Sunday 30 November 2008
Feedback #3
Well done - your research is well focused on your concept. I'm looking forward to seeing more posts documenting your ideas development, reccie etc in preparation for the pitch.
Friday 28 November 2008
Technical Analysis
The Wombats - Moving To New York
From producing the technical analysis and watching the video in great detail, i have learnt that during the course of the video, the shots last mainly between three to four seconds with various use of graphic art work only lasting a second long and some lasting less than a second. The longest shot is nine seconds long and is a medium shot of the lead singer while the background behind him changes. This would have been made infront of a green screen then the effects added later. A common shot in the video is of the band performing on the television making the video narrative based and performance based. The most coomon shot size in the video is the MS (Medium Shot) of the singer face on looking rather tired and stressed. This has relevance to the songs title and its meaning as it is about insomnia. Other common shots are CU (Close Up) of the television, eyes and hamster that plays a key role within the video as he talks to the animal, making him appear like hes loosing his mind. Various shots consist of shooting from low angles with a high camera tilt, focusing forward and tracking. The shots that use tracking slowly bring the camera forward or backwards making you focus your attention on something particular, for example the television with the band performing. Static shots are used several times when the frontmand in singing to the camera but are very short and quickly cut to another shot. A shot that particularly stands out is the shot of the band blurring on the television, this is created with the use of graphics and is continuinly cut to between other shots, this shot only lasts for 1 second at maximum before moving on.
There is a relationship between visuals and the lyrics of the song, for example 'am I losing touch or am I just completely off the track?' suggesting is he loosing his mind, which is then backed up with him talking to a hamster and imaginine things. The narrative is constructed through this link between the lyrics and the visuals and there are a number of performance shots in the video which suggest the video is of the indie genre. For example the three to four second shots of the television showing the band performing, playing instruments and wearing skinny jeans. These are conventions often connoted with the indie/rock genre.
The narrative fuzz of the video makes it unclear as to whether he is living in New York or if he should move there. Other lyrics such as 'And I don't know why I want to voice this out loud,It's theraputic somehow' suggest he wants to tell someone but he can't and how he finds it theraputic. Other parts of the narrative, including the shots of the singer at work in an office are constructed with the use of continually cutting back to the close up performance shots on the television. These performance shots are repeated throughout of the band playing there instruments creating verisimilatude. Pedding is used from a high angle shot to a low angle shot of the singer in his bedroom which quickly cuts to a POV shot of the television, these all add the experience of watching the music video and add to our understanding of the video.
When planning our work, we shall consider the different shots often used within the indie/rock genre music vido production and plan to use many of them including quick montage editing which create meaning within the video. We could incorporate performance shots and take into account that they add to the realism of the music video, however as we are most likely to create a narrative music video we may not need to include this element. Close ups of the frontman singer are often good to show the star persona of the band. The length of the shots made me realise just how many shots we need to include to fill the length of the song, while most of them being only a few seconds long.
From producing the technical analysis and watching the video in great detail, i have learnt that during the course of the video, the shots last mainly between three to four seconds with various use of graphic art work only lasting a second long and some lasting less than a second. The longest shot is nine seconds long and is a medium shot of the lead singer while the background behind him changes. This would have been made infront of a green screen then the effects added later. A common shot in the video is of the band performing on the television making the video narrative based and performance based. The most coomon shot size in the video is the MS (Medium Shot) of the singer face on looking rather tired and stressed. This has relevance to the songs title and its meaning as it is about insomnia. Other common shots are CU (Close Up) of the television, eyes and hamster that plays a key role within the video as he talks to the animal, making him appear like hes loosing his mind. Various shots consist of shooting from low angles with a high camera tilt, focusing forward and tracking. The shots that use tracking slowly bring the camera forward or backwards making you focus your attention on something particular, for example the television with the band performing. Static shots are used several times when the frontmand in singing to the camera but are very short and quickly cut to another shot. A shot that particularly stands out is the shot of the band blurring on the television, this is created with the use of graphics and is continuinly cut to between other shots, this shot only lasts for 1 second at maximum before moving on.
There is a relationship between visuals and the lyrics of the song, for example 'am I losing touch or am I just completely off the track?' suggesting is he loosing his mind, which is then backed up with him talking to a hamster and imaginine things. The narrative is constructed through this link between the lyrics and the visuals and there are a number of performance shots in the video which suggest the video is of the indie genre. For example the three to four second shots of the television showing the band performing, playing instruments and wearing skinny jeans. These are conventions often connoted with the indie/rock genre.
The narrative fuzz of the video makes it unclear as to whether he is living in New York or if he should move there. Other lyrics such as 'And I don't know why I want to voice this out loud,It's theraputic somehow' suggest he wants to tell someone but he can't and how he finds it theraputic. Other parts of the narrative, including the shots of the singer at work in an office are constructed with the use of continually cutting back to the close up performance shots on the television. These performance shots are repeated throughout of the band playing there instruments creating verisimilatude. Pedding is used from a high angle shot to a low angle shot of the singer in his bedroom which quickly cuts to a POV shot of the television, these all add the experience of watching the music video and add to our understanding of the video.
