Planning: Storyboard Animatic

This animatic is of the essential shots for our music video. The shots are not cut for the right times on the song as it is just to show the feel of the video.

Research and Planning: Focus Group

We chose Jack and Holly for our focus group because they like indie music. We got great feedback from our focus group. We were happy that they picked up on some things such as the colour scheme and setting. We are glad they like the casting and song and that they feel the music video will be a success.

From the Facebook focus group, some replies have been that they like the locations because the boxing gym suits the indie scene and the pub shows it more realistic rather than surreal.
We asked if the cast suit the indie genre and we have had a 100% response of yes.

Research: Audience Theory

Morley says that audiences aren't just passively affected by a text but that they also are actively involved in reading a text. According to Morley audiences can have a preferred reading where they understand and accept the values expressed, a neogiated reading reading where they understand and relate the values expressed with their experiences and interests. They might also have an oppositional reading where they understand the values but do not accept them, or they might have an aberrant reading where they do not understand the values expressed. 
I think the target audience will have a preferred reading of the music video. They will understand the story of the song and enjoy the performance scene because they can relate to both. We will encourage the target audience to take a preferred reading by showing relevance to other indie bands and older rock n roll bands. An indie fan that also likes other music would probably take a neogiated reading as they can relate what they see to what they like. An emo audience might take an oppositional reading as they prefer a darker theme. A mainstream audience might also have an oppositional reading or possibly an aberrant reading. 

Research: Audience Profile

Clothes

The target audience for our video will wear clothes that suggest an older age style of clothing. They will like wearing parkas and harrington jackets because they were popular when rock n roll/indie was popular and clothes were key to show your music preference. They will like brands like Ben Sherman and Pretty Green. Their style will be quite simple, mainly jeans and t-shirt. Their will be a strong sense of music, they may have band/gig t shirts.

Music

The target audience will like indie and rock n roll type music. They like bands like The Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Beady Eye, The Who, The Beatles, The Jam and unknown indie bands.

Media

They would like NME magazine and maybe Q. They would like shows/films like This Is England, Quadraphenia and Brighton Rock. They will make sure that music is an essential part of their personality and appearance.

Planning: Time Management

Planning: Shot List

Filming Day 1- Essential shots
1. Close ups of Harry's guitar
2. Side view, close ups of Harry singing
3. Diagonal view, close ups of Harry singing
4. Side view, close ups of Harry singing
5. Side view, close ups of Harry singing
6. Front view, close ups of Harry singing
7. Front view, close ups of Harry singing
8. Left side view, close ups of Harry singing
9. Right side view, close ups of Harry singing
10. Side view, close ups of Harry singing
11. Front view shots of Harry singing
12. Side view, close ups of Harry singing
13.Close ups of Harry's guitar
14. Close ups on Ben's bass guitar
15. Long shots of Ben
16. Side view, close ups of Ben
17. Close ups of snare drum
18. Long shots of drums and Pete
19. Close ups of Pete's face
20. Side view, long shots of drums
21. Front view, long shots of band
22. Diagonal view, long shots of band
23. Front view, long shots of band
24. Tracking shot, long shots around band
25. Front view, dark shots
26. Front view, dark shots with strobe lights, faintly see band
27. Front view shots of band from behind audience
28. Long shots of Harry and audience
29. Diagonal view shots of band and audience
30. Front view shots of audience
31. Front view shots of band from behind audience
32. Tracking shots, around audience
33. Front view shots, band point of view of audience
34. Behind view shots, band and audience
35. Front view, close ups of Emma. Audience in background
36. Mid shots, Emma turning away. Audience in background
37. Mid shots, Emma walking away. Harry's point of view
38. Long shots, Emma walking away from camera. In corridor

Filming Day 2- Essential shots
1. Long shots of Emma with couples
2. Long shots of Harry with couples at bar
3. Close ups of Harry with couples at bar
4. Long shots of Harry's friends walking away
5. Long shots of Emma's friends walking away
6. Close ups of Emma alone on sofa
7. Close ups of Harry alone at the bar
8. Close ups of Harry sad
9. Establishing shots, both at bar
10. Close ups, both at bar
11. Close ups, Emma looking at Harry
12. Close ups, Harry looking at Emma
13. Behind view, mid shots of them looking away from each other
14. Behind view, mid shots of Harry standing up
15. Point of view shots (from Emma's POV) watching Harry walking away

Planning: Choreography/ Movements and Blocking

Throughout the performance (which we will be using for the chorus as it has a faster pace beat and will represent synaesthesia to the beat) we will be using shots of the audience naturally dancing as we feel this will create a realistic approach to the gig. We will place the band at the back in the centre of the old boxing gym giving more focus on them. The audience will be placed in front of the band therefore creating a feel of a live gig. The camera will not be placed in one position as we want a hand-held effect, showing the beats of the song and the movements of the audience.  

