Monday 1 March 2010

Jonathan Kramer Theory

Media Theorist Jonathan Kramer says "the idea that postmodernism is less a surface style or historical period than an attitude. Kramer goes on to say 16"characteristics of postmodern music, by which I mean music that is understood in a postmodern manner, or that calls forth postmodern listening strategies, or that provides postmodern listening experiences, or that exhibits postmodern compositional practices."
According to Kramer (Kramer 2002, 16–17), postmodern music":
1. is not simply a repudiation of modernism or its continuation, but has aspects of both a break and an extension
2. is, on some level and in some way, ironic
3. does not respect boundaries between sonorities and procedures of the past and of the present
4. challenges barriers between 'high' and 'low' styles
5. shows disdain for the often unquestioned value of structural unity
6. questions the mutual exclusivity of elitist and populist values
7. avoids totalizing forms (e.g., does not want entire pieces to be tonal or serial or cast in a prescribed formal mold)
8. considers music not as autonomous but as relevant to cultural, social, and political contexts
9. includes quotations of or references to music of many traditions and cultures
10. considers technology not only as a way to preserve and transmit music but also as deeply implicated in the production and essence of music
11. embraces contradictions
12. distrusts binary oppositions
13. includes fragmentations and discontinuities
14. encompasses pluralism and eclecticism
15. presents multiple meanings and multiple temporalities
16. locates meaning and even structure in listeners, more than in scores, performances, or composers

Destinys Child - Get On The Bus could be consider postmodern. The song features rapper/producer Timbaland and is lifted from the original motion picture soundtrack of Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998). As with other Timbaland productions, the single features some unorthodox parts, including the sounds of birds (a similar technique was used in Aaliyah's "Are You That Somebody?")

I have considered how each Kramers ideas could be applied to this song.The fact that the genre is RnB but natural sounds of birds and monkeys can be heard in the background could mean it avoids totalizing forms.




Aaliyah's "Are You That Somebody?" also by Timberland used the same idea in which the sound of a baby gurggling can be heard.



Stockhausen Helicopter String Quartet. This was wrote specifically to fit with noise of helicopters. The sound of the wind is incoperated and recorded.



Alvin Lucier I Am Sitting In A Room.

Friday 29 January 2010

Amo Tu Vida Complete :)

We have now finished our coursework, practical & evaluation :) we handed the female, male and sponsorship adverts on one disk and the radio one another. These are the covers we used for the case:



Wednesday 27 January 2010

Q1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Q2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Our tasks consisted of 3 moving texts - the female advert and male advert being the main tasks, the tv sponsorship being the ancillary along with a radio advertisment. The male and female advert are an effective combination because they both advertise the same product, just aimed at a different audience. Here is a video to explain the media product we created:



Script:

Evaluation Q2

Q3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Evaluation Q3

Q4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

For planning our adverts we used the internet, on sites such as visit4info.com and youtube.com. where was analysed clips of fragrance adverts, and get inspiration from them. Youtube also makes it able to promote our adverts which is free to use. We could also look at the comments left on videos to see why they are effective and what viewers think of them. This gave us an understanding our what our target audience were looking for and how to develop our ideas.





We also thought of the obvious and watched adverts whilst watching television and then found them on youtube and analysed them, evidence of this can be seen on the joint blog.

We also used the radio to gain ideas from exisiting radio advertisments on Radio One, and Leicester Sound.



To research uncopyrighted music we could use we found the website jamendo useful. We were able to download songs and add them to my ipod and asked the target audience what they then thought of a few tracks and how well it suited the genre of an advert.



We used a memory stick to transfer files from our mac to a normal computer so we could frequently update our blogs with images. We also used a digital camera to take photos of characters and settings which can be seen on the shared blog.

To enable us to produce a media product we used advanced technology such as Apple Mac computers, video cameras with a tripod and the program iMovie. IMovie allows us to upload footage from a tape and then edit and add effects to create a film. Computers mean we can easily edit and create an effect project. To upload footage to a mac we connected it to the camera with a firewire. iMovie aloud us to split clip at playhead so we could split the shot into two shots, extract audio, chnage the speed of clips, reverse clips, add text and other special effects.



