Diary Entry 30th September

Today we have two lessons together. In the first lesson: Iona continued to finish the stoaryboard by completing the images whilst Alfie coninued to scan in the completed stoaryboard sheets, cropping them to use in the animatics. Laura has been continuing to gather audience research footage for the audience research mini film but moving onto looking towards our ideas of the stoaryboard and what our audience like. I have been struggling with technological issues with premiere however once the footage managed to load and I managed to edit and finalise all of the footage up until the band logo research. Then in our joined free I put all of the extra footage about stoaryboard and our ideas onto the hardrive, so I could add them to our mini film the next time we came to work on it. Once I had finished I went and helped Iona draw and colour a page of the stoaryboard. In our final lesson we all helped complete the stoaryboard whilst Alfie scanned the completed ones into the computer. By the end of the day we only had one page of the stoaryboard left to colour for Monday which Laura took home.

Time Plans

Long Term: until final music video deadline

      

Key:

•     Filming
•     Editing
•     Digipak and Advert

Short term time plan: until end of Rough cut

Diary Entry: Thursday 29th September

Recently we have been focusing our time in lessons to sort of audience research, storyboard planning, props and animatic before we start planning for filming. I have been gathering music video audience research by using the video camera to film our potential target audience. I have asked questions such as ‘which music videos stand out to you?’ and asked questions on narrative. I still have a lot more filming to do to get a good variety of answers that we can use to influence our media video. After I had taken the footage, I handed it over to Katie to create a video using the software ‘Premier’ to edit it with. This is the software we used during our preliminary task, and hopefully it will refresh Katie’s mind and give her a better feel for the software. I am hoping to have the same opportunity to try this soon.

Iona’s strength is art so we have encouraged her to take charge of the storyboard. So far she has done an excellent job of turning our raw ideas into something more lifelike. I can’t wait to see the finished piece.

Alfie has been starting to create the animatic for the video which uses the storyboard pictures, but replaces the written text with typed text and puts it to time with the lyrics of our song.

We are currently all playing up to our strengths so hopefully we will do role reversal and all have a go at things that will challenge us.

Diary Entry: Wednesday 28th September

The group has invented a conveyer belt system, where we all help with the story boards. I have been designated head writer, which is my strongest quality, and a drawing artist for the final half of the story boards. Laura has become our head colourer, whilst both Katie and Iona are putting drawings and colour onto the scenes which I have already wrote. This has helped immensely, and is an excellent way to get past our problem of a lack of progress. The storyboard was simply too detailed and complex for only two members of our group, now that everyone is chipping in we will begin to get back on schedule, and then all of this planning will pay off as we begin to actually film our video.

Narrative adaptation

We have changed our idea of the main story of our music video to a narrative we can do a real justice to . We found that the narrative was difficult to storyboard and would be very difficult to film, as we had multiple ideas for the transition of our Mr Hyde character. We decided that it could not be represented well, whilst still representing the music and band, so we simplified our ideas. Our main narrative is now three characters who lead un-extravagant lives travelling to a place where they can live out their fantasies. We will still be intertwining scenes with the band, as well as keeping the motifs of clocks, and tea parties.

song choice

We chose to use the song ‘sun goes down’ by the futureheads. This song has a variety of pace and tone within it; this will help us to create a varied and meaningful music video. The band themselves are an Indie post-punk band, with music video’s that are inventive and varied, we hope to replicate a music video with just as much power behind it.

Arcade Fire

I will be focusing on Arcade Fire’s fourth album called ‘The Suburbs’, released in August 2010. The indie/rock band, from Canada, have had great international success. The album debuted at number 1 on the Irish Albums Chart, the UK Albums Chart, the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, and the Canadian Albums Chart. It also received multiple awards including Album of the Year at the 2010 Grammy Awards and Best International Album at the 2011 BRIT Awards. The album itself has the theme of the ‘suburbs’ running through, along with adolescence and growing up and their personal and political feelings which is shown through their lyrics and videos.

‘The Suburbs’, directed by Spike Jonze.

