The Choosing of Our Genre

How we chose our genre

At the beginning of the course, we thought that we would choose the indie-pop genre. We decided on this genre because we all have very different tastes in music and we came to the conclusion that we didn't mind indie-pop. Also, none of us knew much about the genre, meaning that it would be easier to analyse the videos as we could see the conventions more clearly than in a genre we were used to. 

However, after some discussion we have decided to chenge our genre slightly and go down the route of 'indie'. This is mainly because the indie genre is much wider then the genre of indie-pop which is quite specific. By choosing indie we have much more variety when looking into videos, and now have more options when making our final video. Therefore, we have decided to choose indie as our music genre.

Lyrical Analysis - The Way It Was

Song Lyric Analysis

Song title: The Way It Was
Artist: The Killers

I drove through the desert last night
I carried the weight of our last fight
Elvis singing "don't be cruel"
And I wonder if you feel it too
It's like we're going under

Somewhere outside the lonely Esmeralda county line
The question of my heart came to my mind

If I go onWith you by my side 
Can it be
The way it was
When we met
Did you forget all about those golden nights?

Maybe a thief stole your heart
Or maybe we just drifted apart
I remember drivingIn my daddy's car to the airfield
Blanket on the hood, backs against the windshield
Back then this thing was running on momentum, love and trust
That paradise is buried in the dust

All of our plans have fallen through
Sometimes a dream, it don't come true
Darling!
Darling!


If we go on
Can it be
The way it was
When we met
Did you forget all about them golden nights?

If I go on
With you by my side
Can it be
The way it was
My heart is true
Girl, it's just you
I'm thinking of
Can it be the way it was?
Maybe a thief stole your heart

      Lyrics about the recent past - the singer mentions what they've been doing and introduces the song.

      Lyrics of about a lost or failing love - the singer seems unhappy, and seems to be having a bad relationship.

      Lyrics about questioning that love - the singer wonders what will happen and whether their love is still there.

      Lyrics about memories - most of the second verse revolves around the singer remembering the past, and what their relationship was like at the start.

      Lyrics about love - at the end of the last chorus, the singer reveals that he still has feelings for this girl and still loves her.

Lyrical Analysis - Summertime Sadness

Song Lyric Analysis

Song title: Summertime Sadness
Artist: Lana Del Rey

Kiss me hard before you go 

Summertime sadness

I just wanted you to know

That, baby, you're the best

I got my red dress on tonight

Dancing in the dark in the pale moonlight

Done my hair up real big beauty queen style

High heels off, I'm feeling alive

Oh, my God, I feel it in the air

Telephone wires above are sizzling like a snare

Honey, I'm on fire, I feel it everywhere

Nothing scares me anymore

(1, 2, 3, 4)

Kiss me hard before you go

Summertime sadness

I just wanted you to know

That, baby, you're the best

I got that summertime, summertime sadness

S-s-summertime, summertime sadness

Got that summertime, summertime sadness

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

I'm feelin' electric tonight

Cruising down the coast goin' 'bout 99

Got my bad baby by my heavenly side

I know if I go, I'll die happy tonight

Oh, my God, I feel it in the air

Telephone wires above are sizzling like a snare

Honey, I'm on fire, I feel it everywhere

Nothing scares me anymore

(1, 2, 3, 4)

Kiss me hard before you go

Summertime sadness

I just wanted you to know

That, baby, you're the best

I got that summertime, summertime sadness

S-s-summertime, summertime sadness

Got that summertime, summertime sadness

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Think I'll miss you forever

Like the stars miss the sun in the morning sky

Later's better than never

Even if you're gone I'm gonna drive (drive, drive) 

      These are memories. Could be great to use montage here.

      The use of summertime and sadness lead to a huge juxtaposition, usually summer would be based on happiness but in this sense we think of sadness. With this we could use some happ memories that lead to a sad person here and now. 

      Here we see a time comparison. We start off with a sense of struggle which is later interpreted as a release and an image of letting go is displayed.

Lyrical Analysis - Missing You

Song Lyric Analysis 

Song title: Missing You
Artist: Crystal

I'm out missing you, no matter what you say
I'll hold onto you.
You always make it right when it should be so wrong
How could I ever let go?

So go on and on play
I'm waiting here for you
Just remember my name
That's all I ask you do
Yeah
Go with that pretty girl
There's nothing here for you

I'm out missing you, no matter what you say
I'll hold onto you.
You always make it right when it should be so wrong
How could I ever let go?

How could you let me go?

