FIRST PERFORMANCE REFLECTION

The shoot of our group's performance today was a success, we used very good lighting and had an extensive equipment list, giving our shoot the sterotypical extensive range of instruments commonly featured in a music video (drumkit, bass and electric guitar, 2 synthesisers, amps and a microphone/stand). However, the majority of the shots were very static with limited movement and did not convey the approach that was our ideal. We wanted to shoot a more lively and adrenaline driven performance but unfortunately got a Robert Palmer style video which is the opposite of what we wanted.

It is because of lack of performance footage to use on the final clip that me and my group are going to do a second shoot with better choreography and livelier charisma from the band; ideally taking influences from The Who, The Strokes, Blur and The Rolling Stones.

(ADD VIDEO HERE)

SHOT LIST FOR 2nd PERFORMANCE SHOOT

I have produced another shot list for my own reference with the role in charge of directing and filming the performance shoot I have printed spare copies of the shot list and I will hand one too my partner and our technician so he is aware of the situation to help work in a swift and methodical way which proved to be helpful in the first performance shoot.

2ND STAGE SHOOT

Today we did our 2nd shoot on the stage after booking the hall between the hours of 17:00-19:00. I felt it didn't go as well as planned however we did manage to gain more footage for a music video. Here is thumbnails from the footage capture:

CALL SHEET FOR THE PERFORMANCE SHOOT

Call sheet performance shoot

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FULL SHOT LIST FOR THE PERFORMANCE SHOOT

I have prepared a shot list for the performance shoot to cover a wide range of footage that can be finally added and cut in the editing stage. This will be extremely crucial in achieving all the shots in a methodical process. I have printed 3 copies one for my partner, one for our technician and the other copy as reference  seeing as I am co-directed and filming.

DAGADOP

I have discovered this website called Dagadop.com. The website is unique because it allows you to form a playlist of videos that are on YouTube without disrupting your viewing effectively allowing you to multitask and make a record of videos you have viewed into a playlist. I have used DagaDop to record my research of music videos I have viewed and deem to have an influence towards our music video.

PREPARATION RESEARCH FOR THE FILMING OF THE PERFORMANCE SHOOT

I went and did some research online in the hope to find some hints and tips on filming a musical performance and what to watch out for. This website has been very helpful in picking up some useful help and all it took was to watch a 4:30 min video documented by a professional b video editor since 2002.

http://monicabriano.com/2012/02/28/how-to-film-a-musical-performance/

EVERNOTE- ORGANISING AND SHARING THOUGHTS

I used 'Evernote' during the planning stages of our music video and for noting any research that could contribute to ideas. I have an introduction video to 'Evernote' that explains in a nutshell what the programme is about:

CALL SHEET FOR CYCLE SHOOT

Planning for cycle shoot

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PHOTOSHOP EDITING- BOGGLE EFFECT

Today I started on photoshop editing the stop-frame animation for the 'boggle board'. I found that it was very easy to select the background with it being green screen and we have no issues in manipulating the individual images on photoshop although it was very time consuming.

STOP FRAME ANIMATION- BOGGLE

In the last lesson, we did the shoot for the boggle effect similar to the scrabble idea which will be used in the chorus.

We are using the lyrics to the opening of the chorus:

Yeah yeah its ok

CALL SHEET FOR THE BOGGLE AND KEYBOARD STOP FRAME ANIMATION SHOOT(S)

Boggle and keyboard call sheet

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KEYBOARD SHOT FOR MUSIC VIDEO

As you can see above our idea consists of having a keyboarding which lights up with colour conveying to the soundtrack. We have cut these images to the beat to tie in with the codes and conventions with our art-house/neo-psychedelia theme that we have set.

We originially took an influence from, Michael Jackson'sBilly Jean: The scene when Michael Jackson walks down a street, the slabs on the pavement light up. Our video which bears similarity to this influence pursues are wish to continue the art house effect that we are aiming to exhibit from our Music video.

INSPIRATION FOR MUSIC VIDEO OPENING

After sharing some thoughts with our storyboard a fellow classmate recommended that I look at this video which is part of bonus footage from the band 'Angels and Airwaves'. This footage has been very useful and we hope to rectorate it to the vinyl scene in our music video.

CALL SHEET FOR STOP FRAME ANIMATION SHOOT

My partner and I like to organise our work in a methodical and clear way, so we even organised our call sheets using the new technology of Slideshare. This was easily accessible using our smartphones and laptops.
Scrabble call sheet

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PLANNING THE SCRABBLE STOP FRAME ANIMATION SHOOT

Back in october, we tried to shoot the stop frame animation scene with the scrabble pieces at wills house. However it was unsuccessful as there was poor natural lighting that day and we needed to artificial lighting to make it seem more vibrant. We are very happy with concept but are planning our second shoot more thoroughly and are going to shoot in a location where the light levels can easily be controlled.

