Here is the risk assessment for the first day filming of my music video. I've highlighted the most likely risks I may come across during filming and come up with ways in which to avoid each hazard.
Risk Assesment
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Shot List Filming Day 1
This is the final shot list for 08.12.13 for the filming of the music video. I went through the song and planned out every shot I needed, exactly how long the shot needed to be and exactly where the shot was going to be within the time scale of the song. I have also colour coordinated the shot list to show witch shots have priority and what will be filmed and when. I printed off a copy to take with me on the day so that It would be easy to get though the shots needed efficiently.
Props
In the music video there wont be many props. I want to keep the shots with the artist as simple as possible. The one prop I would like to use is a vintage snow globe. I want this to be the focus of some shots and be a kind of symbol for the video. So that if the audience of the video will see a snow globe similar to the one in the video they will associate it with this video.
Here are some images of the snow globe:
I really like the intricate detail on the prop and so I would like to use some extreme closeups of the snow globe within the video to allow the audience to see the detail of it.
Editing Research and Testing
For my music video I would like to add some effects to my footage to create more atmosphere within the video.
Colour Corrector
I liked the idea of using a colour corrector on the footage, this slightly changes the overall look of the colours in the clip. I know this effect is available in my own editing software, which is Sony Vegas Movie Studio 10. Here are the options which can be changed to get various effects.
After taking some practice footage and spending some time chopping and changing the settings within this effect, I found three different colour changes that could work well with my footage. The first is changing the colours to look more 'blue'.
The footage looks cooler and has a darker feel to it. Although this colour matches the connotations of the season it doesn't work as well with the overall feel of the song, as the song itself has a much brighter feel. But this still could be used in flashbacks or in the outside footage.
The second is a much warmer feel.
The orange, red and yellow colour channels have been increased so that these colours are prominent. I feel that this colour would work best for most of the inside footage as the spotlights I'm using emit a warm light and by adding this colour would further emphasize the meaning behind the song.
The last is a mix of the two.
Where the low light has the blue channel increased whilst the highlights and mid tones have the red, yellow and orange colours increased. this gives the effect of the shadows looking a dark shade of blue and the highlights on objects and the setting appear warmer in colour. I like this contrast as the song has a fairly bright feel to it but the season which inspires this feel is cold and gloomy. So the mix of cold and warm colour represents the clash between connotations.
Assessment 31/10/13
At the moment, your blog is reaching a low LEVEL
2. This is because you have some of the work on there and have developed some
analysis.
In order to achieve a Level 3, it is really important that
you check the hub and put all work up on there that is missing. It's also
important that you reflect on all work that you have done and tell me what you
have learnt about it. You need a production diary and labels.
NSE
Level 3 12–15 marks
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Planning and research evidence will be complete.
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There is proficient research into similar products and a
potential target audience.
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There is proficient work on shotlists, layouts, drafting,
scripting or storyboarding.
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There is proficient organisation of actors, locations,
costumes or props.
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Time management is good.
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There is proficient skill in the use of digital technology or
ICT in the presentation.
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There are proficient communication skills.
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There is a good level of care in the presentation of the
research and planning.
Costume Research
After looking at several similar bands and artists I started to see similarities between their choice of costume. Here are some examples of costume from Gabrielle Aplin and Katie Costello:
Or something alike to it just to give little hints towards the feel of the video.
I want the clothing to represent the innocence behind the song as during the winter the season brings out everyone's childish side as everyone enjoys the festive season. I want to convey the events of we associate with winter so that the audience can connect with the video and by the artist wearing this winter clothing will allow this.
Settings and locations
For my music video I will have two main locations. The first of the locations is a sound room at Redbridge College, it has no windows and has access to a large, upright piano. The fact it has no windows means I can control the lighting accurately. Here are some Images of the room:
Here is the piano I will be filming with. I really like the appearance of the piano as it is jet black and looks really professional. Also the piano can be wheeled around within the room to get the best angles.
The second locations are in and around several different parks and rural areas. Bedfords Park, Havering Country Park and Tylers Common.There Isn't a specific area of the locations that I want to film on the day of filming I will bring the shot list and simply find a location suitable and effective.
