cassblog7

My Digi-Pack...

2010-01-19T04:03:00.001-08:00

One of the ideas i have is to have an iconic and star constructive album based image. It's mainly to give the artist an image and identity on the Gospel music scene as he's not that well known, yet. I plan to also have his name bold & big, the main image of the star in the centre. Maybe in a place of religious meaning...
These are some examples of music videos album art/covers that have the same intention as me:
Marvin Sapp who has a similar sounding voice and style, in the song he sings and the way he dresses ect...

Also there is Micah Stampley & Kirk Franklin who are in the same genre, age & gender and have the same type of star construction on their album covers;

This cover is very interesting as well as having his name big and bold as it has a picture of him fighting himself asort of caption where a moment i time has bee captured. This is relevant because the name of the album is called Fight Of My Life. Also the codes used are very interesting because he is wearing black shorts in one and white shorts in the other. The idea of this is to depict that white is good and black is bad and he wins against the black shorts (on the floor) in the sense that good triumphs evil.

Filming Difficulties;

2010-01-15T02:46:00.000-08:00

Yesterday i tried to do some filming and came across three re-occurring difficulties;
The first was my actor (part time) and the constraints that come with a low expenses budget.
As i am obviously making my video with all my own resources it is hard to find lighting. As i mentioned earlier being this time of the year it gets dark very early and very quickly (4pm), therefore almost all the light has to be artificial. WHICH REPRESENTS A PROBLEM, to find lighting in a shot is very difficult. I had to make use of lampposts, walkway lights and use well light areas. For example one shot i took of D.Montrell (Joshua) was in front of some graffiti but i had to make it a low angle to capture the light. This would be worth taking into consideration i was to carry out the project again.
Secondly, one of my 3main characters had a son. he was a boy named Calvin and he was 4yrs old. Working with kids is one of the most challenging things i had to do during this shoot. To find a child actor is very difficult as there is a lot more issues you have to take into consideration such as times; We had to ensure he was up and ready and at my house on time. Dates; we had to check with his mum if we could take him on the allocated days. Catering; we had to make sure he was fed and kept constantly entertained. Rest; We were under strict instructions that he had to have a nap in the afternoons and most of the time it interfered with shooting. An so much more. In future working with kids is something i definitely consider twice before doing so again.
Lastly my story board (see anamatic). Besides the fact i was already struggling to keep to my story board and kept changing things as i went along, the amount of footage i had, created a problem when it came to editing. I had soo many ideas and only so much song. I had some excellent footage for my narrative and some equally great lip-syncing. When it came down to it, it was a matter of choosing the best of the best to go in the video which i found extremely hard!

Update

2010-01-14T13:34:00.000-08:00

The value of a call sheet and a day schedule are highly underestimated. If only i followed it down to the t.
Well firstly the availability of my actors was hard to work out; finding times that we were all able to do the shoot were horrible. With the stress of exams and allocating revision time had to be fast done. Another thing I found was that filming time was fast spent, it seemed like 10mins then I’d turn around and it had been an hr.
To be honest I would have loved to do ALL the filming in one weekend however my specific idea required lots of different locations but not too many props.
One thing I would have loved to change was the time of year in which the filming had to take place.
At this time of the year the days are EXTREMELY SHORTER which makes it even harder to film. It got dark by 4.15pm and I don't live near my college so by the time i would get home and get my equipment it would be dark. Filming on the weekend also seemed to be a problem where by my actors had other engagements such as football & sessions with paid tutors.

Feedback

2010-01-13T15:32:00.000-08:00

In class everyone watched each others videos and gave them feedback before they finished it.
My personal feedback was that my audience ws having problems differenciating between the video's characters. My two males leads were black and young and both in dark colours so it wasn't that easy to tell them apart in the shots done in the evening.
This taught me that COLOUR OF THE COSTUME PLAYS A BIG PART.
In that a cruciality would be to know what is going on unless your trying to deliberately trying to confuse them, which is not what i was trying to do...
In futue i will ensure that very distinctive & obvious colours are used for each and every character. Maybe even if they had a signature item of clothing, jewellery or amulet.