When planning our work, we shall consider the different shots often used within the indie/rock genre music vido production and plan to use many of them including quick montage editing which create meaning within the video. We could incorporate performance shots and take into account that they add to the realism of the music video, however as we are most likely to create a narrative music video we may not need to include this element. Close ups of the frontman singer are often good to show the star persona of the band. The length of the shots made me realise just how many shots we need to include to fill the length of the song, while most of them being only a few seconds long.
Tuesday 25 November 2008
Product Analysis 3 - Technical Analysis
Foals - 'Olympic Airways'
By carrying out the technical analysis task i have learnt how much detail needs to go in to making a music video due to the fact that the shots are so short, as seen in the video, the longest shot is 7 seconds with nearly all the other shots lasting 2 to 3 seconds, and as the video lasts over 4 minutes this shows how many takes and re-takes would have to be shot in order to put a music video together. As well as the length of time of the shots, the different camera shots, movement, and angle also differs a lot throughout the video. There are a lot of CU and BCU seen in the video of instruments and the band members playing them, help to construct the narrative rather than go with one of the key elements of a music video by being the demands of the record label. The CU feature, showing the band members, is seen in all of the Foals music videos so they reinforce this ideology of themselves in this music video.
The shots that accompany the introduction of the song, the first 23 seconds, all fade at the end of each shot to black then go to the next shot. The first shot lasts 7 seconds, one of the longest in the whole video, there are 5 other shots that last 3 seconds in the introduction that all use the fade at the end of the shot. This introduction to the video and song establish the location through the use of a number of short cuts rather than using one establishing long shot. A handi-cam is used in the introduction to the song, this then allows the camera to track along the floor, there also being relevant CU shows as well. From then on jump cuts are predominantly used going from one shot to a different shot, there are a lot of tracking shots seen in the video, as whole video is over cranked, so all the motions that are acted by the people seen in the video are in slow motion. This also allows the camera to get closer to the artists for example, there is a performance shot where a handi-cam is used and the camera tracks from a MS of the band to a CU of the lead singer.
There are a number of links between the lyrics and the visuals seen in the video. For example in the first chorus when it says, "Let's disappear 'till tomorrow", there is a low angle CU of the lead singer as he pulls a black cloak over his head to disappear. The narrative is constructed through this link between the lyrics and the visuals due to there being a number of shots that have this feature. There are a number of performance shots in the video which comply to the conventions of the indie genre. There is also a BCU of the drummers feet, he is wearing plimsolls and you can also see his skinny jeans which also have connotations with the indie genre. There are also a number of performance shots repeated, for example the low angle MS of the band performing is seen a number of times, and there are also a number of BCU shots of instruments and the band members playing them. One that stands out which is repeated a number of times is a shot when the lead singer is standing to the right side of the screen, however it is a CU of him with the rest of the band out of focus in the background. The lead singer is singing the song in almost all of the shots of him when he is seen like this. The lead singer is renowned as a recluse and this shot reinforces this as he is segregated from the other band members, and the fact that this particular shot is repeated reinforces this idea.
This video has a number of shots that i particulaly like. I especially like the first 6 shots and the way they fade at the end of each shot. Throughout the whole video i like the use of over cranking and having a handi cam to track through, as it enables the camera to get as close as possible to the action. I think the set up of the first chorus and how the band members are seen when they are singing, "Dis-a-ppe-ar", with one band memeber sitting behind the other in a zig-zag formation, and the shot being a MS so we are able to see them all saying disappear is a very good shot to use. The main thing i have learnt in doing this exercise is the number of shots in the video, much more than what i had first thought, and it has given me a better understanding of the different camera shots, movements and angles that are necessary within a music video.
Audience Research - Results
Our audience research was carried out during a lunch hour where we gathered 6 students aged between 17-18 in order to gain helpful ideas and feedback for our music video. Our focus group involved four boys and two girls all who have a love for indie/rock music. To start the research we showed our group two videos, 'Olympic Airways' by the Foals and 'Atlantis to Interzone' by the Klaxons. We did this to present to the group what to expect within an indie music video, and to introduce the 'Klaxons' and what they are like. We constructed a small questionnaire with several questions and played them our chosen track 'Two Receivers' by the 'Klaxons'. We asked the focus group to record any ideas they had including location, colour, narrative, imagery and assocciations.
After playing our track twice and allowing time to write, we presented the mood boards we created to how we interpretated the song. We then had a discussion about possible ideas while Will and I made notes. We collected qualatitive data which will help us when developing ideas and storyboarding.
Results:
After playing our track twice and allowing time to write, we presented the mood boards we created to how we interpretated the song. We then had a discussion about possible ideas while Will and I made notes. We collected qualatitive data which will help us when developing ideas and storyboarding.
Results:
- Musical instruments such as drums and the bass guitar make the song sound very dark and dingy, suggesting night time, alleys, and street lamp lighting. The track was associated with Winter / Autumn to create the dark feel of the song. This could work really well for us, although it may be hard to record under lighting outside at nightime.
- The colours that were imagined whilst listening were silver, grey, black and gold. These were selected to connote the sharpness of the drumbeat and the cold tone of the singer's voice. He sings in a high key but the piano being played in a minor keys reduces his voice making it sound very grey and boring.
- The word 'Space' commonly stuck out for our audience, an idea was to flip the dark feel of the song by making an amateur video following a spaceman through different locations. Making it quite humerous but still following the dark feel of the song, making it a focused viewing music video.
