Testing for the Music Video

I have now started planning using the video camera so I get an idea of what camera angles and shots I can use that will be right for the video. The video below shows the bands drummer, Sam Lewis playing the drum solo to 'Drink' by The City Lightz. the song which I will be making a video for.


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


I recorded it as a tester to see if I would prefer the band to be performing in the video or not. After watching this recording back, even though I would use a tripod to keep the camera still and steady, I would  rather have another story line and play the song in the background.


It would be difficult to record the band performing for me to edit and fit it in throughout the song. However, if I could I would but not use much of the scenes because the video will have a more important story line and would not want it to get too confusing for the viewers.

Functions of a Music Video

What job does a music video do? - 

A music video is something that is viewed by an audience for entertainment on television or online. It is another level above he radio, as not only can you listen to the music but you can watch the video created especially for that video. A music video mainly works around three important points; the music, lyrics and the iconography. A music video is designed for the artists fans and therefore provides pleasure to keep watching and encourage repeat viewings. Technology has dramatically changed overtime, from a radio to black and white television to advanced colored HD. This involves the audience even more and keeps them watching.

Copyright Issues  - 

Copyright issues offer protection to the creators and composers of the original pieces of music. Without copyright protection in the music industry, music publishing would be difficult because others could steal the music and claim it to be their own. As soon as someone writes and creates an original piece of music or lyrics it is immediately protected by copyright law.

Websites and applications such as Youtube, Myspace Music and iTunes help boost views and popularity for the artists and songs. Every time you legally download or buy the song on iTunes, the record label gets a share and they also give a little to the artist.

Planning the Music Video

For the production of the main task, I decided to work with Sam Lewis and Deepak Swali to produce a music video in a multi-faceted genre. We spent several lessons collating and discussing our musical interests to find a common bond.

Bloc Party

Dizzee Rascal

The song we chose was called 'Drink' by The City Lights. This is a mixture of Funk, Grime and Indie. The  band has a wide range of influences behind the music. These include the early Dizzee Rascal, Bloc Party and The Streets. The music genre has a wide gap between which gives me more of a choice for a music video. I can include a bit of every genre because it fits with the music, this enables me to show my skills in each sector and experiment with the different forms and conventions to represent the different genres.


When producing the music video I will be shooting some shots and also play the role of the director in some parts. I would prefer to keep changing turns when having a role to produce the video because it gives me an opportunity to learn the different forms and conventions included in the different roles and also gives me the chance to show what I already know and how I present it.

Research & Planning for Music Video

I have researched videos to give me an idea for my Music Video. The song I will be creating a video for is called "Drink" by "The City Lightz". The genre of the band is a mixture of Indie, Rap and Funk. So the video can have a variety of settings and a mixed story line.

I researched videos about drinking to give me the idea of what my music video can look like. The link below is a video called "Pursuit of Happiness" by "Kid Cudi ft. MGMT and Ratatat". This is a video that stood out for me and goes well with the song that I am going to create a video to. The slow motion shots and camera angles inspired me for my video. I wouldn't want to re-create this video but I would prefer to take ideas and test myself. This comes under the genre of hip/hop and funk. The instruments vary because there is a hip/hop artist collaborating with an electro funk artist. The overall look in this video is more on the hip/hop side as the electro funk band MGMT do not appear to be in the video. There are no instruments shown in the video and there is no band appearance just Kid Cudi miming to the chorus and verses in place of MGMT. The artists role is the main focus from beginning to end as he is singing and rapping throughout the video. There is also some narrative included towards the end of the song when there is music playing in the background but he is speaking over it. This comes under the structure of the video and the choices that have been made were chosen by Kid Cudi to make the video more like a short movie with an overlap of a song. The lyrics connect to the video because it is about being drunk and having fun, however towards the end of the song it slows down and becomes more dark than fun. Almost as if the fun is all over and everything is in slow motion. The slow motion shots and close ups shows the detail of the video almost giving the impression of a dirty/pretty video. And the fade out shots make it look like time is passing and it is dragging.

Another video that inspired me was "We are Your Friends" by "Justice vs. Simian"(below). This video is similar to  "Pursuit of Happiness" and uses similar conventions, such as: the camera angles and slow motion shots. This video involves drinking in the video which is what my music video will be about so watching this video and looking at the techniques has broadened my knowledge about what my video is going to include. This genre is more electro house and also doesn't show any instruments and band members. The lyrics are very repetitive and are used continuously throughout the entire song.

The video below is another video that inspired me and gave me ideas for my music video. This video is called Someday by the Strokes. The thing that really caught my eye was the camera angles and lighting in the video. The camera angles and unsteady shots make the video more interesting. The only problem I came across was how I could use the same camera angles and unsteady shots but still make it look professional. The Strokes are a huge Rock 'n' Roll band so it is an exception for them to have unsteady shots making the video look like its a home video and taken from a camcorder. However, if i try and portray this effect, it will look unprofessional and very low budget. So if I can make the video look professional but still use some camera angles and props then I have still used some forms and conventions from the music video. But overall this video shows everyday lives of a rock band and showing the perfect example of Sex, Drugs & Rock 'n' Roll.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=528_jVHBk1Q&p=E9F1639C3A50A59C&playnext=1&index=8


The final video that I researched and gave me the ideas for my music video was a video by Kings of Leon called The Bucket. This video is different to any other video I have researched because of the multi-angle camera shots and the repetitive lighting and angles. This video gave me ideas because it have split screen shots which I haven't seen in any other videos that I have researched. I liked this effect because not only would it look professional but I could show different drinks being poured at the same time on the screen in four different shots. This video shows the typical rock band with limited props singing and playing the instruments. However the camera angles and shots make the video look professional and different. This video includes close up shots, mid shots and panning shots that are used in a continuous pattern.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnZmWE8JG3M&ob=av2n