Research - Music Video Analysis 6 - The Mother We Share by CHVRCHES

This establishing shot is similar to the one we have planned for our own music video, it shows a long shot of a girl in a bed, the lighting is very natural yet bright, we want our room to be a little bit darker than this to help with the sad narrative at the beginning.

This jump cuts to an extreme close up of a hand, which moves to create the next shot...

Once the hand from the previous shot moves, the name of the band/artist appears. We will have already shown our song and artist at the beginning as standard for A-Level submissions so we can't really do this but I would have liked to otherwise as it looks really good.

This shot is very similar to something we are going to use in our own music video. The way the name of the song is written in the same colour as the set but it is written over her hair is so clever, this is not something we are going to use but the set, shot and styling are all very similar to what we are looking at.

This shows a long shot with the lead singer centre of shot, performance shots are common convention but we do not have a band we are using as the music is mainly synth and computer edited sounds so we are just having our artists sing into the camera. The lighting here just allows the peoples outlines to be highlighted and it looks really edgy and unique, I haven't seen anything like this in other videos and I really like it.

Extreme close-ups like these allow a real insight into the detail of the shots. This is really easy to do yet effective for the audience so we could definitely include something like this in our own music video.

The lighting in this shot is really interesting as the light comes from one point at the centre of the shot to illuminate the two musicians and their instruments. We are hoping to use a single point of light in our closing shot so this is really helpful.

This is such an interesting shot as the main singer is constantly in focus but her band fade in and out with a shadowed effect over them, this would be ideal for when we are trying to portray the break up of the relationship in the relationship but I'm not sure if we would be able to achieve this.

This sequence of shots could work well for our music video. The right of frame close-up cuts to a right of frame long shot, to an extreme close-up show a lot of natural light but the actor is still shown quite darkly.

Lighting is used in really interesting ways all through this music video, this is such a common shot but I think it is still so effective and I would love to be able to do something like this in our music video if we can find somewhere that it will work.

This shot is also quite common in music videos but it is quit simple to achieve so we could also use this as inspiration, I think that in particular, it looks really good when it is either over or under cranked.

The editing here makes the video look very futuristic and post modern, it is such an amazing visual and I really wish we had the skills to do this because it would really work in our indie, synth based song,

The closing shot here is one I have seen used a lot in indie music videos, just a fading light to a black screen, this is something we could easily achieve so we may use this as inspiration.

How this research has influenced my planning...

This has shown me how effective even simple shots can be with the right location and framing, I feel like the use of very neutral and white colours with bursts of brightness is really interesting and may be something we could use.

Planning - Creating a Star Image

The existing artists that we are going to look at to try and find influence for our own stars, are...

• Ariana Grande

Ariana is a very modern, typical woman who is very independant and her songs show that she is strong and doesn't need a man to validate her success, she is a style icon for so many girls as she is young, very pretty and dresses in the latest fashion.

• Katy Perry

Katy Perry is a really upbeat artist, some of the costumes she wears are really outlandish which wouldn't work for our theme in our video but she is a really independent and strong woman and she is really an icon for younger girls.

• Shania Twain

Shania Twain is someone who could appeal to the older end of our target audience. She is again, a strong female artist who would appeal to both a male and female audience. Her songs promote a strong female image and this is what we want to achieve.

• Michael Buble

Michael Buble would be a good person to influence the artist that Luke is going to be playing as he is popular with both of our target audience age groups, he is very charismatic and charming and his songs are all very soulful.

• Bruno Mars

Bruno Mars would appeal to our younger audience more than the older but he does also have older fans. His music is really popular and his image is really unique and cool.

• Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran

Taylor Swift's duet with Ed Sheeran is something that we could definitely use as inspiration for our own music video, they both mainly have a younger audience but a lot of adults are also fans of both artists so they are a great inspiration for our artists.


How this research has influenced my planning
This has really helped me see which aspects of existing stars would be good to use for our star to try and make them successful, we need the female lead to be independent and strong who is able to attract both a male and female audience through her looks, music and fashion. Our male lead needs to be strong, stylish and have that suave look which will appeal to both target audience.

Planning - Star Name Ideas

As we are using two artists, we need to find a suitable group name for our Star Image, these are some names that we initially brain stormed...

