Final Website

Our website

When designing and creating our website, we obviously wanted to make it look as professional as possible.By using a free online website maker, we were able to adapt and create our own template, meaning that we were not restricted when it came to making the site how we wanted. We referred back to our answers from questions we asked and research to figure out what we would require to include on our website to make it a success and appear professional looking.  

Web address: http://www.ignitedantesinferno.moonfruit.com/

Name (web address) 
The domain name is of course the name of the band that we chose as well as the name chosen for the album combined. The idea behind this is to act as more of a promotional tool for their new album release. Of course fans would be redirected from the normal fan site if this was of course real.

Colours 
The colour scheme, although not entirely to the conventions of the standard Indie/Alternative genre's website, flows well against the backdrop which is again a promotional tool in which the album cover is shown clearly behind any text boxes. The text box's follow a continuous theme which consist of using a black background tinted with a dark green border, which combines our natural theme to match the album cover as well as meeting some conventions of real band sites of a similar genre.

Text 

The text we used was mostly to tell fans about the band, giving quirky facts such as how they got their name, how long they have been formed and additional information about the album. To give a more credible, as well as personal touch to the website, we often used quotations designed to be from the lead singer. This is commonly seen on real band websites, as it lets the audience receive a deeper link with the artists.

Images 
The images we used mainly show concerts that are supposed to be the band live. However we also created a sample picture of a limited edition album pack which contained several vinyls as well as DVD content, and a poster. The idea was again to promote the album's release as in the real music industry promotion is key to sales.

Pages
When creating the site we decided to make several different pages that fans could access. They are as follows;

Home - It is important to have a home page which fans will be taken to once they enter the website. This of course is to make them feel comfortable that they are in the correct place, and gives general information of the new album release, upcoming news and offers that they can receive!

Bio - The bio for the band gives additional, more detailed information about how the band formed, where they formed and of course, following the promotional theme, information on the release of the new album. It is designed to give its fan base a better understanding of how the band work, and make them feel almost as if they know them personally!

Pictures - Of course this is simply a gallery to display new images of the band and their recent activities simply to give the audiences something interesting to look at. Also by showing pictures of live performances which look vibrant and exciting Ignite are more likely to increase sales of their live tour in the music industry. By allowing a comment box below, fans are able to voice their opinions of photographs and give them the feeling that they are involved and are being heard by the band as well as other fans!

Interviews - The interview section is designed to be a constant feed which shows interviews as they happen, thus replacing the previous post. We have designed an interview with the music company, MTV, which with its name alone adds credibility t the interview as the business is so well established within the music industry. The interview is designed to achieve similar objectives as the bio page, and gives additional information to its audience but in a slightly different format.

Contact us - This really only acts as a support page for fans. It allows visitors of the site to email the band with their thoughts, feelings and support and in the music industry it would increase not only credibility of the website, but make fans feel valued. customer service is essential in any industry, however in this situation the product is the band and the bands music.

Pitch

Initial idea 
Our initial idea was to create a narrative music video which told the story of a couple who's relationship failed due to the main actor being hit by a car. However we decided against this as we would find it hard to make the video a professional standard which would mimic the conventions found in the industry.

Target audience

After resesrching into our target market we did primary research such as questionaires, focus groups and asked questions online which allowed us to find out that our target market was primarily an older audience with younger audiences not showing much interest in the genre of music. This is what made our group decide to change from a narrative to a concept video. This was due to older generations having more interest in this style of genre (alternative/indie). We also tried to incorporate intertextual references to further entice our targeted audiences. Our main concepts came from a combination of our primary research and they consisted of the use of an oak tree, a barn and a field with a horse.

Inspiration 

We got a lot of our inspiration from the musical group ''Hurts''. The ballet style outfits as well as the contempory dance moves fitted in well with our chosen genre and song. The Oscar winning movion picture ''Black Swan'' was the main inspiration behind our make up designs and final choices. This was because we wanted a bold image that not only represented our concepts but stood out on the camera and looks elegant.

