Planning the music video

In todays lesson i helped dave out with the planning of his music video.


What we done was produced a time sheet for the music in which he is producing a music video for. The sheet had a table on it which stretched from 0:00 too 3:30 and these were the minutes of the music.

For this exercise we had to listen to Daves music and place the beat changes, chorus, begineing of the song ec on the sheet and also note down what ideas dave / me had about the music video which could possibly match the song beats etc.

( I couldnt work on my song today as i am still unable to record my song to make it itto MP3 format inorder to edit it)

Also i am waiting for the microphones so i can record the music for my music video, which i will hopefully get recorded by next monday, provided that i am able to get hold of the microphones on friday in rder to record the song over the weekend

Feedback on Pitch 1 & 2

Overall the feedback that i received from both the class and Pete was mostly positive with some negative points, such as the lip-sync issue and also the fact of the video becoming to boring for the audience.

Shown below are the positive comments i received for both pitches:

- Good thought for video and effects (black & white -> colour)

- Choices of locations are good and well thought through

- Organization work so far is well thought out

Shown below are the negative points i received for my pitches:

- Not a good idea to have no singing / lip-syncing in the music video

- May get a bit boring for the audience as it seems like one long shot / journey

- The idea for the colour changing effect may not work

- Artist needs to be confident and needs to perform the song within the video not just act

Improvements for my pitches / ideas :

- Keep the footage interesting

- use a variety of camera shots / angles during the shoot

- Artist needs to perform her best to make it believable during lip-sync

- Lip-sync is a must for at least some points during the music video

- Need to use more references in my blog to improve ideas for effects / camera angles

Pitch i will use for the music video:

Based on what i have received in ways of feedback from pete and my fellow class mates i am going to merge both pitch 1 and pitch 2. I am going to use a mix of the effects and see what works out best, but i am going to keep in mind that i don't want to over complicate the video during the filming / editing stages of the production.

Websites that i have found helpful for the planning of my music video

These websites that i have found have many different aspects which ive found very helpful during the planning stages of my music video.

www.youtube.com (Main search base for videos / audio)

www.google.co.uk (Main search page for finding other websites / images)

shown below are some specific links to certain websites which have been particularly helpful to me:

http://motion.kodak.com/

(This website has some handy tips near the bottom of the page which reminds me of some technical aspects to consider whilst filming my music video, such as cutaways and camera angles etc)

http://www.dvinfo.net/

(This website has a helpful discussion form on it where some media / film enthusiasts are discussing tips of filming in the woods, so that is the main reason why ive found this website useful, because i will be shooting most of my music video in the woods (Fens and Babraham)

http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/

This website has been particularly helpful in the location side of things, as it explains what is within the fenlands and what kind of area it is, or though i may not definitely use the fens as my final shooting location it would be good to have a variety of shots taken within the fens, for example at sunset would be a good time to get some really nice footage at the fens.

Pitch For music video idea (Draft verion)

Pitch 1 (Draft)

"Crystal Poison"

Classic yet modern.

With footage shot in the woodland area of both Babraham and The fens, this music video will show the journey through the song "crystal poison".

It will capture the essence of both nature and the theme of the song itself.

for the video there will be many visual effects used.

from simple black and white, too jittery old fasioned effects, which all add to the mysterious theme of the surronding nature and song.

To show the sense of mysterious enviroment i will use a variety of close up and long shot camera angles.


Pitch 2 (Draft)

"Crystal Poison"

From one point to another ( a journey)

A journey through the woodland area, turing dark into light.

By using many effects, i will create the ilision that Alison is turing dark and white into colour, simply by her touch apon the nature in the woods.

Also there will be a few stop motion effects used in order to create a flip - book kind of style which will make the music video much more interesting to the viewer.

For this video i will use a variety of camera angles, many of which will be close ups of the nature within the woods, such as the flowers that Alison will touch and turn into colour.

