Deconstructing Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer

Sledgehammer was a masterpiece of work when it was created and it is still widely recognised now as a great piece of film. The genre shown in the music video is sci-fi and fantasy that is shown through stop-motion animation and clay work. I really like the clay animation because the way it was crafted was really funny and interesting to watch.

The video is very abstract and follows the post modern movement. The representation of Peter Gabriel has shown him as a happy, quirky individual who is showing that he is a different artist than the usual pop stars.

The music video uses mainly close-ups and this causes the audience to become intrigued and carry on watching because there are enigmas.

There are some mid shots and long shots used later on in the video this is variation within piece that re-entertains the viewer because there is more information for the viewer to interpret. There is no story to the video and there is no continuous editing apart from each separate scene.

I also like that the title in the beginning is partly in italics because it begins more attention and focus to 'hammer' showing that it a main part of the song.

I gained inspiration from this with the happy representation of the artist and the saturation of the footage which I will potentially use in my own media product  as a music video I really enjoyed watching it and find it particularly interesting.

Pinterest of Ideas

This is the Pinterest board my partner Imogen Millard created for our music video, it contains thoughts and ideas for our media product. 

I really like the different lights and colours that are contrasted on the hands, I would hope to include many shots that have the same effects. We could include shots of the water speakers with the different colours going up and down which follow the lyrics of 'The Sound'. I also really like the idea of water rippling with light reflecting off of it.

I think that we could include sunsets in our piece if they are pink or red because then our piece would have a graphic match. Also the song is about love and affection so it ties in with the theme of the song because love is symbolized with the colours of red and pink. The photo which highlights the eyes of the girl showing part of her face very exposed, is one of my favourites photos. I also really like the shadows aspect of the photo near to it because what we could do is film some shadows of people running on ground - possibly Sidmouth promenade because I feel that we could produce a video that links to the beach and use a similar filter to Vance Joy's Riptide of the yellow haze to the footage.

We have discussed filming a bath bomb dropping into a bath and showing it as its dissolving. We could also include shots of the bath bomb underwater using a GoPro to film, during the video we could also slow the footage down and then speed it up at points to give a distorted effect. Also at the end we could have the main character (probably the girl) surfacing with her hair spread out, we could also take inspiration from countless films like Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 and Avatar where at the end of both films they have a close up shot of the eyes opening.

The idea of having records, vinyl and tapes has been discussed with possibly some close up shots of them and then zooming out, alike The Kingsmen in the opening scene where there is a close up on the dukebox.

We discussed having fairy lights in our video and then applying effects on the footage to create a blurred effect, much like our previous media product that we created in AS for the opening sequence of a film.

By discussing this we have outlined what we would like to include in our music video and have started the basis of a plot with what we want and need in the media product. Since we have done this it will be easier to decide how to frame and create the storyboard with certain shots making it easier in the long run.

The Official Music Video for The Sound by The 1975

Here is the official music video for The 1975's song "The Sound", we will try to steer clear of the style of the video because we do not want to parody it.

Simple Pitch

After listening to the track of 'The Sound' by The 1975 we discussed that it should have a high key lighting scheme and to incorporate the local surroundings, like the beach, woods and towns. To fit with the warm lighting we decided that filming by the beach would be best with some possible scenes in a town.

We also want to include abstract shots of different colours of light and water. I would really like some close up shots of the lead singer or an object like a Vinyl disk being swamped under different colours of light that contrast with each other. We aim to follow the codes and conventions of an Indie Pop music video.

By discussing the pitch for the music video we can now plan the storyboard because we know what the video will be centred on and therefore can plan around it.

Writing a Letter to the Record Company

To whomever it may concern at Dirty Hit Records,

We are A-Level students and we are writing to request your permission to use one of the latest tracks by The 1975.  The track we wish to use is 'The Sound'.

With your permission, this task would be used in our current A-Level Media Studies project, which involves creating a music video to a popular music track, as well as producing an album cover and a promotional album poster for the artist.

If we received your permission, this track would ONLY be used in an educational context and be viewed by our media class, our teacher and the OCR exam board moderator.  It would not be released to a large audience.

The artist and your company would of course be fully recognised throughout pre-production and the final video itself.  A copyright notice with wording supplied by you can be included in the records of the project.  If this is required, please send full details.

We look forward to hearing from you.

With regards,
Imogen Millard and Melissa Chambers

Genre Theory

A product needs a genre so that it can be classified into a smaller group of products and it can then be found easier rather than in a 'sea' of unorganized products.

The Five Functions of Genre:

1. It reinforces cultural ideas and values.
2. Genre creates a set of audience expectations
3. A creation of characteristics is caused by the producers which the audience can recognize easily.
4. It creates a relationship between audience and producers which minimizes the risk of financial failure.
5. It has dynamism and flexibility that means its constantly transforming with new examples being added.

Theorists have different opinions of genre, some overlap and agree with each other however some branch off and contrast against other theories.

