Poster Initial Research

Before creating my poster for my ancillary text, I believed that it was necessary to perform some research into the strategies that bands and record labels use when making these advertisements. Although I was already familiar with the idea of making a poster for a film, it was slightly different when I investigated the posters that are made for bands' records. Initially, I wanted to create a poster which was slightly different and eye catching as this is what Radiohead tend to do with a lot of their advertisements. After analyzing a few things about these posters, I had a brief idea of what I wanted to create.

This is the advertisement for Manic Street Preachers' most recent album, Journal for Plague Lovers. As it fits a relevant genre (alternative) for the Radiohead advertisement which I am making, it gave me an idea of what kind of layout is needed for the poster. The album artwork is the most bold image on the page, not only because it is a powerful piece of art, but because it uses a range of colours against a white background which makes the album seem more outstanding. The font type for the details beneath is very basic yet brings the point across appropriately with a professional appearance. As Manic Street Preachers are a very old band, it shows that they do not need to adhere to popular culture and trends in their advertising and the album is displayed as the only focus. Beneath the release date, it includes details about the lyricist, musicians and producers, this is mainly because they belong to an independent label and wish to give credit to those involved. In smaller print, it shows that you may purchase the album from online retailer 'Amazon' as well as showing their website and record labels' logo, which is usually mandatory for the bands on their label within the advertising.

This advert is for Enter Shikari's penultimate album, Common Dreads. Although this is a slightly different genre, the target audience of the bands music is fairly similar to that of Radiohead's in this modern era. The poster uses the artwork from the album and blows the background of it up so that it fills the page. This is a great strategy although it may be harder to do this on my own work and could give it a messy appearance. None-the-less, Enter Shikari have used the conventions needed in an advertisement which displays the bands name, title of the album and release date. The band have also used a tagline at the bottom which is included in a song from the teaser trailer that they released after the announcement of the album 'The lions are at the door'. The font which has been used has synergy with the background as they both show an older style. The band's website and record label are also included at the bottom corners.

The third poster which I researched was Blink-182's newest album 'Neighborhoods'. This uses a similar style to the Manic Street Preacher's album which I looked at first; this is because they both use their album artwork as the main focus at the top. All of the posters featured include the most important information at the top of the page leading to the bottom whilst all of the text is centred for a clear layout. They both also use contrasting between colours so that the font and album artwork are as bold as possible to the audience, potentially creating a sense of recognition for when they may be in a record shop. As the writing of the bands name on the front cover is not very clear, they have written 'The new album from Blink-182' beneath the album title in case the person reading could not see it well. Different to the other advertisements, the band have included a subheading reading 'Featuring Up All Night' which is a song that they have recently been well known for following their return to making music. This tactic is used to create recognition for the audience however it is mainly used by more popular bands or those featuring in magazines with different target audiences. Again, the bands website and record labels are shown at the bottom; however through further research in other posters, band websites are being used less in more recent examples and being exchanged for Twitter hashtags. The band also include their old logo in the bottom left corner for more recognition as the audience that they received before breaking up may have forgotten about them.

Shoot Six

Date: 28/03/2014
Actors: Jonny Brown, Sam Potter
Equipment: Video camera, Tripod
Props: Car
Shots: 1, 2, 3 + more

The sixth shoot finished the music video as it featured the introduction that comes before the music actually starts. I left this part of the video til last as it would be the hardest part to film and at the start of filming, there was still a lot which I had left to learn. This part of the filming took place on St Margret's Close in Driffield as it is an isolated area and there was not likely to be any distractions other than a few children playing nearby. The scene takes place in Sam's car where him and Jonny are discussing the situation that they are in to establish the narrative that takes place throughout the video.

I decided to alter the shots which I had initially planned on doing with the storyboard. This meant that the video started with an over the shoulder shot of Jonny walking towards Sam's car to let him know about the situation. I believe that this provides a personalised effect for the introduction of the video. I filmed this shot from a still angle using a tripod and again whilst walking with Jonny using the camera handheld. As this introduction did not have any of the music video audio over it, dialogue needed to be written. The script was as follows:

S: Did he say he'd give us more time?
J: No mate he's pissed off.
S: What are we going to do?
J: I don't know, but we need to shift this blow thick and fast.
S: No more getting high off our own supplies then.
J: Tell me about it, I have a bad feeling about this.

