Filming and editing again

After completing our video the first time around, we were given feedback that had some suggestions on how we could improve it. Upon looking at this feedback and reviewing our video we felt it appropriate and indeed necessary to make some editorial changes and insert some new shots which we rejected in the first cut. Below is the final cut of our music video after some changes had been been made:

• One of the aspects of the feedback that we were already concerned about and so agreed with was that the lack of performance shots in the video made it seem slightly more like a short film than a music video as it was intended. In response to this we set aside another day for filming where we found another actress to play the part of the artist and filmed several shots of her lip syncing the words of the track. We edited these shots into our original cut and it immediately remedied the proposed problem and made the entire video feel like a music video production. As a result of the inclusion of performance shots we had to cut a lot of other shots down which lead to our decision in removing the scene where the girl misses the bus. We decided this was a wise decision as although it was intended to be another scenario in which the girl's day continues to go wrong, it was not as important as other such scenes. For example, the eviction from her home or breakup were crucial moments and so it would be a wiser choice to cut the bus scene and include performance shots to ensure we followed the main conventions of music videos in having some performance.


• Another crucial aspect of our video that we thought best to change was the ending. We based this choice, again, on feedback we received upon posting our first video on YouTube. A few people commented and felt that the ending worked well but its intended meaning was a little too ambiguous, so much so that they didn't understand it. To rectify this we decided that a better way to end the video would be to do it concisely and end on the artist so that she is the last thing the audience will connect with the track. We thought it worked best to pair the visuals with the lyrics in the last shots of the video. The lyrics being "my vicious tongue cradles just one", we used two jump cuts, one close up of the artist's hand which she holds one finger out to the word "one" the first time it is spoken, and the second time we have medium close up from a higher angle which sees the artist lift her head as she sings the lyrics. This is an absolute and resolved ending with no room for ambiguity and we all felt this was a better ending and that we had made a very positive improvement.
• We also edited the cheating scenes so as to follow the constructive criticism we were given by our teachers. The concern was that the scene was too explicit and so possibly offensive to viewers. Although we originally felt this scene to be in no way inappropriate, we followed the advice we were given and put on a blurring effect combined with the effect 'ghost trails' that ultimately made the shot content go out of focus, so the kiss between the two characters as well as themselves are made out of focus. This insinuates the idea of cheating without spelling it out completely for the audience, adding a sense of mystery to the shot and narrative which I feel to be a great benefit.

First draft of the magazine advert

This is our first draft of the magazine advert where we have the background layer and the photograph merged together, showing how we hope the advert will look in its final stage. Below is the first draft produced:

• We were generally happy how the poster has turned out and do not wish to change it all that much from now on. However we do hope to change a few aspects, for example, the writing that has been placed over the artist is black and is somewhat lost in her clothing. This will be distracting for viewers and may cause them not to fully take in the information being displayed.
• We also hope to have the album title 'broken pane' edited slightly, perhaps given more colour as it seems slightly lost in the other colours of the advert and at the moment false to make the album title, a very important piece of information, almost inconspicuous.

Initial ideas for digipak

As well as the advert and music video, the final task we were required to do was to produce a digipak case for the album, this involving designing each panel of a four panel digipak according to a template we were given. We used this design process to form the initial layout of the digipak. Below are our initial ideas, simple sketches of how we intend our digipak to look when completed:

Initial ideas for promotional poster

In addition to producing our music video we were required to produce an advertisement, advertising the album and the artist and over all promoting the work we had one in a different way. Below are our initial ideas that we sketched out on paper as a foundation to build upon:

• The figure in the centre of the poster is intended t be the artists, centered so as to show her importance to the track and to heighten her status.
• We feature all the key information in bold lettering, such as the release date of the album and band name, so as to catch the viewer and potential buyers eye and to completely sell and communicate when the album will be released.
• The theme of the advert links very well to our music video as it is carrying the theme of rural verses urban as we see the artist stood against a brick wall, with branches or vines coming across the wall and somewhat enveloping her, showing the two areas colliding and doing so around the artist, again highlighting her importance to the project in all areas.

