Inspirational video and our concept

We were greatly inspired by Panic At The Disco's video for "This Is Gospel". We like how original and edgy the video is, how it can represent many different aspects of emotions and we also like the idea of the medical theme.

We thought we would incorporate the beginning of the video into our one as we really like the idea of the medical surgeons working on the body. Our new concept is similar to PATD's but we added our own ideas and twist.

Our chosen song "Part 2" is basically about a relationship that once was, but my group and I really did not want to include couples or anything cliché like that. So instead, we changed the concept slightly. We wanted to include the theme of death without making the video look terribly unprofessional and to do that, we are going to edit the transparency of our shots so that it looks like the spirit is coming out of the body that lies on the ground.

Filming

For the past couple of days, my group and I have been filming in various locations for our new song choice. Our chosen genre is rock/alternative rock and in all the music videos we have been watching that match that genre, performance is included as well as narrative. 

So, we have decided to include both performance and narrative. We turned the photography room into a studio using a black back drop and lighting. Later, on iMovie we edited the footage in black and white so it looks more professional. 

We also filmed in a local wooded area for our outdoor shots. We wanted a selection of both indoor and outdoor shots to create diversity and also a contrast between light and darkness which can represent a lot of different moods and emotions.

Change of plans...

For the past few weeks, my group and I have been very unhappy with our music video concept and song so we decided to change it all.

Our new song is "Part 2" by Paramore:

We chose this song because it suits our favourite genre (alternative rock/rock) more and the female vocalist made it easier to lip sync to. Previously, our first song choice "Smallpools" is a male band which meant relying on a friend outside of the media group. Unfortunately, we could never find days where we were all free to film so as a group, we decided to choose a song with a female vocalist.

Paramore is a three piece American rock band:

BFI trip

Last week, my media class and I visited the BFI in Southbank for an interesting talk about the making of music videos. We were spoken to by Pete and Jake Wynne, a director who I had researched for my AS exam! 

Both talks were very interesting and helpful and we left the BFI with many top tips that we have assured will be included in producing our music video.

We also made a short vlog before going in for our first talk in front of the River Thames:

Our school's media Twitter account posted a Tweet while we were at the BFI:

I have attached our Twitter page to my blog for future references: 

https://twitter.com/A2MediaECS

Stop motion

I like the idea of using stop motion in our music video, being inspired by videos such as "A Fire On A Hill" by Hands Like Houses. They use art (paint) to explain the concept of the song which is basically the fire in the house on the hill. The song also suits our chosen genre of rock.

Unfortunately, none of us can draw that well and it would be way too time consuming to use stop motion art for the entire video. Still a great idea though.

Another inspirational video is one that we watched last lesson in class. Italian artist Blu has been producing street art since 1999 and one of his best works, in my opinion, is titled Big Bang Big Boom which describes the Big Bang theory. I love the determination and dedication that he puts into his work and also the use of real life objects as well as animated objects.

Intro practise

We left the classroom and filmed our intro for our music video, however when we came back we realised some of the shots weren't good enough so we have edited this video as a practise instead.

We used a metre stick to measure the distance from the camera to my feet so that in every shot, the distance was the same.

We were inspired by Example's video for "Kickstart" to use a split screen however now, we have decided to scrap that idea and just use the changing of backgrounds. 

Inspiration from real media texts

1) The opening credits for psychological drama series Dexter inspired me to include extreme close-up shots of not only people, but objects too. This is a little different from the usual and this could also represent the vulnerability of the characters featured in our music video.

2) The music video for "I'm Not The Only One" by Sam Smith inspired my group and I to include a love story in the music video. Also, the use of slow motion to show how exposed and hurt the characters will be included which is also featured in this music video.

3) Ed Sheeran's "The A Team" is another inspirational video because of the lack of colours used, as the whole video is filmed in black and white. This is something my group and I want to include in our music video. Also, the locations in London are something we want to use as well, for example Camden Town. 

Marina and the Diamonds

My chosen star to research from my genre of indie pop is Marina Lambrini Diamandis from Marina and the Diamonds.

 

Marina and the Diamonds released her first debut studio album in 2010 called The Family Jewels which incorporated the indie pop genre. She explained that the album is "a body of work largely inspired by the seduction of commercialism, modern social values, family and female sexuality". 

