Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Friday, 1 April 2011
It is my pleasure to present...
Over the past weeks we had been doing a lot of filming and had finally got all the footage we would need for editing. We began these, what we new would be, very stressful sessions of editing. We came across many hiccups on the way, such as very low disc space and a mix between the scratch card and D-Drive, which prevented a lot of progress for a long duration of time, until we finally could overcome the problem. Additionally, some how some of footage went missing in which we could not recover and although we attempted to re-film, our actress was away for a school trip and when she was back we had little time and she was very busy with her own school work, therefore unable to film. However, past of the unfortunate setbacks that occured during our editing stage, we eventually stayed at school one night until we were the last people on the premisis and finished our work. We then got to school at 6am the next morning and brushed up and fixed all the little errors or poor lypsincing we had analysed the night before.
By 10am, our music video was finished. We posted this draft on youtube:
We then linked the clip to our facebook pages as well as twitter pages, recieving heaps of positive feedback from all our viewers. I asked a family member who works in the industry what she thought and with her critical analysis I began to ask the viewers who had applauded my group what they thought of her analysis. With what they concurred on we made a few changes; such as the fade out of the song at the end of the original, adapting to a long slow end as the bandmembers leave the set. Additionally we perfected some of the lipsyncing in the final close ups of the lead singer before the storyline is finished.
Our Final Music Video
By 10am, our music video was finished. We posted this draft on youtube:
We then linked the clip to our facebook pages as well as twitter pages, recieving heaps of positive feedback from all our viewers. I asked a family member who works in the industry what she thought and with her critical analysis I began to ask the viewers who had applauded my group what they thought of her analysis. With what they concurred on we made a few changes; such as the fade out of the song at the end of the original, adapting to a long slow end as the bandmembers leave the set. Additionally we perfected some of the lipsyncing in the final close ups of the lead singer before the storyline is finished.
Our Final Music Video
Time to Film...
After our shotlist and storyboard were done and dusted, giving us all the guidance we needed to produce the footage we need for our project, we decided it was time to film.
We had already decided on locations within our previous planning which consisted of; my house for the bedrooms in which the girl and boy are in, London for one of the memories which the boy has, of the two in london together, Maricas Avenue, for the road which the boy walks on to and from the house. Finally, we decided on a space in harrow vue, which is a very large area of fields and hills, overlooking some of harrow. This location was for the band scenes.
A collage of our locations:
It was also essential that we planned our days for filming and therefore created a simple filming schedual to work by. The film schedual implys dates and a basic brief for the days work, however we discussed as a group what to do on the individual days.
Another piece of planning we felt would be helpful was a small chart which related to mise en scene, consisting of all the simple information concerning location, props, actors and costumes. We wanted to make this so that we had a very simple layout of work to look at and easily know where to find what we wanted, rather than a list of words.
Plan
We had already decided on locations within our previous planning which consisted of; my house for the bedrooms in which the girl and boy are in, London for one of the memories which the boy has, of the two in london together, Maricas Avenue, for the road which the boy walks on to and from the house. Finally, we decided on a space in harrow vue, which is a very large area of fields and hills, overlooking some of harrow. This location was for the band scenes.
A collage of our locations:
It was also essential that we planned our days for filming and therefore created a simple filming schedual to work by. The film schedual implys dates and a basic brief for the days work, however we discussed as a group what to do on the individual days.
Another piece of planning we felt would be helpful was a small chart which related to mise en scene, consisting of all the simple information concerning location, props, actors and costumes. We wanted to make this so that we had a very simple layout of work to look at and easily know where to find what we wanted, rather than a list of words.
Plan
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Magazine Advert...
For our magazine advert, we agreed that we should make it relate very much to the album cover. Therefore we decided to have a comic strip in the background, but rather than have it translucent and hard to see, we made it clear and eye catching. We went through many different comic strips, black and white ones, random hero ones, well-known superhero ones and finally decided that a Superman comic strip would be most effective. We thought that many magazines are read by youngsters and so we thought we had to really make a advert that popped and grabbed the attention of the readers.
Our final draft turned out like this:
We added the red comic background from the album cover for the top strip of the advert, where we have imputed The band name and album title. Additionally we copied as similar yellow strip which features on the bottom of our album cover onto our magazine cover, and replaced the 'DVD with bonus footage' with ratings from critically acclaimed music magazines; RollingStone and QMagazine. Another thing we converted from the album cover was the sticker which reads 'Featuring the hit single For The First Time'. Lastly, we superimposed a picture of the album cover so that the affiliation between the two is noticable, and the awareness is increasingly raised.
Our final draft turned out like this:
We added the red comic background from the album cover for the top strip of the advert, where we have imputed The band name and album title. Additionally we copied as similar yellow strip which features on the bottom of our album cover onto our magazine cover, and replaced the 'DVD with bonus footage' with ratings from critically acclaimed music magazines; RollingStone and QMagazine. Another thing we converted from the album cover was the sticker which reads 'Featuring the hit single For The First Time'. Lastly, we superimposed a picture of the album cover so that the affiliation between the two is noticable, and the awareness is increasingly raised.
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Graphic Design Album Covers.
So i had already looked at idyllic setting covers and after research had finalised a prototype for myself. Now time to attempt the opposite, the graphic album cover.
Although there are many types of this edition of album cover,the graphic cover we are more focused on is one which has a design, created by a blend of pictures, or cartoon images, often very colourful.
Examples of this are found in Mika's 'life in cartoon motion' and Keane's 'Under The Iron Sea':
In order to create a professional looking graphic album cover, we had to find out how to work on illustrator or adobe photoshop CS5. Although illustrator was more applicable for graphic design in this case, we decided that as adobe photoshop was much more easily accessible on our school computers, as well as having the most experience on it, we would use that.
It was obvious that our album cover should in some way relate to the name of the album, which we recently decided would be 'Everyday Superheroes'. We thought first about having a picture of the band all wearing normal clothes, with their instruments, but all with red superhero capes on. However, we thought in order for this picture to look professional we would have to have a beautiful day, in which the sun was shining, however, in England in January, these perfect days are hard to come buy. Additionally, this idea didn't feel very much like a graphic album cover. Our next idea was generated from a little Sunday reading, when i was catching up on some comic books. I analysed the cover of Amazing Spiderman #568 as the cover of this particular comic in my collection really appealed to me and most definitely grabbed my attention. It then sprang to my mind that it would be really cool if i could draw a picture of the band, cartoonise the characters, which would be appealing, clever but also stick to our brief of a graphic album cover, however after many attempts to draw this it continued to look unprofessional.
I still thought that the idea of the comic was good so i began to analyse the classic comic conventions. An believed that key connotations of a comic book cover were; a barcode, the name of the comic book, the name of the label and the issue number.
