After a rollicking thrill ride of a blogging experience, in which I spent blood, sweat and tears, I'm sad to say this blog will now be closed. I hope you enjoy the Benjamin Tucker blogging experience.
Farewell!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Evaluation Question 4
This is a collection of my best contributions to Question 4. I feel I did fairly well in answering this question, and despite it being quite short also, I think we exhausted everything we had to say.
The full evaluation footage is found on the group blog.
Here are some photos of us with all the technology we used in the course of the project
Evaluation Question 3
This is a video of our answer to Question 3, in comparison to the other questions, we said little, and such to put up a video of my contributions would be silly, so here it is in its entirity. I definitely think we could have answered the question in much more depth, and gone into issues such as how our demographics split more thoroughly, and how we aimed to appeal to all our various target audiences.
Here are some pictures of our audience screening.
Evaluation Question 2
This is a collection of my best contributions to Question 2. I feel this question was my best, and I took command of the discussion here. However I feel we possibly went into way too much detail and could have condensed what we had to say considerably.
Evaluation Question 1
This is a collection of my best contributions to Question 1. I feel with this question, I was a little nervous, and this showed in parts, I could have said a little more but I think I answered the question quite well in the end.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Evaluation Reflections
Having now completed our recorded evaluation, I am pleased with how it went, and it was a lot less daunting than I imagined it would be. It was fresh and exciting using new technologies in evaluating, and it made the whole process a lot easier.
I feel I contributed to the discussion quite well, although I started quite shakily, I found myself getting more into the rhythm of things as time went on. I felt I could have contributed more at the start and possibly gone into more detail on a lot of subjects. I also think it was difficult not to just sit back and at times we would all talk over each other or dominate on certain points.
All in all, its very relieving to have another stage of the project done :)
I feel I contributed to the discussion quite well, although I started quite shakily, I found myself getting more into the rhythm of things as time went on. I felt I could have contributed more at the start and possibly gone into more detail on a lot of subjects. I also think it was difficult not to just sit back and at times we would all talk over each other or dominate on certain points.
All in all, its very relieving to have another stage of the project done :)
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Evaluation Question 1, 3 and 4 Notes
Here are some scans of notes we used as cues, to help us remember the key things we had to say in our evaluation, they proved useful, however, we sometimes got mixed up on points, or did them in a more freeform order, but I feel this didn't harm our evaluation too much.
Video, MySpace and Album Cover Links
Here are the videos, websites, and album covers, mentioned in our evaluation.
Every Time I Die - 'Wanderlust' : Where the idea of individual shots came from and vocalist walking down the corridor. Vocalist clothes also change when it moves to individual location. It is also mainly peformance with some concept thrown into the mix. Vocalist addresses audition as well.
Every Time I Die - Wanderlust on MUZU
Pantera - '5 Minutes Alone' : Lots of close ups and ECUs. Entirely performance based. Cut to beat and focuses on music. Dark lighting with spots on instruments. Cuts to instruments at important parts.
Muse - 'Dead Star' : Lots of instrument close ups. Dark lighting again. Focuses on music. Focus on guitar in opening riff.
Architects - 'Always' : Genre characteristics, energetic performance, headbanging, band setup and clothing. cut to the beat and quickly cut. Referenxced shots such as CU guitar and drums from side. Linked to person percentage of each member in video.
Architects - Always from Hopes Die Last on Vimeo.
Underoath - 'In Regards To Myself' : Inspiration behind the individual vocalist shots wiht stationary camera nad vocalist moving around room. Also darkly lit and same band setup.
In Regards To Myself - UnderOath
Disturbed1 | MySpace Video
Underoath - 'A Moment Suspended In Time' : Use of lyrics to inspire video. Words shown and cut to different members at different points. Mainly performance video with energy. Claustrophobic feel. Use of costume.
Alex Gaudino - 'Destination Calabria' : Lots of voyeuristic shots. Shows another genre and how ours is different. No instruments and not really about the music and more about the video content.
Madonna - 'Material Girl' : Star image motifs and intertextual references. Video focused on star image of Madonna and targets audience with Marilyn Monroe reference.
Muse - 'Uprising' - Link with single cover
MySpace - Click links to visit
A Day To Remember - Unconventional MySpace look, more unique and professional looking, common today as people move away from MySpace
Set Your Goals - Very promotional, album cover, merch and video are all on show and clear to the viewer
Architects - Introduces the band individually and follows institutional conventions, such as showing the record label, endorsements and bookings
The Saturdays - Has a more scopophilic feel, with more emphasis on a celebrity personality and look. Bio + Pictures
Alexisonfire - Has a competition on the page, a fine example of viral marketing
Every Time I Die - 'Wanderlust' : Where the idea of individual shots came from and vocalist walking down the corridor. Vocalist clothes also change when it moves to individual location. It is also mainly peformance with some concept thrown into the mix. Vocalist addresses audition as well.
Every Time I Die - Wanderlust on MUZU
Pantera - '5 Minutes Alone' : Lots of close ups and ECUs. Entirely performance based. Cut to beat and focuses on music. Dark lighting with spots on instruments. Cuts to instruments at important parts.
Muse - 'Dead Star' : Lots of instrument close ups. Dark lighting again. Focuses on music. Focus on guitar in opening riff.
Architects - 'Always' : Genre characteristics, energetic performance, headbanging, band setup and clothing. cut to the beat and quickly cut. Referenxced shots such as CU guitar and drums from side. Linked to person percentage of each member in video.
Architects - Always from Hopes Die Last on Vimeo.
Underoath - 'In Regards To Myself' : Inspiration behind the individual vocalist shots wiht stationary camera nad vocalist moving around room. Also darkly lit and same band setup.
In Regards To Myself - UnderOath
Disturbed1 | MySpace Video
Underoath - 'A Moment Suspended In Time' : Use of lyrics to inspire video. Words shown and cut to different members at different points. Mainly performance video with energy. Claustrophobic feel. Use of costume.
Alex Gaudino - 'Destination Calabria' : Lots of voyeuristic shots. Shows another genre and how ours is different. No instruments and not really about the music and more about the video content.
Madonna - 'Material Girl' : Star image motifs and intertextual references. Video focused on star image of Madonna and targets audience with Marilyn Monroe reference.
Muse - 'Uprising' - Link with single cover
MySpace - Click links to visit
A Day To Remember - Unconventional MySpace look, more unique and professional looking, common today as people move away from MySpace
Set Your Goals - Very promotional, album cover, merch and video are all on show and clear to the viewer
Architects - Introduces the band individually and follows institutional conventions, such as showing the record label, endorsements and bookings
The Saturdays - Has a more scopophilic feel, with more emphasis on a celebrity personality and look. Bio + Pictures
Alexisonfire - Has a competition on the page, a fine example of viral marketing
Album Cover
International Superheroes of Hardcore - Strong visual theme, taken from title
Oh Sleeper - Dark, moody colours
Muse - Has common themes with Video - Teddybears
Question 2 Notes
Album Cover
Our MySpace
Video
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MySpace - Our MySpace serves as a hub for all our other marketing devices. It is a platform where the audience can interact with the band and find the video and any upcoming album releases. In our myspace we strove to move away from the traditional layout which many have grown tired of. In the last year, MySpace has suffered a huge emigration to the more clean and stylish Facebook, and our MySpace emulates that by moving away from messy html coding common on myspace.