The video is purely narrative and has no performance of the band, which subverts their genre identity as most indie rock tend to have a lot of performance to help band identity. However, in the case of this video I think the narrative is very strong and deeply moving, allowing the video to be memorable without needing performance.

The narrative is shown through a flashback a boy has from when he was younger, when him and his friends used to play on the streets safely in their protected suburban environment. The group joke around about the war outside their protected community, until the war they thought was a game ends up on their doorsteps and one of the blonde-haired boys gets taken away. The blonde-haired boy returns after serving, he’s more mature and angry about what has happened and blames another boy. The blonde haired boy goes after the other boy, despite his friends trying to stop the fight; the boy is beaten up at work. The video ends with the blonde boy crying after smashing chairs and the other boy is staring at the monster the war has created.

The camera is barely still throughout the video, particularly at the start demonstrating a fluid movement perhaps in a metaphorical sense meaning ‘fast paced life’ or ‘childhood’s being over too fast’. As the motif of the band in this album is generally based on the idea of growing up, I think this fits perfectly. I enjoyed watching this part of the video and thought that the disorientation of the camera made you feel apart of the group as they go on their journey. This movement of camera also fits well with the rhythm of the song, as the beat is constant, fluid and fairly relaxed at the start, setting the tone of the video. I would like to incorporate this into my own video, as I think it brings a reality and a sense of being involved.

I believe the colours in costume play a particularly important role in the video. At the start, the two main boys are seen mostly wearing white tops which I think portrays innocence and naivety. In the later scenes the blonde-haired boy is seen wearing a white top covered by black/blue jackets, this could be seen as a darkness casting over him, perhaps through his thoughts and feelings war, therefore shadowing over his innocence to give the impression of someone older and stronger. Since the jacket is just covering the white, it could still be portrayed as his maturity has been forced upon him and he’s still naïve inside. This idea would also link to the end of the video where he is crying on the floor after seeing what he’s done and what he’s become due to outside world.

The lighting in the video essentially relies of natural light from the sun for the outside shots. Because they have done this, the reflected light makes the children look more natural and youthful. I would also like to incorporate this into my own work, as I prefer natural light as opposed to artificial light. Again it will make it look sufficiently better in certain shots, providing it links with the narrative me and my group choose.

I personally love the shot of the broken bike outside of one of the boy’s work places. The shot focus’ on the bike from a high angle to make is seem insignificant and lost, as though it doesn’t fit into its surroundings. The boy is seen from a long angle shot, where he stares at bike looking blankly at it. This could work as a metaphor for his now broken and ruined childhood, and that nothing exists of his past. I would like to use this kind of symbolism in my group video, I think that the unspoken emotion is very affective in a video and makes it more haunting.

The video also plays with pathetic fallacy, which helps set the scene and emotion. In their childhood, there are clear skies all around, demonstrating security and everything being simplistic. Then, when they are threatened they are in the dark with the occasional flashing lights, giving the sense of entering the unknown, which to their suburban lives appears threatening.

The settings for the video aren’t too exciting or extraordinary. The use the stereotypes of a ‘American’ suburb, using houses that all look very similar with pristine lawned gardens at the front of the houses, streets that have very little traffic. They also use a desolate field which they cross a few times, again it is nothing spectacular, but sets a backdrop to the scene. I think the simplicity of the setting for the video makes it more appealing to the viewer as there is not too much to focus on.

The lyrics fit the narration very well, taking its own twist of the meaning. The difference between the rhythm and wording of the song, especially at the start is huge. They tend to keep it upbeat but relaxed as they talk about childhood in a derogatory way. For example:

• “And they told me we would never survive”
• “You always seemed so sure, that one day we would be fighting in this suburban war”
• “In my dreams we’re still running and screaming through the yard”
• “So can you understand, I want a daughter while I’m still young. I want to hold her hand and show her some beauty before the damage is done”
• “In my dreams we’re still screaming”

The video also demonstrates the bands political views on war. This is shown the through the moment they are by the fence, looking out on to the war zone. I think this is set to show two different worlds. One of the group turns their back to the other world, showing the uncaring nature of people, and getting across the meaning of not caring until it affects you.