Lip Syncing Practice (Kate Nash-Foundations)
Analysis
After doing the practice lip sync I realized that this would be one of the hardest parts of the music video to get right. If the lip syncing isn't correct the whole effect of the video could be ruined. Furthermore the actor needs to be really precise when mouthing the lyrics as when the words aren't exaggerated it isn't ass effective.
When I come to filming my own music video, I feel that getting the lip syncing right will be one of the hardest aspects of the filming. Also continuity will be hard to create effectively as I will need to ensure that the clips match each other.
From doing this practice lip syncing I've realized how hard the lip syncing the will be as if this isn't right the whole video is effected. As I found out that for lip syncing to be effective, the actor must exaggerate the words as that mouthing the words like they would be sung the audience can't see the shape of the actors mouth change to the music and so isn't as impressive. This may be a problem as the actor will need to be confident enough to really act out the song.
There is the problem of continuity as the actor will need to act the same way as each scene cuts. Also making sure that the actor gets the lyrics right will be very important as if the actor gets a word wrong half way though a scene the whole scene will need to be redone.
From doing this practice lip syncing I've realized how hard the lip syncing the will be as if this isn't right the whole video is effected. As I found out that for lip syncing to be effective, the actor must exaggerate the words as that mouthing the words like they would be sung the audience can't see the shape of the actors mouth change to the music and so isn't as impressive. This may be a problem as the actor will need to be confident enough to really act out the song.
There is the problem of continuity as the actor will need to act the same way as each scene cuts. Also making sure that the actor gets the lyrics right will be very important as if the actor gets a word wrong half way though a scene the whole scene will need to be redone.
Branding of a Star-Owl City
Owl City is a project created by Adam Young in 2007. Using myspace to display his work to the world he slowly became more popular and in 2009 he released his major label debut album 'Ocean Eyes'.
Over the years he has developed a very distinct style.
CD Covers
Owl City has a unique trend in CD covers and that is Adam Young never appears in them. For example here are the album covers.
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Music Videos
Many of his early songs didn't have a music video and when he brought out the music video for 'Fireflies', the video itself isn't focused around him but more on what is happening around him. Later he brought out another album 'All things bright and beautiful'. He then made several music videos for the songs on the album the most popular being 'Alligator Sky' and 'Deer in the Headlights'.
In both videos the narrative isn't focused on him but once again what is happening around him but he has alot more time on screen. This was quite consistent throughout the early years of Owl City but now he has become more mainstream and has changed a lot of what used to be his unique style.
This is one of his more recent songs, written for the soundtrack of the 2012, Disney film 'Wreck it Ralph'. As You can see the video is entirely focused on him and what he is doing. Rather than acting and creating a narrative for the music video he is simply performing and the camera barely move off him and when it does it is only shots from the film and the set.
Music Video Analysis Considering Mulvery's Theory
This is a music video from the punk rock band Paramore for their song Misery Business.
Throughout the duration of the video there are many different shots and camera angels used. The shots that are most consistent though the video is of the lead singer, Haley Williams, the other main female character. The two are posed as two characters that are at opposite ends of a spectrum. The lead singer being a character on she side of all the students shown in the school and the other character being shown as being singled out, against everyone. The fact that both have many close up shots during the video is almost like they are challenging each other.
At one point of the video there is a shot of a group of cheer leaders, which leads on to clode ups of their upper legs. This converges with Mulvey's Theory of the male gaze as that shot is purely there to arouse the male audience and compel them to continue watching.
The main costumes in the video that are important is between the two main female characters. The lead singer is wearing dark clothes, jeans and trainers. Whilst the other female character is wearing a dress revealing alot of cleavage. The converges and subverts from Mulvey's theory as the female character in the dress is wearing that dress simply to gain male attention. this is further as there is a shot where she is walking down a hallway and one of the male students reacts and moves out of her way. Although this may show the female being dominant, the original concept of wearing provocative clothing for the pleasure of men reverts the dominance back to the men. Further more there is another shot in the video where she pushes a male with an arm in a sling, apparently broken, against a door. This once more displays dominance but she is only dominant over a male that has already been weakened by a broken arm.