We will use an artificial light to bring out the vibrancy of the shot. We have chosen to use the DT studio because it is well lit and also there are tables large enough to hold the board and enough clear space around to set up the lighting and camera tripod.

We will use a digital SLR camera with a tripod which enables longer exposures without camera shake as this will capture the most detail, this is essential when producing a stop frame animation!

My role will to be in the photography aspect, whilst my partner will assist with the lighting.

The lyrics in the chorus that we are spelling out are:
Yeah yeah and it's okay.
I tie my hands up to a chair so I don't fall that way.
Yeah yeah and I'm alright.
I took a sip of something poison but I'll hold on tight.

DIGIPAK ANALYSIS- RAZORLIGHT

DIGIPAK ANALYSIS- FOALS

DIGIPAK ANALYSIS-MYSTERY JETS

ANTON NELSON TALK

I attended a training workshop at 02 run by Anton Nelson, video director, illustrator, photographer and technological whizz kid. He describes himself as follows:

I am a freelance Videographer, Photographer and Illustrator specialising in Social Media optimised media experiences for clients like Paul Oakenfold, NERVO, DJ Chuckie and Roger Sanchez.

I also work as a creative consultant for Apple, Canon and Adobe in the UK and Europe.

This was an extraordinary opportunity to learn about cutting edge media technology such as how he uses iPads, iPhones, Macbook Pro and his experience in using the latest video editing software (Final Cut Pro X). 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ANTON NELSONS VERY INSPIRATIONAL BLOG

FILMING: CHORUS SHOOT 1

Today we began with the first stage of filming producing the stop frame animation idea for the scrabble board in the chorus. Although its not video footage our still shots are very important, we will not judge whether it is strong enough to be used on our video.

TREATMENT- FINAL

Treatment

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SPOTIFY FOUNDER CLAIMS 'FOSTER THE PEOPLE' EXEMPLIFIES SUCCESS OF SPOTIFY

Sean Parker at San Francisco's Web 2.0 used our chosen band as a perfect example of how bands and artists can make the big time, despite avoiding signing recording deals, by using Spotify.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/technology/internet/article3198183.ece

KEEPING UP WITH THE MUSIC INDUSTRY

Sometimes I find it very useful to find news on the music industry from websites such as MTV, Q Magazine and NME.

New technology plays a vital role in how I keep in touch with the music industry. For example, NME's website give me access to radio, new music videos, tickets, merchandise, new album releases, new bands, concerts and competitions.

NME website

THE BRITISH MUSIC EXPERIENCE

We are planning a trip to The British Music Experience, an interactive museum at the O2 arena in London. We would like to attend video director's master classes.

ANALYSIS OF ALBUM COVER

I plan to do two more analyses of digipacks: I will put the words 'A2 digipack analysis' into a search engine.

STORYBOARD

Before storyboarding our song, we looked at the lyrics and considered where the visuals needed to be cut to the beat.

This was done by annotating a print-out of the lyrics. (ADD THIS HERE)

We then storyboarded our song using Post It notes, photographed them and dropped them into iMovie to make an animatic.

Our storyboard is below:

ARTICLE FOUND IN THE SUNDAY TIMES

"We knew we would get more attention on YouTube if we performed songs that were already familiar to the public,” says T-Ray, Cover Drive’s 18-year-old drummer. “We picked big hits we felt we could make our own. Because we had already written several songs, we had our own sound. We call it ‘Caro-pop’ — a mix of mainstream pop and our Caribbean roots."

TREATMENT (DRAFT)

FOSTER THE PEOPLE/ HELENA BEAT:2011 (directed by Ace Norton date 2011)

We need to consider that our song has a tempo of 127 beats per minute which means the visuals will need to keep up to this beat particularly in the chorus but we can we can go off beat at times around the song to keep the audience interested.

Intro- Visuals will begin before the music track plays i.e. our idea is to have a vinyl placed onto a record player which will begin to play signalling the song to play using a psychedelic feeling with a match cut to the sound. Further enhanced with fast colour changes on the black vinyl. The use of vinyl taps into the current revival of interest in this retro technology, so we think that this catches the spirit of the times.

