Thursday 23 September 2010

Planning - Website and CD cover Drafts.

I did this website mock up & Patricia was in charge of the CD mock up. We decided on both of them together but split up the responsibility of who draws which one out.

Planning - Costume and Props.

Shaun - Band Member:

COSTUME
Beanie hat
T-Shirt x3
Cardigan/Hoodie (/none)
Skinny Jeans
Canvas Shoes

Patricia and I chose this clothes for Shaun to wear as it is a typical/stereotypical outfit that a member of a boy band would wear. There is a 'x3' and either cardigan, hoodie or none because there are different time frames within the music video.

PROPS
Megaphone - to shout out of the window with.
Food (cake and sandwich) - when about to eat and then he can't.
Groceries - for after going shopping and then he drops them all when Jessie scares him.


Jessie - Crazy Fan Girl:

COSTUME
Skirt/Shorts
T-shirt with a heart on it with the band members face in the middle
Any shoes
Other top

Patricia and I chose this as it is quite casual but also girly. The t-shirt will also give the audience the immediate impression that the girl is obsessed with the band member. The other top is for when she has moved on from her obsession at the end.

PROPS
Handbag - to carry around with her with other props in.
Banner saying 'I <3 YOU!' - to hold up to him from outside his house.
Pen and notebook - when asking for an autograph.
Phone - for when taking a picture with him when he drops his groceries.

Planning - Location

We have chosen 4 different locations to film at for our music video.

The first location is a deserted street in our local town of Stapleford.
We chose this as it fits perfectly with our storyboard and the noise level will be at a minimum as not many people and cars go down this street. we will film most of the verses here and have the meetings between the band member and the fan girl.

The second location is a house , the house belongs to our actor Shaun.
We will need to film inside the house for when it comes up to the bridge in the song (- when the band member is inside trying to eat his food and when he is in his bedroom trying to sleep.)
We chose Shaun's house because when we film the scene in the bedroom the interior is what we would want the setting to look like and his kitchen is very open and modern so it fits his young character and he has a big window that Jessie can peer through and he has a driveway so when we film the scenes from outside his house we will have more room to film.

The third location is the high street of Stapleford , this is where we will film the second verse our of video where the band member is coming out of the shops with his shopping bags and the girl makes him jump.

The fourth location is a car park which is right near the deserted street so it is quite quiet and this is where we want to film the last parts of our music video; when Jessie has stopped being a fan girl.

Planning - Actors.

In order to make our idea work we needed to pick two people for our video; one boy band member and one crazy fan girl who won't leave him alone.

For the role of the band member we have decided to cast our friend Shaun Cutts.
Shaun is a good friend of ours and is trustworthy, reliable and responsible so we trust him to be available for filming. Shaun has also had acting experience so he will be great for expressions we want to portray when he is miming the track. He also has the right style for what we want our band member to look like so he fits the character perfectly.

For the role of the fan girl we chose our friend Jessie Maud.
Jessie is also a great friend of ours and she also fits the character look that we want for this role. She, like Shaun is trustworthy, responsible and reliable so we know she will try her hardest to play this role well and we know she will turn up for filming.

Wednesday 22 September 2010

Treatment.

The song that Patricia and I have chosen for our music video is ‘Sing Sing’ by the band Marianas Trench. After listening to the song a couple of times we started to brainstorm ideas of the story for our music video. In the end we decided on something we decided on the storyline that we thought would fit our chosen tracks' lyrics.

The story is about a fan girl who follows her favourite band member everywhere he goes. He ignores her and tries to make her leave him alone throughout but then in the end she moves on and stops her obsession with him. Because this happens, he ends up missing her.

In order to make the video fit with the lyrics we plan to film him not being able to eat or sleep in the video because the lyrics in the chorus say 'I'm not eating' and 'I'm not sleeping'. Also, during the video you will see the fan girl character miming some of the parts that say 'Sing sing to me, sing me something I need, sing new, sing good...' this is because he is a band member and she wants him to sing for her whenever she meets him. He will then reply with a sarcastic 'God, i wish that I could' and in the end actually means it. When he ends the first two choruses with this line, he will run away from her or slam the door on her as she follows him to his house or when he is doing shopping.

As this is only our first plan of what we are going to for our video our final piece could end up slightly different as we may decide to change our ideas whilst filming. I hope that our idea will come across well to the audience as the comic storyline fits that of our genre of pop/rock and it also fits in with the lyrics of the song. We should use a range of camera angles, movements and props to make our music video as greatly as we can.

Marianas Trench - Sing Sing

This is the track that we have chosen for our music video.


Tuesday 21 September 2010

Research - CD cover analysis.


This is the album cover 'Blackbird' by Alter Bridge.
The colour scheme is mainly black and white with a blackbird on it so it goes with it's title. It's a very simplistic cover and its very bold so stands out and the band's name is written in a dark red so that stands out also.
I like this album cover because it doesn't give away much about the band and so you'd have to know their music already and be a fan in order to be an ideal customer that would by this album.



This album cover is for Hot Fuss by The Killers. It has the band name logo on it in white so you'd know who the album is by. It has a fairly simple background that is a picture of the top of a few buildings, the sky and it has the band's name and the album name.
It's colour scheme is white, red and blue but it uses a gradient of each of the colours to create a more interesting cover. The red stands out from the blue and white and goes with the connotations of the title of 'Hot Fuss'.

Research - Website Analysis.

HTTP://MUSE.MU

This is the homepage for the band Muse. Their main colour scheme is red, black, white and blue which is also like that of what we hope to have. They have a picture in the background and their band logo at the top. There is a navigation bar at both the top and the bottom of the page, a news feed, a subscription box, a media player and their current tour dates. there are also changing images at the side and links to the band's store and also a little space for member's of their site to write comments on.


WWW.LINKIN PARK.COM



Friday 17 September 2010

Track Permission.

After listening to many unsigned bands and gained permission from a few we liked, we felt the tracks weren't giving us an initial feeling as to what we could do with them for a music video.
Patricia and myself had been listening to the band Marianas Trench for a while and as we both really liked them I decided to see if it was possible to contact their record label for permission.

I started by going onto their record label's website and then went onto the general contact page where I wrote this email to email them:

"Dear 604 Records,

We are two students, aged 17, from England doing a College A-Level coursework project for Media Studies. This project requires us to do a music video.
Our College is George Spencer College in Nottinghamshire, UK. The requirements of our coursework states that if a band is signed we need permission from the record label of the artist and the track should not already have a music video. The music video would not be used for commercial means and would only be put onto Youtube and our blogs we make for our coursework project.

We are huge fans of Marianas Trench and would be honoured if you could please grant us permission to use one of their tracks that don't already have a music video.
The track we would love to do a music video for is 'Sing Sing' from the Masterpiece Theatre album.

We look foward to hearing back from you,


Thanks,

Shaneece Deep & Patricia Sheehan of George Spencer College - UK."


I then heard back from Jonathan Simkin, one of the founders of the record label the next day who asked said it would be okay if I let him know exactly what we are doing and if it wasn't for any commercial means. So I emailed him back saying that it was merely for our A-Level studies in order to acheive a grade towards our qualification for Media Studies and then he granted us permission to use the track.

The email was as follows:


Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2010 03:34:41 -0700
Subject: Re: Marianas Trench
From: jonathan@604records.com
To: shaneece_deep@hotmail.com

Hi Shaneece.

On the basis of this note, the permission is granted.
Thanks.

JS


On 10-09-07 3:30 AM, "shaneece deep"
wrote:

Hi Jonathan,

This won't be used for any commercial means as it is merely a school/college project for our subject of Media Studies in order for us to get a grade towards our qualification for A-Level Media Studies.

Basically the project outline is to make a music video to a track that we have permission for;
We would have to film a music video that we devise for the track and then after we have put it together we would upload it onto Youtube.com or another video streaming website for our examiners. It will not be used anywhere else for any commercial/promotional means.

