Final Storyboard

For more information, please see our Updated Shot Plan.

Ancillary Task Preparation: Website

As part of our project, I have decided to utilise my skills in web design to make a promotional website for our band. As well as enabling me to develop my skills, this will be the ideal way to promote our band's album within our genre, as research has shown that a large proportion of our audience use the internet to discover new bands.

A screenshot of the initial developments of our website can be seen above. The header image features the band's logo, and to depict the house styling portrayed in the logo, a simple black and white theme will be continued throughout the website. The header also features a performance shot that we took when we filmed this part of our music video, which instantly gives website visitors a feel of the style portrayed by the band. The navigation bar can then be seen below, which will be shown on every page, enabling easy navigation by the user. 

As this website will be built as part of my of one of my BTEC ICT units, I will construct my website using raw HTML and CSS coding, and the coding for the website so far can be seen below.

Music Industry 'Stardom'

ISL Week 7

Stars as Constructions

• Constructed, Artificial Images - represented as being 'real people', experiencing real emotions
• Images should contain a Unique Selling Point - can be copied or mocked because of it
• Constructed image can be more consistent than film stars over a period of time
• Not dependent on the creative input of others
• TV programmes such as The X Factor represent the construction process
• Groomed, styled and coached into fulfilling expectations
• Record company are interested only in money

Industry and Audience

• Manufactured to serve a purpose
• Audiences respond to various elements of star persona
• Record companies nurture and shape their stars - this is shown by the processes on TV talent shows
• Tend to manufacture what they think audiences want
• This leads to many stars and groups being similar
• Produce stars with long-lasting appeal
• 'Conveyor belt' approach to new stars means talent isn't developed
• Star's value may be short lived - only two years, or two albums perhaps 
• Increased focus on older pop stars - 'golden oldies' - means younger audiences can't identify with stars
• Healthy music industry develops both younger and older generations - diverse range of stars

Ideology & Culture

• Stars represent shared values and attitudes
• Promote certain ideology
• Audiences have interests in these values, increasing their likeability and quality
• Giving opinions on issues outside of music helps to develop their likeability
• Stars may start fashion trends, with fans copying their styles
• Stars can ignite discussion about topics or issues via social media
• Social networks give pop stars the opportunity to develop their believes and values outside of the industry
• Platforms of institutional support, including radio & TV Shows, are devoted to scrutinizing stars, and the public often crave for more information about stars
• Provide a focal point for cultural thinking

Character & Personality

• Stars have foundation in real life - often link back to their past
• Seen as a product of a particular generation
• Provide audience with a stereotype to associate to
• Many audience members try and conform to this stereotype
• Overall image is constructed
• Pop stars establish their image through their music
• Artist may be unable to sustain their image over a long period of time - this is usually due to money, and being unable to create a consistent account of their character because of their extra wealth
• Personality needs constant nurturing and support

(Notes taken from http://www.mediaknowall.com/as_alevel/Music/music.php?pageID=popstar)

Cup Tryout - Version 2

The video above is another attempt at the cup technique that we will be using in our music video. This time, instead of using black paint, food colouring was used and diluted with the water. This technique worked far more effectively, as the water was black enough so that when the cup was full and the letter was written on the side, it could not be seen. 

We will be able to use this adaptation in our music video to improve our results, making the technique more effective

Creativity in our Music Video

Intertextuality:

We will not be using intertextuality in our music video as we feel that it will complicate things and we can produce a successful video without producing intertextual links to other media within the promo.

Disjuncture and why we will not be using it:

Our music promo will concentrate on amplifying the lyrcis of our song rather than being completely random like videos that use disjuncture. One example of a music video that uses disjuncture is 'Lazy Song' by Bruno Mars.



We feel that disjuncture is not the correct type of video to use, especially as it does not follow the typical conventions of the genre that we are looking at.

Amplification:

We are going to use amplification for our music video because we feel this is the appropriate one to use because illustrating the lyrics of our song would be fairly difficult as it would require a lot of love scenes, which is something that Matt and I feel is too cliche so we are going to try to do something a bit different whilst still amplifying the moral of the song.

