Mark Scheme work

In Friday's lesson we were presented with the mark scheme for A2 blog work and the links to three exemplar blogs chosen by the exam board. We were told to view the research and planning elements of the blog as well as the blog overall and decide what grade (out of 20 marks) we would give each blog for research and planning.

The blogs were:
http//:blogs.grammar.sch.gg/00laner01,
http//:blogs.grammar.sch.gg/gabriellesmith &
http//:blogs.grammar.sch.gg/danieldegaris

After looking at the blogs, we were instructed to then consider our own blogs and identify three ways in which we can improve our blog now and three things we will do over the A2 course to ensure we maximise our blog's potential to achieve full marks in the research and planning section.

3 Things I can improve now:

>Make posts neater, more elaborate and grammatically accurate using more screenshots, technical language and stylised writing
>Make the layout of my blog more accessible by simplifying it, beginning to use labels to ensure easy navigation and making it more attractive using neutral colours and consistent font to draw more attention to my posts
>Continue adding posts and creating my preliminary task in order to become completely up-to-date and prepared to begin my coursework in September

3 Things I will do across the A2 Year:

>Try to make a new blog post every day about what I have learned in class/a new idea I have had in order to bulk out my blog, showing that I have done more than just the minimum planning that is expected
>Manage my time better than in the AS year, making my film in good time and leaving myself less time pressure upon editing, evaluating and publishing my finish project. This includes maintaining my blog throughout the year to ensure that nothing is left out and needs to be done at the last minute.
>Make sure that the planning for my final piece is clear, organised and easy to follow by limited the amount of work that becomes sporadic as I tend to become confused and stressed if I cannot follow the guidelines I have set myself. By clearly setting out a plan for myself I will be able to carry out the production relatively stress-free, which will allow me to enjoy the filmmaking process more.

Research and planning - Image task

In class today, we were given the task of creating a narrative. We were first given an image and told to write three questions about it. We then passed along the photo and someone else answered them as creatively as they can. Finally, we mixed around the pictures again so that we got one that we had not received  before.

We then had to create a narrative for a music video/short film using the answers to the question. This is what I received and created:

Research into student made music videos

This video for "If I Had A Gun" by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds is purposefully created in reverse order to the order by which the events in the video actually took place, with the first shot being in a graveyard and the final shot being at the scene of a car accident, suggesting that the main character in the video is attending the funeral of the girl who was in the car with him. There is no lip-syncing in this video, and an ongoing narrative is used throughout in order to draw attention to the events (that partially correspond to the lyrics of the song). There is a complete lack of live performance in the video which draws attention the the lyrics as well as the storyline because the viewer has to focus harder in order to follow the story as it may not be clear from the beginning. There are two key characters. The first character is a man who progressively becomes less ready for the funeral throughout the video by removing items of his clothing such as his suit jacket, his tie and his shirt, this is contrasted at the end by the addition of a coat which he finds covering the injured girl. The man is used to tell the story backwards, going from the funeral situation to the original accident which he relives as he repositions himself and his partner in the car. The other character is the woman who only becomes apparent at the end. She is found lying next to the car and, upon seeing her, the audience finally understands the narrative of the video, where the man is reliving his experience. There are several locations, the most significant of which are the graveyard and the site of the crash. These two contrasting locations summarise the whole video, portraying the accident and then the fact that the woman died but the man survived. This corresponds with the sense of guilt that can be felt in the lyrics of the song.

Research into student made music videos

Rihanna - Disturbia

Majority of this music video is lip synced. As it is a student made video, some of the lip syncing does not match up perfectly with the soundtrack. This shows the difference between the quality of student-made and professional music videos. There is a narrative portrayed in the video, although at times it is unclear what message the video is trying to portray. However, what can be understood is that the narrative portrayed by the characters corresponds directly with the lyrics of the song. There is live performance within the narrative. There are two key characters, one of whom is telling the story and one who is assumed to be representing 'disturbia'. The characters show the relationships and concepts that are discussed through the lyrics in the song. There are three main locations: the woods, the dance studio and a garage-like scruffy location. The different locations may be used to show that 'disturbia' effects people no matter where they are. There are no credits in the music video.

Research into professionally made music videos: American Authors - Best Day of my Life



'Best Day of my Life' by American Authors was filmed in Brooklyn, New York. The narrative is about a man and a large furry monster doing various things around the city, these include drinking in a bar, playing basketball, looking at Brooklyn Bridge, getting matching tattoos, going to a playground, visiting a strip club and taking photos in a photo booth. The video ends with the man waking up at the same bar they started with implying the monster was his imaginary friend. The female bartender confused found a photo of them both. Throughout the video shots are interweaved of the band playing and singing as they stroll through the Big Apple.

About half of the video shows the band walking through and singing in New York, they are lip syncing to the song and playing which the original recorded song is layered over the top to fit in. The key characters are the 'imaginary' monster and man because the story is based upon them and their friendship. There is very limited dialogue expect at the end where the man wakes up and apologies to the bar maid.