The audio was recorded in one shot (although it took many to get the pace and pitch right) so that upon editing there would be only one part of audio to fit in. Once inside the car, I filmed an extreme close-up of Sam's face as he reads his dialogue. This is so that it appears to be in the perspective of Jonny as he is having the conversation. I then used the framing which i intended to use for the second shot for which I sat in the back seat and did a two-shot of both of the characters talking. The framing for the first shot is then used which gives a frontal view of the conversation as they are both sat in the car. Jonny's second line is used in this part where his body language gets more aggressive when he emphatically stresses 'thick and fast'. I filmed an extra shot of Sam placing his keys in his car to turn it on at an extreme close-up and an establishing still shot of the car as it drives away. This indicates the start of the music video where I intend on editing the title in at that point and the audio to follow. The final shot that we did in this shoot showed Jonny staring out of the car window in a similar style to the self-reflective mirror shot which I filmed in a previous shoot. I filmed this from the back seat using a tripod to reduce camera motion, the character is only present in the right third side of the shot to connote the world outside being bigger than him and how he may feel that it is too much to handle. 

Shoot Five

Date: 21/03/2014
Actors: Sam Potter, Jamie Steenoven
Equipment: Video camera, Tripod
Props: Toy gun, Car
Shots: 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52 + more

Shoot five was the longest shoot that we did as it lasted around four hours. Fortunately we had time to do this as Sam and Jamie both had full days off work, I thought that this was a good opportunity to get lots of the shooting out of the way and finish the main part of the music video (except the introduction). This included getting a toy gun to use for the shoot and getting Sam to bring his car to feature in the areas with Jamie (the drug dealer). A lot of the initial planning from the storyboard and animatic were replaced with different shots to keep continuity throughout the music video; however I tried sticking to the original plan in terms of narrative. 

I started filming on shot 14 which was initially planned to be a shot of Sams shoes as he is walking down the street. After gaining a lot more understanding on cinematography and what makes a shot more attractive, I decided that this was too boring so the shot showed a medium-close up of Sam's back as he walks down the street. This was then joined with another medium close-up from the front. In the storyboard, I planned on having two people in a car following the anti-hero but this changed when the other person who was going to act in the video was too busy on most of the days that we planned on filming. I came to the conclusion that he was quite unreliable and the filming would go smoother with only one antagonist; therefore I just asked Jamie to do the role instead. With this decision, shot 15 featured Jamie sat in the car at a medium close-up keeping the car in the frame of the shot. His facial expression maintains a strong look at Sam as if he is furious about not getting the money. Following this, the next shot shows Sam walking towards the car in an attempt to talk his way out of the circumstances. 

I aim to add subtitles to the shots which followed where Sam begins to ask if he can have an extension on the time that the drug dealer had given him to give his money back; this will also include Jamie having subtitles. This lead to writing some dialogue for Sam and Jamie to say in the shots, although it will not be audible in the finished product. Once this had been decided on, the next shot included Sam telling Jamie "I need more time" through the car which included a range of angles. My personal favorite was an over the shoulder shot of Jamie as he stares at Sam saying his lines; I intend to edit this into the final product. That shot then lead to Jamie saying "If I don't get it by six you're dead" at a medium close-up. Sam then appears to be disappointed as an extreme close-up addresses his emotions at the time he hears the message from Jamie. Following this, the next shot shows Sam beginning to walk off away from the car which leads to the next scene of him running (which was covered in the first shoot). The mise-en-scene in this shot shows his body language as hesitant where he turns around to make sure the drug dealers car has gone and sprints away.

