Questions Asked in Feedback to Pitch

After the pitch we were asked:

Where are we going to get the dancers from?
Answer = We have friends that are able to source some dancers and we can give them a routine that will fit into our video.

What intertextual referecnes will there be in the video?
Answer = We are not sure if they are necessary and if we will include them, but we may have some brands and other?! ...

Will we be able to use the locations such as grand arcade etc.?
Answer= We will ask permission and go for it as it will be a good busy location for our video.

When will you film?
Answer= During lessons and in evenings.

Brief Outline To Choosing The Music Video Song

After the decision on our 5 song choices we now need think hard about the song that we really want and then create the pitch for our decision to enable us to ensure that we get the song that we want.

We have to make sure that the idea that we have is achievable and attainable for us and also that it will work well and effectively.

It is not just about the decision of the song, we have to consider the further planning of the music video project and ensure that we make the correct decision and that the direction of the video is correct!

After taking all of this into account we decided to choose number 9. We felt that we would be able to show off all our techniques learnt over the past year and to be able to really get something great out of it. As a group we all had the very similar ideas in mind in the initial planning stages which meant it was clear to us all as to what we wanted to do in the video.

This meant that we were able to really start the planning process for our video, taking photos of proposed locations and also know what we plan to include within the music video. We feel very positive about our idea and hope that we will be able to carry it through and make this music video as we have began the process and want to see how the ideas that we have turn out.

Background Information on Artist and Previous Songs

The Hush sound previously known as The Hush is an indie quartet and the main vocalist and pianist within the group is Greta Salpeter.

The early beginnings of the band was formed by Greta and another member, the guitarist Bob Morris.

They were the first two members of the group and the founders of the newer recruits in later times

Lyrics

Through looking at the lyrics, it reminds us of the past and present. The main idea that came to us was the loss of someone. It showed how someone was there and then has gone. 


This is what gave us the idea for our narrative. Which shows how the main singer being a girl was once happy with her partner. Then she loses them and when she goes back to where she was once happy and spent a great deal of time with him, e.g in a open area where they used to walk together. He would no longer be there in the later narrative and she would be on her own and the emotion and sadness that she feels is then conveyed.


The lyrics of this song are as follows:


Shadows all around you as you surface from the dark
Emerging from the gentle grip of night's unfolding arms
Darkness, darkness everywhere, do you feel all alone?
The subtle grace of gravity, the heavy weight of stone

You don't see what you possess, a beauty calm and clear
It floods the sky and blurs the darkness like a chandelier
All the light that you possess is skewed by lakes and seas
The shattered surface, so imperfect, is all that you believe

I will bring a mirror, so silver, so exact
So precise and so pristine, a perfect pane of glass
I will set the mirror up to face the blackened sky
You will see your beauty every moment that you rise

Story Board

This is our initial storyboard for our music video, this shows the preliminary plan for the different locations that we plan to incorporate, the characters and actors that we will need to source and also routines that we need to plan and also the props that we will have to source etc.

Inspiration for our song choice

This video has similarities with the song that we have chosen for our pitch:

It contains elements and conventions that we envisage within our video.

These include:

• The narrative style - being a girl who has lost the one that she loved due to his actions
• The colours, being dark, with light sections, highlighting the past. - A black and white theme
• Costume - being mainly in white to contrast with the dark lighting and other dark elements within the video
• Female artist 
• Strong use of close up shot types on the artist
• Main focus on the artist and her life

This is the video for our inspiration - Christina Perri - Jar of hearts

Lesson Plans

The idea of us planning ahead of what we will do each lesson and out of lesson. Is so that we are prepared and that we all know what we need to do. It also means we are able to allow ourselves any additional time available for any hick ups which may occur within the production of our music video.
Here shows the lesson plans-

Wednesday 28th September  -Finish of planning for the Music that we want ready to give our presentation/ pitch on Thursday.

Thursday 29th September- Present our ideas to the class and pitch our thoughts and find out if we have got the song that we have pitched for and if we can go ahead with our plans.

Monday 3rd October - Planning and doing a storyboard for our video and the real decision making as to where and when we will film the following lesson and week. Call sheet and shot list, decide on filming days etc.