After releasing her first album, she then performed at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend, the Glastonbury Festival and the Reading and Leeds Festivals. She gained a lot of popularity because of this and was ranked second place on the Sound of 2010 poll run by the BBC. Her second album Electra Heart (2012) included elements of electro-pop. This debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and introduced Marina to many international markets.

 

 

Marina and the Diamonds is also known for her retro and cartoonish fashion style, which is evident in these photographs taken from performances at festivals. 

Her album cover The Family Jewels conforms to the average pop album cover of a female sprawled out in a sexual position with her eyes directed at the camera. The background is quite retro which reflects on her style and music, and this subverts to other female pop artist's album covers. The font size of the writing is quite large and takes up a lot of the cover, including some of the artist's face. The writing is in a sprawled font style which adds sophistication and elegance to the artist's name.

 

Electra Heart is quite similar to the first album cover as both feature just Marina and the Diamonds in the middle of the frame. As the camera is focused on just her, the background is slightly blurred to divert the audience from it. The style of this album cover is different, however, because of the filter and editing used to make it look 3D. This adds to the retro theme of the artist and also her cartoonish style. The font size is very large and the artist's name is written in bold in order to catch the eye of the audience. 

Marina and the Diamonds has been featured in articles by big named companies such as Huffington Post, the Guardian, the BBC

Huffington Post's headline for her article included big named artist Beyoncé, catching the attention of those who are part of both artists' fan bases. 

The BBC's article features a a clip of an interview from Big Weekend, and information about her. 

She has also appeared on many popular magazine covers:

     

As well as this, she has appeared on TV around the world:

Star Quality Theory

Richard Dyer is a professor in the Department of Film Studies at King's College London. He specialises in cinema, particularly Italian cinema, queer theory and the relationship between entertainment. He also studies the representations of race, sexuality and gender. Dyer was previously a faculty member of the Film Studies Department at the University of Warwick and has held many visiting professorships in the UK, US, Italy, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.

He suggests that stereotypes perform a number of functions in media representations as well as reinforcing the idea that there are many differences between different types of people. 

Dyer's "Star Theory" is the idea that icons (celebrities) are manufactured by institutions for money only. He believes that stars are constructed to represent 'real people' experiencing real emotions. They are manufactured by the industry to serve a purpose which is to make money out of the audience who respond to various elements of their personalities by buying albums and becoming fans.

His theory is split into three sections:

1) Audiences and institutions

2) Constituions

3) Hegemony

1) Increasing the brand's identity benefits the media as they become a name which increases sales in all of the platforms. The institution then models the artist/band around the target audience they choose. For example, Lady Gaga was modelled around fashion and homosexuality which would target audiences who are into fashion and who are homosexuals.

2) This is similar to the audience and institution part of his theory. 

3) AKA 'culture', this is the idea that the audience is able to relate to the star because they have a similar feature that they share or admire. This causes some fans to replicate the star in their behaviour, what they are and what they do. This can also have a negative impact as some stars are often heavy drinkers or drug addicts. For example, in the 60s and 70s, there was an increase of illegal drug use due to The Beatles being open about taking drugs. 

The artists share cultural values and attitudes to promote certain ideas in which the audience are interested in. These values enhance their 'star quality' and is conveyed through beliefs, ideas and opinions outside music. Stars may be famous for also starting a fashion trend in which their fans copy their hairstyle or clothing. 

New idea?

My group and I have come up with a few new changes for our music video. This is our new storyboard including the split screen shots featuring the shoes/feet that we will use for our opening.

Video inspiration!

We found this music video by Example which gave us inspiration to do a split screen shot for our opening. We had similar ideas before we saw this music video and we wanted to include feet/shoes to represent the different days featured. Now we have decided to do a similar shot for our opening including both the characters' feet, not just the protagonist. 

Audience feedback

My group and I filmed our friends' opinions on the ending of our music video. We told them two alternative endings - the original one including the reveal of the character's sexuality and another ending including a pessimistic, realistic ending.

Music video inspiration

I was watching a bunch of music videos in order to gain inspiration for our final project and found one that I really liked. I like it because it's different to other music videos because of the use of animation mixed with real life objects and people. I also really like the bursts of bright colours and use of imagination behind props and scenery.

It's not something my group and I will use in our music video as we do not have the skills to create something this good using animation, but it still inspired me to be more creative and quirky which adds to the originality that we want.