As we need to document the permission to use the track for our examiners; if we could have your permission to use the track 'Sing Sing' by Mariana's Trench it would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Shaneece Deep & Patricia Sheehan

Date: Fri, 3 Sep 2010 21:59:08 -0700
Subject: Marianas Trench
From: jonathan@604records.com
To: shaneece_deep@hotmail.com

Message body Hi Shaneece. This is probably OK as long as the video is not used for any commercial means whatsoever. Can you tell me EXACTLY what you will do with it?

Thanks.

Jonathan Simkin



Wednesday 8 September 2010

Research - Record Label.

The band we chose is called Marianas Trench. They are a Canadian band who are signed to 604 Records.
I sourced my research from the record label's site (http://www.604records.com/home/about/604-records-biography) and the record label's wiki page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/604_Records).


604 Records
was founded in 2002 and is the production company of Nickelback lead singer Chad Kroeger and the band's attorney Jonathan Simkin.
Their records are distributed by Universal Music Group and '604' refers to one of the area codes in the city of Vancouver where the company's main offices are located.


When talking about the record label one of the founders Jonathan Simkin makes it clear that they want to remain sucessful but also independent:

“We are definitely about artist development,” Simkin states. “Chad’s an artist and I spent most of my professional career advocating for artists, and that gave us a hell of a pro-artist perspective. It’s about patience. We don’t bail on our acts, we can afford to take our time, and we’re not reporting to a Board of Directors who wanna know what’s going on right now. And we’ve struggled at times, but it’s sure paid off on bands like Marianas.”
“In Canada, we’re a record label in the truest sense,” he says. “We own the recordings, we pay for the recordings, we have our own in house marketing department, and we have an enhanced P&D deal with Universal, which means we can opt in on various services on a band by band basis.” He also mentions that “staying independent” ranks as his and Kroeger’s greatest triumph, along with the shrewd and hard won decision to retain the label’s digital rights.

Artists signed to the label are:
* Jakalope
* Armchair Cynics
* George Canyon
* Faber Drive
* Jessie Farrell
* Marianas Trench
* My Darkest Days
* The Organ
* Aaron Pritchett
* The Solution
* Speed To Kill
* The Suits XL
* Theory of a Deadman
* Thornley
* Tin Foil Phoenix
* The Zolas
* Carly Rae Jepsen
* Jessica Lee

Research - Artist.

This information has been sourced from the following websites:
http://www.604records.com/home/artists/marianas-trench
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianas_Trench_%28band%29
http://www.marianastrench.net/bio.php


Marianas Trench

MEMBERS
Josh Ramsay - Vocals and Guitar
Matthew Webb - Guitar and Vocals
Michael Ayley - Bass and Vocals
Ian Casselman - Drums and Vocals




ALBUMS


Fix Me(2006)

1. "Say Anything"
2. "Decided to Break It"
3. "September"
4. "Alibis"
5. "Shake Tramp"
6. "Low"
7. "Push"
8. "Far from Here"
9. "Vertigo"
10. "Alive Again"
11. "Skin & Bones"
12. "Fix Me"


Masterpiece Theatre (2009)


1. "Masterpiece Theatre I"
2. "All To Myself"
3. "Cross My Heart"
4. "Beside You"
5. "Acadia"
6. "Masterpiece Theatre II"
7. "Sing Sing"
8. "Good To You" (feat. Kate Voegele)
9. "Celebrity Status"
10. "Perfect"
11. "Lover Dearest"
12. "Masterpiece Theatre III"

Tuesday 7 September 2010

Music Video Analysis

Shot by shot analysis.

Track: What I’ve Done Artist: Linkin Park Director: Joe Hahn

Length: 3.27 Date: April 2nd 2007

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMePM9Q-bYk

Shot number

Shot type

Shot length

(secs.) – [0.01 = 1sec.]

Description

Edit to next shot



Static shot

0.04

Grass going back into soil, reversed and sped up

Straight cut



Tracking shot

0.02

Scorpion walking on sand

Straight cut



Zooms in, establishing shot

0.04

Slowly zooming in to stage in the middle of a deserted scenery, background blurred, foreground in focus (depth of field)

Straight cut



Pan (right to left)

0.02

Showing helicopter arriving at side of stage in deserted scenery, small band logo is shown on part of the stage as camera pans.