(insert scanned in photo here)

We then tried to Google 'Names that mean...' and tried Google Translate to change words we liked into different things that wouldn't already be used by existing bands.

Joe typed in 'light' into Google translate and changed it into various different languages as this was our favourite word that we wanted to incorporate as we are using the theme of light and dark in our music video so we thought it would be clever to include it in the band name too.

Planning - Principle Photography

After a conversation we had in class we are, this weekend, going to Barton so Joe and I can walk around to scout any more possible locations and take photographs of them to help not only with planning for location, but it may also help us find a colour scheme that will create a synergy between our video and digipak. To do this we have signed out one of the cameras from Media and my mum is going to drive me through to Barton.

We also need to ask our artists, either on the same day as the location photography or a different but soon date, to bring a few changes of clothes to find which outfits work best with which locations to try and create an idea of how her star image should look and what kind of clothes would work with the digipak.

Planning - Facebook/Group Chats

Joe made a group chat for our music video through Facebook Messenger,  he added the two people that are going to be our main actors, Katie and Luke, then of course Joe and myself, this is where we have discussed the overall storyline of the music video we are making, we have told Katie and Luke their roles, locations, and how to dress. We are also going to add my friend Maddy in to the chat as she is really interested in make-up and she is a hairdresser so she can help out in that sense.
We are also going to use the group chat to arrange times and dates that will be viable for everyone to get to.

Planning - Group Post on Rough sketches for record label ideas

Planning: Rough sketches for record label ideas

These are a few rough idea's I had for the record label's name and graphic design, Since we are creating an indie music video I decided to try and go down an indie design with names like " All City Records" and "Smash Records"

Joe sent me some ideas for the record label ideas and logos, there was one particular one that isn't on the picture he posted on here that I really liked, I have cropped it and pictured it below, I feel like Culture Shock is the best name for our record label and the logo looks really effective

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Research - Music Video Analysis 5 - Charlemagne by Blossoms

I love this opening shot, the black screen with the white quote immediately makes the video really unique and alternative. Its so effective, I would love to have something like this in our music video, I think that the quote really relates to the song and so is a really effective way of capturing the attention of the audience. Another thing that may link to this is that Charlemagne was a ruthless and pitiless Viking who didn't care who they hurt so this may be a reference to the song and narrative of the play.

The first actual shot in the music video shows this smoke emerging from the door using a zoom, but also the camera is spinning, using canted angles, making the room appear as if it is turning, this gives the video an odd illusion but it is really unique and effective, I think it works really well with the video and if we could manage to achieve a shot like this it would be amazing in our video as it gives the idea of disorganisation and mess.

This shot of the hourglass links back to the quote at the beginning as 'time is the only purgatory'. Here, more canted angles are used to continue the disorganised concept in the video. There is also pan shots around and the shot jump cuts from a long shot to an extreme close-ups.

The first shot we see of the actual band is when the camera pans around them at a fast pace, all of the shots are quite fast paced as they try to match the jump cuts to the beat of the song. I love this shot, the band members laying on the floor makes the shot a high angle shot yet they have so much power, it is really effective.

The way the lighting is used here is really interesting, by making the people appear like shadows it highlights the disarray hinted at through all the canted angles and the use of smoke, it also adds a mystery to the characters which is continued in the video narrative. The set design is really unique and although it is dark, the curtains have a real light and quite elegant appearance.

The camera then cuts to a shot of the lead singer of Blossoms. He is laid on the floor with the camera above him, this is a really high angle shot and it really unique as these shots are not common convention in the indie genre.

Another jump cut, along with the lyrics 'Hello, hello' shows an extreme high angle (sometimes called a birds eye view or a crane shot). Again this is unusual for indie videos but I think it works well with the narrative.

This shot has some framing through the corridor full of different doors, this set is so amazing, if something like this were available to us then it would be so useful to be able to include framing like this. The lyrics here are 'if you go, I will know' so it is like she is hiding from him, yet he doesn't want her to leave because he loves her, this is a lyric/visual match.

 

Canted angles are again used along with a rotation in the editing stage to show the lead singer upside down. This is after the lyrics 'do you feel the same, my Charlemagne?' which may suggest she has turned is world upside down, again showing how the canted angles and rotations suggest unrest and disorganisation. 

