The black and white style of "Grime" is evidently very common as this advert for the "grime" artist "Stormzy" is also filtered in that way.
Monday, 30 November 2015
49 Ancillary Text 2: Stormzy
The black and white style of "Grime" is evidently very common as this advert for the "grime" artist "Stormzy" is also filtered in that way.
Old vs New grime
OLD GRIME
Back in the early 2000s, grime was a very underground genre of music, and it was not very well known apart from in small pockets around London and the UK. The most popular way it was distributed was through CD mixtape, freestyle videos on Youtube (which began to get popular in 2005 on its release) and the occasional music video if the artist had enough money.
 |
| examples of mixtapes from early/earlier 2000s |
 |
| Myspace 2008 |
MODERN GRIME
These days, Grime is very high quality and everything is obtainable through the internet.
Freestyles use expensive to create, and even if they don't, phones now have HD video:
mixtapes also used to be a lot more popular, which I think is because people expect artists to distribute their music in more mainstream ways, like through Youtube - making a music video will almost definitely get you fans. I think the UK grime genre has almost come to terms with it being it's own genre, and artists seem to be a lot more comfortable being part of a brand of UK culture:
Sunday, 29 November 2015
48 Ancillary Text 1: Skepta
This cold grey/blue style is also similar and correlates directly to the genre of "Grime" and the audience that listens to it. Also, the costume used is also indicative of the audience that listens to it as they too wear similar apparel.
This is a screenshot of Skepta's current hit single, this relates to my genre as it is based on an estate in North London. The concrete in the background is very similar to the gray style of our own video.
Friday, 27 November 2015
47. The Importance of a Digipak
Digipak's are used very often with up and coming artists as well as the largest brands of artists. They typically exist solely to sell the artist so that the general public will appreciate their music and style and in turn buy their products.
Here are some examples of Digipaks for the genre of "Grime"
These digipaks, while different all have one thing in common, they all hold the face or figure of the artist at the forefront of the picture or the focus. This brands them as an image and does the job well of selling them as a celebrity figure.
Here are some examples of Digipaks for the genre of "Grime"
Costumes for music video ( By Charlie)
First costume - More urban, street clothing
This was our first sets of costumes which as you can see are more urban and less expensive than the second set of clothing. This is because these sets of clothing are used for the scenes when Lane x Mantz talk about the hard times and the struggles they went through or when there are upset or negative emotions used at that point in the video.
With the use of this more urban, less expensive clothing, we are hoping that we will be able to show this to the audience through these costumes and other aspects (such as location). Even the background shows a more urban look to our clothing.
This is Lane x Mantz second costume change for the video. These are the more expensive all black clothes that we said we would be using in the parts of the video when we talked about our success and how we made it or when the mood or emotions were positive.
We hope the audience will be able to tell this is our more expensive formal clothing from the types of trainers and the Mocler jacket etc. With the use of brands like Nike and Mocler, etc. we hope the audience can relate with the fact that these clothes are being used because it shows we have made it as artists and now have money.
Shaving problem
So Jessica and I was going to film some establishing shots and another base track at the Barbican estate on Tuesday but there were some problems which now means we will not be filming there and will not be filming again.
Jessica felt the video needed more establishing shots and another base track of me which was finally agreed to until we released that I no longer had a beard as I had shaved!! This meant that we couldn't film again as this would mess up our whole video. This is because the audience will recognise the artist (me) with the beard from the video and ancillary work and would look stupid and unprofessional if in some shots I had a beard and some shots I didn't.
This meant that we could't do the establishing shots at the estate either because we have also learnt from this year that the video will also look unprofessional if we have establishing shots of places that we don't visit back to or use for base tracks in other parts of the video.
This meant that it was a big NO for filming at the barbican estate and in fact filming again. This doesn't matter though cause we have all our shots.
Jessica felt the video needed more establishing shots and another base track of me which was finally agreed to until we released that I no longer had a beard as I had shaved!! This meant that we couldn't film again as this would mess up our whole video. This is because the audience will recognise the artist (me) with the beard from the video and ancillary work and would look stupid and unprofessional if in some shots I had a beard and some shots I didn't.
This meant that we could't do the establishing shots at the estate either because we have also learnt from this year that the video will also look unprofessional if we have establishing shots of places that we don't visit back to or use for base tracks in other parts of the video.
This meant that it was a big NO for filming at the barbican estate and in fact filming again. This doesn't matter though cause we have all our shots.
Reflection on Progress 2
Since my last reflection on progress for planning, I now think that I've started to complete more blogs and picture blogs with better uses of ICT than before and last year. I also think I'm contributing to the group more than before by updating group and individual blog posts.
