The genre of this band and their song which i will be using is indie rock. I will be researching the the genre so that i can intergrate into my music video.
Indie rock is a genre that originated in the United Kingdom and United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is a diverse genre with a variety of sub genres within this such as Post rock, Indie pop and Noise rock. the term was originally associated with the record labels recording the music and then was used interchangeably as alternative rock. The main instruments which are used within the music of this genre are Guitar, Bass, Drums and Keyboard. these instruments are often shown within the music video of indie rock genre as it clearly targets the audience and demonstrates the genre effectively.
Indie rock, derived from "independent", describes the small and relatively low budget labels on which it is released and the do-it-yourself attitude of the bands and artists involved. Although distribution deals are often struck with major corporate companies these labels and the bands they host have attempted to retain their autonomy, leaving them free to explore sounds, emotions and subjects of limited appeal to large, mainstream audiences. The main target audience of this genre of music is generally young people both make and female which is evident through the sound of the music, the image of the band and their music videos. This is also relevant to my music video as i will be targeting this audience and this again will be demonstrated throughout the project.
When the term indie was first used in mid 1980s to describe the music produced on post-punk labels rather than the actual labels themselves. After the introduction of indie a number of bands/artists would label themselves in the indie genre. Indie music is a fast growing genre in today's society and a very popular choice of music as there are many ways it can be approached. The genre of indie rock contains a diverse range of links within other genres. This is what a high amount of upcoming unsigned artists base themselves and their music around. As the genre has developed over the years, since its introduction a number of characteristics have been added and developed for the better of the genre. This has lead to there being numerous sub-genres within indie music which is why it has become so popular.
Monday 31 October 2011
Friday 28 October 2011
Song Lyrics
Midnight Wanderer by the Silent Sundays
(Line Number)
Gets out of bed and looks at the clock (1)
sees the time
is the tick and the tock
he was just in time
set off walking before the chime
That lonely midnight wanderer (6)
sets off walking in search for an answer
he lost everything from home to business
that lonely midnight wanderer
He used to lead a perfect life (10)
nice house, great kids
but a bitch for a wife
she left him for an italian fling
left him on the streets without a thing
That lonely midnight wanderer (15)
sets off walking in search for an answer
he lost everything from home to business
that lonely midnight wanderer
(x2)
Annotation
(1)Tired, Unorganised
(2)He is checking the time, May be in a rush
(3) He may be confused, Lacks motivation
(4)Relief as he woke up in time
(5)Going somewhere, just in time
(6)No direction, confused
(7)Needs to know why this has happened to him
(8) Lost everything, unfair
(9)again shows confusion and lack of direction and motivation
(10)Sympathy, Reminising the past
(11)thinking about positive aspects of the past
(12)thinking about the negative aspects, pessimistic
(13)his wife cheated in him, unfaithful feels she ruined his life
(14)he was punished for this as he has nothing left
(Line Number)
Gets out of bed and looks at the clock (1)
sees the time
is the tick and the tock
he was just in time
set off walking before the chime
That lonely midnight wanderer (6)
sets off walking in search for an answer
he lost everything from home to business
that lonely midnight wanderer
He used to lead a perfect life (10)
nice house, great kids
but a bitch for a wife
she left him for an italian fling
left him on the streets without a thing
That lonely midnight wanderer (15)
sets off walking in search for an answer
he lost everything from home to business
that lonely midnight wanderer
(x2)
Annotation
(1)Tired, Unorganised
(2)He is checking the time, May be in a rush
(3) He may be confused, Lacks motivation
(4)Relief as he woke up in time
(5)Going somewhere, just in time
(6)No direction, confused
(7)Needs to know why this has happened to him
(8) Lost everything, unfair
(9)again shows confusion and lack of direction and motivation
(10)Sympathy, Reminising the past
(11)thinking about positive aspects of the past
(12)thinking about the negative aspects, pessimistic
(13)his wife cheated in him, unfaithful feels she ruined his life
(14)he was punished for this as he has nothing left
Tuesday 25 October 2011
Band Research
They are a Sheffield band named Silent Sundays. The band formed in mid 2006 after trying many different line-ups until they found a comfortable line-up and an always positive atmosphere.
