For our production, we would need to locate potential spots that we could film our music video. We looked at our storyboard and collated ideas about ideal local locations. Our video requires an old TV as the subject in certain remote locations and church interiors. We went to the local church, as alot of the shots are based around the TV and ventriloquist being in the church. Some of the images above show the local church that we are planning to film at. As the TV also need to be in remote locations, the moors, woods and riverside and nearby fields would be perfect locations for the shots that we are looking for. There are lots of different potential locations for the remote location shots within a small distance meaning that the video will be able to be done effectively with lots of different style locations.
For the other shots, such as performance, this would be done in the studio at school with a band and lead singer.
Some of the images above show the types of locations that we scouted and are likely to be used when filming.
Below shows the tweet of the location scout so the potential audience can be kept informed of the progress of the production.
To publicize our music video after completion, we have setup a combined twitter account. This is to post updates and images of our production of the music video so potential audiences and fans can be informed of the production. The updates will make audiences talk about or music video, therefore spreading opinion about or production. This will potentially will make the final audience larger, therefore being successful. Using twitter means that we can tweet about any stage of the production. This could be the planning, location scouting, prop hunting, filming and editing. This first tweet shows the potential location that may be used in the music video.
Elden overall I think you're making great progress but there are some gaps which are bringing your mark down slightly. I've currently got your R+P mark at 17/20 - you need to improve your audience work. More bands should be included and a better summary about what you've learned about your target audience and what to do in your video to appeal to them.
I created a storyboard to plan the shots that would be in the video. This means I could then use this when shooting, to get the correct shot types and framing for the video. The storyboard helps when shooting as it is visual. This means I can compare the shot on the camera to the storyboard frame.
This is the lyric sheet for the plan of the footage for the video. This is so we could visually see where the shots would be in terms of the timing of the song and the lyrics. This means that we could then just brainstorm ideas that could potentially be added into the video. The timings could then be seen on the sheet, as the shots could be pointed at the lyrics to tells us when we want specific shots or scenes to come on to the video.
Julian Casablancas + The Voidz are an American rock band formed by Julian Casablancas who is the lead singer of The Strokes. The band consists of Casablancas (lead vocals) as well as Jeramy Gritter (guitar), Amir Yaghmai (guitar), Jake Bercovici (bass guitar, synthesizers), Alex Carapetis (drums, percussion) and Jeff Kite (keys). They come under the genres of: experimental, psychedelic and noise rock, post punk and neo psychedelia.
"They bonded over their love of beat-driven music and aggressive as well as avant-garde music but with the power of modern harmonies to make it catchy and powerful. A punk band that can also play any style of music, and take pride in their versatility"
-http://www.cultrecords.com/artist/julian-casablancasthe-voidz
In interviews they have said they like to leave the music open to interpretation of those listening however they describe it as "half joking and half political".
On September 23, 2014 they released their first album on Cult Records with music videos for the two singles "human sadness" and "where no eagles fly".
The video for human sadness was directed by Warren Fu with a live recording of the band playing as they didn't want the video to affect how people hear the song. The video is narrative through stories of each band member then shows them performing also. While their other music video shows footage of the band touring that looks likes its taken on a 80s vhs camera and is darker which fits with the more punk style of the music.
Prior to the release of their album they released videos introducing the band and the album
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv2sIM-BwdM&list=RDyv2sIM-BwdM
They also have a website and Facebook page where they promote what they are releasing in the future.
Julian Casablancas & The Voidz - Human Sadness
There are lots of conventions to signify the genre and style of music. The video has lots of performance shots with instruments such as guitars and drums. The performance shots tend to be of the band included with the lead singer, as they want the audience to appreciate the music as well as the lyrics. This is to represent the genre of music by showing the instruments used in the song. This is a typical convention of rock music videos as it shows the style of music. Costume is also has a huge impact of the genre of the music. Typically the band will wear darker clothing, including dark black leather jackets. This signifies the genre and style of the music. In this video, the clothing of the band typically represents the song as if it was written in the 80's or 90's instead of 2015. Also the hair styles of the band members tend to have longer hair to represent their personality and the audience can assume their interest in music. This signifies to the viewer they type of music they are going to hear along side the video.
Lots of rock videos also have conventions of war in the narrative. This is typical narrative idea as it conveys the style and genre of music. Some rock videos can come across to be aggressive meaning that the aspect of war would be a suitable topic to base a video on. As the whole idea behind war is to fight and be aggressive against the other side, means that the music can come across this way. The director deciding to use war as an aspect means that it would be appropriate for the genre of music.
Another typical convention of rock videos is the background of the shot. Throughout the video, lots of shots with storms and lightning is shown to signify the style of music. Using these shots shows the mood of the music relating it to the visuals. The clothing and guitar conventions are also used within this one shot to further apply to the conventions and signify the rock genre. The storm suggests the mood of the music therefore applying to the aggressive war convention too. This supports the aggression form the song making it link more with the music. This shot also links with the progression of the song, by using the storm, suggests the tempo of the song. This is typical of rock videos as it tells the viewer the mood and tempo of the song at this time.