We showcase our album cover, video and merchandise on the myspace, these are the key promotional elements to maximise album sales we and provide links to make the all important money. We have all the standard institutional pug and booking information.
We introduce the band with a biography concerning their musical background, and include individual pictures of each member to ease the viewer into familiarity with the band. Our biography is less about the band and more about their musical taste and style. This shows how Tear Down The Flagship are a band about the music and not about personality, as such with more Scopophilic examples found with Pop and R&B artists, which would feature more about the artist themselves.
We also use viral marketing in the form of a competition to design a t-shirt, this involves the fans and makes them feel more included in the band and makes their fandom seem valuable to the band, which is especially important in this genre.
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Album Cover - We glean on our name for our Digipak, using the nautical theme of 'Tear Down The Flagship' and having a wave like theme throughout. We also use dark blue/green colours for our fonts and backgrounds, which ties in with both the name and the genre, which often features dark mise-en-scene. We include an inside sleeve which has promotional and live pictures and information on the band in order to help the fans become familiar with the band.
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Links between the media - In our ancillary texts we have numerous links which make the combination of the products more effective. These include the naval theme, which stems from the band name, which is a stereotypical epic band name found in the genre and is found on the album art, which is echoed in the graphics on the myspace. This also includes the band logo, in its iconic font that appears to be eroded by the crushing waves of time. As a standard font on the page, we use a clear to read white sans serif typeface, and on the advertisement for the album we use the same font used for the track information on the cover itself to indicate the link between the media forms. The album cover builds on the things found in the myspace, and there are links back to the site.
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All in all, our video, MySpace and Digipak create a marketing package centred around the debut album. A typical audience member would be most likely to stumble upon the bands MySpace first, learning about the band and their music.
If still interested the viewer will be drawn to the Music Video, which appears on the page, which will provide more for the fan, if this is appealing, they may go so far as to purchase the video on iTunes or MSN Music.
This all combines towards the main product, which is the album, and the more deluxe Digipak. In today's world, your can download whole songs at the click of a button, and such the traditional hard copy album needs to provide something more for the fans.
Our Digipak is presented in an artistic design, and includes exclusive material, such as promotional pictures and more, and also has the video included in high quality. This makes the purchase more appealing, as it gives something back to the keen fan, which in our genre, Alternative Rock, is very important.
The combination of our products is effective to an extent. Our MySpace and Album Cover are very similar indeed, whereas the Video is not quite so similar to the other products, this could be a limiting factor when considering the effectiveness of the triad of products. However, due to the Video being for the hit single from the album, it could have more in common with a single release as is common in singles. If we had had time to make a digipak for just the single, perhaps we could have strengthened the similarities between the video and the single featured. We could have also spent more time thinking of clever marketing tricks and ways to reach our audience, in addition to our viral marketing campaign.
Despite this, I think we some amount of success in creating a effective marketing package.
Our MySpace
Video
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MySpace - Our MySpace serves as a hub for all our other marketing devices. It is a platform where the audience can interact with the band and find the video and any upcoming album releases. In our myspace we strove to move away from the traditional layout which many have grown tired of. In the last year, MySpace has suffered a huge emigration to the more clean and stylish Facebook, and our MySpace emulates that by moving away from messy html coding common on myspace.
We showcase our album cover, video and merchandise on the myspace, these are the key promotional elements to maximise album sales we and provide links to make the all important money. We have all the standard institutional pug and booking information.
We introduce the band with a biography concerning their musical background, and include individual pictures of each member to ease the viewer into familiarity with the band. Our biography is less about the band and more about their musical taste and style. This shows how Tear Down The Flagship are a band about the music and not about personality, as such with more Scopophilic examples found with Pop and R&B artists, which would feature more about the artist themselves.
We also use viral marketing in the form of a competition to design a t-shirt, this involves the fans and makes them feel more included in the band and makes their fandom seem valuable to the band, which is especially important in this genre.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Album Cover - We glean on our name for our Digipak, using the nautical theme of 'Tear Down The Flagship' and having a wave like theme throughout. We also use dark blue/green colours for our fonts and backgrounds, which ties in with both the name and the genre, which often features dark mise-en-scene. We include an inside sleeve which has promotional and live pictures and information on the band in order to help the fans become familiar with the band.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Links between the media - In our ancillary texts we have numerous links which make the combination of the products more effective. These include the naval theme, which stems from the band name, which is a stereotypical epic band name found in the genre and is found on the album art, which is echoed in the graphics on the myspace. This also includes the band logo, in its iconic font that appears to be eroded by the crushing waves of time. As a standard font on the page, we use a clear to read white sans serif typeface, and on the advertisement for the album we use the same font used for the track information on the cover itself to indicate the link between the media forms. The album cover builds on the things found in the myspace, and there are links back to the site.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All in all, our video, MySpace and Digipak create a marketing package centred around the debut album. A typical audience member would be most likely to stumble upon the bands MySpace first, learning about the band and their music.
If still interested the viewer will be drawn to the Music Video, which appears on the page, which will provide more for the fan, if this is appealing, they may go so far as to purchase the video on iTunes or MSN Music.
This all combines towards the main product, which is the album, and the more deluxe Digipak. In today's world, your can download whole songs at the click of a button, and such the traditional hard copy album needs to provide something more for the fans.
Our Digipak is presented in an artistic design, and includes exclusive material, such as promotional pictures and more, and also has the video included in high quality. This makes the purchase more appealing, as it gives something back to the keen fan, which in our genre, Alternative Rock, is very important.
The combination of our products is effective to an extent. Our MySpace and Album Cover are very similar indeed, whereas the Video is not quite so similar to the other products, this could be a limiting factor when considering the effectiveness of the triad of products. However, due to the Video being for the hit single from the album, it could have more in common with a single release as is common in singles. If we had had time to make a digipak for just the single, perhaps we could have strengthened the similarities between the video and the single featured. We could have also spent more time thinking of clever marketing tricks and ways to reach our audience, in addition to our viral marketing campaign.
Despite this, I think we some amount of success in creating a effective marketing package.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Final reflections - Production complete
Our Production is complete! We have finished editing and after screening to other media students and working on their advice. I am very pleased with the end result, although there are many changes I would make if we had the time.
On with the evaluation stage!
On with the evaluation stage!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Shoot Reflections
I felt our test shoot was useful to identify potential problems and issues. We tested the wide set up and got to grips with the new camera, the Sony HD1000E. This was particularly useful as I was going to be the main cameraman for our shoot.
Our main shoot thankfully went without any major problems. We got all the shots we needed and the band performed well and all in all everything went smoothly. Our only drawbacks were some exposure and lighting issues, but hopefully we can sort these out in post-production on Premiere.