Lyrics: The Joy Formidable - "Cradle"

The Joy Formidable Cradle lyrics

I can see he says what he means
I can't say what he means when he says that
I'll pretend a pretty pretend
When all I wanna see is the end of this

I can see he says what he means
We'll deal him sticks and stones and apologies
I wish
Oh, I wish it was through

Scrape the skies
Get up off your knees
Just lift the marks
And new-found releases
I'll pretend a pretty pretend
When all I wanna see is the end of this

I wish
I wish
I wish the cobwebs would cover me
Cover me
Cover me

My vicious tongue
Cradles just one
My vicious tongue
Cradles just one

Analysis of Adverts:The Verve

• The Band's name is situated in the middle of the image near the top of the page, showing the band's importance and enforcing the band's status and fame through the positioning of the text.


• Below the band name is the title of the album, "Forth". There is a lot of space around the text which somewhat isolates the band and the album. This could be a visual representation of the idea that The Verve, as well as their new album are in a league of their own, completely different from anything the audience has heard before.


• The background image is an aerial photograph of the sky, or clouds that seems to stretch on forever into the distance. This visual is a direct link to the album title as the word "forth" is represented in the image as the clouds literally go forth into the distance, arguably carrying the viewer with it. This image is entrancing and memorable so the viewer will have the album's cover in their minds and this may entice them to buy it.


• The text on the poster uses one of their biggest singles "Love is noise" as a hook to promote the album, planting the idea that the rest of the album is equally as good as that first single in the audiences mind. This may make them buy it out of curiosity as well as out of being a fan of The Verve.


• Included in the text is a small, bullet quote from NME magazine "immense...irresistible". These words are emotive and, again memorable, give the viewer a brief summary of the album as a whole. As NME is a very popular and widely read music magazine, a positive review is highly creditable and the viewer is likely to trust this and buy the album for themselves.


• There are many mediums of buying the album listed such as: CD, LTD edition CD, download etc. With the album being available in so many formats it allows for a wider audience as some may find it easier to download than buy the physical album and so on.


• Audiences also get the added bonus of extra material on some formats of the album, this being another hook for them to buy the album. For example the text states that the DVD includes an exclusive tour documentary and live footage from the Coachella festival. This is seen again as it states that the LP includes two brand new exclusive songs. The prospect of two completely new songs will excite the fans and make them buy the album to hear the new material.


• The sky in the image is a blend of brown, white and blues and the clouds seem to fade into a darker brown towards the bottom of the image. The fact that The Verve's name and album title are situated in the brighter part of the poster could be representative of the fact that their album is literally shedding light onto a new sound they have created with their new album.


• The position of the band's name and album title in the sun/ light part of the image combined with the clouds around them gives the advert an almost Godlike feel. This emphasises The Verve's fame and status as "Gods" of their genre. This concept is also reinforced by the language of the album title itself. The word "forth" means "forward" or "out" but it is the use of the word "forth" that again make it seem almost biblical or Godly.

Research and Planning for digipak

As well as our product of a music video, we must also produce the album packaging. In this case we have been asked to prepare a digipack as opposed to a standard jewel case which is used more often. We aim to produce a four paneled digipack, requiring us to design and produce images for the front cover itself, the inside right, left and back covers. as our genre is Indie, we decided to look at several examples of indie album art as well as some other genres. Below are some examples I have found.

Arctic Monkeys - "Who the f**k are Arctic Monkeys?'

• The digipak is very simplistic with minimal design, seeing the album art made up of two photographs, one on the front and one on the back panel. This simplistic artwork is completely compliant with the indie genre as it is more about the music on the album than the face of the album or artwork.
  The photograph on the front of the digipak is again, simplistic and seemingly rough as though literally taken by the band themselves. This is very typical of indie band album art.


• The photograph is essentially of a mirror that is cracked and scratched. This perhaps alludes to the nature of Arctic Monkeys music, being very homegrown and not entirely perfect. This is also reinforced by the surroundings of the image.


• The album title is written, or scrawled, on the mirror. This sees the band showing irony to the buyer as, as the album title is "who the f**k are arctic monkeys?" and is written on a mirror, an object that reinforces identity.
  
• By using a mirror to contrast the idea of not knowing who they are Arctic Monkeys are also presenting themselves as a new band on the music scene and are almost mocking the way people may receive them.
  
