Hand drawing effect - Seyi

Today, I tested the waters with After Effects and tried to do a common music video effect, hand drawing. In this, all i needed to do was draw strokes on the outline, using the paint brush tool. Below is the video which taught me how to do it:



And I tried it on a dance video I found on YouTube, and it turned out like this:



I'll be using this in our news package in order to maintain a contemporary and modern aesthetic, andI'll probably use them in the areas that footage just drags on and on.

Infographic 2 - Seyi

Having already understood how to use After effects, I was able to recreate someone's work, using my own method, rather than follow their tutorial.

In order to make it more interesting, I blurred out a music video (Kehlani - Distraction) and used it as the background, just to use its colours and movement. However this is only provisonal, as we are going to use some of the footage where Rye is presenting, and blur that out and use it as a background instead.

Below is where I got my inspiration for the moving phone image:



And I used this video for my provisional background:



And this was my final product:

   

I am yet to add graphics onto the purple mask and I accidentally, allowed the sound, but that can be easily edited out. I was going to use a voiceover from this end of the script:

"Today more music sales are higher than they have ever been before, due to streaming provided from apps such as Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and more.

As listeners can listen to as many songs as they want, for a cheaper price through streaming via the internet. This helps the artist reach audiences worldwide quicker."

Text behind mask attempts - Seyi

Yesterday  and today, I've been trying to do the text behind mask effect. My first attempt was rubbish, but with practice, I learned that in order to make it work, I should have not used the roto brush tool on the shadowy areas of the moving object. I used a music video with the simplest background.

I followed the tutorial below in order to make it: 

I used a little mix music video at first, but it came out really badly because I focused too much on the shadows, and the hair was too much of an intricate detail:



The next time I tried it, I used a music video which had much less intricate detail and nearly everything is smooth. It was not perfect, but it was a big improvement:

Graph Work - Samit

Today, I worked on making a graph for our news package using Adobe Premier elements. The progress which i have made today is decent as i have managed to create the basis for the graph.

Graph is almost complete and will be worked on in the future.

Samit

Newscaste Draft current situation - Rye

Slowly but steadily, Ive been working to put the footage that we've shot already together cutting out any mistakes made. Premiere Elements however has been having issues on my computer so it's been hard to have a continuous flow of work going but it should all be done by next week.

first attempt at creating green screen animation from yesterday vs today - Arman

Here, In my first attempt at creating the animation, i did it in no particular order, simply in a random order to give me an idea as to what needs to be done.  I needed to cut out the pound sign and make it see through in order to make it blend in with the green screen.  Though it is very faint, I made an outline of a black pound sign, a small white outline is visible so that you can make it out within this background popping up.

To do list for the gang gang gang today - Seyi

Hi guys, I'm not in today, but I'm leaving you with some tasks so we can have more footage. Please ignore the dodgy title, ill change it today

RYE - please print off the script and film the first half of the script in front of the green screen. Dont forget to use your hands and enthusiasm, and dont look at the paper too much (you know obviously).

SAMIT - please help Rye film this, and don't forget to use extra lighting (PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE so that we can say we used it while filming and to have high quality shots). Use a mid shot from the waist/hips up and leave a bit of room sbove his head (i'll leave an example below). Try doing it twice (just in case).

ARMAN - I need you to make graphics for this please:

Musicians who stay independent have the potential to earn the most money, according to all the average rates. Unsigned artists average about $5.99 for every $9.99 album downloaded from iTunes through a distributor, while signed artist's average $2.30 per $9.99 album downloaded through iTunes. Minus a label’s take on profits, artists also make more per play on every streaming service.