- Someone noticed that there is a sample of a siren used for the introduction, an idea was raised about the long stretch of road at the front of Brighton Seafront, commonly known for fast driving and racing. A car chase was thought of by two people involving the sirens from the police and ambulance ending with a crash. As much as this was a good idea, it seems impossible to create without access to a police car etc.
- The locations thought about were, dunorlan park, London and Brighton. London was mentioned as the streets are busy with a wide variety of people and it has many iconic landmarks, which would be an excellent backdrop and focus point for our music video.
- Rush, acceleration, adrenaline, mysterious, excitement, and distant thoughts were all words used to describe the feel of our chosen track.
Conclusion
From carrying out our focused group and also playing and letting the group tell us what they think about our chosen track, we have both been able to take in other people's ideas that where both different to our own, which will enable us to bring in different aspects to our music video what we maybe wouldn't have even thought about if we hadn't done this audience research. The focus group did however suggest the possible locations we were thinking of before the audience research, being London and Brighton, however these locations were suggested for other reasons, for example using Brighton for a high speed chase due to the sound of a siren, which we both hadn't thought of. The focus group were able to see the link from the video 'Olympic Airways' by the 'Foals' and 'Atlantis to Interzone' by the 'Klaxons'. The focus group likened to the idea of the quick shots used in the Foals video, which we thought would be a good technique to use in our video.
Overall we both feel that the audience research has been a success due to being able to hear other people's feelings towards our chosen track. From this research we will be able to develop our ideas further and incorporate other factors and ideas that we hadn't thought of.
Tuesday 18 November 2008
Audience Research
Will and I are going to research thoroughly into the opinions and ideas of a target audience as to how they respond to our chosen song 'Two Receivers' by 'The Klaxons'.
Methodology:
We have chosen to create a qualatitive questionnaire for our chosen focused group. We are interested as to how they will respond to our chosen song and what information and ideas we can gain from our research.
Purpose:
We have decided to research an audience to broaden our ideas and imagination, and to incorporate other peoples reception to the song and the ideas they have. We expect to find conventions that are regularly apparent within the indie/rock genre, a strong taste of colour and a narrative structure.
Sample Audience:
We have chosen to question a focused target group of 6 people, with an age demographic of 17-25 who are interested in music, particularly the indie/rock genre.
Media Stimulus:
We intend to play our chosen track to our focus group and allow them to write on a piece of paper any ideas and feelings they gain from listening to the track. We will allow our audience to view the mood boards we have created and record their response. Various videos have inspired us such as 'Foals - Olympic Airways' and 'Klaxons - Atlantis to Interzone'. We will play these videos to the audience after they have listened to our chosen track.
We will include a short list of questions that we will record the answers to.
Questions:
We will ask open questions, allowing us to get as much information from our target audience as possible. For example:
Where do you think we should film our video?
What words and colours stick out when listening to the track?
What associations do you make with the track?
What ideas do you have about recording a music video for our chosen song?
Methodology:
We have chosen to create a qualatitive questionnaire for our chosen focused group. We are interested as to how they will respond to our chosen song and what information and ideas we can gain from our research.
Purpose:
We have decided to research an audience to broaden our ideas and imagination, and to incorporate other peoples reception to the song and the ideas they have. We expect to find conventions that are regularly apparent within the indie/rock genre, a strong taste of colour and a narrative structure.
Sample Audience:
We have chosen to question a focused target group of 6 people, with an age demographic of 17-25 who are interested in music, particularly the indie/rock genre.
Media Stimulus:
We intend to play our chosen track to our focus group and allow them to write on a piece of paper any ideas and feelings they gain from listening to the track. We will allow our audience to view the mood boards we have created and record their response. Various videos have inspired us such as 'Foals - Olympic Airways' and 'Klaxons - Atlantis to Interzone'. We will play these videos to the audience after they have listened to our chosen track.
We will include a short list of questions that we will record the answers to.
Questions:
We will ask open questions, allowing us to get as much information from our target audience as possible. For example:
Where do you think we should film our video?
What words and colours stick out when listening to the track?
What associations do you make with the track?
What ideas do you have about recording a music video for our chosen song?
Location Possibilities...
I visited London at the weekend and have found various locations that i believe could be suitable, such as Charing Cross Station, Covent Garden and Carnaby Street. Particularly at this time of the year, the streets are very dark with street lamp lighting, its Autumn/Winter so its fairly cold and the Christmas lights are up which all create a brilliant atmosphere. Somerset House and Hyde Park both have ice rinks this time of the year which look great at night. These are just a couple of ideas that i thought about when i was in London. I will post some photos up soon...
We should visit Brighton soon and hopefully finds some good places to film. Have you got any more locations where we could film?
I think we should choose wisely as to where we should film, this is a very important factor of our project and i think we should make it iconic and recognisable. What do you think?
We should visit Brighton soon and hopefully finds some good places to film. Have you got any more locations where we could film?
I think we should choose wisely as to where we should film, this is a very important factor of our project and i think we should make it iconic and recognisable. What do you think?
Monday 17 November 2008
Feedback #1
Well done - some interesting and relevant video analysis here. You also are recording your discussions on the track to show ideas development.
