LT - Change?

Kris and I have had a bit of an epiphony this weekend, a breakthrough. We've kind of decided that we'd like to change our idea, our song and our video idea. We've storyboarded about the first two and a half minutes of it and we think it'll really work, it's much more conceptual based than our other idea, with no performance shots. However we feel that the locations are much more accessible (one of them being right outside my house), there are less risks and problems to overcome (we won't need to take lighting outside, and so we won't have the problem of the weather) and that our video will be much more successful and creative than with our original idea.

Here is the basis of our second idea:

- The song is Pioneer to the Falls by Interpol, an enigmatic, quite eerie track with guitars and a lead singer. The dynamics of the song are interesting as it builds up to loud epic parts and in other parts you can just hear the singer with no backing instruments.

- The conceptual/narrative idea for the video follows a girl in a white room (possibly a squash court or a photography studio which we may have access to) with jagged lines on one wall. For some reason she is intrigued, tempted, fascinated and frustrated by the lines, she touches them but they cause her some kind of battle within herself.

- Other locations include an orchard, in which she follows the lines on the tree bark, causing her the same sense of frustration, and in which seems to get lost - maybe losing her mind? Also possibly a big open, empty field in my village which could be used to show her finally losing it.

- The video will cut between these two/three locations, showing her frustration, anger and fear.

- There could also be a section in which she is the one drawing the lines on a surface, maybe a concrete floor or something, as though she is trying to crack a code?


We reckon that we could do some really interesting shots with this idea and it would be much more interesting to shoot than our original plan. However, we don't know whether we're allowed to change it so late into the planning stage. We'll see!

planning review # 3 - CF

Well done - a creative pitch. Excellent choice of track, combination of narrative and performance is a suitable response, good use of practice shots to inform your idea, links made to primary and secondary research.

You do now need to think your idea through carefully in order to storyboard. This must be largely before Christmas.

Liz - excellent contributions to blog.
Chris - technical analysis is good, however you are still missing two product analysis.

pitch response

Generally, a good response from the group.
we had some criticism about our narritive for the video,which we need to think about more carefully.Our idea for intertectuality with sid and nancy was well recieved as was our noir theme. We think we are onto a winner!

LT - Focus Group

Over this weekend Kris and I did our focus group which consisted of five friends of the age 17 or 18 who were already fans of Kings of Leon and other bands within the genre. We played them our track, gave them a sheet of questions to answer in response to it and then pitched them our idea, asking for feedback. Here is an example of the questions:

Age?
Favourite band/artist?
1) In three words, describe how the song makes you feel.
2) In what sort of location would you expect the video for this track to take place? E.g. urban, rural…
3) What sort of music video would you expect to see for this song - performance, narrative or conceptual?
4) What sort of clothing do you imagine the people who sing the song to be wearing?
5) When you consume music videos, do you prefer to watch them with your full attention or are they generally something to put on in the background?
6) If you have any other suggestions about how we could improve our concept for the music video, please state them below.

From this focus group we have found out the following about our target audience:

• All five of people questioned said that an urban location would be suitable.
• Four out of five said there should be a performance element, three out of five said there should be a narrative element and only two suggested a conceptual video.
• The audience expectations of the band image is an 'indie' style, with skinny jeans, dark colours, casual style, shirts (and leather?).
• Four out of five said that they watch music videos mainly as background music whilst doing other activities.
• The group also collaboratively felt that using stop-motion would add another interesting element to the narrative part of the video, and that shooting in black and white would be a good idea. They also decided that although there should be a noir element to the video, it should not take over the narrative as this might just turn into a complete copy of an old noir film, which would not be an original or interesting idea. The group decided that just to reference film noir with some shot styles and use of black and white and noir motifs would be enough.

Kings of Leon-On Call

• From when the video starts with the angelic keyboard sounds, to 00.06, we see a single close up shot from the floor, showing the footsteps of four people, who we can assume must be the band members.
• Matching the angelic sounds is the contrast which has been changed to make all images present very dark, against the white background, this include band members and instruments.
• We instantly realise that this is an emotionally driven track. This is emphasised by the black attire, close ups of faces showing their emotional expressions, and the singers leg point inwards and slowing moving, giving him a look of vulnerability. Also, at 00.21, we see a closer shot of the singer, and he is looking down whilst he sings the line for the second time, showing that he is upset.
• At 00.37 we see a close up of the singer looking straight at the camera as he sings, displaying almost sarcastic ‘puppy-dog-eyes’.
• As the menacing bass line comes in, the lights are turned down on the members faces, and the viewers prepare for a menacing change.
• As the camera shows close up and middle shots of the band playing their instruments, the singer seems determined to capture the camera like an attention seeker, chasing the camera with his face and lyrics.
• Before the chorus at 01.18, we see the singer turn around, and then a different cut is used to show him turn around again, but this time he is playing with whole band.
• During the chorus, the area is lit with sunset light and we see a sunset backdrop behind the band members.
• At 01.32 we see a close up of the bassist picking the strings.
• At 1.35 we see a middle-long show of the whole band playing, and the artificial backdrop is insight also.
• At 01.43 we see the same shot of the whole band; however, as the song draws towards the chorus we see the sun going down again. Then we see a shot of the singer being blacked out and out of focus.
• When the nest chorus is played at 01.48, we see a moon-like lit area, where the director may have used a blue filter.
• Now the light has changed, the backdrop has also and we see stars and we see several shadows of nocturnal animals flying around.
• During the solo and group singing, we see close up of the members faces singing along with the singer, and several close ups of the lead guitarist, picking the strings for the solo.
• As the solo progresses, the lead guitarist is positioned of his own in black, and various post production effects are used. Then these same effects are used for the whole band, spending only 1-2 seconds on each member, sometimes in slow motion to emphasise their passion and talent.
• When the band are shown again during the bassline, we realise that dawn is approaching by looking at the backdrop. The director as used a sped up backdrop of a night moving from dusk to dawn, anchoring the lyrics of the song, suggesting that the singer has spent so much time on the person he is singing about.
• Towards the end of the track, it becomes uplifting, and we see the heavenly bright light of morning, shining through trees onto the members of the band.

We have had some ideas about location and lighting for our music video.
firstly,we think that the school playground may be ideal to use at night,so then we will provide articficial light for the filming.

For the lighting will use the lights from the drama studio,which also have a flash which could prove to be an interesting plus,with several Connotations,eg the press taking pictures of the band.

The reason that we maybe use the playground is because it is an open area.using the darkness to our advantage,we shuld hopefully be able to show that the location is not part of the school grounds.

I have thought of several aspects of the time of day and locations that we could also use to our advantage.Slow motion cold breath could be shown comnig out of the lead singers mouth,which could add to the post modern aspects of the video. Also,i would like to show the openeing shot focussing on the footsteps of the lead singer, so that the only sound heard would be the echoes around the courtyard of the heals of the shoes.

Focus Group Questions

1. In three words, how could you describe how the track makes you feel?
After the group’s response, Liz and Kris will pitch their idea.

2. Are their any additional ideas that you could suggest to add to the production of the video e.g.-
• Location
• Time of day
• Mise-en-scene
• Performance/narrative/conceptual based – any ideas for narrative?

3. Do you think the song is correct for the pitch?

Planning Review #1 CF

On the basis of conversations that I have had with both of you, I know that you have some very promising creative ideas, however Chris - you should be recording the two discussions that we had about the visual ideas.
Liz - you video analysis is very good. You must now evaluate the technical analysis and summarise findings. The other posts that you have contributed are also accurate, focused and a useful record of the creative process.
Chris - you MUST complete the product analysis ASAP. Missing deadlines will have a detrimental impact on your group - this is a shaky start to what should be a piece of coursework that you are aiming for top marks on.

Overall, your chosen track, initial proposal and consideration of visual techniques is very promising, but this blog is not yet reflecting a focused top level 4 group yet due to missing elements - I need to see that your chosen product analysis is clearly related to your own video idea and that you have discussed the videos to be analysed. Get this sorted quickly.

LT - Technical Analysis

Interpol - Slow Hands
Click here to see the video.

0.00 - CU over the shoulder of a man in a suit walking away from the camera.
0.02 - ECU of a microphone with out of focus face behind it.
0.04 - ECU of a guitar string being played.
0.05 - BCU of a man's eye on one side of his face.
0.07 - Dissolve into a shot of a shiny grey floor reflecting lights, pans up to a LS showing the band playing their instruments in a line.
0.12 - Dissolve into the same microphone ECU shot, this time we see the mouth moving.
0.13 - MS of singer slighlty off centre singing into microphone with a bright light to the right behind him.
0.16 - M-LS showing the main singer on the right playing his guitar with the drummer in the left of the frame.
0.19 - LS showing the band playing their instruments in a line.
0.21 - MS of singer slighlty off centre singing into microphone with a bright light to the right behind him.
0.22 - M-LS showing the main singer on the right playing his guitar with the drummer in the left of the frame, with some kind of debris blowing across the floor behind them.
0.25 - MS of singer slighlty off centre singing into microphone with a bright light to the right behind him.
0.26 - LS showing the band playing their instruments in a line.
0.29 - CU of another band member's face looking away from the camera.
0.33 - LS from above the band looking directly down on them playing their instruments.
0.35 - MS of singer slighlty off centre singing into microphone with a bright light to the right behind him.
0.36 - LS showing the band playing their instruments in a line.
0.38 - MS of singer slighlty off centre singing into microphone with a bright light to the right behind him.
0.40 - LS showing the band playing their instruments in a line, but one of them has broken the line and throws something on the floor in the foreground, in front of the band, and it smashes in slow motion on the floor.
0.47 - ECU of out of focus microphone with an in-focus face behind it.
0.48 - LS showing the band playing their instruments in a line with some broken bits of debris in the foreground, which begins to move together as if by magic to form three boxes which fly up into the air.
0.53 - Unfocused shot which is hard to make out, just of a flash of light.
0.54 - LS showing the band playing their instruments in a line.
0.56 - M-LS showing the main singer on the right playing his guitar with the drummer in the left of the frame, the three boxes flying past them up towards the ceiling.
0.57 - LS showing the band playing their instruments in a line.
0.58 - M-LS showing the other guitarist on the last playing his guitar with the drummer to the right of the frame.
1.01 - M-LS showing the main singer on the right playing his guitar with the drummer in the left of the frame with bits of broken objects behind them coming towards each other.
1.02 - ECU of a microphone with out of focus face behind it.
1.04 - M-LS showing three band members playing their instruments.
1.06 - ECU of an out of focus microphone with a face behind it singing.
1.09 - LS showing the band playing their instruments in a line.
1.11 - M-LS in slow motion showing the guitarist on the right jumping up and playing a chord then coming back down.
1.14 - ECU of an out of focus microphone with a face behind it singing.
1.15 - LS showing the band playing their instruments in a line.
1.19 - MS in rewind slow motion of a man beginning to spit.
1.21 - ECU of a microphone with an out of focus face behind it singing.
1.22 - LS showing the band playing their instruments in a line.
1.24 - MS in rewind slow motion of the same man spitting out a stream of water.
1.26 - LS showing the band playing their instruments in a line.
1.28 - MS of a pen dropped to the floor, bouncing back and the lid coming off.
1.30 - LS showing the band playing their instruments in a line.


Conclusion - in looking at this video, which is of a style very similar to the video which we want to make, I have found a number of patterns which are conventional of this genre. Many shots are repeated over and over again throughout the video, the most frequent repetitions being the following;

- ECU of a microphone with out of focus face behind it.
- LS showing the band playing their instruments in a line.
- M-LS showing the main singer on the right playing his guitar with the drummer in the left of the frame.
- MS of singer slighlty off centre singing into microphone with a bright light to the right behind him.

These are the kind of performance shots which we should be using when making our video. I also noticed that each shot only lasts on average two or three seconds with interjecting longer slow-motion shots, which is something to bear in mind when making our video if we want to keep to the conventions. I think the most important thing to gain from this video is that the director has used a variety of different shot sizes and angles intercut quickly with one another, and so we need to ensure that when we do our shoot we take lots of different shots eg. CU, ECU, M-LS, LS etc., and take them from various different angles.

LT - Final Decision

We have decided to use the track 'Knocked Up' by Kings of Leon for our music video. This is because we feel that there is a lot of room for creativity, the track is quite flexible and would lend itself to most of the ideas we've come up with so far. Here are some of the things we've talked about:

• Performance/narrative based video, illustrative of the lyrics showing a girl and a boy running away from home to have their baby, arguments with parents.
• Using a black outdoor space e.g. playground at night to do the performance shots, fogged-up breath, spotlights on the band.
• Possible use of stop-motion during some parts of the song.
• Using interesting shots e.g. zooming in on one character's eyes and zooming out on another's; someone walking down the street with everyone walking fast past them.
• Filming parts of the narrative up in London, showing the couple running away.
• Adding a twist in the visual narrative which isn't in the lyrics, maybe they're not as happy as they seem?

LT - Product Analysis # 2

The Killers - Read My Mind
Click here to see the video.

• Performance based (hint at a narrative involving band members).
• Urban location - cultural codes - Japanese writing, lights, busy city, opening shot of main singer has his hands together as in prayer or a sign of being in Japan?
• Focused viewing - enigmatic video requires viewer to watch the video and find out why they're in Japan, why they're in kimonos, what the big green bug is doing there, etc.
• Relationship between lyrics and music - "On the corner of Main Street, trying to keep it in line" - main singer of the band is standing in a crossroads on a busy street as he says this, pointing his hands towards the camera in a straight line.
• Relationship between visuals and music - frequent use of cuts on the beats of the music, slow-paced song and so the video shows the band chilling out, having fun.
• Comedy element with big green bug, Japanese kimono costumes on the male band members, teaching small Japanese school children to dance etc.
• Mid-shot showing the four band members with their arms round each other walking in the park - constructs the typical 'rock/indie' star image/persona, that they all get on well as a band, good friends.
• Intertextual reference to other music videos/old films - bicycle shot, all four band members riding old style bicycles down the street, reinforces their friendship and conveys that they have been friends for a long time.
• Band image developed together, continuity in image within the band - black and white, smart suits with ties (ska?), leathers jackets.
• First person mode of address - singer talks directly to the camera, therefore to the audience, involving them more and drawing them in to the words he is saying and the visuals which accompany them, lip-synching.
• Frequent use of CU - shows the main singer's serious facial expression, allows the audience to get close up to the band.

LT - Product Analysis # 1

Scouting for Girls - She's So Lovely
Click here to see the video.

• Performance / narrative based.
• Definitely an illustrative video as the narrative shows the male band members looking at a girl, which illustrates the main lyric, 'She's so lovely'.
• Performance shots intercut with shots of the narrative concept throughout.
• Genre characteristics - "indie" clothes and hairstyle, performing with his instrument.
• Relationship between lyrics and visuals - illustrative - at a bowling alley, "she's got a boyfriend though and that's a pity" - shot of her kissing a man, "i love the way she bites her lip" - CU of her biting her lip.
• Voyeuristic treatment of the female body - dismembered shots of her lips, legs, feet (male gaze) and bum.
• CU of band members throughout the video show their reaction to her, staring with their mouths open - voyeurism.
• Intertextual reference - 'Grease' era - café/diner, polka dot skirts, neckties, tight 3/4 length jeans, bright coloured clothes (her red shoes - iconic of a strong woman, connotes passion and danger), American feel.
• Ambient consumption - narrative based but illustrative and simple concept, doesn't really enhance the effect of the song in terms of audience engagement.
• Comedy element in the video - he tries to impress her but is rubbish at bowling, drops his bowling ball because he's staring at her.
• Relationship between music and visuals - camera cuts to shots of different men's reacitons to the girl on the different drum beats.
• First person mode of address - singer talks directly to the audience, lip-synching, telling the story to the audience.
• Barthes' cultural codes - understand the bowling alley concept, reference to 'Grease', almost a film narrative as his friend tells him to go and tell the pretty popular girl that he likes her - he says "I think that you are beautiful" to her with his eyes closed as though finding it hard to say it.

