Monday, 13 March 2017
Music Video: Planning Locations & Characters
"On reflection of my my AS work when I needed to formulate a cast which is also a band to play I used people that could play an instrument but we're just comfortable in front of the camera. However since this is meant to look professional we need people to be able to play the song, despite dubbing over it in post processing later. Because it will look a lot more smooth and less fake. We also were thinking about people that would look the part, because you need a confident front man. In our group all of us can play musical instruments, which is fortunate and made it a lot easier to formulate a cast. But it raised the question of if we should play a role in it when we need to film. But after much deliberation between us, as well as discussing other people we knew who could play a musical instrument, we actually thought it would be so much more beneficial to have Tommy as the lead and Richard on bass. Because one thing we all struggled with at AS was getting the cast to the location we required on a particular day. By having two people already available, we eliminated some of the difficultly of organisation. On top of this Richard and Tommy know what we are aiming for so it is so much easier to project the idea, as they can be a reference and example to the two other individuals partaking in the video to see what is expected.". -Hannah.
A Short History of Music Videos & Music Consumption
Music was initially enjoyed purely on its own merit, or as a medium/ support for other forms of entertainment such as dancing or performances. In the 1920, the "talkie" film first became popular. Utilising the improved technology in both audio & film recording, 'talkies' were musical short films which, unlike silent films, integrated both dialogue and music into the main experience.
The Jazz Singer 1927, was the first popular live-action film which integrated sound:
The film made 27.12 million USD at the box office.
Throughout & past the 1930's, animated films were created which were based around music. Films such as Walt Disney's Fantasia, & early Warner Bros. Looney Tunes were created around specific music, with Fantasia artfully repurposing classical orchestral pieces. During this period, live video recordings of musical acts became distributed to film theatres, featuring artists such as the great big band & jazz singer Cab Calloway & numerous other musicians.
Classic musical films, often remodeled from popular Broadway shows were important precursors to music videos.
Tony Bennett supposedly(according to himself) created the first music video to his song 'Strangers in Paradise'. The accompanying video features footage from Hyde Park in London.
"Visual Jukeboxes" were invented & patented throughout the 1950s, beginning with the Scotiphone in France, after which other countries patented their own, similar models, such as the American Color-Sonic and the Italian Cinebox.
For the Canadian show Singalong Jubilee in 1961, Manny Pittson combined pre-recorded audio with footage of location & the artist lip-syncing to add variety.
Thus was created the "Promotional Clip". Designed to accompany a song as a visual marketing tool, with the Moody Blues & Beatles releasing such clips. The promotional film for A Hard Day's Night was made in a mockumentary style, the format of which was almost directly copied for the popular American musical band & TV show "The Monkees".
As with so many other things in today's music industry, The Beatles were pioneers & revolutionaries. Their promotional clip for 'Help!' was lavishly filmed across multiple locations, in full colour. It featured one of the first uses of rhythmic editing, cross cutting & dynamic camera movement & angles. Props & dynamic focus are also artfully used.
In 1965, the Beatles began creating 'Film Inserts', or promotional clips, primarily for US audiences, so that the band members could promote their music without making in-person appearances. Their first batch, including 'Day Tripper' were straightforwardly filmed in-studio performances, designed to fit in seamlessly within 'Top of the Pops' style television programmes.The full-colour promo clips for "Let it be", "Strawberry Fields Forever", & "Penny Lane", directed by Pete Goldman borrowed avant-garde techniques from the cinema industry including colour filtering, slow motion & reverse footage, which are all now staple techniques & can be found in one form or another, in most modern music videos.
At the time, the clips were poorly received due to their lack of narrative, as oppose to most professionally made film material at the time. These clips were not supposed to have a narrative, only to serve as a visual appendage of the music.
Promotional clips became common for bands, although the advent of the modern 'Music Video' came with the proliferation of Music Television, including the hugely popular MTV, borrowing heavily from 'chart shows' such as the British 'Top of the Pops' or Australian 'Countdown' or 'Sounds'.
Music videos were ideal material for chart-shows, & they became more & more readily produced alongside the release of records.
n 1981, the U.S. video channel MTV launched, airing "Video Killed the Radio Star" and beginning an era of 24-hour-a-day music on television. With this new outlet for material, the music video would, by the mid-1980s, grow to play a central role in popular music marketing. Many important acts of this period, most notably Adam and the Ants, Duran Duran and Madonna, owed a great deal of their success to the skillful construction and seductive appeal of their videos.
The Jazz Singer 1927, was the first popular live-action film which integrated sound:
Classic musical films, often remodeled from popular Broadway shows were important precursors to music videos.
