Animatic Hysteria Muse

We have created the animatic to show that our storyboard fits the song we have chosen to do. We feel happy with this animatic as it has fitted the music well with only a few tweaks to frame lengths of roughly 0.1 or 0.2

Prop List

We will be using
 Hd Camera
Tripod
2 tripod mounted lamps
Bass guitar
Electric guitar
Drum set
3 Band t shirts
3 pairs of black jeans
3 pairs of dark shoes /boots
3 different coloured bandanna's
3 dark coats/trench coats

Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment

When we start to film the music video we will have to be aware of some factors that could be dangerous.

For example when shooting in the garage we will have jack leads trailing along the floor, this could present a trip hazard that could injure one of us when we are filming, There is also a trip[ hazard in the forest, so we will have to be
There is another hazard in the garage because some of the shots have a large Amplifier stack in, this stack is very heavy and could injure someone if they tried to lift it on there own. If you don't bend your knee's when you pick up a heavy object you could get a very serious back injury.

Also with having electrical equipment plugged into the mains like the amp and therefore guitars there is a hazard of electrocution. To prevent this we will won't turn on the the electrics by the mains, because we don't need them for the video,and we won't have any drinks in the garage.

Theory we plan to include

When watching a music video, it is clear that a certain amount of theory has been used within it so that it can have an effect on an audience and eventually and ultimately, become popular.

Within Hysteria, the song we have chosen, there is a definite and noticeable tendency for the lyrics to convey a certain meaning; and that is one of hardship and darkness. They create an obvious sense to the song. Meanwhile however, we have planned four video to convey a meaning via the images that are shown on screen. For this reason it would be easiest to have followed and used an illustrative technique whilst designing our video. However we have decided upon a disjunctive and amplification style. This disjuncture is where our meaning is conveyed and it is not one of complete disjuncture; rather it is disjuncture between the lyrics and the visuals. The type of music played in the song however matches what we plan to create in our music video.

We have storyboarded numerous 'threads' (to quote Roland Barthes) for our video. For example, the point in which our band is present in the woods appears as an enigma code to the audience; and therefore adds interest and brings them further into the music video.
Present also in our storyboard is a semantic code; portrayed by how the rubble/debris of our warehouse location plus the misty and foggy cold woods have further connotations of an apocalyptic feel, adding, what we hope is interest to our video.
We have storyboarded symbolic codes to be present in our work via the use of camera angles. We have included numerous below angle shots of band members, to create 'power shots'. The symbolism present here is that of power, we hoped to have created a piece of work that connotes power via angles of and different shots.

It could be argued that to some extent our video featured what the theorist Laura Mulvay described as the 'male gaze'. However, this is not in a sexist way-the way the 'male gaze' is used to describe features of film and TV drama- as music video involves no female characters; just a full male band. The way in could be described as the 'male gaze' is in the way that the people in the band are made to look powerful and how this is befitting with the music and the beat.

We have storyboarded our music video to be edited in short clips for the majority of the video and this can be seen as a way to draw audiences back a second time as there is not enough time the first time through to grasp the meaning of the shots.
Within this editing; we are both in the fortunate position to own software that if we have not been able to acquire the perfect lighting and elements of the shot we wanted we can therefore edit certain bits in, to add a mysterious presence to our video; such s mist, smoke or fog.

Our camera angles we have storyboarded go some way in seconding the impact of the music. By this I mean we have storyboarded certain shots to help amplify the gravity and enormity of the power coming from the song. Shots we plan to use to do this are those such as pans; to really indicate the power and below angle shots; to help a subject sam more powerful; so that it is fitting with the music.

By doing this; and using these certain elements of music videos; we hope to be able to create a piece of work which attracts audiences; specifically our target audience but also at the same time looks professional.

Representation within our video

To gain the attention of an audience in a similar way to how a professional music video would we have to represent the audience of the genre we have chosen to do. This is noticeable common place in music videos, as a video must approach a target audience. we have specified our target audience as one that is a young adult. we must also target them in a way that approaches the genre of the music.

To do this we have designed our storyboard and planned our video in a way that would entice Alternative Rock audiences in.

One way we have designed our video to match  our target audience is by using camera angles that would be seen in Alternative Rock videos. By this I mean, we have used long shots and mid shots to create 'power-shots' of each member of the band as they play their part of the music. We did this because we noticed how Muse and the song Hysteria were particularly powerful. we created these shots to entice an audience who would be use to viewing them.

We have planned to use fast paced editing in a way that will stick to the beat of the music and amplify the song and its lyrics; again creating powerful tone to the video which is often used in Alternative Rock videos.

Our location will go some distance in representing our target audience and our genre. The choice of a garage conveys darker roots whereas our choice of a forest conveys the passion that Alternative people have for a form of solitude where they can develop creativeness; this is often conveyed via the use of woodlands or forests. Our final location; the warehouse goes to the distance of representing scenery that our target audience would expect from there taste in films and TV drama. We have done this so that we can approach and represent our target audience in ways that go beyond the standard fashion sense.

