Filming - Christmas holidays.

During the Christmas break it was harder than I thought it would be to film, due to busy schedules. I was able to gain some footage, however not a significant amount to make a large difference at this point. I have decided that on the weekend of January 7th I am going to get together with the people featured in my music video and try and get all my previous footage re-shot again how I wanted it. I think if I do this I will be able to keep on track with my filming, the following week I am going to try and get together people to be my 'band' to mime the song - this part is the hardest I feel as I need people who can play instruments. I am going to focus first on finishing the shoot on the 7th, even if there is footage I still need I would like to be able to lay down a large amount of footage by the weekend.  I am annoyed that the filming didn't work how I would have liked to over Christmas, however, I know just need to get on with it and I am still shooting bits during the week as not all the footage necessarily  needs actors.

Closer look into clothing.

I thought that I would look deeper into the clothing of the genre and focus on people to see how their styles could fit into my music video. Firstly I focused on the female character, I thought that this would be the easiest thing to do as there is only one female that I would need to be shooting. However it was harder than I thought to find indie/indie rock female artists and their styles which I thought could apply to my ideas:

Florence Welsh - 'Florence and The Machine'  - I looked into Florence Welsh as I decided that her music was from the indie genre, however I didn't feel that she fell into the indie folk genre as that is something which I think is easily crossed into with many artists, however I don't believe the band I am focusing on have that folk element to them. From looking at her style I decided that she is often quite eccentric in many ways and sometimes almost over the top. From these discoveries I think that the coat I used in my first shoot for the female had potential to still fit into my music video. However I am going to consider other clothes that could fit in also.



I focused on the males next, both the male characters and the males who will be playing the band. For the band I decided that I would use a very typical indie rock looks with just t-shirts/shirts/jeans/converse shoes ... that sort of style, as expected on the genre as they are going to be inside it won't matter if they are or aren't wearing anything warm to cannote the weather like my characters in the conceptual part of the music video are. My main inspiration when trying to look at male clothing was bands such as Arctic Monkeys and You Me At Six who I have constantly found inspirational throughout research. 

I also got looking in to the band themselves and have found this image for them helpful it is also set in the woods just like my conceptual based idea and has therefore given me more ideas to consider in terms of clothing, however, now it is December I think that it would be very unlikely that my male character will not have to wear a coat. 

My artwork -

I have been considering the different types of images I could use for my art work and magazine advert, I decided that I would carry with the theme that runs in many indie/indie rock musicians art work and choose an image that represents the theme of the album or song. I got thinking of the many different ideas which are prevalent throughout my music video (This links into this post http://stephaniehardinga2media.blogspot.com/2011/12/themes-and-ideas-in-my-music-video.html)

• Firstly is the nature half of music video, I was considering using an image from this side of things.
        - The nature.
        - The characters among the nature.
        - The masks lying on the ground/hanging from a tree, canoting the nature.
  
• Then my idea went onto the tea cups from here.
      - Throughout my music video the tea cups signify the simplicity of things whilst them masks represent the confusion and the aspect of hiding away.
     - Tea cups on the grass and in soft focus the masks behind them.
     - The tea cups only.
     - The characters holding the tea cup.
     - The tea cups hanging from the tree.
  
• However then I remembered that there is another aspect to my music video and that is performance.
    - Image of the instruments.
    - The fake band - I am least favourable to this idea.
    - Instrument in the out doors.
    - Combining all of the ideas some how so the masks, instruments and masks are in one shot.
  
  I think that what I will need to do is to get each of these shots, print them off and ask the people in my class along with my teacher to vote for the image they prefer and the image they think would look better as an album cover and magazine advert. 

Clothing -

Clothing was an issue that I had in my first attempt at shooting. I have taken a screen shot and have labelled what it is I don't think works about the clothings. I am glad that it went wrong the first time in a way as it actually allowed me to see what I should and shouldn't be doing and has allowed me to learn from my mistakes and made me think at what depth I should be going into my music video, including clothing.

I have several issues with my styling, firstly the difference in clothing between the female and male character, by having the male character without a jacket it doesn't really show that it is autumn/winter like the female character does. However with the female character there aspect that I would change in my next shoot such as the shoes and with the male character things which I would keep such as his trousers and shoes. The masks are also another issue, as I personally like them, however I feel like they need more justification then that, and that is something that I need to think about and represent in my music video.

Shooting 1st attempt.

