Showing posts with label 3. Research And Planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3. Research And Planning. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Monday, February 15, 2016
Stylistic Influences: David Spearing
I gained some inspiration for my music video from one of my favourite directors, David Spearing. David Spearing is a filmmaker and editor who works within the industry creating several different media texts, such as documentaries, music videos, concert films, promotional material for bands and short films.
I particularly liked the fact that this video was set outside. The fact that the bands surroundings were green and full of nature and natural surroundings matches the genre of the song. The country feel of the song clearly fits with the visuals, as do the bands clothing. This allowed me to filter in aspects of the outdoors into my music video, along with the idea of a checkered shirt which is a connotation of the leafy surroundings.
Secondly, I gained inspiration from Mcfly's "Love Is Easy" music video.
I liked the fact that this music video was based around memories (or in this case old album artwork as well as memories). This gave me the idea that I should filter in memories of the two characters of my music video and use them to show the kind of unhappy place they were in at present time of the video. I also liked how this music video had some natural features, such as when Tom Fletcher is holding the sing upside down, as it allows the music video to flow better and makes the narrative look more relaxed and realistic. In my music video, i aim to capture some natural moments of my two characters and use them to tell the story of their relationship, making my narrative seem more real and comfortable.
Firstly, I gained inspiration from Spearing's music video for Hunter & The Bear and their song "Forest On The Hill".
I particularly liked the fact that this video was set outside. The fact that the bands surroundings were green and full of nature and natural surroundings matches the genre of the song. The country feel of the song clearly fits with the visuals, as do the bands clothing. This allowed me to filter in aspects of the outdoors into my music video, along with the idea of a checkered shirt which is a connotation of the leafy surroundings.
Secondly, I gained inspiration from Mcfly's "Love Is Easy" music video.
I liked the fact that this music video was based around memories (or in this case old album artwork as well as memories). This gave me the idea that I should filter in memories of the two characters of my music video and use them to show the kind of unhappy place they were in at present time of the video. I also liked how this music video had some natural features, such as when Tom Fletcher is holding the sing upside down, as it allows the music video to flow better and makes the narrative look more relaxed and realistic. In my music video, i aim to capture some natural moments of my two characters and use them to tell the story of their relationship, making my narrative seem more real and comfortable.
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Storyboarding...
I decided to only storyboard the first two versus of my music video as I am not sure how I want it to end as I have changed from my original idea. The story line I do have though portrays the lyrics well in the first two verses.
Coursework: Permission...
I decided to send an email to James Bay's management to ensure that I would be able to use his song for educational purposes. Below is a copy of the email sent.
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Monday, December 7, 2015
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
CD Inserts And Booklets
For the ancillary task I have researched what Album Covers and CD inserts include and what common characteristics feature across a range of different genres and albums.
Similarly, the motif of colour, typography and symbols are copied onto the CD itself, again making it easy to comprehend the style of the CD and the package as a whole. As seen in the second image, the floral motif of the album is copied onto the spine and clearly displays the same imagery and ideas as the front cover itself. This shows me that the spine is just as important as the front cover in its overall look as it is often the first thing seen by a consumer when the album is on the shelf. For my spine, I will need to consider how the spine (and the album front cover) echoes the overall tone of my music video.
For this album, the cover is very simplistic and 'ordinary'. Unlike the others, it does not include Andy Warhol ''Pop Art'' style colours or animated symbols. I like the fact that the cover has people on the cover as I feel like makes the album instantly recognizable. I could easily echo this idea by taking a simple photo of my actor and having him as the focus of the front cover.
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Sunday, October 11, 2015
The Best Album Covers Of All Time
In this post, I aim to look at some of the best album covers of all time. For this I will be using Billboard's ''Best Album Covers Of All Time'' list (http://www.billboard.com/photos/6715351/best-album-covers-of-all-time/26 ).
Perhaps one of the most iconic album covers, in my opinion, is Bowie's ''Aladdin Sane''. Bowie ultimately changed the face of Pop music at the time of his height, particularly with his alter-ego Ziggy Stardust. I believe the album artwork echoes the image of Ziggy Stardust, and is the mot popular imagery related to this phase in his career. The Aladdin Sane album artwork, in my opinion, will always be one of the most iconic, not only of David Bowie, but of pop culture in general.