They are a 4-Piece band, and have a wide variety in the styles of music that they play. They play a mixture of covers and originals which range between punk, rock and indie.
With a Lead guitarist and Drummer into some of the more heavier genres, our music includes fast solos, fast rhythms, Strong and rhythmic drumming and some awesome fills. Also on the lighter side, the band has a bassist and rhythm guitarist into lighter, more indie style music, giving songs a nice melodic feeling with some chords new to the guitaring world, fast chord changes, funky bass riffs and clever chord structures. With Dave as the lead vocalist and Tray and Tom as back-up vocalists, their vocal range is almost endless, so they like to include clever and melodic vocal parts, with some strong vocal parts for all 3 of the vocalists in the band.
The bands target audience is generally from students to young adults and can be both for a male and female audience. When hearing the bands music this is very evident as well as when you see the band and the image they portray. This is due to the band being of a young age and the distinctive style they have adopted which is shown throughout their music. I will be sticking to this target audience when creating my music video for one of their songs as well as the added pieces such as the digipack and the magazine article. This will be done by using a young range of people to act as the band during the video and to keep a basic yet proffesional, light hearted theme throughout.
They are a 4-Piece band, and have a wide variety in the styles of music that they play. They play a mixture of covers and originals which range between punk, rock and indie.
With a Lead guitarist and Drummer into some of the more heavier genres, our music includes fast solos, fast rhythms, Strong and rhythmic drumming and some awesome fills. Also on the lighter side, the band has a bassist and rhythm guitarist into lighter, more indie style music, giving songs a nice melodic feeling with some chords new to the guitaring world, fast chord changes, funky bass riffs and clever chord structures. With Dave as the lead vocalist and Tray and Tom as back-up vocalists, their vocal range is almost endless, so they like to include clever and melodic vocal parts, with some strong vocal parts for all 3 of the vocalists in the band.
The bands target audience is generally from students to young adults and can be both for a male and female audience. When hearing the bands music this is very evident as well as when you see the band and the image they portray. This is due to the band being of a young age and the distinctive style they have adopted which is shown throughout their music. I will be sticking to this target audience when creating my music video for one of their songs as well as the added pieces such as the digipack and the magazine article. This will be done by using a young range of people to act as the band during the video and to keep a basic yet proffesional, light hearted theme throughout.
Thursday 20 October 2011
Directors
Spike Jonze (born Adam Speigel) is an American director, producer and actor. He works in music videos, commercials, film and television. Spike Jonze is most known for his music videos in which he worked with: Weezer, Beastie Boys and Bjork. He was born in Rockville, Maryland and was raised in Bethesda, Maryland. when Speigel was younger he hung out at the Bethesda community store where the former owner Mike Henderson gave him the nickname "Spike Jonze". In 2006 Jonze was nominated by the directors guild of directors for the outstanding achievement in commercials in 2005. This included not only his work for music videos but in film and television. Jonze is seen as an instrumental figure in the commercial industry as he was the producer and co-creator of MTV's Jackass series. Spike Jonze has been nominated for and won a number of awards due to the recognition of a range of his successful work in the industry. These awards are not only for his work in music videos but a high number of them are from his directing work in films in which he is also highly recognised among the best directors. Jonze's main film success is Being John Malkovich which was his directing debut and in this he received a nomination for the best director and won an empire award for best debut as a director. In 2001 Jonze won the ALFS Award for 'director of the year' which was because of a combination of his film and music directing.
Michel Gondry is an academy award winning filmmaker. Gondry works as a commercial director, a music video director and a screenwriter. He is most known for his inventive visual style and his manipulation of mise en scene. The main artists which Gondry has worked with are Daft Punk, Foo Fighters and the Rolling Stones. Gondry was born in Versailles,France and was the Grandson of French inventor Constant Martin. His career as a filmmaker began when he was creating music videos for french band Qui, Qui, which he was also a part of as the drummer. Gondry's brother Olivier is also a television commercial director and he also directs a number of music videos from a selection of globally successful artists. The style of his videos attracted the attention of Bjork and she contacted him asking whether he would be interested in collaborating with her. Gondry has won a number of awards for both his involvement in the film and music industry. His main success in the film industry was for 'Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind' which has been nominated for a number of awards and won a high number of these which included an Oscar as best director for the film.
