Ancillary Task: Poster and Digipak

 Digipak

 

 

Magazine Advert 

 

 

Prelim video

Props

Why we changed our artist

For our music video project, we initially went with the song "Windows" by the Alternative band Joint Honours. after a strenuous three days out filming for the music video, we finally realised that the concepts and ideas for our music video were unfounded and this lead to several misuses of film time inadvertedly.

In addition ,the locations that we used for filming were good considering the ideas we had, but they were to few and far between and subsequently this lead to valuable filming time being lost to travel time and sparse locations, i.e Haconby to Carlby. Also, we had an excessive amount of personal luggage for ourselves due to it being a cold day and this slowed our progress in setting up the music videos sequences let alone acting it out. For our time lapse sequence, we spent a long time waiting for the actual trains to pass by so this was another loss of valuable time that we could have utilised in more effective ways.

In addition, the most devastating consequence to our failed initial project to film a music video is that for some reason, the DSLR Camera malfunctioned and caused our filmed footage to become distorted and blurry as well as have audio problems. This was a serious setback for us and when to film again on the following Monday the same result occurred. We also got to carried away with our imagination and this caused us to not adhere to the shot list we has written, basically we filmed and came away with more or less irrelevant footage.

Due to all of the above, this is the reason we are transitioning to a more clear plan of action for our next attempt at filming a music video alongside a completely new song and band to give a sense of

 

refreshment to our project.

Audience profile (Finn Riggins)

Finn Riggins is an American indie rock group from Idaho formed in 2007 by Cameron Bouiss, Eric Gilbert and Lisa Simpson. They have incorporated a whole range of new features into their approach of this genre and have been commended man times for their approach with numerous awards. They have also been on over 200 live shows, a considerable amount for a low-budget niche indie band.

The song we chose for them is called "Benchwarmers" and is more adaptable and easy to make a music video to and what "Windows" by Joint Honours is. In addition, we initially thought that Joint Honours had a strong foundation as a band due to their relatively sophisticated website but we were deceived and we finally realised that Finn Riggins is a far more organised and efficient band to base a music video on due to the fact that we were conflicted about what to film and where on the filming day in regards to "Windows" by Joint Honours.

Overall we thoroughly believe that our choice to do a music video on an entirely different band will very much so improve our grades and subsequent our group work ethic and performance.

In addition, the band has received far more commendations and have a better reputation than what Joint Honours has and this overall makes it easier to receive permission to actually base our music video off one of their songs as they have more contacts and staff employed by them to address offers like what we had for Joint Honours and soon for them.

Style of music video

We have many inspirations for our music video and we shall apply conventions that we previously saw in many different music videos and merge them together to hopefully make a very effective use of camerawork.

 

 

Firstly, one of our inspirations is Kieszas "Hideaway" music video. The reason being is because even though the entire music video is from a perspective of a long, simple tracking shot, it is put to good use and this entices the viewer to keep watching and it flows so seamlessly they don't even notice it is one shot. Even though we will not adhere to this convention, we shall utilise some of the ideas the music video had for pan out and body shots.

 In addition, another inspirational music video to us as a group was Duke Dumont and Martin Garrax's music videos. This is potentially the most important factor in our preparation due to the fact that like these two music videos we shall use animal masks in some of our main characters to create a sense of enigma and emphasize upon mystery to keep the audience interested throughout the music video.

In addition, there were a few films that inspired our production in terms of film usage. Amongst these were the horror film Seven. an example is how the camera pans out and deblurrs the background to reveal a character that the audience knows is shadowing the protagonist. We will use this type of shot to build tension throughout the music video.

In conclusion ,these along with many other fine examples of media will help inspire and shape the way we film our music video and incorporate many innovative features into it to get the best ideas and apply this to hopefully make the most creative music video that we possibly can. This reflects our overall dedication to this project, such as going out and filming again with this new concept after our initial idea failed, this shows our determination and tenacity in order to achieve what we want

Cutting to the beat

Below is the lyrics for Finn Riggins "Benchwarmers" song, I have analysed it and explained what concept and ideas that we will use in the final cut of our music video.