Tony Bennett supposedly(according to himself) created the first music video to his song 'Strangers in Paradise'. The accompanying video features footage from Hyde Park in London.
"Visual Jukeboxes" were invented & patented throughout the 1950s, beginning with the Scotiphone in France, after which other countries patented their own, similar models, such as the American Color-Sonic and the Italian Cinebox.
For the Canadian show Singalong Jubilee in 1961, Manny Pittson combined pre-recorded audio with footage of location & the artist lip-syncing to add variety.
Thus was created the "Promotional Clip". Designed to accompany a song as a visual marketing tool, with the Moody Blues & Beatles releasing such clips. The promotional film for A Hard Day's Night was made in a mockumentary style, the format of which was almost directly copied for the popular American musical band & TV show "The Monkees".
As with so many other things in today's music industry, The Beatles were pioneers & revolutionaries. Their promotional clip for 'Help!' was lavishly filmed across multiple locations, in full colour. It featured one of the first uses of rhythmic editing, cross cutting & dynamic camera movement & angles. Props & dynamic focus are also artfully used.
In 1965, the Beatles began creating 'Film Inserts', or promotional clips, primarily for US audiences, so that the band members could promote their music without making in-person appearances. Their first batch, including 'Day Tripper' were straightforwardly filmed in-studio performances, designed to fit in seamlessly within 'Top of the Pops' style television programmes.The full-colour promo clips for "Let it be", "Strawberry Fields Forever", & "Penny Lane", directed by Pete Goldman borrowed avant-garde techniques from the cinema industry including colour filtering, slow motion & reverse footage, which are all now staple techniques & can be found in one form or another, in most modern music videos.
At the time, the clips were poorly received due to their lack of narrative, as oppose to most professionally made film material at the time. These clips were not supposed to have a narrative, only to serve as a visual appendage of the music.
Promotional clips became common for bands, although the advent of the modern 'Music Video' came with the proliferation of Music Television, including the hugely popular MTV, borrowing heavily from 'chart shows' such as the British 'Top of the Pops' or Australian 'Countdown' or 'Sounds'.
Music videos were ideal material for chart-shows, & they became more & more readily produced alongside the release of records.
n 1981, the U.S. video channel MTV launched, airing "Video Killed the Radio Star" and beginning an era of 24-hour-a-day music on television. With this new outlet for material, the music video would, by the mid-1980s, grow to play a central role in popular music marketing. Many important acts of this period, most notably Adam and the Ants, Duran Duran and Madonna, owed a great deal of their success to the skillful construction and seductive appeal of their videos.
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Music consumption is something that has been changing over the years according to the different technology we have developed and used in society. Whether using wireless headphones or a gramophone people have their personal preferences of engaging with the music. For instance some people prefer vinyl turntables as there is more texture to the song that can be lost in headphones. It has also had to adapt to fit in with society's requirements when living in an age where we want things on demand and to keep up with our pace of life, as well as being more compatible with software we have built like Spotify, Youtube and Soundcloud. The fact that they are free streaming sites makes them appealing, but for creators it is an ideal platform to reach a mass audience. Which is why we would be distributing the product more on these digital formats, as it would be more successful as it's more interactive as you can share, like and comment on videos. This would help us understand the effects of our product and how people view it.
Music Video: Brief & Group
We decided to make a music video as appose to a short film. We thought it would be a good idea as there was already a stimulus that we could develop and create ideas from, therefore we would waste less time. In addition our group is very interested in the music scene, watching music videos frequently we were automatically inspired and motivated by the project. Because the majority of the group also take Art at A-Level it would give us an advantage when we need to produce a digipak and magazine advertisement, as we are familiar with the software we want to use to create this.
THE BRIEF: MUSIC VIDEO
- A music video
- A digipak for the albums release;
- A magazine advertisement for the digipak.
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Who is involved?
For this project I am working with Tommy Balderstone and Hannah Laws. By having a small group it enables us to vocalize our opinions more, but also work more efficiently as we aren't having to run things by each other constantly. On top of this Tommy, Richard and I have found we are independent workers who have specific skill sets which would compliment well together when collaborating.
Tommy: Is a very efficient editor and is very knowledgeable with the software we will use for any post processing. He also takes Art Multimedia which in previous projects has meant that he has had to produce advertisements for films and album covers.
Hannah: "My film opening last year was based around the idea of having an opening that emulated a music video. From this I have previous experience with what did or didn't work well. I also have more of a skill set in organizing the production(getting props, location etc), filming and creating visual aids that will go alongside the music video, because of my experience in Art.