Planning for costume, location and Theme for music video

These Photos show possible costume, location and theme for my music video

for the song ' Crystal Poison' By Alison

Costume Ideas / Theme

(in these photos is the artist Alison she is wearing the costume that we wil use for the music video)

Location Ideas:

(Woodland area will be the main focus point for this music video)

(Possibility of doing a few river shots aswell)

General ideas - Videos / Images

Here are my general ideas, expressed through videos and images.

(Also these videos & images show possible effects i will use within my music video)

Videos / images that show effects that i like and may portray within my music video:

Shown below is a video that uses the flip-book type effect that i was thinking of using in my music video.

(I was thinking of using the flip-book style but in a less up beat fashion)

Shown Below is the effect i am going to be using within my

music video in some shots.

(I want to use the old fashioned effect but in a less stereotypical

old fashioned way. such as lines, Sepia, and scratches)

I want to show this effect by using just black and white and a few effects

to show it is old fashioned & victorian looking in theme / mood.

Shown below is my mad world video, which i made in 2008.

I got the idea for this music video from this music video i made.

From this mad world video i hope to use the same style (effects) and also use the general idea of movement from

one point to another, while using many camera angles and movements, as-well as using many different angles such as

The mirror shot or the notice board shot whereby i break the conventional camera angles and do them slightly differently

The video below shows the effect i wish to hopefully achieve

within my music video (black & white -> colour footage)

The video below is a tutorial in-which explains step by step

how i can achieve the black and white -> colour effect

Geneal Ideas

Here are some of mine and Alisons general ideas for the music video....


Footage:

- Alison to walk through a woodland area.
- A journey through the woods whilst looking at the nature around.
- Using the footage to express the feelings within the song and its theme.
- Film the journey through the eyes of Alison (at points in the video)
- Base the video around my past video *Mad World* using some of the more effective shots such as the mirror shot of me walking along.
- A sense of bewilderment and confusion while on the journey.


Effects:

- At the start of the journey its black and white.
- Later on in the video fade into colour.
- Flip book effect, where the video footage of Alison is jitering and looks like archive footage.
- Vintage looking footage of Alison at the start almot victorian styled, to add to the bewilderment.
- Scratches and grain effect to make it look very old and strange.
- Colour starts to bleed in and makes the video come alive as the journey ends.
- when the journey comes to an end it fades into colour (contrast change / booster)
- When she steps on the ground it makes colour appear with her steps.
- As she touches the plants / trees they become alive with colour.


Camera Shots:

- Range of close ups to make the viewers feel as confused as Alison will be in the video while traveling through the woodland area.
- There will also be some establishing shots of trees as alison passes them.
- The close ups will be of key features of Alisons face and costume, and of her feet in some shots.
- There will also be a variety of chase type shots as she gatthers speed during her jounrey through the woodland area.
- There will be less static shots as in many music videos its the camera movement that makes the video come alive, and that is what i want, so i will try to avoid static shots.

Chosen song for the music video

I have chosen the song 'Crystal Poison' for my music video.

The main reason (s) why ive chosen this song is beacause, Crystal Poison represents the heart of nature, therefore it will be easy to in a woodland area and will beable to show the main essence of the song.

Equipment & software for film shoot

Here are some images of the equipment i am going to use during the filming of my music video....

Sony HDSR1 (will be used for filming the video itself)

FujiFilm FinePix (Will be used for the on set photos)

Tripod (Will be used to hold the camera during the filming of the video)

Kodak (Will be used as a back up for the on set photos)

Here are some images of the software I am going to use for the editing stage of my music video

Sony Vegas 9.0 (For editing the music video footage)

Picassa 3.5 (For editing the on set photos)

Adobe photoshop elements (Used for editing the on set photos / CD covers etc)

Mix Craft 4 (For editing the audio track / music)

Costume ideas for music video

The general costume idea for this video is a flowery hippy type style which relates to the music.


Alison has been influenced by many other artists / musicians in what they wear, on stage and in their music videos.




