Filming-Day Two

The second day of filming took place on Friday 23rd October. This became a very productive day and at least half of the music video was filmed on this day. There were no problems on the day of filming and everything ran smoothly. Confidence was clearly overflowing as I decided to give myself a last minute acting cameo! But on a serious note, filming went well and I was happy with the days work. The all important poker scene was filmed where our actor loses all his money and his car, and then takes drugs and passes out on the floor. Many camera shots were again explored on the day and once again we didn’t stick to the storyline. However, this was not a problem when it came to editing. There now remains a short bit left to film.

Filming-Day One

Our first piece of filming took place on Wednesday 14th October. Overall, filming went very well. At the end of filming, we got around a third of our video filmed. There were a couple of changes which had to be made however. Upon filming, we realised that our original storyboard was a bit too unrealistic and there were some camera shots which were not feasible. This was an early disappointment. However when we arrived at our location we realised there were more imaginative achievable shots possible and decided to explore these. One example of this was to film David playing the guitar on his garage roof. This materialised into a brilliant shot as it granted us a wide range of possibilities to do with how we would film but also what we could film. The location, David’s house in the urban area of Great Barr, turned out to be terrific as we could film David on his roof and get shots of city life in the background. Another new possibility explored was David’s garden. We were unaware that it was so big, and we decided to film shots of David in the childhood phase of the music video, in his garden. This saved time as we did not have to relocate as we had previously expected to. In general, filming was largely successful and we were happy with our days work.

Casting

Casting was inevitably a very important part of my music video. There is one main character throughout the video. Originally, I considered using myself for this role. I have a good knowledge of acting and I am currently studying A2 Drama. Also considered was my working partner Samantha Cliff. However, we both decided that we wanted to test ourselves in terms of filming and Media, and the only way to do that would be to be behind the camera as opposed to in front of it. Eventually, we decided on using our mutual friend, David Moore (see below). The song "Half the World Away” is performed as mentioned by Oasis, and I wanted my actor to heavily resemble Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher. David is also an A2 student of Drama, and we felt that with all things considered, using David would work well.

Ancillary Projects-Ideas and Images

As part of our A2 Advanced Portfolio we have been asked to design

• An album cover (front and back)
  


• A CD/DVD Digipak



• A magazine advert
  

I have begun considering ideas over the past 2 weeks as to what I would like my album cover to look like. I started by researching past Oasis albums to see if I could find inspiration and guidance as to what an ideal Oasis album cover might look like. Here are some I picked out:

ALBUM COVERS:

Be Here Now:Whats the story morning glory?:

Definetely Maybe:

The Masterplan

What I noted from these is that each album is very unique which gives it a certain distinction. I think this helps when coming to distinguishing each album as they are all different. I think this is good because it adds a promotional edge to the album which is good in the long run for selling records. What I have drawn from each cover however is that although there are things going on in the background, the main focal point still somehow manages to be the band. This I think is also good and a very good selling point as although there are things happening in the background the familiar faces of Oasis are still the first things one sees.

Here is the single cover for Half the World Away:

Half the World Away (single):This follows a similar pattern to the album covers I mentioned as clearly the main focal point on this image is Noel Gallagher and when it comes down to it the image of the artist will sell records ahead of any other images on the cover. I like this cover very much as I think it is very simple yet very effective. It shows Noel playing a live gig with his adoring fans in the background. I like the idea of this and I would like to maybe use a similar method when it comes to constructing my album cover, with the image of David playing and having something else in the background. I think that using an image similar to the one from the cover for "Half the World Away" on an album cover would show a very effective combination between my print artefacts and my main product (the music video).


Something which I have also noticed from the album covers is that they usually follow the same pattern of an image, the names of the album or single and the oasis logo. I have noted that I will need to include these in my print aretefacts to sustain consistency and not destroy the illusion that what I am creating is an actual Oasis album cover and magazine advert.



