Cast List

Main character- The main character in the music video is a young female. She remains unnamed throughout the video and appears lonely, sad and pitiful in most parts. During the chorus her character becomes a complete contrast as she spontaneously becomes loud, active and violent.

Extras- During the chorus scenes other people will be in the video. They are friends of the main character and their presence changes her mood and behaviour. They are dressed in clothing suitable for the weather and provide action for the chorus sequences.

The Band- My music video includes three male characters who represent the band. They are dressed differently to the others and do not interact with the other characters.

Cameraperson- I filmed the scenes but do not appear in the video.

Props List

• Clothing- different clothing in some scenes to identify a shift in time.e.g. for a memory, dream.
• Clothes, costumes and bags.
• Pen.
• Make-up.
• Word Document- Paper/Microsoft Word/Open Office.
• Folder to store work/drafts.
• Umbrella.

Locations List

• The central location will be a field covered in snow.
• Another location will be filmed in the blue-room.

Analysis of Music Video #3

The next Music Video I will analyse is for the song '16 Military Wives' by The Decemberists.
The song is 4:45 long (seconds) and was published on 17/02/05
For the purpose of this analysis I will use italics to show which words are presented as text in the Music Video.'

The initial shot used, which is the case for many videos, is an establishing shot. The shot shows a tall building with a few trees around it. The trees do not have leaves suggesting the scene is set in Winter, relating back to the bands name 'The Decemberists.' Subtitles then appear in white font at the bottom of the screen, centrally placed in the middle. The text reads 'The Barger Rothery Academy'. The next shot introduces our first character, showing a long shot of a man wearing a suit walking up stairs leading into a building, presumably the building the establishing shot presented us with. The man opens the door and walks inside. The camera shot that follows introduces more characters as the same man walks down a corridor, accompanied by two people behind him both female and wearing skirts, ties, shirts and jumpers. The mise en scene in this video, after only 9 seconds, clearly illustrates that the characters are at a school. This is achieved by a combination of the text, giving us the name of the academy, the costumes used and the scenery. The people in the video however all appear middle-aged, therefore are not of school age. For the purpose of this video the viewer must assume that adults were used rather than children for practicality, effect and potential humour.

The man, who is actually the lead singer of The Decemberists, continues to walk forward. Text appears at the bottom of the screen providing the viewer with the characters name in the Music Video 'Henry Stowecroft'. A woman, also dressed as a student, walks towards him however he raises his hand to her face to show he is ignoring her and walks past. The woman looks disappointed. A medium shot is then used to show the man stop in the entrance to a classroom and adjust a badge of the American flag pinned to his chest. 'He represented the United States of America in the Schools Model United Nations'

A long shot shows most of the classroom, showing middle-aged students sat at desks as well as one young girl. The man, Henry Stowecroft, sits at the front of the desk in the traditional teacher's desk. Another long shot then shows us that there are 13 people sat at desks looking towards the front of the classroom. Henry looks towards one side of the classroom. A point of view shot shows that he was looking at a man. A medium shot, which slowly zooms in to become a close up, shows a blonde male sat at a desk with a female stroking his arm. 'Jude represented France.' A long shot is used as the scene briefly changes to a racing track. Jude and several students run past, Jude in front. 'Jude excelled in athletics'. The scene returns to the classroom as a bearded man points towards Jude as he seems to answer a question correctly. 'And trounsed Henry in academics.'

Henry is once again seated at the front of the classroom and appears angry and serious. A medium shot showing his shoulders and facial features is used. and follows his movement as he stands up. Shot reverse shot shows us his audience as they place headphones on and the camera returns to Henry as he bangs a judges mallet on the table. The close up shot then effectively and swiftly zooms out to become a long shot as the camera shows the classes reaction. A man seated at the front presumably a spokesperson, speaks into a microphone. Writing at the bottom says ' I declare war.' He is dressed similarly to the others however his grey hair, glasses and expression combine to create an ordinary appearance to him. This is perhaps intentional as he does not represent any nation in the story and is merely a spokesperson for a more important character in the video.

A medium shot portrays one class members reaction to this statement made by Henry. Molly represents the neutral Republic of Ireland.' The woman is sat at her desk. Surrounding her is a name plate that reads 'Ireland'. On her desk are stereotypical objects such as a book on Ireland and an Irish flag, as well as the headphones she used earlier. This reinforces the feeling of nationality within the video and individualism. The scene changes to what appears to be a music room in which Molly is playing a piano. The plain wallpaper and flooring means that the viewer focuses on the objects inside the room e.g. the musical instruments and Molly on the piano. In her spare time she wrote musicals.' This text is another example of how the writing supports what the clips are showing. I believe it acts as non-verbal dialogue. As the song is playing it would be inappropriate to interupt the song with a speaker talking over the singer, therefore the written subtitles are used instead. Once again the same long shot is used to show the running track outside. Molly is now dressed in a cheerleaders outfit and jumps up and down. 'And she was the schools only cheerleader.' We again notice that the weather is typically winter weather and assists in creating a certain mood to the video. Dark clouds connotate for sadness and seriousness, therefore the weather is potentially fitting as the video is tackling serious political and social issues, even if it is in a humorous manner.