We took inspiration from other Muse videos and The Twilight Sad in our use of lighting. We identified during storyboarding as lighting being the area that would be critical to the representation of our target audience in our video. We have planned to have darker and lighter shots. It is easy to see how the darker shots fit with our genre and therefore the target audience. We have plans for lighter lighting for one main reason. We want to use it to highlight areas of the song which are particularly powerful. In designing the storyboard; for the parts in the garage location I took particular influence from the Alternative Rock band Biffy Clyro's Many of Horror which uses and amplifies lights in a way that show the editing and the beats within a song. I hope that our target audience which would be shared with a band like Biffy Clyro, will notice this and be interested.

A second area we defined as being particularly important to representing our target audience was that of clothing. We feel that unlike lighting; this is one are we cannot stray from and that we do not have any artistic influence over. It is common place to see a fashion sense amplified and advertised within a genre of music; they go hand in hand. Therefore we decided that our music video would be no different and we have storyboarded our band wearing similar clothes to that of The Strokes, Muse, The Twilight Sad and more Alternative Bands. We expect our target audience to dress casually; but have a slightly darker fashion sense. To represent this in our video we have storyboarded ourselves wearing dark and almost black jeans with darker tops or our bands tops which have a darker logo printed on them.

For one of our locations we are in keeping with our post apocalyptic scene; in which we must wear clothing suitable to our location. Therefore we envisage the wearing of fashionable boots; 'buff' like scarves  and perhaps knee pads of elbow pads. We feel that this goes into the realms of representing our target audience in what they would expect to see in there film taste.

we therefore feel that we have branched out of representing our target audience just by wearing similar clothes. Instead we feel we have gone to new lengths; by branching into what they would expect to see in different media formats, as we both feel that we would be drawn more to a music video that can advertise and represent across our interests in film and TV drama.

Mise en scene of the band

The mise en scene of the band is an important and detailed part of the setup which must be taken into account before production begins. For this reason we have given time to consider how our band should look.

Clothing

The band should look dark primarily, purely to suit the slightly darker song and nature of Hysteria. As a previous blog post describes we are currently in the fortunate position to easily design t shirts in a way that is a realistic and if the band were real, would promote them well. Collectively, we decided that for the parts of the shoot filmed inside, so the verses, we will be wearing these white t shirts with designs on to promote The Almost Fallen, in a way mainstream bands often do. Accompanying these t shirts we will wear dark or even black jeans; to keep in fitting with the darkness of the song. For the two members of the band whose feet will be shown-the lead singer and bassist-Dark shoes or even boots will need to be worn for continuity measures to ensure the video runs smoothly.

In the majority of music videos, certain emphasis is always put on the lead singer and to some extent the lead guitarist. However in our video these two people are the same person. For this reason I feel the lead singer will need to be dressed in a slightly more dramatic fashion. One which stands out and demonstrates the nature of the band. The lead singer will still wear the white t shirt of the The Almost Fallen but on top he could be dressed in a way which is more dramatic.

For shots of the band on location for the Chorus's they will be wearing something which demonstrates the post apocalyptic feel we are aiming for with our music video. They will be dressed in a way which suits the location; for the fist location this will be the woods and for the second location it will be a warehouse with a dilapidated feel.
For this reason the band will be dressed in dark and black colours, wearing perhaps next scarfs or 'buffs' which cane formed into bandannas. We are considering wearing knee pads and protection for the sole reason of aiding the post apocalyptic feel.

Locations


We have picked three locations for our band to be filmed in to create our music video. We have picked an inside location, most likely a garage for the shots of the verses; in which we can tailor design shots of each band member.
The second location our band will be present in is woods. We have picked this after careful deliberation and came to the decision that woods in the right light will aide the idea of the situation being one of post apocalypse. We have decided to film this sequences in an early morning, to maximise as much natural light as possible. We aim to have the light streaming in from behind the band as they run through the woods; mixing the dark of the song with the natural light; creating an interesting effect which we hope fits with the video.
The third location of the video will be in a warehouse. We are keeping this location hidden until the final chorus to create a journey the band are going on. We are going to have the band running through the wood; on there way to the warehouse. We feel this location is adequate as it will appear dilapidated and will therefore be fitting with the central theme of the video.

Lighting


The lighting in the first location will be powered by lamps which we are able to plug in as the garage we are going to use has a power source readily available. We have come to the decision that some of the shots in the garage should be light, to light up the band members. We want to do this so that we can utilise power shots to our advantage. We are doing very quick editing and we want powerful shots of each band member and there respective instruments.
The parts in the warehouse and in the woods we want to be misty and a little darker. Similar to the opening of The Book of Eli on the blog post before this. We want to do this to capture the main theme of our video. The lighting in these parts will dark but not to black; it will be more eerie lighting.

Inspiration for music video across media formats.

We are planning to do our video in a post apocalyptic style, we have taken a lot of inspiration from many different types of media formats.

The book of Eli has many features that would work well in a music video, for instance the camera tint makes the trailer look very bleak and desolate.

Mad Max is a classic example of the post Apocalyptic genre

Games like Borderlands and fallout 3 have also been a big inspiration to the idea of our music video. They both have the post apocalyptic genre that we want our music video to have. Also some of the clothing that they wear would work really well.

