Permition!

With our song being so old, it would be quite difficult for us to get the artist's permition to use their song. So what we are going to do is; find a cover of their song, or do a cover of their song. If we found one on the internet then we would still need to get their permition to use their voice(s) but it would be considerably easier than getting permition for the original.


This could also be quite useful as the quality of the music isn't very good, with it being from so long ago and with the music sounding so old, it wouldn't be very easy to recreate a video to match. Although we could age the footage in the editing process, all of the surroundings would be too modern and we coulnd't get them to match.

Genre Descision!

Since we couldn't find a genre or artist which would please us all, given our current, favourite artists. Gaynor mentioned using an older track.
This way we can use a more well known song, but we would't have the problem that we have with the more current ones. With the video being compared to the original. This is because older music videos are generally just a recording of a live performance.


We decided to use an older song, by and old artist that isn't around anymore. I had concidered the Beach Boys and Bay City Rollers, but niether of these would have worked for the same reason as One Direction; we don't know any enough boys that would be willing to perform or that would look convincing as a boyband.


We are all happy with our genre choice, and even though it's an old genre, it is a good thing that it isn't current enough for there to be a problem with the video.

Brain Storming!

In our group, although there are only three of us, together we have a very eclectic taste in music. This could either help or hinder our chance at making a great music video. As we have rather different tastes we were unsure if we would be able to find something to please all of us.

We talked about our favourite artists at the moment to see if we could find someone that would that sounds like all three.

 

Chloe said Evanescence

Gaynor said Demi Lovato

 



 I said One Direction

All of these three choices have problems and different reasons why we cannot use them;

Evanescence: We could not use Evanescence for our music video because the genre of music is very dramatic and the videos tend to be also. We do not have the money to spend or the equipment to make it look as proffessional. Also she if we made a video of her music then our work would just be compared to the original. This would make the quality of ours appear lower.

Demi Lovato: The reason we couldn't use Demi Lovato as our artist is because she has incredible music videos that are to difficult to remake and way too expencive. Also, Demi uses mixed genres within her music therefore quite difficult to comprehend and to express the particular genre we are using.

One Direction: We couldn't use One Direction for our artist because they are currently in the top 5 of the charts. Their song went straight to number 1 so everyone has seen their video. Giving us the same problem as we have with Evanescence; our video will be compared with theirs. The genre of their music would be very easy for us to use as it is very fast paced and we could make the video more interesting, but another problem we would have is that they are a very new band and their debut single only came out on the 10th August 2011. They currently only have two songs released, and their debut album comes out in November. 

Music Terms and Studying Music Videos


1. The lyrics are put into videos to help make the narrative more understandable and they can help determine the genre of the song. Also people can relate to the lyrics in a song.


2. The narrative in the video is quite important, because this also makes the song more understandable.


3. The star image is very important in respect to a pop video because if the artist has a big following then they would be eager to watch the videos just as much as they would to hear the new material. Also in pop music the artist would need to be relatively attractive in a pop video to make it more appealing.


4. a) When the term 'Illustrative' is used, it means; to take the lyrics and make them real in the video. Like a script.


b) Amplification is when someone overdoes their actions. They take the lyrics to literally and go over the top.


c) Disjuncture is when the lyrics and the action aren't related at all.


5. a) 'Speed' in pop videos means the speed of the cuts. Lots of different, fast cuts are more interesting to watch than long ones with few variations.


b) 'Meat!' means the close up shots on the artist's face, showing the full emotion of the performance.


c) 'Beat!' is when the actions or cuts match with the time of the beats.


d) In pop videos lots of colours and lighting is used. They always appear very upbeat and energetic. This also matches the type of the song.


e) The common elements, in terms of the mise-en-scene in pop videos, tend to include fast paced dance routines, full hair and make up and clothes in the height of fashion at the time.

Video History

1. Sing-a-long disney were some of the very first music videos, from films. But Queen's 'Bohemian Rapsedy' was one of the first music videos, along with Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'. Both of these videos are considered to be quite long, in comparison to the length of the majority of music videos now.

Queen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ&ob=av2e

Michael Jackson:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA&ob=av2n

2. The company behind MTV is Bio Com. This launched MTV into the television industry.

3. The music which dominated the 80's consisted of soft-rock artists such as Bon Jovi. Also Madonna introduced the New Romantic genre at this time.

4. In the early videos is was very important for the artist to have visual appeal. In genres such as pop, it still is. Because pop videos are supposed to be quite captivating. Other genre are less interested in the viual side. Genres such as rock generally just record a performance for their music video.

