Wednesday 30 September 2009

HG - Ideas for our video

The ideas we have for our video are that we are having a performance and a narrative based video. Our venue to use for the performance sections of our video will hopefully be the Forum in TunbridgeWells. The narrative for our video is that Jamie T is seen playing to a substantial audience, showing his recognition. However when he is celebrating his success with his friends at the the after party, there is a drink problem that is evident. The celebrating and drinking progresses with his friends and so he becomes very drunk and unruly. We are going to use shots of a table filling up with bottles and cans of alcohol and cigarette buts and ashtrays, showing a dirty drunken existence, using editing to show the table filling up at certain cutting rate to make it look like a large quantity they are going through, hinting to the drink habit he has gotten into over time.
The next morning he wakes up in bed, has to run to the toilet as he has a hangover and feels like he will be sick, the bathroom door will slam in the shot of the camera, showing his urgency because of how awful he feels due to the consumption of alcohol. He returns looking ill, and picks up his clothes to wear, dirty and unshaven, he puts shabby clothes on (compared to clothes he wore when he was successful)and sips from a beer can, with a shot to the time to being early afternoon, showing he does nothing but get up later drink and try and play music. He grabs his guitar and walks out of his house, looking worse for wear about to play a gig.

The next Verse shows him playing at a gig and there is a comparison in his appearance and the size of the crowd compared to the crowd in the first establishing shots. So the crowd gradually gets smaller, people are losing interest and leaving. It is evident that he has a drink problem as while he is performing he is drinking and smoking, showing hes not as professional as he used to be , and lost his edge in a way.


In the next shots he is seen to be busking on the streets. We want to possibly use Brighton or Tunbridge Wells for these shots, sowing hes gone from being able to become really successful to nearly nothing, just a case and a guitar on the street playing to the public, and people paying him coins, and the odd person throwing rubbish in the case, laughing at him maybe. We really want to get the point across that he has hit rock bottom and lost his success and creditability. He will be looking dirty and still have a bottle of some kind of alcohol by him, putting people off and giving him strange looks.



As one of the lines is 'said the you missed her' , we are bringing in the idea of a girl who sees Jamie and takes pity because she is a fan, we see her singing along to his lyrics and showing that he is recognised. We are going to make it evident that she wants to help him and sort him out so that the public can appreciate his music again , and so he can be become the person he used to be and getting his music back out into the music industry and playing gigs.

So in our shots we will show her helping Jamie T and getting him back on his feet, so to speak. and the last shots we see are of him back on stage like he was at the beginning when he was in his successful days. We see him dressed nicely and looking happier with no drink in his hands or looking shabby. And there might also be a shot at the end of the girl in the crowd looking happy. and showing the final shots of him 'Back In The Game'.

HG - Indie mood board


This mood board shows the typical conventions of a indie band and the stereotypes that they fit within their music and fashion. There is a lot of dark clothing and long ish hair, with the occasional tattoo, this shows that the genre follows a specific theme and trend that audiences then buy into. This is showing the genre in which Jamie T's music is in , and how we will try and convey the same feel and image within our music video.

Tuesday 29 September 2009

JJ - Proposal of Audience Research

We are going to use a focus group for our audience research but use three different group of about 4-5 people. The first group will be ages of 15-20 to show diferent responses. This allows us to have a better scope of shots and how different demographics interpret the music. I prefere this method as I think that visual methods will be more effective for us and we can see the interpretations better visualy. We will show the song to the group first, then ask them to do a mood board of thier interpretation of our song. We then will ask them take the mood boards in. We will then give them a piece of paper to jot ideas down such as colours they think of when hearing this song. Ideal costumes locations and so on. We will then discuss in a group and extract ideas we like.
Disadvantages of this would be that in a group people may feel the pressure of other peers to sort this we have given a tsak for them to do a indivuidualy.
When asking questions we will use a dictaphone to record answers for future reference.

JJ - Location Reccie for Video

When we were in Brighton we decided that Brighton would be a good location to set our video as the town has a very upbeat youthfull indie scene anyway so it would be a great place for our genre. The town has loads of places that are great for shooting random shots which is a key part of our video and song. We liked the town as well as we wanted some shots on the beach for the performance based shots.

