PLANNING: TIMELINE

Before we begin filming, we created a timeline. Firstly, this means we can organise precisely what we want and when we want. Secondly, it also acts as a record of the details that we need to remember for when filming commences. The left column signifies the time duration in seconds, the middle column is the shot-list (what will be seen), and the right column is for any extra comments or possible aspects of the scene that we may include in the scene.

PLANNING: TARGET AUDIENCE RESEARCH MIND MAP

We also composed a mind map to create a bigger character profile of the typical audiences for our music video.

The character tended to listen to electronic/dance music more than any other genre. In terms of engaging with the music industry, characters will attend music events such as major festivals including Glastonbury and Reading. Furthermore, purchases of music magazines will be high and issues such as Upbeat and MMR will be more common than any other genre due to the taste in music.

PLANNING: TARGET AUDIENCE RESEARCH POSTER

For our target audience research we have deiced to do a mind map. Here they are presented below:

We feel that the audience, whilst having taste in mainstream media, will have a slight desire of independent and niche products (such as shopping for music CD's in banquet records). We also think that audiences will have a strong taste in more up-market gadgets and technology. For example, many will have an iPhone and DSLR cameras for their own personal use. We included shows such as homeland and the inbetweeners as their choice in TV programmes.

PLANNING: HOW MY BAND DEVELOPED ITS STAR BRAND

 I an investigating how Foster the People publicise themselves and how the attract and addressed their audience. For Steve Archer, 'the meta-narrative is a term that describes the development of the star image over time, the stories that surround a particular artist.' (Media Magazine February 2012)

Foster the People take full advantage of web 2.0 by embedding important information right on the google search page after searching for them, this makes it even easier for the target audience to get information about the band like upcoming events and new songs. 

They have many different ways to reach their audience online through social media websites such as Myspace, Facebook, twitter, Tmblr and YouTube

Their Facebook page especially is very interactive with the band taking full advantage of the new timeline feature frequently uploading tour photos updating tour dates and events and also showing other peoples comments about them. 

They also update their twitter page very frequently which give snappy tweets about what they're currently doing or news about the band they also use their twitter to retweet or reply to listeners and give a sense of a more personal relationship with the fans.

Foster the People's facebook page reinforces their brand image with the cover photo being the well recognised album cover 'Pumped Up Kicks' and the profile picture shows the band members (Mark Foster, Cubbie Frank and Mark Pontius.

Facebook is a platform where they invite audiences to catch up on the most recent images, thank them for support, announce their next European tour and inform audiences about their mailing list. Direct address engages audiences on a personal level such as, 'Thanks you bali'.

PLANNING: STORYBOARD

To create our storyboard we took photos of the 'post-it' notes showing our planned storyline. When are photos were organised, we transferred them to Adobe Premiere Pro and created a visual timeline.

PLANNING: AMATEUR v. PROFESSIONAL

In this post, we wish to analyse how our student music video has been inspired by a professional one with the same style. We studied how a producer/director and dancer Nathan Barnatt has attracted millions of viewers with his custom dancing to whacky and wonderful up-beat songs. With particular focus to his music video, 'Pop Culture' we studied his themes and styles and how his video inevitably gained the popularity it did. 

 
What's different about these music videos is that it follows no rules. Throughout, Barnatt's channel he his seen doing anything and everything from break dancing on the street to swinging shopping bags around his wrists in a supermarket aisle. We originally thought that we did not want to go the 'cliché' route and perform on stage to a song but instead to stand out and be as original as we can. Barnatt tends to create music videos independently of song meaning but our track of, 'Don't stop' can be incorporated into our video rather different to Barnatt's style. However, much of the music video we intend to create is influenced by Barnatt in that we would like to focus mainly on a center character who posses 'energetic qualities' to which he dances a routine but the background changes frequently to add the repeatability factor.

In his videos he is often seen as a character who wouldn't normally dance so openly. This gave us the idea that we could make our character the 'nerd' type who would perform a similar dance when he reads a comic book called, 'Don't Stop'. Rather differently to Barnatt's random storyline, we created a meaningful story which incorporates Barnatt's character but still possess its uniqueness- avid marvel book reader who is magically drawn into the comic in real life and thus gives reason for his dancing.