Shooting for the first time with my music video idea wasn't very good. I decided that actually I didn't like my idea and that I needed to change it in order to be happy with what I was producing.So going onto my new idea I had to just slightly rethink my concept part of my music video. I did film some to practice but once I looked back I noticed there were many different things that I needed to change and many different things that I hadn't picked up on whilst filming but I have no made a note of to change:

• Clothes; I hadn't noticed that one of my characters was wearing a coat, whereas the other was in a t-shirt, although this was how they were feeling, when looking at it together it looks silly as it doesn't make sense one of them in a winter coat on in a t-shirt and therefore I need them to both be in the same kind of clothing. 
• Shots; I had took many close ups/mid-shots and many from behind as well. However I decided that I need shots from the front for example if someone starts to walk away perhaps focus on their feet and follow their feet then from the front as well. 
• Narrative?; I didn't want my music video to have a narrative at the start, however as it goes on I'm beginning to think that perhaps it would make more sense if there was a story. This isn't what I'd like to do but I might try and see if it looks good as more of a narrative. 
• Story board; I haven't completed a story board as I was currently planning on doing it in parts as there is two parts to the music video, conceptual part and the performance part, therefore I was going to work on one part and then the other in order to allow me to fully focus. I decided to start with the concept as I thought it would take the most time but actually now I'm thinking about it and the performance could actually take a lot longer to shoot and might even be more hassle to keep reshooting that the concept. 

Overall I'm glad that I got to this point where I noticed that I need to work on a lot of things, I feel like I'm learning as I'm going along and that works well for me as it gives me time to think about things and go back to them later. I think I know more or less how I want it to look now, so I am excited to re-shoot this weekend and see what I can come up with.

The themes and ideas in my music video -

The song I have chosen is Settle by a band called CourageHaveCourage, they don't have the song on Youtube however you can listen to it here on their myspace page http://www.myspace.com/couragehavecourage.

From what I have understood from the song it is about the easy and complicated aspects of a relationship, often how it is too complicated to get into so things should be enjoyed. On this note of both complication and simplicity throughout the song I have decided that I will include different props with cannote these themes : 

                                   
                                                                                             (screen shot from my first filming attempt)

• The masks - the Animal masks are an idea I had from the beginning, I wasn't totally sure how I would make them work or how they would fit in with my music video but I thought that the whole idea of confusion of people with masks on would really work during my music video. Luckily with this song what I have decided is that I may get away with the idea of the animals masks if they cannote the idea of complication, I believe that they can do this as the audience will be wondering why it is that the people are wearing masks therefore adding an air of confusion to the video, like the confusion and complication of the song.
  
• The tea - I then decided that if the complication was represented in my music video then the simplicity needed to be shown to the audience as well. I spent a long time thinking about things which represent a sense of simplicity whilst my actors wear the masks. I tried to think of things which didn't just appeal to me and eventually I decided that a cup of tea is a universal symbol of sitting back and relaxing, especially in Britain.  It was hard to think of ways to incorporate this idea, however I decided that I would just have my characters drinking the tea, sat looking relaxed but with the masks on, still allowing the audience to question aspect of the video and reinforcing the complication at the same time.
  
• Relationship - I also wanted to make it significant and clear that the couple in my conceptual part of my music video are in a relationship and are not brother and sister - I didn't know if this would seem the case if they were wearing the same animal masks. Because of this I decided that I would have to put in points where they were holding hands ect to symbolise their relationship. 

Initial ideas

For my initial ideas I decided that I needed to start planning the filming section of my coursework.  I am starting to come up with some ideas now as I have decided that I will be filming a performance and conceptual based music video, focusing on the conceptual side of it in order to try and give some meaning to the lyrics through the video but without having a narrative.

• I have decided that the conceptual based element will be filmed outside. 
• My performance based element I am undecided on at the moment, for where I want to film it, I can either have the band inside or have them outside in the setting of the concept. I'm undecided on this element as bands vary between each of these depending on the band and I'm therefore debating which of the ideas to choose. 
• For my concept I have decided from the lyrics of the songs that the song is about a relationship, however it is focusing on how things just over complicate when they should be simple. I decided that because of this sense of simplicity that the song contains I want to have the couple outside, just the two of them to canote the simplicity. 
• I noticed that in the other videos of the band they have stuffed animals, I couldn't find a reason for this and therefore decided that it must be something that the band like. Because of this, I am now considering that the couple wear masks, in order to also canote the complication in the song. I am unsure on this idea, however when I am imagining my music video I do like the look of them wearing animal masks and I think this will also go well with their stuffed animal idea as I don't want stuffed animals. 
• I want the couple to be in a kind of Alice to Wonderland theme, I will set up a nice little table and chairs and have them with tea and a teapot, I decided on the tea as having a cup of tea is quite simple as well and I think that this idea will go well with my idea. 
• What I think I'm going to do next is start story boarding and see if the ideas all fit together.
• I am also going to go and take some practice shots of setting to see if I do like the surroundings and if I think that this idea will work. 
• I am affraid that my idea will cross into a narrative style but I will have to be ready for this and I might have to quickly research further into narrative music videos. 

Overall I think that my ideas are slowly coming together but I need to hurry up with my ideas as it gets darker and darker as the winter draws closer and therefore my timing for filming will be come ever more limited if my idea remains outside in the woods. I have to consider this and try and find different types of lighting so that my set doesn't get too dull if the sun isn't out and the lighting is dark. I will have to consider other things such as props for this idea to but I think I will go deeper into the prop and equipment issue a little later on, on another post once my ideas are forming together and I am ready to film. 

