Lip Sync Exercise

This week we had a chance to work with cameras again. We went to the studio to understand how video clips are shot. The song was Shape Of You, so most of us already knew the lyrics. We were doing it on 3 different backgrounds: blue walls and a painting, wall with multicoloured lights and greenscreen, one of which gave an experience of working with a track. We were taught to film clapper first and then the singer itself. That is done to easier synchronise sound when editing as you just have to match seconds on the clip and music track. We have done at least three shots of each scene: wide, mid and close as we did when filmed thriller opening title. Every person in our class tried different jobs at it - being cameraman, singer, director. I think that this whole exercise was very interesting and fun.


After shooting, we went to edit suite, where we were reminded how to edit. Also, we were shown how to synchronise music and picture. Firstly, we chose good shots and synchronised them with our song. After that, we were cutting shots to create a nice picture. We decided to choose all shots with me as an artist as it was easier to know for me which were good and which weren't. We had about half an hour to produce this little clip, so the work we have done is just a practise and not really serious one.

Analysing Madonna Like a prayer

On the lesson, we were shown this music clip and then were asked to analyse it. In my opinion, there are many meanings to this video and to understand it you have to watch it many times.

The video is made to tell about racism, gender inequality and religion itself. However, Madonna didn't want to offend someone and to avoid conflicts at the end we can see that all of that was just a story - a play.

Anyway, even that Madonna looks ordinary in the video, the whole idea and pictures create an image of a rebellious and brave artist. She combined religion and sex in the same video which caused extreme controversy. The video is narrative with Madonna as the main role. It is also a performance video

as it has a plot in it. The main story tells about a guy who was arrested by mistake for a murder. We see a juxtaposition as all policemen are white and arrested man is black. So we assume that it is about racism and inequality. The order is not chronological which makes the video more interesting to watch as it has a meaning just when it finished. By this structure, she made people to watch it from the beginning to its end. 

There are a lot of symbolic details in this video. For example, burning crosses is a symbol of Ku Klux  Klan, which also represents violence and racism, her cuts on hands like the Christ's.

One part of the video, when she kisses the Christ and flies in the sky is actually her dream. This prevents any further problems with religious people. 

The lyrics of the song have a double meaning. It can be seen like sexual obsessions or praying to God.

Making a website

We were asked to choose a random artist and create a website for it. Then we had to go on their official website and compare them. I chose a group One Republic.
Here is a website that I have created:

 Here is their official website:

When creating a website, I decided to choose the latest picture of that group and searched for "one republic 2017". Surprisingly, it turned out to be the same picture as on their real website. 

I was thinking that their's website should be simple in use and look minimalistic too. I chose a white colour as the main theme for it. As I have seen on other's websites there should be such things as links to their music, latest info and dates of their tours so I added them. Also, I have put links to their social media accounts. 

In my opinion, this site will be attractive to their target audience as it contains all needed information.

What are websites and how are they used?

This year we are expected to create a website for our artist. It is very important to every artist as as it one of the most easiest and convenient ways to communicate with audiences and promote themselves and their product.
Here, I am going to look on to different artist's websites, compare them and see what do they have in common and what is different.

The first artist I chose is Ariana Grande. This is her website.  She is an American singer and perfomes in pop and R&B genres. She is 23, however she is already very well known.

When going to the website, it opens with a homepage, but there are many others categories.

The homepage shows the main information, introduces the artist and make the further exploration of the website easier. 

Due to the recent events in Manchester, the first thing that the viewer will see on her website is this:

This shows that she worries about people and represents Ariana as a sensitive and caring artist.

Scrolling down, it also shows the dates of closest concerts with links to buy tickets for it.

This promotes her concerts and therefore attract more people to it. 

We can also see a first picture of her so far. It is close up, but there is no eye contact. The main idea is probably just to shoe her and create more empathy.

It also shows the latest news and even allow to listen to some of her songs.

This keeps her fans up-to-date and even more promotes her songs.

The homepage also promotes tour merch with links to actual products.

 The last thing on the homepage is links to all her social media and also a form for subscription. This potentially increases her followers and therefore makes more potential customers of her products and concerts.