A fade from the vinyl spinning with provide a match to a bicycle wheel. The narrative will be the band ‘Foster the People’ cycling to the recording studio, we intend to use a fish eye lens which is circular and we intend to play with idea of circular shapes in different forms. The audiences would relate to their band using bicycles because it is very much a student mode of transport, bicycles are normalised now which relates to everyone. Bicycles do in fact relate in music video such as (The Smiths- Stop me if you think that you've heard this one before and Arcade Fire- The Suburbs)

Once inside the the studio, to emphasise the beat we could have a crane shot of the drums with one shot on the top and then one from the side and then repeat with the symbols only feature the drummer snare, bass and symbol on a white background (similar to Vampire Weekend- A-Punk).

Transition change to the whole band playing e.g. Guitarist, Keyboard, Singer and bassist on, it is important to have mid shots and close ups of the key players because audiences expect to see them and record labels have to promote their product.

The music video will follow on inside the recording studio in which there will be a long shot of the band performing there song. There will an extreme close up showing on the mouth capturing the lip sync once the the lyrics begin (influenced by The Chemical Brothers- Block Rockin’ Beats)

Keyboard keys will light up in colours in the notes playing (like Billy Jean)

We are going to use a variety of props such as balloons, colour balls, children's plastic toys. We plan to write key words on the balloons.

We are going need to include lots of close up shots of the instruments playing like in The Strokes- Reptilia.

Chorus- We are going to give the chorus specific treatment using three different ways of spelling out words; Scrabble, Boggle and Wristbands. We will use stop frame animation with strong varied colours. The lyrics could appear on a Scrabble board and every time the chorus repeats it could simply relate back to the Scrabble as an idea.

Back in the studio with the plain white background we could use colour changes in the background to make it visually interesting.

Stage performance-

End- transitional fade to focus back on the vinyl as it slows down to a stop.

STORYBOARD

Here is our provisional storyboard for our music video, I say provisional because it is likely to be altered and developed to fit in more shots or even take out some of these shots. But this storyboard will remain the basis platform to our music video!

BRIEF ABOUT THE SONG CHOSEN

Foster the People are a modern American indie pop band formed in Los Angeles, California in 2009. Members Mark Foster (vocals, keyboards, piano, synthesizers, guitar, programming, percussion), Mark Pontius (drums and extra percussion), and Cubbie Fink (bass and backing vocals) formed the band while in their mid-twenties. Mark Pontius used to play drums and shoot/edit the music videos for the indie pop band Malbec.

The band is best known for its song "Pumped up Kicks", which reached number one on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart. However we have chosen another song from the same album, Torches called 'Helena Beat', which also appeared as a single outside the album.

We chose 'Helena Beat' over 'Pumped up Kicks' because we felt that it was less known to listeners, so we want to publicise it create our own style for the music video. The song has a prominent beat which means we can include a variation on the conventions. The lyrics are creative, thus we can be creative with what we have got. We are making a commercial indie video, so we are aiming to produce a big hit with an art house video like Fatboy Slim- Praise you.

PEOPLE WORTH FOLLOWING ON TWITTER

I have found some useful people closely tied in with the project who I will find useful to follow as

I might find some helpful information that they can provide. I have also followed a number of famous musicians, record labels and producers, that I am hopping to find some interesting stuff from!

INSPIRATION FROM CHANNEL 4 PROGRAMME

I have drawn this particular video as a great influence

to me as cameraman/director in our group. The video

is very relevant because the programme is based on:

"A new generation of the very best urban sports stars

who have teamed up with incredible young film-makers.

Together they've produced stunning films that have

captured the attention - and the imagination - of tens of

millionsof viewers." This video can relate very well with

interesting shots that could be drawn upon once we shoot

our music video.

(0:15 sec) There is a very effective short focu

s shot of the gates at the opening at stunt rider is about to enter very strong message as an introduction to the short film.

(0:19 sec) I particularly like long shots that just

keep the film flowing however I will need to consider if using a shot like this that its significantly shorter and sticks to the beat.

(01:14) I am very interested by this close up, great composition to bring into focus the two (shoes and bike wheel) its provide diversity and it is a visually interesting touch.

(0:55 sec) A similar shot from the close up before, but I feel this shot could tie in well with our idea of the match cut in the opening of the music video.

It is interesting to find after following bands such as Foster the People, you tend to find people in the industry acknowledge and follow you. I have screenshot this email from a company called 'MusicFast' which is a site where unsigned bands can share their music, videos and performance dates as well as communicating with their fans similar to MySpace.

PREZI ON THE CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF A MUSIC VIDEO

Click here to see my Prezi

PERMISSION TO USE THE TRACK

With copyright over a song, me and my group had to request permission from the band, Foster The People to use their song in our music video. Here is evidence from twitter that we have asked the band for permission to use their song.

