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!

My Workshop Edit

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.

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.

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.

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.