Review Of My First Year Of Media

Intro

Last year was the first time I had ever done media and it was so much different to what I had expected it to be. it was very difficult and challenging as it was largely computer based and I found it hard as I am more of a practical worker overall. that was the main challenge I had to come across in the first year, getting the jest of technical work on a pc. I had never spoken to my two teachers, Mr Dougan and Mrs McDonald and I had never had to adapt or deal with their teaching style and having a new teacher is always a risk because you wont know if you will get on with them until you have been taught by them. However I get on with my teachers brilliantly. overall I didn't quite know what to expect.


Software

The software I had to use to get tasks completed was obviously blogger what this post is on, word, PowerPoint and Photoshop. I was fine using all of them except Photoshop I found using that very difficult and hard to get the reigns of. for example using bits of software like the lasso tool and certain tools to manipulate and get certain images into the shapes I wanted and how hard it was at first was ridiculous and it frustrated me because everyone else was very good at it but I wasn't a very technical worker it really got on my nerves to see me falling behind. however after a lot of work put into trying to make images my own and get them to do what I wanted I can work Photoshop very easily and have a lot more experience in it after this whole year.


How I Developed As An Individual

Coming into a new A level course is always going to have its ups and downs and this one did but mainly ups which is always good. I was really worried at first incase I knew who anyone in the class but I had nothing to worry about because a few of my friends where in there eg Boj Marcus Owen etc. Another thing that was worrying me was that the course would be largely computer based and I was kind of right to worry about that because it is largely computer based, still is. I was worried I would fall behind and have a lot of arguments at home because of letters and phone calls etc. but I was fine and Mr Dougan aided me through a lot of computer work as I didn't know what I was doing half of the time I would say miss helped me too but she was off due to illness. I got the hang of managing my time and work and how much the work load was on top of my other work for other subjects eg English and drama. the whole course has made me more confident as a person and feel like I can ask questions about software issues or issues in general without feeling embarrassed


How I Developed My Theories

A theory I learned about was called Props theory.  delved deeper into this theory and saw it is your stereotypical hero villain and damsel in distress story which I found interesting because I thought to myself that Props theory could be applied to so many modern day dramas movies plays and all kinds of productions in todays films and entertainment industries. An example of a movie that follows props theory is clash of the titans with Percius trying to save Andromeda and Hades trying to kill Percius. this whole theory made me question how much of a heavy influence Props theory has on everything ever written there always seem to be a hero or main character and a character everyone seems to dislike which mainly applies to every production ever made so his theory has heavily influenced a lot of plays and movies or at least followed the steps of his work and connoted to his theory.

Auteur Comparison

Later today I will sit on my own and record myself doing a commentary on the two music videos I picked to do the Auteur comparison on.


The two videos I will talk about and the director are In My Darkest Hour by Megadeth and Coma White by Marilyn Manson as they are rather similar as I will explain on the video I post in just over an hour after my lunch.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW0Ao9r2zkY - In My Darkest Hour




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQPJYnr48yU - Coma White

Representation In Music Videos

People are represented in music videos in different way and made to portray certain ideologies. for example in the Megadeth song Wake Up Dead.




Front man Dave Mustaine and the rest of Megadeth are performing inside a cage with the fans trying to get in. This could be Portrayed in different ways, one way is the Megadeth are like caged animals and the hard-core trash metal they are playing is like when a caged animal gets aggressive and angry and starts snapping and roaring or even trying to attack the people on the outside of the enclosure but their aggressiveness is played with guitar drums and bass with a heavy distortion on the guitars to sounds more aggressive.


Another way I saw this represented was as if megadeth are too big and famous to be with the "normal" people who are the fans and they are trying to enclose themselves and show how much more status they have in the heavy metal  society than the fans however I would more go towards to representation of the animal as it is very unlikely megadeth want to portray the fans in a bad way of rioting outside their cage and trying to break it to get in.




Link to where I got the screenshots to Wake Up Dead from:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kSvN1dQjxc 

Sassy The Sasquatch - One Love Evaluation

I  found the lip sync as a whole not too challenging as a task but to be honest I found the timings hard. The song one love has back up vocals which was hard to deal with as the timings where hard to time and get spot on.


 I should have included more mouth positions so it looked like sassy was pronouncing certain letters like the T's I should have got a mouth with the teeth together to make it look more realistic despite sassy being a cartoon. To be honest I think I should have chose an easier song to do with easier words so the mouth would fit better to it.


I looked at my teachers feedback and was told to do something better about the transitions with the mouth e.g. the fact the mouth fades instead of just changing shape which I think is fair as even though it was my first attempt I look back at it now and it looks rather rushed and poor and unsmart to an audience.


My friend Marcus also gave me some advice about the mouth pieces. Some of the mouth moves on the back up vocals which looks a bit stupid so he said that I should change it to when just Bob Marley sings and not The Wailers (the backup vocals)

What Makes A Good Music Video

many things contribute to a good music video. one main thing that contribute to a good music video is the camera shots. the shots are crucial because without any shots how is there going to be a video. a good start would be an extreme close up and then bringing it out to reveal the whole face as they start singing, another idea is to have an establishing shot and then zoom in on the singer as they start singing.

Another thing that makes a good video is a spot on lip sync and wide variety of angles and edits such as fading in and out of the shots and appearing when having to sing on camera which looks quite edgy and can connote so many things such as things like emotion or people leaving someones life or passing away. there are so many great things you can do with fading to make your audience feel a certain way which is what you want.

for a good music video you have to have a good sound narrative which tells a story and lets the viewer/audience understand and get what the music video is trying to connote and tell them or get a certain message across to them. This is all in the narrative of the piece.

4 Music Video Analysis - P.I.L Rise - Music And Me

Rise – Public Image Limited/ PIL

      Costume

-          Johnny Rotten/Lydon, former sex pistols frontman and current PIL singer has always had a brilliant dress sense when it comes to punk and the punk scene as a whole way of dressing and expressing your emotions. In PILs most famous song he is seen wearing a grey suit which is ripped up he has his usual bright ginger spikey hair the still add that touch of punk rock look to his outfit.

Genre

-          The genre of the music video is again punk rock but a slow kind of punk rock as it talks about world/global problems so you must hear what he is saying when he sings to get the whole point of the song across. Certain toppings discussed are that of fascism in Britain, IRA terrorism in Britain, and pestilence and famine in Africa and how we should all unite to help stop whatever happens in the world and join as one.

       Lighting

-          The lighting in Rise is always bright and colourful to resemble a brighter future and change for everyone. However towards the end as Johnny is singing the words “anger is an energy” there is huge flashes of light all over set to resemble the bombs in the terrorism with the northern Irish in London and other places in Britain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq7JSic1DtM

4 Music Videos Analysis - Marilyn Manson The Dope Show - Music And Me

Marilyn Manson – The Dope Show

Costume

The video seems heavily based around Manson being an alien in society due to heavy drug addiction so it is played on and his costume is that of an extra-terrestrial/humanoid creature. However in other shots he is seen in a sparkly cherry red suit and high heels putting a twist of sexiness on it.

Genre

-metal/metal influenced. Manson does not completely come under the metal genre of metal as he is not Iron Maiden, Motorhead or slayer type music but an eerie voice sounds quite creepy which can come under the metal genre.

Lighting

The dope show video has a variety of colours in it. For example a lot of bright colours are used to portray the happiness the drugs are giving to Marilyn Manson which is possibly why he is dressed in a bright shiny red sequency suit. However many mood setting colours are used. Manson’s skin is bleach white maybe to connote his drug abuse or his alien like character.