There is also a small amount of foreshadowing in the video, where the group of friends are using BB guns and are shooting unsuspecting citizens. In this shot, we see the group of friends in an open stair, looking out and shooting at people. This is a close up shot to all of the children and we can see from their faces they are happy and uncaring about other people’s feelings or consequences. The man they shoot with the gun is shown running to tell them off from a high angle shot, making him again seeming insignificant to their fun. Even though they are only children when they do this, this is the reality of the blonde-haired boy.

The timing is done well, as it links the lyrics to the narrative but doesn’t take the literal meaning of the whole line. For example, when it talks of night it cuts to night but sticks to the narrative of their suburban paradise being threatened.

(got up to editing, add rest)

Initial Ideas Presentation

My Top Ten Music Videos

Advert Analysis: The White Stripes

The White Stripes - Icky Thump (abum poster)

The poster continues the band’s colours which are also conveyed in the music video by using simple shapes to create a simply designed poster. The black in the background gives the poster an easy background which links both to the genre as well as allowing the colourful text of the album title to overlay on top without becoming unnoticed. The text of this poster is all simple and sharp with the album coming before any reference to the band allowing to make reference to how well known the band actually is. The way that they use just the month of release of the album instead of a specific date makes the suspense go on for longer which is similar to the way distribution companies advertise films.

The main image has no direct reference to the band at all except that it is coloured the band colours therefore it entices people to read the poster’s information by giving them something random and abstract to look at that makes no obvious sense. In doing this they make majority of the background red which if people catch it out of the corner of their eye they will take a second look as the colour triggers ‘danger’ in their mind.

Digipak Analysis: FranKo – Vote FranKo

FranKo’s Digipak is simpler using a constant colour scheme of black and white through creative graphics which incorporate the text into the visual element. However even though the image appears to be a graphic image created by computer it is actually photography heavily edited and re positioned on a program like Photoshop. This gives the image on the main pane individuality as if an artist has wanted to present the band’s sound in an image as it is edgy, alternative and defiantly rock and roll. Thanks to the image the text layered on top large, black and linked together allows it to stand out when standing on the shelf. This layout has the Band Name as the main text taking over all three thirds of the pane because FranKo aren’t so well known therefore need to get the name of their band out there.

The main information pane’s background continues the colour scheme as the background is black and the writing is white however the style of writing has changed. The font for the list of bands has changed from the elaborate creative on the front of the Digipak to a gothic styled scripted like writing which takes over one two main thirds of the pane. At the bottom of the page you can find the small writing of the credits with the copyright symbols to who produced the album and performed on it.

The other panes within the album are plain black except for the disc itself which in this Digipak is counted as one of the panes. This pane continues the colour scheme with the black background and white text for the album title written in a similar style to the text on the front signature/front pane which is in the middle third. The rest of the information on this page inverts the colour scheme around the outside and tells you the year at the bottom and the band’s website at the top.

Analysis of existing media products

FUTUREHEADS Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XwQ1W9_yP4&ob=av3n 
A tracking shot filmed on hand held camera introduces the video for Beginning Of The Twist and low angles capture such props as a clapper board, a green screen and studio lighting. This demonstrates a behind the scenes feel accompanied with diegetic sound and background noise. The music begins with quick pace jump cuts showing close up’s of a detailed, hand drawn storyboard. Each shot of the drawings changes in time with the song and reflects upon the instruments heard at that point. This artistic and rare approach to a music video reflects upon the unique conventions of independent music, which The Futureheads are known for. During a close up of a drum stick count in, there are pink animated explosion shapes that flash with the sound of each hit. This renowned cartoon like, comic book image suggests exciting and child like connotations, which implies that the band don’t take themselves too seriously and are willing to have fun with making a music video. The image could also symbolize a superhero quality, insinuating the passion The Futureheads feel for music, as if it gives them power.  A wide angle shot then sees the band perform with characteristic energy and classic indie legs apart stance, the routine is shown in front of the green screen through the perspective of the camera television. Although seeming slightly incomplete, the bright colour illuminates the band and almost enables viewers to feel included in the action, hinting that Futureheads are a band very involved with the fans.