interesting ideas for videos

LT - Some Music Track Ideas

Kings of Leon - Knocked Up - rocky, quite serious and sad track, would be good for a performance/narrative based video.
Lazlo Bane - I'm No Superman - acoustic upbeat track, could make a good completely narrative based video about a guy who gets everything wrong.
Regina Spektor - Raindrops - quite an odd track with a woman singing and a piano, narrative/conceptual based video would go well with it.
Damien Rice - 9 Crimes - depressing track with a piano, a man and a woman singing about a broken relationship, would suit a slow-paced performance/narrative video, possibly with the singers as the actors in the narrative.
Tracy Chapman - Fast Car - this is maybe not the best idea, thinking about it, it's quite a well known acoustic song and is quite long and slow paced, performance would be difficult and it doesnt lend itself to a conceptual video, so narrative would have to be the idea.
Travis - Tied To The 90s - lively, fast-paced track which would work well as a mainly performance based video, maybe clips showing the band mucking about together.
OK Go - Do What You Want - fast-paced, upbeat track, similar to the above, narrative based video including the band members in the narrative would suit it.
Eels - Beautiful Day - track from the movie 'Road Trip', upbeat but quite slow-paced, would be good for a narrative based video.
Touch And Go - Would You Go To Bed With Me? - humorous track, quite repetitive but could do anything with it, conceptual mixed with narrative would be interesting, defined and regular beat.
The Scene Aesthetic - Boats and Birds

Don't even know if those links will work but just a few ideas so far. It's really hard to think of a song which will work well!

LT - Why Are Music Channels Commercially Viable?

Although some music channels only appeal to a select niche audience which could be seen as detremental to the business, it is for this very reason that these music channels thrive. Reaching a niche audience ensures that the music videos and advertising on that channel will be broadcasted directly to the target audience, and so their is a much higher chance of the advertising being successful and the music getting through to its specific audience. This will make more money for the channels than if they targeted a general music based audience, and so this makes niche music channels comercially viable.

For example, the Creative Zen advertising Campaign. The Creative Zen was being majorly outsold by its more well-known competitor, the Apple iPod, and so they launched a new advertising campaign in order to make themselves more well known and reach their target audience. Emap produced advertisements for specific music channels such as Kerrang!, Smash Hits and Kiss which would relate to each specific niche audience of music listeners. This enabled Zen to own the majority of the 22 music channels, and they sponsored 272 hours per week. The 6 week sponsorship reached 76% of the core target audience of adults aged 16-34, and they had 46,991 entries into their competition compared to the normal 1,500 entries in a normal competition. Creative Zen Micro had sold out nationwide within weeks.

LT - How Do Audiences Consume Music Channels?

There are two ways in which research has shown that audiences consume music channels; focused and ambient consumption. Focused viewers are attentive viewers who are loyal to certain channels and have a deeper relationship with those that they watch. Focused viewers like to watch recent music videos, their favourite artists and specific programming, and the advertising aimed at focused viewers is clever, entertaining and inspiring. Ambient viewers, however, are passive viewers who consume music channels as a secondary activity. Ambient viewers use music programming in communal situations, as background music or when there is nothing alse to watch, and the advertising is often repetitious and carries long term, image building messages.