hope I don't sound too bossy, have fun!
- Seyi

New 3 Column script + Additions - Seyi

Video	Audio	Time
Presenter is in front of a green screen. Contemporary artsy looking background added.	PRESENTER: Hey guys, it’s Rye here for Independent Music News London. 50 years ago, we would have all owned a mixtape (pulls out a mixtape) of some underground artist or the other. But face-to-face mixtape sales has always been a means to an end. Streaming has become the best way for independent artists to release music since mixtapes. But is it beneficial to the artist, or just another method of exploitation? In an industry that is constantly changing, can artists be sure to make sales off streaming right now? Today more music sales are higher than they have ever been before, due to streaming provided from apps such as Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and more. As listeners can listen to as many songs as they want, for a cheaper price through streaming via the internet. This helps the artist reach audiences worldwide quicker.	35 seconds
Graphics and presenter in front of the green screen. Voice over cutaways to presenter talking in front of a green screen. Graphics with cutaways and voiceover. Presenter in front of a green screen + graphics. Presenter in front of a green screen + graphics Cutaways to relevant visual media + graphics	In October 2012, unsigned rapper, Nipsey Hussle made $100,000 by selling 1,000 copies of his mixtape, Crenshaw, for $100 each. He shifted every single CD in less than 24 hours at a pop-up store in his hometown of L.A. So face-to-face sales is not completely dead, but streaming has done so much more for artists so far. But that does not necessarily make it 'idea of the year.' Spotify says that its average payout for a stream to labels and publishers is between £0.005 and £0.0066, however, Information Is Beautiful suggests that the average payment to an artist is £0.0089 – this being what a signed artist receives after the label's share. The worst payout of all for musicians, however, comes from Youtube, which pays out about £0.00024 per play. An artist signed to a record label would thus have to have their Youtube video played about 4,990,000 times in order to earn the monthly U.K minimum wage of £1,182. So what about Tidal? The service pays £0.006 per stream — while it doesn’t sound like much of a difference to its competitors, a signed artist would only need to be streamed 197,000 times on the service to make the monthly minimum wage. Yesterday, Taylor Swift, removed her catalogue from Spotify last year, because she believes allowing listeners to play her music for free undermines the value of her “art." She states, "I'm not willing to contribute my life's work to an experiment that I don't feel fairly compensates the writers, producers, artists and creators of this music." she then goes on to say "I felt like I was saying to my fans, "If you create music someday, if you create a painting someday, someone can just walk into a museum, take it off the wall, rip off a corner off it and it's theirs now and they don't have to pay for it," she said. Her record label president, Scott Borchetta, refers to her decision as a "big fist in the air" that other prominent artists are sure to follow. He then goes on to say "If a fan purchased the record and then their friends go, ‘Why did you pay for it? It’s free on Spotify,’ we’re being completely disrespectful to that superfan." So was Taylor right to remove her music from the streaming service? According to Spotify CEO, Daniel Ek, Swift's fans have since been listening to her music on YouTube, making the whole idea pointless. Ek told Billboard "her YouTube streams went through the roof, What that tells me is the audience that was listening to Taylor Swift on Spotify went on YouTube to do it instead. Musicians who stay independent have the potential to earn the most money, according to all the average rates. Unsigned artists average about £4.75 for every £7.93 album downloaded from iTunes through a distributor, while signed artist's average $1.83 per $7.93 album downloaded through iTunes. Minus a label’s take on profits, artists also make more per play on every streaming service.	2 minutes 30 seconds
	PRESENTER: Streaming will earn artists a lot, but only with enough users. Royalty payouts from streaming might seem small now, but that’s because it’s fairly new. Eventually as more listeners sign-up, the payouts would seem more significant. The alternative is piracy. If music isn’t easily accessible for free with ads or through a subscription, people will just steal it and then artists earn nothing. Last year alone, 1.2 billion songs were illegally downloaded by 7.7 million music fanatics, costing around 1 billion pounds for the industry. So should remain as an independent artist or sign yourself up to a label? Labels Are Hoarding The Royalties – Services like Spotify and Apple Music pay more than 70% of what they earn to the labels, and most of the rest covers expenses of running the apps. The problem is that the labels push artists into exploitative record deals where they only get a tiny share of the royalties, and the labels keep the rest. Artists who are frustrated about streaming should demand better deals from their labels, and remember the alternative is getting their work stolen, be patient, and tour. Once more people realize how amazing it is to be able listen to any song they want, the money will come. The big money’s always been through performing And Merchandise – Labels have always cheated artists out of recorded music dollars. Artists should also think of streaming as a brand promotion tactic. As an independent artist, you are more likely to earn a fair share of the money you recieve. So through performing and merchendise, you may recieve up to 100% of the proceeds. However, there are more opportunities brought to the table when signed to a label. So one must be actively searching for opportunities, looking for ways to spread their music on a large scale and probably have a manager, if they are independent.	1 minute 25 seconds
Interview (with artists: a signed artist/manager and an unsigned artist, seated at the same table)	VOICEOVER: We then caught up with two people with experience in this industry... INTERVIEWER: We are here with (artist name) and (artist/manager) name) at (where you are). How’s it going? (answer) So, as we all know, you have achieved independent success in the industry, and you are currently signed to a label. We are all excited to find out, how was your time been in this industry? (answer) Where was your favourite live performance? (answer) Why did you choose to stay/leave your label? (answer) Do you feel you are better off with or without a label? (answer) Where does majority of your income come from? (answer) Can you see a significant change in income and name recognition since you first started? (answer) Do you think the internet has helped or hindered your career success? (answer) Lastly, which deal do you advise coming up artists not to sign or what do you regret ever signing? (answer)	3 minutes 15 seconds
Vox pops (questions for the public) In front of a green screen with videos of their favourite artists behind.	We asked staff here at, Independent Music News London, on their views on music streaming today. (Questions are not said, only answers) Who is your favourite artist and how do you listen to their music? Do you think paying for music is fair? Do you prefer Soundcloud or Apple Music/Tidal?	1 minute 10 seconds