The band continue to perform surrounded by an obvious and constant change of setting, as if mocking videos that rely on editing skills and high technology to be successful. Incorporating the rotation of sketches and scribbles falling around the band’s performance, during a rolling shot, introduces an element of chaos and creative struggle yet them continuing to play could suggest they are dedicated and passionate musicians. Through various panning shots and extreme close up’s the video shows front man Barry Hyde dressed in distinctively individual attire, a bow tie, waistcoat, skinny jeans and tee-shirt. This quirky style adheres to the expected conventions of an indie/alternative band and the combination of formal/ casual wear suggests a blend of maturity and youth, as reflected in the sketchy, artistic themes of the video. Whilst singing “my head feels like it’s just about to split” a head shot films interaction with a makeup artist as a continuity shot shows the cameraman’s hand signalling Barry to move to the left.  This captures all the little aspects of the video making lifestyle, possibly to allow viewers the opportunity to understand the entire process. The element of disorientation and humour within the entire video strongly highlights each band member’s personality and friendship, for instance a medium shot placed inside a hand drawn story board window shows the band laughing, which will engage an audience looking for entertainment.  I love the creative, messy style of this video and would enjoy developing inspiration further into my own work. I feel however, that it would bare extremely close resemblance to the original so I may simply incorporate the quirky elements of the work and the natural representation of the performers.


FUTUREHEADS Advert:



In this London art gallery, cakes spell out each letter of the lyrics to Futureheads album title track, The Chaos. This inventive and memorable approach to advertisement highlights how creative and unique Futureheads are as a band and introduces completely new ideas of self promotion. The exhibition is rare, impressive and exciting, similar to the band’s music. Furthermore, members of the public were also able to eat the display and all proceeds were donated to charity. This produces an excellent image for the band as it highlights their generosity and willingness to engage with fans. The idea of advertising through food demonstrates a wonderful message, possibly aiding listeners with reassurance in a world where the media is often focused on weight loss and body image. This suggests less of a political outlook but more a positive and uplifting one. With such a creative style of endorsement, this may appeal to a niche market as less people may have had the opportunity to see the display, however, those who did will most likely already be interested in artistic and experimental events. In promoting their work towards that audience so imaginatively, The Futureheads may have gained a new surge of interest through the publicity and attention created by this inspiring promotion technique. Through subverting from expected styles of advertisement, The Futureheads are strongly supporting conventions of the alternative, independent music scene and letting their music literally speak for itself.

FUTUREHEADS Digipack:
Connotations of importance and seriousness are implied through the use of black, dominating, capital letter font, as if The Futureheads are boldly stamping their print on the music industry. Naming the album ‘The Chaos’  implies unstable themes of confusion and disorientation, which seems to be reflected in the artwork itself. With arrows darting outwards in no particular direction, radio transmitters implanted into the earth and the core of  the planet exposed, possibly reflecting the music itself – loud, chaotic, energizing. Maybe hinting that the core of their musical efforts are also being exposed. Although illustrated with heavy themes of science and pressure, the album cover is still neatly structured which could imply that despite the chaos and comercialism surrounding the world, The Futureheads are still focused on making music. The arrows symbolize direction, the world symbolizes completeness, perhaps this suggests the band have created something entirely fresh and wholesome. Furthermore, the colour scheme of the cover art is stereotypically masculine, relating to the gender of the band, however the arty design lead image subverts from traditional expectations of album covers consisting of a band photo. This could be due to The Futureheads being known as an ‘indie band’ and therefore making a statement that they are opting for a more diverse and creative side of advertisement.