Planning: Locations- Pub

Risk Assessment

Planning: Locations- Boxing gym

Risk Assessment

 

Permission

The band usually rehearse in this location and we have asked them to ask the owners if they would allow us to film. They gave us their permission as long as we tell them all the details.

Planning: Costume and Props

Planning: Casting

We have chosen to cast Harry Baldwin, Ben Hampton and Pete Macbeth because they are the actual members of Heroes of Hanoi and would therefore give the most realistic performance. The group is very reliable and are happy to comply with our ideas. We chose Emma Weaver as the lead role because she fits the indie girl character perfectly, she is also very reliable and helpful. We have chosen Ben Partan and Minda Coombe as extras because they are fans and friends of Heroes of Hanoi and again would give a realistic performance. All the members of the cast like indie music and dress how we wanted the characters to dress. The audience will also be a live audience that are watching the band which will give a real live gig feel to the video.

Print Planning- First Draft Sketch (Advert)

Print Planning- First Draft Sketch (Digipak)

This is a first draft sketch. I would like the background to look old so it will be a beige colour. I also plan to use bright colours to contrast this, mainly using blue, red and white.

Print Planning- Location and Health and Safety

Location
We will be taking the photos in The Cellar Bar in Worcester during a live gig. The location has dimmed lighting so we will practise taking photos in low lighting to find the best setting on the camera and try to use this to our advantage. We could also ask if we can take photos before the gig when the lights are brighter.

(not Heroes of Hanoi)

Health and Safety Risk Assessment

Print Planning- Costume and Props

We will be taking photos during a live gig therefore all the things we need will be there for an authentic gig look.

Print Planning- Cast

We would like to use the band of Heroes of Hanoi (Harry Baldwin, Ben Hampton, Pete MacBeth). We chose these because it would be more authentic and they would know the song best. We know all the band are reliable and are open to suggestions. They are available to be filmed and photographed. They also fir the image of an indie band. We would use the live audience as extras, as they will look like indie fans.

Advert Print Research 2- The Stone Roses

This advert is full page as The Stone Roses are well known in the indie market. It uses the "MOD" colours as this type of music associates itself with Britain and bands such as The Who. It also shows ratings and comments from indie magazines. The image at the bootom is on the album cover so the target market will know when the see the cover that it is this album. It also shows the HMV logo to let the audience know at least one store that is stocking it. The first thing you noticed about this advert is "The Stone Roses" surrounded by blue, red and white which will immediatley get the attention of indie fans. 

Advert Print Research 1- Kasabian, Empire (unfinished)

This advert is a full A4 size which is quite unusual for an indie band unless it was in a indie magazine such as NME or Q as Kasabian are a well known indie band. It follows the genre's conventions as it is a strange  image but still shows the focus on the music. It shows magazine's ratings and details of the release. The image is the same as the album cover so the target market know what to look for in the store. 

Digipak Print Research 2- Beady Eye, Different Gear Still Speeding (need photo)

The image on the front of this digipak is a small girl riding a crocodile, this image is quite disjunctive to the title. The image looks like an old image as it is quite washed out with a natural colouring. It also has the style of an old record with the "NEW" sticker and old style record label sign. This could be because the target audience will associate themselves with old music which was the starting point of indie rock such as the Who, the Beatles etc. In the bottom corner upside down in handwriting is the phrase "The Dreamers of Dreams" this again could be a link to the lifestyle of indie rock artists as it is a quite psychedelic and "trippy" phrase. The back of the digipak is a photo of the band that looks old, washed out and bad pixels. Again this follows the old design of the digipak and follows the genre's layout of a quirky picture on the front to gain the attention of the audience then more focused on the music on the back where the track listings are. Inside the digipak, going through all three panes is the title written in different fonts and using the "MOD" colours (red, blue and white). The digipak  follows the genre design as it uses natural colouring with a strange picture on the front and focuses on the music on the back. Their isn't much of a star image, they focus on the music however the photo on the back creates a small star image of the band.
Throughout the digipak there are many different fonts, this keeps the digipak "busy", different and interesting. The layout follows the style of an old record. This follows the genre layout with the quirky photo on the front and music focus on the back. The star image is created slightly with the photo on the back but this still shows the focus is on the music and not the star.
The details on the digipak are the bar code, copyright, record company details, website and details on the Bonus DVD.
This digipak would appeal to the target audience because the strange image would attract them and the quirkiness and old style of the layout would appeal to them as they would associate it with old "legend" bands and the different font would keep the digipak interesting and trippy.
This digipak is quite entropic which is appropriate to the target audience as they like being different and indie.
Although many people now buy digital copies it is important to have an appealing digipak in indie rock because many fans like to have a hard copy to show they are loyal fans. Also the target audience includes older people who prefer hard copies of the music especially as Beady Eye is mainly famous because it is Liam Gallagher's band who is famous for Oasis.