5. MTV was bought out my someone, this made them a global phenomenom and increased their success.

6. The music video for Michael Jackson's Thriller was very popular because it was the first video which had a proper narrative. Also Michael Jackson was already an established artist when this video came out so he could afford the extra expense to make it more extravegant.

10 vital steps for making a good video!

1. Planning - Planning is a very important step because not only does it help everyone understand what's happening, but it make the whole process easier to get through. If the planning is done well then everyone will know what's happening when, who should be there and where they should be.
2. Group - When in a group, what should you find out about potential members? and What shoud you do to help co-ordinate?
   
   The most important quality needed in a group member is the ability to work as a team. To find everyone's strengths and work on them. If there is just one person that wants to do everything then it will cause many problems, not only resentment within the group but an unnescassary about of preasure on this one person to get everything done. Each member of the group needs to be as determined as the others for the dynamic to work and everyone needs to get on and agree to disagree in certain instances. We also need ways of contacting the other members of the group, so that if theres a time someone can't come or on the flip side we arrange an impromptu gathering, everyone can get hold of one another through Facebook, Twitter, email or a simple phone call.
3. Songs - What to do and what not to do, why and what genre is best:The worst thing you can do when choosing a song is to choose one which is well known itself and even worse, has a well known video. If we chose a song/video that is well known then viewers will just compare it to the original, which of course would be a disadvantage to us because we don't have the ability to make anything slightly comparable with an official music video. It would also make it difficult for us to come up with a new idea for the video, we would end up just trying to recreate the original. The genre that would be most advisable is 'Pop' because it's fast paced so it would be easiest to make the video interesting to the viewer with all the different shots and cuttings with varying locations, mise-en-scene and situations.
4. Pitch - The pitch is a selection of 3 ideas we come up with, from within the group. Discussing the plot, location, costumes, mise-en-scene etc and then we decide which is the best idea, which would get us the best mark and most importantly, which one is the most possible for us to do. We also get a little oppertunity to work with the other group members for a short while as a sort of trial period - in this time we will find out who slots into which role and discover everyone's strengths.
5. Viewing - We looked at some videos done previously by A level media student. This showed us so much, we learnt what looks good and what doesn't work too well. We also saw that things done by amatures like us don't look the same as when they are done by proffessionals, even the most simple of things. They gave us a good idea as to what locations are good to shoot in, for example - if there is a video shot at college/sixth form, then it looks as though it was done at the last minute and not very much effort was put into it, so this isn't somewhere that we were advised to use. There are many aspects we saw that are nothing to do with location, costumes etc and more about the people involved. Depending on your choice of song, you need to have someone that is fitting for the video - for example, you can't have someone like, Amy Winehouse involved in a musical such as The Sound of Music - they don't fit together. Here is one of the best videos I looked at on the internet after this exercise. It is another music video by an A Level Media student;
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq6knJHF0YI.
   We also need to make sure the star of the video doesn't overact and make the performance too dramatic for the song, is confident enough to be beleivable but not over confident - again making it unbeleivable.
6. Planning & Shooting - If you plan the whole process of the video making well, then you are much more likely to succeed and get close to the effect you're after. Also if it is all well planned and organised then everyone knows what's happening and when it's happening. Plus, if there's any need for a last minute sooting - there will be more time and more oportunity to fit it in at the end. We also would have more time to get blogging in at the same time as filming and the more involved, active parts of the process.
7. Storyboard - The story boards acts as a sort of checklist. Included in the story board is the estimated time stretch of each individual shot, the mise-en-scene and then theres the sound, lighting, camera work and most importantly a breif sketch of what should be included in the frame. Not only will this help us to include all of our ideas and not miss anything out. It also makes it easier to get enough footage to fit the length of the song.
8. Checklist - The cheklist is really important, we need to make sure we all have everything because we don't want to get out on location then realise we are missing something. Also it makes it more helpful in knowing what peice of equipment is with who. When we're shooting we need to make sure we have:
   - A fully charged battery for the camera and possibly a spare.
   - A tri-pod so that the footage is steady and better quality.
   - The storyboard.
   - The camera
   The chacklist would also come in handy when we are leaving the location because that way nothing will get left behind
9. Effects and Cuttaways - It's important to have different effects and transitions in the video because it makes it interesting for the viewer. Not only with the variation of different shots but also the different transitions between the shots.
10. Editing - The editing stage of the whole process is vital. This is where the whole video comes together. The audio from the shootings we have done is deleted and we put the track down onto the timeline. following this we put all of the visuals down too, syncing them with audio. Which creates th video. In this section, we also get to see what has worked and what hasn't and what we may need to re-shoot or replace.

Studying music videos!

