Evaluation Question 4

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

This whole project relied on the ability to interact effectively with media technology effectively, individually and as a group. The different media technologies are extensive:

• www.blogger.com
• www.youtube.com
• Adobe Photoshop
• Final Cut Pro
• Video recording cameras
• Photo cameras
• Screen grab

Personally I feel we've been very successful from start to finish. To start with, the most important thing to do was learn how to use this website. It was going to be the medium through which we would present the coursework so it was vital to be familiar and comfortable with the software.



This was the screen which greeted me every time I logged on to Blogger. I grew accustomed to using the different buttons to do exactly what they said. I also learned to use the post writing page very quickly, as it was just like a word processor in the way it worked. The only difference was using labels on each post, which was done simply by writing them in the box provided like so:


other than that this section of the work was relatively simple. The next website I felt the need to become familiar was www.youtube.com because it would become very useful for my research at the beggining of the project. In coupling with this, I learned how to embed the videos from YouTube onto my blogs. This was done by pasting the "Embed Code" from YouTube onto the "Edit Html" section of the website.

This allowed me to present all the videos which I
used in my research, and was far better aesthetically than just providing a link. All that was required was copying and pasting one simple code and the video was viewable.

After researching the videos I decided to make the mood board as a source of inspiration. Here I used simple screen captures of shots from the paused videos, again from YouTube. But to make the mood board itself I used the Adobe Photoshop programme. I simply used a different layer for each shot, this allowed me to overlay them slightly, filling up the page in a stylish manner. I used this exact same method when making the mood board for the album covers.

We also used this programme whilst making the ancillary tasks. Personally for the magazine advert I found it particularly useful. To start with, I used the gradient tool (pictured) to create a simple gradient and changed to colours to red and black, the colours of our theme. I then imported the image of the album cover Tom had already used, because I knew that this would need to be featured on the advert. I experimented with it in several places before deciding the middle was best. Next I chose the first font and placed the font, including all the essential information needed from an advert (Release date, title, artist, record label). I then imported some more images of logos of the various corporations and labels involved with the album and arranged them along the bottom, as this seemed to be their most ideal location. After this, the text needed to be modified to look for professional. To do this I used the blending options to add drop shadows, interior/exterior glows and bevels.

The next, and perhaps most important media technology needed in the project was the Final Cut programme. It was on this that we made the video itself, and it was also the most difficult programme to use in my opinion. It was a programme I had never used before personally but after alot of practice I finally got the hang of it. The part I found most confusing was the different tracks, but in the end I got the hang of it. It eventually turned out to be alot more useful. Spreading the clips over two seperate tracks made it alot less confusing and fiddly. If we had kept it on the same track, we would have had to change the timing on each individual clip, but instead we were able to overlay them instead. It was also through this programme that we were able to add extras such as effects and transitions to the video. The fades at the end of the video were a result of this, as was the tint and contrast changes over the whole video.

It wasn't only software that we used over the course of the project, indeed one of the most important components was the hardware we used; cameras. The whole video was shot using a standard handheld video camcorder. It had basic features and functions such as zoom and cut points. We recorded everything onto video tapes, and then uploaded them from the cameras into Final Cut, via a Firewire.

Personally I feel that our use of media technologies was a massive success. However, given the chance to change anything, I would have used more than one camera during filming. It would have allowed to get a wider selection of shots and would have increased efficiency. For example this time round there would always have been on or two members of the group standing idle while somebody filmed. If we all had cameras, we would have used our time more efficiently.

Evaluation Question 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Audience Feedback was always going to be one of the most important aspects of the final stages of our production. We had been looking at each of the pieces for hours on end so it was always going to be difficult to see the problems. It was also difficult to criticise our own work, so getting others involved was always going to be helpful. Once we had finished drafts of each piece, we asked people to look at them and provide any constructive criticism, or note any strong points. For the video we got the people to write down their thoughts so we had a physical record of their ideas.




It's important to note that we used people who weren't studying media as well as people that were. We felt that this would give us a wider range of points of view. It proved to be fairly successful since after this we knew which sections of the video were the weak points. One of the most common criticisms was that we used the low angle shot, underneath the guitar, too many times. We were advised to change this, which we did for the final piece.

Another criticism was that perhaps we had used too many close up shots and this made
the whole thing feel TOO personal. After looking again, I had to agree and I made sure we changed this. Also, throughout the filming process we had filmed with the camera handheld from start to finish. This helped in the energy of our shots. However, it gave way to another of the criticisms, that there was too much movement in the shots, and it gave the video an uncomfortable feel to it. Again, we made sure that the problem was adressed.

It wasn't just the video that we used audience feedback with. Both of the Ancillary tasks required some guidance from others. The best example was in the magazine advert. This specific feedback made us change a rather large part of our project. The first time I finished the draft of the advert, someone commented that the font didn't look right considering the style of the song. I dismissed the comment as an insignificance; we had used the font on the album cover and it looked fine. However, as time went on, a number of other people suggested this. I brought it to the group's attention and mentioned that it might be best to change it. We agreed to see if we could find a more suitable font, and eventually Tom found the same font used by Foo Fighters in some of their promotional material. We went on to use this font on all of our pieces, and this happened purely because we got other people to look at the work.