The leads singers character wearing dark, almost male type clothing, with no distinguishing female characteristics. She also is the only female member of the band and she receives more time on screen than the other male band members. The video is mainly focused around her and in a way the male members of the band are objectified as they simply are playing instruments in the background. She has clearly shown dominance over the male members of the band emphasizes the narrative of the video.
Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze Music Video analysis
Laura Mulvey developed the theory of the male gaze, this describes that the audience is put into the perspective of a heterosexual male. The audience sees female characters in a way that said male would. Although Mulvey agrees that women should enjoy attracting the male gaze but it does pose the problem that the male gaze is a form of males showing domination in an situation that that might not necessarily be true.
In this music video Mulvey's theory of the male gaze is paramount. The artist (Kylie Minogue) is clearly provoking the attention of the male characters. She uses her sexuality to draw in a male audience although the song itself isn't entirely aimed at males. By wearing very little clothing and dancing provocatively, she compels the male proportion of the audience to continue watching. Further more in her doing this she appears weaker than the male characters in the video as she is executing all this just to get their attention. In this video there is clearly aimed at what men think of women, it has made to be seen from the perspective of a man. This is clear as many of the camera shots are focused on the features of the female physique, for example the camera lingers on her hips and bum. This not only draws the attention of men but also could be seen as making other women watching the video envious of her sexuality and how much attention from men she draws.
The audience can see from her facial expressions that she is enjoying the attention she is gaining, this further creates for the female audience a sense of envy. Further more the video is not so much to advertise the song but to advertise herself. Having this satisfaction for her ego and confidence to portray herself gains further attention from men. This video conforms completely with Mulvey's theory as the female character is purely using her sexuality to gain the male gaze rather than using other means.
In this video the male gaze is used in a slightly different way. The female character is not only gaining the gaze off the male characters but also this shows her using her sexuality do dominate the males. This conforms and subverts with the male gaze. There are many shots that conform with the male gaze for example one of the very first shots of the female character is of her legs, there's another shot that lingers on her bum. This immediately gains the attention of the male audience. Now she has gained the attention she uses it to dominate over the male characters. Although the video is focused on her, its narrative is the conflict between the lead singer and the boyfriend of the main female character attempting to gain the likes of the female. This almost turns the female character into an object to be won by one of the male characters. This once again shows the dominance the male characters exert over the female character.
The lyrics to the song are somewhat complementary to the woman but at certain points the audience can hear that he is simply judging her by her looks rather than getting to know her. This once more turns her into an object as often an object is chosen by looks rather than other aspects. Once more the female character's beauty and ability to gain the male gaze compels the female proportion of the audience to envy her.
This video totally flips the theory. The main female character, although she does wear provocative clothing, she barely appears dancing with men and is shown to be served by a woman. This immediately shows dominance over the male characters. At no point does the audience see a male reaction to the female characters sexuality. On the other hand the main male character is seen often with a large group of females wearing very little and dancing provocatively around him, showing his control. In the eyes of the female audience the sense of envy has been replaced by inspiration to be as independent as she is. Furthermore she does wear quite provocative clothing like a Lycra, skin tight suit but she does not appear near any male characters wearing this clothing. This shows that she doesn't want to be associated with the common convention of women wearing little clothing, the reason being to attract male attention. She subverts from Mulvey's theory as she has chosen to wear this clothing for her own personal satisfaction.
In all three videos Mulveys theory is shown. Although in some instances the video subverts from the theory, the majority of the time music videos conform with the theory. This is very common in mainstream music videos as not only does it draw male attention but it also widens the audience for the song itself to people who would not necessarily listen to it without seeing the music video.
Final Digi Pack and Website
Final Digipack
Here is the final digipack for my artist. When printed out, from left to right the digipack will fold.
I decided to use three basic colours as the colour scheme throughout the digipack and the website.
I wanted the digipack to have a 'retro' or 'modern' feel and so by using blocks of bold secondary colours and using a overlap of white layers I managed to create my desired effect. I wanted the digipack to reflect the mood of the album and I believe it does.
I decided to use a very famous quote from Walt Disney as I have previously seen quotes in other artists digipacks from their own idols. So decided to use one for my artist. I decided on the Walt Disney quote as it it very famous and so someone reading it could relate to the quote.