MAGAZINE ADVERTS:
I have also looked at certain magazine adverts featuring Oasis and looked at the typical features are of magazine adverts. I have noted that the main aspects of a magazine advert is:

• The name of the band


• The image of the band


• The product they are selling


• The price of that product


• The magazine name or logo

Here is an Oasis magazine advert I have found:

Dig out your Soul-Oasis
This magazine has most of the main features I have mentioned. It has the name or logo of the magazine (NME), the band name or logo twice (Oasis), the product in this case the album (Dig out your Soul) and a picture of the band (Oasis). I think this magazine advert is very successful. As I have already mentioned I think the main promotional selling point along with the music is the image of the band. I think it works well that the two biggest images on this magazine advert are the band and the product (album). All that is missing I would say is the price of the album, which I think is a crucial piece of information to any fan wanting to purchase a new album.

My magazine advert:
I have given careful consideration to my magazine advert, and I would like it to consist of the 5 main bullet points I have listed above which I believe are essential to any promotional magazine advert. I think that the name of the band has to be one of the most important things on the advert so I would ideally like this as one of the biggest things on there. I then think that the picture of the album is equally as important as it is the new product you are promoting. I then think that the price of the album is important but a magazine is likely to want a reasonable chunk of the page to promote its magazine. These are the ideas I have gathered looking ahead to constructing my print artefacts.

My Music Video-Important Information

Here is some information I consider important to my music video:
Props:

• Guitar
• Suit
• Tracksuit
• Football
• Poker cards and chips
• Table and chairs
• Cigarettes and Alcohol (poker scene)
• Car Keys

Mise en Scene:
In terms of mise en scene, I would like at some point to show certain shots of an urban city or village. This is because I can clearly demonstrate the roots that David has risen from to become a rockstar, and to maybe hint that these roots stay with you forever. Ideally, I would like to show a pan or tilt of urban housing at the begininng of the music video to set the scene. Other aspects of mise en scene will include a park. At some point I plan to show David playing football with his friends and this will probably need to be filmed in a park. I think that this will clearly demonsrate childhood as like most young boys he spends his summers in the park playing football with his friends. In terms of performing the guitar, I imagine that this will be shot in a house. I think this adds a homely image to the life of David as a boy.

Half the World Away-Oasis (Lyrics)
Iwould like to leave this city
This old town don't smell too pretty and
I can feel the warning signs running around my mind
And when I leave this island I'll book myself into a soul asylum
And I can feel the warning signs running around my mind

So here I go still scratching around the same old hole
My body feels young but my mind is very old
So what do you say?
You can't give me the dreams that are mine anyway
You're half the world away
Half the world away
Half the world away
I've been lost I've been found but I don't feel down.

So here I go still scratching around in the same old hole
My body feels young but my mind if very old
So what do you say?
You can't give me the dreams that are mine anyway
You're half the world away
Half the world away
Half the world away
I've been lost I've been found but I don't feel down

Background Information on the song:
This song was written and performed by Oasis band member Noel Gallagher. Noel was the main writer for the band before its split last year but it was usually brother Liam who would take control of lead vocals. However, it is Noel who performs this song. The song was first released as a B-side to "whatever" in December 1994 and was later included on the album "The Masterplan" in 1998. The Masterplan is an album consisting of the band's best B-side records and it was very popular upon its release. The song "Half the World Away" is also famous as it is the theme tune to popular British comedy series "The Royle Family."