JJ - Preliminary Task



This task was a great chance for us to refresh our editing and filming techniques. Although the music i have used is not the same genre is gave me a chance to practice cutting to music and lyrics. I have not edited before so this has been great practice and i feel that i will be able to successfully edit our tracks video. Whilst filming we found that we need to take multiple shots of one scene as if one shot is messed up we can not use that shot especially if we film somewhere like Brighton where it is difficult travel to.

The trip gave us a great advantage to our group as we knew before hand that we would film in Brighton so when we went we knew what we needed to film and where we had to go and then when we were there we captured additional shots and photos.

Monday 28 September 2009

JJ - Sticks n Stones Technical Analysis

This song has no particular narrative, there are shots that give meaning to the song and a few lines are related to the visuals but mainly performance based in odd settings. As it is performance based there are many mid-shots. This allows the audience to feel connected to Jamie and we can relate to his lyrics. There are close ups of Jamies face in the faster rapping parts as well as long shots and mid shots when there is partial narrative. I feel these shots connote that Jamie has a great talent. He is an average person he is not air brushed or shot specially to make him look his best we just see his individuality. The narrative shots give meaning to the lyrics therefore connecting the audience with the lines. There are very few special effects used. The shooting was very successful it conveys Jamies image and agrees with the typical indie and British Hip/Hop conventions.

HG - Temper Trap Technical analysis



The video i have chosen to do a technical analysis on is from the indie genre, and is also a song which is pretty mellow and chilled out. And so this is similar to the sound and conventions of Jamie T's ' Back in the Game'. The video is performance based and so there isn't a huge range of shots and camera movements. The main concept of the video is all about fast visuals and flashing images and lights. Some of the main shots used are ones that show the use of sfx and also close ups of band members playing their instruments and the way they use them. I think this is very effective as it gives a unique look at the band and the song, and the way the instruments are played. Also 20 seconds into the video there is a good shot of the guitarist playing, this shot is then followed on by moving around the guitarist , to give the audience a different view of him playing it (shown below).





Thursday 24 September 2009

HG - location reccie, Brighton including photos.


On the 22nd of September we went to Brighton for a location reccie. This was a brilliant chance to begin to get back into using the cameras again ,trying out some new shot and using the location to start some ideas for our video. The weather was also really good, meaning that we managed to get some clear photos and shots. We also got some good ideas looking at certain places within Brighton as we are thinking of using the beach and maybe the lanes for some of our shots that will be included in the final product, and so the day was very productive for us.

This picture (above) shows typical conventions of Brighton with the blue sky, the pier and the pebble beach and the changing colour of the sea. This is a good specific shot/location as we are thinking of using the beach for parts of our video. Brighton is a English setting, and as the Arctic Monkeys are an English based band, we feel getting landmarks like the beach and pier for example in out video could work well.

This photo I thought was a good one, it shows the band The Arctic Monkeys name, members and a previous song title. This also shows the genre and conventions of a similar genre to Jamie T by the audience being able to see what the band wear and the colours used withing the picture/drawing.











This street (below) was very white, plain and simple which we thought looked really fresh and may be good to also use in our final video. For example with our main character walking down the middle, as it was a rather quiet street i think we would be able to create an empty alone effect, and use in our narrative part of our video.

Monday 21 September 2009

Feedback #1 Deadline 21/9

Well done Hattie / Joe,
this blog is evidence of some well thought out, focused, useful research. I can see in the drafts that all the necessary posts are there - but not all published.

Please ensure that you do everything to meet a deadline. There were problems with blogger.com this morning, however this was resolved quite quickly so you should have been able to work on this.
b

JJ - Definition of Auter

An auteur is come one who produces films and makes them unique to there own producing style. Therefore there would be a running theme through all his/her videos.


I have chosen the video "The Kill" by 30 Seconds to Mars. I chose this video because of its iconic signs to the film "the shinging" i thought that the way it was shot and how the band members were represented was really good. It shows the individuality of the band and its genre. It gives the film a good spin off with the conventions of the film but with different events happening in it. I thought the blacked out screens at the begging like "the Shining" is represneted really well and is quite spooky. The shots of the lead singer also represent him as the main chracter in the film.

