Video Games & Me

Although I do not currently consider myself a "gamer," I used to play video games over multiple devices when I was younger. As well as playing on my portable DS and smartphone on longer car and plane journeys, I used to play in our living room with my family (normally the Wii) and with friends at their houses (often PlayStation or Xbox.) I also realised that I used to play video games to pass the time, whereas now I have replaced this with social media.

Minecraft Pocket Edition Mission

I had played Minecraft before this lesson on a PC which was very similar to the 'Pocket Edition' that I played on an iPad in the lesson. We had a mission to "build a dwelling that would protect you from the monsters." Although I had managed to build a house but I had lost sight of it when I explored the area, so I took a screenshot of the landscape instead. I think I should've also changed the difficulty level to "peaceful" as I kept getting distracted with aliens and zombies charging at me.

I think one of the main appeals of Minecraft is that it is played alone and lets the player reflect and relax with the gentle, earthy colour scheme of green, brown, grey and blue. I am also aware that the game is available on many different devices, including iPads, some smartphones, PCs and larger games consoles. Due to this I think that it could be played whenever the player wants, whether it be on-the-go or in their houses.

My Breakfast Show Segment

1. Did you fulfill all the content requirements; both in terms of including all the correct features and as well as the actual choices made.
Harvey and I included 10 second clips from both songs that we chose: Ciao Adios by Anne-Marie and Galway Girl by Ed Sheeran. Both songs are by British artists and mainstream tracks. We also played three jingles which we made ourselves by finding audio clips on YouTube and speaking over them as we played them into my phone where we recorded it. Our two news headlines were also topical and relevant to the whole of the Latymer community and we had a short promo for Mr Pashley. Our celebrity gamble segment was upbeat and included some audience interaction from both a phone-in guest and social media responses.

2. Have you nailed the conventions and style of Nick Grimshaw and the Radio 1 Breakfast Show?
There was some banter between Harvey's characters of Dave (the member of the public who called in) and himself as the news reader, which is conventional on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show. Like Grimshaw, I was very enthusiastic and loud and the general show was upbeat and reasonably fast-paced.

3. How well did you manage your running order and timings?
Despite only having one practise take and a very minimalistic script, we managed the running order and timings quite well. Harvey loaded our opening song 'Ciao Adios' and the drumroll sound effect on an iPad and 'Galway Girl' on his phone as I talked. All of the jingles were on my phone and we played them live, according to the running order which we passed between us. To cut down on time, we had a dodgy segment between the celebrity gamble with Dave and the news with Harvey.

Current Music Video Analysis: Feels

Feels- Calvin Harris ft. Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry and Big Sean

1. Extreme contrast in camera shots/angles

Even though Pharrell Williams is featured in all three shots, there is great contrast between the MCU at eye level followed by the bird's eye view of his boat and finally a LS of him on his boat at eye level. After this, it cuts to a completely unrelated LS of a parrot in a tree. This contrast creates a slightly disorienting sequence but is conventional of the music video genre.

2. Combination of audio-visual

After the lyric "So I respect you, wanna take it slow," there is a very quick cutaway to a tortoise on the grass, taking a step. This illustration of the lyric is literal and therefore funny to the audience, as well as making the lyric be more prominent in the song overall.

3. CU/beauty shots

There is a MCU beauty shot of Katy Perry's make-up followed by a MLS of her whole outfit. This introduces her and her bright aesthetic and happy tone to the audience, which reinforces the tone of the song.

4. Direct address

Big Sean looks directly into the camera and therefore is talking directly to the audience. Although it would be unconventional to do so in Hollywood cinema, it is a convention of music videos to entice the audience and involve them in the video.

5. Cutting to the beat

The shots cut to the beat throughout the song but attention is particularly drawn to it when the colour of the parrot changes to the beat. In between of shots of Big Sean and Katy Perry, the parrot (framed in a MS) changes from blue to red and disappears very quickly.