Final Website
http://daniellavioletbryc.wix.com/reveriemusic
Here are some of the pages of the final website for my artist 'Reverie'. This is the Home page, I decided to introduce the artist briefly and advertise the most recent album 'Dive Bomb'. After some research of other artists websites I found that often on the first page there is the artists most recent album or single and so I decided to use the same advertising technique to promote the album.
This is the page which the website visitor can use to contact the artist. I decided to add a map to enable easy access to the contact information of the main office for my artist. Many Artists have a contact page on their website to enable people to contact them easily.
This page is the page for all the upcoming tour dates and locations for concerts. The majority of artists have a tour dates page as many of their fans would like to attend concerts featuring them and so to make them more accessible.
Tickets can easily be booked direct from the website and there are links to the booking pages.
CD Cover Design Process
Before creating the canvas for the CD cover the dimensions needed to be considered. Here It shows the dimensions of a CD cover in inches but this can easily be converted into pixels or centimeters.
The canvas must also be at at least 300dpi and RGB colour.
First I created a 4.75" x 4.75" inches and bucket filled it with a dark grey colour.
After doing that I created a colour gradient of 6 colours on another layer and rearranged it under the now transparent photo.
I then continued to add the text in my preferred font and the other decorations.
Band/Artist Name and Branding
Artist Name and themes
I have decided to call my 'fake' artist Reverie. I chose this name because of its connotations. My song choice is slow and quiet, I would like my artist to make songs like this. When listening to slow songs with a lot of meaning you can get lost in your own thoughts. These songs can also stand as a form of inspiration for any aspect of life and so I think the name fits nicely.
Album Name Ideas
- Dive Bomb- I really like the sound of this one as its catchy, memorable and it sound fun. It has connotations of rebellion and supports the teenage urge to rebel from society and so connects to a specific target audience.
- Heavy Eyelids- This title is more down beat and has connotations of sleep. So at first glance it will suggest songs of a slower and more meaningful, but it could also suggest that the songs are harder to perceive as dreams don't always make sense.
- Avalanche- I like this name as its simple and it doesn't outwardly connect with the songs or artist.
Other song names
Here are song song name ideas for the other songs on the album:
- Hiding
- Shotgun
- Words you say
- Fall Forever
- Lonely Lullaby
- Heart Compass
- Speak Out
- Glow in the Dark
- Reality
- Spiral Staircase
CD Cover and final album name
Here is the final album cover. I decided to go with the name 'Dive Bomb' for the album as it is really catch and sounds interesting. I also kept the colour scheme of blues, greens and whites for the cover as I tried many different colour gradients but this one looked the most professional and stylish.
Front
Here is the final album cover. I decided to go with the name 'Dive Bomb' for the album as it is really catch and sounds interesting. I also kept the colour scheme of blues, greens and whites for the cover as I tried many different colour gradients but this one looked the most professional and stylish.
Front
Back
Over all I like how the CD cover turned out. I think it looks fairly professional and matches the overall theme of my artist. It looks quite retro and looking at other CD covers there aren't many others that look like this. it doesn't have an image of the artist, I think this allows the listener to reserve judgement of the album and not judge the album simply on the look of the artist.
Artist Name Ideas
The song I have chosen to use as my song is Somewhere only we know by Lily Allen. The song is a really slow and slowly grows with time. Lily Allen is an artist is fairly well known and is generally classed in the singer/songwriter or indie folk genre. Her songs always have a lot of meaning behind them but at the same time they don't always have a narrative that is easy to perceive. I want to encapsulate the feel of the song in the name of the artist. I want to use the theme of dreaming as the song itself is fairly slow and gently plays on.
Ideas
- Siren- A Siren (commonly known as a mermaid) is described as a dangerous, beautiful creatures and are often portrayed as women. They were known for luring sailors with enchanting music to their death at sea. I thought that this is alike to a light house but its luring sailors to safety rather than to their deaths. Also the sea is both dangerous and beautiful at the same time so this connects quite well to the name.
- Reverie- This is a state of being lost in thought or daydreaming. It can also be known as being a piece of music that suggests a dreaming or musing state. I like the idea of this name as in many other song 'reverie' is used to describe the state of the singer and so would fit nicely with the theme.
