of the narrative becomes brighter and the stylistics change featuring more colours.
Recording Studio/Booth, Suffolk New College – Flashback sequence of main characters dismissal from Distraction.
Random Locations around SNC – These small 20-sec clips will brighten the mood continuously and will eventually blossom the relationship between the two main characters.
Large music room, Suffolk New College – Final scene, boosted performance from Distraction featuring the same song, only a different setting. Closing sequence for relationship that has finally bloomed and is strong, Distraction is performing better and the main character does not need them anymore.

Props
Instruments mainly associated with the rock genre and featured in the song. Guitar/Bass, Drums/Symbol, Microphone etc.
(Optional) Alcohol bottle, Lit cigarette in order to emphasise the depression the main character is encountering in early scenes.
Windows PC, Keyboard used when the main character Google’s himself which will serve as a symbolic feature showing the fading of his existence.

Costumes
Black denim, Black jackets at the start to emphasise the dark mood and current state of the main character. (worn by the band, main character but different style)
White T-shirts in order to represent the change of mood for the narrative. (worn by the band)
(Optional) Red Jacket, Dress this will be used to create unique effects with Final Cut Pro be a reference to Sin City etc. (worn by the female main character)
Casual Bright Clothes another change of style to go with the newly established lighter mood featured in the music video. (worn by both main characters)

Target Audience Questionnaire

Firstly small introduction for the participant, explaining Distraction.
Using Sony Ericsson WALKMAN W610i play a sample of “Let the sun shine” by Distraction to a participant in the questionnaire.

Do you think this song works with a contemporary rock band like Distraction?
Circle one answer:
YES NO

Show them an A4 band picture of Distraction with their image and instruments.














Do you like the look of them for a new rock band?
Circle one answer:
YES NO

Would you go to see them play live?
Circle one answer:
YES NO

Would you ever pay money to have access to one of their live performances or in order to have one of their songs on your iPod?
Circle one answer:
YES NO

Are you interested in viewing a music video featuring this band?
Circle one answer:
YES NO

In your own opinion, do you see this band going far and making a productive career?
Circle one answer:
YES NO

Do you like this Band?
Circle one answer:
YES NO

Who does this band remind you of?
Participants answer:

Do you think the Rock genre has improved over the years?
Circle one answer:
YES AVERAGE NO

What is your favourite instrument?
Participants answer:


SIGNED: