Target Audience profile

Planning- Feedback of other student work

In todays lesson, we stopped the editing that we had completed so far in order to examine each others music videos produced . We then had to come up with a list of the positives and negatives from the videos.

Positives included:

• Effects which included multi- screens and kaleidoscope 
• Editing to the beat 
• Included a range of camera shots 
• Exuberant performers 
• Steady filming 
• Precise mise-en-scene linked to their genre 

Negatives included:

• Unclear storylines
• Out of sync lip syncing 
• Awkward performers 
• Limited shot types 

From the feedback, it was a collective view from my classmates that my performer/ main singer was detached from the narrative of the music video as well as out of sync lip syncing as a result of the feedback Alicia and i have decide to re- film specific bits of our music video. 

risk assessment

Throughout the process of filming our music video there is an opportunity for several accidents to occur therefore specific action should be taken in order to avoid those risks.

Cars/ buses traveling along busy roads on location -We need to ensure that the road is clear before we cross the road , also before filming in or by the road

Crowds of people - To avoid people either knocking our equipment or interrupting we need to make sure that we film in less crowded places.

Within/ outside the tube station - Within the tube station we would need to be careful about where we choose to film making sure that we are not too close to the tracks. Because we intend to film in Camden Station which gets very busy we intend to film early in the morning to avoid the crowds.

Star Image

Having researched different music videos within the genre, Alicia and I looked at several outfit ensembles for our artists on Pintrest and as a result on Polyvore I have created looks for our characters which include black leather jackets, converse or vans in order to contrast with the bright colours from the bar and from the sheds where the lip syncing will take place. Additionally these looks aim to communicate the audience the genre that the music video belongs to, alternative rock.

Kathy's Look

Katriya's Look

Jeremy's Look

Cast

Includes our friends Katriya, Kathy,  we have intentionally picked a cast between the ages of 17 and 25 in order for our music video to avoid having actors who are to shy or nervous in front the camera.

Katriya Ross


Katriya is an 18 year old girl from North London chosen by myself and Alicia because she is reliable and we thought that she would fit in well with the concept we wish to achieve due to her fashion sense .

Kathy Evans

Kathy is a 17 year old girl from Hertfordshire and she was chosen due to her love of The Crookes music and also the fact that she  knows the song that Alicia and I are using for our music video meaning that she will able to sing along to the song with confidence.





Jeremy Schmitz

Jeremy is a 25 year old man and was chosen as Alicia and I felt as if he was able to perform comfortably to the song as well as lip sync very well. By casting someone older we also thought he lived up to the brand image that wish to create.

Locations

Firstly, for our night out scenes being a place that we hang out often we have thought about using Lock 17 in Camden we have chosen it because it offers a youthful relaxed atmosphere as well as stereotypical place youths go to have a good time. additionally, not all of us are 18 and they conveniently allow for under 18s as its a restaurant as well as a bar.

Additionally for the lip syncing we will go to Camden market where we will go just before the stalls open, there are sheds nearby which offer a range of different designs to film against as a result keeping to the genre which often creates edgy and versatile videos.

Also for the lip syncing we intend to film at several locations along the South bank these include the skate park and on millennium Bridge utilised in order to create a visually interesting backdrop.

Genre research : Alternative Rock

The genre of my track is alternative rock as there are multiple songs within in this genre I've been able to comply common conventions of alternative rock which can be adopted in my music video.

1. Camera Movements 

The main goal, aim within alternative rock music videos is to highlight the 'musicianship' of the band. Close-ups and extreme close up shots are used on the various band members to emphasise their musical talents. For instance, the guitar or drum solo just before the last of the song.

Additionally, wide shots are often used to represent the band as well as a whole, as well as to show the equality within the band.

2. Editing

As alternative rock tracks are often fast paced the music videos are cut to the beat of the drum of guitar rhythm.