My Final Proposal

My final idea for a music video, and the idea I have decided to pursue, is the song "Half the World Away," performed by Oasis. I think that this paticular song would most likely feature on the music channel "MTV2." MTV itself is a more recent updated channel, but this song was first published in 1994, and MTV2 is a more dated channel and is more likely to show older songs, possibly from the nineties, perfromed by bands such as Oasis. Oasis can be described as an indie rock band and have a vast fan base spreading from males and females in their late teens to their late fourties. I think that Oasis appeal to the working class man. Liam and Noel Gallagher, the constant faces in the group, were brought up in Manchester in very working class backgrounds and this I think appeals to many of their fanbase.
I have noted in general that the majority of music videos and songs are based around love between a man and a woman. I want to show a different kind of love. The love I want to focus on is a love for a certain lifestyle, a love for youth and a love for friends. I feel a successful music video needs something different and this may just be it. My idea in general is to focus the video around a leading male character who is achieving great things in life. The character’s name is David Moore and he is about 14 years old. In this case, David has then grown up and become a great musician, and is spending his time at different parties and basically living the high life. Despite all this action, glory and stardom, David is not happy in life. This is because all David wants to be doing is playing football on the streets with his friends like when he was 14, because it is in fact these times where David was happiest.
Part of my reason for wanting to produce a film in this manner was because of my studying of the song lyrics. “Here I go; I’m still scratching around in the same old hole.” This line is very ironic because how I interpret it, the hole David is scratching around in may be grotty, but it is his home and it is where he feels happiest. “You can’t give me the dreams that are mine anyway.” The way I interpret this is that it may be everyone’s dream to be a rock star and people will be telling him how wonderful it is, but David thinks that once in this showbiz lifestyle, his dream is to be back kicking a ball around with his friends.
My general idea for filming is as follows. At the beginning of the music video we see David playing the guitar, running around the park with his friends, playing football and being a happy person. This then all changes. Filming showbiz and stardom will be a tricky thing to do, so I plan to film a poker scene where David loses all his money and a car and this shows how far he has fallen. He then takes drugs and ends up on the floor of a house and he has lost everything. It then goes back to David being happy when he was younger and the video finishes on that note. In my eyes, it is up to the audience to decide whether the happiness he goes back to is when he was a child or after breaking free from the curse of fame.
This video would be described as performance and narrative. I plan to have certain shots with David playing the guitar as a child showing that he has a talent and is happy. It will then go back to David in his showbiz lifestyle. Using the idea of a poker game, I would like to show drugs being handed over and losing money due to gambling. I want to show things really going downhill for David and his life becoming very dangerous. This will then add emphasis to the importance of David’s childhood. It is everything David has ever known, and is everything that is safe and secure for him. I would like to end the video on a happy note with David playing football again with his friends. This is a general overview of the shots and camera anglesI plan to use in my music video, and also the themes behind my thoughts. The distinction between David’s very different lives should be clear as I plan to have David wearing a suit when filming his scenes as a rockstar and then have him wearing tracksuits when filming his childhood life.

Audience Research-Questions and Answers

I asked 8 people 10 questions in order to gain knowledge about what the public look for in a music video and their general tastes. These questions give me a general idea about where my music video will be placed to gain most attention and what a specific audience enjoys most. From this I will be able to manipulate my idea to please an audience more.
1) Age:
(17,17,18,17,17,46,48,20)
2) Gender:
(Male, Male, Male, Female, Female, Female, Male, Male)
3) How many music videos do you watch per week?
The options given were 1-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10+
(10+) (10+) (7-9) (10+) (1-3) (7-9) (10+) (1-3)
4) Where do you watch most of your music videos?
The options given were Internet, TV, Other.
(TV) (Int) (Int) (TV) (Int) (Int) (Int) (Int)
5) Please specify your favourite site/channel/other
(MTV2) (Youtube) (MTV2) (Kerrang) (Youtube) (Metacafe)
(Youtube) (Youtube)
6) Whats your favourite type of music video? The options given were performance/narrative/abstract/amplification (mix of others)
(Narrative) (Amplification-Narrative & Performance) (Amplification-
Narrative & Performance) (Performance) (Abstract) (Amplification-
Narrative & Abstract) Performance (Amplification-Narrative and Performance)

Reflecting on my research, it appears clear that most music videos are sourced through the internet side "Youtube." Youtube is a site which booms the general public's videos and music interests and it is specifically popular amongst young people. Music channel MTV2 was also a slightly popular choice. The most mportant point I drew from my research was that amplification videos were the most popular, and especially ones that consisted of a mix of narrative and performance. This is important because my questionaire was aimed largely at young people, and their answers proved that the style of music video I myself am producing is very successful amongst people in their late teens.