In conclusion, we learned many things from our audience feedback. These things ranged from specific parts like fonts and colours, all the way up to shots used in the video, and the overall feel of it. We learned that it was a bad thing to have the video feeling too personal, and that a elaborate-looking font doesn't fit with Foo Fighters. Personally, I have learned that no matter how much time you spend on a project, you can always gain helpful advice from others. It means you can get another's point of view and you can even learn what your target audience wants from the work. Overall, you can gain more by showing your work to one or two others than you can can ever gain from going over your work in meticulous detail.

Evaluation Question 2

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

We felt that to create an effective combination of our main product and ancillary texts we would create a brand across all the pieces. We achieved this in a number of ways, and with varying levels of success.

One particular way of doing this was by using a single image across all three pieces. This image, a shot of the whole band from the video, created an iconic image associated with all of our work. The image itself is used on the front cover of the album, behind the main image of the guitar. Of course, by being on the album cover, the image was then also used on the magazine advert. This meant that this one image was a unifying component present on all three pieces of work. In this way, the combination of our main product and ancillary texts was very effective.

However, the feeling was also that we needed a much more basic way of combining the three pieces. The idea was a general colour theme. Upon inspection it is clear that a red, white and black theme is the basis for all pieces of the work. For example, the background of the magazine advert is a black and red gradient, coupled with red and white text. This is also reflected in our Digipak, on which the text is red and white and the main image is the red guitar. Even the main image is overlayed with a red tint. We continued this in our video, Jacob used the effects tools to give the video a very slight tint to it, with the common color being red, and with blacks being deeper than normal. Again, in this way the combination of the pieces works very well. By creating a house style, and therefore a brand, we ensured that all three pieces were recognisable as part of the same work.

If it was possible, there would be ways I would change parts of our work. The red/black/white theme worked very well, but I would perhaps place more emphasis on it in the video itself. I noticed that the fact that the drummer was wearing a red t-shirt seemed to work very well. So in retrospect, it might have been better to ask the band members to all wear red, accompanied by black or white. This would help extend the theme and incorporate it more into that particular piece.

Evaluation Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The common codes and conventions needed to be a massive basis for our work, for both our main and ancillary tasks. In this way, I feel we were very successful. By sticking to them and at the same time using them in our own way, we were able to create an effective final piece.

One of the most widely used conventions we incoporated into our piece was the pace of the music affecting the pace of the editing of our music video. We tried to make sure that when pace increased, so did the editing, and vice versa when the music slowed. A prime example of this is the change at the very end of the song, from very swift cuts during the final build up, to cross fades when the music slowed. This allowed us to slow the editing and therefore follow the pace of the music more effectively. The picture to the left shows the fade between two shots at the end of the video. To achieve this fade we added it as a simple transition between the two clips.

Another convention we used was the simplicity of having a performance as the basis for the video. This particular convention is widely used, and the Foo Fighters themselves used it for their own version of "Times Like These". Simply having a performance allowed us to keep from over-complicating the video itself, and we were also able to make it more professional simply by doing this.

A third convention we used was the use of shots of the band on the artwork of the Digipak. Again, this added to the professionalism of the piece, but more importantly it made it more believable that it was a real piece. This particular convention is also used to create a continuous brand throughout the marketing of a band, and we were able to use this here. For example the same image of the band can be seen not only in the video, but also on the cover of the album and on the magazine advertisement.

However, another big part of our work was challenging these codes and conventions laid down by the music industry as it is. A particular way we "took the rules into our own hands" was by not choosing to have the name of the album emblazoned across the body of our advertisement. We chose instead to let the recognisable name of "Foo Fighters", and the the font in which is written, pull the audience in and then see the album itself, ergo the name. We chose to do this because we felt "Foo Fighters" as a brand was much more likely to engage the attention, and subtly including the album name was much more effective. It ensured less space was taken up by unnecessary components, and that the brand was the main hook of the advert.

Target Audience

Now all of our pieces were complete, it was time to decide who our market would be. We thought it would be good to use the audience figures of Kerrang! magazine as a firm basis, because of the research we had carried out. Foo Fighters had appeared in Kerrang! (K!) no less than 27 times so obviously they already had a level of relationship with K! readers.

Audience figures:
Majority:
Partly 18-25, partl 14-17 male.

Prominent Subgroups
14-17 Female, 25-35 male

These numbers seemed right, considering what our piece was. We also found out that the majority of listeners to Foo Fighters are aged between 16-25

Music Video Final Cut

Finally, after taking into account the audience feedback we had recieved earlier, we were able to edit the video to a high enough standard for it to be our final piece. This is the final cut of our video below:

Final Cut from Jake Clements on Vimeo.

Digipak Final Piece

The Digipak is finally complete. The person that worked hardest on this was easily Tom, but he worked with our guidance and feedback. I personally feel that the final product is very strong. Here it is below.

Album Cover:


Album Reverse:


Inside Sleeve:


Inside Sleeve 2:


Unfolded View:


All of the images we used came from pictures taken while we were filming and there are even a couple of shots from the video.

Audience Feedback, Further Editing

Upon completing our rough cut of the video, we decided to start getting some audience feedback on the work. We asked our classmates to watch the video and provide their feedback in the form of "Likes" and "Dislikes". This allowed us to work out which parts of the video we needed to work on. This was helpful because we found that by working on it constantly for so long it became difficult to see which were the weaker parts and which were stronger. Obviously we already had an idea but with the audience feedback we were able to agree as a group on what we needed to change.