JJ - Indie/Rock mood board




Here is a mood board for the indie/rock genre, we can see conventions of this genre from these images. There is a lot of dark clothing worn with the same style hair each time. The picture with "art of rebelion" is a good summary of the genre as it shows the conventional thought that the genre is reblious and upholds the state.

JJ - The Wombats Album Cover



I will be analysing The Wombats’ album “A guide to love loss and desperation”. The Wombats are a indie alternative band like the arctic monkeys therefore they should have similar conventions.
The main linguistic feature of this album cover is in the middle of the cover, The Wombats proudly present…..A guide to love loss and desperation, this title stands out as it takes most of the room on the album cover. The type face is quite childish and wavy which connotes an immature feel. The lines around the edge of the writing which forces attention to the title. The writing is white on both titles in a background colour. The background for the band name is pink which is the signature colour for the wombats and the title is I black to make it bold.
The background is a shelf with lots of clutter on it; the edges of the shelves also have the title spelt out in small plastic squares with letters on. This connotes the teenage look and feel of the album.
The iconic signs of this album cover are the band members holding “pop” signs, they are made to look like action men or dolls in the album and are poking out behind the shelves this also gives us a clue to the type of music the band are hoping for.
The graphical signs used on the album cover give meaning to the band and an insight to the genre how they respond to social values. The wine glass that is leaning on the second shelf implies that the band are drinkers, this connotes to the rebellion convention of the indie genre. The clutter represents the band and the type of clutter it is reinforces the idea that the band are childish and there music. The disco ball has some relevance to one of the songs in the album.
The text on the shelves anchors the image with the album title. The band name with the title underneath implies it has less relevance to the album title as the album title is what the eye is drawn to. The pop signs held by the band members anchor the image as well as the title, giving the pop signs meaning.
The wine glass is an object and connotation that the audience will be able to relate to. The cluttered shelves are meant to be easily recognisable to the audience with stuff they would have on their shelves. The images of the band leave the audience with a absent present feel about the band as they are present in the album but because they are so small they are absent from the focused vision.
The band targets the audiences fashion with what they are wearing which comforts the audience as we can relate to them and their fashion statements.

Sunday 20 September 2009

HG - Print text analysis and advert analysis


From the cover of the album you can immediately see a unique band. The form and structure of the cover is unusual as it uses a medi-evil theme. This kind of cover doesn't necessarily display the bands picture/photograph, however it shows that the indie/folk genre has a different way of showing that specific music, and how without showing the band or artist itself on the front, a genre is conveyed.
The drawings that are displayed on the front of the album is very intricate and detailed. This draws the consumers/audiences eye towards the cover, but however not in one particular place. Because of the design of the cover, the genre and the type of band can then be identified, showing strong individuality The pictures are all relating to each other and show life in a medi-evil village, this could imply that the band is 'old school' and original. The pictures are more brutal and dark than other indie albums, but this is what i think makes them different from the rest. The characters that are on the cover are also very similar looking, which i think adds to the certain connotations of familiarity within their music and the genre.

The name of the album which is self names and is written in a medi-evil form and font. This is also shown on the back of the digipak/album as the drawings carry on further around the side.The back cover has the list of the songs on the album which also follows on with the medi-evil theme, with large font, spaced apart and keeping in the linguistic form of the front cover.The visuals and the linguistic signs show an iconic drawing or piece of art work, and the words have connotations of the indie genre as it stands out and is individual.
The reinforcement of the indie genre is displayed throughout the digipak, including the inside print of the album and the CD design, which also follows the genre and the representation of the band itself. because the audience doesn't have an initial picture of the band and its members there is an air of secrecy about the band making them illusive. This gives another incentive to find out what they are like and interpret them in them audiences own way.The album creates meaning through semiotics and signs which create meaning and use colours and imagery with unusual pictures.