No 23. David Bowie - Aladdin Sane
Perhaps one of the most iconic album covers, in my opinion, is Bowie's ''Aladdin Sane''. Bowie ultimately changed the face of Pop music at the time of his height, particularly with his alter-ego Ziggy Stardust. I believe the album artwork echoes the image of Ziggy Stardust, and is the mot popular imagery related to this phase in his career. The Aladdin Sane album artwork, in my opinion, will always be one of the most iconic, not only of David Bowie, but of pop culture in general.
No 13. Blink 182 - Enema Of The State
The Blink 182 album of the 1990's bought portrait to a whole new level. Becoming instantly iconic, the actress on the cover can be seen to be provocative and inviting, the opposite of the album title. Blink 182 took the brightly coloured, pin-up girl theme and gave it a daring spin, giving the album title a hint of truth with the actress dressed as a nurse. The bold colours and imagery give the album cover an unforgettable image.
No 6. Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon
The strong, bold imagery of this album cover is still echoed and worn by many today, clearly making the cover iconic and noticable my many. The simple cover is unforgettable as many teens who were not around to hear the album first hand still wear its bold imagery today.
No 2. The Beatles - Abbey Road
The Abbey Road album cover is perhaps the most replicated and memorable album cover of all time. Many have replicated the simple photograph of the Abbey Road crossing and always compare it to The Beatles originally. Also making it the most iconic is the fact that it features on many top, bags, umbrellas, posters and badges now, despite the fact that The Beatles were at their height in the 1960's. The Abbey Road imagery is so strong that people instantly know the name of the street and album without even recognizing the area, due to The Beatles themselves. The album is also one of the most well-known Beatles covers along side Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, also known for its appearances as title sequences such as 'The Big Fat Quiz Of The Year'.
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Q Magazine: ''Mini-Movie'' Music Videos
In the Q Magazine article, Dave Grohl argues that '' When musicians start to use the phrase 'mini-movie' to describe a video, it's time to quit''. He goes on to say that the internet goes on to unpack the sexual and racial politics of the video, forgetting that its just a regular thing for a 'pop star' to do in their career. Grohl slates the idea of a ''mini-movie'' music video stating them to be ''long, self-regarding, hubristic and flamboyantly expensive'', with ''bonus points for celebrity appearances and homage to obvious movies''.
The article suggests that an event video is a window in the musicians mind, and is designed to project power and money into the eye of their audience however, often ends up revealing the artists fatal floors. Despite this, Grohl argues that the only thing that matters to the artist is the short term impact. With Billboard now having a top 100 video list on Youtube that takes into account Vevo's views, he suggests that the artist is aiming for the most amount of hits for a controversial video and not the art form they are creating. It is clearly suggested that these songs become big due to their internet popularity not due to the worthiness of the song. For example, ''Bad Blood'' by Taylor Swift only topped Billboards chart for a week due to it's amount of hits/views on Youtube. Similarly, Rihanna's ''Bitch Better Have My Money'' surfaced at number 17 on the chart without it's video, showing how the controversial nature of her ''mini-movie'' boosted the songs ratings overall.
Grohl, however, does state that some ''mini-movies'' can do themselves justice, such as Kendrick Lammar's ''Alright'' event video which clearly relates to the zeitgeist of America at the time of it's release. He goes on to say that many of these justifying ''mini-movies'' are few and far between, proving that the ''mini-movie'' should be left out of the music industry.
Personally, I believe the ''mini-movie'' music video can do itself justice if it is relevant to the type of the song or of the time of its release. ''Mini-movies'', in my opinion, can work if they are made using high quality, cinematic shots, rather than low quality/under prepared ideas. If the concept of the ''mini-movie'' music video is to challenge perceptions or address real life issues then I believe that the ''mini-movie'' does justice to the artist creating the meaning. However, weak storylines and bad acting can ruin the music videos intention and appear as a ''cringy'' which takes away the entire thought process of the original idea and creates a platform of mockery for all those viewing it.
Overall, I believe that the ''mini-movie'' music video can be just as effective as a short length music video if the concept is right, however I also think that it is easy for an artist to misrepresent themselves or ruin the meaning of their song by choosing the ''mini-movie'' route.
The article suggests that an event video is a window in the musicians mind, and is designed to project power and money into the eye of their audience however, often ends up revealing the artists fatal floors. Despite this, Grohl argues that the only thing that matters to the artist is the short term impact. With Billboard now having a top 100 video list on Youtube that takes into account Vevo's views, he suggests that the artist is aiming for the most amount of hits for a controversial video and not the art form they are creating. It is clearly suggested that these songs become big due to their internet popularity not due to the worthiness of the song. For example, ''Bad Blood'' by Taylor Swift only topped Billboards chart for a week due to it's amount of hits/views on Youtube. Similarly, Rihanna's ''Bitch Better Have My Money'' surfaced at number 17 on the chart without it's video, showing how the controversial nature of her ''mini-movie'' boosted the songs ratings overall.
