The location is very important in a music video as i can usually reflect a mood or atmosphere. Although i have chosen to use different settings i kept to a minimum of three as i didn't want to confuse the viewer as too many settings can spoil a music video as it can cause confusion and take over the narrative.
In my music video I want my band to preform the song outside. I thought that this would be unique as most band performances are on a stage. Although i would be challenging the conventions of a music video i will be following the conventions of the indie genre as it is low budget and also rural which is the trend for british indie boy bands. Moreover in the lyrics the band sing 'its cold outside' which will show the link between lyrics and the visuals, a point which is mentioned by Goodwin.
I also want to film some scenes inside as it would add a contrast between the settings. I think it would be a good idea to have the narrative inside but also the lighting will be different and hopefully create a mellow and calm atmosphere.
I then plan to film some scenes outside with the band playing in a garden or park. This adds an element of youth something which i am aiming to get across to my audience. Also filming in natural daylight will help the footage to be clearer.
I think that props are very important to establish a genre of a music video. Therefore i wanted to incorporate lots of music instrument props to make it clear to the audience that it is the indie genre.
Guitar
In the song 'Sleep on the Floor' the majority of the song includes an electric guitar, thus giving the song a cool and youthful vibe. I thought that it was very important to uses the prop of an electrical guitar as it is an important element to the song and most indie bands have included this prop too.
Keyboard
To give my band a professional feel i wanted the props to match with the song. My song includes a keyboard so in order for it to gain a professional feel it was important to add this in. Also i liked the idea that every band member was playing different instruments.
Drums
I felt like this was the hardest prop to get hold of, but it was my most wanted one. I really wanted to include the drum set as this was the most frequent prop in the indie music videos i have watched. It also shows the skill of the band member which should influence the audience to by the song.
Football table
I wanted to portray a youthful vibe throughout my music video so it can relate to the target audience. I used many props such as a football table and football to show the band members as friends it gives a fun element to the music video also adding to the narrative.
I want to get a specific look for my music video, but the most important thing to me is that the people I have asked feel comfortable and confident in front of the camera.
The band that I have chosen my song from, initially has four band members. However, I have included three band members to act in my music video because i thought that they fitted well in the frame of the footage that I have taken but also because of the camera angles and movement, three band members was easy to film with. Plus i have an extra cast member which is going to be the female protagonist.
Kieran- Lead Singer/Guitarist
Kieran is my lead singer and guitarist in the band 'Blonde Louis'. The guitar features heavily throughout the song so I think it is important to have the main singer playing the guitar so when it comes to edit the video it will flow better as the singer can be singing and playing the guitar at the same time instead of having different shots of the singer and guitarist. Moreover Kieran also leads the narrative part of the video and he is torn between his friends and his love interest 'Elena' which follows the conventions of the indie narrative. Kieran was willing to try different camera angles when miming the chorus, which was ver helpful.
Michael- Drums Michael was excellent on the drums, he was very enthusiastic when it came to filming. The drums are quite dominate in this song so i wanted someone who would replicate the beat of the song. Not only would this make the editing process easier but it would also give a professional and realistic feel to the music video. Moreover Michael is also part of the narrative as he is Kieran's friend, so i have filmed shots of them messing about and acting like stereotypical boys. Christian-Keyboard Christian is the third and final member of the band. Although the keyboard isn't the main instrument it is still present, mostly at the beginning and when it is the bridge of the song. I wanted to get a variety of shots especially close ups of the keyboard when it is the keyboard solo. Christian also is part of the narrative as i wanted to emphasise that the band are best friends as well. Additionally he was confident in front of the camera which made filming quick and effective. Elena- Love interest Although Elena is not part of the band she is a very important character in the music video. She is the love interest of the lead singer/guitarist Kieran. This is very conventional of the indie genre to have a young female to be a love interest. I have kept the narrative and performance separate so the viewer can distinguish between the two. Elena was very helpful as she isn't shy in front of the camera and good friends with Kieran which made the scenes between them both easier.
I plan to film my music video within a week so this gives me time to edit the video. Moreover the week is also the only time all of the band members are available as we are filming during the holidays. I will be updating this post as i film.
20th December- This was my first attempt at filming. The weather has been good as it wasn't too cold outside or too dark. I have filmed the opening scene of my music video plus the introduction and the first verse. I didn't film the rest of the song as i felt the band needed more time to learn the rest of the lyrics. Furthermore, i also filmed some of the narrative. I found it easier to work in chronological order as it means that i wont miss important parts out. I also recorded lots of close up shots of the instruments to add them in as a break from the lip syncing.
23rdDecember- Thankfully the weather remained the same! This means that the second part of my filming will look the same as the first part. I wanted to focus on the lip syncing aspect. Therefore i dedicated a lot of time to the performance element of the music video. I started from the beginning of the song and worked my way till the end. I filmed the whole band sing the song all the way through and filmed this at different angles such as close ups and mid shots. I filmed outside as in the lyrics it says 'its cold outside' i though that filming outside not only links to the lyrics but also gives the video and indie feel as it set out in the open as in indie videos not a lot of budget is spent in location.
28th December- I feel that i have covered all of the shots i want for the performance element for the song so all i needed to film was the rest of the narrative. I planned to film earlier on but i found it difficult to get everyone together at the same time. For the narrative i wanted to get a youthful feel. As the message behind the song is about young love and immaturity i used props such as table football, footballs, trampolines to show the band members having fun. I also filmed the love interest and the lead singer falling out to give show a stereotypical teenage relationship.