 

lip-sync- yellow 

Storyline- orange

Environmental shots- red 

 

All the kids on the bench don't double dutch -  Lip-synch sequence
All the kids on the bench don't hopscotch - Lip-synch sequence
All the kids on the bench ride their fancy bikes, - Conor on bench
ride their fancy bikes to the river - Pete strolls through the woods All the kids on the bench lightin' bonfires - Shot of bonfire night
All the kids on the bench count the shooting stars - Pete looking into the sky smiling
All the kids on the bench holdin' hands down,
holding hand down on the bike path - dance, hip-hop style

All the kids on the bench wearin' blue jeans - shot of Pete walking across with blue jeans on
All the kids on the bench haulin' sweet dreams
All the kids on the bench movin' their feet - running tracking shot
movin' their feet, movin', movin' their feet extreme-close-up of Petes shoes
They all go oo-oo-oo-oo
shimmy to the left, shimmy to the left, shimmy to the right


All the kids on the bench slingin' jump ropes - shot of swing All the kids on the bench shootin' gumballs - Environmental shots
All the kids on the bench swingin' their hips - Environmental shots swingin' their hips, swingin', swingin' their hips - Environmental shots

All the kids on the bench cheat at 7-up - pete splashes his face in sink
All the kids on the bench hot at freeze tag - sees Conor and panics
All the kids on the bench got the breakdance
pop'n'lock-lock, pop'n'lock, pop'n'lock-lock - Fingers Clicking

All the kids on the bench battle thumb wars
All the kids on the bench with their smart phones -
All the kids on the bench with their crazy legs - environmental shot
slidin' with the moonwalk, slidin' with the moonwalk
They all go oo-oo-oo-oo
shimmy to the left, shimmy to the left, shimmy to the right

First half intro (Poll Everywhere)

 

 



We decided to do a poll everywhere, so that we could decided what we need to work on with our intro. Here are the results

Summarise

After looking at the poll everywhere and seeing what the audience thought about the intro. This will help us because it means we will now take on their advice and hopefully make it better. The comment where it says "text is hard to read" we say this and made changes on it to make sure the text was more readable.

Auditions

Mise-en-scene

Cuting to the beat (Joint Honours)

These are shots of cutting to the beat of the lyrics. We have coloured coded it so that we understand when everything cuts and then when we go out filming it is easy to follow.

 

 

 

Location Scouting

Wellhead

Our first location in which we are shooting is the wellhead, we believe this is a good place to shoot because the park is very rural area and suits our music video conventions. We will only be doing a couple of shots in the wellhead, like the shots such as the band members walking out of the park, and the wellhead has the equipment such as the swings which is what we need.

 

Town Centre

Town centre is also another place where we are going to shoot. Bourne Town centre at night will be perfect for a couple of our shots where one of the band members is walking through the town at night with the street lights.

 

A Field

 

We have a lot of fields to choose from around Bourne, We aren't looking for any special features in the field we are just looking for a plain field. We need a plan field to shoot our band production so we will set up in a field and just perform.

 

 

Audience profile

Joint Honours

Lifestyle & Job

The lifestyle of the type of people that listen to our chosen song are people that are always happy and will live a busy lifestyle but also are very chilled out as well. the job these people would have wouldn't be office based 9 till 5 jobs it would be more outdoors and more freedom maybe in the civil services. They would probably have a stable family background and will have a family of them own and will bond well with their kids.

Hobbies & Interests

The type of interests that people that listen to this type of music would be interests such as football and also they might have a strong passion towards music and this certain style of music. Also there hobby might be going to watch football and they would like spending time with the kids as much as possible. They also enjoy hiking, gardening,  mountain biking, rock climbing anything that is outdoor and adventurous.

  

Age - 16-35

Gender – mainly male, but does also have a female audience

Socio- Economical Class- C class- a very settled job and a paid back lifestyle

History of music videos

Music promotion has changed over the year, it started out very simple, with just showing off the band or artist and now they have developed into something great, with new ideas being made every day and new styles of production. With every new music video, the person after will take something from it at develop it, to make it their own. Also the technological advancements have helped the music industry create more creative and professional music videos over time.