Magazine advertising.

One thing in common with all of these indie bands is that they have used their album cover as their advertising for their album rather than using their face. By doing this the band are making their album recognisable. That way when you see the album you have already seen the posters and you are aware of what the album looks like. Also by doing this the band are able to brand themselves and create an element of synergy by having a recognisable image.  All of the bands have their names centred in the middle of the cover/advertisement, this draws the audience to it as soon as they look. This also means that the audience of these advertisements will recognise the band name despite paying attention or not.

story board

Directors of music videos - Looking at Arctic Monkeys.

Whilst presenting to the class my progress on my blog my teacher raised the point as to why it was that I found that many music videos started the same. I decided from here that I would look at the directors used by different artists and bands and see if they often used the same directors and if it was therefore the directors idea to have the many of the bands videos the same or if it was person choice by the band, this would allow me to see how the music video is used to fit conventions of each genre. 


Arctic Monkey videos: I found out that this band used the same director for three of their music videos. I went on to find out if Richard Ayoade (the director) had kept similar parts in each music video or if they had completely changed. These are the videos he had produced -  Fluorescent Adolescent, Crying Lightning and Cornerstone. What I found significant when hearing these titles of song was that the first song was that two of the song were on their third album and the other song (fluorescent adolescent) was on their second album. 

Fluorescent Adolescent, which was the first music video that Ayoade produced for the band was a narrative music video, without any element of other types of music video, whereas, the other two music videos, both of which are on the same album are instead performance based videos. They both have different elements of conceptual videos as 'Crying Lightning' has an almost fairy tale element to it. Cornerstone is just of Alex Turner the lead singer, singing, instead of having the whole band performing. 










From looking at all three of these videos which use the same director but all differ I have decided that with this band there first few videos were different but as the band progresses I notice more similar videos and I think this has to do with the band gaining their own sense of style and branding and therefore sticking with an image which they produce.

Couragehavecourages official music video:

Although this is not the song which I have chosen by this band for my coursework I thought that looking at their previous videos may help me decide on ideas. What I've noticed when watching this video:

• Firstly because of the genre of music this band uses a performance based video which I was expecting them to do. 
• Secondly they have a conceptual based element of footage of them together, just doing different things, it does not follow a story though and therefore it isn't a narrative based element. 
• The clothes and items of clothing are focused on during the music video and I therefore wonder if it is worth looking into the clothing of this genre of music as it seems that it is important in maintaining the conventions of the genre. 
• Also, expected on this genre the timing of the editing matches the timing of the song which is a feature of this music genre.
• There is also a use of lights, such a fairy lights in this. 
• There is also a lot of use of stuffed animals, I don't fully understand the reasoning for this but I think I am going to explore further into the genre to see if there is any reason in particular for this or if it is choice of the band. 
• The footage of the band outside of the performance is also all outside and I think that this matched with the use of the stuffed animals is properly a choice of the band to use nature. 

Lyrics (highlighted important point to focus on)

I know, 

we're waiting on fact, a lie, 

misunderstanding of a tale, short pause, 

just let me catch my breathe oh let me catch my breathe. 

The words, that'll come next have no meaning at all, 

But nothing ever does no nothing ever does, 

but nothing ever does no nothing ever, does. 

I won't say that I know you, 

But i'll say, 

"Let it be to a degree as it comes" 

(Let it come) 

You and me, limit free, 

can take the world. 

No I won't, 

settle, settle,

I won't settle. 

I said to you, 

oh, remember I said to you, 

No one does it better than us, 

it's just simple, 

don't think, don't think, don't think, 

it will never make sense, make sense, make sense, 

But nothing ever does no nothing ever does,

but nothing ever does no nothing ever does, 

I won't say that I know you.

But I'll say, 

"Let it be to a degree as it comes"

(Let it come)

You and me, limit free

can take the world, 

No I won't settle, settle, I won't settle for less,

Settle down, you're the one I settle for, 

level out, don't get your sense caught 

I won't say that I know you, 

But I'll say, 

"Let it be to a degree as it comes" 

You and me, limit free

can take the world. 

No I won't 

settle, settle

I won't settle for less. 

Art work -

Thirty Seconds To Mars are a band from the indie rock genre which I am focusing. Their album artwork, is symbolic of their album title. The use of a tiger showing its teeth denotes the sense of the 'war' as the tiger is ready to fight. I like this album cover as I think that is a good endearing image which attracts attention automatically and as well as this the image is used well and is a good way of connoting the title rather than having an image of weaponry.

You Me At Six, another band of the indie rock genre who I have focused on so far when looking into this genre have a very similar album cover to Thirty Seconds To Mars, in terms of the style of album cover. The image behind seems at first to have very little to do with the album name "Hold Me Down" however, the messy frantic colours behind can cannot a lack of control and the "Hold Me Down" appears to be taped over the colours therefore holding down the band.