We were now able to enter our final stage of editing, bringing us closer to our final product. Jacob came into his own here, and showed how well he could use the Final Cut programme. He was also able to provide some screen grabs of the editing in progress. We had agreed that he could work on the editing as much as he wanted while the rest of the group worked on the ancillary tasks.

We all suggested a kind of overlaying affect across the whole video, possibly a slight red, to go with our running theme. Jacob also achieved this on top of the other editing work.

Before:


After:


As you can see the difference wasn't massive but it was enough to fit in with our running theme, and add a level of professionalism. Here is the way Jacob configured the effect:

Ancillary Task Development

After looking at the practice piece I had made for the magazine advertisement, the rest of the group commented that it would perhaps be good enough to use as our final piece. Obviously it would need some changes, but otherwise the idea was good. We looked at what we needed to change and chose:

- The main font; it needed to be more in touch with the Foo Fighters brand
- The amount of writing on the page; it looked to cluttered
- The logos at the bottom needed to show where the album could be bought
- The title of the album didn't neccessarily need to be shown on the poster, it was available on the cover of the artwork. This was visible on the advert.

So after some modification from me and Jake, the advert went from this:


To this:



We felt that our modified piece was sufficient quality to be included as our final piece.

The font we used was in fact the same font used by Foo Fighters in some promotional material:

Rough Cut

After tireless editing and reworking we finally managed to get a rough cut of our video completed. It was by no means a total success, because there were several mistakes and weak points. The good point was that we had enough of a structure to go on, and we now had a solid base to build the rest of our video on. We asked some friends to watch the video so we could get some audience feedback, which was extremely helpful. Below is the rough cut of the video

Rough Cut from Jake Clements on Vimeo.

Practice Magazine Advert

In preparation for the final piece of our ancillary task I decided to make a practice magazine advertisement, just so I could get a feel for the way in which we would have to make it. My work is below:

Editing Progress and Ancillary Task

Editing is coming along nicely, and we are all happy with the progress being made. This time we have enough good quality footage to be working with and the video is working well. However, we have all been putting increased effort into making progress on our ancillary tasks. We have made practice pieces and such, all in preparation for the final pieces. Below is the album front cover Tom has been working on.

Ancillary Task - Magazine Ad

I have decided to take a look at the kind of area our magazine advert would be featured, and I thought that the rock magazine "Kerrang!" would be most likely. So it was this magazine I decided to take a closer look at.

The magazine was introduced as a paper supplement in 1981, and it was initially devoted to the "New Wave of British Heavy Metal" (NWOBHM), along with other hard rock acts. On it's first cover was the Australian band AC/DC. The name was derived from the sound when playing a power chord on an electric guitar, and was an onomatopoeic representation of this.

Throughout it's first 20 years the magazine published more glam and heavy rock acts (I.e. Slayer, Bon Jovi, Poison, Venom). However the turn of the millennium bought a new editor and a new era for Kerrang!. It started to feature more mainstream influential bands without straying from it's original purpose. It was around this time that the Foo Fighters were becoming popular and it wasn't long before they were featured on the cover, as can be seen above. In fact, they were featured in a "Legends" Special Edition, emphasising their growing fame.

The magazine is a reliable source of information for the hard rock scene in today's society and this is reflected in its audience figures. The magazine is published by the Bauer Media Group, with regular circulation of 52,272 as of December 2008. Originally the magazine's audience was primarily an age 18-25 category C demographic. However, more recently the primary readership age has dropped to 14-17. Obviously, these wouldn't be the ONLY readers. We will need to keep this in mind when making our advertisement.

Editing

After looking at our final day of filming, we can see that what we have is enough to have a real go at editing. My personal favourite parts are our ending shots, which we have a variety of. Not only that, but they are particularly strong and interesting. We decided to make the section more intense with closer shots and maybe some softer lighting. This would go with the music, which drops pace significantly, and this needs to be reflected in the editing. A good idea was also be cross fades and fades to black, which would slow the pace of editing more than simple cuts.

For the editing, we need to work together more than ever before. Everybody needs to take up their own workload of the editing in order to get it done, because time is still an issue. Admittedly, not everyone would be as good as others in their editing skill, but as long as everyone makes an effort it should be fine.

To make sure we get it done, we have donated time outside or media lessons to work on the video. We have all used study periods and after school sessions to edit, and this has helped us greatly. It means we have been able to get a lot more done in a shorter period of time. Pictures of our progress will be uploaded shortly.

5th Day of Filming

Time was running very short so we decided that the 5th day of filming needed to be the last, and we needed to get everything we needed on that day. Together we planned heavily and we came up with a definite list of shots we needed, colour coded. The colour code was for which member(s) of the band were in the particular shot.

Here is the link to the scanned images of the list of shots on Jake's blog page.

Below are some images of the group in action on the final day of filming. Unfortunately, due to illness and work commitments, I wasn't able to join them, but I gave them my ideas to use and was available via phone throughout the session.

Changes to Digipak

After some more discussion about our ideas for the album cover, we decided that the "one way motorway" idea was fairly weak. Not only that, it might be fairly difficult today and would take up a lot of time. We felt that a more artistic approach would be better, and, given my research, I had to agree. We still had to relate the picture to the music, so we ventured onto the idea of instruments. We thought that an artistic photo of the guitar featured in our video, placed on the front cover of the album would be a very good idea. Jacob, showing a good piece of innovation, made a mood board to inspire us.