'Jack wanted to be a reporter'. A long shot establishes a new room showing a man sat cross-legged on the floor. The scene quickly reverses back to the classroom. The man is stood in front of the class with a microphone, as though a reporter and begins singing part of the song however is interrupted by the Antagonist of the video, Henry. Stylistically, Jack the reporters scene starts at 1:20 in the song as the lyrics say 'And the anchorperson on T.v...' This is obviously intentional as it relates to the character wanting to be a reporter for television. It is also an example of how editing of the clips was carefully arranged to ensure that the onscreen imagery matches to auditory lyrics of the song.

The audience are then introduced to more characters. Close-ups show us the representatives of the Republic of Korea, Maurilius and Poland.

A close-up is then used to introduce Karl, the Republic of Luxembourg. Two previously introduced characters, (Korea and Polands representatives) are now dressed as security guards and chase Karl out of the classroom. Several sequences show how the Republic of USA and his friends are violating Karls human rights. Humour is seen as they throw balls of paper at Karl and the subtitles 'A bombing campaign was started.' are shown.

The actions of the characters closely match the lyrics in the song. For example, the lyrics 'America can say no' are heard as the American character shakes his fists and mimes along. His friends, who are dressed as security guards, seated at either side of him also move their batons up and down in synchronisation with the beat of the song.

Colour is important as it helps create stereotypes for each nationality. For example, colour is used to portray different flags for each person. Furthermore, colour is used to portray identity and unity. The school dress code is blue, red and black and each person wears these colours. However the Republic of France wears a multi-coloured scarf and the Republic of Korea wears a lighter shade of blue. With regards to the scenery and props the main colour used is white. The walls, floor, corridors and lockers are all white giving connotations for purity, cleanliness and blankness. It also visually means the audience focuses more on objects in the rooms.

The video continues to show Molly giving out instruments to others as they prepare to stand up to Henry. The last chorus of the video shows some characters with instruments playing them individually as they stand up from their desks and play towards Henry. The camera slowly zooms in as each person stands up and sings part of the song. The close-up shots are used to easily create recognisability between the characters and to represent expressions in more detail.

The video ends with the Antagonist being attacked with paper and sat on the floor surrounded with paper balls. His glasses are lopsided and the other characters are walking away, proving that the music video is reaching a conclusion. The last shot is a long shot showing him sat on the floor and a young girl leant against the wall near him confirming the video and song have reached a conclusion. The video is possibly addressing certain political and social issues, suggesting that nationality and political representations are childish and that the 'superpower' country, in this video America, can be defeated if other countries join together- .suggesting equality.

Here is a link to the video-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK3Ce9md96g

Analysis of Music Video #2

The music video I will look at next is the song 'Karma Police' by Radiohead.

A wide range of shots are used in this video including long shots, medium shots, close-up shots and cutaways.

