Audience questionairre

Sam and I created a questionnaire to find out more about our potential audience.

We asked 10 people aged 17 the questions are below are the results.

1) Did you like the track (We played our chosen song to them before this question)?
-Yes: 8
-No: 2

2)Would you listen to the bands other songs after hearing Diver?
-Yes: 7
-No: 3

3)Do you often listen to this genre/type of music?
-Often: 6
-Occasionally: 3
-Rarely: 1

4)What mood does the song give off?
-Happy: 4
-Sad: 3
-Mixed: 3

5)What should the mood of the video be for the song?
-Happy: 3
-Sad: 3
-Mixed: 6

6)What do you think the song is about based on the lyrics (We showed them a sheet with lyrics on)?
-A relationship breakup (love): 5
-A relationship breakup (friendship): 2
-A death: 2
-Other: 1

As our results show, the general idea is that the song is about a male and female's relationship ending, and that it is shown in both a sad and happy way. The audience mostly agreed that they would want to listen to more of the band’s music, as well as being fans of the genre.

This is good as it shows us that our audience agreed with what Sam and I believed the song to be about and so the video that we create should be suitable.

Target Audience

Canterbury are an indie/pop/rock band, made up of some extremely young members, mainly meaning that the target audience for the band mainly consists of the younger generation.

In our final music video, there will be both a man and woman as an actor. This means that our video will appeal to both males and females, due to the genre of the music involved in the main target age for us would be around the 16, 17 and 18 mark. This is due to a few reasons. I feel that the target audience would be no younger than this due to the depth of the bands lyrics, which mainly revolve around love, or the loss of a loved one and give connotations of loneliness and depression. Something which does not really appeal to the youngest of generation’s e.g 15 and under.

Due to the bands heavy influence, I would imagine that our product would be to target an audience of an indie nature, that are into similar bands, such as you me at six, and Forever The Sickest Kids, whom both follow the same type of pop rock/indie genre and aim their music at the teens. Both of the bands songs mainly revolve around love and how it can be a negative influence, similar to the product that we aim to create.

Filming Schedule

5th October – Start filming the chorus


6th October – Finishing filming the chorus

12th October – Start filming the verses

13th October – Finish filming the verses

15th October – Start editing the clips together

22nd October – Hand in draft copy


30th September - 22nd October - Create CD cover and band Website

Storyboard

Below is the storyboard that Sam has produced for the music video, the first shot starts at the bottom and finishes at the top of the page.

Equipment required

.Filming Equipment-
Video Camera
-Tripod
-Blank Tape
-Digital Camera

Props
-Mobile Phone
-Paper Note Pad
-Microphone

Actors
-2 Male
-1 FemaleCostumes
-Male 01: Jeans, t-shirt and hooded jumper
-Male 02: Jeans, t-shirt (light coloured)-Female: Jeans/leggings, t-shirt, hooded jumperComputer

Software
-Adobe Photoshop
-Adobe Dreamweaver
-Sony Vegas

Locations
-Empty Classroom
-Grassy Field-Pavement/Path-Females Bedroom

Risk assesment

Risk assessment
Weather- severe weather conditions may affect both the video equipment our crew and our actors.

Camera equipment-
the weather conditions may affect how our camera equipment works, for example a strong wind may blow over the equipment whilst on the tri-pod and break the camera, which can be extremely expensive, if the camera is wet by rain, then the camera work may again stop working.

How to solve the problem- the simple ways to solve the problem is to make sure that the camera work is secured tightly to make sure that there are no chances of the camera coming off the tri-pod, to prevent rain and water damage, we will make sure that the equipment is kept in its protective casing so that rain damage is improbable.

Actors and camera men- the weather conditions may make the filming area slippery and actors may fall and be injured
How to solve the problem- make sure that the surface for filming is solid and stable to make sure that nobody is injured.

Pedestrians-

Equipment being stolen- We have to make sure that pedestrians are not in risk of being tripped over by wires, and also that we keep valuable equipment away from anybody that may be looking to steal it.
How to solve the problem- The simple way to solve both of the problems is to film in a secluded area away from the public, if this is unavoidable then we need to make sure that all eyes are kept on the valuable equipment.

These are the only risks that we are running whilst filming out in the open, most of these risks are avoidable, therefore we are able to film safely with no problems.

Mock website and CD Cover

(Currently unable to upload hand drawn image as i'm having problems with my scanner)

Sam and I have both made up mocks of the website and the CD case and cover, this way more ideas can be put down onto paper and Sam can be marked on his ideas and how he feels the two items should look.

Having seen Sam's original mockup of a CD case the theme of sunshine and clouds seemed to work well in relation to the bands aura and feel of the song, for this reason I decided to continue the theme into my ideas of both a CD case and Website, the colours contrast well to the song that we have chosen and create a different vibe giving it a sense of irony.

For the mock up website, I have decided to use a variety of large block colours, this is mainly to catch the eye of the audience, but I also feel that a simple layout is much more user friendly than a website made up of many different and contrasting colours that can be confusing to the eye.

