Inspiration

Videos that have inspired us:
Rizzle Kicks - 'When I Was A Youngster'
This music video itself, is similar to what we want to do in our music promo. They have used people their age acting and playing like they were children again, re-enacting past memories (such as cowboys and indians). This music video was our inspiration to do the older people acting as children.



Ed Sheeran - 'The A Team'
                     'You Need Me, I Don't Need You'
These two music videos have inspired us in two different ways. The first video (the a team) has inspired us in  the way we are going to do our music promo. This is because it is all narrative without any performance which is almost the look we want to go for. The second music video has inspired us because the music video shows quick shots of items such as a couch, we're going to use this idea to show different childhood memories.

Moodboard:





Genre

Background information on the genre type acoustic

Acoustic music primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means. Acoustic music is normally made from violins, vocalists, guitars etc. Performers of the acoustic music often amplify the sound by using an electronic amplifier. However, even though the instrument is being played through an electronic item, it still maintains its natural sound to the exact note.
Folliwing the increasing popularity of the MTV show 'unplugged' in the 1990's acoustic performances by musical artists that usually compose music with electronic instruments became commonly known as 'unplugged' performances. A brilliant example of this is when Nivarna played on the unplugged show. 'insert link'

Acoustic artists
Most acoustic music includes a non-electrical guitar, however as stated above they tend to hook it up to an amp to make the sound amplified. Artists that come under the acoustic genre section are:
Ed Sheeran 'The A Team'
James Morrison 'Get to you'
Joshua Radin 'I'd rather be with you'

Representation

An acoustic artist normally dresses in a smart/casual style. So in this case, in our music promo we'd make sure the person we shall use will look presentable (like the artists in this genre). In most music videos for this type of genre, there are shots showing the artist with their guitar. This is a good way to represent the acoustic artist because it shows off their talent in the industry

Brief ideas for the music promo

In my group with has discussed a few ideas on what we could do in the final music video. Initially we came up with the idea that the song was reviving childhood memories (this was later backed up by the email from Carl Hauck). So here is a brief list on what we might included in the music video (to be finalized)

1. Balloons; letting go of a balloon or balloons falling from the ceiling
2. Eating ice cream at the beach
3. Cowboys and Indians
4. Skimming stones across the water
5. Christmas; opening of presents
6. BBQ
7. Leaves kicking
8. Looking back on childhood photographs
9. Ghosts
10. Family day trips
11. Holding hands/young love/first kiss
12. Adults behaving like children
13. Dressing up in your parents clothes

Of there will be more ideas, however these are what we have come up with so far. Also, as we can't really film children (as we'd need to get full permission from parents etc) we're going to go for the idea where teenagers (our age 16/17/18) will be acting as children (reliving their memories). However, we maybe able to get a young boy (permission from my brother needed).
Location wise, we haven't decided yet, however the idea of going to an area where there are wide open spaces with trees and perhaps a lake is what we might end up going for in the end.

Email reply from Carl Hauck

Abby Newland from the group I am working with, emailed Carl Hauck (the artist) asking for permission so that we could use his track for our final production. This was his response;

Hi Abby, Amy, and Rebekah - 

Thanks for contacting me, and thanks for your interest in using my music.  What school do you three go to?

I'd be fine with you using my music for your project since I'm assuming it's not commercial in any way.  I actually have someone who usually handles music licensing for me (Brooke Blocki - brooke@kmamanagement.com), and you may want to contact her just to make sure.  I'm sure it'll be fine, though, so you could probably proceed in the meantime.

The song "Windjammer" is the title track of my most recent album, which was filled with quite a few songs in which I was trying to come to terms with life after college and all that it entailed, especially since I was returning to my home town to teach high school.  I thought about where and what "home" is, about the people whom I'd wronged, about how dreams become compromised by "reality," and about the meaning of love, among other things.

The song in question was, for me, a way to look back (fondly) on various childhood summertime moments at the house I grew up in, which happens to be located on a street called Windjammer Court.  So each stanza is basically a vignette of various fragmented memories (that probably wouldn't mean to much to other people :).

