RM - Poll Closure: Is Metalcore a genre

In class throughout the school year there has been much discussion to whether or not metalcore is a genre. I therefore decided to do a poll on this, as the music video we are producing is for a metalcore song.


The poll received 11 votes, the results can be seen to the right. This confirms to us that the spilt opinion we have had in class also appears to be in the outside world.

If you are unsure what the metalcore genre is click here.

If you would like to vote but haven't had the chance please leave a message underneath and explain why you feel it is or isn't a genre.

All - Feedback on Latest Rough Cut

For our latest rough cut we got the following feedback:

• Remove all the shots that contain houses. We have managed to cut these shots out by rotating and panning into the shots,
• Remove all explicits although the "Bleeps" need to be added to add to the humour of the music video,
• A possibility to link the first shot into the second of the introduction is to fade the moon into Conor's face. Also extend the transition and zoom into the moon,
• The diegetic introduction is too long and needs to be reduced. At the time of receiving these notes it was around 36 seconds however now we have managed to reduce this element to by reducing clips that go on for too long,
• The need to use more transitions that fade ins/outs. An example of this is trying a four shot split screen of each band member picking up his own instrument. When we tried this we felt it didn't suit the genre of our music video,
• There is a need for more close-ups of Sam, especially in the intro of the song. There is also a need to reduce the amount of group shots incorporated,
• Earthquake transitions on close-ups of guitars,
• Bring the narration soon earlier,
• During the chorus focus more on Mitch instead of the rest of the band,
• Include artificial zooms,
• Include more multilayering at specific times (particularly in darker areas and skyline in lighter areas),
• The claw shots are too quick. There is a need to give the audience the chance to establish what is happening. Also need to cross-cut between the chase and performance aspects,
• A need to think about the song and certain aspects and reflect it in our editing,
• Slow down footage to produce a slow mo effect if there is not enough gore,
• Remove any awkward shots i.e. A shot of Sam where he stops moving to remove some of the fake intestines,
• The narrative aspect needs more sense of a creature lurking on the more. Also the possibility of creating a false scare,
• Shots of the moon incorporated into other shots in the narrative gives more sense of a creature,
• Re-dub Conor's lines "Guys Im going for a piss" to something similar to "I'm going to be one at nature" adds to the humour also have a diegect zip,
• Slashing noise followed by a shot of blood rushing down.
• There needs to be more shots of the creature to anchor what it is,
• Also a need for more close-ups and extreme close-ups of Sam,
• A possibility of red liquid being spat out. However in our first shoot we did try to create this with red blood capsules it didn't work but we could try and use a different substance in the form of a liquid,
• The narrative aspect needs to be more dynamic also needs to come in earlier,
• To add further humour to the music video we could include a portable barbecue which intestines are thrown onto. Later on in the music video a band member could eat these. The video also needs more gore and
• Another possibility to colour saturate the snow in where Mitch and James fall over to red, signifying the two slipping on blood rather than snow.

All - Full Rough Cut 1

Here is our first full rough cut of Sunburnt In December's "Like A Match To An Arsonist". This full rough cut contains both narrative and performance aspects. We already have some feedback on how to develop this edit and are planning to receive more in the very near future.

All - Vodcast 3: Making Fake Intestines

In this vodcast Sam shows you how to create fake intestines, which were used in the video "Like A Match To An Arsonist" by Sunburnt In December.

All - Storyboard

Here is our storyboard for Sunburnt In December's "Like A Match To An Arsonist".

Sunburnt In December "Like A Match To An Arsonist" Storyboard

All - Feedback from 3rd Sample Scene

On Friday we received feedback for our third sample scene. The feedback received included:

• No Swearing. This is apparent in the diegetic intro to solve this problem we "beeped" out the sound but we still need to either edit these explicates out or have to re-shoot this scene again.
• Also in the diegetic intro there are a couple of shaky shots which need to be resolved.
• As we filmed with two different cameras there are some widescreen shots and full screen shots that need to be changes. We will be trying to resolve these issues the next time we edit these clips.
• Mise-en-scene also has issues with the performance as some shots contain houses in the background. Thus means these shots won't be used or we will have to re-shoot the performance again.
• Also a couple of shots go on for too long so we will need to change the length of these. The most apparent one is the first shot.
• Also the need to gain of a few shots has been suggested, thus including shots of torch light panning along the floor.
• Reduce the amount of fade ins and outs used at the beginning. To solve this we could cut between the band members picking up their instruments to seeing them as part of the narrative aspect.
• Another suggestion is that we shouldn't launch straight into the performance as we have. Particularly into the vocals.
• It has also been recommended that we bring in the monster sooner and have more emphasis on it as well as having hints to what it could possibly be. As well as anchorage on the moors.
• As well as this the narrative aspect has to be more dominant. At the current stage the performance aspect is more dominant so this needs to be changed.