Another aspect of his videos that we wish to use is 'stop motion'. In terms of his 'Pop Culture' he holds a certain moves and then takes many still shots of him in the same position but around a scene. Putting the frames together creates a flowing movement which looks visually stunning and shows a great level of planning and detail which is required to execute it well.

PLANNING: MOOD BOARD

 This is the mood board i have created to capture the overall approach of our music video. The pictures all compliment the energetic and colourful setting we wish to create throughout our music video and has connections to the up-beat dance/electronica genre which can be relatable to the band's target audience.

PLANNING: TARGET AUDIENCE RESEARCH - QUESTIONNAIRE

Music media questionnaire from lewisharland

Above is the questionnaire which i have composed in relation to the music industry and the multiple platforms it covers. Please click on the arrows to change the page.

PLANNING: EDITING TECHNIQUES

For our music video, we have researched particular editing styles and techniques that we intend to use. In celebration of The Wiggles' 20th birthday, ABC Music brought together some of Australia's finest contemporary music artists to pay tribute to the undisputed legends of children's entertainment, The Wiggles. In the video, wake up Jeff, artists Bluejuice are shot only with handheld footage of the instruments and face shots. What interested us most, however, was the title sequence that ABC Music decided to use in all of the videos. It featured, right at the start, big white bold letters which words would 'pop up' one by one. The video link to this particular video is shown below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxidzHPbZNI

The style is one that we would like to use as, although simplistic, allows the audience to clearly see the production title and artist relatively near the start of the music video. It allows the viewers to acknowledge the information quickly and then to focus on the visual entertainment for the rest of the time. Me and my partner also regard it as a very modern and original way of creating titles for video including music. In our eyes for music videos to gain popularity the label of the music video needs to stand out and we think this is the best way to go about this.

 As a result of our interest in the style ABC Music created, i decided to try and replicate the titles with our own words. I chose a background to use on Photoshop and pasted it onto the document. The next stage was to create many separate title layers in which i could manipulate each one so the other would not get affected as a result. In context to our music video, we wish to use the titles at the start of the music video and place them on a opening shot consisting of a busy street or Hampton Court Palace where the first scene will take place.

 In terms of video techniques, one effect we are determined to achieve is 'stop motion'. We realise that the use of 'stop motion' can be difficult and so we researched music videos that use this technique within it. One video we found was 'Her Morning Elegance' by Oren Lavie. 

 The stop motion in this particular music video is symbolic. The whole sequence consists of only one camera position and the woman featured throughout the video lies on the bed but changes her body position in each still shot. With the camera staying in the same place, this gives the illusion that there is continuous motion in her actions when the still frames are placed next to each other and played backed. 

There have been other examples of 'stop motion' including Owl City's 'Fireflies' Stop Motion Fan Music Video in Lucern. This video uses 'stop motion' in a rather different way. It uses many different camera angles and positions as well as scenes. The fan based video uses not only people but nature to create the 'stop motion'. For example, a landscape shot of mountains can have a sun rise over and behind it with the clouds floating swiftly meanwhile in the distance.

For our music video, we can use 'stop motion' around our dance sequence and can possibly use our character to hold their dance pose. We would then use the technique of taking many stills of the same pose but moved around a scene, giving it a continuous motion quality. It is consistently becoming more popular with artists and fans who want to create their own videos to a song they like.

RESEARCH: 'GANGNAM STYLE'

I was looking at music video trends for my research and found this video 'PSY - Gangnam Style' it is a 2012 Korean pop single by the South Korean rapper PSY. It is widely praised for its amusing and energetic visuals, catchy rhythm and 'cheesy' dance moves and it is thought that this is the reason why it has been so popular so far. 'Gangnam Style' has both repeatability and originality - a combination that works well to gain recognition globally on the viral universe.

Released on July 15, 2012, it debuted at number one on the Gaon Chart and has been viewed over 260 million times as of today.

