Draft Storyboard

Bars in the song

Draft storyboard

To successfully create a music video we need to split the song into bars of four notes. Then we made notes on some of the ideas we have as to which parts are narrative and which are performance.

In addition to this we have created a draft storyboard of our initial idea. This will be useful in creating our storyboard and planning our music video.

Practice CD Covers

To prepare for our ancillary tasks, we have created an idea for an album cover. For this practice piece, we used the font from existing Bastille albums. This has been cut out so that a black and white image can been seen through it. However, we decided that this did not look right. So on another practice piece, we adjusted the position of words so that it was closer to the edge of the cover. We also altered the opacity of the foreground so that the image can be seen over the whole of the cover and the letters revealed a lighter grey background.

We decided that this second practice piece looked a lot better and will make something like this for our final piece. However, it will be slightly different as we will use a different font so that it is different from Bastille's albums. In addition a different image will be used. It will be composed, framed and taken carefully.

First Ideas

We proposed some initial ideas to a group of people that are members of our audience. Taking inspiration from the original music video, CD cover and audience ideas, we came up with some initial ideas.

We have decided to follow the pattern of the original music video and do a mixture of performance and narrative. The performance aspect of the music video will be an audition. Several different people will audition for the role of being in the narrative. The narrative will feature the last person to audition who will be the 'winner' of the audition. The video will be edited in a manner so that the narrative will follow each audition. The narrative will be in black and white while the auditions will be in colour. This is to be able to distinguish the difference between the narrative and performance.

Our initial idea for the CD cover is to have a black or dark grey background and have the album name and  title cut out to reveal and image below. This image will also be white to fit in with the idea of the narrative being the same. To link to the name of the album being 'Bad Blood' we are considering giving the cut out letters a reddish hue.

Defining Our Audience

In order to understand what our audience wants to gain from our music video, we have to understand who would be watching it and why they would want to watch it.

We have to ensure that our music video is suitable for the types of people that would watch music videos in the indie-pop genre. We found out who this is by researching the artist, the indie-pop genre, and the different potential audiences. This will ensure that our music video is suitable for the audience and the music genre and that it will have the right impact on those watching it.

We need to keep our audience engaged with the music video and so we intend to follow conventions of the indie-pop genre, but also make it suitable for a variety of different people that will enjoy watching our final product.

'AMY': A Case Study

Website Analysis

Band website analysis from carmeldavenport

Dyer's Star Theory

Stars and Stardom

To understand the relationship between the music industry and its audiences, it is important to understand the roles that music stars play. Being a 'star' refers to a semi-mythological set of meanings that are constructed around music performers. These meanings sell the performer to a large and loyal audience.

Some common values of music stardom:

• Youthfulness
• Rebellion
• Sexual Magnetism
• An anti-authoritarian attitude
• Originality
• Creativity/talent
• Aggression/anger
• A disregard for social values related to sex, drugs and polite behaviour
• Conspicuous consumption of sex, drugs and material goods
• Success against the odds

Dyer

Dyer has written extensively about the role of stars in film, TV and music. He says that irrespective of the medium, stars have key features in common. A star is an image not a person. Being a star is a constructed concept made out of various materials such as advertising and magazines. Stars are viewed as commodities that are produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings.

Stars depend on a range of subsidiary media, such as magazines and the internet, in order to construct an image foe themselves that can be marketed to their target audiences. The star image is constructed of a range of meanings which are attractive to target audiences.

The star image is incoherent, meaning it is incomplete and 'open'. Dyer says that this is because it is based upon two key paradoxes. Paradox 1 is that the star must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary for the consumer and paradox 2 is that the star must be simultaneously present and absent for the consumer. This means that a star must be extraordinary and absent to give them the semi-mythological status that being a star requires. However, they must also appear ordinary and present so that the audience and consumers can relate to them more personally.

The star image

The incoherence of the star image ensures that audiences that continually strive to 'complete' and 'make sense' of the image. This is achieved through continued consumption of the star through his or her products.

In the music industry, performance seems to promise the completion of the image, but is always ultimately unsatisfying. This means that fans will go away determined to continue consuming the star in order to continue trying to complete the image.