We began to construct an idea which had a comic book strip in a background, giving the album cover the basic convention of a comic which is very easily recognisable. Following that we decided to have the band name in the center of the page as the comic book title, with the album title beneath it, and the issue number in the top left corner, as usual. Finally we superimposed a star sticker with 'featuring the hit singles...' which are often found on albums. Our finish product we were extremely proud of and after much editing we stood back and admired our work.
Although there are many types of this edition of album cover,the graphic cover we are more focused on is one which has a design, created by a blend of pictures, or cartoon images, often very colourful.
Examples of this are found in Mika's 'life in cartoon motion' and Keane's 'Under The Iron Sea':
In order to create a professional looking graphic album cover, we had to find out how to work on illustrator or adobe photoshop CS5. Although illustrator was more applicable for graphic design in this case, we decided that as adobe photoshop was much more easily accessible on our school computers, as well as having the most experience on it, we would use that. 
It was obvious that our album cover should in some way relate to the name of the album, which we recently decided would be 'Everyday Superheroes'. We thought first about having a picture of the band all wearing normal clothes, with their instruments, but all with red superhero capes on. However, we thought in order for this picture to look professional we would have to have a beautiful day, in which the sun was shining, however, in England in January, these perfect days are hard to come buy. Additionally, this idea didn't feel very much like a graphic album cover. Our next idea was generated from a little Sunday reading, when i was catching up on some comic books. I analysed the cover of Amazing Spiderman #568 as the cover of this particular comic in my collection really appealed to me and most definitely grabbed my attention. It then sprang to my mind that it would be really cool if i could draw a picture of the band, cartoonise the characters, which would be appealing, clever but also stick to our brief of a graphic album cover, however after many attempts to draw this it continued to look unprofessional.I still thought that the idea of the comic was good so i began to analyse the classic comic conventions. An believed that key connotations of a comic book cover were; a barcode, the name of the comic book, the name of the label and the issue number.
We began to construct an idea which had a comic book strip in a background, giving the album cover the basic convention of a comic which is very easily recognisable. Following that we decided to have the band name in the center of the page as the comic book title, with the album title beneath it, and the issue number in the top left corner, as usual. Finally we superimposed a star sticker with 'featuring the hit singles...' which are often found on albums. Our finish product we were extremely proud of and after much editing we stood back and admired our work.
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Album Cover - Idyllic Setting?
I captured a few good shots on my iPhone and edited them with an app called Instagram, which allows you to alter tones, contrasts, with autofixed choices. I used the same effect, called X-Pro II, in order to maintain a similar style on each of the photos. This app was very useful, as it was on my phone I could snap a shot whether i was on the bus, in the car, walking to school or when we were actually on location, and add the effect and save the photo there and then. I've taken many photos on this app and because of the effects we all agreed it suited the idea of having an idyllic setting as an album cover, so we went through them all and chose which ones we liked most. Out of them, a suprisingly plain photo ended up looking quite appealing. The colours were attractive, with a sillouette of a hill with a fence on the top, with the sun setting behind it. The picture gave us room to edit and also put in text and the two best ideas we had ended up like this:
What we liked about these adaptions of the photograph, were that they were very plain, with not a lot of writing or too many effects piled on top of eachother, which is evidently what a idyllic setting album cover is expected to be like. I personally prefered the picture on the right, because the contrast and brightness had been kept reletivly close to the original picture, whereas the picture on the left had been increased and enhanced. Furthermore, this allowed a clearer view of the sunset and the fence, rather than in the first picture in which there is just a bright light. Additionally, the titles are central with an all capital font, which is easy to see and easy to read. The centre line allows the viewer to notice straight away what the picture is, also not taking too much away from the picture, but creating more awareness of the artist and album, rather than just the beautiful shot. We liked the finished product and all agreed that the 2nd picture was a lot better, however, we still wanted to venture further into the other side of things. Time to look at grapic album covers...
Monday, 28 March 2011
Science & Faith vs Everyday Superheroes
The orignal album name for the Script was 'Science & Faith', which we actually loved and found really interesting as in the song which is the origin for the album title talks about the relationship between love and science in many interesting ways. For instance, the chorus says "You wont find faith or hope, down the telescope. You wont find heart and soul in the sky. You can bring everything down to chemicals, but you cant explain a love like mind."
The concept of the song was fantastic, however in this coursework assignment we are focusing on a song, not the band. Therefore we tried to relate our ideas directly to the song choice 'For The First Time'. Having recently done research and a powerpoint on the band, which included their new album, as well as reasons and meanings behind our song choice, i had a knowledge of the songs background. The music video to the song especially, along with its background encapsulates how in so many places over the world people were getting stripped of their homes and possessions due to the recession. In the video, the couple are finding life extremely difficult for this reason, and eventually, the male lead sells his bike for tickets for the two to leave America and go back home where they feel safe, with their families who need them. After viewing this we all felt as though the man in the video was courageous, brave and finally, extremely caring. He sold his mode of transport, he lost his job, he spent all of his money on plane tickets, he forgot about the future he wanted, simply in the name of love, to save his relationship. He is a hero. The song was from then on seen in a different light, it wasnt about meeting someone for the first time, but a much deeper message. People all over the world were in difficult positions, terrible times, but they saved the hearts of the people they loved, and they have to do it daily. Hence the new title name we came up with; EVERYDAY SUPERHEROES.
Font Ideas:
The concept of the song was fantastic, however in this coursework assignment we are focusing on a song, not the band. Therefore we tried to relate our ideas directly to the song choice 'For The First Time'. Having recently done research and a powerpoint on the band, which included their new album, as well as reasons and meanings behind our song choice, i had a knowledge of the songs background. The music video to the song especially, along with its background encapsulates how in so many places over the world people were getting stripped of their homes and possessions due to the recession. In the video, the couple are finding life extremely difficult for this reason, and eventually, the male lead sells his bike for tickets for the two to leave America and go back home where they feel safe, with their families who need them. After viewing this we all felt as though the man in the video was courageous, brave and finally, extremely caring. He sold his mode of transport, he lost his job, he spent all of his money on plane tickets, he forgot about the future he wanted, simply in the name of love, to save his relationship. He is a hero. The song was from then on seen in a different light, it wasnt about meeting someone for the first time, but a much deeper message. People all over the world were in difficult positions, terrible times, but they saved the hearts of the people they loved, and they have to do it daily. Hence the new title name we came up with; EVERYDAY SUPERHEROES.Font Ideas:
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Whats next...
We had now decided on our genre, our band and finally our song and were especially delighted that we had concluded with a synopsis for our own music video, after much deliberation. The next step for our music video was create a storyboard and a shot list and then once these are drafted and finalised, we can film.