Digipak Print Research 1- Arctic Monkeys, Favourite Worst Nightmare

The image of grey, bland council houses with colourful shapes/images through the windows is quite disjunctive to the title. However it could be argued that the colourful shapes represent dreams/nightmares which is linked to the title. The back shows the back of a house with the colourful images too. Inside the digipak shows the inside of the house and more detail of the colourful images. These show things such as scary/freaky faces, clowns and monsters, which suggest the do represent nightmares. The CD also follows the idea of strange images as it shows a man with his glasses on fire. The back of the digipak is plain dark grey with yellow track listings, this contrast with the other sides of the digipak. The design of the digipak would appeal to the target audience of this genre because it is quite quirky and different but focuses on the music (no distractions from the track listing). There isn't a big star image for this band because they are an indie band the focus is on the music however if their was a picture of them it would probably be of the whole band and show them with instruments or doing something strange.

The layout of the digipak follows the design of the house, the front of the digipak is the front of the house and the inside is the inside of the house etc. The font of the title and band name is sharp and eye catching however the track listings are in an average easy to read font. This could be because they want to show they are serious about the music, there is also no numbers for the tracks. Again this shows that it fits the genre as it is different to mainstream as it is fun/quirky but focuses on the music.

The details on the digipak include the bar-code, recording label details such as name, address and website and also shows the copyright and band website. There is no reviews, this could be because they want to show they don't care what others think. The target audience is 15-30 year olds that are indie. They would be attracted to the disjunctive image and quirkiness of the digipak. 

This digipak is quite entropic which is appropriate to the target market because they like to show they are different to others.

Digipak covers are still important even though most people download their music because the indie market tend to like a hard copy of the music because they want to show they are a loyal fan. Also the target market for indie does include some older audience members that still prefer CDs. Also, the front cover at least still needs to look interesting, different and appealing because it shows on the display for iTunes. 

Feedback on Pitch- Planning

All our feedback said that the video will suit our target audience which is very positive. Many also said it is an original idea however some seem unsure but the narrative seems to have made it more original. e.g "Parts are original- combining these live shots with a love story".
The positive feedback we got from the group was that the target audience works well, suits the song and the research was thorough. Many people thought the idea was original and interesting.
The main criticisms were that the filming would be difficult, using different shots and locations. We are trying to think of different ways we can address this. We will need more than one camera and take many different shots.

Pitch- Planning

Creativity- Planning

We decided to put different backing music to the same piece of film to see the effect it has on the clip.

We walked around college and took photos of anything we liked or thought looked good. We then played around on photoshop with colours, layering and warping/sizing of photos.

Creativity is when you create something new from an idea in your head or using inspiration around you. It is not having nay boundaries when you are creating something.

You can be more creative by having more fun and looking at the world in a fun way. You can also be more creative if you take away any boundaries and think "outside the box".

Creativity comes from many different places, it could be a random idea that popped into your head or it could be something old that you have changed or a series of ideas put together. Inspiration is very important for creativity because you can use anything  to create something completely different depending on how you look at things. 

Creativity is very important when creating a media production because you want your media production to be completely new and interesting. You can be very creative when using music for a media production because everybody sees and hears different things in songs. One person might hear the riff, one the beat and one the lyrics and these different things inspire different ideas from that person.

Permission E-mail- Planning

Music Video Research- Sven E Carlson- Kasabian LSF

Sven E Carlson believes that music videos fall into two categories, performance clips and conceptual clips. A performance clips are images of the artist/s singing or dancing, when something else is shown during the duration it is a conceptual clip. In Kasabian's music video there is a mix of performance clips and conceptual clips this would be known as a standard clip.
Carlson also says artists will be one or a combination of the three "modern mythic characters" which are commercial exhibitionist, television bard or electronic shaman. In LSF, the artists embody the television bard as they are singing storytellers who use on screen images to tell the story as well. It could be suggested that they are electronic shamans as well as the lyrics don't always makes sense, the singer may have done this to suggest a more spiritual meaning to the song.
He also says that movements are synchronised to the beat, for example in this video the door is being rammed in time to the drums beat.