Arrows flying from the centre of this CD disk could symbolize the effect of Futureheads’ music, implying their sound is sharp, piercing and striking. Perhaps the design was also applied considering the visuals of the CD when playing, as the arrows would look very effective when spinning. The interesting artwork within the album and the ongoing continuity between the cover, disk, track listing and insert, all help to portray The Futureheads as a creative, innovative group  who clearly take time in considering the aesthetic aspects of their work. The circular, revolving pattern behind the track list for example, insinuates pulsating or themes of a continuous rotation, again relating to the spinning of a CD or even hinting at the strong future within the band. This spinning/space motif also appears on the insert page beside the disk, the image not only suggests the earth being swallowed by a black hole but it also slightly resembles a vinyl record. This connection between music and the galaxy suggests that songs might be as important to the band as space and time, which could potentially appeal to other music lovers.

ARCTIC MONKEYS Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlYJKfunfC0
A wide angle head shot captures Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders stood quite threateningly and confidently in front of an American flag. His head is tilted to one side in a cocky, sarcastic manner and his face is disguised with ‘classic rock star’ sun glasses and a dark neck scarf.  The American flag motif appears almost ironic as Arctic Monkeys are known as a local, home-grown band from Sheffield yet here they are in a desert with motorbikes and naked models.  Although this highlights the incredible worldwide success and popularity Arctic Monkeys have gained, it also suggests that in the process they may have disregarded their original roots and therefore gained a wider mass market. Throughout the entire video there are various dissolves and jump cuts focusing onto a beautiful, scantily clad young woman. This adheres to the expected connotations of mainstream pop or hip hop rap videos, yet is quite surprising for an indie rock video as they usually tend to focus more on the band performance or a creative narrative. Guns and motorbikes are also seen as frequent motifs within various zoom shots to compliment the masculine ranch lifestyle which appears throughout the video setting. This implies a manly, hard working and aggressive feel which is stereotypically likely to interest a specific type of male audience and therefore possibly appeal to a more niche market. An over the shoulder shot continues, showing Matt weight lifting whilst a very thin and attractive female dives into a swimming pool and undresses,  the drummer pays no attention and a low angle shot shows him walk away, drink in hand with a large knife over his shoulder. Not only does this potentially alienate over half of AM’s market, but it also introduces a terrible representation of women being seen as sexual objects or trophies. Various low angles then show numerous raunchy and suggestive scenes, although highly racy, degrading and quite violent it does however relate strongly to the lyrics within the song and also adheres to the expected conventions of the rock n roll lifestyle. Further reference to the lyrical content is present through the frequent ‘Suck It And See’ labels engraved into various items such as an extravagant cigarette lighter and a grungy, distressed denim jacket. Perhaps the song/album title motif is included as a subliminal or obvious advertisement technique, or as an explanation for the continuing sexualised behaviour. The video opening begins with a medium shot showing Helders’ photo on a missing poster, perhaps this explains his out of character retreat to the desert, the character could have lost himself or the poster could simply be acting as an excuse.  The shots in this video are executed to a high quality and the lighting is very complimentary but the only inspiration I would take from this would be the idea of using a motif in relation to the song lyrics as I think it helps to strengthen the relationship between the music and the visuals.

 

ARCTIC MONKEYS Advert:

Complimenting the simplistic artwork of the album itself, Arctic Monkeys’ Suck It And See poster is loud and effective, very much like the music it is advertising. The monochrome lack of colour seems to have the opposite effect of actually becoming more noticeable, because the vast white space seems to border the band name. This will ultimately beat competition from other posters if presented on a record shop wall, which is where an album of this genre is likely to be advertised. Because only relying on text, the font for ‘Arctic Monkeys’ is what makes the poster so compelling. Written in the shape of a ripple, resembling a wave or a motion, it could symbolize that they are band who move with the times, or maybe just follow where the wind takes them. Without the use of images this could suggest that the band are fully relying on previous success to advertise their new work, this could be chancy or simply hint that Arctic Monkeys are risk takers. The scale of the text used however is so dominating it almost appears intimidating or inescapable, highlighting that Arctic Monkeys have left a large imprint on the indie rock music scene and will continue to do so with the new album.  Suck It And See being written in capital letters almost screams ‘listen o me!’ it gives nothing away, excluding the massive band name the poster is almost anonymous. This therefore persuades fans to buy the album even more so, out of curiosity.