Picture taken from Google Maps/edited with MS Paint

The second part of the shoot meant that we had to drive to the alley down Woldholme avenue where the shots just before 43 were filmed; this was not far away from the previous location (as pictured above). Sam also had to go home to get changed as he was wearing the clothes from the previous scene where he has changed into a brown hoodie when performing the drug deal; this was necessary to maintain continuity. Whilst waiting for the rush of families to clear the area for filming, we proceeded with shot 43 which shows Jamie emerging from the bushes once Sam had finished his drug deal (shown in previous shoot). Shot 44 was filmed in a previous shoot as it features Jamie singing along with the song in one of the main lines, thus we proceeded with shot 45. As this was part of the climax of the music video, I found it necessary to make some additional shots so that the editing was fast and the viewer feels like part of the action. I added an extreme close-up shot of Sam's look of fear after shot 44 which brought the audience back to the narrative from the shot of Jamie playing guitar. 

As it continues, Sam is shown running away from Jamie. This is shown from a long range including both characters as it occurs. I filmed this from a variety of still angles and dynamically using the handheld camera to add tension. This will give me a range of shots to use when editing them together to appropriately convey the fear that would be going through Sam's mind at the time. The perspective then shifts to Jamie as an extreme close-up of him reaching for a gun in his pocket is shown. This was then followed by a medium close-up of Jamie holding the gun out at Sam whilst he is running away. I used this shot (although it may be unrealistic that a drug dealer would hold a gun like this - or at all) to create a hyper reality within the text and make the video 'spring to life' in the climax of the song. 

Following this, there is an over the shoulder shot of Jamie as he is aiming at Sam running down the alleyway where in the same shot he shoots to kill. I filmed this with the intention of it appearing as if the viewer is staring down the aim of the gun themselves with the antagonist; with this shot I intend to edit a gunshot into the background of the song and learn to use special effects for the gun fire. After Sam falls to the ground, Jamie is shown walking away around the corner in an exaggerated walk as if he thinks he is of great importance or that he is a dangerous person. This was also filmed using multiple camera angles so that I could decide which one effectively portrays Jamie's reaction appropriately. With these shots, I made sure that Jamie was still carrying the gun so that the mise-en-scene reflected his evil persona. The final shot which I did in this shoot showed Sam laid on the floor dead whilst members of the public's legs and shoes were in sight walking past him; this was done to create the impression that nobody who sees him on the floor wishes to get involved or help (as with a lot of cases in real life). 

Shoot Four

Date: 10/03/2014
Actors: Sam Potter, Paul Wharton (Extra)
Equipment: Video Camera, Tripod
Props: Fake bag of drugs
Shots: 38, 39, 40, 41, 42

In the fourth shoot, there were only a small amount of shots which got filmed due to Jonny not being able to come for the filming. As I had already booked a camera and Sam had a day off work, we decided that it would be appropriate to get some of the filming done without him. The shots which seemed suitable for the small amount of people able to do the shoot were shots 38 to 42. This is because the person (Paul) who I was going to use as an extra was available. 

We drove to the location which we decided to film this section in which was relatively close to my house (Woldholme Avenue), it was also a sunny day so there was a lot of natural light to make the scene very clear for the camera. We started off with shot 38 which was down an alley where the narrative involves Sam selling drugs to somebody in an attempt to earn the money back with which he owes. The first shot shows him stood lighting a cigarette down the alley where the mise-en-scene conveys a feeling of disorder through graffiti shown on the walls. Shot 39 then shows him still stood smoking at an angle which is slightly further away to show to the audience that something is about to happen. 

On the 40th shot, Paul comes into the frame walking towards Sam to buy drugs from him. In his role, I told him to look as casual as possible so that he appears to be another random person from the streets. I took this shot from a range of angles so that I could give the best impression of a drug deal possible. Shot 41 shows an extreme close-up of Sams hand as he passes the bag of drugs over to him. This is a very short shot so that it shows how paranoid both of the characters are during the drug deal in case anybody is watching nearby. 

The last shot that we filmed in this very short shoot was the 42nd. This shows Paul walking away as Sam walks in the opposite direction down the alley; this was the longest shot in the shoot that I filmed. It also creates a sense of paranoia for the character and it was filmed both on a tripod and on a handheld camera in a range of shots. This is so that I had a choice of which angle looks the best when it comes to editing it. The scene will then continue on the following shoot where the ending begins. 

