Our Finished Product

Ancilliary Tasks

The Digipak:

The Poster

Task 4 How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

TASK 3 - What did you learn from audience feedback?

Copy of TASK 3 Courtney Madincea on Prezi

Task 2 - How effective is the combination of your main video and ancillary products

Task 1 - In what ways do your media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In what ways do your media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our story, like "Thriller", "Pump It" and any Lady Gaga music video, had to be established and introduced. "Flyswatter" is a story and a journey with a heavy narrative about a girl stumbling upon a house of washed-up-next-to-nothing fairytale characters. Using pre roll helped us to introduce the characters and the basis for this story which is continued throughout the duration of the video. This conventional method of telling a story is extremely useful.

We were heavily influenced by the mise-en-scene to tell the story - a lot of symbolism was used to convey hidden meaning and messages. For example, the pills around Sleeping Beauty suggest an addiction or absence of serenity she is famous for in her self-titled novel. The leather bound books stacked on the staircases are all fairy tales, the one on the top happens to be Alice In Wonderland. The princesses fighting over the crown show a different side to the glorified heroines, now they are greedy and possessive, fighting over power and wealth instead of love and hope.

Our performance element was originally going to include a band appearance however due to certain circumstances we could only get our lead singer to lip sync the words. Nevertheless, this still is our employment of conventional performance elements to endorse both the singer, the song and the music video. However, we used an unconventional technique by using the main singer as the main character as well. Immersing him completely in the storyline and narrative. Mainstream examples of this would be Avril Lavigne's joint parts in her song "Girlfriend" where she performs and plays both the villain and the victim. Taylor Swift does this in her song "You Belong With Me" where she also plays the heroine and villain. This is a simple solution for balancing the performers persona. The artist (singer or band) wants to appear both vulnerable and empowered - something applicable to the teenage crowd at a time when searching for one's identity and growing up are important to every individual.  

  

The symbolism of the Mad Hatter's Tea Party represents the embodiment of all things magical, lavish and crazed. After visiting all the other fairytale characters, we return back to the story of Alice In Wonderland - as a sort of crescendo to the symbolic tea party table and members. The appearance of the table is identifyable to all ages of audience members, for adults it is nostalgic and symbolic of their childhood, for teenagers it is symbolic of their transgression into adulthood and for children it is the coming-to-life of a beloved fairytale. Of course this certain fairytale is a dark one and targeted subliminally toward an older audience (16-24) like most fairy tales involving deep meaningful themes children would not pick up on until they have reached adulthood. Most famously, the fairytale of Snow White.

Breaking the rules of convention, we used a lot of unnatural, physcodelic and loud colours with our lighting, costumes and mise-en-scene. This was to convey a sense of disorientation and disorder. To over brighten the pastel colours of conventional fairy tales. The colours are highly symbolic of the mood and scenario taking place, this again, is to reiterate the sense of phsycodelia. Teenage audiences would response to this quite strongly, it evokes the feeling of a "trip" and also the loudness of the colours boils the idea of a childhood revisited. Bright block colours are incredibly effective, more effective than reverting back to black and white in my opinion, music videos like Kasabian's "Shoot The Runner", Paramore's "Misery Business" and Nicki Minaj's "Superbass" effectively use loud colours to embody the mood of a song and delight audiences visually. Nicki Minaj's video even goes so far as using neon, ultraviolet lighting making everything distorted and negatively coloured. Reiterating that sense of physodelia.

Our Digipak:

This is the front cover of the digipak which is quite simple. This is quite a conventional album cover for this indie style music. However, a lot of new upcoming bands would have a picture of them or some way of recognising who they are which ours doesn't. Our writing is also quite small, but I think all of this works quite effectively as it makes the viewer engaged with the CD. This is why the inside cover is supposed to have such a huge impact. Our main CD cover was inspired by the new RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS's album cover, "I'm With You". The simplicity of the cover is dramatically effective and echoes a feeling of corruption and contamination (the fly on the pill). We really wanted to echo this idea, the idea that there is something deeper than what you first see. We really were attracted to the idea that there was something bottled up in the pill that was just waiting to explode. This is why the CD cover (both front and back) is mockingly sterile. And the inside is an explotion of animation, imagination and creation.

These are two sections from the digipak which develop and challenge the rules of convention. Our aim was to have a huge burst of colour and pictures inside the cover which is a huge symbolism to our video. The reason for this was to make the viewer feel connected to the idea of fairytale and fantasy.  As I edited the pictures on photoshop I made sure to make it extra psychodelic which has a close link to the idea of such crazy fantasy leading to some sort of "drug trip". In terms of matching our music video and genre of music, I would say the inside cover juxtaposes the outside unconventionally - the use of such bright colours and no image of the band does break the rules.

