Scrap Footage

After deliberation, we have decided to scrap our first set of footage due to the shots not matching our creative expectations. As an outline of our progress, the link to this footage is below...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4-yrJVSw8Y&feature=channel_video_title

CGI Idea - Spinal Chord

Within our song choice there are multiple references to films and different aspects we found to be open to the use of Computer Generated Imagery, this was our first idea for the lyric ''breaking like a spinal chord''

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS7g2jJcvao&feature=related

Location Report

Location Report

For our video we have chosen to shoot in multiple locations,  in order to add variation to the scenes and transitions.

Our first choice for shooting our scenes is to be a studio within college, using a green screen background. This allows us to control the external environment and allows us to keep a grip on the continuity of our shots.

The second of our prospective shooting locations is an underground or multi-storey car park. We chose this as it befits the general conventions of the hip hop genre. It possesses the ability to convey dark lighting, bright lighting and panoramic skylines from the upper levels.

The third place we chose to use for our location based shots is the local Telford Plaza. This provides us with a more sophisticated setting, and also an outdoor based element to our scenes. This allows us to show the artist in a social setting with passers by acting as non-communicative extras.

Research Essay

For this year’s media production we are aiming to recreate a music video, and my group and I have chosen to recreate a recent release from an artist called Dappy, and the track title is ‘No Regrets’. The first main thing we did was too research the genre of the artist, and identify the iconography and general conventions of that said genre, and from the original video. From the research I gathered that the early origins of UK Hip Hop lay within the hip hop scene of America. Break dancing, graffiti, and live PA’s were all common amongst the beginnings of the scene, as in the US, however the UK scene emerged as a multicultural scene in the early 1980s, as opposed to the heavily African American dominated US hip hop, however the US has become significantly more multicultural in recent years. General stylistic conventions of hip hop are things such as the heavily computer-based backing tracks, the unmelodic and rather un-conventional lyric delivery, however there most conventions can be shared with the US versions i.e. lyrical content, clothing, jewellery etc. Within the genre I found that the iconic figures of the scene were radio DJ’s such as Tim Westwood, Mista Jam, Logan Sama, and even the late Radio 1 DJ John Peel gave life to the genre on his daytime show,  seen as a breakthrough by artists and fans alike. Many of the most noticeable artists within the UK hip hop genre are those from America, people such as Jay-Z, Kanye West, Eminem etc. but artists with roots within the UK music scene as a whole are people such as Dappy, Wiley, Sway, Tinie Tempah,  Professor Green, Example etc. 

From my research into the genre, I then led onto researching my artist Dappys background.  Uncovering personal facts such as his Real name, Constodinos Constavlos, and that he is most notably a singer-songwriter from Camden, United Kingdom. Focusing around the genres of Grime, Rap, and Hip Hop, Dappy had been performing musically since the age of 13 as part of UK based act ‘N-Dubz’ alongside best friend Fazer, and Cousin Tulisa. N-Dubz have become a prominent name within the UK music scene since making their way from the underground scene racking up 8 top 40 hits, and releasing 3 albums to date, ‘Uncle B’, ‘Against All Odds’ and ‘Love.Live.Life’, all of which are now certified with Platinum selling status. Throughout his career, Dappy has been a consistent source of controversy, from drug use, abusive phone calls to being removed from a flight for being disorderly. Controversy has also been an extensive feature of Dappy’s song writing, often being martyred by critics and various charities for his outlook on life and various situations, which they feel that the topics being portrayed in his lyrics are ‘glorifying thug culture’. In early 2011, N-Dubz decided to take a break from their group ambitions, and launch solo ventures. Dappy’s solo career began by signing to management company ‘Takeover Entertainment Ltd.’ He then released his first solo single ‘No Regrets’, which debuted at Number 1 in the UK, and is set to be the title single of his first solo album ‘No Regrets’, set to be released in early 2012. In a recent media interview, Dappy said that, in going solo, he planned to aim his music at an older audience, indirectly referring to N-Dubz early teen dominated fan-base. This artist has shown his appeal to his new projected audience, and his old fan-base, by combining his old style of lyric-writing, with a thoughtful outlook on life.

The video will be a predominately performance based take on ‘No Regrets’ by Dappy. The video will be shot in a number of locations, adding variation to the shots and camera angles we will be able to use i.e high angle, long, pan etc. Possible locations could vary from roof tops and other outdoor locations to a stage based performance. Within the location shots, we intend to use various genre conventions evident within the Hip Hop scene. The genre will be conveyed through the acting style used, props used and the costume chosen. The acting style will need to portray Dappy’s cocky and arrogant attitude, so powerful gestures, posture and facial expressions are going to be essential. Props will include things such as hats, masks and the costume will be mainly baggy clothing to enhance the convention of the hip hop genre.

 In the actual video for the song we chose, an establishing shot shows the artist on a roof top, giving a superior image of the subject, almost in a spiritual/preacher like capacity. I fell that we will use the same idea of giving the subject a powerful stance; however we will adapt the shot and scenery to show differentiation between the original and our own version.