This is my final website link: http://samdotwilkinson.wix.com/katenashmusic#

This is the final page of my website, encouraging fans to get in touch. My inspiration for the top sentence was from a shampoo bottle; "Questions? Give us a ring, send us an email, or even put pen to paper. We like getting letters, no one does it these days and it makes us feel special". I liked how informative and friendly it sounded, so I decided to use it on my website.

This is the forth page of my website, outlining tour dates for both the UK and the USA, matching dates on the home page.

This is the third page of my website, I feel including a gallery helps fans to feel closer to the artist. My inspiration for this page was from the official Kate Nash website, where she uses a few key images to create a simple but effective page.

This is the second page of my website titled "INFO". I decided to use this as I thought fans would like to know, and appreciate the background information of the artist. Of course the stats and the story is made up, but I feel it adds authenticity.

This is my finished website.

The main page is what audiences see first, but the part of the page i made sure was mose prominent was the top toolbar with the artist name and picture, as the purpose of a website is essentially to promote something. The next feature is a gallery, featuring pictures of the artist, landscapes and places relevant to the music and the lyrics. To the left is a link to the track "Merry Happy" on SoundCloud. It was difficult to tyr and find the track, as there is lots of different versions, but Im glad its on there. It adds a different dimension to the site, giving audiences the oppertunity to listen to the new track and most of all promote it. The three sections underneath are "latest news", "UK Arena Dates" and the twitter feed. The latest news segment is something that I think is essential for a website of this kind, fans and people discovering the artsit need to feel like they know what they are up to, new projects they are working on, gigs they are playing etc. On the right is tour dates, with start dates in the box's and locations on the right. Also, by clicking "BUY TICKETS" links to the seperate tour page with all the tour dates in one place. Underneath this is the fake twitter account I made to make the website look more authentic, which unfortunately cannot be accessed while not in school in any other format other than fireworks.

Below is how I linked the "BUY TICKETS" button to the tour page.

This is the twitter feed I created for the artist to add authenticity and to promote the artist and their work.

The camera I used to film my clips still isn't working, so I have started my ancillary tasks instead. This is the planning for my website. I decided to use a simple block layout, incorporating different media and a main banner with the artists name.

The new memory card reader online detected the files, and after taking it to the school technicians we have discovered the problem. The camera itself recorded the clips as a high definition file which could not be detected by my laptop, the card itself worked in the technicians windows computerand the clipsopened. However even with the reader the files could not be detected on mac. I will use the christmas holidays to hopefully find out how I can maybe change the file type or if it comes to it I will have to refilm in the new year.

This is how far I have got with my Digipak:

The bottom left hand picture used for the back cover of the digipak was planned, therefore fits perfectly and looks proffessional. I have taken the track names from "Made of Bricks" the real Kate Nash album, as it adds authenticity.

The bottom right hand picture is for the front cover, I planned it to be in the daytime to contrast the night time shot on the back. The text is the same as the back, with a larger siz for the artists name. I designed the front cover to really promote the artist. Big font on the artsits name, main shot of the artist herself. I also like the way the artist is looking into the distance, rather than directly addressing the audience.

The top right hand images are all of the artist with different facial expressions. I found this especially difficult to do, as all of the pictures had to be of a particular size and all fit together perfectly. To do this I used "free transform" to make sure each of the pictures were perfectly fitted to the template behind. This painstaking process did take a long long time, but I think it was worth it in the end. The inspiration for this idea of lots of different close ups partially came from the inside cover from Olly Murs debut album (see below)

The picture, or reel, shows the artist in different positions, to give the impression of the artist moving. I thought this was a very effective way of using still images on a digipak. which is why I decided to do a smiliar thing on mine, just with more images. I planned from the start to use the maximum amount of pictures possible in order to fill up the space, and really to promote the artist. It was also to show that the artist has lots of different aspects to her personality and that the songs on teh album are varied, throught the different facial expressions she pulls.