Deconstuction of Advert:


This advert is for Bloc Party's album Silent Album. It uses very simple forms and conventions to show the audience exactly what is needed to know what message is trying to be put across. This is a simple advert as it uses the album cover for the advert, which includes very simple colours, and block capitals making the name of the band bold and eye catching. The name of the album is also in block capital letters, which also makes the name clear to see, and shows what is being advertised.
The band Bloc Party are in the indie genre, and both the picture and layout shows this in a kind of underlying way. This is because it is known from the name that appears at the top of the advert that draws the audience in, and automatically we know what the genre, forms and conventions are about, and what message is being portrayed. This form of advertising is very similar ones that the band have done before, this is showing the consistency in the bands advertising, meaning that people who have seen previous advertisements by the band will recognise this one instantly, giving a fast selling position as if it is easily recognisable then people become familiar with the image the band represent.

Wednesday 16 September 2009

JJ - Noah and the Whale Analysis


I am going to be analysing Noah and the Whale’s “5 years time”. Noah and the Whale is a small English folk rock band. The characteristics of this video are alternative. The genre isn’t very broad yet the band has made a successful boom in the pop industry. With the appreciation from all genres and stereotypes, there are types of the characteristics which are used from all different genres but also reflect the bands alternative look.

The video is a performance and a narrative based piece. The lyrics match with the narrative such as the opening line is “oh well in five years time we could be walking around a zoo” we are shown a couple sitting in a farm yard with a cockerel in shot this shows the irony of the lyrics and the alternative view of the video. We are also shown a boy with his hands over girl’s eyes for the line “ill put my hands over your eyes but you will peak through. This is a song based on love and in each sequence we are shown the boy and girl. We are also shown shots of the lead singer. The lyrics are amplified by the visuals and we are shown more of the story in the video. The chorus is also backed up with dance movements from the band, which is repeated each time the chorus is played. There are little performance based shots however there are some, these shots could be taken ironically in this scene

The music is very upbeat and happy, the tempo is quick and the tone of the song is light hearted. This is represented in the visuals by a fast cut rate and bright colours. The shots are of people smiling or being generally happy as are the objects show. This is rejecting the conventions of alternative/indie music as usually the songs of this genre are dark and meaningful where as this song is the opposite.

The video cuts when there is a chorus and we are shown the band playing their instruments when there are solos. The video cuts in the chorus because of the lyrics rather than the beat. At the beginning the piece is melodic and slow so we are introduced to the band members and then the beat picks up. In the second verse however there isn’t a drum beat as such but is just clapping and every time there is a clap it cuts to a different shot.

There are intertextual references in the video, the main reference being the band playing in suits on a small stage which could be interpreted like “Happy Days” TV show in America. The band playing on a small stage and the drummer only having a small part of the drum set could also be a reference to The Beatles. There is also a shot when the band are dressed in rowing/scout costumes this could be a reference to “Oxbridge” students.

The image of the band is very alternative and we can see this in the way they are shown and represented they are wearing what looks like school blazers and then scout uniforms. They are wearing shorts with socks pulled up as well as pointy shoes. the girl in this band is not represented like other girls in the music industry she has not have her hair fashioned or dyed, she is not wearing stylish clothes or big branding names she is very plain. This shows the image of the band and the girl very well. The recording company is showing that you don’t have to be a glamour girl or big boy band to be popular and have great music and this is shown brilliantly in the video. This was the first video by Noah and the Whale and featured as a single which launched them and later followed to there album.

They reject the dominant ideologies of this genre of music; these bands are usually represented in a better way to be shown as cooler hip groove bands. The scenes are shown to be shot through an old camera with “cigarette burns” on the reel. This challenges the dominant ideology of having shots of the band clear and the front men to be shown in a good light. This adds to the generic look of the band and their music this is a refreshing asset to the music industry.

The band do not use any sexual references in the video from the band or the way it is shot in fact this is avoided by the shots of the scouts uniform perhaps representing innocence or conforming as one. The girl in the band is rarely shown in the video and hen she is she has not conformed to stereotypical pop artist looks. She has not been used as a front man either which usually is the way of advertising a band. The dancing in the video is very similar and is repeated in the same way through the scene this is a good way of representing the band members. The shots used mainly show the entire band and if not the members of the band singularly. The band is shown playing in a local pub which also contradicts with ideologies of pop music which is to have them playing in front of a crowd or concert.

The video is edited to look like it was shot through a hand crank camera, with a grainy look to it. The colours have been distorted after shooting to make it look like it was shot In the 70s on a hand cranked camera. There points reinforce the fact that this band is alternative and individual and the bands image.