Steve Neale

Daniel Chandler believes that: "Conventional definitions of genre are based on the idea that they share a particular convention of content e.g. themes or settings". So he believes that genres are purely based off what they have as content and not what they mean to the audience. 

Steve Neale says that: "Genres are instances of repetition and difference; this is what pleasure for the audience is derived from." The audience takes pleasure in having a set order for the products and in that they repeat and contrast each other within their set genres.

John Hartley follows the theory of that: "The same text can belong to different genres in different countries or times." He believes that a text because of the content can mean different things to different audiences and in that have a different genre to them.

John Fiske

David Buckingham's theory supports Hartley's to a degree by saying that: "Genre is a constant process of negotiation and change." He means by this that a genre isn't a set category that products stay in, by negotiating they can change and contrast previous thoughts and ideas surrounding them. And that the qualities that classify a genre a certain genre can change and alter as producers question and argue against them.

John Fiske says that: "Genre attempts to structure some order in the wide range of texts and meanings that circulate in our culture for the conveniences of both producers and audiences." Fiske is stating that genre is supposed to be set so that both audience and producer can find and locate products quickly and easily.

However there are problems with genre and how it defines products:

• Since genre can change and can be added over time, there is no certainty that a genre that will constantly stay in the same genre; much like Buckingham's theory.
• Whereas some theorist define by content, like Chandler, some define by structure. So there are no certain groups of the same content.
• There can be also hybrids of genre; products that take on certain aspects of one genre but can also be classed as another. In certain circumstances another genre is created all together, like Romantic-Comedies, but products can sometimes be stuck between two genres and it confuses the audience.
• A genre can limit your audience.
• They can also be culturally fluid with different countries viewing them differently.

Learning about genre theory will help me in future with my product because I will be able to assess what genre my product will be in and why it would be in that specific genre. 

Ideas for Media

Today in class me and Imogen discussed what we wanted to do for our music video, we listened to potential songs whilst mind mapping the ideas with what we would do as a music video for them.

After discussing each song and what we could film for the video, we decided to do 'The Sound' by The 1975 because it is a good song and the official music video is not like what we have discussed and planned for ours so it will not copy it.

Briefing for A2 Media Studies

The two briefs that we can choose from for A2 Media Studies.


A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:

• a website homepage for the band; 
• a digipak for the album’s release; 
• a magazine advertisement for the digipak. 

OR

A short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live action or 

animated or a combination of both, together with two of the following three options: 

• a poster for the film; 
• a radio trailer for the film; 
• a film magazine review page featuring the film.

Me and Imogen Millard are pairing up, once again, and we have chosen to follow the briefing of the promotion package for the music promo video. We decided this because we wanted to explore different genres and themes as well as allowing us to become more creative.

Within the three opinions I have chosen the digipak option and also the homepage for the website because they can link easily together and can show my skills within the digital sector. I also chose these two ancillaries because in previous lessons in year 8 & 9 we created our own website and I enjoyed it very much so I chose to do the website homepage for the band because I know I would enjoy it and have had experience in it already. I also chose a digipak because I can create artwork since I have done art for my GCSEs and AS level, so I can use my skills in the subject area also.

Media Studies in Future

What are you expecting from the A-Level course?

I am expecting to learn new things about the media industry, editing and filming. Also I hope to enjoy creating and working towards a piece of work that is relatively new to me, I expect to help create a purposeful and meaningful media product which I will be proud of.

What do you already know and what would you like to learn?

I already know the basics of the editing program that we use which is Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 however I would like to learn more about the program in further detail so I can use it to the best of my ability to make a better product. I'd also like to learn about different styles of filming, experimenting with alternative angles and learn more about the theory of film.

AS Coursework Review

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!

I'm Melissa Chambers and this is my blog documenting my second year of Media Studies at The King's School in Ottery St. Mary, Devon. 

Everyone all over the world uses media daily, whether it's using your phone, reading a magazine or listening to the radio - many people interact with media on a day-to-day basis. With the media you can learn about important news, listen to your favourite music or talk to distant family members. However we don't notice how much it affects our lives until we stop to think about it, whether it's what type of cereal you should be buying or what political party you should follow, it influences our decisions and how we view certain situations in the world.


For my subjects I am doing English Literature, Drama and Media Studies. I really enjoy studying media because it is very creative and is overall amazing to learn because of the practical nature of it as well as learning about the theory side which is interesting. I chose to take Media Studies because I am very interested in the entertainment business, I love films and TV shows as well as the script and story line behind them - this is one of the reasons why I took English Literature also, since script writing is a possible future career path for me. After finishing A-Levels I want to go to university and do a joint honors with Media Studies and Drama. When I have finished uni I want to go into the entertainment industry, either to work with media - possibly PR or work on set as a director or writer, however I also really enjoy acting so I guess I love both being behind the camera and in front of it!

Thank for reading!

AS Media Studies

To see my previous blog for the AS part of the course follow this link:

http://melissachambersmediaas.blogspot.co.uk