My Video

2010-01-13T13:11:00.000-08:00

The main aim of my video is to provide a narrative and story to the song. So when the consumers have seen the video the images and story lines will stay with them and be able to assist them in future. I want it to engage the audience whilst trying to tackle and provide a solution to the issues they face every day such as giving in to peer pressure and relationship problems.
My target audience is of an age 11-45. I’ve made it quite wide as the message of the song is one that is quite universal. It can be shared by all people. Also the music video narratively targets issues that could arise and apply to all these ages.

In my video I will have 3 main characters Rebeccah, Issac & Dad-Abraham, of which all are experiencing some trials and tribulations in their lives. The chain of events they are all experiencing will bring them all together.
There is a girl Rebeccah who is phoning her boyfriend but he shuns her so depressed she takes to the streets but having no friends and being known in the local area for being quite promiscuous in her past ways catches the wrong attention. Where she meets an old peculiar man who gives her a few words of wisdom and a strange present???
In the midst of all these dealings her boyfriend is out dreading the worst and trying desperately to solve the problem at hand, he’s running around frantically in an attempt to collect this money when he comes across a strange man (the same man that his girlfriend runs into) and fells almost compelled to give the money he has spent all day collecting to him as he realizes that the life isn’t worth anything without the person you want to spend it with. Meanwhile as Rebeccah is back at home she is drawn to reading this book-the bible. After reading she realizes what her life has been missing and she gives her life to Christ. This is when the dad-Abraham gets a chance to go back home and pay the rent.
When Issac gets to Rebecca’s house she shares her new found faith with him, they pray & the rest is history…

In my video I’ve tried to import the main element of the story however it wasn’t easy as I had to try and incorporate the lip-syncing in also whereas the song is only so long. So it was a matter of literally choosing the best bits and cutting the takes down to a bar minimum.
I also decided to have a bit of (non-musical) narrative at the beginning; this is to give the audience some background info and the basis of their argument.
To capture this technique I looked at videos from;
Deitrick Haddon ft.Mary Mary- Love Him Like I Do
Nelly ft.Jaheim- My Place

Also Chris Brown uses this technique alot in his videos;
-Wall to wall
-Yo (Excuse Me Miss)
-Gimmie That ft.Lil Wayne

Character Intro 2of3

2010-01-12T14:10:00.000-08:00

This is my second actor his name is buks and he's playing the part of Issac, Rebeccah's boyfriend.
He's young about 17yrs old and got hmself mixed up with the wrong ppl all in an attempt to be in the in crowd. He's got brains, a bright future and a very well established sports career but almost threw it all away. By doing so he got himself in abit of a sticky situation wherE by he now owes some top "thugs" money (£500).
In his desperate attempt to get the money back he findes himself more in dept than he thought imaginable...

Costume: Dad

2010-01-12T12:34:00.000-08:00

This is how i originally wanted the dad to come acros. As a homeless, lowly & Sad man but it didn't seem too realistic according to the situation so instead i decided to change it to a more relateable situation. There are soo many people that have had and are still going through financial difficulitys. Much more people can relate to this rather than sleeping rough and being homeless.

This is what ola will now wear for the music video. A jacket of this kind as it's simple, looks good but is'nt luxurious...

Costume: Rebeccah

2010-01-12T12:07:00.000-08:00

This black dress is what Dorcas-Rebecah will wear at the begining of the video this will show that she is very feminine likes to look good but slightly promiscious at the same time.

This is what dorcas will change into later in the video. The change of hair, clothes and no make up will indicate a change in her priorities, her lifestyle & her outlook on not only her life but her value of herself.

Costume: Issac

2010-01-12T11:53:00.001-08:00

This is the costume for my character named Issac,
He will have to be casually dressed and looking quite youthfull.
However he will have to be in quite dark colours as his costume will have to reflect his actions which are not completely legal
A hat to conseal his face but will be turned back any time we need to fous on his facial expressions:

An some jeans to keep his look casual and not too unaproachable as we want ot portray that although he has got himself mixed up in trouble he's not entirely bad.

Locations- Lip Syncing...

2010-01-12T08:04:00.000-08:00

I went out to a number of various locations with Joshua, who plays the main man- D.Montrell and did some lip syncing shots to the song.
We took a number of different shots in different locations and carried round a change of clothes which took 3Days of carrying around the same clothes in the cold...