We split the group in half, assigning Alan and Adam the role of planning the shot list, whilst Josh and I began thinking about our ancillary tasks; a album cover, and a magazine advertisement. We decided to first look at album covers and initially, we researched into our genre and both liked the use of setting in many indie rock album covers. Kings of Leon especially used fluorescent colours with an attractive setting to appeal to their audience. In many cases we agreed that simplicity seemed to work well, however we also concurred that Kings of Leon's simple but effective album cover was for their fourth album, which intruiged us. After discussing we both thought that in order to release such a simple looking cover, the band has to already have credited success and acclaim. Additionally, we thought we should try and do something a bit special for our album cover, rather than take the easy route and find a nice picture or nice scenery, even though we found it appealing ourselves.
This left us bemused as we thought, if done right, both simple and extravagant album covers worked very well. We decided then to try a bit of both and compare further on in the process, when we had the two extra votes of our other group members.
Here are some of our early attempts of capturing an 'idyllic setting' on camera:
We split the group in half, assigning Alan and Adam the role of planning the shot list, whilst Josh and I began thinking about our ancillary tasks; a album cover, and a magazine advertisement. We decided to first look at album covers and initially, we researched into our genre and both liked the use of setting in many indie rock album covers. Kings of Leon especially used fluorescent colours with an attractive setting to appeal to their audience. In many cases we agreed that simplicity seemed to work well, however we also concurred that Kings of Leon's simple but effective album cover was for their fourth album, which intruiged us. After discussing we both thought that in order to release such a simple looking cover, the band has to already have credited success and acclaim. Additionally, we thought we should try and do something a bit special for our album cover, rather than take the easy route and find a nice picture or nice scenery, even though we found it appealing ourselves.
Kings of Leon Album Cover - Come Around Sundown
This left us bemused as we thought, if done right, both simple and extravagant album covers worked very well. We decided then to try a bit of both and compare further on in the process, when we had the two extra votes of our other group members.
Here are some of our early attempts of capturing an 'idyllic setting' on camera:
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
Emotion.
In our music video idea, we are planning on having the boy in the relationship to try and console the girl, and she refuses to let him back into her heart and pushes him away. In this scene it is vital they get the emotional aspects right; we need to portray realism and emotion through their movements and the way their touch eachother. We really want the viewer to feel sympathy and we want to evoke a lot of emotion from this scene, so we decided to study some other music video which have these qualities.
Green Day - When September Ends
In this music video we are presented with a teenage couple, who are irrevocably in love. They both feel as though they need eachother and treat eachother as if they were eachothers oxygen. However, the boy is very poor and can't support them as a couple well, so he enrolls himself in the army. At this moment in the video the girl comes outside where the boy is contemplating her reactions to this decision and as he guessed it's not good. These 15-20 seconds of dialogue are so limitlessly emotional, with the girl sobbing and the boy trying to console her but his guilt leads to anger. The realism in the scene is also something that i found amazing and really fuelled the song and video with emotion and energy. From this moment on, when the two are seperated due to his leave, the music is amplified with energy and becomes very powerful, thus creating a phenominal, perfect blend and relation between the music and the video.
Green Day - When September EndsIn this music video we are presented with a teenage couple, who are irrevocably in love. They both feel as though they need eachother and treat eachother as if they were eachothers oxygen. However, the boy is very poor and can't support them as a couple well, so he enrolls himself in the army. At this moment in the video the girl comes outside where the boy is contemplating her reactions to this decision and as he guessed it's not good. These 15-20 seconds of dialogue are so limitlessly emotional, with the girl sobbing and the boy trying to console her but his guilt leads to anger. The realism in the scene is also something that i found amazing and really fuelled the song and video with emotion and energy. From this moment on, when the two are seperated due to his leave, the music is amplified with energy and becomes very powerful, thus creating a phenominal, perfect blend and relation between the music and the video.
Monday, 7 March 2011
Music Video Ideas...
We loved the existing video, but it was time to start thinking of ideas for our own interpretation of the song.
After creating both idea's we decided that the second choice would be much more appropriate for us as students. I prefer the storyline of the first idea and believe that in the music industry it would be more preferable to our second idea, however our second is much simpler and isnt too far out of our comfort zone!
Our Final Idea - Synopsis...
Our final idea which has come from idea #2 and #1, and is one we are all happy with, which presents a romantic storyline showing the resurrection of love through the re-visitation of special moments for the two. We loved the first idea and therefore wanted to keep a bit of it in our video, so decided to still have the couple remember significant moments of their relationship, however these moments are on a much smaller scale, so rather than a concert or a party where they shared their first kiss, its 'a night in when they fall asleep on the sofa that they will always remember' kind of thing :)
The storyline for this idea...
The couple are going through a phase of arguments and reluctancy in their relationship which has been building over the past few days. The male counter-part is desperate to fix the situation and tries to stop fighting his corner and console his partner, but she is not willing to drop the anger and pushes him away, so he leaves, hoping to find his feet and regain his courage. During their seperation, they both stumble upon a photo album which they indulge in. They rekindle old sentimental memories that they shared and will hold forever and through this they realise the pointlessness of their dispute and fine their love again.
After creating both idea's we decided that the second choice would be much more appropriate for us as students. I prefer the storyline of the first idea and believe that in the music industry it would be more preferable to our second idea, however our second is much simpler and isnt too far out of our comfort zone!
Our Final Idea - Synopsis...
Our final idea which has come from idea #2 and #1, and is one we are all happy with, which presents a romantic storyline showing the resurrection of love through the re-visitation of special moments for the two. We loved the first idea and therefore wanted to keep a bit of it in our video, so decided to still have the couple remember significant moments of their relationship, however these moments are on a much smaller scale, so rather than a concert or a party where they shared their first kiss, its 'a night in when they fall asleep on the sofa that they will always remember' kind of thing :)
The storyline for this idea...
The couple are going through a phase of arguments and reluctancy in their relationship which has been building over the past few days. The male counter-part is desperate to fix the situation and tries to stop fighting his corner and console his partner, but she is not willing to drop the anger and pushes him away, so he leaves, hoping to find his feet and regain his courage. During their seperation, they both stumble upon a photo album which they indulge in. They rekindle old sentimental memories that they shared and will hold forever and through this they realise the pointlessness of their dispute and fine their love again.
'For The First Time' by The Script
The song was released on August 20, 2010 as the lead single from the band's second studio album Science & Faith. It debuted at number one on the Irish Singles Chart, becoming The Script's first number-one single.The single debuted at number five on the UK Singles Chart before moving up to number-four the following week.
Danny O'Donoghue of The Script told the story behind the song in an interview with Sydney Radio Station: "The song 'For the First Time' was about a time when we got back after touring around the world. We wanted to press palms with the people who had really gotten us there, and we got home and realised there's a stark reality out there, the recession, people are losing their jobs and their valuable things, and we thought, it almost pales in comparison to your news. We started the song, and it ended up being a bit bleak and we felt we really needed a great message, to turn it around... so we needed a message of hope, as people are being stripped of all these things they're realising what's really important. It's all about going back to basics: drinking cheap wine, eating your dinner off the floor. That's when you meet each other for the first time, when you have nothing."As a group we were really drawn to this song and the background of it. The band are really humble and put a lot of thought, emotion and heart behind their music and their lyrics and truly care about their fans. The song is the kind of song you can listen to to get you back on your feet when you feel really down; we would very much prefer to do a powerful, meaningful song like this than a song which is one dimensional.