There are some improvements needed to your product analysis. Also, the auteur research that you carried out isn't detailed enough (Will - where is yours?)
To secure a level 4 planning, you should annotate your moodboard and I will be now interested to see your ideas on locations, costume and narrative develop.
There are some improvements needed to your product analysis. Also, the auteur research that you carried out isn't detailed enough (Will - where is yours?)
To secure a level 4 planning, you should annotate your moodboard and I will be now interested to see your ideas on locations, costume and narrative develop.
Will's moodboard
I believe my moodboard conveys all the feelings that i have when listening to 'Two Receivers' by Klaxons. In the top left i have shown what genre the Klaxons are by putting 'Nu Rave', along with the writing i have also put neon colours to also to represent this 'nu rave' genre that the Klaxons represent, which is a new genre in music, which is the reason for it being included on my moodboard. I have included images of the beach at Brighton and also the pier, and the images are anchored by the line, 'Oceans at their feet', which immediately brings the image of Brighton to my head. I thought of Brighton because the band are English and also because this sort of music is also linked to the area. Keeping with the 'Nu rave' theme, i have included a picture of a drum kit, an electric guitar and a turntable which all have a neon colour on them, however these are all the instruments used in the song, and are also recognisable iconography with the genre. The amp's are in the picture because i believe the song needs to be played loud due to the increasing drum beat at the beginning of the song. The image of the two worlds colliding represents my idea of the song being about two worlds that they are presenting to us in the song colliding together as one, and also because the song makes reference to space a number of times which gives a different mythical feel to it. This moodboard shows all the ideas that come to my head when listening to the song.
Product Analysis 2
The Womabats - Moving to New York
Moving to New York is a song by the Liverpool band The Wombats originally released January 14, 2008. The upbeat and catchy song is taken from the album 'A Guide to Love, Loss and Desperation'. The band is made up of two Liverpudlians Matthew Murphy, provider of vocals, guitar and keyboards, drummer and vocalist Dan Haggis and bass and vocalist Tord Overland-Knudsen, a Norweigan who has made his home in the city.
'Moving to New York' directed by .... is a narrative based music video with some aspects of performance included. The video is mainly set within a bedroom as the song is essentially singing about insomnia, this is backed up with the synergy between the lyrics and the video that makes you think, after a while of insomnia, moving to New York might be the logical solution. New York is famous for being know as the city that never sleeps. The lyrics to the song have references to New York, for example 'So I'm moving to New York, cos I've got problems with my sleep' so the name of the title is refered to within the song. The video is mainly narrative based following the lead singer Matt Murphy throughout the video. This creates realism and a relationship between lyrics and music as he is singing to the audience. The video amplifies the tracks meaning creating a relationship between the video and song. He acts as a storyteller, making the music video stand out from the television as they feature a first person mode of address. This makes the music video seem like a mini film, just as films feature first person mode of address. There are continuos shots of the lead singer throughout the video, also known as the meat.
The location of the video is on set, within a series of rooms including a bedroom, reinforcing the idea of insomnia. The video in many parts has a very dark colour wash, connoting the night and tiredness gained from insomnia. The lead singer is portrayed as turning insaine, this is shown through him talking to a hamster, and scenes of him in an office being watched by himself. When this video was released, 'The Wombats' were a relatively new band, this video adds to their meta-narrative with the use of performance shots playing instruments and singing.
The music video requires a focused viewing by the audience to be able to understand the meaning of the song, as the link between the lyrics and visuals is through amplification. The video would be consumed through music channels such as MTV and NME.
Moving to New York is a song by the Liverpool band The Wombats originally released January 14, 2008. The upbeat and catchy song is taken from the album 'A Guide to Love, Loss and Desperation'. The band is made up of two Liverpudlians Matthew Murphy, provider of vocals, guitar and keyboards, drummer and vocalist Dan Haggis and bass and vocalist Tord Overland-Knudsen, a Norweigan who has made his home in the city.
'Moving to New York' directed by .... is a narrative based music video with some aspects of performance included. The video is mainly set within a bedroom as the song is essentially singing about insomnia, this is backed up with the synergy between the lyrics and the video that makes you think, after a while of insomnia, moving to New York might be the logical solution. New York is famous for being know as the city that never sleeps. The lyrics to the song have references to New York, for example 'So I'm moving to New York, cos I've got problems with my sleep' so the name of the title is refered to within the song. The video is mainly narrative based following the lead singer Matt Murphy throughout the video. This creates realism and a relationship between lyrics and music as he is singing to the audience. The video amplifies the tracks meaning creating a relationship between the video and song. He acts as a storyteller, making the music video stand out from the television as they feature a first person mode of address. This makes the music video seem like a mini film, just as films feature first person mode of address. There are continuos shots of the lead singer throughout the video, also known as the meat.
The location of the video is on set, within a series of rooms including a bedroom, reinforcing the idea of insomnia. The video in many parts has a very dark colour wash, connoting the night and tiredness gained from insomnia. The lead singer is portrayed as turning insaine, this is shown through him talking to a hamster, and scenes of him in an office being watched by himself. When this video was released, 'The Wombats' were a relatively new band, this video adds to their meta-narrative with the use of performance shots playing instruments and singing.