We have thought about incorporating one of their features into our music video, at 3:00-3:10 you see PSY moving at 'normal speed' but the background dancers are moving much faster than him. This was obviously shot with PSY moving slowly then the footage was sped up. The idea of editing the surroundings whilst maintaining the the movement of the centre stage dancer is attractive.

Following from previous posts, it seems that audiences want to, themselves, become the stardom. The Huffington Post recently published an article called:


'Ed Miliband And Labour Join 'Gangnam Style' Craze'. 

Featured politicians of the labour party were 'cut and pasted' onto the original clips of PSY's 'Gangnam Style' in hope that it will gain popularity and recognition. Today, it looks as though audiences are not only the viewers but are also the producers and such videos like, 'Gangnam Style' have repeatability and popularity that make them stand out form the crowd. This is why such viral hits can be edited for one's personal use and the recognition from the original video style can be manipulated for their own personal gain.

RESEARCH: DIRECTOR'S LABEL

This is a presentation to show how different directors approach music videos and the styles/themes that they aim to produce. Please enlarge the document in a new window!

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Digital Publishing with YUDU

RESEARCH: STARDOM

The star image is the one seen by the public through the use of music videos, but notably their music on their own. In the music industry, only one in ten people who are signed to a record and making music actually make any money from it, this is partly due to the star image not being big enough for the rest of people, however with the small amount of people who become popular with their music and star image, it is important to present them well and follow a meta-narrative of the path they wish to be portrayed as. With music videos, it is possible to alter a star’s image from being something crude, to being a public figure people inspire to be like. Through a star’s music videos, the stories that they tell can develop the person they are and change their meta-narrative – One example of an artist who uses music videos to change his public perception over the years is Madonna, who started off as a young singer, but then later connected to mostly a female audience which has increased throughout the recent decades.

RESEARCH: MUSIC TV CHANNELS

RESEARCH- MUSIC TV CHANNELS

Music television is a type of television programming which focuses predominantly on playing music videos from bands, usually on dedicated television channels broadcasting on satellite or cable. Music TVs may host their own shows charts, award prizes.

 Examples are VIVA, Scuzz, MTV, JBTV, MuchMusic, Kerrang TV, erm, Fuse TV, and Palladia Wigan Pier.

Case study: VH1

VH1 or Vh1 (known as VH-1: Video Hits One from 1985 to 1994) is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on Tuesday January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly older demographic than its sister channel, focusing on the lighter, softer side of popular music. The channel was originally created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Communications and owner of MTV. Also frequently featured in the network's early years were "videos" for Motown and other 1960s oldies consisting of newsreel and concert footage. It was introduced on January 1, 1985 with the video performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Marvin Gaye^.

RESEARCH: MORAL PANICS

BBFC reviews policy on music and factual videos in a Guardian article.

Many titles currently on sale but exempt from certification contain violent, distressing and sexually explicit scenes- many originate from heavy metal bands.

The article states that 'They are of differing seriousness, but all those scenes can be seen in videos that are freely available to buy on the high street or Amazon by anyone of any age, none of which have gone through any classification.'

The great majority of exempt video works are fine," said the BBFC's head of policy, David Austin. "They are not going to harm anyone, but there are a significant number of titles that are potentially harmful to children."
 
The BBFC estimates that around 200 videos might be caught by a change in the law.
Austin showed the Guardian examples of videos that have claimed exemption but would have been classified. They range in seriousness. One of the more shocking is a documentary about the American heavy metal band Slipknot "which, actually my son bought when he was 10 and I confiscated", said Austin. "He's waiting till he's older to get it back."

Slipknot is renowned for its explicit publicity and extreme style of music. Mark Brown further stated the CD 'shows one fan who has carved the word Slipknot in to her forearm and another who has done the same in her belly, to which someone is seen pointing in admiration.'

A music video by the Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth, which was rated X in Germany but is unrated in the UK, shows topless women being crucified with blood running down their breasts.