All - Sample Scene 3

This is our (Sublime Transcendence's) third editfor Sunburnt In December's single "Like a Match to an Arsonist". We will be receiving feedback in our next class.

SB - Editing All Of Our Footage

At the moment we are editing the footage that we filmed on sunday and monday. We have found some problems with lighting in the narrative shoot but we have found a way in which we can make the shots lighter, by playing around with the brightness and contrast of the shots.

We have cut up all of our performance and found a large contrast in quality between both cameras we used which could be a problem however we will try to include fleeting shots taken by the camera with the worst quality.

We have included a lot more shot variation from our first shoot such as close ups and a lot more framing

ALL - Performance footage update

Yesterday, Sublime Transcendence and the other members of Sunburnt In December met to film the performance of our Like A Match To An Arsonist video. Unfortunately Jem wasn't there as he had 'work' so we drafted in our friend James Newton to play bass. Before they arrived, we all started making the props; these includes making the fake blood (cunningly fashioned by mixing hot golden syrup, water and red food colouring) and intestines created from jelly, tissue paper, and the freshly-made fake blood.



The rest of SBID then arrived and we set up the drums and guitars in the same location as our last shoot; the snow covered much of the surrounding area (as it tends to do) which masked the road behind us and also some of the houses, giving our location a much nicer look and a more remote one. We recorded a whole lot of coverage, over an hour of performance, much more than we shot last time, which was about half of that, maybe even less, and we made sure we used a lot of more camera angles and techniques due to the use of two cameras rather than one. We had decided to film, effectivly, every shot with the two cameras therefore leaving us two different angles per one play through.


The band also played with playback this time. Therefore there is less chance of the band being out of time unlike before.

We are importing the footage today however it will take longer as we have more footage than previously as well as having to import the footage from two cameras. However we aim to start editing the footage as soon as possible.


One problem we have noticed while looking through the footage is the possible continuity error of the snow, we filmed in the snow and now the snow is melting away. This could cause a problem when we film our narrative as there is less snow. We could mention this in the video with some dialogue, but it's going to be very hard to slip into the conversation.

SB - Miss May I - Masses of a Dying Breed Deconstruction

Band: Miss May I
Song Title: Masses of a Dying Breed
Year: 2011
Genre: Metalcore
Directors: Bradley R. Golowin & Kevin Prose Cross
Target Audience: 15-24

Using Goodman's theory this video would fit into all categories as there is a narrative however it is un related to the lyrics, as well as some performance footage. The video has very fast takes this links in with the genre of the song, (metalcore). When we film our video we need to take this into account and film a large ammount of shots so we can edit between them easily.

The shot variation and the framing in the video is very good. In the video there are a large amount of clsoe ups on individual band members and their instruments, in these shots the camera is usually moving wether it being in a handheld fashion or tracking. The handheld movement makes the band member playing their instrument look more dynamic when they move and signifies that this genre of music is usually associated with action and movement. There is also good use of long shots and extreme long shots of the performance and the narrative. Most of these also include some form of movement such as tracking. In one shot the camera is low to the groiund tracking the band members across the forest, this shot would be very useful to replicate because it's also featured in other videos of the same genre and looked very effective at showing all the band members without it being a boring stationary shot, it also looks as if something is prowling along the floor this could link in with our idea of a monster chasing the band members.

The narrative in the video is set in the american civil war, and the video depicts a bloody battle between two groups of armed men. The video is very bloody and gritty, this is reflected in the shooting and editing of the video. The handheld movement in the performance footage simulates a documentary like approach to filming his makes the situation seem realistic. The handheld movement also adds to the action of the scene making the video very movement orientated which fits into the genre.

ALL - Class feedback on first performance rough cut

Today we handed our first performance cut in for feedback. While the general idea for the performance was favoured, some of the class brought up some valid points. Here is a quick list of feedback we received.

