More Inspiration

In doing more research for our music videos, we came across some inspiration for the third element to our video.



1) Justin Timberlake "Suit & Tie"
This video had a very beautiful performance element to it.  We'd like to incorporate a vintage-feel to our video and thought that this 1950s vibe was perfect.


2) The Strypes "You Can't Judge a  Book by the Cover"
The star image of these boys - amateur, new artists, young - was exactly what we want for our band.  This will be easier to achieve well from using students in our school to be part of the band.






3) The 1975 "The City" and "Chocolate"
This band's music videos have lots of cityscape imagery which we want our projections on the bodies to look like.  We also were inspired by the overall "look" of the band- the young, quiet, indie rock group.

Our Target Audiences

Online Music

How are artists making a living in the online age?  Which are the best sources for digital music?
People are not consuming digital music in the way that you might expect...

Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.

What is Storyboarding?

Here is a link to my storyboarding presentation:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1BIQ4rGcgXH4RxlBKbqqJ8ewuq-jUtV2j3aVFsKdC0O8/edit?usp=sharing

Timeline

 

 

The Treatment

We have a few different elements that could be put into our music video for "Flawless".

The main components would consist of a performance element (see "the feel") alternating with shots of the band hanging out in an apartment and in the woods.  In keeping with the British style of bands not showing their wealth and riches, but rather where they came from, would be reflected in the dingy apartment.  

The three debatable elements are incorporating a love story/female lead, having this girl and a band member walking through flowers in a building (artificial flowers can be rented from close by) or to have the girl with the dolls, which would mean taking the lyrics very literally ("You're a doll, you are flawless").  

The look that we are going for is, of course, black and white, with images of forests, the band, the girl and the performance as the band is hanging out.  

Treatment

Research: Examples of Black and White Music Videos

Why do artists and directors want their videos to be in black and white?  What kind of songs are most likely to have a black and white  music video?  Above is some more research into the style.

Research for Our Music Video

 In researching for our music video, I have looked into black and white filming and how it adds meaning to videos.  Making a video black and white changes how the audience receives it.

So why, after the invention of colour film, do we still return to basic black and white?

Most of the time, it is a part of the vision of the director.  Black and white film evokes a nostalgia that colour cannot.  It is frequently used to make a point or to pay homage to an earlier time.  In music videos especially, the shadows created are fascinating to look at.

An article from the Guardian explains how black and white film has had a resurgence in recent years:
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/jun/30/black-and-white-movies-comeback


How is it done?

Black and white film can be achieved in an infinite variety of ways, as there is an infinite amount of blacks, whites and particularly greys.  It can be shot or applied in post-production.
Textures, tones, light and shadows all look different when seen in colour vs. black and white, which poses an obstacle for post production work.  It is important to have a keen eye, to strip back the colour, when working in black and white.
Intensity of light, light balance and tonal value can cut out an image altogether or make it stand out too much.  Shooting in the studio where lighting can be controlled is the best solution for this.

Organic Vs. Synthetic Stars

Here is a "Glog" I made about some of my favourite organic stars, The Great Lake Swimmers.  Press play to hear their song "Moving Pictures Silent Films".

 

Here is another "Glog" about Katy Perry, a synthetic star.  Press the play button if you want to listen to her song "Teenage Dream", but you seriously don't have to.

Emily Tedrake: Video Commissioner for Polydor Records

Presenting Our Idea

Today, we presented our group idea to the class and teachers.  I knew that we would need to make a lot of changes and reconsiderations, so I was well prepared to receive some constructive criticism. 

The song choice was not going to be the issue, as "Flawless" has a good beat, length and the lyrics could be interpreted in many different ways - beauty, destruction, societal views on women, love, loss ...

Because we had so many elements that we wanted to incorporate (the band hanging out, performance, narrative, shots of cities) it was sounding somewhat confusing as to what we wanted to say with it.  I thought that the narrative said the most out of anything else, which is why I will develop it and discuss it again with the group. 

We need to do a lot more research as well, not only to find out what we want to say, but to be able to communicate it accurately and have more of a base for our video. We have divided the research topics up (but will be consoldating it on our respective blogs) and  I will be researching more into videos and artists with a stylistic approach similar to ours. 

Logistics will not be an issue for what we are planning to do with the video, as all our proposals can be shot either in the studio or near the school.

What remains to be done is to develop our artist image and identity (instead of just the feel of what we are going for), research more into what we want to do, and think about where we shoul

d take it. 

The Song

The song that we have chosen to use for our music video is "Flawless" by The Neighbourhood.  Released earlier this year, it is a very new song from a relatively new band, and so has not gained much attention or popularity.  The lyrics can be interpreted in any number of different ways (relationship between couple, beauty, otherworldly perfection, death, family, drugs ...)  which leaves our options for the narrative in the video very much open.

Shortly after the release of the song, the band posted a "visualette" to go with it.  Although it could be characterised as a music video, it is more of an anti-video, showing only a girl driving a car for the duration of the song.

This means that we will not feel the urge to imitate the original "video".

A dark, slow, sombre song, I think it will go very well with what our initial ideas have been.

Our First Group Meeting

Today, we met in our groups for our pop music video/promotional campaign.  I am working in a group with Anna and Raf.  We mainly began brainstorming about what type of video style we wanted to do, suggesting songs and showing each other videos styles we liked.  Anna, Raf and I discussed many different styles for our video, including vintage filters and narrative-driven videos.  We thought about a narrative driven video showing a relationship between a teenage boy and teenage girl, who would show their love by just looking at each other, similar to John Newman’s “Love Me Again”, however we decided that it would be difficult to get actors capable of portraying this, as well as the fact that it would be uninteresting to watch after awhile. 

Anna proposed the black-and-white style of shooting, and had taken some footage of New York City over the summer that we may be able to use.  We liked the idea of doing a video similar to those of The Neighbourhood:

We would set up the studio into a sitting room of sorts, where the band would perform, and mix that with the footage of New York City.  The song is undecided, though I have suggested “Dirty Paws” by Of Monsters And Men or something by Arcade Fire. 

In our next meeting, we will be trying to decide on a song and plan in more detail the aesthetic of our video!

Music Video Idea:"We're a Happy Family" by The Ramones

Music Video Idea: "I love the Dead" by Alice Cooper

Music Video Idea: "Dirty Paws" by Of Monsters and Men

Helienne Lindvall and Mike Masnick on Selling Authentic Music Tod

Jamal Edwards

Richard Dyer: The Star Theory

Introduction to Media Studies Advanced Portfolio

The Media Studies Advanced Portfolio entails the creation of a pop music video, Digipack, website and CD cover for an artist which we will fabricate and promote.  It also includes a years coursework in the form of a blog. 

To succeed in this, the pop video must have certain elements (editing to the music, star image, appropriate for target audience) to include.  The Digipack and CD cover should be visually appealing, attract a certain audience and be innovative and interesting.  The website will give a clear idea of who the artist is, promoting their image as well as their music. 

Let's get started!