Ancillary Piece Specifications

Jake found a very good website that showed specific sizes and dimensions that we would need to use while making the Digipak.

Here is the link.

More Filming

On the following Saturday we returned to the Red Lion to film again. The footage we shot before was good, but because of time restraints and issues with the setup, we didn't have nearly enough. This time we were a lot more confident in what we were doing. We had our actors and our equipment, so we could get straight into it. This time, we also had a set list of shots that we needed to get so that was fairly structured too. The problem came upon arriving, we didn't stick to our list of shots enough. This was perhaps largely down to me.I took over control with a lot of the filming myself, with then others acting in a more directive role. I didn't do it on my own however, Jake did some as well, as did Jacob. Tom was very effective as a director, surpassing any of us. This is when I first noticed that we worked very well as a team and I was personally impressed.

The other thing I noticed was that we were working much more professionally. We were using much more media-specific terminology in our casual speech, and working with the set in a much more professional manner. We obviously realised that mise-en-scene was much more important than we had thought in our first shoot. Back then, we had thought nothing of random items appearing in the back of our shots, but now it caused us genuine concern.

However, as I have mentioned above, we didn't stick to our shot list or script enough, and having one person doing the majority of the filming probably wasn't the best idea. So,while we got a lot of good shots this time, we didn't get enough of what we needed, and we got a lot of unnecessary footage.We would have to go back again.

A Closer Look - Viva La Vida

I decided to take a closer look at one album in particular. The one I chose was Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends.

The album is the fourth studio album by English band Coldplay. Translated, the title means "Live the Life" or "Long live life". Whilst it was interesting researching the album, I was more interested in the album artwork. The main element is the 1830 canvas painting by Eugene Delecroix entitled Liberty Leading the People. It was painted as a backdrop to the French Revolution. It depicts a woman, a personification of liberty, leading revolutionists over the bodies of the fallen. In one hand she brandishes the Tricolore Flag of revolutionary France, in the other hand she holds a loaded musket.

The lead singer of the band, Chris Martin, was inspired by the life and works of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo and this is where he got the name for the album. Kahlo's painting of the same name inspired him greatly as he was struck by the appeal to life gouged in the watermelon. Kahlo was involved in revolutionary politics in the Americas and it was this theme that inspired the band to grace the cover of this album with Delecroix. However, the fact that the album is called Viva La Vida is an homage to Kahto. Even Delecroix's work on the album cover is splashed with the phrase in white paint. The decision to use the painting on the cover reflects the political message behind the album. A need for change and revolution in the modern day world is suggested throughout the record and this is reflected in the artwork.

Seeing this, it has made me think about our own album artwork. We will need to capture the message of the music in our own piece. It would be good to keep looking at other albums, and the albums of The Foo Fighters themselves to get the right feel of the music.

Album Cover Mood Board

Whilst looking into album covers, I decided to make a mood board of the ones I thought looked best, as I had done with music videos.




Present on the mood board are:

Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends - Coldplay
The E.N.D. - Black Eyed Peas
Demon Days - Gorillaz
All the Lost Souls - James Blunt
Americana - The Offspring
Contra - Vampire Weekend
Love Ire & Song - Frank Turner
Aladdin Sane - David Bowie
Shining Like a National Guitar - Paul Simon
Everything Goes Numb - Streetlight Manifesto
Move Along - The All American Rejects
Scream, Aim, Fire - Bullet For My Valentine
Greatest Hits - The Lighthouse Family
Riot! - Paramore
Only By the Night - Kings of Leon
Waking the Fallen - Avenged Sevenfold
Greatest Hits II - Queen
The Black Parade - My Chemical Romance
Three Little Birds - Bob Marley & The Wailers

Ancillary Task

The other thing we had to start looking at at this point was our ancillary task. We chose to produce a magazine advertisement and a CD Digipak. Of course, this would require more independent research and group planning. We started looking at album covers for research and discussing what would make a good album cover in relation to the song. One particular idea was to play on the lyric "I'm a one way motorway". Jacob's idea was to take a photo of a local motorway at night with an decreased shutter speed. This would create a blurring affect on the lights of the motorway, making them appear as singular straight lines. We could then manipulate the image in Photoshop to make it look like only one side of the motorway was in use, hence "One way motorway". Jake said he would look into the dimensions and requirements of a Digipak, Tom was going to research possible locations to take our photo and me and Jacob looked a bit more into existing album covers.

Location Change

As I mentioned previously, we needed to change the location we were filming, as the place we had didn't look right at all. During our initial planning, I had suggested a local music venue, Leo's Red Lion, as a possible location, but the rest of the group didn't seem to agree. After time we saw that another group in our class was using the venue for their location, and it actually looked quite good. Our group's minds were changed, but it wouldn't be possible now the other group were using it.

However, I then remembered that there was more than one stage at The Red Lion. I suggested the downstairs basement stage as a location, and after some initial skepticism, the rest of the group agreed. I arranged for the room to be booked for a few hours on the next Saturday, at the price of £5 an hour, which was fairly reasonable for a genuine music venue. With the location decided, we worked on arranging all the equipment we needed.

We were aware of the fact that this would probably take more than one session of filming, and we knew that we would have problems on the first day, as we did at the previous location. We would probably take longer setting up then we would actually filming. However we agreed to go and give it our best shot.