The music video requires a focused viewing by the audience to be able to understand the meaning of the song, as the link between the lyrics and visuals is through amplification. The video would be consumed through music channels such as MTV and NME.
Product Analysis 2
Mystery Jets - 'Half in love with Elizabeth'
The music video 'Half in love with Elizabeth', by the Mystery Jets has a narrative structure, however the Mystery Jets telling the story throughout the video but not through a performance but through acting. The music video demonstrates most of the key features from Andrew Goodwin's 'Key features of music video'. There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, for example when it says, "How can you put your trust in a man who always sleeps in his clothes?" As teh man is seen getting up out of bed fully dressed in a suit whilst his partner is asleep. The link between the lyrics and visuals is seen through amplification. The video is about a man being in love with Elizabeth, the audience however do not know who or what Elizabeth is, as it could be another woman or it could be money, however we see that it is teh Queen Elizabeth that the man in the video is half in love with. So the video amplifies the original tracks meaning as it retains a link between the video and song however it develops the idea of being in love with Elizabeth. There are meat shots of the lead singer of the band throughout the video, which Goodwin descirbes as meeting the demands of the record label by showing the band. The video doesn's feature all of Goodwin's Key features however as it does not demonstrate the genre characteristics usually seen in the indie genre, for example there is no band performance throughout the video which is usually seen in the genre.
The Mise-en-Scene helps to establish the location of the video, as you can tell it is set in England through the high rise flat blocks seen at the beginning of the video. The video is in black and white, so this dark and dull colour adds to the seriousness and sadness of the song as it is about a man loving someone else, although in the video it is the queen, who people of England are suppose to love. The woman in the video is seen walking in skinny jeans which have connotations with the indie genre which links back to Goodwin's key features, the band are also seen wearing skinny jeans with cardigans and long hair which again links to the indie genre. The video starts where it ends, so the couple are seen hugging, with the rest telling the story as to why they were hugging in the first place. The first tiem the audience realise that it is Queen Elizabeth that the song is referring to, the man is seen drawing a picture of her, then he goes to the front door and picks up a letter and at this point there is a close up of him smelling the stamp and stroking it.
The video does not add to the artists meta-narrative, as the band are only seen a couple of times watching the man in the video telling the story. I believe that this video can be seen as art as it is not commercial, as the band arn't selling themselves, however it does present some challenging ideas. For example the man being in love with the Queen and actually leaving his girlfriend to be with her challenges his love for the other women and the irony that it is the Queen that he is leaving her for not another woman. The video could be seen as postmodern due to the man being in love with the Queen, it could also be seen as postmodern as the band are not seen by the actors telling the story, they are only seen by the audience, so their presence is not all necessary however it allows the audience to see who the people are behind the song, which again could link to Goodwin's theory as it may be down the meeting the demands of the record label.
The music video requires a focused viewing by the audience to be able to understand the meaning of the song, as the link between the lyrics and visuals is through amplification, to understand the twist that the band have put in the video as the song could have multiple meanings, the audience would have to focus on it rather than have an ambient viewing as they would only have their own ideas not the bands.
The music video 'Half in love with Elizabeth', by the Mystery Jets has a narrative structure, however the Mystery Jets telling the story throughout the video but not through a performance but through acting. The music video demonstrates most of the key features from Andrew Goodwin's 'Key features of music video'. There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, for example when it says, "How can you put your trust in a man who always sleeps in his clothes?" As teh man is seen getting up out of bed fully dressed in a suit whilst his partner is asleep. The link between the lyrics and visuals is seen through amplification. The video is about a man being in love with Elizabeth, the audience however do not know who or what Elizabeth is, as it could be another woman or it could be money, however we see that it is teh Queen Elizabeth that the man in the video is half in love with. So the video amplifies the original tracks meaning as it retains a link between the video and song however it develops the idea of being in love with Elizabeth. There are meat shots of the lead singer of the band throughout the video, which Goodwin descirbes as meeting the demands of the record label by showing the band. The video doesn's feature all of Goodwin's Key features however as it does not demonstrate the genre characteristics usually seen in the indie genre, for example there is no band performance throughout the video which is usually seen in the genre.
The Mise-en-Scene helps to establish the location of the video, as you can tell it is set in England through the high rise flat blocks seen at the beginning of the video. The video is in black and white, so this dark and dull colour adds to the seriousness and sadness of the song as it is about a man loving someone else, although in the video it is the queen, who people of England are suppose to love. The woman in the video is seen walking in skinny jeans which have connotations with the indie genre which links back to Goodwin's key features, the band are also seen wearing skinny jeans with cardigans and long hair which again links to the indie genre. The video starts where it ends, so the couple are seen hugging, with the rest telling the story as to why they were hugging in the first place. The first tiem the audience realise that it is Queen Elizabeth that the song is referring to, the man is seen drawing a picture of her, then he goes to the front door and picks up a letter and at this point there is a close up of him smelling the stamp and stroking it.
