Star Image Task - 50 Cent.

I shall be using the artist 50 cent for this aspect of my coursework. 50 Cent or Curtis Jackson, is a rapper from the United States. A star-image has been created which reflects his personality to be one of a cruel and almost ‘gangster’ like nature. This has been achieved through the design of album artwork, production of songs and music videos and other such marketing techniques and campaigns. One example of this is his music video for the track ‘Many men’. In which various aspects of mise en scene contribute to create such a star image. Below is a screenshot from the video which shows the artist wearing what appears to be body armour. This indicates that he is a man of high importance.

This Screen shot also shows us the artist wearing a rather large necklace. The amount of jewellery and diamonds shown throughout this video could lead the audience to associate the artist with a factor of wealth. Moving on from this particular video, and onto 50 Cents acting career; ‘Get Rich or Die Trying’ was released in 2005, and is supposedly an account of 50 Cents life. However, on the 8th of november 2005, during a chat-show on American television, the artist said that the film was "about 75 % accurate". This demonstrates that the producers and directors of the film probably worked with the artists record label and management to portray a false and desired image. Therefore also contributing to the overall 'star-image' of the artist.

An advertising poster, shown above, features an image of 50 Cent holding a baby, this shows the audience an example of the artist being a 'father-figure'. By including this within the advertisment the audience may choose to hold positive connotations of the artist, potentially leading to a larger fan-base and definitely leading to a further and more mature star-image. Another aspect of mise en scene which is very noticeable is the constant visual reference to guns and fire-arms. This hold connotations to a ‘gangster’ lifestyle. In addition to this is the shot at 3:50, shown below. At this point, 50 cent appears to be holding a ‘meeting’ with an associate who is drinking expensive champagne. This could be a reference once again to the wealth of 50 cent as an individual.

The next screenshot, shows the audience a ‘police type’ scenario. Which shows newspaper pictures and articles of 50 cent and his gang pinned onto a board. This leads onto giving the audience the idea that 50 cent is involved with criminality, and the police feel the need to investigate him as a criminal and gang member. This combined with such factors as the mise en scene and the way he has been conveyed within the film; Get Rich or Die Trying, all produce a ‘Star Image’ of the artist. The audience of such a product may choose to further their association of 50 Cent and 'Gangster' life style after seeing such a shot. 

Progress Update.

Our project is progressing very well at this moment in time. Filming is almost complete and we have began to edit the footage collected so far. Whilst attempting to film the opening scene, we stumbled across a problem that meant we could not use the footage gained. This was because the lighting of the environment was considerably darker than the rest of the footage being used. Therefore we have chosen not to use this shot as it may compromise the videos continuity. Other than this, all of the footage collected is of a seemingly high standard, and as a group we are very happy with the progress made.

Risk Assessment.

Hazard:

What could cause harm? Crossing roads or using roads whilst filming.

What is the likelihood of this happening? Very unlikely.

Who or what would be harmed? The person being filmed or film crew.

How much harm? Possibly severe harm.

Applying the following priorities, how will this risk be managed?

(1)   Eliminate. (2) Reduce or substitute. (3) Isolate. (4) Control. (5) Personal protective equipment

Hazard:

What could cause harm? When filming in locations the pose risk, such as the coast or seaside.

What is the likelihood of this happening? Unlikely.

Who or what would be harmed? The person being filmed.

How much harm? Not a lot.

Applying the following priorities, how will this risk be managed?

(1)   Eliminate. (2) Reduce or substitute. (3) Isolate. (4) Control. (5) Personal protective equipment

Hazard:

What could cause harm? When filming near a source of water, such as a river. If the artist falls into it, they could potentially drown.

What is the likelihood of this happening? Very Unlikely.

Who or what would be harmed? The Artist/Actor.

How much harm? Severe.

Applying the following priorities, how will this risk be managed?

(1)   Eliminate. (2) Reduce or substitute. (3) Isolate. (4) Control. (5) Personal protective equipment

Costume.

This is a picture showing what clothing our artist/actor shall be wearing for the music video. We have chosen these items of clothing as we believe that they are true to the style of a stereotypical teenager.

Production Schedule.