Post-Filming

Whilst in the process of filming we thought everything was going well. We knew that we would have to go back, because it took a long time ti set up and work out where we wanted to arrange all the components of our set. But we thought the footage we shot was good, but it seemed this wasn't the case. The background we made didn't cover the wall behind the set, so brightly painted words were still visible behind the band. Also, there were a number of other objects in the background of our handheld shots.

Overall, the main problems were:

A - The location just wasn't good enough, it didn't look like somewhere a band would play or the set of a music video.

B - We hadn't been professional enough. We didn't set up our shots effectively or with enough quality. We needed to focus a lot more carefully next time we filmed.

We decided to address these problems when we returned to the classroom, and in the meantime we agreed to look at alternative places to film.

The other thing we needed to look at in the meantime was copyright permission. We couldn't find an email address as we had when contacting Frank Turner's record label. However, Tom was able to find the address of the head office of Capitol Records. Jake drafted a letter to send them, and so this issue was taken care of.

Filming

With our plans ready to go, we got filming straight away. The location we chose was a scout hall in Sutton-at-Hone, Kent. We thought this would have the space and facilities we needed. When we got there we found that it matched up to our expectations fairly well. Despite a few minor problems with camera placement, everything worked well. The safety aspect was also well catered for, there were fire extinguishers on site and we had enough of our own equipment to make sure we were safe.

More Planning

We majorly needed to start filming again so we decided to bring together our ideas and get going as soon as possible. I presented my ideas along with all the other members of the group. We focused on doubling our efforts enough to get a suitable plan together to start filming. With the impressive research we were able to pull together as a group, we were fairly successful. We drew up some of our plans on storyboards, and made an animatic, both of which can be seen below.

Music Video Research: Case Study

CASE STUDY

James Blunt - You're Beautiful



I now need to take a very good look at an example of the kind of music video we need to create. This is the music video for the song "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt. The song was released in May 2005, along with this video. It is purely performance based, and, interestingly, it is all performed in one continuous shot. We wouldn't necessarily do the same for our music video, but it is interesting to look at. The camera work is very interesting in this video. It features very slow movements and even slower zooms in and out. The editing is also interesting, since the footage is slowed down, but still kept in time with the music.

The performance is very impressive from Blunt. It shows dedication to the cause, as obviously it would be very uncomfortable in the conditions he was in. He is also an impressively talented actor, because this wasn't an everyday situation.

I found this making of video on the video sharing site Youtube:


The main problem in making this video seemed to be with the subject himself. He not only needed to be looked after carefully while on set, but also needed to be trained beforehand. This kind of meticulous planning is very professional and I thought perhaps we could look at repeating something similar in our video. Obviously the participants would need to be pre-trained (i.e. they would need to be able to play the instruments they were using). I think we would need to look at making sure they can play our song specifically to confirm that our video would look as real as possible. As in this video, the safety of our participants would also be paramount. In the video above, they were concerned about the participant becoming ill due to the extreme conditions he was performing in. When we film our video we will have a lot of electrical and trailing cables, etc. Obviously, these produce fire and tripping hazards, so we need to be extremely careful. If anybody was injured whilst performing for us it could be catastrophic.

Another problem the makers of the video seem to have is a location. They seem to have searched very thoroughly, which is impressively professional. We should look to have similar dedication whilst choosing our location. The location was one of our problems last time as well, so this time we need to make sure the location is 100% suitable.

Music Video Research: History

To get a really good feel for what I was doing, I decided to research music videos themselves. I thought I would look at their history and any interesting modern video trivia.

HISTORY

The first recorded use of images accompanying music was in 1894 during the period of sheet music. Edward B. Mansen and Joe Stern promoted their song The Little Lost Child with a series of images. This was the birth of the idea of "illustrated song" which later became music videos.

Many short films were made in 1926 with the introduction of movies and talkies. Warner Brothers produced many of the earliest works, featuring many bands and vocalists. The first series was entitled Spooney Melodies and each was generally around 6 minutes in length.

Slip forward to the mid-1940s and musician Louis Jordan started making short films for his music. Some of them were put together to make the feature film "Lookout Sister" and became the ancestors of modern music videos.

Another jump forward to 1974 sees the Australian TV Show "Countdown" show music and video clips to promote the acts that appeared on the show. The idea became very popular and the music industry began to take notice. They noticed the marketing potential of music clips, and the wheels were set in motion. One of the earliest notable performances was by AC/DC for their song "It's A Long Way to the Top".

The idea of MTV (Music Television) was in production, but it was beaten to the punch by American TV show "Video Concert Hall", which premiered in June 1981. However, just a few months after this, MTV was born and the age of 24-Hour music videos was born. MTV opened with a showing of the classic song "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles.

This new format was a boon for the biggest stars to not only market themselves, but also to create their image. Artists like Madonna were the pioneers and she herself was part of one of the earliest big stories involving music videos. The video to "Like A Prayer" was released in 1989 and was criticized for it's supposed corrupting of Catholic Religious Iconography. The other big story of the time was the 14-minute release of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" music video in 1984, still one of the most recognizable videos today.

By the mid-1980s the genre was expanding to include variety and global audiences. In 1985, MTV launched a sister channel, VH1 (Video Hits 1) that featured music aimed at an older audience. MTV was aimed at a younger audience, so by releasing VH1 the market was expanded massively. MTV was made available in Europe in 1985 and in Asia in 1991.