My Secondary School; The shots of the brown and orange wall in the introduction of the 1st scene. Most of the shots we did on this day were low angle and of him sitting on the floor. We also used the black drama studio and did shots of him against the white wall this was to indicate the contrast of the problems in life which can feel surrounding but the white wall where he was showed that God is the light & the answer to all these problems.

Plaistow Station; The graffiti in the background for the ending scenes where he's singing and going along with the music just improvising for the outro of the song. The scenes here were done to create a connection between the scenes of the church & the drama studio as he looked very nice and the way Buks- Issac was scrounging or money didn't fit so we used this to bridge the gap.

The Local Town Hall; We took some shot of him walking in between the pillars singing & dancing in a suit looking very executive. This locations was used mainly for scenery as i looked very interesting the way the pillars were positioned and we thought that he'd look good weaving between them

My Friends Church; We did a number of shots here where he was standing on the Landing, point of view shots and a lot of high angle shots.
-The singing into the microphone
-The sitting on the landing
-The standing on the landing

A Copy Of The Letter I Sent To The Record Label:

2010-01-12T07:48:00.000-08:00

Re: God Ordained Records LLC

Hello my name is Emma & I'm currently reading Media studies at A-Level.
Part of my course is to make a music video to an already established (another artists) song. I've chosen d.montrells God Can't Fail not only because i enjoy the song but also because i find this song can relate to various people's issues of all ages. I just wanted to inform you and ask permission if i would be able to use it.
It won't be publicly broadcast on youtube, facebook etc at all and will only be viewed by my class, my teachers and a professional examiner.
Thank you very much.
God bless.

Character Intro 1of3

2010-01-12T07:05:00.000-08:00

This is on of the actors for my narrative music video.
Her name is Rebbecah, girlfriend of Issac
She is 16yrs old and plays the part of the the lost and pregnant girl friend.
She has no-one but her boyfriend and when he decides to leave her she feels she has no-one to turn to. which leads her on a road of self discovery on which she comes across a man who lives on her street and give her the answer to all her problems in all the ways she wouldn't expect it...

Weather Warnings...

2009-11-16T02:55:00.000-08:00

I'm going to start filming so i need to check the weather for the area and different locations i am planning on filming in.

http://uk.weather.com/weather/today-Dagenham-RM9?fromSearch=true

D.Montrell INFO

2009-11-16T02:11:00.000-08:00

That is the name of the song I'm going to do my video to.
I don't really like the song as much as i liked the other one but then again, i don't want to get sick of it,
I chose this song because i can do an introduction story type of narration to this song and I'd prefer to do a more naturalistic narrative video rather than an abstract voyeuristic video.
Just a LIL bit of background info on him:
"Donavan Montrell Thompson was born on June 27, 1982 and reared in Geismar, LA. He is the second son and third child of Dr. Leroy Thompson, Sr. and Carolyn A. Thompson, pastor and first lady of Word of Life Christian Center located in Darrow, LA. Growing up as a preacher..s son, he was trained at an early age to work in the ministry. The opposite of what some might call ..the Preachers Kid.. stereotype, Donavan never strayed away from the watchful eye of his father and guiding hand of his mother. He started singing at the age of 13, developing himself by becoming a part of the church choir and experimenting with studio equipment. ..He was called to the ministry at the age of 17 and shortly thereafter began touching the lives of youth with his preaching and singing. Donavan attended Louisiana State University for a short period of time, before working full-time on staff at Word of Life Christian Center where he currently serves as the director of the music department and assistant youth pastor. As president of God Ordained Records (..G.O..), D. Montrell is demonstrating that he is a well-rounded artist who knows both sides of the industry; spiritual and business. He writes, records, and produces at God Given Studios, the official recording studio of God Ordained Records. The record label..s logo is ..GO.. which is reflective of ..Go Ye Into All the World and Preach the Gospel to Every Creature... It..s not just his record label; it..s his ministry. ................D. Montrell has gained a lot of his experience by traveling with his father during ministry meetings, where he is sometimes asked to sing before his father ministers. He has traveled to many places, in and out of the United States, gaining a following even before the release of his first CD. Not only has he ministered out of state, he has also ministered in the city of Baton Rouge and Lafayette and the surrounding areas. ..Most of the time, he ministers with The Proteges, his up-and-coming God Ordained Records group. ..As a minister of the gospel, D. Montrell uses his musical abilities to accompany the Word of God that he teaches and lives. This is D. Montrell."
http://www.myspace.com/DMontrell -His myspace

Told you it was just a lil...

