Animatics

Animatics is something that I have wanted to feature and include in y video from day one. After editing my AS final piece using a lot of effects such as altering the contrast and brightness of my video and adding transitions and filters, jump cutting my shots by chopping them up. It is something I have found a huge interest in and is something I would love to use again when editing my music video footage. When researching music videos of a similar genre to indie rock, I have not come across many music videos that include video effects and filters etc. I then noticed that this type of effect is more commonly used in chart and dance music videos. So here I am going to give you some examples of videos that do include this. Noticing this, however, hasn't put me of or made me change my mind, I still am eager to use as I think this is going against the typical conventions and ideas of an indie rock video, as well as complimenting the pace of the music itself.

Music videos for artists such as: 

• Lana Del Rey's song remixed by Cedric Gervais

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=akhmS1D2Ce4

 

• M.I.A's song Y.A.L.A

 

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4VQoP2_eL4

 

 

Location Idea in Newcastle

On topic of locations and finding a great place to film my performance shots. A friend recommended a place to me in Newcastle City Centre. It is a rooftop which is apparently 

very spacious and would be great for me to film at. I am going to visit it this weekend and have a look around. This is just to see what it is really like and for me to make a judgement on if it is suitable for me to film at and if the scenery is ideal. As I am going to visit this weekend, I will take some photographs to upload to my blog and of some other locations that I may come across or take an interest in before finally making the right decision.

Planning ahead for problems

Here is a sample of some of the problems I have came up with that could possibly happen when filming my video and I have found solutions and ways to prevent them. However, fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly without any problems.

Shot List

I have watched the original video for chemicals in depth and looked at all the shots individually. This is as a lot of inspiration for my own video is being taken from this video, such as the fast paced shots and how quick they are all edited. I am planning to use a wide range of shots including long, wide, mid, close up, extreme close up, pan and establishing shot. To make sure I am organised and prepared for when I come round to editing my footage, I will make sure that I take at least 3 shots of each shot I film. This is to ensure that I have options when editing and that if the first or second shot doesn't look good enough or something goes wrong in the shot, I have a backup that I can rely on. It is vital that I always shoot way more that I initially need. This is something that I have learnt a less from in the past, as projects I have filmed before haven't always included the best of quality footage where I haven't had selection to choose from and no good quality backup shots and this is something I knew I needed to improve on in my next film.

 Here I will be using close ups, for example of the singers mouth to emphasize the singing.

 I will also be using shots of the other band members from different angles, such as mid shot and making sure that the instrument is in shot.

 Also, I want a few shots just of the instruments without the peoples faces in the shot, to put full attention on the instruments that are making the music.

 Here is an example of the typography that has inspired me and how it takes up the entire screen with an effective font.

 I also want to edit my shots with filters, using different colours as mentioned previously on my blog.

 Here this video have sued effects so that each shots flow into the next using transitions, where the previous shot is still slightly layered and can be seen behind the existing shot. I would like to experiment with these animatics on my own footage when I begin to edit. This is also a close up shot of another band member which I think will be great to sue, so give my own twist, giving more attention to the other band members and not just the singer.

 Another part of the typography used here is something else I want to include, where I layer the typography over the video shot whilst its on screen and alter the opacity of the text to be able to see the video plating underneath the text.

Packaging

I have decided that for my packaging, based on my front cover design, that there will be a theme of children pulling funny faces. I have a few ideas of how this will work, one idea is that for each page with the track name on in the booklet, there will be a different face and the back cover will be a collage of lots of faces. I still have some planning to do on this but just wanted to blog my ideas as they come. 

Comparison of my design and Vampire Weekends final product

I have taken huge influence from Vampire Weekend in terms of their branding and album covers. The filtering, obscure image and the text/font is all something that is heavily similar when looking at my own design idea. Here is an image of my own work and Vampire Weekend final product that has been released for their album to show the similarities and to explain where exactly I took my influence from and why I did. And also, what is so appealing to their album cover, for me to use it as inspiration when creating my own album cover for my band 'Ten Times A Week'. 

Here above is my own design idea for my album cover. As you can see, the image is of a young boy pulling a funny face. The position the boy is standing in, happens to create an obscure angle on the photo which is also featured in the picture of the chandelier below in Vampire Weekend's album cover. The filter that I have layered over the image is also something that I took inspiration from as it gives it a look of authenticity and quite a vintage look from the sepia effect. This is something a lot of indie rock bands are using, as part of their image. Another aspect that is very similar (almost the same in fact) is the text that I have included on my cover. As researched and featured on my blog, the particular genre that I chose to use, has a pattern in that artists tend to use block font layered on top of an image so that the text is the most prominent part of the cover. I have also used this and picked the colour white for my font, as it stands out the most over the top of my chosen image.