I think working as part of a team will steer the project towards a better quality outcome, as its always good to have a mixture of opinions and views on how things should be done, so we can be more efficient. It will also help us develop our skills as we can learn from one another. As well as it being good preparation when thinking about the future and how no matter what occupation, there is still a sense of teamwork."
Thursday, 23 February 2017
Music Video: Rough Script & shot planning
[Rough without timings]
- Open with dynamic backlit shot of 'wine glass lava lamp'. The footage speeds up, slows & reverses erratically but rhythmically.
- Mid-shot of band setting up - informal & amateuer vibe.
- Singing starts - Close up of singer lip-syncing.
- Close up low angle of guitarist playing.
- Close up of bass neck.
- Dynamic, sweeping hand-held shot of band playing, floating between each member without stopping.
- Close up of singing again.
- Mid shot, instead of the band, Mr. Bones alone.
- Singer walks into above shot.
- Mr. Bones facial close up
- Mr. Bones facial close up, with face paint.
- Mr. Bones facial close up, with more face paint.
- Repeat above shot 4 x with snappy cuts until skull is well painted.
- Mr. Bones begins singing.
- For the rest of the video, rhythmically intersplice above shots of band, singer, & Mr. Bones.
- Shot of Neon glowing liquid in 2 syringes. Footage speeds up, slows & reverses in time with the music.
- Macro shot of singers pupil dilating.
- Macro shot of coloured leaf material through a microscope. Footage speeds up, slows & reverses in time with the music.
Wednesday, 23 November 2016
Music Video: Casting, Location, Equipment
Main Singer
We want the main singer to be naturally charismatic on camera. Thin but athletic. A bit scraggly. An able dancer with decent musical ability. Young.
We did some searching and finally chose:
Tommy Balderstone:
17 years old
Long, curly Brown hair,
Thin,
Good Actor & Performer.
Other Band Members
Drums - Jonas Pitt
Bass - Richard B-W
Guitar - Markus Krumins
The physical appearance of the band is less important because they will be mostly in the background. They are all good instrumentalists.
We'd decided that the general costume will be plain black trousers and shirts, because it will fir with the dim, coloured lighting.
Location
We need a studio/stage with good stage lighting which we can black out.
Initially, we contacted a place in Norwich,because we are aware that they have a plain studio with lights called "The Space". We asked them how much it would cost hourly, and they replied that they don't have an hourly rate, and we would have to book it for the entire day, as they usually use it for functions and conferences, so it wasn't quite right.
We chose the Drama studio at Wymondham High School to shoot our video. It has the necessary stage lighting as well as other equipment such as gels & props.
Every cast-member lives within 20 minutes driving distance.
Props & Equipment
On Amazon, we purchased glowing pink & blue fairy lights, as well as an assortment of glowing-UV paints & a UV torch.
All of the band has their own instruments, & they dont need to be plugged in becaue the music will be overlayed over the footage. There is a sound system in the studio to play the music over so that the band in synchronised and in time.
We also have an assortment of semi-random props which we will weave shots of throughout the video. A model skeleton & human body, a lava lamp & other scientific equipment such as pipettes and syringes.
We want the main singer to be naturally charismatic on camera. Thin but athletic. A bit scraggly. An able dancer with decent musical ability. Young.
We did some searching and finally chose:
Tommy Balderstone:
17 years old
Long, curly Brown hair,
Thin,
Good Actor & Performer.
Other Band Members
Drums - Jonas Pitt
Bass - Richard B-W
Guitar - Markus Krumins
The physical appearance of the band is less important because they will be mostly in the background. They are all good instrumentalists.
We'd decided that the general costume will be plain black trousers and shirts, because it will fir with the dim, coloured lighting.
Location
We need a studio/stage with good stage lighting which we can black out.
Initially, we contacted a place in Norwich,because we are aware that they have a plain studio with lights called "The Space". We asked them how much it would cost hourly, and they replied that they don't have an hourly rate, and we would have to book it for the entire day, as they usually use it for functions and conferences, so it wasn't quite right.
We chose the Drama studio at Wymondham High School to shoot our video. It has the necessary stage lighting as well as other equipment such as gels & props.
Every cast-member lives within 20 minutes driving distance.
Props & Equipment
On Amazon, we purchased glowing pink & blue fairy lights, as well as an assortment of glowing-UV paints & a UV torch.
All of the band has their own instruments, & they dont need to be plugged in becaue the music will be overlayed over the footage. There is a sound system in the studio to play the music over so that the band in synchronised and in time.
We also have an assortment of semi-random props which we will weave shots of throughout the video. A model skeleton & human body, a lava lamp & other scientific equipment such as pipettes and syringes.
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