2000s

Beyoncé- Single Ladies

 

 

This music promo is very well known today, the dance in it is very interesting to watch. The video involves Beyoncé and two other dancers performing a fast paced dance routine in leotards. The shots used are long shots, and close ups with a few close ups. The use of a studio and lighting equipment makes the video very professional. Also a black and white filter is used to give it a stylish feel.

1980s

Peter Gabriel-Sledgehammer

 

The video has animation; it is all pretty much basic stop motion. The video is a close up focused on his head with the animations going around it. The animations and things going on around his head all relate to what the song is about. This video would so other music artists how to be more creative with their videos. This music promo is well known because everyone has seen this video and how it showed artists to be more imaginative.

1960s

The Animals- House of the Rising Sun

 

This music promo is very typical of how music videos were first created. The video is mainly focused on the band its self, it follows them throughout the song. There isn’t any narrative or disjuncture like today, it is all performance and tracking shots. They used close ups and mid shots to show each band members expressions, this would lead to many rock bands to use this to show the bands emotions during their songs.

Prop List

 Below is a prop list of all the equipment that we shall be utilising on our filming day for the music video.

 

 1. Electronic Guitar due to the songs tune being heavily guitar based so in essence this is the central prop.

 

2. Drum Set

 

 3. Clothing is a very important factor in our music video due to the fact that we want to convey to alternative genre to people in an in your face fashion with our appearance. These costume will consist of sneakers or big boots for footwear and jeans with a new style hoodie with a colourful shirt to fully emphasize the alternative genre which is vital for the music video.

 

 

 4. Box-like object is very important for the stage area because the lead singer will stand on it to emphasize the alternative genres use of improvisation to make a makeshift performance stage.

 

 

 5. Replica Christmas Tree that we shall be using in one of our key shots in the intro of the song.

 

 

 6. Balloon filled with confetti to simulate a mini explosion in our music video

 

 

 7. Snorkel to film bath scene.

 

 

 8. Bullet for scene where it lies on top of a third world child to represent poverty/war and alternatives bands critsisms of the two, i.e Green Day or Rise Against.

 

 

 9. Fake Fish

 

 

10. Fake Moustache for close-up shot.

 

 

 

 

11. Juice Carton for scene where it corresponds with the lyrics "Drink some truth juice" and we will modify it to say truth juice.

 

 

12. Lipstick

Budget List

A budget list shows the main props and costumes that we want to purchase to use in our production. The list shows the name, price and location of the item that we need. It is extremely important that we create a budget list so that we can keep track of the total cost of our production. It will also help us to control our money more carefully as we will know what we need. Plus it will inform the group of how much money each person needs to contribute to the production.

Job Roles

 

Peter- Jewett Thomas

• Story Bored Designer
• Co-Director
• Cinematographer
• Lighting Director
• Co~Marketing Director
• Editor

 

 

 Why

I have been allocated the role of storyboard designer because I am able to draw sufficiently accurate drawings for the planning process. I am creative so this is task I can take on. I am also one of two Co-directors as I am organised and took a share of directing responsibility for our last production. Similarly I am one of two cinematographer as I have experience in this from last years production. As a result of being creative I will have good ideas for shot composition and framing. This links in with being the lighting director as if I am operating the camera it follows that I should look into the lighting states as I can see what shows up well and suits the tone of the song. Each of us are taking on the role of Co-marketing director. 

Marcus Riley

• Shot List Designer
• Co-Director
• Co- Mise-en-Scene Director
• Set Designer
• Co-Marketing Director

Why

I have chosen to take on the role of shot list designer because this one of the roles I did in last years production, so have a good understanding on how it should be done. This is also one of the many reasons I one of the Co-directors, as this was my main job on the day of filming in our last production. I am the Mise-en-scene director and set designer because I own the location we are filming in and I did the budget list, therefore I know exactly what needs doing for the set, costume and props. We have agreed that all three of us will be one of the Co-marketing Directors because we feel that marketing is something we can do well as a group.