Jimmy Eat World background is also similar to both of the previous album covers. This album cover, isn't typically what you would expect of this album name "Chase This Light" you'd expect there to be images of light however the use of an image with such bright colours which looks as if it is artificially lit connotes the light. It can also be symbolic of the colours of lights that they are chasing. Also the term 'light as a feather' can be seen here.

It seems to be a common theme of this indie rock genre music to use an image with more than one meaning which can be applied to their album name rather than having an image with directly denotes their album name. By having an image on their album which allows their target audience to connote a mean rather than denote it make the band more appealing and able to appeal to a larger audience. I am going to go further into my target audience next and find out if this is what they typically expect of their music genre and if they like this kind of album artwork.

What I have found in the indie rock music video genre.

• The band will always have a performance element to their video

- This can be filmed straight to a camera.
- Or this can be shown as footage such as in the You Me At Six video.
- Without two elements the videos are usually very boring to watch.
- Unless the video is filmed at a concert then this is more interesting to watch.
-Concept videos can use both/either images or video footage.

• Lighting is extremely important

- Lighting usually keeps in time to the music of the song.
- Lighting will flash or stay still depending on the speed of the song.

• The type of lighting depends on the band

- Well known bands are able to use very little in terms of lighting.
- They are able to be seen just as dark figures.
- The band has to be well recognisable - for example a certain look that can be recognised even when the faces of the band members aren't shown.

• The pace of editing is dependent on the speed of the music

- This is then linked into the lighting and the speed of the lighting.
- The editing is able to slow down and speed up throughout the song as long as it follows the music.
- The editing can also be slowed down rather than just being at normal pace to really create effect.

•  A range of camera angles are used.

- Usually normal, high angle, low angle shorts are used.
- Usually it is filmed from a normal angle rather than either high or low.
- High or low are usually used when it is the conceptual or narritive part of the video.

• There is usually a range of shots.

 - ELS, LS, MS and CU's can all be used.
- ELS are usually used at the start when estalishing where the band is.
- LS, MS and CU's are all used when introducing members of the band, however it is more common to us MS or CU for this.
- All the shots can be used throughout; they tend to stick to mid-shots in most videos when looking at the band members and keeping the CU for the lead singer when he is singing.

30 Seconds To Mars - Kings and Queens.

• This video is mainly a narrative based video however it has elemants of performance in it too.
• The start is layed out like a film with the production company name and the film title showing before the music video starts to give it a film like apperance.
• The video starts with an ELS, like many music videos, however this one is not an extreme long shot of the band, it is instead an establishing shot of the city in which the video is set; this start is more like a movie rather than a music video which usually begins with at least one member of the band in the establishing shot.
• The editing starts slow and peaceful, like beggining of the song.
• This editing is kept thoughout the introduction of the band to us as the music builds.
• We are introduced to the lead singer at 0:48 seconds from a close up of the side of his face, as instruments slowly start to play.
• We are then taken to an ELS of the band which is most common of this music genre establishing their location and making sure that the audience understand that the band are in the same place that the narrative is taking place. This is the same as In the Jimmy Eat World video which I annlysed previously -  http://stephaniehardinga2media.blogspot.com/2011/09/jimmy-eat-world-middle.html
• The audience are then shown clips of the narrative again of the people on bikes through intercutting the two together.
• As the drums begin the editing slightly speeds up then as all the instruments begin together the editing is sped up to its normal pace and we are first shown the band from their left side, which the camera has stayed on so far when showing clips of the band. The lighting for this has remained the same, with the sunset behind them so the band are almost blacked out and you can't see any of their features, this is another thing which is seen many times in this music genre, the band not being shown clearly from the start of the video.
•  We watch them start to play their music and then it cuts to another clip of the narrative of people on bikes however this time it is one the audience hasn't seen before, in keeping with the new pace of the video.
• Even the narrative has elements of performance in them as when we are shown the lead singer on the bike he is singing.
• We are finally shown a shot of the lead singers face, at 2:44 seconds, this time there is lighting so that we are able to see his features. The shot is a CU and this time it is straight on rather than to the side of him.
• From here we are also shown other band members from a range of ms.
• The lighting has now changed as the sunset has gone down and it's gone to dark, there is now lights on each band member and we are able to see them more clearly.
• This technique of keeping the band in darkness for a long period of the video is mainly done when the band has an identity which is eaisly picked up by the audience and therefore they do not have to be shown for the audience to know who they are. For example the lead singer of this band has a very distictive voice, face and hair and therefore when shot as a silhouette the audience are able to know who it is already.
• These styles of editing are kept throughout the entire video with the pace changing in accordance to the song which is another similarity to other music videos of this genre.

You Me At Six - The Consequences.