Here are some photos which best represent, the kind of costume i will use within the music video:

Profile on Lee kemp (On set photographer)

lee Kemp

(Photographer)

Lee has had an interest in photography for a while now (about a year or two). Just recently he has got an slr camera (fujifilm fine pix camera) which he has been using now for about 2 months or more.

With much experiance of taking photos i thought he would be perfect for taking the on set photos for the music video, also it will provide more evidence for my blog / profile about my music video, if there are photos from the music video production.

So overall i belive that lee is the best person to take photos while on the set of my music video shoot.

Prep for music video production

For my music video i will need the following things (including actor. camera operator and director, also editor)


Props (costume etc)

- Dresses for Alison
- Flowers (variety of flowers and plants)
- Hippy like accesories such as head band / flower hair clip


Equipment (Cameras, tripod, software etc)

- Sony Video Camera (HDSR1)
- FujiFilm SLR Fine pix camera
- Kodak 9 megapixle Camera
- Tripod x 2 (For both cameras)
- Microphone (for recording the song)
- Editing software (sony vegas 9.0)
- Computer (sony)
- Photo editing software (picasa 3.5 / adobe photoshop elemenets 6.0)
-MixCraft 4 (Editing the audio / music track)

People for the Music video production

- Myself (Director, Camera operator, Editor)
- Lee Kemp ( Camera operator, on set photography, Editor of photos)
- Alison Murphy ( Actor, Singer, Musician, Camera Operator, Editor)

As you can see all of the people working on the project will have more than one role, i have decided that this is the best way to get everyone involved and to ensure a positive working enviroment for us all so we can get the project completed on time and in a positive manner.

Also i belive that working on one particuar job for to long will destroy the morale within the working group so to me it is essential that the team works together in a positive working enviroment in order to produce the best possible video we can with what we have available to us.

Artist - Songs

Alison's favourite selected songs (to consider for the music video project)

'Crystal Poison' is one of Alison's heavier choices of genre. She projects the song with a high pitch voice and a lower pitch which brings the song together.

This song is a more fast flowing song that includes is more indie type material.




The song 'Tambourine Flower' was inspired by Alison from attending latitude Festival this year.

The name for the song was inspired by a band of flowers that she purchased from the festival this year.

Alison quoted “The Flowers tied in a circle reminded me of the jingling bells on my tambourine which gave me the impression of jingling flowers on a tambourine."

This song is a gentle tune which is slow in pace and sets a calm fulfilling atmosphere.




The song 'Plucking Timer' is a very heavy song.

Alison projects her voice very heavily in this piece and makes her voice very loud and heard.

Within this song there is also heavy piano playing and harsh foot taps of the tambourine.

Alison quoted: "When you pluck a string on this instrument the time ticks magically inside the listeners."




The other song Alison has made is named 'Beauty in My Mistakes' this was inspired from her own personality.

'Beauty in My Mistakes' represent how Alison feels about her own personal mistakes within life and how they can sometimes be beautiful if you see the good in them and not wrong.

This song has an energetic flow with some African type sounds which she creates by projecting in her voice in the chorus.





‘Moving Statues’: this song was produced at the beginning of the year and was supposedly a mistake when she lost focus on playing one of her other songs on her piano.

During this “mistake” she soon recognized that the mistake had introduced her to a new song and new fresh notes. So she took the mistake and made it into a new song called 'Moving Statues'.

Alison quoted “It is a repetitive and fixed existence for some." This gave Alison the feeling that the repetitive side of some people is viewed to her as movable statues who want to break out of the suffocating stone of repetitiveness.

This song is a simple tune that builds towards the meaning of what Alison has stated about people moving statues.




'The less you smile the more I cry' this song was produced around July 2009 and was influenced by her emotions to love and sensitivity.

Alison quoted "being so close to someone in such comfort creates you too become more tuned with their feelings and your own."

This song has a special entertaining grip to it when it reaches the chorus.