Brown also suggests that 'videos that can say they are educational or instructional can also claim exemption.' Another example of this is the Robbie Williams video for the song Come Undone, which contained an exempt compilation, In and Out of Consciousness, and showed drug taking and Williams cavorting in bed with two naked women.

In my opinion, it is apparent that music videos can be 'extreme' in that they push boundaries in terms of what is perceived as normal. I agree with the view that some parents should be 'active' in protecting some scenes of violence etc. to make sure bands like slipknot are not exposed to people of young ages.

RESEARCH: MUSIC TRENDS

Music through the decades:

1950s - Rock and Roll Genre
1960s- Swinging sixties - Motown primarily featuring African American artists
1970s - Rock Genre with bands such as Kiss
1980s - MTV generation
1990s - Hard Rock and Heavy Metal with Bon Jovi and RUN DMC
2000s - Several diverse music genres Nirvana, Oasis, Blur, Spice Girls
2010s- Still many diverse music genres but more pop/dance influence

Today, in 2012, we have been seeing the particular music trends:

Young Hollywood Stars such as Justin Bieber, Carly Rae Jepson and One Direction are central in the music industry.

- This music is often orientated to a young audience with the artists being younger teen idols. The promotion of pop music was greatly effected due to the rise in music television channels such as MTV. 

- The lyrics and subject matter of their songs often are about 'love' and 'relationships and tend to be simplistic'. Pop music is popular today since the beats of the music often encourage dancing which is reflected in the upbeat and choreographed music videos.

- The music videos often consist of fast paced editing, straight forward narrative and related situations and scenairos that teenagers would find themselves in, making it relatable to their audience. Other music videos are seen as more whacky and original, such as Fat Boy Slim's 'Weapon of choice' which features Christopher Walken dancing in a office lobby including a touch of ballet and levitation across the room.


My music video is following this latter trend. Our music video will consist of up-beat dancing mirroring the popular trends now seen in music videos whilst being original and having the repeatability needed for music videos to be successful. Audiences will perhaps want to copy such trends which we create- dancing energetically in public.

The song, 'Gangnam style' by PSY has increased in popularity ever since the music video went viral on video websites such as youtube. The 'crazy' and 'energetic' dance sequence meant the internet sensation reached number 1 on the UK charts as well as receiving the most 'likes' on a youtube video ever! As a result, there have been many spoofs copying 'Gangnam style' including korea's third naval area command performing the rodeo-style dancing. It seems to me that audiences watching music videos are now being the producers themselves and putting their feet in the artist's shoes.

PLANNING: SONG PERMISSION FROM BAND

As a requirement, my partner and I had asked the band to use his version of 'Don't Stop' by Foster the People. We used my partner's twitter account to search and identify Fat Rat. He later confirmed that it was OK to use it for our media music video.

PLANNING: MUSIC VIDEO BRIEF

I have decided to choose the music video brief. This will contain a music magazine advertisement, a digipack (a CD album complete with album artwork), and a music video as the final product.

I chose the music video brief for my A2 course work as I already have a large interest in music and film making. I was aware of the choices available at the end of AS year which gave me time to think some basic ideas for the music video and possibly what type of genre to use. Ideas such as up-beat electronica/dance to slow-tempo acoustics have been thought about. Artists such as Darius would provide a more techno beat whereas Bombay Bicycle Club make rather emotion driven music. Both will be considered and reviewed based on ideas that seem original and attractive to the audience viewing.

PLANNING: SONG LYRICS

 My partner and I have researched the lyrics to our song, 'Don't Stop' and have highlighted possible key words in the song that we can convey in the music video to fir our particular theme.

Walk little walk Small talk big thoughts
Gonna tell them all just what I want
That Street two streets I see you and me
Hanging on the empty of swings
'Count high low don't worry my eyes are closed
I'm a superman and it's my show
One shoe two gonna kick with My new shoes
I'm going to kick until I need new shoes
All those hipsters, I wanna dance!

I said don't stop, don't stop, don't stop
Talking to me
Stop don't stop don't stop
Giving me things

 Stop, don't stop, don't stop
Laughing about it

Stop, don't stop, don't stop.....

