For my description of the conventions of the music video I decided to create a Prezi to present the information that i had learnt through research of Goodwin and his conventions of music video.
http://prezi.com/vwg6qyiotunh/conventions-of-a-music-video/
Goodwin identified key features in music videos. They were:
- Relationship between the lyrics of the song and the visuals of the video that illustrate, amplify and contradict the lyrics.
- Genre related style
- varied camera shots including close ups of main artist or/and vocalist
- Voyeurism especially when concerning a female performance
- Inter textual references
Preliminary Task
My preliminary experiment was to produce a music video in a short space of time. I was given a camera and tripod and allowed to choose the song, the ideas for the music video and then direct and produce it myself. The songs i used was kasabian - shoot the runner. When this video was produced i only had a basic knowledge of video production. I also used only a basic video camera as well as Windows movie maker to put all my footage together.
Untitled from Liam Cranston on Vimeo.
There are certain aspects i would change of this video especially some of the camera angles that were selected by myself. There are some obvious problems with the video as half way through the video it changes back to a colour shot instead of staying in black and white. The aspects that worked well were the location shots I used for example the low angle shot of the 'victim' being pulled out of the car boot and thrown to the ground. This video influenced me onto my main project as i had gained knowledge in how to frame shots and which shots looked better than others.
Audience Profile
The audience of my media productions are aged between the ages of 16-24.The audience will have a strong interest in music, attend regular gigs and festivals and dress in the appropriate fashion. The audience for males will have long hair, skinny jeans, polo shirts and parka coats. They are most likely to shop at outlets such as Topman where as the female contingent of my audience will also dress in the same fashion, but are also likely to wear a lot of vintage clothing.
The demographic group of my target audience is aspirer's. They desire and have an need to be something greater. The goal of a aspirer is emulate the star they admire and therefore want to be. The goal for my target audience is to play and create music, to have stardom and to be recognised.
Focus Group
So that I chose the correct song to fit my target audience I decided to hold a focus group consisting of then people between the ages of 16-24 which were 5 males and 5 females present. Completing a focus group allows me to gain feedback on my chosen song and their reaction to my ideas. The feedback that they give will help me create a music video that fits the genre. The main aim of this is to make sure the video satisfies and entertains my audience.
The target group liked the song that I had chosen as the song was not too mainstream as it was on the first album before their were really that popular. The ideas that I conveyed to them about the narrative of the video were complimented and also feedback was given which included the point to keep the band members used during the performance around the same age as the target audience so that they could then relate to what they will see.
Mood Board
The band I have chosen also have:
(click images to view)
Website:
Facebook page:
The Band/Track
The Drums are an Indie Alternative band from Brooklyn, USA. They are signed to Island Records. They first hit the airwaves in 2009 with their Summertime EP, which instantly generated hype and attention for the band. This attention gained them a spot in the 2009 Shockwaves NME tour and the BBC sound of 2010 award.
Both the first self titled debut album and second album "Portamento" have a nostalgic feel, rich with bass and guitar riffs.
The track 'It will all end in tears' is from their first album which was a self titled album. The track has a dark and gloomy feel but underneath the lyrics tell a much deeper story.
Digi Pack Analysis
Pulp Front Cover
Pulp Back Cover
(ADD A FEW IN)
Research into Magazine Adverts
Kings of Leon Music Magazine analysis
(CLICK HERE)
The kings of Leon music magazine advert is produced in conjunction with the album cover for the new album. The links that are shown between the two because the two images shown are both used as album covers for the album. The links that both cover have are the blurred view of the beach and trees that you have. This was done using a sepia tone whilst editing. The lead single of the album which was called ‘Radioactive’ allows follows the same trend shown on both the advert and the front cover. The colour scheme used on the front cover of the album is a simple sunset colour; the mix of red and orange create the feeling of warmth which attracts the audience.
The advert also tells you where you can buy and when you can buy the album from. It also gives you a website for the band in which you can view more of this artist. The main part of the advert is the image of the palm tree’s yet you are also attracted to the large bold writing of the band name, ‘KINGS OF LEON’ this attracts your attention from the image to the artist and then to the album.
There is a small image of the record company on the bottom right of the page. This tells you who is producing music for Kings Of Leon and who is distributing it to the market. The target market for this band are indie/rock fans which they have targeted the right audience with this advert as it was shown in NME.
U2 No Line On The Horizon - Q Magazine Advert
This is a CD advert in Q magazine. There are many parts of this Advertisement that fit the connotations of an advert, however there are many things missing that you would expect to be included. These are:
Price of Album - This is a main section of advertising. Without the price of the cd the audience will not know how much it will be and if they are interested they would research it.
Where you can buy it - The location in which you can buy the album is not disclosed. This is a fault of the publisher as people are less likely to buy if they have to go out and get it themselves.
The record Label - The record label is a main convention of a music magazine advert. This is because they include their logo for publicity as well as advertising themselves.
Also missing is:
How you can buy it which includes CD, Vinyl and digital download.
Publishing Company
Video Pitch
For the Video Pitch I set it out as a powerpoint. In order to show my pitch I uploaded it to slideshare.
Research into music videos
Untitled from Liam Cranston on Vimeo.
Copy of Permission Letter
As we are using a copyrighted song, we needed to send a permission letter to the record company who in this case were Island Records. They are the UK section of the record company.
Dear Copyright holder,
I am an A Level Student and I am writing to request your permission to use one track by The Drums titled ‘It Will All End In Tears'. With your permission, this track would be used in my current A Level Media Studies project that involves creating a music video for a popular music track, as well as producing an album and a music magazine advert for the artist.If I received your permission, this track would ONLY be used in an educational context and be viewed by my media class, my teacher and the OCR exam board moderator. The artist and your company would of course be fully recognised throughout pre-production and the final video itself. A copyright notice, with wording supplied by you can be included in the records of the project. If this is required, please send full details.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Liam Cranston
Story Board
This is the first stage of my music video.In the first section it is mainly about getting used to the character in the video. You see from his outfit that he is a stereotypical indie fan.
