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Monday 12 July 2010

Our Practice Pitch

The song we were given to pitch on was 'Old Crows ' by Alexisonfire , chosen by Joel Colborne. This song was randomly shuffled so we had not done any research prior to this pitch on the band, as it is not the sort of music I tend to listen to!

We will be pitching on what we would expect to see in a music video of this genre, with some of our personal research involved.



Who is the target audience for this band?

The audience for this band will be people that are generally interested in the genre 'post-hardcore', as they had the opportunity of major record labels in 2004 / 2005, but turned them down as they thought they would have more potential staying independent.

Give some detail of the media language you would employ in this music video!


In this genre it is generally fast paced editing between tracks, but may differ depending on the song. There would be dark lightning with may different shot angles and different length cuts, to always keep the audience interested, as that is one of the aims of a music video.


Consider the representations your video might contain, linking back to target audience!


As the target audience is generally people who are just interested in this genre, than people interested in mainstream bands / songs, it would be a common stereotype to see the band playing on stage, but also may see fast paced editing between some other shots and fading back to the band.




Is my idea typical of the genre, or perhaps challenging it?


If i were to create this video, I would have the video based on the lyrics of the song, which in this case is 'Old Crows'. By doing this, I would show a none band member carrying out this story-line of lyrics, so that signifies that the lyrics don't just affect the band, but a lot of people who listen to. A stereotype i would incorporate into the music video would be the band actually playing this song on a stage or in a studio.
What resources would I require in terms of cast, cast skills, locations, props, costumes, make up, SPX and camera / editing equipment to realise my full creative potential.


I would need footage of the band playing the song Old Crows, and some other footage to link back to the storyline of the song, which involved a range of different topics, from metaphysical rebellion, to living as normal. The band say it is the culmination of the history of their band. 

Thursday 8 July 2010

Codes and Conventions of music videos

A particular video that has stood out to go against the codes and conventions of this genre has got to be Skepta - Rescue Me, as the song is about wanting to be rescued, the narrative follows this, but instead of a normal situation the audience may be able to relate to, a Mental Asylum is used, to represent the feeling of being trapped with no escape. The use of narrative in this performance highlights that they can all be normal, with the extreme long-shot of every member playing football, but then the lyrics are anchored down by the workers there taking the football off them, as though they are not allowed to be normal. The     use of mise' en scene signifies that it is a very pure place, with the use of the colour white, however it is for the wrong reasons, due to the place in which the video is set.



In the video Eminem - Not Afraid it is about a journey coming out of the darkness onto the main stage again, which reflects the stage in his life, as he has just recorded a new album to highlight his importance in this genre. The music video reflects the lyrics that have been chosen, which is the common stereotype of this genre. One of the main things that stand out in this video is the use of single person shots, to signify that it is a journey that he needs to take alone, with no help.



In the video Iyaz - Replay, it is a song about Iyaz and a girl he is met, but the lyrics show this relationship through an Ipod, which is very unusual compared to other ways relationships are shown in this genre. The use of colour in this video is significant, which can relate to the happy relationship he is in, but in an oppositional reading it could be used to reflect the ever changing technology of the modern day, with the use of colour, expense and value, but in a different way.

The embed code to this video has been disabled on request, but here is the link to it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoG5jJ3E8rg&ob=av2el

In N dubz - papa can you hear me, they have gone against the general codes and conventions of rap as it is an animated video of themselves, floating through the air and including images of their parents, which relates to the song lyrics. This is not one of the best videos I have seen, due to the limited shot variation, as it is just mainly long shots showing the singers singing.



Sean Kingston - Facedrop is a better example of an animated video, where the lead singer turns into an animated version of himself, then followed by different people on the street to go to a party to see his ex girlfriend.

Embed code disabled on request, but here is the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiQgs_wplM8

Sum41 - In to deep, a punk video goes against the general codes of this genre, by following a narrative but having it set in broad daylight at a diving centre, which reflects the narrative. Normally you would have it said at night with cuts to the band playing.



Blink182 - I miss you, is another punk / pop video which goes against the codes and conventions, but this time it is actually set at night but black and white filter is used to make it unique. During this they cut to the band playing but to a girl who the lyrics may be about.



Blink182 - What's my age again, reflects the narrative once again, but the band acting out different things that they surely would not have done at their age, to show the audience that it doesn't matter how old you are.



Eminem - Love the way you lie, is a very new music video which has sparked a lot of controversy, due to the video being set infront of a house on fire, and which a lot of violence between the couple in the house. In defence to the music video, you would not watch this artist anyway if you found his video inappropriate, because a lot of his lyrics are also unsuitable.



Weezer - Island in the sun, is a pop / country song which is filmed in a remote place, with lots of strange things happening to do with animals acting as they may not normally have acted. The video reflects the song title and the narrative and is all shot in the daytime, which creates a peaceful atmosphere within it.



The King Blues - Save the world get the girl, is another pop video which shows a journey the band are taking through the video, which once again relates to the title. The amount of different shots / lighting shows that the journey is taking a long time.

Embed code disabled on request, but here is the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs8ZSlJO34Q

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly - Find the time, is an usual video where it is all done in 1 continual camera turn, but reflects the song title by things are changing around him, showing that things change all the time.



Pendulum - Showdown, a drum and base band has their video set underground in a fight scene, but unsually it is two women fighters, whereas the steriotype would be men. They use many different camera affects such as zooming in and slow motion, to enhance the one fight scene.




Justin bieber - Baby, a pop song which target audience is teenage girls, is set at a party at a bowling alley, which is a steriotypical place for teenagers to be with their friends.



Enter Shikari - Sorry your not a winner's video is just based in one small room, with the band playing in the middle and lots of teenagers 'moshing' to their music. They use lots of different shot types and have very fast paced editing to relfect the genre and to keep the audience entertained.



Italobrothers - Stamp on the ground is another drum and base group and in their video it is set in a hotel where the hotel worker suspects that something unusual is happening in their room, to do with a party.



30 Seconds To Mars - The kill is a music video which has an intertextual reference to the shining. The thing that makes this music video stand out is that if you stop it in certain sections, you see shots you would not otherwise have noticed, which links to the physcological thriller of The Shining.



Paramore - Decode is another video with intertextual references to a film. This time the film it relates to is Twilight, and the genre of music affects this intertextual refence. The way in which the band are in the middle of the vampiric action signifies that they themselves are related to the vampires, and therefore not harmed.

My chosen shuffled track

Pendulum is an Australian electronic rock band. Founded in 2002 in Perth by Rob Swire, Gareth McGrillen and Paul Harding. Harding is a veteran DJ while Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen were part of an acclaimed rock band known as Xygen, but after hearing Konflict's "Messiah" at a rave they were inspired into the drum and bass genre, in 2003 they relocated to the United Kingdom.

Encoder" is similar to "The Tempest" from In Silico. It opens with a verse, chorus structure which then falls silent, leading into a build up riff with vocals over the top of it and ending with the sounds of slushing sea waves and the sound of a man breathing in sharply, which abruptly ends at the end of the track. It was written By Peredeur Ap Gwynedd, the band's Guitarist, as well as Rob Swire.

In a typical drum and base music video, you would expect fast pace editing, depending on the rythem of the song. The music video usually reflects the lyrics in this genre, but there are exceptions like always.