• Some of the surrounding scenery of our location was commented upon; for example people noticed the houses in the background and things, and we will make our next shoot location more out of the way and further from things like this.
• The red tint technique used in the first cut was favoured and we will use the same technique for the final thing; however we will spend more time on it because at the moment it has quite a rushed appearance as we were hurried to hand the cut in.
• The video needs more shot variation and more camera angles and techniques used; similarly, our final cut needs a lot more focus on Sam, our vocalist, as he is the center of attention for much of the video as he's the one singing rather than playing an instrument.
• We also need to obtain more close-up footage of each band member in particular Sam, the lead vocalist. To add to this each band member needs to be move around more, in other words the band members need to be more mobile
• Whilst editing the footage obtained this Sunday we need to produce much shorter and quicker takes. This allows for more shot variation. These quick shorter takes will also fit into the genre of our song.
• Finally it has been suggested we contain some black comedy in the performance aspect with for example a band member's arm falling off. We had already planned to have some black comedy in the video in the narrative but it is suggested it is included in both aspects.

All - Performance Sample Scene

Today we have finished our first rough cut for the performance aspect using footage recorded on 21st January.

We will be gaining feedback from this rough cut in our second lesson of media today. This feedback will be taken into account for our next shoot on Sunday, 3rd February.

SB - Target Audience Research

Fans at a Your Demise gig

Metalcore fans tend to be teenagers (15-24) of both genders, however the genre is very male orientated but it seems that females are more vocal about their opinions on metalcore bands as well as other topics associated with metalcore. The target audience tends to be 15- 24 this is evident through websites associated with the genre like Facebook groups, twitter, forums such as Kerrang!

Metalcore is more of a masculine genre than others possibly due to the heavy nature of the music. Live performances usually cater to a male audience because of things such as 'mosh pits' 'headbanging' and 'hardcore dancing' these are very active quite violent actions which appeal to more active male fans.

RM - What We Have Learned From The Last Film Shoot

During editing for a full sample video we have discovered a numerous amount of errors. 

Last time filming the decision was taken that, when close-ups are were being shot the only person in his position is the person being filmed. This means that shots which are good and are suitable for the videos can't be used because the shot reveals that he his playing by himself since there aren't any band members around him. Too add this this cars and houses are also in the background of some shots.

Another issue was that we didn't gain enough covered of the band as a whole. This has lead to use using two shots, one from behind some bushes and the other being in front of the band, for the majority of the time when the band is being shown as a whole. As well as this the band didn't play with playback therefore in stages they are out of time either by playing the song too quick or too slow.

To solve these issues when we next film, which is planned to be this Sunday, all band members will have playback. We will also try to use two cameras in two different positions to obtain more footage in the same time frame. We are also planning to film the diegetic intro and some narrative aspects depending on timing. The latter two will be filmed at night.

CO - Magazine Ad - Edition three

This is my latest attempt at creating the magazine advert, after getting the general idea of what it should look like eventually, and I took all the feedback from my previous efforts into account when designing this one; there is a more dominant and striking background this time, and I also included less (or noticeably less) text but the vital information is still present, and I included stills from the video as well. Click this link to see the maximised image.

CO - More magazine ad feedback...

Today Sublime Transcendence got feedback from our teacher and our classmates on our advert for the magazine. On the whole the idea was well received, but the main point is that there is apparently now too much text on the page, which was a result of trying to get all the necessary information on. Obviously this meant that the background needs to be more dominant as well, and perhaps less simplistic than just the tree design we had been going with previously. I will redesign the poster shortly with all these points taken into account, and using probably a different background picture, hopefully featuring the band.

SB - Movement In Metalcore Music Videos

Movement is a key aspect of metalcore videos, it visually show the velocity of the music on screen. It also shows the impact of the music on screen and the heavy, deafening sounds shaking the camera. I've been looking at examples of music videos which use movement well and looking at how we can replicate this.


Napalm Death - When all is Said and Done from Wake Up Now Festival on Vimeo.

Napalm Death use handheld movements typically the camera swaying from side to side or up and down this could also connote headbanging, moshing and hardcore dancing. a lot of the shots however do not show movement. This is a nice way to cut away from all of the excitement of the close ups. During close ups or individual shots of the band movement is shown, however when we see the whole band there's only a tiny bit of movement or none at all.

RM - The Narrative Aspect In Our Music Video

The start of the music video will feature a diegetic introduction with the band packing up, just after a gig. During this there will be band members discussing the next location and the possibility of a recurring occurrence for the band's future music videos. The music video will also feature Mitch who couldn't be at the latest film shoot, on 21st January 2012, however he would either be the driver whom drives them to their next location or still in the band depending on whether we need to record the performance footage again. This sequence would be around 30 to 60 seconds, with the latter being the maximum possible length.