• The video starts with a close up of the band, out of focus. As the camera comes into focus we are introduced to the band, unlike other videos the band are stood around before going on stage rather than the establishing shot of the band being them performing. 
• There is then individual close ups of band members from an over the shoulder shot. 
• From the lighting and the black and white colour of the video we are unable to see the faces of the band members clearly however, this is another similarity I have found between bands of this genre, that in music videos the band members are not always introduced clearly to the audience. 
• As the music starts the lighting begins to flash in time to the guitar, by doing this to the lighting it is introducing the pace of the song to the audience. 
• The lead singer is shot from a mid-shot however we are still unable to see his face fully due to the dark lighting still. 
• By having this kind of dark lighting on this kind of performance based video to a live crowd gives the audience of the music video the same kind of type of anticipations that the audience feel live when waiting for the band to come on stage. 
• As the music in the video all begins we are taken to an ELS of the stage also showing us the audience. 
• From there we are shown a variety of mid shots of the band members, fast paced moving around to the music/playing their instruments.  
• The editing of these shots is fast pace in order to keep up with the music, something which is similar in all of the music videos I have watched so far. 
• This music video also has a conceptual element to it as the band aren't only shown on stage but are also shown back stage and with fans. 
• The conceptual element of the video is shot from a range of the different shots and heights, this side of the video is more like a documentary of the tour from more of a personal point of view.
• This personal aspect of the video could be to hit their target audience, to show them what kind of fun band they are. 
• Even the performance elements of the music video it is not always clear if it is even the same song that they are signing as they sing directly to the camera, you just see shots of them performing from yet again a rather personal angle with some of the shots even being from backstage. 
• The start of the music video with was slowed down then sped up is used again during the video when the music does the same thing again. 
• This has some similarities to other music videos but it is also different as it is not significantly performance based in the way any of the other music videos are. Even those with narrative or conceptual elements. 

Courage Have Courage.

"C O U R A G E H A V E C O U R A G E"

This is the band that I have decided to go for in making my music video.
I decided on this band once hearing a song of theirs which I will be using and creating a music video for. The song is called Settle and it is more inkeeping with the first genre I chose of indie rock. They are a British band which is also something I was hoping for as it is much more common of British bands to use a conceptual element to their videos and this conceptual side of the video is something that I have been wanting to focus on along side a performance element.

Choices of unsigned artists.

• Matt Lungley; Indie folk - Not what I originally planned on finding however he has a few songs which I like and he has said I can choose from if I want to so I am keeping him in my options as also from current research I've noticed that bands tend to use more performance based videos whereas I was hoping to do more of a conceptual video with elements of performance of instruments.
  
• General Fiasco; Indie Rock - This band is something that I was originally hoping to find and I am pleased that I have, however I am having issues making sure that I am able to use the song as the band doesn't have an easy place to get in contact with them like other bands. I have however got a chosen song I wish to use from this band and I am hoping to get in contact with them soon.
  
• Courage Have Courage; Indie Rock - This is another band whom I am considering to use for my coursework, they also fit my original choice of genre and they have some good songs which I think would be soon to use. I am aware again that this is the kind of band and genre which would usually have a performance based video but I think that this might give me an opportunity to try and include some performance but slightly bend the normal conventions of an Indie Rock video.  

Indie Rock.

Indie rock is a sub-genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Originally the term was used to describe record labels, used to describe independence from major commercial record labels, with a  Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing, the term then became connected with the kind of music which they produced and this association with a style of music remains today. 

There are different types of indie music ranging from female to male styles of indie music as well as artists and bands to the different sub genres of this genre. Originally indie rock can now just see a new style of music which is just called indie, indie music doesn't necessarily focus on the manner in which they choose to record of publicise their music any more and is simply the style of music. 

Musicians assosiated with indie rock: 

• The Kooks.
• The Drums.
• Arctic Monkeys. 
• Two Door Cinema Club.
• The Joy Formidable.
• The Strokes.
• Cage The Elephant. 
• Arcade Fire.
• Bon Iver.
• Elbow.
• Noah and The Whale.

From looking at this list I am able to see that all these names are names of bands rather than any artists denoting that this music genre is heavily influences by bands rather than artists. As well as them all being bands, they all have male lead singers as well, which also denotes that this style of music is mainly performed by males. 


To find artists rather than bands and to try and find some females I have decided that I will have to look at indie music in specific and move slightly away from the 'rock' aspect of the genre. For this the results are slightly different, however, many artists fall under the indie folk as indie as a genre on its own is quite hard to pin point as music styles often fall into sub-genres and indie rock is the main genre with the folk aspect falling into it as a sub-genre, therefore I learnt that artists of the indie rock genre usually come with other aspects to their music, for example for the folk aspect. 

Artists associated with indie music: 

• Ellie Goulding.
• Ed Sheeran. 
• Never Shout Never. 
• Kate Nash. 
• Charlie Simpson.
• Frank Turner. 
• Mumford and sons.