I also think we have done well to finish our filming early and start our editing early also because it means we won't be rushing the editing which means we can take our time and make the video of a better quality.
To improve I think I could;
* Use even more ICT with picture blog posts and use other presentations other than Prezi and Emaze.
* To be more involved in the actual editing process of our video and become familiar with editing.
I also think we have done well to finish our filming early and start our editing early also because it means we won't be rushing the editing which means we can take our time and make the video of a better quality.
To improve I think I could;
* Use even more ICT with picture blog posts and use other presentations other than Prezi and Emaze.
* To be more involved in the actual editing process of our video and become familiar with editing.
Rough Cut Feedback
Louisa: During the second verse where Joram is dissolved into a graffiti filled tunnel, the original setting that he was in being surrounded by a black curtain means we have faint shadows and black curves showing in the curtain. This is not too obvious now that I have colour corrected the setting, meaning the these shadows are far less visible when dissolving into another location.
Marisa: Overall a good music video although could be better if the establishing shots were more relevant to overall locations and mood. We then decided to restructure the order of these shots in order for them to appear more contributory to the overall theme of the video.
Marisa: Overall a good music video although could be better if the establishing shots were more relevant to overall locations and mood. We then decided to restructure the order of these shots in order for them to appear more contributory to the overall theme of the video.
LOCATION - update
We have decided that we are not going to visit the UAL campus or the Barbican estate. This is because we have come to the decision as a group that we don't need anymore shots or base tracks really.
We would not like to over complicate our video with too many locations and different base tracks as it can sometimes ruin a music video. We also decided to not film at UAL because we found that lots of groups were filming there and we wanted to be different to the rest and not use a popular location.
We decided because of time and how close the deadline is (next Friday) that we wouldn't film at the Barbican estate. We also decided to call it off last minute because I had a shave which meant even if we need more shots for our video, we couldn't film anymore. This is because I have a beard in other shots and this would look wrong to have different beard lengths in different shots.
However, we as a group feel we don't need anymore shots or don't need to film again as we have enough for our video.
We would not like to over complicate our video with too many locations and different base tracks as it can sometimes ruin a music video. We also decided to not film at UAL because we found that lots of groups were filming there and we wanted to be different to the rest and not use a popular location.
We decided because of time and how close the deadline is (next Friday) that we wouldn't film at the Barbican estate. We also decided to call it off last minute because I had a shave which meant even if we need more shots for our video, we couldn't film anymore. This is because I have a beard in other shots and this would look wrong to have different beard lengths in different shots.
However, we as a group feel we don't need anymore shots or don't need to film again as we have enough for our video.
Thursday, 26 November 2015
46. Progress Review
this image it is evident that there has been a drastic improvement in creating and publishing of blogs. This is because I have been spending far more time on blogs and using a wide range of ICT.
I would give myself the mark, 16 out of 20 as there is still room for improvement up to a higher grade.
From here on I will improve:
Speed at which I publish posts
Research moreon designs of website and digipak
Begin planning for my evaluation
Wednesday, 25 November 2015
Album tracklist
This is the album track list from Krept and Konan's album 'The long way home'
The track that we are performing is the 4th track which is 'Fell Apart'. We decided to take out the other part of the song which is 'Lucky Ones' because we didn't have a female singer and we felt like it would't link/relate or work with what we was trying to do.
The track that we are performing is the 4th track which is 'Fell Apart'. We decided to take out the other part of the song which is 'Lucky Ones' because we didn't have a female singer and we felt like it would't link/relate or work with what we was trying to do.
Green screen editing video
Stormzy & Yungen new tracks (Play Dirty/ The 7)
These are the new tracks from yungen and Stormzy which were released on the weekend. The videos may not include Krept and Konan but I think there significant because both Yungen and Stormzy are part of the teams Play Dirty and The 7 which are pretty much run by Krept and Konan. This means that it does involve our artist and because these artists are from the same genre as K&K, we are likely to be inspired and learn from these tracks also and not just K&K songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA49Iy_5IAk - Stormzy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W14cOzVDjbs - Yungen
The Yungen track doesn't have a video yet but Stormzy's has a video. Here are a few of the base tracks used in Stormzy's video.
This song uses less than 5 different base tracks which is significant because our song uses around the same amount of base tracks. Other songs have more but as their is less money in the uk rap/grime genre this leads to lower standard videos which usually produces less base tracks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA49Iy_5IAk - Stormzy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W14cOzVDjbs - Yungen
The Yungen track doesn't have a video yet but Stormzy's has a video. Here are a few of the base tracks used in Stormzy's video.