• The inside left and right of the digipak are both plain white, again showing the simplicity of the band and their music, showing they do not need to rely on artistic design to promote themselves.


• The track listing is repeated twice throughout the digipak, once on the back cover where it is conventionally placed, and once on the inside left. By repeating the track list twice the buyer will become familiar with the content, some of which they may have heard before.


• The physical CD itself is the only thing in the inside panels that is decorated, and again it is with a simple photograph of a man with his arms folded. His position or body language could also be related to the title of the album as it is a question and it appears he is waiting for the answer, there being a certain irony that the answer lies on the CD on which he is featured.


• The CD also sees the mention of Arctic Monkeys record label "Domino" conforming to the conventions of information featured on albums and promoting the label to which they are signed.


• On the back cover is another photograph, below which is the track list again. This photograph is of the band in the studio, actively showing the band during the albums production. This is emphasised by the fact that the viewer sees the front man Alex Turner in the forefront of the shot adjusting the equipment.


• The fact that this photograph is featured on the back of the digipak and is of the band producing the album almost acts as a visual answer to the album's title and the question featured on the front cover. This order of the images combined with the fact that the two oppose or answer each other is very appropriate as the buyer usually looks at the front cover and flips to the back to see the track list, enforcing the idea of question and answer presented through the photographs.

Finished Product

After our second say of filming we edited our new footage and edited that into the footage we had filmed on the sunday. Below is the finished video uploaded to youtube.

Analysis of Advert: The Killers

• The bands name, The Killers, is written in large, bright letters against a dark background at the top of the frame, showing their status and fame in the music industry.
• By using short, bullet words such as "greatest" and "hits" the poster is subtly giving the viewer a review of the album and a positive review provokes people into buying it.
• The font is unique to The Killers and relates to their physical album art, so the viewer will already be familiar with the album cover when they purchase it.
• It is their trade mark font, seeing the word created with small circles that provide the image of the band's name in lights. This font style and the imagery it invokes hightens the band's status as it suggests they are famous enough to have their name illuminated.
• The colour purple is carried through the entire poster, starting dark at the top of the advert, around the bands name, and continuing through the image of the Royal Albert Hall and to the bottom of the frame. Purple is associated with royalty and so by having this as the dominating colour in the advert, the band's status and fame is again being emphasised as it suggests they are worthy of such a suggestive title as royalty.
• The poster features the band biggest singles such as "Mr Brightside", "Read my mind" and "Somebody told me", which it is likely fan's or even those who are not would have heard. By featuring some of their most famous hits the viewer becomes curious as to what the rest of the album will be like and so may be enticed to purchase it.
• The easily recognisable Royal Albert Hall, a classic image, is shown to be situated in the desert, surrounded by cacti and sand. This almost uncomfortable combination of classic imagery and outlandish setting emphasises the unique quality of The Killer's music, showing the viewer that they are challenging the conventions of music and are literally like nothing they have seen before.
• The cacti and desert setting also link to many of their music videos they have released, such as "Human" and "Reasons unknown", again creating a link in the fan's mind between their music and the visuals of the poster.
• There is one image in the advert, standing solitary in the centre of the frame. This single image combined with the isolating composition may be symbolic of The Killer's music and general style, enforcing their status as individual artists.
• The image is of the Royal Albert Hall situated in a desert. This image is simplistic and minimalist and the bulk of the design is made up with the circles. This simplicity could be a metaphorical representation of the band's music and the band themselves, stating that what you see or hear is quite literally what you get.
• The image is not a photograph but a combination of mixed media which ties in with the conventions of indie-genre promotional posters as they often present images that are primarily art based.
• The fact that the artists themselves are not being used as a selling point allows the viewer to focus on the information presented to them, such as the release date. Instead of the visual aid of The Killer's it shows the Royal Albert Hall, which relates directly to the text and reinforces what the poster is actually promoting, a live album/ DVD from the Royal Albert Hall.

Filming

We began filming on Sunday October 18th around several locations we had located as part of our planning stage.

As we had already completed our animated story board and had a clear idea of the shot content we required, it was easier to look at locations and see whether they would be appropriate. We decided to try to film the majority of shots in Tooting as it was a convenient place and there were sufficient locations for us to use. For example, a cafe.