From this research into the indie rock genre I have discovered that it is prominently bands who cover the genre, however there are artists who would be considered 'indie'. Although the indie genre does not exist alone and is a form of rock music originally, I've discovered that the indie aspect of the genre is able to be applied to other genres of music to create new sub genres for instant indie folk which is where many artists fall. 

Typical instruments: 

• Guitar. 
• Bass.
• Drums.
• Keyboard.
• Vocals. 

To find a band that falls under the indie rock genre I have to look out for style of music which generally uses these kinds of instruments; rather than using sounds created by machines which may be typical of the R&B genre the music is played by instruments by musicians in the band. Additionally, if I am looking for an artist which may begin to fall into the indie folk genre there may be a number of different instruments involved as well in keeping with the folk side of the genre.

When listening to indie folk artists and bands I was able to spot a number of different instruments, all of which are string instruments for example 

• Violin.
• Cello.
• Harps.
• Banjos. 

When listening to music, listening out for different instruments may help me determine whether or not an artist or bands falls under the folk genre. 

 

Finding artists:

Finding a band which I like is proving tougher and tougher. Although my aim at first was to find a band I liked in keeping with the genre of music I have chosen, I have now moved onto finding artists as well as I have begun to realise that perhaps bands as good as the ones I already like are rare to find. There are several which I like however none which have really stood out to me so far, these few which I do like will be important however as I need bands/artists to fall back on if my search for the perfect song for what I'm imaging doesn't come along soon. 

My research on what I've found so far:

So far from my research I have looked at bands, both British and American. What I've learnt from this analysis on bands from both countries is that actually they have both many similarities and many differences. British baUnds which I have focused on use a typical performance based video which I have found they occasionally use along side a conceptual based video; Arctic Monkeys video is an example of where this done. The American bands similarly use performance based videos, this is what I have found to be typical of this indie/rock genre these bands fall under, however, the bands often use a narrative to run along side their music video rather than a concept. This is where I have found the main differences between the two. 

From analysing both types I have decided that I much prefer conceptual music videos and I would rather do this kind of music video with a performance element with it too. This realisation made me wonder if I was focusing on the correct genre of music and I am now beginning to explore a little further into the indie side of the music rather than focusing mainly on the rock side of the music. I have also decided that I would prefer the lead singer or artist to be male and this is simply preference of music I like to listen to which is influencing my search. 

Jimmy Eat World - The Middle

•  This style of music video is narrative base, with a story sunning through the video. 
• The narrative is shot at a mixture of ELS, LS and MS just like a move would be filmed. 
• This style of music video is much more typical of American bands. 
• The first time we are introduced to any of the band is 0:22 seconds into the video, by this point the setting and main characters of the narrative have already  been presented to the audience. 
• The first shot we are shown similar to other music videos is the drummer, this is usually as the drum is the starting instrument to the song. 
• Also similar to other music videos I have watched this shot is dark as if it is only a silhouette. 
• In keeping with the narrative of the music video the background behind the band is still the same surrounding that is in the narrative at the museum. 
• The band members are shot with their instruments at a fast pace, keeping in time with the pace of the guitar which is introduced to the music at this part of the song; this is a similar feature I have found in a lot of the music videos I have watched that the music gains pace and in turn so does the speed of the editing. 
• The shots inter-cut between the narrative which is generally shot at LS and MS after the introduction to the band who is mainly shot as MS. 
• The lead singer is the only member of the band who is shot in lighting so that he does not appear simply as a black silhouette. 
• at 00:47 the lead singer is shot as a MS, the camera is made to sort focus and therefore focus on what is in the background rather than the foreground, by doing this it is showing the audience that the background is still linked to the narrative that they are being shown ever 00:05 seconds. 
• The narrative takes up the main part of the video with only a few second intervals for the band. 
• As it gets to the first chorus the band are shot from a long shot, this time showing all of the members equally for the first time, this introduces the band properly to the audience. 
• From this point the editing is faster and the narrative now gets slightly less time than the band which is shot from different angles each time the editing is back to them, by doing this it is keeping up with the pace of the music which the narrative on its own wouldn't do. 

Mona - Shooting The Moon

• The start of the video is a low angle shot of the lead singer. The shot is a MS as his legs aren't shown, however we are shown the surrounding around him in a concert with the crowd. 
• The shot then goes to the crowd and is a LS of the guitarist. The shot is out of focus and the lights from the stage make them guitarist seem like just a silhouette to the camera. 
• We are then taken to a CU of the drummer. 
• Already within the first seven seconds we are introduced to three members of the band all from different individual shots. 
• The CU's continue of equipment and instruments before changing to a MS of the lead signer back on the stage, this time the focus of the camera is clear and the so is the footage of the lead singer. 
• The cameras change in focus for this shot of the stage comes in time for the music of the some to begin, before this the editing of the video was slow and the footage the audience was shown was edited at quite a slow pace. 
• Before the music starts the audience are shown from a range of MS's the other band members about to play their instruments, this is a similar technique which was used in the Arctic Monkeys video before the band began to play their music. 
• Similarly to the Arctic Monkey's videos again the lighting is in time with the instruments for example when the music begins at the starts the lights flash and change in time. 
• Throughout the video the same use of distance and angles are kept of the band. 
• The editing is fast throughout the song and keeps up with the tempo of the song giving the same faster pace to the music video, similar to the last two videos I analysed. 