- Forecastle- Pronounced 'foaksul', is the forward part of a ship containing the crews living quarters. This idea could give the idea of that part of the ship being the place most peaceful, where the sailors sleep, This connects with the theme of the sea and of sleep/dreaming
Analysis of Similar Bands/Artists
The Genre of my chosen song is Indie Folk. This is a fairly modern genre of music that only in the last 10 years has become popular. There are now many artists who perform in this genre.
The first Artist I'm looking at is Gabrielle Aplin. She is a British singer-songwriter whom only in May 2013 released her debut album 'English Rain'. Her songs are a a lot like the songs by the artist of my chosen song Mree.
The second is a band called Mumfords & Sons. The band generally fit into the genre of folk rock but some aspects of their songs and style are a lot like the Indie folk genre. The band consists of four men, Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall and Ted Dwane. They emerged in west London in December 2007 and from then on have grown in popularity. They use many classical instruments to create a very unique sound that is instantly recognizable to anyone who has heard them before.
The third artist artist is a man called Ben Howard, a fairly new artist who self-released his debut EP 'Games in the Dark' in 2008. The singer-songwriter started writing music at an early age and plays his own guitar and percussion. His songs vary in tone as some can have quite dark lyrics but other are lighter with less deep emotion.
This is the music video for one of her most popular songs 'Please don't say you love me'. After watching this video you can see that most of the aspects in the actual video are 'old'. For example the car the two characters are in is a really old Volvo and the cloths they're wearing look quite unfashionable and vintage. Furthermore you can see the video clips themselves have had a filter added to them when being edited. This again looks vintage, this feel really slow and steady. This is emphasized by no fast cutting and editing. The shots of the characters are long and emphatic, with many close ups to catch the reaction of the characters to the events.
The song has a very mild sound which is easy to listen to. In the song the only instruments you can hear are an acoustic guitar, piano and some percussion. The simplicity of the song is what makes it so unique. This is what makes the song of the indie folk genre as in older folk music the songs were very simple with only a few instruments. The songs are more focused on the lyrics. Like in this song the lyrics are very deep, this compels the reader to create their own narrative when they're not watching the video.
From this video I can use the vintage feel in my own video as this song has some parallels with my own song choice and so I think it would work well. Also I like the idea of using natural light rather than creating the light myself, the use of the sun in this video is really effective and I really want to incorporate this into my own song as my song is about winter and in the winter the sun is really low on the horizon and so can create interesting effects.
The song has a very mild sound which is easy to listen to. In the song the only instruments you can hear are an acoustic guitar, piano and some percussion. The simplicity of the song is what makes it so unique. This is what makes the song of the indie folk genre as in older folk music the songs were very simple with only a few instruments. The songs are more focused on the lyrics. Like in this song the lyrics are very deep, this compels the reader to create their own narrative when they're not watching the video.
From this video I can use the vintage feel in my own video as this song has some parallels with my own song choice and so I think it would work well. Also I like the idea of using natural light rather than creating the light myself, the use of the sun in this video is really effective and I really want to incorporate this into my own song as my song is about winter and in the winter the sun is really low on the horizon and so can create interesting effects.
This song is called 'Winter Winds' and is by Mumford and Sons. The song once again has a very classic and vintage feel although it doesn't have a music video. The use of classical instruments like acoustic guitar and percussion, but Mumford and Sons have a very unique sound as they use instruments that aren't often used in songs. Like the banjo, trumpet and double bass. This is characteristic of the indie folk genre and the lyrics to their songs are also very meaningful and create a interesting narrative.
From this I would like to have an instrument in the video as a prop as it is such a common characteristic of the indie folk genre. Ideally I would like to have a grand piano somewhere in the video but this would be quite ambitious as finding somewhere that has a grand piano I can use. If not I could easily use a key board or even percussion.
From this I would like to have an instrument in the video as a prop as it is such a common characteristic of the indie folk genre. Ideally I would like to have a grand piano somewhere in the video but this would be quite ambitious as finding somewhere that has a grand piano I can use. If not I could easily use a key board or even percussion.
The song only consists of an acoustic guitar and the lyrics.