I'll leave it at that for now, but feel free to let me know if you have any additional inquiries or follow-up questions.

Thanks again.

-Carl

At the bottom of the email address, he provided a link to his website. On this website he has the song we've chosen to do 'Windjammer' and many other songs. They included the lyrics to the tracks as well. Carl appears to be a nice person and we can again contact him if we need any help with our final ideas. Also, we have agreed to send Carl the finished production to get his views on it.
http://www.carlhauck.com/

Windjammer - Carl Hauck, breakdown of lyrics

Here is the first verse of the song that we have chosen to do as our music promo. We came to the conclusion at the beginning that this song is describing childhood memories in the summer time (this is later proven via email from Carl Hauck). As you can see, we broke down little parts of these lyrics. The idea of breaking down the lyrics is so that it can help us know what we could do when producing the music video. We haven't managed to look through every single verse completely, however, this post will show you what ideas we came up with in the verses that have been looked at.

A breakdown of lyrics; Radiohead - No surprises

This is a brief break down of the lyrics to Radiohead's song 'No Surprises'. The reason for doing this task was so that we can get into the 'swing' of getting ideas from the lyrics that the artist has produced. This song as you can see from the lyrics, is quite 'depressive' in a way that the male is almost asking to be killed and for death to come upon him. The line ' Bruises that won't heal' shows a hint of violence is the artist. A repetition of lyrics/lines is effective because even though they are the same lyrics, they can mean different things, for example the first set of 'no alarms and no surprises' could mean that the person is trying to avoid awakening from their sleep. The repetition can also show negativity to an audience. 'Such a pretty house, such a pretty garden' could be referring to heaven. 

Overall, I feel that these depressing lyrics displayed show that the person is living a sad and lonely life where they are not happy with the way that they are living.

2000's

2001. Linkin Park - In the End
Performance from the band seen more throughout the music video. As we can see from earlier music videos and band performing in any music video was never seen. However, with modern technology and budget prices being higher, it was the thing to do. Animation played in music video with real life band. Green screen was probably used more commonly now, as in this music video the background changes frequently. Cuts in the rhythm of song, lighting is used effectively to fit in with the music video, shadowing may have been used on the artists.

The CD/DVD Digipak

Digipak is a patented style of compact disc or DVD packaging and is a registered trademark of AGI media, a MeadWestvaco Inc. resource.
Typically consist of a gatefold (book-style) paperboard or card stock outer binding.
Digipaks were amoung the first alternatives to jewel cases to be used by major record companies.
The term digipak or Digi-Pak, is often used generically, even when the media holder is a hub or 'Soft Spot' rather than a full plastic tray.

Positives of a Digipak:

•  People prefer Digipaks because they are able to be creative with them.
•  More information can be put in a Digipak
• Shatterproof
• Environmentally friendly
• Good for display of graphics
• Can accommodate all sorts of needs
• More visuals/info on display
• A bespoke solution - lots of possiblities
• Innovative premium product

Negatives of a Digipak:

• They are prone to tearing or ripping
• Plastic teeth/CD holders can break
• More expensive
• Trays can break/come away from other packaging
• CD's fall out if anything breaks
• Look old and 'ragged' quickly

1990's

1993. Take that - Relight My Fire
Everyone's favourite boyband started in the early 90s with relight my fire being one of their first songs to be released. As you can see there is a major change in music video styles between the 80s and 90s. All the band is shown performing in the music video, the range of shots has varied and also, the cutting technique has been used to its advantage. The money spent to make a music video this decade began to sore! In this music video, the usage of lighting has been used like there's no tomorrow as technology has began to rise.

1997. Aqua - Barbie Girl
This cheap comical music video was the song of the 90s (well for children anyways). It was a big hit in the UK (almost as big as the spice girls). In this music video, we can clearly see a difference in quality. The idea of this video is to send across the image of a 'barbie and ken' world and they have done this well, with a range of stills, cuts and lighting used plus with the bright coloured outfits, it has drawn the attention of many young girls. Technology now was in its prime so making a music video was seen as pretty simple and anything could be done, well nearly everything.