This is the website for Lily Allen, a similar artist to Kate Nash. It could possibly be said that it is the polar opposite of Kate Nash's. The possibilities are endless, personal colour customisation, music videos, games, news, remix, shop and twitter feeds just to name a few.

Firstly I like the use of blocks to slit up the different bodys of information, with coloured headings. On the left is "Lily News" which can be read in many different languages, but most of all provides up to date information on the artist. The posts containing "Lily fan photo of the week" is a really effetcive touch, reaching out to fans.

The thing that I like most about the website though is how much you can really do with it. You could go on to the website and be there for hours, this greatly contrasts Kate Nash's website. Hers looked fantastic and very authentic, but had little to no content at all, making it a rather short process. However this keeps audiences clicking.

The main feature I want to drag from this page is using audio and having a twitter feed directly linked to the page. I think this really signifies how technology works together, how an artist can have a twitter account, make a new song, appear in somebody elses track; but it can all be brought together on one page to give fans and new audiences an insight into everything the artsit does, and most of all, promote them.

This is the official website for Kate Nash. This was the first thing I looked at when planning my own website. Its in some ways what I expected; the images, colours, layout. Howver, i was shocked by the lack of options. The only tweo things possible to do are pre order her new single by clicking the link under the main photo, and update to her mailing list underneath. Apart from that there are no other options. However, the images are clever. The emphasis on time, using pastel colours and an old fashioned theme. It seems to come straight from the 50's. However, I will need to look at a few more websites to get an idea of what needs to be included.

This is the front, back and inside covers of Plan B's debut album.

Firstly, on the inside left I noticed a similarity to the inside left of the Vaccines album I annotated earlier. This however shifts more of the focus onto a single face because Plan B is a single singer. I like the effect used, the shadowinging a use of light twinned with facial expressions proves for a very effective image, telling a story in itself.

The CD itself stays with the colour scheme of the rest of the digipak, using crean red and black. Its also looks very original, authentic and old fashioned which compliments the image on the opposite page perfectly, as its in black and white.

The front cover has many different components intertwined. The top is the text on a traditional cinema sign, which makes it again, look aunthentic and old fashioned. The artist is sitting on a stage looking down, with darkness behind and a single light on him. This is helping perfectly to promote the artsit as an artist, throwing light on him, trying to sell him as an artist. 

The back page uses a similar background and text to the front cover, the use of text actually in the picture makes it look more integrated, and the use of light and colour match the rest of the digipak.

I enjoy the use of lighting and expression in this CD pack, forcing emphasis on the artist and the music without over complicating things. Because ioverall, a digipak is used to promote the artist.

This is the front cover and inside views of the Vaccines debut album.

I like the front cover because of its simplicity. A simple central focus, the image. The image is of a girl and boy hugging, but gives the impression that they are possibly lying down, and signifys relationships. They are also wearing contrasting colours to show love, compassion and heat (red) and also wearing white which signifys innocence and youth. The red of the t shirt and the subtle pink border clash, but white and red mixed together creates pink, overall showing a picture of unity. The inside left shows the band playing, as the front cover doesn't give much indication to whether its a band or just a single singer. Again, red and pink are used. Red clothes and a slightly pink tint to perhaps make it look more vintage or original. The picture is on a black background which is in soft focus because black is a harsh colour against the image, so soft focus gives the impression of integrating the picture into the background subtly. The CD is fairly standard, with no read redeeming features. The name of the band and the track names are listed, as on the back. I will be taking lots of good features from this digipak, like the simplicity and the use of core images on the front, but most of all, to keep it simple.

The cable I ordered from Amazon turned out to be the wrong cable, and the memory card reader still doesn't read the clips on the memory card. So I have had to get my dad to order another cable, and it will take a week to be delivered. Because of this my deadlines for the ancillary tasks and video have been switched round, so I have an extra week to do my video and have to shift my focus onto my ancillary tasks.

Today I attempted to upload my clips to start my editing, but the camera I'm using is my dads and its missing a cable, so I've ordered a new cable and a memory card reader in order to upload my clips to the computer. In the mean time I will plan for my ancillary tasks.