Risk Assessment

A risk assessment is something that needs to be taken whenever filming is going to take place. It is very important as it s ensuring that everyone who is involved is going to be safe and in no danger or risk of harm. Firstly, I will make sure that there is no chance of any of the cast or crew tripping over wires or cables. As the guitars and amps will have these and it could end up with a dangerous outcome, if this happened. Also, nay equipment being used should be kept together and not spread out and left all over the place. This is to ensure that nobody is at risk of tripping or bumping into any of the equipment and injuring themselves. To prevent any wires from being in the way, I will either tape them down so that they are stuck and wont move about and make anyone slip over them or if that isn't possible, then just tuck them in under the equipment so they are not exposed and making any risks.the equipment that isn't being sued at the time will be placed in a corner or behind me so that none of the cast are near it and this will reduce any risk of injures like it falling on the cast or people knocking into it. I will nearer to the date of production, complete a form before or at the location, to ensure a thorough check on risks has been completed.

York Aesthetica Film Festival

In November I will be attending the York Aesthetica Short Film Festival for the second year. This is a great chance to expand on my knowledge of separate aspects of the media by meeting professionals in the industry. Last year it was really useful and came to be extremely helpful when I was creating my projects and revising for my exams. This course has given me a taste of researching the film and TV industry and hopefully will again this year, help me massively with learning more about the content of my course. I have signed up to attend a masterclass on music videos, which I think will be extremely helpful for what I am doing right now.

Scenario/Script for video

In my video, I will be filming a performance based video with small narrative. I am thinking of filming a band playing and singing the track but I haven't finalised on a location yet or what type of location yet eg. outdoor or indoor. The band will consist of vocalist, guitarist(s) and drummer. I want to include different effects into my video when I edit it to make it look interesting and edgy and a lot more effective. I also may include typography to make it a bit different as that's what Various Cruelties did in their music video and it came across very effective when editing to the beat. It will be made up extremely short and quick paced shots as it worked great in the original video for the song and that's how I wanted to edit my music video, to an upbeat, fast paced song. It will be an all male band.


The lyrics to my song I am using are:


If it's meant to be, the universe is gonna throw it back to me,
It's just how I feel
So tonight, we'll spin around the planets like a satellite

Mercury is rushing through my blood, just like an energy,
It's just how I feel
If it's meant to be, the universe is gonna throw it back to me

[Chorus]
Ooooh to get it back, all we need is to let it go
Ooooh put your faith, put your trust in the chemicals

Take a fear, release it, watch it burn up in the atmosphere,
Just give up the ghost
And let it be, you know it doesn't have to be a mystery

[Chorus]
Ooooh to get it back, all we need is to let it go
Ooooh put your faith, put your trust in the chemicals

[Bridge]
If it's meant to be, the universe is gonna throw it back to me
If it's meant to be, the universe is gonna throw it back to me
It's gonna throw it back to me

[Chorus x2]
Ooooh to get it back, all we need is to let it go
Ooooh put your faith, put your trust in the chemicals

Put your faith, put your trust in the chemicals
Put your faith, put your trust in the chemicals




The narrative is going to be about a relationship between a boy and a girl. It is also going to be quick paced very short shots in between the performance shots. It will be filmed in a different location to the performance based scene.

Half Term

Over half term I am going to start adding everything else that I need for my planning, making sure that everything I need is completed and that my research is up to scratch. Everything from risk assessments to call sheet, will  completed and uploaded. This is to make sure everything is up to date and that my blog is organized. I will hopefully begin to shoot some footage for the narrative side of my video as it is much easier to with it inly involving two people and one of them being myself. This should be fun and this time will be a great chance to get as much work completed as possible.

Equipment Needed

The equipment I am going to need for shooting my video is crucial when creating my project. I need instruments and these are probably one of the most important props that I need. As instruments are vital for a band. I will need a camera and tripod for my filming and I will probably be using my own Nikon 1 camera as I find it shoots better quality footage. The clothes that I choose for the bands to wear but I am going to be quite relaxed with what they wear and they can have a preference and input in that. A microphone stand and microphone will also be needed for shooting. Also I will be using amps, not for music to play out of but to complete the set and look of it to be as realistic as possible.

Final cast for my video

The final cast for my music video is going to three boys. I have chosen to cast my friends Callum and Sam and also my boyfriend Josh. This is a choice I have made that I think is a good one and will really benefit me in the long run with my project. This is as they have all experienced helping with my previous media projects and understand the importance and seriousness of the task I am trying to complete. So therefore I think that they will respect me and work hard in order to help me achieve a good result. I have also contemplated on asking someone else to add another band member, but as it isn't quite reliable, for now I am going ahead with a 2 piece band, with the singer also playing guitar.

Lead Singer- Learning the song

I have decided that in preparation for filming my music video, I have given the person who is playing the lead singer, Callum, the song in advance so that he can learn the words properly and practice miming to it in time. The idea is that when it comes to the day o filming the performance part of the music video. He won't find it difficult singing and performing and playing an instrument at the same time. It will also be easy for me to film him with his mouth moving in sync to the track playing over the top of the video unlike some of the problems I have had in the past when filming miming parts and it can go smoothly without any interruptions or problems.

Brand Identity

Product identity can come from many forms such as the:

• Name
• Sign
• Symbol
• Colour combination
• Slogan
• Imagery

A lot of bands pick a symbol or a certain particular font and use that for everything to do with their music. Album covers, merchandise, music videos are just some of the examples that use that. This then creates an identity for the public to recognize the certain artist.the idea behind image and branding is consistency.  Putting forward a consistent public image, so people can easily associate and remember you over time. An example of where a symbol is used is The Rolling Stones.  They created the logo of the mouth with the tongue sticking out which has now become one of the most iconic brands and is seen everywhere and is always immediately associated with The Rolling Stones. This logo was used on album front covers, t-shirts etc.