Final idea

For our final idea we finally decided to combine a concept video with a performance style. We selected and used several key elements for our music video which were the use of the barn, the oak tree and the field with the horse. We also incorporated a dance which was symbolic of the womens role in the relationship.

Planning Our Pitch

Our pitch will be crafted and performed in order to explain to our audience why we were doing what we're doing and to make any concepts what could be questioned clear. To make our pitch as clear as possible we wanted to plan it carefully before hand in order to be certain that it will be understood by viewers. We intend to describe our plan and how we have developed our ideas to fit audience expectations and elements often used in the specific genre.

We decided to brake the pitch up into four main points. Categorising the pitch like this would make it easier for us to explain and describe clearly, with confusion, why we chose to do certain things. The four sections are:

1) Original ideas - ideas and reasons for discarding them

2) Target audience - market research, primary and secondary

3) Inspiration - similar genre styles

4) Our final idea - what, why and how

These four headings not only cover the main elements of our research, planning, decision making process and analysis but also make the pitch more digestible and interesting to watch. Attention spans can be as short as 8 seconds so we feel that by breaking up the taking into four sections will keep our audience motivated to listen on. 

Integrating the Three Media Products

The Three Media Products
Both the CD and the website contain the still images that are seen as moving footage in the music video. One example of this is the colours used on the CD cover, as we used warm tones and intensified brightness to contrast to the rest of the song and album, which give a suggested theme of sadness. The images contradict this theme, meaning that audiences will be more likely to be srawn to the symbolism, drawing attention to the video aswell as the lyrics themselves. Consistency of themes I believe will be intergral to the marketing aspect of each product, as consumers will be able to clearly link props and characters such as the horse, to the CD, website and music video.

Channels of audience consumption;

1) Video ->Website -> CD
2) Website ->Video -> CD
3) Website -> CD -> Video
4) CD -> Website -> Video

Option 1 would most likely be the favoured order of distribution by the artist, as it would mean that consumers have directly exposed to the main product (music video), meaning if they like it they may research the band, leading them to the website, and later the CD. This format would usually effect consumers who are new to the bands music, and would most likely source it from watching music channels such as MTV-rocks or through youtube subscriptions as they are font of similar genres and products created by similar artists.

No matter how the audiences consume the products, in theory all three media platforms are likely to be accessed. However as snow patrol already have such a large fan base, if levels of distribution through number 1 fell or were minimal in comparison to number 4, it would suggest that their fan base is not expanding, and therefore the band are not adapting to the changing market that is music.

Clearly at some stage all consumers will have been a part of all four of the options above, as a band increases it's popularity through effective marketing seen in options 1 and 2, general consumption as seen in method 3 or consumers who are already aware of the bands existence. Bands will eventually reach a stretched audience and the fan base will plateau meaning more methods such as number 4 will become more frequent. This is apparent with snow patrol, who have been in the lime light for 14 years.

Audiences rely on a continuous band image so that they know what to expect, and what they are 'following'. To sell merchandise, it is vital that the band does exactly this, this is why the fan base will struggle to grow after a certain amount of time as band image will only appeal to a certain number of the market, and by changing band image, the artists risk loosing already loyal fans. This is why often, bands who were famous in the past stop producing and have a break, then pick up many years later, reinventing themselves with a new image, and creating a new client base.

Band image and identity is far easy to endorce with modern technological advances making products such as mugs, t-shirts and other merchandise easyer to produce and distribute to fans! In many cases, the band becomes a brand in its own right.

Final Filming Location

Acorn Farm - Acton Trussell
Acorn Farm, situated in Acton Trussell village, was our final choice of location for filming our music video. As the farm belongs to my grandparents we could not pass up the opportunity to have access to the whole area, the farmhouse, gardens, fields, animals, barn etc. After speaking to my grandparents, I got permission off them and we were able to move any gates/fences to expand potential filming areas, drive cars onto the land to use lights, use any of the animals (if we required them), have access to the farmhouse and use plugs/ extension. This would put us at a massive advantage and would make our filming a much more enjoyable and easier experience as opposed to choosing a public location such as The Chase or Shugborough Hall because we would have to ask permission and risk not being able to use certain areas of the site. It would also lengthen our time filming if we had to stop filming and wait for people on the site to be out of our camera views. 


