I used YouTube to watch other music videos and get other ideas, I also used youtube to watch my very own chosen song for my music video which is This woman's work by Maxwell.
Video Camera
I used a video camera to video my music video from school, I enjoyed recording.
Prezi
I used Prezi to create presentations for music video interests and I also used it for my evaluation Question 2, This wass a fun way to create a presentation.
Google
I used Google to get information on soul music and information on ideas. Google allowed me to find out when my chosen song came out and the information on the record company.
Survey Monkey
Survey allowed me to create surveys to give to people so that I can find out what the majority of people listen to. Also the survey allowed me to ask people what they expect to see in a soul music video.
Blogger
I use my blog to post research and planning for my music video and images and ideas. I always update my blog to post videos and my survey.
Photoshop
I use Photoshop to edit and add special effects for my magazine cover and Digipak. This allowed me to make my magazine cover and Digipak professional.
Adobe premiere pro
I used adobe premiere pro to edit to my music video, this also allowed me to add special effects and add transitions to smoothen out my music video.
The feedback I got was mostly was positive feedback, they understood the storyline which is really important. Most people said they understood that the artist is the little boy. They also mentioned that they could see the meaning and message throughout the music video. They understood that the mother developed cancer after a load of struggles and the artist was coming to terms with it by singing this woman’s work. A lot of people mentioned that we had good actors which made it look more realistic.
I was also told that my music video conforms with the convention of soul music because soul music is supposed to touch people’s heart and emotion and my music video did exactly that. Soul music is about having feeling and showing emotion, the pace of this song already showed the feelings of the artist and it should be able to touch other people’s souls. Overall the music video was good and a lot of our feedbacks said the music video is very sad and people found it very emotional.
The negative feedback
However some people has also said that to make it conform more to the convention of soul music because it could of have pictures flashing and the mother should of show more emotion towards her son to show she loves her son.
My chosen song for my music video is ‘this woman works by Maxwell’, and the genre of my music video is soul,to an extent I have conformed to the conventions of soul music within my music video; however I have included some subversion to give my audience something different.
My first frame is in black and white which is showing the mother walking into the hospital; just about to find out she’s got cancer. The reason why it’s in black and white is because It is a flashback, the artist it looking back at the past. Black and white is used t show emotion, dull and simplicity. This conforms to the convention of soul music video’s being in black and white. Another music video example is ordinary people by John Legend, this shows different people’s lives and the troubles they face, it was also filmed in black and white to express the artist emotions and make a viewer feel sad. Soul music is usually in either in black and white or sepia to show the passing of time. The mother is wearing a long cardigan, jeans and a hang bag to show how a typical mother from a lower class background may dress. The location represents struggle, danger and sickness because it’s a hospital and usually a viewer will automatically assume that there is something wrong if they saw the mother walking in a hospital department with her head facing down. This frame also helps you to easily identify that it’s a soul music video, the pace of the music video is very slow so for this frame I made sure I made the mother walking in slow motion so that it could match with music pace.
Example of soul music video, ordinary people by John Legend
I also choose to subvert to the convention of soul music by focusing on the mother’s and son relationship rather than it being about a typical man and woman relationship. Mainly soul music video now is mainly about relationship issues and the artist is usually expressing their love for someone. An example for this is the song ‘I can’t make you love me’ by Tank
Another good example of a music video that also shows the passing of time is ‘like you never see me again’ by Alicia keys
My second frame is an ultrasound of the artist when he was born; I chose this frame because this shows the beginning of his past going back to the day he was born. This frame is very symbolic because it allows the viewers to understand that the music video is based on the start of the artist and his mother’s relationship. This frame was used in slow motion so it could match with the songs pace.
My third frame is of the artist singing, this is an important frame because it shows the artist singing behind a white wall. The white wall symbolises the emptiness and loneliness the artist feels for the loss of his mother. The artist is dressed in casual clothing and he is also wearing a hat. This shows the realism and the fact that he is dressed in casual clothing shows thee every day feeling he feels for his mother. As you can see in this frame it also shows a light shining on the artist, the reason for this is to remind the viewer that he’s the artist. In my music video I wanted to sell out the artist as well as sending a message.
My fourth frame is the mother in heaven; she is wearing a white dress. The white dress symbolises that she is in a peaceful place and she has become an angel. I chose to make this frame very bright by using the special effects on adobe premiere pro so the viewer can know that mother has passed away and she’s in a much better place. This frame is shown in slow motion to express emotion, when the mother is smiling it reflects how relaxed she is, the other frames are dull and dark indicating the stress and struggles she faced in her life. Furthermore this frame been shown brighter and she looks more healthy and happy suggesting that in heaven she’s happy with god. This also supports the convention of soul music being religious by creating a heaven scene.
My fifth frame is the artist of when he was little young boy, he’s looking down with his face down looking upset. I chose not to add any effects to this frame because the frame was perfect enough. The little boy is in a basket ball court and you can see the green court behind him, this shows his frustration and the basket ball court creates an image of him being trapped within his thoughts, almost implying that he can’t escape away from his life being a struggle. The little boy is dressed in an orange hoodie and black trousers, this costume states that the boy is a typical little boy from a lower class background by wearing a hoodie; it’s a stereotype of how a young little black boy from a lower class background should look.
My sixth frame is an image of the a sign saying ‘ Cancer Outpatient, Oncology Outpatient’ this is when the mothers finds out she’s got cancer and by letting the viewers realise this, we wanted to show the department name from when the mother is walking towards it. This easily allows the viewers to understand what’s happening and why is she in hospital; I wanted to make my music video as clear as possible. The colour in this frame is very dull and depressing because it shows how exactly the mother is feeling having to face this sad news.
My seventh frame is a shadow of the mother’s hand asking for help from god by having her hands together. This shadow doesn’t show her face just her arms; this is because I wanted to touch other viewers that may be going through the same thing. The fact that the shadow didn’t also shows her face suggests that anyone can have cancer and feel like they have nobody to turn to a part from god.
My eighth frame is of the mother behind a white wall expressing her feelings through dancing. The white is also the same wall the artist is singing behind, which shows how close they could have been if she was still alive. The mother is dressed in a white top with a black cardigan and jeans; this frame is meant to show her in her dreams which states that the only time she can express her emotion is when she’s sleeping. This crack on the wall also shows that her life isn’t perfect because if it was then the wall would have been very clean and not damaged. The cracks show the damages in her life, she’s not happy and she gives up with her life.
My ninth frame is a picture of Jesus with candles around it and a little letter saying ‘Mum’ this lets the viewers know that the mother has passed away. This frame was used to show a memorial remembrance of the mother. I uses adobe premiere pro to adjust he light because when you see candles and religion, it’s always shown in the light. This frame also conforms to the convention of soul music because the music video goes back to Christianity with the crosses and the pictures of Jesus. Soul music is a combination of R&B and gospel, soul differentiates from R&B due to soul music use of gospel-music’s use of gospel-music devices, its greater emphasis on vocalist and its merging of religious and secular themes.