Script Addition - Seyi

I found vital information today to add to the script which contains more current news. I remembered watching TV, and the news was Taylor Swift removed her music from Spotify. I retrieved formal information, such as quotes and more from the Rolling Stone website and the Independent website. Below is my addition to the script. My next post will be the new 3 column script.



In November, Taylor Swift, removed her catalogue from Spotify last year, because she believes allowing listeners to play her music for free undermines the value of her “art." She states, "I'm not willing to contribute my life's work to an experiment that I don't feel fairly compensates the writers, producers, artists and creators of this music." she then goes on to say "I felt like I was saying to my fans, "If you create music someday, if you create a painting someday, someone can just walk into a museum, take it off the wall, rip off a corner off it and it's theirs now and they don't have to pay for it," she said.

Her record label president, Scott Borchetta, refers to her decision as a "big fist in the air" that other prominent artists are sure to follow. He then goes on to say "If a fan purchased t
he record and then their friends go, ‘Why did you pay for it? It’s free on Spotify,’ we’re being completely disrespectful to that superfan."
So was Taylor right to remove her music from the streaming service?
According to Spotify CEO, Daniel Ek, Swift's fans have since been listening to her music on YouTube, making the whole idea pointless.

Ek told Billboard "her YouTube streams went through the roof, What that tells me is the audience that was listening to Taylor Swift on Spotify went on YouTube to do it instead.

Vox Pop Question - Seyi

1. Who is your favourite artist and how do you listen to their music?
2. Do you think paying for music is fair?
3. Do you prefer Soundcloud (free access to music, and easier access to unsigned artists) or Apple Music/Tidal (high quality sound, live shows, buying tickets, easier access to all types of music)

GUIDE

• Give this to interviewees beforehand
• Make sure you get answers in full sentences, such as 'I use Apple Music to listen to Solange,' but yet short and simple
• For question 2, we need different types of people. Such as:
• the person who is concerned about their pocket
• the person who thinks it's fair for the artist
• the person who believes its fair as long as you're getting your money's worth
• the person who thinks it's fair for themselves, etc.
• For question 3, we need answers such as 'I prefer ___ because ___'
• possible answers:
• Soundcloud - because it provides... free access to music, and easier access to unsigned artists
• Tidal - because it provides... high quality sound, live shows, buying tickets, easier access to all types of music, get to listen to certain things before anyone else, sometimes give their consumers free tickets to exclusive events (e.g Yeezy Season _ fashion shows

Publishing website - Arman

Today I have added finishing touches to the website and decided that it was time to publish it.  Starting from today there will be weekly news updates on the site in accordance to independent british artists, the site is far from perfection, however keeping the readers of the blog in the dark was a bit harder than we thought.  So we thought that we might as well let you guys in on the site.   And add some small changes to the interface over time.







http://independentmusicnewslondon.weebly.com

html coding for the Weebly site - Arman

I'm currently working on the weebly site trying different html codes in order to create a sidebar which isn't applicable with the normal website builder.  I have run in to a few errors and problems.  I am unsure as to how long this could take but a rough estimate is 2 days hopefully
 here is a sample of what has been done so far:
 <div class="left">{content}</div>
        <div class="right">{sidebar:content}</div>

This should hopefully end up creating a divide between 2 articles, as I am currently attempting to make a independent side of the news and a global section, keeping both on the same page but divided.  Keeping the independent music news in the centre and the global news smaller to the right hand side of the page.  