The closing shot in this video is rather interesting, the playing cards play a large part through the narrative of the music video, and here it is, stark white against the black background, burning, this could be a message saying that the actor is through with playing games with Charlemagne. 

How this research has influenced my planning

The editing in this video has really inspired me, as there is some disorganisation and distress in our music video so the canted angles and rotation of shots could come in really handy and make the music video look really effective and professional, hopefully we could include something like this because it works so well.

Planning - Costume and Make-up

Costume - As we are doing an indie rock video we need to represent this in the costume, I feel like it would be a good idea if both of us or even one of us went into town and went into the charity shops or even into the vintage thrift shops in Sheffield to find some clothes to fit the genre, or I even already have some vintage shirts that we could use. Joe has a lot of ideas about potential costumes so I think he is taking the lead in the costume hunt and I will be in charge of make-up.

Make-up - After researching indie music videos I found that make-up for the girls is actually very natural, this has lead me to think about just giving Katie a basic foundation and eyeliner look as the make-up shouldn't really be a big part of this story line. I might add a bit of  dark eye make-up around Luke's eyes to highlight the metaphorical death feel, but in the flashbacks he should just look normal. I feel like when the relationship is happy, Katie's hair can be braided and pretty yet neat, with shimmery and sparkly yet natural make-up, but when the relationship is 'dead' she should have messy, tousled hair and darker eyes but keeping it natural, I used powerpoint to make a mood board for inspiration.

Research - Indie Conventions

Music Video

• It is very common for indie artists to do a live performance during their music videos, this way the main focus is on the singer and their talent - a modern twist on this is now to add in a narrative in between to break this up which will entertain the audience and also help the artist compete with other genres who have narrative based videos.
• Instruments are often used in indie music videos as it is mainly about the music they produce instead of having a big flashy video.
• Extreme close-ups, close-ups and pan shots are very common in music videos especially in the indie genre, this is because the artists will have their own alternative style which will be shown through close- up shots, and pan shots will be able to display the band/performance shots and highlight the instruments used, these conventions are clearly shown in the video for Sundara Karma's 'Loveblood', with close up showing Oscar Lulu's eyeliner, nail polish and crop top and pan shots displaying their performance.
• Editing is used a lot now in indie videos to make them look more vintage/old fashioned as that is mainly how people who are considered 'indie' usually dress and the things they like are the same style.
• Indie music videos are often known to be quite low budget, this is why their locations are usually places that can be easily accessed, for example studios, parks, tunnels and pubs.

Costume
Indie bands usually wear clothing of two sorts, either mainly black clothing (like Van Mcann for example, pictured to the left, this time without his typical leather jacket,  but in a black top and black jeans), black and white stripes are also popular with the indie genre.
The other style usually linked to indie is vintage style clothes, for example vintage, patterned shirts, the kind of things you'd find in thrift shops and charity shops (one example is Oscar Lulu from Sundara Karma with his bold, vintage shirts).


Make-Up
The make-up used in indie videos is usually very natural, at most there will be some eyeliner and foundation on during performance shots. When the video is mainly narrative based, there will be make-up appropriate to the story line, e.g if the song is sad and emotional there may be smeared make-up or if it is a really happy, party like story there will be excessive amounts of glitter used.


Shot Types
We watched the video for Catfish and The Bottlemen's Cocoon and made a list of the shot types included in the video, we also then watched the first part of the Homesick video to compare and add to the list. Most of these are conventional indie shots but I don't think all of them are applicable to our music video...

• Framing
• Track shots
• Zoom
• Two Shot
• ESL
• Short ASL
• Shot Reverse Shot
• High Angle Two Shot
• Group Shot
• Blur
• Left Of Frame
• Montages
• Performance Shot
• Black and White
• Vintage/Sepia filter
• Hand Held Camera

How This Research Has Influenced My Planning
After researching this, I would like to use quite bold vintage shirts in the happier scenes to represent the indie genre, the sadder scenes would be all dressed in black, so black jeans and a black t-shirt and a black leather jacket or suit jacket. The make-up will start really natural but will acquire eyeliner and then lipstick as the video progresses.