As time went on, more music genres were incorporating this new marketing technique and establishing a firm base in the market itself. In 1988 Yo! MTV Raps was launched, bringing rap and hip-hop music to a nationwide audience. It also helped to launch some of the biggest names in rap to a much wider market.

Time continued to allow a more global audience. The mid-1990s were almost entirely devoted to expanding the world music market. Some of the Channels launched included: MTV Latin America in 1993, MTV India in 1996 and MTV Mandarin in 1997.

However, as even more time passed, the demand was for the channels to produce more than just music videos to keep hold of it's audiences. By the mid-2000s the channels had begun to replace portions of it's Music Video programming with Reality TV produced specifically for them.

While Music Videos are still an important part of the Music Industry, it has seen a slight decline in recent years. This has been for a number of reasons including a decline in popularity and global economic conditions.

Video Mood Board

Whilst researching my favoutire music videos I created a mood board of frames from the best selection. This reflects my own personal preferences in quality and production.

Present in this are:

Circle of Life - Disney

The Real Damage - Frank Turner

Welcome to the Black Parade - My Chemical Romance

Slam - Pendulum

Gives You Hell - All American Rejects

Rock DJ - Robbie Williams

I'm On A Boat - The Lonely Island

Through the Fire and Flames - Dragonforce

Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) - The Offspring

Scream, Aim, Fire - Bullet For My Valentine

Ignition (Remix) - R. Kelly

You're Beautiful - James Blunt

Get Low - Lil Jon

Beelezeboss - Tenacious D

The Best of You - Foo Fighters

Brick by Boring Brick - Paramore

Here It Goes Again - OK Go

Fix You - Coldplay

Goodbye Mr A - The Hoosiers

Scatman - Scatman John

Warrior's Dance - The Prodigy

A Punk - Vampire Weekend

The Foo Fighters

I decided that I would research the band a bit more to try and get a better feel for their music. The band was formed in 1995 is made up of four members:

- Dave Grohl (Guitar, Vocals)

- Chris Shiflett (Lead Guitar)

- Nate Mendel (Bass Guitar)

- Taylor Hawkins (Drums)

Dave Grohl is perhaps one of the most famous musical icons on the planet. He began his career in the grunge group Nirvana, but left when the band disbanded after the death of guitarist Kurt Cobain. He can play all forms of guitar, drums and is a talented singer. He has appeared in several bands: Scream, Nirvana, Midtown, Foo Fighters, Tenacious D and Them Crooked Vultures.

The band itself come from Seattle, Washington. The name for the band comes from the second world war phrase "foo fighter" which was used to describe unidentified flying objects. They made their live debut in March 1995 at The Satyricon to coincide with their Self-titled debut album. Since then they have shot to fame with five more albums:

- The Colour and the Shape (1997)

- There is Nothing Left to Lose (1999)

- One by One (2002)

- In Your Honor (2005)

- Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace (2007)

The band plan to start recording a new album in September 2010. Over the course of it's existence, three of their albums have won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album and all six have been nominated.

Another Song Change

When we tried to work with the footage we had, the true extent of the difficulties of our first day of filming presented themselves. What we had wasn't nearly enough and the footage we shot was full of errors. The lighting wasn't up to standard and the quality of the footage was poor overall. There was a general feeling of dejection and Jacob and Jake raised the point that perhaps our ideas weren't good enough and suggested another song change. Again, we had allowed ourselves to fall into the trap of a narrative piece and it simply wasn't good enough. The general feel was that we should pick more of an upbeat rock song, and have a purely performance-based video.

After some discussion, we chose "Times Like These" by The Foo Fighters. It is a fast paced song with a good rock feel to it. We felt that it would be suitable for a live performance and we decided to go away and carry out a small bit of research each, and come back and present any ideas we had. However, this needed to be done quickly because, again, time was running short.

I decided to take a closer look at the lyrics, which I had analyzed earlier, but in no real depth. I have also noticed that the lyrics I looked at before had a couple of inaccuracies.

I...I'm a one way motorway

I'm the road that drives away and follows you back home.

I...I'm a street light shining

I'm a white light blinding bright and burning off and on.

It's times like these you learn to live again

It's times like these you give and give again

It's times like these you learn to love again

It's times like these, time and time again

I...I'm a new day rising

I'm a brand new sky to hang the stars upon tonight.

I...I'm a little divided

Do I stay or run away and leave it all behind?

It's times like these you learn to live again

It's times like these you give and give again

It's times like these you learn to love again

It's times like these, time and time again

I've found that I really like this song personally and working with it proved a worthy experience. Like I said before, the lyrics suggest an independence, but also an uncertainty. The singer seems to be facing a time of great change in his life and is having trouble deciding where he should go. Despite this sombre tone, the music is very upbeat and I think it would be best if the video was energetic in it's feel. It has a fast-paced drum beat and the main riff running through the song is also played at a high tempo. I had images of a lot of moving shots. The editing should probably be fast paced as well, i.e. quick cuts etc.