The camera we used were called NG-VS 1220 panasonic. Although the camera’s aren’t in great condition they still did the job of allowing us to film many shots to then upload to iMovie. It caused difficultly when filming the male advert as the camera went dead so we then had to carry on filming the next day, but the lighting effects were totally different on the cameras so we had to scrap it and start all over.





Blogger is the website which we used to frequently update our blogs about our research and how how product was going. We could also see our peers blogs and give feedback to them. Websites such as scribd, slideshare, and word cloud allowed us to present our ideas in a unique style of presentation rather than just plain blogs. We had a joint blog and individual blog in which we could update to show any ideas or updates about our media project :)





Wordle aloud us to make images of words that could help with planning, we used this when thinking of names for our product, we put all of the ideas into one image and then uploaded it to our blog.



Slideshare was a really useful website in which it enabled us to do a powerpoint presentation and then upload it to be put on our blog, we used this programme quite alot during our media project for example our class pitch was put onto slideshare, as were our storyboards. All can be seen on the joint blog.



Scribd is a website that allowed us to upload word documents and put it into a professional script to it was easier to read on the blog, this was useful for our radio script so it was clear for the actors, we uploaded the radio script onto our blog using scribd.

Evaluation

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?



2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Our tasks consisted of 3 moving texts - the female advert and male advert being the main tasks, the tv sponsorship being the ancillary along with a radio advertisment. The male and female advert are an effective combination because they both advertise the same product, just aimed at a different audience. Here is a video to explain the media product we created:



Script:

Evaluation Q2



3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Evaluation Q3

4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

For planning our adverts we used the internet, on sites such as visit4info.com and youtube.com. where was analysed clips of fragrance adverts, and get inspiration from them. Youtube also makes it able to promote our adverts which is free to use. We could also look at the comments left on videos to see why they are effective and what viewers think of them. This gave us an understanding our what our target audience were looking for and how to develop our ideas.





We also thought of the obvious and watched adverts whilst watching television and then found them on youtube and analysed them, evidence of this can be seen on the joint blog.

We also used the radio to gain ideas from exisiting radio advertisments on Radio One, and Leicester Sound.



To research uncopyrighted music we could use we found the website jamendo useful. We were able to download songs and add them to my ipod and asked the target audience what they then thought of a few tracks and how well it suited the genre of an advert.



We used a memory stick to transfer files from our mac to a normal computer so we could frequently update our blogs with images. We also used a digital camera to take photos of characters and settings which can be seen on the shared blog.

To enable us to produce a media product we used advanced technology such as Apple Mac computers, video cameras with a tripod and the program iMovie. IMovie allows us to upload footage from a tape and then edit and add effects to create a film. Computers mean we can easily edit and create an effect project. To upload footage to a mac we connected it to the camera with a firewire. iMovie aloud us to split clip at playhead so we could split the shot into two shots, extract audio, chnage the speed of clips, reverse clips, add text and other special effects.




The camera we used were called NG-VS 1220 panasonic. Although the camera’s aren’t in great condition they still did the job of allowing us to film many shots to then upload to iMovie. It caused difficultly when filming the male advert as the camera went dead so we then had to carry on filming the next day, but the lighting effects were totally different on the cameras so we had to scrap it and start all over.





Blogger is the website which we used to frequently update our blogs about our research and how how product was going. We could also see our peers blogs and give feedback to them. Websites such as scribd, slideshare, and word cloud allowed us to present our ideas in a unique style of presentation rather than just plain blogs. We had a joint blog and individual blog in which we could update to show any ideas or updates about our media project :)





Wordle aloud us to make images of words that could help with planning, we used this when thinking of names for our product, we put all of the ideas into one image and then uploaded it to our blog.



Slideshare was a really useful website in which it enabled us to do a powerpoint presentation and then upload it to be put on our blog, we used this programme quite alot during our media project for example our class pitch was put onto slideshare, as were our storyboards. All can be seen on the joint blog.



Scribd is a website that allowed us to upload word documents and put it into a professional script to it was easier to read on the blog, this was useful for our radio script so it was clear for the actors, we uploaded the radio script onto our blog using scribd.