3. Performance based music videos

Performance based music videos can help build up a star image for the band . Having a star image means that the audience can recognise the band by their style or look.

4. Narrative based 

Bands often use narrative based music videos in order to make it engaging for the viewer, this in turn encourages the viewer to keep watching. The narrative often contains humour which can be seen as a style which can form the star image.

5.Lighting 

Diegetic studio lighting is often adopted and is especially effective as the use of high key lighting makes the band appear flawless and glamorous .

Additionally, diegetic backlighting creates a silhouette of the band elevating their status making them seem important.

6.Iconography 

Iconography is very important as it makes a part of the bands signature which allows the audience to recognise them.

What is Alternative Rock ?

Is a genre of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s . Refers to the distinction from mainstream rock music additionally referring to underground rock artist that received mainstream recognition that seemed to come from punk music.

Alternative rock however is a very broad genre, differing from its sounds, social context and its regional roots.

By the end of the 1980s magazines and zines ( Fab-nzines) radian airplay had increased , the eminence and highlighted the diversity of alternative rock sub genres including gothic rock  , noise pop and jangle pop.

Despite this alternative bands in comparison to other genres of rock and pop music at the time there success remained limited. With the breakthrough of Nirvana, the popularity of the grunge and britpop movements in the 1990s, the success of creed, matchbox twenty, Radiohead, the success of some post- britpop groups like Coldplay and the emergence of several alternative rock bands during the late 90s early 2000s which included The Strokes, Interpol and Franz Ferdinand which led to the term change from alternative rock to indie rock.

The Crookes

      .....................................................................................................................

• Origin: Sheffield, England
• Genre: Alternative rock
• Memebrs: Russell Bates, George Waite, Daniel Hopewell, Tom Dakin
• Formed: 2008
• Albums: Chasing after ghosts ( 2011), Hold fast ( 2012), Soapbox ( 2014)

The Crookes named after the Sheffield suburb where Saunders and Hopewell initially met, gained popularity in 2008 after recording a live session on BBC radio 1 which led to Steve Lamacq to declare them his favourite British band of the year also describing the band as having "ambition and flare and singer with a beautiful voice, one those special, poetic voices which dips and soars above their jangling guitars".

They released their first single " A Colliers Wife" in 2009, followed by single " Bloodshot days" in 2010, There music style having been compared to artists such as Vampire weekend, Belle and Sebastian, The Housemartins and The Smiths.

Focus Group feeback

For the past couple of lessons our class has been showing each other our soundtracks that we are going to use for our music videos and created a brainstorm on the basis of four points:

-Genre /audience
- Storyline
-Brand image
-Style of dance or performance elements

We worked as a class to give inspirations and help create unique music videos that will have an impact as well as develop concepts of our classmates . Alicia and I received feedback from the class and we all agreed that the song belongs to the alternative rock genre.

As the song is quite upbeat a few story lines were quite similar and included one, a flashback. happy memory in which may be re-enacted from the point of view of the main singer. Another idea included following a group of friends on a day out in the city. It was also said that we need to make sure that our singer and storyline coincide in other words not just a random guy singing to some footage.

From the focus group we have decided that our the target audience is aimed at teenagers the storyline involves a performance based video as we have chosen the storyline which follows a group of friends on a night out and flashbacks of the good times within their friendship. The feedback as a result has given us insight into basing our ideas on our genre.

Lyric moodboard

I have created a mood board of images that link with the lyrics of my track. I have highlighted specific words in which should be stressed in my music video.

3 elements of a music video

A performance based music video often show the band or artist mostly performing their song, possibly at a gig or in a studio setting. An example of this is Little comets 'Jennifer '.

 

 

A performance based music video includes footage of the band or artist within a relaxed environment whether that be in a studio or on stage. This style of video uses the band or artist throughout the majority of the production. However, because of this the video risks being repetitive and in turn may loose the interest of the audience in order for that not occur the band will need to be relatively established. Performance based videos are often common within the indie and rock genres.