After analysing different artists and bands web pages I decided that the most popular options for the homepage of a website are, tour guides for example when the band is going on tour, and the option to buy tickets. Another popular link on the home page is the option to purchase band merchandise such as clothing, posters and much more. I have also included an option to watch the bands latest videos and also see the bands latest news without having to click on a separate link, meaning that a busy user can scan the website quickly, making the site very user friendly and also extremely accessible.

Treatment

This is the treatment that Sam has written for the music video.

I have decided that I want my music video to seem as though it as been drawn. I will scan a copy of a piece of lined paper and draw boxes on it. Each box will contain a different part of the video and as the song plays; the video will sort of zoom out from the paper, and pan across to the next box before it zooms in again to show the next clip. Each box will contain a portion of the music, such as: 1st verse, chorus, 2nd verse, and chorus. I will also experiment with different filter effects for the video to create a hand drawn look. This will hopefully go well with the paper style background. However, altering the effects may make it hard to watch the video and so this idea could be scrapped in favour of unedited clips. Overall, I want the video to seem like a photo album. I believe that the song is talking about the singers past where he has recently had something bad happen. I am assuming that he has split up with his girlfriend and is trying to get away from the bad memories and feelings, hence the line “I’ll keep you in mind when I run”.

The actual video recording will show a band playing and singing during the chorus and a flashback sequence during the two versus. This will help enhance the idea that the video is a virtual photo album as it will show what has happened in the past. The flash backs will have a filter on them to make them slightly brighter and vibrant, making it clear that it is a flashback. The chorus where the band will be filmed will mostly just be the singer as it is meant to be a story about him. Therefore, the other band members, (drummer, guitar and bass) will only appear in brief clips, such as the drum heavy quiet parts in the intro instrumental.

Reply from canterbury

Sam and I decided to email multiple bands and artists to ask for permission to use songs, as we knew that we wouldn't get replies from a good amount of them. Sam set up a MySpace account and proceeded to email bands telling them about the project and asking if we could use their songs. Sam finally got a reply from Canterbury (Canterbury's Myspace) who were happy to let us use their song Diver. Below is the email that we received from them:hi Sam, sounds sweet! Feel free to use it, but please spread the word about the album in doing so and we'd love to see the finished video =]x

How important are stars in music videos?

To me, the importance of stars in music videos depends on a variety of different variables, the main one being how big the band or artist is. There are many bands whose music I know that I would not be able to place upon seeing them in the street, for example Chase and Status and Pendulum. Having the stars from these particular bands in their music videos would not really make any difference to the viewer, as they are probably not able to place their face anyway.







In pendulums hit song ‘witchcraft’ they do use the band on the video, however throughout the video their faces are blurred and the audience is not able to see them properly, not only does this fit in with the bands dark and underground aura but it also gives the connotations that the band feels that their fame and fortune comes second to the actual music and narrative of the video, instead choosing to use a woman floating for the most part of their video, moving in time to the beat drops. Which are the most nostalgic pieces of the song, again showing that their music is more important to them than their image.






For these reasons I do not feel that it is incredibly important for an artist to be featured in their video, however I do feel that the more high profile that artist is, the more likely they are to feature in their own video, for example main stream pop music artists like Beyonce or JLS are bound to have the artist within the video so that the music producers are able to sell the product with ease.
Some music videos do have stars in, but they are not the stars that have produced the music for example ‘uptown girl’ by Billy Joel features glamour model and playboy bunny of the time Christie Brinkley









In conclusion, I do not think that it is mandatory to include the star of a song in the music video; in some ways having a big name in the video overcasts the point and narrative to the song, and can become boring after a while. Personally I prefer artists such as Pendulum that concentrate more on the music and storytelling side of a music video, as to engage the audience into the point they are attempting to portray.

Plan B website analysis

Above is the website for well known rapper, singer and actor Plan B (Ben Drew). The website I have chosen to analyse is a series of abstract images placed together in order to create a background that gives the impression of a kind of scrap book related to the artist, making the audience know that he is the main focus of this site.
In the top left hand corner of the page lies the navigation bar, it appears to be in the shape of a stamp continuing the scrapbook theme for the artist, the navigation bar is made up of 9 links all written in bold black text in a serif font, again giving the website a homemade scrapbook feel, taking up most of the navigation space is what we can assume to be plan B’s logo, this again gives the connotation that the artist and his fame is the most important factor of the website.
Down the middle of the page stands a news section which is complete with text files and also video files so that the audience are able to watch the artist in action as well as being able to read of what he is currently doing in the music industry, in which his art is mostly displayed, the text used in this section of the website is a bold maroon serif font which stands out nicely again the crème background, making it eye-catching for the audience, and also extremely easy to find.
To the right hand side of the page both commercial and social factors are listed, for example Facebook, this is convenient for the fans as they are able to keep track of what the artist is doing on the social networking site without having to log in, or if they are not a member. Also on the right hand side the option is given to book tickets to see Plan B, and also buy his merchandise which gives the connotations that money is important to the artist, but also is his fans support.