Date:	Location:	Shots:	Props needed:
September 30	Chantry park	Middle of song, chorus shots – passers by walking/biking	Guitar, plectrum, chair
October 2	Graffiti wall/skate park	Chorus -	Guitar, plectrum, chair
October 5	Bridge/river	Wildlife shots (ducks/swans), water, playing on bridge – people passing	Guitar, plectrum, chair
October 7	Westerfield train station	Train-shots	Guitar, plectrum, chair
October 12	Felixstowe - beach	Outro shots – build up at end of song	Guitar, plectrum, chair
October 19	UCS + surrounding area	Lift shots (beginning and end) and bus station intro	Guitar, plectrum, chair

Audience Feedback.

Upon presenting our pitch to an appropriate audience consisting of a mixture of 17-18 years olds, we recieved very positive feedback. This feedback occured after posing a number of questions, including:

1)      What kind of atmosphere does this idea create?
When asked this question, the audience responded with; “Querky”, “Peaceful”, “Fluid” and one audience member added: “It would be empathetic with the character, and people will be able to relate”.
 

2)      We are aiming to make our video both simple and effective. Do you think that it could be more technical? If so, how?
When asked this question, all of our audience responded with the answer of ‘no’. As a collective, they decided that the proposed idea already consists of enough technicality to suffice.
 

3)      Do you think that the video will be successful?
Once again , the audience decided on a group answer; “Yes”.

4)      Do you think that the video should be more of a narrative, or remain as an interpretative piece?
In response to the question, the feedback suggested that the audience was happy with the fact that video can be interpreted in different ways by everyone. One audience member said, “Keep the idea, it already has a possible narrative and because it could tell a story to different people.”
 

5)      If you could change one thing, what would it be?
We received some quite detailed feedback for this question, which was, “Maybe introduce a second narrative to compliment first one, for example another character could be introduced who could inflate the chair.” However, most of the audience said they wouldn’t change it at all.

6: Do you think more characters should be involved?
The majority of the audience agreed that the notion of just having one character was a good     idea, and a small portion said that we could possibly introduce more characters to hold the audiences interest.

We have decided to take all this audience feedback into account and revise our original ideas and planning to suit the audiences preferences, for example we may introduce another character and additional narrative to crossover with the original idea. However, the original basis of the idea and main focus points of the video will remain.

Research Task - Music Video Analysis 4.

The video begins with a close up of a females face.  The focus then changes due to a cut. A masked scarecrow is then revealed. This in itself is very unique and abstract. The female then goes on to follow the abstract scarecrow type figure through a number of back-alleys. This is very fitting to the songs title of ‘Follow’, and could almost be seen as narrative. Throughout all of the scenes, the technique of stop-motion is used.  Along this set path, a number of other abstract objects and people are introduced. Including an elderly man, having tea. Facial features such as lip colour often change as a result of stop motion on the females face. This technique is also used in order to change the colour of the elderly mans socks, as well as various items of clothing on the scarecrow type figure.  An additional elderly man is then shown dancing whilst both his shorts and sunglasses change colour due to the stop motion effect.

There are very few narrative elements to this video, however the content strictly follows the song title of ‘follow’. I believe that the video lacks in narrative due to the nature of the song itself. The video challenges various forms and conventions, due to its unique and mysterious content. I.e. the elderly man drinking tea and a masked scarecrow. The relationship between sound and image is pretty simple. The up beat tempo and pace of the song matches the pace and tempo of the video.

During this video it is clear that the director has intended to use many different techniques of editing. An Eye-Line Matching shot is used at 0.40. By incorporating this into the video, the audience see the scarecrow from the artists point of view.

Continuity editing also features heavily in this music video and gives the video a sense of time. Moving onto the mise-en scene featured, there are loads of different costumes and props being used in order to create this video. The use of colour being one of the most obvious features of mise-en scene within the video. Vibrant and constantly changing colours are used in the video as a result of the stop-motion effect. The effects of artificial lighting can be seen at 2.01. Due to the lighting, only the actors mouths can be seen along with the actor in the middles chest. I believe that this focuses on the particular actor and draw attention to the clothes he is wearing. This particular actor is also a musician in Crystal Fighters. Therefore I believe this is why the focus has be directed upon him.

It is possible that the two elderly men featured in this video are features of Iconography. I believe that this could be case as they both evoke a feeling or atmosphere of difference between the two individuals. One man appears to be conforming to the stereotype of an elderly person by drinking tea whilst reading a book. On the other hand, the other elderly man is exercising whilst wearing sunglasses.

Camera movement does not feature much at all within this video, instead the camera appears to be mounted still at all times. In contrast are the variety of camera shots used. Extreme close ups enable the focus to be directed upon the artist. An example of this can be seen at 1.32.