 

Concept based videos

 

A concept based music video shows an idea formed by combining all the characteristic of the song. Concept videos usually are combined with one of the two other styles in order to highly entertain their audiences concept videos are often abstract. An example of this being Daft Punks 'All around the world'.

 

 

 

 

Narrative based videos

 

Attempt to tell a story ,this might be the artist or lead vocalist of a band but is usually an actor as the band would be performing the song. Narrative based videos often rely on imagery to produce a story for the audience to follow and sometimes feature footage from a film. An example being Taylor Swift's ' You belong with me'.

 

 



The search for our artist

At the out set, I assumed that the search for an artists song for my music video was going to be a lot easier that what the reality proved to be.

I stated during the summer with the company of a friend to visit a few open mic nights within the local area- Dingwalls , Camden- Harris and Hoole. Barnet and Boyden's kitchen- Barnet. However despite those vista finding an artist with a recorded song proved to be a rather difficult task.

Alicia and I then decided to each contact a few bands. As a result Alicia contacted The Crookes via email and Instagram and myself contacting Pixel Fix ad well as Kill it Kid, despite our efforts no response was given.

A development

Regardless of best efforts during the summer holidays, we still had not found a band. However, alicia thanks to a friends came across the friends brother band Parkgate Avenue we were given the permission to use their song " cold feet" unfortunately would not be able to feature in the music video.

In spite of this development a week late The Crookes manger relied to Alicas email giving permission to their song afterglow.

Do Modern Music Videos disregard Goodwins theory ? Viewing it as irrelevant /outdated?

Having looked at Goodwins theory of music videos whereby he highlighted six points that are evident throughout the majority of music videos. However as time has progressed music artists are working towards the less conventional ways of music videos.

EXAMPLES

Clean Bandit- Rather Be

Hozier- Take me to church

Jungle - Time

These examples all have music videos that have nothing to do with the lyrics and concept of the music video as a result pushing the boundaries of a conventional music video straying away from Goodwins theory .

Andrew Goodwin

In order to fully grasp Goodwins theory I am going to apply it to a music video case study.  'You belong with me ' the song by American recording artist Taylor Swift, taken from her 'Fearless' album. It was released on April 18, 2009 and is a country pop song about wanting someone who is with this girl who does not appreciate him at all below I am going to analyse the music video relating back to Andrew Goodwins theory.

Andrew Goodwin identified key features that distinguish music as a form:

1- The relationship between the visuals and lyrics either amplifying it or contradicting the lyrics. An example from ' You belong with me ' is when Taylor Swift sings ' I wear t-shirts, she's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers ' we are then able to see the other girl cheerleading and her on the bleatchers , as well as the indication towards her t-shirt .

2-The genre needs to be taken into consideration because each genre has its own music video style and iconography. Examples of conventions of country pop within 'You belong with me ' are camera shots of Taylor having fun and singing along to the song in her bedroom as a result keeping the mood light.

3-He also suggests that music videos are very likely to be voyeristic , according to Laura Mulvey( male gaze ) women tend to be objectified.

4-  The demands of the record label will include the need for close -ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style ). Another aspect of this theory are the use of close ups of the artist which are often utilised in order to create a platform between the artist and their fans .

5- A final aspect of Goodwins theory is inter textual references. These type of shots allow the audience to feel as if they were the same as the artist as a result purchasing the same products .

Firstly, look at structure of music when constructing a music videos for the chorus . Secondly, the voice of the song, the artists voice is extremely unique and form identification or trademark s that work well with the star image. Thirdly, what are they trying to convey e.g. sadness, happiness through the lighting who they use in the video.

Narrative and performance

Songs fail to give us the complete narrative? Goodwin explains that music videos should ignore common narrative . It is important in their role of advertising. Music videos should coherent repeatability makes it easier for the advertise to watch over and over without losing interest the artist acting as both narrator and participant helps to increase the authenticity however the lip sync and other mimed actions remains the heart of music videos. the audience need to believe this is real.