The View-Same Jeans Music Video Analysis

To help me develop better skills and further my knowledge, I have analysed a second music video. The song is called "Same Jeans" and it is performed by Scottish band The View.

This video is produced as a of performance and narrative piece. The song is approximately 3 minutes 47 seconds long, and features all members of the band.



Generally, the song is about a man (in this case lead singer Kyle) who goes through the path of four days without ever getting changed. This is not crucial information. I gather that the story generally is bout Kyle leading such a crazy lifestyle that he doesn't have time to change his clothes because he is always partying and performing.



The video follows generally the same pattern the whole way through. It starts with Kyle being woken up by a knocking at the door, with a medium close up shot of his face and torso. For the first 25 seconds it shows Kyle (the lead singer of the band) getting up, opening up the curtains of his hotel room, and then leaving the room. This is all done with the use of a hand held camera. After 12 seconds Kyle starts to sing. This is where I noted that the music video was performance as well as narrative. For the next 20 seconds Kyle then walks to the hotel lift and opens it to reveal a live crowd audience. His walk to the lift is covered with camera shots including close up, medium close up, and medium to long.



Between 46 seconds 1:02 seconds, Kyle joins his band members at a live gig and performs the song. During these 16 seconds of live footage, a range of camera shots are included which give off the image of frenziness. The shots show the band performing and show individual performances as well as group. There are also shots of the audience dancing and jumping up and down. This is a regular theme in the other occasions during the music video where a live performance is screened.



After 1:03 seconds, we see a close up camera shot fixed on Kyle singing. The shot zooms out and it shows that Kyle appears to be waiting in airport or some sort of waiting room. His face displays little emotion and this suggested to me that perhaps these are the more boring times in his life. This was also the case in the hotel room and walking to the lift. The zoom out shot lasted about 10 seconds, and we then see a medium to long shot of what appears to be a fellow band member leaning against a wall with a guitar. The next 10-15 seconds then consisted of shots of Kyle and the other band member. The band member then moves towards the camera before it goes back to Kyle, who is then joined by the band member. There is then 2 seconds of singing before it again goes to a shot of the band performing live.



The live performance follows the same patterns as last time, and is about 17 seconds long. It then cuts to a close up shot of Kyle, being filmed by a handheld camera. The camera follows him for around 13 seconds as he stumbles through a party. The vision is blurry and because it is handheld I took this to mean that Kyle is very drunk and there is madness going on all around him. A medium to long shot is then took of Kyle dropping to a sofa, with the following shot filmed in daylight with him waking up on the same sofa. This pattern is regular and to me it is showing all the different things that are happening to him in his day to day life and these offer reasons why he has not yet changed his clothes. Kyle then gets up and leaves the house with medium close up shots then took of people asleep who were obviously at the party. A medium close up shot then focuses on Kyle leaving the party and singing. He then opens a door and we again see the performing band for the last time. This time the performance aspect lasts for 64 seconds and again follows the same patterns as before. This time however, the camera zooms in and out on members of the audience, and there are many medium close up shots of singular members of the audience. The final shot is then a 10 second shot of Kyle falling back on the hotel bed and then being waken up all over again.

Overall, I think that the music video is average to good at best. It is well consturcted and I think it has a decent storyline behind it which comes across well on screen. The video follows a consistent pattern all the way through. However I think this begins to get slightly monotonous after a while and I think there is too much live footage of the band. I think it would have worked well if there some parts where Kyle plays the guitar on his own, maybe at a party scene, instead of so much footage of a live performance. I also think that a wider range of camera shots could have perhaps been used. All in all, I have learnt a lot from this video, and will try to incorporate some methods into my music video.