The inside of our album cover was partially inspired by Coldplay's 2011 "Mylo Xyloto", their loud use of UV style colours is eye grabbing and very unconventional. For an established band like this it is incredibly unique not to have their own faces anywhere in the digipak. The CD came in a matte silver sheath that peaked through to the graffiti and artwork behind it. Again this reitorated the sense of soemthing more... something behind a wall or a barrier between the music and the listener. It is all a subliminal game but highly effective when pulled off properly.  

Our poster:

In our poster we agreed we should finally give our fans something they've been yearning for... a glimpse at the Mad Hatter. This poster peaks into the world we have created within our music video and establishes a very distinctive image of The Spinning Teacups. The poster draws attention to the hat, in which the tour dates are written upon and a glimpse at the tea party set to "wet the pallets of our audience". Our poster was inspired by the more whimsical and surreal looking tour posters like Taylor Swift's Speak Now tour and Bob Dylan's 1998 tour poster.

Review of Our Music Video

I'm exhausted. What a crazy and busy day - things changed and we altered but, actually, I'm really proud of the result.

We started early, knowing we had face make-up and a lot of cast members to gather. As soon as the costumes and make-up were on, everything seemed to be falling into place. Our make-up artist Kika was truly awesome, she worked some Tim Burton magic - as well as the makeup and costumes, the lighting and set just seemed to be perfect. Everything was pastel and surreal, the lighting was a soft blue, purple and pink mixture that was simultaneously psychedelic and dreamy. We used the studio to start, this was our largest set up. We decorated a long dining table in a white cloth and placed about a dozen different decorations on it. These large decorations consisted of candy-filled vases and pyramids of food assortments. We found that we had to make everything bigger in order to fill the frame of the camera. The table though looked spectacular in the end and from there we shot our final sequence: The Tea Party Scene.

Next, we fell into a little bit of trouble, after the Tea Party Scene, we wanted to record the band sequence. The performance element of the music video. But our actors had previous engagements that they could not miss and we were running out of time. So we had to be quick on our feet and decide what to do - so, rummaging through our props department very quickly, we came across a large grandfather clock and four white pillars. In a quick change over, over the period of lunch, my crew and I created a new set, tables covered in candy and a central grandfather clock (reinforcing the physchodelic feel). The set actually looked fantastic, for a quick fix, it was surprisingly effective. For this set, we recorded our main singer (thank goodness we still had him) lip-syncing to the track a few times. And boy was he good! I underestimated our actor - originally, the replacement of the replacement of the replacement. He was fantastic. And when he was performing the lip-sync he really got into it and committed to the role of the Mad Hatter.

By the time the lip-sync was done we had to pack up the studio, clean up and move the rest of our actors to the buses to be transported to the location shoot. It was about 3:30pm, when we finally got to the location shoot and luckily I had already set up the main rooms that were going to be shot in - this saved us a lot of time. We started with "the reveal", the opening seen that glimpsed into the chaos and disorder of the fairytale world. The first shot we took was the tracking shot that snaked around the staircase. This was by far our most dynamic shot, shot on the Sony NX5 camera, we did a few takes - choreographing the movement of each character poignantly so that the movement of each character was fluid. Next we focused on recording each scenario within the staircase scene - using wide shots then close ups to focus on each characters corruptness and uniqueness.

The last few scenes to be shot were The Bedroom and The Bathroom scene as well as Alice's Retreat. These scenes were shot in real locations and lit with bright blue or pink lighting. We used wavering reflectors to manipulate candlelight for the bedroom scene and the gold side of a reflector to brighten the bathroom light. Alice's retreat is shot on a candid angle, an almost birds eye view to add to the feeling that she is being watched and analysised - like all women are when coming into society.

We wrapped at about 7:30pm and were shooting for a full 12 hours - it was exhausted, thrilling and taxing work all at the same time. I loved working on both sets and seeing our visions come to life through the frame of the camera. We had a large say in what camera angles were used, how the actors composed themselves and what sequences were shot in what order - a large step up from our AS thrillers, taking on more responibilty and control than ever before.