Finally, the star image  can be used to position the consumer in relation to dominant social values. Depending on the artist, this may mean that they are positioned against the mainstream (although only to a certain degree), or within the mainstream, or somewhere in-between.


Justin Bieber:

Justin Bieber's star image has been constructed through his music, music videos, magazines and social media. When the star of Justin Bieber was first created his image was recognisable for his hairstyle and he was marketed to young teenage girls. His hair became a trend. He had values such as youthfulness and creativity which contributed to his stardom. His music reflected his youthful teenage self by singing about girls which is a typical teenage boy trait. He has 40 million followers on Twitter and has a huge fan base who call themselves 'Bieliebers' or are said to have 'Bieber Fever'.

However as the years have past, his good boy star image became too predictable and boring. So his image was redesigned. He changed his iconic hairstyle to attract and maintain popularity as it was unexpected. In addition, he has been reported about negatively in the media. He was caught smoking weed and attacking photographers. This gave Bieber an aspect of rebellion, being aggressive and having a disregard for social values. This enhanced his star image giving him media coverage which lead to more popularity.

The Pitch

CD Cover Analysis

Music Video Pitch

Our group will consist of myself and Tasmine Benton. Both of us will be in control of filming, directing and editing. Tasmine will also be in charge of costume while I will plan for the location in which we will film. We will either feature in the video ourselves or invite a friend to be our actor/actress. To match the genre, the protagonist will wear casual, potentially loose, clothing. The editing will not be flashy but rather plain with straight cuts.

The song we have chosen is 'Laura Palmer' by Bastille. It is an Indie-Pop song and is 3 minutes and 4 seconds long. Our first thoughts are to either film in the twilight/ the dark or in black and white which will match the lyrics, for example 'ran into the night'. Most of the shots will be done outside. This will be mixed with some lip syncing and interior shots. Some shots may be purposefully unsteady and others with be close ups to emphasise the narrative and certain emotions. Editing will vary. The chorus will be faster paced, short shots and longer shots with slower editing will be used in the verses.

We wish to use a DSLR because it films in high quality and some shots may be done using a phone to create a hand-held, self-made video feel. It will take approximately 6-8 weeks to complete. We will spend 2-3 weeks on filming, but will also be editing alongside filming to ensure that footage is good enough and work out if we need more film. We will practise the shots we want and will film in autumn and winter.

We are matching the visuals to the lyrics, which is following Goodwin's conventions and we are aiming for a narrative effect. Our audience will mainly mid-teens who like indie-pop. They will watch the video as an escapism and diversion from reality and their life issues. To fit the whole package, the CD cover and the website will also have dark colours.

Male Gaze Theory

Music Director: A Case Study

easel.ly

Controversy and Regulation in Music Videos

Controversy:



According to Dave Grohl (whom is quoted in the article), 'when a musician starts to use the phrase 'mini-movie' to describe a video, it's time to quit'. Grohl is talking about Guns N' Roses' 'November Rain'. The article goes on to talk about the controversial music video for Rihanna's 'Bitch Better Have My Money'. The video is age restricted due to the violence, nudity and expletives. It has been called highly controversial. The video was supposed to make her seem like a 'no-fuck-giving badass' but instead became controversial and made her seem 'desperate'.

Taylor Swift's 'Bad Blood' is also mentioned as being 'star-stuffed' as well as appearing 'smug and strangely outdated' due to the decade old intertextual referencing of Kill Bill and Sin City.

The article says that controversial videos sometimes work. 'Bad Blood' topped the charts due to its large number of views on the video, whereas without a video, 'Bitch Better Have My Money' only reached 17.


Controversy plays a huge role in the music video industry. It is used by many artists for a number of reasons. One of the main reasons is just to get attention from the press and gain more views. However, some artists may use controversy to get their political or particularly strong view across. Controversial music videos are likely to be watched as they get shared more for the simple reason that they are controversial. So some artists use controversy as a way to get their opinion well known. Unfortunately, more and more artist are like Rihanna and are just using controversy to get noticed.

Regulation:

Throughout the history of music videos, there have been certain themes, such as extreme violence, and explicit content, such as nudity, that have caused music videos to be banned. Music videos reflect the society in which they are created, or the zeitgeist, and so as time passes the view on certain banned music videos change or will have the potential to change.