The existing music video follows an Irish couple who have moved to America to follow their dreams. The opening of the video presents Eve Hewson, with damp eyes, writing a letter home to her family. Immediately, the viewer is drawn into the narrative because of the emotion presented in her expressions and body language. We also grasp that the girl is a family orientated individual and this blend of emotion with her photography of the sun and sky in later shots represent her admiration for the finer things in life, whereas her boyfriend is struggling to get a job and is working non-stop, having forgotten what really matters. The actors in the narrative perform exceptionally and really evoke the emotion they demonstrate for the fans.
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Time To Choose...
It came to the point in our planning phase in which we had to decide on a music genre and subsequently, the song we are going to use in our music video.
We then analysed our mindmap, discussing the pros and cons we had already thought of in more depth as a group. We decided on 'Soft Rock' and 'Indie Rock' as our two genres, then chose two songs in each genre to finally decide from.
After creating this mindmap we once again delved into deep discussion on the songs and finalised with 'For The First Time' by The Script. Not only do we love the song, but we felt out of our final four choices, it was the song we could imput our ideas and imaginations into the best.
We then analysed our mindmap, discussing the pros and cons we had already thought of in more depth as a group. We decided on 'Soft Rock' and 'Indie Rock' as our two genres, then chose two songs in each genre to finally decide from.
After creating this mindmap we once again delved into deep discussion on the songs and finalised with 'For The First Time' by The Script. Not only do we love the song, but we felt out of our final four choices, it was the song we could imput our ideas and imaginations into the best.
Monday, 28 February 2011
Performance & Narrative Music Video
In my questionnaire, i also found that 15 out of 20 people enjoy seeings a blend of a performance of the band and the storyline. I had analysed narrative videos and performance videos and thought it essential, after finding these results, that I cover the mix of the two. Fortunately, one of the favourite contemporary music videos, by one of my favourite bands had just what i was looking for.
The storyline behind this video is that lead singer Danny O'Donoghue is in a state of emotional depression and heartbreak. He is shown in a bar with his two friends, putting on a brave face and trying to be happy and lively. By the time they leave he is drunk and still seeming optimistic as they journey home, but as he passes a river he thinks he sees the love of his life in the water and dives in, only to realise once he is pulled out by his friends that he was delusional, culminating in his realisation that his relationship really is over.
The best quality of this music video is that we, the audience and viewers, are given a third person view on the bands night out. The benefit of this effect is that the viewers, who are very likely to be fans of the band, feel as though they are they're friends on a night out with them, which is every fans wish. In the questionnaire a majority answered that they like to see the actors performing; this video does just that. The lead singer, O'Donoghue performs as if he is drunk for the duration of the video. Some times he is performing in the narrative, supporting the storyline and taking the viewer on a journey, but subsequently he performs directly to the camera and thus the viewer, staying in character. This is what I ultimately enjoyed the most, the dramatic elements of the video.
The video demonstrates a very realistic situation; a heartbroken man, drinking his heartache away, trying to gain back any sense of happiness or livelyness as he now feels like the shadow of the man he used to be. The comments from youtube show present the love from the fans at the realism exhibited in the lyrics and the acting in the video. This is another huge appeal of the video as a lot of current music videos are likely to either be un-realistic with lots of special effects, or with quite predictable storylines. The Script mmusic videos give their fans exactly what they want.
(Click here to see 'The Making of Nothing')
I searched for the making of this video and luckily it was posted. From watching this its interesting to learn about the kind of shots that are used in certain scenes as well as the processes of music video making. The most educational part of watching the making of the video was when the crew moved to 'Underwater Studios' to shoot the scene when Danny jumps into (what is supposedly) Camden Lock. I'd known that there was a studio particularly for filming underwater and it was very interesting too see how that process went ahead.
Overall i found this video very enjoyable to watch because of its performance factor; the acting, the singing, the 3rd person view. Thanks to the Script for this awesome song and music video!
'Nothing' by The Script
The storyline behind this video is that lead singer Danny O'Donoghue is in a state of emotional depression and heartbreak. He is shown in a bar with his two friends, putting on a brave face and trying to be happy and lively. By the time they leave he is drunk and still seeming optimistic as they journey home, but as he passes a river he thinks he sees the love of his life in the water and dives in, only to realise once he is pulled out by his friends that he was delusional, culminating in his realisation that his relationship really is over.
The best quality of this music video is that we, the audience and viewers, are given a third person view on the bands night out. The benefit of this effect is that the viewers, who are very likely to be fans of the band, feel as though they are they're friends on a night out with them, which is every fans wish. In the questionnaire a majority answered that they like to see the actors performing; this video does just that. The lead singer, O'Donoghue performs as if he is drunk for the duration of the video. Some times he is performing in the narrative, supporting the storyline and taking the viewer on a journey, but subsequently he performs directly to the camera and thus the viewer, staying in character. This is what I ultimately enjoyed the most, the dramatic elements of the video.
The video demonstrates a very realistic situation; a heartbroken man, drinking his heartache away, trying to gain back any sense of happiness or livelyness as he now feels like the shadow of the man he used to be. The comments from youtube show present the love from the fans at the realism exhibited in the lyrics and the acting in the video. This is another huge appeal of the video as a lot of current music videos are likely to either be un-realistic with lots of special effects, or with quite predictable storylines. The Script mmusic videos give their fans exactly what they want. 
(Click here to see 'The Making of Nothing') I searched for the making of this video and luckily it was posted. From watching this its interesting to learn about the kind of shots that are used in certain scenes as well as the processes of music video making. The most educational part of watching the making of the video was when the crew moved to 'Underwater Studios' to shoot the scene when Danny jumps into (what is supposedly) Camden Lock. I'd known that there was a studio particularly for filming underwater and it was very interesting too see how that process went ahead.
Overall i found this video very enjoyable to watch because of its performance factor; the acting, the singing, the 3rd person view. Thanks to the Script for this awesome song and music video!
Saturday, 26 February 2011
Special Effects...
In the recent questionnaire I conducted, I noticed only four people out of the 20 had chosen special effects as one of the options for the question 'What do you think makes a music video appealing?'. One of which, Kerrie Bryce, goes to my school and is very close friends with me, so I asked if she could spare some time to expand on her reasons for choosing this as one of her three choices. I found it interesting that only four had chosen 'special effects'. This was one of the reasons I conducted the questionnaire, in a hope that i would be surprised, and hopefully given the opportunity to learn from the target audience, so i was very thankful when Kerrie happily agreed to further develop her answer for me.