Final Planning and Filming

Upon meeting with the group again, I found that the others had similar ideas to me, and that my own personal contributions were well received. The vision for the video was to have an older man, performing the piece, but also, reflecting the message of the song by attempting to be young again. To achieve this we decided to have him performing actions traditionally associated with children. We hoped that this would look comically ludicrous and reflect the vibrant feel of the music. By this point, beginning our filming was becoming a massive priority, so we decided to start as soon as possible. After making our final plans, we agreed to start filming on January 23rd.

Our initial filming was riddled with problems from the very beginning. By leaving it so late, we weren't available to get together to film, with our actor, until 3 o' clock. This meant that we couldn't film any exterior shots, because it would get dark very quickly. So we decided to start filming an interior performance shot at our first location. This location was a cellar used by a friend of ours as a music studio. The room seemed to have the right feel and was available when we wanted to film. However, more problems arose as soon as we arrived. Due to a limited amount of lights and space, it took a long time for us to set up our first shot. What we managed to shoot was fairly good, but we simply didn't have enough time to shoot a suitable quantity of footage. So, we returned to school with what we had, to see if we could do anything with it.

Planning

After finally deciding on a song, we got on with planning. Our first planning meeting was very productive, and our ideas came together well. Everyone had their own individual ideas and there was good contribution all round. However, we did run into several problems. Despite our initial caution, our ideas were largely narrative based. We decided to create a narrative based piece, with supporting performance sections. In themselves these ideas were good. However, we didn't feel they worked together as a whole video.

With this in mind we got together to discuss our options, and unanimously agreed that it would probably be better to change songs. If we stuck with "The Real Damage" we'd be too tempted to create a narrative line or basis to the video. We still thought that Frank Turner would be a good artist to stick with, so after some discussion, we selected our favourite song, "Photosynthesis". I personally thought this was a good choice, because it seemed like a good idea to stick to songs we liked so we still enjoyed working with it.

We agreed to look into the song individually and come back with our ideas. I chose to look at the existing music video for the song

In my opinion, this is a weak music video, especially for the potential that the music has. Although it captures the vibrant feel of the music, the content doesn't really reflect the meaning of the song. I envisioned an adult in an eternal chase of his lost youth, rather than interaction with youth in itself. The song suggests he feels out of touch, and even dislike for the youth of today, so seeing him interact with them didn't really make sense. With this in mind, I decided to present the group with my ideas.

Song Choice and Permission

The time had finally come for our group to choose a song. The general consensus was that Frank Turner would be the most suitable, since we had the most ideas. Our initial choice was the song "The Real Damage". We began our planning for the video straight away. The idea was for a performance-based piece, with a loose narrative backup. We planned for around three settings for live performances, which would form the spine of the video, with the narrative section filling in the remaining time. We felt an exterior setting would be appropriate to the music and general feel of the song. With this in mind, we brainstormed locations that we knew that would be possible. A park in Dartford was deemed suitable, as was a local riverside. For the interior shots we chose a friend's shed and a cellar.
To make the video, we would also need to try and get written permission from the copyright holders of the song. Frank Turner's recording label is the UK-based company "XL Recordings". I used the contact section of their website to email them to ask permission to use the song. However, after two weeks there was still no reply, and we couldn't hold off filming any longer. We decided to begin at the earliest oppurtunity.

Lyric Analysis: Frank Turner (Part 2)

When we realised that Frank Turner was the most popular artist for our group, we made a unanimous decision that it was a good idea to choose one of his songs. We agreed that his music was most suited to the ideas we already had, and thought that we could produce a strong peice based on his music. The general feel of his songs seemed to suit us all and the ideas we had. Initially the song we chose was "The Real Damage", the first track from the album "Sleep is for the Week".

LYRICS:

I woke up on a sofa in an unfamiliar house,

Surrounded by sleeping folks that I didn't know.

On failing to find my friends, I decided that it was clearly time to go.

So I made my way out of the door as quietly as I could - there was no one there I knew to say goodbye.

Squinting in the sadly sobering sunshine of the Sunday morning light.

I started the night with all my friends and ended up alone.

I started out so happy, now I'm hungover and down.

It was about then that I realised that I was half way through the best years of my life.

I scanned the local landmarks trying to find out where I was,

or maybe even find a bus back home.

I was longing for a shower, for clean sheets,

And a charger for my phone.

Suddenly it hit me that I got paid this friday last,

So I rifled through my pockets for some change.

But all I found was a packet of broken cigarettes and a sinking sense of shame.

I had to ask myself:

Is it really worth it? Is any of this worth it?

Well the whole things far from perfect,

But i've yet to figure out a better way to spend my time.

Too many suits and dirty looks made me rack my brains,

The real damage started to sink in.

It's been quite a heavy weekend but I can just about remember where I've been.

Well I started the night with all my friends and ended up alone,

I started out so happy, now I'm hungover and down.

I stood on a street corner and I felt a little sick;

It was about then that I realised I was half way through the first day of the week.

This song is particularly strong in terms of lyrics and theme. This is reflected in the fact that we chose the song and made plans for it. The song is a narrative of the after affects of a weekend's drinking and the revelations it causes the artist to have about his life. He seems to realise that the life he's living isn't doing him any favours. It's affecting his relationships and his health. The ultimate problem appears at the end of the music, when he realises that he's missed an entire day of his life, entirely due the effects of drink.

There would be a lot of things to consider in making a music video for this song. The thing to be avoided most is purely creating a narrative. A narrative-based video would be weak and unproffesional. So we had to make sure we didn't base the entire video on the lyrics, and more try to capture the feel of the song.