Our main shoot thankfully went without any major problems. We got all the shots we needed and the band performed well and all in all everything went smoothly. Our only drawbacks were some exposure and lighting issues, but hopefully we can sort these out in post-production on Premiere.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Shot Inspiration - Going through a wall
I decided to test a certain shot to see if it would be viable to edit and film and it turns out it is possible. I keyframed one track over the other to simulate the crabbing through the wall, the cutting in the sequence is poor but it only intended to illustrate our opening and can be understood by our group members. It should be even easier to do in the final shoot due to even more wall possibilities. Here's the finished product.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
MySpace Analysis
Enter Shikari have a great myspace, with interactivity, songs, bonus songs, tour dates (very important since they are a very performance driven band! Their success came from early perfomances on the St. Albans hardcore scene) videos and pictures of the band and links to money making merchandise sites. They came to prominence through the internet, including myspace and youtube, in particular one of their most famous songs 'Sorry, You're Not A Winner' (http://latymermusicvideo09ben.blogspot.com/2009/06/enter-shikari.html) spread across the internet like wildfire. The overall colour scheme and layout fits their new albums theme and they are building a huge portfolio of material for its release and post release. Overall a very successful profile.
Lostprophets
Lostprophets
A very unique MySpace, moving away from the conventions of MySpaces, which follows a trend as a huge amount of followers move to Facebook, and here they are forming a promotional teasing site for their new album and look, with a couple of tour dates and videos. It doesn't give much away and such leaves a lot to the fans imagination and creates an enigma, which creates a hype.
A brutal site, really captures Slipknot's truly carnage loving essence. Contains various themes tying back to the band and in common with album covers and songs, most notably their use of the 'maggots' name they attribute to their loving fans. It's use of viral marketing such as inviting fans to join the 'Outside the 9' fan club is particularly effective. They also feature a word of mouth scheme where fans are rewarded for referring.
A Fine Frenzy
A Fine Frenzy
A fairly simple but effective myspace which features songs, pictures, blog posts and tour dates.How not to do it:
MC Hammer
One song, no tour dates, no blog. No nothing. This will be an example to avoid. He's obviously not in touch with his fanbase and is such losing out on one of the most potent new marketing technologies.
Album Cover Research
MUSE - Origin Of Symmetry - (Best Album EVER!)
The main image used was the winner of a competition. Entrants were given the title and the band asked people to design artwork to fit, in addition to the winners, all the artwork in the booklet artwork were the runners up, and some of these runners up featured as single covers for the songs from the album. The image itself is very striking, as it is bright orange. The only pug on the cover is a small white box in the top left corner with the album information in a black sans serif font, which shows that the album cover is less about the bands identity and more to do with the image and the intepretation of the music itself, rather than that of other genres, such as Hip-Hop and R&B where the artist takes prevelance. For Muse this could be said that is their identity, in leaving the listener to think and delve deeper into the music. The image and album title share a disjuncture, in that the image is very insymmetrical.
The back cover is a mere plain white background with the track listing and institutional information in black underneath, the back cover then only exists to inform the listener of the tracks and not provide any more imagery for the listener to think about.
The inside sleeve features the runners up of the competition, along with lyrics from the tracks. It is more a showcase of the art rather than a showcase of the band, as the lyrics only appear on some pages whereas the art is on every page.
This was Muse's second album, but there are no striking differences from the cover design of their first album, Showbiz, other than the art itself. We can't really learn much from the cover alone about the band however, and the genre cannot be defined from just the image.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
4Ps
1. Summarising in your own words what the 4Ps of music marketing are. Use the following categories:
a) What band/artist related products can audiences buy?
Other than the obvious of CDs, and Deluxe Editions of CDs, there are DVDs (often Live or documentary). band merch including t-shirts, bags, outerwear, shorts, hats, shoes, the like. Posters, some artists do biographies. Digital media like mp3 albums, music videos, podcasts.
b) Where can audiences buy/listen to music/merchandise/hardware?
Audiences can buy in physical format (Disc) from music shops (e.g. HMV, the late Zavvi), online from sites (like Amazon.co.uk, Play.com), General Stores like W.H.Smith sell CDs. You can buy music in digital format from iTunes, also sites like Amazon sell MP3 albums. Merchandise can be bought at live shows (including CDs) or on the bands personal merch store, often linked to from their personal site (such as MySpace/Facebook).
c) Give 2 or 3 examples of paid-for/subscription based and free products.
Free downloads off of the bands site. Mailing lists (such as Metallica's "Metal Militia" which shows the progression from physical mailing to digital mailing).
d) List between 5 and 10 examples of creative music marketing strategies (including at least 3 internet based examples).
Slipknot - Before world tour 2008, posted videos on their websites promoting the tour in their typical stage costume telling fans to "be scared", "be warned" and "don't come to this tour". Form of reverse psychology.
Muse - New single "United States of Eurasia", put USB sticks in capital cities of the world with sections of the song in. Fans had to find the USB sticks and post the clip online so that eventually the whole song would be pieced together. Promotes them of album/song and also gets fans involved.
Architects/Elliot Minor/Your Demise - Get fans in music video. 15 seconds of fame principle. Fans feel involved with the music and the band. Band can get away with not really showing anyone in it but the fans feel like they have a personal connection to the video, song, band. Fans will tell friends about the video, good promotion.
Saosin - Send in text messages to a number, your name posted on the album artwork in the thankyous. Makes fans feel part of the production and connected to the band.
Radiohead - Album, In Rainbows. Sold online as an auction style thing. Fans pay what they want for the album (or free). Still managed to make more money than any other one of their albums, despite the unconventional release. Fans can relate to bands anti-establishment style attitude through their choice to sell independently.
2. Who is frukt uk and what is their mission statement/company ethos?
"We’re all about music and are really very fond of it. Music colours people’s everyday lives. It’s found in the mundane and the exalted. It moves us all. And it’s thriving. We help brands access the passion and the communities, the lifestyle and the artists. Music is a vast cultural space - it's flexible, it's multi-channel, it's live and digital, it unites gender, race and age and it defines the spirit of generations.
You just need to know how to use it.
That’s where we come in."
Frukt come up with marketing strategies based around music and use them for bands or products and create case studies out of them.
a) What band/artist related products can audiences buy?
Other than the obvious of CDs, and Deluxe Editions of CDs, there are DVDs (often Live or documentary). band merch including t-shirts, bags, outerwear, shorts, hats, shoes, the like. Posters, some artists do biographies. Digital media like mp3 albums, music videos, podcasts.
b) Where can audiences buy/listen to music/merchandise/hardware?
Audiences can buy in physical format (Disc) from music shops (e.g. HMV, the late Zavvi), online from sites (like Amazon.co.uk, Play.com), General Stores like W.H.Smith sell CDs. You can buy music in digital format from iTunes, also sites like Amazon sell MP3 albums. Merchandise can be bought at live shows (including CDs) or on the bands personal merch store, often linked to from their personal site (such as MySpace/Facebook).
c) Give 2 or 3 examples of paid-for/subscription based and free products.
Free downloads off of the bands site. Mailing lists (such as Metallica's "Metal Militia" which shows the progression from physical mailing to digital mailing).
d) List between 5 and 10 examples of creative music marketing strategies (including at least 3 internet based examples).
Slipknot - Before world tour 2008, posted videos on their websites promoting the tour in their typical stage costume telling fans to "be scared", "be warned" and "don't come to this tour". Form of reverse psychology.
Muse - New single "United States of Eurasia", put USB sticks in capital cities of the world with sections of the song in. Fans had to find the USB sticks and post the clip online so that eventually the whole song would be pieced together. Promotes them of album/song and also gets fans involved.