I never ask for more
I listened name it all
You went behind my back
Taking everything I had
Yeah
Now leave me, it's okay
You've people here for you

I'm out missing you, no matter what you say
I'll hold onto you
Just remember my name
That's all I ask you do
Yeah
Go with that pretty girl (that pretty girl)
Least someone's here for you
How could I ever let go?
I won't ever let go
How could you let me go?
I guess I'm letting go

      This show that someone finds a positive to each negative someone has in the relationship. We gradually see that these points lead to some kind of self-faith even through their loss of hope. - From this we could show a montage based around a happy and strong relationship.

      All of these are demands but when reading them we can see they're struggling. They are direct but they are made to emphasis the pain they feel so we can attempt to empathise. - Our music video could include the illustration of someone physically saying some of these thing or even acting the notion of them out.

      These are all questions. They're the same one's repeated and from this we get a sense of desperation. - Close ups would be good for some of these moments to capture an emotional scene.

      Repetition. Here's a lot of repetition of "you" and "go". These two words bring emphasis on the loss of a person. (We know it isn't death based because we have the other person being with another woman.) If we put the two words together they say "you go" which is not only a direct order but we feel like the message of a broken relationship is continuously being pushed through and we're constantly being reminded of this. - I think the use of montage and modern clips could show these stages clearly. Luckily our genre usually does this anyway so it would be a good technique to use.

MARK SCHEME

Marking Criteria for Research and Planning

Research and Planning must be presented in digital format. Where candidates have worked as a group, the research may be presented collectively, but each candidate should give a clear indication of their role in any group research and planning and teachers are asked to differentiate the contributions of individuals within the group in arriving at a mark, justifying individual marks on the assessment sheet. As part of the moderation sample, the moderator will expect to see full evidence of the research and planning informing the construction process in order to support assessment.

Level: 1 0–7 marks

• Planning and research evidence will be incomplete.
  
• There is minimal research into similar products and a potential target audience.
  
• There is minimal work on shot lists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding.
  
• There is minimal organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props.
  
• Time management may be very poor.
  
• There is minimal skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation.
  
• There are minimal communication skills.
  
• There is minimal care in the presentation of the research and planning. 

Level 2: 8–11 marks 

• Planning and research evidence may be incomplete.
  
• There is basic research into similar products and a potential target audience.
  
• There is basic work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding.
  
• There is basic organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props.
  
• Time management may not be good.
  
• There is basic skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation.
  
• There are basic communication skills.
  
• There is a basic level of care in the presentation of the research and planning.

Level 3: 12–15 marks

• Planning and research evidence will be complete.
  
• There is proficient research into similar products and a potential target audience.
  
• There is proficient work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding.
  
• There is proficient organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props.
  
• Time management is good.
  
• There is proficient skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation.
  
• There are proficient communication skills.
  
• There is a good level of care in the presentation of the research and planning. 

Level 4: 16–20 marks 

• Planning and research evidence will be complete and detailed.
  
• There is excellent research into similar products and a potential target audience.
  
• There is excellent work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding.
  
• There is excellent organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props.
  
• Time management is excellent.
  
• There is excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation.
  
• There are excellent communication skills.
  
• There is an excellent level of care in the presentation of the research and planning. 
  

Indie-Pop Moodboard

Indie-Pop

From this we can see that indie-pop tends to follow both artistic and vintage themes. These are interesting aspects and can be fun to work with as our potential genre of choice.

Gruop Reflection from AS Media Coursework

AS Media Coursework: Group Reflection

Research:
What we did well: We were organised and communicative.
What we will do better in A2: Share the workload more evenly.

Planning:
What we did well: Storyboarded most of the film, we preempted of most of the problems we were likely to encounter.
What we will do better in A2: Storyboard the whole film rather than just the start, and again, share the workload more evenly.

Filming:
What we did well: We got an actor in, we filmed everything on one day before Christmas which meant we were ahead of our schedule allowing more time for editing.
What we will do better in A2: Get a surplus of 'reaction shots'.

Editing:
What we did well: Communicated with each other well (through an online chat), we delegated responsibilities and were organised. We kept to a good time scheduel so we knew what to focus on and when.
What we will do better in A2: Include more 'technical' aspects, any titles will be well-thought out.

Sound:
What we did well: We recorded lots of foley and the music worked well.
What we will do better in A2: Be more organised with foley.

Evaluation:
What we did well: We were organised and used a wide variety of media types such as soundcloud, photographs and constructed videos e.g. behind the scenes.
What we will do better in A2: Time management and efficiency (don't leave things to the last week).