The video does not add to the artists meta-narrative, as the band are only seen a couple of times watching the man in the video telling the story. I believe that this video can be seen as art as it is not commercial, as the band arn't selling themselves, however it does present some challenging ideas. For example the man being in love with the Queen and actually leaving his girlfriend to be with her challenges his love for the other women and the irony that it is the Queen that he is leaving her for not another woman. The video could be seen as postmodern due to the man being in love with the Queen, it could also be seen as postmodern as the band are not seen by the actors telling the story, they are only seen by the audience, so their presence is not all necessary however it allows the audience to see who the people are behind the song, which again could link to Goodwin's theory as it may be down the meeting the demands of the record label.
The music video requires a focused viewing by the audience to be able to understand the meaning of the song, as the link between the lyrics and visuals is through amplification, to understand the twist that the band have put in the video as the song could have multiple meanings, the audience would have to focus on it rather than have an ambient viewing as they would only have their own ideas not the bands.
Friday 14 November 2008
Matt's moodboard
The mood board i have created is full of ideas, colours and themes. This is my response to our chosen track 'Two Receivers' by the Klaxons. The music the Klaxons compose is indie/rock, i have represented this genre with various pictures like a guitar and amplifier, and a drawn picture of a pair of converse shoes. Converse is a iconic motif of the indie/rock music genre as they are very popular by all musicians who wear them. I have drawn the shoes to represent the new and arty society that music is now involved with. Now a days, it is almost like bands are trying to be as arty and original as possible, the Klaxons achieve this with there brightly coloured clothing and fashion tastes. When listening to the track, various ideas and locations run through my mind, for example London and Brighton Pier could be great locations to film, i have portrayed this within my moodboard with a London Underground logo, iconic red telephone box and the Brighton Pier sign. The song speaks about 'Oceans at their feet' these lyrics particularly made me think about Brighton and the kitch feel to it, of going to the seaside, flying kites and building sandcastles etc. For these reasons i included a kite and a deck chair.The words that came to mind when listening to the track were, youth, drumbeat and originality. The song has 20seconds of introduction which consists of a quiet drumbeat that over time gets louder. This drumbeat continues throughout the song and particular stuck out for me as it sounds sharp and punchy. I included a picture of a drum kit drawn on mathematical square paper, this adds to the arty edge the Klaxons have over other bands. The pint glasses of beer and smoking health warning generally represents the youth of today, with common issues in the news of binge drinking and cancers caused by smoking. We are aware of smoking and drinking of a young age, and its almost like in society we have to smoke or drink to fit in. I put these messages into my mood board to represent the youth appeal that the Klaxons have. The drawn Klaxons logo and the drawing i made of the chair, guitar and amplifier etc at the bottom right of the page give the mood board a dirty and authentic feel that i would like to create within our video. Black and white drawings / photos tend to seem more realistic that those with colour, these all add to the iconography of the Klaxons and their star image persona. The turntable at the top centre of the page generally represents the electronic feel the Klaxons music contains. They experiment with samples of music and throw them together to create something new and exciting, which could also be described as 'Nu Rave' the common music theme. The turntable can also represent technology within making music and how its changing, music doesnt seem to be totally focused on instruments being played these days and this can be shown through music production.
When listening to our chosen track 'Two Receivers' by The Klaxons, these are the main themes and ideas i think of.
Chosen Song
After many hours of listening to music and finding a song without a music video, Will and I have aggreed to make a music video for the song 'Two Receivers' by 'The Klaxons'.
This song can be heard below...
This song can be heard below...
Wednesday 12 November 2008
Ideas Continued ...
I've had a good look at various genres of music and bands, and am trying to find a song that would work for both of us! One of the best songs i have found is 'The Klaxons - Two Recievers' which i actually thought had a music video but doesn't. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UV2SSDk9uXo It has a really good introduction increasing in volume and i think this could be very useful when creating a narrative base video. If we wanted we could include some performance shots into the video running alongside and switching from the narrative story. The song is quite dark with its drumbeat, tone of voice and general sound, we could reflect this with where we could shoot the video as we spoke about. Either London or Brighton in the evening might be a good idea.
If this is no good then maybe we should reconsider 'Late of the Pier', in particular 'Broken' ?
If this is no good then maybe we should reconsider 'Late of the Pier', in particular 'Broken' ?
Monday 10 November 2008
Ideas continued...
Arctic Monkeys - 'Settle for a draw'
This is a new song from the Arctic Monkeys, the song gives off a very english feel, the video can be narrative based like most of the Arctic Monkeys so this would mean that the video would have require a focused viewing. The song seems to be about someone trying to get something more than they can realistically get from someone in a higher position than them. Take a look at teh video that plays the song on youtube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vzDxwWkd7w, i believe that this shoudl be the one...
This is a new song from the Arctic Monkeys, the song gives off a very english feel, the video can be narrative based like most of the Arctic Monkeys so this would mean that the video would have require a focused viewing. The song seems to be about someone trying to get something more than they can realistically get from someone in a higher position than them. Take a look at teh video that plays the song on youtube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vzDxwWkd7w, i believe that this shoudl be the one...
Friday 7 November 2008
Track Ideas
Late of the Pier - 'Broken'
I heard this song after seeing one of Late of the pier's video's on MTV 2, and the new rave Indie sound that they have would be very good to use for either a narratve based on performance based video. The introduction to the song is quite long however so that would maybe be the only possible problem. However you could use the introduction as a performance, showing a band, then go from the band and concentrate on a character for the video lip syncin to the words of the song. Maybe a teenage boy as he says "It's all part of the open pressures Of growing up", so having the trials and tribulations of growing up can be illustrated through in the video. This is a link to the tack on youtube; http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fPGZddFSsQs tell me what you think...