The song is about a rollercoaster type of relationship, so our idea of going on a journey in an effort to 'get off the ride' is hopefully going to be successful and appeal to its audience.

Narrative/Performance:

We are going to use both narrative and performance in our music video as, in terms of the genre, this follows conventions and we do not want our video to be too much like the pop genre which tends to only use narrative in its music promos. We will have a fairly substantial narrative but will cut to performance scenes every so often throughout our music video so as to maintain interest and give that 'rock' feel to the music video with the shots of the drums, guitar and vocalist singing. We do not really like the original music video for the song as we feel that it is slightly boring because it is completely performance-based, therefore making it look unprofessional and rushed so we hope to produce a video that is quite unlike the original promo.

Shot Plan - Final Version

Jobs to do this Week

• Ring the train station - lesson
• Go through storyboard - lesson
• Sort out filming day - lesson
• Move drum kit - Thursday
• Move 3 mic stands - Thursday
• Move dolly - Thursday

Planning tasks Completed

HWK

• Production timetable 
• Performer briefing & performer information
• Tryouts: Stop Motion with Video Match, Time lapse, Silhouette effect, Jump shooting, Cup Animation & Video Match
• Costume plan
• Shot plan
• Storyboard
• Prop List & Plan
• Ideas for our Music Video - Prezi
• Location Shots
• Audience Reception of our Chosen Song
• Initial Shot List
• Mood Boards

Production Timetable

HWK

Filming Day One - Wednesday, 23rd October 2013

• Film the production element of our video
• We have allocated a day to this task, so we can take time to set up the stage with backcloths and lighting, and get a good variety of shots
• Jack Spires, Daniel Harris and Matthew Jones will join me for this day

Filming Day Two - Wednesday, 6th November 2013

• 9:30 bus to Peterborough
• Film shots of person walking through the city
• Film shots at train station, including the time lapse section and looking up at the board
• Get 11:52 train to Stamford, which will allow us to get the necessary shots for this part of the video
• Arrive in Stamford  at 12:05
• Leave Stamford via Bus at 13:00
• Arrive in Bourne at 13:28
• Backup the morning's shots onto computer & charge camera if necessary 
• Travel to Morton fen, and gather the required shots there

Filming Day Three - Thursday, 7th November 2013

• Leave Bourne at approximately 8:00
• Arrive at 9:30 in Skegness - PE25 1NJ
• Spend until 11:30 exploring the area, looking for the best place to film
• Gather the required shots in Skegness
• Leave at 15:00
• Return to Bourne at approximately 16:30

Magazine Promotion

ISL Wk 6

Music magazines are often an effective way of promoting new releases and albums by bands, and we could consider placing our advert in one that is specific to our genre. 

The UK-based digital magazine Electric Banana would be an ideal platform to place our advert in, as it is specifically targetted at those interested in Indie music, Alternative music and Indie-Rock music. The funky style the magazine portrays, along with the bright yellow logo, branding and large, bold font, would particularly appeal to people of the younger generation, which, as our audience research has shown, is the target audience for our video. The magazine is run predominantly by fans, for fans, and so gives people who are interested in, or who are involved in the industry the chance to contribute.

The magazine is independently owned, and the e-Magazine digital format allows them to keep publishing costs low. 

 

Performer Information & Briefing for Performers

In our music video, we will have three performers:

• Jack Spires - Drums
• Matthew Jones - Guitar
• Daniel Harris - Vocals

This fulfils the requirement for the instruments that are used in the music track, making it realistic and believable.

All of our actors will be given a copy of the costume plan, so that they know what to wear, and look enkeeping with the style portrayed by our chosen genre. This will ensure that a realistic effect is presented in our video, and will also mean that all of the performers look similar, again, adding to the realism.

The performance section of our music video will be performed on our school stage, which can be seen above. The black curtains and sides will allow us give the impression that we are filming in a stage environment, and we will also use the stage lighting, which gives an authentic feel. We have also be able to ascertain some additional lighting equipment, which will enable us to focus on certain instruments at certain points, along with making the silhouette effect easier to achieve. Furthermore, the smooth floor of the stage will allow for successful use of the camera dolly owned by the school,  which will make smooth pan shots easier to create, giving a professional feel to our video.