Beteen Monday 3rd and Wednesday 5th October - (All the group) Film footage in the music room with the piano. Start to finish 1.30minutes to do so.  Wednesday's Lesson - Piano room.

Wednesday 5th October- (2 members) Find dancers and prepare them with direction as to the routine that they will have to do. The dance routine will be perfomed either on a stage or in one of the deserted locations that we plan to incorporate within the video. We plan to record the dance routine within the next week.

Thursday 6th October- ( All members) Film with girl and boy at the guided bus way route/ Queens Road/ Chesterton Road. Past and present need to be complete. Try to do some of this during the lesson

Monday 10th October- Film the dancers with the girl singing, all members should be present ready to insure the dance routine is complete. Film Grand Arcade - Evening?!

Wednesday 12th October- Get any last footage that we need or haven't got due to difficult circumstances. Make sure we have everything on the timeline on final cut express. Editing

Thursday 13th October- Make sure footage is complete and we are happy with our Music video ready to get feedback on the Monday. Editing

We will also have 2 nights in which we will also do footage, however this is still to be decided and we should know once all members have found out when they are free.

Monday 17th October DEADLINE for the filming 

Costume For Others

The man who will play in our film, will wear trousers possibly not black and not very bright. We want the main person (Abbie) to be the main focus in the film. We would like a t-shirt to be worn( White) and smart shoes which will give the overal smart image to his look.

Out fit could possibly be purchased from Topman. Here shows a image of the kind if clothing we would like the man to be wearing. After speaking to Ed, he has agreed to play this role and here shows what he could possibley wear:

Dancers would be expected to wear white clothing. Dresses or white tights and long tops. We want it to contrast from Abbies clothing. It needs to be plan and not very over the top. Hair would be put back possibley into buns and little make-up as possible. We want Abbie to be the main focus of the video. Here shows the kind of outfits they could possibly wear:

Costume

The first idea that we had for the costume in the was:

Having the main artist/ singer wearing clothing that is

• Black
• Plain
• Simple

Listening to the song represented loss or losing someone to us. From this we decided that the colour of the artist's outfit would be black - a black dress of sorts like the one shown below. It represents the colour that would usually be associated with a funeral and when someone loses someone.

Keeping the outfit simple meant that the main area we would concentrate on would be the hair and make-up which would focus on her. Because the song is quiet calm and relaxed it doesnt need to have a over the top dress with a girl jumping around. It can have a focus of a plain and simple dress but with a glam look to hair and make-up.

Hair will be either wavy or straight with possibly a white/black flour or head band in her hair. Then quite sparkly and dark make-up to highlight the eyes to attract the audience to her face being an important part of the narrative and the emotion that we want to convey through our music video.

Here shows two dresses which are different but can both be great examples of what we aim to dress the girl in.

Adele is a great inspiration for someone who attracts the audience by the eyes. She wears quiet simple outfits which generally seem to be black. Then she wears black eye-liner and emphasizes her eyes to attract her audience.

Mood of the Music

The mood of the music in this song is quite dark and with aromas of sadness conveyed through the lyrics of the artist.

Within our music video, we plan to portray this through the images, lighting, locations and costumes and also the character that we use to play the role of the vocalist.

The mood of the music is very important as it is what is gathered from the viewer/listener and how they perceive the song itself.

In the music video, we need to create a mood which mirrors that of the mood in the song itself according to our viewpoints.

As the mood is dark, we will include dark costume, empty deserted locations adding to the suspense within the narrative of the video and also a variety of lighting types used which will evoke the mood as there are changes within the song which include the main resounding dark theme but with some lighter elements also incorporated. This will hopefully create an effective music video where empathy for the artist is created and that the viewers are able to identify with the narrative from their perception of it and also from the video and the song themselves they can discover the mood that they feel is surrounding this song.

Props to be used within the video

• There could be some kind of neckless to highlight what she had left from her lover. Something that reminds her of her partner and of the past.

• The piano in the music room - wihin college for ease, we will set this room up for filming and ensure that we can use it having plenty of time with no lessons needing to use it or other students. 