Conor Durrant

• Co- marketing
• Co- Lighting director 
• Mise- en- scene director
• Set designer
• Editor

I have chosen to be the editor because I believe last year I played a big part in editing a long side Pete so me and him will take up the editing side just like last year because we work well in a team and are affective together. The marketing side of the project will very important therefore we have decided to all work together with marketing because non of us in the group are better than the rest so with the marketing we will share it.


Harry Sandall

• Prop Director
• Co- Marketing
• Co- set designer
• Co- Cinematographer
• Actor

I have chosen to be the prop director just because last year I was good at understand what props need to be on set and which props meet the conventions of our target audience, and it would be sensible if I took on the role of doing props again. Also I am the co- cinematographer because when Pete is needed else where I am the second best in the group at working a camera therefore it was also a sensible idea to put me Co- cinematographer. My main role in this group is being the actor this is a role that I did last year and part of the reason why our production last year was so successful.

Story Board

Risk Assessment

 

 

 

Theories

Music promo theories:

Steve Archer’s theory:

Suggests there needs to be a strong and coherent relationship between the narrative and performance in music promos. Music videos will cut between narrative and a performance of the song by the band. A carefully choreographed dance might be part of the artist’s performance or an extra aspect of the video designed to aid visualisation and the ‘repeatability’ factor.

John Stewart’s theory

1)      The music video has the aesthetics of a TV commercial, with lots of close-ups and lighting being used to focus on the stars face.

2)      Visual references comes from a range of sources, most frequently cinema, and fashion and art photography.

3)      ‘Incorporating, raiding and reconstructing’ is essentially the essence of intertextuality, using something with which the audience may be familiar, to generate both nostalgic associations and new meanings.

4)      The video allows more access to the performer than a stage performer can.

5)      Mise-en-scene, in particular, can be used to emphasise an aspirational lifestyle.

 

 

Tzvetan Tordarov

Russian theorist, Tzvetan Tordarov suggests that all narratives follow a three part structure. They begin with equilibrium, where everything is balanced, progress as something comes along to disrupt that equilibrium, and finally reach as resolution, when equilibrium is re- established.

Claude Levi-Strauss – Binary Opposition

Binary opposition: Constant creation of conflict/opposition propels narrative. Narrative can only end on a resolution of conflict. Opposition can be visual (light/darkness, movement/stillness) or conceptual (love/hate, control/panic), and to do with soundtrack.

 

Barthes enigma codes and activation codes:

When it comes to this theory, Barthes came up with the idea that music promos contain enigma codes and activation codes: enigma codes refers to any element of the video that is not explained and therefore, exists as an enigma, raising questions that demand explanations, most media texts hold back details in order to increase the effect of information. Activation codes refers to plot events that imply further narrative action. For example, a story character confronted an adversary and the reader wonders what the resolution of this action will be. Suspense is created by action rather than by a reader’s wish to have mysteries explained. It applies to any action that implies further narrative action.

 

 

Andrew Goodwin:

1)      Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routines for girl and boyband videos)

2)      The demands of the record label will include the use of a lot of close-ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style)

3)      There is frequently reference to the notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes etc.) and particular voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

4)      There is often intertextual reference to films, TV programmes and other music videos.

 

Sigmund Freud’s theory:

Voyeurism – refers to the notion that erotic pleasure may be gained by looking at a sexual object (preferably when the object is unaware of being watched) Many music videos use this notion – via cameras, images within/ of images perspective of the viewer, CCTV, Views through open doors, windows etc.

Laura Mulvey – Male gaze theory:

Another part of her male gaze theory suggests that women are only portrayed as one of two possibilities. Either a virginal innocent characters or a sexy ‘whore’ (sexual object).

 

Analysis:

 

Anaconda- Nicki Minaj

The music video uses the theory by Laura Mulvey, the male gaze. In the music video there are many close ups and mid-shots that are focused on certain parts of the female body. Also the costumes the women are wearing are very revealing  and could create controversies. The video should stereotypically appeal to the male audience. The way it is also edited also makes it seem more appealing to a male audience, as when the women are "twerking" and dancing it is edited to grab the males attention, the screen shakes add follows the motion of the gyrating bottom and the speed of the clip gets faster, this suggests that it is mesmerising the male audience.