We already hand an idea of a cafe to use but on route to filming Megan and Peter came across another cafe that they felt was more appropriate, however it was closed when we arrived so we plan to reschedule and film here on our next filming day. Having said this, after finding the cafe to be closed we did come across another one that was again closed but we did consider it as a possibility.

Chandler's, the cafe we thought more appropriate after looking at Yvonne's.

We had planned to get slightly more filmed on our first day of shooting but we had been unsuccessful in finding a certain animal mask for one of the key shots and so had to postpone them until our second day, where we hoped to get the majority of filming finished.

Friday October 23rd was our second day of filming and we have now got the majority of filming done. During our last session we found the cafe we hoped to use, "Yvonne's", but it was not open for us to obtain permission. Peter and I did manage to get back to this cafe on this day but were unsuccessful in attaining permission from the owner. However, in retrospect we realised that the cafe was not quite appropriate to what we wanted to film, in that the tables were laid out a different way and the cafe itself closed before we were able to get there at three o'clock. This proved not to be an issue as last week we did find an alternative that was close and more appropriate for our project, "Chandler's". I was able to obtain permission easily as we would be filming at a quite and convenient time for the cafe itself and there were no objections at all. The layout was suitable and we were able to film the central shots of our video which puts us in a much better position with a larger portion of our filming complete. We all contributed in some way to filming, whether it be through costume, or filming or directing the actors and below are some images of the filming process captured as we progressed.

Peter filming and Megan directing the male lead actor.

Masks being made and worn by the lead actress, Ruth Norton.

Things needed for filming:

Actors:

• One male actor and two female actresses between the ages of seventeen and twenty for the role of the characters in the video's narrative scenes, one female being the actress the video is centred around and one playing the girl that cheats with the male actor.


• In addition to these we will need around four extra actors for the characters in masks, two of which will need to be males of the same age as the lead, so between seventeen and twenty years, one to play the part of the landlord who kicks the lead actress out, and one to play the role of a man jeering at her on the street.


• The other two actors may be of any gender and will most likely be of the same age as the lead actors and will be used to play the remaining obscure characters in masks.

Locations:

• Tooting bec common - needed for the forest scenes in which our lead actress is being followed by obscure characters.
  
• Chandler's cafe - location for the video's narrative where the audience sees the break down of the lead actors and actress's relationship.


• A house - to act as the lead actress's home from which she is evicted. For this location we needed somewhere in Tooting as it was the area we were filming the rest of our video in and would be convenient to get to for the group and actors.

Props:

• A collection of breakable items. E.g. cups, plates, glasses etc.
• A breakable photo frame with a photograph of the lead male in it.
• A Bag full of clothes.
• Eviction notice.
• "I Wish" sign.
• Various animal masks.
• Cutlery and such in the cafe.

Obtaining permission

The track we are using for our music video is called "Cradle" by a band that is slowly becoming more popular and was even in NME (national music express) magazine recently, The Joy Formidable. The song is an upbeat indie track and is completely appropriate for the type of video we hope to produce. We obtained permission to use the track with no issues by sending an e-mail to their management.

Before finding our current song, "Cradle" by The Joy Formidable, we did vast research into unsigned bands that had an indie-style of music that we felt appropriate to use. www.myspace.com played a huge part in the research as it is an online network that many unsigned artists, as well as successful artists, use to get their music heard. It is through myspace that I found one possibility, a band that is known in the music world yet remains unsigned at present, but has supported many artists, including Kate Nash. This band was called Peggy Sue and they had two tracks on myspace that were thought appropriate, "lover gone" and "once we were strangers". I sent the band a message via myspace and they replied quickly with no objections at all, however when asked for a copy of the track they did not reply again. Below is a copy of the message I sent them asking for permission.

I also contacted another band through myspace, called Alessi's Ark, who again gave permission. We decided against this track as it was slightly softer than what we were looking for, we wanted a track that had quite a lively beat, so we could incorporate a fast cutting rhythem. Below is a copy of the message i sent her.

Animatic: Cradle

Animatic: The Joy Formidable "Cradle"

This is the finished animated story board for our music video.