This next shot shows a character in the narrative being aggressive towards another person. This supports the convention of aggression due to the violence in this shot. Using this fight scene clearly represents the mood of the song at this point in time, the use of dark shots with low key lighting also supports this. Low key lighting is another typical convention of rock videos due to it creating a dark atmosphere or theme for the video so it matches the mood of the song. Although high key lighting is used on occasion to emphasize the focus on the performance of the band.
The Strokes - Under Cover of Darkness
The music video is all performance, therefore lots of instruments are shown, such as guitars and drums. The whole band is featured in the video, therefore applying to typical rock conventions. This is due to the director and artists, wanting the music to be as just as important as the lyrics. The performance shots use high key lighting to emphasis the focus on the band and the music. This is a typical convention of the rock genre, as it shoes the importance of the band towards the song. Towards the end of the video, blue light is used to represent the mood of the song and how the viewer should interpret this. The blue light connotes the mood of the song therefore linking it to the visuals. Costume is another typical convention of the rock genre, as the clothing that they wear represents their personality, which connotes the genre of music.
CRX - Ways to Fake It
The music video is also performance, meaning that the typical instrument convention is obviously used. High key lighting is also used within the performance shots emphasizing the focus on the band. The video is set outside in a secluded area so the focus is on the band instead of the background behind them. Due to the performance shots being set and the main focus of the car drifting around a race track suggests the style and representation of the personality of the lead singer. Using cars in the video is not a typical convention of a rock video but, they are quite a common occurrence, in the videos. The clothing of the band is a typical convention representing the genre of music.
CRX - On Edge
The music video is all performance, therefore guitars and drums are shown within the video. Black and white is also used which is a typical convention of rock music videos as it represents the mood of the song. Using a combination of black and white and the grainy disrupted TV signal lines makes the video look older, therefore representing the music style as an older song. The editing style is fast pace, meaning the cuts are frequent and shot lengths are minimal. The speed and tempo of the music, is represented by the pace of the editing and the narrative shots. Due to the close-ups of the central protagonist, the viewer can see emotions of the character clearly. As they represent themselves as an angry character, means that the music is quite likely to be aggressive too. The close-ups are typical conventions in rock music videos, especially in narrative or concept shots. The close-ups help us to focus on the characters emotions meaning we can denote and decode their emotions and link it back to the music.
Wolfmother - New Moon Rising
This video is also another performance video, therefore guitars and drums are shown in the video. Due to the style of music, the editing style adds filters and distortion to the image, to make the video feel older therefore applying with the style of the music. Using the distortion represents the music therefore the director wants the audience to decode that the song is an older style, even though it was not published in the 80's or 90's. The set has very high key lighting meaning therefore making the subjects in the shot very hard to see, as they are silhouettes. This is due to the director encoding the idea of them hiding their identity, which connotes the meaning of the song, and portrays their personalities.
Volbeat - Devil's bleeding crown
This video is both performance and narrative. The band are shown playing with an audience therefore there are drums and guitars shown again as in many videos of this style of music. It is quite dark with dark clothing which is typical of the heavy rock/metal genre with a fight as part of the narrative that shows aggression which fits with there style of music. The close ups are mainly of the lead singer and main character of the narrative which means throughout the video they are focused on.
Five finger death punch - Wash it all away
As like many of the previous videos this one is also performance with the band playing live to an audience which is a common theme with rock and metal videos. It shows them performing on a tour with the band on stage and backstage. It has close ups of the band members and members of the audience which shows their facial expressions and how they are reacting to the music. It also has fire as part which adds to the aggressive tone of the music.
Avenged sevenfold - Hail to the king
This video is black and white with skulls shown throughout the video which emphasis that it is of the metal genre. It is a performance video with the band playing in a studio with rums and guitars and close ups of these and the lead singer. The editing is quite fast paced to fit with the music. Religious symbols are shown throughout the video along with skulls which are both common themes within the metal genre.
Julian Casablacas + the voidz - Where no eagles fly
This video is performance with close ups of the band performing and their instruments throughout the video along with shots of the band and some concept shots. The editing is fast and flickery with images that appear and distortion the the video with some shots in black and white and others with low key lighting with gives a dark feeling to the video. This makes the video look as though it is a punk videos from the 70s/80s which fits with how the song sounds as it is more of the post punk genre.
Typical conventions of this genre
All of the videos, generally have images of guitars and drums. This seems to be a typical convention of most rock videos as it represents the genre of music, through the instruments.
Another typical conventions of the sub-genre (noise-rock) is the distortion and black and white imagery. The distortions suggest the representation of the age of the song, this then relates to the music as it fits in with the style of music.
Another convention is the settings of the shots that connote aggression. This is to relate to the mood and meaning of the music.
This relates to the convention of aggressive actions between characters within the narrative. This also relates to the mood of the music.
When I was looking at music videos for inspiration for my own idea, Michel Gondry had directed some of the most interesting ideas when interpreting the music into visuals. I then researched what music videos he had directed, and lots of them had an interesting concept behind them.