Random name generator

This week's lesson was spent thinking about our band and soundtrack name as we are not allowed to use the original band or song names.

We played a game called Random Name Generator and took it in turns to choose a one each - an adjective, verb and noun. It wasn't extremely successful however we took a liking to one name in particular - The Worn Skies.

The reveal

We have been struggling for a while now on the best way to reveal the protagonist's sexuality without making it seem cheesy and cliché. But last lesson, we finally came up with an idea that we all thought was suitable yet subtle:

So our idea (in a clearer explanation) is basically taking a photograph of the protagonist, his girlfriend and another couple on one of their dates or outings. The males will be positioned in the center with their girlfriends on either sides. This will be seen in the middle of the music video and towards the end, when the audience realise who the protagonist really is, they will see the photograph again. But this time, the protagonist will have folded the photograph so that only the two guys will be seen. This suggests that the protagonist is homosexual. 

Storyboarding

In Friday's lesson, my group and I began to story board for our music video.

Plan B - Ill Manors

This music video is a really good example of how youths are represented in today's media and society.

It highlights key stereotypes such as gang culture, alcohol, drugs and violence that are often associated with teenagers. The editing of this music video fits perfectly with the beat and the use of handheld camera work complements the style. Also, the use of footage taken from news reports and CCTV adds to the danger and shock of real life teenagers who actually do illegal things.

Music industry

One of the biggest music television companies is MTV:

They are an American based channel owned by Viacom media Networks Music & Logo Group. It is headquartered in New York and was launched on August 1st, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos however now the channel plays TV shows (mostly reality). In the early years, MTV's target demographic were young adults but now, the channel is targeted towards teenagers and younger years.

Another major music television company is Kerrang!:

They are a UK based magazine devoted to rock music publised by Bauer Media Group. They also have a radio station and music channel where they play music videos of more mainstream rock songs as well as classic rock bands. In 2001, EMAP launched the first showing of Kerrang! TV and now, they share a joint venture with Bauer Media Group and Channel 4. 

The biggest wesbite to view music videos on is YouTube:

They are a website headquartered in California, created in February 2005. It was started up by three former PayPal employees but then in November 2006, was bought by Google for US$1.65 billion. The site allows users to upload, view and share videos, many of them being music videos. The channels with the most subscribers are the Vevo channels which share music videos of artists, such as Rihanna, One Direction and Katy Perry. 

E-mailing Smallpools...

I e-mailed Smallpools' manager to ask permission to use their song "Mason Jar" for our music video and they replied! Here's a screenshot of our e-mail:

Mood board

We took a few photos of the locations that will be featured in our music video, including Enfield town and Enfield town park, Camden, Winter Wonderland etc. Some of the photos were taken from Google. 

Treatment pitch

We filmed our treatment pitch and described our concept for our music video to the class. We also answered questions. Apologies for the bad lighting.




 

Three different ideas...

Our first idea was "(One of Those) Crazy Girls" by Paramore:



Good points: catchy song, lyrics easy to adapt into concept
Bad points: very cheesy, lyrics made concept predictable

Our second idea was "Fresh Start Fever" by You Me At Six:


 Good points: fast beat (lots of different shots), suited favourite genre of music, favourite band
Bad points: no story line, music video already produced, male protagonist

And our final idea (which we are very happy with) is "Mason Jar" by Smallpools:

 Good points: unknown band, no music video, catchy song, usable lyrics, lots of concept ideas
Bad points: a little repetitive

Song lyrics

Below are the song lyrics for Mason Jar by Smallpools. At first we wanted the music video to be completely narrative and to include no lip syncing however, now we disagree and have decided to use lip syncing in every verse to conform to music video conventions. We have chosen two lines in particular that would be easy to lip sync yet also are relevant for our concept. The lines in bold are the lines that will be lip synced by our male protagonist. 