I run they run everybody run run
And we're all just having fun
Sleigh ride boat ride piggy back ride
I'm going to show them all how I can ride
One two three close your eyes and count to four
I like to hide behind my bedroom door
Crayon on the wall
Color on the wall
Until I've broken every law 

Yeah, yeah

Stop, don't stop, don't stop
Talking with me

Stop, don't stop, don't stop

Giving me thing

Stop, don't stop, don't stop

Laughing about it
Stop
don't stop don't stop 

don't stop 

don't stop don't stop
Talking with me

Stop don't stop don't stop
Giving me thing
Stop don't stop don't stop

Laughing about it 

Stop, don't stop, don't stop....

*Instrumental*

don't stop 

don't stop don't stop
Talking with me

Stop don't stop don't stop
Giving me thing

Stop don't stop don't stop

Laughing about it
Stop don't stop don't stop

PLANNING: FILMING LOCATIONS

My partner and I have discussed areas which could be both appealing and interesting to audiences viewing our music video. We have composed a list consisting of locations which are both local and situated in London.


Kingston (phone boxes)
Hampton court palace
Hampton and Richmond football club 
Bentall Centre
Dorking Roundabout

London:
Trafalgar square
Buckingham palace
London eye
Lonndon bridge background

We can go locally such as our own school:
Claremont mansion
Claremont tunnel
Car park
Local park
Island/garden

PRODUCTION: CREATING A COMIC BOOK

After confirming a 'super hero' will feature in our music video it came to my attention that a comic book customised to our needs would have to be created. I therefore researched ways of creating a comic strip without having to use any complicated or expensive software. I googled 'making a comic strip' to which marvel had their own game to which the user is able to create his/her own design. After selecting a template i was able to create my own title, 'The Dance Chronicles'.

I then researched images of dancing characters and other images that would suit our scenario. For example, the image of the man's head shaking form side to side is what we intend to use in our music video. Our character will 'feel' the music in him and start to move his hands and feet, ultimately leading him to a dance trance. The character will read the comic in the opening of the song and everything that features in the comic we created will become a reality for our character.

The comic is also important at showing particular words to the audience such as 'He couldn't stop'. These sentences on the comic will be shown to the audience as our character reads the strip. This helps reinforce our idea that the fantasy world that our 'geek' character reads about will turn his world upside and become a reality for both him and the audience.

PRODUCTION: INTRODUCING A 'GENRE' OF MUSIC VIDEO

Me and my partner decided that we were to create a super hero theme in our music video. We originally came up with the concept when we thought about films that were becoming more popular. Super hero films and themes, along with sequels and prequels, are becoming more common in the film industry and we thought that we could attract this film audience to our music video by injecting the same theme. 

The idea of a 'geek' or 'nerd' becoming almost a hero with dance in a music video transgresses the boundaries. It is a concept not many of us would immediately think of in terms of how music videos used to operate in the past. Music videos such as Gin Wigmore's 'Man like that' revolves around a woman who dances in a 1940's office set. Whilst dancing center stage with many other background dancers it still possess originality due to the theme applied to the video. This is our approach. We wish to incorporate different themes to our 'geek' character since he dances in many sets and locations.

PLANNING: A PREZI ON DISCOVERING WHAT MAKES A MUSIC VIDEO

Please view my prezi by clicking on the play button.

Steve Archer's Five Things To Look For In Music Videos on Prezi

CHECKLIST OF PRODUCTION

Now my partner and i have agreed on the treatment we can now move on to the detail planning of the production. This includes everything from the storyboard to the permission of the band. We have composed the following checklist of what we now need to achieve in order to fully plan our production:

• Original ideas - this includes research on dance videos, with particular focus on Nathan Barnatt.
• The treatment - more detail on what the music video will show/purpose
• Storyboard 
• Lyrics
• Locations
• Dress/costumes/props
• Comic book creation/production of mise-en-scene
• Dance moves
• Titles
• Permission of the band
• Music Editing of track (Garageband)
• Shot editing