Music Video First Draft

Shoot Three

Date: 04/03/2014
Actors: Sam Potter, Jonny Brown
Equipment: Video Camera, Tripod, DSLR Camera
Props: Fake drugs, Money, E-Cig, Phone, Bag 
Shots: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 34, 35, 36, 37, 

The third shoot covered some gaps which were missing in the first and second shoots as we did not have time to do them. In preparation for the shoot, I had told both of the actors that they need to stay in the same clothes that they came in the first shoot. In addition to this, I told Jonny that he needed to bring an E-Cig as I knew that he was trying to quit smoking at the time. The rest of the props were in my possession without any planning needed so everything was ready for the shoot once I borrowed the video camera. 

After assessing which shots from the storyboard needed filming on this date, I proceeded to film them in the order they would feature in the video.  This started with shot five which featured Jonny staring in the mirror at himself as a self-reflective shot. This was filmed in a darker setting so that it created an eery feeling to those watching the video; it was also shot without a tripod so that it had a creepy handheld camera feel to it (similar to Blair Witch Project). Shot six showed Jonny sat on the bed whilst smoking an E-Cig; this was used to mimic the appearance of a joint (marijuana cigarette). Initially I had planned on using a bong for this shot, yet I found it hard to acquire one and the E-Cig seemed like an appropriate substitute whilst maintaining the purposes of character development. 

After both of these shots were filmed, I brought out the prop of cut salt that I had used in previous shots to create the illusion of hard drugs. These were arranged into 'lines' which are often used as a way of taking cocaine from drug abusers and placed bags of the mixture around it to show the appearance of drug dealers. Shot seven showed an extreme close-up of this mixture to show that it was in his house and that he partakes in this drug abuse as well as the other main character who is shown snorting it in his own house in shot eight. I decided that this would be appropriate as a longer shot to reflect the brutality of taking these drugs and how it is not something which can be done to 'chill out'. We effectively showed this through the mise-en-scene where he had a lot of books surrounding him to reflect his stressed mentality. He also leaned back once it looked like he had taken in the line and drops the note after (through adrenaline). In terms of cinematography, the camera pans backward with him as he leans back; this is all performed in a dark setting to show the attitudes of both drug abusers.

Shot nine cuts to Sam sat in another room counting money as if he is almost ready to pay his half of the money back to the drug dealers of which they owe. This maintains the dark atmosphere, showing that their time spent at home alone is a miserable atmosphere whilst they are addicted to and selling these drugs. This leads to shot ten where there is slightly better lighting with Sam putting his shoes on ready to leave the house. This is a quick shot as it does not have much importance to the narrative other than progressing the story line to where Sam is shown walking out of the front door. As Jamie was not available to do any filming on this day, the scene which followed could not be filmed as it features the antagonist; I proceeded to film some of the shots which featured later in the music video.

As there were several shots from shoot two which we did not manage to finish because of time, we finished shots 34 through to 37. In shot 34, it carries on from the filming that we did in shoot one where Jonny has overdosed on drugs and Sam is in a state of emergency trying to deal with him. This shot shows Sam going through a bag in an attempt to find Jonny's phone to call an ambulance. I framed this shot so that Jonny is still in the picture to remind the audience of the story as it has a shot of Jamie playing guitar with the song before-hand as a subplot. Shot 35 emphasizes Sams actions with an extreme close-up of the phone as he begins to dial 999 for emergency services. I believe that the shot of the phone also reinforces the idea that this is filmed in the modern day (as it is shown on an iPhone 5), dealing with relative matters for the audience. 

As Sam is about to leave the room, there was another shot of the drugs laid out on Jonny's desk to show that he has taken an overdose again. The amount of powder shown in this shot is less than what is shown in those previous in his room which makes it apparent to the audience that he has overdosed. Following this, and the final shot which we had done in this shooting, there is a shot of Sam leaving his house as he has just dialled for an ambulance. This is at a medium close-up as it shows the setting in more depth creating familiarity within the narrative from earlier shots near his house.