Interview script for reporter and interviewee - Arman

Here os a preview of the script I am working on for our final video for when The formal interview takes place with music producers.

Real life comparisons - Seyi

Complex News

Central Question

Logo & Opening Sequence

• 2 seconds long 
• It's logo only has 3 simple colours. This brings about brand recognition, as the colours let their viewers know exactly what they are watching.
• The opening sequence is a simple graphic with the logos coming out like one blossoming out of the other.

Presentation

• Greeted with: 'What's up guys, Nadeska here for Complex News.' Signed off with: (reference to where you can contact them or access more information) 'I'm Nadeska for Complex News.'
• The topic, comes up as a simple title, and a photo relating to the title above it. With music news, there is celebrity always mentioned, so having a photo would be more meaningful to the viewer. 
• The presenter introduces herself after the question. 
• Her twitter handle fades in, after she says complex news, and the 'complex news' titling fades out, below her name, this is because complex news has a contemporary aesthetic, and their viewers are teenagers and young adults.
• The background is a simple camo style backdrop. This may be because colour is used to keep their youthful and contemporary aesthetic, something too natural or simplistic might ruin it

• In the screenshot above, in the top left hand corner is the news programme's handles for all their social media platforms, for viewers to reach out to them, this may also be for the same reason as to why the presenter's handle appeared in the beginning
• When photos related to what she says comes up, it either zooms in or jump cuts 

Vox Pops

Unlike other niche or even mainstream news packages, Complex News has an unconventional and modern take on vox pops.

Introduction

• A series of jump cuts from music videos in the background, and simple white titling to introduce what the vox pop is about. 
• Mise-en-scene - most of the videos in the background are all in dark shades, until it gets to the album which the interviewee is talking about, then it becomes light, in order to distinguish the topic from the opening sequence.

Presentation

• Their name and job title appears under their name
• The album picture appears before they say their opinion, and pictures and videos related to what the person is saying also pops up
• Videos relating to the artist they are discussing are playing in the background. So, rather than the conventional street and people in the background, there was a simple backdrop in order to satisfy aestheics
• Interviewees are dressed casually. Even though they work their viewers are sure of the news channels informal nature which reflects on their work attire.

Interviews

Introduction

• Greeted with: 'What's up guys, Nadeska here for Complex News, and I'm hanging out with the one and only Gucci Mane. Thank you for joining me.' 
• Names and handles of both the interviewer and the interviewee appear below them

Presentation

• There are only 2 shots:

A mid shot...

... and a close up shot of the artist. There is no close up shot of the interviewer, because the artist holds the most significance in this conversation.

• Mise-en-scene 
• Props - there is a balloon palm tree and a cushion Notorious BIG on the window sill. There is a pillow on the couch with the logo on it, the logo is also on the cue cards in Nadeska's hand. There are posters of Jordans and covers of previous Complex magazine issues, and christmas/fairy lights on the wall.
• Costume - casual attire
• Lighting - high key lighting
• Setting - A small informal room, with one couch to show a civil relationship between the interviewer and the interviewee

• There are jump cuts to images and videos relating to what he is saying 

Website

• The homepage has mostly links to news articles. The top part of the homepage was large photos with the headline under or on it.
• The logo is really small in the top left corner of the webpage, while on the top right corner are links to their social media and a search bar.
• Then editor's picks bar with links to articles recommended by the editor
• Then below this are links to latest stories and laters videos
• The lower toolbar contains links to their main social media profiles: Facebook and Twitter. In the far left corner there is the logo and a link to their style website.

VICE

Introduction

• Rather than have the standard opening sequence or a greeting from the interviewee, the video starts with an not even an infographic, but information in text to introduce the topic at hand.
• Greeting - as thins is an interview in his domain, the interviewee greeted him with "You must be Ed. New Jersey Weedman," and his name and occupation comes up below screen.