Recently Alison has began work on three new songs. she has the idea of introducing a new genre to her work (classical stories) which is to produce a audio book for radio broadcast. Her idea is to produce a story for the classical song she has written and then using voice audio she will use different characters to play the roles.

characters: pigs, ducks, donkeys, foxes, mouses, rats, toads, horses and more ...

She is hoping to produce an audio book people would enjoy listening to on the radio.

The other new song she is working on will again introduce a new genre to her work, She has created a new song that has the mood of electronic chillout music using the piano, with purchasing equiment this song hopefully should develop.

The last new song she has been recently working on has the ordinary genre she normally creates, it has the indie genre to it.

Artist information / research

Alison’s other interests:

Alison is very fond of writing poems much like me. Her poems are written from the heart and are usually based on the subject of freedom, politics, love and sexual interaction. Some of these poems / lines from the poems have been used in her lyrics within her songs. "The description in my lyrics is used to represent how I feel and my imagination."
Alison has also taken a variety of photos which capture certain moods and feelings, for example for one of her songs she has created a CD cover, which involved editing photos on her laptop and using photos she had taken.

Research into Alison's songs

Alison has produced many songs. The lyrics to her songs and the tunes are always changed throughout the years. Due to them being thought up from heart and mind they are usually changed around quite a bit.
In 2009 she has produced / written eight solo songs this year including the following instruments: the piano, harmonica and tambourine. Alison usually spends two hours each day focusing on her piano and songs experimenting with new piano notes and lyrics. Here is a quote from Alison”I enjoy experimenting with new songs and forming new notes that clash slightly which creates unique sounds."

Artist influences for songs

Artists that inspired Alisons music...

Alison is highly inspired by the female artist: “Imogen Heap”

She is an English songwriter and a singer formally trained on piano, cello and clarinet. Alison enjoys imogen's Heaps music because of its unique style that gives her songs a special character that no other found artist has performed / produced before.

Alison is not only inspired by imogen’s music she is also is inspired by imogens unique way of sining her songs which add to the unique style of her music / songs. Alison’s favourite song is called ‘Hide and Seek’. Alison quotes "It captures the contrast between her low pitch voice and the higher softer notes she releases."

Alison also stated " The expression and use of echoes in her voice between gentle notes and harsh collectively form this spiritual feeling to me as a listener."

Alison is also inspired by a band called: “3 Daft Monkeys"

Alison watched them perform twice at the festival 'Beautiful Days.' The band is a world-influenced acoustic band from Cornwall, UK, consisting of 3 band members: Tim Ashton, Athene Roberts, and Jamie Waters who combine vocals, Fiddle, 12 -string guitar base guitar and foot drum.

Alison is inspired by the 3 daft monkeys because of the chosen instruments involved and the style of music that the band plays.

Alison quotes “The band collectively perform superb folk music and brings the feel good factor that sets a good mood in the atmosphere, it is always the right band to perform at large UK festivals."

Alison is also highly inspired by the band: “Sigur ros”

Sigur ros is a band from Iceland. Sigur ros means respectively, Victory and Rose. Alison was first introduced to them through family and friends.

Alison enjoys their music and has watched them perform at Latitude Festival in 2008.

Alison is also influenced by solo singer: “Sam Newton Battenberg Faulkner”

He is known for his guitar playing style, which involves him rhythmically tapping and hitting the guitar's body. He has inspired Alison in his music and his behaviour when playing his instruments. As seeing Newton Faulkner perform at Latitude Festival 2009 Alison was entertained by the singer as he used his guitar to sing inside to project his voice with a bass kind of effect.

Alison is also highly motivated and influenced by An Artist named 'Coco Rosie'

Who is small band of two women and two men. The band consists of a Beat Boxer, and a pianist two female singers one who plays the harp and the other a flute. Collectively they may introduce different instruments in their band depending on their performance. The Song writer has inspired Alison through "Coco Rosie's" lyrics. "It is interesting how the band together projects a unusual performance in instruments and voice."