1. What is the perpose of the lyrics in the song? Why are they useful?
   The lyrics are very important in a song because not only is it impossible to sing a song without lyrics, but the lyrics tell the story. It's the lyrics that people can relate to and that make a certain song centimental to people. It is also vital for making the video. The music video is made to connect with the lyrics of the song. If it's a very narrative based song, then the video relys on the lyrics to help get the story across.
2. How important is the video narrative and performance?
   The narrative of the video is really important because it there is a boring or non-existant narrative then the viewer would quickly loose interest. This also applies to the performance. The performer needs to be confident enough to make the video entertaining and the performance as convincing as possible.
3. Star image
   
   The star image is quite a vital aspect of a music video, because so many people watch music videos to see their favourite stars in different situations, different styles and sometimes different genres. Even if the artist isn't a favourite, their image is still important to people and their choosing whether or not to watch the video. It can also attract an audience - if the artist has a really bad image and is known for destructive behaviour then, to most people that would be very off putting. But stars looking happy and usually attractive is much more appealing to a broader audience. Adding to this - the artists can be inspirational and their image is a major part of that.
4. A) In terms of a music video, what is 'illustration'?
   The illustration is the story, told by the music. Which can create an emotional response from the audience. Sometimes this can be done just by the song/video itself, others it has some form of centimental meaning attatched to the lyrics or story of the song.
   
   B) In terms of a music video, what does 'Amplification' mean?
   Amplification is when the action/visuals emphasise the lyrics of the song. For example, if there is something mentioned in the lyrics about someone running - in the video the performer/star will be running.
   
   C) What is 'Disjunture'? and is it a good technique to use in a music video?Disjunture is when the action/visuals of the video have no relevance to the songs lyrics. This makes the video a little out of the ordinary and quite quirky. One example of a star that uses disjunture a lot this is Lady Gaga, she uses this technique in most, if not all of her videos. She is a big success and is known for being a little different, that is actually her trade mark - her quirky clothes, peculiar videos and over the top desings. So yes is can be a good technique to use in pop videos, but only for certain artists. Someone like Adele couldn't pull off what Lady Gaga does - she's too normal, as is her music. Here is an example of Lady Gaga using Disjunture; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrO4YZeyl0I
5. A) What is meant by ther term 'Speed' in relation to a pop video?Speed is the cutting rate of the different shots in the video. The 'speed' would change depending on the genre of the music because pop video tend to have a quick tempo therefore the shots would be much quicker paced than a big power ballad - that would be much slower.
   Example pop video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1xs_xPb46M&ob=av2e
   Example power ballad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=pDxoj-tDDIU&feature=endscreen
   
   B) In terms of a music video what does 'Meat' mean?In terms of music videos 'Meat' is when close ups are used, close ups on the performer/musicians face sometimes the band are included in this too. This is done to show the full emotion on their faces more clearly. This helps much more to make the video easier to relate to and much more convincing.
   
   C) In terms of a music video what does 'Beats' mean?'Beats' is when the visuals are cut in time to the beat of the song. Whether it be that the shot ends to the beat of the song or the action in the video matches the beats.

Preparing for Production!

Video Trivia

In preparation for the making of our music video we have been looking at all the different aspects of a music video. We have mainly focused on the Pop genre more than any other. We have been showed a selection of previous A2 music videos student have made to demonstrate what is expected of us to get the grade that we require. Here are some of the things which we learnt:

1. Pop music has had the greatest influence on youth because it is the most popular genre of music, which mean it is played more than any other. And has been for the last 50 years.

2. Emerging artists would do something drastic in their first music video because they would have a very low budget, therefore they would not be able to afford to make a glamorous video, which artists that are already established can. An emerging artist will want to o something to be remembered by, hense doing something drastic in their first video.

3. The primary perpose of the pop video is not only to entrtain, but also to sell the artsit and make them more recognisable.

4. The public have come to react very well to music videos. So well in fact that some people actually buy the video on DVD to watch at their leasure.

Introduction!

For our A2 coursework we are making a music video, in small groups within our class. I am working in a group of 3;  me (Melissa Berry), Gaynor Young and Chloe Berry.


Throughout the course this blog will be like a diary. In which I will be recording all of the developments of our ideas, from deciding the genre of music we use to the different camera angles.


I have not worked in a group before when creating videos. For my AS level in media I chose to work on my own so that I could try out all of my own ideas and find where my strengths and weaknesses are. Now that I have had the chance to do that I think it is good that I am getting the chance to work in a small group, so that we can all add ideas and see how we all interpret the song differently.


For this coursework it is unnescassary for us to repeat a preliminary as we have all used the equipment for our AS coursework. I felt that I worked, and understood the equipment such as; the editing softwear and camera quite well, so I can't see why I wouldn't be able to this time.