Two Door Cinema Club - Something Good can work

• The music video starts with MS of the three band members playing their guitars. 
• Similarly to the Arctic monkey video the band are stood in a plain room, with only a coloured background behind them; this seem to be a feature of many videos of this particular genre. 
• The three members on guitars are then shot from an ELS; this shot of the band is edited at an extremely fast pace, faster than the Arctic Monkey's video, however the purpose for the fast editing remains the same; in order to keep up the pace of the song. 
• This mix of ELS and MS are on going thought the video, with the same background changing colours throughout. 
• This video is the same throughout unlike the Arctic Monkey video that even though the same idea of the band, dancers and images are the same throughout, the dancing and images and therefore the music video is more interesting to watch. 

Arctic Monkeys - Brianstorm

• Starts with an establishing shot of the band - extreme long shot including both band members and interments. 
• The extreme long shot of the band also establishes the setting; a dark room with only a light shinning on the band their instruments. 
• By having the band not playing at the start and establishing the setting around them shows that it is only the band and the instruments that they need and that there is nothing else around them. 
• Keeping to the idea of the band playing their instruments the music begins with the shot of the drumming hitting the symbol as the guitars in the background begging to play - focusing again on the idea of the importance of the music. 
• Eight seconds into the video however we are introduced to a flash background, this background in edited in every few seconds in-between shots of the band. With each flash of the background we are introduced to dancers.
• The idea of having something intercutting in-between shots of the band is common in this genre of music, whether it be dancers, images, words. 
• There is a mixture of shots of the band. Starting with an extreme long shot we are moved into a close up of the drum kit then once again back out to an extreme long shot of the band this time playing their instruments. 
• Their is a mixture of ELS, LS, MS and CU.
• The fast pace editing is also common of the genre this is typically because of the tempo of the song however which is also fast pace and therefore during this song the editing is parallel to the fast pace song. 
• For this song the dancers have no relevance in terms of the lyrics of the song, however they are used in order to keep the pace of the song and also for entertainment purposes so that the shots of the bands are able to be broken up and the video does not become only about the band. By braking up the shots of the bands the audience are also waiting to see other shots of the bands again to see what happens thought.
• The dancers, just like the bad, are shot with a mixture of shots ranging from ELS to CU. 
• There are also images used which are relevant to the lyrics of the song. 
• The images and dancers are also used to together to make the audience pay attention to the lyrics as the images are shown the the audience when the song is at a certain point, for example the picture of "Brian" is shown to the audience when the word Brain is sung by the lead singer. As well as this the dancers choreography is matched to the lyrics in certain parts for example when the word "Kicked" is said the dancers are shown kicking. 
• The final shot of the band is the same as when they started with ELS of the band. 

Finding unsigned artists/bands

I have found it hard so far to find unsigned artists or bands which I like and have good quality versions of their songs online and not only on youtube. I have decided that the kind of artist or band I want to find will be indie/rock as this is the kind of music which interests me the most.

The next step after finding an artist or band will be to ask permission to use one of their songs and then I can go from them beggining to plan my music video by using questionaires on my target audience in order to find out what it is they expect from that particular genre of music video.

What is a digi-pack?

Digipak is a patented style of CD or DVD packaging typically of gatefold style. (book-style). It is usually made from paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside. Often used for CD singles or special editions of CD albums and the tall DVD Digipak (DVDigipak) ^{is used as a premium package for DVDs and DVD sets.} 

Genres of music.

A general list of typical music genres is (http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/genres) (www.wikipedia.com)

Country - Country music (or country and western) is a blend of traditional and popular US music forms found in the Southern United States which evolved rapidly beginning in the 1920s. The term country music gained popularity in the 1940s. Country music was widely embraced in the 1970s, while Country and Western has declined in use since that time, artists such as Taylor Swift have begun to bring the music genre back into the public eye.

Folk - Folk music includes both traditional music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. It has become increasingly common to refer to this type of music as traditional music. Starting in the middle of the 20th century a new form of popular folk music evolved from traditional music. This process and period is called the folk revival and reached a peak in the 1960s. The most common name for this new form of music is also "folk music", there are also sub-genres of folk music such as folk rock, electric folk, folk metal, progressive folk, psychedelic folk, freak folk and neofolk. A current band which is classed in the folk genre currently is the band Mumford and sons.