My grime artist inspirations
When filming my part of Konan in our music video, I had to think of how real grime/rap artists perform and present themselves in front of the camera. This then had me thinking of who my favourite British/English grime/rap are. Here are just a few of my favourites. (It would take too long to go through all of them.)
Stormzy:
I like Stormzy because he has his own unique style and flow. He is now the best grime act of 2015 after winning his 2 MOBO's. He is branded by Adidas and his latest track is called #STANDARD.
I first heard of Stormzy at the beginning of 2015 when I heard his tracks 'Know me from' and 'Shut up'. He was influential to me when filming because he is never shy of the camera and always puts on extra front to the camera which helps look calm and relaxed. Below shows the type of way stormzy performs or presents himself when rapping. He uses his hands often when rapping as do most rappers.
Chip: Chip is another of my favourites because he has been rapping for many years, younger than us and he still makes popular tracks and videos. I first heard of chip when I was in primary school with 'Chip Diddy chip' and 'Fire Alie'. His style of music definitely inspired me when I was filming. Chipmunk also used his hands a lot when spitting but also seems calm when performing.
Yungen and Sneakbo:
Yungen are two separate artists but both inspire me equally because Yungen was founded after our chosen artist (Krept and Konan) and Sneakbo was very inspirational to the uk rap and grime scene. both have similar styles to Stormzy and Krept and Konan. I started listen to Yungen in my last year at secondary school and have been listing to sneakbo since I was in year 9. Both these artists have done songs together and you can see they are both relaxed and calm together when spitting.
Krept and Konan:
This might sound like an obvious one but Krept and Konan is one of my best inspirations and when filming the video. This is because we chose one of their songs to I obviously had to play Konan as best as I could and as accurately as possible. These two have also won tons of awards and broken so many records and are not just inspirations to me but to anyone trying to make music. I started listing to them around year 10 or 11 when they had the track 'Gassed in the rave' with Cashtastic. These two would be very natural together as they are a duo and sync well with each other. I hope me and Joram are able to sync well together like Krept and Konan.
There are still so many inspirations that helped me when performing in the video but using what I have seen and what I know about videos from this genre I hope I have done well.
Stormzy:
I like Stormzy because he has his own unique style and flow. He is now the best grime act of 2015 after winning his 2 MOBO's. He is branded by Adidas and his latest track is called #STANDARD.
I first heard of Stormzy at the beginning of 2015 when I heard his tracks 'Know me from' and 'Shut up'. He was influential to me when filming because he is never shy of the camera and always puts on extra front to the camera which helps look calm and relaxed. Below shows the type of way stormzy performs or presents himself when rapping. He uses his hands often when rapping as do most rappers.
Skepta: Skepta is like a king and a legend in grime and this is why he is a certain inspiration of mine. other older legendary grime artists like him (but would take too long to go through) would be Dizzee Rascal or Kano or Wiley. Skepta helped mould most of todays grime artists which is why he is so unique. Skepta is so calm and relaxed here that he is rolling up/preparing his cigarette while spitting bars.
Yungen and Sneakbo:
Yungen are two separate artists but both inspire me equally because Yungen was founded after our chosen artist (Krept and Konan) and Sneakbo was very inspirational to the uk rap and grime scene. both have similar styles to Stormzy and Krept and Konan. I started listen to Yungen in my last year at secondary school and have been listing to sneakbo since I was in year 9. Both these artists have done songs together and you can see they are both relaxed and calm together when spitting.
Krept and Konan:
This might sound like an obvious one but Krept and Konan is one of my best inspirations and when filming the video. This is because we chose one of their songs to I obviously had to play Konan as best as I could and as accurately as possible. These two have also won tons of awards and broken so many records and are not just inspirations to me but to anyone trying to make music. I started listing to them around year 10 or 11 when they had the track 'Gassed in the rave' with Cashtastic. These two would be very natural together as they are a duo and sync well with each other. I hope me and Joram are able to sync well together like Krept and Konan.
There are still so many inspirations that helped me when performing in the video but using what I have seen and what I know about videos from this genre I hope I have done well.
Editing techniques we have used in our music video
We have used the same video transition Grime artist Nines has used in his music video for the beginning of Money On My Mind and the end of Can't Blame Me. These, as the group found out, can be found in Premier Pro CC
The effect, along with others can be found in the Effects Palette, under Video Effects and Video Transition:
I think this is a very stylish way to start the video because it almost mimics the way one opens their eyes. It suggests before this music video there was darkness and what you are about to watch will keep your eyes on the screen till the end of the music video.