Architects/Elliot Minor/Your Demise - Get fans in music video. 15 seconds of fame principle. Fans feel involved with the music and the band. Band can get away with not really showing anyone in it but the fans feel like they have a personal connection to the video, song, band. Fans will tell friends about the video, good promotion.
Saosin - Send in text messages to a number, your name posted on the album artwork in the thankyous. Makes fans feel part of the production and connected to the band.
Radiohead - Album, In Rainbows. Sold online as an auction style thing. Fans pay what they want for the album (or free). Still managed to make more money than any other one of their albums, despite the unconventional release. Fans can relate to bands anti-establishment style attitude through their choice to sell independently.
2. Who is frukt uk and what is their mission statement/company ethos?
"We’re all about music and are really very fond of it. Music colours people’s everyday lives. It’s found in the mundane and the exalted. It moves us all. And it’s thriving. We help brands access the passion and the communities, the lifestyle and the artists. Music is a vast cultural space - it's flexible, it's multi-channel, it's live and digital, it unites gender, race and age and it defines the spirit of generations.
You just need to know how to use it.
That’s where we come in."
Frukt come up with marketing strategies based around music and use them for bands or products and create case studies out of them.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Treatment Reflections
Having just finished our treatment and pitch to the class I am pleased with how it went. We recieved mostly positive feedback. We had called our music video performance/concept based on Goodwin and this didn't fully come across in our pitch. We explained that our concept is the performance itself, and is shown as the energetic performance matches with the lyric 'Start Something'.
The main change we made was to replace Nick with Simon as lead vocalist, with Nick moving to guitar. This is especially significant to me, as it means I will have to do the majority of camerawork for the group. This could prove difficult, so I will need to be at the top of my game.
All in all, I'm excited about the start of another phase of the project and I look forward to starting production.
The main change we made was to replace Nick with Simon as lead vocalist, with Nick moving to guitar. This is especially significant to me, as it means I will have to do the majority of camerawork for the group. This could prove difficult, so I will need to be at the top of my game.
All in all, I'm excited about the start of another phase of the project and I look forward to starting production.
Friday, September 18, 2009
'Destination Calabria' - Alex Gaudino ft. Crystal Waters - Goodwin Theory
This video, for Alex Gaudino's Destination Calabria is a performance/concept based video. It is very characteristic of its genre; dance music, in that it doesn't feature the main artist, and uses attractive models in a voyeuristic fashion, such as the 'Call On Me' Video by Eric Prydz. It could be said there is a minor relationship between lyrics and visuals, as the girls are marching, but to no real destination, mirroring the lyric, 'destination unknown'. The video cuts to the beat a lot, and when the music goes a little offkey at parts, the visuals match this. There are many close-ups of the 'artists' but as they are not stars, it is not quite a star image motif as Goodwin would say. The video is very scopophilic, and the low angles and lack of direct eye contact with the camera give a feel of looking on the girls in a voyeuristic fashion. There are no intertextual references in the video, despite Goodwin saying these are common, especially in the genre of pop/dance.
Serj Tankian - 'Empty Walls' - From the Album 'Elect the Dead' - 2007
This is the Video for System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian's second single off his debut solo album 'Elect the Dead'. This is possibly one of my favourite music videos, it combines an electric perfomance, unconventional camera and editing techniques, a mad, funny concept and an underlying, serious, political message.
The video opens with a felt Homeland Security Advisory System scale (accompanied by a seal reading "U.S. Department of Playground Security"), followed by a young girl building two towers of blocks. A boy by what appears to be accident launches a toy airplane into the towers, knocking them down and upsetting the girl.
Various scenes in the video refer to the War in Iraq: the children preparing for play war, a teddy bear being pulled down (referring to the symbolic pulling down of Saddam Hussein's statue), a presidential figure with a sign declaring "Mishin Akomplishd", an imitation of the capture of Saddam Hussein, a child in a cage reminiscent of one of the Kenneth Bigley hostage videos, the aforementioned collapse of the block towers, a child dressed and positioned in imitation of a published picture of Satar Jabar from the Abu Ghraib prison, and several children pulling another from a toy house to play execute him with a can of silly string (in reference to the Hamdania incident). A boy inside a toy car puts on goggles and is driven into a plastic ball pit wall to cause a burst of confetti, symbolic of the many suicide bombings at US Army checkpoints. The children performing acts similar to those of the US military are clearly distinguished by wearing helmets reminiscent of soldiers' helmets.
Meanwhile Serj, dressed in a top hat and suit, sings as they play. The video concludes as the children all look out the daycare window and solemnly watch a Marine Corps detail load a flag-draped casket into a hearse.
I adore the visual theme of this video, aside from being very politically charged and intelligent, it's chaotic and vibrant and the kids do an amazing job in acting out the atrocities of the Iraq War in a very unique and playful way. I think we could use themes like this in our final video...
I think this video could also be useful in inspiration for a possible treatment for our chosen song Start Something, i'll refer back to this post in some parts.
Location Plan B
On searching FilmLondon for a secondary location in case our current one has any problems, I found another larger warehouse, in the same location in Edmonton!
It might not be free, but the fact is it's just as convenient and nearby. I'll look into it if the other location flops.
Dizzee Rascal Marketing Case Study
1. Summarise the changing image of the band/artist as it has developed over time. It might also be useful to summarise the music genre also.
Dizzee has progressed from a grime genre, and is now seen as a garage/hip hop mix. He has incorporated more dance inspiration as seen in his collaborations with such artists as Calvin Harris, Arctic Monkeys and his support slot on his recent tour with The Prodigy. He has gone from being an independent to a more mainstream sound. This has expanded his fan base to more than just his original demographic of hip hop youths in London town. He has been quoted as saying he is “leaving his grime roots behind” in favour of more mainstream pop.
2. Who are the fans? Do you have any sense of how the music companies have segmented the audiences? To what extent has the branding of a band been linked to target audience?
The hip hop and grime genre has a history of a predominately black fan base. This is due to most of the artists being black themselves and that they come from similar social and class background, thus appealing to the demographic. They are like local heroes in a way. However, with the genres becoming increasingly more mainstream, the audience is becoming a much more mixed bag. This can be related to the more frequent appearance of rap artists in festivals, and the charts, thus making them more accessible for a larger, more mainstream audience.
In this case, the record company is Dizzee himself, as he produces and records his own songs and albums on his record label “Dirtee Stank”. This means that he is in complete control of how he brands himself and how he appeals to his audience, which he does through his genre and fashion.
By producing all his own music, Dizzee, or as I like to call him, Mr. Rascal, has stayed true to his independent roots by not relying on some fancy pants record company.
3. What marketing strategies can you identify? What kinds of stategies can you list? (above/below-the line? unexpected promo stunts? etc). List any examples of the use of synergy with other industries to promote other media/products in connection with a band/artist.
Dizzee’s first album, “Boy in da Corner”, was the first rap album to win a Mercury Prize. It has been voted one of the top albums of all time by MTV Base. This shows how Dizzee has embraced his grime culture and mixed it with mainstream to produce an album that was marketable to more than just the standard rap demographic.
During his time in the Roll Deep crew Dizzee was stabbed six times in a live show due to a rivalry with the So Solid Crew (there was some bottom pinching involved). Although this is obviously bad it brought about a surge of press, getting Dizzee’s relatively unknown status brought in to the limelight. This is akin to the gang rivalries of the 90s seen in West Coast and East Coast rap in the US.