An example of a music video that was banned when it was released is 'Relax by Frankie goes to Hollywood. It was banned due to homosexual sexual relationships. However, in today's society it is no longer banned as homosexuality is no longer thought of as something 'taboo' and wrong'. It is now socially accepted.

Music video regulation is difficult to achieve. While it is easier to regulate music videos shown on television, it is extremely difficult to regulate those on the internet and YouTube. The watershed means that certain music videos cannot be shown before 9o'clock and this helps to regulate music videos. However, on YouTube the music videos can be seen by anyone at anytime. Parental warnings do appear before some videos are played, but these can easily be ignored. Other videos are age restricted but these can be worked around if you lie about your age, effectively rendering the regulation on YouTube useless.

It is not easy to regulate music videos and most methods are ineffective. Inappropriate content is viewed regularly by young children but there is little to be done to prevent it. It may reach a point where the government would be controlling what we see and regulation companies must be careful not to do this. Parents have little control of what their children can see and access on the internet and it will be difficult to change this.

Textual Analysis 6: Taylor Swift

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Taylor Swift : 'Shake It Off '

Music in the pop genre doesn't have as rigid genre expectations as others such as heavy metal. Pop is a much more fluid genre and can use aspects from a variety of other genres. It often reflects the zeitgeist such as individuality.

Taylor Swift's 'Shake It Off' is from the genre of pop. The song follows the conventional verse-chorus-verse structure of a pop song. It also features the repetitive phrase of 'Shake It Off' which is catchy and therefore often remains stuck in the audience's mind. The music video was directed by Mark Romanek and filmed in Los Angeles in June 2014 over three days.

The mise-en-scene of the music video is very varied which goes against the typical conventions of the pop genre. Hartley argues that genres 'limit the meaning of a given text' and limit creativity but Swift has the intertextual references of other genres in her video including hip-hop, lyrical, ballet and jazz. This indicates that she is not limited or constrained by her genre.





Fiske says that genre conventions 'embody the crucial ideological concerns of the time in which they are popular' meaning that the genre and the lyrics indicate the zeitgeist of the time. Swift's lyrics are about being yourself and not letting other people bring you down with their snide comments, which indeed represents the zeitgeist of people being who they want to be.

'Best' Music Videos and CD Covers

Preliminary Piece

Our preliminary piece was edited and filmed with success, however, as always, there are improvements that can be made. The lip syncing was fairly successful but one of the shots was slightly out of time with the music. To improve this for our final piece we would practice and shoot additional footage.The editing matches the bars and the lyrics with success.

Preliminary CD Cover - Front and Back

As part of the preliminary task we had to create a front and back cover for a CD. We chose images suited to the indie-pop genre, included the band name, and the titles of the songs on the album.

Preliminary Website

As part of our preliminary task, and later our main project, we have constructed a website for the artists of our choice of song. On the website we included tour dates, photographs and reviews which are all important elements of a band website.

http://thekooksa2media.weebly.com/

Storyboard of Preliminary Task

In order to successfully construct our one-minute preliminary task, we have completed a storyboard. We will follow this to the best of our ability and ensure that the editing of the piece matches the bars and the lyrics of the music. The storyboard is a guideline and we may change parts of it along the way.

Textual Analysis 5: CD Cover

Textual Amalysis 4: She Moves In Her Own Way

The song we have chosen for our preliminary task is 'She Moves In Her Own Way' by The Kooks. This is from the indie-pop genre and so the artists are represented in a style typical to the genre, free-spirted, fun-loving individuals.

The artists are dressed in plain, simple clothing and are shown to be playing guitars and other instruments regularly in the music video. The clothing allows the audience to relate to them as they may wear similar articles of clothing. The playing of the guitar indicates that they are talented as they can play an instrument.

They are again wearing simple clothes in order for their audience to be able to relate to them. In addition they are shown to be with two other musicians from a different culture/genre. This gives the indication that the artists are cultural and enjoy to experience other musical works.

The artists are show to be playin their music while beside the pool. This representation indicates that they are fun loving youths that enjoy making music while having fun.

Preliminary Task: Initial Ideas

Fraser's Ten Steps to Success

Step 1: Research

• Watch plenty of music videos and analyse these.
• Remember that music videos have hug budgets that you won't have.
• Watch music videos of different genres.