Straight cut



Close up, Insert

0.005

Gears turning

Quick straight cut



Extreme close up, Insert

0.005

Gears turning, showed even closer

Straight cut



Tracking shot

0.02

Eagle flying in the sky above the deserted scenery

Straight cut



Static shot

0.01

Camera at ground level, showing front of half of the drum kit with the band logo on it in focus in the foreground and blurred background

Straight cut



Pan up, close up, low angle

0.01

Camera pans up from close up of the front of the drum kit to show the drummer of the band (Rob Bourdon) playing the drums from a low angle.

Straight cut



Extreme close up, Insert

0.005

Gears turning

Straight cut



Static shot

0.01

The band’s DJ (Director Joe Hahn)’s hand is shown scratching on the decks.

Straight cut



360° tracking shot from a low angle (“ Mr Hahn’s Circle Jerk”)

0.01

The band’s bassist Phoenix is shown standing with the bass by his side.

Straight cut



Insert, insert

0.01

Reversed, inserted, sped up footage; made to look like water going back into the ground as if being dried up (would have originally been water filling up the ground)

Straight cut



Extreme close up

0.005

Gears turning

Straight cut



360° tracking shot from a low angle (“ Mr Hahn’s Circle Jerk”),

Two shot, long shot

0.01

The band’s lead singer, Chester Bennington, is shown with his microphone and backing vocalist/rapper/guitarist/keyboardist, Mike Shinoda, is shown getting ready to play the guitar.

Blend



360° tracking shot from a low angle (“ Mr Hahn’s Circle Jerk”), long shot

0.01

The band’s guitarist Brad Delson is shown getting ready to play his guitar

Straight cut



Insert of stock footage.

0.02

Footage from a jet fighter in the sky, aiming down at a target and then the target is shown, exploding.

Straight cut



Group shot, extreme long shot, establishing shot

0.01

Band start playing and they are shown together (all apart from the drummer.) Surroundings are shown.

Straight cut



Pan right, mid shot

0.005

Mike shown playing guitar, other band members are shown around him but he is in main focus.

Straight cut



Static shot, medium shot

0.005

Brad shown playing guitar, surroundings can be seen around him and side of bass from other band member, Phoenix.

Straight cut



Static shot

0.01

Rob (drummer) shown playing drums.

Straight cut



Insert of stock footage

0.01

Army stock footage shown. Army personnel in a line, resisting object been thrown and rioters.

Straight cut



Insert of stock footage

0.005

Black and white film (news archive stock footage) black man being pushed along.

Straight cut



Insert of stock footage

0.005

Black and white film (news archive stock footage) police picking someone up and arresting them.

Straight cut



Two shot, mid shot, slow pan right

0.01

Phoenix (bassist) and Rob (drummer) shown with stage set behind them.

Straight cut



Insert of stock footage

0.01

Fireman saving little girl from burning building, shot slightly slowed down.

Straight cut



Insert of stock footage

0.01

Riot shown, army tanks

Straight cut



Insert

0.01

Rescue plane flying in the sky

Straight cut



Group shot, medium shot

0.005

Shows 4 members of band

Straight cut



Insert of stock footage

0.005

Shows someone being pulled up on a rope by a rescue plane

Straight cut



Insert of stock footage

0.01

Shows woman being arrested

Straight cut



Overhead /bird’s eye view shot

0.01

Shows band playing from above and also shows set up of amps and equipment around them.

Straight cut



Insert of stock footage

0.005

News archive stock footage; riot.

Straight cut



Insert of stock footage

0.005

News archive stock footage; people running over to someone injured in what appears to be a ruined town (like that of one that has been ruined by a natural disaster)

Straight cut



Zoom in

0.01

Zooms in on Phoenix’s bass guitar (fast pace zoom)

Straight cut



Insert of stock footage

0.01

Army – soldier firing a flame thrower

Straight cut



Insert

0.01

Monument Valley, AZ is shown in this clip. The clip has been filmed for longer than a second then sped up as clouds are shown to be sweeping over the valley at a fast pace.