Anthony Mandler is a commercial and music video director. Mandler has worked with a number of huge artists which has lead to him becoming one of today's leading music video directors in the world. The main notable collaborations of Mandler include Rhianna, Jay-Z and The Killers. Anthony Mandler's most successful music video which he directed was The Killers "When You Were Young". The song and music video was hugely successful as the video was nominated in the category of "best short form music video". Mandler has also directed a number of major commercials which has helped him to become a big name in modern day directing which has helped in his rise to success and his collaborations with major global artists. Mandler has also worked in magazine production and is now trying to attempt to move into the film industry and become a huge success. A number of popular directors have suggested that Mandler will be very successful in the film industry due to his success in the music video directing and his desire to succeed.
Michel Gondry is an academy award winning filmmaker. Gondry works as a commercial director, a music video director and a screenwriter. He is most known for his inventive visual style and his manipulation of mise en scene. The main artists which Gondry has worked with are Daft Punk, Foo Fighters and the Rolling Stones. Gondry was born in Versailles,France and was the Grandson of French inventor Constant Martin. His career as a filmmaker began when he was creating music videos for french band Qui, Qui, which he was also a part of as the drummer. Gondry's brother Olivier is also a television commercial director and he also directs a number of music videos from a selection of globally successful artists. The style of his videos attracted the attention of Bjork and she contacted him asking whether he would be interested in collaborating with her. Gondry has won a number of awards for both his involvement in the film and music industry. His main success in the film industry was for 'Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind' which has been nominated for a number of awards and won a high number of these which included an Oscar as best director for the film.
Anthony Mandler is a commercial and music video director. Mandler has worked with a number of huge artists which has lead to him becoming one of today's leading music video directors in the world. The main notable collaborations of Mandler include Rhianna, Jay-Z and The Killers. Anthony Mandler's most successful music video which he directed was The Killers "When You Were Young". The song and music video was hugely successful as the video was nominated in the category of "best short form music video". Mandler has also directed a number of major commercials which has helped him to become a big name in modern day directing which has helped in his rise to success and his collaborations with major global artists. Mandler has also worked in magazine production and is now trying to attempt to move into the film industry and become a huge success. A number of popular directors have suggested that Mandler will be very successful in the film industry due to his success in the music video directing and his desire to succeed.
Monday 17 October 2011
Kings of Leon - Use Somebody
The music video for the Kings of Leon, Use somebody is a typical conventional rock video which contains many camera shots and angles in my music video. This below will explain a range of different shots which i may use in my video.
The close up of the bands lead singer lip syncing is a dominant shot in the video and is used with a green filter which keeps the shot basic but also displays the emotion of the singer.This shot juxtaposes with previous shots in the video which show the chaotic city at night as it makes the video more serious as well as creating a star attraction. I will be using this shot in my music video however unlike this video it will not be one of the dominant shots used.
The point of view shot shows the motorway which presents the typical chaotic atmosphere evident in the majority of rock music videos.This is due to the bright lights used as well as the scene being sped up which again makes the scene seem more chaotic and is used to reflect their lifestyle. It is unlikely that i will use a shot like this as it would be very difficult to capture this type of shot. Also because this video is traditional rock whereas my video will be combining rock with indie this shot could be unsuitable to the video.
The use of the long shot shows the band in concert but also lets you see the audience which is also a typical feature in rock music videos when combined with the closeups of the band in concert. The frantic and chaotic scenes again reflect the bands lifestyle as well as the upbeat scenes reflecting the nature of not only the band but the song and the fans. This can be a very effective shot in music videos which i am going to attempt to include in my video, however, this will probably be more closeups of the band rather than shots of an audience.
The close up of the bands lead singer lip syncing is a dominant shot in the video and is used with a green filter which keeps the shot basic but also displays the emotion of the singer.This shot juxtaposes with previous shots in the video which show the chaotic city at night as it makes the video more serious as well as creating a star attraction. I will be using this shot in my music video however unlike this video it will not be one of the dominant shots used.