After this sequence the next aspect would feature the vehicle broken down on the moors. Each band member would be performing a certain task, adventuring into the wilderness or messing around on certain instruments. Conor would be in the back of the car playing on his drums or tapping on his legs to a rhythm whilst listening to a song on his ipod. This song would be a happier song, a binary opposite to what is happening outside.  Jem would be trying to fix the motor, whilst Sam, Elliot and Mitch would explore the surrounding area all splitting up in the process. Whilst each band member is spread out each one gets picked off one by one. The creature that picks off each band member will remain a narrative enigma throughout the video, although parts of the being will be shown onscreen e.g. the monsters claw, pictured to the right. This would be interlinked with the performance footage. This aspect of the music video would feature throughout the video and also form the ending with Conor being pulled out of the car.

SB - Uploading and editing our test footage

We have just uploaded our test footage and we're now starting to dabble in editing and have found some problems and what we need to rectify such as the band playing too fast or slow, things in the background like coats and bags as well as the occasional passer by. We've also found some gems of shots and framing behind bushes and behind trees.

All - Performance footage shot

Yesterday, all of Sublime Transcendence and all of Sunburnt In December (excluding our guitarist Mitch, who couldn't make it to the shoot) went up to the disclosed location, a forest-y area within our town and shot the performance footage for our video. We used stationary and moving shots, tried to implement some shot variation and also varied the camera angles a bit. We'll upload it to our designated Mac tomorrow and begin editing it; we also shot some of it in time with the song, such as the close up guitar parts but most of the song we mimed live, so use of slowing down/speeding up some parts will be necessary. We have yet to shoot the narrative, but once that's done, we'll upload that to the timeline and begin editing it between the performance!


The loss of a member being able to film was at first an inconvenience, but we can hopefully continue on with the remaining four of us; a certain member being available wasn't absolutely integral to the pitch and everything should go to plan as it would've done if Mitch could've helped Sublime Transcendence out anyway. Concerning the band's appearance in the digipak, we are shooting photos within the week which were scheduled to be done even before Mitch announced he couldn't make it so we'll get on without him.

CO - More digipak updates - FRONT

Similar to the feedback for the magazine article in the post before, I have taken the criticisms and points made by both our media teacher and also various other groups in the class. Many of the comments were design orientated, such as fonts needing to be changed, colour schemes and more. Here are the latest edition of the front of the digipak.

CO - Magazine Ad - Edition two

Over the last few days, I have been working on editing the magazine article after the initial feedback. That feedback generally went along the lines of;

More features and aspects - the magazine advert needed additional information on it such as tour dates of the featured band.

• Tickets details, such as where you can buy them from,
• Merch details, same as ticket aspects; where you can buy it,
• More variation in the font and general style of the advert.

I have taken this feedback into account and I have edited the design, subtly, but in such a way that you can see the changes. Click here to see the maximised image.

 

 

All - 2nd Vodcast: Social Media, Filming Arrangements, Location Scouting and Conventions in Videos

Below is our second group vodcast, talking about social media (including sites like Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud and YouTube), filming arrangements location scouting and conventions in videos. We previously tried to upload it a few times but it hasn't worked up until now due to issues with the filetype.

CO/RM - Final location scouting

After school today, Richard and I visited the area we're shooting at on Saturday. We took some pictures to give potential feedback providers.

The reason we have chosen this location for the performance aspect of the music video is because we are trying to achieve an isolated theme throughout the music video. This would tie into the location for the narrative as that also carries an isolated aspect as this will be filmed on the moors.

The shots taken also give us  slight indication to what shots will be available on Saturday, an example of this is pictured on the right, as well as the positioning of each of the band members. As there are houses in the surrounding areas we will have to ensure these don't feature in the video.

There are several positions the band members could be situated in the woods. However as there is a small amount of rubbish and manmade ramps, we will have to tidy and position the band around these objects. For example the lead vocalist could be position on one of these, therefore showing that he is the focus as well as having the power over the audience, common conventions in music videos.

During the performance aspect of the music video we intend to have cut away shots which would focus on the performance location but not feature any of the band members. The two shots directly above and the one shot below are examples of how these cut away shots could be obtained and appear during the music video. Another aspect we could use during this aspect is the use of effects. An example of this is the use of multilayering.