In 2004, Dizzee Rascal made an international endorsement deal with urban brand Eckō and designed his own shoe with Nike in 2005.
http://www.dizzeerascal.co.uk/
http://www.myspace.com/dizzeerascal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dizzee_Rascal
Dizzee has progressed from a grime genre, and is now seen as a garage/hip hop mix. He has incorporated more dance inspiration as seen in his collaborations with such artists as Calvin Harris, Arctic Monkeys and his support slot on his recent tour with The Prodigy. He has gone from being an independent to a more mainstream sound. This has expanded his fan base to more than just his original demographic of hip hop youths in London town. He has been quoted as saying he is “leaving his grime roots behind” in favour of more mainstream pop.
2. Who are the fans? Do you have any sense of how the music companies have segmented the audiences? To what extent has the branding of a band been linked to target audience?
The hip hop and grime genre has a history of a predominately black fan base. This is due to most of the artists being black themselves and that they come from similar social and class background, thus appealing to the demographic. They are like local heroes in a way. However, with the genres becoming increasingly more mainstream, the audience is becoming a much more mixed bag. This can be related to the more frequent appearance of rap artists in festivals, and the charts, thus making them more accessible for a larger, more mainstream audience.
In this case, the record company is Dizzee himself, as he produces and records his own songs and albums on his record label “Dirtee Stank”. This means that he is in complete control of how he brands himself and how he appeals to his audience, which he does through his genre and fashion.
By producing all his own music, Dizzee, or as I like to call him, Mr. Rascal, has stayed true to his independent roots by not relying on some fancy pants record company.
3. What marketing strategies can you identify? What kinds of stategies can you list? (above/below-the line? unexpected promo stunts? etc). List any examples of the use of synergy with other industries to promote other media/products in connection with a band/artist.
Dizzee’s first album, “Boy in da Corner”, was the first rap album to win a Mercury Prize. It has been voted one of the top albums of all time by MTV Base. This shows how Dizzee has embraced his grime culture and mixed it with mainstream to produce an album that was marketable to more than just the standard rap demographic.
During his time in the Roll Deep crew Dizzee was stabbed six times in a live show due to a rivalry with the So Solid Crew (there was some bottom pinching involved). Although this is obviously bad it brought about a surge of press, getting Dizzee’s relatively unknown status brought in to the limelight. This is akin to the gang rivalries of the 90s seen in West Coast and East Coast rap in the US.
In 2004, Dizzee Rascal made an international endorsement deal with urban brand Eckō and designed his own shoe with Nike in 2005.
http://www.dizzeerascal.co.uk/
http://www.myspace.com/dizzeerascal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dizzee_Rascal
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Start Something: Possible Treatment
Start today, now show us how you feel
Make your way, it's time to choose
Have my say, I know, I know what I see
Have my say, they think you'll lose
For all this to mean so much to me
For all this, you make a move
Pass you by, it's all in this life you have
Pass you by, goodbye to you
1, 2, 3, 4 Move
If you don't stop there, you'll make it through.
Stop dreaming, start something
When it's in your hand just start anew
It's ok to use your ability
You must know, it's hard to choose
Time will tell, it's hard that the way you feel
means you always seem to lose
Seize the day, the one that you left behind
It seems so strange that you don't move
Frozen still in front of your own lights
Win or lose, its time to choose
[Chorus]
I have been thinking about a treatment for our chosen song, and I have come up with the idea of having the band performing in a nursery/indoor adventure playground, such as Clowntown http://clowntown.co.uk/ (there are two branches nearby, which would be perfect for filming + I have contacts working there) The band would perform in the ball pit, whilst a mosh pit of young children occurs in the playpen. The whole band would be joining in, and various slow mo shots of balls from the ball pit flying around and people sliding down the slide. In addition the frontman of the band would do battle with a giant Lego man. The camerawork and shots are going to be similar to the Serj Tankian video 'Empty Walls', with the lead vocalist lying in the pit for money shots with all the balls on his face. The editing would be frenetic, matching the beat exactly, and this would be disjointed by the slow motion parts. The theme would be fun-filled and chaotic and it would tie in with the lyrics; 'Move' and 'Start Something' and would meld with the central theme of laziness and going nowhere in life, the band are just big kids...
Advantages
Possible, location is easily had
Very unique look
Disadvantages
Morally grey
Working with kids can be difficult and unpredictable
Location Recce Impressions
This Tuesday we took a short bus ride down to a potential location, only about 20 minutes away. I was taken aback by the suitability for our music video, the scope for visuals and all in all the availability, flexibility and friendliness of the owners! This all bodes well and we will arrange a test shoot soon to see if it really is suitable... In the meantime we will be looking for Plan Bs as it always pays to be prepared.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Song Choice Reflections
I am overjoyed with our choice of song! I think it fits the criteria of being part sung/part screamed and I am a fan of the band also. I think its perfect in terms of a strong memorable beat, a progression and variation of the song, and the catchy chorus and bridge.
Can't wait to treatment it :)
Can't wait to treatment it :)
Monday, September 14, 2009
Enter Shikari - 'Labyrinth' - From the Album 'Take to the Skies' - 2006
Lyrics:
HELP!!!
The air turns black
The birds drop from the sky
This eagle has landed
I'm choking on your pride
But the walls are closing in
And you don't appreciate
That in my hands tonight
Is where your fate lies
Her face drains...
Stand up, take a bow you have
No reason to celebrate
Your lost in the labyrinth
Scream now it's not too late
HELP!
The air turns black
The birds drop from the sky
This eagle has landed
I'm choking on your pride
But the walls are closing in
And you don't appreciate
That in my hands tonight
Is where your fate lies
Her face drains...
Stand up, take a bow you have
No reason to celebrate
Your lost in the labyrinth
Scream now it's not too late
Nothing seems to break the walls down
Break the walls down
Nothing seems to break the walls down
Break the walls down
We'll break the walls
We'll break the walls
We'll break the walls down
We'll break the walls
We'll break the walls
We'll break the walls down
[Spoken:]
Well, it looks like the end of tonight for our
friend here
He's finding it hard to keep his head
Especially with his girl screaming in his ear
We've gotta ask ourselves, do they deserve this
you've got a minute to make your minds up otherwise
Speak now or forever hold your peace
(Stand) Stand up
Will he make it out
I hope he makes out (Your)
He's gotta make it out
He's gonna make it out
(Stand) Stand up
(Your) Your lost
Get up, stand up
This is another possible song choice for our group. We all like the track and for me the strong lyrics could create a great concept. At the moment, I visualise a hugely claustrophobic video, utilising tight, extreme angles and choppy editing. I think, as the title and lyrics suggest, a strong concept would be to have the band sprinting through a seemingly endless maze of stacked amps. The tight corridors and keyframed shakes of the camera with every bass beat would create a very oppressive visual look. In addition to having the band running around (possibly chased by Simon dressed as a Minotaur of ancient Hellenic legends) there would be some central perfomance shots, in the 'centre' of the Labyrinth, with a high stack of amps surrounding the band, who will face the walls. As the lyric 'we'll break the walls' sounds, the bands movements will explode, in both the performance and the concept, and they start to thrash at the walls of the maze, literally bringing the walls down. (We could achieve this with cheap/already broken amps).