She saw the world through a mason jar, it's foggy
She had the kids with the vicious smiles, they got me
Up on a hill with the trophy wives
She's doing all right, all, all, right (yeah)
They let her roam some tree or vine, no question
She's got a home with some shit to climb, don't mention
Been up and down like a hundred times

But I got to kill this conversation while
There is still sense in my mind
But I miss the way you feel
No one will ever know-oh-oh-oh

She wrote a film 'bout a double life, she's livin'
She had a weak co-star in mind, I give in
Mix something clear with the coffee grinds
We're shootin' all night, all, all, night (yeah)
I feel the shift of the fallen side, I'm leavin'
Nobody dares to take her side, still pleadin'
She's breakin' down tell me one more time

But I meant to kill this conversation
While there was still sense in my mind
But I miss the way you feel
No one will ever know-oh-oh-oh

Well we both know
The green will fade to gold
It wasn't that, I should've called them off
A face like stone
The pain begins to show
And it was not right, I should've called them off

But I miss the way you feel
(well we both know)
No one will ever know
(the green will fade to gold)
I miss the way you feel
It wasn't right I should've called them off
(no one will ever know)

But I miss the way you feel
(a face like stone)
No one will ever know
(the pain begins to show)
I miss the way you feel
It was not right I should've called them off
(no one will ever know)

First vlog

This is our first vlog discussing our latest ideas regarding our music video. We also look back on our treatment pitch and talk about our concept of the video.

Working on our treatment pitch

In preparation for our treatment pitch, my group and I created a Prezi explaining our concept of our music video and what we would include, such as costumes, locations and props. 

Here is the Prezi we created: http://prezi.com/jgtz33ac3iso/title/

This is a photo of my group and I working on our treatment pitch plan. 

Location planning

We brainstormed ideas for two of our locations - Enfield Town festival and Camden. We originally had spider diagrams for two other locations but yesterday, my group and I decided to not include Trafalgar Square or Crews Hill. Reasons for this is because we would have too many locations and not enough time to include footage of the male in our music video editing pictures of the models.

These brainstorms include ideas for angle shots for example, an arc shot featuring the male and a female, mise-en-scene for example the bunting in the festival and the famous icons in Camden, and just general things we will include in our music video.

We have also marked and made the decision of having a foot shot of each model with the male walking up to them and putting all the footage in a split screen visual from each location. This will be featured in one of the last verses when all the locations have been seen.

These are our ideas for the two locations we are not going to use: Crews Hill Farm and Trafalgar Square.

This lesson (pitch preparation)

This lesson, my group and I have been preparing for our pitch next week to show the class our ideas for our music video. We are also finalising our ideas and sorting out what will happen in each verse and chorus of the song.

Locations: male bedroom (James), Camden, Enfield Town Festival, Crews Hill, Knightsbridge and Trafalgar Square. These locations were chosen because of their famous icons such as the lions in Trafalgar Square and also the indie rock atmosphere in Camden.

So far we have already filmed in Enfield Town Festival with James and one of our "models" Nicola. Our footage was not exactly what we wanted but we're still going to use some of the footage for our final music video. Next weekend, we plan on visiting Camden and Trafalgar Square with two more "models".

We have also decided that James will lip sync one or two lines from each verse in each location, for example, the last line of the first verse will be lip synced in James's bedroom when he is looking at his laptop screen.

You've Got Time

My group and I copied the Orange Is The New Black theme song and intro video to practice our angle shots, costume and make-up.

Original video:


Our video:

The Smallpools and our idea...

The Smallpools are an American four-piece indie pop band that formed in 2013. They are signed with RCA Labels who are quite big in the record industry, having signed with artists such as Shakira and Kelly Clarkson. The band have also toured with Two Door Cinema Club, a very popular and known band.

My group and I came up with an idea for our music video featuring the song "Mason Jar". We brainstormed the locations, actors, camera shots and many other details that would be highlighted in our music video. 

Song choice

From the start, my group and I believed (One Of Those) Crazy Girls by Paramore was the perfect song for our music video. However, after a lot of thought and inspirations, we have decided on a different song called Mason Jar by The Smallpools.



Smallpools' genre is completely different to the genre my group and I originally wanted to do, which was alternative rock. The reason why we decided to scrap the Paramore song was because we believed our idea for the music video was too predictable as it followed the lyrics exactly. We want to add our own twist with our video and to do that with this song would be too hard. We searched for a long time for a band with a song that we liked, preferably with a female vocalist. However, when we came across the Smallpools' "Mason Jar", we really liked it.

Possible locations for music video

Today I came across a place near Crews Hill with beautiful scenery that may be useful for our music video as it has elements of a rock genre music video if we were to come here during the evening or at night.