Music Video Plan, PowerPoint

Alt j, dissolve me from panayimedia

Mind Map of My Music Video - Alt-J, Dissolve Me

Here is a mind map of my initial ideas for the music video, some points suggested I am unsure about and will have to tweak during later planning stages.

About my Song ... and Band!!

Band Profile;

The bands names, Alt-J, is the command used to write the Greek letter Delta on Mac keyboards, the ban is also know by this Greek symbol for Delta ∆. The group is made up of;  Gwil Sainsbury -guitarist/bassist, Joe Newman -guitar/vocals, Gus Unger-Hamilton -keyboards and Thom Green -drums. The band first met and formed at Leeds university in 2007, but it was a few years until they signed with Infections Records.

The song;

The song itself is upbeat and jolly throughout, using a range of instrements which is why it fits so well in the alternative music genre, specifically folk-step.

When listening to the song there are three main themes I pick out. Firstly this idea of forced sleep, clearly the person is having trouble sleeping and is trying different methods to get some sleep. These are references in the song; "Now dissolve me, two tabs on your tongue" - sleep tablets, "herd now the shepherds, who herd there sheep, sleep now my only one" - counting sheep to fall asleep and "She makes the sounds, the sound the sea make to calm me down" -  finally listening to ocean noises to relax. This links directly with the next theme which is the coast or beach. Throughout the song it references to "the sound the sea makes". Lastly there is a theme of a couple breaking up or a couple in conflict. Referenced  by "broken sweethearts who sleep apart", there is also this idea of her calming him down by making sea nioses. My opinion on this is that she has told him she wants to break up, and that's the reason for her to calm him down. 

Class Feedback

I presented my song in class today to get some feedback on my song choice, and ideas to help me with for the music video.After playing my song through the class gave their feedback and notes on the song, I wasn't quite prepared for the variety of ideas and concepts that were said. With other songs that were played before mine, people could see the same themes within a song whether is be location, characters or an editing style. Yet with mine their were no real links with peoples suggestion.

So the ideas;
People dancing, and a lot of them! This was the only suggestion which more than one person put down. However there is subtle changes with each individuals idea, not least the settings for this mass group dance sesh to take place. The first idea was to have the setting at night at the beach. I think this idea could be developed upon further as you could add a bonfire, which the group could be dancing round. Using the fire as light will create atmosphere with the way it lights up people and the shadows it would project.

Another idea which came from have a group of dancers was to have them dressed in different costumes, the suggested costumes were; aliens, dogs, cats, fish, tigers, cows and teapots. And to have the video with slow and fast paced editing. I like this idea of have the group in costumes as it plays on the bands unique and quirky style.

The final idea which suggested having dancers was the idea of having a mature boat party, that was more fun than crazy. The party would take part at night, an in the slower parts of the song, known as the 'ohh bit' there could be a shot of the stars. The narrative was  of a boy liking a girl who doesn't like him, yet he gets her in the end. At the end of the video we would see him waking up with her the next morning. Again a good idea that works well with the song, however it is not the most achievable because of getting a boat. However, the narrative of boy and girl is something I intend to use too.

The next thought from a classmate was to have the video oriental themed, in particular they said; Chinese, China town and Chinese lanterns. I can see from where they are coming from, with the intro and other parts of the song sounding a little oriental, however getting Chinese actors may prove to be a challenge. Yet the other part of the suggestion, to have the video jump in and out of dreams was something I had previously thought to use.

One suggestion was to have a sci-fi theme to the video, and deliberately use 'bad' stop motion animation. Elements like; poorly coloured backgrounds, string or hands shown, spaceship bumps into parts of the setting. In the end in turns out to be a child's sci-fi film. A good idea and I like the idea of using stop motion, I will try to incorporate this into my music video though may not have it deliberately bad.

Another suggestion was to have a man walking down an unusually long corridor, with photos of his past on the walls. As he walks down the corridor he stops, every now and then, and looks at a photo and it goes into that memory. Then at the end of the corridor there is the girl (that he may be seeing in the memories). I really like this idea of looking back over memories with a person, though I am not sure if I will end the recollecting quite so nicely.

The final suggestion was to have a split screen showing the lives of two similar characters, and at the slower acoustic bit of the song their lives are shown going in different direction. One will have a great day the other, not so much. It may be as simple as one forgetting their keys at home, but it sets the rest of their day back and could ruin it. I like this idea in particular having a split screen to show the lives of the two men, I think it will show my skill well and there is so much I could show with one being successful and the other not.

Director Study - Michel Gondry

These are just some examples of Michel's work.
The slide show talks about Gondry's success in film and music videos. Arguably his most successful film is Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. This film explores the directors creativity and plays with the concept of remembering.

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind Trailer 

Gondry has worked with various music artists creating iconic music videos, such as Around the World by Daft Punk. This video is iconic for the way it separates each of the dancers to move to a particular beat or rhythm within the song. 

Or Kylie Minogue, Come into my World. This music video uses rotoscope, whereby the video is traced over another to give the impression of more than one Kylie.

My final example of Gondry's work is The White Stripes, The Hardest Button to Button. This video we see numerous Jake Whites, this effect is created by using stop-motion.

Applying Goodwin's Theory

Music videos godwins theory from panayimedia

Goodwin's Music Video Theory

Goodwin analysed music videos and picked out these seven characteristics which apply to either a genre or artist types music video. Not all findings will apply with every music video but one or two will. 

Music videos demonstrate certain genre characteristics, for example; metal and rock music videos will have a live stage performance, boy/girl bands will have dance routines and (gangsta) rap videos will have scantily clad women, bling and money as key themes.