Music Video Research: Video 3- Kasabian, LSF

There is no specific image that goes with the chorus or verses as the performance and narrative are linked. However the music and narrative are strongly linked when the drum beat matches when the prisoners ram the door. We see the story pretty much all the way through, from the start of the song to when they break out. We do not see why the prisoners are there but it is suggested from the song lyrics as they involve drugs and prostitutes.

The star is presenting a "rebel" look as his clothes are very casual showing the band are not "preppy". Also their attitudes and actions during the narrative show they are rebels. The use of close ups during the narrative suggest the audience should sympathise with the prisoners and the band this links with the lyrics as we are supposed to sympathise with them "we've got our backs to the wall" and possibly idolise the band. The location of the video links with the lyrics as well, as the song refers to drugs, bomb and prostitutes.

Andrew Goodwin would say this video is amplified as it is linked to the song but does not act out every line. The video is suggestive to the lyrics, suggesting the women are in prison because of drugs and prostitution however we still sympathise with them.

Music Video Research: Video 2- The Kaiser Chiefs- Ruby

There is no specific image to the chorus or verses as the performance and narrative are entwined and cut between them regularly. The narrative of the video is an city being built from scratch with the band in the middle. However the narrative does not follow the story of the song.

The band have equal camera time and this suggests the band are the stars rather than just the front man. This could also suggest they want to focus on the music. The costume is not showing the band as stars but as ordinary people, there is no costume changes or fancy cars etc.

According to Andrew Goodwin, this video is disjunctive as it has no link to the song's story.

Music Video Research: Video 1- The View, Same Jeans

The images follow the song's structure as during the verses we see the singer walking around his hotel room, the video then flows into a underground gig as the music goes into the chorus. The video follows this pattern throughout, so when the chorus is played it is at the gig and when the verse is played we are in the narrative part of the video. Also the editing responds to the pace of the song. During the chorus, the edit becomes faster paced and during the verses the edit is slightly slower.

The video follows the story of the song as we see the singer (object of the song) at parties and gigs without going home or changing and we therefore assume that he has had "the same jeans on for four days". However, the song does not take the lyrics literally, the images do not follow the lyrics but suggest that is what they are doing, Andrew Goodwin would call this amplifying.

The star's image is meant to look slightly bohemian and "indie". He had no costume changes as this would counteract the narrative. The image of the star is that he likes to gig, go to parties and drink. This fits with the "indie" lifestyle of bands and fans.
The use of cinematography helps the audience to understand the narrative, like when we see him drunk the camera is wobbling. The cinematography also allows the narrative to flow easily, as the camera zooms in and out of the singer and reveals him in a different place. Also the location and lighting during the gig suggest it is an underground, illegal or secret gig which goes with the "indie" lifestyle.

This video is definitely amplified, as the images do not follow the lyrics literally but suggests the story of the song through image. It could be suggested that the video is slightly disjunctive and the gig had nothing to do with the narrative.

Andrew Goodwin- Research

Andrew Goodwin says that the video clip responds to the audio. The five key areas to a music video are synaesthesia, narrative and performance, the star image, the relationship of visuals to the music and technical aspects. Synaesthesia is when you "see" the sound, narrative and performance is when the narrative is hinted at then filled in with performance. The star image is how the video shows the "star" so big label stars will have close ups and cars etc whereas independent bands might focus more on the music, technical aspects hold the music video together. The one we have focused on is relation of visuals to song, a video and can be illustrated  (the video copies the song word for word), amplified (where the narrative is hinted) or disjunctive (the narrative has no link to the song).

Analysis of Busted Video- Planning

I think we did well with the video, the video looked professional. I think I worked well with the team to plan however, I think I underestimated how much planning there needed to be.
I have learnt that you need to plan thoroughly and next time I will spend more time planning and organising.

What I Go To School For- Research and Planning

Need Busted Planning

storyboard
shot list
casting
health and safety

Lip Sync- Planning

Final Practice Advert

Final Practice Digipak

Research and Planning: Sketch for practice poster

Research and Planning: Sketch for practice digipak

Research and Planning: Focus Group 1

Research and Planning: Mood Board

Research and Planning: Audience Profile

Introductory Post

This year we have to create a music video and print work for a band. I am working with Fran Hickman and we are doing Love That Never Was by Heroes of Hanoi.