There are various locations around New York in particular Brooklyn, these include on top of the Bridge, in a park, in strip club etc.

Research into professionally made music videos: Jamie T - Zombie

 

Jamie T's song 'Zombie' is set in a pretty normal pub as the band play the song to a small group of regular pub- goers,  the song continues throughout the video the band slowly turn into zombies, with various limbs falling off, blood everywhere but the audience in the pub are oblivious to this. The video is portrayed as a live performance to the people in the pub but it actually isn't. The narrative corresponds to the song lyrics because they sing about zombies as they slowly turn into them, themselves.
There are 4 main characters -the band members, 2 men and 1 woman, they are known as 'Jamie T and the Pacemakers' there are also 3-4 drinkers listening and watching the band occasionally.  There is no other dialogue besides the singing and no credits either, this may be because the video isn't really a story but a scene from a pub, also perhaps because the band members are not human for most of the video so would have limited dialogue and credits. There is only 1 location, the pub it is set in. The whole video cuts to the band then to the audience, as slowly they turn into zombies. It has various shots, close up and long to suggest the drinkers in the pub are not fazed by the band transforming into zombies and also how the singers change. The video is basically about a guy who feels like a zombie.

This is the shot of what seems like a worker at the pub, as a guitarist's arm is pulled off, blood squirts on the floor, the cleaner doesn't seem bothered  so just wipes it up looking slightly sheepish as she does it.



 






The same shot is used at the start and at the end of the video. In the first one picture, the band are normal but then in the last one (below) they are zombies.

Research into professionally made music videos: Taylor Swift - Bad Blood (Directed by Joseph Kahn)

 

Taylor Swift's music video for 'Bad Blood' is in the form of a continuous narrative that portrays Swift's character 'Catastrophe' and her friends preparing to battle with another group of girls, headed by ex-partner 'Arsyn' (played by Selena Gomez) who has evidently done something to create 'bad blood' between the groups. This narrative corresponds with the lyrics of the song throughout the video. Taylor Swift is 'singing' in some parts of the video which means that the video is a combination of both narrative and live performance, although the live performance is combined with the narrative rather and separate or set up as if it were a concert as can be seen in some music videos. The video also begins with a scene which singularly shows Catastrophe and Arsyn fighting together, which includes no music and shows the dominance of the narrative.



All of the segments of the music video in which Swift is singing appear to be lip synced, this is common in music videos - especially of the pop genre - due to the need to make the music video correspond with the single/album that fans of the artist will purchase rather than just viewing for free on Youtube. Because of this need for continuity, the music videos of pop songs are usually highly creative in order to attract people to them without varying the soundtrack too drastically. Usually, the only way in which a soundtrack is varied between a song and it's music video is through dialogue and sound effects that are vital to the video rather than to the song itself.

There are several key characters in the video, all of whom are introduced with on screen credits using their superhero/villain names. The characters are all played by celebrities that are Taylor Swift's personal friends in real life, such as: Kendrick Lamar, Lena Dunham, Cara Delevigne, Karlie Kloss, Zendaya, Ellie Goulding etc. This may be because the song 'Bad Blood' is written as an address to fellow popstar Katy Perry following an ongoing dispute and therefore Swift is displaying her friends who take her side. The use of many key characters may be the directors way of displaying strength in numbers.

There is no dialogue in the video, as any place where dialogue would be expected is filled by some of the other characters lip-syncing along to the song, suggesting that if the situation were real, there would be dialogue but because it is a music video it is replaced with parts of the song. This creates a sense of secrecy between Taylor's 'army'.

There are three main locations. The first is the office building where the fight scene at the beginning occurs. The office location is created  using neutral colours that suggest monotony, this is contrasted by use of costume where Taylor wears nude clothing making her stand out and Selena Gomez wears black, suggesting that she is trouble and cannot be trusted. The Second location is the 'training centre' where Swift's 'army' are preparing for battle. There are many different scenes within this main scene including a 'headquarters', a room that simulates a blizzard and a room containing lasers that one is supposed to avoid. These scenes suggest that the training centre is very high tech and expensive which connotes that the army training at it are of a high standard, implying that Taylor Swift is the strongest force. The final setting is the meeting point of the two armies. In this setting, famous landmarks are used as the backdrop, suggesting that the fight between the armies is worldwide and important. Swift's character is changed in this scene, with newly dyed red hair and bright red lipstick. This suggests passion, power and authority and is used to show a changed, powerful version of Swift.

The credits of the music video are shown throughout the video, firstly introducing the director of the video (Joseph Kahn) and the star (Taylor Swift). Credits are also used throughout the scenes where other members of Swift's army are introduced. However, these characters are introduced by their character's, not their name in real life, meaning that these characters are not accredited properly. The only other credits are at the end, where Swift's record company's copyright is displayed.