Many of the video's and games that we have looked at for inspiration have various dark shades of tint on the screen, we think that it would be a good ideato incorperate this idea into our video, after we fininsh filming and editing we can put the effect in by changing the colour saturation in adobe after effects.
We also thought about having some of the video shot in black and white, because mnay films incorperate monocrome.

Ideas for a video: Mise en Scene- Members of the band

We have been thinking about how we should design the band and its members to suit the song choice and its genre effectively and in a way that will benefit the video and help it look realistic and professional. For some quite numerous and major reasons; such as Our song choice, the genre of the songs original band, their appearance and looks and the basis on which we built out band and what their appearances and looks are, I have decided that it would be suitable for the band to where slightly darker clothing items, something which doesn't given off a depressing feel but something, at the same time, which isn't to joyous.

This idea takes large amounts of influence from Muse and also other bands that we contemplated doing, such as The Strokes. Both of which wear predominantly darker clothes and have a more turned down, darker and minor key feel to what they would wear.

For obvious reasons, let alone the fact that he is the most forward, the lead singer and front man would need to be wearing an outfit that perhaps stands out more, than perhaps the drummer. This is especially important if our video is going to feature shots of the lead singer performing. I feel he will be needing to wear something eye catching and obvious; but having it still in fitting with the bands genre. Inspiration for this could come from bands such as the Killers, as Brandon Flowers often wears obvious and forward clothes.

As is conventional in a music video; I feel that more time should be spent
on the lead singer and the lead guitarist because they are the ones most likely to be known, and recognised by the audience and would thus attract more people to watch the video.

Ideas for video

We have begun brainstorming ideas for our video that we wish to create. The poll has been closed on the blog and we have come to the decision to create a music video for Hysteria by Muse.

We have decided to start thinking of ideas for our video and we have decided that it should be what we have termed a half and half video. Half of the band playing instruments so it can link to the music being played and half of the band in a scenario that is either relative to the music or not. 

I find the idea of creating a sort of post apocalypse video interesting, challenging but overall productive towards the video. Especially as we have decided to do Hysteria. I feel that the song suits this idea well as it is a little more down cast and dark. For this video therefore I feel that the use of darker colours; perhaps dark fish eye lens would work well as it would go some distance to capture the mood of the music and the genre and to build and create lasting tension through a slightly darker song.

I would be interested in perhaps incorporating Black and White effects or blurred effects into the video. One effect I am keen on but would have to be researched more is that of how when a character in the video moves he is seemingly trailed by shadow like versions of himself. I feel that good shots could be had with this effect if the lead singer is filmed moving towards the camera in a way that shows of this trail of figures. I feel that it could be an interesting and useful effect to use. 

The trail effect; however it would be fluid and not stop motion

For the creation and the lasting members of the band, we have come to the decision that both Rhys and I should star in the video with one other person. We are aware of that if we were to do this we would not be able to video a whole band shot as we would not be filming. However I don't feel this is hugely necessary if doing a song by Muse as the music they right is more power rock and therefore we could orientate a video around power stances and shots similar to emphasise the genre of their music.

Following this and perhaps in another way to emphasise the actual music and not just the video, we could use blurred shots and out of focus shots on the band and instead use a micro shot of a mic or perhaps an instrument to highlight the particular genre the song.

An idea that I have had, one that I recognise as being extremely challenging to create and use is that of having the band moving against a fixed background. A technique which often uses a green screen; something that would be incredibly hard to acquire. However this technique could fit into the post apocalypse idea superbly; as they could be travelling alongside run down down and dilapidated building; something we would otherwise not be able to create; or at least not easily.

Feedback from pitch

Having completed our pitch we have received adequate feedback from the rest of the class on how they think it went and what their views of what we are doing are.
Within our pitch, the first thing we did was show the audience our mood board; so basically where the whole of inspiration has come from for the development thus far. I would say that the mood board went down well and that there were no arguments amongst the class and the audience of what music fits into what category and for this reason I feel the class is well aware of what we have in mind-genre wise- and where perhaps we might take our video.

This is the part of the pitch that I developed; the part of explaining where we might take of chosen video, and the genre that accompanies it and what we might do with it. We chose five songs to announce to the class and we described the details of each song that we liked. As was expected, enthusiasm was shown for some, whereas the same enthusiasm didn't stretch to others. For example I would say that out of the five songs we announced; two went down well with the class and one did not sit as well. The two songs which went down well I would say would be Reptilia by the Strokes and Hysteria by Muse. Reasons for why these songs were more popular, I believe lies with the fact that they are both large, well known and popular bands and plus recently they both headlined, arguably the largest festivals in the country; Reading and Leeds. So popularity ran high for both bands. The Song which did not go down as well as I'd hoped personally was Seven Years of Letters by The Twilight Sad. The reason for this is because the song is a bit of a minor key, slightly sadder and more depressing song; picked because the band has the same origins as The Almost Fallen. However, we took the audience views in to account, which is what the pitch is all about and have decided to scrap the idea of using The Twilight Sad.