Music Video Update

As anticipated A LOT has gone wrong but that doesn't mean the sting of it is any less painful. Our main problem (and something that could have been avoided possibly if we were more organised) is our "Little Girl"... or the lack of one. We asked around trying to use peoples sisters and daughters but a common factor became the problem and that was that our music video is on a Wednesday and all the girls we knew/we trying to borrow either went to boarding school, were busy or went to school hours away. This problem also arouse from our two out-of-school band members who "only just realised" that the 16th was on a Wednesday not a Saturday (although one of my first pitch points was that they would have to come out of school). So we've been let down a bit and might I say if I were Steven Speilberg, this would have never happened. But alas, a girl can dream...

But I love performing underpressure, I had planned for most of these events anyway so it was a quick but quite extreme mix. Now our Sleeping Beauty and also crew member is Alice, the main girl, older and taking shelter in this house. We are going with a broken-down-car-scenario or lost-in-the-woods (something along those lines). So Sabrina will be taking the roll of the lost heroine and the Mad Hatter is now Jamie Parker - a great drama student who isn't afraid to go crazy. He's not our original idea of the Hatter but I have a lot of faith in his performance. So we have a replacement Sleeping Beauty (upgraded from Belle) and Belle is now played by someone more suiting to the appearance. Apart from those large changes nothing more has happened... and I really hope that doesn't change.

More Updates:

We have no Captain Hook - looking for a replacement. Also most of our studio set is not sufficient enough or does not look the part so most of our footage will be shot on location.

Feedback

Well done, Courtney.  This is comprehensive so far with a clear sense of how the idea has been developed and changed from the initial concept.  The research and planning included offers plenty of evidence of excellence in organisation and ensuring that the product is informed by reference to real music marketing materials.

The shooting schedule needs to be redrafted with reference to specific storyboard frames so that it is clear what shots need to be covered in each set up.

James

Costume Hire

Below is a recorded copy of my contact with a Costume Hire location: 

Dear Fairy Godmother Costume Hires,

REPLY

Hi Courtney

I am sure we can supply the costumes you are after. They cost between 

store is your closest. Please call 01932 566988 to talk to jayne.

£32-£36 to hire, and the hire is up to a week. I believe that our Chertsey 

I have yet to call Jayne and speak with her - this I will do next week, when our entire production team is together. 

I am writing from Hurtwood House Media Department to enquiry about some of your costumes for hire. My production team is in the process of developing and producing an original music video as a part of our A Level Media Studies course here at Hurtwood House and after scouring the internet we found fairygodmother.co.uk. Our music video is based on a fairytale theme and - quite frankly - your costumes would be perfect for our shoot. We particularly liked the long Belle and Cinderella dresses as well as Little Red Riding Hood - I was wondering if I could reserve these costumes ahead of time. Our music video shoot is on the 16th November (but we would like to have the costumes from the 15th-17th of November just in case we 'missed a shot' or have to reshoot a sequence) and it would be great if we could reserve them now so that the main element of our music video is settled.

Please contact me for any further quieries, questions or comments. I look 

forward to hearing from you.

Warm regards,

Courtney Madincea

Hurtwood House Media Department

Holmbury St. Mary

Dorking

Surrey

RH5 6NU

Shooting Schedule

Now that we know where are locations are going to be we can roughly manage to write out a schedule:

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 16TH 2011


Start - 8:30AM - HURTWOOD STUDIO - The Tea Party Room Sequence     
                                   The Bedroom Scene
                                   The Bath-Tub Scene
                                    
        1:30PM - HURTWOOD CLASSROOM - Awaken Scene (clash and end)
        3:30PM - Travel to Location (Foxbury) - 
                                   Stairs/Exterior /Corridor Scene.
        8:00PM - Finish. 


Obviously there are no breaks and this is just a very rough first draft, when we come together on Monday we will all work together to finalize a shooting schedule as well as re-contacting our actors and officially confirming them for the shooting day. 

Set Design - And Additional Feedback from Dan (The Production Designer)

The Mad Hatter's Tea Party Room - this is the final 'fantasy' room of our music video. It is where the young girl finds solace amidst all the chaos and madness from the rest of the house. This is the final room she ends up in before waking up in her own classroom. It is also a 'sanctuary' - where she finds the band members who play to her, this is a safe room. Which is why we want it to greatly juxtapose the rest of the house. The house is very gothic and dark but this room is full of light, pastel colors and lively shrubbery. This room will be well lit - contrasting to the dark shadows of the other rooms - and overflowing with cakes, cupcakes, candy, marshmellows, streamers, party-poppers etc. It is the room where the performance element is heavily based. 

Below are two alternative ideas for the Tea Party Room:

#1

#2

After talking with Dan the production designer, we showed him the two alternative ideas we had for our Tea Party Room and we all decided to make a hybrid of the two. It will be a canopy room strewn with large shrubbery and fairy-lights. With soft lighting on the canopy itself and multiple light sources. We want this room to be "loud" but pleasing to the eye. 

