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.