To enable us to take the views of the audience into account we set up a poll on the blog and announced to the class during our pitch that we would like them to vote on the poll and thus we would base our decision around their views. Because of this we have come to the decision of either Hysteria or Reptilia. A decision we are deciding over carefully as both have equal scope for interesting videos. This is something that was discussed in the pitch and can be seen on our blog.

At the end of our pitch we received questions such as: How many in the band? What style of video will we do? Which song will we use?
These questions allowed us to express ourselves fully to the class but also to receive valuable feedback from the audience on what they think we should do with our video.

T shirts

To Boost followers and awareness for our band we are going to offer free t shirts to people who follow our page on twitter.

Here are three possible designs

Target Audience

We have decided that The Almost Fallen will target older teenagers to adults. Specifically in the ages of around 17 onwards. We have based our decision on this on what we feel many bands that are in the same genre and that are similar; such as Bombay Bicycle Club, The Maccabees and Frank Turner. I feel that these three bands focus on the young adult category largely because they are still nearest this age.

However on the other side of the spectrum I want The Almost Fallen to target slightly older people. This is because of the bands other influences such as Muse, The Killers and The Strokes who are all a little bit older than the last three and have, what Is feel is a more mature age target. I feel that due to the bands biography; they need to be targeting this older age group because the artists themselves are a bit older. The fact that Muse, The Killers and The Strokes have an older target audience and a fairly large following among slightly older people is proof that this is a target audience The Almost Fallen are capable of applying themselves and their music too. 

Within each artist it is easy to identify their individual target audiences. For example; The Maccabees it is their style of music but also how they dress. They follow quite recent dress trends, especially identifying with what I feel would be shops like Topman. Bombay Bicycle Club would seem to target young audiences via there style of singing. In my opinion they are a band that have adopted a particular, "modern" singing style. One which would seem unconventional. Frank Turner would seem to target students via his passionate songs on recent events and travel. Something which students are very much associated with. The Road, One of Frank Turners songs would specifically be seeming to do this via its association with students and parties.

Artists like Muse, The Killers and The Strokes seem to have their target audience set in the older audiences due to the fact that they have been on the music scene for a relatively long time and that age wise; they are more relatable to people closer to their thirties and onwards than to the student age.

This way of having elements associated to an artist or the band that make in plain and obvious what their target audience is is something I feel will be crucial to The Almost Fallen making it. 

Development of a band name: The Almost Fallen

Collectively we have had many ideas for a band name. We were looking to use something Alternative and slightly darker; as this is the creative influence we used to develop the band as a whole. Influences for the band came from other bands such as The Twilight Sad, Muse and Bombay Bicycle Club, which have albums that can be seen as slightly more rock based.

We tried to carry aspects of these bands across into the name of our own by using a random band name generator that allowed us to type in certain key words. This gave us access to use words from the other band names that we liked; or found particularly suiting to our genre of music and the type of band we were using.

We typed fallen-a word we had come across by pressing random article generator on Wikipedia- into the random band name generator and created a list of five by picking a number between one and ten and adding it. We created our list of five and then together came to the decision on what we wanted. We both came to the decision that The Almost Fallen was the type of name we were looking for. Believing it had aspects of the darker genre we are planning to recreate and use.

I don't feel there is the need have a vote of confidence by those in the class on the name we've come across as I think it is perfectly suited to our genre and the face of the band. Having created the band profile and focused this on darker music; I feel that the name, The Almost Fallen fits this well and is what we were looking for. It advertises to the certain audience we are looking for, one which favours darker Alternative music. Such as fans of The Twilight Sad.

Speech for Pitch-first draft

We are thinking of doing Bombay bicycle club's What If song as it is a song we are both very aware of; having listened to it many times. We feel the song would be appropriate for us to make a music video of as it is fitting with the music genre we have chosen and it relates well to the context we developed our band in. By this I mean our band have slightly Rocky roots but play alternative music. We feel that with this being one of Bombay Bicycle club's more “hard” songs, we could use it, saying that it was one of the earlier pieces of work “The Almost Fallen” developed and made. Within the song the lyrics are easy to understand and follow which gives us scope to create and direct either a directly illustrative music video or a disjunctive video which directly contrasts what the lyrics within the song are telling us. I feel this is a useful technique to use as it can help directly project the meaning of the song; however in alternative ways.

Out of the songs we are considering for a possible song, we decided upon Reptilia by the Strokes.

We feel this would suit our bands music ethic as the Strokes are listed as “Alternative” in itunes but they are heavier than what many people would associate with the alternative genre. This is exactly the type of music we are looking for The almost Fallen to be associated. We feel that the lyrics within the song are hard to understand but they are interesting to listen time and therefore we are given an opportunity to develop an usual and alternative video to surround the song and the lyrics. We are keeping this song in contention for our choice of song due to this creative influence it would enable to have over the video.

We are considering doing Black Wax by Dananananykroyd. We are Considering doing this song because similarly to the other two songs; it fits our Alternative genre perfectly. A second reason we are considering this song is because having listened to the lyrics of the song we can see that it makes no sense and this has given us an excellent opportunity to create another very creative music video. Allowing use to develop the video from our own perception of what the lyrics mean. This gives us great scope to develop something unusual and truly in the Alternative genre. The cheerier and more upbeat side of the music can give good scope for either a darker video for a moodier disjunctive video, or an amplification video in which a cheerier mood can be projected via the use of camera angles and possibly effects.