This is the costume which my artist wore: I chose white because its symbolic of angels and innocence, its also the opposite of what my other actor was wearing, dark colours, to symbolise the differences between them.

Today was my second day of filming in London. I met Jess and Jake in liverpool street at 10 and didnt stop filming until 5! I made sure we had plenty of time, as we were travelling to lots of different places and couldnt afford to start late. We started off in Liverpool St doing lots of filming around the city where it was fairly busy on a sunday. We the travelled to Waterloo where we used the london eye, the parks, the waterfront, the bridges and the tunnels. We then went to Primrose Hill to do our final shots. The day went very well and we got so much filming done! The last buts of filming I have to do are in my friends house for my inside shots, amd after that all of my fiming is done and I can start editing.

This is the email I intend to send to the record company in order to use the track. It is important to ask permission to make sure that it is totally legal and legitimate to be able to use the track.

Today I travelled to London with Millie and Lauren to help in the completion of their music video, after which I started with mine. I recorded establishing shots on Hampstead Heath, Parliament Hill, Hampstead High St and St Pauls. I also got useful shots on the tube with will look very authentic in my final production. I then used my friends house to continue with some inside shots for use in the chorus of the song, this went very well, but it took alot of takes to get it perfect! I will continue with filming all of next week, and hopefull be finished on the following monday in order to continue with the editing.

This is my planning sheet for final location ideas;

CARA'S HOUSE 
-for the cheese on toast, sofa and cooking shots

GYM 
-scene with Jake and Jess

ST PAUL'S
-used the rooftop for good views over London

TUBE 
-scene with Jess and Jake

HAMPSTEAD HEATH 
-establishing shots

OXFORD/CARNABY STREET 
-shopping scene, also when shes alone it shows how lonely she is

CAMDEN RIVERSIDE 
-secluded, urban, quiet

PRIMROSE HILL 
- use for the sunset, views of London, emphasises that she is now alone

SOUTH BANK 
- views by the riverside, not too busy at night

 Locations:

I am pretty set on creating most of my music video in London. This is because it has such a variety of locations to use, the possibilities are endless. I have two locations that I definitely want to use in my video, which I took when I was in London a couple of weeks ago.

This is the first picture I took, which is the rooftop of One New Change next to St. Pauls, I decided to use this location as its not too busy and has a fantastic view of the city. I think I will try and get here for sunset for the lines "I can be alone yeah, I can watch a sunset on my own, I can be alone" which I think will work out very well. I think it will have a great effect, as it will contrast how she is alone, whereas the city below her is busy and full of people.

This is another location I really liked, the riverside path in Wapping. The path was wide and the houses were nice, its would be a great location to do some quiet riverside filming away from all the tourists and with a great view of Canary Wharf in the background. Theres also a boardwalk further down the path, which would be great to play around with and use as a really different location.

This is the picture I took on the riverside at sunset, I think the view is second to none and would be perfect to use in my video.

These are all locations of other places I would maybe like to use, the first is Hampstead Heath as there is open spaces and great views of the city. The second is the riverside in Camden village, which is very quiet and manages to be both urban and natural. Also the millenium and serpentine bridges are both great locations. Also Camden Lock, as its vibrant, colourful and teeming with people. Also the Graffiti Tunnel in Waterloo is a fantastic urban location to use, although its more of a grime location its colourful and could challenge normal codes, conventions and stereotypes. The last picture is of South Bank, which would be perfect to end on at night when all the lights are on

 This is my shot list that I used during filming in order to keep a track on filming and editing.

This is my storyboard:

the storyboard was difficult to create, as its the first time all the ideas come together. It was changed somewhat as planning, filming and editing progressed of course, but the ideas were essentially the same. To start the storyboard I looked at the planning sheet for the lyrics I made, listened to the song over and over until the lyrics started to mean something, this is when ideas started to flow and I was able to start the storyboard, a crucial part in the filming process.