• We will make up the room to get it to look as though it is a recording studio or a concert hall to create the sense for the viewer that the artist in the video is in a location that appels to the style of the song and also the conventions of the narrative that we have created.

           

Colour and Lighting

Within the video for this song, we plan to have a dark setting, with low light, but with contrasting white costumes, to create a black and white style of video including lighter sections to convey the past.

This juxtaposing lighting should highlight the different periods of time and the emotion of the artist making the video more effective.

The filming for this video will be weather dependant as we need a day where it is not bright sunshine which should be ok as we live in beautiful Britain rather than somewhere like Barbados.

However, if on the proposed day of filming there are not suitable weather conditions then our back up plan will be to edit the video accordingly, changing the lighting using filters to create a darker effect.

Performers/ Performance styles

For this song, we plan to have the artist as the main performer throughout the video.

There will also be other characters within the video, but these will be background and not the focus.

The background characters will perform a dance routine behind the artist symbolising the movement that she is undertaking and her feelings and emotions. Additionally, we will have a male character acting as the previous lover of the main vocalist.This will include the need for flashbacks and highlighting the past that is between them both.

We plan to have Abbie as the main singer in the music video. Her other half is to be Ed and the background dancers are yet to be named however we are in the process of choosing and deciding. The filming will be done by Chris and Charlotte. Then the editing will be a group work with input by all of us. For the other picee's of work we have to do, we will be using a still camera to take photos along the way so we dont have to rush those at the end.

We plan to include dancers in this sort of style

 

Location

The locations that we imagine to have within the video are:

• A room in which the artist will play the piano, having the performance element. (The music room in college, where there is a piano)
• A deserted quiet and open area, to highlight the past and present, the lonliness that she feels. (We currently think that this will be along the guided bus way, in another surburban city location and maybe in a wooded area
• Her walking through a busy and unknown location with a lot of people quickly past her. (Hospital, Shopping centre...?)
• Looking out of a window - Cafe, restaurant or room

Location in pictures

Woods 

Open fields 

Walking along an open lane 

& Again 

A cafe which could be used

Hospital

Grand Arcade- Shopping Centre

Contact Details

Grand Arcade-
Phone: 01223 302601
Email: info@grandarcade.co.uk

Hospital- +44 (0)1223 245 151

Music Room- 01223 50740, long road cambridge cb2 8px

council-
Telephone: 0345 045 5200 (General Enquiries)

Potential Locations for the piano scene

These are the pictures of the potential piano location, we took them in college in the music room.

In the actual music video we intend to use the grand piano and ensure that there are no other people using the piano during a lesson or practice time.

Choices for Music Video and Final Five Initial Ideas

The categories that we initially had to look at when listening to the tracks that had been given to our group, to give our first impressions we had to think about:

• Locations
• Actors
• Colour
• Storyline
• Costume
• Props

After listening to the tracks and thinking about these categories for our first impressions, we discussed and thought about the 5 songs that we like the best and our initial ideas for our music video.

We have decided roughly that our choices are: 2,5,7, 9 and 11

Track 2:

We thought that for this song we would need a stage performance with a dance routine. Reminds us a bit of Take that and other similar boy bands. There are some elements of happiness and also emotion within the song. For locations, we would envisage there being a stage, a house an outside location, walking through a busy street/ urban location. There would be close ups of each of the boy band member, however, we think that there would be particular focus on one member, the lead. The band members would probable wear smart casual clothing, chinos and shirts for example.

Track 5:

This track with an unhappy aroma and feel to it, we feel could have the potential for slow motion video to add to the narrative that we perceive there to be. Within the music video for this song, there is definitely the need for performance, playing the guitar, banjo etc. This is a song that has the farm style feel and conveys to us a sense of that. Flashbacks could also be used, there could be potential for colour variation, perhaps intertextual references, looking into a television. The flashbacks could be used for the main protagonist within the music video and to show a happier time in his life?! The clothing would relate to the main location for this video, being a farm, casual and rural.