1980's

1983. Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Two Tribes
This song was initially band in the 1980s by the BBC because of conflict that was happening between America and Russia.  The layout of this music video shows a fight, based on what a typical boxing scene would be, people placing bids backing up the one they're supporting. The artist is part of the narrative again in this music video, miming along to the words, however the only main difference of this music video is the colour. There is also much quicker/sharper cuts to the beat of the music instead of the 1970s where there was the odd cut every now and again

1986. Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer
The animation in this music video is very surrealistic with all the different types of animation that fits in with the music. It's completely different to the earlier 80s music promo however, there are still similarities. For example there is still no full performance of the musical instruments but the artist is miming to the music.

1970's

This music video isn't exactly 'ground breaking' or outstanding however this is one of the earlier versions of a music video. By choosing this video I can easily compare what the 1970s music promo looked like in comparison to what a modern day one looks like. As we can see just from the still that the video is in black and white, as we watch the video, we can see singing from the artist himself however, no actual performance of the whole band. Location of the music video is conventional as we often see music videos now on streets etc.

Lyrics to Windjammer - Carl Hauck

The artist and track we have decided to do our music promo on is Windjammer by Carl Hauck, the image displayed below is the lyrics.

Music Video - Coldplay 'the scientist'

Coldplay - the scientist click to play
This music video is inspiring, however I would not choose to do this myself as a beginner. The artist has had to learn the lyrics not just off by heart but also backwards. This is complicating and can take weeks to learn. The narrative of this music video fits in well with the lyrics because it is all shown in reverse 'oh, let's go back to the start'.

So as we can see at the beginning of the music video is the lead singer, what appears to be, lying down singing towards the camera. This print screen shot is an extreme close up of his face. After this, there is a slow zooming out to revel that in face he is positioned on a mattress (shown in next print screen shot)

Print screen shot just to demonstrate the lead singer positioned on a mattress still singing towards the camera. This type of camera shot is a mid length shot.







This is where the video itself shows the effect of going in reverse. This shot is a long shot as it is showing the surrounding area. As we can see, this part is where he has fallen down to the mattress but is now in reverse seen to be getting up.
Next few range of shots are showing the video going in reverse.

Long shot.

Mid shot, showing facial expressions, eye contact is still locked on the camera

Long shot, jumping off a wall, now seen jumping 'backwards'

History of the Music Video

The idea of a music video was not thought of entirely until the 1960s, however these were not the same as what we see today
Bob Dylan 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' (60's) This music video isn't what we'd see in modern days. The more conventional side of it is the location as it is down a lane or near a market.
TV Music Programs
'Ready Steady Go' was one of the first music TV programs on the screen, however this was soon taken over by 'Top of the Pops' in 1964. The idea of a TV music program meant that bands could broadcast themselves to an audience. Top of the Pops was chart based (usually the top 40 in that week) and the bands that played normally mimed however some bands braved it and sang live. Although most bands were always available, sometimes the band scheduled to go on Top of the Pops were on tour, this began the usage of short films. The idea of a short film was that if the band due to come on was absent, performances would fill the space. This were seen as 'appalling'. This band was one of the first bands to play on Top of the Pops.

Short films
The Beatles 'Strawberry Fields Forever' As we can see in this music video/promo, a more narrative side came into play, however, the performance of the band is minimal or none at all. The quality of a music video in this time period was still poor, however within the space of a decade, we can see a clear difference. The conventional parts we can see in this music video are; going in reverse, cross fading technique. Also there is a much wider variation in shots, the shots are cut into the rhythm of the song. Widely known band, (such as The Beatles) made lots of money, however little money was spent on their music promos.

The Monkees - I'm a Believer (pop rock) The Monkees were the first constructed band known. They were what they say the 'US answer to The Beatles'. This is because, the Americans had noticed that The Beatles in the UK were making money and fast! Not only that, but they also noticed that the they were getting a wide attention from the public.  They established a wide variety of conventions, these included; surrealism, jump cuts, wacky comedy and action/performance.