Kerrie Bryce is an 18 year old student at Hatch End Sixth Form, Studying History, Sociology and English Literature. I recorded her answer in her debut interview, so i could share it on my blog.
Kerrie Bryce:
"That particular question took me a while to answer actually. I was in two minds. I had already ticked 'A blend of a performance from the band and a storyline' and having 'the artist as the actor' and was thinking about ticking 'Interesting and unpredictable storyline' but then opted to tick 'special effects'. And now you're asking why, I guess it was the right choice!
Well, I think that when you think of special effects you stereotype it instantly, thinking about all the obvious effects that are used, such as 'slow motion' or 'flames' as used in the 'Notion' video [by Kings of Leon], but there are so many other effects that are so discreetly powerful. For instance, the split screen used in Maroon 5's 'Goodnight Goodnight' or the black and white effect used in Beyonces 'If I Were A Boy' in my opinion make the video what it is. I think that it is the effects that get the point of the video's across in the ones i have mentioned to be honest and it is them which empower the video.
The video i had last watched before actually doing your questionairre was by Ladyhawk and is called 'My Delirium'. It heavily uses special effects to attract its audience, because at the beginning scenes when the artist is just in her room, there was nothing to grip me, but when the chorus kicks in and the special effects suddenly erupt into fashion, I became glued! The song is about how the hot and cold relationship with her partner is messing with her head, however i thought it could be a double entangre, and present her possible addiction to drugs as she is trying to stop her addiction because they keep 'playing with her delirium'. This theory is supported in the video, because at the chorus when she sings that line she is suddenly a cartoon, driving in her fantasy world. So its the special effects which made me enjoy the video, but also made me understand and have my own take on her song. And it was that video that actually encouraged me too go for that choice in the end!"
A huge thankyou to Kerrie for her very detailed and extremely helpful answer, which also lead me to a fantastic example of how special effects are used today. Thankyou!
Kerrie Bryce is an 18 year old student at Hatch End Sixth Form, Studying History, Sociology and English Literature. I recorded her answer in her debut interview, so i could share it on my blog.
Kerrie Bryce:
"That particular question took me a while to answer actually. I was in two minds. I had already ticked 'A blend of a performance from the band and a storyline' and having 'the artist as the actor' and was thinking about ticking 'Interesting and unpredictable storyline' but then opted to tick 'special effects'. And now you're asking why, I guess it was the right choice!
Well, I think that when you think of special effects you stereotype it instantly, thinking about all the obvious effects that are used, such as 'slow motion' or 'flames' as used in the 'Notion' video [by Kings of Leon], but there are so many other effects that are so discreetly powerful. For instance, the split screen used in Maroon 5's 'Goodnight Goodnight' or the black and white effect used in Beyonces 'If I Were A Boy' in my opinion make the video what it is. I think that it is the effects that get the point of the video's across in the ones i have mentioned to be honest and it is them which empower the video.
The video i had last watched before actually doing your questionairre was by Ladyhawk and is called 'My Delirium'. It heavily uses special effects to attract its audience, because at the beginning scenes when the artist is just in her room, there was nothing to grip me, but when the chorus kicks in and the special effects suddenly erupt into fashion, I became glued! The song is about how the hot and cold relationship with her partner is messing with her head, however i thought it could be a double entangre, and present her possible addiction to drugs as she is trying to stop her addiction because they keep 'playing with her delirium'. This theory is supported in the video, because at the chorus when she sings that line she is suddenly a cartoon, driving in her fantasy world. So its the special effects which made me enjoy the video, but also made me understand and have my own take on her song. And it was that video that actually encouraged me too go for that choice in the end!"
A huge thankyou to Kerrie for her very detailed and extremely helpful answer, which also lead me to a fantastic example of how special effects are used today. Thankyou!
Questionairre w/ Answers
Question Air Re
It was a good idea in my eyes to conduct a questionairre to get a further, very useful and helpful insight into the views of todays audience of music videos. I divided the ages into three options; 10-15, 16-20, 21-30. I gave 20 copies of the questionairre out and have picked a random four to present, as I thought it too much to show all 20.
And what did I learn from these answers...
It was a good idea in my eyes to conduct a questionairre to get a further, very useful and helpful insight into the views of todays audience of music videos. I divided the ages into three options; 10-15, 16-20, 21-30. I gave 20 copies of the questionairre out and have picked a random four to present, as I thought it too much to show all 20.
And what did I learn from these answers...
- It was quickly obvious that 'slow rock' was the most popular genre, being chosen 17 out of 20 times, 'pop' being chosen 13 out of 20.
- The majority of the audience of ages 16 to 20, which is most likely to be the main ages of our target audience, chose soft rock as a favourite genre.
- No pattern was evident with what genre of music produced the best music videos.
- Answers showed that a simple storyline and also a mix of shots of the band/artist performing and the storyline are most favoured. This is because 'the simple storyline makes it easy to focus on the song melodies and lyrics, as well as the visual story.' Additionally the storyline is used to aid and empower the lyrics and melodies, and the visuals of the band along with the storyline reminds the viewer of the song for its lyrics.
- 18 out of 20 times, using the artist as the actor in the video was chosen over using an attractive unknown cast in the storyline. One of the questionairre-doers said 'it is appealing seeing the artist/band members performing and acting rather than just singing' which I certainly agree with.
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
Analysis of Narrative Videos
Beyonce - If I Were A Boy (click title to view 'The Making of...')
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIkRiqxWcYU (click link to view video)
The lyrics of this song, by the extremely popular Beyonce, express the emotions of a woman in a tough relationship, in which she feels her partner doesn't appreciate her or even acknowledge the things she does for him. Additionally, in the chorus, she explains how she would act if she was in his shoes. In my opinion this particular music video as a narrative performance is exceptional. The story it tells, and the journey it takes the audience on is very emotional and intense and it leaves the message in it's viewers mind. In the video we are shown Beyonce as the antagonist, not showing her partner any affection or attention, but flirting and showing intimacy with her male colleague. We are shown a day in the life of the two counterparts of the relationship, showing the different ways they react to temptation and eachother; for instance when the male calls his girlfriend she decides not to answer, whereas when he is at work he's looking for jewellry to by her. However, at the end of the video when they finally open up to eachother at the climax of the narrative, the roles suddenly reverse to reveal that really it is Beyonce as the protagonist, being the affectionate, caring and evidently victimised subject in the relationship, therefore capturing the idealogy provided in the title 'If I Were A Boy' in the essence of the video, which concludes with Beyonce directly singing to the audience.