Our version:
Friday, 20 November 2015
What we did today
Today Matt and Joram edited some more of our music video:
At the moment we still a lot of editing to do and we still need to put in green screen clips, however since we were instructed to leave those till after the rough cut was shown, we are doing the most we can with what we do have.
They added a really interesting colour grade to the shots with Charlie, which adds more of a dark and edgy feel to the music video, and seems to compliment the song's lyrics. This was achieved by changing the color balances
One of the things we noticed about some of the shots Matt took in Primrose Hill was the people that kept coming into our shots. One person in particular that was obvious whilst Joram and Charlie were rapping was the runner who kept running up and down the path behind them, It was quite annoying, because he saw that we were trying to shoot a music video however thought it was okay to come into a lot of our footage, not even making an attempt to confront us or even go by the actual concrete pathway that led us to the stone head at the top of the hill. Despite this, we still got a lot of really good footage to use for our rough cut next.
At the moment we still a lot of editing to do and we still need to put in green screen clips, however since we were instructed to leave those till after the rough cut was shown, we are doing the most we can with what we do have.
Krept and Konan's merch website - update
Either today or yesterday, Kept and Konan updated their website to a cleaner look. It is plain white and they have actually changed their line and no longer use the I Play Dirty logo.
What have i done today? 20/11/15
Today I have been able to create slide shows on our group synergy, and i've analysed in detail the original artists website and looked at how the synergy and the websites will link between us and Krept and Konan.
I have also uploaded a few more photos which where one my phone from our last filming session and primrose Hill last Friday.
I have also been able to make a few additional posts about more information about Krept and Konan such as their award list and other additional information.
I would say I have worked hard with my group today with editing the video and uploading more blog posts but to improve I could add even more blog posts and finish our rough cut of the video.
Three words to sum up my work today:
BLOGS
IS
BOOMING!! (- Lanes)
I have also uploaded a few more photos which where one my phone from our last filming session and primrose Hill last Friday.
I have also been able to make a few additional posts about more information about Krept and Konan such as their award list and other additional information.
I would say I have worked hard with my group today with editing the video and uploading more blog posts but to improve I could add even more blog posts and finish our rough cut of the video.
Three words to sum up my work today:
BLOGS
IS
BOOMING!! (- Lanes)
Change of Location (By Joram)
Our group had the same location as another group in our class so I decided to find a different location for my group to film for the end of the music video. The new location I chose was Primrose Hill.
I chose this location because it had an amazing landscape view and it had a positive feeling in the bright daylight, a feeling we wanted to convey in our video towards the end to show to positive, more bright future.
Krept and Konan award list
| 2011 | Official Mixtape Awards | Best Mixtape 2010 | Tsunami | Won |
| 2012 | Best Video 2011 | "Otis remix" | Won | |
| NXG Awards | Best Video | Won | ||
| Breakthrough Act[28] | Themselves | Won | ||
| 2013 | MOBO Awards | Best UK Newcomer | Won | |
| UMA's | Best Album | Young Kingz | Nominated | |
| Best Group | Themselves | Won | ||
| Best Hip Hop Act[29] | Won | |||
| BBC 1Xtra's Mixtape Awards | Best Group | Won | ||
| Best Mixtape | "Young Kingz" | Won | ||
| 2014 | Guinness World Records | 'Highest-Charting UK album by an Unsigned Act' | Won | |
| BET Awards 2014 | Best International Act: UK | Themselves | Won | |
| MOBO Awards | Best hip-hop act | Won | ||
| Best male act | Nominated | |||
| Best song | "Don't Waste My Time" | Nominated | ||
| Best album | "Young Kingz" | Nominated | ||
| GRM Best of 2014 | Lyricist of the year | Themselves | Won | |
| Best Video | "Don't Waste My Time" | Won | ||
| 2015 | MTV Brand New | Best Newcomer | 'MTV Brand New Winners 2015' | Won |
This hasn't been updated but since this they have won 2 more MOBO's in 2015 for 'best hip-hop act' and 'best album' and they have won other smaller awards since this was last updated.
This just shows the amount of work and dedication that has been put in by the artists. This hard work and dedication is what we are trying to show and explain to the audience in our song 'Fell Apart'.
Our Synergy incorporated
This is a slide share of how I think our group will be able to incorporate synergy into our three production tasks to help us be a more recognisable artist. We hope with our use if props, costumes, and other aspects that our ancillary work along with the video will link with each other and help our target audience understand what we are about.
About Krept & Konan
Here are some of the things I have learnt from being part of our music video for Krept & Konan about the artists themselves
\
\
Examining artist website
I have examined Krept and Konan's websites. I looked at their normal website and their clothing line website and also compared both but looked at how they appeal to their audience and the features they include such as fonts, colours and useful links.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)