The performers that we are using are accomplished musicians, and so will be able to play the song that we have chosen. This will enable us to get lots of close up shots of these people playing the instruments, and as they will be playing it correctly, it will appear realistic.

To further add to the realism, we will ensure that all of the instruments are connected to amplifiers, as they may be in a traditional band set up. I have experience in live performance sound system setup and maintainence, so I will be able to advise of the equipment that would usually be used in such a situation. In addition, we will set up some of the speakers for use, so that the track can be played at high volume through the system, so that the musicians can still hear the track they are playing whilst performing, which will ensure that they are playing at the right speed and tempo, making editing easier, and ensuring effective lip and instrument syncing occurs.

To enable us to get a wide variety of artistic shots for our video, will will set aside a day for the filming of this section. This will allow us to run through the song many times, focusing on different instruments on each run through, so that when we are editing, we have a wide variety of shot types and angles to choose from. All of the performers will be given notification of this date, and will also be given chance to practice playing the song, so that they are fully prepared before the shoot.

We ask that performers focus on making the performance as realistic as possible, by performing in a way that they may do so in a normal rehearsal or performance situation.

Tryout: Stop Motion with Video Match

CW 

We are considering introducing the band and the video by using a stop motion with video match technique - a culmination of many ideas that we have previously attempted. In this technique, stop motion would be used to film someone writing 'Chasing Tigers', and then the page would be flipped over, to reveal an image, that would appear to be sketched. The stop motion would then continue to zoom into the image, and then once the picture fills the screen, this would go into a section that is similar to the cup tryout we attempted a few weeks ago, whereby liquid is drained from a cup to reveal letters written on the outside.

 

This technique worked very well, and gave a professional effect. I feel that this technique would be ideal for use at the beginning of our video, when we could write the name of the band on the sketchbook, and then use the cup animation effect for the words 'Idols & Upsets'. 

Costumes for our music video

Our Costume:
For our music video, we plan on following the conventions of the genre and dressing in a smart-casual way.

We will require that all actors (aside from the girl in the photo) wear jeans or chinos in our music video. This is because these items of clothing are seen as fairly casual but at the same time they are not too casual to be seen as cheap.

For the top half of our costume in our music video, we will look at dressing in a fairly smart manner but not too smart as dressing in an office-style is not the conventional fashion for the indie-rock genre. We will perhaps look at wearing a smart shirt but with another piece of clothing to take the 'too smart' look away from it. Some examples of this dress sense would be to wear a plain t-shirt with a blazer, a shirt with a loose tie, a plain t-shirt with an open shirt over the top or we could wear a smart shirt with a neck-scarf to 'loosen up' the smart look a little.

The shoes that we plan on wearing have to be quite smart to fit in with this look, so trainers and running shoes are out of the question. The best shoes to wear would be smart black or brown shoes but for the narrative part of our music promo, this may not be possible as we do not want to mess up smart shoes so we may have to wear typically smart-casual shoes like converse or chinos. We could vary between smart 'office-type' shoes and the more smart-casual shoes in the narrative and performance.

Updated Shot Plan

 

 

Storyboard

For more information about our shots, see our updated shot plan.

Music Release Advert Analysis

ISL WK5

The advert for the Arctic Monkeys can be seen above, which features a black background, along with the CD cover for the album in the centre. This draws attention to the product, also helping people to associate the case with the advert. The black background uses a colour that is often associated with the genre, and the use of the white writing in bold font helps to have a large impact. In addition, the use of the star ratings in the bottom left and right corners gives credibility to the brand, giving people faith and confidence in what is being sold. 

The advert above is for Mumford & Sons' album 'Sign No More'. Again, a black background is used, but stills are presented in a picture frame style, which gives it an authentic, rustic feel. In a similar style to the previous advert, a white font is used, but this time, a Serif font is applied, giving a more traditional appearance. This advert features more detail than the previous one, however, giving details of the record label, and of the different tracks that are on the album. 