In the second part we get a view of his background as we see the artist in various different places such as around Durham and the local landmarks such as Durham Cathedral are shown.
This section is mainly all performance where we see the whole band playing below a large red velvet curtain. The spotlight is on the band at all times. This shows to the audience that they are centre of attention and are very important.
In this section we see the girl that he has sang about during the song. This creates direct link from music to visuals which is a main part in Andrew Goodwin's theory of music videos.
The last part we see the girl walk away from the artist and final performance part of the video which will end with the curtain closing and a fade to black.
Shotlist
Track Length= 03 minutes 53 seconds
Scenes in total= 27
00:00 - 00:01= Red velvet curtain onstage through second of background noise, spotlight on center stage.
00:02 - 00:06 = Curtains begin to open with band already playing, spotlight still on center stage, only on lead vocal(/guitar) through track.
00:07 - 00:16 = Lights illuminate the rest of band members on stage playing instruments, then close up on each member.
00:17- 00:23 = Close up on lead vocalist singing (miming words) with spotlight.
00:24 - 00:32 = When second synthesizer sound is used close up changes to bassist.
00:33 - 00:40 = Close up on drummer then landscape shot of whole stage with whole band playing, becoming more animated.
00:41 - 00:50 = Footage of over a bridge from window of moving car.
00:51 - 00:58 = Low angle shot male and female leaning against railings beside a river facing camera but not looking at it.
00:59 - 01:08 = Male and Female walking along street/waterfront, female walking in a zig-zag but same direction as male who is walking straight.
01:09 - 01:18 = Mid shot of lead singer on stage miming lyrics, animatedly.
01:19 - 01:21 = Mid shot of male leaning up against a vintage car (if possible)
01:22 - 01:25 = Close up of (replica) gun tucked into waist.
01:26 - 01:35 = Shot out of window of moving car in countryside area.
01:36 - 01:54 = Band playing on stage again lights flashing, all band members moving more than before, close up on drummer.
01:55 - 02:17 = Male and female wandering around city (Newcastle) walking over different bridge looking for things to do.
02:18- 02:25 = Fade into guitarist, extra close up on strumming .
02:26 - 02:38 = Cut to mid shot of lead vocals.
02:39 - 02:53 = Zoom cut out to show whole band playing.
02:54 - 03:01 = Close up on drummer playing part with vigor.
03:02 - 03:15 = Male and Female walking down street, more distanced than before.
03:16 - 03:19 = Close up on Female's face looking downwards, sad.
03:20 - 03:23 = Close up on males face, looking unhappy into camera.
03: 24 - 03:28 = Close up on females face again looking sad but this time into the camera.
03:29 - 03:37 = Band playing on stage still moving but a bit less.
03:38 - 03:48 = Long Shot of girl walking away from boy against sun/ sunset creating silhouette, boy facing towards girl.
03:49 - 03:52 = Band standing still, mid shot on band, all looking away in different directions as if avoiding the camera lights cut out.
03:53 = Cut to Black.
Inspiration for music video
The Music Video I want to create is narrative, which is loosley related to the lyrics but fits more with the fashion based around the genre of the Drums and the track. (There is a seperate page on the Genre of the Drums.)
One idea i had was for the video to look slightly aged and to be recorded in black and white. originally I had considerend making the video look as though it was filmed with a Super 8 camera, giving a grainy effect.
The location for the narrative part of the video is going to be in Chris' house, I have chosen this place because the location is somewhere where all the ideas and concepts for the video can be completed. I will be shooting these parts on weeknights at around the same time in order to create the same level of natural light for the video. I plan to have the band members playing music around the actors in the house and interacting with them without those actors knowing. We took inspiration from the video 'Half in love with Elizabeth' by the Mystery Jets. The band acts in a performance of real life, like they are the soundtrack to your life. The video below is the example by Mystery Jets that I took inspiration from.
Male and Female actors will perform as a couple with no dialouge, there will be interaction between them as thought they are having an arguement. This links to the lyrics of the song 'All end in Tears' as this suggests one member will be upset by something that is going to happen which conveys the tension and suspense of the song.
Brand Identity
I will be showing Brand Identity through my Digi-Pack, Magazine Advert and Music Video by all of the images being in black and white, in the post filming editing i will be adding a black and white filter to all of the frames i will be using in the video, this theme will be carried over to the two other mediums so that the images used in the Digi Pack and Mag Ad will be black and white also. the fonts for the copy used in the Digi Pack will also be the same for the band name and album title, also the images used in all three of the media will incorporate the same actors and actresses as used in the video.
Plans Of Digi Pack
As I would be creating my digi pack on the Photoshop I decided to also create my plans using Photoshop. The images I have used were taken from an internet search engine and this is the kind of look I will be wanting to get from my Digi Pack. However some differences that I will be having would be the whole page will be in black and white as this will continue the brand identity from my music video and magazine advert.
Plans for Music Magazine
This is the plan of my music magazine advertisement. The advert follows the same style as the digi pack and music video. The advert will be also in black and white.
Risk Assessment
Alot of the risk involved in the photo shoot involves the environment we are filming in, ie. filimg on high bridges-stay away from the edges. here is a table created for risk assessment of damage to persons and property involved:
Allocation of roles
The roles me and Chris allocated eachother were split fairly in order to both have sufficient and correct amounts of work each.I was given the job of taking images for all the sections of the work where as Chris would always be the model.