Joanna Newsom is another favorite artist of Alison.

Artist Background

The Artist I will be producing a music video for is an unknown artist.
Alison is a solo singer and musician.


From a very young age she was inspired by many artists such as Bob Dylan and was highly interested in how he was able to sing and pay the guitar so easily. She then decided to learn how to play the guitar in an unorthodox manor and also wanted to learn the piano. Over the past ten years Alison has devoted herself to playing the piano. Being an Unknown artist is difficult in many aspects, especially for being recognized for her passion in her songs & tunes she creates and her voice she projects within her many songs.

Practice session on final cut

Me and Mike produced this test footage during our session on wednesday at coleridge, so we could remind ourselfs of how final cut works, and also how to match movements to the beat of the music, so we can prepare ourselfs for the music video editing which we will start in a few days / weeks time.

Progress report

So far i have researched into a few of my favorite music videos such as sigur ros and written about what aspects from that video i will express in my music video as much as i can.

I have just recently taken some photos which show the type of costume and environment / location that i will be using for my music video. I have also edited these photos to express what sort of effects will most likely be used within my music video.

I have typed up some word documents about my chosen artist, whom is Alison. I have also typed up what influenced her music and her favorite music. Included in this type up is a variety of her songs that i will consider when shooting the video and what suits the environment / costume the best.

Overall the project is going well, but i will have to step it up a notch as i need to show pete my final ideas on Monday 28th. so the plan for action is:

- Tomorrow i need to take location shots and also add more written work / research to my blog

- I also need to discuss the project with Alison and get her thoughts and views expressed through the blog.

Model Release Form - Music Video 'Alison'

Here is a screen grab of the model release form i sent to Alison after emailing her and asking her permission to use her music and performance skills within my music video.

Shown below is the signed / finished model release form:

(click the photo to view a larger image in a seperate window)

Email to the artist - Alison Murphy

I sent an email to Alison Murphy, just to ask her permisson to use her music / song ' Crystal Poison' for my music video project.




Here is a screen grab of the email i sent to ali:

(Click to view it full screen)




Here is a print screen of the reply i got from Alison :

(Click to view it full screen)





From Alisons reply i have been successful in gaining access / full use of her song 'Crystal Poison' Also i have been successful in asking her to act / perform in my music video.

In the email Alison has said that she knows of some locations and also has given a brief outline of when she is free, but at a later date i will verify this information in time for my 1st shoot of my music video, in order to make sure htings run smoothly and i am able to reach the deadline etc.

Making a music video

The Art of Making a Music Video

In the last 25 years, the art form of making a music video has grown to be one of the most used and stylistic modes of production in the media industry. From the first frame to the last, music videos are made to show the world what you can really do when let loose with a camera. But, if you get to over confident with the music video production, your music video masterpiece could turn out to be a failure!


What is a Music Video production?

Despite all of the artistic freedom involved with making a music video , the end result still has to serve one purpose: promotion. The music video that you create is a promotional tool for the artist. The music videos are usually made to promote the artist or band but more usually it is a video to increase CD sales or artist song downloads. While a hit video can do a lot for you as a director, its primary goal is to serve the music artist or band for their fame and future.

Making a Music Video: The Treatment

The first step in making your music video is the treatment. In the world of high budgets and major labels, directors typically are contacted and asked to develop a concept or a treatment for the video, based on the message or the mood of the song. This step is often a crap shoot. It's where jobs are won and lost. Often the best concept is not the one that wins the job. Most of the time it's the concept that fits into the allotted budget for the project or for example (£0) if a student video project.

Workflow & Planning

Even with a concise treatment in-hand, it's easy to get sidetracked when shooting something when making your music video. so to avoid this always take along production notes and story boards etc to the music video shoot.

Licensing For Making a Music Video

No matter how you slice it, there's a business model lingering behind any sort of marketable art form. When it comes to potential legal quagmires, music is right at the top of the list. That's why it is so important for you to make sure you are covered before you give the first "action."