I heard this song after seeing one of Late of the pier's video's on MTV 2, and the new rave Indie sound that they have would be very good to use for either a narratve based on performance based video. The introduction to the song is quite long however so that would maybe be the only possible problem. However you could use the introduction as a performance, showing a band, then go from the band and concentrate on a character for the video lip syncin to the words of the song. Maybe a teenage boy as he says "It's all part of the open pressures Of growing up", so having the trials and tribulations of growing up can be illustrated through in the video. This is a link to the tack on youtube; http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fPGZddFSsQs tell me what you think...
Tuesday 4 November 2008
Product Analysis
Mr Hudson and The Library - Too Late Too Late
'Mr Hudson and The Library' are a recently new band backed by Mercury Records who started releaseing singles in April 2007. The band are packed with musical originality and there debut album 'A Tale Of Two Cities' was released in March. There music effortlessly crosses between musical genres with the use of steel drums, bass, piano, electric drums and the Mr Hudson's distinctive voice which all blend together to create a unique sound.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=s9P9UrjjvLI
The video 'Too Late, Too Late' shown above is directed by Ben Ib and features the performing aswell as telling a small story. Firstly the video is set on location within a club or at a party as they are drinking and dancing. The lyrics of the song have references to a club, for example 'Lets ave the beer another beer it's a fine idea my man' suggesting ordering drinks at a bar/club. The video is mainly performance based as it follows the main singer Ben Hudson throughout the video, creating realism by the relationship between lyrics and music as he sings to the audience.
Mr Hudson and The Library are quite a relatively new band that would not have an enormous fan base only stretching back a number of years. However this video attracts and appeals to new listeners as its easy to follow, provides good footage of the band and is nicely shot with its use of colour wash. Ben Hudson acts as a storyteller, making the music video stand out from the television as they feature a first person mode of address. This makes the music video seem like a mini film, just as films feature first person modes of address. The video is shot with a black and white wash which makes the video seem more authentic, real and dirty which refurs back to the lyrics 'It's too late too late too late too late too late to wash my face and hands'. Although there is a strong theme of black within the video, the lead singer is made white to stand out powerfully against the crowd, his white face could be interpretated that he is a clown which again links back to the song lyrics 'Why must I always play the clown?' The use of black and white represents age of technology, or possibly a lack of technology which is represented through Ben Hudson's original dress code. Throughout he is wearing a top hat, tweed suit and waist jacket, with a white shirt and black tie. This may just be his style and originality that he presents through his clothes, or again refurring to the song 'Playing a clown' looking stupid and out of place.
The various camera techniques used throughout involve cuts of the meat again making a relationship between the music and visuals, where often Ben Hudson is singing to the camera and more essentially to the viewing audience. Throughout the video, freeze shots are used of the crowd and individuals within time of the drum beat and high piance notes making a relationship between the music and visuals that we see. Overcranking is used at 2 minutes 15seconds throughout the video where it cuts on a number of occasions to normal footage, to slow motion dancing and reactions, ending with the lead singers voice being slowed down aswell. I believe the slow motion camera work and dancing is portraying the feeling of being drunk which is backed up with Ben Hudson slouched on a chair. This type of behaviour would be found at a party or in a club and is just adding to the effects and realism of the video. The use of visuals and sound creates synaesthesia as it provides a basis for visualizing images.
'Mr Hudson and The Library' are a recently new band backed by Mercury Records who started releaseing singles in April 2007. The band are packed with musical originality and there debut album 'A Tale Of Two Cities' was released in March. There music effortlessly crosses between musical genres with the use of steel drums, bass, piano, electric drums and the Mr Hudson's distinctive voice which all blend together to create a unique sound.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=s9P9UrjjvLI
The video 'Too Late, Too Late' shown above is directed by Ben Ib and features the performing aswell as telling a small story. Firstly the video is set on location within a club or at a party as they are drinking and dancing. The lyrics of the song have references to a club, for example 'Lets ave the beer another beer it's a fine idea my man' suggesting ordering drinks at a bar/club. The video is mainly performance based as it follows the main singer Ben Hudson throughout the video, creating realism by the relationship between lyrics and music as he sings to the audience.
Mr Hudson and The Library are quite a relatively new band that would not have an enormous fan base only stretching back a number of years. However this video attracts and appeals to new listeners as its easy to follow, provides good footage of the band and is nicely shot with its use of colour wash. Ben Hudson acts as a storyteller, making the music video stand out from the television as they feature a first person mode of address. This makes the music video seem like a mini film, just as films feature first person modes of address. The video is shot with a black and white wash which makes the video seem more authentic, real and dirty which refurs back to the lyrics 'It's too late too late too late too late too late to wash my face and hands'. Although there is a strong theme of black within the video, the lead singer is made white to stand out powerfully against the crowd, his white face could be interpretated that he is a clown which again links back to the song lyrics 'Why must I always play the clown?' The use of black and white represents age of technology, or possibly a lack of technology which is represented through Ben Hudson's original dress code. Throughout he is wearing a top hat, tweed suit and waist jacket, with a white shirt and black tie. This may just be his style and originality that he presents through his clothes, or again refurring to the song 'Playing a clown' looking stupid and out of place.