The emotions that are evoked by the video, I believe, come down to the camera work, the editing, and finally the fantastic twist at the end. The camera work used works brilliantly to capture the emotions of the characters, and the situations they are in. For instance when Beyonce (imitating her partner as a policewoman) arrests a youngman and forces him into the car, the shot shows her lower half and her colleague staring at her bottom. Additionally, the ending in which we are presented with Beyonce, with her hair brushed back, against a white wall, wearing a white vest, wearing eye-shadow which looks damp from tears, singing directly to the camera in a close up embodies so much energy. This is because the black and white effect, aswell as the plain wall and her appearance with nothing glamorous shows her for who she is, which is someone who is still strong and beautiful, but the damp eye shadow represents how she deserves to be loved properly. It is evident that in those final moments of the video she represents woman all over the world, which is what she said she had wanted in 'The Making of...'. Overall as a narrative, i think this particular video really speaks out to it's viewers and tells a story in a very clever and appealing fashion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIkRiqxWcYU (click link to view video)
The lyrics of this song, by the extremely popular Beyonce, express the emotions of a woman in a tough relationship, in which she feels her partner doesn't appreciate her or even acknowledge the things she does for him. Additionally, in the chorus, she explains how she would act if she was in his shoes. In my opinion this particular music video as a narrative performance is exceptional. The story it tells, and the journey it takes the audience on is very emotional and intense and it leaves the message in it's viewers mind. In the video we are shown Beyonce as the antagonist, not showing her partner any affection or attention, but flirting and showing intimacy with her male colleague. We are shown a day in the life of the two counterparts of the relationship, showing the different ways they react to temptation and eachother; for instance when the male calls his girlfriend she decides not to answer, whereas when he is at work he's looking for jewellry to by her. However, at the end of the video when they finally open up to eachother at the climax of the narrative, the roles suddenly reverse to reveal that really it is Beyonce as the protagonist, being the affectionate, caring and evidently victimised subject in the relationship, therefore capturing the idealogy provided in the title 'If I Were A Boy' in the essence of the video, which concludes with Beyonce directly singing to the audience.
The emotions that are evoked by the video, I believe, come down to the camera work, the editing, and finally the fantastic twist at the end. The camera work used works brilliantly to capture the emotions of the characters, and the situations they are in. For instance when Beyonce (imitating her partner as a policewoman) arrests a youngman and forces him into the car, the shot shows her lower half and her colleague staring at her bottom. Additionally, the ending in which we are presented with Beyonce, with her hair brushed back, against a white wall, wearing a white vest, wearing eye-shadow which looks damp from tears, singing directly to the camera in a close up embodies so much energy. This is because the black and white effect, aswell as the plain wall and her appearance with nothing glamorous shows her for who she is, which is someone who is still strong and beautiful, but the damp eye shadow represents how she deserves to be loved properly. It is evident that in those final moments of the video she represents woman all over the world, which is what she said she had wanted in 'The Making of...'. Overall as a narrative, i think this particular video really speaks out to it's viewers and tells a story in a very clever and appealing fashion.
Monday, 21 February 2011
Narrative vs. Performance Based
Performance-Based Music Videos feature the artist/band/group performing the song through most if not all of the video. It’s probably the easiest to do on a budget provided you can get a suitable location for filming. A good example of this is would be ‘Best Of You' by Foo Fighters. The video for this is mostly performance based with random video footage presumably licensed from elsewhere.
Narrative Music Videos
A narrative based music video contains mostly footage that attempts to tell a story through the moving image. Usually involving actors, or sometimes members of the band, the story is sometimes linked to the lyrical content of the song, but this isn’t always the case. This type of music video is also sometimes used if featured in the soundtrack of a movie and you will often see scenes cut into the music video. Examples of this are 'She Will Be Loved' by Maroon 5 and a prime example for a music video made for a movie is Girls Alouds' 'Jump'.
After researching closely into a variety of music videos embodying both narrative and performance based music videos, i have concluded that I prefer narrative music videos. Reason being, they further give the audience an understanding of the lyrics and help fuel the music with passion and life through the visual aswellas the audio. Additionally, it gives the audience to feel more excited for music videos, as when they hear the track they wonder about what the music videos will or could be like. Nevertheless, the majority of music videos are narrative and sometimes a performance based music video is a breath of fresh air and effective simplicity.
Narrative Music Videos
A narrative based music video contains mostly footage that attempts to tell a story through the moving image. Usually involving actors, or sometimes members of the band, the story is sometimes linked to the lyrical content of the song, but this isn’t always the case. This type of music video is also sometimes used if featured in the soundtrack of a movie and you will often see scenes cut into the music video. Examples of this are 'She Will Be Loved' by Maroon 5 and a prime example for a music video made for a movie is Girls Alouds' 'Jump'.After researching closely into a variety of music videos embodying both narrative and performance based music videos, i have concluded that I prefer narrative music videos. Reason being, they further give the audience an understanding of the lyrics and help fuel the music with passion and life through the visual aswellas the audio. Additionally, it gives the audience to feel more excited for music videos, as when they hear the track they wonder about what the music videos will or could be like. Nevertheless, the majority of music videos are narrative and sometimes a performance based music video is a breath of fresh air and effective simplicity.
Friday, 11 February 2011
Genre; Pop Rock/Soft Rock
After constructing our mind map we discussed the genre's we had covered in it. Through this we looked not only at the music video's but the album covers and advertisements.
Soft Rock
Kings Of Leon
This band has a lot of well recognised soft rock songs, by the likes of 'Sex on Fire' and 'Use Somebody'. They have a very indie look about them and have adapted over the recent years in appearance, however kept a sense of originality about them.
Album Covers / Magazine Cover
There are three alternate album covers for Kings Of Leon's recently released album 'Come Around Sundown'. I definitely felt an appeal for all three album covers, which i think came from the similar contrast in colour. Additionally, all three convey a simple, plain idealic holiday location. For instance, one is just the oceon and one is just a plam tree on an island. However, both pictures are saturated with an orangey-reddy colour. Personally, I belive the asthetically pleasing locations captured imply escapism for the fans of the band, which is one of the main reasons people indulge into music, therefore attracting the public.
Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is a Grammy Award-winning American pop rock band. They have won several awards for its debut album Songs About Jane. Released in June 2002, the album enjoyed major chart success, going gold, platinum, and triple platinum in many countries around the world. Many of their music videos exhibit a narrative style, presenting a storyline involving two lovers and the drama of their relationship.
Album Covers / Magazine Cover
Here are the three album covers for the three albums the band has released. There is no obvious relation between them, and additionally no obvious understanding for their audience of the covers. The first, for the album 'Songs About Jane' shows a redhead, nude woman with flowers in her hair. The nudity and colour red represent the feeling of lust, love and intimacy between the band and this woman. The album name represents their dedication to her, and therefore their dedication to what she represents; love, sex and passion. This album relates to the third album 'Hands All Over' in which we also are presented with a naked woman in bed, with long curley hair like the animated woman from 'Songs About Jane'. The image shows the woman alone in bed, with her own hands and another pair of hands rapped around her, however there is noone behind her. This depicts that the music is her lovers way of pleasuring her if he can't be with her.