I have finally decided on the plot of my music video. It will be both a performance and narrative based music video. I have changed and developed my ideas from my story board as i felt that the narrative didn't link well with the uptempo beat of the song. Therefore i have decided to make a music video about the main band member and him choosing between his band mates or his girlfriend. I though this would work better than the previous idea as i think a lot of young people can relate to this as it is targeted at young adults.
I want the beginning to start with the bands name. As this is their first single i wanted to get there name out as much as possible. Then i want different clips of the band members playing and then clips of the lead singer and his love interest. I want the band performance to happen in the same place so it gives uniformity.
In the middle of my music video i am aiming to get a balance between narrative performance. I also want to show the lead singer with his band mates messing around and also with his girlfriends to show the narrative.
Finally i want the end to show the two falling out which will hopefully be edited with fast paced editing, as the beat gets faster towards the end of the the song.
Richard Dyers star theory is the idea that icons and celebrities are manufactured by institutions for financial gain. He believes that stars are constructed to represent 'real people' experiencing real emotions. Stars are manufactured by the music industry to serve a purpose; to make money out of audience, who respond to various elements of a star’s personality by buying records and becoming fans.
His theory is spilt into three sections:
1. Audiences and Institutions
2. Constitutions
3. Hegemony
Audience and Institutions
Stars are made for money purposes alone. Increasing the brand identity benefits the institution as they become a household name increasing sales in all of the media platforms they are in. The institution then models the artist around the target audience they choose. For example Lady GaGa, according to Dyer, was modeled around fashion forward people so the audience can relate to her as a person and also her music.
Constitutions
This is more or less the same as the audience and institution part of his theory.
Hegemony
This is also know as 'culture'. It is the idea that the audience relates to the star because they have a feature they the share or admire with the star. Some fans may attempt to replicate the star in their behavior, what they and what they do. But this could also be a negative impact as some stars often are heavy drinkers and drug abusers. For example in the 60's and 70's there was an increase of illegal sales of cannabis due to The Beatles being open about using it. Stars represent shared cultural values and attitudes, and promote a certain ideology. Audience interest in these values enhances their 'star quality', and it is through conveying beliefs, ideas and opinions outside music that performers help create their star character to their fans. A star may start a fashion trend, with masses of fans copying their hairstyle and clothing. Stars benefit from cultural discourse for example, via their Twitter feed. Now more than ever before, social networks give pop stars the opportunity to establish their own values outside their music. Lady Gaga tweets frequently about issues, and expects her “Little Monsters” (The name of which Lady Gaga calls her fans) to engage with that discourse just as much as she expects them to listen to her music.
Spike Jones is an American director specialising in music videos film and commercials. He is highly respected by the music industry directing some of the most famous and unique music videos.
Jonze directed the music video to 'Fat Boy Slim- Praise You'. He shot the video in a 'guerrilla' style, which a form of independent filmmaking characterized by low budgets and simple props using whatever is available. Often scenes are shot quickly in real locations without any warning, and without obtaining permission from the owners of the locations. It reportedly only cost $800 to make. Jonze was praised for his unique style and has influence many other music directors.
The video won three major awards at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards: Breakthrough Video, Best Direction, and Best Choreography. It was also nominated for, but did not win, Best Dance Video.
Mark Klasfeld is a music video director. His work displays a completely different tone than anyone else working in the music industry . His unique blend of humour and visuals makes each and every video he produces something that has not been seen before. Furthermore he uses different camera angels and shots to create a quirky feel. He has directed hundreds of music video for different genres, Jay Z- Hip Hop and Red Hot Chilli Peppers- rock.
Foo Fighters- Times Like These
Camera Angle
Klasfeld is know for is experimentation of camera angle and movement. In this music video he displays an number of shots to keep the audience enticed. Furthermore the unique camera shots follows the conventions of the indie/rock genre as it is steering away from the norm.
The use of a low angel shot of the guitarist gives dominance to the band member when he is playing his solo. It focuses the audiences attention on the guitarist making him an important presence in the band.
Also Klasfeld uses a number of close up shots of the lead singer which allows the audience to become familiar with the bands image. it also follows one of Goodwins 6 points which is the demand for close ups of the artists. This way the band can sell their brand identity to gain a wider audience.
Sound
Klasfeld hasn't used any non diagetic sound effects because he trys to create a realistic band performance. However the use of diabetic clearly demonstrates the performance element of the music video adding to the rock/indie genre.
Mise en scene
The mise en scene is very unique in this music video. Klasfeld adopts the classical set of musical props such as guitars, drums, microphones to relate to the genre and adds verisimilitude. But the setting is in a studio which allows the audience to see the behind the scenes in how the music video works. This makes the audience feel part of the product creating a strong bond with fans.
Editing
The best element of this music video is the editing. Klasfeld uses a green screen to create CGI effects. These CGI effects are slightly psychedelic which could show the inspirations from the 70's era which was the movement of punk rock. It also captures the audience and keeps them entertained as the background is forever changing. This is a simple and effective way to entice the audience. The effects adds to the quirky style of the band. In addition the beat of the drum often matches the editing which gives the video fluidity.
As part of my planning, i thought it would be a good idea to practice lip syncing. At first i found it difficult to make the lip syncing in time with the music. However after a few go's it became easier as i used different clips in between the singing so it was in sync.