Here is a link for the music video if you want to watch it yourself!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpF51y8udgY

Coldplay-Fix You (Music Video Analysis)

I have analysed a music video which I considered performing myself. The song is called "Fix You" and was performed by Coldplay. The song comes from the album "X and Y" which was released on 6th June 2005. The song itself was released as a single on September 5th of the same year. The music video was directed by Sophie Muller.
From my own interpretation I believe the general message of the song is to inspire. If one looks at the lyrics: "Lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones." These lyrics suggest to me that when you are feeling down you should carry on going no matter what challenges you face in life. It could also be that the lights represent religion and the lights mentioned are those from heaven. It could be that it is God who is looking after you and subsequently guiding you home.
Looking at the video in paticular, I can see that it is performance type video and it is also slightly narrative. It also includes archive footage at the end of a gig which Coldplay performed in Bolton.
The start of the video shows the lead singer of the band, Chris Martin, walking through the streets of London at night time (the whole video is filmed at night). The first three shots are of Martin in slow motion repeating the lyrics of the song. The lyrics reflect the slight mundanity and depression displayed in the video. The shots are of medium close up on Chris Martins face and the setting behind him is very dark with a light occasionally flashing over his left and right shoulder.
The chorus then sets in after 1 minute 9, and the video reflects the lyrics again as the scene becomes a happier one. "Lights will guide you home and ignite your bones." These are the lyrics of inspiration and this is reflected with the whole scene becoming brighter and the light over Chris Martin's shoulders becomes a very distinctive and bright one.
There is then a short instrumental which shows Chris Martin walking but with loads of examples of lights such as cars and buildings. The pace speeds up for this and this could show that maybe his life is getting back on track.
The chorus then returns for a second time and is performed once more in slow motion and at the beginning shows an establishing shot of Chris Martin with a street full of lights ahead of him. A guitar is then introduced at the end of the chorus which speeds up the sound of the song. This is reflected well in the video as it then returns to normal pace and shows Chris Martin running down the big empty streets. He continues to run through well lit streets of London until he arrives at the concert and runs on stage to greet his band. The rest of the video shows archive footage of a gig Coldplay performed in Bolton, playing "Fix You." Chris Martin is seen swinging a light around on stage and this is a constant feature throughout the video.
I think that the video reflects the lyrics very well and the video is a very good one. I think that the use of so many lights is to reflect the lyrics of the song clearly. In general there are only two types of camera shots used mainly. These are either close ups of Chris Martin performing the song with the focus on his mouth and the words, or establishing shots which show Chris Martin and the city of London. The establishing shots are to focus on the scenery and also places emphasis on the lights. The video is mainly of Chris Martin with the emphasis on him, although we are introduced to other members of the band towards the end with the archive footage of the gig in Bolton.
In general, the song puts you in a very inspirational mood towards the end as the pace speeds up in the video as well as the song. The clear connection between the lyrics and video makes it a very enjoyable thing to watch and listen to. I do not think there would be a specific target audience for this video, but rather Coldplay fans in general. I think if one were to pin an audience on it, it would probably be young people who are seeking inspiration in life.
I have not been able to embed this paticular video so have provided the link for it below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skUJ-B6oVDQ

My Main Product Decision and Originial idea

After studying the codes and convetions of both music videos and documentaries and weighing up my likes and dislikes, I have decided that I would like to create a music video for my A2 Advanced Portfolio. Here is an idea I have worked on over this past week but decided against:


My original idea was to create a music video and I first wanted to cover "Goodbye My Lover" by James Blunt. My general idea was to show two couples getting married, but a man from one couple and a woman from the other were having an affiar. The first couple involved the man marrying into a middle class family and it was more a case of circumstance and parental meddling that meant he was with his future spouse. The second couple were working class and were living a mundane life. The two having an affair are in love but agree to end their relationship for the sake of their respective partners. My idea was to show the build up of both weddings showing how the man and the woman from the affair were unhappy building up to the wedding. The video would then end with the couple following their hearts and leaving their partners for one another. I was very keen on this idea and thought it had a lot of potential. However the more i thought about it the more I became aware it would be very difficult to film. The song itself is 4 minutes 18 seconds long. I don't think my idea is deep enough to contain enough footage for the entirety of the song and I would not like to include scenes just for the sake of doing so. I have one main plot involving the couples which I have just explained but I do not have any other ideas such as sub plots. Therefore I have adopted not to go ahead with James Blunt "Goodbye My Lover."

I will now begin to look at certain music videos and analyse them so that I can try to further my knowledge of how music videos are generally formatted and what certain styles there are.

A2 Advanced Portfolio

I am considering creating a documentary, but a music video is also something I am very interested in. I think that both have the ability to influence an audience with what they show on screen. I will now talk about typical codes and conventions found in a music video:

CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF A MUSIC VIDEO:

A music video is basically a motion picture produced to go with a song. Over the years, music videos have become more and more important for the purpose of promoting and selling a paticular song. There are three types of music video. These are:

Performance-this is where the artist or band perform the song the whole way through

Narrative-where there is a story being told in the song and generally acted out by members of the band

Amplification-a mix of performance and narrative

Abstract-refers to the use of musical structures in visual imagery.

These are the most common types of music videos. Another type of music video is a dance routine but this is not as popular.

One of the key things to remember with music videos is that it has to be able to be viewed more than once. Therefore a key element is that it must not be considered boring.

There have been many music videos which have been made paticularly famous over the years such as Michael Jackson with "Thriller," and Queen with "Bohemian Rhapsody. A famous abstract music video is "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by The Beatles.

A2 Advanced Portfolio

This year as part of my A2 Course I have been asked to create either a documentary, a short film or a music video. After careful consideration, I decided that doing a short film is not something that interests me greatly, so over the next two weeks I will decide between a documentary or a music video. I am now going to weigh up the codes and conventions of a doucmentary and a music video to help me reach my decision.

CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF A DOCUMENTARY

A documentary is usually a programme aiming to deliver certian topics to its given audience, providing the form of either fact, opinion or both. Most documentaries follow these similar patterns:
Voiceover- This will be a leading figure, male or female, who will talk about the invents that you, the viewer, is seeing on the screen. The voice usually will usually attempt to guide you towards the opinion that the show itself has obtained. Usually the host will refrain from being on screen, but sometimes this can change. This would usually be described as challenging the codes and conventions of a documentary.
Event footage-typically shows footage of what the documentary is based around. Commonly used event footage is "archive footage." This is real live footage which has been included by the show and is based around the purpose of the documentary. This footage is usually most effective as it gives viewers a true reflection of what has happened. A well known way of displaying archive footage is through the "fly on the wall technique" where a camera will be in the specific area necessary for filming and is able to provide us with a correct view of what is happening. Editors can of course manipulate archive footage so it displays only the view that the show wants displayed. For example if a programme's purpose is to show the bad side to a certain family, it will not include loving moments gained from the fly on the wall technique in the documentary.
Re-constructions are scenes filmed by the television show which attempt to provide an accurate reflection of what happened with the use of actors.
Eye witness footage is when a person from the general public who witnessed an event from the topic matter is filmed giving his or her version of events.
Expert Interviews-interviews conducted by the show with someone considered an expert, delving into their knowledge of the matter at hand.
Vox pop method-where the narrator has a hand held microphone and will go up to random people on the street and ask them for their opinion on the matter.
Images and text-are both very popular methods regularly used in documentaries to add an element of entertainment and imagery to the programme. They are also a way of displaying relative information quickly on screen and can be very effective.