How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Before beginning to explain the construction of research, planning and evaluation I think one must first define the term new media technologies. Quite simply, new media technology is pretty much everything we engaged with, and took for granted, during the process of research and development, pre production, production, post production and exhibition. In a brief blast to the past, utilities such as blogger, wikipedia, google, Mac software and such failed to exist, and much of the stages of production would have been done by hand and with heavy books. Without the use of YouTube, for example, one would not be able to access the works of other artists after a few clicks of the mouse, and so therefore the pre productive stages would’ve proved more difficult - should my work have had no weight or understanding of the conventions of a pop video of the present day. One person in my group described the lack of new media technologies as “painful” and this highlights the usefulness of time management with the help of the Internet in order for research.

Firstly, I used Youtube to research other, alternative indie style bands. But before thisDuring the entire process, I recorded my process of construction and evaluation through blogger, an informal way of recording the busy process of filming, editing and exhibition. Lots of my first ideas were noted down on here, rather than using paper and pen. As an effective tool to express what cannot be written by hand, I've used hyperlinks to make the presentation a more interactive experience for the reader.

The post production of the shoot involved some after-effects - which we used Final Cut Pro After Effects to do. Using a lasso tool I cut out the image of Lottie by zooming in far enough to get the shape precisely to the where the edge of her clothes meets the nature behind her, then using the decrease in saturation to create the illusion that she was a figment of Ed's imagination for the entire time.

Shoot Day Information Pack

I made an information pack for the band, as a guide to keep them up to date with what is going to happen on the shoot day, and breaks lunch etc. The guide was really helpful on the day as i can draw i drew it in 3D so it was really useful to lay it out such as the set design and lighting. I also had all the contact numbers for the shoot, so if someone in the band wanted to go for a fag, i could call them back in to film them. I was really organized so i just hope the shoot goes really well and to plan.

Keith Negus

Keith Negus
The Ideologies of the music industry
• “What I’m looking for is the working act. The real act. The act that can get up on stage and do it. That act will give you career. I signed Black Sabbath umpteen years ago; they are still making records. These are acts that are career acts… Two years ago I started a dance label… now that’s not a career-orientated label. I mean those records are one-off situations and every now and again maybe you’ll get an artist come out of it.”
• “When I first started it was more about going out and finding bands. That method is becoming more and more redundant. More and more these days I find it’s as much about: I sit here and think ‘there’s really a gap in the market for this kind of project…’. I don’t go out to gigs. That’s not how I find my stuff. It comes through various writers and producers. So if a writer comes in he may have some great songs and maybe is looking for a front person. Or maybe I have the front person who I want to launch into the market but I haven’t got the songs. So you put the two together.”

Ideologies of Creativity
• Keith Negus – Producing pop
• Identifies two distinct ways of thinking about potential artists from within the music industry.
• These ideologies shape the way in which the artists’ images and careers are developed, and the way that they are marketed towards specific target audiences.
• The organic ideology of creativity and…
• The synthetic ideology of creativity.

The Organic Ideology of Creativity 1
• A ‘naturalistic’ approach to artists
• The seeds of success are within the artists, who have to be ‘nurtured’ by the record company.
• The image of the artist is ‘enhanced’ by the record company.
• The artist is given time to evolve and progress through their career.

The Organic Ideology of Creativity 2
• Emphasis is given to album sales and the construction of a successful back catalogue.
• Often aimed at older or more sophisticated consumers
• Profits generated by this kind of act tend to be part of a long term strategy by the record company.

The synthetic Ideology of Creativity 1
• A combinatorial approach to artists and material.
• Executives attempt to construct successful acts out of the artists and the songs at their disposal.
• The image of the artist is often constructed by the record company.
• The artist will be given a short time to prove their success before other combinations will be tried out.

The Synthetic Ideology of Creativity 2
• Emphasis is given to single sales and to promoting first albums.
• Often aimed at younger, less sophisticated audiences.
• Profits generated by this kind of artist tend to be part of an immediate, short term strategy by the record company.

Balancing the Two
• In practice, the success of synthetic acts will fund the development and investment in organic acts.
• Most big record labels will look to balance their roster with a combination of successful synthetic and organic acts to ensure that there are funds available for the day-to-day running of the company as well as long term profit making potential.

Promoting Organic and Synthetic Acts
• There are clear distinctions between the ways in which different types of artist are represented to ensure short term or long term success.
• Organic acts are often sold on their ‘authenticity’, both musically and socially.
• The image of the artist appears ‘unconstructed’ (although, of course, this is in itself a carefully constructed look)
• Synthetic acts are often sold on their ‘look’ or personalities
• The image of the artist is carefully and unashamedly constructed.

Star Image

In order to understand the relationship between the music industry and its audiences, it is important to consider the roles of music stars. The term "star" refers to the semi-mythological set of meanings constructed around music performers in order to sell the performer to a large and loyal audience. By this I mean that in order to sell the product, you have to select a mainstream audience that you want to target. e.g. gangsta rappers - is a lower class of people on the jicnar scale, compared to classical music - a very high class people, because it is sophisticated and relates to their class. This is why choosing a name and genre of a song and the band are really important to enable to make the most amount of profit.

Production Group

I am the only person in my Production team so i have done everything off my own back. i have had students to help on the shoot day and that is it.

The structure of the Music Industry and how my Music video fits

Music is the most consumed medium in the industry. It influences people's life-style, views and even shapes their personality. Music connects people and forms little forums. It even leads to an imagined community, according to the theory of Anderson. Musical taste can be a controversial topic and almost to the point of tribalism. It is contentious because it defines and often signifies personality and lifestyle. Musical taste is about the way people dress, speak and sometimes behave. However all commentators agree that Music and its trend - sit at the epicenter of popular culture. Not only to the extent that an individual can derive a sense of identity but to the extent the global community can be changed by Musical trends.

One of the main questions we have to ask ourselves is music inspirational or perspiration. ;amy critics believe that music and industry are in many ways incompatible terms. The reason for this is a dynamic tension that exists between the artist and commercial forces of underpins the success of this cast media business.

Music is either organic or synthetic it's either focused on the actual music or shaped in order to gain the biggest amount of money . Another feature to consider is the music industry "synergetic connections" with other media forms. THis means the connections to ther media forms such as radio, television, films etc. Products of big studios such as Universal can mutual rely on other formats. Synergy tries to get the band onto the appropriate music program for the target audience.

The pop video is only one strand of an often mulitmedia campaign that tries to make the band or arrest more famous. There are sometimes conflicting forces behind music and media creation, A major question is "how significant is the pop video as a text or product within this scheme?" The answer would be: "Very important". For example we are using our pop-video to present the artist. According to Kuleshov 70% of the meaning is conveyed through images. In ur pop-video we try to establish Camille as a character. This is done by a lot of close-ups of her. The music industry has realized that it is not only just about selling the song it is about selling the whole package such as, Image, Style, Artist and ideological views. In order to gain a mass audience controversial topics are avoided. When is Beyonce for example singing about war or social- political problems? Artist that question society are more likely to be consumed by a smaller audience. The focus is put on the meaning not on the image or revenue.

The music industry is dominated by 4 trans-national corporations (Universal, Sony, Warner Bors and EMI). These are known as "The Majors".

Chosen Song

"Got A Little Soul" - By Freddie Dickson

I chose the song with him, because I wanted to make sure that he also wanted to do it, so that i knew he would turn up on the shoot day. I suggested the song, and he agreed to do it, as it was one of their best songs. I was really glad that I used that song because it fitted in so well with their image.