The final advert, shown above, which is for The Master Plan by Oasis, follows many of the typical conventions that are displayed in the previous two adverts, with the black background, white font-face and photo-focus in the centre. However, this advert uses a black and white image, which draws attention to the red font that is used, and this advert also includes the price of the album, which is something that is missing from the previous two. This unusual technique perhaps highlights the different selling styles - the Arctic Monkeys and Mumford & Sons may feel that they wish to use their brand and identity to sell the album, whereas Oasis might feel that they need to use price and persuasive techniques to help boost sales figures. This advert also shows that the album is available on iTunes, but also at HMV, with the HMV logo and slogan being used to highlight this. Again, this perhaps shows that the band have worked together with HMV to create convergance between the two profiles, that benefits both parties. 

Props for our Music Video

We are looking at using plastic cups like this in order to do our 'Sabbapath' cup idea where we use stop-motion shooting to gradually drain the liquid out of the cup, therefore unveiling the writing on it.

We are also using multiple instruments in order to create the performance scenes in our music promo. One of these is a drum kit, although within school, there isn't any made completely madfe up at the minute so the image (right) only shows one particular drum instead of a set.

A guitar is another instruments that we will be using in our music promo in order to 'play along' with the music, as well as the genre of our chosen song.


















The microphone is not the one that we will be using but it gives the audience a general idea about the fact that we will be using a microphone for the vocalist in the performance scenes of our promo.

A piano/keyboard may be a possible prop we also use as an instrument in our performance scenes, depending on whether we feel that we need to include a piano or a keyboard.

Another prop that we will look at including is the sketch book, in order to do some stop-motion effects for some of the lyrics as well as possibly some 'zoom to video' effects that zoom into a still image which becomes a video once the camera has moved in.

Feedback from our Presentation

Kieran Hill's Feedback on our Idea

Idea is very strong

Amplification is the right thing to use for the vide

Try not to make it too cheesy

Keep the narrative and performance equal

Cup idea needs thinking about

Don’t over use techniques, will make it too complicated.

Song is really good and upbeat

Think about trying to not confuse the viewer by jumping locations, make it a steady change.

Tryouts: Time Lapse, Silhouette Shot and Jump Shooting

In order to get a better idea of which shots we have the technical ability to use in our music video, we carried out some tryouts, to see how well they went.

 

 

The first tryout we attempted was the timelapse technique, that we are considering using on the platform at the train station. With this technique, we filmed in a school coridor for 8 minutes, whilst one person remained still in the shot, with lots of other people walking past. This gave the impression that time whilst everybody else carried on their lives, time stood still for one person. Overall, I feel that this technique worked very well, and would be very effective in our video, providing that we are able to gain permission to film at the train station. To improve further, we could try using editing to make this effect more realistic. For example, we could film in one position for 8 minutes, and then, in a separate take, get someone to stand in front of the pillar which is shown in the shot. Then, you could play the 8 minute section at high speed, whilst overlaying the cropped shot of the person standing in front of the pillar, played back at normal speed, which may make the action appear more realistic. Overall, I feel that this technique worked very well, and we will be able to use this on the train platform at Peterborough station.

 

The next technique we tried was to use a silhouette technique with a drum kit. For this, we filmed in a darkened room, with the only light source coming from directly behind the person who was sitting on a chair, pretending to drum. This technique worked rather well, as it meant that although the audience could see the rough outline of the person, and could tell what they are doing, the drummer's identity remained concealed. In our music video, we would slowly bring the front lighting up, so that throughout the video, the identity of the drummer slowly became clearer to see. The use of a professional lighting system would also make this effect easier to achieve. However, I feel that it may be too difficult to incorporate into our video, and so we may have to consider not using this in our video.

 

The final test that we attempted was to use a style of jump shooting. In this effect, the subject appears to jump from one location directly into the next, by walking at the same angle as they were in the last shot. In our example, we showed a shot of the subject walking across a school playground, and when the person reached the edge of the frame, the shot immediately jumped to another of him walking through another location, whilst the speed, trajectory and shot depth were maintained from the last shot. This technique was effective, and we shall use this when filming the section of the character walking up Morton Fen.

 

Overall, I feel that our shot testing was a very effective exercise, and has allowed us to practice many different techniques, that we will be able to use in our production.