Track 7:

For this song, there is female solo artist and her band we envisage there to be some performance from the group. Some greatly diverse colours adding to the interesting feel of the video and also a range of different locations and visuals having a strong relationship with the lyrics and the song itself. There would be elements where the artist would have the spotlight and be singing solely with other members then gradually coming in, possibly in another location. The locations would probably include some urban locations, maybe a car park and then a room, or range of where a party may be taking place, people listening and raving to the song within our video. We could include flashbacks additionally to add depth to the narrative and therefore make the video more interesting for the viewer.

Track 9:

For this song with a female solo artist, we would literally mainly envisage there to be just her, in a room playing the piano and then there would be flashbacks throughout showing previous events, maybe highlighting the past and the reason(s) for her sadness. Additionally, we could show a girl on stage with a spotlight shining and then the reaction or the outcome, adding empathy and strongly conveying the emotion. We would consider the girl to be wearing black and in the present and then more colourful clothing in the flashbacks. There would be a lot of close up shots to highlight expression and add to the emotion.

Track 11:

Within the music video that we would think to create for this particular song, we would definitely add in a large section of performance from the group  as a whole. There would also maybe be some elements of the groups possibly on a night out, some footage of them returning home after a night out or something similar. There would be different locations used, no flashbacks, but probably some partying, a night club scene perhaps, or a gig situation with an audience of kinds. We imagine that there would be some slightly weird and wonderful happenings within the video for this song. The clothing would probably be smart casual and slightly indie.

Goodwins Music Video Analyse using - 50 Cent 'In Da Club'

This shows you the general expectations of a Hip Hop video. They have the main person raping away while there's alot of seductive dancing going on around them. From watching you can see the video it is a high budget video from the costume changes every 5 seconds. Along with the high fashionable places used. 

There is a lot of close ups used throughout the video to demonstrate his visual style. Throughout all his videos he has close ups used on him and always is shown as the centre of attention compared to the others. He also is featured with a lot of other well known artists which promote him by letting him look the leader and the main person.

Its very stereo typical his video as it shows his costume to be baggy clothes big bling chains and just the general look of a hip hop rap artist. The music fitted with the visuals as it was quiet a dance club music which was played in a club with people dancing freely to the music.

 

Analysis Of Product and Packaging for Madonna DigiPack

The digipack has a variety of different colours and textures on the cover and inside the pack.

There are interesting costumes highlighted on the cover and in additional pictures over the packaging of the DVD pack.

The product itself offers many of madonna's popular hits during the 90's. The videos that were made for this DVD have unconventional themes and costumes mirroring the time that now seem dated and slightly strange.


A difference from today's more popular style of music video is that in some of the videos she does not actually lip sync, however complying with the genre of Madonna's music there are dance routines and a strong narrative.


Additionally, in the videos by Madonna, there were few locations used and also the camera angles are in short supply and there is not a great deal of variety. In today's world of music and music videos, there are generally always a large variety of camera angles and many locations making the videos more interesting and giving them more depth.


The outer shell of the digipack seems to be unconventional.

Madonna DVD Digi Pack Pictures

 

Conventions of a DigiPack

A Digi Pack should include:

• A picture of the artist or group 
• The title of the album, single or DVD
• An age rating, film classification
• Track listing
• Bar Code
• Some additional photos
• An insert within the digi pack, CD or DVD - Information, Lyrics and some background on the album or DVD
• Duration of DVD
• Copyright information

Analyse Of different music videos

A spoof video

This video shows the kind of way now days artist tend to dance and they have over done it to make it funny. Having the funny dance and the weird video which shows a lady giving birth to a fully clothed boy makes it more funny and intresting to watch.

Through using  mise en scene conventions such as costume having everyone in bright colours and them in grey it makes them stand out more from the rest. It keeps you intrested and wanting to watch it with the funny dancing and weird footage.

A video with a message

This video gives a message through mise en scene and sound. It uses her costume which is very little to show that people are all different and unique and that they should be happy with what they have. She shows this also by having some parts where there are about 5 heads which are cloans and she shows that not everyone is the same.

Through her song and the words it shows that your mum brings you up to be you. That everyone is different and that you are born that way. Through using different angles such as long shots and close ups it shows different parts to her and how different she is. 