ARCTIC MONEYS Digipack:

The simple and minimalistic approach Arctic Monkeys have taken for their fourth album shouts “Here is our music. Think what you want of it. That’s all”. It’s straight to the point. They haven’t smothered the album with colour or images or visuals, it’s simply about the sound of their songs. Perhaps this is a message insinuating that artists today focus more on appearance and performance and technology instead of the actual music. Maybe this basic stripped back album cover is the statement that people within the music industry needed to see. The title, similar to Futureheads with the use of capital letters and bold black font, is positioned right in the centre- straight where viewer’s eyes immediately look. The title provides all that is needed Suck It And See = ‘try it and you’ll understand’. It’s tempting, it’s daring, it’s demanding. This could even reflect upon Arctic Monkeys new musical direction, a more complicated and heavy sound. Leaving everything to the music itself could insinuate that the band feel confident in their song writing ability, seeing it as enough to carry the album alone. Their signature logo dominates the entire top corner, its black circle almost looming over the cover in a slightly threatening and inescapable shadow, reminding listeners that Arctic Monkeys are a band very much about telling the truth of the everyday.

Making up for the lack of images present within the front cover, track listing and insert booklet, the photo inside Arctic Monkey’s Suck It And See is mysterious and desolate. The rolling hills tinted with a yellow glow symbolize happiness and warmth yet this seems to contradict with their dark and expressionless silhouettes. The band’s presence in the image has connotations of loneliness as they are the only signs of life within the uninhabited, isolated location. This could imply that they may be seen as the last withstanding popular indie band of the time, or that they stand alone in their own league. Bassist, Nick O’Malley is seen to be holding a large, sharp object which could impose threat, warning or intimidation, as if ready to defend his music. All members are dressed in casual ‘indie’ clothes however, this compliments the expected codes and convention of their music genre and their body language represents a nonchalant, informal feel. Hands in pockets and looking in no particular direction, as if unimpressed with the situation, this could be purposeful in possibly adhering to the stereotypical expectations of careless musicians.

Digipak Analysis: Paul Weller – Wild Wood

The colour and the lighting of the images on the Digipak are very important as it shows the artist in a dark, creative and arty way from the signature images silhouette.  The image also allows the design of the pane to keep the colour scheme whilst coming together with the information to be visually pleasing and eye catching when on a stand in a shop. The text on this pane is white allowing it to stand out on top of the black of the artist’s photographed silhouette but has a shadow allowing it to give it 3d element making it stand out prominent in consumers eyes. The shadow on the text is a clever method of keeping the text visible and prominent when being laid across the top of vastly contrasting colours within the image itself.

The side pane to the Digipak is small so only shows precise information in relation to, the artist album title, product number and distribution company. The most of the information about the album is found on the back main pane which classically lists the songs in order to one side of the page, in this case to the left. This pane also contains the barcode in the top right hand corner however depending on what the design of the album art can be fitted in any corner. The small image in the top left is a logo of the distribution company and along with the small text at the bottom of the pane are the typical codes and conventions for this specific pane on a Digipak; the small writing at the bottom includes more important information about the year of production to distribution, the full company name as well as copyright symbols along with the countries in which it is distributed in. the whole pane continues the colour code on from the small information pane and the signature pane by the background being solid black and the text being white. The text itself also continues the same style being simple and ‘Arial’ like but it now does not have a shadow as the information it is telling doesn’t need to stand out to the reader as much, however some of the more important or popular song on the disc are written in larger writing than others.

The method of opening the Digipak is different to the common Digipak as it opens the opposite way to which you open a book however it fits with the genre in which the artist is trying to be part of, alternative rock. The rest of the panes of the Digipak are all picture panes except the disc itself which is plain colour however all use a variety of colours and lighting. The images panes are a mixture of shots consisting of black and white, red tinged and a tiled effect montage but are all taken in the same studio location and are all of Paul creating the album.