Specific Areas
My group and I decided to take an afternoon and go up to the farm to decide exactly where we would filming and to sort out any potential problems we could face on the day. This would also enable us the plan ahead in case of bad weather on the day we filmed. We could prepare plans for 'in case of' situations to save as much time as possible and enjoy filming without any stress.


The Oak Tree 
The Oak tree, just right of the farm house, is extremely tall and aged. From a distance it creates a beautiful pattern, especially against a clear sky. The trunk of the tree is around 2.5 metres wide meaning it is very sturdy and would not be any potential danger to any one or any equipment whilst filming. We decided to use the Oak tree as one of the main focuses in our music video. Our lead singer (mimer) will be positioned around the tree when we film the shots including him. We decided that by creating shots from various angles, this would show off different views of the tree as well as the lead male. The old Oak tree is also symbolic of something 'dying' - the relationship that is sung about in You Could Be Happy is over therefore we thought that the 'dying' aged tree could represent the recently failed relationship he is expressing about.
The Barn
The barn situated at the farm is also extremely old and dated. The walls are made from concrete and wooden boards which also depicts a 'prison' or somewhere one could feel 'trapped'. This is where the dance routine will be shot and will help to symbolise the women in the failed relationship before the break up as it is suggested through the lyrics that she was trapped, "Do the things you always wanted to, without me there to hold you back, don't think just do..." On the day of filming, we shall have to clear up the area where the dance routine will be performed for example we will sweep up the majority of the hay that is on the ground - we do still want a rustic, natural looking environment so we won't worry too much about the neatness of the area. We will also assess what could potentially be dangerous around and inside the barn and remove anything that could be a risk.
The Fields/Animals
The farm house is surrounded by 25 acres of land (fields) and has stunning picturesque views all around them. The fields are separated into different 'segments' creating lots of smaller fields. If we need to, we are able to move the fences which separate the fields to make larger areas to work in. The horses are in the 'main' field day and night so we can move them or even use them if needs be. There is enough room for the horses to run and walked in large shapes. To portray the freedom of the woman sung about in the song,after the breakup of the relationship, we have considered using one of the horses to being led around the fields by a person (who would resemble the man) and eventually have the creature running free on her own to reflect her new found freedom since being away from the ex partner. 


My group and myself are very happy with our final location choice as we are giving ourselves the best opportunity to not only enjoy our filming experience but to also have a stress free and easier time filming as opposed to if we were to film elsewhere. I feel that the hidden meanings and connotations within the song can be easily put forward and visualised using our location which is very important to us. 

Dance Routine

Constructing The Dance

Having settled on a final idea for our music video, we decided to begin to construct the dance routine. We had decided that two dancers would be enough, as we wanted to portray the relationship between the two people in the song through the dance.

Initially we had asked two dancers who looked similar to each other to perform, and we would have them dancing simultaneously throughout the entire video. However, a week before our chosen filming date, one of the dancers were unable to do so meaning someone else had to fill in. Hannah had previously had dancing experience so she decided to do it.

As the other dancer, Beth, and Hannah began to choreograph the dance, after consulting with the group we thought it would be a good idea to use the dance as a symbolism between the couple in the song. Since the two dancers are polar opposites in our facial features we decided it would be a good idea if Hannah symbolized the man and Beth symbolized the woman.

In the beginning of the dance Beth started off in a very submissive position and Hannah would start off above - showing her dominance over Beth. The style of dance (inspired by HURTS – A Wonderful Life), is very angular, to show the break up of the relationship and the emotion. Normally, dance is very fluid and beautiful to watch, this dance however in deliberately disjointed, to show the relationship falling apart. We have deliberately shown moments of almost balletic style of dancing, this is to show the relationship wasn’t always how he describes it and how there were moments of beauty, we have tried to make intertextual links to the recent film Black Swan.