Grohl, however, does state that some ''mini-movies'' can do themselves justice, such as Kendrick Lammar's ''Alright'' event video which clearly relates to the zeitgeist of America at the time of it's release. He goes on to say that many of these justifying ''mini-movies'' are few and far between, proving that the ''mini-movie'' should be left out of the music industry.
Personally, I believe the ''mini-movie'' music video can do itself justice if it is relevant to the type of the song or of the time of its release. ''Mini-movies'', in my opinion, can work if they are made using high quality, cinematic shots, rather than low quality/under prepared ideas. If the concept of the ''mini-movie'' music video is to challenge perceptions or address real life issues then I believe that the ''mini-movie'' does justice to the artist creating the meaning. However, weak storylines and bad acting can ruin the music videos intention and appear as a ''cringy'' which takes away the entire thought process of the original idea and creates a platform of mockery for all those viewing it.
Overall, I believe that the ''mini-movie'' music video can be just as effective as a short length music video if the concept is right, however I also think that it is easy for an artist to misrepresent themselves or ruin the meaning of their song by choosing the ''mini-movie'' route.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Textual Analysis: Happy By Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams became known for his ''catchy'' song ''Happy'' in 2014. Not only did Pharrell rule the charts, he also created one of the biggest creations of cross media convergence of its time.
Alongside the release of his single, Pharrell Williams also released a 24 hour version of his music video, which showed different clips depending on the time zone/location in which you clicked the link. This 24 hour music video aired at the Buenos Aires Film Festival, showing how a mass market product can appeal to a niche audience. To date, the video has 668million views on YouTube. The exchange of the 24 hour music video was widely encouraged by Pharrell and his team, along with the encouragement of fans recreating their own version of the ''Happy'' music video, with the original text symbols and ideas from the original music video.
This promotion allowed ''Happy'' to become much more known, with fans from around the globe creating their own ''Happy'' music videos with the tagline, ''We Are Happy From...''. Many examples of exchange have come from places such as Japan, America, Mongolia, Australia, Unibas and many other locations.
Many of the videos were very professional and received many views themselves.
Continuing it's promotion and viral spread, the audio became the soundtrack to the children's film, ''Despicable Me'', creating another link between the single and other media texts. An example of this is the featuring of the films ''Minion'' characters in the music video to the single.
The popularity of the music video comes down to it's simplicity. The video was directed by a French production team, known as ''We Are From LA''. The simplicity of the video was also translated into the hardware used to create it as all the shots were merely filmed with a steady cam. Both the team and Pharrell Williams can be responsible for the changing nature of copyright infringements due to their encouragement for others to use the track to express themselves.
The success of the music video led to it winning many awards at the Grammy's.
Alongside the release of his single, Pharrell Williams also released a 24 hour version of his music video, which showed different clips depending on the time zone/location in which you clicked the link. This 24 hour music video aired at the Buenos Aires Film Festival, showing how a mass market product can appeal to a niche audience. To date, the video has 668million views on YouTube. The exchange of the 24 hour music video was widely encouraged by Pharrell and his team, along with the encouragement of fans recreating their own version of the ''Happy'' music video, with the original text symbols and ideas from the original music video.
This promotion allowed ''Happy'' to become much more known, with fans from around the globe creating their own ''Happy'' music videos with the tagline, ''We Are Happy From...''. Many examples of exchange have come from places such as Japan, America, Mongolia, Australia, Unibas and many other locations.
Many of the videos were very professional and received many views themselves.
Continuing it's promotion and viral spread, the audio became the soundtrack to the children's film, ''Despicable Me'', creating another link between the single and other media texts. An example of this is the featuring of the films ''Minion'' characters in the music video to the single.
The popularity of the music video comes down to it's simplicity. The video was directed by a French production team, known as ''We Are From LA''. The simplicity of the video was also translated into the hardware used to create it as all the shots were merely filmed with a steady cam. Both the team and Pharrell Williams can be responsible for the changing nature of copyright infringements due to their encouragement for others to use the track to express themselves.
The success of the music video led to it winning many awards at the Grammy's.
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