We initially created the animatic in order to obtain a clearer idea of what the different shots, angles and movements would look like when put together to form the final video. We created this storyboard by originally hand drawing the pictures and then filmed them in order to import them into the editor, where we took image stills and put them in the order in which we felt would flow best in our video. Although we filled most of the song, there was a remaining 15-16 seconds of the song which we did not fill, however we intend to use this extra space as an oppertunity to add in certain shots whilst filming and to have room to extend shots or add in angles which we did not think of during the initial storyboarding. Below is the animatic we created.

Four Videos and Analysis

The Smiths - Panic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AlH2oYedfk

• The camera is obviously a handi cam and moves vigorously, the jerky movements combined with the pace of the song reinforces the title ‘panic’ and is reminiscent of someone panicking.



• The black and white colours used in the video along with the rapid cutting rhythm and sped up footage were all unconventional techniques for the time and almost pioneering, which emphasises the unconventional music and style of The Smiths.
  


• Sudden slow shots of holes in wood, rubbish bins and estates seem to be being represented as a realisation that they are the reasons for the panic. This coincides with the words “I wonder to myself”. He is pondering the reasons.

• The fade out to black at the end is a good way of ending the video as it could represent the panic being over, or the person literally blacking out from it.


• Shot and shot content are visually and metaphorically matched or in sync with the lyrics. For example when Morrissey sings the words “I wonder to myself”, the audience sees a jump cut to a close up, level of, handi cam shot of a man, emphasising the words “I” and “myself”. In conjunction with this the words “run down” see that the word “down” promts a downward movement of the camera.

• From the outset of the song the audience sees a handicam point of view shot with the arm of the person stretched in front of the camera, almost as if it is reaching out for something. This could arguably be a representation of someone having a panic attack and looking for help, again relating to the title of the track.

• Throughout the video there are shots that contradict the lyrics, rather than trying to recreate them physically. An example of this is the complete contradiction that occurs when Morrissey sings the words "hopes may rise in the glass smere" and pairs these words with a sudden still shot of a piece of wood against a wall or door with scratches and holes in it. This image offeres no sense of hope and diminishes any sense there is, going against conventions as the genre of Indie-Rock historically did.

The Killers - Mr Brightside

• The most prominent theme in the video is mise en scene.



• As he sings the words “I’ve been doing just fine’, on the words ‘just fine’ he straightens his jacket and pats his shoulder, emphasising the words through his movements.



• The apples are the most significant props used. The male in the chair throws her a red apple to prompt her into doing her job. The red apples signify lust and passion.

• There are a lot of close ups used in the video, used to show the emotion on certain actors’ faces. For example the close up of the singer shows his torment and jealousy as the close of up of the male in the chair sees the enjoyment in his face.


• The lighting used is quite dark and seductive, which does keep in sync with the narrative of the story, as it is a story of burlesque and lust between the singer’s character and the woman in white.

• The video's atmosphere, look and narrative is reminiscent of the film Moulin Rouge, to the sextent where anyone watching the video having seen the film before, would make more connections to the narrative and so appreciate the links with the lyrics of the song on a greater level.
  


• Close ups of the woman in white and the lead singer's hands touching and heads leaning together show their intimacy away from the eyes of the other men but a jump cut sees her go to the male in the chair, showing his hold over her and continuing the narrative of the video.

• The long shots of the burlesque girls posing and lifting their skirts combined with the jump cuts to long shots of men reclining in chairs watching them propose a literal representation of the words "open up my eager eyes". The alternation in shots show the point of view of both the girls and the men and what each see through their eyes.


• The use of the chess board as a prop is a metaphore for the fight over the lady in white that is illustrated and followed throughout the video- as seen through the brief jump cut to her dancin-, playing out between the male that seems to own her and the lead singer/actor that loves her. Her 'owner' wins, showing the fate of the relationship between the lady in white and the actor, and the actors movement of tipping the board indicates his anger.

• The fact that the woman is dressed and appears mostly in white is meant to signify her virtue, however at the end when they are finally together she has a mark of red on her hair, she is tainted and he can’t be with her any more, the love is ruined. He walks away.

The Macabees - Toothpaste Kisses

• This video links with our ideas through two key ways: genre, being and indie band and track, and composition/ animation, through its use of stop animation and moving photographs.