Lots of the video were also unique from others making them stand out, making them more interesting. The music video from 'The White Stripes - City Lights' has an interesting concept as it told the story through condensation on a glass shower door. This gives the music video a unique element to it as the narrative is being told in a completely new way, not being the conventional shots of a character in a setting. The drawings fade away perfectly in time with the music so new drawings can be displayed. This is so the narrative can progress.
Another video that is very unique is 'Dick Annegarn - Soleil du soir'. Throughout the whole video, it tells a narrative of the journey of an old man going to the cafe and getting a drink. The video has a twist with the world around him going really fast, but him still making the same journey. This is to suggest that he does the same thing everyday making the viewer realize what the typical life of an older person is. This is to show his routine of everyday by drawing, reading an then walking to the cafe for a drink. This will then link to the music and lyrics as the narrative displays the meaning behind the song. The whole aspect of the world going really fast suggests that what his life is like. As he feels that the world is progressing quickly, due to his age and because he is doing the same thing everyday.
Another video is the 'White Stripes - The Denial Twist'. This video is also very unique due to the illusions and stretching of the image. This video also has a narrative but it is all shot in a studio. Using illusions and stretching the video is instantly made unique and represents the type of music.
The illusions within the set are used in the video, this makes an interesting concept. Also due to the stretch of the shot changing, as they move rooms, makes the video different. Using the stretch, can tell the viewer what type of music this is going to be, signifying the genre, and message behind the video. The stretch makes the viewer realize that something isn't quite right, disrupting the image and making them focus on certain aspects of the shot, as it is stretched.
All three videos have a directors style which is unique to all of his videos therefore, I have been inspired to make something completely different from the conventional video. Gondry's videos all have a unique aspect to the way the plot is told making the narrative interesting. This made me, as a viewer interested and watch the whole video, which is what the director and record label wants us to do. This director will have an influence on my idea, making it more unusual with a unique aspect.
Five Finger Death Punch - Wrong Side of Heaven Idea
This idea is based around the song. As the song talks is typically about war, and how he is unsure about whether it was right to kill all of the people on the enemy side. The song is quite religious meaning that lots of iconography of religious symbols can be used to represent the song and link the visuals with the soundtrack. The video would have a clear narrative with performance shots of the lead singer and the band. The narrative and performance shots will be cut together switching between the two types of shot. The performance shots will fill in the gaps of the video and help to add to the narrative.
The narrative will consist of the the main character walking alone in the countryside, and it will imply that he is thinking about the message behind the song. At the start of the song, the visuals will show the main character walking through the woods, by the river, through fields, etc. As the song progresses, it will show the main character walking through a graveyard. This will then symbolize the message of him being guilty for killing all of the people in the war. The shot will then progress onto shots of the church which has iconographic meanings.
To gather more information about what type of audience would watch our genre of music video, we created a questionnaire. We included questions about what they liked to see from a music video, the types of genre of music they like to listen to, and asking if they have heard of similar band to genre we are working in.
We sent out the questionnaire to lots our main primary audiences and other audiences with a variety of ages, so we could see who would actually watch our music video. This is so we can meet specific genre conventions, and include messages or iconography that they would be able to understand, and then relate to.
The results from the questionnaire shows what type of audience we would have for our music video. The responses of people who are interested in our and similar genres shows us what type of people are going to watch the video.
Most of the responses of the questionnaire were 17 year olds, lots of people have heard of the different bands that were listed, but some had no idea of any. The Strokes was the most well-known band, from the list, meaning that some people have heard of a similar genre. As the lead singer is in both the strokes and the song we are making a video for, means that we can assume that they might listen to this sort of music. Narrowing the responses to the people who actually listen to similar genres, their profile is both male and female, and usually late teens to early thirties. The people that have heard of lots of the similar bands usually want a narrative or concept from a music video, and typically watch music videos frequently. (varied responses of daily, weekly and monthly) Some of the responses want performance from the artist, but this tends to the responses from people who are older. Not many people selected choreography probably because it is not a typical convention of our genre.
Looking at the results, our music video will be influenced by the responses of our audience. This means that our video will be either or a combination of narrative and concept. As some of the older audiences typically look for performance of the artist, some studio shots of the band could be included in the video. These performance shots would be suitable as they are quite a typical convention of the rock genre. Although the song is not typically classed as rock, (it being psychedelic, experimental and noise rock) it has elements of it due to the song being sub-genres of rock, meaning these conventions can still be used.
The combination of the audience research and the results of the questionnaire, will help to influence and shape the final music video. By knowing the audience, means that we can make the video apply to the genre conventions so the audience understands the meaning and idea behind the video.
With the research from You Gov and the survey, we can make an accurate prediction of our primary and secondary audience. Filtering the results to the genre we are working in and using information from You Gov, our primary audience is going to be male, shown by the pie chart. They will typically be late teens to early thirties. Our secondary target audience will be female and the same age and social group. This is due to the social group and age being the same, but the gender being different. To appeal to both audiences, the video will have to be interesting for both males and female audiences in this age group. Therefore adding a narrative to appeal to the females and the concept shots to appeal for the male audiences. A combination of both types of music video, means that the video will appeal to both audiences.