Relation of visuals to song 

Illustrate- images to illustrate the meaning of lyrics and genre

Amplifying- similar repeatability meaning and effects are manipulated and constantly shown through the video and drummed in our vision

Disjuncture - This is where the meaning of the song is completely ignored e.g. Michel Gondry Foo Fighters fits structure of song complete different narrative aspect of disjuncture

Michel Gondry

Is a French Film director, screen writer and producer. He is noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of Mise en Scene. Much of his inspiration he says came from the film " Le Voyage en ballon" He stated "When i watch this movie , dream I'm flying and then i do stories where people are flying. I think its directly influencing".

His career began with creating music videos for the french rock band Oui Oui, the style adopted in his music video for Oui Oui having caught the attention of artist Bjork who asked him to direct " Human Behavior".

Bjork "Human Behavior"




Was the first time he and Bjork collaborated paving the road for many more eight videos he filmed a loose take on the children's take " Goldilocks and the three bears" and visuals inspired by Yuri Nosteins animated film hedgehog in the fog. The video as the song, is a story about the relation between humans and animals, from the animal point of view.

Daft Punk   "Around the world"

Features five groups of characters on a platform  representing a vinyl record, 4 robots walking around in a circle, four athletes wearing tracksuits  with small prosthetic heads walking up and down  stairs, four women dressed like synchronized  swimmers moving up and down another set of  stairs , four skeletons dancing in the center and  four mummies dancing in time to the drums  pattern.

Auteur Theory

What is the Auteur theory?

The Auteur theory reflects the directors personal creative vision . The term "auteur" originates from the french language meaning author. The auteur theory as a result reflects the directors personal creative vision, a concept introduced and advocated in the 1950s by french film directors, such as Francois Truffaut a director and critic who said  "A true film auteur is someone who brings something genuinely personal to his subject". Film makers such as Alfred Hitchcock , Howard Hawks and Jean Renoir are known as definite "auteurs" of their films.

Music Videos

Moreover, an auteur us a film maker and writer whose style and practise is distinctive enough to be immediately linked to them when someone watches their films. In addition, in regards to music videos , an auteur is a film maker who maintains creative control over his or her work even when a whole production is formed. e.g. photographer, writer, cinematographer and actors .

Hitchcock and the Auteur theory 

Hitchcock is named one of the prolific auteur directors due to his distinctive and consistent style.
Firstly, his cameo appearances were incorporated within his films in order to clarify to the audience that a film was his as well as blatantly suggesting that his films is the result of his creative vision no one else's as a result emphasising that the film is his property.

Another aspect of his films was the way in which he uses the camera to convey human qualities which allows the audience to unravel the mysteries within the plot. He also likes to fill in scene with point of view shots allows the audience to see what the characters are thinking.

Baby hit me one more time- music vid

We were given the task to recreate the first thirty seconds of Brittanys "hit me baby one more time " shot by shot as a result this task taught me how to link the original track with the lip-syncing so that the shots match.

Additionally, in comparison to the film opening done last year music videos include a lot more shots. Firstly, i made a list of the different shot , there duration and what the shot included.

0.00 - 0.06- Tracking shot of feet tapping against the desk
0.06 - 0.10- Close- up of Brittney taping a pencil on desk
0.10 - 0.11- Close- up of clock
0.11 - 0.12- Close up of Brittney resting her check on her hand
0.12 - 0.13- Mid- shot of teacher
0.13 - 0.14- Close- up of Brittney
0.14 - 0.15 - Extreme close- up of clock
0.15- 0.17- Close- up of the bell
0.17- 0.18- Camera focuses on the students picking up their bags from floor
0.18- 0.19- Students stands close- up of Brittney
0.19 - 0.20- Mid- shot of class door
0.20 - 0.21 - High angle shot of everyone runs out classrooms
0.21 - 0.21 - long shot- hallway
0.21 - 0.22- Mid shot dancing
0.22 - 0.25 - Close up of Brittney singing against lockers
0.25 - 0.27 - Mid shot- two students dancing out of classroom
0.27 - 0.28- Close- up of Brittney singing
0.28 - 0.30- Mid shot transitions to long shot of the dancing sequence