The Twilight Sad are a band I have been interested in for awhile I like the idea of being able to do a video for the song Seven Years of letters. The Twilight Sad are the band that in my head, The Almost fallen are based on. They are a harder Scottish band; from which I took inspiration for two of the people within the band mentioned in the band profile. Seven years of letters is a seemingly good song as it is an alternative song with lyrics that can mean a number of things. Giving the chance for a good creative video in which we can choose whether we want it to be illustrative, amplification or disjunctive. The moody side which The twilight sad have to there music, especially in this album, I feel gives good scope for interesting use of effects; or showing a darker side to a music video. Much like within Ed Sheeran's A Team music video which is a very dark and dingy music video.

Muse are a band that we have imagined to be very similar to The Almost Fallen. In the Band profile we commented on how the lead singer of the band felt he had a connection to Matt Bellamy as they were both from the south. A possible song we have chosen is Hysteria because it is the type of rock we feel The Almost Fallen would play as it inspiring and uplifting. Because of the type of music Muse play; the futuristic, conspiracy theory themes that run throughout their songs we feel we have excellent scope for an interesting and unusual music video which shows the other side of music and music videos. One which would seem relevant to the music and the lyrics.

Presentation

Market Research

Having conducted research into the most downloaded songs of 2010, it is easy to see which songs, their artists and which genres are most popular. It would seem that the dance and pop genres are particularly popular. However, I would not take this as a reason to change the genre of the music we want to do. This is because having conducted the research, I found that in 2010, Coldplay's Every teardrop is a waterfall was listed as being 39th. I was in particular looking for music such as Coldplay's as I would deem these a band most similar to what The Almost Fallen Will be like. Having downloaded the album myself, I also looked for Mumford and Sons album; again because they are a band that fits the same genre of music as The Almost Fallen. Having conducted this research I found that Sigh No More, Mumford and Sons latest album came in at a reassuring sixth place in the most downloaded albums of 2010. To me this suggests that there is plenty of scope for The Almost Fallen to be received well.

However, without the use of the internet, the amount of people listening to alternative music has not only increased but is still increasing. Music like the Maccabees and Bombay Bicycle Club have became increasingly popular. The Alternative genre has became increasingly popular, not only in music terms. It is increasingly obvious that the Alternative genre is becoming increasingly popular just from the clothes people are wearing.


I would say that we are still set to use the Alternative genre as because of
the contrast between more Commercial music and Alternative music; it appeals to a very different audience and is therefore still in a position to be well received.

mood board

Audience Profile

Audience Profile: Jared Matthews

Jared is currently a full time student studying Politics at Leicester University. His hobbies include Photography, playing guitar, mountain biking and listening to live music. He recently has been to Reading Festival and currently has tickets to see The Kooks, Bombay Bicycle Club and Noah and the Whale.
The almost fallen suit his music taste as they are within the alternative music genre. Reading festival was more suited to Jared's taste that other festivals such as V Festival or T in the Park because Reading has a slightly more Rock orientated roots. Which are the Roots The Almost Fallen claim to come from.
Jared's A Level subjects included slightly more essay based subjects such as Media, Politics, English and History.
He often social networks; having both a Twitter account and a Facebook account, he uses both to keep in touch with his strong social group and to follow bands and artists that he likes. He checks twitter frequently to be sure he is first to hear about up and coming albums being released by his favourite artists.

Almost Fallen twitter account

http://twitter.com/#!/TheAlmostFallen

I have now set up a twitter account as our fake band Almost Fallen, We will now attempt to get a following.

Band Profile: The Almost Fallen

The Almost Fallen were once  a two piece band from Carlisle. Having studied management at Dumfries university; bassist Nicholas Morris began work at the stationary super giant Staples. having been working at Subway for a couple of years, drummer Jason Aubrey started bumping into Morris at the local Tescos quick food counter. After a few weeks Aubrey learnt that Morris played bass. Soon a quick two piece had been set up and after a couple of jams "No Kind Words" was established.

 A year later Miles Scarcliffe graduated from Newcastle with a degree in medicine. Lacking the inspiration to start work, some would say he foolishly took a year out. However to Miles it was the best decision he would ever make. Meeting Aubrey and Morris in "The Northern Boot" a tinny pub outside of Carlisle. Soon "No Kind Words" had a lead singer and also a new name. "Almost Fallen" were formed, with Miles taking on the role of charismatic lead man, promising to take the band places. Whilst Aubrey and Morris worked, Scarcliffe focused his energy on song writing. Whilst his parents dispaired, Miles formed the music that took the band to headline the Festival Republic stage at Reading and Leeds in 2010. The past year has seen the band lie relatively low, playing only one of gigs. However, vigilant blog posting lead fans to realise a new album-the recently released "realistic approaches"-was on its way.

Describing their influences and inspirations as anything from power rock heroes Muse (Matt Bellamy especially as Scarcliffe himself comes from the south), Scottish Indie band Frightened Rabbit and the harder rock of the Twilight Sad.