Firstly, the video initially shows a brown sofa. The sofa is in a medium shot, allowing us to see most of the object but not its surroundings. A panning shot is then used as the camera pans across showing the viewer that the sofa is inside a car, as the passenger seats. The camera halts as it reaches the front of the car showing the bonnet, which is also brown. The consistent use of the colour brown connotes a lack of modernisation and a sense of old-fashioned taste in cars and less vibrancy. Now that the camera has panned across we are now able to see outside the car windows. It is late at night. This is supported by a moth buzzing around the car headlights. Lighting is used effectively in this video. The timing of day is essential as it creates an eerie and frightening feeling. The car headlights are off at the start of the video and as the song starts they switch on, accompanied by the diegetic sound of a car door opening. Then the lights switch off as the door closes. At 0:27 seconds the song reaches a change in tempo and the lights come back on. As the car lights illuminate it reveals an empty road. The car is parked stationary in the central of the road connotating a disregard for law and safety. The car then starts moving forward as the vocals start. The car drives forward at a consistent speed and passes muddy grass and a lamppost. As the chorus starts the camera shows a white figure far away in the background. As the car drives nearer the viewer can now distinguish the white shape as a man wearing a white top. The shot used is a long shot. We see that the man is running, seemingly away from the car. The camera then pans back slowly, revealing the car bonnet, wing mirror, the front passenger seat which is empty and then the back passenger seats. A man is now sitting in the sofa-seat. Fans of Radiohead will recognise the man as Thom Yorke, lead singer of the band. He is looking down at the floor of the car, wearing a black leather jacket and plain green top. The shot used is a medium shot. The camera stops panning as it reaches Thom Yorke. The producers of this video decided that Thom should lip-sing in synchronisation with the song, giving the impression that he is singing the song during the music video. He then sings 'This is what you get' and looks up towards the direction in which the man is running. The camera pans forward revealing the man in white to be nearer than previously. The viewer of this video is made to believe that they are inside the car themselves, driving forward. The consistent view over the car bonnet suggests the majority of the clip appears to be a point of view shot, as we see the events through the eyes of the driver of the vehicle. When the camera pans back it seems to me that a point of view shot is once again used to show the driver looking back at his passenger. The over-the-bonnet shot is used again and we see the running man again. This time we see more detail and can distinguish more of the mans features. He is frantically running and repeatedly looks over his shoulder towards the car, as though scared. He is bald, obese and wearing unfashionable clothing. Overall, it appears this is not an instinctively likeable character, supported by the lyrics 'This is what you get, when you mess with us', suggesting that this man may in fact deserve being chased by a mysterious driver and seemingly sad and empty man. However his scared behaviour and situation he is in evokes sympathy. The man in the car, lead singer of Radiohead, seems tired and weary as he pursues the man. The man in the white shirt is seen running from a close up shot of his face. This is the first time in the video that the camera leaves the car. The camera is now positioned in front the man as he runs, filming straight on at him as he stumbles forward. The lighting is effective as, from this type of shot, we can see the car headlights beaming across distorting the viewers vision slightly. The lights flicker on and off repeatedly, perhaps to symbolise warning lights which connotate for danger. The camera then returns back to film from inside the car and we see a long shot, establishing the distance between car and man. The man staggers and then collapses from exhaustion. As he does so the car slows down and stops just before it reaches him. The camera changes to a medium shot, filming from outside the car, showing the man slowly rise to his feet and turn to face the stopped car. The car reverses and as it pulls back we see a trail of petrol. A close up shot of the petrol is used, suggesting it is important. The car pulls fully back as though it is about to drive into him. Another close up shot is used, now from behind the man's back showing him frantically search his pocket for something. Then he pulls a small object out of his pocket, however we as a viewer, do not see what it is. A close up shows us it is a box of matches.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uYWYWPc9HU&feature=fvst

Analysis of Music Video #1

I have decided to analyse the song 'Kids' by MGMT as it is one of my favourite songs and I believe the music video is interesting and will be useful to look at in detail.
The video starts off with a blank, black screen as ‘cheering’ sound is played for 1 second. The first shot shows a male and female, both in sports clothing. One is white and the other black, this suggests racial equality in the videos ideology. They dance in tune with the music for 10 seconds. The shot is a medium shot and the camera style is fuzzy which suggests a more handheld effect. The shot cuts to a weatherman standing in front of a ‘7 day weather forecast’ screen. He is also dancing in a comical fashion. This shot is also a medium shot which allows the viewer to see part of the mans surroundings, his body and facial features, however not in full detail. The scene then cuts to a woman’s face. The shot is a close up of her face as she looks towards the camera, turns and dances away. The camera style is a black and white effect which denotates less vibrancy and colour and connotates old-fashioned, television-style effect. The scene shifts again at 0:20 to briefly show a crowd of black males laughing and waving at the camera, supporting the feeling that the viewer is watching television. Then we see a domestic setting environment and a man with two children, presumably his own, standing in front of a television dancing. The shot is a medium shot again, to provide consistency with the other clips and suggesting the shots are all part of the same compilation of shots. A medium shot then shows a man enter the house by opening a door. We, as a viewer, are led to assume that it is the same domestic house in which the children and man were dancing in. At 0:22 the scene suddenly shifts to show a black background, with multi-coloured lights and a woman stood in the foreground. She is wearing white and black face-paint and smiling. The shot is a close-up and only shows her face. A male character is introduced in front of the same style of background; he is also face-painted. They are both dancing, however we only see this through their faces, shoulder and hand movements as only close-up shots are used when filming the face-painted dancers. At 0:35 seconds the scene changes again, showing women dancing. There are three women in the next shot, they move their hips in synchronisation and are similar to each other in appearance. After three seconds of footage the shot reverts back to the face-painted ‘kids’. The scene then changes back briefly to show a group of females dancing. They are wearing sports clothing and the camera shot is a medium shot. This relates back to the original compilation of clips and suggests it is in the same group, e.g. not the central theme of the video. When showing the female dancers a panning shot is used to include all dancers. The camera style also briefly changes to black and white, supporting the idea that the separate scenes are like television clips. Once again, the scene changes back to the face-painted male who is singing the song ‘kids’. Similarly, the face-painted female also sings in synchronisation with the song. When the lyrics say ‘We like to watch you laughing’ the face-painted woman smiles. The lyrics then say ‘You pick the insects off plants, no time to think of consequences.’ The male character shakes his head with a sad expression. The males facial expressions are sad throughout the video while the females remains bouncy, happy and childlike. The characters link well with the song as the song describes, depending on interpretation, children feeling alone and sad.
After researching the video I found out that the facepainted people are from Los Angeles and were friends with the video producer and filmed it as a spur of the moment project. They did not expect it to reach as much success as it did. The girl in the video is called Abby and she said 'We are celebrating a year since Jon posted the video! We never would have thought it would reach over 8 million hits, I never thought it would even reach the Internet!'