During the dance, Beth and Hannah go out of synchronization and more into a duet; this to show the relationship falling apart and finally, the dance is repeated in cannon to show that they are no longer together. The end position is vital as it shows how the roles have fully reversed; the man, (shown through Hannah) is dominated by the woman, (shown through Beth) who is set free and no longer trapped.

Below is a short clip of Hannah and Beth devising the dance; it is sped up by 300% so you can get an idea of what we were trying to accomplish.

Artificial Light Testing

Types of Artificial Lighting
When we get to the stage where we are ready to film our music video, we must take into consideration the natural lighting of the day and also any weather conditions which would affect our filming. This means knowing what the correct lighting facilities we will require are and more importantly, having access to them on the day of filming.  
We decided to test out a few different lights and filters so we could understand and see for ourselves what effects them each created. We have discussed possible location settings for our music video and there is a strong chance we will be filming, at sections of the video outside. Taking into consideration the time of year we are likely to be filming in, November - January time, the risk of having bad weather is quite high.

LED Strip Light

The LED lighting was effective when being used indoors and outdoors and although being a  yellow light, it didn't give off a golden tint, therefore resulting in a 'cleaner' light that would make our scene of a better visual quality. However the downfall to this lighting is due to it being powered by mains, we would have consider extension cables because if we film some footage outside the light may not reach the area where it's needed.

Mains Powered Yellow Light

When testing this type of light we discovered it gave off a fairly strong yellow tint to objects which would not look natural and is not what we were looking for. However it did have a good range of lighting outside spreading over quite a distance, on the other hand, it is powered by mains which, yet again, presents us with the same possible problem as with the LED light strip. 

Car Light

Lastly, we tested the effect of car lighting, which proved to be good in brightening up the scene and giving a strong lighting over a long distance which would be good for filming outside, however a car is inappropriate for positioning it would be very time consuming to keep manoeuvring the car around. However it is an option unlike the other two lightings that it is not powered by the mains and therefore we could use it for a long period of time. There is also different strengths of light we could use from car lights which gives us choices and range to work with.

Filters

In low vision rehabilitation, various light filters have been employed to improve visual function, we tested the filters to see the effects of reflection they produced.

The white filter wasn't greatly effective in reflecting the light, it created a very dim reflection not really lighting up objects. These sort of filters are rarely used it would only be effective if we were 
filming in a dark setting not outdoors which we will be aiming to do.

The gold and silver reflector films proved to be a lot more effective, the metallic colour of the films enabled the light to be directed more to a specific object but also conveyed a stronger light. The gold film seamed to be more effective indoors as the gold glow effect it radiates is more visible to the eye under lower levels of external light.

Home Made Reflector

We quickly realized that although light reflectors were very effective when used, manufactured products were expensive and meant our budget would be severely damaged and limit other aspects of production. To proceed with the equipment we needed, we created our own reflectors using little more than cardboard and tin foil. We stretched the tin foil smoothly over the cardboard to maximize the reflective quality produced. It turned out that our home made reflectors were far better than the manufactured products as we could make them as large as we needed, and make as many as we wanted. This linked with the fact that the reflectors we made, emitted a 'purer' lighting effect than the ones we purchased.

Time Schedules For Planning & Filming

Having done a media project last year at AS level, we have learnt that keeping a tight time and date schedule and sticking to it is vital in order to plan work well and spot any mistakes along the way. We found that lesson time alone was not enough time together as a group to get the amount of research and planning done so we began to meet outside of school on evening where we were available. We also arranged times and days to have conversations regarding our work on Facebook. 

Meetings 
Firstly we set up a 'group meeting' every Wednesday evening and Friday lunch time to dicuss ideas, dates and set tasks to be completed for the following meeting. This allowed us to complete various segments of the overall project allowing for everyone to complete equal ammounts of work and to a good standard.