I think this gives you the message that you should be happy with yourself. That we are all different and not everyone is the same.

A video that shocks you

Lady gaga songs all come across as quiet shocking. Her costumes are either revealing or weird and wacky in which can come across to some audiences as offensive or wrong. You wouldn't want your 4 year old to be watching them as some of the lyrics as well come across as offensive.

'Judace' was the song of hers that i choose and found that the amount of clothing she wore wasn't suitable for certain audience. Also they have a lot of phsical violence in which it shows people lobbing bricks at her. This could come across as ok to people if they watch it and are influenced by it. The narrative of the story is generally based on violence and how to seduce someone. Its generally jsut a shocking video to watch and you would have to be careful when others who are younger are about.

a video chat presents a artist in a way we aren't used to seeing them

The mise en scene for the second video is the type of video she usually does. However for the first it is totally different to what she used to use. In the first one she uses a geek look and looks totally different to what she used to look like. Then in the second one she has the glam look which she usually has and is recognised for.

In both of the videos it shows a wide range of long shots and close up of her face. In the first one it shows she is fitted into the back ground and isnt very bright and standing out but once she changes outfit she then ends up being the main focus. In the second one it shows a lot of special effects used and also has her on her own while others our running around.

The first one has a short story to it in which at first would be good however if you had to keep watching it back it would get boring and wouldnt be intresting. But with the second one it doesn't so its short and easy to repeat over and overagain. 

Analyse Of Music Videos

Spoof Video



The video we chose is Jack Sparrow by The Lonely Island. This video is filmed to be a contrast between one man who wants to create one song and three who want to make a different song. The video starts with a slight introduction so the viewer knows that the video will have two angels, one of a club and the other a Pirates of the Caribbean spoof. They do this by changing locations and costumes, from suits in a club to a pirate outfit on the crows nest of a pirates boat.

Shocking Video



This video is just weird in general everything is just weird.

Additionally, in the way of the classification of this video there would need to be

Music With A Message



The message in this video, is the sad story of someone with no where to go with a drug addiction and works as a prostitute. This is done by not actually showing the artist at all in the video but instead show a story or insight into the life of someone who this video will relate to. This video shows what someone will go through at to get hold of enough money to buy the drugs they need to escape from the reality of their lives.

Magazine Advert -Beyonce 'Best thing i never had'

 

Our task was to create a magazine advert for a music video we had watched. I decided to choose Beyonce and her new single 'Best thing i never had'. Because she is such a well known music artist she doesn't have to have her face in the advert. Only her name should be the main focus. From what i had done i should have made her name and the name of the single bigger and more bold for it to come across in the right way.

I think the advert in some ways could come across as a advert for a new film at a cinema. Instead of what its actually meant to be a music video.  Also i could have worked on making the white around the stars the same colour as the background of the strip so it doesn't stand out so much.

I found using photo shop quiet difficult because of all the layers and not being able to move things or edit things as easy as i thought. I think i would need to leave about week to be able to get it fully complete and at a good standard. There also needs to be some planning and ideas so that its more easy for it to be done. It would also be good to have feed back on the products so we can then improve them instead of just doing them and getting feed back which isn't so good and having no time to change it.

Magazine Advert-Ed Sheeran

To edit the image of ed sheeran to create our magazine advert, we simply used colour filters. The filters gave the whole image a grey matte effect which we thought looked good, but to make it stand out we selected his hair and coloured it ginger just like it is in real life. We did this as we thought it caught peoples attention as it stands out from the grey background.

Music Video Analysis of Michel Gondry's Works

The videos that we watched and analysed were:

Kylie Minogue - Come Into My World

A music video with a looping cycle, repetition of actions and an unconventional feel to it through the lack of shots but a full setting with many actions being carried out by characters on set. Additionally, due to the doubling of Kylie within the video, this creates an interesting and memorable element to the video and there are other elements and objects that double and continue to do so within the video as she does. This  creates an exiting video with very good continuity, a slightly strange concept but very well shot and carried out with very good planning and routines drafted and rehearsed appealing to the conventions of the genre of which Kylie is in, Pop where a routine is desired and it adds an enticing element to the video withdrawing it from being uninteresting.