Ideas for our Music Video

Location Shots

Morton - Countryside Shots

The location above is just on the edge of Morton fen, and would be ideal for when the person leaves the train station, as the houses in the background give the impression that he is leaving the town and heading for the countryside.

The shot above is also taken further out on Morton fen, and shows the remote landscape that would be useful for our project, as it will give the impression that the character has escaped his past, and is now away from civilisation. 

Peterborough - City Shots

The shot above is taken in Peterborough city centre, and is the sort of place that many people may associate with negative thoughts and images. The character may hold many memories associated with the relationship at this place, and is the sort of location that he may wish to escape from.

The paved environment shown in the shot above is the sort of location that many people may associate with modern, bustling city centres, and also provides a safe location for us to work .

Skegness - Coastal Shots

The shot above shows the beach at Skegness. The beach looks open and inviting, which would be the perfect setting for our video. However, if we perhaps travelled North along the coastline a bit more, we could perhaps look for somewhere which is a bit more remote, which would be more suited for our video.

The shot above shows the steps at Skegness beach, which could perhaps represent the character climbing up from the town, and away to his new life. The Skegness Pier can also be seen, and this could also be incorporated into our video.

Audience Reception of our Chosen Song

To further extend our audience research, we carried out an online questionnaire, to ask people whether they liked our chosen track.

We asked two males and three females, who were all aged between 11-20, with the exception of one female, who was aged between 21-30. Out of these five people, all but one person said that they like our track, with the person who didn't like the song commenting that it is not his preferred style.

Our survey then went on to ask people about what they feel the track is about. Most people picked up on the theme of it being about a relationship, with some picking up that this was about changes in a relationship, and how the person feels at different times. These are themes that we will be able to convey in our video, using a variety of different t echniques. People also felt that a video that picked out themes of a relationship, and going on a journey, would be an appropriate way to present this song.

In addition, 4 out of the 5 people who completed the survey felt that it should use a mixture of narrative and amplification, with just one person disagreeing, and feeling that only performance should be used.

We ended our survey by asking people to come up with any suggestions or ideas that we could consider using in our video. Along with ideas that we have already come up with, which include the idea of a journey, travelling across the country and starting a new life,  people also suggested that the focus needs to be on the male, and suggested that we could use flashbacks to happier moments in the relationship, which is something that we will definatley consider incorporating.

Tryout: Cup Animation Technique

The tryout above shows our attempt at the cup technique, which was inspired by Sabbopath (see earlier posts). For this tryout, we filled each cup with black water, draining a little water away for each shot, and in black marker pen, writing the top section of a letter for each cup, giving the impression that as the water was drained away, a letter was revealed. We used stop frame animation for this technique, as we found that it would be very difficult to drain the water away using normal video filming.

Although this technique was very effective, and is something that we will be able to incorporate into our filming, we felt that in order to improve, we could try and use black food dye or another similar additive, to try and ensure that the water was completely black. This may allow us to write the letters onto the cups first, creating the desired effect better. Also, we could try releasing the water more slowly, increasing the frame rate, and giving the video a more professional feel.

Initial shot list & plan for our Music Video

Mood Board - Inspirations for our Music Video

 

The mood board above shows many of the inspirations that we have used to form our ideas for our video. We have included in this mood board the Sabbopath cup idea, which is something that we could consider using, along with a shot of someone looking out of the train window - a stereotypical shot that we will again look to incorporate. One shot shows a couple whose relationship is not going well, and this is one of the main themes of the song, whilst another shows a man looking out to sea, which is a theme we will look to replicate in the video. The final shot shows a light-hearted shot of an indie-rock band, who are performing in their home, as they cannot find anywhere else to rehearse, indicating the deprived background which many bands of this genre have. 

Mood Board - Indie-Rock Genre

This mood board shows iconic images that many people associate with the Indie-Rock genre. This identifies the stereotypical themes that are related to the genre, including the casual appearance of band members, along with the the use of outsde environments and staging effects, which are also often used with these songs. 

QUESTIONNAIRE - HELP US

Please help us to complete extended audience research, by filling out a survey, which can be accessed via the following link:

http://sdrv.ms/1fI6zSa

Thank you!