Genre of Music video has been decided

We have decided that the genre of our music video is going to be Alternative indie. We decided on this genre because its the music that we are both most aware of. 

Here is a list of some of the artists in this defined genre,  these are artists we would consider using a song from.

Raconteurs

Bombay bicycle club

Death Cab for Cutie

Friendly Fires

Mumford and sons

Temper Trap

Two door cinema club

Bon Iver

The Maccabees

Jack Johnson

Frank Turner

Pigeon Detectives

Task four

why did you choose the text you are analysing?

I choose to analyse Black Wax by Dananananaykroyd because I thought it was a good song that shows the main conventions of the alternative genre. But also i really liked this song, it has the quality that you can keep playing it over and over again and not get bored.

In what context did you encounter it?
I Encountered this song by downloading it free from Itunes, i listened to the preview of the song and i thought it was really good so  I downloaded the whole song.

what Influence do you think this context might have had on your interpretation of the text?
well when I first listened to the song it was on the itunes song of the week, so I thought it must be worth a listen, but being on the song of the week didn't influence me on liking the song as I don't always like the song of the week on itunes,  I listened to it because I like the alternative genre and also the song had a really unique guitar line that built up to a really memorable chorus.

which conventions of the genre do you recognise in the text?
The different guitar line, and the different way the band approaches the song, as the band is made up of two singers and three guitarists. the randomness of the lyrics seem to be a fairly large part of the alternative/rock genre and this was apparent in this song, for example  'From kinky buses to rickets ladders for a thousand foot tunnel and the world underground, step out from your heavy breath crouch, breaking to the point pleased to meet you', the lyrics make no sense what so ever.

To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre?
The text doesn't really move to far from the normal characteristics of the genre except from its unusual make up of two lead singers.

Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre?
Instead of doing any close ups of the two singers the music video seems to do extreme close ups of the bassists eyes, i think they do this to make reference to the lyrics "wrap her in plastic" and as she is the only female person in the band they seem to give her more personal shots to display the fact that they have a female member in the band playing bass, stereotypes would suggest that this is out of the ordinary but the video displays how its just a normal part of every day music.

What sort of audience did you feel that the video was aimed at (and how typical was this of the genre style of music)? 
I felt that the audience that the band was trying to aim at was a more indie audience because of the appearance of the two main singers, but the genre of the music was more rocky that indie so it would seems that the video was aimed at both fans of alternative and indie, this is quite typical because the walls of these two genres are very thin so to speak, there are many similarities between the two, so this video doesn't really stray out of the genres characteristics.

What sort of person does it assume you are?
I would probably say someone who is into alternative and likes to see innovation in both music and the video, hence the less common shots of the singers, and at the chorus a face paced alternating shots of both singers saying one word of the chorus.

What assumptions seem to be made about your class, age, gender and ethnicity?
The randomness of the lyrics and catchy chorus can really be applied to anyone, so you can't really associate a class or gender to this song, but the video style would suggest that the song is aimed at a slightly older audience of about 15-25. The song is doesn't present a specific genre and the lyrics don't have specific meaning that only one gender would get, also race is really defined in the song either as alternative doesn't really have a large ethnic base.

What interests does it assume you have?
well obviously it assumes music because you wouldn't be listening to it if you didn't have an interest in music, the style of music video is very grey and black suggesting that the watcher would have more of a preference to darker colours, the video is a straight forward Illustration so it assumes you don't mind watching a band perform as a music video.

What relevance does the text actually have for you?
I don't tend to think that music needs a relevance, and especially this video as you cannot relate to the lyrics because they don't have a meaning, so relevance can't be achieved there but the song can be relevant because I like the sound of it, and that really the only reason why i like the song.

What knowledge does it take for granted?
That you know that the lyrics don't make sense, and that the song is all about just listening to the music and enjoying it for the sound, not the meaning.

To what extent do you resemble the 'Ideal reader' that the video seeks to position you as?
I enjoy a great many number of genres and a whole selection of music video types, I don't mind if its amplification, Illustration or disjuncture I only care if its good. To an extent I'm not the Ideal reader for this video because I will like the song but I won't necessarily like any other of the bands songs or albums, the video has a lose enough way of presenting the song that an Ideal reader is a hard idea to grasp.

Are there any notable shifts in the video's style(and if so , what do they involve)?
Later in the video a load of confetti bursts from the ceiling and rains down onto the band.

What responses does the video expect from you?
I think the video expects you to enjoy the simplicity of the video, and then in turn appreciate the complexity in the song.

How open to negotiation is your response(are you invited, instructed or coerced to respond in  particular ways)?
well you could say you are coerced to see the chorus at the end the most exciting part of the song because of the explosion of confetti, but it could just be there to keep the watcher interested.

Is there any penalty for not responding in the expected ways?
I would say that there isn't.

To what extent do you find yourself reading against the grain of the text and the genre?
I find that I don't really find myself reading against the grain of the text or genre much at all, because i don't put a specific list of things to expect of specific genres like alternative.

How typical do you think this video Is of  music videos?
I think its pretty common but certain parts set it apart from them , like the confetti and the random shots of a dog.