Step 2: Getting in a Group

• Chose to work as part of a group or as an individual.
• Chose reliable people that have the necessary communication, organisation and practical skills needed for the task.
• Keep in touch with the group so that times to meet up can easily be arranged.

Step 3: Choosing a Track

• Do not choose a track due to you liking it, choose one that stimulates ideas.
• Consider the genre and what kind video suits the genre.
• Think about possible locations, performers and shots which may be evoked on initial listenings.
• Don't be tempted to choose one that is by your favourite band or is very well known.
• Try to chose something without a music video.
• Do not choose an instrumental or an overly long track.

Step 4: The Pitch

• It should involve a single page of ideas, simply expressed, which would enable  anyone reading it or hearing it to envisage the potential finished video.
• It needs to stand out, with a 'hook' in the first paragraph, a clear idea of location, the narrative (if there is one) and something that will make it stand out from the rest.

Step 5: Look at Previous Student Work

•  It is material that is a similar context to your own work.
• It can be used to see what can be achieved and what could potentially go wrong.
• Ten things to avoid: well-known songs, overdone effects, aimless driving around, scenes involving alcohol, cigarettes and drugs (even simulated), shots of people just walking around, sped up footage or footage ran backwards to cover a lack of material,, zooms, found footage, atmosphere-less stage footage and over the top stories.
• Make sure you have: consistency to the end, a clear sense of genre and artist, well-shot footage, a powerful performance, a good simple effective idea and judicious cutting.

Step 6: Planning and Shooting

• Use deadlines and time constraints to focus your thinking and working practices.
• Storyboard as much as possible.
• Plan ahead all use of props, costumes and locations.
• Double-check that your performers are available and know where to meet for the shoot.
• Make sure you know how to work the camera and have a working tripod.
• Have adequate lighting.
• Shoot much more footage than needed or storyboarded.
• Check footage to ensure it has been recording properly.

Step 7: Editing

• Name files so they can be easily found and make sure everything is filed in folders.
• Use effects sparingly and in a planned fashion.
• You may need to apply filters to even up the lighting.
• Consider the use of transitions.

Step 8: Screening and Feedback

• Get feedback on your video from the target audience.
• Be ready to ask questions to the peers watching the video.
• Try to get other forms of feedback

Step 9: Writing

• Do not leave it till the last minute.
• Don't fill the writing with excuses - blaming the equipment, the teachers, the actors, the audience, or other members of your group.
• It should: cover the whole process, use technical language accurately, include the feedback and your comments on it, place your video in relation to the industry, relate it to real example and their conventions, and include an analysis of the finished product.

Step 10: Marking

• Leave it to the teachers and look forward to a good grade.

'Happy' Recreation

Textual Analysis 3: Pharrell Williams 'Happy'

'Happy': The Background

• Cross media convergence: Alongside the music video, the '24 Hours of Happy' was launched. It was the world's first 24 hour music video. Users would log on and a clip would appear from anywhere in the world that related to the time that they visited. The clip could be then shared on social media sites and so exchange was actively encouraged. The site features various people dancing around Los Angeles and it included some celebrity cameos. The 24 hour version was aired at the Buenos Aires Film festival. The music video, which was an edit of the 24 hours of footage, was released on YouTube a few weeks afterwards and has had 670 million views.
• The song comes from the 'Despicable Me 2' soundtrack. The minion characters made an appearance in the music video.
• The music video was directed by a French production team called 'We are from LA' and was shot using a steadicam.
• It has won many awards at the Grammys.
• It has a massive global impact. Thousands of countries and cities have made their own version of the music video under the tagline 'We are Happy from...'. Many were shot professionally and have received many views.
• Parodies, tributes and versions of the music video were actively encouraged and not contested by the record label despite using copyright material (the titling and the song).
• Some Iranian men and women made their version, but it was not taken well. Iranian law forbids women being unveiled in public and dancing with members of the opposite sex. This occurred in the video and so the dancers were sentenced to 91 lashes and jail.

Hall's Reception Theory:

'Happy' had a mainly dominant reception. The absence of discrimination and racism allowed many people to fully accept the video and the music. Many enjoyed it due to the upbeat tune and warming lyrics. However, some did have an oppositional reception. These people quickly became tired of it being played and found the song itself annoying.