It now also transpires that I will be working on the project alone, after an unfortunate turn of events. This means that I will have to work extra hard to keep on top of all my planning, keep to the deadlines and complete the coursework. I have planned to use two friends to be in the video as my actors, and I will be in charge of filming, planning and editing. This initially was a bad thing, as I lost my partner to work with; but now I have to get on with it, and work to my highest abilityto get everything done.

For my audience feedback I interviewed 8 people and these were the results:


What is your favourite music genre?

Alternative: 1
Pop: 5
Rock: 2
Dance: 0
Rap: 0


What features would you expect from a music video of this genre?

Alternative: "little bit abstract and out there"

Pop: "dance routines, elaborate costumes, use of setting, props, to look expensive, emphasis on the artist"

Rock: "emphasis on instruments and dark clothing"



What is your favourite music video and why?

"A Team by Ed Sheeran, as its touching and tells a story"

"All my life by Foo Fighters because of its focus on the band itself"

"People help the people by Birdy as its very simplistic, also I like the effect black and white has"

"We found love by Rihanna because of the emotional storyline and the use of setting"

"Its oh so quiet by Bjork because of the unexpected story and the great dance routines"

"Beauty and the beat by Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj because of the fluidity of the camera and the story"

"Single Ladies by Beyonce because its catchy and I like the dance moves"

"Mr Brightside by The Killers because of the use of costumes"



What would you expect from a Kate Nash music video?

"little bit sarcastic, little bit cheeky, you know whats shes like"

"lots of use of props and colours"

"very fun and artistic"

"acts out a story that matches the lyrics"

"girly costumes and themes"

"tells an emotional story"

"summery themes, bright colours, birds"

"colourful costumes"

Audience Profile:

The audience profile I have chosen is 16-24 year olds, the reasons for this are as followed;

• Kate Nash's music fits into the age category
• The video with be about a love story, which will appeal much more to younger people
• The actors in the video will all be of a similar age

However the video will appeal to most audiences, it will be simple, vibrant and entertaining. I intend to do this by creating a story, which people can follow. Although its a fairly recent song, it isnt a dance track and doesnt sound modern.

I also intend to create an audience questionnaire which I will distribute to my peers and fellow students, although if possible those that arent studying media. The questions I have so far are;

1. What is your favourite music genre? (Which has a list to choose from)
2. What features and conventions would you expect from a music video of this genre?
3. What is your favourite music video and why?
4. What features would you expect from a Kate Nash music video?

This will give me a clear indication to what people enjoy watching, what people expect from Kate Nash, and maybe even go against the stereotype. I think I will find this very beneficial.

To start my planning for "Merry Happy" I printed the lyrics off and wrote notes around them. This really did help me to visualise the video, having all the lyrics in one place meant that I could get some ideas down.

This ideas I have are to use a variety of colour in the video, as its winter now and the skies will be getting grey, especially in London which is where I plan on filming it. To contrast the grey of the skies and the buildings I intend to use lots of different colours, different locations, use of outdoor spaces as well as urban scenery. I also liked the running theme of a relationship in the video, which sounds pretty normal and safe, but its goign to have a twist.

From my research of other music videos I know that to have a running theme or story makes the video more relatable and more entertaining for audiences. This is why research is so important before creating a media production.

GETTING TO KNOW MY ARTIST: 

Kate Nash is a 25 year old singer/songwriter from North London. She was one of the hundreds of artists to come out of MySpace. Her first studio album "Made of Bricks" is the album in which I discovered Merry Happy. The album itself reached number 1 in the UK. I like her style, the lyrics and her laid back style. Her style is unmistakable and sets her apart from other artists in the UK.

This is who I will be using as my version of Kate Nash!