This is simple yet effective as the lyrics of the song are very deep. The music
video itself is also very simple. It looks like it's been filmed on a hand held
camera and it doesn't have any professional aspects of it. There are some uses
of greyscale and focusing to add some effect but the video is really focused on
the singer. There is no narrative but the lyrics of the song hint the idea of
the singer going through their own narrative.
After watching this video I would like to add some random
events to add some emphasis on the world going on around my character. Like
people going about their daily business or cars driving past.
Final Song Choice
After brainstorming ideas for all four of my possible song choices and after weighing out the pros and cons of each song I have decided on the one that I had the most realistic ideas that would be simple to arrange but with the most effect.
I have chosen to use the cover of the song Somewhere Only We Know by Lily Allen. I personally love this song and my initial ideas for a my music video suit it the best. I really like the simplicity of the song and how, even though the song isn't the original, the song conveys the deep emotions of the original but also creates its new meanings and emotions for the song. The song was covered as part of the production of an advert for the retailer John Lewis. The advert itself is very compelling and inspiring and so has inspired to create a music video for the song that is equally as 'magical'.
Here is the advert:
Possible Song Choices
After going though my personal favorite songs/artists and looking at other songs that I'm not familiar with but of the same genre or style I have found four possible songs witch would fit my initial ideas for a music video. All of them are either of the same genre and/or style of song. I have chosen to go with more 'acoustic' sounding songs, with recognizable classic instruments, rather than electronically produced music simply because this is a personal preference.
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Lily Allen-Somewhere only we know
Out of all four this is my personal favorite. I have had some initial ideas for the song that would really fit the genre. The song was originally released by Keane, I'm a big fan of the original but this cover is really impressive and although the song and the instruments used are practically the same, this song conveys completely different emotions and tone. Furthermore this cover is a fair bit slower and doesn't involve a drum kit, which overall makes the song easier to listen to. The lyrics themselves are the same as the original but once again they seem to convey very different emotions compared to the original song.
I was drawn to choose this song as it hasn't got an official video and gradually it has become more popular so the song already has an audience. The drawbacks are that the song was used for an advertisement which is very well known so my music video may have to live up to the expectations left by the advert. On the other hand the original artist, Lilly Allen, isn't shown in the advertisement so my 'fake' artist will be easy to fit in and make it seem more realistic.
I was drawn to choose this song as it hasn't got an official video and gradually it has become more popular so the song already has an audience. The drawbacks are that the song was used for an advertisement which is very well known so my music video may have to live up to the expectations left by the advert. On the other hand the original artist, Lilly Allen, isn't shown in the advertisement so my 'fake' artist will be easy to fit in and make it seem more realistic.
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Gabrielle Aplin-Home
Another possible song is Home by Gabrielle Aplin. This song is of the indie folk genre and I feel this genre will be the best for my initial ideas for my music video. The song is slow and simple with classical instruments being used. I really like the sound of the song and the fact that it has a distinct beginning, middle and end. This makes the song seem like its telling a story and a strong narrative, whilst integrating performance. The song is original and has quite a niche audience, so making a music video not all the audience will be aware of the original artist so once more fitting in my 'fake' artist will be easier.
The drawbacks of the song are that the songs classing sound would hint that the playing of a guitar in the video would be needed to validate its authenticity. The song has an official music video which involved the artist playing a acoustic guitar. It will be hard to find an actor who can play guitar or to mime guitar effectively and accurately will be difficult.
The drawbacks of the song are that the songs classing sound would hint that the playing of a guitar in the video would be needed to validate its authenticity. The song has an official music video which involved the artist playing a acoustic guitar. It will be hard to find an actor who can play guitar or to mime guitar effectively and accurately will be difficult.
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Lullaby-Mree
As the song is called 'Lullaby' I had many ideas that link to the connotations of sleep and dreaming. I would like to create some narrative but at the same time have some obscure aspects of the video to spark the viewers imagination.The fact that the song itself is quite obscure, I can really make the music video with any kind of narrative and performance but the song doesn't have many lyrics so the performance aspect of the video may be lacking.