The point of view shot shows the motorway which presents the typical chaotic atmosphere evident in the majority of rock music videos.This is due to the bright lights used as well as the scene being sped up which again makes the scene seem more chaotic and is used to reflect their lifestyle. It is unlikely that i will use a shot like this as it would be very difficult to capture this type of shot. Also because this video is traditional rock whereas my video will be combining rock with indie this shot could be unsuitable to the video.
The use of the long shot shows the band in concert but also lets you see the audience which is also a typical feature in rock music videos when combined with the closeups of the band in concert. The frantic and chaotic scenes again reflect the bands lifestyle as well as the upbeat scenes reflecting the nature of not only the band but the song and the fans. This can be a very effective shot in music videos which i am going to attempt to include in my video, however, this will probably be more closeups of the band rather than shots of an audience.
Friday 14 October 2011
Goodwins's six points
Andrew Goodwin's media theory contains six major points which explain the basics of what a music video must contain and how this is portrayed with the music. The six points are:
- There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.
- There is a relationship between the music and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music.
- Goodwin also states that the music video should not only be constructed by the visuals and the song nut should also represent the artist which may include their sound as well as their image.
- Relationships are strongly built throughout the video with a number of closeups of the artist to give them the representation and publicity they require. This also lets the audience see the emotion of the lead artist as well as creating a star attraction.
- Voyeurism is a major feature in a number of music videos today and is used to increase the videos attractiveness. This is in particular to males, whilst in humorous videos inter-textuality is often employed.
- A number of inter-textual references is also essential, either to other music videos or to texts of film and TV. These then provide further gratification to the viewers or audience.
Genre Research (Rock)
My video will be in the Indie Rock genre so therefore a number of these types of elements may be included in my video and how i present the band.
There are many elements in a rock music video which make it what it is. A rock music video is usually a lot different to other genres due to the fast paced editing used. However, when the rock genre is combined with another genre there are a range of elements which are put together to make a music video. These shots that are put together will juxtapose each other to create the effect of an upbeat, pacey but serious and effective approach to the video.
The main components of a rock music include:
There are many elements in a rock music video which make it what it is. A rock music video is usually a lot different to other genres due to the fast paced editing used. However, when the rock genre is combined with another genre there are a range of elements which are put together to make a music video. These shots that are put together will juxtapose each other to create the effect of an upbeat, pacey but serious and effective approach to the video.
The main components of a rock music include:
- The band in concert (showing the band and the audience)
- Close up of the instruments (Guitars, drums, microphone etc)
- Close ups of the lead singer
- Fast paced editing (editing is always to the beat of the music)
- There is not usually a narrative
- Shots of the band backstage
- Showing male lifestyle
- Clothing/appearance ( jeans, vests, dark colours e.g black and grey)
- Lighting ( green filter which shows emotions, dark lighting to reflect the night time, monochrome)
Thursday 13 October 2011
Possible Artists
When I was searching for an artist I chose a number number of songs which I might use. I shortlisted this down to three songs which I thought I could create a successful video for and would be the most suitable. I will be explaining below why I chose which song I did for the video and the reasons of why I rejected the others . This will include not only the song itself but the genre as well as the style and image that the band and song create and how I can portray this with my video.
- Silent Sundays
- The 99s
- The Colours
After reviewing each band and their music I decided to use the Silent Sundays song midnight wanderer. This was because I did not only prefer the song itself and the sound of the band. Their image and target audience was also the most relevant for the image that I wanted my music video to have therefore I chose this over the others as they could not offer this. The bands that I looked at were all of the indie rock genre and I decided to use the silent sundays as their music was more appealing to me and I felt that I could portray their sound and image well to the audience.
Monday 10 October 2011
Brief
This post is the brief and explains what is required in this project.
A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with the following:
A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with the following:
- A digipak for the album's release
- A magazine advertisement for the digipak
Welcome
My name is Connor Ball and I am currently studying media as one of my A-levels at Christ the king sixth form. This blog is for my A2 media blog this year which will record every step of my project which is too create a music video and digipak for a song of an unsigned band. The stages of this project include the planning, the research, the construction and then the evaluation of all of my project at the end of it all.
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