Soft Rock
Kings Of Leon
This band has a lot of well recognised soft rock songs, by the likes of 'Sex on Fire' and 'Use Somebody'. They have a very indie look about them and have adapted over the recent years in appearance, however kept a sense of originality about them.
Album Covers / Magazine Cover
There are three alternate album covers for Kings Of Leon's recently released album 'Come Around Sundown'. I definitely felt an appeal for all three album covers, which i think came from the similar contrast in colour. Additionally, all three convey a simple, plain idealic holiday location. For instance, one is just the oceon and one is just a plam tree on an island. However, both pictures are saturated with an orangey-reddy colour. Personally, I belive the asthetically pleasing locations captured imply escapism for the fans of the band, which is one of the main reasons people indulge into music, therefore attracting the public.
Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is a Grammy Award-winning American pop rock band. They have won several awards for its debut album Songs About Jane. Released in June 2002, the album enjoyed major chart success, going gold, platinum, and triple platinum in many countries around the world. Many of their music videos exhibit a narrative style, presenting a storyline involving two lovers and the drama of their relationship.
Album Covers / Magazine Cover
Here are the three album covers for the three albums the band has released. There is no obvious relation between them, and additionally no obvious understanding for their audience of the covers. The first, for the album 'Songs About Jane' shows a redhead, nude woman with flowers in her hair. The nudity and colour red represent the feeling of lust, love and intimacy between the band and this woman. The album name represents their dedication to her, and therefore their dedication to what she represents; love, sex and passion. This album relates to the third album 'Hands All Over' in which we also are presented with a naked woman in bed, with long curley hair like the animated woman from 'Songs About Jane'. The image shows the woman alone in bed, with her own hands and another pair of hands rapped around her, however there is noone behind her. This depicts that the music is her lovers way of pleasuring her if he can't be with her.
Wednesday, 9 February 2011
Channel 4's '100 Greatest Music Videos'
I knew that going into this assignment there would be so many well credited and popular music videos over the years that I would have no knowledge of. It was brought up that Channel 4 had done a programme concerning '100 Greatest Music Videos', which was exactly what we were looking for, so we watched it as a class.
Through this viewing there was a huge mixture of opinions from the class on some of the videos, and interesting debates on why some were given or deserved a spot in the top 100 occurred, which was an worthwhile experience, which i felt i learnt from, in terms of target audience.
In my eyes some of the music videos were very un-interesting and ultimately not entertaining at all, however during post-viewing discussions it came to light that many of the videos, from many years ago, were revolutionary and meant a lot in their own time. For instance, '#100: Pass The Dutchie' by Musical Youth in 1982 was so popular because it was one of the first music videos to present African Americans, and more so, they were singing about drugs!
Initial Notions on my favourites
Through this viewing there was a huge mixture of opinions from the class on some of the videos, and interesting debates on why some were given or deserved a spot in the top 100 occurred, which was an worthwhile experience, which i felt i learnt from, in terms of target audience.
In my eyes some of the music videos were very un-interesting and ultimately not entertaining at all, however during post-viewing discussions it came to light that many of the videos, from many years ago, were revolutionary and meant a lot in their own time. For instance, '#100: Pass The Dutchie' by Musical Youth in 1982 was so popular because it was one of the first music videos to present African Americans, and more so, they were singing about drugs!
Initial Notions on my favourites
- Queen - I Want To Break Free; this particular video stood out to me, because of it's comical connotations. The band are shown as drag queens, which I think is a fantastic idea seeing as the all male band is called 'Queen'. The best part is that lead singer Freddie Mercury is still sporting his very distinguished moustache! Mercury actually is homosexual, however it wasn't known at the time, thus the video is almost symbolic of this. (#21)
- U2 - The Sweetest Thing; the first use of the 'point-of-view' shot i had noticed in the top 100. This music video appealed to me because for the duration of viewing the programme, this was the first time i felt a connection with the artist themself. Bono, U2's lead singer, is apologising to his partner throughout the video. Usually video's exhibited a performance of the band, special effects or a storyline, however this felt very personal and deep, as if we simply had a view through a window into his relationship. (#33)
- Christina Aguilara - Dirrty; this music video stood out to me as it was the first single she released from her fourth album 'Stripped', which marked the beginning of a huge change in Aguilara's appearance and portrayal of herself. In her first single 'Genie In A Bottle' in 1999, besides having her middrift exposed, she presented herself as 'the girl next door' with a fresh, attractive teenage look. No piercings, no tattoos, barely any make-up. However, 'Dirrty' represents her rebellion against her good-girl image and her transformation to a artist bursting with sex appeal. The mispelling of the title alone represents her personal upsurgance. (#14)
- Coldplay - The Scientist; a very memorable music video, for it's extremely difficult and gripping effect of rewinding time. Not only does the music video demonstrate Chris Martins revisitation of the previous 5 minutes, but he is singing the lyrics as he goes.
- Madonna - Like A Prayer; the video for this song was well known for it's blasphemous controversy, which actually served as a strong element in the accomplishment and success of the video. It touched some religious topics as well as racial aspects, as Madonna kisses an African man, which at the time, was something that hadn't really been seen before. (#5)
- OutKast - Hey Ya; this is a very lively and upbeat, feel-good song, but the thing i found most appealing about it was that all the band members are played by Andre 3000, the singer of the song. This is engaging because all the characters he plays take on a different persona, for instance the drummer is shirtless, tatooed and has a rock-star image, whereas the backing singers are dressed preppy, with glasses and shirts with ties. Additionally, the mise-en-scene aspects of the video somewhat represent a different decade to the 2000's as the television is black and white and the clothing and set up of the stage resemble and 60's feel. (#16)
- Robbie Williams - Rock DJ; The video for rock DJ, directed by Vaughan Arnell, was released in 2000, and was surrounded by controversy because of its explicit content. The video exhibits Robbie dancing at a roller disco surrounded by woman, and as he dances he begins to undress, followed by ripping off his own skin until he is simply a dancing body of bones. Somehow, although every viewer wants to look away, they cant! (#6)
- Michael Jackson - Thriller; it is very easy to see why Thriller will always be number 1. It was the first music video to embody a film-like appearance, starting and ending with a short movie clip. This is not its only appeal though, it has a very memorable dance sequence, as well as fantastic, unforgettable make-up effects, transforming the dancers and cast, including Michael Jackson, into zombies!
Step Two...
After we spent a few hours immersing ourselves in independent research into existing music video's, we retreated back into a group to discuss our thoughts. Some of us had already come up some idea's and decided to share them before we got into any discussions.
Hey There Delilah By Plain White ‘T’s
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbJtYqBYCV8)
This is a song about a long distance relationship. A boy writes a love song for a girl in another city saying they’ll be back together soon, expressing his love for her. We liked it because it was a simple, calm and easy feeling song.