Task 4- Evaluating The Road by Frank Turner

1. Why did you choose the text you are analysing?
I choose this text because it is a song that I am found of, a song that I have been listening to for a number of years and it a song from my favourite music genre and also the music genre that has been decided on for our piece of coursework.

2. In what context did you encounter it?
I encountered this song from my brother; who had recently told me he had enjoyed it and that I would like it. I didn't myself download this one item but I did purchase the rest of the album and others.

3. What influence do you think this context might have had on your interpretation of the text?
I think I was wary going into listening to the music; as I had never heard the song before. However, as tyne song began I enjoyed it; as it agreed with my music taste.

4. Which conventions of the genre did you recognise in the text?
Whilst watching the video for The Road I noticed that both Frank Turner's casual clothing and his acoustic guitar and singing style were both conventions of the alternative genre. Alongside this was the idea that all those featured within the video were also dressed in a casual manner.

5. To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre?
This text can be seen to be stretching the conventions via how at some points in the song, the music becomes louder and more Rock orientated. However Fran Turner often does this with his music.

6. Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of this genre?
If it was to depart from the Alternative genre, it would be at the chorus. This is because this is a position in the song where the artist can relate and fall back to his roots. In this situation, these roots happen to be a more heavier rock.

7. What sort of audience did you feel that the video was aimed at (and how typical was this of the genre/style of music)?
I would say that this video was aimed at a predominantly student demographic. In a way that targets previous fans of Frank Turner and those who, like in the song, like to travel. It would seem to target an accommodating audience, as this features heavily in the video via the many different locations.

8. What sort of person does it assume you are?
I would say that this video assumes that I am a student that enjoys to travel and to go out as is shown in the video, to parties and such like.

9. What assumptions seem to be made about your class, age, gender and ethnicity?
I would say that video would perhaps appeal and assume the majority of viewers are middle class; as this is the class of the artist. I would suggest it is assuming the majority of the audience are young, as they feature heavily in the video, involved in activities that the young enjoy.

10. What interests does it assume you have?
I would say that the text assumes that I have an interest in this type of music genre and that I to like to drink and be involved in house parties.


11. What relevance does this text actually have for you?
Apart from the fact I enjoy Alternative music and that I am partial to going out with friends this texts holds the relevance that I desire what is described in the video and within the song. I desire to travel and therefore there is particular relevance between this video and what I wish to do.


12.What knowledge does it take for granted?
I would say this particular text takes no knowledge for granted.

13. To what extent do resemble the "ideal reader" that the video seeks to position you as?
I would say that I do resemble the ideal reader to quite an extent as I enjoy and desire to more travelling, I enjoy Alternative music, clothes and ideals and at the same time play guitar and are interested in music.

14. Are there any notable shifts in the video's style (and if so, what do they involve)?
There are none.

15.What responses does the video seem to expect from you?
One which is interested in what is happening in the video, or one which would be nostalgic. The song and video could seem to bring back memories of previous travelling experiences.

16. How open to negotiation is your response (are you invited, instructed or coerced to respond in particular ways)?
As this video is an illustrative one; one which simple describes what is being portrayed in the lyrics we simple shown the exact meaning got the song. We are invited to see exactly what the artists want s us to see.

17. Is there any penalty for not responding in expected ways?
There is not; alternative music and texts are open to responses of different kinds.

18. To what extent do you find yourself "reading against the grain" of the text and the genre?
I did not find I was at all as alternative music is a favoured genre I often understand what I am supposed to be reading from the texts.

19. How typical do you think this video is of music videos?
I would say that to some extent it is due to it being obviously illustrative; a form which many videos are. However I would also argue it differs as it strictly illustrates the lyrics from then song. Which are vastly different that many other songs illustrated by illustrative videos.

The lyrics at the start of the video sync with the singer so there are elements of illustration going on, this then cuts to a woman when the lyrics state I was walking on the street when out the corner of my eye i saw a pretty little thing approaching me, we get to see a woman, she is introduced at the point in which the lyrics mention her so this is straight forward illustration, though we also get small shots of a snake and an eagle, this pretty much links in with the video as it has an old west kind of feel to it because of the slide guitar part, hence the american desert/cowboy theme.

  

this shot is slightly more disjunctive as the old couple don't seem to have any link to the music, though they could be a link to there 'aint no rest for the wicked', the lead singer being wicked meaning there giving him disapproving stares because he has been consorting with the wrong people, eg. the woman at the start.




We get another straight forward illustration shots of the band playing here to break up the more disjucntive shots, giving the video a more wholesome feel ,  I think having the video completely disjuntive makes the viewer lose interest because they don't know whats going on, breaking up the disjuncture  allows them to see the band and gives them a chance to piece together the music video .

The rest of the video from this point is very disjucntive and surreal, it uses many of the themes from the previous part of the video but starts to alter them appearing like some type of drug trip as every seemingly starts to change before the singers eyes, there are some moments of clarity in parts were we get the singer syncing into a couple of lines of the song,  it looks a bit more lucid in some parts, like coming sown from a drug induced high.
The video is very strange as it seems to start out backwards as well, starting with the trip from the car after they crash, and ending on the crash, having the parts where he is waking on his own at the start gives  the video more a build up towards the disjunctive sequence towards the end.  I think its a very smart video because it many parts it seems totally disjunctive but when you look into it you see small details like the american west style of the song and the props link together. 