Presentation 

• When the interviewee did not explain the temple he was referring to right, then there was a voiceover of the interview giving further expiation.
• Interesting shots relating to the matter are shown. For example: the American flag connotes their critique of the American government legislation. There are shots of people smoking weed and congregations to represent the happenings of what goes on in the temple
• There are also news story and social media images appearing to support the facts said by the voiceover.
• Mise-en-scene
• Costume - Casual attire and Ed in his work uniform, blends in with the theme in his store
• Lighting - natural, however high key to support the positive image of ed and his business attempting to be portrayed
• Setting - Ed's weed store and temple, the court house and the court room

Although the video above is not an interview, I gained inspiration from this. The video starts with music, then a killer first sentence to commence the interview. His voice is turned into a voiceover, while the visual is of him doing the work he is talking about. Then the video is returned to him seated and talking. - I felt this would be good to include in our news package, because some of our footage was a bit unsatisfactory, considering the lighting and camera movements and angles.

Musik

The video above also gave me inspiration on how to manage footage which is not up to standard.

Opening Sequence

Opening sequence is just 3 seconds long with just the 'Musik' as the only titling
They then used a filter, as one can tell they have a colour scheme of yellow, black and white. This shows, as when they show the artist's music video it is split into natural colours and a yellow filter. It also shows where they write the interviewer and interviewee's names.

Interview

• It has their music video playing in the background
• It also has the interview footage in the centre in a portrait box. I can tell they had originally shot it on a phone in portrait orientation, so to solve the issue of using poor quality footage, they cropped the video as if it were intentional, and used their music video in the background to distract viewers from concentrating on the quality.





• this gave me inspiration on how to handle Samit's phone footage, this way we may not waste it.
• I also noticed the use of graphics played a significant part in narrating the questions from the interviewer
• The colour scheme never fell out of place

Clevver

Introduction

• Started with just an overview of what they would be discussing. They had done this by laying out all their central questions and supporting them with images related to the topics. 
• These are supported with pictures relating to the topic. 
• The audio over the images has an animated tone, everything said with excitement - informal manner.
• This is then followed by a 3 second opening sequence with graphics containing short one second clips of celebrities
• Their central colour is purple, and this is shown in the logo, opening sequence, graphics and setting.

Presentation

• They had used graphics to create a bar containing their names at the edge of the glass table and beneath that is bar containing their social media handle.
• Greeted with 'what's up you guys, and welcome to the Daily Hollywood Rundown, I'm hanging out with Emile,' The rest of the presentation is followed by jokes, accent changes, opinions, hugs, laughing and squeals. This gives a sense of a friendly and hyper environment, and emphasising on the informal theme.
• When reading out quotes, they are shown on the screen in a small centred text box. It also has a blurred music videos behind it.
• When a fan video was used, it was also placed in the centre, with the background as the blurred version of the actual video.
• All the videos and images made large to support the news, are used with a quick glowing purple flash filter and dramatic transitions (with sound)
• Mise-en-scene
• Costume - the presenters are dressed informally in casual clothing
• Lighting - high key lighting
• Props - on the table, they have papers on the table to prompt them with the next thing to say. Their phones are also placed on the table
• Setting - There 2 are screens with simple graphics and 1 screen with just the logo. there is also a fake window, making it look as if their studio is behind the HOLLYWOOD sign

Ideas I Drew From These Conventions

• For our vox pops - rather than do it on the streets, it would be unique and edgy to take a leaf out of Complex's book and get people seated in front of a green screen and make it look like staff interviews, and then  use music videos as the background.
• In order to keep Samit's phone footage, or any other portrait footage, we can place it on the centre of a blurred duplicated background
• We need a central colour (I discussed this with the group, and we chose purple, based on the Flume footage used at the end of the opening sequence)
• Mise-en-scene
• Costume - casual outfits only
• Lighting - high key, we should use extra lighting for higher quality footage
• Props - we can use cue cards, and have our phones in the shot. In fact, we can use our phones just like how phones were used in my footage from my Chip interview footage
• Setting - we should use a background of graphics, like in Complex News to maintain simplicity
• As for the website: I feel like no complexity in the homepage, however fill it with links. Pictures would be nice, to keep it edgy.

Planning for 2nd Interview - Rye, Arman & Samit

As of right now, we have had no response from our original client and so we are currently working on an alternative solution for our second interviewee. As a result we've decided to find an upcoming producer around our age,  this will more relatable to our target audience as they themselves are highly likely to be attempting to get in the same industry so having an interviewee that is young and is new to the industry will get create a greater connection. Our current producer that we are looking to interview is 'MC Teetoe'. We hope to get a swift response allowing us to progress with our newscast