LYRICS FROM FOSTER THE PEOPLE- HELENA BEAT

Foster The People- Helena Beat

Orchestral (No lyrics)- Shot of vinyl spinning on record player. Match cut with visuals relating to the sound. Match cut of bicycle wheel spinning with a reverse zoom revealing the four band members cycling. Shot from behind as band members are cycling down a road. The layout will leave the singer central similar to the plan inside the studio.

There will be a shot focus on a brick wall and you see a bike placed up against the wall with an alternate focus brought on the bike.

Inside the studio we'll see the shot of a drum with a match cut to the beat from a side view to emphasise the beat

Shot from behind will signal the introduction to the lyrics from the lead singer

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Sometimes life it takes you by the hand. Singer leans into the mic

It puts you down before you know it

It's gone and you're dead again. There will be an extreme close-up on guitar fret board

I've been in places and I won't pretend

That I make it I just follow my head. Switches to keyboard being played

When its strange to take a walk downstairs Split screen showing both the close-up of the guitar being played and the keyboard shot to emphasise 'amplification'

Sweep u all up on a corner and pay for my bread. Wide shot showing whole band playing as a reflection to the viewer

You know that I cannot believe my own truth

To show what a truth, got nothin' to lose. To build to the chorus our group has the idea to make the keys light up somehow in the style of 'Michael Jackson-Billy Jean' to..

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Yeah yeah and it's okay. Extreme close-up on the mouth with lip synching strong on the line

I tie my hands up to a chair so I don't fall that way. Scrabble board using stop frame animation to illustrate the lyrics: 'Fall That Way'

Yeah yeah and I'm alright. Someone CLAPPING!!

I took a sip of something poison but I'll hold on tight. To emphasise the beat and art house effect that we are bringing to video, we have this coloured ball that we are going to use which expands and contracts. Using a 4 grid individually shots from a close-up of the guitar fret board will fill the spaces and sync together

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You know those days when u wanted to choose A variety of shots will mix around the studio including a side view of the singer

To not get out of bed and get lost in your head again. Band member in sunglasses will blow up a balloon blue sky etc.

You play the game but you gotta cut Shot of someone holding the balloon on the string will be cut by some scissors (illustrative)

Cuz' you're comin' down hard your joints are off stud. The balloon will take off into the sky and camera will move up with to reveal many balloons flying

I tried to say that's not the only way

I never knew if I could convince myself to change. Shoe stamping the beat inside the studio

You were pacing I was insecure. Shot moves up the singer as you witness him singing

Slip and fall I got the call of the prison I was livin' in.

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Yeah yeah and it's okay. Chorus: Back to basis idea but use a boggle board game to spell out the lyrics for example 'YEAH YEAH'

I tie my hands up to a chair so I don't fall that way. 'Slinky toy' falls down a set of stair variety of shots used

Yeah yeah and I'm alright.

I took a sip of something poison but I'll hold on tight From this point the basic plot goes downhill for example..

AN INSPIRATION BASED ON STOP FRAME ANIMATION

It seems to be me that more and more music videos dip into the world of stop frame animation and I would like to use it. I researched on youtube 'stop frame animation' and I came across this Youtube Channel- PES Film in which I was particularly influenced by this video.

TWITTER SCREENSHOT OF MY BAND'S ONLINE FOLLOWING

Twitter is a good way to communicate swiftly between our group. Owning a smartphone allows me to access Twitter easily on my phone so I can keep up to date with 'tweets' from my inspirations and great minds associated with my project so that I can inspirations and keep me up to date with what is going on.

MUSIC VIDEOS THAT I HAVE WATCHED FOR ANALYSIS

I have organized my viewings into music genres of the music videos that have taken influence over our research:

METAL

Foo Fighters The Pretender (2007)

ALTERNATIVE ROCK

Red Hot Chilli Peppers Can't Stop (2002)

Radiohead Karma Police (1997)
Muse Uprising (2009)

INDIE ROCK

The Strokes Reptillia (2004)

ELECTRONICA

Chemical Brothers Do It Again (2007)
The Prodigy Out Of Space (1992)
Fatboy Slim Praise You (1998)

Justice- D.A.N.C.E (2005)

POP ROCK

POP

Chase & Status Blind Faith (2011)
Beyonce Crazy In Love (2003)
Paolo Nutini Pencil Full Of Lead (2009)

HIP HOP

RAP

Jay-Z 99 Problems (2004)
Kanye West Stronger (2007)
Dizzee Rascal Bonkers (2009)