Editors Bullet

Bullet-Editors
At first this music video appears to be illustration as we first see the band playing, this theory is then changed when we get a shot of the lead singer and an old man, this first clip already provides the viewer with unanswered questions, who is the old man?, what his part in the video?, this keeps the viewer interesting and acts as a hook to draw the viewer in. It doesn't seem to have any links with the music yet and there hasn't been any lyrics. So this video appears to be amplification as it isn't completely abstract as we have the band playing at the start.
in this clip we get some generic shots of the lead singers face, and single shots for the other two members of the band, these are generic shots for a normal music video, providing some illustration.

Again we have another amplified theme here, as there isn't a strong link to the music or lyrics, but she is dancing perhaps to the music, I wouldn't call this disjuncture because there has been a subtle link between these seemingly random shots between the clips of the band playing, you just can't see it yet this early on in the video.






at the start of this clip we get some very basic illustration shots of the band performing, this just gets the song back on track after the more disjunctive shots, the video then cuts to a man who is stretching, without the lyrics this shot would be very disjucntive but the lyrics are "you don't need this decease, no not right now" implying that either the man has been ill already and undergone some surgery hence the scar and the lyrics could be linking in saying that he doesn't need another bad thing to happen to him because he has just recovered. keeping the link with the music the video then cuts back to a shot of the drummer playing, and then back to a closeup of the the lead singer, these standard shots are illustration followed by a more disjunctive shot of the topless man dancing, though it could be said that it linked back in with the girl dancing to the music earlier on in the music video.




With this shot of the two lads driving a car round the field i feel that the video has gone a bit disjucntive again, but when I listened the the lyrics I thought about them less literally and found that you could say that the two lads were the disease, as it looks like they have stolen the car, saying that the person who had the car stolen doesn't need this to happen right now.





the lyrics at the start of this clip state "something has to give, and it always will" this is amplification because in the shot there is a boy flicking his food at a man implying that the man is getting very impatient and he might snap at the boy ("something has to give", e.g. the mans patience").





There is a link in this shot as we see a boy kick the wicker chair that the guitarist was sitting on in second 30 of the clip, bringing in themes of amplification because during the videos the band members seem to have no effect on the people in the video one of them was standing in the kitchen when the boy was flicking beans at the man and they paid him no notice.



In this clip we see more amplification as the two lads hitting the car are in time with the drums in the music, hitting the car on specific notes, I though this was a really smart way of presenting the music instead of a straight forward approach of Illustration e.g. multiple shots of the band.




I thought that this was a really good ending the to the video as it fitted in really well with the lyrics, showing lots of different people who looked sad and downhearted like they didn't need the disease, "no not right now", also the lyrics are then you won't fall down, using a bit of amplification here to present many people who have different problems but they won't let it get them down, e.g. the old man trouble with the kid, the girls problem with her leg.
I found that this video seemed to have a lot of disjunctive but you had to look hard to find many underlying themes of amplification.

At the beginning of this video there is a large amount of disjuncture. This disjuncture takes of the job of keeping the audience of the video interested in what is happening. This happens because we, as an audience don't have a full understanding as of yet what the song would seem to be bad. Therefore the beginning of the video is as equally alien to us as it is to the lyrics. This is an effective way of keeping an audience interested and wanting to watch more. I think it is a useful technique and perhaps one I would copy in my own video. However I would be wary of using at any other point than the beginning of the song; as this could be seen as confusing and upsetting to the rhythm and movement of the video.



Following this is the use of illustrative techniques. This can be seen by the way that the video seems to be acting out what is happening within the lyrics. The lyrics seem to be suggesting he is a poor boyfriend and that his girlfriend is "naive" to his ways; unlike so many others. This illustrative technique is a useful tool to use if the meaning of the song is quite complicated (as I feel the song "Naive"is) and therefore can be useful in explaining a deep and meaningful idea behind such complicated lyrics. This, I feel is engaging to an audience and something I look for in a video and is therefore something I would be interested in incorporating in my piece of work. Especially is the lyrics of my song are hard to grasp.



There is use again of the illustrative seen often in this song. Here it describes how she came out to get him. There is a direct link between the lyrics and the video, as it shows the girl trying to get to him, only to have him push her away. This links to the idea of Naivety. The idea he pushes away someone who could have been good for him, shown by the lyrics :her sweet and pretty face." This disjuncture-the idea she was being naive and now he is-contrast sharply with the illustrative, straightforward approach taken at the same time. This is an interesting effect which helps shows to sides of an argument within the lyrics. However I think it could be to confusing for an audience and therefore I would try to avoid incorporating this effect.



Disjuncture is used at this point in the video to contrast the lyrics. This helps portray the lead singers "Naivety" It would seem he is singing about how he thinks the girl likes him, and "stays out for him" however in reality she doesn't, as shown here by her presence with another lad. This use of contrast between the lyrics and the video helps portray and project the image naivety well. I therefore think contrasting messages between the video and the lyrics help portray a message well and is something I should try and incorporate.