If I am going to project a Kate Nash song into a music video, I must first look at what techniques and styles she as an artist herself uses:

The first video I analysed was "Mouthwash" released in September 2007. The first thign I noticed was that the video was quite fluid, rather than shots and shots and shots being linked together in editing, it seems to be more of a continuous shot. The second was her focus on the piano, her main instrument. At the start she mimed playing the piano along to the song, which i thought was very clever; as she moves out of the changing room into the main stage a piano sits at the centre of the room, showing two extremes. I also noticed was her use of colour, the colours of pink and blue are very prominent in the video, and her use of setting is somewhat unusual making it entertaining to watch and overall aesthetically pleasing. 

 

 

 

The second video I analysed was "Kiss That Grrrl" released in 2010. The video concentrates more on the artist herself compared to "Mouthwash". It also differs in the way that there is more focus on choreography and performance. Also, having the video set mostly on the stage makes it feel more planned and scripted. The lion is also the motif of the song, linking to the title "grrrl". I wasnt such a fan of this video, I felt that the theme was diffused, and that the scenes on top of the hill could have been more prominant.  

 

The last video I analysed was "Do-Wah-Doo" released in 2010.This differs from the others because of the storyline. I also enjoyed watching this one the most because I enjoy music videos with a clear storyline that you can follow, rather than just performance. The video also had a distinct thme and direction, due to close up angles of facial expressions and shots of cramped and crowded settings. The video also incorporated routine and choreography in, but it was more subtle than the other tow, incorporation it into the background, with actions from main characters being determined by place and setting.

 

From analysing these, Im sure that I want to use a Kate Nash song as I like her style of singing and performing, but also feel that I can bring something different to it. Im also sure that I want to include a narrative behind the video, as I feel they are more entertaining and gripping to watch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the brainstorm sheet about song choices, different artists and genre's we could use for our song. We came up with an overriding theme of using 60's music, as they dont have recent music video's and we could use a modern day interpretation. My writing is in red, and the songs I chose were by Supergrass, Mumford & Sons, Queen, Kate Nash, Madness, The Beatles, The Kinks and Oasis.

I also used the songs and artists on my iPod to give me inspiration and help us decide on a song. My favourite by far was "Merry Happy" by Kate Nash. This is because its easy to listen to, has a good beat, and easy to mime to. It also give lots of oppertunity for creativity in the use of features and effects as the song is quite simple.

To start my research I looked at 4 completely different music video's and analysed the media techniques used and if I could take inspiration from them.

The first music video I analysed was "We Found Love" by Rihanna and Calvin Harris.

I thought the video was wonderfully diverse, bright, colourful and full of emotion and passion. The video starts with a commentary from a British girl, with a slow and almost haunting piano playing at the start. This is highly contrasted by the fast dance beat that then starts, almost giving the video a new meaning and agenda.

As the beat starts to rise up and up at the start of the song the images are of a happy, young and fun loving couple are shown. As the song, and the story progresses we learn that they have an abundance of drugs around them, and that pent up anger is going to end the relationship. This idea of a story against the song makes viewers want to keep watching. And because the clips, and the song building up are both quite intense we know that it will lead to something dramatic.

I enjoyed watching the video because of its intensity, how it uses lots of different clips and situations to keep the viewer interested. I also enjoyed the pace of the video, the huge variety of angles and shots used and the use of colour and projection. I have learnt that to make a music video interesting to the viewer its important to have a staory and to use a variety of shots and angles to keep the audience entertained.





The next music video I analysed was "Always Like This" by Bombay Bicycle Club.
                                                                                  

This song contrasts the dance track I analysed first, I enjoyed the simplicity of it, the colours and video and playback techniques used. As the video starts I didnt quite know what to expect, as the begginning of the actual song is rather ominous and the pictures dont give us any indication at all.

I really admire the techniques used, like the playback and video camera effects which I thought were really effective. The song itself is lively, disjointed and upbeat; this is complimented by the locations used in the video. The simple locations, block colours, playgrounds, outside areas, streets, they all complimented the beat of the song. Also the use of block colours, simple clothes, swings and playgrounds gives the whole video a childish feel, which goes hand in hand with the simple melody of the song.