The Bedroom - This is the room our main character discovers Red Riding Hood and The Wolf 'canoodling' (so to speak) in bed with each other. This room is lit with heavy shadows and candlelight that surround the bed. On the floor is the quickly discarded materials of R.R.Hood and The Wolf, such as a basket, a grannies wig, a shoe and two bras. We didn't want the bedroom to be too elaborate and draw attention away from the action and what the little girl is seeing. 

After discussing with Dan, we agreed to shoot this in the studio and make it a black room with just a simple bed in the middle. We would dress the set well and rely heavily on shadows to give the atmospheric mood of the room. We also discussed using Gobos - gobos are filters you can put over lights in order to create a lighting 'shadow' to cast over the bed. We were going to use a gobo that simulated barred windows and cast it over the bed as the only/one of the only sources of lighting. 

This main staircase is one of our main rooms - we had hoped to make it a set piece but we were told it would be too expensive. Nonetheless, we are using our location staircase (featured in a previous post) and dressing it well - this will be a lot more difficult but over half term i am going to keep experimenting with how to dress the set nicely in order for it to look like a gothic haunted mansion.

The Bathroom Scene will be executed similarly to the Bedroom Scene, it will be in a black studio and lit very dramatically so only what we want to see is visible. 

Our Corridor Scene is also being used on location - pictures will be available soon - and this too, to match the house, will be lit with heavy shadows and soft candlelight. The corridor scene is very much about "watching your back" and shadows dancing around the young girl. 

Cast List

Cast Members:

Madhatter

Tommy Lyster from Cranleigh (Outside student)

Age: 17

Role: Mad Hatter - main singing part - leader of the band "The Teacups".

Costume: Suit, pin-stripped, quite alternative, with a little emo-ish twist.

Example of the "look" below.  

The Little Girl

Alabama Jackson (Outside Student)

Age: 12

Role: Main Girl - girl scout

Costume to look like this (below):

Other Band Members

John Oldfield from Cranleigh (Outside student)

Age: 17

Role: The March Hair - Drums/Guitar

Costume? Same gothic-esque costume, with a twist, ears and face makeup probable. 

The Door Mouse 

 Eva Abeling - Hurtwood House Student (A2)

Age: 17

Role: The Door Mouse - Guitarist 

Princesses :

First Princess

Ally Blacklock - Hurtwood House Student (A2)

Age: 17

Role: Belle/Beauty

Costume Below:

Second Princess

Jasmine Sichel - Hurtwood House Student (A2)

Age: 17

Role: Princess Cinderella

Costume Below:

Third Princess

Sarah Wichall - Hurtwod House Student (A2)

Age: 18

Role: Snow White

Costume Below:

Fourth Princess

 Sabrina Salmon - Hurtwood House Student (A2)

Age: 18

Role: Sleeping Beauty

Costume Below:

Pinocchio

Paul Godeau - Hurtwood House Student (AS)

Age: 16

Role: Pinocchio wrapped up in string

Costume Like This:

Captain Hook

 Antonio Magro (Teacher at Hurtwood House)

Age: Older :)

Role: Crazy Captain Hook

Costume Like This:

Prince Charming/Big Bad Wolf

Max Voloshin - Hurtwood House Student (A2)

Age: 17

Role: Arrogant Prince Charming

Costume Like This:

Little Red Riding Hood

Courtney Madincea - Hurtwood House Student (A2)

Age: 17

Role: Red Riding Hood, sleeping with the wolf.

Costume Below:

List of Costume Sources:

Hurtwood House Costume Department: we may be able to salvage the costumes of the Mad hatter, the Girl Scout, Pinocchio, Captain Hook, the other band members and smaller costume parts like the grandma wig, the additional character costumes (extras costumes) and accessories like Little R.R.H's basket. 

Fairy Godmother Costume Hire – Cinderella Gown, Belle Gown, Red Riding Hood Outfit. 

Other websites/personal stock - Wolf mask, Dwarf mask, Girl scout sash, Black wig

Props:

Candy

Tea Set

Wig x2

Glasses

Basket

Apples

Glass Slipper

Pills

Cards

Toy Boats

Rubber Duck

Cookies

Cupcakes

Cake

Toothpicks

Bunny ears

Mouse ears

Strings

Face paint

Make up

White Gloves

Streamers

Fairy Lights (White)

Baloons (pastel)

Long table

X6 chairs

Candelabras

Vases

Cake stands

Runner