This location, pictured throughout this post, will just be used for the performance (like previously mention), the reason for this is because we intend to film the narrative on the local moor. This change in locations for the narrative and performance aspects are commonly scene in music videos generally and genre specific.

CO - First Magazine Ad Draft

This weekend I started work on the magazine article which is required for the course, accompanying the digipak. I used one of the blogs from last year, Beth Cooper's, and also a magazine ad I found in popular underground metal music magazine, Metal Hammer. For applications, I used PhotoShop primarily, and also the iPhone app Instagram, to edit one of the CD's on the front cover. I included information such as the band's releases, contact info and social networking options, how it is available for download and more. Below are some screenshots from when I was working on the magazine advert.

Creating the layers...

...and editing the images.

The filesize of the final image is 15.3MB which is extremely large for a .jpg file, so the picture on this  blog is not as big as possible. Click here to see the image maximised.

RM - Mag Ads: Gallows - "Grey Britain" and "The Vulture (Pat II)"

Artist: Gallows
Album: Grey Britain
Magazine Found In: Kerrang!

Album Magazine Advert

The majority of the page is the album artwork which features a Union Jack with a shield and a  white rose overlaying the flag. The artists name (Gallows) and the album title (Grey Britain) also feature on the page, above the shield. At the bottom of the advert there is a list of UK tour dates. The advert also contains information including the release date of the album, which in this case is the 4th May 2009. There are also several website addresses including Relentless' to obtain exclusive studio footage, as well as the album's own website everythingisfallingapart.com

Quarter page advert for
the band's single
"The Vulture (Part II)

Earlier in the same magazine, same issue, there is another advert for the same band however this time it is for one of the albums singles "The Vulture (Act II)", it is also a quarter page advert unlike the one found later in the magazine for the album. Again the same text is used for the band's name and the single. The advert includes information about where the track can be downloaded this also includes a strip at the bottom of the advert for the full album.

RM - Mag Ads: Cauldron - Chained to the Nite

Artist: Cauldron

Album: Chained to the Nite
Magazine Found In: Terrorizer

The advert used is half a page however this is further separated down to advertise for four bands, the others being  Carcass's "Wake Up And Smell The Carcass", Oceano's "Depths" and an announcement for SSS on tour with Cancer Bats with their album "The Diving Line" advertised below it. Thus making the advert a 1/8 f the page. 

The album is pictured to the right of the advert with the band pictured to the left side. The band's name is pictured above the album artwork. Underneath the album artwork magazine reviews are included including reviews from Metal Hammer. To add to this additional information is also included telling the consumer that the product is now in stores and limited edition vinyl and a limited edition CDs, which contains a bonus CD containing two unreleased tracks, are available.

CO - Feedback on digipak designs so far

Our teacher and some of our classmates have given Sublime Transcendence some feedback regarding the initial digipak ideas, and while everyone agreed that the general stellar/cosmic/celestial idea was a nice touch and a nice theme to go with. However, a few disagreed with the stag's head design on the front, arguing that because the skull was a Flash drawing, it looked too cartoonish and novelty to be considered normal for the genre. Here is another similar design but with a different take on the skull; I took a photo of a dog's skull and doctored and edited it to sit the theme of the cover.

CO - Digipak updates.

Below are some designs I've done on PhotoSh00p 4.0 for our digipak, following a few different themes and ideas, mostly nature and space related. I did the drafts on a small scale so the canvas would be easier to work with, so the designs below will not be exactly on the digipak as they are depicted here, apart from the last one.



The finished 1st draft of the cover, with the title of the EP added.



The proposed back of the CD case, when it comes to the final one this draft
won't be changed much at all.



The final design for the front of the digipak, similar to the inital drafts in the previous post.



The lyrics booklet.



The digipak credits. We've had some audience feedback for this and it was generally favourable
apart from the text being somewhat hard to read in places.


















Here is a screenshot of how I've been making the designs, by using both Adobe PhotoShop 4.0 and 10.1 to create the canvases, effects and finished editions.


In this part, I am designing and editing vector traces and patterns
for the digipak back, as well as patterns used elsewhere on the designs.





Lastly, this is an example of how the final digipak front came together, by
importing parts from other canvases and editing different bits and pieces
with the tools PhotoShop provides, such as shadow effects and tints.



SB - Filming

This month we're trying to organise some filming on the 22nd. We will be going up on the moor and filming the narrative first just because then we can look back on it and see what we need to do for the performance such as make up and gore. We are struggling to get the cast and crew in on the same date, but we think we can organise some dates in early february to help catch up.