• The setting, characters and narrative is played out through photographs combined with animation, such as animated birds and flowers. This is against the conventions of music videos of other genres and the colours and general feel of the video are typical of an indie music video.

• As the lyrics "with a whoop-a-whoop" are sung, an animated owl turns towards the camera and moves its beak to the words. This also goes against conventions as it is not the actors movements echoing the lyrics of the track but the animated surroundings, this also connects to indie music videos as it is unusual and unique and this links to the genres name alone as "independent rock".


• The opening shot of the video is a tracking shot of a butterfly, as the camera follows the animated butterfly behind it the audience begins to understand that it is flying above a town composed mostly of photographs of houses and animated parts. This is not a traditional establishing shot but it is one none the less.


• The videos concept is that it is almost an animated collage of one of the band members parents lives together, the photographs depicting them when they were little, where they lived, who their friends were and at the end a photograph of the couple as older and happy. the narrative is carried throughout but the narrative is portrayed through the photographs.

• The lyrics are often echoed in the animation of and at times the photographs themselves, an example being the shot of a couple just married and waving. This shot slides in as the words "I'll be yours and you'll be" and reinforces the meaning of the song and its lyrics by visual physical representation.



• The photographs, although not always intended it seems, do match the lyrics and do tell a story through the way they are put together, showing the couple as young and growing and later as they are old. This ensures the video makes chronological sense and so is clear and easy to understand whilest at the same time remaining slightly abstrat and unique as indie videos tend to aim to do.
  


• The video is unique in its style yet is faithful to some of the conventions of indie music videos such as the colours used. The colours are bright and combined with the animation make the shots seem almost like pop art. The bright colours also emphasise the mood and meaning of the song. The track is called "toothpaste kisses" and kisses are a happy thing and the happieness of recieving a kiss can be seen echoed in the bright colours of the video.

Regina Spektor - On the Radio

• The song is initially about how life works and what changes occur as we grow up. The decision to set the video in a school setting emphasises the start of life and the encouragement we receive and by having the artist, Regina Spektor as the teacher, it highlights her as the artist and as someone encouraging music as a lesson. This point can also be supported by the fact there is a jump cut to the word "music" on a bulletin board.

• The video has a very strong narrative of being a school and so rather than begin the video with a shot of the artist, it begins with five jump cuts to different aspects of the school in time with the first five chords of the song, such as a bell and classroom, acting as a collective establishing shot, making it clear to the audience where the video is set. The mise en scen emphasises the setting and so emphasises the narrative.

• The children in the video not only emphasise the narrative but also echo the lyrics of "this is how it works", as they are at the beginning of their lives and learning how it works and Regina Spektor is teaching them with the lyrics of her song.

• Stop animation is used to great effect in this video, one of the best examples being the long shot of the class room. Stop animation is used as the tables and chairs trail in one behind the other, like children walking into school, and tuck the chairs in behind the desks. The room is bright and airy and the chairs are bright colours that are often associated with indie videos.

• The simplistic look of stop animation emphasises the narrative of being in a shcool. Simplicity is often used in indie videos, minimalism has a great effect.

• The children echo the lyrics as well as the artists actions when she sings "because the DJ fell asleep" making a sleep motion with her hands under her cheek, showing the effect the song has on its audience and the authority her character has in the video.

• The video is different to most indie videos as what is on screen does not literally match the lyrics and the narrative of the video is very different to that of the song yet is relatable somehow by the audience.

• The narrative is continued throughout the video through the use of spiradic tracking shots of the artist combined with jump cuts to school - related objects such as the chalk board which reads "A-E-I-O-U", again refering to the motif of teaching and then adding "and sometimes Y", showing perhaps that the rules of life being described in the song can be bent sometimes.

• The close up, medium shots, and point of view shots of the children smiling and playing with instruments emphasise the fact that they need to learn how life works and are learning through Regina Spektors music but also emphasises their childish naivety that can also be echoed in the lyrics talking about thing such as "the styrophome began to melt away", "and then you take that love you made" and "we tried to find some worms", all of which are things that intrigue you as a child and so the lyrics are reinforced through the simplistic imagery of the lyrics so similar to that of a child.