Popular Locations for music videos- bands

I'm putting a lot of thought into the location I want to film my band playing at. There are so many ideas and places  have thought of and it's difficult to narrow them down. My ideas so far are the beach, a cliff top, a field, woods, a street, inside of a building, a stage, outside of a building, in a garage, a roof top. There are so many and I am going to discuss them to find a realistic and doable idea that is still effective. I still haven't decided where I will film my narrative and if it will be around the same place as where I am filming the band or if it will be different. 

Bands such as The Beatles, RHCP's and U2 have filmed on a rooftop however, that doesn't seem that realistic for me to do and for it to of good quality as I do not have the equipment or really a suitable place to actually use.

Soon, I will hopefully have a good enough final idea for the location. Fingers crossed.

Examples of performance videos by bands

I have decided to look a little more into bands that have used performance in their music videos. To get an idea of how I will film my own video and what type of shots I will feature when filming. I am going to look at a variety of different bands and genres just to look at camera shots and structure of the videos. 

Adding my own spin

As I discussed in my music video pitch, the typical idea when it comes to bands, is that the lead singer is the one who gets the most attention out of the band and the main focus is on him at all times. He or she is the image of the band in a way and anything that is offered on the side to the band is normally taken by them. In a narrative video for a band, it tends to be either an actor playing in it or the lead singer takes role as he is the most popular choice. Instead if following this rule, I have decided to use my guitarist in the band as the character in the narrative. This is as it goes against the typical assumptions of the public and music industry and gives him more attention and focus as the other band member usually are left in the dark with no spotlight given to him. Here this will demonstrate how I have added my own spin on to my video by not directly copying other videos already out there and making it more unique and individual.

Band Name- The film it was influenced by

The film as I mentioned in my last post about the band is Big is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Penny Marshall, and stars Tom hanks as Josh Baskin, a young boy who makes a wish "to be big" and is then aged to adulthood overnight. Big was the latest and most successful, of a series of age-changing comedies produced in the late 1980 same, is 'Big'. The song that has influenced my band name is a short song chanted by Tom hanks and his friend as kids. It is called 'The Ice-cream song'. The lyrics get completely stuck in your head and it is really catchy. So when going through the words in my head, 'ten times a week' stuck and I thought it was really suitable for my band.



Here are the lyrics:


The space goes...

down down baby, down down the roller coaster.

Sweet sweet baby, sweet sweet don't let me go.

shimmy shimmy coco pop, shimmy shimmy rock,

shimmy shimmy coco pop, shimmy shimmy rock

I met a girlfriend- a triscuit,

she said a triscuit-a biscuit,

ice cream soda pop

vanilla on the top

oooo Shalida, walking down the street,

ten times a week

I meant it. I said it.

I stole my mama's credit.

I'm cool. I'm hot.

Sock you in the stomach three more times.

Band Name

I have decided on a name for my band that I will be filming in my music video. It has taken quite a while as it's not been as easy as I thought it was going to be. There are so many bands already in the music industry and it's difficult to pick a name that is different to other bands and that actually sounds good. I even tried using a random band name generator to create something a bit more unique. I have chosen this band name as it relates to my research that I collected. Bands in the industry that I have looked at such as Vampire Weekend, Various Cruelties and Two Door Cinema Club are known for their very unique random name. The names relate to the type of music as it's quite individual and that what indie rock is. Some bands tend tp ouse lines from films they particuraly like or a name of a film that sin't that well known. Vampire Weekend chose their name "Vampire Weekend" from the title of a short film project Koenig worked on during the summer between freshman and sophomore years in college. While home for the summer, Koenig watched a 1980s vampire film 'The Lost Boys' and was inspired to make a Northeastern version of the film in which a man named Walcott travels to Cape Cod to warn the mayor that vampires are attacking the United States.

 

I have chosen the name 'Ten Times A Week' as it is a quote from the Icecream song performed by two character in the film Big, starring Tom Hanks. I have chosen this as it is cryptic, has a kind of cheeky quality and is associated with an anagram of 'twat' which gives it an edge of tonque in cheek and could also bring out the humour in the teenage boys personalities.

 

 

 

Music Video Pitch

Music Video Pitch from Charlotte Greaves on Vimeo.

Blog Posts and getting up to date

Things I need to put on my blog

• General research into the genre you are working in
• Specific research into examples from the genre, including deconstructions of a range of products
• Summary of my findings
• Some consideration of print products in the area I am working in
• Initial trials/ examples linked to my developing ideas
• Initial notes linked to planning/ developing work
• Branding (logos/ schemes/ umbrella design concepts etc)
• Research into my target audience
• Pitch
• A treatment
• Blog entries linked to the skills/ key concepts I will be considering in the exam

I am going to go through my blog and make sure that everything on this list is included as this is very important to keep up to date and have as much research as possible.