Gauntlett's Media 2.0 Theory:

• Content - The content of 'Happy' is abundant. It was fairly cheap and easy to produce. In addition, there are many 'We are Happy from...' tagline videos from around the world.   
• Distribution - The distribution of the 'Happy' music video was abundant. It was a worldwide phenomenon that was open and limitless meaning that it was distributed all over.
• Attention - Happy's attention was fairly saturated. It was a mass product for a niche market. However, because the video and whole project was so big, it received more attention. People gave it additional attention due to making their own versions.

Significant Moments of Music Videos

The history of the music video from carmeldavenport

Storyboard of 'Californication'

I completed a storyboard of Red Hot Chilli Pepper's song, 'Californication'. By doing this, I have developed my storyboarding skills. I have learnt how to successfully storyboard and have realised the level of detail that is required in order to make a successful storyboard that will aid in the filming process. I now know how to fit the shots in with the bars of the music and how this would work when editing a music video.

Textual Analysis 2: Recommended Music Videos

Rat Boy: 'Sign On'

The genre of 'Sign On' is Indie as it is guitar based. It is fast-paced with a series of short takes and cutaways. This is representing youth and the fun that the music video is supposed to evoke. The Burberry car has connotations with 'chav's' and the lower classes which links to the lyrics of the song about signing up for benefits. The artists are dressed in simple, casual clothing which is relatable to the audience as well as representing themselves as young carefree teenagers.

There is also an intertextual referencing within the music video to Supergrass and their song, 'Alright'. Rat Boy drives around in a car with the rest of the artists and the Supergrass artists drive around on a bad. This is a clear link suggesting the fun and youth. This indicates that Rat Boy took their inspiration from the 'Alright' video.






 This same intertextuality is also present later as the riding of the Chopper bike appears in both videos. This represents the fun and energy the youth has.

Olly Murs ft. Demi Lovato: 'Up'

'Up' is part of the pop genre and so has some of these characteristics. Both the lyrics and the music video are emotional and it is about love and relationships as is a convention of the pop genre. The lighting is dark to represent the dark mood of the song and the breaking apart of relationships. The wall is a barrier between the two artist and this is broken apart with a guitar. This indicates that music has the ability to break down barriers. The artists are wearing casual clothing that allows the audience to connect with them, the music and the lyrics.

 

 The music video was filmed in the same place with the camera moving around them on a circular track. This gives the impression of them being together and yet being in different places at the same time.











Demi Lovato: 'Neon Lights'

The editing at the beginning of Neon Lights is fairly slow as it matches to the beat of the song. As the song picks up speed and pace so does the editing. It comprises of many short takes and fast cuts. Cutaways are also a prominent part of the music video. The lighting remains fairly dark throughout with only neon lights being the sources of light. This matches with the title of the song and the lyrics.

 'Neon Lights' has an intertextual reference with Kylie Minogue's 'Spinning Around'. Both Lovato and Minogue are using the same body language but this is more developed in 'Neon Lights' with the editing making there be two people.

The intertextuality is also present within the proxemics. Both artists dance with other people. This represents the fun and youth of dancing.

Textual Analysis 1: Steps

Steps: 5, 6, 7, 8 (1998)

 

The costumes within the music video are largely summer based. The women wear swim costumes and the men wear shorts with an open shirt over the top. This makes the video much more enjoyable as this makes it a light mood. The band themselves complete dance routines which is a genre characteristic for this pop group.

Close ups and wide shots have been used in the video. The close ups are of the main female singers which advertises the artists and the band. In addition, there are also close ups of other parts of the female body representing the women in a particularly voyeuristic style.





There is also the notion of looking in the music video. The band are performing for a crowd within the video. The editing of the piece is fast paced and upbeat. This matches the music and the shots are cut in time to the beat of the song.

A2 Media

I have started A2 media this week after completing the AS course. The new project sounds interesting and exciting and is as follows:

A promotion package for the release of an ablum, to include a music promo video, together with of the following three options (ancillary tasks):

• (A website home page for the band)
• A CD inlay for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package)
• A magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package)

Along the way I hope to develop my skills in a variety of areas including applying theories and editing the actual piece. This project is very different from the thriller piece I constructed but I hope the finished piece is just as good, if not better!