I'll pitch this half-formed treatment to the group and see what they think!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Liquid in Music Video
While looking around on the world wide web, I've found a fair few music videos with some rather artistic uses of liquid... If mastered, it looks like it could be quite a useful technique.
Funeral For A Friend - Into Oblivion
In this video, which is a wholly perfomance based offering from Welsh post-hardcore band Funeral For A Friend, we see the band performing in front of a screen, showing various freak weather conditions. As the video goes on, rain starts to fall, and the images of the back screen and the rain start to merge, as though the band were immersed in an electrical storm. This provides a memorable chaotic image and makes the perfomance, which would be tame alone, all the more exciting.
Foo Fighters - The Pretender
This video uses liquid in a different but equally exciting way, combining concept with performance. The video begins with an empassioned performance by Dave Grohl and the rest of the Foo Fighters. As the performance continues, riot police gradually appear at the venue. As their numbers swell and the performance continues, the police begin to charge at the Foo Fighters. Suddenly the inconspicuous red background explodes, sending a cascade of liquid at the riot officers, halting their charge. This creates a beautiful visual effect of the liquid crashing forth, obscuring the performance. All in all, it's a highly memorable visual hook, that comes completely out of the blue.
Here's a great making of video showing how the video was set up. Unfortunately it doesnt give any clues to the logistical methods they used, but serves as a lovely compliment to the piece. It all looks very familiar and it's eye-opening seeing the process is almost the same when done professionally.
Paramore - Pressure
Here's the video for Pressure by Paramore. It too has a novel use of liquid, at 2.30 into the song, the music quickens and a valve is pulled which releases all the water built up in the water pipes surrounding the band onto the performance. At the same time the sprinkler system engages in the narrative sequence, leaving the main boy and girl character to be reunited. The performance really changes and the band are given a chance to really 'rock out' and have fun with the water... It must have been very fun to film!
All in all, the use of liquid may be a bit ambitious for our own use, but it's nice to dream. We could possibly impliment some of the more basic effects into our own video however, as the visual effects created truly are stunning.
Funeral For A Friend - Into Oblivion
In this video, which is a wholly perfomance based offering from Welsh post-hardcore band Funeral For A Friend, we see the band performing in front of a screen, showing various freak weather conditions. As the video goes on, rain starts to fall, and the images of the back screen and the rain start to merge, as though the band were immersed in an electrical storm. This provides a memorable chaotic image and makes the perfomance, which would be tame alone, all the more exciting.
Foo Fighters - The Pretender
This video uses liquid in a different but equally exciting way, combining concept with performance. The video begins with an empassioned performance by Dave Grohl and the rest of the Foo Fighters. As the performance continues, riot police gradually appear at the venue. As their numbers swell and the performance continues, the police begin to charge at the Foo Fighters. Suddenly the inconspicuous red background explodes, sending a cascade of liquid at the riot officers, halting their charge. This creates a beautiful visual effect of the liquid crashing forth, obscuring the performance. All in all, it's a highly memorable visual hook, that comes completely out of the blue.
Here's a great making of video showing how the video was set up. Unfortunately it doesnt give any clues to the logistical methods they used, but serves as a lovely compliment to the piece. It all looks very familiar and it's eye-opening seeing the process is almost the same when done professionally.
Paramore - Pressure
Here's the video for Pressure by Paramore. It too has a novel use of liquid, at 2.30 into the song, the music quickens and a valve is pulled which releases all the water built up in the water pipes surrounding the band onto the performance. At the same time the sprinkler system engages in the narrative sequence, leaving the main boy and girl character to be reunited. The performance really changes and the band are given a chance to really 'rock out' and have fun with the water... It must have been very fun to film!
All in all, the use of liquid may be a bit ambitious for our own use, but it's nice to dream. We could possibly impliment some of the more basic effects into our own video however, as the visual effects created truly are stunning.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Architects - 'Hollow Crown' - From the Album 'Hollow Crown' - 2009
I decided to post this due to our groups enthusiasm for the band Architects and as a indicator of what we seek in a track for our video. The main issue with the songs we have found so far is that they contain a great deal of 'screamo' lyrics, which can be difficult to understand to the untrained ear. This song shows that Architects, and many other bands of the same genre CAN also sing.
Now all there is to do is to find a song with the right balance of edgy screamo and conventional sung lyrics.
The Search is on!
Now all there is to do is to find a song with the right balance of edgy screamo and conventional sung lyrics.
The Search is on!
The Dillinger Escape Plan - 'Milk Lizard' - From the Album 'Ire Works' - 2007
Lyrics:
My thick tongue hangs down low to the ground
Licking up the sweat coming off of her heels
She wants my teeth to wear
She wants my hell to bear
Well missy it's a lock for load
If you wanna grind hips don't do it alone
Don't save no dance no not for me
Just cut me out
You crept up like a disease looking like a girl only trying to be saved
Your heart was trying to bleed and you're taking the right road if you're talking to me
Well you thought you'd tear my skin from bone
Just cause it was cold and you needed a coat
Don't tease me just start digging the hole start digging
Oh you're getting so sleepy tonight
And you wanna go home but you don't have a ride
No time just taste won't touch for free
My salt your sweet
And you were there
And I was every question that never had an answer
I see right through you
We never even noticed that
There always was a reason
That we were never meant to be left alone
This feels like neverending
This is a great song from Mathcore band Dillinger Escape Plan, more well known for their heavier song, similar to Architects. This song has a very different sound to the majority of their work, even incorporating some trombones! It's balance of screaming and singing is about 50/50.
It's lyrics have a very angry feel. I see them as being bitter towards an ex-girlfriend and the singers continued strength and resilience against her, despite her manipulative feminine wiles. This suggests our video will be heavily narratively influenced, which I think will be difficult to pull off seriously and this is a flaw. However the unique sound and energy could lend itself to an exciting performance based video.
Even if we don't pick this song, it's a step in the right direction in finding a song with enough of a balance in the sung/screamed vocals and will help me to continue my search.
Muse - 'Futurism' - From the Album 'Dead Star/In Your World' - 2002
Lyrics:
Ignorance pulls
Apostasy and apathy still rules
Yeah you know it's cool
Just suck and see
A future turn us into silent gods
And I won't miss you at all
Grounded
Boxed in
Like the evil in your veins
Grounded
Boxed in
I am stuck with you
Fate can't decide
Alignment of the planets in your hands
Come on crush our plans
Just suck and see
A future that won't let you disagree
And i won't miss you at all
Grounded
Boxed in
Like the evil in your veins
Grounded
Boxed in
I am stuck with you
Feel it, hear it, apathy
See it, be it, you'll see
This is one my favourite Muse songs of all time. It's a B-Side off of their 2001 masterpiece 'Origin of Symmetry' and was included on the Dual A-Side Album 'Dead Star/In Your World' It hence has no video.
It has a very distinctive and heavy bassline and this could serve as a great musical feature of the song to edit to. The lyrics give a very claustrophobic feel, and this too could be replicated filmically. I have doubts about whether the song would be passable when lip-synced due to Matt Bellamy's very unique falsetto and this could pose a problem if we consider this as a track choice.
Carol Vernallis
Carol Vernallis says the camera in music video seems to mimic the way we view sonic space... do you agree? Do you think we are conditioned by music video to read sonic space in particular ways?