Below is a link to the video and an image from the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIEOZCcaXzE

History of Music Videos

Spooney Melodies, produced by Warner Brothers between 1926 and 1931, was arguably the first musical video short film series. These films lasted approximately six minutes long which consisted of footage of the performer singing, art animation and background.

The term 'music video' first came into popular usage in early 1980's. In Chinese music industry, music videos are known as MTV's, because 'MTV' was responsible for making music videos popular.

In the UK, 'Top of the Pops' began playing music videos on television in the late 1970's. However, only limited music videos could be played on television, therefore a small amount of bands and performers benefited from this. Those that did have their songs played regularly on television benefited enormously from it. David Bowie, for example, reached number one because of his eye-catching music video for 'Ashes to Ashes'.

In 1981, music videos became mainstream when MTV launched the first 24-hour music channel. By the mid 1980's this became a main part of music marketing. The first music video ever played on MTV was 'Video Killed the Radio Star' by The Buggles.

The video can be found at the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwuy4hHO3YQ

Nowadays, music videos undoubtedly represent a crucial part of the music industry. However, many music videos still remain a controversial issue. On the one hand, music videos give the audience a chance to see an appealing, attractive side to their favourite performers. On the other hand, some believe that music videos marked the end to true, musical talent as performers are now judged on their appearance and looks rather than just their musical ability.

What is a music video?

A music video is a short clip or film that is used to promote the sales of a particular song. The song is accompanied by the film to create a 'music video' that advertises the song artist/band. Music videos appear in many different ways- most commonly actors or the band members themselves appear in a filmed, pre-rehearsed video that often includes the band or singer performing or shows a story unfolding that can be associated with the song it is accompanied with. Other methods producers sometimes use to create music videos are animation, documentary-style footage, a non-narrative approach such as abstract filming or a combination of the listed approaches.

Log Sheet

In this post I will outline the times and dates of when I aim to complete the objectives I have been set. This is a plan I aim to stick by however I will keep in mind that possibile problems may arise with issues such as availability to film, actors needed, editing availability and unforseen issues.

Log Sheet Plan:

20/10- Write Log Sheet- Plan what I aim to complete

02/11- Storyboard- Confirm content for music video

09/11- Research and Planning

16/11- Extended research and planning work

23/11- Write more posts on blog

Researching the Music Industry

The music industry primarily sells compositions, recordings and performances of music. This can take the form of Cd's, records, tickets to live performances, online downloading and television music videos. This industry generates an estimated $40 billion a year, as well as providing countless jobs including performers, music publishers, engineers, booking agents, promoters, journalists, educators, manufacturers, talent managers and many more.

But how did it all start?

Music has always been a thing of excitement, entertainment and great interest across the world. In early years, music was popularly used as a means of spiritual exploration and expressing yourself. That, in essence, has not changed however the meaning behind music has often changed and been distorted.

One example of how music in the past was used to express belief and emotion was blues music in the slave trade. In 1517, the trans-Atlantic slave trade began. This soon became a large business globally. Out of the 35-40 million Africans captured onto slave ships only an estimated 15 million made it to America. Their African heritage was taken away from them, yet many found music as a means of expressing their sorrow and communicating with one another. Thus, Blues music was formed and it remains today as a symbol of how tragic and devastating slavery was to millions of people.

An Introduction to A2 Media

My task, for the A2 coursework aspect of Media Studies, is to choose one of a selection of briefs given to me, complete the chosen task and frequently update a blog to record and evaluate my progress.

The brief I have chosen to do:

A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:

• A website homepage for the band.
• A cover for its release on CD.
• A magazine advertisement for the DVD.

I have chosen to include the cover for its release on CD and a magazine advertisement for the DVD.