Monkee Business?
In the 1980s, Mike Nesmith (former member of the Monkees) transformed the 'pop clips' to the MTV network. The main idea of MTV was so that an entire network could be filled just with music promos! This was deemed to be available 24 hours a day however there was one cost if a band wanted to be played on MTV and this was royalties to the artist/band.
New Bohemians
Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody'  was considered by some to be first music pop promo around (80s). When asked to play on music programmes etc, they said that they were available free of charge, meaning they'll just play for the fun. In the music video, they were the first band to sing along to the lyrics of the song and also they included live performances of their shows in the music video.

MTV
MTV was first established in 1981, and grew rapidly thoughtout the US. Artists soon realised that there was potentional in playing their music on networks and quickly started requesting their appearances. As back in the times of when MTV started, there was a divide between racial equalities, most of the music seen on networks was mainly white acts/male rock, MTV completely ignored 'black' rap. The reason for them ignoring black rap was because they saw their content 'threatening' for example singing about drugs, swear words, etc. However, there was a major break through a couple of years into MTVs exsistance when Aerosmith combined a sing with a black group called 'Run DMC' making one of the most well known songs 'walk this way'. This song provided a cross over and broke the significant white dominance.
The Oscars!
In 1984, MTV firmly established themselves as a key music channel in the industry, they own oscars for the musics videos presented by them. However, they noticed that they needed to become more lifestyle orientated and cover a much wider range of music/popular culture. So, they successfully managed to do an unplugged series where all bands on their had to play acoustic. A band that did this well was Nivarna, the least thought of band to play acoustic.

1980s: How much?
In the 1980s budgets for music videos soared above more than what people thought it ever would! For example Duran Duran, with their music video 'wild boys' cost $1 million (which was seen a lot in those days) however, in the making of this video a member almost drowned due to the turn wheel getting stuck under water whilst he was tied to it
Duran Duran, Rio
Michael Jackson Thriller - 10 minutes long, story sequence, made by a film director

The present
Availability of music videos now is on a much larger scale, including YouTube, iTunes and mobile phones! There is also a much wider range of genre based music channels, including ones such as Scuzz, MTV, E4 Music.                                                                                                 

Conventions of a music promo - Mise-en-scene

Conventions of a music promo - Editing

Key words

Illustration, this is one of the most basic yet complex ways to demonstrate the song's lyrics through visual purposes.
Amplification, is similar to the idea of disjuncture however it is just enhancing the concept whilst still retaining a link between the song and music video. This is a good way to market and advertise the band.
Disjuncture, is the idea of completely ignoring what the song/lyrics are trying to say and by doing this they create a whole new set of images and meanings into the song itself.
Intertextually, the way in which a text/dialogue refers to other media contexts of which audiences will immediately recognise

Conventions of a music promo - camera

Maroon 5 - Misery, deconstruction of the music video

Link to music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g6g2mvItp4 

My working partner and I chose to do this music video because it is different from what most music videos were chosen to talk about. It provides a unique approach to show a link between the lyrics and the acting.

 This is near enough the first shot of the two main players in the music video. Is is demonstrating that there perhaps is something going on between the two as the body language and the position implies this. Also, it shows that there has been some conflict or that the male is not interested in the female

The screen capture displayed here is showing the type of body language again between the both of them. The way that the females body has created a distance between the two may imply that it is a love/hate relationship (binary opposites). The way that the camera isn't directly onto the actor/singer brings the attention of the audience's eye to draw in on them. It also demonstrates the different areas that they are filmed in during the music video.

The third screen capture here is showing that the male is begging for forgiveness, or/and is in a much lower position than the female. Making him look smaller makes the audience think twice about the relation between these two. The lighting throughout the music video is constant, being that both characters are in light and shown clearly. We know from this that the music video is trying to tell a story from what they are doing.