Lyric Analysis 4: Frank Turner (pt 1)

Frank Turner was one of the most common artists on our list. With three songs selected he seemed to be a popular choices. The songs we chose were:

- The Road

- Photosynthesis

- Reasons Not to Be an Idiot

THE ROAD

This is the eighth track on the album "Poetry of the Deed" and the first single released from the record.

To the east, to the east,

The road beneath my feet,

To the west, to the west,

Well I haven't got there yet,

To the north, to the north,

Never to be caught,

To the south, to the south,

My time is running out.

Ever since my childhood I've been scared, I've been afraid

Of being trapped by circumstance, of staying in one place.

So I always keep a small bag full of clothes carefully stored,

Somewhere secret, somewhere safe, somewhere close to the door.

Well I've travelled many countries, washed my feet in many seas,

I've drunk with grifters in Vienna and with punks in old D.C.

And I've driven across deserts driven by the irony,

That only being shackled to The Road could ever I be free.

To the east, to the east,

The road beneath my feet,

To the west, to the west,

Well I haven't got there yet,

To the north, to the north,

Never to be caught,

To the south, to the south,

My time is running out.

I felt old before my time but now I keep the age away,

By burning up the miles and, yeah, by eating up my days.

And the nights a thousand nights of pain, a thousand more to go,

before I take a breath and steel myself for the next one thousand shows

To the east, to the east,

The road beneath my feet,

To the west, to the west,

Well I haven't got there yet,

To the north, to the north,

Never to be caught,

To the south, to the south,

My time is running out.

Yeah so saddle up your horses now and keep your powder dry,

'Cause the truth is you won't be here long, yeah soon you're gonna die.

To the heart , to the hearty there's no time for you to waste.

You won't find your precious answers now by staying in one place,

Yeah by giving up the chase.

To the east, to the east,

The road beneath my feet,

To the west, to the west,

Well I haven't got there yet,

To the north, to the north,

Never to be caught,

To the south, to the south,

My time is running out.

Yeah to the south, to the south,

My time is running out

Yeah to the south, to the south,

My time is running out

I face the horizon, everywhere I go.

I face the horizon, the horizon is my home.

I face the horizon, everywhere that I go,

I face the horizon, the horizon is my home

The song seems to be a reflection on the way the singer sees his life. He is addicted to the traveling lifestyle, and finds it hard to change his ways. He reflects on his experiences whilst leading this life such as drinking with "grifters in Vienna, and with punks in old D.C."

Whilst feeling trapped in the life he leads, he also enjoys the perks of such a life. He comments on the irony that he feels happier and more comfortable whilst travelling than he ever does when at home.

In terms of a music video, I could see this working very well. The theme of the song is travelling, and the experiences that come with it. With the right imagination and commitment this could become a very successful video.

Lyric Analysis 3: Paramore

As with Foo Fighters, only one Paramore song made it onto our shortlist, and that song was "Brick by Boring Brick." The song was released as the second single from their third album "Brand New Eyes".

She lives in a fairytale, somewhere that's too far for us to find,
Forgotten the taste and smell of a world that she's left behind,
It's all about the exposure, the lens I told her,
The angles were all wrong, now she's ripping wings off of butterflies.

Keep your feet on the ground,
When your head's in the clouds.

Well go get your shovel, and we'll dig a deep hole,
To bury the castle, bury the castle,
Go get your shovel, and we'll dig a deep hole,
To bury the castle, bury the castle.

Ba-da-ba-ba-da-da-da-da

So one day she fell to crying, coiled up on the dirty ground,
Her prince finally came to save her, and the rest you can figure out,
Well it was a trick, and the clock struck 12,
Well make sure:
To build your heart Brick by Boring Brick,
or the wolve's gonna blow it down.

Keep your feet on the ground,
When your head's in the clouds.

Well go get your shovel, and we'll dig a deep hole,
To bury the castle, bury the castle,
Go get your shovel, and we'll dig a deep hole,
To bury the castle, bury the castle.

Woah, Woah, Woah.

Well you built up a world of magic,
because your real life is tragic.
Yeah you built up a world of magic.

Well if it's not real you can't hold it in your hand,
Or feel it in your heart.
And I won't believe it.
But if it's true you can see it with your eyes,
oh even in the dark,
And that's where I want to be, yeah!

Go get your shovel, and we'll dig a deep hole,
To bury the castle, bury the castle,
Go get your shovel, and we'll dig a deep hole,
To bury the castle, bury the castle.

(x4)
ba da ba ba da da ba da......


The song appears to be a judgement on the way some people live the lives. I feel it is an attack on the lifestyle of building up a positive image of your life, to distract from the real problems. I feel the analogy to a fairytale is particularly effective and portrays the message of the song in a familiar way. It appears to say "even in a fairytale, evil can still catch you" and this reflects to the idea of a song: If you build up this fairytale world about your existence, it doesn't make the problems go away.

In terms of a music video, I think it would be interesting to make one for this song. As I have mentioned before, it is important to stay away from simply telling a narrative. This song would be ideal in relation to that idea, because while the song has a base of narrative, the ideas and messages take hold of the music alot more effectively. Indeed, even the narration itself is merely a metaphor for the message of the song.

With this in mind, even a literal interpretation of the lyrics could produce an effective peice. However, with our own interpretation this could be an extremely high quality video.