Hip Hop/ Rap - Hip hop music is an American musical genre that developed as part of hip hop culture, and is defined by four key stylistic elements:rapping, DJing/scratching, sampling (or synthesis), and beatboxing. Hip hop began in New York City in the 1970s. The term rap is often used alongside hip hop. Hip hop however, also denotes an entire subculture. Rapping is a vocal style in which the artist speaks lyrically, in rhyme and verse, generally to an instrumental or synthesized beat. A famous American hip hop artist who is well known in this genre of music and an inspiration for up an coming hip hop artist is Notorious B.I.G 

R&B - Rhythm and blues (R&B), is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans. The term since has had many different meaning applied to it, depending on the decade. The most recent type of R&B began in the 1980s and is considered contemporary R&B. There is also British rhythm and blues developed in the early 1960s, which was often brought over by African American servicemen stationed in Britain during the Cold War. Often the term R&B is also connected with the term soul music which is highly featured within this genre of music. A famous R&N singer is Mary J. Blige.

Pop - Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented towards a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs Pop music has gained its influences from most other forms of popular music, but as a genre is particularly associated with the rock and roll and later rock style. pop music is often seen as oriented towards the singles charts. A singer who is matched with the pop music genre is Britney Spears.

Indie Rock - Indie rock is a sub-genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is usually extremely diverse. Indie rock, derived from "independent", describes the small and relatively low budget labels on which it is released and the do-it-yourself attitude of the bands and artists involved. Although distribution deals are often struck with major corporate companies.

Rock - Rock music is a genre of music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. Its roots are from the 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, it is heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music. Rock music also draws from a number of other genres such as blues and folk, and incorporated influences from jazz. Rock has generally centered around the electric guitar, usually as part of a rock group with bass guitar and drums. Foo fighters are known for this genre of music.


From doing this research on different genres of music I have been swayed more towards styles of musics such as indie, folk and rock and will therefore be trying to find an artist which falls under one (or more) of these genres of music and will therefore do more music on music videos based around these styles I have picked. This has helped me as I now am able to start narrowing down my search for an artist and a song and I am able to start on getting ideas for my own music video.

Music videos - different types of music video.

There are three different types of music videos -

Performance based, narrative based and also concept based. These three different types of music video are used for different purposes depending on the message the band or artist are wishing to convey to their audience.

Performance based - This type of music video is when the band or artist performs to the camera for most or all of the video. Along with the bad performing is usually sequences of footage which can or cannot relate to the song at all. This style is usually preferred by rock bands as it gives a chance for them to show the different instruments within the band and all of the band members playing together. An example of a band who does this regularly is Foo Fighters who often use this form of video:

This type of music video relays on the audience focusing only on the band rather than having to follow a story throughout the video. There is often a wide use of different camera angles and different shots of the band playing along with different shots of random images which are often used throughout music videos of this kind to break up the performance of the band. The shots can be to do with the song or not, sometimes a use of random shots are used and sometimes the band is simply shown traveling from one point to another. 

Narrative based - This type of music video relays on the audience focusing on a story throughout the music video which is matched to the lyrics and story told in the song. This type of music video often uses actors rather than showing the band or artist themselves however, sometimes the band are also shown throughout in clip in between the narrative being told. This type of video is also used if the song is also used in a film and therefore there is a range of sense from the movie also cut into the music video.

This type of video is often used when the band or artist is trying to put a message across to the audience either about the story behind the song or wether it be ideas behind the song. This type of music video is typically for longer songs as the idea of the song has to be acted out.

Concept Based - this is based around a single concept or idea. These types of videos are fairly unusual with a particular editing or filming technique. There are not many of these kinds of videos either as coming up with a concept can often be a hard challenge to complete.

Genesis - Land Of Confusion by amandaburr


From this research alone I am already favoring the idea of performance videos with a use of other shots incutting between the shots of the band/artist performing. I think however that it will depend on my choice of artist/band and song which will determine which style I do however I think when finding a song I will consider the type of video I will do massively as I don't like the other types of video as much. This might have something to do with the style of music which I personally like and the type of video style which is favored and mostly used by the bands I listen to.

Brief.

The brief I have chosen is brief one :

A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, no longer than five minutes duration, together with:

a cover for its release as part of a digipack (CD/DVD package) 

a magazine advertisement for the digipack (CD/DVD package) 

I have chosen this brief as I decided that it would be the most fun to create out of all three briefs. I was very stuck on which brief to choose until I watched previous students work and I then decided that I didn't have an idea for a short film nor an idea for advertisements, however filming a music video gives much more room for different ideas to come together as it all depends on the piece of music to which sort of music video is created. I also decided whilst looking at past students work that those who had created music videos were my favourite to view and watch and I was slightly bored whilst looking at those of the other briefs and therefore decided that I would do the music video. I do think however that this will challenge me also to come up with some original ideas whilst also trying to stick to the original music video conventions.