In order to see if our band website was simple and easy to navigate, we asked a number of people to try out the website and give their opinion about the site, what they liked, what they disliked and what we could have improved on.
Below are our results;
"I thought that the design of the website was well thought out and easy to look at. I think that the white background adds to its simplicity and lets me know where the links are on the website. I would mimprove on the amount of images made available, as there are not that many on the wbesite."
Mr Philip, Media Teacher
"A very impressive website. I enjoyed the band biographies and thought that the tour and review section of the website made it feel very realisitic. However, I would have added more links on the website because I think that fans like interactivity."
Bethany Mossop, Media student
Oerall, we are pleased with the feedback we have been given. I felt that I had put alot of time and effort into designing and creating the site, but I am delighted that the feedback has been constructive.
Tom
Sunday, 19 December 2010
Friday, 17 December 2010
THE Music Industry
The four 'major corporate labels' that dominate the music industry are Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI. Space was signed to gut records, an independent record company based in London and owned by Guy Holmes who had previously been working for Island Records. The key role in the record company seems to be the A&R department (artists and repertoire). A&R people work very hands-on with the artists that they "sign." When a record label "signs" an artist, it simply means that the artist makes an exclusive contract with that record label.They do everything from assisting with song selection to choosing the people that will produce the album to deciding where the album will be recorded. The people in this department work as the link between the recording artist and all the other departments of the record company.The diagram below shows a basic power play situation in a record company.
Yussra and Marwa
The Final Website!
I have finally completed the website. Click on the image below to check out the website for yourself.
Thursday, 16 December 2010
A Few Additions to the Site...
In order to make the website more interactive for our users, we have decided to include biographies of each band member in order for fans to find out more about the band and what the members are like. Inlcuded in these biographies is the roots of the musicians and how they began playing music and started out as a band. Below are the screen shots for each page. Click the pictures below in order to see the pages in full.
Tom
Band Website Research
In order to find out how a band is able to promote themselves online, I visited many band websites and drew influence and ideas in order to create an effective and informative webpage for our band, The Motion. What I learnt first is that a band website needs to have its links clearly laid out. The users needs to know what they can and can't click as well as being able to find these links on the website. This means that I need to take into account the layout of our website and try not to inlcude too much information on the main page, therefore, confusing the user and not being able to find the links. As you can see below, the website for popular rock band The Strokes has it links clearly laid out at the top of the page. Also, the links font colour differs from any text and so, people can easily distinguish between what parts of the website are interactive.
I also learnt that I need to choose suitable colours for the website. I personally felt that white would be the msot suitable colour as it is easy on the eyes and is more convenient when trying to find the links on our website. I felt that dark colours such as black and grey would make our webpage look morbid and the user may feel like we had more of an 'emo' rock band, rathern than an alternative and so, I think that white is the best choice. I drew this inspiration from the webpage of We Are Scientists, a band who I believe are very similar to the type of band we are trying to portay.
Lastly, a key aspect of band websites is trying to include as many pictures as possible of the band. Many websites included photos of the band, both on photoshoots and during live performances. In order to be creative, I have included individual web pages for each band memebers, complete with a iography and a picture of the band member. The website for dubstep producers Magnetic Man included a picture of all three band members at at the top of the page.
I also learnt that I need to choose suitable colours for the website. I personally felt that white would be the msot suitable colour as it is easy on the eyes and is more convenient when trying to find the links on our website. I felt that dark colours such as black and grey would make our webpage look morbid and the user may feel like we had more of an 'emo' rock band, rathern than an alternative and so, I think that white is the best choice. I drew this inspiration from the webpage of We Are Scientists, a band who I believe are very similar to the type of band we are trying to portay.
Lastly, a key aspect of band websites is trying to include as many pictures as possible of the band. Many websites included photos of the band, both on photoshoots and during live performances. In order to be creative, I have included individual web pages for each band memebers, complete with a iography and a picture of the band member. The website for dubstep producers Magnetic Man included a picture of all three band members at at the top of the page.
Tom
Website has been built!
Today, I completed and made the final touches to our band website. The pictures below show what i have included onto the webpage;
1. On the main site I have included an About section. This gives the users a rough description of the type of genre that the band is, and the sort of music they produce. I have included their influences and what music critics are giving the band critical acclaims.
2. I have also added fully functioning links which allow the user to see an individual bioghraphy of the band members, who are me, George and George. I decided to put them on the main site as I believe that most users would be interested to know more information about the band and will want to know what inspired them to create their music.
3. On the right hand side of the page, have added a news section. This will allow the user to see the most updated news about the band. For example, the website currently has the news about their February 2011 tour, which would be of great interest to any fans.