Research - Possible Theorists

Planning - Introducing Our Artists: A Star Image

Katie Bartlett
Joe's friend Katie is going to be our main actor in our music video, she is 17 years old and currently at college. She has had a lot of musical theatre experience so she will definitely be comfortable in front of the camera, especially after having done a national music tour. As you can see above, she is very photogenic and pretty so she will hopefully appeal to a female audience as a role model figure, and also appeal to a male audience through Laura Mulvey's 'Male Gaze' theory.


Luke Wakeman
Luke is also 17 years old and he attends college. He does again have a musical theatre background so he will not be shy or uncomfortable when acting in front of the camera. Luke has done two national musical tours and this will have added to his experience. Luke, who is also very photogenic, will appeal to females mainly as he is a good looking male but other males may idolise him if we create the right star image for him.

Research - Institutions: SoundCloud

https://soundcloud.com/

Soundcloud is a really effective way of getting your music online, the site is actually just audio files, not videos so we wouldn't be able to upload our video on here unfortunately. It is a free website unless you want to subscribe to Soundcloud Premium, but it is always free to upload audio tracks. This is going to be really helpful for new and upcoming artists as Soundcloud is becoming more and more popular and helping undiscovered artists find managers and record labels, this is partly due to the fact that the service attracts more than 175 million unique monthly listeners, while content creators upload about 12 hours worth of audio every minute.


Most listening on Soundcloud takes place on mobile devices so the target audience is going to be a modern one as it is mainly a teenage/early adult audience who use their phones for streaming music. Soundcloud's biggest audience is people who are usually creators of music themselves so it is going to be a creative audience they will be marketing towards. This is why it would be a good platform to use to launch a small indie band.



- Launched: 2008
- Active Users: Well over 250 million (October 2013)
- 175 million monthly listeners
- 12 hours of audio uploaded every minute 
- Immensely popular with music discovery, outreach
- “Timed Comments” allow any user to comment on a specific timestamp within the audio content, inviting discussion and advocacy

- Soundcloud’s API makes it easy to share and consume audio through its mobile app and embedded widgets.

How this research has influenced my planning

I don't see us using Soundcloud for our media project as there is no option to upload videos and that is obviously the entire task we have been set so it is really not a viable option for us, however I do really think it would be a great platform if we were to create an original single.

Planning - Changing Direction

Our initial ideas for the music video we wanted to create for 'Dreams' was a very whimsical and outlandish video, we were going to include a lot of glitter and special fx make-up to really emphasise the 'dream' concept and make it really unique. Now, once we analysed the lyrics and tried to match images to lyrics we decided on a new, metaphorical concept based video. We are going to use Katie and Luke, two actors from The Duck Egg Theatre Company to be our actors. The new story is going to show a girl with a boy who is either dead, or dead to her, it is open to the audiences interpretation. We are going to do this through having him dressed in black clothes and fading in and out of shots, also by having photographs of them together around the bedroom we are using. We thought a montage of them together would help emphasise their relationship, but to link the shots to the lyrics 'players only love you when they're playing' we are going to start the montage happy but slowly get less happy with extreme close ups of texts saying 'sorry can't make it' and Katie being stood up on a date etc. This kind of story really links with the repeated lyrics, "what you had, and what you lost". I think this will also look more professional and will be more easily filmed and edited in the time and budget we have.

Research - Music Video Analysis 4 - Young Understanding by Sundara Karma - Shot Types

Shot Types Research

This shot shown through a security camera is very post modern and could suggest a social comment.

This long shot of the band shows a performance shot, these are common convention in the indie genre.

This is a very post modern technique to show the cameras and cast behind the camera.

This extreme low angle is so effective in this music video and is really postmodern.

This reaction shot shows a close up of one of the band members, it also shows off their style through his costume and hair.

This shot shows editing to blur everything apart from the musician and his guitar.

This shot is a backwards tracking steadicam,

This close up shows the lead singer through a low angle shot.

The shot types included in this music video are...

• extreme close ups
• long shots
• tracking cam
• steadicam
• low angle
• extreme low angle
• shots through security cameras
• close up with left framing
• zooms
• performance shots
• group shots

How this has influenced my planning

I now see what kind of shots are usual for indie music videos and its really helpful to see what should be included in my own music video. I hope we can incorporate all of these shots in our video as they were so effective here. We definitely need to include extreme close ups of our artists, zoom shots and long shots. Performance shots are common convention for indie music videos but we do not have a band that are playing so we can't do this.