Straight cut



Insert

0.01

The Arctic desert is shown in this clip. Which contrasts with the previous clip as Monument Valley is very dry and warm and the Arctic desert is very dry but cold and icy. This clip has also been sped up as the clouds sweep over at a fast pace.

Straight cut



Medium shot

0.01

A medium shot of three members of the band is shown in this shot. The lead singer singing the first line in the foreground, and the other two behind playing.

Straight cut



Long shot, Establishing shot

0.005

Long shot of the whole band from afar showing the settings also.

Straight cut



Insert

0.005

Gears turning

Straight cut



Medium Close up

0.002

Head, shoulders of lead singer and microphone shown in this shot.

Straight cut



Insert

0.005

Footage of cars on a road, quite close up to the traffic

Straight cut



Insert

0.005

Sped up footage of cars running through Paris.

Straight cut



Insert

0.0025

Sped up footage of cars running through America.




Insert

0.005

Sped up footage of clouds rising over city.




Insert

0.0075

Sped up footage of smoke rising above industrial setting.




Insert

0.01

Close up of a petrol meter going up.




Zoom out from mid shot to medium shot

0.01

Lead singer singing




Pan

0.015

Fast paced pan from overhead showing some fields.




Close up

0.005

Close up of guitarist pulling back his guitar and in the distance on the right you can see the DJ playing on his decks.




Insert

0.005

Close up of a rhino




Insert

0.005

Close up of an elephant




Insert

0.0025

This footage shows elephant bones on fire




Insert, Pan

0.01

This footage is a pan over a burning forest




Insert

0.005

Footage of firemen putting out the fire on the bones




Crane shot

0.01

Shows band playing from above and slightly cranes down at a slow pace




Insert

0.005

Insert of mountains and river in Japan. Fast paced footage; shows clouds passing.




Insert

0.01

Close up of a Polar bear in water




Medium shot

0.01

Lead singer walking forward with microphone, singing. Shown from the far left of him.




Mid shot

0.005

Lead singer and backing vocalist/guitarist shown just behind him more in focus.




Insert

0.005

Shows water coming out of a pipe




Insert

0.005

Shows close up of lake with rubbish in it




Long shot

0.005

Lead singer positioned at the far right of the shot, shows setting in front of them (desert)




Low angle, close up

0.01

Low angled close up of the guitarist/backing vocalist playing guitar. The sunlight enters the shot as he strums the guitar.




Medium-long shot

0.02

Shows lead singer, backing vocalist/guitarist and other guitarist performing from the left hand side of them




Medium-long shot

0.01

Shows bassist from front of him and drummer in the background




Close up

0.02

Lead singer singing in the foreground, on the right of the shot and the two guitarists and the DJ behind In less focus and to the left. Shot from the front of the band.




Insert

0.005

Close up of people in third world country (famine, poverty)




Insert

0.005

Close up of people in man world country (famine, poverty)




Insert

0.005

Low angle shot of a sign in America saying ‘EAT’. Sped-up footage.




Insert

0.005

Close up of man eating a big burger.




Medium shot

0.005

Shows lead singer to the right side of the shot with back vocalist/guitarist and DJ to the left of the shot behind the lead singer.




Insert

0.005

Close up of woman putting a tape measure around her waist




Insert

0.005

Footage of man living in poverty




Long shot, crane

0.005

Long shot of the whole band and a slow crane down.




Medium-long shot

0.005

Shows lead singer, bassist and the two guitarists performing




Close up, from a slightly low angle

0.005

Guitarist playing guitar from a slightly low angle




Long shot

0.005

The drummer, Rob, playing the drums




Medium-long shot, slightly low angle

0.01

Lead singer singing to the right and backing vocalist/guitarist positioned at the left of the shot. Filmed from a slightly low angle.




Medium shot

0.005

Medium shot of bassist, Phoenix, playing his bass guitar, the drummer in less focus behind him.




Insert

0.01

Footage of people moving boxes




Bird’s-eye shot

0.0025

Lead singer is shown with his microphone.




Close up

0.0025

Drummer shown close up through between the drums




Pan from right to left

0.005

Shows lead singer singing




Mid-Close up

0.005

Shows lead singer singing




Insert, Zoom in

0.005

Shows Stone Henge