Tuesday 26 January 2010

Finalising Coursework

After all the feedback (negative and positive) we were given we have now finally completed our coursework! :) changes we made are in previous blog :) once again ignore the strange writing across the advert :)

Male Advert:



Female Advert:



Tv Sponsorship:



Radio Advertisment:

Monday 25 January 2010

Finalising Coursework

This was the bottle and background were orignally used:



but after feedback from peers decided the bottle didnt look that great and to have the background as money not cards would symbolise wealth to the audience.

This is the new clip of the bottle in the advert:

Saturday 23 January 2010

World War 1 - Propaganda Posters



This Poster is minsleading in the fact that it is advertising war as a hobby to men, in the fact they get to play sports such as cricket and football, which in reality isn't the case. Bright colours of the mise en scene are used to create a postitive, happy atmosphere. Masculine sterotypes that men like sports means the poster would appeal to most men.

Monday 18 January 2010

Postmodern Artist

Identify an artist who may be thought of as being postmodern. The theory can link to a song or songs, an album or a series of albums.

Bob Dylan.




Bob Dylan - born Robert Allen Zimmerman was born May 24 1941. He is an American singer-songwriter, musician, painter and poet. He has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. Bob Dylan has taken small pieces of music from one song and adapts it to fit into his own song. Here are some examples:

Blowin in the wind partially derived its melody from the traditional slave song No More Auction Block.






A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall was based on the tune of the folk ballad Lord Randall.





Blowin' in the Wind and A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall marked an important new direction in modern songwriting, blending a stream-of-consciousness, imagist lyrical attack with a traditional folk form.

Mixed Up Confusion recorded during the Freewheelin' sessions with a backing band, was released as a single and then quickly withdrawn. In contrast to the mostly solo acoustic performances on the album, the single showed a willingness to experiment with a rockabilly sound. Cameron Crowe described it as "a fascinating look at a folk artist with his mind wandering towards Elvis Presley and Sun Records."



Dylan's March 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home was yet another stylistic leap,featuring his first recordings made with electric instruments. The first single Subterranean Homesick Blues, owed much to Chuck Berry's Too Much Monkey Business.





Current artist also try to mix the old with the new. Here is an example of a more recent hit in 2000 with one of Bob Dylan's songs:

Bob Dylan Maggie's Farm:



Rage Against The Machine Maggie's Farm:



Bob Dylans Albums:

Friday 8 January 2010

Postmodernism & Music

Postmodernism is taking other forms of art to produce something new. The postmodern sensibility that anything can be considered cool in an ironic ‘I know it’s bad, but it’s so bad it’s good’ way. Work that is created based (entirely or in part) on older material. This incorporates sampling and will take you from the realms of hip hop culture transporting you finally in today’s modern fragmented musical landscape.

The Crazy Frog was an animated video of an annoying sound, which then came hugely popular to mobile downloads on websites such as napster.



The worst auditions on the X factor, none of them can sing but are so entertaining to watch it makes them good.



Music constantly develops, current artist also try to mix the old with the new. There are many examples of this in music today:

Candi Staton You Got The Love Original



The Source Ft Candi Station You Got the Love



Florence & The Machine You Got The Love



Radio 1 has a breakfast show in which mainstreamed music is played by the presenter Chris Moyles.



However in the evening on Radio 1 presenters such as annie mac and zane lowe who promote schemes such as 'in new music we trust'. So niche music is then played.




Technology today means there are a variety of ways in which people can listen to music whether it be their phones, ipod, DAB digital radio's, in car, internet, television, etc. Music is accesible to everyone. Myspace Music allows bands/ musicians to put their music online for anyone to listen to. Youtube can be used to upload music videos, which Esmee Denters took advantage of and is now a well known singer for "Outta Here."

Singing in her bedroom which she posted onto youtube.



Officical Outta Here Video



Some artists music is inspired from other artists here is an example:

Soft Cell Tainted Love



Rihnana Sos



Spotify and Grooveshark are legal websites in which people can sign up for free and listen to music, allowing them to add playlists such as favourite songs. iTunes charges a small amount to download music althought they do gift cards such as £25 in which for a present people can have however much it's worth amount of music. Limewire is an illegal site in which people download music for free. Newspapers often give away free CDs. It has been said that in 10 years music will be free to download for everyone. However, how is there going to be any profit for the artists & will the tradition of supporting the music you love exsist & will artists still survive?