Like my peers, I too fail to understand what "sonic space" is, and looking online and on other blogs I've also had no joy in getting further to that elusive definintion. I'll ask Miss B.
She suggests that the jumping camera focus is like the camera in place of our eyes, doing what we do when we listen. However, this is predefined for us by the Director - we have even less choice to look away/outside of the Director's choice than we do in film - do you agree?
I do agree to an extent. In music video, the object is to set the image of the song, the director is placing his own (or the bands) interpretation for the audience on the video, and the editing enforces this, it's so dramatic and obvious that the image is really imprinted on the mind. With film, there is less memorable editing techniques, and the directors image is hence not shoved down the audiences throats, leaving a bit more room to postulate on meaning. I presume this is done to maximise its freshness in the short term memory of the audience.
She says music video is more like listening than viewing - do you agree?
I can see what she is suggesting, but don't agree fully. Music video in my eyes add something, another layer if you will to a song, this could be the bands or the directors vision. Some people enjoy the song but not the video however... so it must be said that it must add a factor the fan dislikes. However due to the unique nature of music video in that it is a compliment to the song it could be described as listening.
"We compensate imaginatively for what we do not see in the frame" - Agreed?
Much like the exercise we did with Ms T last year with the film Secrets and Lies, where we were asked to write a description of a character with just an image, and when we saw the film it was startling how much of a difference there was between our first and second descriptions. This is similar to music video, as the images are so brief we are forced to fill in the blanks.
The constant motion in a music video and the variances it shows mean that a strong CU is a stable point. The music video "brings us towards these peaks, holds us against them, and then releases us" - do you agree?
I agree. The money shot is crucial to any film. It provides a climax to the audiences titillation, seeing their idol up close is one of the main attractions of watching the video. However she does rather exaggerate the effect with flowery language.
Is the viewer "sutured (stitched) into the diegesis of the film world through the editing"?
Definately, the editing dictates what the viewer sees. They could be completely misled by editing, as it is manipulative in that it onlys shows you what the director wants you to see. The viewer is very much interwined with the video because of this.
Music video is freer in terms of viewer identification and perspective - agreed?
All in all music video gives the director more freedom, but for the viewer it's more forced upon you, and the editing is so quick and unique you don't have so much freedom to visualise.
Carol Vernallis believes the image alone cannot tell the story - do you agree?
I disagree, it can tell the story, but it will not be as complete. You lose a lot of the mise-en-scene, similarly to if a tense scene had no tense background music. You lose an element of the image of the scene, and this is similar in music video, as the narrative is weakened.
Like my peers, I too fail to understand what "sonic space" is, and looking online and on other blogs I've also had no joy in getting further to that elusive definintion. I'll ask Miss B.
She suggests that the jumping camera focus is like the camera in place of our eyes, doing what we do when we listen. However, this is predefined for us by the Director - we have even less choice to look away/outside of the Director's choice than we do in film - do you agree?
I do agree to an extent. In music video, the object is to set the image of the song, the director is placing his own (or the bands) interpretation for the audience on the video, and the editing enforces this, it's so dramatic and obvious that the image is really imprinted on the mind. With film, there is less memorable editing techniques, and the directors image is hence not shoved down the audiences throats, leaving a bit more room to postulate on meaning. I presume this is done to maximise its freshness in the short term memory of the audience.
She says music video is more like listening than viewing - do you agree?
I can see what she is suggesting, but don't agree fully. Music video in my eyes add something, another layer if you will to a song, this could be the bands or the directors vision. Some people enjoy the song but not the video however... so it must be said that it must add a factor the fan dislikes. However due to the unique nature of music video in that it is a compliment to the song it could be described as listening.
"We compensate imaginatively for what we do not see in the frame" - Agreed?
Much like the exercise we did with Ms T last year with the film Secrets and Lies, where we were asked to write a description of a character with just an image, and when we saw the film it was startling how much of a difference there was between our first and second descriptions. This is similar to music video, as the images are so brief we are forced to fill in the blanks.
The constant motion in a music video and the variances it shows mean that a strong CU is a stable point. The music video "brings us towards these peaks, holds us against them, and then releases us" - do you agree?
I agree. The money shot is crucial to any film. It provides a climax to the audiences titillation, seeing their idol up close is one of the main attractions of watching the video. However she does rather exaggerate the effect with flowery language.
Is the viewer "sutured (stitched) into the diegesis of the film world through the editing"?
Definately, the editing dictates what the viewer sees. They could be completely misled by editing, as it is manipulative in that it onlys shows you what the director wants you to see. The viewer is very much interwined with the video because of this.
Music video is freer in terms of viewer identification and perspective - agreed?
All in all music video gives the director more freedom, but for the viewer it's more forced upon you, and the editing is so quick and unique you don't have so much freedom to visualise.
Carol Vernallis believes the image alone cannot tell the story - do you agree?
I disagree, it can tell the story, but it will not be as complete. You lose a lot of the mise-en-scene, similarly to if a tense scene had no tense background music. You lose an element of the image of the scene, and this is similar in music video, as the narrative is weakened.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
BLK feedback
Excellent research posts so far Ben, a great start to your background work for this project. Now we need to get you using/applying advanced theory more explicitly when you analyse music videos, think Vernallis for now, although you will also need to get to grips with Goodwin in the new term.
You've got some outstanding work to sort out from last term though, could you deal with this as soon as possible, as outlined below.
So for now, your short term targets are:
3. Post your track research/ideas – we need to see what you have got in mind for your own video
All instructions are on the main blog if you are not sure what you should have done. There will be a lot happening when term starts so the sooner this outstanding work is completed, the better.
Also try to make sure that you don't post any videos without some analysis/commentary to go with them
Great effort so far, keep up the good work!
You've got some outstanding work to sort out from last term though, could you deal with this as soon as possible, as outlined below.
So for now, your short term targets are:
3. Post your track research/ideas – we need to see what you have got in mind for your own video
All instructions are on the main blog if you are not sure what you should have done. There will be a lot happening when term starts so the sooner this outstanding work is completed, the better.
Also try to make sure that you don't post any videos without some analysis/commentary to go with them
Great effort so far, keep up the good work!
Friday, July 17, 2009
My Lip Sync
This is my lip sync to the classic 80's anthem 'Never Gonna Give You Up' by Rick Astley... I chose this song due to its legendary status and because I couldn't really think of anything else!
I found the whole process a real eye opener! It was a great chance to practice some rather extreme camera techniques and become accustomed to performing. Another useful aspect was the turning of the rough footage into a polished final product, utilising various techniques common in music video. Although out of sync (shoddy youtube) the edit was perfectly in sync and this was another area that will prove important in the editing stage. Points for improvement include concentrating on the performance and not background fuss and really nailing those lyrics to help make a perfect sync, as well as resisting the urge to burst out laughing!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Workshop Reflections
1. What do you think you learnt from Friday's workshop? It could be specific things about making a music video OR general things about the production process.
More so than just learning a set of techniques, I lthe workshop gave us a overall feel of what shooting a video would be like. The skills we picked up off the professionals will no doubt aid us majorly and gave us a wider knowledge of how the production process of a music video works. Aspects like lighting, camera position and movement and the composition of the shot with the use of framing were especially useful for me.