Forms and conventions of a music video

Music videos

Music videos can be defined as a short film showcasing an artists music accompanied with imagery and were produced primarily to just merely promote the sale of music recordings, however today music videos are considered as important as the single or album of an artist due to the easier acceptability the result of websites such as YouTube and Music-video orientated television programs such as MTV, having adopted a range of film making techniques such as animation, live action filming, documentaries and non- narrative approaches such as abstract film in order to convey a message to the audience.

The emergence of music videos

In 1894 the song "The little lost child" a product of sheet music publishers Edward B. Marks and Joe Stern was projected through a series of still images on a screen synchronous to live performances which was known as Illustrated song , the first step towards the music videos we now know today. In addition, The Jazz Singer(1927) the first film with sound started the movement away from the popular silent films towards talkies and soundies. These examples hold great importance due to the fact that the a song is being played while a man performs it ,forming the shape of a music video.

 The increased interest in music videos was accompanied by the emergence of youth culture created in western society , initially there was a lack of distinguishment between teenagers and adults , children left school and were expected to work due to the lack of money , in order to become like Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard wearing leather , riding motorcycles money was needed.As a result of the improved economy, the term teenagers was created , having the ability to rebel against their parents standards of dress, living which also created the desire for new music as a result rock and roll was born.

Timeline of music videos

A2 Production Brief

For our A2 media production the brief is to create a music video where we need to receive permission to use an artists original song. The video must include a narrative as well as lip-syncing in order to be successful.

Continuity Exercise

DC

I recorded a directors commentary focusing on how my film opening represent specific social groups as well as explaining why i decided to use certain products e.g. clothing.

Evaluation- Q1- In what ways does your media product use , develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products

Film Opening

Storyboard

Universal pictures

Universal Studios Inc.  is an American motion picture studio, owned by Comcast through its wholly owned subsidiary NBC Universal,  and is one of the six major movie studios. Its production studios are at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California. Distribution and other corporate offices are in New York City.

Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, and Jules Brulatour, it is the second oldest movie studio in the United States of America (beaten one month by Paramount Pictures, which was founded on May 8, 1912). In addition to owning a sizable film library spanning the earliest decades of cinema to more contemporary works, it also owns a sizable collection of TV shows through its subsidiary NBC Universal Television Distribution. It also acquired rights to several prominent filmmakers' works originally released by other studios through its subsidiaries over the years.

Three of Universal Studios' films—Jaws (1975), E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial(1982), and Jurassic Park (1993), all of which were directed by Steven Spielberg—achieved box office records, each becoming the highest-grossing film at the time.

This information obtained from Wikipedia has allowed me to consider which distributor i am going to use. 

order of title sequence

• Distributor- Lions Gate Entertainment
• Production company-Beech hill films
• A Noel Clarke film
• Caught
• Ben Vsaio
• Josh williamson
• Natalie Lia
• Sonia Stradwick
• Casting director-Michelle Guish
• Co-producer-Gam lianecko
• Music composed by…Alex Wurman
• Costume designer-Annie Harrdrige
• Edited by-Michael Parker
• Production designer-Sophie Bekhor
• Director of photography-Richard Greatux
• Executive producers-Nigel Gree
• Produced by-Josh Williamson
• Written by- Mitchell Black
•  Directed by-Noel Clarke 

My title sequence is a combination of names from the films that i have assessed such as  Kidulthood , Narnia and Step up 2 . 

Q4 - Who would be the audience for your media product? How did you attract/ address your audience?