Album Cover Analysis

This is the CD album cover for the ‘Best in town’ album by Welsh band ‘The Blackout’. The main colour scheme to the CD cover consists of many different shades of greens mainly dark with small bursts of light green. The mainly dull colours can be seen as a representation of the name of the band, the blackout as the main image on the artwork appears to be a small village in darkness, giving the connotations of Halloween. This again fits in with the image that their name gives off. Below the title of the CD cover there is another image of a man whom appears to have the appearance of an angel being either saved and sent up to the sky or abducted, the first suggestion fits in with the title of a song in the Album ‘Save our Selves’ The text that is used on the cover is a sans serif font, coloured in a combination of yellow and also orange, the text is scribbled and messy like hand writing this gives combination of un-professionalism this reflects the bands small up and coming status in the music industry.

Prelimenary Task

As an entire class we were given the task to re-create the exact music video for the song ‘that’s what I go to school for’ by boy band ‘Busted’. Some of my parts in the production included acting
As an actor I was one of the 3 members of Busted, this was a good experience and taster of music videos for me as I was able to learn how to lip sync properly, and to act accordingly in a proper manor for a music video
For the video to be edited the entire class took turns on leaving their mark on the video, therefore I only spent a short time on editing the video, however this short period was enough for me to be able familiarize myself with all of the different options of the editing software.
Whilst shooting the video it helped me to understand just how many different shots are needed in order to create a good quality final product.

Album Cover analysis

This is an album cover for British indie/punk band The Libertines. Mostly the cover is dominated by an image of the two Libertines front men, Carl Barat and Pete Doherty; this instantly tells the audience that these two are the main features of the band.
The libertines are mainly represented as party animals and the picture on the front of the cover represents them as exactly this, Carl Barrat to the left of the main image appears to have lipstick on his lips and appears to be tipsy from some type of alcoholic drink or substance, as makeup is a common occurrence at an indie party, his hair also appears to be greasy and messy as though he has either been running or dancing, or another physical activity along those lines.
In the picture front man Carl is huddled up to fellow front man Doherty, this gives connotations of extremely close chemistry between the two, which is reflected in both their music and general behaviour as they are the best of friends; this chemistry is what built the libertines to become one of the most inspirational acts of the early 2000’s
In the image Pete Doherty also appears to be wearing lipstick and also appears to be heavily intoxicated, as his head is flopped and eyes are closed. He also appears to be stumbling to his left; this image again reflects the bands rock and roll status and the status of the two front men. Not only does Doherty appear to be intoxicated, but he is also holding an unlit cigarette whilst he appears to be preparing his arm for a shot or hit of a hard drug or substance, again reflecting the bands party lifestyle. The picture also appears to be promoting smoking, which is a heavy part of the lives of the pair.
Heavy tattoos that are seen on both of the men in the image also reflect their rock and roll status.
The text used on the front cover is simply the libertines logo, this looks scribbled on and unprofessional, like they do not care how they appear and gives the connotations that the decoration of the cover does not matter but what does is the music contained within.

The Libertines website Analysis

This is The Libertines website, I feel that the website works well and reflects the bands punk/indie status well.
The navigation for the website is located at the top of the web page towards the middle of the page, the link boxes are displayed as kind of torn pieces of paper, and this reflects the bands rough appearance. The pieces of paper used for the links also share the appearance of a piece of card or paper that one would use as a mouthpiece when rolling a cigarette or ‘joint’ this gives connotations of rebellion and disregard for health, something which the Libertines and Pete Doherty in particular are renowned for. So again the bands rough appearance is reflected by the little details of the links.
Above the navigation bar a photograph of the entire band is located, all sporting old fashioned British military uniform, this gives connotations of the band being extremely patriotic and proud of their origin, this also comes across in much of their music many of their songs being named after ‘The Albion’ which was a medieval term for Britain. Also on the photograph the band looks extremely tipsy or worse for ware, again showing the band are prone to partying and typical rough activities.
The colours used on the background of the website are extremely dull, however the text used is an extremely bright white font, this reflects some of the Libertines music as some of their songs are slow and calming, like the dull colours that are used on the website. However some of the songs are fast lively and vibrant like the colour of the text and the colour used on the military jackets.
Another thing which stands out on the website is both; the picture of the entire band and their logo just above, this gives connotations of them being the main focus of the website and fans of the band will recognize this immediately. Giving them a closer feel to the band.
In the top right hand corner of the web page next to the photograph of the band is the option to follow all of the band members on different social networking site, this is a must in today’s internet as most people are using these websites, for example twitter, Facebook and MySpace and want the opportunity to follow what their idols are doing, and other aspects of their life.
Following on from the subject of subject of social networking sites down the right hand side of the page there is a live feed from twitter from all of the different band members meaning that people whom do not have access to the site are still able to gain full accessibility to what the band are doing.
Down the left hand side of the page is a section of news that is broken up for quick reading, in this case about the bands recent reunion, this means that fans are able to see what is happening in the world of the libertines extremely quickly without searching the whole of the website.