Film Dates 
When we were all completely happy with the location setting, make-up and costume designs and the general idea for the video, we decided a first filming date. This would count as the 'main date' for filming and would take place on the first weekend (5th and 6th) of February. Any extra filming that needed to be done, which we had failed to complete on that weekend, would be done ASAP when the majority of the group were free. This meant that by the middle of February we would confidently have all aspects and areas of the video filming which would leave us plenty of time to edit and perfect the video in lesson time and outside of school.

Initial Costume Idea

Ideas

Knowing that we will be using a large amount of visual concept ideas in our music video and using our make-up ideas as a guideline, we will now be looking into potential costume/outfits for the dancers to wear during the dance routine. Taking inspiration from contemporary band HURTS and their artistic videos we first agreed that our dancers should be dressed in predominantly black clothing. We were not interested in exposing the dancers in the way many female artists are these days on television are shown - provocative clothing showing a lot of flesh and glamorous hair and make-up. This was not our intention as our chosen song and idea for the video was not an expression of exposing the female dancers in that way. By using mainly black clothing which was not revealing, we thought that would give us our desired look.


By looking at existing music videos, through magazines and at dance performances we selected a range of clothing items which we believed would reflect the female dancers in a suitable way and also which would compliment the concepts in our music video.


Firstly we looked at leotards. Leotards are associated with the dance style ballet and are not usually seen as 'sexual' unless manipulated that way. A simple, plain, standard black leotard would be a good basis for the dancers' outfits because they would be able to move freely in them without restriction. 

The style of dance we had considered would be very elegant, smooth and rounded. We would conform to typical ballet shapes and positions which would keep the dance routine soft and un-aggressive. To accompany the leotard, we considered a tutu styled skirt. A tutu, although being short, is heavily associated with delicate dances which would steer away from any 'sexual' label it might be placed with.


We considered a type of shrug of cardigan because the dancers may get cold but we thought it was interfere with the dance itself and restrict any dramatic movements included in the routine. Plain black dolly shoes or pumps would be the most appropriate footwear to use for the dance. Heels would be a challenge the dance in as balance might be a problem from one of or both of our dancers. 


Development
We will of course continue to come up with possible ideas for our dance outfits until we are sure that what we finalise on will be suitable to dance on and that the clothing will resemble any hidden meanings we include in our video. Keeping the outfit non-sexual is very important to us as our song is completely non-sexual and we would not want our audience to feel that the video and the song did not compliment each other.

Initial Make-up Ideas

Ideas

After finalising our idea on what our music video would consist of and include, our next task was to design the make-up which would help to establish the scene and the mood we were aiming for. Considering our music video is now primarily concept, also with areas of narrative and performance, we decided that the dancers in the video should have the make-up to suit the gloomy and almost sad themes which run through the song. Having being inspired by the contemporary band HURTS, we felt that an extravagant make-up design would conform to what we were trying to achieve and that it would also appeal to our target audience. 

Our first thought was to a design and a colour palette which would show up well whilst on camera from various distances (not just close ups). By decorating the eye area heavily on each dancer with either dark or a vibrant colour range, we believed that would show up in the way we hoped on camera. 

The images to the left demonstrate the use of a vibrant shade of blue. Although the colouring looked very effective close up, it was not suitable from a distance of even a few feet away let alone a distance concerning a matter of metres whilst filming. We did infact include a strip of silver eye liner just above the eye lashes. The fact that the whole make-up design did not even show up on a close up picture confirms that this style will not be suitable for filming for our music video. We continued to experiment with colours, shapes and designs for our make-up as it, we feel, an important aspect of the video.

The black and silver design, right, is the next thought which we put into practise. As you can see, the picture is a lot more grabbing and creates more of a bold statement than the previous design. This experiment uses far darker colours, predominantly black with flashes of silver which we feel is more accommodating with the concepts we hope to include in our music video. We will use this style of make-up as the basis of our 'final' make-up idea and we will continue to develop it.