The various camera techniques used throughout involve cuts of the meat again making a relationship between the music and visuals, where often Ben Hudson is singing to the camera and more essentially to the viewing audience. Throughout the video, freeze shots are used of the crowd and individuals within time of the drum beat and high piance notes making a relationship between the music and visuals that we see. Overcranking is used at 2 minutes 15seconds throughout the video where it cuts on a number of occasions to normal footage, to slow motion dancing and reactions, ending with the lead singers voice being slowed down aswell. I believe the slow motion camera work and dancing is portraying the feeling of being drunk which is backed up with Ben Hudson slouched on a chair. This type of behaviour would be found at a party or in a club and is just adding to the effects and realism of the video. The use of visuals and sound creates synaesthesia as it provides a basis for visualizing images.
Monday 3 November 2008
Product Analysis
Jack Penate - 'Have I Been a Fool'
The music video 'Have i been a fool' by Jack Penate, has a narrative structure as Jack Penate is seen performing the song in the video to the different women. There are also two performance scenes which blend in with Jack Penate telling the story as he uses the performances to say sorry to the women. The video has an element of narrative fuzz as the video shows a different meaning to the song, although it may be associated with love in the first place the use of multiple women seen throughout the video creates a different meaning to the song, as if he has done it before and is going through the same scenario with another women. So the video in this sense can be seen to illustrate the meaning of the song, as he says "I led you on the leadings wrong" as the women follows him into the taxi and shakes her head. Also when he says, "A kiss is just a kiss", as he attempts to kiss the woman. The music video therefore appeals to some of the key features in Andrew Goodwin's 'Key features of music video'. The video does present genre characteristics through the use of the performance shots showing Jack Penate playing the guitar. As mentioned before there is a link between the lyrics and visuals through illustration as Jack Penate is illustrating the story being told, developing the idea of him being a fool in relationships with women. There are a lot of close ups in the video of Jack Penate which enable the motif of him being in an band and bringing his own unique style which is seen in all of his music video (wearing the flat cap, skinny jeans rolled up to show his trainers and his messy hair, which are all part of his own unique individual style). Other elements of Mise-en-Scene help to establish the location, as he gets into a black cab, you can work out that he is in London, however you can tell he is in the suburbs as he runs down a street of houses and there are no tall office buildings. He is also going through a park, the park also links to establishing where the video is set as it looks like a traditional British park with teh fallen leaves of Autumn and with a childrens playground. Jack Penate is seen going for a walk with a grilfriend is seen as being romantic so him being there has connotations with romance which also helps to establish his meta-narrative, however the fact that he is seen with different women show that he is not faithful, and along with the lyrics, he does not stick to one girl so the audience could see him as a 'player' wth women. He may also be trying to get across the point that he has tried with other women and whats do better with a certain women asking the question 'Have i been a fool just say', which creates another side to his meta-narrative. This video will require an ambient viewing as the video illustrates the song, so the viewers would not have to have a focused viewing to understand the meaning of the video and most importantly the song.
The music video 'Have i been a fool' by Jack Penate, has a narrative structure as Jack Penate is seen performing the song in the video to the different women. There are also two performance scenes which blend in with Jack Penate telling the story as he uses the performances to say sorry to the women. The video has an element of narrative fuzz as the video shows a different meaning to the song, although it may be associated with love in the first place the use of multiple women seen throughout the video creates a different meaning to the song, as if he has done it before and is going through the same scenario with another women. So the video in this sense can be seen to illustrate the meaning of the song, as he says "I led you on the leadings wrong" as the women follows him into the taxi and shakes her head. Also when he says, "A kiss is just a kiss", as he attempts to kiss the woman. The music video therefore appeals to some of the key features in Andrew Goodwin's 'Key features of music video'. The video does present genre characteristics through the use of the performance shots showing Jack Penate playing the guitar. As mentioned before there is a link between the lyrics and visuals through illustration as Jack Penate is illustrating the story being told, developing the idea of him being a fool in relationships with women. There are a lot of close ups in the video of Jack Penate which enable the motif of him being in an band and bringing his own unique style which is seen in all of his music video (wearing the flat cap, skinny jeans rolled up to show his trainers and his messy hair, which are all part of his own unique individual style). Other elements of Mise-en-Scene help to establish the location, as he gets into a black cab, you can work out that he is in London, however you can tell he is in the suburbs as he runs down a street of houses and there are no tall office buildings. He is also going through a park, the park also links to establishing where the video is set as it looks like a traditional British park with teh fallen leaves of Autumn and with a childrens playground. Jack Penate is seen going for a walk with a grilfriend is seen as being romantic so him being there has connotations with romance which also helps to establish his meta-narrative, however the fact that he is seen with different women show that he is not faithful, and along with the lyrics, he does not stick to one girl so the audience could see him as a 'player' wth women. He may also be trying to get across the point that he has tried with other women and whats do better with a certain women asking the question 'Have i been a fool just say', which creates another side to his meta-narrative. This video will require an ambient viewing as the video illustrates the song, so the viewers would not have to have a focused viewing to understand the meaning of the video and most importantly the song.
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