4. In order to make the band feel realistic, I have added a tour section, which includes the bands February 2011. As I have seen from other band websites, the tour section is the most prominant part of the page, and so, I used a bright blue border to clearly show the user the dates of the shows and where the venue is.
5. I have also added a 'Buzz' section to the band website. This shows the fans what well known music critics are saying about The Motion and how they have become so popular. As with many band websites, they try to exhibit what the critics are saying about them, particularly if the feedback is positive.
Tom
Making of the band website
As part of our project, we were required to make a fully functioning website, which contained links to all sorts of pages related to the band. To begin with, I researched a number of flash websites which would be easily layed out, as we are not specialists at building websites! I then found wix.com, a website whereby we could add a number of information about our band. I then chose a simple layout, complete with sections for links, pictures of the band and this blogger website. This would allow the user to easily navigate around then website and find out more information about the band and the members. Currently, I am in the process of creating web pages for each band memeber, including an image of the band member along with a biography about their roots in music. I will also try to include a buzz section, whereby the user can see what major publications are saying about our band.
Tom
Tom
Monday, 13 December 2010
Lights, Camera, Action!
Professional lights were used and caused quite a lot of trouble. Spacing in the tight rooms we had to use caused to be an issue with lighting and manoeuvring the lighting in our movement shots also became an issue. We spent at least half an hour before each shot recording and pausing to see if the light looked natural. (at one point we even tried to use a sheet of foil to reflect the light in the bedroom scene or I balanced off the top of George's sink trying to light Tom from a high angle while he made a sandwich). The use of the light and the time it took paid off. We had brighter more vivid shots which I believe would create a more effective shot rather than a dimly lit dull shot. It was the second time we had used lighting since the preliminary task and it did make an extreme difference, this is why when given the opportunity to use it in our music video we thought it would be the best option.
The camera was a professional HD sony camera which, really gave us the opportunity to excel in our choice of shots playing around with focus and creating different depths of shot. The camera truly came in handy adjusting to lighting and making it seem as realistic as possible which we didn't get from a normal video camera. The attached microphone also meant that editing became a lot easier as we could clearly hear the section of the song that was playing at the time of filming rather than just second guessing what section we were filming. The only two issues we had with using the camera were the weight of the camera when trying to do aerial shots of the bed scene and the change in shot size (it became wider) once we had uploaded it to imovie in order to edit.
Yussra and Marwa
Saturday, 11 December 2010
Animation, Animation, Animation!!!
If we were going to be making a completely professional piece of media we wanted to follow through with it as if it were not a project from sixth form but, as if we were actually supplying a music video for a band. This meant factors such as lighting, storyboarding and mise-en-scene all came into practice.
Yussra's detailed storyboarding came into play as soon as we started planning our initial ideas. With a keen drawing hand we came to see how shots could work and couldn't work. Storyboarding aided us a lot on set when we would be lost for what shots would be most convenient to shoot next rather than wasting time and shooting it in narrative order and then returning to previous sets. I then turned our storyboard into an animation in order to see clearly how our video will turn out and if our shots would be enough or too much for the length of the song. The animation is below.
Friday, 10 December 2010
Cancellation List
the reasons we have cancelled filming.
1) By using other peoples house there are times where the people who live in that house may want to actually use their house and therefore we cannot film however we understand the fact that we are very fortunate to be allowed to film in these peoples houses therefore this excuse is something that does not bother us at all, as we are the ones who are intruding at times.
2) We had a number of issues with the lights, one of the days we took the lighting kit to Marwa's and started to set up the room the lighting and the camera. Although when we turned the lights on we were intrigued to know why they would no turn on. Little did we know that the light bulbs that should have been sitting in the lights did not actually exist. With the help of Anna and her Ford we drove around to multiple stores with maybe a glimmer of hope as we bought bulbs which were GY6.35 when we needed GX6.35. We thought why not give it a try. It ended in the fuse in Marwa's house going out and us being in the dark. Filming was impossible.
3) After the above incident we waited for the order of new light bulbs to come in as shops didn't actually sell these bulbs. Amazon did not turn up on time so we had to postpone our filming from Monday to Friday.
4) Having to travel from school to the location takes up time, therefore on one of the days we realised that by the time Tom and George went home and arrived to Marwa's Anna would have had to leave for work. This was due to the lack of time organisation, as usual we rescheduled.
Yussra and Marwa.
1) By using other peoples house there are times where the people who live in that house may want to actually use their house and therefore we cannot film however we understand the fact that we are very fortunate to be allowed to film in these peoples houses therefore this excuse is something that does not bother us at all, as we are the ones who are intruding at times.