The Foo Fighters - Everlong

This is a music video again having similarities to the first in that it has a very strange concept but with supernatural elements and different realities being connoted. In contrast with the video additionally, there is performance used within the video, however due to the genre of this group, which is rock this would be expected, however another contrast is that there are a number of quick cuts and a variety of shot types utilised within this video and also contrasting colours used to convey the different realities within the video. Similarly, this is quite an unconventional style of a music video, with a number of locations used, strange costumes and odd, supernatural happenings taking place. This gives the suggestion that the work of an Auteur is at foot as the control of the video is at his dispense and Michel Gondry is able to make almost anything happen to make a very grabbing, interesting and slightly odd video by the Foo Fighters.

The Chemical Brothers - Star Guitar

The music videos for this group and song is similarly unconventional and fitting to the style so far seen in the work of Michel Gondry. There is again an enticing narrative, strange and supernatural occurrences and split realities, going from dream state to what is real life. As the viewer, one is drawn to the video itself and almost detached from the song itself as the video is very interesting and different to most others with its quick pace, rapid cuts and shifts and fading used with many effects and colour changes. Additionally, as with the first video analysed, there is doubling of a character within the narrative of this music video creating another element and adding to the diversity of the music video itself also appealing to the genre of the group and also the style that they like to evoque which is a little zany. Similarly with the Foo fighters video, there is performance within the music video, however it being the work of Michel Gondry, it is connoted in an unconventional and interesting fashion making it more enticing and enjoyable to view.

White Stripes - Fell in Love With A Girl

This video is unlike any other that we had ever seen done by Michel Gondry or any other director due to the fact that it was all films using lego, this appealing to the unconventional style that Michel liked to utilise and build upon within the music videos that he directs. This video is amazingly put together and fantastically filmed and created with great continuity and still complying with the style that the white stripes like to have and the conventions of the genre, with some performance and some different light/ colour being used. There is a quick pace in the video and again quick cuts and a variety of angles used. It is a greatly memorable video and extremely enjoyable to watch.

The Auteur Theory - Looking at Michel Gondry's Videos

The French film theory created by André Bazin can be applied to many forms of media today, e.g.  films, music videos, television programmes and others.

The film director Tim Burton would be an example of an Auteur as he distinctly creates weird and wonderful movies with similar styles, effects and recurring themes.

Our group looked at some of the creations of Michel Gondry, Director of a wide range of music videos for groups and artists including The White Stripes, The Foo Fighters and Kylie Minogue.

After analysing some of his music videos strongly concluded that he was an auteur due to the style that seemed constant throughout the videos that he had directed, conveying that he had been given the authority and control to make the decisions for the video, the filming, framing and its main direction.

For each of the videos, there were recurring themes, a wide range of similarities in styles, effects and camera angles, cuts and movements despite the fact that the genres of our chosen viewings were totally contrasting.

The videos all had an unconventional nature to them, giving them a sense of the unknown and slightly out of this world. In addition there were references within some of the music videos where there were dream states and the real world being framed and set in a different way either using colour or setting to differentiate them.

Music Video Analysis - Goodwin's Points

The main points that are used to analyse music videos according to Goodwin are

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. stage performance in metal video, dance routine for a boy/girl band)
2. There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals (either illustrative, amplifying or contradicting).
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying or contradicting).
4. The demands of the record label will include the needs for lots of close ups of the artist(s) and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style)
5. There is frequently reference to the notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes etc.) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
6. There is often intertextual reference ( to films, TV programmes and other music videos etc.

This is an important element of music video analysis and helps when considering points while watching a music video.

The Auteur Theory

The Auteur theory is a way to analyze a film or other media forms.

This theory was created by Andre' Bazin, a French

Andre believed and held that films should reflect the personal vision of a director.

Andre was a film critic

If a director is an auteur, they are known to have full control and authority and will be left to be the leader of the production of the film or music video.

The auteur has connotations of the power that an author has of the writing and publishing of a novel.

If a director is an auteur, there will generally be a resounding theme within other works in their portfolio and similar shot types, cuts and special effects being used.