2. For you, what was the best bit?
The most enjoyable part in my opinion was the shots with the perfomance, as they gave us a chance to let go and go a little crazy, and the rest of the acting was fun too.
3. How do you think the work we have done will impact on your group project?
In addition to getting as many shots from different angles as possible I think it will definitely influence the amount of time spent on pre-production. The workshop really emphasised the need for a good storyboard to refer back to, a good feel for how your video will look and how the actors should perform, and what locations and props will be needed for the shoot. Also, we will be more prepared to work very long hours.
More so than just learning a set of techniques, I lthe workshop gave us a overall feel of what shooting a video would be like. The skills we picked up off the professionals will no doubt aid us majorly and gave us a wider knowledge of how the production process of a music video works. Aspects like lighting, camera position and movement and the composition of the shot with the use of framing were especially useful for me.
2. For you, what was the best bit?
The most enjoyable part in my opinion was the shots with the perfomance, as they gave us a chance to let go and go a little crazy, and the rest of the acting was fun too.
3. How do you think the work we have done will impact on your group project?
In addition to getting as many shots from different angles as possible I think it will definitely influence the amount of time spent on pre-production. The workshop really emphasised the need for a good storyboard to refer back to, a good feel for how your video will look and how the actors should perform, and what locations and props will be needed for the shoot. Also, we will be more prepared to work very long hours.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Film London
I think, from the AS experience that sourcing a killer location should be done as quickly as possible, and so I'm currently researching various settings for our music video. I will post any great locations I find now and also sooner to the production stage.
Let's Dance To Joy Division - Treatment
Joy Division were a 70's English post-punk rock band from Salford. In 1980, their lead songwriter and lyricist Ian Curtis committed suicide, most probably due to his epilepsy and the collapsing relationship with his wife.
Their posthumously released second album, Closer, and the single "Love Will Tear Us Apart" were the band's highest charting releases. After the death of Curtis, the surviving members reformed as New Order, a band that itself left a mark on the British music scene.
Today, Joy Division and their music is regarded mostly as sorrowful and Curtis lyrics are noted to repeatedly reference such themes and images as coldness, pressure, darkness, crisis, failure, collapse and loss of control.
The Wombats however differ hugely from Joy Division in their musical style and themes. They are a modern indie band from Liverpool, and is much more upbeat (to quote Ms. B, 'Music to tap your feet to')
The Wombats' song 'Let's Dance To Joy Division' is all about getting past the bad times and moving on. It suggests dancing to a band synonomous with sadness and 'celebrates the irony' of such an action. In fact, the lyric 'let love tear us apart' and the fact the song samples part of the original Joy Division song further strengthen this link.
My treatment would follow our own groups treatment in that the group could be playing in a public space, to no crowd at first, almost like a casual jam session, with the lead guiatrist having a picture of a girl on his stand. Slowly we could see a crowd start to gather around, with shots of a mysterious hooded girl making her way around the crowd. While interspersed with shots of the band playing to a highly recpetive and joyful crowd. Eventually we see the girl and she is the girl form the photo, she catches eyes with the guitarist, but he is unperturbed, he is happy and is escaping in the music. We see shots of the joy of the crowd, old couples, young couples and friends.
However since doing my research I would make some changes to further strengthen the link to Joy Division in the video. During the verses I would show the band also playing in a remote and empty room, similar to the one shown in the original video for 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'. I would tend to show the shots in the public place during the much more upbeat chorus, while cross cutting shots of the guitarist arriving in Liverpool on the band coach in the initial line 'I'm back in Liverpool' with some of its famous landmarks being shown out of the window whilst the guitarist looks melancholy and instead is looking at the picture of the girl here. I feel these changes would further strengthen the story and the tribute to Joy Division and Ian Curtis.
Monday, June 22, 2009
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are a English electronic group originally formed in Essex, and in addition to being one of my favourite music groups, are pioneers in the world electronic scene, bringing the then underground music of the rave scene into the mainstream music world. They have sold a whopping 17 million records worldwide, a staggering figure for a band of the genre.
This Video, for their 2009 title song 'Invaders Must Die' feature no performance whatsoever, and instead has a very abstract storyline. While this may be due to the lack of vocal variety in the song it also goes to show that with a strong storyline a music video can still be held together successfully.
This Video, for their 2009 title song 'Invaders Must Die' feature no performance whatsoever, and instead has a very abstract storyline. While this may be due to the lack of vocal variety in the song it also goes to show that with a strong storyline a music video can still be held together successfully.
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age are a hard rock band from Palm Desert, California, who formed in 1997. Another band which I have liked since childhood, their alternative 'desert rock' style is probably their main appeal to me, and their songs are catchy and memorable. Their frontman Josh Homme is known for his outspoken nature and his controversial actions both on stage and off. This attitude only strengthens QOTSA's appeal.
The following video is for their hit song 'Go With The Flow'. It is perfomance based but most interesting utilises a strong colour change effect throughout. It is this effect that makes the video so recognisable and striking while the performance and storyline are very weak. This shows that with the right editing, the video can be greatly strengthened through effects and strong cutting.
Radiohead
Radiohead are a 5 piece alternative British rock band from Oxfordshire. Around since 1992 to the present day their style of music has been highly influential on British music of the last decade and a half. Notably, their last album 'In Rainbows' was released digitally, but with a fundamental twist, buyers were allowed to set whatever price they wished when buying the album. Despite this, they still made more profit than on one of their earlier successful albums 'Hail To The Thief'. This offers an interesting alternative to outright piracy and shows that it can be avoided, beneficially to the industry and the audience.
This video shows Radiohead's 1995 video for their single 'Just', it forms a classic music video, with an abstract storyline related to the lyrics intercut with shots of the band playing in a separate location. It is the oldest of the music videos I have chosen, but still looks fairly modern if you discount dress styles. The idea of tying a theme to the lyrics and using this as a motif in the accompanying video is a key device in tying moving pictures to a song, and such this video could prove useful in my study.
Enter Shikari
Enter Shikari are a post-hardcore band from St. Albans, a town known for its revolutionary hardcore music scene, they take a very different approach to many other bands however and combine the traditional hardcore touches in their songs with electronic, dance and trance type music. Personally I find this a winning combination and they are hence one of my favourite bands.
This video is for their 2006 song 'Sorry, You're Not a Winner', it showcases their status as an independent (they are signed to their own record label Ambush Reality) and performance orientated band. It was in fact directed and shot at a house party/ BBQ at one of the band member's houses, and this directly contrasts the Muse video, it is low budget and while it shows, it also shows how well a good performance can make a video just as exciting. This particular video spread like the plague on the internet and really boosted their profile.
Muse
Most definitely my favourite band, I've loved them since childhood and and their energy and mastery of a number of different musical styles and instruments. Their frontman, Matt Bellamy for me oozes cool and his musical talent and his astonishing falsetto voice only increase the appeal of an already amazing band, but you know, I would be biased :)
The video below, for their 2006 hit 'Starlight' is probably their most epic in scope, and hence would be out of our range, but it offers a nice insight into imagery and the structure of a music video, and is a good song to boot.
The video below, for their 2006 hit 'Starlight' is probably their most epic in scope, and hence would be out of our range, but it offers a nice insight into imagery and the structure of a music video, and is a good song to boot.
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