Lyrics OF God Can't Fail By D.Montrell

2009-11-16T01:21:00.000-08:00

There are times in our lives,
we must come to realize-
(there's something greater)
Your thoughts are filled with lies
And your tears won't seem to dry
(feels like your drowning)
you're in this world on your own,
All your family & friends are gone
You cry sometimes coz you feel so all alone
I've got a word to encourage you
If no-one ever did,
God loves you
An his love will never faaail...

Chorus:
No matter what your problem is
Uncontrolable circumstances
I want you to know
GOD CAN'T FAIL
An though the storms sometimes may come
An your mind tells you to run
Just say this
GOD CAN'T FAIL

It looks like,
It's the end of the line,
An Your running out of time,
The doctor's said that you can't live much longer
But don't be moved by what they say,
Because God hered you when you prayed
So right now i speak life,
You shall live & not die...

Chorus:
No matter what your problem is
Uncontrollable circumstances
I want you to know(say)
GOD CAN'T FAIL (He'll never fail)
An though the storms sometimes may come (they'll come)
An your mind tells you to run (please don't run)
Just say this
GOD CAN'T FAIL

Say God can't fail-
(God can't fail)
Say God can't fail-
(God can't fail)
Say God can't fail-
(God can't fail)
Say God can't fail-
(God can't fail)x3

He'll do what you want him to
(God can't fail)x2

Old Song Video

2009-11-13T07:52:00.001-08:00

This is a song called beautiful by a band called Jesus Culture, the main focus of the song is on how beautiful God is & on how all his creation shouts of his grace.
This was my original song for my music video as I LOVE the base, the band & the sound of her voice on this track.
However I decided to go with a song better suited for my video.
I was originally going along with the idea of an abstract video using mainly voyeurism (looking into the video Smack My Bitch Up-The Prodigy), for the theme of the video but instead i thought narration was for the best.lol

They are a well known band in the US but are based here in the UK in readding.
The actual name of the "band" is also the name of a (their) record label.
They have a number of people from their church who are signed to their label and even some external artists who are serious in what they do. Jesus Cultures movement is an inspiring shift of a cultured genre, radicalized and bought into the main stream...
Spreading the Gospel though their love/gift of music.

This Is A Link To Their Page:
http://www.jesusculture.org/index.php?page=team&tPid=9&staff_name=Kim-Walker

My Genre Choices:

2009-10-12T02:15:00.000-07:00

My 1st would be "Mary Mary" this is because i think they appeal to all ages, sexes and races.
They've had a song in the charts which was nunber one a few years ago so they have sold alot of singles.
I think they're loved so much because they are constantly coming out with new styles and new sounds.
Some other popular artists from this genre would be tye tribbett, kirk franklyn & ce-ce winans (along with the rest of the winans family) the reason i think they're popular is because they appeal to all ages. -There's no age limit to praising God...

Preferable Artists;

2009-10-12T01:58:00.001-07:00

1. Marvin Sapp
2. Dietrick Haddon
3. Micah Stampley
4. Tye Tribbett
5. Ki-Ki Sheard
6. Forever Christ
8. D. Montrell
9. Ambassador
10. Fred Hammond

All the above artists are signed to a redord leabel, well known and recognised in the genre they are in. Below are some more contemporary young new age artists, who are not all necessarily signed;
1. Guvna B
2. JayEss
3. L Dubzy
4. Michaela (The Poet)
5. Sammy G
6. Commission
7. Lordside Fam
8. Stealth
9. Tunday
10. G-Force

2009-10-12T01:51:00.000-07:00

Heeeeeeeeeeeeyyy!
Well the music videos genre's im looking into would be a gospel contemporary or hip-hop.
I LOVE listening to this genre and altough it would not be that easy to portray, i'd see it as an interesting challenge...
So keep an eye out for some of the videos i will be posting.