The band presents challenging ideas to the media, as it doesn’t conform to showing girls with very little clothing or the lead singer having his top off. The video is very politicly correct which would be considered individual as a lot of alternative music videos are about rebelling and being as close cut as possible.

This video would be viewed in an ambient way as there is no narrative as such so the consumer has no need to watch as an interest.

Tuesday 15 September 2009

HG - Empire of the Sun music video analysis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj_Nlm0871E


I have chosen to deconstruct the video ‘We are the people’ by Empire of the Sun. This song has strong characteristics of the indie/electro pop genre. The main characteristics that show this genre are the costumes, the tempo of the song itself and the way in which the video is shot with the different camera techniques and specific movements. The song was released on the 20th of September 2008 and all the lyrics are written by the band, shot on location in the towns of Garcia, Xilitla, and the Icamole Desert in Mexico and was directed by Josh Logue.

Within the video there is some connection between lyrics and visuals. Luke Steele (lead singer) is seen to lip synch during the majority of the song, and mainly the chorus. There isn’t an amplification or illustration of visuals with the lyrics in the video, but the main idea of the video is that the place they are visiting people keep dying, and maybe the words ‘we are the people who rule the world’ suggests they have come to help .This is shown in the way they do a kind of ritualised dance in the jungle by the fresh waterfall.
The Music and the visuals have a connection as there is a magical fairytale feel to the atmosphere in the video, and the tempo matches to the way in which the video is shot and cut to the beat of the music. There is a guitar in the video, it is made to look like a staff or magical stick of some kind, covered in colourful feathers and string it looks out of the ordinary and is not actually seen to be played in the video. The video changes with the pace of the music, as initially they are travelling through the desert at a slow weary pace, and then further in to the video there is a lot of exaggerated arm movements and dancing in a jungle surrounded by an old abandoned city or village from hundreds of years ago, then also more dancing in the street as they parade along with other villagers. This shows the change in music tempo and pace along with the visuals.

There are many close ups of both of the singers, Mainly Luke Steele as he is the lead singer. The costumes and the makeup used are to show the individuality of the band and their uniqueness, which will appeal to the bands audience. Looking at other videos by this artist, there is a certain consistency in the way their videos are shot, where they are shot and also the costumes and makeup is also similar in each, showing their quirky and unusual side and not conforming to a typical band stereotype. This video represents the bands image and that their representation is in tune with their music. This artist rejects dominant ideologies as they are different and stand out from other indie electro bands, which there are a lot of around in the music industry at the moment.
There is no sense that the artist is on sexual display at all within the video; however there is an image of a woman in the video who is beautiful and wearing little clothing. There are close-ups of the young woman’s face showing her beauty, this is to attract a male audience and to maybe to show her in a sexual way. The camerawork used shows a magical, mystical feel as the use of the sun behind the band members in particular as it is shown in a way which is really captivating. The lead singers face is also blurred out to highlight the large waterfall which is flowing violently in the background. This extenuates the surroundings and the lush, fresh atmosphere giving connotations of life and nature. There are also a lot of long and mid shots used to show the surroundings and the historic area the video was shot in.

The video is narrative and performance based. The majority o the video is narrative based, but as the story goes along there are sections , mostly in the jungle, where the band are dancing and lip syncing. The video is an alternative video as it is very different to a mainstream, not only due to the costumes, location and make-up but to that fact the music is new and edgy, something different to what the audience are listening to at the moment.

This video could be consumed either in a solo or communal way as it has a beat that could mean that it could be used as music for ambient listening, however it has also got a video that could employ that it can be used for focused viewing. This is because it is a strong video, with a narrative and performance based view to it. Because of the extravagance of the video I feel that the audience would be influenced by their viewing, and the consumption of what the band offers has a strong unique view on music and the genre.

In conclusion this is a narrative and performance based alternative video, that doesn’t conform to the typical stereotypes of a normal indie band music video. This video shows a magical and mystical realism side of the band, with the use of mise-en-secne, camera movements and sound. This is displayed also with the costumes, location and makeup used, to show that they are different and outlandish.