From the first look the homepage is the most important on the website as it should be easy to use and make the viewer want to find more about the artist. It should not be too complicated or overloaded with information. It has to include access to her main product - music, dates of concerts and show if there are any other products related to the artist. It is also important to have an image of an artist because it keeps link between an artist and audiences.

Ariana Grande mainly targets women and girls and it is clear by the website's design as it is in pink colours. Also, the photos we see are all quite simple and does not use her sexuality to attract men. Also, the news they have on website will be probably more interesting for girls as they are about fashion, woman rights along with concert information.

The website represents her as a very girlish, gentle and cute artist.

Another website I have chosen to look at is this one. The band Scorpions is opposite to Ariana Grande by genre as they play hard rock and heavy metal. They perform since 1965 and target to elder generation.

The website is made on two languages German and English to target not only their home-region but also other countries.

The website opens with changing advert of upcoming tours.

The homepage divided into different sections, similarly to website of Ariana Grande.

The first section is news, where we can see all new information connected to that band. This make the  fans aware about activity of the group. It is next to the photo of leader of the band Klaus Meine. His picture is first as he is better known then other members of the group.

The next section is about upcoming tours. It also have links to buy tickets, so the promotion of the concerts attract more people to it. We can also see a photo of another member of the group so more people are introduced.

There is also a video on the homepage about a tour. The next member is introduced.

Finally, there are some links to different social media to increase their popularity there.

Overall, even that those artists are opposite by genre, appearance and the audience they target, there are many similarities on their websites. For example, they have the same sections like tours, news and photos. This is because they work in the same industries and their fans expect to see those things online. However, smaller details like fonts, colours, design are different as they target different audiences and create different star images. For example, Scorpions are shown more rebellious, the Ariana Grande. Also, Scorpions's website have much more details, when Ariana Grande's in very simple and minimalistic. In my opinion, Ariana's website is more convenient and looks more up-to-date. 

Analysis of an album cover: Adele19

This is the debut album by Adele. The background of the album is black which creates a contrast on which Adele's face is clearly seen. We see just part of her face, so the viewer just makes predictions about her appearance. There is no eye contact with the audience. The font is big and clear. We may assume that the name of the album '19' is her age, but we can't be sure. The focus draws our attention to her eye.

It also suggests the genre of music the artist makes - soul and R&B. 

Analysis of an album cover: This is the life

First of all, this album cover shows the artist herself. We see a young woman around 25-30 years old. She looks quite sad, so we may assume this will be a tone for the whole album. She is not looking to camera, so it might suggest that it is personal and it is hard for her to share this information. We see a guitar in her hands. This may be the main instrument in most of the songs and she plays it by herself. We may assume that it is indie, soft-rock, folk genre because of the way she dressed. The cover has an effect of an old picture, which may mean that the songs are about events that happened in her life years ago. The whole piece is in dark, greenish colors making look on her face as it is the only bright place on image.

The print introduces us the artist and the name of the album. It is in big font which means that it is a debut album.

This photo also gives some ideas about the artist and creates a star image of kind, sincere, thoughtful artist which shares his life with an audience.

My Favorite Music

Introduction to A2

This year we are going to make a video clip, website and the CD cover for it. I am looking forward to it as I always was very interested in the process of developing a song into a short movie which will show its meaning.

I am a music lover and I enjoy listening to very different music and don't really have a favorite band or artist. My choice usually depends on my mood and place where I listen to it. I think the best music that produced now is by UK and US, however I also appreciate work of Russian artists because I find their lyrics more closer and more personal.

Some of my favorite artists are:

I usually listen to music on iTunes because I think that artists should be paid for their work, however I never buy them on CD or in other copies as I find digital versions more convenient.

I have never done music by myself, but I think it is very hard and interesting process. I find it very fascinating to watch ‘behind the scene’ videos as it shows it from inside. It is especially amusing when the video is low budget and people who work on it not for money, but to produce a good piece of work. For example music video «Hateful Love» of one Russian group.

In this year I really want to produce unique piece of work. I would like to make a good quality picture and also put some meaning in to it. I think, that the best music videos should have some sort of storyline and be like a small film. The production of website should also give me a lot of experience and show different options and possibilities for this sort of work. I also hope to learn some design techniques when making the CD pack.