There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals, this is usually used to illustrate the lyrics but can be used to contradict them.

There is a relationship between music and visuals

The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist

The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across their work (a visual style)

There is frequent reference to the notion of ‘looking’ (screens within screens, filming, cameras) and particularly voyeuristic (pleasure through looking) treatment of the female body. This is more common in R&B, rap and Hip Hop.

There are often intertexual references – mostly to film, television and popular culture, to engaging with the audience more.

Music History Time List

Some of musics most historic moments, from the 1800's to the here and now;

1894 - First example of’ Illustrated song’, still images projected onto a screen

1926 - Arrival of the talkies’

1930 -Music films, musical film genre were songs were interwoven

-          “Screen songs” introduced, audiences encouraged to sing along

-          Ancestor of the Music Video, artists featured in dramatized performances of hit songs

1940 – Arrival of promotional clips, short films with famous jazz artists

1956 – Rise of Television, format exposes new artists

-          Elvis, Elvis Presley started in a number of films promoting and creating songs

1964 - The Beatles, modern music video with motion picture “A Hard Day’s Night”

1965 - The Beatles use promotional films, Filmed 10 films to promote album releases

1981 - MTV launched, 24hr broadcast meant music videos had a more central role

1983 - Thriller, Michael Jackson most influential music video, short film at 20mins?

1985 - VH1 launched, softer music catering for older demographic

1988 - Hip Hop Growth, popularity as MTV release YO! MTV RAPS

1992 - Rise of the Directors, listed in credits

1995 - Scream, The Jackson’s most expensive music video costing seven million

2005 - YouTube, allows people to watch videos online

-          iTunes Opens, allows music to be downloaded from the internet

2010  - One Billion, Lady Gaga’s “poker face” reached one billion views

-          New Heights, music videos reached reached 34 billion views 

Why Does Love Do This To Me - Music Video Trial

In class we were set that task of making a music video to the song 'Why does love do this to me' by The Exponents. The class was split so that there was about four people per group, and in these groups we were able to use team skills and divide the work load. The task also put into practise the skills we had learnt from the previous task; colour manipulation, chroma key, green screen and

Here is the original music video.

For our groups music video of the song we tried to include as many skills as possible, to sow our capability but also to practise using the technology for when we had to use it for our actual music video projects. In the music video we use; Split screen, cutting to the beat, green screen and lip syncing.
(our video is yet to be located)

Music and Identity

Music has a variety of genres and sub genre, yet the main ones are typically; Acoustic, Alternative, Blues, Classic rock, Club, Country, Crunk, Death metal, Electro, Electronica, Emo, Experimental, Folk, Funk, Garage, Hardcore, House, Hip Hop, Indie, Jazz, Latin Metal, Pop, Punk, Rap, R&B, Reggae, Rock, Soul, Techno, 2-step. With each of the genres listed, and the numerous others, a certain style has been associated to the music, which links the artist(s) to the fans.

Deciding what music you’re into has a few factors, and it’s not just as simple as what music you like. Age has a big impact on what we listen to as we change what we are listening to as we get older, think back to when you were a child and what you were listening to then to what you are listening to now. It’s unlikely that you still listen to those artists, at least less often as you did. This could be because of your social group, and fear of being judged. I for one am a big fan of the groups Busted and McFly, yet I won't play them when I’m with mates as that’s not the music that connects the group together, it seen as socially unacceptable. 

What's socially acceptable in a group changes between groups, yet social groups are most often made up of people with the same taste in music therefore; the identity of that group will be similar in characteristics and appearance. Though there may be subtle differences. Even people that claim that they are individual are grouped together, which makes you ask the question, how individual are they?? But with so many styles and groups it's hard to know which group you actually fit into. There is now a way to find out, http://uktribes.com/, was set up by Channel Four and Crowd DNA to look at the characteristics of teens and young adults. The site has divided social groups into five main styles;

1.      Aspirant Mainstream

·   Trendies

·   Rahs

2.      Mainstream

·   Ravers

·   Townies

·   Chavs

·   Boy racers

·   Sport junkies

·   Street rats

·   Casuals

3.      Urban

·   Get paid crew

·   Blingers

·   DIYers

   ·Trackies

4.      Alternatives

·   Gamers

·   Emos

·   Scene kids

·   Skaters

·   Metalheads

·   Young alts

5.      Leading Edge

·   Hipster

·   Geeks

·   Craft kids

Its thought that whatever music you are into will be determined how you dress and the social group you end up in. Applying this to an actual artist would mean that a fan of;

a Michael Bubble fan or Josh Groban fan you think of women like this. 

Michael Bubble typical fan

The Typical Grobonite

Both are mid (plus) aged, and are clearly into more sophisticated style of music. Stereotypically they won't be into the heavy beat or energy of popular music, but prefer a more relaxed music. Both Bubble and Groban are in a similar genre of music, and have a similar fan base. Compare those fans to the fans of Justin Bieber –  other wise know as 'Beliebers'. 'Beliebers' tend to be young teenage girls, and stereotypically thought of as the screaming over dramatic drama queen fan (see below).

The crazy Beliebers!

 However music has become more than just what you listen to and who you spend time socializing with. Music has affected the brands people go for; from shopping (Topman, Animal and Fat Face), where you eat (McDonalds or Starbucks), social networking sites (though everyone seems to use Facebook and Twitter now) and most importantly how we listen to music (radio, iTunes/iPods, legally downloading, illegally downloading). As the way we access the music will also affect how we listen to it, whether we are with mates, or on our own. Then the environment of where we listen to music has a knock -on- effect on how the person dresses. To conclude music and identity has become a complex circle of; social groups, genres and branding.