HG - Our track

1. Post a link to track.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KikuGLsav0Y

2. What is the genre of the track? how can you tell?
Jamie T's music has been described as indie rock, and has been an inspiration to many other bands and artists. The music he makes is very unique and has a certain sound, there is a strong indie sound, but with stronger vocals than other indie bands or artists that are currently around. You can tell what genre he is in from the way he dresses which is like a typical indie/unique artist.

3. Do you think this track represents a high or lo fi video? why?
I think it represents a lo fi video. This is because it has a very acoustic sound, and is raw and all about the vocals with the sound of the guitar and how they work with the sound that he produces changing the tempo with the song, with a guitar solo in there aswell. So i feel that with our limited equipment we would be able to produce a video that fits in with the sound of the song, and the feeling that it produces.

4. What videos would be comparable?
Other videos from Jamie T would be comparable as it they a similar sound to ' back in the game' which is however more acustic, and the video 'sticks and stones' is a good example video that uses that lo fi effect from him. This is an example of a very simple video that shows emotions and a very simple yet interesting, effective video. Also there doesn't seem to be a huge relation with the lyrics and the video,showing that a video with a narrative that is differnt to the lyrics can really work.

5.Give an outline of a treatment.
Our idea at this stage of our planning is to have some narrative and some performance based shots in the video. The majority of the performance based parts will be shot on Brighton beach preferably on a sunny day, using the natural views and prespectives with our actor posing as Jamie T, acoustic guitar in hand and singing to parts of the song. We haven't had a main idea yet for the narative based part of the video as such, that is something we need to work on. However we are thinking we want to make the video's narrative part not specific to the lyrics and unique.


6. Identify suitable locations for filming particular sequence of the music.
For the performance part of our video , we would idealy like to use Brighton Beach. Using our actor shown sat on the beach lip syncing to the words of the song, daylight, black and white effect to give an English view to the video, as they are established with their music as being very English.


7. Consider grain of voice. What characters would you use?
We are aiming to be able to have shots using the main character to represent the lead singer, using lip syncing and maybe a guitar solo. Because we also have a narrative and performance based video we are going to have sections that have the character singing to thelyrics , and those lyrics being in relation to the narrative.

Thursday 10 September 2009

HG - Definition of Auteur,chosen music video

An auteur is a filmmaker whose individual style and control over all elements of production give a film its personal unique stamp, and makes a video original.


I have chosen a music video by a band called Bloc party, the track i have chosen is called One Month off. I chosen this video as it shows the use of children's fairytale stories with a modern twists with the addition of war with tank's, bomber planes and grenades, to give give a more cynical view on something that should be nice and entertaining for young children. I chose it also because i thought it was unique and different.

http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=66xxck1TV-Y

JJ - Audience questions 3

3. What considerations has this research raised in terms of planning your production?



Our research of audiences has shown who and how we should appeal to our audiences. There are two ways that an audience can consume music videos: Ambient, when an individual has the muic channel/ video on in the background, perhaps when doing something else occupying there attention. Focused when the individual is watching the video/channel only to entertain himself.

There is a difference in how we want our audience to consume our video. If we make a performance based video then it will more likely be consumed in the ambient sense as the audience doesnt feel the need to sit and watch the whole thing where as if it is a narrative then the audience wants to find out what happens so as a group we need to make a decision if we want a performance or anrratve based video.

Wednesday 9 September 2009

HG - Audience questions 1 and 2

1. In what way can music videos be considered post modern?


Music is used to construct identity and so the consumption of music videos in the 21st century is vital especially to a younger audience. Music videos are sometimes considered to be postmodern as they are unconventional and are used to set trends within the music industry by using intertextuality, bricolage and different ideas from various other places, and referencing from other artists or other videos in a similar genre. Postmodern videos also give the idea that us as people are defined by what we consume and the music we listen to.





2. How do audiences consume music videos?



Many people use musicians and thier videos to consume ideas and style. this can come in the form of dress and even certain personialty traits, and so people are defined by what they consume. For example the indie genre has a certain dress type and style of person in a way that is influced through the form of music, and what their fans see in their videos and sets, so following what trends are set by certain artists. Music videos are also there for the audience to consume and create new ideas and different views.