My favorite music videos (analysis)

Gorrilaz are a band I enjoy listening to and I find their music expressive and entertaining. They present their characters in the form of animation within their music videos. Such as the music video 'Dirty Harry.'

The key aspects that I like within this video are:
- The costume
- The effects
- the atmosphere / location
- Camera shots

Here is my explanation for each aspect:

The costume:

The costume used within this music video expresses both the personality and style of the band and the music video. For example the animated band members are dressed in army gear to represent the music for the video and what also i noticed the costumes refer to the title of the song which is "dirty harry" as you can see the costumes are dirty due to the sand on their uniforms etc.

The effects:

The main effect used within this video are of course animation. The incredible effects of animation give the illusion that the gorillaz band members are mixed in with real life and the people such as the rapper (solider). This effect is very effective in making the audience believe that the animated characters are real and not just made up.

The atmosphere / Location:

The chosen location for where this music video is set is very suitable for the song itself and the style of the band. The style of the band is comical yet gritty and this location along with the children make it seem very gritty and at the same time comical, which basically sums up how the band is and shows the audience their gritty / comical side in which they try their best to portray in every music video they produce.

The camera shots:

The camera movements are very fast and quickly cut which adds to the dramatic environment and pitch of song in which this is. There are a variety of shots used from long establishing shots to extreme close ups, but the most apparent shot used for this music video are the establishing / moving camera shots which as i said add to the theme of the music and the video which is dramatic yet comedic.

Dirty Harry by Gorillaz, from the album Demon Days

(c) Gorillaz 2008

Sigur ros is another band I personally like. I really like the music video called Glosoli because it expresses a variety of thoughts and feelings towards the audience, the main thought being confusion, as the band "Sigur Ros" create their own language for their songs, such as this song "Glósóli"

The key aspects that I like within this video are:
- The costume
- The effects
- the atmosphere / location
- Camera shots

Here is my explanation for each aspect:

The costume:

I especially like the costume used within this video as it suits the song and the location really well, this has given me the idea to use not only the music but the costume as-well to express the feelings / meaning of the song itself. I also love the way some of the children are wearing animal looking cotumes for example the bear, as this portrays the animal instict within the children (hence why they are roaming the country side / hills).



The effects:

The effects used within this video are very effective but at the same time very simplistic, such as the blurred background within the first 20 seconds of the video, is a very good effect and makes the footage look more professional, also makes the footage seem kind of cinematic which is also a good point, especially for drawing in the audience.



The atmosphere/location:

The rocky mountain atmosphere works well because it adds to the confusion of the music track, and raises the question: "why are their children in this sort of environment?". I believe The location relates to the song really well, for example the costumes and the environment work really well, as they both represent the war, in some ways or another. this video shows the contrast between children and the war, also it puts their innocence in a whole new category and shows they are more adventurous and individual (unless seen in a group) which in the later scenes of the music video are seen in a big group. The adventurous behavior is strongly expressed through the environment and the vast size of the environment compared with the small children.



The Camera Shots:

The camera shots used within this video range from long shots to very close ups, there are also a range of establishing shots and chase type camera movements within this music video (when the children are running up towards the cliff edge). I personally like the detailed close ups which show the audience the key costume points such as the childrens hats and smart uniforms, and also the expression on the childrens faces which makes the music video more intense and draws the audience into the action more.


What will i keep in mind the most from this music video, while producing / planning my own music video?


I will keep in mind the costumes, as they are well thought out, so therefore for my video i will also think about the type of music and relate that to the cotume (s) in the video. Also i will keep in mind the variety of camera shots and movements used wihtin this video, and try to express as many as these as i can within my own music video (such as the detailed close ups)

Music video by Sigur Ros performing Glósóli with Nicola Doring [Video Producer], Arni and Kinski [Video Director] (C) 2005 Geffen Records