I have taken lots of inspiration from this video, I like the use of colour, outdoor spaces and playback. Of course I cannot copy the video, but I'd like to think I can pick and choose bits and make them my own in order to create my music video.





"Lego House" by Ed Sheeran was the third music video I decided to analyse.

The video is one of my all time favourites for many reasons. The first and foremost being that it has a story thats entertaining and easy to follow. The story also has a twist, where the audience thinks Rupert Grint is pretending or acting as Ed Sheeran, but really he's in love with him. This twist in the plot made me want to go back and watch it again and again. I like the idea of following a story and listening to the music, this really appeals to me. I also like the way that the song compliments the video at first, but goes on to shock audiences and completely contradict the story. This technique is something I will think very hard about concerning my video.

 

 

 

The final video I analysed was the song "Little Lion Man" by Mumford & Son's.

 



In this video I liked the use of clothing, style and extra emphasis on the singers, musicians and instruments. The band have always been known as a sort of country band, this brings with it a very distinct image. The clothes that they wear reflet the song perfectly, I think this is very important for a music video, for the singers or characters to have a distinct image. They also throw lots of light on the instruments, most of which you wouldnt see in a pop or rock band. There is also lots of emphasis on the singers and how they look when they are singing it, this gives the audience a chance to really see the passion in what they are playing. Another thing, the fact that theatre they were performing in was empty except for them, so it gives the audience an impression that they are singing to us, this persoalises the video more, and makes us feel involved rather than seeing them playing a gig and not feeling part of it. From this video I have learnt that distinct image is very important, and to make the audience feel like they could be there watching them is also very effective.

 

 

 

The brief for my piece of A2 media coursework will be a music video. I will be working alongside Claire to create the video. We both decided straight away that we wanted to do a music video after our experiences with the preliminary task.


from doing the task I learnt that I enjoyed making music videos, as they have a framework to base the story on. I find this much easier and enjoyable to work with, rather than having to create a story from scratch. I have also learnt that doing a extremely slow song isnt conducive to an entertaining and interesting music video, so I feel that I want to do a more upbeat and happy song.

Whatever song we choose has to appeal to our target audience, ideally I'd like the aim the video at my own age range, approximately 15-25 year olds, but it will have no features that would mean it would appeal to other audiences also.

Today we filmed American Boy. we used an empty classroom as our location as it gave us more privacy and room to manouvre. We learnt a few things from the experience:

1. That lip syncing is a difficult job!
2. Timing is key for a successful video
3. Editing takes lots of time and effort
4. Locations are key in creating a beleiveable story
5. Clear direction is needed in order to not cause confusion
6. The song choice is very important

I feel like doing this activity, as well as the digital driving test and phonecall vdeos, has really improved my planning, filming and editing skills., I now feel that I am ready to start planning my own video and feel much more confident in doing so. I will make sure that the lip syncing is perfect, use good locations, choose a sensible but dynamic song, and make sure I spend lots of time editing.

Today me, sophie and claire planned for the practice music video. We decided to use "American Boy" by Estelle and Kanye West. First of all we talked about using "Mr Brightside" by The Killers or "2 become 1" by The Spice Girls. We decided against spice girls because its more of a girl band, and against the Killers because its more of a boy band. We hope that the activity will help us learn planning and lip syncing skills for my final piece.

Today me, claire and sophie finished editing "The Phonecall" a practice task to help us get more confident using scripts and using different camera angles. For editing we had to search through the clips to find ones which we were able to use, another issue was sound, we had to make certain parts louder as the dialogue was not clear. After that we had to use transitions in order for the clips to flow and create a smooth a beleivable sequuence of clips.

The task really showed how much planning you have to do, and how hard the editing process is, how fiddly it is and how long it takes to create such a short movie.

Today we did a digital driving test, I learnt how to set up a tripod for the first time, how to make it taller and pan smoothly. Me, sophie, jack and dan went out and took various shots of the school in order to get used to using the cameras and the equipment. I now feel much more confident using the various tools now, and cant wait to start planning my own video!