2) We had a number of issues with the lights, one of the days we took the lighting kit to Marwa's and started to set up the room the lighting and the camera. Although when we turned the lights on we were intrigued to know why they would no turn on. Little did we know that the light bulbs that should have been sitting in the lights did not actually exist. With the help of Anna and her Ford we drove around to multiple stores with maybe a glimmer of hope as we bought bulbs which were GY6.35 when we needed GX6.35. We thought why not give it a try. It ended in the fuse in Marwa's house going out and us being in the dark. Filming was impossible.
3) After the above incident we waited for the order of new light bulbs to come in as shops didn't actually sell these bulbs. Amazon did not turn up on time so we had to postpone our filming from Monday to Friday.
4) Having to travel from school to the location takes up time, therefore on one of the days we realised that by the time Tom and George went home and arrived to Marwa's Anna would have had to leave for work. This was due to the lack of time organisation, as usual we rescheduled.
Yussra and Marwa.
Monday, 6 December 2010
Uploading New Footage Issues
When it came to uploading new footage into the existing window with the previously taken footage it wasnt working and continuously came up with the image camera not connected when we wanted the image camer connected:
Unfortunately the image we were waiting for never appeared. We had to approach this differently so we opened a new imovie and simply uploaded it there with no difficulties. However when trying to import the old footage into the new footage window it would automatically letterbox something we did not want. We had to discard the old footage and the hair dye incident gave us another reason why the old footage was impracticable.
Yussra and Marwa.
Peer Assessment
During our lesson on Thursday 25th November, we exhibited to the class a rough cut of what we had in store for our music video. Through peer assesment, we were given consturctive feedback from our fellow students, as to how we could improve our footage or what their personal opinions and thoughts were about it. Much of the feedback was given a level 3 mark, and so we were pleased overall by the comments given back to us. This allows us to build on any flaws mentioned by other students and hopefully we will be able to possibly push ourselves to create a level 4 quality production.
Responses included;
'We felt that the footage works well with the style of the song. However, some parts do not sync in time with the pace of the song but overall, a really good start to the music video'.
One key issue we can take from this response is timing within the video. We can build upon the comments that the music did not match with the visuals on screen and therefore giving us an outside opinion as to how we can better ourselves.
Tom
Responses included;
'We felt that the footage works well with the style of the song. However, some parts do not sync in time with the pace of the song but overall, a really good start to the music video'.
One key issue we can take from this response is timing within the video. We can build upon the comments that the music did not match with the visuals on screen and therefore giving us an outside opinion as to how we can better ourselves.
Tom
Saturday, 4 December 2010
Our record label.
Our band has decided to sign for Virgin records. After looking through many different labels we decided we wanted one that was well known for maximum appeal, but still retained an independence and originality that would help develop the band.
Founded by Richard Branson Virgin records started in a Notting hill gate record store, and gained major success through it's release of "Tubular Bells" by Mike Oldfield in 1973. It gained a reputation of originality and going against modern conventions when they signed infamous band "The Sex Pistols". Since then they have become a subsidiary of EMI records, a major record labels that have previously had Nat King Cole, Radiohead and Daft Punk to name a small few. this was an important decision for us as we felt we needed that mainstream label to help gain fans and a more global appeal, whilst still remaining an individualism you get though individual labels such as Domino, Rough Trade and 4AD.
We decided not to use one of these labels as we felt that although keeping the individualism was important, we would be much more able to maximise demand for the band through a larger label with more financial backing.
Major record labels who pump money into a band can often demand more control over the album, losing the bands touch. This is something we hoped to avoid by using a subsidiary of EMI, and bands like Radiohead have shown that they can still make emotional, heartfelt albums that do not follow what the record label would maybe hope for, but are still known worldwide.
overall a good choice
George
Founded by Richard Branson Virgin records started in a Notting hill gate record store, and gained major success through it's release of "Tubular Bells" by Mike Oldfield in 1973. It gained a reputation of originality and going against modern conventions when they signed infamous band "The Sex Pistols". Since then they have become a subsidiary of EMI records, a major record labels that have previously had Nat King Cole, Radiohead and Daft Punk to name a small few. this was an important decision for us as we felt we needed that mainstream label to help gain fans and a more global appeal, whilst still remaining an individualism you get though individual labels such as Domino, Rough Trade and 4AD.
We decided not to use one of these labels as we felt that although keeping the individualism was important, we would be much more able to maximise demand for the band through a larger label with more financial backing.
Major record labels who pump money into a band can often demand more control over the album, losing the bands touch. This is something we hoped to avoid by using a subsidiary of EMI, and bands like Radiohead have shown that they can still make emotional, heartfelt albums that do not follow what the record label would maybe hope for, but are still known worldwide.
overall a good choice
George
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