Pack Up by Eliza Doolittle
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbUE8_KHDCc&feature=fvst)
This song is very upbeat about living your life and not carrying all your stresses and problems through life with you. Hence the name ‘Pack Up’, it introduces the prospect of leaving your stress behind, therefore presenting a positive and happy feel to the song and music video.
I Wanna Rock & Roll All Night by KISS
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbUE8_KHDCc&feature=fvst)
This is a stereotypical rock song by a rock band, well known and recognised for their face paint and their leather costumes. This gave a us a fun idea to present a group of fun, lively teenagers imitating the band.
Lets get into some detail...
Hey There Delilah By Plain White ‘T’s
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbJtYqBYCV8)
This is a song about a long distance relationship. A boy writes a love song for a girl in another city saying they’ll be back together soon, expressing his love for her. We liked it because it was a simple, calm and easy feeling song.
Pack Up by Eliza Doolittle
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbUE8_KHDCc&feature=fvst)
This song is very upbeat about living your life and not carrying all your stresses and problems through life with you. Hence the name ‘Pack Up’, it introduces the prospect of leaving your stress behind, therefore presenting a positive and happy feel to the song and music video.
I Wanna Rock & Roll All Night by KISS
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbUE8_KHDCc&feature=fvst)
This is a stereotypical rock song by a rock band, well known and recognised for their face paint and their leather costumes. This gave a us a fun idea to present a group of fun, lively teenagers imitating the band.
Lets get into some detail...
Monday, 7 February 2011
Brainstorm; Notion
The song 'Notion' was the fourth single from American rock band 'Kings of Leon' from their album 'Only By The Night'. The song reached number one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart for one week in of September 2009. The song is one of the most played songs on my iPod, but I had previously researched into Kings of Leon music videos and they were ok but didn't seem to fixate me or really appeal to me as much as the songs themselves. Then I came across 'Notion'. I didn't quite understand why I liked the music video so much at first but slowly began to analyse in more detail.
The song itself is hard to decode in terms of meaning and the video doesn't relate to the lyrics on an obvious level, but that's the bands style. Other rock bands such as Maroon 5 very often release easy-to-follow narrative music videos with the lead singer as the main character, however Kings of Leon seem to have always shied away from such dramatic exhibitions. The music video for this particular song is evidently set in a winter season as it is snowing, but in a little backstreet area where the band are playing, there are barrells containing fierce orange flames. This alone creates such an attractive contrast of colours of grey for the natural weather and orange from the fire.
The first line of the song is "I've got a notion to say what doesnt feel right" which is all a viewer needs to understand the video. The video shows lead singer Caleb Followill walking through the street, against a huge crowd of people, bumping in to them. This depicts his need to voice his opinion and fight against the status quo and against the tradions and the norm to find his voice and his belief. The fire contrasting with the cold represents the eagerness and hunger for belief and truth amongst the normality and routine that the world is living in. This anxiety is also shown through the effective, unsteady and shakey camera work used on many occasions, for instance when the fire is bursting through the brick wall, the camera is simultaniously shaking to demonstrate an eruption of emotion. The editing is also equally as effective as through the band shots, all the cuts are very quick and edgy, leaving only moments to capture the display, whereas the scenes of Caleb walking through the crowd are long and almost slow motion to show the contrast of breaking free from the status quo with the band, or trying to find your voice and beliefs, shown with Caleb.
What i enjoyed most about this particular video was that although it didnt show a long story throughout or had a lot of climaxes it was powerful in depicting the meaning behind the song. The video is about breaking free and moulding your own beliefs and finding your own voice, which can be very hard sometimes when everyone around is telling you you're wrong (which is what the crowd of people that Caleb walks against represent). The video starts of relativly calmly, with not a lot of fire and aggression, however as the song continues and the passion rises in the lead vocals, the fire begins to erupt and blow from the walls and the shakey camera work begins, it fuels the viewer and keeps them watching and appeals to them. The colour contrasts and shadowy appearance of the band in the street surrounded by bricks and fire speaks aloud without a narrative to explain. In conclusion, I liked how it was the setting, the camera work and the editing that told the story in this video rather than a narrative. Top notch!
The song itself is hard to decode in terms of meaning and the video doesn't relate to the lyrics on an obvious level, but that's the bands style. Other rock bands such as Maroon 5 very often release easy-to-follow narrative music videos with the lead singer as the main character, however Kings of Leon seem to have always shied away from such dramatic exhibitions. The music video for this particular song is evidently set in a winter season as it is snowing, but in a little backstreet area where the band are playing, there are barrells containing fierce orange flames. This alone creates such an attractive contrast of colours of grey for the natural weather and orange from the fire.
The first line of the song is "I've got a notion to say what doesnt feel right" which is all a viewer needs to understand the video. The video shows lead singer Caleb Followill walking through the street, against a huge crowd of people, bumping in to them. This depicts his need to voice his opinion and fight against the status quo and against the tradions and the norm to find his voice and his belief. The fire contrasting with the cold represents the eagerness and hunger for belief and truth amongst the normality and routine that the world is living in. This anxiety is also shown through the effective, unsteady and shakey camera work used on many occasions, for instance when the fire is bursting through the brick wall, the camera is simultaniously shaking to demonstrate an eruption of emotion. The editing is also equally as effective as through the band shots, all the cuts are very quick and edgy, leaving only moments to capture the display, whereas the scenes of Caleb walking through the crowd are long and almost slow motion to show the contrast of breaking free from the status quo with the band, or trying to find your voice and beliefs, shown with Caleb.
"The editing is very effective as in the band scenes, all the cuts are very quick and edgy, leaving only moments for the viewer to capture the display."
Amongst the shaking and quick paces camera work, there are some calm, steady long and mid shots of the band, which represents unity. This shot (left) is a close up of the lead singer, showing his expressions with the fire behind him, which illustrates how he has found his beliefs and is therefore not in the fire anymore as is not alone, as previously he was alone in an alley rather than singing with the band.
What i enjoyed most about this particular video was that although it didnt show a long story throughout or had a lot of climaxes it was powerful in depicting the meaning behind the song. The video is about breaking free and moulding your own beliefs and finding your own voice, which can be very hard sometimes when everyone around is telling you you're wrong (which is what the crowd of people that Caleb walks against represent). The video starts of relativly calmly, with not a lot of fire and aggression, however as the song continues and the passion rises in the lead vocals, the fire begins to erupt and blow from the walls and the shakey camera work begins, it fuels the viewer and keeps them watching and appeals to them. The colour contrasts and shadowy appearance of the band in the street surrounded by bricks and fire speaks aloud without a narrative to explain. In conclusion, I liked how it was the setting, the camera work and the editing that told the story in this video rather than a narrative. Top notch!
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