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He is We-Skip To The Good Part
The last of my song choices is Skip To The Good Part by He is We. This is one of my all time favorite songs and I think making a music video for this song with a definite narrative would suit it best as once again the song tells a story. The lyrics really connect with the listener and I think that a music video with several different characters with individual story lines and the artist performing in the background would suit this song best. This way performance and narrative would be equal and the narrative aspect of the video will keep the audience interested.
The drawbacks of the song is that it already has a official music video and so when I make mine, people who have seen the original music video will compare mine and it will make it look less professional as it is hard to achieve a professional look of the video.
Target Audience Research
I decided to use a questionnaire to gather research from my media products target audience. Questionnaire is a simple yet effective way of collecting large amounts of information from a large number of people relatively quickly. The information gathered is relatively reliable and is quantitative and so can easily be interpreted and put into action to improve my media product.
I also undertook simply going around and talking to people in the age range of my target audience and taking notes of their suggestions and ideas. I could then return to my media product and make alterations depending on what suggestions were most popular or ones that were most suited my chosen song.
The disadvantages of using a questionnaire is that the person filling in the questionnaire has no means of expressing their own opinions as most of it is multiple choice so I have tried to leave as many spaces as possible for the partaker to convey their thoughts.
Conventions of a Music Video Prezi
This is a prezi of all the conventions of a music video and what I should consider before filming my own music video.
Analyzing Music Videos:Red Hot Chili Peppers-Californication
Lyrics
The music video for Californication is very obscure and doesn't connect with the lyrics whatsoever. It is often thought that a music video that connects to the lyrics emphasizes the meaning behind the lyrics. In this video, although the lyrics don't fit with the lyrics the music video has been made to look like a game. In many games, on all platforms there is background music which may not fit the lyrics exactly but it simply compliments the game. For example in the Grand Theft Auto games music is constantly played in the background, weather that be rock, pop or R&B it is simply there as background noise an make the experience of the game more enjoyable. I think this is what the artist has aimed to make. The audience doesn't concentrate on the song but rather on what is happening on screen and though out this subconsciously enjoying the song.
Genre
The genre of the song is a mix of classic and modern rock. Being in this genre the video depicts many of the conventions such as the band being shown all together and have their instruments with them, there are close ups of the lead singer and the band member and they are all shirtless. The fact they have no shirts on displays the rebellious nature of the rock genre. Furthermore having instruments like guitars, bass and drums further exhibits their rebellious nature as these instruments have a reputation for being loud and very 'in your face'.
Although these instruments have this reputation the ones used in the video are of a good quality and are clearly looked after rather than a band playing in a garage with half broken instruments. This make this type of rock more grown up and sophisticated.
There are several close ups of the lead singer. The band shown together.
Characters and Settings
In the video the members of the band are turned into the characters of the game. This allows the characters of the game to perform impressive stunts that would not really be possible or be to dangerous to perform in real life. Although this is impressive at the same time it is somewhat funny as the graphics are quite bad and the song isn't that old so better graphics are available but the band has chosen these graphics. This adds a retro feel to the music video and further represents the need to rebel against society.
The background behind the band itself goes against the conventions of the genre, as rock is associated with dark, colours, flashing lights and obscure art. The band has chosen to have a time lapse of the blue sky and clouds. This once more shows the rebellion to what is expected of them. Furthermore they appear to be in a field, this contrasts the type of song as this is a mixture of nature, which has connotations of tranquility and quiet, and rock ,with these conventions.
Comparison
Comparing Californication, which was released in 2006, with an earlier song by Queens Of The Stone Age called No One Knows. We can easily make comparisons between the two regardless of the age gap. Firstly they are both in the same genre or rock. Secondly they use very similar shots, the band always appears together and there are various close up shots of each of the band members. Thirdly its been designed to be funny. A deer, driving a car, beating up and tying 3 humans to the hood of the car is very unlikely. this is funny and is alike to the first video as the stunts the band members pull in the 'game' are unlikely. Lastly the lyrics of the song do not match the video whatsoever, but it is for different reasons. unlike in the forst video the music was there to compliment the video but in this video the lyrics describe a rebellion against convention as it says "we got them rules to follow, that and this, these and those". This rather odd video represents this rebellion a lot like the first video.
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